April summary

It's hard to believe that April is over already. We packed it to the limit with fun activities! It's been too overwhelming to blog about, as I saw that I used my only three April blogs to get away from our hectic month! But as some are interested, I'll make a nice, clean list of the things that demanded our time.

• We added a fifth person to Clearly Vocal. Don is a super second bass and doing a great job. We sing tomorrow night for the first time as a five-person group, so we've been rehearsing once or twice a week all month to get ready for that. We also recorded a few sound clips for our Clearly Vocal website. You can also click on the player on this blog to hear them! We're hoping to take some group and individual shots tomorrow night when we sing to update the website pics, too.
• The spring Children's Clothing Consignment Sale was the second weekend in April, so I spent a lot of time gathering together things to sell and going through the painful process of rummaging through the attic to gather up things to sell and then ironing, safety-pinning, tagging and labeling each of these items. The fantastic part is that you just drop the stuff off and you never have to think about it again! If it doesn't sell, you can either go pick it back up or if you don't, they'll donate it to Goodwill! We get 70% of the selling price, and I received my check in the mail just this past weekend. :)
• Kreg and Keleigh came to visit that same weekend, so we got together with Danny and worked on some of their wedding music. We also got to get out and ride the horses a little bit as well as enjoy a yummy dinner and Danny's entertainment at Pico de Gallo! We're excited to head back to CO for their wedding in just a month!
• John finished up the taxes--yea, Honey!--and we got that refund deposited into our account just recently. I'm mostly excited because that finished up our saving up money for paying for the baby delivery! It's going to be so great to bring little Jonas home and not owe a dime for it!
• Our last Ladies' Bible Class meeting was on the 15th. Our study focused on the bride of Christ relationship, so we had a wedding ceremony of sorts with a reception to follow, complete with vows, a unity candle, "the kiss" (okay, it was a Hershey's kiss), punch, cake and finger foods. I made three cakes, but they didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. They sure tasted good, though!
• A friend from church owns a weight-loss center and hired me to scrap and frame 5 12x12 layouts featuring her top five before and after pictures of her clients. She wanted to put them on her main wall in her clinic and title it "Wall of Success," so of course, she also wanted me to scrap and frame a title to go over the other 5 frames. This was a bigger job than I expected, but I really enjoyed stretching my creative limits and thought that the project turned out well. Apparently, she liked them, because she hired me again to scrap two poster-sized layouts of before and after pictures so that she could set them on easels and take them to conventions with her! Those were "due" the day after the Ladies' Bible Class last day!
• Our praise team had a Vocal Aerobics seminar on a Friday night and Saturday morning, the 18th and 19th. It's exactly as it sounds: exercises for the voice! We learned a lot about the different ranges and how best to sing in each range, how to find your different lifts and a great way to determine voice part. It was great! Our dear friends, JC and Terry kept our children overnight for us, so after the seminar Friday night, John and I caught a late movie!
• Johnathan's school had Rodeo Roundup, the annual two-day event where we celebrate Texas and all the western stuff that goes with it. I was in charge of getting the petting zoo and pony rides there and making sure we had plenty of volunteers to man the stations. No problem. Then, as I did last year, I made a PowerPoint thanking all of our sponsors and ran it on a continuous loop throughout the event. Thanks to John for helping me set up the projector! As if that wasn't enough excitement, on day two, the gym started smelling like smoke so badly that we had to evacuate and call the fire department! Thankfully, there was never any smoke or fire. The firemen said it had something to do with overworked heaters, but that there was no threat of a fire. And the day went on as planned.
• And we had a ladies' night out that night and laughed and laughed until my already stretched tummy tendons were hurting!
• The youth group's annual auction was just this past Sunday, and I was on the decorating committee. So we met once to divide out responsibilities, and basically mine was to get the appropriate announcements in the bulletin and to help decorate on the Saturday before. I succeeded at taking care of the announcements, but failed miserably on the decorating part, which leads me to the next activity ...
• Last weekend, John and I went to the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival. The kids stayed at Dad's house and had fun while John and I were able to enjoy the festival kid-free! There were some amazing groups that performed and some beautiful artwork from jewelry to pottery to watercolors to photography. I walked over to a pottery booth and out of instinct picked up a pitcher. The potter grinned and said, "Now you look like you need ANOTHER pitcher to add to your collection!" He totally hit the nail on the head! I reluctantly, but stubbornly put the pitcher down and picked up a pie plate instead! I have it on display in my kitchen. :) While in Dallas, we were able to take home my new nursery bedding that I had won on eBay and that Dad had picked up for me! I can't wait to set it all up, but I think we're going to have to wait until sometime this summer before we kick Kalleigh out, I mean, move her into her big girl bed and share a room with Johnathan!
• My most recent project was a diaper cake that I made for one of my good friend's baby shower coming up the Sunday. Now you know I really wanted to do that project, since it is already done. Otherwise, I would have probably stayed up all night the night before. Hooray for doing ONE of the projects this month ahead of time!

