Oh one last kiss!

This weekend will be slightly on the insane side as surely all my weekends will be for awhile. My great-grandmother, Nana, is turning 91 this week. She is one of the two-and-a-half great-grandparents I've known (two great-grandmothers, and a step-great-grandpa), and the only one still alive. No one is really expecting her to live much longer, which is sad, but a darned good reason to celebrate a live that began in 1915! She tells us stories of getting her hair dipped in inkwells during school, and other forms of old fashioned elementary school flirtations. It's great.

Sunday, I must admit, I'm NOT looking forward to. Oh, the Oscars I am excited about, don't get me wrong. I loved Good Night, and Good Luck, Capote, and I thought Munich was very well done. I loved some of the performances I saw and agree with Reese Witherspoon, Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Straithairn, Paul Giamatti, Keira Knightly, Catherine Keener . . . the list grows with the more I see. Yessiree, I love the Oscars!

However, there is a dreaded awards ceremony for that same day. One I feel obligated to attend, but not so excited for. The Albert Awards. Never heard of them? Oh! Neither had I until January. Drat! Remember the summer of Shakespeare I had? Well, stressful as the summer was; for as much drama as there was, I guess I had some good experiences. Meeting new people and all.

Well, this troupe has an awards ceremony that frankly strikes me as silly. I was okay with being nominated for Best Supporting Actress originally. They sent us two ballots for nominations. I was gone from the second one. However, I have learned that Leoney and I are probably winning an award for (get this) best kiss!!!!!!! Ick. Embarrassing. I don't want to go. But I probably will to support the others getting awards. Ugh.

The title of this post comes from a song by the same name from Bye Bye Birdie.

Getting to know you!

Okay, another birthday post. Yikes!!!!!!!! Today I am 26. Yup. By the time my parents were my age, both myself and Jessica were born. I have a sneaking suspicion that my 26th year will be different than theirs.

To my post! I'll try to post pictures later, but technology is still kicking my butt, so I make no guarantees. I'll explain if I can post. In the meantime:

26 Things I've Learned in 26 Years

1) My attitude sets the tone for my dealings with everything. Religion, work, friendships, hobbies . . .

2) Learning to appreciate your own company is about the best investment of time you can make.

3) Traveling is the greatest of learning.

4) Kindred spirits can be found anywhere. Keeping your eyes and mind open helps the process immensely.

5) You are often the most inaccurate or accurate in evaluating yourself. It's rare that there is a happy medium.

6) Reading will give you some of the most satisfying relationships (both real and not) you can ever have.

7) To be yourself not only makes life easier on you, it makes it more fun!

8) A creative outlet is a fantastic way to deal with life's hardships.

9) Laughing is not only great exercise; it's a great way to make memories.

10) Work is ever so much more endurable when you enjoy what you do.

11) Attempting to live life with as few regrets as possible makes the past easier to face and the future brighter.

12) Families are to be cherished.

13) Follow your heart, it knows you better than your mind.

14) Technology is overrated.

15) Friendships should cross age barriers.

16) Have role models, and be a role model.

17) Never allow yourself to give into boredom.

18) Love others.

19) Indulging in whims once in awhile is healthy.

20) There is such a thing as good debt. It is worthwhile to make sacrifices because of it, too.

21) A playful spirit and a touch of innocence keeps one young.

22) You may as well spend time with music, films, literature and art that is of a high standard. It's educational and a good use of time. But leave room for some guilty pleasures. If for no other reason than this; it reminds you of what good quality is.

23) Trust is not an easy thing to earn and therefore should not be taken lightly.

24) If exercise is necessary for health, make sure it's fun as well.

25) Money saved is a good thing that can be invested in a future pleasure.

26) Singing for fun should not stop at the age of 5.

The title of the post comes from the song of the same title. It's from The King and I. Happy Birthday to moi!

Beauty School Dropout

So internet access has been the most ridiculous hassle of late. Wanting to blog, and having obstacle after obstacle is truly a curse of sorts. Perhaps I've angered the technology gods by shaking my fist at computers one too many times or something. At any rate, someone is laughing at my technological inadequecies and idiocy. At least someone can enjoy it, even if it's not me.

