Clinic update

I had my regular clinic appointment last Monday, and all was well. The wrap:

• New needles for port access; mom got it on the first go when she accessed me a few weeks ago with the 1" needle. Apparently port likes 1" needle now, the 3/4" needle is a bit wishy-washy. Besides the fact that the 1" needle looks super-scary when being inserted, it actually lays under the dressing quite nicely and goes in very well. So that's a plus.
• CXR looks excellent.
• PFTs also excellent. 62/57, if you're a number person. If not, um...I can't explain what they mean. I think they mean this: the 62% is how much volume I blow out in 1 second, and the 57% is my lung capacity. Course they could be reversed. Either way, much better than pre-tx!
• Some med changes: I asked for my celexa to be knocked back to 10 mg. We upped it in 2006/2007, when I was in and out of the hospital and we thought it would be better at 20 mg. Which was fine then, but we never knocked it back down. Now I'm back to 10, and liking it so far. Drs. A &K also want to knock down the vfend from 200 mg to 100 mg. Vfend is a strange little drug that very few people take--I get a lot of 'huhs?' when I put it on med lists. It's a pre-tx antibiotic (meaning, I've been on it since, oh 2002? God prescribed it.). I guess since I"m about to hit 5 years, the chance of the bug coming back to cause problems is lessened, so we can knock it down to 100 mg. This makes me happy--the fewer drugs I'm on, the more I like--but it also can affect my tac level, so on the 14th I need to have a blood draw to check all that. Obviously we do not want the tac (one of the anti-rejection meds) messed with. I can't imagine it going any lower, since I'm only on 0.5 mg now, but I guess it could go up. Or maybe nothing will happen and my body parts and systems will all get along!
• Nothing special planned for the five year, just the normal testing. So sometime in June I get to spend 1 1/2-2 days at Children's being a guinea pig. :) It's not so bad. I get to catch up on my reading and my children's television.

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Vol. XX

I. 

It snowed this morning. Snowed! And there was ice! Fortunately now it's about 50 degrees so both problems are taken care of. But I was not happy. 

II. 

Things that make me happy--St. Pat's fish fry! Tonight I'm going with one of my old college buddies. He has a hankering for fish fry, but he's not Catholic, so I am provided the Catholic creds. :) I, too, love a good fish fry, so I'm excited.

III.

And continuing in the theme of food--I am excited to watch this tonight. I have Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals, and I'll write up my first experience with it later. It involved whisky and avocado. Good stories.

IV. 

Sorry it's been such a slow blogging week. I think I might have finally caught up with the DST clock. I promise more posting in the future.

V. 

How's your bracket? Mine is OK. Half of my final four still in, so I'll take it. 

VI. 

Books: The Law of Similars , The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo (this is such a good novel. If you've never read it, you should.) 

VII.

Had a fantastic voice lesson on Wednesday. I was happy, Robin was happy, the music was happy. Gotta love days like that. 

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen!

Susie's Cowgirl Cornbread

(From Bon Appetit, January 2008)
As we know, today is Susie's first birthday. As we also know, it is a snowy mess in Ohio (although a plow has come through my complex several times, yay!). So I thought that I would make a "birthday dinner" for Susie, and a nice dinner for myself, since I'm snowbound.
The first dish is what I'm calling "Susie's Cowgirl Cornbread." It's actual title is "Texas Buttermilk Cornbread", which is what made me think of making it. But I like my title better.
Rounding out the meal will be pasta in marinara, and...chocolate chip pie. Yes. I am going to attempt pie making. That recipe will be posted once I try the pie!

But first, here's the cornbread that any cowgirl will appreciate.

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted, divided
• 2 c. yellow cornmeal
• 6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/3 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400. Brush an 8X8X2 baking dish with two tablespoons of the melted butter. Place dish in oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Add buttermilk and remaining butter. Stir batter until evenly moistened--do not over blend.

Transfer cornbread batter to hot dish and spread evenly. Bake cornmeal until crusty on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cornbread cool at least 10 minutes. Serve warm. 

