What I am going to for sure at Fringe (so far...)...

Aloha Pinafore - Friday, Aug 15 - 7 pm
Oleanna - Fri, Aug 15 - 8:45 pm
Bobby Gould In Hell - Mon, Aug 18 - 9:30 pm
Quinn's Death - Thurs, Aug 21, 8 pm
One World Song - Sat, Aug 23 - 7:30 pm
Bellies, Knees, and Ankles - Sat, Aug 23 - 9:15 pm
Putting It together - Sun, Aug 24 - 8:15 pm

This is just so far because I am trying work out the schedule... there is much more I want to get to... wish me luck! There are many more I would love to get to, but there is only so much time and I do not have the life where I can just pick up and go. This list covers about 80% of the shows that I have friends in, though, so it's a good start! Mark and the boys come to Cinderella on Sunday and I am going to try to get the boys to Alberto the Dancing Alligator. It has a dancing Alligator and potty humor --> perfect for little boys!

This afternoon City TV is filming us for the 6:00 and 11:00 news. That means I have to sparkle up and get the boys to my Mom's house and head down to Strathcona! I have a rehearsal again later tonight so there is a lot of travelling today. Yikes!

Nervous? How'd that happen?

Last night there was a fundraiser/promotional evening for several Fringe shows at Wunderbar. The evening was hosted by Maggie Tree and we were lucky to get a spot on the docket to show our stuff. We did a little scene with myself and Cinderella and it went well, but I was SOOOO nervous. I will not be nervous in front of the little children, but in front of artists in the community (many of whom were professionals and semi-pros) I was nervous like I haven't been for years. I think I held my own and I think Merran and I made our little scene saucy enough to fit in with the bar crowd. Whew! Now I get to do a TV spot...

Shows from the review that really impressed me:

Don't Make Fun of Jesus
Diamond Dog
Chicken Mom, Chicken Dad and Buddha Boi (I think that's the title?)

Others that seemed like they will be good:

Sylvie
Maggie Now!
Why do Fools Fall In Love?

Crazy week(s) ahead...

We are less than a week from Fringe starting (first show is on Friday at 11 AM). So, that means that this is the push for the finish line week. It also means promotional activities. Tomorrow, Cinderella and I are doing a little scene at Wunderbar for a Fringe fundraiser/promotional activity. This will mean full make-up and costume (replete with sparkles galore) in a bar on Whyte Avenue. I hope it is not as hot tomorrow as it has been the last few days. Tuesday morning we have a TV spot to shoot at 10 AM. I will likely have to drop Gibson off at daycare in full make-up. I may hold back on putting on my costume until I get to the venue. Tuesday evening I have a Walterdale Board Meeting (lucky me) which I cannot miss despite it's poor timing. Wasn't thinking about the Fringe when we set that date! Wednesday there is another rehearsal to fix last minute things and run as our official dress rehearsal. On Thursday we are in the Free-For-All at 8:12 p.m. This should be good promotion for our show. Hopefully being on early and all will be good for getting parents with kids interested in our show. Then on Friday we open!

How am I feeling about it? Well, I think it is in good shape. I think we have done everything we can to serve the script. I think the run on Wednesday will be good to reinforce everything and I am glad we are not like other shows I know that won't have another rehearsal between their tech and opening. The make-up and costume are a lot, but we are air conditioned and that should alleviate the worst of the suffering I am doing! I think I will have a lot of fun and I think the audiences will too.

It Figures....

3/4 of my household is sick. That would be me and the 2 boys. All I planned to get done while Ollie and Gib were at Daycamp is not going to get done, because they are not at daycamp. They are at home in bed and I don't feel up to much. Although I did have some toast for breakfast. The only upside to being sick like this... I have finally lost a little weight this summer.

Aside - Yesterday was the media call for Fringe. We were interviewed by Graham Neal of CFRN and we had a photo done by the Edmonton Journal. 'Tis good. Hopefully some of that will appear over the next few weeks.

I've been a Mother for 7 years... Seems longer... seems infinite...

