Oh, my aching back!

Floor painting is not for old ladies. I wish someone had videotaped Sara and I pulling the floor out by ourselves. Alot of grunting and groaning, but, we managed. We wrestled that 300 pound monster and showed it who's boss!! Thank you to Jana and Dori who came out to help Sara, Heath, and I. The floor looks fantastic. More fun to be had today!! I hope my back holds up.

Best Weekend EVER!

Great rehearsals this weekend! I am sooooooo excited about this season and this group of performers! Thank you to everyone for your hard work.

Floor painting next weekend on Friday at 6pm. So exciting!!

Yay for Practice!

The last rehearsals before the holiday!

This weekend's rehearsals are as follows:

Friday 6pm - 10pm

Saturday 9am - 9pm

Don't forget to wear dance black and bring your magic eraser!!

Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays to All!

Have a look at this!

Here are some interesting statistics I found by stalking the WGI website.

Here is how the Independent A classification stacks up right now:

There are 64 guards registered for prelims at Worlds. Of those 64 guards,

35 are new from last year, 29 return from last year.

32 guards that competed in our class last season, did not register for Worlds this season. 8 guards from last season, were bumped to Open Class. We wish them good luck!!!

World Championships Schedule

Here is the schedule for World Championships in Dayton. YAY!

Schedule Overview

Thursday, April 10

UD Arena
SA Prelims - Morning
SO Prelims - Evening

Nutter Center
SA Prelims - Morning
SO Prelims - Evening

Dayton Convention Center
IA Prelims - All Day

James Trent Arena
IO Prelims - Evening

Friday, April 11

UD Arena
SW Prelims - Morning
IW Prelims - Afternoon
A Class Finals - Evening

Nutter Center
IA Semi-Finals - Morning
SO Semi-Finals - Afternoon

Dayton Convention Center
SA Semi-Finals - Morning

Saturday, April 12

UD Arena
Open Class Finals - Morning
World Class Finals - Evening WE WILL BE ATTENDING THIS EVENT

You talkin to me?

Dear Santa

All I want for Christmas is peace.........and quiet.

We love you Cuatney!

Good luck to Courtney and the girls!! We will be thinking about you and will be anxious to have you back with us again.

Love you.

I'm so excited.

Just how excited are you? Do you think about the show constantly? Do you stalk the other guards in our division, to see what their show concepts are? Do you watch the WGI website for final entries into world championships? If you have said YES to any of these questions, you are officially excited. Only 32 days until Field Day, and I have to say, I could not be any more psyched about our show’s premiere. The combination of work, drill, music, flags, and costuming, are gorgeous. I cannot wait to see everyone in full costume, all shined up and perty. How lucky I am to have such a great group of performers. I hope they know how lucky THEY are.

Gracefully and Grandly

Rehearsals this weekend went extremely well. Thanks to the members for their hard work. They were breathy all weekend! It is hard to believe that there are only 33 days left until field day!! The Christmas party was fun and our own America's Next Top Model was a riot! Pictures to come!

The Future is Now

From the SCGC website:

New Sound Technology for 2008

This season the sound guys will be testing a unit that will play wav or mp3 files directly from a flash drive. It will be with sound tech, Doug England's system & if it works well enough the circuit will purchase another one for the 2009 season. So go out & buy a cheap USB Flash Drive & put just your performance track on it & we will see how it goes!!! It wouldn't hurt to have a back up CD just in case :)

Hey! I want a flash drive that looks like a hamburger...how cool is that?

Don't forget your gloves for practice...

Here is a clip from a bulletin that was sent by one of our fellow independent guards, to their members:

NOTES :: This weekend’s rehearsal facility is provided FREE OF CHARGE by Gottsacker Commercial Real Estate. Bring layers of clothes to wear – the facility is heated to 50 degrees. Bring shoes to wear during block as we will be on a cement floor. There will be no kitchen facilities available so plan your lunch accordingly.

Wow, are we lucky.

We love you POOPS!

Keep Jennifer in your thoughts, as she travels to Colts camp this weekend. She and her fellow corps mates have suffered a tragic loss of one of their members, and this weekend will be especially hard for her.

We love you Poops. We wish you safe travels home to us!

Capella Christmas Celebration

The Capella Christmas party is this Friday! Rehearsals this weekend are Friday 6pm - 10pm and Saturday 9am - 9pm.

Don't forget your party "stuff" and to "don" your very best Capella t-shirt for the festivities.

Looking forward to seeing everyone! Happy HO HO! M. Abe

Bah Humbug, No More!

I have had a really hard time, getting into the Christmas spirit, this year. It is not that I don't love the holidays. I am just so busy, that I don't have time for the holidays.

