A NEW SEASON

As the leaves are turning on trees and the days are getting shorter, I am reflecting on all the different implications of "new seasons". God speaks of these seasons. In my life, I have entered a new season (or chapter). I've been quiet on here as so much has been going on. I STILL have my pending summer blog that hasn't been finished!! (IT WILL BE ON HERE SOME DAY!!!)

To sum up a few things, here is what my life looks like right now:

I am living in a new apartment in Morgantown, all by myself with wonderful peace and quiet :) The 2nd best part? It only takes a minute to get to school! (other might say that the 2nd best reason would be that I can park at home and walk to the football games but, I've never been a huge football fan....sshh.....don't let the player living above me know I said that!! :) :)

I am in year 2 of the my DMA program. I'm taking 2 heavy courses, one called Music in Transition and another Theory Pedagogy. Part of this 2nd class's requirements is to observe 12 Freshman and Sophomore Aural and Written Theory classes (3 of each) throughout the semester. So far, a kid fell asleep in the back of one class and this morning, a fire-alarm went off at the end of class....no dull moments yet!!! (except maybe for the kid snoozing :) What is most intriguing to me is not necessarily the lessons I observe but the uncanny feeling, watching these kids, fresh out of high school (hence, I supposed why they care called FRESHman! :) and realizing how old I'm getting! Seriously, some of these kids I think "there is NO WAY they don't have parental supervision! It's a different perspective, for sure! When the GA (graduate assistant) TEACHING the course is also YOUNGER than you, you really start feeling old :)

I'm in a state of transition with my church position. Without going into great detail, I am no longer the choir director at my church but just the pianist. Tonight I had my first interview at a church much closer and it went GREAT! They even gave me a gift bag just for moving my schedule to be there. They put me through the ringer, so to speak but, I feel I did well and that there was a good connection, personality-wise between the choir and myself. All I can do is pray and leave it in God's hands. They will let me know VERY Soon what the decision is

I have another interview at another church this Friday. Please keep me in your prayers

I just found out this week that I was elected President of the Student WV-MTNA Chapter (West Virginia Music Teachers National Association). It's a big job and I have soooo much more to do now on top of all my other responsibilities, but, it's a position I've wanted for a long time and am glad to do it.

I'm working on a 4-hand recital, a solo recital, accompanying 2 singers and need to begin learning a Mozart Violin/Piano Sonata for a 1/2 recital for a violinist. I'm also playing mv. III of Chopin's Concerto No. 1 for the Young Artist's competition at WVU---preliminaries in Dec. and competition in January (16th).

For those of you who are able to come, I'm planning on giving my solo recital January 23rd (a Saturday)---TBA time (I still need to get this date confirmed).

So, there is A LOT going on right now. But, I feel God is growing me in my faith and also teaching me that I have more abilities than I thought and challenging me to grow them more, as well.

For the visual pleasure of my readers (cause I KNOW I always talk way too much :) Here are some random pictures, the most recent I have on my pc, as of now. The first is from my mother's birthday, in July. The guy is my brother Dan :) (I don't have a lot of pictures with him so I thought this one was nice :) I think we didn't know we ran out of candles so mom got to be "1" again----you know what they say about growing old...it's your 2nd child-hood!! Haha :) (just kidding mom :) :)

This is from, I think our last day on the beach in Daytona. My mom and I spent the morning together shopping for some pretty ocean-glass jewelery and then, she braved her fear of heights to ride the little gondola (I'm not sure what else to call it) that stretched over the pier and out over the ocean. I like this pic of the two of us :) I was taking it with my hand which is why it's so close up and I think we're both a little "vacationed out" at this point but you know, you know you've had a great time when you come home "tired" from vacation! :)

So, that's enough for now. Thanks for reading and I promise to try and get that summer blog posted before the snow starts to fall :)

God Bless

A Week in My Life

I am always amazed at how fast the summer weeks and months pass by. No sooner am I out of school than the first month of vacation is almost over! No worries though. My family and I are looking at a very fun-filled summer ahead of us. Here's just a few things I've been doing this past week or two.

