Where Did She Get That?

Petra did the funniest thing yesterday. I was sitting at the computer doing some schoolwork and she came into my room.
"Mom, can I watch TV?"
"No."
I went back to my school work, and she went over to my dresser and started messing around, but I wasn't paying very much attention.
"Mom, repeat what I say."
The only way to keep her reasonably entertained so that I can accomplish anything is to play along.
She said, "Mmmm mmmm"
I said, "Mmmm mmmm."

She said, "Mmmm Ahmmm."
I said, "Mmmm Ahmmm."

She said, "Yes!"
I said, "yes."

She said, "No!"
I said, "no."

She said, "I can watch TV!"
I said, "No you caaaan't!"

Lol. As we say about her almost every day, "Where did she get THAT?"

Christmas Tree Fun

Last night we decorated our Christmas Tree. We bought it on Monday, but last night was the first chance we had to decorate it. It was pretty fun.

Around 1:30, we heard a sound like a note on a low note on a harp. Dusty went to see what it was, and the tree had fallen onto the piano! The 8 cups of water in the stand spilled all over the carpet. Dusty and I tried to stand the tree back up, but every time he tried to fix it, it just fell back over again! So, we took a string and tied the tree to a hook in our ceiling left over from one of those 70's lamps that hangs on a chain. It's a temporary fix, but we just could not figure out why the stupid thing wouldn't stand up!!

Kabul Beauty School

I just finished one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. It's about an American beautician that goes to Afghanistan right after the Taliban fell to help. She gets this idea to open a beauty school for Afghan women so that they can have a way to earn more money and have a marketable skill. I think that it is really amazing what she did. I don't think that most people would realize how much a beautician could really help! It is fascinating and heartbreaking to read about the Afghan women's lives, before, during, and after the Taliban. It is also quite humorously written. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

No More Cast!!!!!

Today, Petra and I took a trip down to Shriner's, and she got her cast off!!! HOOORAYY!!! She has a little brace to wear on her thigh for the next 2 weeks, just until her muscles get a little stronger, but it easily comes on and off so she can bathe. Tonight, she spent half and hour in the tub, and she didn't want to get out! Her lips were blue because the water had gone cold, she was shivering like crazy, and all she could do was laugh and say how much she loved baths! Also, Dr. Carroll said that she would like to do a bone density-type test, but we have to wait three months, because her bones need to recover from being in a cast. If it turns out that her bones are weak, she will have to have a phosphorus-calcium IV medication every 4-6 months. I am SO happy that they are finally DOING something about this! Hopefully, we won't ever have to go though this again. Also, tonight, she tried sitting up on the floor, and she did it! She hasn't been able to do that since they put her hip in the socket!! I'm exhausted from spending eight hours in a car, but it has been a good day.

Frustration

I don't want for all of my posts to be negative, but I guess you'll just have to endure more gripping for me (or stop reading now.) I am about stressed to the max. Petra is incredibly bored of not being able to do much of anything, and it is making her whiny and clingy (which is hard, because every time I touch her cast, I get hives all over my hands!) Also, Talia is belly crawling, and it is getting more and more difficult to keep an eye on her. Today, she had something in her mouth, and when I pulled it out, it was a dead wasp. Yuck! I nearly threw up. School is looming, and I think that the mere prospect of it, wondering how I'll get through my work, etc., is actually worse than the classes will be themselves. Money is always a worry, and I was up until midnight last night stressing about medical bills and car repairs. Petra's medical needs have shot through the roof in the last week, with me calling all around and trying to arrange a million different things. Oh, and I have a new calling. I have to create a ward choir out of nothing (okay, I actually don't think that that will be too bad.)

The one bright spot--through the college I got a really good deal on an Apple Club membership, and today I had fun working out (I hate to admit it, because it sounds really awful, but just getting away from the girls for a little while was a relief). Of course, there is a downside there, too, because I can only go during the laxest times, when the nursery is not very full (because of Petra), and that means that I can't take any of the classes. There is still equipment and stuff, but I wanted to take step aerobics and spinning.

Anyway, moan moan moan. Complain complain. Sorry.

Pic of Girls

This is a pic of the girls that I am posting for an expiriment.

