Children singing

I teach the children at my church various religious songs to help them learn the Gospel. I LOVE teaching the junior primary. They are so sweet, and they do everything you ask. Senior primary is a challenge everyday. I have discovered that if I keep all of them directly in front of my, rather than spread out far to the right and left, I can keep their attention. But there are 2 of them who drive me bonkers and 1 who never participates, well, at least most of the time she doesn't. I wish I knew what I could do for her. I have decided that next time those two troublemakers cause a problem, I will take one of them out into the hall and give them a "halltalk" like we did with IRD, my old employer. The thing is they are both very sweet kids, but they just have too much energy built up inside of them. They need to learn to put that energy towards paying attention and being involved, not to being attention-getters. Anyways, they will sound great when they perform for church on Christmas Eve. I wish Bishop would have asked them to sing today, because I won't be here. Ah well. Such is life. Goodness, there isn't a faster way to feel the Spirit than listening to these kids sing. I love it!

I miss my Mommy SO much. I really need to be closer to family. I can't wait to move to AZ. I still say my parents should move there too. They live in NM. A lot of my Mom's family lives in AZ, and there is just something so wonderfully attractive about AZ. I love it so much and I can't wait to move back. The summer after I moved to Alabama I worked in AZ for the summer, and it just tore me to shreads when I moved away again. Gah!!! Leaving my family and my friends...it just really stank!

I wish there was something that I could do for my roommate. She is a theater major, and is so busy a lot of the time. She hasn't come to Church in a long time. She has performances, rehearsals and party's that go late, and so she gets home, conks out, and wakes up around the time I get home from Church. She really is missing so much. She is such a wonderful person, she has a strong testimony of the Gospel, she just needs to come to Church, at the very least for Sacrament meeting to partake of that ordinance. I really think her life would improve so much if she were to just do that.

Heather is sick today. She gets sick so often. I hope that this won't be something that haunts her for the rest of her life. She is such a sweet girl, and she is trying so hard to do everything that she is supposed to do. I hope she can hold on and stand strong. Her testimony is really growing. Today would have been her last Sunday here, but being that she was so sick she stayed home. She works as a nursery worker, and I am sure a number of parents will be grateful that she didn't get their kids sick, but still I think that she should've come to Sacrament Meeting. Maybe she was really down in the dirt sick, ya know?

That's all folks!!!

another day

Well, Amber and I were going to the temple, but we didn't. I need to clean my house, and I just don't feel good about going to the temple and leaving my house in such a state as it is in, ya know? So I have...cleaned. Unfortunately it really doesn't look like I have. I have been throwing stuff away, and that is a good thing. It will make it a lot easier to pack when I leave, and it will make it easier for me to clean in the short term. Amber tried to talk me into going with her to the movies tonight, but this just had to get done. I went in to my work to put some stuff away, and ended up being there for 2 hours. That's good, it will give me more money in the end. When I come back from NM/AZ I will work 20 hours a week there I think, which will be a good thing. I will learn how to do more stuff there than I do now, cause I won't be able to fill 20 hours with what I am doing now. 1 1/2 weeks after I get back I will be having surgery done, so for a couple of days I won't be able to do all that heavy duty work, but I will be able to get back into it soon after I think. I hope at least. I don't want to be more of a burden than a help there. We shall see. Technically I don't need to be here next semester at all, but it will make life much less complicated if I am able to stay here during the spring.

Today I saw this guy I went on a few dates with. Gosh he looks good. A friend of mine saw him a couple of weeks ago and told him he should call me...on the same day I sent him a text message telling him to give me a call when he got a chance. I hope he doesn't think I am stalking him. He IS a nice guy, and he is VERY good looking, but I certainly did not ask my friend to say that to him. He kinda gave him a strange look I guess when my friend asked him that. I suppose he has lost interest. Ah well. Such is life I suppose.

I am listening to a CD of European jazz. It's...different. I will have to listen to it a second time before I give a real opinion of it. It's kind of annoying, but I thought minimalist pieces were annoying until I really understood them. Now I know what to listen for.

Anyways, back to work. LOVES!!!

BUSY!!!

9:30 class, 11:00 drop off note for professor, reschedule lesson time, practice the final exam again, 11:30 get lunch, go to the 'tute to eat and gain some sanity, 1:00 give final exam, 3:00 grade some of the exams, 3:30 work, 6:00 use the back roads to get to my house because they closed downtown for a winter celebration, 6:20 pick up friend with no car for Church activity, 6:30 show up at activity, do not leave until 9:30, 10:00-ish, stop by landlords house (should have been up, but their house was all locked up, very strange), stop by house to drop off leftover food from activity, stop by friends house so she can change, go to another friends house, watch The Pink Panther with Steve Martin starring. Get home at 1:00am. Write blog entry. Very tired.

Oh, and amongst all this I also am officially scheduled for surgery on my left knee on January 12th. I hope this really does help the problem, and not intensify it. I suppose that is partially up to me. I need to get into fabulous shape after the surgery. I should be working on that now, but...yeah.

Yay for sleeping in. I like sleep. I only got 5 hours last night, and I am feeling it. BUT I got a lot of work done last night, so that was good.

