Help me decide, Blogosphere

I just got my 5 free "try-on" pairs of glasses from Warby Parker. ($95 prescription glasses, and for every pair you buy, they donate a pair to someone in need. BAM.) Anyway, I can't decide which I like better.

BECKETT:


PIERCE:


PRESTON:


TENLEY:


THOMPSON REVOLVER:


I'm kinda leaning toward Beckett (that first one). Or maybe Thompson Revolver. Although Preston and Tenley are also fun. Your thoughts? (Ooh ohh! I just remembered I can put a little poll thing up on here! Vote for your favorite on the side bar up there!)

i thank You God for most this amazing day

1. Enchanted April. What a blessing to be surrounded by friends, doing an incredible show on an incredible set with incredible costumes, etc. It's a beautiful story, and I'm honored to be part of its telling. (Plus, things like this happen backstage, which delight me.) (Also, this picture isn't of the whole cast, but Jacob looks like a cartoon character from the turn of the century, so I posted it.)

2. Sunshine. Did you know it was 68 degrees on Saturday? I tried to do homework on my roof that afternoon, but I spend two hours staring in happiness at the sky instead.

3. Amoxicillin. Just in time for Enchanted April, my yearly sinus infection has made its appearance! But I'm glad I have access to antibiotics.

4. The lads from Liverpool. Jacob and I are experiencing a "Beatles Renaissance" at the moment. Our friend Dave let us borrow a 5-disc anthology documentary thing on them, and we've been watching it in increments each weekend. Jacob is currently smitten with "Your Mother Should Know," and I'm currently in love with the White Album. Also, did you know Ringo Starr is playing a show in Salt Lake in July? On July 11th, to be precise. The day after Jacob and I's 2-year anniversary. I'm thinking it would be a good way to celebrate...

5. The creativity of friends. This is my favorite onesie from my friend Carrie's new business venture, "Little Treetops." It's a response to all the people who say "What a cute baby!" The onesie says "Thank you. I am also smart." I love that. Way to shift the phallogocentric paradigm. Carrie designed all the artwork for the personality onesies, and the stuff she creates is always fantastic. (Case in point: She also created that baby, too.)

6. This fact. A week and a half, people. (Okay, and then like 8 more months while I take a break over the summer and then do student teaching before I actually get my degree. But still. No more undergrad class work. Ever. In a week and a half.) (BTW, that image is a snippet of my graduation announcement, designed by the oh-so-talented Kieffer McBride. He did a FANTASTIC job realizing my vision.)

To Do: Summer 2012

I'm a list-oriented person. A to-do list person. (In case you couldn't tell.) Anyway, with spring in the air, and summer on its way, and with the Semester Of Insanity nearing a close, I've got plans to do all sorts of things that I've been wanting to do and meaning to do and just haven't had time or the cooperation of the weather.

That was one of the longest sentences I've ever blogged.

Anyway, wanna know my plans for the months of April and May?

First, turning our little roof-top porch area into something like this: 

And, inspired by these,

I'm building a small DVD bookshelf out of pallet wood. The 2-foot tall rolling nightstand thing we're currently using ain't cutting it anymore.

Oh, and on May 4th? I'm playing a role in the steampunk operetta Argentine. It was written by a gem of a girl named Trina, whom I already adore, and I'm having a hard time believing that I get this opportunity.

So if you're in Rexburg on May 4th, head over to Sammy's. And if you're not in Rexburg, come to Rexburg.

I fell asleep among the flowers...

Current daydreams:

1. Something happens, and Roger calls Jacob and I up and asks us to come work at the Playmill for the summer. (Not that I want anything to happen to any of the current Playmill players...I just want to join them.)

2. Judy hires me on for 20-30 hours a week in the Theatre Office/script library for the summer, even though I'm not taking any classes.

3. I sing in a rock opera at Sammy's.

4. I have a hammock on the roof outside our apartment bedroom window, where I read novels to my heart's delight.

5. Jacob and I split the cost with some friends to rent a cottage on the Oregon Coast and spend a weekend reading, talking, laughing, eating, and playing on the beach.

6. I get to read whatever I want, with no other homework-esque obligations to get in my way.

7. Someone hands Jacob and I a check for $5,000 and tells us not to worry about finding jobs over the summer, but to just take a break and enjoy ourselves--floating the river, reading, planning a Theatre camp... (is that too much to ask for 2 summers in a row?)

8. My plantar's warts (gross, I know) disappear from the soles of my feet forever, and I can walk without wincing for the first time in nearly a year.

9. I get to play an amazing role in an amazing show with an amazing cast during my last semester of classes at BYU-Idaho. (Hey, what are you doing March 22nd? That's when Enchanted April opens, and I want to see you there.)

