I absolutely adore listening and singing along to Christmas carols, especially the classic versions (not so much the versions put out by, say, Justin Bieber or Snoop Dog)Last year I paid homage to one of my favorite Christmas carols of all time. "Upon the Mountain." I still love the song, and I have the greatest husband who made a CD with it repeated 26 times (strangely, when I played this CD during a family gathering last year, some family members seemed to tire of it by track 7. Odd).
This year I wanted to tell a bit about another favorite carol. For most of my life I was under the impression that everyone knew this song, because it was on all of the Larsen Christmas tapes/CDs (Manheim Steamroller, Carols in Brass, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, etc.). In fact, when trying to help people remember my name, I would sometimes say: "Jeanette, you know, like the Christmas song." Most responded with a quizzical look or simply smiled and nodded, and I finally realized that most of the world (especially my university students) had no idea to which song I was referring, which was "Bring a torch, Jeanette Isabella."
The tune of the carol is fine, and I like how it is varied according to performers to be fast and lively or slow and nostalgic (Manheim Steamroller's version is my favorite...I remember listening to the song whilst gazing at my favorite tree ornament, which was a little ceramic fawn...and no, Brian, I was NOT peeking at the presents during that time of magical reflection, that "My Little Pony, Baby Surprise" toy you got me that year genuinely had had the wrapping paper pop across the plastic, so I was able to see what it was when I was moving other presents. This is, not to say, however, that I never cheated. I did, and frequently, just not in this occasion).
Click HERE to hear the song as a background to a great little video about the birth of the Savior. Below you will find the words, which are simple yet profound. Have an amazing Christmas, and I hope you will feel the love Jesus has for each of us and be able to share that love with others.
Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Bring a torch, come swiftly and run
Christ is born,
tell the folk of the village
Jesus is sleeping in His cradle
Ah, ah, beautiful is the Mother
Ah, ah, beautiful is her Son
Hasten now, good folk of the village
Hasten now, the Christ Child to see
You will find Him asleep in the manger
Quietly come and whisper softly
Hush, hush, peacefully now He slumbers
Hush, hush, peacefully now He sleeps
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Jeanette's Cosmic Wish List
Wishing for peace and goodwill across the planet would be great. In the meantime, I have my own selfish agenda of impractical wishes:
-Have the cost of living in San Diego drop by at least 20%
-Have all the drivers in the US use their turn signals
-Be able to do the splits (a silly thing I have wanted to do since I was in gymnastics as a little girl, although I was never that flexible as a five year old, so I am pretty sure the ship has sailed already on this wish)
-Have every fruit fly and fruit fly egg in Southern California die. Really, what vital role do fruit flies play in the food web?
-Have the ability to transmogrify sea shells into diapers
-Have our poor neurotic, OCD neighbor be able to relax enough to not stress about dust-busting her rocks and washing the curbs at 3 AM
-Find a shark’s tooth on the beach (but this could actually be a bad thing, since if I found a shark’s tooth it would mean that there are an awful lot of sharks in the nearby ocean, to mean one of their teeth would actually make it onto the beach).
-Have my refrigerator magically refill itself with Diet Rootbeer and Diet Coke
-Have the thieves who stole our jeep LaFawnduh get their car stolen while they are at a deserted rest stop in Wyoming at 2 AM and the temperature is -13 with a wind chill of -56, so they are forced to wait in the warmth of the bathrooms (did I mention that the plumbing at this rest stop has been backed up for three days?)
-Have the ocean temperature in Mission Beach area rise from 61 degrees to 85 degrees (I know this would really affect the ecosystem and everything, but it would be much more pleasant to frolic in the water, especially since Cameron LOVES playing in the ocean but his lips turn blue after 7 seconds and he shivers …and we wouldn’t have to try to find him a wetsuit…do you know how hard it is to find a wetsuit for an 18 pound toddler?)
