Lucky Dollar, Private Eye

3 daughters and 1 husband are currently performing in Lucky Dollar, Private Eye at the Monticello Opera House. It's a musical murder mystery dinner theater show (did you get all that??) that is a fundraiser for the Little Shop of Horrors production that will go on in the Fall. To date, I have to say that it is my FAVORITE of all of their shows. It is hilarious!! That is, if you like cheesy, schtick-y comedy that makes your stomach hurt from laughing so much! 

Lucky Dollar is an LA private eye who hasn't had a case in 2 years. His secretary is an airheaded blonde, his new client has multiple personalities, and the cops are trying to put him in jail. The story has everything from a loony toon family, a Cuban maid (that is played by a guy), a guy in a gorilla suit, and a Japanese woman that is a little too good with knives. 

If you are in the area, I highly recommend it! The last 2 performances are this Friday and Saturday night at 7pm. $35/ticket includes a Chinese themed dinner and a fantastic show. You can call the Opera House at 997-4242 to make reservations no later than Wed. 

Here are some rave reviews:

"Went to see "Lucky Dollar," the murder mystery dinner theater at the Monticello Opera House. It was beeyoooooutifully cheesy, and I'm not sure who had more fun -- the cast or the audience!" - Pamela S.

"FOUR THUMBS UP!!! Yes, people, I am raising thumbs that I *don't even have* to the MadCo production of "Lucky Dollar" at the Monticello Opera House. It's one of the funniest show's I've seen in a long time, and the singing, acting and dancing are fabulous." - Judi p.

"Looking for something to do this weekend?? Lucky Dollar Private Eye Musical Murder Mystery is a hit!! I promise you, you're in for some side splitting laughs! The cast was absolutely amazing!" - Paulette M.

Daughter #1 is Chartreuse the Chanteuse, a comedy club owner/singer. She is quite out of character in this role, and she pulls it off great! Daughter #2 is an "Unknown Chorus person". She is also part of the "Dollarette" quartet. Daughter #3 is in the chorus. And hubby is in the band on drums. 

Here are just a few pics from the show:

Daughter #1 in green, Daughter #2 in peach

Had to show you Conchita (Jorge)!

Chorus also moonlighted as servers for the dinner. They had their own "Tip" song.
Daughter #1  in black, Daughter #2 below her in orange, and Daughter #3 in yellow with the pink heart sunglasses.

Best song number in the show! This girl can SAAANNNNGG!

So make your way to Monticello this weekend for great food (everyone has been raving about it!) and a great show! 

The Hobby Lobby Bandwagon

Have you jumped on it? It keeps circling me. I see news reports and articles all over the place. My first instinct was to just hop right on. But as my husband and I started talking about it, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I kept thinking, "But on the other hand, is it right to jeopardize thousands of employees' jobs because of your own personal convictions?" In today's economy, I wonder how their employees feel about the line Hobby Lobby has drawn. Believe me, I am against abortion. I speak out against it often. I have friends and relatives that have had abortions, and the effects are long-term and devastating. I am also against abortifacients. I believe life begins at conception. But I was having a hard time believing that HL was willing to endanger their entire company and thousands of jobs over a pill that MIGHT be taken by one of their employees.

A friend and I went out for coffee one night and started talking about it. She reminded me that HL buys a lot of their items in China.Wait a minute...What??!!  We all know that China FORCES thousands of women each year to have abortions.  I went home and told my husband. He does a few minutes of research. Hobby Lobby OWNS a Chinese buying company! This blows me away. How can they possibly reconcile these two things in their minds? How do you draw a line with one government, only to be holding hands with an even worse government??  This "line in the sand" mentality now seems very arbitrary indeed. 

So the bandwagons will have to just keep circling. I won't be riding along. 

