I'm awake

[averygoodun42]

And, worse than that, I'm still muse-less. My mind is so scattered right now I could probably name ten things that I'm flittering between mentally, making settling down to one almost impossible. And at this time of night, not worthwhile.


"My ass is smarter than a lot of people's brains." - Geoff, after I affectionately called him a smart ass.


I'm trying to figure out what the proper size for the larger version of my leaves print should be. And which version(s) I should make large. The Chinese one, definitely...


Speaking of prints, today, instead of watching glue dry (I also raked up the yard, and have photos to share of just what it means to have two maples in a yard), I should have started painting backgrounds on the cards. Most of the prints are going to be two tiered, with a hand painted background, then a printed design. Unique prints...


Would anyone be willing to translate a phrase into Spellish Latin for me? Pig latin is a bit arduous for me, let alone the more refined language.


And then... How do I get ____ to the point where I can move _____ into _____ and get the plot moving toward the end? Besides which, should I stick to my original outline's timeline or speed everything up as it is leaning towards in the story? How little is too little time?


I want to bake. Today I consider a success on my diet because I was tired and really wanted to just order a pizza. I didn't. I made a decent mock-up of Joe's Special (from Sunset's Favorites) which is basically hamburger, onion, spinach and eggs all scrambled together. The recipe calls for mushrooms, which I didn't have, so I used a potato instead. With lots of pepper, garlic and a bit of cayenne, oregano and cumin, it was decent. But the main thing was, it was on the diet.


Speaking of pizza, our neighbors have been trying to draw us into their drama. Tuesday it was all about neighborman's (grown) son who is acting out and making life and marriage difficult for the neighbors, and today it was their power being cut off. While they waited for the power company's people to come and turn their power back on, they asked to borrow our oven. Three guesses what they put into it.

The neighbors are nice people, but the dingbattery of the wife gets to me sometimes. She asks how to change things, and the answer I want to give her (depending on the situation she's complaining about) is either, "Wait another ten months before doing anything permanent because pregnancy hormones are messing with you right now," or, "Think ahead. Use your imagination. Try to imagine whether it is reasonable to expect this if that has been the opposite of past experience, and you don't get outside help to try and change that. BTW, Geoff and I? We're not qualified professionals. Tax, law, counseling - WE ARE NOT QUALIFIED! (so go away)" or just, "Stop. Playing. The Victim. It's not getting you anywhere."

I may feel like I'm sixteen a lot of the time, but she acts it.


Bad choir practice last night. We're singing Mendelssohn's "How Lovely Are the Messengers" on Sunday. Beautiful song... needing much, much more work than we have time for. Not to mention that the three sopranos who were at practice last night were ALL seconds. I'm sorry, but neither I nor the other seconds can reach that ultra-high B. Nope. Not going to happen. The high F is pushing it to the point of being squeaky.

Not to mention knowing the notes would make things happier for those notes we can reach. We tried. Really, we did. I don't know about the other two gals, but I'm only barely functionally literate when it comes to reading music. Sorry, but I need the notes played for me. /rant

But on the plus side, Choir director remained remarkably cheerful even in the face of everything. Although he did look rather drawn by the end of practice. *snerk* Previous choir director would have been having kittens halfway through our time together, so...

I brought the music home with me, and I must practice, lest I embarrass myself on Sunday.


Oh, speaking of Sundays, I am so glad I chose to play hooky and sleep in last Sunday! Geoff had to go in extra early (a whole fifteen minutes earlier than I usually have to be there) for a teacher meeting thingy, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing that extra fifteen minutes of sleep. I also didn't think I would realistically be able to get moving fast enough to get myself breakfast before leaving. This diet does require that I consume food in regular intervals, and if I'm to make it through church, from 9 - 12:30, I need a hearty breakfast.

So, I decided to sleep in.

Turns out, there wasn't adult choir. If I'd gone in, I would have been there for no reason for more than an hour. Knowing how I feel about mornings and sleep, that would have pissed me off something fierce. As it was, I had a lovely sleep-in and a relaxing morning to myself and then found out I didn't play hooky at all. Lovely!


This diet is... hard, but I think it's starting to work. Today was a low energy day, but I think my period is due, so that would account for that. And, if my period does start in earnest tomorrow or the next day, this diet is worth staying on just for the emotional stability and lack of PMS symptoms! Seriously, besides being a little less patient and a little (very little) bit bitchy, the only PMS I've suffered this month is the two anxiety dreams this week. (Oh yeah, I dreamt about being buck naked in church. That was fun. So much fun, I spent half the dream trying to convince myself that it was a dream.) That is such an enormous improvement on the last few months, that it's... wonderful.

