Reassembly: Complete!

This morning Jason and I left the house at 6am and braved the semi-intense snowfall to get to his mom's house for our family Thanksgiving celebration. The girls (as you should know) have been there since Wednesday so it was great to see them again. I don't know if they were quite as happy as we were, since Grandma has like, 12 horses, but they seemed at least a tiny bit glad to see us again. Sheila and I went to Wal-Mart to get some last minute things and on the way down I saw a McCain/Palin poster, only someone had cut out the McCain part of it. That was pretty much super amusing. We got home, finished the meal, and we all sat down to the table to enjoy a nice, albeit belated, Thanksgiving meal. After dinner we decorated the tree and Brianna got bored about 10 minutes in. Great......we haven't got our tree up yet, what's she gonna do then? This is us in front of the tree just after it was decorated. If you look just to the right of the tree you'll see an oil painting portrait of a young girl holding a cat. That's Sheila when she was nine years old. The ones above the fireplace are Paul and Rita, her older siblings. There are also portraits of Paul Sr. and Betty, Jason's maternal grandparents. I think it's really neat that they had portraits done, especially since there's another of Sheila from when she's about 18 as well. She's standing in front of a horse, it's beautiful. About three thirty we left. The snow was starting to come down pretty hard and we wanted to get home before the roads iced over. When we got to Kansas City it slowed then stopped, yay! Safe driving is happy driving. I had Jason drop me off at the Westport Coffeehouse and I caught most of the Sketchy Thoughts rehearsal for the evening. We ran through the show twice, which is great since the show is next week. It's going to be an absolute blast, I'm really excited. When I got home I Dream of Jeannie was just about to come on, so Jason and I curled up comfortably on the couch to watch. Home sweet home, and everyone in the family back under one roof. *contented sigh*

What's in your head?

Today was pretty much pure bliss. I decided I would sleep until I woke up naturally, so at the crack of one pm I was up. Blame it on the cloudy skies outside, whatever, it was amazing. I had a nice leisurely lunch (well, what was I supposed to have? Breakfast?) and went downtown. I decided I would go to a few vintage shops, since I could browse without fear of children thinking they were hilarious for completely disappearing into clothing racks full of irreplaceable items that will, in fact, soil when touched by sticky little hands. (not that I let my kids go without washing their hands, but for whatever reason, they always manage to have peanut butter on them when hanging around expensive/one of a kind items.) After hitting four stores and browsing to my heart's content, I decided to do something I have never done before. I went to a coffee shop BY MYSELF and read for an hour. I go to coffee shops all the time, but I'm either with someone or I'm in a hurry to get somewhere. Today I decided I was just going to chill. It was wonderful. By the time I finished my mocha and decided it was time to skeedaddle, I had just enough time to get home, get ready, and leave with Jason for the theater. We had two really solid shows and it was an absolute blast. Weird coincidence, though, a guy had come to the classes earlier that day. Apparently he used to be in Funny Outfit waaaaaaaaay back in the day with Trish and Guy and all the improv masters of Kansas City. He also used to work at the airport with Jason! In fact, he's the guy that found the iPod and gave it to Jason to give to me. Funnily enough, before I knew he was the guy that found it, during the show I brought up the fact that my iPod had been found on an airplane. What are the odds? Seriously! So they talked for a while and the guy stayed through the second show then he and Jason exchanged numbers so they could stay in touch. After the shows Jason and I went to Yard House. They have half price appetizers on Saturday nights. Mmm.... It was so great. I've really, really enjoyed the last several days.

P.S.-First snow of the season today. Yay!

