And Yet More to my Week

I usually don't post more than once a week (if I'm doing good), but my week has just gotten more interesting. And again, I will NEVER say that my life is boring!!!

Sam's car has been acting up, so she took it into the mechanic yesterday. She has a very interesting problem with her Camaro. She has no fan. You know, the fan by the radiator that cools the engine when it gets too hot. It is not in the car. The mechanic said that when it fell out, she would have known. She would have freaked out and called me in a panic, so I'm thinking that the fan was gone when she bought the car. Since it sat in the driveway from September till June, we have no way of knowing. Add in a belt that was screeching, and we are looking at $400 in repairs. Yay. That is one week's pay for me. We have set up a payment plan with the mechanic, who my father has been going to since before I was born. So she is without a car for a few days while they find a fan for her car. She has had her first real dose of real life, and she doesn't like it. Time for the budget talk. Ack. I so am not ready for this. She is a free spirit who must spend the money she has RIGHT NOW!!!

Tomorrow is Friday. I would love it to be a "boring" day. But who knows.

What a week!!!

I know, it's only Wednesday, but my week has already been full of excitement. Remember a few posts ago when I said I felt boring? God has been showing me just how unboring I really am.

On Saturday Mom and I drove to Ketchum and back to pick up Kat from church camp and drop off Tori at the same camp. For those of you outside the great state of Idaho, Ketchum, also known as Sun Valley, is about a 4 hour drive from Pocatello, where I live. So we had an 8 hour drive on Saturday. It was actually a fun drive. My family has a lot of fun on car rides. My mom was counting the dead skunks as we went along, and Tori was tweeting the count. I think we were at 8 or 9 by the time we hit camp. Then, of course, Kat talked our ears off about camp the whole drive back.

Sunday I did multi media at church. Plus we had baptisms, and I help the people who light the candles for the person being baptized. If you would like more info on this tradition, just comment and I will explain further. Plus I had to do treasurer stuff after the second service. So at one point I was up in the sound booth and down in the worship center at the same time. Can you say clone me for multi ministry? After church I just relaxed because I was completely shagged out.

Monday started out normal. Until I got to work. For some reason, everyone needed to be in my office all day. My stack of stuff to do kept growing but I got nothing accomplished. The funny part is that on my drive home (1/2 hour) I remembered a part of Sunday's sermon. Easy to remember, since I heard it twice. Karl was preaching about the movie "Night at the Museum 2" and was talking about his daughter's pet chinchilla running on it's wheel. Then it hit me. I was that dang chinchilla on a wheel at work.

Tuesday started out very bad. I woke up to a dead laptop and a dead guinea pig. Ick. And, I couldn't dispose of the rodent because the 13 year old was spending the night at my mom's, and I have disposed of a dead rodent without the girls' knowledge before. Not pretty. The hysterics are much smaller with discovery than an empty cage. So I left it. Got the magical phone call in the afternoon. Tears for a bit, then over it. She even went to a friend's house and spent the night. And I have to come up with the money to fix the laptop. I would love to just get a new one, but I think it will cost a little less to fix the old one. Then the 19 year old calls saying that her car randomly turns off when she is driving. It is in the shop right now. I am not looking forward to that one either.

Today I had to help coordinate CPR training at work. And at 3pm, I suddenly decided to take the training too. I left work at 6 instead of 5. Can you say tired?

The upside to all of this? I discovered that I am NOT boring. And, God, I am sorry for saying that. I am an interesting person who has a strangely exciting life. No, I don't go on exciting vacations to exotic places, but my life is very interesting. Thanks for pointing that out to me.

Here's to loving life, whatever the circumstances!

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Kat is at camp this week. I really do miss her. I know that she is having a great time, but the house is too quiet. Tori is (of course) hanging out with her friends. She did do some laundry today to pack for camp. Sometimes I wish I had time to do laundry. I'm just glad that my girls have learned to do their own laundry. I just have to fight my way to the washer.

By the way, I am loving my new job. I fit in, personality wise, and am picking up on the routine and procedures quickly. The best thing I have heard is one of the ladies that works at the temp agency told me that she met one of the guys that works for another company that is associated with the farm I work at. He raved about the great job I was doing. I was convinced that he didn't even remember my name. That makes me feel like I am really doing the job I was hired to do.

