Finally

Well, I'm almost done with my first semester as a college student! I've made it through finals, I'm almost all packed up to go home, and I'm just waiting to take one more final before I get to begin my homeward journey!

It's been a good semester, and I guess I can handle this college thing. Right now, however, I'm totally sick of school and can't hardly think anymore. I just want to go home and relax with my family - and get ready for Christmas! Can you believe that Christmas is just one week from today? I can't! It's coming so fast - I feel like it was just last week that it was the first week of Advent, and here there's only one week left! How the time flies when you're in school...

The snow has mostly all melted now, what with rain and such, but we had the loveliest snow here at school. I took pictures :)

It was beautiful, and I kinda miss it. It was literally a winter wonderland!

Speaking of Christmas music, I've really been enjoying some new cd's this year. Francesca Battistelli, Matthew West, Lady Antebellum, Colbie Caillat, and others have been wonderful additions to my Christmas playlist! Beautiful music and wonderful holiday cheer.

So now, I get to start looking forward to making candies, decorating the house for Christmas, and meeting my sister's new little puppy! And of course, there will be cuddles with my lovely cat, Bootsy - I miss her so! And then I will be practicing music for church a lot, because I play for so many masses during break, including Midnight Mass! I'm so excited for that - the choir's going to sing, and I must do my best to be amazing on the organ.

Christmas is going to be wonderful, and I look forward to seeing all my family over the holidays, too!

So much to look forward to!

I'll leave you with one of my new favorite songs :)

Onward we go

The Nutcracker has ended, my friends. It was a beautiful show, everyone danced wonderfully, and I'm so happy to have been a part of it! On the whole, a most pleasant experience, and I hope to be a part of it again in two years.

That said, we're diving right into finals now - only 2 weeks left of school! So excited for this semester to be complete - although I still can't quite believe how fast it's gone. Funny how at the beginning it was so slow and the semester looked like it went on forever, and now I'm wondering where the time has gone. Funny ol' world, ain't it?

However, I've taken most of today to unwind and relax, and really didn't worry over anything all day. Honestly, I don't know that it's fair how un-stressed about finals I am. Maybe I'll eat these words, but I really don't have anything much to worry about. The most complicated final I have is a 10-page paper for Script Analysis, and I suppose that's going to freak me out a bit before it's over, but at the moment I'm not overly concerned.
Otherwise, the rest isn't too freaky.

So, this afternoon I had time to go and practice music for however long I wanted to, and I ended up practicing for an hour and a half. It was lovely. And then this evening I cleaned up my room a bit, watched 'Swan Lake', and knitted until I thought my hands were going numb. (A bit out of practice, alright?)

Now I'm going to go to bed before midnight. Whoa!

It's December, it's over 50 degrees out (seriously insane weather for this time of year!), and I seem to constantly have the theme song from BBC's Downton Abbey stuck in my head. Not going to complain - I love it so!

Until next time!

The flowers my parents gave me after seeing The Nutcracker. I even have a nutcracker glass to put them in! 

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." ~John Lennon

Majorly Crazy

Oh boy, do I have news for you!
See, the last time I blogged (which was quite a long time ago, I'm afraid) I was in the middle of play practices and totally into being a theater major, and crazy busy all the time.

I'm still crazy busy, although I've had a pretty relaxing weekend.

But lets get you caught up on the rest.

First - Our Town was a success and I'm very happy that it's over! There were fun times and I enjoyed participating, but it took a lot of time and energy.
Wearing a corset...entertaining for about ten minutes, then...strange form of torture when laced too tight.

But we don't have time to go into those agonies.

Second - I am no longer a theater major. (no, this decision did not come from wearing a corset...at least not entirely ;)
No, I've just spent a semester trying to find my place at this school, and theater just doesn't seem to fit right - mostly it causes me to stress out, and I'm not quite loving it like I know I should love what I'm studying.
Like music - which is my new major! And I am very excited about it! While music studies are difficult (theory has already caused me anguish at times), I still love it and really want to understand, so I keep trying and usually I figure it out with enough time. And I want to continue to spend time figuring it out, with the help of the amazing faculty and opportunities here on campus.

I'm not a performance major, since I don't have such ambitions, but rather I'm going for a B.A. in music, and I'm intending to work on both my vocal and piano skills somewhat equally.

So, next semester I'll be taking hour-long piano lessons, half-hour voice lessons, music theory 1, ear training 1, and an experiencing music class that should be interesting.
Oh, and choir, of course! I love choir.

That's a lot of music, but I'm uber excited.

I'm taking other classes for general requirements, as well, but those aren't as interesting.

