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Daddy came to visit! He came in yesterday evening for dinner, stayed the night, and just left a little bit ago.

Shortly after I made my post about it being a "boring" weekend, my friend Caitie popped in to visit and we went for a beer and chatted for a few hours. Then, I went to the Asian Festival with Barb and the girls on Saturday...that was an...interesting...experience, to say the least. It was hot, and the girls were having meltdowns, something I haven't really seen them do all too often. Plus, a sinus headache set in, so needless to say, that was quite the trip! I am not sure I would ever like to take children to Disney World...esp. in the summer! haha! Then, of course, Dad's visit yesterday. And today, despite it technically being a national holiday, I'm off to work...nannying...and all three kids will be home the whole time because there isn't school today... *sigh* ;)

Down to approximately 6 weeks left in Ohio... =O Crazy!

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Penny can! ;) Cheapest entertainment ever but so much fun! Q and I spent an hour straight playing it yesterday.
Also...I found a message in my inbox today from Sun Xing!!! I miss her!


Fairly boring evening (and weekend, actually), which isn't necessarily a bad thing...just boring. However, I was just cooking with wine and am pretty sure I inadvertently inhaled all the alcohol evaporation fumes... Guess that'll add some life to the evening! haha! ;)

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Chianti and/or tea and story time/chats with Barb. :) Such laughter and ridiculousness!

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Last night (and, again, tonight because a huge storm just rolled in before I was going to leave), I stayed over at my voice coach Barb's house. She and her crew have acted as a pseudo-family for me the past couple of days and are simply the nicest people. Barb was so adorable, also, handing me a small glass of wine, making sure a teddy bear was placed on my "couch bed," and making the girls' turtle star projector light up the ceiling with blue stars. A little ridiculous but much appreciated. Thanks, Barb and the zoo, for being so awesome! :)

(Also, I seriously want her couch...it's so pretty, yet so functional...the top pillow come off and become the most comfortable single bed ever! Seriously, this is the perfect piece of furniture for when you have that 9x12 studio apartment. I'm certain not a cheap investment, though...haha! ;) )

Gratitude 347

I love Skype! This evening, I got an out-of-the-blue pop-up message on Skype from my British friend Vincent, with whom I haven't chatted with in quite a long time. :) His wife Christa was finishing up a few years of study at the Kodaly Institute while I was studying there. They have a house in Kecskemet, Hungary, and I was offered its use whenever I am back in that corner of the world. How sweet! :) And hopefully, Vince, Christa, and their three boys will take a venture to this side of the pond in the not-too-distant future!

Reminiscence

Some days, I have this sort of flashback montage of memories. Today was one of those days. Laughing memories. :)

Gratitude 346
This is my gratitude today: Janos's ridiculous vocalises... (It's the conversation between him and I at nearly the end of the post. I miss that Hungarian! And our crazy voice lessons!)  :)

Grace for the Moment

It may come as no surprise to some when I admit this, but lately I've had quite a bit of anxiety about life...and money, in particular. I chose a career path for love (and perhaps, also, the inability to do anything else), not money. I don't regret a minute of those decisions; that is what makes me who I am. There are moments like these, however, when I wonder how wise that was. Certifiable dreamer. I'd love to just make some of that "dough" materialize, but it unfortunately doesn't work that way. And I don't get to decide how many hours/how much my paychecks will be with my "pay-the-bills jobs." (But at least I have a pay-the-bill job! Could be worse.)  So if any of you know of a trust fund somewhere I can hijack... haha! (Totally kidding! I'd never do that, but I wouldn't have any problem with some of it coming my way... haha!) 

Gratitude 345
Last night, I flipped open this book by Max Lucado entitled, Grace for the Moment, and it fell to a page reading this:

"Blessed are the Focused.
Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others.
1 Peter 4:10

...Blessed are those who recognize their God-given responsibilities. Blessed are those who acknowledge that there is only one God and have quit applying for his position. Blessed are those who know what on earth they are on earth to do and set themselves about the business of doing it."

And the irony: the date of the page is September 8, my birthday. Coincidence? I think not. ;) I flipped to another page and found an entry about worry. Another page flip, and a note about when the last penny is gone before the last bill is paid. I think God is trying to tell me something... ;)

Gratitude 344

Frozen fruit. Such a simple thing, yet such a tasty, refreshing, and nutritious snack! :)

Lots of rain, rain, rain here and sudden cooler temps, again. Hey, Mr. Weather! Let's make a decision and stick with it! My sinuses are having a field day. :/ Despite intermittent strength in my speaking voice from all the wonderful effects of this psycho sinus infection, I was singing quite well today!! Not sure how, but I just went with it and actually got a fair amount accomplished. FINALLY some practicing is coming back into my life! All this no-practice business has been driving me CRAZY! I have noticed how much I am not like myself when I am not able to sing daily. Plus, I've got a lot of work to do before I hit "Grad School: Day 1"... (Cue silent freak-out: ACK! haha!)