Don't get me wrong. I still want to combine my IT degree and my Theatre Management degree. I would LOVE to work in professional theatre as a geek. And a House Manager. Or a Box Office Manager. Or any type of manager. I manage. It's what I do. Of course, I am amazed that I am organized when I manage, but my life is so disorganized that I can't keep my children's schedules straight, much less coordinate them. Maybe it's the difference between work and personal life. I don't know.

Someday, I keep telling myself, I will do my dream job. Not sure if that is IT director for a professional theatre, or for a church. Either one works for me. But, until that happens, I love whatever job I am doing. The main thing is the people. I love the people I work with, and I will always cherish the memories I will get from this job. Did I ever mention that I am learning about the world of farming? Grew up in Idaho, lived in farm land for 22 ish years, never learned much about farming and the complexities. Who knew?

Back in the Biz....sorta.

For the past couple of years I have talked about getting back into theatre. I'll audition for a play at Westside. Maybe I'll see if I can usher at ISU, yada, yada, yada. But that's all it has been...talk. Until now. Sammee has been working full time at ISU this summer as the Company Assistant for the Summer Repertory Theatre. She called me today to ask if I would help usher for some shows this summer. Upside, free admission to the show. Downside, can't really think of one right now. So I said yes. Partly because I love my daughter, and will help her in any way I can to succeed in what she wants to do, and partly because, it's a foot in the door, and I may be able to help more in the future. Fast forward a couple of hours. Kat and I brought popcorn up to the PAC (Performing Arts Center, get used to the acronym), because Tori felt that all of the out-of-towners needed to experience Popcorn Shop popcorn. While talking to the producer, Chad, I offered to House Manage if he needed it. He said "Okay, you're on." So I am now house managing. I am not sure if it is just for Seussical or for the whole season. I'll find out tomorrow.

For those of you who don't know, 20 years ago I graduated from college with a BFA in Theatre Management, fully intending to be running a theatre some day. 20 years, one marriage, one divorce, and 3 daughters later, I had not worked in theatre since graduation. But the drive and hunger were always there. I led the Drama Ministry at church for a few years, and dabbled in improv. But I never actually got to even try to work in the field that I went to school for for 4 years. I kept vowing that I would do something in theatre, but, in Pocatello, the culture capital of the world (hahaha)? Luckily for me, a friend from college, who became a professional actor, decided to start a professional summer theatre here in town. Plus, I seem to have become friendly with the staff up at the PAC.

I know, this is not running a theatre on Broadway, but the bug has caught me again. I just hope that Sammee doesn't think I'm trying to muscle in on her turf. So tomorrow I reenter the wonderful world of theatre. Don't forget to tell me to break a leg.

All By Myself

It's Friday night, and I am home alone. Not in a Macauly Caulkin kind of way. Tori is in LA at DCLA, a Christian youth conference, and Kat went to Bear Lake with a friend and her family for the weekend. So, here I am, alone in the house. A couple of years ago, I would have been freaking out. Tonight, I am revelling in the quiet. I didn't stay home though. I went on a "date" with Sammee. We went to Old Town Actor's Studio to see "Dr. Faustus." I love Shakespeare, but Christopher Marlow, well.....it was a well acted performed play.

Now it's Saturday. I had a wonderful non mom day. I had what I wanted for lunch, then got to have dinner with my friend Bobi. My non mom time ends tomorrow evening. I'm not sure what time Kat will be home, but she will be home tomorrow, and Tori and the crew will be home from LA on Monday morning. As much as I am enjoying my time without them, I do miss them. The house is unusually quiet right now. And I find myself talking to the dog, the guinea pigs, and even the TV.

Tori is having a blast at the conference. I haven't gotten a lot of information from her, but the bits and pieces i have received have included last night's main assembly called the Big Room. Tori was interviewed on Friday and was on the big screen. She won a water bottle answering trivia questions, and she got the drumstick of the worship band drummer. She even found an orange cover for her cell phone during the week (for those of you who know Tori, orange is very important, and a huge victory). I anticipate listening to her for an entire week, hearing tales of the conference.

