Time? What time?

So my little sister will NOT LET ME ON THE COMPUTER.

But it's all good. She's leaving for Paris on the 27th and'll be gone for over a week.

So...there'll be more updates then. ^_^

Christmas? Really?

It seriously does not feel like Christmas. Is it really in four days?! I have almost no presents for people!

On the upside, I've made plans with Kat for a Rock Band/Pancake Pantry day, and with Rose for one of our patented Movie Bonanzas. And I'm probably going to host some kind of party at some point.

I just spent way, way too much money at JoAnn's. They're projects I've been planning on, but still...a lot more money than I wanted. But I'm going to make:

-Butterick 4567 in red, possibly with a black underlay

-Butterick 5272 in cream with gold buttons and an old-timey sailing ship lining (It's based on the coat that Miley Cyrus and Miranda Cosgrove wore in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Did anyone else notice they wore the same coat? I sure did! It was hilarious.)

-A circle skirt with a blue-and-brown damask print.

-Some kind of green jumper. Or dress. Or something. I don't know. I'll make it up.

-A pink and white coat to match this bike that I hope I get for Christmas.

Unfortunately, I left my camera card reader at the dorm. So unless my sister decides to use my camera during the trip to Paris and I use hers, or her card reader works with mine, we'll just have to wait on pictures until the second week of January. Sad day.

No place like home...

I am HOME!!! Hurrah!!

I moved back home for Christmas break on Wednesday night...Thursday P came over for a while...Friday was the big church youth group party (I am one of the middle school lifeguards, which basically means I'm a super-hands-on Sunday School teacher). So today is the first time I went online.

But yeah. It's fabulous to be at home. My own shower...my cozy bedroom...a real kitchen...it's fantastic.

Thank you so much for all the comments this week!! I feel so special being a Saucy blogger. ^_^ Hopefully I'll have time soon to check out all of your blogs and return the kind comments.

I got my grades back!
Lifetime Fitness: D
First Aid and Emergency Care: D
Advanced Acting: C
Gospel of Mark for Women: B
Shakespeare's Tragedies: B (that was a hard class!!)
Beginning Directing: A
Costuming Practicum: A
Private Voice: A

So yeah. I could have done better, but the beginning of the semester was really difficult. But I picked up the pace at the end and everything turned out all right. And now I don't have to think about anything school related until January. YAY!

One of my BFFs, Kat (who is also my maid of honor) is hangin' out today, and we're going to meet Emma (who's also a bridesmaid) for sushi and watching Friends DVDs. And probably Rent. If you haven't seen that, you should. It's a terrific show, and it also singlehandedly revived the American musical in the early 90s. If you're into musical theater, it's a big part of the genre's history.

Aaaaand the theater lesson is over. *ahem*

I need to get P's Christmas present. Seriously. It's five days for Christmas, and I've got nothing. Yikes...five days?! Doesn't seem like it. Not at all.

But yeah. I think this will be a lovely Christmas break.

Hamlet: The Snarky Edition

This is a part of my essay for my Shakespeare's Tragedies exam. I thought it was pretty snarky.

(I also really wanted to make a reference to how similar Hamlet is to Harry in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but I wasn't that brave.)

Hamlet is arguably the most obnoxious tragic hero in Shakespearean lore: is he mad or isn’t he, is he going to avenge his father’s death or not, is he ever going to stop moping around and actually do something? If it was up to him, Hamlet probably would have stayed out of it. In the beginning of the play, he is simply a college student disheartened over his father’s death. If his father’s ghost had never appeared, he probably would have gone back to school, gotten some useless but impressive degree, gone back to court where he would have had a strong dislike of his stepfather but not enough do anything about it, married Ophelia, became king, and died an old man, seeing as how he didn’t have any jealous brothers to murder him. However, that didn’t happen, and he was forced to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet then spends next several acts alternating between pretending to be mad and moping about how awful his life is.

Mostly weddings!

