wow

Oh my goodness, has it really been over a month since I've posted? Wow. September has been REALLY busy. I'm now working with the kids at our church, and I also agreed (apparently in a moment of weakness) to fill in for the church secretary for the month of September. Those two things along with Kindermusik and piano lessons have taken up more than all of my time. There have been many days when I've said to Brian, through tears, that there aren't enough hours in the day. I really don't know what I'd do without Brian - he's helped hold things together here on the homefront...cooking, cleaning, and overall just being my rock. :)

However, this month is almost over and once the secretary thing is off my plate I think I'll be ok. Never again. That's all I'm saying.

My cousin Chris got married last weekend to Gloria. We have loved Gloria from day one and we are more than thrilled that they are married! The wedding was absolutely gorgeous and I was honored to be a part of the ceremony - I got to sing in an awesome trio and I also played keyboard on a few songs. It was fabulous to have our old band together again!

Our Kindermusik semester is flying by...we're already halfway through! I can hardly believe it! My classes are just amazing - I love the kids so much and all the funny things they do and say. I'm teaching an "older" class (4 & 5 year olds) this semester and I'm just amazed at the musicality of the class. They can clap quarter notes and they say "shh" for quarter rests, and I'm so proud of them. I have more students than I ever dreamed I would have beginning my second year!

Brian is doing great. He's loving his job and he's happy that Apple is letting people make games for the iPhone and sell them on iTunes. He's been working on a few games for awhile and he hopes to put one of them up for sale on iTunes this weekend. He's got some cool stuff going on at work, so look for some major news soon!

That's about all. I'm just barely keeping my head above water - but today I've been working hard and feel like I can take a minute to post. I'd also like to say that I am really REALLY missing my friends from New York lately. I've been thinking about them ALL the time and I have been horrible at keeping in touch. So girls, if you're reading, I LOVE you guys and I MISS you!!!!

Did I mention the cooler weather? It makes me so happy! It still gets in the high 80s during the day, but the mornings and evenings are MUCH cooler. I love it. Bye for now...

vacation pictures

I am aware that it's still my birthday month. I have things to say, but I'm trying to put them into words.

Jesus Christ, Superstar was awesome!! Corey Glover, who used to be the lead singer of Living Colour, a cool band from the late 80s/early 90s, played the character of Judas. He was amazing! I'm so glad we got to see this play!! I love the music, too! I recommend seeing it if you have the chance.

OK, here are some pictures from vacation.
This is Sofiya, the one-month-old leopard we got to see! Can you believe it?!!
This bear loved peeking at us from his pool.
Brad & Kari on the top level of Busch Stadium.
Brian's first Major League game!
Many things were explained.
Mandi & I at the arch.
Brian in the top of the arch. A conversation between Brian and I at the top of the arch:
Brian - I can feel it moving.
Me - Yeah, it has to move a little or it would just fall right over!
Brian - Let's not use the words "fall right over!"

Mandi & Brad in the arch.
In Tennessee, Mama Taylor took us out to see her corn.
Brian at the World of Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta.

2500 miles

We're back from vacation. We're tired and overwhelmed with real life, trying to get back into the swing of things. We got home Thursday night and spent part of yesterday recuperating and the other part cleaning my new temporary Kindermusik classroom. We cleaned more today and moved things in, and we'll clean more tomorrow - we have to shampoo the carpet.

All in all, we drove right around 2500 miles on our vacation. We left here and drove straight through to St. Louis, where we met up with my friend Mandi and her family and spent a day at the zoo - in the rain, no less. Then Brad & Kari came and we all ate at the Spaghetti Factory (yum!) and then Brad, Kari, Brian, and I went to a Cardinals game. It was Brian's first MLB game, and sadly, the Cards got stomped by the Phillies. The score was 20-2, pretty ridiculous. The next day we all went to the arch together, including Mandi and her husband Brad. Yes, we had Mandi and Brad, Kari and Brad, and Kerri and Brian. :) After the arch we went shopping, and then Brad and Kari went home and we went to church with Brad & Mandi the next day, Mandi & I played a piano duet (fun!), and we went out to eat. Then we took off to see my grandmother in Tennessee and finished our trip in Atlanta. Whew. It was a whirlwind.

Did I mention that Mandi and I met on Lifetime Moments? :) I will write more about vacation later and share pictures.

