My Student, my President, my God, and Me

This has been an exciting day! First, I did my weekly workout with Stephanie. I weighed in FIVE pounds HEAVIER than last week! Obviously, it's impossible that I gained five pounds in one week. My fat % stayed the same so it's just water weight. I also maintain that every scale reads differently; my scale at home usually reads 153-154. I'm still aiming for 145 by November. My clothes still fit loose, and I like the way I look in the mirror. I will have to get some new jeans for my birthday; every pair is too loose. I think I've gone from a 12 to a 10. I'd love to be an 8, but that may not happen. If I get my waist measurement down, it may be doable.

The workout was not as grueling as usual. Part of this was because we started late. But things seemed easier d/t my increasing endurance and strength. Doing Interval and running has made a big difference. I'm running again tomorrow with the goal of running the whole way. I really think that's possible. Stephanie was also happy with my food journal. Although I ate out several times the past week, I planned my "in" meals carefully. I didn't drink as much soda either.

I also worked with Remya today. It was the kind of lesson teachers dream about. I presented the vocab to her and we did the lesson as I laid out last time: pretest, learning definitions, exercises. She made the wonderful journey of discovery. When she did the pretest, guessing at what the words meant based on each sentence, she became frustrated as she searched for the word. She knew some right off the bat but had never heard of others. We then looked at the examples to see how close she was. She showed relief when she had gotten it right and laughed when she was off--sometimes WAY off. As she did the exercises, she got better and better. She felt triumphant when she finished. We had a little time left over to do one grammar lesson and then I gave her her homework assignment.

I think she really enjoyed the learning experience today. I know it made my day. It's great to see a student learn and grow. I'm glad I am able to be part of that experience. She sometimes throws questions at me that make me think on my feet, and I am usually able to answer these questions. I enjoy teaching the vocabulary more than I do the grammar--word meanings come easier to me than language rules, so it's the same when I work with my students. I left today with a feeling of accomplishment that will carry me through the whole week.

Later I was looking online for information on the DADT controversy and I stumbled upon a video with President Obama addressing a small group discussing education and the economy. A woman threw a question at him about his feelings on being a Christian. There is so much misinformation about Obama on this subject that it was good to hear him personally talk about it. What I heard amazed me. I did not know that he was not raised in any church. He talked about his mother as a spiritual person but said they did not go to church. He said he came to the church later in life. It was his personal decision. This floored me because it was the same experience I had. I came to the church on my own after being raised by parents who didn't believe we had to abide by any church-imposed rules. Whatever I decide about my own faith, I have the experience of coming to the church as a choice I made, not something mindless I have done out of family tradition. Thank you to my parents for that! I'm sure this testimony of his will open him up to all sorts of new criticism, but I believe it makes him a stronger Christian than those who would oppose him. I respect tradition, but there's something to be said about a person who discovers a need within themselves and seeks a personal way to fill it.

So where am I on this whole thing today? I still like the idea of finding a group of God-lovers...I like that word. There's a lot of rethinking of beliefs on the part of some people around me right now, which I won't go into out of respect for their privacy. In the end, I believe we all have to choose our own way and God loves us all no matter what path we take.

I will be thinking about this more as I go through life on my own persoanl spiritual quest. But for now I'll say--

Hanging up now...

Just some stuff

Today was Interval and I actually made it! I was able to do the cardio part pretty well, which was different from last time. My running and elliptical work has helped in that arena, I think. Yesterday I was going to do Step but they cancelled the class; however, I had brought my music and did elliptical instead. I did the same thing where I went hard for two minutes and then slower for two minutes. Sometimes I did the harder part for longer than two minutes at a time, too.

After I went to the gym yesterday, I went to Schuler's to find a good adult vocabulary book to use with Remya. The associate steered me towards the ESL books but I found nothing there. I got frustrated. Then I thought for a minute and decided I needed to check out the "regular" vocab books. Success! I found a book that is just hard enough, but not insanely difficult. I wrote a pre-test for the words (12 each lesson) and after she takes that we will do the lesson itself. There are exercises and a paragraph that uses the words in context. For the next week, I will have her write sentences with the words in them similar to the pre-test. We will continue doing grammar, just not as many lessons at a time.

