Hey, Z.. where'd you hear about that funky dancing girl that you posted??

I found more about her on YouTube, here's the story:

Fame can strike anyone!

Sometimes short blogs take the pressure off those really detailed longer blogs, that must really scare me..  and probably some readers!  So let me try a shorty here.

Interesting events over the past few days:

~My ex called me after no contact for 4+ months.  Not sure why.  Or if I'll call him back.  Yet, my new beau is not calling me back.   ?    I tell ya!  More trouble than they're worth!

~My aunt is slowly slowly getting better and more coherent.  We know that she recognizes us now, but she seems to go in and out of understanding things we say to her.  One good sign though, her sense of humor is back!  A key ingredient to getting better!

~Went for a visit to one of my favorite friend's restaurant.. she kicked me out before my usual leaving time.  ha.

~I'm reading a great book "Mother Warriors" by Jennifer McCartthy about her son's battle with autism and his eventual CURE.

~I repaired yet another squirrel-made hole in my roofline.  Better step up my efforts on the prevention front!  I have yet to blog the entire Squirrel Saga.  It will come.

~My cat's all up in my face.  But, she's so cute that I barely care.

~Had a friend come to town and stay overnight on my couch.  Why is it that I can only stand about an hour of this guy!?  Cuz, he's SOoooo difficult!  (Jen, you know!)

~I missed half of Survivor tonight because I took a really soothing and much-needed bath.  Sometimes water is just what you need.

~Now, I'm off to conquer of one of these projects staring me in the face!
 
What have you been up to ?

So, I'm not a usual blogger as most of you know, especially when it comes to things that are going on in my life.  But I think maybe it'll be good to share the things that are going on for me recently.. seems like there is a lot of this going around for people, doesn't it?  Heavy things that people are dealing with?..  For me it's been about my aunt.  She's had a really bad patch of health over the last week. It all came on very suddenly, without any forewarning for us.. (though she may have had minor warnings??)  She was sent to the ER by ambulance last Tuesday night with complaints of a severe headache, dizziness, incoherentness, and erratic driving (a friend was following her in her car on the way to a work meeting).. In the ambulance, while on the way to the hospital, she fell unconscious.  They were concerned that her symptoms pointed to a stroke.  Much of my family went to the hospital ( I was still driving home from visiting my sister in Brainerd, so wasn't able to get to the hospital. ) They gave her a CAT scan and determined that she had bleeding on her brain.. as they watched her through the night they also found that she had pressure on her brain stem, which probably was the cause of her body putting her into a coma.  We were told it was either a stroke, a tumor that burst, or a spontaneous hemorrage, possibly caused by high blood pressure. It was determined by the next morning after another scan that it was a spontaneous hemorrage.  The family was all called into a meeting room to listen to the team of doctors' advice.  They gave us two options, surgery or 'to let nature take its course' and be less aggressive with treatment, more like just monitoring the situation.. recovery at all would be less likely with the second choice, and with the first, she'd be more likely to recover somewhat, with a probable disability.  They also said that probably her vision would be the part affected and the rest of the brain appeared to be in good shape.  We decided that my aunt was a fighter, and that doing the surgery would give her the best option for a full life again.. though possibly her periphereal vision may be affected, which could take away her driving ability. This was a really hard decision, because my aunt had said in her health directive that she did not want to live in an assisted living situation and/or to have life support.  Hopefully, we've made the right decision and she will bounce back close to her independence before the incident.  After the surgery, in which they removed part of her skull to take out the blood clot that was on her brain and release the pressure, she has done remarkably well.  That was last Wednesday.  She's continued to progress slowly in the past several days.  They will be removing the 'brain drain' from her tonight as it's no longer necessary, hopefully her ventilator will be next.  She grasped my hand today when I visited her and seemed to be listening to everything I was saying to her.  My brother and sister and I started a Caring Bridge website for her and it's really amazing how many people she knows and has touched from many different workplaces and volunteer activities, etc.. throughout her 69 years!  She's a trooper and very involved in her community and has always kept up with old accquaintances and friends.  It'll be great to be able to share all of the encouraging comments with her as she progresses through this *fingers crossed* (If you're interested let me know, and I can tell you the site address). She's really quite a lady.  I can't imagine what it must be like to be in her shoes now.  Hopefully, we'll be able to hear all about it very soon..  

Lenny's still doin' it!  He's a love machine I tell ya!

"Love, Love, Love"

"Believe In Me"

Don't try to follow this train of thought but, how about some Spanish Guitar ???

Rodrigo Y Gabriela's Video 'For Diablo Rojo'

Rodrigo y Gabriele perform on the Late Late Show with Craig. F.

Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here" - played by Gabriela y Rodrigo

Short Percussion Lesson by Gabriela

And one of my favorites: The Gyspy Kings - "Volare"

My Favorite Singer - Comes often to Msp/St.Paul.. want to come see him next time?? Ask me when he's coming or check his website:  www.ChrisTrapper.com  - you can hear his music there too.  :D  

From Wikipedia:

Chris Trapper's songs have been winning awards as well as the hearts of devoted listeners ever since his arrival on the Boston music scene in 1995. He is most widely known as the front man for the nationally acclaimed pop/rock band The Push Stars, whose "honest, heartfelt songs with timeless melodies" were described as "the kind of music that songwriters love" by Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty.

With The Push Stars, Chris has written material for four studio albums and three self-produced discs. Several of his songs have been picked up for major motion picture soundtracks including There's Something About Mary and Say It Isn't So and for television shows such as Pepper Dennis, ER, and Malcolm in the Middle. His 2002 solo project "Songs from the Drive-In" showcased "his formidable storytelling talents," according to the Boston Phoenix.

His second solo release, "Gone Again," serves up 11 new songs with a Dixieland flavor provided by Boston's renowned Wolverine Jazz Band. The newest release "Hey, You" is his first rock/pop solo record, featuring guest appearances by The Push Stars, Great Big Sea, Sonando, Martin Sexton, Matt Beck (Matchbox Twenty) and Duke Levine (Mary Chapin Carpenter).

In addition to numerous Boston Music Awards, Chris Trapper received two Gold Records, a Platimun record, and the prestigious SOCAN Award twice for his songwriting work with Newfoundland's Great Big Sea. Antigone Rising covered his song "Waiting, Watching, Wishing" on their latest album release. In 2006, he filmed cameo appearances for an episode of "Pepper Dennis," the WB romantic comedy, and for "August Rush," an upcoming film with Robin Williams.

"Boston Girl" - Great song! Chris gives a nod to Mpls/St.Paul in this song! 

Style of an Old Irish Drinking Tune, "Keg On My Coffin", *picked especially for you John!*

Same song - "Keg On My Coffin", this time opening for Matchbox 20.

"Wish I Was Cool" - official video