Happy Accidents

My Favorite Things

2011-03-24T11:37:00.003-04:00

I'm copying Oprah a bit, but I want to share a new favorite thing.
As many of you know I am a fan of a few things - Five Hour Energy Drinks, State Farm Insurance, Vaseline as a moisturizer, and now my new favorite:

I've taken to washing my hair less and using this particular shampoo with a follow up of Moroccan Argan Tree oil.

My hair is now so manageable and shiny.

I know I sound like a weird advertisement, but I just wanted to share.

2011-02-27T14:20:00.001-05:00

I just had to share this. I think it is amazing and inspiring.

New Year's Resolution?

2010-01-05T18:29:00.012-05:00

We enjoyed a wonderful visit from theVirginia Chelaks for New Years. When they arrived we discovered some of our happy party were dressed for the holidays.

Clint, Harrison, Marjorie, and Joe dressed in their holiday colors.

Our time together was very enjoyable. We relaxed, and played lots of games and enjoyed each other's company. Bananagrams is a favorite.

Family names - including our four legged members - done with Bananagram tiles.

We took our "almost annual" height picture. Grrr. I'm on the short end now.

It was fun to have Harrison with us for three weeks, but I think he was homesick for Utah. He kept trying to call "home."

We did a great photo shoot with his "Core Four" friends. This is one of our favorites.

Harrison and I challenged each other to reach our fitness goals. I started today by walking 3 miles in freezing weather.

So that's the update from the SC Chelak household.
Love you all.

Whew! If anyone has tips on formatting a blog it would be appreciated. Every time I inserted a photo it would put it at the top of the blog, and I had a hard time moving it to where I wanted it to be. At this rate I would update even less often than I do. JethRobyn, you seem to be the expert at this. What am I doing wrong?

Annie and Beyond

2009-09-08T11:25:00.006-04:00

We just closed our production of Annie and it was a rousing success by all standards. We had 9 performances and all of them were nearly or completely sold out. The response has been terrific. People came from all over the state and even Georgia to see the show. Best of all, it got a buzz in Greenville, and the snobby Greenville theatre people came to see the show and were genuinely impressed. See Easley, we can be great.

I had the distinct pleasure of playing Ms. Hannigan opposite some pretty fantastic actors. Meredith as Lily and Kenny as Rooster were so much fun to be bad guys with. I had a blast. And the orphans were terrific. I grew especially fond of McKenna Crosby as Molly and Stevie as Annie. They were so good!

Next up on our stage is our outlandish comedy, They Came From Mars and Landed Outside the Farndale Avenue Church in Time for the Townswomen's Guild's Coffee Morning. I'm not directly involved, but I'm sure I will be around a good bit.

Summer and Smoke part deux

2009-05-18T23:02:00.003-04:00

Here is a slide show from our production of Summer and Smoke. It really turned out well, and although the audiences have been small so far, I am glad we did this show. I think we all learned from the experience.

For those of you that don't know anything about it, it is a Tennessee Williams play. The following is our press copy. A lonely minister's daughter, Alma Winemiller, is a spinster living in a rural Mississippi town. She finds her only solace in a secret lifelong love for the boy next door, now grown into a handsome ladies' man. Eventually, Alma is tortured by her unrequited love and begins to make desperate attempts to get his attention. But her repressed nature clashes with his wanton ways, leading to a climactic battle of wills that changes both of them forever. Riveting and intense, this sultry production transports you to the oppressive and sweltering world of Tennessee Williams in this classic piece of American theater.

Summer and Smoke

2009-05-13T12:37:00.005-04:00

I haven't posted for quite a while, but those of you that follow would already know that. I have been quite busy as always with school, work, family, and the theatre, and I sometimes wonder if I will ever not feel sleepy again, but it's all good, and I am actively working towards paring down a few of the activities in my life so I can breathe.

I finished my second semester at Clemson with another 4.0, which I'm proud of considering I mounted 2 1/2 shows at the theatre during the course of the semester, with the other 1/2 show going up now. I start summer semester next week with 3 classes, two of them are online classes, and the other I have to go to twice a week, so I don't have much of a break. In addition, we open the play Summer and Smoke on Friday, which is just two days away. Not only am I acting in it as the crazy Mrs. Winemiller, but I have been painting and decorating the set, and I am quite proud of what it looks like.

