Theatre Thursday- The Curious Savage

The Curious Savage by John Patrick was the last show that I performed at the Hale Center Theatre before I took a long hiatus from the theatre scene.  It was directed by Mark S.P. Turvin, who also happened to be a theatre critic in AZ at the time.  When I first read the script, I was immediately drawn to the character of Fairy May and I was lucky enough to have landed the role. J1 also got to be in the show as John Thomas. He was just in a short scene at the end and just had to look cute. He was brilliant.

J1 backstage

I got to wear several wigs and had some amazing costumes.  Originally, my hair was going to be messy/ratty and then we were going to try to make it look nice for the end scene, but my hair didn't allow that to be a possibility so we went with the wigs.  Fairy May was a resident at a mental facility.

The wigs and my makeup station

She was fun on the outside but had a lot of pain on the inside.  I found the book, Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher to be insightful regarding Fairy May's psyche. When I played Ophelia, I had used this book for a reference into mental illnesses in young women and also the societal pressures that they face.

Actually, this show is a comedy. I promise. You can read the synopsis here. I again got to play with my dear friends, Jere, and Alaina. The lead in this show was played by Jacqueline Gaston, she was amazing.  The pictures I do have are mostly backstage and a few press shots. I don't have any of me as Fairy May. I had tried to track some down before I wrote this post but had no luck.

Jere

The set

Alaina

Whatever Wednesday- The beach

I have always loved the beach.  I was born in California and made in Hawaii so that may explain something.  The beaches here on the southern Oregon coast tend to be chilly but have amazing tide pools.  Every time we go to any of our favorite beaches they look different.  Even if it is a crazy blustery day, the beach is still gorgeous. So, since it is a sunny day today, I thought I would post some of my favorite beach pictures. Feel free to come and visit anytime and see them in person!

Trailer Trash Tuesday-Love

Even if that home is a trailer. I am so blessed.

Mommy Monday- Hard Pill To Swallow

I've mentioned before about J1's IBD issues.  We got labs done early last week for him.  We saw his regular pediatrician on Thursday.  He has been having more pain lately along with headaches and some knee stiffness. So, of course his inflammatory markers were elevated. What we didn't expect was that they were doubled from the last time and they were already elevated then.  The pills he takes are bright blue and are huge. He takes two in the morning and evening and one at lunch time.  He has other medicine too but I'm not going to get into that. Who knows if they will end up changing them due to this recent flair up. I worry about him far more than he worries about himself, but I'm the mom and that's what I do.

The dreaded pills.

When we first got his pills he had never been successful in swallowing a pill before.  These capsules that he takes can't be crushed or chewed because they are time release and are not effective unless swallowed whole. I thought I'd share how we got him to be able to swallow pills, and a huge ones at that.

You want me to swallow that?

Okay, I guess I'll try.

So, I went to the store and bought micro mini marshmallows (the little dehydrated ones for hot chocolate packets), Tic Tacs,  Good and Plenty,  and Mike and Ikes. The Mike and Ikes are the closest in size to the pills he takes.

We started with the micro marshmallows, they dissolve fast and are really tiny. 

He tried swallowing those a couple of times with the help of some water. I had him put one as far back in this throat as he could and then take a sip of water.

Once he was successful with those, we moved to tic tacs, then Good and Plenty, then finally the Mike and Ikes.  It took several tries with each, but he finally did it. Now, he takes his pills with no issues.

I got this!

Trailer Trash Tuesday- The Toilet

One of the *cough* joys *cough* of RV living is the pedal flush toilet.  There is no water tank on the back of the toilet. Instead there is a little foot lever that you step on and everything  goes down into a  large holding tank.  When you want the toilet to have water in it, you pull up on the pedal and it fills the bowl with water.  Of course, the holding tank gets full on occasion and we have to trod outside to pull a lever and all the waste rushes out in a big whoosh, through a large accordion pipe down into the connection for the sewer. Then once it is empty you push the lever back in and it stops all the crap from coming out. Or, at least that is how it is supposed to work.

