Autumn-Nom-Nom-Nom

Hey lovelies. I am currently at home, delaying cleaning the guest bathrooms so like any responsible adult I will continue to postpone chores to write a blog post.

Summer has come and gone (kind of) and I am more than ready for fall to be here. It's my favorite season, even though here in AZ, it's rather warm for it to really feel like autumn but it's all that comes with the season I love. I love the start of a new semester, the slowly but surely cooling off of this desert heat, and all the holidays. ALL THE HOLIDAYS. Really though I need Halloween like right now. That being said, any fun couples costume suggestions are appreciated. We are not afraid to be silly and I'm still trying to muster up something because I like to go all out so I need to start preparing now! Anywho.

To help pass the time, let's fill the group in what my summer has been like.

VIK Summer Camp

Can't tell if this year was better or worse. haha I definitely liked my position as the music teacher better than assistant counselor. There were some organizational things that could have gone better but at least I wasn't chewed out for things out of my control this time. Overall, it was a fast summer and I am very grateful for that. I am very glad it's over. If anything, I'll miss my coworkers! We had some pretty awesome staff this year, including my parent table sister Maddie, the wonderful Misty, and my newest married-with-no-kids girlfriend Dani (PS we still need to go shopping!) and last but not least the amazing directors Jessi and Krystalyn who worked so dang hard to make it a good summer. Hats off to you for having the hardest jobs. To the rest of you, I enjoyed working with every single one of you. Thanks for making the job bearable. :)

TRIPS!

I was actually able to do a few trips this summer! The first time in a long time, really. For July 4th I drove with my family up to Boise, ID for my maternal grandparents' 70th wedding anniversary. Yup. You read correctly! SEVENTY! My Grandpa is 92 and my Grandma is 87. And they are simply one of the cutest couples I've ever seen.

I just love them so much. What was really cool, was that my sister and mother and I were able to sing some fun Andrews Sisters stuff at their party! Got to show off a little as well as give them a treat. We practiced our booties off and it was so much fun!

Then later that month I was able to drive to St George for my oldest nephew's mission farewell! Talk about feeling old! Granted, he's only 6 years younger than me, but that's just a technicality. haha He did great and he's going to love his time in Rancho Cucamungo, CA! It was also really nice to see my dad and my sister and the rest of her family. I want to visit more often, since it's relatively close! Also, big shout out to my homegirl Kelly for driving with me! Without her, I wouldn't have been able to go! You're the best, even if your dumb phone got us lost about 3 times. ;)


Now that the summer time activities are through, I am working at my old site Meridian for the next week and a half before classes start. I have decided not to work during the school year until I graduate. Straight up, my major is freaking hard without having to be at work every day and my classes are literally all day; so even if I wanted to, I am no longer available to work with my kiddos. Summer camp is so difficult but the school year is pretty easy sailing for the most part, and I'm going to miss my littles. They really are so much fun and I just love them.

Speaking of the upcoming semester, I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I have some kind of difficult rep that needs some real nitty gritty work and I feel anxious for my junior recital within the next few months. But I just keep telling myself it will work out, because it will, right? Now that I mention it, I better hook up my keyboard and get crackin.

Live long and prosper, friends.

Summer is HERE

Hello one and all! Man, I have gotta tell ya, this semester has been cray-cray. I survived my first semester at ASU and so far am in love with everything about this program. I was definitely homesick at first for CGCC, but another few weeks in I settled in just fine. I still don't know very many people but I am at least pretty familiar with most of them and not too awkward. The rigor was a bit of a kick in the butt, yet it was the push in the right direction that I now know I desperately needed. I was letting myself plateau for a bit in my final semester at CGCC but that was soon fixed when I started in January. My wonderful voice teacher Anne has been amazing and my studio has been the greatest environment. It's a safe place where we can get great feedback and encouragement from a bunch of ladies that are right in the thick of it too. In addition to that, having graduate students in the same studio has been so valuable. It's great to hear them sing so frequently and people to look up to (even if some of them aren't too much older than me haha). I did thoroughly enjoy the rest of my classes there (German, German Diction, and Choir). I feel pretty good to be in a quality program like this one.

Also, HUGE shout out to Hope Douglass for being so willing to become my pianist last minute and being so fabulous. She was able to jump right and we have a pretty nice groove going on. You go, Glen CoCo.

Speaking of classes, I went to bed last night, a Friday night....and I did not have to turn in any MacGamut!!

This is how I feel irl:

2 YEARS OF IT! and it's finally done. I am officially DONE with music theory and ear training. Like, I want to cry.

All 14 credits done this semester on top of working almost every morning and afternoon at VIK. And rehearsing for Resonance. And prepping my music class for summer camp. And I managed to get straight A's. Like a boss.

But honestly, the past four months have been a blur. School, work, keeping up with recital attendance, rehearsals, performances, 2 weddings....I have definitely been kept busy. The first half of the semester felt like it dragged but after spring break, time seriously FLEW by! It still is. I'm not sure how to process it yet, but I think it's a good thing. Kind of.

