In Which I Change Into Someone Else After Being Someone Else

Here's the long anticipated transformation into Winnie.  Which really isn't nearly as entertaining as Jennifer.  But here you go.  These photos aren't the best, but when I get the ones that were professionally taken during the dress rehearsal, I'll post some of those.  I'm excited to see them.

 So after I rush down the stairs backstage, I start changing my appearance.  I take off all the jewelry and rush into the dressing room to change my outfit.

 Here I am in the wig cap.  I take this off after I put on Winnie's dress.

Remember, without the wig cap, I look like this.

 Then I start furiously pulling out all those pins.  I'm actually pretty fast at it.

 All the pins are out!

 Then I brush out my hair, put on the cute headband I made, different jewelry, and I stuff a handkerchief down my bra.  She cries a lot.

Oh, and I also change the lipstick! And now I am Winnie Hickory Wood!  I love her.  She's really awesome.  She loves her husband fiercely and doesn't take any crap from his best friend, or any one else for that matter.  She's a lot of fun to play.

Then I rush upstairs to help my fake husband with all of his costume changes and keeping his characters straight.  Well, as long as I'm not on stage.  Then he's on his own.  I can only do so much.  Hee hee!

In Which I Turn Myself Into Someone Else

So I'm in a play.  I'm sure I've told you about it, and I know I had to vent in one post a bit back.  Sorry about that.  But I am happy to say that I love this show!  I love my fake husband and my other fake husband and the butler and my rival and everybody in the cast!  They are good people.  You have to come and see it if you are in the area.  That's an order!  Here's the link for tickets, show dates and times, etc.  My parents and my brother and his girlfriend came Friday.  My other brother went last Monday, and they all LOVED it!  You will, too!

Any way, I thought it would be fun to blog about getting ready for this show.  I play two parts in it.  The first one is Jennifer Bowater-Smith.  She's nuts.  She's an artist who talks a mile a minute.  Seriously, when I was first off script and getting her down - this lady talks faster than I can think!  How did I finally get it?  Practice.  That's all it takes, really.  She's also very self-absorbed.  I know.  Not too hard for me to get into character, there.  ;)

In order to make me look like two different people, the director decided Jennifer Bowater-Smith needed to wear a wig.  He brought me this monstrosity and asked me to make it look presentable. 

 Her name is Ophelia.  Yes.  He named it.  All I could think was, how the heck am I going to do that?!  This thing is not real hair, you can't comb it, you can't really brush it and it has some bald spots.  Oh, and the morning after I brought it home, Kaleb said he came downstairs for breakfast and it freaked him out a bit.  When I came down, the head was turned towards the wall.  Hahaha!

  I tried it on just for fun.  I showed this picture to my kids at dinner tonight and their expressions were priceless.  They thought I looked pretty nuts.  And Zach said, "Then why are you blond?"

Since pretty much the only up do I can handle is the bun, I went with that.  I also had to make it a low bun, or you would be able to see the hair net that is attached inside. You can see one of the bald spots on the right side near the top.  The director wanted me to wear a hat, but the costumers didn't think that would work and found this blue flower that had been made out of fabric from the dress.  I asked if I could make it prettier and they gave me their blessing.  This is what I came up with.

I added the jewel in the middle and the feathers.

So here's my regimen on:  At 2:30 in the afternoon, I turn on my hot rollers.  They need to get nice and hot because my hair doesn't like to do what it is told.  At 3:00, I put them in.  If I've washed my hair that day, I make sure it's dry and blow dry it more if need be.  When I'm done, I usually look like this:

This is not a good picture of me and I don't look very happy, but meh.  It's fine.

I'm getting faster at this and better at getting all of my hair in the rollers.  If I miss a strand or two, I just curl it with the curling iron, though.  While I wait for the rollers to cool down, I make dinner.  When I have a show, I like to eat at 4:00 or 4:30.  Then I'll eat, and by then the rollers are cooled.

As I take out the rollers, I take the curl I just unraveled, roll it back up and bobby pin it to my head. One at a time.  I end up looking like this:

 Then I put on my foundation and powder, put on my spanks and pack my bag to leave.

When I get to the theatre, I finish my make up, put on my nylons, mic, costume, jewelry, wig cap, wig and -very last - the lipstick.

And wal-lah!  I'm Jennifer Bowater-Smith!  Cynthia and I had the same art class!

And then after she and her husband Stanley (poor Stanley!) are done making everyone laugh, I rush downstairs and change into Winnie.

Do you want to see my transformation into her?

Well, you'll just have to wait.

