Mommy Monday and Trailer Trash Tuesday-Halloween

Two posts in one, the holiday yesterday decreed it so!

I've always loved Halloween. I love it even more now as a mother.  It is fun finding out what the kids want to be. I also can't help but notice what their choices say about their personalities.

This was the first Halloween that I didn't spend any money on Halloween costumes.  The kids kept changing their minds but finally settled on what they wanted to be.

J1 decided he wanted to be a military commando. So I dressed him up in my BDU pants, army boots, and a brown shirt.  He also toted around a play M-16.  I tried to convince him to wear some camo paint on his face but he refused.  This year was probably his last Trick or Treating.

A1 wanted to be something pretty. I told her that she was pretty all the time and that wouldn't be much of a costume.  She just rolled her eyes at me.  She finally decided she wanted to be a secret agent/spy.  So she donned my black fedora, and put my black trench coat over a sleek black dress with black tights and her shiny black flats.  I also let her wear my sunglasses. She was pretty and pretty happy too.

J2 wanted to be a Knight.  His costume took the most work.  I made him a tunic out of some leftover felt I had from super hero capes and sewed a shield on the front of it.  I was going to put a design on the inside of the shield but he didn't want anything on it.  I made him a helmet/visor out of a milk jug, paper, cardboard, hot glue and silver paint. I also used some brads so that his visor could go up and down.  I then put a belt over his tunic, tucked in his sword and handed him his shield.  I also had him put on his black rain boots to top it all
off.

A2 wanted to be a princess. So, I asked my SIL in AZ if she could send  me some of the tutus that she made. I forgot to bring some back the last time I was in AZ.  She happily said yes.  She sent me not one but three tutus.  Abby chose to be a rainbow princess.  I put her in a white peasant type shirt with a red shrug.  She also wanted to wear her green legwarmers on her arms, so I let her.  I had a crown for her, but it wouldn't stay on, but she was happy without it.

The downtown area businesses always have Trick or Treating so we headed there.  We went with my BIL and his family along with some friends from church.  We had a lot of fun.  The weather was nice and clear and warmish.

We headed back to BIL's house for dinner.  DH and I were exhausted.  I had to run a mile and a half for my wellness class earlier in the day, which was followed by regular classes and a midterm in my Art History class. Ammon had three tests for Spanish along with his Nursing classes.  The kids had a good amount of candy, so we called it good.

BIL was a trooper though and decided to take all his kids and ours minus the two little girls and went to Trick or Treat at the mall, the church, and various houses.  So now they have a huge supply of candy.  The kids were super excited when they got home, and said they had a blast.

All in all, it was a pretty nice day.

Living in the RV makes it so that we don't have any TOTer's that come here. I'm looking forward to having a house in the future where I can pass out candy.  It is just a fun holiday tradition to dress up as anything you want and get treats for doing it.  The funnest treat is spending the time with my kids, as cliche as that may be, and enjoying these memories with family and friends.

Theatre Thursday- The Second Conservatory Year

I knew that the Conservatory would offer me an opportunity to dust my talents off and reuse them again.  I was scared but knew that I was in good hands with the faculty. I felt safer there than just plunging headlong into auditioning for shows after such a long break.

They had changed the format a bit and decided that instead of just doing scenes for the final performance that we would do a full blown production. So, despite not having to audition to get into the conservatory I did have to audition for a part in Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale.


It was intimidating once again to be surrounded by my friends as instructors and strangers as classmates.  I couldn't help but feel that I had betrayed my friends in some way by running away to join the Army. I mean who does that?  I tried desperately to win their support once again and put my heart into my audition.  I performed Ophelia's "Affrighted" monologue in front of everyone.  Mr. G (who was once an upperclassmen of mine in HS) said that he never wanted to see that monologue again.  I think he meant it as a compliment, in that it disturbed him somehow.

And did I forget to mention,  my Hamlet was directing this show.  Gah! I was so nervous.  To round out our instructors, I had the amazing TH as the director of the whole conservatory program (who played Gertrude in Hamlet).  Her marvelous brother MH who was also in Hamlet.  DG also in Hamlet. CW who was in Hamlet and H on T.  The director of Hamlet came back to teach Restoration Comedy to the Track Two students and there was one instructor that I did not know who came from California, Mr. E who taught Comedy. Also, the unforgettable LW who helped me find my singing voice.

