Thank God naivety and vtsluss are all right!

Found on Google:

---

Looking for Nerve Damage?
Find exactly what you want today.
www.eBay.com

Thinking happy thoughts...happy thoughts...

and patience...yes, patience.

( my christmas stocking...please throw a tuppence in )

As of tonight I have one more madrigal banquet left to perform. All the friends who regularly come through me are wondering where they will find their tickets next year after five years of buying them through me. It's bittersweet. We've had good times, madrigals and I.

I remember my first semester, when I was an alto next to naivety. So much has changed, now that she's deep into architecture at VA Tech and I'm a senior in nursing school, singing soprano now, and have loads of perspective on the whole madrigal experience. I've gone full cycle--six years ago I watched my sister-in-law perform English madrigals; since then I've done Spanish, French, Italian, German, and now English/early American (Jamestown 400 years!) again.

So tomorrow night is my swan song--ironic that we're singing Orlando Gibbons' "Silver Swan."*

Expect the unexpected, my friends ;)


*As one music student parodied, "The silver swan/ Who living had no note/ Joined concert choir/ And learned it all by rote."

Criminy, I think nursing would be a fun job.

Incidentally, I think nursing school gets in the way of that.

I'm making my list of things I want to do after I graduate and I have "time" (heheh). I want to read, I want to write, I want to dance, I want to clean more and cook more, and I want to make more stuff (general creativity). I can dream, can't I?

Notice I said dance more. I'm getting back into swing dancing slowly but surely. Yesterday afternoon Thomas and I practiced for 3 hours together and then went on later to lindy bomb the ODU campus. We set up our music and danced a few songs, then set up our music elsewhere, and danced a few songs. It was snazzy fun, and we got joy out of dancing in good fun clothes (swishy skirt!) and spreading the lindy love. Thomas can do an aerial with me now! He's really good at his dancing. He pointed out this video to me; the first move in it is one we can do and the first aerial is also the one we can do. This video has a lot of nifty moves in it (the dancing pretty much ends at ~3:30):



Oh yeahh. THAT's dancing.

After we were all thirsty and sweaty and breathless after dancing for a good long time, Thomas said to me, "That's how our first dance is gonna be. None of that slow dancing nonsense." I wubs him :D

Love is when you've had three hours of sleep; you're wearing a bold-colored plaid scarf and bright otherly-colored polka dotted socks and a bandana over your head to disguise the days-old hair, you're late to class, and he still says that you're beautiful. And insists.

And when you're so upset over an assignment or people that you could throw up and he listens to you through your tears and says, "Oh, I'm really sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?"

*feels like she can go on now*

( bedtime non-stories )

Thanks to Thomas' family and my great grandmother for these: ah, oral traditions! Do you have some like these? Please share!

"I spent AAAALLL day training up an army of mutant ants and arming them with throwing stars and tiny vials of pepper spray. I just programmed them with his address and sent them on their way. Merry Christmas."

Oh, the lengths I go to for my friends.

As my facebook so boldly declares, I currently mentally battling with having ditched Norton for McAfee. I think the Dell may be next but, sir_flute, don't tell longshanks161. I'm kinda numb. Never, never did I foresee myself making lifeshattering decisions such as this.

I see now that I my intense dislike for case studies and issues papers is rooted in the fact that they cannot begin with the words, "Once upon a time..." APA format is an automatic -10 points on the paper-writing fun scale too.

Today was the semi-annual Change Your Bed Linens Day. It happens to coincide with the semi-annual Make Your Bed Day, so joy of joys:



To proceed with the room cleaning theme, I also cleared my browser cache and deleted my cookies. We're talkin' big time sweat here. I go for the big things that really make a difference, y'see.

Of course, last night found me at a Masquerade Ball wearing a purple gown and a tiara to match lamuralla, and being asked "Are you sisters?" "No, we're homologous chromosomes."

Why would a guy ask to dance the electric slide with you? It's so, uh, well, not a partner dance. It's okay though. I ate one of their Rice Krispie Treats; one being illustrative of my extreme restraint in such deeply caloric matters.

I finally re-read The Last Battle, naivety. I don't know why it took me so long. Maybe I shouldn't have read it so young the first time, because this time it made faaar more sense. Tashlan indeed. I think that book could be a log of current events.

( PeoplePie? )

Edit!!: Oh, bliss! Someone donated The Book of Psalms for Singing to the church! HOORAY! This is truly a day for rejoicing, friends :D No more convoluted text-only Psalm singing!

Why do colored kitchen appliances cost $20-$100 more than white ones? I dunno either.

