Time to Read!

You know when you have had a bunch of books on your "to-read" list for forever, and whenever people suggest something new you smile and say "I'll put it on the list" but you're inwardly cringing because the list keeps getting longer and longer and they all sound good but you don't know when the heck you're ever going to have time to read any of them?

Well, since my show closed, I have completed 4 books*, and I'm working on a 5th! Yep, my show closed less than 3 weeks ago. I really haven't even had that much free time, but I've made the most of it!

At this rate, I might need to adjust my 16 book reading goal... then again, life is probably going to get crazy again before I know it. I just get to enjoy the quiet while it lasts!

Excuse me while I return to my previously scheduled novel**...

*A Storm of Swords (Game of Thrones #3), The Fault in Our Stars, 31 Dates in 31 Days, AAAA! A Foxtrot Kids Edition
**Princess Academy: Palace of Stone

UPDATE: I finished Palace of Stone tonight. Now to decide what to read next -- always a difficult task!

What are you reading right now?

In defense of Cinderella

Quite by accident, I discovered a special showing of Disney's Cinderella at a local theater on Presidents' Day. Since I had the day off, wanted to see a movie anyway, and might never have the chance to see this particular movie on the big screen again, I jumped at the chance!

The theater wasn't full, and as you might guess, most of the audience members were female (and most -- if not all -- of the males were with their female friends), but I was a little surprised to see groups of teenagers, mothers and daughters and granddaughters, pre-teens, and so many other varying-aged and situation people there. There might have even been other single women there, like me -- I didn't notice. I was also surprised that everyone was so quiet during the movie. Usually when there are that many little kids in a theater you hear them ask questions "Where did she go? Why is the cat so mean?" but there was nary a peep. The only sounds were intermittent laughter. Otherwise, we all just drank in the story on the screen. Maybe I cried a couple of times (something about the music reduces me to a puddle), but we all applauded at the end. It had been a long time since I'd watched the movie without distraction, and it was so fun to see all of the details I might otherwise miss (you know, on a regular-sized t.v.) and remember why I love the story so much.

(Forgive me for not recapping the story. If you aren't familiar with Cinderella, please click here.)

There are those who would dismiss Cinderella as naive and passive. Now, I know that the original (ish, since nearly every society has a Cinderella-type tale) French fairy tale was written as a morality tale about courtliness and preparing yourself to be a perfect wife, but I think we do a disservice in stating that kindness somehow makes Cinderella weak. In 1949, Walt Disney said:

She believed in dreams, all right, but she also believed in doing something about them. When Prince Charming didn't come along, she went over to the palace and got him.

Even so, I think even Mr. Disney himself sold his heroine a little short in his movie. Watching on Monday, I laughed at the mice, and they were cute and all, but I really just wanted to get back to Cinderella. Judging from this movie and little time they spend with Cinderella, maybe it IS easy to dismiss her as lame.

Except... Cinderella isn't passive. She doesn't sit around waiting for things to happen. She keeps busy. She makes the choice to be positive and hope for better things in the future, even if she doesn't know how to make that happen. She does her chores and appreciates having her friends near her all day (granted, they are all animals). When the opportunity to go to the ball comes, she gets excited about the chance to go somewhere new; she plans to make her own dress, and again does all of her chores so that she is prepared. When the slipper the Grand Duke has been carrying around breaks, Cinderella immediately produces the other one. I can only assume that if there had been enough fabric in her bedroom she would have made a rope ladder to get out when the stepmother locks her in (though it's more likely the storytellers just wanted the mice to save the day). But she does think to have Bruno the dog chase off Lucifer when the cat threatens to keep the mice from getting the key to her. It's only after she has done everything she can -- and tragically fails because of her horrible family and other circumstances beyond her control -- that she starts to lose hope.

The people who help her? They help because they love her. Because they see how hard she works and that she hopes for happiness, and they want to help her get there. Have you noticed that they only show up when all other hope is lost?

Last year, I had the privilege of playing Cinderella in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. I LOVE the way Sondheim treats Cinderella, right down to having her father still be alive. She says, "Good night, Father," and he ignores her. This poor girl is even rejected by her own father because of his own cowardice or laziness, and she suffers from an even more intense lack of appreciation or belonging. I decided to make Cinderella's need to be loved her primary motivation. Everything she does is out of a hope to be accepted. She wants to go to the ball because everyone else is going, and maybe if they let her go, too, she'll be treated like part of the family. Unfortunately, that doesn't work out, so she runs to her mother's grave, where the one person (well, spirit) who still cares helps her out. Cinderella goes to the ball... and then is faced with a potentially life-changing experience when she meets a man who is willing to take her life into a completely different direction than she ever expected. "Wanting a ball is not wanting a prince!" She spends a (terribly difficult to sing) song trying to decide if she wants to continue battling it out with her family, or take a chance with the unknown. The choice is made...

**Spoiler alert**
... And things don't go as planned. She finds, once again, that her Prince -- the person who should love her more than anyone -- really doesn't understand her or care about her. Once she figures that out, she makes the brave choice not to go home, again facing the unknown.

It should also be said that in Into the Woods, Cinderella is the person who ultimately figures out how to get rid of the giant. They initially assume that the Baker will be the leader, but Cinderella uses her own experience (and friendship with the birds) to come up with a plan. She's a smarty, that Cinderella! She also goes out of her way to protect and care for Jack, Little Red, and the baby.
**End spoiler alert**

In the end, Cinderella finally finds a group of people who love her for who she is, see her value, and DO want her around.

