How to write a screenplay 101

• Come up with an idea (this is the most difficult step)
  
• If you can't come up with an idea for the topic you were supposed to write about.... switch topics with someone else.
  
• Get some actors (sometimes actors should be drafted and assigned before you ask them to be in your skit)
  
• Find a good filming location. (The location should be accesible to film crews)

and appropiate for your film. For instance...

• Don't shoot a film about a race in a church
  
• Choose your computer wisely. If your computer takes 20 minutes to load your homepage, you probably have NOT chosen wisely
  
• Call your big brother and ask him how to write a screenplay
  
• Put a pencil behind your ear
• Write something
• Take a break to listen to Josh Groban
• Get back to work
• Have a read through with your sister
• Laugh
• Get back to work
• Finish (this is the 2nd most difficult step)

my people

Sometimes when one person is going to get their picture taken, other people jump into the picture, too....

Sisters

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters...

Pink Regency Dress

FUN FACTS ABOUT MY LATEST PROJECT:

• 
  
  The pattern I used simplicity 4055
• 
  
  I sewed the bodice, sleeves and buttonholes all by hand
• 
  
  Susie put my hair up and made me feel like a princess
• 
  
  Stephanie took my picture

Here's the front I made some changes to the sleeves and the bodice and added a waistband.

And the back

Closeup of the back. Added some ribbon to tie :-) Also, there's no elastic... somehow in the final fitting I ended up with too many inches in the back. It was too big so, rather than tearing the whole bodice apart I just gathered it in until it fit. I really liked the detail that the gathering added, so I was happy with it.

And finally, just some fun pictures!

This one is my favorite:

New Profile Picture...

Yes? No?

I want your vote!

Just for reference, here's the old one.

And here's the new one.

Flowershopgirl JR.

I think my baby sister may follow in my footsteps...

We picked some flowers from our garden.

And she helped me arrange them.

She loves to smell them.

Beautiful!

*NEWS FLASH*

BREAKER*** BREAKER***BREAKER...

THIS JUST IN...

"Statistics have shown that the more birthdays you have... the longer you live."

Go figure....

1950s dress

This is a dress I made last fall. I really liked how it turned out but the weather got cold so fast that I wasn't able to wear it. Anyway, here it is!

The fabric is cotton. Gotta love cotton...
I remember this dress was a cinch to put together. The bodice and sleeves are all one piece so I didn't have to set sleeves! Yeah!!!
The pattern was an original pattern from the 1950s... sadly I can't find the envelope to take a picture...
Photography credited to my lovely sister Steph!

Taking Care of the Ladies

Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen??

TAKING CARE OF THE LADIES

follow the link and click on the "play video"

Mother's Day

My mom deserves a lot more than one day to celebrate how great she is.

Another 1950s dress...

I know I must sound like a broken record... but, did you notice in my "About me" it says I love all things vintage?? :-)

Anyway, this dress did NOT come from an original circa 1950 pattern. I sort of cheated. Although, I'm pretty sure the pattern is out of print so that makes it vintage, right?

I really wanted a chocolate brown/white polka dot printed fabric but I had to settle for this. Maybe I'll find the brown another time and make something else.

Side pose... see our beautiful trees?
The gloves were my great grandmothers'. :-)

Quote of the day...

"We're too young

To realize certain things are impossible...

So, we do them anyway."

-William Pitt

Amazing Grace

Tech support

Since Katie's blog is hilarious right now, I thought I'd cheat and just link to her. I'll post something of my own soon, I promise!

Katie's Blog

Idiots

I normally refrain from using this term. But, after a little discusion on it in the last post, I looked it up.

Here's the definition:

Idiot- An offensive term for somebody who has a psychiatric disorder or a learning problem but who is exceptionally gifted in one particular area, for example, rapid mental calculation, architectural drawing, or remembering facts.

I don't know much about Hemmingway. I never liked anything he wrote, and I know he had some issues. So, I don't know if the term applies or not.

Some people say he is "exceptionally gifted." I wonder if, like beauty, talent is in the eye of the beholder?

Reply to writing post

Um... I didn't really laugh. It was more like... "OH! So, that's what my problem is!" :-)

I think the person that said that was Ernest Hemmingway. I'm not for sure on that, though. Do you remember Tyson?

writing

“Real seriousness in regard to writing is one of two absolute necessities. The other, unfortunately, is talent.”

Don't make me laugh...

Molly Gibson Dress

I made this dress using the Sense And Sensibility Romantic Dress Pattern. I modeled it after this dress...

of Molly Gibson's in one of my favorite movies Wives and Daughters! I thought it would be fun to make for around the house wear!

Front

Back

Wonderings

Yeah, sometimes I wonder what the point is to my life. Why do I live the way I live? Who am I touching? Did I miss something?

I'm getting older by the minute. Life is flying by. I wonder sometimes if it's too late to jump on the train. It's already going too fast and now I will forever be destined to follow the tracks, only ever seeing where everyone else has already been.

Maybe there is a special train that will come. Maybe it's just for me. I can board it and be off to new places. Places I'm supposed to go. Places I need to go. Maybe I'll get to those places at just the right time, arrive at the perfect moment. Everything will be clear, crystal clear. I'll wonder why I ever doubted.

But, maybe there is a special train for me... and it already left....

Dog praying...

I got this picture in an e-mail the other day....

And I couldn't help thinking of this verse....

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

The day is cold and dark and dreary...

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

picture of the day...

One day this winter we got "snowed in" with some overnight guests! It actually ended up being pretty fun!!

Here I am with Kristi and Elisa and Sarah B. You guys are welcome to come over anytime we're expecting snow!

Our Babies...