I received the nicest gift EVER last night from Sara and Drew. They put my wreath on the door, and put up my Christmas tree. It is all decorated and was lit up when I arrived home last night from work. AND, they picked up the new Harry Potter, which I had not yet seen.

I heart them. They saved my holiday.

The weekend is here!

Yay for rehearsals! Tonight is 6pm - 10pm and tomorrow is 9am - 9pm.

Yay for uniform fittings!

See you all tonight!!

M. Abe

Capella Gear

Be on the lookout for your email regarding our Christmas Party on December 14th and ordering your Capella Gear!! It should be in your in-box sometime tonight!! Order forms are due NO LATER than December 14th.

Do you like my gnome?

Just when you think you have seen it all...

The newest rage in sports bra fashion.

December is Here!!

December has arrived, way too soon for me. I have not yet even thought about my tree, shopping, or holiday plans. I need to get BUSY!

December just reminds me that we need to get our show cleaned and ready for Field Day. The gang is working so hard and they look fantastic.

I am glad that fall marching season is over, so that all of our members can be at all rehearsals, from this point on. It has been difficult, since our members are all very involved in their marching bands, drum corps, and all that colorguard entails. They are a talented and devoted group. We are very lucky!!

Happy December! Note to self: Christmas = 21 days away

Stick a Fork in Me

I have been asked to work full-time for the next three months due to my job share partner, being out with a sick mother. I know that she would do the same for me, so I am glad to do it, and am trying to keep a good attitude.

I am launching a new retail website that requires hours and hours of data entry and it has about done me in. Now that I don't have every other week off, I am having to do this in the evenings. I find myself going to bed, later and later. This is on TOP of the other websites and blogs that I manage. That's okay. When I hit it rich, I will look back on this time and laugh.

I am not laughing today.

Yay for Home!

We FINALLY made it home from Canton. Geesh. We started out on Sunday afternoon and hit bumper to bumper traffic and horrible rain storms, so we made it to Cincinnati and called it a night. Got up this morning and drove the rest of the way home. I hate 18 wheelers!!

It was a great weekend. Sara is now a member of the Bluecoats, and Midori is a member of Phantom Regiment!! Congrats!!

I am headed to bed. Goodnight!

Greetings from Canton

Sara and I made our cross-country trek yesterday, and are currently in Canton, Ohio. We started out on Thursday morning, driving to Athens, Alabama to see my parents. We spent Thanksgiving with them, and got up on Friday morning, and pointed the car towards Ohio. It was a long day of driving with thousands of other holiday travelers, all trying to drive as fast as they could, to reach their final destinations. We felt like we would never get here but, arrived shortly after 8:30 pm, EST.

We heard from Midori last night, from Rockford, where she was preparing for Regiment auditions. She said that she had a good Friday night, and was excited to be there. Drew is also in Rockford, with the Regiment visual staff, and was having a good time as well.

I dropped Sara off at Bluecoats camp this morning, after working our way through downtown Canton. There were alot of people there...looks like a very good turn out. Very interesting place, Canton. I passed the Professional Football Hall of Fame...that was cool. Now I am back at the hotel, passing some time, until I step out into the world of Christmas shopping, Canton style. Luckily, there is a very nice mall across the street from our hotel, so I will be mixing with the Cantonites, helping their economy with some Tennessee dollars.

I hope you all had a great holiday. We will be leaving for home on Sunday afternoon. Can't wait to see you all next weekend and hear your tales of Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping.

Love to all. M. Abe

For this, I am truly thankful.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy your family and friends and be thankful for all that is good in your lives.

Good luck to all who are auditioning this weekend. Wishing you safe travels and great success.

Is that not the most disturbing picture you have ever seen? It was too creepy, not to share.

For you all, I am truly thankful. Love, M. Abe

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to the L.D. Bell High School Marching Band from Hurst, TX, named the 2007 BOA Grand National Champion, Saturday night, Nov. 17, at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

Grand National Finalists
1 L.D. Bell H.S., TX
2 Avon H.S., IN
3 Carmel H.S., IN
4 The Woodlands H.S., TX
5 Marian Catholic H.S., IL
6 Broken Arrow H.S., OK
7 Plymouth-Canton Ed. Park, MI
8 Stephen F. Austin H.S., TX
9 Richland H.S., TX
10 Lawrence Central H.S., IN
11 Center Grove H.S., IN
12 Harrison H.S., GA

You gotta love weekends!

I love weekends. I get to spend my time with the most talented young people in the world! They make me laugh! What a pleasure it is to have them in my life.

Great rehearsals this weekend. They are coming together as a unit and as friends.

