So, I raced in the first triathlon of the season today! Granted...it was a "mini-tri" which means it was really only 1/2 the distance I would normally race, but I get some "awsome-ness" points in that it's only May!! :) May of 2008, there is absolutely NO WAY that I could have completed even a "mini-tri". I don't mean do well, I mean actually cross the finish line! I did well today and most of all...I had a BLAST! I had to actually wipe the stupid looking grin on my face in order to focus on the small hill in the beginning of the biking section. I love triathlons. I love the rush, the people, the exercise. I love the push, the thought processes required, and the sense of accomplishment. I still hate to run and I'm still not very good at it, but I'm getting better all the time. I also hate the bike to run transition. Going from making very small, but strong repetitive circular motions with your feet for a length of time to taking long and even motions in the run is just about the hardest thing ever. Oh....and I got lost! I headed out of the swim (which was actually held in a pool) and got my gear on and headed out on my bike. I got to the first stop sign and didn't see any chalk arrows or signs posted, so I kept riding...for about 5 blocks. Crap. Dead end. I must have missed an arrow, so I turned around and rode faster than I had ridden (probably ever) back toward the transition area. I arrived at the arrow that I had missed just as most of my heat of swimmers were headed out on their bikes. So...I joined them. :) I passed several people once on my bike, which made me feel a little better. The bike is DEFINITELY my strongest leg of the race. Then came the bike to run transition. I don't run well (because I don't like to run yet) and, as I have mentioned, the transition from biking to running is a difficult one. Try it! Go out and ride a bike for anything more than 20 or 30 minutes and then get off and try to run. It's like spinning around in the living room and then trying to walk in a straight line!! My legs wouldn't work the way I wanted them to and I spent the first little bit of the run walking. I did end up running most of the leg, and felt good overall, but now I know where I need some work. :)
I can't believe that I love triathlons as much as I do, but I love them! However...I don't really consider myself a "triathlete". I look at the people who are faster than me. Those with better gear and better times and WAY better bodies and I consider THEM triathletes. I just don't see myself that way. Don't get me wrong...if you know me at all, you know that I am a very confident person. Sometimes TOO confident. I know that I work hard and that I squeeze a lot into a 24-hour day. I know that I am great at a lot of things, but sports is NOT one of them. However...I do it. I get out there and swim in a swimsuit in front of god and everyone, ride my bike in the right lane where oncoming traffic gets to make comments of the size of my backside, and run in public places where people may see bouncing that will take therapy to get over. Here's the weird part....it's working. I feel great! I am fairly healthy and usually pretty chipper and happy. I can play with Ethan at the park or in the backyard or run along side him while he rides his bike. That's really all I ask. I don't have to be a triathlete. I just want something that will push me to be better. Triathlons and the triathletes that race in them are my inspiration!
Today was a great experience and I can't wait to gear up for the next race in July and really push myself this year to beat my times. I am excited to swim well, bike fast and run strong. After all...I'm a triathlete and I tri like a girl!! :)
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
30 is the new 20
So, they say that 30 is the new 20. While this may not be true for some, it's definitely true for me! Now, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't re-live my 20's if someone paid me to. Not that I didn't have a great time and I really don't have too many regrets, but just thinking about it makes me tired.
My 20s were spent gaining 60 pounds in 9 months, getting into debt, drinking, skipping school, and flunking classes because I didn't want to go to them. Really, my 20s were spent making decisions that would affect the rest of my life. My 30's have so far been full of more fun things such as getting OUT of debt, losing 40 pounds in 7 months, drinking, teaching school and grading classes that 20 year olds don't want to come to.
My siblings say I am judgmental. I am...it's one of my flaws. But I have finally come to understand what my parents meant about watching someone make decisions as someone who has been down that road before and knows the better way. It's hard to want things for people that they can't understand the benefits of or things they don't want for themselves. That's where my judgmental attitude comes in. It's not that I am "judging" their decisions. Most of the time, it's that I see the path they will be on down the road if they make that decision because I have been there and paid the price already.
