GNI & New Hair

I haven't updated my blog lately, so I figured I should while I have a little time today (life's been a little insane lately). On Wednesday, I got my hair cut. I mostly wanted to go in for a trim. My hair has gotten pretty long, but it looks great so I didn't want to get rid of a lot of length. My awesome stylist, McKenzie, decided that rather than having the few soft layers, she'd give me more layers, and rather than straightening it, like I usually do, she decided to curl it. Well, it turned out AWESOME! Everyone who's seen it loves it, especially me.

Last night was my family's Girls' Night In, where me, my mom, my sister, and my brothers' wives all get together for a sleep over. We usually have some sort of craft, game, or activity, but sometimes we just sit and talk. Last night, we designed our shirts for this year's family camp out. We decided that we'd all have blue shirts (in whatever shade of blue we wanted). We came up with a logo, and tag line, as well as nicknames for each of us in the family. We were all feeling very creative last night and came up with some great stuff. Here's the names we came up with:

Dad -- "The Reel Thing" -- Dad is our resident fisherman extraordinaire so this was fitting.

Mom -- "The Queen of ?" -- Mom is always asking questions and trying to understand all the silly things we joke and talk about. She has a wonderfully innocent and inquisitive spirit.

Jenn (mom of 3) -- "Mistress of Mayhem" -- Jenn balances single-motherhood of 3 crazy kids and a full time job. She's amazing and this nick-name perfectly describes her life.

Annee (oldest daughter of Jenn) -- "Reader Skeeter" -- Annee is a dedicated reader who is currently obsessed with the Twilight Series. She is also a big fan of Harry Potter so this was a great blend of her passions to represent her (she's so much like me, it's almost scary).

Tyler (son of Jenn) -- "Lord of the Games" -- Tyler is our mega-gamer. He's got so much game he could outplay most anyone! He's quick and smart and LOVES to win!

Dessa (youngest daughter of Jenn) -- "Lil' Wiggles & Giggles" -- Dessa is a BRIGHT & ENERGETIC spirit and LOVES to laugh! We have an adorable clip of her at campout last year doing this cute little wiggle dance -- hence the name.

Jenn & Jason -- "Miss B. Haven" & "Mr. Never Shaven" -- Jenn is the jokester, unruly, teasing, outrageous one in the family so her name was an obvious choice. Jason's had a nice rhyme and is VERY true -- the man hates to shave and grows facial hair faster than a Yetti according to his wife.

Wendee & Aaron -- "Wendi-lay-hee-hoo" & "Fix-It Guru" -- Wendee has such a fun name to play on so we had alot of fun with hers. Aaron and Wendee recently purchased a home and Aaron has become quite the Fix-It man so we felt this was fitting.

Matthew (Aaron & Wendee's son) -- "Little Boy Vrooom" -- Matthew is just under 3 years old and he LOVES all things that GO! Firetrucks and characters from the movie Cars are among his favorites.

Alyssa (Aaron & Wendee's daughter) -- "Princess Pea" -- Alyssa is the baby in our family; born just this last February. Her family t-shirt is actually a 'onesie' and it turned out super cute. When Alyssa is put down to sleep, she can always sense the slightest discomfort and has plenty to 'say' about it. So her name is a play on that story of the Princess and the Pea.

Josh & Stephanie -- "Sir Stinks-a-lot" & "Lady of the DANCE!" -- Josh's name is fairly self-explanatory. Sorry Josh, your wife picked it. We're assuming she has good reason. Stephanie is ALWAYS dancing about so her name was a no-brainer.

Jess (me) -- "Shutterbug" -- I am constantly behind the camera snapping pictures. In fact, I liked the shirts we made so much that I put it on this morning and took some pictures of myself in my new shirt.

Here are some pictures of my new shirt and my new hair. Keep in mind I did these after a late night up with the girls, so I don't look my best. Jenn also posted stuff about our GNI on her blog, so you can check out more by clicking on the "Jenn's Blog" link on the right (yes, I did just copy and slightly edit what she put for our nicknames. I really am that lazy today :P)

Life

I just finished up another session of school (wahoo!). Now I have a week off. After that, I only have two sessions left (5 weeks each, two classes each) and then I will have my degree! 11 weeks and counting until I am done with school. I can't wait! I'm so excited.

