Overstuffed

May at Overstuffed

2013-05-16T19:53:00.000-04:00

Wow. It's been nearly a month since I have blogged. I actually really miss blogging and wish I could find the time to sit down and really write like I used to do. For now, some photos and video of the last month will have to suffice.

The last time I posted, I mentioned how my mother was flying in to bring the sunshine to the UP. The day that she flew up, we were expecting another gigantor snowstorm, named Zeus. I was so worried her flight wouldn't make it in and that she would be stranded for days in the Chicago airport. The weather forecast kept changing slightly, and the storm was expected later and later. Well, it started snowing pretty hard just after she took off in Chicago. They were told that if they couldn't land in Hancock, they would simply turn around and fly back to Chicago.

I obsessively watched the little flight tracker online. Can you see that monstrous storm? The blue was snow, and the green was rain. You can also see that there was a little tiny pocket of no storm action right where the airport is. I consider it a miracle. They landed without incident (well, unless you count how my mom lost her watch and stayed on the plane to look for it and then was locked out of our tiny airport and how I sort of freaked out that she didn't seem to be on the flight), and I had my mommy here for a few days.

The storm began in earnest shortly after we got home from the airport, and we woke up to another winter wonderland. Well, we were already in a winter wonderland, it was just whiter now. We had had so many snow days already that I wasn't surprised to see that school wasn't cancelled, but it really should have been since the streets hadn't even been plowed yet!
Because this is the bus that my children ride. (I did not take this picture; it was being shared feverishly on Facebook that day and made it onto the front page of our local paper the next day.) It never actually showed up to our stop--this is the stop a couple blocks before ours--and we ended up having to take the girls to school. Would a two hour delay have killed anyone? No. But trying to have the buses run in this weather might have. Yes. I was angry. Onto more pleasant subjects...

My mother really did bring the sunshine. The rest of the week was gorgeous.

We went to see Bria play in the advanced student recital. She played the Allegro from the Vivaldi Concerto in g minor. (I love how she dealt with the music falling off of her stand at the end there--I thought I might go up to help her, but I knew she would never forgive me, and she managed just fine!)

The snow began to melt. We even had a picnic table sighting in the backyard!

Then we had to say good-bye to Mamah. Her visits are never quite long enough. I felt like I hardly got to see her because I had to work so much while she was here, but I sure appreciate her coming out to help me and spend time with the girls.

The day after Mamah left it hit 70 degrees! We still had a ton of snow, but we got to go on a lovely walk with Puccini.
And Sophia enjoyed laying herself out in the oppressive heat (seriously, we were dying!).

All of the snow did finally melt. We had so many nice days all in a row, that it actually melted too fast and our basement couldn't quite handle it. Big flood. It's under control now, don't worry! And, no snow!

The main reason I haven't blogged is because, even though I'm done teaching "spring" semester, I have so much music to learn/memorize/practice for Pine Mountain. I am putting in a good 3-4 hours daily of practice and I'm still nervous about being totally ready for June 5 to roll around. I'm so thankful for the opportunity, though, and I am really loving immersing myself in music. I'm such a lucky girl.

The girls played in their first family recital. It wasn't easy finding something that worked for their very different levels of playing, and it REALLY wasn't easy getting them to practice together happily. I have a new found respect for Maria Von Trapp and the Osmonds and any other family music group because OH MY HECK doing one little number nearly killed me!
But, they did so well when it was all said and done! We will do it again, and though it may kill me, it will be worth it!

Then there was Mother's Day. I sure love Mother's Day! I was spoiled with a new dress, lots of cards and school-made gifts from the girls, breakfast in bed, and my favorite gourmet dinner.

From the Mother's Day book Sophia made at school.

Even though we woke up to a few inches of snow on Mother's Day morning (don't worry, it was all gone by the end of the day), I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful day.

Or more wonderful children.

A Day in the Life

2013-04-19T20:35:00.001-04:00

Today I:

Got up early to teach a make up lesson. This was the second make up lesson for this particular student because he kept getting canceled for SNOW DAYS. And there was a threat of today being a snow day, too. But it wasn't. So I braved the blizzard and went to campus to teach.

Came back home to my two sleeping beauties. I did not make them get up early for school because it was opening night last night for Fiddler on the Roof (remember how my girls all auditioned?) and they were Tired with a capital T. Bria, on the other hand, went to school on time because she hates missing any school at all and is angry at me when I make her go to orthodontist appointments or stay home because she is hacking up her lungs and has a 103 degree fever.

Got Misses Chloe and Sophia ready for school and drove through the freaking blizzard to be a good parent and get them to school. This is a video taken on campus at the same time I was driving the girls to the school, in case you don't believe me.

Came back home, sat down at my computer to read email, and immediately received an email from the school that the children would be dismissed early due to the freaking blizzard. At least they got to eat lunch at school. And have inside recess.

The view from my computer this afternoon.

Got some work done while I waited for my girlies to come home from school.

Sent them promptly upstairs to rest up and watch a movie when they got home.

Talked to my mother on the phone for 45 minutes. She's coming to visit next week and is worried since it's the NEVER ENDING WINTER. But she brings the sunshine when she comes, so she HAS to come. The entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan is counting on her!

Braved the blizzard to shovel the driveway. I worked for a 1/2 hour without much progress, and I couldn't get the snow blower to start, so I called Joel crying. He tried to talk me through getting the snow blower to work, but there was no success. I finally got off the phone, sucked it up, and cleared the driveway. I have to say it was heartening to look down the hill and see my neighbor, whose husband is out of town, doing the same thing. We are amazing women! Give us a Yooper Scooper and we can conquer the world.

No, I am not doing research in Antarctica. Just trying to shovel my driveway in the Yoop during the Never Ending Winter of '13.

Drove the girls down to the university so we could eat dinner there with the Maestro.

Helped my three little actresses get into costume and make-up. I stayed for the show last night, but we had other plans for tonight. Hopefully we don't have to clear too much snow to go pick them up later.

This photo is actually from last night, but they looked about the same tonight. Aren't they wonderful?

Now, I will go watch a movie with my husband (our original plans for tonight were canceled for weather)(gee, I wonder why?) so he will stop watching news coverage about the Boston Bomber.

Happy Friday!

PS No obligatory feel sorry for me because I have so much snow photo today. Because, you already do feel sorry for me. And, someone told me on Facebook today that I WIN FOR THE CRAPPIEST WEATHER IN THE WORLD! I am appeased.

In Which I Feel Sorry for Myself and Think You Should, Too

2013-04-11T23:10:00.004-04:00

You all know that I have been having a bit of the winter doldrums lately. It's inevitable when it's been winter for six months and spring still seems to be an idea someone just made up to make you feel better about the three feet of snow that are still on the ground on April freaking eleventh with a winter storm warning for the next two days that is predicted to bring up to fourteen more inches of heavy snow that will be "difficult to shovel."

(The winter doldrums also cause me to speak in run-on sentences.)

So, naturally, whenever anybody who does not live in my area complains that spring hasn't arrived yet, I get annoyed. Because I know they've had a few nice days with that thing called sunshine, and I also happen to know they have NO SNOW ON THE GROUND! (Friends in Minnesota and the Dakotas, I am not talking about you.) And whenever I see these complaints come across my Facebook feed I want to type YOU HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT! LOOK AT ALL THE SNOW I DEAL WITH! MY WINTER IS LONGER AND MORE HORRIBLE AND MORE AWFUL THAN YOUR WINTER! I WIN FOR WORST WINTER! ME, ME, ME, FEEL SORRY FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

But I don't. Except sometimes I say something a little snarky, maybe. And then I feel bad. Because, really? Everybody is entitled to put their pouty pants on sometimes.

But I am allowed to wear them more often than you! Because I have more snow AND I live further away from a temple.

Yeah, that's right. I live further away from a temple than you do.

So General Conference was last weekend. For those of you who do not share my faith, this is when every six months we all stay home from church and watch a total of eight hours of meetings broadcast from Salt Lake City spread over Saturday and Sunday. And it is wonderful. Anyway, one of the things that happens each General Conference is the announcement of new temples to be built. We all look forward to this announcement with bated breath, because it is so amazing to watch the growth of the church as temples are built all over the world.

Ever since I moved here, I have watched this announcement with even more anticipation than usual because I love the temple and now we are a seven hour drive away from one (or a 45 minute flight). I always say a little prayer that this will finally be the conference where they announce a temple to be built in Green Bay. Green Bay is still four hours away, but that would mean two or three temple trips per year instead of just one.

And then they didn't announce a temple in Green Bay. They announced one in Cedar City instead.

Maybe you know that I used to live in Cedar City. Which is about an hour away from a temple right now.

And then I started seeing the posts come across my Facebook feed about how exciting the Cedar City Temple news was (and it is!) and about how it will be so very nice not to have to make that excruciatingly long trek down to the St. George temple anymore. And I had to sit on my hands so I wouldn't type things like YOU HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT! LOOK AT HOW FAR AWAY I LIVE FROM A TEMPLE! MY DRIVE TO A TEMPLE IS LONGER AND MORE HORRIBLE AND MORE AWFUL THAN YOURS IS! I WIN FOR FURTHEST AWAY FROM A TEMPLE! ME, ME, ME, FEEL SORRY FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

And then I started listening to my thoughts a little bit. And I remembered what it was like to live in Cedar City. I remembered that I lived there for three years, and Joel and I did not make it down to St. George very often for the express purpose of going to the temple. In fact, we probably made it once a year, and I'm very embarrassed to admit that.

I started realizing that I have no right to judge all those Cedar City residents who are excited to have a temple in their own town. They deserve a temple. And it IS a long trek down to St. George. It wasn't easy for me to make it down there because something else always got in the way. In some ways, it's easier to have to drive all the way down to Chicago, because we have to make a whole weekend of it and it's a little harder for something to get in the way of that.

So, I decided maybe it was time to take off my pouty pants (they've been on far too long) and realize we all have something to pout about. And even if my winter is longer than yours and my temple is further away, I'm quite sure you can come up with many things in your life that are more horrible and more awful than they are in mine (maybe even that you have a longer winter and are further from a temple)(because maybe you live in Antarctica). So pout away! I will no longer demand that the whole world feel sorry for ME ME ME!

