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.