I Feel Like I am Playing Hooky

I am supposed to be working on the program for the Automat. But I have a confession to make: I'm not. I have not sat down in several days, at least not since Friday, and so when I got the opportunity to sit down briefly to fire off a few Automat-related emails this afternoon during Stella's nap, I couldn't stop. I have been moving and painting and affixing and worrying over the set the last two days and before that I was procuring for the set, so really I have set on the brain. I have been home ALL DAY today, for the first time in quite a while, so I actually cleaned my filthy kitchen so that both my daughter (who is now back at home after residing at her Baba's all day the past two days), and Tim and I would have dishes. Although I don't really need dishes because I am on the tech week all fast food diet, which leaves your stomach in shambles and wreaks havoc on your weight loss. But this is what we do for theatre. Right at this moment I have no clue why, but ask me again at 9:10pm Friday night, and as long as the set didn't fall on an actor or the Dougherty Arts Center didn't go up in smoke, I can tell you because it's the most amazing thing to do on earth and I'd sooner give up breathing than give up doing it.

So come see it, I promise you it's going to be awesome:

When a cook gets iced in the freezer, Hoover sends in his boy and girl to get to the bottom of it. But is it the Crazy, the Russian, or perhaps the Robots behind the murder? Find out in Timothy Thomas' light hearted comedy set when men were men... well most of the time.

Starring: Alexandra Budziszewski, Craig Kanne, Amy Lewis, and Brandon Salinas.

Directed by Julie Winston-Thomas.

Written by Timothy Thomas

Tickets available by visiting http://www.loadedguntheory.com/.

All tickets purchased at the box office must be paid for with cash only. We cannot take credit cards the night of the show. You can use a credit card to pay for tickets online or over the phone.

WHERE: Dougherty Arts Center
1110 Barton Springs Road

WHEN:February 29th-March 2nd (Fri-Sun)

March 6th-9th (Thu-Sun)

March 12th-15th (Wed-Sat)

All shows are at 8pm except Sunday matinées (March 2nd and 9th) which are at 5pm.

General Admission: $15 on Friday and Saturday, $10 all other shows.

Stop Making it so Freakin' Hard!

So I watched the debates tonight and the only thing that's clear to me is that we have two dynamite candidates, both of whom I would be proud to have as my president. And my mind has changed. Again. Going into the debate I was leaning towards Obama. Clinton's campaign kept saying ridiculous things about him like that he was the establishment candidate and so I was leaning towards Obama simply to vote against her. But then tonight she just said all the right things. And inspired me. And got me fired up. And put me squarely in her camp. Obama didn't ever really answer a question directly. And even though Clinton had some low-blows against Obama (even one that was booed), I still liked her and felt she was presidential. But I still have one problem: I think Obama has a better chance of winning against McCain.

Hillary has so much baggage, they so know how to punch her buttons, that I know the Republicans know how to beat her. Obama? Not so sure. But it was interesting that both my father-in-law (Democrat) and my mother (Republican) who watched the debates with us were worried about Obama turning out to be another Jimmy Carter. And honestly, I can see their point. I think he'd be a much better VP than Prez at this point. And he could still have the shot at being Commander-in-Chief in 8 years. My mother also thinks that Hillary might have a better shot simply because she thinks the country is more racist than sexist. Sad but true and I totally worry that she's right. I was an Edwards' fan because I liked him and also because I DO NOT want the Democrats to lose. And I worry that our country is still too ass-backwards for a woman or a black man to win. Either way, I think McCain has a real advantage because he's an old white guy like every other President for the last cajillion years.

It would be freakin' awesome, though, if Morrissey's lyric in "America is Not the World" was obsolete: "Where the President is never black, female or gay."

I honestly tear up just thinking about it. I cannot even believe it is possible. Because Bush has destroyed what little faith I had left in America.

My Not Quite Broadway Baby

So Stella had her very first audition Friday. Anna sent us a notice about a granola commercial someone was casting and they were looking for a tall, slender, early 30's mom and her toddler. Sounded perfect for us, right? So I sent in Stella and I's pictures. They called us late Thursday night and asked us to come in Friday morning. I was nervous as hell, but I went anyway. We filled out paperwork, had to tell them repeatedly that no, we did not have a headshot, and finally we were ushered in. The lady gave me some complex directions about strolling Stella around while pretending that we were shopping. Oh, and make sure to cheat out to the camera. I totally forgot about the fact we were supposed to be shopping and Stella froze up like an astronaut that just got caught on a spacewalk without a suit. There were lights shining in our faces and about 10 young guys with laptops and this one lady who was totally annoyed with the fact that I couldn't get my child to smile. Everyone there looked like they would have rather been having root canals. Me too.

