more paperwork

I got my bank statement today, thank goodness.  I need the last 3 statements to send in to the hospital so I can find out if they will help me pay that huge bill that I have.  I have the application, the bank statements, the income statement, and a pay stub from the new company teaching all ready to finally be copied and sent in.  I just have to type the letter.  I am so glad that this hospital has a foundation to help people like me.  I can do a low monthly payment, but I owe about $1200 now so it will take forever to pay and probably will owe more when I crash again.  So far the health crashes haven't been bad enough to go to the hospital. I am really glad about that.

It is a quiet day here.  Katie had her lesson and we have picked what she is going to sing in the concert.  Now she is having trouble deciding what to sing at competition in February.  She wants to have the decision down by September 1 because of her school schedule.  It will be super full and she wants to have tough decisions done as soon as possible.  Normally, I don't even start discussing competition until October, however in her situation I agree that earlier will be best for her.  I don't mind, we can work on the stuff and other things too.  She loves the new Italian piece I gave her today.  It is my favorite out of the entire book.  It is called "Se Tu M'ami".  I don't remember exactly what it means but it is such a fun piece.  Now she is divided between the German piece and this new Italian piece.  She is also torn between which inspirational piece to do.  She is deciding between a beautiful medley and "My Lord What a Morning".  Both are great pieces that really show off her maturing voice.  She is such a beauty too.  Both inside and out, she is simply a wonderful young woman.  I am so proud of her and what she has accomplished with her life.  She will finish in June with not only her high school diploma, but her associates degree also.  Talk about a hard road!  It does require her to take a lot of credit hours, but she feels she is up for it.  It is just wonderful.

It is pretty nice out today.  It was starting to rain a bit when I came in from the store, but my brown grass really needs it so that is okay.  The temperature wasn't too high for a change, only around 81 or so.  That is a good thing.  It is possibly more rain tomorrow.  I don't have anywhere really to go except the bank tomorrow and the bank can actually wait another day if it rains bad.  I only have 1 lesson tomorrow so I can go in between rains.  Pain level is regular, nothing standing out too much.  It is a normal missing Mom day.  I don't think either of those things will ever go away so they are just at the normal range for me.  I do hope you are having a good day.

tuesday

It was a 3 lesson day instead of 5 lesson day.  Elizabeth wasn't scheduled, I am not sure what is going on with her and McKenzie's family had a death in the family so they had to reschedule to next week.  Both Rachel and Laith started learning bass clef notes.  I am pleased with them.  Charlie had a 1 hour lesson to make up from last week.  I love how he makes up lessons instead of totally skip them when he can.  He will miss next week too so the following week he will have another hour lesson.

Not much going on other than the few lessons today.  I am re-reading the Sherbrooke Bride series.  i love those books.  I am on the third book right now.  I will probably finish it tomorrow or maybe later tonight.

It is so nice out today for a change!  It is low humidity and in the mid 80's, in other words, it is simply beautiful!  I could have spent the day outside but I was teaching instead.  I wasn't too hot or cold going outside today for a change!  It was so nice.  i really like this.  Unfortunately, by the weekend it will be in the low 90s again with chance of rain.  The rain doesn't bother me because my poor brown lawn needs it so bad.  My little violet flowers are drooping so bad.  They need some water.

Tomorrow is 2 lessons, Katie and Carson.  I have 2 new songs for Carson and I have a new CD for him filled with new music for him.  I have typed out two songs so far and will type them as we go along.

Well, I am going to watch NCIS and then head for bed.  I am hoping for a better night's sleep tonight.  I am pretty tired tonight so let's hope for a better sleep!  I do hope you are having a good night!