Anyway I have a wonderful life that I'd like to keep going. Wonderful.

I'm taking TAP DANCING and it's fun!!!!!!! Gina is the instructor. That woman is about as great as they come. Not only is she a blast to be around, but I'm being taught by a British lady who used to dance at the Moulin Rouge. Not too shabby. I seem to amuse her, so that makes life fun, too. I walked into class last week, and even though she knew I was in her class, I got a "LYNETTE!!!!!!!" as a greeting. It's nice to feel like people want you around.

I auditioned for Grease with the company I've worked with the most out here. I'm playing Frenchy, the high school and beauty school dropout. Ironically, I'm the only teacher of the 4 Pink Ladies AND (I believe) the only one with a Bachelor's of any sort. I got to laugh at that one. I've also been told to work on my voice as I come across as too intelligent. So I'm hamming it up, and it seems to be working. I'm looking for any clueless moment available. Though it's no Into the Woods like Steph gets to do (How fun!), I am already having a blast.

I'm singing at our Valentine's Banquet at church in a few weeks, too. Kristen claims to be mad at me because the two of us made a point to miss it each year and celebrated our "Anti-Valentine's Date" instead. Well, she's gone and she has a boyfriend, so I say we're even!

School is making me want to go insane, but hopefully it'll get better because of some measures we're trying to take now. I don't know if I can teach at a regular school now, because I've become quite accustomed to kicking out the students who refuse to do their work. It's nice to have an alternative that is supported, I guess. The students in one of my classes have a new trick now. Yep. They like to make popping noises with their mouths so I can't figure out who's doing it. It's like teaching 3rd grade. Ugh.

Well, the title is from that song from Grease. I'll post more when I can!

The seven deadly virtues, those ghastly little traps!

I got this meme from Devon. I thought it was fun, and so I have slowly been doing it throughout the week. Enjoy!

Seven things to do before I die:
1. Live abroad.
2. Teach a strictly literature class.
3. Travel to Prince Edward Island.
4. Write a published book of some sort.
5. Do a lead that I'd love (coughEPONINEcough) in a great and professional-like musical production.
6. Be involved in some political campaign of merit.
7. Dance with grace, style, and skill.

Seven things I cannot do
1. Dive
2. Read music
3. Understand how Hilary Duff ever became famous or popular
4. Speak Italian
5. Drive a stick shift
6. See well without glasses or contacts when driving
7. Realize the appeal of running for fun

Seven things I say most often:
1. Sarcastic answers to questions for the purpose of making people laugh.
2. Guess what my students did today?
3. Oy vey! (I used it a lot during Fiddler, and it just won’t leave my vocabulary!)
4. Here’s the thing . . .
5. Quotes from Shakespeare, Anne of Green Gables, Jane Austen, Gilmore Girls, various movies . . .
6. Carson City is full of hicks!
7. I can’t, I have rehearsal.

Seven books I love:
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Anne of Green Gables
3. Jane Eyre
4. The Chronicles of Narnia
5. Shakespeare’s plays (there are several I read over and over)
6. The Princess Diaries series (hilarious!)
7. Agatha Christie mysteries

(Okay, I realize I wasn’t completely staying true to the requirements of the section, but there are far too many to choose from! Reducing it this much was a hassle.)

Seven movies I watch over and over again:
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Anne of Green Gables
3. Much Ado About Nothing
4. Meet Me in St. Louis
5. Roman Holiday
6. Emma (with Gwenyth Paltrow)
7. Love Actually

My seven most vivid memories
1. At my 8^th grade graduation was when the school decided to give us the awards that weren’t academic. The academic awards and student of the month awards were given at an all school ceremony the last week of school. I had been proud to get my award for Straight A’s, honor roll, Top 20 in Science, History, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, that was all I pretty much expected to have happen. The awards at Graduation were for Lion’s Club, or Valedictorian, or whatever. I planned to kick back and talk with the guys I was sitting between. I gave a half-hearted attempt to listen to the school nurse, who presented the first award. It was the Shirley Baker Humanitarian Award (she’d been a school nurse who had died midway through my 5^th grade year). They announced the winner—it was me! I don’t know if I’ve ever been so shocked or honored in my life! I’ve won other awards in my life, but that one has meant the most to me, because it was an award for my character, not my achievements.