It is a rule universally acknowledged that when a child is in possession of a birthday in the vicinity near a grandparent's visit, the celebration shall occur to coincide with said grandparent's visit. That said, for the first time in a long time (or ever), tonight I:

--observed an almost-four-year-old say "It's MY cake. But *insert regal gesture of condescension* you can have some of it."
--talked to Dzadzi (Mr. S, sr.) and got to watch him get down on the floor and play with the children
--sang Moon River with Thomas' mother
--inadvertently turned on a loud construction toy and put a 300 bpm reggae syncopation to "When You Wish Upon A Star"
--ate ice cream cake
--watched Thomas double take: "My brother is four?? No!..."
--played monkey in the middle and almost hit Mr. S with a tiny Fisher Price (PeoplePie!) desk
--went biking for the first time in at least a month
--played the "ask a question without answering or laughing at the one asked to you" game with Mrs. S, Adam, Hannah, and Thomas. (Poor boy didn't have a chance. "Will you take me out sometime?")
--almost got to watch the video of Thomas' second birthday party (Mrs. S: "Fall in love all over again!")
--was told "you really are like a part of the family now" :)

Just in case you missed it the first time, :) What? Oh, okay.

Well, if you really want to know the story behind why the little Fisher Price people are called PeoplePie, ya gotta let me know. 'Cuz I don't go spilling secrets like that without a little encouragement :P

Go on, watch this and let it make yours too :)

Joanna Lynne (I think that's how it's spelled) was born this morning:

7 lbs. 2 oz.
19.9 inches

Valerie left a message on our answering machine this morning at 7:50. Joanna was born at 7:02. How's that for industry?


And because I can't leave it off, I love Thomas!!

Ahoy there, landlubbers! everyone look at their info pages and see what LJ has done to celebrate this Talk Like a Pirate Day.

I get to worked with little trached kids today. Mmhmm. And tomorrow. I'm slow this morning; I still have some of last week's work to do and I definitely need to get me moving on down the road. Don't you think my little tyke would love my talk like a pirate getup? I only wish I could wear pirate clothes to work like eattheolives is. Unfortunately, something about the white clinical uniform is just...decidedly unpiratelike. Too bad I don't have an eye patch, although that might come off of the "professionality" side of my clinical performance appraisal (may every last one of them perish in deep dark Davy Jones locker!)

I can't think of Davy Jones anymore without seeing a ridiculous octopus-like man playing organ smoking a pipe out of one of his protuberances. It's grotesque and very very sad.

Thomas is in a big fat interview right now. Prayers are appreciated! Although I know they should like him...not that I'm biased or anything. Arrr. Edit: He thinks it went well! Thank you :)

>>Update Captain's Log

Edit #2: Can kids with trachs talk like a pirate, or talk much at all? That's kind of depressing.

Thursday I shook the governor's hand and garnished a box of free step-counting pedometers for the elderly fit program to become part of our focus for community health.

Friday my LiveJournal turned four years old. No cakes. Sorry, guys! Thomas also took me out to dinner to eat Italian food and hear live jazz performed fifteen feet away from our table. 'Twas glorious.

Today I have heaven-knows-how-much school work to do. I don't know where to start. I need lists. I need calendars. I need serious help. And the cherry on the top is, I'm so over this school thing. I woke up wanting nothing more than to clean my house and to make some meals, and that won't be happening for another year at least.*

Being a student is an altered state of reality, my friends.

The biopsies came back as "dermatofibromas": tissue lumps that form as a result of bug bites, they say. Nothing too exciting. I still have to do suture care, though, and stay off the bike for another month. *cough*yeah, right*cough*

It's lunchtime, I'm guessing.

* wah, wah, wah. someone give me a bottle so i'll shut my trap, please?

Edit: Thomas ordered Papa John's to my door: one large ham and pineapple with two extra garlic sauces. He knows me so well :) This of course brightens my outlook for the entire day.

Other forgotten item: jury duty is deferred! yay.

