Soccer, Dracula and a Day Out

Weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them. ~John Shirley

This weekend has disappeared rather quickly, but fortunately happily, for the most part. While I worked Saturday (by myself because the male housekeeper called in sick - talk about run ragged!), the girls and Brian went to Sandis' soccer game after which they headed to Lory State Park for a hike. Brian's crazy running friends were there this weekend doing laps. He and the girls joined them for a single five mile loop accompanied by Duke. Duke (collie) and his friends Lincoln (collie) and Ziggy (border collie) belong to Brian's friends and often come along on runs and the girls like to borrow them. It's really a win-win-win situation: win-1) dogs get lots of extra attention, win-2) kids are ecstatic to have the dogs along, and win-3) Brian's happier with the reduced whining.

After the hike, I joined them at Brian's friend's house for a potluck after which we headed to the Lincoln Center for Dracula. First of all, the newly remodeled Lincoln Center looks fabulous! Ok, the red/orange outside is a bit strange. I like orange, but this color paired with the red they chose is just not quite right. But inside couldn't be better. It's beautiful. Sometime I'll have to go wander around just to see the whole place including the rooftop patio.

But, we weren't there to see the new facility, we were there to see Dracula, performed by Debut Theater. Our friend's daughter was in the play and they gave us some comp tickets, which was super nice of them. You may think that a bunch of teenagers doing a play isn't worth seeing unless you're the parent, but you would be wrong. Debut performances are always amazing. You don't even realize they are teens up there, it's just that good. And they do it all themselves, from the set to the lighting to the promotion. They started back in JANUARY, yes 10 months ago, by reading the book and went from there.

The girls loved the show and weren't scared a bit. I think it's that vampires, much like werewolves, sphinx and other creatures of the otherworld just aren't real to them. It's a pretend scariness that is quite fun for them. Remember, these are the children who love the Nightmare Before Christmas and have since their first viewing at 3 and 5 yrs old, the ones who read and watch Harry Potter, the ones who wander around Halloween aisles at the store critiquing the decorations, so Dracula wasn't about to scare them. Plus, it was a stage performance, not full of Hollywood violence and blood and gore. It was about mood and suspense, much more difficult to do as well as being more pleasant to watch.

Sunday was church and then an afternoon out for me! A friend had a Thirty-One party. I'd never heard of Thirty-One before, but it is a party based sales company that sells purses and organizational bags. While I LOVE bags and would have countless bags if I was wealthy, I went because I wanted to get away. Since I started working, my nights out now consist of, well, working. I needed some mom time. And, as a bonus, while I was there, Brian and the girls were instructed to clean the house to prepare for Girl Scouts on Tuesday. Ok, so the house is far from perfect, but it's a start.

Oh, and the Packers are still undefeated, woohoo! Don't ask about the stinkin' Badgers or the CSU Rams....