Female in Motion

I feel as if I have lived a lifetime since my last post. At least that's what it feels like. A mere seven days ago, I was cleaning house and working and cooking and grocery shopping like mad. Preparing for Christmas is always hectic. Christmas was not the main event this year, however. My mom celebrated a big birthday this year, and we did it up right! The entire family spent the weekend at The Hotel at Old Town in Wichita, complete with elegant buffet dinner on Saturday night. I have three siblings, who are all married with children, so we totaled 18 people. It was quite an achievement to get us all in one place at the same time! The historic hotel was beautifully decorated for the holidays. After checking in on Saturday afternoon, members of the family went out to lunch and then hit the Museum of World Treasures. That place is cool! Upon returning, we dressed for dinner and spent time in the piano bar of the hotel. They have talented musicians playing there in the evening. During...

At last, I can lie down and rest! The annual Youth Christmas Program at Missionary Baptist Church is done. No, it's not a huge program, just a little Nativity play with 16 kids of various shapes and sizes. Somehow, during the month of December, it turns into a giant, energy-zapping ball of activity and stress! Don't get me wrong; I volunteer for this every year. And I love it! It wears me out, though. I was in charge of costumes this year. We had plenty of them, but they all had to be cleaned and fitted and ironed and re-fitted and finally put on for the performance and then un-pinned and cleaned all over again! Did I mention that the whole time this was occurring, I was standing up? There were just four of us brave souls that took on this task. Julie directed, Jana did all the music, Patty was rugrat wrangler and helped yours truly with costumes. There were several others who helped with sets and curtains and miscellaneous. I think we all deserve combat pay! The play was well-...

In the past four days, I have seen two great Christmas concerts. First, the Ark City Middle School choirs performed a festive medley of traditional and contemporary tunes last Thursday night. Two of my Sunday School students, Alexis Coldwell and Brittany Guevera, are members of the ACMS 8th grade choir. Their director, Nancy Eis, likes to get kids involved with lots of feature solos. My favorite tune was "Winter Song," which had a haunting melody. The Arkansas City High School Christmas Choir Concert was tonight. Jessica Coldwell sings alto in both the Ark High Singers and the Symphonic Choir. Her brother, Conner, played the drums on two songs. The tunes were a mixture of traditional carols and satirical compositions. My favorites were "The Gift," a sweet love song, and a doo-wop version of "White Christmas" by the men's ensemble. *** The Hubster and I drove out to the Cowley 8 on Saturday night to see "The Day the Earth Stood Still," with Ke...

Look out, I think I may have caught the Christmas Spirit tonight! I attended the Arkansas City High School Instrumental Music Department's Concert. Man, are they good! The orchestra was angelic, the concert band was masterful, and the jazz band was hot, hot, hot! I always try to go to school events, as much as possible. My nephew, Ryan, plays percussion in the concert band. He's a cool kid. You should see him on a xylophone! Jessica Coldwell, the drama diva, also plays the viola in the orchestra. Her brother, Conner, mans the drums in both the jazz and concert bands. Jessica and Conner are my good buddies from church. We hang out, because I'm incredibly immature and they like to take pity on me! The orchestra began the night with five traditional pieces. My favs were "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" and a medley of carols, called "Songs of Christmas." Then the jazz band took the stage...by force! They rocked out three strong numbers, and brought the house...

Thanksgiving came off very nicely last week. The Hubster cooked a masterful feast, along with desserts by our talented daughters. I thought a 22-pound turkey would be too big a bird for our six-person table, but by the time we divvied it up into Ziploc bags for both girls, we had just one bag left for us. Praise the Lord! It probably helped that the girls brought their boyfriends along. They are both young men of "healthy appetites." We had a really nice time, sitting around the table, sharing funny stories. While we let our dinner settle, the whole group watched old movies. It was a nice, relaxing day. ** Last week, The Hubster and I went to see the movie, "Bolt." We try to see all the animated films when they come out in the theater. I think it reminds us of our childhoods! I liked this movie, in spite of the whole Miley Cyrus thing. Besides, you just hear her voice, you don't see her at all. The film had a "The Incredible Journey" meets "The Tr...