Home field advantage

This morning I faced down one of my greatest fears-large masses of people, single mindedly bent on the same prize as I. That's right. For the first time in my life I went Black Friday shopping. (ker-POW-ow-ow....) Usually when I get stuff for Christmas, I avoid things that most people are getting for one another, simply because my family doesn't need or want those things, and by Thanksgiving I'm usually done with the bulk of my shopping anyhow. This year was no exception on that front, but this year......this year I was after THE gift. A gift of such maximum awesomeness that those who behold it in all it's glory Christmas morning will weep from the sheer beauty of it's majesty. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what it is, because Jason is the only member of my immediate family who reads my blog. Last night I carefully set the stage, and this morning at 4:35 I was out of bed like a bullet fired from a gun. First stop, the kitchen, to flick the switch on the coffee maker, which I had set the night before. Then, leaving my pajamas on, I threw on a sweater, coat, and shoes. I filled my carafe, grabbed a book, and I was out the door before Jason got up for work at 4:45. I arrived at Target a few minutes later. The line was already pretty long and I had scoped the store Wednesday night before they closed. I knew full well they only had 20 of the item I was after. A voice in the back of my head told me to just go home, but, determined, I parked (pretty close, actually!) and walked toward the familiar red building. I took my place in line, cracked open my book, and snuggled up with my coffee. Not long after that several people began leaving the line. Apparently they thought the store opened at 5 instead of 6. Sweet. I moved up several feet. A news chopper flew overhead just before the store opened and it was then I realized that I was close to the front of a line that literally wrapped around the building! At 6 they opened the doors and we were off! Store clerks were standing just inside with an army of shopping carts. They'd throw one out and someone would catch it without even breaking stride! The mass of people headed off toward the back of the store (and I knew we were after the same item, it was all anyone could talk about!) but I knew my way around and headed off at Children's Clothing Pass, leaped a clothing rack and sprinted through the toy department until, behold, I was standing in front of my prey. There were three racks holding said object and most people were swarming the top two, so, still sprinting, I ducked down, grabbed one off the bottom shelf, and did an abrupt u-turn to the checkout counter. Another shopper was checking out at the same time as I, and with an identical object in his basket. We grinned at one another as I headed toward the exit. People were still swarming into the building as I left and they were locking and unlocking the doors to let people out so no one would try to squeeze in the exit. I walked, triumphant, back to my car. Some other would-be shoppers were standing near as I skipped through the parking lot, and one of them remarked, "Oh, she's happy, look at her!" It was only then that I realized I was literally chuckling to myself in a self-satisfied (and maybe a little smug) manner. I forced myself to be less creepy. I drove home, victorious, and went right back to sleep. During the afternoon I got all dolled up (I straightened my hair!) and Jason and I went to John and Denise's for an after Thanksgiving party. We had a good time watching TMX Elmo have a seizure on the coffee table. Have you seen that thing? It's like.....creepy entertaining! We were only able to stay for about an hour before heading off to the Westport Coffeehouse to see Tantrum and The Union. (Tantrum=improv comedy from KC, The Union=sketch comedy from Chicago) It was a stellar show, I laughed so hard. We all went to McCoy's afterward and boguarded the big room with the round tables so we could sit rather than hang out around the bar. Jason and I split a "Juicy Lucy." I'd heard of them from Jill Bernard, but never had one. It's a cheeseburger with the cheese INSIDE the burger. Oh man, it was greasy, heavenly goodness.

Food for thank

I tried to find one picture from today that completely encapsulated the spirit that is the great American Thanksgiving. Did I do a good job? In my quest to make a blogular time capsule of my life in 2008, there are very few pictures that I've taken that can be considered "timeless." I do believe this is one of them, and if it were black and white, it could very well have been taken in the 1930's for all you know...if you replace the paper plate with something slightly more permanent such as an actual plate. (Who wants all those dishes? Yurcch!) I went to Joe and Cherie's house at noon today and there was, what else, food, conversation, games, good friends, and warm feelings. After dinner we took a nice, long hike through the woods and up a couple HUGE hills. While we were entrenched in the wilderness we stumbled upon a ravine with some rusted metal stuck in it. Upon closer examination, the rusted metal was actually a really old car that looked as though a flood had overtaken it at one point and it was now stuck in the side of a hill with a tree growing right through the middle of it. How cool is that? We walked a bit further and found it's liscence plate embedded in the trunk of a tree, only a small corner visible. The plate was rusted and there was no paint on it, but the embossed letters clearly read, "Kansas 42." Awesome. We returned to the house and snacked on leftovers and had some pie. A little later Jason showed up, straight from work. He had his food and we all went upstairs to play games. My favorite was "Pictionary Telephone." Everyone writes a phrase or an action on a piece of paper then passes it to their right. That person then takes the phrase and draws a picture portraying it, then you pass the paper to the right again. You then look at what the person has drawn and write what you think is happening in the picture, then pass it again. After about three or four rounds of this you look at them all to see what has been drawn and written. It was great! My favorite was the one where someone had written, "I just stepped on a frog." The drawing was of a person stepping on a frog. From there, someone else wrote, "A frog getting stepped on." The drawing for that was of a disheveled looking stick figure standing on a frog. The next words were, "A hippie squishing a frog." This was mine to draw. I drew a guy with round mirrored glasses, a bandanna, long hair and a fringed vest. Peace sign on one hand, the other was a fist clenched around a frog, eyes bulging. There was stuff flying in the air, and the word, "SPLUUURGH!" Written in the air above. The last phrase said, "Hippie Dippie." About that time I did what I'm famous for. Something clumsy. This time I spilled an entire styrofoam cup of hot coffee all over myself, and it was time to leave. We said goodbye to our friends who so graciously opened their home to us, and I drove home like a madwoman to expedite the process of getting into pajamas and washing my soiled clothing.