2. The first speech meet of my junior year of high school was such a crazy day! I’d competed on the LJHS speech team my sophomore year and had done okay; not great, but okay. My junior year, I chose a piece very different from my piece my sophomore year. I competed in Drama Interpretation. I felt okay about my piece, but not totally enthused—it was about a baton twirler. Anyway, our first meet was at Wasson High School, in or near Colorado Springs. The meet, in fine Wasson tradition, was running about four hours off schedule. This meant I never bought any lunch, because our next round was supposed to start before our last one let out, and I wasn’t sure that I’d get to really have time to eat before competing. I didn’t want to leave my lunch if I had to go to another round, because A) Cold pizza which isn’t great to start with tastes nastier at a high school event. B) There was a chance that it would not be found in a sea of backpacks, coats, files, etc. C) I liked to eat afterward as kind of reward for my hard work in three rounds. When I came out of my third round, the food had been sold out and was gone. No worries. It was Jenny Jones’s birthday, and we had a cake. Not enough to fill me up, but enough to tide me over. Anyway, they posted the competitors for the final round. I went up to check, because that’s what we would do, but I didn’t expect to see my code. But there it was! And Julie Checketts, another girl from my school, was in it, too! We hurried to the room, because the round tended to start once everyone was there. We each competed, and I did the best I could, considering the stress. I was in with “the best”. Julie, Sean, Kourtney, Juliet, Katie . . . all of us were there. At about 9:30, they started the awards ceremony. I ended up getting 4^th place, I think. Yay! When we tried to go home, we couldn’t. Our bus driver had left around 4, and only told one of the kids, James. Apparently there were mechanical problems, and he was trying to get them fixed. We were all starving, cold, and exhausted. The people running the Wasson meet had to get a van to shuttle us to a Denny’s where we waited for our bus. We didn’t get home until 3 a.m. on Sunday. Oddly enough, the next year, Mrs. Smith didn’t have us go to the Wasson meet . . .

3. During my sophomore year of college, I did what any normal kid does on a Friday night; I was having fun with my friends. When I got back to the dorm, I had a voice mail . . . from my parents. This was odd, since we usually talked on Sunday nights. I could also tell from the tone of my father’s voice that something was genuinely wrong. I called immediately after I woke up fearing for whatever it was that I was going to hear. All semester long, I knew something huge and hard was going to happen to my family. Do you ever get that feeling? You just know something isn’t right, but you don’t know why? Well, I in all my imaginative glory pictured my entire family dying in a car wreck. Hearing my dad’s voice was reassuring. It was November. My parents answered and I asked what was wrong right away. My dad asked how I knew, and my mom said, “Lynette can always tell.” My 17 year old sister was pregnant and due in January. She had just told them that week (though she’d been showing for awhile). They also told me in the same phone call that they intended to move somewhere in the summer—either Arizona or Nevada! Needless to say, both of these pieces of news changed my life in a dramatic way.

4. This event also took place during my sophomore year of college (it was probably the biggest year ever). I was in the Junior Class Play, which was The Night of January 16^th by Ayn Rand. It was a courtroom drama/comedy, and it was such a fun cast to be a part of. Anyway, I played an old Swedish maid whose belief in religious justice could probably make Jonathon Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” look like the 23^rd psalm. I had been the maid of the murdered man. Anyway, my testimony during the play could “make or break” the case, and it was one of those shows where the jury is picked from the audience. Because I had so much information, I would often run lines during intermission with the two lawyers, Jen Hill and Cory Schmidt. Cory and I really made a point to do this, because my testimony helped with her case and I had so much evidence for the case. Our final performance had a dead audience, and I knew my character was funny enough to bring them to life. I asked Cory if she was ready to run lines, and she said, “Nah. We’ve done a pretty good job with it.” Okay by me! When it got to our scene, Cory didn’t say two words put together that were in the script!!!!!!!!! It was so thrilling and scary at the same time. It got so bad that she said, “So . . . January 16^th was the night he got married, right?” “NO! That the night he DIED!” There were even parts where I knew my testimony was crucial to later testimonies, so I had to say things like, “I want to tell you something,” all the while trying to get the poor girl back on track. My heart was literally pounding as I left the witness stand for that performance.

