Weekend Frolics

So, this weekend was lucky enough to being early. Friday was a half day of school because it was the end of the term. On Saturday morning I helped judge trumpet auditions for the Northern Utah Honor Band. I only had three students scheduled to audition. I hope they did well. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out. Dan, Ally and I went and got some hot chocolate afterward and talked awhile.

After that I met Melissa and Michele at the temple, and we did a session there. It's always a cool thing to go, I did learn a few things and had a good experience. We went and picked up Ally after that and did some shopping. We bought cheese, books, desserts, and even looked at shoes, though we didn't buy those. I am the pround owner of some 9-year-old aged cheddar, but I forgot to buy crackers.

That night we went to Hamilton's for dinner. I had some excellent prime rib there. We were seated in the lounge area, the place was quite busy and there were about 20 or 30 high school kids in the waiting area all dressed in formal wear. We were grateful to be in the lounge, it was much quieter there, but a little cold. I can hardly wait to get back and try something else for Ally's birthday. Today was Fast Sunday, and I have choir practice this afternoon.

Lately, I've been watching old films in preparation for Old Movie Night this Friday. I've watched "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir", "Gigi", "All About Eve", and will be watching "Casablanca" and "An American in Paris". The purpose is to choose one for Friday. I'm thinking we need something uplifting and cheery for the winter blues, but I'd also like something that's thoughtful. So far "Gigi" is the winner. I'm currently watching "Mrs. Miniver", which I am told is uplifting, we'll see what happens later, I guess. Right now a German has invaded Mrs. Miniver's kitchen and passed out due to injury.

What a world! What a world!

Feelin' green, anyone? Maybe like you're melting?

So last weekend I went to sunny St. George with my buddy Mecqae. We drove the little CRX there and back for just over $50. I love that car. We got to stay in this fabulous 'condo' - love that shower, and the bed, and the TV, and the leather furniture, and the decor, and .... well, all of it. Not to mention that it's in sunny St. George!

The conference was great, it always fun to go there and reconnect, and when you realize you miss the students you teach and think about them all day you know that you're in the right field. I was able to pick up some good music, and hang out with old friends, as well as new ones. Speaking of new friends... we drove to Vegas to eat dinner at the Wynn on Saturday night with some of Mq's friends. Talk about some serious rain. My poor, pathetic wipers couldn't keep up with the water and we had to pull over and wait a bit. When we got there the experience was totally worth it. We parked at the Belaggio and got to see the fountains (see pic insert) and walk the strip. It was stormy, but well worth the walk. I do have to say, though, that the walk to the Wynn at 6 was much more pleasant people-wise than the walk back to the Belaggio at 10.

This weekend was pretty much ho-hum. The best part actually happened before it started - our Parent Organization held a dance for the middle school kids. Two weeks ago they were referring to it as the Day of Doom, but due to the excitement of a few key players they worked up a positive attitude for it, and by the day of the dance they couldn't think of anything else. Really, this was more like a dance class. One of the parents taught the kids a basic waltz, cha-cha, the electric slide and macarena, and a few other dances. The kids had dance cards and were totally stoked to learn. It helped that the parent teaching was energetic and fun. I think the teachers had as much fun watching as the kids did dancing. Hooray for tween awkwardness!

Sick of Winter and the Tax Rant

The only redeeming thing about the end of January is the fact that the UMEA conference is held the first weekend in February. Really, what sane music teacher would pass up a professionally made excuse to spend a weekend in sunny St. George in winter? Seems like every year someone wants to move the conference somewhere more central (which always translates to Salt Lake because those Wasatch Fronters can be quite whiny about travel - really, peeps, it's just as far for me to drive there as it is for you to drive here), and every year it's voted down because the sane ones want an excuse to go to sunny St. George in winter. We don't care if we have to drive way far (8 hrs from Logan) because it's another day off work AND I get to go to SUNNY ST. GEORGE IN WINTER! Really folks, let's think this through. I'd bet that a good chunk of the attendees go because they get to go to sunny St. George in winter. That other stuff is side fluff.


So, taxes suck. Well, maybe not the taxes themselves, but the way the government uses them sucks. They think that they can spend and that they deserve so much - blah blah blah (we ain't listenin' because we know you lyin' anyhow). Now they're talkin' 'bout raisin' taxes so we can pay to for this and that and more verbal vomit whatever whatever. Really? More taxes? YOU ALREADY GET MORE OF MY INCOME THAN GOD! WHAT MAKES YOU MORE IMPORTANT THAT HIM!?!? Sheesh. Fire 'em all. Let's start over. Maybe with some people who've actually worked for a living and don't think the common American eats arugula on a regular basis. Did I mention that I'm excited because I get to go to sunny St. George in winter?

