IMPROV!

Holy Cow! is doing a performance for Ronald McDonald House tomorrow night and I'm not going to be there. Working two jobs and going to school means I have to make sacrifices, but I have a great group of players that can handle the shows without me there. Lately, I've been feeling in an improv RUT. Whatever writer's block is for improv - I've got it! I've started to play more this year instead of be in the "director/teacher" role and I've just been falling flat on my face. I don't know what my problem is, but hopefully I can get out of it and start contributing instead of holding us back. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Product Review: Shatto Root Beer Milk

IT'S DELICIOUS. If you like root beer floats, you will like this milk. What a treat! I highly recommend it. BUY SOME NOW.

...and another thing

I just keep loading up my plate! School starts in a week. Our second month doing popcards at First Fridays was successful. We made it into Ink Magazine and I'm feeling really good about this project. It took us about 6 months to get it off the ground and hammer out all the details. People seem to be interested in what we're doing - so we're going to keep doing it. Plus, it makes me happy. BareTV was also successful! It's nice to work with other improvisers outside of Holy Cow. I'm excited to keep working on this project with Jared and Ed and everyone else. Holy Cow! has two gigs this week. Tonight we are at AMC Mainstreet for an opening party for a movie and on Thursday night we'll be at the I-70 Drive-In. Pretty exciting stuff. We're looking for venues to perform in and other groups to perform with for the upcoming (school) year. We submitted an application to be a part of the Fringe Fall Shorts on October 10th. http://www.holycowimprov.com/ I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies last night and Michael and I ate way too many of them. Stomach ache! <3

Uuuuuuuuupdate

Lots of things have happened. My friend Christian and I do an art project called "popcards". Basically, I write short poems (3-4 lines) and he illustrates them on postcard-sized paper. And we sell them for $5 at First Fridays in Kansas City. We debuted on July 3, 2009 and we were much more successful than we ever expected! It totally rocked. We also do "improvised popcards" where you, the customer, tell me what to write the poem about and then thirty minutes later you have a customized popcard made just for you! In July we did poems about an all women's art group, a man's Irish mother, the drink brandy and the state of Michigan, a girl named Izzy, forgiveness, a brother and sister, Michael Jackson, an accordion player, and a newly-engaged couple. It was super fun! We will be back at First Fridays on August 7th at the corner of 18th and Baltimore. Pre-made popcards are $5. Customized popcards are $10. Hugs and smiles are free. I spent a week in the Fairfax, VA/Washington DC area visiting my sister, her fiance, and their daughter. I toured the US Capitol and the White House. I saw the back of President Obama's head as he got onto a helicopter. It was sweet. My sister is getting married in May and I am her maid of honor. We picked out the bridesmaid dresses while I was visiting and they are absolutely adorable. My sister has good taste. And now that I am back in the midwest, we are smack in the middle of Fringe Fest! kcfringe.org Holy Cow! (my improv troupe) has had shows every night this week and that will continue through Sunday. So far, so good! We've had very receptive audiences and most importantly, everyone is having a really great time. Our remaining shows are: Tonight (Friday, July 24) at 6:30pm Saturday, July 25 at 9:30pm Sunday, July 26 at 4:00pm All our performances are on the main stage at the Unicorn Theater in Kansas City. 3828 Main Street. Tickets are $5 but you also must have a festival button. You can purchase both a ticket ($5) and a button ($5) at the Unicorn box office. Unfortunately, I did not get the job at KCPTV. The guy told me I had a great interview and lots of "spunk" but they were going with an applicant who had "more direct grant writing experience." Ah well, you can't win 'em all. I got my financial aid package so I can go back to school in the fall! I will be receiving my non-profit American Humanics certification from Rockhurst. I'm thrilled! I will then have actual grant-writing experience and the education to back me up so I can move into the non-profit world. Woo-hoo! This summer has been amazing. I can't believe July is almost over.

I Shaved My Golden Retriever

The vet is the one who gave me the idea. I guess we should begin at the beginning. A few weeks ago, Kate and I took Buster and Max to the forest to run around. Max got approximately ONE BILLION burrs stuck in his fur. I was forced to cut them out with scissors. It was unpleasant. I decided to take Max to the vet after all. Since getting this second job I'm not as dreadfully poor as I was before, so I could actually afford my little pup some quality healthcare. (HA! "Little pup" - I am living a dream. He's ENORMOUS.) The vet noticed my amateur hair cutting skills and suggested kindly that, if at any point during the summer I decided I was sick and tired of vacuuming up all that fur and sweeping my floors every day, I should consider getting Max a "summer cut" from a groomer. Being the adventurous person that I am, I just went to PetSmart and bought the clippers myself. And then I shaved my dog. Frankly, I was expecting it to be worse. He actually looks all right, and he's not too embarrassed. Shave a dog? Cross that one off my list. Done and done. <3