An Exercise in Humility...

I can remember that it seemed like EVERYONE took piano lessons when I was a kid. And, almost always, they HATED it. Hated everything about it... lessons, practice, recitals. I suppose to a child there are a million better things to do than sit in front of a big wooden box and pluck out melodies on black & white keys. Well... I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I wish my parents had forced me to take piano when I was younger. If they had, I wouldn't be writing this post.

I love music. There are feelings and emotions that can only be conveyed through music... sometimes mere words just don't hack it. I always have music on... the radio/CDs/iPod while driving in the car, iPod while working out, iTunes on my laptop while cooking/cleaning, XM Radio through my TV while getting ready for work in the morning. Music is an addiction for me. I also love to sing. I'm no Celine Dion but I do just fine. :) All of this being said, I've always wanted to be able to play the piano.

I've been dancing hula with some friends for over a year now and just a couple of months ago one of my friends, Sheila, brought one of her close friends, Amy, to check it out. Amy was instantly hooked and now comes regularly. Two weeks ago, after practice, she was discussing piano lessons with Sheila. Come to find out... she teaches piano as a small side job. I immediately told her about my dream to learn piano and she told me she had an opening on Mondays. Right now, time isn't as much an issue for me as money is so I jokingly said, "So... I'll teach you hula and you'll teach me piano?" AND SHE SAID IT WAS A DEAL!

So yesterday was the first lesson of the season. Every first Monday of the month is a group lesson. It was great. There I was with two 5 year olds, two 6 year olds, two 9 year olds, and two 12 year olds. Each month Amy spotlights a different composer during our group lesson. Yesterday we learned all about George Handel and his music. It was fun and informative! Then we set goals for the semester (til December). I'm supposed to get to pg. 21 in my lesson book and (this may be a stretch) I'm hoping to be able to play either "Away in a Manger" or "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Christmas.

Finally, we picked out songs for our Halloween recital... That's right... In two months I will get up in front of a bunch of people (predominantly the parents of the other students) and play a song. Amy picked out mine first. She said it would be good because I don't have to have mastered sight reading in order to play it. It's called "The Haunted Clock" and it is embarrassingly easy. To add insult to injury, she assigned the two 5 year olds more difficult songs. Awesome... Oh well, you have to start somewhere... and apparently in this case, it's the bottom! :)

Although I'm not thrilled about being shown up by "little people"/my fellow classmates, I am SO excited about learning to play. Hopefully, I'll take to the piano like a duck to water and blow everyone else out of the water with my inspiring interpretation of "THE HAUNTED CLOCK"... A girl can dream, can't she?

The Unexpected

It's always so much fun when you think everything is going to be fine on any given day and then BOOM life hits you right between the eyes. Awesomeness. Jeremy and I walked outside this morning to go to work and found part of our front yard completely under water. Not knowing what the problem was Jeremy immediately turned off our water at the street. I must admit it was pretty cool watching the puddles and mini-lakes instantly start to recede. After twenty minutes of scooping water out of the sprinkler and water turn-off  holes, and another ten minutes of soaking up the rest of the water with a sponge, we turned the water back on and found our problem. A previous tiny little crack in our sprinkler manifold had now become a huge crack in our sprinkler manifold.

This made me think about all of the little cracks that sometimes work their way into our lives. A small problem here, a minor issue there... but if you don't take care of them immediately you could end up with a flood. In this case Jeremy did try to fix it but his temporary plastic cement just couldn't stand up to the immense pressure of the water flowing through the pipe. Sometimes a bandaid just doesn't hack it... or the repair can only last so long. So... moral of the story... in sprinkler systems and in life, nip your problems in the bud. If not you'll end up ankle deep in water and muck.

Stress...

I have never been one to "stress out". I don't get cranky or break down when there is a lot going on... In fact, truth be told, I thrive off of chaos and distractions. And because of this, when I DO stress out I don't know how to handle it. Last week I broke. I came into work on Wednesday and literally cried to my boss. Lol... luckily we're really good friends!

The hole is dug and the work has begun!!!!

