I've been playing the bass for my church, Mosaic, a lot lately. I used to play quite regularly, but took a break for a while to do other things. One of the great things about having played for Mosaic over the past 8 years has been the high caliber of musicians I've been privileged to play with. I don't think that many dentists get to work with as many talented musicians as I have. It's been a humbling experience.
Last September was a highlight event in my life with musicians. Ian and I went to a retreat for the Artisans at Mosaic. We broke up by artistic disciplines. Ian went with the filmmakers, I went with the musicians. We were given two days to write and arrange a song that might be used in Pastor Erwin's series in the book of Philippians. I joined a group of musicians that happened to have three songwriters. Shane Mills had a chord progression in mind that he started playing through. Since I'm not a songwriter, my job was to read through the text of Philippians to see if anything related to the theme hit us. I remember homing in on chapter 2, which I knew to be a favorite of Pastor Erwin's, and seeing this phrase about "shining like stars" jump out. Eunice Sim, one of the other songwriters started improvising a chorus around the theme and then our time was up for the day. After sleeping on the idea, Carrie Arcos, English teacher and poetess extraordinare, came back with lyrics. Eunice's husband, Taylor Hanson (not of the teeny-bopper band, Hanson), and the other half of her new band Redpoll, thought of a chord sequence for a musical interlude and we had a song. It was an amazing thing to watch. I'm linking to Like the One because I think the talent of this bunch of folks should be acknowledged and the song should be heard.
While I'm at it, I wanted to bring attention to some other incredible musicians I've played with. Look out for them in the future...
*Thena Dare played at our wedding reception and sang the song for our first dance. Beautiful voice, intelligent lyrics, lovely heart. I haven't played with her husband, Ted Beam, but he was a part of our reception also.
*Kelda, who was part of the very first worship band I played with at Mosaic.
*Cynthia Vazquez, aka Juna Knight, who shared an amazing journey to Thailand with me, jamming on guitar and mandolin almost every night.
*Joby Harris the artist, and the musician.
*Dominic Massaro, who I don't play with too often, since he's the other go-to bass player at Mosaic.
*New bandmates Matt Shockley and Jason Joseph
Hope you enjoy!
Clarice
Monday, January 30, 2006
Saturday, January 21, 2006
This is Ian checking in
Hi everyone! I just thought I would write a little something so that all my manly friends who check into our blog for manly Ian stories won't get discouraged finding all these cute little stories my wife writes about marriage and pregnancy. I have quite a few posts planned, but I'm checking out the statute of limitations on potential misdemeanors committed years ago in another state before going public. Check back again soon!
Ian
(or Clarice ghost-writing for Ian)
Ian
(or Clarice ghost-writing for Ian)
Sleeping Alone
Ian was out of town all last week. It's not the first time that he's been away for work. We've been apart 3 other times. But this time felt different. After thirty-some years of sleeping alone, eleven months of marriage has made me accustomed to having someone else next to me during the night. I had a hard time sleeping with him gone. I think Ian's used to it too. Sometimes, when I return to bed from my pregnancy-induced, middle-of-the-night bathroom breaks, I find him searching my usual sleeping space in his sleep. As soon as he feels me again, he relaxes and goes back into heavy-breathing REM sleep.
Now the interesting thing about sleeping alone again is that it resolves some of the differences of opinion we sometimes have over night-time antics. See, every morning we wake up with the comforter hanging over my side of the bed and barely covering his side of the bed. He thinks I'm a blanket hog...and I suppose that makes logical sense. My theory is that it's actually his fault. Ian likes to start out the night with his feet hanging out from the covers. So he pushes the comforter over to my side a bit. Now this is a heavy down comforter so just the weight of it causes drift. I don't think I'm actually pulling it to my side. I realize that this doesn't sound logical, but in my week alone, I carefully centered the comforter before going to sleep every night and woke up with it in the exact same position. So I think my theory proves true.
