Friday Fill-Ins #113

Hannah and Rascal - will they every get along?

1. I'm an engineer by degree but somewhere deep down, I'm a closet artist and, I hope someday I'll be able spend more time on that artistic side. For now, the engineering gig pays the bills.

2. Why do I have a D70 and not a D300 yet is because I am waiting for the price of the D300 to go down. I expect this will happen when Nikon releases the D400 later this year, so I continue to be patient.

3. How does this photo editing software work, anyway? I'm talking about Lightroom and Aperture, compared with Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and Photoshop. I know about the latter, but don't know the details on the former. I guess that's just as well, I don't want to spend more money on software!

4. Every morning, I put Rusk Sensories Smoother on my hair. It's a leave-in conditioner that protects my tresses while I apply the hot hair dryer to it.

5. I consider myself lucky because I have been blessed by faith, family, health and wonderful friends.

6. One day we’ll see our two cats, Hannah and Rascal, act civil towards each other. I hope. Right now, they continue to hiss, swat and scowl at each other.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to meeting with my Book club friends, tomorrow my plans include running 8 miles and Sunday, I want to enjoy the Sara Bareilles concert(so stoked about that)!

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Simple Fun and Games

The other night (Tuesday night to be exact), I had a blast playing Cadoo with Erica and Brian. The game combines Charades, Pictionary, Trivia and Tic-Tac-Toe into one. Since we were having the most fun with the Charades and Pictionary elements, we decided to eliminate the rest.



Some memorable moments:
The charades acting consisted of the kids flailing their bodies on the couch or the floor, regardless of the word. They were completely spaz-ing out.
Erica did a great job acting out "acorn". She pretended to be "Scritch" from Ice Age. Hilarious.
Erica isn't all that good at drawing things. Her "beehive" looked like a face.
Brian draws well, but takes forever.
We spent much of the evening laughing - Good, clean, fun, and no electronics required!

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A Life Lived Fully and with Influence

Picture from my 1985 ARHS Yearbook

Through Facebook network, I learned of the untimely death of my High School Band / Music Director, Dennis Wrenn at the age of 58. He collapsed this past Friday, while on a High School Jazz Band trip in Greece. Even though I graduated almost 25 years ago, he was still leading the school's numerous Bands, the Orchestra and influencing the musical hearts of the students he interacted with.
Over 1200 people have joined the Facebook Tribute group that was set up hours after the news of his death was released. A testament to the vast influence this one man had over his students and the musical community he helped nurture and build.

What did I learn from Mr. Wrenn (he'll always be "Mr. Wrenn" to me, not "Dennis", as I am certain he would insist upon)?

• I learned to broaden my musical horizons - through his connections, I was given opportunities to play in Pit Orchestras outside High School.
• I learned an appreciation for Jazz, which I continue to love today.
• I learned to step out and audition, even if I don't think I'm good enough, because in most cases, you really are good enough.
• I learned to have fun with my music.

In his death, I've learned to embrace what you love, and to love what you do, because life is too short to not do what you love.

Mr. Wrenn, rest in peace. I know you are out there making beautiful music.


ARHS Orchestra, 1985. Mr. Wren is in the 2nd row, far right. I love that he chose to sit in the all of the musical groups' pictures - not all teachers did that.

Some links to the media coverage around Dennis Wrenn's death:
Metro West
Boston.com

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Friday Fill-Ins #112

Vast assortment of cheeses displayed at Burrough Market - London - January 2008

1. Give me a camera and I'll take your picture.

2. Whenever you think Spring is just around the corner, Mother Nature sends 4" of snow - that is the forecast for tonight.

3. I wish Hannah would stop meowing because she is hungry. Ever since we switched her to the indoor cat food, she has been inconsolable.

4. The goat cheese and bruschetta on garlic toast was the last thing I ate that was utterly delicious. I thought it would be the Stilton I purchased last week, but that was terrible.

5. To live in this world you have to be thankful for what you have.

6. Other than this one, Lindsay's is the last blog I commented on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to spending time scrapbooking, tomorrow my plans include running at least 7 miles and Sunday, I want to do nothing, but I need to get the disk space on the computer under control - the 2nd external hard drive needs to be put into service!

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Love: Valentine's Flower

Yeah, I posted this picture on my other blog, but I think it qualifies for the Love Challenge Traci is hosting this month.

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Erica's Baptism

Yesterday, we were blessed by Erica's Baptism.

She was baptized by Scott in the church baptistery, during the first worship service. Her middle school friends witnessed the event, along with members of the congregation in the worship service. A "surveillance" type camera filmed the event and broadcast it live into worship center.

This required us to wait around a bit.






Erica wore a bathing suit under the robes, but Scott was allowed to wear fisherman's waders:


Finally, it was time to get in the warm water, and then they were live!

Scott introduced himself and Erica.


Erica repeated The Good Confession:

"I believe
That Jesus is the Christ
The son of the Living God"

Scott then said:

"I Baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit"

She was immersed in the water:


A very special day for all of us!

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New Kitchen Table

Our new kitchen table was finally delivered last night. We had outgrown the previous table and needed one that would seat up to more people - with friends and visiting relatives, a larger table was more practical.

I was also sick of the glass table top. I will NEVER purchase another table with a glass top. The old table will go out to the patio (in reality, it is a patio table, so it is going back to its "roots").

The new table is a counter height model, with 4 chairs and a double bench. Because of the additional height, Scott attempted to adjust the light fixture - yes, with a bungee cord (no immediate success here, we obviously need to buy some additional hardware).



Once the new table was set up, Erica and her Dad enjoyed some evening snacks, sitting on the double bench.



On an unrelated topic, Erica successfully endured the extraction of 4 permanent teeth and 1 baby tooth Friday morning. She chose not to be knocked out - only local Novocaine was administered. No complications and today she only took one dose of ibuprofen. She didn't keep the teeth because she knew I would take pictures of them! Probably just as well.

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