Tonight we're going to see Jesus Christ, Superstar. Brian is taking me for an early birthday present. Life is busy and wonderful.

the lost has been found

That's right, I'm back. It has been so long that I have dreaded the thought of trying to remember everything we've done over the past month or so! I will try to give an adequate update, starting with this past weekend.

On Friday we headed out around lunchtime for Tampa. We visited the Big Cat Rescue and took an awesome tour! It was one of the neatest things we've done in a long time. Below are several pictures that we took of the cats. I was just fascinated, despite the heat. They were so adorable and you could tell many of them were pretty hot, too. One tiger named T.J. even got in his pool to show off for us. It was fabulous!!

After the tour, we went on to St. Petersburg where we spent the rest of the weekend. We stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast, Inn at the Bay. It was luxurious and relaxing. We spent the weekend doing a whole lot of nothing, and boy did we need that! We've both been working so much and we needed to unwind and recharge. Saturday Brian surprised me with a couples massage that he had arranged earlier. It was heavenly! Sunday afternoon we came home and then met some friends for dinner and a movie, Prince Caspian. It was great! All in all, it was a spectacular weekend.

Some other rather large news is that I resigned from my church. Yes, folks, we are now undergoing the great church search. Although we LOVED Winter Haven and really felt at home there, with gas prices climbing, the hour-one-way drive was getting pretty old. Not to mention that we were gone 7-8 hours every Sunday, meaning that Sunday had turned into another work day. April 27 was my last Sunday and I greatly miss my boys in the band. I'm hoping to still be able to play with them on occasion.

Let's see...my cousin Chris got engaged to his fabulous and amazing girlfriend, Gloria. We love her and we cannot wait for her to be part of the family!! We haven't seen them since they've been engaged, but we hope to get together with them soon for dinner. Maybe we'll try out their church. :)

The first weekend of May we went to Ft. Myers to see my grandparents. They have since gone back to KY, so we were at least able to get in a quick visit before they left. I don't know what I can really publicly say about the visit - I guess I'll say that senility is a very sad thing. Nan and Pops aren't who they used to be. :(

My Kindermusik semester has ended and I have a few weeks off. Summer camps start near the end of June and I already miss the kids, so I'm looking forward to that. The church is renovating my room and I'm SUPER excited about it! Stay tuned for pictures of the demolition and remodeling.

I have 2 days left at the Montessori school and I've already informed them that I won't be back next year. I really enjoyed the people there and the kids too, but my life has just gotten too busy. Health and exercise have taken a back burner and I promised myself I wouldn't let that happen again. I don't want to gain my weight back or let my life get out of control again. So now I only have ONE job, Kindermusik, and I'll be able to focus on my own studio and still have the time and energy to eat well and exercise.

Let's see. I think that's just about all. I'm sure there are more things to tell you about, but I can't think of them right now and I just want to get a post done so you'll all know that we're still alive down here! So, more later.

AND - YAY! DAVID COOK WON! :D

OK, here are the cat pictures. Amazing. I'm ready to go back.

a day of good news

Today has been a great day in our household!! First of all, this morning we paid off my car!! YAY!!!! We now have no car payments. In fact, we have no debt except for the house! We got our tax return on Friday and we were able to save part of it, put part away for a trip to Hawaii next year, use part of it for our bathroom (which is now getting close to a full remodel), and pay off my car. We are SO excited and happy!

Also, today we welcomed into the world our brand new nephew, Jason Luke. Welcome, little Luke, and congrats to Brian's brother Jason and his wife Angela! :D We are a proud aunt and uncle (for the fourth time!)

All in all, things are going well for us. The new tile in our bathroom is looking really pretty. I'm excited to get it all done! OK, I have to go and try to learn how to play the guitar. I have to teach my 4-6th graders guitar! :P

mpm and other updates

Well! Another year has come and gone, and here we are in 2008. Amazing! I managed to gain a few pounds over the holidays, so now it's back to being strict with eating healthy.

Speaking of the holidays, ours were great. We spent some fab time with our families and got lots of fun presents, and I worked lots of Sudokus and Brian played lots of Wii. ;-) We got to see our niece and nephews, and that's always a high point. I helped make a gingerbread house with Brian's mom and Emma - I had never done that before, and it was so fun! I will post pictures eventually, when I can get my act together.

