My little Bumblebee came through her surgery with flying colors.

Hopefully, she'll even get to go home tomorrow. They have to make sure her kidney and bladder both are working again.

Apparently they gave her a lime Popsicle when she was in recovery and she said "Auntie Erin would love this!"

My little cutie!

Thanks to everyone who sent good wishes and prayers for her! You all rock!

*huggles*

Twoodles!

DiNovia

So, you've probably noticed that there hasn't been an update to HBM this week. Yeah, about that....

So, my five year old niece, my little Bumblebee, is having kidney surgery today and I am, understandably, distracted.

So if you all could continue to be patient with me, I promise to have chapter 25 out sometime soon. Thank you.

In other news, I had a dream last night that I was a DOT agent, specifically assigned to the Secret Service, and that I was part of a detail assigned to protect Queen Elizabeth II while she was visiting, for some odd reason, a Detroit neighborhood. An assassin had tracked her there, of course, and her guards and the detail that I was on all surrounded HRH (who was wearing a lovely ensemble in robin's egg blue) to protect her with, basically, a fort made of human beings. There were easily 75 people or more surrounding HRH and we were all completely dedicated to taking a bullet or bullets to protect her.

For our detail, HRH's code name was "The List" (yes, AD Skype people, I am aware of what that implies...), and someone from HRH's guards made a slightly amazed comment regarding the fact that we "Yanks" would place such importance on a visiting monarch, so much so that we would not only die for her but that we had stationed ourselves as the first line of defense--the outer "wall" of the fort. I smirked and broke into a rousing rendition of My Country, 'Tis of Thee, which then became God Save the Queen. I woke up before the assassin and his team attacked.

It was the most bizarrely patriotic dream (and detailed! I haven't thought of the fact that My Country, 'Tis of Thee and God Save the Queen are one in the same tune for years!) I have ever had. When I woke up, I was still singing and I knew I was imminently going to die but I was prepared for that. I was filled with such a feeling of pride and joy that laying down my life for HRH seemed negligible by comparison.

So...what does that dream mean?

Twoodles!

DiNovia

...no kidney for my uncle after all. He was deemed unable to receive at the moment due to something they are trying to fix now.

Damn. We had such hopes.

Well, at least we know that if they fix this issue, he's top of the local list.

Here's to hoping they get problem A fixed soon.

Thanks everyone for your good vibes!

Twoodles,

Erin

...just to find out they found a kidney for my uncle!

I get to man (woman?) the phones for the extended family today. My parents are going to pick up my uncle and whisk him away to the hospital.

There are worse ways to start a Thursday morning, that's for sure!

Send good vibes his way, please? He sure could use them.

Thanks!

Twoodles!

Erin

First, a little story from today:

My niece and nephew came over this morning to hang out with my parents and I happened to be there since I wasn't going into work until around noon anyway. So I was sitting on the floor with Zoe (now three) in my lap and we were looking at the alphabet blocks my parents got for Gabriel.

Me: Ah. Here's the 'O'. What's that a picture of?
Zoe: An octopus.
Me: And do we know what type of animal an octopus is?
Zoe: It is a cephalopod.

O_O!! We had that discussion months ago and there's been no reinforcement of it at all! My niece's brain is so big we're going to have to add on to her skull! What a smartie/cutie!

Second, tomorrow is the Big Day. Yes, I will be the Easter Bunny at the Egg Hunt held in my brother's housing development. I get to lead the Easter Parade and frolic rabbitaciously with the young'uns as they search the playground and tennis court area for plastic eggs filled with stuff. And as fun as I actually feel this is going to be and as happy as I am to make children (not just Zoe and Gabriel) smile, the main reward for me? My sister-in-law's approval and good will. I don't think I get that a lot, so it's good feeling.

Thirdly, I have a new crafting area downstairs in my living room. Which means I will have a lot more space and time and general motivation to sculpt again. Which means I might soon be posting some pics of things I have sculpted. Zoe has already ordered an item (a pink, purple, and black girl dragon who does not breathe fire but rather breathes "cool, clear air"--I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff.) I have something else I have to do before that, though, and it is a rather large piece for my best friend, Christy. I'll post pics and an explanation of it when it is done. I don't want to spoil it for her yet. ;)

I have been slammed busy at work! OMG! I'm probably going to have to contemplate going to 30 hours a week just to get things done. At least until I start classes in nursing school. They say no more than 20 hours of work a week during that, which I totally understand. I am so looking forward to getting back into academia! So another work thing? Tuesday, April 10th is my one year anniversary! W00t!!

