Update

I've been such a bad blogger. :P So here are some updates, written super quickly before bedtime:

First off, I've decided that I'm not going to update this blog much. I might do random posts every now and then... I am keeping my ART BLOG up and running regularly, but I don't have enough time/energy to keep this one going. :/ I might post random things that pop into my mind, though.

This past year has been extremely stressful-- even more so the past few months (when I haven't been posting). It was really tough for Dad to commute, Mom was completely overwhelmed, we had to show the house all the time to people who weren't even qualified buyers, our realtor is (to put it very, very gently) oblivious, etc.

This summer was not much of a vacation! Even hanging with friends was a rarity. We were so busy doing nothing-- or, rather, dealing with the house, fighting colds, and keeping our sanity.

But this will all be over in a few weeks' time! We've sold our house and have bought a new one that is AWESOME! Its the same size as our current one. I find it paradoxial that we are getting more country when we move to the city-- 3 acres of land, backing up to a huge nature park with equestrian/bike trails and playgrounds... (Can anyone say MUni-- mountian unicycling?).

It's going to be an exciting adventure. It still hasn't sunk in that I'm leaving all of my friends... (considering that we've been ""moving"" for over year now...), so I am hyped about new things to do.

These next few weeks are going to be tough, though. We have to get everything packed and work on school. Very little free time and lots of stress. At least there is a definite end! :D

Anyways, that's what's been going on... I have lots and lots more I could say but its bedtime.

Random Things of the Day

1) Please check out my art blog: www.shealynns-faerie-shoppe.blogspot.com I just redid the entire layout! I need to figure out a better way for organization. You shouldn't have to click "Older Posts" twenty times just to discover one of the older posts.

Please let me know if it takes forever to load or if it looks funny in your particular browser.

2) Today we watched The Importance of Being Earnest! Wow, it was randomly hilariously awesome.

3) I still intend to write up a quite long post about The Hike III, but in the meantime, please see THE HIKE III BLOG.

4) We just discovered that Marcus' vocabulary includes the word "exciting". He's two. My next plan: teach him to say "grandiloquent."

5) I do such a terrible job on this blog. I never keep anything organized and I never keep to any set posting. I don't get pictures up for months. This is a cross between a family blog, a blog, and randomly random things...

6) My latest catchphrase: This is manifestly absurd. From St. Thomas' Summa Theologica.

7) Please pray I survive exams! I'm freaking out. Just a little bit. Especially about math.

8) I'm sure I've posted this before, but my aunt has been in an out of the hospital with some complications with her pregnancy.

9) I'm still hyped from the HIKE! It looks like I have only one toenail in serious danger. In fact... I got relatively few blisters. Only four little ones and one medium one (under said toenail). I managed to hurt the outsides of both my feet, though. It appears to me to be either a numb cramp (get those there alot) or else a very tightly wound tendon right by that fifth metatarsal. (OOOH! I sound all medical-like.)

10) We're showing the house again soon. I hope we can 1) sell it, 2) get it clean without everyone freaking out, and 3) not get very behind in school!

Hike

Yesterday was the Hike III! It was SO MUCH FUN. I'll post about it later, right now I need to study!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

My mom is so awesome... She's so awesome that she makes me actually keep a bedtime so that I get enough rest... (bedtimes... why must they exist?) therefore I can't write a long, awesome post about her. Maybe I can do that tommorrow. :D

Interesting...

So Sorry!

Apparently all those blog posts I'd written over the past week or two didn't publish... this is what I get for not checking. So there are a gazillion new posts. If this clutters up your Blogger Dashboard, I'm sorry!

Turning Off Nick's Brain

I'm beginning to wonder if my brother's brain has an on and off switch. Because his brain seems to be turned off alot...

[PICTURE]

A few days ago, we were playing a Lord of the Rings game. I had my Evenstar necklace out, and we took the One Ring out of the LotR Risk game.

I hung the Ring on my Evenstar chain. My brothers asked to use it; I said yes. "Put the chain on my desk when you are finished!"

