1. My sister walked her first "Race for the Cure" as a survivor. She is an inspiration!
2. I passed my Neuro/Musculoskeletal exam on Monday.
3. My wife loves me.
4. My daughter is going on a field trip tomorrow to the farm. (It'll be her first ride on a school bus.)
5. Met some great couples from our church for dinner last night. We had a good time.
6. God provided queso for my wife at previously mentioned dinner.
7. People still read my blog.
8. Music is not my life anymore, but a wonderful part of it.
9. Going to see old friends this weekend.
10. Pumpkin Pie & Pumpkin Cupcakes.
:)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
1 school day down, 2,339 more to go.
Day one of kindergarten was a success. Oda Mae woke up this morning ready to hit the ground running. We had back-to-school kolaches for breakfast, yum! After breakfast, she got dressed in her purple outfit, packed her lunch, strapped on a backpack and went to school. She was pretty excited about the whole thing until she realized that mom and dad weren’t going to hang out with her all day at kindergarten. She gave us a tight hug and was able to find a place to sit with some other very frightened little 5-year-old girls.
After I got home I was able to get some housework done as well as start working on some reading fornext week. I was pretty busy for about 30 minutes when I had to call Oda Momma and tell her that I was wondering if Oda Mae was having a good time at school. All day those thoughts were going through my head….I wonder what she’s doing now. Did she make any friends? I hope those friends aren’t a bad influence. Does she know what to do if there is a fire alarm? She won’t get lost on the way to the restroom, will she? I have to admit I don’t understand why, with today’s technology, can’t there be an hourly update on what my child is doing in school? I’m going to have to set up a parent-teacher conference to discuss possibilities: IM, Blogging, Twitter….come on lady step into the 21st century. Oda Momma promptly reminded me that if the kindergarten teacher were blogging all day, she wouldn’t be teaching our daughter. Hmmmmmmmm isn’t that why they need teacher assistants or classroom dads or something?
However….I was able to get parts of the story after we picked up Oda Mae from school this afternoon. During recess she was building a castle out of rocks under the play ground when two girls came over to play with her. After a few minutes the other girls ran away because they had to go. Oda Mae told us that she realized a little later that they ran away because it was time to go inside. She said, “My class almost left me outside! I had to run to get in line.” This story was particularly funny when she told us about the next thing they did. Oda Mae really enjoyed the “Who’s Missing” game. They all got in a circle, closed their eyes and one of them would get up and hide. When the other students opened their eyes they had to guess who was missing. Sounds like a good learn your classmate’s name game. Oda Mae said that she was able to go first in this game. I’m just glad she wasn’t really missing and playing all by herself out on the playground.
She met three friends today. “Two girl friends and one boy friend,” she said. Tonight she said that her “boyfriend” had the same drink bottle that she did. Apparently they met during lunch today when he sat down on the green tape next to the pink tape that she was sitting on. I’m not sure what that was all about. I’m going to have to have a talk with this “boyfriend” and make sure that if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay away from my daughter. It ought to be pretty easy to put the fear of a dad into a five-year-old, shouldn’t it?
All-in-all we had a good day. Hopefully, tomorrow will go smoothly as well.
DV,
Oda Daddy
After I got home I was able to get some housework done as well as start working on some reading fornext week. I was pretty busy for about 30 minutes when I had to call Oda Momma and tell her that I was wondering if Oda Mae was having a good time at school. All day those thoughts were going through my head….I wonder what she’s doing now. Did she make any friends? I hope those friends aren’t a bad influence. Does she know what to do if there is a fire alarm? She won’t get lost on the way to the restroom, will she? I have to admit I don’t understand why, with today’s technology, can’t there be an hourly update on what my child is doing in school? I’m going to have to set up a parent-teacher conference to discuss possibilities: IM, Blogging, Twitter….come on lady step into the 21st century. Oda Momma promptly reminded me that if the kindergarten teacher were blogging all day, she wouldn’t be teaching our daughter. Hmmmmmmmm isn’t that why they need teacher assistants or classroom dads or something?
However….I was able to get parts of the story after we picked up Oda Mae from school this afternoon. During recess she was building a castle out of rocks under the play ground when two girls came over to play with her. After a few minutes the other girls ran away because they had to go. Oda Mae told us that she realized a little later that they ran away because it was time to go inside. She said, “My class almost left me outside! I had to run to get in line.” This story was particularly funny when she told us about the next thing they did. Oda Mae really enjoyed the “Who’s Missing” game. They all got in a circle, closed their eyes and one of them would get up and hide. When the other students opened their eyes they had to guess who was missing. Sounds like a good learn your classmate’s name game. Oda Mae said that she was able to go first in this game. I’m just glad she wasn’t really missing and playing all by herself out on the playground.
She met three friends today. “Two girl friends and one boy friend,” she said. Tonight she said that her “boyfriend” had the same drink bottle that she did. Apparently they met during lunch today when he sat down on the green tape next to the pink tape that she was sitting on. I’m not sure what that was all about. I’m going to have to have a talk with this “boyfriend” and make sure that if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay away from my daughter. It ought to be pretty easy to put the fear of a dad into a five-year-old, shouldn’t it?
All-in-all we had a good day. Hopefully, tomorrow will go smoothly as well.
