Yep, that one is mine.

All the kids at church sang a few songs for Friday's talent show. I didn't record the first song; that's when Bruce was lifting up his shirt and playing with his giant belly button. But I caught some other classic moments on camera: Bruce picking his nose and doing a crazy dance while all the other kids stand still and sing sweetly.

Crazy Week

Bruce is demonstrating how we all feel after this week: tired. Scott is plugging away at his research, as usual, and trying to fit in a few hours of sleep. As for me, this week's projects involved putting on a talent show at church and purging our house via Craigslist. Earlier this week I put a few random things on Craigslist for free so we could have a little more elbow room in our apartment. Then I sold the crib and changing table; Bruce is getting so tall he hardly fit in it anymore. Once we sold the crib, we went to IKEA and picked up this awesome bed. It's a twin bed with space to play underneath. He loves it! The talent show went really well. I was the MC for the night (which is soooo not my talent) so I didn't get any pictures of the acts, but here are pictures of the aftermath (a little bit of art and a lot of refreshments).

Good Weekend

School Pictures

Bruce got his preschool pictures taken a few weeks ago. I've never been a big fan of school pictures, so I wasn't planning on buying them. I have a nice camera and I have a half-dozen photo albums full of great pictures of Bruce. So why pay a ridiculous amount for these?

Bruce was actually absent on Picture Day, so he went to a "make up" day. It was probably better that way: I'm sure he got much more attention than he would have after waiting in line with his class. On "make up" day, I picked Bruce up from his classroom and went to the library where the photographer was set up. The photographer was about 900 years old, and his camera was about that old too. He hobbled with a limp, had so many wrinkles on his face that you could barely see his eyes, and whispered so quietly that I was struggling to hear anything come out of his mouth. Surely, this ancient guy won't be able to make Bruce sit on that cute little stool, I thought.

I was wrong. In nothing short of a miracle, this guy convinced Bruce to sit on the stool, put one foot up on another stool, and cross his hands just so. And then he got Bruce to smile by putting a small stuffed animal on his head and letting it "accidentally" fall.

After that miraculous performance, how could I not buy the pictures?

In other news, Scott has been hacking away at his thesis every possible moment. He got up at 2:30 on a Saturday morning (you read that right - not a typo) and went to the lab to get some work in so we could have a few hours of family time this weekend.

I've been running more this week. I ran 42 miles and will add a few more next week. My hip is nearly healed. Now instead of pinching, grinding, and all those other weird symptoms I had last year, it's just tighter than it should be. I'm shopping around for a 5K race to do in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more on that.

Film Screening in Winchester

A few people have expressed interest in seeing the documentary, Who Does She Think She Is?

It is not only a great movie with an inspiring message, but my big sis is in it (that's her work up top, titled Laundry Monkeys).

If you live around Beantown, then you are in luck. The film will be shown at the Next Door Theater in Winchester on Sunday, March 29, at 6 p.m. Even luckier for you, it's free! (But you have to reserve seats by emailing office@wmcn.org) For more info on the screening, click here.

Here's a little synopsis from one review: "The documentary follows five women who are both mothers and artists. It chronicles their daily struggle to reconcile the often conflicting demands of motherhood and muse. Though their artistic endeavors cover a wide range of mediums – painting, sculpting, print making, and the performing arts – these women share a common bond, each of them has overcome daunting hurdles (including divorce, discrimination, and financial difficulties) in order to pursue their passions."

Sharing the Love...

I keep up with a few of those blogs along the right side of this page. Sometimes there are contagious posts like cool surveys that you're supposed to post on your own blog before tagging other bloggers. Here's the latest version of contagious post: the "mystery giveaway." Courtesy of Lori Lyn, here are the rules...

The first 5 people to comment on this post will receive something made by me. But there is a catch...

Here are the rules:
1. It's my choice what to make... and you won't know what it will be until you get it!
2. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make, but I hope you do!
3. What I create will be just for you.
4. It will be done this year.

The catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same giveaway to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

C'mon Marissa, it'll be an excuse to update your blog.