SEven Quick Takes Friday Vol. XXII

I. 

OK, going to start w/ the complaints and then move on. PLEASE, in snow, with low visibility, put on your lights, and don't tailgate! Also use your turn signal! 

II. 

OK, done with that. Whew. The snow, thus far, is very big (one of my co-workers said the snowflakes were as 'big as potato chips'), and very fluffy and wet. So it isn't really packed down. I hear this will change as it gets colder. The weather guy, at this moment, is saying 5-8", which isn't as bad as a foot, or the THIRTY INCHES DC is predicted to get. Yowzers.

III.

So, from now until Sunday AM, I am not leaving my house. That means--books, food, and movies. Not necessarily in that order.

IV. 

I exercised THREE days this week so far! And the snow will not deter me--I have a pilates DVD and a Shape workout DVD (which is insanely hard, but...oh well). 

V. 

On the movie front, I have a ton to watch. (500) Days of Summer, Oliver Twist, Season 4 of House...I'm well prepared. I also have my biblical studies lectures to keep me busy. The next one is on the books of Chronicles. 

VI. 

Books of 2010: Into Thin Air and The Olive and the Caper, a Greek cookbook. It is a GREAT cookbook to curl up with and read, and provides lots of great recipes and menus. 

 I also started Jesus, Teach Us to Pray. Lent is upon us soon, so I think it's time to dive into some Lenten reading. I'll have more books on that when we get closer. 

VII. 

Still nothing on Titanic. But in voice I'm working on some Linda Eder pieces, including her arrangement of the classic "I'll Be Seeing You". It's a lot of fun. 

For more quick takes, head over to Jen's. 

Stay warm!

Audition: Titanic

So tonight were the auditions for Phoenix Theater for Children's Titanic benefit concert.
Having seen the show when I was 17, and immediately fallen in love, this was a night I was really excited about. So excited I even forgot it was Monday!
I got there early, around 6:30, when my audition was set for 7:15. Kristin, the Parade music director, was there, acting as accompanist, so that was great. Of course, on the way I'd listened to the soundtrack, and "Lady's Maid", the Three Kate's piece, ended as I pulled in. Since I wanted to play Kate McGowan, I took this as a good sign.
My two pieces were ready to go. Robin had given me some good intro tips, which helped enormously. Tonight was the only audition night, and there looked to be 25-30 people on the audition list.  There were two girls about my age, two men about my age, and an older woman (maybe 60?) when I was there.
I was called in around 7:05. I showed Kristin my cuts, gave her my tempos, and introduced myself. I did "The Gentleman Is a Dope" first, then went to "As If We Never Said Good-bye."
If felt fantastic. Kristin and I work well together (at least I think so!) and the whole time the directors were smiling and looked really happy. They had great respnses and I fed off that.
When I finished the ballad, the direcotr closed his eyes and went "Ahhhh. How lovely."
(Yeah, I felt like doing a little jig right there.)
We talked for a bit--he asked me about my availability, how I'd heard about auditions, etc.--and I mentioned I'd seen the show when I was in high school (on Broadway). The other director scribbled that down on my sheet. Actually, he was scribbling a lot of things, and I had to fight the temptation to go, "Can I see that?" I was asked about Parade, said it was a great show.
I should find out by the end of the week (hopefully before voice on Thursday), and am way excited to hear.
Either way, it felt GREAT. I left singing "Doing the Latest Rag."

In training

Robin and I have a double-header this week--lesson today and tomorrow, in prep for Titanic auditions on Monday.
Today my session was at 4:00, right after work. We began with warm-ups and proceeded to run the cut of "The Gentleman Is A Dope", which Robin really liked and approved for the up-tempo number.
For the ballad--we thought we had it with "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from Sunset Boulevard, but now we're considering others. "I'll Forget You" is a possibility. We'll have the definite selections tomorrow.