August has been, by far, the busiest month of the summer. Which is a bit ironic because I truly believed it would be the most laid back. Gotta love surprises! My parents and brother came to town on July 31 because... drum roll please... my parents finally started building their house here in Utah! They stayed until the 10th which was wonderful! I love my family so much and love having them close to me! Although I am SO sad about my parents leaving Hawaii, I am twice as happy that they will be so close to me! Jeremy and I have already warned them that we'll be out there every weekend and over for dinner every night. :) (To which my dad said... "Now let's not wear out your welcome." Right... like my parents could ever get sick of me!) As much fun as it was having them here it was crazy. My schedule always needs tweaking when I have guests. And Mom and Dad were at the constant beck and call of the contractor and sub-contractors. It was just nuts. Jeremiah left for NAU on the 10th and the same day Mom and Dad went to go stay in a hotel for a few days before camping. Plans changed and instead of camping they ended up driving down to AZ to see Uncle Brent & Auntie Dor. Jeremy and I were both jealous!

The bride and groom with the Bride's Family and Friends

The same day Mom & Dad left, Ms. Melanie came to town! It had been two years since we had seen each other and it was fabulous! Mel's little sister, Melissa was getting married and Mel, Shaun and her two cute little boys stayed with me and Jeremy. It's always interesting to me that there are some people who you can go years without seeing and yet, when you get together, you can pick up right where you left off! Mel is definitely one of those people in my life. As soon as we start hanging out we're right back in Helaman Halls, giggling and scheming. :)

There was lots to be done between Wednesday, when they arrived and Saturday, when the wedding was. There were lots of late nights, after midnight runs to Smiths, and getting really silly once "the drunken hour" hit... once again, all throw backs to "the good old days". Mel did all of the bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces for the wedding. They all turned out marvelously! The wedding turned out to be a huge success and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

On a less positive note.... Well, I shouldn't say that... On a more business-like note, I HAVE to finish my thesis by the end of August! Anyone who is reading this probably knows me well enough to know that I am the Queen... Empress... GODDESS... of PROCRASTINATION! Seriously.... I freakin' rock at procrastinating... I know... nothing to be proud of. Anyway, this is it. I'll have a rough draft done by Wednesday (yes, that's tomorrow) night, meet with Dr. Brown (my chair) on Thursday, do some edits next week and then set a date to defend on Aug. 27th. I can do this... I just have to keep telling myself this.

I have decided not to teach this fall. I'm very sad about it, but feel it's the right decision right now. I need time to be able to finish my thesis, and get a good start on my dissertation. Plus, I can make more money just working the 30 hours BYU allows grad students to work. And I love my job. My co-workers are wonderful, I have the best boss in the whole world and my work is almost always interesting. Also, I WILL be going home some time in September or October. The plan was to go home during August but if you have read this posting you know that's not happening. Not teaching gives me the flexibility to go to Hawaii during the semester. So, no teaching. :( but also kinda :)

Sheila and I dancing in Vegas

I've been dancing hula all summer with my friend,
 Sheila, and in the month of July we had three other ladies join us. In June, Sheila and I performed at a beauty pageant luncheon in Las Vegas, which was SO much fun. [I'm still planning on writing a whole entry about the Vegas trip... Someday.] Performing is simply the icing on the cake for us. It's not imperative but it's fun and an added bonus. As I was thinking about performing I had a wonderful idea. I shared with Sheila and she also thought it was a great plan. Each month we will choose a retirement center in Utah Valley and perform there. We feel it give us a chance to perform and would double as a great service to the elderly in our community. In July we visited Jamestown and had a blast! We're planning on continuing through the fall and winter semesters! Hula is such a beautiful art form and I just love sharing it with others! I'm grateful for my upbringing in Hawaii and the culture that I was immersed in. My heart is made so full when I am able to share the Aloha spirit with others and see their growing appreciation for hula and Hawaiian culture.

Jeremy & a Rainbow 7.10.10

Let's see... I think that's all for me! Jeremy has been having a good summer. He's been doing a lot of fly fishing and has become passionate about tying his own flies! I'm happy to see him enjoying a sport/hobby so thoroughly. It's good exercise and, much to my chagrin, has given him an amazing tan! (His new favorite game is... "Let's see who's darker!") He likes his new job although I don't think it's challenging enough for him. Hopefully that will become a blessing once school starts again! Speaking of school, I think (hope) he's excited to jump feet first into his new major courses this Fall! I hope he finds a passion that will fuel his desire to learn and grow.

Well, this is a pretty long post and I haven't even begun to cover everything I've missed in the last little while... but it's a start!