Night!!!

Good Morning!!

I really would rather still be asleep, but alas the day calls. I have to work, go to class, go to lesson, and all kinds of fun stuff like that. I am still tired though. I don't know why. I believe I got 8 hours of sleep. AND I took a little nap yesterday. First time I have taken a Sunday nap in a long time. It was quite nice.
Well, there really isn't much to report. This is "dead week" where no exams or assignments can be made. I give my labs their finals this week. Goodness, I hope they do well. They have been worrying me. I don't have much happening this week other than that. I have a lot of work to do. I do have stuff to do nearly every evening this week. And I need to get some visiting teaching done before I leave to go home (YAY!!!) for the break.
I hate keeping secrets. Especially really good ones. I was told a secret not long ago, and it is driving me crazy. But I only have to keep it until Christmas. Then I can tell whoever I want to. It's a family secret, and sometimes those are the worst.
I want a car that works all the time. Like, so bad! I really do. I am tired of having a retarded car. EVERYTHING is wrong with her, except for the engine. I just read the conference talk about patience by Elder Oaks (not the apostle) and I sure am trying to be patient, but it is really tough when I have places I need to be and, you know, commitments to keep. I have seriously not been reliable in a couple of areas this semester, and it is truly driving me nutso. My coworkers want to put my car on that extreme car makeover show, I think it's called Pimp my Ride or something like that. I don't think it would make it on there, and can you imagine them fixing up a wagon? Yeah, me neither. So I have to be patient. I make take out a small student loan this semester so that I can purchase a car with it. I will have a better interest rate with a loan than with a car dealership. Or maybe my parents have enough credit and stuff to get a good loan, and then I will just pay them monthly payments. I will pay it off quick, as I won't have a house payment...at least I don't think I will when I move back. Perhaps they will start charging me for living in one of their homes?
The Church is true!! Don't forget about it!!

Ah Boys

There is a guy I met just under 2 weeks ago at one of my Church's YSA dances which are pretty much the biggest jokes ever, and even Elder Christoffersen (sp??) said that they were lame. This guy joined the Church last January, is in the air force, and really seems to be a nice guy. He didn't get my number, much to my dismay, and so I proceeded to email his friend and asked her to forward my phone number to him. He calls, and we talk for 3 1/2 hours. Did not realize time went by so fast. We talked again Tuesday for something like 2 hours.
What did we talk about. Lots of things. Our families, him being in the airforce, stuff. Well, he would throw out some cute, kinda flirty comment, and I would get totally embarassed and wouldn't know what to say. Now, for whatever reason, this did not have the effect on me that flirting should after a while. The first time was nice, but as they kept coming, I don't know. I guess I kinda became unsure about whether I should talk with this guy in the first place, cause, well, I didn't want to lead him on to thinking that we were something that we weren't. But I had no way of knowing what he thought of 'us' being that I, being logical, kept thinking I was being retarded, and I mean we only saw each other for a short amount of time at a dance and talked on the phone twice. That couldn't mean anything. But then again, he could be a fast mover and all that jazz. I was okay at one point in my life with the idea of moving fast, but not after my first train wreck. Slow is the way to go. I really like the idea of being friends with someone for a while before being anything more than just friends. Ya know?
Wednesday, my friend invited me to spend Thanksgiving with her family, so we drove down to her home. On the way we went through his town, and so I asked him if he would like to meet us for dinner. I knew the answer would be yes from the way he had been on the phone. So he and his roommate meet us at a burger joint, and when I get out of my friends car, he comes up and gives me a cute bear hug (which I have to admit had great potential cause I LOVE hugs) and then kept his arm around my shoulder. Now, there are different kinds of arms around shoulders. There is a just friends arm around shoulder and a you are mine kind of arm around shoulder. This definately had the you are mine flavor to it. He kept me real close, and when I moved a little away he moved the same direction I went, which made for an awkward position, let me tell you.
We go inside, and he pays for me, which is fine, I kinda expected that. Then we sit and eat...and he keeps inching closer and closer, arm goes back around shoulder, he's tickeling my arm, back, playing with my hair. I was uncomfortable. But I didn't want to say anything in front of his roommate. I don't know. World, should I have said something in front of his roommate?? Let alone my friend?? I mean, this wasn't just a friendly tickling. This was very different. It was terrible, cause when someone I really care for does that it puts me into all kinds of wonderful happy thoughts...but not this. I mean, nice guy, but I just don't know him, and there really aren't any feelings there. I felt bad, cause his roommate revealed that he had basically been bouncing off of the walls since having first met me and that he had been really annoying. I mean, yes of course that is flattering...but goodness we just barely met. I don't know. I keep thinking I did something wrong. This isn't the first time either. This poor guy out in Arizona basically was head over heals in like with me, and I just really wasn't feeling it. We went out, let him hold my hand and all that jazz...and I just wasn't into him. I tried, I really did, but nothing. We had hung out a few times before we even went out, so I at the very least kinda knew him. He was tall, good looking, and if I remember right had his head screwed on straight. Maybe it was just bad timing, I don't know. I wish I had all the right moves and answers. Perhaps one of these days. It really will be the day when someone nice like these two examples continues to pursue by being my friend and gaining my trust and care as a friend...and then pursuing me as dating material. That will be the day. I would love that. Being friends is just so important I believe. Ah well. Until then, cheerio!!!