-Have Cameron:
*Sleep in until 9:30 and take a solid 2 hour nap every afternoon
*STOP wanting to play in the trash can
*Let me cut his fingernails and toenails while he is awake
*Stop spitting out every 5th bite of food
-Have the cost of living in San Diego drop by at least 20%
-Have all the drivers in the US use their turn signals
-Be able to do the splits (a silly thing I have wanted to do since I was in gymnastics as a little girl, although I was never that flexible as a five year old, so I am pretty sure the ship has sailed already on this wish)
-Have every fruit fly and fruit fly egg in Southern California die. Really, what vital role do fruit flies play in the food web?
-Have the ability to transmogrify sea shells into diapers
-Have our poor neurotic, OCD neighbor be able to relax enough to not stress about dust-busting her rocks and washing the curbs at 3 AM
-Find a shark’s tooth on the beach (but this could actually be a bad thing, since if I found a shark’s tooth it would mean that there are an awful lot of sharks in the nearby ocean, to mean one of their teeth would actually make it onto the beach).
-Have my refrigerator magically refill itself with Diet Rootbeer and Diet Coke
-Have the thieves who stole our jeep LaFawnduh get their car stolen while they are at a deserted rest stop in Wyoming at 2 AM and the temperature is -13 with a wind chill of -56, so they are forced to wait in the warmth of the bathrooms (did I mention that the plumbing at this rest stop has been backed up for three days?)
-Have the ocean temperature in Mission Beach area rise from 61 degrees to 85 degrees (I know this would really affect the ecosystem and everything, but it would be much more pleasant to frolic in the water, especially since Cameron LOVES playing in the ocean but his lips turn blue after 7 seconds and he shivers …and we wouldn’t have to try to find him a wetsuit…do you know how hard it is to find a wetsuit for an 18 pound toddler?)
-Have Cameron:
*Sleep in until 9:30 and take a solid 2 hour nap every afternoon
*STOP wanting to play in the trash can
*Let me cut his fingernails and toenails while he is awake
*Stop spitting out every 5th bite of food
Friday, December 17, 2010
Flipper & Friends!
A few days ago we had the chance to go on a 3 ½ hour whale watching cruise. AWESOME! We didn’t see any big whales, but we saw an AMAZING mega-pod of dolphins—over 1500! (dolphins are actually a kind of whale, so we technically did see “whales,” but none of the gray whales that are migrating there during this time of year). Cam loved the ocean, seemed to like watching the dophins. We ended up getting cruise passes, so we will have many adventures to come!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
A diabetic mormon's adventures in Vegas...
You may have heard the phrase "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." I guess in my case that could be true, but the only thing that would "stay" in Vegas on my account is the fact that I spent $1 in a "Lord of the Rings" penny slot machine and ate some junk food.
Las Vegas is known as "sin city." Due to my religious beliefs and general personality, I really don't like to be in that type of environment (you know, where seeing nudity is normal and ads for "free love for a price" are common). I also have diabetes, which means I try and have a fairly healthful lifestyle, sans junk food. Vegas has legendary buffets and savory snacks.
You may wonder how I ended up there in the first place. Well, I have never been to Vegas and Marty thought I would appreciate seeing the sights and love watching the eclectic mix of people (he was right---crazies everywhere! Incredibly amusing). So my parents were down in CA for a visit and watched Cam for two days while we made the road trip to LV.
We had a blast! We walked the strip (I felt like a hayseed, looking at all the lights and blushing from some of the suggestive billboards), went to an incredible Cirque de Solei show, and slept in and read books (heavenly, without having Cam helping us turn the pages...oh, and they weren't board books with ducks in them either, they were real grown-up books that didn't rhyme!). We saw the light and fire shows some of the hotels have outside at night, and played a few arcade games (I am never very lucky at those, but I did get enough tickets to win a miniature wizard statue and some rainbow fingernail decals--Christmas is coming for a few of my friends and family!).
