Now that Husband has gone back to work at the prison, he's on second shift.  This throws a bit of a kink into my prior blogging schedule - he likes to use the computer in the mornings.  Perhaps that is a good thing?  Anyway, a bit of a backlog going on, but hopefully I will get it sorted!

In honor of the spring cleaning inside and out that has been going on, I'd like to take a moment to mention my FAVORITE cleaning products in the world.  Method brand products smell GREAT, are made with natural ingredients, aren't animal tested, are made with recycled packaging, and aren't really that expensive compared with other brands.  The bottles are pretty, and apparently you can even DRINK the solvents without hurting yourself!  I have been using mine for nearly a year now, and I always feel like my bathroom and kitchen are getting the best sort of clean.  I can't wait to try the detergent when I need new stuff.

The Tub and Tile on the far right is the best thing ever!

It's been a while... again.  I've been taking advantage of the lovely weather and getting the garden in (more info on that later.)  Working outside in the sun and air is SO fulfilling... I feel justified in my hour of Paper Mario or a good book at night before going to sleep really tired.  I don't have much time for this blog because I am off to work and then AUDITIONS again (more on this later as well!), but I would just like to give thanks for a moment that I am able to pick up a few extra hours and some "breathing room" cash working with lovely people who really care about kids and music.  I am starting to feel useful at the School, and that's something that's very important to me.  Here's hoping that our summer camps fill out, and we get lots of new families for the fall!

I can't believe I am already thinking about the fall!  Three-years-ago Jessica would have had nothing in mind beyond a canoe trip or concert in August!  It's amazing how the days and weeks fill up as you get more involved in your community.  Sometimes it's irritating - I just want to walk my dog, garden, cook, and relax.  But it's a nice feeling, too...

A few stills from behind the scenes of Restoration Theater's Shakespeare by Victoria...

Brian as Shakespeare gets carried away...

Katie as Elizabeth berates Dana as the Dark Lady while Brian  laughs...

Kyle as Marcellous hides behind David as Horatio during a ghostly encounter.

Katie as Senator Webley muses to Allison as Miss Lawford

I as Miss Hartington am scandalized by Kyle's drunken butler.

This new group works out of Creative 360, a neat little art center in Midland.  They aim to interpret free domain (classic) works in a more modern environment.  The art in the background is a free exhibit in the building... it is all done by Armin Mersmann, a nationally recognized graphite artist from Midland.  It's pretty amazing stuff!

This was my favorite work of his at the exhibit - it's titled "Occasional Angel."  You can't get the full scope of how amazingly detailed his work is without seeing it in person.  Definitely worth stopping in to 360 before the exhibit closes!

Let The Yoke Fall From Our Shoulders

As many of you know, I have really been grooving on the newest album by my favorite artists, The Decemberists.  The album is a folksy, pastoral love letter to American roots, and is the perfect Spring/Summer soundtrack.  In January Husband and I and our friends Fran and Josh were supposed to see the band live in Royal Oak, but due to a surprise "Snowpocalypse" it was rescheduled for April!  I have caught every tour since Picaresque, and, as usual, was not disappointed.

Beautiful backdrop!

As I mentioned to Fran, half of the fun of going to a concert is seeing the band you love live.  The other half is seeing what sorts of people also love the bands you love.  I feel that no matter what sort of concert I am going to, there are a few types of fellow concertgoers who always seem to find me.

• The Overly Emotional Fangirl.  Standing quietly by herself, hand on heart, eyes wide and brimming with tears. She knows all the words.  She is in another world.
• The "This is Our Song" Couple.  In between every song, the couple in question becomes so romantically charged by the concert experience that they tackle each other in a fit of passion, oblivious to the crowd around them.
• The Encroacher.  They start out behind you, but somehow by the end of the concert they rudely stand in front of you with thier cell phone raised up taking pictures (or worse, video!) right in front of your face.
• The Inappropriate Bromance.  Some guy loves - like, REALLY loves the lead singer.  He is in the front few rows reaching high above the other fans - so close he could almost touch them.  He yells out "jokes" and attempts to banter with the lead singer between songs.  He addresses the lead singer by first name.  He cries out the names of the songs he would like to hear.
• The Drunk Grinding Girls.  Somebody mentioned that there would be music and a bar.  They don't usually care about the band, but are just excited to slut out with thier girlfriends in public.  Often seen with a nondescript red plastic cup in one hand grinding up on whomever happens to be closest.  Can also be identified by piercing shrieks emanating from them after every song.

This last group is the funniest at a concert like the Decemberists.  It's really odd to watch someone dirty dance to songs about labor disputes in Montana or fantasy butchers who murder naughty children in thier beds.

This morning I read an entry from one of my favorite blogs, Hyperbole and a Half.  She inspired me to think about the way my dog sees the world:

I think dogs make frequent use of exclamation points.  On our walk today we worked on "heel."  He did pretty well - when he realized that I was talking to him, and there were no squirrels plotting against him.

On a more serious note, when training it's easy to forget that dogs don't understand sentences.  They can understand certain words, visual cues, and sound effects... but they can't put those together like we can.  For example, as I reached into the car to get his treats out of my purse for the walk, I found myself saying "No car." as he got up into the front seat.  Now Lance understands "No" (sort of) to mean "Stop".  (I actual find a loud "Ah ah ah!" noise to be more effective in getting him to stop whatever he's doing.)  He knows what the car is.  But he can't figure out that "No Car" means that we are not going to be going for a car ride.  He can't put those two words together.

When training, it's important to keep things clear, be consistent, and keep rewards frequent but not predictable.  Hopefully in a couple of weeks he'll associate coming to me to mean that he is getting treats... and I MIGHT be comfortable enough to take him to the dog park...?

In other news, spring cleaning has taken the house by storm.  We got a nice new computer desk with much more space for organizing junk... I've switched out the fall/winter clothes with the spring/summer ones (even though it's been SNOWY...) and organized our downloaded TV Shows.  I am currently procrastinating tackling the dreaded basement - it'll be quite a task, as I have LOADS of costume pieces that I won't be keeping...

I've also cleaned house on Facebook - deleted "friends", apps, groups... junk that I don't use, talk to, or enjoy.  I've reached a point where I find that Facebook is the most negative and unproductive thing in my life... so I'm trying to limit my time to two times a day (once in the morning, once in the evening) and focus more on my blogs, my house, Dog, Husband, friends and hobbies.  I've deleted another string of people (now I've got mostly actual friends, theater contacts, and a people that I just really like or find interesting even though I wouldn't call them friends.)

I love purging my life of useless stuff.  It's definitely the only thing that keeps me from being a hoarder.

It never fails - Hell week hits and I am GONE.  I have several exciting things to share, including Husband's triumphant return to Corrections, my first attempt at making Hummous (it exceeded my expectations, although they were low), hanging out with the Brother, and Michael Chabon's Summerland (my latest book).  But alas, all of those will have to wait, because I need to finish taxes for this past year (business-wise... our sister in law's mother does our personal taxes, and she is nothing short of a wizard) and HR 1 soon after.  Then final dress and probably out to eat with cast.  So you can see how things stack up.  :-/

15 minutes on Facebook this morning.  A new record.

Now to see if I can stay off of it until tonight.