*wickering and rewickering my penciled out schedule (study time? wut's dat?)
*rediscovering my long lost gmail account and CHAT! (works best with boyfriend sitting at next computer)
*evading with 50% success jury duty for September Mondays (labor and patriot days)
*hoping to evade the rest with official excuse for school
*doing kiddie work for clinicals these 5-6 weeks (pediatrics!)
*recovering from getting several stitches for removal and biopsy of skin lumpydumps and
*having Thomas restrain me from disobeying dr's orders in the meantime (no biking?!)
*studying. dats weeurd.
*exercising and dropping the lbs I brought home from Germany
*attempting to keep floor clean enough for modified pilates workouts
*feeling blonde over sending wrong book to Half.com customer (and several other blonde doings)
*abadoning sense of collegiate fashion to blue jeans and t-shirts (who am i kidding? i don't care anymore)
*filling out beginning paperwork for GRADUATION in May, D.V.
*basking in the compliments received for Thomas' and my swing dancing at Jessica's wedding ("I think they're clearing the floor for us")
*can't help loving dat man
*wondering what to do when friendly emails fall out of the blue from people whom I thought were aware of my relationship status (TAKEN)
*loving eating healthy (most of the time)
*knowing Thomas would want me in bed by now
*knowing I should be in bed by now
*shoveling bed contents onto floor (until tomorrow morning's pilates)

...Good night, my love, the tired old moon is descending; Good night, my love, my moments with you now are ending...

Oooooh my. Yes yes, I've started school and the first week has felt like two weeks and all that as usual, except this is SENIOR YEAR *dun dun dun* attendant with all the senior year terror and stress.

So I was gonna go to Peds this morning and learn all about our syllabus and caring for kids, but apparently Ernesto decided to visit. This bothers me a) because he caught me off guard and, as the self-respecting meteorologist I almost was, I despise being caught off guard by a tropical storm so strong as this. All this time I thought Ernesto was in Florida, and BAM! ...but ODU closed. I'm not complaining! I'm so glad I don't have to work today. It's a beast out there. *watches branch fall on neighbors roof*

The other reason is that Jessica's wedding is tonight *listens to branch fall on own roof* or at least, it was supposed to be tonight. *wind howls* Thomas lives in the same neighborhood as she and ODU...and they're all flooded, so how do you have a wedding when the bride is flooded in? Poor Jessica.

Ya know, I do NOT like watching pines in hurricanes. They are way too flimsy to suit my taste *sway sway sway* *another thud on our roof* Fortunately we have two BIG old oaks in our yard and all the pines are across the street. But...dang. Whoa. And I wanna go out in it...like, walk all the way out to the beach. Maybe I will later before I shower. And methinks the plumber isn't coming for our toilet today, especially through a tunnel. Oh snap. I need contact lenses in this rain; glasses are no good without windshield wipers, and I don't have any contacts right now. Phooey.

*wants Martha home safe* Why did she go to work today? I hope she's on her way home. The TV showed the inlet behind dad's office which was very, very flooded, into the building parking lot. Needless to say, he called the office off today. No BibleWorks tech support today, folks!

Um, I guess this is kinda the time to clean my room, especially if missionarymaid is going to sleep over here after the wedding...especially if there is a wedding. My sister in law's sister had a thunderstorm during her wedding...this is even more spectacular!

Now let's see if I can post...the power just dipped and pur wireless has gone wacky. See y'all on the other side!

I love the Cantus Christi. I love "The Day is Past and Gone." I love singing it in four-part harmony as a family. It's one of those true joys in life, even if after only those five verses, we sit in hushed reverie for a moment, only to be quickly brought back by Ellie saying "May I get down and play now?"

Some day when she sings she'll sing that and understand. But for now, devotions at Opa and Oma's house at the end of a long week is about the limit :)

Speaking of shape-note, madrigal-type singing, I wish I could pick out all the music we sing at this Christmas's madrigal banquet. I wish Dr. Teply could hear my family--then he'd just take us and be done with everyone else :P

bow tie goodness achieving the ranks of honest-to-goodness real bowtie wearing is that stunning man on the right

I got my CNA recertification today *wipes brow protractedly*--ya know, the one I'd lost and was about to expire and I wasn't sure I had the experience to renew it? The externship counts, praise the Lord.

Dad was giving some old clothes to Karl today but Karl didn't take the old yellow plaid shorts *cough*70's*cough* so I took them because they fit me. And I'm gonna wear 'em tomorrow, so watch out world! *has a laugh at the expense of cyclical fashions*

The mother of a church friend who recently visited here with her husband sent me a letter with the recipes we discussed enclosed. I thought there was no way she'd remember to send them, but the mere idea of a card with recipes in it just melted my cheese by itself. *feels all happy and loved* There's nothing like the tried'n'true cookie recipes of an older lady!

Ecclesiastes 3 is good. Not because of The Byrds either. More like because of the parts they left out of their song.

EDIT!! A thousand happy congratulations to Jake and Rita! God bless you three; I am falling over myself with joy for you!

