When I was a little girl, my biggest fear was that the USA and Canada would get in a war and we would be put in a concentration camp. I had just learned about them in history and was so stunned that people would treat others this way. My mother served in the Canadian Army Reserves. She was a major, but we live over in USA so she would go across the border every week two and three times to go to the reserves. I would cry and be upset after she left. After a few weeks of this our babysitter told Mom about this so Mom asked me what was wrong. I told her about my fears. She calmly explained that would never happen as both countries are allies and friends. My mom also explained to me that she was a teacher so she would never go where the fighting would be. She would just train them, not fight with them. It makes me think about the families who have members fighting. I know what my fear was like, I can't even imagine what their everyday is like, especially the children. How do you explain something like this to your children? How? I think about this a lot, not just on days like today that are set aside to honor them. They deserve more than that because if it wasn't for our soldiers, both past and present, we would not be able to have the freedom that we have. Many of us live in countries that are free and we have no idea what it is like to live in countries that you have no freedom. I can't even imagine living somewhere where you can't say what you want or do what you want. We can go to the store and buy whatever we want. Most of the time, we have enough food, shelter, and clothes. Can you imagine those that live in countries where there are food lines and when you finally get in the store, there is no food left? I can't. I can't imagine living in a country where women are not allowed to drive, vote, be in company in public of men without their husbands or father, where girls are not allowed to go to school? It completely baffles me about these things. How can people treat people they way they do? Yes, in this country there are people who are not nice and treat others poorly. We have choices and rights that so many don't have. I have always been proud of the country I was born in and the country I was raised in, however, I am more American than Canadian. We were raised to be American. We went to American Schools and lived there. Mom wanted us to know about both countries, the one of our birth and the one we were raised in. I decided when I was 18 not to become an American not because I don't love the USA, I do but because I wanted my children to be the first Americans in our family. To me, that was the American Dream, coming from another country and having your children be the first Americans. I have since changed my mind. I want to be able to vote. Yes, I also have made this decision because I can't have children so they won't be the first Americans, but the right to vote has been a dream of mine for several years now. I am working on saving the money to pay the fees. (It is now really expensive to become an American, about $400 plus other fees.) In a few years, I will be an American. It will be an exciting day when that happens.
We should be thankful for those who serve our countries everyday, not just on days designated to remembering or honoring them. I know I am. My mother ended up serving 31 years. I have always been proud of my Mom being in the Armed Service (even when we had to wait for what seemed like hours for her to get out of the officers' mess after parades or special events). She joined the Air Force at 18 and then when her time was up she joined the Army Reserves. We were an Army family. At times, it seems like we still are.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Choir Practice Day
Thursday is choir practice. I am getting my own folder number next week! I have the new person number right now so I get my own number now. It is a cool thing. We worked really hard tonight on 3 pieces that we are going to sing in the next three weeks. The choir stood quite a bit of the time. I don't because I can't stand very long. In church I sit on a stool because I can't stand for all that time. I don't think I could even stand long enough to sing the song. It just hurts to much.
My bad headache that I have had most of the day is a bit better, but not too much yet. I do hope that by morning it is down to its normal headache. I am not as tired as usual right now but I am sure shortly I will be. I tried to take a nap this evening because I was so tired, but I couldn't sleep. This was in between teaching and choir. I had my three B's today: Breanna, Brianne, and Brooke. All 3 are doing so well. Brooke has one of her Christmas songs almost down pat and close to the second. Brianne is struggling a bit with hers. We may have to edit her songs a bit. Both are 4 pages and difficult left hands. We will see how she is doing next week. We have reschedule Brianne and Brooke's lessons for Thanksgiving Day. Breanna is checking her schedule for a reschedule that week too. Breanna has switched one of her vocal pieces for Christmas. She is trying to learn the guitar part but we have a CD if she doesn't. Her piano is doing very well today. I loaned her the new theory game CD for the computer. She and I tried it while she was here for her lesson. She loved it. Breanna also thinks her nephews are going to like it too. I think so. They always want to be with her and do what she is doing. Breanna got a new piano this past weekend. She got a Yamaha baby grand piano. It is beautiful and she loves it. I would too but there is no room in my living room for a baby grand. I like the pianos that I have so I am satisfied. I am glad she loves it and wants to practice more. She is a good musician.
I have not cleared the table like I wanted to this week. Hayley is supposed to stop by tomorrow before I go to tea with Wendy. I am so glad to see Hayley, but I also am glad to see Wendy. Then I will have a couple of lessons before resting for the rest of the night. I only have Camille on Saturday and Beth on Sunday after the after church nap. I am going to use Sunday and Saturday for resting a lot since I have been so extra tired this week. I will also do a bit of housework. I have to clean the bathrooms. That doesn't take too long and I rest in between the bathrooms. I did part of the downstairs bathroom this evening. I will do the other part on Saturday and the other bathroom then too. I will clear the music off the dining room table on Sunday now that I don't need it anymore. I will put the original CDs in the living room so I will have them when I make the CD for the concert. This makes it easier for Bill who runs the sound.
I am watching Project Accessory and it is kind of interesting. Some of the designs these people come up is crazy, simply crazy. I wouldn't wear most of them. This one model's hair was so insane. It was a mohawk type thing. Who would wear their hair like that. One has a belt on the model hung down between her legs. It was insane. Just simply insane. There are some that are nice.
My bad headache that I have had most of the day is a bit better, but not too much yet. I do hope that by morning it is down to its normal headache. I am not as tired as usual right now but I am sure shortly I will be. I tried to take a nap this evening because I was so tired, but I couldn't sleep. This was in between teaching and choir. I had my three B's today: Breanna, Brianne, and Brooke. All 3 are doing so well. Brooke has one of her Christmas songs almost down pat and close to the second. Brianne is struggling a bit with hers. We may have to edit her songs a bit. Both are 4 pages and difficult left hands. We will see how she is doing next week. We have reschedule Brianne and Brooke's lessons for Thanksgiving Day. Breanna is checking her schedule for a reschedule that week too. Breanna has switched one of her vocal pieces for Christmas. She is trying to learn the guitar part but we have a CD if she doesn't. Her piano is doing very well today. I loaned her the new theory game CD for the computer. She and I tried it while she was here for her lesson. She loved it. Breanna also thinks her nephews are going to like it too. I think so. They always want to be with her and do what she is doing. Breanna got a new piano this past weekend. She got a Yamaha baby grand piano. It is beautiful and she loves it. I would too but there is no room in my living room for a baby grand. I like the pianos that I have so I am satisfied. I am glad she loves it and wants to practice more. She is a good musician.