DV,
Oda Daddy
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Hello...hello....hello....echo...echo....echo.....
Good Lord, somebody blow the dust off of this blog. Let's see, four blog posts in seven months? I think that's a record for me. It seems that since I've started back to school, my blogging life has gone down hill a bit. I have finished my second semester of nursing and I've got seven weeks off. That will be the longest break I've had since A&P I. I am really enjoying nursing school, but I still find myself thinking, "What the hell have I done?" on occasion.
I have three more semesters left and I'll be all registered and stuff. For now however I'm on vacation! Tomorrow morning we leave for a few days to visit some family. Yesterday we went out to a place called "Splash Kingdom". We had a great day. Oda Mae was so tired, she actually slept an hour late this morning. Speaking of Oda Mae here's a recent photo...
Yep, she lost a tooth a while back. She's got another one loose now. BTW, she's headed to kindergarten in the fall. We are making the most of our dog day's of summer. We've taken her out of her parent's day out and we are spending time doing lots of cool stuff. We make it over to the library almost everyday. She's reading really well and will be ahead of most of her little pals come this fall. Today we went to see a movie: "Furry Vengeance". It was pretty silly. I can't wait for the rest of the summer. We are looking forward to some quality time before school starts.
I'll try to update on some other happenings later.
-Oda Daddy
Friday, February 19, 2010
Freaking Tired of Snow
Okay, so a couple of days of snowfall here in TX is kind of cool. You know...the novelty of the whole thing, but enough is enough. The weather forecast for next week calls for more snow. There are several reasons I moved back to TX from Ohio and the snow is one of them. I'm tired of being cold in my house, my shoes are always wet, can't take Oda Mae to the park, the city shuts down....I could go on.
Oda Mae went to her allergy/asthma specialist again this week. She has had a chronic cough since last May. After seeing her regular pediatrician and this specialist several times she finally gets an x-ray. Diagnosis..............Chronic Sinus Infection. She was apparently completely blocked up. Treatment..............antibiotics for the next 20 days. I sure hope this works, otherwise I'm going to have to go in there myself and pull some stuff out. I can do it you know, I'm a professional nursing student.
On Thursday I was able to observe a tracheostomy procedure. It was very interesting to watch. (No, I did not pass out.) Also, I helped with some physical therapy and took the glucose levels of a couple of patients. See, I am learning something. Funny thing about learning how to be a nurse...the more I learn and the more information that I am able to put into my brain, the more I realize how completely incompetent I am. There are people who have been in health care their entire lives and are still learning. As a "non-traditional student" I am somewhat saddened by the fact that I didn't make this choice several years ago. C'est la vie.
I am having some issues however. Having a degree in education has made me somewhat of a "teaching snob". I've had many classes and lessons with people who are great teachers but poor performers in their "art". I've also had sessions with people who are great performers, but can't teach their way out of a paper bag. That is my issue right now. What do you do if you your instructor doesn't have a clue what to tell you, but they can do their job just fine? It's not like you can just go up to them and tell them that they are sucking things up for you. I do remember telling a certain teacher of mine that he wasn't cutting it for me. Eventually I trained him pretty good and got an excellent education from him. :) I wonder if that could happen again in a shorter period of time? I'll give it some more thought.
-DV
Okay, I'm done. (Can you tell I'm ready for the spring and summer?)
Oda Mae went to her allergy/asthma specialist again this week. She has had a chronic cough since last May. After seeing her regular pediatrician and this specialist several times she finally gets an x-ray. Diagnosis..............Chronic Sinus Infection. She was apparently completely blocked up. Treatment..............antibiotics for the next 20 days. I sure hope this works, otherwise I'm going to have to go in there myself and pull some stuff out. I can do it you know, I'm a professional nursing student.
On Thursday I was able to observe a tracheostomy procedure. It was very interesting to watch. (No, I did not pass out.) Also, I helped with some physical therapy and took the glucose levels of a couple of patients. See, I am learning something. Funny thing about learning how to be a nurse...the more I learn and the more information that I am able to put into my brain, the more I realize how completely incompetent I am. There are people who have been in health care their entire lives and are still learning. As a "non-traditional student" I am somewhat saddened by the fact that I didn't make this choice several years ago. C'est la vie.
I am having some issues however. Having a degree in education has made me somewhat of a "teaching snob". I've had many classes and lessons with people who are great teachers but poor performers in their "art". I've also had sessions with people who are great performers, but can't teach their way out of a paper bag. That is my issue right now. What do you do if you your instructor doesn't have a clue what to tell you, but they can do their job just fine? It's not like you can just go up to them and tell them that they are sucking things up for you. I do remember telling a certain teacher of mine that he wasn't cutting it for me. Eventually I trained him pretty good and got an excellent education from him. :) I wonder if that could happen again in a shorter period of time? I'll give it some more thought.
-DV
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Yes, I'm THAT guy.
Second week of nursing school behind me as of today. I've been insanely busy as Oda Momma and Oda Mae can tell you. I am averaging around 7 hrs a day studying (outside of class time), and I'm only slightly behind. I've been playing gigs as well these two weeks. I'm out of town now until late Saturday evening. The good thing is that I don't have any rehearsals until 7 tomorrow night. That gives me the entire day to try and get caught up. After two weeks of somewhat intense study I can say now that I am really enjoying what I am doing. The new information that I am learning is incredibly refreshing and is truly fascinating to me. With all that said, I'm 99.9% sure that I have made a good decision with my career change. However, there are some things I'll have to work on....
