The Toddler that Barks: Baby-Proofing for My Big Dog

When I meet someone in person, two things hold true 99% of the time. First, I'm shorter than the other person.  At 5'0" this is quite frequently, though not always, the case.  I don't think about it too much or realize exactly how much shorter I am than others until I see a group photo where everyone towers over me and it looks like we are not all from the same planet. Second, my dog is bigger than their dog.  I have an English Mastiff.  My sweet puppy weighed in at 147 lbs. at the time of his last veterinary visit.  While I know there are others who have fur babies as large as mine, I have yet to meet someone who does.

Having a large dog is a great deal like having a toddler.  I have to baby-proof some areas of the house to prevent him from accidentally injuring himself.  There are just all sorts of hazards you don't have to think about with a small four-footed friend that are real, true safety concerns with a big dog.  

For example, we have a gas stove.  When I cook, I have to have the pot handles turned towards the wall so my dog, if he happens to walk by, doesn't accidentally knock a hot pan off the stove and onto himself as his tail wags.  We also have a stove guard on the knobs of the stove so our puppy can't turn on the gas when we aren't around since he is actually tall enough to easily bump the buttons.

When I'm sewing, I have to keep his snout away from the moving needle on my sewing machine.  Naturally he's curious about what I'm up to, but I have to keep his nose safely out of range, and his paws too as he could easily send the machine zooming down the fabric if I didn't prevent him from stepping on the foot pedal!

Then there are the seasonal concerns.  Soon we'll be putting up a Christmas tree.  My fur baby loves balls...or anything that resembles one. This of course means great care has to be taken when decorating for Christmas.  We can't have any have any round ornaments on the tree where they could attract the attention of the dog.   

We we be practicing a pet-safe Christmas this year with all round ornaments either left off of the tree entirely or placed up quite high. I can't have my sweetheart of a dog getting hurt by putting ornaments in his mouth!  

Decorating and dog-proofing challenges aside, having a 147 lb. dog is a great joy in my life!  If I feel like I really need a hug, I can sit with my dog on my lap, wrap my arms around him, and truly feel like I've been hugged. Take a moment and hug a dog today.  It will make you smile!

Costumes, Cosplay, & the Joy of Being Odd

I love costuming. Since I was very young, I always got extremely excited about Halloween because it was the one day of the year I could wear any weird thing and pull it off without anyone batting an eye.    It doesn't matter if I'm using spray paint, tape, string, or the sewing machine, I find great joy in crafting my weird creations.  This year is no exception, unless you count exceptionally strange.

My theme this year is related to previous costumes I've done, but with a whole new twist.  I've been to comic cons and other such events dressed as a large number of things, from a horror show serial killer to a Star Trek bridge crew member.  I even dressed once as a royal family member who had been roped into participating in Christmas baking, you know, the kind of thing you see in Hallmark Christmas specials and other such shows.  This time though, I'm going as the ghost of the victim of the fictional serial killer I previously dressed up as...and what's more, I'm going to make it funny!

Yep, there was a very notable scene where a woman was chained to a cinder block, the block was thrown in the lake, and down the woman went.  Dressing as the victim may sound morbid, and in many cases it may be, but not in my case.  Nope!  I'm putting a humorous twist on it.  My styrofoam cinder block is ready to go, as is the plastic Halloween chain.  I've been working on fake seaweed and it is progressing well.  Next up is the fish I need to make to put in my hair and attach to my clothes.  If I have time, I'll attach some lures to my clothing as well, after removing the hooks of course!

I don't know what your plans are, but let your creativity run wild and have an amazing Halloween!

 

Influenced by the Green Movement or the Green Berets

I have a herd of kids. Most are out of the house these days. Occasionally, I will reminisce about decades gone by.   The following is a short, humorous  story, true life that is, that I wrote about 10 years ago. It still makes me laugh and hopefully it will you as well.

One day my preschooler announced that she had chosen her future occupation.

Recently, my preschooler announced that she had chosen her future occupation.

“What do you want to do?” I asked her, hoping I’d either been such a great mom that she’d say “mommy” like me, or that she’d realized her artistic talents and would announce “painter.”  

“I’m going to be a fish rescuer,” she told me proudly. 

