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Scat Lounge, originally uploaded by jtpro1.

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The Munchies, originally uploaded by jtpro1.

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Official Zoo Members

Today Oda Momma, Oda Mae and I went to the Ft. Worth Zoo. We got memberships and everything! Now we have unlimited access to the zoo for the next year. We'll get special deals on food, souvenirs, and promotional days (Boo at the Zoo). This will give us more stuff to do now. We can't wait to go again. I took a few good pictures today as well. Take a look...







I'm really enjoying learning more about photography. I'm using the manual mode on my camera finally and I'm starting to figure things out. My lesson this week is actually focusing on FILM. I had to break out the old 35mm and buy batteries and film for it this week. It'll be a couple of weeks before processing, but I'm looking forward to seeing some results.

This Saturday is the big Oda Party. We hope to see everyone there!

DV,

-OD

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Happy Odaday 2008

Today was Oda Mae's 3rd birthday!

-She woke up.
-Got a happy birthday call from Gran.
-Listened to Bear's Birthday Song.
-Had breakfast.
-Got dressed in a new yellow outfit.
-Went to the doctor for a checkup.
-Got a shot.
-Went through a car wash (inside the car of course).
-Went out for a birthday donut (chocolate with red sprinkles (see above)).
-Went to the library for storytime (Miss. Spider had a birthday today too!)
-Checked out books with our theme of the week (It was supposed to be snow, but we decided that was lame so we checked out books about birthdays and aliens!).
-Went to lunch with Oda Daddy and Aunt Sis.
-Came home for a much needed birthday nap.
-Listened to birthday greetings from GeeGee and PaPa Mike
-Colored
-Had her favorite meal for dinner (PB&J).
-Opened a couple of presents from Oda Momma and Oda Daddy.
-Watched her new Bear in the Big Blue House video.
-Bathtime with Oda Momma.
-Storytime.

So you may have noticed that indeed she got a shot today (in her leg). ....NOTE TO SELF-Do not take children to the doctor for annual checkup on their birthday.....

She actually did very well at the doctor. She didn't cry or anything. She's grown 1/2 inch and gained 2 1/2 lbs. Unfortunately, about 5 o'clock this evening her leg really started to hurt and she was limping around pretty bad. I felt pretty bad for taking her today. I had scheduled the appointment a couple of months ago and just wasn't thinking. All in all she had a pretty good day though.

We'll have the big party on Saturday morning if you want to come. It's a "Boots" theme this year which is decidedly different than the "Dora" theme last year. I'm sure we'll have fun.

Happy Birthday Oda Mae!!!!!!!

Love Daddy.

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The annual pigmentation of poultry embryos during the principal celebration of the Christian doctrine.

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1st Day of Spring

Man, were we glad to see SPRING today! To celebrate, we did what everyone does on the first day of spring. We went to see buffalo!

Oda Mae and I headed out to the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. We packed up our backpack with the camera, snacks, and a couple bottles of water and headed out. The cost to get in was $4.00 for adults (me) and $2.00 for children 3 and older. Oda Mae doesn't turn three until next week, so SCORE! As we were driving up to the main center we passed a "herd" of buffalo. We decided to get out and take a look. I don't think Oda Mae we too impressed, but I liked them.

There were all kinds of trails to hike on and a nice little nature center right in the middle where they had some great hands on displays as well as some live animal aquariums.

We decided to take one of the easier trails down to the prairie dog town. We sat on a bench while we watched the prairie dogs and ate our snacks. Then we hiked back up to the center and took another look at the exhibits. We bought Oda Mae a sleep t-shirt for $3.00 and then headed home.

We had a good time.


Tonight after dinner, Oda Momma, Oda Mae and I all went out to one of the local parks where Oda Mae rode on the merry-go-round for about 45 minutes. I'm pretty sure she'll wake up tomorrow morning, still dizzy!


Dominus Vobiscum!

-OD

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We have a new tenant. He and his wife live outside our front door. I'll try to get a better pic.

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Spring Break

Well, it's Spring Break over here at the Oda house now. Oda Mae does not have school next week so we're gonna do lots of stuff. Today Oda Momma, Aunt Sis, Gran, and Oda Mae all went to the quilt show. I'm sure Oda Momma will put up some pics over at her blog. You may ask, "What did Oda Daddy do all day?". Well, I started on my taxes, worked on them for about three hours and then decided to go play. Now, for all that work on my taxes, I did get just almost done. I really need to hand this off to a pro next year. It's a pain trying to keep up with all of the self-employment stuff.

