New Year~more blogs... maybe :)

It is 2010 - two thousand and ten or twenty ten. A new decade, a new outlook on life. I'm almost 40! I can't believe it. I don't FEEL 40 or even close to it. I feel more like 32. Perhaps that's what I really am but time is just moving a little faster than my brain.

It is snowing and it seems like there is more snow on the horizon for tomorrow night - 4-8 in. of the horrid white stuff. I'm a floridian for God's sake. This is really foreign to me. It shouldn't be but it still is. It's just too damn cold for words.

Olivia is 4 and is a hurricane - A true force of nature. She just continues to learn, explore, grow, and mature every day. It's such a wonder to witness. I think that's what parents are for - to witness their children's lives. It's truly a wonderful gift.

I'm outta here for now. Must sleep.

Hello Fall!

Today is a beautiful day. One of the many things I love about Kansas City is the changes of the seasons. You don't really get that in Florida. I took a little jog with a friend of mine this morning and it was just beautiful. Clean fresh crisp air and the sun coming up over the skyline. Gorgeous! Another friend of mine has started her blog back and she has encouraged me to start mine so here I am. I am currently 38 years old, married, one child, one cat. I work as Director of Music at my church, band leader and play at Benton's every weekend and teach voice lessons. It's not a bad life. If I could get a few more students, that would be better but I know they will come. I hope to visit Florida with Olivia and perhaps Matt this winter. That's about it for me right now... more to come :)

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.