"Okay! C'mon, lets go defeat Sauron. We should recruit Ulme."

The next day we hurried around the kitchen, attempting to make a lunch out of quite old leftovers. Everyone was stepping on feet, knocking chairs over, being loud, and generally increasing noise and commotion. As I put my sandwhich of leftover meat in the toaster, I noticed something on the counter.

My chain! After practically knocking a milk jug onto the day's mail, I reached across the fruit bowl and grabbed my chain.

Only half of it came. (click read more)

Are YOU the biggest fan of FTN?

Are you the biggest fan of Regina Doman's Fairy Tale Novels for teens?

This summer...

beware of thieves.

Alex O'Donnell and the Forty Cyberthieves

a fairy tale retold 

(this is the fifth book in the Fairy Tale Novels series)

As part of a promotion for these books, the author is holding a contest. Details can be found HERE. Prizes range from free MP3 downloads, signed books, and a copy of the student film The Shadow of the Bear when it is completed.

These books are among my favorites. I wrote... not a review, per se, but some kind of post on them HERE.

The official website: www.fairytalenovels.com
The fan-forum (the forum I am constantly talking about): www.fairytalenovels.proboards.com

My idea for the entering contest: design my own fairy tale novels T-shirt, and get a picture of me riding my unicycle with it on. Mmmhmmm. That sounds cool. 

To all my friends: If you haven't read these books yet, I strongly suggest doing so! I have extra copies at home, which I am only too happy to loan. HOWEVER, if enough people request them at our library, they might actually buy the books. When I requested them years ago, I had to wait a YEAR before they got one of them in from inter-library loan. And it was the second book in the series. Come on, lets get our library to get some good books-- not the overwhelming majority of Scholastic stuff!

Non Euclidean

I spent a good deal of time drawing little triangles on a marble today.

Why? I'm learning non-Euclidean geometry. It is FACTINATING. A little hard to grasp, but so cool. Yes. I actually like something in math. Non-Eucldian geometry is cool.

Hopefully I won't have to do a bunch of boring proofs. Those proofs are what killed regular Euclidian geometry for me.

A Good Blog

I have been reading the Conversion Diary blog for a couple of months now. It is the blog of a women who grew up athiest, became interested in Christianity, and eventually converted to Catholicism.

As a "cradle Catholic," I've always taken my faith for granted. Seeing from the view of a convert is really something. The author has some truly amazing insights-- even in posts about everyday things like messy purses or scorpions in the house. (AHHH!)

I could write for ages about what I like, but I think I'll just post the link. :)

CONVERSION DIARY BLOG

Read through the posts on the left-hand sidebar first. You'll probably spend a good amount of time reading through the gazzillion posts on the blog-- I know I did!

Elf Dress

I forgot to post a better picture of my Halloween costume. Here it is-- minus the jewelry, cape, and accesories (I made a bucke thing, too.) I finally got Willl to take a picture-- I needed it to show someone on my forum. T'was my second sewing project!

Firefox vs Explorer-- Color

 EDIT: I HAVE FOUND A SOLUTION
The reason that select pictures looked really weird was because of 1) Firefox's color profile setting and 2) Windows XP. I didn't want to turn off color profile.... but I found a way to make firefox ignore it. All photos now functioning. Observe the magic:

Type about:congif into address bar.

Ignore the warning that pops up. You DO know what you're doing, because I'm telling you. :) Anyway, the warning does say its okay if you know what you are doing. :D


Find gfx.color_management.mode Change the integer to 0.


VOILA!