And then when I start feeling sorry for myself, I'll remember all the great things about living where I live. Like, now that it's "spring," it stays light until 8:45 pm! On April freaking eleventh! I love that! And when it's summer it's light until nearly midnight! MY SUN SETS LATER THAN YOUR SUN DOES! I WIN FOR MOST LIGHT IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER! ME, ME, MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I may feel differently if I wake up tomorrow morning to a snow day, which, according to the weatherman is extremely likely. But even if it is a snow day tomorrow, I promise not to wear my pouty pants for too long. Just a few hours, and then I will take them off and find something wonderful about the snow.

My obligatory please feel sorry me because the snow refuses to melt photo. But you don't have to feel sorry for me for very long, because it was actually really fun to watch the girls enjoying themselves in the snow this afternoon. At least, it was until Joel came home and said "no more monkeys jumping off the deck!" And yes, Bria is a true Yooper. She is also in middle school and dontcha know it's not cool to wear actual coats? Or gloves?

Carry On Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed

2013-04-08T21:12:00.002-04:00

If you are a mom and you participate in Social Media, you have heard of Glennon Doyle Melton. Unless you were living under a rock (or unless you are one of those people who never click on the posts you see 100 times in your news feed), you most likely read her blog post "Don't Carpe Diem" when it went viral last year. And you probably loved it.

I did.

It was one of the most validating things I'd ever read on the internet as a mother who is just trying to do her best, but doesn't always enjoy every. single. moment. of parenthood. Who probably doesn't even enjoy most of them. I absolutely loved loved LOVED Glennon's thoughts on this. I love my children. I adore my children to pieces. I would do anything for my children. But. I don't enjoy many of the things motherhood entails.

Anyway, because I loved that essay so much, I agreed to be on the tour for Glennon's new book: Carry On Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed. Even though I am trying to wean myself off of book reviews and have done a huge amount of them lately.

And it was so worth it.

I cried a lot during the first part of this book simply because I related so well to her experience. No, I don't relate to the fact that she is a recovering alcoholic and bulimic. I relate to her movement through life: A person who has weaknesses, who is a mother that wants what is best for her children, who is a follower of Christ. She really thinks a lot about what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be a mother, and what it means to have weaknesses and to lift and help each other.

Which is what the book did for me. It made me want to be better. A better Christian. A better mother. A better daughter. A better friend. A better person--one who lifts and helps instead of judges and shuns. Someone who makes the world a better place.

If you haven't read her Don't Carpe Diem essay, go read it now. And then order yourself a book. Or comment here, because I have one to give away to one of my amazing readers.

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I was provided a copy of the book by the publisher via TLC Booktours.

The End of an Easter Era

2013-03-31T17:44:00.001-04:00

Me and my girls, Easter 2013. I have never felt compelled to match myself to them, mostly because I don't look so good in the little girls' styles I have often picked. Also, I feel the need to note that I am wearing 4" heels in this photograph and LOOK HOW TALL BRIA IS!

If you've been reading this blog for longer than a couple of years, you are well aware of my affinity for matching my girls on Christmas and Easter. I mean, why have three daughters if you can't even dress them alike for important holidays, right?

I've been expecting it for a couple years now, but it finally happened. No more matching. Bria is simply too tall, and I hate the idea of only matching two of them. So, no matching Easter dresses this year.

Let us all observe a moment of silence for the end of the matching Easter dresses.

And then let us all pay homage to the dresses of years past (I did dress Bria and Chloe alike for the three Easters they had before Sophia came along, but I didn't have a digital camera then, and I'm not dealing with my scanner right now, so you can just imagine those years...):

2007: Sophia's first Easter. The dresses didn't match exactly, but they were pretty darn close!

2008: Oh yes, I discovered The Children's Place that year!

2009: Same dress, different colors, gorgeous girlies.

2010: Oh how I loved these outfits. And those shoes! Couldn't you just die?

2011: Not my favorite dresses. It's when I realized Bria was perhaps growing out of this tradition. Also, please excuse Sophia, who wasn't feeling very cooperative that day.

2012: We went with a style this year that was more appropriate for Bria's height and age, yet still worked for the other two. And we got a puppy!

Easter pretty much snuck up on me this year. I was expecting it in April. And heck, we still have three feet of snow on the ground, and it snowed again today. And it's Easter? Anyway, when I realized it was actually Easter Sunday this weekend, I got my butt over to the JCPenney (which is pretty much all I have close, unless you count WalMart and ShopKo) to see what could be bought. And seeing how it was just this past Wednesday, I count myself lucky to have found ANYTHING, much less three dresses that coordinate nicely together.

Because if I can't match, I will at least coordinate, by golly!

And, lucky for me, I found dresses that coordinated. They also worked nicely for each girl's individual personality (comfy lace for Bria, polka dots for Chloe, and a cheetah print belt for Sophia, who is obsessed with cheetah print). It was like it was meant to be. It was nothing short of a miracle. (Not to diminish the miracle of Easter, which is the whole reason I needed these miraculous dresses.)

Sophia's dress is sleeveless, and I ordered a shrug for her, but it didn't come in time. Oops, I did get dinged for my procrastination after all! She is wearing one of Chloe's shrugs, which I do believe was originally Bria's from Easter 2009. It's slightly too big.

Of course Pucci had to get in on the action! And did I mention that Bria is 5'6" now, and that her feet are BIGGER THAN MINE? And that I wear size 9.5-10? What?

Because I haven't posted a picture of Puccini on the blog lately. She just got groomed on Friday and she's cold. Hence, the sweater.

I hope you all had a beautiful and happy Easter!

Here is my obligatory please feel sorry for me because it is Easter Sunday and I still have three feet of snow in my backyard. And feel sorry for Puccini, too, because she has to go out there and freeze several times a day. At least a bunch of the snow melted this weekend in our sizzling 36 degree temperatures!

Firmoo Eyeglasses Review

2013-03-26T19:40:00.002-04:00

I've always wished that I could afford to just have several pair of glasses to choose from. I have to wear either contacts or glasses, and I thought it would be nice to be able to wear glasses that coordinate with what I am wearing--or even glasses to match my mood!

So I was kind of excited when Firmoo contacted me to review a pair of their glasses. Yay! A new pair of glasses with the same prescription as the ones I got in December. I have been a little wary of the cheaper glasses that are online, even though friends have tried them and been pleased. But to be able to try them at no cost at all to myself is the way to go, and I have been pleased with Firmoo!

Here are my new frames. I really like them, and I have received many compliments on them whenever I wear them. Which is more than I can say for my other pair. I liked that Firmoo has a virtual try-on system where I could upload a photo of myself and try on the frames. It wasn't perfect, but it did help me decide on this particular pair.

You might be able to tell from the photo, but I have a pretty heavy prescription (though my eyes have randomly gotten better the closer I get to 40!), and these glasses came with the standard 1.5 index lenses, because they were free. I made sure to get frames that were thick enough to hide the thickness of the lens, though there isn't much I can do about the distortion when you look at my face through the lens.

I love that Firmoo sent with my glasses both a hard case and a soft case. And I was pleasantly surprised that they sent a handy little eyeglass repair kit on a keychain as well. How cool is that? It's in my purse awaiting the first eyeglass emergency, which for our family of five glasses-wearing people, is a matter of when, not if.

Firmoo offers new customers their first pair free. Free pairs, as noted above, come with the standard 1.5 index lenses, so be aware of how your prescription affects this. If you have a heavy prescription like I do (about -7.0 with astigmatism)(it used to be -9.5!), you will want thicker frames. Call your eye doctor to get a copy of your prescription if you don't already have one, as you will need to enter it online once you have chosen your free frames. Click here for a video tutorial to show you how to sign up as a new customer and order your first pair of free glasses (you must pay shipping).

Paying customers do have the option to get higher index or polycarbonate lenses for a little bit more. And with an average frame price of around $25.00, it still is much cheaper than the glasses I just got in December. What with the lighter lenses and the designer frames, they came to over $400.00! $75.00 is an absolute steal for a prescription like mine.

I'm seriously going to order a few more pair, just to fulfill my dream of having several to choose from! I'm going to start with these frames first, and then maybe get these ones. Whatever I decide, I'll definitely be doing business with Firmoo again!


Here is my obligatory please feel sorry for me because my snow banks are taller than I am and I am not short picture for this post. I am allowed because I am demonstrating the ridiculous amount of snow in front of my house while wearing my new Firmoo glasses.

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I received a free pair of glasses from Firmoo.com in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

Spring Break Getaway

2013-03-19T15:35:00.000-04:00

For Christmas, I purchased Joel two tickets to the Chicago Symphony. 2013 is the 200th Anniversary of Richard Wagner, and orchestras all over the world are dedicating programs to his music. The Maestro couldn't be more thrilled, as he is somewhat Wagner-obsessed. In fact, his orchestra did its own Wagner tribute a few weeks ago, and Joel delighted in teaching a captivated (or possibly just captive) audience all about the terrible man with the sublime music. One of my students attended the concert and noted that "your husband has a little man-crush on Wagner, hey?"

Indeed he does.

Which is why I bought him tickets to see Pierre Boulez (famous conductor) guest conduct the Chicago Symphony play Wagner. Because I am not a Wagner fan and can think of hundreds of composers I'd rather listen to before I sat through a Wagner concert. But, it was Christmas, and I kind of like the Maestro, so I was willing to sit through it just this once.

Sitting through the Wagner Concert. Which also included an entire violin concerto by Schoenberg (my brain hurt after that one) and some Mahler, which I liked.

The concert took place this past weekend. St. Patrick's Day also took place this past weekend. Now, before you tell me how crazy we were to attempt Chicago on St. Patrick's Day weekend, let me plead my case.

I am not Irish. If I have any Irish heritage, I don't know about it, and nobody ever made a big deal out of it. Or a little deal out of it. Which tells me that I am probably not Irish.

I am also not Catholic. Nor do I have any Catholic heritage. I'm a Mormon. My Dad's family is pioneer stock Mormon. My mother is a convert, but her family is Protestant. Her grandparents were Methodist missionaries in China. Her other grandparents emigrated from Germany, where they were presumably Lutheran (just a guess, I'm not the family genealogist). No Catholicism in my family! (Joel cannot claim the same since his father was raised Catholic, but this is my case we're pleading here.)

I have never celebrated St. Patrick's Day with any sort of fanfare other than maybe wearing green if I remember. It just seemed a pointless holiday to me (see above about not being Irish or Catholic before being offended) and I have enough to do in my life without constructing Leprechaun traps or making sure the Leprechaun leaves us gold. I don't know when that became a thing, but it isn't a thing at my house.

