AUGUST 9, 2008 Here is the link to my new blog. I've been having some troubles with this one so I'm trying something different. It might last......who knows. Like I said, I'm having problems with the website so you'll have to copy and paste the address below. It would not let me make it a link. Let me know what you think! http://bassoonbabble.blogspot.com
JULY 27, 2008 I can't believe July is almost over. I had an incredible trip back to Oklahoma. My boss, Holli, wanted to go to the Okie Noodling Festival in Pauls Valley, so I took her. We had a blast our whole 5 days! We went to the Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Landrun Memorial, OKC Memorial, noodling fest, and had amazing Mexican food! That, of course, was the most important part :) The pictures are up in the photo gallery. August brings with it a very busy time. I take off to Midland in 3 weeks for my orchestra audition. I keep telling my parents that out of all of my job auditions this year I'll probably get this one just because I always said I'd never ever live in Texas! The day after I get back to Minneapolis (hopefully with a new job) I head to New York with some of my girlfriends! We are so excited and we've been looking forward to it for months! We are going to see some shows and just really relax and enjoy ourselves. We keep joking around about how we'll probalby be eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in Central Park because we plan on spending most of our money on Broadway shows. :) Fine by me! The day after I get back from New York, Holli, one of her friends, and myself are going to see Jonny Lang at the Minnesota State Fair! Also super excited about that! I've been wanting to see him in concert since I was in high school . One more artist checked off of my list! :) Then on August 30 Holli is going to take me to the Ridgeland tractor pull in Wisconsin! Why would I want to go to that you might ask. Well, really the same reason she wanted to go to the Noodling Fest. For the atmosphere. Apparently it draws quite the crowd. A week after that (if the Midland audition doesn't go well) I'm taking off for Fort Myers, Florida for another audition, then to North Carolina for another 2 days after that, and then a week later West Virginia. Hopefully I won't have to go past Midland, but I'm staying realistic and not getting my hopes up too high. That's about all I"m up to. Just working and practicing. And this week's movie in the park.........Pirates of the Carribean!!!!!! woohoo!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!! :)
JULY 4, 2008 So I had an awesome 4th of July this year! It started off with a bang the night of the 3rd when I went to the park to watch Independence Day with Alliosn! What better way to bring in the 4th of July than with a rockin' classic? As cheesy as it is I had forgotten how much I actually liked that movie :) And I got to watch it with a newbie because Allison had never seen it. There was a slight attack by mosquitos, but nothing too tragic or bad enough to ruin our evening. Next movie at the park......Muppet Movie!!!! For the actual 4th we had a cookout at Peter's....brats, hamburgers, and my homemade cookies :) Super fun and I think it's the first 4th of July I've ever experience where I wasn't sweating to death after 15 minutes....I guess being up North has a few advantages. After our stomachs were full and happy we headed over to the Stone Arch bridge and watched the fireworks over the Mississippi River. It was about a 30 minute walk each way, but it was worth it. And when you're in good company the time goes by quickly. That was pretty much our evening, nothing too out of the ordinary.... just eating, drinking, and being merry! :) We did not have any home-made ice cream though and I was a little upset over this. I'm slowly getting over it though....it's tough. :)
JUNE 16, 2008 So this was an incredible weekend!! Friday Allison and I had ice cream and walked around Lake Calhoun and then walked to the nearby Lake Harriet bandshell and listened to some music. Not the best music....but it was still fun. Saturday afternoon after work Holli and I took a stroll across the stone arch bridge for the 2008 Stone Arch Bridge Festival. Similar to the OKC Arts Festival there was some pretty good art that I, of course, could not afford. so we just looked around....bought some delicious kettle corn, and made our way home. Saturday evening Allison, Katie, and I got all gussied up and went to the final Minnesota Orchestra concert of the season. We got some really cute pictures in front of the waterfall sculpture outside. After the concert it was pouring down rain (completely unexpected). We had planned on walking over to the Dakota (a little jazz club) for some late night jazz and desserts. We thought....hmm.....we'll take the skyway!! It will take us a little longer because we'd have to take the long way and back track, but we will stay dry.....the skywalks are a genius idea!!! Well....a few blocks in the skyway and we are presented with a sign....."Skyway closed ahead"!!! What?! Okay....so now we have to figure out exactly what block we're on and how far from the Dakota we actually are. Thankfully we came across this older couple who had gone to the orchestra concert and had parked right near the Dakota. The man kindly gave us directions and told us we were as close to the Dakota as we were going to get. So here we go running (all dressed up and in heals mind you) down 2 block and over 3 blocks in the rain. Did I mention is got cold while we were inside too?! It was actually pretty fun and probably pretty hilarious to the many spectators. Anyhow....the music was good and the bartender (a friend of Katie's) bought our desserts with the promise that we would visit again. Not a problem my friend......not a problem! Now for the highlight of the weekend.......Sunday I hosted a 2008 Tony Awards Party at my apartment. Unfortunately not many people could come because they are in and out of town for the summer. However......the few of us there had a blast!! We each dressed up as a Broadway character and sat in front of the tv anxiously awaiting the performances of each nominee for best musical and best revival of a musical. We were hoping to narrown down our choices of shows to see while we're in New York. We had a grand ole time and are no closer to being able to decide what to see. :) Well...maybe a little. Wicked was on the top of our list, but we found out that it's coming to Minneapolis in November and tickets went on sale today. We wanted to see it on Broadway, but tickets for the touring show were a $100 cheaper so we opted to see that here and pick something else to see in New York. It all works out for the best!! Now I'm even more excited about New York and going through quite the Broadway musical phase on my ipod! :) There is of course a new album in the photo album section. There are also pictures from the Minnesota Orchestra in the Summer Fun album.....enjoy!
JUNE 8, 2008 Quick update. I made dinner for some friends last night. We even had an addition to our group. My boss, Holli (who is also coming to Oklahoma with me in July), joined us. I made shrimp creole, stinky cheese bread, and my first eve r pecan pie!!! It was soooooooo much fun, and thankfully all of the food went over well. There was nothing left....except for creole because I made it for 12 people and there were only 5 of us. But now I have meals for a week :) That's pretty much it. There are pictures from the dinner party in the Summer Fun album!
MAY 25, 2008 I finally made it back to Minneapolis after a 3 week audition marathon. I have to say I'm utterly exhausted! I don't think I can get enough sleep. It's like I haven't slept for 3 weeks...hmm (I wonder why that would be?). I've been catching up with all of my friends the past couple of days and running all those errands you have to run after vacation (groceries, post office, etc.) There are 2 new albums in the photo gallery from my trips to Houston and N'AWLINS....which I absolutely loved by the way! If the economy wasn't still building up down there I would move there in a heart beat....at least for a year. I've heard after living through 1 Mardi Gras you get it out of your system pretty quickly. That's all....enjoy the pictures!!
MAY 5, 2008 TORONTO I'm sure most of you heard through the grapevine that I made it to the semi-final round on my first audition. They only took 3 out of 12 to the final round, but I figure for my first audition I'm okay with top 12. It helped boost my confidence a little for my next 3 auditions (well, maybe not Charleston since it is a principal position). Anyhow, I had some time to myself to explore Toronto. And by explore I mean get lost. I went to tour this castle/house and when I got off the subway I was completely turned around direction wise. I took off in the complete opposite direction and wandered around neighborhoods for and hour and a half. Pretty neighborhoods though :) I guess I should have used the knowledge I gained from watching 'Friends' and gotten "in the map" (I'm sure Tara can appreciate that last line). Anyway, there are some pictures in the photo gallery. I (or my parents) will keep everyone updated on the next adventure.....Charleston, SC.