Our trip home from KY took 18.5 hours! We both nearly killed each other, the traffic was so horrid!! And it was pouring rain, and we thought we'd NEVER get home. We've never been so happy to be home! And then, I promptly got sick on New Year's Day. :-( It was just a cold or sinus infection, but I could not believe the amount of snot. (Sorry if that grosses anyone out!) It's really weird to be sick when it's 80 degrees outside! So I wasted a whole week laying around on the couch. I'm FINALLY human again, but still blowing my nose quite a bit!

OK, that's enough complaining! This week I have a few makeup classes to teach and I'm desperately trying to get ahead in studying and preparing for classes. Tomorrow I really need to finalize my schedule, which will mean several emails and phone calls. But...it has to be done. I miss the kids and can't wait for classes to start next week!

So. I've decided to start doing Menu Plan Monday. Dream Dinners has closed, much to our dismay, so I have to start being creative again with our meals. And healthy, too. It's Tuesday though, so I'm late with my menu for this week, but I'll go ahead and post it anyway...and then next Monday I'll be on time for my first real posting.

Monday - Boca Burgers (Brian worked late)
Tuesday - pot roast/carrots/red potatoes
Wednesday - veggie-beef soup made from leftover pot roast
Thursday - Aloha Chicken Kebabs (DD cookbook)
Friday - Pita Pizzas (DD cookbook)

I got Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook for Christmas, so I'm going to try some of the recipes from that this week! OK, I'm headed to bed now. I'll post recipes and pictures later. Happy New Year, everyone!

thankful for family

Well, the fam has come and gone and we had a WONDERFUL time! It was so great to be with everyone, especially Braden!! He is an absolute delight and he's just SO FUNNY! I thought I should share some pictures of our Thanksgiving week. Our first stop of the day was Magic Kingdom:
Braden on the Monorail with Papa, Daddy, and Aunt Sis

Braden playing trains on Aunt Sis' face while waiting for the ferry boat

Braden and Papa got to sing with the Dapper Dans on Main Street! (Shameless plug: some of the Dapper Dans are going to be featured on Papa's Barbershop Chorus Christmas Show in Ashland, KY on December 15! Don't miss it!)

Braden on the train with Papa and JoJo (and some people we don't know in the background!)

Braden and Daddy driving the cars at the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway!

Braden with his first ever Mickey popsicle!

Braden in line for "It's a Small World" with Uncle Brian & Aunt Sis

Braden riding "It's a Small World" with Mommy & Daddy

Our second stop of the day was Animal Kingdom. We rushed right in to ride the Kilimanjaro Safari! We saw lots of cool animals! (I won't share all of the animal pictures, there are too many!)Braden and Mommy on the safari

Our last stop of the day was Epcot. We were all amazed and impressed that Braden was such a good boy for such a long day! Papa, JoJo, Uncle Brian, Aunt Sis, and Daddy all rode Test Track several times and loved it! Even JoJo! Mommy is pregnant so she couldn't ride, and Braden was too little, so they played in the car showroom and went shopping while the rest of us rode. At Braden's request, we had dinner in China. ;-)

Braden riding "The Seas with Nemo and Friends" with Uncle Brian & Aunt Sis. In the middle, Braden called out, "Hey Nemo! Is that you?" Aunt Sis loved it!

We were at the parks for nearly 14 hours that day! It was an all-around spectacular day! Hooray for Braden's first visit to Disney!!!!

Wednesday night we had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Braden wasn't so sure about the gorillas, but he loved the fish and the elephants! Afterward, we scooted over to the Contemporary where we hopped on a boat for the Wishes Cruise!
Braden & Mickey at the Contemporary

Braden got to drive the boat!

Braden and Daddy on the cruise

Uncle Brian & Aunt Sis enjoying the cruise

Papa got to drive the boat too!

Mommy, Daddy, and Braden cruisin'

Fireworks!

The whole fam as we left the Contemporary!

Well, those special adventures were lots of fun, but Braden's very favorite part of visiting Aunt Sis and Uncle Brian's house was playing with the cats! (Notice there are no pictures of Sam, he's the "grouchy and soft" cat!)

