Brain Drain

I LOVE blogs.  I LOVE blogging.  But -what I really DON'T love is the fact that there are SO many fabulous ideas that I don't have the time, and mainly the finances, to do.  Like -I want to make myself a crafting apron.  I also want to make seasonal blocks.  I would also like to can some home made pizza sauce.  Then, the two I've got on the table now are the tin-can luminaries AND the master suite re-model (for which I will need to make curtains!).  The husband and I are also trying to figure out how to wisely use our tax refund and it is VERY hard for me not to come up with ways to spend it!  We were going to re-tile, but the tile goes UNDER all of the cabinets and the fridge so that was quickly nixed.  Maybe we'll let Briana spend it on creative outlets! *cough* I mean -use it wisely and productively.  Hmm...*cough*  Keeping the Castle is really making it hard for me to keep my crafter-in-training fingers in my lap!




Well -here are my goals, despite everything that I want to do, I need to hunker down!  *hehe* Hunker!  :o)

1. Prep for my St. Mary's TBD audition.  After a successful "jam" session, I'm really excited.
2. Window project!  I started working on sanding it, and it's a TON of work.  No worries!  *brushes off shoulders*  I'm a big girl and can get that done noooo prob!
3. Make craft apron.  I'd really like one of these, maybe I can make them when Mum comes for her visit in April....  Craft moved to April.
4. TBD.

I've got more things...but my brain is scrambled.  I'll think on them, and get back to you!

So -the blog about Peace is turning into a blog about everything but.  I wonder how this happened?  I think that the piece of Peace from all of this is finding out what makes you happy, and stepping through that door when it opens.  Right?  *nods*  I'm off to clean house, make bread dough (I'll post the recipe later...), and work on my window!

*hugs* to you all!

Snow on my McD's iced tea.

When I woke up this morning, I heard birds chirping and was SO excited.  I rolled out of bed and took a peek out the window, only to discover that it was SNOWING.  *sigh*  More snow in Indiana.  It's like an icy-rain kind of snow that doesn't look like it sticks to the ground, but makes things slippery anyway.  I was kind of bummed, but hey -it's Tuesday!  One day closer to Friday!  I'll take that!

I have to admit -I've been trying to find a little bit of Peace every day, and it's really hard!  I think that I alternate between Peace and Joy, and when I'm really lucky, I get both.  Today, though, with yesterday's headache still pounding in my head (which, I suppose, makes it today's headache too...) my little bit of Peace is that I was running late and stopped at McD's to get my daily iced tea and the guy behind the counter gave it to me for free!  I don't know why! -I offered to pay him three times for it, but he said, "Nope, don't worry about it!"  I even had laundry change for it (change that I've taken from my husband's pockets before putting them in the wash).

In the end?  Sure, it's snowing.  Yes, I've a headache.  No -it's not the weekend.  BUT -I'm happy, alive, and have FREE TEA!  Ahhh...*sigh* dees ees de lifah!

What a day for a daydream.

Oh Monday.  *sigh*  I feel that we have a love-hate relationship.  I love you because you signify the beginning of my week and "schedule" but I really, truly despise you because you have caused me great angst and headaches.  Lots of rediculous things happen on Mondays.  For example, my brain functions on "power saver" mode, meaning, I only have enough energy to think half way through a thought before it moves on to the next.  *shrug*  My loss, I suppose.  Lots of great thoughts just drifting off in to Briana-space.  I sure hope they come back!

All of this, of course, is not helped by the current conditions of my existence.  This day in Bloomington is really crummy.  I mean -crummiest of crummy.  It's cloudy, and it's the first day we've been above freezing that I can't be outside.  Not that I would be.  You see, it's raining.  Almost all of the snow is gone, and is now being replaced by large, gloomy puddles of muck.  Never the less, I have lots to look forward to!  You see -Dear Husband and I had an extremely exciting adventure this weekend!  I've been nesting.  Not in the, "I'm pregnant and must prepare" nesting, just in the, "If I have to live in Bloomington with only a small handful of friends I see once a month without my family, I'm going to play house!" nesting.  Sure -they're very different, but so!  That's how I feel, and you can't judge me, blog!  :o)  So, with that explanation over with, here's the deal!

Saturday, I persuaded DH to take me shopping!  I know -it was almost like pulling teeth, except think of it being more like: you want your child to clean their room, and the only way you can get them to do it is to bribe them with allowance, candy, or sleepovers.  In the end, you end up losing...you know?  Well, I didn't necessarily lose, I just had a grumpy husband who tried really hard to not be grumpy and enjoy the process for me (I'm SO lucky!) 