For example: Foley Catheters.
I show up to clinical at 7am this morning. Today we began the day watching some skills videos. Last week we watched videos on safe patient handling and infection control. Today, we ended the week with "Elimination Needs". Yes, it is exactly what you think it is. Now, if you know me, you know that I really like to watch all of those surgery shows when they show the inside of the skull, autopsy's, guts...you get the idea. I'm generally not too squeamish. You have to imagine though a fairly small computer lab (about 25 stations) filled with 40 nursing students and 2-5 faculty members. It's pretty cozy. Of course the heat is on because it's winter. Things get kind of warm. So I'm setting in the back surrounded by my peers when we get to the video, "Removing Indwelling Catheters". A 3 minute video that lasted about 2 1/2 minutes too long for me. These videos are produced for nursing students using real nurses and "patients" who apparently are REALLY desperate actors. Yep they do it for real, people. I was doing okay until they actually removed the tubing from the male patient. The next thing I remember are 39 student nurses and 5 faculty nurses fanning me and asking me if I hurt my head when I fell out of my chair onto the floor. Fainting. Blackout. Syncope. Unconsciousness. What ever you want to call it. I am pleased to announce to the readers of The Famfare that I will forever be known as "that guy who fainted during the elimination videos".
Yes, I'm fine.
On a more lively note. Oda Mae had the opportunity to go to school today in her PJ's for Pajama/Pancake day. She ate 4 pancakes, 2 slices of ham, lots of grapes and some apple slices. Oh, to be four years old again.
Time to go desensitize myself to various issues concerning "Elimination Needs".
-OD (Student Nurse)
For example: Foley Catheters.
I show up to clinical at 7am this morning. Today we began the day watching some skills videos. Last week we watched videos on safe patient handling and infection control. Today, we ended the week with "Elimination Needs". Yes, it is exactly what you think it is. Now, if you know me, you know that I really like to watch all of those surgery shows when they show the inside of the skull, autopsy's, guts...you get the idea. I'm generally not too squeamish. You have to imagine though a fairly small computer lab (about 25 stations) filled with 40 nursing students and 2-5 faculty members. It's pretty cozy. Of course the heat is on because it's winter. Things get kind of warm. So I'm setting in the back surrounded by my peers when we get to the video, "Removing Indwelling Catheters". A 3 minute video that lasted about 2 1/2 minutes too long for me. These videos are produced for nursing students using real nurses and "patients" who apparently are REALLY desperate actors. Yep they do it for real, people. I was doing okay until they actually removed the tubing from the male patient. The next thing I remember are 39 student nurses and 5 faculty nurses fanning me and asking me if I hurt my head when I fell out of my chair onto the floor. Fainting. Blackout. Syncope. Unconsciousness. What ever you want to call it. I am pleased to announce to the readers of The Famfare that I will forever be known as "that guy who fainted during the elimination videos".
Yes, I'm fine.
On a more lively note. Oda Mae had the opportunity to go to school today in her PJ's for Pajama/Pancake day. She ate 4 pancakes, 2 slices of ham, lots of grapes and some apple slices. Oh, to be four years old again.
Time to go desensitize myself to various issues concerning "Elimination Needs".
-OD (Student Nurse)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
My Last 48 Hours
Alas, the time has finally come. I have about 48 more hours left as a free man. I plan on spending them with my family. Today is my nephew's birthday and we're going to my sister's house for some good food. Last night Oda Momma and I sent Oda Mae to her Aunt Sis' house early so we could go see a movie. We went to the only $1 movie left in town and saw "2012". If you're into disaster movies, this one is worth about what we paid for it. ($4.00 total) Glad we didn't see it at the regular theater.
Today I've got to finish one more chapter for clinicals on Tuesday and read through the student handbook. I originally had big plans for Oda Mae and I tomorrow. We were going to the library and the museum, BUT the library is closed for MLK and there is no free parking for the museum in Cowtown, because of, well....cows. The Ft. Worth Stock Show and Rodeo have taken over the arts district for the next couple of weeks. We're gonna have to find something to do tomorrow. STAT!
Speaking of "stat", I got my stethoscope in the mail on Friday. Yes, I played with it! and No, I don't know what I'm doing. Yet.
Note to family.....I WILL be practicing on all of you when we get together the next time, so just prepare for it!
That is all for now.
DV
-Oda Daddy
Today I've got to finish one more chapter for clinicals on Tuesday and read through the student handbook. I originally had big plans for Oda Mae and I tomorrow. We were going to the library and the museum, BUT the library is closed for MLK and there is no free parking for the museum in Cowtown, because of, well....cows. The Ft. Worth Stock Show and Rodeo have taken over the arts district for the next couple of weeks. We're gonna have to find something to do tomorrow. STAT!
Speaking of "stat", I got my stethoscope in the mail on Friday. Yes, I played with it! and No, I don't know what I'm doing. Yet.
Note to family.....I WILL be practicing on all of you when we get together the next time, so just prepare for it!
That is all for now.
