Danielle Blog

In my spare time

I just finished watching X-Men First Class in Blu-Ray. What an amazing movie. I loved getting to hear the back story on Erik/Magneto, Raven/Mystique, and Charles. It was really cool and had some neat twists and turns. It is too bad that there wasn’t more of Hugh Jackman in it (Wolverine), BUT the fact that James McAvoy was in almost every scene made up for it.
I’m such a sucker for any James McAvoy movie. I fell for him when I saw him in Penelope and it blossomed into a huge crush when I saw Becoming Jane.
But I digress.
The X-Men movies are really great; I highly recommend them.

I had a lot of fun with my family for Christmas last weekend. And here we are, on Wednesday, headed into New Year’s weekend, which I’ll spend with them again! We are starting to make plans for more movies and meals together.

Yesterday and today, I’ve been trying to tie up various things on my work to-do list. The letter of recommendation I needed to do for a student was relatively easy. Of course, today I got another request from a different student. The curriculum proposal for a new Developmental Biology course has taken quite a bit more of my time and energy. But I got a pretty good draft completed tonight. I’ll talk to my department chair about it tomorrow and hopefully have it wrapped up and submitted tomorrow. It is officially due on Friday at 5 pm, so if I can finish it on Thursday, I can take Friday OFF and not think about work.

I DID go for an exercise walk yesterday in our gorgeous 60+ degree weather. It was really fabulous. I’d wanted to go again today, but I was focused and trying to get the proposal done by supper, so I skipped it.

I’ve also managed to run some errands, which included boring things like grocery shopping, and getting food for Max, but also included fun stuff like stopping in at Dress Barn to check out their sales. I did find one cute top and one sweater; both have some frills and ruffles and have purple in them!

I also found a new, fitted exercise (dry) t-shirt in purple too (at a sporting goods store). I’ve been wanting to buy some new clothes since the weather has turned cooler, and just haven’t managed to find the time. I’m hoping to get to some more stores in the upcoming weeks. Everything is pretty picked over, so it is a bit challenging, but this is when I finally have time, so this is when I’ll go!

I finally saw “The Blind Side” with Texas Seestor and Trainwreck last weekend. It was a really good movie. I can totally see why it won awards.

I also rented “Crazy, Stupid, Love” which I do NOT recommend unless you are a Ryan Gosling fan and just want some eye candy. I’d gone to redbox a bit spontaneously (and had not scouted the availability out ahead of time) and had wanted to rent X-Men. When it was empty, I just picked a “romantic comedy” instead that I’d thought had good reviews. Not the best choice, and it taught me to plan ahead, for sure! Oh well, two out of three movies is pretty good.

In other news, the new band that I’m in had our first practice last week. We are mainly working on songs that are designed for 2-3 part harmony and acoustic guitars (Crosby, Stills & Nash, Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, John Denver), sort of a country/rock cross. We had some really gorgeous chords during some of our very first run-throughs on songs. I got goosebumps a couple of times! We have a lot of potential. We’ll see if anything more becomes of it than just playing for someone’s surprise birthday party in late January. I’d like it to become something more. But for now, it is just good that we have any kind of goal; it will keep us practicing regularly and getting a bit of a set list down. I’ve had fun learning harmonies on all kinds of new songs and resurrecting harmonies I’ve sort of learned but haven’t been able to sing with anyone (like the 80′s songs such as “More Than Words” or “Hole Hearted”). I’m also stretching into country a little bit more than I’ve ever done before with a Wynnona Judd song and Sons of the Pioneers. It has been really interesting to branch out a bit more.

Okay. It is 11 pm, so it is definitely time for bed so that I can be bright and bushy-tailed for my work on my proposal tomorrow. Later!

Merry Christmas! – some images of Christmas

Those were cookies that my nieces decorated at Mom and Dad’s. Notice that the sprinkles are in the shape of dinosaurs! There were also blue dolphins, yellow bananas, and brown cows (not visible on this photo).

That was the birthday cake for Jesus at my church’s Christmas potluck.

This is the Advent wreath on one of the first Sundays in Advent before all of the candles were lit. The candles are for Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and the Christ candle (in the center). You can see the leftover mum from the Thanksgiving service and the Christmas tree in the background.

Tidings of joy

I have happy news! (health-related)

I don’t have breast cancer, uterine cancer or colon polyps! AND I don’t have to have another colonoscopy for TEN more years. TEN years! yay!

“What?!” you are probably thinking.