In 17 days, I will be 40. Wow. I certainly don't "feel" 40; I feel more like 25. I'm getting my headshots done soon and I think those will show my inner age. The guy doing my headshots did the pictures for my church picture directory and I feel like he took good pictures of me. We work together well; he has done my headshots before.

Well, I guess that's all for now.

Hanging up now...

Looking back...

I had a third consecutive dream about my cop friend. We were in a school, and I went into a classroom with a kid (not mine). My friend started under his breath. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "There's a demon in here. Get out of here. Run down the hall as fast as you can and keep running no matter what!". I ran out into the hall and there were demons everywhere. The dream faded out but not before we had an "eye of the storm" moment with the song "Hallelujah" playing in the background.

Last night was the end of the series of dreams. Instead, I dreamt about my Halloween costume. I often work things out in dreams. I planned on going as a Renaissance dominatrix (complete with bodice, short skirt, mask and whip) but then the invite said the theme was "traditional" Halloween costumes: witches, vampires, ghosts and the like. My costume goes along with that theme but in an offbeat way. You'll just have to wait until November 6 to find out what it is! I will tell you it involves a new T-shirt, fake blood, and something you could find at a hardware store. And it's not the guy from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

Good workout yesterday. Now that I have music it's easy to do 30 mins. I did interval speeds too--two minutes fast, two minutes not as fast (but not slow until my cooldown). That's a good way to burn more fat. I got up in plenty of time to go to Strength and Stretch but I didn't because I had a lunch date (which I didn't remember til last night). We had a good time. I went to The Soup Spoon with my friend Julie. I have to recommend it! especially the Seafood Chowder. They have shrimo po' boys and I might try that next time---I'm skeptical but they are made with Gulf shrimp (surprisingly).

So I think I'll take a walk today and lift tomorrow, with an eye towards doing Step on Sunday. Step Sunday. And then Monday is Interval again.

Margaret and I were talking and I mentioned that one of my characters was Creole and spoke with an accent. We had a long time about how Creole was different from Cajun and that I had picked a very hard accent to work with. We decided that it would be much better for Marie to be from New Orleans so I went back through the script again.. I basically had to translate all her lines into Standard American English. I actually had a lot of fun with it. She has a very different but still authentic voice. She has a few cheres and speaks without contractions sometimes, but on the whole her speech is unaccented.

Well, it's time for that walk, so...

Hanging up now...

Ringo, Love Interest, Creature Comforts, and Future

Didn't get into Puss in Boots. I feel fine about it. Many of my friends got in it, including Anna, and that makes me happy. A couple people said they were surprised I wasn't cast. One of my friends was cast mainly because he fit the part physically, but he said, "Maybe they'll need a sassy redhead sometime." I like that. Not sure about the redhead part--I'm shooting for brown. But I like the sassy part!

I have really recommitted to eating right and exercising. I ran today, running most of the way. Ran the whole trail, part of Hullett, and all of the street home. I feel like I can run the whole thing next time. Tomorrow I will do elliptical at the gym and then Strength and Stretch Friday, if I get up on time. I was looking over my old entries and saw that I was interested in doing the Sunday Step class. I might look into that. I remember being a little intimidated by a whole hour on the step. I didn't know if I could keep up with that. But now now that I've done the running and Interval I think I could.

I've cut out soda and I have been eating smaller portions. Tonight I had a wonderful steak with potatoes and mixed veggies. I ate a little more than half the steak, and saved the rest along with about half of the veggies. I'm still having a problem with eating late at night. Last night I had the other half of my dinner and then about 3/4 of a bag of popcorn. Later, right before bed, I had a couple pieces of low fat pepper jack.

