Monday 4-2

Can you believe it is April already???  It amazes me how fast winter went and how warm it was this year.  I am thankful it was warm though because I ache less in the warmer weather (not hot though, I ache more in the super hot weather).  Today I only had 2 students, Rachel and Selma.  bob rescheduled for Wednesday and Isaac is absent this week.  On Friday we are going to Baskin Robbins for ice cream to celebrate my birthday on Sunday.  My little Rachel, can't make it.  She won't be with her Grandma that day, she will be at the sitters so her Grandma decided to go and get the three of us ice cream sundaes.  Talk about a wonderful person!  She said since Rachel and she can't make it on Friday, she would be bring the ice cream to us.  It was wonderful!  We sat and ate ice cream while we visited together.  They came earlier than usual because Rachel is off school for vacation.  I am so thankful for that.  We had such a good visit.  My lovely little one gave me lots of hugs for my birthday.  She is such a wonderful little girl.  Rachel is doing well with piano.  She is really coming along.  Rachel started last June and has almost finished the first two books.  I am so proud of her.  I have her level C books.  We are just waiting for the solo book to come in.  She will finish her level B books next week.  She is playing the last lesson book songs and working on the last of her note speller and theory books.  I just love her.  She is one of my amazing students.  I have lots.  I think all my students are awesome and doing very well.

Most of the students have the week off because of Spring Break.  It used to be called Easter Vacation and it would start Good Friday to Easter Sunday but a couple of years ago the school systems around here changed when it would be so now it is the first week of April.  It was confusing at first, but not now.  I don't have as many absent this week as I thought I would so that is good.  I have a full schedule except for Charlie tomorrow.  He is going to Georgia with his girlfriend's family.  I hope they are having a great time so far.  I think they left Saturday.

I was so tired this afternoon.  I got up for my lovely Rachel's lesson and then after they left, I must admit, I did take a nap until Selma arrived.  Selma arrived at 6:30 so i slept for about 1 1/2 hours.  I am still rather exhausted but I expect to sleep a bit better tonight.

I am excited about Wednesday this week.  I will see my friend from high school, Wendy that day.  We are meeting for lunch and I expect it will be fun.  Wendy is so nice and I am so glad we have gotten to know each other better.  We didn't really know each other in high school and reconnected on face book. I am thankful for face book because I have reconnected with several friends and school mates.  It has been wonderful.  I will see Jennie in a couple of weeks and that will be fun too.  We meet about once every few months.  I saw her in February so I am looking forward to seeing her again.

Well, I am going to read for a bit before going back to bed.  I hope your day is a good one.

April Fool's Day

I have never liked April Fool's Day.  When I was a child, I would manage to be absent from school on those days.  It isn't that I was always getting a joke pulled on, I just didn't find a lot of the practical jokes very funny.  When it comes to practical jokes, I do not have much of a sense of humor unless they are truly harmless.  Fortunately, as an adult I have not been around too many practical jokes.

It has been a quiet type day.  I went to church.  It was a good service.  It was communion Sunday as well as Palm Sunday.  We sang at the start of the service, which is unusual.  Usually, we sing sometime in the middle of the singing but not at the beginning.  It was a song we have sung before so we pretty much knew it by heart.  I wasn't sure I would, but I did.  We have a rehearsal earlier than usual on Thursday.  I have emailed my student asking if they can come earlier than usual because of this.  They don't have school on Thursday so I am hoping it will not be a problem.  If they can't, I will just be late.  That won't be a huge problem because I will let Lee know, I would just prefer to not be late so that I am sure what we are doing on Sunday.  After church, I will be spending the day with Kathy, her family, and her parents.  It should be a fun day especially as it will be my birthday as well as Easter.