So, when the traffic became ridiculously heavy about fifteen minutes outside of downtown Chicago, we wondered what was up. We've done the drive a few times, and generally the traffic isn't too bad on a Friday afternoon. Was it spring break traffic? Was there an accident ahead? Was there some big event in Chicago this weekend? Surely everyone wasn't flocking to the city to see Wagner, especially since the famous Boulez got sick and somebody else was conducting in his place.

After an hour and a half that should have only taken fifteen minutes, we found a spot to park and we headed straight to the American Girl Place. Yes, we can't seem to keep ourselves away, even when the girls aren't with us.

Chloe's birthday had been a few days before, and she had been wanting her doll's ears pierced. So, since we were going to be in Chicago a few days later, that was an easy birthday gift. We quickly got her ears done and stopped for a brief photo op with Saige (2013 Girl of the Year) and her awesome balloon (which I can't fathom actually buying for my child, because, where would you put it?).

We did a bit of shopping around and then headed over to Ghirardelli where we got our obligatory ice cream. We do love us some Ghirardelli! (No picture, but if you would like to see Joel enjoying Ghirardelli at other times you can go here or here. Or here!)

It was time to get ready for the symphony, so we drove the less-than-a-mile to our hotel. It took us forever because Chicago was unusually crammed with people. We still didn't know why. While we were inching along, we decided we'd better walk to the Symphony Center, because sheesh!

So we did, and we made it just in time. (I'm still a little sore from that speed walk in heels, actually!)

Afterwards, we ate a small dinner at the CSO restaurant, Tesori. MMMMmmmm. And then we walked back to our hotel. The thing I love about walking in big cities at night, is that it doesn't really seem like night. Lots of light, lots of people, who knew it was nearly midnight?

And that's when we started noticing the unusually high amount of people wearing shamrocks and leprechaun hats. But we still didn't make the connection. Not until we walked to a Starbucks the next morning to eat breakfast (because even though we paid fifty thousand dollars for our downtown hotel, they didn't offer a continental breakfast). The entire city was GREEN. Everyone in it was GREEN. We could have even gotten a free green beer at Starbucks if we wanted! But who wants green beer for breakfast, anyway? Especially if you're a couple of Mormons who are clueless about St. Patrick's Day.

After a quick Google, I realized that the parade was starting any minute and the river was even dyed green. We opted out of the festivities, and headed to the temple. How I love the temple!

On our way down, we stopped in Green Bay for Joel's new recommend, since he had lost his when his wallet was stolen in Seattle last month. Funny how there's always something that seems to keep you away when you try your best to go, which for us is twice a year, if we're lucky. Once in Utah, and once in Chicago (7.5 hours away...if you live near a temple, think of me and then get yourself over there!)

But we were lucky (must have some Irish blood after all) and managed to get Joel a new recommend and the temple was open and everything, so we enjoyed a lovely session in the temple. And nobody was wearing green at all, which made me feel better about not bringing my green shirt to Chicago with me. Because I only have one green shirt.

Then we shopped and stuff and just enjoyed being together. Before we left Chicago, we did have to snag some Deep Dish Pizza. And they DID have a gluten-free version, though it was thin crust, so I was a happy girl. I think Joel may have been even happier, though.

After dinner we drove to Green Bay and crashed in a stinky motel there. We arrived around 1:00 am, so we had a nice sleep in, and then headed home the next day. As always, I'm so thankful to have friends who are practically family and don't mind taking on our children for the weekend!

And since I don't think spring will ever actually come where I live, I'm super grateful that we got to see it in Chicago. Even if it was over St. Paddy's Day.

I took this this afternoon. It's my obligatory please feel sorry for me because I am buried under ten feet of snow photo. Spring is supposed to start tomorrow, you know. Obviously, it isn't going to, even though Sophia is sure that the first day of spring means NO SNOW.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

2013-03-14T21:18:00.001-04:00

It's spring break right now for the University. In my mind, I thought Joel and I would get a whole lot of great stuff done around the house, and I had lots of plans for us. Of course, as is typical of me, I really didn't think this through.

Monday turned out to be a snow day. What the what? That was unexpected. It also turned out to be Chloe's 10th birthday. Also unexpected. The part about her turning ten, I mean. Where did that come from?

Result? The girls were home, obviously, so the house got messier, not cleaner. We did play a lot together as a family and I personally spent a lot of time lying around reading. We celebrated Chloe's birthday in style. Nice day, but nothing "organizational" was accomplished.

Tuesday and Wednesday I spent all day performing with OPERAtion Imagination! at local Elementary schools. I sort of forgot this was happening when I made all of my grand plans for spring break projects. Hmm. Joel used the time to adjudicate a band festival on Tuesday and to run around doing important errands like getting a haircut and a new driver's license to go with it on Wednesday. (Upcoming blog: How Losing Your Wallet in Seattle Teaches You How to Get on a Plane Without Proper Identification.)

Result? I wasn't home, so nothing got done. Joel wasn't home, so nothing else got done, either.

Today (Thursday) I woke up with a migraine, so I stayed in bed longer than originally planned. Much longer. Joel, regardless of his "spring" break, had work to catch up on. I then taught a make-up voice lesson and did my Visiting Teaching. Joel had the oil changed in the car.

Result? Nothing got done.

And here we are on Thursday evening, blogging instead of doing. I can't even say that's a normal state of being anymore, since nowadays I read instead of do, or sleep instead of do, or stare at walls instead of do. But the poor old blog is getting neglected and is inadvertently turning into a book review only sort of place. Nobody wants that to happen, so here I am blaming the blog for not folding the laundry.

Now don't get your hopes up, because nothing will get done tomorrow, either. The Maestro and I are escaping to Chicago for a couple days, and we will be spending the day tomorrow driving, stopping in Green Bay for Joel to get a new temple recommend (please see upcoming blog post about losing your wallet in Seattle) and to eat lunch, driving some more, getting Chloe's American Girl Doll's ears pierced at American Girl Place for her birthday, shopping, eating deep dish pizza (think they'll have a gluten-free version?), and listening to Wagner at the Chicago Symphony.

Saturday we'll hit the temple and do some more shopping, and we'll come home on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it all, even though it means coming home to a house that has not been thoroughly organized and spring cleaned during spring break.

But, does this look like spring to you? (I took it yesterday.)

I didn't think so. Better luck next time.

PS: I'm hearing rumors that the fabled St. Patrick's Day Storm is coming right on time this year and dropping up to 18 inches on us. Where the heck am I supposed to put all that snow?!

Square Peg

2013-03-07T16:45:00.002-05:00

I participate in a Facebook group where the discussion centers largely around learning differences in students, and ideas for helping those students receive an education that works for them. The group was born when a friend of mine met a lot of resistance from both her child's teacher and the school/school district in trying to get her daughter help. She also met plenty of resistance from the educational system in trying to figure out why she was struggling in the first place.

I've learned a lot about 2E children (2E=Twice Exceptional, meaning simultaneously gifted and learning disabled) from that group and from doing my own research. I have often suspected that my Bria has a minor learning disability, even while being extraordinarily gifted in some areas. We went through an especially difficult period with her in the fourth grade, and, with a lot of work on our part, she has risen above many of the difficulties she encountered then. She's a determined--and very smart--child who now makes As and Bs, and has a goal to go to BYU. She just has to work really hard for those grades in certain subjects (cough cough math cough cough).

Anyway, being in this Facebook group has really opened my eyes to the struggles many of our students face in the classroom today. It's truly amazing how the system can fail so many of our children, and yet still be good-intentioned.

Square Peg - My Story and What It Means for Raising Innovators, Visionaries and Out-of-the-Box Thinkers, by L. Todd Rose is a great book with great ideas for our modern classrooms. Todd Rose was himself a 2E child. And the system failed him. He tells the story of how he was given a poetry assignment, and because he actually enjoyed writing poetry, he did it. His teacher failed him, thinking he had cheated, since Todd didn't try on any assignments, as a general rule. Even when Todd's mother plead his case to the teacher, the teacher held firm to the failed grade.

This story made me so angry! And even though that was probably 20-30 years ago, things like this still happen quite commonly in our educational system.

Rose's book is simultaneously a memoir and a textbook which teaches parents and teachers how to cater to individual learning styles. He has great ideas for using all of the technology available today to help the students that struggle in a traditional learning environment. I liked how he had 'Big Ideas' and 'Action Items' after every chapter. I liked even more that the action items often included things like "give your child a hug!" Rose, who was diagnosed with ADHD as a youth and consequently dropped out of high school with a 0.9 GPA, is now a faculty member of the Harvard School of Education. His story is inspiring, and his ideas for our children even more so.

I highly recommend reading this book if you are looking for ways to help a child who isn't flourishing in a traditional school setting. I would also recommend it to parents of children who have been diagnosed with ADHD, as a big part of the book centers on that particular condition.

I have one copy to give away--comment here if you are interested!

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I was given a copy of the book by the publisher via TLC Book Tours.

The Power of Starting Something Stupid

2013-02-28T18:13:00.001-05:00

When I first agreed to review The Power of Starting Something Stupid by Richie Norton, I didn't really think it would apply to me. My limited understanding of the content was that it would be about taking risk and starting something, like a business. I, personally, do not dream of starting a business, nor do I have any great ideas for an invention. I am not an entrepreneur, nor do I have any aspirations to become one.

But, after having read this book, I can tell you that I WAS WRONG.

This book was very inspiring to me, and possibly just the thing I needed to read at this point in my life. While its principles can certainly be used by someone who has a great idea for a new product or business, it applies to anyone who has dreams. And I have plenty of those.

For instance, I have one particular thing (and I guess I think it's silly--or stupid--enough to feel like I don't want to tell you what it is) that I'd like to do that has been sort of hanging out in my mind for several years now. I don't have the first clue how I'd start to accomplish this thing, but I haven't stopped thinking about it, even though I have certainly tried! Richie Norton's thoughts on the matter have made me realize that maybe this is something I really need to do, and I should start looking at it more closely.

