i don't want to at all, but somehow i have to fit a daily run into today, or i can't have wine all weekend - the rule being that i only drink wine on any given day if i have run for the last 3 days straight.

Bike wheel got stuck in a streetcar track and made me fall (lucky! i only broke a shoe) but I still got to the opera (Carmen, gorgeously set in a museum) on time to buy €3.50 standing room tickets, from which you can't read the supertitles, but who cares, since I know it by heart anyways.

A butterfly "made perfect" by a pin through it is staring at me from its place on my shelf and makes me question if, perhaps, it was the ephemeral quality that made the butterfly perfect in the first place.

when you show up to yoga un-showered with paint still on your arms, be aware that there is a possibility that you may not be going to a concert or the theater directly thereafter (glad that Manuela came and hung out with a wine and cheese evening at home instead).

I painted 70 nails today - 10 on my toes, and 60 on hands and feet of all three of my boys.

The answer to "why would Brian buy Irma whiskey?" is clearly because on a twelfth anniversary, one requires twelve year old scotch, or, in Brian's words "because 12, 16, and 20 are the whiskey years." <3

When you cut someone's hair in the kitchen you are bound to get clippings stuck to your feet.

It's memorial day? oops, guess i'm not going to upstate ny for the memorial day party.

Wants to play more music and watch fewer bad 60s scifi movies, even though the latter's (sometimes) fun and the former takes extra energy.

You can be my friend, but you have to work extra hard to get into my tiramisu club

Brandenburg 6 soloist barefoot unshowered and awesome?

You know you really love someone and that they really love you back when you spend the evening in the basement together bailing water with 5gallon buckets (and 2lb yogurt containers) when the water tank bursts, and only loving words are said the whole time.

Keith gave me the weirdest book of short stories to read, and I find they are so weird that I can only read them in small doses.

Brandenburg 6 is the world's most beautiful viola joke.

I have such a huge overbite that I have to eat half of any sandwich upside-down. (No I wont get that orthodontically fixed.)

It's almost time for my first trip back to the gym, but I keep putting it off in f(l)avor of ice-cream.

There is no need for words today - but i sure am having fun learning new ones by reading silly fluff short stories about really angsty thirty year old socialite women.

a special thank you to the lady who was really nice about me backing into her car (twas but a tap) in the ultra-dark parking garage, and also a special un-thank you to ALL the people in Boston who don't use their turn signals.

It took three days to (unrelatedly) read slaughterhouse five and watch 2001 a space odyssey, but they both were wonderful and exceeded expectations, which is rare for me - even when i have the lowest of low expectations, which i didn't in this case.

Today at the gym one of the trainers said to me, "you are a lot tougher than you look" and I'm still trying to decide if that was a complement or not.

Thought everyone would like a bonus picture for today, to introduce Henry ... and don't worry, not every post from now on will be about babies.

Best compliment ever (from a mom who sees me every week) "You are the skinniest pregnant lady ever!" (err, I had the baby last week)

After dropping my bother and sister off in the woods where they could continue their hike of the Appalachian Trail, we drove out on a windy, bumpy road and as soon as we got back on pavement, I got car sick for the first time in over 15 years... which resulted in lot of laughter by all (including myself) about 5 minutes later.

Adjusting to having four people in our family is trickier with a sick one year old instead of a healthy one - you didn't think we'd be getting any sleep, did you?

I didn't take a single picture of anything today... so much for the resolve to get a picture a day of the new baby.

Donuts for breakfast and a resolution to be healthy from now on for lunch mean we had a walk for dinner.

I was able to give my courageous brother and sister a hug for the first time in months and it felt so good!

An unnamed baby boy joined my family just before one in the morning, and by four in the afternoon we were safe in our own home.

Okay, go go go
sleep
and dream
of happy things
like hula-hoops
and diamond rings
have a good snooze
if it suites youzzz

Loved having dinner with Keith and Alison, though it was the first time that I initiated the drive home, and none too early, since I may have gone into labor on the way back (don't know for sure).

My right leg is getting a little mushy... I really need to be more committed to my leg raise exercises everyday!

My mom crocheted and sent Theo the most amazing stuffed turtle that we cuddled with tonight as he fell asleep.

Met a new student today, and his mom says "When is your due date? I am so worried about his orchestra concert next week." (too little, too late?)

Left-overs from the world's largest pizza (24 inches in diameter) made for a tasty lunch in the sun with my favorite person.

Got home last night to find that my ($25) computer doesn't even pretend to turn on anymore, so posts may be sporadic... but I'll try when I can.