Braden & Max

tomorrow, tomorrow

Well, the fam is coming in tomorrow night! I am SO excited! We're having Mom and Dad, Brad and Kari (my brother and SIL), and precious Braden (my nephew) over for Thanksgiving! Tuesday we're spending at Disney, Wednesday night we're eating at Rainforest Cafe and then taking the Wishes Fireworks Cruise, Thursday is turkey day, Friday is shopping, and Saturday...well, we might go to a corn maze or something. We're gonna have a great time!

In other news, tomorrow is my first day teaching elementary music at Lake Mary Montessori. I'm nervous, excited, and stressed. I'll keep you posted!

8 random things

OK, just to let you know how behind I am on reading blogs, I just now saw that Tara tagged me back in JULY for the 8 random things meme! Ugh. I have been way too busy. Sorry Tara! At least I caught up today on your blog and am continually amazed at the funny and important things happening in your life, your amazing work and boss, the brilliance of your child, your no-nonsense writing style, and our shared makeup fetish. :-)

So - here are my 8 random things:

1. I count everything.

2. I prefer that things I count be in multiples of four. I will go to great lengths to MAKE things into multiples of four.

3. I can't stand it when people use bad grammar. I also hate it when people misspell really common words, like too, you're, and definitely.

4. I honestly believe that my cats are going to live forever. =^..^=

5. I am probably the most hot-natured person that you know. When everyone else is comfortable or even cold, I'm sweating - and I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt!

6. I have started working out with a personal trainer - he pushes me so hard that I can barely walk out of the gym!

7. I'm really enjoying my thirties! What was I so afraid of?

8. I know binary. I learned it when Brian and I were dating. He was impressed. (Have you noticed my obsession with numbers?)

Now I have to tag some people:

Brad
Leslie
Mandi
Stephanie
Jason
Christi

(If some of you have already done this, sorry! I can't remember.)

so much to say

I keep meaning to blog, but there just isn't time. And when there is time, I can't stay awake to do it!

Sunday, October 28, was our 7th anniversary. We celebrated by going to the beach for part of the weekend. We stayed at a beautiful beach house and just lazed around and ate pastries - it was divine and just what we needed! I have a picture of us on the beach but my camera is at my KM classroom right now. :-P I'll upload it later.

Life just seems to keep getting busier. I really need to lighten my load. Some changes are in the works, but I will post about those later after proper notifications have been made and decisions have been finalized. I could use a few prayers, too!

Here's some really big, important, exciting news: We are going to have yet ANOTHER niece or nephew! Yep, folks, my brother's wife is pregnant. Braden is going to be a big brother! I am just ecstatic! This will make #5 for us! We have Emma, Braden, Will, Angela is pregnant with #4, and Kari is pregnant with #5! Yay for Uncle Brian and Aunt Sis!

Kindermusik keeps getting better. The kids are really opening up and getting used to me, and to each other, and to class. At one point yesterday I had like 3 or 4 kids on my lap at the same time. I LOVED it! Lately, I hate for class to end! :-) I am so fortunate to be able to do this. I love it so much!

The coolest thing happened yesterday. Last week, I had been complaining and joking with one of my piano students' moms about how Florida is made of mildew and mold. She was saying they had just pressure washed their house, and I was saying how bad my sidewalk was looking again. (In case you don't know how crazy the mold and mildew can get, check out this post from last year when we pressure washed our porch and sidewalk for the first time!) Anyway, she said that they had a pressure washer and we could borrow it and she would bring it next week.

So yesterday, this student shows up and her dad and grandpa were with her and they brought TWO pressure washers with them and they pressure washed my porch, sidewalk, and driveway while I taught the lesson!!!! I mean seriously...people just don't do that kind of thing anymore! We're all too busy for random acts of kindness! I was just so thrilled, and so grateful, and so shocked, and so amazed! They are the nicest people ever! (Of course, I gave them several free lessons!) LOL Anyway, my faith in humanity was restored yesterday.

(And it was lost again today because I had to go to Walmart and you know how I feel about the way people act in Walmart!) Ugh!

All right. I have to go and do something useful. Hope everyone had a great Halloween! I promise to post pictures soon. :-)

it's almost time

Well, in case you haven't noticed, Kindermusik has pretty much taken over my life. I actually scrapped last night, but the whole time I was scrapping, I was thinking of other things I should be doing! So today, it's back to work! 4 days until classes start, and counting.

