Certain as the sun . . .

It's a red letter day today in the McElroy household . . . at least for this McElroy! As you may have been able to tell by the title, it's all related to Beauty and the Beast. Beauty and the Beast is by far my favorite Disney movie but, like many of the more popular animated titles, it is held in their "vault" and released for new production only infrequently. While I was in college, it was released for a short time for the first time on DVD. I desperately wanted it then, but since I was in the "trying to not make debt" portion of my life, I didn't feel I had the disposable income to do so . . . and I've regretted it ever since. I've moved to the "hey, I'm making money" phase and have since purchased other loved movies, including many Disney animation products, but no Beauty and the Beast. I'd have had to buy it off the secondary market at a sharp premium, and even though I'm making money, I'm still a cheapskate! Shortly before Christmas, though, I discovered that it had been released from the Disney vault. After ascertaining that it wouldn't be a Christmas or birthday present, I ordered it last Friday and received it today! No making the same mistake I did in college. Interestingly enough, while the relative price to me has gone, I think the absolute price has as well. The number I recall from college is $35 while this time around it was only $19. Interesting what 7 years and the introduction of a new video format will do!

Anyway, while all I want to do is load it and start singing along, I thought I'd share a few stories . . . and maybe explain my Beauty and the Beast love.

I'm not sure when I first saw the movie. My parents might have taken me to see it in the theater (I definitely remember seeing The Little Mermaid and Aladdin with them in the theater) or it might have been at my grandparents house. All I know is that I loved it right away. My aunt tells the story of me staying at their house for a few days when I was 8 or 9. My uncle heard something in the lower level and walked down to see what was going on. I had put in the video and I didn't even hear him approaching because, as he puts it, I "WAS Belle," speaking and singing on cue and prancing around the room. He tiptoed back up the stairs and left me in my reverie.

I don't remember that incident, but I do remember getting the soundtrack on tape. I think my brothers got it for my birthday and I played it constantly. I'd hide myself in my room, turn up the music and play out the story, stopping the tape at appropriate intervals to act out the non-singing scenes. And since we didn't have a TV, every time we went to my grandparents, I made sure to watch the video at least once!

One year, the Disney on Ice production came through Denver. I saw the advertisements in the paper and desperately wanted to go, especially since I was taking figure skating lessons at the time, but it seemed like it was not in the cards. One Saturday morning, Dad asked if I wanted to go to the hardware store with him. Well, no, not really, the hardware store didn't hold much appeal for an 8-9 year old! I remember feeling very grown up, thinking "Dad wants to spend time with his daughter and I should say yes, even if the activity itself doesn't excite me very much." So I got in the car with him and as we started driving in an opposite direction to the hardware store he normally went to, I got suspicious. By the time we got onto the freeway headed towards Denver, I was sure of what was up, but Dad refused to confirm it! He made we wait until we'd pulled into the McNichols parking lot and could see the sign. Even then, he teased that we weren't going to the show, this was just a place to stop and eat lunch before going somewhere else! We did eat lunch that Mom had packed and headed into the arena. I've seen other Disney on Ice shows since then and none of them could compare to the wonder of this one. That may be partly due to the fact that they don't do shows dedicated to one single story any more, but I know it's mostly because they aren't my favorite fairy tail that I'm watching with my daddy.

One last story. When I was 10, Mom took me to the fabric store to look for costume ideas for Halloween. We started flipping through the idea book and boom! There it was! A pattern for Belle's ballroom dress. Mom, in a move she probably regretted, agreed to make it for me. I picked out some shiny pink fabric (even then I knew yellow was NOT my color) and away she went. I know she struggled over that dress. Shiny generally equals slippery and hard to sew. But she perservered and I was the happiest, prettiest girl on the block that night. I even got to wear make-up!

(Sorry for the fuzziness. I don't have a scanner, so this is a picture of a picture.)

And now, enough reminiscing! Time to get lost in the "tale as old as time" . . .