However, my skin is still messed up. I don't know if it's from the Carrots and Rutabagas (equal parts chopped carrots and chopped rutabaga steamed in a little water to mashing tenderness. Mashed with butter and a dash of nutmeg. Yum.) I made last night to go with the roast (which actually came out okay! First time! I know beef roasts are supposed to be easy-peasy, but I have had very, very little success with them.), or if it's from the corn chips I snacked on two days ago without having fat to go with them. But anyway, my face is messed up again.


Speaking of messed-up skin, amsev posted a link to an interesting article on the chemicals in cosmetics and such, including cleansers. In the article, there's a link to a nifty site that rates how safe the products are. Needless to say, I will be switching soaps next trip to the store, although not necessarily because mine is so bad chemically (though it is that), but because the company does animal testing. *!* Actually, both soap companies we buy from do animal testing. So, we will stop supporting them from now on.


Oh, and Geoff's company finally has some money coming in and said they shall be paying back (the last year's) business expenses within the next couple of weeks. We shall see. I hope it's true, as I'm tired of having loaned them thousands of dollars without hope of repayment. I also hope they give out raises and bonuses, but I expect that's hoping too much, based on past experience.


What else? It's now an hour later, and I might be able to get to sleep now. Maybe. I hope. Full moon is tomorrow. I'm hoping my sleep cycle gets back to normal as it starts waning again.

Comments

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, singing Mendelssohn is wonderful, but you do need a bit of a ladder for the high notes, sometimes. I went to a choir rehearsal this week, mainly to say hello as I'm off being "new mum" at the moment, and was rather glad to have the excuse to not go regularly. Concerts this autumn/winter: Mozart Requiem, Haydn Creation, Beethoven 9th - all absolutely wonderful, but we've done them all recently, and the boredom shows... The choirmaster needs to find a way to invoke a little enthusiasm. But then, I think she's bored as well - she's a new grandmother and recently got married, so has other things on her mind... Not at all sorry I'll be missing the Beethoven - it's like screaming for twenty pages - sustained top As and Gs for pages at a time, and then he expects me to do pretty little quavers? The man was a genius, but clearly had no idea how voices work. Haydn, on the other hand...

[alienor77310.livejournal.com]

We had the "assemblée générale" for our choir last Monday. I will pass on the personal quibbles, the petty accusations, etc. The director has decided to turn down most concert requests - we'll do one Christmas show, and then nothing before easter. This past year, we had so many concerts we learned nothing new. There are scores we bought two years ago that we haven't even looked at yet.

And now, some people come out and ask to do pop songs, which the director refused firmly, saying she had been hired on the proviso that she would chose the music, and that she was not into pop music, and that it didn't adapt well for a 30+ people choir, and certainly not for a choir of middling quality like us. Not to mention that, with an average age of 65, we have a definite lack of swing.

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

Our last assemblee generale (big thing - regional choir, govt funding etc etc) was so boring I read a book. At least when it's in a foreign language it's easy to tune out.

Average age 65? That would make you - what? - 92?

And you ain't NEVER see lack of swing unless you've sung in a Swiss choir....

[alienor77310.livejournal.com]

Average age 65? That would make you - what? - 92?

*sticks out tongue*
That would make me, at 37, the baby in the house. Most of the rest are between 60 and 75.

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

Ah, so you're the hot young totty?

[alienor77310.livejournal.com]

That, and the new blood, since I moved to the land of foie gras less than 4 years ago, while most have lived there anywhere from 20 years to forever.

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Have tshe heard the Kings... erm, Choir(?) sing Beatles? Not too swingy, but lots of fun!

[alienor77310.livejournal.com]

The King's Singers, I think. At least, I have a record of them doing that kind of numbers. The problem is, they are six highly trained professionals, while we are 30+ amateurs, most of whom are elderly, can't read music, and can't pronounce English to save their lives (French, Latin, Spanish and all flavours of Occitan, no problem, Italian with a tad more effort, German, painfully. English, very badly), and we only practice 2 hours a week.

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, they're ultra good, but we're a choir of 24 middlings and we did a pretty good job on those arrangements.

Granted, English is easier when it's the mother tongue... (Oh, and we practice 1 1/2 hours one evening a week, and 45 minutes before service. Not much more than you do.)

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Oh, I miss singing Mozart... So organized and predictable without being a dull result.

Well, singing for a church choir means we won't be singing any lengthy pieces, but I do miss singing the longer works. ALthough I'm happy enough to give most Beethoven a pass, as well. However, given the choice between Beethoven and Dixie Chicks...

Do you have any recommendations for short Haydn pieces? I'm trying to get a little more classical into our choir, although the choir director isn't so hot on that stuff.

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

I'll have a looka at my scores - I'm fairly sure there's some shorter Haydn in there. You may have to remind me, though. The advantage of Haydn is that the music is always so singable, isn't it - and I have a hard job imagining him ever being unhappy!

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Thank you in advance! Any songs you can pass on to me, I'll pass on to our music committee!

[zalena.livejournal.com]

A full moon bleeder, huh? I'm glad to hear that someone else has weird dreams as a symptom of their cycle.