Only two exams left- Advanced Acting in two hours and Shakespeare's Tragedies tomorrow. Voice jury was yesterday, and I think I nailed it. I sang two pieces- "Shy" from Once Upon a Mattress as my musical theater piece and "Le Charme" as my art piece. And even though I've been speaking French (not quite fluently, but still) since I was eight, I cannot sing in it. Oh, well. I think I got an A anyways, and that's all that really matters. ^_^

I think the scenes are going to go well, too. Ted needs a lot of direction, but I think it's going to work out. And Melissa and I are pretty awesome. I use a Southern accent for the character now, and I think that made it click for me. I'm going to practice before the exam, so hopefully all will go well.

I finished reading Battle Royale last night. Think Lord of the Flies set in Japan, with fifty fourteen-year-olds, and even more gory. Yeah. It makes you think, but it's really disturbing. Don't read it unless you're not squeamish. Which, incidentally, I typically am, but it all worked out.

There's a polka dot wedding dress featured in an issue of Martha Stewart that I DESPERATELY want to find. It's a Carolina Herrera (which means I can't afford it) but I love it so much!! There's really three dresses that I absolutely love (and they're all too expensive).

Justina McCaffrey (Theodora):
Kristie Kelly for Disney Fairy Tale Weddings (one of the Belle designs):

Michelle Roth:

Carolina Herrera:

It's going to be tricky to find a wedding dress because

#1: I'm on a major budget.

#2: I'm very short, but I have a very curvy figure

#3: I want something with a flattering sweetheart neckline, a full skirt but not too full, and something I can tie a blue sash on.

But I'm very opinionated on my dress. I'm using my Director Eye for the Full Stage Picture on this wedding, and...

...and...

...and it's an Alice in Wonderland theme.

A lot of people look at me funny when I say that. I'm known for being a huge Disney freak, but really. When you work at Disney World, you have a license to be a fan. (I was a Tour Guide on the Great Movie Ride, if you're wondering.) And I adore Alice in Wonderland.

A bunch of us were watching Family Guy last night, and I had my laptop, so I played around with a theme board. This is only a partial one...but what do you think?

OMG! I'm saucy!

I'm so excited!! I have a Saucy blog!! This just made my day. I opened my email and it was like "OMG YOU HAVE EIGHTEEN COMMENTS!" Seriously. Thank you to everyone who commented (and everyone who will comment. :)). I feel so special.

P and I had a marvelous time this weekend. We went over to Flattestan and had a big shindig for Kat's 21st birthday. The Rock Band was freaking fabulous. I love singing "I'm So Sick" by Flyleaf because I get to do the screamo parts. And really, nothing is funnier than a 4' 11 3/4" tall girl screaming "I will BREEEEEAAAAAAK" in a growly voice.

New beverages I totally enjoy:
-Creamsicle: ginger ale and vanilla vodka
-Dr. Coco: Dr. Pepper and coconut rum
-B-kicker: pineapple juice, a little bit of rum, and enough frozen apple cherry juice concentrate to turn it pink.

And I tasted little bits of everything. When I turned 21, I had no idea of what beverages were good or not, but thanks to Flattestan, I've discovered I like a lot of stuff. Mm, good times.

P and I also got a chance to have a nice talk. Of course, we left in the middle of church to talk, but still. We were back before the sermon was over. ^_^ It was a good talk, though. Everything's much better, and we spent all yesterday afternoon together. And took a nap. A very long nap. It was a good time.

You'd think during exam week I'd get to sleep in. Oh, no. Not me. I am in the lobby of my dorm every morning at seven, sitting at the front desk. Thrilling times. I would much rather sleep in, but no. Sad day. At least I'll be home by Wednesday night and I can sleep in until, oh, 8:30. It'll be awesome.

P and I got our first wedding present yesterday!! We love hanging out with people, and the ABSOLUTE best game for hanging out has got to be Apples to Apples. And that's what we got! Technically it's a Christmas present for me from his mom, but yeah. Isn't it fabulous? I just have to mark it on the registry. Which I should probably do now...

