Loss.

Obviously you can tell that the regularly scheduled programming 'round these parts has been far less regular and far more irregular. 

I was very excited to find August was here upon us, which means for us as a family super slow days and plenty of time to just. get. stuff. done. already.  For me that included making my sewing room super organized and efficient, getting clothing ready to sell or give away, and sitting down and posting here as often as possible.

But, bam, August 1st arrives, and while waiting for August to come I realized something else had not come the way it was supposed to, so on that Friday morning, I asked my husband to stop at the CVS on the way home and buy me a pregnancy test.

And because I have already had many pregnancies under my belt, I knew that there was no way it would be negative, but since most ob/gyn offices won't invite you to come on in to discuss your pregnancy without a positive test, I took one as soon as enough time had passed for it to be anything but a baby on the way.

Yep.  I was pregnant. 

We were never not okay with having a fourth child, we just had it in our head that we shouldn't, and we took the time to ensure we weren't going to have a fourth.  Well, my OB said that as women age, you can actually ovulate earlier, and so even if you are fairly sure of your NFP signs (we are devout Catholics and do NFP--more on that here), "advanced maternal age" moms will ovulate earlier.  Oh, is that right?

So upon realizing our pregnancy, and sitting a bit slack-jawed, we both really came around to the idea and were thrilled at having a new little one in our lives.

Then Sunday, August 3 came, along with a bit of blood.  Scared out of my mind and sure I was losing the baby, I told my hubby.  He looked pretty crestfallen, too.  Then the bleeding stopped completely, and Dr. Google told me the baby may be okay.

So Monday comes and I go to see the doctor, and all looks good and she seemed not too concerned about the blood, but told me to watch for it in the future.  She also took my bloodwork, and by the next day I found my HCG levels were very high, and my progesterone was a bit low (but still in the "acceptable" limits).  She made me get some progesterone to help me and the baby, and all was good. 

For a week.  The next Tuesday (the 12th) at night I once again started bleeding, and while it was not a huge amount, it never stopped.  I called the doctor and she said to get an ultrasound the next morning and see what's going on...

Of course we immediately scheduled something the next morning, and nervous as hell, I walk into the ultrasound room, and as quickly as she got the gel on my belly, we saw the heartbeat.  I started weeping in happiness that the baby had a heartbeat.

The ultrasound showed the bleed near the baby, though, and they told me the doctor at my practice would let me know more about what to do.

But because we had seen the heartbeat and evidence of where the bleed was coming from, we figured we would be okay, especially if I took it easy and didn't do too much. 

I made sure the office wanted me to keep my appointment for Tuesday, August 19, and they confirmed that they still wanted to see me. 

After seeing the baby and the sweet little heartbeat, the bleeding continued, never especially heavy, but there was evidence that maybe everything wasn't okay, including clots and cramping, but Dr. Google said a lot of women had those, too, and their babies were just fine.

Armed with that knowledge, I went into the appointment ready to go.  Well, it wasn't so great.  Turns out my doctor was really uncomfortable with the amount I kept bleeding, and the cramping made her unsure of my pregnancy's state, so she said to steel myself for a 50/50 chance of miscarrying the baby.  And she made me go in for another ultrasound, "ASAP."

The next available appointment was the next day, and through it all, I was fairly convinced that everything would be okay, and if it wasn't we would see a baby without a heartbeat (which would be awful, obviously). 

What we didn't expect was that the ultrasound tech would see NOTHING in the uterus, no sac, no baby and the heartbeat, nothing. 

Turns out that I had miscarried and hadn't even known it. 

I was STUNNED.  I literally couldn't talk. 

See I have miscarried before.  TWICE...both before Rex came along.  And both of those didn't show up as miscarriages until the ultrasound showed either a baby with no heartbeat or an empty sac (blighted ovum).  The miscarriage I had with the baby with no heartbeat was HORRIBLE, PAINFUL, AWFUL, and frankly was the reason why I was petrified at the prospect of having another one.  So to have a miscarriage and not even notice it was happening (seriously, very little pain, not that much blood, etc.) seemed unreal.

Finding out made me sad and blue, of course.  The kids were super sad.  (We told them only because of the heartbeat, in the past, for us anyhow, heartbeat equals kid is cooking properly.)  I wasn't sure how to process the events that had been swirling around me for the past half a month.  It was all too much. 