Anyway -focus Briana...- he took me to Macy's, where we spent 20 whole minutes pillaging their clearance bedding materials.  I've been begging (really -begging! "Please, please, PLEASE!  We have wedding monies!!!  I'll be smart and savvy, I promise!  We'll have something pretty!"  I'm sure that if you know me, you understand EXACTLY what this sounds like!  hehe) for new bedding so that I could "re-nest" our bedroom.  Currently, it's baby blue (including the bathroom AND our walk-in closet...not sure how that happened...), and EVERY day when I wake up I think, "ack -oh, blue walls.  Hmm...."  I'm SO over the blue bedroom.  *sigh*  After 20 minutes of me saying, "how about this pattern? No...hmm, how about this pattern?"  We finally agreed on my ABSOLUTE favorite set of the adventure.  It's coffee icecream and dark, dark red toile style flowers!  The toile has returned to the bed.  I love, Love, LOVE toile.It's so classic and happy.  That's usually me: classic and happy.  *nods*

After the Macy's adventure, where we purchased our FABULOUS new bedroom lusciousness for 1/3 of its original cost (OH YES!!!  I am a thrifty shopper!), we went to purchase the window that will be come our headboard.  I found this idea online somewhere, in the midst of HGTV.com and someone's blog.  They did it really country, however, I want it to be classic!  The window I picked is taller than I (standing a proud 5'3.75), and is 110 years old!  It was from an old church in IN, and will proudly reside above our heads, calling guardian angels to soothe our ragged nerves. 

Next part of the adventure, after our thrifty window purchase (at a total of $25.14), we went to (dun dun duuuun!) Lowes (and Menards -a local hardware store)!  The ONE thing that DH requested all day.  At Menards he purchased an awesome weather station (since Saphira ate our last one.  No really -she did!), and at Lowes he bought me paint for the window, misc. things AND...

A POWER TOOL!!!!!!!  Wooo hooo!  This crazy lady's going to sand down her window, glue it, and paint it, and hang it!  *nods*  All my myself (is the goal, at least!). 

This power tool is my bit of Peace for today.  Especially since the dosings of Tylenol didn't help....

Stay posted!  I'll put up pics. of this adventure in: Master bedroom remodel!  :o)

This is an "OMG!" Moment!

<-This is the love of my life (besides my marvelous husband, of course!) ->

As a small business owner (VERY, VERY, very small, infact...) it is really hard to feel successful.  I have struggled and cried, and spent most of my "start up" funds on advertising and have even begged my husband to let me be a SAHW (Stay at home wife) so that I can make Kindermusik (and Busy B Music and Me) the most important part of my day.  Needless to say that was a bust!  You can't have a SAHW AND a Ph.D student and keep your home or buy groceries!  It is truly impossible (bummer!!!!!).

Through all of this, though I have had lots of rewards!  I have three (as of right now...) beautiful families that take classes that reward me every weekend!  In addition to these rewards, however, I have received another for my hard work and perseverance (a quality that I seem to have in boat loads -ask my husband....)!  I received an e-mail earlier today from a KM educator in Florida.  She creates webinars for KMI (KM international) that get posted online for our continuing education.  She wrote to tell me that she really liked my blog (squee!), and USED IT IN HER WEBINAR!  So, if you don't know what that means, I'll tell you!

THOUSANDS OF KM EDUCATORS WILL SEE MY BLOG!  I'm having an OMG moment here!  *looks for brown paper bag....*  Sure, it may continue being a blog that only you guys read BUT -it could turn into such a butterfly that I can't help but be ecstatic!  It's like JT being found by Tad Williams' wife!  Holy moley!


*CHEERS* to a great reward!

"But he is so...."

Fooled ya' with my post title!! :o) This ones a good one (if I do say so), so sit down and stay a while!

My whole life I've heard, "you're so smart" (believe it or not...)or, "you're so gifted" or even, "you're so melo-dramatic!" So...what makes a person these things? What does it mean when someone is smart, or gifted (I know what melo-dramatic is...it's ME!)? These things are dependent upon your perspective. Every parent wants their child to be all of those "good things"...at least, I hope so! You see, I view these things as gifts. Gifted, whatever -it's all the same. Gifts.