Elipses...

Today I took the girls to Joanne's to get some green felt. I have two elf costumes to make! (Leigha did get a singing part, by the way) While we were out I thought I'd look for a sweater to go with a skirt I made. I want to wear the skirt to a couple post Thanksgiving parties we've been invited to and I wanted a basic cream colored v-neck sweater to go with it. Apparently that's a difficult item to find, short of dropping a load of money at J Crew or whatever. I went to Old Navy, Kohls, and then Target. Frustrated, I took the girls home, put Bri down for her nap and had some coffee. While she was asleep I looked at the JC Penney's website (I was determined. All the shops are going to be closed tomorrow, after all, and I want to wear this stuff Friday.) and found one that looked about right. Success! So after Bri woke up we went and I ended up snagging a cream colored sweater. About time! It's so hard to find basic stuff when you're looking with a specific style in mind. (Am I right, ladies? And what's the deal with airline peanuts?) Tonight Jason met his mom halfway between our houses to drop off the girls. Tim is going to be at her place and he wanted to see the girls and she's off the rest of the week, so they offered to take the kids off our hands. We think it's a great plan and since we'll be going down there Sunday it works out well for all of us. I went to rehearsal while he met up with her, and after he was done he came to the theater for the "post show we usually play games right now but tonight we're talking" gathering. It was really great having him there with us. I love hanging out with my friends but it was so much better being able to have Jason there as well. He enjoyed himself as well.

Thank you for reading between the lines.

I had a rough morning today. I got some unpleasant news just as I was really beginning my day and it pretty much tainted the rest of the day for me. Jason is awesome, though, and asked what I wanted to do to kind of shake it off. I asked him to take me to the Nelson Atkins museum of art. We went, and it was great, just, you know, CLOSED on Tuesdays. Dangnabbit. So we walked through the garden and teased the modern art sculptures, which is always fun. They're handy for relieving stress. Since we were right there we also hit the Plaza, which I just love. Brianna had to use the bathroom while we were in Pottery Barn so we went to the Gap, which is just two doors down and I know where the bathroom is in the building. As we were walking through I decided to check out the women's jeans since I just ruined my favorite pair (fyi-don't accidentally kneel on paint can lids. I'm just sayin'.) I've been wanting a pair that were medium blue with wide cuffs. As we were walking out...there they were. Beautiful, shiny, half off, and, oh yeah, MY SIZE! I grabbed them and started toward a fitting room. Jason looked at me like, "?" and I said, "Don't stop me, this could be denim destiny!" I went to the fitting room and tried them on. Ladies, you all know what it's like to find THE jeans. Comfy, not too tight, make you look skinny, and no muffin top whatsoever. Oh yeah, these were THE jeans all right. (half off, HALF OFF!) So we got them, putting a sizeable dent into the gloom clouding my day. (That's right, y'all. You can take my happy for a little while but I got some awesome jeans today, so there! In your face!) This evening Jason took the girls to their rehearsal while I went to mine. It was fun and we worked on some good stuff. As we were walking out I started talking with Jen about my frustrations and she suggested we get some coffee and talk about it, so I let Jason know and off we went. It was so, so good to talk with her about stuff. She is such a great friend and I really, really needed someone to talk to. Thanks for listening, Jen, you helped more than you know. I feel so lucky to have such great people in my life.

Why the Grinch stole Christmas.

Tonight was the girls' first rehearsal for the Christmas show. They are both going to be elves. Aww! Leigha tried out for a vocal solo tonight too, but we don't know yet if she got one. We dropped them off at the theater then went to the store to grab some milk, bread, and time without the kids, then went back to get them. When we walked into the theater all the kids were sitting on benches and the stage, being read to by a middle aged couple (I'm guessing they're Santa and Mrs. Claus.) Brianna saw us and immediately started waving and making faces at us. Oh boy. This bodes well for her behavior opening night...we tried to explain to her after they were done that you have to behave a certain way on stage but she was too wound up to listen. Perhaps we'll talk to her BEFORE rehearsal tomorrow.

Am I harring this correctly?