Tomorrow Oliver turns 7. So, 7 years ago right now I was in labour. The pains were probably just starting to get painful. With each contraction Oliver's heart rate would drop. I could tell that I was not progressing and that it was likely that I would need a c-section for his sake. I hoped not, but I was mentally prepared for the inevitable. In about 2 - 3 hours, 7 years ago, they would tell me that for sure. When I had the actual c-section I was completely awake and making jokes. I could joke because once they gave me the spinal I was no longer feeling the contractions. When Oliver was presented to me, I smiled at him and said "Hey Baby" and he looked at me. I was sure he recognized my voice. I recognized him. So 7 years ago I became a Mother and it feels like I have always been one.

Family? Dynamics...

It was a weekend of Family Interactions. On Saturday I took the boys to my brother and sister-in-law's for a Birthday Brunch in honour of my niece's 1st Birthday. It was a nice little event and the boys played with their cousins and their cousin's cousins as there were kids from both sides of the family there. We did have to leave because Oliver and one of the cousin's cousin have a bit of a personality clash and I could tell he was not dealing with it well. I wanted to get out of there before he punched her in the face. As we drove home, Oliver fumed for a little while and then asked "Is _____ on my birthday party list?" to which I replied "No. Did you want to invite her?". Then he said "I want to write her name on the list and then I want to scribble it out.". Uninviting her would have more punch than not inviting her at all, I guess. I have a bit of a hard time at these gatherings because of my brother's mother-in-law. She has a habit of saying things to me that always leave me wondering if it was an insult. If she's joking, it's not really funny. I am worried that at the next thing I am going to snap and lose it. I also get a little mentally exhausted trying to figure out if I should be as offended as I feel.

On Sunday we went to the Oberholtzer Reunion for Mark's extended family. These are held every 2 years and are the descendants of Mark's great-great Grandparents. Mark's branch of the family is always in good attendance because many of them live close, but several branches have dropped off the tree. It was a good afternoon. The boys found several boy cousins of the same or similar age to play with. They didn't eat much but they ran around a lot and had a lot of fun. Mark is the Genealogist of the Family so he had put together a little slide show that went over very well. He really enjoyed the day and I visited with those I knew and a few I didn't really know. One afternoon for every 2 years makes it hard to get to know everyone. In any case, the day went well.

Looking for the Beat...

I am back home now for over a week and I am in search of the rhythm for the summer. The boys have had one week of Daycamp and I used that week to get quite a bit done.

I got 4 large bags of 'stuff' for Goodwill packed and out of the house. I cleaned the front vestibule (vestibule... I like that word) which was smelling like little and big boys shoes (because that's mostly what is in the vestibule). The vestibule now smells a lot like pine-sol.

I set up the Daycare arrangement for Gibson for the Fall (yay!). I now believe that the 1 - 1.5 year waiting list hype about daycares is a myth. The lists look that long because everyone gets themselves on 10-15 waiting lists and then when people start calling with a spot they get through it fairly quickly. My 1-1.5 year wait was in actuality 2 weeks! Ah, but the daycare is nice and close to the Uni and is a university affiliated daycare (good quality generally) and I liked it. I think it will be good for Gibson.

I called the University about my application... still waiting on the Keyano Transcript. Only 14 spaces left in the class I want... hurry up!

I rehearsed twice this week. I am about 75% off book, which I should be happy with, but I am kicking myself. It is still a month away. I have also been making chocolate Cinderella Lollipops for the press packets. I am quite enamoured of this and haven't been eating much chocolate at all. I promise. I spent a bit of time at Michael's to get the stuff for the press packets and I really love Michael's. Perhaps too much so. I also wrote my bio for the program (check!).

Yesterday I went for lunch with my good friend Tanya, who I had not seen since her ill-fated wedding over 8 years ago. We have written and talked on the phone, but this was a long over due face-to-face visit. We (and Gibby) had a nice 2 hour power chat over lunch at BP's. So great to see her again and reconnect. I have these wonderful friends from over the years and I am glad they feel the same way about me!

So, where is the beat to the summer? I am still trying to find it. There are too many small chores to do that an actual identifiable beat may not be possible.