DV
-Oda Daddy
Monday, January 4, 2010
2010
Whoa!!!! Only 8 blog posts in 2009. Is there anybody still here? Guess I've been busy. Facebook kind of took over, but there's not much substance there. Here I can complain and it doesn't matter who I offend. :)
Let's see.....since July..........
I got into nursing school and I start in two weeks. Did anyone here know I was going into nursing? Yeah, that happened sometime last year.
Oda Mae starts going to parents day out four days a week. (She starts kindergarten next fall...talk about scary)
We've been combating sickness around here for about two months (or longer).
My sister is an official cancer survivor!!!! Yea Sis!
We are almost debt free!!!
Got the Christmas lights up this year.
Got to take them down now...bummer.
Lost about 40 lbs in 2009
Gained 10 lbs during the holidays.
Gonna lose about 20-25 more starting today.
Well, that's it for now. Promise I'll be back before this summer.
-OD
Let's see.....since July..........
I got into nursing school and I start in two weeks. Did anyone here know I was going into nursing? Yeah, that happened sometime last year.
Oda Mae starts going to parents day out four days a week. (She starts kindergarten next fall...talk about scary)
We've been combating sickness around here for about two months (or longer).
My sister is an official cancer survivor!!!! Yea Sis!
We are almost debt free!!!
Got the Christmas lights up this year.
Got to take them down now...bummer.
Lost about 40 lbs in 2009
Gained 10 lbs during the holidays.
Gonna lose about 20-25 more starting today.
Well, that's it for now. Promise I'll be back before this summer.
-OD
Friday, July 10, 2009
Eat Mor Chikin!
Today I took my family out for a nice lunch. It was free. Of course we all had to dress up like cows, but hey, FREE LUNCH!
Oda Mae and I worked on our costumes for about 40 minutes this morning. There were a lot of spots to tape on.
If you want a free meal as well...head on over to Chick-fil-a dressed up like a cow and have at it.
We had a very good time.
Oda Mae and I worked on our costumes for about 40 minutes this morning. There were a lot of spots to tape on.
If you want a free meal as well...head on over to Chick-fil-a dressed up like a cow and have at it.
We had a very good time.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
It was a rocky start...
Well here we are, the beginning of July and I made it through a 6 week crash course in Microbiology. I have to say that I REALLY enjoyed the class as far as the science goes. Does that officially make me a nerd? The lab has been my favorite so far. We were able to grow some really cool (aka disgusting) stuff. And NO, I didn't contaminate myself with anything. I have to admit though, I won't ever take another science course during a six week summer term if I can help it. TMI in TLT!
Now the bad part...I believe my instructor had MPD. Good Lord! This lady had about 5 different personalities that were completely random. During the 1st week, I would have rather gouged my eyeballs out than to have to listen to this lady lecture. After that, I think she backed off a bit. Either that or I was desensitized at that point. Either way I'm done now and can look back and reflect. I have to admit, I made the lowest grade on the first test that I've made since my return to school last September. I made a 70! The test wasn't at all what I had expected and I didn't study properly. After that I made a b-line for the nearest library and practically lived there until last night. By the end, I had approximately 900 note cards that covered EVERYTHING we had covered in class. I am happy to announce that I received my final grade today of ......drum roll please........
"A"
granted, it's actually an A- (91 average), but I'll take it!
I really wish I had taken this course during a long semester. I would have enjoyed taking a little more time to really learn the material, but life doesn't always work out that way.
My next adventure....Psychology (Transitions Throughout the Lifespan). It's a FOUR week course. Starts on Monday....wish me luck.
On August 1st, I will be applying for nursing school. I hope I get in!
In the mean time....the family and I will be partying at CITG tonight and celebrating the 4th. Hot Dogs, Bean Salad, Grapes, Cookies, Pound Cake, Fireworks! Looking forward to it.
-OD
Now the bad part...I believe my instructor had MPD. Good Lord! This lady had about 5 different personalities that were completely random. During the 1st week, I would have rather gouged my eyeballs out than to have to listen to this lady lecture. After that, I think she backed off a bit. Either that or I was desensitized at that point. Either way I'm done now and can look back and reflect. I have to admit, I made the lowest grade on the first test that I've made since my return to school last September. I made a 70! The test wasn't at all what I had expected and I didn't study properly. After that I made a b-line for the nearest library and practically lived there until last night. By the end, I had approximately 900 note cards that covered EVERYTHING we had covered in class. I am happy to announce that I received my final grade today of ......drum roll please........
"A"
granted, it's actually an A- (91 average), but I'll take it!
I really wish I had taken this course during a long semester. I would have enjoyed taking a little more time to really learn the material, but life doesn't always work out that way.
My next adventure....Psychology (Transitions Throughout the Lifespan). It's a FOUR week course. Starts on Monday....wish me luck.
On August 1st, I will be applying for nursing school. I hope I get in!
In the mean time....the family and I will be partying at CITG tonight and celebrating the 4th. Hot Dogs, Bean Salad, Grapes, Cookies, Pound Cake, Fireworks! Looking forward to it.
-OD
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Summer Reading
Well, here we are again. Bet you thought it would be another couple of months, huh? I still have things to blog about, so we'll continue with Oda Mae's education today.