Here is a picture of the angel I sculpted for the set. She is about 6 1/2 feet tall to the tops of the wings. I made her by building an armature of wood and window screening, and then using muslin dipped in a mixture of glue and paint I sculpted the rest. I am really pleased with how it turned out. You can't really see in the photo, but the fountain has real running water in the basin at the bottom. Austin and Alexis are sitting on the "stone" steps which are made out of foam insulation scored to look like stone and faced with the muslin and glue/paint mixture. It has been labor intensive, but it really looks neat. I am currently looking for greenery to add to it to make it look more like a park. I will post more photos of the completed set when I am able.

Limited Language Skills

2009-02-24T20:55:00.002-05:00

As I am finishing my third day without a voice I have had time - and inclination - to consider what our voice does for us. We take our voice completely for granted until it's gone, but it is our instrument, our connection, even our person. The quality of our voice defines us; it's like our fingerprint of sound. We remember people by their voices, and we know all the shades and tones of our loved ones voices.
When one has lost ones voice and can only whisper, the nuance of meaning is lost. And forget about the squawk. One can't get meaning across with that at all. What makes it worse is that it hurts to speak, yet I end up having to repeat everything I say because nobody can understand me. And I have the sneaking suspicion that my family thinks I'm doing this on purpose!
What if we were only given a finite number of words to use in a lifetime and I've already used mine up? If we knew that we only had so many words available wouldn't we use them more wisely? I know I sometimes talk to hear myself talk, so if I have only been given a certain number of words then I'm probably doomed to whisper for the rest of my life.

Thoughts from a crazy woman

2009-02-21T12:24:00.005-05:00

As I sit in the box office, yet again, waiting for the Young Actor's Workshop class 1 to end and class 2 to begin, I thought I would update my blog. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of other things to do to while a way a minute, but this sounds the most fun right now.

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. We had the comedian James Gregory, with Keith Alberstadt at our theatre last Saturday for a show, (I would put his caricature on, but , quite frankly, I am sick of it), and this Saturday we have casting director Kelly Tippens teaching workshops for aspiring young actors. At the same time we are mounting Charlotte's Web, and planning a mystery dinner show for the South Carolina Waste and Recycling convention in March. We do stay busy around here.

At the same time I am still in school, though I try not to think about it. I am supposed to write a 5 page essay about Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross before Tuesday, and several response papers about plays I've seen, as well as write a grant proposal before Wednesday. I will get them done, but procrastination is a problem with me - thus the blog entry. Maybe if I start writing I will get the juices flowing.

The kids are great. Mckenzie auditioned for the Fine Arts Center in Greenville. If she makes it she will attend a different high school for at least half the day next year, and maybe transfer entirely if it makes more sense transportation wise. I am so proud of how well she is doing with her oboe. She really plays beautifully. Both her and Clint will be doing Region band this next week, and that is always a great opportunity. Their All-County band concert was amazing.

I am also so proud of Austin. He auditioned for NYU, and it sounds like his audition went well. He is so amazingly talented, and I really hope he finds a program that can help him shine. However, he should feel good about the fact that he went and auditioned at all. There are many others who talk about it but never do.

College Life

2009-01-22T11:47:00.002-05:00

Some days I feel more like a college student than other days. Today was one of those days when I stumbled out of bed at 5:30 to get ready for my 8:00 class. I soon realized I had nothing to wear because my laundry hasn't been done in...oh, I can't remember when, and I had to (stop reading here if you are squeamish), get some jeans out of the hamper so I could get dressed. I actually sniffed them to make sure they weren't too offensive. ugh. I figured if I kept my long coat on the whole time nobody would notice the tell-tale wrinkles. I won't say I've never done this before, but it usually doesn't get quite that bad around here...ok, so those of you that have lived with me will disagree...but I seriously do try most of the time to keep a semblance of order. I am home now, and do you think I will do some laundry? Well, I'll think about it - if I can fit it into my schedule.

A New Beginning

2009-01-19T07:48:00.011-05:00

Yesterday we took Harrison to the Charlotte airport for his departure into his future. Surprisingly I was able to hold it together for the most part. I only cried a little. I know this is a good move for him because he will be with people who like him and will be a great influence on him. In fact, I couldn't ask for better people for him to be around. Furthermore, he will develop his independence and be challenged to grow, which is what is supposed to happen, but I will definitely miss him - as exasperating as he can be at times.

After we got back we all got busy cleaning out his bedroom to turn it into Mckenzie's room. I started in on the closet, and I found that most of what we are giving a rent free home to isn't worth saving. It feels so good to remove the junk that clutters up our lives. I have a HUGE pile for Goodwill, a HUGE pile for the trash, and a few things to sell on Ebay. We filled up another box to send to Harrison - I hope he can find a spot for it - and overall we had a good time together. I'm going to be okay.

We are supposed to get some snow tonight. I hope it's enough to cancel classes tomorrow. My life would be perfect.

