Monday, April 21, 2008

They're back!



I had my first one of the season last night after our last Beethoven concert...fresh strawberry! Well, actually, I made Josh share it with me so I wouldn't feel quite so guilty; have you ever looked at the nutritional info on those things??? Yikes. But...who cares. They're SOOOO good. And you don't even have to be too depressed when they go out of season, because next comes raspberry, and then blackberry!!! I actually think they have one or more for every single season...'it's the gift that keeps on giving all year 'round'!:-) So, if you haven't yet, stop into Burgerville and treat yourself; we all deserve it once in awhile!

Hope your Mondays are going well!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Whew!

Crazy week, and CRAZIER weekend. After rehearsing since January, my choir, the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland, is finally in the midst of performing Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, which he actually considered his finest work. I must say, I am having a blast doing it--it's probably my favorite choral experience so far--but it has certainly made this week a little bit insane. On top of my usual internship load, we have ha"d rehearsals almost every evening this week, leading up to our performance Friday night (packed house, yay!) and our last one tonight. I should be home around 11pm, and just like that, it will be over. I decided to take tomorrow off, or at least to not go to my sites, but instead catch up on paperwork and housework, which were both quite lacking last week, due to the craziness. However, it has definitely been worth it. I love this sort of thing and always have. Our choir director wrote this in his conductor's notes in our program: The British poet Wilfred Owen who dies on the battlefield in the last days of World War I wrote "I love music, with such strength that I have had to conceal the passion, for fear it be thought weakness..."

The Missa Solemnis, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful settings of a prayer, and for me, a powerful experience in combining my love for music with my even stronger love for the Lord. What a blessing!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Random Happenings


So, they say that once you miss a flight, you will never miss one again. I have no doubt this will be the case for Josh. He is currently in Kansas City, Missouri for some training sessions required for his job. So, we'll start there. He made it to Kansas City in once piece, and he did not miss any of the training session. YAY! Now, I will back up:-)

His flight to leave PDX was scheduled at 6:20am yesterday morning, so he planned to be at the airport at 5am, since he had too much stuff to just take a carry-on. So...he set his alarm for 4. Minor problem...although he set the alarm, he forgot to switch it into alarm mode. Ergo, I was awakened abruptly to the sound of him making a beeline for the shower. "Uh oh," I thought, "I never heard any alarm." I picked up my cell phone to check the time. 5:15. DOUBLE uh oh. He was supposed to be at the airport 15 minutes ago. Not good. My stomach immediately turned to knots...we'll call them sympathy knots:-) Anyway, he took the fastest shower on record and came back into the room in a flying panic. In the long run, I think it would have been better if we'd woken up at 6:15. Instead, we were right on the cusp of, "Do we try this?" I took the stance of, "We can DO this, I'll drop you off at the curb, and then just run!" But he ended up taking the more realistic stance of, "No, I'm pretty much done for. There's no way." And I'm sure he was right; even if I had taken him, we live at LEAST 20 minutes from the airport, and he had to check baggage. So...we surrendered. Luckily, he was able to get on the next flight for no extra charge (both at PDX and at the layover in Denver), and it all worked out. But the poor guy beat himself up over it, despite my assurances that it was an honest mistake and that it happens to millions of people. But Josh is a responsible, on-time, prepared type of person, which made this all the more NOT his cup of tea:-)

On a completely different subject, I had some good news today. I'll try to keep the background brief. Last summer, Marylhurst University (where I went to school) started a week-long day camp for kids with developmental disabilites featuring...you guessed it...music therapy! So I did it as part of my practicum experience. Well, the camp was a success, despite the fact that it was our pilot year and we were still figuring a lot of things out, so they have decided to continue it this summer. And....they want me to be assistant director! The camp starts a week after my internship will be completed, so it will be my first actual music therapy job that I am paid for as a professional!!! I couldn't be more thrilled, and part of me wishes it were just July NOW, so I can take my boards and just BE there, because I'm so close now, I can almost taste it:-) But alas, I know I need to stay focused on my internship and soak up all the information I can, while I still have the supervision and support. So...patience and stamina. Those are the two words that come to mind to pray for:-) But thank you for letting me share my good news!

Well, it's about that time...sweet dreams everyone!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

The Ubiquitous Case of the Missing Remote



Well, we haven't even been married 6 months yet, and it's already happened. Our DVD remote out in the living room has gone missing. And nowadays, if you don't have the remote, it's next to impossible to operate the machine. Now the good news is that newly married couples often bring duplicate items into the marriage. In this case, Josh and I both owned TVs and DVD players, so we are still able to watch movies in the bedroom on the other player. BUT...the living room remote has now been missing for about 2 weeks, and it's gotten downright annoying. We've literally looked everywhere, or at least that's how it feels. And yet, it HAS to be here somewhere, because there is no way or reason that either one of us could have left the apartment with it. BLEH. We've looked in the obvious places, such as couch cushions and behind the entertainment center, and in not-so-obvious places like kitchen cupboards or bathroom drawers. And each search ends in the same desperate tone of voice..."Where IS it????!!!!" So, if anyone has been through this and has any random suggestions on where to look, we are pretty much open to anything!

Well, I had better go. UCLA is about to lose to Memphis, and I must be a good wife and support my distraught husband;-)

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The Lord's Prayer by a two-year-old

When I first started watching this, I was worried it was going to be obnoxious, but by the time it was over, I was dying laughing. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4PQ30VkBk