I was especially motivated by the chapter on procrastination. Perhaps if you are regular reader of my blog you know that I have procrastination issues. I am really good about doing everything BUT what I should be doing. I accomplish the most when I am avoiding some big task. In fact, I emailed Richie last night to tell him I'd be a little bit late with this review because I had to work more this week. Which is true, since I have a million lessons to make up from our blizzard days last week, but what it really comes down to is that I PROCRASTINATED. (Yes, even after reading this wonderful book I still procrastinated--if only we could change by simply reading something!)

The chapter on authenticity was equally inspiring.

I plan to read this book again, with more careful attention to the ways I will use these ideas in my own life. I also plan to hand it off to my husband, as this is just the type of book he loves, and I know he will gain a lot from reading it as well.

Do you have a stupid idea? A dream? Something you'd really like to do in your life, but aren't sure how? Then you should read this book.

The book is available for purchase at Amazon or Deseret Book. I would also highly recommend that you head over to Richie Norton's website and poke around. You'll be inspired by this man who obviously practices exactly what he preaches.

And as for my idea? Well, if it ever bears fruit you'll know about it. I promise.

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review. The opinions expressed are my own.

In Which I Overanalyze Les Miserables, the Film

2013-02-25T15:07:00.002-05:00

The Oscars were last night, and Les Miserables came to a theatre near me just in the nick of time. Living in a small town like mine can be frustrating where the Academy Awards are concerned, because when you already don't watch R-rated films, you don't get to see many of the nominees. And then when your (very small)(non-stadium seating)(ONLY) local theatre decides that films like Lincoln and Les Miserables aren't worth getting on opening week, well...you don't get to see many good movies, and are often lost during the Oscars. Though it's still fun to watch.

So, on Saturday night we went to see Les Miserables. You may remember a post I wrote way back in July in which, prompted by Anne Hathaway's rendition of I Dreamed a Dream in the trailer, I admitted to being a music snob.

Many of my friends didn't agree with me about Anne's performance, most often citing the (valid) reason that "Fantine has been through so much! She's down-trodden, sick, and dying. How can she possibly sing well after all that she has experienced?"

To that I say, "Have you ever seen an opera?"

Two of opera's most beloved heroines, Mimi (La Boheme) and Violetta (La Traviata), die of tuberculosis. And they are perfectly capable of singing very high notes beautifully seconds before they succumb to the illness. Because it's an OPERA. People sing beautiful high notes in all kinds of down-trodden, sick, and dying situations in opera. Nobody would want to go see a Mimi who decided to portray her consumption realistically and actually sang like she was dying. That isn't the point of opera.

But Les Miserables isn't an opera, right?

Sort of.

The definitions of opera and musical theatre blur a little bit in the case of shows like Les Mis. Because everything is sung and there is no spoken dialogue actually written into the book, many people believe that Les Miserables is technically an opera. And if that were the only difference between opera and musical theatre, those people would be right.

But there are many other differences, which means that Les Miserables is actually musical theatre. We call it "sung-through" and it shares this category with shows like Rent, Miss Saigon, and Evita. (On the flip side, there are operas, like Mozart's The Magic Flute, that contain spoken dialogue.)

Still, my issues with the movie lie in the fact that this is a musical that is entirely sung.

In theatre, there exists a threshold of verbalization. Basically, this means that the actor remains silent until the need to communicate via speech becomes so strong that the actor crosses that threshold and speaks. In opera and musical theatre, there is also a threshold of vocalization. This threshold is higher than the threshold of verbalization and means that an actor's need to communicate through song must be stronger than the need to communicate through speech.*

"Music is what feelings sound like" is a popular quote that musicians (myself included) like to use to show how music allows us to feel more deeply, and to put some sort of tangibility to our emotions. If you are going to sing, you must be able to sing in such a way that the emotions can be understood through the music, and through the singing voice. It is not enough to just act the same way you would with spoken dialogue. It is an entirely different process.

The composer has already given the singer everything. Our job is to figure out why specific notes, dynamics, rhythms, etc. were written. Then we use that music, and our voices (which we have spent years learning how to use properly) to bring the emotions to life. But we have to have the ability to sing softly in order to make use of the composer's direction to do so. We have to have the ability to change timbre, sing in tune (at one point during the movie the Maestro leaned over to me and whispered, "Does pitch matter in this show?"), crescendo, and so much more. If we do not have that ability--that technique--in place, we cannot truly cross the threshold of vocalization.

"When one wants to find a gesture, when you want to find how to act onstage, all you have to do is listen to the music. The composer has already seen to that. If you take the trouble to really listen with your Soul and with your Ears--and I say 'Soul' and 'Ears' because the Mind must work, but not too much also--you will find every gesture there."

~Maria Callas

Ultimately, I felt that the actors in Les Miserables did not have the ability to cross the threshold of vocalization because they simply did not have a strong enough singing technique to do it. Instead, they used the acting skills that made them the big names that they are.

Anne Hathaway acted the crap out of Fantine. Her acting was superb. She deserved the Oscar last night, and I mean that. But, if she had had the singing chops to really become Fantine through song? To really show Fantine's despair through the music and not just acting? Her performance would have been so much more than it already was. She has a nice enough voice, but her lack of breath support was enough to limit her ability to show emotion through singing in a big way.

Russell Crowe, another marvelous actor, would have made an amazing Javert in a version of Les Miserables where singing wasn't required. As it was, he had to concentrate so much on his singing, that his acting suffered. I feel he did the opposite of what Anne Hathaway did, and didn't even try to act the crap out of Javert. He just did his best to sing the notes and stay in tune (and he wasn't always successful). Consequently, the suicide scene, which could have been so freaking amazing on film (did you SEE that bridge and that water?) fell short because Crowe was so staid in his singing. He couldn't use his voice to show the emotion, and it felt like he was afraid to try.

Hugh Jackman did an admirable job, but I didn't like his rendition of Bring Him Home. There was no subtlety of emotion in it, because the notes were too high for him and he he had to work too hard to sing them. It resulted in a pushed performance, in my opinion. (And what was up with the new song? Probably just a grab for an Oscar nomination, which was the end result. I was disappointed to have a new song added and one of my favorites--Little People--cut.)

Amanda Seyfreid, who was fine in Mamma Mia! because it wasn't nearly as vocally demanding, simply shouldn't have been given this role. Cosette is the operatic role in Les Miserables. It is high, and classically sung. Amanda did not have the breath technique to do it, and her vibrato was fast and Snow White-ish, and it detracted from the performance.

Marius, played by Eddie Redmayne, had similar issues, though he ended up creating his vibrato entirely in his neck and head. It was both distracting to watch and to hear, though I thought he had one of the nicer voices in the show, vibrato issues aside.

Samantha Barks, who played Eponine (how can I get a waist as tiny as hers?), did an honorable job as well. Eponine is a belt role, and while I would have liked to see more from her, she nailed the end of On My Own and I enjoyed her performance of A Little Fall of Rain.

Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen were hilarious. It's really too bad they couldn't have sung the roles the way they were meant to be sung, because it would have been so much funnier.

The guys who played Enjolras and Grantaire (Marius' friends) were very good singers with Broadway experience (and cute, too!--especially Enjolras). Because they had nothing holding them back musically, they were my favorite characters in the movie.

Besides Gavroche. Who is always my favorite character in this show. And the boy they had playing him did a superb job. The young Cosette was pretty darn good, too.

And let's not forget the cameo appearance of the original Jean Valjean--Colm Wilkinson--as the Bishop. He's gotten old, but it was lovely to see him in the movie.

All of that said, I enjoyed the movie. Really. The singing issues, which I am very aware would not bother the majority of the population, did not detract so much from the story that I couldn't appreciate the amazing work that is Les Miserables. I cried. It is a wonderful and epic story of justice and mercy, hope and redemption, love and beauty.

It's just that it could have been so much better if Hollywood didn't think that singing is secondary to acting. That's all.

And, no. I have no idea how I would have cast this show. That's why that isn't my job. My job, apparently, is only to write long blog posts about why the musical wasn't all it could have been.

And if you felt it was your job to read this, I thank you.

*I learned about these thresholds from Dr. Matt Bean, who was a professor of mine at BYU. I took a class from him called "Acting for Singers" and it was one of the most amazing classes I have ever taken, even though fear was struck into my heart every time I crossed the threshold into the classroom (hardy har har). He wrote an article in the 2007 NATS Journal entitled "Why is Acting in Song so Different." I love that article so much that I make all of my students read it and I talk about it way too much.

BlogHer Book Club: A Good American by Alex George

2013-02-21T07:30:00.000-05:00

A Good American is the beautiful tale of Frederick and Jette Meisenheimer, their immigration from Germany to the small town of Beatrice, Missouri, and the lives of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Alex George has such a wonderful ability to make music out of the English language, that it isn’t surprising at all that the novel revolved around music of all kinds. The descriptions of jazz and barbershop were so perfectly composed that I could actually hear the music as I read. The first scene, in which he describes the very musical meeting of Frederick and Jette, pulled me right in and I couldn’t wait to find out the rest of the story.

“In the end he had chosen to ambush her with an aria, “Che gelida manina,” from Puccini’s opera La Boheme. The opening lines translate as “Your tiny hand is frozen”—not especially appropriate, given that Jette’s hands were not, even by the most charitable standards, tiny; they were also rather clammy, due to the unseasonably warm weather. Still, Frederick knew what he was doing. When he had finished his song, he stepped out from behind the hedge and thrust a concoction of lupins, dahlias, and pansies into Jette’s (big, sweaty) hands. By then, caught squarely in the crosshairs of Puccini’s gorgeous melody, she was helpless.”

Regular readers of my blog will know that I adore Puccini (I named my dog after him, after all!) and opera. How could I not love a book that starts like this?

And I did love it. In fact, I gave it five stars, which I only reserve for books that change me. And the Meisenheimers did just that. The story of Frederick and Jette's family is an opera unto itself: It is as epic as Wagner, as funny as Rossini, and as tragic as Verdi. But most of all, it possesses all of the gorgeous melody of Puccini.

I am posting this review as part of the BlogHer Book Club. Join the conversation!

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This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Blizzard Day!