Dear Voice,
Let's keep it up with this daily singing thing, again. I rather prefer it. Please and thank you. :)
Sincerely,
Your Keeper
P.S. Now, let's get my money notes (aka soprano high notes) back, please!

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A pretty decent day at nannying thanks to the kids actually [mostly] listening and behaving. This may seem like a silly, simple thing, but those of you who have never nannied/babysat will just have to trust me...Nanny days are not always a walk in the park! Puts a whole new outlook on the movie The Nanny Diaries! haha!

The New Glasses (...and some CRAZY hair going on!)

What do you think? ...

They are a black plastic front with wine red metal stems. (I know, I said I did not want another black pair, but for some reason, the ones that look the best keep being black!) I was going for "Harvard chic"...  ;)


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Having a washer/dryer in my apartment. I could actually really care less about the dryer part, but the washer is my must-have. (Number 1 thing on my features list for my Boston apartment search!)

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The "I tawt of you today!" Tweety card I found in my mailbox this afternoon...and the iTunes card inside it. :)

The *Real* To-Do List

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Gratitude 339

It's been a pretty rough week...just been one thing after another and has concluded with being smacked in the head by a sinus infection. :(  So, I feel the need to counter all this negativity with something positive. I am thankful for a fully-functioning toilet. That's a terrible household mechanism to be broken! haha! Thanks, maintenance man Bob for fixing it!

Now, to get myself better because I have more important things to do than lay like a lump on the couch in a miserable state! :-/

I've always wanted to be Mary Poppins.

And apparently, I actually am Mary Poppins...just not in the sense I've always imagined. haha! Seriously, though, I live Mary Poppins's life. This is me. All that is missing is the carpet bag of infinity and the parrot umbrella! ;) 

Gratitude 336
On Friday, Chad took me out to see Mary Poppins the Musical. Best. Musical. EVER! So fabulous! Incredible voices...Mary Poppins and Mrs. Banks just popped out legit high notes out of nowhere. (The part of Mrs. Banks is actually really fabulous, too!) Simply so well done. :) I seriously didn't stop smiling the whole time. It's one of those feel-good musical stories. It was nearly an opera in style, as there was practically nonstop singing, and much of it in a rather classical style. I loved loved LOVED it! :)

Chad kept leaning over to me every few minutes saying, "That is YOU! You just said that exact statement two hours ago! You ARE Mary Poppins!" It was kind of scary how she said the same things I do! (But I won't deny that I love it! haha!)

Now, Perhaps one day, I'll sing this role, too! :)

*  *  *  *  *

I know I have a lot of catching up to do. No excuses for not posting, esp. since I had several days off of work in the past two weeks...just sheer laziness.

My few days at home were much-needed. It is always too short a trip, though. I have been very lucky the past few years to have as much time as I have had over holidays. I know it won't always be so easy to take such leisurely time, but here's to hoping... 

My nephew Xander is a hoot! Apparently, for three days straight before I got home, he kept saying, "Me Sammy come home now." haha! When I got home, they weren't there yet, but as soon as the car pulled up, and he got unbuckled from his car seat, he came running to me. That's a new one! (Usually, it's taken him some time to warm back up to me after I've been gone for a time.) He was my sidekick for those few days. ;)

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This photo. Cracks me up! This kid is too much!

 

Church and family Easter traditions. Candy galore. Kicked my little sister's butt at Scrabble (per usual...haha!). Hung out with Rafiki. Went through more boxes and things. (Where does all this "stuff" come from?! It just accumlates out of nowhere!)

Where is that darn egg?!

 

Then, I shoved in a few appointments, the ENT to check up on some things and...new glasses! Not certain how I feel about them yet. I like them, but they are HUGE in comparison to my previous few pairs. (Photo to come soon.)

Oh, and can't forget meeting the new dog Luna, aka Dad's baby...

Monkey see, monkey do.

Dad's replacement child

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Mom stayed over for a few days when I had to come back to Ohio for work. We hung out, made a Target run, and packe dup some more stuff. Trying to simplify my life for now. (So much stuff! I just don't get it.) I actually rather like this simplification. Unfortunately, though, it never stays. It amazes me how one can spend an entire semester living out of one suitcase but come back home and would simply die without the things that fill an entire room. haha! Ridiculous.

*  *  *  *  * 

It seems to have turned into summer here overnight. Yesterday: perfectly pleasant temperatures and gorgeous weather. Today: stifling humidity and heat! Welcome to the season of 3-shirt days! 

Speaking of summer, I came to the realization the other day that this is my last "Summer in Ohio." (Irony: I've been in Ohio for "The Last Five Years." Catch the pun? haha! Okay, I thought it was funny!) 

I was recently asked by a friend if I would miss being here. Certainly there are somethings I will miss and some I definitely won't. Ohio has become a part of home for me; I've spent a significantly important chapter of my life here. And I feel it will always remain so. However, it has served its purpose...and now, something is waiting for me elsewhere as I turn the page to a new, exciting chapter. :)

Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how... We guess.

We may be wrong but we take leap after leap into the dark.  ~Agnes de Mille