More Celtic Women

Since I keep talking about Celtic Women, I decided to finally post a video of their amazing talent so that everyone can see what I'm talking about if you don't already know. Enjoy!

Random

Well, I sucessfully ignored my blog yet again yesterday but as always, there is just not much to post during the week when pretty much nothing happens but work. Yesterday, the hubby and I went to Barnes and Noble when I got home because I had some very important business to do there: I purchaced the new Celtic Women CD which of course, is wonderful! I also had to purchace the new Josh Groban CD (it's been out since November but the last time I went to B&N they didn't have it) which of course is wonderful too. Brice also made a CD purchace of some folk artist that does more talking over guitar playing than he does singing...I have to admit it's not terrible but could be better. I'd tell you who it is but I can't keep track of all of the CD's he has...come see our living room if you don't believe me! When we got back from B&N (in between we decided to catch some food at Chipotle) I decided to lay down on the couch because I was tired. Well, that turned out to be a 2 hour nap! It was nice and all to take such a wonderful nap but by the time I awoke it was already 8pm and I still had to do some practicing which I did, I did not neglect my homework although I haven't been "practicing" every day, more like every other day with my every other being making sure that I hum along with the radio (good, quality humming with soft palate raised and "chewing" to relieve the tension in my jaw). As I typed that last sentence I realized that Courtney would probably be the only one to really understand what I'm talking about! So tonight the hubby is off at work for an overnight and I have the house all to myself. I love the nights he's gone because I get to lay up in bed with music playing, the laptop on my lap surfing the net, after which usually leads to curling up with a book and an early bed time. It's really wonderful to be able to really relax...goodness knows we as busy humans don't get to do that very often. Well, I'm going to go relax more and until tomorrow....

Thought of the Day

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5

We Christians are not to be conformed to this world in the way we think. The world by its advertisements, its conversation, and its philosophy is engaged in a gigantic brainwashing…. Time yourself the next time you read the Bible and pray. Compare it to the amount of time you spend watching television or surfing the Internet. Is God getting His share of your time and attention?

Is the world shaping your mind—or is Christ?

Voice Lessons are great

So I had my first voice lesson yesterday and I was a great experience. Of course, not really singing in so long I have a lot of issues to fix. My new teacher is wonderful and she already had much insight into my voice just from listening to me vocalize yesterday. It was really nice. She assigned me a couple of Lieder songs to get into my voice that will help to re-strengthen my vocal muscles (that is one of the reasons that I was getting so tired after singing). I also have issues with my breathing....I'm using too much air which causes me to have to breathe too often. She gave me an exercise to do to help get that back into shape too. My "homework" is to practice twice a day for 10-15 minute increments until my voice gets tired and to not do any more. Well, I practiced for half an hour today and I didn't realize that my voice was tired until about an hour later. Now I know that I did too much - I shouldn't give my voice the opportunity to get tired. So I have a lot of hard work ahead but it will be worth it. Singing just gives me joy that I don't get out of anything else.


On another note, we had our introduction to Indian culture yesterday at work. I felt really bad for our India team that was here because yesterday was their Republic Day (which is like our 4th of July); it's the day that they celebrate their independance from the British and the day that their constitution was finalized. They showed us pictures of the parade that they have in Bali every year and it was amazing! The road they have it on is about the size of 35W and they have floats and their armed forces and people dancing all in the parade in these amazingly beautiful and colorful clothing. So because they were here, they had to work and if they had been home in India, they would have had the day off. One of the other things I learned is that each of the states has it's own language, culture, traditions and way of preparing food. Because of this, each of them speaks like 3 different languages!

They also showed us pictures of what they call the Lotus Temple - it was so beautiful! You can't go even in the gardens at the temple without taking your shoes off. Apparently, you have to leave your shoes at the gate, walk through the gardens and the actual temple shoe-less.
They also have a temple in India that is made completely of gold - I have never actually seen anything like it! One of the saddest things they told us is about the northern-most state. They have been fighting for this state with the people of Packistan for 50 years. This is because one of the stipulations of gaining their independance from Britian was that they had to split into 2 countries and apparantly this state was never decided upon, whether it would be a part of Packistan or India. Because of this, it is unsafe to travel there and it is supposed to be the most beautiful place in India to visit but nobody has actually seen it. The last interesting tidbit I will leave you with is that the city of Bali is 3 times the size of New York - can you imagine that??

