Category Archives: Music

7 Quick Takes — Thankfulness

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7 Quick Takes

I’ve had a crappy week with severe back pain, Daniel’s MRI coming back abnormal, and a host of other things. To try and orient myself to a less pissy perspective, I’m doing a list of things for which I am thankful.

–1–

Daniel’s PT eval this morning. The physical therapist from Easter Seals was really positive and complimented Daniel on the things that he *could* do well. She said there’s definitely things to improve but they’ll come in time. She also explained Daniel’s sensory issues to me in a way that I could understand it. We’re scheduled to start with her on Wednesday.

–2–

The helpfulness of the pharmacist at CVS. Wednesday was by FAR the worst for the back pain and after Jon got home, I dragged myself over to CVS and begged for help. The (young) pharmacist was chipper and asked what I had tried. I told her that it wasn’t responding to Tylenol and she politely informed me that Tylenol isn’t for inflammation and that some ibuprofen would help as well as some ice. She was right. She also saved me $$$ by not making me go to the doctor to be told this.

–3–

Cuddles and “Cheerios time” with Daniel in the mornings. We’ve run out of yogurt snacks a few times (they’re like baby crack) and I’ve had a little boy putting the empty bag in my lap and shake it expectantly. I just reach over to the bookcase and grab the Cheerios. Daniel will then climb into my lap and we’ll cuddle, eat Cheerios, and watch “The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That” on PBS.

–4–

Purry gingerbread tabbies. Cullen is a sissy tabby with very bold orange markings. When I put Daniel down for a nap, he’ll come on the bed and displace my hips. He’s helpful that way. 🙂

–5–

Silly black kitties. Edda is a longsuffering panther and a good one. She’ll put up with Daniel climbing on my lap while she’s having “Mommy time” and she’ll tolerate him “petting” her to a point. She’s wonderful when I’m still groggy in the mornings and trying to reconcile the double images into one.

–6–

KLOVE radio when I’m driving. I listen to a lot of “Scott and Kelli” because I’m usually on the road during their show. I like KLOVE because they don’t get into politics (unlike the big Christian music station in Montana) and it’s encouraging music without obnoxious Focus on the Family shows. Even when I was a newbie Christian, I liked them because they were mellow about promoting faith (not a “turn-or-burn” thing at all unlike other radio station) and they talk about secular news.

–7–

Daniel “surfing” on the wall tonight. (“Surfing” is taking steps holding onto something while learning to walk.) He braced himself against a wall and managed to walk sideways from the hallway to the kitchen. This is a COOL NEW SKILL and puts him closer to learning to walk.

(For more of this, head to Conversion Diary.)

A Song For Today

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In only a moment truth
Was seen revealed this mystery
The crown that showed no dignity he wore
And the king was placed for all the world
To show disgrace but only beauty flowed from this place

Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands
Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands

He held the weight of impurity
The father would not see
The reasons had finally come to be to
Show the depth of his grace flowed with
Every sin erased he knew that this was
Why he came

Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands
Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands

And we just don’t know the blood and
Water flowed and in it all
He shows just how much he cares
And the veil was torn so we could have
This open door and all these things have
Finally been complete

Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands
Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands
From his hands
From his hands
From his hands
From his hands
From his hands
–“This Man” by Jeremy Camp

Flattened (XV)

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Daniel has been home for two weeks and is doing great. I’m still fighting exhaustion though so we’re still “flattened”.

[+] We had to hit up UCD Medical Center on Thursday For Daniel’s Lovenox. We ran into his speech therapist on the way back out and she was very impressed with how he looked. I was asked by a couple people if we’d gone up to the PICU or the Peds Unit and the answer is “no”. For one thing, I don’t know that we would have been welcome on the PICU because of the infection risk and all that. For another thing, we’re going to send pictures of Daniel at his second birthday party with a thank-you note.

[+] I’ve witnessed a fair amount of cattiness between atheists and Catholics over Jennifer Fulwiler’s guide to atheists for Catholics. Atheist blogger PZ Myers (who is quite anti-Catholic) took her on and managed to make himself look like a complete jerk (as did the majority of his commenters). Jennifer asked her readers if she should have responded and the majority of us said “no” though there was some fisking of PZ Myers in the process. One person who did emerge from all of this (at least in my reading) is Leah at Unequally-Yoked who I’m finding to be pretty amazing (the girl is a Yale student so she’s obviously wicked smart). She actually wrote an impressive guide to Catholics for atheists (which could actually apply to Lutherans and Episcopalians) and does a really fantastic job of engaging Catholicism (and Christianity) in a respectful way. Her blog started as a way to argue faith with her Catholic boyfriend (she is an atheist) and she actually participates in the weekly 7 Quick Takes (a largely Catholic meme). Anyway, go check her out.

[+] All the reading of atheist blogs and the wiki article on Anberlin I read recently (the chorus of “A Whisper & A Clamor” was stuck in my head for three months) made me want to affirm something: this is not a Christian blog. I am a blogger who happens to be Christian. I do talk about faith issues on here inasmuch as they’re affecting my daily life though less so over the last year due to the lack of Internet access from March 2010 to February 2011. I’m not really in a complacent place with my faith — just not vocalizing a lot of what I’m dealing with internally. I also really have no interest in fighting with people about whether or not God exists and whether or not Christianity is a pack of lies. There’s a point at which people cannot be convinced without something very drastic happening and until that happens for people like PZ Myers or Jen McCreight (who I do read on a daily basis), I think there will continue to be people who want to have fights over this stuff.

