Harry Potter

In case you missed the huge background, I am celebrating the new Harry Potter movie. This background will stay up until I see the new movie! Normally I would go to the midnight showing, dressed up, but I will be having surgery the same day as the midnight show. Not fun. So, to all you Gryffindors out there, enjoy the show for me! I will see it as soon as possible.

Megan the Hermit Crab

Hi. I'm Megan. (This is where everyone in the room says "Hi Megan!") I have been terrible about updating my blog. I have become addicted to hermitness. (Yes, I just made up that word.) If I had a hermit crab, we would be two crabs in a pod. :)

Anyhoo, here is a quick update on the past several months. I moved out of my old apartment in the beginning of August, and put all of my stuff in storage in a barn on the property where I was moving too. The house was being renovated so I didn't really have a place to stay. Enter amazingly wonderful friends, who allowed me to stay with them for the ensuing 2+ months. I won't name names, but you know who are.

While my stuff was in storage, the house and barn were broken into. TWICE. yup, twice. At last count, they got about $4,500 worth of stuff. Now I know that they are just things, but they are MY THINGS. If I wanted to get rid of some of my stuff, I would have had a garage sale. I don't know how much stuff they got of my landlords, but lets just say that if they ever catch the person, they are looking at two counts of felony robbery. They got Roscoe, my Dyson vacuum. (Remember Roscoe? go here http:////meganzimmerman.blogspot.com/2009/03/newest-members-of-my-family.html ) My flute, old laptop, and personal files are all labeled MIA. They took my toilet paper! Really?!? oh yeah, and they drank a Dr. Pepper and left me the can. They opened up almost every single box. (to date, I have found 3 boxes unopened.)

I finally got moved in, and the house looks great. A new kitchen really spruces up the place. Let me just insert here that I LOATHE unpacking. I have managed to unpack at least a box a day. For me, that is doing pretty good. We have a nice wood stove, but no wood to burn in it. (We might have solved that problem, though) When it gets going, it keeps our house toasty warm.

Hmmm, lets see, what else? oh yeah, remember me on hormones? http://meganzimmerman.blogspot.com/2010/05/one-word.html Well, I have finally convinced the Dr to take the cysts out! yay! It is amazing to me the amount of pain that a 1cm little cyst can cause. I have scheduled that surgery for the 18th of this month. We should be able to say goodbye to crazy Megan for good. (at least, crazy from pain and hormones. other crazy may still remain.)

If you have made it this far, congratulations on having nothing else to do but read about my particularly boring life. I don't have much else to add, but thanks for listening!

Yes, I know...

That it has been over 2 months since I posted last.

I do not need a reminder.

But you will have to wait another little while, because I don't feel much like talking!

Let's just say, life is changing...

I am moving...

and I still don't feel well...

More to come later.

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my birthday.

I decided to celebrate by only doing things that I wanted to do.

But here is the best gift of all...

I am down yet another pant size

?!?!?!?!?

Yep, you read that right.

LOVING IT!!

So someone amazing bought me a new pair of jeans, which is the second size down in as many months.

Yay for me! I will post more about what I did the rest of the day later.

Flash Choir

Have you heard of a flash mob? It's when a whole bunch of people gather in one place to do a specific random thing, and then disperse just as quickly as they arrive. Today I introduced our ward to the concept of a "Flash Choir."

I am the director of our ward (congregation) choir. I have not been as diligent in holding choir practice during the last month, due to my health issues. Normally, we would rehearse each week, and then perform in sacrament meeting (worship service) every other month or so. We are generally a small choir, with membership ranging anywhere from 6-18 people.

As choir director, I am constantly trying to come up with different ideas to make choir fun and interesting and to help people want to come sing with us. A few weeks ago my mom suggested doing an impromptu choir number, where anyone who wants to come up and sing a very simple hymn arrangement... no rehearsal before. Well, you know me! Sounded like a good idea!