Lately, my toilet has been giving me more problems than if I had goblins coming out of it.  I already told you how it is leaking.  Well, now it doesn't want to keep water in the bowl.  My precious J2 has the stinkiest poo imaginable and he needs that water to stay in the bowl for his mother's sanity.  On top of that, the pipe leading down to the tank keeps getting plugged.

I went about trying to fix it by buying some septic emergency bacteria stuff.  It was $8 and I decided to dump it down, hoping those little bacteria would eat up all the crap in the tank.  Well, come to find out, the tank wasn't completely closed. So, I basically dumped $8 into the toilet and down the drain.

I crawled all the way under the RV to try to manually move the piece that completely shuts the tank off, but I couldn't get it to budge. So, now every so often the pipe gets full of toilet paper and poo and starts to come up into the bowl, but luckily gravity has been helping and it eventually swooshes back down into the darkness.

Now, I need to convince the hubs to crawl under there and get the tank closed up.  Some things, I just can't do on my own. Now to find him some spare daytime hours to do it. That will be the real trick.

So, now you have a reason to be thankful for having a normal toilet! You're welcome. ;)

Mommy Monday- Stuck in Sunday

Mondays are the WORST.

As I was returning my library books today. I had an interesting exchange with the librarian at my community college. He is an older Hispanic gentleman who is very friendly and super helpful, he also has a touch of an accent. He asked me how I was doing. I said, "It's Monday." Then he said, "Mondays. De are bad because de always feel as if part of you is stuck in Sunday." Can I get an amen?

I apparently left my underwear, bra and shoes in Sunday. I forgot them all when I went to school today.  Now, don't get me wrong. I was wearing them when I left. I just forgot the extras that I bring to change into after my workout. Of course, I didn't realize they were missing until after I decided that a full on crazy 45 minute, sweat dripping off my face cardio workout was in order.  My underthings were drenched and I wasn't about to put them back on after my shower. So, I went commando for the first time in over a decade.

So, I went to all my classes, barreled through my first Biology test of the term, picked up my littles and headed home. I changed as fast as I could so that I could feel human again. I then went about trying to study so that I can hopefully pull an A in Chemistry. I also took time to argue about the true theme of Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Richard II in my online class.

Then, A2 and J2 decided that uncooked ramen would be a good snack.  Since I was absorbed I obliged them.  Then I look up and discover that the ramen is being crushed and scattered all over the couch and floor.  Next, I look up and the kids are playing with Legos.  Following that, suddenly the Legos are being flung all over as A2 desperately searches for just the right piece. Soon, A2 has grown tired of the Legos and wants to color. Of course, she decides that her markers and crayons are inadequate and she NEEDS to use the grown up pen/pencil stash. Now that entire stash is on the floor, along with the container and drawers pulled out. Since space is so limited in here it really looks like a bomb went off. I will spare you the carnage.

How such a small thing can make such a HUGE mess is a conundrum I don't think I will ever be able to solve.

Then, I got some more bad news but, that I am not going to regale you with.  I hope your Monday was better than mine, if you remembered your underwear, be happy because your day was better than mine.

Friends- A short letter to you.

My dear friends,

I apologize for not being consistent.  I am having a hard time organizing things and I really wanted this blog to work and it just isn't.  I am going to keep plodding along and attempting to post when I can.  I have had a hard time finding my voice and have been in a bit of a slump. I've also been frustrated by some of my work being pirated.

I am feeling like I value the friendships that I have more than my friends value me.  Of course, I haven't been able to keep in constant contact with them so they probably think I don't value them. But guess what, I DO! 

I am not going to name names but I want you to know that what contact you have had with me in my life, whether online, in person,whatever... that you mean something to me.  Your life has influenced mine for good.

So to all my friends, thank you for being a part of my life.

Yours always,

Noe

P.S. Next week I should have a great Friends on Friday interview post for you!