Danielle Blog

What’s worse? – a guest post by Texas Seestor

Texas Seestor emailed me about something that happened to her this week.  I asked her to write a guest blog post about it.

Here it is, in her own words:

====

Out for a stroll…

I was out for a stroll on Friday with Danielle’s newest niece in the jogging stroller (walking, not jogging, and with an infant sling for those that might be concerned).

It was a lovely, sunny day and I was aiming for 30-45 minutes. I was about 20 minutes into my walk on a main street through our neighborhood, and thinking that I should hold the stroller tight as I was going somewhat downhill and I was pretty sure I didn’t have the energy or speed to catch it if it got away, when I stepped in something on the sidewalk. I looked back to see what it was…

So, I ask you, what is worse…stepping in dog poop or not realizing until its too late that you just stepped onto a mostly decomposed, but still stinky, armadillo? Oh, and then, a few minutes later, getting dog poop on the stroller wheel and one of your new running shoes while trying to walk in the grass to get rid of any dead animal stuff on your shoe.

Yuck! UGH!

Only in Texas…

I didn’t puke, so that was a good thing. I did keep my walk to 30 minutes as all I could think about the rest of the way home was cleaning my shoe and the stroller with the garden hose. This was also a challenge as I was trying to keep my thumb dry which I had managed to slice open earlier in the week while recycling some cans, thus requiring 4 stitches.

Last week doesn’t seem like it was my week.

Of course, it all seems quite humorous now.

Job interviews done

As the title suggests, my on-campus job interviews for actual tenure-track biology faculty positions are now done.

I can breathe a sigh of relief (sort of). I say sort of, because now I have to wait on their decisions.

I interviewed at 2 small liberal arts schools in TX, because I really really want to move down there to be closer to Texas Seestor, Trainwreck and my two nieces. Also, Mom and Dad are retiring there this summer. I’m ready to live closer than a plane flight away.

I also interviewed at my current school. I just did that on Tuesday, and it was my last one.

They are all having their meetings this coming week to make a decision. I may know about one of them as early as Monday/Tuesday. Of course, that is the one that I will likely turn down. They just don’t have what I need to do summer research, and if I’m being honest with myself, I would rather continue to adjunct at my current school and/or wait on a different school in TX than go there. My current school will be hiring again, because there is another faculty member retiring at Christmas of the 2010-2011 school year.

I really really like the one school in TX, BUT the school I’m at is offering start-up money for research! And this would be at least double or triple what I got to start my research last summer. They actually offered the chemistry hire 10 times what I managed to use to get my research started last year!
I’d love to get an offer at both schools and get the TX school to match my offer at my current school….
…. that would be an ideal situation.

I guess we’ll see.

So, now I’m trying to catch up on everything that got put on hold since the time that i started applying back before Thanksgiving. I had those 2 weeks off in TX over break, but I didn’t do any of the home stuff that I need to take care of.
For example, I’m planning on taking down and sorting the Christmas decorations today!
I told two profs at school and their comments were something to the effect that there is still snow on the ground (as will be the case until April or so), which means that I’m all good for a while yet.

This brought up the other prof who has been at the school for 20+ years to comment that one year for graduation (late May) he remembers there being a spot of lawn that still had snow on it. Granted, it was in a shady spot…
… He also had an interesting factoid that since MN has been keeping records, there has been snowfall in every single month of the year – except for ONE. We assume it is July, but we aren’t entirely certain.

yeah.

And people wonder why I’d want to leave a great job like the one I have currently…

Happy New Year!

This was one of my New Year’s Eve activities – playing playdough with the older of my two nieces.

And we’ve gone to the park for the past couple of days. Yesterday was really nice out, but today was a bit cold when we were there (it was in the 40s).

We’ve also played dress-up some. The sparkly shoes and skirt that I gave her last year are still a big hit too.

We’ve been playing blocks, fingerpainting, riding bikes (and tricycle), reading books, eating snacks, and playing with the bunny.

As for my newborn niece, I’ve held her for a chunk of time every day. And helped keep her awake or played with her when my sister felt like she needed to be awake.

And here is one of the good photos of my new baby niece.

There are a bunch of photos on Flickr.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

It is Christmas morning and HB is still asleep, so we haven’t had our usual Christmas morning cinnamon rolls yet.

Christmas Eve was so very special yesterday.