Yes, this blog is getting long, so I'll wrap it up by saying that I'm very excited (favorite word today) about Thanksgiving break! I get to go home on Wednesday, and it's going to be so awesome to see my family!!!
And next week - Nutcracker performances! I'm deep into rehearsals for the ballet now. It's going to be awesome!

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything." ~Plato

Keep On Climbing

Yikes it's been a while. Somehow, by the time that I remember that I could write a blog post, I seem to be so tired from doing other things that my thinker doesn't want to work well enough to type up something slightly interesting.

But today I have some time, and I thought of you :)

So, what have I been up to? Do you really want to know about my life? Well, it involves

~Classes (I'm sort of getting used to them...sort of.)
~Play practice (I'm the organist in the fall play 'Our Town') and these practices require a lot of my time...a lot.
~Dance classes (2 nights a week - I got my pointe shoes finally!)
~Dance rehearsals (I'm in The Nutcracker - 'waltz of the flowers' and 'angel' corps. Learning dances is fun, but it also takes a lot of time and energy.)
~Fun with friends (I have me so many AMAZING people at college! We have good times...)

And that's the basic list. Of course, there are so many more details I could go into, but I'd rather not bore you to death.

So, instead I'll go into some new thoughts I have about who I am...because of course I have new thoughts on that! I've had to do a lot of growing and changing to survive this collegiate life, and it's interesting to me.

For example, I have been confirmed in the fact that I am very quiet in large groups. In fact, if I go to the cafeteria during the rush, I nearly panic because there are so many people and it's so loud, and I can't see well enough to be able to make a good decision about what to eat. It's embarrassing.

This quiet side shows quite often when I'm at the theater, as well. I think it's because everyone there is so crazy/unique in their own ways, that I feel too normal to attempt to show my crazy side...but don't worry! There are people who get to see that, too!

Wow. I'm not making much sense. I told you my thinker turns off when I start to write these!

Another note of myself...I really miss having quiet days. (yes, there's a lot of 'quiet' themes) Like, days where you can just curl up with a good book, a purring kitty, and some pretty music, and just relax and not worry about what you have to be thinking about or where you have to be next. I really like quiet days.

There are more, of course, but I don't have time just now, so now there's something more for me to write about next time!

I'll conclude with a list of three things that make me happy today, how about that?

~I watched a squirrel that was sitting on a tree-branch, eating a nut, for a couple of minutes. It was so cute and close! Then there were leaves falling in lovely spirals all around me, and I did a little dance in the rain...no one saw me, I don't think ;)
~I don't have much homework this afternoon - I could be doing extra stuff, of course, but I don't have anything that needs to be turned in or anything.
~I was learning a new song for my voice lesson, 'Danza Danza Fanciulla Gentile', and I really like it! It's so fun to sing, and I'm excited to learn it really well.

Alright - now I'm off to find something to do that will make me feel like I accomplished something great today...like laundry. There's a plan!


"If it's IN you to climb you must - there are those who MUST lift their eyes to the hills - they can't breath properly in the valleys." ~L.M. Montgomery, Emily of New Moon

Rain, and what comes of it.

Happy Monday!

It’s raining – not pouring, exactly, but definitely a steady bit of precipitation. I just walked through it, and apparently tennis shoes (mine, anyway) are not waterproof – at all. Nope, the water soaks through the toes first, gets your socks wet, and then, I’m guessing if you walked far enough in the same conditions, the wetness would spread throughout the entire shoe. I didn’t walk quite that far, but my toes definitely got wet.

Which I knew you’d find interesting :)

What’s really going to be interesting is me getting on public-transit bus thing for the first time tonight – by myself. The tricky think is going to be telling the driver where I want him/her to take me in a loud enough voice and clearly stated so that I’ll get where I need to go. Hopefully it’s a pleasant, nice sort of person. I don’t think I could handle a grump…

But I have to get to dance class somehow, and this seems to be the best way today.

As far as Monday’s go, though, this one has been pretty pleasant (apart from getting my toes wet – I don’t really mind walking in the rain as long as my feet are dry! Unless I’m barefoot and getting wet on purpose – that’s completely different.)

Not too excited about math class, however. I’m never too excited about math class.

But my classes seem to be going pretty good, despite my dislike of difficult studying. I think I’m doing fine – the trick now is keeping up my good study habits. Study, study!

So Much New

Hello friends! So sorry I've been silent for over 2 weeks, but I have legitimately been busy. With college!

So, I don't want to bore you with details, but here are a few exciting new things that I'm pretty thrilled about.

