Small Town Livin'

The Sandwich Mart is a big deal in our town -- They've been around forever and you can walk in and sit down or use the very convenient drive through. So a colleague and I headed out for lunch today and while she usually picks the spot because I could really care less about eating most of the time, I got a craving for the Sandwich Mart.

Nope.

No can do.

Why?

Because they went on vacation.

Really?

The restaurant went on vacation?

Yep.

Welcome to Small Town Livin'.

Rest... Relax and Vacation. any. time. you. like. :)

You've got LESS THAN
24 HOURS to enter my
SUMMER GIVEAWAY!!!

You Just Might...

... see one of these flying over your head on your way to work if you live in PoDunk, USA

My car did not need to be any filthier. Thanks.

A - My Name Will Always Be Alice

Finally. The post I've you all have been waiting for... What is this musical she keeps talking about?!

Mr. Realife is a real fan of my singing and he will often mention it in conversation with his clients -- It just so happened that one of his clients was a long term member of Encore Theatre and knew there was a musical coming in the spring -- He insisted that I try out, not knowing if Mr. Realife was just blindly bias or if I really could sing -- Over the next 2 months, I enjoyed a various amount of phone messages from said client, {Mrs. Realife}, the auditions are January 18th and 19th at 7:30, don't miss it! I instinctively blew him off, truly believing I wouldn't be any sort of exciting addition to Encore, seeing as they have been established for many years and while I'd been performing on a myriad of different stages since I was 4 y/o, I'd never done true theater.

In our itty bitty town here in Northeastern, NC, this community theater has performed a myriad of "Off Broadway" sort of productions. Clearly we are not in the vicinity of NYC, but I use the "Off Broadway" term so to get the feel of what our theater is like. Encore Theatre has been performing since 1992 and they were located downtown in an upstairs section of a building on Main and Water St. This theater only held approximately 140 people. Down stairs was the local Arts Center in which all the local artists/photographers would sell their work. In the mean time, they had been restoring the new theater and arts center building for nearly 2 years and it was completed for our musical. It used to be the old Opera House and I found it a privilege to be one of the first to perform there 108 years later.

Friday before the weekend of auditions, I get another message {Mrs. Realife}, don't forget this weekend are auditions! They need you down there, don't let me down! Well, how could I resist that kind of encouragement?! 48 hours later I found myself standing before many talented women, the director, the producer, music director and God and sang my arse off -- 24 hours later I recieved a call from the director, We would be so delighted to have you as a part of our cast for Alice. As I stood in shock at the voice on the other end of the phone, I gladly accepted, not knowing the level of difficulty lying ahead.

Rehearsing started early February and the schedule was pretty consistently 4 nights a week starting at 6:45 running 2-3 hours each rehearsal -- That is, until two weeks prior to opening night -- Then it became 5/6 nights, 4-6 hours each night and then after opening night, we performed 3 nights a week and rehearsed one night -- I'm not complaining, in fact, I appreciated all the hard work that went into it... especially on Opening Night when everything went so smoothly. Our director really knew what he was doing.

The original Broadway production was named "A - My Name is Alice" - The follow up sequel is "A - My Name is Still Alice" and the third sequel is "A - My Name Will Always Be Alice" which is what we performed -- It's nontraditional in that it doesn't tell one story about any specific person, but a series of scenes that tell about the life of women -- Originally written in the 60's, it was meant to support the women feminist movement -- After it's 3rd revision, it also addresses the emotional aspect of what women go through -- In the end "We're all Alice" -- It's hysterically funny and heart wrenchingly touching and in the end... it was the experience of a lifetime --

Going into this whole thing, I thought I'd have to live in this town for the rest of my life, now I feel I get the privilege of living here -- I've discovered the beauty in our history here, the excitement of restoring what was once old and the "hidden treasures" in all the shops downtown -- I met the most amazing people and now feel as though I have women in my life who I can friend --

Photo by Justin Falls/The Daily Advance

Photo by Justin Falls/The Daily Advance

Photo by Bud Tardiff
Rehearsing before a performance, hence my curlers :)

Photo by Bud Tardiff
Our second scene, "At My Age" - I played a 15 y/o girl going on her first date

Photo by Bud Tardiff
Second Act/First scene -
I played a new graduate going into the work force,
determined not to allow a "male privileged society" to stop me

Photo by Bud Tardiff
I thought this was a cool shot, everyone blurred with me standing in the middle

Photo by Bud Tardiff
Our last scene "Lifelines" - A tribute to women to enjoy/celebrate/embrace their Lifelines

Photo by Bud Tardiff

If you made it this far, thanks -- This was a life changing experience for me -- It took me a week after all was over and I started feeling normal again to realize I was so exhausted -- See the 3rd lady from the left? She owns a beach house in Duck, NC and the cast is going there Friday through Sunday for a glorious girls weekend in the sun...