I don't think I've ever shown off how incredibly handsome and adorable my fiance is. I think I will do that now:
Okay, so maybe it's not the most flattering picture, but I love it. This is from the night we got engaged. We went to Ruby Tuesday's with our families and got free cake, and everyone kept telling us to to feed it to each other so they could take pictures. I was holding the fork, he wasn't ready, so I ate it myself.

And there's a reason my hair is so wonderfully craptastic. He proposed right after the last performance of Into the Woods, where I played one of the stepsisters. Those braids were tucked up under a huge Marie Antoinette-style wig. Not exactly the hairdo of one's dreams when you're being proposed to, but P is just so wonderful and I was so happy that I didn't even care.

Although our children are going to make fun of the pictures...

And I just entered this fabulous giveaway at Ravings of a Mad Housewife. Who else wants Fiesta dishes?! Ooh me!!

And God said...let it be fabulous.

Thanks for the support. ^_^ P and I talked a good bit, and I think we're on the same page. It's just hard to function as a couple sometimes when we're living two different lives, so to speak- me as a busy theater kid, him as the only committed guy in an apartment full of bachelors. And I think we're frustrated by the fact that we have not had any real couple time since...well, about 2 1/2 weeks. I mean, he came to the show and we hung out at the cast party...but that's not really CoupleTime.

So yeah. Things are much better.

Tonight is the big party in Flattestan. I'm terribly excited. Rock band and margaritas, good times.

I'm scoping out Etsy.com for a pretty present for Kat. I'm making all of my Christmas presents, but I'm going to purchase a b-day gift. Now to find something AWESOME.

..if I can find anything. Honestly, unless I make it, I have trouble finding good presents. :(

I was going to write a serious blog

Really. This was going to be a serious entry, but I don't feel like making people read something serious. Not that many people read this blog, but still. Exam week is not the time for serious things. Exam week is the time for ordering pizza and watching Arrested Development marathons.

And studying. That too.

I'm trying to figure out if CSI is on. I used to watch that show with one of my former roommates, and she kinda got me hooked on it. After I stopped cringing, that is. I can be a bit squeamish. Spike usually shows marathons of it, so I just turn it on and let it play. But right now they're showing wrestling. Boo hiss. No CSI fix for me.

I dreamed I had a baby last night. It was really disconcerting. I was never pregnant or went into labor or anything. I just woke up (in the dream) and P was like "Hey...here's our son." And I was like "Whoa...crap." We named him Charles Ian Nicholas Trevathan. Which is weird, because Ian isn't even on our list of names. (I know...we're not even married and we've already thought about baby names...better to think about it now. At some point I'll tell the story of how my parents picked out my name.) But yeah.

That isn't the first time I dreamed about having a baby. I once had a dream that we had triplets, and I was still asleep when they wrote the names on the birth certificates. So P named them Gertrude, Catalina, and...I think the third one was Hortense or something ridiculous like that. And then he didn't know why I was mad. He thought he did a good thing. Thank goodness he's so much smarter than that in real life.

Although he did sleep through his alarm and slept through an exam again. And he might read this entry, which makes me feel bad, but I do need to talk about it and get the angst out of my system. He has to take the class again, making it the third time, and he absolutely hates the class, so he's going to be miserable. And I'm sad because I've been working super hard in my classes so I can graduate on time and get better grades in case I want to get my master's later on, and he slept through an exam. Again.

It's also disappointing that I do my best to spend as little money as possible, and I took the only job I could- working at 7am in the lobby of my dorm. I have to get up early every morning and sit there for less than minimum wage. I make very little, but I have over $200 saved up so far, just from this semester of eleven hours of work a week. And he hasn't saved up anything. But he bought an Xbox 360 and a bunch of games (and video games can be really pricey.)