The Trouble With Teeth

This week, I hate teeth. I finally took Petra to the dentist (bad mommy!) which is something that I have been putting off because everytime I made an appointment, something came up, and I knew that it promised to be a very bad experience. Well, it didn't turn out to be bad in and of itself, but it turns out that poor Petra has so many cavities, that she needs to have all of them filled under full sedation at the local surgical center! Her enamel is very worn down. It makes me feel really cruddy because I have tried to take good care of her teeth (nothing but water at nighttime, and I brush her teeth each evening and most mornings) but I guess it wasn't enough. I feel dreadful, because teeth don't heal on their own--they only get worse and worse! Her dentist thought that perhaps her bad teeth had something to do with the Arthrogryposis, but I don't know. Maybe the fact that she doesn't eat very well? Anyway, she can look forward to a lifetime of teeth problems (including braces). Whoo-hoo. That poor thing. As if her little body didn't give her enough problems.

And, (joy, joy) Talia has been teething. Now, most of the time we just call her Spit (courtesy Scott (I think)). She cut her first tooth the other day and the one next to it is not far behind. It is a very exciting/harrowing time.

Thankyou mom for making me take all of those disgusting little pink pills.

Lava Hot Springs

Talia and I in the Pool

William, Dusty, and Talia in the Pool

Just one swimsuit and one towel per person!!
Dusty's lovely sunburn (spray on sunscreen--not so great!)
Dusty taking Petra for a brief float in the river by our yurt.

We took a trip to Lava Hot Springs the last couple of days. My mother-in-law took all of the kids and Dusty and I down and we stayed in a Yurt. Boy, talk about fun. 7 kids (4 under the age of 8) and 3 adults in a tiny little one room shack. Actually, my first emotion on pulling in was sadness. I remembered that the last time I was there, we were with my whole side of the family (except for Ryan and Heather (and they were on the phone)), and I announced that I was pregnant with Talia. I just missed my family so much. It feels like I never get to see them.



Anyway, on the first day, we went to the pool. That was pretty fun. It's a pretty great pool. Then we went back to the Yurt and tried to get the kids to sleep (very unsuccessfully the majority of the time). The next day, Dusty, Jessica, Neil, and William floated down the river while Alice Marie took the little girls shopping, and I stayed home so that Talia could get a desperately needed nap. When they got back, William told me that I just had to try floating the river, so we went up again. This time, we went up a little higher, and there were some rapids and a little waterfall. William and I, in one double tube, went over the falls just fine, but Neil and Jessica, in another double tube, capsized and Jessica lost her sandals and they both got kind of scraped up. Fortunately, Dusty had gone on ahead to take some pictures of us as we went under a bridge, and they were able to get out there instead of taking the rest of the hour long float.



After that little misadventure, Neil and Jessica weren't able to go swimming at the pool (because of the open wounds), but the rest of us went back (except for Talia--it was her first time ever swimming and I'm not sure that she liked it all that much). Anyway, that turned out to be a very eventful hour!! First, Petra got sick. She started acting all sleepy and saying she was hungry. She couldn't even open her eyes all of the way. We later realized that because we'd forgotten her Pediasure and she'd eaten about like she always does, she had had basically no calories in the past 24 hours. And it's not like she has a lot of fat reserves! Well, while she was lying on the grass, I went to buy her a PB&J at the concessions stand 10 feet away. While I was waiting in line, this car came screeching up the ramp that passes just uphill from where we were. It hit another car, spun around, and smashed into the guard rail right above where Petra was lying. I had horrifying visions of it smashing though and rolling down the hill right on top of her. It didn't (though it did leave quite a dent in the guard rail!). What it did do is speed right down the ramp it had come up, leaving a whole tire behind and starting a fire in the grass next to the road!!! Some people from the pool ran up and put out the fire, and the cops stopped the driver right at the pool parking lot. I later heard a local girl who had gone to see what had happened say that the boy was wasted. It was really, really scary! I have never seen a car accident before.



Right after the pool, I had to rush back to Shelley for play rehearsals. I am playing Kate in The Pirates of Penzance. It is a really fun one. Anyway, Petra was doing better since eating, but I decided to bring her home with me to completely recover, and since Neil and Jessica couldn't swim (and Neil didn't want to share a bed with William again (and Jessica didn't want to have to use the port-a-potty again)) they came home with us. Everyone else came home the next morning (today). Anyway, it was a fun little trip, even though we didn't leave the state or anything. Who knew you could have so many adventures so close to home!

