FINALLY FOUR

“No!!” my daughter insisted as I tried to help yank her pj’s over her head last night. “I’m 4 now. I don’t need help.”

(Sigh) The “baby” of the family is growing up.  She got the “Orphan Annie” party she’d been hoping for, complete with the curly wig, thanks to a brilliant last-second save by my theatre friend, Jill! 

    See, I had ordered Clara  an Annie costume, but couldn’t find a wig that seemed right.  Running out of time the night before the party, I found a blonde curly wig at Walgreens, and got some orange hair spray.   The result was not cute. More like shocking. It came out – NEON PINK.  I left the atrocity  lying in the garage, looking like a murdered muppet.

    The morning of the party, with no wig plan in place, my phone rang – my actress-friend Jill was coming to the fiesta and bringing a long a REAL Annie wig from Beef and Boards dinner theatre for Clara to borrow!!  annie wigs

          So here’s Clara showing what Annie is supposed to look like, and her big brother Calvin, showing what Annie would look like if someone stuck a murdered muppet on her head and put her in a black Spidey suit.  I want to frame this.

 

   I had a few grand plans for the party – musical chairs to Annie songs, pin the tail on Sandy, etc. – but as soon as the girls bday partydiscovered Clara’s room had a collection of costumes, it was game over.  Where else do you find Sleeping Beauty, TinkerBell, Snow White, Annie, SuperGirl and SuperMan all in one room? 

     The rest of the party pretty much became a giggling fashion show, interrupted briefly by Annie cake, and hands clamoring to help play with newly-opened gifts.  Huge thanks to my parents for making the party a success, and helping shovel up the aftermath. 

 

BEHIND THE SCENES

     I promise I will work on a more thorough blog giving you some behind-the-scenes scoop on the TV news process. For tonight, would you settle for a tiny slice of night-shift life in the newsroom? 

   SIGHTS:

   Right now I count 10 TVs on the walls, and one on every reporter and producer’s desk, creating a constant flicker of color and light.   Like most, our newsroom is an open design, where we can all see each other, making communication easier.  Todd and Ericka are directly to my right, typing away.

SOUNDS:

    The police scanners are chattering at our assignment desk, while assignment editor Tom mans the phones (and sips the Coke left over from his Jimmy Johns dinner.)  Keyboards are clicking as reporters, anchors, and producers get scripts ready for air.  I’m hearing at least 3 different news programs from TV sets, trying to focus on the one on my desk. 

SMELLS:

     The smell of disinfectant wipes is drifting my way – like just about every workplace where people share spaces, we’re a little concerned about germs around here lately.   People are always heating up food here, so usually there are lots of dinner smells around too.  If I wander down the hall I’ll smell the coffee in the break room, and the hair spray near the dressing rooms.

THE CLOCK…

Says 10:06pm. Back to work!

Hope you have a great week.

Trisha