He’s home and I’m spending money

Caelan got home early.  He came in yesterday before we went to the Elmo show.  He’s going to be home for the rest of the weekend from the sounds of it.  I’m just glad he’s back.  I was getting really bored.  I finished the book I was reading in less than 24 hours.  I couldn’t help it!  It was a great book.  Still, I would have been out of things to do, and that would have been a complication…

However, I did spend money today.  I finally ordered that video from Fat Chance Belly Dance.  That’s going to be the last one I’ll be ordering for a while now.  It’s not a matter of whether or not I can afford it.  In truth, I need it for my dance class.  It will be so much easier to teach improvisational belly dance if I can work with some of the original stuff.  I’m hoping that in time I can build up a collection of all their instructional DVDs, but it’ll be expensive.  Unfortunately, their DVDs aren’t cheap.  Volume one is $35.  Some of the other ones are cheaper, like the one on zills and the one on tribal costuming and make-up, but the essential ones are all a little on the pricey side.  Honestly, I’d get a cheaper alternative, if one existed, but they don’t, so I’m stuck.  However, it’ll be worth the money.  There’s no one teaching ATS around here, so I’d have to go down to Austin to improve from what I already know.  That would add up to more than $35 plus shipping and handling!  It’ll be worth it in the end.  Besides, Caelan can’t be mad.  He already agreed to it!

I also bought something we hadn’t talked about.  I spent a whopping $26 on books today!  How could I?  I know, I’m a bad wife.  Anyhow, I bought Women Who Run with Wolves, which came highly recommended.  It’s supposedly about fairy tales with a psychological analasys of each.  It sounded really interesting.  I had completely forgotten I had put that in my cart on Amazon.  I decided it was there for a reason and left it.  I also got book three of the Cassandra Palmer series by Karen Chance.  The first book (Touch the Dark) was pretty good.  I read it while Caelan was in training.  I got it for myself for Christmas that year.  I didn’t even know it was part of a series!  Not too long ago, I picked up the second book (Claimed by Shadow).  I wanted to read the first book again before I read this one, but I couldn’t find it.  I devoured it in a day!  That’s the book I referenced reading earlier.  I absolutely love the story.  It seems like the character I like most has finally come around to working with the main character.  I’ve never found myself lusting after a fictional character before, but there’s a first for everything, right?  Plus, it doesn’t hurt that it’s a kind of sexed up vampire novel.  Anyhow, I picked up the third book to that series.  They’re taking pre-orders for the fourth as well as another series by that author.  Vampires, mages, fae, incubi, gargoyles…yeah, this is really my kind of series!  For a complete change of pace, I also picked up a book by Michael Stackpole, anoher of my favorite authors.  I picked up a book by him while Caelan was deployed, only I never sat down to read it.  When I finally did, I realized it was the second book in a series.  I tried to follow it, but there was just too much that wasn’t explained.  I decided the only answer was to find the first book and start there.  So by buying three books, I’ve now got four books in my list to read.  I also still have to finish the book I picked up at the airport over Christmas.  That being the case, I think I’ll have plenty of books to keep me busy while Caelan’s in the field and at NTC.  If I don’t…well…I can always get myself more books.  However, I’m trying to only get them in groups big enough that I qualify for free shipping off of Amazon.  That makes my life much easier.

It’s so nice to be able to spend money without having to worry if it’s going to put us over budget.  Since our food stamps come in today, we’ve got $200 to put towards the menu this month.  My dance classes aren’t making me a lot of money, but it’s enough that I can afford one or two small purchases every month.  I figure if I buy just enough books each month for free shipping and a couple CDs off iTunes or a dance DVD, then that will be my money for the month.  I’ll have to go over a little on costuming.  I need to get materials to make a skirt at some point.  That one’s going to hurt.  I want to get at least ten yards of fabric to do it, though I might just get all crazy and go with something like sixteen!  I really love the big skirts.  I need to make Halloween costumes for the kids this year.  I still don’t know what we’re doing for that.  Finally, I need to make a costume for November Noir.  Thankfully, I should be able to do Halloween costumes for the kids with fabric I already have, if I need to.  Otherwise, they’re small.  Dressing them isn’t going to take a lot of fabric.  The skirt for the costume I’m making can wait.  I have my black (gray really) one and that’s good enough for the time being.  The only one I need to worry about is the costume for November Noir.  I’m thinking of talking Gina into satin or microsuede or some other rich fabric.  Damask or jaquard would also be really nice, as long as it’s a single-tone.  Thankfully, I won’t need to worry about machine sewing mine.  My costume is going to be done in black.  Hers is going to be done in white.  We’ve got ideas kicking around.  I’ll also need a black veil.  I’m hoping for silk, but who knows.  I may talk to sabine about having her dye me one.