I have noticed this as a generational difference. I, being a 30-something, want the world. I want everything for everyone. My family, my friends, myself...I want the best of all of it and I go after it. I also try (too hard) to guide others toward their happiness. My mom, a representative of the next generation, also wants the world for people. She wants the best for all her friends and family, but she has learned that she can't MAKE people do it. She has learned that she can't HAND people their happiness (as hard as she tries at times). She, in her 50-somethings, is coming to terms with this fact. My grandfather will act as the representation of the next generation up. He just smiles and shakes his head. In his 80-somethings, he has learned that people have to walk the walk for themselves. He has learned, accepted, and come to terms with the fact that people are going to screw up. They are going to drink too much and flunk out of classes. They are going to gain 60 pounds in 9 months and date the wrong people. He loves them for who they are and wants the best for them, but he has also learned that it's part of life to screw up and everyone's got to have their own huge mistakes and there is nothing that anyone else can do about it.
He smiles and shakes his head and kind of giggles to himself when I express my frustration at watching someone I love make decisions in their lives that I feel are mistakes. He doesn't laugh at them. In fact, he might be laughing at me. At my desire to change the world and the course of people's fate. But he does it out of love and it's something I have come to see in his interpretation of people and desire in mine.
I got to thinking about all of this the other day in thinking about decisions of students, friends, family and most of all, my son. :) It was a rough parenting day yesterday. He's 5 now and he's fighting for his independence. We listed all the things that he would learn to do by himself now that he's five. He's going to ride his bike without training wheels, learn to read, learn to tie his shoes. The biggest one for him was pouring his own cereal in the morning. He'll get the bowl. He'll decide how much cereal and how much milk is enough and get more if he needs it. Independence. As his mother, and a woman in my 30's, it's my job to let go and let him make his own decisions and mistakes. Sometimes it's spilled milk. Sometimes it's too much cereal. Whatever it is, it's small in the bigger scheme of learning. Then there was the old "love and logic" standard argument about his coat! He didn't want to wear his coat. I argued. Then I remembered to let go, he went without a coat, he froze and he learned. Had I let go and allowed him to make his decision for himself to begin with, we wouldn't have had the power struggle and he still would have learned the lesson. Not the lesson of "do what mom says because she's usually right", but the lesson of "making sure that I have a coat when I go outside in case I get cold".
My 30's have meant turning over a new leaf. Putting my money in order. Getting my body in shape. Remodeling my home into something I can live in FOREVER! My 30s have been exciting so far. I need to remember that although I am in my 30s and loving it, my son is only just starting on his journey at 5 years of age and needs to make his own mistakes and fail on his own. I need to remember that the decisions that my family, friends, and students make are theirs and not mine. I need to keep my grandfather's face in my mind and smile and not judge. I need to learn to find the balance between guiding my son in his learning and making his decisions for him. My 30s are going to be the best decade yet and I'm so excited for them.
My 20s were spent gaining 60 pounds in 9 months, getting into debt, drinking, skipping school, and flunking classes because I didn't want to go to them. Really, my 20s were spent making decisions that would affect the rest of my life. My 30's have so far been full of more fun things such as getting OUT of debt, losing 40 pounds in 7 months, drinking, teaching school and grading classes that 20 year olds don't want to come to.
My siblings say I am judgmental. I am...it's one of my flaws. But I have finally come to understand what my parents meant about watching someone make decisions as someone who has been down that road before and knows the better way. It's hard to want things for people that they can't understand the benefits of or things they don't want for themselves. That's where my judgmental attitude comes in. It's not that I am "judging" their decisions. Most of the time, it's that I see the path they will be on down the road if they make that decision because I have been there and paid the price already.
I have noticed this as a generational difference. I, being a 30-something, want the world. I want everything for everyone. My family, my friends, myself...I want the best of all of it and I go after it. I also try (too hard) to guide others toward their happiness. My mom, a representative of the next generation, also wants the world for people. She wants the best for all her friends and family, but she has learned that she can't MAKE people do it. She has learned that she can't HAND people their happiness (as hard as she tries at times). She, in her 50-somethings, is coming to terms with this fact. My grandfather will act as the representation of the next generation up. He just smiles and shakes his head. In his 80-somethings, he has learned that people have to walk the walk for themselves. He has learned, accepted, and come to terms with the fact that people are going to screw up. They are going to drink too much and flunk out of classes. They are going to gain 60 pounds in 9 months and date the wrong people. He loves them for who they are and wants the best for them, but he has also learned that it's part of life to screw up and everyone's got to have their own huge mistakes and there is nothing that anyone else can do about it.