I have to go to the dreaded Walmart today. Ugh! It's SO not my favorite place, as you read in a previous post. But I have to get child locks for my cabinets, a doll to use during the baby class (to demonstrate with), and a plug adapter thing, because the outlets in my room only have 2 prongs and my heavy-duty fan needs 3. Brian is out at Target right now buying me this really cool stereo/speaker set for my iPod. That way I'll be able to upload the songs for class onto my iPod, put them in the correct order, and then use the remote to play/pause. I have high hopes for this to work without any tiny hands getting ahold if my iPod!

Besides that, the room is nearly ready. I have to hang a dry/erase board tonight (well, Brian's gonna hang it), and I must remember to take everyone's picture on the first day, so that I can put them on my wall - I got little music note die cuts for the pictures. I can't wait! I'll take pictures and post them when it's all done.

And I've been studying the curricula - I'm SO very excited about this and I know I'm going to love it. I'm nervous about teaching the actual classes, now that I've gotten used to the demo classes! But I'm more excited than nervous. I just have to plan the lessons and I think I'll be all set. Seems like there's no time lately to eat, sleep, clean the house, or relax - but I'll get there.

And, by the way...HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNI! I know, it was yesterday. Sorry I didn't even call you! We will talk soon. Hope you had a great day!

a big day for enrollment!

Yesterday morning when I left the house, my Kindermusik enrollment was 10. Last night, when I went to bed, it was 20!!!! I cannot believe that my enrollment DOUBLED in ONE DAY!! Things are going absolutely crazy. I had another few sign-ups today - and it's starting to look like I might break even or even make a little money this semester! This is wild and I'm loving every minute of it!

Mom and Dad are here - they got in tonight and they're leaving Saturday morning EARLY. They came down to get Nan and Pops' car. So tomorrow we're going to hang out, play cards, and go out to dinner. Brian is taking a half day off. :-)

OK, I have to go and place my materials order for Kindermusik! More later!

we sing hello, hello

Well, I did five demo classes last week and they all went well. Now I'm in the midst of registration and enrollment - and I'm still marketing and networking and mainly sweating! I visited 2 different preschools today and dropped off brochures for them to put out, and I'm hoping for the possibility of teaching at one of them! I'll be following up on that soon.

Everything is like a whirlwind with Kindermusik - I'm still getting emails from new people every day, and I have 3 more demo classes to do this week, and I still have to organize some more of my instruments, and tomorrow or Wednesday I have to order the Home Materials for the people who have registered and paid, and there are still a few finishing touches for my classroom, and...whew! This is a lot of work, but it sure is fun!

Mom and Dad are coming on Thursday night for a short visit - they'll be leaving on Saturday morning. We're going to play lots of cards and relax and take them probably to Seasons 52 for dinner on Friday night.

No news on the scrapbooking front - there's just no time for that lately! :-(

On an entirely different subject, here's an update on the Summer Reading Thing. (I've slowed down a bit due to the busyness of my life! And I made another change to my list, because I just don't think I'll have time to read another "print" book this summer - but I'm sure I can fit another audio book in!)

1 The Blue Zone - Andrew Gross
2 The Sixth Target - James Patterson
3 Main Corpse - Diane Mott Davidson
4 Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
5 Sisterchicks Do the Hula - Robin Jones Gunn
6 Sisterchicks Down Under - Robin Jones Gunn
7 The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - Alexander McCall Smith
8 Lean Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich
9 Being Committed - Anna Maxted
10 While My Pretty One Sleeps - Mary Higgins Clark
11 Queen of Broken Hearts - Cassandra King
12 Heartstopper - Joy Fielding
13 Body Surfing - Anita Shreve
14 Divine - Karen Kingsbury
15 Dream When You're Feeling Blue - Elizabeth Berg
16 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling
17 The Note - Angela Hunt
18 Where Are the Children? - Mary Higgins Clark
19 Dedication - Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
20 Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult

BLUE = currently reading
PURPLE = finished

catching up

Well. I've got a few spare minutes to blog while Brian takes a shower and before we watch our nightly episode of King of Queens. So I'll try to quickly catch up!