This afternoon was a special "we only have two weeks before the show and oh yeah, we should probably run through it once or twice" rehearsal for Sketchy Thoughts. It was pretty intense, we ran the whole show, some sketches several times over. This is a picture of Clay and Joe Henley. Clay is interviewing Joe for an accounting position but he keeps mixing "accountants" with "trout" in his mind. It's quite funny, even with the absurdly wacky premise. One of the sketches we ran over and over and over and over was one with me and Joe. I'm at my "husband's" funeral and at a couple points I become hysterical and Joe slaps me to snap me out of it. The stage hit is a fine art in and of itself, especially when you factor in exact comedic timing. He must have smacked me across the face about 30 times (Not once did it hurt, mind you) before we finally got everything exactly the way it needed to be. After a while we realized how odd the situation was. *SLAP!* Me: "Arrgh! No, that's not it!" Joe: "Yeah, I know. Wait, what if I hit you like this?" "Oh, yeah, and I could really lean into it, that would be great! Hit me!" Wow. I'm well adjusted, right? Right? Anyhow, yeah, by the time we were done everyone was pretty happy with the show. I'm really looking forward to performing this thing.

2 cute 2 be 4 gotten

Today was one of those days where the second my feet hit the carpet they took off running. *whew!* The girls auditioned for a Christmas play today. Yes, both of them. This is going to be Brianna's first play! It's basically one of those things where if you show up you're in it, but they both tried out for speaking parts. Brianna tried out for the role of a shepherd and she was actually semi-audible 3/4 of the way back! I'm so proud of her. She was even doing her "I'm pretending I'm shy, look how cute I am!" Routine. Leigha tried for a couple parts too and she did a pretty good job of speaking up as well. After the auditions were over we went to the airport to have lunch with Jason. I had a ton of stuff in my arms as I walked in from the parking lot, including my lunch, so I was only able to hold the girls' hands with one of my hands. They didn't mind sharing, though, and the action induced much giggling. We got down to the mechanic shop and I set my stuff down, only to discover that I had dropped my sandwich somewhere between my car and the shop. Gentleman that he is (and knowing I would not be able to get back into the secure area without him) Jason decided to retrace my steps all the way back to my car, but alas, my poor sandwich was nowhere to be found. I had a delicious lunch of an apple and two crackers, followed by consoletory Starbucks. I can't believe I dropped my sandwich, I feel so stupid (and amused at myself). After lunch I went to Alanna's and the kiddos played while we talked. She invited Jason and I over for dinner, so Jason swung by after work. We had a lovely dinner and we watched Wall-E, which was really really cute. By the time we finally got home Spartacus was pretty happy to see us. Poor kitty. We'll pet him into a coma tomorrow to make up for it.

Sensitivity FAIL!

Yesterday at the sale I found a bunch of old patterns, mostly children's styles. They were like a quarter each so I grabbed a bunch that I liked and got them. I was going through them to see what I had, and to my shock (and supreme amusement) I saw this one. Did you miss it? Read what the top of the pattern says. That's right, "Adaptable for chubbies." I can just imagine what the modern shopper would say if she came across this in the Simplicity catalogue today. "How dare they, she's big boned (etc.)" I just can't believe that at one time it was perfectly acceptable to mass produce something so brutally honest. Take that, PC age. (not the computers, you Mac users, get over yourselves. Elitist snobs.) Jason did a couple hours of overtime today and we didn't get around to having dinner until nearly 7:30, which made the entire evening feel odd and abbreviated. Interesting how just an hour and a half can throw every other thing off like that. On the bright side, I finished the dress I've been working on and it came out pretty darned cute! I can't wait to premier it. (shaddup, I can call it what I want.)

Everything, everything will be all right, all right

Today I went to a sale in the vicinity of my good friend Amie H, so I called her up and asked if she wanted to get together for coffee. She was free, so we got together for coffee...then we went grocery shopping.....then we had lunch. All in all, the "quick coffee" turned into about a four and a half hour hangout. That's still better than the record setting "swing by for lunch" that turned into five days. (car trouble, Christmas time, flights are full, you get the picture.) It was great. I really wish we lived closer. This evening was Leigha's Thanksgiving production (curse the darkness of the picture!) She had some lines and she delivered them perfectly without the flat tone some kids get when reciting. Wonder where she picked up that skill? It was really really amusing to see the army of parents stand up in unison to ready the camcorders. I actually got a picture of that, too, it's very funny. I understand the why, but the follow through is still amusing. We took the girls out for ice cream afterward and when we got home they were both shivering. They didn't seem to mind horribly, though.