1) I had my first audition experience, where I memorized two contrasting contemporary monologues, dressed up all prettyful, and delivered them with slightly obvious nerves - but I got through without messing up too badly!  Yikes, I was freaked out. But they must have liked me well enough, because they gave me a part! Yessir, that brings me to the next thing on my list:

2) 'Our Town' by Thornton Wilder. Yep, I got a part in this fascinating play. While my part doesn't have a name other than 'organist', that's okay because I sort of get to make up my own character, which is fun. And I'm not without responsibilities - I actually have to play the organ for this role. Yep. I have sheet music! Just can't get away from that organ, can I? ;) But I'm excited about it.

3) I had a second audition experience when I auditioned for the choir. My singing was not the greatest that day, since I hadn't really sung much for a while, but I got into Concert Choir! That's fun. I didn't quite make it into Chamber Choir, (which is the smaller, more select choir that travels) but I am listed first on the alternate list, so I still have a certain amount of hope for the future. :)

4) Third audition experience: Ballet. Yes, I auditioned for 'The Nutcracker', which was a fascinating process, since I'd never auditioned for a ballet before. It was fun, because all the different choreographers taught the whole group a small section from the different parts of the ballet, and we'd learn it and try our best to show them why we'd be good in that part. (examples: learned the 'soldier' part, the 'arabian' part, the 'angel' part, etc. ) I was super thrilled the next day when we got the cast list to discover that I'd been selected to be in the corps de ballet for "The Waltz of the Flowers" as well as an angel in the "Angel Scene"!!!

Okay, little backstory here: When I was really little, I got 'The Nutcracker' soundtrack for Christmas or something, and I would dance around our tiny, tiny house to those songs all the time. This was before I'd ever had lessons. And can you guess which one was my favorite? 'The Waltz of the Flowers.' When we learned the part for the Waltz at auditions, I must say I had quite an emotional moment - my eyes got a little misty. But it was my favorite of all the dances, (I actually knew how to do all of the steps in that one!) and I think I danced the best on that one, as well - obviously they must have liked it a little since I get to do it for the REAL BALLET!!! (can you tell I'm happy about this?)  ;)

So yeah. That's my little story.

5) I had my first voice lesson! That was fun. I really like my voice teacher, I think. I look forward to improving my vocal technique under her guidance. I feel happy with the songs I'm learning, and am SO THRILLED to finally have voice lessons!!!

So I've got some pretty exciting stuff going on. And I have a cold...not so fun. But I'm trying not to overdo it and hopefully I won't be sick for long! And I really hope I don't get anyone else sick...that would make me really sad!!!

Now, on to homework...which is something of a new concept to me in the fact that, being homeschooled, I've never had homework before in the same sense as you do in college, and it's probably the most comfortable part of my schooling in the sense that I, being homeschooled, am used to studying with my music and notebooks and being all studious and stuff, haha!

But yeah. Classes are a new challenge to me. I've found that I don't really get into discussion very easily, and it's all so fast and there's so much information, my brain just doesn't want to process all the time. I've already found that if I don't write it down on my planner I will most likely forget about it, and that's not good.

But yeah. Homework, and then it's movie night with some friends!

College!!!

So. I moved. I'm in a dorm. Yay!

I moved in 2 days earlier than the norm since I have a music scholarship and thus must be in choir - how sad :) - and the choir met yesterday (which is when I moved in) and we practice today again, in preparation for the first day of school - we sing for Mass. I'm so excited!!!

So, campus is really quiet and there's not a whole lot going on - I have a lot of dead time, which isn't all bad, considering I'm still adjusting to being here. There are not very many people on my floor, and those that are here are in band, not choir, so we have different schedules.

Choir practice yesterday was super fun - we learned the music (some people had not looked at it before, so, considering that, we did really good!). I've decided that the choir people are slightly crazy, and therefore I am super delighted that I am one of them! Can hardly wait to actually get to know the people and for them to get to know me so that we can all be crazy. :)

Last night the musicians were invited to the Dean's house for a bonfire and s'more's. It was really fun! I felt like a real college student, sitting and chatting and being silly around a HUGE bonfire (seriously - my sweatshirt was covered with ash from the sparks flying up in the sky and raining down on us like a bunch of fireworks.) I joined ranks with a bunch of other girls, and we decided to walk back to campus. In the dark. It was a very long walk - over a mile, I should think - and my legs were screaming at me - I'd been in the car for 6 hours, done pointe the night before, moved onto the 3rd floor (which required many trips, not to mention weight-lifting ;) ) and then there's this steep-ish hill and scary staircase that must be climbed to get to the music building, which I did multiple times yesterday. So yeah, my legs. are. TIRED.