5. My senior year of college was quite an exciting year for me. I did deal with bouts of loneliness/feeling left out and plenty of self doubt as to whether I was cut out for this senior project thing or teaching thing. However, most of it had a golden ring around it. I remember at the end of the year being so excited about London, but knowing I had to make the most of every day because life was going to be vastly different soon. On one of my last days, we had the Dooley Banquet. I was a sophomore girl’s R.A. that year, and it was truly an amazing wing of girls I had. I was feeling sad because I was going to miss them a lot, and they ambushed me! The girls got together and got me some amazing gifts and a card which I’ve kept in a scrapbook I specifically created for my experience as an R.A. I loved those girls so much, and it surprised me how much I meant to them.

6. The third and final semester of my senior year of college, I was broke. I mean, the if-I-found-10- cents-on-the-ground,-I-considered-myself-fortunate kind of broke. I was trying to find a job at first, but then I got the massive piles of grading that squelched that plan. I literally would get home about 4:00, have a quick dinner, and sit until 10-11 at night grading. Weekends were great, because I didn’t have to go to school, and I could concentrate on teaching. I could sit and grade. On a good weekend, I would put in my 3 or so hours of time set painting for the Fall play (because I wanted to honor my drama scholarship requirements) as a break, and go to church as a break. If I could finish up on Saturday night, then I could do my homework for the classes we had to take on Mondays, and give myself a couple of free hours to play. On a good weekend. Anyway, I was broke, and my parents weren’t helping me out that semester for NNU. I had a couple of scholarships, but it wasn’t enough to pay for the semester. I remember doing some heavy duty praying and constantly e-mailing my Financial Aide advisor. I finally was able to go in (school had let out early, and I’d made a point to get to school earlier so I could leave earlier) and Wes and I got to work. I sat there for a good 1 ½-2 hours. He came up with THREE different scholarships for me, and was able to get my drama scholarship increased by $1,000!!!!!!!!! I didn’t owe a single penny for that semester. It was truly phenomenal. I will never forget that time, because it was a miracle I witnessed and realized at the time—something that rarely occurs in one’s life. My parents had been freaking out, but for some reason I remained calm. God takes care of people; no one can tell me otherwise!

7. During my freshmen year of college, I made a lot of friends. There was a girl who’d moved onto our Morrison wing from a Ford wing mid-way through the year. I got to be her friend—not a great friend, but friends nonetheless. She was quirky; one thing I won’t forget. She had a pet guinea pig that the school let her keep. She had a leash for it and would “walk” it around the dorm. It was quite hilarious to witness. The more I got to know her, the more I realized how different we were. She was kind of wild. Did the drugs, did the alcohol, did the sneaking out of the dorm, or sneaking guys into the dorm thing. I didn’t, because I’m a perpetual goody two-shoes. But we became friends. I learned that she’d been moved to our wing because she was friends with our R.A., and this girl had issues—she’d run into the middle of the street next to the school trying to commit suicide was the rumor; she told me it was a reaction to her anti-depressants. Anyway, we would talk late into the night quite a bit. One night, she looked straight at me and said, “I wish I were more like you.” Huh? She was popular. At that time I wasn’t. She had a ton of friends, I was still very introverted around my classmates (until the end of the year when I said, “I want to change!”). Why did she want to be like me? I asked her, and was surprised at her response. “Because you see the person. You don’t look at the drugs, or whatever. You get to know them, and befriend them. You don’t judge me. You don’t seem to judge others. I want to be like you.” That shook me up and it made me very aware of myself and how I wanted to be.

The title comes from the song, "The Seven Deadly Virtues" from the musical Camelot. Hope you enjoyed it!

Traveling all around

Well, I love SEATTLE!!!!!!!!!! Particularly when it takes me away from Carson City in truly nasty weather. Apparently I missed some serious flooding, mudslides, and major snowing. I came back just in time for more "warm" weather. Couldn't have planned it better if I tried!

