Walking for a Friend

Last weekend we went on the "Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis" walk. One of Olivia's best friends has cystic fibrosis and so her Girl Scout troop decided that they wanted to pledge $200 of the money they earned selling cookies to the foundation. It was a great opportunity to teach the girls about giving back to both a friend and the community.

The walk was fun and a nice little workout! I certainly didn't have to get on the elliptical that day, whew.

We all went, the family I mean. We decided to make a morning of it together. It was really chilly, though. For a late spring day it was almost cold! But, the sun came out and warmed us for the walk.

After we walked, we headed back to the main area in the park for our reward - sub sandwiches and pizza! There was also a really great playground there and it turned out to be the hit of the morning. All of the kids, big and small, loved playing on it.

Overall, it was nice to contribute to a good cause, spend some family time together and teach Olivia how to give to others.

Another Amazing Performance!

The Cassidy Elementary Variety Show. This is a BIG deal. Seriously, you have to have just the right act, just the right partner, just the right - well, you get the idea. It's very competitive.

Last school year, Olivia started planning her "talent" at least 10 months before the variety show was even mentioned at school. Her ideas changed probably 50 times. She was going to cheer, then it was a dance, then she thought she would exercise - the kid was in search of "just the right" - yeah, you guessed it.

She decided that she would sing the Star Spangled Banner. One of the most difficult songs to sing, my kid insists despite my gently trying to steer her in another direction. We had a cute all-american outfit, she had practiced - she went for it. No dice. They didn't accept her into the program. We, she, was devastated. It was heartbreaking to see her have such a strong reaction. It was really, everything to her.

My little cookie didn't give up. She was back at it again this year. Again, well ahead of the variety show audition date, again looking for "just the . . . you get it.

Olivia worked a different strategy this time. She planned on auditioning for TWO acts. If she didn't make it for one, how could they turn her down for two?! She was bound to get in.

She roped me in (oh, like that was hard!) to helping she and a friend choreograph a dance to "Witch Doctor." Thank goodness this friends mom had the brilliant idea of using that song and using costumes that looked like primitive warrior witch doctor men!

They worked for about a month and, it paid off. They got in the show!! Olivia also made it playing the guitar. THAT was a happy day, I tell ya!

A bunch of her good friends made the show too. This is Olivia and her good friend. Aren't they sweet?!

As always I tried to make some videos of the occasion. I hope you can figure out what is going on in them!

The first video is "Witch Doctor." Olivia is the one that starts out on the right. She is so darn cute!



This second video is pretty poor. Liv plays her guitar, but the quality of light is shabby so the video just didn't turn out so hot. What is funny is hearing Aidan cheer for his sissy in the background and then hearing him say that "it's not funny!" Hah!

York High School Class of '88

This year marks the 20th anniversary of my high school graduation. My god that happened fast! Of course, recently, a few old classmates have tried to get the word out about a 20th year reunion. It has been kinda fun to see the names of people I haven't thought about in a long time in the address line or database file via email. It has really made me stop and think about their faces and how I knew them back in the day.

Rene Baltrus, has taken on the filing and re-connecting job with all of us. She has asked that each of us send her a paragraph about our lives and what we have been up to. I totally chickened out and just sent her the link to this blog. I guess I just figured, "Who the heck really wants to know all that about me?!" Well, my wonderful husband has told me to stop being a dork and "own" my successes and share them with everyone!

So, for those of you who may stumble upon this blog, where I can be completely self indulgent, right? Here goes:

After my parents split at the end of senior year, I ended up at Christopher Newport instead of VCU. I studied vocal music and dabbled in the theatre department a bit. A couple of years before graduating, the school started a new major - Musical Theatre. I decided to stay in school for an extra year and a half so that I could get the most out of both of my loves, music and theatre. (Oh, and I met my future husband here too!)

Came time to make some decisions about what I was going to do after undergrad and that was scary! I decided to apply to VCU's theatre grad program and was accepted. I studied Voice for the Actor and Theatre Education.

