wedding prep checklist, cont.

Three more essentials crossed off of the list:

• One MOB dress, completed and ready-to-wear!

Check.

• One great pair of MOB shoes, worn once or twice to break in:

Check.

• One well-stocked refrigerator for wedding helpers:

Check.

Christmas: Black-Eyed Susan style!

15 bolts of satin ribbon: $450

30 boxes of fresh greens for outdoor urns: $1,800

1 tube of heavy-duty hand lotion to soothe hands scratched from endless tree primping: $13

1 scary New York Yankees ornament that had to be worked into an otherwise beautiful tree: $9.95

1 early Christmas present--a warm and very stylish scarf from Paris: undisclosed amount of Euros

Dinner on the run (that's Diet Coke, in case you're wondering): $15

60+ work hours in 4 1/2 days spent with my best sister and friend: Priceless.

progress

Ta-dum! The first set of dance team costume tops completed:

Count them: eleven.

Now, on to the red polka-dotted satin. . . .

red letter day!

Look what the UPS man brought to my door today:

Replacement rhinestone sandals identical to my all-time favorites that broke last year!!

A happy day, indeed.

reclaiming my life

Okay--I'm still alive and currently in recovery mode from last week's musical. Thankfully, since we rented much of what we used, the laundry and clean-up process will be minimal this year. I feel like I've been absent in my own life for the past six weeks or so, and I'm so ready to reclaim it and start living it again!

I'm exhausted and somewhat daunted at the prospect of setting my house in order, but know that doing so is key to restoring my sanity. It's a complete mess--messy and dirty. I'm taking it a small step at a time; last night I cleaned my sewing area, which was no small task and required me getting on my hands and knees to do a pre-vacuum of scraps and threads before actually vacuuming. It was quite a process to vacuum up all that glitter.

I plan to post in greater detail about my costuming adventure before leaving it entirely behind, but for now here are a few tidbits. (Most of my photos haven't been downloaded from my camera yet and Mark has the connector cord in his car--and is currently not at home....).

This is a blurry photo of the "Swamp" dress I made for the leading lady--a princess who comes from the swamp. It had to look like it might actually be wet and somewhat swampish, but still pretty and princess-like at the same time. I was pleased with the result--and the Twirl Factor was fabulous.

Another favorite costume I made this year was one for the Prince made entirely out of drapery and pillow remnants I have collected from my sister Susan over the years. The only thing I purchased for the outfit was some gold sequin trim and the buttons. I don't think I've ever made a costume out of such beautiful, expensive fabrics before!

Here's a little closer view:

Why do I do it, one might ask? Alas, this is a question I often ask myself this time of year.

Here's one reason: my son John, who was the cutest member of the chorus! (No, that is not a plume on my head--it's the feather on John's sweet hat.)

Stay tuned.

that's showbiz

Mark, after hurrying to iron a shirt for work early Wednesday morning only to find, when completed, that his shirt had bits of sparkly gold embedded into the fabric:

"Is that. . . GLITTER. . . on the ironing board?

Sadly, yes.

disclaimer: Welcome to Crazyville

Somewhere in the strands of my DNA lurks what I have come to call the Mutant Drama Gene, which drives otherwise ordinary people like me to want to be involved in theatrical productions. While I enjoyed participating in musical theater when I was in high school, and continue to sing occasionally at church events, I never really dreamed that I would become--of all things--a costumer of high school musicals.

It began nearly ten years ago with The Sound of Music, and has continued through shows like Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, Brigadoon, Guys and Dolls, and Kiss Me Kate, just to name a few. My costume collection now exceeds what my own storage space at home will hold, and currently resides in the basement of a very generous friend.

So other than the mutated genetic code theory, I can't quite explain why every February and March I put the rest of my life on hold and pour every ounce of energy--spent and unspent--into designing, organizing, gathering, laundering, borrowing, ironing, and sewing costumes. My house is a mess, my dinner unplanned, my car full of petticoats, my own laundry a heap, my brain frazzled. This is what my dining room table looked like after yesterday's multiple trips to Joanne Fabrics:

This is me in the school's costume room pondering where to come up with six additional princess gowns, two knights in shining armor, and a princess dress that looks like it came from a swamp (this year's show is Once Upon a Mattress). I'm also pondering who I can sweet-talk into making four gowns for the principle dancers. There are almost fifty kids, total, in the cast.

So, in case you start to wonder over the next few weeks why I've suddenly dropped out of the Blogosphere, just know that I've temporarily taken up residence in Crazyville.

Thank heavens for my dear friend Teri, who--when I'm exhausted and feel like I'm losing my grasp on the fraying end of my rope--smiles and assures me that we can pull it all together.

I'll try to keep you posted, but can make no promises. It's that time of year again.

working girl

I'm pretty sure Diet Coke tastes better when served over ice in a lead crystal goblet. Just one of the perks of working for Susan's wealthy clients.