Afterwords, I ate lunch (left over Cincinnati Chili, MMMMmmm)I decided to go out and practice some more photography. I'm trying to finish an online assignment. After today, I'm half way done. Though the second half won't take as long. It's really frustrating sometimes to go out and try to get a certain type of photo. However, I've noticed that the more you look at things to see if they "fit" into a certain category, you get a better understanding of what will work and what will not. Hopefully, I'll keep getting better at the basics until I have them down cold.

Next week Oda Mae and I are going to go to: "All of the parks", hiking (to see buffalo, of course), the mall, the book store, the car wash, the library (for joke books)...speaking of joke books....Oda Mae has turned into quite the comedienne. I think we'll have a little "stand-up" video next week too. We'll do lots of other stuff next week as well. Hopefully the forecasted rain will go away.

DV,

OD

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The Sun Came Out

The past couple of days, the weather has been really nice. I went out yesterday and took a few pictures at the Botanic Gardens with Oda Mae after we went to the library for story time. Today I found a hiking trail near the house and set out on my first photography assignment. As it turns out everything is still pretty dead. Most of my pictures turned out "Brown - like the earth..." (inside joke). Afterwords I went to eat lunch with Oda Momma and some of her work buddies at a Lebanese Buffet. Man, talk about some good food!!!!! You have to try it. They are never busy and the price is super cheap. That's why they have to close down every couple of weeks. It's called Celaborelle, if you can find them open give it a shot.

Then I went and picked up Oda Mae from school and we went to the park and played. Afterwords, we came home took a nap and then headed out for the garden again. It was nice to shoot something with some color in it.

I've started up the AREA 365 again. You can check out the 2007 and 2008 versions as well as my photography assignments on my Flickr page. It's over there to the left as well.

DV,

-OD

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Time for a change...

Well, the audition was today. Two months preparing, neglecting the house work, barely getting dinner on the table and don't even mention the stress on Oda Momma and Oda Mae, and all I get is "Thank you."

That's how the music business is. Honestly, I played the best audition I've ever played and didn't even get to play more then two of the nearly twenty excerpts that I prepared. Hours of work in the practice room, waking up at 6am to warmup every day and the stress of knowing that it was going to be a crap shoot anyway doesn't lead itself to a very happy lifestyle.

I'm sure there were very valid reasons for being "dismissed". The audition was ananomous (screened) and everyone had the same chance to show there stuff during their 8 minute time slot. Up until today, every audition I've ever taken, I can pretty much tell you why I did or did not advance to the next round. Today, I can not. I played well. I made a promise to myself a few years ago that I would not give up taking auditions unless there came a day when I had no idea how to make things better. That day has come.

I'll still play the gigs that come my way. I have some steady work that I truly enjoy, but the idea of trying to put more time, energy, and money into more auditions isn't something I want to consider anymore. That's my rant.....

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Here's the good part. I figure if I put the same amount of time, energy and money into something that I still enjoy and that is a refreshing change of pace, I cannot help but to do well. I've been interested in photography for a very long time so I think I'll give it a go. Right now I don't really know very much, but I'm willing to learn and put myself out there for whoever wants to see. It can't be any worse or more difficult than what I've been doing. I've already started on a two year plan that will hopefully turn into something great.

See I told you that my life was going to change.... (I suppose now that I should have been a little more specific.)

DV,

-OD

Fly Me To The Moon

Tonight there was a lunar eclipse so we went out to watch it. We were able to get some decent pictures......

Oda Mae was pretty ready to go to bed afterwords.

BTW: I'm still holed up practicing. There are trumpets, mutes, music, and CD's everywhere. It's pretty scary around here these days. I do still manage to make dinner though. I've got 2 1/2 weeks left. Right now my chops hurt and I've got a heavy gig this weekend with Byron Stripling. I just have to get through it right????? At least I'm not playing 1st!

Time to listen to some Tod und Verklarung. If I don't learn to play real soft and real high at the same time, it may be just that for me.

Dominus Vobiscum!

-OD

Out of my hole for a few minutes...