Well, it has been an odd couple of months. I’ve had some odd symptoms that required ultrasounds, mammograms, and a biopsy to check for breast and uterine cancer. All of that came out normal/negative, which was great.

Due to family history, I had a colonoscopy Tuesday. I was pretty convinced that I was going to have polyps, to be quite honest. But I do NOT have polyps, which is really exciting and joyous.
The procedure was really straightforward. The team that prepped me, did the procedure, and helped me after recovery was really terrific.

Everyone had warned me that the “prep” was the worst part. I would have to agree; I was pretty hungry and a little dizzy/cold at times. My last solid food was Sunday night for supper and I didn’t get to eat real food again until Tuesday at about 4 pm. Going almost 48 hours with only “clear liquids” to drink is a really unusual experience. I was actually getting pretty dizzy and lightheaded Monday morning, but I kept guzzling gatorade. Interestingly, I went to Target on Monday amidst the dizziness looking for a clear nutritional supplement (which they didn’t have), and found a type of gatorade that I hadn’t seen previously. It was CLEAR! This is critical, because I wasn’t allowed to drink anything with red or purple dyes. Better yet, the flavor was mango passionfruit! Turns out that once I drank THAT one, I wasn’t dizzy any longer. So, for those of you out there who have to have a colonoscopy, I highly recommend that you drink the 02 Series (Perform) Gatorade! It is terrific. Instead of 2 grams of sugars, it has 7 g. But it doesn’t taste overly sugary.

Texas Seestor was great about taking care of me before, during, and after the procedure. Trainwreck was really understanding and helpful too.

It has been nice to spend extra time with them this week. I’ve had a really good time playing and hanging out with my nieces this week too. This is the sort of thing we’ve done in years past when I would fly here for the holidays; Texas Seestor would take vacation and we’d spend time together.
Yesterday, Mom, Dad, Texas Seestor and I went to a Christmas art/music show. I got to hear a really great band play. I bought some art too; small things like ornaments and magnets. But I also got one larger piece of art for my walls. I definitely need to spend some time this break getting things framed and hung up! My apartment could really use some help.

Oh! Texas Seestor is home, I think we are off to the grocery for our Christmas grocery shopping now!

‘Twas the last week of Advent

Things that have been going on lately:
- I am really close to being done with grades for this semester! I ought to be able to wrap them up by noon today (Monday).

- our school (work) Christmas party was Friday. I bought a great new dress at Dress Barn for $40! Accessories cost more than the dress! I’ll wear it for Christmas Eve and get someone to take a photo of me that night and post them on Flickr.

- The party was a lot of fun. I realized just how many people I know at school now! I know a LOT more than last year at this time! I also had an opportunity to talk to some people about music and I may be in a new band/group now as a vocalist. We’ll see how that pans out.

- I went to see the touring production of Beauty and the Beast on Saturday! It was amazing! The vocals were just perfect. The set pieces/staging and design were really intriguing. The costumes were fun and gorgeous. I took my binoculars this time, so we were able to get a really close view of the costumes.

- I haven’t upgraded my camera or purchased any accessories for the 6 years that I’ve had it. Until now. I was thinking about buying the most inexpensive speedlight (flash) that is available. BUT I found out that it is strictly an on/off flash and doesn’t have the ability to do TTL (through the lens) light monitoring. I bit the bullet, splurged, and bought an SB-700 from Nikon. It is an AMAZING flash. I’m still learning how to use it. So my photos are in a bit of a transition state right now. It will be good to have this break to try to learn more about it.

- I used it for the birthday party for my nieces who are now 2 and 5. I also used it for the children’s Christmas program at my church. I never would’ve been able to get the photos I captured at the Christmas program without it.

- speaking of church, I sang a solo yesterday. “Precious Promise” by Steven Curtis Chapman (from his Music of Christmas album). I sang it in my soprano voice instead of my low alto/tenor range, which is always a little trickier for me. But this song called for it, I think. Anyway, the first verse was a bit shaky, but I closed my eyes, tried to think about the message of the song, said a mini “God help me do this!” type of prayer, and the 2nd verse, bridge, and third verse really turned out well. I may try to record it later once I finish grades.

- also with church: I’m on an email list for a daily scripture and interpretation. These last couple of weeks have been really amazing. A few of us have started some email discussions about some of the passages and how they speak to us, or where we struggle with them, and it has been really good for me spiritually. My faith journey and my spiritual growth sort of goes in fits and starts, it seems. This year, I’ve been on a steady rate of growth (and at least have not been flat), but this past month or so has been a bit more accelerated. So, that has been really noteworthy. I’m glad. They are also starting a new bible study at church in January which is finally going to be on a night that would work for me. So, I’m going to try to find out more about it! Yay!

