Yearly Archives: 2011

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I’ve known for well over a month now that Cirque Du Soleil’s newest show Ovo would be coming to the Coney Island amusement park in Cincinnati this week, a scenic, riverfront location a mere five miles from our home. Neither of us have seen a Cirque show before, though we’ve both always wanted to. The spectacular acrobatics, the music, the staging, the costumes, the technical and lighting effects – what a dream! I originally figured this would be something we’d see when we visit Vegas one day. But upon learning that it was coming to Cincy I excitedly logged on to check out the ticket prices and book us some seats….and quickly logged right back off. At anywhere from $75-225 per ticket, I knew there was no way we could afford this right now. Not even the nosebleed seats. I tried twice to win us tickets – once at the Reds v. Brewers game and again through some Cincy blogger’s giveaway – both to no avail. The money was needed for rent, bills, groceries, and the oil change, tire rotation, filters, a new set of outer tie rods, and an alignment for Buick this week. This would be a luxury we just couldn’t afford right now. So I forgot about it.

Until tonight.

I was sitting in Ted’s office at CCM waiting for the final dress preview of Our Town to start at 8. Have I ever mentioned how much I love seeing the dress previews of all these awesome shows for free? Oh. Well, I do. To kill time (you know, because I have so much time to kill), I was enjoying http://llamafont.com/, which you must check out right this very minute!

Ted strolled into the office and I asked him to give me a phrase to type in Llama. He looked at me a crazy person for a second before suggesting “Nothing’s better than free!” A weird phrase is better than no phrase at all, so I typed it in and giggled at the adorable, flexible, and gymnastically inclined llamas. Then Ted plopped two free tickets to tomorrow night’s preview performance of Cirque Du Soleil’s Ovo down on the desk! Two free tickets! Great seats, worth $90 each! I KNOW! 

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Apparently a former CCM student is on the crew and dropped off a handful of comp tickets for the Wednesday preview show to CCM today and one of the department’s Technical Directors gave two tickets to Ted. I spent weeks contemplating ways to scrounge up the money or win tickets, and then I just gave up because it felt like it just wasn’t meant to be this time around – there would always be another time, way down the road in the future. And just like that, they appear! Fate can be funny sometimes :-) And by funny I mean freaking awesome. Man, we’re going to enjoy the heck out of this!

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So, tonight – Our Town, tomorrow – Cirque Du Soleil, Thursday – mass & basement organizing, Friday – our 6 month anniversary (!!!) and Ted’s parents come into town, Saturday – another 5k walk we’re registered for and family time, Sunday – Easter, and in between all this, work. Soooooo, when again did I think I was going to have time this month to restart my theatre career? Maybe I’ll get lucky and things will just fall into place, just like those Cirque tickets.

P.S. I’d like to extend a big old Thank You! to God, the llamas, and to the kind and benevolent CCM grad who just made my soggy, dreary, and exhausting day a heck of a lot brighter! Time to think up a way to pay it forward!

I spent yesterday deep in turmoil and debate as to whether this Friday’s post should be entitled “Fail Friday” in tribute to all the stupid shenanigans I’ve seen people pull this past week, or if my love of yumyums would win out and I’d be leaning towards “Foodie Friday.” I guess the food won, but I’ll indulge you with my top three fails of the week anyhow. 1) Not only allowing your child to dangerously run up the down escalator like a hooligan in a busy, public place, but stretching it just one inch further toward the Idiot of the Year award and doing it yourself. 2) 40-year-old women taking ridiculous, flashy and embarrassing pictures of themselves in public and loudly proclaiming how excited they are to post them on Facebook. Please remember that you are no longer a misguided youth and those foolish and desperate pleas for attention should have ceased by the age 25. And take a moment to re-evaluate your enlarged ego as well. 3) Paying for $15 worth of purchases with a $100 bill is obnoxious. Cut it out. All of you.

Onto Foodie Friday!

