Adventures in the arts this 2nd week of Advent...

Happy feast of St. Nicholas everyone! :) I am coming off of a SUPER packed weekend with the kids, journeying to various productions in the performing arts. I just love this time of year. *heart*

Henry, in particular, had a REALLY big weekend. He was cast in a kids speaking role for our local community theater's production of "Get Smart," which had its opening weekend this past Friday. AND he had his very first ever experience as an altar server at our parish's 5 pm vigil Mass for the 2nd Sunday of Advent!

Henry in character ;-)

 

 

I was really worried about the play, because Henry is a more reserved child. On top of that, he has struggled with a speech disfluency (commonly known as a stutter) for a number of years now, and so this was a big undertaking for him. That usually is only an issue (when it even is an issue, which isn't all the time) in conversational speech, so I was cautiously optimistic for reciting memorized lines. And indeed, he did GREAT. We are all very proud of Henry. Going to all of the rehearsals, memorizing lines, helping out with scene changes, performing his role...that's a lot for an 11 year old. Very impressive!

And right before the Saturday show, he had his inauguration as an altar server. :0 Mike and I were beaming with pride as Henry made his way down the aisle as a candle bearer in the opening processional. He was shepherded carefully by a more experienced server, and he performed all of his duties perfectly. In a totally surprise move, we were asked by one of the ushers to bring up the gifts during the Mass, so the whole thing was just one big warm and fuzzy. Henry told me that he loved serving at the Mass and that it made the time fly by. ;-) I'm looking forward to seeing him thrive in this role throughout the year.

On Sunday, while Henry was performing at his matinee, Anne and I made our annual pilgrimage to see "The Nutcracker."

All dressed up and ready to go selfie :-)

Anne seemed much more into the story this year, and I REALLY enjoyed sharing it with her. We also did a bit of Nutcracker-related shopping, and to the surprise of absolutely no one, spent FAR too much on glittery wooden nutcracker dolls and marzipan Christmas tree ornaments. You only get to do it once a year, right? ;-)

Anne posing with creepy animatronic reindeer during the shopping portion of our excursion

"The Nutcracker" is very special to me. We go every year, and it is a tradition that I savor. It is so festive and cheery. I really hope that, even when they get older, I can drag a child/grandchild to it for the rest of my life. They owe me this. :0

After our busy weekend, the kids happily set their shoes out by the hearth last night, and sure enough, St. Nicholas came for an overnight visit!

He always leaves chocolate coins, books, and saint dolls. ;-) This year, Anne received St. Teresa of Calcutta, and Henry got St. Dominic Savio. Anne packed up both St. Teresa and Pete the Cat and toted both to school with her to show her teacher.  So precious.

How was YOUR 2nd Sunday of Advent, dear reader? I would love to hear from you. *beams*

Anne's birthday month continues, & summer performance season gets ready to kick off...

Hello ALL! My good mood remains. I saw my honey perform again over the weekend, which always enhances my spirits.

*fans self* ;-)

I was going to the cast party with him after the final Sunday matinee, so I just went to the show beforehand as well. I am just so, so proud of him. I know that it was somewhat bittersweet for him, since he loved the play and his part so much, but the schedule is out for the upcoming season, and there are a few plays that he has his eye on, including one in the fall. The directors are clamoring for him to audition, so he's going to do just fine.

The rest of our weekend was consumed by our increasingly mature looking (*sob!*) birthday girl:

She can't get enough of that crown.

We had family over for a big birthday bash, and so Mommy got to enjoy this:

...while Anne very much enjoyed this:

She's getting to be such a big girl! *sniffle* She received some new summer clothes, an Easy Bake oven, a Melissa and Doug magnetic calendar, and little sewing machine of her very own. A good birthday was had by all.

For my part, troupe rehearsal is hitting high gear. Our first performance of the season is quickly upcoming in early June, and so on Friday we finished our last in-progress choreography (SO FUN. The music is "El Toba" by Wael El-Nagar). We still have lots of fine tuning to do, but we're now in good shape!

