Lots to Share

Geez. Where do I even begin? There's lots of news this week. I'll just dive in. So I apologize in advance if this post is all over the place. I'll just try to get all the news in.

This week, my mom was diagnosed with celiac disease. In short, that means she's allergic to gluten. And in the end, it means a HUGE change in diet ... and lifestyle. When you start dissecting everything that contains gluten, ... well, it can get you down. My mom does NOT like to draw attention to herself under any circumstances. {In fact, she probably wouldn't have given me permission to write about her if I had actually asked. So, uh, mea culpa, mom.} And this diagnosis means that, in order to do things she normally does, like eat out or enjoy food at parties, she WILL have to draw attention to herself or otherwise suffer the consequences. She's finding more and more things that she has to give up. I keep trying to remind her that the silver lining is that there are lots of gluten-free substitutes for her favorite foods (thanks to SarahK for talking about these on her blog). Sure, they're a little more expensive, they do require more time, but in the end, celiacs are in no way deprived of great food, like cake & cookies & pizza & all the foods we know & love. Right now, she's overwhelmed and a little blue about the whole thing. So keep her in your prayers as she adjusts.

{Please allow this sidebar related to celiac disease. Family, you should consider being tested for it and here's why.

Q: Why do my family members need to be screened for celiac disease?
When the diagnosis is established in one family member, their first- degree relatives (parents, siblings, and children) should have blood tests for celiac disease. This is because at least 10% of family members will have the disease, even if they are asymptomatic. Screening is also recommended for second-degree relatives (grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and cousins) as they are also at an increased risk for celiac disease. Family members who already have an autoimmune disease are at a greatly increased risk to have celiac disease (25%). The reasons to diagnose family members prior to the development of symptoms include the prevention of autoimmune diseases and malignancy.

Source}

In other health-related news, poor Dori had to go to the vet this week. I know I've mentioned before that she suffers from nasal allergies. And for you fellow allergy-sufferers, you know how bad it's been lately. She's had a runny, itchy nose & sneezing for quite a while. But recently her ears have begun to itch too. And pretty soon, they started to get scaly. And then she started shaking her head all the time. In the end, I think I waited a bit too long to go to the vet for relief of those allergy-related ear symptoms. So now, shame on me, she has a rip-roaring ear infection. Poor baby! We came home with a medicine cabinet yesterday - two new pills & two things to be dropped in her ear. I don't know if I've talked about Dori's aversion to anyone getting near her ears before, but let's just say that the drops are going to be a challenge. {Sigh} And on top of that, a side effect of one of the new meds is increased thirst & urination. Ultimately it means a weaker bladder so she tinkles a little bit when she's laying down. And this makes her lick, which makes her tinkle all the more, and ultimately she just sinks her poor little head in shame. {Sigh} Poor puppy!

In other news, I heard this morning that the youngest daughter of Dove-award winning Christian singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman was killed last night - tragically & accidentally run over by her brother in the family's driveway in rural Tennessee. Please keep the Chapman family in your prayers as they mourn this loss and comfort their son.

Now For That Rest

Whew. That crazy weekend is over & done with.

Friday's concert went alright. I have to admit my lack of enthusiasm for the whole thing. You know, sometimes you just know your time with something has come to a close. And that's how I've been feeling about Chorale - I've had a good run, I've grown as a singer & soloist, I've had terrific opportunities to do some really stellar works, and now it's time for me to move on. I'll close my tenure with them on the summer tour of Ireland and then I will bid them farewell - and the closure will be bittersweet.

Sunday's recital went splendidly. Every single singer did their absolute best. I know my voice teacher was very proud of each of us. I couldn't have put it better than her husband when he said, "you guys made J look like the best voice teacher in town!" And you know what, in my humble opinion, J IS the best voice teacher in town!

Aside from lots of singing, I also got cards made, got a fair portion of the laundry done, got stuff to finish up the yardwork, and rested. All in all, it was good ... and now ... I rest! Ahhhhhh.

BAH!

Have I mentioned how much I really don't like weeks where I get NO QUIET EVENINGS AT HOME?! Umm. Yeah. Well. Sorry. I'm a little cranky about it. Here's looking forward to Monday...and the beginning of a very quiet week.