Okay. I guess I’d better start going through this last stack of assignments so that I can finish grades.

Rabbit hopping competitions – too funny.

That is a photo I took last year of Max for my Christmas cards last year.

I’m going to be busy today and next week writing, giving, and grading finals (and calculating final grades), so I wanted something “Christmas-sy” at the top of my blog now.

I ran into a funny story on MSNBC when I was looking at the Animal Tracks on MSNBC. It was about a hopping competition for rabbits in Switzerland.

The photos were just too cute for words!

My rabbit, Max, is REALLY good at jumping high, and the high jump IS one of the competitions evidently, but somehow I don’t see him doing it on demand. He has to have a goal in mind. Like jumping high in order to grab some papers to chew on. Or jumping high in order to get on the couch and eat cheerios.

I just can’t see him jumping over a hurdle.

He also doesn’t have the focus for something this chaotic, I think!

Here is how the online story started, which made me laugh:

“Europe’s first-ever rabbit-hopping championship, also called Kaninhop, were held on Oct. 30, in Wollerau, Switzerland.”

“And by the looks of it, people are pretty serious about this latest trend to hit Central Europe.”

Isn’t that hilarious?! I still laugh at it.

very.
serious.
business.
Don’t you know?

Read the story here to see the rest. The bunnies are cute!

Thanksgiving hibiscus

On Thanksgiving morning, I was making dill pickle doobers when the sun was coming up. My hibiscus on my patio had about 4 or 5 flowers that morning, and I could see it through the window. I grabbed my camera and did a quick photoshoot while the light was spectacular.

Fun shows!

I haven’t really written anything up lately about ALL of the fun performances and shows that I’ve been able to attend this fall. You already know (from my “Summer Summary post”) that this summer included my getting to see productions of Footloose and Hairspray.

Well, I haven’t told you all of the other exciting shows I’ve been to lately, so now is my chance! Unfortunately, I don’t get to take photos at shows, so the only way I really have to “remember” them is the programs, which really fall short when it comes to photos.

Here are some of the shows I’ve been to lately and my thoughts about them!

We kicked off our fall season with “Rain: a tribute to the Beatles.” The show was mostly set up like a tribute concert. It was amazing how much the performers sounded like the Beatles. They really had all of the inflections and emphases down perfectly in the songs. They held the notes and/or breathed during phrases at all the right spots. It was really, really fabulous.
They also had a few songs where they did a sing-along (from memory). I got chills listening to this huge number of people of all ages singing Beatles songs from memory.

So You Think You Can Dance 2011 was the next major event we went to see! It was AMAZING! We had really close seats on the side which were ABOVE the level of the stage. As much as I liked being in the 5th row one year and the 11th-14th row the next year, it was weird being on the ground and being below the level of the stage. I couldn’t see their feet from the knee down when I sat that close. Of course, it was still incredible being that close those years, and as you’ll recall, I got some fun photos!

There were a few instances this year where it would’ve been nice to be a bit less on the side, but only a FEW. Most of the time, it was simply AMAZING being that close!!!!! We could see the muscles on the legs, arms, abdomens (for the guys, this was notable), as they expressed themselves through dance.

I cannot recommend this show enough to anyone who is a fan of the TV show.
Part of what was really amazing about it in this year’s touring production, which was different than years past, is that they clustered dances together (especially ones with couples) that were in a similar theme or that could use some of the same staging. And then the dances just sort of flowed from one into the other. It really made it feel less like a highlight or recap of some of the best dances of the season and instead more of a true stage production.

The winner of this year’s competition, Melanie, and the runner-up, Sasha were truly standouts.
Some of the surprises of the night were just how great Jess is when he performs in person. He really has an amazing stage presence; you can see how his Broadway background gives him an edge in live performances. Also, Tadd’s solo was hilarious. He also really interacted with the crowd in an amazing way. And boy is he ripped! I guess if you have to hold yourself upside down on one arm and bounce up and down (one of his b-boy tricks), you’d have amazing muscle definition too! wow.
Nick is the really tall, blond, tap dancer who wasn’t in the top 10, but was one of people who went on tour. Since Ricky was injured for our show, Nick was filling in for him. Nick did a tap number (with Jess) that was just AMAZING!!! To me, he was so much better than I remember him being on TV. I also think that they way that they had the sound and the floor mic’d really made the tap number that much more outstanding.
Some of the girls have really improved too; especially Caitlynn. She was always a great dancer, but she has gotten even stronger with being on tour.
I’m SO glad that Texas Seestor and Trainwreck and I went to the show together. It was amazing!!!

