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Up until this week, I used to think that my voice was not as pretty after the pulmonary embolism. Yesterday, I turned on the Karaoke machine and played around with it. Then, I got it into my head that maybe I should try recording a song or two on my computer. I chose Bette Midler's "The Rose," which is a relatively new song for me. I think I tried singing it once last summer and gave up on it. Anyhow, I recorded it, played it back, and discovered that my voice was not as bad as I thought it was.
Of course, drinking hot tea while screwing around with the Karaoke machine helped too. One of these days I'm going to have to get my hands on some Red Zinger Tea. When I was in high school, a bunch of us used to drink that with honey and lemon juice whenever we had a cold because it was supposed to be good for you voice and it could help you get through a performance.
And I'm sure that taking out the Karaoke machine and practicing every once in a while won't hurt either. I think that's what's hurting me the most, that I don't practice as much as I used to because I'd usually end up getting frustrated and quitting.
Of course, drinking hot tea while screwing around with the Karaoke machine helped too. One of these days I'm going to have to get my hands on some Red Zinger Tea. When I was in high school, a bunch of us used to drink that with honey and lemon juice whenever we had a cold because it was supposed to be good for you voice and it could help you get through a performance.
And I'm sure that taking out the Karaoke machine and practicing every once in a while won't hurt either. I think that's what's hurting me the most, that I don't practice as much as I used to because I'd usually end up getting frustrated and quitting.
New Year's Resolutions
Jan. 2nd, 2009 08:12 pmI had a nice couple of nights. On New Year's Eve, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
doomsey and I went to a friend's house where we spent much of the evening playing rock band. I did a lot of singing and I'm surprised that my voice held up the entire evening with all of the screaming I was doing. Yesterday, we went to the in-laws' house to eat the traditional dinner of pork with sauerkraut. Yummy! Also, almeda gave me crochet lessons. Many thanks! We also played Apples to Apples. I managed to win the green card, secretive, by making a Fargo reference. I played the noun, wood chippers. Heh! That still does not compare to the time I played the noun, Helen Keller, for the card, touchy feely. Yes, I am evil!
Anyhoo, this is my list of New Year's resolutions:
1) Exercise more (and maybe lose a few pounds)
2) Stay healthy in general
3) Learn to crochet (already started!) and continue knitting
4) Write more
5) Try to figure out some of my great-grandmother's recipes
Today,doomsey and I went to the Art Institute. They had a really cool exhibit on tapestries that is ending on January 4th. We also visited the Impressionist Art wing, which was closed when we visited back in July. Right now, doomsey is doctoring a pasta sauce. The smells coming out of the kitchen are delightful!
doomsey and I went to a friend's house where we spent much of the evening playing rock band. I did a lot of singing and I'm surprised that my voice held up the entire evening with all of the screaming I was doing. Yesterday, we went to the in-laws' house to eat the traditional dinner of pork with sauerkraut. Yummy! Also, almeda gave me crochet lessons. Many thanks! We also played Apples to Apples. I managed to win the green card, secretive, by making a Fargo reference. I played the noun, wood chippers. Heh! That still does not compare to the time I played the noun, Helen Keller, for the card, touchy feely. Yes, I am evil! Anyhoo, this is my list of New Year's resolutions:
1) Exercise more (and maybe lose a few pounds)
2) Stay healthy in general
3) Learn to crochet (already started!) and continue knitting
4) Write more
5) Try to figure out some of my great-grandmother's recipes
Today,
doomsey and I went to the Art Institute. They had a really cool exhibit on tapestries that is ending on January 4th. We also visited the Impressionist Art wing, which was closed when we visited back in July. Right now, doomsey is doctoring a pasta sauce. The smells coming out of the kitchen are delightful!Weekend Recap
Aug. 18th, 2008 09:58 pmLet's see. What did we do this weekend?
Friday evening, we went out to dinner withdoomsey's family.
On Saturday, we went to the barbecue fordoomsey's work. His boss has an in-ground pool so, towards the end of our stay there, we played pool volleyball. During one of the games we played, I was directly in front of the person serving getting ready to volley. Her serve ended up bouncing off my head and over the net. Everyone practically died laughing. It was hysterical. Unfortunately, it didn't count as a point. I think it should have. :)
After the barbecue,doomsey and I went to my parents' house to fix their computer. They picked up a computer virus that turned their machine into a spambot. They didn't notice until someone at AT&T cut off their modem. doomsey made sure that their computer was free of viruses and that the modem was back up and working.
Sunday morning, we went met up with some friends who came in from out of town and had breakfast at Egg Harbor Cafe. In the afternoon,doomsey, his family, and I headed over to the Kane County Cougar's game. The game itself was boring because I loathe watching sports, but I enjoyed some of the antics from the crowd and on the field in between innings. I spent most of the game poking fun at the event on Twitter or knitting. I got a lot of work done on my baby blanket. Oh...I also had an opportunity to compete on a Karoake contest, but ended up blowing it because of indecisiveness. (I didn't think any of the songs suited my voice well. My voice has changed since the PE, and I have a hard time singing rock songs. I'm much better at musicals). By the time I had made up my mind, the slot had been filled. And I definitely would have beat the guy who signed up before I would have. His singing was atrocious, probably because he had a bit too much to drink.
For dinner, we went to a new tapas restaurant that opened up in Wheaton about three weeks ago. It's called Cafe Galicia. The service was good and the food was excellent. I'm glad we stopped there because it turns out thatjudygs had never had tapas before.
Friday evening, we went out to dinner with
doomsey's family. On Saturday, we went to the barbecue for
doomsey's work. His boss has an in-ground pool so, towards the end of our stay there, we played pool volleyball. During one of the games we played, I was directly in front of the person serving getting ready to volley. Her serve ended up bouncing off my head and over the net. Everyone practically died laughing. It was hysterical. Unfortunately, it didn't count as a point. I think it should have. :)After the barbecue,
doomsey and I went to my parents' house to fix their computer. They picked up a computer virus that turned their machine into a spambot. They didn't notice until someone at AT&T cut off their modem. doomsey made sure that their computer was free of viruses and that the modem was back up and working. Sunday morning, we went met up with some friends who came in from out of town and had breakfast at Egg Harbor Cafe. In the afternoon,
doomsey, his family, and I headed over to the Kane County Cougar's game. The game itself was boring because I loathe watching sports, but I enjoyed some of the antics from the crowd and on the field in between innings. I spent most of the game poking fun at the event on Twitter or knitting. I got a lot of work done on my baby blanket. Oh...I also had an opportunity to compete on a Karoake contest, but ended up blowing it because of indecisiveness. (I didn't think any of the songs suited my voice well. My voice has changed since the PE, and I have a hard time singing rock songs. I'm much better at musicals). By the time I had made up my mind, the slot had been filled. And I definitely would have beat the guy who signed up before I would have. His singing was atrocious, probably because he had a bit too much to drink. For dinner, we went to a new tapas restaurant that opened up in Wheaton about three weeks ago. It's called Cafe Galicia. The service was good and the food was excellent. I'm glad we stopped there because it turns out that
judygs had never had tapas before.Messing Around with the Karaoke Machine
Jul. 14th, 2008 03:29 pmI'm feeling like a slacker today, so instead of getting work done, I decided to drag out the karaoke machine and start putzing with it. Then, I thought it would be a great idea to record myself singing something on my crappy camera. Since people seem to like it when I sing something high and pretty, I decided to record "Think of Me" from The Phantom of the Opera.
Oh no she didn't...
The camera only records for three minutes, and cuts off the very end, but you get the picture. I also ended up singing the part of Raoul too just for kicks.
I'm IM'ingdoomsey and he told me that recording it on my camera is stupid and that I should find a way to record it directly from the Karaoke box. Well, I don't know how to do that Mr. Smarty Pants and my laptop is still at Apple. Instead...I'm going to be lazy. I'm going to record the damn thing on my camera and get it over with.
[Edit: I'm noticing that my voice has changed a bit. My voice is more cooperative at the higher end of my range than the lower. Huh. Weird].
Oh no she didn't...
The camera only records for three minutes, and cuts off the very end, but you get the picture. I also ended up singing the part of Raoul too just for kicks.
I'm IM'ing
doomsey and he told me that recording it on my camera is stupid and that I should find a way to record it directly from the Karaoke box. Well, I don't know how to do that Mr. Smarty Pants and my laptop is still at Apple. Instead...I'm going to be lazy. I'm going to record the damn thing on my camera and get it over with.[Edit: I'm noticing that my voice has changed a bit. My voice is more cooperative at the higher end of my range than the lower. Huh. Weird].
Entertaining Weekend
Nov. 25th, 2007 12:20 amSo far, this weekend has been a lot of fun. On Friday night, I went to Sidekicks for a birthday party and got to sing karaoke. In fact, I had so much fun that I didn't come home until almost 3:00 in the morning. doomsey must have been wondering where I disappeared to. At the very end, I sang "The Sound of Music" and discovered to my chagrin that the song must be a turn-on for drunks or something. I had one drunk try to get on stage and sing with me. Fortunately, the MC chased him off the stage. I had another one try to come up and "chat" afterwards. Thankfully, he wasn't obnoxious and politely left after we told him that we weren't interested.
I spent part of today at my in-laws' house. I learned how to play Yahtzee and won! We also watched Transformers. I'll admit, I wanted to see the movie because I loved the cartoon when I was a kid. I thought the movie was campy and had a lot of cheesy jokes, but it was still entertaining nonetheless.
*yawn* I think it might be time for bed soon. I ended up having a hard time getting to sleep last night anddoomsey woke me up in the morning so that we could go shopping for Hannukah and Christmas presents for our nieces and nephews. We managed to get their presents, but we still don't have anything for the adults yet. 
doomsey must have been wondering where I disappeared to. At the very end, I sang "The Sound of Music" and discovered to my chagrin that the song must be a turn-on for drunks or something. I had one drunk try to get on stage and sing with me. Fortunately, the MC chased him off the stage. I had another one try to come up and "chat" afterwards. Thankfully, he wasn't obnoxious and politely left after we told him that we weren't interested. I spent part of today at my in-laws' house. I learned how to play Yahtzee and won! We also watched Transformers. I'll admit, I wanted to see the movie because I loved the cartoon when I was a kid. I thought the movie was campy and had a lot of cheesy jokes, but it was still entertaining nonetheless.
*yawn* I think it might be time for bed soon. I ended up having a hard time getting to sleep last night and
doomsey woke me up in the morning so that we could go shopping for Hannukah and Christmas presents for our nieces and nephews. We managed to get their presents, but we still don't have anything for the adults yet. What a difference a day makes
Aug. 12th, 2007 12:26 amThis morning I felt pretty icky, but after Tylenol and lots of caffeine, I started to feel better. My head was still a bit buzzy and my head still hurts a bit when I touch it, but it's not as bad as what's it's been and I didn't have many migraine troubles. I went with doomsey to a company picnic and even worked up the nerve to take a dip in the pool. I ended up using water jets and a noodle to spray (and get sprayed) the living daylights out of people. A bunch of us also played several games of water volleyball. Oh...and I'd also like to mention that C's wife makes *the best* portobello mushroom burgers. Yummy!
Eventually, we left that picnic to go to a birthday party being held at our neighbor's house. I had a wonderful opportunity to meet some of the other people living on our block. Since our neighbor's Karaoke machine had broken,doomsey and I brought over ours as well as the small tv in the living room. The kids had a blast...and so did some of the adults. I also got a lot of complements on my voice. People really seem to like it when I sing. I almost always get complemented and I even had one person tell me that I sound professional. My next door neighbor asked me if I studied it during college. Actually, I took choir in high school, but not in college. We did have a good music program though. I learned to sing by singing along to musicals and I never really stopped singing. Eventually, I moved to rock and some pop. I kept practicing and working at it and I gradually developed my voice. Oh...and I also started out in drama in high school, but it wasn't until my junior and senior years when I started getting parts. I used to speak too softly and taking music taught me to project my voice... 
doomsey to a company picnic and even worked up the nerve to take a dip in the pool. I ended up using water jets and a noodle to spray (and get sprayed) the living daylights out of people. A bunch of us also played several games of water volleyball. Oh...and I'd also like to mention that C's wife makes *the best* portobello mushroom burgers. Yummy! Eventually, we left that picnic to go to a birthday party being held at our neighbor's house. I had a wonderful opportunity to meet some of the other people living on our block. Since our neighbor's Karaoke machine had broken,
doomsey and I brought over ours as well as the small tv in the living room. The kids had a blast...and so did some of the adults. I also got a lot of complements on my voice. People really seem to like it when I sing. I almost always get complemented and I even had one person tell me that I sound professional. My next door neighbor asked me if I studied it during college. Actually, I took choir in high school, but not in college. We did have a good music program though. I learned to sing by singing along to musicals and I never really stopped singing. Eventually, I moved to rock and some pop. I kept practicing and working at it and I gradually developed my voice. Oh...and I also started out in drama in high school, but it wasn't until my junior and senior years when I started getting parts. I used to speak too softly and taking music taught me to project my voice... doomsey and I went out to dinner at Mitoodle with judygs, bmtstandard, emygination, jharter41, and her kids. Afterwards, we invited them back to our house where the kids pet the cat and, in general, ran around (our house is shaped like a square and it's ideal for running in circles). arwenmonster was a bit skeptical and, at one point, hissed and ran away from the kids, but cosettemonster was pretty good with them when supervised. She looked scared, but she never hissed or batted at them. Actually, we she had had enough, she batted at me and not the kids. Heh heh. The kids were also intrigued by the betta tank we had in our living room.The kids wanted me to go downstairs with them, so I followed them down there, and then I had this idea. I took out the microphones for the Karaoke machine, set it up, and planned to just have the kids shout into the microphone for awhile. And they did have a lot of fun with it! I went upstairs and told the rest of the family that the kids were playing with the Karoake machine, we all ended up downstairs singing along with the kids. Among other songs, we sang "Bananna Boat" and "It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To." The latter was an appropriate song for R. J., who is over a year old, saw what we were doing, grabbed the mike, and started hooting into the microphone. It was adoreable! Of course, much fun was had by all. Oh...and R. was having so much fun that she said that she didn't want to go home...
Good dreams
Apr. 3rd, 2007 05:17 pmLately, it seems like the only dreams I tend to remember are nightmares, but last night I had a really good dream. I dreamt that I was at a concert and sang a song with a world reknowned singer. I don't remember what we sang, but it was a really awesome song. And I don't know if anybody out there likes to sing, or if I'm the only weird one, but it felt like what I sometimes do when I'm at home alone playing with my Karaoke machine and really getting into it. It felt good. At any rate, we brought down the house. Later, I got a phone call saying I was offered a record deal on my own merits. I remember telling one of my friends at the concert that, "I have to remember that this isn't Karaoke anymore" or something like that.
Yeah...I know...keep dreaming.
But any rate, the vibes I got from that good dream motivated me to go downstairs and play with the Karaoke machine today. I managed to nail a Melissa Etheridge song I've been playing around with for months...one that I previously thought I would always suck at.
That reminds me...one of these days I need to visit Sidekicks again.
Yeah...I know...keep dreaming.
But any rate, the vibes I got from that good dream motivated me to go downstairs and play with the Karaoke machine today. I managed to nail a Melissa Etheridge song I've been playing around with for months...one that I previously thought I would always suck at.
That reminds me...one of these days I need to visit Sidekicks again.
(no subject)
Mar. 22nd, 2007 06:30 pmLately, I've been feeling unmotivated when it comes to posting. I read and I comment, but I haven't really felt like posting. Hmm...weird.
So...here's what's going on with me:
On Saturday,doomsey, emygination, bmtstandard, and judygs went to see a play at the Goodman theater called Rabbit Hole, which was about a couple who had lost their four-year-old son in an accident. It was very sad, and I should have thought to bring Kleenex with me since I'm such a sap. Well, the guy sitting next to me heard me sniffling during a really sad part of the play, and he handed me two napkins. Yeah...I know...sap!
On Sunday,doomsey and I went to my parents' house for more corned beef and cabbage. Did I mention that I *really* like corned beef and cabbage? My sister had also brought a nice mead wine, which was strong but very tasty. I also got to spend time with my niece.
Not much happened this week. On Wednesday, I went to anime night as usual and then ended up staying up until two in the morning reading LJ. Lately, when I get behind on my friends' list, I get really behind. Today, I slept in a bit this morning since a) I went to bed late and b) I kept waking up last night. I know for sure that I woke up at about four in the morning and heard a nice thunderstorm rolling through. That and it was pretty windy. Today, I played with the Karaoke machine for a couple of hours (I'm actually surprised that I still have a voice left). Then, I headed over to the dealership so that I could get an oil change and have the 60,000 mile maintenance work done on the car. It took about two hours or so, but fortunately I had brought a book with me.
