cello, harp, oboe, basson...

I just found an amazing musical arrangment between the piano and the cello. It is taking two songs that I love and putting them together and it is just amazing!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwhoorl.com%2F&feature=player_embedded

If you enjoy the piano and the cello you should definetly take the time to watch this video.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love music? I love my piano! I play a lot more now than I did with my keyboard. I can't explain why that is but it is what it is and I am sure my piano teacher loves to hear that. I would love to learn this piece! The guys in the video are truly talented and great at what they do.

I want to learn to play the cello, harp, oboe, basson, flute, organ, saxophone and anything else I can lay my hands on. The harp is next on my list, I just need to hold up to the agreement I made with Jared like 3 or 4 years ago and he will buy me a harp. I think I need to quit my job just to study music. ;) It is my dream though. Music is a way you can reach people in a way that words can't get in there.

I hope you enjoy the video at least half as much as I did!

What an inspiration!

Oh my goodness! I can't remember how I found this blog http://bakerella.blogspot.com/ either while poking around or while on Meredith's blog. Meredith? It is a super cute and a great website for ideas and inspiration for baking.

She makes my Turkey pops look kind of lame but you know what I am still proud of them. I think they are adorable. And now I've got some ideas to make them better and it is opening my world of ideas further and I just might be able to make some of them come true this year.

This is the best picture I could find of my Turkey pops but it will have to do. This is 2 Thanksgiving's ago with my nephew Blake. He sure has grown a lot.

Choking and Laughing

Sometimes I think I am really mean! I don't mean to be it just happens. Here let me explain...while on the phone this afternoon with Jared he is telling me that he thinks he is dehydrated and that's why he was sick last night. When all of a sudden he starts choking and making spitting noises and says "All the fun's gone now!" I just start cracking up laughing. He explains that he accidentally was swallowing a bug and was trying to spit it out and then started choking.

I've noticed this where when people get hurt my first reaction is to laugh. Is that bad? Does it mean I don't care? Granted in this incidence Jared was fine and it was really hilarious. You just had to hear how he said it while choking.

Roughly 5 months old

Okay so I am not the world’s greatest housekeeper. My sister Cathy just realized this last weekend. I told her before we went into my house to please forgive my mess because my house was a disaster. She basically ignored that because I apparently say it all the time and she thinks my house is immaculate. Well her jaw kind of dropped when she came in and said something along the lines of that I am normal after all. She really appreciated the fact that my house was truly a disaster. We had to do a little cleaning before we could buckle down and sew.
Then on my birthday Jacki mentioned something about the box of Nilla Wafers on top of my fridge. She said they had been there forever I said not longer than 6 months and today while looking at the box I recalled when I got them. I got them in February for St. Patrick’s Day so they have been up there for roughly 5 months. That is better than forever but Jacki has a point they are pretty stale I bet. They will go in the garbage today Jacki.

I do enjoy cleaning my house but some days I am just too tired and lazy. Every time you clean something it gets dirty. I was laundry and before I know it the laundry is all dirty again. I clean up the kitchen and another mess is made. I straighten up the living room and as Jared calls it Hurricane Emily comes running through. I am better at making messes I think than cleaning them. But it is a work in progress to clean things and stay on top of it. Right now my house is still decent from my party on Monday. I got my downstairs closet cleared out of garbage, items sorted for the DI and reorganized this last weekend. Next I’ve got my Studio, the spare bedroom, the office, and the upstairs closet.

Well I should probably go work on one of those rooms and stop writing.

Birthdays are so special!

I love birthdays! Especially mine! Why you might ask? Because it is a day to celebrate me of course! I think birthdays are so special because they are a day to celebrate the person who was born and that they are still alive and blessed with another year. Jared on the other hand was saying it’s a day to celebrate your mother’s anniversary of pain of giving birth. But I am sure my mom agrees with me that it’s not about the pain but the joy of the child.

I had another great birthday this year! Except for the part where I had to work but such is life. My birthday started the night before with talking to my mom on the phone. Growing up she would always make sure to get a last hug and kiss from her (insert age) girl. Now that we don’t live so close she calls me and makes sure that she gets to talk to her (insert age) girl. It is a special tradition to me and means a lot.

Jared and I put a party together with the help of his sister Heather (thank you so much Heather for going to the store! That really helped us out a lot). After we got home from work we went into high gear and worked on getting our house clean and presentable. I am not the world’s greatest house keeper but more to come on that later. I must say I was pretty impressed with what we got done in less than 2 hours.

We were still tidying up when people showed up but that is ok. It’s family! We had my family and Jared’s family over. My house can be a bit of a tight squeeze but it seemed to be okay. I thought we would be outside but the weather made us change our plans a bit. Jared fired up the grill and was outside with his dad making hamburgers and hotdogs. While everyone else picked at food and visited.

After awhile we went downstairs to open presents with my grandparents (Nana & Boppa). Nana can’t do stairs right now so they were hanging out downstairs watching the ball game. I got a lot of really nice stuff from silk scarves to calendars to journals to homemade cards to a piano. I must say I am spoiled and I am ok with that.

Not too long after presents we did cake and ice cream. I have not been eating sugar (like cakes, cookies and ice cream) so it was a real treat. And Heather picked out an amazing cake! Chocolate with chocolate and chocolate! How can you go wrong?! And with homemade chocolate ice cream from Aunt Carolyn! Thank you!

Once everyone had left I ended the evening calling my mom and opening my present from her. Another tradition! I open Christmas and birthday presents on the phone with her. Even though she is far away I keep her close.

Thanks everyone for a great birthday! Another year has come and gone and it is great because of all of you!

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to everyone!!! Driving home last night was so picturesque. It was at sunset and I was able to see the mountains all around me. They were all lit up in pinks and purples. This line came to mind "Oh beautiful...for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plains! America! America!" (America the Beautiful) I love songs that are about our country and patriotic and I love moments where I see something and a song or line comes to mind that fits that image perfectly. (That is actually something else I would like to do is to sell my own pictures with quotes on them. I've got a journal of ideas and some pictures ready to go.)

This morning after going to the flag raising ceremony at church I drove out to Monroe to take pictures of the flags on Main Street. Every year for the 4th of July and other holiday's they set-up tons of the American flag all the way down the road and I just love to see it. It brings me joy to see the American flag so many times. I just recently got my own flag to proudly display on my house. I've wanted one for a long time and during Memorial weekend I finally bought myself one.

I am grateful for this day to celebrate our countries Independence. We truly live in a blessed nation. I'm so grateful for my brother who serves our country and loves his country enough to do that, as well as all the other men and women who serve. Most day's I take for granted the freedoms we are blessed with but more and more lately it is becoming a daily part of my prayers in giving gratitude for it. It is sad to see so much war and destruction going on in our world but I don't give up hope. I keep praying for the leaders of our nation's hearts to be softened and to lead this country in righteousness.

I think it would do us good to sing song's like America the Beautiful and the Star Spangled Banner more often. When I was younger I would go to church each week for several months and ask if we could sing the Star Spangled Banner. They said no but I didn't give up once or twice they let me have my way. My heart is just so touched and stirred by the feelings and emotions that are conveyed in these songs. Music is a huge part of my life and I am grateful for it.

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful 4th of July! Enjoy the fireworks! Loud but beautiful!

My Favorite Month

Happy July! July is probably my favorite month of the whole year (December comes in awfully close)! I can't believe July is here already. I love July because one it's my birthday month! Happy Birthday to me! Two because it has the 4th of July in it! I love my country and I am very grateful for all the men and women who have served, are currently serving and will serve. and three because it's summertime and the days are warmer and longer.

What's your favorite month and why?