Thursday, September 27, 2007

And the answer is ...

Not to audition!

I couldn't sleep last night, at all! I think I got two hours of sleep, maybe three. I managed to get to work by 8:30 somehow, I actually have no idea how I managed that.

The presentation/demo I went to at 9 was horrible. The product was actually good, although from what the sales guy said, it won't work on our sound recordings or specialized DVDs. He told me that CDs had ISBN numbers and was very insistant that more and more CDs had ISBNs. I guess he doesn't know what ISBN means: International Standard Book Number!! I definitely made sure to correct him and told him that I spent most of my day looking at CDs and I know they do not have ISBN numbers! Anyway, despite the product actually being pretty decent the presentation itself was pretty awful to sit through. Before a company sends someone out to a group of librarians to sell a product they should make sure the guy knows the lingo, knows what ISBN stands for, and make sure he knows how to use a web browser. Thankfully it lasted only an hour instead of the two hours it was slated for.

I spent the rest of the day trying to get some work done, but I was way too tired. Finally it was 5 and I left. I was afraid to sit for too long once I got home, I thought I might fall asleep and sleep right through rehearsal. So I ate, talked to my dad for a while then talked to my mom and then headed off for rehearsal. By the time we finished the first half of rehearsal and broke for auditions I knew I couldn't stay. So I left and didn't do the audition. I'm not worried. I also haven't told the director that I might not make the February concert.

So since I was out of rehearsal early, I went to Chris' house. Yes, I should have gone home and gone to bed, but I wanted to see my fiance. We talked some, prayed a rosary together, and I finally headed home. Now it's time to head to bed! Good night!!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

To audition, or not to audition ... that is the question!

I've had a very busy week. Work is a bit more stressful these days and wedding stuff is a little stressful as well. I'm working through a lot of challenges right now, but I know that I will pull through them all, just like I always have. I managed to almost entirely write a master's thesis in about two months. That was quite a feat!

Anyway, so on top of all that I am also debating on auditioning for my spot in the band I play with. Thursday night is rehearsal, but only a half rehearsal and then the director is doing auditions for only the new members. But on the audition list he listed a part for "solo clarinet consideration," which is my curent position. I'm not worried, but I do like to be sure. Only problem, I haven't really had a chance to practice in months and all my reeds are terrible. I need to order new reeds--none of the music stores here keep the kind I use in stock.

So I played through the excerpt tonight and the scales he wants are easy enough. I just can't determine the tempo of the excerpt and I can't find a recording. I work in a music library and we don't have a recording anywhere of the piece, even through our streaming audio databases. But I think I'm close to the tempo, I hope.

I'm tempted to just go in and play for fun. Someone told me it might actually be a good stress releaver. She might be right! And auditions never hurt. Any other opinions? Will I be making a fool out of myself by auditioning or is it good to do to at least show that I don't want to lose my current spot?

Lots to think about. In the meantime, I have to get to bed so I can get to work by 8, read through several long documents and then sit in meetings from 9-12:30!! Wish me luck, I need it!!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Preparing for the Move

Monday night I went to Chris' house to start moving his stuff around. We moved all his furniture from the master bedroom into the guest bedroom, vacuumed the master bedroom, and then started painting one wall. Oh, yeah, we picked out paint on Sunday for that room! I'm so excited!

So now the master is empty and Chris is sleeping in his guest room. This weekend we're painting and then the following weekend we're moving my bedroom furniture and some other pieces of furniture that I'm keeping into his house. Then I'll be sleeping in my guest room.

By the way, anyone want to come help us move things on October 6? We'll feed you!

I'm leaving work soon to go back to his house and I'll see what the paint looks like once it's dried. I think it is exactly what we're looking for!

Side note: I heard that the bachelor party went well. Chris had the least to drink and ended up being the designated driver; he was kind of the lightweight of the group!! And from the sound of it they all had a great time!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

What does the bride do during the bachelor party?

Answer: Shopping, football, and pizza and ice cream!!

Shopping: I went to the mall this morning and bought a new outfit for the rehearsal dinner, plus a few other things. I had several Macy's coupons, plus a lot of there stuff was on sale. I had a good time! Then I went to Hamburg and bought some shoes to go with my new stuff. It was a productive day!!

Football: #12 LSU vs. #12 S. Carolina!! South Carolina scored the first touchdown!! Unfortunately LSU did most of the scoring after that. We finally got a field goal and then in the fourth quarter we manged to get a second touchdown, but they tried for the two point conversion and didn't make it. Oh well!

Pizza and ice cream!! That's my dinner for tonight, or rather it was. Although I am eating the ice cream now. Ben & Jerry's Phish Food, right out of the container!! It's so great!! And who knows when I may ever do this again. So I'm enjoying myself!! :)

Hope you all are having a good night. I'll find out how the bachelor party went tomorrow. I hope the guys are having fun.

What Instrument Should you Play??

You Should Play the Violin

You are highly intelligent, and mastering difficult subjects never intimidates you.
And while you may not be musical yet, you have a good ear - and you're sensitive to subtle differences in music.

You are dedicated and studious. You have a great work ethic.
You study well under a teacher, and you don't mind repeating tasks or following instructions.

Expressive and moody, you are very likely to convey a variety of rich emotions through your music.
You are definitely a passionate person... passionate enough to truly love the violin.

Your dominant personality characteristic: your high intelligence

Your secondary personality characteristic: your sensitivity


I may not play the violin, but I think the desciption is pretty good for me. What do you think?

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Catching Up After a Week

It's been a week since I last posted here. Needless to say, I've been pretty busy.

Work, of course, is very busy, but that's no surprise. There's a ton of stuff going on there and it's only going to get busier over the next few weeks or more. But there's no point in writing about the details, that would only be boring.