One Of Those Moments

Tonight, I had one of those moments. So often, it seems like I just try to get through the hours of the day, or wait for something better to come along. "Once I'm not so sick anymore, then I will be happy," etc. I know it's not the way to live a happy life, but forcing happiness has never really been that easy for me, even though I do try to see the good points in a situation. Anyway, once in a long while, I have a moment, about 15 minutes or so at the most, of absolute peace. It's completely unrelated to what I am doing at the time, but I can only describe it as utter contentment, and for that brief period of time, I wouldn't change a thing. I was cooking dinner, and Dusty was outside singing to the girls, who were swinging. The door was open, and the weather was beautiful... Last time, I was just driving in my car. Nothing fancy. Life's little blessings.

What I've Been Up To

Petra's surgery went very well. She seems to be feeling great now, although the first few days were pretty rough. Today she did her legs in a little half split, which we have never seen her be able to do on the left side, so it totally seems to have helped! Here she is in her new swimsuit, although she can't get her cast wet, she just likes to be in her swimsuit. And here is a picture of the plate and screws that they took out of her leg, with a quarter for size comparison.

I just finished a new project. Dusty designed this one (he drew a picture), and then I went through and stitched it out of felt and added the embellishments. I have absolutely no idea how long I have been working on this, only that I almost threw it out at one point because I never felt like working on it, but then I looked at it and saw how cute it was and couldn't bear to get rid of it.

We got a new puppy!! His name is Copper, and to be honest, I wasn't all that excited about getting another dog, because I thought he'd be a pain, but so far, he's been wonderful. He is a purebred beagle, and he is a very calm, sedate dog (compared to Eppie). He loves to be pet, but he doesn't lick. He's actually not a puppy, he's three, but he's half the size of Eponine! Here's a picture of Copper with Kira and a picture of Eppie, who we've had for nearly four years, for those of you who don't know her.

I just finished a new book. It is called The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It was not at all what I expected it to be, but I enjoyed it very much. I thought that it was going to be an historical fiction, but it turns out that it is a Vampire novel. Don't get turned off when I say that. It's not very fantastical or out there. It's about this father and daughter who track Dracula through history. It is very much in the vein of Brahm Stoker's Dracula, which I have also read, and is also very good. (Sometime, Ryan is going to have to tell me how to past in a picture of the cover from Amason.com, because I tried copying and pasting and it didn't work).

Oh, and here is the picture I promised from the play, which is going very well, but I think I'm about ready for it to be over (which it almost is, next Saturday is the last day).

My Projects

I'm sure you all know that I always have about a dozen craft projects going at the same time. Recently, I found some new ones that I want to start, but I decided that I'd better finish off all of the ones that I am working on now first. It is a very slow process. I tend to get excited about something, get to work on it, get it about half finished, and then lose interest. Then it sits around for a while (sometimes years!) until I get interested in it again and finish it. Anyway, this morning, I finished a project. It is very satisfying. That's probably what I like most about doing my crafts--seeing the finished product and knowing that I did it.

I started this one when Petra had her first surgery, so August 2005. It only took me two years (the vast majority of which it was sitting on my project shelf completely ignored).

My Girls

I haven't posted a picture of the girls lately, so here's one. Talia is getting big so fast! (Petra, of course never grows any bigger, but her vocabulary is getting big so fast (but you can't show that in a picture!))

Opening Weekend

My Play opened this weekend. It was so much fun! The first night (friday) didn't go that great, we made a few mistakes, but last night was awsome!! It went really really well. So far, not that many people are coming, maybe a couple of dozen every night, but we have faith that the crowds will grow. Anyway, sorry I don't have any pictures, I should later on.

Test Results

I got the results of my hidascan and it turns out that my gall bladder isn't working the way it should, and I need to get it out. So, mystery solved! I'm actually not nervous at all. It will be nice to get this taken care of. I know I'll hate it when I'm actually in pain, but the last few weeks have been very miserable. I just want it to be over.

I, The Mother of the 20 Pound 13-Year-Old

I swear, Petra is actually 13 years old. She acts like a teenager. Tonight, she was walking around the living room saying, "I look ugly in this!" and "I look stupid in this!" We were appaled and asked her who told her that. "I did." She insists that no one else has ever said that to her. I don't know where she gets it!! If she doesn't get her way, she stomps around and says, "I don't care!!!" If she's like this at 3, how will she be when she really is 13?!?