I got approval from the Bishop (the leader of the congregation) and filled in the accompanist and those who needed to know. (I didn't tell the choir.) So today, we were in Sacrament meeting, and the Bishop announced that there was going to be a special musical number, and that I would be explaining more. I got up and informed the ward that they would be experiencing a "Flash Ward Choir." I invited all current members of the ward choir, as well as anyone who had ever sung with us, and anyone who had even thought about singing with the choir to grab their hymnbooks and join us on the stand. I also invited anyone else who wanted to to join us as well.

And then, I waited. It seemed to be a long heart stopping wait, but in reality it was about 3 seconds before anyone stood up. To my surprise, we had about 30 people up there!!! I had a piece of paper taped to my music stand outlining the arrangement, and I showed it to the Flash Choir. We all took a deep breath, I sent up a silent prayer, and we began.

The choir sounded so beautiful! We sang the hymn "I am a Child of God" in a very simple but profound arrangement. Our accompanist did a wonderful job of providing a beautiful backdrop. We had so many voices, and some that have never participated in our choir before.

I was very touched by the performance that they gave. I really felt that the choir provided a special spirit to the meeting. And I am so grateful to all those who were brave enough to get up with no warning or practice and sing! I have a feeling that this "Flash Choir" will be reappearing at odd moments in our ward.

In case you thought I was kidding...

Let me tell you a story. One that should assuage any doubt you might have to the effect that those miserable hormones have on me...

The Scene:

Century High School parking lot

The Time:

8:55 AM

I pull into the parking lot with enough time to fill my water bottle from the glass of ice water I got from the drive thru. I gulp down a couple bites of breakfast, and open my door, reaching out of the car to pour the water into the water bottle. This is smart, because the mouth of the water bottle is not large, and I don't want to make a mess in my lap or my car.

Enter car that wants to park in the empty space next to me

I step out of my car and gently close the door to allow the other car to park. I move the back of my car, and transfer said water into said water bottle.

note: the parking lot is filling up with other choir members who are arriving for rehearsal

I walk back up to my car, grab the handle... and nothing happens. So I try again, thinking to myself "Self, this is not happening. Mental swear word, mentally beat my head against a wall. mental swear word." Again, nothing happens. I look in the window, and there I see on the passengers seat my folder of music and my purse, which contains my cell phone (aka lifeline) and yup, my car keys. Brilliant.

enter nice person who sits next to me in choir

"Do you need to use my phone?" She says. "Yes, I do," I say. "But wait, I don't have any phone numbers because they are all in my cell phone...in my car." Crap. (so much the nickname I had when I was little...'the Phonebook' since I knew everyone's phone number by heart.) Wait, I do have one number in my head...the home phone number of my roommate's parents. Except that won't do me any good, because they are up in Hillsboro visiting their other daughter!

I call the number, hoping that someone will be there to answer. Hallelujah! Their son is out there working, so he answers. He gives me his mom's cell number, which I promptly dial. She answers, and I tell her the story. I ask her to call my roommate and ask her to bring my spare car key (from our house in Lake Oswego) to the high school as soon as possible so that I can rehearse.

several phone calls later

My AMAZING roommate brings my spare key to the high school, and waits for me to unlock my car. She then takes my spare key back... yeah, smart idea, since I can't be trusted with the one I already have. I get my music and belongings from the car, and go back and enjoy my very long rehearsal.

Here's the hilarious part:

At lunch break, we are carpooling to a nearby restaurant. I volunteer to drive, but first I have to clear out my back seat. I unlock the front driver side door and reach back to unlock the back door...

Yup.

You guessed it.

IT'S ALREADY UNLOCKED!!

Has been the WHOLE TIME!

This is why I don't like hormones.

One Word....

HORMONES!

The scariest week of my life...

well, maybe less than a week. Remember in the last post I mentioned that I had been to the ER and then rudely refused to tell you why? I will now make up for that meanness. Let's see to set the scene...about a month ago, I began having severe pain in my lower abdomen. And, typically for me, I attempted to ignore it for as long as I could. After about 4 days I broke down and went in to see a doc at student health services. (several funny side stories there, but you will have to ask to hear those.) Long story short, the doc ordered an ultrasound which confirmed a couple of cysts on one of my ovaries. Actually, they told me there was one cyst... and referred me to a gynecologist. (yippee skippee) They gave me the results on the friday of the show, but it was too late to try to start scheduling any appointments that day. So, the health services doc informed me if the pain got worse to go to the ER. Which is why I ended up in the hospital twice the weekend of the show.