But I'm having fun, so they'll just have to get over it.

This morning I got my textbooks, so that was very exciting! They're somewhat pretty, I think, although the math one looks kind of scary. ;)

I'd better get ready and go to choir practice now, but I wanted to let you know where I was at. I'm going hiking this afternoon. Should be fun!

A Time of Preparation

Exactly one week from today I will be moving into my 3rd floor dorm room and thus beginning what will be my life for the next four years - COLLEGE!!! I'm uber excited.

So I've been prepping. I sewed 160 squares together to make the top of my quilt; Mom is sewing on the back and batting and finishing it up and stuff - she's awesome like that. ;) When it's done, I'll be sure to post a picture of my loverly fabric.

Oh, last time I posted I mentioned an upcoming vacation - it was awesome! Started off with a super fast shopping trip where I got all sorts of awesome supplies for school, then we settled in for a weekend of family fun! The one downer was my face still hurt tons from the whole wisdom-teeth thing, but I had a really good time, anyway! To see more about what we did, Trudi posted a delightful post with some great pictures here!

So now I've been organizing my stuff (still SO MUCH TO DO!!!), sewing the quilt, I'm making another dress quick (a 1912 summer garden party dress - there will be pictures if I can actually figure out how to make the thing - so far it's really pretty, though!!!), playing organ for church a couple of last times, and, of course, keeping up on the coffee & chocolate intake. Couldn't survive without that, now, could we? ;)

I read a really good book the other day - "The Healer's Apprentice" by Melanie Dickerson. I highly recommend. I couldn't put it down, it was a fairy tale, and the whole story was simply delightful. I look forward to reading more books from this author.


"Every once in a while you just have to decide to do something very crazy and very right--just to dare yourself to live. I don't mean doing something stupid and destructive--just something fun and good and beautiful." ~Regina Doman, The Shadow of the Bear

'But that's all one, our play is done...'

Twelfth Night has ended.

And I miss it terribly.

All three performances went off splendidly - the audiences all had a good time, I think; while there were plenty of mistakes, there weren't any disasters that couldn't be overlooked; and it was SO. MUCH. FUN!!!

I don't think I have ever quite immersed myself into a project as I have this summer. Twelfth Night was my life for 2 months - not even kidding. I dissected the script, analyzed the characters, learned my lines super-good so that I wouldn't ever be tempted to mess up even in a nervous moment, sewed costumes, studied and practiced the technique of masculine walking, thought deeply about every little movement that I could make with my eyes and limbs and vocal inflections to make my character more believable, and loved every minute of it. :)

The last performance was bitter-sweet for me - while you know a play has to end, it's always sad to say goodbye and let it go. It was really cool that one of the cast members held a small party for the cast afterwards, so we had a good couple of hours to unwind together and share some laughs.

But that was over a week ago.

What have I done since?

Well, first I crashed. Really crashed. I was so wiped out and exhausted afterwards, that I slept a lot and couldn't function normally (what was normal?) for days. This always happens to me after a show, so I was expecting it, but that doesn't make it less dismal.

Even now, when I look at the slideshow of pictures and think about the countless wonderful moments, I almost start crying a little bit - it was truly an amazing experience and I shall always cherish the memories and miss the awesome people that made it possible!

But I'm moving on; I'm getting ready to move to college in two weeks - still can't hardly believe it's coming up so fast! - and I had the terrifying, new experience of getting my wisdom teeth surgically removed. Still recovering. The first few days were really painful, but livable, and I was on pain medication, and just had to lay on the couch and watch movies all day. But no one mentioned the insane migraine that anesthesia, plus the pain meds after the fact, can cause! That has been the worst part. I still have it right now - it's not as bad as yesterday, thank goodness, but it's still pretty awful.

Not the most thrilling experience of my summer, by any means whatsoever.

But I have things to look forward to - I'm going on a vacation to visit my oldest sister and her family tomorrow, with my Mom and other sister, Trudi. We're going to start out with some shopping for stuff I need for college, then head north for some late-summer-fun! I'm super excited, and I really hope my headache is gone so I can really enjoy myself.


"Thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges." ~Twelfth Night
  
"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." ~C.S. Lewis

"Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it." ~J.K. Rowling, 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." ~Romans 5:3-5

"Why, this is very Midsummer Madness!"

My warmest salutations, dear friends!!!


So sorry for the silent treatment, believe me, it was not unkindly meant. 


I've simply been extremely busy.


Being a man.


Ha! 


Seriously, though, 'Twelfth Night' has taken over my life. I've gotten so deep into it, that I've started zoning out at random moments (much to my family's concern). 