Datability

I haven't yet figured out this dating thing. I've had several roomies in my life that seem to have a high datability rating. The boys call and call and the girl seems to have a date every weekend, if not two as long as she's in town. Now, it's important to note that this datability factor doesn't seem to be related to the marriagability factor at all, since the the current circumstances of said girls vary from broke-it-off-to-serve-a-mission girl to happily-and-eternally-married girl. But what is it that makes a girl datable? Why is it that there are amazing girls crying in their pillows at night? I have brilliant friends, funny friends, beautiful friends, skinny friends, and "wifey" friends who hardly seem to date at all. The traditional answer seems to be, "Well, boys are dumb." And, really, I'd have to agree, but there has to be something else. What is a brilliant, funny, and pretty girl lacking that causes boys to overlook her?

When it comes to this topic there is this seed in my soul. A deeply sour and venomous seed. I guess that comes from too many years of sitting and waiting. Really, I can count the number of boys who have asked me out on one hand, and the total number of dates on two. Of the five or so that asked me, three are married and the other two were, um, shall we say not playing with a full deck? Maybe I'm too much of a traditionalist, and I want boys to ask me. If I like guy enough I'll ask him out first, but I've never had a second date with any of those, and I wonder sometimes if it's because I wait for them to do something in response. I'm really ok with not getting married any time soon, but a date every now and then wouldn't be so bad. Maybe some of the bitterness comes from not understanding. I had a boy tell me once, "Trust me, I'm not your type." What's that supposed to mean!? And, how does he know what my type is? Is this arrogance? A rejection? Insecurity?

I know that we've been told to make ourselves attractive, that's a frustrating thing. I'm fighting the same weight battle I've always had, but that can't really be the only thing, can it? If it is the only thing all I can I say is that I'm happy not to have married such a shallow person. The only guy who seems to notice any changes in anything I try is seriously dating someone else. *Sigh* I'll miss him when/if they marry; they're really a well-made match. What can I do? It doens't seem logical to go anywhere to meet people that I wouldn't normally want to go, like to a club, simply because if I met a guy there we'd have one thing not in common already. Presumably he'd be there because he wanted to be, but I wouldn't. Too bad concerts, rehearsals, basketball and football games don't seem to be great places to meet guys.

Three Day Weekend

I love these days. I feel like I have so much to do, and no drive to do them. This last week I've been so busy, and just needed to sleep. So, that's what I've done. I took a nap after work yesterday, slept for 9 hours last night, and took a little snooze after breakfast. I feel pretty good right now. I think I'll go walk a bit on the treadmill, then maybe enter some notes in Finale, or do some lesson planning. I do need to some shopping and retrieve a pizza pan from school today, but it's only noon, I still have lots of time. Such is the illusion of a break from school.

Lately Fluke has been giving me audiobook files. She's the audiobook queen, I think, but if I had her job I'd be like that, too. I've been listening to The Hunchback of Notre Dame and reveling in the language and story-telling prowess of Victor Hugo. I think this must be why I enjoyed Les Miserables so much. I'll have to read that one again. Ususally I just listen in the car when I drive long distances (usually to Fluke's house, now that I think of it), but I have taken to listening to this one while cooking, exercising, and roaming the internet.

Back in the Groove

Well, I think I have almost successfully re-admitted myself into school mode. I am still sleepy in the morning, but that's not really that unusual. I think I need to teach at a school for the nocturnal. Or at least, the semi-nocturnal. Instead of 8 to 3 we could meet from 10 to 5 or something.

Mom helped me pay for a treadmill for Christmas. This thing has been fun and has created some convenient exercise in the house. The first time I got on it and set a workout mode it kicked my butt. I haven't done that since, just been doing a freestyle exercise mode.

I think the week has been good. My students are doing alright, I'm ok, and all currently seems well. It makes me wonder what's coming... I guess I'll worry about that when it comes and until then try and prepare myself for what may come. Have a great week!

Woah, time flies!

