The Pattern of the Weekend

On Saturday I drive, I sit, I run, I ride, I run, I ride back, I sit, I drive, I drop one off, I drive, I drop the other off, the first one and I have a drink (non-alcoholic - he's only 8), and I drive home, then it's tidying up, supper and then some TV. On Sunday, I sleep in a little, I clean, I do laundry, I fix lunch, I clean more, more laundry, I nap if I am lucky, I fix supper, I do more laundry and probably run the dishwasher, I watch TV, I check my email (etc...) and then I go to bed. There might be a few other things in there, but I am fairly committed to this until Drama is done. I am not sure how long piano will run, but despite the running around, I quite like Saturdays now that I figured out how to only have one child with me at a time. It's like the fox, the chicken and the bag of corn riddle - how to get all three across the river... I know the answer now.

Cancellation = Stress Relief

I made a difficult decision this morning. I have been thinking about it for awhile now, and after a few more things piled up I realized that it was time to act. I pulled From Something out of the ADFA Stage Struck! Festival. Back in the summer, when we were on the high of doing the show at Interplay and the Fringe it seemed like the right thing to do, but then when we approached the time the massive conflicts of our schedules made me very worried. It wasn't just the cast, it was me as well. I have a horrible schedule these next two months with Mark in Annie, Tight Rope in New Works, Auditions for From Cradle to Stage and the other things that I have to do for Walterdale (I still have to finish prepping for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas). Everything seemed to be converging and I was getting worried that we wouldn't be able to do the work we needed and that the actors would be stressed to learn the changes. As it was we only had 4 rehearsals. We needed more time. In addition to all that, my cast has complicated schedules, one is Gertrude in Hamlet, one is in Pirates of Penzance with the Edmonton Opera, one is directing one of the From Cradle to Stage shows, and they are all ill (with a variety of sickness). All the signs said it wasn't going to happen. So I pulled the show. I instantly felt better. I still need to revisit the script because of the changes I made, but that can wait until I have the time for that.

Last Week - Where Did It Go?

The illness in my house last week (mine and the kids) knocked me out of circulation and left me feeling behind in everything. Thankfully I had chunks of time in my very busy Saturday where I could read some of my scripts. The one thing about kid's classes is that while they are in the class you have to sit and wait for them, and reading is a very good thing to do to fill your time. I read Hosanna, The Rez Sisters and Lion in the Streets and I started The Tale of the Allergists Wife. Two were for homework, and 2 for consideration for Walterdale. Check! I still have many more to read, but I always bring one or two along with me wherever I go.

I am trying to get on top of things this week and change the momentum of last week. Already I have coloured my hair (the blond was getting to me - too hard to maintain without the proper salon time and money), cleaned the upstairs bathroom, and I am doing a whole house garbage round-up. I also have 2 reference letters to write and I have an important decision to make about whether or not we leave From Something in the ADFA StageStruck! The schedules of those involved (myself included) are getting stressed to the limit and I don't want to put it up if it is not what I want it to be. It was a great idea in the summer, but now that the reality of my life (and the lives of my cast and crew) has bubbled up it is looking like the proverbial back-breaking straw. We will talk tomorrow and see what the task actually is once we do the read-through. Maybe it isn't as big a job as we think?

I have a sitter booked tonight. We (the From Something girls) were going to go for dinner tonight. Two of the cast is ill and one cannot get to the restaurant and I haven't heard from another so it might just be two of us. I am going to do something. I am not going to waste a sitter!

Out of My Control...

Last week I was sick. It hit Mon Night/Tuesday Morning and hung on until Sunday. I still have remnants but I am functional. In fact, I was functional for most of the week because I had things on the go that I could not opt out of. This week it is a slightly different picture. I am at about 95% but both boys have a cold. This is worse than when I was sick. I will struggle through things when I am ill, but with both boys ill it basically creates a situation where I am stuck at home. Yesterday this wasn't so bad, because I had nothing on the go that was urgent. Today it is much worse, because I have class and an assignment due in class. I emailed and phoned my prof and sent the assignment via email in the hope that she will accept it. I was contemplating dragging the kids to campus with me, but frankly, at this point, I will take a loss on the assignment rather than do that. One kid - I could handle that trip; Two kids - no way. Normally I would have my Mom as back-up, but my parents are away. If it were only one of the boys I could drop him at the store while I ran to class and back - I can't do that with both. This doesn't happen often, but when it does I really earn my salary. They better be well enough to go to school tomorrow!

The Body Hurts

All this week I have had this *pain* in my throat. It was mild, and stronger in the morning and at night. Tuesday I thought I had defeated it with hot tea and honey but when I woke up Wednesday it was back. It was fine in the day and then around 9:30 p.m. it started coming back. This morning I woke up and went back to sleep because I was not well. I am still not well and my right shoulder is slightly seized. It feels connected. After Oliver got home from school, I fed the boys and then had a nap. I managed to sleep in until 10 a.m. and then nap for 2.5 hours in the afternoon and if it wasn't because I thought I should feed the boys more I would still be asleep. I have a busy weekend so I plan to get to bed early - hopefully I will be able to go to sleep - and pray for a healthier morning!

Got the Donor Voted Show Event on Saturday Night. All Walterdale members are invited - doors open to the general membership at 7:00 p.m. The Donors are invited at 6:00 p.m. for a wine and cheese thing. The readings start at 7:30 p.m. Which play will they pick? I have my favorite but I won't say anything because I don't want to skew the voting!

Fitness and Food - Focus of the Day

Well, I checked out that FitDay Site that my sister recommended and I quite like it. I had to do some other research online about how many calories I should be eating (my initial impulse to say 1200 was far too low). It is puzzling, because I lack the knowledge about nutrition that I feel would help me do this really well, but I like the inputting on computer and the fact that it will make little graphs and track my calories and fat grams and protein and carbs and all that. It also forced me to look through the pantry for 'better choices'. A turkey burger vs. a beef burger was a great decision, and I can have many, many pickles before it has too much impact on the calories. I am still struggling to figure out what the balance between carbs, fat and protein should be, but this site tracks it all very well for me so if I don't have success, I can print it off and take it to someone who knows better.

I also went on the treadmill again today. I only went for 27 minutes because that was all I could fit in and I was sore from yesterday, but technically I have fulfilled 2/3 of my exercise commitment for the week. If I keep this up I will exceed my goal and that's not a bad thing!

Fitness Begins...

So, I got on the Treadmill today. No excuses, so I did it. It was a good hour with about 45 on the treadmill, and 15 of pushups, crunches and squats. It is a new beginning. Wish me luck on my continued comittment to fitness. I knwo I will never be skinny, but I have to do something now before my physical condition gets worse no matter how much I would rather be doing other things.