He smiles and shakes his head and kind of giggles to himself when I express my frustration at watching someone I love make decisions in their lives that I feel are mistakes. He doesn't laugh at them. In fact, he might be laughing at me. At my desire to change the world and the course of people's fate. But he does it out of love and it's something I have come to see in his interpretation of people and desire in mine.
I got to thinking about all of this the other day in thinking about decisions of students, friends, family and most of all, my son. :) It was a rough parenting day yesterday. He's 5 now and he's fighting for his independence. We listed all the things that he would learn to do by himself now that he's five. He's going to ride his bike without training wheels, learn to read, learn to tie his shoes. The biggest one for him was pouring his own cereal in the morning. He'll get the bowl. He'll decide how much cereal and how much milk is enough and get more if he needs it. Independence. As his mother, and a woman in my 30's, it's my job to let go and let him make his own decisions and mistakes. Sometimes it's spilled milk. Sometimes it's too much cereal. Whatever it is, it's small in the bigger scheme of learning. Then there was the old "love and logic" standard argument about his coat! He didn't want to wear his coat. I argued. Then I remembered to let go, he went without a coat, he froze and he learned. Had I let go and allowed him to make his decision for himself to begin with, we wouldn't have had the power struggle and he still would have learned the lesson. Not the lesson of "do what mom says because she's usually right", but the lesson of "making sure that I have a coat when I go outside in case I get cold".
My 30's have meant turning over a new leaf. Putting my money in order. Getting my body in shape. Remodeling my home into something I can live in FOREVER! My 30s have been exciting so far. I need to remember that although I am in my 30s and loving it, my son is only just starting on his journey at 5 years of age and needs to make his own mistakes and fail on his own. I need to remember that the decisions that my family, friends, and students make are theirs and not mine. I need to keep my grandfather's face in my mind and smile and not judge. I need to learn to find the balance between guiding my son in his learning and making his decisions for him. My 30s are going to be the best decade yet and I'm so excited for them.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Time Alone
As a kid and a teen, I HATED to be alone. I didn't know how to be alone as the opportunity rarely presented itself being the oldest of 9 kids. I have always been social and wanted to be with people rather than by myself. As I get oldER I find that I quite enjoy my alone time.
Don't get me wrong...I love my husband and son with all my heart! I love my work and I couldn't ask for better friends and family. But this weekend, I had a night to myself (home from camping and Sam was still backpacking). I put Ethan to bed and was as giddy as a school girl with the idea that I could do WHATEVER I wanted for AS LONG as I wanted to. I think it's tied to the idea that I tend to control so much in my life, it's odd for me to let myself be. As moms, wives, sisters, daughters, and social humans, we sacrifice, we consider others, and we make our decision based on the others in our immediate circle...and we should. Our actions affect others in such a way that we have to live our lives with that in mind. In fact...the people who don't consider others before making their decisions drive me crazy! :)
So...what did I do? I read my book. I watched a movie. I drank a beer. I played on the computer. I sat in the dark and watched the lightning and listened to the little bit of thunder roll through. I slept wonderfully!
I used to hate to be alone with my thoughts. I let myself boss me just as much as I boss others and seek for control. So, this past weekend during my hiking and camping adventure with a great friend, she helped me to see a lot about myself. I would like to try to back off. Back off of my family and friends and also give myself a little more lee-way. I work so hard to have everything under control. My family, my work, my home, and myself. What happens is I end up unhappy. That's part of my negativity and pessimism. If I expect everything, I will be disappointed and unhappy with the results most of the time. Not that I can't have high expectations of myself and others, but I think I need to work on what those high expectations might be and how I can learn to deal with things when they don't go as planned.
Leaving me alone with myself seemed to have done a world of good this time. :) I am looking forward to a year that is full of excitement and learning and maybe I can learn to let go along the way.
I have a new appreciation of my family and friends now that I have spent some time with myself. :)
I enjoyed my time alone. I have some work to do. Letting go of control...on some small level to start. We'll see how it goes.