One Week till Opening Night

First of all, the play was pushed back a week because we were NOT ready. I'm really glad for the extra time, but at the same time, I'm FREAKING OUT!!!!! At the moment, I'm just really stressed. I am so tired all the time (aggravated by the drugs they gave me for nausea). They keep telling us we need to be louder, Louder, LOUDER!! I'm trying, I just don't feel like I can be any louder! But I can, I know I can. After watching another play in that theater, I totally understand why it's so important. I just feel like the co-director isn't all that encouraging to me... although, I don't think he should have to hold me by the hand and encourage me the whole way either. I just wish I felt like he felt like I was doing a good (okay!) job. I'm not looking for you guys to all burst out with comments about how great I am and that I will do a wonderful job. I'm just expressing my frustration with the situation.

On the flip side, the rehearsals are fun. I can laugh and joke with some of the cast members a bit, and it's nice to get out of the house (once I get there).

I need sleep.

More Tests

I had a test yesterday and it came out negative for viral ulcers. I'm having something called a hydascan next week which I think is testing to determine gall bladder function. My doctor hasn't brought up allergies, but I'm sure that if this next test comes out normal, we'll look at that.

The Mystery of the Mysterious Pain that Hurts... Mysteriously

I had my ultrasound this morning. They looked at my liver, kidneys, and gall bladder. All fine. It may sound strange that I am incredibly disappointed. I just want to know what's wrong and get it fixed. More and more it's starting to seem like I am going to have to make a major life change as far as diet goes. But this "bland diet" stuff is really depressing. It gets to the point that you just think "why bother?" Nothing tastes like anything and so eating is no fun--purely mechanical. It stinks. I would kill to be able to go to Olive Garden.

A Crazy Week

This past week has been a really great/horrible one. I haven't really had the chance to make individual posts, so I'll just do one long one.

Low Point- Spending Friday evening in the ER

High Point- A very special blessing

Begin at the beginning--

Last Saturday, we had a birthday party for Petra. Three of her friends from nursery came (I didn't invite them all, because there are apparently about 14), and we had a lot of fun. Their favorite activity was, I think, playing with the bubble cow that Aunt Natalie gave Petra for her birthday. They all loved it and all of the mom's wanted to know where to buy one of their own. Also, I made a pinata (with a little help from Dusty), they rode bikes in the driveway, and ate cupcakes. It only lasted an hour, but it was Petra's first friend birthday party, and I think she really enjoyed it (at least until the other kids tried to play with her new presents--how to teach a three year old to share?)

Petra got sick the next day and had to stay home from school all week. It was particularly bad timing, as you will see.

Now, I know you are all just holding your breaths to know why I went to the ER, so before you turn purple, here goes. Ever since Talia was born, I haven't been feeling very well. I am tired all of the time, and I often get headaches. I thought at first that it was just having the baby and lack of sleep, but as time went on and Talia was sleeping though the night, I wasn't getting better. Also, the stomach cramps I've had all my life are getting more frequent. Anyway, I've been to the doctor a couple of times the past week, but then my stomach just started hurting worse and worse. I completely lost my appetite for several days and lost ten pounds. The stomach aches seem to be connected to food, so I decided to stop eating greasy or oily foods for a little while and see what happened. On Friday, I ate a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo (but with honey mustard) from Wendy's, and I got SO sick. My stomach and my back hurt so badly, that I finally asked Dusty to take me to the hospital. The long and the short of it is that I am going to have a gall bladder ultrasound next week. They are also thinking that I might have ulcers. Also, I can't eat any oils or meat which basically means I can't eat much of anything. The good news is, that as long as I don't eat anything I shouldn't, I feel fine.

The blessing was connected to my sickness. I don't really want to go into a lot of detail, but one evening when I was feeling really sick and the thought of trying to take care of both of the girls while I was so sick all by myself the next day was more than I could handle, I asked Dusty to give me a blessing. It was unlike any blessing that I have ever had. It was truly a wonderful experience.

So, my current motto is, take one day at a time, and if you can't get everything done... well, there is always another day. I guess it might not be the best way to be, but there you are.

Fencing off my Childhood

I had the saddest realization today. I am grown-up. I mean, you think that the seven kids and husband and my own home and all of that would have tipped me off, but no. Apparently not. Today, I went to my mom's house and saw that the neighbors have built a fence between Mom and Dad's house and the house that my best friend growing up lived in. Actually, her family doesn't even live there anymore, but still... There are moments when it feels like I am just playing house or babysitting and I will go home, and run through the backyard to Amanda's and play. No more. I guess I really is over.

