Just Jump In: October 2007

Boo!!!

Happy Hallowe'en!

Cochrane, Alberta Mural

This mural is absolutely amazing. This link was sent to me by a friend, and here is the description:
This mural was unveiled last week at the Cochrane Ranch House. Each tile is 1 foot square, is it's own individual picture and each is done by a different artist. All of them together form this huge mural. You can click on each of the tiles to see them in detail. Then go further and click on other pictures......AMAZING

Insomnia

I keep falling asleep on the couch, but can't go to bed. Don't fall asleep well once I do go to bed. I have this whole nervous energy, and kind of acid-y feeling in my stomach. And a general inability to focus on much. Could it be Hallowe'en? Hmmm, maybe. More likely the upcoming potential PoD encounter this week. I say potential because it hasn't been confirmed, but he's in town this week, I think Tues and Wed. In preparation for this possible rendezvous, here is my to-do list:
1. pluck brows
2. decide on outfit
3. lose weight (oh, too late!!!)
4. change mind about outfit
5. decide on BPAL scent
6. change mind about outfit again
7. obsessively check e-mail/Facebook/cell phone
8. try not to bite nails
Will update if there are any developments in this ridiculous story.

Brand Loyalty

I don't know about everyone else, but I am very particular about which brands I use for certain things, and other items, I just don't care. For instance, toothbrush - whichever soft brush that doesn't look too big or too small (hello, Goldilocks!) will work just fine. However, the toothpaste had better be Colgate and not Crest (ugh!). Cranberry juice? Not particular. Same with pasta, tomato sauce, and canned tomatoes. Ketchup? Heinz all the way. Mustard? French's for yellow and Maille for Dijon. Laundry detergent and fabric softener - currently Purex (they kept discontinuing what I used, and it really did stress me out - my laundry didn't smell entirely right) for washing and Downy for softening. Q-Tips are the only cotton swabs I want near my ears, but I will blow my nose on anyone's tissue, as long as it's soft.

But toilet paper. There is very definitely only one brand that I want in my home. Other houses and public places? Well, I will make do, but at home I stock Cashmere (formerly called Cottonelle). And only Cashmere. It has been this way for years. Since I lived in my apartment in undergrad. My roommate actually decided to save money with cheap toilet paper. I bought my own. Since Hubby and I have been married - thirteen years. He knows this, he buys this. Except for the last time he bought toilet paper. I have no idea what possessed him to buy the other stuff that the kittens advertise, but he did. And I have been dealing with lint in places where I would rather not have lint ever since. Stupid kittens. Stupid husband. And I think we still have 12 rolls left. Argh!!!!!

RBOC (and it's all crap, really)

Nothing too exciting, just general busy-ness. Oh, and one little thing that made me smile excessively.

**Obviously, I have recovered from strep. Not through any helpfulness from my husband. A fine example? Friday, I was delusional enough to think that I would be able to go lay down once he got home from work. I had already made the kids dinner, and just wanted to rest for about an hour. Well, Hubby decided that homework must get done then because there wouldn't be time later. So, I got to do homework with Corwin, who argued, whined, moaned, took off, and threw his pencil. Until bath and bedtime. Hubby worked with Clara, who enjoys homework and was done quickly. To say I was pissed off would be putting it mildly. I was also angry that he insisted on doing homework on a Friday, when the kids are tired from a full week at school, and just need to relax. Corwin had absolutely no downtime at all on Friday, which is wrong, just wrong. And Hubby wondered why Corwin wouldn't fall asleep and kept calling from bed that he wasn't tired, yet was clearly whiny and tired. Men!!

**Saturday was pretty good. Hubby and the kids went on the Beaver walk to Beaver Pond (they didn't see any beavers of the animal variety). Corwin's friend, Duncan, came for lunch and then spent the rest of the day and night here (his mom had to work, his dad died in June of 2006, and his grandma, who usually watches Duncan and his sister, had heart surgery the day before). The kids had a great time, and Hubby took them to several parks in the afternoon so I could get stuff done. Because his parents were coming for dinner. Yes, strep, a sleep-over, and entertaining the in-laws. My, what a wonderful weekend. At least it all went well, including the sleep-over portion (the first for my kids and Duncan).