I’ve been hankering for a bit of home lately so today I’m making my Texas chili recipe! It’s chock full of red, yellow and green peppers, onion, a generous helping of fresh garlic, lean ground beef, kidney beans, chili beans, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce. Served up with freshly baked cornbread, and topped with cheese and cilantro, it’s perfect for pretty much any occasion. And the smell that fills our home as it simmers in the crockpot all day isn’t too bad either ;-)

Also, I may or may not be slightly addicted to the Goldfish Cinnamon grahams. They’re just like cinnamon Teddy Grahams….only they’re goldfish, which makes them much more desirable. They’re tasty and everyone should go pick up a bag right now….or send us some.

If I weren’t so lazy (or rather, if I didn’t have 7,000 other things to do, making this a super not important priority), I’d love to make some brownies oozing with caramel for dessert tonight. Mmmm….

That’s really all I have for you today. Hope you have a relaxing Friday and a fun weekend ahead of you to look forward to!

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve never really appreciated the spring season. I’m definitely a summer and autumn kind of girl – I attribute this to growing up in Texas, where every season is summer and the leaves seldom change colors as brilliantly as up North or treat us to a proper autumn until at least early December. I’m not starstruck for fragrant blossoms or pastels and I certainly didn’t spend my days dreaming of a spring wedding cloaked in baby pink and white springtime accents. Its just never been my thing. Possibly because I’ve never desperately craved the relief of a mild, sweet spring after a long, grueling winter of constant ice and snow until now, or perhaps because in Texas spring is uncomfortably cold and moist in the mornings and sweltering my mid-afternoon, leaving you always improperly dressed and set to shed layers at a moment’s notice only so you can haul around sweaters all day long. Either way, I’ve never actually looked forward to spring until this year.

But spring in Ohio is different – a welcome change after a harsh winter. The breeze is steady and cool, the sun shines brightly, the rain active, and the temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Beautiful flowers bloom – seas of daffodils are everywhere, little purple buds and dandelions litter our healthy green grass, and the trees are coated in cream, purple and yellow blossoms that scatter wildly and swirl when the wind blows. While all of this is perfectly lovely, my favorite things so far have been the food, animals, and activities that accompany the season. I think it’s safe to say that I have a newfound appreciation for spring in the midwest.

Often, there are large, tabby-cat sized brown bunnies with soft, floppy ears and white cotton tails that frolic in the grass of the yard that lines our driveway. They scarf dandelions and scurry up the driveway when Ted revs the engine of the car. I will begin my ritual of bribing them with carrots and lettuce asap. Just having them around is  cheerful, though I’m sure I’ll be regretting that comment as soon as I plant the seeds for our potted vegetable garden on Friday and our veggies begin mysteriously disappearing…

I’ve also learned to anticipate the joyful activities that come when the snow melts and the sun shines – like our first time shooting hoops to the tune of “Cincinnati” (instead of “Horse”) after work in the run-down basketball court at the base of our driveway where blacktop meets The Secret Garden. Ted pulled out and cleaned up his grill yesterday, a surefire sign that delicious cookouts and cold drinks are in our near future. He also attached the water bottle cage to my bike, Carmela. I can’t wait to take her for a long ride along the Bass Island Trail soon! And today I packed a lunch of plump, sweet blackberries, hearty cinnamon grahams, string cheese, fresh lettuce leaves, and homemade chicken salad full of dried cherries, almonds, red and green grapes, parsley, onion, ginger and lemon – a refreshing break from soups, lean pockets and other hot winter fare. I’m also loving the appearance of fresh rhubarb, peaches, berries, and melons in the produce section. They’ll make a nice addition to the herbs and veggies I’m hoping to pull from our garden this summer.

My books of choice lately have been memoirs, as usual, but this time they’re exceptional travel memoirs from author Mary Morris. I reviewed and recommended her book The River Queen (about her travels on a houseboat down the Mississippi River) on this blog a few weeks ago. She has three other travel memoirs out – Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone, Wall to Wall: From Beijing to Berlin by Rail, and Angels and Aliens: A Journey West. I’m only about a quarter of the way through Nothing to Declare, but already it is a fantastic read, just like The River Queen was. Perfect for those thirsty for a great adventure and her writing style is so comfortable. I’m certain I’ll be reserving the other two at the library shortly. For now they satisfy my desire to locate about ten thousand dollars and see the world. For the foodies out there, she also ocassionally includes mouth-watering descriptions of dishes from all over that inspire me to locate similar recipes online or design my own creations. Since we don’t have a spare ten thousand dollars lying about, it’s a suitable substitute for now.

