Sunday 3-18 & Monday 3-19

It is the day after St. Patrick's Day.  I wonder how the hangovers are for the people who partied all day?  I am sure some of them are perfectly awful.  That is one reason I have never had the urge to get drunk.  One, I really can't stand the smell of alcohol and second, I don't particularly like the throwing up that happens when you drink too much.  So with the combination of both, I stay as far away from alcohol as possible!  I did have one employee who refused to believe I have only had about an 1/2 inch of a wine cooler when I was 21 and that is all the alcohol I have ever had.  It is true though.  It doesn't bother me when I am out and others want to drink, that is certainly their prerogative.

Calli had her lesson this afternoon since she was absent on Friday.  As usual, she did wonderful.  She learned the last line of Minuet in G by Bach.  We are doing hands separate this week because it is a bit of a tricky part of the song, but that is okay.  We often do hands separate for the more advanced students because it makes it a bit easier for them to learn.

I am not feeling well tonight now.  I am not sure if it is allergies or a cold but my head is a bit stuffy.  I am getting very tired now so I think I may be actually heading for the little bed.  I am just very tired, more than usual.

For someone who was sooooo tired, I couldn't sleep until after 2 am.  I was not a happy camper about that, that is for sure!  I am hoping for a better night's sleep tonight.  It is now Monday evening.

It appears that I may have not gotten a full fledge cold.  I am feeling much better today than yesterday.  I will take the nighttime cold medicine again tonight just to get rid of what is left of the cold.  I should be fine by tomorrow.

We are having some of the most beautiful Spring weather ever.  It has been in the 70s for the last 3 days and will be until about Thursday when it will go back into the 60s.  This has really been the  winter that never was as far as temperatures are concerned.  I haven't minded.  All the snow we have had melted with in a day or two after it had fallen.  Last year we had so much snow so I am glad we didn't have too much this winter.

I have spent a lot of time these past few days thinking about when we were children and the adventures we would go on with mom.  She was never one to sit around.  I remember when I was about 6 or so and we were camping in the Algonquin Park in Ontario.  Mom wanted to take a hike and wanted us to go with her.  I was not a big hiker fan but I had to go since the rest of the family (Mom, Andrew, and Richard) were going.  She said we would go to the short hike, not the long one.  Well, I think she made a mistake because we ended up on the long trail.  I would sit down so much and the boys would get so mad at me.  I remember being so exhausted from all that walking.  Mom said as soon as we got back to the campsite I went right into the tent and fell asleep for a few hours.  Here is an old picture of Andrew, Mom, and I.

I know it is very blurry.  Here is another one of us 3.

This one is much clearer of us.  Look how little that I am in the picture and Andrew!!  

I am having an okay day as far as the pain level.  It is just the normal pain level, not so much higher than that.  The head is the normal headache, nothing more than that so I am very glad about that.

I do hope that your day was good.

Friday 3-16

It was so beautiful again today, mid 70s, sunshine, clear skies!  I only wish my mother was here with me to enjoy it.  It is the type of day she would say to me, let's go for a scooter!  She would walk and I would ride my scooter.  We loved these type days together.  We had so many of them that I can think of.  Mom loved nature so much.  When we were small, she would take us for walks to see flowers, trees, cloud patterns, anything like that.  We would be so into whatever she was showing us.  At one time, I could tell you all the cloud patterns, unfortunately, I can't do that anymore.  I still love nature though.  One time, we were walking through the park nature path, we saw a baby deer and a doe.  We must have been about 5 or 6 at the time.  We stood really quiet so we wouldn't scare them away.  I remember think that it was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen.  We camped a lot when I was young too.  One summer, I think it was 1977, we spent most of the summer living in a tent.  We had a big cabin size tent to sleep in and another tent was the kitchen tent with a fridge.  It was a carefree summer for us kids, but the worst summer for mom since my so called father was making her life miserable.  He even tried to kidnap us.  He would eventually kidnap my older brother about a year or so later.  He showed up at the camp and our sitter, Susan, went to the office to call my mother.  My mom had to have a helicopter come and get her so she could get to us right away.  The guards went to the front of the camp so he could not leave with us.  (we were at an Army Cadet Camp).  The campground was on lockdown so we would be safe.  I remember being surprised to see my momma during the day.  She literally ran through the woods to the helicopter and then went back to the camp to get her car to get to us.  My dad had no idea that Susan had called my mom.  I think he expected to be able to take us without any problem.  WRONG!  Mom had plans in effect should he show up.  It is hard to look back and realize that he only wanted to kidnap us to hurt my mother.  He didn't want us and neither did his new wife.  My dad didn't want us but he DID want to hurt my mother and he tried, but she was strong.  She came through it with us intact.  It was hard, but eventually my father did return my brother, but it would be a long time.  It seemed to me that he was gone for years, but I don't really have a good sense of time from back them.  Anyways, for me, it was one of the best summers, but it was the worst for mom.  To me it shows how much she didn't want us to know what was going on.  We were upset enough with what we did know.