Another issue possibly resolved. I wrote about couvade in my last post. During this pregnancy, Ian has developed sympathy weight gain and sympathy itching. But where I've become a lighter sleeper, he's started snoring and sleeping heavier. I was a bit bummed that he didn't develop sympathy insomnia also. But something interesting happened last week. I was awakened twice to the sound of snoring. That's when I usually have to wake myself all the way up to tell Ian to turn over. But since Ian wasn't there, I really couldn't blame him. Frankly, I find this quite disturbing. I've never been told that I snore - and I've shared a bedroom with two other women over the past 4 years. Cal and Clee never complained. This must be new. So now I'm wondering about couvade again. Might it work in reverse? Am I experiencing sympathetic snoring in response to Ian? Must be so. I mean...me? snore? It must be Ian's fault. Or I'm having to compensate for sleeping alone.
Clarice
Now the interesting thing about sleeping alone again is that it resolves some of the differences of opinion we sometimes have over night-time antics. See, every morning we wake up with the comforter hanging over my side of the bed and barely covering his side of the bed. He thinks I'm a blanket hog...and I suppose that makes logical sense. My theory is that it's actually his fault. Ian likes to start out the night with his feet hanging out from the covers. So he pushes the comforter over to my side a bit. Now this is a heavy down comforter so just the weight of it causes drift. I don't think I'm actually pulling it to my side. I realize that this doesn't sound logical, but in my week alone, I carefully centered the comforter before going to sleep every night and woke up with it in the exact same position. So I think my theory proves true.
Another issue possibly resolved. I wrote about couvade in my last post. During this pregnancy, Ian has developed sympathy weight gain and sympathy itching. But where I've become a lighter sleeper, he's started snoring and sleeping heavier. I was a bit bummed that he didn't develop sympathy insomnia also. But something interesting happened last week. I was awakened twice to the sound of snoring. That's when I usually have to wake myself all the way up to tell Ian to turn over. But since Ian wasn't there, I really couldn't blame him. Frankly, I find this quite disturbing. I've never been told that I snore - and I've shared a bedroom with two other women over the past 4 years. Cal and Clee never complained. This must be new. So now I'm wondering about couvade again. Might it work in reverse? Am I experiencing sympathetic snoring in response to Ian? Must be so. I mean...me? snore? It must be Ian's fault. Or I'm having to compensate for sleeping alone.
Clarice
Friday, January 13, 2006
Couvade
Main Entry: cou·vade
Pronunciation: kü-'väd
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Middle French, cowardly inactivity, from cover to sit on, brood over
: a custom in some cultures in which when a child is born the father takes to bed as if bearing the child and submits himself to fasting, purification, or taboos
: sympathetic pregnancy
: a syndrome in which the expectant father experiences weight gain, queasiness, appetite changes, or emotional changes along with his partner
One of the ways pregnancy has impacted our marriage is that Ian and I sense a different level of connectedness. There is, after all, a little critter nestled in my womb that bears half of the genetic material of each of us. This little life would not exist if we didn't have a relationship. That's kinda amazing. So, we connect through our dreams for this little one and what he will grow up to be. We connect as we imagine how the blending of our very different personalities will manifest themselves in our first child. We also connect to some degree in our physical symptomology. Yep...Ian may have come down with a mild form of couvade.
It was rather interesting during the first 4 months. My OB told me he wanted me to gain 10 lbs in the first 20 weeks, then 1 lb a week after that. So now at 32 weeks I'm right on target - with 22 lbs of weight gain. I worked really hard at it the first 10 lbs. Because I have a history of high metabolism, I knew I'd have to make an effort to change my eating habits. And for those first 10 lbs, Ian was right with me. He says it was because he didn't want me to feel lonely as I added breakfast and two snack periods to my daily schedule. When I started experiencing a strong desire for Chik-Fil-A sandwiches, he was also right there with me, proactively planning detours to get to the nearest Chik-Fil-A. What a considerate husband. Now he says the weight gain and appetite changes are because he's been working out more and has gained more muscle weight. Does it sound like couvade?
