Tonight Imma fight till we see the sunlight

Day 30 of eXtreme puppeteeretry 2010 and Matt is performing his last show in Tulsa, OK.
We went to Boston for the weekend and all I got was jet lag. and delicious food. and time with good friends. and an invitation to a fabulous wedding... OKAY, FINE, IT WAS AWESOME.

Three years ago, I taught at a school for children with autism in Massachusetts, and it changed my life in some surprising ways. During my time in New England, I felt not only cold, but exceedingly lonely. Then I was befriended by my coworker Joe, and the amount of time I spent eating pizza alone in my apartment decreased significantly. I also had the pleasure of working with Kelly, who possessed an infectious smile and that same kind spirit. So, how wonderful is it that the two fell in love and were married this past weekend? Very. I honestly cannot think of a better match.
We ate delicious food with Megan and Joel in Boston, then boogied our booties off at the wedding in Worcester (Wuhster), before hitting the airport at 4 in the morning and doing our best to sleep in a flying tin can. I bought a travel pillow!Our time back in Tulsa has been short, and honestly, what can I say about it that I didn't say last year? The great thing about doing repeat venues is that occasionally a librarian will remember us and treat us with the same affection she'd reserve for a niece and nephew. She'll ask about the business, congratulate us on getting engaged, and then pinch our cheeks and talk about how big we've gotten. Really, it's sweet.

**Some of these photos were taken by Courtney Long. The good ones were taken by her.

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Smile... and maybe tomorrow...

Day 24 of Puppet Tour 2010: Summer of the Big City, and we are leaving Oklahoma.These are the evaluation slips that the pioneer library system uses to rate each performer. You'll notice the name of the company isn't correct. That happens a lot more often than you'd think. Matt's been referred to as Mother Goose Theater, Silly Goose Puppets, The Wild Flock of Turkeys Show... I mean it gets pretty crazy. So, at least they got most of the name.
I'm not gonna lie to you, I was a little depressed after leaving Austin. Gone are the fabulous restaurants, the ever-present live music, and our beloved Holiday Inn that nightly served us free drinks and buffalo wings *tear*. OK city is... okay. I spent the week drowning my sorrows in Food Network and the george foreman. That's right, it's grill week here at the Travelodge of Norman, OK. Ever since last summer, when Matt and I jointly gained 20 lbs, I've taken my role as the company's personal chef very seriously. I monitor our calories, pack nutritious snacks, and prepare our meals when possible. This week, we used my parents personal grill to make barbecued chicken with grilled pineapple, caprese sandwiches, and grilled pork with a vegetable medley.Other things we did in OKville? Our laundry, at the local laundromat. And several shows. Click play on the video below for some puppet magic.


On to Boston for some more wedding fun, and then glorious Arkansas!

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I'm not big on social graces, think I'll slip on down to the Oasis

Day 19 of PUPPETEXTRAVAGANZA and we're in Texas.
With all of it's access roads and spaghetti overpasses, Austin is like an episode of pimp my interstate. We heard you like to drive on the interstate, so we put an interstate next to your interstate so that you can drive on the interstate while you drive on the interstate. The traffic here is out of control. Fortunately, the city makes up for it with amazing food, live music, and beautiful scenery. Check out the view at dinner the other night.

Matt did some great shows in Austin and the surrounding area, and he was really well received at each location. Last year's joke was that we're huge in little towns that no one had heard of, like the band that can't get a gig in the US but has a top hit in Belgium. It was a bit weird to realize today that we can't make that joke about big well-known cities. So, it is without laughter that I tell you that the libraries of Austin, TX love WGC Theater.
Some of the best moments of the tour are the interactions we get with the kiddos. At one point in the show, Matt asks the members of the audience to raise their hand and share a personal wish. A sea of hands go up, and since this is not show and tell wish time, Matt calls on a few kids and lets the others know they can share their wish after the show, and they do. Often as he packs the puppets, kids will approach him and say "Mr. Matt, I want an xbox," like he's some kind of puppet santa man. At the most recent library, Matt brought out bongo man for a few kids after the show. They all swarmed around and the youngest one shouted "jingo jingo" repeatedly, which I suppose was his closest approximation of the word "bongo". Somehow, this ended with all of them holding out their hands to be bitten by the puppet. Keep it weird, Austin.
Next on the puppet blog: more of here and then some of there.

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the moonlight on the bayou... a cajun tune that fills the air.

Day 15, and we just left Louisiana.
Matt finished up the week doing shows in the Slidell area. As promised, puppets on the puppet blog. Here's some behind the scenes action for you!