-I bought a new 24" iMac desktop pc last week. Ok, well, I'll be paying it for a while, but I still bought it! This is my new pc/t.v./entertainment system. It works really well with my i-pod, making videos and blogs and recordings is super easy, and the picture is really REALLY nice. Mom and I have watched 2 movies on it already. Now that I'm moving into my own place in two months, I'm looking forward to having a new way to conserve space (instead of having a t.v. and computer, I'll just give the t.v. to my brother or something). I can use my old laptop for taking notes in class or if I go on vacation and want to take a pc with me I can (or not! :) 

- I have been running. Trying to get in shaping. Key word...TRYING. Though the pounds and the inches have not budged, I have been getting faster. I was shooting for 15-16 minute miles. Then on Memorial Day I made 1.5 miles in 24 minutes, and the 1.5 miles back in about 21 minutes and 15 seconds. I pushed a little too hard. I was so out of breath and thirsty when I came in the house I couldn't speak. I spent about 4 hours after that sitting, playing with my mary kay makeup (my mom sells it) and just thinking "WHY did I do that to myself?!" after running I did 100 ab crunch/workouts, about 80 for each arm (using dumb-bells) and stretching. Wednesday I had a pretty good work-out at the YMCA, and for part of the run I was doing 10 minutes and even 9 minute miles! (not for the whole mile, of course). Tonight was my new record breaker. My stomach is feeling a little weird so it's good tomorrow I won't have time to work-out. I can rest my body. Tonight I did 1 mile out in 13 minutes and 1 mile back in just under 13. Then I walked a mile in 20 minutes (just cooling down).........some time soon this is all going to pay off!!! :)

-I went to my friend's house Monday for a memorial day picnic. I also fed the baby canned baby food. This is the first time I've ever done that! I couldn't believe that after all these years of being around kids and babies, I somehow missed that experience!

-I saw Night in the Museum 2 with my mom. Good movie! Better than #1!!

-I started my first week of musical rehearsals in Fairmont. Realized I'm in waaaay over my head!!! Been practicing A LOT!! 

-Been practicing 4-hand Brahms variations on theme by Haydn for friend's recital. Still have several other pieces for same recital, not yet begun.

-Been practicing solo recital music for MY recital

-Spent about 7 hours yesterday at church planning choir and piano music for church and getting all organized and prepared for the summer

-Spent much of today searching the internet for travel packages for our family

-Bought two pairs of sandals for the summer....one pair is really comfy flip-flops...I'm actually wearing them now as slippers :)

-Keeping Lurtle the Turtle alive :) He's been eating well!! (Needs a clean tank though....it's getting skummy  despite the filter)

-Erased all the music on my i-pod and am downloading music again on it through my new pc. I finally learned, after much trial and error and patience, how to categorize the music into albums and collections. Now I can actually find what I'm looking for on it! 

-Got a big scratch on my leg from walking my dog...he conveniently made a line across another scar on my leg that was from my cat from about 9 or 10 years ago...I now have an "x marks the spot" on my leg...just to prove that these animals really do run our lives!! 

-Babysat my friend's baby on Sunday. Had a really good time with that :) He's such a sweetheart and he was so good while they were gone! Made me want to have my own even more :) 

Going to bed soon to get up early tomorrow and drive to Maryland to visit my friend Jaime! Can't wait to see you!!!!! :) 

That wraps this up. I hope to have some good pics from tomorrow to share. 

God Bless!! 

Just a Better Picture

It dawned on me last night. The reason the last picture looks so bad is because I was sick! I was horribly sick that week with a sinus infection so I just looked tired in that picture. Mom took a pic. of me outside our house today. I have my hair down, took my glasses off and, I feel MUCH better! So, just felt like sharing. I'll put up a new picture in a month or two after I've lost some weight and then I'll REALLY be excited! :)

A New Season

Recently, while struggling with some big decisions, my piano teacher said something to me that was really funny, although so true at the same time! I was talking about making decisions (in regards to myself and someone else). He said (speaking in the 3rd person...as he LOVES to do in teasing his students :), "Yeah, why can't you just make your decision like me? Changing your mind isn't so hard! I do it all the time!" Then he made a comparison to my inability to stick with a decision to a smoker who says, "Have you tried to quit smoking? It's not that hard. I do it all the time!"

My teacher has put up with me for 5 years now. So, he knows me well!! That's 1/5 of my life that he's had to put up with my quirks, and I with his!