I just don't know. I just hope he's not mad at me for writing this. I love him to death and I'm so happy we're getting married. But I can't help but feel a little resentful that I put so much pressure on myself to make sure we're prepared to get married and give up so many things I want because I'm thinking about what's best for us, and while he does think about our future, he doesn't feel the pressure that I do and therefore doesn't feel the obligations to give things up.

I don't know. Is this a guy's thoughts vs. girl's thoughts kind of deal? Or is it a typical engaged couple thing? I know financial problems are a major strain on married couples, so that's something we should work through before we're married. But really, I don't know how to talk to him about it. We kind of have, but I felt so guilty that I let it drop before we reached a real conclusion.

To put it a little differently- I used to buy $30-$80 worth of fabric and sewing supplies every month. I started cutting back, but last summer I made a conscious effort to stop. I didn't buy anything sewing related for about two months, and now I go shopping just when I need it, and usually just for one project at a time. I wish he would make the same choice with his video games. I did it because I love him, and I want us to not start our married life without any money at all. I want him to make the same choice for me.

So this did turn into a serious post. Not the serious post I intended, but still. Oh, well. I feel a little better now, at least.

Also, I think P should start a blog. It would be fun. He would never rememeber to update, but it would be fun.

Revamp!

I fixed up my blog! What do you think?

First rehearsal of Enchanted Attic last night. What did I learn?

-I am not good at rehearsal schedules.

-The people we cast as the kids are FABULOUS together.

-Gender-bending galore.

-It will be a cold day in hell before a minor character gets a personal choreographer hired for them.

-Costumes are going to be SO PRETTY.

-Ash will eat me if I'm late again.

But yeah. The readthrough went really well last night. I think this cast is going to work really well together.

I'm on such a major sewing kick right now. It's awesome. I'm planning out about three or four months worth of sewing. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. I'm so excited. Christmas break will be AMAZING in the sewing department.

I was thinking about having a Dead Day party. But since Dead Day is tomorrow, I don't think that's happening. Sadness. Oh, well. I'll eventually have a Christmas party. It'll be awesome.

I just discovered a new clothing website that I LOVE called Modcloth.com. Their stuff is so awesome! They have a fabulous clock that I desperately want:

Is that not completely and utterly amazing! Thanks to Courtney for finding the site for me. ^_^

I have to memorize my lines. I MUST memorize my lines. I have the Down the Road scene down just about perfectly, but I really need to learn the scene from My Cup Ranneth Over. Like really.

The espresso is a bit much...

Whew. I knew my sweets-and-caffeine tolerance had dropped, but this astonishing! I've sipped maybe a fourth of my tall espresso truffle from Starbucks, and I'm done. I can't take anymore of the buzz!

I signed up for Twitter because all of the cool kids are doing it. I'm just not going with the cell phone option because really...really, I don't want to be barraged with Twitter updates at 3:00 am from freshmen who stay up watching Adult Swim at all hours. *coughnickcough*

I don't have to do anything till 5:00 pm today when I have to go to the Disney College Program offer party and talk to a bunch of kids headed off to work in the parks like I did almost three years ago. Kind of sad, really. I miss it. Then I have the first Enchanted Attic rehearsal at 6:00, which will be fun. I can't wait to see how the cast works together, chemistry-wise. Honestly, that's one of the big things I look for when I cast- how an actor works with the other actors.

I'm going to do a lot of sewing during all of the downtime between my exams, and there's going to be a lot of it. Here's what my class lineup looks like:

Gospel of Mark for Women: Exam on Saturday at 8 (or 9. I'm not sure about it, so I'm showing up at 8. But ew, Saturday!)
Shakespeare's Tragedies: Exam next Wednesday at 8
Advanced Acting: performing a scene from "My Cup Ranneth Over" tomorrow (I play Yucca) and a scene from "Down the Road" (I play Iris) either tomorrow or...um, maybe Tuesday. I have to check.
Lifetime Fitness: already finished that class!
First Aid and Emergency Care: already finished!
Costuming Practicum: my exam was hell week and the aftermath for Joseph, so I'm covered.
Beginning Directing: my exam was Shorts!, so I'm all done!

