Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Back on the Tracks



Sorry about the lapse in posting, lurking blog gremlins. Stage Managing eats your soul in a way that I sort of anticipated but could not possibly understand the extent of. It's not that I have to always be on call by cell phone or email, but if I'm not things have the tendency to go haywire. I'd rather be available and on task all the time than have things get messed up and have to fix them. But boy does it wear me down. I'm only glad we don't rehearse on the weekend, because I really need those days to recharge. Or to babysit my favorite two year old. Or to go tuxedo shopping with my dad as the case was last weekend.

The wedding stuff is coming together, after that first mad dash to get everything done that should have been done in the nonexistent six-month planning period BEFORE our sudden six-month "engagement" happened. For those of you that don't know the story, I had been engaged to Cj for the past 5 years or so before we finally decided, "this year's the year." So what we had always thought would be a slow and deliberate planning process (like our equally slow and deliberate engagement) turned into a wham-bam-thank you ma'am type of thing.

But it's been one of those things where you know you're going in the right direction because things magically materialize and come together. The few hiccups we've had (the original caterer wanted to charge us $140 a head, natch) have only led us to much better solutions than we had originally. Things just pop up out of nowhere.

Although I was really pissed to open up the latest Martha Stewart Weddings and find almost the exact color scheme and theme to my wedding featured. The way they arranged the place setting was the same, their ideas for invitations were the same... This has happened to my mother with screenplays and to friends of mine with other ideas - it's like it just permeates the air and drifts cross-country where other people with more money or time breathe it in and use it. Oh well, it's too late to change now. I'll just be really cutting edge.

Oh, I think I forgot to tell this story, but the caterer we finally decided to go with had a novel suggestion to prevent the wedding from being overrun by bees (we're in a garden in the summer) - meat on stakes stuck all around the site.

My mother asked, "You mean like, in a bee trap?"

"No. Just stick the meat on the stakes and then put them all around."

MEAT FOR BEES!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Toad Abode XD



Solar Cottage Toad Abode from Target!



• Toads are gardeners’ friends, and this darling cottage will make toads feel at home in your garden.
• Light is visible from the outside of the abode only, drawing unsuspecting and vegetation-damaging insects to the toad
• Solar panel absorbs energy from any light source; light-sensitive photocell automatically turns light on at dusk/off at dawn
• Made of durable polyresin with colorful painted finish
• Requires 1 AA NiMH rechargeable battery; 7.5Hx8.67Wx8.67D"

Buy this Solar Cottage Toad Abode with Solar Gnome Checkers today!
Banned in Malaysia

I majorly edited this list for the funny. I mean, everybody knows why South Park and Borat were banned, but what the hell is wrong with the Geena Davis show? Huh, Malaysia? Full list available on IMDB.com

"Ally McBeal" (1997) TV Series
"Geena Davis Show, The" (2000) TV Series
"Spider-Man" (1994) TV Series
Amadeus (1984)
Amistad (1997)
Babe (1995) and Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
Bobby (2006)
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Daredevil (2003)
Dark Crystal, The (1982)
Fast Food Nation (2006)
In America (2002), ONE OF MY FAVORITES!
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
Joyeux Noël (2005) I left this one in for Emily.
Kylie: Live in Sydney (2001)
Lost in Translation (2003)
Phone Booth (2002)
Piano, The (1993)
Pinocchio (2002)
...aka Roberto Benigni's Pinocchio (2002) (USA: promotional title)
Prince of Egypt, The (1998)
Ray (2004/I)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Scarface (1983)
Schindler's List (1993)
Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
Sideways (2004)
Sin City (2005)
Thank You for Smoking (2005)
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) This one killed me.
United 93 (2006)
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Zoolander (2001)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Basic Pantry List

So lately I've begun to think about what I'll need when I move out of my mother's (frankly well-stocked) house, considering all the baking I've been doing. I mean, I definitely don't cook the way I cooked when I was in college. So I decided to put together a little pantry list of essentials.

Dry Goods:

Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Coffee
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Cream of Wheat
Dry Cereals
Dry Milk Powder
Flour (all-purpose, wheat, gluten-free)
Grits
Honey
Oatmeal/Rolled Oats
Pasta (spaghetti, fettuccini, elbows, penne, rigatoni, shells, twists, lasagna, wide egg noodles, etc...)
Pancake Mix
Peanut Butter
Peanuts, Other Nuts & Seeds (almonds, pecans, walnuts, soy nuts, sunflower seeds, etc...)
Popcorn
Pudding and Jello Mixes
Ramen Noodles
Rice (White and Brown)
Sugar (Baker's, Powdered, Brown)
Tea

Additional Baking Supplies:

Chocolate Chips
Condensed Milk
Evaporated Milk
Light Corn Syrup
Vanilla Extract
Yeast Packets (store in fridge)
Decorative Sugar and Sprinkles
Food Coloring

Spices:

Basil
Bay Leaves
Better Than Bouillon (chicken and beef)
Chili Powder
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cumin
Curry Powder
Garlic
Ginger
Nutmeg
Onion Powder
Oregano
Paprika
Parsley
Pepper (coarse ground)
Rosemary
Sage
Salt (Morton® iodized and sea salt)
Thyme

Extras:

Matcha (green tea) Powder
Poppy Seeds

Canned Goods:

Chicken Broth
Fruit (sliced peaches, pears, pineapple)
Soups (chicken noodle, tomato, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, etc...)
Tomatoes (diced, crushed)
Tomato Paste
Tomato Sauce
Tuna (white albacore), or Chicken
Vegetables (baked beans, green beans, corn, peas, sliced mushrooms, etc...)

Extras:

Crab Meat
Spaghetti Sauce

Condiments & Misc.:

Applesauce
Barbecue Sauce
Canola Oil
Cooking Spray
Jelly (grape, raspberry, strawberry preserves, etc...)
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Olive Oil
Pancake Syrup
Pickles
Salad Dressing
Soy Sauce
Vegetable Shortening
Vinegar
Worcestershire Sauce

Extras:

Bottled Water (for emergencies)
Mini-marshmallows
Olives (black or green)
Teriyaki Sauce
Ponzu Sauce
Rice Vinegar

Bread: (as needed)

Bagels
English Muffins
Hotdog or Hamburger Buns
Graham Crackers
Multi-Grain Bread
Pretzels
Ritz® Crackers
Sourdough
Tortillas

Perishable Items: (as needed)

Dairy (milk, eggs, real butter, margarine, cheese, sour cream, Cool Whip®, ice cream, yogurt, craime fraiche etc...)
Fresh Fruit (apples, bananas, berries, oranges, grapes, melons, etc...)
Fresh Vegetables(asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, corn on the cob, green peppers, mushrooms, etc...)
Garlic
Meat, Fish & Poultry
Onions (yellow, sweet or red)
Potatoes (white, small red, yellow/gold or sweet)
Salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, etc...)


Can you think of anything I've forgotten?

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Disaster!

So I have an inner (sometimes outer) monologue, as I'm sure we all do.

But I can't say I ever thought that my inner monologue would say:

THERE'S A POT PIE ON FIRE IN THE MICROWAVE!
Puppy Pictures... umm also theater.

So I'm stage managing a dance show, blah blah blah, more details as this story progresses.

BUT

Much more fun is this picture of my dog after she army crawled under the fence into a mudhole in the rain and escaped from the yard. Then she got yelled at and put in the bathtub cause she was too filthy to go anywhere else in the house.