I will never regret getting pregnant for the sixth time.  The potential of an extra baby in the house was thrilling, if a bit scary financially and physically. 

I have no great ending to this story, except I really wanted to tell it.  Humanity shows its greatness in times of grief, and if this story helps someone else out there with one of their own struggles, then I am happy to have told the tale.

I also wanted a record of the baby that was and then was no longer with us.  And by telling this baby's story, I have told the story of my other babies that didn't make it. 

I know that I am now back to being semi-close to normal, and progress has restarted on plans I had to put off in early August.  I feel ready to go back to what we were meant to do, instead of planning for something we weren't thinking we would do, but returning to that was HARD since the new plans were more than okay by me. 

I guess that's all.  I wish I had more to share, but maybe this is just enough. 

I will be back tomorrow with more frivolity and silliness and clothing and stuff, but I couldn't restart that without writing the above.

OOTDs: The Rest of Mississippi.

Hey, all!  I spent today lounging around in a Johnnie b. sweatshirt and a pair of really old cords, so I didn't really have this *huge* desire to photograph the outfit, but figure I have plenty of stuff in my files to more than fill any gaps I have for quite a long time.

Today's post features two outfits I wore while in Mississippi and Louisiana.  I won't go into a ton of detail, but below each photo (as a caption), I will mention things of interest.

The outfit was exactly right for the day since I wanted to wear something comfortable and appropriate for church (I went to mass while my husband was at the Saints game). 

Still love that there are horses in Mr. Dina's childhood home's backyard.

This is a strawberry mai tai.  I don't drink at his parent's house so I very much enjoyed this while at Middendorf's, a yummy seafood restaurant smack dab in the Bayou.

Angus was thoroughly enjoying his water, too.

This is across Highway 51, that is how close Middendorf's is to the water.  Above us is the Manchac Swamp Bridge (Interstate 55) that gets us to New Orleans from where Mr. Dina's family is from in Mississippi.  It is really cool to travel this way a few times a year.  :-)

Here is Angus enjoying the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.  This was at the penguin tank.  He ran around like a crazed sugar fiend at the aquarium.  Benefit of that is that I had a sleeping baby at church.  Woo!

I did change jackets.  This is from Three Dots and I bought it Anthropologie, which is located at Canal Place.  The cardigan is only $88 at Anthro, but is a whole lot more at Three Dots.  I wonder why?  I can't find it online at Anthropologie, but if it comes to be available, I will update this post.

I had seen this wool dress/tunic (so so short) at Anthro years ago, but never bit the bullet on it.  I then saw it on ebay a few years later and grabbed it for next to nothing.  I love it!  It is so comfortable and warm.

Love how pretty the knit detailing is...I have started taking a knitting class on Craftsy, but I will be honest with you, I am not so sure I can wrap my head around knitting.  Sewing seems so much easier to me.

Okay, that's it, I hope you all had a beautiful Thursday and will have a wonderful Friday!

OOTD/Review: Boden Lace Dress.

Lace Dress.  Size 8 Long.  I initially spied this beauty back during the summer preview (original post here) and even though they didn't have the garment measurements up (grr, Boden, grr), I took a chance and pre-ordered the size 8 long, hoping that it wouldn't be too tight in the hips, or (more likely as of late) too large overall, especially in the bodice.

Summer 2013 rolls out and I think, "goody, I get the dress soon."  Nope, hold on...it looks like all colors and sizes are on deep backorder, which means that all of us in love with this dress will need to hold off until mid-April, at the earliest.

Upon receiving it (exactly when they said I would receive it), I grabbed it, tried it on, did a teeny squeal of excitement, and ran out to my dad (was helping with pickup of the kids that day) to show him its gorgeousness.

My dad immediately declared it a winner.  And although I really wanted to wear it as soon as I could, I knew I had to wait for the exact right occasion, which this spring is Mother's Day.

In a surprise twist from Boden, they made the bodice just big enough (without being too large for my smaller upper body) while keeping the hips more a-line, however not sacrificing the pencil shape.  The waist is exactly right for my body, with about an inch of ease, I feel good, but also know that the waist is defined enough to highlight my curves.

The length if fab, hitting right on my mid-kneecap.