Clinic Update

Today I spent the morning of my day off with the kids at the Resort. It was a normal visit, nothing too special, and I had scheduled it for my day off so that if they wanted to do testing beyond the normal, they'd have time to do it.
First stop, as usual, was the infusion clinic, where, once again, the new port needle failed to work in my port. Thank God the rumor mill says the hospital will soon be switching back to the old huber needles that work. Mom has a stash at home for when we do port access, but at the hospital they do the new needles first. When the nurse asked me if it was OK to use the old ones, I gave an enthusiastic yes. My annual labs were drawn today, so that meant lots of blood for the lab to play with during the day.
After the blood letting, I went down to radiology where I had a CXR and a CT scan of my sinuses. We still keep tabs on those. Lately I've felt them draining so I figured this was excellent timing for some investigation.
Then up to clinic for full PFTs--which were stable--a visit from the new social worker, and then Julie and Dr. Kirkby. There were lots of bronchs going on today, so they were busy. I was unexciting. Dr. K said my sinus scan looked changed "but not terrible." So they are going to send it to Dr. Willet and see what he thinks. They will also set up an appointment for me to see him, since if I try to do it, I get stuck with a four month wait. It might be time for sinus draining surgery again, since I haven't had that done in 5+ years.
I left around 11:30, and headed to Katzinger's in German Village for lunch. I hadn't eaten yet today, and was hungry, so the huge Katzinger's sandwiches and French Onion soup were perfect. I had a book (Loot) that I"d bought at CMA yesterday, so I read that in the cozy deli and scoped out the artisan chocolate when I was done. It wasn't too crowded--civil servants (such as moi) had the day off, so I imagine that impacted the lunch crowd. But the roads were very clear, so that made me happy.
Dr. K said they would probably see me again in three months, which means post-birthday. I did see Dr. A and asked him if there were plans for a five year par-tay. He asked if I was paying. "Sure," I said. But I guess we'll work out the details of all the normal annual testing, etc., at my next appointment.

Haiti

How to help, by Margaret.
I dated a guy (david, for long time blog readers) who worked for Homeland Security doing immigration law. Soon after we first started dating, he was assigned to Haiti for a month to help out with the office down there (processing immigration requests and so on). We exchanged emails pretty often, and he would tell me about parts of the city that no one was allowed to enter after dark, even with an escort (read: someone armed.). Then he would also tell me about after-work drinks in the swanky hotels.

A true two nations perspective.

This was written a few years ago, but I have found it to be one of the best articles on Haiti (or any country) that I've read. There is also the book Mountains Beyond Mountains, which talks about Dr. Paul Farmer's efforts to provide health care and education to the poor of Haiti (it has since expanded to other parts of the world).

Seven Quick Takes Friday Vol. XIX--The New Year's Edition

I.

Happy 2010 everyone! I hope you have a blessed year full of love and fun with family and friends.

II.

New Year's has never been a big holiday for me or my family. I had a boyfriend in college who loved it. It might have been his favorite holiday. Me? Not so much.

III.

That being said, I have been to NYC on New Year's Eve, which is the pinnacle of NYE activities in the U.S. It was crazy, but fun, and I'm glad I did it. It was during my senior year of college, where seven of us crammed into an NYC hotel room for two nights. That was really my first time in the city for longer than one night (I had been, once, in high school, to visit my Aunt who lived there), and it was magical. Cold, but magical. Since it was 2003, the rebuilding of ground zero had not yet begun, so my friends and I went to see the site on New Year's Day of 2004. It was a solemn way to begin the new year, but also appropriate that we went and remembered that day and the brave men and women who died.

IV.

I don't usually make new year's resolutions, either; I'm never able to keep them, and, when I did make them, they were usually something like, "stop biting my nails." Which, as anyone who knows me knows, hasn't happened in the 20+ years I've been making that resolution.  That doesn't mean I don't believe in self-improvement; I've just never been good at New Year's resolutions.

V.

That said--I do have some ideas this year. Pay off the rest of my credit cards, finish my MA pre-reqs (or at least 4 of the 6, if I don't get to all 6), and get in shape. My best friend is getting married in August, so that's definite motivation to look my best at the wedding. I have eight months and change to do something about it, so I intend to.

