Happy Birthday!

Whew! Sunday slid right by. Still, happy birthday, Alex! Have fun being five.

The Big Dipper

Project after project, week after week, and I have been fortunate enough to whittle it down to one all-nighter per week (actually: none for this week!). Last week's all-nighter also happened to be my favorite project all semester. The assignment was to build a model based on a haiku that we found online for my scene design class. Here's what came of the assignment:

Many night thoughts

the big dipper tilts

spilling over

The "big dipper" is made with ladders that the actors can climb on and the stars laying on the floor are also platforms that are to be used. The actors can interact with the curtain pieces as well. This model was done in 1/4" scale so the star below is 8' across on its longest axis. (A full toothpick is 10'6")

Photo Hunter: Hands

After rehearsal to unwind: I was fascinated by the reflection of John's the keys and I like the silhouette here. The piano is my favorite instrument to listen to so I am thankful that people have more gifted hands than me.

Photo Hunter

Buffalo Shades

Today was fantastic. I took a road trip with a couple of friends to pick up some furniture. We had an incredibly relaxed day and stopped off at a random, small town bakery that had surprisingly legitimate and delicious pizza. There was also a puny wishing well without water (but with coins...question mark...), a patio in the shape of Texas, and an iron buffalo. I got home just in time for a theatre girls night (Benny and Joon is an excellent movie!), then had dinner with some friends that I don't get to see a whole lot. What more could you ask for?

As we were leaving my apartment complex this morning, I realized that I should have grabbed my sunglasses, but didn't want to go back. Over the course of the trip, I started noticing the copious amount of sunglasses in the truck we were using. Grand total: 6

She's absolutely ridiculous, but she's one of my favorite friends. I'm so lucky to know her.

Time For a Change

Last month, I took a bold step and upgraded my phone from a ghetto, spike-taped masterpiece to a sleek and more highly developed cell. This month, I decided that the next essential upgrade in my life was my hair. I have worn it board straight for practically my entire life and it's generally in a pony tail. Boring! Luckily, there are several people in my major that have random skills including playing the accordian, welding, flamenco dancing, and among them, hair cutting. I finally took the step today to get a styled haircut. Oh, and I threw in a twist.

Yep. That's blue. Dying hair is also included in the list of our department's random skills.

Post cut :) I've never been happier with my hair!

Photo Hunter: Four

One of my favorite quotes from my nephew is "I want four because I'm four today." In two weeks he will actually turn five, but he has been saying that he's "four today" for the past year. This works out well when you want him to eat something healthy, like tomatoes because he'll ask for four even when you're willing to give him just one or when you want to keep him from eating something unhealthy like chips. It doesn't work out quite so well with cookies...

Photo Hunter

Taking a Break

This weekend I was accused of doing too much without taking a break. This was followed by a concession that I probably do take time for myself, but I never talk about it. Chances are that the first statement is more true, but my answer was that the times of rest or everything-has-gone-according-to-plan are not as interesting to talk about.

Indeed, I have been sitting here for 15 mins trying to figure out how to talk about the first part of Spring Break that I spent bumming around at my sister's house. I had a blast and we had lots of laughs and I have over 100 pictures (only 3 days worth) to prove it, but not a lot of words.

Tradition is well established. There is at least one trip to Kroger, one to Target, a lunch at Chick Fil A, some backyard baseball, and a late night trip "out" that my sister and I take after the kids have gone to bed. The first words I hear each morning tend to be "Aunt Sarah, do you want to play Sequence with me?" (the variation being "Trouble" or "Connect Four" instead of "Sequence"). Oh and I always take 4+ hours to be completely inaccessible while reading one of Rachel's books. These are the things that make my permanent address home and the ideal place for vacations (or weekends, but I tend to think of those as synonyms).

Here are some of the highlights from my sabbatical:


Alex's first T-ball game and the first game I have been able to attend. This is his big contribution on the last play of the game.












David had the foresight to wear his T-shirt that repeats "just one more level..." on the day I took this picture.










Miguel can do anything his brothers can do. Please note that he is missing a shoe.














A night "out" on the town culminated in girly indulgence.

Photo Hunter: Space

After a trip to Ecuador, my brother was asked how many people you can fit on an Ecaudorian bus. My brother wisely answered, "One more." This concept holds true for much of the world, particularly Latin America. On last year's church trip to Juarez, Mexico, my team had to fit 70-something people on a school bus (capacity 48?) along with several boxes for sound equipment, drama equipment, often our lunches, and at least one guitar. Here is a small sample of the lack of space:

Also, here are some cloud shadows from a recent trip through space.

Photo Hunter

A Perfect Storm

A science test, a drawing, and the first rehearsal on Monday. A major drawing and a rehearsal on Tuesday. A complete portfolio on Wednesday.

The read-thrus went swimmingly. The first (Monday) was a buzz of organized chaos as we met all together for the first time to take a look at what we are about to create. The second (Tuesday) was a more intimate, more detailed disscusion of the play involving the principle roles instead of all 28 cast members. What a relief to finally have the groundwork! I now know who my assistants are, who my cast is, and we are entering the point of execution as opposed to a year's worth of speculation.

After Monday's rehearsal, I spent seven hours bent over a light table creating an intricate drawing for my scene design class. I left the theatre at 9:15am to run errands for my next project, my portfolio. The portfolio elicited another all-night work call for Tuesday, allowing me only 5 nonconsecutive hours of sleep in the last 63, but I am extremely proud of both projects. They turned out to be high quality and very presentable which was of course the goal. The fortunate part of this situation is rapid approach of Spring Break and the fact that it is all truly behind me now. Here is what happened to me on Monday night:

(photo taken around 5:00am)

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday, Julie! I hope no one was sick this year ;) Love you!