Only 13 days until we are together again! Have a great Turkey Day! I will miss you!

Yay for Uniforms!

Our uniforms are in production!! The prototype should be ready in a week or so. Capella will be looking FABULOUS on the floor! Flags will be ordered next week and they are gorgeous!

Words to Live By

People will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold - but so does a hard-boiled egg. Unknown

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. Henry Ford

The bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you refuse to take the turn. Anonomous

Never look down on anybody, unless you are going to help them up. Rev. Jesse Jackson

MySpace Bulletins

'Nuff said.

Yay! for Wednesdays

Project Runway

Season Premiere this Wednesday!!

YAY!

Moving Right Along

Great rehearsals this weekend!! The members compliment each other beautifully and the show is coming together nicely. We were able to rehearse on our new floor for the first time. Getting the old floor out of my car and the new floor folded and to rehearsal, was a task, as always. It is like having a pet elephant that travels with us. Big, gray, and weighs a ton.

The group began to learn drill this weekend, which is always exciting. Drew always comes up with such great stuff. The process from drawing board to final show, is interesting to watch.

Shrimp, Jose and Maria spent the night with me this weekend and it was great fun as always! They travel in from Ole Miss every Friday night for the weekend rehearsals, as does Amye, from Mississippi State. That is dedication!!

This old lady is tired and today is my day to lay on the couch and watch football. I hope everyone has a great week, and I look forward to next Friday, when we will all be together again!

Random Quote: "You should never leave the house without makeup on!". :)

I shall wait and judge for myself

I have heard alot of negative theories, and have received alot of emails regarding The Golden Compass. I was told that the author of this three part trilogy is an atheist, and as such, is trying to convince the children of this world, to be athiests by writing these books, taking advantage of their impressionable minds. Ok.

I reserve the right to see the movie and judge for myself. Sam Elliott is in this movie...one of my favorite actors of all time. Road House is a classic. :)

Anyhoo, this movie looks scrumptious and gorgeous. I shall sit in stadium seating. I shall partake of the corn. I shall let you know.

So much baggage.......

Everyone has baggage. I just seem to have a complete matched set, that I haul around EVERYwhere I go. Geesh. It is always something.

Dad is recovering nicely from his Lung Cancer surgery. They removed part of his lung and a lymph node but they believe that they "got it all" and he will be fine. They first thought he had that bird stuff sickness you get from black birds pooping on your yard. My Father-in-Law shoots black birds from his back porch, for this very reason...we always thought him mad...anyway, Jerry is doing great. Black birds, you better stay away from Hernando or your ass is grass.

WGI Focus

Check out the new Fall edition of WGI Focus magazine at http://www.pagegangster.com/shop/publications/view/4531/ !

Say it isn't so

Shia is arrested for being disorderly at the Walgreens. They must have been out of Swedish Fish. :)

Breaking the Ice

I hope everyone had a GREAT Halloween!

We made it through our first rehearsal weekend, YAY! This group of performers is very talented and they all worked extremely hard. I was tired after the weekend...so they must be in a coma. I know, I know, you are asking yourself, what did I do? I am old. I don't need an excuse. :)

I had Shrimp and Jose as overnight guests, which was great fun. I hope they enjoyed the Abe's Bed & Breakfast. Although breakfast consisted of a quick cup of coffee and a donut. No linen napkins and scones here, I'm afraid.

I am so excited to see what this ensemble is capable of. They are certainly a gorgeous bunch of bananas. They are Box 5 in Visual Appearance. Drew worked on drill all day Saturday, now that we have our final cast set. I bet he is about sick of the music already...he has to listen to it over and over and over. Luckily, it is a gorgeous piece and I cannot wait to hear it at the first show. Sara & Heath worked the gang on technique and taught them some new "tricks". That is always fun to watch. You put it in your teeth, swing your head to the left, release to the back, and catch it under your chin. Watch your turn out!!

Random Quote: "I hate you for hating me."

It Takes a Village.......

Thank you to the Pates and the Christian Heritage Church for helping us with rehearsal space this weekend. Also, thank you to The Mighty Sound of the South and Dr. Nick Holland for your assistance. We appreciate your good will and hospitality. I guess we have a village after all. :)

Put your best foot foward!

Here we are, just 3 days from our first rehearsal of the season. It is so exciting. I hope everyone is ready for an incredible season and lots of new friendships. Are YOU ready?

I can't wait.

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Jana!!

Congratulations!

Congrats to the Cordova High School Colorguard on their 1st place finish at Bandmasters yesterday. They were awarded first place over the 23 guards in attendance. Way to go girls!! Congrats to Sara and Heath for an outstanding guard show this season!!

What's Happenin?