Texas Seestor and I also went to see Footloose (the movie) in the theater one night while Trainwreck took care of the girls. I loved the remake! It made me want to learn country line dancing too! I’m hoping to find a place to get some country line dancing lessons. I decided that it will never make sense for me to buy a gym membership; I’m much better off spending my money on dance lessons, I think. Dance is actually something I’d enjoy doing to get exercise.

One of the next performances we saw was Spring Awakening! A friend of our family was a lead in the production, so it particularly amazing to see the show. We made a point of getting 2nd row seats. It was INCREDIBLE being that close. My gosh is it amazing to see a theater production where you can see all of their facial expressions.
The friend’s range, pitch, emotion, and timing were spot on. He was playing the role of someone with a very different demeanor than his own. So, it was really amazing to see him stretch himself to take on the demeanor, speech, and overall personality of this very different type of person. It is a really heart wrenching story, and I almost cried a couple of times.

You know they are doing a great job, when it tugs at your emotions.

All of the cast is really talented. They did some amazing group numbers. The guys in particular had some really high energy, rocking songs, which were just incredible. The women tended to do more low-key songs, but they had some really beautiful harmonies and moments too. The full cast version of Purple Summer will always be one of my favorites.

Last weekend, we saw South Pacific (touring production). I had never seen a version of South Pacific, so I didn’t know the story. It was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair” and “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame.” “Cockeyed Optimist” was really fun too, because I’m a pretty optimistic person, and I identified with parts of that song. It was a little long in parts and “Bali Hai’i” almost put me to sleep (as did Emile’s solo in Act 2 “This Nearly was Mine”), but things like “Honey Bun” made up for it! I clearly was in the mood for high energy numbers and not romantic stuff like “Some Enchanted Evening.”

I’ve been having a LOT of fun seeing all of these live performances!!

Next week, I get to see Casting Crowns (the contemporary Christian band, which is currently my absolute favorite band)!!!!!

And that same weekend, our school is putting on a really fabulous religious Christmas concert which I’m really, really looking forward to! (it is an annual event, but it changes from year to year) Right now, we’ve got a group of 9 people going to that!

Shortly thereafter, I’ll get to see the touring production of Beauty and the Beast!

SO MUCH FUN! You can’t tell that I’m really loving living here in TX where I get to go see show after show, can you??
I love that Texas Seestor, another friend, and I got tickets to the Broadway series this year together. And that Texas Seestor and Trainwreck are often willing to go see other shows (like SYTYCD). It has been a terrific part of my life here!

Being close to God – what it means for me to sing at church

I have found it hard to describe, in words, exactly what it is about singing in the Praise Band at church that makes it so meaningful to me.
And so necessary.
My family and friends know that it means a lot to me to sing at church, but I don’t know that anyone quite understands just how much I NEED to sing at church.

In part, singing is my form of prayer. I have known that about myself for some time. In fact, when talking to people about my personal discomfort with praying out loud (with other people around i.e. “leading prayer”), I’ve often said that I’m much more comfortable praying to myself or leading people in prayer (through song) than I am at leading people in verbal, vocal prayers. I’m getting better at praying out loud verbally, but it is not something that comes easily to me.

But back to the part about singing.
So, singing is my form of prayer; we’ve established that. No big surprise there.

But why does singing in the band at church feel SO different than just singing in my car? And why do I NEED to do it? What is it that is so different?

And I was just reading something in a book, and it finally dawned on me what is happening.

When I’m singing in my car, or I’m singing at band practice, I can feel prayerful, BUT there is almost always a part of my brain that is analyzing and critiquing my singing.
“Is that really the best harmony note for that chord?”
“Will we be singing the song in this key so that I can hit that note really strongly? Or will it end up being too high? Too low?”
“Do I need to take a bigger breathe when I’m starting that phrase so that I can support it better?”
“Would this be a song where I ought to play the tambourine?”
“We haven’t done this song in a while, I wonder if we’ll do this one anytime soon.”
“We’ve never done this song at church, I wonder if I ought to bring this up as one we should try?”
“Would this song sound good with just keyboards? or does it really need the full band?”
and on and on.

This is also why the more “routine” a song becomes for me, the more meaning I can get out of it. After hearing a song for several days, weeks, or months, I can shut off my litany of analysis of my singing ability MUCH more easily and really just focus on the words, and the meaning of the song when I’m in the car or practicing. But it is still hard to block out some of those last questions in the list.