The second ER visit they did another ultrasound which they told me showed that the cyst had ruptured and I should be starting to feel better. Did I mention the intense amounts of pain that was occurring in my body? I managed to get an appointment with a wonderful Dr. a couple of days later. I met with her, and we discussed the joys of ovarian cysts. We also did a routine pap smear. (Ladies, you know how fun those are.) She informed me that there were indeed at least 2 cysts present, and neither one had ruptured. We discussed the options, and decided to try the conservative route to begin with. This meant hormones (which don't agree with me) for a few months in the hopes that my body would fix it all on his own.

A few days later, the pain had amplified to the point where I was struggling to handle the pain, even with medication help. (Keep in mind, I had been on painkillers since the first visit to the ER.) I called the Dr, and asked what other options we had. We set up a time for a laparoscopic cystectomy (removal of the cysts surgically.) I had my pre op appt where I learned the astronomical price of this surgery, and since I don't have the best insurance, I had to decide if I wanted to go ahead with the surgery. (I did)

The next day, (Thursday) as I got out of class, I had a message to call the dr office. I returned the call, and was informed that the pap smear results had come back, showing an abnormal result which had elevated levels of precancerous indicators. (Yes, the thoughts and feelings that just ran through your mind ran through mine as well.) The lab had already ordered additional testing, which is standard operating procedure for abnormal result. (I should probably inject here that I had an abnormal pap smear a few years ago, but lost my insurance shortly after, therefore I never went back in to recheck.) All of this was cause for concern. As a result, the dr decided to postpone the surgery until we sorted out all that was going on. In the scope of things concerning, cysts are fairly low on the totem pole compared to what we were testing for.

The following day (friday) I got the results from one test...the HPV test. Negative! whew! Until I learned that there have been false negatives before. And knowing that they were still running additional tests. This began one of the most emotional and hardest weekends of my life to date. I called my parents and those I consider my family. I freaked out, I cried, I threw up (nothing new, that has been happening since the cysts started bothering me.) I continued to go to class, take midterms, write papers, go to work and try to keep myself otherwise occupied.

(Another side note I got an A- on the midterm I took on Friday...yay!) I made it to church for sacrament meeting, where I tried to look better than I actually felt. Apparently it worked, and didn't hurt that I am currently fitting into clothes that I haven't been able to wear for 2 years. yay for looking amazing but feeling like crap!

And the weekend continued on those lines until today (well, yesterday...Tuesday) when I finally got the rest of the tests results. ALL NEGATIVE. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my mind. I am still experiencing pain, but given the alternative, I can handle this. Kind of ironic, as today was the day I was initially scheduled for surgery.

So here is the plan from here on out. I will be on hormones for the next couple of months to prevent ovulation which in turn should prevent more cysts from forming. As for the ones that are already there, we will be waiting a month, and continuing to pray that my body will reabsorb the cysts on its own. If the pain has not abated during this coming month, then surgery is back on the agenda. And we will do a repeat pap smear with all additional tests again in 6 months.

I want to briefly take a moment and thank all of you for your many wonderful, kind thoughts and words to me in the past month. I greatly appreciate all of the prayers that I know went out on my behalf. I know The Lord has a plan for me, even though I do not know what that plan is. Here's to hoping the pain will subside and I can return to being my usual crazy self!

Playing Catch-up

Whew!! I feel like my life has been a whirlwind for the past few weeks. Let me give you just a glimpse...come back with me to the week the show opened (let's begin on April 12).