After our stroll, I thanked them for their time, made a joke about Stella being too much of a diva to perform on command and got the hell out of there. Stella started chattering and being herself as soon as we stepped out of the audition room. Figures. Oh, well, at least we don't have to worry about me being a stage mum!

Hemmoraging Money

You ever feel like you're hemmoraging money? Yeah, that's the theme of this weekend. First we went to church to get our picture taken for the directory. Free, but the pictures turned out really well and so of course we had to get some. And because that's the racket, they cost an arm and a leg. Then we went to IKEA, where we actually didn't do too bad except for the all the LGT stuff we had to buy. But the kicker was Sunday. Tim did research and decided he needed a top of the line edger (and I'm sure he's right). So we dropped way too much on that, plus the accoutrements. Then while Tim was using his new beloved weed wacker, he hacked one of the lines going to the air conditioner, so this morning we've dropped even more cash on getting that fixed AND discovered that something that costs bookoo bucks to fix on our furnace needs replacing. At the very least, that should be covered by our home warranty, but we'll still have to pay for another $70 service call on top of the $200+ we paid the guy today. Sigh. I guess this is what happens when you buy a used house. And I love my house, but I sure would prefer to use my money on something more fun and interesting.

I can't wait for that check from Uncle Sam in a few months. As things stand now, that's going to pay for our Mexico vacation, so I sure hope it comes through!

GO SEE JUNO!

I know I am the last person on the planet to see this movie, but hey, I have a kid and I use my grandparent babysitters to go see plays or go to parties and such. But we actually went and saw Juno tonight on our date night and it is the most fantastical awesome movie! It is hilarious and touching and moving and has so many "that is so true!" moments. I LOVED IT, especially Allison Janney. Man, when she tells off the ultrasound tech, Tim and I both were like, that would SO be my Mom. Because my Mom rocks, just like Allison Janney, only about half a foot shorter.

But really, go see Juno, it should win all the Academy Awards it's up for, plus Jennifer Garner should have been nominated. She's incredible.

And have I mentioned we are planning a vacation to Mexico in May just the two of us? Ah, I can't wait. White sandy beaches, blue water and all the margaritas you can drink. Sounds perfect! First I just have to wade through the gazillion options and pick the perfect hotel and itinerary. Any recs? Send them my way!

Okay, now, back to date night. Complete with Stella spending the night at her grandparents and Tim having the day off tomorrow so we get to sleep in. Really sleep in. Let's just hope our internal clocks aren't on "get up with toddler" time!

Bad Mood

I am in a bad mood this afternoon. I read Travis' blog and he is in a bad mood too, so perhaps it is something in the air. We went to playgroup this morning and Stella got to play at her "boyfriend" John David's house and I got to hang out with mamas, so I should be in a great mood. I think perhaps it's something subconscious related to the fact that it's Valentine's Day. I always hated Valentine's Day when I was single, and just because I've been in a relationship for the last 12 Valentine's Days, I still can't really get into the holiday. I think it's just an excuse for Hallmark to sell you crap and make single people feel bad. Usually Tim makes a fantastically elaborate dinner for me, but this year we are so busy we've decided to scale way back. Perhaps some take-out, some homemade dessert, and a bottle of wine. And spending time together, which we haven't been able to do much of lately.

Tuesday Stella saw my Coke Zero and said "Coke". So bizaare, I don't remember ever using that word with her. We rarely talk about coke because neither of us really drinks it. We usually call it soda. (I know, how northern of me. At least I don't say pop.) She used it again yesterday when I was drinking another Coke Zero. Today when we came home from playgroup she asked for her Daddy and I said he was at work and she started crying. It was really sweet. I think both Stella and mine's disposition has improved dramatically since Tim started working from home 3 days a week. It's so nice to get to have lunch together and we can pop in and say hi. When Stella melts down, Daddy can just pop in and give her a hug. It helps tremendously. I hope we can continue to do this for a long time.

Sentences and "Me Too!"

Stella has just in the last week started really putting together sentences. One morning we were eating breakfast and she was like "Daddy eat too." So of course Daddy had to come in and eat. Other favorites are "Momma and Daddy eat too" when she's eating. Yesterday. Tim finally got the bike he bought secondhand for his birthday fixed up and was riding around the block testing it out. She said, "I bike too!" So cute. And bike she did after Tim got her trailer hooked up. It was adorable.