And THAT is what makes singing in worship services SO different than singing in my car or in practice. Before the service starts, we always pray that God will work with us and through us and we give it all over to Him; our mistakes, our flubs, our missed notes or missed entrances, ANYthing just becomes peripheral.

During worship, I stop analyzing. I stop thinking.

I’m IN the moment.

I’m focusing on the words and the meaning.
And I’m praying, praising, and literally
singing my heart out
to God and for God.

In that moment, I feel so close to Him.
And it rejuvenates my spirit.

And THAT is why I sing at church and why I NEED to sing at church; to be close to God.

I’m so grateful to the church and the band for allowing me to have that opportunity. I pray that I can grow to feel that close to God ALL of the time when I sing – when I’m in the car, or my apartment, or at practice, or wherever.
But for now, it is good to be able to have this insight into myself and to be able to finally put it into words so that you can understand this side of me too.

“My eyes were too big for my stomach” – an analogy about time management

Do you know how you go to a buffet and everything looks SO DELICIOUS that you fill your plate until it is overbrimming? And then you start eating and you, invariably, cannot eat all of it? The phrase “my eyes were too big for my stomach” is often used to describe this situation. SO MUCH to eat, so little space in the tummy!

That is sort of how I feel about my social life right now. There is SO MUCH I want to be doing when I’m not working. And it ALL sounds just wonderful! But there is only so much free time that I have left in my life, and I can’t keep sacrificing sleep in order to do all of the fun things that I want to be doing.

I came up with this analogy/realization last night when I had to call a friend to back out of going to a local festival (an Octoberfest-like event) for supper. I really, really don’t like telling people I’m going to attend something and then having to back out due to work. It makes me frustrated and sad.
But I also know that with being tenure-track, I can’t shirk my work duties one little bit. The cloud of “going up for tenure” looms over so many of my decisions about work & non-work balance. Most of the time, work wins. Some people may say that this is one of the great things about tenure, it keeps the new faculty working really, really, really, really hard. (maybe that needs another really)

Don’t get me wrong, even if tenure weren’t hanging over my head, I’d STILL be doing my job to the absolute fullest of my abilities. I’m not one to do something at 80% when I could be doing it at 100%. But there are times when I would normally let my work slide just the tiniest bit (sort of 90-95% effort instead of 100%) if tenure weren’t a concern.

So what do I do to cope? Well, last night on my drive home, I played Lady GaGa, Taio Cruz & Ludacris, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Alanis Morrissette and other hip-hop music that I have in a mix that I created for lab really really loud in my car (mix is below).

I was feeling oddly angry about the situation, and the music helped. Especially Lady GaGa, she has some good angry, energetic songs.

Then I got home, and seeing Max (my rabbit) helped calm me down too. How can you be mad when you are petting a cute, fuzzy friend?

I ate, took a nap, and looked at photos I’ve taken within the past couple of weeks. It helped to relive some of the fun things that I HAVE been able to do with my non-work time.
I’ve been doing a LOT of fun things, don’t get me wrong, but there are times when I wish I had a job with regular hours so that my evenings were free. It was nice to look at those things.

And then here I am, blogging. Another thing that I do with my “free” time – over breakfast. Also good.

—————
Mix – I call it “Lab Fall 2010″
Bad Romance – Lady GaGa
Forever – Chris Brown
Disturbia – Rihanna
Break Your Heart – Taio Cruz & Ludacris
Crazy (James Michael Mix) – Alanis Morissette
Telephone – Lady GaGa & Beyonce
- and it continues – but by that time, I’d gotten home!

New hairdo!

Hello!

Well, I got my hair colored two days ago, and yesterday was the first that anyone at school saw it.

It was really fun. The female students noticed and commented right away about how great it looked! It was the same with the female faculty and staff. I got lots of great compliments on the change.

There was a wine and cheese reception last night as part of the kickoff for a symposium that is going on at campus this week. So, I went ahead and wore my version of a black dress with my new necklace that I got when I was out in Provincetown, MA visiting SeaQueen and going to my scientific conference. A couple of friends at that party just gushed about the change. They said it fits my age/face more. They were shocked to hear that I’m 37; I think that since my face is rounder, they were thinking that I was younger than that.

I guess I’m well preserved!

Probably comes from inhaling residual paraformaldehyde and acrolein from all of the experiments I’ve done on fixed tissue! ha!

Anyway, there are pics on Flickr, but you have to be a “friend” and login to see them. Check them out!