**Sunday morning was a bit hectic, getting kids dressed and fed, and then taking Hubby to pick up the truck to go and help my parents move some stuff to their storage locker here. Once he was on his way, I dropped the kids at Duncan's house and headed to church. Singing was fine, managed to go out for brunch afterwards, and then headed back to get the kids. There was a message from Duncan's mom that since it was such a beautiful day, they had gone to Gatineau Park for a hike and picnic. Woo hoo - free time!! I had a nap and got some stuff done around here. Once Corwin and Clara were back home, around 3:30, they were exhausted. We did the errand we needed to do for Corwin's homework, then I gave them baths and they got into lounge pants. Corwin finished his homework and then we went and picked up pizza for dinner. They had some chill out time while watching the end of a movie, and then went to bed without argument (amazing!!!!).

**Monday was uneventful except that Hubby returned home with the truck, unloaded stuff here (like a snowblower - yay!! - and barbeque - yay!!!). Then he went to unload stuff at the storage locker. When Corwin and Clara came home from school, we all drove over to return the truck. Corwin and Clara got to ride in the truck which was a big thrill for them.

**On Tuesday, I practiced frantically for flute choir. I missed last week because I had a meeting to attend. And I knew that we would be doing a piece new to me but performed by the rest of the choir last year. Nothing like a little stress and worry about measuring up to promote intense use of the metronome!! Happily, I didn't mess up too much. It's just really weird being the new person in the group, and trying to blend. I actually asked the conductor (from now on known as Waverley - she was also the first flute last Feb in Elijah) if I was blending in all right. The good news is that her answer was an enthusiastic yes.

**Yesterday was a busy one. I worked with Boss Lady doing Hallowe'en decor on Parliament Hill. We were in the West Block. Of course, there was bureaucratic BS involved regarding getting in, particularly as the House of Commons was in session, and the room we were to decorate was booked for committee meetings and caucus. Oh the joy. At least it wasn't raining as we were standing outside. Weasley joined me for this event, his first time working with the Boss Lady. I had to leave early to pick up the kids from the bus, but he stayed, and then went out to dinner with the crew, and did take-down as well. It was an early one - the party, "Hillowe'en", is for the children of parliamentarians, so it went from 5:30-7:30. I didn't go back for take-down because I had other plans - I was recording with Gordon and the Women's Compline Choir last night.

**So, recording. I must say, Gordon needs to write some new stuff (and he agrees). The pieces we sang were written when the Compline Choir was made up of mostly altos with a few sopranos. Because of this, there is one soprano part, and two alto lines and the alto lines are low. (Now we have seven sopranos and three altos so it's basically reversed). I got to sing the middle line. Which is low, and yep, harmony, my least favourite thing to sing. Seriously, for one of the pieces, it is basically the same note - E flat - with the occasional D or C. Anyway, I had some serious stress about one piece that I looked at briefly beforehand, saw that I knew it, and moved on. Of course, when it came time to record, I realized that I knew it because we sang it with the full choir (women only) during communion last year. And I knew the soprano part, not the stupid upper alto line. This was the last piece we recorded, and it sucked to sight-read at 10:00 pm, and sing non-melody stuff that makes no sense whatsoever to me. Basically, I can't do most alto parts because it's just random notes that make no sense and I end up trying to just read intervals - nothing flows. And it's difficult to sing low all the time - my voice just doesn't do that very well. Whatever, we managed to get it all done. On the drive home (Gordon was my ride), Gordon asked me how I felt that it went. I said overall that it went well, told him about my panic and sight-reading for the last piece, and told him about the issues that kept coming up with one other piece. I think it will be interesting to hear the recording.

