Needles and Pins

We went back over to the NoDa house today to do some more work. Yesterday when we had planted the bushes, one of the mums broke. So today on the way to the NoDa house, we made a stop by Home Depot to pick up some stuff Marshall needed and to get another mum to plant. While I planted the new mum, Marshall cut the grass with our neighbor Jimmy's mower. Jimmy then offered to take Marshall to Home Depot to get some pine needles in his truck. While they were gone, I used the time to do some prep work for the next episode. We were doing double up days this week starting tomorrow. I would be finishing up the current episode, while I had a girl from Wilmington named Lauren coming in to start the next episode with Guy. Needless to say, with our crazy schedule I still had quite a bit of prep work left to do. While Marshall was gone with Jimmy he ended up talking to Jimmy about his fight with Jimmy's wife Misha. Marshall seemed to feel better about the whole thing afterwards, saying they just didn't understand but Marshall knows they care about us and Misha's intention was not to hurt him. I think people are used to Marshall just being so matter of fact that they forget that when it comes to the subject of Nolan, they might want to think about what and how they say things to him. To both of us really. Because your mind can go to very dark places when you lose a child. The slightest thing can set you off. Things that you never would imagine would do it. And just when you think you are doing better, something slaps you in face and sends you 10 steps backwards.

When Marshall got back I laid down the pine needles while he finished cutting the grass and took Jimmy's mower back to him. Marshall was still feeling the affects from his cold, so I was trying to do as much as I could over at the house and yard work was certainly one thing I could do. Once we were finished landscaping the front yard and the bushes were all watered again, we left to head back over to the apartment. We wanted to drop JoJo off before we headed out to watch the Panther game.


We ended up meeting Marshall's boss and really good friend, Steve at Taco Mac to watch the game. I had forgotten that October was breast cancer month until we pulled up in front of Taco Mac and I saw that their fountain was turned pink in honor of it. Then of course all the football players were wearing their hot pink socks and gloves in honor. It's too bad they don't do it the whole season, but at least they do it for a whole month to show their support. Right before we were about to leave Lauren showed up from Wilmington. We chatted with her a bit and then she followed us back over to our apartment to go over the script stuff for the next day. I'm a little nervous with Lauren coming in as she is super green and this is not an easy show. Even a seasoned veteran like Mike said he found the pace of the show challenging to keep up with. But, nobody else was available so Lauren it is. I'm sure there will be some things that she does that I would do differently, but at some point you just have to turn it over and not worry about it. Her work won't reflect on mine and that's what I have to remind myself of. I'm sure I will still be on pins and needles the next few days, dreading what her script book will look like when I get it back. I just have to remind myself that I can probably fix whatever errors she makes as far as that goes and as far as continuity... well, I hope she pays attention. That won't be the only reason I'm on pins and needles all week though. Friday I am off again for an ultrasound! This is the big one too. If the little guy is cooperative we will find out if it is a boy or a girl! Cross your fingers! We are both hoping for another boy!

Bushes

Marshall and I spent the day working on the NoDa house. I feel like this house is never going to get done and we are never going to be able to put it on the market. I wish I could help more but with work and then being pregnant I'm limited in both my time and my abilities. It's too bad Marshall's brother Parker couldn't come down and help him with all his construction background. I know Marshall would be willing to pay him just to have an extra hand, but at least he let Marshall borrow his truck and his tools. We were able to get our nephew Robi's help for a couple of weeks before he started back to school and I know Marshall would love to have him back again. Robi is the only one in Marshall's family that goes out of his way to see us and come help us in person when he can. He's a really great guy and I'm glad that we actually matter to him. Nobody else in Marshall's family has ever come to Charlotte specifically just to have lunch with me when Marshall isn't even there. And I have to say, thank goodness for text messaging. Because of it I've been able to not only get to know Robi outside of Marshall, but also his sister Zsejke. And as my parents have learned, when I'm working, text messaging me is about the only way to actually get up with me and stay in touch.

