Do you ever go into something thinking you're going to hate it and then come out thinking it was pretty amazing?  I love things like that.  It just shows that there's always a little surprise around every corner.  That happened twice this weekend, and in both instances it was about the theatre.

Yesterday, I was grumpy about having to travel all the way into Washington DC to see a show based on a movie that I've never seen: Mean Girls.  It sounded like a good idea when I bought the tickets, but I kept forgetting about it and there were other things I wanted to be doing instead.  However, I realized that the show was pretty adorable.  It reminded me a lot of Legally Blonde.  It wasn't going to change the world, but it was a fun way to spend 2.5 hours.  Also, it was trying to spread a message of kindness which I'm a huge fan of.

Then there was today, a show that I had no desire to see at all.  It was a community theatre production in a church basement.  I've not had great experiences in church basements, but I needed to go.  I think I've completely changed my mind on theatre performances in church basements.  It was hilarious!  I was stunned by the caliber of actors in the cast and even the production itself.  I'm so happy I went because who doesn't need a laugh on a gray November Sunday?

I can only hope that wonderful things continue to be just around the corner.  Friends make fun of me because of my optimism, however when things like this happen it's kind of hard not to be optimistic!

We Need a Little Christmas

Ok, I'm usually not this girl.  I'm usually against Christmas until Thanksgiving.  However, on November 1 when the entire world started celebrating Christmas, I got a little in the spirit of things.  So much so it seems, that I even started my December Daily.  Yes, I do realize that this sort of goes against everything that December Daily is.  However, I've now decided that all the lead up to Christmas - as in Snow Head Day! - deserves to be documented as well.  

At least, that's what I'm telling myself.  I've realized that the little things like Black Friday Shopping, or Snow Head Shopping, or just the Christmas concerts that happen throughout the season are deserving of storytelling as well.  You may say I've spent a little too much time on Pinterest in the last few months.  Or you may say that I've finally gone way to Christmas.  Both of which are completely true.  

But honestly, once I start, it's hard to stop getting in the spirit. And since I'm way ahead of the game this year - something I'll only be for a few more days, then I'll be just as far along as everyone else is - I'm feeling even happier to be singing Christmas carols, and scrapping away with santa stickers.  And even finishing my first Christmas book of the season.

Yay Christmas!

Hello Holidays!

For the last few weeks a cute comic has been going around Facebook.  It shows Cinderella's fairy godmother with the caption, "At midnight on Halloween, poof goes all the pumpkins, and then hello Christmas!"  I thought it was funny at first.  Until this morning when I read that the Starbucks Christmas cups arrived in stores this morning (they're super cute, by the way!)  Then this afternoon, I saw a Kia commercial using Transiberian Orchestra music, and a Petsmart ad that included puppies with Santa hats on them.

Honestly?  It's November 1!  How is that even possible?  It was literally Halloween yesterday.  How can a switch from Pumpkins to Mistletoe happen so quickly?  I'm a huge fan of Christmas, don't get me wrong.  And I'm actually starting all sorts of wonderful things early so I'm on the ball.  But I'm just not ready.  

Though, I'm seriously thinking about grabbing that Christmas book on my shelf that I just bought...So I suppose, Bring on the Holiday fun!  Because this world could actually really use some of Santa's magic right now!

Trivia Tuesday

~ Trivia would probably go alot more smoothly for our team if we were awarded 10 extra points every week simply for dressing up. The costumes may get old after a while, but 10 points could be helpful in our current slump.

~ Samhain - which is apparently the festival that Halloween is derived from - can be pronounced 3 different ways (2 of which don't even use any of the sounds the letters actually make) - and I've been mispronouncing it for a very long time. Also, my defense is that they totally said it the way I say it in an episode of Supernatural.

~ In a half time question on serial killers, we were able to name 4 of the 5 correctly.  I'm not sure that says anything good about our team.

~ You'd think in an evening that started with the question "Which are the 2 colors that are most closely associated with Halloween? we'd be on fire, but of course 4th place slump hit again.  Way too many people know stuff...

