coupon schmoupon

Joe has started coupon-ing. And as any of you who know Joe will affirm, Joe does not do anything halfway. He doesn't even just do it all the way. He does it the holy-cow-man-get-a-hold-of-yourself-and-remember-there-are-other-things-in-life way. Many times this is an attribute that works well for him in his life. He's an extremely dedicated employee, a devoted father and husband, a loyal friend, and an amazing and focused student of anything and everything that interests him. And one heck of a coupon-er.

Now I can't really come down too hard on the coupon lifestyle. There have been a few times where he has come home proud as a peacock with a trunkload of groceries and other household items. He held his receipt in the air like the third tablet that was never brought down from the Mount (TIL NOW) and told me that he got $50 worth of stuff for A DOLLAR. Or something to that effect. And really, who wouldn't be impressed? So I pat him on the head and tell him what a man he is with his expandable file folder of newspaper clippings and help him unload his bounty.

And during the unloading is where my main problem with Joe's coupon frenzy comes in.

Of course I'm thrilled with the four boxes of cereal for a mere $2. And the free shampoo (FREE!). And the BOGO granola bars. And the...

I'm sorry... WHAT?

Oh yes, and then these as well...

(This may not seem so bad until you take into account that we don't own a Glade scented oil thingee to begin with. So refills seem a bit useless, do they not?)

Now Mr. Super-Coupon, of course, has infallible reasoning for these purchases. You see, the rebate for the GRAY HAIR DYE FOR MEN (I just feel that a product so ridiculous should be written in all caps) worked with the coupon so that they were basically paying YOU $1.50 to buy it! And the refills? Well they were free with Extra Care Bucks! And if you spent $20, then CVS (the Mecca of the coupon savant) gave you back $5! Who WOULDN'T buy these things? It's LOGIC.

Indeed.

One can't argue with such logic.

Instead, one must shake their head, roll their eyes, and be ever so thankful for extra, unused cabinet space in the kitchen, designating one lucky cabinet as a sort of Island for Misfit Coupon Purchases.

And then one must get to work on eating all that cereal.

m.i.a.

Hey blogosphere! Yet again I have to start an entry by apologizing for my lengthy absence. It's amazing the difference it makes to have a mobile baby as opposed to a non-mobile (immobile?) one. Laine requires a great deal more active supervision now than she did when I could plop her on a blanket by my feet while I typed. It gives me a whole new respect for some of my favorite mommy bloggers... it takes a great deal of time management and dedication to maintain a decent blog, let alone a really phenomenal one like some of these women have. But fortunately for you I am trying to get my life a little more organized and take better advantage of the little baby-free time I have (hallelujah for nap time, am I right?) and blogging is going to get squeezed into that Excel spreadsheet somewhere. While sometimes I dismiss it as a silly hobby, I feel it is a really valuable way of keeping track of myself and my family and I know that I will really enjoy looking back on even the most mundane of entries a few years down the line. And I enjoy having a creative outlet that I can share with whoever cares to read it. So, if you've been missing me in your Google reader, fear not... hopefully I'll be updating weekly from now on!

At least until Laine starts walking.

first father's day...

Watching you become a father on that day seven-some-odd months ago...


And grow in your confidence, your love for our daughter, your role as "family man", "provider", "Daddy"...


Has been one of the greatest joys and sources of pride in my life so far.

Happy Father's Day, pook. We're both so lucky to have you.

look out world...

Lainey's on the move! After a few frustrating (for both of us) weeks of bouncing on her hands and knees and kicking violently on her tummy, Laine decided enough was enough of the immobility nonsense. Motivated by her desire to see (ie. eat) my Real Simple magazine, she took her (very confident) first few crawling steps, and she's been on the go since then! Thankfully I had my Flip camera handy and managed to get her to do it again (and again and again... yikes). She has also figured out how to get herself into a sitting position from her tummy, so looks like someone will be lowering the crib mattress tonight...

this one goes out to all my mother-fathers

Saw this gem on Kalli's blog and just HAD to share. Give us a few years and Joe and I will totally make a video like this. Cause you know we are most def' going to be rockin' a minivan. Word.

it's about carousel, but josh said to title it "josh"

I've been trying to write a post about Carousel for the past few weeks, but every time I sit down to start one I get stuck (clam up, maybe? HA. that was an insider's joke, y'all.) This one will probably even have to go through the draft process, which I don't usually do. Usually I type, do a quick scan for squiggly "you spelled that wrong, moron" lines, and click the publish post button all in under half an hour or so. But this show... the experience of this show, rather, and the relationships I've gained and things I've learned and strengths I've rediscovered have been so important that I feel like if I'm going to blog about it then it needs to be good.