I would say that for all of you interested in this one to size for your waist, since this seems to be where the smallest measurement is, plus it is a grosgrain ribbon, which is not stretchy at all, unlike the cotton lace and cotton lining which has at least some stretch (not jersey stretch, of course, just a bit of flexibility).

I have a very high waist and the waistband sits right on it.  Usually in talls, this means I have to sacrifice the right placement for my waist in order to get the length, but this dress was not fashioned with a longer bodice (which means if you have a long torso, this dress may not work for you).

That bump there at the top of my bottom is the zipper.  Good news, it is a back zip, which means easy access as you can put the dress by stepping into it.  Bad news for my shape is that it sticks out a bit, since I suspect I may have a bit of a sway back (didn't even know what that was until I started sewing...now I see it everywhere and am very aware when the garment doesn't quite work with my particular posture).

Now that bump didn't even come close to bothering me, didn't even notice it until I was editing the photos.

Back view.  The slit is accommodating without being too high, nice for moving around.

Word about the lining, it is the same lovely yellow of the lace, so you get a whole lot of "bright" when wearing it.  I happen to love insane bright colors like this, but if you are not a fan, the dress also comes in a white and navy.

The lace is delicate, so please do take care when wearing it.  I accidentally brushed up against the wooden pew at my church and managed to snag a very small bit of thread.  Nothing is wrong with the dress since the damage was miniscule, but just wanted you all to be aware.


Lace Dress.  The model looks so good in it.  The yellow is not quite as bright as in this photo, but still very "happy."  :)

I think the price is high, but I can see why it is so expensive when looking at the detailing throughout, from the cotton lace and fabric to the careful way they enclosed seams and the hem.

Day: Sunday, May 12, 2013.

Where: Mother's Day Mass.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I am giving this very girly and lacy dress a whole 4 points since I could have kept wearing it all day.  I wanted to wear it at least once more before I had to take it to the cleaners (definitely dry clean), so I took it off right after the photo of the kids and me was taken.

The lace is delicate, as I mentioned above, so I deducted a point for that since you can't really *do it all* in this dress.

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.) Hmm. Lace is in, yellow is in, but this frock is probably too mumsy and conservative to be cool.  Do not care.  ;)  The invitation clutch is amazing and really is exactly the right bag for the outfit, and I think that particular piece is cool, so maybe the combo is bumped up from its inclusion?

Anecdote from the day:  My children (specifically CW) gave me a Barbie card for Mother's Day.  Inside the card was a sticker declaring me the "Best Mom Ever."  I totally wore that the entire day.  ;)

Mass was awesome, the kids were really well-behaved, and they didn't even have their coloring books or crayons with them.  I suspect they knew that since it was Mother's Day, it probably wasn't the best time for them to act up, even though they had no diversions.  (Still, those diversions don't bother me--Mr. Dina just forgot them in the car.)

I came home after getting some champagne and fresh-squeezed orange juice (mimosa, mmmm) and while the two oldest, my dad, and Mr. Dina went to a baseball game, and Angus slept, I enjoyed maybe one or two or three glasses.  ;)

Okay, that's it for now.

Happy Mother's Day, btw, to all my favorite moms and moms-to-be out there!

BTW, today marks the start of another set of trim items over at Boden.  This week there are many "high summer" items, including the Harbour Island Dress, which was one of my picks.  I believe I may be ordering that this week. 

If you use the sidebar coupon (below, as well), you will receive an additional 15% off, which equals about 32% off total.

OOTDs/Reviews: Barbados and a Peony.

Day: Thursday, April 25, 2013.

Where: Bowling End-of-Year Lunch.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Not only is the Barbados dress* super pretty, it is super comfortable, too.  The cotton outer and lining are super soft next to the skin, and as long as you grab your correct size, nothing feels too tight, either.

My Kenneth Cole Reaction heels are really old but have held up well and are really easy on the feet because of the wide toe box and wedge heel.  I even pull them out in the winter and wear with tights, I love them that much.

*It's NOT SOLD OUT, btw. I have in my shopping bag 9 of the size 6 and 9 of the size 4 (like to watch price changes).  Contact a personal shopper because J. Crew is being funny.  Blegh.

Cool Factor: (2.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Definitely average.  Pretty and perfect for what I was doing, though, celebrating a great year of bowling with women in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s (go, Dotty!).