Esther and I had a grand time living it up in Seattle and Tacoma. I've never been to that part of Washington (I think the one year I was in Northwesterners was the one time they didn't go!) and I love it. I love being that close to the ocean and artsy things and green and the mountains and the shopping and the wonderful bookstore Esther took me to and the range of food and . . . sigh.

So the rest of my vacation is shaping up. I have three tests tomorrow morning that should take about 4 1/2 hours I'm told. One on Saturday that should be about two hours. I've mostly cleaned my room (It's a matter of trekking over to the other side of the parking lot to the dumpster) and realized yet again that I truly need another bookshelf but have nowhere to put one at the present. Drat!

I'm determined that part of my New Year's resolution will involve more travelling this year. I love it too much to quit! And now I can afford it a little easier.

The title comes from the pre-Broadway tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie from the song "Stumbling". Happy New Year 2006!!!!!

Happy Almost New Year . . .

Sooooooooo Christmas was wonderful. I mean it! It was probably the best one I've had in years. It was better than feeling lousy and playing games at my parents' house with just Janina. It beat driving over ten hours both ways to get to San Diego, sitting in the back seat and feeling like a seven year old again. Yes, it was wonderful! I spent Christmas Eve at my parents' home. We went to church on Christmas Eve as opposed to getting up early on Christmas morning. We drove around looking at lights after dinner at El Charro's (unfortunately the waitress who seems to enjoy not charging me for my food wasn't our server). We opened our gifts.

On Christmas, we opened our stockings. We lounged around, and then we had dinner in Carson at Uncle Jacque and Aunt Laurie's. MMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!! Good food; I'm glad I'm blessed enough to be surrounded by family members who can cook!

All in all, Christmas was relaxing. That's my favorite type. Especially since school got out on the 21st (but we don't go back until the 9th!), and it was relatively hectic! I have no grading though--HUZZAH! I have an eye appointment tomorrow. I'm signed up for the three computer Praxis exams next Wednesday. I have the English pedagogy Praxis on the 7th. I'm visiting Seattle from tomorrow until Jan. 2nd. Yay! I've never been there! I'll be visiting another NNUite, Esther! The one who told me once, "Lynette, you have the best table dancing hair I've ever seen!" Uh, thanks? It's on my list of weird compliments, which I seem prone to getting.

Oh! Last night I saw The Producers! I laughed harder than I think I ever have in the movie theater before. Oh my goodness--anyone at all interested in theatre should see it! Uma Thurman's singing left much to be desired, but other than that everyone was wonderful! So funny, so very, very funny . . .

I hope everyone else had a good Christmas, and will have a great New Year's. The title comes from the song, "Merry Almost-Christmas," from A Year With Frog and Toad. Janina did that this month, and it's adorable, at TMCC. She's going to be Little Becky Two-Shoes in Urinetown with them in March. I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!

Oh what a show!

So . . . . our play was a smash hit!!!!!!! HUZZAH!!!!!!!!! It’s been 2 years since I’ve directed something, and I was nervous. And to direct kids is an incredible feat; I challenge anyone to try it without tearing hair out. No, in actuality, we had a great cast who got along fairly well. We had our backstage drama (like the kid who was Ralph putting safety pins through his lip, tongue, etc. and making our Gladys feel queasy the rest of the night), but it was relatively minor.

And we had mostly full audiences. Friday we had about five seats left, Sat. afternoon, I took one, Sat. evening, about three, and Sunday matinee none! Sunday was the true miracle because we had a snowstorm and honestly considered canceling the show. I’m so glad we didn’t.

We had a great response from every audience, too. I mean GREAT!!!!!!!! Jessica and her family came from Kansas, and we were able to put Leigha (my 5 year old niece) into the show on Sat. night—she was so excited. She kept meeting people in the cast and saying, “I’m the new baby angel!” Anyway, back on track, I’ve done this show A LOT!!!!!! Our church in California did it every five years. When I was 13 our church did it AND my school did it; within a week of each other. Many of us were in both productions. So I’ve been in the show three times, and I’ve directed a scene from it before, too. You’d think I’d be sick of a play that I memorized 12 years ago and haven’t forgotten, but nope!

