What comes to mind when you hear opera?
Boring
Fat Lady?
Boring?
Unintelligible?
Boring?
Culturally antiquated?
Boring?
Before I met my husband, my only encounters of opera are what I saw on tv.
I have since been to 4 different operas and they are quite enjoyable. On Saturday we went to the Barber of Seville at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. We saw Cosi fan tutte at the Ellie as well and then the Marriage of Figaro at Macky Auditorium at CU.
Of course the shows done by professionals at the Ellie were polished with nice sets and incredible singers and musicians. The shows put on by the CU opera department were still nice and felt accessible for novices like me.
And actually all operas have become accessible as there are subtitles that are easy to read on the back of the seat in front of you. The songs are written in such a way where lines are often repeated multiples so you can watch the body language of the singer and not stare continuously at the subtitles.
This art form is absolutely amazing as the full orchestra plays while these talented singers make the story come to life. It like a Shakespeare comedy set to music with deception, romance, humor, mistaken identities, and true love.
i was wearing this:
today i'm wearing a lot more clothes as the snow falls and i am the snow shoveler since peter had to travel out of town.one week ago i was reading A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey, eating from the buffet and eavesdropping on college kids bragging about the party the night before. Oh and avoiding secondhand smoke from europeans and disenchanted youth sitting poolside.
today is 29.5 weeks of pregnancy and i'm wondering what really needs to get done in the next 10 weeks. baby registry, birth classes, baby room, peditrican research, taxes, etc.
one week ago, biggest worries were avoiding a sunburn and drinking the mexican water.
today's worries seem to do with allegies and a head cold.
my big white belly one week ago seems more attractive today!
ok not that baby! he's still safe and sound in my belly twisting and twirling and ready for some beach time.
this morning our living room looked like this:
and the baby came early and so now our living room looks like this:
Oh right I mean our baby grand was delivered today. Doesn't Peter look so handsome at the keys?
Life is good. Peter is practicing as I'm typing this blog. We leave for Cancun tomorrow morning. I retired. Baby will be arriving in about 12 weeks.
And the sounds of live music are here in our home to welcome Angus into the world. We are blessed.
after almost 10 years of service, i said goodbye to my after-college career. i was laid-off/volunteered to leave today at 9AM. It was my last time driving to highlands ranch early in the morning during rush hour traffic to get to work. last time logging on the my pc. most likely last time i'll talk to most of my coworkers. last time checking my email. last time chatting with josh, my cube buddy. (picture of coworkers in 2001.)
quite honestly it was bitter sweet saying goodbye to this job. i've probably waited 9 years to get laid off and i am fortunate that it was on my terms and not a surprise. at the same time, i was such a girl and got choked up talking to my coworkers in massachusetts and cried in my car leaving the parking lot as i talked to my husband.
don't miss read me, i'm ecstatic to be blessed with 3 months to prepare for baby angus and that my husband supports me in this decision to give up on-call weeks where i would get woken up at all hours of the night and expected to hit the ground running troubleshooting.
but i feel a loss and wonder what do i do next. it's surreal sitting at home knowing that i will not go back to lucent ever again.
so what is next for me? well i'll start by taking a nap since i stayed up erasing my pc last night. tomorrow i might watch a movie and read my book club book for next wednesday. maybe monday i'll start thinking about cleaning out the baby's room that houses all of peter and my clothes. register for baby stuff. organize the garage. hang out with my stay at home mom friends. sew some cute aprons. knit. photography. blog. really the options are endless and the answer is "anything i darn well want to."
i leave you with this quote from kenneth from 30 rock just because it's funny, not because i agree. "I feel about as useless as a mom's college degree."