In terms of my solo, I still have a lot of work to do. I've picked music (Mario Kirlis's "Awal Suhur" which is absolutely gorgeous. I just love that Mario Kirlis) and I have my private lesson set up with Claire for Thursday late afternoon, which I know will provide good fodder. Right now I feel like I'm just inadvertently flinging a veil in my face for 4 minutes and I'm pretty sure I need more structure than that. ;-)

In other news, don't forget that tomorrow is book club day! I'm very excited to talk to you all about the first five chapters of Church of Spies. Even if you haven't read the book, do join us! Maybe you'll decide to join in or read it later this summer. :)

Tea Time with Tiffany #49 - Fruits of the spirit, & good God do I LOVE my husband...

Morning all! I am in a VERY chirpy mood this morning, for this late May edition of:

Today I talk about novena fruits, upcoming June novena plans, more book talk! And...I'll just say it. My husband is HOT. :0 He is! And I love him more after 13 years than ever before. What inspired this outpouring of wifely devotion? View on, dear viewer!




**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Tea Ceremony" from PlayonLoop.com

Items mentioned in this episode:

• Sacred Heart novena. You can sign up to receive the prayers via email each day!
• The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Fr. John Croiset
• Upcoming Catholic Book Club discussion about chapters 1-5 of Church of Spies
• My recent post about upcoming summer reads!
• Anne's birthday post.
• Amish fiction book that I'm currently reading: Hannah's Courtship, by Emma Miller.

So, what do you think? Sacred Heart novena and book? Let me know if you're in! How are you coming on Church of Spies? Summer reading plans? Do write in!

Brownies that could cut glass & a zombie apocalypse: An eclectic milestone birthday weekend...

You wouldn't think those things in the title would all be related, would you? But I like to keep things interesting around here, so read on, dear blog reading aficionado! And I have yet another topic to toss into the mix before we get started, because it's Catholic Mom day for me, and this month my piece is on Confirmation patrons:

My Confirmation patron is none other than St. Cecilia, and I would love for you to click on over to read my piece and leave a comment with your very own Confirmation patron. How about your favorite saint with a feast day in November? You can write in with that information too! Let's have a fun comment party over at Catholic Mom.

But in other news, this past weekend was my Henry's birthday. OK. The child is now 10. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! I remember the day he was born like it was a few months ago.

*sniffle*

I hate how fast time seems to pass when you're an adult. I suppose part of it is the fact that one has so many more responsibilities as you get older. Alas. I guess the moral of this pointless tale of woe is that adulting is hard. Let's move on, shall we?

At any rate, it was a milestone birthday for Henry, and so we wanted to make it nice for him. His actual birthday is the 6th, which was Friday.  And every year we face the age old question of what birthday treat to send in with him to school for their celebration. See, for most normal people this is not at all an issue. Because they are good bakers and/or simply send in a store-bought treats without needlessly fretting about how they're a failure as a mother because they cannot bake. But if you're me? You're both a terrible baker AND you fret over how this makes you a negligent mother. I feel like if I send in something store-bought then everyone will KNOW that I'm a terrible baker. Plus, I see that as symbolic of the fact that I have officially given up: there is no hope for me, I cannot bake. Ever. I am disgrace to my Italian heritage. If I told my mother that I use Pillsbury pie crusts, it'll be like when I once admitted to her that I'd used pasta sauce out of a jar:

"I didn't *raise you like that*!"

That's really what she said. :0 I *can* at least make tomato sauce, sometimes I'm just too lazy to. ;-) I can also make a pretty decent Italian wedding soup. But see, that isn't *baking*. Baking is kryptonite for me.

And so I fretted over cupcakes here, or cookies there, until Mike suggested that we make brownies:

"I am terrible at making brownies."

"Are you sure? We'll just use a boxed mix."

"Yes, even the boxed mixes. I'm awful at making brownies from them. The edges are always overdone and the middle undercooked."

*Mike looks dubious*

"I've made them and they turn out fine."

"Are you volunteering?"

*Tiffany turns on the charming, winning smile*

This works, only because he is my husband.

"Sure. If you can pick up the mix on your way home from work tomorrow, I'll make them Thursday night before play rehearsal."

"Deal."

Isn't he wonderful? And indeed, on Thursday I came home and walked into a kitchen that smelled like chocolate.

"HONEY! You made the brownies!!"

"Of course, I said I would."