All pictures functioning.
~~~~~



Firefox is my preferred internet browser. I loves its features to no end. :) But I've noticed an odd thing happening with Firefox. Here is my evidence:

To the left are two windows in Explorer, to the right are the same in Firefox.

A pretty drastic difference, no? Much as I love Firefox, I might be forced to use Explorer when I want to look at pictures.

More Unicycle!

I haven't aquired many new skills since my last unicycling post nearly a month and a half ago. I simply can't go practice it every day.

I am having huge problems idling. Idling is rocking back and forth, so that you essentially stay in place. I am trying to learn a vertical idle, which I hear is the easiest. I'm leaning too much on my bottom foot, and turning in jerky circles rather than rocking.

Backwards riding also escapes me. I've traveled the length of the driveway once, but that was more of a fluke than a learned skill. I am already a catious rider, and the addition of not seeing where I am going does not help.

"I dun need ter know where Ah'm going-- I jerst need ter know where I've been," says Tow Mater-- "like tomato but without the 'ter'." That doesn't work for me. Most of the time, one of my siblings will run up behind me while I pedal uncontrollably backwards.

However, I have learned one new skill! Hopping!

I learned it without even knowing it.

I had just finished playing "hoola hoop catch" with my sister (I rode the unicycle, she threw the hoop at me, and I tried to either catch it or let it fall over my head-- then ride away as fast as I can so she had to come running to get her hula hoop back).

I rode from the driveway out to the middle of the street and attempted to idle. Now, our driveway, road, everything is a hill. In the past, I always learned new tricks by riding perpendicular to the slope. While I was idling, though, I accidentally twisted and found myself facing downhill mid-jerky-idle.

I told myself to hold on... I wasn't going to get that hurt if I fell... when I hit a rock. But somehow, instead of grabbing the unicycle as it flew out from under me, I grabbed it just in time to get my feet back on. Somehow, through all of this, I managed to leap into the air. I landed... and kept my balance!

I immediantly rode back and tried it again. After five minutes, I was able to control when and how I hopped. I could only hop in place, though, and only twice in a row.

But today I learned how to hop side to side (both directions) and front and back!!! I can also hop up almost four inches, and have enough control to jump over a peice of chalk without making it roll. I hope to be able to jump up things soon.

I  can also ride off curbs now. :) And I have gone on two couple-mile-long unicycle rides. And now, if I am close to a wall, I mount "silly foot" (aka, with my left foot instead of right.) Maybe I can learn how to freemount left-footed.

Mom's Birthday

Happy Birthday last week, Mom! :)

Getting presents for parents is always a bit hard. You can't possibly buy them anything, because they have to be the ones to take you to the store. After several years, though, the same old handmade presents (drawings, cards, handprints) get old.

This year I made Mom some "coupons". One of them is for a "spa night" when I take care of everyone and she gets to take a pampering bath. :) Another was meal I cook (I make alot of lunches, but those are generally just sandwhiches-- this is for a full dinner).

You can see Will's present in the picture here. It is a balloon with a drawing of our house-- with a sold sign.

I forgot what Nick and Ben did... Adelynn made a card and sang a song.

A couple of days before Mom's birthday, I babysat while she went shopping. Marcus, of course, was a pain.

"Do you want to make a present for Mommy?" I asked?

"Yes! Mommy wrist!" (He loves to make bracelets for Mom and Dad).

Marcus picked out all the beads ("Wed, so wed Mommy couwer," which translates to, "Red, because its Mom's favorite color.") Then then made a necklace with a red string and a teddy bear bead. Everyone knows that Mom loves teddy bears. :)

And he drew a picture!

The sweetest thing Marcus did, though, was to give Mom a "Pize" (Surprise). While Mom was opening her presents from everyone else, Marcus started shouting and then suddenly disapeared. He came back with his "special box."

His special box is a shoebox full of his favorite things: a hat I crocheted him, a birthday card, a dice (?), a pencil, and a few other random objects.

It was so touching to see him give his box to Mom! "You share me," he said. "You my pecil tuff." (You get my special suff.)

