Into The Thick of It

Showing my age

I guess I'm not showing it in the typical ways.  I mean, I have a few grey hairs, but thankfully my haircolor (the dirty blond/light brown thing) makes it look like highlights (or so I continue to convince myself).  I don't have any creaky body parts, although I have what I have affectionatly deemed my "Grandma Knee" (the right one), as it sometimes likes to just....freeze.  Or give out.   I'm not too rinkly or saggy yet, and I'm taking care of my skin. 

But here is what is showing my age.

1. My eye will NOT stop twitching.  I don't know if it is because I'm looking at the computer screen for too long, or if I'm too tired from not sleeping well, or if I need to eat another dozen bananas, or what.  It's not the twitchy eye that is the sign of age so much as it is my COMPLAINTS about the twitchy eye.  I feel like a crotchety old woman giving an organ recital about the doggon thing.  But when your kid tells you that you look like an alien from the side because of your eye spasming, you've got good reasons.  Maybe Maxine and I should team up and make a cartoon about that.

2.  Friends is on Nick at Nite.  HOW did this happen?  Friends is my all time favorite show, so it should not be on this channel.  This is the channel for older people who can not sleep at night.  Do I fit into that category?  Well, yes.  But still.  Nick at Nite?!

3.  I am cold all the time.  Especially my hands and feet.  Which leads me to...

4.  I am kntting fingerless gloves because I'm on the computer all day every day.  I just need to learn how to knit socks next.  It's on my list. 

So, there are my aging difficulties.  I'm still young at heart, though. :)

Things I love right now...

...at 11:03 pm, Sunday, January 29th, 2012.

• My kid. She is ever and always my first place, even when times are sticky.

 

• Live music.  The more I listen to it and participate in it, the more happy I become!! 
• I still love my iPhone.
• I'm loving Ingrid Michaelson's newest album, Human Again.  She is always herself, but each album is different, too.  Hard to describe, easy to listen to! 
• I'm particularly lucky to have 2 close girl friends here in the area, and I am so very thankful for them.  (Thanks, Bettina and Linnie!)
• Zentangle.  If you haven't, you should.  Best brain yoga anywhere! 
• Photoshop CS5.  I think that I looked the other direction for so long, I forgot how much fun it is to work in this program.  By the by, my favorite tools right now are Brandy Murry's Ultimate Artist collection.  You need these.  Trust me.
• Nutella and pretzels.
• Being nice when people don't expect it.
• The Big Bang Theory.  Seriously, last week's episode had me laughing so hard.  Great show.  I have a huge crush on Sheldon.
• Pinterest.  Have you been THERE?!  Don't go.  You won't leave for hours.  (But it's soooo good!)
• Knitting.  (Even though I'm having a heck of a time getting those damn ear flaps to face the correct way...Ryan will eventually get his hat!)
• Blogging.  I have MISSED you, my blog!! It makes me happy to have somewhere to babble to!

Happy Monday now, people.  This week has lots of good things in store.  I can feel it!

Wonders never cease...

I just figured out that I can blog from my phone. Many of you probably have known this for eons, but sometimes I'm a little late to the party!

This should make it fun this weekend when I get to hang out with friends and hear live music and eat yummy food. Perfect timing!

Here's to a wonderful weekend! *fingers crossed*

Musical thoughts

Someone today on Facebook asked about what books to recommend teaching a beginning student with.  I immediately answered it, and then just sat there looking at my post.  It's been YEARS since I've taught a lesson  - at least 5 years seriously.  There was once a day where I taught over 50 students a week, vocal and piano lessons.  (That may have been what started my nervous breakdown *grin*.) Where did that time go? I don't know if I miss it or not, but I do wonder how I came to be so far FROM that.

Melanie and I listen to a lot of different music.  She likes a lot of the popular stuff that her friends at school listen to (dare I even mention JB?), and I can handle some of that, just not in large, whopping doses at once.  We both like pop/folk stuff too - Ingrid Michaelson (who has a wonderful new album out), A Fine Frenzy, The Weepies, Rosie Golan.  We are recently in love with Gotye, Kings of Leon, Mumford and Sons, Greg Laswell.  And then we like most classics:  Ben Folds, The Beatles (hasn't Ringo aged well?!), Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Bread, Journey, etc.  I love that she has a taste of all of that and can recognize most of it.  There are tons of other bands that we listen to as well, but to list them all would be a really boring blog post.

One thing that we always come back to is Contemporary Christian music.  Even with my current distaste of organized religion, I still find comfort and encouragement in these songs of truth about who God is.  We can be found singing Praise & Worship stuff a lot, and then finding where that song comes from in scripture.  I love that I can go back to this music; that no one can take that away from me, nor the scripture that it is from.  

Kari Jobe has a new album that just came out this Tuesday called Where I Find You.  It is so great; I love how she writes about her love for who God is.  The songs are doggon catchy too - I find myself humming and/or singing them a lot of the day.  

I guess even stating that I still listen to music about God is kind of a brave thing for me.  I'm so afraid most of the time about what people think about me that I often filter.  Afraid of what they might think of me, or what judgements they may make of me because I am struggling with my faith.  But at almost 38 years of age, I think the time has come for me to be as real about it as possible.  If people don't like me because I struggle in this area, then they really aren't going to like me.  I am in flux.  I am still learning.  And I do a lot of my thinking and learning through music, always have, and always will.

Well, there you have it.  Musical thoughts on a dreary Thursday.  If you have the time and energy, check out that Kari Jobe album.  It's worth a listen to, bothy lyrically and musically. 

The rescue effort

Well, it's been a year since I've blogged.  A great deal of that time has been spent trying to recover from the mess that was UCWebhost and their immediate and dismal dissappearance from the world wide web; part is an ongoing mess with a new host service and my domain name, which floats around endlessly now and I can't seem to access it. 

The other part of it is that parts of this past year have not been things that I want to remember.  More on that later.

So you'll notice that my old blog posts are here; many are missing photos.  Thankfully somewhere on one of my hard drives, I do have the photos that were on my blog saved.  I just need to find which ones go with which post and realign the stars.  I'll work on that on an as needed basis.

Current events dictate that I should tell you that some things are still true in my life:

1. I still love my kid.  She's still an adventure every day.  There is always a new story to tell.
2. I still am addicted to Rock Band and Guitar Hero.  And yes, I am getting too old for that.
3. I still search several times a week for new music to discover. 
4. I still read avidly, except now I read on a nook.  Best. Thing. Ever.
5. I still design scrapbooking supplies and other assorted doodads.  
6. I still type medical transcription work.
7. I still am not finished figuring out who I am.
8. I still drink tea every day.
9. I still struggle with fibromyalgia and CFS.  (blah)
10. I still love to tell the stories of my everyday life.

I'm really looking forward to this becoming a part of my routine again.  I hope you'll follow along as I try to dismantal my filter and be real, and talk about things that are part of real life.  Lots of fun and thrills ahead, I'm sure!