I knew I'd have an exciting choir story!
One of the fun things about going to festival is seeing all the different choirs perform, but it's also fun to be a little nosy and see what the other choirs are getting, what they are singing etc.
So today we went, and Rox (the director) and I went to headquarters to check in and see what was going on. We were looking at the sheet and this one choir got a NR (no rating). This choir is one of THE top choirs in our area. So we said.. what's up with that?!?! We found out that there is this small little rule that if you change your pieces you have to tell them a week ahead of time or you're techinically disqualified. They were also disqualifying another group because they sang a different piece out of the same movement. So, the rules were definitely in play and the judges were being pretty harsh.
Right before our last choir sang, Rox said, shoot we have oohs instead of the hmmm that's written am I going to get in trouble for that?!? One of the higher ups said, no don't worry about it. Well afterwards we went to get our rating and they had posted NR. They pulled in the top head lady and she said.. well Rox, I need to talk to you about that... and thus proceeded this explanation of oohs vs. hums... well... turns out... it was all a HUGE JOKE! The whole office was on it! I thought Rox was going to go through the roof, and I just kept thinking oh gosh, I have to ride back with her, but they were just being dumb with her.. thank goodness for that!! : )
so thats my choir story..
30 April, 2008
crazy life
Sometimes life feels crazy.
These last few weeks have just been totally insane around here. I've been running to about every choir program, concert, musical and everything else in the county it seems. Everyday is filled with "extras."
This morning I have state choir festival. Normally I drive myself to festival, but with the rising gas prices, I've opted to ride with the kids. NOT my first choice, but it will save gas which right now we don't have any choice but to worry about. So onward and upward towards a busride with highschoolers! :)
Friday I'm leaving for Chicago with one of the choirs I play for. We will be gone for the weekend. We are singing at a museum for about 45 minutes, and beyond that? everything is play. 2 broadway shows, shedd aquarium, several great resturants, shopping, lodging, and my grand total price?!?! 2 lunches on the road. yup, that's right! those are the "perks" of my job. A trip to Chicago virtually free of charge.
Mike has been busy with school and work. His job has been picking up and the last couple of weeks he has worked upwards of 55 hours. Between the two of us, our jobs, and our concerts, and church stuff, it seems we're never even home at the same time. We will get through it. I'm pushing through until June then it's SUMMER BREAK!
That's it for now. Maybe I'll have an exciting choir festival story later today! :)
These last few weeks have just been totally insane around here. I've been running to about every choir program, concert, musical and everything else in the county it seems. Everyday is filled with "extras."
This morning I have state choir festival. Normally I drive myself to festival, but with the rising gas prices, I've opted to ride with the kids. NOT my first choice, but it will save gas which right now we don't have any choice but to worry about. So onward and upward towards a busride with highschoolers! :)
Friday I'm leaving for Chicago with one of the choirs I play for. We will be gone for the weekend. We are singing at a museum for about 45 minutes, and beyond that? everything is play. 2 broadway shows, shedd aquarium, several great resturants, shopping, lodging, and my grand total price?!?! 2 lunches on the road. yup, that's right! those are the "perks" of my job. A trip to Chicago virtually free of charge.
Mike has been busy with school and work. His job has been picking up and the last couple of weeks he has worked upwards of 55 hours. Between the two of us, our jobs, and our concerts, and church stuff, it seems we're never even home at the same time. We will get through it. I'm pushing through until June then it's SUMMER BREAK!
That's it for now. Maybe I'll have an exciting choir festival story later today! :)
18 April, 2008
may thoughts
Today is one of those days..
The sun is shining, it's beautiful, and I should be happy that it's so beautiful, I should be outside enjoying the sunshine...
but I find that instead, my thoughts wander towards May... May 10th...
Tomorrow I should have been 37 weeks, and I have nothing to show for it. I have, what feels like at the moment, a giant mountain standing in front of me, and none of the right tools to get to the top. Instead, I have a can of Similac Formula sitting on my table that we got in the mail yesterday, with a note that said congratulations, you're almost a mom. And instead of joy, it reduces me to a puddle of tears.
Sometimes I wonder when it won't hurt as much. When I will be able to be truly happy for other people who are pregnant and not feel that twinge of sadness inside of me wishing it were us. And the crazy part?? I don't think it will ever go away. I think it will always be there in the pit of my stomach. Every May will be a reminder of what we should have had, what we once did have.
Just feeling it today, I suppose..
just wishing, hoping...
and trying to believe that one day it will happen for us as well...
The sun is shining, it's beautiful, and I should be happy that it's so beautiful, I should be outside enjoying the sunshine...
but I find that instead, my thoughts wander towards May... May 10th...