My dad was so funny. He told me that when he heard I was directing this, he thought, “Man, I have to see it again?” He told me when it was over that it was very funny and he enjoyed it. The thing is my dad will encourage me and support me all the time. But if he came up and said, “Good job kiddo!” that’s all I would have expected from him. The fact that he said it was funny and he enjoyed it was a true compliment.

And so now, since I’m feeling nostalgic about it, here are some highlights that I loved:

~Lissa Baker. Period. We threw her in as a nurse, and then asked her to play an angel during the “pageant” so she could help the kids we had sign “Silent Night” during the “pageant”. She stepped in as a fireperson, too. Every time she was onstage, I was cracking up. As the nurse, begging Mrs. Armstrong to take the pill and finally popping it herself, to being the fireperson saying, “Don’t worry; we’re professionals,” to her singing off-key and loud for the pageant! Thank you Lissa.

~Mikayla running up and hugging us with such enthusiasm all the time, and always remembering her lines—not everyone can do that at 6!

~Tessa and Emily for watching Mikayla and Charlie backstage, and for being so funny with their “twinness” and “crushes on Charlie (the character, not the 5 year old)”.

~My niece for being so dang cute and singing “Silent Night” with “Round young merciful and child,” instead of the actual lyrics. She was also very good backstage I heard.

~All the kids and adults for having fun with their characters and doing a good job at them.

~Dave Anderson for playing for the “pageant”.

~Ashlee never missing a line or cue, nor complaining about walking even though she had knee surgery in October—that girl was determined to do a good job, and she did! I also loved her line, “And arriving from the East, like my uncle from New Jersey, the wisemen . . .”

~Warren for being the “Hip Christian Father” and going all out for it. Leoney and Liz laughed when he walked onstage in his Christmas sweaters and khakis—It’s the first time I’ve seen him genuinely wear things like that. He’s the king of black pants, a Batman t-shirt, and a black vest. Yay Warren!

~Stephanie for doing the show even though it wasn’t up her alley.

Thank you cast, I love you!

The title comes from Evita from the song, "Oh What a Circus!"

You'll fall asleep, counting your blessings!

Sorry, I guess I haven't felt much like writing. Plus I lacked the time. Plus my internet connection sucks!!!! Plus I didn't want to whine; which is probably what I would've been doing.

So, for a quick update (the icky stuff):
~I couldn't take the Nevada Constitution test on the day offered for $15, because I was on Vicodin. I didn't trust myself to drive it or to take it under the influence. Dumb absessed tooth!!!
~So now I have to take it for $65 instead (blech).
~My Praxis test started at 2:15 on Nov. 19. Our only Saturday Matinee was at 2:00 on the same day, and I found out a week and a half in advance. So,
~Our director asked her daughter to do it. Maria agreed, IF she could have another performance, too.
~I had to give up Friday the 18! :( I've never had to do this before, so I was more than a little upset by it, but I couldn't do anything else.
~The financial backers for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever decided they didn't like some things (easily fixable and minor in my eyes), so they backed out and we weren't sure we could put it on! Luckily, Chris and I were able to talk John (the Executive Director of the BAC) into it. Phew! It would have been awful, but having to tell 20 or so kids that all their work was in vain was my personal idea of Hell on earth. Can you imagine the looks? How crushed they'd be? I get shivers thinking of it. Forget about the work I've done, it would be murder on them, and some of them may never want to try it again!
~The kids at school have had a real turnaround for the worse at school. I am so exhausted/drained/etc. every day. I'm so glad I have other things to keep me going!

That's it in a short blip. These things all happened in less than a month. It felt like getting slammed from every direction. I'm recovering. Thank God for prayer, tears for stress relief, good friends, family, movies, music, and books! These pulled me through!

And now it's all about the Spice Chai, Christmas music, and warming devices! Speaking of which, I'm cold! I hope all of you are doing very well with a wonderfully relaxing break just around the corner!

The title is from Irving Berlin's "Count Your Blessings" song. I love it when Bing Crosby sings it to Rosemary Clooney in White Christmas. It's a happy thing!

The future wasn't bright.