oh my I need a personal assistant

Yesterday, much to my distress because I screwed up, was my lovely Katie's baptism.  Yeah, I wanted to go because it is so important to her and I mixed up the weekends.  I had it written down as last night, but I NEVER looked at my calender yesterday.  How awful is that?  It is simply too awful for words.  I really wanted to go.  That would have been the coolest thing ever!  I was so honored that she asked me to go and then I didn't go.  How awful and terrible and oh my.  I have been screwing up my schedule between yesterday and today.  Today's episode?  Oh, I nearly missed Beth's lesson at 2 pm because I forgot to check my schedule last night.  Had I done that like I usually do after Rick's lesson, I would have seen to go last night.  Well, fortunately, Beth called me when I didn't answer the door.  Wow, thank goodness for that!  I quickly got dressed and ran downstairs to start her lesson.  I am not sure what is up with me these last few days, but something sure is.  I do hope it has run its course and I am fine now.  I sure hope so.  I called Katie, I know she is at work, but I had to call and apologize to her.  I can't wait to speak with her in person.  I can't believe I did this.  boy, when I screw up, I do a good job.  How disappointing for Katie.  She was expecting me to be there and I didn't show up.  I would be very disappointed too.  I was napping when her baptism started too to make it worse.  Wow, I am just so disappointed in me.  I hope the rest of the week is better because these last two days, were awful with what I forgot.

At least the lessons, when I had them, went well.  Beth did very well with her new and old songs.  Bob is really coming along with his Clementi and Mozart pieces.  Young Emily just started with G Position.  It is a bit hard for her since it is brand new.  Her flash cards are getting a bit easier for her but they are still not quite where I would like them to be.

I am having the strangest sleep patterns these days.  I need to somehow fix it.  I just don't know how.  I go to bed at a decent hour, I just don't sleep well until after 5 am.  It is really getting annoying.  I can't take anymore sleep medicine because I am already taking enough.  Somehow I need to shift my sleeping to start around 12 midnight so I get up earlier.  I do hope to stop taking naps in the afternoon and evening too.  That helps screw it around too but I get so tired that I can't stay awake.  I haven't slept well since I lost Mom.  I had thought that by now I would be sleeping better but I am not.  It is even worse than ever now.  I hope to be able to turn it around a bit so that I am getting up a bit earlier and going to sleep earlier.

Anyways, lessons were good, the rest was not.  Being this upset over missed events and almost missed events make me ache more so today is a complete achy day.  I hope tomorrow and the rest of the week will be better.  I hope you are doing better than me.

did it rain today?

I think it rained for a few minutes this afternoon.  This is what one of my friends who live near me on Facebook said.  I was asleep because I was so tired this afternoon that I slept about 3 hours.  i could have slept longer, really, I could have but I forced myself to get up.  Harry Potter number 4 is on again and Harry Potter 5 is on at 9 so I will watch it until I fall asleep or decide to go to bed.  I love Harry Potter movies and books so much.  It is kind of weird because I am not really into a lot of things right now, but Harry is one of things that I am into.  It does make me think of my mom because she loved Harry Potter movies a lot.  She read me the first book when I was in the hospital with the blood clot.  I was pretty out of it a lot during that week.

I did have a good lesson with Rick today.  We started a new song for him.  The song is "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin, the movie.  I love this song.  It has a beautiful range that will definitely be a stretch for him.  We did go through it but we are focusing on the first part today.  He seemed to really like it so that is good. I now have a date for the Summer concert but unfortunately, Rick and Bob won't be there as both will be out of town.  I am bummed but I knew there would be some people it wouldn't work for.  I am hoping that for everyone else it will work for.

I can't wait until next weekend.  Kathy will be here in town and we are going to see Harry Potter together!!!  Finally!!!!  I can't wait!!!!  I just can't wait!!!  Not only for the new movie but to see Kathy too.  I just talked to her.  She is planning to watch Harry number 5 in a few minutes too.

I am off to watch Harry now.  I hope your day is good and cool.

Sleepy

Sometimes I feel like all I ever do is try to sleep.  For the last few months I have been awake off and on until about 5 am and then I sleep for a couple hours, then I need to roll over because of pain, sleep a couple more hours, roll over again, and on and on it goes.  Today, I rolled over at 10 thinking I would get up in a bit and start my day.  The next time I woke up it was 2 pm.  I had actually slept for 4 hours straight!  I was excited, still exhausted, but excited.  Why couldn't I do that earlier so I could get up a bit early?  Who knows.  I got up and got ready for the day, which was partly over more than usual.  I went and mailed a letter that is due next week.  It is, I hope, the last of what is needed for the IRS from the store.  The nightmare never ends it seems when it comes to the store.  I do hope this is the last of it.  