Today was just one of those days that I wish mom were here to enjoy it with me.  I have lots of those days.

Emily had her piano lesson today and stayed a bit late to work on the group song.  she did very well.  I hope to work on it with Camille tomorrow.  Tomorrow night, Kelly Lynn and I are going to see our friend, Star, in her play in Roseville.  I hope that I am feeling good tomorrow.  So far, it seems I have not gotten the cold although I am exhausted today.  I really slept in this afternoon and when I got back from running errands, I had to take a brief nap before Emily's lesson.  It is just insane!  My throat doesn't feel like it did last night, but my nose is a bit stuffy.  I have a bad headache, I think because of the stuffiness.  I hope by tomorrow I will be feeling back to normal.  That is my goal for tomorrow!

It has been a decent day, despite the extra exhaustion and the missing of mom a lot today.  I hope yours has been good too.

another beautiful day - weather wise 3-15

Today it reached the mid 70s.  Yes, mid 70s in March in Michigan!  What a dream!  However, the storms are making me ache a lot!  I also think I am on the brink of a cold.  I shall take some cold medicine tonight to see if I can beat it!  I don't need a cold right now at all.  Okay, I never NEED a cold and I don't know anyone who does, but you know what I mean.

It was rather strange going to get lunch without a jacket on and going to choir in a spring jacket instead of the winter one.  It was very strange let me tell you!  Choir is going well.  I surprised myself by actually knowing much of Sunday's song by heart.  Since I have brain fog it can be difficult to remember songs.  I will have help though because they always post the words on the screen at the back of the Sanctuary.  That will save me if I have a bad brain fog day.  It is so funny and sweet though because our director gets so excited about what we are singing and how these things go.  It is nice though because it makes it easier to want to sing really well.  Carolyn had to leave early tonight for some reason.  She, I think, will be there on Sunday.  She is such a nice young lady.  Her whole family is just very nice and friendly not to mention rather helpful!  I actually owe them some homemade cookies.  I need to do this for them.  I keep forgetting when I have time.  I have time tomorrow so I will make them then.  I also need to copy some music tomorrow too for Emily.  Laith has picked his spring concert song tonight.  He wanted a short one and not Disney so he picked Do Re Mi from Sound of Music.  So far, almost everyone has picked out a song.  There are only a few people who haven't picked out songs yet.  I figure by the end of the month everyone will have songs picked out.  Tomorrow, Emily and I are going over the group song.  I hope to be able to go over the group song with Camille on Saturday.  I know someone has the original music papers, but I can't think of who has it.  I have to copy the song Saturday along with all the spring concert music.  That should be fun!  Ugh, the standing for it.  They don't have chairs at the copy place unfortunately.  I will get it done though so that will be good.

Well, I am going to read a bit and then go to bed.  My head and throat feel like they are about to explode into a cold so I am hoping to head it off and be ahead of the game instead of behind.

Pi day 3-14

Apparently, it is a Pi day!  I don't know why we celebrate it.  Perhaps, one of my bloggy friends might know.  I am not a mathematician, so I don't really know the deal with celebrating of this.  Either way, happy Pi Day!

I have all my info turned in to Julie for my income taxes.  I thought I had everything in the folder, but apparently, I was missing some info.  It is all there now!

I am rather tired now.  I don't want to go to bed yet because I don't want another night like Monday when I woke up bright and early at 2:30 in the morning and couldn't sleep into 4:30 so I will stay awake for a while longer.  I took my nighttime medicine a little later than I used to so I am hoping to sleep better tonight.

