all that's past is prologue...

Beatrix and I ran errands all morning, preparing for work events. Tonight, Nautilus is performing two shows simultaneously: - A FREE showcase at the studio (308 Prince St in St. Paul, the Northern Warehouse by the Farmer's Market) as part of the St. Paul Art Crawl. Free food, too! We'll be there, with the baby! - Performance #4 of Ricky Ian Gordon's ORPHEUS & EURIDICE at the Pantages Theater in downtown Minneapolis. The piece is really incredible, and also runs tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon. Tickets are $29.50 and 2-for-1 if you mention "NAUTILUSDANCE" -- get them at the door to avoid evil Ticketmaster fees. See some art this weekend!

So last night, in a particularly non-inspirational setting (the car, on Highway 94), I finally put my finger on one reason I feel family-bereft, even though by all "rational" thoughts I shouldn't. Our incredible friends, our not-quite-so-immediate family (especially my aunt and uncle), and our neighbors (who also count as friends!) have been really wonderful at stepping in to fill the gap, and we appreciate it and love them. And of course I still have my dad, and Patrick's mother and his father exist, though far away. Even total strangers at the restaurant the other day offered to step in and be honorary grandmothers to Beatrix. So why exactly is it not the same? And then I realized that, in an email to my aunt earlier that day, I had expressed some concerns about not going to a spot they had suggested for mother's day brunch — something along the lines of "or we just don't have to go, no big deal." And, you know, I could NEVER have said that to...

Well, I've managed to get myself generally up and running in the virtual world, with bonus points for almost all of it being one-handed typing while dealing with the baby: - I've been posting and keeping up with my on-line women's community, though the best part has been seeing the TC-Alts in real life! - I've put up some recipes on a shared wiki. - I am now on Facebook, so friend me! I decided against MySpace, though, because I am Just.Too.Old. - I'm also on Twitter, as bethanyg. Still on AIM as popothecat, but not on it so much right now. - I have a flickr account that is woefully underused. - I am up on GoodReads — do you think they count ebooks because... - I ordered a Kindle , though the wait is interminable. While I've been waiting, I've lurked (mostly) on their discussion boards and posted a little. I've also started an Amazon Wish List, though it has to be under Elizabeth Gladhill because that's billing name they have on file. - I...

i was tagged on my friend Jamie's blog: The rules in this game of tag are simple -- once you have been tagged, you must write a blog with ten weird, random things, little known facts or habits about yourself. At the end choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says 'you've been tagged' and tell them to read your latest blog. Since you can't tag me back (ha!)...let me know when you've posted your blog so I can see it. 1. When I was in elementary school I added about a gazillion middle names to what I wanted to be called. So to "Elizabeth Lee" I added "Colleen Katharine Sabrina Nina Patricia Laura Sarah..." Maybe that's why I think it's ok that my daughter has two middle names. 2. When I dyed a blue streak in my hair in college it was from RIT dye in the costume shop and inspired by Missing Persons. 3. I swore up and down before the baby was born that we would not co-sleep, and no...

I've just been reading my friend Martha's blog. Marty is our neighbor's daughter, a 36-year old who I've always connected with because she lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong. She has 3 young children, and was just diagnosed with breast cancer, which is at Stage II. Reading her blog is really difficult for me because it reminds me so much of everything we went through with my mom, and she's so young. I want to say she's going to "beat" the cancer. But the truth is that there is nothing that one does "right" in order to survive, or "wrong" to have it get worse. No one deserves to get it, or is immune from it, and family history or personal habits are not good indicators. Cancer is indiscriminate and impersonal and viciously kills the body that hosts it. But I do know that having love and support can help, and I want to give her as much support as I can. I also have an on-line friend who I first "met" on a thread about pare...

Didn't mean to leave you hanging after the last rant-y post. I've been busy, but nothing too exciting, just general baby-care and trying to catch up on work. Anyway, I meant to say that, after some horrific errands on Saturday (in which I waited 20 minutes at Home Despot to have them clear up an issue with a gift card, and it's STILL not resolved!), I decided to stop at Krispy Kreme on the way home and bring back some Fresh Hot Donuts. Except the Krispy Kreme had turned into a Wendy's. I suppose there are really two issues here. The first is how interchangeable the sites are. No more donuts? How about a Frostie? Turnkey ready. Maybe next month it will become an Arby's. The second point, though, goes to the Krispy Kreme brand. I remember when people lined up for them, drove miles for them; I even had a friend who would have them FedExed from the nearest location, which was in Iowa, mind you! But then they started to spread, and be sold at Holiday, and Target...