Singing and Showers and... Cheese Crackers?

Have you ever noticed that it's SO MUCH FUN to sing in the shower? I think it's cause it echos. Everywhere. And perhaps you sound more like yourself when you sing in the shower. Though... I haven't tested that yet... I should.

Anyways I broke out into song since both of my parents are JUST NOW watching the Hobbit at the cinemas. And they left an hour early. In all seriousness, it's been playing in about twenty bigillion theaters down by us, AND it's been about a month since it's been out. Why in the world do they have to be so weird and leave so early? I don't understand them sometimes.

Anyways so I was singing a song my friend and I were TRYING to sing together, but the problem was I'M NOT A SOPRANO. And in fact I'm very proud of it. I have a very weak head-voice, so it's pretty difficult for me to float on the high notes. Mine sound like they take too much effort. If I move my hands, close my eyes and direct myself, I can make the notes float. But once I leave that little bit of solitude and my meditative state I just fail. Dismally.

And four years of critically acclaimed choruses have forced me to succeed my failure. And I mean, being a soprano isn't fun anyways. It's all melody and no harmony. A pretty melody is fine for five-year-olds, but I like the meat and potatoes of a song. Give me the juice. Dissonant chords, suspended cadences... the works. It's like a pizza. Cheese pizza is your favorite as a kid, but once you're an adult you want something with more variety in it.

I can't believe I just associated pizza with singing.

Anyways I was belting out "The Last Rose of Summer", which was the song I was trying to get. It's mostly difficult because it starts in my mid-range, then goes to the EXTREME high end of my voice. It's basically the highest notes that I can sing nicely on a good day. And my good days entail not having a cold, (which I might have right now,) being perfectly in practice with the song (which I haven't practiced let alone sung for nearly two months,) having an awesome warm-up (which never happens in my house since I don't have a piano or keyboard...)

Anyways I was actually getting it. The last little bit my voice got a bit tired and I 'squeaked' on the high notes. By squeaking I mean your voice takes some effort (that you feel and sometimes hear) switching from chest or mixed voice to head voice. I don't notice it when you go down... only up.

So then I changed into an improvizational version of one of my favorite riffs... "It Don't Mean a Thing". There are tons of versions of this but the one that I did I was acting as an alto. So it was chest voice all the way. And this song's my favorite 'cause if you know the key and can syncopate (when notes and rhythms aren't on the beat) you can make it jump and feel alive and it just... flows.

I guess this makes sense 'cause I love swing music and this is a good example of one of my favorites...

Then I just sat there and wondered... What'd happen if I practiced a song that I did in my chorus in senior year? So I sung a French song that we did for our Christmas concert about a year ago.

It's weird. Most people think that practicing in head voice for a long time is the only way to get it right. I felt like it was better for me to belt it and sing the lower notes more... and then sing high. Usually it's the opposite way. Perhaps that's why I could never sing high in class...

I hit a b natural a couple times... the high b kind.

Anyways now I'm just sitting and staring at my old Christmas tree that hasn't been watered in about a week or two... smelling the pine. It's nice.

Next year we should do a tree with all orbs. We have a ton since I work at a store that sells them. I can get the best price on the things 'cause I know how to abuse the coupon codes without disobeying the rules. Yay.

Uh... Happy New Year... Continue with your resolutions... and DON'T PANIC.

We survived the Avian Flu, the Swine Flu, the year 2000, the Great Recession (kind of), possibly annihilation from the North Koreans, 11-11-11, and the end of the Mayan calendar. Whatever you have to deal with now sounds less daunting... no?

Cowls and Yarn and... Ornaments

So today I decided to begin tackling one of my last Christmas presents on my list. My brother's long time girlfriend's scarf.

Which I just decided to make into a cowl instead.

I don't know... cowls seem cool and modern and scarves seem classic. So I decided to do something more modern because it seems more like her style. And the color is to die for. It's a rich teal color that is perfect with her skin tone.

So when I was researching different things to do I came across a pattern where you use super chunky yarn. Mine's a normal weight so it wouldn't work. But since I already bought the yarn for its color a couple months ago for a different (failed/postponed) project I didn't really want to go out and have to FIND the yarn. It's really hard to find chunky yarn, just in case you were wondering. And I work for Michaels. And we don't even carry that thick of yarn. I mean this stuff is supposed to be about an inch thick. AN INCH.

So I thought to myself... I have a little circle knitter (or whatever they're called... they look like this) and knit the yarn for it.

Then I sat down to watch some TV while I knitted and it took me about half an hour to get a foot down.

Now here's my geek side showing.

There are 15 days before Christmas (but I'll go with 14 since it's midnight.) That means that there are 24 hours times 15 days for a total possibility of 432 hours. That would make about 432 feet, or 144 yards of crocheting fabric. (I'm using fabric for lack of a better word.) Now that's not including the time I have to eat, sleep, go to work, and go to school... and the other time I spend doing other things. Let's say then, that I got about three hours of work in everyday. So that brings the amount down to 45 hours and 45 feet, which is 15 yards. Now the pattern that I have requires at LEAST 170 yards of material.

No go.

So I had this long strand of stuff that I'd done and I thought... hey. I can use this for the base of a scarf! So I started crocheting along the strand and at the ends tied them to make a circle. Now while I was doing that I didn't notice (fail) that the knitted bit that I was crocheting around had twisted. Oops. So now the scarf was spiraling. Now that won't work.

Then I decided... hey! Let's make a rippled scarf!

So far it looks pretty good... though I must say it has a kind of spirally pattern in the different layers I stitch that wasn't intended but looks interesting.

All in all I have about three inches (in thickness) of a cowl done and  it took me three hours...

Deer Lawd... Thank God I can crochet fast...

Anyways yesterday afternoon we bought a Christmas tree. Today I invited Der Boifriend over to help decorate it.

He wasn't much of a help. He unwrapped the ornaments and went on chatting with my mom while I put up everything. My mom told me how to put the lights up and then, as she puts it, "Managed" the work we were doing.

So you know how you forget what kinds of ornaments that you have until you unwrap them? Well apparently I had a HEDGEHOG ornament. It's so cute! It's made of wood and the shells of (I think) pistachios. I saw it and I told my mom that when she dies I get it. Then she reminded me that she bought one for my brother and I to have one Christmas and gave it to us as stocking-stuffers. Sure enough, my name and the year was written on the bottom of it.

SCORE

I've always wanted a hedgehog.

So now I have about ten ornaments people have given me over the years, including that one and a gaudy one my Oma gave to me that is huge, heavy, and plays music when you wind it and open up the doors. Let's just say that one's just for making sure that the tree doesn't topple over...