A few weeks ago we finished going through all the letters of the alphabet. We learned sounds that went with all of the letters and practiced writing them as well. Every week we checked out books from the library that would reinforce the letter of the "week". If any of you parents out there are interested in teaching your kids how to read there are a couple of websites I used to help us along. The first one is Brightly Beaming Resources There is a wealth of information from a mother who home schools her children. We followed her preparatory curriculum followed by her letter of the week. We also used http://www.starfall.com/ for Oda Mae to play computer games while learning letters and sounds. We will continue to use these websites. They have been extremely valuable.
After we finished the letter of the week curriculum I checked out books for her at the library. They have several pages of single syllable words with the occasional two syllable word. So far, Oda Mae has read four of them to me so far. She knows how to sound out the words and doesn't need Daddys help! I'm pretty sure she'll be smarter than me someday.
Today we went to the library downtown for the annual Summer Reading Kickoff Extravaganza Super-duper Mega Party and we were the first ones to show up. There are perks for showing up first like hobnobbing with Mayer Mike and being used for "Photo Ops". We'll be checking out the local paper to see what shows up. See...
Then of course, there were crafts... 
And face painting...
Followed by story time...
Oda Mae got a little scared of the witch from "Piggy Pie" She was the farmer.
A few weeks ago we finished going through all the letters of the alphabet. We learned sounds that went with all of the letters and practiced writing them as well. Every week we checked out books from the library that would reinforce the letter of the "week". If any of you parents out there are interested in teaching your kids how to read there are a couple of websites I used to help us along. The first one is Brightly Beaming Resources There is a wealth of information from a mother who home schools her children. We followed her preparatory curriculum followed by her letter of the week. We also used http://www.starfall.com/ for Oda Mae to play computer games while learning letters and sounds. We will continue to use these websites. They have been extremely valuable.
After we finished the letter of the week curriculum I checked out books for her at the library. They have several pages of single syllable words with the occasional two syllable word. So far, Oda Mae has read four of them to me so far. She knows how to sound out the words and doesn't need Daddys help! I'm pretty sure she'll be smarter than me someday.
Today we went to the library downtown for the annual Summer Reading Kickoff Extravaganza Super-duper Mega Party and we were the first ones to show up. There are perks for showing up first like hobnobbing with Mayer Mike and being used for "Photo Ops". We'll be checking out the local paper to see what shows up. See...
Then of course, there were crafts... And face painting...
Followed by story time...
Oda Mae got a little scared of the witch from "Piggy Pie" She was the farmer.
Afterwords, we were hungry AND tired. So we checked out a book, came home, ate a sandwich and fell asleep. We are both looking forward to this summer when Oda Mae can start reading books on her own for the Summer Reading Program. Yeah!
Dominus Vobiscum,
Oda Daddy
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Oda Mae's Recital
Monday I had 4 final exams, so I figured I needed a couple days rest before I got back to blogging....
We'll start with the most recent event. On Sunday, yes Mother's Day, Oda Mae had her first "ballet recital". Since January I've been taking her to ballet lessons once a week. She loves to dance around the house so we figured we'd give ballet a try. I found a school near the house that offered a class during a time I could take her. It started out simple enough. We had to invest a little, you know, ballet slippers, tights, leotards, tuition, etc. We definitely wanted to see her perform in the spring performance so we paid for the costume and performance fee as well. As you can imagine all of this was starting to add up. Of course, we just paid 'cause it was our little girl.
I finally got used to setting in the lobby area with all of the other "mothers" who brought their little ones to class. I won't even go into some of the conversations I heard there. I just brought a book every week and got some reading done during the 45 minute class. Parents weren't allowed in the studio, but we could hear everything that was going on while sitting in the lobby. I have to admit I was never really comfortable with the instruction that went on. Only a couple of basic positions were taught and the rest of the class time was spent preparing for "the performance". Now, I work in the arts. I know what it takes to put on a good show, but we're talking about a class of 3 and 4 yr olds. All they want to do is have fun. By the end of the semester I had to MAKE Oda Mae go to class. A couple of times I thought about letting her stay home. She really wasn't having fun in the class. Typically, once she got out of the class, she was fine, but she should want to go. I'm pretty sure the instructor hadn't worked with kids very much. She was pretty negative when they we not doing what they needed to do. It was very rare that I heard words of encouragement to any of the students.
"The Performance"
Now, I'll admit, the performance was done very well. Very professional. A two hour production of Alice in Wonderland at a major hall with all of the students (young and old) from this particular ballet school. Frankly, I just wanted to see Oda Mae dance around with a bunch of other kids her age. The good seats in the auditorium were reserved for alumni of the school, we had to pay for the program that had her name and picture, and photographs and video were not allowed during the performance. COME ON PEOPLE! I was able to get pics and video at the dress rehearsal, so that's good.
All in all we made it through and Oda Mae got to dance on stage for 3 minutes, but I think we might be looking at other options for this summer and next fall. She was super cute mind you, but maybe we'll put swimming, soccer and chess on the list of things to try next. :)
Here's the video from the dress.
Here are some pics from the dress.
We'll start with the most recent event. On Sunday, yes Mother's Day, Oda Mae had her first "ballet recital". Since January I've been taking her to ballet lessons once a week. She loves to dance around the house so we figured we'd give ballet a try. I found a school near the house that offered a class during a time I could take her. It started out simple enough. We had to invest a little, you know, ballet slippers, tights, leotards, tuition, etc. We definitely wanted to see her perform in the spring performance so we paid for the costume and performance fee as well. As you can imagine all of this was starting to add up. Of course, we just paid 'cause it was our little girl.