This is on my mind because DH is doing some volunteer work at a local elementary school. He has been assigned to a singular 5th grade bass player. I think this is fabulous, and the little guy sounds adorable! Michael says he's, "a serious little guy. Listens very intently to everything you say, and thinks about it for a bit, and then nods. He seems like a smart guy, and I think that if he continues in the music world, he would be a theorist." On my end, it all sounds great -a kid who loves music, yay!

Smart...funny...creative...dramatic...bubbily...whatever you're desired adjective is, "beauty lies in the eye of its beholder." So in translation: we are given these gifts, whatever they may be, and it is up to us to make the best of them! My gifts vary daily, which I think is okay, and think that we forget about them and what they mean. Today, my gift, and the rarest of them all, has been patience. It very rarely shows its perfect little head in my life, and today I'm going to take advantage of it!

It's just one of those little things that brings with it a whole lotta' Peace. And that is definitely something I could use more of!

Oh!  And by the way... HAPPY FRIDAY!

PS -the pic. is of our kitty, Daphnie.  I thought this was appropriate, seeing as this is how I feel today!

Honest Scrap

A friend of mine nominated me for this award, and I'm ...well, honored! Here's the deal. Once you've been nominated, you must list ten random things about yourself, and then pass the award along. So...without further ado....

In no particular order....

1. I LOVE my husband more than anything else in the world.

2. I love to eat cheese, but it doesn't love me back!

3. I believe that my purpose in life is to help people through music. Whether emotionally, physically, developmentally, etc. Music is what I'm meant to do, end of story.

4. I am exceptionally impatient. Sometimes when I am thinking about something and trying to make a decision, I get impatient with myself. I do, however, have to say that I fully support all of the decisions I've made, even the ones that haven't worked out the way I've wanted. I just need to make new ones because of it.

5. I LOOOOOVE paisley and tuale. I hope that I never get tired of it because they're such classic, pretty prints!

6. Chocolate is the only thing that makes me feel better.

7. I can't handle smells. If you're smelly, I may just expel my lunch on your shoes.

8. I don't like being in charge of situations (SURPRISE!). I like things to be well done, at the 100% value, so that's how I get myself into those situations.

9. I'm afraid I'm a "glass half empty" kind of person, which I will be working on for Lent. I try REALLY hard to be "Glass over full!" but, that doesn't really do it for me.

10. I love being "creative", but the only creative thing I'm good at is music! It's so disappointing!



Okay -those are my 10 randoms! :o) I hope they were insightful!!! I'll run this buy my husband, and see what his 10 miscellaneous facts are.

Snowcapades

The Olympics are one of the oldest traditions in the world. The Ancient Greeks started it and they were just so fabulous, we all had to join in. I took a class called Ancient World Studies, Greek art and architecture which was really about the cool buildings they built and the really neat traditions and activities we have collected they participated in, due to the bits and pieces we've found from their culture. Anyway -the point is, I LOVE Ancient Greeks, and I love the Olympics. I am most definitely NOT an Olympic athlete, but I do (not like)participate in strenuous activity. Because of the massive amounts of snow here in Bloomington (ohhhh -12 inches! Yikes!), I've been doing quite a bit of shoveling.

I have to say that the only bit of Joy I got from the whole experience was this:The always happy, always fabulous Saphira!

I hope you are enjoying your days! The week's all downhill from here! :)

Valentines Day...WEEKEND! WOO

I know that so many people find Valentines Day to be cheesy, corney, a waste of a holidy, or even a day that separates the haves from have-nots. Not for me! Valentines Day has morphed from the standard flowers and chocolate and smooches, to lavishing in the joy that comes from spending the day together AND having the honey cook me food (appreciated because he knows how obsessive I have become about cooking AND cleaning my kitchen). So instead of cherishing the day, we've chosen to cherish the time we spend together, and let me tell you -it's MUCH more fun and memorable this way!

Here's the recap!
Saturday:
SLEEP IN! And once we'd done that, we woke up! I made pancakes, bacon, and DH made the eggs and we feasted! Joy! :) After that, I whipped up some pizza dough using the bread maker (LOOOOVE IT!) and while that was rising, we went on an adventure! I've been after DH for a bed -a REAL LIVE grown-up bed. One with a headboard and a footboard, you know the kind?? Well, we don't have one! So I was poking around the blogging world one day and found this amazing little project. You take and refinish an antique window and mount it as your headboard! LOVE IT! We found one, so I'll be purchasing and bringing that baby home this weekend! It'll be a fun project to do while he's working Pitt's Opera in March, and soccer tourney's the next couple of weekends.


After that fabulous escipade, we made our pizzas! They were FABULOUS! We did them "his and hers" style -aka -I want my own healthy pizza!