**The best thing about last night? We picked up Gaston and went for coffee afterwards. That's when Gordon was telling me about his chat with Waverley about our Christmas concert. The Strings will be augmented to full orchestra, which includes 2 flutes. He was asking Waverley who she would like as second flute for the performances and she said, "Well, Canada, of course". (of course!!! Insert big goofy grin here!!). To which Gordon replied "No, Canada will be singing". I may not be playing, boys and girls, but I was the first choice!!!

(I guess this would be random paragraphs of crap, huh?)

Thank God, It's Not Just Me!!!

This is one tiny little excerpt from a Today's Parent article on the impact of birth oder. As an only, this is so true!!!

When an only child becomes a parent, he will have high expectations, Balla believes. She adds that onlies often want more than one child, but tend to overreact to noise level or conflict when they do have multiple offspring.

Feeling Like Death

That would be me. In denial for days (I'm NOT getting sick!!!), I think I finally have to admit I'm getting sick. Actually, I am well and truly ill. Of course, I called the doctor this morning and got the recording "It is Thursday, October 18 and the office is now closed for the weekend". Well fuck. That isn't going to net me a script for Zithromax for the strep which is multiplying in my throat. So . . . do I really want to go to the clinic? Or wait 'til my neighbour-doctor gets home? (which will mean the drugs don't kick in until tomorrow instead of tonight, so will feel shitty for longer). Probably the clinic. Damn. In the event that I die (until the 4 Advil take effect, I'm sort of hoping for death), I apologize in advance for not mailing those tangible gifts. However, as I'm quite certain I'll recover, please send me your mailing addresses: 1. Luckybuzz 2. Gretty 3. Shellibells 4. Maggie May 5. Lola (I can make your a housewarming gift that's hand-delivered!!!)

** update - I went to the clinic, which had a sign at the desk that said "clinic now closed". Excuse me? I asked what was going on and apparently they had too many walk-in patients "but you can come back around 1:30" Yeah, I don't think so. So . . . I drove to another clinic. And they were very annoying. Hello, she did the strep swab and told me to take Tylenol and drink plenty of fluids until I heard - on MONDAY!!!! I don't think so. I'm taking 4 Advil at a time now to manage the pain. She hemmed and hawed and decided to write me a prescription for Septra. I told her that Zithromax is what has been working, but she wouldn't because it is related to one of the three drugs I'm allergic to (isn't it fun to be me?). Anyway, turns out Septra is in the Sulfa family. Which makes me nauseous. So I'm going to go to neighbour-doc's walk-in to get what I need. Hopefully I won't throw up on the way over because I'm feeling beyond disgusting.

***second update - I have the Zithromax. Yay for neighbour-doc (who was appalled at the Septra because apparently, it's not a good choice for strep). I currently feel worse because I just told Hubby that I'm sick. And he's annoyed, as usual. And asking me why I'm in such a pissy mood. Hmmm . . . anyone want to hazard a guess?

So You Can Look Forward To The Mail Delicvery

From Clementine.

By the end of the calendar year, I will send a tangible, physical gift to each of the first five people to comment here. The catch? Each person must make the same offer on her/his blog.

Who's with me? Let's get this party started!

Dirty and Sexy

Yes, I am hooked on a new show. Dirty, Sexy Money is just highly entertaining to me. And since Six Feet Under is now six feet under, well . . . Peter Krause playing a guy whose dad dies in the first episode? Sounds like it's starting off on the right foot.

Boo!

What Your Halloween Habits Say About You

You're a friendly person, but not the life of the party. You like making someone else's day - and you'll dress up if you think of a really fun costume.

You like to think of yourself as naughty. But compared to most people, you're actually quite mild.

Your inner child is stubborn and a bit bossy.

You truly fear the dark side of humanity. You are a true misanthrope.

You're prone to be quite emotional and over dramatic. Deep down, you enjoy being scared out of your mind... even if you don't admit it.

You are a total overachiever and workaholic. You're the type of person who plans their elaborate Halloween costume weeks in advance.

