She Works Hard for the Money

She's alive! She's aliiiiiive!!!

Yes, it's true. Despite being extremely remiss on my blog the past two months, I do still exist and function in this world. And just in case you were all missing my incisive and witty posts, you can breathe easy: I'm going to be better at this. Life in our little part of the world goes by pretty swimmingly. Of course, Glen is being a responsible student (he had to start some time, right? j/k) and working hard on school stuff, so our time together is restricted, but that's all right. Ish. I'm dealing with it.

I'm also dealing with extended hours at work. As my very loving brother stated in a comment on my facebook status last week, "boo-freaking hoo". This coming from a guy who for several months puts in work days that extend until midnight is understandable, but I'm attempting to work up a little sympathy here. Ten-hour days may seem a mere pittance to some, but it's definitely not something I've been used to doing on a regular basis since I began working like a "real person". And as a result, Glen comes home about every other day to a wife who is just about miserable because she was on the computer when he left at 7:30 a.m. and is still on it when he came home at 5:15 p.m.

Usually I'm able to work myself up to being normal (well, normal for me, which is more eccentric than normal), but some days it just doesn't happen as easily. The occasional day when I work only eight hours seems like a marvelous respite, and I'm suddenly energized for the rest of the day. This works out well because I've only been taking eight-hour days when I've had non-work-business to attend to, and I should probably be awake for such activities.

Still finding time for good things, though. Last week, I went to the BYU Homecoming Spectacular, which my husband was singing in and Brian Stokes Mitchell was guest-appearing. WOW! He was amazing. (and so was brian stokes mitchell. teehee) No, in all seriousness, it was a great show, and I left feeling thoroughly inspired. The weekend before, Glen and I went to a BYU football game, during most of which I was extremely discouraged, but when your alma mater comes from behind in the fourth quarter and wins almost by a miracle, you can't help but feast on the excitement and exhilaration of the crowd.

Okay, you're probably getting tired. As am I. Will post soon with more of our doings (without the complaining bit attached, i promise).

See? Told you I was tired.

-Me

"The human race is faced with a cruel choice: work or daytime television." -Unknown

Accentuate the Positive

If memory serves, I wrote a post about a show that Glen and I would be participating in and singing some good ol' Gilbert and Sullivan. Well, the show, entitled Accentuate the Positive, is past and gone, and life is back to being a little less crazy. The last couple of weeks before the performances were a tad nuts, especially with the trips to Payson through the interminable construction that is I-15 in Utah county. People really need to learn how to merge.

There was a bit of shuffling going on through the rehearsal process, during which I suddenly (and completely unexpectedly) was assigned the part of Mabel for the "Pirates" section. -cue large megan eyes- Glen ended up being our Pirate King, and he's just enough of a ham (maybe barely, teehee) that he pulled it off exceptionally well. There ended up being a running joke amongst some of the cast about the fact that I had to sing to and flirt with a guy other than my husband, but we all know whom I went home with. Just couldn't resist the red velvet jacket with the lacy cuffs.

And the hats were fantastic.

Glen's barbershop group was a hit, as well. They sang between sections of the show, and no one could deny they did a fantastic job. I hope they keep singing together, because Glen loves ... loves ... LOVES ... singing barbershop. I hope this doesn't become a reason for jealousy.

Inevitably, there were hiccups during performances, but everybody did really well, and the biggest miracle of my stage "career" occurred: I made people laugh! On purpose! I remember trying to be "funny" during my little bit parts in high school, and it never translated too well to the audience. (and thus begin the placating comments about how talented i really was ... really, guys, comedy was never my strong suit.) So, yes, I was able to sing "Poor Wandering One" without my voice cracking, but the true satisfactory moment for me was the first time the audience laughed at my antics.

Ah, the theater, the theater. What has happened to the theater?

-Me

"Working in the theater has a lot in common with unemployment." -Arthur Gingold

Whistle While You Work

Another month has passed us by, and I have not written anything. I guess that could be a good thing, since you all could assume my lack of posting equals a lack of wasting my summer on a computer. (in fact, go ahead and make that assumption.) I admit, though, it's hard to feel that way when I spend eight hours on the computer each day because of work.

Speaking of work, I've been working from home now for the last three weeks, and it seems to be going all right. There are still aspects of working at an actual office that I miss, but it hasn't been too terrible. The hardest part so far is motivating myself to still get out of bed early enough so I don't work in my pajamas.

Days Begun in Pajamas: 12
Days Showered and Dressed: 3

Our home has become a computer zone (four computers ... yeesh), which I will say now does not thrill me in the least. I may be getting rid of my crazy laptop, but that's the only one that looks like it could get the shaft. We got a little desk for Glen's desktop so that he wouldn't have to write papers on the floor come school-time, so we've got a funny little set-up on the western wall on the office, but it works for us. So far.