Thinking that maybe she’d overheard the news talk about the need to keep the oceans clean, or perhaps she’d decided that she wanted to stock the tanks at the local pet store, I asked, “What’s a ‘fish rescuer’?”

“I’m going to use bombs to protect fish from sharks,” she explained, smiling.

Clearly, if any sort of green movement is affecting my kids, it’s not the environmental one, it’s TV’s green berets—Sylvester Stallone and Steven Seagal.

Rolling With It: How Joey "Scandalous" Scanlan Balances Family, Fighting, and the Mats

Joey Scanlan
After Winning an MMA Match Against Konner Shewmaker
At Lake of the Ozarks

Retired professional MMA fighter, BJJ gym owner, father, and all-around great guy, Joey Scanlan, a.k.a. Scandalous Scanlan, has graciously agreed to answer a few (okay, let’s be honest…a lot) of questions for us today.  

Joey is owner of Lebanon Jiu-Jitsu in Lebanon, MO. In addition to being a gifted instructor, he is also an accomplished MMA fighter and jiu-jitsu practitioner and has won a number of titles.  In jiu-jitsu he was: 2017 White Belt MO State Champion,  2018 Blue Belt MO State Champion Runner-Up, 2020 Purple Belt MO State Champion Runner-Up, and 2021 Expert No Gi NAGA World Champion.

Fuji Absolute Division

In MMA the list is even more extensive: WFC Strawweight Champion, Collision in the Cage Flyweight Champion, MFL Strawweight and Flyweight Champion, Caged on Campus Flyweight Champion, Capital Entertainment Flyweight Champion, Ron Garrison Promotions Flyweight Champion, and Title Quest Bantamweight Champion.

I first met Joey about ten or eleven years ago.  He was one of many young guys at the Brazilian jiu-jitsu school where I’d just started training.  While he was young, I actually thought he was a high schooler at the time, although he’d graduated a couple of years prior. 

Three things stand out to me about Joey when I think back on those years.  First was the time I was rolling, which is what we call sparring in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, with him, and before I knew it, I was, quite unfortunately, lying flat on the mat and Joey was sitting on top of my head choking me with his legs.  Of course, as a good training partner, he stopped as soon as I tapped.  

My second vivid memory of Joey was the day I walked through the gym door, I think it was a summer month, but all I know for sure is that it was definitely not late October or near Halloween, and one guy was wearing a ninja costume, not the kind that you would see in the movies, but the kind you get for little kids at Walmart.  He looked like a nutcase, but then again, I have no room to talk.  I’m pretty crazy myself and yes, it shows.  All in black with the hood up, the long pants, and fabric covering his face so all I could see was his eyes, I didn’t even know who I was looking at until I asked other students who were taking it all in stride.

It is perhaps my third  vivid memory of Joey from that year which stands out in my mind the most.  By that time, I was usually the only woman on the mat.  There had been a couple of women training when I started, but either because of a lack of interest in continuing or maybe it was from family or work obligations or possibly even for health reasons, usually, the other women weren’t there.  This particular night, there were a large number of very young kids at the gym.  What makes this so odd is that the gym didn’t teach children’s classes at that time.  Only adults trained there, so walking into a room with a bunch of kids was quite unexpected.  I felt like maybe it was “Mothers’ Evening Out” and everyone knew about it except me.  That was fine.  There was nothing I wanted to do more most evenings than train.  This is when I found out that Joey was in fact a father.  His toddler was on the side of the mat holding a favorite baby blanket.  Class began as usual and we all started jogging around the mat to warm up.  A couple of the other men where already carrying little people while running.  As Joey made his second or third round, a little boy put his arms up, and without missing a step or slowing the pace of the jog, Joey scooped him up, blanket and all.  The gym looked like an advertisement for fatherhood, the heart-warming kind, where you see tough guys being great dads.  Most of the men looked like they’d just stepped off of a Viking longboat.  They looked that tough, until you saw the baby blankets flying in the air as they warmed up while carrying their kids.  Simply put, it was amazing.  

Many things have changed over the last decade that I’ve known Joey, but his attention to his family and his love of martial arts has not.  Following he talks to us about both.