VI.

And there are some big things to look forward to this year, namely, my five year anniversary.

Five years! Can you believe it? I sure can't. In July, we will hit that milestone.  FIVE YEARS! (can you tell I'm super excited?)

VII.

My Christmas vacation ends on Monday, but I still have THREE MORE DAYS. It's been a great Christmas season. Enjoy the rest of it while you can!

Tidings of Comfort and Joy--Branden's Christmas Party

Every year, my friend Branden has a Christmas party at his house for all our high school friends. Most of us manage to come home at least once during the Christmas season, and Branden throws the party then. This year it was the day after Christmas, as opposed to the week or so before, so the crowd was a bit smaller, but lots of fun was still had.

Tom (aka Joe Cool) with his wife Andrea in the background. Tom and I met the first day of high school, in French class.

Tiffany. What more needs to be said? She cracks me up.

The gang's all here.

Back row: (L-R) Sean, Bill (Tiff's fiance), Gary, Tom and Andrea, Casey (Lindsay's boyfriend)

Front row: Amanda (dating Gary), Tiffany, Branden, Lindsay and me.

Tiffany (the bride) with three of her five bridesmaids: Me, Andrea, and Lindsay. The wedding is in August! Tiff's twin sister is the matron of honor, and our friend Amilia (from high school) rounds out the bride's side of the bridal party.

Audition: Company

Last night I auditioned for Gallery Player's Winter Musical, Company, by Stephen Sondheim. (this is als the company I did Parade with, last winter.)
I've been preparing for this audition for a long time--in fact, probably all fall. When I started lessons with my teacher back in September, this was one of the things I was shooting for.
Originally, I had wanted to sing a piece from COmpany--The Ladies Who Lunch, one of the show's more famous pieces. The director (who also directed Parade) hadn't had a prohibition on songs from the show last year, and I didn't read anything different on the audition notice, so Robin and I worked this up.
The reason I wanted to sing this particular piece was simple--the part I really wanted in the show (Joanne), is a contralto--a real one. In Ladies, she sings low E's as a matter of course. Now, not a lot of people can sing low Es. I can. As Yogi Bera said, "It ain't bragging if you can do it." So I wanted to sing Ladies to demonstrate that I could, indeed, hit those low Es. It would be like someone who wants to sing the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute will probably audition with a song that shows off the high end of her range--because the Queen of the Night is very high, and very dramatic.
Well, of course, I re-checked the audition notice, and behold--no songs from Company allowed.
(Insert four letter word of choice here.)

So, I brought all my anthologies to Robin and we pawed through them. I was thinking Maybe This Time, from Cabaret, which is low and sexy and adult. But Robin found something else--the Diva's Lament, from Spamalot, which I had quasi-worked up in the years before I met Robin. I loved the song--it was hysterical--but I had never, ever thought of it as an audition piece.
Robin loved it. She told me that I could pick between that or the Cabaret piece.  But as I drove home, I knew I had to sing the Lament. IT was a real character piece, very funny, and demonstrates character, more so than Cabaret. 


So last night I went to the first night of auditions, of course listening to the Company soundtrack on the way (I have the newest version). The song What Would We Do Without You? was playing when I pulled into my 'usual' slot in the JCC lot.

I was the first one there, as usual. Between 15-20 people showed up, evenly split between guys and girls. SOme people from Parade--Dani, Wilma, Jay--and Jekyll and Hyde--Amy and Dave--were there, along with folks I didn't know. Kristin, Parade's music director, was playing the auditions.

A few minutes before 7, the stage manager called me in to audition. The director and Kristin were on the stage, and I felt like I was back at Parade rehearsals. I handed my form, resume and photo to the director and handed my music to Kristin.

When singing, a few things can happen. If it's going well, I don't really hear the accompaniment, unless I'm supposed to (as in, I'm at a rest.). I know it's there, it's doing its thing, but I'm not really aware of it. When things are going not so well, I am aware that one of us is off--I'm ahead, he's behind, whatever. There's no meshing of the two of us to create the single piece. Last night, I didn't really hear the accompaniment, and it wasn't because of the Bionic Ear--I felt good. It sounded right.

