Showing posts with label Elphaba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elphaba. Show all posts

Monday, September 17, 2012

Timing



Timing is an interesting thing.

For instance: tonight, I had Superman and Batman change their bedding (it didn't happen over the weekend due to my being sick with one ferocious cold!). They were determined to impress me with their bed-making skills, and when they were done, Batman asked me if his was the best made bed ever, in the whole wide world. Not to be outdone, Superman asked if his was the best in all the planets of all the galaxies in all the universe. (No lie! His exact words!) Part of me beamed with pride and wondered if maybe I could introduce him to Doctor Who. The other part of me, the part that cringed at the competitiveness that was sure to get a rise out of his brother, knows that he is not quite ready for the good Doctor, as I'm fairly certain it would give him nightmares of Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels. But I'm almost certain that in a few years, he will be my fellow Whovian, watching the new episodes with bated breath.

I'm not known for being a patient person. (Mostly because I'm not. LOL) My whole life, timing has been a thorn in my side (not to mention the cause for tantrums thrown that would put toddlers to shame) more times than I care to admit. I want things to be done when I want them done. I don't want to wait. This tends to make me a difficult person to work with. (Obviously.) However, I think marrying into the military (which I was dead-set against for as long as I can remember...mostly because I didn't want someone else dictating my life and being in control of...you guessed it...timing) was about one of the best things that has happened to me in my life. Not only because I would have passed by a man that is an amazing father and wonderful husband, but because it has taught me a few things.

Let me tell you, me learning from life lessons takes nothing short of a brick wall to stop my forward progress and change my course. I honestly don't think that I would have learned these things without my husband's career being military. I know there's no arguing with the rules. For as bull-headed as I am, I do generally have respect for authority. And rules. So learning to be flexible and plan for things without set dates, and moving internationally, and dealing with Superman's challenges...even though I'm an independent spirit, it was NOT the right time for me to be working outside the home. And I wanted to be home with my boys. I am so very grateful that I was able to stay home and be a mom and homemaker full time. And I think I needed the time the boys were in school to just be with myself. Last year, when Batman started Kindergarten, I wanted to throw a party. I may not have made the emotional progress I wanted to in the course of that year (my goals also tend to be quite lofty...they probably weren't realistic...), it was enough. And now, with having made the diet changes over the summer that I did in addition to joining a workout challenge with Elphie, I am feeling more like my old self than I have in a loooooooooooooooooooooooong time.

I started to see signs of my restlessness of being at home all the time pretty soon after the boys started school. The first week, I relaxed, knit, and caught up on some household duties that I slacked on during the Ravellenic Games (my butt was planted in front of my computer, knitting and watching the Olympics!). Then I started to get active with working out, and it all went from there. I signed up to volunteer at the school to escort kids around for health screenings and special "briefings" (bus safety, the gifted ed program, library, etc.) while the teachers do evaluations on the students in a one-on-one setting. I volunteered for all three weeks. Last week was 3rd & 4th graders. This week (starting tomorrow!) is 2nd graders. Next week is 1st grade. So when I had the car last week, I made good use of my time. I didn't stay cooped up in the house. I went to the craft store on base and got set up to be the new knitting instructor (for the last year or so we're here). I went to a "career fair" at the lame BX we currently have to see about getting hired at the new BX that is nearly finished being built. And as of today, the contract has gone through for the knitting classes (so tomorrow I will go finalize all that paperwork), the background check to move forward with being officially hired with AAFES has been started (I should be able to get into the "new employee" class the first Tuesday of October!), and I'm finally over this nasty head cold and was able to get back to working out.

I'm not sure what it was that clicked into place, but I am feeling better about myself than I have in quite a while, I have more energy (I know that's a combination of dietary and exercise changes), and I am super excited to start making my own small paycheck to cover my yarn addiction (which I will have significantly less time for, lol) and gift shopping for The Instigator! :D I think I'm finally learning to sit back let things work out to God's timing instead of pushing my own agenda. It really takes so much less fighting that way. LOL

Happy Monday!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Summer time!

Wow! I have been incredibly busy! Ever since the field trip I chaperoned for Batman's class to the Butterfly Gardens in Luxembourg, I have been hopping!