I simply love Easter.  Sometimes I think I love it more than Christmas Day, but not the Christmas season.  I love the Christmas Season because of how (most of the time) people treat one another.  They start thinking of other people and treating each other nicely.  Easter is nice too because people do think of others, not as much as they do at Christmas, but it is close.  I went to Walmart yesterday for a few small things.  Okay, a lot (I mean a lot!) of money later, I came out without the second thing I needed from there.  Fortunately, I remember just as I was about to leave so I went back in and got what I needed.  I did manage to get a few things I didn't necessarily need, like a new book and a new DVD, Bambi.  I bought Bambi II a few months ago but realized that I didn't have the original Bambi so I picked it up yesterday.  Fortunately, I won't have to go there anytime soon so I don't have to worry about over spending.  As it is, I owe my savings account about $113 for shopping yesterday.

I am getting tired, soon I will go back to bed for the evening but right now I am drying some clothes so I have something to wear this week.  It is kind of necessary you know.  A complete boring job, but a necessary one since I don't have the money to buy a new outfit for everyday.  Wow, that would be a lot of clothes, I don't think that much would even fit in my closet or my drawers.

I do hope you are having a good day.

Friday 3-30

I haven't done too much today except have a few lessons and get my hair done.  I am going to spend tomorrow afternoon after Camille's lessons at Acer's house.  I will watch Acer while Bill goes grocery shopping.  Heather B-T and Calli will be going to Goalball practice.  I hope to watch her play someday.  Right now they go to practice about once a month.  They have to drive a couple hours away to get there, but they do it.  Calli is working very hard to make sure she exercises so she can play a better game.  Everyday she exercises no matter what.  She has 10 pound weights too that she uses.  I can barely lift 10 pounds a long and this young lady does 2 10 pound weights at the same time without a thought.  I am so proud of her.  I wonder if Acer will want to play when he is older?  It is hard to say.  He is only 7.  I think Calli started playing Goalball at about 9 or 10 years old.  She even goes to Goalball camp every summer.

I don't have too many plans for the weekend except for Camille's lesson and going to Acer's tomorrow.  I have church on Sunday and then I need to get gas for the month.  I only need to get gas about once every 3 to 4 weeks since I don't drive that much.

My head isn't so bad today although I was so tired when I woke up.  I had such a hard time getting up.  I am just exhausted from this week.  First I don't sleep much on Tuesday night because of the Headache, then Wednesday in the ER, and then last night, the nightmares.  I had to get up.  I just couldn't lie there anymore since the dreams wouldn't go away.  I called the Neurologist that Jasmin suggested but she is on medical leave until July and the other doctor in the practice doesn't have anything available until July so basically, neither have room until July.  I think I will make an appointment with the lady and then try to see if I can see someone earlier.  I will then cancel that appointment.  I just don't know.  I suppose it wouldn't be so bad to wait that long since I have been having these for so long, what is a couple more months?  Not much.

I am going to read for a bit and then I am heading for bed.

Thursday 3-29

It has been a rather interesting couple of days.  My appointment went well.  I am going to try Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, depending on how much it costs and what Medicare covers.  I will call on that tomorrow.  Anyways, I had had a bad headache from the night before.  I didn't sleep very well on Tuesday  night because of the pain.  It didn't matter what side I was laying on, it hurt, bad.  I mentioned it to the arthritis doctor and she said to go to my primary care doctor.  I said I would.  Well, I had lunch and went home to teach lessons all the while the head was getting worse and worse.  I taught 4 lessons and how I do not know.  After the last student left, I decided to go to the ER.  I really didn't want to go but it just hurt so much I couldn't stand it anymore.  Nothing was working for it either and I mean nothing.  It was like all I took was a sugar pill.  So I got the ER and it wasn't that busy.  I didn't wait very long, what a surprise!  A nice one though!  I got some pain medicine almost right away.  I was so pleased!  I got some tummy medicine as it was upset too because of the pain.  I had a CT scan also because of my history of blood clots they always have to rule that out.  I don't mind because the test is quick and it doesn't hurt.  It came back clean so that was a relief although I didn't think it was a blood clot because the pain would have been a sudden pain and this wasn't sudden so I did not think it was one.  I stayed for a long while because they couldn't send me home right away because of the strong pain killers they had given me.  I chose not to stay because the head felt much better.  Instead of the pain level of 10, it had gone down to 8, which to me was good enough.  I did have an upset tummy when I was being discharged but I didn't say anything.  It didn't last too long and from experience, I knew it wouldn't.  I got home and had a sandwich to eat because I was very hungry at that time.  I hadn't had anything to eat since 1 pm in the afternoon.  I did make the right decision that I could go home because I don't have a super bad headache tonight, only a slightly bad headache.  I asked Laith's mom if she knew a neurologist that was good.  She gave me the name of one and I will call her tomorrow and make an appointment.  It is time to go and see what is up.  For the last few months I have had bad headaches at least 4 to 5 days a week.  That is just too many to have.  I did forget the prescription for the tummy medicine at the ER though.  That upsets me.  I didn't mean to forget but I didn't put it on my purse like I normally would.  Oh well, I don't think they would send it to me.