And then, when he saw how happy Mom was, he ran off and got Daddy Bear-- his teddy bear. "Pize! Pize! Mommy, you me Daddy Bear!"

Here is Will with his first balloon-drawing (it popped)

Mom's cake! My first time doing a double-decker. And the last time I will try to do individual petals for icing roses. Big blobs of red work just as well, and they don't cramp your hand. :)

April Fools!

I love April Fool's day. A whole day, in which you may do as many practical jokes as you like!

Except for this year. My brother was having a sleepover on the last day of March, and we were showing the house on April Fools. That meant... no loud and hyper jokes and no mess. Mom was particularly frazzled, so I realized I'd have to keep the jokes nice and calm.

I had this list of "possible jokes" in my notebook:

Cabinet Day   [My brothers and I name furniture-- Fred and George were two cabinets in the living room. Fred and George are the troublemakers in HP, and their birthday conveniently falls on April First. Thus the name Cabinet Day instead of April Fools']
Switch the clothes between the boys' closets 
Fake a spill of paint on the carpet  
Salt on my brothers' toothbrushes
Food color the milk so it looks spoiled
Buckle a gazillion stuffed animals in the van
Tape the ends of all the toilet paper/paper towel rolls
Move the showerheads so they spray the person turning the water on
Set all alarm clocks two hours early
Take a picture of the bathroom, and tape it over Mom's bathroom moving-mirror. She'd try to put on her makeup and wonder why she couldn't see her face! For a moment, at least.
Write on all the mirrors  (The Chamber of Secrets has Been Opened!)
...And LOTS more

But I couldn't be mean. I just couldn't. So I toned it down... and surprised everyone at breakfast.

"Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese." G.K. Chesterton

Nick was smart enough to KEEP the food coloring in the bowl, and enjoy blue cereal.

I also did the classic "tape the sink sprayer down". Last year I tricked myself THREE separate times. This year I caught Ben's friend Andy. Lets see...

William and Nick were reading LotR. I switched the covers between Two Towers and Return of the King-- they started reading the wrong book!

I also did fake makeup on Nick so it looked like he had a cut. He scared Grandma. :)

Here is something I did a year or two ago for April Fools. We were having pizza... I decided to make an extra one.
I rolled out pie dough for the crust, used the juice from cherry pie filling for the sause, used food-colored coconut for the cheese, fruit snacks for the peppers, grape slices for the onions, and fruit roll ups cut into circles for pepperoni.

While we are on the topic... check out these April Fools jokes by Google!

Adelynn's Glasses

Adelynn got glasses! We think this should help with some of her learning-to-read problems-- she kept getting headaches after just a few minutes of reading.

Rambling on College

I'm in highschool now, and I actually have to start thinking about what I'm going to be doing when I grow up.
I have to figure out my strengths and weaknesses. This phenomenon is really weird. Anyone my age or older can attest to this, I am sure.
You see, I do not have the slightest clue of "what I'm going to do." I don't have to "figure it out" for awhile yet, but still.

Crinkly Yellow Paper

...I had a little too much time on my hands awhile ago (I don't even remember how long ago), and typed this whole thing up. Found it in a Word document, thought I'd share.

There is something so precious about a good book-- not just the story inside, but the book itself.

Ink and Fairydust

I just realized that I have not posted the more recent Ink & Fairydust newsletter/magazines! The Fairy Tale Novel Forum, which I am a part of, puts together this monthly publication. I've written and co-written several articles, have a monthly comic, work on some graphics, and have just started a monthly semi-column.

We've been working on some major changes-- slowly moving towards a far more organized, professional magazine. Within the next couple of months we should have reached that point. :)

Older issues can be found at Ink and Fairydust on Issuu.

Er... please ignore the links under the embeded magazines. Issuu has that in their code... its not part of the magazine.

March 2010-- Jane Austen

Open publication - Free publishing - More rosary

I think my Fine Linen Drama friends, who just finished Pride and Prejudice, will enjoy. :)

April 2010-- Spring

Open publication - Free publishing - More awakening

May 2010-- May/Mary

Open publication - Free publishing - More virgin mary