I finally got used to setting in the lobby area with all of the other "mothers" who brought their little ones to class. I won't even go into some of the conversations I heard there. I just brought a book every week and got some reading done during the 45 minute class. Parents weren't allowed in the studio, but we could hear everything that was going on while sitting in the lobby. I have to admit I was never really comfortable with the instruction that went on. Only a couple of basic positions were taught and the rest of the class time was spent preparing for "the performance". Now, I work in the arts. I know what it takes to put on a good show, but we're talking about a class of 3 and 4 yr olds. All they want to do is have fun. By the end of the semester I had to MAKE Oda Mae go to class. A couple of times I thought about letting her stay home. She really wasn't having fun in the class. Typically, once she got out of the class, she was fine, but she should want to go. I'm pretty sure the instructor hadn't worked with kids very much. She was pretty negative when they we not doing what they needed to do. It was very rare that I heard words of encouragement to any of the students.
"The Performance"
Now, I'll admit, the performance was done very well. Very professional. A two hour production of Alice in Wonderland at a major hall with all of the students (young and old) from this particular ballet school. Frankly, I just wanted to see Oda Mae dance around with a bunch of other kids her age. The good seats in the auditorium were reserved for alumni of the school, we had to pay for the program that had her name and picture, and photographs and video were not allowed during the performance. COME ON PEOPLE! I was able to get pics and video at the dress rehearsal, so that's good.
All in all we made it through and Oda Mae got to dance on stage for 3 minutes, but I think we might be looking at other options for this summer and next fall. She was super cute mind you, but maybe we'll put swimming, soccer and chess on the list of things to try next. :)
Here's the video from the dress.
Here are some pics from the dress.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Some more pics
Yesterday we went out to the museum district and took some "fairy" shots. Today we went to the library and the FREE Family Fun Day at the Texas Cowgirl Museum/Museum of Natural Science and History.
There are a few more pics on my Facebook page as well.
There are a few more pics on my Facebook page as well.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Had a photo shoot today...
Allison and I had a photo shoot today. She actually had "school" pictures done today as well. I decided last week to have a photo shoot with her this week so that I wouldn't be tempted to spend thousands of dollars on some pretty average pictures. We went out to the garden today after I picked her up and we had a blast. Here is one of my favorites. I'll post some more over the next day or two.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
First Post
Good morning all. Happy New Year!
Wow, 2008 was quite the year for us here at the "Oda" household. Oda Mae learned how to spell her name this year. Oda Momma and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. I decided to change careers. Looking back, is always interesting. The other day I saw a montage of celebrities who passed away during 2008. You see these things and you always go, "I forgot about so-and-so, was that this year?" or "I didn't know he died this year." The real fun though, for me, is looking forward to the new year in anticipation of what is to come...
I am looking forward to spending more time with Oda Momma this year. Gran and Sis gave us monthly "Oda Free Weekends" for Christmas.
Tomorrow we start a New Testament reading program with the church we are joining. We've attended a local church for the last 3-4 months and have really enjoyed going. It's a large church with plenty of opportunities to plug in. It is Christ centered and they really seem to have their act together in all the right areas.
Oda Mae will turn 4 this year. She loves to dress up and dance more than anything else, so I think we'll enroll her in some kind of dance class after her birthday.
I should finish my pre-requisites for nursing school this summer and hopefully I'll get accepted for next spring. A year ago, I was stressing about an audition I took in March. This year, I'm actually excited about taking Chemistry.
Last night Oda Momma and I went out for dinner at Texas de Brazil. If you've never been, start saving your pennies and plan an evening for the future. A massive salad bar with imported cheeses, meets, vegetables etc. and if you're man enough go for the complete dinner which includes MEAT. Servers come by your table with all sorts of meat on large skewers and they sliced it off for you right on to your plate. Oda Momma and I both started with the salad bar. Then I proceeded to turn over my card to the green side that said "Yes, please."
This means that the servers bombard you with different cuts of meat until you have so much on your plate that you have to have time to catch up. At which point you promptly turn your card over to the red side which says "No, thank you." which in my case means "Give me time!"
Oda Momma opted for the salad bar only. At one point our waiter came by and asked her if she was done. Oda Momma gave him the look of death and he promptly replied with "Would you like a new plate." :) This is why I love HER. The problem for me at TDB, is that you never really know how much you are eating. They come by with just a little piece of meat and you eat it. Then they come by with another little piece of meat, you eat it as well. Then at some point you realize that you should have stopped eating little pieces of meat about 5 servers ago. Despite getting overly full, Oda Momma and I had a good time. We came home and watched a movie and slept into the new year.
Now we're headed over to Gran's house for a New Years lunch and to pick up our child. I have no doubts that Oda Mae had as good a time as we did.
Dominus Vobiscum,
Oda Daddy
Monday, December 22, 2008
CPI
Man, talk about inflation. 8.1% increase for the Christmas Price Index...
Speaking of the Christmas Price Index, I am fondly reminded of my favorite holiday joke...Once again, a letter from Agnes...