The rest of the week at my parents' was wonderful and fun. We ate at favorite restaurants, I visited Dad's voice lessons, Mom and I cleaned out closets and dressers and stuff till our little hearts were content. We even got Dad to go through some old stuff and throw things away! AND we found a bunch of slides and had some GREAT laughs - and then we shared them with Nan and Pops in the car on the way to the airport. In Columbus I even got the chance to stop by Archivers, a fabulous scrapbook store. And I only spent $13 in there! Amazing. All in all, it was a great week with Mom and Dad!

I came back home to find that my Kindermusik postcard was in my mailbox! (I mailed out 2500 of them to people in my area, and of course I mailed one to myself.) I literally walked in the door to a ringing phone - everyone else had gotten their postcards that day, too. The phone calls and emails haven't stopped coming since then! Which is great - but boy, am I busy! I've got 8 demo classes set up; my first one is Tuesday. I'm so nervous and excited! I'm going to spend most of the day tomorrow preparing. I'm even going to run through the whole thing with Brian (little does he know that I'm going to give him one of my old Cabbage Patch dolls and say, "Here, this is your kid.") LOL

So, this past Thursday we took off for the condo in Ft. Myers with Tim and Christi in tow. We spent all day Friday there and most of Saturday - we lounged by the pool, went to see "The Bourne Ultimatum," (GREAT movie), ordered pizza, played lots and lots of cards, sat around and talked, ate at the Shrimp Shack, and just relaxed. It was great fun, even if lots of things were not quite right! (I'll save that story for another post - there's just not time!) But, suffice it to say that the "Spider Van" (sung to the tune of the "Spider Man" theme song) is now parked in our driveway! More later. ;-)

Last night we had a long rehearsal at church (we learned some new songs) and then I had to practice quite a bit when I got home. (And then I STILL messed up some this morning during the service, ugh!) So we went to bed really late, got up early, did the church thing, then went to the Sprint store - I needed a new phone and a new phone number. (I had never gotten a local Florida number and hey - I just realized that it was 2 years ago today that we closed on our house in NY!) Anyway, I got the coolest phone, it's RED, (love it), it's called the Upstage. Flip phones and I don't get along, so this phone is perfect for me. :-)

We got home around 3:00 (after fooling around at the Sprint store forever and then going to eat) - and we relaxed for about an hour and then we headed over to the Presbyterian Church to work on my Kindermusik room. We worked there till 8:00, cleaning out things, cleaning up things, vacuuming several times, scrubbing, taking down the bulletin board stuff, covering the bulletin board, and etc. and etc. My wonderful husband vacuumed up all the scary bugs, and then we moved a big shelf and there were some dead lizards under there, and he got rid of those too, while I ran away! LOL They were weird, too - they were like little skeletons. Gross! Then he went all the way around the room and scrubbed the baseboards! We washed windows and I scrubbed the countertop within an inch of its life. When in doubt, use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. This church is like 100 years old and the room I'm using hasn't really been used for years, and there were all kinds of stains and paint and stuff on it - and I got it completely clean and shining! Brian even washed the mini blinds. That room looks and smells as great as a 100 year old room can.

Have I mentioned that I love my husband? He's fab. He helps me so much and supports me in my new little business. He's the best. :-D

So then we went and ate dinner and then went to the dreaded Walmart. I DESPISE Walmart and this trip did NOTHING to change my opinion. We were there for over an hour and I just needed help with one thing (I needed 6 storage bins and they only had 2, and both of those were broken.) Well, in the course of those 60+ minutes, I asked no less than 4 people to help me, and they all gave me some kind of big sob story about why they couldn't help me. Add this to all the random screaming kids, and parents screaming back at their kids, people dropping store merchandise at least 3 times and making large noises, crazy rednecks pushing their 2-year-olds around while cursing up a blue streak (the rednecks, not the kids, although it won't be long for the kids, I'm sure), the filthy store, the unorganized aisles, the mobs and mobs of people, most of them with B.O., the apathetic employees, and I'm sure more stuff I can't think of right now...........and ugh, you'll easily understand why I DESPISE Walmart. >:-( But, Brian got a Rubik's cube and that made it all better.

So now we're headed to bed. We're exhausted, but we've had a successful day! Tomorrow I'll take my instruments over and get the borders up on my bulletin boards, go to NY&Company and buy some shorts to teach in (they're on sale and they're comfy and long, so they're perfect), and study for the demo class. After Tuesday's class I can release this stress, since I'll be doing the same class 7 more times. Whew. OK, good night!

happy birthday brad!!!!