Monday...school and then 2 dress rehearsals. Tuesday, school then dress rehearsal. Wednesday, school, then final dress rehearsal. Thursday, school then opening nite for one cast (they did AMAZING!) Friday, school then opening nite for the other cast (who did SUPER!) Saturday (hold on to your hats this is where is gets fun...) two shows, followed by a visit to the ER *which I will address more a little later*. Technically that carries us through to sunday morning, but who is really paying attention to what day it is at this point? Sunday, I cancelled everything and spent the day in bed. Didn't help, since I ended up back in the ER sunday nite. Monday morning, Collaborative Inquiry at the high school (yes, it was optional, no I really didn't need to go, other than to prove to myself that I wasn't dying and still capable of being human.) Slept most of the day monday, then had closing show for one cast (still doing a wonderful job.) Tuesday, doctor appt, then rehearsal with Athey Creek MS choirs, then closing show for the other cast, followed by set strike (which I didn't do much of). Wednesday, accompany Athey Creek MS choirs for choir festival, then sleep, then book club. Thursday, slept for much of the day, cast party, then hung out at home. Friday, took it easy, worked on homework from the week of classes that I missed, worked on my presentation for Stake Women's conference, managed for the first time in about 1 1/2 weeks to eat something without throwing it back up! (yay! take pleasure in the small victories, I say). Then Saturday (yesterday) presented a class on Blogging for Stake Women's Conference. After which I promptly came home and spent the remainder of the day on the couch.

WHEW!! Does that make you tired? Cuz it sure does me! Add in there not really sleeping well and not being able to eat much of anything and you have one really tired, sore, and grouchy Megan. So today will be dedicated to doing the remainder of the homework that I didn't get done, attending my beautiful sister's choir concert (if I am not too drugged to drive) and trying to get ready for the rest of this week!

I know I promised you an explanation of the ER visits and being sick, but unfortunately, I am going to ask you to wait another week until I have completed all the medical stuff. I know it's not fair, but there you go.

and btw, I totally just realized I made a super catchy title for this post! Since all I have been doing is play stuff, and catching up on stuff I missed!! Get it? Teehee! Sometimes I am too clever for my own good.

I must put in one final word about Beauty and the Beast. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the kids on this show. I was continually amazed watching these talented young people! I made some wonderful connections, which I hope will continue. Mostly, this experience just helped solidify in my mind that I am doing the right thing in going back to school. (yes, you have my permission to refer me to this post when I question why I am back in school.)

Alright, it's time for meds, then a nap!

The Show!!

It's here! Opening nite is Thursday April 15th. So finish your taxes and come join our wonderfully talented students as they perform this amazing musical. For tickets and info, go to

www.wlwvmsmusical.tix.com

You will not be disappointed.

Easter...and a blog about firsts (for a second time)

Happy Easter to all! I am so grateful for the Lord Jesus Christ and for the sacrifice He made for each of us here on earth. The gospel of Jesus Christ has truly been restored on the earth, and the Atonement of the Lord is a very real, powerful thing. He lives! He loves, and He will return again.

This Easter sunday finds me finishing my first week of being a full time student again. It amazed me how easy I slipped back into "student" mode. But I don't remember liking school so much. I seem to remember dreading going to class. Maybe that was because I never really did homework. Or maybe I did, but have blocked it from my memory. Oh well...moving forward, right? First day of class found me really nervous. For no reason!

This term I am taking 3 classes (yes, 3, and it constitutes full time.) I am on campus Monday through Friday, but only in the mornings. I have a great class on Hans Christian Andersen. Yes, you read that right...I get to read fairy tales for my homework. I am also taking a criminology class, Intro to Juvenile Justice. Absolutely fascinating. My final class will be a challenge, not content wise, but on the teaching style. This class will be a great exercise in holding my tongue. American Studies (university required... 'nuf said.)

I am still working with the middle school musical, WHICH I LOVE!!! These kids are so amazing! They want to work, have talent, and are just a blast to work with. Not to mention the incredibly cool women that I get to work with to make this show happen. Can I just say that I have found my calling? I am meant to be a music teacher. I realized that I am happier when I am working with the kids, and learning from them as well. They face so much in the world these days, and they seem to hold up really well.