Today was a bit of a busy day with lessons.  Acer had his lesson today instead of Friday.  They have a cheerleading banquet that night.  This weekend is the last of their cheer competitions.  It is also Calli's 12th birthday on Saturday.  She is a St. Patrick's Day baby.  It makes me smile to think of her birthday.  Last year I went to her house for a birthday dinner and brownie cakes.  We played games too.  It was a good time.  She will have her lesson on Sunday instead of Friday because of the banquet.

Jillian and Brooke are almost finished with their first books.  I went to get them and they are totally out of the solo books.  I couldn't find them at all and I know that they carry them.  The help in the evening are not very helpful at all.  The girl looked right where I looked.  Well, I knew they weren't there, I had looked where they normally were.  She also took my order on a piece of paper so I am not sure they will get ordered.  I will call Annie in the morning to check on the order.  I also need one theory book for Aubrey.  She will be done with her books in a few weeks too.  All three are doing really well with piano.  Not to mention, they are beautiful girls.

I am rather achy tonight for some reason.  My hips are stiff and achy.  I hope they improve by tomorrow.

Monday night/Tuesday Morning

It is about 2:45 am my time.  I can't sleep.  I went to bed about 10 pm and slept for about 4 hours before I woke up again and couldn't sleep anymore.  I figured that instead of tossing and turning (which is what I had been doing for about 30 or so minutes) I would just come downstairs.  I am wide awake at this point, ready to take on the world.  Of course, in about an hour or so the ready to take on the world will fade and I will be tired again, or at least I hope so, so I can go back to bed to sleep some more.  This happens to me when I go to bed early most times but I just couldn't stay awake anymore so I had to go to bed.  I think I need to take my nighttime medicine later again.  It is so hit and miss with the nighttime medicine kicking in.  Some days it is right away, most days it is like I didn't even take anything, and some days it kicks in 2 1/2 or so hours after I take it.  I am hopeful that I will go back to sleep in a while.  I mean, it is only 3 in the morning, it isn't like I want to stay up at this point and begin my day.  Although, I would possibly get a lot done!

It was a very exhausting day, not because I was super busy or anything, just trying to catch up on losing an hour sleep on Saturday night.  I slept in and then I had to take about an hour nap before Rachel's lesson.  I was just so tired.  Rachel is doing pretty well.  I have to get her gift certificate to Toys R Us this coming week or next.  She earned enough points to get one.  She earned her $250 points to get her $10 gift certificate.  Next week Rachel will begin to work on her spring concert song.  Isaac was one happy young man yesterday at his lesson.  His music to Hedwig's Theme from Harry Potter came in.  We began it right away.  He is so excited to be learning it.  Isaac also picked his vocal piece for the concert, "Be Kind to Your Parents".  He said he can't wait to see the look on their faces when he sings it.  I know both his parents have very good sense of humor so I know they will find the piece as funny as he and I do.  I just know it.  I think the concert music is shaping up very well.  I will be copying a lot of music this week for the little ones, the medium size ones, and the big ones.  I am taking the books to Kinkos because my scanner is only for an 8 1/2 by 11 and music is a bit bigger than that so I have to shrink the pages to about 93%.  It shouldn't take to long.  I also have to copy the Supercalifrag... music and CDs to pass them out to students so they can start learning the music.  Some kids already have theirs and most will be getting it in the next 2 weeks.  I plan that everyone will have their music by the end of March.  That gives us about 7 weeks or so until the concert.

Well, I think I may possibly be tired enough to head back to bed after I take some tummy medicine.  Naturally, the tummy isn't feeling to hot right now.  That may be what woke me up in the first place.  Silly tummy!!!!

visitors day!!

My Aunt Michelle and Uncle John as well as my cousin, Jayson were here for the afternoon.  I went to the MMA meeting at 1 pm.  It was okay, just talking about the competition last month.  Some issues were issues that have been brought up year after year so I am tired of listening to it.  There are some categories that are going to just be gray, no black and white.  That is just the way it is going to be.  We will have songs that cross over, there is no doubt about it.  I was able to be there for the entire general meeting but I had to leave before the end of the board meeting because my aunt and uncle were going to be over around that time.  Fortunately, I didn't miss much.  I called Diane to see what I missed.  We had a nice chat and it went well.  I will not be doing the program but that is okay.  I will do something else, except the judges.  I will do almost everything but that!  That is too much for me after what happened this year.