Half-way through

You ever have dejavu? Yeah, totally having it right now writing this post.

So it's been a while. I have been VERY busy. I am halfway through taking tests that will say whether I graduate or not any time in the near future. And you know what? I totally aced the history one. Funny enough, the theory one might get me. I couldn't believe all the stuff they asked me to do for this Mahler piece. I had to analyze THE WHOLE MOVEMENT, and THEN do a REDUCTIVE ANALYSIS??? What the heck is that? What do they mean by reductive? How vague can we be people. So yeah, not so happy about that one, if you can't tell. The other pieces I think I did perfectly fine. The Mahler sure threw me through a loop.

So tomorrow is the day when I may truly go into convulsions during a test. I am not worried about the Schenker, I've got him down to an art for the most part. But writing an 18th century counterpoint piece may get me. The atonal stuff should be fine. Some out of the loop stuff may get me. I hope they let me analyze something. I like doing that. I have that partially down to an art, if I do say so myself. :) Well, really it is because I have a loving God who graces me with inspiration every moment of my life.

Gosh, I was so wiped out. I called friends, and no one answered. Finally one did, and although she was heading out of town, I think she heard the tone of desparation in my voice. All I needed was to go eat food with someone totally unrelated to the arduous music world that I am in at the moment. We went and got dinner. She thought I was drunk. I have never and will never taste alcohol. I was that delirious though. I made her pick the place, because I would have sat there in a daze, much like I am now. :)

Alright, later yo!

Blessings coming from all around!

So I have been having a bad...month. School is hectic, work is tiring, car is frustrating, the whole kit and caboodle. I was in a bad mood about all of it too. Then I realized that I really needed to lighten up, take a step back, and enjoy life just a little bit. So I decided to be happy, humble and grateful for everything that I have. And guess what! The blessings came pouring in!

I was able to sell my football ticket for the weekend, which in the South football tickets go for a lot of money. Then I get a phonecall from the sister of one of the football players on the team and she asks me if I would like to go with her to the game. Dude, we are going to have awesome seats!!! :) So I got money from selling the ticket, and I still get to go to the game!

Then I got a wireless router thingy and it wasn't working quite right, so I call a couple of 1(800) numbers, was on the phone for over an hour, and they were able to fix it! Some people might complain about being on the phone for that long, but I didn't care, I was so happy it was fixed!!

Then my Mom asked me if I wanted to go to my cousins wedding! I said OF COURSE!!! It is just before my big exams for my degree, but I don't care! I am so excited to get to go, you have no idea. I am so happy for her, that she is marrying a great guy, and that things just are going well for her in general. I am so glad that I get to spend time with my family too! I was depressed about being so far away from family, and now I get to see them! :)

Alright, that's all folks. Until next time, bis spaeter!

A Laborless Day

Alrighty, so, my name is Elizabeth, and I am an aspiring music theorist. This is me you see here in the picture with my cousin's daughter. Isn't she beautiful!!??

I am living in the South right now. I am from the west, so this is a new and strange experience for me. For the first time ever, I went to a beach that wasn't a California beach. It was gorgeous! Florida beaches are so pretty!!!


In March I was able to go to New York! How about this picture for an amateur?? Pretty nice huh? Yeah, I took it. I probably could sell it, but I won't. I like looking at it.


My family is the most important thing to me on the planet. These are "the aunts". We told them to look cute. And this was the result. Guess which one is my Mommy. :) Yep, she is so adorable!


My friends and my Church also mean a lot to me. I also like food a lot. Here is a picture of me with my old roommate Heather and Sister Meaders and Sister Robinson. The Sisters are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.



Well, this shall be the main product of today. I seriously did very little today. But I created this, so that means something, I should think. I have another blog, but I wanted to start over. So, today I woke up when I wanted to, ate something, did a load of laundry, folded a previous load of laundry, taped together a copy of an oversized piece of music which I will be tested on in a few weeks along with a few other pieces, went to a friends place and had a steak, went to another friends place to hang, went to the swimming pool to swim which always feels good, and am now home.

I live in the South, and am trying to get myself a masters degree so that I can get away. I could be perfectly happy here, BUT when you are not close to family and you are lonely, it really stinks to be here. I was like that this weekend. For sure.

So, on the checklist for tomorrow, I have to...

Finish a counterpoint assignment...

Teach class...

Go to work at the doctors office I work at...

Go to a concert of the coolest sorts!!! The Goo-Goo Dolls and Counting Crows are performing in Birmingham tomorrow night, and I am sooo excited!!! :) I LOVE the Counting Crows! They are totally my favorite band, and I get to see them live.

Yeah, so, anyways. I have to add in a little bit of studying as well. I will get to that. Tomorrow is a busy day for sure!

Oh, by the way, there is a living prophet on the earth today! Just thought you should know!


Here is a picture of the Nauvoo temple. Isn't it pretty!! My Mom took this picture! :)

Good night! Happy Blogging!