 

Christina Williams:  What prompted you to start MMA and when did you start? What training did you have before your first fight?

Joey Scanlan:  I had an unorthodox start to MMA. I actually got into it because I was part of a fight club in school, and we got busted by the police. After that, I decided to find a legal way to continue fighting. Unfortunately, I still had no training. Got my butt kicked a lot before I showed up to the gym to try to beat up one of the instructors, and he beat the crap out of me. 

CW:  What was your first MMA fight like?

JS:  My first fight, I was actually only 16, which you can’t get away with anymore. I fought a 38 year-old instructor. Beat me up worse than I've ever been beat up before. Ironically, my last fight was a former training partner of his that had a similar style as him. I used that as a scale to see how much improvement I've had since I started, since my first opponent has since retired. 

Judo State Championship

CW:  You do BJJ, judo, and Muay Thai. When and why did you become interested in these and start training them?

JS: I honestly had zero interest in jiu-jitsu before I had come in to try to beat up the instructor I previously mentioned. I realized that day how effective, and necessary that it really was. 

As for judo, I never wrestled. I wanted to add some sort of takedowns to my game, so I could stay clear of becoming a 'guard puller' that traditional jiu-jitsu created. My next option was judo. I absolutely hated the ruleset so I've looked at it as a personal challenge to create a version of judo that is well suited for the art of jiu-jitsu. 

With Muay Thai, I've always loved striking. I've spent the least amount of time in that area but it's something I've always been interested in. I've tried out a few different striking martial arts, and for a real life scenario, Muay Thai proves to be the most well-rounded, and effective form I could find.

Kickboxing Match Against Tod Hecox in 2013

CW: Tell me about your first cage fight. (For those who are unfamiliar with the term “cage fight” it refers to a fenced-in octagonal mat in which MMA fighters compete.)

JS:  My first fight, I had no training at all. The guy who I went against was an instructor of his gym and he beat the crap out of me. I was definitely overconfident, for whatever reason. I walked out to the song called “My Humps” by the Black-Eyed Peas, and I definitely made a fool of myself.

CW  When did you go pro?

JS:  I went pro in February of 2017.

CW:  How did going pro come about and who was it with? For our readers who aren’t familiar with MMA, what exactly does that mean compared to what you had previously been doing?

JS:  I actually didn't originally plan to go pro whenever I did. I had taken a fight for WFC (Walkout Fighting Championships) and I was their Strawweight Champion. I was planning to go up a weight division to fight for their Flyweight Belt, but the champion had gotten injured. That left me without a fight but they were looking for someone to fight as a pro at flyweight so I said, “why not?” 

Professional is just a huge step up in competition. As an amateur, you fight for free. Once you go pro, you start getting paid, but there's a reason why. Most of the people you fight have been doing it for years, and they live around it. They built their life around fighting. You no longer get 'easy fights.' 

CW:  What do you do to prepare for a fight and how has that changed over time?

JS: There's a lot of preparation when getting ready for a fight. You really have to just dial everything back, and put 100% preparation focus into the fight itself. You have to be super selfish about it. Especially when preparing for a professional level. Before, I used to just jump in there. Now, I change what I eat, do a ton of cardio, and increase the amount of rounds that I do. 

I realized as my family grew, that it wasn’t something that I could continue doing. My kids are a large reason why I decided to hang up the gloves. I was spreading myself too thin. I wasn't there for them the way they needed me to be, but I also wasn't putting enough focus into fight preparations.  This actually caused me to get injured during my last two fight preparations. At a professional level, it just wouldn't suffice so I hung up my gloves and I solely focus on growing my jiu-jitsu school now.

CW:  What prompted you to open your own gym? What do you like about it and what are the challenges you’ve faced?

JS: I opened up my gym at a hard time in my life. I went through a pretty nasty separation with my now ex-wife. At the time, I was the assistant instructor at my instructor's gym, but I was left alone at home raising five kids. I needed more financial stability so I had the opportunity to either open up my own gym, and take that risk, or go back to work on the weekends. 

I decided to take the route of opening up my gym. It's definitely the best decision that I've ever made. I enjoyed doing things my way. I enjoy being able to build up a second family in the connections that the gym has brought me, and I enjoy being able to sit back, knowing that it's the environment that I created out of something negative in my life.