Perk: enough for 2 sm and 1 lg. pizza in the freezer, ready to roll.

It was a true success because DH helped me knead and roll the dough AND REALLY liked it!





Sunday:
Much less exciting! DH had to work and I had to work too! But -he came home from work and brought me presents and cooked! It was fabulous! :o)

We even used our wedding champagne flutes...

He was SO fabulous and handsome!


Happy Valentines Day!!
XOXO
The Priesters!

Valentines day wrieth -Finally!

Here is the promised post of my adventures making my FIRST crafty project. Now -I've done crafts before, but not completely on my own! The only thing I can really say after this one is -I WILL purchase a cold heat glue gun!

1. Gather materials! Check...


2. Cut and Mod Podge small and oddly shaped bits of festive paper onto cardboard shaped symbol of love! Check....


3. Trim heart and begin hot gluing the back ruffle on. materials of your choosing! -the blog that inspired me to do this used burlap, which was too pricey for me. I used DISCOUNT lace! Yippee!



4. Optional: Create object focal point! I used $1.99 quilting fabric to create this flower and a decorative button for the middle. Once made, hot glue onto DRIED heart!



5. Optional: I ripped some strands of cloth from the remaining flower fabric and used it as an edging to cover up any left over cardboard spots.





Drum roll please....

Finished product!!!


Joy! :o)

Another little project I did were these little guys! Quick and easy! Just how I like it! hehe



I'm sure that one day I will look back at these and find them poorly done and perhaps craftily juvenile, but for now, they serve me well!


Until next time, crafters! :o)

Hot glue and pebbles!

I have completed my FIRST wifely craft! I did it all on my own, or "I made it without my hubby" which I'll post the tag for later with the pictures. It was exciting, and I made two for the price of one!
Item One: "LOVE" pictures -four picture frames with the word love spelled out in glass pebbles. Check -with the exception that one of the pebbles got hot glued to dining room table.... Haven't figured out how to get that off yet! Any recommendations are heartily accepted.
Item Two: Valentines day wreath. I used cardboard, ModPodge, lace, fabric, scrapbook paper, and hot glue. Check, with the exception of one severe pinkie finger burn, and a slightly, but still acceptable, piece of cardboard!

Ideas for these crafts were found at: http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2010/02/burlap-valentine-project.html
and

Success! I'll post pictures soon!

:o)

Desperation, Validation, and Redemption

des·per·a·tion: a state in which all hope is lost or absent; "in the depths of despair"; "they were rescued from despair at the last minute"; "courage born of desperation"
Desperation is a disgusting feeling. It is a state of existence that consumes every thought and action, and perhaps this extends into our subconscious. For me, unfortunately, it is a green monster that seems to be running my life. I'm uncomfortable in my current situation, and am poking my nasty green head into every crack and crevice to find some sort of relief (in a humorous way, it's like my green friend has an allergy to life and every time it breaths in it sneezes! How funny -but not). Fight of flight mechanism at its finest, I suppose. I refuse to yield, and the situation pushes back. I want to get my way, but the journey is stronger than I am. I must escape, but the only way to escape is to embrace my situation, learn the lesson presented (which I am obviously NOT learning...), and find happiness in alternative places.



val·i·date: To mark with an indication of official sanction; to establish the soundness of; corroborate.
In my desperation, I feel a deep desire to validate my life. What have I done? What will I accomplish? What am I worth to others? What can I put my claim on? Some people give validity a place in their lives by buying things (which I have considered...there's a really pretty Twill bed set at Macy's ON SALE!), modifying their appearance, obsessive cleaning (I noticed that I have started doing this...it's better than the alternatives, right?)drinking/eating/drugs/sleeping, having children...etc. The list is AMAZINGLY long. Whatever your vice is -it will help you validate your life in a negative way.
So why? Why is this so important to me? I've done lots of things I can be proud of! Conservatories, adventures, performances, essays...oh, WAIT! NO ONE CARES! No one cares about that except for me. Hmm -Does accomplishment come from what a paper states, or does it come from inside? Bottom line, my ability to validate my life seems to be coming from superficial places and reasons due to my state of desperation. Green Monster? -yeah, sure.



re·deem: To restore the honor, worth, or reputation.
When the clouds clear away and the sun comes up the GM (Green Monster) runs away. It leaves me to think about my life, and the choices I've made in only a way that I understand. It requires me to be introspective, and thankful for what I'm given. Especially the small stuff we have a tendency to overlook. I don't WANT to be a GM. I want to be Briana -version 1.0. The person her husband fell in love with, and the person who would call her friends when she knew they were having bad days, and would send flowers and cards, give hugs, and laugh her way through the day. The person who LOVES to give families and babies a head start. Me. That's what I want.
So maybe it will be hard -most likely it will be hard, and maybe I'll have to wait for everything that I want. But, the point is that I will be the dragonfly: evolve when necessary, but remain true to who I am.