Don't get me wrong...I love my husband and son with all my heart! I love my work and I couldn't ask for better friends and family. But this weekend, I had a night to myself (home from camping and Sam was still backpacking). I put Ethan to bed and was as giddy as a school girl with the idea that I could do WHATEVER I wanted for AS LONG as I wanted to. I think it's tied to the idea that I tend to control so much in my life, it's odd for me to let myself be. As moms, wives, sisters, daughters, and social humans, we sacrifice, we consider others, and we make our decision based on the others in our immediate circle...and we should. Our actions affect others in such a way that we have to live our lives with that in mind. In fact...the people who don't consider others before making their decisions drive me crazy! :)
So...what did I do? I read my book. I watched a movie. I drank a beer. I played on the computer. I sat in the dark and watched the lightning and listened to the little bit of thunder roll through. I slept wonderfully!
I used to hate to be alone with my thoughts. I let myself boss me just as much as I boss others and seek for control. So, this past weekend during my hiking and camping adventure with a great friend, she helped me to see a lot about myself. I would like to try to back off. Back off of my family and friends and also give myself a little more lee-way. I work so hard to have everything under control. My family, my work, my home, and myself. What happens is I end up unhappy. That's part of my negativity and pessimism. If I expect everything, I will be disappointed and unhappy with the results most of the time. Not that I can't have high expectations of myself and others, but I think I need to work on what those high expectations might be and how I can learn to deal with things when they don't go as planned.
Leaving me alone with myself seemed to have done a world of good this time. :) I am looking forward to a year that is full of excitement and learning and maybe I can learn to let go along the way.
I have a new appreciation of my family and friends now that I have spent some time with myself. :)
I enjoyed my time alone. I have some work to do. Letting go of control...on some small level to start. We'll see how it goes.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
I'm a complainer
It's true. As I sit here longing to journal somewhere and wondering why I ever quit blogging, I log on and found that I hadn't blogged in FOREVER! So...I went through and read some of my blogs. Man...they were depressing. I basically log the details of my not-spectacular life and complain about things. I complained about being busy. That was the majority of the complaints. I complained about the weather, money, my job, my friends, my family, I complained. The entire blog is one complaint.
So...I resolve anew. I am a smart person with intelligent things to offer my future. I have intelligent things to save for future reading and things to offer to those people who have suffered enough already reading through my blog.
I'm a complainer. I will not make it my perfect goal to NOT complain. Not about work, about life, about money or family or friends. I will blog about my thoughts and hopes and dreams and ideas. I will blog about life and how I feel about it.
The end. :)
So...I resolve anew. I am a smart person with intelligent things to offer my future. I have intelligent things to save for future reading and things to offer to those people who have suffered enough already reading through my blog.
I'm a complainer. I will not make it my perfect goal to NOT complain. Not about work, about life, about money or family or friends. I will blog about my thoughts and hopes and dreams and ideas. I will blog about life and how I feel about it.
The end. :)
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Thanksgiving...
Ah, a time for thanks. :) I love Thanksgiving, but with my love of Christmas it's hard for me to focus on the Thanksgiving part. However, this year, it's a little different. I am so very excited to have family coming here for Thanksgiving this year. I hosted it two years ago and I have to say that it was by far my best holiday memory to date. It's hard not to expect the same thing this year. However, I am prepping myself for the fact that it will not be the same. Not everyone is coming and there is no year that could top the one we had two years ago. I loved how everyone was playing games, reading books, going for walks, taking naps, baking cookies...it was awesome! This year will be lots of fun too and I can't wait to see everyone.
My days have been stressful this week because there is no school Thursday or Friday (or Wed. at Eastern), so I have had to schedule in lots of make up lessons and have been working like a dog for the last two days. I started my day this morning by finishing a letter of recommendation I was writing for a student and then started cleaning. It's now 11 am and I have been cleaning since 7:00 am. The deep kind of cleaning where I scrubbed the bathtub and swept the porch. I am so excited for everyone to come. I have some work to do this evening and have rehearsal with students from noon until 1:00 and then lessons to teach from 2:30 until 7:00, so hopefully I can get through them. I am already tempted to cancel my later lessons so I can get home and be here when my family gets here.
Yesterday was a 9 hour teaching day and Monday was about the same. I sure love teaching, though. even the tough days when I feel like a failure and wonder all day why a student just isn't getting it. That can be pretty rough. However, the joy of teaching is worth every minute of the pain of it. I was listening in on Teun Fetz's Intro to Music Ed. class the other day and happened to over hear him talking about the joys of teaching and how fulfilling it is. Even though I had a full day and kind of a rough one, I had to smile and stand a little taller when I heard his words when walking by the door. Yes, teaching is a wonderful thing and so full of gratification.
