Little Women

This past weekend, I was cast as Jo March in Little Women the Musical at Country Playhouse.  I’m VERY excited about this.  Since having a baby, I allow myself one show a year – and the show has got to be worth my time away from the hubby and the bugaboo.  Very few of these shows exist, but this is one of them.  The part is absolutely fantastic and it will be a major challenge.  Jo is in the entire show except for 2 scenes and she has a million songs.  I’m not worried, though.  The director and cast are truly remarkable and I will be surrounded by inspiration.

 

In case you might know people, the cast includes:

Louis Crespo, Lori Davis, John Dunn, Ilich Guardiola, Morgan MacInnes, Manny Mones, Monica Passley, Johanna Payton, Elizabeth Taylor (no, not that one), and Holland Vavra.  It’s directed by O’Dell Hutchison and the musical director is Claudia Dyle.

 

Come out and see!  It runs April 3-April 18!!

Revolutionary Road

I saw Revolutionary Road this past Saturday and let me tell you – that was one of the best movies I’ve seen.  That’s not to say that it was happy and left me with a warm feeling in my heart.  Quite the opposite, actually.  The story was tragic and heartbreaking.  It was some of the finest acting I’ve seen come out of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.  And Sam Mendes is a directing God.  It has the same quiet intensity that American Beauty possessed.  He directs in a style that is slow-moving and it builds without you even realizing it.  The movie had a claustrophobic feel that totally worked for the storyline.

 

The Hubby and I had “the talk” beforehand.  Are you happy with your life?  Do you think Bugaboo and I have held you back in any way?  Are you satisfied with your choices?  Luckily, the movie did not have the effect I thought it would.  I thought I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep because I’d be thinking about how I’m not fulfilling my dreams.  In fact, I realized that I am fulfilling my dreams.  I’m with a very supportive husband who loves me completely, I have a little girl who makes me smile every day, and I live in a great area and have great friends.  I have a full time job, but have the freedom to fulfill my creative side.  I don’t feel stifled at all.  However, these people absolutely broke my heart because there was no doubt that they were good people, but they got caught up in the “supposed to’s” and didn’t pay enough attention to how it was killing the other person.  The warning signs were spread throughout the movie and you knew what it would come to in the end.  No one can play regret like DiCaprio.  And no one can play utter depression like Winslet.  The movie is brilliant, but not one you’ll see a million times.  It’s like saying you “enjoyed” Schindler’s List.  You can’t “enjoy” that movie.  You can respect it and it’s place in cinematic history, but I don’t think you’ll be watching it on repeat.  Same goes for Road.  It makes you realize that being HEARD in a marriage is probably the most important thing.  Go out and see this immediately.

Nutritional Guide

Bugaboo eats all kinds of things at her daycare.  Pancakes, waffles, or cheese toast in the mornings; vanilla wafers or animal crackers for snacks; mac & cheese, hot dogs, fish sticks, or chicken nuggets for lunch.  Milk is served all day.  There’s also plenty of fruits and vegetables with each of these meals.  At home, we feed her pretty much the same things, except we might throw in a glass of juice here or there.  I would say, the child eats pretty well!  I mean, she gets all the nutrients she needs, she LOVES her vegetables, and fruit is like chocolate to her.  What more could a baby need, right???  Well, according to Gerber.com, we are sucking on the feeding.

 

I checked it out this morning for my friend Cathy b/c she was unsure when to move on to 2nd Foods for her little boy.  I noticed there was a spot on there for “toddlers.”  According to them, we should be giving our child whole wheat everything, reduced fat milk, and low fat yogurt.  WHAT?!?!  Aren’t kids supposed to have the whole milk with the white bread?  And low fat yogurt?  You’ve got to be kidding me!  I was reading this and immediately thought, “Oh my gosh, my child is not getting enough iron or grains or anything!  I’m failing as a parent!!”  I even wrote the hubby with a new meal plan and a grocery list.  Hubby asked me to wait a bit before buying all new food (we just stocked up on Gerber Graduate meals).  He says it was to save money, but perhaps it was b/c he thinks his wife’s crazy.  And I have to admit: Gerber sucked me in, but I’m out now.

 

My little Bugaboo is a healthy child who gets to enjoy her whole milk and white bread.  Everyone I know enjoyed that as a child.  I’m not going to worry about low fat anything with my 15-month-old toddler.  We don’t need to start a complex so young in life.  She has a great appetite, she loves fruits and vegetables, and she’s willing to try just about anything.  Sure, her favorites are peanut butter & jelly sandwiches or cheese ravioli, but why not let her enjoy those things as long as she’s able?!