Last weekend is much more interesting to share. On Saturday my two sisters and my youngest sister's boyfriend drove up from Atlanta for a very brief visit. But first, my friend RM and I went to see my photographer on Saturday morning to view my bridal portraits from the previous Friday. They were very good and it took a while to decide on one. But we finally did and picked out a frame for it as well. We then spent a good portion of the rest of the morning running errands.

My visitors arrived around 2:30 that afternoon. My youngest sister and her boyfriend were heading out to Louisville for a wedding, so we left them keys to the house and then left to find something to do during the afternoon. RM, my sister, and I decided to go out to the Woodford Reserve Distillery, but the last tour had already started. But we enjoyed some free samples and then took the scenic drive back to Lexington.

That night we went off to a Bachelorette Party and Personal Shower that RM organized for me with many of my friends. It was fun to have a girl's night out with a group of friends. It was also the first time that some of my friends had met each other. I think everyone had a great time. I also got some nice little gifts. After dinner we headed over to a nearby restaurant and bar where we got to watch the last five minutes of the Louisville vs. UK football game and had a drink. I had a Mint Chocolate Chip Martini which was VERY good. It smelled like ice cream, and the taste was very good, the alcohol wasn't very strong and the chocolate syrup in it was an awesome touch.

That was basically the weekend. Monday at work was also fun. My co-workers had a shower for me over a potluck lunch. It was so nice of them to arrange something like this for me. Everyone brought a dish to share and we enjoyed lunch together. We got some very nice gifts!

I've been touched by the many showers that people have had for me. It was fun to have one with my bridesmaids in Atlanta, another one with Chris' side of the family in Bardstown, one with co-workers, and the personal shower with my close friends. It's such a special way to celebrate our upcoming marriage.

This coming weekend is the Bachelor party. That means I have a free Saturday night. More later on how I'll be spending my upcoming free weekend!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Finished Book on Reconciliation

If you want to learn more about the Sacraments I highly recommend a series of books by Sister Patricia Proctor. I've read 3 of the books so far and I always learn something from them. They are also good to refer to later and they offer a lot of inspiration.

The one I just finished was 101 Inspirational Stories of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Like the other books in the series (I've read the one on the Rosary and the Eucharist, I also have the one on the Priesthood which is on my to-read list), the book is almost entirely stories submitted by various people, both lay and religious. In addition to the stories about people's experiences with the Sacrament of Reconciliation there were also short articles about various aspects of the Sacarment. The back of the book includes appendices on making a good confession, a review of the ten commandments, and more.

The book was good and very inspiring. I always find the stories in these books uplifting and this book was just as uplifting as the others, if not more so. I'm looking forward to reading the book on the Priesthood. I highly recommend any of these books, just type the author's name into Amazon and they should all come up.

My Dress and the Dry Run

I hope everyone had a great weekend!! We did here. My mother came up last Thursday and brought my wedding dress. Friday we had a dry run of the wedding day morning.

The dress is so beautiful!! It was so great to put it on with the right shoes, the jewelry, and the veil. Okay, my excitement is making me get a little ahead of the story here.

Friday I had my bridal portrait done. We went to the hair salon and had my hair and make-up done like it'll be done at the wedding. We got there at 9 and left around 10:30. I'm hoping it won't take that long the day of the wedding; another good reason for doing a dry run. We got to the Marriott at 11 and the photographer was all set up and waiting for us. It was so cool to put my dress on and the shoes and the jewelry that I'll be wearing. I think the pictures came out really well, but I'll know more when I can see actual prints. I have a meeting with the photographer on Friday. We took most of the pics inside the Mansion (the free-standing restaurant at the hotel) but we did take a few outside. it was a gorgeous day, just a little windy. It was fun to take pictures and feel a little like a model. My mother had fun too and it was fun to have her there. She got to play photographer's assistant for a little while.

The rest of the weekend was fun too. We went to a diocesan young adult mass and potluck on Friday night. The Bishop presided and had a wonderful homily, as he usually does. Saturday Mom and I took a drive and ended up checking out some model homes for fun. That night Chris made dinner and made a birthday cake for my mom (see previous post). Sunday mom and I went to Bardstown for a bridal shower. That was a lot of fun!! My future sister-in-law did such a wonderful job setting everything up for an afternoon tea and the company was great. I met a few more friends of the family and I think everyone had a good time. The afternoon was so much fun!!

That was the whole weekend. I'm so excited to have my dress here; it certainly makes the wedding seem so much closer now!! I can't wait to see the pictures on Friday. I have a feeling I'm going to find a nice one and maybe even one or two that I can have put in the wedding album later. But I should wait until I actually see the pictures before making plans. I can't wait for Chris to see the portrait at the wedding; hopefully it'll be a great gift for him!!

Hope everyone else had great weekends!! Have a wonderful week!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Happy Birthday to my mother today!! She's the best mom in the world. She's also coming to visit me this weekend!! So we'll be doing a celebrating when she's here.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Sunday, September 02, 2007

For Emily and Timothy

Even a short life deserves to be recognized. Yesterday (Saturday) we went to a Memorial Mass for Emily Jane and Timothy Thomas, twins who died while still in the womb.

My future sister-in-law miscarried several weeks ago. The families all came together yesterday to participate in this Mass and then we went to the cemetary where the babies are buried to say a short prayer there as well.

The Mass was simple and solemn, the priest's homily was good, and the short prayer service at the cemetary was moving. It was really wonderful to be able to do this for them and to know that through the baptism of desire the babies are in heaven and their mom and dad will see them one day.

Please take a moment to say a short prayer for the souls of these two babies, Emily Jane and Timothy Thomas. And also for their parents and two older brothers.