So, why am I telling you this? Well, because I have reached a point in my life where I'm TIRED of making decisions and changing my mind. I'm tired of looking behind me all the time, worrying if I've made the right decision or not. Today my pastor gave a really good sermon about worrying. He talked about how God doesn't want us to live that way and how we can turn our worrying into opportunities to pray over those things worrying us. Boy did this speak to me! I will make a decision, feel like a new woman, and at a moments notice, because of my worrying, I'll switch back!

Well, welcome to the NEW me! This girl has decided that God IS sovereign and that I need to stop worrying! He's guiding me wherever I go and, if for some reason I AM messing up, well, He loves me enough that He's going to fix it, some how:)

So, what kind of decisions have I made, lately? One, I got a new apartment this week! I'm moving in the 1st of August. I LOVE the place!! It's my first single apartment ever! I love the layout, the kitchen, the appliances, the location, having my own washer and dryer, the fact that I can have my grand piano there.....I LOVE IT..I LOVE IT...I LOVE IT!!!!! This was a very significant step in committing to my DMA program...to envisioning myself as the hard-working doctoral student I know I can be...as opposed to the wavering, tired, constantly driving, person :)

Secondly, I'm really focusing now on my playing! I got a gig this summer playing for a musical called, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". This is my first time doing something like this. It works perfectly around my teaching and church schedule, as well as vacation and moving time. I'm also working on my solo program for the Fall, my Rachmaninov concerto for the chamber recital, a 4-hand piano recital, and continuing learning organ and also my church music and preparing for piano camp coming up. So, I'm focusing on music! And I'm LOVING it!!! It's amazing how much energy one can put into something when they set their mind to accomplish something and stop WORRYING about everything else!!!

Ok, so a visual representation of my new commitment to being a worry-less, more committed individual. I got bangs! I haven't had bangs in over 10 years and I've really been wanting them! I also had partial blond highlights put in. I really like my new look! See, decisiveness can lead to more fun too!!!

So, here's a pic. of my bangs. My hair looked much better when I had it straightened. But, if you have curly hair you know that it's much more time-consuming than what it's worth, unless you're getting dressed up to go somewhere special (and the only place special I'm going this week is to my living room to practice :) Anyways, here's a pic, in case you care :) And yes, I know it's not one of my better pictures :) It was more like one of those, "ok, we're taking a picture of my bangs....smile!" pictures :) I look tired I think. Anyways, whatever! I'll have new pictures soon enough.


I guess that's it for now. I've been up late several nights in a row now and my body is screaming for sleep! Today I finished mowing the lawn (I spent 1 hour, 15 minutes mowing Friday night and took another 45 min. to finish today). Then I walked the dog 1 mile. Came home. Ran 2 miles (walked/jogged/ran). The first mile I did in 15 minutes and the second in 13 minutes. Then I walked another mile. Came home. Stretched and did some floor weights. Then sat and had a snack. Took a shower. Realized I am REALLY REALLY sore! And now I'm going to crash :)

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!!!

Words do not adequately express how happy and relieved I am to be finished with school! Ok, so I have one more 75 minute class on Thursday and we have to share our abstracts, and I've got more piano lessons to teach and 2 juries to accompany...but in my head, school is over! I have no more school assignments and the dreaded paper that was looming over me is turned in and out of my hands now!

What am I doing with this wonderful new time? Well, at this moment I'm sitting on my bed-room floor, in my P.J.s, typing this (why I'm not sitting on a comfy couch or bed...I don't know...guess I just felt like sitting on the floor tonight!). I'm about to go find something good to eat and watch "Eighteen and counting" on TLC (I really like this show...too bad there are not more positive Christian programs like this on T.V.!)
Then, I plan on getting LOTS of sleep tonight :) I'm not even going to set my alarm, and I'm going to turn off my phone so nobody can call me while I'm still sleeping like they did this morning! (or was that yesterday morning?)

I'm going to sit and chat with my mom who has had to put up with a cranky daughter the past few weeks who has not had much to say lately except "Hello" "Goodbye" and "Don't talk to me, I'm busy"...she deserves a nice, content "movie buddy" tonight :)

Again, I thank each of you (because pretty much the only people who read this are my good friends or relatives) so I know who you are and thank you for reading my blogs and praying for me. I can't believe I've finished 1 year of my doctorate already....I guess I just might make it after all!!!