PMS started a week early for me and I thought, "Oh crap, two weeks of this is going to be unpleasant for everyone." Then I bled a week early. I hope I'm phasing back to my new moon bleed as my bond with the work ladies dissolves.

As for sleep, I've been awake nights, too; but I've definitely noticed that the moon keeps me up. Watching the moon reflected on the railroad tracks as I drove home last night is something that deserves a poem or an entry of its own. But I'm not sure I've found the words for the colors, textures, or absolute loveliness of it.

(Also, I had a vision of love the other night, a feeling so clear it is like summer days watching those little fish in the shallows of my lake guard their clutches of eggs. The absolute clarity of the feeling was worth staying up with. Most the time my emotions are colored by other things going on in my life. Either they take on colored tones, or they're just muddy.)

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

The last couple of months I've had nightmares the week before bleeding. I haven't had nightmares in years and years...

The full moon has always kept me awake. There've been jokes made about being part werewolf. Tonight I hope to be able to get out an observe the moon. I need to do so for a sketch I want to work on (after Geoff made some interesting points about lighting).

How wonderful! I'm glad you've been getting good sent to you! You certainly deserve it!

[beletseri.livejournal.com]

So I was reading further back about what diet you are on. I do think I know what it is I was given a copy of that diet by a chiropractor that I worked for several years back, and he said it was the diet that inspired Dr. Atkins to come up with the Atkins diet. It is supposed to be incredibly good for you, like you said. He thought it would help me lose weight and get rid of my chronic pain and migraines. But I never tried it. I have a hard enough time sticking to Atkins as it is.

I haven't been dieting for about 2 months now, and as such I have gained a little weight back, and feel like crap too. I'm working on getting myself back on Atkins though. It's about as strict as I'm willing to go, and have been working on some new breakfast ideas. I really hate eating eggs. Scrambled or fried blech. So I've been looking for breakfast alternatives, and collecting a few new recipes here and there. Hopefully I'll get back in that motivated mind frame again soon.

I hope that diet gets to doing it's proper job on you quickly, and you start feeling better! Sometimes it's so hard to stick to the things that are good for you, but the pay off is so big in the end if you do!

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

This diet is really good, although really hard to stay on if you aren't committed to it as a life choice. That's what I've finally done. (I am treating myself to health, not depriving myself of sweets!) I'm finding there are still certain foods on the diet that set off my cravings, like tomatoes, that I have to be careful of. Also, it is soooo hard to stay on any diet when down or tired. It just is.

I'm sorry you're feeling poorly. :-( (Have you tried just drinking more good water? Like 10 - 12 glasses a day? It helps me so incredibly much it's ridiculous.)

My mum hates eggs, too. I'm not particularly fond of them, but I can eat them (heavily dosed with garlic powder and pepper and, preferably, onions). How do you feel about spice? I have a good recipe for chorizo to make for breakfast burritos. Also a good recipe for hamburger sasage that's good to fry up with eggs and onions.

Thanks. I am feeling better already, I'm just not looking much better at the moment. But it takes six weeks for the new skin to emerge, so, I can be patient. :D I hope.

[beletseri.livejournal.com]

That's the way I have to look at it too, but sometimes it's hard. I find that if I can stick to this diet for around 3 days then I tend to feel good on it, and not want to eat the things that I shouldn't have unless I consume something that triggers, like you and tomatoes. It's getting that willpower to commit for those 3 days that's so hard!

I definitely need to drink more water. I don't get near enough. Usually around 6 glasses a day, and that isn't even the recommended minimum, but I rarely drink any caffeine so at least I'm not draining the little I'm getting right back out again. I will try to increase my water consumption, it would be great if that would help.

Oh I love spices! And I love chorizo, so I would be delighted to have your recipe. That is one of the few ways that I enjoy eating eggs, and I usually am ok with quiches too, but they have to have plenty of other stuff in them. The hamburger sausage recipe sounds great too, and I would love to have that also. The more variety I can have, the better I am at not straying, that's the one trick that I learned when I was on the diet for so long before, so thanks a lot!

[fishity.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but neither I nor the other seconds can reach that ultra-high B. Nope. Not going to happen. The high F is pushing it to the point of being squeaky.
I feel your pain! I'm a second myself, but my school choir didn't split most of the time, so it usually was "We have a shortage of sopranos, so over there you go" for me. West Side Story, is all I say. "One Hand, One Heart". High H. All the training in the world won't get me up there - at least not in a non-squeaky way.

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Choir DIrector was actually very nice about it, although, because he recognized our limitations, he kind of went too dar and ignored our section all together... But at least on Sunday we can expect one, hopefully two or three first sopranos, the sure one having an incredibly beautiful and pure high voice. Then it will be our job as seconds to just mouth the words for those highest notes, instead of ruining it with our squeaks. :-D