And, her love for service has risen up again. When she gets home, we HAVE to put together popcorn boxes for the two families who housed them this week and for the bus driver who did such a good job this week. I forgot to mention that on Thursday, as the crew was leaving Orange County for LA, the brakes went out on the bus. The driver took out a vine, injured no one on the bus or on the street, and did not damage any other vehicles. Tori is a bit grateful. And, the bus driver is from Blackfoot, Idaho. I love my daughter's heart for others. So next week, we will get cards and popcorn to send to all of these people.

I feel honored to have the children God gave me. My kids have the largest hearts for others that I have met. And I am not just saying that because I'm Mom. I have seen Kat in tears because, regardless of her efforts, she is not influencing a friend the way she is trying to. I have seen Tori in tears because she can't help someone like she wants to. I have seen Sammee in tears because she can't please someone. I love their hearts.

I think I have babbled on enough about my amazing kids. Always remember as your kids grow up to look at the positive aspects of your children. Sometimes the positive overruns the negative.

DCLA Freedom!

I shipped Tori off to Los Angeles with 34 other teens and adults to attend a Christian Youth Conference known as DCLA. The group left last night at 6:00, and arrived in LA at 9:00 this morning, Pocatello time. This was a huge undertaking on our parts.

First, when Tori decided that she wanted to go in January, I was working part time at a tax prep company. Not enough money to pay the bills, much less find extra money to pay for a trip to LA. And then there was the spending money issue. I know, God has a very large wallet, and his budget is WAY bigger than mine. But, I am also a realist. I have spent 13 years being a single mom living below the poverty level. However, God has shown up before and blessed my girls financially for ministry opportunities.

Four years ago Sammee and Tori decided they wanted to go on tour with the Continentals. For those of you who haven't heard of the Continentals, it's a Christian singing/dancing group that tours the country. They have groups for ages 12-16, 17-21, an acting troupe, and a group for 25 and older. They tour the US and Europe. The only requirements were that you could sing and dance a bit. The catch? We had to raise over $3,000 each in only 4 months. And that did not include plane tickets or spending money. I was very discouraged, but the girls got rolling. Donations started pouring in from church family, relatives, friends. The girls sold popcorn at church (of course, from the Popcorn Shop), and we had a yard sale. Mom helped out, of course, mostly with airfare and spending money. God showed up, and they raised all the money they needed to. And the girls had an amazing experience! They even mentioned some of the kids who were there because Mom and Dad just wrote a check.

Where am I going with this? Nowhere, really. Just reminding myself that God shows up when you are doing what He tells you to do. Do I think that God told Sam and Tori to go on tour? Yes! Strange as it seems, Continentals was their version of a mission trip. You don't have to go somewhere and build a school for underprivileged children to be on a mission trip. You just have to show Jesus to people who might not know him.

Tori may not be on a mission trip this time, but I know God told her to go to DCLA. At this conference she will learn new things to help her bring her friends to Jesus. She already brings her friends to Youth Group and church. In fact, she dated a boy and he joined the Praise Band. I think God helped us get the money for DCLA to assist Tori in being a leader in youth group next year. As a senior, she has the leadership qualities to do an awful lot for the Kingdom.

Okay, I think I am done for now. As I get updates from Los Angeles, I will post the amazing stuff that happens to the kids from First Baptist Church Pocatello.

Why do I feel boring?

I have been having a hard time blogging recently. I have decided that the main reason I don't blog as often right now is that I think my life is boring now. Well, less exciting, less stuff to talk about. I got a permanent job, so no more ranting about the job hunt, people who won't hire me, etc. No yakking about how God is taking care of me and the girls even though I am making no money. My life is now just "blah."



I do have some news though. I found out yesterday that Sammee will be working all summer at ISU's Summer Reperatory Theatre as the Artistic Director/Producer's personal assistant. She is so excited about that! Also, Tori found out that there is a part that Blair wants her to do in "All Shook Up." I'm not really sure how she will go about auditioning for it, or if she has to. That part of their phone conversation was a bit fuzzy. And, Sammee is doing "Oh, Dad, Poor Dad. Momma's Hung You in the Closet, and I'm Feeling So Sad" (yes, that is the name of a play) at the Westside this summer. I would like to tell her that she is over scheduled, but she is an adult now, and must make her own scheduling decisions.

Well, that's it for now. More boring news as it becomes available.