Tomorrow I should have been 37 weeks, and I have nothing to show for it. I have, what feels like at the moment, a giant mountain standing in front of me, and none of the right tools to get to the top. Instead, I have a can of Similac Formula sitting on my table that we got in the mail yesterday, with a note that said congratulations, you're almost a mom. And instead of joy, it reduces me to a puddle of tears.
Sometimes I wonder when it won't hurt as much. When I will be able to be truly happy for other people who are pregnant and not feel that twinge of sadness inside of me wishing it were us. And the crazy part?? I don't think it will ever go away. I think it will always be there in the pit of my stomach. Every May will be a reminder of what we should have had, what we once did have.
Just feeling it today, I suppose..
just wishing, hoping...
and trying to believe that one day it will happen for us as well...
17 April, 2008
Going "LIVE" in 5,4,3,2,1....
Can I just say I love going "live" in a performance?
This morning was our first show. We put on the show for some students from the districts alternative ed program. The girl who was playing Amneris (who is the egyptian princess) was being played by the understudy this morning.
Being an understudy is a difficult job because unfortunately you get no stage time and then you're on... She did a decent job. She missed a lot of cues, but we covered and we got through them.
Most interesting?
There is a scene where the princess is trying to seduce the prince. Meanwhile, the prince is having an affair with the Princess' handmaiden, so he is really not interested in Amneris. So, in an effort to seduce him, she throws her clothes onto stage from her bedroom. He is not coming to see her so she finally comes storming down the steps in a bed sheet.
She was walking around stage with the bed sheet and she went to walk back up the stairs, and the bed sheet came unraveled and off it came and there she stood... THANKFULLY she was wearing nude leggings and a nude tanktop underneath, but, from the house, she looked naked. If that's not funny enough on it's own... she was wearing her microphone pack around her waist, which was just a white velcro strip, and then the mic pac was in the middle of her back... and with everything position the way it was, it looked like she was naked on stage, wearing a white thong...
I felt terrible for her. She recovered the best she could, and kept going..
have I mentioned I LOVE going live??
You never know what's going to happen....
This morning was our first show. We put on the show for some students from the districts alternative ed program. The girl who was playing Amneris (who is the egyptian princess) was being played by the understudy this morning.
Being an understudy is a difficult job because unfortunately you get no stage time and then you're on... She did a decent job. She missed a lot of cues, but we covered and we got through them.
Most interesting?
There is a scene where the princess is trying to seduce the prince. Meanwhile, the prince is having an affair with the Princess' handmaiden, so he is really not interested in Amneris. So, in an effort to seduce him, she throws her clothes onto stage from her bedroom. He is not coming to see her so she finally comes storming down the steps in a bed sheet.
She was walking around stage with the bed sheet and she went to walk back up the stairs, and the bed sheet came unraveled and off it came and there she stood... THANKFULLY she was wearing nude leggings and a nude tanktop underneath, but, from the house, she looked naked. If that's not funny enough on it's own... she was wearing her microphone pack around her waist, which was just a white velcro strip, and then the mic pac was in the middle of her back... and with everything position the way it was, it looked like she was naked on stage, wearing a white thong...
I felt terrible for her. She recovered the best she could, and kept going..
have I mentioned I LOVE going live??
You never know what's going to happen....
16 April, 2008
Aida
I am playing for a musical right now at a local high school,
Aida, the Elton John version, NOT the opera. : )
The basic plot:
It takes place in Egypt. Egypt is at war with a neighboring country; Nubia.
The prince of Egypt, Radames, is engaged (arranged) to be married to an Egyptian princess, Amneris. While these countries are at war, Egypt captures several Nubians. One of the Nubians (Aida) catches Radames' eyes, and he takes her and gives her to Amneris to be her maid-servant.
Long story short. Radames and Aida fall in love. The affair is found out about, and according to Egyptian law, they must die. So, Amneris, who is still very much in love with Radames ,pleads with her father to let them die together, so they are buried beneaths the sands of Egypt.
Such a depressing show, but very poignant; very powerful.
It's a beautiful show and the kids are doing an amazing job... I however am EXHAUSTED. I have been in rehearsal every night for the past week and a half and the last two nights, it has gone until 10:30. Thank heavens we are "dark" tonight, meaning no rehearsal. Then it's onward and upward, with 2 shows Thursday, a show Friday, no show Saturday (because the kids have prom), and a matinee on Sunday.
I'll breathe a sigh of relief when I'm done...
but I LOVE what I do, and I LOVE these kids.