The Week That Was

2008-08-16T15:27:00.010-04:00

This has been a crazy week, and I think I'm feeling the strain. I am in great need of a 5 hour energy drink today. We opened our play "Smoke On The Mountain" last night to rave reviews. It couldn't have gone any better. The play was so funny that we broke up on stage. It reminded me of the old Carol Burnett shows with Harvey Corman breaking up because of Tim Conway. I had to struggle to get my laughter under control, which made my eyes water. Everyone that knows me knows that I cry when I laugh, and I was just hoping my makeup didn't run down my face.

We were able to score 10 cases of Nehi soda for concessions, which we put in a big tub of ice. We also got the cellophane crackers - a real southern treat, I guess. I think the audience enjoyed it.

I really appreciate the help of the core four (sans Harrison). Austin house managed with Meredith, and he also ran the lights, and Emma was in the box office. I'm going to miss you guys. But at least I will still have Austin around for another year.

I also attended my orientation for new students at Clemson this last Thursday. I felt so old sitting in that room with all those new students. I kept thinking "what am I doing here!!!" I start classes this coming Wednesday. I only have one general ed class, BIO 103, and all the rest are theatre and music classes. I'm taking acting I, which I'm sure will be....well, let's just say it will be something. I'm also taking private voice lessons and a portfolio class (whatever that is). I tried to get a Spanish class so I don't forget what I learned this last semester, but all of the classes were full.

I'm missing Harrison, but I just know he is having a great time. I'm so grateful to my family for hosting him and making him feel at home. He probably won't want to come home after this, but I'll deal with that when and if it happens.

The First Push

2008-08-10T21:37:00.000-04:00

Harrison is on his way to Utah in a day.

My hopes for his trip are:

that he gets a taste of my family's optimism and good humor,

he sees that the world is bigger than this podunk town,

he begins to understand that college isn't only Clemson, USC, or Winthrop,

he explores as much of Utah as he is able,

he develops some independence,

he gets to know his extended family a bit,

he sees what Utah might have to offer him,

he learns to get out of bed before 1:00 in the afternoon,

he understands his background and heritage a bit better,

he laughs a lot,

he misses me (at least a little).

2008-07-26T18:11:00.000-04:00

The latest news is that I have been accepted to Clemson University's Theatre Department as a student. I feel like I'm finally finishing a project I started 20 something years ago, which I guess is exactly what I'm doing. I should be able to complete my degree in 2 years with a BA in Performing Arts/Theatre and a music minor. The best part is that they are accepting my credits from my time at SUSC - now SUU, and the second best part is that they told me I'm not the oldest student in the program. The next two years are going to be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it. Wish me luck.

I'm Baaack

2008-05-27T16:15:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I put anything on this blog, but seeing Ian's blog got me motivated to update.
Once Upon a Mattress was a big success. The play turned out better than I imagined, and the kids had a great time. Harrison basically stole the show as the mute king. He was so funny. The school wants me to continue doing plays with them, so I am trying to figure out what the next play will be. I have gone back to school yet once again to get a degree so I can actually get paid to do drama in the high school. Our high school is now the "High School of the Performing Arts" for Pickens County, which is a strange turn of events since they don't really have a drama teacher. The principal is anxious to get me in there, but I need to finish my degree. I feel like my life has taken a full turn back to the beginning.

Not This Year

2007-10-25T12:58:00.000-04:00

Sadly our band didn't make it to state this year. I have to say it was a hard loss since we had won Grand Champions the week before. However, the picture shows what a few of the boys in the band did before the competition to show spirit (Clint had better sense). Maybe the loss of hair reduced their strength and that's why they lost. hmmm.

Grand Champions

2007-10-13T23:04:00.000-04:00

Our marching band took 1st place in their division and Grand Champions overall. It was a good day. Next week we go to upper state to see if we qualify for state. We haven't been to state since Harrison was a freshman, so we are hoping this is the year. It would be good for the Chelak clan since all four are marching.

High School Musical

2007-10-09T18:35:00.000-04:00

I have been tapped to direct our local high school's musical this year. They haven't done a musical in about 9 or 10 years. In fact, the last few year's plays have been written and directed by the school's biology teacher. He's gone from the high school now because of some internet indescretions, and the drama teacher doesn't like doing school plays, so I spoke up and got the job. I suggested that we do Once Upon a Mattress and it looks like its a go. I'm excited.

yeah broccoli

2007-05-16T14:56:00.000-04:00

I harvested our first cutting of broccoli yesterday and steamed it up for dinner. It was delicious. I also have some pretty white cauliflower heads developing that I am excited about.
Most of the rest of the garden took a beating while I was in Utah. We had an unseasonable freeze that killed my tomatoes, squash and beans. It also wiped out my peaches. We have had a rather cool April and May so I have not put in any new plants. Yesterday, however, I went and bought some more tomato plants, along with some sweet potatoes, basil, and peppers. I will also replant my beans today. It's a good day for planting. The temperature right now at 11:00 am is a perfect 68 degrees.