If you are interested in witnessing this production for yourself, simply go to www.wlwvmsmusical.tix.com for tickets. They are $7.50 each, and the show will be at West Linn High School's fantastic auditorium. The show opens April 15, showing the 15th, 16th, and 17th (matinee and evening) and 19th and 20th. Come! You will not be disappointed.

Well, TTFN! I really should do some homework before I head to bed!

Spring Break, such as it is

Aaah, Spring Break! I remember as a kid I looked forward to this week so much! We would plan and plan what we would do, where we would go, trips we would take. It was just as much fun to stay at home, knowing that I didn't have to go to school for a WHOLE week. Now, as an adult, it is just another week to work. But that is all changing. Beauty and the Beast took the week off, which means that I have more time to work. Classes start at PSU on Monday, so this is my last week of semi freedom. As a result, I resigned myself to the fact that this week would be tedious and full of working lots.

But thanks to my awesome roommate Jessica, and friends Annika and Korie, I got a couple of mini spring break trips in! First up, we headed to Multnomah Falls. It was a beautiful sunny warm day, which was perfect for heading to the top. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and had to turn back around the 3/4 mark. We will just have to go back!

This is from a viewpoint about 1/2 way up the trail. Isn't the Columbia River Gorge beautiful?

The base of the falls

The four of us at the base

Next up was Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast. Another beautiful warm day! It poured on the way over, but about 20 minutes after we got there, the sun broke through and cleared away the clouds!

Do you see how blue the sky is? It was amazing. Sun shining, blue sky, hardly any wind, and not very many people!

We got to Haystack at low tide, so we poked around in the tides pools for a little while. The starfish were everywhere! And they were HUGE.

How many times do you see Haystack with blue sky and hardly anyone around it?

Of course, I can't be serious all the time, so when we found this hat shop, I had to play! And yes, the hat is now mine. I figure if I can't be in Jamaica for vacation, then I will bring Jamaica with me wherever I go! Plus I have always wanted dreads, but my hairdresser won't let me get them.

Now, back to the daily grind! 'Twas a short and sweet spring break. How was yours?

Fun in the simple things

Today at work, there was a GIGANTIC empty cardboard box... and yup, you guessed it! I HAD to play in it! So, I crawled in! It was on a flat cart, and I had a coworker close the box and then push me around the store. She would stop when we were near someone, and I would shake the box and say "Let me out, Let me out!" (kinda like the kid from Mary Poppins who gets locked in the closet.) Mwahahaha!!! It was seriously the best!!

Just wanted to share.

Ahem...I have an ANNOUNCEMENT!

Yes, you read the title right.

I truly do have an announcement to make.

Bet you are wondering what it is, right?

Well, I should just tell you then!

Do you get it?

That is where I am going to school!

Yep, that's right!

After a seven year hiatus, I have decided it is time to finish my education! Therefore, I applied for, and was accepted to PSU! I will finish my undergrad in Music Education, get a teaching certificate, and then go on for my masters in Music Ed.

So watch out children of the world! Ms. Z is coming to teach you!

Thank you, that is all.

My Motto:

'nuf said.

Silver lining in a cave...

Have you ever wanted to be able to run away and not have to speak to or deal with another living person? That is how I started off this month, wishing that I could just move into a cave and hide from the world. It seemed that there was so many things going on and happening around me.

I always tend to get a little cranky before my choir performs, and for some reason, this past performance really stressed me out! I think perhaps it might have been because this was the second stake conference in a row. This meant that I had a reputation to uphold. The last conference was difficult because I had to draw from the incredible talent that our Stake has, and be able to show them my talent and confidence. This conference was more of a challenge, it was just my ward choir which until December had only had 12 people consistently. (Let me insert here that the Westlake Ward is AMAZING!) I asked for a big choir, and that is what they gave me. We had 40 people singing! 40! They allowed me to be mean in rehearsals, be grumpy when they didn't understand what I was going for...they indulged me in my need to arrange a medley of hymns and watched as it came together in front of them. The finished product was exactly what I had been hearing for weeks, and it was fun to share the creative process with them.