Nothing much

I hate having to have a day at work and then come home, have the same old stuff happen and nothing interesting to say. I got a list of things to bring for my lesson tomorrow so I had to go through the closet where all of my music is. Yes, we still have many un-packed things hiding away in the closet because we just have not gotten around to getting the remaining furniture items we need in the house to un-pack the remaining boxes. I ended up finding everything that I was planning on taking with me except for one book - of course it has to be the book that I was really looking for and it was probably in the box that was hidden further back in the closet than I was willing to hunt for so I'm just going to go without it. I did end up finding all of my blank cassette tapes in the entertainment center - of course I can't quite figure out why I put the cassettes there when I put the blank CD's up in the linnen closet (I guess I was still sleeping the day I unpacked those items). I think I should be set now for my lesson and I am so excited (in case you didn't figure that one out from my previous post).

So I got to go to a meeting today with the people that are here training from India. We got to ask them a few questions about how health insurance works in India. Apparantly, they don't really have it. What they do have is only paid for by a handful of employers and the remaining people have individual policies but even these are mostly life insurance, not for health. They did say that they can go to the doctor at any given time and be able to pay for medical care without it costing a fortune. They also said that pretty much all prescriptions are over the counter - if they are ever in need of an antibiotic, all they have to do is go to the chemist (their word for pharmacy) and get it, no prescription needed. The only meds that require prescriptions there are the ones needed for life-threating situations. They also said that there are many people from the states going to have elective surgery in India because it is much more affordable than anything they can get here. I was just amazed at everything they were speaking about. Tomorrow they are going to have an overview of Indian life and culture so I should be able to learn even more. I never thought I would be so interested learning about culture in India but it really peaks my attention.

Well, I gotta rap it up, the OC is on - only 5 episodes left!

I finally got word today from the voice teacher I have been trying to reach for a week. She actually does have room for me in her schedule and I get to have my first lesson on Friday. I am so psyched! It has been almost 4 years since I have been studying and it will be very nice getting back in the ring. I'll get back into shape, do some improving, get into a choir and m creative veins will be flowing and happy once again. The next thing I'll have to do is get my sax out and find out where I can play that again.

So I came home tonight to a crabby husband. Can anyone explain to my why exactly ment waste so much of their energy being crabby about doing chores around the house? Brice did dishes (he says for 3 hours but I don't think it really took that long - he has a habit of over exagerating) and because of this, he was crabby. He has yet to figure out that the whole dishes situation would be solved if he would call a repair man to fix the dishwasher...see where I'm going with this? After that, he got crabby about having to make dinner because he just did dishes for "3 hours"....who should make dinner, the one who had the day off or the one who got up at 5am this morning to be to work by 6:30???

On another note, did anybody see the story that WCCO did on the best cities to have children in? Apparantly Minneapolis is number 3 in the list - we'll see if Minneapolis can live up to this number if we are ever blessed with children. You can go here to watch the video.

Nothing much else here in Minnesota-land. We'll see if tomorrow is a little more interesting!

I like Indian Cuisine!

I love it when a day of work turns out to be a few hours of work! After having a meeting with a team member from another office in Connecticut, having an hour and a half lunch date with the team and a half an hour break for a slice of cake, I think I got somewhere between 4-5 hours of actual work done today - it was wonderful! So, my lunch date was at India Palace with my team and our Indian counterparts that are in town training for 3 weeks. I was a little frightened at first because I remember going to an Indian restaurant once with my husband and his dad and I didn't like anything. So today, with the help of our wonderful Indian friends, I dove in and tried. I really thought the food was good - of course everything had a different taste to it but it was good! I tried 2 different kinds of chicken, and a spinach and vegetable dip that I ate with nann and rice. It was very good and I realized that I shouldn't be so scared of trying new food.

Other than that it's been a pretty uneventful day. Right now I'm just chilling in bed with my computer on my lap and listening to some streaming country (yes, I know I never listen to country but I'm starting to re-evaluate my hatred for it!) music. I'll probably go to bed early since laying in bed feels so good right now (it'll be nice to have a little extra sleep too). Until later!