Even with the snowstorm, all of us on the Worship Team made it to the services. The quartet that I was in practiced our 4 songs really briefly. They were a capella, so it was important to “remember” the songs. Once everyone arrived, we had a chance to run through the first verse of each of the main songs in the service. But we ran out of time for the worship leader and I to practice our duet. Thus, at the first service it wasn’t quite as relaxed as the 2nd and third, but I’ll get to that in just a minute.

Here is how the evening progressed once we finished practices.

The quartet that I was in sang 4 songs out in the lobby to welcome people into the church.
Lo How A Rose Ere Blooming – 1st verse only
Angels from the Realms of Glory (chorus is “come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn king”)
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Joy to the World

During the first service (3:15), I didn’t sing up in front with the group. I just went up for the special music. My solo verse was not as good as it had been at practice, but that is sort of how it goes for me when I have to sing solo in front of people. But the harmony part was really terrific and my voice was all it could be.
Between first and second service, there wasn’t much time, but a few people from the Worship Team told me that we sounded good.

During the second service (4:15), I sang up front with the group. The service was as follows (this is more for my sake)
Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful
Litany of Lights (lighting of the Christ candle) and responsive reading
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
The Christmas Story – Luke 2:1-7
O Little Town of Bethlehem
The Christmas Story – Luke 2: 8-12
Away in a Manger
Children’s message
The Christmas Story – Luke 2:13-20
Our special music – Babe in the Straw by Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong – Caedmon’s Call version from album City on a Hill
(this is the one that was recorded)
Message
Candle Lighting
Silent Night
Scripture Reading John1:1-5
Joy To The World

During the second service (4:15), my voice was right where I wanted it to be during my solo verse. I felt like it went as well as it had ever gone before. Afterward, four people or so from the Worship Team told me how well it went and how great we/I sounded. The sound team also told me that it sounded really great.
The recording is the raw version with the levels not mixed – but I had asked them to put it on a flash drive for me. When I listened to it last night, the keyboard (accordion setting) is overpowering, our vocals are the next loudest part, and you pretty much can’t hear the guitar. So, I am not going to share it until I get a version that has the levels evened out.
I’m hoping they will do that within the next few weeks!

For the third service (5:15), everything went as planned. This time, our song sounded even better!

Now, for this next section, I’m not trying to brag. But this was the first time I did a good-sounding solo for church. And I need to write these things down so that when my confidence is so-so in the future, I can read these. Plus, this is the sort of thing my parents will enjoy reading.
Afterward, I heard from more people. A woman (didn’t know her) specifically came up to the front while I was gathering my things and thanked me for sharing my gift. She said it was a Christmas gift to her to get to hear me sing.
A friend who is in theater found me too to tell me how pure my voice sounded and how beautiful the song was.
The wife of one of the sound people also told me how wonderful it was.
The pastor stopped me and told me how she thought it sounded wonderful and thanked me for singing and for sharing. She mentioned too how the song fit with the children’s message and the main message just perfectly. We hadn’t planned that ahead of time.
Those compliments really had me floating and really made me glad that I stayed here for Christmas Eve. There was a day or so where I’d contemplated flying to TX early to spend this time before Christmas with my sister’s family and my parents. I’ve been sort of weepy these past few days and somewhat regretting my decision to stay, which is a pattern for me at this time of year when I’m away from them. And of course this year, I’ve been missing out on these extra days with my nieces!
But I stayed, and I’m so thankful that I did.
And I fly to TX tomorrow night! (assuming that I can fly out of here with the way the weather is right now)
I’ll be there for 2 weeks! (I come back the weekend before classes start)

I’ll be writing more in the upcoming weeks. And hopefully finding a way to put our song in an accessible place once it is re-mixed. I can guarantee that I’ll be posting tons of photos to Flickr!

May the blessings and joy of Christmas be with you.

I send a hug to you,
Danielle

How could I resist sharing these?

This is my wee niece at approximately 1 week old. She is being held by my mom (Grandma) and Texas Seestor (her mom), respectively.

I get to see all of them in less than a week!

Last Sunday in Advent

Hello!

I haven’t been writing much, because it seems like no one is really around. But I did have an email from a friend who has read some of my blog in order to keep up on things. So, I suppose it is worth a bit of an update.