 

In other news, my friend had her baby and she’s cute.  Whew!

Random thoughts

Last night, we watched the football game between Texas and Ohio State.  It was a great game.  I fell asleep in the second half, but I woke up to Hubby screaming when Texas got a touchdown with 16 seconds left.  I was as happy as I could be considering the fact that I’d been sleeping for an hour.

 

I wrote Bugaboo’s doctor today.  She sleeps at LEAST 12 hours a night and takes a 2 hour nap during the day, sometimes more.  On the weekends, she’ll sleep a good 14 hours at night.  While I know we should be grateful for this, I couldn’t help thinking that maybe something was wrong!  So, I wrote the doc and she said that as long as Bugaboo was alert and active when she’s awake, then I should enjoy the extra time that we get without a baby around us.  So, that’s what we’ll do.  Actually, we already do that.  When Bugaboo goes to sleep, that’s when Rock Band comes out, or Weeds gets turned on, or the Hubby and I get it on. 

 

The blessings I’m counting today are easy:

1. Bugaboo’s sleeping habits are awesome.

2. My friend Patrick is sending me Revolutionary Road.

3. Tonight we’re having Chicken Tetrazzini – one of my favorites!

4. Cathy asked me to be Jackson’s Godmother.

5. Texas won.

 

Speaking of Cathy and me being the Godmother, I’m so honored.  Honestly.  I know what a big deal this is.  When Hubby and I were picking the Godparents for Bugaboo, we put a lot of thought into it and eventually decided that I would choose the Godmother (with his approval) and he would choose the Godfather (with my approval).  For the next child, it will be reversed.  Cathy’s the Godmother to 2 other children besides my little one.  She has many great friends, so for me to be chosen as a spiritual guide (for lack of a better word) for her little one is just awesome.  We’ve been best friends for about 14 years now and now we’re each the Godmothers to the other’s first born.  Awesome.

 

This was just a post of random tidbits going on in my life.  Tomorrrow, let one of my blessings be that my mind is more organized. 

The Reader

Last Friday, Hubby and I had to decide which movie to see.  Were we going to see Benjamin Button or The Reader?  We REALLY wanted to see Revolutionary Road, but it wasn’t playing anywhere near us (is it playing anywhere???).  The deciding factor was time: Button was 3 hours and The Reader was 2.  There you have it.

 

I can understand why Kate Winslet is nominated for this.  It’s amazing to think that this woman, who is so glamorous and beautiful in real life, could make herself so plain and pitiful in this movie.  It’s about a love affair that took place between her at the age of 30-something and a 15-year-old boy.  It happened over a summer and then she disappeared.  She came into his life years later when he was a law student and she was on trial for heinous crimes committed during WWII.  She was a Nazi guard and had let an entire group of Jews burn in a church they were sleeping in.  She loved when her boy toy read to her and you finally figured out that she couldn’t read.  The situation in the church was not entirely her fault, but she took the blame for it instead of admitting her secret.  The acting was brilliant, but this is a rental.  It was pretty depressing.

 

And there you have my 2 cents.

Count your blessings

The New Year has been alright so far.  Because I’m Clark Griswold, I of course expected it to be much better than it is.  Here is what I have accomplished in this New Year:

* I have found that I like and am actually good at some instruments on Rock Band

* I have celebrated the birthday of one of my oldest friends

* I have seen a new movie and I’ve watched a TV show that friends have been telling me to watch

That’s about it.  It’s not terribly shabby considering we’re on Day 5.  One particular day, I was in a crabby mood and decided that I needed to start counting my blessings.  I once had a journal that was called “Count Your Blessings” and each day, you were supposed to list 5 blessings in your life.  They can be anything.  Even the smallest things like rain or a cup of coffee.  My life could be MUCH worse, so I need to remember to be grateful for all the little things I have.  Here are my 5 blessings today (in no particular order):

1. I get to play Rock Band tonight.

2. I remembered to put clothes out last night for today and didn’t have to stress when dressing this morning.

3. I got to visit with my old boss this morning.

4. My office is more organized for the New Year.

5. Today is Christina’s 30th birthday.

5 things for me to remember when Emma starts crying or I can’t get  a program to work or I realize I forgot my sunglasses (DAMN IT!).  5 small things that will make me smile throughout the day.