Self Portrait Tuesday~Solemn child

Looking through old photos for this month's theme, I found that I hardly ever smiled which is odd to me because I had a happy childhood. I guess it was because I was so shy. So for this last Tuesday of the month I chose to show the more solemn side of myself as a child with a very unoriginal collage, but hey I have limited resources.


See the one on the right with the white sailor hat and reindeer in the background? I thought that hat was so cool but I was looking...uh...very dorky. I love the middle one on the bottom row. I don't know what Mama said to make me give her that look but it's hysterical! And look at the poor baby washing dishes. Have you ever seen such a forlorn look in your life?

Of course, I couldn't leave out the happy pictures, so here's a few with me actually smiling.

Now this one was taken on the same day as the one above with the dorky sailor hat. We were vacationing in Pigeon Forge and had taken a day trip to Santa's Land in Maggie Valley, NC. Why, oh why was Santa wearing 70's looking sun glasses? We'll never know.




ok, on this one I had apparently gotten into some lipstick which is weird because my mama didn't wear lipstick so I don't know where it came from, but I sure had fun playing with it. I look so cute and unlike myself.

here's my Kindergarten picture. Mama had forgotten it was picture day, so my hair wasn't combed and she had a fit when she got the picture back and saw the part in my bangs, and my shirt was ratty, but this is really me. I mean the shy grin and bashful eyes looking up at you, this really captures "me" when I was young.

life in a small town

What do you do on a Saturday morning when you're just in a restless mood? Take a trip to your local laundrymat!


This weekend my sister had an unwelcome guest spend the night at her house and stink up her blankets with his dirty, stanky body so we spent Saturday at the laundrymat. It's not that it's a bad place to go, not at all, it's the fact that it's Spring City and all the skanky people with their skanky unwashed bodies make it an unpleasant place to spend your Saturday morning. Bleh...I felt like I needed a shower after we left.

There was a lady and her 4 kids there when we got there and the kids were running around like wild animals let out of a cage. That was fine. One of the little girls that was maybe 2 years old came right up to my sister and put up her hands to be picked up and my sister gave me this what am I supposed to do look but picked her up anyway because we're just used to kids being around and I can't stand it when parents ignore their children. I was sitting there wondering where the mother was and did she not care that her daughter was going up to strangers like they were best friends. Hello, I'm not gonna let my child walk up to a stranger and let them pick her up. Later this woman came in with two very scary looking men, one of them was the white Don King I swear, but again the little girl went right up to one of the men just like he was her father (see picture below). The whole time we were there, that woman never once hollered out to see what her kids were up to and even left them inside (alone, with the baby still on top of the washer) while she took her laundry to the car. Now I can understand that she was probably frazzled what with 4 kids in an enclosed space for hours, and maybe she saw my sister and I as safe and reliable people to leave her kids with momentarily, but in this world today I would never leave my baby in a public place unattended.

Sorry, I felt the need to vent.

So here's my sister giving me the *I'd rather be plucking my eyeballs out with toothpicks because what the heck are those people trying to do to that machine* look. Nice.



The baby looking at "scary Don King" while the guy in the orange jacket checks dryers for forgotten items.

Self Portrait Tuesday -Easter

I chose an Easter theme this week because it was such a huge part of my childhood. I made a collage but I really wanted to show some detail of certain ones so I decided to put up more than one. I also want to include a little background story.

We had a wood/coal burning stove when I was little so every morning Mama had to go out and get some wood and a bucket full of coal to start the fire. Every Easter Mama would wake us up so we could wait for the Easter Bunny to come and then she would go out and get the wood. She would go out the back door and shortly the front doorbell would ring. It was him!!! He always came when Mama was outside so she always missed seeing him. We would rush to the door with Nana right behind us, and there would be a basket for both of us on the porch, then Mama would come running in with an armload of wood saying "Did he come? You mean I missed him again?" Of course now I know it was Mama who rang the doorbell, but even now I wonder how she did it because she would have to run awful fast to get from one door to the other in such a short amount of time.