APRIL 26, 2008 SAYING GOODBYE TO GOOD FRIENDS Last night I said goodbye to an old friend. Actually I've only known her for 2 barely 2 years, but I always felt like I've known her forever. This is how it happened...... The summer before I came to Minnesota I was in Austria for a 2 week music festival. The flute player told me that one of her students was going to Minnesota. This student (she didn't tell me her name) was very into playing in chamber groups so she was going to send me her email to contact her once I got to Minneapolis. The day of orientation/entrace exams I sat down at one of the lunch tables by myself. 2 random girls came and asked if they could sit with me. We got to talking and one of them mentioned she was from Boise State. This rang an bell and I asked her if her teacher was Dr. Molumby. She said yes, with much surprise. I asked her if she was the flute player who likes chamber music and she said "yes. Are you the bassoon player I'm supposed to contact?!" This was Christina! Deanna, sitting across from us, happened to play clarinet and that was the beginning of our chamber ensemble. The next semester we invited Katie, the oboe player, to join us. We all instantly became close friends. We went through a lot together over the past 2 years. As it turns out, Deanna and her husband are moving to Vermont in May. He is starting a landscaping business there. They leave the day after she is done with finals and unfortunately I will still be gone taking auditions. Christina and I decided to throw her a little surprise moving away party. We invited her to come over to have a last girl's night/dinner with me, Christina, and Katie. Little did she know there were 12 other people awaiting her arrival. She was very surprised!!! When I met her at the main entrance of the apartment she apologized for being late. Once she walked into the apartment and got passed the surprised stage she turns to her husband and says "we were late for all of these people?!" very Deanna. :) There was cake, jambalaya, and lots of friends. We all just sat around until 11:30 and talked....nothing else. you'd think with 15 people of such different interests and types, conversation would die. NEVER!! The party was a success. A little bittersweet becaust it's the last time I will see her before she leaves, but now I have someone to visit in Vermont! There are pictures in the photo gallery.
APRIL 21,2008 IT'S A TWISTER IT'S A TWISTER!!!! So how many of you can say you've played Twister in the past 5 years? I can!!! My friends and I decided to be nostalgic on Saturday and bought the game. It was so much fun! I have to say it's a little harder when you're older for various reasons........ 1. I'm definitely not as flexible as I used to be 2. You have to step quietly so as not to disturb your downstairs neighbors 3. 20-something year olds are much larger than 7 year olds and 4 people don't fit as well on the game mat as they used to. Much harder to get that left foot between someones' legs to the red circle. We still had a blast though. It was a nice distraction from practicing and such. However, now it's back to work because I leave in 1 week and 3 days for my first audition!!! I'm sure there will be more Twister in the future. For some hilarious pictures click below............ HERE
April 17, 2008 Well, a few weeks ago my dad and cousins traveled up to see my cousin start his first major league baseball game as a pitcher for the Twins.!! It was super fun, and he did very well. The coffee shop where I work is right by the field so my boss and I have formed his first official fan club. He got the family tickets including Holli and myself. The family came in the afternoon of the game to see me and Nick kindly signed Holli's jersey. He was super excited. And all the girls could talk about for days was how good looking my cousin is. I was in quite a bit of trouble because I hadn't informed anyone he was so "hot". I just figured that when I said he was a Blackburn it was implied that he was good looking!! :) There are some pictures in the photo gallery. There are also new pictures from my roommates recital this past week. These are most of my friends I've made in Minnesota. Not all of them, but the ones we could round up for pictures. I love them all!!! 2 weeks until my audition marathon begins!!!!
MARCH 14, 2008 I have 3 auditions in May!!!! First is Toronto, then I fly from there to South Carolina, and then from there to Oklahoma City so Mom and I can drive down to Louisiana for the last audition!!! Yikes! I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but the thought of having an orchestra job by the end of May is a feeling of relief. The thought of doing something that I've been dreaming about since I was 5 makes me so happy!!!! It's so close I can taste it. I've decided that all I can do is work hard and play as well as I can. If I feel good about the audition and they still don't want me, that's all I can ask for. It's better than them not taking me and feeling like I bombed it. It's very hard to find a balance between staying positive and staying realistic whilst not getting your hopes up. That's about all here. This is the last weekend of the opera I've been playing in for the last month. It's been a lot of fun and I'm still not tired of playing it, but it will be nice having Friday and Saturday nights free. That's all.
February 24, 2008 Pictures of the I-35W Bridge tour and a building that burned down a couple of blocks from the coffee shop. Everything on the building froze after they put the fire out, and now it looks like something from Ghostbusters!!!
The construction workers at the bridge come in the coffee shop everday since we're so close. They invited us to come along on the tour.
February 18, 2008 Not a whole lot has happened in the last month or 2. I've been working a lot more hours at the coffee shop. I didn't think I'd enjoy working that many hours at there, but it's not too bad. After almost 20 years of school, it's nice to have a fairly simple job where I can enjoy the company of all the regular customers that come in and the people I work with. Because I see the same people come in almost everyday it feels somewhat like small town. It's very refreshing after being in this huge city that is so easy to get lost in. I love my work schedule! I have to get up at 4, but only because my car has to warm up for 20 minutes before I can drive it. :) I normally work from 5-10 or 11, which allows me to come home and practice a little take a break practice some more. I don't have to cram it in all at once. I only have to do that on the days I go in at 6:45 and don't get off until 1:30. All in all, I think it's the best thing I could ask for at the moment. I've been subbing for a bassoon player in quite a few community groups. She's having a baby in May so she's a little too tired to do all of her stuff. yay for people having babies! I'm also playing in a community opera company production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia. G&S is all this company ever does. it's so much fun!!! The opera runs for about a month every Friday-Sunday. Super good times. Since I don't technically have Spring Breaks anymore I'm going to stick around here while the school is out. Not many of my frineds are leaving so I think we're going to take a small 2 or 3 day road trip to Mt. Rushmore. It should be fun. Hopefully everything pans out. I've always wanted to go there. But seeing as how their break is only weeks away and it's still really cold here, it might have to wait until summer. that's about all that's going on. If anything else exciting happens I'll let you know. DECEMBER 16, 2007 Pictures from my graduation weekend are in the photo gallery!!! It was so much fun We had a party at one of my teacher's condos last night. We all went to Chipotle for dinner and then came back to his place for a forte-piano recital and desserts. Then some of my friends and I went out afterward to celebrate being done....them for the semester and me FOREVER! Hanging out with them made me realize how glad I am that I'm sticking around next semester. This past Wednesday we had a taco/game night at our apartment. I made chicken tacos and Bryan made salsa. It was a good 'ole time and it was very very fun playing hostess :) I didn't realize I like that kind of thing so much. We played some Disney Scene-it, Uno Attack, and Sweet Valley High board game for old time's sake. :) Hopefully I'll be hosting a few more of those after Christmas break. yay!! Anyway. Check out the pictures!