My bag is one I made (from Simplicity 2402), and am not likely to ever show off on the blog again unless it goes *exactly* right with the outfit.  ;)  I made three others for my teammates, and one of them even sews, so she really appreciated it because she says she knows exactly how much time and energy goes into making them.  (That is like the best thank you ever!)

Anecdote from the day:  So I didn't know you won money at the end of the year of bowling.  I figured all the money we were paying was for rental fees, etc.  I was so wrong.  We came in fifth place as a team and ended up with $95 each.  I also won some prizes for being the 2nd most improved average overall (8 points up--not hard to do when you start off as bad as I did, lol) and a lottery prize.  Woo!

All in all a great day.  Unfortunately, I heard from a bowling friend that one of our bowling friends passed away from a heart attack last week.  It really does put perspective on it all.  She was in such great shape, very healthy and full of energy, and wham--just like that.  Very sad. 

Pockets!  Deep and exactly right for storing everything from your hands (of course) to pacifiers (not likely for most) and phones (much more likely).  Cheesy grins not able to be placed in pockets at this time, though.

Side view.  I bought a size 6 to fit my waist (the waist has the smallest measurement at 29.5 inches, I believe).  The dress is pretty much made for my pear shape, but the bodice is a touch too long, which is why you see the puckering just above the waist.  No biggie, obviously, but something to be pointed out.

Definitely size for your waist unless your bustline is especially big.  The hips are free (love love love)!

Back view.  I adore palm trees, so it doesn't bother me at all that my back is littered with them. 

Anti-exposed zipper people?  This here is an invisible zipper, so celebrate on the streets!

Close up of the fabric.  I have never been to Barbados, but if I do go, I will bring the dress, and not in an ironic way, either.  I am truly just that corny.

I have washed the dress already and it looks wonderful (hand wash cycle, cold/cold, and hang to dry).

One thing on the color, the white is actually more of an oyster grey/white.

Shopwithm reviewed it here, btw.

Day: Tuesday, April 16, 2013.

Where: Preschool Run/Little Gym.

Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Losing weight has helped these Boden pants fit better, so I felt pretty good in this outfit, all day.  I remember last year wearing these pants and while they fit, they were uncomfortable by the end of the day, so yay for small victories.

The linen peony tee and soft cardigan are both cut from fabric that feel wonderful next to the skin, so no complaints there, either.

Basically if I can keep up with Angus at the Little Gym in my outfit, then it's a good, comfortable outfit.

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  This is a cool SAHM look.  Especially if SAHM is off to be all active with Mister Tiny (as we like to call the world's largest man baby).  There's just something about a huge graphic peony on the front of a tee, huh?

Anecdote from the day:  Nada.  It was a very typical Tuesday where not much happened out of the ordinary.  Even I might fall asleep from its blah-ness.  :-D

I seriously don't know if anyone will be able to grab this tee on popback or in their stores, but even if not, ebay exists for this very reason, so I will do a quickie review anyhow.  I bought it in a size extra-small, which is my usual J. Crew tee size.  It fits exactly right, and while I know some have balked at the sheerness of the tee, I have a lot of flesh-colored camis made for that express purpose, so it was no big deal for me.  The neckline is a bit puckered, but again, I kind of like it rather than dislike since it gives it a worn-in feel to match the way the linen feels.  I have a soft spot for tees that have a very worn-in feel, and this tee gives me that feeling right away.

The graphic is gorgeous, and in real life looks exactly as you see it in the photo of me.

Okay, ignore if babies aren't your thang, but hahahaha at Angus here.  He looks like he is praising the lamp.  :)  I don't know what the camera catches exactly till I get the images in the computer, and often will have a great big lol when I see what Angus gets up to when the camera's shutter clicks.

BTW, the stairs have a gate right there behind Angus's head (you can see the shadow).  Hopefully you all realize this and know that there. is. no. way. in. H. E. Double Hockey Sticks I would let him parade around the top of the stairs without some sort of safety feature in place.  ;-)

Alrighty, you all have a great day!  I am off to see Rush tonight in Baltimore, so I am pretty stoked. 

OOTD/Review: Notched. Dotted. Reminded.

Day: Sunday, April 14, 2013.

Where: Church.

Ease of Wear: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  The dress is very pretty and very comfortable, but it took me a bit to get used to the gaping at the neck (my number one fit issue, btw).  I was *this* close to returning the dress for a size smaller, but in the end, the size I chose felt fine and while a bit loose in the bodice isn't anything that I can't fix here at home on my sewing machine.