Maybe the cheese affected my dream state. I had some doozies last night. In the first one, Ringo Starr and I were cutting up melons in his kitchen. He was making advances towards me, at one point stroking my hair with a brush he had moistened in the melon juice. He propositioned me and I rejected him, calling him "Mr. Starr". Who calls Ringo "Mr. Starr"?

The second dream was really interesting because it featured the return of a character from my dream the night before. He is a short, red-headed, kind of cute cop. In the dream last night, I was in a bar watching some friends play pool. A crude man came over and made fun of my friends while trying to get me to leave with him. My cop friend came over and told him to knock it off, and this degenerated into a fist fight between the two men. I didn't get to see who won because the dream faded out. I had a third dream that I was in the bath and Momma K was giving me a manicure (the manicure part is completely possible, as she does this for people) but that was just a short, mundane dream.

So what's next for me? More exercising, more eating right, auditions for Almost, Maine (which are in November, when I plan to be at my target weight), and, wonderfully, the staged reading of Drag. I had to call the office because there was a typo in the title on the website: it said "A comedy ABOUT attire", which sounds totally stupid, not "A comedy OF attire" which is like a comedy of errors. I haven't looked to see if Mike changed it--I was distracted by the PIB cast list.

Maybe I'm a better writer than actor...?

Hanging up now...

Well, it's after 10:30 on Tuesday night. Several of my friends have gotten calls about the show. I don't think I got cast. However, I remember BT when some people didn't get called until the day after the second night. I got lucky; Ann called me within a few hours of getting cast. I had to wait on SB however.

And now for something completely different...

I want to talk about something else. I haven't been to church in a long time and I don't miss it at all. Choir started up again and even missing that isn't enough to make me go back. Why am I not going back? I want something different. I am questioning my relationship with God. I find the church I have been going to is too regimented and full of white, rich, conservative people. Something that used to give me pleasure that now weirds me out is the call to worship. Everyone sounds like a bunch of zombies saying the same words together. Jeanne's sermons are great, of course, but I don't even miss those.

I've thought of going to another church. There is a Unitarian Universalist church in EL that might be more up my alley, but the services are too early for me. I don't want to go to Trinity with Heidi; I find it quite conservative. There aren't many other options. I don't go to prayer group; I just pray on my own.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the Christmas Eve candlelight service. I really like the service but I might feel a little funny going after I haven't been to church all year. I think everyone would be accepting of me. It might still be nice to go and just not sing in the choir.

I haven't given much thought to the implications this may hold for me as a believer and a Christian. I don't believe I'll go to hell. I'm still a good person; I still pray and treat my neighbor as I would like to be treated. I don't think one religion is better than another. The reading on Sept. 11 supported this. So I don't ally with those Christians that uphold the Bible as the only true text and Christianity as the only true religion.

I haven't told my sister about this development. When she asked if I still liked my church, I told her yes. If I told her I was dissatisfied, she might suggest converting to Catholicism. That would not be for me. I'm not interested in a religion that believes in hell and takes orders from the Pope. I would like to find a group of people who feel as I do, who are searching and interested in growing as God-lovers. Not even necessarily Christians--just those who want to be good people in the eyes of God. I think I'll start reading my Bible again and see where that leads me.

Well, I don't think Jane will call tonight and I would like to take a relaxing bath to unwind. So I'll say--

Hanging up now...

Puss in Boots

Got back from Puss in Boots auditions a while ago. It went well, but I don't think I'll get cast. Too much competition. We're back to the old "If there are a lot of people auditioning, I won't get a part." There is no ensemble in this show, so it won't be like SB. I predict who the director will cast after the night is over and I don't see me getting any roles. I did my best, though.

People from Thunderhoof, Bremen Town, and Sleeping Beauty were there. It was a nice reunion. I was the only one who had been in all three shows. We all sang and read well. We're a talented group. :) There were lots of good people. The director's going to have a hard time deciding who to cast. I was a little dismayed because the actors kept talking among themselves. People weren't being fair to others by being unruly. But I don't think it threw anybody off too much.