Had an EKG the other day to check into a persistent arrhythmia that started after I started a new pill regimen and as the nurse was putting the electrical leads on my chest she said "Oh how cute!" It took me five full, very confused seconds to realize she was commenting on my bumblebee tattoo and not my breasts. O_o

Another health-related thing: today, for the first time in really months, I had severe upper right quadrant pain. Enough pain to require a pain pill. In fact, it's coming back and I think I'll be taking another pain pill with my bedtime pills. Weird. I wish someone could tell me what this pain is. I'd like to treat the cause and not the symptom.

Okay, I should go. It's time for me to go read to my beautiful, wonderful, very good girlfriend over the phone. We're gonna finish up with Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett tonight. Yea! I love reading Pratchett to my girl. :D

I'll probably have another update soon. And for those of you following Out and About, I have at least three or four posts coming up. They are currently in various stages of completion but I am not suffering a lack of news to talk about.

Love you all!

Twoodles!

Erin

Contrary to reports you may have heard, I am not dead, I have not been abducted by aliens, I did not join an anti-technology commune to become their Head Asparagus Farmer, and no, I was not adopted by Angelina Jolie.

But we should all be aware of that last one. You know. Just in case she's working off a master list or something.

This work thing has been most assuredly messing with--as Maria Bamford calls it--my sittin' around time.

But since I find myself with a few extra moments this morning because my mother went to work with the keys to the car I'm supposed to be using today in her POCKET, I thought I would do a little update.

Tonight, dear friends, after work I am going to see the most amazing thing. I am going to see Barbara Kingsolver LIVE at the Duke Chapel, speaking on her writing and her socio-eco-political writing prize that she funds every year. And I'm going to see her with fewthistle, no less!

It comes as probably no surprise that I believe Barbara Kingsolver and Anne Lamott to be two of the best writers of the 20th century and I have always wanted to meet/see live both of them.

After tonight it will be One Down, One to Go!

I'll be sure to tell you all about it...someday. LOL I know I'm really bad at updating right now.

In other news, three weeks from today I will be on a plane to Vegas to see Tiff. Finally. We got it all worked out and I CAN'T WAIT! :D

So there!

Well, I should probably go because my father should be driving up to the door any minute now with the car keys so that I can go park in a parking lot and then catch a bus to work. No, it doesn't make any sense. Just go with it.

Twoodles!

DiNovia

...for whatever unknown reason.

So I thought I'd share this conversation I had with my mother tonight as we were watching a documentary about how Elvis Presley helped change the face of the United States.

Man being interviewed on television: There was a raw sexuality to Elvis. Not just in his music but in his movements. It wasn't subtle.

Cut to footage of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show. He has his guitar hanging in front of his body, he is wearing chinos, a shirt and a jacket. And he is moving his legs in that jittery movement he is famous for but that, to me, always looked like he was trying to make sure he didn't pee in his socks.

Me, to my mother: You people were seriously deprived.

Mom: What? Why?

Me: That was raw sexuality?

Mom: It was back then. Before that when people came on stage to sing, they stood absolutely still. Like statues.

Me: Like I said. Seriously deprived. I mean just last Friday, dozens and dozens of people apparently got to see Alex Cabot have sex on 'Conviction'. [grimace]

Mom: ... ... ...

Mom, sounding honestly confused: Did she break a sweat?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL *snort* LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Thank God for my mother!

Anyway, I'm off to see if I can manage some sleep now that I've been up all night sick.

Twoodles.

DiNovia

Okay, my sister-in-law had a professional photographer over the other day to take pictures of the kids.

And I had to share my favorites, of course!

I'm leaving her watermark on the pics until I can order my own copies and scan them in, okay? 

I warn you, though, these kids are unfairly gorgeous.

( My Babies! )

I don't know how these pictures are even possible.  Zoe is two-and-a-half and Gabriel just turned five months old.  These are only three of about 30 perfect pictures.  I don't know how this woman managed to get these two to cooperate so well.  She must have some sort of Pied Piper Magic or something.  O_o

Gabriel had his first solid food yesterday and my brother reports that he was so into it that he started guiding the spoon into his mouth himself.  LOL

And Zoe, in true almost-three-now fashion, has begun developing her own language.  Which has made conversing with her as much of a challenge as it was when she was just learning how to talk.  So far, my favorite of her new words is everfang.  I have no idea what it means but it just sounds cool.  ;)

She and I were out in the backyard here at the house the other day.  She was swinging in the hammock and I was pushing and we were talking about the sky and airplanes and birds when out of nowhere she said, "Gramma is going to build a fence around the hole in the yard so you don't fall in it anymore."  O_o

I fell down those stairs once!  ONCE!  And it was almost a year ago! 