Boxes, ribbons, and bows

Today I spent a good chunk of the afternoon wrapping Christmas presents. I only have a few more to get and I like to have the bulk of them wrapped pretty early so as to prevent "accidental" discoveries. The remaining few things will be wrapped as I acquire them. Tonight was the Thanksgiving dinner at church and there was a plethora of delicious delicacies from which to choose. (I decided to make the previous sentence slightly more cumbersome than it really had to be. Why not?) There had been a sign up sheet the week before, to designate who would bring what, but by the time it finally got around to me EVERYTHING had been signed up for, so I took one of the remaining slots not filled: Gravy. (Uh...oh boy?) I was thinking "gravy, gravy, gravy, gravy....." all day to myself, but, with the gift wrapping marathon, it was nearly time to go by the time I remembered to get to it. So I frantically threw some stuff in a pot, stirred it a few times, then accidentally overpeppered it. I was certain it was going to be a complete disaster but it came out pretty delectable (ever notice how a lot of words for "yummy food" start with the prefix "del?" Dang I'm feeling literary tonight.) and I got several complements. Seriously. For gravy! (Oh boy!) There's a reason I'm fat, y'all. I'm a good freakin' cook.

Paintings in the sky

Jason and I had a very busy day. We started out by going to the house of our friends, Joe and Cherie. Jason is working on a project and Joe has tools to help him out. So in the meantime, Cherie and I talked and she dumped out all the baby dolls in their house for Brianna to go nuts with. (And she did.) After the boys were done Cherie asked if we'd like to join them for lunch at a barbeque joint down the street, so we did. Awesome. When we finally got back to the house at 3:30 Jason and I started working on our bedroom. We've been putting up wainscotting and today we finished to top off with some chair rail molding. It's so pretty now, it looks like a grown up's bedroom! *squee!* *ahem.* We reassembled our bed and put in the nightstands. Very nice. Rehearsal was fun this evening, we did longform again (oh yeah.) which makes me a happy Jessica.

Take pity on me, this is what I live with.

......They are soooooooooo weird!

The chicken or the egg?

This morning, for whatever reason, I woke up CONVINCED that there was a potluck at our church. I had Jason check the calendar and text Jarod, but he hadn't replied by the time we had to leave...until we were walking out the door. There was no potluck this afternoon. So I scrambled to throw potatoes, carrots, and a chicken into a roaster and throw it in the oven as we were leaving. We started practicing and I told Jarod about how for whatever reason I was CERTAIN there was a potluck and he said, "Oh, yeah. Origionally we were supposed to have one, but with Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday we're not doing one today." Aaaaaah. That explains that. Jason and I had a lovely afternoon together. He decided to mow the lawn one last time and rake the leaves. We have a ton of big old oak trees in the neighborhood, and when the wind blows they just don't seem to care if they're in the yard their leaves settle on. I don't mind, trees are super sweet. It sure looked funny to have a leafy yard on either side of our now spotless yard. The best part is, because Jason mowed it was a crisp line, too. So it looked like some freaky force field. This evening I went to a Sketchy Thoughts script reading, but when I got to the theater there was another group rehearsing there. Apparently the owners of the Westport Coffeehouse had accidentally double booked it. The other group is doing a live staged version of "Raising Arizona" and their performance is tomorrow, so we got booted out, understandibly. We decided to walk across the street and see if we could snag a private room at McCoy's in which to rehearse. I've really only been in the front part of McCoys, so imagine my surprise when we walked around the back (called, "The Foundary") and up a set of stairs into what was, essentially, a 1970's living room, complete with bean bags and a pac man table. Nice! I immediately flopped down on a bean bag with gusto. I came home earlier than usual to spend a little time with Jason before he left to get some overtime hours. One nice thing about his "four ten hour days, three weekend days" schedule is that if he signs up for overtime on the weekend he still has two days to recover. I'm really looking forward to spending that time with him, too.

Pick up/Drop off

Leigha's final volleyball game was today. Ironically, it was the only game her team lost. They didn't seem to mind too much, however, since it was a well played game and they got cupcakes afterward. We had two great shows at the theater tonight. This is a picture of me trying to pick up Nifer. Her location was Home Depot and I used the line, "So....you wanna shop for playground equipment for our future children?" The girls really enjoy coming to the theater. Partially due to the fact that Dairy Queen is right next door and sometimes they get ice cream, but still. I like to flatter myself into thinking they enjoy what we do as well. We have a huge group of regulars that come every so often, and they showed up tonight. They're so much fun! Tonight they invited us all to their place for pizza after the shows. Among their group tonight was a man and his family, and one of the daughter's has downs syndrome. She wanted to sing us songs and tell jokes, and after a bit her father was trying to gently tell her the show was over. She said, "But Dad, I probably have a hundred jokes to tell!" He said, "How about one? We've got to meet in the middle on this one." She heaved a sigh and said, "Cut me some slack, Dad." It was hillarious. And sweet.