Carly's essay

2007-05-13T20:17:00.000-04:00

This is a short story written by Taylor for her teacher for teacher's appreciation week. I just had to share it.

CARLY'S ESSAY

Carley watched the constant ticking of the clock, her mind blank. Why do I have to write this? She thought about how the clock kept at a steady pace, always going. If only my mind worked that way.

The teacher had assigned the class to write an essay on something that seemed magical to them. Something that inspired them or that made them think.

Tick, tock, tick, tock. Every second there’s a little sound, counting the time. Kind of like a metronome. She tried to find inspiration in that little piece of knowledge.

Well, I do play the piano, but it’s nothing special to me. Personally, I just like how the tempo is perfect, never faster than it’s supposed to be, never slower. It always comes when expected. You can speed it up, but it keeps going steadily.

Carley looked around the room. The clock, Marian’s fingers tapping, Jonathon’s gum chewing, even the computer’s typing cursor, they all keep a tempo. Then, she thought of being at her house. A dog’s tail wagging, the hum of a car, a metronome, even walking stays at a beat. Almost everything does!

Then, it struck her that this could be the thing she wrote about. She looked at her paper, as blank as a white-washed wall. There was a lot of space to fill up, and she had a lot to write about.

There are so many things in this world that I could choose to write about, but one thing that makes me really think is plainly, a steady tempo. Almost everything is kept in an even pace. Well, at least in some sort of rhythmic pattern.

When I hear a beat, my heart races. I think of music flying from the surface of the noise. I just want to dance! When you hear a drum beat, don’t you just want to move around?

Carley was a little uneasy about putting so many of her feelings down on a paper to be turned in to the teacher, but it was all true, so she kept it.

She continued writing until she came to her final paragraph. It read:

Some people think of their heart as the organ that pumps their blood. That’s not the complete truth. The heart, to me, is the metronome of life. The heartbeat measures my inspiration, joy, happiness, and love out all at equal times, and equal amounts.

Again, she felt a little uncomfortable about putting so much about herself on the paper, but the words were going to stay there. It’s true, isn’t it?

She read over the paper and a thought came to her. I put so much of my thoughts and feelings on a simple essay. I kind of feel foolish. The teacher is probably going to laugh at me! She looked again. No, she’s not. This is all true. Not a bit of it that I wrote is a lie. Now I know more about myself. I expressed my feelings. This isn’t for my teacher’s purposes, but my own -to find out more about myself.

Carley walked up and turned the paper in. I think that I just figured out something that all the other kids missed. They’re probably going to write about dragons and warlocks. Well, it is their story and I wrote mine. They probably would laugh at mine. Oh, well.

The next day, at the same time, Carley was reading and waiting for the other children to finish writing their stories. When the last kid turned their paper in, and it was corrected, the teacher called out, “Carley, can you come up here?” I was scared out of my wits! Was she calling me up to tell me how ridiculous my essay was?

Carley went to the teacher’s desk and squeaked, “Yes, Mrs. Holiday?”

“Carley, we teachers have chosen your paper to represent our school in the district writing contest! If you win, which you have a high probability of doing, not only would the school earn a cash prize, you would, too! I believe that this year, winning students are awarded fifty dollars.”

I really couldn’t believe my ears. My silly bit of paper has a chance of winning fifty dollars!
Mrs. Holiday continued, “So are you willing to let us send your essay in?”

“Of course,” Carley replied, “I mean, if it’s really good enough for that.”

“We wouldn’t have chosen it if we thought it wasn’t good enough. Trust me on this.”

A month later, it was a normal day. The class was working on another assignment and Carley was busy at work. Mrs. Holiday called out, “We have great news! Carley won the district writing contest! Here’s your award money.”

Me? I really was good enough? My paper was good enough? Wow, this is amazing! So Carley went to the teacher’s desk to get her award.

“Carley,” Mrs. Holiday said when handing over the prize money, “you really did deserve this.”

It may not seem like much, but to Carley, that meant a whole bunch. So she continued her career as an author and became very successful, inspiring many young children.

…A teacher can be very inspiring, too, and for that, they deserve the most appreciation for what they do for everybody, for without them, we wouldn’t be educated…

-Taylor Chelak