10. Winter ends, the days get longer, and we put away the space heaters and keep the windows open all night.

The comforting thing is that at least half of these things can and will come true in the next few months. (Probably not the first two, though. Or the 7th. Fingers crossed for the 8th one.)

Photo via witanddelight.tumblr.com

Checked Out

There is usually a moment, sometime in March or April, when I officially "check out" for the semester. Remember when it happened last year? It didn't in 2010 in quite the same way, because I had mono/tonsilitis/engagement-mania, but it did happen. And it happened in 2009. Etc.

It's always a moment. One specific moment around March that I can actually pinpoint, when I mentally just leave the semester. Today, I was sitting in the Grotto, going over our Directing I test with a few classmates, and I realized that I had just mentally "finished" the semester.

I still work on finishing the semester well. The semester doesn't actually look too different on the outside...I still do homework, attend classes, etc. But my heart is already in a hammock with a novel somewhere.

Update Vomit

1. It's been snowing like crazy. I kept thinking that if we could just make it until March, we'd have it made. Then it would be spring, and winter would have lots its chance and wouldn't have been allowed to come. Then on leap day...the very LAST day of February: white-out blizzard conditions. *Sigh*

2. I love the Oscars. Alexander McQueen can do no wrong...Jessica Chastain's dress is a knock-out. And how's about Midnight in Paris winning best screenplay!? I was thrilled! I also have a huge crush on Emma Stone right now, like most of America, and thoroughly enjoyed her nomination bit. (I can't find it on youtube yet, but when I do, I'll add a link.) And Christopher Plummer was the classiest man in that room that night. His acceptance speech proved him a delight and a gentleman. AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, AS A RESULT OF THE AWARDS, THE ARTIST IS NOW BEING SHOWN IN IDAHO FALLS!!! Can I afford to skip class today...? 

3. This blog might be getting a little quiet for a few weeks. Not that I don't love you all madly. It's just that it's the last few weeks of my last semester of classes, and I'm in a show, and I'm working, and I've got approximately 2 minutes of free time per day. I don't even have time to write THIS entry. So I may pop in occasionally, but if you notice my hiatus, it's because I'm swamped.

3B. And speaking of blogger, a lot of you have notified me that my comments get deleted as SPAM and don't show up on your blogs. And I am not spam. So check your spam folders! Sorry if comments aren't showing up...I AM reading!

4. Have I mentioned that The Artist is showing in Idaho Falls?


image via Pinterest...I'm too lazy to get the details.

Tag. You're it.

Half of me is still the 7th Grader who's excited that the awesome girl with the cute clothes "tagged" me in something. That part of me was unable to resist filling this out.

THE RULES:

1. Post these rules
2. Post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions provided by the one who tagged you
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag
5. Tag 11 people

11 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME:

1. I have a phobia of raccoons.
2. I went to my senior prom with Ralph Waldo Emerson III's twin brother Steve.
3. I went through a phase when I was Wiccan instead of Mormon.
4. I'm a documentary JUNKIE.
5. I did ballet off and on for 13 years.
6. I hate touching jars of mayonnaise or ranch dressing.
7. I have eclectic taste in music.
8. I love history, and my “pet time period” is America in the 1960’s.
9. I have published poetry in 3 literary magazines.
10. Reading and being outside are two of my absolute favorite things in the world. When those two things are combined, I’m in heaven. This is why I adore summer.
11. I will almost never decline a smoothie.

11 QUESTIONS JULES ASKED ME

1. What is currently your go-to outfit? Dark, straight-leg jeans + t-shirt (preferably my husband’s Nirvana t-shirt or his Harry Potter horcrux t-shirt) + blue cardigan (which I CAN’T FIND RIGHT NOW!) + sperry’s
2. If you could be a character in a fiction novel, who would you be? Tough one. Probably Anne from Anne of the Island. Grows up while still retaining a sense of adventure and a sense of humor.
3. When did you start blogging, why and is it different from your current blogging style? I started blogging in the fall of 2004, during my first semester at BYU-I, as a way to keep family and friends back home updated and a way to “journal” my experiences here. My readership has grown, so my entries are perhaps a little less candid. I’ve also come to embrace lists, the short entry, and tags.
4. What is your all-time favorite album? Not fair. It’s always changing. See this post for some ideas; most are still pretty accurate. Added to the current list is Tom Waits’ “Rain Dogs”
5. Are you closer to your mother's or father's side of the family? Probably my mother’s. I see them way more often.
6. Which celebrity do friends say you look like? I’ve heard Cate Blanchett and Grace Kelly. Both of which are wonderful compliments.
7. What advice would you give your fresh-out-of-high-school self? It will be okay. Be brave. Follow your own heart, and don’t worry about what society or anyone else “expects” of you. It only matters what God thinks of you and what YOU think of you. Everyone else’s regard will fall into place if you just pay attention to those things.
8. Best and worst reality TV shows, go: Best reality TV show = So You Think You Can Dance, Worst reality TV show = everything else
9. First kiss? Last kiss? First kiss = Jared Doshier, in my car, after we’d been together for a few days, the summer after I graduated high school. Last kiss = my husband, on the sidewalk on College Avenue, as I was going to class.
10. You're offered a job in both New York and L.A. Where do you move? New York. There are pros and cons to both places. But New York has this cultured, exciting, culinary, crowded appeal. And it’s a world of theatre, which I’m much more connected to than film.
11. Cosmetic/luxury item you can't live without: Savex cherry chapstick.