New pictures from my fun recital this past Wednesday and today. The first snowfall of the year!!! We're supposed to have 6-10 inches by the time it's done. :)
DECEMBER 1, 2007
1. IT IS COLD! 2. I GRADUATE IN 13 DAYS!!! This can't be long because I have to go to work. sorry.
NOVEMBER 2, 2007 So for some reason my last post didn't work. It was a really good one too, dad gum it! Oh well. This gives me something to do. Basically, my recital is over and done with. However, the music was just soooo much fun that I'm performing it again for woodwind recital hour. I feel as if I need to prove to people here that I'm a decent player because they didn't give me a lot of big playing opportunities. Sometimes you just have to make stuff happen. Plus the performer in me loves it too much. I think giving recitals is the one thing I'll miss after graduation. I also took and passed my oral exams last week! Just to make it perfectly clear what oral exams are.....it's basically an hour long free-for-all question/answer session. There are 3 people on my grading committee and they can ask me anything they want based on my recital program and the classes I've taken since I started school here. Pretty terrifying and believe me I was shaking in my boots....but turns out it wasn't too bad. I was thoroughly releived when it was over though :) Let's see what else? Oh! Some friends and I went to here the Minnesota Orchestra play Beethoven's 7th Symphony this weekend! Absolutely incredible. I've found that sometimes school sucks the fun out of playing, but it's experiences like these that make me remember why I'm doing this and how much I love to play. Hopefully one day that will be me on that stage. I"ve been dreaming about that day since I was 5. I can't wait! One of my friends is taking me to see the Broadway musical version of The Lion King next week for my birthday/graduation! I'm super excited!!!! one of our other friends is also going to join us. Girls night plus Disney musical! :) woohoo. Can't get a whole lot better :) We've finally gotten some Minnesota weather the past couple of days. It's so crisp and beautiful in the morning! You know what that means...........HATS AND COATS!!!! I love it! :) Unfortunately the time change has messed with my plans a little. the cold doesn't bother me anymore when I run, but now it's dark when I leave for school and it's dark by the time I get home. :( guess it's time to actually join the YWCA. Classes are going well. I had a presentation due the last day of class (Dec. 12) but someone wanted to switch so now I get to get it out of the way on Monday! then I'll really be cruising until the end of the semester. :) Love it. Oh and by they way, I picked up my graduation apparel the other day and my Master's hood is pink!!! Sweet!!!! I was even happier then when I found out my tassel for my undergrad. graduation was pink :) I get a whole hood!!! Well, I think that's it for now. Hopefully this post works correctly. If not I'll be switching websites soon. Anyway, that's all. I'll be taking pictures of friends and things as the semester comes to an end. :( I will miss my friends. But thankfully I'll be in the cities while they're finishing school so I'll still get to see and hang out with them. I can't believe we've all become so close in just the year and a half I been here. It's pretty incredible. but don't worry....I still miss my friends back home very much. I think this is probably long enough :) OCTOBER 28, 20 Pictures from my recital in the photo album. Thank you for coming family!!! Love you! OCTOBER 2, 2007 My cousin Nick has been pitching some games for the Twins the past month or so. He called me one night asking if I would be interested in tickets to one of the games. Well, of course I didn't pass that up! There are a few pictures in the photo gallery of mine and Bryan's trip to the Metrodome to see the Minnesota Twins!
September 8,2007 First off I must say...........BOOMER SOONER!!!!! I actually got to watch the game today. :) After a frantic trip to Target in search of rabbit ear antennas for my tv and a few minutes pleading with the cashier to sell me the last ones they had that they keep behind the counter, it was a success. Once he realized it was a football related emergency he was more than willing to sell me the set behind the counter (that they're not supposed to sell apparently). Anyway, school is now in session and I graduate in 3 months and 6 days! My recital is scheduled for October 20 and my oral exams are scheduled for Tuesday, October 30, at 4:30pm!! eeck!!! It's basically a one hour free for all. There are 3 faculty members on my examining committee, and they pretty much just ask me whatever they want based on my recital repertoire and all of the classes I've taken at the University. Scary, but at least I'll have the hard stuff done by the end of October. School is going well. Ensemble auditions are out of the way and the results will be posted on Monday. I am now into a regular practice routine....thank goodness. The one thing I don't like about summer is the involuntary lack of routine. Practice rooms open at weird hours, and things just don't seem to flow as smoothly, and you know me......disorder drives me nuts!! :) I'm taking guitar as a secondary instrument this semester. I've always wanted to learn classical guitar so I figured I might as well get credit for it while taking from one of the best classical guitarists in the Twin Cities. The other best being the other teacher at the UofM. Anyway, my teacher and I have been emailing one another for about a week now to set up a lesson time and what not. Guitar studio class was yesterday. It's where all of guitar students get together and perform for one another and things of that sort. It was an interesting experience. First of all, I was the only girl among about 15 guys! Second, well......just read this next passage. It was the result of my teacher going around introducing everyone. Mr. Flegel: (looking at me strangely) "And who are you?!" Me: I'm TJ Flegel: "Oh!" (with a look of disbelief) Another student: "Were you expecting a dude?" Flegel: "Well, kind of. I had this image in my head of a sulky bassoon player who didn't want to put forth any effort so he decided to take guitar as an easy way out." Me: "Nope" (with a huge grin on my face) Flegel: "Well I'm looking much more forward to teaching you than this other person I had in my head." After all of this I got an email from him last night. This is what it said: " It was nice to meet you today-sorry I thought you were a surely unshowered, unshaven, male slacker grad student. No idea where that image came from -- but I'm really looking forward to your lessons--now." Not only do I have a name that can be mistaken for a boy (which I'd gotten used to), but apparently it puts off a vibe of an unshaven, unshowerd hippie slacker. :) it makes for a fun story. I really got a kick out of it. I guess that's about it. I'll put pictures of my new apartment up in a few weeks. There is a family with 2 young kids that live right out my window. The kids are so much fun to listen to when they're playing outside!! They're probably around Christopher and Ethan's age....maybe a little younger than Christopher. I heard one of them say he was David Hasselhoff the other day. Not sure how he knew who that was, or what kind of make believe story they were acting out, but I got a really good kick out of it! I also discovered very quickly that our neighborhood is surrounded by hills. I noticed it for the first time while I was running.....not the best way to find things out for the first time. On the other hand, there's a walking bridge that goes right over I-94 that takes you to a really nice neighborhood by the river. Nice little running path and everything! Okay that's all. :)
AUGUST 27, 2007: VERY QUICK UPDATE I realize I just updated my blog yesterday, but I got some very exciting news in the mail today. I received my official approval to graduate in December!!!!! :) :) :)
AUGUST 26,2006: GREAT STATE FAIR OF MIIIIINNESOTA ! So today my manager at work, Holli, invited me to go to the state fair with her. I had thought about making the trek this year just to see what it was like. I've never liked the Oklahoma state fair, but this one is a really big deal so I thought I'd take a gander. 2 words FOOD and PEOPLE! While I was at work Holli mentioned to a few people that we were going. They all kept saying "are you going to eat cheese curds?!" This to me sounded absolutely disgusting. Who would want to eat anything called a cheese curd? Apparently it was completely unacceptale that I have lived in Minnesota for a year and never had a cheese curd. So of course when we got to the fair Christina, Holli, and I bought some to split. It's a big ball of fried cheddar cheese! Not the worse thing I've ever had. Interesting, but not horrible. I'm not a fan of fried food, but it's better than say....fried chicken. So there it is. Today I had my first cheese curd. After walking around through the sea of people we went home with home brewed rootbeer and very tired feet. Mine and Holli's next adventure is the Renaissance Fair!!! Now that I'm really looking forward to. ;) Anyway, that's about it for me. Other than the fact that I'll be suffering insomnia there's not a whole lot going on until school starts either. If I see anymore friends with multiple legs I'll let you know......if I'm still alive. PICTURES IN THE GALLERY
