Keeping Up with Cheryl Ann

Saturday, May 24, 2014

NC Wine Festival

Ken surprised me by asking if I wanted to accompany him to the 14th Annual North Carolina Wine Festival. Since I like wine, and I like Ken, I said yes.

We arrived right a bit before noon and Ken was amazed at how quickly we were able to get in. Apparently in previous years he's had to wait in lengthy traffic.

There were 29 wineries there. There was no way that we could have taste-tested all of them, so we hit those we were familiar with or ones that looked interesting. Falling into the latter category was Skull Camp Wine. Their "sublime" wine was crisp and refreshing. I purchased a bottle. I also got a bottle of Carolina's Riesling from Herrera Vineyard.

There were also 26 businesses and crafters at the festival. Vineyard Lines had a beautiful booth. They were giving a show deal discount and I was tempted to buy one of their lazy susans. The barrel stave candleholders were beautiful too. I saw some fake Sabika jewelry at the Penny Lane Boutique booth. They had some other unique gifty things too. I also placed a "Wines Constantly" order with Fuzzy Pickle T-Shirts.

By 2:30p we'd sampled from the wineries we were interested in, purchased several bottles, and visited all the crafter booths. As the sun was zapping us from energy (yea, I'll blame it on the sun!) we decided to call it a day.

If you've never been to a wine festival, it's a great time. Get there as soon as opening to avoid long tasting lines. And bring your lawn chair.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Mother's Day Hug

Happy Mother's Day to Me

As you can see, I broke my favorite coffee in late 2012. It's been on my Amazon Wish List forever because Tumbleweed Pottery was sold out of the mug.

So imagine my utter surprise when Cade presented me with my Mother's Day gift this year. Thanks to Ebay, I had a delightful Mother's Day!

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Kudos

Absolutely LOVED your play! You did a GREAT job. All thoroughly enjoyed it. Lorraine (little lady in blue top) said she has been to many plays....enjoyed them but would not see them again....except this one....said she would enjoy seeing it again.....good story...well written and very well presented! You picked a good one to come out of retirement for. Really kept us laughing and even made us shed a tear! Great! Great! Great! And thanks for your last lines in your bio....that always touches my heart. Love you, Mom

Thursday, May 01, 2014

2014 Goals - April Update

Here's how I did with my goals for April.

See a minimum of 5 Broadway shows

Once - The Musical (January 25, DPAC)
The Book of Mormon (February 15, DPAC)
Evita (March 15, DPAC)

Read 60 books for my Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge
- I read 5 books toward my goal this month: Never Tell A Lie, Room, Breathe Into Me, The First Rule of Swimming, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

- Total books toward my goal of 60 - 30 books.

Read 3 books off the BBC Reading List
- None (yet).

Attend 3 Festivals
- Due to rehearsals and very full weekends, I wan't able to get to a festival in April.

Travel somewhere I've never been
- Nope.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

An Afternoon At The Theatre, "Chess"

Earlier today Chad and I attended the lastest production from Theatre Alliance.

I could spend a few minutes writing up my own review of the show but these two reviews already say it better than I could.

Piedmont Triad Theatre

Yes! Weekly

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Prom!

Chad and I are, once again, chaperoning his high school's prom. Yes, I did get my hair done for the event!

Cut and Color

I'm not a natural blonde. It takes quite some time to make me a beautiful blonde. Jennipher Ross, who has been cutting and coloring my hair since the early 2000's, does the best job!

I've never documented all that I have to go through for fabulous hair. So, this is it!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

One-Act Festival

And so now Bill and I play the waiting game!

From: Justin Dionne
To: Cheryl Ann
Sent: Thu, Apr 24, 2014 1:20 pm
Subject: Re: One-Act Festival

Hi Cheryl Ann,

Thank you for your submission and interest in our One-Act festival! We will notify everyone of selections by June 9. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you!

-Justin Dionne
Managing Artistic Director

Lee Street theatre
2013 NCTC Community Theatre of the Year
www.leestreet.org
info@leestreet.org
704.310.5507

From: Cheryl Ann
To: Lee Street Theatre
Sent: Thu, Apr 24, 2014 1:11 pm
Subject: One-Act Festival

Good afternoon,

My name is Cheryl Ann and I am interested in participating in your One-Act Festival. Attached, you will find "Patent," which I am interested in directing.

About me: I have acted with the Paramount Acting Company, Open Space Cafe Theatre, Community Theatre of Greensboro, Kernersville Little Theatre, The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem/Twin City Stage, Clemmons Community Theatre, Davie Theatre Company and Hickory Community Theatre. I've also done commercial and voice-over work. I've staged managed plays and musicals for Kernersville Little Theatre, Open Space Cafe, and Elise Jonsell Productions. I also directed 2011's "The Vagina Monologues" for V-Day Greensboro and Bill Cissna's "All About Faith" last year.

Okay, enough about me. Now on to the script....

About the play: "Patent" follows two brothers who are crossing 1858 Iowa, selling a patent medicine created and passed down to them by their father. While the trip begins well, sales begin to falter. In the second town, a couple comes forward to claim that Porter’s Potion in fact killed their children when the brothers sold it to them on a previous visit. Soon, the brothers find that they see this crisis in two different ways – one intends to carry on as before; the other feels strongly that they must stop selling potion and find a different way to live. They reach a parting of the ways as the one brother reaches out for new work and a new home. But the other brother’s refusal to address the issue causes a more critical moral dilemma.

