Another opening, another show

It's late - I just got back from our after show dinner at Bennigan's - so I'm counting this as a Friday post.

Wow. I'm truly amazed at how well our opening night went. The seats were full and people were laughing in all the right places (even when the Cratchit's Christmas chicken prop started squawking in the middle of the street scene and the butcher had to whack at it to stop the noise - we all managed to keep straight faces somehow!).

Afterwards, we mingled while greeting & thanking the audience members for attending. I walked up to one couple with two small boys and asked if they had fun. The one little guy was just speechless. After a little prodding by his dad, he managed to whisper "I really liked it." The look in his eyes was one of disbelief that someone he'd just seen onstage was actually talking to him. It was too sweet!

I really should go to bed, or I'll be dragging through both shows tomorrow. How can I when I'm still buzzin'?

Allow me to brag a little

Tonight was our last rehearsal before opening night. It was chaotic, but fun. The best part? At the end when the director sat us down for some notes & comments, he said "If everyone else had been as good as the sock ladies tonight, the play would be great!" I had to do a happy sock lady dance after that. :D

Still, it makes me wonder about tomorrow night. Eeeek!

Bah, bug & hum!

Warning: If you're looking for a happy post, stop reading now:

This nasty congestion is just hanging on and I feel so tired. Mentally & physically. This is NOT a good week for illness, body. Friday is opening night, and my voice is just hanging in there. It's a good thing I don't have any solos or we'd be screwed. Can I crawl back under the covers until then?

My house looks like Scrooge lives here. There is not one decoration to be found. The boys keep asking me when we're getting our tree, and it's the last thing on my mind. The thought of unpacking all that stuff is just too exhausting. I think it started with DH saying that he wouldn't be hanging outside lights this year. Seeing everyone else's lights and then driving up to a dark house is depressing me for some reason. I realize that it should be enough to walk/drive around and enjoy the neighbors' work, but it's not.

I think I'm going to take some Sudafed. Maybe it'll clear my head in more ways than one.

Let's get the memes out of the way, shall we?

Three hours of play rehearsal last night on top of what appears to be a developing cold, and you have my entry for today. The one-word meme:

1. Yourself: Tired

2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): Helpful

3. Your hair: Unwashed

4. Your mother: Seventy

5. Your father: Absent

6. Your favorite item: Slippers

7. Your dream last night: None

8. Your favorite drink: Tea

9. Your dream car: Volvo

10. The room you are in: Living

11. Your ex: What?

12. Your fear: Illness

13. What you want to be in 10 years? Unknown

14. Who you hung out with last night? Cast

15. What You’re Not? Patient

16. Muffins: Blueberry

17. One of your wish list items: Books

18. Time: Wasting

19. The last thing you did: This

20. What you are wearing: Jeans

21. Your favorite weather: Crisp

22. Your favorite book: Engrossing

23. The last thing you ate: Oreo

24. Your life: Crazy

25. Your mood: Irritable

26. Your best friend: Janice

27. What are you thinking about right now?: Dinner

28. Your car: Messy

29. What are you doing at the moment?: This

30. Your summer: Boring

31. Your relationship status: Married

32. What is on your TV?: Wii

33. What is the weather like?: Cool

34. When is the last time you laughed?: Yesterday

Taking the easy way out

It's a busy day here. Shipping out items to my eBay bidders. I sold $286 of stamp stuff over the last week. Woooo! Unfortunately, it will all be going to bills. Boooooo!

Our first costume rehearsal is tonight, so I also have to get a few more things for both of my outfits. I swear, my next play will NOT be a period piece - it's too expensive! LOL!

I know some of you have seen this at MR, but it's all I've got today. Forgive me? :D

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate, if it's cold outside. Eggnog, if it's spiked.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? When Santa "existed," he wrapped. Only in special Santa wrap that was hidden from prying little eyes.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White on tree, color on the house

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No

5. When do you put your decorations up? We used to put them up the day after Thanksgiving, but it's usually around the beginning of Dec. now. I'm getting lazier. (As of today, Dec. 4, there is still nothing up in or on my house...)

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Honeybaked (or similar) ham. I loooove the crunchy coating!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Lying in bed at night and watching the big Christmas bulbs outside cast light & shadows on my bedspread.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I really don't remember. I do remember sneaking around looking for my gifts. It got so bad, my mom had to hide them at the neighbor's house!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We let the boys open on small gift that night.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Lights first, followed by some muttering, then ornaments & the star. It's mostly made up of the ones the kids have made or picked out each year with some red glass balls thrown in to break it up.

11. Snow! I wish, but not possible in FL. The only time I've ever had snow at Christmas was when we lived in Ohio for two years. It snowed the first year we were there.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, but it's been a while.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? To remember that it's not about the sales & hoopla.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Don't really have a special one. I'll eat pretty much any thing labeled "dessert."

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Walking/driving around to see all the Christmas lights & displays.

17. What tops your tree? A lit star

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I really like giving - one of my favorite things is to get names from the Foster Angel tree at the boys' schools and buy for them. It's a lot of fun!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Traditional: Silent Night; Not so: Cool Yule by Louis Armstrong

20. Candy Canes? In my hot chocolate, sometimes on my tree. I like the non-traditional chocolate-mint types. Yumm!

Here's today's recipe

Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies, right? Thanks to Food Network and their 12 Days of Cookies:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks

Evenly position 2 racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F, (on convection setting if you have it.)

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon sheets. (If you only have 1 baking sheet, let it cool completely between batches.)

Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium power until melted. (Alternatively melt in a small saucepan.) Cool slightly. Whisk the sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon; take care not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly and roll the dough into balls. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the pans. Bake, until golden, but still soft in the center, about 12 to 16 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you like your cookies.

Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve. Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days. Makes 30 cookies.

For a Rocky Road Bar:

Lightly butter a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Make the batter as per cookie recipe and fold in 1 cup chopped walnuts along with the chocolate chips. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake until the edges are light brown and the batter sets, about 45 minutes.

Cool slightly and cover surface with 4 cups marshmallows and 1 cup chocolate chips. Broil at least 8 inches from the heat until marshmallows turn golden brown, about 2 minutes. (Keep an eye on the marshmallows, and turn the pan frequently--they go from golden to char in a wink.) Cool, cut and serve.

Cookies & whatnot

Here's a link from Food Network: 12 Days of Cookies. I've been on their list for the last three years and have picked up some pretty good recipes. Just sign up and they deliver them right to your inbox!

In other boring news: After much searching & gnashing of teeth by the youth in the household, we were able to get our hands on a Nintendo Wii system this morning. Circuit City & Toys R Us had them in their circulars, so with the two-pronged attack - DH to TRU and myself & the eldest in line at CC. DH came up the winner. I've already bowled, played tennis & baseball. It's pretty cool because of the wireless capability and movement that's required. No more couch potatoes! The kids are playing Rayman Raving Rabbids. (Don't ask)

Looks like my Christmas shopping is done. Wooo-hooo!

It's almost here!

Today was load-in day for the play, which opens Friday night. We brought in the pieces and built most of the sets. Lots of drilling (like nails on a chalkboard for me - ick!), painting, sawing, more painting, etc. For FIVE straight hours. I still look somewhat like PigPen because of all the brown paint that we had to use for the backdrop. And guess who cleaned the rollers & brushes...

Only four rehearsals left. Our first off-book rehearsal was last Thurs. night. Most of it was good, but the guy who plays young Scrooge/Scrooge's nephew kept asking for his line. Oy. We've only been rehearsing since... late October. Sigh. I hope he miraculously gets it by Friday.

Time to pull something together for dinner. Cheesesteaks, I think.