( cut for those of you who don't find conversations with four-year-olds amusing )

President Barack Obama bends over so the son of a White House staff member can pat his head during a family visit to the Oval Office May 8, 2009. The youngster wanted to see if the President's haircut felt like his own. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
( picture here )

We have a silent auction to raise money for a piano for our new choir room at church next week. Each section of the choir is supposed to put together a basket to be bid upon. The tenor section (of which I am reluctantly a part) has done nothing. Can anyone think of something that will have a large bang for buck in the $20 range? I was thinking about maybe a DVD and some "movie theater" style candy.

I'm totally open to other ideas.

(If anyone is local and gives a damn, the silent auction/talent show with freewill offering is next Sunday, May 17 at 3 p.m. It won't be Jesus-y at all. There will be free cookies and punch. Todd and I are doing a duet. It's at Lord of the Hills Lutheran Church on Smoky Hill between Picadilly and Riviera.)

So there's this chick named Danielle. And she writes music. And sings it, usually to a ukelele accompaniment. And the lyrics are clever and her voice is gorgeous. She's cute, too, if that kind of thing is important to you.

I've been obsessively listening to her stuff on MySpace. And the YouTube videos are adorable, too.

Go look:

http://www.myspace.com/danielleatethesandwich
http://www.youtube.com/user/daniellesmagic

(not in entirety, of course):

Me: Honey, did you hear they're renaming the Sears Tower?

TD: I heard they were painting it, but not about the name change.

Me: Yep, they're going to call it the Willis Tower.

TD: Whatchu talkin' about?

FIN

We're home. I'm not sure I can even remember everything we did, every amazing experience, but I'll try to set it down here.
( What I did on my music cruise of awesomeness )

I've been waiting for this day for about 13 months. It seemed so far off in May when I made the first deposit, ten whole months off. It was still a long way off even at Christmas, when I started assembling various things I'd need on our cruise.

A few weeks ago, I had this huge list of things that absolutely had to get done before we sail off. Nearly all of them did.

Kids are at mom's house.

I am packed. Todd is mostly packed, barring a couple things still spinning through the dryer. The house is a wreck, and that's how it's going to be. No health hazards will be awaiting us when we get home, and that's enough.

Bruce comes to get us in 3.5 hours. I should sleep a little but I'm too het up, which, considering that I've been up for 20 hours already is probably not super brilliant.

So I could clean for three hours. Or I could squee for three hours. Guess which one I pick?

( Things I gotta do before we leave on Friday morning )

( Tentative schedule of must-sees while on the boat )

So our favorite band in Colorado as well as one of our favorite solo artists is
playing tonight at 7, at Rumours and Innuendo Night Club.

213 E 4th Street, St. Paul 55101

$8 at the door.

Check them out at:
http://www.angiestevens.com/
- she's a little bit Janis, a little bit Emmylou, in the singer/songwriter
genre.

http://www.somethingunderground.com/
- Perfect harmonies from the Larson brothers, where they shift from Dr. Suess
to Bob Marley covers, putting their own unique stamp on it.

Go! it'll be fun.

I was just accepted to Gonzaga's Master of Arts program in Communication and Leadership Studies. Classes start March 16.

I am happy in my heart.

So for the first year or so we lived here, Maggie slept in her bed. All night long. She'd wake up, happy and alert, and all would be well.

It sort of crept up on us, maybe with toilet training, but since this summer, Maggie has crawled into our bed every night. She'd creep in between us, steal covers, and throw an arm or leg over one of us. It was sweet, but it's gotten real old.

I realized that the kid snores like a freight train, she sometimes sounds chokey when she's sleeping, and she's always got her mouth open. When we brought this up at the pediatrician appointment earlier this month, we got a referral to an ENT (ear, nose and throat guy).

The appointment was today. First he looked in her throat and said "oh, her tonsils don't look that big. Let's do the flexible camera thingie (he said what it was. I lost it) through her nose and check out the adenoids."

So we tromped across the hallway to the next room. I sat in the exam chair with Maggie on my lap. Anna stood behind us, watching very closely, as they threaded the camera through her nose. Oh. The adenoids are 75% blocking her airway. That's why she sleeps with her mouth open. Hey! Let's look at those tonsils! They're deceptively large -- small on top, huge on the bottom. Also blocking her airway by 50%.

Guess that's why my kid crawls into bed -- she wakes up unable to breathe, freaks out, and feels safe with us.