I'm coming to you live from my parents' house in Kentucky! I arrived in Columbus (Ohio) yesterday and Mom and Dad picked me up from the airport. Then we went to Max & Erma's and met Brad, Kari, and the precious and wonderful Braden. He is just the most amazing thing I've ever seen. He repeats everything you say, but he also just notices every single little thing in the world. If you have the tiniest little cut on your hand, he points to it and says, "Aunt Sis has an ouchie." It's the cutest thing! And he just thinks up funny things to say! Like, he just got all worked up and said, "I NEED some GWWWW-APES!" (grapes, but he doesn't always get the 'r' in there!) LOL Anyway, it was a wonderful time and I wish I could put Braden in my pocket and take him with me. :-)

So today was Brad's birthday and he's 29. Yay! We sang to him last night and Braden thought we were singing to him, of course! So cute. Anyway, happy birthday to my fabulous brother! I hope you enjoy the last year of your twenties!

Today I got up and Mom and I walked around the yard (me in my pajamas, of course) and talked about all her flowers. Then Dad and I went for a long walk in the neighborhood. The weather here is PERFECT. It's my dream weather. If I could live in a place where it was like this every day, I totally would. It's like 76 degrees or something, sunny, with a cool breeze. Perfect for shorts but not really hot.

After the walk we fooled around here and then Mom and I went through some of the clothes in their closets. Then I showered and we had lunch, and we got Dad in on the closet cleaning action. We have a nice big bag for Goodwill and hopefully we'll have more tomorrow. Then Nan and Pops came over for dinner. Mom cooked BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, homemade cornbread (she makes the BEST) and...GREEN BEANS! And not from a can either. The fresh green beans are my FAVORITE EVER and she cooks them in the pressure cooker. Yum!

But the highlight of my day was going to Barbershop practice with my dad tonight. My dad directs the Singing Kernels, the barbershop chorus here in Ashland. They sounded great! I saw more old men wearing shorts with white socks and black shoes than ever before!! HAHA! And one guy had on shorts and dress shoes (like wing tips!) with no socks! LOL But they really did sound wonderful. My dad is a fabulous director and I'm always amused when I watch him with any of his groups. They'll be singing, and I'll think, "Wow, the leads really need to watch the pronunciation of the word heaven." And they'll finish the song and Dad will go, "Leads, careful with the pronunciation of heaven!" LOL We think alike in a lot of ways about music. :-)

While I'm on the subject, I'll just brag on Dad a little more. He also sings lead in the Barons quartet. The Barons won the international championship in their division in 2003. I'm so proud of my dad and proud to be from a family with rich musical heritage. Now I could go into Dad's family and all their musical escapades and adventures, and tell you how his parents met at a singing convention, but I won't. It's late and I'm tired. Anyway, here are the Barons. Dad's on the left in the back, the one with the biggest smile. :-)
After barbershop, we came home and fooled around some more, and then Dad and I played a game of Gin rummy and Mom went to bed. Dad beat me, but I ALMOST made a comeback! But I still didn't win. At one point, he had like 400 points and I had ZERO, and then I scored THREE points, and we had a huge big laugh about that. After the game we talked about how we've always played games (cards, especially) and how it's hard for me to understand when people tell me they didn't grow up playing games! That's just about all we did - we played games and sang a LOT - and I'm so glad. We still spend the holidays playing millions of games (and singing a lot, too!) I love it. I love my family. :-)

book reviews and stuff

As you know, I've been reading lots of books this summer. So I've decided to post a few reviews, especially since I've been trying out some new authors.

"The Blue Zone" by Andrew Gross - I really enjoyed this book. Andrew has been writing along with James Patterson, and this is his first book writing alone. The story is a mystery with underlying tones of family and trust. It had some VERY interesting plot twists that I didn't see coming. And I usually see everything coming, so this was a nice surprise. There was some of what I consider to be unnecessary language, but I guess that's a given in most secular books. I would recommend this book if you like a good mystery.