After the packages were opened, Aunt Michelle, Uncle John, Jayson, and I went to Red Lobster for dinner. Boy, was it wonderful and I am so full!  Aunt Michelle brought some of her dinner home.  I ate most of mine there.  We came back here and chatted for a while before they had to get going.  Uncle John has to get up about 4 am tomorrow so they couldn't stay too late.  I am glad that I got to see them today.  Jayson is growing up so fast.  He is now 5 and in junior kindergarten.  Next year he starts kindergarten.  It seems like yesterday he was turning 3.

I am now getting super tired.  I am watching Army Wives.  I love this show.  I have the first 4 seasons on DVD.  I don't have the 5th season because I saw them all on TV last year so I didn't buy it when it came out.  I am not planning on purchasing season 5 either.  I am going to try to watch all of season 6 on TV.  I am not purchasing as many DVDs now like I used to.  I do have most of the TV series that I want.  There is the Father Dowling series that I would like.  I will get it soon.

Today was a good day with my aunt and uncle stopping by.

Saturday 3-10

Next week will be Calli's 12th birthday.  It is hard to believe the young lady will be 12.  Lily just turned 14, another surprise.  I wonder when I will be able to take the young lady out for her birthday.  I hope in the next week or so.

I checked on prices for Guinea Pigs but I can't afford the stuff the little animals need so no Guinea Pigs at this point.  I am glad I checked into it because I was so unsure about whether or not I wanted one.  Apparently, they smell so I don't think I will get one at all.  I don't want my house to smell at all.  It would not be fun.  I guess my beanie babies will be my pets then.  I like beanie babies and Winnie the Pooh animals too.  Right now, all the stuffed animals, beanie babies, and Winnie and friends are all on the piano I don't use right now.  That piano has something wrong with its middle C or D, one of the two, I can't remember which one.  As soon as I have the pianos tuned, it will be fixed.  Sometimes on the piano I am usually using, one of the keys echoes but not very often.  I plan to have the pianos tuned in the spring after winter.  They haven't been tuned in a couple of years.  For not being tuned, they are not badly out of tune, thank goodness!  They are only slightly out of tuned so they are still useable, thankfully.  So far, I think I am the only one who really notices except perhaps Acer, who has perfect pitch.  Speaking of Acer, he is doing a good job at his piano and voice lessons.  He learned the first line of "Windmill" and started the group song for the concert.  I think the group song will be pretty awesome.  We have never done a group song that has harmony before.  Usually, I pick a song and then everyone pretty much already knows it.  I pass out the words and then they sing.  This is something totally different.  We will have rehearsals and everything so it will be ready for the concert.

We lose an hour of sleep tonight.  Yuck.  I hate losing an hour of sleep.  It takes so long to actually get used to it although I am confident this year it will be better or so I am hoping!  I am not as tired as I thought I would since I as up super early yesterday and went to bed at regular time.  I did sleep a bit better than usual for a few hours, which was so awesome.  I was very tired when i woke up for my lovely Camille's piano lesson.  I had originally thought I would take a little nap after Camille's lesson but I had lunch and then Aaiyana was here for her lesson so no time for a nap.  That is alright though, I would rather have the lesson than a nap today.  Aaiyana is a sweet girl most of the time.  Camille is simply a wonderful girl, just simply wonderful.  I have a lot of wonderful girls and boys as well as adults.  Tomorrow is a meeting for the Michigan Music Association.  It is the wrap up meeting from the competition.  If my Aunt and Uncle come to see me tomorrow, I won't go to the meeting.  I would rather visit them instead.  I don't get to see them very often since they live an hour and a half away.  I do go and visit.  I plan to see them a lot during the spring and summer.  That is when they have a lot of family visiting.   They have a pool but I am not interested in swimming.  When I as younger, then I was interested but not now.  The last time I swam in Uncle John's pool I got a bad sunburn on my back.  It was horrible and Mom was on vacation.  I had to have Andrew get me some sunburn stuff and put it on my back.  He couldn't believe how bad it really was.  I didn't realize I was burning or I would have covered up.  My cousin, Cathy and her children were there that day too.  I hope to see her soon too.  Maybe this summer.  I don't have anywhere I plan to go this summer except for a few days at Kathy's.  I always stay at a hotel right near their house.  I usually pick one that has a indoor pool so the kids and Tony can swim while Kathy and I chat.  I enjoyed visiting her last year although I didn't get a chance to go and see her in the summer.  I had gone in the fall of 2010.  I really enjoyed going to see her when I was at competition.  I was able to spend the Friday afternoon and the Saturday evening with her.  I was so exhausted by Sunday afternoon.

