Sick and Tired

If you've been following along with my blog posts, you know that I am in a play. A play that opens THIS Friday! So, this past weekend was spent building the set and now we are into dress rehearsals. Costumes, props, lights, sound...oh and actors too, now come together to actually produce a show. This week is commonly referred to as "Hell Week." And for good reason. Rehearsals usually run long into the night because it's difficult to pull all the different aspects of the show together. And then, of course, there are the endless questions by the actors that are just now arising when there is little-to-no time (or resources!) to address them.

I've been fortunate enough to have a few days off this week to catch up on sleep and relax after those long rehearsals. However, Monday (one of my "relaxation" days) was spent waking up relatively early and grocery shopping, shopping for props, creating props and then rehearsing. And then on Tuesday, I wake up to chest congestion, a cough and one hell of a headache. That's right, I'm sick. Perfect timing. So, bring on the overdose of Zicam to help keep this cold at bay for at least opening weekend. And now, I am back at work today and pretty darn tired, not to mention ill, but since I am only working today and tomorrow, I thought I better come in.

It seems like this always happens - getting sick before a show. It seems that the stress and lack of sleep always catch up to me right before we open. You'd think my body would understand that this is what we do and adapt. But no, instead it crumbles under the pressure and will eventually drown in a sea of mucus. Ugh.

Kids, Children, and Babies... oh my!

I do not have any kids of my own, nor do I particularly want any anytime soon. However, I have a very big love for children and am blessed to have a nephew and a niece. I also have a few other kids that aren't related by blood that I think of as nephews and nieces as well. But I will focus this blog on the 2 kids that belong to my brother and sister.

First, there is Marcus, the son of my brother. He just turned 4 years old and the kid cracks me up every time I see him. In fact, my husband and I quote him nearly every day. Marcus is a little ball of energy. He could run and play games for hours. Literally. The kid never stops and I'm pretty sure he inherited his hyperactivity from his dad. He is also a talker. Even before he could actually speak words, he would jibber-jabber on for hours. And now, you can't get him to stop asking questions, or telling you exactly what he is doing at every moment of the day. But, my favorite thing about Marcus is his genuine good nature and desire to do the "right" thing and not get into trouble. A trait I'm sure he did not inherit from his dad. :) Marcus is always the kid telling other kids not to do bad things to prevent them from getting in trouble. He's also a bit of a tattle-tale, but hey, at least he knows the difference between right and wrong. He also has such a big heart and really, truly loves all of his friends and family.


Next, there is Eva, the daughter of my sister. Eva will turn 1 year old on Thursday and I can't believe how time has flown. She is my little red-headed beam of light. She's inquisitive, beautiful and one heck of a clapper. She is also a little sassy, but she's a read-head, so what do you expect? :) Unlike with Marcus, I have been able to be around Eva all of her life (Marcus spent his first 2 years in Washington state) and it's been a delight to see her grow. I expect her take her first steps any day now and then she will be in to absolutely everything. Eva has an infectious smile that can always brighten my day. And one of the funniest things she does is laugh at conversations. For example, the whole family was eating together during Sunday dinner. We all get to chatting and inevitably something makes us all laugh. Well, Eva sees this and starts laughing - kinda like what people do when they just walk up to a conversation they weren't involved in and try to interject themselves. It's such a fake little laugh too, it is SO stinking funny!

These kids really light up my life and I am so grateful for them!

I guess I'm also grateful for my sister and sister-in-law for actually popping these kids out so I can enjoy them! ;-) Thanks!

Rehearsal

I am now a few weeks into rehearsals for my upcoming show, The Last Night of Ballyhoo. In fact, we only have 10 more rehearsals until we open! EEK! Most of us are off book and we are starting to really get a feel for the show. Characters are coming along nicely and we, as a cast, really gel, I think. We rehearse Monday-Thursday from 7-10pm and typically run the whole show every night. Each night as we approach the final scenes and inch closer to the 10 o'clock mark, we all start to get a little loopy. We start flubbing lines, interjecting random thoughts into scenes, behaving badly and just all around acting like idiots. This is actually my favorite part of rehearsal. The funniest things come out of people's mouths and of course, by 10pm we are all a little slap-happy so everything is hilarious. Also, I think these cooky experiences every night help us bond as a cast. Inside jokes are formed and these are the moments we will really remember in the future.

One of the best things about theater is that you get to spend so much time with so many wonderful people that share the same passions and interests that you do. Everyone works really hard to build their character over time, and you get to witness these transformations along the way -- all while doing something you love. You learn to depend on one another and to learn from everyone's experience and expertise. And then to top it off, you get to go out there and perform to hoards of applauding fans (well, at least your cheering parents). Although it's full of hard work, long hours, and many struggles, there are few things as rewarding as performing in the theatre.

Boobs. That's right. Boobs.