Joey Scanlan with His Family

CW:  What age of kids are you trying to juggle childcare for while running this gym? What have been your biggest challenges in relation to balancing gym ownership and family life? How does that compare to balancing family life with other jobs that you’ve had?

JS: I recently just had a new baby who is a month old! Aside from that, I have a 13 year-old son, 10-year-old son, and an 8 year-old daughter! Balancing gym ownership and family life is definitely not an easy task. I'm always on the move but I definitely make it work, and I always make sure that I have time for both! There's definitely times where there’s more focus on one than on the other but that's just how life goes sometimes.

CW:  You mentioned the gym being a second family. What has been the most surprising thing to you since you’ve opened your own gym, good or bad?

JS:  I think the most surprising thing to me is how successful it has been in such a short period of time. I didn't really expect to have the success that I was having. My understanding, when I opened, was that I was going to be paying out of pocket for the first 5 years. That has not been the case and I've been super blessed to be in the community that I chose to be in. 

CW:  You said you don’t have any more fights in the future.  How does your family feel about this?

JS:  My last two fights, I did fight for the wrong reason. I fought because I needed money so my kids could have a good Christmas. When you are fighting for money, that's the time that you need to really step back and evaluate if it's something you really should be doing. There becomes a health risk at that point. 

I decided it was best for me to just step back, and lay down the gloves for the time being at least. My family accepts this, they understand, and honestly, are way more comfortable with it. 

CW:  You said that money was not the right reason to do an MMA fight. What in your opinion is?

JS:  The right reason, in my opinion, is to test yourself. To step out of your own comfort zone and show yourself what you are capable of. Fighting is a very selfish thing, and it has to be in order to be successful. As soon as you are in a spot where you can no longer be selfish about it, it's time to take a step back

CW:  What advice would you like to give your younger self?

JS:  If I had to go back and give my younger self advice, I would tell myself to get in the gym sooner. To take it more seriously. To get an earlier start in grappling by wrestling in school. When I was younger, I didn't expect this to be my job. If I would have known that, my younger self would have taken it way more seriously.

CW: Your fight name is “Scandalous” Joey Scanlan.  Is there a story behind that? I mean obviously Scanlan is your last name. But who came up with a scandalous part? Is that an interesting story and if so, would you tell us the story please?

JS:  It was created by James Gohagen in a comment section on Facebook. He jokingly said it as my fight name.  JR Dawson, the matchmaker for an upcoming fight, saw it.  He made a post about my fight and used it. It stuck ever since. 

CW: Thanks so much for your time Joey! I hope Lebanon Jiu-Jitsu continues to grow more and more successful with each passing year. And I hope anyone reading who happens to pass through or move to the area takes the time to check it out!

Embrace Your Inner Goofball: How Being Silly Can Make You (and Others) Happier

When I was in my twenties, I was blessed to get to know my husband's fourth cousin, Muriel, who, at the time I met her, was ninety.  Muriel was one of the most interesting people I've ever had the pleasure of getting to know and though she has been gone thirty years, I still miss her.  She was a hoot!  

Muriel lived in New Orleans her entire life and had never married. During her college years, she'd traveled to Europe with her best friend...on a freighter.  Probably since there were so few passengers, as well as the fact that she and her friend were attractive young women, she and her bestie had often dined with the captain.  Honestly, I could sit and listen to Muriel for hours.  She never said anything you'd expect her to and the stories were always unique and interesting.

"That's nice," you might be thinking, "but what does this have to to with being a goofball and being happier?"

Simple, it was Muriel who first made me think about the way I was living my life, although it didn't fully "kick in" I guess you could say, until I was around forty-five or fifty.  Rather than complaining about old age, being alone, or being physically unable to do the things that she had done during her youth, Muriel found being ninety quite liberating.  She was always saying how she had done this, that, or the other because since she was ninety, it didn't matter what others thought of her anymore.  To her, old age was...freeing.  

