The kids had a good Halloween, we took them to a festival at my mom's church. Nathan was a pirate (I made his costume), Ellaina was Little Red Riding Hood, and Brenna was the kitten Marie from the Aristocats. I haven't gotten the pics off of my camera yet, I only have like, two of each kid because the batteries died promptly after. But I'll post as soon as I get them.
We dropped the kids off at our parents' houses, and Steve and I got ready and went to a party at our friend Joey's house. I was Tank Girl (from the movie "Tank Girl") and Steve was Arthur Dent from Hitchhiker's Guide. We stayed there until about 5AM, went home, slept until noon, then got ready to go to two weddings. We had to take Brenna with us, but she was very well behaved. We went to Sarah and Josh Forgie's ceremony and part of the reception, and then we went to Kaplan and Gabrielle Ward's reception (the last part). I'm so happy for both couples, congrats!
Needless to say, we're exhausted, and I'm not looking forward to this week (I miss Steve working from home haha), and Steve doesn't want to go to work (his job is extremely boring to him because he works at a much faster pace than everyone else, and he has a lot of spare time, but he's not supposed to do "non-work" related things...though he's found a way around that haha), but I'm looking forward to Tuesday night when we have our Election Day party! (not that I'm really into politics, I just wanted an excuse to throw a party!)
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
We Have Now Entered The Terrible Twos!
Literally, like 3 days ago, Ellaina, who has been an absolute angel up until this point, has decided that it's time to enter the phase all parents dread: the terrible twos. She has been way more emotional that usual, freaking out over things like not getting the right color vitamin, or not drinking from the right cup. But that's not the worst part: my little princess of personal hygiene now refuses to take a bath.
She used to LOVE baths. She would live in the tub if I let her. But two days ago, I told her "It's time to take a bath!" and she looked at me and said "No, no anee-mor-baf!". I asked her if she wanted a bubble bath, and she responded "No, anee-mor-bubble-baf!" and crossed her arms and furrowed her brow, which I have to admit, is quite funny. I had to take a bath as well, so I started running the water and tried to convince her to join me, but she refused and proceeded to freak out for about half an hour. I went ahead and took my bath, hoping that she might change her mind, but she kept yelling at me to "git out! git out mama!", so I had to have Steve close the door and she kicked it and screamed until I was finished. When I got out of the bathroom, she was a blotchy, snotty, wet mess (she gets blotchy red spots on her face when she cries hard). I asked her if she wanted a bath, and she said "yes" in a small voice. I started to run some more water, and she started in again "NO! NO ANEE-MOR-BAF!" and ran away. I gave up. I finished getting ready and let her pitch her fit because when a child gets to that point, you can't rationalize with them and you have to let them work it out on their own until they calm down. At one point, she had taken her pull-up off and I tried to get her to put on another one, but she wouldn't have it, and for about 5 minutes, pitched a fit naked in the hallway, yelling "no anee-mor-baf! no anee-mor-pullpit!" (which is how she says "pull-up", "pullpit"). Finally she calmed down and got dressed, so I decided to let the issue lie until the next day.
Yesterday, same thing. She didn't pitch a tantrum, but she refused to take a bath. Well today, she's getting one whether she likes it or not! haha I'll not have stinky, sticky kids running around. I hate that I have to force her to take one, but I'm not going to let her run around filthy. I'm just waiting for a good opportunity to do it. Wish me luck! :-)
She used to LOVE baths. She would live in the tub if I let her. But two days ago, I told her "It's time to take a bath!" and she looked at me and said "No, no anee-mor-baf!". I asked her if she wanted a bubble bath, and she responded "No, anee-mor-bubble-baf!" and crossed her arms and furrowed her brow, which I have to admit, is quite funny. I had to take a bath as well, so I started running the water and tried to convince her to join me, but she refused and proceeded to freak out for about half an hour. I went ahead and took my bath, hoping that she might change her mind, but she kept yelling at me to "git out! git out mama!", so I had to have Steve close the door and she kicked it and screamed until I was finished. When I got out of the bathroom, she was a blotchy, snotty, wet mess (she gets blotchy red spots on her face when she cries hard). I asked her if she wanted a bath, and she said "yes" in a small voice. I started to run some more water, and she started in again "NO! NO ANEE-MOR-BAF!" and ran away. I gave up. I finished getting ready and let her pitch her fit because when a child gets to that point, you can't rationalize with them and you have to let them work it out on their own until they calm down. At one point, she had taken her pull-up off and I tried to get her to put on another one, but she wouldn't have it, and for about 5 minutes, pitched a fit naked in the hallway, yelling "no anee-mor-baf! no anee-mor-pullpit!" (which is how she says "pull-up", "pullpit"). Finally she calmed down and got dressed, so I decided to let the issue lie until the next day.