2013-02-19T23:11:00.003-05:00

Last night we had a snow warning, and the other University (not the one we work for) preemptively canceled all classes for today. A friend and I were texting back and forth, wondering if we would have a snow day or not today and made a bet of our favorite Easter candy (Cadbury eggs for me and Reese's eggs for her). I thought we'd have a snow day, and she had no faith.
This is the view from my bedroom window this morning. Needless to say, I won the bet. I'm sure looking forward to those Cadbury Eggs!! ;)

So the girls' schools called a snow day around 6:00 am, but the University which we work for, did not. I was happy that my first lesson was out of town so I would have a little more time to dig out and get ready, but when Joel went out to snowblow for me, he came right back in and said "You're not going anywhere." I looked out myself and saw a seven foot drift against our front door, waist-deep drifts in our driveway, and zero visibility in all directions. The plow hadn't even come by yet! Joel was right, I wasn't leaving the house.
The back deck also had high drifts, and more snow on it than I've ever seen in all of our previous (three) winters here. Poor Puccini had to go so bad, and I shoveled a little spot for her on the deck, which was fine for number one, but she likes to do number two in a very specific place. So, she burrowed into the snow and got herself there! Crazy puppy! I wish I had had a video of that!

I canceled all of my lessons, and, thankfully, the University finally got smart and shut down at noon, so I didn't feel too bad about it in the end. The county also pulled all the plows off the roads around 2:00 (only one ever came by my house) and most businesses shut completely down. I've never experienced anything quite like it.

So, what did we do with our blizzard day?

The girls:

Played on electronics.
Did not practice their instruments.
Played dolls.
Played on electronics.
Read for a while.
Did some chores.
Played on electronics.

Joel:

Studied music scores.
Reluctantly canceled orchestra rehearsal tonight (concert next week--ouch!).
Made fresh guacamole.
Made orange muffins.
Made gluten-free lemon muffins.
Cleared snow.
Made a gourmet dinner of chicken and asparagus, with various dipping sauces (peanut, sweet&sour, cheesy).
Studied more music scores.
Made homemade chocolate pudding.
Cleared snow.

Lara:

Stayed in my pajamas.
Ate chocolate, plus everything else the Maestro made.
Deep cleaned and rearranged my living room. (We shall see if that lasts.)(Both the cleaning AND the new arrangement.)
Made my children do chores.
Spent far too much time on Facebook.
and
Edited photos from our trip to Seattle this past weekend.

Do you want to see some of them?

We went for my brother's wedding. It was a small courthouse affair with only immediate family present, but it was one of the neatest weddings I've ever attended. It was wonderful to meet my new sister-in-law and see how happy Dave is. It was also wonderful to spend time with my other two brothers and my parents. And, I got to go shopping in a real mall, too!
Joel and I took Sophia with us, while the other two girls stayed in Michigan with friends. She loved seeing her favorite cousin on my side, who is only a few months older than she is, and she loved meeting her new cousin (Dave's wife's son) too. The judge let them sit in his seat and even play with the gavel!
My siblings and me, along with our spouses/significant others. It's rare that we are all together--Jon lives in Utah, Dave in Seattle, and Nate in Arizona. Then there's me way over here in Michigan!
And with mom and dad, too. (And the judge in the background there--he gave the most wonderful ceremony!)
My brother and his beautiful bride.

And now, I will go to bed where I will catch up on my shows while the wind blows and the snow continues to come down. But before I do, let me leave you with this photo of Joel starting to clear the snow on the driveway tonight. As a reminder, he is not a small person, and yes, that is actually our driveway.
I fear that we will have at least a delay tomorrow, and while the thought of making up all the lessons stresses me out, if we DO have another snow day, I will try to at least get my taxes done.

Because if I don't do something productive, I'm sure I'll just stay in bed until spring.

Three Great Kids and a Screw-up Mom

2013-02-13T23:50:00.000-05:00

I have been feeling like a pretty crappy mom lately. Despite all of my attempts to have a calmer life and devote more time and energy to the things that really matter (my children) and less time and energy to the things that maybe don't matter as much (the Perfectly Clean House), I still have a crazy life. And I realize that I am not the only mother in the entire universe who has an insane schedule. I'm sure that all six of you who are reading this blog also have very full calendars and no time to fold laundry. That's just how it goes. But since this is my blog, I'm going to complain about MY overstuffed life.

And I am trying to be okay with it. I really am. Change what I can and accept the rest, you know? I am trying to learn balance. And I am failing miserably this week.

Today I was seriously tempted to go sit in a corner and rock back and forth while ignoring all that was required of me. You'll be happy to know that I resisted that temptation, and instead got out of bed, put on my lipstick and mascara and tromped off to work where I taught three lessons. It would have been four, except one was sick (tender mercy), and I used that time to practice for my upcoming stuff which I should totally have memorized by now, but when on earth I am supposed to memorize Italian arias? Beats me! Then I walked over to the cafeteria, where I had a lunch meeting for my other job that I don't talk about much on this blog but have to do nonetheless.

After my oh-so-filling lunch that consisted of a banana and a gluten-free granola bar, I dashed off to the elementary school where I helped Sophia and her classmates make a Valentine's project. One would suppose that such a project would have tipped me off to the fact that TOMORROW is February 14 and that maybe I should have thought about making/buying Valentines for my children to hand out in class. But, it didn't.

After all of the cute first grade projects were finished, I dashed off home, where I let the dog out of her kennel and ran around the house cleaning what I could, and then I loaded Puccini up in the van to run errands. Like going to the bank. I deposited some checks and Pucci got her doggy treats (she knows the word "bank," you know) and then we ran over to pick Joel up and off to Girl Scouts. I am the co-leader for Sophia's troop, and today was our meeting.

After girl scouts, I put my chauffeur hat on and dropped off and picked up each of my girls at their various musical endeavors: Youth orchestra, piano lessons, group violin.

It was when I picked up Chloe from piano lessons that I realized that I didn't have Valentines. That I haven't even THOUGHT about having Valentines. OHMYGOSH! What kind of a mother doesn't remember VALENTINES? And since when did I become that mother?

We had about 15 minutes before we had to pick Bria up from orchestra, so we ran to the nearest grocery store where they did not sell any Valentines. Or--more likely--they were out of stock since it is February 13. We were just about ready to buy Easter candy to give out for Valentine's Day, when I finally saw some cute heart-shaped suckers. But it was nearly 6:30 pm and our day was FAR from over, and I had no idea what we would actually do with the suckers. But I bought them anyway, and went on my not-so-merry way.

We ran home and shoveled dinner in our mouths (how thankful I am for a husband who happily cooks dinner while I am chauffering!) and ran out the door yet again. This time to take my three daughters to their very first rehearsal for Fiddler on the Roof.

My three girls auditioning for Fiddler on the Roof. Sophia is in the pink snow pants, Chloe is next to her with the blue boots, and Bria is right behind Chloe.

You might wonder why on earth I have allowed them to be in a musical when, clearly, I can't handle it. I wonder the same thing. But they were all dying to be in it, and how could I deny them such a wonderful experience? And, folks--they even sang SOLOS at the audition. In front of people. My children. My children who have an opera singer for a mother but who HATE singing in front of people themselves even though they sing all the livelong day at home. Okay, so Chloe doesn't mind the singing in public thing, but Bria and Sophia would rather stick forks in their eyes than sing a note for a person who doesn't share their same DNA. But they did it! My heart nearly burst with pride when Bria got up and sang some Taylor Swift song about throwing remotes and football helmets. She turned a little pink and looked like she might cry at any time, but her voice was clear and beautiful, just the way it sounds when she thinks nobody is listening. And Sophia sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and it was quiet and cute and perfect and I couldn't believe she did it and so I cried. I was just so dang inspired by the way those two conquered their fears and did something that scared them to death because they really wanted to be in a play.

And that is why I let them be in the musical, even though it's just one more thing on our schedule. So I stayed with them for a while at rehearsal, (man, they were adorable!) and then I went to book club where I got to be with friends and recharge my own batteries a bit.

I came home only a few minutes after the girls had settled in bed, so I went upstairs to kiss them good night. I listened to them tell me all about rehearsal and the songs they had started to learn and how funny the lyrics were (...and marry whoever Papa picks!). They eagerly showed me the Valentines they made all by themselves with the pink and red cardstock and heart stickers I dug out for them before I left for book club. They were happy. Ecstatic, even. They certainly didn't care that I didn't buy them cute Monster High Valentines or make the Perfect Crafty Valentines. They had a wonderful day in spite of my imperfections, and I looked at my three wonderful, beautiful, amazing daughters and started to realize that maybe I'm not such a screw-up of a mother after all.

Until I got downstairs and realized that nobody did their homework this afternoon.

Ah, well. I can live with being a screw-up. I've gotten pretty used to it.

Breathing a Sigh of Relief....Hello, February!

2013-02-01T18:09:00.000-05:00

Just a few somethings I picked up to go into the girls Valentine Mailboxes this year.

I woke up this morning knowing that it was February the first, and you have absolutely no idea how happy that made me. It didn't matter that it was still butt freezing cold outside (back to subzero temps for the next few days), or that we got another million inches of snow overnight. What mattered is that it is NOT JANUARY ANYMORE.

Now that it is February, I begin to crawl (or claw) out of hibernation. I'm looking forward to our new mailbox tradition that we began last year, because it's fun to see the girls excited about something. I'm looking forward to flying out to my brother's wedding in mid-February, because it will be nice to get out of the north pole (pray that the flight gets out) for a while.

I've been wanting to blog about a few things here and there the last few weeks and have simply been unable to find the time. However, due to my new abundance theme, I am grateful for my lack of time. It means I am spending less time being depressed in bed, because I have things to do and places to go.

(Insert smooth transition into the next, sort-of related topic which I am too lazy to figure out right now.)

Last Friday, I watched a live masterclass given by world-class mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. I was very inspired by it in my professional life, but she said something that resonated with me in ALL areas of my life, and it is exactly what I was trying to say when I chose my word (Abundance) for 2013.

"I prefer to spend more time strengthening my strengths rather than conquering my weaknesses (within reason)."
~Joyce DiDonato

Do you not LOVE that? She was speaking about her strengths and weaknesses as a musician and performer, but this is how we must approach life.

So, in the week since watching that class I have thought mightily on what my strengths are. For instance: I have very perfectionistic tendencies. Rather than see that as a weakness, I am choosing to see it for the strength that it is, without letting it become a weakness.

I cannot keep my house perfectly clean right now. It is a virtual impossibility with four other, much-less-perfectionistic-where-the-house-is-concerned people living here. But, I can be perfect in a few areas, and I chose my office, my bedroom, and the living room. This is not overwhelming, and those are areas that tend to get out of control really fast while I am worrying about the rest of the house.