In Which Easter Is A Really Great Day

So Easter.  Well, this year was slightly different.  Kurtis said to me, "Our kids are all old enough that the Easter bunny doesn't have to hide the eggs any more, right?"
Well... I don't think they think they are.  Then Kurtis went on, "I don't remember ever hunting for Easter eggs when I was a kid.  We just got a basket of candy."
I rolled my eyes and said, "Whatever."  And he didn't hide the eggs.
I also wanted to cut back on the amount of candy this year.  I'm fat.  I love candy, but it makes me fat and I'm addicted to it, so the less I have it the better.  So this year, the Easter bunny brought the kids a full bag of their favorite candy, a chocolate bunny, some plastic eggs filled with jellybeans, a movie, and a tie.  Kaleb and Riley wanted Tardis blue ties and Zach wanted a red bow tie.  Because "Bow ties are cool." (Doctor Who)  Kurtis got a giant book that he had been wanting and I got two cds.
After church on Sunday (sorry, no Sacrament Meeting Art this week.  I was singing in the choir and figured it would be a bit of hassle to try to hold my music and my crayons at the same time.), we went up to my mom's house.  Baby Gus was there and I got to meet Ben's girlfriend Jayden.  She's really nice.  I asked her if our crazy family was overwhelming at all and she said she liked it because she only has one other sister.
After dinner, my dad hid chocolate Easter eggs (like they do every Easter), so the kids did get to hunt for Easter eggs after all.  That made them happy.
My dad turned 63 on the 19th, so we also celebrated his birthday with cake and ice cream.  My mom told me he could use a new wallet, so I got him one.  Emily gave him Star Trek shaped chocolates.  I accidentally opened Dad's present for him when Emily's friend brought it over.  I was so embarrassed!  I was like why didn't you stop me?  And Emily was like, well when you were just looking inside the bag, it was okay.  I didn't know it was for Dad!  I figured since her friend brought it over, it was for her. D:
He thought they were awesome, though.  I guess now he has a funny memory for his 63rd birthday.
Here are the pictures I took that day:

 The Easter baskets.  I found these giant bunny and chick shaped eggs that were perfect for the ties.  I was excited about that.

 The Easter gifts for my primary class.  I love teaching the Easter lesson.

 My goodness they are a handsome bunch!

 Baby G!

 Dad, blowing out his candles.  Every year, he gets a German chocolate cake.

 My brother is such a good daddy!  I love watching him interact with his little guy.

This picture just cracked me up a lot.  He's just cleaning him off after eating some squash.

 Then they started to plan their trip to Minnesota.  I won't be able to make it this time.

 Baby G with Grandma

 He's standin'!

 I grew a mustache.

 Then Ben started playing that Lana Del Ray song and made my mom cry.

 The perspective is off on this shot.  Baby G isn't really that giant.  ;)

He was being squirmy and didn't want to be held.

But Riley tried for a bit any way.  He loves that little guy!

Oh!  And P.S. the last post I posted before this one was my 500th blog post!
Pretty crazy.  Yet pretty cool, too.

It's Not Blood, It's A Dress!

Remember how I said I would share with you what I made during General Conference weekend.  Yeah, well. I kinda forgot to take a picture of it.  I will later (if I remember).  So in my play, one of the characters hits another character with a warming pan.  I turned to the director and said, "Um, you could make one out of foam, so he could really hit him and then he won't get hurt.  The fireplace shovel, too."  And he said, "Can you do that?"  I said, "I could try."  And so I did.  I made a warming pan for the play out of foam.  And then I made a fireplace shovel out of foam, too.  Because another character hits another character with the fireplace shovel, too.

Sacrament Meeting Art #17:  April 13, 2014.

One of my favorite things to do when the weather is warm, is to lie in the grass and look at the stars.

I haven't done it in forever.  I think if I don't do it soon, I may be swallowed into the depths of despair.

Oh.  Was that a tad dramatic?  

As I was drawing this, Zachary looked at it and said, "Mom.  Is that a person, or a severed head?"

I said, "What do you think it is?"

"A person."

"Yes.  It's a person.  I'm not that morbid."

I guess he is still traumatized by my other drawing.

I am quite the night owl, though.  I love it.  It's quiet and soothing and gazing up at the night sky to see the heavens twinkle makes one feel connected to the universe.  Viewing and wondering at the cosmos calms my soul and I find peace with my Creator.  I could stay there all night.  I love to just gaze at the sky.  The clouds make wonderful shapes and I my children see dragons and babies and dogs in them.  Life is glorious.

In Which the Future Is Imminent

Guys... My baby is getting bigger. :(
He's going to be thirteen in a month, but that's not the problem.  Not really.  Soccer started a couple weeks ago and Zach came to me.  He said, "Mom.  I can't find my cleats.  All I can find are my ones that are size 4."  I did not buy him size 4 cleats in the fall.  I bought him size 6.
Today was his first game of the season.  He can't play without cleats.  They won't allow it.  So after he got back from his scout camp out, and I got back from my tech rehearsal, I told him to go find his cleats.  I mean, really, how far away could they have gone?  They have to be in his room somewhere.
He couldn't find them.
So I texted his coach to tell her we would be late.
Then I told him to get ready for his game, and after that, I took him to Sports Authority.  On the way, I said, "What is your shoe size?"
"Six.  But my toes are touching the tips on these shoes, so I want a size seven, okay?"
"Sounds good."
He found a pair of yellow cleats (yellow is his favorite color - wait.  Actually, he is telling me his favorite color is the blue of Dewott - just Google it.), and they were $50.  Which is reasonable, I suppose.  But size seven is not a child's size.  Whaaaaaaaaat?  My baby is in MEN'S SHOE SIZES!!!?
Well, that sucks.  Men's shoes are more expensive than kids' shoes.  The same pair of cleats were $25 more!  So after he tried on a 7 and it didn't fit!  I found a different pair that was $30.  That's so much better.  He said he liked them, too.  He tried on the 7, the 7 1/2, and then the 8!
Wait.  Whaaaaat?  He's gone from a six to an eight?  He says he doesn't need new shoes though.  Which is good because I hate shoe shopping for other people.
We made it to his game right before half time.  His team won.

