Your Tuesday art

Angry Man with Flower in Hat

I've declared Monday night Art Night

Making my To Do lists more interesting

Monday morning

She loves laser tag

Hope was scared to go in the laser tag area until Hank promised her that he would stick by her and keep her safe. He's a pretty good big brother sometimes.

Overheard on a playdate

Benny has 13 teeth.
Seven of them are bad teeth.
How many good teeth does Benny have?

King Baby Eve

You know where you can find us tomorrow night.

Counting my blessings

Fargo

Floods are horrible. Floods with chunks of snow and ice involved? At least 100% more awful. I have no idea how I would behave I would run around screaming and crying like an idiot. Whoever belongs to the voice in this voiceover impresses me with her calm demeanor.

Hooligan pack

I took a small and manageable pack of hooligans to one of our local family entertainment centers today. They redeemed many, many game tickets for many, many, many pieces of sticky candy after several rounds of laser tag (during one of which, by the way, I overheard nine year-old Hank announce to some other kid on the green team that he was in fact 11 years of age).

If you look closely you can see the cavities beginning to form.

Hank's take on it is here.

Can't wait. It's going to great.

Going through stuff

I've decided to help Gary out in the basement tonight and we're going through old papers and various odds and ends he's saved over the years. Here's something for all you dog lovers out there. This was our "welcome to the neighborhood" letter when we moved from Sharon Center to Coralville.

Even worse radio news

It looks like, from the website information, that KYCR is cutting Dennis Miller completely. Boo.

But here are pictures of Gary's kids' bedroom transformations:

The beatings are about to begin

I got hormone issues, okay? I worked extra hours today, I'm worried about the economy, Gary is nesting so much I'm certain he must be pregnant, furthermore he has the ability to make the house look spectacularly clean (I should have taken before pictures of the kids' rooms because he has transformed them into such peaceful oases of clutterfreeness it's unbelievable). It's also raining and there's SNOW in the forecast tomorrow. What do I come home to? The totally disheartening news that AM 1570 has cut my favorite radio show from three to two hours. I curse thee, radio programmer.

Happy Birthday, Bahri

Here's the birthday boy's website.

Bahri, your crazy American family loves you.

Last night's concert

Could choral music become cool? Well, the excitement that emanated from the Minnesota High School Honors Choir while working with Whitacre (and sounding marvelous) bodes well for its future. And, in the current economy, what could be more cost-effective than opening your mouth and singing?

In the news

Hey, a member of The Turner's Crossroad South Business Association (TCSBA) is in the news. Congratulations, George!

Nearly ice-free

11.48 miles of nearly ice-free running this morning. I probably could have taken the spikes off the shoes. It sounded like someone was running around the lake with tap shoes.

More on our weekend activities involving the choral rock star

Hope thinks he looks like Cary Elwes. I see the resemblance. Intriguing factor: Eric Whitacre couldn't read music when he entered college.

"He couldn't read music when he started college, but within a few years he was composing music that was performed and recorded by professional choirs around the world. He is that rare composer whose music is simultaneously deep and accessible, heavenly and earthy."

I should have a teleprompter. Seriously. And a writer. To help me be a better speaker. I mean, writer.

Obama's teleprompter has a blog. I guess GW's teleprompter kept it on the down-low, i.e., did not have a blog.*

*My New Year's resolution is to be more clear in my blog posts.

Memorizing the music

We have a concert Sunday that includes a thunderstorm. We had our first of three rehearsals with the composer/director, Eric Whitacre. You can't tell me that he doesn't have an easier time than most getting his singers to memorize their music.

Not getting things done

2009-03-19_1427
Originally uploaded by WkHanson08.

I don't know what this is but I made it on sumopaint.com/app and I had a darned good time doing it.

Does anybody want to buy it? Ha ha.

More about St. Patrick's Day

The most exciting and wonderful thing that ever happened on St. Pat's Day was Hank's birth in 2000. But I cannot forget the year that my college roommate, Nancy, cooked cabbage in our kitchenette at Mayflower Hall and left it in the pot on the stove for the week of spring break. What interesting lily pads of mold we discovered upon our return to school!

Nine

Nine years ago.

No audience coughing allowed

"Eric Whitacre Extravaganza" Live Concert Recording (download card)

Also, if you're so inclined, you can pay $20 to watch us get yelled at. JUST KIDDING!

Peggy's impression

Peggy is going to lay around the house the rest of the day and do nothing. Running 14.94 miles has finally tired that dog out.

Running results:

14.94 miles

one fall

zero broken bones

1 out of the usual 3 dogs in attendance

one potential serial killer spotted on the route

greeted by one walker with the phrase, "Top of the morning!" at 6 a.m.

no hypothermia issues

under 10 minute mile pace!

Loving the auto paint feature!

Good Morning

My plan for the day

Thought for the Day

Click

Drama

(Not sure this reads as funny as it was in real life, but this is my open-book diary, so to speak, so at least I can remember how funny it was. It was damn funny.)

Date: 3/6/2009
Place: My computer

Mary sends me a text: "Heads up. PJ came home UNDONE off the bus. Q Laoshi quit as teaching assistant to take a job downtown."
Me: "Thanks for the heads up."

[3 minutes later there is sobbing and wailing coming from outside the front door. Here comes Hope, tears streaming down her face.]

Me: "Hope, I heard the news. I'm so sorry about Q Laoshi."
Hope: SOB, SOB, SOB, SOB, SOB, SOOOOOOOOBBBBBBBB!!!!
Me: (Relating general child-comforting statements + "Would you like a chocolate chip cupcake?")

[Sobs subside.]

Me: "So, who was crying on the (40 minute long ride) bus?"
Hope: "PJ was crying. MA was crying. I was crying. Mark was crying...."
Me: Mark? The kid that goes to the Spanish school? Why was he crying?
Hope: I don't know! He was just saaaaad about Q Laoshi. L. was trying to cheer us up and Chuck (the bus driver) said, "Just let them cry."

[Later via email]:

Me to Mary: "Why the hell was the Spanish immersion kid crying?"

Mary: "Adam says, 'That boy no es macho.'"

Just when you think you've decided to not re-audition for choir

Your director announces next season's collaborators for the Witness concerts:

Sweet Honey in the Rock

Now, how about a little Kool and the Gang?

It's easy

Taking Chance

My dad called last week while I was at chorus rehearsal and told Gary about this movie. Gary watched it while I was gone and, when I got home, could not stop talking about it. Gut-wrenching. Gary can't relate scenes in it to me without crying. Well, I saw it today. I'm speechless.

Symmetrical homage to the Easter bunny

Monday, Monday

"...In short, for each word devoted to spending, we need one word of honest exegesis about “paying for it.”

For the last 20 years, all our presidents have talked much about health care, education, and spending, while saying little. Either they were not honest enough to tell us the truth — or they were convinced that, like children, we simply couldn’t handle it if they did."

Cozy sleep capsule

I want a sleep space like this.

Star Wars Theme

Fracture shmacture

Straight P student

Hank inherited my anxiety. He was worried about his 2nd trimester grades last week and felt it necessary to prep Gary and me for what might be a less than spectacular report. In 3rd grade you get an E for exceeding, A for achieving, P for partly achieving, and N for not achieving or needs improvement. So the morning before the grade report was to be sent home Hank was trying to lower expectations and sort of casually, off-handedly said that he pretty much considered himself a "straight P student."

Borrowing

Marcie's Monday post is my Tuesday post. Thanks, Marcie! :-)

The Rellims

Scenes from my favorite movie

Chess at The Depot

Nice place to hang out on a cold Sunday afternoon.

For Mr. B