AUGUST 11, 2007 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! Even though I saw you about 4 hours ago I thought I'd add that in here. I've spent the last 4-5 days driving with Mom and Dad up to northern Minnesota. We drove to Duluth and then from there drove along the coast of Lake Superior up to the Canadian border and saw the International Falls. Half of the river is Canada and the other half is Minnesota. Dad skipped a rock to Canada :) It was fun. Did you know it gets colder the further north you go? :) I think it was especially chilly because of the lake, which we had to keep reminding ourselves was a lake and not an ocean. It's pretty incredible. I've decided I would loooooove to live in Duluth. However, if you stuck me there during the winter I might....might....change my mind. Guess we'll just have to wait and find out. There are pictures of the trip in the photo gallery! :) I've made it through the first milestone of graduating in December. My papers have now been sent to the Graduate School office which is the last office that has to approve my graduation request. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
AUGUST 6, 2007 The past week has been fairly eventful. I had my final on Friday morning so I'm done with class! Never again will I have to make another 12-tone row (just 20th century theory talk). Things have been absolutely crazy around here traffic-wise. There are detours every because of the bridge. Some of the buses I take are having to take different routes because of it. I don't know how many time I've gone to a normal stop where I usually catch the bus and been greeted by a huge sign in red block letters "BUS DOES NOT STOP HERE! AFFECTIVE NOW!!" I usually end up having to walk another 3 blocks to the last stop on its original route before it detours. It's kind of a mess, but necessary none the less. The roads that run along campus and the river have been closed off so I'm never sure what route I'm going to take to school. I went to work for the first time on Saturday night since the accident. Our particular Caribou store is very close to the 35W bridge so we've been brewing huge catering canisters of coffee non-stop since Wednesday night taking them to the Red Cross and the rescue workers at the river. I didnt' work on Wednesday, but apparently they stayed open until 11 the next morning. It's quite a bit of work, but everyone working the accident appreciates it. We've also started this week giving complementary beverages and food to anyone in uniform (nurses, doctors, policmen, etc.) It's the least we can do after the hours they've had to put in. When I think about it I'm not really contributing that much to the cause, but I'm glad I can help in some way, as small as it may be. I'd help search for people if they'd let me, but I'm not quite qualified to do that. :) On a lighter note, Mom and Dad arrive this afternoon! They're going to help me move some things to the new apartment and then we're going to drive up to northern Minnesota. We always heard it was really pretty so we're going to experience it for ourselves. I think Mom found some cool things we can do. It should be fun. I don't start school until the Tuesday after Labor Day so I'll be enjoying a good month long break until then. I'm still waiting on the right people to sign my papers for graduation. Hopefully it will come through and I'll be graduating in 4 MONTHS AND 8 DAYS!!!! I'm not excited or anything. ;)
AUGUST 1. 2007 My cell phone si not accepting calls at the moment because of all of the activity going on here. I figured this was the best way to let everyone know I'm okay. The 35-W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River about an hour ago. It's about 10 blocks from me and I can see all of the helicopters and hear all of the ambulances. I heard something that I thought was thunder around the time, turns out that what it was. Anyway, I didn't want anyone else to worry so just lettin you know I'm okay. Love you guys!
JULY 21, 2007 I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted something on here. Sorry about that. I am still alive :) Things have been fairly busy around here. Hmm...what to start with? Let's see. About 2 1/2 weeks ago Bryan flew up to visit and left yesterday. We had a good time, and he was a very good sport when I had to go to class and work and things. He talked me into seeing Transformers and I actually enjoyed it (blushing a little). Let me think if I can get his quote just right. It was very convincing...."Robots from outerspace that turn into vehicles come to Earth to fight over the afterlife." Who would have though I would think that was entertaining. It won me over :) Anyway, I took him to the Mall of America which I'm pretty sure he didn't like very much. I'm not a huge fan of malls myself so I guess I can understand how a male would not be too happy about going to possibly the biggest mall in the United States on a Saturday afternoon. :) Sorry, Bryan. Plus we went on 7-7-07 which is apparently the luckiest day of the year so there was a line of couples waiting to get married. There was a huge stage set up in the main entryway of the mall where people were getting married. Weird. And I thought Vegas was a bad idea. Anyway, fun times were had and Bryan flew back to Oklahoma yesterday afternoon. Last night was the night I've been waiting for for over 2 months. Michael Buble came to town! 7th row my friends! 7th row! Good times. It was a great concert. The opening band was even pretty good. When they announced them I knew the name Jann Arden sounded familiar, but I couldn't really place it. She started singing and her voice sounded a little familiar, but most artists sound alike these days so I didn't really think anything of it. Then she said she and her band were from Canada so I assumed I definitely hadn't heard of them. Anyway, about midway into their set she mentions her one song that was a hit in the U.S. around 1995. Maybe I'd heard it? Then she started the guitar intro. Holy moly!!! Not only had I heard it, but it was one of mine and my friend Laurin's favorite songs when we were about 11 or 12! We saw this major chick flick, Bed of Roses, and one of the songs from it was this mushy gooshy love song. Well, being 11 year old girls and the hopeless romantics that we were we absolutely fell in love with this song! When I heard that guitar intro. last night all I wanted to do was call Laurin!! My night was made before Michael Buble even came on stage :) Michael Buble was of course incredible. I love going to concerts where the performer is charismatic and loves to interact with the audience between songs. Anyway I've posted new pictures in my photo album, just click HERE Also here are some videos from last night. Neither the pictures or the videos are of the best quality, but at least I got something :) Oh...as you'll be able to see in the video Michael did a song from one of my other favorite artists......ELVIS!!!! How did he know? ;) The last 2 videos are just a little battle bit that Michael and the trombone player did. It was pretty entertaining. I especially thought my dad would enjoy this, being a trombone player :)
