I Feel Good (nah nuh nah nuh nah nuh nah)

I knew that I would now.

Actually, I didn't know. And I'm sure that some of this sense of well being - along with the fact that I'm gaining weight (arg) - is due to steroidal therapy for this sinus infection. But I'm feeling it. I still have trouble walking at a decent speed for any distance. And stairs are still a pain. And I'm using The Phone Voice (watch out boys!). But I can breathe (through my nose even!), and I can wear pants with buttons and my bra on the tightest hook without feeling like I'm suffocating. And I can sing.

Singing is important to me. I'm not very formally trained as a singer; I did some in music camp and some in church choir but not a lot. But I have a very well-trained ear, as I played the cello on a regular basis in the years between ages nine and 22, and sporadically since. School orchestra, two youth symphonies, private lessons, you name it. But you can't drag the cello everywhere you go, and you especially can't play it while driving north on I-5 at 60 MPH. You can sing, though, and I've made it a habit.

At the moment, I am not my usual mezzo-soprano. I always sang first alto, as mezzo is primarily used in classic opera, where I was usually in the pit orchestra. I read treble clef very slowly, and my high school was pretty short on cellists, so at school I was always in the orchestra during operas and musicals (except that one time I ran the lighting board for Little Shop of Horrors). But today my voice is about half an octave lower than usual, as I get over this crud. And it cracks unpredictably as I run out of breath. But it was lots of fun as I drove into work today.

It's habitual for the girls and I to listen and sing along to a mix disc or a soundtrack in the car every other Friday on the way to Abby's dad's house. And I'm tired of the Phineas and Ferb soundtrack, much as I love some of the songs (they're Disney; the music is infectious by definition). So this afternoon, I plan to make a new mix disc. Abby's outgrown the original one I made for her, and her musical taste is far more varied than it used to be, although there are some "kids" songs she still really likes.

So here's the new list (don't worry - I have all this stuff legitimately; I either own the CDs, or have purchased the tunes from iTunes or Amazon. Not to fret):

Disc Name: Abby's Favorite Things

1. Busted - Phineas and Ferb soundtrack
2. Teen Titans - Puffy AmiYumi
3. Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo
4. Interjections - Schoolhouse Rock
5. Bop 'Til You Drop - Nylons One Size Fits All
6. Agent P - Phineas and Ferb soundtrack
7. Puttin' on the Ritz - Falco
8. Ghostbusters - Ghostbusters soundtrack
9. The Powerpuff Girls - Powerpuff Girls soundtrack
10. Gitchee Gitchee Goo - Phineas and Ferb soundtrack
11. Get Ready for This - 2 Unlimited (aka "The Hockey Song")
12. A Noun is a Person, Place, or Thing - Schoolhouse Rock
13. Rasputin - Boney M
14. The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Nylons Seamless
15. Ready for the Bettys - Phineas and Ferb soundtrack
16. Move it Like This - Baha Men
17. Danny Phantom - Danny Phantom soundtrack
18. Walk Like an Egyptian - The Bangles
19. I Ain't Got Rhythm - Phineas and Ferb soundtrack 
20. Gonna Make You Sweat - C&C Music Factory

Edited for song mix mixups

Tracks 2 and 8 cause a lot of confusion at Chez GamersBabes. The questions posed in the songs are fairly close ("When there's trouble you know who to call." vs. "When there's something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call?") Maybe if they're on the same disc we can keep them straight.