Okay, the list was not as neat as I intended, but as you can see, we did have a few thing going on. In no way am I complaining about having too much to do! I agreed to or volunteered for each of these, and it's been a really fulfilling month! No, I wouldn't want every month to be quite that crazy, but every now and then, it's nice to know you're still alive. :)

Here comes May ... !

"That doesn't match."

So we're at the dinner table eating together as a family. Here's how the conversation went between my son and me:

Johnathan, looking at the platter full of steak: Mommy, is that a bull?
Me: Well, yeah, maybe ... or a cow. It's either a bull or a cow.
Johnathan, now looking at me as if I had just said something completely ridiculous: What? That doesn't match.
Me: What are you talking about?
Johnathan: Like is it a bull or a plate?
Me: Oooohhhhh! A BOWL!
(much laughter from John and me)
Johnathan: Yeah, a bull! (at least that's what it sounded like)
Me: Son, it's a platter. The steak is on a platter. It's neither a bowl nor a plate.
Johnathan: Yeah, that matches.

John and I got so tickled about this conversation later that we were just howling with laughter! Johnathan must have thought I had totally lost my mind! He heard, "It's either a bowl or a cow!" No wonder he gave me such a funny look!

One Word

This was on Sandi's blog, and looked fun. Feel free to copy and paste with your own one-word descriptions!

1. Where is your cell phone? close
2. Your significant other? thorough
3. Your hair? pony-tail
4. Your mother? strong
5. Your father? giving
6. Your favorite thing? offspring
7. Your dream last night? forgotten
8. Your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper
9. Your goal or dream? Create
10. The room you're in? Bedroom
11. Your kids? Energetic
12. Your fear? Snakes
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Non-pregnant
14. Where were you last night? Church
15. What you're not? Non-pregnant
16. Muffins? Butavan
17. One of your wish list items? Manicure
18. Where you grew up? Searcy
19. The last thing you did ? Email
20. What are you wearing? Maternity
21. Your TV? On
22. Your pets? Pugs
23. Your computer? On
24. Your life? Changing
25. Your mood? Optimistic
26. Missing someone? Family
27. Your car? Mini-van
28. Something you're not wearing? Watch
29. Favorite Store? Scrap
30. Your summer? Pregnant
31. Like someone? John
32. Your favorite color? Red
33. When is the last time you laughed? Supper
34. Last time you cried? Forgot
35. The person who sent this to you? Sandi
36. Who will/would resend this? Unimportant
37. A good book? Sudoku ;)
38. A good movie? Shawshank
39. A good song? Bubbly
40. One word to share? Rejoice

Okay, okay ... 7 random things

Two "7 Random Things" tags later ... here they are:

1. I get a headache after wearing my hair straight, but not curly.
2. I've just discovered Pandora, and love it.
3. I like to complete projects, but always manage to put them off until the last minute.
4. Dublin Dr. Pepper will always be my drink of choice.
5. I usually don't want to "go out and do something," but am almost always glad I did.
6. I've never been satisfied with a cake I've decorated, but I keep volunteering--why?
7. I'd rather actually clean than just put things away. Unfortunately, it's difficult to do the former without the latter. :)

It's been an incredibly busy month. I'll have to tell you about it later (see #3) ... maybe.

Pretty shoes

Kalleigh is truly my daughter. She's entering a new stage where she is fascinated with her own shoes. She likes to change her shoes throughout the day. She likes to go up to other people and point down at her shoes and say, "Shoes?" as if to say, "See my pretty shoes?"

So here she is showing Daddy her newest ... as in most recently put on ... pair of shoes. :)

Weekend wrap-up

We made a quick trip to Searcy this past weekend for Spring Sing. John's sister, Laurie, and her daughter, Brenna, came up from Atlanta. It had been over a year since we'd seen them last! We stayed with John's mother, and so did they, so it was good to have some catch-up time with them.

The hosts and hostesses were fantastic, and perhaps I'm a little biased since Logan, my second cousin, was one of the hosts. He did an outstanding job!

We did get to eat one meal out at the farm. There were 14 people around the table including Mamaw and Papaw, Mom, Aunt Donna, Uncle Kevin and Aunt Kathy, Pat and Deborah's family and also our family. It was so good to be together, even if just for a short while! I wish I had remembered to take pictures of our lunch!

John and I hung out a little while at Mom's house after the show Friday night and got to spend some time with Kreg and Keleigh there, too.

The slide show below is from Easter Sunday as well as some pictures from Searcy, thanks to Laurie!

Easter '08 slide show

We're pulling out the blue again!

That's right. We're having another boy! His name is Jonas Dean, after Papaw Curtis, and he was measuring about 10 days ahead of schedule. The sonographer said that he didn't' think I'd make it to my original due date, which is convenient for me since going into labor early was my plan all along. :)

I don't have any pictures, but we did get a VHS recording. I've commissioned John to magically get it on the computer so I can post it, for those who want to see.

Hooray! Now the fun planning and shopping can begin!

Sleepin' Superman

I guess even Superman gets tuckered out from time to time. :)

Proof of snow

Yes, we get snow in Tyler ... occasionally. This is the first time all winter that the snow has actually stuck to the ground. It's SO wet and heavy! Good for snowmen, if it's still on the ground when Johnathan gets home from school. Yes, they had school. The roads are fine.

We let Johnathan enjoy the snow this morning before we left for school. Notice the matching yellow boots ... uh, bags. :)




Catching snowflakes on his tongue.

Kalleigh picture update

Belle enjoys Kalleigh's playing.


Hard at work.


Precious little hands!


A view from the keys.


Setting the ball.


CRACK!


"Did you see that, Mom?!"


Proud of her 4-inch hit!


We've been enjoying the scattered pretty days outside!

Shannon Etheridge Conference ... and Ms. Joan

This past weekend I went to a women's conference/retreat at Pine Cove, a local camp. The guest speaker was Shannon Etheridge, author of the best-selling Every Woman's Battle series. This conference was about her newest book entitled Completely His: Loving Jesus without Limits, which focuses on the bride of Christ/bridegroom relationship we have with Jesus. Our Ladies' Bible Class is studying this book this semester.

Five ladies from Glenwood went: four of us in our 20's & 30's, and then one lady who is 77, Joan. We younger ladies were hoping that Ms. Joan would feel comfortable with us, but none of us had ever really gotten to know her very well. It could be awkward or great. Well, let me tell you that Ms. Joan was hilarious and fit right in! She reminds me of Mamaw, though (as I told Mamaw on the phone this morning) she opted out of the zipline, and I knew Mamaw would've gone on it with me! But she is quick witted, adventurous, and none of us had any idea that she was 77. I was thinking maybe mid-60's? Boy was I wrong! And you know what she and her husband do for a living? Lecture on cruise ships. Now how awesome is that?

The weekend was outstanding, but I think most of all I'm thankful that I got to know Ms. Joan better. I look forward to spending more time with her in the future!