Snow, snow, GO AWAY!

Snow, snow GO AWAY! Please, DON'T! come again another day. We're all so sick of your stay, snow, snow GO AWAY!

The past week has been full of snow for everyone. Snow here, snow there, snow even in your underwear (JK! At least -I don't have any in mine! :o)....)!! So many people are sick and tired of being snowed in, of being stuck, of being bored, of being.... It is so difficult, with our fast paced lives, to just be. To not feel the tug of work's obligations and responsibilities. Maybe, just maybe, we were snowed in for a reason (not me, of course...it'd take a monumental blizzard to get TP! closed. Snow days are the number 2 thing I miss about teaching, with the children being the first, of course!). Maybe it is a sign that we are completely over extending ourselves in our lives and not taking time to appreciate what we are given every day. Think about this -beautiful snow is falling from the sky and our first thoughts are, "how will I get to work?" or, "how will I get home from work?", or even, "I hope this doesn't mess my schedule up!" Hmmm....

Take a break, take a breather, and enjoy the snow and the time it is requiring you to just be. Craft, eat, watch, vegetate, but for goodness sakes, don't wish wish yourself out of that peaceful time because before we know it, we'll be wishing you had those extra couple of hours to take down your Christmas decorations (like we did last night! I know.... We've been a LITTLE busy, but with choir cancelled I had all evening!), or to make your sweetie dinner, or to take a bubble bath. Enjoy the YOU time.

Snow, snow, don't go away. Please, please stay for just another day!

If you're gonna love somebody....

When it comes right down to it, it is family that really catches you when you fall. In fact, you could not even be falling and they will do everything they possibly can go aide in your success. I happen to currently be a perfect example of this! Lucky me!!!!!

First, I would like to say that -you can marry someone, but that doesn't make you family to your spouse's folks. You know, however, that you have become family when they offer to drop everything in their lives for the weekend and come to help you. For a day -for two days -for however long, you know you have become family because they show up at your door, food, bags, dog, and suitcases in hand with smiles on their faces. This is truly a gift to have received. Sure, some consider it luck when they can tolerate their in-laws, but lady luck came knocking on my door because my in-laws are awesome! :-)




Secondly, I would like to say that you can be related to someone, and they can still feel no need to help you. Unfortunately, I fear that the number of families like this are increasing, and I am undoubtedly thankful for the one that I grew up with! With that being said, it never ceases to amaze me that my family members are willing to wait in line at the airport at 5:oo a.m. to get a flight in a snow storm, and are willing to stay up until midnight to create colorful, eye catching ditties to help you succeed. I know that I ask for a lot, and while I may be whiny, I do try really hard but I haven't done anything to be so blessedly lucky in the family that I have been gifted. Because you are related, or know someone, you are, under no circumstances, truly obligated to help them. Yes -psychologically you feel a deep down Darwinist sense of obligation, but these things surpass that. A true family steps up when you really don't have the time or energy to do any stepping.

For example:

signs offered up by a true artist...
and...

the dress for success offered by unconditional love and support!


This is the season of love.... I love YOU! If you can, take the time to do some stepping. It really makes a difference, and the old addage, "it's the little things that count"...? Remember that one? Well, it's true. Do something little and make that big difference.

Moving on, growing up....

Today was such a fabulous day, but before I tell you how wonderful it was, I need to soak in a very hot bath!!! I'll fill you in tomorrow!

Here's a teaser photo:

When Life Gives you Snow...

I saw a friend on Facebook recently post, "when life gives you snow, go sledding!" I was temporarily inclined to disagree, considering my newly found distaste for snow (due to it's wreeking havoc on my life...), but instead found the corners turned up in a smile. Darn my sense of humor.... Life is never a neatly wrapped package, as I nievly expected it to be. My life, every single day of it, has been a giant mass of poorly wrapped, taped, and glued package (imagine here that a three year old is proudly handing it too you. It may even include maccaroni!). So instead of being upset with that giant mass, take a step back and take time to find out what's inside. Much easier said than done, but it can and must be done. You only have so many minutes in your day -why waste them, eh?