Shreveport Choir Trip

This past Sunday, the choir of St. Mark's Beaumont traveled north and east to sing with St. Mark's Shreveport. Michael went as part of the choir and I went to fulfill my lifelong dream (or not) of being a roadie/groupie. Jerome, the choirmaster, had rented two 15-passenger vans to transport the choir, but had found only one person who was familiar with driving those large vehicles. One of our pool cars at work is such a van, so I drive one with some regularity and offered to be the second driver. Really, they aren't too bad to drive . . . you just have to be careful about the big back end, something I have experience with! ;-P

Anyway, St. Mark's Shreveport is actually a cathedral and it was gorgeous! (Side note: cathedral vs. church? A cathedral is the home chuch of the bishop and houses his seat (cathedra).) The choir sounded great (of course!) and, to my surprise, the sermon was actually decent. I find that many large downtown churches are pretty liberal and seem focused on political issues rather than discussing scripture or Christian living. This sermon, while it didn't come to as fine a point as I would have liked, did seem fairly orthodox. It was on the existence of hell and the exclusivity of heaven, both of which the rector confirmed. So that made me happy . . . I didn't feel like I couldn't take the Eucharist like I have at other churches.

The choir not only sang during the morning service, but also led an evensong in the afternoon. In between, they practiced and I was free to explore Shreveport. Fortunately, my good friend Kristin drove up from Alexandria to spend the time with me and we got visit the Louisiana Boardwalk, a pretty outdoor outlet mall that borders the Red River and is not officially in Shreveport. (Just figured that out. Thanks, Wikipedia!) It was great to spend the day in the sun with her (although my shoulders may not agree) and to catch up on all the goings-on since we last saw each other at my wedding. Plus, I found, not one, but two pairs of jeans, which is a big deal considering how much I hate to shop for clothes! Kristin was also instrumental in my wedding dress purchase (along with Liz) so I may just have to force her to visit me whenever I have major attire purchasing to do!

Evensong was wonderful (of course!), followed by a late night drive back to Beaumont. And while my body was complaining Monday morning, it was a great trip!

A few pictures of the weekend:










































































The cathedra










































































Oh, almost forgot to mention the 3-hour disaster that was dinner at Copeland's. Let's just say they were clearly not prepared to deal with a party of 17, even though Jerome had called ahead to make a reservation and warn them. Oh well, at least I now know why they're called "whiskey-palians!" ;-P

New Blog for the New Name

So . . . I'm home sick today (stupid head cold) and have exhausted the bed and the web of all they have to offer. I figured I should maybe write about some of my experiences these last few months, but realized I couldn't use my old blog: naomieott.blogspot.com. That's no longer me! So here's a new blog for the new name. Don't worry, I won't update it any more frequently than the old blog! ;-P Oh, and fair warning, I back-date my posts to the day the events happened . . . even if I don't write about them until months later!

Houston Rodeo

Last night we went to the Houston Rodeo. A company that does a lot of work at my plant had a suite and invited several people to join in the fun. Of course, luxuriating in a suite is always fun, especially the brownie and ice cream bar, but this was especially exciting as neither of us had been to a rodeo before. Michael loved the "calf wrestlin', bull ridin', bronc bustin'" and all other manner of animal fun. Me? I loved the mutton busting - 5 and 6 year olds trying to hang on to sheep. Cute! I, like normal, forgot to pull out my camera until after the rodeo events were done. I did manage to take a few pics of the Alan Jackson concert, which, surprisingly, was not too terrible, even though it was country!

All in all, a fun night, although I'm afraid I've a rodeo fanatic on my hands . . . we're already making plans to attend the Beaumont rodeo in a few weeks!

Fiona's Shower

Today, the home church women hosted a small baby shower for Fiona. She and Mike are expecting baby Grace on April 11. We met at Rao's and shared a strawberry cream cake. Yum!


















Congratulations, Fiona and Mike! We can't wait to meet Baby Grace!