Even though I still can't do too much in the way of helping out, I was so glad to give my mom a big hug of thanks for all the love she has shown me throughout my life and especially in these recent weeks.

Two gigantic concerts, a rehearsal, several hours of driving, and eating nothing but junk food all day sounds like suuuch a healthy Mother's day, but at least Theo brought me a dandelion this morning with a kiss.

A day of sun and love and family and good food and laughter and ocean... what could be better?

almost all the way to a little party get-together we find out that we missed an email and a phone call cancelling the event ( :( ) so we walked around a lovely lake in the pouring rain instead ( :) )

An "All American" afternoon entails a walk down the road to the flowering park passing quaint homes with picket fences and a park bench over-looking a small lake and a view of a baseball game, while the neighbors stop to say hello, an ice cream truck drives by playing the old familiar tune that has kept kids running for decades and an old couple stops to take a picture of the two of us sitting hand in hand with our charming dog resting at our feet.

brian's last day at bae, no kidding, and now he stays at home till the first of next month and boy are we looking forward to the new things happening for the rest of may.

News of a visitor tomorrow is making my day!

It rained on me only today, and it wasn't sad at all, but rather, really beautiful ... in a parking lot, with beautiful blossoming trees all around and a big storm cloud in the distance and the sun shining brightly in a blue sky above me, and full out raindrops falling on my head.

Getting over a pretty boring but debilitating sickness, thankfully with a little help from my devoted and wonderful family.

birthday day - she really makes "sweet sixteen" true.

One of the things that I forgot to pack when I left Boston was pajamas so I have been borrowing t-shirts from my mom's closet... tonight, I am an orange jack-o-lantern!

stayed up sooo late (to wish labeeby many happy returns of the day) playing lots of music, and with lots of girl talk.

A(n unintentionally politically charged) concert today included a reading of Mark Twain's "War Prayer" (recommended reading!) and a comparison of war between nations to man's "war on animals" (not a recommended comparison for those people wishing to be taken seriously).

someone called me today, and accidentally told me another person had "leukemia" instead of "lyme disease" ... while the latter is no picnic, the former is just a little different.

Some people don't like taking home left-overs when they eat out, but I always look forward to lunch the next day when I know there is a tasty treat from yesterday's meal waiting for me in the fridge.

friday off 5 years ago meant all day in bed followed by some swing dancing, but today it meant soaking in the sun with some spring cleaning and having dinner of questionable origins brought over by our 94 year old neighbor.

The greatest part about this whole broken ankle thing, is that I get to wear my favorite socks for two full days, instead of just one!

There seem to be so many technicalities that get in the way of progress these days.

a long day of doctor, feverish child, two rehearsals and 4 hours of driving, so there is nothing too fun to relate.

All this time at home means that I have so much time to write, though I somehow managed to forget my one sentence for a few days there.

definitely not flattered by the nice ice-cream shop guy asking if i wanted a spoon when i bought two pints, on my way to watch scott pilgrim with keith and alisons growing family

I went to the gym today (crutches and all) and ended up chatting almost as much as working out with all the people who wanted to talk to me about what I did to my foot, and THEN, one of the gym managers offered me a free hydromassage... so much for cardio!

losing a check made me really anxious and worried but a nice janitor found me to personally give it back to me. (what should i give him as a thank you??)

spending the night in worcester with brian in wilmington is so lonesome, even though i am surrounded by people.

easter is always a time of renewal in so many ways.

went to a shower in a shower of rain, and brought back balloons, lilies, washcloths, and chocolate - how does that make any sense?

My parents and I were the talk of the Jewish deli that we stopped at for dinner as I crutched up to the table with my excessively casted foot and my bird sat at the table with us, tweeting (not to be confused with posting on a social networking site) to the family of four next to us.

Thank you, Amanda's work, for the lovely flowers you sent, after Amanda went home to NJ - I will enjoy them and take care of them.

It's nice to be in the company of a good friend you are feeling somewhat lame-ish (a good friend who may also be having some lame problems of her own), especially when the endlessly entertaining and lovely family of that good friend come over to visit for a while!

My quartet needs a morality booster. (haha)

I definitely did a lot of sleeping today, which hopefully means I also did a lot of healing today and I'm pleased to report that I have not had to take any pain killers since the early morning.

A cold blustery April day with occasional showers is the perfect day to play some music and hang out watching movies.

I am continually amazed at the kindness and selflessness of my friends... they make my life rich!

Amanda is staying with me while her destroyed foot heals, and she is inspiring with how happy and humorously she is treating the situation.

4:30 wakeup call for brian to volunteer for the boston marathon means i get extra practicing in, but it also means that our day is time-skewed enough that we arrive too *early* to get any ice-cream at the local ice-cream place.