Since it's been three decade since she passed, I can no longer remember many of the specifics of what she had done simply because she felt her age allowed it.  I do, however, remember the oddest thing, or what I felt like was the oddest at the time.  Muriel felt her doctor was quite handsome, and I believe she said he was in his early thirties, so one of the last times she'd seen him, she decided to announce her undying love for him!  (A comment which he apparently acted like he had not heard.)  

Now, I'm not saying you should pronounce your love for someone who is unlikely to be interested in you, but what I am saying is that, at least for me, if I worry too much about what others think, I miss out on harmless fun that might even bring joy to others.  

When I was a teen, like most people I imagine, I was extremely concerned about what people thought.  Through my twenties, thirties, and even a lot of my forties, I refrained from a lot of goofy stuff I wanted to do because I was worried about what others thought. All this changed though, as I approached fifty years of age.  Fifty isn't old.  Also, it's just a number. Nonetheless, I celebrate yet another anniversary of my twenty-seventh birthday each year.  But it occurred to me that I shouldn't wait until the ripe old age of ninety to do some of the silly stuff I would like to do, so I gave it a shot, and I would recommend that you do as well.

You might be wondering what it is that I do.  While I won't go through all of it because certain things are a surprise for someone later, I will tell you that I love to cosplay as characters portrayed by my favorite actor to whom I bear absolutely no physical resemblance, apart from both of us being part of the human race. Before you tell me this isn't weird because many people enjoy cosplaying, let me add that I don't only do this at events like Comicon. Nope, I do it around town and make videos that I post on Instagram because it's my hope that I can convince the actor that he needs to do a Comicon in my neck of the woods, or possibly even take a vacation with his family.

I thought for sure with the ridiculous costume I was wearing that I would get kicked out of a few places,  but I was pleasantly surprised.  Many people ignored me since I was careful not to be disruptive in any manner.  Others though, I could tell that I absolutely made their day, or maybe even their week!  They were thrilled to be in my video handing me (in full mask and costume) a beer or ice cream.  They eagerly participated and it was awesome to see how their faces light up, just because I was there acting like, well, a total goofball.

The same goes for attending K-pop concerts dressed like the band and exchanging things like handmade bracelets with other concert goes whilst waiting in line.  I really thought I'd be a freak doing this at my age, but everyone from those waiting queueing with me to the band members themselves (it was a small concert and my VIP ticket allowed me to meet the group) loved it.

So, I challenge you to embrace your inner goofball and bring joy to others.  Make their faces light up and have a better day yourself in the process!

Honoring Those Who Have Helped You

JW Wright and Myself
Spring 2025 Seminar
(Photo by Dorian Brownlee)

Honor. It’s an old concept and one you don’t hear much about these days. I’m not only talking about one’s personal honor, but also honoring others, something I think can often be overlooked in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. We pay for lessons here. We hire people to do something there. 

If we have kids but don’t homeschool, then we’re either paying private school tuition or our kids instructors are paid by government. (Yes, through taxes that we pay regardless of whether or not we have a kid attending, but I digress.)

Have you ever met someone  who went into teaching because the pay was so appealing? A jiu-jitsu instructor who found teaching so lucrative that he was into teaching because of the money?  I doubt it. I’m not saying it’s impossible you’ve encountered such people but I’d dare say they are few and far between, and what’s more, I’d be shocked if you found a good one who was in it  just for money. 

People who serve you, particularly those who go above and beyond, teaching you, helping you, encouraging you, deserve to be, and indeed should be, honored.

What does this mean and what does this have to do with the me? While the answer will undoubtedly be very different for each individual, my answer is simple.

I’ve been unbelievably blessed to be  taught, encouraged, and helped beyond all reasonable expectations in Gracie jiu-jitsu.  

I am not, nor am I likely to ever be, a world champion. I’m female, in my mid-fifties, and while I exercise a lot and have lost over 20 pounds, I’m still shaped more or less like a teddy bear.

Have I competed? Sure. Twice. I did it not so much because I wanted to, but to prove to myself that I could, since honestly, I was terrified to do so. And I did it! I got out there, and fought, hard. 