Didn't make it to Interval today. I didn't sleep that well last night and didn't get up in time. I took a walk instead. Tomorrow I work with Stephanie and hopefully my weight will be down. My food journal has fewer oopsies in it.But I haven't been working out hard enough. Maybe I will run Wednesday. I ran on the treadmill Thursday, so I need to run soon. One of my FB friends told me about a training group that runs together every Saturday at 8 or 8:30. Like I'm going to get up for that! I would be in a lot better shape if I weren't so lazy.

Well, I'm going to check FB again and then go to bed.

Hanging up now...

Are you feeling it?

Adam and I went to the Blues Fest last night. It is another reason why I love Lansing. It takes place in Old Town, my favorite part of town. We saw Bryan Lee and the Power Blues Band. They were great! Bryan has been playing and singing blues in New Orleans for thirty years. He has a great stage presence. He would ask us from time to time, "Are you feeling it?" We were.

They played for an hour and a half and the time just flew by. Then Adam said he was hungry but all the stalls were closed. I proposed going back to his place and ordering pizza so that's what we did. I left around 1 and had a hell of a time getting back home. I went past campus--BIG mistake. The traffic was moving SO slow! I didn't get home til about 1:30. MSU won, though! I can't believe we beat Notre Dame! Maybe MSU will beat UM. I don't really care who wins since I went to both schools.

Went for a short walk today, about two miles. It took me an hour including a stop at Starbuck's. I got a Caramel Light Frappucino...not good. It's low in calories but it has a lot of sugar. I found out something that turned me off to Diet Coke completely. Apparently aspartame was originally intended to be a pesticide, but the makers found that it was too close to DDT! Wow! I knew it had been found to cause cancer, but I had no idea it was THAT bad. No more diet soda for me!!!

I'm going to Interval tomorrow. I hope I'm better this week than last. The cardio was SO hard. The weights weren't that easy either. I do a lot of weight on my own and with Stephanie, but I use really light weights in the class--8, 10, or 12 pound dumbbells. I think it's harder because we are doing cardio intervals between the weightlifting portion.

Puss in Boots auditions are tomorrow. I have my song all ready to go and I know what I'm wearing, if it's cool. If it's warm I'll have to think of something else. I've worked really hard on my song and I'm pleased with it. The CD has been really helpful. If I get in this will be my third show this year!

Hanging up now...

Caroline, or Change

It's a rainy gloomy day, but my head is full of soaring music and fantastic performances from Caroline, Or Change, which Adam and I saw last night. It's a wonderful show. It's set in 1963 in Louisiana and stars a new actress on the scene, Tigiste Habertmariam (don't have my program, but I think that's right.) She gave a powerful, Barney-worthy performance. The whole cast had energy and depth. The director, Chad Badgero (the founder of Peppermint Creek Theatre Company) brought the script to life, presenting a show that was at once provocative and entertaining.

Although the show is set in the South in 1963, it is not a "period piece." Sadly, we are dealing with many of the same issues today. Caroline works in a job she hates for too little money, beset by so many problems she can't see a way out or the possibility of change. Her employers are oblivious to her situation; the white woman who offers Caroline the deal of keeping the change left in her son's pockets cannot see how close this is to charity. Why doesn't she give her a raise instead? The family that employs her is Jewish, and there is a scene where one of the grandfathers waxes poetic about the change coming but decries the doctrine of non-violence championed by Dr. King. Caroline's daughter gets into a heated discussion with him, starting out by saying, "I don't think you understand." The scene reminded me of a scene from "Driving Miss Daisy" where Daisy attends a dinner honoring MLK while Hoke sits in the car waiting with all the other black chauffeurs.