I am officially a bionic woman with a plate and 10 screws in my right ankle, and I've been told that the x-ray, when shrunk looks much like dock on a peaceful lake.

havent been answering my phone all weekend only to discover i missed a non-life-threatening major surgery and several (more fun) other things.

Hard things become so much more manageable when the people you love are close.

theo watches the windchimes make noise in the breeze (or in this case, thunderstorm) and conducts them.

Sometimes a simple workout and a little balancing activity results in ankles pointing 90 degrees in the wrong direction.

I cross the street and jog along the cracked pavement of the arboretum where, even in the middle of April, Conifer Trail rekindles the warm feeling of Christmas as the scent of evergreens fills the air.

maryland family adventures include the driveway being completely washed out in a day's worth of rain, thrift and health-food shopping, and making our own homemade icecream and soymilk with a vitamix.

Brian's Grandma's advice for ShawnZ learning to sew works well for life too: "Don't try to go to fast, or you'll make some bad mistakes."

Naturally the midnight text message that I sent to my attractive, intelligent male friend was a desperate plea for videogame advice as opposed to a booty call.

first time ever packing in advance for a trip (just a weekend trip to MD, nothing fancy)... a whole 12 hours before leaving!

Another reason why my free month at the gym is terrific: hip hop dance class!

Solve for Theo: Theo-(Mama+BabySpencer)=Jealousy; (Theo+CatToy)-(Mama+BabySpencer)=Indifference

A pair of red plaid Converse sneakers led me through the double door of my favorite sandwich shop where a smiling youth behind the counter asked me what he could get for me, and I replied, "I'd like Peas on Earth."

on my agenda was fix a 25 year old xylophone, but when i got there, it actually looked like it was just in perfect condition!

I truly believe that I have the coolest siblings in the world!

http://jabeccawalk.blogspot.com/

oops, the concert hall forgot that it was spring and kept the heat on for winter, so with all the people in the hall it was something like 85 degrees!

After my 4am bed time the night before, I woke up at 1:30pm to a phone call from my mom who jokingly asked me (knowing I don't drink) if I was recovering from a hangover, to which I responded, "Yeah, those 4 oz of beer that I drank really did me in."

most disappointing live dvorak played by professionals ever... broke my rule and listened to it the second i got home.

I'm guessing McDonalds and "epic Fail" both didn't exist when the company who built Tanya's piano was named McPhail.

As I rushed across the parking lot carrying my hot-off-the-stove side dish, I knew something was not quite right, which I quickly confirmed when I looked down and realized I was still wearing my bedroom slippers and being that I was in a rush, I sported them all evening at the dinner party with my coworkers!

Strange foods that I don't think are strange but people don't know about include Kasha (visiting Alex today, she said she sometimes bought that cereal, but she didn't know it was made with buckwheat) and Nutritional Yeast (which gained me a pretty funny look from Chuck over the dinner table last night, when he asked what was in the delicious sauce).

I felt like I gained an extra day or two (and thought I should maybe get out of life's fast lane) when I asked today whether it was the 7th, or the 8th, and was told it was the SIXTH!"

In The Economist there was a quote about my actual dinner today, though I didn't share the magazine's opinion: "Look at this muck," says 35-year-old Pamlesh Yadav, holding up a tin-plate of bilious-yellow grains, a mixture of wheat, rice and mung beans. "It literally ticks in the throat. The children won't eat it, so we take it home and feed it to the cows."

In the words of my dearest, "You know whats awesome? Things. Things are awesome."

I found a killer parking spot at the gym today, where I proceeded to sleep in my car, then woke up two hours later and drove home- some work out!

It astounds me both ways: how inspiring music can be to such diverse audiences, and also sometimes, how uninspired people can be by music (getting and and leaving in the *middle* of the Mendelssohn Octet?)

I dare everyone to take the Milton (name of a pillowcase filled with rice that gets put in the microwave to heat and then use on minor aches) challenge: Microwave for 8 minutes and 88 seconds (happens to be a lucky chinese number, but also the easiest to type into our particular microwave) and see how much stuff you can get done around your house in that time.

The Phantom of the Opera plot was best explained by Jim as "Creepy as in 'pedophile' not creepy like a horror movie."

As I drove through my old familiar stomping grounds of Ithaca on Friday night, a sigh of tranquility went streaming through my body: like returning home after being gone for far too long.

the least funny april fool's day joke was telling us rehearsal would end by ten, and at 10:30 we were halfway through... I fixed it by leaving and dancing two contras instead (thank you drew and alec!).