"Heartstopper" by Joy Fielding - I had never read anything by Joy Fielding, so I had no expectations when I began this book. It's another mystery; I love mysteries! Anyway, right from the start she gives lots of clues as to who the murderer is...but then she gives more clues that allude to someone else than who you previously thought...and then even more clues pointing to someone else. I really liked this. At one point, I thought, "OK the murderer could be any of these people..." And then I went on to name like 15 people, and then I realized that I had just named practically every character in the book. :-) I loved that. But as it got nearer the end, I said to Brian, "I think the murderer is (a person who I won't mention here)." And I was right, even though the author TOTALLY tried to throw you off that person's scent.

This book was not a difficult read - in fact, the writing was a bit elementary for my taste. I like something a little more sophisticated. But I did enjoy it and I will probably read her again. (Even though there was also unnecessary language in this book, too.)

"Where Are the Children?" by Mary Higgins Clark - Disclaimer: I've loved everything I've read by this author. She really has a knack for storytelling, and it's often hard to guess what will happen next. I had NO IDEA who the killer was in this book until she revealed it. It was really a great read, and none of her books have any language in them, which I appreciate. What's interesting about that: she creates some really nasty characters who, in real life, would probably use profanity. But she manages to make them evil without using unnecessary language; I think some other authors (ahem, James Patterson) could take a lesson from Mary. I would totally recommend this book and anything else written by this author.

"The Sixth Target" by James Patterson - Speaking of Patterson, I might as well go ahead and review this book. I should start by saying that I am a fan of James Patterson. I've read every book he's written. It's hard to beat his "Alex Cross" series. I practically RUN to the library whenever I hear he's written something new. This book is the 6th book in his "Women's Murder Club" series.

With that said, I was pretty disappointed in this book. I felt like it was lazily written and there was lots of "filler." In other words, there were big sections of the book that didn't have anything at ALL to do with the story, and they were boring and could have totally been cut out. Maybe he was trying to make a word quota, who knows. But there were many times when I looked at Brian and said, "I don't CARE!!!! What's going on in the court room??!! Who is the killer??!! What has happened to (name of character, don't want to give anything away)??!!" I couldn't possibly care less about the main character's love life, her walks with her dog, or the details of her dinner. *rolling eyes*

I don't know if I would really recommend this one. I would, however, recommend his "Alex Cross" series and most of the other books in the "Women's Murder Club" series.

"Divine" by Karen Kingsbury - Another new author for me. This is a Christian author, so I was excited to read her. But I'm pretty picky when it comes to books, and her prologue was so long, drawn out, and boring, I almost gave up on the book. But I'm glad I didn't because it was a great story.

The main complaint I have about this book was the author's writing style. (I told you, I'm pretty picky!) This is a modern-day Mary Magdalene story. Well, this was a Christian writer trying to tell a "difficult" story and she just didn't do a good job with parts of it. At one point, there was this horrible drug-dealing pimp, and he would say things like, "Be quiet, little girl." I mean, come on. Drug dealing pimps don't say that! They slap people around, scream "Shut up! Shut up, or I'll give you something to cry about," or something.

Again, that said, this was a great story of grace and forgiveness and there were points of suspense that were well-written and exciting. I would recommend this book if you can stand a childish (my opinion) writing style.

"Body Surfing" by Anita Shreve - This is the second book I've read by her, and while she's not on my "favorite authors" list, I have enjoyed her books. Interestingly, the family in this book lives in the same house as the family in her other book I've read, "The Pilot's Wife." Several times in the book, they speak of buying the house from that family. Anyway, this is another story of family, love, and loss. It is a pretty good read. The plot was predictable at times, but I still liked the story.

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In other news, life has just been pretty normal around here. I've been working away at getting my Kindermusik business going. It costs a LOT for advertising and to order all the instruments and stuff! I wish it would hurry and start so I could MAKE some money to pay back all that I've been using to get everything going!

Oh, I almost forgot to say...Brian and I are going be an aunt & uncle AGAIN! For the FOURTH time! Jason (Brian's brother) and his wife Angela are expecting. We are SO excited at the prospect of a new niece or nephew to join Emma, Will, and Braden.

In a few weeks, I'll go visit Mom and Dad in KY. Mom and I are going to clean out, organize, throw away, and clean out some more. I'm hoping to get a good look at all her pictures. :-) I'm also hoping to get to Dayton for a day to see sweet, precious Braden (and I guess Brad and Kari too, ha!)

And lastly, I've been scrapping a ton! Scrapfest at LM REALLY SUPER motivates me! I will attach a few more recent pages: