9.24.2007

fall into reading 2007



Yay! My friend Leslie just told me about Fall Into Reading 2007!! I'm really excited to see how many books I can read! Anyone can participate, just go here to sign up.

And without further ado, here is my list for fall:

1. Main Corpse - Diane Mott Davidson
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling
3. Sisterchicks Down Under - Robin Jones Gunn
4. While My Pretty One Sleeps - Mary Higgins Clark
5. The Note - Angela Hunt
6. Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult
7. Mercy - Jodi Picoult
8. Still Summer - Jacquelyn Mitchard
9. Iced - Carol Higgins Clark
10. The Infidelity Pact - Carrie Karasyov
11. Getting Rid of Matthew - Jane Fallon
12. Best Kept Secrets - Sandra Brown
13. Queen of Babble in the Big City - Meg Cabot
14. Daddy's Girl - Lisa Scottoline
15. The Quickie - James Patterson
16. Second Chance - Jane Green
17. Finding Noel - Richard Paul Evans
18. Miss Julia Strikes Back - Ann B. Ross
19. Peace Like a River - Leif Enger
20. The Grilling Season - Diane Mott Davidson
21. The Sunday Philosophy Club - Alexander McCall Smith
22. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons - Lorna Landvik
23. Santa Cruise: A Holiday Mystery at Sea - Mary Higgins Clark
24. The Christmas Thief - Mary Higgins Clark

BLUE = currently reading
PURPLE = finished

summer reading thing recap

Well, the summer reading thing ended yesterday. I read ALMOST all of the books I wanted to read, but Kindermusik took up way more time than I thought it would! LOL Here's my recap:

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

*How many total books did you read? Were you surprised by that number?
I read 15 books and am in the middle of reading 2 more. Yes, I'm surprised at the number, because it's so little! I can usually read more than this, but as I said, I'm working now and so I don't have as much time.

*How do you feel about what you read?
I liked every book I read and I loved several of them.

*What about your stretch book? Did you find that you enjoyed it after all? Are you planning to read more of that genre/author?
I had several "stretch" books, meaning authors and/or genres I had not read before. They are as follows:
1. The Blue Zone - Andrew Gross
2. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
3. Queen of Broken Hearts - Cassandra King
4. Heartstopper - Joy Fielding
5. Divine - Karen Kingsbury

I enjoyed all of these books, some more than others. I will probably read all of the authors again. My least favorite of these five was Karen Kingsbury, but I will still probably give her another chance. The rest will be added to my list of favorite authors, though I'm still a big skeptical about Cassandra King.

Ender's Game was very new to me - a new genre AND new author. Brian had recommended this book as he loves reading Sci-Fi. And it was really, really good - with a twist I absolutely never imagined. :-)

*Did you read as many books as you intended to? Or more? How do you feel about that?
As I said before, I wanted to read more, and I'm a bit disappointed, but it's really good for me to be working again and I'm enjoying reading more now that I have less time to do it.

*Was this fun? Do you want to continue (if so, sign up for Katrina's Fall Into Reading challenge.)
Yes, I will definitely continue. It was a blast!

9.20.2007

the aroma of autumn

As I left from my evening Kindermusik class last night, I smelled a fire burning. It reminded me of burning leaves and when my grandparents used to burn their trash when I was little. Bonfires, hayrides, pumpkin patches - that scent brought all things autumn to mind. Too bad we won't have any TRULY cool weather until November or December! (If you consider the 70s to be cool!)

Last week was a wild one. I interviewed again with the Montessori school to teach their elementary music, and thus started the figuring out of hours, salary, times, etc. I think we have it pretty close to being nailed down. I'm going again tomorrow to go over curriculum and do my final paperwork. I'm a little worried about being too busy, but I'm also excited at the prospect of doing something new. These are some great kids and I think they will be a lot of fun to work with.

My cousin Chris, who is the minister of music at our church, resigned last Tuesday. That was pretty weird. When he resigned, he made it effective immediately. So now we're not sure what exactly is in store for the band. The pastor gave us last Sunday off (a HUGE blessing, after the crazy week I had) and we're going to start putting things back together this weekend. I think we're going to be ok - I'm not sure who's going to lead. I'm not really sure about anything, but I know we love playing together and I'm really excited to see what God has in store for us. I've definitely shed a few tears over the past week, knowing things will never be the same, but I'm also anxious to see what this all means for us. I think we'll be taking baby steps and just getting a feel for how things will be.

Today I saw some love bugs. THEY'RE BACK! They come during certain times of the year, when the temperature is just right. They are a huge pain! I'll be glad to see them go - and get some cooler weather. Though it's starting to be nice in the evenings.

Well, I have one more class to teach in a little while, and then I'm done for the week. I also have a few new piano students! I went from doing nothing to doing everything! LOL Hopefully I'll have some pictures to share later.

9.10.2007

just an update

It's been awhile! Although Kindermusik is going GREAT and it's so much fun I can't even believe I'm getting paid to do it, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. One of my marketing strategies included contacting a school about 30 minutes away whose Kindermusik program had to close down this year because the teacher moved away. In contacting them, I found out that they are looking for an elementary music teacher. This is a Montessori school and I'm very unfamiliar with their program, but I've now had 2 interviews with them and today I went and observed a class. They do blended ages, so 1st through 3rd grades are all in the same class and 4th through 6th grades are together. It's an interesting environment! Anyway, I think things are looking positive and it's only a few hours a week, so I'm seriously considering it.

I had one wild class last week - a class with 5 3-year-old boys. They were just crazy! I learned a lot from that class! I now have a strategy for this week, since we didn't really get anything done last week. Whew! Part of me feels like I'm an aerobics instructor! LOL I do get a lot of exercise during the classes. And it's SO fun!

In other news, I actually RAN on the treadmill this week! I know, I'm shocked too. I've never been able to run - I always get a side cramp! I can't even run to the end of the driveway! So I was pretty proud. I only ran for 2 minutes, and then I walked awhile, and then I ran for 2 more minutes!! That doesn't seem like much, I know, but for me - it's a big deal! LOL

OK, here are some pictures of my Kindermusik classroom! I'll leave you with those and maybe my life will become more interesting at some point so I can write about something besides kids and music! :-)




8.28.2007

i survived the first day

This morning I had my first two Kindermusik classes ever. (not counting demo classes) It was SO MUCH FUN! I loved seeing all the funny things the kids did and said. They really get into the dancing and singing! I can tell I'm really going to love teaching these classes.

OK, gotta go! I'm still horribly busy - I have to plan for 2 more brand new classes tomorrow, and then all the rest of the classes tomorrow and Thursday will be repeats. I love that I can teach the same class 2 or 3 times during a week - that way I don't have to do as much planning! Thursday should be super easy!

And just imagine - after 2 years, the curricula starts all over again, so I'll be teaching these same units in the fall of 2009. It should be REALLY easy by then!

Oh yeah - and my total enrollment is now 35. I'm thrilled! More later.

8.24.2007

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!

8.22.2007

more kindermusik kraziness

I can't even believe what is happening with my Kindermusik enrollment! It's less than a week until classes begin, and I'm having people enrolling left and right! Now I'm at 31 - 31 kids enrolled!! I can't even believe it! This is going to be a great semester. :-)

8.17.2007

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!

8.13.2007

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

8.05.2007

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!