JUNE 14, 2007 Summer school has started, high school graduations are over, and I start my new job in 2 days. I've been somewhat of a busy bee since I've been back in the cities. Summer school started Monday which is too exciting, but it has to be done, so I might as well do it with a smile......or something of that nature. On the up-side my teacher does sound like Casey Kasem from the Weekly Top 40. Not necessarily the up-beat Casey, but Casey when he does the long distance dedications. It makes 2 hours of class a little more interesting. For the past week I've been working at the auditorium ushering high school graduations. Many of the graduations were the wealthier suburb schools while The other 5 were inner city high schools....quite a difference I must say, I've never seen that many cops at anything having to do with a high school event in my life. The crowds weren't too bad I guess. Some of the parents are crazy!!! It's like life or death if you can't sit in the front row for your kid's graduation. The families actually seemed to be a little more pushy than rock concert crowds which seems unreal, but it's true. The last graduation was Tuesday night. All of them had gone smoothly thus far so I guess we were just asking for it. I'm not going to go into huge detail, but lets just say it was a really long night. First, argued with me trying to tell me how to do my job. Next, a mother/volunteer wouldn't let me to my station at the handicap accessible door because she didn't believe that I worked there....even though I was sporting my all-too-stylish Northrop Auditorium t-shirt. And lastly, a horrible (and huge) man forced people out of their wheelchairs to scoot over and pushed other's wheelchairs out of the way to make room for his mother's wheelchair after I told him firmly, patiently, and numerous times that there were no more designated wheelchair spots available on the main floor. He yelled at me telling me if it was my family I would have made room, I wouldn't have taken them and left them by themselves in the handicap accessible seating in the balcony. I told him I would have done as I was told. Just to make it clear his whole family could have sat in the balcony with her, but they just didn't want to give up there seats close to the front of the auditorium. What a night! I definitely could have used a big hug after that fiasco. Anyhow, I start training for my new job on Saturday morning 6AM. I will be serving coffee, lattes, mochas, and various other fancy drinks at Caribou Coffee. It's like a Starbucks, but much much much better. They have an awesome apple cider. Yummy! It should be really fun. Everyone there seems really nice, and the manager acted like she would be really good about working with my schedule especially once the fall semester starts. She said if I can only work weekends it's no problem. Which is good because that will more than likely be the case. Speaking of school, I have some potentially GREAT NEWS!!! I will be graduating in December!!!!! (fingers crossed). I still have to hand in my degree request form so that my official graduation can be approved by various people. I don't foresee a problem because all of my requirements will have been filled after fall semester, but leave it up to someone in this place to find something missing. No....I will think positively. As of December 2007 I will never have to go to school again!!!!! :) That's the plan. The lease for my new apartment isn't up until the end of May so I will be sticking around working while I take orchestra auditions as they pop up. I'm so excited!!! WOOWOO! My recital has also officially been scheduled...finally!! :) SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2007 @3PM LLOYD ULTAN RECITAL HALL, UNIVERISTY OF MN SCHOOL OF MUSIC I know this is long, but a lot has happened in the past weeks. :) Enjoy!
JUNE 2, 207: A NIGHT WITH MY GIRLS Last night was my last time out with Mindy and Melynda before I head back to Minneapolis.
MAY 26,2007 Last night Mindy and Anthony hosted a murder mystery dinner party. It was so much fun! Not only were there characters and a script to read, but we also got to dress up! The scenario took place in 1959 which is only my favorite era!!! Ever since I was a little girl I've loved dressing up like I was from the 50s! Everyone did very well with their costumes. Of course after we solved the mystery we played a little Nintendo Wii. No evening is complete without it right? Anyway, here are some pictures from the night. Click the link below. I have to say it's really good to be home. It's been great hanging out with my friends and family. I've really missed all of them a lot. I only wish I could see them a little more often ,but I guess that just comes with growing up. I guess since I don't get to see them as often now it just makes it that much more special when I do get to see them. I think that's pretty much it for now. I'll let you know if anything else exciting happens.
MAY 10,2007 Well, my finals week has almost come to an end. Tomorrow is my last one....thank goodness, I don't know how much longer I can stay motivated. Having a final at the end of the week is no fun, I've been ready to take this thing since Monday :) The weather has been gorgeous so at least I can do some of my studying out of the apartment. The director of the band my friends are in had a cookout at his house yesterday afternoon. I'm not in the band, but a few of my friends invited me. It was a good break from studying....frisbee, swinging at the playground close by, and I got to play with a really cute dog. :) Needless to say we had a good time. Christina and I signed the lease for our new apartment last night. That's one thing off of our to-do list. Now all I have to do is take this test tomorrow,work Friday-Tuesday and then Wednesday I finally get to come home!!!! These last 3 weeks have been the longest ones of my life....it still feels as if next Wednesday will never get here!!!! I miss my friends and family so much. Most of my friends here are leaving in the next couple of days so I'll be keeping myself busy with packing hopefully. Who knows. As long as the time goes by quickly I don't care. Talking on the internet and phone just aren't cutting lately. A little less than a week. Here are some pictures from our picninc yesterday and the brunch Deanna had for our chamber group this morning. We had a good time just sitting around talking, unfortunatley we had to limit our time because 3 of us are taking the same test tomorrow. Finals just get in the way of fun :) I guess that's all. See most of you soon, thank goodness!!
Katie, Christina, and Cody (the most layed back dog I've ever met).
MAY 1, 2007 Yesterday was our last day of Monday/Wednesday classes!! I'm pretty excited knowing that I'll never have another music history paper/test/2 hour class ever (after my final of course). We celebrated this blessed event with a wonderful lunch outside. It's been absolutely gorgeous lately. A little chilly, but nothing we can't handle or that keeps us from soakin' up the sun :) It was a little upsetting just because we all knew we wouldn't be seeing the outside much in the next week because of studying for finals and practicing for juries. But after that the summer is all ours......there's light at the end of the tunnel!!! The light is a little hard to see through this big black barrier also known as a music history final :) Here are a few pictures from our lunch. Tomorrow is the performance of Bach's "St. Matthew's Passion" so hopefully I'll have a few pictures from that also.
Katie, Christina, Deanna, Erica, Krista
"RETAIL THERAPY": APRIL 28, 2007 So I decided to try out Melynda's retail therapy today. Christina and I took a little trip to the Mall of America. We had a good time, as always. :) We even got our picture taken with the shark that advertises for the aquarium in the mall!!!!!
it was super fun!!! And also more good news. Dad called me today to tell me that Adrien Peterson is moving to Minneapolis to play for the Minnesota Vikings next season! woowoo. Guess I'll have to try and get some tickets for the games this year. It's not quite as good as OU football, but it'll do for now. I was passing by a billboard in the mall today that was advertising some "coming soon" sports store or something. There was a picture of an OU player tackling a Colorado player!!!! I couldn't see the number on the jersey but the white OU on the shiny CRIMSON helmet definitely caught my attention. :) Now if only I could watch some OU football my day would be complete.
APRIL 23, 2007 It's been awhile since I've posted anything, but there for awhile there wasn't a whole lot going on. Don't worry though, I'm still alive and kicking. Life has thrown me some curveballs this past week, but because I have the most wonderful friends and family I'll be able to pull through. School is winding down to its final weeks. With the end of school comes numerous commencements, which means plenty of work for me. :) The University choir and orchestras also perform Bach's "St. Matthew's Passion" next week. I'm very excited. It's been an incredible experience so far, and I'm sure the performance will be even more amazing. Thankfully I get to come home soon. I love it here, but I really miss everyone at home. I could really use an Oklahoma family and friends fix. What would make it even better is if I could bring my friends from Minnesota home with me...then all of the most important people in my life could meet, and I could have the best of both worlds for 3 whole weeks!! I know...it's a lot to ask, but a girl can dream :) Anyway, I just thought this could be a quick update of my world. Oh yeah, I forgot the most important thing. It's warmed up tremendously here. It's been 60 or above for a week now!!!! LOVE IT! To my friends and family: I love all of you with all of my heart. I don't know what I would do without you. You are what keeps me going, and I am very thankful that you are all in my life. Big hugs!
"CHAMBER CONCERT": APRIL 12,2007 The chamber group I am a part of performed for our woodwind recital hour yesterday. I have to say, it went very well. I'm pretty sure we all felt pretty good about it. Anyway, here is a picture of our group......cute girls, huh? ;)
TJ:bassoon Deanna: clarinet Katie:oboe Christina:flute We were the most colorful group in the concert!!!!
"MY FRIEND, CHRISTINA": APRIL 7, 2007
Well, this entry is mainly to prove that I actually do have a friend named Christina. I've mentioned her a couple of times, but I've never posted any pictures with her in them, and when my parents came to visit they didn't get to meet her, so really no one actually knows for sure that she's a real person. For all you know she could be an imaginary friend that I just made up. :) Well, just to prove she's not, here are some pictures. We were both taking a break from practicing the other day so we decided to goof around with my camera.
Also, my ear training teacher invited the people in my class over for lunch Sunday afternoon, mainly for those of us who can't go home for Easter. It should be fun. Don't worry.....I'm my mother's daughter so I will have my camera. :) I'll let you know how it goes. I'm really going to miss hunting eggs this year though..........I mean, helping the kids hunt eggs this year ;) HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!!!!
APRIL 1, 2007 Well, after a long and fairly stressful week I have a new post. I spent the beginning of last week taking the bus back and forth from the music store. I was having some technical difficulties with my bassoon (it just wouldn't play at all) and after 3 tries they were able to figure out what was wrong, and now my dear dear friend is in good health. I got a lecture from the repair lady about how I should bring it in once a year just to have it looked over. I guess I would take a child in for a check-up so it would make sense to do the same for my bassoon (at least in my head that makes perfect sense). I was taking these trips to and from the music store while I was trying to study for a test. It made the process of absorbing the information a little difficult, but my test went well ( I think). I'll found out for sure tomorrow. Anyhow, other than those two minor details my week was pretty good. Brushed up on my ballroom dancing, read a good book, and I'm in the process of reading another. No one has April Foolsed me today so all in all I'd say it's been a good day. Kind of rainy, but perfect for reading, playing some guitar, and relaxing. I have to say one of the most entertaining moments of the week was yesterday afternoon. Christina had some errands to run at the Mall of America so I decided to tag along. It gave us a chance to chat and have some lunch. We saw a stage set up when we came in, but didn't really think much of it or check to see what was going on. When we were on our way to lunch we heard some singing. I turned to Christina and said "That's odd....it sounds like Elvis." Much to my enjoyment it was in fact Elvis! Well, not Elvis, but someone pretending to be Elvis. The mall was hosting a Contest of the Kings! Elvis impersonators all afternoon!!! It was quite entertaining. Here's a picture. Not the best, but the best I could do from the 3rd floor of the mall down to the stage. I had a slight flashback to my 8th grade year and the phone message I got from Elvis himself when the performer sang "Jail House Rock." A few of you know what I'm referring to. Those of you who don't..........just ask and I might tell you. I've been trying to block it out since 8th grade, but it's hard to forget anything about an experience like that. :)
MARCH 22, 2007 Well, last night was the big concert. Brahm's Symphony #2 at Orchestra Hall. The concert went amazingly well! I've never felt so good about a performance. My first principal experience could not have been better. Much to my astonishment the night quickly became even more spectacular! As I was putting away my bassoon I felt a tap on my shoulder. I assumed it was one of the harp players needing me to relocate so she could get to her harp. You can probably guess that it wasn't the harp player. Standing there in backstage of orchestra hall.......in Minneapolis, Minnesota, were my parents! Apparently they had been planning the trip up for a while and were able to keep it from me the whole time I was home for spring break. They drove the 12 hours to Minneapolis on Wednesday, spent Thursday in the cities, and came to the concert that night, strategically hiding themselves behind their programs to make sure I didn't spot them in the audience during intermission. I even called my mom twice on Thursday and there she was, actually in town!!!!! It's almost 24 hours later and I'm stilll on an emotional high. I had 4 hours of sleep last night, and I have more energy today than I've had in a long time. A true testament to the fact that I have the best family in the world, and I don't tell them nearly enough. Here are a few pictures. The one under the title is also from last night. If you look closely you can tell that we were all in tears. What can I say.......I had to get my soft heartedness from someone right? I will never forget last night, and I could not be more ecstatic that I got to share the experience with my parents. They've seen me through every big experience so far, so why stop now? ;) To my family.....I love you all. And thank you Mom and Dad for everything.
THANK YOU MOM AND DAD! YOU'RE THE BEST AND I LOVE YOU!
MARCH 18, 2007 I'm back in Minneapolis.....and it's chilly. I think I lost my tolerance for the cold while I was soaking up the sun in Oklahoma. :) I had the best spring break ever, and I can't wait until my next visit!!! Picnincs, miniature golf, scooters, football....it was awesome! I added a new album to my photo gallery. Enjoy! Here's a video I took at Missy's last night....I've watched it numerous times and it makes me laugh everytime. Ethan.avi.ff.mp4
MARCH 14, 2007 I'm back at this website, and as you can tell it's undergone a little change. You can't leave comments on this page, but if you want to email comments you're more than welcome to....hint hint :). I've pretty much just been hanging out with as many friends and family as possible this week. Today I'm going to the OU scrimmage. OU football and soakin' up some sun. I'm not sure my week could get any better. Here are some pictures from this week. I got to go with Missy, Rick, and the boys to see Night at the Museum. We had to keep ourselves entertained before the movie started.
Gotta love their goofy faces!