II's Diamond Jubilee.  It is pretty cool that she will be there for that.  I will watch a lot of it on TV.  I am sure they will televise it.  Amazon carries the coffee mug of the wedding of William and Catherine.  I believe we have a tea cup of Charles and Diana.  Mom and I were royal family fans.  I think it is the Brit and Canadian in me.  For mom, she was in the Canadian Military so it isn't surprising.  I have been lucky enough to have seen Queen Elizabeth as a teenager and the Queen Mother twice as a child and teen.  All three trips were extremely exciting to me.

I think tomorrow I will also start putting the china cabinet stuff back in it.  Some of the stuff was packed because my cousins were certain I was moving to Canada.  I am not moving anywhere so I need to put the stuff back in the cabinet where it belongs.  I have to go through the collectible thimbles though because I know there are some duplicates.  I don't know what to do with the duplicates.  I had asked Lily if she wanted the duplicates but she didn't seem to interested.  I have asked on face book if anyone wants them.  I am hoping that someone will want them.  Most of them are very pretty.  I also have to put the plates back up at the back of the china cabinet so they will be displayed.  I have one of the queen Mother and one of the Queen too.

I caught my hair on the garage door opener in the car this afternoon.  It hurt so much and pulled some of my hair out.  The clip is what caught my hair in the ponytail.  Fortunately, I was able to get my hair out it pretty fast.  I hope I don't do it again.

I have a semi bad headache tonight.  I think in part because of the hair getting caught in the clip of the garage door opener.  My back isn't as sore as it was last night.  Brain fog is not as bad as the other day, but it is a problem a lot of time.

I think I am going to go to sleep now.  I am super exhausted now.  I have some laundry to do tomorrow as well as a meeting (unless my uncle and aunt come to town).  I hope your day is good too.

