On Friday, November 1st, I took the stage for the very first time as Mitch Mahoney in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. My friend Tina sent me a text later that evening and asked me, “How did your first performance feel? Empowering? Awesome?”
I responded the next morning (since I was already in bed when she sent the text), “Without sounding dramatic, my first performance on the stage was exhilarating! Being a part of this cast has definitely been a dream come true. If there is such a thing as an actor’s high, I was as high as a kite last night. I cannot wait to do it again tonight. I’m still giddy this morning. Thanks for being one of my biggest cheerleaders. Love ya!”
Julia and I after the show on opening night.
And, I DID do it again last night. And, I get to do it again four more times this month. I’m having a blast! I fully expected to be a bundle of nerves on opening night, and shockingly, I was not really nervous on opening night or last night. I couldn’t wait to get out on the stage and entertain the audience. There is nothing quite like performing for an audience. We sold out opening night and had a good number of guests last night; however, both crowds brought the energy we needed to give it our all. I am proud of our cast and the musicians. Did I mention that we have live music for the show? The music is amazing! I am extremely grateful to everyone who has attended so far, including my friends and former students from HGCS. Our next show is on Friday, November 8th. Of course, I can’t wait! Undoubtedly, it is going to feel a bit strange not going to rehearsal in the evenings this week.
In Other News:
- I’m flying to Atlanta on Wednesday of this week. My niece Emma, who is also my godchild, asked me to be her Confirmation sponsor. What an honor! It will be a quick trip, and I’ll be back home by Thursday evening.
- NaNoWriMo started on Friday, November 1st. I have not written one word of my novel, yet. The plan is to start writing today. I will have to adjust my word count per day to reach my 50,000 words by the end of the month.
- Today, my hubby and I are driving to the WWII Museum in New Orleans to see the play, Higgins: The Man, the Boat, the War. It is a gorgeous day today, so the drive to the city will be pleasant.
- As for my weight loss goal, I am down another 2 pounds which puts me at a total loss of 11 pounds since September 2nd. I have 8 more pounds to lose by the end of 2019 to reach my goal.
November has certainly started off with a bang for me, dear reader. Much more is to come as the month unfolds. I am amazed that there are only two months left in 2019. I still have a few items to cross off of my 19 for 2019 list. I have a feeling a couple of those items will be added to my 2020 list. Life is unpredictable, so it is best to go with the flow and to adjust as needed. I’m really not a go-with-the-flow kind of gal by nature. I’m more of a planner and prefer structure; however, life doesn’t always accommodate me, so I’m slowly learning to adapt. While the unpredictability of life can be stressful, it can also be invigorating. How do you handle life and all its unpredictability, dear reader? Happiness!
“It is tempting to quit striving toward a goal when you have neither the time, the resources, the support, the means, nor perhaps the confidence in talent to reach the level of standing you wish to reach. But these are not reasons to quit. Move forward anyway. Try your best. Put what little you do have into accomplishing what you can, because along the way you may attain a portion of what you feel is lacking. And owning a portion of a dream is better than owning no dream at all. Never give up.” ~ Richelle E. Goodrich
My life is pandemonium right now, and I’m surprisingly happier because of it. I have a bunch of irons in the fire. Some are way more enjoyable than others. I’m working on making my dreams a reality. It is awesome to set goals; however, I must remind myself that the satisfaction of achieving those goals comes from the journey or the process in fulfilling them.
#8 Read one book a month for self-improvement. This month I read The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too) by Gretchen Rubin. I’ve always been fascinated by personality assessments and learning how personality influences decision making, job performance, etc. While those assessments share some specific aspect of human nature, Rubin’s framework is based solely on meeting inner and outer expectations and how people respond to them when making decisions, reaching goals, and handling relationships. A variety of personality types can share a tendency. As I have mentioned previously on my blog, I am a Questioner. According to Rubin, “Questioners question all expectations; they meet an expectation only if they believe its justified, so in effect they respond only to inner expectations” (6). Finding out my tendency has been helpful to me. It has helped me understand why I am unable at times to complete a task or make a decision, or it explains my resistance to meeting someone else’s requests. If you, dear reader, are interested in finding out your tendency, visit 
Last Sunday, my hubby, Andrew, and I took a road trip to Slidell to attend the HERPS Exotic Reptile and Pet Show at The Harbor Center. These shows happen a few times a year in our surrounding areas, and I have always wanted to go to check out their critters. We are animal lovers and have cared for many pets over the years with a few exotics being part of the mix. I specifically was interested in checking out the hedgehogs (learn about the breeders, touch one, and assess cost to acquire one). I have never had a hedgehog but find them fascinating, so I have joined a couple of Facebook hedgehog groups to learn more about their habits and care requirements. I even follow Mr. Pokee’s page to check out his many adventures with his owner. My guys tagged along because they were just as curious as I was, and there would be lots of snakes.
I had no idea when I went to the show that I would be leaving with one of them. We stopped at the Knockout Exotics table where Andrew spotted a Corn Snake for $25. The snake was born on June 4th where he hatched from an egg. His container had a “pet only” label on it. I inquired about it, and the breeder (Kara) told us that he was born with kinks in his spine which are medically harmless to the snake but not ideal for breeding. That was all my future zoologist needed to hear. Andrew purchased the snake, and with help from Kara, he also purchased a tank, bedding, and a hidey-hole to place inside the tank. With instructions from Kara, we left Slidell and headed back to Hammond. On the drive home, Andrew named his snake George. Before we arrived home, we had to make a quick trip to Petco to buy some frozen pinkies (sold out at the show) to feed George.
Andrew is traveling to Germany, Prague, and the Swiss Alps with STA during spring break of 2019. He along with the other travelers were given the opportunity to work concessions at the LSU home games this football season. Each game, they will receive a percentage of the sales to help pay for their trip. Crazily, I also signed up to help. I have worked concessions over the years at STA for Barry’s cross country meets and at Southeastern for Andrew’s Boy Scout troop; however, nothing prepared me for working LSU’s concessions. Last Saturday was our first time working the concessions. Firstly, I had never been to LSU Stadium, so I was clueless about its size. A huge stadium equals a huge number of people. Secondly, we were understaffed for our first game. Thirdly, it was hot and humid. By the end of our shift, we were all extremely hot, thirsty, and worn out. All things considered, we survived and made some moolah. And, personally I thought it was fun. I enjoyed working with the STA crew and felt satisfied with the results of a job well-done. In fact, so much so, that I plan on doing it again.
The Kat Files 