Glorious! A day without work in the summer...already feels like a Saturday. Even if the first thing Mom and I did this morning was to go pick a stranded Dad up because our '86 Caravan broke down (again). I love our old cars...I find myself missing our '72 Dodge Dart and longing to have just one go at its huuuge non-power-assist steering wheel.

chrysler popsicle nyc comes to a melting structure near you

I don't know. It just sort of...happened.

Still chewing on those CWSC pictures. I spent the rest of the day (after picking Dad up) eating lunch at Panera with Mom and Dad, making kid-friendly dinners for tomorrow night when the nieces are here, balancing my checkbook, paying credit bills of $1.24, and filling out criminal/sex offender record check paperworks for the nursing program clinicals. All I need now is a notary. pansyprincess, why do you have to be in Jacksonville when I so clearly need you here?

I saw a high school friend at Panera. She recognized me after about four years, with glasses, across the restaurant, AND remembered my name. I, on the other hand, think her name is Ruth. I was so scared to call her that and get it wrong after she went and remembered my name like that.

My last stop at Panera was in Cypress, Texas, with hickorycottage, where we hoped madly that we were brave enough to give our name as Snapper or Fluffy so they'd have to say, "Snapper, your order is ready for pick up" but we just weren't gutsy enough to try. What a great day we had, even if I made her aunt's dog extremely upset by ignoring it as I was instructed to do, since its bladder is too weak to bear the joy of being loved by such wonderful newcomers as me. *chuckle*

I miss Texas. I miss my friends there. I miss sunset walks down long flat country roads, and I miss purring to a freaky rubber stress rat over how I was losing Nertz with psalmsinger82, mylordkate, and lion_rampant. Fellowship is a beautiful and unpredictable thing.

I also need to re-download Semagic. I've been without it for about a year and haven't missed it until tonight. I'm just one big tragedy, aren't I?

Karl and Val should be arriving any time now...good bye quiet house free of children under twenty one years of age! or four, for that matter.

Edit: I seriously had a nightmare last night about getting yelled at by Pete Hurst for coming into the talent show late. It was very traumatic.

CWSC was everything I hoped and more. I'm in the process of building an album for that on Webshots...but with working full time last week...yeah.

Tomorrow is my last day in post-op! So soon...I've learned a lot there (mostly psychology) and I have enjoyed *cough* it. Yes, mostly. It's not a lie. So next week I'll be in the recovery room/PACU! woot.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate cockroaches? There. I just did. It caused quite the major wigging out this weekend. With a little help from my friends, my room is now much cleaner. Unhappy cockroaches. Happy Julia. Wonderful Thomas, who stayed on the phone with a sobbing Julia late on Saturday night...

Speaking of Saturday, Thomas and I took the day off to do some majorly out of the ordinary stuff. We packed a picnic lunch and bussed ourselves downtown, and spent the day there. We ate lunch at the Japanese gardens, spiffily running into an entourage of church members on the way in, ate lunch there, took pictures of me with mermaids and me looking like a mermaid, walked down to Waterside, took the ferry to Portsmouth on a lark, walked up and down High Street while navigating the biking tournament set up there (think Tour de Portsmouth), ducked into the Children's Museum and the Courthouse gift shop, then ferried back to Norfolk to stroll through the mall. I can't remember a) the last time I was a tourist in my own town, b) the last time I was spontaneous for a day, or c) the last time I got a sunburn like this. It was a real thrill though for this all-planned-out girl. Thomas is tops.

things that matter a ferry, a camera, and thou

Click on the picture for more.

Karl and Valerie are in town this week. I do wish they lived closer! Ellie is a playful 3-year old now, and she remembers me and "Mr. Thomas" now (of course, she only saw us at the beginning of the month...), Laura can walk now (uh oh :P), and #3 is due in September...not too far off! Aunty x3, savetheolives ;)

I haven't been model at commenting recently; do forgive. I love y'all and--thank you for my 2626 hugs ;)

P.S. Sangria is good.

Sarah pansyprincess as well as a few others of you introduced me to SparkPeople.com, and after signing up tonight I discovered a neat-o feature: Spark Points!

This website makes your goals so painfully easy to achieve. Think bite sized pieces, and then combine that with your goals or thoughts about your personal nutrition or just general State of Your Body. Anyhoo, for logging into the website each day--just logging in--you get Spark Points, and friendly competitions start based off of them.

My point here is that teams can be created for joint friendly competition, and I have created one for those of us who have taken the toes-only (or more) plunge. Please let me know if you'd like to join and we...we can make this happen!

(It is called Friends of the AELH. You know you want to join us now!)