Ramona to the rescue

Oh Blog, how I have failed you.

It's been a crazy few weeks. We have been thoroughly defeated by illness. Chris missed several days of work with the flu, and then it quickly moved through Sophie and me before digging its claws in Emma and keeping them there for a week. And life, as always, doesn't slow down. Previews for Heddatron, prepping for Sinbad: The Untold Tale, performing with Erasing the Distance, plus plain old life and my natural predisposition toward procrastination have all conspired to keep me from other stuff I should be doing, like updating this blog. My deepest apologies. Again.

And now, I'm not sure where to start. I think I'll keep it simple and just say what's on my mind. Right now, it's pride - pride at what a voracious little reader Emma has turned out to be. Reading is my all-time favorite thing to do in the world, and I've been very hopeful that my girls would learn to love reading as well. Emma definitely has. She's only six, but her reading skills are very developed for her age. She blows through books at a remarkable rate. And the best news? When looking for something to do, she usually chooses reading first, drawing second, and playing her Nintendo DS THIRD! Yay! Do you have any idea what this means? THE MACHINES HAVE NOT YET WON! There's still hope, people! (And yes, Kindle - I'm looking at you.)

So, the other day, I discovered Emma curled up in my bed, happily reading a book that meant so much to me when I was a little girl. I snapped a picture to document the moment because, quite honestly, the vision of her lying there actually brought me to tears. I can't begin to express how much joy this photo brings me.

Bless you, Beverly Cleary. Ramona was such a dear friend to me as a girl, and she is becoming a dear friend to my daughter as well. LONG LIVE RAMONA QUIMBY! And long live books.

And now...stop reading this blog and get thee to a library!

Watch out Joffrey...we're coming for you

Today was Emma's last day of ballet. She's been studying three days a week since November as part of her school's Arts After All after school program. Yet another reason I am grateful for her school? Her ballet instructor is a kindergarten teacher at Disney, and also happens to be a retired professional ballet dancer. Her husband was a principal dancer for many years with the Joffrey Ballet and currently serves as their assistant ballet master. The ballet class (as well as classes in Chinese, art and yoga) is open to all students, and it is FREE.

Here is a video of Emma dancing in her recital, front and center. God, I love this kid.

The robots are coming, the robots are coming!

As some of you know, for the last few months I've been spending most of my time with robots. Not socially (although doesn't that sound fun?), but professionally. I've been rehearsing a show called Heddatron, and in spite of the process's not-so-auspicious beginning when I was trapped in an elevator, the entire experience has been lovely. However, it is a tricky play to describe. If you like robots, Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen, Victorian drama, small-town malaise, Ecuadorian rainforests, Bonnie Tyler, or Laura Linney, then you are sure to enjoy at least five minutes of this play. (Hmmm...that isn't necessarily the best sales pitch ever heard, but I TOLD you it's a tricky play to describe!) It's got a little bit of everything - even a little bit of me! But I warn you, only a little. My part is very small. So don't come just to support me (as sweet as that is, and I thank you); I think you should come to see a truly original show. Because like it or hate it, I really believe this show is worth seeing. And I'm relatively confident that it's like no play you've ever seen before. (I know...my preposition is just dangling out there for everyone to see. So embarrassing. But I digress.)

Here are a few production shots from our dress rehearsal last night. Our first preview is this Friday, and we officially open in two weeks. Fingers crossed for a great run!

 Mrs. Ibsen (me), Else (Jenni Shine) and Henrik Ibsen (Rob Koon) mucking it up in 1890 Munich.

Did I mention there's a musical number? 

Jenni Shine and me rockin' it with August Strindberg (Brian Grey).

  

Oh, yeah. Your first taste of the robots. 

That's Billy and Hans sharing the stage with the lovely (and very human) Nina O'Keefe.

