To Be Young and Talented

Avocado went in for call-backs for the school musical, Aladdin (the Disney version) yesterday. She'd been asked to read for four of the principal roles: Jasmine, Jafar, the Genie, and Aladdin, plus Iago (the Gilbert-Gottfried parrot). Her teacher/director clearly wants her to do something. A would like to be Jasmine--she played a male role in Midsummer Night's Dream last year--but when it comes down to it, she also wants to be in the show. So we wait until Monday to find out what she'll be doing.

That rehearsals will knock her therapy appointment into a cocked hat is an issue yet to be entirely addressed. Nothing is ever simple.

When We Last Saw Our Heroine...

So far this morning I have fed and provided lunch for Avocado and her friend Amy who stayed over last night.

I have baked two 10" cake rounds, cooling as we speak.

I have tossed out the dead flowers from last night (but not yet made a new set. That will come.)

I have started the 12-serving crock pot of vegetarian stew, our contribution to the Girl Scout's Dinner for the Homeless tomorrow night.

Still up today, in no particular order:

• About four hours of freelance work.
• Start the big pot o' chili for the party.
• Parcel the ground beef I bought at Costco yesterday into 1 lb. increments.
• Make pumpkin bread
• Make orange bread
• Make gingerbread
• Drag dog
• Possibly put up lights on front of house
• Meet Avocado at Scouts tonight, where we'll be assembling Stockings for the Homeless
• Make cooking battle plan for tomorrow and Sunday.
• See claireeddy for an hour or so (she's in town! Huzzah!)

Party: 0-hour minus 53 hours, give or take.

Sometimes I Think They Just Hate Me

Today I made new frosting flowers, made the cake, crumb frosted it and put it in the freezer for the night. Made vegetarian chili for the homeless dinner tomorrow night, plus started the Big Pot o' Chili for the party. Plus: made pumpkin bread and (hopefully) will make banana bread tonight.

I have also attempted to broker peace between Sarcasm Girl and Avocado, who have had hell's own fight. Both parties are right, and both parties are wrong and both parties are being entirely inflexible. Most of the fight was carried on via text message--my phone was ringing almost constantly (claireeddy was here and was bemused by the constant bzzzzzt of the phone as all this was going on).

Tomorrow, the Spouse (and the car) go off at 7am. Avocado has just informed me that she has to be at a friend's house at 10am to work on a science project, therefore taking her out of the Help Around the House running. The dog will have to be walked. We're supposed to go to an open house at one of the private schools she's interested in from 1-3:30, and at 4:30 we're supposed to be downtown prepping for the Dinner for the Homeless. Lord knows when Spouse will get home; the girl and I should be getting home sometime 8pm. At which point I put the turkey in the oven, and work on cleaning up the house a little more.

The one thing I have asked Avocado to do is clean her room. I am getting significant pushback, but am trying very hard to get this one thing done by her, as it looks like I'm going to be doing everything else.

Oh: and Sarcasm Girl won't be making an appearance because she could not get any part of the day off from work. Which I understand too.

To do: cookies, gingerbread, turkey, ham, cleaning of house, sweeping of yard.