So yeah. Plenty of downtime for sewing.

...and studying, I suppose.

Sixteen Things You Didn't Know About Me

This has been running all over Facebook, and everyone's tagged me. So yeah. It's here, too. Just following the trend mindlessly...and it's fun!

1) I flipped off a bicycle when I was eleven and cracked my skull. I swore I would never ride a bike again...but somehow a pink Schwinn ended up on my Christmas list for this year.

2) I was not allowed to watch most Disney films when I was a child. In fact, I didn't see The Little Mermaid until I was fifteen. Maybe that explains some of my obsession...

3) I was so sure I would never get married that I made a plan- graduate with degrees in theater and art, work as storyboader and scratchtrack artist in LA, and start adopting kids once I turned 30. Now my plan is to graduate with a degree in theater next December, get married on March 13, 2010, get a theater-related job, and start a family a few years after that. I like that plan a lot more.

4) Other teenagers rebel with sex, drugs, and alcohol. (Who was waiting for "rock 'n' roll? Ooooh, got you.) I rebelled by purchasing Harry Potter paraphernalia.

5) I just started writing two blogs- a normal everyday life blog (http://charmypants.blogspot.com), and one with all of my sewing projects (http://gidgettwidgett.blogspot.com).

6) I sew a lot, but I only started sewing about a 1 1/2-2 years ago. But I'm trying to get to the point of making most of my own clothes, and I'm starting to make custom stuff for people.

7) I spent three years developing and writing a book, which I finished in June. Now I'm working on the second in the 12-book series, and I hope to get it published. Also, the main character's house really exists. Look for the purple Victorian on Hillsboro; it's exactly where I imagine Beatrice lives.

8) I am in love with names. I have a running list of my favorites, so when Patrick and I have babies, they will have heavily embroidered names. Top favorites at the moment: Colin, Gabriel, and Leo for boys, and Avonlea, Alice, and Lucy for girls.

9) I am addicted to Sprite. I am getting to the point that I drink Sprite the way Rose drinks Dr. Pepper. Not quite to the same extent yet...but close.

10) I easily obsess over things. I become a fangirl to the nth degree. It can get pretty crazy sometimes, but I'm not nearly as bad as I used to be. Which is scary, if you know how obsessive I can be now.

11) I was classified as clinically depressed at the age of eleven and put on a suicide watch, but showed signs as early as six years old. Whoa, heavy. Let's go back to the fun stuff.

12) Since I'm a quarter-inch shy of being 5'0", I'm legally classified as a midget. I can get a handicapped pass just for being freaking short!

13) I've wanted to be a voice actress since I was but a wee lass. When people ask me why I watch so much animation, I tell them it's market research. And now I can identify almost any voice actor. I even identified Jason Mardsen on a gasp.

14) I've wanted a teacup shorthair Yorkshire Terrier since I was seven years old. I've never had a pet (besides the ant farm I accidentally killed as a kindergartner), so I've talked Patrick into letting me get one after we're married.

15) A lot of people tease me about being a 1950s housewife. But I secretly love it. The cooking, the sewing, the plans for babies, the constant wearing of cutesy dresses...I like all those things. So it's all good.

16) I'm getting married in one year, three months, one week, five days, and seven hours. And no, I am NOT making my wedding dress, despite pressure to do so. Do you think I want to go through my last semester of school, two or three shows, last-minute wedding planning, house hunting, job hunting, AND making a ginormous wedding dress? No, thank you.

Shorts!

The production of Shorts! (and particularly my scene) went really, really, really well. Mike was pleased. My cast had a great time. The audience loved it. We took production photos yesterday, so hopefully I can post those soon, because they're going to be fabulous.