Wil is in Virginia visiting his brother's family. I'm sad because I miss him, but it's good for him to spend time with Mike, Jenny and Gabe. While he's in Virginia, I'm trying to get things figured out at my house. I've barely had time to sleep and eat lately, let alone clean, so my house is a disaster area. My goal for this week is to clean it up. It will probably take me all week to get it to a point where it's decent again. I can barely stand to be there as it is now. I also plan to get into a habit of working out every day. I'm going to do exercise videos and/or walk Rain daily.

Although I was without Wil this weekend, I still managed to have a lot of fun. Friday night was the cast party for Tempest at Danny's. That was a lot of fun. I mixed up the chili with cheese in it (turned out great), while Linda made cookies and we both tried to keep Danny's puppy away from the food. We didn't really do much, but it was so much fun. There were usually 3-4 conversations going at all times. I met two new people. Linda invited her friends Phil and Misha (I think that was his name...). They were a lot of fun too. I, of course, took way too many pictures. The slide show below are the pictures. At the beginning, I didn't realize that I was on manual, but the pictures turned out rather well still. then I got out my (or rather Wil's) external flash. Because I was bouncing the light off the ceilings and walls instead of into peoples faces, I had the flash facing all sorts of directions. I ended up flashing the light right at Mike and feeling horrible about it, and then a few minutes later did the exact same thing to Phil. Poor guys. Towards the end, Todd and Danny stole my camera and took pictures. It was loads of fun.

On Saturday night, I helped out at the ticket counter at the Empress for their play, The Foreigner. I stayed to watch the show, and it was great! I had a hard time hearing the actors at times, but got the gist of it and loved it. After the play, I stayed for Work in Progress as well (the improv team). They were awesome! Mumbling Murder Mysteries has always been one of my favorite games, but that was the best one I'd ever seen. I was dying of laughter by the end of it. It was great fun!

Breathing

Tempest is over. It's done. I can breathe and sleep again! Phew!

Tempest was an amazing experience and I has so much fun, despite the lack of sleep, and the stress. The others in the cast are amazing people and I'm so glad I met them. I won't go into detail right now about all that happened at CONduit, because it's a long story and I don't have time at the moment, but it was definitely and adventure. I'm not sure if it was nerves, lack of sleep, the massive amounts of caffeine I drank in 48 hours, or a combination of all three, but I was very giggly, talkative, and more than slightly insane on Thursday and Friday. I was so nervous on Friday. After we finished performing, I was shaking like crazy. I couldn't even hang up the costumes and put them back on the rack, until I'd calmed down.

Below are some pictures that were taken on Thursday and Friday.

Tempest

Well, it's the final countdown for Tempest. We are performing as part of our dress rehearsal tonight at the Radisson Hotel. I finally remembered to bring my camera last night to play practice. I got some fun shots, although I wish I'd had my external flash. Oh well. I'll have to see if I can get more pictures tonight. I've posted some below.

A few of us, me included, were not in full costume last night (I already knew my costume worked and was busy running around getting the set and cast ready for our run through since it was almost 11 pm). I found some horrible red lipstick that I'll be using. I have it on in the pictures. Bear in mind that these pictures were taken between 9:30ish until midnight. I had worked all day before going to the rehearsal, and have had very little sleep in the last two weeks, so I was on a caffeine high.

I'm really hoping that I can stay awake at work today and tomorrow as well as being able to stay awake for the performances tonight and tomorrow night. We have most of the set and costume stuff done. There's just a few final touches that need to be taken care of. It should be good though. I'm excited!

I realized last night something that I've noticed before, but very rarely think about. I thrive when I'm under pressure. Last night, I knew that we had to get as much done as possible. Our cast has a tendency to sit and talk rather than working. I've contributed to that problem as well. Anyway, it's crunch time and I was feeling that last night. I wanted to make sure we had as much done as we could. I was getting a little annoyed because I felt like I had to tell people that stuff needed to be done and make them do it, rather than them knowing we had a lot of work to do. All in all, I have to say that last night was probably our most productive time.

Todd's arm after applying his paint. We wanted to make sure it worked and that my lipstick would show up on the blue paint without turning my lips blue. It worked.