When I was done with that three year stint, it was time to get a job! I was very lucky and started right away with the theatre dept at Longwood University. I taught voice classes for their actors and some non-major courses as well. A year went by, and suddenly and without notice a public school teaching job fell in my lap. Better money, better benefits - why not?

And that began the career I didn't know I wanted. I have been teaching Drama for almost ten years. I love it. The students are wonderful and showing a new generation of students how to appreciate and maybe even love the arts, that's a beautiful thing. I direct three shows a year in addition to my daily teaching schedule.

You may be wondering about my own acting endeavors? I have acted along the way. Sung some too. It's who I am and I could never dismiss that part of my life. I have worked professionally in local companies every two or three years. Since having children, it makes it much more difficult to go to rehearsal for weeks and then run the show for even more weeks. I need to see my babies and they need me too!

Anyway, the last year has seen more of me as an actor than in recent years. I played Casey in "Anton in Show Business" and Gertrude, yes the Queen, in "Hamlet." Both of these roles I did with a local professional theatre company, Actors Guild of Lexington, and it looks like I will be in another show with them at the end of the year. It's been great, I have really loved being back on stage. When I am not on stage, I am near it listening to actors and coaching them vocally. This means dialects, articulating, over all vocal production. I really love to hear the actors speak the playwright's words and help them make the most of their instrument.

I mentioned my children before and if you look at this blog they are ALL over it. They are my joy. I am so lucky to have them.

Olivia is going to be nine in June. She plays basketball and guitar. She is also a junior girl scout and a great student. I sometimes wonder how it is possible that she is mine - except for the musical part!!

Aidan is three and he is my daredevil baby. He is opinionated and strong and brave and mouthy and ever the mama's boy. I love him to absolute pieces!!

My husband is an Artistic Director. I (this is HIS story!) lured him away from the baseball team and his history major at CNU. He fell in love with me and the theatre, pursued a directing master's degree and now runs a theatre company. Kooky, huh?

So, that's about it. We live in Lexington, KY horse capital of the world. It is beautiful here and they love their UK WildCats. It's a bit obsessive if you ask me!

Drop me a comment if you'd like. I would love to hear from you . . .

Like the New Look?

I decided to update the look of the blog. I have split the look of the family blog from the business blog. Since no one is really looking at the shop, I figured I would focus on the family blog and give it it's own unique face! Actually, I wish I could figure out how to give it a banner and some other fun details, but I haven't been able to work that out yet. Not so savvy with the extras!

I have also made a change personally. No, I haven't gotten rid of the old man and the babies are still attached at the hip. No - I got a HAIRCUT! And what a liberating thing it has been. I feel so good and people have been telling me how great I look. I shoulda done this a loonngg time ago!

The pictures below are pretty funny. I wanted to show you all my sassy new hair AND I wanted to try out the photo booth feature on my MAC. So, as you will be able to tell I started tinkering around with it a bit.

I think this first photo is me thinking, "How the hell does this thing work!?"














Oh! Ho, ho - THAT'S how it works!! Hee . . .















And, I look where? Oh, there! Ack!! My chin looks enormous!

Livi's Solo Debut!

Olivia had her second chorus concert of the year last night. It was very exciting because she had a solo! A couple of months ago, she came home very excited about auditioning, but also very nervous because usually the older students get the solos. I coached her as best as I could and she got it! I am so proud of her. I took three short videos with my camera, the quality ain't the greatest but the memory is preserved nonetheless!

Pajama Dancin'!

It's been a rainy morning and Aidan has been up since just before seven. We have watched "The Land Before Time," eaten three breakfasts, and played our hearts out! Olivia joined us midway through Aidan's second breafast. Then, the pajama dance commenced. The Disney channel has a new show called "Bunny Town" and it plays catchy little tunes. The babies thought it was the perfect moment to shake their booties! Aren't they cute?




We will top off the morning with a good nap and then it's off to the races! We are going to our first Derby party since we have lived in Kentucky. Should be fun!