The kitchen just doesn't stay clean unless we decide to fast for three days. So, I am allowing myself to be okay with a less-than-perfect kitchen. Instead, I am going to be perfect at doing the dishes for a half-hour every day when I get home from work. Sometimes this equals getting them all done, sometimes it doesn't. It all depends on what the Maestro decided to make for dinner or breakfast. But I can stay on top of it, I am still being "perfect" when I put in my 30 minutes, and I can walk away from the rest.

The list goes on, and encompasses more areas of my life than just housework, I promise. But I am finding that by focusing on my strengths I am happier. Maybe because I'm letting my weaknesses, and the inner voice which constantly recites them to me, fade into the background. I don't know. But I'm happier, and that is a good thing.

So here's to strengthening our strengths.

And here's to February!

Here, here!

Abundance

2013-01-21T21:36:00.002-05:00

Abundance.

That is my word for 2013.

I have a very simple explanation for it:

It seems that most of my New Year's Resolutions focus on all of the things I am not. All of the things I don't have. All of the things that are out of my reach for one reason or another.

Sometimes it's taxing to focus so much on the don't haves. This year I want to focus on the haves.

Because even though we are in debt--still paying for Joel's schooling and Chloe's birth, most notably--we have so very much. Even if our paychecks went down a bit this year because of all of the fiscal cliff mumbo jumbo (which I promise I don't take lightly), we have so much in comparison to much of the world.

Even if I am not entirely pleased with things like my weight or my INability to keep the house perfectly clean, I have many, many talents which I do well and don't struggle with.

I want to focus on the things I can do, and do them better than ever.

I want to focus on the blessings I have, whether they be spiritual, physical, financial, or familial.

And that's it.

This year, I won't worry about what I can't do because there are so many things I can do.

So here's to an abundant 2013, in which I am more grateful than I have ever been.

For I have been richly blessed.

Happy New Year! (An Accounting of 2012)

2013-01-12T00:24:00.001-05:00

My family looking forward to the New Year. Yes, I know you covet the green stove, but don't covet it from me because it isn't mine! I covet it, too. Thanks to Tim, our neighbor and friend, for taking our family picture and for having such a cool fireplace.

Obviously, the New Year is a time to reflect upon our goals and resolutions. Every year I think about my weaknesses, and how I want to improve and set my goals accordingly. The last few years I have chosen a word of the year, and I have liked how that has worked.

Lighten Up! was my "word" of 2012. If you say it really fast, it really is one word: Lightenup! See?

Anyway. I tend to be overly serious and critical of myself, so I wanted to first Lighten Up! and be more friendly to myself. Maybe allow myself to have a little more fun without worrying about all the items on my to-do list and/or the dirty dishes.

I wanted to lose weight (as I always do, every New Year of my entire life) so Lighten Up! also applied to the number on the scale.

I wanted to see the number on the debt part of our budget Lighten Up!

I wanted to Lighten Up! my mood. The SAD that gets me in the winter is rough and I really hate it.

I hoped to cut the clutter in my life a bit. To get organized and Lighten Up! all the stuff.

And most of all, I wanted to learn to say no and to Lighten Up! my dang schedule.

So how did I do?

Okay, I guess. I am still far too critical of myself. I still let myself look in the fat mirror far too often. But, I have made many strides in learning to make peace with who I am, and, more importantly, where I am in my growth.

I did lose weight. I learned that I needed to eat gluten-free to help my thyroid function better, and I did really well at going to the gym. Having a friend go with me made a huge difference in getting myself there. And that particular friend is such a light person, that she helped me overcome some of my seriousness regarding my weight. And everything else. Unfortunately, I fell apart during the middle of the year and had some serious issues with my foot and exercise became non-existent. After a few months I was able to start it up again, but not to the extent I had hoped. I became a green smoothie addict after receiving a Blend-Tec for my birthday. And, though I was able to maintain my gluten-free diet with no problem (you would be able to do it, too, if when you ate gluten you became as sick as I do!), I won't say that I ate as healthily in December as I had the rest of the year. So maybe I gained a little weight back, but I'm still at a net loss, so I'm accepting that.

Oh the debt. I hate it so! We paid more off than we ever have. But we also began to pay for braces, went on an Epic Vacation, had our washer and dryer die, and had to replace our water main. So it didn't go as well as I had hoped. But it could have been worse, and I am grateful we were able to pay for all of the aforementioned with cash. And in September I began to use YNAB for budgeting, and I think we may have paid down more debt the last four months of the year than we did the rest of the year combined. (It also helped that I took on a much larger work load, also beginning in September.)

Did I overcome SAD? Well, no. The way I've been feeling the past several weeks is definitely evidence of that. But I'm always working on it. I did get a dog this year, and silly as it sounds, Puccini has helped with my depression tendencies more than anything. Even on the days where I have a really hard time getting out of bed, just having her cuddled up next to me (she doesn't get up until I do) makes me feel better. I am working on some new natural remedies and am resolved to use my SAD light more often than I do. I'll get through Black January if it kills me.

I hate clutter almost as much as I hate debt. If it were up to me, we would not have all this stuff. Stuff overtakes our lives. Unfortunately, I live with four other people, and they have stuff and I have stuff and we all have stuff and clutter happens. I made some great strides this year. I donated lots of boxes to Goodwill, Consignment, and friends with girls who are younger than Sophia. My office was very organized--for a while. Though it is difficult to actually keep it that way, it is now much easier to pull it out of the mess than it used to be. So that's something. I have lots of big ideas to get my house more streamlined and clutter-free, but I lack the time to implement them all. Which brings me to the next point...

I think I finally learned to say no. Realizing that saying yes to everything meant saying no to my family, gave me the will to turn things down more easily. Unfortunately, I have not yet learned how to back out of the things I have already said yes to, so perhaps I will now work on learning to do that graciously. My schedule is still quite overstuffed, but at least it isn't quite bursting at the seams and I have the courage not to add more to it.

Two other goals I had for 2012 were to participate in Project 365 and read 52 books. I rocked at Project 365, unless you count posting them. I diligently took a picture every. single. day. of the year (I may have missed one or two, and I lost one when my iPhone died a terrible death, too.) The pictures I have posted (about half the year) are here. Maybe it will be one of my 2013 goals to actually finish putting them all up. I plan to put them in a book, too. For now, I'm a little relieved that I don't have to take a photo every day.

As far as the books, I ended up reading only 37, but some of them were really long. I just wish I had more reading time, though if I traded in all of my Facebook time, I probably would have more than enough. My goal is only 40 this year...a bit more realistic.

Could I have done better in 2012? Of course. But I did okay, and I am at peace with that.

And yes! I have goals (and a word!) for 2013, but I'm afraid this post is already way too long. And though it may seem that one of my goals might be to blog less, I will try to at least write that post. Heh.

Had Ourselves a Merry Little Christmas

2012-12-29T16:42:00.000-05:00

I just re-read my post recapping last year's Christmas, and I guess nothing ever truly changes. Christmas is always sneaking up on me, there is never enough time, and I took even fewer pictures this year than I did last year. And I didn't take many pictures last year!

But, no matter how sneaky and busy Christmas can be, we always have a lovely time when it comes right down to it.

We begin our traditions on Christmas Adam, and this year, we ended up spending about five hours that day making and handing out treats to neighbors and friends because I procrastinated it until the very last second.

Sophia ran upstairs before we left and came down decked out as a holiday elf. She was loved everywhere we went, though she kept asking me why everyone kept saying she looked just like an elf. Since that was her original plan, I'm not sure why she was so surprised, but she was certainly adorable.
After we finished delivering fudge and peppermint brittle, we put on our jammies and our new silly Christmas socks to watch George C. Scott's A Christmas Carol. That is our Christmas Adam tradition, and I love how important these little traditions we have gradually started are so important to the girls every year.
On Christmas Eve, we had our friends over for dinner and dessert. They brought over their Christmas jammies to open, and then we all listened to Amahl and the Night Visitors together. I'm thankful they were willing to share that part of our Christmas Eve tradition with us. I love listening to this little opera every year, and I love how much the girls are beginning to love it, too.
We all slept upstairs together in the playroom, 'cause that's tradition too! I'm so thankful for children who value their sleep and sleep until 9:30, even on Christmas morning! We saw what Santa brought, ate a lovely (gluten-free!) breakfast of pannu kakku (just use rice flour instead of all-purpose), sausage, and eggs, and settled down for gift opening.

Puccini wasn't quite sure what all the fuss was about, though she did enjoy her own gifts of bully sticks and new squeaky toys. She also found all of the wrapping mess to be a comfortable place to take a Christmas nap.
After gift opening, we started food preparations for our annual Christmas dinner with friends. We didn't host this year, but we had a lovely time with wonderful company.

And now I am treating Christmas break with as much laziness as is humanly possible. I was one worn-out woman before the semester ended!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are being just as lazy as I am during your vacation.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

To My Six-Year-Olds

2012-12-20T14:12:00.001-05:00

Last week's Newtown Tragedy has upset me more than almost anything I can think of in my life. I was happily doing some Christmas shopping on Friday when my mother texted me and asked if I had seen the news. She gave some brief statistics and I sat in my car in the parking lot, absolutely horrified. And then I began to sob uncontrollably as I thought of all of those sweet, innocent children whose lives had been taken. I thought of their parents and the absolute and indescribable grief they were surely feeling. Today, I think of the children and teachers who survived. The first responders (I don't even want to imagine). Nobody will ever be the same. I, who doesn't know a soul affected by the tragedy, will never be the same. I have shed tears over it on a daily basis, as I know many of you have. It has affected all of us.

I have a six-year-old. Sophia, my first-grader, is bright and happy and amazing. I love watching her learn to read and write. I love hearing her stories about her friends at school. I love her indomitable will, even though it is often exhausting. I love her pout.
I love how she won't let me take her picture, even though I also hate that she won't let me take her picture. I love her passion. I love the way her smile lights up her little face. I love how she heard her first grade teacher mention it was her birthday, and she insisted upon taking a present for her the next day. And I love how she asked before she gave it to her, just to make sure, and found out her teacher's birthday was actually in July and brought the present back home because she was embarrassed.
I love how she can navigate the iPad and the computer and the iPhone with an expertise that I will never have. I love how she still sneaks down in the middle of the night to climb into bed with me. I love how she puts together crazy outfits for the next day at school and sleeps in them to save time in the morning. I cannot get her to wear PJs anymore except on the weekend (remember her indomitable will?), but whatever, it saves me laundry I suppose.
I love watching her play her violin, even though getting her to practice is nearly as difficult as getting her to wear her pajamas. I love the questions she asks me every fifteen minutes, always wanting to learn something new, and showing just how deeply she thinks. I love how she gives me a hug and kiss in front of all of her classmates whenever I show up to volunteer in her classroom.
I love that I could keep writing this list for another hour and come up with a million more things I love about Sophia. I love HER.