At least I was able to help Marshall fix the ceiling in the spare bedroom today. The previous owners had put up bead board on the ceiling and it was all falling down. Marshall had tried to staple it back up before, but it wasn't working. So today he bought strips of trim and we tacked it up, covering all the cracks where the bead boards met. Marshall then started caulking and painting the ceiling so it would all be white and hopefully the trim we put up would look great once it was all finished...and it did. In fact, it turned out to be a really cool affect on the ceiling and made it stand out as something different than most other houses. It actually reminded me a lot of the front porch ceiling that my Dad and Marshall had put up awhile back. We had gotten a lot of compliments on the porch ceiling since and I imagine people will have the same reaction to the ceiling in this room. At least I hope they do.

Not wanting to break away for lunch, Marshall stayed at the house while I went and picked up Hawthorne's Pizza. Since we don't have any furniture in the house, we made a little picnic on the floor and took a little break. Marshall is still battling a cold he came down with a couple of days ago. Well, we think it's a cold. Either that or really bad allergies. Hopefully, whatever it is I won't come down with it too. After lunch we went shopping for bushes to do some landscaping out front. We found some we liked and picked out some burgundy mums to fill in between them. I also found a cute little pumpkin to put on the front stoop. It is Halloween time! My favorite season of the year. I had hoped to be home and to be able to pass out candy this year, but since Halloween falls during the week, I will be in Charlotte still working on Homeland. We went back and planted the bushes and gave them all a good watering. By that time, Marshall was really feeling run down from his cold and I was falling over with exhaustion from lack of sleep so we decided to call it quits and head back to the apartment. We spent the rest of the evening lounging around the apartment watching movies and nursing ourselves back to health.

Fights

Since I didn't have to go into work until this afternoon, I was able to meet Marshall for lunch. We ate at Zack's and he told me about a fight he had had with one of our neighbors Misha. It all really stemmed from her telling Marshall she thought we were having a girl and not backing down on it. He countered her argument with the string test results saying they were never wrong and she told him she had done it and it had been wrong. Marshall then informed her that his mother-in-law had never been wrong and when she did it, it said boy. Then she went on to tell Marshall he needed to go to AA and he told her AA could only help him if he was feeling like drinking again, they couldn't help him with the death of his son. He was going to all the places and talking to all the people he could that could possibly help with the death of Nolan. I know Misha didn't mean to upset Marshall, but sometimes I think people don't realize what can set you off. Knowing Marshall was so excited to have a son, don't you think it would be best not to taunt him with the idea of him not having another one? Sure we may very well be having a girl and if we are we will work through that idea. Right now, just let him believe it's a boy until we know different. And you don't know, it very well might be a boy!

After lunch I went over to the NoDa house for a bit before work to see lend a hand if I could. JoJo supervised while perched on the stoop, still wearing her bandana ever proudly. I hung out with them as long as I could, but eventually I had to make the 30 minute drive to work so I could work until the sun came up. And I nearly did too. It wasn't until 5AM when I walked through the door of my apartment. Both Marshall and JoJo didn't even budge as I crawled into bed. Another really short weekend ahead of me.

3:30AM Cravings

It was another late call for us today as we were back filming in the tunnels again. At least locations had promised me another tent with a heater tonight. Marshall and JoJo came to Charlotte today. Buster is staying with my Dad for the week. With all of JoJo's aliments and vet appointments, Marshall just needed a little break. Having both dogs around was getting to be too much for him, so my Dad agreed to take Buster for a week for us. Secretly, Marshall and I were hoping that Dad would see how great Jaycee and Buster get along and how easy Buster is and he would agree to let Buster have a permanent home with him. With the baby coming, we have to think about relocating Buster as he is just not good with kids and can't be trusted with them. Really it is the kids that can't be trusted with Buster. He's not aggressive, but if a kid scares him you just never know if he might snap at them or not. Since I was working late, Marshall went and hung out with my cousin Jay when he got to Charlotte and then he went to dinner with our friend Melissa. I didn't get home until 3:30am, but I did arrive home to a surprise from Marshall. He and Melissa had eaten at the Cheesecake Factory and Marshall brought me home a mango key lime cheesecake slice. I had about half of it and it was really great. I don't know what possessed him to get that combination, but I have to say it was a good choice. I didn't even really realize how hungry I was at 3:30am, until I was presented with the cheesecake.