As I said, this week is crammed. Rehearsals. Rehearsals. Rehearsals. A/C check-ups. Concerts. Rehearsals. Insurance adjustors. Church. Church. Recitals. That about sums it up. [Sigh] Not enough sleep. That's for sure.

Speaking of adjustors, we have heard from the valet company about my car. They're supposed to come Saturday to take photos of the damage. I really hope this means they intend to pay for the repairs! It'll only put 'em back about 400 smackers if it's anything like my bumped-on-the-bumper incident. I'll keep ya posted.

Note to Self

Dear Self,

As much as you love jalepenos, you really must stop overdoing it. You know that your poor little stomach can only take so much. When you mound up the peppers on your dinner, your sensitive digestive tract revolts. And then you and the ladies room become terrific friends for most of a day, which is soooo not cool when that most of a day involves going to work. So on behalf of your tummy, lay off the jalepenos for pete's sake!

Thanks,
Self

X Marks the Spot?

We had a really nice, albeit busy, weekend. As expected, we spent a vast majority of the weekend preparing for Mother's Day. But it was worth it b/c we pulled it off splendidly. The weather was gorgeous on Sunday for our picnic at the lake. And the evening dinner downtown went off without a hitch despite a little hiccup on Friday.

My poor Ezmerelda will be going back to the shop again soon. The stupid valet at the (really nice!) restaurant we had dinner at Sunday managed to scrape her on a curb or something. There's a lovely scratch down the driver's side near the rear tire. Grrrrr! We called the restaurant as soon as we found the scratch & the valet company has already contacted us to take photographs for their adjustor. So theoretically, they may be (better be!) paying for the repairs. Do you ever feel like you're a magnet? Yeah, well, I feel like my poor car is a magnet for scrapes & scratches & dings!

Other than that, it'll be a busy week this week. I have a concert & recital this weekend. So it's a week of rehearsals for me. And somewhere in there, I have to pick up a costume I'm borrowing from a friend & find something to wear for the recital. Eek!

Mother's Day

To our moms,
how could we ever say thank you
in a way that really expresses our gratitude
for the late nights, the laundry, the dinners,
the encouragement, the loving reprimands,
the gentle guidance when we were lost,
your undying love, and now, most importantly of all,
your friendship -
Quite simply, Happy Mother's Day!

Twill Be Busy

We'll be busy this weekend. We have a lot to do before Sunday. There are weeds to kill, shrubs to trim, the backyard to be mowed, cleaning to be done, groceries to be bought.... Well, there's just a lot to do. Sunday will be busy with day-long festivities in honor of Mother's Day. We're having a picnic with my mom, grandmother, & sil's mom. We're grilling burgers & veggies & enjoying what should be beautiful weather. Then we'll dash home, get ready, & head to Morton's to meet Derek's parents. Hopefully we can get everything done before Sunday b/c there'll be no time for housework!

Busy Tuesday

Who thinks putting almost all of your yearly check-ups and/or follow-ups on one day is a good idea? {Ooo - ooo. I do! I do!} Yeah, well, it was an efficient use of sick time, not to mention gasoline! But it does make for a long day. On the upside, I got to sleep in a little & spend some time with Derek before I left for the day.

I finished the day at the dentist's office. But funny thing about that. I thought I was going to finish the day at a voice lesson. Duh! It's kinda hard to sing (and talk) when half of your mouth is numb! So I had to call & cancel that on my way home. (A big shout-out to my dentist, Dr. Morel, for a terrific job - I didn't feel a thing while she was changing out fillings & filling in a (newer) cavity! If you're looking for a dentist, she's terrific & her office staff is the best - so nice & friendly. Kudos to you!)

I think the funniest thing, though, was when I got home. I thought I was going to eat something. I was starving. I thought, huh, chips would be good. Well, they would have been if everything would have cooperated. It apparently was quite funny to watch me try. =) So ... we scrapped our original dinner plans (lamb chops), and Derek went to the store & got me mashed potatoes & ice cream. No major chewing or coordination required. And who doesn't love a throw-back to your kiddie days?! Healthy too. LOL