Jam Tarts

This morning I was making some pies and I had some left over crust dough, so I decided to make some jam tarts. We used to make them when I was little and my mom was baking pies. Making them, but most of all eating them, brought back some really fond memories from my childhood. I have this picture in my head of Reed and Mom and I in our kitchen at Thanksgiving time (it must have been Thanksgiving because Mom didn't really make pies that often). Mom is baking in the kitchen, and Reed and I are on the other side of the counter. We roll out the leftover dough, cut it into squares, and put a spoonful of homemade raspberry jam in each square and then pinch the edges shut. Then we put them on a cookie sheet and mom bakes them. I remember that mine were always too big with either way too much jam or way too little. Anyway, just a nice thing I remembered today.

My First Rehersal

Yesterday was the first rehersal for Into the Woods. It was actually just a read through. It turned out to be kind of boring, but I am sure that they will get more interesting. They had technical difficulties with the score CD, so we just sang along with the soundtrack and read through our lines. It took about three hours to get through the play. And of course, I don't have a very big part, so most of the time I was just sitting there.

I was really glad about one thing, though. It turned out that with a lot of the biggest parts, they "split" them so that two people are playing the same part. They will only get to perform every other night! I'm glad that I get to be in every performance.

Speaking of which, for those interested, here are the performance dates: May 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 21, 25, & 26. Those are all Firdays, Saturdays, or Mondays.

I'm really hoping that I can help with the costuming. I think that would be really fun, too.

Quick Trip to Shriner's

On Monday, Petra and I took a quick trip to Shriner's while Mom watched Talia. Really, we just drove to the hospital and back, we didn't spend any time in SLC, otherwise I would have given you Utahn's a call. I love Shriner's. Some people in our area have implied that it's not as good of a hospital as Primary Children's because it's not affiliated with the Church, but they have been absolutely wonderful to us. Monday, Petra had to have her braces adjusted because they were causing a pressure sore on her left ankle, but the problem was quickly resolved. The orthatist just moved the strap further up her ankle. They have a fun playground outside the hospital and we played there for a couple of minutes before and after the appointment to work the wiggles out. Petra's favorite was the swing. She wanted me to push her as high as I could and did NOT want to stop, even to slide. They have these really cool metal pipes with mallets that play music when you hit them and big drums at the playground, too (it's an outdoor playground!). It also happened to be a truly beautiful day. I enjoyed doing something a little different for once. I am happy staying home, but it's nice to have a change of pace once in a while.

My Talia Bear

Look at these pictures of Talia and myself! I am so proud of the fact that she looks so much like I did. Every time someone saw Petra, they would say, "She looks just like her daddy!". It kind of hurt my feelings. Actually, the part that bothered me was that she has always been such a Daddy's Girl. In the middle of the night, I wasn't the one she called for. If she fell down, she didn't want me. Maybe Talia can be mine. Not that she seems to care all that much who holds her at this point. I think that it will make a big difference that I'm staying home with the girls, though. It already has made a difference with Petra's and my relationship, I think. She no longer cries "I want daddy!" whenever she doesn't get her way.

I'm actually enjoying staying home a lot of the time. But, man, is it hard! I don't think anyone can truly understand how difficult it is until they try it. Trying to keep the house clean without neglecting the girls is practically impossible. I've kind of given up, to tell the truth. I decided that the girl's need my attention a lot more than the kitchen does (not that I'm not trying to keep everything reasonably tidy, it's just not what I would call really clean). And the girls always seem to desperately need my attention at exactly the same time. If Petra wets her pants, Talia is suddenly starving to death. It's triage. Decide who really needs my attention more at that moment. Am I the only one who feels like a newborn's cries indicate a need for urgent attention? It always makes me feel like I've really got to hurry and attend to her when Talia starts screaming. It takes a real effort to ignore her if Petra needs me more.

Now the Fun REALLY Starts!

I just got the call! I am a step-sister--Florinda, I think. Is it awful of me to admit that at first, just for a moment, I was disappointed? It is kind of a small part. But, the more I think about it, the more excited I am. Hey! I got in!!! And, I'm sure that the more I do this, the less nervous I will get, and the more likely I am to be able to get better parts in the future. Besides, this is going to be a lot of fun!!