I am rather tired because of not having much sleep on Tuesday and last night too.  Ugh, at least I can sleep in tomorrow!  That is good!

Well, I am waiting for the weatherman to tell me what kind of weather we will have for the rest of the week then I am heading for bed.  I will read a bit too.

Tuesday 3-27

It has been an interesting day.  I did wake up with a super bad headache, which I still have at this point.  I had a couple of lessons this evening that went well.  It is an NCIS night and Dance Moms night.  I will watch the NCIS Los Angeles episode on the computer later this week.

Katie stopped by to pick up the disc she needs for the scholarship competition she is participating in.  I found on another disc the accompaniment for the 3 verses of the song.  The disc that came with the book only has 2 verses so I was glad that I found the 3 verse one for her.  Since she will sing 3 verses, it is important that she be able to practice with a disc that has all three verses.

Tomorrow is the arthritis doctor appointment.  My left shoulder is burning tonight.  It hurts so much.  I have had much problems with this shoulder for the last 4 years.  I don't know why.  It just started one day and got worse but then it started to get a bit better but now it is starting to get really bad again.  It is very frustrating since I have no idea how it started.  When the shoulder hurts, it makes my entire left arm hurt.  I will be heading to bed soon.  I have taken some pain pills for it.  I will take a couple of Advil before I head for bed.  I have to be up by 9:15 am tomorrow for the appointment.  It should be a breeze.  I do have to mention that my hands have been hurting a lot again and that they go numb when I am sleeping.  I am bringing a notebook to take notes with.  I don't usually do that, but I don't want to forget anything this time since I am having issues with some things.

Well, I am going to read a bit and take some Advil to see if the headache will go down a bit at least enough to let me sleep.

Sunday - a day of grocery shopping

Calli and I went grocery shopping this afternoon.  It was fun.  I had a nap after church this morning and woke up to go get Calli.  She is 12 now so she gets to sit in the front seat now.  I smile when I think of that because it is so important to her that she gets to sit in the front seat.  We headed to Walmart.  I asked Calli if she would like to stop and get a drink before or stop in the store for a drink at Subway.  She chose Subway.  This way she can have her drink while we are shopping.  I did get a few things that wasn't on my list but they were good to get.  I picked up some salmon and some cod fish for dinner this week.  I also picked up a corned beef pack that I put right in the freezer.  I got some more uncrustables too.  I know that may seem rather silly to buy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that are frozen but as I don't eat sandwiches that much so I end up throwing away a lot of bread and I hate wasting food that way.  I did get organic milk a couple of weeks ago and it lasts a long time, thank goodness because I also have wasted a lot of milk.  Right now my freezer is full so no other food will fit in it.  I will have some nice choices if I want to cook dinner in the next while.  Sometimes I do feel like cooking, but not too often.  It is hard to stand that long at times.  I did get some meatballs and spaghetti sauce along with some Alfredo sauce.  I accidentally bought whole wheat spaghetti today though.  I don't mind whole wheat, but I prefer regular spaghetti.  I won't waste it though.  I will eat it.  Calli and I giggled a lot while shopping.  I picked up the gift certificates for the boys for Easter and I got the girls cute stuffed animals.  I think they will like them.  I know that Matthew and Jacob like i-tunes.  I also got a package of spiderman stickers.  i have some students who really like the spiderman stickers.  I picked up a new thumb drive.  I am going to see how many CDs I can put on it since I am running out of room on my computer.  I didn't get new slippers because they didn't have any in my size that I liked.  Oh well, these ones haven't totally fallen apart yet so I am good.