My little work space ... it actually is a lot more organized than it looks.

 Lovebird desk set-up

The purchase of Glen's computer desk was part of a "date" night" shopping trip that took us to various locations as we attempted to figure out a way to organize the office closet. Fortunately, we found some shelves that fit the bill, and once they were set up and put in, I was suddenly a much more happy girl. Thank goodness our closet no longer looks like the mass hysteria that is my piles of music.

 Music that still needs a home. Our entire office used to look like this.

Hooray! I can find things in the closet again!

If only my parents had visited after this organizational evening; I wouldn't have been so ashamed to have them spend the night.

-Me

"If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?" -Laurence J. Peter

This Our Hymn of Grateful Praise

Glen took me to "Harry Potter". I'm no longer jealous. I'm a happy girl. Thank you, honey!

-Me

Come Fly With Me

I admit it: I suffered from intense jealousy the last couple of days. Wouldn't you if your friends were doing this?

Luna Lovegood, Rita Skeeter, and Dobby the House Elf

(yes, these are MY friends!!!)

I know that I have made no secret of my nerdiness on this blog, much less my love for Harry Potter. With the VERY final film having come out yesterday and several of my close friends attending midnight or even this-weekend showings, I am having trouble suppressing my envy.

Don't get me wrong, though. Glen does a fantastic job of making up for my disappointment. Last night after making curry at home (mmmm...), we headed to Sundance for the full moon lift ride.

All right, this could be taken anywhere, but it was, in fact, on the lift.

We had excellent timing, as well, because about ten minutes into the ride (on the way up), the moon came out from behind the mountains, and it was peaceful and beautiful seeing it rise in the sky for the next half hour. What an enjoyable and satisfying date night. Thank you, sweetheart.

But you and I both know we're still going to Harry Potter before it hits the dollar theater.

-Me

"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." -J.R.R. Tolkien

I Can't See Me Loving Nobody But You

Wow! We've made it an entire month! I guess that means we're in this for life (and beyond). Things are going pretty well so far, so I think I'll keep my fella. We're definitely making adjustments and learning new things about each other as we actually live together and all that, but I feel like the transition has been going pretty dang smoothly. (let's hope glen feels the same.)

In "honor" of our month-iversary (not really; it just happened to fall on the same day), I finally got the piano out of my old place. It was kind of strange walking into the old apartment (especially since no one was home) and remembering that I had also forgotten my aprons when I first moved out, but you move on. Anyway, now we finally can actually play and sing in our own place ... and bug our loud neighbors in the process, hooray!

When I arrived home, I saw that my sweet hubby had vacuumed for me, but what surprisingly escaped my notice on the first walk through the kitchen was the vase of flowers he'd bought for me. What a wonderful guy.

We spent some time figuring out where to hang pictures and the like once the piano was in and settled, and while we're still not done yet, we're further along than we were, and it's actually starting to look like a home.

Glen's panoramic shot of our living room so far

The two pictures at either ends were wedding presents!

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and loving as we've gotten started! We're excited to share more!

-Me

"Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event." -Oscar Wilde

Catch a Wave

Bear with me as I go backwards in time.

For the honeymoon, Glen and I headed to Lincoln City, where we stayed at a condo that was right on the beach. Fabulous. One night when the tide was high, I turned all the lights off; from my perspective, I couldn't even see the beach, just the water as it crashed along. So. Cool.

The weather was a tad chilly, which wasn't a big surprise, but we did take a stroll each morning along the beach, where Glen was introduced the frigid cold Pacific. I'm not sure exactly how he felt about his toes going numb as we walked along, but he was a good sport. He was pretty excited to build sandcastles and find perfect skipping rocks (too bad the ocean is not the place to actually skip rocks).

 Wooden post on beach = crane stance

Seeing as how Oregon is my neck of the woods, Glen got to experience a taste of a couple of Jensen traditions: Mo's and Read's. I will readily admit that Mo's is not the greatest of seafood restaurants, but it's got personality and history, so no trip to the Oregon Coast is quite complete without a visit. And we're still working our way through the salt water taffy we bought at Read's ... mainly because we're trying to make a quality product last. :)

 Glen's creation

Other than that, we really spent the honeymoon relaxing. A little while before, we had begun reading Lord of the Rings together, so we finished Fellowship while at the beach, as well as reading a couple of books on our own. We also took advantage of the hot tub on the deck, which provided us with an opportunity to actually use our swimsuits and see the beautiful beach at the same time. Thank you, hot tub.

 Our view of the beach from the hot tub. Awesome.

And if ever you're in Lincoln City looking for a good place to get a yummy pizza, try Humble Pie. It's dinky. But the pizza is excellent.

Successful honeymoon. And I'd like to thank my body for not getting sick until after it was over.

 Awww, they're playing footsies

-Me

"I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." -Rita Rudner