Then toward the end of the second trimester, my belly started growing and my skin started stretching. I started to experience pretty severe itchiness and skin irritation. I had the mother of all rashes. It was mainly on my abdomen, but my legs and upper arms were also affected. In fact, I scratched so hard, I created some bruises on my legs. I also learned that Benadryl only helps a little bit, and not to take 2 tablets at once. I went down for an unplanned 4-hour afternoon nap after my double dose of Benadryl and Junior got a bit woozy too. Anyway, the day after what we call the "Benadryl incident," Ian started experiencing severe itchiness on his upper arms. So we slathered cocoa butter on my belly and butt and cocoa butter on his arms. I think I once caught him murmuring about how his recent workout regime may have resulted in an unusually fast expansion of his biceps, stretching the skin, but I don't know about that. Does it sound like couvade?
Now in the third trimester, I'm experiencing changes in my sleep patterns. I can't sleep on my back anymore. I have a hard time falling asleep. I wake up one to two times for emergency bathroom runs. Overall, I've become a lighter sleeper. I blogged here before about Ian's unusual middle-of-the-night antics. These antics haven't changed much and still don't bother me much either. But while I've become a lighter sleeper, Ian's become a deeper sleeper. And he's started snoring regularly. But he's hard to wake up. Sometimes I try to lift up his chin to open his airway. He resists, but doesn't wake up. I try to push him onto his side, but usually am not successful (the weight gain, you know). Makes for some restless nights at times. I just wonder why he's become such a heavy sleeper, when I have trouble sleeping. I wonder where couvade is when you really need it.
Clarice
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
The Alien Within
People frequently ask me if I can feel Junior moving yet. The answer, most resoundingly, is "YES!" I am almost 32 weeks pregnant. Junior is estimated to be 3.75 lbs and 16.19 inches long (according to the interactive pregnancy calendar at www.pregnancy.org).
I first sensed movement in late September. Just a hint of a presence, like the brush of a butterfly's wings. I wasn't even sure of what I was feeling until I was on an airplane from London to LA. There was nothing to do but watch movies, groan about the long journey in cramped quarters, go to the bathroom, and ponder the strange taps on the inside of my belly. Then came the distinct brush that clarified what all the tapping was about. But that was back when Junior weighed just ounces and was only 5 inches long. Back when my womb was like a swimming pool to him in which he could turn flips. It's not quite so spacious for him now.
Now I feel little strokes where I think his arms are, persistent nudges where his head is thought to be located, and near my ribcage - where his feet reside - distinct kicks. Several times a day, he gets the hiccups, which resonate through my belly like the drips of a leaky faucet. Endearing, but a bit annoying. Last week was unusually uncomfortable. I kept feeling this persistent but intermittent pressure at the edge of my right lower rib. On the third day of discomfort, I started massaging the area and pressed in toward my abdomen. I felt some initial resistence, then the pressure was relieved, to be followed by two swift kicks to my fingertips. It seems that Junior likes to use my 12th rib as a foot rest and gets very unhappy when I displace him from his resting place. I'm just wondering where my liver is now that Junior's foot rests there.
Ian and I can now see movement across the surface of my belly when Junior really gets moving, which he does right after meals, when I'm playing the bass, and when Ian and I get ready for our evening prayers. I've heard that later in pregnancy you can actually make out distinct body parts. It's all very strange. I kinda wish I didn't watch all those Alien movies in the 80's and 90's. I can just imagine some alien explosively poking its gnarled head through the surface of my abdomen, hissingly announcing its parasitic invasion. And I suppose for now Junior is a bit alien to me. But this is one alien I will welcome to our family. I look forward to greeting a chocolate-haired, hazel-eyed, little man-child face to face, without the dramatic abdominal explosion. And I look forward to having my rib be my rib again instead of his footrest.
Clarice
I first sensed movement in late September. Just a hint of a presence, like the brush of a butterfly's wings. I wasn't even sure of what I was feeling until I was on an airplane from London to LA. There was nothing to do but watch movies, groan about the long journey in cramped quarters, go to the bathroom, and ponder the strange taps on the inside of my belly. Then came the distinct brush that clarified what all the tapping was about. But that was back when Junior weighed just ounces and was only 5 inches long. Back when my womb was like a swimming pool to him in which he could turn flips. It's not quite so spacious for him now.