I can’t quite pinpoint exactly why spring in the midwest is so much nicer than in Texas, but I’m definitely finding things to enjoy about it for what seems like the first time in my life, though I’ll always be a summer and autumn girl! I’ll alert you to my first firefly sighting when it happens ;-)

When I last spoke of all the glorious Ohio summery things I was looking forward to, I apparently neglected to mention, or even realize, something I was not going to be anxiously awaiting the imminent arrival of. Bugs. Loudly-buzzing, rapidly-flying, ceiling-crawling, fang-bearing, blood-sucking, fright-inducing, biting-and-stinging, death-defying bugs. Much like the one that I found IN MY PANTS last night.

I know.

Yesterday afternoon I was being a good homeowner and responsible citizen and attempting to pull our wheeled toter trashcan up the driveway and to the curb. Attempting. Upon opening the garage door and spotting three of the biggest, roundest, fattest, flying bugs I have ever seen in my near vicinity (they were looking especially hungry, might I add), I quickly retreated back inside and decided that that one little old measly bag of trash didn’t really need to make it to the curb. I tried two more times within the next hour-and-a-half or so but, alas, they were out to get me. Long story short, I waited until dusk when I thought they had hunkered down for the night and toted the trash to the curb just as Ted pulled in the driveway, home early (yay!).

I started to explain these strange, gigantic creatures to him, claiming that they clearly must be some venomous freak-of-nature, native only to Cincinnati, and how I had no idea what they could possibly be because I, for one, had never seen such a fat bug. At that moment the creature in question (let’s just call him Beluga) appeared. Ted informed me that Beluga was….a honey bee. A bee. That’s it. Just a simple honey bee and not a mutant beast. For real, friends, I have never seen such an enormous bee in my life. Texas bees are like ants compared to these suckers. What kind of messed-up honey are they tanking up on up here? Anyhow my husband and hero, the bee-killer, set to work on Beluga & Company with a fly swatter. I know. I was hiding in the garage and he’s out there stirring up trouble with a pack of bees that could devour him in one sitting with a flimsy little fly swatter. But the man has a sense of adventure (or maybe no sense at all) and good aim. Two down. Liquid killer spray for the nest is on the grocery list.

Anyway, back to the real reason you’ve continued to read this far – the bug in my pants. Right. So I was minding my own business, standing in our bedroom folding the laundry I’d just taken out of the dryer, still thinking about the ferociousness of those darn honey bees. I reached into the basket, pulled out my black pair of pants and gave them a good shake before I started to fold them. Out pops a wasp, who bounces off my arm and lands like 3″ away from me on the pillow. GAME OVER. I leaped from the room in one mighty bound and charged downstairs to the basement to retrieve the fly swatter, leaving Ted to clamor into the bedroom and babysit the beast until the fly swatter arrived. The little devil must have come in through the dryer vent, survived the 40-minute carnival ride, made himself at home in my pants, and then decided to come out for a breath of fresh air. I gingerly, and with major trepidation, folded the rest of the laundry. I’m just relieved Ted came home unexpectedly early last night, or else I’d have had to deal with it myself spend the evening in the car. Is nothing safe anymore!? Stay out of our dryer vent!!! Following all these shenanigans, I also spotted a giant black ant traipsing across our kitchen ceiling last night. Excellent. 3 bugs in one day. That is definitely my limit.

So, here’s what I’m not looking forward to for the next six months – bugs in our house. Bugs outside of our house. Bugs in our laundry. Bugs in our yard. Bugs anywhere near me. Thanks, house, for your clear lack of sealing or insulation, thus thwarting your ability to keep the critters out. We need a cat. And thank you also to my husband, the bug killer, who will apparently be busy for the next 180 days swatting insects (since he won’t allow a bug-catching cutie by the name of Sancho to come live with us…). Don’t feel too bad for him though, I pay in good home cooking, pie and cuddles. Ted, not Sancho. Sancho is paid in turkey baby food.

Okay, onto BAM.

