I'm A Descendant Of Assateague Ponies

My favorite Chincoteague Pony fact so far:

There are two herds, the Maryland herd and the Virginia herd. The VA herd, known as the Chincoteague ponies, aren't as wild as the Maryland herd. The Chincoteague ponies are more managed in terms of veterinary care. They are also rounded up for the pony penning every year.

The Maryland herd is much more wild. They're allowed to live and die without any veterinary interference. Their reproduction is the only thing that is managed, the mares are shot with a vaccination that keeps them sterile for a year. The mares can each only have one foal, and they have that foal when they're in their prime "foal-rearing" years. They are actually "shot" with the vaccination, so that humans never touch the horses.

But my favorite fact is this: all of the ponies eat whatever they can find naturally on the island, so their food is completely covered in salt. Because of this, they drink twice as much water as regular horses. This is what gives the Maryland ponies that bloated look. They all look pregnant.

I can relate.......

Smooth Sailing, Chincoteague Island Virginia

Hurricane Stand-Up

I'm not ashamed to say that my niece Bethany was making me pee a little bit in my pants yesterday during our hurricane instant message conversation:

Beth: Parts of NYC are being evacuated now. i'm a full two blocks from the evacuation zone, so i'm set

Me: That seems close

Beth: It is. the only thing i'd worry about at my place are the window, but we have a huge basement we can hang in.

Me: Cole is obsessed with the hurricane. he watched the weather channel for 6 hours straight, updating me. telling me "we have to be on HIGH ALERT, mom".

Beth: Can he prepare my "go bag" that Bloomberg keeps mentioning?

Me: Andrew used to have plenty of go bags.

Beth: bahahahah

Beth: The bag i currently have on me has flat sandals (i'm wearing the platforms), duct tape, sealant foam, gum, and an apple. i'm set, right??

Me: LOL. add water and you're good.

Beth: Magazines! I knew I forgot something...

Me: Cole is agonizing over which of our 3 cars will have to stay outside for the duration of the storm.

Beth: Sophie's choice......(at which point I snorted my Diet Pepsi out my nose)

Me: We have a split tree in our backyard that Eric's worried about. He asked me to get Gpa to come duct tape it.

Beth: You wanna know the real tragedy in all this? I straightened my hair last night. How long is that going to last??!?!

I hope Beth doesn't die when Irene floods NYC, because I like her.

Rainbow Connection

I was cleaning out the junk/craft drawer yesterday, and came across some of Ava's artwork that was just priceless. This one was probably my favorite. Ava can express so much in such simple drawings. Her drawings always remind me of cartoonists who I consider geniuses, such as Shel Silverstein and the guy who draws the xkcd comic strips. The Oatmeal, the Savage Chickens guy, Charles Schulz and Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, they all have that same talent Ava seems to have, the ability to express so much emotion in the simplest of cartoon forms.

Such a simple idea, but it expresses joy and awe in a way I would never think of. I can imagine this doodle as a great branding idea for an insurance company or a medical company or something. Her perspective is just so interesting, especially for an 8 year old girl.

I also love it because it makes me think of a song that always makes my heart soar and brings tears to my eyes, don't ask me why; a song that takes me back to days of sitting at the piano with my brother Andrew, singing like Kermit. If you can't sing every word of this song, I don't want to know you.

Rented Christmas

Well, Colson has earned his first legitimate part in a play! He won the role of Willie in Dutch Country Players "Rented Christmas".

Children's Show by Norman C. Ahern Jr. and Yvonne Ahern

Directed by Cathy Zeller

John Dale hasn't enjoyed a "real Christmas" for years. So, on the spur of the moment, he decides to "rent" a Christmas from Anne Weston, who owns the local rent shop. Anne is at first flustered with the requirements: a tree with presents, Christmas carols and also a wife and five children. Anne feels she has solved the problem of a Christmas family by calling the actors' guild. But the young actors come down with the measles so she turns to the local orphanage. When the guild can't locate a "mother," Anne steps in to play the role herself. Based on the short story by J. Lillian Vandervere, the story of how John Dale’s rented Christmas turns into a new life for all concerned makes this a warm story for the holiday season. This is a wonderful tale to get everyone into the Christmas spirit!

This was the first time that Colson got really attached to a specific character in a play. At the auditions, when he'd see other boys auditioning for this part, he'd watch them very intently, and ask me to critique them and compare them to his auditions. He read once, and was hoping so badly to get another shot to read again that he started tearing up. Fortunately he did get a second chance, and he made changes to his rendition based upon what the other actors had done earlier in the evening. It was great to see him really care about something and compete for it.

Ava was fantastic as well. I could hear her from the back row loud and clear. The director was very impressed with her, but didn't have a part that would fit Ava's age. Ava was upset for a moment, but it was a good experience for her. I explained that sometimes you don't get a part not because you aren't a good actor, but because you're not physically right for the part. Maybe you're the wrong age or wrong height or wrong ethnicity or the wrong personality type. Ava seemed to understand that. I also told her that it would always be easier for Cole because there are always fewer boys auditioning than girls. The director did put both Ava and Zachary into the "Carolers" group, so they'll be in the play as well. All in all, a job well done for my 3 thespians!

Mark your calendars to come see the show! There are 5 show times:

December 2, 8pm

December 3 and 4, 1 and 4pm

December 10 and 11, 1 and 4pm

All tickets $7

Jiffy Two Step

Pro-Am is a dance division I've explained briefly in the past. But there is a subset of Pro-Am that I didn't mention, and that is Pro-Pro. Pro-Pro is a division for a professional dancer who doesn't have a partner but still wants to compete. That dancer can ask a higher ranking dancer to compete with them in the Pro-Pro division. Only the lower ranking Pro is judged, just like the Ams in Pro-Am. This division lets professionals compete against each other.

Solomon, my partner Richard's boyfriend, asked me earlier in the year if I would take him on as a Pro-Pro "student". I love dancing with Solomon, so of course I agreed. Our first time out we just social danced most of our dances, we didn't have time to put routines together. We danced an old Cha Cha and Waltz routine of Solomon's, and I threw together two phrases of Two Step.

In Boston, I wanted him to have a full two-step routine, so I was determined to choreograph one. The trouble is, we only had 2 hours on Friday afternoon, and we had to compete Friday night at 6. Pressure is the best motivator, so here is the Two Step that I choreographed for Solomon in one hour. We had someone videotape us practicing it so we wouldn't forget it by 6pm that night...!

Not only didn't Solomon forget it, he earned a Gold With Honors with it, and took 1st place in this dance that night.

Happy Birthday To My Mr. Big

6 years ago today I drove to the Lehigh Valley Hospital to get a monster pulled out of me. The biggest of my big babies at birth, Zachary continues to be larger than life. (The following photos are not for the faint of heart!)

What having over 10 pounds of baby in you looks like. This photo would make a good birth control ad.

And here comes Mr. Big now....

10 pounds 4 ounces. At one week before his due date. My uterus offers free non-stop room service but lacks a fitness center, apparently.

Zach couldn't even wait an hour after the umbilical cord was cut before he demanded food. 2 ounces gone, and I hadn't even held him yet. My mother heard him screaming from down the hallway and thought I was in for some trouble...then we just realized he was annoyed that the room service had ended (his mama's son).

Who knew that kid would grow up to become my best buddy...