I didn't have any lessons today so I read some after I went and got some Chipotle's for dinner.  Since I woke up super late I figured I would have a bigger meal now and a smaller meal later around 7 or 8 or so.  I have one lesson tomorrow so that is wonderful!  I love lessons and I really think that is the only time I feel like I am achieving something.  I do think that some other times when I am with friends or doing something at home other than watching TV or reading but often, I feel like I am in a rut and can't get out.  It isn't always like that, but often enough to bother me.  I think it is because I am still trying to find the new me without Mom.  When I had Mom here, I had a purpose and that was taking good care of her, which mostly I did.  Now my purpose is gone and I don't know what my purpose is, outside of teaching that is.  I am thankful I have more students now that I have had in the last few years.  It is very helpful and fun.  I simply love all my students.  I don't have one that is forced to play so that is a wonderful thing.  I have had a few in the past, and oh, my that was the hardest teaching ever.  Can you imagine trying to teach a child music to a child who really could care less about whether they play it right or not?  Believe me, I think I would rather bang my head against a wall than to do that again.  Fortunately, all my younger students play because they want to learn.  Thank God for that!

I don't have any plans for the rest of the evening except to relax and watch TV.  I am exhausted again and I have only been up for about 4 hours.  I probably will go to bed at the regular time because I will only toss and turn if I go early.  I can't wait for the lesson tomorrow.  I am debating which new song to give him.  I am not sure.

It is a bit cooler this afternoon that it has been in the last few days.  Next week is supposed to be back in the 80s so I can't wait for that.  I do hope that you are cool and staying out of the heat.

A Bit Cooler of a Day

It is still hot but not as hot as yesterday!  thank goodness for that!  I went and got an oil change for my baby car this afternoon.  The oil change place has changed hands and I didn't notice it until I pulled it.  It wouldn't have matter as I needed it done.  They don't vacuum out the cars anymore though and I was really counting on that.  I will go and vacuum out the car next week when the weather is a bit warmer.  I did get rid of all the garbage in the car in the door spaces.  I will not let garbage go in them anymore.  It is too messy and I want a clean car now.  I also found some cream containers in the passenger side of the car.  I was not happy about that because cream can smell when it is spoiled.  I know who did it and it won't happen again because I won't allow it.  Also, the 3 bottles that were in my car were not from me either and that isn't happening again either.  bottom line, my baby will stay clean from me and others.  I just have to wipe the dashboard and the sides of the doors.  I also need to clean the inside of the windows next week too.  My car will be spiffy and beautiful again.  No more people going, you need to clean the dashboard and the windows.  I bought some cleaning cloths for the car that I will use.

Acer didn't have a lesson today as the little man's mom was not feeling well.  Heather B-T gets some dozy of headaches so they needed to stay home.  Acer has decided though what songs he is going to play at the concert.  He will play 3.  Hey works for me.  He has also moved on for singing songs too.  He is finished with Caro Mio Ben (he only knows 1/2 of it right now) and is wanting to know Feed the Birds.  That works for me too.  Acer and I don't always follow the general pattern that I set for each lesson.  He works much better this way and so I do things a bit different for him than I do for most other students.  Sometimes you just have to change the style for what works best for the student.  This is definitely needed for Acer to keep him challenged and interested.  I am pleased with how well he is doing.  Acer is also still working out new songs all the time on the piano.  It is so nice to have him say, listen to this and I do.  Calli is a bit more structured of a lesson.  This is due to partly her age and her level but also she works well with a bit more structure.  I am pleased with how well she plays and sings too.  It is nice to have students again who range in age.  For a while, I only had older students but now I have some little ones again too.  I really like that variety of ages and levels with my students.

We have a date for the Summer concert/BBQ.  It is August 28 and I am thrilled.  I will be working on the flyer this evening.  I want to be passing it out next week.  I do know that Bob will be absent because they will be in Maine.  I am disappointed, but hey, he will be having a good time in Maine!  Everyone will hear him at the Christmas Concert.

