There's No Place Like Home

TADA! It's finally posted. Pics from West York's Musical. As you can plainly see, they performed "The Wizard of Oz." What a FANTASTIC job they did. Believe me when I say this. I L♥VE The Wizard of Oz. It's one of my all time favorites. If the performance had been a "stinker," I would have gotten up and left. Not only did I not leave, I ended up seeing it twice! The sets and costumes were terrific. In Kansas everything was in black, gray, and white... vivid colors when you got to Munchkin Land... very cool! were terrific. The acting was super! My only regret? I should have taken my great nieces, Alexandra and Isabel, to see it. Morgan would have been a little to young to sit through it, but I think the other two would have really enjoyed it. My bad.... I'm truly sorry, girls.

Emile and her friend, Roxie, ran sound. There's more to it than I thought, and they did a good job. Of course they were very aware of every mistake they made, but it sounded great to me. Even the band did a good job. I have NO complaints at all. It was just terrific. Very VERY good job everyone!!

And not to be forgotten, Brie was also involved in her school's play. They performed "Sunrise Boulevard." It was a murder mystery. It was nicely done as well. Brie was on the tech crew and took charge of the spot light. She did a good job and seemed to enjoy being "behind" the scenes rather than on stage. Both of the girls have performed at DreamWrights Youth and Family Theatre, so it's easy for them to fit in where ever they are needed.... or when they want a change of pace, they have broad experience and abilities. It's neat to see them being able to apply skills they've learned along the way!

Spaghetti Dinner & Auction

Ok, so I haven't been on for a little while. Life has been so busy lately, but isn't that always the case, right? Last Friday was the annual youth spaghetti dinner and auction. It's always a fun evening and a good chance to raise money for scout and girls camp. First we have dinner, then there's the best part of the evening. The dessert portion of the auction. Each youth donates an item (and lots of other people too). We took in a red velvet bundt cake. It smelled so yummy and was still in the pan when we got to the church. We put the glaze on there.If I remember correctly, we got $12.00 for our cake. Not bad! We also donated a pedestal sink (still in the box) and a new wall light fixture. We left before they were auctioned off.

Because of the auction, the girls only have to pay $15.00 for camp. Actually Emile doesn't have to pay anything because this year is her 4th year hike. She's pretty excited about that. I can't believe she's already a 4th year. It seems like just yesterday that I was going to camp. Anyway, it was a fun evening.... and the beginning of a very busy weekend (musical at West York High too). More info and pictures will be posted soon.

Thank Heavens for P

oop. What a month this has been!!!!! Between the girls both getting sick, and me having this "fun" experience recently, I'll be glad for March to be gone. So the quick version of the situation is like this. Very little poop for a week means big trouble in the end (no pun intended). To get rid of this problem, you must do the following:You warm up 1 cup of prune juice and add 2 tablespoons of Milk of Magnesia. Drink it. YUM!Take 2 stool softeners as needed (and recommended by doctor or package).You also take 2 tablets of Gas X (again following instructions) and wait for the action to begin. In addition to you finally being able to poop, you'll probably experience intestinal cramps so intense they make you want to pass out, but at least you're finally going. The cramping is caused by everything you've taken to get going... and lasts for a good 24 hours. Nice.

Now that I'm going again (not entirely normally yet), I intend to stay that way. It's been very uncomfortable for the past 9 days and I don't ever want to go through this again.

The END.

Great Aunt Arizona

 

Last Thursday evening, I had the opportunity of going to Lincolnway Elementary School for a "Campfire Read Aloud." It was held in the cafeteria and broke into several parts. First the children and their families spread blankets out on the floor and shared snacks. After that they read by flashlight. Next, it was my turn. I was the storyteller.... Great Aunt Arizona.. and I had about 25 minutes to tell a story and read a book. I had a blast. It was so much fun... and of course with my love of reading, I will do anything in my power to encourage children to read. I actually ran into someone yesterday who was looking at me rather funny. Finally he said, "Great Aunt Arizona?" I had to laugh. He told me he had been there that evening with his son. It was cool to be recognized that fast. Hopefully this will only be the beginning of many more invitations to be a storyteller at different places.

Pay It Forward

To use an idea from Jamie's blog. (Thanks... this should really be fun)
This is a FANTASTIC movie. I absolutely loved it. If you haven't had the chance to see it, do. You won't be disappointed. In the spirit of the movie, I've decided to Pay It Forward. Here's how it works.
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice - for you! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (I can only hope).
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done within 6 months.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a flower arrangement, picture collage, bookmark... or a complete surprise to you (and me). Who knows?
5. MOST IMPORTANTLY... You must offer the same deal on your blog. The first five people to comment on your blog get something made by YOU!

You've Got To Be Kidding!

For the love of Pete. I can't catch a break, can I?! Poor me....

Last Thursday, Emile said she wasn't feeling well. On Friday I kept her home from school. You could tell she was coming down with something. Isn't this a fascinating picture? Looks pretty neat, doesn't it? Know what it is? It's the cause of many days of suffering, dread, fear, and in some cases, death. Figure it out yet? Yes, it's the FLU bacteria.


From what I was seeing in Emile, it looked like she had the flu. By Friday afternoon she was running a high fever, had chills, body aches.... she felt like death warmed over. She's been sick all weekend. Fortunately yesterday was a snow day. I couldn't get her into the doctor though. He was closed due to the storm.

So yesterday about 4, Brie was trying to get bundled up to go out back and shovel snow when she started crying. She said her stomach was feeling sick. Oh crap, you've got to be kidding! TWO DIFFERENT VIRUS'S AT ONE TIME. By 5:30 she was sleeping on the living room floor. By 7 she headed up to bed. By midnight she was throwing up all over my bedroom floor. NICE. I just love it when a plan comes together.

Actually, vomiting is quite an interesting ability the body has. It takes several timed events for it to occur.So it's safe to say everything came together just right for Brie. About 2 hours later she asked me if we could say a prayer so she wouldn't throw up again. We did and it helped. She slept until 7:30. Mike B. came over to give her a blessing around 8:30. Now we're just waiting to go to the doctor. Both of the girls are going so I can get a note for school. So much fun.

The moral of this story.... stay in a bubble the rest of you life... OR...For the record, I think you're supposed to lather for more than 20 sec. I think it's more like 2 minutes. They say to sing "Happy Birthday" to yourself twice while you lather. Even with all the hand washing we do, sometimes it still isn't enough.

Oh yeah, POOR EMILE AND BRIE, TOO!!!