I think what scared me most was the stake now had expectations. They had seen me direct a large choir, perform in an amazing play, and seemingly take over a whole bunch of different music things. So that is a lot to live up to. And live up to it we did! I am so thankful to all those who supported me throughout this crazy experience.

During all of this, I started working with an amazing group of people. Every year, West Linn-Wilsonville School district puts on a musical with their middle schools. This year they are putting on Beauty and the Beast. Through serendipitous circumstances, I have been asked to help out. This has truly been an eye opening experience. Working with 130+ 7th and 8th graders has been a challenge. What do I know about this age group? Nothing, other than I hated being that age. Fortunately for me, the musical director is an amazing woman with mounds of talent who is willing to show me what it takes. And the artistic director has shown incredible faith in me by including me in this process. The kids are fantastic. Yes, challenging at times, but mainly they just want to be good!

I have an truly wonderful family, and I am so grateful that I have them in my life. Yes, there are some family relations that are... shall we say challenging? But what family doesn't have drama?

So while I have been sorely tempted to hide away and have no further contact with the human race, I have realized that there is alot going right! I am so thankful to wonderful friends (you know who you are) who have helped me deal with my bipolarness this last month. So for now, the cave remains vacant.

Ch-ch-changes!

I have needed a haircut for a LONG time (just ask my hairdresser!) So, I finally called and made an appointment. First off, let me say:

I LOVE MY HAIRDRESSER, BARBARA!

secondly, allow me to say that I have been vacillating between growing my hair out, and cutting it back to the super short sassy do that I had for a while. Literally, I was in agony trying to decide what to do. I texted many, and many responded...equally! So, I showed up to my appointment and said "AAARGH!!" She laughed and had me sit down.

Now, for those who may not have seen me recently, my hair had made it to my shoulders (an incredible feat) and was just blah. So I either had to keep it long, but give it shape, or chop it off. It was suggested to shave it, which had crossed my mind many times.

Finally I told Barbara to make me look good, whichever way she chose to cut it.

Good Choice!

She always knows what I want, even if I don't! Amazing! So, I have my sassiness back, and I don't feel like I have to always put my hair up!

Success!

We haven't seen these guys in awhile...

These pictures were taken at Thanksgiving by yours truly...

I know Lily isn't looking up, but Cooper's face is so precious!


We spent alot of time walking outside. Lily and Cooper would say "Outsi? Outsi?" So outside we would go!

This is Cooper saying "Where did they go?"

Such an adorable family!

Walking, walking, running

Running with cousin Hannah

This is what Cooper does when you tell him to squint

I love these kids! Aren't they adorable?

The Holiday Season

Wow! Let's see, where have I been? A Christmas Carol played in November, just before thanksgiving. The show was so much fun, and I dearly loved playing Mrs. Fezziwig. She and I are kindred spirits.

(This is my play family, Mr. Fezziwig, Charlotte, and I. Btw, this young lady can play a fiddle like you wouldn't believe!)

I spent thanksgiving with my parents, and all of my siblings were home, with my niece and nephew there as well. It was really fun to be all together again.

Of course it wouldn't be a Zimmerman family get-together without game of Rummi and Sees Candy. We had so many who wanted to play we had to get 2 tables going. This is a tradition that reminds me of Grandma Z.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas I worked like crazy! Anyone who works retail understands that this is the busiest time of the year! I had a nice quiet Christmas morning, and then had Christmas dinner with my good friends the Edvalsons.

My latest projects seem to take up most of my time. Our ward choir has once again been asked to provide the music for Stake Conference. Our choir normally has 12 or so people attending. After begging, pleading, and cajoling we have about 30! It is amazing! They are sounding so good. Fortunately, things will go back to normal after conference is over.

The other "project" seems a little scarier! I have been asked to help out with a local school districts middle school musical. They have done a major musical every year for the past 16 years or so. This year they are putting on the Broadway show Beauty and the Beast. There are about 150 seventh and eighth graders in this show, which means a lot of kids packed into rehearsals. I have been accompanying for rehearsals, which is a lot of fun. The music is great, and the kids are a riot to work with. Some of them are just perfect for their parts.