What's Your Halloween Personality?

As stolen from Lina

Yay!!! It's Finally Autumn!!!!

I mean really, my tan is gone and I'm sick of humidity. Bring on the drizzle and the chill.

Incoming Diva Rant

So by now you all know I have music issues (amongst others, for those likely to point that out). According to AVT (Awesome Voice Teacher), I am a total flute player. I am a top line melody reader who strongly dislikes singing harmony. On flute, I prefer to be first because, frankly, I'm just like that (though not in the new flute choir - I'm not an obviously better player than the others, and I'm happy to be 2nd, third, fourth, and piccolo). I admit I have diva tendencies (though I haven't gotten to the hissy fit or pouting stage . . . yet).

Anyway, in choir, I am a second soprano. This drives me bananas because there are quite a few pieces that have split soprano parts, and the seconds take the lower line. Which is sometimes a bitch to read if it's squished on the same staff as the alto line. And is the harmony to the firsts. But I don't like singing harmony. I can't hear it, I'm not as confident about it and, dammit, I can sing the high notes!!!!! I have dropped hints on a couple of occasions to Gordon, but he says he needs strong singers on all parts. Beck is first and loves singing harmony - she'd actually rather be an alto because she finds it fun (I'd quit first rather than sing alto!!!), but she'd be happy to switch to second. Which is apparently not going to happen, so I'm just biding my time in the mindset of one day, if I work really hard, etc, I'll get "promoted".

So, last night there was a new soprano trying out choir. And fuck if she wasn't a first. I swear, I could feel the pout. It didn't show, but it was there. As was a bit of grumbling and growling. Which lit more of a fire under me to kick ass with my Messiah piece, How Beautiful Are The Feet, this year. And come hell or high water, I will be dressed in a kimono for the June recital, flawlessly singing Un Bel Di from Madame Butterfly. In perfect Italian.

It's A Beautiful Thing

Hubby and I got Corwin and Clara each an iPod shuffle for their birthday. They are very into music, and when we are in the car, both of them constantly ask "Mom, do you have this song on the computer? Can we listen to it again later?", so it was an obvious gift choice. Clara's is purple, Corwin's is silver. Hubby's parents got them earphones (the earbuds are too big for their ears - hell, they're too big for my ears!) and my parents got them new alarm clocks through which they can play their iPods. What a fabulous thing. Today, they have a PD day, so I anticipated a wakeup at the crack of dawn (means anything before 7), and arguing. Instead? They are reading and listening to their iPods. Beautiful!!!!!!!

And I think I know what I'm getting Hubby for Christmas . . . .

A Grand Affair

No, not the romantic type (but I can think of a few possibilities . . . .kidding!). This was a huge gala at the National Arts Centre. It was an insane amount of decorating and very little sleep. Friday I worked from 9:30 am until 2:45, went home to get the kids off the bus, then went back from 5:45 until midnight. Beck was at my house as the dogsitter and was surprised I was home so early (Hubby and the kids were camping for the weekend with the Beavers). Saturday morning I was at the NAC for 9, and I left at 4:30 . . . A.M.!!!!!!!! It was a long and crazy day, but I got to be onstage fluffing table decor for the entire dress rehearsal with the NAC Orchestra conducted by Pinchas Zuckerman, with Erin Wall (soprano), Ben Heppner!!! (tenor), and Jann Arden(!!!!!!!!). Yeah, it was awesome. And then to be able to have a little chat backstage with Ben Heppner, who is a lovely man, and help Jann out by getting the person to fix her mic pack . . . too cool! I also managed to be onstage for some of Ben Heppner's performance, and all of Jann's. No surprise that I teared up when she sang "Hanging By A Thread" - I love that song. So . . . here are some shots of the decor. The theme this year was Enchanted Forest. The really wild thing is that after the performance, we have 45 minutes to get the tables moved into place (NAC staff does that), candles lit, etc, because the guests eat on the stage. It's pretty impressive.