Katie is going to help me put away the music at the end of the summer.  I am so grateful.  I have tried to put some away, I just don't stand well enough for it.  Also, at the middle to end of August is when Lily and Julie are available to help with the family room.  That works for me!!!  I think I will have Lily help decorate the house for Christmas again this year.  She is very creative and I am not always that creative like she is.  I am going to have more decorations up I think this year.

Pain is a bit high today, I think mainly because it has been so hot.  I ache more in the extreme temperatures.  My head hasn't been too good these last few weeks.  I am hoping next week will be a bit better.  I am missing Mom as usual.   It is hard to believe but it has been just over 9 months since she passed away.  Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday and other times it seems like it has been forever.  I just want my Mom back.

I do hope this finds you doing well and staying cool.

a record hot day

It was just over 100 degrees today and with the heat index it feels about 110.  I can't imagine how my friend, Missy and other friends can handle the hotter weather down south.  I did have to do a bit of grocery shopping today, I wish I waited until tomorrow but I need milk and lunch meat for today.  I went in for a few things and I came out 40 items later!  I got a new thermometer for me.  I have noticed that there are days it seems I have a low grade fever so I am going to be keeping track of my temperature.  Today it is at 98.4 so that is good.  Last night I had the night sweats again.  I get them a few times a week again.  I am not sure why, but I will be keeping track of myself.

Breanna had her lessons this afternoon.  She takes both piano and voice.  She went to Pittsburg to audition for American Idol.  She was able to audition but the judge said she was too young.  She is 15 and I thought they were taking 15 year olds again this year.  Whatever, anyways the judge said to come back another year so I thought that was pretty positive for her.  It gives us another year to work on maturing her voice so that she will be even more ready next year.  Breanna has a very strong chest voice and her head voice is getting stronger but I think 1 more year will really make a difference for the young lady.  She is a lot of fun to work with too.  We have a date for the summer concert so it is time for her to decide what she wants to sing.  I think she should do the song she played and sang today from Pink.  It is really neat and definitely has the Wow factor in it.

I only have Acer for lessons tomorrow.  Calli is at camp.  I do hope she is having a great time.  Acer is at day camp this week so I can't wait to hear how his camp is going when I see the young man tomorrow.  I was hoping to take Lily to see Monte Carlo on Saturday but she will be busy getting ready for her performance in Summer Music Theatre next weekend.  I thought it was over, I am glad it isn't because I would like to see the performance if I can still get tickets.  If not, I will have to wait until next year.  Lily and family will be going on vacation so when they come back we will work on the rest of Mom's and the family rooms.  I think that will be good to work on at the end of summer.  It is too hot to work on it right now.

I do hope you are staying cool in this super hot heat.

Midweek!

It is Wednesday and I only had 2 lessons this afternoon and evening.  I normally only have 2 lessons, but this was 1 make-up lesson and 1 regular lesson.  Carson is absent as he is on vacation this week.  His mom called to tell me this morning, but I already knew because he told me last week.  Bob will be back on his normal Monday next week but Beth will have her lesson on Monday in the afternoon.  She is going on vacation next week so she will have her lesson first and then off to vacation for Beth!  I like that she is having a make up lesson before she goes on vacation.  What a dedicated student.  this is the kind of student I really like.  Anyways, Charlie and Carson will be back next week too so that will be a good week.

It has been a regular quiet week so far.  I have done a lot of reading this week.  I ended up reading until about 2 am this morning before I realized how late it was and needed to go to bed.  I was looking for some fresh reading material when I found a book I never read downstairs in the family room.  It is a book by one of my favorite authors and I was thrilled to find it because it belongs to a series where I have the rest of the books too.  They are not totally tied together series, but loosely tied together.  I was planning to purchase the book but now I don't have too so I am pleased about that.  Anne dropped off 2 books for me.  I meant to send one home to Maggie today but I forgot to give the book to Bob.  I also, once again, forgot to loan him the Eclipse movie.  I have been meaning to loan him this for months because I know that Maggie would like to see it.  She has read all the books and has seen the first 2 movies.  I haven't seen Eclipse yet but eventually I will.  I wanted to see it last summer but Mom couldn't have handled that movie.  I didn't go because I decided I needed to spend the time with Mom instead.  I do not regret my decision.  I can see lots of movies now, but I can't spend the time with her.  I would rather spend the time with Mom.  I so miss that.  I miss the companionship even with her Alzheimer's.  We could still have a good time together.  I picked things for us to do that she could handle.

I just saw a commercial for back to school.  Oh my gosh, it is too soon isn't it?  It is only July.  The only good thing about back to school shopping is that I am running out of cute pencils for teaching and can get a bunch of them on sale.  I like princess pencils and Tinkerbell pencils.  I had bought some Tinkerbell pencils but I don't know what happen to them so I need some new ones.  There is another back to school commercial on now.  Oh my.  I am losing my mind!  I will need to check my office supplies to see if I need anything new.  I think I have enough folders and notebooks, but I am not sure.  I will check this week.

It was a quiet day.  I enjoyed reading a book I haven't read in a few years.  It is super hot outside.  It really is.  Tomorrow is suppose to be close to 100.  Yeah, there is just something wrong with having temperatures that high.  We are supposed to get storms too, but I don't think the humidity will go down.  Fortunately, next week temps should be cooler.  I will hide inside most of the day from the rain and the heat.  I hope you stay cool too.

Another Hot Day

It is about 93 degrees with so much humidity again today.  Tomorrow and Thursday will be close to 97 degrees feeling over 100 degrees.  However, as hot as it will be here, I am thankful I live in Michigan than Texas right now because they have it so much worse than we do.  The south is just having such a heat wave.  I don't know how the people who live there are doing it, especially those without A/C.  I am very thankful for the A/C that I have.  I was out in the heat for a bit today and came back with a headache and a tummy ache so I had to lie down for about an hour or so.

I am so disappointed about my newest student, Georgia.  Well, she is going to take lessons at another place where she can also take guitar too.  I understand it is much easier to take from one place, I am just disappointed because she is so excited to do this.  This is the 9th adult student I have had start since January and the 7th to quit right away.  Thank goodness for Beth and Rick.  I am so thankful for them.  They both take an hour lesson and are doing really well.  Georgia will bring back my book and CD tomorrow after 1 pm.

Rachel, Laith, and Elizabeth all had their lessons today and are doing very well.  All three of them are about to start learning to read music.  I am pleased with where they all are right now.  It is kind of funny to have 3 little ones at the same place in music so I hear the same songs on Tuesday three times.  I don't mind as the songs are very cute.  I have been listening to them for about 10 or so years when I switched to this series of books.  I love how the books all work together.  What you learn in the lesson book, you also learn in the theory and the solo books.  It is really a good series.  All three of the little ones are either 6 or 7 and heading to either 1st grade or 2nd grade.  My older kids are just going to love them.  They are all so neat.  I really like days that I have lessons.  Tomorrow I have Bob and Beth, 2 of my adults.  Bob usually has his lessons on Monday and he had to work so he rescheduled to Wednesday.  It works for me.  Carson is absent this week because he is on vacation with his family.  I do hope he is having a good time.  They are at a ranch this week.  I will miss him tomorrow.  I will also be working on a Carson CD this week for him for his lesson next week.

I am not sure when I am going to see Winnie the Pooh.  Rachel went to see it yesterday, but Elizabeth still would like to see it so I am hoping to come up with a time to go with her and her family.  She loves Piglet best.  I love Winnie the Pooh best.  He is my favorite character ever.  Belle is my 2nd favorite character ever.  I think it is because she loves to read too.  I am finished with all the Harry Potter books so I will be reading the books Anne gave me.  She brought me 2 books from NYC.  She works at the Oxford Publishing Company in NYC.  She was in town this past week.  I had lunch with her on Thursday and it was a great time.  I really miss seeing her every week for a lesson.  I am glad she is doing well at her job and likes living in NY.  I just miss her a lot and would like to see her more often than 2 or 3 times a year.

It has been a good day while I was teaching, but afterward, not so good with the head and the tummy, but now it isn't so bad right now.  I do hope you are staying cool and having a good day.

busy Monday!!!!

What a wonderful busy day.  It started with meeting Wendy at Tim Horton's for lunch.  It was great.  We visited for about 2 hours.  After that Katie had her lesson.  We started a new song that she is so excited about.  It is a medley of 3 traditional spirituals, Steal Away, Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen, and Sometimes I feel like a Motherless Child.  She loves it too.  I think this arrangement is the best arrangement that I have ever heard.  Katie is also working on a German song too.  We also started a new Broadway song, I Enjoy Being a Girl.  It is a fun piece that Katie will really enjoy, I think.  Emily did okay with her lesson.  She is having trouble reading her notes in the songs right now.  She does pretty well with flash cards but reading the notes while she is playing is difficult with her.  I had a new student, Georgia tonight.  she is very enthusiastic about singing and singing properly so that is good.  It seems like she will stick with singing lessons for a while.  We even talked about rescheduling her lesson in August for her family reunion.  Hey, works for me.  I will gladly reschedule!

I think it has been a pretty good day so far.  I really enjoyed visiting with Wendy and my lessons.  Tomorrow is my three little ones' lessons.  Charlie is absent so I hope he is having fun up north.  Other than lessons, I don't have much planned for the week.  I finished reading all the Harry Potter books and now I am on to some of the movies sometime possibly later this week.  I will just see what happens this week.

Katie is being baptized this Sunday.  I am so excited about that because she asked me if I wanted to go so I am going.  It will be wonderful to see.  I also went to Calli's baptism when she was baptized.  I am very thrilled that I am going to Katie's.  It will be at the church that I will be attending this fall.  I will be joining their choir in the fall.  I haven't sung in a choir for a few years so this will be fun, I think.

It has been a good day.  I hope yours has been too.

Sunday, July 17

I finished the 7th Harry Potter Book tonight.  I love those books.  I am now ready to see the movie when Kathy comes to town.  Yeah!  I started the book this afternoon and am now finally done.  Almost all of the HP books are down here in the dining room right now waiting to be read again when I feel like it.  Eventually, all the books and DVDs will go in the family room where they belong.  Then the dining room table will be turned to face a different direction and I will be able to have the table center underneath the light in the dining room instead of where it is.  It bugs me that it isn't centered but right now it won't fit the proper way.  I will be getting rid of the desk that is in the dining room.  I just don't particularly like it in the dining room, it just is in the way.  I don't really need it either.  The one thing I want brought up though is the Elliptical machine.  There is a corner of the dining room it will fit in so that I can watch TV while I exercise.  That is necessary so that I can concentrate on the TV instead of the exercising.  The move will happen sometime this summer.  I don't know why it was moved in the first place, but it was.  One more thing that shouldn't have moved.  I do hope by fall to have the house somewhat in order and ready for the cold season that will arrive.  I have a gas fireplace downstairs in the family room that needs to be checked over by a professional before I have it lit.  It hasn't been lit in about 5 years so I don't know what shape it is in.  I am not going to have it lit until it is checked.

I have been watching the "Finding Sarah" on the OWN network.  She just did a 26 mile trek through the coldest part of Canada.  They left from Yellowknife and went out so many miles and then came back.  The temperatures were about -35 degrees F.  Yeah, wow, talk about being super cold.  That is so not for me.  She did it though, and boy do I give her credit for doing it.  I just know I couldn't do it.  I could not walk 26 miles and drag a sled that weighs about 45 pounds full of gear.  Yeah, that is too cool she could do it.

Rick had his lesson this afternoon.  He brought a recorder so we recorded many of his songs so that he could practice better.  The lesson went well.  After that I went and read some of the book until I was so tired that I had to take a nap.  Once I woke up, I came down and ate dinner.  Then I read the rest of the book.  It has been a rather quiet day and that was good for me.  I needed some quiet days this past week. Tomorrow is an exciting day because I will be meeting with my friend, Wendy for some get together time.  After that I will have my Katie and Emily's lessons.  I will also have a brand new student tomorrow night, Georgia.  She is an adult but I am hoping she will last like Beth and Rick have.  We shall see.  I will be pulling the music for Georgia in the afternoon probably after Katie's lesson.  Georgia just called to get directions and my address for tomorrow.  I am so excited about this lesson so I am really hoping she will like lessons and stay.

I am heading to bed shortly.  I will be setting my alarm because I don't want to miss meeting up with Wendy.  that would just be awful.  I do hope this was a good day for you too.