I auditioned for Carousel with high hopes but limited expectations. I wasn't sure who I was up against, what part I was right for, or if I would even remember what the heck I was doing once I was standing in front of people trying to sing. It wasn't until after I auditioned that I did some youtube exploration and learned more about the roles I would be appropriate for. And it wasn't until after I saw the cast list that I realized how much I had wanted the role of Carrie, which was (thank the Lord... and Drew) the part I was cast in.

I have always enjoyed the process of creating a show almost as much as the final product of performing in one. Rehearsing feels more like play to me than work, and most of my favorite people have been actors/singers/dancers/all of the above. This show was no different, and maybe even a little more fun than usual thanks to the amazing cast and the fact that I had basically quit performing cold turkey after college. Creating the character of Carrie was equal parts difficult and easy- difficult because I hadn't had to learn song and lines in so long, easy because I had excellent direction and scene partners and PLENTY of enthusiasm.

But this show has meant more to me than just a return to the stage. It's been a return to parts of myself that I had forgotten or temporarily set aside. I have grown not only as a performer but as an adult and a friend. I was able to work with people who were before just the stuff of Athenian theater legend (and who far and away surpassed every expectation I had) and get to know others even better than I had in previous contexts. I was reminded of the rush of getting a laugh and earning applause, of the adrenaline that motivates you to go for feta fries at the Grill after 6 hours at the theater, of the work involved in getting into character (fake ponytails and all), and of the strange and wonderful kind of bond forged among cast-mates.

While I hope that Carousel is the first in a line of shows that I will be a part of in Athens and as an adult, I know it will always hold a special place in my memory and my heart; the show that brought me new confidence, new friends, and a new catch phrase. And really, who could need much more than that?

No one walks out on Carrie Pipperidge, y'all.


(Haven't seen it yet? You've still got four more chances! Call 706-208-TOWN and reserve your tickets. All mushy reflection aside, it's a darn good show.)

unexpected

There is one thing that I have gained since becoming a mother that I did not at all anticipate. It is something that most new mothers probably do not have, or if they do then it was already well established. (Or maybe they are just cooler than me?) It is also something that it has always been a struggle for me to maintain/find/enjoy for most of my life.

It is the ever-elusive "social life".

It would seem (or at least I assumed) that once you have a little person dependent on you for food, shelter, and most other things necessary for survival, a social life would go right out the window. Kind of like free time and sleeping in (oh, goodness, how I miss sleeping in...). But in the past few months I have found the opposite to be true.

I attribute this to a number of things. First, and most importantly, I have an amazing and supportive husband. He is so wonderful with our little girl and is willing, even happy, to be home with her in the evenings while I work (and now play some, too!) with hardly a complaint. I am also much more comfortable being away at night now that Laine has a set bedtime routine. Every night by 7:30 I can be fairly certain that she is asleep and will stay that way for approximately 12 hours (am I a lucky woman or what, y'all?). Also, I have entered into situations that are conducive to forming adult friendships, the first being a group of new mothers that meets weekly at Full Bloom, which has become the foundation for Mother's Night Out festivities, weekly playdates, etc. The second is the production of Carousel that I recently auditioned for and was cast in. Being surrounded by such passionate, clever, talented, and fun-loving people has been rejuvenating for me in so many ways and has really filled a hole in my life that I wasn't even really aware existed.

All this is to say that I am happy and fulfilled beyond measure at this time in my life. My daughter is precious and healthy and happy and brings me joy daily (hourly, even). My husband is an anchor and compass for our family and for me, and has proven his love for me by allowing me and encouraging to do things that I may otherwise have let pass by. And my new-found friends and freedom have reminded me how much fun it can be to define myself in terms other than "mother" and "wife" and "teacher". Things like "performer" and "friend" and "adult". And the more complete a person I am, the more ways I find to define myself, the better I become at those first, most important, three.