~ I learned this evening that if you look in a mirror at your reflection at midnight on Halloween, you'll see your future spouse in the mirror.  I'm equal parts curious and terrified to do this.

~ Before pumpkins, people would carve jack o lanterns out of turnips.  Just how impressive could a jack o lantern made out of a turnip be?  That's a pretty puny little carving.  On the other hand, I'll bet it's harder to carve a turnip than a big pumpkin so maybe it would be slightly impressive...

~ In things I've never ever heard of, and most likely will never need to know again - the singer of Monster Mash (the song everyone hears on Halloween) is Bobby Boris Pickett and the Crypt Keepers.

~ And from the weird laws department, silly string is banned in Hollywood on Halloween.  Why you may ask?  Because it's a pain in the neck to clean up.  Though it's a pain in the neck to clean the other 364 days of the year as well, so I'm not exactly sure what sets apart its annoyingness on Halloween.

Happy Monday!

As Mondays go, today wasn't nearly as bad as other Mondays have been.  Other than the fact that it's finally chilly - though that does mean I can wear my new winter coat which is fun - tiny little good things happened to turn this Monday around.  Hopefully this means that the rest of the week will be lovely as well.

First up, a review I wrote made someone actually go see a show.  Last week, I saw Poe and all the Others at Annapolis Shakespeare Company and wrote about just how wonderful it was for BroadwayWorld.  And this evening, a friend that loves Poe thanked me for my review after she had seen the fabulous show.  Yay!

Then it was the continuation of the Black and White Challenge, which my friend Jennifer won by leaps and bounds.  I assumed she wouldn't do the challenge because it's just not her thing.  She in fact did choose not to by sending the Cat shaking his head No GIF, and then took a picture of her Cruella Deville leggings, with the tag "These in black and white times 7" Ha!  She won the challenge by far!

Lastly, even though I promised not to get all political anymore, it must be said that the best thing that happened today was Paul Manafort being arrested.  One can only hope they'll be more arrests imminently and we'll finally get a Presidential President.

Happy Halloween Eve!

Book of Mormon at the Kennedy Center

After years of avoiding The Book of Mormon, I finally saw it in all of its glory today.  You see, the show was written by the writers of South Park, which I hate.  I also don't appreciate crude humor.  So you know, this show had everything I hate.  However, after seeing it, I was pleasantly surprised by just how funny it was. 

Oh, it's crude and rude, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell for laughing at most of it.  But it's also super creative, and super hilarious.  And the acting and choreography were amazing!  I'm always shocked by the people that enjoy this particular show.  There were so many different people there - old and young, democrats and republicans (seeing as we were in DC, I'm making that assumption...) And every last one of them was laughing their heads off at the ridiculousness of the story.

This right here, is why I just love theatre!  Also, why I totally loved Book of Mormon - and why I'll have a terribly offensive song stuck in my head for the foreseeable future.

A Tale of Three Pictures

For the last few weeks on Facebook, there's been this photo challenge.  The challenge entails posting 7 black and white pictures of your everyday life - with no people in them - and then tagging a new friend each day to do the same.  Of course I assumed I'd eventually get tagged and because I'm a sucker, I knew I'd have to go for it.  Today, I'm 3 days in.  Now, the other part of the challenge is that you're not supposed to comment on the photos at all on Facebook.  But I love the stories behind pictures just as much as I love photos, so I'm going to tell you the tales of the first 3, even if they're not entirely exciting...

Photo 1 - Day 4 of a 4 day Adobe InDesign Class.  It was a long week, but it was also pretty great.  I learned a lot about the product, which I'm hoping will mean lots of opportunities in print and print production around the corner.  And of course, the banana is there because I love bananas and that was half of my breakfast.  : )

Photo 2 - The front page of my December Daily album this year. Yes I realize it's only October, but the only way I can stay on top of December Daily is by pre-doing a lot of the inserts.  Also, I LOVE the way it turned out.  This has been the cutest year so far for this scrapbook - even without any photos added.

Photo 3 - St. Mary's church in Annapolis MD.  Such a beautiful church inside and out.  I just couldn't resist a fun uppy shot of the steeple!