Having all of that ripped away from me is unthinkable, unimaginable, unfathomable. And yet, twenty sets of parents are having to think the unthinkable now.

I have two other daughters who were first-graders not so long ago. I have thought a lot about their little first grade selves this week, too. How blessed I am to have also known their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade selves. And Bria's 5th, 6th, and 7th grade self.

Bria's first grade self, (just before graduating) circa May 2007. It's the only time she's ever had such short hair, and she asked for the haircut because her cousins had had theirs bobbed and she wanted to be just like them. She never liked it much, and has had long hair ever since.

Chloe dressed as a witch for Halloween in the first grade. And she told me that everyone knew she would be a witch that year because she was "a little bit evil." But, in reality, she was the sweetest thing on earth and didn't (doesn't!) have an ounce of evil in her body.

So, to my six-year-olds, past and present:

I promise to love you more than ever. To listen to you when you have something important to say, no matter how much work I have in front of me. To teach you everything I know about the Gospel. To pray with you and for you. To hug and kiss you daily. To read to you often. To forget about all of my commitments and spend time with you--the dishes will get done eventually. To help you with your homework without frustration. To answer your questions truthfully. To be patient with you. To teach you how to do the laundry. To teach you how to balance your checking account. To teach you how to clean your room "Mommy clean," but to do it for you sometimes just because. To make you real dinners when Daddy isn't home instead of macaroni and cheese. To send you off to school with kind words, a hug, and a kiss, no matter how difficult our morning was. To take you on more Mommy/Daughter dates. To make a huge deal over your successes and help you grow through your failures. To teach you to treat others with kindness. To be an example to you of all things I want you to become. To be the best mother I can possibly be. To forgive myself when I fall and to do better the next day.

I may not be able to change what happened in Connecticut last week, but I can change myself. I can remember how I have been feeling and keep my children closer than ever. If, heaven forbid, they are ever taken from me too soon, I want to be able to look back and know without a doubt that they knew I loved them and have no regrets.

And now, to give my girls the best Christmas ever--maybe not because of the amount of gifts they receive, but because of the amount of love that is in our home.

How I Know I Married a Musician: Part 8

2012-12-11T22:57:00.004-05:00

Things are especially crazy for us around the holidays. Concerts, concerts, and more concerts.

I was lamenting to the Maestro about all of the concerts, and several more still to come. I somewhat wistfully pointed out that we would be so much less busy if our children did not take music lessons.

His answer?

True, but we also wouldn't make it to heaven.

I suppose he has a point. Please forgive me my moment of weakness. I will go to the Suzuki Christmas concert tomorrow with nary a complaint.

Parts 1-7

Would-be Snow Angels

2012-12-02T22:10:00.003-05:00

We had a ton of snow this week! It snowed for a week straight, after all. I was hoping to do the Christmas photo shoot yesterday, but Sophia has had an awful case of strep throat since Thursday, and yesterday she was still feeling pretty icky. I kept her home from church today, but then I decided we were going to have to do the shoot once everyone else got home, so I got her all prettied up and away we went.

ANYWAY. Wasn't I talking about snow?

All of the snow melted today! Because the temperature was in the 40s and it rained. On December 2! What is the world coming to?

So no snow angels. Just plain angels on the beach. Beach angels.

(Bria was in fine form today!)
Puccini didn't really want to cooperate, but I did get one good picture with her in it. It's going on the Christmas card, though, so I can't post it yet.
I love to see my girlies laughing and being silly together.

But then I asked Chloe and Sophia to kiss Bria on the cheeks, and this is what happened:
By far my favorite photo in a long time. Love it.

And I love them. Aren't they beautiful? And isn't it astounding how much they have grown from last Christmas? When will it ever stop?

PS Yes, I've made it another Christmas with matching dresses. I guess I won't say it will be the last year anymore, because I might surprise myself next year!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2012-11-26T08:12:00.000-05:00

So, Thanksgiving is fabulous, but I sort of feel like I skipped it this year. We did have a lovely day spent with friends and the turkey feast was amazing and I was very thankful, but I didn't really feel like I made much of a big deal with the prep and stuff. In fact, I have felt a little bit like I'm running through my life so fast lately (lately?) that I am missing everything in my effort to get on to the next thing!

I resolve not to do that during the Christmas season, which, of course, started the day after Thanksgiving.

I won't lie, this Thanksgiving break has been WON. DER. FUL. I have been allowed to sleep in, I only had to teach one make-up lesson, I lazed around until I was good and tired of lazing around, and I still accomplished lots of stuff. It feels so good to have the time to just be still sometimes. I want to somehow enjoy the next month just like I have enjoyed the past week, while still going back to work and the busy busy crazy crazy frenzy.

So, while I'm still figuring out how to do that, here are some pictures of the beginning of this most wonderful time...

Black Friday! Every year, I complain that nobody is willing to go with me, but this year I had people to be insane with. (It did help that stores are opening at decent hours on Thanksgiving Day, but Trisha and I still went in the morning, too!)

Just call me the Queen of Black Friday.

We had a lot of fun. I have seriously never done Black Friday with anyone besides my mom, so when I'm not with her during the Thanksgiving holiday (which is, unfortunately, most of the time) I have just gone alone. And I really don't mind going alone, but it was much more fun with friends. Thanks, friends!

While shopping is fun, and I got a lot done, my favorite part of Black Friday is turning on the Christmas tunes and decorating the house. We tackle the tree first, (after a pumpkin pie breakfast and a turkey sandwich lunch) and for the past couple years, the girls have taken over putting it together while I wrap up all of my loot to put under it when it is finished. I love how much they love doing this--I've taught them well. But then again, it is the most wonderful time of the year, who doesn't love putting up the Christmas tree?

Pretend like you don't see the five loads of unfolded laundry on my bed, ok?

The Christmas tree alone pretty much takes all day (have you checked out my Christmas Tree tutorial from last year?), but I love it. I also love how Sophia seems to always be wearing some kooky outfit on the day after Thanksgiving. What's up with that?

Chloe says I have to put up this picture that she took of all the gifts waiting for the decorated tree. No, I did not get all of them this weekend, but mostly.
And, aside from a few more gifts for the Maestro and stocking stuffers, I am finito with the Christmas shopping. So if you see me whipping out my credit card for a big gift DO NOT LET ME DO IT. We don't need more stuff and the Epic Vacation was our main Christmas gift this year anyway.

By bedtime, we had the tree all prettified.
The rest of the living room/dining room was looking pretty awful, but that was for Saturday.

On Saturday, after a lovely lazy morning, I dug into the decorations. Puccini isn't quite sure what to think of what is going on, but I did catch her with my credit card trying to buy more!
Silly puppy! We already have more than I know what to do with. I think we need to have a talk with the Maestro about leaving credit cards lying around, even if he was buying me Christmas gifts. And I think we also need to have a chat with Pucci about napping on the table.

The girls helped me decorate a little, but mostly they were glued to electronics. Sigh.
I think Puccini was either jealous she doesn't have her own iDevice, or just jealous that the iDevices were being played with and not her. Darn that Steve Jobs anyway.

The weather is certainly cooperating with the whole most wonderful time of the year theme. On Thanksgiving Day it was a balmy 50 degrees and beautiful. All the snow from a couple weeks ago had completely gone. The guys all played football and I didn't even wear a coat. I don't think anyone did! But on Friday morning, when I got up at 5:30, there was already a ton of snow, and it hasn't stopped.
And it doesn't show signs of stopping! (But I brought some corn for popping...) Winter has officially arrived.

And Puccini loves the snow. I am glad of this because she is willing to go outside to go potty. I am not so glad of this because I have to clean up snow inside the house ten times a day, even after toweling her off since the snow gets matted so completely into her fur.
Do you see how the top of her nose is turning a pinkish/brown? We've done a bit of research on why her black is disappearing and it can be a few things. It could be caused by plastic food dishes, for one. Or it could be a virus that causes depigmentation. Or it could be something called "snow nose" and her black will return when the spring comes.

We changed her bowls to stainless steel in case that's what it is. There's nothing to be done in the case that it's the virus, and it isn't harmful to her if it is, anyway. We'll just have to mourn the loss of her perfectly black gumdrop nose.
But, I don't know....something is telling me that it is probably snow nose after all.

November at Overstuffed

2012-11-19T22:24:00.002-05:00

I guess this year I am dong the anti-NaBloPoMo! For all of my thoughts about why I want to keep my blog going, I am having a very difficult time with the follow-through. And here it is November 19! Thanksgiving is in just 3 days and then I will be caught up in a whirlwind of Christmas.

Wow.

So what have the Overstuffed clan been doing for the past 3 weeks?

Well, we voted. As I am sure all of you did, too.
And yet, the political posts on Facebook just keep coming. It makes me more tired than going to the gym at 5:45 in the morning does. (Ok, so it's more like 6:15, but it still makes me exhausted!)

We had to replace our water main. Our entire front lawn had to be dug up to put shiny new copper pipes in from the street to the house.
So now that we have no front lawn, guess what our spring home improvement project will be?

A skunk decided to visit our backyard one night after dark. I let Puccini out and shortly thereafter heard her freaking out and I was sure she was being attacked by a wolf. Luckily it was just a skunk who did not feel the need to spray the frantic little puppy one foot in front of it. Joel managed to get her in the house before that need kicked in, anyway.
Can you even see the thing? I learned something new about skunks that night, too: They can climb fences. Just lovely.

It snowed quite a bit a week ago. Enough that the girls had to wear snowpants to school, and violin lessons were cancelled that night due to treacherous road conditions. And I have been remiss in getting the yard ready for winter. Good thing it's all melted now, maybe I'll finally take those lanterns (and the grill, and the potted plants, and, and, and) down this week. Since I'm on "vacation."
They are quite pretty in the snow, but I'm afraid once we have our three feet they will be destroyed.