As you have guessed, I call Texas Seestor pretty much everyday to see how everyone is doing in their household. TS’s blood pressure shot up the other day, so she is now on BP medication, but this is far better than when she gave birth to my first niece. So, it is great that she is doing better in that sense.
Baby niece – still no nickname – although my mom suggested Squeaky – is doing well. She eats a lot (to be expected) and is slowly getting her sleep schedule flipped around from being nocturnal to being more awake during the day.
Older niece – I suppose she needs a new nickname too! – hasn’t shown a whole lot of interest in her younger sister. She has always been pretty scared of small things that are animated. She was scared of the Elmo that giggles and moves and the same with a doll. So, she is still pretty cautious of her sister.

In news about me, we had a decent practice for the Christmas Eve special music duet with solo section on Wed night. The guitarist and keyboardist who played with us for the first practice cannot be at the Christmas Eve service (to my knowledge), so on Wed night, new people had to learn their parts. I am assuming it will come together. I know that our vocals sound good.
The only thing that is a little worrisome is that I woke up with a sore throat/cold this morning! eek!
I’ve been sneezing a lot since Friday, so I’m praying it will pass and that I can participate to the full extent at the services. I’m part of a quartet that is going to sing some carols before the services too. AND I am part of the usual group up front leading service for the last 2 of the 3 services which are my favorite – the candlelight ones.

*big breath*

So, my voice has to be up to par!

Otherwise, I’m doing a lot of grading. I finished all of my shopping for presents that have had to be shipped. Now I just have a few easy things to pick up for family where I will hand them their gifts.
I’m grading finals all day today. I’m (obviously) avoiding doing them right now. They shouldn’t be too bad once I get started. I just have a bit of a mental block about doing them, unfortunately.

I have been to two choir concerts in a fantastic church in downtown Mnpls. One of them was by all of the choirs at our school, which was just fantastic!

Tonight, I attend the concert of a woman and her sisters who have formed a band called Redpath. The lead singer, Lauren Redpath was the worship leader at our church for a while. We stupidly didn’t hire her permanently, because people thought that she didn’t have enough experience in working with instrumentalists. She also didn’t bring in any new songs while she was with us. BUT her voice is so outstanding, it is a real shame, in retrospect. However, the church that she is at now is huge, and she is obviously getting more exposure.
I like to think that this is all part of God’s plan for her and her sisters.

I think it will be a great concert since it was so terrific last year – and that was when she and her sisters were just starting to form their group. So, they ought to be even better now!

I’ll tell you more about it once I go.

For now, I suppose that I need to get some grading done before I go to church. I’m looking forward to church. We’ve been singing all of the traditional christmas songs this Advent. And the children’s messages for the lighting of the Advent candles have been particularly good this season. Finally, the sermons have been spot on too!

Okay. Now I really am going to go. See you!

New baby niece!

She is here!

Texas Seestor and Trainwreck went to the hospital yesterday morning when TS’s water broke. And come to find out, this was the real deal!

My new niece was born last night and ended up only being 1 day premature (full term was today). So, all of that boring bed rest paid off.

She was 7 lb 6 oz and 19 inches long when born.

I hear that everyone is doing well. But I haven’t actually gotten to hear much in the way of details now that she has been around and kicking for part of a day.

I guess she was just a little bigger than Texas Baby Bunny/Munchie when she was born.

Can you see the differences between their photos?

I think that my new baby niece (haven’t come up with a good blog name yet) has slightly different lips. Her nose might be different too. But since baby noses get sort of smushed when they are born, it is hard to say for certain until it has a chance to sort of bounce back.

Here is one funny little thing. So, I was at this Christmas concert when TS gave birth, and the music was all about the birth of Christ, Mary giving birth to the son of God, celebrate the birth, etc. etc.
And here TS was, giving birth.

Maybe all of those good vibes were doing the trick.

I can’t wait to see everyone!

I’m an Auntie twice over!

92 years

I hadn’t realized it had been quite so long since I posted until today.

There are 2 main things that have happened this month.

1) I put in my application for a tenure-track position at school.
This actually took a lot of time. But, I think that my final application was really good.

2) My Grandma died a week and a half ago on Veteran’s day. She had just turned 92.
It was expected, in that she had a form of dementia and a movement disorder and has been progressively getting worse. But at the same time, it is sad to know that her life on this earth is over and she cannot be with us, physically, anymore.

I flew back to Indiana last weekend to be with everyone. It was for me, as well as for them. I needed that time to experience the formalities of the visitation, funeral, and burial ceremonies. And I needed the joy of seeing family members whom I haven’t seen since some of them showed up in TX for Texas seestor’s wedding (4? years ago) and more like 5 for others who didn’t fly down for the wedding.

I also used the time to catch up on some geneology. No one has any family tree info. But I was able to get some based on headstones, old copies of obituaries, and the recollections of some of my older and more distant relatives. I took a bunch of photos of gorgeous black and white photos of family members (great grandparents). We even have some wedding photos from Germany (late 1800’s), but some are unmarked, so we don’t know the identities of the people.

I hope to communicate with a couple of other people in the family who have evidently spent some time collecting information.

One other thing that was fun was that my mom and two of her sisters shared stories about life on the farm. Some of the stories were even surprises to them!

Well, I guess that is all for now. We have a couple of weeks and then we have finals. So, this is sort of a crazy time of the academic year!

One final note: Texas Seestor will be giving birth within the next ____ weeks. (4?) She is on bed rest right now, so keep her in your thoughts and prayers! And keep trainwreck in your prayers too!

Update on bout with H1N1

I thought I’d give a short (I hope) update on my health status, in case any of you were curious.

This week was a bit hit and miss. One night – it must have been Tuesday, I was working until 1:00 am and had to get up at 5:00 am. That Wednesday when lecturing, I felt short of breath and constricted/achy. I took my inhaler and it helped some, but it also made my heart race (side effect), which is, of course, a disturbing feeling too.

Anyway, I had a couple of moments in lecture where I really had trouble catching my breath. Then I had to go to lab until 5:30. Needless to say, it was a sucky day. I went home and pretty much fell asleep right after supper. So, Thursday I felt great. But again, I hadn’t prepared on Thursday for stuff due on Friday, so I was up until midnight again and was super exhausted yesterday – Friday.

I also had this terrible moment one minute before my lecture started on Friday when I realized that I wasn’t prepared – I was missing part of my lecture prep – which I had not done. I was mis-remembering on Thursday/Friday morning and thought that I’d done it, and never double-checked. So, I had to plead sickness for my lapse in memory and prep, and sort of wing it in lecture. This is the first (and I hope last) time this has/will happen.

In other news, I’m pretty much done taking all drugs except some Mucinex DM. But I think I’ll be stopping that too pretty soon.

Now, I just have to get caught up so that I end these nights of working until midnight!

I hope you are healthy.

Oh, and I found out from a math prof who is doing a class in bioinformatics that one person in Canada has been found to have a mutated version of H1N1 that is resistant to Tamiflu! The sequence has been entered into a genomics database. I hope this mutated form of H1N1 it stays in Canada and/or doesn’t spread! Scary news, I think.

What H1N1 means to me…

Do you remember how in elementary school you’d be asked to write essays like “What freedom means to me….” or “What liberty means to me….” or independence, or something else?

Well, now that I’m on the upswing (I hope!), of the H1N1, bronchitis, conjuctivitis (pink eye) bout, I can look at it with a bit of humor.

I was cleaning up the countertops yesterday with bleach wipes (again), and was shuffling around my various boxes and bottles of over-the-counter and prescription medications and stuff. I realized how it looked…
…. what is the word I’m looking for?…

…striking?…
… unbelievable?…
… goofy?…
…crazy?…

I don’t know exactly what I’m searching for. But regardless, I decided that I needed to take a photo of it.

Short update:
I thought I was better as of Monday. On Tuesday I had a large weight on my chest and felt like my breathing was constricted. After MUCH time at Urgent Care (again), they concluded that I was NOT having a heart attack (I didn’t think so, but better to be safe than sorry), and that my bronchials had constricted.
Got an inhaler. Had a slight allergic reaction to the inhaler. Took steroids. Tried inhaler again. After a day, had some odd throat tightness/feeling. Went to primary care doctor. Got a different inhaler. Maybe the throat feeling is acid reflux? Bought a bunch of Zantac.

Which, by the way, is a histamine receptor blocker AND will help with my skin allergies, because approx 10-15% of your histamine receptors are on your skin! Cool beans.

The good news is that my lungs are super clear; I just have to deal with my odd bronchial situation.

Took 3 days off of work. Had to find people to cover my lab (easy) and lecture (harder).
Slept a lot.

This isn’t so short, is it?

Well, you know me. I’m a bit of a rambler (I write, as I cough).

I am calling myself a walking example of why you should get an H1N1 vaccine. No, I wasn’t on death’s door, but it sure really wiped me out.

I hope you are healthy!