Feels Good

This is what I wrote to my teacher on her caring bridge site:

Hi-

How are you feeling today? Sounds like the conscious sedation made you a bit groggy. I had that for my leg procedure last fall...didn't seem too bad to come out of with time, so hopefully that is the case with you.

Alright, so I did it. The video is in two pieces which is fine, so I might edit and then send/share, maybe as mp3. A. did a good job shooting it.

I am my own worst critic. So I heard mistakes. Half way through the piece my hands started shaking. Ah well.

But I did it. There was such nice applause at the end. I absorbed the positive comments and praise from friends and others who just came up, and said thanks for playing. It was nice.

First of many recitals I hope. (goodness I haven't done this in oh about 30 years!)

L. (the accompanist for all the performers) was funny. I asked her to turn the page for me. She looked at me blankly-I explained I was last on the program. Oh! she said, I didn't see the back of it. I said Yes, I am playing Grieg's Notturno. She said sweet! :)

I hope that this statement comes out right. But in an odd way, your fight with cancer has helped give me the courage to play piano. Which I have really wanted to do, as you know...

Blessings to you-

Here we are afterwards. That is S’s teacher in the middle. Super G. took this one. J

This is what my teacher wrote back to me this am:
I am so glad you made it through the recital last night. I thought about you and hoped you would be okay and not get too shaky hands because then it is hard to play. Bravo to you for performing!! Thanks for your thoughts you have shared on Caringbridge. I have appreciated them so much.

Excited

Today I am excited. But also mortified.

You see, I have nerves. Nervous, anxious, tense, uneasy, worried.

About what? OK I'm getting carried away here.

I'll be playing in a recital today. I'm going to play Notturno by Edvard Grieg. It is a beautiful piece. This is what I am nervous about.

I am playing in honor of my beloved teacher. She is starting a fight with breast cancer.

At this very moment MBT (my beloved teacher) is having a bone biopsy. I am praying for her and with her in spirit all day today.

Yes, some perspective is definitely called for. And a shift in focus. Goodness, this really isn't all completely about me, is it?

If One More Person...

...tells me...

"Don't you know? Oh, it is much better and easier recoverywise to break your ankle than to sprain it."

...seriously? Hearing this over and over and over again, I feel like I am going to blow a gasket.

OK-not to be overly crabby or sensitive or whatever...but really even though I sense the motivation for that comment is helpful...

GEEZ this makes me mad!!

So what do you think!! Should I have somehow once I was falling awkwardly jarringly, somehow DONE MORE DAMAGE to my ankle, and so incur more pain than I experienced at that moment, so that I could have BROKEN my ankle, and not SPRAINED it?

Yep, to me that is a pretty crazy, not to mention unjustified, thought as well...

But what can I do but smile and nod my head, and thank the umpteenth jillion person that has said this for their helpful comment.

Just Another Day

OK Tuesdays are busy in our household.

We have softball for S 7-8th grade slow pitch, and I am the coach. We play doubleheaders. So we are booked pretty much all evening...
Oh and I find myself spending an hour or so every Tuesday working out the lineup and the batting order. We rotate positions often and I'm constantly trying to balance who plays where, who likes which positions, how best to rotate pitchers, who will play catcher (no one likes this), etc. etc.

And G has soccer for 2nd graders. This is also on Tuesdays.

Papa sometimes (OK often) has meetings. Or he has to work. That's OK, as these events for him are important. Obviously.

So this Tuesday I had to figure out how to get G to soccer and home again because I wasn't available and Papa was busy. I had the ride home covered, with one of our friends, so that was good.

So I needed to figure out how to get her TO the game. So after contemplating this for a while, finally I checked with her. "Is *girl with pretty name* on your team?" "Oh yes." was the reply. Wow OK great, I thought. I will check with the mom and sure sounds like we have this covered. Yes, after a phone call or two we were set.

So we load all the equipment for the softball game-some snacks, water, and my lineup, scoresheet, game balls, etc. (oh and crutches just in case I needed them) and take Super G. in uniform, cleats, shin guards, water, pretty headband of course, to house at the designated time.

So we ring the doorbell, and the *girl with pretty name* is oh wait! not in her soccer uniform. Hmmm-first clue that something is amiss. The mom looks at us blankly. I think to myself...wait, what team is *girl with pretty name* on? Oh and we come to the realization that, yes, uh, hum, they are not on the same team. The minute that she saw G's jersey, oh she was wondering what was up.

WAIT they are not even on the same team! Not only that, but their games aren't even at the same time!"

At this point I basically wanted to crawl into a hole.

"Um, can you still drive her to the game?" I ventured meekly.

"Aw, sure, yes, no problem."