In order to not be wasteful, we must find a solution! We are given situations that challenge us (no brainer!). Whether in our home lives, work lives, professional lives, and even in the life of our own minds, we can not always change the situation. So what then? What comes next? In order to successfully navigate yourself out of this unhappily unfortunate situation, you must -absolutely must- change the way you think about it.

Go sledding, make lemonade, or blog but be proactive in helping yourself be happy! So what -it snowed. Oh.... My.... I suspect you won't melt so enjoy the choice you make!



"The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." ~Benjamin Franklin

Whose time and frame of mind?

There are days when I seem to be able to fly. Like I've temporarily been given wings. I've got a great husband, home, relationship with my family, etc. Life is beautiful. Then.... Then there are days like today. Like the wind has intentionally been taking out of my wings, if I ever really had any. My life: roller coaster.

Every day I can't help but think that I'm wasting MY time. MY days are wasted sitting at a desk, doing a job that isn't my passion (don't get me wrong -I'm VERY thankful to be able to support my husband through school. VERY THANKFUL. I am also thankful that I like the people that I work with!). But -it is truly a struggle for me. I take my time getting ready hoping that maybe there will be a freak snow storm (even though it's bright, sunny, and VERY cold) and I won't have to go and can, instead, spend the day planning my Kindermusik lessons, cleaning, and cooking. HAHA!

Very rarely do I think that I'm maybe learning a lesson that God needs me to learn. Humility and patience come to mind.... Wonder why.... Instead, I focus only on MY time and MY frame of mind. If I am upset, the world seems to be ending when in totally truth, I'm experiencing a life lesson (darn those!). When I feel the most frustrated (like I do right this very minute...steam is rolling out of my ears and nose...and fingernails, and eyebrows....) everything seems to be about me instead of about the journey. Instead of thinking about where I am, why I am there, and what I need to be doing, I think about what I cannot be doing. It's completely retroactive, but I cannot seem to NOT do it. The most disappointing part of the whole situation, is that we (as a species) seem to take our hardest emotions (fear, shame, anger, sadness, the list continues) out on our most favorite people. My favorite person is Michael and Lord only knows that God's already saving him a special spot in Heaven! :)

I can no longer deny that it is not MY time. It is not MY frame of mind to deny. I was given a purpose and a mission, and a beautiful life. I am not wasting MY time...I'm wasting my Creator's. Somewhat cheesy but -when you are given another day with the person you love, sure. I'll make a cheesy statement. Why be selfish and ungrateful. I have been given _______ (fill in the blank with the innumerable things...).


Briana to self: "SHUT UP, get over it, and move on."


pāx.
"La vita è bella"

Blah, blah, blah-di-blah blah!

I haven't posted in a while -I've been "offline" mentally and  literally.  Sorry about that!  I know that I don't talk to you guys every day, so it's nice to know what's going on every now and then, huh?  I have also decided that I like my blog.  I can complain to it, and it never seems to mind.  Do they make a chip that one can install into their husbands?  I'm not saying that I would do that ... okay, maybe I was thinking about it just a little.  

For me...here's the laundry list:
I've been conducting the brass band here in Bloomington.  I'll be posting on "empowerment" sometime soon.  I've had it brewing....

I've also been singing my brains out.  I LOVE it.  Good music (Mozart, Bach...), but some of the people just aren't my style....

I've been teaching Kindermusik and LOVING EVERY MINUTE of it.  It is constanty my weekly and daily peace.  I now officially have THREE families!!!  Yippee!!!  They are all very fabulous and wonderful parents.  This weekend, I'll be a vendor at the Bloomington Area Birth Services first annual Baby Fair!!  I'll be in good hands -Mum's flying in Friday to help me through it (yayyyy!).  I'll make sure to post pictures later.

But -the show stopper is this:  I've submitted an application to IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue Iniveristy Indianapolis) to obtain my Music Therapy equivelency and Master's degree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm WAY excited, and very hopeful that it will work out.  I'm speaking with the program director tomorrow on the telephone to gather last minute information, etc.  I'll make sure to keep you posted on that one too.  Prayers for success = gerat appreciation. 

All of these things....  Life things, Briana things, work things....blah blah blah, are draining and bringing me down.  I'm really tring not to be homesick and to keep my head high and pointed in the right direction.  We'll see how far I get today, but so far I'm doing alright.

I'd be great if it would only snow....

Mountain mama...take me home, country roads.

  Artful Dodger, Harrisonburg!


Until next time....