I was sorely tempted to take photos of all the crazy folks wandering around, but I didn't want to be thrashed about the head and neck with any of their red pleather bustiers or rhinestone headresses.
Fun little vacation, even if it was somewhat tame by Vegas standards.
Las Vegas is known as "sin city." Due to my religious beliefs and general personality, I really don't like to be in that type of environment (you know, where seeing nudity is normal and ads for "free love for a price" are common). I also have diabetes, which means I try and have a fairly healthful lifestyle, sans junk food. Vegas has legendary buffets and savory snacks.
You may wonder how I ended up there in the first place. Well, I have never been to Vegas and Marty thought I would appreciate seeing the sights and love watching the eclectic mix of people (he was right---crazies everywhere! Incredibly amusing). So my parents were down in CA for a visit and watched Cam for two days while we made the road trip to LV.
We had a blast! We walked the strip (I felt like a hayseed, looking at all the lights and blushing from some of the suggestive billboards), went to an incredible Cirque de Solei show, and slept in and read books (heavenly, without having Cam helping us turn the pages...oh, and they weren't board books with ducks in them either, they were real grown-up books that didn't rhyme!). We saw the light and fire shows some of the hotels have outside at night, and played a few arcade games (I am never very lucky at those, but I did get enough tickets to win a miniature wizard statue and some rainbow fingernail decals--Christmas is coming for a few of my friends and family!).
I was sorely tempted to take photos of all the crazy folks wandering around, but I didn't want to be thrashed about the head and neck with any of their red pleather bustiers or rhinestone headresses.
Fun little vacation, even if it was somewhat tame by Vegas standards.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Dirty House? Don't clean it up!
I am frequently amazed at the amount of grime, goo, and general crumb-iness a 13 month old baby produces. Sometimes I have to admit that I just let the mess stay on the rug, couch, kitchen floor, Cameron's face, etc. After reading the following article, however, I am rejoicing in the fact that I don't always whip out the Clorox wipes immediately. I am not being a slob, I am preventing Cameron from having diabetes!
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, August 2010
No one knows what triggers type 1 diabetes, but research suggests that environmental factors may be behind the disease's increasing prevalence. An analysis of hospital records revealed that children with more siblings or from disadvantaged families were less likely to develop the disease than those from smaller, wealthier families. The authors say the finding supports the theory that extremely clean environments foster a misfiring immune system that attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, as happens in type 1 diabetes.
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, August 2010
No one knows what triggers type 1 diabetes, but research suggests that environmental factors may be behind the disease's increasing prevalence. An analysis of hospital records revealed that children with more siblings or from disadvantaged families were less likely to develop the disease than those from smaller, wealthier families. The authors say the finding supports the theory that extremely clean environments foster a misfiring immune system that attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, as happens in type 1 diabetes.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Cameron and the Cuttlefish
This is the last installment of our adventures in Colorado back in October.
In previous posts, I mentioned the appearance of the stomach flu during our trip. I hate to mention it again, but it did add another layer of excitement to our plans.
Prior to our Casa Bonita trip, we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to see an IMAX show about the ocean. About 1/3 of the way through the show, right when the cuttlefish were mating, I heard a little gurgle and felt warm stickiness flooding my arm and leg. Cam had thrown up on me (I guess he wasn’t ready to see marine life procreating). Luckily it wasn’t projectile, so the people in front of us didn’t mind too much. I rifled through my purse and swabbed myself with wet wipes and tried to enjoy the rest of the IMAX.
After the show I headed to the bathroom to finish cleaning up. 25 seconds after entering the bathroom, my sister came in holding Cameron at arm’s length. To say he was covered in goo would be an understatement. He WAS goo. He had just thrown up, Vesuvius style, all over Marty and the floor of the museum.