Chloe wrote me one of her sweet notes. I live for these notes. They make mothering that particular child totally worth it.
Seriously. Does that not make you melt into a puddle of cuteness? And it also makes me want to be that kind of mom all the time, because I have guilt every day that I'm not.

All three of my girls are excelling in school, which thrills me no end. Parent Teacher Conferences this year were lovely experiences (not that they're ever awful or anything) and it makes me happy to have such wonderful children. And they are all around wonderful, except when they're not.

I am teaching a huge load at the university and trying to keep my own voice in shape (along with my body, the house, the children, my life...). I have a couple upcoming engagements that I (should) be working on, but I admit that the music sits on my piano and is ignored for days. I did perform in a casual recital last weekend, something I've been working on for several months at the assignment of my teacher (from whom I get a voice lesson about twice a year). I was pleased with the end result--enough so that I will post video here--and you all know I hate doing that.
Just please ignore my sharpness on the final note. I think I was so relieved to have the high A out of the way (NOT my favorite note to sing) that I forgot there was more. :)

I am happy to have a small respite this week. I'm THANKFUL to have a small respite. Today I still got up and went to the gym dark and early--that is another part of our November, 'tis pretty dark and dreary already--and got the girls off to school and then took Puccini walking for another hour with my friend. But then I went back to bed, and it felt so good. And then I hung around the house reading a little and puttering. Which also felt good. I did actually get my office (mostly) cleaned, too, so I wasn't entirely unproductive.

I think Puccini enjoyed having me in a more relaxed mode. As I was reading on the couch, she decided to join me and read over my shoulder.
Tomorrow, I might paint the upstairs hallway, but I might also sleep all day. Only time will tell. And on Wednesday I will make my Thanksgiving pies. We aren't hosting this year, which I am a little sad about. I do love getting my house ready and making the perfect table and everything, but at the same time, I appreciate that I don't have to stress myself out. Just hoping the gluten-free pie crust I'm planning on making works and tastes yummy.

I think I'll go read some more with Puccini now...hope you're all having a lovely November!

A Little Bit of Hallowe'en

2012-10-31T22:22:00.002-04:00

The Jack-o-Lantern that Joel and the girls carved about 15 minutes before they went trick-or-treating. They totally win the contest for speed this year.

I did not have the wherewithal to do much with Halloween this year, much as I usually love it. No homemade costumes. No dressing up myself. No pumpkin carving. And practically no photos.

Joel was out of town last weekend, which is when a lot of Halloween happens in our town. On Friday night, we had our annual Treat Street, where the downtown businesses hand out candy. I went with friends Jane & Jared and their kiddos (and dog...that is not Puccini on steroids). Funny anecdote: Jared is usually out of town for Treat Street and Jane goes with Joel and me. This year, Jared was in town, but Joel was gone. I wonder if they'll ever both be there?
Since I was dealing with the kids by myself, photos were pretty non-existent. The kids actually requested this one at the wall, since we do it every year. Nice to know I have trained them well.

Otherwise, most of my pictures looked like this:
Though I did get one of each of the girls. But just one!

Chloe was an 80s Valley Girl (she decided against John Lennon after all) who didn't believe me that ratted hair, especially bangs, was the thing in the 80s. She also had some amazing fake eyelashes.
Sophia was "Abby Bominable." If you have daughters who are into Monster High, you'll recognize her as the daughter of the yeti. She's pretty cute, and I got to repurpose the Ginormica wig from a few years ago instead of spending 30 bucks on the Monster High one.
I also managed to get one photo of her in the fall leaves, but she closed her eyes for it and then ran off before I could get another one. Candy called.
Bria was "Miss Mad Hatter" but she only wore the hat to Treat Street because she was going to the middle school dance right after and didn't want to wear her costume there.
After Treat Street, the rest of us had a party at our house (something that has become tradition as well--and it is so much fun!). Soup and chili and lots of other yummy food. I had about 35 people at my house, more than half of them kids. And I did it all without a husband! I'm guessing that all of my Halloween wherewithal this year went to the party. Without Joel, I actually had to make his (very detailed) chicken noodle soup AND my chili. And clean the house and make it look cute. No pictures of any of it, unfortunately. I am just not on much of a camera kick. Next year.

On Saturday night we had Safe House. This is where the university students decorate their dorms in really fun ways and the kids go trick-or-treating there. This time we went with MaryFran, Jim, and their three girls.

Here are the Number Threes with one of their friends from Girl Scouts.
Here are the Number Ones.
I never did manage to get a photo of the Number Twos. Darn it. But here is my Number Two without her match. (She is saying Oh. My. Gosh! in this photo.)
No eyelashes this time...we couldn't get them to stick anymore and I didn't actually think to buy eyelash glue. And spirit gum doesn't work for eyelashes. Trust me on this one.

Here's one last photo of Bria in her full costume, but I guess I don't have any photos in which you can actually see the whole costume. Sigh. She sure is a cutie pie, though.

Today (October 31), it snowed most of the day. I have been sick, so I cancelled all my lessons and stayed in bed until I had to get up to take Halloween treats in to the school for the parties and see the costume parade. In true form, I forgot my camera, but at least I remembered the cupcakes!

All the snow meant it was cooooooold out there come Trick-or-Treat time. I didn't have the wherewithal OR the fortitude, so I stayed home to pass out candy while The Maestro braved the elements and gathered candy with the girls.

And that, my friends, was Halloween 2012 in our neck of the woods.

Onward to November!

On Writing in Journals(And Blogs)

2012-10-29T22:52:00.001-04:00

Bria turned 12 a couple weeks ago.

(Giving myself a few seconds for that to actually sink in.)(I really hate it when my kids get older.)(Especially when I vividly remember what it was like to be 12 myself!)

In our church, turning 12 is a kind of a big deal. It means that you graduate from Primary and go on to either Young Men or Young Women. So, this means that Bria is a Young Woman now. Which, of course, I kind of hate, right along with all of the other getting older stuff.

Yesterday, I was helping Bria work on her Personal Progress, which is a program the young women do. She played her violin in church yesterday, and one of the items was to participate in a public performance and then write in your journal about how it affected your self-confidence and individual worth.

Easy, no?

Well, no.

The performance part was easy enough for her. She could complete that goal about twice a month probably. She just couldn't understand why she'd have to write her feelings down in her journal. How icky!

I explained to her about how much I enjoy going back and reading the literal volumes of journals I have kept over the years. I remember things about myself that would be totally lost because I wrote them down. I can see many things that I have learned and how I have grown as a person. I even read things that make me sad, because in some ways I used to be a better person than I am now. But I learn from that, too.

I told her that I wouldn't remember half the things about her own babyhood that I do if it weren't for keeping journals.

And my blog.

The whole reason this blog was started was because Chloe had just turned two and I hadn't written in my journal since her birth. Two whole years without writing was probably the longest I'd ever gone without keeping a journal since I was seven years old. And I am not exaggerating. I really do have volumes and volumes of journals downstairs in a bin somewhere.

My journals from when I was seven years old say things like:

Today I got up and I ate Cheerios for breakfast. (I was a fascinating child.)

My journals from when I was nine years old say things like:

When I Grow Up I Want to Be Mother Dancer Singer Musican Actor Entertainer (So little has changed!)

This Dr. Seuss journal happens to be sitting on my bookshelf...I always get a kick out of looking through it.

My journals from when I was twelve years old say things like:

David is so annoying! Today he.... (Dave is my younger brother, and to say we didn't get along well during those years is an understatement.)(Love him to death today.)(Just so you know.)

My journals from when I was sixteen years old should never be read, and I'm still wondering if they should be burned, thus decimating all evidence of my insane boy-craziness and teenage angst.

My journals from college, while still on the boy-crazy side, begin to show more maturity and are actually quite interesting and entertaining to read. (Not that I'll ever let you read them or anything.)

My journals from my two LDS missions, one as Dancer Singer Musician Actor Entertainer missionary in Nauvoo, Illinois, and the other as a proselyting missionary in Romania begin to show my spiritual side, my emerging testimony, trials of faith, and so much more. These journals are particularly precious to me because I have forgotten so many of the things that happened while I served as a missionary, simply because so much happened.

My journals from my post-mission days are, thankfully, much less boy-crazy, but they do document meeting and falling in love with The Maestro and all that entailed. Which is a lot. And may have reawaken a bit of the old teenage angst, too, thanks to multiple break-ups. (What were we thinking?)

My journals from after I was married were...different. About my life. About Bria, once she was born.

And then, when Chloe was born, my journals stopped abrubtly.

I don't know why. Maybe it was because we moved to Arizona shortly after. Maybe it was because I was heavily into scrapbooking during the Arizona years and that is a form of journaling, too. But, I missed the writing.

So, I started a blog.

And here I am, nearly 8 years later and, until yesterday, I was feeling like I was done with blogging. Blogging just isn't what it once was. In Cedar City, it saved my life in a way I will be eternally grateful for. When I felt that I had absolutely no friends and was in a pretty deep depression, there were these other women who kept blogs, who said fantastic things, and thought I said fantastic things, too. They kept me afloat. And many of them are still dear friends today...it's just not about blogging anymore. Where I used to get 30 comments on every post, I'm lucky now if I get 3.

I'm also lucky if I can find the time to write at all. I'm working about 30 hours a week, plus trying to keep my household running, and none of my working hours is in the afternoon when the kids are home because I am then running them all over kingdom come to lessons and girl scouts and school functions and orchestra and church functions and then helping them with homework and chores and practicing. So writing is really low on the totem pole right now, and reading others' blogs is pretty much non-existent.

But, I didn't start a blog because I needed to make friends (though that was a wonderful side effect). I started a blog because I missed writing in a journal. And because keeping some sort of a record of my life and my children's lives is important to me. I absolutely love clicking on random posts from my archives. I learn a lot from myself and it keeps me centered, just like reading through my journals does (not that I do it all that often).

So, I won't give up my blog, even though I last wrote in it almost 3 weeks ago. I won't just stop posting The Epic Vacation because each post requires several hours of photo editing and writing to get it up. I won't even stop Project Walking into a Hug, even though I take really long hiatuses. But, I also won't worry if it does take me three weeks to post something again. Things are just different right now--more overstuffed than ever--and putting my shoulder to the wheel, doing my many duties, and being present for my children is the most important thing I can be doing.

Writing about it can wait a while--just not too long.