how about a list?

1.    i'm still angry about the Halloween fireworks deal at Disneyland.   Not in a "dwelling on it continously" sort of way--just in a "when I think about it, it ticks me off" sort of way.

2.  stuff for the wedding needs to get done and I'm not really motivated to do it and this could cause some problems.  really need to just kick myself in the behind and make some phone calls.

3.  it's been uber hot in SoCal this week....please join us in praying that we get a beautiful in the mid-80's day on June 27th.    who's the idiot who planned an outdoor wedding in June?  

4.  hubby1 got popped for talking on his cellphone while driving last week.......twice......aarrrrrggggghhhhh

5.  the dilemna about bluetooth for him?  he's deaf in one ear...if he wears a bluetooth, he can't hear anything.   looking at other options.....

6.  sometimes i hate that my friends have discovered texting.....if you want to have a full conversation call me.  texting is for things like..."hey, i'm going to be 5 min. late"  "can you pick up milk on the way home" ...not "how are you" "what are you doing" "i'm sitting at the ____ and i'm bored...talk to me"...gah!

7.  my garden is rockin' it this year....we're pulling 2-3 zucchini a day...remind me how excited i was about this in august when i start complaining about eating zucchini every meal....

8.  seeing Chorus Line tonight...it's hard to believe that this is the first time I've seen a professionally staged production of it....

9.  tonight's show was supposed to be the touring production of "101 Dalmations:the Musical" but the tour closed early...wow, shocker.....

10.   it's also an election day here in California...which means that the stupid TV ads will finally stop....ptl!

11.  want to make sure i don't vote for you?   call me 20 times a day and tell me how great you are and how much your opponent sucks...seriously....i'll vote for your opponent just cuz you pissed me off

off to pay bills and try to find event insurance for the wedding (which is a total rip-off, but required for most venues now)...have a wonderful Tuesday!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday.    My birthdays are always interesting.   Since I'm the planner of the family, celebrations of my day tend to be thrown together at the last minute (right after someone remembers the date).  Yesterday was no different.   If you've been reading for awhile, you will recall that hubby1 doesn't make reservations (see last year's Valentine's day report for an example)

The morning started with a text from the hubby:  "what are the plans for tonight?"
me:  "i don't plan my own celebration.  that's no fun" (gentle reminders that he needs to learn to plan ahead)
him:  "ok"

couple of hours later:
him:  "do you want to go see 'Annie"
me:  "sure! tell me when we need to leave"
him:  "can you call and get tickets?"
me: "see previous txt about planning...luv ya"

an hour later:
him: "show at 8..leave at 7"
me: "so you got tickets?"   (never assume anything when dealing with menfolk)
him: "yep"  (i could just imagine his face being all proud of himself for making a phone call)

So we saw "annie" at the newly restored Fox theater.   The show was cute...it's "Annie"...it's always cute.  The theater was incredible.  They did a remarkable job with the restoration.  AND I met the manager of group sales who, after a brief discussion of my theater habits, asked if I would send her my resume.  woohoo!  working at a theater would be almost as much fun as working at Disneyland.

off to the theater

tonight we're seeing the musical "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" starring John Larroquette as Max.

Can't wait!!!!!!

one more time......

 saw this again Wednesday night.  

5th row, orchestra

life is good.....

Fiddler on the Roof

Took a group of theatre geeks to see "Fiddler on the Roof" last night. AMAZING performance by 74 year old Topol. yes, that's the same guy who starred in the movie that most of you have probably seen. It's his farewell tour and even if you're not a huge musical theatre fan, it's worth seeing. There's just something about watching someone in their signature role.

Just fyi...the show is just shy of 3 hours, so don't plan anything for early the morning after.....

we're all in this together

Yep...we're shooting another High School Musical production. This time it's High School Musical2. This company is our favorite to shoot. The kids are, for the most part) friendly and respectful. The director and parents really want us there and are clear about times, dates and what kind of pictures they want. Such a change from the last couple of shoots.

I still have about 1800 images to review but we have a week to have proofs ready ...unlike the last show with a 24 hour turnaround requirement.

Couple of raw images from last night:

Ryan losing his patience with Sharpay and her diva ways.

Sharpay doing what Sharpay does.

in other news, Paula Abdul has finally admitted that she was addicted to pain meds until this past Thanksgiving, but still claims that she was never under the influence during any American Idol shows. I'm sorry for her struggle with addiction and for the pain that she has been in, but it just rubs me wrong that she thinks the public is so stupid that we can't tell if someone is wasted.

Best comment regarding her this morning? someone stated that she was a hero and @aplusk responded: "like batman, but a girl...on pain killers dancing with an animated cheetah."

off to work on pics.....and to try to stay cool....100 degrees?!.....ugh!..

have a great one!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

loving all the fun posts today. blogland is inhabited by some VERY creative people. in my happy, pollyanna world there would be a list of links here to the best ones but ....yea....not gonna happen....sorry


the sun is shining and i just can't stand to be inside. freshly turned dirt is calling and there are seedlings that need to be moved to their summer homes. so i'm outta here (literally).

going to see "Grease" tonight...in hollywood...on hollywood blvd...on St. Patrick's day. did you know that Hollywood blvd is a party street? crazy, out of control parties. why does the Pantages always schedule my season tickets for holidays? last year it was halloween night and this year, st patrick's day. i'll have to pay better attention to the dates when i first get them...maybe i can exchange for less festive days.

anyways....have fun today/night....but be safe. blogland just wouldn't be the same without you.

hey! i know all the words, too

OMG! one of the best freakin' shows I have seen ever! Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal were FANTASTIC and, while the rest of the cast was weak in the dance department, the voices more than made up for it. Such a wonderful night at the theatre!

I love love love love love love musical theatre -- except for one, okay...maybe two things.

first: It should be legal to punch people who sing along in the mouth. seriously, do you think that ANYONE wants to hear YOU? No one is impressed that you know the words -- we ALL know the words. Do you think that the person in the suit next to you is an agent/producer who is going to whisk you away to stardom? Really? here's a hint: JUST SHUT UP!!!!!

second(ly?): Why are there concession stands at live theatre? I do not want to listen to candy being unwrapped during the show - the occasional cough drop is okay but digging in the bag to find the yellow candy is NOT okay. Sell water, coffee, drinks, and those humongous cookies ...but not twizzles, sour straws, skittles, m&m's or anything else that will be taken back into the show. At least there wasn't popcorn.

All in all, a wonderful way to spend a Tuesday. I'm not even too disappointed that I missed American Idol.


thanks to all who voted for Guido! he's holding his own in the cutest puppy world. here are the links, in case you have a couple of seconds to vote again. and, if you are feeling particularly generous, feel free to pass the links along to your friends. there's a $300 prize available in one of the contests and that'll get us to our next show. =D

You can vote once a day at: http://www.anamigo.com/photos/26269 and cast a one-time vote at: http://www.cutestpetcontest.com/view100349488.htm

like a kid at Christmas

I'm seeing RENT tonight (in 10 1/2 hours) WITH Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal!!!!! I bought the tickets last May and it has been a loooonnnnggggg wait for this show! Adam Pascal!!!! aaaaahhhhhh!!!!

in other news (like anything else matters today): Guido is in 2 (yes, two) cute puppy contests. You can help by voting once a day at: http://www.anamigo.com/photos/26269 and a one-time vote at: http://www.cutestpetcontest.com/view100349488.htm

a huge thanks to those who took the time to vote for him yesterday...you're the bestest!!!!!

when lists fail

i forgot that i have tickets to see "Phantom of the Opera" tonight. can you believe it?! me? forgetting about musical theatre tickets?

and i made some pretty detailed lists of things to get accomplished before leaving on Thursday. somehow I completely left off a trip to LA tonight. i guess you have to actually put everything on the list in order for the whole making lists thing to be helpful.

i was just casually working my way through the drudgery (bills, grooming Guido, dishes, laundry, etc) and just figuring i would throw the hair back with a headband and spend the day in sweats, when i remembered. CRAP! now i have to actually DO my hair AND find something to wear.

i never forget shows....i LIVE to go to the theater......and it's PHANTOM.....wow.....

i'm claiming vacationitis.

so i'm off to get ready and find something nice that isn't tagged for the trip.

and feel free to leave a movie quote on yesterday's blog while i'm gone......the youngsters over on facebook really kicked the blogland buddies' butts. they came up with some random stuff.

still happy

carmi's happy theme has had me digging thru recent pics. thanks for making us focus on the good things in life....it's been a fun week of remembering. =D

at first, boy2 just was dancing thru the line and then, when he realized that i had caught him, he burst out in laughter. teenagers remembering how to have fun always make me happy.

having time to relax and enjoy the world around me always makes me happy. this picture was taken at Sea World, San Diego. The little boy who is holding the starfish was enthralled. He sat sooooo still. His parents didn't want us to take a picture of his face, but they gave permission for us to shoot this. [edit] girl1 took this pic with our olympus camera that is pretty much indestructable....she demands photo credit...cuz she's funny like that.

Who could resist smiling at this

adorable face? This is Guido....he's our

maltese/shihtzu puppy. Someday I'll

write a blog about him and his quirkiness.

and, finally, being able to enjoy boy1 perform is one of the things that always brings me joy. to see him getting to use his beautiful voice to bring joy to others is an amazing thing. here he performs "If I Can't Love Her" from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast."

so...about that goober prize...

AAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH! we decided to go ahead and shoot that job (http://lantman2468.blogspot.com/2008/10/and-goober-prize-goes-to.html) that we were concerned about. we knew it was going to be "interesting" but figured that "they're professionals; we're professionals...surely we can make it work."

we were supposed to shoot Wednesday and Thursday of this week. They called on Wednesday about 3 hours before the call time and cancelled for the evening. I think they missed the memo that we need between 2 and 3 hours for set up on the first night. Good thing we were running late or we would have already been on our way.

We did get the go-ahead for thursday. you need to understand that we have had several conversations explaining our expectations (no parents in the headshot area/no parents in the first 4 rows of the auditorium/no flash photography while we're shooting/etc...etc....etc). they kept saying "no problem. you're the professionals. we work around you." HA!


the parents rebelled and insisted that "the OTHER photographer let us sit closer AND use our flash" ...."the OTHER photographer let us take pictures of our kids when he finished their headshots"....."this is parent night--it's for the parents to take pictures"

our answer?...."maybe that's why you didn't like any of the pictures the OTHER photographer took" hmmmmmmmmm.. and "if it's your night to take pictures, why did you hire us?" soooooo confused...


our solution to them using flash in the auditorium? we took most of our pics from dead center, right in front of the stage and when we weren't there, we were actually on the stage trying to get closeups of the kids sitting farther upstage.


not the best working environment AND we get to go back on Wednesday.....JOY!


OH! did we mention the 75 young children involved? hehehe look closely a their faces....pretty much how we felt by the end of the evening.

it will interesting to see what kind of orders we get from this show. the producer kept talking about how we could make it better next time....i wonder if she meant for us or for the OTHER photographers.

Life's a blur anyway.....let's celebrate it!

This sounds like fun, so i'll see if i can manage to play along. It's open to everyone...just go HERE to find out more.

My "blur" was shot during a production of "CATS" --- I wish i could claim that this is what i was going for, but it really was just a fluke. The two cats in the middle were swinging the middle cat and i was just trying to keep things in focus....HA! you can see how well THAT worked. but the final effect was kind of cool.

[edit] technical stuff from the daughter (girl1) -- With the right equipment this is an easy shot to achieve. You have to be using an SLR, you cannot get this look with a point and shoot camera. You also need to be in low light or be using a neutral density filter. The shutter speed for this was probably around 1/30 or 1/15 with a 18-70mm lens. To get the blur pulling away from the subject, you start zoomed out, and as you press the shutter you simultaneously zoom in. To reverse the blur, you start zoomed in and zoom out.

and the goober prize goes to.....

the company who has hired us to do a photoshoot next week. well, actually to the contact person who hired us. well, actually to the person who told the contact person that we were hired and to "give us a call." well, you get the idea.....

we knew it was going to be a "fun" gig when it took 5 phone calls to get the dates that we were needed. we set up a meeting for last night to finalize details. they didn't show. today i found out that one of the dates that we were originally given isn't even a rehearsal date...good thing we didn't pick that one. goodness...if you are going to hire someone, could you please have all the information readily available? please? just cuz?

so now the choice.....(1)stick it out so our companies' reputation doesn't get thrashed and do the best job we can within the limitations of having no guidelines or (2)blow them off.

you know we'll end up sticking it out, but right now option 2 looks awfully good.

oh, shoot!....maybe the goober prize should go to us for taking the job......

btw: the picture has absolutely nothing to do with the story, but it made me smile so there it is......