Dearest John:
I went to the door today and the postman delivered a partridge in a pear tree. What a delightful gift. I couldn't have been more surprised.
With dearest love and affection, Agnes
***
December 15th
Dearest John:
Today the postman brought your very sweet gift. Just imagine, two turtle doves.... I'm just delighted at your very thoughtful gift. They are just adorable.
All my love, Agnes
***
December 16th
Dear John:
Oh, aren't you the extravagant one! Now I must protest. I don't deserve such generosity. Three french hens. They are just darling but I must insist.... you're just too kind.
Love Agnes
***
December 17th
Today the postman delivered four calling birds. Now really! They are beautiful, but don't you think enough is enough? You're being too romantic.
Affectionately, Agnes
***
December 18th
Dearest John:
What a surprise! Today the postman delivered five golden rings. One for each finger. You're just impossible, but I love it. Frankly, John, all those squawking birds were beginning to get on my nerves.
All my love, Agnes
***
December 19th
Dear John:
When I opened the door there were actually six geese-a-laying on my front steps. So you're back to the birds again, huh? Those geese are huge. Where will I ever keep them? The neighbors are complaining and I can't sleep through the racket. PLEASE STOP!
Cordially, Agnes
***
December 20th
John:
What's with you and those birds???? Seven swans-a-swimming. What kind of joke is this? There's bird do-do all over the house and they never stop the racket. I'm a nervous wreck and I can't sleep all night. IT'S NOT FUNNY.......So stop with those birds.
Sincerely, Agnes
***
December 21st
OK Buster:
I think I prefer the birds. What am I going to do with eight maids-a-milking? It's not enough with all those birds and eight maids-a-milking, but they had to bring their own cows. There is poop all over the lawn and I can't move into my own house. Just lay off me. .
Ag
***
December 22nd
Hey:
What are you? Some kind of sadist? Now there's nine pipers playing. And do they play! They never stopped chasing those maids since they got here yesterday morning. The cows are upset and are stepping all over those screeching birds. No wonder they screech. What am I going to do? The neighbors have started a petition to evict me. You'll get yours.
From Ag
***
December 23rd
You Creep!
Now there's ten ladies dancing - I don't know why I call them ladies. Now the cows can't sleep and they've got diarrhea. My living room is a river of poop. The commissioner of buildings has subpoenaed me to give cause why the building shouldn't be condemned. I'm sicking the police on you.
One who means it, Ag
***
December 24th
Listen Idiot:
What's with the eleven lords a-leaping? All 234 of the birds are dead. I hope you're satisfied, you rotten swine.
Your sworn enemy, Miss Agnes McCallister
***
December 25th (From the law offices Taeker, Spedar, and Baegar)
Dear Sir:
This is to acknowledge your latest gift of twelve fiddlers fiddling, which you have seen fit to inflict on our client, Miss Agnes McCallister. The destruction, of course, was total. All correspondence should come to our attention. If you should attempt to reach Miss McCallister at Happy Dale Sanitarium, the attendants have instructions to shoot you on sight. With this letter, please find attached a warrant for your arrest.
-Merry Christmas
Speaking of the Christmas Price Index, I am fondly reminded of my favorite holiday joke...Once again, a letter from Agnes...
Dearest John:
I went to the door today and the postman delivered a partridge in a pear tree. What a delightful gift. I couldn't have been more surprised.
With dearest love and affection, Agnes
***
December 15th
Dearest John:
Today the postman brought your very sweet gift. Just imagine, two turtle doves.... I'm just delighted at your very thoughtful gift. They are just adorable.
All my love, Agnes
***
December 16th
Dear John:
Oh, aren't you the extravagant one! Now I must protest. I don't deserve such generosity. Three french hens. They are just darling but I must insist.... you're just too kind.
Love Agnes
***
December 17th
Today the postman delivered four calling birds. Now really! They are beautiful, but don't you think enough is enough? You're being too romantic.
Affectionately, Agnes
***
December 18th
Dearest John:
What a surprise! Today the postman delivered five golden rings. One for each finger. You're just impossible, but I love it. Frankly, John, all those squawking birds were beginning to get on my nerves.
All my love, Agnes
***
December 19th
Dear John:
When I opened the door there were actually six geese-a-laying on my front steps. So you're back to the birds again, huh? Those geese are huge. Where will I ever keep them? The neighbors are complaining and I can't sleep through the racket. PLEASE STOP!
Cordially, Agnes
***
December 20th
John:
What's with you and those birds???? Seven swans-a-swimming. What kind of joke is this? There's bird do-do all over the house and they never stop the racket. I'm a nervous wreck and I can't sleep all night. IT'S NOT FUNNY.......So stop with those birds.
Sincerely, Agnes
***
December 21st
OK Buster:
I think I prefer the birds. What am I going to do with eight maids-a-milking? It's not enough with all those birds and eight maids-a-milking, but they had to bring their own cows. There is poop all over the lawn and I can't move into my own house. Just lay off me. .
Ag
***
December 22nd
Hey:
What are you? Some kind of sadist? Now there's nine pipers playing. And do they play! They never stopped chasing those maids since they got here yesterday morning. The cows are upset and are stepping all over those screeching birds. No wonder they screech. What am I going to do? The neighbors have started a petition to evict me. You'll get yours.