Let's coffee klatch

I'm not feeling 100%, but I'm not feeling as bad as I predicted I would, either. All in all, that's pretty okay with me, considering. Today Bri and I went to a sale and I came out with a few vintage dresses that I plan on selling because they're too small for me and in uber mint condition. Not to mention cutema-cute!!! I also got a pattern and a sweater (both vintage) that I'm keeping. I'm guessing I'll be able to sell the dresses and get enough money from them to keep me in my happy little habit, with extra for coffee on the side if I so choose. Vintage dresses go for A LOT on Ebay, and I'm only shelling out about $2-6 a pop. While Bri and I were out I took her to McDonalds for lunch and she got a plastic toy that talks. Why, McDonalds, why? I already don't like you, do you have to rub it in? I haven't taken Bri to Mickey D's for lunch in MONTHS and already I'm reminded why. When I got home from running around (sale, fabric shop [buttons!!!], grocery store, bank, home) I was exhausted. (Like I said, sick.) So I brewed some coffee. I had just sat down to relax, enjoy my coffee, and do some embroidery, when the power went out. What the.....? Grrrah! They're doing construction down the street, so this isn't exactly uncommon, and it's really getting on my nerves. They were very lucky I had already brewed my coffee before it went out, or I might have gone down the street and......um.....done my cute little 'tee hee, what you do affects people' routine. I dunno. Shaddup! Anyhow, I wasn't happy and I was starting to think of alternate dinner plans (electric stove, hello! And I just got my groceries, too! [see above]) when the power FINALLY came back on. Gah! About time. I got pretty far on my embroidery, though (sitting in the sun). Isn't it cute? I'm thinking of arching the words, "Happy Coffee" above the cup. I managed to get dinner cranked out before Jason got home, and we had a lovely dinner before settling in front of the TV for "Don't Forget the Lyrics." I could take or leave that show, but Leigha just loves it, and Bri could care less as long as she has the cat to torture, so on Friday nights, that's what we do. (I sew. Remember how I make a habit of un-wasting wasted time?) So yeah. That's mah day and I'm sticking to my long-winded story. Apparently sickness makes me ramble.

Blawh.

This picture basically sums up the mood that has prevailed our household today. Blah...... I got Leigha off to school, got Bri up and got her food then took a shower. When I got out she was on the couch huddled in a blanket. I asked her what was going on and she said, "I'm cold." Aw. We got shoes and jackets on and left to hang out with Melissa for a bit. We came back just before Bri's naptime, so I put her in her room and shut the door. She sleeps until Leigha gets home from school, but when Leigha got home from school and I told her to make her lunch and do homework, Bri hadn't shown up yet. Leigha went to play at Anna's house for an hour. When she came back, still no sign of awake Bri. I told Leigha to get her up since I was busy making chicken soup. Bri wandered in the kitchen not long after that with big grey bags under her eyes (Aw!) I went downstairs to finish something I had started this afternoon and realized Bri wasn't downstairs with Leigha and I, so I went to check on her (when she's quiet, you know there's trouble.) I found her on the couch in her blanket again! I asked if she was okay and she dully nodded her head. I felt her forehead and it was burning up, so I got her a big glass of water and wrapped her up tighter in her blanket. Jason came home from work and we had dinner. I told him Bri was coming down with something and to keep an eye on her, then went to rehearsal. It was good, but when I sat down during "talk about what we've learned" time, I got hit with a massive tidal wave of exhaustion. Ugh........I made it through the rest of rehearsal, but felt like I was dragging myself the whole time. I came home to find Spartacus looking exactly how I feel right now. Nice. Hopefully this is just a quick bug and will burn off quickly.

Bisque-it!

This morning Bri and I went to a paint your own pottery place. I wanted to make the girls personalized hot chocolate mugs and after comparing prices I found that it would be the same price, if not cheaper, to do it myself. Plus I got the added enjoyment of making them myself. Here are the mugs half done. When finished, the blue will be speckled and look like snow falling on the white hills on the bottom. The top edge has blue dots around it and the handles are rainbow colored. Around the outside they say, "Leigha's/Brianna's hot chocolate" and on the inside rim they say, "Marshmallows go here" with an arrow indicating down. Very cute! Can't wait to see them all shiny. Bri took my leftover glaze and made that gorgeous picture in the right central portion of the pic.

Meet loaf

Today I wore one of the vintage dresses I'd purchased a little while ago. Funnily enough, tonight's dinner plan was meat loaf. So in the interest of keeping the dress clean, and to see how retro I could go, I donned one of my vintage aprons. See that smug/knowing look on my face? That's my, "Oh, that's right...I went there." look. Jason and I went to the library this afternoon and managed to find some books Leigha had been asking for us to get for her. She just about piddled when she got home from school. Rehearsal was great tonight, we got to focus on longform, which was great. I'm so tired of shortform (the game like stuff. Long is where you basically make up a play) lately.