We have both Catholics and Protestants writing on the Blessed Mother. I have to say I was rather surprised and pleased by the Protestants' devotion to Mary. :)
>

How thrilling. I should be able to take the car from the driveway to parked on the side of the road, right? Apparently not. I hit the mirror into the mailbox and got in trouble because I didn't put the car in park. And now Dad's mad at me, and for some reason I got all emotional about it and just dug a deeper hole. How thrilling. How absolutely positively thrilling. And I still don't know how to get the car from the driveway, up the hill, turned the right way, and parked nicely. Today's just been a thrilling day...

How to Speak Shaylynnese

Shaylynnese, otherwise know as, “That funny way Shaylynn talks,” is simply English with some simple rules thrown in. There are no exceptions, exceptions to exceptions, or other idiotic language measures-- except, of course, for the "ordinary English" part.


The Great and Mighty Rules (in no particular order and by no means comprehensive):

1) use English grammar properly
2) adding “-ish” to the end of any noun automatically turns it into an adjective
3) adding “-ish” to the end of any word adds a degree of doubt to a statemen
4) use large/uncommon words in ordinary conversation
5)a comparative/superlative purposefully misused is done to illustrate a point 
6) randomly slip into a British accent (or any accent, real or imaginary) and use words that go with it ("rather, reckon, blimey, lorry," etc.)
7) talk half with your hands or facial expressions
8) use words like “randomly” and “actually” at least five times a day
9) use an awfully large number of adjectives or adverbs
10) when describing anything wonderful, speak in a slow, overly dramatic poetic voice
11) make up your own words
12) borrow made up words (thilly, bloopa, friendle, Chewbacca)
13) talk very fast
14) do not use cliché similes and metaphors, instead, compare everything to fictional/fantasy stories
15) use old fashioned slang (jolly, dickens, awfully)
16) use sound effects
17) latch onto random/weird/technical phrases, such as "skew divergent array" or "single sided bonding device" (ie, tape)
18) use quotes abundantly-- especially ones from Chesterton
19) don't forget to learn little bits and pieces of other languages, and include that vocabulary in everyday conversation-- notwithstanding the fact that you barely know what you are saying and are using no grammar. Be sure to include obscure languages such as Elvish and Ye Olde English.
20) Exaggerate. Alot. As in, every single word must be exaggerated.
21) When writing, make ample use of pictures, codes, ciphers, and made-up shorthand, so that enemy spies will never decipher the meaning of your diary or science study guide.

Beware, Cars. And anything else on the road.

I got my driver's permit a month or so after my birthday. You might remember my frantic post about my first time driving. You'd think that a gal like me, who gets thrown into the deep end first, would be a good driver right about now?

I mean, now I know which pedal does what (which I didn't know when Dad first took me driving). I know where the little light-up-arrow-thing-that-tells-people-which-direction-you-are-turning is. Dad will not have to wrench the wheel out of my hand after telling me to "take that turn there" and I nearly hit a stop sign. I'll be able to turn the wheel-- because the wheel actually has to turn. You can't just twist it gently.

Good driver, right? No, I just freeze up and mess everything up. I haven't gotten a chance to go driving since Christmas, when Papa taught me how to park in a parking lot. (Not even backing-up parking). We've had alot of stuff going on, and despite not having anything to do besides school, cleaning, more school, and more cleaning, we manage to be pretty busy.

I've driven a total of two hours in my life-- I need at least 40 hours to get a license. At first, Mom said she would take me driving once we move. I don't know if she is mental or something-- who would want to learn to drive in a metropolis when they can learn in a little rural town?-- but the thought was that we would be less busy when we are in a new house, trying to get settled in, arranging rooms, unpacking boxes, etc. But I have to admit-- she's too busy and frantic already, and trying to find time for a nerve-wracking roller coaster ride ain't going to help.

Well, we haven't moved yet. The scariest thing I've done while driving is going through a four-way intersection with a bicyclist in front of me. I still go waaay too slow-- and my turns are too wide. I freaked out when I went 45 mph on a "highway" (where I saw a total of one car on a five minute drive). I'm never sure who has right-of-way