Back to Bruce-Land

And Other Random Excursions in Toronto

One night in Toronto we went to a Bettye Lavette concert. Someone had purchased the tickets for us and was excited to take us. We didn't know who this lady was until we went back to our hotel room (thankfully before the concert) and googled her. Turns out the "queen of soul" sang at the Obama Inauguration. Bettye is 63 years old and can dance like she's 17 years old - in heels too!
She walked right by me! And instead of trying to get her attention for an autograph, I let the flash fly to get this lovely flattering picture of her.
This is a storefront in Chinatown. The stores there would sell all kinds of random stuff: moose-themed souvenirs, magnets, fuzzy toilet seat covers, teddy bears, cotton balls, and Chinese food.

Kensington Market

There is a cool neighborhood in Toronto called Kensington Market. It has all these cool vintage shops that sell beads, clothes, cowboy boots, and such. It was so fun that we went twice. We didn't even buy that much. We mostly just looked at all the crazy stuff. Toronto - and the Market area - is home to a lot of really awesome graffiti.

"We're Here on Business"

When you cross the border into Canada, the Border Patrol always asks where you're going and the reason for your trip. "We're here on business," my sister replied. My business was to relax, but my sister had a few chores to do while in Toronto. She is one of five artists profiled in Who Does She Think She Is?, a documentary about mothers who are artists (you can view a trailer if you click on the link). The documentary premiered in Canada at the Revue Theatre and Janis went to promote it and attend a few Q&A sessions after screenings.
The theater was an independent artsy place - very fitting for the film. If you look at the magazine sitting to the left of the shirt in the photo, you can see a review of the film and a picture of Janis working on her sculptures. After the film was over and the credits were rolling, Janis got to sit center-stage and answer all kinds of questions about her life as a mother and artist. To her right (our left when viewing the photo) is the film's director, Pamela Tanner Boll, who was kind enough to cover our travel expenses. Janis was like a celebrity. People would swarm her and tell her how inspiring she is and how her work is so moving (yes, she is inspiring and yes, her work is too).
Janis made an appearance on Breakfast Television, Toronto's No. 1 morning news show, to promote the film. Here she is turning her mug around to the "BT" logo so she doesn't advertise the Maxwell House coffee logo on the other side.

Time in Toronto

My trip to Toronto was wonderful. I flew to Ohio and dropped Bruce off at my parents' house. My mom asked Bruce if he wanted to stay for a little while. He said, "No. I want to stay for a long, long time." So he did just fine. My sister, Janis, and I drove to Toronto and acted like tourists for a few days. Here I am sitting with Glenn Gould by the CBC.

We got an awesome view from our hotel window. We were across from a major train station in downtown Toronto with a view of the Canadian flag. This is the view of our hotel from the observation deck of the CN Tower. And here's another view from the tower - 114 stories up. There were all kinds of crazy-looking hot dog trucks all over the city and they started serving around 10 a.m. (ewww). This truck advertised "vegetarian dog beef."

Third Time is Not the Charm

It happened again. The first time was a shocker. The second time was devastating since I thought the first time was completely random (c'mon, I've really had my share of the statistics now!). But the third time - at least I had an inkling.

When I found out I was pregnant, I didn't look up the due date or go buy baby clothes or anything drastic. I did buy prenatal vitamins since I'd bitterly banished those from the house last year. And I did make an appointment with the doctor. But I think the phrase "cautious optimism" works here: I thought, "If I can make it to the 12-week mark, then I'll get excited." Well, I didn't make it. It stinks, but of the three this was the least painful (does that make it the best?).

The week has been very busy and I haven't had much time to decompress, but my break is coming. I'm heading to Toronto this week to chill with my famous artist sister. Bruce will be waking grandma and grandpa up early this week. And Scott will be "living in the lab" undoubtedly with a very burly beard. Only a few more months to finish the thesis...

The flower is from Valentine's Day. Scott picks out unique flowers for me every year, so I snapped a picture. I like this picture better than the pregnancy test shot that I took; that one is a little depressing to look at now.

By the way, thanks to whoever sent me chocolate-covered pretzels. There was no name on the box. They were tasty.