I can't wait for 10 pm when Jon Bon Jovi is on TV!  He is on Oprah's master class.  I haven't watched her master class series yet so this will be the first for me.  I expect it will be interesting.  He always has interesting interviews and he doesn't air dirty laundry.  That is what I like the best.  He is also very involved in several charities, which is always a good thing.  I think it will be interesting.

Tomorrow, I have my Muglia girls for their lessons.  I have to remember to bring the Harry Potter book. I also have to pull the Titanic music too for Selma.  I need to copy the spring concert music I need for tomorrow too.  I want Rachel to start working on her piece.  We now have a set date for the concert, May 21, Sunday.  I am happy about that.  I can make the flyer and pass it out now.  That is good because then everyone will know when it is.  So far, we have about 30 songs in the concert.  We will have to have an intermission this time because of the amount of songs.  So far, everyone is planning to attend.

I am watching a marathon of NCIS.  So far, I have seen all these episodes but they are so good that I can see them again and again.  Army Wives will be on at 9 pm.  I really like that show.  I am not sure if it I like it because I am an army brat.  I never moved because we never lived on base (or post as it is in the USA) and Mom was in the reserves.  I had some big fears when I as small about wars and combat.  I think if Mom was in the service now, she would go to combat.  It comforted me when she would say that she was a teacher in the army and would not go to combat but I bet she would now.  She had a very strong sense of duty to both Canada and the United States.  She raised us to be proud of our Canadian Heritage, but never forget we were raised as Americans.  I had a dream when I was small that my children would be the first Americans in our family just like the immigrants when they came through Ellis Island.  I read about that in the history books in school and that was what I wanted.  Of course, I don't have children and won't be having any so I can become an American.  I am saving for the fee to become an American.  It costs about $400 for the main fee.  I am not sure about the fingerprinting fee or any other fees.  I am checking into them.  The biggest obstacle is knowing how often I have left the country.  Since my family is in Canada, I leave the country often.  I have to keep track for 5 years.  Yup, 5 years so you can see my obstacle.  I always forget to write down in my log when I left and when I came back.  Someday, I will get this right.

I am getting tired and boy that is not a good thing since I want to stay up to watch the Jon Bon JoviNCIS for now and hope to stay awake until the interview.

Saturday 3-24

It was a lovely day.  I had Camille's lesson.  She is doing awesome.  I am so pleased with her progress.  After that, I went to Acer's house for games afternoon.  We played many games and it was so much fun.  He is a lively young man who was very serious about being a good host, which he was.  He was a very good host.  I stayed for dinner after being invited to go to the movie night at church with them.  We saw "Toy Story 3".  Calli played games with us too.  Acer invited his sister to play with us.  He is 7 now and growing up so fast.  He really is maturing as is Calli.  I love spending the day with them.  Tomorrow Calli and I are going grocery shopping.  I need a few things and she is a wonderful assistant.  I really enjoyed my day with the kids.  It was a nice and relaxing day.  My head was a bit sorer than usual, but thankfully, it did NOT turn into a bad headache, just slightly bad.  Heather was exhausted after a bit so she went to lay down and take a nap.  She did not join us in the movie night.  She was just so exhausted.  Heather B-T has had bronchitis for about 5 months now.  The doctors just can't seem to get a hold of it and find the proper medicine that will clear it up.  She is so not feeling too well a lot and so tired.  I am very worried about her since she can't seem to shake this illness.  We had a good time together yesterday too, just Heather and I.  It was lovely.  Calli thinks it is cool that I will see her 3 days in a row and she is right.  I find it nice too.  They are a nice, loving family, which is so good to see since so many families are splintered right now.  Yesterday, Calli had a Snoopy t-shirt on that said my heart belongs to Daddy.  I feel it fits her so much.  She is definitely their girl.  I feel lucky that I get to be a part of both her and Acer's life.  I feel that way about all my students.  How lucky am I to be a part of their lives.