PS-Thanks for your support!

Call Backs

Yesterday, we were having a really busy day. I had taken Petra to physical therapy, and we went home for a quick lunch before I had to take Talia to the doctor (she had a little cold which I thought was just a little cold, but Petra had suspected pneumonia and Dusty had bronchitis, so I wanted to make sure it really wasn't anything serious [it wasn't]). We were racing to get there on time, with a million other things to do afterwards, when I finally got the call from the theatre (well, 4 days can seem like an eternity!). She wanted me to come back for call backs at 5:45 that night! This was really exciting on the one hand, but really scary on the other hand. A big part of me was hoping that they wouldn't do call back's--I would know yea or nay after only one audition and not have to go through that again. Also, it seemed like all the time, I would ALMOST make it, but not quite. It almost seems worse that way. It was a big part of why I decided to give up on theatre in the first place.

Anyway, once again, I was so nervous that I wanted to throw up. And I just seemed to find so many good excuses not to go through with it. Dusty wouldn't let me, though. I turned the girls over to him after fencing and ran home to change before I went to the theatre (see previous entry for the reasoning). I hadn't even thought about my song since the previous Saturday, so I grabbed the CD to practice in the car again. At first it sounded awful again, but I prayed and went through it a couple more times, and I thought it was okay.

The audition itself was more fun this time. I only had to sing a little, then I read lines with a couple of other women who were a lot of fun. The upshot of it is that I think the three of us are being considered for either Cinderella's Stepmother, Jack's Mother, or the Baker's Wife. Just not the Stepmother, please! I have enough of that in real life!!

(If you want to know my bet, I think that if I get one of those, it will be Jack's Mother, since I'm a soprano, and the other two were altos and that part is definitely the highest. I want the Baker's Wife the most, though).

So, more wait and see. Again. If I thought 4 days was an eternity....!!! Every time the phone rings, my heart rate jumps!!!

Auditioning

When I heard that the Virginia Theater was going to do Into the Woods, at first I was really excited. I could just picture myself as Cinderella, in that beautiful gown, dancing and singing... and my favorite part, the applause at the end. I told Dusty about it, and he was very supportive. But then... I started practicing my song... and I guess it was going okay, but I remembered all of the reasons I gave up on being in plays. I started to get really nervous. What if I made a fool of myself? I was wasting my time--surely I wouldn't make it. The funny thing is, performing the play isn't the scary part to me. I still think that that would be really fun. But auditioning... specifically presenting myself to be judged, where someone will be watching me looking for something specific, and I might not even know what that is... that is really really terrifying to me. When the time came nearer and nearer, and I still didn't really know my song, I gave up. I didn't really decide not to try, I just knew that I wouldn't. I would let the opportunity pass me by, quietly, without acknowledging it, and that would be that. Dusty wouldn't let it happen, though. Two days before the audition, he started pushing me, gently, but in a way that basically told me I had no choice in the matter. "It doesn't matter if you get it," he said. "All that matters is that you try." So be it. I set to really learning my song.

The night before the audition, I had been singing all evening, to a CD (Wicked), to the radio, then I finally started practicing my song, and I was losing my voice. The high notes were okay, but the low notes sounded awful. Yech.

The day of the audition, I got all dressed up. I wore a suit, and my Aunt Dale's diamond necklace. Dusty told me once about how people give you more respect if you look impressive. Plus, I knew I would feel even more like garbage if I showed up looking all grungy. Anyway, I practiced my song only three times, in the car on the way to the theatre, because I was afraid I would start to lose my voice again. The audition itself went pretty well. I was still pretty scared at first. When I've auditioned as an adult, I get nervous in a way that I don't think I have at any other time in my life. It's like my entire body goes numb and I want to break my own finger or something just to feel again (okay, I know I'm really weird). When I was singing, my body was trembling, but I knew that there wasn't anything that I could do about that, so I just focused on remembering all of the words, and trying not to look at anyone (while not looking like I was trying not to look at anyone). After my song, everyone else clapped (as they had for everyone who was auditioning) and one person had even cheered (which they hadn't for anyone else, and I didn't know anyone there so that's good!). Then, they had me read lines. They had me read a lot of lines. More than any of the other auditions than I had watched. The more I read, the less I trembled, and the more fun I started to have.

And, that was it. She said that they would call me with-in a week.