Anyway, here's the collage:

Notice the picture in the bottom left corner. Yes I still hunt eggs. The second picture in the upper row shows us in the first of several Easter dresses that was hand made by my nana. I would wear it again at my Kindergarten graduation later that year. The center picture is me and my Nana on my first Easter. The bottom right corner is another home made dress year. I loved that dress because it had little purple flowers all over it. We got bunny rabbits that matched our dresses that year.



This is one of my favorite shots of me and my sister. Apparently it was a very windy day, but this is just such a precious shot with our wispy hair blowing and our little skirts ruffling in the breeze. Dig the shoes, man.



This is the same day a while later. I wanted to stay outside and play in my dress and Mama wouldn't let me. My cousin Greg wanted to take a picture with us, but as you can see I had pitched a small hissy and did not want my picture taken. It looks like I had taken the scissors to my bangs, but I can't confirm or deny that.




OK, this is the shot that defines the Easter Bunny experience for us. The doorbell had just rung and we were coming in from getting our baskets. We were so excited and man I can just fell the energy and joy coming through this shot.

I wish I could still get as excited about holidays now as I did when I was a kid.

a day at the antique store

You just never know what you'll find when you go to the local antique store. For instance, who would ever expect to see Darth Vader in such a position and with two star fighters yet? Meanwhile Barbie tries to look away but to no avail.


And remember awesome Halloween costumes like this? I think I may have actually worn one like this. I love her wand.


here's a close-up in case you missed the horrrible scary face.

Leia took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Longs for tenderness and for a sensitivity of feel..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

SPT~ my baptism

What a week!

Last week was so amazing! I worked my butt off sewing costumes and being a dresser for the show. 14 hours a day wears you down, let me tell ya. Dr. Dolittle previewed in Chattanooga Friday and Saturday and I can proudly say that I was a part of making it happen. Just to know that I worked on a Broadway show is something I never imagined. This was a huge thing for me. Their next stop is Houston where the show opens for real and I'm sure there will be more changes made because just in the last week I think some part of the show changed 5 times.

They used puppets in the show and I helped sew on the flippers for Sophie the Seal and the mop hair for Jip the dog. I also had the priviledge of being the dresser for the girl who plays the moth and it was just an unbelievable experience. She was very helpful and so nice and since I've never done anything like this it was good that I was assigned to her. I got Tommy Tune's autograph and a picture with him . He's so nice and really into every aspect of his show, not passing off the job to someone else. The first day he came in I really didn't know what he looked like but everyone was like "Oh there he is!" and I was just like "what's going on?" but it wasn't this big entourage of people, just him and a couple of assistants and then his dresser came in carrying his little yorkie Shubert and it was so cute. I actually think there were more people wanting to see the dog than him.

I took a few pictures but I didn't really have time to pause for photos since there was always a costume to sew together or repair or redesign. They came to Chattanooga with a lot of things unfinished because of some kind of dispute with their union workers which is still unclear to me, but in any case, we were responsible for finishing what they started. I got some really cool shots of the stage and even got a few seconds to capture the action from backstage.

I had a wonderful time and one I won't soon forget it, but now it's back to my normal dull life. Woo.

I'll post the photos on my photo blog.

quickie update

just a note to say that this job at the Tivoli is really turning out to be an experience. I'm wiped out and this is only the second day! I've been sewing things into costumes from name labels to snaps, as well as painting shoes and other various projects, and I got pulled to be a dresser for the girl who's playing the moth. She's hooked up to this gigantic bug body that flies across the stage on wires, with her being the actual head and front legs of the moth. It actually looks more like a dragonfly, but who cares it's really neat-o. The show starts next Friday and it's just a preview show I guess to se how it's gonna go. I know they're going to Texas next and California, so if you go see the touring show of Dr. Doolittle with Tommy Tune, you'll be seeing my work on stage in lots of costumes! Woo hoo

oops!

The theme for Self Portrait Tuesday is personal history, not family. Sorry about that.