The prep for summer camp has definitely intensified! This year I am going to be a specials class teacher for wait for it....MUSIC! I have my whole curriculum planned out so *hopefully* it will work well enough to keep me going for the whole 10 week program. :O It's going to be a good summer. I want to make it a good one since I won't be returning to work the school year and I need to get my fill on my kiddos before I have to leave! I will be so happy to have a lighter load and lower stress level, but I really do love my job. If I wasn't in school and in a program that wasn't so demanding I wouldn't leave! Those kids are my favorite. I will probably end up working a few days of holiday camp and next summer.

Gee, seeing how short this post just goes to show how rather monotonous my life has become considering January was the last time I filled all ya'll in. What else can I put in here....hmm....well I left my platinum days behind! The lovely Laura Loose brought me back to a much milder golden blonde (which is still rather light since it's been since mid-February since she did it and it has faded). I am planning on going again and try and get it to a nice light-honey color that it was before I started dyeing my hair.

Well, in other news, there is no news. I hope everyone had an enjoyable semester and continues to have an amazing summer. Go forth. Be happy.



That's all for now my lovelies.

New Year, Lots of Changes!

Hello all. Considering I consistently write like every 4 months, I think I'm doing well at maintaining a consistent pace, so I'm no longer going to apologize for such a big gap between posts. I've got a life, things to do, and people to see! Sheesh. ;)

The biggest event (non-school or work related) was definitely the Marine Corps Ball. :) That's always my favorite. It's a legitimate reason to get all dolled up and go out and have all of Ian's buddies compliment on how beautiful his wife is. ;) #egoboost BIG shout out to my friend Azlynn who did my hair and makeup and my sister in law Allie for taking pics. Here, enjoy a few. ;)

This one is def my fav of us together.:)

     Yum. 

It was held at a really fancy resort in Phoenix, like it was UNREAL how fancy it is. I'm pretty sure the stair case we walked down was marble. No joke. I wish I had taken pics of the venue. 

 This year's souvenir--a flask! 

And the ballroom wasn't as cramped this time and the food was better. I basically got a whole chicken to myself. haha it was scrumptious. After dinner, we decided to get our own dessert and go home. We're total party animals, I know. It was fun. :) The Marine Corps Ball is a tradition I will NEVER get tired of. For obvious reasons. 

Anywho, my final semester at CGCC wrapped up in a hurry. The entire time it was like slow-motion; I had several times where I would just sit and reflect on everything I've learned and that my time there was drawing to a close. It was kind of a surreal feeling leaving my final voice lessons and juries. It felt very real that I was moving on, but it didn't set in 100% until this last Sunday night.

I cannot express enough how grateful I've been to get to know such beautiful people by attending such a great school. There are so many wonderful memories and friendships that I will continue to treasure. A special thanks goes to my voice teachers, Kaarin and Alexis, for pushing me to work harder and do my best, and to also encourage me to be confident in my ability. I really wouldn't be where I am without them. Another special thanks goes to Marc Denton, who is the man behind the wonderful vocal/choral music department and for helping me get to where I needed to be. All the rest of the people who have been such good friends to me, you know who you are and just know, you are very dear to me. CGCC will always feel like home. :)

The holidays were a nice change of pace, that is for sure. I did work 3 days of holiday camp, so I was a little worn out the few days before Christmas, but overall it was soooo relaxing not to worry about work, school, or anything for about 2.5 weeks. I loved it so much, it made me question my decision to go back to school and work. ;) I got to see my dad for a good portion of his short stay in AZ. It was nice to hang out and chat at my house while Ian was at work, and then we went to dinner and exchanged gifts once Ian got home. Ian and I then went to my mom's house, hung out with my siblings and their little families until late into the evening, and then stayed the night.

Look at us in our matching robes!

It was odd the next morning not to have littles running everywhere and be lots of activity all day. All of my older siblings decided to start having Christmas Morning at their houses with their kids (which makes sense). Instead of lots of hub-bub, we ended up watching Parks & Rec for a while and a Bourne movie marathon until Christmas dinner. haha After that, things kind of went back to normal, except I got to stay home all day and do super productive things! For instance, I painted a bunch of decor for our bedroom (which I'll post once our bedroom is back to normal after all the painting stuff is out of the way). Speaking of which, with the help of my sister Ashley, I painted our bedroom and bathroom! Again, I'll post a pic once everything is decent again. :) I would have had it done by now, if it weren't for A) a leak above our bath ruining the paint above the window sill that I still need to redo and B) school and work taking up all my free time the last week and a half. Be patient, you'll see how amazing it has come together.

We did throw a New Years Eve party again, and like usual, it was a success. Lots of good food, and even better company. People didn't leave till 2 AM, so I think we did an excellent job hosting!

I got to kiss this cutie at midnight, so I really can't complain. :) Ian really is the best. Like, definitely my favorite person alive. I'm grateful he's mine forever.

As for work, I did end up switching schools because of my class schedule. I like it so far, and I already know my coworkers there so it hasn't been a big deal to switch. It's been refreshing actually, not being in charge of so much. ;) It also helps that the kids are on a good routine, and they are more mellow than my kids at the other school. Like I said, so far so good.