OK SO I HAD SET UP A RIDE WITH A MOM/GIRL THAT WASN'T EVEN ON THE SAME TEAM!

Yes, this is me. Dunderhead soccer mom.

I called her today to thank her for the ride and for going with the spontaneous flow. And we chuckled about it together.

MICE ARE FOR HOBOS.

I HATE MICE. GET THEM OUT OF HERE. OR I WILL PERSONALLY CALL THE EXTERMINATOR SO MY LIFE IS NO LONGER ON THE LINE. DOES ANYONE WANT TO SEE THEIR 14 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER EATEN BY MICE. THATS NOT A PRETTY SIGHT, REALLY. LETS GET THESE VERMINS OUT. OUT. OUT. I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS ANYMORE. USUALLY WHEN I THINK OF A MOUSE OR SEE ONE, I THINK OF A HOBO. AND I AM NOT A HOBO LAST TIME I CHECKED. I HAVE A HOME. SO I AM NOT A HOBO. SO I SHOULD NOT BE SEEING THESE MICE. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE SNEAKING INTO OTHER PEOPLES HOUSES? THOSE LITTLE THIEVES. THEY NEED TO BE EXECUTED FROM THE EARTH SO NO ONE HAS TO DEAL WITH THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR. I FINALLY FOUND A SOLUTION, WE WON'T LEAVE OUR HOUSE. THEY OBVIOUSLY GET IN FROM OPEN DOORS, SO LETS JUST NOT LEAVE OUR HOUSE ANYMORE. ITS A PLAN THEN. GOODBYE MICE. HELLO PEACE.

Going to Costco

When you go to Costco its crowded and you almost get ran over by carts. People going around everywhere with thier carts. LEAVE THEM THEN WALK AROUND!! Guess people are lazy these days. But, when all the shopping is done, you are all checked out , and you have paid for everything. You get to have a treat. Today it was a CHICKEN BAKE and an ICE-CREAM CHOCOLATE BAR. In the chicken bake is bacon, caesar dressing, chicken (of coarse)... and other sorts of delight. The ice cream chocolate bar was hand dipped in what looked like a fudgy sause and dried before it was put in a waxii bag. The ice cream bar was oh so delicious...and so was the chicken bake.

G

G what am i suppose to say about her!!!!!! Her cute frizzii hair, her cute double chin. How adorable is she??!!

G's tip of the day

hi.why is it called hi unstead of hello? I think because hi is cooler. hello is so not that cool. thats my thought of the day. and heres a tip... never eat chuncky cottege cheese and red slimy jello together!
good-bye

Mickey Mickey Mickey Mickey & Mickey

Alrighty now. We have a problem. Yes-multiple mice.

Super G spotted one this am. I went to check one of the traps, and OH we caught one!! So either that was the SAME mouse she had just seen, or else -- oh no!!! gadzooks!! We have multiple (actually unknown quantity of) mice!!

Yep, actually I have no idea how many mice we have scuttling around in our basement area. Geez, and I was hoping A & G could again help out with laundry sorting and washing!! But alas, not now, and I have been informed that it will be until 1 week of NO MOUSE SIGHTING before DAUGHTER #1, who has a furious fear of mice, will venture down to the downstairs. For any reason whatsoever.

I am selfishly pretty glad that G and her friend K who slept over last night did not see a mouse. Ooh that would have been really not so good.

It was actually a pretty fun night. I made pizza, girls and Papa got to top/pick their toppings. They made a chocolate cake with luscious choc. chunks. We played with sparklers, took some fun pics. They had popcorn downstairs and hung out.

And they even let me play piano for 20 min. Nice.

Oh and I was in a really good mood because I had just gotten a Really Big Check, from an Undecidedly Great Agency. Not to name names, but Colle + McVoy. :)

Yes-so let's seen where we go from here. I am a Mouse-Trapping Warrior now...

Let's GO! Bring it on...

Courage & Hope

My heart is a bit heavy.

My beloved piano teacher is girding herself for a big fight. Diagnosis: breast cancer. Shadows on bones, yet to be diagnosed. I don't know if it's OK for me to express this on my blog. But I guess I just did.

Her name is Marilyn.

If you are a praying person, please pray for her.

Courage and hope.

If my life is a prayer, what message am I giving to the world?

Heavy thoughts for a Friday morning.

As I write this, I hear the wren singing brightly, incessantly.

Courage and hope.

Got Eem!

Yes, finally success.

Scooter is now munching and scuttling around in mouse heaven.

PB in the snap trap did him in.

Ahh now the sounds of the downstairs shower again and TV blaring are heard in the household downstairs...as there is nothing to fear any more.

