I couldn't resist...

I saw this picture online today, and could not resist sharing it. What do you think this guy was thinking as he put his "shorts" on that morning?

~ These will get me that date I've been waiting for.
~ I really need a tan.
~ Can I go to church in these?
~ I look hot!
~ Should I shave?



So yea.. enjoy!

Wishin' and Hopin'

Matt just finished up his Spring Break (jealous!) and in spite of the relaxing days, he managed to squeeze in a few job applications. It's crazy, but everthing is moving along quite fast. Phew! I am pleased that he has found a handful of positions open in the Salem/Oregon venue, which delights me to think of being "home" again. Yay-hoo. In spite of these available jobs, we know better than to get our hopes up... 'cause he is also applying in Seattle and California. Living within a day's drive... oh what the heck... two days drive is going to spoil us, let alone within twenty minutes of family and friends. One can only hope.... It's true... God sees the desires of our hearts, but He is a wise God and knows what is best for us and our family. Matt and I are able to see the drawbacks of living farther away, but we can also see the benefits. So... we pray for God's will in the next two months (can you believe it?!!) ... and hope and wish for the best. :)

Full Monty Review

'Monty' slick, not quite full Theater review BY JACKIE DEMALINE JDEMALINE@ENQUIRER.COM Every once in a great while we're reminded that University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music's stellar musical theater program is a training ground, not simply a machine that astonishingly churns out stage gem after stage gem. "The Full Monty," all about laid-off factory workers in Buffalo deciding to take it all off to pay the bills, is very much a show that's about training. While there's some star quality glittering here and there, when you stand "Full Monty" against the high bar that CCM musical theater has set for itself, as one of the best programs in the nation, the show misses, for a variety of reasons. "Full Monty" isn't a big enough show to impress you; it gets by on charm. This is a musical that wins you with sentiment as a bunch of regular lugs try to achieve self-worth, but this production comes off as slick. You've gotta care about this motley crew of guys, which includes divorced and bitter hero Jerry (Colt Prattes), his chubby sidekick Dave (Mitchell Walker), a buttoned-up efficiency expert (Sean Montgomery), Malcolm, a depressed gay guy who lives with his critical mom (Danny Visconti), flamboyant Ethan (Pearce Wegener) and old black guy "Horse" (Josh Breckenridge). You have to cringe for them as they build up the courage to take off their clothes and put on a show, but guess what? These shirts come off and you see the well-sculpted torsos of guys who spend plenty of time in the dance studio. Which isn't hard on the eyes, I'll grant you, but doesn't touch the heart. A handful of student performers stand out: Montgomery, looking like Clark Kent, is just right as the efficiency expert who efficiently eliminates his own job but who's afraid to tell his spendthrift wife. Jen Temen brightens the stage as his wife, who's a good person after all. Sara Sheperd is dandy as the blue collar gal married to Dave. Age is a real issue in "Full Monty," but, again, the priority at CCM is education. Breckenridge makes a fair run at playing a character decades older than he is and decrepit to boot. Jerry has a young son, and freshman Jake Bridges gives a good performance as the kid, without being remotely believable. There's no way he passes for the age he has to be for some more heart-tugging. The show's one ringer is alum Pam Myers, brought in to play the been-there-done-that showbiz vet,, a broad to her bones, who plays piano for the guys. Myers isn't old enough for the role but what she does have is the spark that you need to make it on stage. I hope most of the kids in the company are taking notes. Prattes isn't mature enough to act Jerry, and he doesn't have the vocal range for the role either. He wasn't helped by a poor sound balance that had the orchestra drowning out the singers for most of the show. Student costumer Jessica Arthur does a fine job of telling us who these people are, from union meetings to girls' night out. This is the first set design I've seen by Brian Ruggaber, relatively new to the faculty. Four-storied with a dirty tenement look, it didn't work at all for me. As a child of the Rust Belt, this is not where these folks would live. Obviously Ruggaber looking for a solution for many, many scene changes without moving set pieces on and off stage. A line-up of scenes at floor level work well, not only is it not Buffalo, it doesn't serve the story. The set doesn't reflect the situation of the upwardly mobile characters and there's an added problem of splitting focus occasionally as too many things go on in places too far from each other. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070227/ENT/702270303/-1/all

Been awhile....

It has been awhile since either of us have posted anything (Matt is officially "too busy"), so here is a little recap: Matt's thesis show is finally over! A friend accompanied us to see opening night and it was a really fun show. Granted, the boys do go fully nude in the final scene and much to my amazement, I closed my eyes! You would think I am a kid or something.... still... 8 weiners on stage... not something that I really want burned into my eye balls forever. So I missed the big hurrah at the end... but still liked the show. :) Matt is starting to look for jobs, even though he has tons of stuff on his plate still. He mentioned moving back to Salem (which made my heart skip a beat) and contracting himself out... but that would take a lot of work initially. He's still looking into interactive media (video gaming) design and various teaching positions at different Universities in the US. We figure... keep our options open... and everything will fall into place. Work for me... overwhelming. I'm tired. Overall, things are great. I will post another blog with a paper review of "The Full Monty." I agree with what the author has to say... but must interject that the show had a lot of heart and I felt it was one of the most fun shows we've seen in this program. Toodles.