Thought for the day

The born-again Christian sees life not as a blurred, confused, meaningless mass, but as something planned and purposeful….In Christ’s first sermon at Nazareth He said that one of the reasons He had come to earth was to preach “recovery of sight to the blind” (Luke 4:18)….The Spirit of God helps us see our sin and our helplessness and shows us God’s redeeming grace in Christ. The Spirit reveals the truth of Jesus’ declaration: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12)….In the midst of a world living in spiritual darkness, walk as a child of the light!

A good day

So today started out nice - hubby let me sleep in and then he made us pancakes and fried up some ham for breakfast. It's been a long time since we have actually sat down for breakfast together that wasn't cereal. After that we got a phone call from one of Brice's friend's that he has had since he was in grade school to let us know that he is getting married in June in Key West, FL so we get to go on vacation. He is getting married at St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Parish where Tennessee Williams was baptized (upon persuasion from his brother - a photographer who was there stated that Tennessee was very intoxicated). We've been doing some research tonight to find out what we can do there and it seems really promising. It turns out that you can tour the Ernest Hemingway house, you can tour some other house where Robert Frost spent his winters and you can visit where Tennessee Williams lived as well. Apparently Key West was a haven for writers back then. I also found a tour of Key West that you can take at night and it goes to haunted mansions and cemeteries - that sounds really fun! The best part about going to Flordia is that we get to go visit the manatees!!! I always said that if I ever went there I would have to go see them - I would have to say that manatees are my favorite animal of all time! There are places that I found you can actually go swiming with them but they are around Tampa which is not the area that we will be in. But, I did find the Miami Seaquarium that has dolphin shows, manatees and all kinds of sea creatures. That should be a lot of fun. I am just really excited about this trip because I have always wanted to go somwhere tropical...even if it is in the middle of June!

So, the rest of the day was fun for us as well. Hubby and I took a trip to MOA to make a few purchases. If you remember from my last post, I was somewhat bored with the music selection that I had in my possession. Well, we went to Barnes & Noble and I purchased Carrie Underwood, Meav (one of the ladies from Celtic Women) and a Josh Groban CD. I was kind of bummed out though because they didn't have the new Celtic Women CD...I'll have to order that one on Amazon or something. I also managed to find some clothing items without hubby complaining too much that I was spending too much time in my favorite store. While we were there we walked though the amusement park and looked at the tulip show. If you happen to be in the mall, go see it but don't make an extra trip. The commercial on tv makes it sound like there are tulips everywhere but there aren't. There are tulips at all of the entrances and then there is a small exhibit in the middle of the park. I have to say that Como Conservatory and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum are much better places to go look at flowers. For dinner we decided to go try the restaurant at the Water Park of America called the Split Rock Grille....it was very good. Brice had walleye that he pretty much fell in love with. He made a statement that the walleye was like eating candy, it was so good. I can't quite understand that statement since fish to me is the grossest thing a person can possibly eat but I took his word for it anyway.

Brice and I actually had a moment of agreeing about a movie yesterday. HBO was playing the new Producers with Matthew Broderick, Will Ferril, Uma Thurman and Nathan Lane. I love this show because it is a musical of course but Brice likes it because it is a very funny Mel Brooks. I think this is the second movie we have actually agreed upon that both of us like (that hardly ever happens). This would be a good gift for either of us if anyone is ever looking for gift ideas (hint, hint, hint).

Random thought....if anyone really wants to bug my hubby, just play Carrie Underwood really loud!

Heart break

I should have been expecting it because I had a really crappy audition....I got my rejection letter (you know, the one that says, thanks for auditioning but there is no spot for you [this is a "nice" way for them to say that you suck] in the choir at this time but we would like you to audition again) and I just couldn't handle it. I feel rejected and no good....I mean, what in the world did I spend $80,000.00 to go to school to learn how to sing for when I can't even get into a choir??? I'm not going to berate myself and do church choir when people are only there because it's fun and they like to sing. Well, I LOVE to sing and that kind of attitude just doesn't cut it for me. So I've been trying to reach this voice coach that teaches at St. Olaf but to no avail so far so we'll see how it goes.

Sidenote - referencing above rejection letter, like I would really audition again when I wasn't good enough the first time!!!

