The Test I Can't Study For

4/26/2010 11:36PM CST:

Left photo of what I fully expect will happen tomorrow.

Our house in Louisiana has now been under contract for 6 days, and tomorrow is my last big hurdle in the process: Home Inspection.

Fingers definitely crossed!

Closer to Fine

4/26/2010 12:39AM CST:

Photos of Melissa with Amy and Emily of the Indigo Girls.

Saw an amazing show by the Indigo Girls. I took the photos of Melissa with both Emily and Amy.

I gave them both a big hug :)

Easy as Pie!

4/19/2010 10:30PM CST:

Left photo of "Levee High Apple Pie" at the Blue Owl Bakery & Restaurant in Kimmswick, Missouri.

Have had a beautiful weekend. Robbie had the kids at his mom's house all weekend, and he had a bonfire with his kids and his nephews. Yesterday, we had a beautiful church service with music by the Drum Circle. It was such a lovely day out that Renee and I drove down to historic Kimmswick to have one of the best comfort food lunches followed by a slice of applie pie that stood nearly one foot tall with a caramel pecan glaze. Last night, I went to the Awards Banquet for Faith Aloud (http://www.faithaloud.org). They are doing amazing work. The dinner, the friends around the table, and the work that the organization does made for a beautiful night.

Today, I slept in and did some light reading. It was a beautiful Spring day out, so I enjoyed the drive into the country with Indigo Girls and various Bluegrass along the way to pick up Robbie. It was nice to get him home. This evening, great discussion on the book "Breakfast With Buddha" with my Reader's Circle.

Why can't the weekend continue on...?

Voila! Fruit Salad...

4/16/2010 9:48AM CST:

Left photo of California Fruit Salad.

Somehow, through visiting a lot of pregnancy websites, I am now on an email list that tells me the progress of Bebe week by week. While there is a huge amount of information about what I should be experiencing (mood swings, sore breasts, aches along the side of my uterus), there is even more information about Bebe.

Every week, I get a comparison of Bebe's size and development. Bebe has been the size of a poppy seed, a raisin, a small grape, a small plum, a medium lime, and is today the size of a peach! Jessie's uterus has already even exceeded the size of a grapefruit. I wonder if the medical professional who developed this site was simply obsessed with making fruit salad.

Either way, we can't wait for Bebe to eventually become melon or pineapple size (but less prickly - ouch for Jessie's vagina)!

The Mistress of Merch

4/15/2010 11:30PM CST:

Left photos of Mike and Heidi (Mistress of Merch), and Ani Difranco and Heidi.

During the concert, I was really excited to see that Heidi, the original Mistress of Merch was back in the Ani Difranco tour. For those familiar with the Ani Difranco traveling crew, you know Heidi was central to the song "Little Plastic Castle." I remember Heidi as the nice, stylish bald lady working on the Ani crew when I first went to Ani shows 15 years ago. Well, Heidi is now married, and has extremely long hair, but retains the same charisma of over a decade ago. She was kind enough to pull back her hair for the picture to more closely resemble bald Heidi of ages past.

Heidi was knitting a piece when we saw her. As we were talking, I mentioned that Robbie and I crochet, but don't have the patience to sit and learn knitting with the counting stitches, etc. She had the best response ever: "If you don't have the patience for knitting, what are you going to do when you have that baby?" I loved that. Thanks Heidi!

Righteous Bebe too!

04/15/2010 11:10PM CST:

Left photo of Ani Difranco show at the Pageant on 4/14/10.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but we sat only about 30 feet from the stage. As always, Ani Difranco put on an amazing show. Had a blast with my EmersonUU/Concert buddy Melissa - can't wait for Indigo Girls in another week! Melissa best put it that we're a bit longer in the tooth than the average Ani attendee by saying: "I have shoes older than these girls' nose rings."

Sitting in the concert, I was immersed in sound. I was savoring the moment (gluttonous almost), but the music was almost a familiar companion that had acommpanied me throughout my adult life. What a feeling to experience such thankfulness for all that this music and this person's message have done for my own life.

Ani Difranco's music carried messages which helped steer me to some of my own beliefs, though not directly. While often seeming to be overtly political on the surface, so much seems to be based upon principles that I later came to embrace as my own UU spiritual identity. Songs of equality, respect for choice, and concern for all people closely aligned with those principles which have become so close to my own aspirations: the inherent worth and dignity of every person, the search for truth and meaning, respect for the democratic process, and the interdependent web of existence of which we are all a part. Ani's music came at a time when I could have accepted mediocrity, and I could have surrounded myself with meaninglessness, and materialistic emptiness. Thankfully, I did not. Ani helped me identify a need for meaning. Her music helped me break paradigms of what my life should become. Her message has helped me re-define family to ultimately re-invent a family unit for myself. Her music has helped me identify that there is spirituality that comes from our connectedness with others.

Aside from the original Righteous babe, my Righteous Bebe had its next OB check-up. At 13 weeks and 2 days, Bebe had a very healthy heartbeat of 165 bpm. And Jessie and Bebe are in great health.

Righteous Babe!

4/13/2010 10:24PM CST:

Tomorrow night at the Pageant... Ani Difranco concert. Been looking forward to this for weeks. Robbie has no appetite for my music, so I'm very grateful to have crossed paths with Melissa, who will be enjoying Ani with me tomorrow (and Indigo Girls next week).

It's hard to believe I started following Ani Difranco's music when I was 19. If I hadn't stumbled upon Ani 15 years ago, I've wondered if my life would have played out in an entirely different course.

Would I have turned into an automaton? I kind of think so...

Hoppy Easter Bunny!

4/4/2010 Easter Sunday 3:42PM CST:

Left photo following today's Easter service.

Today has been a very nice day. It is sunny and windy outside, and probably about 80 degrees. This morning, Rosalynn, Robbie's oldest child, called and woke us up around 7:30AM to wish us a happy Easter. We had tea and began to wake up and get ready for church (it is a rare pleasure to have Robbie join me for a church service). On the way to Emerson UU Chapel, we made a brief stop at Starbucks for some extra reinforcement.

This morning I was liturgist for the Easter Sunday service. The weather was beautiful, the Emerson choir sounded amazing, and the entire service had an energy that is both humbling and makes one thankful for being present for fellowship. The re-telling and intimacy of the Easter story today was far more powerful than any I'd heard growing up. This is quite a feat for a UU service on Easter.

We had a nice lunch directly following coffee hour. I found the CD by Nickel Creek that I had been searching for for some time (which contains what is currently the first song on the playlist of this page), and then we ran some errands. Now... some downtime before I have to go into work for a few hours to facilitate tonight's Vietnamese Concerts. Tomorrow... we are both off to enjoy the day.

Ah, Spring.