Is it really morning? 3-9

It is very strange to be up and wide awake at this hour.  I woke up at 6:30 am and I was very thirsty.  I came down had a drink and went back upstairs.  By the time I got up the stairs, I was wide awake so I went back down the stairs.  I am usually only awake at this hour on Sunday since I have to be at church by 7:30 am and I HATE being late, however, today is Friday and not Sunday.  I have no idea why I am awake.  i didn't sleep too great since I had nightmares of someone breaking in my house and hurting my mother.  It is strange when I have these nightmares because when I dream them I am in my old room and not my new room.  I don't know why but that is what happens.  I haven't had these nightmares in a while.  I had them almost every night right after mom passed away for about the first 6 to 7 months but I haven't had them in a while.  In my nightmares I can't call 911 because my phone is too complicated and I can't get it to dial, which is probably why I won't get one of those new smart phones.  I am afraid that in an emergency, I won't be able to dial 911.  I know this is not a rational fear, but it is a fear nonetheless.  I don't have as many fears as I had right after mom passed away, but I still have some fears left over.  Slowly, they are going away too.  God has taken good care of me so far, I can't imagine that he will stop.  He just isn't that type of a God.  I think some of the old fears have come back because of the new car.  My trade in paid for the entire 2 years of my lease and now I am scared I won't be able to afford a car at the end of the lease.  Another irrational fear, I think.  I am doing much better with my money than I ever have, and yet, I still have much more thriftiness to learn but I am learning.  God has been so faithful as He always has been so I have been learning to lean on Him much more than myself.  That was something Mom always tried to teach me.  Mom was a strong woman because she was so strong in her faith.  She knew that God would help her with everything and she lived that way.  Even in the midst of the horrible divorce, she was sure God would be there and He was.  My mom did not falter when it came to keeping us kids, a roof over our heads, and a way for her to make a living.  My father tried to drive her crazy and put her in a mental institution.  He did NOT win on that one.  Now that I am an adult and can look back at what happened, I just don't understand how a man can one day love his family and the next hate them.  I will never understand how he just decided one day he didn't want to be a husband and a father anymore.  Never.  I did learn a really important lesson back then though.  Be a Mommy's girl, not a Daddy's girl because Daddy left and Mommy never did.  I remember being very upset and devastated because I was a daddy's girl.  I was all about my dad unless I was sick, then I wanted Mommy and only Mommy.  After he started moving in and out, I became my mom's girl and there I stayed.  She used to call me her "gal".  I can still hear her asking where her gal is in my mind.  I haven't heard her voice in 16 or so months but in my memory, I can hear her perfectly.  I have several pictures that will be going up of us from the last few years.  I can't find the picture of Mom and I at Kathy's wedding though. Come to think of it, I can't find ANY of the pictures that were professionally taken at Kathy's wedding.  I know that they are in a box in the guest room and that is it.  I want to put up the one with Mom and I, and the one of Kathy and I.  I remember how excited Mom and I were on Kathy's wedding day.  I think my mother was as excited as I was and I was super super excited!  I loved every moment of her wedding.  It was beautiful and she looked so beautiful and happy that day.  I loved her wedding dress too.  It was a rose print white satin dress with long sleeves (she did get married in November).  I remember at her parents' house the photographer fluffing her dress and me giggling.  I had bought Kathy a bride's survival kit that contained a pair of Snoopy and Woodstock undies.  She wore them on her wedding day.  It did have some practical stuff in it too, but I loved that I bought almost ALL of the stuff right in front of her and she had NO clue!  I loved doing that to Kathy.  I could buy her Christmas present or her birthday present right in front of her, she could even pick it out, and she never realized it was for her.  This has been a major fun thing for me over the years.  I used to do that to Mom too.  One year, she tried on 2 pairs of pants at the store and I bought them for her for Christmas.  She couldn't understand how they both fit perfectly on her when she tried them on at Christmas.  Mom had totally forgotten she tried them on in the store!  It was awesome.  The other day was a totally missing mom horribly day when my friend, Vickie, sent me a message over Face book saying she felt that my mom was sending me hugs that day.  It was on her heart to tell me this.  This was on the horrible missing mom day!  How cool was that?  I thought it was really awesome.

Well, I am actually getting a bit hungry so I need to check the milk date to see if it is still good.  Something tells me it isn't though and I will need to run to Walmart to get some for breakfast.  Since I am rarely up this early, I am not sure what time the stores open but I think Walmart is a 24 hour store.  I will check online.  I hope your day is amazing and wonderful!!!

Choir night!

We are not singing during the first service Sunday.  The children's choir will be singing instead of us.  I don't mind, believe me.  I love listening to the children's choir.  They are so cute and they sing very nicely. We also lose an hour sleep Saturday night.  I am so not looking forward to that.  I hate when we "spring ahead".  Fall's gaining an hour isn't so bad, but the spring one is very hard on my body.  It will take about 3 or so weeks to get used to it.

Choir went well this evening.  We worked on next week's music and the Easter music.  I am not sure if I will be there Easter Sunday.  It all depends on when I need to be at Kathy's parents house.  It is now an hour away so I have to factor in driving time.  I like spending the holidays with Kathy and her family including her parents.  Since I can't spend them with Momma, this is definitely the way to go.  Kathy and family may need to stay at my house when they come in town sometimes if her brother and his family is coming too.  Like I would even mind!  It would be a good time for all of us.  I have the room for them.  The boys would probably have to use an air mattress and sleeping bags, but somehow, I don't think they would mind at all.  Kathy and Tony would take mom's room and the girls would have the other guest room.  We would be nice and cosy.

I feel like I have a lot of brain fog this evening.  My head feels like it is swimming.  I don't like that feeling.  It happens a lot though.  It is something I haven't really gotten used to it like I have with some (not all) of the pain and the exhaustion.  I don't think I will ever get used to the brain fog.

I think my laundry is done drying now.  I can't hear it running.  I think the bell that tells me it is finished is not working anymore.  I am hoping to get another year or so out of the dryer before I need a new one. So far, it is holding up.  I am not sure how old it is.

We are expecting weather in the 60s next week.  Wow, it is March.  We have had so much warm weather this winter.  It has been a totally unexpected winter.  I am glad about that.  I have ached less than last winter and I like it.  I just hope summer isn't too hot.