Anyways, bitterness is over, I just need to get a game plan and do some studying and get back in shape. Hopefully that will help.

Another sidenote - I am totally bored with my music selection lately. I think I need to go on a music buying splurge this weekend....I don't think the hubby will have a problem with that since he has like 200 CD's and I have like 20 (right dear?). I'll let you know what I find!

Brand New!

My cousin and his wife were blessed with a new baby boy on Tuesday and they named him Wyatt Robert (Robert after my grandpa I'm assuming as this is who I'm named after). You can go here to see pictures of this cutie.

Thoughts on American Idol

Usually when I tell people I don't know that I am a vocalist I usually get the question, "Do you watch American Idol?" My answer: I do, but not all the time; after watching tonight, I know why I don't watch it all of the time. If Idol was an ACTUAL talent competition, you wouldn't just be seeing the tone deaf, those who can't carry a tune and the average with really nothing special people. Don't get me wrong about the people that actually think they can sing and really aren't that great....everybody can be taught, they just need to realize they need help and get it. What really bothers me is that the really great people we never get to see because the producers want the "reality tv" moments instead of giving the great talent that is out there an actual chance to make something of themselves. If you don't agree with me, take it from somebody that actually auditioned; go here to read my cousins first hand experience auditioning for Idol.

I hear that Simon made a comment last night about a guy with a degree in voice that teaches lessons and he was told that he basically can't sing and that nobody should study under him. I have a comment to Simon....Wake up, take some actual music classes, get some training and then tell me that this voice major can't sing!!! I can't really say for myself if this guy could sing or not because I didn't see it but usually Simon is way off about these things. I mean, why in the world does he think he, or Paula, or Randy for that matter, have the right to judge people about how they can sing because, neither of these people can sing!!! My advice for the producers of this show: how about you get a panel of 3 people who have vocal (a BA, MM, or PHD would be nice) training and lets see some actual talent get through to Hollywood.

Great musicians

So, I'm listening to Arleen Auger's 1992 recording titled Love Songs and it makes me realize how I would kill to have a voice like hers, or even half like hers. I need to get into a studio and start studying again!

Audition woes

The audition....what can I say to accurately describe my exact experience? First of all, the choir director I auditioned for was a teacher of my college choir director. This tells me a few things as students tend to turn out a little like their teachers: he is probably VERY anal, disorganized and has so much going on in his brain musically that he seems a little like a scatterbrain. Considering my college choir director was pretty hard on me, this only makes me feel as if this situation would be the same. Of course it didn't help that the director kept stopping me to tell me that I was doing things wrong or that I need to stop doing a mix of 2 styles, I should pick one and stick to it. First of all, the audition required no solo work which was nice so I was going in there thinking it would be a pretty laid back; boy was I wrong. Instead of a solo, he had me sing Silent Night so of course I picked the oratorio style with the big vibrato to sing with. I got done and he basically told me that this isn't good enough to sing Bach and that he needed me to sing it again, this time with no vibrato so I did (I sang many a Bach pieces in college and I don't remember having to sing everything with absolutely NO vibrato - this is where I get the anal prediction that I mentioned before). So then, he goes into the "I'll play 5 notes and you sing them back" part of the audition. First of all, who came up with this thinking it is an accurate way to see how good of a vocalist you are? I am HORRIBLE at singing by ear so this part was almost humiliating for me because he kept stopping me and telling me to listen and sing it again. And then came the sight reading; I never understood why this was part of an audition because you are so wracked with nerves that you can't even sing a proper 5 note scale without screwing up, what makes these people think I will actually be able to sight read? So, I sing though the 4 measure diddy and then he asks me what I did wrong. Of course, I'm thinking the entire thing but I say, "Well, I know I got the second to last note wrong." Of course, he corrects me by telling me that well, the only thing I got right was the first measure and the rhythm and he makes me sing it again.....twice. After that (thank God), the audition was over but not the part about being humiliated by the director. He proceeds to ask me where I've been singing since graduating; of course, I had to tell him the truth and I said, "well, nowhere because every time I audition I never get a call back." He then asks about church choir and of course I say no and he understands about church choir being frustrating. So he sends me out the door with the generic handout with all the important information and tells me that letters (not phone calls, letters) will be out in the mail by the end of the week and rehersals start next week if I make it. So of course, by this time I'm convinced that I blew this entire audition and that I either need to stop trying or I have to go back to voice lessons (which by the way, I should have never stopped taking them in the first place but having no money to do so kind of takes care of that for you). So I've been on the internet all night trying to find someone in the area with at least an MM to take private from. I did find a professor from St. Olaf and I shot her an email. Hopefully I hear back soon....I have to get some time in before all of the other choirs audition (usually in May and June).

Well, I guess that's about all; I think I've done enough ranting about the audition to make everybody's head spin and I'm tired so I'm going to bed.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna start the day with a nice TALL cup of java....I'll need it after today.

I....Need....Caffine!!!

Ok, so I'm trying to go without caffine today because of the audition. I know it might sound a little silly to not have ANY caffine whatsoever this morning because of an audition that I have at 7pm tonight. The truth of the matter is that caffine takes a really looooooong time for it to exit your system and it can really screw with your voice. It's enough that my hubby is home sick with a cold and I'm more than likely getting it because my voice feels tired today. If I can just get through the audition tonight, I don't care if I get sick. Honestly!!! Having a cold is much better (in my opinion) than having the flu - I can take it. Voice, hang on for dear life!!

Here I go again

I know I really shouldn’t be worried about this but I am. I have an audition tomorrow (yea!!!) and I am very excited. The audition is for Exultate, a chamber choir in Minneapolis. They need a few extra singers for their (I guess you can call it spring) program in March. They are mixing a few of really great sacred oratorios (like Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion) into one jumble. These are really great pieces and I have actually gotten to sing a couple of what they will be doing. What I am worried about though is what they are going to say about my voice. I have been on auditions before and gotten the “You are very talented and have a wonderful voice, your training is apparent but your large, oratorio style voice just won’t fit in with the choir” before and I just don’t want it to happen again. Hopefully it won’t but you never know what a certain director is going to want for his/her choir. Why can’t they just say what kind of style they are looking for when they post auditions? Wouldn’t that be easier instead of making people think they will never fit in anywhere? Anyways, I hope this audition is not like previous ones because I miss singing in great choirs! Church choir is just not cutting it for me (I’m sure all of you trained musicians out there understand my pain). Please think and pray for me tomorrow!

Thought for the day...

How often have you found what you were looking for in life, only to realize it didn’t bring you the satisfaction you thought it would? It is life’s ultimate frustration—thinking we will find fulfillment in the things of this world. But they can never bring lasting happiness. As one bumper sticker I saw expressed it, “All I want is a little more than I have now.”…Try putting Christ first and watch how your life is turned around. You will discover that He alone is the source of the love, peace, and joy you have been searching for.

My Wicked obsession continues

So as if just moping about Wicked wasn't enough, I had to go on YouTube and find some really cool video from Wicked which, of course, makes me mope even more! Watch these and decide for yourself if this isn't one of the greatest musicals ever!

I did it!!!

It is official, I made my purchase for Celtic Women!!! It's a good thing I got them when I did because tickets went on sale at noon today, I logged in about 12:15 and the best seats available were in the last section of the balcony at the Orpheum. It kind of sucks that we have to sit way back there but I have sat in the balcony before at the Orpheum and it actually wasn't all that bad. Heck, what do I need to see? I'm just going for the music, that's all that matters right?

Wicked and other musical adventures

So I have been checking the Wicked website regularly to find out when they are coming back to town. You see, they were here last summer and I really, REALY wanted to go but the tickets were on presale for so long that by the time it was open to the general public, there were only a handful of tickets left. Sure, I could have sprung for scalped tickets like so many others I know but I don't think I love Wicked enough to spend $100+ per ticket. So right now my only options are to take a vacation to either Chicago or New York which I guess isn't all that bad, I just have to talk the hubby into going on vacation (what is really funny is that he really doesn't like this nickname but I'm gonna keep using it since the one he uses for me daily is like 10 times worse!). For those of you who don't know what Wicked is, check out the trailer here.


In another musical world, the countdown for ticket purchase for Celtic Women is underway! Tomorrow is the day and I WILL NOT forget! If any of you have not heard of Celtic Women, there are one, two, three, four, five, and six excerpts that you can watch and tell me that they are not some of the most talented musicians you have heard! You can also go here to listen to and watch more of their pieces.

