"It's For You, Mom."

When Cade got home from school today, he very gently pulled something out of his backpack. It was wrapped in a paper towel and he was very worried it was broken. As he carefully pulled back the towel, he started smiling.

Here it is hanging in my office.

Cade and Commander

Two weeks and it's still love!

Cages or wings?
Which do you prefer?
Ask the birds.

The V-Day 2012 Cast!

After beating the bushes and making last minute "will you?!" phone calls, the cast is set. I am looking forward to working with each of these extremely talented ladies!

Intro - Worried About Vaginas	All
Intro - Hair	Laura
Hair	Lee Ann
Vagina Wear, Say	All
Intro - Flood	Kofi
The Flood	Michaeline
The Vagina Workshop	Linda
Vagina Happy Fact	Devon E
Intro - Because He Liked To Look At It	Sonja
Because He Liked To Look At It	Heather
Not-So-Happy Fact	Caitlin
Intro - What If I Told You I Did Not Have A Vagina	Alice
What If I Told You I Did Not Have A Vagina	TBD
My Angry Vagina	Peggie
Intro - My Vagina Was My Village	Lee Ann
My Vagina Was My Village	Sonja
	Heather
Intro - The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could	Michaeline
The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could	TBD
Intro - Reclaiming Cunt	Caitlin
Reclaiming Cunt	Alice
Six Year Old Girl	Linda (reporter)
	Laura (girl)
Intro - The Woman Who Loved To Make Vaginas Happy	Peggie
The Woman Who Loved To Make Vaginas Happy	Devon E
Intro - I Was There In The Room	Laura
I Was There In The Room	Linda
	Peggie
	Michaeline
Intro - Spotlight Monologue	Alice
For My Sisters In PortAuPrinceBukavuNewOrleans	All

Go ahead and mark your calendars now. Performance are Friday and Saturday, March 23 and 24 at 8pm. There's also a matinee on Sunday, March 25 at 2pm. Performance will be at Glenwood Coffee and Books.

More Color

Inspiration I brought to Jennipher

The fab Jennipher at work.

Flat ironing to match the Inspiration picture.

Vagina Auditions, Round 2

I'm trying my best not to be discouraged. But I am. A little bit.

Three girls from UNCG showed up for auditions tonight. And while I am so very grateful they showed up, I have 8 ladies for a full scale production. Eight. Ocho. 8.

Yes, I know the script really only calls for 3. But I was really hoping my directorial debut would turn out better than 8 ladies presenting "The Vagina Monologues."

Devon and I are going to make another last ditch effort to beat the bushes.

This time I'm crossing my fingers and my toes!

Vagina Auditions

Based on the response from the Facebook invite, I knew turnout would be minimal. Only 12 responded they would attend. If everyone showed up, I'd be okay.

Linda was the first to walk in. Followed by Lee Ann. I was very excited because I know both of them and know what they each can do. Devon's friend Devon E. and her friend Sonja were the next to show up. I went ahead and auditioned Linda and Lee Ann. I even asked Linda to read "The Vagina Workshop." This piece requires an English accent and I wanted to see if Linda could pull it off. She was fantastic!

Peg was the next to arrive. I was so glad to see her. I was looking forward to her doing the moaning piece again. When she handed in her audition form, she threw me for a loop. Instead of the moaning piece, she wanted to do "My Angry Vagina." I knew she could rock either one. Devon E. and Peg both did the angry piece.

After releasing Devon E., Sonja and Peg Devon and I brainstormed to see who else we could call to audition. We suggested a few names, waited another 30 minutes and decided to call it a day.

I'm excited that I have 5 good women to cast. I'll need more, but at least I have these talented ladies. We're holding another round of auditions on Monday.

I'm crossing my fingers!

Mi Coche

Here's Bridget, standing with the new convertible Mustang I will be winning in US Airways' Fit For US program.

I got a call from the Guilford Animal Shelter yesterday. A volunteer who was particularily fond of Ned was asking for an update. I emailed her and she replied, almost immediately.

From: Cheryl Ann
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 5:01 PM
To: Susan
Subject: Ned

Susan

My son, Cade, and I adopted Ned on Sunday. Cade wanted a Husky and was immediately drawn to Ned.

I cannot tell you how happy we are with him. He is so very gentle and loving. Cade is 9 and can walk Ned by himself because he minds the leash so well. And the two of them love playing ball! After Cade goes to bed, Ned lays in my lap, keeping me warm while I read on the couch.

Ned wasn’t eating, so I brought him to the vet yesterday. He has some gum inflammation and a bit of a bug (something to do with bird poo). We’re giving him meds and in a couple of weeks will get him a good teeth cleaning. The vet was just as taken with Ned and also agreed that Ned is a very special dog.

