:: Brinna's ::

:: Thursday, April 20, 2006 ::
:: finally, an update ::

At last! A time when I'm all alone, Alice is sleeping, and it has actually crossed my mind to write. I'm not sure how much has happened in the past month...I'll try to remember to write everything. Everyone is at a track meet today, that the 3 older kids from the younger set (Kate, Sam, Dan) are participating in.

I've been practicing music lately, my mom has a Yamaha keyboard that she got years ago at, I believe, Sams Club. We moved it upstairs and since it's now easier to access, people have been playing it nearly every day. Including me. I've gotten a lot better, I can now play with both hands at a reduced tempo, with chords. Andrew's family has a keyboard which we may be getting/buying from them, I hope so. And if it doesn't have a pedal I'll probably get one for it. It's easier to practice the piano when Alice is taking a nap, because my guitar is in the room where she naps.

For Easter, we had a wonderful visit from my mom's side of the family. Her big brother Jimmy and his wife Sharon, along with their two grown children Josh and Jeremy (our cousins, of course), and Jeremy's fiance Katrina and their child Joseph. So Alice has a second cousin. She has two cousins already! : ) (I'm referring to Andrew's sister's daughter.) We also had my mom's younger brother and his fiance, and her son. So, when they marry, Alice will have a first cousin once removed. By marriage...maybe that makes him a stepcousin? Anyway...we had a great time, they stayed for a few days and the young adults (Kristi, me, Josh, Jeremy, and Katrina) had a game night with a bit of alcohol. Well, most of us only had a bit, and Jeremy had a bit too much.

Anyway, it was nice seeing them all again, and to see my nephew, who's named after our grandfather Joe. Katrina will probably never understand why Jeremy insisted on naming him after Grandad, but I do...I intend to name one of my sons Joseph as well. Jeremy and I had a special relationship with Grandad. I try not to think too much about him because it will make me cry. Grandad has Alzheimers. I copied this from Dictionary.com's entry: "first symptoms are impaired memory which is followed by impaired thought and speech and finally complete helplessness". The Notebook was an especially touching movie for me, because of him. I've always thought I wanted my marriage like Grandma and Grandad's; very loving and rarely fighting, not to mention they've gone 50 years now. But it was very hard these past few for them, because first Grandma had a stroke, and then Grandad's memory is going. They fight a lot more now, but Grandma has said that every night Grandad will tell her how much he loves her, and that she cries. I would cry too. Heck, it makes me cry to think of it. Maybe I've mentioned this stuff before, but it doesn't make it any less moving to me at the moment. I just thank God they'll both be in heaven.

Other developments...
Frankie, my dad's mom, is visiting. Tomorrow she is traveling with Samantha, my sister, by train to California and visiting Aunt Bonnie, Frankie's daughter. We'll probably do something together when they comes back next week, she'll be staying another few days. She suggested attending the Caberet dinner theatre.

My mom and dad are getting away for their 25th anniversary..they're leaving for nearly a week tonight late, they're driving to Denver and flying to Boston. They're not staying in Boston the whole time, probably. They're coming back next Wednesday late. Fortunately they're taking Polly, and Sammy will be with Frankie in CA, because while they're gone, we get to babysit the rest. There's a couple softball games, an easter egg hunt at the pool that will last all day, and a homeschool field trip. Also, fortunately, Aunt Polly will be taking the kids on Saturday and Sunday, which means Kristi and I may be able to have a party! (No alcohol of course.)

Speaking of their 25th, I want to apologize to anyone who's reading this about the email I sent regarding the cancelled celebration. If I was angry, it was just that I was upset that my mom was upset. To anyone who's not reading this, I do not apologize any more than I did in the email, because what I said about you not bothering to read my blog obviously holds true.

Right after Mom and Dad return, Dad and I are heading (to the) South, he for a shooting match in Charleston, SC and I for a look around in Savannah. I'm not rushing into buying a house, I won't just buy any old house. If I see a house Andrew also likes we'll make an offer, but we're mostly looking, mostly because Dad's travel expenses are paid and so it's almost a free trip.

Alice is not crawling yet, but she is creeping around, and pulling up on anything and everything. No falls yet, except once she was sitting on the couch next to Kristi and grabbed Kristi's pants right when she stood up. Because the couch was no longer displaced, it acted like a springboard for the poor dear and she was ousted into the air. The floor was her destination.

I've been watching lots of foreign films with my personal dvd player I bought with my Christmas money. Mostly Asian...I've seen 2046 (okay), Purple Butterfly (boring), and Kung Fu Mahjongg (not nearly as funny as Hustle), to name a few. Andrew bought some more that I'll see when he returns. I've still not seen Taegukgi, but Shiri was good. Oh, and Goodbye Lenin was good too. I've now seen just about every Zhang Ziyi film available in the US.

Well, not much else going on at the moment...Alice has woken up. Hopefully I'll write again sometime in the next month!

:: Brinna 10:26 AM [+] ::
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