Well, that is about all I can think of posting for today. My day has been very relaxing and unproductive (this is what comes out of sleeping until 11 and making 5, count them 5 mixed cd's). I'm thinking of watching a long sappy movie now (like I haven't had enough sap lately) but what else can you do on a cold wintery day? I hope everyones cold wintery day was as wonderful as mine!

Celtic Women!!

Ok, I just happened to go online to Ticketmaster and found that Celtic Women is coming and tickets go on sale on Sunday!!! I am sooooo super excited – I have wanted to go see them since the last time they were here and Brice didn’t get me any tickets. This time I am in charge and the tickets WILL be purchased.

A little entertainment

So I thought I would brouse the web tonight and bring you some really great music that I like a lot. The first is by a gal named Nicole Nordeman - check her out.



These next two videos are by a group called Barlow Girl. They are 3 sisters in a band together that really know how to rock. They are one of my favorites!!





These next videos are by a younger, up and coming artist, Krystal Meyers. I believe that she is on the same label as Avril Levine.





The last video (sorry there are so many but you have to admit, this is some good stuff) is by Plumb. It is a real touching song about people who cut themselves. You can go to YouTube and see an interview she did with CNN about why she wrote the song.



So, hopefully this is the first entry of many to include my likes in music. Of course I like many different genres but contemporary Christian is one of my favorites - I hope you enjoyed your journey!

Grrrr, no coffee!!!!

Ok, so now I have something to write about.  I went down to the cafeteria to get some coffee to go with my wonderful chocolate muffin that I have every morning for breakfast.  All of the coffee was out!!  At 7:30 in the morning!!  I mean, come on – people around here live off of coffee in the morning and it would have been nice to have a nice Starbucks dark roast.  Does anybody out there have sympathy for me?

 

A lesson to be learned

Look at me, just started this blog and I can’t keep up on it (bad me!). I have actually had a couple of really trying days and it has been very draining on me, both physically and emotionally. I know that there is a lesson in here for me to learn but I just have not come across it yet. It’s just really hard when you think one thing is going to happen but then something happens that you were totally not expecting. That patience word comes to mind, I need to be more of that, for sure but it is very hard when you want something so much.

That’s really all I can think of writing for now. I’m at work and need to get started on the day. Hopefully I can make it through without wanting to fall asleep at my desk (I was very sleepy this morning and did not want to get out of bed). Pray for me please, because I will need it today!

Ode to DeRusha

I know I've spoken of the great Jason Derusha before but I got a new video email today that made me laugh. Some of the reporters from WCCO went ice fishing out on Lake Mille Lacs - Well, just watch this and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Thought for the day

I have a daily calendar with writings from Billy Graham.  Here is the one from yesterday:

 

Some years ago I visited a man who was wealthy and successful, the envy of all his friends and business associates.  But as we talked, he broke down in tears, confessing that he was miserable inside.  Wealth had not been able to fill the empty place in his heart.  A few hours later I visited another man who lived only a few miles away.  His cottage was humble, and he had almost nothing…yet his face was radiant as he told me about the work he was doing for Christ and how Christ had filled his life with meaning and purpose.  I went away convinced that the second man was really the rich man….A spirit of thankfulness makes all the difference.

 

If all of us could be as humble as the man living in the cottage! 

It's Christmas time again

Hello all - back again. We were at church today and picked up a copy of the Christmas Day service at church. I ended up singing a solo, Jesu Bambino during communion (this is really amazing because I've been trying to do solo work at church for about 3 years now and the music director likes to not answer email or voicemail or show up at meetings!). http://www.supload.com/sound_confirm.php?get=1317108369.wma is where you can go to download the audio file. The file itself is about 10 minutes long because all of communion is on there, my solo is closer to the end. I was a little disappointed at how it turned out, I don't think I sound very good - my voice was very tired and it shows. I do have to admit though that the high notes sound pretty good for having such a tired voice (the high Bflat especially!).

Well, I suppose that is all for now - until next time!

Oh technology......