I’ve really no idea why he was in the shelter for so long, but we’re very lucky that he was. Our family really is thrilled to have him.

From: Susan
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 5:18 PM
To: Cheryl Ann
Subject: RE: Ned

Hi Cheryl Ann,

Thanks so very much for sending me this wonderful news about Ned. I have been volunteering at the Shelter for 2 ½ years, and I have to say that Ned is one of my all time favorites. I am there Monday – Friday from noon – 3:00 and Ned was always my first dog out…he REALLY “holds it” and did not want a messy kennel. Over the months, I came to discover what a playful yet loving dog he is. He will be busy fetching the tennis ball one minute and the next minute he will sit nice as can be and soak in the love as I was caressing his cheeks. I prayed for a loving home for him, with a family that would truly appreciate him just as he is. Your note below tells me that my prayers have been answered and I can stop worrying about him. As to why he was there so long, it is really hard to say. I like to think that he was just waiting for his true family to find him. If you get a chance to send a picture of Ned in his new home and with his new family that would be fabulous. This is the stuff that keeps us volunteers going. May God bless you all and please give Ned a big hug from me.

p.s. The bird  poo was probably on a ball in one of the pens, though Ned is picky and didn’t like to pick up the dirty balls…what a great dog!

I Am Loved

And I got the roses, balloon, Skittles and a Nicholas Sparks novel to prove it!

A New Addition

The plan was to drop Mallorie off at the airport, run an errand and be home by dinner. Her Continental flight was delayed a couple of hours, so Cade and I thought we'd park in the rental car drop off lot to wait for her flight to depart. Unfortuntely there were no empty spots, so I decided to go ahead a run my errand. We were in and out of the store within 5 minutes and still Mallorie's flight was delayed. I didn't want to leave Greensboro, in case her flight was cancelled. As we drove by Bridford Parkway, I had an idea.

"Cade, would you like to go to the animal shelter and visit the dogs?"

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, and as he yelled an emphatic "YES!" I realized what a tricky undertaking this would be. Cade has been wanting a dog for a couple of months. I politely and firmly told him we were only visiting, simply killing time until Mallorie's flight departed.

We laughed at some of the cats - those that sat on top of each other and the kittens that played around their sleeping bedmate. We then moved to the dogs. We stopped at each cage, read the name of the dog(s) and the breed. We got through the first house and Cade was doing very well. We did the same in the second house and just as we started down the last row, Cade became enamored. The dog's name was Ned. He was 2, a mix of Siberian Husky/Terrier/Pitbull, and had been at the shelter since July. Cade asked if we could walk Ned. I was initially hesitant; a mixture of pitbull is still a pitbull, but Ned was sitting just as calm as you please. I also noticed he was a sponsored dog, and sponsored dogs don't have much time. He hadn't been walked yet, so I agreed. A volunteer helped us leash Ned and outside the 3 of us went.

I noticed immediately that as we walked down the aisle, even though dogs were jumping and barking, Ned never stopped, never barked. He let Cade lead him out.

As we stepped into an empty lot, two other volunteers noticed us. "Are you considering adopting him?" they queried. Before I could shake my head no, they went on to tell us what a great dog Ned was. "Very gentle, very loving." "He'll lay his head in your lap and soak up affection." I watched as Cade threw a ball. Ned retrieved it and let Cade chase him a bit. He never jumped up on Cade and did come up so Cade could pat him. And even though other dogs were rough-housing near by, Ned didn't care. After 20 minutes of outside play, Ned allowed Cade to leash him and we returned to his cage.

To Cade's credit, he never said a word. He didn't have to. He looked up at me and I saw it in his big brown eyes. A boy had definitely found his dog. Fortunately, I was as impressed with Ned.

Thirty minutes and $70 later Cade, Ned and I headed home. On the drive Cade admitted he didn't exactly love the name Ned, so Cade and I started discussing alternate names. Snowy, Whitey, Salem, Cherokee. Cade suggested Commander. I liked it. And Ned became Commander.

Oh, and Mallorie's flight did eventually depart.

An Afternoon At The Movies, "The Woman In Black"

I was fortunate to see a preview performance of The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem's production of The Woman in Black. It was particulary scary but it did have all the elements of a fine ghost story.

So when the movie trailer came out, I was very interested. And since Sam is a Harry Potter fan, he decided to go with me.

Thank goodness we saw a matinee. I would have been upset to have pluncked down full price for this movie. I don't think either one of us liked it.

Brightening My Office