Well, the family is almost well again. Oda Mae got sick a couple of weeks ago. Then I got sick and then Oda Momma got sick. I still have a bit of phlegm though. Unfortunately, Oda Momma was sick during her trip to NY city. She was gone for three days and then came back feeling really bad. That meant three more days with Oda Mae. She's starting to feel better now. I'm really glad!

I've been in the practice room for quite some time now preparing for the upcoming audition. Hence the reason there hasn't been any blogging going on around here. I've got about 5 1/2 weeks left. That's not very much time in the practice world. I'll just do my best.

Speaking of getting more practice in, we're taking orders for "Weekends with Oda". Now that she's feeling all better, we need to get rid of her for a while. Oda Momma and I also need a date night. So just let us know when you'd like a little visitor for a day or two and we'll hook you up.*

*Please note, you must be a member of our family for this to work. No psychos please!

I'm going to crawl back into my hole now. I'll see you all again soon.

DV

-OD

What's next? Hippopotamus?

I almost forgot that I have a blog. Sorry about that.

Oda Mae has entered the realm of asking "What's next?". ALL DAY LONG, she asks me what we are going to do next. Let me give you a brief example of one of our conversations...

Oda Mae: "What's next?"
Oda Daddy: "We're going to eat breakfast."
OM: "What's next?"
OD: "Then we're going to go brush our teeth."
OM: "What's next?"
OD: "We're going to go get dressed and then we're going to go to the mall and play."
OM: "What's next?"
OD: "Then we're going to come home, eat lunch, and have quiet time."
OM: "What's after quiet time?"
OD: "Then we're going to play with puzzles."
OM: "What's next?"
OD: "We're going to make dinner and wait for momma to come home?"
OM: "Eat dinner with momma?"
OD: "YES, Oda Mae...you've got it."
OM: "What's next?"
OD: "Then it's time for your bath and then nite, nite."
OM: "What's after nite, nite?"

You get the picture?

I could go through the whole week of what's next and she still isn't satisfied. I'm pretty sure that by time we've gotten to the 3rd "What's next?" she's already forgotten what IS really next.

I'm also pretty sure that the by the end of this summer I'll be getting the dreaded "Why?" question. I'm not looking forward to that.

The other night Oda Mae and I were on our way to the mall when we ran over something. Apparently it was really big and made of metal because it made a really loud noise and gave me a flat tire, but that's beside the point. After I ran over said object, Oda Mae of course kept asking what that noise was. I just kept telling her that I didn't know what it was, but not to tell momma. She proceeded to speculate as to what exactly I ran over. Here's our conversation from that evening...

OM: "What was that noise daddy?"
OD: "I don't know what it was, but it was loud wasn't it?"
OM: "Was it a donkey?"
OD: "NO, it wasn't a donkey!"
OM: "Daddy run over a dog?"
OD: "No Oda Mae, I didn't run over a dog!"
OM: "Was it a cat?"
OD: "Oda Mae, I didn't run over any animals."
OM: "Daddy run over people?"
OD: "NO way Jose! I don't know what it was."
OM: "Was it momma?"
OD: "No, I didn't run over momma."
OM: "Daddy run over hippopotamus."
OD: "I sure hope it wasn't a hippopotamus. We're in big trouble if I did."

The end.

-OD

Christmas Lights 2007

Here they are, I know you've been waiting.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I still have comp tickets to The Nutcracker if anyone wants them...

Tuba Christmas

PS: I know PS's go at the bottom....but....I have comp tickets to The Nutcracker for this weekend if anyone is interested. CLICK HERE, let me know what performance you'd like to attend and I'll hook you up!

Today Oda Mae and I went out to see our local Tuba Christmas. 70 some odd tubas and euphoniums playing Christmas tunes should not be missed. I have to admit that I've never been and this was a first for me and Oda Mae. It's really difficult to describe the sound of that many tubas, but I'll try...SCARY LOW RUMBLE with a just a hint of PITCH. I will say that maybe I'm a bit biased 'cause I'm a trumpet player.

It's a novelty really. I may go again next year just to say I went. I suppose some people would go just to say they heard their favorite euphonium player play a gig.... Those don't come up very often. Think about it... Have you ever heard a euphonium player play a solo at someones wedding. How 'bout that kickin' euphonium concert on Friday night? Nope.... Chances are that unless you were in band at some point, you don't' even know what a euphonium is.