You know what else is gratifying? My baby boy! :) He's not so much a baby anymore, but I can't believe how much I love him! He is so awesome. I have been prepping him for everyone coming over and we have been looking at pictures so he will remember who they are and have been practicing to say their names. He's saying anything these days. These are the days to be extra careful. :) He is just so full of joy all the time. Well...I guess not all the time, but most of it. :) He dances through life...quite literally. We always have some kind of music going in our house (duh) and he loves to dance and dance and dance until he falls to the floor. He's a natural!
I should go get ready to head up to the school while Ethan is still asleep. I still have a lot to do on the house, but it will have to wait.
I'll post again soon. Maybe after everyone is gone and I'll let you know how it goes.
Jme
My days have been stressful this week because there is no school Thursday or Friday (or Wed. at Eastern), so I have had to schedule in lots of make up lessons and have been working like a dog for the last two days. I started my day this morning by finishing a letter of recommendation I was writing for a student and then started cleaning. It's now 11 am and I have been cleaning since 7:00 am. The deep kind of cleaning where I scrubbed the bathtub and swept the porch. I am so excited for everyone to come. I have some work to do this evening and have rehearsal with students from noon until 1:00 and then lessons to teach from 2:30 until 7:00, so hopefully I can get through them. I am already tempted to cancel my later lessons so I can get home and be here when my family gets here.
Yesterday was a 9 hour teaching day and Monday was about the same. I sure love teaching, though. even the tough days when I feel like a failure and wonder all day why a student just isn't getting it. That can be pretty rough. However, the joy of teaching is worth every minute of the pain of it. I was listening in on Teun Fetz's Intro to Music Ed. class the other day and happened to over hear him talking about the joys of teaching and how fulfilling it is. Even though I had a full day and kind of a rough one, I had to smile and stand a little taller when I heard his words when walking by the door. Yes, teaching is a wonderful thing and so full of gratification.
You know what else is gratifying? My baby boy! :) He's not so much a baby anymore, but I can't believe how much I love him! He is so awesome. I have been prepping him for everyone coming over and we have been looking at pictures so he will remember who they are and have been practicing to say their names. He's saying anything these days. These are the days to be extra careful. :) He is just so full of joy all the time. Well...I guess not all the time, but most of it. :) He dances through life...quite literally. We always have some kind of music going in our house (duh) and he loves to dance and dance and dance until he falls to the floor. He's a natural!
I should go get ready to head up to the school while Ethan is still asleep. I still have a lot to do on the house, but it will have to wait.
I'll post again soon. Maybe after everyone is gone and I'll let you know how it goes.
Jme
Monday, November 06, 2006
A note on time management...
For my students, myself, anyone, and everyone...I did not know the meaning of time management until right now, today. :) If I thought I was busy before, I really didn't understand the meaning of the word and I do believe that things will get worse before they get better. the good news: I am handeling (?) it very very well. Today I was up at 6:00 at the table with a cup on hot tea studying. I worked until 8:00 or 8:30 when Ethan FINALLY woke up. Then, we played and read and got ready for the day, ate breakfast, brushed teeth, made his lunch and packed his bag for day care and were out the door by 9:05! I was teaching at EOU at 9:30 and had a great lesson with Mollie this week! Then, my next two students were no-shows so I took the hour and learned the music that I will be conducting over the Christmas season for the Presbyterian choir. Then, I taught a couple more great lessons and went to pick up my boy. We played from noon until 1:00 when he couldn't keep his eyes open any more and I put him down for a nap. I cleaned the house, swept the floors, did some laundry and worked on my music for 30 minutes. Then, Shilo came and I left to head to EOU at 3:30 and didn't have lessons until 4:30, so I worked on my music for an hour. Then, I taught from 4:30 to 7:30 and then got dressed and went to the gym to work out. Now I am home, sweaty and hungry, but very satisfied after a busy and productive day. Now it's time to hang out with my son and hubby, eat some dinner, put them to bed and annotate some books! :) I don't know who in their right minds would want to read this since it's pretty much a run down of my day, but I felt really successful today and wanted to share since I complain a lot in my blogs...:)
Friday, November 03, 2006
Just put your pizza in your poncho and go! --Molly Pants
So, it's been a while since I have posted, huh? Well, Darcy, my friend, you can't say much about taking a while to post now, can you? :) And Aunty Ann...you should blog my dear! Then I could read yours and trust me, it can be very theraputic! :)
Halloween was great this year. We took the tiny-est Jacobson downtown to the businesses dressed as a cute little froggy. He was fascinated that people just kept putting things in his bucket. Man, he's cute! (If I do say so myself)... So we had a blast doing that and then we got a sitter and went out on date night for a drink and then to the haunted house on the 3rd floor of the Union Hotel. I screamed my head off the whole entire time. I don't like stuff like that anyway and I kept telling Sam that I didn't want to do it, but a bunch of his kids were acting scary in it and really wanted us to go, so we did. And it was in fact very scary! I'm sure the kids had a great time listening to me scream my head off. I was so freaked out! We got out of there in record time because I kept pulling Sam from room to room. Creepy!!