"We've come so far since then", right? In some ways yes, in some ways no. The great change that was supposed to happen never got here. People are still denied a fair shake denied on the basis of difference from the norm. People of color, Jews, women, those who have a less accepted sexual preference...I don't consider myself PC; to say it's political correctness to want equality for all is a cop-out. What does that mean anyway? PC is just another label slapped on us by the privileged and those who don't see. I know I am privileged myself, by virtue of my class status, my color, and my country of origin. So maybe I don't have room to talk. I hate it when those more privileged think they can speak for those less so: if anything is PC, that is. If that sounds like what I'm doing, I'm sorry. It's just what I have seen in my 39 years on this planet. I work with people who are slammed into this culture and this country with no way of accessing the code most of us here take for granted. They capture the true meaning of "alien"--they are alienATED from our customs, our language, the daily interactions we take for granted. I think that events like the one I experienced last night and the gathering on September 11 can change the way we think and maybe even the way things are.

So that's my impressions and some of the things the show made me think about. It's great when art can challenge accepted norms. I hope to do that myself--most of my plays definitely have an element of radicalism. Drag certainly does. I look forward to the impact the production may make. I think art can be entertaining as well as challenging and an impetus to change. I hope the art I create can be like that.

Workin' On My Fitness

Good news! I weighed in at 153.8 at the MAC today, two pounds lighter than the last time. That means I've lost a pound a week. Everything is proceeding according to plan (insert maniacal laugh here.) Fat % is the same. Stephanie worked me hard. It went really fast, though. Usually I go through the thing where I look up at the clock and it's twenty minutes in, and I think, "Oh, we're moving along", and then I feel like a lot of time has passed until I look up at the clock and it's only ten minutes later! My food journal had a lot fewer red marks in it; I ate out less and drank less soda. And that is reflected by the weight on the scale. This week I am setting myself the goal of not having any soda AT ALL and only eating out a few times. Better for my wallet anyway.

Speaking of my wallet...I tutored Remya today and was able to put $20 towards my dress fund. I have $140 now, more than I did when I had to pay the ticket. If I just don't have to dip again, I will be on my way! The dress is $250, so I'm over halfway there.

There's a job opening at LCC for a tutor. It's only part-time but I fit the qualifications. I'm going to email the contact person and see what comes of it. I know I can get a stellar rec letter from a professor I worked with a few years ago. They want transcripts brought to the interview. My grades weren't great in all my English Ed classes (average of 3.0) but if I remember correctly, my TESOL classes were all 3.5s and 4.0s. The only requirement is a bachelor's degree, which I have.

Less than a month...! I have made a FB event of going to Buddies for karaoke on Thursday and I've gotten about 12 yes's. There are 26 maybes and three no's. I'm pretty happy with that; it's early and a lot of people haven't responded yet. I don't want more than 20 people or so. If I get more, I will have to see if I can reserve several big tables.

I LOVE FALL! I just poured myself a big glass of cider. The air is getting cooler and I just saw some trees turning today. It's good running weather. Tomorrow I'm going to run the 4 mile stretch I walked the other day. I did Interval yesterday and found the cardio was a little difficult for me. That means I'm not doing enough running.

So, to sum up: the fitness battle is turning in my favor. Still excited about birthday coming up. And there are other things to look forward to, like Halloween, bonfires, and the Michigan Renaissance Festival. And the next show, of course, whatever that may be.

Hanging up now...

Peace

So yesterday was September 11. I was wondering how to commemorate it. I lost a cousin that day who was younger than I, and on the up and up. All those lost left a hole in the fabric of our country.

So I saw a note on FB about a reading of the Koran at an Episcopal church in East Lansing. It seemed the perfect thing. What a good way to unite our communities, to heal wounds and repair burnt bridges. I went alone, for some reason. It was as if I wanted to take in the experience without someone to share it with, as if that would color it somehow. I have a tendency to worry about what the other person is thinking during the event, whether it's a show or a movie or a concert. I sat with a woman I knew from OCC who went to the church. I didn't "worry" about her experience; I knew she was part of it already.