So, while the life of the musician, sometimes means really late nights, it is my passion and what I know I'm supposed to be doing.
I am SO incredibly thankful for the talent that has been given me, and the opportunity I have to work with great high school students each and every day.
Aida, the Elton John version, NOT the opera. : )
The basic plot:
It takes place in Egypt. Egypt is at war with a neighboring country; Nubia.
The prince of Egypt, Radames, is engaged (arranged) to be married to an Egyptian princess, Amneris. While these countries are at war, Egypt captures several Nubians. One of the Nubians (Aida) catches Radames' eyes, and he takes her and gives her to Amneris to be her maid-servant.
Long story short. Radames and Aida fall in love. The affair is found out about, and according to Egyptian law, they must die. So, Amneris, who is still very much in love with Radames ,pleads with her father to let them die together, so they are buried beneaths the sands of Egypt.
Such a depressing show, but very poignant; very powerful.
It's a beautiful show and the kids are doing an amazing job... I however am EXHAUSTED. I have been in rehearsal every night for the past week and a half and the last two nights, it has gone until 10:30. Thank heavens we are "dark" tonight, meaning no rehearsal. Then it's onward and upward, with 2 shows Thursday, a show Friday, no show Saturday (because the kids have prom), and a matinee on Sunday.
I'll breathe a sigh of relief when I'm done...
but I LOVE what I do, and I LOVE these kids.
So, while the life of the musician, sometimes means really late nights, it is my passion and what I know I'm supposed to be doing.
I am SO incredibly thankful for the talent that has been given me, and the opportunity I have to work with great high school students each and every day.
11 April, 2008
spring
Today it is 70 outside..
The sun is shining.
The windows are open, the breeze is blowing.
I wish it was always like this.. but alas the storm clouds are now rolling in....
but i'll take it, even in small doses.
Spring is on it's way.. : )
And to add to the spring facelift.. I've changed our blog background...
it's nice bright and springy.. ahhhh : )
09 April, 2008
April 9, 2005
April 9, 2005
Ganson St. Baptist Church
7:00 pm.
Dessert Reception to Follow.
He asked, She said Yes, They'll say "I do"
3 years ago today, Mike and I walked the aisle and said "I do" to a lifetime to have and to hold through better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, for as long as we both shall live.
I LOVED our wedding. I loved the candlelit service, I loved that we had tons of live music, thanks to all our music-ridden friends. I loved that Mike and I took some time to be by ourselves before the wedding together. I loved leaving the church to sparklers. I loved our reception, 30 cheesecakes all scrumptious!
But what I loved most of all, was that we finally got to say that we belonged to each other through everything, through it all. That he was mine, and I was his. That together would be stronger than we were apart. I was his bride, and he was my groom.
So 3 years down and, God willing, many many more to come.
I love you with my whole heart, baby!
Just a couple of my favorite wedding pictures.
Ganson St. Baptist Church
7:00 pm.
Dessert Reception to Follow.
He asked, She said Yes, They'll say "I do"
3 years ago today, Mike and I walked the aisle and said "I do" to a lifetime to have and to hold through better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, for as long as we both shall live.
I LOVED our wedding. I loved the candlelit service, I loved that we had tons of live music, thanks to all our music-ridden friends. I loved that Mike and I took some time to be by ourselves before the wedding together. I loved leaving the church to sparklers. I loved our reception, 30 cheesecakes all scrumptious!
But what I loved most of all, was that we finally got to say that we belonged to each other through everything, through it all. That he was mine, and I was his. That together would be stronger than we were apart. I was his bride, and he was my groom.
So 3 years down and, God willing, many many more to come.
I love you with my whole heart, baby!
Just a couple of my favorite wedding pictures.
Portrait. One of my favs!
SPARKLERS!
03 April, 2008
hoping is believing
Yesterday, Mike traveled back to Lakeview, his hometown, to do some banking and close out some accounts that we had been needing to do.
While he was there, he was able to meet up with his parents and have dinner.
During dinner, his mom handed him a package and said, open this with Jen when you get home.
While he was there, he was able to meet up with his parents and have dinner.
During dinner, his mom handed him a package and said, open this with Jen when you get home.
When we opened it last night, this is what we found.
A simple note said:
Hoping is Believing...
How true that rings for us.
01 April, 2008
spring break
It's Spring Break!
We have no plans, and I intend on capitalizing on that plan! :)
I have an ever so exciting life scheduled with extra laundry:
sheets, rugs, window washing... I know it's exciting right?
That's it.. no more plans, and feeling genuinely content with that.