Mike is looking super pleased with himself, hoping for Husbandly Extra Credit Points for taking care of something that was causing me so much stress. His effort was indeed noted and rewarded. :-)

"How many brownies did the 2 boxes of mix yield?"

This is another problem that I have with brownies. So many of them turn out like ca-ca that I end up with far too few that are actually edible. And when I try to cut them into neat little squares?

*shudder*

"I'm not sure. I had to put some of them into a round pan. But there are 2 pans worth. I think they turned out well."

"Well, they certainly smell good. Thank you darling!"

It was a real love fest. Between Mike and I (this love affair persists, despite the part of the story I'm about to get to ;-)) and between Mike, I and the brownies. We had dinner, and while we were undergoing the kitchen cleanup, I grabbed a knife and spatula and tried to remove the brownies from the pans. Notice use of the words "tried to" in that sentence, dear reader?

I didn't want to say anything, because Mike was so heroic in his efforts to spare me from further baking humiliation, but I was having the same problem with these brownies that I always do with my own homemade brownies: hard on the edges + too crumbly in the middle = a big ole' mess to get out of the pan. Mike came over while I was using the spatula like the end of a hammer attempting to pry out a nail:

"Everything OK over here?"

"Well. I'm having a bit of a hard time getting the brownies out of the pan."

That was an understatement, but no need to elaborate and make him feel bad. He offered to help, and is soon jamming a knife along the sides and underneath each brownie in an effort to extract it.

"The box instructions say to use 'short, sawing motions' to get them out."

"Why do brownies have to be so bossy?!"

I was starting to loathe the brownies; not only these ones, but all their hard-edged, chewy offspring in bad brownie generations to come. I was hankering to bring Mike over to the dark side with me.

"I think they'll be fine. Oh. Oh dear."

I told you, I hate brownies. And now, Mike does too. ;-) We barely managed to salvage 15 brownies to send in for Henry's class. Poor, scarred-for-life Henry, having to bring in malformed brownies on his 10th birthday. I will say that he seemed delighted with the brownies, because, you know, they're BROWNIES. They're made of chocolate. How could there possibly be a problem with that?! Bless that child.

So, he had his school party on Friday, and we had a family party for him with pizza and wings (we're rather known for that around here. ;-) And we know where to get *the best* ones, because we're freakish and take chicken wings far too seriously in WNY) on Saturday, and he seemed thrilled with the company and his gifts. All went well.

It was a big weekend for Henry for another reason as well: it was his community theater debut. :0 This fall, he and Mike both auditioned for a play and were cast. Our township's community theater was putting on Night of the Living Dead, and Mike is playing the newscaster. Henry was cast as a zombie. :0 There were LOTS of kids in the play, and so despite it being more scary themed, it was a very family-friendly production. Anne and I went to see it for the Sunday matinee, and she wasn't scared at all. We had told her all about what she would be seeing, and how it was all make believe, and she didn't seem fazed in the least. There were at least a dozen other kids in the audience.

And I was *very* impressed! Henry was very in-character, his facial expressions and body movements showing that he was focused on the direction he had received during the rehearsal period. We were super proud of him! He had one of the more prominent zombie roles. *beams* And Mike was adorable as the newscaster:

"Look! It's Da Da!"

Anne was very excited to spot him. :-) My husband has a *very* nice voice, he receives compliments on it all the time. He's a natural for a newscaster role. And can I say how appealing it is to see him all in actor mode up on stage? In fact...well, I'll digress. Let's just say that his Cute Husband Points are through the roof this weekend. ;-)

So, a BIG weekend for Henry! I can't believe I have a child whose age is now in the double digits. This is how it happens, isn't it, with this nefarious aging thing? Next thing you know, Henry will be 50, I'll be 80, and it'll feel like only 15 minutes have elapsed.

*glares*

But I'll probably still be belly dancing, so long as I'm not using a walker or anything, so prepare yourself for those future posts now! :0

How was YOUR weekend, dear reader? Thanksgiving prep underway? Holiday crafting? Write in with all the details. :)

An epic day - of kidney stones & dancing in awkward spaces...