Words

Kalleigh's vocabulary has taken off. Isn't it amazing when they round that corner and realize that this language business could really come in handy in getting what they want?! Here are the latest words just within the past couple of weeks:

"Pie-pan": Spiderman
"Pee-boo!": Peek-a-boo
"Nana"
"Beh-boh": Bellybutton
"Nooo" (said low, with furrowed eyebrows--great.)
"Hee Doh": Here you go!
"Hi-eee!": Hi, with two syllables. Do we live in TX or what?
"See-saw" (said rhythmically anytime she's rocking, swinging, and of course" see-sawing")

Clearly Vocal sings a Real Group song called Words. (The link is to a Real Group clip ... not us!) I love the words!

Words.
A letter and a letter on a string,
Will hold forever humanity spellbound.
Words.
Possession of the beggar and the king.
Everybody, everyday, you and I we all can say words.
Regarded as a complicated tool.
Created by man, implicated by mankind.
Words.
Obsession of the genius and the fool.
Everybody, everyday, everywhere and every way.
Words.

Chorus
Find them, you can use them,
Say them, you can feel them.
Write them, you can read them,
Love them, fear them.

Words.
Transmitted as we're fitted from the start.
Received by all and we're sentenced to a life with words.
Impression of the stupid and the smart.
Everybody, everyday, you and I we all can say words.
Inside your head can come alive as they're said
Softly, loudly, modestly and proudly.
Words.
Expression by the living and the dead.
Everybody, everyday, everywhere and every way.
Words.

Molasses Bread

I kept meaning to post this recipe for those of you who asked. Here it is ... finally! It's from Kendra--thanks!

Mix together the following and allow to cool to lukewarm:

1 cup oat flakes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. molasses
1Tbsp. honey
1/2 stick butter
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 cups boiling water

When cooled a little, add:
1 1/2 cups (7 3/4 oz) wheat flour
4 cups (17 oz) white flour
1 Tbsp instant yeast

Mix until well blended. It will be sticky. Allow to rise in a greased bowl, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled. Then place into two bread pans and allow another 1 hour to rise, covered. Then bake for 35 - 40 minutes at 350degrees. You can also make rolls in a muffin pan.

Makes great toast, cinnamon toast, grilled cheese, etc. Can refrigerate as well.

Kendra uses instant yeast which doesn't require proofing. I would guess that you could use the same amount of regular yeast and dissolve it in the same amount of warm water rather than boiling. Maybe sprinkle the brown sugar and salt over it to submerge the yeast? Then I'd just mix it in with the rest of the ingredients, except the flour, and of course, stir the flour in last. She doesn't say to knead the bread, but she also uses an electric mixer with special "kneading" beaters. I'd tend to knead it. Maybe not mix in quite all of the flour it calls for and knead the rest in?

Maybe I should have attempted the recipe myself before telling someone else how I would try it?!

Out of the blue thankfulness

Every Monday morning I do my habitual act of erasing the previous week on our family wipe-board calendar and adding a new week. As I looked at the schedule for this week I realized that four out of the seven days this week, our evenings are free!! I do not intend to fill those evenings, but rather protect them. This means I will be cooking dinner for the first time in a while! The only reason I might be willing to compromise one evening is if John and I decide to go on a date ... not a singing gig, mind you. A real date.

So, I am thankful for free evenings and being able to cook dinner this week!

Clearly Vocal

It's the name of our somewhat newly formed a cappella vocal jazz group. Members include Danny Burgess, Stefanie Albright, John and myself. We all go to church together, so that helps with scheduling practices and such. Plus we can use the building for rehearsals, which is nice.

We had several "gigs" around Christmas time, mostly for parties and dinners. Danny is the front man for a band called "Group Therapy" that had played at Mario's, a local Italian restaurant, for about eight years. They recently stopped playing there to persue other opportunities. What Danny had done over Christmas was basically to add us to the program of his Christmas gigs. The band would play a set, then we would do kind of like a "halftime show," and then then the band would finish the evening. Most of those gigs were for exposure purposes. Danny is in front of many influential people who hire live music for various things and who give money to good causes!