We spent our easter weekend at the very very bottom. I felt like we'd been thrown back to square one. It was really really hard for us, hard on me, especially. In a different way, hard for Mike. I wasn't home when his brother called and he was left to tell me and then pick up the pieces of my broken heart. It was, however, a VERY healing time for us. We spent a lot of time crying together, talking together, and just really deciding how we wanted to move forward. In some ways, I know that I truly grieved for the first time over that weekend.
After our miscarriage, I pushed incredibly hard to keep moving. I never stopped and allowed myself to be sad. I felt guilty for feeling sad, because although it was real to us, it wasn't real to anyone else. I think the following sums up my keep going attitude:
We found out on Halloween we'd lost the baby. That night we participated in Trunk or Treat, which is a huge carnival for halloween our church does. The next day I played for a fall choir concert, and the following day, which was a friday, I went into the hospital for my D&C. That's how our life was. Following the weekend, that Monday I went back to work. I made the obligatory calls I needed to make and our life went on. While, perhaps pushing through was not the best method, at the time, it was the only way I knew how to deal with it all.
For a long time, I just did what I needed to do. It's a very dark, lonely, place to be after a miscarriage. I spent hours crying. I cried the day I packed away all of the maternity clothes we bought. Mike and I cried together when we stored away all the baby stuff that friends and family had gotten for us. (which we did several weeks later, because we couldn't bring ourselves to do it until then) Unless you've been there, it is truly an unexplainable time in your life. It hurts like you would never imagine, and I will not try to explain that here.
As we look towards the future. Simply stated: We are scared.
We are so completely terrified of this happening again. We don't want to lose another baby. I can't tell you how much it hurts to lose a baby you love so much, yet have never met. For me personally, it feels\felt like my body betrayed me in the simplest, most beautiful act, a woman's body can do. I'm scared to do it again, because, on a very basic level, I have no assurance that it will not happen again. For me... pregnancy ends in heartbreak, not joy, and that's all I know.
So.. we pray, we talk, and we lean on each other, knowing that God DOES have a plan for us, whether we understand it or not. God knows and understands our pain and we have to trust in that; have faith in that.
Because in the end, that's all we do have...
Trust and Faith in a God who is powerful beyond all measure and knows our deepest desires.
We have no plans, and I intend on capitalizing on that plan! :)
I have an ever so exciting life scheduled with extra laundry:
sheets, rugs, window washing... I know it's exciting right?
That's it.. no more plans, and feeling genuinely content with that.
We spent our easter weekend at the very very bottom. I felt like we'd been thrown back to square one. It was really really hard for us, hard on me, especially. In a different way, hard for Mike. I wasn't home when his brother called and he was left to tell me and then pick up the pieces of my broken heart. It was, however, a VERY healing time for us. We spent a lot of time crying together, talking together, and just really deciding how we wanted to move forward. In some ways, I know that I truly grieved for the first time over that weekend.
After our miscarriage, I pushed incredibly hard to keep moving. I never stopped and allowed myself to be sad. I felt guilty for feeling sad, because although it was real to us, it wasn't real to anyone else. I think the following sums up my keep going attitude:
We found out on Halloween we'd lost the baby. That night we participated in Trunk or Treat, which is a huge carnival for halloween our church does. The next day I played for a fall choir concert, and the following day, which was a friday, I went into the hospital for my D&C. That's how our life was. Following the weekend, that Monday I went back to work. I made the obligatory calls I needed to make and our life went on. While, perhaps pushing through was not the best method, at the time, it was the only way I knew how to deal with it all.
For a long time, I just did what I needed to do. It's a very dark, lonely, place to be after a miscarriage. I spent hours crying. I cried the day I packed away all of the maternity clothes we bought. Mike and I cried together when we stored away all the baby stuff that friends and family had gotten for us. (which we did several weeks later, because we couldn't bring ourselves to do it until then) Unless you've been there, it is truly an unexplainable time in your life. It hurts like you would never imagine, and I will not try to explain that here.
As we look towards the future. Simply stated: We are scared.
We are so completely terrified of this happening again. We don't want to lose another baby. I can't tell you how much it hurts to lose a baby you love so much, yet have never met. For me personally, it feels\felt like my body betrayed me in the simplest, most beautiful act, a woman's body can do. I'm scared to do it again, because, on a very basic level, I have no assurance that it will not happen again. For me... pregnancy ends in heartbreak, not joy, and that's all I know.
So.. we pray, we talk, and we lean on each other, knowing that God DOES have a plan for us, whether we understand it or not. God knows and understands our pain and we have to trust in that; have faith in that.
Because in the end, that's all we do have...
Trust and Faith in a God who is powerful beyond all measure and knows our deepest desires.
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