House of Geekiness

My 5 year old whined pitifully as he shifted, eyes darting back to his toy pile. With a toy bin under one arm, a bucket of toys in hand, Iron Man costume draped over one shoulder, and random toys stacked and tucked wherever he managed to jam them onto the pile, my son started to cry. "I need helllllllpppp!" he sobbed, his eyes darting back and forth between the toys left behind, the toys he was about to drop, and the place he was trying to get to.

Silly kid, I thought, why doesn't he just put some stuff down and take smaller trips? Instead, he tries to carry everything at once, drops things, gets upset, feels helpless, demands help, and eventually makes the process longer and harder than it needed to be.

This got me thinking....How often do I do the very same thing? In our world, today, we try to have it all and do it all. It's easy to get overwhelmed.

This is pretty much a daily feeling for me. I stay home with the kids, take online courses (although I'm on break at the moment), blog, run an online business, write, work from home for my internship, do housework (ok, we're gonna sit here and laugh at that blatant lie), care for pets (dog, cat, rabbit, and two aquariums with fish, shrimp, snails, and a frog), hold a small church calling, indulge my social media habits (especially pinterest), read far too many books at once, spend countless hours trying to "get the most out of my Netflix free trial", (I know I'm forgetting something here!), run errands, take kids to/pick up from school, babysit my adorable niece (which also checks "be sure my only daughter gets to spend time with another girl around her age" off my list), take kids to counseling appointments (for autism, ADHD, etc.), and somehow expect to be able to take care of my three kids and husband, and spend meaningful and quality time together. And I'm actually not the busiest person I know. In fact, compared to the average mom around here, I'm pretty laidback.

So how do we have it all and not feel overwhelmed? We don't. We don't need it all, in fact, all is too much. I know I've heard that before.... I love how Steven Wright joked, "You can't have everything, where would you put it?" If we try to keep living like this, we'll end up just like my five year old, whimpering about how hard things are, feeling like we can't give up because we have to get this done, unable to move forward, not willing to let go.

How do we fix this? In two words: simplify, prioritize.

For those unfamiliar with Henry David Thoreau, he is one of my all time favorite people. He lived in a small cabin in the middle of nowhere for a time and came up with a wonderful concept that can help anyone. He said: I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan- like as to put to rout all that was not life... Yes, I know he's a old, dead guy, but isn't that beautiful?

So, let's fix this! First, let's simplify. We put so much extra upon ourselves every day, how much do we truly need to allow into our lives? What would happen if I watched one less tv show a day, or spent fifteen minutes less on the computer? I bet I can find even more habits I can get rid of and barely miss.

Then prioritize. What are the most important things in my life, what do we need most? Family, religion, food, clothing, shelter. Ok, that means that, technically, anything that fall outside those necessities, I don't need to live. They might still be good things that enrich my life, but they're not essential to survival.

Look at your life. What is essential? What is enriching? What is just extra? What can I live without? What do I put first? Am I letting good things get in the way of the essentials?

I really need to work on this!

Want more info on how to prioritize and simplify? Check out "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey from your local library.

I got to spend all Saturday with an awesome cast and crew, filming the book trailer for Knight of Light, the first volume in the fantasy series The Watchers, by Deirdra Eden. I've been lucky enough to work with Deirdra, editing these books, co-writing the trailer and working on its preproduction. I've never worked with such a motivated, hard-working, and fun, geeky group! Everyone worked selflessly and created a light atmosphere that made the day fly by. I hope to work with each of them again!

Meet the Cast and Crew

Cast and crew at our predawn orientation meeting/breakfast

The Author, Deirdra Eden

Deirdra and I have been friends for just over a year now, and she always amazes me! She is one of the strongest, adventurous, and most talented people I know. Despite circumstances that would have left most of us permanently crushed and defeated, this lady started her own literary company, wrote six books, served in church leadership, works full time, is a respected and sought after public speaker, blogger, and manages to be an exceptionally loving and caring wife and mother! Visit Deirdra's facebook page to learn more about her and her work!

The Actors

We worked with two wonderful actors on this production, Denise Holbrook and Steve Deschenes.

Denise, as our heroine, Auriella

(pronounced "yuri-ella)

Denise was such a good sport! She saw how crazy we all were and didn't flee in terror, in fact, she joined right in. She's pictured here, rising from a stunt in her very first shot, that she volunteered to do!

For the fire scene, she let our makeup artist smother her in sooty ashes and black paint!

Literally covered in ashes from head to toe, she never complained.

Poor Denise had to walk backward up these wacky stairs while she and our villain pointed real swords at each other. At one point, I completely forgot to direct her because the footing was so perilous and I was terrified she was going to back over the ledge and get skewered!

Preparing for our hero shot, which was a bit tricky without a closed set.

There were lots of people, children, and even dogs, all giving us weird looks!

Steve, our villain

As a naturally imposing figure, Steve was an easy casting choice for Deirdra.

This guy is so cool, he already had most of his costume!

Steve gave his all to this endeavor. He not only acted, but worked hard at any task we asked of him -from setting up stunt padding and camouflage to carrying ridiculously heavy things- and he always kept us laughing!

The Crew

Our Director, Producer, and Miracle Worker, Lee Whittaker

Our resident genius, Lee took hold of the our ambitious script (which we had been told wasn't possible for our budget) and transformed it into something we could have only dreamed of! He leant his sense of professionalism to our band of miscreants and kept us in check while keeping it fun.

Our fearless leader stood atop a very unstable log to get the perfect shot of this stunt! You'd have never guessed how shaky it was by watching him at work, but when I'd tried it minutes earlier, I almost fell off!

Directing our actor.

Me, Assistant Pretty Much Anything, and Editor

I've been kinda a jack of all trades for this project, co-writer, co-director, producer, caterer, etc. Preproduction, I helped Deirdra write and edit the script, then helped mold it into a workable trailer, helping make sure it was a good representation of the book. After our director approved locations, I worked to be sure they were available for filming. I also provided the catering.

On set, I helped the director oversee the filming by choosing costumes appropriate for each scene and making sure everything looked right (from hair, makeup, costumes, to the scenes.) I also worked with the actors, making sure their part fit into the book. Like the rest of the crew, I helped with whatever random things that came up, like setup/cleanup, carrying stuff, and explaining our mission to random bystanders who questioned our sanity when they saw our actors running around in costume with weapons...

In post production, it got to go through all our footage and materials, and turn it all into a beautiful effective book trailer! I can't wait for you to see it!

Fixing Denise's cloak.

Getting the white skirt/shirt (and my hands!) all covered in soot/ash for the fire shot...

Still trying to get all the black out from under my nails!

Jacqueline's hands after working with black makeup and ash for the fire scene,

mine after working with charcoal, soot, ash. I had no idea they would be all sparkly!

Fixing Denise's hair before/after stunt work.

A moment to rest at the second location.

Of course I had to play with the swords!

Jacqueline Fowers, Our Hair and Makeup Artist

Originally tasked with hair and makeup, Jacqueline threw herself into the project. Volunteering her talent and experience in film making, she helped with lighting, grip work, costuming, and so much more! If she saw a need, Jacqueline went to work, and became an invaluable asset on set!

Lacing one of many corsets.

Jacqueline doing makeup for the fire scene.

Don't mess with Jacqueline!
One of many extra tasks she took on, creating "shadow blood" for the hero shot.

Melissa, Our Go-To Girl

Melissa volunteered time away from her family to help us out. She brought a copy of the book on her phone and we relied heavily on her to be sure each scene matched up with the book. She stood ready, with helping hands and a smile, for anything and everything we needed!