The drunks. I love this scene!

Tina's mask and head piece. Meow!

Me and Todd goofing off before we started the run through

During our scene. I have to tell you, I almost died laughing when I saw Todd's costume. I'm over it now and can almost get through a full scene with him without laughing.

Costumes

Last night at play practice, we discussed costumes for the play. They are going to be amazing. We are all going to look great! Mine will be awesome! I'd want to wear it all the time. I am getting really excited about the play now. We only have a week left. We're performing on Thursday at the Empress, and on Friday at the CONduit. I'm feeling pretty good about most of my scenes, although there is one that I'm still worried about.

Hopefully my friends will help me out with that scene tonight. We're going to go see the new Narnia movie. I'm excited. I've been so stressed with work, school, and the play that I haven't really had time to just have fun with my friends. I'll probably be exhausted tomorrow (since I'm not likely to get to sleep very early tonight, and have to wake up early tomorrow). It should be ok though. I'm good at forcing myself to stay awake and get through what has to be done.

Anyway, life is going to be hectic until next weekend. I just figured I should give everyone an update on my life. If you see me, don't be surprised if I'm totally scatterbrained and panicky. :)

Tagged

I have been Tagged! How to play this game of tag: Post these rules on your blog. List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

3 joys:
1. My friends. They crack me up and remind me that it's ok to relax every now and then.
2. My dog. She keeps me entertained, and loves me even when I'm in a bad mood.
3. My family. I don't know where I'd be without them.

3 fears:
1. That somehow, I'd lose all my friends and family
2. Failing-in just about anything...
3. Not having control-I'm kind of a control freak.

3 goals:
1. To get in shape
2. To be debt free
3. To become the person I want to be

3 current obsessions/collections:
1. Audio books. I can't stop listening to them.
2. The Empress Theatre. I don't really have a lot of time to spend there, but I somehow find time
3. Mario Kart Wii. That game is so much fun, and I wish I had more time to play it.

3 random, surprising facts about me:
1. I play with my hair when stressed or nervous
2. I hate cheesecake
3. I passed out in class my sophomore year of high school, which caused me to fall off the desk I was sitting on and I ended up hitting my head a few times on the way to the floor.

I have tagged: Sid, Becca, and Toni. I don't know a lot of people with blogs and I don't want to tag anyone else :P

May, Snow, and Possibilities

It's the first of May and I am psyched! May is my favorite month. I've never really pin pointed why, but it's usually a good month for me. Last May, I got this fabulous job that I love. May is usually when most flowers are blooming, and it's when it truly feels like spring, which is my favorite season. The temperature is usually perfect. I think this May might be one of the best yet though.

Spring doesn't seem to be on the weather's mind today sadly. It's been snowing off and on all morning. I had to put my winter coat on again this morning. The flakes that are coming down are gorgeous, but I'm sick of the snow, and was looking forward to spring. I love the flowers, the quick rain showers that leave the air smelling fabulous, and the near perfect temperatures that allow you to wear a jacket. I love jacket weather. It's my favorite. That's probably because I have so many really cute jackets and love to switch them up. Hopefully, it'll stop snowing and spring will come back again.

In about 2 weeks, I will have been at my job for a year. It's amazing what has happened since I started here. I will most likely be getting a raise once I hit my year mark, so that's super exciting. I love what I do, and the people I work with are awesome. It can sometimes be stressful, and there are times when people I have to deal with are frustrating, but overall, it's a great job.

Josh, the sibling closest to my age, is coming home today after being in Iraq for almost a year! That is probably the best thing this May can offer me. I've missed him like crazy and am glad that I don't have to be constantly anxious about him anymore. I'm nervous and excited to see him again.

I think I've discovered another reason for loving spring. Spring signifies a new beginning, a chance to start over, or renew yourself. Spring is usually when everyone gets rid of all the old junk they don't want to hold onto anymore. Lately, I've been restless and agitated almost daily. I haven't really liked where my life has been going lately and have been working on changing it all. It's been a slow process and I'm having a hard time breaking out of old habits. I have a feeling though, that now that it's May, I will finally be able to dejunk my life and become who I want to be. It's a time for new beginnings, and I plan to take advantage of it and am looking forward to the possibilities this month will bring.