With My Training Partner at a Spring 2025 Seminar
(Photo by Dorian Brownlee)

Naturally, there aren’t many women my age, size, and rank who compete. If I traveled far and went to one of the largest competitions in the world, I could ‘probably’ find someone of that description to compete against. As it was, however, each time I’ve gone to a competition, which consists of several rounds, my opponents have been women my size, but 25 to 30 years younger than me. Of course jiu-jitsu is designed to use technique and leverage so that a smaller, weaker, slower opponent can still win, however, when we’re the same rank, well, let’s just say I competed and I did my best and I’m proud of myself for getting out there.

All that, however, is beside the point. The point is that I’ve had so much amazing instruction and help that is invaluable. People have given way above and beyond anything that could reasonably be expected, for no reason other than they just decided to be good to me! For this, I want to honor them.

What does this look like— honoring them? For me, it means making sure that they know that I’m working hard. For those who are near me it’s pretty easy because they see me at the gym, however, many of them are extremely far away, and I might see them every once in a while or in some cases never again. Some of them came into my life for a short period of time and made a huge impact. Others, I might get a chance to see once a year or less. 

Nonetheless I want them to know that I’m not squandering all the hard work and effort they exerted helping me.  These people are all unbelievably busy. They probably don’t have time to check up on what I’m doing. However, if they do, I make sure that I have an open Instagram account so they can look at what I’m doing and I post my jiu-jitsu updates somewhat regularly. 

Myself with Royler Gracie
December 2024 Seminar

They’re not updates that mention any sort of tangible progress, but they show my effort. I want to make sure that it's evident that I’m doing all I can with the knowledge and encouragement I’ve been given. I believe this is the best I can do to honor these people.

So I challenge you to honor those who have made your life better, and teach your children to do likewise. Make sure you look behind the obvious and take the extra time to let these people know how much what they do means to you. Don’t take it for granted. Take a moment to honor them. 

Steve Byers on Playing Williams Bradford in the Upcoming Lifetime Movie, "The Girl Who Survived: The Alina Thompson Story"

Steve Byers & Brielle Robillard (Screenshot from Lifetime's Official Trailer)

There’s a cautionary tale, a real-life story of a teenage girl who was taken in by, but survived an encounter with a serial killer, coming up on the Lifetime channel this Saturday, September 20, at 8/7c. The Girl Who Survived: The Alina Thompson Story is about a young woman’s experience during the eighties in California. 

Steve Byers, co-lead in the show which also features Sam Trammell, Ashley Jones, and Brielle Robillard, has generously agreed to tell us about his experiences on set and filming. 

Christina Williams: This isn’t your first time cast as a serial killer. What do you have to do to mentally prepare yourself to convincingly portray someone so evil? 

Steve Byers: This one is quite different as we were dealing with a true story and real families that had lost their loved ones. I had to talk with our Producers before we started as I wanted to make sure that the story was not glorifying Bradford in any way or justifying or drawing any doubt to his terrible crimes. He was a monster. I will never pretend that there is a different way to look at him. After that was established, it is really about trusting the script and information that is out there about the picture of the person we were trying to paint. 

CW: Unlike most, if not all of the other roles you’ve played, William Bradford was not a fictional character. Did playing a real person who did something so heinous impact your ability to get into character? 

SB: As I mentioned, knowing that we were creating something that was not putting his deeds or morals on any pedestal and knowing he could never do anything like this again, it was easier to get past that difficult concept. 

CW: Alina Thompson, the woman who lived through the traumatic events portrayed in the movie, was on set part of the time. Did you meet her, and if so, at what point in the filming was that? What was it like for you meeting her, knowing the individual you were portraying tried to murder her?

SB: I met Alina through Facetime initially. I was hoping to get her perspective on Bradford’s demeanor. She was very warm and helpful and beyond that, very brave. Yes, Alina ended up coming to set on multiple occasions and I was astounded by her fortitude and ability to recount some of these events without breaking down. Hopefully this story will be a warning/lesson for even one young person out there to rethink a decision that could ultimately lead to something like this ever happening again. 

CW: Did Alina watch you playing Williams Bradford, and knowing that, did it make it harder for you to stay in character? 

SB: She did but because of her strength and encouragement, it was actually easier to do knowing I had her blessing. 

CW: What do you do to decompress after filming really emotionally intense scenes? 

SB: Eat. 

Steve Byers (Photo from his IMDB Page)

CW: Is it harder to play a despicable individual than a kind one, and if it is, what makes it
so? 