I have not cleared the table like I wanted to this week. Hayley is supposed to stop by tomorrow before I go to tea with Wendy. I am so glad to see Hayley, but I also am glad to see Wendy. Then I will have a couple of lessons before resting for the rest of the night. I only have Camille on Saturday and Beth on Sunday after the after church nap. I am going to use Sunday and Saturday for resting a lot since I have been so extra tired this week. I will also do a bit of housework. I have to clean the bathrooms. That doesn't take too long and I rest in between the bathrooms. I did part of the downstairs bathroom this evening. I will do the other part on Saturday and the other bathroom then too. I will clear the music off the dining room table on Sunday now that I don't need it anymore. I will put the original CDs in the living room so I will have them when I make the CD for the concert. This makes it easier for Bill who runs the sound.
I am watching Project Accessory and it is kind of interesting. Some of the designs these people come up is crazy, simply crazy. I wouldn't wear most of them. This one model's hair was so insane. It was a mohawk type thing. Who would wear their hair like that. One has a belt on the model hung down between her legs. It was insane. Just simply insane. There are some that are nice.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Wednesday 11-9-11
2 more days until Harry Potter comes out on DVD! Yes, this IS cause for celebration! It really is! I, personally, can't wait. I know, I know, many of you are shaking your head, you already knew this. I can't wait to see it again with seeing number 7 part 1 right before it. That is the plan for Friday, as long as everything works out well.
I met Jennie for lunch today at Applebee's. It was so much fun. I got to read some of the stuff that people wrote at the reunion. The memory papers were great! We chatted for about 2 hours before we had to leave. It was also cool because Jennie's husband, Bill gave her a gift card for Applebee's so that paid our lunch. Talk about generous! It was just a nice lunch. I was late for it though. I knew yesterday I needed to get gas. I planned to get the gas after Aaiynna's lesson. Somehow it slipped my mind. I also didn't plan to get up early enough to get gas and be on time so I was late by about 10 or so minutes. I had run out of the house without my coat too so while getting gas, I froze and got wet since it was raining! Not how I planned to arrive! I will plan better next time!
After lunch, I came home and took a bit of a rest in the living room before Rachel's lesson. I was a bit tired so I figured it was a good time to take a bit of a rest so I went in the living room and propped up my feet on the stool. I slept for about an hour. Rachel arrived for her lesson and she is doing so well with her Christmas Songs. She did picked out 2 more for fun. We immediately went into the dining room to copy the music for her. She then went and got 2 of the page savers then put the new music in them. She giggled when we discussed the hand position. Rachel is learning several new hand positions and is really doing very well. I love when she giggles though. Children have the sweetest giggles and Rachel is no exception. Her giggle just send happiness to my soul so to hear the giggle at the new hand positions. Allison had her lesson right after. She was early, which was perfectly fine for me. Allison is also doing very well with her Christmas music. I remembered to copy her second page of sight reading just in time for her lesson. Allison is doing very well with her Christmas music too. Her voice is getting ready to change and I can hear it. It is exciting when the voice changes, it really is.
I have a bit of a bad headache this evening. I took some pain meds so I am hoping it will go down to the normal headache. With the rain and the changing of the weather, it is not surprising that I ache a bit more than normal and have a bigger headache tonight. I just hope it goes back to the normal pain by bedtime or morning.
Despite the extra pain this afternoon, it was a good day. I hope yours was too.
I met Jennie for lunch today at Applebee's. It was so much fun. I got to read some of the stuff that people wrote at the reunion. The memory papers were great! We chatted for about 2 hours before we had to leave. It was also cool because Jennie's husband, Bill gave her a gift card for Applebee's so that paid our lunch. Talk about generous! It was just a nice lunch. I was late for it though. I knew yesterday I needed to get gas. I planned to get the gas after Aaiynna's lesson. Somehow it slipped my mind. I also didn't plan to get up early enough to get gas and be on time so I was late by about 10 or so minutes. I had run out of the house without my coat too so while getting gas, I froze and got wet since it was raining! Not how I planned to arrive! I will plan better next time!
After lunch, I came home and took a bit of a rest in the living room before Rachel's lesson. I was a bit tired so I figured it was a good time to take a bit of a rest so I went in the living room and propped up my feet on the stool. I slept for about an hour. Rachel arrived for her lesson and she is doing so well with her Christmas Songs. She did picked out 2 more for fun. We immediately went into the dining room to copy the music for her. She then went and got 2 of the page savers then put the new music in them. She giggled when we discussed the hand position. Rachel is learning several new hand positions and is really doing very well. I love when she giggles though. Children have the sweetest giggles and Rachel is no exception. Her giggle just send happiness to my soul so to hear the giggle at the new hand positions. Allison had her lesson right after. She was early, which was perfectly fine for me. Allison is also doing very well with her Christmas music. I remembered to copy her second page of sight reading just in time for her lesson. Allison is doing very well with her Christmas music too. Her voice is getting ready to change and I can hear it. It is exciting when the voice changes, it really is.
I have a bit of a bad headache this evening. I took some pain meds so I am hoping it will go down to the normal headache. With the rain and the changing of the weather, it is not surprising that I ache a bit more than normal and have a bigger headache tonight. I just hope it goes back to the normal pain by bedtime or morning.
Despite the extra pain this afternoon, it was a good day. I hope yours was too.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Beautiful day out today! 11-8
It is so beautiful out today. It was nice and warm with a light breeze. I totally loved it. I had to go out to the bank and it was simply gorgeous! It makes it hard to believe we are in November already! I did hear that out east a lot of people got snow! I am not ready for the white stuff yet! Give me a few weeks and then we will talk about it, but not until then. Tomorrow is supposed to rain, I think. I am excited about tomorrow though because I will get to see my friend, Jennie! We are meeting for lunch, so that should be awesome!
I donated 2 more violins to fundraisers today. A face book friend of mine is hosting a fundraiser tomorrow so I asked if she needed more things for the auction. She came by with her daughter this afternoon to pick out the violins. Isabelle, her lovely 7 year old, picked them out. Her daughter is such a loving, sweet girl. It was like we were kindred spirits. She is such a sweetheart. Her mom really liked the gold one with Eeyore all over it. I love Winnie the Pooh characters so much and so does she. The wild thing about this? Debbie (the mom) and I actually knew each other in high school! We did go to different schools but she was good friends with my good friend, Jodi! Jodi is now on face book! I have been looking for her for about 2 years now! I found her! I am so excited about that. So I face booked Jodi a friend request and I do hope she accepts it. From her picture, it looks like all her children are either almost grown up or already grown up. The 2 boys are taller than her with one of her sons taller than his dad! They look happy. I haven't seen her in many, many years. So not only did I find a way to connect with Jodi, I re-met Debbie! It was a great meeting! I also did find out that one of our mutual high school friends has since divorced and re-married. I knew her first husband too. We worked together at the parks.
Aaiyanna had her lesson. She did pretty well. We also worked on flash cards. That was really cool. She did pretty well. I think she is also taking piano or did take piano. Either way, learning to read notes will help her a lot in the long run. I need to copy some of the sight singing for her so she can learn her notes better! She is such a cutie and a really nice little girl. She really is. She does play with the stuffed animals that are on the other piano, which I need to remove so she can't be distracted with them, but overall for a 7 year old, she is doing really well. We are working on her Christmas Concert music. She is doing Sleigh Song, which she loves, and Gesu Bambino, which I love. She seems to like it but I know she really likes Sleigh Song a lot.
Tonight is my lovely NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles! I love those two shows. After that, I will be heading straight to bed since I will be getting up rather early tomorrow to meet Jennie. I don't mind because it will be so fun to be with her. I haven't seen her since the reunion and before that it was spring since I had last seen her so tomorrow will be lots of fun.
I do hope you are having a good day. I would say today was a good day for me too.
I donated 2 more violins to fundraisers today. A face book friend of mine is hosting a fundraiser tomorrow so I asked if she needed more things for the auction. She came by with her daughter this afternoon to pick out the violins. Isabelle, her lovely 7 year old, picked them out. Her daughter is such a loving, sweet girl. It was like we were kindred spirits. She is such a sweetheart. Her mom really liked the gold one with Eeyore all over it. I love Winnie the Pooh characters so much and so does she. The wild thing about this? Debbie (the mom) and I actually knew each other in high school! We did go to different schools but she was good friends with my good friend, Jodi! Jodi is now on face book! I have been looking for her for about 2 years now! I found her! I am so excited about that. So I face booked Jodi a friend request and I do hope she accepts it. From her picture, it looks like all her children are either almost grown up or already grown up. The 2 boys are taller than her with one of her sons taller than his dad! They look happy. I haven't seen her in many, many years. So not only did I find a way to connect with Jodi, I re-met Debbie! It was a great meeting! I also did find out that one of our mutual high school friends has since divorced and re-married. I knew her first husband too. We worked together at the parks.
Aaiyanna had her lesson. She did pretty well. We also worked on flash cards. That was really cool. She did pretty well. I think she is also taking piano or did take piano. Either way, learning to read notes will help her a lot in the long run. I need to copy some of the sight singing for her so she can learn her notes better! She is such a cutie and a really nice little girl. She really is. She does play with the stuffed animals that are on the other piano, which I need to remove so she can't be distracted with them, but overall for a 7 year old, she is doing really well. We are working on her Christmas Concert music. She is doing Sleigh Song, which she loves, and Gesu Bambino, which I love. She seems to like it but I know she really likes Sleigh Song a lot.
Tonight is my lovely NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles! I love those two shows. After that, I will be heading straight to bed since I will be getting up rather early tomorrow to meet Jennie. I don't mind because it will be so fun to be with her. I haven't seen her since the reunion and before that it was spring since I had last seen her so tomorrow will be lots of fun.
I do hope you are having a good day. I would say today was a good day for me too.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Monday 11-7
I had a good day today. I woke up earlier because Maia needed to pick up the food that she stored in my chest freezer. She woke me up. I had a rough night last night so I didn't get up too early. I hope next time she lets me know in advanced so I will be ready for her to be over to pick up the stuff. After she left, I thought about going back to bed but I was slightly hungry so I went to Tim Horton's for brunch. I haven't been there in a while so I thought I would go. I ran into a nice couple that I have seen before. It turns out that I went to high school with their daughter, Debbie. She was so nice and she played the flute in marching band with me. No wonder they always looked familiar to me. They were very involved with band boosters like Mom was. Then I saw a former student's Grandmother there. I had a nice chat with her. It was lots of fun. From there I came home to teach Bob his lesson. I had Katie, Isaac, and Laith's lessons after. I have 2 new students with the online company this month. One of them is a temp student until January. She is in a show and needs to learn the music. I will call the parents tomorrow.
I am tired as usual tonight. I do hope to sleep better tonight. I have to be up by 11:30 because Debbie is coming over to pick out 2 violins for a fundraiser she is heading up. I also have to burn 2 CDs for Aaiyanna. Her CDs are not working too well now. She is only 7 and I don't think she takes super good care like an older child would. Since it is a copied CD, I don't mind having to burn new CDs. I expect them to need to be replaced every so often.
My tummy is a bit sore tonight. I am not sure why but it is. With me, who knows why anything happens. Pain come and goes all the time.
I am watching House Hunters. It is a rather amusing show to me. This couple is looking for the first house and they are so picky but their budget is really small. They want 3 bedrooms, large yard, large kitchen, and completely move in ready with a really small budget. The wife wants perfect move in ready without having to do anything, no painting, and things like that. The husband wants a good "value". He is already looking to when they sell the house down the road. Oh my! It is making me giggle. The word compromise is not really in their vocabulary. The husband just now (after seeing over 30 homes) said maybe they would have to compromise. Hm, even people who spend over a million dollars must compromise. I think the new show tomorrow would be funny to watch but it is on at the same time as my NCIS so I won't be able to watch it unless they rerun it. With HGTV they very well may. It is called, My House, Your Money. The parents are helping to buy the house with the kids so that will be funny.
I get to see my friend, Jennie Ross this week. We are meeting on Wednesday for lunch. Yes, I will have to get up early, but hey! I get to see and hang out with Jennie so it is totally worth it to me. To make the week even better? I may get to see my friend, Wendy Davis on Friday for tea! I mean add lessons in and that spells an awesome week. I won't have any lessons on Sunday because Rick is gone for 2 months and my lovely Katie is getting her wisdom teeth out on Friday. She is such a wonderful girl. She really is. I just simply adore her. She has grown so much in the last 5 years. Katie really has a good head on her shoulders. She is very thoughtful and thinks about things before she does them. I am so proud of her. She is also seriously considering joining the church choir. She attends the same church I do and I have told her all about the choir. I do hope she is able to join but right now she is working on Sundays.
I do hope you are having a good day.
I am tired as usual tonight. I do hope to sleep better tonight. I have to be up by 11:30 because Debbie is coming over to pick out 2 violins for a fundraiser she is heading up. I also have to burn 2 CDs for Aaiyanna. Her CDs are not working too well now. She is only 7 and I don't think she takes super good care like an older child would. Since it is a copied CD, I don't mind having to burn new CDs. I expect them to need to be replaced every so often.
My tummy is a bit sore tonight. I am not sure why but it is. With me, who knows why anything happens. Pain come and goes all the time.
I am watching House Hunters. It is a rather amusing show to me. This couple is looking for the first house and they are so picky but their budget is really small. They want 3 bedrooms, large yard, large kitchen, and completely move in ready with a really small budget. The wife wants perfect move in ready without having to do anything, no painting, and things like that. The husband wants a good "value". He is already looking to when they sell the house down the road. Oh my! It is making me giggle. The word compromise is not really in their vocabulary. The husband just now (after seeing over 30 homes) said maybe they would have to compromise. Hm, even people who spend over a million dollars must compromise. I think the new show tomorrow would be funny to watch but it is on at the same time as my NCIS so I won't be able to watch it unless they rerun it. With HGTV they very well may. It is called, My House, Your Money. The parents are helping to buy the house with the kids so that will be funny.
I get to see my friend, Jennie Ross this week. We are meeting on Wednesday for lunch. Yes, I will have to get up early, but hey! I get to see and hang out with Jennie so it is totally worth it to me. To make the week even better? I may get to see my friend, Wendy Davis on Friday for tea! I mean add lessons in and that spells an awesome week. I won't have any lessons on Sunday because Rick is gone for 2 months and my lovely Katie is getting her wisdom teeth out on Friday. She is such a wonderful girl. She really is. I just simply adore her. She has grown so much in the last 5 years. Katie really has a good head on her shoulders. She is very thoughtful and thinks about things before she does them. I am so proud of her. She is also seriously considering joining the church choir. She attends the same church I do and I have told her all about the choir. I do hope she is able to join but right now she is working on Sundays.
I do hope you are having a good day.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Time Change
Did I mention I had the time changing? Hmm, I must not of, anyways, I hate the time changing. It wrecks havoc all over my already bad sleep habits. Last night I diligently set all the clocks back. Only, I forgot to check the am and the pm on my alarm clock so it was set wrong and well, I missed church. I don't have any lessons after all today because Rick cancelled and Katie is coming tomorrow instead of today, which works out just fine. Whatever works for them, generally works for me. I won't see Rick now until the 2nd Sunday in January. He is heading to Hawaii for a month and then on to India for several weeks. After that is the holidays (if he is even back at that time) and then, I will see him on the second Sunday in January. It is really weird to think that January isn't that far ahead, even weirder is the holidays. I mean, didn't we just end September? It seems this way that is for sure.
I am super exhausted today for some unknown reason. I got up rather late and then went to take about an hour nap. I am still super tired. I foresee going to bed rather early tonight.
It will be the usual busy type week with lessons and students getting ready for the Christmas concert (it is a month from today away!) I will also get to see my friend, Jennie for lunch on Wednesday. I am super excited about that. I was supposed to see Wendy last Friday, but had to change at the last minute so I am hoping possibly this Friday if it works for her. Nothing like hanging out with two friends in one week. Tomorrow I need to copy some more music for Isaac for voice. He is having his second lesson. He is such a nice young man. He plays piano too. I will have 5 (2 for Isaac) lessons tomorrow. Bob will have his usual lesson and Katie and Laith will have make up lessons. This will be great. I like being busy for lessons. Rachel will have her lesson on Wednesday instead of Monday because Grandma is in California right now so Rachel's mom will need to bring the lovely young lady. This will make 3 lessons on Wednesday instead of 2. I like that. Tuesday only has the regular 2 right now. In a few weeks, I will have a new one on Wednesday. That will be nice. He is 5 and starting piano. I did call his mom but I left a message. I will have to try again tomorrow because maybe they are going this weekend. Anyways, I will somehow get a hold of her. I need to let her know about the books he needs. I will pick them up but she will need to pay me back for them. Only once this summer did I not get paid back for the books so I want to make sure she knows she needs to pay for the books too. Usually, the parents don't have a problem with paying me back, but once in a while they don't and that is bad.
Not too much going on today. I called Kathy and talked to her for a bit. She didn't have a long time to talk because she needed to pick up Matthew from church. He is being confirmed this year. I vaguely remember being confirmed. We were in 6th grade, although now they confirm children at our old church in 8th grade. At Kathy's church it is the 8th grade too. I vaguely remember we went on a few retreats for confirmation and we visited several other churches. I remember we went to a Bar Mitzvah, a Catholic church, another non-Christian church but I can't remember which one. I just remember we all took our shoes off inside of it. It was also very pretty inside. I have a picture on my computer of Mom, Andrew, Richard, and I at my confirmation. Andrew was confirmed the year after me. (Since he is a year younger than me, this makes perfect sense). I think he liked it too. We had the coolest associate pastor at that time. His name now escapes me. He came back a couple of years ago to be the senior pastor at our church but he has since moved on. I don't really know who is the ministers at my old church these days. Back then, Andrew and I rarely missed church. We had the coolest Sunday school teacher, Mr. Weaver. We really liked him. I was in the youth group for about one year. The second year it was more of a bible study and I wasn't too interested in that so I didn't go very often plus I was rather busy. It was hard to fit it in.
I have to go and pay a few bills now. It is that time of the month! Bills like to be paid, that is for sure!
I hope you are having a good day and are staying nice and toasty warm!
I am super exhausted today for some unknown reason. I got up rather late and then went to take about an hour nap. I am still super tired. I foresee going to bed rather early tonight.
It will be the usual busy type week with lessons and students getting ready for the Christmas concert (it is a month from today away!) I will also get to see my friend, Jennie for lunch on Wednesday. I am super excited about that. I was supposed to see Wendy last Friday, but had to change at the last minute so I am hoping possibly this Friday if it works for her. Nothing like hanging out with two friends in one week. Tomorrow I need to copy some more music for Isaac for voice. He is having his second lesson. He is such a nice young man. He plays piano too. I will have 5 (2 for Isaac) lessons tomorrow. Bob will have his usual lesson and Katie and Laith will have make up lessons. This will be great. I like being busy for lessons. Rachel will have her lesson on Wednesday instead of Monday because Grandma is in California right now so Rachel's mom will need to bring the lovely young lady. This will make 3 lessons on Wednesday instead of 2. I like that. Tuesday only has the regular 2 right now. In a few weeks, I will have a new one on Wednesday. That will be nice. He is 5 and starting piano. I did call his mom but I left a message. I will have to try again tomorrow because maybe they are going this weekend. Anyways, I will somehow get a hold of her. I need to let her know about the books he needs. I will pick them up but she will need to pay me back for them. Only once this summer did I not get paid back for the books so I want to make sure she knows she needs to pay for the books too. Usually, the parents don't have a problem with paying me back, but once in a while they don't and that is bad.
Not too much going on today. I called Kathy and talked to her for a bit. She didn't have a long time to talk because she needed to pick up Matthew from church. He is being confirmed this year. I vaguely remember being confirmed. We were in 6th grade, although now they confirm children at our old church in 8th grade. At Kathy's church it is the 8th grade too. I vaguely remember we went on a few retreats for confirmation and we visited several other churches. I remember we went to a Bar Mitzvah, a Catholic church, another non-Christian church but I can't remember which one. I just remember we all took our shoes off inside of it. It was also very pretty inside. I have a picture on my computer of Mom, Andrew, Richard, and I at my confirmation. Andrew was confirmed the year after me. (Since he is a year younger than me, this makes perfect sense). I think he liked it too. We had the coolest associate pastor at that time. His name now escapes me. He came back a couple of years ago to be the senior pastor at our church but he has since moved on. I don't really know who is the ministers at my old church these days. Back then, Andrew and I rarely missed church. We had the coolest Sunday school teacher, Mr. Weaver. We really liked him. I was in the youth group for about one year. The second year it was more of a bible study and I wasn't too interested in that so I didn't go very often plus I was rather busy. It was hard to fit it in.
I have to go and pay a few bills now. It is that time of the month! Bills like to be paid, that is for sure!
I hope you are having a good day and are staying nice and toasty warm!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Brrr, it is getting chilly outside 11-5
I can't believe how chilly I am right now. The thermostat says 72.5 degrees yet I am freezing. I also have on a sweatshirt and knit pants so I shouldn't be so cold, but I am. It is strange, I know, but I suppose since it is November I should be expecting a bit colder weather. I have a lovely, light blue, really warm winter jacket so I am pleased about that. I got it for Christmas last year and it was definitely Heaven sent! I love this jacket a lot. I am as ready as I can be for winter. I have my little heater ready to run when needed. I have all my blankets on my bed ready to help me have a nice, warm night. I have my 2 main blankets with several fleece blankets at the foot of my bed for when I get cold. I also have nice warm flannel pajamas. I do want another pair, Christmas ones! the ones I have now are winter ones with penguins and polar bears on the bottoms, but I want a Christmas pair. I think I am finally getting a bit warmer. I have the little heater on because I have been so cold this evening. I just turned it off since I am now warm again. Finally! It isn't super cold out yet! I am not ready for winter yet, but I will be soon.
It has been a rather quiet day. I had Sandra's and Camille's lessons. Both are doing very well with their Christmas Concert songs. I am quite pleased with their progress. Camille's little sister wants to sing. She is a doll let me tell you. Camille and her 2 sisters are such cute and sweet girls. Both younger sisters came to the lesson today and they brought coloring books and crayons to keep them busy today. They both color very well and made lots of pretty pictures.
I have to remember to put my clocks back an hour tonight. Yeah! I get an extra hour of sleep before I drag my sorry butt out of bed for church. I have the songs we are singing with the congregation so I will bring those with me. I love singing with the choir. Before, when I sang in the choir, the rehearsals seemed to last forever, this time, they go super fast. It is very strange about that. I don't know really what the difference is, but there is one. It is also nice to not be the strongest and one of the best singers in the choir. In this choir, I am one of several strong singers and I am not the best, I am good, but it is nice to not be the top for a change. It really lets me enjoy the choir and not have to lead a section, we all work together. I am really enjoying singing with this choir despite the super duper early hour I have to get up to attend.
I don't have any plans for the evening. I may watch a movie since I picked up some this week: the new Pirates movie, the new Winnie the Pooh movie, and Monte Carlo. I am anxious to watch them all. I am watching the news right now so I know what the weather will be for the week. I like to plan ahead with the wardrobe. Tomorrow I will wear my pretty sweater for church and my nice dress pants with it. i love the dress pants (I have 2 pairs exactly the same) even though they are really more fall/spring weather type. I wear them year round because they fit beautifully and I love them so much.
My student, Sandra said she would help put away music after the Christmas Concert. Wow, that will be so helpful. I can take care of the CDs while she takes care of the sheet music/books. I have so many that need to be put away. I sure miss my assistant (Mom) for jobs like this. I was so spoiled because she was so helpful. Believe me, I appreciated that she helped me stay organized. I really did. I didn't take for granted her help. I have had some help with Katie since Mom passed away too. I just really appreciate my students helping me. I have such a hard time standing there to put the stuff away. If it was a small pile of music, it would be different, but it isn't, it is several piles of music. 2 on the pianos, 2 on the other piano bench, 2 on the dinning room table and 2 boxes in the office with a small pile on top of the file cabinets. That is a lot of music that needs to be put away! I can help by gathering it and putting it in order. I will work on that between now and after the Christmas Concert.
I am going to clear off the dining room table this weekend so I can change tablecloths. I have a really pretty one that is for fall and Thanksgiving. I need a new one for Christmas but I will get that when they come out. Right now, they only have the Thanksgiving ones out at the store. I am not sure when I will decorate for Christmas outside of doing it after Thanksgiving. I am going to ask if Lily would like to come and help. She is a very creative young lady. She had surgery about a week ago on her ankle. She will have the other ankle taken care of during her Christmas vacation. Lily is such a strong girl that I imagine she will bounce back quickly. I simply adore that young lady as well as her sisters. They are all such neat women. Elyse is married (when did she get that old???). Her wedding was the last big event Momma attended. She had a good time while we were there. Emily just graduated from high school. I still have her Graduation present to give her. I hope to catch up with her sometime. Last, but certainly not least, is Lily. Lily is in middle school and seems to be doing very well. She is smart girl, extremely bright. I expect that by the time she is a junior in high school that she will most likely be taking a few college courses for things like science and math. So anyway, I hope to see Lily before her surgery to hang out for a while.
I am going to work on the subdivision newsletter now. I am in charge of the newsletter. For a change, we actually have lots of things to let the subdivision know about. This is unusual because quite often there just isn't too much going one but with the holidays coming up, we have much to write about.
I do hope you have a great day too!
It has been a rather quiet day. I had Sandra's and Camille's lessons. Both are doing very well with their Christmas Concert songs. I am quite pleased with their progress. Camille's little sister wants to sing. She is a doll let me tell you. Camille and her 2 sisters are such cute and sweet girls. Both younger sisters came to the lesson today and they brought coloring books and crayons to keep them busy today. They both color very well and made lots of pretty pictures.
I have to remember to put my clocks back an hour tonight. Yeah! I get an extra hour of sleep before I drag my sorry butt out of bed for church. I have the songs we are singing with the congregation so I will bring those with me. I love singing with the choir. Before, when I sang in the choir, the rehearsals seemed to last forever, this time, they go super fast. It is very strange about that. I don't know really what the difference is, but there is one. It is also nice to not be the strongest and one of the best singers in the choir. In this choir, I am one of several strong singers and I am not the best, I am good, but it is nice to not be the top for a change. It really lets me enjoy the choir and not have to lead a section, we all work together. I am really enjoying singing with this choir despite the super duper early hour I have to get up to attend.
I don't have any plans for the evening. I may watch a movie since I picked up some this week: the new Pirates movie, the new Winnie the Pooh movie, and Monte Carlo. I am anxious to watch them all. I am watching the news right now so I know what the weather will be for the week. I like to plan ahead with the wardrobe. Tomorrow I will wear my pretty sweater for church and my nice dress pants with it. i love the dress pants (I have 2 pairs exactly the same) even though they are really more fall/spring weather type. I wear them year round because they fit beautifully and I love them so much.
My student, Sandra said she would help put away music after the Christmas Concert. Wow, that will be so helpful. I can take care of the CDs while she takes care of the sheet music/books. I have so many that need to be put away. I sure miss my assistant (Mom) for jobs like this. I was so spoiled because she was so helpful. Believe me, I appreciated that she helped me stay organized. I really did. I didn't take for granted her help. I have had some help with Katie since Mom passed away too. I just really appreciate my students helping me. I have such a hard time standing there to put the stuff away. If it was a small pile of music, it would be different, but it isn't, it is several piles of music. 2 on the pianos, 2 on the other piano bench, 2 on the dinning room table and 2 boxes in the office with a small pile on top of the file cabinets. That is a lot of music that needs to be put away! I can help by gathering it and putting it in order. I will work on that between now and after the Christmas Concert.
I am going to clear off the dining room table this weekend so I can change tablecloths. I have a really pretty one that is for fall and Thanksgiving. I need a new one for Christmas but I will get that when they come out. Right now, they only have the Thanksgiving ones out at the store. I am not sure when I will decorate for Christmas outside of doing it after Thanksgiving. I am going to ask if Lily would like to come and help. She is a very creative young lady. She had surgery about a week ago on her ankle. She will have the other ankle taken care of during her Christmas vacation. Lily is such a strong girl that I imagine she will bounce back quickly. I simply adore that young lady as well as her sisters. They are all such neat women. Elyse is married (when did she get that old???). Her wedding was the last big event Momma attended. She had a good time while we were there. Emily just graduated from high school. I still have her Graduation present to give her. I hope to catch up with her sometime. Last, but certainly not least, is Lily. Lily is in middle school and seems to be doing very well. She is smart girl, extremely bright. I expect that by the time she is a junior in high school that she will most likely be taking a few college courses for things like science and math. So anyway, I hope to see Lily before her surgery to hang out for a while.
I am going to work on the subdivision newsletter now. I am in charge of the newsletter. For a change, we actually have lots of things to let the subdivision know about. This is unusual because quite often there just isn't too much going one but with the holidays coming up, we have much to write about.
I do hope you have a great day too!
Friday, November 4, 2011
November 4
It has been a good day so far. I am tired now, but since it is near 9 pm that would be normal. Tomorrow I will have 2 lessons for the day, just Camille and Sandra. Sunday has 2 lessons too plus church in the morning. I will have time before the lessons to take a nap. That will be very necessary since I have to get up so early for church. This is the last week for Rick until January. It should be a good lesson!
I went to Walmart this evening after Emily's lesson. I checked out prices of Blue Ray players because right now pretty much a lot of the movies are coming out in blue ray combo packs. That was how I had to buy the new Pirates movie. I don't have a player and after checking out how much they are, it will be a rather long time until I get one. They are about $100 or so and I don't have that kind of money to get one right now. Perhaps next summer or fall I can get one. I can save for one after I pay off the taxes. I believe that this month I will again be able to pay $400 payment. That will be awesome because if I keep this up, I will have the bill paid in full at the deadline and I will not lose the house. So far, I am doing really good with it all. I went in Walmart to pick up milk and bread, just milk and bread. However, you know how it goes, you walk out with so much more (like 2 movies - Pirates and Winnie the Pooh, 6 soup cans - they were on sale, socks - I needed some, new Christmas lights for the tree - I only have 1/2 the tree with lights, and a few other items I can't think of at this time). Next time, I will write a list and stay with it or I hope I will. The only movie I plan to purchase now is the Harry Potter movie and that will be next Friday. I am excited about this movie. I love the Harry Potter stories so much. Now when I see them, I remember how much Momma loved the Harry Potter movies and books too. When I had my blood clot, she came to visit me everyday and the first few days I was really in so much pain and I was so out of it. Mom read to me and she read the first Harry Potter book. She knew I had read it and how much I loved it, so she thought it would be good to read to me. When the lady who was in the bed next to me went home, she came over to ask Mom what book she was reading and who it was by because she had to go buy so she would know what happened. Mom and I chuckled together after that. It took about 2 weeks to recover from the blood clot although after the blood clot I have had trouble with walking and standing. It was as if the blood clot made the fibro and arthritis worse. I don't know why, but I could no longer walk 1 to 2 miles a day. I haven't been able to walk that much since then. I try not to think about that because it upsets me.
Things are going pretty well for me. I was so scared after Momma passed away. I really was because I had never lived on my own. I always had Mom because I never moved out. I had opportunities to move out, I just never really wanted to. Mom and I got along really well and so I never really wanted to go anywhere. The furthest I moved was down the hall. I always had the small room because I didn't have to share. After my younger brother moved out, I joked with Mom that I could have the big room now. We scrubbed the walls and steam cleaned the carpet. When I came home that Saturday, I went to my room only to discover it was almost empty. I called out to mom and asked what happened to my stuff. She said go look in the other room. I went and well, I had moved to the bigger room. I was very excited. When Andrew moved back in a few months later, he moved into my old room. A few weeks later Andrew asked if he could have his room back. Mom said no, it's Heather's room now. He said okay. I don't really think it fazed him what room he was in, but my old room is so apparent that it was a girls room at one time. i had a purple rug with yellow walls. The drapes are white with flowers on it and so was the bedspread. I didn't have a lot of students, about 7 with 4 being once a month, 1 every other week and the others weekly. However, within weeks of Momma passing away I began to get more students. It has increased ever since. The students I received from the online company in January have all quit since then. Many were adults, some were temporary, and a couple were middle school students who supposedly quit for the summer but I haven't heard from them since. I do still have almost everyone who started in the summer and a few not from the online company that are still with me. It is working out very well. We are all getting ready for our Christmas concert and some, competition. I still miss Mom immensely and all the time but the fear isn't as bad. It isn't as scary as it was a year ago at this time. With time, I think it will improve.
I do hope you are having a good day too.
I went to Walmart this evening after Emily's lesson. I checked out prices of Blue Ray players because right now pretty much a lot of the movies are coming out in blue ray combo packs. That was how I had to buy the new Pirates movie. I don't have a player and after checking out how much they are, it will be a rather long time until I get one. They are about $100 or so and I don't have that kind of money to get one right now. Perhaps next summer or fall I can get one. I can save for one after I pay off the taxes. I believe that this month I will again be able to pay $400 payment. That will be awesome because if I keep this up, I will have the bill paid in full at the deadline and I will not lose the house. So far, I am doing really good with it all. I went in Walmart to pick up milk and bread, just milk and bread. However, you know how it goes, you walk out with so much more (like 2 movies - Pirates and Winnie the Pooh, 6 soup cans - they were on sale, socks - I needed some, new Christmas lights for the tree - I only have 1/2 the tree with lights, and a few other items I can't think of at this time). Next time, I will write a list and stay with it or I hope I will. The only movie I plan to purchase now is the Harry Potter movie and that will be next Friday. I am excited about this movie. I love the Harry Potter stories so much. Now when I see them, I remember how much Momma loved the Harry Potter movies and books too. When I had my blood clot, she came to visit me everyday and the first few days I was really in so much pain and I was so out of it. Mom read to me and she read the first Harry Potter book. She knew I had read it and how much I loved it, so she thought it would be good to read to me. When the lady who was in the bed next to me went home, she came over to ask Mom what book she was reading and who it was by because she had to go buy so she would know what happened. Mom and I chuckled together after that. It took about 2 weeks to recover from the blood clot although after the blood clot I have had trouble with walking and standing. It was as if the blood clot made the fibro and arthritis worse. I don't know why, but I could no longer walk 1 to 2 miles a day. I haven't been able to walk that much since then. I try not to think about that because it upsets me.
Things are going pretty well for me. I was so scared after Momma passed away. I really was because I had never lived on my own. I always had Mom because I never moved out. I had opportunities to move out, I just never really wanted to. Mom and I got along really well and so I never really wanted to go anywhere. The furthest I moved was down the hall. I always had the small room because I didn't have to share. After my younger brother moved out, I joked with Mom that I could have the big room now. We scrubbed the walls and steam cleaned the carpet. When I came home that Saturday, I went to my room only to discover it was almost empty. I called out to mom and asked what happened to my stuff. She said go look in the other room. I went and well, I had moved to the bigger room. I was very excited. When Andrew moved back in a few months later, he moved into my old room. A few weeks later Andrew asked if he could have his room back. Mom said no, it's Heather's room now. He said okay. I don't really think it fazed him what room he was in, but my old room is so apparent that it was a girls room at one time. i had a purple rug with yellow walls. The drapes are white with flowers on it and so was the bedspread. I didn't have a lot of students, about 7 with 4 being once a month, 1 every other week and the others weekly. However, within weeks of Momma passing away I began to get more students. It has increased ever since. The students I received from the online company in January have all quit since then. Many were adults, some were temporary, and a couple were middle school students who supposedly quit for the summer but I haven't heard from them since. I do still have almost everyone who started in the summer and a few not from the online company that are still with me. It is working out very well. We are all getting ready for our Christmas concert and some, competition. I still miss Mom immensely and all the time but the fear isn't as bad. It isn't as scary as it was a year ago at this time. With time, I think it will improve.
I do hope you are having a good day too.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
"you thought of me, above all" 11-3
This song, "Above All" is what we are singing this Sunday. It is a wonderful song that for the last week would in my head at random times. I am really enjoying being a member of this choir. I am an official member now. We use planningcentralonline.com to keep track of the music we are doing and the hymns too. It is a traditional service with a mix of traditional hymns and praise songs. I love the blend, which surprises me because I am more of a traditionalist and want hymns but I am finding the mix is great. I do really like the new church too. I did like the one I was raised in, but I was invited to join this choir and I was looking to try a new church.
It was a very busy day for teaching too. I had 6 lessons. I had planned on 7 but Brianne was absent. She had to stay after school to do a project so she couldn't attend her lesson. Brooke, her sister, had her lesson and is doing really well with the difficulty of her Christmas Music. She also is going to start a David Lantz Christmas piece too. I think she will do very well. Joiene and Benjy had their lessons too. Despite not practicing, Benjy is doing pretty well. I really wish they would practice, but I can't seem to impress upon their mom how important it is for them to practice. Benjy wants to play well and you can tell when he is here, he really wants to be here (and not just for the legos either!) Breanna had switched her song from "Jingle Bell Rock" to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". She and I went over the chords for the song because she wants to play it on the guitar while she sings. Allison finally received her new piece for the concert, "Do You Hear What I Hear". She did very well when we went over the song. So, over all, the students are coming along with their Christmas Concert music. The concert is one month from tomorrow, ahhh! I am a bit nervous about having it so early, but it is the date we received so we will all make it work. In a way, it is better to have it so early. One because then the students can just enjoy their other activities during the season and two, the students will have more lessons in December. What started to happen is that after the concert, students would take off until they went back to school in January. This way, I hope no one will stop until January because it is so early in the month. Laith also had his lesson. He has the hand positions that are new down pat. he is playing his songs really well.
I am tired now because of how busy today was. I am thankful for the busyness of the day. I look forward to being busy during the week. It makes the day better and go faster. I really hope that by end of January, I will be at my limit for students. That would be beautiful.
I hope your day was as good as mine.
It was a very busy day for teaching too. I had 6 lessons. I had planned on 7 but Brianne was absent. She had to stay after school to do a project so she couldn't attend her lesson. Brooke, her sister, had her lesson and is doing really well with the difficulty of her Christmas Music. She also is going to start a David Lantz Christmas piece too. I think she will do very well. Joiene and Benjy had their lessons too. Despite not practicing, Benjy is doing pretty well. I really wish they would practice, but I can't seem to impress upon their mom how important it is for them to practice. Benjy wants to play well and you can tell when he is here, he really wants to be here (and not just for the legos either!) Breanna had switched her song from "Jingle Bell Rock" to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". She and I went over the chords for the song because she wants to play it on the guitar while she sings. Allison finally received her new piece for the concert, "Do You Hear What I Hear". She did very well when we went over the song. So, over all, the students are coming along with their Christmas Concert music. The concert is one month from tomorrow, ahhh! I am a bit nervous about having it so early, but it is the date we received so we will all make it work. In a way, it is better to have it so early. One because then the students can just enjoy their other activities during the season and two, the students will have more lessons in December. What started to happen is that after the concert, students would take off until they went back to school in January. This way, I hope no one will stop until January because it is so early in the month. Laith also had his lesson. He has the hand positions that are new down pat. he is playing his songs really well.
I am tired now because of how busy today was. I am thankful for the busyness of the day. I look forward to being busy during the week. It makes the day better and go faster. I really hope that by end of January, I will be at my limit for students. That would be beautiful.
I hope your day was as good as mine.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
memories, light the corners of my mind
I am missing Mom so much these past few days. I have memories coming to me a lot (happy ones though, not sad). I just miss the little lady so much. I am thankful though, that I have the good memories to think about and not bad memories to think about. It is kind of funny, but I don't remember the bad times as much now that she is in Heaven. I only really remember the good times with her like when we saw Amy Grant and she pretended that she forgot to go and get the tickets. I had given her the money for the tickets the night before and she was supposed to go the next day while I was teaching. When I came home, she said she forgot to go and we would go the next day. I was really disappointed but I tried not to show it. I figured she probably got caught up in a project and time slipped away. That night she came in my room and asked me to help her get this paper out of her pockets. I thought it was a really strange request (this was years and years before Alzheimer's) but I did it anyway. I reached into her pocket and pulled out the paper. It was Amy Grant tickets for her Christmas show. Mom had gotten us 5th row main floor. I asked her how because I had given her enough money for balcony. She smiled and said she knew how much I love Amy Grant and pitched in the rest of the money for a Christmas Treat. (Oh, and she was 2nd in line at the store. She waited about 45 minutes before it opened so we would get good tickets) We had a great time at the concert. Michael W. Smith was there too. This was very typical of my mother.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
the First day of November!!
I am so glad today is the first of November! I really am. I only had 1 lesson today instead of 2 but I will see Charlie for an hour next week for his lesson. He is such a nice young man. I am really not going to like it when he stops lessons after graduation this spring. He is a senior so our time is limited. Aaiyanna had her lesson and she is doing pretty well with her Christmas Songs. She is 8 years old and very cute. She has a nice voice too. The change between her chest and head voice is pretty smooth for her age.
I went to the subdivision meeting tonight. It was lots of fun to go. We talk about a lot of things during the meeting. I am writing the newsletter for our subdivision. I will have it ready to go by the end of the week. I will then email it to John and then he sends it to the guy who copies it. I will pick it up and the kids will deliver it. First, I must finish the letter. I thought I had all the stories I needed but I have a few other things to put in it. I really only wanted a 2 pager. I don't want anymore than that. I will work on this tomorrow.
I also have to make the flyer for the Christmas Concert. I will probably do that tonight or tomorrow. I have a blood test tomorrow so I will be up a bit earlier than usual. I can always take a nap if necessary. I took one this evening before I went to the meeting. I was rather tired today. I have a bit of a bad headache now. I hope it improves soon because I don't want to go to bed with it.
I am really tired tonight so I am going to take some medicine and hope that they bad headache goes down to the regular headache. I do hope you have had a good day.
I went to the subdivision meeting tonight. It was lots of fun to go. We talk about a lot of things during the meeting. I am writing the newsletter for our subdivision. I will have it ready to go by the end of the week. I will then email it to John and then he sends it to the guy who copies it. I will pick it up and the kids will deliver it. First, I must finish the letter. I thought I had all the stories I needed but I have a few other things to put in it. I really only wanted a 2 pager. I don't want anymore than that. I will work on this tomorrow.
I also have to make the flyer for the Christmas Concert. I will probably do that tonight or tomorrow. I have a blood test tomorrow so I will be up a bit earlier than usual. I can always take a nap if necessary. I took one this evening before I went to the meeting. I was rather tired today. I have a bit of a bad headache now. I hope it improves soon because I don't want to go to bed with it.
I am really tired tonight so I am going to take some medicine and hope that they bad headache goes down to the regular headache. I do hope you have had a good day.
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