It's been more than a month since I posted?! I really got sucked into work and play. My two band concerts went well, I think. The kids played pretty well, but not devoid of mistakes by any means. I performed in two concerts on french horn, too. I played with the Wasatch Winds and with the Cache Community Orchestra. Both went well, especially considering I'm a trumpet player. I'm kinda excited to get back into the normal swing of things, though. I have some good ideas that I think my students will like.

I went to Arizona for Christmas. Michele was kind enough to drive me to her house, let me stay, and then take me to the airport. Well, we actually went there in Steve's truck because it was snowing so bad the day I flew out. My flight was delayed a half hour and after the drive from Tucson to Pima it was almost 2:30 AM before we got home. We had a good holiday, I like my parents, but their town is kinda boring. Wal-Mart and Basha's are the two most entertaining things in the area. Right now I'm at Michele's again. We played games for New Year's and ate food.

Hey Melissa, I'm gonna need another reminder to get bck in the habit...

I'm Apparently Crazy

So the last few weeks have been hectic, but fun. I've been prepping my band kids for their upcoming concerts, in two weeks that'll all be over. I hope they play as well as I know they can. I also had another wisdom tooth out, this one on the top. It was an easy pull, though, and hasn't caused me much pain or grief at all. That night (Tuesday) my roomie and I went to IHOP for pancakes. Something I had there unsettled my stomach and it gradually got worse until I puked. After that I felt much better. Guess that's the way things roll sometimes.

Wednesday I went to Grandma's for Thanksgiving. It's always great to go back to Sterling and hang out with the fam. The news only takes a few minutes to recite, and the graciousness of my family is a cool thing to watch. It's always interesting to see who Grandma and Grandpa invite to dinner. This time it was a man who Grandpa home teaches. Other than dinner we gather to play games, we even let Uncle Colby play, despite the fact that he'll bend all the rules to suit his desire to win.

On Friday night I went to Fluke's house. Nothing really unusual there. We saw the Twilight movie on Saturday morning (I still root for Jacob, but some of the others are hot!). The previews and ads are sometimes fun to watch. I made the comment that I should learn to pilot helicopters, that I had tickets to Glenn's show, and that I wanted to see some scary movie (with a boy, naturally). We laughed. Then we went shopping, which is also a normal activity for us. It seems that I can't leave Fluke's house on a weekend without some purchase I've made. When we were walking out of the mall we passed the giftwrap station and I mentioned to her that I was going to wrap her Christmas present in a Barbie gift tin. She says to me, "It scares me that you have a Barbie gift tin." And I told her that I didn't, that I would buy one for her and she replies, "Well, that's crazy. You're crazy." Lol! Like flying helicopters and me having a boyfriend isn't crazy?! *Sigh* Now I wish even more that I had those three things, a helicopter, a boy, and a Barbie gift tin.

Feelin' Alright

So, yesterday I had one of my wisdom teeth pulled. The dentist said that he'd just pull it there in his office, and that I'd be able to drive home or go back to work. That's exactly what happened, it was smooth and easy (relatively speaking). There was a young family there just before me with several boys having baby teeth removed or having other work done. Walking in was like walking into the classic kid dentist nightmare. All kinds of screaming, crying, yells of pain, and apparently kicking and hitting (from the kids) as well. There was one boy, who had his tooth pulled, in the waiting room next to me just sobbing; it took all my self-control not to burst out laughing. "Don't laugh. Laughing won't make the kid feel any better." Doc said that the kids have a pretty over-dramatic reputation, and that most of the screaming came before he even put the needle in to numb the mouth. Oh, that poor mother.

Today we had a combined rehearsal with the band kids from Edison North (I teach at Edison South) for our concert on Thursday. We started off a little rocky, but things got better pretty quickly. They sounded pretty good and with some more polishing we'll be able to deliver a pretty nice performance. Teaching band always makes me happier for some reason. I must be in the right career.

"You Make Your Own Busy"

My gramma used to say that phrase to me all the time, and she still does when I tell her I'm too busy to do something or too busy to stay longer at Thanksgiving. It's true, though. One of my make myself busy things this year was volunteering with the Mountain Crest Marching Band. Last weekend we went to St. George and Las Vegas to compete and they did a fantastic job. They were able to pull off the three best shows I've seen all season. We were thrilled when they made finals in Vegas and then placed 9th out of the top 10 bands in the region. They've really progressed farther in one year than I had thought they would. Kudos also to Davis High and Sky View for placing in the top ten as well - and also to American Fork for sweeping the show! I wonder if Michele even reads this blog...