Whom we affectionately refer to as "Fun 1" and "Fun 2"

Life without them would be no fun. :-)

A Matter of Life and Death

The Supreme Court has upheld President Bush's ban on partial-birth abortion! Praise the Lord!! Here is a link to an article on the subject posted at WorldNetDaily.

This is a battle won! Keep praying! We still have to win the war!

New Housecoat

I made another housecoat! This time I used an original pattern from the 1940s. It was my first time ever making something from a pattern that old. I was shocked to find that the pattern pieces weren't marked! No markings at all except little perforations. The directions were a little different than modern day, too, so it was a challenge! But, it went together really well! I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

Here's the front...

Closeup...

Back View...

Is there anything Nancy Drew can't do?

Nancy Drew can:

• Horseback ride
• Do circus tricks on horses
• Tap dance (in morse code)
• Play the bagpipes
• Play the piano
• Skillfully manuever her blue roadster at extremely high speeds
• Revive a fainted person
• Administer whatever kind of first aid a situation calls for
• Decipher codes
• Win golf tournaments
• Win tennis tournaments
• She could use ventriloquism to throw her voice and confuse a crook
• Fly a plane
• More importantly LAND a plane
• Make beautiful stained glass
• Speak enough of several languages to get by
• Paint
• Bake
• Sew
• Pass a college level test (with flying colors) after only an hour's study in the library.
• Do a high jump in ballet
• Divert numerous dangerous animals such as charging bulls, crocodiles, angry dogs,and rearing horses.
• Find a hidden room, hidden staircase or hidden anything just by looking in the room.
• She was a superior chemist
• She knew "more than most people" about art, music, literature and theatre

Just your everyday, average girl...

You know you're from Wisconsin when...

I've lived in Wisconsin for 5 years now... Here's some things I've noticed. And, yes, some of these apply to me... :-)

• You can leave your ice cream in the car while you run other errands
• You know the difference between "Velveeta" and CHEESE!
• You buy all of your clothes at Farm and Fleet
• You know how to pronounce Mukwanago, Eau Claire, Oconomowoc and Mazomanie
• The four seasons are: Planting season, Camping Season, Hunting Season and Football season.
• When talking about the Green Bay Packers you refer to them as "We"
• When the temperature gets down to 0 degrees you break out your winter coat
• Your family owns a "winter car" (The good one sits in the garage Nov-April)
• You consider Madison another world
• You buy cat litter every winter, but you don't own a cat
• You plan activities around choring time

"The Man" sings Sinatra

Have you seen The Man From Snowy River? I'll bet you didn't know that Tom Burlinson (AKA Jim Craig) or "The Man" as we call him at our house, :-) could sing just like Frank Sinatra.
Here's a link to a couple of clips. Keep clicking the "next" button at the bottom of the page until you see the clips. Enjoy!!!!!

Movie Review...

This movie should come with a warning: You will need 2 boxes of Kleenex to watch this movie!!!!!

Picture this: A man and his son... all alone... sleeping on the floor of a bathroom in a subway station. They have nowhere to go. No one to help them. No money. Their only hope is that the man's unpaid internship at a stock brockerage company will turn into a real job. He has a 5% chance of getting this job. They have to make it through the next 4 months on $22.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I loved this movie. LOVED it. Based on a true story. In the beginning of the movie (actually to be more accurate... the first 90% of the movie) everything goes wrong for Chris Gardner. But, even in the middle of everything going wrong amazing things happen.
Rated PG-13 for language (if I took a guess... I'd say maybe 10 swear words)

Quote of the Day...

"It is no use to preach to children if you do not act decently yourself."

Anybody wanna guess who said this?

Fiddler on the Roof...

Have I posted enough about Fiddler on The Roof? I don't think so....
I went to see it twice... Hey, what can I say? I'm a fan!!! I've been going to shows at the U for a couple of years now, so I've seen these actors in a lot of different roles. Yep, I'm definitely a fan!
I stole these pictures off of Katie's blog... There are more there. But, anyway, these were my favorites....
Tradition!!!! That's Tevye in the middle... Golde is on the right. They were great...

Sabbath Prayer This is the rabbi... I thought he was really good.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker These three girls were very good. Kelsey Klug (in the white) was Chava. I think I'll start a Kelsey Klug fan club....

The Bottle Dance! No cheating here... Real live honest-to-goodness bottle dancing!

The Bottle Dancers with Avram the Bookseller (left) and Perchik (right). My sisters and I have great hopes that Perchik (Chris) will end up Broadway... so we can go see him... :-)

Tevye's Dream Fruma Sarah was incredible...

The Fiddler!!!! Matt was great!

Unfortunately I have no pictures of my wonderful sister playing with the orchestra. I tried but they didn't turn out :-(...

I can't wait until they do another show!!!

Stormy Weather...

I spent an hour on Saturday night in a storm shelter with 400 other people. I went to see Fiddler on the Roof with some of my sibs, but before the show a tornado touched down in a town north of us, so we were all herded into the basement of the theatre.

I had a lesson in human nature...

• Some people didn't even want to enter the basement. Instead they stood on the steps.
• Some were nervous, excitable.
• Some were calm, cool.
• Some got slap-happy.
• Some were quiet.
• Some started a rousing rendition of "The Chicken Dance."
• Some made a thousand calls to the weather station.
• My sister pulled out a book and started reading.
• Another sister started a conversation with a lady next to her.
• My brother invented possible escape routes for every room in the basement. (In case we got stuck down there :-)

That was all while we were in the shelter. All in all everyone was in general good humor. No rioting. Until we were allowed to go back upstairs and into the theatre. THEN, I got stepped on, pushed aside, seperated from my group... I guess the "good humor" ran out...

Anyway, it was a good show!!!!!!