I highly doubt that I can get 40 hours of driving in during the course of this summer. Driving the big ole van? Parallel parking? Driving a car with my brothers in it? (Brothers who already tease me about driving?) A highway? St. Louis?

Yeah. Five months until a possible driver's test. I'm dead meat. But Mom and Dad are kinda counting on having another slave-- ahem, driver, LOL-- to take everyone to various activities. So... that test is kinda inevitable as soon as possible.

There's a quote Mother Teresa: "God never gives us more than we can handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much."

Boy, does that quote ring true on so many levels.

When people type...

WHEN PEOPLE TYPE LIKE THIS THE VOICE INSIDE MY HEAD SCREAMS AT ME. IT IS AGONIZING!

When people type like this, I feel uncommonly hyper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When. People. Type. Like. This. I. Cannot. Help. But. Stop. After. Each. And. Every. Word.

WhEn peOpLE TYpE LiKE tHiS tHe vOIce inSide My hEAd fLuCtUatEs

when people type like this i feel like they are trying to whisper

whenpeopletalklikethisifeelliketheyarebeingquietandslurringtheirwords

WHENPEOPLETALKLIKETHISITSLIKELISTENINGTOLARRYINSILLYSONGSWITHLARRY

when ppl type lk this i feel lk they rnt puting efort in it

Grandpa's Obituary

Grandpa Rackers' obituary is wonderful. Here's a link: http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2010/03/24/obituaries/nt282obits_rackers2010.txt

Thank you all for all your prayers! We really appreciated them.

The Tripods Attack

You know how I am always meaning to write up nice, wonderful book reviews but never get the time to?

This was one of those books. My friend Elena wrote up an excellent review. I could add a few things, but its been awhile since I've read the book. :P Elena pretty much summed it up, though.

To read her review please CLICK HERE.


PS I will update this blog again sometime. I have many, many things to post. I think I've given up on posting anything left from 2009, like Christmas. And stuff from January and the likes. Hmm. This blog is becoming much less of an "updating family and friends" and much, much more of a "Shaylynn's rambling thoughts". Which is okay. But I still want to get some of my pictures up.

Happy Easter!

It's not quite yet Easter, though a few hours will make it! I have much to update y'all on, and no time at the moment. So I shall merely wish you a very blessed Easter!

Where my mind wanders...

If people from foreign contries have diffuculty pronouncing, and sometimes cannot pronounce, the two "th" sounds, do they ever lisp?

Grandpa Rackers

Please pray for Grandpa Rackers' soul. He passed away this morning. Also, prayers for Grandma and the whole family. Thank you.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Prayers, Please

Please pray for my Grandpa Rackers. He is not doing very well.

Pride and Predjudice

Well, my friends, I have returned from my second outing to Regency England.

It was even better than the first.

The show was sold out!!!! The audience was so into everything that they often cut the actors off with laughter and applause! All the actors fed off that; there was so much wonderful energy up there! I am so thoroughly impressed with the acting... and everything. :D

Ahhhhhh, I'm so hyped I can't calm down for the life of me, even though I should be getting in bed. As Mrs. Bennett would say, "I shall go distracted!" It's a terrible thing, to be sure, getting bitten by the theater bug and having no way of relieving the fever. :D
 

Happy Feast of St. Joesph!

He is the patron saint of families, fathers, and selling houses. He is also my grandpa's patron saint (Grandpa is in the hospital right now). We're asking for his intersesion in a special way today!

Pride and Predjuce

Fine Linen Drama, the same group who preformed Prince and the Pauper and The Pirates of Penzance, is now currently preforming Pride and Predjuce! (Note all the P&P!)

I watched the opening performance this evening, and was amazed by the quality! Every little detail is so fine tune and spectacular. From the wonderful script-- written by the director's daughter-- to the acting, to the costuming, the entire play is a joy to watch.

First off, Pride and Prejudice is just an awesome story. Period. If you haven't read it, go read it. Now. 

It captures the essence of Austen-- quite a feat. The script is so purely Austen, unlike many of the movie interpretations I have seen.