A Prayer of Faith

I had an interesting childhood, to say the least. One of these days I will write a blog series about it, and then you will all say, "Ah! Now I get it!" I won't go into a lot of details now, but I will tell you this. I grew up in a very charismatic household. When my dad got a hold of the Holy Ghost when I was nine, there was no stopping him. It was all so exciting, but it definitely led us down some paths that we would have been better off not taking. One of the things it did for me was really mess with my beliefs on prayer. We went from a somewhat boring Methodist church to the brimstone and hell fire Assemblies of God. That was fine until we decided to jump on the Word of Faith bandwagon. Name it, Claim it. We had pictures on our refrigerator of things my dad wanted. Not needed, but wanted. It was our right as the sons of God to live like the princes we are. Even now, I get a little squeamish thinking about it. Once I moved to Tallahassee, I was so happy to find a church that believed in the gifts of the Spirit without turning it into a "it's all about me" party. But I had a very hard time, and still do, with how to pray and what to pray. So I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. "Lord, your will be done." There. Safe. Covers all the bases. Because sometimes we don't agree with what God's will actually is. Sometimes bad things happen. And it's hard to believe that it might be God's will that it did happen. I do believe in the sovereignty of God. I do believe that everything happens for a reason. I do believe that God does what He will all for His Glory. It just doesn't seem to make sense sometimes. So, it's easier to be safe. But when I got a call this week that a precious friend of mine's daughter was literally fighting for her life, I found myself praying a new prayer. I prayed that she would live and not die. I prayed that His life and power would flow down to the very fingertips and toes of her body. I prayed that she and her family would not only have peace and comfort as they went through this, but also joy and laughter. I couldn't be safe any longer. My prayers had to mean more. And I don't know why this is happening. I don't know why a faithful and loving husband goes out for a run one evening and has a massive heart attack that ends his life. I don't know why a wonderful, giving family received a phone call that their house and everything in it burned to the ground. I don't know why a vivacious, beautiful 19 year old girl is lying in a hospital bed going thru the biggest battle of her life. I. just. don't. know. But I will tell you what I do know. I know that without these trials and hardships, the Body of Christ would have nothing to do. I know that we are to be His hands, His feet, His voice, working together to get through these times. Together. Functioning as One Body. And in that, I know He is glorified. 

For the love of theater

This is one of the hard weeks. In theater speak, it's called Tech Week. For weeks the kids have been practicing their lines, learning their blocking (that is the term for placement on the stage), and putting together their costumes. This is the week where everything comes together. They add in the all the props, settings, lights, and music (if any). Rehearsals are longer and more tiring and every night. But it all leads up to *dum, da, da, dum* Opening Night! "The Miracle Worker" is up first. Yes, I said FIRST. That's because in an insane moment of, well, insanity, I agreed to let my kids be in 3 productions at once! The performances for "The Miracle Worker" are Thursday and Friday night, and Sat afternoon. Followed by breakdown and the long awaited Cast Party. The lead, Annie Sullivan, is played my 14 year old daughter. My 16 year old and 12 year old daughters are minor characters. (At some point I will come up with creative names for all 6 of my kids, but not tonight!) Two weeks later we will hit Tech Week for "Babes in Toyland". At least Miracle Worker is in Tallahassee. Babes is in Quincy. I am thankful every day for the women who carpool with me. Quincy is a good 35 minute drive from our house. Again, my 16 and 12 year olds are in the chorus, while my 10 year old son has a bigger part but has no lines. Apparently he plays a mute named Mini Gonz who is very dramatic and likes to be in charge. Since neither of these productions rehearse on Sundays, we decided to also join the cast of "Lucky Dollar, Private Eye". Kind of a corny, cheesy musical that will be done as dinner theater. I already love it! We will continue just Sunday rehearsals until MW and Babes are done. This is at the Monticello Opera House where we do most of our theater. Again, a good 35 minute drive. The money I spend on gas during shows is RIDICULOUS!! But in the end it's always worth it. My kids LOVE being on stage, and I love seeing them there. I also enjoy it for myself. I have been in "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Oklahoma!". But now I have another little one, so my time will have to wait. My 3 older girls are in Lucky Dollar. My 16 year old has the role of Chartreuse the Chanteuse, a night club singer kind of character at a comedy club. Chartreuse is completely out of character for my daughter. But I know she will rock this role. This production won't run until the end of January, but then we will go straight into "Little Shop of Horrors". What can I say? We love theater!! Pics from our shows will be following each production.

Introducing....ME!

 Hi! Welcome to my new blog, Mind Over Batter! My husband, George, has been bugging me for years to start writing, so I thought this would be a great way to start. He figures someone who reads as much as I do (to a fault) has to be a good writer. I guess we are going to find out! Our family of 8 is crazy busy, which makes for some interesting and usually funny stories. My 14 year old daughter, Damaris, loves to bake and create. Together we run a Cottage Food Industry business, Something for Dessert. So you'll be sure to find our successes (and failures) here on these pages. I also tend to have an opinion on just about any subject, but I will try to keep this blog to the ones that I feel others might appreciate. What's a little controversy between friends, right? I will throw in a few reviews of books, restaurants, and movies for a more lighthearted side of my perspective.

I hope you will enjoy your visits! I look forward to hearing from you, so please leave comments. :D
























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