Sorry, once again, I'm sorry!!! It's not that I don't want to update, I promise. No, I just can't at work, and my internet at home is doing this ridiculously slow and never quite right thing. Gah!

Have you ever had a bad day? Have you ever had a bad day that turned into a week? Have you ever had a bad week turn into three? This isn't my first time, but it has been awhile. I've just had a lot of stressfull little things to deal with a lot lately, as well as some pretty big things coming my way since THE TOOTH!!!! Oi vey. Job stuff, friend stuff, financial stuff, theatre stuff, church stuff; you name it, I think I'm going through it.

But, there are positive things as well. Like my five year old niece Leigha, who's in her first play! The Missoula Children's Theatre is out in Kansas this week, and Leigha's one of the 40 some who made the show out of the 100+ kids there. That's my 5 year old niece for you! She got on the phone to tell me, "Aunt Lynette, I'm in a play and I'm a SKUNK!!!!!!!!" Those people have no idea what they're in for! She'll be great!

And then there's one of the 400 Kaitlyns in Fiddler with me. She asked me to answer some questions about Feminism for her (my opinion) for an English paper she's writing. It was fun! I wrote it out today. I think there were 10 questions, not necessarily long answers, but I took 5 pages to tell her what my thoughts were. I miss that intellectual stimulation I had in college. I should take classes just to keep my brain in gear for when I finally make it to grad school. Plus, I imagine the stress would be off if I could only do one class at a time.

And I saw Noises Off at UNR last night. I love that play! Hana was Brooke, the ditz, and Kirk was Freddy. They were both great! My advice to all readers: WATCH THE MOVIE OR THE PLAY ASAP!!!!!!!!! Even if you're not in theatre, it's about the funniest thing written. It's by Michael Frayn.

I chose the lyrics from the song "Good Morning," which is most famously used in Singing in the Rain. I keep hoping it is. The future I mean; I hope it's bright. Right now I could really use it.

You'll be a dentist!

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I've incredibly busy and in considerable pain. Ugh. It's not my favorite feeling in the world, to be sure. Well, here it goes:

Disneyland was a blast. I would suggest to everyone that if you can get there this year, GO!!!!!!!! As always, DCA and Disneyland were fun. However, since it's the 50th year, it's really fun. They are selling golden Mickey ears. The castle is cool (I'll try to post my picture of it later). The Parade of Dreams was fun--Julie Andrews was the narrator for it. The fireworks were AMAZING!!!!!!!!! I've never been a big one for fireworks, but I'm glad I didn't miss these!

So we open on Saturday for Fiddler. And the pain I referred to earlier can actually pose a problem for then. Last weekend my face grew--on the same side and much the same way as it did when Weston punched my chin during BATB in May. Since Friday was the day Nevada Day was observed, I spent it with my family. My face was growing, and we thought it may be an absess (sp?) tooth.

I called my parents' dentist over the weekend and left a message. I've not been to a dentist in at least 5 years! My teeth are in horrendous condition. I was so nervous, for some reason dentists freak me out more than just about anything! I hadn't gone before because I had no good dental insurance through CCS (the beauty of a Christian school--no insurance). Now that I work in the Carson City School District, lucky me! I have benefits, so now I feel a little more at ease about going . . . but not much.

I couldn't get in until Tuesday. So I took off half a day on Tuesday to go. Yes, it was an absess tooth. No, the dentist could not do anything about it then, because it was so far gone. So she tried to get me into the oral surgeon on Tuesday as well. But he was busy. So, Dr. McElhany prescribed some penicillin for the infection, and I got an appointment for Wednesday.

I took yesterday off. When I learned that I wasn't getting in until the afternoon, I took Thursday and Friday off. I didn't know what painkillers I'd be on or anything.

The procedure yesterday took about 15 minutes . . . and they didn't have to do it through surgery!!! HUZZAH!!!!!!!!!!! It hurt like crazy, but hey, I've been through worse. I'm on vicodin. I hurt and feel a little icky. I can't drive because of the drowsy side effect.

People have been wonderful, and I was able to do okay at rehearsal last night. I was even able to adlib for people who weren't onstage! Go me.

So, that's what life is like at the moment. I'm exhausted and just got sick. I don't think I had anything substantial enough with my last vicodin. I wouldn't recommend it.