Yesterday, same thing. She didn't pitch a tantrum, but she refused to take a bath. Well today, she's getting one whether she likes it or not! haha I'll not have stinky, sticky kids running around. I hate that I have to force her to take one, but I'm not going to let her run around filthy. I'm just waiting for a good opportunity to do it. Wish me luck! :-)
Friday, July 25, 2008
Ash's Photos of the Day
I took this in Cave In Rock, IL. It's the Ohio River flooding into the park, as you can see, the trees and play equipment are under a few feet of water.
This was made by my friend, Christina (www.myspace.com/countrymamadesigns). Her work is excellent, if you add her, tell her Ashley sent you!
(from left to right: Nathan, Ellaina, Steve, Me, Brenna, Jakers, and Nate and Elle hugging)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Ash's Photos of the Day
I took this one in Cherokee, NC, it's my reflection in a stream full of awesome river rocks!
This is a pic of the type of Great Dane I'd like to have when we get a house with a yard. The color is called harlequin. I love Great Danes, they're so sweet and they're HUGE!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Ash's photo of the day
I'm going to start posting 2 photos of the day. The first one will be one that I took or am in. The second will be one I like that I happened to see sometime. So here you go, enjoy!
I took this in Old Shawneetown, IL
Damn, that's a sexy Joker! ;-)
I took this in Old Shawneetown, IL
Damn, that's a sexy Joker! ;-)
Theater group coming to life, still unemployed
So Steve has been applying all over the place for a new job. He's had a couple of hits, but still nothing yet. This was the worst time to get laid-off, jobs are scarce. But we'll keep praying that he'll find something soon! :-)
In other news, my new theater group that I started is having it's first performance! For information, go to the website http://gvegastheater.webs.com
I'm going to be directing one of the shows. I'm so excited, I think this will really kick off by the end of the year. Between me and Denny (my friend that I asked to partner with me), we know EVERYBODY and if we don't, then one of them does. The internet has to be one of the greatest marketing tools, I have stuff posted on all types of forums. I think it's a good time, too, I think that Greenville has needed something like this for a long time, and since we're non-profit, all of our shows are absolutely free. We accept donations, to cover costs, and anything we have left over, we donate to charity, so we're not in this for the money. And with the economy like it is, it's forcing people to cut certain luxuries out of their budgets, and I think this will give people something to do that won't cut into their budget. The group's very much "community driven", meaning that it's all about taking and giving to the community. We perform in various local venues, print free ads in our programs, use music from local artists and bands for soundtracks and pre-show entertainment. This town needs a better since of community and defiantly needs some culture! We give an experience that is different from your typical theater, whether it's performing an original, locally written one-act to attempting various acting projects (like 3/24, the first project we're doing), or simply performing in a different space that sets an ambiance (once, I performed the female lead of "Equus" in a horse stable on a set I helped build). It forces not just the actors to get creative, it forces the audience to get creative as well. This town is just the right size for launching something like this, not too big, and not too small.
But we're not just showing people what we can do, we're showing them how far we can take it. Like for example, the first project we are doing is called a 3/24 (read three-twenty-four) project. It's 3 10min short plays from conception to breakdown in a 24 hour period. Three writers get together the night before (say, 9PM), choose one of three random titles and has 12 hours to write a 10 minute play. Then three directors randomly choose one of the three scripts, without knowing what the scripts are. Then they have 12 hours to audition, rehearse, set up, perform, and break down the set and leave the performance space by 9PM. It's not as bad as it sounds, really, it's a lot of fun. But I think that choosing this type of performance as our first is a very ballsy move, since there's a huge chance that we could bomb it. What if a script doesn't get done in time? What if not enough people audition? What if you can't get the programs printed in time? What if no one shows up? lol It's challenges like the mentioned that we are trying to prepare for and avoid, but if faced with one, we'll be forced to work around it. Plus it's a chance to get REALLY creative, since you don't have a lot of time to work on it. It pushes the writers, directors, and actors to a whole new level that many don't even realize they have. I get more and more excited about it the more I think about it. I've had a lot of ideas for things in the past, but for one reason or another, didn't act on those. Now I've hit the point of no return with this one, and it feels excellent. I've mentioned the name, thrown it out there to so many people, and have confirmed dates, times, and venues, and now I couldn't quit if I wanted to. I feel like (aside from raising my kids), I'm being productive, giving back...