This was one for the record books, folks. Thank GOD we hadn't scheduled Henry's First Communion for this past Saturday (we had a choice of 2 dates, and we chose May 3rd instead) although that day was also crazy in it's own way. At any rate, this is what happened Saturday, a day on which we also had planned Mike's final play performance, a dance troupe performance for me at a charity event, and later, the cast party for Mike's theater group, which I was planning to attend with him:

Around 5:45 am, Mike gets out of bed to use the bathroom. He comes back and tells me he's not feeling well. There was lots of tossing and turning involved and eventually he got out of bed to go downstairs so that he wouldn't disturb me. I have to be honest and admit I was a little relieved about this. :0

Pretty soon I can hear a lot of commotion going on downstairs. There was moaning and groaning and all sorts of other unpleasant stuff. Just as I was getting over the fact that I wasn't going to be going back to sleep, I hear Mike call for me pitifully up the stairs:

"Hon, there's something really wrong. I think I have to go to the hospital."

He wanted to try Urgent Care, but they weren't open yet. I called my mother-in-law to come stay with the still sleeping kids (thankfully, they live only a few blocks away) and threw some clothes on. By this point, I nearly had to scrape Mike up off the floor. He was in a LOT of pain. It was in his right side/abdomen, and I was concerned that it was his appendix.

The instant my mother-in-law arrived, we set off for the Emergency Room. He started to feel better on the ride over, but I convinced him to still go in and get checked. This definitely didn't seem like simply some bad indigestion.

Two hours in the Emergency Room later, we had the diagnosis: a kidney stone. Poor Mike.

I was relieved that he didn't need surgery and that it wasn't something more serious. I'm also glad we wound up at the ER rather than Urgent Care (despite the hefty co-pay) because they can do everything right there. Blood work and urinalysis in 45 minutes, CT scan in the next room, results within 30 minutes. Very convenient, and puts your mind at ease quickly. The *registration* process actually took longer than the medical care did.

But we had a dilemma: Based on the stone's current location, the doctor thought it would pass within 24 hours. Mike was scheduled to play a fairly large role in the play in less than 10 hours. I don't even know what the the theater group would do should an emergency arise and one of the actors can't perform. It's not like they have understudies for community theater. So we had to just hope for the best.

Mike guzzled water, hoping to move the stone quickly and/or help it to disintegrate. He seemed fine for the rest of the day, and in fact has had no further sharp pain like he had originally experienced. We think the stone has passed.

So, that was good, an answer to many prayers. He went to the performance, and I just prayed that he wouldn't start feeling poorly during the play itself. Meanwhile, since he was doing ok, I went off to the scheduled troupe performance at the Lebanese charitable dinner.

Oy. :) The troupe performed beautifully, I could see Claire beaming at us. But there weren't really that many people there, which always makes for a more awkward situation. There was plenty of room for our Wings of Isis, which was a plus.

The woman who organized the event was just SO enthusiastic and excited that we were there to dance. But the rest of the crowd?

They were just ok. :) There were a few people there of Middle Eastern descent, as evidenced by a few zaghareets that we heard. But the majority of the crowd wasn't, and they were polite, but you-could-hear-a-pin-drop quiet, as so often American audiences are. So we did our wings number, then Claire danced while we changed costumes. Then the troupe came back out to perform two more numbers, a pop song plus a drum. Then came the "getting the audience up to dance!" part.

Ugh.

Claire had a plan. As soon as our drum music faded, "El Enab" would come on, one of the perkiest Arab language songs you can possibly imagine. We were to improvise and dance out amongst the people, trying to get some faithful souls up to dance with us. If the crowd seemed like a dud, after El Enab finished, Claire would dance over to the sound system and fade out the music. But if things were going well, we had a few other songs that we could continue improvising to.

So. We strike our final pose. El Enab starts up, and I gamely dance out amongst the tables. To dance over by an individual or a small group, we never single out men. That's a no-no in Middle Eastern dance etiquette, although to me, that's common sense anyway. Women and children only, please! Polite passing smiles, fine, but anything else sends the wrong message. I made a beeline for a 3 year old little girl, but generally wound my way around the tables. For most American audiences, this is something they're not sure what to make of. Most, if not all, dance performances they've ever seen have been up on a stage. Middle Eastern dance is inherently improvisational and in the round, with the dancer interacting with the crowd.