When It Rains, It Pours

We have a lot of Brits on our show. In fact, we often joke about it being a British show with the amount of British accents we have running around. And, of course, they are all playing Americans on the show. From time to time all of them have let their British accent slip out or one of the British sayings. Today was one of those days. No matter how many times I told him the correct words, Rupert wanted to say it the British way. Eventually, he did get it right but not until after he explained to me why he was saying it wrong. We all got a good laugh and told him their saying made no sense! What he was supposed to say was, "When it rains, it pours." Instead, he was saying it the British way - "But it never rains, it pours." Okay, yes I guess when you think it about it it does mean virtually the same thing but they are saying it such in such a backwards way.

Speaking of pouring, while there was no rain in sight, it was certainly dirty and cold filming today. Thankfully, locations set us up a tent complete with heat so we didn't freeze. It ended up being mostly myself and Claire's assistant Ester in the tent and Claire when she wasn't filming. It was kind of nice. No director, no DP. They were both inside the tunnel which I was not about to step inside. Why would I when I could see everything that was going on from out here. So Ester and I enjoyed the warmth of the tent and ate our way through the night from everything from Pringles to Reese's cups.

Visitors

Today was yet another day of filming at the Penthouse. I will be so glad when this location is done. It is very problematic for lots of reasons, but my biggest problem with it (and partly because I'm pregnant) is that you can't have any food or drinks inside! This poses a problem when you aren't able to get away from set very much and you are pregnant and hungry all the time! Fortunately, I've been able to sneak in crackers and water so at least I have something to keep me going until lunch.

Then there's lunch. The one great thing about filming at the Penthouse downtown - lots of places to eat within walking distance but more specifically our favorite little fast food italian joint is right across the street. So, Vapiano's it was for lunch again. Today, I opted for the pizza. Although it took longer to prepare, it was well worth the wait.

Marshall had a visit today from my old high school friend Chad. Chad is the the guy who also lost his son Grayson and had so willingly been available for Marshall to talk to. Well, this week Chad and his family are in Myrtle Beach for vacation, so Chad drove the hour and half from Myrtle Beach to Wilmington just to see Marshall. He brought with him a beautiful butterfly in the sand they had drawn for Nolan. It was done by the same people that did Nolan's name in the sand with the sunset. He had it printed out and framed for us and was just so sweet of a gift. Chad then agreed to go with Marshall back to the hospital to talk to someone. Ironically, Marshall saw Gail. Gail had been our grievance counselor when we were in the hospital. She gave Marshall lots of pamphlets and books and told him about a support group here in town that meets once a month. Marshall said he and Chad spent over an hour in there talking with Gail. Marshall sounded a million times better today when we spoke on the phone than he had in weeks. I think Chad's visit was just what Marshall needed.


On top of it all, JoJo had yet another vet appointment but left there looking and feeling so much better. The techs had put a bandana on JoJo and Marshall said she was so proud of herself with that thing on that he didn't know if he would ever take it off her. Thursday they are coming up here to Charlotte and I can't wait to see them all and check out JoJo's groovy bandana if she is still wearing it in two days.

Crepes

As a thank you and congratulations to the crew for all the Emmy wins, Showtime sent us a crepe truck to set today since we were filming on stage and everyone would be able to enjoy it. I've never really been a big crepe person, but I gave in and went out there when I heard they had desert crepes. Boy am I glad I did! I ended up getting a banana, nutella and whipped cream crepe and it was out of this world! I could have easily gone back and had another one. It's too bad we don't get crepe trucks on a regular basis. I could definitely get used to this kind of treatment on set!

Apparently, crepes weren't the only thing going around. One of our series regulars finally got his very own chair back today with his character's name on it. I guess that means they plan on having him around for awhile. After all, it was one of the writers that requested them get him it!