So last Friday night CCM at UC held their annual moving lights show called BAMMMMM (apparently the more M’s the better, I’ve been told, since it doesn’t actually stand for anything that we know of and everyone tacks on as many M’s as they please). The show is regionally, if not nationally, known and recognized. Moving light companies and rental houses donate a few dozen, several-thousand dollar moving lights to the lighting students at CCM for a week to do a major class project for their Automated Lighting class that results in a show. Essentially each student in the class selected two songs of their choosing, one fast and one slow, and using the moving lights, choreographed and programed a lighting show to the music. It’s pretty awesome! To see all the wild things these lights can do is truly incredible – they can make any shape, design, pattern, or color. They can be narrow and wide and swivel to any angle. It was like a little rock concert, only it focused on awesome technology with the music as the background, instead of the other way around. To program a 5-minute songs takes about 7 hours. I had three definite favorites that really stood out to me. My favorite piece was designed and programed by a student who started off in the program as a dancer then changed her specialization to become a lighting student. The movement of the lights fit the music so perfectly most likely because, as a dancer, she is keenly aware of the timing between movement and music.

Anyhow, there are many, many videos of BAMM moving lights shows on Youtube (search “CCM BAMM”) from 2007-2010 that past CCM students have posted to share their projects, but here are snippets of three songs from the 2010 production, just so you can get a feel for the crazy amount of work that goes into designing and programing with automated technology, all the incredible things these moving lights can do, and how much they can enhance a theatre or dance production. (P.S. – on the middle video, you’ll have to click on it to watch it directly from the YouTube website).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhhYAG6WTTg&feature=related]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujS59jA6U4c&feature=related]

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Some things always remind me of our time in Lansing:

This “J” mug was a prop from the Dark Night production of The Early Girl I organized and produced as a Second Company member at the BoarsHead Theatre. It belonged to my character Jean. All the female characters in the show had one with their character’s initial on it. I love this mug. I use it for everything – milk, soda, tea, cider, cocoa. Everything.

All black – I have quite the collection of black shirts of all lengths and varieties, black shoes, and black pants. When you spend 5 nights a week backstage, you learn to embrace the theatre blacks. I can’t wear blacks without feeling like I’m backstage, charging between the green room, shop, and dressing rooms.

Square cut pizza – especially if it’s square cut pepperoni pizza in a pizza box! The theatre’s spring production of All Childish Things called for a pizza. The greasy spoon Arts bar down the street was contracted to provide said pizza. It came hot and delicious nightly, a large circular pepperoni pizza cut into squares. The best part? After the show it was ours. And it was delicious.

Jimmy John’s gourmet subs! If you had 30 minutes between work and show call, this was the go-to chow. They were located like 0.8 miles from the theatre, they delivered fast, and were cheap. The bread is especially tasty. Totally Tuna, California Club, the Italian Vito, and the Vegetarian Sub were my favorites! Someone on staff would round up all the Jimmy John’s orders and we’d all pile onto the floor of the lobby, chow down and gossip. I can’t smell, see, or eat a Jimmy John’s without Lansing flooding my brain. Another helpful tip: set the cookie in the sun – warm and gooey goodness! The grand opening of the Jimmy John’s near our house was today – I scored a Totally Tuna for $1. Mmmmm! It was quite the nostalgic Lansing day.

This picture always makes me smile. Sometimes life in Lansing was a real pain in the ass. Living at the intern house wasn’t cake and we all seldom got along nicely. Too many psychopaths creative minds at play. But it didn’t all suck. I loved the internship itself and there were a handful of happy memories like the WillPower – Shakespeare’s Ladies rehearsals and touring performances, playwriting classes with Kristine, group outings to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream during the workday, piling in the BoarsHead van to see a show at Williamston Theatre, opening night champagne toasts and catered parties, the company heading to Leo’s Outpost for a drink, post-stike beer and pizza onstage after striking 85 stage lights, the fun Permanent Collection cast & crew party we held at the intern house, hanging gels in the living room, and the day we helped Holly clean out the costume shop. That ridiculous red headpiece on the dude? I totally made that.

Tons more things bring Lansing to mind – stain glass windows, reading scripts, coffeeshops, great breakfast, little glass animals, ice cream and the park, billboards, the smell of Home Depot, a bunny running across our yard – so, so many thing. Too many to name.

We love Cincinnati, but some days Ted and I both miss Lansing.