On Memorial Day, we had the Songes up and had a cookout and I got to spend time with Kristin, hanging out in my craft room and dyeing yarn, along with just playing with yarn in general. :)

The following Monday, I got to join a bunch of the other Kindergarten parents and help with cutting out cardboard wings for the "Fly Away" ceremony we had for Batman's Kindergarten class. (The school doesn't do an actual Kindergarten graduation.) It was nice to chat with them and talk about travel and my love of Paris with them. :)

That Wednesday I went in and helped out Batman's teacher with the kids decorating their wings for said ceremony. They were so creative and fun!
That Friday was Field Day for the boys. Batman had a blast and participated in all the events with extra enthusiasm. Superman, however, was a different story. He was in a rotten mood and only would play in about half the events.

Superman bouncing on a ball

Batman under the parachute!

The Monday after that, I was supposed to be chaperoning Superman's class's nature walk, but due to rain, it was postponed a day.







He did well overall...especially considering how long the walk was! (He should not have worn a long-sleeved shirt! LOL) That afternoon, I took cupcakes in to Batman's class, since he has a summer birthday. That Wednesday was Batman's "Fly Away" from Kindergarten, and it was awesome to get to see all the kids and their parents getting together to celebrate all the kids had accomplished. I also had Batman give his teacher and teacher's aide their gifts, which I handmade for them.




The next day was the boys' last day of school. Between Wednesday and Thursday, Superman was able to give the gifts I hand knit for his teacher, in class aide, the counselor that has been working with him, and the Occupational Therapist he was seeing on a weekly basis.









That Saturday, Elphie came up with her boys and they stayed overnight. The following Tuesday, the boys and I came down to her house so that we could sign Batman and her two sons up for swim lessons! The boys and I ended up staying through Sunday and I had a few girls nights with Elphie and Kristin. :)

We went home for a couple days, but then came back down on Tuesday, as that was when the swim lessons began. And that brings us to today! Swim lessons got cancelled tonight due to lightening, but it should be back to swimming as normal tomorrow. :)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Elphaba


Madame Morrible:  You must be Nessarose, what a tragically beautiful face. And where is- [Turns to Elphaba and screams]
Elphaba: I'm the other daughter, Elphaba. I'm beautifully tragic.


For those of you that don't know, Elphaba is the main character in the book (and Broadway musical that was based on the book) Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. It is the telling of the life of the one most people know as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz.


 Glinda: [pointing to Elphaba's broom] You're not still carrying that old thing around?!
Elphaba: Well, we can't all come and go by bubble!

I love that it's a captivating tale from a perspective that others wouldn't have even thought to tell and of what she endured in life and the friendships she made along the way.


Elphaba: What is it? What-do I have something in my teeth? Okay, lets just get this over with: No I'm not seasick, Yes I've always been green, and no I didn't chew grass as a child.
I don't want to spoil the story for anyone that's not seen/read it, but let me say that it is well worth it! There are quite a few people, though, that don't like the book. Granted, there are some parts in there that are....odd. But I tend to look past those parts and actually take the story for it's underlying messages. And the musical...I fell in love with it from the first note I heard of the soundtrack in Torie's car that one day, so long ago...(Note: you cannot aptly compare the book and musical! They're apples and oranges.) What I wouldn't give to see Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in the original roles of Elphaba and Galinda...


Elphaba: [in response to Dorothy's crying] Oh, for Oz's sake, stop crying! I can't listen to it anymore! You want to see your Aunt Em and your Uncle what's his name again? Get those shoes off your feet, Little brat! Who takes a dead woman's shoes, must have been raised in a barn!

I raved about the musical so much (and highly recommended the book...I actually really liked it), that I got Misha addicted to both. As in, she liked it so much, that when we went and saw it in London, if we would have had the money, we'd have gone and seen the show a second time that same night!


So between the fact that I got Misha hooked on Wicked and the fact that her favorite character is Elphaba and the fact that her favorite color is green (which just so happens to be Elphaba's skin tone!), not to mention that she tends to run cold in the arena of body temperature, Misha was the first person that popped into my head when I saw a certain shrug kit pop up on Knit Picks! It was too perfect to pass up, so I bought it with the intent to make it her birthday present this year. I was so excited when it came in, that as soon as I finished the items that I was being paid to do, it was the next thing I started. It was done in just over a month. And because of my excitement over this (this is my first knitted adult garment, after all!), I can't wait until October to give it to her. So this weekend, when I'm in her area, I'll be saying "HAPPY BIRTHDAY...3 months early!" lol

I am quite in love with how well it came out and I can't wait for her to try it on! :D


In other news...look out for Halloween...we're planning on Misha dressing up as Elphaba and myself as Galinda!!!