[+] I started some seeds yesterday. I planted pumpkins, sunflowers, tomatoes, basil, cat grass, oregano, lavender, spinach, and cucumbers. I’m hoping they do germinate and I have seedlings in the next week or so.

[+] I made it to church today. Go me. (Actually, the deciding factor was that I needed a parishioner to look at the knot on Daniel’s leg. She’s a nurse and her daughter is diabetic so I figured she’d know something about it.)

Conspirare

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I was up late with a cranky little bear and I saw the tail end of a PBS special on them. They were performing “The First of My Lovers” and it was AMAZING. The music was breathtaking but what made it “beyond words” was the two soloists had the most joyful expressions on their faces. That joy would have been incredibly contagious throughout the concert hall and I wish I lived in Austin, TX so I could see them perform.

Home… With Some News

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We got home about an hour ago after being on the road for about… 13 1/2 hours.Â? (Take out some of the time for a nice lunch at Olive Garden in Idaho Falls and stops for gas in various places and dinner in Great Falls and you get about 10+ hours of driving)

I’m headachey and tired from getting only 4 hours of sleep as well as about 60 miles of catnapping in the car.Â? (No worries… Jon was driving.)

The concert was amazing.Â? Well worth the 10 hour drive.Â? She played a couple pieces from An Ancient Muse as well as much of Book of Secrets and some pieces from earlier albums.Â? Two encores and some lovely stories.Â? Her musicians were so cool.

Meeting Loreena McKennitt after the show, telling her I’d been a fan for 15 years, and getting her autograph?Â? Let’s just say that I get seriously verklempt when talking about it.

I seriously *have* been a fan since 1992 when “The Lady of Shallott” was played on NPR and my mom got a tape of The Visit.Â? In the last 15 years, I’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs in life and I’ve literally been to hell and back several times.Â? Through all that time, her music was a unifying factor in my family (my brother and I have replaced my mom’s CD’s several times because they keep “disappearing”) and it was what I listened to when I needed to be pensive and ponder my life.Â? in addition, her research on the Celts (which translates into her music) has been part of my quest to figure out who I am and the poems she has set to music are among my favorites.

So… after reading that she occasionally signs autographs at the stage door, I decided to something incredibly un-Jenlike and try and get one.Â? (I’m actually really shy in person and I also feel really guilty about invading the space of others which includes waiting at stage doors after concerts for artists who really deserve to get a breather after a concert.Â? It comes from living in a fishbowl myself.)

I ended up being the first person she went to when she came out and seriously… I’m still just in awe that I actually got to meet her.Â? She was so congenial and put up with me trying to be articulate despite being a complete fan girl.Â? (She’s also not much taller than me which was kind of cool.)

I’m still honestly very tongue-tied about the whole thing (believe it or not) and although I know she abhors the “cult of celebrity”, I still felt so unworthy in her presence.

So off to bed with me… though I have one thing to say:

For I am thoroughly convinced that Montana is the most beautiful state in the nation and I have no desire to be anywhere else because no other state can compare in terms of sky, land, and water.

Concert Tonight!!!!!!!! Oh Yeah… Also SLC Schtuff!

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We’re in Salt Lake City (LOREENA MCKENNITT CONCERT AT 7:30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and I spent my afternoon at Temple Square looking at all the museums and exhibits. The Tabernacle is open again and it was interesting to see inside. It was closed for renovations when we were here in October and it was pretty much the only thing I really wanted to see. (Not that I don’t like Temple Square. It’s pretty and the missionary sisters are so nice even after I tell them that I’m not in the market for a new belief system but should I be wanting to change mine, I’ll give them a call.) I didn’t get to confound any of them this time in multiple languages but I know I’ll do that the next time I’m down here.

While seeking out the Tabernacle, I found the Family History Library and the Museum of Church History and Art. Duuuuuuude… history museum. *drools* I walked around and scared the daylights out of the volunteers with my mad history skillz (and the lovely information from the PBS special). I also found out that I’m allowed in the Conference Center (which is a megalithic white building with waterfalls going down the face of it) even though I’m a heathen so I decided to go tour it.

Well… the Conference Center is MASSIVE (seats 21,000 people in a concert hall/theater setting, has a lovely stage, and a nice pulpit) and has lots of open areas to allow for flow of people. The nice elderly gentleman giving me a tour made sure to give me lots of tidbits on Mormon doctrine and one of the other women asked pointedly if I’d read the Book of Mormon. The paintings and all were nice… except not theologically/historically correct (i.e. Jerusalem at the time of Jesus did *NOT* have the Dome of the Rock in the skyline). I also knew a bit about the Mormon historical figures that I saw and could better explain the acoustical architecture of the Tabernacle than our guide could. (I am such a brat when it comes to history.)

I’m back at the motel, leaving Jon to finish and pay for dinner (hopefully he’s not having to wash dishes) and I’m going to go rest my blistered feet (the tourists were all whispering about the sweet little girl walking around Temple Square barefoot) and get my clothes ready for tonight.

LOREENA MCKENNITT CONCERT IN JUST OVER AN HOUR!!!!! *squees excitedly*