THANKSGIVING

This post is sweet and simple. I am FINALLY on my Thanksgiving break, and so I thought it would be nice to share some things I am thankful for (good practice for Thursday :)

I am thankful for:

A hair cut and a good hair dresser!! :) :)

Ok #2 Friends and family (haha! Just kidding..of course this should be #2)

Oh wait!! #3 GOD!! Ok...I'm not off to the best start here am I?? Let's start OVER!

#1 GOD, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, my Salvation in Christ, my church family, etc. (I think I covered my bases there)

#2 Family and Friends plus co-workers, teachers, mentors, in general..PEOPLE

#3 Good health

#4 A job...well, a few jobs.

#5 A roof over my head (well, 2 roofs over my head :)

#6 Clothes to keep me warm in the winter...and for central air and heat

#7 My grand piano :)

#8 My cat Tommy and dog, Jack (somehow I don't think they would appreciate coming AFTER the thing they hate hearing the most, but oh well...they can't read :)

#9 Surviving my first semester of my doctorate

#10 The beautiful snow-fall we got this past week..and for not wrecking my car in it

#11 For piano students who add joy and meaning to my days

#12 Hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream....CHOCOLATE!

#13 Pumpkin pie, turkey, and all the other great stuff we get to eat this week :)

#14 Internet and phone...the ability to keep in touch with people I other-wise would have no clue how they were doing right now...so, it DOES have it's up sides

#15 Free-will. The ability to choose devotion to God, and to WILLINGLY accept His grace He has to offer us. Also, the opportunity to make life-choices, although not always the right ones, and God's sovereignty which guides us when we get off track

#16 The ability to look at each day as a gift from God, and to live it in gratitude. To leave behind regrets and to anticipate the future and to appreciate the present.

#17 MUSIC(This feels like it belongs higher up). The ability to participate in it, share it with others, and reflect on one's self. My teacher has a wonderful saying. "The piano is not just an instrument with black and white keys. It's really just a big mirror"....think about it (it may make more sense to you if you play an instrument)

#18 CHRISTMAS DAY. The one day of the year that we can all get so excited about. The Christmas trees, ornaments, gifts, decorations, cards, and more. I am thankful that we have symbols such as wreaths and candles to make these days resonate with all of our 5 senses so we can carry the joy with us through-out the year.

#19 Remembering my dreams...it always gives me something fun to talk about the next day :)

#20 My dear bloggers who read my plain, no picture blogs and appreciate them anyways.

And now I must go... What are you thankful for this year?

Long Time...NO BLOG!

Hi there blogging friends!! Are you still with me? Hopefully I haven't lost ALL my interested readers...I know it's been QUITE a while since I checked in! I suppose since it's been such a long time since my last posting that an update is in order. And maybe some pictures soon after :)

1)I am now going into the last week of school before Thanksgiving Break! I only have one more week of classes after that, plus finals/concerto-preliminaries competition week, and then it's time for Christmas!!!

2)I am super glad the elections are over!! Perhaps not entirely excited about the outcome, but still glad they are O-V-E-R!!! Now comes the part where we all dutifully start or continue to pray for our country...

3) My diet has been at a stand-still! I'm finally getting back into woring out again. Mom's helping by cooking healthier meals when I'm home (and when I'm not home). I no longer purchase groceries for my apartment, so I try to eat-out inexpensively, or take a morning trip to Krogers for just that day, on the days I'm there.

4) One of my best friends is down to about 1 month until baby #3 arrives...I'm so excited for them!! :)

5) My Walk to Emmaus....that really needs to be a blog in itself. It was an amazing life-changing experience. I highly recommend you experience it at some point in your life, if you have not yet. They have one for men, and one for women.

6) Jon and I are back together again...and so the saga continues :) I'll be a woman of few words on this topic...just pray for us when you think of it!! Thanks :)

7) Did I mention school is almost over??!!! YIPEE!!!!! Oh yeah, and I got smart this time, after a whole semester of struggling over whether to continue the DMA degree program or not (which by the way, I'm not entirely finished struggling with) I at least wised up and signed up for 10 credits in the spring, instead of the SIXTEEN I took this semester!! No wonder I felt burnt out!!

8) My good friend Malorie visited me a few weeks ago. We hadn't seen each other in over a year! She's in the air force and just got re-located on the east coast...it's about time!! Not only did we have a great time together, but since she visited our friend Beth in Virginia, I also got my silly blue cow-girl hat back that I left at Beth's house in 2007!! AND, even more exciting, I get to be in a wedding next summer....beth and I both..in Malories!! We're very excited. It feels like the reunion of the three muskateers....watch out for those donut groomsmen cakes Mal!!! HAHAHA :)

9) I'm still stuck with my apartment in Morgantown, although I've been advertising around town, on line, word of mouth, etc. Just going to have to keep praying. I'm dealing with it by moving stuff home each time I come home (probably about 1/2 or almost 1/2 of my belongings are home now) and being away whenever possible. It makes the weeks a little more stressful than necessary, but then again, even if I had my own place, I think I'd still be out all hours of the night at the library, practice rooms, etc.

10) I've gotta go eat!!!

Hope that was at least minorly interesting to my bloggers...I'm going to try real REAL hard to get some pics on here soon!! First I've got a 15 min. presentation to get started, a concerto to work on, a movie to go see, a 15 page paper to right, and counterpoint assignment to finish...among other things :)

HOPE ALL IS WELL WITH THE REST OF YOU!! LEAVE ME A MESSAGE :)

Elizabeth (why do I sign my own blogs???Oh I don't know..but it feels right...