My first week at ASU is now halfway done...I have embarrassed myself during class only once so far so I'm considering that much a success. Even so, I am feeling homesick for CGCC. It's uncomfortable to adjust to a new school, adapt to their way of running things, and getting to know new people. It took me basically the entire first semester at CGCC to open up at all. Fortunately, there are a small handful of people that I already know, so that eases the anxiety a bit. At this exact moment, I think I am gong to enjoy my German 101 class the most. I am already starting to understand concepts and recognize patterns! Our professor speaks hardly any English during class time, so we are totally immersed and have to pay attention to pick up what she's saying. She also keeps us up and moving around during class and has some cool assignments for us further along in the semester. I really enjoy it. My second favorite so far is, surprisingly, diction. I like our instructor and I think it's interesting. I don't know why *diction* of all things is cool, but hey, I'll take that over hating it. I've only gone to one choir rehearsal, and I am surprised at how small the concert choir is. Or maybe it's the same size but we're in a big room and we only sit in 2 rows? I'm not sure. Anyway, the music choice isn't anything too foreign. I will say it's definitely an adjustment singing in a soprano section where every single one is a soloist! hahaha BUT the men's section has a really nice sound. Overall, we sounded pretty good when we were sight reading. Psst, and don't tell anybody, but CGCC Concert Choir does sound better overall. ;) (I'm not kidding!)

 I'm not gonna lie, it's been quite an adjustment and it's only been 3 days. But I know that I will come to love it here, that I'm sure of. I feel very at peace about that fact.

WELP, that is pretty much it. Thanks for reading the novel guys, you da best.


Goodnight my lovelies.

Summertime....and the Livin' is Crazy

/sigh. I have a Saturday now that I have absolutely zero plans for the day, until tonight which I get to catch up with my dear friend Nicholas (EEP!). It's quite refreshing. Since I have the time for lolly-gagging (aka postponing cleaning my bedroom), we can do a quick refresher course over the events of this past summer.

Summer Camp '15!
Oh boy, has this been quite the job! 8 hours everyday, working with kids K-6, but mainly with K-3. Twice a week we take my half of camp on a field trip, following with a trip to the swimming pool. The other days, we are at the "camp site" (which actually a jr high) and we rotate them through different classes and activities. I honestly don't think I've been more busy during the summer! It's a total blast hanging out with these kids, and I get to go do fun stuff as part of the job! It's been a long summer for sure, and I am very ready for camp to be over but I will totally do it again next year. These kids make me laugh and smile everyday, and though we've had our bad days, it's been worth it. Can't believe it went by so quickly, too! 2 very short weeks left and then it's back to normal VIK.

4th of July Concert
All the while I've been working full time, since the middle of May, my sister, mother and I had been learning 90 minutes worth of music to perform at a concert out in Sun City West. On a whim, they contacted my mother to see if our group Resonance Vocal Ensemble would be able to perform for them on the 4th July. Unfortunately, we do not rehearse or perform during the summer months but my mom quickly asked my sister and I if we would be down to do a solo show! Impulsively we said yes! Then reality set in. We had to be performance ready for a 90 minute show for a 800 sold out seat audience in 6 weeks!! So. Much. Rehearsing. Our concert consisted of mainly Andrews Sisters classics, solos dabbled in, and a patriotic set to finish. We had to learn everything by ear (which is my absolute LEAST favorite way of learning. Ugh. Words cannot describe). Everything is coming together about 2 weeks before the performance, and I catch a nasty head cold. 5 days before the show. Basically every singer's nightmare, considering you get all that nasty phlegm all up in your vocal folds' business. Especially for me, I basically lose it after I start to recover. Fortunately I could get through most of the songs without too much problem (I just sounded a tad hoarse) but there was one solo song that was in the lowest part of my belt, and literally no sound would come out when doing our sound check. I was freaking out just a little, but fortunately we found a solution by making a joke out of it and having my mom sing it with me. It was a great show overall, and the audience loved it and us.

We're pretty cute. 

Also our venue was legit. Sold out show!

The only real set back was that I had one gentleman ask me if I was pregnant so naturally I wallowed by eating my weight in Oreos when I got home. ;) SO THAT IS A NO, I AM NOT EXPECTING THANKS FOR REMINDING ME JUST HOW THIN I AM.

Voice Lessons
On top of all of THAT , I have been taking voice lessons with Kaarin between semesters. I need to be basically ready for my ASU audition by the time the semester starts, and there is NO way I was preparing an aria by myself. haha and I also really love voice lessons, so... :D It's been going very well. I have 4 songs I am currently studying and I love all of them...some more than others, naturally. ;) I have this one Strauss piece that is literally to die for and it's definitely my favorite one. Take a listen here if you want to listen to this magnificent piece of music. [Note: there is a long piano intro, so you gotta hang tight for like a minute, but the intro is beautiful.] This one is a close tie with "Willow Song" from Ballad of Baby Doe, which is just as drool worthy. Can I please just be Beverly Sills for a day?



Other than that, nothing else to report. I should get to cleaning my room. Maybe. ;)