Maybe it's a little unrealistic to hope for an actual prince. However, it is realistic and necessary for each girl to recognize her own worth, and that she surround herself with friends and family who love and support her, and will help her achieve her dreams. That's the "happily ever after" I hope for. Actually, it's the one I'm living! Finding a prince of a man to share it with would simply be icing on the cake :)

With all of that said, I am proud that when I took the "Which Disney Princess Are You" quiz, I had the following result:

To end, I'd like to post this video I found today. There is nothing wrong with being or wanting to be a princess. I hope every princessy girl (like me) will put her individuality and strengths to good use. We need more strong women in the world.
(Looks like you have to open up my blog to see the video. Sorry Google Reader readers!)

A definition of true love

"Sometimes people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them," I said.

Isaac shot me a look. "Right, of course. But you keep the promise anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway. Don't you believe in true love?"

I didn't answer. I didn't have an answer. But I thought that if true love did exist, that was a pretty good definition of it.

- John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

Nostalgic for Junior High choir

I'm not sure why, but I have had this song in my head all week:


We sang this song both years I took choir in Junior High. As a fan of the Robin Hood legend, it was one of my favorites, along with this one:


Now that I'm a little older, and am actually paying attention to the words, I realize how inappropriate it may be for young teens to sing them. But, oh man were they fun to belt out!

Anyone up for a little choir singin' this morning?

Happy Friday, my friends!

Thoughts about Valentine's Day

As I reflect on Valentine's Day this year, I think what I learned is that people like to be surprised, and they like to feel appreciated.

I know the main idea behind Valentine's Day is to show appreciation for the person you love the most ... and consequently a lot of single people hate it because they don't have a "one person they love most", and people in relationships hate it because it seems like such an expensive hassle.

A lot of my friends posted on Facebook what their others did for them, and some were small gestures, and some were big, but they were all thoughtful and heartfelt. These are some of my favorites:

• An actual barbershop quartet
• Quote: "Every year I say, 'You don't need to get me flowers.' And every year I still get giddy when he does :) "
• An extra day of vacation so they can see a play with amazing actors in it
• A bag of Reese's peanut butter hearts and the reaction "I was afraid I wouldn't get any candy this year!"

Clockwise from top left: a perfect pink rose, a "frog prince"
ornament from my sister, a cookie (served with hot chocolate)
from Larissa, my Valentine's dress, hearts from the G-child,
and songs from my "I want to be in love" playlist 

I love Aaron's thought about making sure to show appreciation for all of the other people you love, too, whether on Valentine's Day or any/every other day. I fully support this idea. I think if we did this a little more often, it would take the pressure off of Valentine's Day a little bit. The big gestures are cool, but the little ones are amazing, too. It's shouldn't be about trying to "top" last year, or show everyone that you are more in love with your person than anyone else is with theirs. I might not have received anything specific on the actual holiday, but the days leading up to it were filled with cookies and movies and dinners with terrific people. People who care about me and are grateful for any moment I can spare. People I love and support and wish I have more time for.

And maybe I took Donna and Tom's advice to "Treat yo self" on Valentine's Day, and bought myself a flower and splurged on dinner at Romano's Macaroni Grill :)

I also think it's nice to have something to look forward to/break up the winter doldrums a little bit, when Christmas is over and we just want Spring to come. Hooray for Valentine's Day for (hopefully) cheering us up a little!

I am so grateful for my friends and my family. I'm going to have to go to a bit more effort to make sure they know. They are too wonderful to take for granted.

Happy belated Valentine's Day everybody! What did you do for the big day, and what might you do tomorrow to show someone you care?

My latest food addiction

So, I'm not freaking out (yet), but I have noticed that my clothes are fitting a little more snugly lately. And I have a pretty good guess why:

This

(Chips Ahoy White Fudge Chunky cookies will be my undoing)

plus 

This

White chocolate hot cocoa

equals 

delicious

I have long loved white hot chocolate, and I discovered this winter that Fresh Market sells it. I first bought those cookies for a party in October that ended up being cancelled, so I unwisely decided to go ahead and eat them myself. Oddly, they are not nearly as delicious (actually, they're kind of yucky) without the hot chocolate.

After I started eating them together, I almost immediately noticed that I was no longer maintaining the size I had for a good 8 months. Compounding the problem is that since I was doing the show (or other evening activities), I have been eating this combination after 11 at night. Big no-no.

But it's so goooooood!

I am determined, after I finish this last package (I have 2 servings left), that I not buy any more of the cookies. I am stating this on my blog to show a little extra resolve and accountability.

I might continue the hot chocolate... it will be slightly less unhealthy without the cookies, right?

(You might argue that I should throw out those 2 last servings now, but my frugal mind just cannot abide throwing food away, unless it's expired. You'd be surprised how long I've had some of my junk food around without eating it. I'm still working on some Reeses peanut butter pumpkins from Halloween. My self-control is kind of funny that way.)

Also, I'll have to start applying these rules -- especially #25 -- to my life. (Well, as much as I can without actually going to a gym.) An active lifestyle is always important, right? Yes. And when the show was going on I could hope that all the running around in those heels was helping to off-set the indulgent food. Must buckle down again. Doubtless I won't snap back right away. It'll take a bit more consideration in the rest of my diet as well for awhile, but cutting out this delicious treat is the first step.

I'm not saying I'm all of a sudden fat or look bad. I know I look fine. I just want to treat my body right, especially during this time of year when sickness and sadness are practically inevitable. Must do all I can to stay healthy, and that definitely involves eating better.

What's your latest food kryptonite? Any healthy snacks you recommend for the next time I want to cave?