From Ag
***
December 23rd
You Creep!
Now there's ten ladies dancing - I don't know why I call them ladies. Now the cows can't sleep and they've got diarrhea. My living room is a river of poop. The commissioner of buildings has subpoenaed me to give cause why the building shouldn't be condemned. I'm sicking the police on you.
One who means it, Ag
***
December 24th
Listen Idiot:
What's with the eleven lords a-leaping? All 234 of the birds are dead. I hope you're satisfied, you rotten swine.
Your sworn enemy, Miss Agnes McCallister
***
December 25th (From the law offices Taeker, Spedar, and Baegar)
Dear Sir:
This is to acknowledge your latest gift of twelve fiddlers fiddling, which you have seen fit to inflict on our client, Miss Agnes McCallister. The destruction, of course, was total. All correspondence should come to our attention. If you should attempt to reach Miss McCallister at Happy Dale Sanitarium, the attendants have instructions to shoot you on sight. With this letter, please find attached a warrant for your arrest.
-Merry Christmas
Thursday, December 18, 2008
"Little" House on the Prairie
Oda Mae and I had some time on our hands today and decided to make another Little People television intro...
Here's the old one we did with Green Acres. Geegee asked for an easy link...
Here's the old one we did with Green Acres. Geegee asked for an easy link...
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Cookies and the Space Shuttle
Well, the title pretty much says it all.
Oda Mae and I started out our day by making some gingerbread cookies. We got the dough made this morning and put it in the fridge to chill while we went to the store to grab a couple of things. On our way to the store we happened to see a couple of helicopters; then we noticed another one just hovering over us. When we came out of the store we noticed two more. That's 5 helicopters just kind of floating about for several minutes. I just figured they were looking for somebody who got away from somebody else. We started driving to Jo-Ann's for some cookie making equipment and noticed that there were several people out of their places of business looking up in the sky. Once again I just figured they were wondering what all the helicopters were for. As we get closer to Jo-Ann's there are people parked in parking lots, along side the road and all over just looking around. That's when I noticed some of them had cameras and binoculars. I called Oda Momma and told her our story and she looked on the internet to see what was going on.....
It turns out that the Space Shuttle Endeavor was taking off (piggy back) today from the Joint Reserve Base. It just so happens that we live less than 5 minutes from the Joint Reserve Base here in Ft. Worth which is literally across the street from Jo-Ann's. Oda Mae and I thought we needed to join the crowds and start looking, so we did. We got to see it fly off to the southeast. It was COOL!
Then we came home and finished our cookies.
See...
Yeah, we had a pretty good day.
Dominus Vobiscum,
Oda Daddy
Oda Mae and I started out our day by making some gingerbread cookies. We got the dough made this morning and put it in the fridge to chill while we went to the store to grab a couple of things. On our way to the store we happened to see a couple of helicopters; then we noticed another one just hovering over us. When we came out of the store we noticed two more. That's 5 helicopters just kind of floating about for several minutes. I just figured they were looking for somebody who got away from somebody else. We started driving to Jo-Ann's for some cookie making equipment and noticed that there were several people out of their places of business looking up in the sky. Once again I just figured they were wondering what all the helicopters were for. As we get closer to Jo-Ann's there are people parked in parking lots, along side the road and all over just looking around. That's when I noticed some of them had cameras and binoculars. I called Oda Momma and told her our story and she looked on the internet to see what was going on.....
It turns out that the Space Shuttle Endeavor was taking off (piggy back) today from the Joint Reserve Base. It just so happens that we live less than 5 minutes from the Joint Reserve Base here in Ft. Worth which is literally across the street from Jo-Ann's. Oda Mae and I thought we needed to join the crowds and start looking, so we did. We got to see it fly off to the southeast. It was COOL!
Then we came home and finished our cookies.
See...
Yeah, we had a pretty good day.
Dominus Vobiscum,
Oda Daddy
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Lighted the house...
Yep, folks. I've got the lights on the house now. I'll make a video soon like I usually do so you can all see the work that I've done. I'm sure you'll be impressed. I got out day before yesterday and put them up. I've actually got a few more to get up, but it's like 30 degrees outside or something like that, so I'll do it tomorrow.
The grades are in. My first step towards getting a bachelor's degree in nursing was taking Human Anatomy and Physiology I this semester. I finished this semester with an average grade of 98%. Woot! Next semester I'll take on A&P II, Chemistry and PE. I'm actually a little worried about the PE. For whatever reason they wont consider the three years of marching band I had back 13 years ago as enough physical education for one person. Guess I'll be hitting the gym this spring. Just don't make me line up for dodge ball picks, okay?
Abby and Fergus are happy that I cleaned the backyard yesterday. I am too. It looks much better.
DV,
-OD
The grades are in. My first step towards getting a bachelor's degree in nursing was taking Human Anatomy and Physiology I this semester. I finished this semester with an average grade of 98%. Woot! Next semester I'll take on A&P II, Chemistry and PE. I'm actually a little worried about the PE. For whatever reason they wont consider the three years of marching band I had back 13 years ago as enough physical education for one person. Guess I'll be hitting the gym this spring. Just don't make me line up for dodge ball picks, okay?
Abby and Fergus are happy that I cleaned the backyard yesterday. I am too. It looks much better.
DV,
-OD
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