Black Eyed Peas...and a Superhero

The girls and I watched the Super Bowl tonight with our friends Genevieve, Craig, Sam & Henry. (Poor Chris stayed home to sleep away a nasty cold.) Gen cooked an enormous spread of delicious food, and we proceeded to critique certain players' hairstyles and each team's unfortunate choice of yellow pants while Craig silently wished for one of us to acquire an immediate and significant amount of testosterone. Here's a video of the kids jamming to the Black Eyed Peas' halftime show, proving that even superheroes get their groove on once in awhile.

 

Let's Play Catch-Up, Shall We?

I know, I know. I've been horrible at blogging lately, haven't I? Add it to the list of failures, I guess. I've been dropping the ball in many areas of my life recently. Usually I'm a great juggler, but sometimes...well, sometimes the old (so old...so very, very old) arms get tired and the balls come crashing down. These last couple of months, there have been bouncing balls a-go-go. Anyway. Now that I've effectively bludgeoned the whole ball metaphor to death, let me say that I am sorry.

What follows is some of this, a little of that. I just don't have the energy to write one cohesive, insightful, focused blog post. Maybe after a nap. Or, like, several. For now, this will have to do.

My niece and nephew came up to visit us a few weeks ago. Callie and Emma were stuck together like glue, as usual. Except when they were fighting, which is also usual. And poor Cadin...being surrounded by princess-obsessed girls for two whole days really took its toll.

 Frousins. (ie, cousins and friends). My new word. Let's see if it catches on.

 I think this photo was taken about an hour after Cadin's arrival. 

He learned quickly that resistance is futile.

We had ourselves a good old-fashioned blizzard up here in these parts this week. Actually, it seems to have hit most of the U.S. at one point or another. We got some wicked wind and about two feet of snow. The city essentially shut down for two days - no school, no work for Chris, no rehearsal or work for me. And...no power for our family. FOR 42 HOURS. Oh, yes. It was lovely. The first night we braved at home, but when our apartment's temperature dipped into the forties, we jumped into Stella (yes, my car's name is Stella...what of it?) and slip-slided our way to Jayme's tiny studio apartment. That's right - the five of us and two cats in a two-room apartment. Good times. But who cares if you couldn't turn around without hitting someone? Jayme was a saint to take us in, and we had fun watching movies and playing games and trying to keep Oz from jumping on Sophie's head while she slept. (Actually, the last part wasn't so fun. In fact, I believe that particular pastime woke us up about 15 times during the night and resulted in a punctured air mattress, scratched-up bathroom door and four exhausted humans. Oz and I are still not back on speaking terms.) We were safe and warm and very grateful not to be stranded overnight on Lake Shore Drive or stuck outside with no shelter, like many other city dwellers were. And there's nothing like a crisis to let you know who your friends are. We received at least 10 genuine offers from people to come crash at their place until our heat was restored. We are incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so much love and generosity.

The actual storm was really eerie. Snow was flying everywhere, but what was really disconcerting was the thunder and lightning. I'd never seen that during a snowstorm, and I can now officially say that the sight was quite bizarre. Also, the wind was so loud that I thought the smoke monster from "Lost" was coming to get me. Creepy. I tried to snap a pic of the view out our window when the snow and wind really started picking up, but the camera didn't quite capture it. My idiotic self-portrait doesn't really capture it either. Or my little video. But I've included all three here anyway.

This was early in the storm b/c you can still see all the cars!

Yes, I know I look red hot in my winter hat. Stop drooling and get control of yourself, please.

Lastly, here's a little video of what I've been up to the last few months. (Psst...click the link to see it.) I'm rehearsing a show called Heddatron, which is part of Steppenwolf Theatre's Garage Rep. Steppenwolf shot rehearsal footage of the three companies performing this year. Our show is last, so be patient! (Or fast forward.) Oh - and if you think the robots look cool in the video, just you wait - they are beyond cool now. Seriously. Don't come see the show for me - I'm in it for a total of five minutes. COME FOR THE ROBOTS.

And...that's really all I got right now. More later. Maybe much later. I make no promises.