The show went like this:

Act I
"Misreadings" by Neena Beeber (about an English professor and a failing vapish student who misunderstand each other; the student commits suicide later)
"Sure Thing" by David Ives (a couple in a coffee shop; the two hit a bell in order to "redo" things and get the answers they want)
"Baseball is Life" by Chris Peck (an original piece- very good, but very talky. A man puts his dream of baseball ahead of everything else)

Act II
"Words, Words, Words" by David Ives (three monkeys typing into infinity will sooner or later type Hamlet- but they don't know what it is)
"The Man Who Couldn't Dance" by Jason Katims (a former couple talk about what went wrong and ponder life)
"The Actor's Nightmare" by Chris Durang (a bewildered accountant wanders through a Noel Coward play, Hamlet, and a version of Samuel Beckett's Endgame)

All in all, it went over really well. I just need to finish and turn in my production binder.

Now I need to study for exams, learn my lines for Advanced Acting, and get ready for Enchanted Attic! The first cast meeting is on Tuesday, and I'm pretty excited.

And soon I'll be able to post something other than theater!

Titling something "hell week" is always a great conversation starter

That's right, kids, it's hell week. That wonderful time of year when every exhausted theater student is scrambling to remember lines, gathering costume pieces, and spending four hours a night in the theater when they would really rather be sleeping.

Our last dress rehearsal was last night, and we open TODAY! It's really going to be fabulous. And just to prove how fabulous it's going to be, here is a sneak preview of my monkeys:


Aren't they amazing? I might be getting a DVD of the performance, and if I do, the link is going up here! Also, please note the tire swing in the background. It is a real, actual tire swing that the three actors play around on. It's so awesome.

I had my director's evaluation with Mike yesterday. And even though I was terrified, it could not have gone better. The only negative thing he had to say about me is that I'm a people pleaser, which leads me to taking on too many projects. Which I know quite well. On the upside, he has seen a lot of progress in me as a director and that I have a lot of talent for it- which I wasn't expecting at all. He also thanked me and complimented me profusely on my work for Lighting of the Green, and that was quite gratifying.

I don't think I ever explained what Lighting of the Green was. Every year Lipscomb University hosts a big concert led by Amy Grant and a bunch of other people in front of the bell tower on campus, and people from all over Nashville come to see it. This year, the theater department was asked to supply characters, either Dickens or Disney, to walk around during the event and talk to people. So it was like working at Disney World again. But within a week and a half, I cast and costumed 20+ people. It was a ton of work, especially since I had to make so many pieces from scratch. But yeah. Mike was very enthusiastic and pleased about the job I did. On to what I was talking about...

It looks like I'll get an A in Beginning Directing. That's really making me happy. My grades have gotten a lot better this semester, which I really needed. All in all, it's been a better semester than usual.

Life is going to settle down a bit after this weekend. The show will be over. Classes will be almost over. Soon I'll be home for Christmas, stitching away at my sewing machine and poring over wedding magazines with P. Hopefully my blog will have less of a one-track mind then. Maybe it'll be more interesting, and people will actually read it. :(

I really want to write a blog about how my fiance and I met and all that. It's a pretty cute story, and I need to remind myself that, beyond all of this theater stuff, I've got a real life.

Do I have a life yet?

Lighting of the Green is thankfully, mercifully over. I wrangled 20 people into last-minute costumes and sent them out to freeze...I mean, talk to people.

I think my hands are still frozen.

Also, I have pretty much NO pictures. I'm sad about that. There were some truly fabulous costumes, and I wrangled it together from pretty much nothing.

On the downside, I have to clean up the costume department. That's going to be fun. Maybe I'll take a picture of that.

Is it over yet?

Lighting of the Green is tonight. I still have some more pieces to sew before 3:00, when people come to get dressed. Plus I have to take a shower and look...you know, presentable. Everything starts at 4:30, and then we go till seven.

And then dress rehearsal starts at 7:30.

Seriously, going to die.

But if I make it through this, expect a LOT of pictures. ^_^