Frank (the director) was, of course, taking notes while I was singing. There was no one else in the theater, just him, Kristin, and me. After my song, Frank asked Kristin to take me through intervals--a scale going up, starting at middle C. On the audition sheet, he asks us to write our vocal range. I wrote: D#5-B-flat3, which basically means the D-sharp below the staff to the B-flat above it. It's almost three octaves--not too bad. So Kristin took me up to the B-flat, and she looked sort of amazed that I was still hanging in there as we ascended. Although I am a contralto, and I'm very proud of my low range, I'm also pretty proud of my higher notes, as well. They were hard won.

"What was that?" Frank asked Kristin as I hit the b-flat (and stopped).
"B-flat," She said.
Frank's eyebrows went up as he checked that against what I had written. No, I had not lied. "Good."
I went over to stand before his table. "I'm not going to have you read, because I've worked with you before, and I know what you can do." I nodded. "So thanks, and have a great holiday."
"No call backs?"
"Nope."
I thanked them, took my music and left the theater. I informed the other Parade kids that they wouldn't have to read--just sing--and I think some were disappointed (I was, a little), but my audition lasted maybe five minutes, which was good. I like to be in and out.

So, if this is anything like Parade, we should find out the casting (for this show, it's 15 people--8 girls, 7 guys) the Monday after Christmas. Today is the last day of auditions.

Seven Quick Takes Friday Vol. XVIII

I.

Last night, I went back to my alma mater to see the annual Christmas Festival. I hadn't seen it since 2003, when I was ushering it, and I'd been in the ones prior to that. So this was the first time I'd gone to the show and just watched. It was strange. I felt like I should be doing something, especially when the hymns were sung. At that point I was usually processing in or out. So it was strange.

II.

For those who didn't go to Cap: The Christmas Festival is a HUGE concert, given four times over four days (it runs until Sunday) that rings in the Christmas season at Cap. All of the University choirs participate, plus a large amount of instrumentalists. It is a lot of work, taking months to prepare, and usually sells out as soon as tickets go on sale. People plan their entire December around Christmas Festival. Not kidding. You can get some of the recordings online, but the link is currently down, so I'll post it later.  Every year, there's a theme: my freshman year it was "All Creatures of Our God and King", so the readings and the songs had to do with (or mentioned) animals, this year the theme was "There Shall A Star", so stars were the theme.

III.

A lot of my old college buddies (and current theater folk) are in the choirs--the Choral Union is a student/alum/community choir. So it was great to see so many familiar faces, and it made me want to try out next autumn. We'll see...

IV.

The SAIs (my fraternity) were ushering. Whoa, that brought back memories. I forgot to wear my badge, but I talked to some of the girls anyway. They seem fantastic.

V.

Before I had dinner with my brother and sister at the Bexley Monk. Lots of fun, lots of delicious food. Mel and I then went back to her dorm room so she could change before the concert. She and I ended up chatting to a older alumni couple who were seated next to us. Mees is "intimate" (code for--CROWDED, it seats about 900), so we were pretty close together.

VI.

A few of the songs were oldies, ones that I had sung in high school and college. That always makes me happy.

VII.

All my Christmas gifts are wrapped, and now I can prepare for another audition: Company, on the 14th. I'm singing "The Ladies Who Lunch." Robin and I are knocking it out at lessons and I hope I get cast. Updates to come.

Have a great weekend!

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Vol. XVI

I.

OK, so this is really more "Seven Quick Takes" weekend, but I was a bit busy on Friday, hanging with my brother. Our parents were out of town, so we went to Uno's for dinner, then back to our parents' for some movie watching. Bryan had never seen the Lord of the Rings movies, so we watched the first one. I normally don't watch that one, because my favorite character is Eowyn, and she's not in that one. So I had forgotten how long that version is--even in the theatrical release! (I only have one--Return of the King--in the extended version.) But Bryan seemed to like it, so we'll have to get in the other two soon.