This weekend I was at Michele's watching competitions with her. We watched several really great bands and I think that AF will provide some good competition for them. It'll be fun to watch, I think. Friday night I drove out to Jenna's place in Eagle Mountain to hang out at her Halloween party. It was pretty fun! She had the whole house decorated and had games and food and people. It was great to talk to her family again and I have resolved to spend some time out there - provided I can find it again. Eagle Mountain apparently isn't too concerned about whether or not the street signs are visible when people are driving...

Today was stake conference. Well, there was a meeting last night, too. The stake choir sang "Behold the Wounds in Jesus' Hands" last night, and we had a string quartet playing the accompaniment rather than the organ. They all did a fabulous job! Today we sang "In Humility, Our Savior" from the hymnbook while the pianist embellished the parts. Ally and Sara in all their flute and violin glory played an obligatto of sorts as well. I think this one was my favorite. :) We also did the Mack Wilberg arrangement of "The Spirit of God". Our stake has some great guy singers and this was a good way to show them off a little. And, it makes for a neat singng experience. It's amazing, whenever I lead a church choir they always sound great. Standing in the choir isn't always as rewarding, but in front is always uplifting.

Now that marching band and stake choir are over I'm thinking things will slow down a little... ;)

Fall Frenzy

Yeah, so this week went by really fast. Yesterday my roomie and I went to a Halloween party in Highland. I dressed in a black cloak and painted my face black and roomie went as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Tangent: I learned a new skill this week - how to sew sleeves. I've sewn stuff before, but the cloak was the first time I've made anything with sleeves. Back to subject: We had a fabulous time. Friday I went to my friend's house for dinner and then a group of us went to a corn maze. I really need to learn to take a hint so I don't end up the tag-a-long for another budding romance. Blech! They were holding hands and everything! The rest of the week as spent working and running from one appointment to another. I had a cavity filled in one of my molars this week and a temporary crown put on another. That was mildly painful, but I'm glad I'm not sore any more. My poor roomie had oral surgery not too long ago and still hurts from it. She's got nasty mutant teeth, though, that require more invasive methods to fix. Glad I'm not her! This week will prove no less busy, I'm afraid. I think after marching band ends things will slow a little, but I doubt it'll make much difference. It's likely that I'll think, "Marching band is over, I can schedule that..." Ha ha, oh well. Gotta do something with my time.

Conference Week

Hey, it's been a a good week. the past few days have been pretty good. It's always great when Conference comes 'round and we can hang out and listen to our church leaders. Every time this happens I feel like I learn so much, but I can never remember what as said, except maybe a general topic from a few speakers. That's why the Conference issue of the Ensign is such a good thing for me.

Yesterday the MCHS marching band playing on the muddiest and wettest field of the season so far. I'm amazed no one was seriously injured or went prone in the mud (heard that happened to some poor t-bone player from Davis, though). I'm glad that we get another chance to improve and show our stuff on Tuesday, I don't think that they were satisfied with their performance.

General Relief Society Meetng

So Ally and I, through the grace of our good friend Michele and her neighbor Darcia, got tickets to the General Relief Society Meeting last night. They got to sing in the choir. I bet that was a fabulous experience - it was amazing to listen to them! Anyway, the whole meeting was just fantastic. It's great to have an event that is so uplifting, comforting, and encouraging that I can still feel the high today. I did wonder, though, how many women were especially pleased that it was the handsome Elder Uchtdorf that addressed us at the end of the meeting. Prior to the meeting Ally and I wandered aroung Temple Square and took pictures. I loved that, as well, since this was my first time actually seeing the Christus. How odd is it that I have been a Mormon un Utah all my life and have never seen it until now? I'll prolly write more on this later, I still need to download my pictures.

Friday night I was at the best party of all time. Even though the reason for the party had mixed emotions it was extremely good to have so many friends gather together in once place to see off Becky and Richard. We'll miss you! I was really a wonderful thing to eat sugar, sit and chat, and play Nintendo like the old days. And, us single ones got the opportunity to play with the little kids. ;)

WOAH!

I spoke too soon when posting my previous post. The Aggies won today 42-17 against Idaho! This is Utah State history!

Fall is Coming

So this is the second game in a row that I haven't been tempted to attend. I'm still supporting my dear Aggies, but have finally given in to the idea that I do not need to pay to see them play because I can already predict the outcome. I suppose I'll eventually go to one, though. It's threatening rain today, anyhow. I don't really want to sit in the rain and watch my team lose.