It was also fairly warm that day and the linen/cotton blend was exactly right for the temperature.

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)   Just a pretty dress worn to church with cute open-toe heels, a white clutch, and white dangly earrings, so not the coolest, more classic and appropriate.

Anecdote from the day:  Well, church is church.  It means I stay at church with the two oldest while Mr. Dina goes and wrangles Angus outside since Angus is now the age where he literally (not even joking here) moves 99.8% of the time.  It's a bit tiring.

On the plus side, Mr. Dina talked to our favorite priest outside and told him that he wanted to convert to Catholicism.  The priest thought he was already Catholic and had just missed his Confirmation, which is why he doesn't get Communion with the rest of us.  :)  Mr. Dina let him know that, "nope, I am the full deal--converting from Southern Baptist, thank you very much."  The priest gave me a smile when I went up for Communion, and here I was thinking it was because he was proud of me wrangling the two oldest up for Communion without any mishaps.  Instead, he was just giving our family the big high five for fully converting our holdout.  LOL.  
 

Notch Neck Shift.  I bought this in a size 8 long.  Like I mentioned above, the bodice is really loose, especially through the shoulders and neckline.  You can even see it gaping a tiny bit in the photo above (if you can tear your eyes away from the darling Angus, of course).

The skirt portion fits really well, though, and since I am a pear shape, and that is unlikely to change, I am glad my positively plump posterior fits so well in this dress.

Side View.  The tie belt is a bit of a bummer, but it did the job well enough, I suppose.  I can see swapping it out for a navy belt, I just don't know how it would look under the belt loops.

Angus, btw, is wearing the Twin Pack Rompers.  I have been buying him these for the past few seasons.  This is the version from the spring, and we also have the version from summer (which is SO precious!).  He is wearing the 12-18 months and they fit him fine.  He just turned one, but he is B-I-G so I would say that the rompers run true to size.

Back View.  (Of both of us!)  You can really see how big the bodice is here, in fact not only is the bodice too big, it is also too long for me.  My back length (neck to waist) is a mere 15 inches, so I recognize I am on the smaller end of women regarding this length, so I just have to deal.  Love the skirt length, though!


Notch Neck Shift.  The dress is selling well, but only a few sizes are completely sold out.  One of the designs is even part of the mid-season sale (the striped one), but the polka dot is not.

Alrighty, that's it.  :)

BTW, the "reminded" portion of my post's title is so I can remind you that both Boden and Lands' End are finishing up their big sales tonight.   I never ended up doing a picks post for Lands' End, but I did do a picks post for Boden, which is right here.

Below are the links for both sales, so you can easily access them. 




You all have a great night!

OOTD/Review: Simply Adelaide. And Big Sales. And a Church Tour.

Day: Wednesday, April 17, 2013.

Where: Winesday and a tour of my church (celebrating its 75th birthday!).  Photos of the church at the bottom of the post.

Ease of Wear: (5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  FIVE STARS, you all!  FIVE STARS!  Since I didn't add much to it, just a very simple pair of sandals, we have my first five star ease of wear ever on this blog.  Most of my outfits hover between 3 and 4, but there is always SOMETHING stopping it from being fully comfortable (it usually involves my stupid hips, btw).  Not this one, the Adelaide Dress is more comfortable than my freaking pajamas.

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)   It has the kind of cool retro 80s thing going on and the sandals are effortlessly cool, but there ain't enough going on for this to be cool all the way.  I would have to jazz it up much more, maybe by adding a straw fedora, a simple large pendant necklace, and a side braid.

Anecdote from the day:  My church celebrated its 50th birthday when I was in 8th grade.  I remember it very clearly because that was the last time they overhauled the church, taking it from mid-century yellow wallpaper and turquoise embellishments to a more understated, yet still evocative of the period in which is was built, feel. (Though the church is 75, the church as it stands was built in the 60s.)

Since it has been 25 years (I AM SO SO SO SO SO OLD) since that facelift, they feel it is time for another.  None of us in the tour agreed.  A cleaning or a sprucing up?  Sure!  But an overhaul of the beauty that church is now?  No!  We seemed to agree that the original design was a bit too modernist for the cathedral space (it is the cathedral) but the re-do in the *LATE* 80s hit the sweet spot exactly right, so why change it too much?