SB: It’s been said before, however, if I’m staying true to the script and we have made sure there is not more damage being done,  my job is to act as best I can with what I’m given. 

CW: Brielle Robillard plays Alina  Thompson in the movie. Sam Trammell and Ashley Jones portray her parents. What was it like working with them?  Have you done projects with them in the past and if so, what were they?

SB: It was a lovely group to work with. Every department on this team worked incredibly hard and I would happily join them again. Brielle and I really bonded during this one and despite the dangerous relationship in the script, we had so many laughs behind the scenes. It definitely takes some of the edge off the subject matter when the offscreen relationships are fun and light. 

CW: What scene was most challenging for you? 

SB: The physical scenes where there is violence at the core are generally the toughest. I’ll leave that there. 

CW: You’ve been in a number of Lifetime movies such as Daddy’s Deadly Secret, Glass Houses, A Christmas Break, Pocket Dial Murder, Deadly Secrets by the Lake, and What Would You Kill For? Is the production process pretty much the same for all of these films, or does it vary wildly? If so, how? And if it was different for this movie, was that because The Alina Thompson Story is based on actual events? 

SB: The Production side of making movies is mostly budget based. Each project changes by virtue of who you’re working with and the amount of money they have to make the show. Money provides comforts and amenities that are more plentiful on some and not on others. The making of movies itself relies on the crew’s abilities and attitudes and ultimately the Director. In this case Michelle Ouellet was a calm and kind Captain of the ship we were sailing on. I’d 100% sail with her again. 

CW: Steve, thank you so much for taking time to share your experience with us. The film sounds like it’s going to send a very powerful cautionary message which, as you stated, will hopefully serve as a warning to young people, showing them potential dangers they might not otherwise have been alerted to. I can't wait to see it!

You can follow Steve Byers on Instagram at @thestevebyers and a trailer of the movie is available here. Join Steve's unofficial group of fans here.  Don’t miss it this Saturday, September 20 at 8/7c Lifetime! 

Dressing to the Nines…Just Because

Just because everyone else is wearing flip-flops and shorts and T-shirts, doesn't mean that I can't wear an evening gown if I want to! So I did.
At my house, once a week without fail, my husband and I go out. It's date night. Just the two of us. I had picked up a gorgeous evening gown at a yard sale for just $1. Of course when I bought this full length dress I was thinking, "Where am I going to wear this?" Really, who cares? It's gorgeous! Anyway, I got it home and if I had gone to 100 stores, I never would've been able to find something that fit me so well! It honestly looks like it's made for me. Date night rolled around. My husband and I don't generally go to fancy places or do very expensive things. I could go pretty much everywhere I want to go in a T-shirt and jeans with flip-flops and crocs. However, I wanted to good for my husband. So yes, you guessed it, I went to the $6 movie night wearing my full evening gown! Of course, my husband is eccentric too. He was wearing his kilt. Does it take some guts to do this? Sure it does. Is it a blast? Yes, it is! When I wear something like that or something else really fancy around for no good reason, I always have people tell me how they own something that's been hanging in their closet that they really wish they had somewhere to wear and usually I'm standing somewhere exciting..like Walmart or Dollar tree or our local movie theater when we're having this conversation and I am dressed up, but they are not. Overall, I have found that life is just more enjoyable when you're a little weird. I highly recommend it. Don't worry so much about standing out. If something is ethical, moral, not harmful, and a little bit of fun, go ahead and do it and bring some joy into someone else's life! There's no good reason not to be a little eccentric.

Dragon Party Decorations

Lately I've been folding origami dragons, both silver and green, whenever I have a little down time.  The great thing about origami is that it's not messy, not expensive, and you can do it when you have a little time between activities, such as a five-minute break between online classes that you teach.  (This is the case for me.)

To a fan of the mythical creatures, nothing says "Happy Birthday" like a flight of dragons ready to grace every table at a party.  Thus far I’ve made roughly 100 origami dragons to support the theme of an upcoming birthday party/pet food panty charity event. 

These are just a small part of the overall decorations, but I think they’re a nice touch and even better, they’re fun to make!

Party Like It's Dec 31