We have also finalized our idea for music for the show.  We’re using a song called Poeta by Lesiem.  I’ve already got some great ideas for it.  The theme was originally going to be a yin and yang, dark and light, Gemini kind of feel, two halves of the same whole.  The two of us are going to come together.  We’re going to investigate each other.  Then we’re going to dance together and around each other with our veils.  We’re going to toss the veils and dance together without them.  After that, we pick them up, do a little with the veils, and we kind of "merge".  I’ll be doing double veil behind her while she solos in front of me.  Gina then picks up the other end of the veils and we dance together brielfly.  At the end we both try to walk off stage the way the other came from, but in order to do that, we have to separate, so she pulls my veil away from me and I take hers.  Then the two of us walk off stage.

Here’s the vision behind it.  I am the shadow and she is the light.  When we first meet we’re having a "discussion" trying to figure out what the other one is.  At the end of it, she pulls her veil from where it’s tucked.  I then pull my veil out in imitation and we realize that we’re the same.  W

e dance in unison as we’ve realized that the two really are one.  Then we have a small "conversation in the middle of the song, trying to further explore each other.  As with all things light and shadowed, the light comes to the front while the shadow fades into the darkness behind,  The light is upfront and obvious, while he shadow offers a backdrop for that which is in the light, and so we’ve found our balance.  Then, as the shadow tries to bring the darkness to light, we come together.  We struggle with our differences, both trying to pull the other one in.  Unable to find a place of co-existance, we’re cast off in our separate directions, each one changed by the other.

It’s a really dramatic, theatrical piece.  I can only hope that we can pull it off with the drama and theatrical nature that it’s meant to have.  I really hope we do it justice!    It’s a great concept.  I just need to work with it a few times to see what I can pound out in my head.  I’ve got some great ideas on the choreography.  I just need to put them into some kind of usable format.  Gina has agreed to record our rehearsals, at least one every week, so we’ve got an idea of how far we’ve come and what we’re working with.  It’s great because that gives us a great way to work on our presentation and find anything that doesn’t work from the perspective of an audience.  I honestly can’t wait.  I’m excited about this one!  I’ve actually got ideas.  We’ve got a vision.  And to think, it all started with randomly playing through the music to see if we could find a piece we liked more than what we already had.  Our visions were so scattered.  I’m just glad we’ve finally found a focus, and something I’m already building choreography to every time I hear it!  This is going to be so much fun!

Well, I should get back to costuming or writing choreography.  I want to get some of it written while I have it in my head to do so.

~*~Rave~*~

Ooo…almost forgot…positives…

1) Caelan’s home!!!

2) Yesterday we went to see the Elmo thing on post.  Did you know Cookie Monster can break dance?!?

3) I’ve finally got a piece of music I can work with to choreograph!  This one’s practically writing itself!

4) I’m getting new books!  I’ll actually have something to read instead of wasting my days online!

5) I’m finally getting a Fat Chance Belly Dance Workshop DVD!  I’ve been waiting for one since before Corde was born!  Now it’s finally happening!  I’m hoping it’s every bit as good as the anticipation has built it up to be.

6) I’ve done my first round of calling as Key Caller with the FRG.  I’ll admit, it wasn’t the most pleasant experience.  Some of the wives were really…well…let’s just say not that happy to be talking to me.  However, I did it.  I did what I said I would.  It feels good to actually be doing something, even if the other wives don’t appreciate it.

7) My costume is coming right along.  If I’d actually sit down and dedicate the time to it, it would probably be done in a week or so.  Well, the choli at least.  I haven’t even started on the rest of it.  Even so, the part I’m working on now is the hard part.  Everything else will be so much easier.

8) I’m going to be getting so much stuff in the mail!  Between the Waldorf kinder-doll kit, the dance DVD, and the books, I’ll feel like I’m getting so much!  I haven’t gotten a lot of stuff in the mail recently.  I have to say, I love getting deliveries.  I think I like getting stuff in the mail more than I like getting it at the store.  There’s always the anticipation, the build up, and the moment of "It’s finally here!"  Then there’s opening the box and inspecting it.  It’s so much more climactic than purchasing something you get at the store.

9) I’ve met a brother in spirit recently.  I met him through an online game, actually, Mabinogi.  However, we’ve gotten to talking and it’s incredible how well we get along.  He’s made the few days that Caelan was gone so much better, and he always gives me a reason to smile.  And to think, realizing he was like a brother to me all started because our characters look like they could be brother and sister…

10)  Then ants are dead!  The ants are dead, the ants are dead, the ants are dead, dead, DEAD!!!  The ants are finally, after all this time, dead!  No more fire ants!  DEATH TO FIRE ANTS!!!  Dead!!!!!  Can you tell I’m a little excited?  Last night was the first night all week that I’ve been able to go to bed without being bit by fire ants!  I’ve been able to do whatever I want without being bit.  The fire ants are dead!  All hail the mighty ant killers!  The ants are finally dead!!!