Now I feel little strokes where I think his arms are, persistent nudges where his head is thought to be located, and near my ribcage - where his feet reside - distinct kicks. Several times a day, he gets the hiccups, which resonate through my belly like the drips of a leaky faucet. Endearing, but a bit annoying. Last week was unusually uncomfortable. I kept feeling this persistent but intermittent pressure at the edge of my right lower rib. On the third day of discomfort, I started massaging the area and pressed in toward my abdomen. I felt some initial resistence, then the pressure was relieved, to be followed by two swift kicks to my fingertips. It seems that Junior likes to use my 12th rib as a foot rest and gets very unhappy when I displace him from his resting place. I'm just wondering where my liver is now that Junior's foot rests there.
Ian and I can now see movement across the surface of my belly when Junior really gets moving, which he does right after meals, when I'm playing the bass, and when Ian and I get ready for our evening prayers. I've heard that later in pregnancy you can actually make out distinct body parts. It's all very strange. I kinda wish I didn't watch all those Alien movies in the 80's and 90's. I can just imagine some alien explosively poking its gnarled head through the surface of my abdomen, hissingly announcing its parasitic invasion. And I suppose for now Junior is a bit alien to me. But this is one alien I will welcome to our family. I look forward to greeting a chocolate-haired, hazel-eyed, little man-child face to face, without the dramatic abdominal explosion. And I look forward to having my rib be my rib again instead of his footrest.
Clarice
Happy New Year!!!
Happy New Year all! Can you believe it's 2006? So much to look forward to this year!
Ian and I had an interesting New Year's celebration. We started New Year's Eve quietly with dinner at home. I spent some time going through my 2005 journal (as is my tradition) to try to figure out some themes upon which to build this coming year. Ian went to the airport to pick up a friend and stopped by another friend's New Year's Eve party on the way home. Around 11:00 PM, two other friends joined us to spend some time praying for the New Year. I'd never done this before, but Mishabomb was inpired by someone else. Honestly, it was a great way to bring in the New Year, inviting God to shape the coming year.
After midnight, we went to my old home to greet some of my old roommates. Then came the hijinks...SandraV can describe the celebratory activities that followed much better than I in words and image. Click on over to see. I can say that it brought to LA an Atlanta tradition for Ian, involving flammable substances.
On New Year's Day, we headed over to my parents' home for another extended clan gathering. This dinner brought together around 25 relatives from both sides of my family.
Yummy Chinese dinner prepared mainly by my mom
One highlight was pulling out the old hymnals and singing good old fashioned hymns, led by my parents and my musical cousins Amy and Bonnie (both single and available), and accompanied by my Aunt Linda.
Entertainment was provided by the children of two different cousins. These kids were just delightful!
Hope your New Year's celebration was just as splendid!
Clarice
Ian and I had an interesting New Year's celebration. We started New Year's Eve quietly with dinner at home. I spent some time going through my 2005 journal (as is my tradition) to try to figure out some themes upon which to build this coming year. Ian went to the airport to pick up a friend and stopped by another friend's New Year's Eve party on the way home. Around 11:00 PM, two other friends joined us to spend some time praying for the New Year. I'd never done this before, but Mishabomb was inpired by someone else. Honestly, it was a great way to bring in the New Year, inviting God to shape the coming year.
After midnight, we went to my old home to greet some of my old roommates. Then came the hijinks...SandraV can describe the celebratory activities that followed much better than I in words and image. Click on over to see. I can say that it brought to LA an Atlanta tradition for Ian, involving flammable substances.
On New Year's Day, we headed over to my parents' home for another extended clan gathering. This dinner brought together around 25 relatives from both sides of my family.
Yummy Chinese dinner prepared mainly by my mom
One highlight was pulling out the old hymnals and singing good old fashioned hymns, led by my parents and my musical cousins Amy and Bonnie (both single and available), and accompanied by my Aunt Linda.
Entertainment was provided by the children of two different cousins. These kids were just delightful!
Hope your New Year's celebration was just as splendid!
Clarice
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