If you catch me at the border, I've got visas in my name.

Today we began the long haul back home. We could have done the simple(ish) Reno-Vegas-Kansas City, but Jason's mom was flying back from Anchorage today. So instead we opted to fly from Reno-Phoenix, wait an hour for her flight to come in, and have a nice sit down dinner at the airport before we boarded a plane bound for Albuquerque, and from there to home. Leigha enjoyed playing games with Grandma on the flights, and if you look just to the right of Sheila between her torso and the tray table, you can clearly see Brianna's sleeping head. We flew over some gnarly weather on the way. You'd look out the window and see just blackness, then suddenly lightning would illuminate the tuft of cloud sitting just under the wing of the plane. After we tucked the girls in and said goodbye to Jason's mom (She has to work tomorrow. Suck!) we flipped on the Weather Channel. We're totally getting that rainstorm here tonight.

Don't quail.

Today we had a nice brunch of specially handcrafted personal omelettes. Everyone picks what they want in their omelette, puts the ingredients in a plastic baggie, then pour the egg mixture over it, seal the baggie, and boil it. Mmmm. Bellissimo! My dad kidnapped Jason not long after that, so the rest of us (My mom, sisters, the girls and I) watched a movie at the house. We had to run to my mom's library to get something for Janina, so the girls got to pick out some books before we hugged Nina goodbye and she left for home from the library. (FYI, she locked her keys in the car in Mojave. Nice. She's back on the road right now, though, so she's just fine.) The rest of us went to the grocery store to pick out dinner and not long after we got back the guys got home so we ate then played a rousing game of Skip Bo. (my mom looks like she's trying to leap into the picture there. That may be my fault.....) Lynette and I won, with little to no cheating involved! There was hot chocolate and marshmallows and '50's music. Cozy. Lynette left after that and we got the girls to bed. My parents followed suit not long after that. I think we may have worn them out. At least I know we've done our job!

Yeeeeeeeees?

Goodness sake's, I have beautiful sisters, don't I? We got ready this morning and drove to Lake Tahoe. My mom's cousin, Sandi, got married today. It was a very intimate ceremony, taking place in a suite at a resort in Zephyr Cove, and my extended family made up about 70% of the guest list, give or take. The wedding was absolutely beautiful. The groom cried the whole time, it was so sweet! We had champagne and cake, then everyone had coffee or tea. From left to right, that's me, Lynette, and Janina. Middle, oldest, youngest. Ironically, as far as shades of dark brown go, our cups go: darkest, lightest, middle. After the wedding had concluded we piled onto the elevator and went out to eat with my family. (Jason, girls, sibs, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles.) We had a great dinner then went to Grandma and Grandpa's for some conversation and togetherness time. It's so great to have everyone here at the same time! It can be quite lonesome living so far away from your family. At least in Kansas City we have Jason's family closeby, when we lived in Denver it was a 16 hour drive in either direction just to see anyone! We came back to my parent's house, got the girls to bed, then we all watched Uncle Buck. I'd never seen it. Bravo, John Candy, we miss you.

False starts

Today I went to an estate sale and hit the jackpot. Tons of vintage clothing, patterns, fabric, and household items! I walked away with three bursting bags full of goodies, including an authentic crinoline that I snapped up for a buck. They cost $50 at Boomerang. Ker-ching! When I got home I packed clothes and we all went to the airport. Our itenirary was: Kansas City-Las Vegas-Reno. Unfortunately, the flight into Vegas was delayed by about an hour and the flight leaving for Reno would have left by the time we got into Vegas. By ten minutes. *Sigh* We figured we'd try again tomorrow. On the shuttle bus to the employee parking lot, Jason was on the phone with his mom (not yet to Anchorage) and he was explaining what was going on with us when a Southwest employee said, "Oh, that flight from Vegas to Reno is also delayed." What? It is? That's great!....why didn't the guy at the counter tell us that? Either way we got off at the next stop and ran back to the terminal. The lady behind the counter said, "Yup, it's showing a delay, it's supposed to leave at 9:50 but won't leave until 10:25." Our delayed plane was supposed to get to Vegas at 10, perfect! We went through security and checked with the gate agent to make sure it was still delayed going into Reno. Right before we boarded we checked again and he said, "Oh, now it's not showing a delay at all." Whaaat? Jason and I decided to get on the plane anyhow, knowing full well that if we didn't make the connect it would mean spending the night in what is hands down one of the absolute most disgusting airports in America. The flight was pretty noneventful, aside from the lady who kept tattling to the flight attendant about other passengers. (I was trying so hard not to laugh, it was just like that Family Guy episode!) Jason and I planned our 'exit strategy' and sprinted off that plane the second the door was open. We got to the gate for the Reno plane just as it was getting ready to board. Turns out they had a 10 minute delay! Sweet! The guy got on the announcimajigger and said, "Okay...there are about 20 people going on this flight to Reno, so.......everyone on the plane!" Heh heh. We got on the flight and I snapped this picture of Bri, falling asleep before we even left the lights of Vegas behind.