II.

My grandpa was discharged from the hospital yesterday, so that is great news. My mom is staying with my grandparents this week, and my dad will go pick her up next weekend. So it's just my dad and brother at home this week, which means I might get to cook for them, which I really like doing. They like fish and mushrooms, two things my mom doesn't like, so when she's gone I get to make those things for them. But I do miss mom.

III.

Speaking of food, I made my favorite salmon dish last night after a run to the North Market. It's sort of becoming a habit to go there on Saturdays (with, seemingly, the rest of the city), and it's so much fun to pick and choose what to buy and see all the tasty things for sale.

IV.

Yesterday was wretched in Ohio--the sort of grey and ugly fall days I hate. But it was an excellent day to stay inside, bake, watch college football, and finish the LOTR movies. :)

V.

This week is pretty busy--blood draw to check thyroid stuff, cooking/laundry with dad and Bryan, voice on Thursday, and then Jackets/Penguins game on Friday. That should be really exciting, since both teams are doing well, and I'm looking forward to it. Dad and I are going together. He took me to my first Penguins game when I was seven (Pens versus Whalers, Pens lost), and we still go to games together. It's a good thing.

VI.

Speaking of voice--lessons are going really well. I think Robin and I have found a new audition piece--we'll find out at  my next lesson! We have to chop the song into 16 bars, because that's what most auditions require. Whoever came up with 16 bars ought to be racked. I mean, come on--show range, emotion, style, etc. in 16 measly bars? Ridiculous.

VII.

Auditions: I've got two in the next two months. One for Pleasure Guild's Music Man, and one for Gallery Player's Company. Music Man is in November, and Company is right before Christmas.

Biopsy results

OK here's the news from the biopsy:
The samples were benign, so YAY, nothing huge to worry about, like cancer.
Julie wants a thyroid panel blood draw, so I am going tomorrow after work to the Children's Lab, where this will be drawn. This will give us more information about what the Crazy Gland is up to.
Dr. W, my ENT, also wants a thyroid ultrasound every six months, for monitoring purposes. This is A-OK, because the ultrasounds are 1) easy and 2) the waiting room has good magazines.
So, all in all, not bad. Let's keep it that way.

Biopsy 101

So, today was thyroid biopsy day (oh, rejoice!).
Mom arrived at the apartment around 8:25, and we reached children's around 9:00. My appointment was at 9:30.
Of course, once we got there I found out there were other tests I had to do--namely, an ultrasound of the gland. So we trooped down to ultrasound (where the receptionist must be a ventriloquist in another life, because she hardly moved her lips), where I changed into a gown, got scanned, and then sent back to intervention.
Mom had gone to the bathroom and I was sitting there, watching another episode of Dora the Explorer (involving sticky tape that solves All Problems), when one of the nurses came out.
"Hey, did you stop in the lab and get a pregnancy test?"
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. No, I had not. "I just went to my OB/GYN," I said. "There's no chance I'm pregnant."
The nurse nodded. "I know. But we have to check all girls over 12." She slipped me a script for the test, and I went to the other side of the hospital to go pee in a cup. It took longer to get my name called in the lab than to actually do the test. So I did it, dropped it off, and headed back to intervention.
I dropped my purse and coat on the chair next to mom, who was back. "Where did you go?" She asked, after I told the receptionist that I was back (again).
"Pregnancy test."
"Oh, please."
So finally, I was called back to the prep room. My mom was hanging out in the lobby while the nurse took my history (including fun questions like "How much did I weigh when I was born?") , took my vitals, and assembled materials for port access.
As she was taking my blood pressure, I asked exactly what was going to happen.

Some health care bits

First--doctor's round-up:
PFTs down a bit, but X-ray was clear. So Dr. K says virus is probably the deal, but to call if anything interesting develops. Will do. Saw my buddy Josh while waiting for X-ray, which is always good times. I like hanging with people I know.
Oh, and port access? Val got it perfectly. She rules.