My mother has got to stop reminding her of that!  LOL  She'll be 20 and I'll be getting postcards from her that say "Hey, Auntie Erin.  Fall down any good holes lately?" 

Anyway, I just thought I'd share.  Actually, it was my sweetie that suggested I get new pictures of the kids to share, so you can thank her.  ;)

Twoodles!

Erin

Yay!  I was tagged by my sweetie for this one!  

( The Meme )

Other news, though.  I got a job!!

It's 20 hours a week to start, but it is working for a wonderful group of people and in a program I can get behind because it's about helping people.  And my schedule is Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for 7 hours, 7 hours, and 6 hours respectively.

Can you see my smile? 

Can you? 

Let's review.  I have Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays off.  For at least three months (until the job goes full-time).  Which means, for those of you keeping score, I have the perfect travel time for going to Vegas to see Tiff.  :D

Also, I'm still making cash babysitting and house-sitting (I got a house-sitting job for next week, even!) and I'm still working on the kids books, of course.  Heck, I might see if I can get a few Tarot customers again.  That should more than make up for the 20 hour work weeks for the first couple of months.

Thank you all for all your good wishes!  You guys are the best and I totally believe you have helped turn my employment dreams into a reality.  :D

Now for the funny story of the evening...

I sat for Zoe and Gabriel this afternoon and Justin and Lisa invited me to stay for dinner, which I eagerly did.  (My brother is a great cook!)  So I was holding Gabriel and Justin was bringing food to the table.  I decided to go ahead and sit down since I had already grabbed my glass of water from the living room and Justin had already placed my prosciutto and melon in front of my chair.  So I gingerly lowered myself to the chair because lately their dining room chairs have been wobbly and unreliable.  No sooner did my ass hit the chair than the chair disintegrated.  Literally, it simply fell apart underneath me and I headed for the floor.  But I still had the baby in my arms and in an effort to keep him from hitting the ground or the edge of the table, I lifted him over my head.

My sister-in-law screamed and lunged for Gabriel while I shouted "I've got him!  He's okay!"  My brother came around the counter to help and Zoe...dear, sweet Zoe...just stared at us all with wide, frightened blue eyes.

Lisa got Gabriel who apparently looked very comically confused by his predicament.  Justin hauled me up off the floor, then angrily shoved what was left of the chair across the dining room and got me a new chair.  Zoe hesitantly came to the table, glaring at her chair as if waiting for it to fall apart.

All in all, the most exciting pre-dinner floor show I've ever seen.

And before you all start asking, this is the third of four chairs to have done this in the last week.  I think the wood glue...expired?  Does wood glue expire?  I have no idea.  But it has been just about ten years since the set was purchased and something is definitely wrong with those chairs.  O_o

Anyway...

Things, they are a changin' around here!

And for the better!

;)

Twoodles.

DiNovia 

We were walking outside, around the house, just looking at things. We came across the brick staircase that leads to the laundry room downstairs; the staircase that I fell down last year while Mom was sitting in the hammock with Zoe, not three feet away.

So we're walking past it when this conversation begins:

Zoe [to me, nervously]: Be careful of the stairs, Erin.

Me [smiling]: I will. I promise.

Zoe: You fell down them before.

Me: I know. I hurt my arm.

Zoe [pointing to my left wrist]: You hurt your arm here.

Me: Yes. [pointing to my right shoulder] And I hurt my arm here, too.

Zoe [practically rolling her eyes]: That's not your arm. That's your shoulder.

Me [laughing]: You're right. That is my shoulder.

---

Then earlier this morning, I was reading Dr. Seuss's A B C book to her and we got to the letter B.

Big B...little b...what begins with B? The last word on the page is bumblebee and there is a corresponding picture of one on the opposite page.

Zoe [pointing to the bumblebee in the book]: There's the bumblebee.

Me: That is, indeed, the bumblebee.

Zoe [pulling at my tanktop and looking down the front of it, finally pointing to my tattoo which is on the right side of my sternum]: And there's another bumblebee!!

Me [to myself, under my breath]: This is what you get for showing it to her in the first place, you idiot!

---

The child is just too funny!

And too smart! I'm not kidding you when I say she is two and a half as of my brother's birthday (February 18th).

I am constantly amazed by her brain. :D

Twoodles!

DiNovia