Getting bent

I've had a pretty rough couple of weeks. There's been bad news piling on top of bad news lately and it's getting old. I'm feeling frustrated and tired a lot lately. Today was the kind of day where I really feel I should have just stayed in bed and just tivo'ed past, but unfortunately, I have not tivo. Not even on my TV. Here's a picture of Jason and the girls plus a couple other kids at the theater tonight. We had a free 'show' during rehearsal. Enjoy the reflection off the toe of Jason's shoe as I go watch some tivo-less TV and try to salvage at least a little bit of good today.

A little princess

Since Halloween Brianna has wanted to wear her princess dress every day. She gets up in the morning and says, "Mom, can I play dress up?" I tell her yes if we're not going anywhere for a while, and there she is in her Cinderella outfit. It hasn't gotten to the point where she gets upset if I tell her to change because we're leaving the house...yet....so I'll let her have her fun for now. She looks so sweet, after all, especially when perusing the American Girl's catalogue.

Civic duties

I voted today, did you? If not, and you're over 18 and eligible, shame on you. I don't want to hear you complain about anything political. For once I'm not joking. They said on the news that there were huge lines and people waited for up to three hours. Jason and I walked in, signed our names, and voted right then and there, no wait. Awesome. I'm watching the news right now and McCain just conceded, which means we will have our first African American president. Wow. I wonder what the next four years will bring?

I dunno, Alaska!

Jason's parents drove up this morning and took us out to breakfast. They're beginning a loooooong drive-Missouri to Alaska. Jason's dad is a contract nurse and his new contract begins in the next couple weeks, in Anchorage! (Yup, we're so going to visit!) We had a great breakfast with them and then the headed off into the...mid morningness. (see, that's why people should always leave in the late afternoon/early evening.) Jason and I have been busy little bees today, fixing up little things around the house, painting a few trim pieces, installing wainscotting, and somehow we managed to get a full grocery shopping trip in as well. It's nice having our own place to fix up. *hearts and loves!*

Happy Daylight Savings everyone!

This is Jason's "Cherub Rock on Hard" face. Have you ever watched someone's face when they're playing Guitar Hero on the harder levels? It's extremely amusing. Jason's eyebrows twitch wildly. He's ever so cuuuuuuute! This afternoon, through major team effort, we got the new interior door to the garage put up. It's so pretty! And since it's not super dreary 1970's dark brown, it really lightens up the hallway. (It's white, but anything that wasn't dark dark brown would have lightened it up) I can't wait to get the rest of those doors up. This evening I had a Sketchy Thoughts rehearsal. (yup, we finally got a name!) It's going really well, I'm having fun. I enjoy the super laid back atmosphere.

Set, Spike!

Leigha's team is undefeated. The funny thing is, they keep winning the first two sets then just losing the third. It's best two out of three, so they win the game overall, but it's almost as if they just get tired of winning or something. Rather funny. After the game we went out and got some coffee beans then came back to the house. I told the girls to get some lunch then came downstairs and looked on Craigslist to see if there were any good estate sales happing today. Oh yeah, there was one. The person described the sale as "a digger." He wasn't kidding. We got to the house and every room was packed, PACKED with clutter! Every closet, every nook and cranny, every piece of furniture. They had a few pieces out on the lawn that had price tags on them, but it looked as though they had given up after that. So I dug, and dug, and dug. Through the basement, closets, bedrooms, even the sun porch where I had to move aside a swing to get to a huge pile of cloth. There was just too much to look at! I think I scouted out maybe a third of what was there, and it wasn't for lack of trying, believe me. In the end I ended up getting two old suitcases and about seven yards of vintage fabric. (blue and purple plaid!) Nice. Leigha found a little stuffed dog that she liked and had brought sixty cents with her. She said, "Oh...it's probably more than sixty cents." I said, "Leigha, just carry it around, you'll probably be surprised." We got to the cashier and she said, "How much is the dog?" He looked at her and said, "I think he was waiting for you. That's a gift!" She said, "But....but I've got sixty cents!" He said, "That's okay, you keep that. Buy your sister something later." What a sweet guy. She was absolutely over the moon about it, too. After we got home I washed it out good, though. The house was filthy, goodness knows what kind of ick was in that dog's fur.