Ok, so I might not be as up on this technology thing as I thought. I have been trying, unsucessfully, for the last hour to post a picture to my profile but Blogger doesn't like my public photo URL - I don't know what is wrong. I did sucessfully post a picture on the right sidebar, check it out. It is almost 3 years old but I don't have any recent pictures developed. We still have a film camera and have not yet updated to digital (hopefully this will come sometime soon). I think I've had about enough of this for now.....until later!

A day in the life....

Well, today has been a long but fun day. The hubby and I went to the Como Zoo in St. Paul to visit the reindeer exhibit. I really enjoyed that; well, any place that has animals I have fun at. I highly recommend the zoo because they have the reindeer exhibit right now, they also have a baby camel for a while (very cute as well) and a baby zebra. I was kind of bummed that the puffins were gone, they are very funny birds but, the zoo was still great. If you happen to go, check out the pointsettia exhibit in the conservatory - it was so beautiful and festive. I wish I had taken the camera with to snap a few shots.

After the festivities at the zoo we headed downtown and ate at Patrick McGoverns. We have never eaten there before but it was very good as well. I tried the new Linies beer creation, apple cider something or other. I was really disappointed with it, I was expecting beer with an apple flavor to it and it was more like apple cider with alchol in it. My recommendation - if you really want a beer, go with HoneyWeiss!

We then stopped at the Science Museum Minnesota and saw the Omnitheatre movie about Hurricane Katrina and the wetlands that are being lost in Louisana. I highly recommend the movie, it was very touching and brings to the forefront an environment problem that need to be fixed and reversed. We also did go through the exhibits and those never get old (even for the kids at heart). I think I will still like going there when I'm old and wrinkly with 10 great-grandchildren (ok, I can dream can't I?).

It sounds as if the hubby is going to bed, I should probably join him. Tomorrow morning is church and we need to be bright eyed for that.

Until next time!

Leaping into the 21st Century

This is the official first blog entry of my life after being without computer and internet for way too many years. My husband and I were being frugal after college and trying to get as much debt paid off as possible before venturing into making the computer purchase. Actually, I had nothing to do with this purchase, he did this on his own to surprise me for Christmas (I know I have told you this numerous times but thank you very much!) after spending time at home with my parents and brother and sister for Thanksgiving and being envious of thier new laptop computers. I actually had never even visited a blog before and didn't even know what they were really about. One of my first blog experiences was visiting the blog of Jason DeRusha, WCCO reporter extrodinaire. My thought about his blog; reporters always seem so serious on TV but in the blogging world you actually get to see personality. I always enjoy reading his blog, I'm sure I'm not the only one. Since I can't figure out how to post the link, you can go to www.wcco.com/jasonblog to read it.

I usually don't make new years resolutions but this year decided to go for it, hoping that I might actually keep one for once. My hubby and I are venturing on the working out aspect, hoping that we stay on track working out at least 3 times a week. We went so far as to put workout time on the calendar hoping to keep each other accountable. If anyone has some strategy that helps you to stay motivated, please let me know, I would love some advice on that. Of course we added this resolution this year in hopes of losing some of the dreaded unwanted weight that we all tend to pack on (me a little more than my husband). I read somewhere that changing habits only takes 3 weeks to make permanent, I'm hoping that is true because that seems do-able. I have also decided to a diet journal. There is a free journal at www.fitday.com that you can enter in food in, activities out, diet goals, weight goals, journal entries, etc. You can then pull up reports on where your calories are coming from, how much fats of which kind reign supreme in your diet and calories in vs. burned. I have only been doing this for a few days but am already noticing that I don't consume nearly as many calories as I once thought I was but I am also noticing, even more than ever, that I am a carb junkie. I consume about half of my daily caloric intake in carbs - that's a lot! One of my goals is to cut carbs by about half, I'll keep you updated as to how that goes.

My other new years resolution is to be in my Bible more. I don't have a clear cut goal that I want to reach at this moment but I need to develop one. I don't really know what kind of a good program to do. I know there are those read the Bible in one year deals but then you don't end up reading the entire Bible. What I really need is to go through the OT, anybody know of a reading plan I can use?

Well, so far entry numero uno went well. I'm going to try to write at least once every day so keep checking back! I better stop writing now so that my hubby can have use of the computer (somehow I knew we would be fighting over this thing once we got it). Take care and God Bless!