I attended this tour, btw, since I know I will still be there at the church for its 100th anniversary, and since I really will be much much older then, and probably the only person still alive who remembers the church from way back when, I suspect that I will be tapped to run/be part of the 100th celebration.  Might as well get started on the research now.  ;)

Adelaide Dress.  Size 6 Long.  I went with this size initially because I thought the a-line shape would be hip friendly and it proved to be exactly that.  Pear shapes, rejoice!

In addition to being nicely shaped, the length is wonderful, I am glad that it hits right at the top of my knee, which is a lovely spot for a summer dress to hit.

It is a wee bit too long in the bodice, but had I ordered the regular to get a shorter bodice, I would have been faced with a much shorter dress which definitely limits where I can wear it (not church, that's fo darn shure).

Side view.  Have I mentioned how much I love these pockets?  They are so much better placed than the pockets on the Newquay dress.  As much as I {heart} the Newquay, those pockets bug a bit the way they have a tendency to flare out.

The fabric is a jersey, similar in feel to other cotton jersey offerings from Boden.  In other words, the fabric is thick, stretchy, nicely printed in pretty colors, and well tailored.

The price is very good for what you get, especially on the quality end.  J. Crew (sorry, J. Crew) would cut corners to offer this dress at this price (no pockets, no button detailing at the shoulder, and definitely an inferior cotton jersey in blah colors).

Back view.  I might add a belt next time I wear it, but even from the back, there is still a nice definition at the waist (thank you, elastic waist band--I can't even believe I just wrote that).

Before I get on to pictures of the church from the church tour, I thought I would let you all know of a couple of sales going on right now at some of the retailers we like here at this blog.

BODEN:
Obviously, Boden is having a big sale right now.  I initially blogged about it here, but I want to mention it again since the Adelaide is part of the sale, and the purple/red color is at a very nice discount (so if those colors work for you, grab it, I say!).  The other two colors are not as well discounted, but you can use the sidebar's 15% off coupon to make it a little bit cheaper.  The link to the Boden sale is below.


PURE COLLECTION:
Pure Collection, which is still on my radar, is having a sale on selected spring items.  That means you can get 40% off some of their offerings.  I don't have a ton from Pure, but everything I own from them is insanely beautiful, well tailored, and made from the NICEST fabrics.  I do plan to do a Pure Collection picks of the season post but with my time very constrained right now, it has been put on the back burner for far too long.

There isn't a ton in their sale, but I love the Luxury Lace T-Shirt, so feminine, a bit impractical, but definitely a great addition to any wardrobe.

If you are looking to purchase an item from Pure that isn't in the sale, my sidebar's 25% off coupon is still working and will give you a good saving.  (This 25% off is not able to be stacked with the 40% off sale items, though.)

(USE CODE SS13GL to receive the 40% off the selected items.)

LANDS' END:
Lands' End also just announced a HUGE sale, with 40% off all regular priced items.  I will definitely be doing a picks post from them, I may just end up combining it with the Pure picks, like I did with the last post I did on the two of them.

I have purchased the Pattern Stretch Chino Bermuda Shorts from them this season and I think they fit well, are a great length, and in a cute printed pattern.  Definitely don't size down, though.  These shorts are running a touch small in my opinion.

Below is the promo link for the sale.  Enjoy!

This is a photo of the nave of the church.  The teal/gold/deep brick-burgundy color was the 1989 re-do.  The lighting fixtures are an original feature of the 1960s church.  I really hope they don't get rid of either of those.

The church's organ is supposedly one of the nicest in the whole country!  It cost many hundreds of thousands of dollars and has an incredible sound and fully envelops the church.  My husband is a huge fan of the organist and says it is his favorite part of the church. 

The weird looking organ horns jutting out from the wood paneling there in the front of the choir loft?  Those are specifically for the Bishop and are only used when he is at the Cathedral.  I have been there for his masses, and I must say, they are quite loud and booming.  Definitely gives the church its place in the ranks of places that do "pomp and circumstance" well.

From Angus's baptism.  Probably one of my favorite photos ever.

This one, too, taken in the light of the "John the Baptist" stained glass window.

Okay, that's it!  Thanks for your patience with this post that had many disparate elements to it!  :)