Tim's mother says that the whole "too" concept is very complex and it's really amazing for Stella to understand it so well. Although that might just be related to grandparents and parents always thinking that their offspring is a genius. Stella is really into the whole "too, both, also" thing. She has a baby she actually calls Baby Too (although I guess it could be Baby Two, but I think it comes out of me asking if she wants that Baby too) and I'm always asking her if she wants one or the other of something and she'll say, "both". I guess she's just a girl that wants it all!

I haven't been blogging much lately because I've just been so busy. Lots going on, although I'm not complaining. I like to be busy. I've been playing hostess a lot lately, which has been great after 4 months of not being able to have anyone over when we lived with Tim's parents. Last week I had bookclub, Stella's playgroup and then the ladies who lunch (+ Sean) and their broods over. The playgroup was awesome. There were 7 mamas, 7 toddlers and one newborn and it was pandemonium. Wild toddlers running around the backyard everywhere you looked! Totally illustrated why this house was so perfect for us. We didn't feel cramped at all even when we were inside in the dining room munching and the kids especially loved the stage. Two of the little boys, Archer and Finnion, were having a fantastic dance-off up there. It's such a great backyard.

Saturday we helped Tara and Jeff peel stickers off the glassware for their wedding, then headed home for a super-short nap for Stella and garage cleaning for Tim. We then filled every square inch of the Scion not occupied by a person with cardboard and headed to the recycling place. After all our hard work, Stella said she wanted Amy's, so how could I not comply? (Okay, Momma wanted Amy's.) I had the most divine flavor, Cupid's Delight, which was cherry ice cream with cherries and dark chocolate bits. I had oreos and sugar cone crushed in, it was heavenly. The crush-in was even free because for the second time in a row, I got the movie quote right! Then we decided to go to Lowe's to look at light fixtures. BIG mistake. Stella was totally out of control from the sugar in the 5 bites of ice cream we'd given her and just was all over the place. She was like a twitchy cocaine addict after a couple of lines. We finally got her corralled and back into the car and headed home where we set her loose in the backyard to work off some of that energy. Luckily she calmed down a bit and we were able to have dinner with Tim's parents and Christine and Brian, who were in town. Then we played Trivial Pursuit with them until waaay too late and I won for the first time in like, ever.

Sunday we finally finished cleaning the garage, thank goodness! It looks awesome in there.

You know, I did not intend for this to be a "recap my weekend" post. But once you start talking about your weekend, it's sometimes hard to know where to end it, ya' know?

Stella is taking a much needed very long nap right now. Of course, I really have errands I need to run, but isn't that when they always decide to take the long nap?

A Minivan one could actually almost drive

So I am still in denial of the inevitability that one day I will be driving a minivan*. I just think they are the saddest cars and scream "I'm a parent and have given up all my own dreams and aspirations to shuttle my children around in an ugly box." But VW is coming out with the Routan and it looks pretty sweet. Check out the interior. And according to the VW site, it is available in orange. If I could get a cool color that might mitigate the fact that I'd be driving a 'gulp' minivan. Shudder. Let's just hope VW can be bothered to give a hoot about MPG so that I won't have to fill up every two feet.

*Seriously, one day. Don't fear that I am running out to get the mommy-mobile tomorrow or anything folks!

Book List

Got this from Tim, but also the fact that Tara and Ashley did it made me finally figure out how to get it into Blogger properly.

The instructions are simple:
Bold those you’ve read.
Add an asterisk* to those you have read more than once.
Italicize books you have started but couldn’t finish.
Underline those on your TBR list.

I couldn't figure out how to underline in blogger, so I'm going to put an exclaimation point by those on my to read list instead.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
!Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: A Novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
A Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
!Guns, Germs, and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveller’s Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
!The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
!Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran
!Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
!Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno
!The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
!One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver’s Travels
Les Misérables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela’s Ashes
The God of Small Things
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-Present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
!Slaughterhouse-Five
The Scarlet Letter
!Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
!The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
!Freakonomics
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Hobbit
!In Cold Blood
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers

I just don't read books more than once. I mean there are too many books out there to be read, right?! Some of my favorites of all time are on this list, though. Middlesex, Lolita, American Gods, A Confederacy of Dunces, Brave New World. Good books!