So Frustrated

I am really frustrated. Not only am I hobbling around with a gimpy sprained ankle, but for the life of me I can't seem to figure out how to trap this mouse. ERRRGGG.

We've got traps downstairs, laden with luscious peanut butter. The kids keep having mouse sightings. But no mouse in trap.

I'll get you yet, Scooter!

It Was Mostly About a Mouse

Yesterday was a bit crazy.

It started out early. S had a choir lockout at church where they do some fun activities ALL NIGHT LONG, get NO sleep, and I had to pick her up at 7am. While I was a safe driver, in my head I kept that sleepy quality (know what I mean?), so when we returned home, we both went to bed (or back to bed in my case). Ah that was nice.

So then we transitioned into our usual relaxed weekend morning -- where Mom makes muffins. Yesterday it was chocolate chip and banana nut (Super G made the banana nut ones). Then S & I were to have softball team photos and then right afterwards practice. Papa was out at a meeting til 1 or so.

I was goofing around outside with the flowers. I had started some Morning Glory Seeds and they had sprouted under a wet paper towel for a week and so really needed to be put in dirt.

I hear some arguing yelling shouting from inside the house. Geez, can't I just go outside for a moment? I thought to myself.

Finally I went inside, to learn to my dismay that S & Super G had seen a mouse. The garage door was open so probably it dashed in when I was coming in or out (only takes a quick sec and the little critter was apparently determined to seek a warm inviting inside haven).

Dang it all. I went in search of a mousetrap, laid on a dollop of peanut butter, set it. S. & I really had to go. The mouse wouldn't be able to get upstairs because of our marble stairs, but still those 2 remaining kids were kind of freaked out. I ran downstairs just to check the trap one more time before we took off.

WHAM! I missed a step, rolled right on my left ankle. Really hard. Ouch. So after a few tears, ice pack in place and crutches in hand, off we went to the softball photos/practice. It was already starting to swell. And it hurt. A lot.

By the time we got to the field for the team photos, it was REALLY swollen. About as big as a small plum on the outside of my ankle bone. So after the photos, while the other coaches & parents went off to practice, I drove myself to the ER.

One of the nurses was like--"Oh, that looks broken." Thanks.

Actually it is not broken, just a sprain. I have an air cast, just to keep it from having any lateral movement.

When's the last time you used crutches? Yeah me neither. My whole body is sore from those things, yikes. I am sore in places where I didn't even know I had muscles!

And that silly mouse is still traipsing around the basement amongst multiple loaded traps. Two of the girls refuse to venture downstairs for fear of the little critter -- which we have named Scooter.

Wren Song

I know it is truly spring when the wrens come back from their winter home. They have a little wren house in the neighbor's yard. Their song is beautiful, although a bit shrill, especially when they start singing at sunrise.

What compels this beautiful song bird to work her magic with her voice incessantly all day??

Purple Reign

This is the name of our 7-8th grade softball team. The jerseys are purple. Over Dairy Queen at our first "meet & greet," the girls named the team.

Cool huh?

Proud-More

I had mentioned S's recipe award, Golden Spoon, for the chocolate raspberry torte recipe that she made for the state-wide Job's Daughters weekend.

Here's what one of the judges said:

"This year's entry absolutely blew away the judges! Even those that didn't judge her entry were informed they had to try it. I was lucky to get a small taste and knew that would be an outstanding score. Two Golden Spoons! The youngest competitor (last year) to receive one and an almost perfect score (this year). She has a wonderful future if she pursues the culinary arts - - - I for one will travel MILES to purchase her items!!!

One result from this --- the judges decided to alter the scoring sheets for next year to add "plating/presentation". Go S.!"

S. herself did not get to taste the torte, because it was gone before she had the chance...

day of fun

tomarrow is mother's day.I am so ixsted.I will give her a preast.

Brightness

Expand Away!

Super G. got an expander a couple weeks ago. This is an orthodontic device that I wasn't familiar with until S. had it done a couple years ago. It comes before braces and is used to expand the upper bite when teeth are crowded. Sometimes teeth are pulled but this is another alternative.

It looks like this-but hers on the sides is kind of like a retainer too so there's plastic covering those back molars. They give you this tool and you literally crank it open every two days. It doesn't really hurt. Eating can be a little tricky but she seems to be doing fine. You can't tell from her speech either. The 2 side pieces come in different colors. Hers are glow-in-the-dark!! (but not bright enough to read by).

Here's the before pics:


I wrote a limerick while she was getting it.

My Expander
I got an expander today,
I had to wait day after day,
It's neon green and red,
It feels kinda weird in my head,
But I can't wait to have a great smile.