The acting is simply superb. I'm not saying this merely because all the actors are my friends. I'm saying it critically, too. Elizabeth Bennett made me practically cry during the more emotional scenes, and Rebecca played her part perfectly. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are portrayed exactly as I imagined in the books. Sarcastically pompous and hilariously petty. :) I particularly enjoyed the scenes with Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley. Oh, boy, I could go on and on. I could list every single person who acted in the play, along with detailed descriptions of how well they did. But, alas, bedtime is soon and I want to cover other aspects! Just let me assure you that the acting is magnificent.

Costumes. Let us just say the costumes are so good that they become a part of the character, shall we? So much effort has gone into creating these works of art, and making quick changes happen between scenes.

I'm extremely impressed with the set, too. So many set changes, and details, and bits to move around... I was at one of the rehearsals when the blocking was being practiced. Only then did I realize just how many pieces of furniture and walls had to be moved around in perfect choreography.

Music!!! Dancing!!! More music, and sound, and lighting!... The orchestra is, of course, wonderful. The Halls did an excellent job teaching many ECD (English Country Dance) beginners how to dance gracefully onstage... There are other little things that are so often overlooked and are so important. This includes the sound and lighting. I never paid attention to them before, but while hanging out during rehearsals, I realized just how much they affect the mood of a scene.

I'm also going to put in a word for Mrs. Nisbett, the director. Allow me to declare to the whole wide world that she and Mr. Nisbett are total geniuses. :) Their whole family, for that matter. They are the ones who make things happen, and makes them happen the way they should. *applause*

Long story short, you must come see Pride and Predjudce! The remaining dates are below:

Fine Linen Drama now has their own website, for more information: http://finelinendrama.com/ I suggest joining their mailing list!

Get your tickets quickly!!!

The Fine Linen younger actors have a show in April:

Since we are still trying to move, I was not able to audition. Hmph, at the time of auditions we hoped to have been happily settled in our new home. But while I am here, I might as well enjoy time with my friends! I have been the "Phantom of the Theater" during rehearsals. Everyone has improved sooo much. And they are all such excellent people. It is a truly spectacular group. :D

I love being the Phantom, because that means that I can help out and be important five minutes before opening night. I left my soda and coat by Mom, and ran off to find some earrings, a missing brooch, and to help tie bows on an unfinished hat. I then told everyone to break a leg and was told that I am allowed behind the concession stand. LOL

I am taking one of my friends-- who has never yet seen a Fine Linen performance-- on Saturday. I won't be able to go again, so I will trust you, dear blog readers, to go and make a full house and to enjoy yourselves for two magical hours.

Unicycle

I feel like both bragging and despairing about my unicycle skills. I've been riding more often lately--enough to actually learn skills like turning and such.

I'm not much of a daredevil risktaker, so I probably spend alot longer on each skill than your average unicycler...

My unicycle skills so far:
Riding straight for who-knows-how-long
Mounting with only one hand holding something
Turning left--both wide and sharp
Turning right--both wide and sharp
A wide figure eight
Riding uphill
Riding downhill
Stationary freemount (this took a long time to learn)
Rolling freemount (I learned after stationary, without intending to, actually)
Back dismount
Front dismount

Things I have done on a unicycle:
Riding for a mile-- both up and down the steep hills in our neighborhood
Riding in a skirt
Swordfighting with my brother (who was on the ripstick)
Riding on grass
Riding up/downhill in grass, with lots of bumps
Never fallen on anything but my feet and occasionally hands

Skills I am working on/want to learn 
Idling
Backwards riding
Hopping
Spinning
Jumping
One foot riding
Not using arms for balance (so I can do things with my hands!)
...and much, much more!

Things I really, really want to learn:
How to make the soles of my feet NOT cramp up while on a unicycle. I just don't get it. I mean, my feet cramp and get sore alot, but on the unicycle?
How to ride without making my bottom go numb after fifteen minutes