Tomorrow I am being set apart for my new calling as stake choir director. When I was first called I wasn't really enthusiastic about it, but now it has grown on me. Not so much the idea of people lookin' at my butt in the tabernacle as much as the idea of once again having the opportunity to use music as a medium to bear my testimony. And, because I'm in charge, I picked one of my favorite hymns (ok, it's not an official LDS hymn), "Behold the Wounds in Jesus' Hands" as well as several of my other favorites. My friend, Sara, convinced me that a string quartet would be a cool way to accompany the choir, so we're planning that for the Saturday night session. I'm excited!

School this week has been fairly normal. Our plans for offering exploratory elective classes for our middle school kids is well underway. We solidified the classes being offered, teachers, and rooms. Monday the kids will register and hopefully by the end of next week we'll have class lists and the teachers can begin to really plan. My band students are doing well, despite having Friday Zone-Out Syndrome while my professor was observing me. Oh, well. They're still great kids.

On a side note: why is it that almost all chick flicks have romances rooted in deception of some kind? Intentional or not dishonesty doesn't seem to be the best foundation for a new relationship. But what do I know? I'm still single.

For Melissa

So this week seemed generally uneventful. Discussion has begun on setting up new exploratory and fun classes for our middle school age kids at school. We set out a survey for the kids to fill out and got requests for cooking, badminton, pyrotechnics, English, and some other more common classes. It was fun to see the results. Yesterday I felt like I spent most of my day spending money. I bought Mario Kart for Wii, bought peaches at the local farmer's market, went to DI, ShopKo, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and Wal-Mart. I am happy to report that I already have a start on my Christmas shopping. Playing Mario Kart on the Wii is hysterical fun, by the way. Come over, we'll play. ;)

Time Travels When Ya Aren't Lookin'

Hey kids, it's been a while since I posted... So, since January a ton of stuff has happened but I'll give you an abbreviated version: February was my birthday, March was boring, April I went to NYC for a fabulous week hanging out with Jenny, venturing into the city, we watched Hairspray and Wicked on Broadway and saw Michael Buble in concert. Simply amazing. Um, May was when school got out, June Ally and I went to the Glenn Beck Insiders Convention in Akron, OH, but really the highlight was historic Kirtland. July I drove to Michele's a lot, August school started again and here's September already. Nuts, huh?

Anyway, the pic above is from the Tesoro in AF, there on 100 East and what? 100 North? I had to read the sign out loud to figure out what it was saying. It made me laugh, depsite the fact I was buying gas at 10PM in the middle of a lightning storm. It was Saturday and I needed to drive the next day... what could I do? All I can say is that I am indeed grateful for stern English teachers while I was in school.

January

Why is it that January seems so boring? Is it because it is compared to December? Or February? That Civil Rights Day can't really compare to Christmas, New Year's Eve, or Valentine's Day? Or maybe because said holidays drain the coffers so much that one spends January recovering? Any way the answers fall January just has less thrills than its wintry siblings.

For me January hasn't been so bad. My little brother will be serving an LDS missions in the Texas, Dallas mission. We sent him to the Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday. Turns out he doesn't look so bad in a suit and tie. I'm sure he'll be fine, but it's going to be fun to see him struggle and grow. Well, anyway, here's a pic of him in Provo.

New York Eve

Tomorrow will mark an interesting day for me. It will be the day that I first set foot in New York, New York. I have never traveled much, but when I do it is almost always related somehow to being involved in band. Band has taken me from my podunk home in Utah to San Diego, Greensboro, Phoenix, Anaheim, Reno, Chicago, and Oklahoma City. And, very soon to NYC. I'll be chaperoning with the American Fork High School Marching Band. They have been invited to perform in the annual Macy*s Thanksgiving Day parade. I'm so excited to see the city! I'll most likely be in shock for a few days, but I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

October

You know, fall always seems to be busy. School is underway, new television shows begin and marching band season is in full swing. This fall I volunteered a little for the Mountain Crest High School Marching Band. It's been fun, but it reinforces the idea that I'm not much of a marching band person. I see it's benefits, but wonder about the motives and the sanity of those involved.

This month one of my friends leaves to serve a mission for the LDS church in Poland. My little brother is waiting for a call, and my older brother is thinking about attending a university. It seems funny to think that they will all soon be gone away from home. I've been buying my little brother ties at a local secondhand store. I have about 10 or so in varying colors and patterns.

Well, I suppose that's all for now.