Tomorrow evening, Jon Bon Jovi will be on Oprah's Master Class at 10 pm.  I am so there watching it.  I am trying to contact Kathy about it too but so far, she hasn't answered yet.  I emailed her again.  I hope she has the OWN network so she can watch the show.  It should be very interesting, at least, I sure hope it will be.  Kathy and I have been Bon Jovi fans since high school when they first came out.  He had really long hair at that time.  It looked good on him but so does his short hair now.  He is aging very well.  I should be so lucky.

I have an appointment with my arthritis doctor this coming week.  The tummy doctor reschedule for the following week.  I am not sure why but it is okay.  The tummy is feeling ever so much better tonight, thank goodness.  The arthritis in my hips and lower back has been rather painful, especially the left one.  There is a little fly in the house tonight.  Ah, spring and the bugs.  Yuck on the bugs.  I will fin it eventually.  I will have to take care of it myself as Mom is no longer here to take care of them for me.  I would be hollering there is a bug in here.  It made her smile.  She knew I wasn't too fond of bugs.  Ew, the thought sends chills up my spine.  Anyways, I digress.  The doctor appointment is actually on Mom's birthday.  It is a day I am slightly dreading as I am afraid I will be very sad although, earlier this week I had a sad day thinking about her.  Sometimes, doubts rule my mind and I wonder if I could have done things differently.  I wonder if I did do things differently, would she still be here.  What stage would she be in?  These are the thoughts that occasionally plague my mind at times.  Usually, they don't come very often anymore.  They used to haunt me for months after my lovely mom passed away.  I miss her everyday but it doesn't always hurt physically like it used to.  I plan to buy a cupcake and put a candle on it to sing Happy Birthday Momma on it.  I want to honor her birthday, not be sad.  She was such a happy person the last 10 or so years.  It was rough on her when we were growing up with all the issues going through our family, the drug days, the divorce, teenage rebellion, and a mouthy daughter (that would be me) but after we grew up she relaxed and became much more content and happy.  I love looking at her smile.  I can picture it in my mind right now.  She had a beautiful smile.  Her eyes would twinkle when she was happy.  Andrew inherited that from her.  When Andrew smiles, his eyes twinkle just like Momma's.  I love his smile too.  Then again, I really like truly happy smiles, especially a child's. One sound I love is a child's laughter.  I also loved Momma's laugh and my brothers, both of them but truly love a child's laughter the most.

Anyways, it was a lovely afternoon and evening.  I plan on getting up early for church tomorrow.  I haven't been there in about a month now and that is not good.  One week we weren't singing and last week I didn't feel well so tomorrow I plan on being there.  I feel okay as far as extra pain is concerned.  I have just the regular pain with a slightly more headache.  I hope your day was a wonderful as mine.

Friday/Saturday 3-23/3-24

Once again it is 1:40 in the morning and I am awake.  I went to bed at 10 pm because I just couldn't stay awake, all the while knowing I would wake up in a few hours and be somewhat awake.  The somewhat awake is because the tummy is being annoying as usual, only more annoying than usual.  I don't have to get up early tomorrow so that is good.  I have only 1 lesson at about 1:15 so I can be up at regular time and be wide awake.  I am heading back to the Bowman-Tomlinson house in the afternoon as I as invited by young Mr. Acer to come and have a games afternoon.  How awesome is that?  I would say it is super awesome!  Then on Sunday, Calli and I will be grocery shopping so basically this means I will see the B-T family 3 days in a row!  I think that is pretty cool.