Also, on the National Health Care front, here's a list of 20 things from NRO.

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Vol. XIII (Early Bird edition)

I.

You're probably looking at this thinking, "whoa, it's really early for her!" And you would be right.

II.

Last night I couldn't sleep. I went to bed around 9:30 and got up at 2:00 a.m., wide awake. I've decided not to fight this, so I got up and wrote a few more pages in my memoir, "A few=twenty. Go me! After writing, I still wasn't tired, so I decided to clean. Yes, you read that right. I cleaned my mirrors, dusted pictures and bookshelves, ran a load of dishes in the dishwasher, cleaned out my closet, put shoes away, and put books back in their correct bookshelf places. This took me until about 5:00, at which time I decided, "hey, let's try sleep again!" Got up about 18 minutes ago.

III.

So, my Friday is off to a roaring start, which is good, given that this week I've been fairly catatonic. Throat bugging me, nose bugging me, chest bugging me. Hopefully my body has gotten the memo to quit it. 

IV.

Looking forward to a weekend of nothing. I like weekends of nothing. Parish picnic and Faith Sharing group on Sunday, but that's not something difficult, that's something fun!

V.

Some book takes: Cookbooks this week--The Amish Cook at Home, which I am continuing to love, and Relaxed Cooking With Curtis Stone. Some of these recipes look really delish, so I can't wait to try them.

VI.

MEdical stuff: Next week is busy! Dr. A appointment on Monday, and then oral surgery on Friday to repair the gums on my lower teeth. Apparently all my aerosol treatments and stuff like that makes the plaque on my teeth really hard to remove, which has lead to gum erosion over the years. So now I"m getting this fixed. Surgery on Friday, recovery at parents' over weekend. There may or may not be blogging.  In addition to all this, there is the Saga of the Port. Apparently, Children's decided to get rid of the old system (Huber needles) and go for a new system, which removes the needle entirely once you are accessed. The only problem with this is you can't wiggle the needle around to get the access to take. With my port (it's a "floater"), you have to jiggle it. It's the only way it works.

So last Saturday a home care nurse came out to show us the new thing. We tried to access it three times. No go. My mom used the old needle after the nurse left, and we got it. The port site is now a lovely shade of bruised flesh, so I'm hoping the infusion gals can get it on Monday. If not, it could be a long day.

VII.

And finally...my friend Val is a grandma! Her daughter, Sara, gave birth to a daughter this week.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Vol. XII--the Video Edition

I.

So this is what I feel like right now:

Making a cake for my best friend's birthday dinner tonight! Longhorn for the meal and then back

here for the cake and Smiley Cookies (which are left over from the office gouging).

Note: My cakes are so much better. :)

II.

Did you see this? Get a load of my piano playing!

III.

Today is also my brother's 24th Birthday. Happy birthday Bubby!

IV.

So Steelers win last night. Me happy. What makes me unhappy is OT on a work night. Oh well.

Still a good win.

V.

Ballet class this week was excellent. I was very proud of my balances, and floor work.

We also did some work with port des bras.

VI.

Speaking of lessons--in voice, Robin is happy with my French. She had some tweaking to do

on the Italian. "He Was Despised" was very nice, except for a few random B-flats that

didn't want to cooperate. They will be forced into submission next week.

VII.

(Whoa seven already?!)

Football is upon us! Go Pitt! (And the Irish, I want them to beat Michigan, so if the Bucks

lose to USC tomorrow, Michigan won't have a better record.)

Have a good one, y'all!

Why...it's me!

A couple of notes: this was broadcast in 2006.

You can hear my GORGEOUS (ha) piano playing and see some of the apartment!

And, if you're really into it, a bit of the surgery. Bleh.

Karen's in it, too! As well as my parents, and my CF pulmonologist, the surgeon, and Dr. A,

who is my pulmonologist now. He's also wearing a very nice tie. :)

So go meet the crew.

There's also some footage of discharge day: I threw up TWICE while I put my make-up on

for the filming!

Massive cuteness