Since then, we found a donor who gave us the money to purchase some very nice wireless mics and in-ear monitors! Danny already had the speakers and a lighting system from his band.

During this Valentine season, we will have performed five shows! Our big one was this past Friday evening for a party at the high-end country club in town. We brought in an 18 inch tall stage that was 12 feet across and 8 feet deep, set up a rear-projection screen behind us and ran visuals during each song. We set up the light trees and used four big speakers surrounding the room. As the guests were finishing up their desserts, our show began. We sang for about 45 minutes, and I think we really "wowed" them!

Another show was a band-us-band format again. We did well again, but then during the second band set, John and I joined the band as additional singers. So fun!

We sang for our church's widows/widowers banquet Monday. It's the only "freebie" we're doing this season, but certainly for a good cause, and of course, they loved us. :)

Then Thursday and Friday nights, we're scheduled to perform at Pico de Gallo, another local restaurant here in town. When we're not doing our show, Danny's band will be playing. We're singing for two seatings Thursday night, and then I think just one Friday night, unless we have two full seatings that night. Who knows?

We do have a website: http://www.clearlyvocal.com/. John created it, and I desiged the logo:



What we're really missing are sound clips. That's #1 on our to-do list after we make it through this week, so hopefully in the next month we'll have some samples of what we sing.

John and I are so fortunate to be able to do what we both love and do it together! We hope that the group's success continues to grow!

He's cracking me up these days

Two more from yesterday ...

Johnathan, regarding Kalleigh's "blow out" situation: "Oh no! Kalleigh had a blow up!"

Then from lunch, referring to his enchiladas: "These chicken chihuahuas are yummy!"

It must be in the genes

So we were sitting at dinner last night when Johnathan, a whopping 3 1/2, took a bite of his bread, furrowed his brow and asked, "Is there cinnamon in here?" much to my shock and amazement! "Why, yes there is, Son!"

Then I looked at the recipe to see just how much there was in this loaf of my new favorite homemade "Molasses Bread."

1/2 teaspoon

I was so proud!

"Five Things" Tag

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Trying to convince John to break up with his girlfriend and go out with me.
2. Attending many Spring Sing rehearsals for my Shantih Sports show.
3. Taking my first business classes.
4. Being thankful for our 11pm curfew, knowing it was the only time I'd get my homework done.
5. Awaiting the arrival of our Good News CD that we had made in the fall.

Five things on my to-do list today:
1. Take Johnathan to school. (DONE)
2. Do ONE load of laundry. (Almost Done)
3. Organize songs to lead at a Ladies' Day at West Irwin. (DONE)
4. Not talk too much since I have a very sore throat. (Shot)
5. Take Johnathan's friend, who had his tonsils out, a card. (Plan in Progress)

Five things I will do when I am a millionaire:
1. Pay off all debt!
2. Fill college funds for all the kids.
3. Give generously to the church and to families who need help.
4. Take family to a remote island for a month (at least).
5. Buy a working ranch, with all the ranch hands, and ride horses everyday.

Five things I will never wear again:
1. Contacts
2. Short shorts
3. Side ponytail
4. Tight-rolled jeans ... I don't care if they come back in style.
5. Crimped hair

Five of my favorite toys:
1. Adobe Photoshop
2. Laptop
3. Coffee Maker
4. Digital Camera
5. Piano

Five banes of my existence:
1. Dirty bathrooms
2. Blinkers, those that are not used when they should be and those that are left on when they shouldn't
3. Laundry
4. Sweeping/Mopping
5. Sales Calls

Straight up to the Pipers

A brief conversation between my son and me:

Johnathan, sitting on potty: "Oh mommy! My poopy!"

Me: "Was it big?"

Johnathan: "Yeah! It goed straight up to the pipers!"

Now what's that supposed to mean?!