Heather B-T and I had a nice lunch of Chinese food.  She made some Chinese type dumplings and they were super filling.  We had a nice chat and I got the adult time I was aiming for.  I left in time to get my hair washed and dried while she went to pick up children from school.  Emily and Natalie had their lessons too.  So far, several of the students have their Supercalif... music for the concert.  i have to copy and make discs for Natalie and Allison's duet, My Favorite Things.  I think Calli, Breanna, and I am not sure who are going to do the Double Trouble Trio.  I do have to redo it in Finale though as the disc really is missing in action.  That totally bums me out because I know I have seen it in the last year or so.  I did find Katie's Rest Sweet Nymphs but I can't find Double Trouble.  I need to have a better system for discs that have only one song on them.  I think I will have them numbered with the book or sheet music they belong to.  That is the only thing I can think of to do with them.  i am open to new suggestions though.  I will do the song this weekend so I can give it to Calli and Breanna this week.  I originally wanted Calli, Katie, and Aggie but Katie isn't taking lessons right now and I am not sure how often Aggie would be in town to practice so I need to find another person.  I really wanted Isaac to do it, but he is nervous about it.  I think he would do wonderful with it, but he is unsure so he doesn't want to do it.  I may need to really convince him he can do this because I need a third person for when the song goes into 3 parts near the end.  We shall see how it all works out.  Maybe a duet would be okay.  I just don't know.  I will figure it out before the concert.  I need to ask Bill and Heather if there is word on when the concert will be.  I requested either May 20 or May 21.  There will be about 30 or so numbers in it with some of the kids doing duets and trios plus the group song.  I think it will be lots of fun though.  i will have the kids sit in the front 2 rows in order so that the concert will go at a good clip without much lag time in between numbers.  While they are being announced, the student will be heading up to the piano or the microphone for their performance.  This will be Charlie's last concert.  I am super sad about that because he is such a good student!  He is wonderful and I could go on forever about him.  He starts college in July so this is truly the last one.  I plan to have a big cookie that says congratulations for him from the cookie place in Rochester.  I will have to pick it up on the Saturday though because they are closed on Sunday.  I also will have the spring newsletter with a spotlight on him.  I will need about 10 to 12 pictures of him growing up to do that though plus he has to write what he wants to do in the future.  Goodness knows he doesn't want me to write it!

Well, I think I can go back to sleep.  My tummy medicine is slowly starting to work its way around the tummy.  It hurts less than it did when it woke me up about an hour ago.  Silly tummy, if only it wouldn't get like this so often!  Not much I can do about that though.  I was born with tummy troubles and will have them forever I think.

Just think, in 12 hours I will be at the Bowman-Tomlinson house again!  wow, that is a weird thought but it is true.  I am expected by 2:15 so I will be there with bells on!

Headache Day 3-22

I have a bad headache today.  I woke up with it so it is just one of those things.  I didn't go to choir practice  because of it and I plan to go to bed early too.  I slept very, very poorly last night.  I went to bed at 10 pm thinking that it would help.  I was very wrong.  I did fine until about 11:50 pm.  Then I woke up at 1 am and then at 2 am.  I finally got up about 2:30 and went downstairs.  My tummy was upset and too full all at the same time.  You know how sometimes you finish eating and several hours later you tummy starts to feel super full but you haven't eaten anything else since dinner?  Well, that was my tummy last night and then it started to be upset.  Ah, IBS is such a lovely thing, NOT!  I have a tummy doctor appointment next week, I just can't remember when.  It is either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.  Fortunately, they will call me and let me know.  I also have the arthritis doctor appointment one of those days too.  I will get a call the day before for that one too.  Thank goodness for reminder calls!!!  Without them, I would be missing appointments left and right.  That is not good so I am glad they take the time to remind me.  This way, I don't miss or I reschedule the day before so I am not charged for the miss appointment.  Speaking of appointments, I need to make one for the pro-time test next month.  When I called back for my recent results, I was not at home so I couldn't make the appointment, which actually worked out well because their computers were down.  I wouldn't have been about to make the appointment even if I was home.  I hope to remember to that tomorrow before I go to heather B-T's house.