These are the infamous yellow shoes.

 His coach at half time.  Coaching.  She's awesome.  Zach is #7.

 This picture is just cool.  He just kicked the ball.

 Zach kicked the ball, too!  A few times actually.

He seems to be getting over his fear of playing.  Which is a very good thing.

It's Dangerous To Go Alone!

Today is my sister's birthday and she wanted to do something fun for her special day.  She invited all of her friends to come see the 11:00 p.m. showing of the new Captain America movie.  I was totally down and bought two tickets right away.  Kurtis didn't want to stay up so late and was conflicted about whether or not he would go with me.  But he and I talked about it yesterday morning and decided that he didn't feel he could stay up that late, but he and I were both feeling like we'd been really hard on Zachary about all of his missing assignments (he had 21, but worked really hard to make up most of them, but no, not all of them - the punk) and we wanted to let him know that we still love him, so we decided that he could come with me.  He was so excited when I told him.  It was his first midnight premier!  But I made him promise me that he would make up the work he was going to miss the next day.  Because yes, we also decided to let him slough school the next day (today).
After rehearsal last night, I drove home as fast as I could, picked up Zachary and went to the midnight premiere of Captain America the Winter Soldier!  We met Emily, Joel and Vincent at the theater, got our treats, and found our seats.  It was so flipping awesome!  I loved it!  Black Widow was in it and the Falcon!  The girl who was in the Avengers and is on How I Met Your Mother reprized her character's role.  So much fun.  Now, I need to get caught up on Agents of Shield to see their tie in to the movie (like they did with Thor 2).  I love this stuff.
The side effects of this are as follows.  After 9:30, I couldn't really sleep any more.  I have a headache and my vision went weird on me, but it's find now.  Kurtis suggested I take a nap, but I don't know that I will be able to fall asleep.
I gave Emily her presents, too.  I made one of them for her.  She really loved them!  Here are the pictures.

 I found a picture of another apron like this only frillier on Pinterest, and I thought, "I have an apron pattern and I could do that, but Emily isn't into the frills, so we'll just not do that.  Emily will love it!"  Zach was a good sport and modeled it for me here.

This is the apron I found on Pinterest.  I don't like all the ruffles and I didn't think Emily would either.

 Here is a close up on the detail of the one I made.  I need a less crappy sewing machine.

It's a Legend of Zelda symbol.  Emily really likes that game.

 When I was at Comic Con, my neighbor's son had a booth there where he was selling his artwork.  I bought this print of Link from The Legend of Zelda video game for Emily.  I was planning to give it to her for Christmas, but we didn't draw her name.  So I saved it for her birthday.  I was going to buy a white frame and paint it green, but I found a frame that was already green and I was like, "Score!"

 Zach waiting for the movie to start!  He's so excited!

 Emily with her picture.  He really liked it a lot.

 When she pulled the apron out of the gift bag, she said, "I've been thinking that I wanted an apron!"  I think she likes it. :)

Zach and Emily.  She thinks I'm a pretty cool mom now.  Because our mom would never have let us go to a midnight show when we were twelve.

Oh, and this happened to my hair on Wednesday.  It's for my play.  The director wanted me to be blonde.  He likes it.  Which is good because it took five hours to get it this way.  I'm not even kidding.

It's Not Hard For Me To Love You

Sorry this one is late.  I was busy making my sister's birthday present.  I hope she likes it.  I'll post pictures of it later because she actually reads this blog.  Hee hee!

Sacrament Meeting Art #16:  March 30, 2014.

Zach was sitting next to me in church this day and he said, "Is that a wall?"  "No, it's fields."

This picture was inspired by number 24 on this list.  While I was creating this picture, the song "The World As I See It" by Jason Mraz kept running through my head.  It was Fast and Testimony meeting for us this week.  This is where, after the Sacrament has been given, the members of the congregation just walk up to the pulpit and say what is in their hearts. They express how they feel about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I also listened to them.  They said a lot of beautiful things.  

There's a lot going on up here all the time (in my head).  It never stops.  Sometimes it would be nice if it would just stop.

Any way.  The world is a remarkable place, full of beauty and wonder and I love it here.  I thank my Heavenly Father for this amazing gift.

Next week is General Conference, and so it is not likely that I will have a Sacrament Meeting Art piece for you.  I have plans for that Sunday while I listen to conference.  But don't worry.  You'll get to see it.

Now watch this.

Yes, the world is a remarkable place.