And I'm out!
today was a big day for me. first off, this is two days in row that i'm posting a blog, go me!
i went to the dentist and got a glowing review. no gingivitis, no cavities, and everything looks great. i love hearing that from my dentist because it affirms that i really don't need to floss but 1 week before my appointments. see peter is really good about flossing everyday. me, i'm more casual about the habit. see when i'm ready for bed, i'm ready now. i don't want things like taking my contacts out, washing my face, flossing and brushing my teeth to get between me and my bed. so washing my face and flossing usually get dropped from the nightly rituals. but when my dentist appointment gets ever closer on my calendar, i begin to floss. and tada! perfect bill of health for my teeth and gums. that's how it's done kids.
this evening was my midwife appointment. i've packed on the pounds this christmas season, 5 pounds in one month. my uterus is measuring at 24.5 weeks which is perfect. and to my delight my midwife is ok with both my vacation to mexico in early february and my running habit. hello treadmill. i admit i ran yesterday and it felt like i had to pee the entire time and the extra weight on the front side takes a few minutes to get use to, but i love how i feel when i run even with a baby on board.
i will leave you with a picture of my archenemy. 
this pic is from last week and i feel much bigger this week although some people keep telling me they can't even tell i'm pregnant. they have to be kidding, that's a large food belly.
i measured and i'm 34". i wish i had measured more earlier in my pregnancy so i could calculate the rate of growth. there has been loss of mobility on my part, but Baby Angus has been doing flips lately. today at work he was especially active or since i'm usually still at work, i noticed his movement.
i bought a maternity coat this weekend because all indications point to a long and cold winter in colorado. it could be snowing when i go into labor come april. the coat was on sale, big plus.
i also acquired some work pants, which are cute, but don't quite fit enough to stay put on my belly. they tend to slide down because of gravity and wanting to be around the smaller part of my waist. my solution is to walk with my hands in my pockets while i actually am holding the pants at my belly button. i look oh so cool.
that's the excitement on the pregnancy front, more tomorrow after my midwife appointment.
i wish i was a better blogger because the best blogs that i follow are those that have new posts every single day. and if they are witty, funny or thought provoking, even better. which is probably the reason i don't post everyday, i don't have much of interest to say. or i'm lazy. it's a toss up.
since being pregnant, there is a ever growing list of don'ts. here are the ones i miss:
*top on my list has to be sleeping on my stomach. oh the warmth, the coziness of snuggling into myself and shutting out the world.
*next is sleeping on my back. you see i can't sleep on my stomach now for obvious reason of smashing my little baby boy, but apparently sleeping on your back puts the weight of baby on some important artery or veins to your legs. to that i say, who needs blood in the legs while you sleep? as my little burrito is still under a pound, i sneak onto my back every once in while to get some good sleep. i love sleep!
*this prohibited food is hard for me to believe is so bad for the baby. i mean women in japan have been eating sushi for hundreds of years and surely they still have healthy, smart children. it makes my mouth water just looking at that picture. spicy tuna, unagi, salmon, wonderful rolls with raw fish goodness dipped in that salty deliciousness. enough.
*red red wine. do i need to say more?
*running. now this one is up for debate and i have looked at plenty of websites that say running while pregnant is fine as long as you were a runner before you got knocked up, which i was. the problem is that this is the everlasting belief that a pregnant woman should relax and not overexert herself is widely held by most physicians, husbands, and women who write pregnancy books. yes my husband does not think i should run anymore until after the birth because of high heart rates and physicians. i might need to do more research to support the run through pregnancy theory, but think about women crossing the great plains or crossing the rocky mountains in a covered wagon, i'm fairly confident that on a daily basis their heart rate got well over 140 bpm. (note: i'm not saying i want to train for a marathon, i just want to continue running 3 miles even if it is a little slower than my regular pace).
*white wine with some cheese and crackers
*semi raw, uncooked food like medium rare steak with a nice glass of red wine or cookie dough or deli meat or slightly undercooked scrabbled eggs or a poached egg. something about salmonella and weaken immune systems. blah blah blah.
*touching my toes. ok i can still reach my shoelaces, but i foresee that being a problem very shortly and i don't want to lose mobility. peter likes to joke that no one tells me what i can and can't do which is true so this altering my life for my baby has been hard.
all that to say, i love my baby and i will do whatever it takes to have him healthy in my arms.