I am looking forward to visiting with Heather B-T tomorrow.  We rarely get a chance to sit down and have a chat just the 2 of us so it shall be a lot of fun, providing, of course, this stupid, bad headache is back to the normal, much more manageable headache.  That is what I am hoping happens tomorrow.

Today's lessons weren't super hard with the bad headache, just medium hard.  The students were extra nice to me and tried really hard.  I told them that I had a bad headache and they were so sweet.  All the students did well, even my 2 who don't practice at all.  Benjy is learning his notes despite only seeing them once a week.  Joiene was a little bit more nervous to play her new song because the letters inside the notes are now gone.  After a little bit of coaxing, she did play her new song and did well.  Joiene also doesn't practice at all either.  I think their mom is not sure what to do even though I showed her.  I am hoping that Benjy will start playing on his own at home and then encourage Joiene to play too.  He has such potential, not that Joiene, doesn't she does, but Benjy is doing really well despite his not practicing.

Starting next week, students will be beginning their spring concert songs.  My really small ones will be learning their songs a bit differently than usual because their music is a bit harder than what they play in the lesson books.  I also will have the group song ready.  I have to re-burn the discs because of a mistake made in the pausing between tracks.  Yup, 14 discs were thrown away because of my mistake!  Yuck!  I will do that this weekend.

I have some bills to pay tonight so I better get on that so they can be mailed tomorrow!

Spring has Sprung! 3-22

I think Monday was the official First Day of Spring but we have had spring-like weather for weeks now.  I am loving every minute of the day with that spring-like weather.  The sun was shining, the sky was a blue, blue, blue, and the clouds were white puffs of cotton.  It has just been a week of wonderful weather.  I am more tired when I wake up but I perk after about an hour.  Tomorrow I will be getting up a bit early because my Katie is coming to pick up some music for the scholarship competition.  Breanna is going to do the competition also.  Carolyn, I think, is not.  That is okay.  I have also asked if the woman who is in charge if she can accompany my 2 students as I don't accompany.  She is very nice.  Her name is Bea.  Bea did a great job accompanying Katie and Rachel last year.  I sure hope Breanna and Katie will do well.  Katie has picked her two songs.  She will sing her German Song and "Rest Sweet Nymphs", an old English Song.  Breanna is not sure what she is going to sing.  I know one of them will be "Caro Mio Ben".  She likes that Italian song a lot.  The English one, we are not sure about yet.  She has sung some lovely English Songs in the past year.  We both agreed it would be best if she sung a song we have already finished since the audition is just around the corner.  It ill be nice to see Katie tomorrow since I haven't seen her since Christmas time.

Jillian, Brooke, and Aubrey all had their lessons tonight.  They are so cute.  Jillian and Brooke are 5. They were so excited to get new books this week.  They just finished the level A book and are now in level B.  I am so proud of them and their sister.  Aubrey will finish her level 1A in a few weeks.  The smiles they give are so lovely.  The girls are so excited to learn.  It is wonderful to teach children who are so excited about learning piano.  I look forward to their lessons every week.

So far, the spring concert line up is really shaping up.  Allison picked her song today.  She will sing "Candle on the Water" from Pete's Dragon.  I don't remember the movie but I do know I have probably seen it since we have seen a lot of the Disney movies thanks to Mom.

Friday I will be meeting my friend, Heather B-T for lunch and tea at her house.  I just want to have some fun down time with another adult.  I love being around my students, but sometimes I need to speak with adults.  It is just one of those times.  I don't have anything in particular to talk about, I just want to have a nice afternoon talking to her.  It should be a nice afternoon.