With the shows out of the way, we spent the rest of our time planning for the wedding. Now that my ring has been shipped in, the last big thing on our wedding list is a caterer. As I've said, we're really trying to show the Sandbanks a side of Louisiana they've never seen before. Preferably a side that isn't hot and sticky. Since landscape has already been covered, we'll move on to Louisiana's next best feature, specialty meats. Here in South Louisiana we eat everything from alligators to crawfish. We also get a kick out of stuffing birds with different kinds of birds (you may have heard of the infamous turducken. If you haven't, I'll give you three guesses as to what it is). So, in our search for a caterer, we began with a boucaniere or "smokehouse".
TASTE TEST: Johnson's Boucaniere.Not only does Johnson's offer an excellent menu of various smoked meats, it also placed first at the 2009 Boudin Cook-off in the "unlinked boudin" category. Boudin is a sort of cajun pork sausage that will be featured at our wedding. We sampled the brisket sausage sandwich, and the fried boudin balls. Verdict: Impressive and delicious. Still, Johnson's Boucaniere doesn't seem to do much besides meat, so we moved on.TASTE TEST: NuNu's Fresh MarketWe weren't at NuNu's long before we learned of their credentials. First place in "people's choice", third in "traditional boudin", and second in "unlinked boudin". Oh, snap! Catering: check.
The rest of the weekend was filled with food and dance and family. Watch here as Matt works his booty off to become America's Next Wii Dance Champion, only to "lose" to my niece Anouche.


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They say it's your birthday.

Day 9 of Puppet the Planet and we're in the deep south.After leaving Charleston, we stopped in hotlanta and spent the afternoon with our friend Michelle. Formerly a resident of Nashville, and a member of family dinner, Michelle is a brand new A-T-Lien. She showed us the many points (5 to be exact) of little 5 points, including the Vortex, a burger joint whose menu boasts such delicacies as the double coronary. This burger includes a half pound burger, 2 fried eggs, 4 slices of cheese, and 8 slices of bacon, stuck between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. Since we chose to lunch elsewhere, I have no pictures to show you, but our arteries thanked us.

We stayed the night with Matt's cousins, Jason and Lee, and drove on to my homeland the following day, just in time for a birthday party.Per and Anouche, my sister's children, are 3. And there's only one way to celebrate in this family: party hats. (Yeah, that's one on the side of nooshie's head).It was the party of the year. The third year, to be specific. Taylor made a blue dump truck cake and a chocolate cake with strawberries, as per each child's request. Adults celebrated alongside with beer, watermelon, and quiche.
We'll be in Louisiana for a week, so expect more posts about the land of my people. Also, since this is the puppet tour blog, I promise the puppets will make an appearance soon!
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got me like, oh my gosh, i'm so in love

Day 7 and we're driving on I-10.
After staying the night in Greenville,SC with Matt's old friend, Kevin, and playing MarioKart until our thumbs were swollen, we spent the weekend in Charleston and attended Matt's sister's wedding.
As many of you know, Matt and I will be getting married this October in South Louisiana. I thought this would be my chance to show the Sandbanks a landscape they had never seen before. Then I got to Charleston. It is like Louisiana on steroids, complete with Spanish moss, live oak trees, and swamps. Charleston even has its own French Quarter, though it curiously lacks beignets and hookers. Basically, Maggie Sandbank had the Cajun wedding I always dreamed of.
Our plan was to spend Saturday morning exploring the streets of Charleston. Unfortunately, so sweetly stressed about his sister's big day, Matt tried to shave too quickly, and he chopped off a piece of his chin. It looked a bit like a scene from Psycho. Fortunately, we did not have to worry about Matt's apparel, because George dressed all of the groomsmen. George is exactly like Matt, only with style and muscles. We did get a chance to explore some of the back alleys and secret gardens of this historic city.
We spent the night dancing with the Sandbanks, the Van Houts, the Halls, and the Ramseys: a wedding offers the rare opportunity to gather together with all of the people that you love most. Maggie and George's circle of support is one of the strongest I have seen. We left Charleston overjoyed for the new couple, and confident of their lasting happiness.
Next up, more tales from the dirty south...

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we are family.

Day 2 and We are back in Nashville (world's shortest tour). Actually, we're just in for the night, then we're heading east.Matt did a couple of shows in the suburbs of Memphis, and we stayed the night at the fabulous Fairfield Inn of Germantown, TN. What's so German about Germantown? Nothing. It began as "Nashoba Plantation", a utopian community intended to emancipate slaves. Since last year's tour, nothing says "utopia" to me like hours of food network and a hotel pool. When I think about vacations now, I think of children's librarians and puppets. Yeah, I know.
Being near Memphis, we felt compelled to grab some delicious barbeque, so we headed to Corky's for lunch. Worried that we wouldn't have time to sit down, Matt suggest we dine elsewhere (read: taco bell), and I nearly threw a tantrum. Then we discovered the drive-thru. I feel like it's the mark of a good southern state to have a drive-thru version of the local specialty. West Tennessee? Drive-thru bbq. North Carolina? Drive-thru biscuits. South Louisiana? Drive-thru daiquiris (I'm not kidding). Stay tuned for this fall's feature menu item: oil-glazed shrimp. Too soon?







We spent the night in Nashville playing trivia with team Family Dinner. Family Dinner is our crew of friends, most of whom we met while working several summers at Camp Easter Seals. One by one, we all moved to Nashville, met some people, and started hanging out. Now we dine together every Sunday, as a family. Eventually, we'd like to host our own public access tv show. To be a part of this family, you should be particularly fond of themed parties and games. Extra points if you love puffy paint shirts, npr, and karaoke.
We're also the only group of people I know that go to a bar and order salads around the table.

South Carolina, next.

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