and I have an excuse to leave the house more often. ;-)
In other news, my new theater group that I started is having it's first performance! For information, go to the website http://gvegastheater.webs.com
I'm going to be directing one of the shows. I'm so excited, I think this will really kick off by the end of the year. Between me and Denny (my friend that I asked to partner with me), we know EVERYBODY and if we don't, then one of them does. The internet has to be one of the greatest marketing tools, I have stuff posted on all types of forums. I think it's a good time, too, I think that Greenville has needed something like this for a long time, and since we're non-profit, all of our shows are absolutely free. We accept donations, to cover costs, and anything we have left over, we donate to charity, so we're not in this for the money. And with the economy like it is, it's forcing people to cut certain luxuries out of their budgets, and I think this will give people something to do that won't cut into their budget. The group's very much "community driven", meaning that it's all about taking and giving to the community. We perform in various local venues, print free ads in our programs, use music from local artists and bands for soundtracks and pre-show entertainment. This town needs a better since of community and defiantly needs some culture! We give an experience that is different from your typical theater, whether it's performing an original, locally written one-act to attempting various acting projects (like 3/24, the first project we're doing), or simply performing in a different space that sets an ambiance (once, I performed the female lead of "Equus" in a horse stable on a set I helped build). It forces not just the actors to get creative, it forces the audience to get creative as well. This town is just the right size for launching something like this, not too big, and not too small.
But we're not just showing people what we can do, we're showing them how far we can take it. Like for example, the first project we are doing is called a 3/24 (read three-twenty-four) project. It's 3 10min short plays from conception to breakdown in a 24 hour period. Three writers get together the night before (say, 9PM), choose one of three random titles and has 12 hours to write a 10 minute play. Then three directors randomly choose one of the three scripts, without knowing what the scripts are. Then they have 12 hours to audition, rehearse, set up, perform, and break down the set and leave the performance space by 9PM. It's not as bad as it sounds, really, it's a lot of fun. But I think that choosing this type of performance as our first is a very ballsy move, since there's a huge chance that we could bomb it. What if a script doesn't get done in time? What if not enough people audition? What if you can't get the programs printed in time? What if no one shows up? lol It's challenges like the mentioned that we are trying to prepare for and avoid, but if faced with one, we'll be forced to work around it. Plus it's a chance to get REALLY creative, since you don't have a lot of time to work on it. It pushes the writers, directors, and actors to a whole new level that many don't even realize they have. I get more and more excited about it the more I think about it. I've had a lot of ideas for things in the past, but for one reason or another, didn't act on those. Now I've hit the point of no return with this one, and it feels excellent. I've mentioned the name, thrown it out there to so many people, and have confirmed dates, times, and venues, and now I couldn't quit if I wanted to. I feel like (aside from raising my kids), I'm being productive, giving back...
and I have an excuse to leave the house more often. ;-)
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Relocation???
So over the weekend, Steve went to Palo Alto, CA for a job interview with a company called VMWare. He said he thinks that he did well in the interview, but we won't know anything for a week. We hope to hear back by Friday, but it could be as late as next week. This sucks, I HATE waiting! If I'm going to have to uproot my family and move across the country away from my family and friends, I'd like to know pretty soon! lol I have mixed feelings about the possibility of moving. I've always wanted to move out there, but I'll be away from my mom and my friends. I'm really close to my mom, and so is Ellaina. Nathan understands that if we went to CA then he wouldn't get to see his grandparents, and he said he's cool with it. Brenna's too young to have an opinion lol. But Ellaina can't really understand the concept of not being able to just go to Nana's house whenever we feel like it. Thinking about it makes me sad. :-(
But on a better note, if we do move, I'm going to do our house up NICE! I've been watching tons of design shows for ideas, and if we moved, we'd sell the majority of our stuff and use the money to get new things, like IKEA stuff, it's not too expensive and it looks cool. I want to actually spend the time to decorate every room and make it feel like home. I mean, if I'm going to be away from everyone, I'd at least like a nice house! :-)
In other news: Brenna has begun to eat solids. She's had applesauce and carrots (not at the same time haha), and she loves both! After a few days I'll introduce her to something else, I have peas, sweet potatoes, and pears, but I'm not sure what's next. :-) She loves the stuff, though, that little piggy would eat the whole jar if I let her!
Well, here's to waiting!
But on a better note, if we do move, I'm going to do our house up NICE! I've been watching tons of design shows for ideas, and if we moved, we'd sell the majority of our stuff and use the money to get new things, like IKEA stuff, it's not too expensive and it looks cool. I want to actually spend the time to decorate every room and make it feel like home. I mean, if I'm going to be away from everyone, I'd at least like a nice house! :-)
In other news: Brenna has begun to eat solids. She's had applesauce and carrots (not at the same time haha), and she loves both! After a few days I'll introduce her to something else, I have peas, sweet potatoes, and pears, but I'm not sure what's next. :-) She loves the stuff, though, that little piggy would eat the whole jar if I let her!
Well, here's to waiting!
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