I am tired now.  I think I will read my book for a bit and then head to bed.  I am reading Danielle Steel's book, Rogue.  It is good so far but I think I have read it before.  I can't remember but parts sound vaguely familiar to me.  I will then continue to re-read the Anne of Green Gables books starting with the Anne of Avonlea book.  i love those books so much.  She is my favorite author of all time.  I have a bit more of headache than usual tonight.  I hope it goes back to normal soon.

Tuesday 3-20

Wow, mid march has come and gone!  We have such beautiful weather that it seems impossible that it isn't April or end of March.  I do hope that we DON'T get a blizzard in April, that would be a slap in the face.  I have a new rug for the landing at the front door and I simply love it.  I moved the old welcome mats and moved them outside so I have room for the new rug.  It blends in really well with the carpet in the living room and the hallway.  I had originally bought 2 of them but they were bigger than i though so I returned the second one since I didn't need it.  Heather B-T helped me put it down and fix it right.  Calli also helped put the old ones on the front porch.  Calli is such a helpful young lady and she is growing up so quickly.  I can't believe she is 12 already!

Tonight is NCIS night.  I love this show.  I think I say that a lot.  The USA channel runs re-runs a lot during the week too and they have awesome marathons on the weekends.  Anyways, Andrew is the one who actually got me into the show.  Silly little brother!  He watched it and kept telling me to watch it.  Andrew loves these type shows a lot.  I finally sat down and watched it with him.  I had to agree, it was a good show.  I have the first 6 season on DVD.  I didn't get the other ones because I have seen them all.

My birthday is in 3 weeks and 4 days away.  I am not sure exactly what I am doing outside of spending the day at Kathy's parents with her and her family!  I did invite a friend to come over to play games the week after the Easter.  I am looking forward to hanging out with Kathy for the whole day.  Her husband and kids will be there too.  I love spending time with them.  Her parents are really nice too.  I have known them most of my life too since I have also known Kathy most of my life so that would make sense that I would know her parents for that long too.  It is the second time in my life that my birthday is on Easter Sunday.  All of my childhood I wanted it to be on Easter.  I have had it on Good Friday, Maude Thursday, the day before Easter, the day after, Palm Sunday, and the days in between, but never on Easter Sunday until a few years ago.  I think it is kind of cool.  Andrew's birthday often falls on Mother's Day.  Mom always said that he was a good Mother's Day present.  I am not sure if I will be able to see him on or near his birthday.  He is very busy all the time.  He and Angie want to move to Toronto soon.  I think there is more work for Andrew there.  He is an outreach worker.  I don't know if he is going to go on to become a counselor or not.  I haven't asked.  I don't think about it when I see him.

I was reading a book about two women who were switched at birth.  One was from New York City and the other was from Pennsylvania and an Amish family.  It was a very interesting story.  I have always been interested in the Amish and Mennonite because they are so different.  I wonder if all the technology we have is really worth it?  Would our lives be better or worse without all the modern conveniences.  I wouldn't mind visiting life like the Amish but I must confess, I really like my modern conveniences.  I like the central heating, a/c, electricity, driving a car, playing on the computer, hot water, and so on so I could only visit, I couldn't stay permanently.  It was a very interesting book though.  I read another by this author.  It was a Christmas book and it was really good too.  It was about a family who lived in North Carolina in Charlotte.  They were well off until the father lost his job.  He never told his family and managed to get scammed so they lose everything.  they planned then to move to New York to her parents who aren't really that nice of people.  On the way, the stop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and gets lost.  They get in a car accident.  The Amish man they almost hit offers them to stay at his house with his family.  They do and after a few weeks they find a new way to make money and choose to stay near their new friends.  It was a lovely book.  I think I will have Maggie read it too since I know she will love it too.  Kathy really liked it too.

I was super tired when I woke up today.  I felt so tired.  Every muscle in my body felt so tired and was moving so slow.  I finally feel a bit better.  It was just rather strange.  I will be heading to bed a bit early tonight to make sure I don't have that happen again tomorrow.  That is my hope anyway.