The reading started with a chant. Two people, a Muslim man and woman, presented the first part. He chanted, opening the evening's events with the sound of the Koran as it has been heard for centuries. It was beautiful. It went on for about five minutes and then the young woman translated. The story was the story of Abraham. I knew that there were some similarities between the two books but I didn't realize just how many similarities there were. Even Jesus was mentioned!

There were about fifteen readers, my friend being one. Some of them read awkwardly, stumbling over the words. Most of them read pretty well. A few were very animated and made it all worthwhile. But the language and the patterns were unaffected. The reading showed how this was simply a religious text, another interpretation of the will of God.

After it was over, I felt a sense of happiness and peace. I talked to the young man who had chanted at the beginning. Another woman (his mother?) bragged about his good voice. I said hello to several of the other Muslim people there, most of them young women, and thanked them for coming. We all realized we were not so foreign after all, and that there was nothing to fear.

So that's how I spent September 11. I thought about my cousin and lit a candle for him and all those who had lost their lives. And I connected with the "foreigners" in a positive and loving way. Thanks be to the church for putting it on and for the Spirit that unites us all!

And what else have I done lately? I have FINISHED the third draft of Checking Out! I'm so excited. I want to send it off to be read by my "critics", Adam and the folks. After I get their input, I will tweak it a bit more and then give it to LCP in November. Fun!

I did a four mile walk today. I think I will run it next time. It took me about an hour and a half. Running it might cut it ten minutes or so. I saw a turtle and a little garter snake. I wanted to get a picture of the snake but he was too fast for me.

I will be 40 in one month. More and more people have been amazed when I tell them how old I am. Everyone thinks I'm younger. I've made an event on FB for a celebration at Buddies Thursday the 14th. I'd like to get together with Adam and a few others Wednesday. I'm planning on celebrating with the folks the weekend before. I've requested cheesecake. Mom makes the best cheesecake around.

Well, tomorrow is Interval and I need to go. I've gained in the past few weeks and my measurements have gone up. So I need to get back on the horse of working out harder and eating better. I WILL get down to the weight I want to be! I will!

Hanging up now...

Back from the 'Zoo

Got back this afternoon after a great trip. We saw "Scott Pilgrim" and it was awesome! I would highly recommend it to anyone. I was worried Dad wouldn't get it because it goes very fast and is visually and audially overstimulating. It is a movie for the We generation, but we old people can like it too.

Speaking of old...I'm turning 40 in a month and a week! Milestone. Libby thought I was twenty-eight! She got this shocked look on her face when I told her I would be turning forty in October. Forty used to seem so old, but now that I'm there, it's not old at all. I know myself so much better than I did when I was 28. I'm mentally, emotionally, and physically stronger. I don't "look" forty--whatever that looks like. My face is practically wrinkle-free. And I don't "act" forty, whatever that means. I guess it's because I don't have a lot of responsibilities--no kids, no partner, no house, no 9-5 job. My life is still very much like that of a 28 year old.

We had a nice walk with Libby last night. We walked pretty fast and covered a lot of ground. She goes farther than I do around the compound. We didn't see any turkeys, but we did see a few deer. I walked again today and it took me 42 minutes. That's a 21 minute mile--pretty fast for me! It made me happy. I guess I walk fast and run slow. Sometimes I wonder if I should just walk. 100 calories a mile is really pretty good, I think.

Looking at my desk calendar makes me look at the photo next to it. It's from the play I wrote that Torchlight did. It's a cast photo, and I am there with them in costume. What a wonderful memory. We all look so happy and perfect for the show. The experience brought a lot of joy to me. I hope that RWT's staged reading of Drag brings me the same feeling, the euphoria of seeing my work getting done. Dreams coming true.

People have posted more pictures from Sleeping Beauty on FB. They show us having so much fun and you can see the camaraderie. I've used one of the photos for my profile picture--it shows me with Anna and another guy in the cast. Good times. It's fun to see a show bring people together like that.