If you have the chance to see you're local Tuba Christmas, go check them out. It'll make all the euphonium players feel better about themselves. Here are some pics from today...

Oda Mae and I taking our seats... The masses assemble...
Equipment malfunction...
In awe, amazement, horror (what ever you want to call it)...
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On a much sadder note. Tuesday evening I lost a friend and a colleague who incidentally played the tuba. Mark Wolfe died in a motorcycle accident on Tuesday evening. We played in quintet together off and on during the last 3-4 years. I can honestly say that the gigs I played with Mark were some of the most memorable. We played great music with great players for great audiences. Albeit in some unusual places... I always had fun on these trips and I'll miss them and Mark.

Besides the fact that he passed only a week before Christmas, the worst part of it is that he leaves behind a wife and three children. The local musicians union has set up a fund to collect money for his family in order to assist them through this tragic time. Please go to this website; Dallas-Fort Worth Professional Musicians Association and click on the link at the left that says "Mark Wolfe Fund" read the articles that have been posted about Mark and send a contribution to help his family.

DV,

-OD

The Christmas Party

Last night, we went to a Christmas Party with my sister. We had a really good time. There was lots of good food and I think I ate most of it. Oda Mae enjoyed the kid crafts and the dancing. All I can say is that Oda Mae was one step away from getting on the tables...



Yes, Oda Mae and Aunt Sis wore matching outfits. That wasn't planned, they just have the same taste in animal prints. :)

She was pretty worn out at the end of the night. I think tomorrow we'll stay home all day and rest.

-OD

Dinner and Tournament!

Edit: Here are a couple more pictures from last night.

Last night, we made an and evening of fine dining and an excellent show as Lords and Ladies at Medieval Times.

Thanks to my nephew and former student, Chris, we got comp tickets for the whole fam.

When we got there and safely across the moat I might add, we proceeded to make our way to the souvenir tables. Oda Mae of course picked out a pink princess hat.

We cheered all evening for the Red Knight (YEAH!!!!!!!) only to be disappointed (as he was winning) when he was brutally "murdered" by the Green Knight (Boooooooooo!) and his toadies. I'm pretty sure that Oda Mae (and quite possibly Oda Momma, Aunt Sis, and Gran) all had a little crush on our Red Knight. I'm glad I don't have to compete with him on a daily basis. Oda Mae was especially "in love" when he tossed her a flower!

One of the highlights of the evening was getting to watch Chris in action....(he gets to wear blue tights and everything!)

Oda Momma and I had a great time. The food was pretty good (sans eating utensils of course) as well. You can't go wrong with a four course meal and half a chicken on your plate. We were happy.

After the show was over, we got to fraternize with the hired help.

Then it was time to go home. We all had a great time and it made some of us very tired!

If I'm lucky, maybe she'll sleep a couple extra minutes this morning!

DV,

-OD

Is it December already?

Seems like just yesterday, it was Thanksgiving. (According to my last blog post, it was!)

So I'm a bit busy these days, I'm behind on my posting and my pictures, but I'm pretty much caught up on everything else now. I took video of the lights this evening. I'll try and get that posted soon. Just so you know, I ended up with a grand total of 26,726 lights on the house this year! That's about 8,000 more than last year. Don't worry, I've got plenty more electricity for more lights next year.

As for news on the home front, Allison is doing very well. Remember a post or two ago (back in September I think) when I said that she had a good day and how I wished that would happen more often. I think my dreams have come true. Lately, she really seems to be doing very well. Don't get me wrong, we still have moments, but they are much more rare and aren't as traumatic. We've had more good days than "bad" lately. That's VERY nice. Also, her imagination has really taken off. Just during the last couple of weeks I can be sitting somewhere and watch her start pretending all by herself. I actually practiced for an hour today while she sat there and did puzzles and blocks. Usually we can't go more than 10 minutes without having to play with her and keep her entertained. She loves to talk on her toy telephone. It's very funny because you hear only one side of a one sided conversation.

I've begun preparing for an audition coming up. I have to admit that I'd really like to win THIS ONE. It's one of the reasons I'm kind of busy right now. The audition is in March and it's just down the street. Wouldn't have to move across the country, that's nice.

Time to go practice now. I'll try to get caught up on some more posting later.

Dominus vobiscum!

-OD