God Bless and Happy Summer! ( I don't care if it's not "officially here" yet. In my rule-book, hot weather, summer clothes, and the first "Etnoyer strawberry shortcake dinner" initiates the beginning of summer! Now all I need is a good camp-fire and s'more party...sounds like a nice plan for saturday :)

UGH! THE SOUND OF STRESS (w/ a capital S)

Hi everyone. Sorry, but I don't have new exciting pictures of the beach or anything else. I just needed to vent a whee whee bit, and then get on with it. I have a 15 page paper due a week from Tuesday and I've been so busy there hasn't been much time at all to start the thing! So, I have TWELVE books/sources that need to be sorted through, skimmed, notes taken, etc. to form my outline and get started on this thing! Today I was gone all day teaching, a meeting, more teaching, and 2 rehearsals. Tomorrow I've got church, and about 3- 3.5 hours in the evening at church too for our last cantata performance! So, that leaves me NOW and tomorrow between 1 and 4 pm and at night, after the cantata to work on it. Monday I've got until I leave for teaching (I leave around 2:30 pm) and get home around 7:30, and then teach again until 8, and then have a couple of hours to work on it before bed. Tuesday...don't even ask!!! I go alllllll day looooong!!! Not to mention my piano lesson and organ lesson are both on Tuesday, of which I've practiced a LITTLE bit for, but also have music history tuesday and would like to come to class knowing I've at least started the paper! Wednesday I go to a junior high Christian school to accompany a choir rehearsal for their concert next week, then come back to the CAC (WVU) to teach until 6:30, then have studio 7-probably 8pm or so, then get home around 9 or 9:30 and have a couple of hours but have to be up early the next day to drive back to Morgantown a 3rd time for class. Then I come home, teach, then go to choir, work on the paper....oh yeah, I'm supposed to actually plan the choir's music in the next two or three days so I can have it in the church bulletin and practice/prep. for rehearsal! Hmm...I guess I could do that if I skip sleeping. Then Friday I teach, have some time during the day to work on the paper, but then in the evening teach 4 boys and then have Jon visiting me for the weekend...so Saturday and Sunday our OUT for working on the paper....then Monday I have the day time to finish it up, Monday night have to play for the junior high choir's first concert (I cancelled my teaching for that evening) and then Tuesday morning get up early go to class and turn in the paper.......

Think I can get it all done??? I honestly don't know! I know I'll probably do my best but I know a lot of other things are going to be left UNDONE this week for the sake of the paper...and sleep will likely be one of those things.

Ok, thanks for listening..or reading, or whatever. I'm going to start now...which is always the hardest part!!

LE TOMBEAU DE MURTLE

MURTLE THE TURTLE (March 2009-April 2009)
Sadly, this post is in memory of my little friend Murtle who was only with us but a month! As my brother nick predicted, he wouldn't make it til' Christmas...he didn't even make it to Easter!

So, here's the story. My first little piano student had just arrived at the house. As she finished her first page, I ran to my room to get her stickers...which she absolutely LOVES!! As I ran to my room to grab the stickers, I noticed one of the two turtles jump off the log into the water and I said "WOAH! Look at that!" Sara quickly ran to my room to see what it was and I left the room to get her focused on her lesson! Fast forward a couple of hours later. I'm jumping out of the shower, hurrying to get ready for the 7pm Maundy Thursday service and passover meal at our neighbor church. As I bend down to say hello to my little turtles, I notice one isn't moving.....uh oh! He's glued to the side of the filter! At first I think, "maybe he's relaxing...or napping...wait, turtles don't nap under water!" I quickly figure out that he is...GULP,.... DEAD! Then I start blaming myself! Thinking...oh, the filter sucked him in, or I scared him when I ran into the room too fast..or I didn't pay enough attention to him this week!! Oh poooooor little Murtle!!

I skooped him out with a tiny plastic fork, layed him in the plastic bag, set it on the front porch, and left for church.

When I got home, my parents were gone at their church. The plastic bag is gone now. I checked on little Lurtle. He seems lonely and confused :( I gave him a little snack because I feel bad :(

I'll miss you Murtle. You were a cute little friend! All the memories of driving back 15 hours in the car...the day we walked on the beach, the night in the hotel, the excitement of the new acquarium,.....we had fond memories...and I'll miss you!!

(Enter sobbing now)

Please exit this post quietly and with reverence