Work is going great, but accompanists are hard to come by these days. Anyone who is reading this blog and plays piano, or has played piano, should be an accompanist! Someone who can sight read really well and get the pieces sounding great within a couple of lessons is really hard to come by. I have 4 accompanists working for me right now just to cover the amount of student and repertoire I am teaching! It's crazy! I wish Yuki could stay here in the states instead of having to go back to Japan. She's great! She can do all of that stuff! I miss her very much.
As far as school goes, everything is lining up and I am off and running. I have met with people in Boise to discuss the stuff that I need to do and present what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. They were all impressed with the different person I am now versus who I was then. I had to remind them all that I was a 23 year old graduate student who had been going to school since I had turned 5 with no break. I am definately a different person now! So, I have registered for my pedagogy class and lucky for me, she agreed to just have me finish the one assignment that I didn't finish when I was there. So, I just read a lot of books and write annotated bibliographies on them which....I can do from home! :) Yeah! So, I have to pay for the credits and stuff, but I can do the work at home. I registered for my remaining history/theory credits in the form of "Music History in the United States" which is taught as a night class on Wed. nights. I was soooo releieved to see that it wasn't two or three days a week or anything like that. So, I am scheduled to start driving to Boise in January on Wednesdays for a lesson and class. I am studying constantly for my history predictive exam. That thing is huge! It's a 4 hour exam and they give you sheets of papers with names of composers, titles of pieces, styles of music, whatever and you have to just write as much as you know about them. So, I have made flashcards and have broken it all down into sections and am studying like crazy. I always have them with me and yesterday I was sitting on the floor at the oil changing place watching Ethan play with the toys and running my flashcards while waiting for my oil to be changed. I have also started working on my 5 pieces I have to sing for "audition" for the faculty at BSU. I am already admitted, but my voice teacher wants to see how I work on my own and how fast I can get pieces to a performable level. So, I have been busy. If I thought I was busy before with momming, working, etc..., I really had no idea. Every single spare minute I have lately has been spent on studying in some way. My poor house is suffering, but I plan on taking this morning to clean it and then have a social hour with a friend coming for tea. I am working hard, but I am so very excited to be finished with this degree. It's been hanging over my head for a long time and I am excited to have it finished, solved, done, and over!
Let's see...other than that...there really isn't a lot going on in my life these days. Sam and I are finishing up our kitchen one weekend at a time and are looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving dinner here for all our family. Some won't be able to make it, but it looks like lots of them are coming. It should be really fun.
Sam's first concert was last night and I thought all of his groups did a very nice job! They sounded good and looked good and from what I heard, everyone loved them. The fall is such a fun time with the weather getting colder and colder and I feel more excited about this fall than any because I am so motivated by all we have going in our lives. I am sad that it's dark by 4pm, but we live in a beautiful valley and that's one of the prices we have to pay. I am a little worried about winter travel to and from Boise, but I have 4 wheel drive and we are getting studded tires on our vehicle this year for specifically that reason. Plus, just to put all your minds at ease, they recently did a bunch of construction over Ladd Canyon and put in heating strips under 1 lane of the freeway going both ways, so at least one lane will be ok to drive in. I have Timmy and a couple of other friends in Boise should I need to stay the night if the weather is to bad to travel in and Sarah and I have already come up with an emergency child care plan should that happen. I know, Ross, you are laughing at my because of my crazy planning personality style, but I am ready! :)
Well, I am off to get busy doing my busy day things. More later...