As I said, friends as my instructors.  I was so blessed.  All the roles were double/triple cast to accommodate everyone.  I got cast as Hermione, Time.  I was the second Hermione when Leontes first accuses her, and at the end when they are reunited.  Time is a narrator of sorts that comes in the middle of the play to say that time has passed and they are in a different place.  We did a dance with sand.  DH still likes to tease me about the sand dance. It was done with a bit of an Oriental twist.  We also had half masks.  We all wore black with fabric that draped over us in various ways depending on our character. I also ended up sewing the edges of all that fabric with my serger.

Leontes and me as older Hermione.

It was a great summer. I met some wonderful people whom I still consider friends, even if I only "see" them on FB.  We also remounted the show in the Fall for the college, with a slightly different cast and I got to play my same roles with a bit more in the beginning for Hermione and I also played Old Shepard but as Old Shepardess instead.

Amazingly tired cast. Try to find me.

Once again, a great experience for me. It was my first time on a thrust stage.  We also had a white scrim behind us where there were sometimes shadows of the action happening behind it such as the famous "Exit, pursued by a bear" scene. It was the most artistic show that I have ever been involved with but it was a blast.

JK with Bear that kills him. Audience only saw the bear in profile.
I'm  in the back putting on my makeup

After this, I was asked to come back to the conservatory the next summer to help assist Mr. E in teaching.  This was in order for me to learn more by teaching and hopefully help some people on the way.  It was a generous offer and I gladly accepted.

I can't begin to tell you how these wonderful people affected my life.  They helped bring me out of the pit of my despair and accepted me even though I had abandoned the theatre for several years.  They were a second family to me and I still love them and appreciate all that I learned about myself and the theatre.  I will never forget them.

Friends on Friday- Jamie

Fridays are dedicated to my friends!  I plan on interviewing one a week to get to know them better and celebrate their awesomeness.


I have a fantastic friend that I met in high school.  The only other time I was kind of homeless, she somehow convinced her mother let me stay in their house for a while.  She is wacky and fun.  Some of our fondeset memories are of a large box that we referred to as the transmogrifier or some such thing and terrorizing the theatre department.  We also worked at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. I was on the bad guy side and she was on the good guy side.  We sewed the Knights some boxers together and other cool things.  We also designed the senior T-shirt for our HS. She still resides in the Phoenix area and from what I gather takes amazing photos, makes great art, knits and is just downright awesome.

Jamie is also the one who inspired Friends on Fridays with her own interview section on her website. I haven't been able to finish my interview with her yet but will post it here when it is complete. But for know, check out the interview section on her site: http://www.jamiemulhern.com/blog/category/interviews/

Blackberry Revenge

The blackberry season is coming to an end.  The clouds have rolled in and we are preparing for perpetual fall around here.  When the blackberries start coming out my kids are transformed into savage beasts in which the only thing that can placate them is the lure of the blackberry.  Luckily, there is a row of blackberry bushes just down the hill from home.  So, I often send them out to pick blackberries to their hearts content.

You would think that the bush would stand no chance against four rabid salivating creatures, but alas it has its own natural defenses.  The first defense is sharp thorns similar to that of the rose.  Often the most large and desirable berries are located behind a forest of thorns and guarded by a witch turned dragon.  Okay, there really is no dragon but the thorns are there.  The second defense is the juice itself.  Once you plunder the berries they seem to vomit their juice all over the attacker, which then leaves a stain that the murderer can never undo.

Exhibit A:

When you are poor as dirt it is difficult to part with clothing that has been stained by the blackberry.  I have however found a solution for my youngest daughter's shirts that have been a victim of the blackberry's revenge:

Tada! I just crocheted some flowers in a coordinating color and hand sewed them over the stain.

What? I didn't eat any blackberries. -A2

Now to figure out what to do with my boy's shirts. Somehow, I don't think they would appreciate a strategically placed flower on their shirts.

I got this fabulous idea after finding this on Pinterest: http://www.aestheticnest.com/2011/06/crochet-pretty-posies-tutorial.html  Thanks, Anneliese.