So...here's what's going on with me:
On Saturday,
doomsey, emygination, bmtstandard, and judygs went to see a play at the Goodman theater called Rabbit Hole, which was about a couple who had lost their four-year-old son in an accident. It was very sad, and I should have thought to bring Kleenex with me since I'm such a sap. Well, the guy sitting next to me heard me sniffling during a really sad part of the play, and he handed me two napkins. Yeah...I know...sap!On Sunday,
doomsey and I went to my parents' house for more corned beef and cabbage. Did I mention that I *really* like corned beef and cabbage? My sister had also brought a nice mead wine, which was strong but very tasty. I also got to spend time with my niece. Not much happened this week. On Wednesday, I went to anime night as usual and then ended up staying up until two in the morning reading LJ. Lately, when I get behind on my friends' list, I get really behind. Today, I slept in a bit this morning since a) I went to bed late and b) I kept waking up last night. I know for sure that I woke up at about four in the morning and heard a nice thunderstorm rolling through. That and it was pretty windy. Today, I played with the Karaoke machine for a couple of hours (I'm actually surprised that I still have a voice left). Then, I headed over to the dealership so that I could get an oil change and have the 60,000 mile maintenance work done on the car. It took about two hours or so, but fortunately I had brought a book with me.
(no subject)
Mar. 17th, 2007 01:20 amThis morning, I woke up to the sound of cosettemonster harfing again. Then I thought, it must be Friday. Why does my cat always barf on Friday mornings? Seriously, what is it about Fridays? This is the third Friday in a row that she's done this.
Let's see...what else did I do today? I picked up two new recycling containers from the city since the containers that we are using are kind of light and have a tendency to blow away. We lost one of our containers today. Bothdoomsey and I walked down the block, and we couldn't find it anywhere.
This afternoon, I also went shopping and grabbed some sushi from the grocery store for a light lunch. Then, I walked three miles. During my walk, I ran into someone who was walking an Alaskan Husky, which also so happened to be a retired sled dog. It was a very beautiful animal. Hmm...I'm starting to think that I'm going for walks not only to get the exercise, but also to pet the dogs. :)
Then, I went downstairs and played with my Karaoke machine for awhile. Unfortunately, the microphone died and it looks like I'll have to replace it. Oh well. I also couldn't sing for very long since my voice isn't entirely back yet after having been sick. I feel like I'm having a hard time hitting notes that I was able to hit previously...which caused me to be out of tune on some songs. Finally, my voice started fading completely, and I ended up turning the machine off. Hopefully, the next time I get the urge to play with the Karaoke machine again, my voice will be better.
This evening,doomsey and I went to his parents' house for corned beef and cabbage. This time, I was not the only token Irish person over for dinner. When I got there, I found out that almeda was coming, and ended up going back home to get my knitting since I wanted to show her the baby blanket I was working on. After dinner, almeda, emygination, and I were hung out in the dining room with the other guests and knitted. I also polished off one skein while I was there, and almeda taught me how to switch to a second skein. 
cosettemonster harfing again. Then I thought, it must be Friday. Why does my cat always barf on Friday mornings? Seriously, what is it about Fridays? This is the third Friday in a row that she's done this. Let's see...what else did I do today? I picked up two new recycling containers from the city since the containers that we are using are kind of light and have a tendency to blow away. We lost one of our containers today. Both
doomsey and I walked down the block, and we couldn't find it anywhere. This afternoon, I also went shopping and grabbed some sushi from the grocery store for a light lunch. Then, I walked three miles. During my walk, I ran into someone who was walking an Alaskan Husky, which also so happened to be a retired sled dog. It was a very beautiful animal. Hmm...I'm starting to think that I'm going for walks not only to get the exercise, but also to pet the dogs. :)
Then, I went downstairs and played with my Karaoke machine for awhile. Unfortunately, the microphone died and it looks like I'll have to replace it. Oh well. I also couldn't sing for very long since my voice isn't entirely back yet after having been sick. I feel like I'm having a hard time hitting notes that I was able to hit previously...which caused me to be out of tune on some songs. Finally, my voice started fading completely, and I ended up turning the machine off. Hopefully, the next time I get the urge to play with the Karaoke machine again, my voice will be better.
This evening,
doomsey and I went to his parents' house for corned beef and cabbage. This time, I was not the only token Irish person over for dinner. When I got there, I found out that almeda was coming, and ended up going back home to get my knitting since I wanted to show her the baby blanket I was working on. After dinner, almeda, emygination, and I were hung out in the dining room with the other guests and knitted. I also polished off one skein while I was there, and almeda taught me how to switch to a second skein. 