The title is from a song by the same title from Little Shop of Horrors.

Happiness is singing together when day is through, and happiness is those who sing with you!

Life is good. School is good. Family is good. Friends are good. What more is there?

I'm getting to be at the end of the quarter/semester this week. My grades have to be in by Thursday. Why? 'Cause I'm going to Disneyland, and I'm staying with Kelsey and Halley. I love those two more than avacados. I'm sure they'd be flattered to know this, but it's true!!!!

I've also discovered a wonderful place to break my fast in the morning. I love the City Cafe' Bakery in Carson. Mmmm . . . good food and a relatively pleasant atmosphere. But, I've discovered that breakfast consisting of an apple croissant and their chai tea is about as close to heaven as one can get. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had it this morning--it was well worth it! Come visit and I promise you a trip to this delicious place.

Caitlyn Papp and I are directing The Best Christmas Pageant Ever this December and we had auditions on Saturday morning. I am excited, for it shall be fun. We had a good group of people show up, too. Good times.

I am a happy camper. Yes indeedy, I am!

The lyrics come from "Happiness" from You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

I couldn't be happier

I just wanted to post and declare to the world that Chris is about the nicest person in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!! He "owed" me a surprise (sometimes when we play games, we'll say, "Okay, if I win, you'll pay for a movie," or something. I owe him a ticket to see a show). I said it didn't have to be big, just something I'd like. It could have been anything; have a picnic, plan a fun day, a card he made, etc. I wasn't going to be picky. Just wanting a surprise.

I got it. Today. I'm still thrilled!!!!!!!

He got me something I've been drooling over for several months anytime I went to Borders in Carson (because why go to Borders in Reno? There's a Barnes and Noble, which I infinitely prefer!). Are you ready for this? Okay, here was my surprise: A complete set of an unabriged reading of The Chronicles of Narnia books--all 7 of them! Plus, they're read by amazing performers! Check this out: The Magician's Nephew performed by Kenneth Branaugh, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe performed by Michael York, The Horse and His Boy performed by Alex Jennings (who I saw as Professor Higgens in My Fair Lady in London and was AMAZING!!!!!!!!), Prince Caspian performed by Lynn Redgrave, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader performed by Derek Jacobi, The Silver Chair performed by Jeremy Northam, and The Last Battle performed by Patrick Stewart. I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I began listening to The Magician's Nephew on my way to Dayton this morning, and am at the point about where Digory is about to follow Polly with the rings.

See why Chris is my favorite right now? I hope he got a good deal on them. I know that the cost is much cheaper than what it could be (it says so on the box), but I still hope he got a good deal on them.

Talk about a surprise! I like his surprises.

Oh, and if you're in the area, go see his production of The Last Five Years at the BAC. The music of this show is phenomenal (Even if you don't live around here, pick up a CD. Jason Robert Brown is such an incredible composer!). Yes this is a shameless plug, but I know the show's incredible, Andie and Josh are gifted, and Chris directed and produced it. Plus, it's helping to raise money for the BAC, so they can put on more great theatre, concerts, art exhibits, etc.

The title comes from the song "Thank Goodness" from Wicked.

The party's over . . .

Well, CFY is over, and a heck of a lot of fun! I finally have a digital camera, folks! So, I've taken some pictures--not a ton, and certainly not all of my friends are in these pictures. I love you, cast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At some point, I hope to put them all in one post, but for now this will have to suffice! There are 13 pictures in all, and none of them come out as well on blogger as they do on the camera and my photo program on the computer. :( Enjoy them!

BTW, the title comes from the song "The Party's Over" from Bells are Ringing.


Josh is exhausted from tapping for 2 1/2 hours. We all deserved a break after the show!

Chris hugs me after the show . . . and claims he's smiling! I beg to differ. 

Jessica is readying herself to be a stunning girl and dancer! 

Bubba loves the camera . . . and Avenue Q!!! 

Stephanie and I are all smiles after a fun show. 

Josh and I were going to enjoy a night on the town to Gershwin's Concerto in F. 

Uptown girls! 

Gonna slap that bass during "rehearsal" with the boys!