Only 13 days until our first rehearsal. Woo Hoo! I have been busy with show details and paperwork. We are now officially insured, have a new floor coming, have music mixed and approved, and all show design elements are in place and ready for our final casting on November 2nd. We will be measuring the cast members for their uniforms and Drew will start working on the drill once our numbers are set. I have been working on cast bio pages on the website as well as "tweaking" our Myspace. I love Myspace...where else is stalking legal? The WGI Nashville Regional is completely filled and closed to new registrations...that is going to be a fun show. There are 10 Ind A guards in our class at that regional. We are registered for all of our WGI shows as well as SCGC. Competition will be fierce this year, just like we like it!! There are quite a few new Ind A guards coming out this season...two from Nashville alone. Moxie is coming out again as well. This is great news for the SCGC, which was lacking in Independent guards. Sara and Heath are busy writing work for the new show and we are all ready to get started. Cannot wait to see everyone again on the 2nd!! M. Abe

Congrats!

Congratulations to the Cordova High School Colorguard!!! They received 1st place in both field and parade competition, this weekend at the Washington Marching Festival in St Louis, MO. Way to go girls!!

Congrats to all of the Cadets for a fine showing this weekend.

My Pick for Best New Show!!

My favorite new show this Fall season. Pushing Daisies. You need to check it out. Music by Danny Elfman. Very quirky and bizarre. WONDERFUL!!

Best Winterguard Show Idea EVER

I stalk the WGI website daily. One of the most current news items is about Flanagan High School's 2008 show concept. You can read about it here: http://www.wgi.org/news_detail.php?id=1156%20class=
They are fashioning their show around a blog that has become a series of books. POSTSECRET. Here is the blog: postsecret.blogspot.com There are not alot of secrets on the blog, due to the publishing of the books, but you can find archives and videos all over the internet. It is the funniest and most clever thing I have seen in a long time. The rest of the world probably already knows all about it. I am old, it takes me longer. Here is the link to Flanagan's site, with the information on how to get involved with their show. http://www.flanaganhighschool.com/users/cguard/index2.html Have you got a secret?

Good grief, its MMM!

Do you know who this is? Major Matt Mason! My favorite toy of the 70's. I did not actually own one...my brother did. He and I spent hours imagining the many adventures of MMM in his space station. It was awesome. I have mentioned MMM to my husband, on many occasions, and he just shrugs and looks as though he thinks I made it up. HAH! I loved MMM. Too bad they don't make toys like that anymore. Then again, we did not have much to compare it to. My PONG game was wicked cool. :)

It could always be worse!

Down in the dumps? It could be worse. You could have...

a pimple

bad hair

wrinkles

Munchausen's Syndrome

no waffles

a driver's license with your mother's picture on it

See...not so bad now, huh? Have a great day!

Cast Bio Pages

Be sure and check out the cast bio pages on the website!

The Road to World Championships

Well, we are on our way. Dayton, here we come! We registered today for our WGI regionals and championships. We will be traveling to Nashville, Atlanta, and of course, Dayton.

We will also be competing within the SCGC, which will take us to Lawrenceburg, Clarksville, and championships, which will be in Nashville, or Chattanooga.

Our rehearsals begin on November 2nd. I cannot believe we have to wait an entire month before we are together again. But, it is Fall marching season, and most of our members march for their schools. We also have members who are Fall instructors...good luck at your marching competitions!!

Here is our cast list, as of today. We may have a few additions in November.

Jana Pate, Jennifer Cooper, Amye Henry, Jose Rodriguez, Maria Rodriguez, Emily Mowers, Courtney VanGunda, Midori Eng, Bre Henriksen, Hannah Bowden, Seidi Lopez, Madison Stewart, and Sara Woodard. Congratulations!!

Yay!

Auditions were held yesterday and went extremely well. We saw alot of new faces and were delighted at the talent level of these performers. We are looking forward to a successful season and alot of fun on the road to World Championships. Many thanks to all who came out to audition. We hope that everyone had a positive experience.

Our regular rehearsal schedule begins in November and we are excited to get started. Plans are underway for the show and an announcement will be made soon. Keep checking back to see what is going on behind the scenes with the Capella Winterguard. Keep spinning. M. Abe

When?

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

Dear Mr. Williams

I am so disappointed.

Meet Jennifer Cooper

Ass Wannabe. Stalker Extraordinaire. My hero.

Just a Couple More Days

Here we are, just a couple of days away from auditions. Be sure you have everything you need. Also, if you are bringing friends who have not registered, that is GREAT! They can still register online or can fill out the registration form when they get there, BUT....they must have all of the release forms with them at auditions or they will not be able to participate.