Well, it was only a matter of time until I did a post about boobs. After all, they've been such a large part of my life since I was 10 years old. Yup, 10. I have no idea why God thought a 10 year old needed or wanted boobs. Especially one that was already a foot taller than her classmates and really didn't need anything else to make her stick out and was a competitive soccer player, which meant lots of running. But, there I was in 4th grade receiving training from a bra. Little did I know then, these sacks of fat (attractive huh?) would keep growing until I was about 20. Now, I know some women would kill for larger breasts and some pay thousands of dollars for them and I should be grateful for what I have. Well, screw that, I like to complain. So here are my thoughts on my boobs:

• My Rack is a Pain in the Back. I have had constant back pain since I was about 16 years old. I can't sit in the same position for more than 10 minutes because no matter how I sit, my back starts to ache. Sleeping is a tossing and turning event because my back just can't seem to get comfortable.
• What a Slouch! My boobs weigh me down, therefore giving horrible posture. I am certain that I will one day develop a hump on my back because I slouch forward so much. It's so unattractive, but my back is just not strong enough to sit up straight all day long.
• Buttons: Boobs' natural enemy. Button up shirts and I don't get along. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part if the shirt fits me perfect in the shoulders, arms and torso, but has buttons, you can bet that those buttons are holding on for dear life across my bust.
• Sag Bags. I honestly don't know what it will take (short of plastic surgery) to get some lift! I have been fitted by some of the best lingerie stores in town and whipped out close to $100 for a single bra that was supposed to perk me up. But still my "fun bags" weigh the dang bra down. Sometimes I feel like I should carry a portable table with me just so they have something to rest on besides my belly button.
• Running: A Contact Sport. Unless my boobs are duct taped to my chest, running is pretty much out of the question for fear that I might suffer a concussion.
• Over The Shoulder Boulder Holders. Finding bras that fit is a constant battle. The majority of stores don't carry anything close to my size. So, I have to go to speciality shops or high-end retail stores. Even then, they only have a few styles to choose from and mostly they aren't very flattering. Often, they have to go in the back to find a bra my size. And then I usually don't like the cut or I'm not willing to pay $150 for it that day. Oh, and don't even get me started on strapless bras.
• Top Heavy. I have recently lost some weight - of course, I lost it everywhere but my boobs. So now, I look even more disproportionate. My legs and stomach have thinned out but yet I still have these 2 huge masses atop my chest. It's not hot, it's odd and I feel like no matter how much weight I lose my boobs will always make me look (and feel!) much larger than I am.

So what should I do about all this? Nothing, duh. I just like to complain.

Boredom

Boredom and me are good friends. We meet up with each other for several hours a day every workday. There are days where I absolutely love Boredom and others where Boredom is actually rather, well, boring. Work is slowing down significantly and I only have 1 real project that I work on and that will be ending in the next few weeks. So, instead of actually trying to find work related things to do with my time, Boredom and I like to surf the internet, check my email accounts about 30 times an hour, read message boards and work on publicity projects for CCCT. And after weeks of this, I feel like I have exhausted all means of entertainment. You'd think with the World Wide Web I'd have endless hours of mindless fun. But really, after an hour, you just don't care anymore. I keep checking my email in hopes that someone will write me something interesting and I can take 20 minutes to write a response or that someone will send me a task that I can complete at work. But most days, those things don't happen. So instead, I write a blog post about boredom. And here I am, done and bored again. Luckily it's lunch time, so I'm off to Noodles. (see below)

Noodles

I am the first to admit that I have a serious addiction to Noodles & Co. restaurants. There is one close to where I work and I eat there at least once a week. I limit myself to once so the folks who work there hopefully won't think I'm a total loser. I do make exceptions. If I go with a group a friends, then I'm allowed to go twice a week. Because of my addiction, the people at Noodles know me by name and know my preferences except when I mix it up and add chicken to my dish (on especially hungry days).

Over the years, I have transitioned from the Penne Rosa to the Pasta Fresca. I wanted a slightly healthier option and soon fell in love with the new dish. Now, I'm finding myself bored with the Pasta Fresca and often not finishing it. So, today I decided to try something new - once again going with a dish that had less fat and less calories. I was pretty hungry, so I didn't want to dive right in to a complete dish if I didn't like it. So I tried another first, a trio. For those of you who don't know, a trio is a portion of pasta, a salad (or soup) and a protein. I tried, for the first time today, the Japanese Pan Noodles. I'm usually not a big fan of Asian flavors, but I enjoy some so I thought I'd try it. Well, I wasn't too impressed. It tasted alright, just not exactly what I was looking for. However, I said the same thing when I switched from the Penne Rosa to the Pasta Fresca, so you never know - maybe I'll come around and be addicted to this now. Or I should just get 2 big rice crispy treats for lunch and be done with it. :)

Oops! It's been a week...

...and I haven't blogged. I guess that could be that nothing really noteworthy has happened in the past 7 days.

Let's see...last Thursday I had to watch my baby niece, Eva because she was sick and and wasn't allowed to go to daycare. Now, I think this is a crappy policy. While I understand that a daycare doesn't want kids to come in and infect other kids, they need to understand that they are in business because parents have no other place to take their children while they are at work. Parents sure as hell wouldn't pay up to $2000 a month if they did! I think they need to set up a special room and caretaker for the sick kids. (Why anyone would want to be that caretaker I have no idea!) I especially think they need to set something up because more often than not, kids get sick AT daycare. When half the kids in the place are ill, you can pretty much guess where they contracted the illness. It's not fair to the parents if their kid gets sick at daycare and then can't go back because they are sick.

Also, it's not like parents get a discount if their kid isn't there a day. Most day cares charge by the week or month, and missing a day here and there doesn't save you any money - only if you miss an entire week. So, in order to care for Eva - my mom, Eva's dad and myself had to take off work to watch her over 2 days (time was split between me and my mom the first day and dad took off the next). That's vacation hours that we won't get back or didn't have in the first place and therefore money lost, projects at work that had to wait until the next day, deadlines that were missed and then possibly jeopardizing future time off due to the sudden nature of taking time off for this situation. All the while the folks at the daycare center had 1 less kid to watch and got paid the same amount of money. Grr!