Let It Snow, Let It Snow... you know how it goes

Born in Delaware, raised in South and North Florida and living 10 of my adult years in Pennsylvania, I understand the dynamics of weather -- Really. I do. -- As you may or may not care, I know reside in a small town in North Carolina -- This is where people call their mother's Mama and their dads Papa and their dogs Butch -- Not that there's anything wrong with these terms, I'm just setting the stage --

More stage setting: A clear view of butt cracks on broken down Ford trucks drinking beer at 8:00 a.m. wouldn't be considered odd -- Belk is the largest and most sale anticipated store in our town -- Dairy Queen is considered a restaurant -- Lowe's is where you go for a date and Walmart is the largest hangout in the area -- Seriously.

Setting the stage was important, my friends, so you'd understand why they have shut down every school, every college and every doctors office in town for this:

(no, I do not live on a playground :)

Earlier this week when the weather station was making special reports that the high for the evening was going to be 17 degrees -- While this certainly isn't tanning weather, I chuckled thinking of the irony of it all that I'd just read that MckMama over @ My Charming Kids was experiencing -22 degree weather and live where 2 months out of the year people live on ice --

Last night, our local station literally interrupted our program to announce this Possible 4-6" of snow in **** area of NC -- I'm not even going to comment on that - Oh, wait. I just did. Anyway... Just thought you might be as excited as the folks here in NC we all are about the sprinkle of dust snow --

HAPPY TUESDAY!!

NOT ME MONDAY!!

Inspired by MckMama and her MSC*

Well folks, looky here -- It's Monday. Again. Seems to always happen right after Sunday -- What a coincidence cowinkydink (pronounced co-winky-dink) Um... yeah. Getting on with it --

I forewarn you that this post will mostly consist of fecal matter and all things puppy -- Why? Because Dan and I have brought this pooping and peeing machine sweet little muffkin (muffin and pumpkin mix ;0) into our lives and I am we are completely overwhelmed with little Elly Mae --

First and foremost, as you may or may not remember, I only work part-time within my counseling agency -- This means 20 hours a week -- Seeing as I took a 6 day work hiatus, when we returned from our trip, I jumped into a 40 hour work week to make up -- This would mean Dan spent all those hours loving our new muffkin Elly Mae -- So... what does all this mean? Dan needed to get up for something and because Elly was falling asleep on him, he put her on me -- Elly would never wake up, look grievously over toward Dan and whine -- No... Elly is not my dog and no, she did not dis me for Dan and no, I would never feel like a neglectful mother -- Nope! Not Me!

I have not been woken up at least 3 times a night to get dressed and undressed in warm clothes to train our pee machine new baby that she must go outside to relieve herself and I did not have to explain to more than one client last week why I was yawning through most of their session -- To add to my misery On top of this, Dan was sick with a horrible cold/cough, so when Elly wasn't whining, Dan was I was not covering my head with a pillow to drown out the sound of a wheezing/coughing husband! -- Nope! Not Me!

Oh, boy, this is making me laugh even as I begin to write (well, type) it -- I do not live in a town where I can drive 9 ways to work, 3 of them consisting of dirt roads -- With this, I would never almost drive off one of these bumpy, pothole filled roads lovely countryside roads when I saw, at 8:30 am mind you, a man sitting on the hood of a rusted, broken down 1976 Ford truck, drinking a beer with his entire butt crack showing the larger part of his bottom side revealing itself to the world -- I did not curse the day I moved to this godforsaken town small town in NC and I would never call Dan and beg to move... Nope! Not Me!

Just a side note... I had to work at the agency this morning and got caught there til 2 on a crisis -- Then I was kicked out of my office graciously gave up my office for another client and so... I did not have to make a pit stop at the local Library to finish this post before I head off to my other job... I mean seriously, this is not that important -- Nope! Not Me!

All I can say is thank God for hardwood floors -- Elly is 8 weeks old, I mean come on folks, don't you think she should know how to poop outside yet (please laugh... I'm not that stupid) -- So... unbeknown to Dan or me, Elly left a large pile of poop little gift for us at the edge of our doorway to our room, so when I was awoken for the first time last night and dressed in all my cold weather garb to take her out... I did not slip and slide in poop and almost fall on my arse, completing what some may call a cartoon like move when I whipped myself around, hit my head on the wall and bounced backward into our dining room table -- I love you little Elly Mae -- Nope! Not Me!

Well... I must stop boring you with my Not Me's and get on my way to another week of fun and exciting escapades -- BUT -- As promised, I will be posting about Dan and my Christmas adventure across 13 freaking states to visit our wonderful families -- Happy Monday!

*Many Small Children