Ohmygoodness!

It has been a LONG time since I have thought about blogging. I just read my last post and it saddened me a bit. I ended up NOT getting my DMA but an Artist's Certificate, which is a post-graduate diploma focusing on performance and not necessarily the academic part of it. It's a LONGGGGG story and if you'd like to hear more, please let me know but I have put that part of my life behind me and am moving forward. 3 degrees in music is enough for anyone in a lifetime, perhaps in my next life you may call me Dr. but until then, it's just Steph :)


Speaking of looking forward, I have a BEAUTIFUL 3 1/2 year old daughter. (Pictured above with her Annie in matching dresses provided by Grandma) She is the most precious thing to me in the world. She is smart and witty and funny and just a blast to be with and hang out with. She makes me look at life in so many different ways.

This summer I thought that I was going to be enjoying 2 reunions with friends from the past, my 20th HS reunion and a girls weekend with some of my sorority sisters from college. Both plans have been thwarted by what I would call, completely unnerving but definitely necessary, purchases that we have had to make at home. All reserve $$ set aside for said reunions was spent on a new washer/dryer combo, a new mattress, a car, air conditioner coils and other necessary sundries that are for the home. HOPEFULLY I will still be able to take a vaca with my hubby and daughter to the beach for a week of R&R&S (rest, relaxation and SUN!).

So - I'll sign off for now but the time elapsed between posts will definitely not be as long as the last one :)

Cheers!

DMA Comp D-day is here...

Hello out there. The time has come for me to be smart and really use my 2 brain cells that I have for the purposes of passing my comprehensive exams. They begin on Feb. 29 and end on March 31 - yes ladies - MARCH 31!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH! I am so nervous I could pee in my pants. Please keep me in your prayers and I will let you know how it goes when it's all over.

Until then...

jazzmomma

Doctor Doctor... gimme the news...

I can't wait! I have been ready for this moment my whole life. Okay, maybe not my whole life, but for a very long time. I have just a few more hurdles to jump and then I'll be Dr. Jazzmomma! May 2008 can't come soon enough. I think that I'll insist on the Dr. title for about a week and then I'll drop it. I am ready, ready, ready! Bring on the comps!

the long awaited end...

to what I would say would be one of my only obsessions in life. Is it strange that a 35 year old woman would get so giddy at the release of a book? That I would actually go to the last 3 book release parties? If you are a kid at heart (like me) then I would think not. I do not feel ashamed of my Harry Potter obsession but proudly wear it on my sleeve like so many of my other feelings.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was a roller-coaster ride for me. With it's ups and downs, tears and laughter (actually laughing out loud) and then the abrupt halt at the end knowing that there will not be another. I have used the HP series to escape the harsh realities of this world and be transformed into (if only for a few hours at a time) the wizarding world. I lovingly have all 7 books stored together now on the bookshelf and whenever I need to escape, they will be there for me.

I am still absorbing all that was revealed to readers in this last book. So many little details that one can overlook and yet the slow but steady road that Harry took to become a man was clear at the end of the book in the final battle with Tom Riddle. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it again.

Farewell Harry, Ron and Hermione and the rest of the wizards and witches I love so. I will always regret that I never got that long awaited invitation to Hogwarts at 11 to join you.

I remain always a devoted muggle,
Stephanie

plumbing

After a horrendous fight with my kitchen sink, I have finally gotten the expected and desired results from my new plumbing job. I did this ladies and gentlemen...yes...me. My husband helped of course with the overseeing part of the project, but it was me...Stephanie the plumber. I couldn't be more proud, except I am proud of my water heater that I installed a few years back but that's a different story. The final results of our remodeled kitchen will be up as soon as we finish the paint job and that might take a little while as we finish tearing off the wall paper and priming the walls.

a jazzy night out...

the funniest thing happened to me the other day. I was singing up at my usual place (the lovely Benton's Steak & Chop House atop the Westin Crown Center Hotel) and my daughter came up to the pianist and started to play along with him. Now mind you that she is only 18 months old (today!). How cute is that...just starts playing away. Then she walks over to me and says "down" which means up. So I reach down and pick her up and hold her while I continue to sing. She proceeds to grab the microphone and coo away into it. It was a very proud moment for this mother. I can only hope that I can foster her love of music and not squelch it with the constant badgering to "practice, practice, practice" - which I will try not to do.

floating...

So, does anybody feel like they are just floating through life sometimes? I mean the rat-race of it all just seems to be so mundane. I am currently remodeling my kitchen and master bath (haven't even touched that yet - I'm having a love/hate relationship with my kitchen sink right now) and I have to wonder...why? I mean the other stuff was fine.

The most important thing in my life right now is my daughter and her development as a person. She is growing up so fast and I wish it would slow down sometimes but I know this is how life is. She is so cute and funny and sweet and she is going to be gorgeous...I'll have to keep an eye on her in the boy department and I know what to look for so she better not even think about slipping anything by me...

So back to the floating bit...I just wonder sometimes if this is what I'm suppose to be doing? I mean aren't we suppose to make the world a better place to live and that sort of thing? Do we just have jobs to simply exist? If that is the case then I could do with moving out to a little farm somewhere and raising some pigs and cows, grow some corn, and a little garden and live off the land. Mind you I don't think about this ALL the time but it certainly crosses my mind when life's little stupid things crop up. I don't want this life for my daughter but I think living simpler is not all that bad of an idea. I mean the whole kitchen thing is so that we can have the BEST of everything, granite countertops, gas Viking stove, Kohler sink and faucet etc..... I grew up in a little 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch home with no basement (because there are not basements in Florida) and a little backyard and a screened in porch. I love that house! So perfect and my sister and I always had everything that we needed as kids. I want to teach my daughter not to be a spoiled brat, that you can get along with out things that you want...it makes you appreciate the things that you already HAVE.