11 QUESTIONS FOR THE PEOPLE I’VE TAGGED (and anyone else who wants to participate):

1. What’s a quirky habit of yours?
2. What was the last song you listened to?
3. If you had a weekend off to go wherever you wanted, where would you go? (Just the weekend!)
4. Describe your ideal self in seven words.
5. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
6. Describe an awkward moment you experienced in college:
7. One of your greatest accomplishments in life so far:
8. If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would you pick and why?
9. What is one event that fundamentally changed you forever?
10. If you could have one superhero power, what would it be and why?
11. You have the chance to spend a month in one major European city. ONLY ONE. Where do you go?

WHO I TAGGED
1. Carrie
2. Val
3. Darcy
4. Jessie
5. Allison
6. Sarah
7. Amber
8. Kathleen
9. Mallory
10. Cam/Ryan
11. James (If you're not too busy writing additional chapters of "The Heart is the Loneliest Dude Ranch" or texting your baby, of course...)

Thoughts during rehearsal for "Enchanted April"

1. Wearing a wreath of flowers in your hair during rehearsal is lovely, even if sometimes, in tender moments, it gets caught in your stage partner's hair, and you have to stop and de-tangle it. Which sort of ruins the moment.
2. If Kelly makes it through this show without breaking character, she should be awarded a large sum of cash. I couldn't do it.
3. The problem with having a cast that all gets along really well is that we start having way too much fun. We can usually make it until roughly 9:30 every night. Then it's over. For example, last night I missed an entrance. My explanation was "I'm sorry. We're licking elbows back here." And we were.
4. Neither Dave nor Nick should be allowed to dance backstage. Especially if I'm looking their direction. Between Dave's knees and Nick's hips, it's too much.
5. Nick doesn't grab his rib-cage in fear as much as he used to. Shame. That was a hysterical habit he developed in his character.
6. Jacob's improvised lines--AKA the things he says in character when he can't remember what he's actually supposed to be saying--are always brilliant.
7. I shall pronounce the word "been" correctly by the end of the production.
8. There are all kinds of Canadians in this cast/crew. I've begun to pronounce things like "sorry" differently.
9. People totally speak Italian in this play. It's awesome. It sounds like they know what they're doing.
10. One of my stage directions says "glowing with thrift." How exactly does one "glow with thrift"?

On the mend

Jacob is feeling better. I mean, he's still coughing and has a runny nose, but he's not suffering from horrid stomach cramps and vomiting. We think that was a phenomenon unrelated to the cold.

Moral of the story: Wash all the dirt from the potatoes you eat.

Also, thanks to the Pooles for helping us out with ginger candies and tums and all that. Jacob wrote a song for you guys. We'll have to play it for you sometime.

On aches

I hope my future children are never sick.

Because my husband has been sick for the past few days, and tonight, he's having a pretty rough night. I've given him water and drugs and cuddled him and helped him into bed. I don't know what else to do for him, and my heart is breaking with every little cough and sigh he makes. =(

Say a little prayer for a speedy recover, okay?

Bad news for farmers, good news for my soul

So winter has been very mild this year. Which I'm a huge huge fan of. The above pictures were taken last month, in January.

Yeah, that's Rexburg. In JANUARY. Know what Rexburg usually looks like in January? Like this:

This is real. It was actually taken in NOVEMBER of 2010.

Let me give you a little breakdown of how much of an anomaly this winter is. (I actually looked this up. Just for you people.)

SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR REXBURG, IDAHO FOR OCTOBER THROUGH JANUARY

2007 - 2008: 23.9 inches
2008 - 2009: 35.2 inches
2009 - 2010: 18.8 inches
2010 - 2011: 23.8 inches
Average: 25.4 inches

This year: 9.4 inches

I can't tell you how much joy this has brought me. I think we might just scrape through with no real winter at all! It's practically spring anyway. And okay, I'm probably being extremely inconsiderate of the many farmers whose living is dependent upon precipitation. Sorry, farmers. But I really love how non-wintery this winter has been.

Hopefully I'm not jinxing it.


PS: The pictures at the top of this entry were taken from our roof, which we can access from our bedroom window. There's even a little balcony porch thing right outside our window. I'm planning on making the it a "reading garden" come summer.