I'm supposed to start work at the Dollar General next week and let me tell you how excited I'm not. Anyway, I kept waiting for them to tell me to come in this week, but that ain't gonna happen so while I'm sitting on my butt watching it get fatter, I got another temporary job offer. There is a broadway touring company doing Dr. Doolittle at the Tivoli in Chattanooga and they need extra help with costumes and I just happen to know the lady that works with someone at the Tivoli. Unfortunately that lady happens to be the director of the play I just finished (Nuncrackers)so that's a little bit of a downer, but guess who's playing Dr. Doolittle? Tommy Tune!! OK, so now you're going "yeah, so who's that?" He was Ambrose in the movie version of Hello Dolly, and that's all I know him from, but that's enough. One thing I'm wondering abou tthough, if it's a broadway touring company, why didn't they bring their own costume people? That has me a little worried. I plan on taking as many pictures as possible, I don't know how they handle that kind of thing. There may be a lot of camera phone shots! I'm excited.

SPT and more

Happy birthday to meeeee!!! I had a good day, my sister gave me the old school Narnia series on DVD and the new CD from Bo Bice and a purty-ful vase! Then my mommy took me to Oak Ridge and we went to every thrift store between there and Rockwood. Here's some photos of all the things I picked up.

Now, the theme for Self Portrait Tuesday is Family History and I'm not really sure how I'm going to accomplish this one. This is just my second month, and I'm not an official member of the blog, (I fear negative comments!) but hey, this is just for self exploration, right? So without further adieu....the photo:


I think this shows some history with how much we've changed. We weren't on the same brain wave with our focal point though. The drawing was done at Opryland in 1979.

Resolutions?

Happy New Year! Yeah, everybody says it, but do they really mean it? When you go to the store and the check-out person says it, are they saying it out of habit, or do they really want you to have a happy, brand new year without mistakes, regrets, or disappointments? When you say it, are you really wishing that the person will have a good and prosperous year? I normally don't make resoultions, but I think this year that's gonna be mine. That when I say happy new year or have a good day, I'm really going to mean it and not be so pessimistic or think bad of people. In this new year, I'm not going to cling to the past but let everything go and move forward to a new life. Yeppers.

Whew!...well, I really wanted to tell you what I did last night, which was go to a singles dance and that I will never willingly do again. One of my friends talked me into going with her and another friend, and she was paying so I didn't want to dissappoint her. Oh, by the way, I don't dance. Let's remember that, shall we? We got there and I knew I was in for a groovin' time just by the sad decorations on the wall. I was told there was going to be food there. I was excited. It was Chex Mix. So that I wouldn't be left alone at the table, I went to the dance floor with my friends and kinda moved around whilst trying not to be seen by the DJ or anyone else. It wasn't that bad, I actually had fun when I realized that everybody else was jiggling more than me and nobody had any rhythm. Then disaster struck. I knew it was a "singles dance" but it didn't really hit me until this guy grabbed my hand and literally drug me to the dance floor. And just my luck it was a slow song and he had a couple of rotten teeth. And he was about 50. I finished the dance but then he followed me back to the table and just sat there and kept asking me if I drank and why didn't I have a boyfriend. I was picturing a boring night where I would just sit around and maybe dance a couple times with my friends, toast the new year and go home. This was not to be. I wasn't feeling well to begin with so I played that up a little and told my friends I was sick and wanted to go home. It worked and at 11:30 I was on my way home and the really sad part was that I got home before my mother.

OK, so here's the point to this whole story. I realized last night that I am an adult. Now, I know this is not a big shocker to most people, but I always considered myself younger than I really am. People are shocked when I tell them my real age and I totally enjoy that. Usually they think I'm at least 5 years younger. In church I go to the youth class. I always navigate towards the younger people when I'm in a play. Adults intimidate me and I don't really know how to hold a conversation with them. Just last week the youth had a sleepover at church and I was one of the two adults there but I didn't take on any of the responsibilities that I should have. Anyways, I realized that I was running away from this guy because he was not in my comfort zone and he personified adulthood at that moment. He was everything I don't want to be. I've been running and hiding my whole life and it just hit me hard that I don't have a clue where my life is going or what I really want. That is really scary for me because I thought I knew where I was in life, but now it's all up in the air. What do I do now?