Well, many audiences find this somewhat uncomfortable. :) And that was definitely the case Saturday night. You get polite smiles, but people have a definite "deer in the headlights" look about them the whole time. There was no way any of these people were getting up to dance with me. Not that I wanted them to anyway. :0 Aside from the 3 year old. Her, I would have danced with.

Eventually, Claire got the organizer woman to get up and dance, but the other butts stayed firmly in their seats. I was dying for the song to end, and improvising definitely makes music seem like it may never end. When El Enab finished, I was relieved to see Claire dancing over to the sound system to fade us out. I thought we danced awesome, everything went smashingly, but the audience just wasn't right for it to become more interactive.

As we were changing back into our street clothes, there was a knock on our dressing room door. It was the organizer lady.

"You were A.MA.ZING!!!!! Oh my gosh, I loved it so much!"

At least she was happy. :)

After that, I went out to eat with my belly girls, and then waited at home for Mike to call me to attend the cast party. I was a zombie by that time, but it was so, so enjoyable. The director told me that if the actor hadn't come along who was ultimately case in the lead role (who had a lot of theater experience) Mike would have gotten the lead. :0 And that he couldn't believe at the audition that that was Mike's first acting experience ever. He was blown away by his performance, and hopes that he auditions for future plays. I am SO, so proud of my Sweetheart, and can't wait to see him in future productions!

We crawled into bed around 1 am, having been up for nearly 24 hours. It was epic, but we survived. :)

How was everyone else's Mother's Day weekend?

A foray into community theater

Afternoon all! A pleasant week this has been, to be sure. In my recounting of our crazy busy weekend, today is the day devoted to my sweetie and his first venture into acting and community theater. Do you have your tea? I'm off to get hot water, one sec...

Ok. I'm happy now. :) So, my Mike. About 6 weeks ago, he told me that he was interested in auditioning for a play with one of the local theater groups. At first, I was surprised, because he had never previously expressed an interest in acting, But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Mike is a teacher, he enjoys being up in front of a group of people and trying to convey new concepts in an understandable and interesting way. Acting is truly a natural fit for someone who thrives in such a professional environment.

So he went to the audition. The company was going to be performing "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and as soon as Mike came back from that first audition, I could tell that he was hooked. He had had a great time, and hit it off with the director right away, who had asked him to read a number of the male parts, including the lead. Ultimately, he ended up getting cast in the part of Billy Bibbit, a vulnerable and suicidal mental patient.

The rehearsal schedule was pretty intense and daunting, but we planned it out and managed it. Each time he came back, I could see his confidence and satisfaction growing. We all need a creative outlet of some kind, and it will be different for each person. I have my knitting/crocheting and dancing. Mike likes to write, but dedicating the time to that hasn't been easy for him with his schedule teaching and being home with the kids. The automatic time set aside for play rehearsals made this almost easier for us to deal with, since we could adequately plan for it, and it worked out very well. He was doing something creative that he liked and was good at, and that is such an important thing to a person's happiness and contentment.

Last Friday was the opening night, and we had those crazy two days Friday and Saturday with the First Communion and then my hafla. Thus, I attended the Sunday matinee. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, because although I've been to many ballets and some musicals, my exposure to the theater is fairly limited. Well.

I *loved* it. Whenever I venture out into the arts, particularly one that I am not as familiar with, I am SO glad that I did it. A pleasant way to pass some time, sure, but I always learn something new and feel enriched. In this particular instance, with my husband playing a role, the atmosphere was much more heightened. I felt just...overcome with joy, seeing him up there in his element. :) It was like I was seeing my husband of almost 10 years in a whole new light, bringing to the surface his best qualities and why I love him so much.

By the time the play was over, let's just say I wanted to take my husband home and lock him in a room with me for a few hours. ;-) I was SO proud of him, so proud to be his wife, and I felt like I had fallen in love with him all over again. Mike is a creative and sensitive soul, it's one of the things that drew me to him. This venture really reminded me of how well he juggles his responsibilities as a husband and father with his outside interests and that he does so in such a sweet manner. He's really a treasure.

At the end of this crazy weekend, I'm feeling just so grateful for my family. And I'm really hoping Mike pursues some of the productions the group is going to be doing in the upcoming fall and winter. I'll keep you posted. :)

How is everyone else's Wednesday coming along? It's a beautiful spring day here finally, huzzah!