New website!!!!I am now trying out a different website. I will leave the link below. If for some reason it doesn't work please let me know. It will still have pictures and such. With this website you will be able to leave comments about blogs and things if you choose to do so. If it doesn't quite work out how i want I will return to this site. We shall see. :) HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!Japan #4....same dayBryan took me to see a waterfall today. It was very pretty. Too bad it wasn't frozen yet.....that would have been cool. I got some fairly good pictures. After we looked at the waterfall we went up, up, and up the mountain. Let me tell you.....it was a lot of stairs. My legs now officially feel like jello. I think if I see any more stairs for the rest of my life I might just curl up in a ball and die. SO MANY STAIRS!!! It was worth it though. Plus, you only have to go up once....and coming down is much easier. :) Anyway, the pictures are in the gallery! Japan #3......December 28, 2006The video from the top of the tower This is the video from the top of the red tower so you can see just how windy it was. I was recording while sitting down on the stairs with my arms and legs wrapped around the rail. I wasn't enjoying myself. I'm telling you it was some scary stuff. Anyway, here's the link. It might take a minute or so to download. I think I fixed the photo link. Try the new one on the right! :)Japan #2....Tokyo Disney Sea!!!Some of you are probably wondering about the trip to Disney Sea!! Well, here it is. We set out Christmas morning for Tokyo Disney Sea. 6 hours and very empty stomachs later we made it to Disney Sea!!! Our first mission.....find food. We had a mexican restaurant in mind, but it was on the very other side of the park. We stopped to get some popcorn to hold us over on the way there. :) It came in a cool Disney souvenier bucket, so not only did I get yummy popcorn, but I got some Disney fun!! :) Unfortunately the mexican food was not all that great. My tortilla soup was broth with some onions. blah. After eating we took off around the park in search of rides. We had a couple of hours to kill before the show I really wanted to see. Unfortunately Tokyo Disney is probably busier on Christmas day than any other day of the year. We got there so late we didn't have time to wait in line for all of the rides. We had to get in line 2 hours early to catch the show.....how crazy is that?! It was a special 5th Anniversary of Tokyo Disney Sea show and according to Bryan if you put special edition or limited time only on something Japanese people will eat it up like candy. I think he was right. Anway, the show was fantastic. it was called Big Band Beat. It was a variety show based on standard big band music ....Chatanooga Choo Choo, Sing Sing Sing, Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing. They even did a big band Christmas medley. There was also some pretty awesome tap dancing. I thought it was well worth the wait. And even though we didn't get to ride any rides I still had a great Disney fun filled time. :) The next day we planned to explore Tokyo. Well, not so much Bryan as myself. He knew which things he thought I would enjoy seeing. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans for us. When we first started our journey it was sprinklng a little. We bought some umbrellas and we were on our way. by the time we got off the subway at our first stop it was pouring down, windy, and it was only starting to rain harder. We found a place to eat lunch and then we decided to call it a day and head back to Bryan's town. We both would have been too miserable to enjoy any of the sights anyway. I did get some pictures from the 45th floor of the Tokyo Government Buildings that pretty much sums up what I saw of Tokyo.
The day was not a complete loss though. Bryan took me to a huge camera/electronic store where I was able to buy a case for my new camera. We meet Bryan's friends at the end of the week, and I've been told there will be some karaoke'n so I'll keep you all updated on that. There were quite a few pictures from Disney Sea so I'm just leaving a link to the pictures. If it doesn't work let me know and I'll see what I can do. :) December 24...Japan #1well, some of you are probably wondering what I've been up to for the past couple of days. I can answer that for you right now.....I've been resting. :) We've done a few things. I got here late Thursday night after a long long long plane ride. There was a turkey of a little boy sitting behind me who found it necessary to kick my chair the whole trip. When we landed I stood up to stretch my legs and turned around to catch a glimpse of this little terror and there he was ..........sleeping like an angel. Figures. Anyway, Friday we spent at Bryan's house watching movies and about 5 I was ready to turn in. Unfortunately Bryan made me stay awake until 8. I don't think my eyes have ever been that heavy in my life. Yesterday and today we went to a couple of mountains near his town. Saturday I didn't get any pictures because it was so hazy, but today I got some that weren't too shabby. Bryan was telling me that when he visited one of the places this summer it was just covered in spiders!! good thing it's winter and they're all dead because I probably would have passed out, and then he would have had to carry me back down the mountain. yuck! Other than that we haven't done a whole lot yet. We're saving our energy for the next couple of days. Tomorrow we head to Tokyo. It's going to be weird not spending Christmas at home with my family, but to help me get through this difficult time I will be spending Christmas with the characters at Tokyo Disney Sea. weee!!!!! We were debating whether to go to Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo Disney Sea. Supposedly Disney Sea is supposed to be more geared toward adults.....more thriling rides and such. And.....to Bryan's enjoyment.....they have a restaurant with tacos. Seeing as how neither of us get good mexican food in our new places of inhabitants we thought tacos sounded very appealing. I think this was actually the deciding factor between Land and Sea. There aren't a lot of pictures today, but believe me after Tokyo Disney and a day exploring a small fraction of the city of Tokyo I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to share. :) Here are some things from today.
This was a really cool slide. You sit on your feet and then role down. I couldn't do it right and ended up sliding down on my behind. It was still pretty fun though. Not as much fun climbing back up the hill though...it went quite a ways down.
The height of one of the mountains.
These were signs telling people to be careful about fires or something like that. I especially thought the squirrel on fire was appropriate....and kind of morbid. Tellin' it like it is I guess.
This one is mostly for my family. You guys always get on to me for not being in my pictures when I go places so here ya go! :) Love you guys!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!! :) December 19, 2006I can't believe it! The first semester of my life as a graduate student is over. It went by so fast I can hardly believe it. It was great. I have to say, having been a college student for 4 1/2 years this is the best semester yet. Yes I know, there were no football games or free bowl game trips, but it has been wonderful in its own spectacular way. I miss my family and friends like crazy, but I'm happier than I ever thought I could be on my own. I was dreading it actually. Shows what growing up and good friends can do I guess. :) This semester I had wonderful classes along with great professors. I found an amazing job with very nice people. And best of all I now have spectacular new friends to share my new experiences of city life with. I couldn't have asked for anything better. The moment I got here I felt like I fit in, and my friends made me feel very comfortable and welcome. I can't stress anymore how wonderful it's been. I've been blessed once again. And even though my family and old friends are far away I can now say I have 2 places where I feel loved. :) When Dad and I came for my audition a year ago in February, the Super Shuttle driver who took us from the airport to the hotel told us how wonderful Minneapolis was. He said that once people move here, whether their intention is to stay here permanently or not, they more often than not end up staying here and calling Minneapolis their new home. I have to say I don't disagree with him. If I was given the opportunity to start my orchestra career here I would take it in a heart beat. Maybe living outside of the city, but definitely staying close :) or atleast within the state. So I'm off to start yet another adventure tomorrow morning. Japan! Yikes. I have to admit I'm a little nervous. One because I'm going to a country I know nothing about (which it will be a little easier knowing Bryan is on the other side.) Two because flying over water gives me the eeby jeebies. The first time I did it , it didn't bother me at all. I think I was too excited about landing in Europe. Now that I've done it a couple of times I am much more aware of the fact that there is a huge ocean below me. I'm afraid I'll end up on the next season of Lost or something. Landing on some deserted island wouldn't be good for me.......I don't like tropical fruits or the thought of killing my own food. I'll be much more relieved and excited about actually being in Japan once I step off of the plane. :) Tokyo Disney here I come! This really has nothing to do with my trip, this semester, or much of anything really. Mom told me about this youtube video where this guy goes through the complete evolution of dance since about 1950 in 6 minutes. I really enjoyed it. You need to watch the whole thing so if you don't have 6 minutes to spare come back and watch it later. :) The sad thing is I remember a lot of these dances. But what makes me feel not so old is the fact that there are some of you out there who remember even more than I do. :) just kidding. It's really fun. http://youtube.com/watch?v=QGQMyN75LFQ As I come to a close I want everyone to know I'll miss them very much over the holidays. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and of course a Happy New Year! I'll do my best to keep my page updated through my stay in Japan. I got a new digital camera for Christmas (thank you Mom and Dad) so Bryan will be able to help me figure out how to get the pictures and things onto my computer and onto the website. :) Talk to everyone soon! ELF YOURSELF!!! :)This is really fun. You should all try it. It makes me laugh every time. :) http://www.elfyourself.com/?userid=bdbbd5f796a5a1ac7108567G20061209 But use your own pictures...this is just an example :) MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! December 7, 2006Just a few things. First.........IT'S COLD!!!! The wind chill was -17 this morning! The actual temperature was 0. Holy moly! What is up with that. All of my years in Oklahoma and I don't think we ever had a temperature of 0! Windchill maybe, but 0?! The only other time in my life that I can remember being that cold is when Dad and I went for my audition in Montreal, and I've been trying to forget that ever since. Good thing I didn't go there or I'd be miserable.....not that -17 is much cozier. And still no snow by the way. I've been told it will come, I just have to be patient.....and crazy apparently :) Secondly, this was probably one of the best days this week! It made its way to the top of my list for one pure reason. CHRISTMAS MUSIC! I was making my way upstairs from the practice rooms going to my locker at school, and there in the lobby of the music building the trombone choir was playing Christmas carols!!! It was so great. I love the Christmas season! Of course, I called Dad and let him listen to some over the phone. :) I can't believe I'm going to miss singing Christmas carols at Grandma and Grandpa's this year! I'm actually going to miss it. You guys still better do them! Mom and Missy.....you're in charge of inforcing it! :) Maybe you guys can actually make it through 12 days of Christmas this year with all of the right words....that one always seemed to give us problems. :) Better yet, I'll be at home "studying" for my final so you guys could call and sing some to me.......NO PASSING ME AROUND THOUGH! :) That's pretty much all. Just wanted to share a few things. :) hope everyone is staying nice a cozy. Love ya! December 6, 2006I'M DONE!!!! Well, sort of. I gave my final presentation in my history class today. I've been dreading it since the beginning of the semester so having it done is a huge weight off of my shoulders. Maybe now I'll actually be able to sleep. Waking up every 30 minutes for over a week is not what I call sound sleeping. If I don't sleep a full night tonight I will be taking desperate measures........called Nyquil :) Anyway, I think it will pretty much be smooth sailing from here on out. I have a final in ear training on the 18th which will be easy cheesy. No worries there. Since I will pretty much be killing time starting next Thursday (when finals actually start) I believe I will be having a movie marathon of some sort. Christina suggested chick flicks....but you can only take so many of those, so if anyone has any suggestions or feels like joining us feel free. :) I've also been told there are some used book stores somewhere in this city so those are always fun to explore and a good way to kill time. :) And of course since it's the Christmas season there will be much baking. :) I don't think my friends here have figured out just how much I like to bake and give away goodies :) They'll figure it out in the next few weeks. This one is short, but I needed something to do. So I guess that's about it. Oh.....we have our second orchestra concert next Tuesday. I'm only playing in one iece, but it's still pretty exciting. I'm just excited that I'm playing at all! :) Okay that is definitely all. Sorry for the lack of interesting and exciting news, but what can I say? I'm a college student......life isn't all craziness and excitement. :) HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! I can start saying that now right? December 3, 2006Last night I watched the most beautiful dislay of athleticism I have seen in a long time. The game had it's down points.......but wow! This is now my absolute favorite video ever! Where did he come from?! This is Sooner Magic. I was able to share the second half of the wonderfulness that is OU football with my friend Luke. I don't know if I have him fully recruited yet, but I'm working on it. :) That's one of 2 friends down, but I don't think I'll ever convince Christina to watch football with me. :) I talked to Melynda this morning, and we're both a little bummed that the Pride of Oklahoma is finally headed to the ONLY BCS bowl we missed out on in our whole college marching band careers. As a side note for Bryan.......I have to say, if I knew this was going to be the situation a couple of months ago, I might have had to insist that you come here for Christmas :) I have to go in for work today, but it should be an interesting concert. It's the annual Marching Band Indoor Concert. I've heard it's good, and I'm kind of looking forward to it. I've learned to always be up for something new. While waiting at the bus stop the other morning I saw a poster for a Christmas parade downtown! I was very excited because I LOVE Christmas parades. Turns out there is one almost, if not every, night until Christmas. I thought it said every night, but I could have been delirious from the cold. I will definitely be checking it out, IF I can talk anyone into standing in the cold with me to watch it. :) Christina and I ventured to the mall Friday evening mainly just to walk around. I'm normally not a huge fan of malls in general, but I can't help but love them around Christmas. Everything is decorated, the department stores have their Christmas tree displays. At the Mall of America they had 2 gigantic christmas trees on either side of the stage where they were having live Christmas music! I love this time of year. And for the most part....everyone I ran into at the mall was in a good mood and friendly too. I don't know what it is about this holiday season, but it seems to bring out the best in people. I love everything about it......people, decoration, even the smells. Now if only we could get some snow up here it would be perfect! :) November 29, 2006I'm back in Minnesota. It's good to be back, but I was having way too much fun at home. :) The past few days have been the normal "trying to get back into the swing of things after the holiday" days. Fairly relaxed considering there are only 2 1/2 weeks left before finals!! yay! I think this has been the fastest semester ever. I can hardly believe it. Not much ahead of me in the final weeks of school though. I have a class presentation hopefully next week so I can just get it out of the way. It's dreadful either way so I might as well get it over with as soon possible. Then I have one final in 3 weeks. No juries, no horrible exams.....just smooth sailing (hopefully). I received wonderful news yesterday evening. As most of you know OU made their way into the Big XII Championship! I was scheduled to work a concert on Saturday....can you believe it!? I had my portable radio ready to take with me to work so I could catch the first part of the game and then after work I was going to rush home to catch the end. However.......someone smiled down on me. :) My boss sent out an email saying that they weren't expecting a huge crown on Saturday so she was going to let 4-6 people off. Guess who got the evening off!!!!???? Me, of course. Now I can watch the whole game and watch my blood pressure rise like every other true fan. :) (Be expecting a lot of calls from me Dad) 22,35,28, 21, 26.......What are these numbers you might ask? These are the highs for the next 5 days! It looks like I'll be getting a good taste of winter this next week. :) Well, maybe not quite winter for the locals but definitely winter for me. i think this will be the longest period of time I've ever experienced cold like this. Could there be snow in my future? :) Looks like you got me snow gear just in time mom! And if it does snow a considerable amount, believe me.....I will be taking pictures. ;) Snow would go perfectly with all of the Christmas music I just put on my ipod! :) I think that's about all I have for now. All I have to say is that if Oklahoma gets snow tomorrow and we don't get any I might be a little bummed. I think Mom was right....I jinxed Minnesota. They'll never have snow again as long as I'm living here. ;) November 24,2006Well, only a few more days before my week of break is over. It is quite sad, but it has been the best week I could have asked for. I've gotten to see most of my familly and friends. I guess I can start from the beginning and go from there. I got in about 11 o'clock on Monday night so there wasn't a whole lot of activity when I got home. Tuesday my parents took me out for mexican of course! :) I don't think it's ever tasted so good. Now it's back to the North where there is none :( I guess it makes it that much better and special when I come home. I'm already looking forward to spring break! :) Tuesday night I met some friends at The Mont. Yum! Good times! Melynda and I used to go every Wednesday night after SAI meetings so the past 3 months have been difficult. Of course we had the wonderful Sooner Swirls and we all got to catch up. I think we'll be taking another trip when I come down for spring break.
Wednsday I went to spend the afternoon with Missy, Christopher, Ethan, and Rick. I was met with the most wonderful greeting......the biggest hug in the world! We did arts and crafts all afternoon also pictured below.
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