I am very tired now.  I am heading for bed in a few minutes.  I have to check on my laundry to see if it is ready to go upstairs.  I have another load to do tomorrow, my dark clothes and another load of whites.  I hope you are having a good night.

Wednesday! 3-7

Tomorrow is Lily's birthday.  She will be 14 years old!  I haven't seen her in a couple of months since Christmas, but I plan to take her out to eat for her birthday as soon as she is available.  With her busy schedule, it could be a while.

It has been a strange type week for me so far.  A very strange week indeed.  I am so tired last night.  I did wake up a few times as usual but I couldn't get up until after 12.  I was just that tired.  I am still exhausted.  I will be heading to bed soon.

Benjy should be a happy camper tomorrow evening.  The new lego people came in today.  There are many  lego people in the kit.  That should make him extremely happy as he loves playing with legos while his sister is having lessons.  Joiene likes to play with legos too and the cars.  I have to move some of the music books downstairs tomorrow.  I haven't done it yet.  The stuffed animals are on the other piano now and the ones that belong on the couches are now there.  Over all, the living room is looking really good.  My office is taking shape too so I am happy with that.

Tomorrow, Breanna will not be having her lesson.  She is catching up on her homework from her vacation.  She says she will be here next week.  I will have Benjy, Joiene, Wama, and Deema for their lessons.  Thursday is my busiest day.  I don't mind.  I have choir practice tomorrow night too.  It is always a good time.  I really enjoy being in the choir.  I plan to be at church bright and early on Sunday. I can't believe that we have to change our clocks again.  It is too soon.  I don't like this time change stuff. It takes weeks to get used to the new schedule for me and losing an hour of sleep is a bad thing for me.  I am still recovering from getting up early two days in a row.  That was why I slept in today, trying to catch up on the sleep.  I should be up by regular time tomorrow.  I also have to do laundry tomorrow.  I have a couple of loads to do.  Yuck!  I wish laundry would wash itself.  Wouldn't it be awesome?  Wash itself, dry itself, fold itself, and then put itself away.  That would be so great.  It really would!  However, since laundry doesn't wash itself, I will have to do it myself.  Laundry is one job I hate a lot.  I always wait until the last minute to do it.

Jillian and Brooke are almost finished with level A in piano.  They started piano in December 28, 2011 so this is totally awesome for them.  Their sister, Aubrey is almost done with her first book too.  It is so amazing how well the three of them are doing.  They are also at the point now that they don't need their parents help with practicing anymore.  Mom may have to remind them and they go and play their assignment.  I am so proud and pleased with their progress and I told them so too.  Allison is also doing very well.  She is singing very well and her sight reading is coming along very nicely.

Ooh, I just remembered I need to mark my lessons today.  I better do that now.

Tuesday 3-6

It has been a good day.  I had a few lessons that went well.  Ria has picked her Spring Concert song.  She is also going to sing a duet with Allison.  They will be singing "My Favorite Things".  It should be nice with the two of them.  Charlie was absent again this week.  He is going to do an hour next week and the following week to make up for the weeks he missed.

After lessons I went to the Homeowner association's meeting.  I am on the Board of Directors.  It is a nice evening to meet up with neighbors.  We were planning the block party and the Easter Egg Hunt.  I am the editor of the subdivision's newsletter so I will be passing one out by the end of the week.  We have a few events coming up so I want to make sure everyone knows.

I woke up super early this morning.  I am not as tired as I thought I would be at this time.  I am hoping that I sleep better tonight.  I will be heading to bed shortly.  I have a few lessons tomorrow and some more music to get ready for the students.  I have to get the music for the duet ready and for the group song.  That is the plan for tomorrow.  I also do expect that I will sleep in a bit compared to today or at least I hope to sleep in a bit compared to today.

I think I will read a bit now before heading up the stairs to bed.  I am reading a pretty good book right now and I am about 1/2 way done with it.  I have 2 new books waiting for me to read them.  I finished "Home Front" by Kristin Hannah on Monday.  It was very good as all her books are.  I loaned it to Maggie so she could read it for our little book club.  We are going to meet together once a month.  It is just the two of us because the others are in college now.  It will be fine.  I enjoy Maggie's company and we will have fun.