Anyway, we're going to schedule the surgery to remove her adenoids and tonsils, and figure out a time that works. Maggie got a stuffed dog for being brave and awesome during the procedure, and Anna got a little stuffed frog for being a good sister. Children's Hospital is the bombdiggety. And I really liked the ENT. So that's where that's at. Someday maybe she can sleep through the night in her own bed. And then, so can I.

Every time I read the Cayamo boards, I am reminded anew of someone awesome I can't wait to see. Tift Merritt! Shawn Mullins! Emerson Hart!

We're poking through excursion options, and finding something that Todd wants to do that I also want to do is not super easy. 38 days left!

( Here's the things I'm most excited about: )

This is pretty amazing. It made me cry, the way marching bands make me cry. So you're not expected to cry, that's just my own personal brokentude.

I didn't get the church job I really really wanted. This isn't the end of the world, but it's a bummer. Apparently I was first choice for two of the four people on the committee, but third choice for the other two. The winner was first choice for the other two and second choice for the people who wanted me, so they got the job.

Ah, well. Sad, since I was really looking forward to it, but there are other opportunities, and I am in a stable job and not desperate for work, so it could be much much worse.

Dec 29, 2008 1:12 PM from Mela
When removing a p-trap, make sure you have a big bucket in which to grab the
crap that was stuck on either side of the trap. And remove the bucket BEFORE
re-installing the p-trap.
[Advice Nobody Asked For> msg #4712 (1 remaining)] Read cmd -> Next

Dec 29, 2008 1:24 PM from Mela
Related:
melted butter becomes solid butter when it gets cold. And clogs up plumbing.
Don't let people pour it in the sink.
[Advice Nobody Asked For> msg #4713 (0 remaining)] Read cmd ->

One of our favorite local bands, Something Underground, is playing a show NEXT THURSDAY, January 8th, at Eclipse Records in St. Paul. I have no idea about if the venue is kid-friendly, but the music is.

The band is phenomenally good, ranging from surprisingly good covers (I never thought I'd like to see "No Woman, No Cry" done by anyone, but they make it a pleasure), to kickass originals (my favorite is "One Fish", but others are great, too). Their stage presence is fantastic, and they really are great at making everyone enjoy the show.

Really, you won't be sorry you saw them. Tell them Mel and TD sent you, if you go.

http://www.myspace.com/somethingunderground

Eclipse Records

1922 University Ave W
St Paul, MN 55104
(651) 645-7724‎

I paid for the last of the cruise, and also bought our tickets to Fort Lauderdale. We'll worry about where we're staying the night before the cruise and how to get from place to place in a bit.

Poor, now.

Todd has to get his passport. Which means he has to get his picture taken for it at work some time. Everything else is pretty much ready to go. We're leaving 2 months from today. So it would be really nice if that got done, but ouch, it's another $100.

So I'm not the world's best mother. I do my best. I try to be consistent. I try to set firm limits and still encourage my kids' dreams. I don't think I'll ever be confident that I'm any good at parenting, but I do my best, and that's what I can do. I'm trying to instill values and tolerance and Christian love in my kids, every single day, because those are tools I want them to have in their lives.

Just a few minutes ago, Maggie was playing, narrating her rich fantasy life. She has an imaginary friend, named Aura. I don't know why, that's what she named her. She had two of the three kings from the nativity set and she told them that they could get married to each other, because she was going to marry Aura.

Anna said, "Girls can't marry girls! Boys can't marry boys!" and Maggie said "Jesus says we should all love one another, and when you love someone very much, you get married to them."

Anna kind of shrugged, I told her that I agreed with Maggie's assessment, and Anna went back to boxing on the Wii, while Maggie has continued to enact her dream double wedding to Aura, with the guys with Frankincense and Myrrh getting married next to them.

This amazing guy from my church, who was born in a concentration camp during WWII and adopted by Christians after both parents died, raised in Georgia (what an amazing accent he has, I'll have you know), sent me a Christmas card with a $25 JCPenney gift card. His letter reads:

"Melanie, the challenges you have overcome in your journey to your college degree inspire me. I know it may not have been easy, but you are an inspiration to me in my faith."

Bless his heart. It means more than I can say. (And yes, I've already written, stamped and mailed the Thank You note.

So here's some professional proofs of my graduation:



I'm not likely to order any, but they're lovely. :)