I guess I forgot to mention that I’m okay.  =)  Sorry!  I tend to be a little fuzzy after bad headaches (ask David).

I still have a tender spot on my head, but that’s what happens when you get bruises.  Other than that little memento, I’m good.

I hit my head *really* hard yesterday morning.

We were getting ready for Saturday morning prayer meeting at church - and by “getting ready,”  I mean rolling out of bed and brushing my teeth - and I bent over in the bathroom.  Dave and I were brushing our teeth at the same time, so we were both in there doing our thing…  He had the cabinet door open for some reason (toothpaste?).  I stood up and cracked my skull right into it.  Sat down and almost cried - I even asked if there was blood I hit it so hard.

I immediately took a couple of Tylenol, and so was fine for the rest of the day.  A little tender where I hit.  I remember going to sleep last night thinking, “Man…  I sure was lucky.  I can’t believe my head hasn’t hurt all day.”

Ha.

I woke up this morning with a splitting headache, only on that part of my head.  Top of my skull, on the left side above my eye.  Took a couple more pills to try to quiet it down, then went to church.  Made it through Sunday school (which, by the way was great - David’s first time teaching that class) before I started hurting bad enough I couldn’t see well.

Church was torture… I couldn’t even focus on the sermon.  I have no idea what it was really about, though I remember bits and pieces.  All I really could focus on was the pain - spreading down the left side of my face so that, by the time church was over, even my teeth were hurting!

I went straight to bed, stopping only for a couple of really strong headache pills - the kinds I use only when I have to sleep off the headache and can’t stay awake for the pain.  David woke me up a couple of hours later, and for about 10 minutes, it seemed like the pain was completely gone.  But the longer I stayed awake, the worse it got, until I was back to sleeping it off.

I missed our first Sunday night service of the year - my favorite meeting of this church.

… almost.

Jake found something really nasty and rolled in it. We think. He’s had this odor of rot, vinegar and poo following him like a cloud - David says it’s like Pigpen.

It’s so cold, we haven’t washed him. He’s too big to wash in the house, and the weather is so frigid that we can’t wash him outside, and David doesn’t want to pay for a groomer to bathe him.

So I pulled out the baking soda, and rubbed it into his fur. I remember that when I was in high school and wore one particular pair of shoes for 3 years or so (my favorites) then got them soaked, I experienced embarrassingly stinky shoes for the first time in my life. Grandma Jo suggested putting baking soda in each shoe, and I STILL have that pair of shoes. They’re only stinky if you stick your nose in and sniff.

In like fashion, the baking soda has completely removed the aura of yuck, and almost neutralized the smell. Unless, of course, you get down with him and take a big whiff. I’m thinking that if the smell doesn’t fade and if it doesn’t warm up, I’m gonna take the dog into a groomer regardless.

David doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal, but if you’ll recall, he couldn’t smell the stench of the sewer smell before we covered that drain in the basement, either (where the previous owners had cut a hole directly into the sewage line for basement drainage). We don’t trust his nose, no matter how big it is. =)

We sang a LOT this weekend.  =)

David and I were 2 of a Kantorei group that sang a Sacred Harp tune called “Sweet Prospect.”  It’s a really neat period piece that uses the lyrics from “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks.”  It’s also a highly-placed (for an alto) straight-tone song.  By the time we’d warmed up by singing through it, warmed up by singing it again (because one of the group came in late), then sang a choir song during the sunrise service, *then* sang the Kantorei piece, my voice was scratchy.

Then, David and I sang a recitative and duet, then the Hallelujah chorus, from the Messiah in the regular Easter Sunday service.   It went well, but my voice is tired still today.

My dog - my normally beautiful dog - transformed into a hideous beast for a few seconds. I thought you’d enjoy this photo as much as we do. =)

mid-shake =), originally uploaded by tara.aukerman.

Last night, we had some good friends over (11 total?) to watch Jesus Christ Superstar with us.  Our pastor talked a little about it before we actually got around to turning it on.  There were a few kinds of people there - one kind had never seen the movie, so it needed a little introduction, and another kind had seen it many times and was likely to be silly throughout.  The pastor saying something at the beginning put everyone into a somber enough mood that we could watch the movie and think about its subject rather than its execution.  (No pun intended.)

Dave’s Dad, David tells me, has listened to the record/CD every year on Good Friday for as long as he can remember.  I like the idea - we might watch this DVD every Good Friday.  It was a good way to spend the night.

I’ve got my new camera! It is sooooo stinkin’ neat.  I can’t wait to take it to Hawai’i and show Leah.  =)

This storm is great.  =)  Lots of thunder and lightning, not too much rain, and a twilight-colored sky at 3 pm.  I LOVE “bad” weather.

Remember how my camera was broken?  Well, I can’t fix it and I’ll bet I couldn’t pay anyone to fix it (it’s an old model digital point-and-shoot).  I loved that camera, but I’m moving on.

I just bought a Canon EOS 350D (a “Digital Rebel”) online.  I’ve been wanting a camera like this for ages, but they’ve always seemed too expensive for someone like me (not a pro).  Now that I have a good job (I’ll be working some overtime to even out the expense) and now that they’ve come out with a newer model of this camera, it’s finally worth it for me to buy it.  I’m so excited - I should get it by next week, and definitely in time to learn how to use it for Hawai’i!

In other news: my dog loves popcorn and soy sauce.