I'm going to try to find "That'll Show Him". My former voice teacher wasn't much help--she just said it was from Forum, which I already knew. I'll have to either find the score for Forum or find a book with the song in it. I'd rather have a songbook with the number in it because it would give me more choices for song selections. I can't find my copy of "Second Hand Rose" so I'll have to look for something else anyway. It's been sitting on my keyboard for years! but I moved it and now I can't find it.

Well, it's dinnertime and I gots stuff to do, so--

Hanging up now...

Fishin'!

I'm in Kalamazoo, writing on my dad's computer. Yesterday I drove from Okemos. It took me 2 1/2 hours because I couldn't go 94 so I went to GR and took 131 back to Kzoo. I got into trouble around GR when I got off 131 accidentally and wound up asking three different places for directions until I got back on. So that added 1/2 hr. When I got here, Dad and I went fishing. It was COLD! and it started to rain late in the evening. HOWever, I caught 4 bluegills, the last one the biggest catch of the night. They were really weird to catch! The first one just sort of dragged on the line like a weed--no fight at all. The second didn't take the bobber down at all, I just felt a tug and then a little weight. The third one was the same, and the fourth was a little more classic--but only a little. We used crickets and waxworms and I caught them all on a cricket-waxworm sandwich.

Today we went to Smith Lake, and the cold and windy weather continued. No rain though. We had steak, corn, and tomatoes for lunch. Mom and I took the canoe out. It was quite a project getting us into the boat! We couldn't get in the water like we do in the summer and there was a boat moored to the dock so we couldn't get in from the dock. We ended up climbing over the boat (which was full of water) to get in the canoe. Once we were in, we set off. We headed toward the north end, counting lillies--there were a few left. We saw some birds that we thought were geese, but they didn't fly like geese. I didn't get a good look at them but I think they were herons. We turned at the north end and headed over to the west side. We scared a couple of swans who swam out to the middle of the lake. Coming back from the west side, we ran into some wind that had picked up. It took us a while to get back. I felt pretty weak given all my training. Alfred's words from Batman Begins came back to me: "What use is all those pushups if you can't even lift a bloody log?"

We made it back in one piece and decided to head back to Kzoo. We got back in time for me to go running. I told Stephanie that I would work out and so I stuck to my promise. I ran/walked around Greenleaf Circle, which is the main drag through the compound. I didn't run much of it--maybe under half. I ran about 6 minutes before I stopped the first time. I guess I don't have much endurance even now. At least I'm trying. Tomorrow Mom and I are walking with a neighbor, Libby. She goes on a two-mile walk and she says she goes through an area where she always sees turkeys. Mom has never seen a wild turkey so it will be fun for her. I see them all the time when I go up Hagadorn to East Lansing; they like to hang out in the ditches. I hope I never hit one; what a mess that would make!

Tomorrow we are having the Labor Day Pines picnic. I'm making a salad with feta, walnuts, and dried cranberries. Should be yummy. I'm not planning on having any hot dogs or dessert. Maybe just one hot dog. But no more! I ate THREE at Momma K's cast party. Speaking of Momma K, I went over there Thursday. We watched the Sleeping Beauty DVD and the Puss in Boots DVD. Riverwalk is doing Puss in Boots and the auditions are at the end of September. I'm going to audition...so what happened to Shot in the Dark, you ask? Well, first Mike had to drop out of directing it due to work issues. I would probably have pulled out of it then. But then I saw on the LCP Facebook page that they weren't doing the show at all due to copywright issues. So now they are doing ANOTHER show, which they will announce on Monday--six days before auditions. No thanks! Puss is a cute show, and there are several parts I could do. If I can find it, I'm going to sing "That'll Show Him" from Forum. I sang it for auditions for another show at RWT a long time ago (six years ago!)

Well, I've taken up my dad's computer for long enough. He's been very patiently working his crossword puzzle. I may write about the party tomorrow, I may not. So for now I'll say...

Hanging up now...