Luckily I had another outfit for Cam in the car, but he needed serious detox before we could even think about changing him. SO, with the help of my mom and sister, we stripped down a dripping, gooey, upset Cameron. He was a little happier once he was completely naked (the boy does love to be in the buff), but started to SCREAM and SOB once I had to stand him in the sink to de-goo-ify. Sadly, the faucet in the museum bathroom was one of the automatic kind, so you had to stick your hand just in the right spot to get any water to come out. Once the water did trickle out, it was cold. Very cold.
Poor Cameron had to put up with me cupping my hand under the cold water to get some to sponge him off (did I mention the water was cold?). The process took quite some time, as Cam was incredibly smelly (did I mention gooey?). I also had to transfer his sink location every minute because the automatic faucet quit dispensing cold water after about 3 cupped hand full of water. My baby vehemently expressed his displeasure at this development.
At this point, some museum patrons came in to use the facilities. I imagine they were startled to see a naked screaming baby getting a sponge bath in the sink, but having just seen cuttlefish mating, they didn’t seem to think it too odd.
I did have a clean diaper in my mini purse/diaper bag, but we still had to parade a somewhat naked Cameron all the way through the museum and parking lot. He was pleased with this part of the experience.
Once we reached our vehicle, we got Cam dressed, and then both of us had to change clothes (since we were traveling, we had a change of clothes with us in our overnight bag). It is interesting for two grown adults to try to modestly change clothes in a car in a museum parking lot. We watched the news the next day, but no one reported seeing any streakers in the vicinity, so I guess we were safe.
Moral of the story? Nothing good comes from watching cuttlefish mate.
In previous posts, I mentioned the appearance of the stomach flu during our trip. I hate to mention it again, but it did add another layer of excitement to our plans.
Prior to our Casa Bonita trip, we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to see an IMAX show about the ocean. About 1/3 of the way through the show, right when the cuttlefish were mating, I heard a little gurgle and felt warm stickiness flooding my arm and leg. Cam had thrown up on me (I guess he wasn’t ready to see marine life procreating). Luckily it wasn’t projectile, so the people in front of us didn’t mind too much. I rifled through my purse and swabbed myself with wet wipes and tried to enjoy the rest of the IMAX.
After the show I headed to the bathroom to finish cleaning up. 25 seconds after entering the bathroom, my sister came in holding Cameron at arm’s length. To say he was covered in goo would be an understatement. He WAS goo. He had just thrown up, Vesuvius style, all over Marty and the floor of the museum.
Luckily I had another outfit for Cam in the car, but he needed serious detox before we could even think about changing him. SO, with the help of my mom and sister, we stripped down a dripping, gooey, upset Cameron. He was a little happier once he was completely naked (the boy does love to be in the buff), but started to SCREAM and SOB once I had to stand him in the sink to de-goo-ify. Sadly, the faucet in the museum bathroom was one of the automatic kind, so you had to stick your hand just in the right spot to get any water to come out. Once the water did trickle out, it was cold. Very cold.
Poor Cameron had to put up with me cupping my hand under the cold water to get some to sponge him off (did I mention the water was cold?). The process took quite some time, as Cam was incredibly smelly (did I mention gooey?). I also had to transfer his sink location every minute because the automatic faucet quit dispensing cold water after about 3 cupped hand full of water. My baby vehemently expressed his displeasure at this development.
At this point, some museum patrons came in to use the facilities. I imagine they were startled to see a naked screaming baby getting a sponge bath in the sink, but having just seen cuttlefish mating, they didn’t seem to think it too odd.
I did have a clean diaper in my mini purse/diaper bag, but we still had to parade a somewhat naked Cameron all the way through the museum and parking lot. He was pleased with this part of the experience.
Once we reached our vehicle, we got Cam dressed, and then both of us had to change clothes (since we were traveling, we had a change of clothes with us in our overnight bag). It is interesting for two grown adults to try to modestly change clothes in a car in a museum parking lot. We watched the news the next day, but no one reported seeing any streakers in the vicinity, so I guess we were safe.
Moral of the story? Nothing good comes from watching cuttlefish mate.
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