The Barack Obama Show

The other day, Husbandguy and I watched the president's press conference and enjoyed all the references, direct and implied, to the mistakes of the previous administration. We also enjoyed playing a little fill-in-the-blank game when the president left off phrases like, "under the previous administration" or "by my predecessor."

Oh and we listened to what he had to say. Something I couldn't make myself do during the previous administration with his predecessor.

And Then She Remembered

The story has already been told online. You can (and should) check it out here.

Joyful News!

I need to get permission to tell you this whole story because it's an amazing story, but I'm going to go ahead and tell you what I can. Remember #4 in yesterday's post? It happened. And a baby was born! A hoped-for, much-wanted, long-awaited baby.

Welcome, Baby Boy G!!

I'm Not Complaining... Even Though I Want To

All I want to do is moan and complain and grump about all the things that are wrong with/around me. Instead, here is a list of what is right:

1. My kitchen is clean. And my cookbooks are not in a box in the garage anymore.
2. The laundry is finished.
3. My vertigo lasted less than 24 hours.
4. Someone I care very much about is quite possibly in the middle of something wonderful and long-awaited right now (maybe more about that in a few days).
5. Lulu is clean and quiet in her bed for the moment.
6. I get to see extended family this weekend.
7. I have a new book that I am looking forward to reading.
8. I have a new project that I am looking forward to finishing. It's curtains for Lulu's room to go with her big girl bed when we get it in the next few weeks. I'll post a picture when they're finished.
9. Husbandguy and I have been married 11 years this month. There is a spaghetti dinner at Pete's school the evening of our actual anniversary so we don't need to make any special plans to celebrate, I guess.

There. I posted 9 good things instead of the 3 or 4 icky things I could have posted. I feel a little better, I guess.

Random Thought

I think it is misleading that the models in mascara ads wear false eyelashes.

I'm not complaining for myself personally because I actually have pretty nice lashes, but it seems unfair to women who might wish theirs were longer/fuller/more glamorous.

Please Don't Get MS... Or Vertigo...

Last night I woke myself up a few times simply rolling onto my back. Or maybe more accurately, the sensation of the world tilting dramatically on its axis woke me up. Have you ever experienced vertigo? How about while you're sleeping? It's unpleasant. I'm understating a tad.

I have BPPV, and several years ago, I think before Pete, it was really bad. So bad that if I looked at an airplane flying overhead or laid on my back on the bed, the room would turn on its side and a clammy wave of nausea would overtake me and I'd be useless until it passed. It had lessened for a long time, but apparently it's back. It is bad enough that I couldn't sleep on my back even with a pillow last night or tilt my head back to put drops on my contacts this morning. I hate BPPV. I'm understating a tad.

So since I already felt like crap this morning and don't have anything big scheduled until late Friday (Husbandguy said he will drive to Pete's swimming lesson and the thing on Friday - I checked), I decided to go ahead and take my monthly steroids today. I'd been putting it off because... well look here - that'll explain it some. It's just hard to find a time when I don't have something to do that would be difficult to put off or miss because I can't drive myself there. Like church. Or Pete's school. Or my life. Anyway, I was hoping the steroids would help with the vertigo - not because they're supposed to - I was just hoping. Instead they made me feel worse. HG had to come home to drive me and Pete to her check-up. He's really good about that kind of stuff. I thanked him. Several times.

Steroids are supposed to give you energy, right? Make you kind of high or hyped-up or even aggressive. Right? I get hyped usually, but the hyped-up feeling in my day today happened just after Pete's check up, when I apparently had a little extra adrenaline or something and felt actually normal for the first time since sometime after midnight.

Maybe I could learn something from this about how to feel better after I've taken my steroids. Exercise? Performing? Lecture circuit? But right now I can't think about that. I'm going to take my shot (yep, still have to do that) and take ½ a Xanax and fade away until morning, when I bet I'll be abnormally peaceful and tolerant until about 10 AM when the Xanax fully wears off.

Funny Mental Image for You

The other day Husbandguy got so extremely frustrated with the girls for not listening that he hollered this:

"EVERYONE NEEDS TO GET NAKED AND GET IN THE SHOWER!!"

I know many of you don't have the necessary information or the desire to picture everyone in my family naked and crammed in the shower together, but maybe picture your family or a family you know, and you'll understand why my reaction to his outburst was unhelpful laughter. He still won't laugh about it, but come on! That's just a silly thing! Right?

Snow Day? Really?

I've been here 15 "winters" now and am used to the schools closing for minimal winter weather but even I think they may have overreacted to the "snow" this time.

"Are You a Musician?"

After the service yesterday, I was trying to catch up with the music director at my church (I turned in my membership papers yesterday and so can say "my church"), but he was clearly busy and I couldn't catch him. I was on the verge of just trying next week when I caught sight of a table marked "Music Stuff" or "Music Program" or "the Table Where One Can Learn About Music at this Church" or something equally as obvious. I didn't hear angels or anything, but it was definitely a moment when another, more desperate person (like me in a month) might have seen a glowing halo and heard "Aaaaaahhh..."

"Look," I said to Pete. "I bet that's where I need to go." Pete said, "What?" I don't think she's quite as concerned about me joining the choir as I am.

When I approached the table and flashed my friendliest new-person-in-need-of-guidance smile (it's really very striking and always get results), I was greeted with this question, "Are you a musician?"

Am I a musician? Hmm... Am I?

Eighteen years ago, my automatic and immediate answer would have been, "Pshaw! Of course! What a silly question!" Because I was then. I played piano and tuba and flute and oboe and bass drum and many, many other band instruments (I won an award from our director for "most diverse") and guitar and sang and hung out with musicians on a regular basis for whom I wrote incredibly poetic little songs for them to screech into a microphone in their mom's garage or rec room (and who played in the school band or regularly sang with me in front of audiences). And even a few short years after that, I might have unhesitatingly said, "Yes!" because of PSP and her dad.

But I hesitated for an instant. I really did. Most recently my musicality has been limited to bedtime lullabies and warbling along with Music for Aardvarks in the car and counting to 4 while my sweet and talented Pete practices her piano. Oh, and singing in the shower, but a rousing chorus of "Let It Snow!" amongst the suds does not make you a musician (sorry, but it really doesn't). For just an instant I hesitated.

Then I said, clearly and with certainty, "YES." I am a musician.

I may be out of practice. I really need to hone my sight-singing and piano skills, but this is why one of the main reasons I went looking for a church. Music is almost missing from my life and this is wrong. The music program at a church seemed like the best place to get it back. It's a starting place, at least.

So I signed my name and my phone number and my email address and indicated that I'm interested in choir and play a little piano and am just waiting now to hear from the director. From what I've heard, he should be anxious to talk to me. Everyone seems to think he's desperate for musicians. Although from what I've seen he's more than sufficiently surrounded by talent...

And as an added bonus, later in the day I read in either the Order of Service or the monthly newsletter that they're starting an audition-only chamber choir! Ho. Ly. Mo. Ly. That is for me.

Preschool Love

Brady told his mom, "[Lulu] holds my hand on the playground."

Brady's mom asked, "Do you like that?"

Brady answered, "Yeah."

Awww!