About the playwright: Kernersville-based Bill Cissna has been writing short and full-length plays since 2006. Full-length scripts "Conversations in a Cafe" and "All About Faith" have been produced in 2010 and 2013 respectively. Reading of his full-length play "Reunions" are scheduled for August, 2014. He has also had seven 10-minute plays produced in Greensboro and elsewhere since 2010. Details on his writing are available at www.billcissna.com.

Thank you for your consideration. I very much look forward to bringing "Patent" to life at Lee Street!

Cheryl Ann

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

3rd Quarter Report Card

Cade made the honor roll again. Head over to his blog to see how he did on his report card.

Sunday, April 06, 2014

50th Birthday Cake

I wanted to do something really special for Allan's 50 birthday cake. We both love watching "Cake Boss" so I originally thought about ordering a cake in the shape of his beloved Mustang. Unfortunately it was somewhat cost prohibitive. (And orders like that need to be made waaaayyy in advance!)

I took the picture to Christine's Bakery and she and I discussed some alternatives.

So that I would not have to pay for delivery and since the party wasn't too far away, I decided to pick it up. I enlisted Chad's help. When I saw the cake, I was very happy! Christine did a great job of incorporating the Mustang's logo. I knew Allan would love it.

Now, the cake is bigger (and heavier) than it looks! I made Chad drive while I held the cake. (I didn't want to get mad at him if something happened to the cake!) It was a tedious ride, but we got the cake there safe and sound.

I gave the signal to the band to begin playing "Happy Birthday" and I rolled out the cake. Allan was stunned, which was exactly what I was going for!

The gray and black icing might not look appetizing, but the cake was absolutely delicious!

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Still Left To Do...

From: Cheryl Ann
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2014 6:40 PM
To: Mom
Subject: Update on ADK Party

Here’s what I’ve done/my plans are so far!

Beer
Instead of a keg, I’ve purchased 5 cases of beer: Natty Green, Foothill’s Hoppium IPA, Samuel Adams Spring Brew, Samuel Adams Summer Brew (2).
I did this in order to offer a variety of flavors instead of everyone having to drink Miller Lite.
I will rent washtubs from Hauser Rental to put the beer in.

Beer Action Items:
Rent the washtubs
Buy ice
Ice beers by 6:30p on Saturday

Wine
I plan on offering Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Reisling, Merlot, and a Cabernet.
I purchased small clear cups for the wine.
White wine will be chilled in a washtub.

Wine Action Items:
Rent or borrow the washtub (I’ve asked Bridget for the one she uses at her Sabika parties.)
Buy ice
Ice wine by 6:30p on Saturday

Soft Drinks
I plan on offering Coke or Pepsi, Diet Coke/Pepsi, Sprite
Soft drinks will be chilled in a washtub

Soft Drinks Action Items:
Rent the washtub
Buy ice
Ice drinks by 6:30p on Saturday

Cake
A 3 tier cake has been ordered from Christina’s Dessertery in Lewisville.
I’ve purchased clear plastic plates

Cake Action Items:
Pick up cake at 5:30p on Saturday
Purchase clear plastic forks
Purchase white napkins

Snacks

Veggies
I plan on offering these single serve veggie cups.
I’ve already purchased the clear plastic cups

Veggies Action Items
Need to purchase celery, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, Ranch dressing (all can be found at Costco)
Need to cut celery
Assemble

Salty Snacks
I plan on offering mixed nuts, Pub snack mix and flavored popcorn
I’ve already purchased the mixed nuts and Pub mix

Salty Snacks Action Items
Need to purchase popcorn (The Popcorn Fanatic at Silas Creek Crossing). I’m looking for a “goes with beer” flavor
Need to find glass bowls and scoops for serving
Need to determine whether to use plates or cups

Cheese and Crackers
I plan on offering these in the picture

Cheese and Crackers Action Items
Purchase the cheese cubes, pepperonis and toothpicks (Food Lion)
Purchase the crackers (Costco)

Other food ideas that I’m considering are Ronnie’s hot wings (I could borrow a hot tray from work), potato chips, pasta salad. I don’t have time to make the pasta salad, though. My goal isn’t to feed the guests per se, but to give them something to munch on while drinking beer and wine and rocking out at the concert. So, do I already have enough or do you think I need to add wings and pasta?

Band
Band needs to be set up by 7p.

Band Action Items
Pay remaining balance to them by Friday.
Determine Cake Cutting time (I’m thinking somewhere between 8 – 8:15p)
Determine Special Dance time (I’m thinking somewhere between 9 – 9:15p)

Allan’s Arrival
I’ve tossed this one around so much! If we did dinner, I couldn’t be at the clubhouse to help set up, greet folks, etc. and you wouldn’t be at the clubhouse to help set up, etc.

I think I’ll plan on taking Allan out to dinner and then having to stop over at the Clubhouse because you need Allan or me to do something. Maybe something like Bill has purchased the pool table from the Clubhouse and you need his help to put it in your garage?

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

2014 Goals - March Update

Here's how I did with my goals for March.

See a minimum of 5 Broadway shows

Once - The Musical (January 25, DPAC)
The Book of Mormon (February 15, DPAC)
Evita (March 15, DPAC)

Read 60 books for my Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge
- I read 14 books toward my goal: The Chase, there was an old woman, Reconstructing Amelia, Before I Go To Sleep, Beautiful Creatures, John Dreamer, Wedding Night, The Selection, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Elite, The Truth about Alice, Labor
Day and The Dixie Swim Club.

- Total books toward my goal of 60 - 25 books.

Read 3 books off the BBC Reading List
- None (yet).

Attend 3 Festivals
- I'm looking at possbily attending the Dogwood Festival the late weekend in April. There are two the same weekend. One in Fayetteville; the other in Mebane.

Travel somewhere I've never been
- Nothing yet.