Jamie
Halloween was great this year. We took the tiny-est Jacobson downtown to the businesses dressed as a cute little froggy. He was fascinated that people just kept putting things in his bucket. Man, he's cute! (If I do say so myself)... So we had a blast doing that and then we got a sitter and went out on date night for a drink and then to the haunted house on the 3rd floor of the Union Hotel. I screamed my head off the whole entire time. I don't like stuff like that anyway and I kept telling Sam that I didn't want to do it, but a bunch of his kids were acting scary in it and really wanted us to go, so we did. And it was in fact very scary! I'm sure the kids had a great time listening to me scream my head off. I was so freaked out! We got out of there in record time because I kept pulling Sam from room to room. Creepy!!
Work is going great, but accompanists are hard to come by these days. Anyone who is reading this blog and plays piano, or has played piano, should be an accompanist! Someone who can sight read really well and get the pieces sounding great within a couple of lessons is really hard to come by. I have 4 accompanists working for me right now just to cover the amount of student and repertoire I am teaching! It's crazy! I wish Yuki could stay here in the states instead of having to go back to Japan. She's great! She can do all of that stuff! I miss her very much.
As far as school goes, everything is lining up and I am off and running. I have met with people in Boise to discuss the stuff that I need to do and present what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. They were all impressed with the different person I am now versus who I was then. I had to remind them all that I was a 23 year old graduate student who had been going to school since I had turned 5 with no break. I am definately a different person now! So, I have registered for my pedagogy class and lucky for me, she agreed to just have me finish the one assignment that I didn't finish when I was there. So, I just read a lot of books and write annotated bibliographies on them which....I can do from home! :) Yeah! So, I have to pay for the credits and stuff, but I can do the work at home. I registered for my remaining history/theory credits in the form of "Music History in the United States" which is taught as a night class on Wed. nights. I was soooo releieved to see that it wasn't two or three days a week or anything like that. So, I am scheduled to start driving to Boise in January on Wednesdays for a lesson and class. I am studying constantly for my history predictive exam. That thing is huge! It's a 4 hour exam and they give you sheets of papers with names of composers, titles of pieces, styles of music, whatever and you have to just write as much as you know about them. So, I have made flashcards and have broken it all down into sections and am studying like crazy. I always have them with me and yesterday I was sitting on the floor at the oil changing place watching Ethan play with the toys and running my flashcards while waiting for my oil to be changed. I have also started working on my 5 pieces I have to sing for "audition" for the faculty at BSU. I am already admitted, but my voice teacher wants to see how I work on my own and how fast I can get pieces to a performable level. So, I have been busy. If I thought I was busy before with momming, working, etc..., I really had no idea. Every single spare minute I have lately has been spent on studying in some way. My poor house is suffering, but I plan on taking this morning to clean it and then have a social hour with a friend coming for tea. I am working hard, but I am so very excited to be finished with this degree. It's been hanging over my head for a long time and I am excited to have it finished, solved, done, and over!
Let's see...other than that...there really isn't a lot going on in my life these days. Sam and I are finishing up our kitchen one weekend at a time and are looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving dinner here for all our family. Some won't be able to make it, but it looks like lots of them are coming. It should be really fun.
Sam's first concert was last night and I thought all of his groups did a very nice job! They sounded good and looked good and from what I heard, everyone loved them. The fall is such a fun time with the weather getting colder and colder and I feel more excited about this fall than any because I am so motivated by all we have going in our lives. I am sad that it's dark by 4pm, but we live in a beautiful valley and that's one of the prices we have to pay. I am a little worried about winter travel to and from Boise, but I have 4 wheel drive and we are getting studded tires on our vehicle this year for specifically that reason. Plus, just to put all your minds at ease, they recently did a bunch of construction over Ladd Canyon and put in heating strips under 1 lane of the freeway going both ways, so at least one lane will be ok to drive in. I have Timmy and a couple of other friends in Boise should I need to stay the night if the weather is to bad to travel in and Sarah and I have already come up with an emergency child care plan should that happen. I know, Ross, you are laughing at my because of my crazy planning personality style, but I am ready! :)
Well, I am off to get busy doing my busy day things. More later...
Jamie
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