What is this 'zoning' I speak of? 


Well, from my side, it's like I'm looking at the stage in the 3rd person, viewing myself and whoever else is on stage, and analyzing my movement/actions/speech while I review the lines and blocking in my scenes. It's quite amazing, really, and I've been figuring out a lot of ways to better my role as Viola/Cesario. 


From my family's side it looks like I've become completely frozen and can't stop staring at that minuscule knothole on the table-top, while my spaghetti gets cold and they've all moved on to dessert...


Yes, they are concerned. 


But me? I'm having the time of my life, and I am SO EXCITED that this is SHOW WEEK!!! 


Yeah, that's right - Friday night we have our first performance! Which means that there's rehearsal tonight, dress rehearsals tomorrow and Thursday, and a bunch of family coming this weekend in to see my new persona as a female man. (that did NOT sound right...) 


But, just to show you what a mean - 

We tried on our costumes on Friday - this is about as 'manly' as I get, folks. ;)

Me and my 'twin' are quite convincing, are we not?


Yes, we are having a blast. And in between, I've been thinking about college - Yessir, I ordered my textbooks today! And what do you think? I get to read "The Hobbit" for one of my classes!!! I love my life...

Some other books that have me quite delighted - "Hamlet" (script analysis), Perelandra by C.S. Lewis, and that math textbook looks quite tempting...ha! But seriously, I am thrilled about music theory and all theater classes, not to mention the dance classes!

But right now, I need to focus, and be the man I need to be. ;)

~*~

By innocence, I swear, and by my youth,

I have one heart, one bosom, and one truth,

And that no woman has, nor never none

Shall mistress be of it save I alone.

~*~

Well, God give them wisdom that have it; and those that are fools, let them use their talents. 

~*~

He is very well-favoured and he speaks very shrewishly; one would think his mother's milk were scarce out of him. 

~*~

~~~Quotes from 'Twelfth Night' by William Shakespeare.

Who saw Cesario?

"I am the man : if it be so, as 'tis, 
Poor lady, she were better love a dream.
Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness..."

It's nearing the middle of July, and I am deep into Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'. I've been so occupied with figuring out a way to lower my voice to disguise it as a 'man', learning how guys walk (it's incredibly different!), and experimenting with my newly-found sword fighting 'skills'. Ha! I have all my lines memorized (as of yesterday...although I still need to work on them to be consistent. But they are in my mind somewhere!!!), and we almost have the whole play blocked, so that's pretty exciting.

The whole library room in our house has been taken over with medieval-ish costumes. I helped Mom (she's the costumer, just for clarification) re-design a simple black dress into an elaborate renaissance mourning dress. We made princess seams, added sleeves, constructed an overskirt, and decorated with trims. Okay, Mom did most of the work, but I claim concept design recognition. ;)

"I'll serve this duke :
Thou shalt present me as a page to hime :
It may be worth thy pains ; for I can sing
And speak to him in many sorts of music
That will allow me very worth his service."

In between memorizing lines and what-not, I've been making lists in preparation for college, attempting to design a quilt for my dorm room (speaking of which, I finally got my roommate assignment! So excited) and trying not to freak out.

When I have more relaxing days, I read books. I've fallen in love with my Kindle again, and my sister has been borrowing my awesome books, such as "Easter Carats" and "Identical Differences" by Erynn Mangum, (These both were super cute and enjoyable!) "Heiress" by Susan May Warren (I just read this one yesterday...lets just say I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was intense, which means I couldn't put it down. I think that's a good thing...) and now I'm reading "The Messenger" by Siri Mitchell (I haven't gotten very far yet, but that's because I decided to sleep last night, and I have rules about getting sucked into a story in the morning...).
But I intend to enjoy it. :)

Oooh, did I mention I got a new computer? It's fun. This is officially my first blog post from the MacBook :) I'm loving it!!!

I went to see "The Amazing Spiderman" last friday, and it was - you guessed it - AMAZING!!! I loved it a lot :) :) :) Plus it's always fun to go to the movie theater. So, win-win.

"Olivia:
 Are you a comedian?
Viola:
 No, my profound heart : and yet, by the very fangs of 
malice I swear, I am not that I play. Are you the lady of the house?
Olivia: 
If I do not usurp myself, I am.
Viola: 
Most certain, if you are she, you do usurp yourself; for
what is yours to bestow is not yours to reserve.

Shimmer and Laces

There has been wild stitchery occurring here. Maxine has been put to use, and I am nearly finished with what will be my 3rd and most versatile medieval dress. (Well, 4th, if you count the skirt/dress combo, and 5th if you count the blue & gold re-make...so yeah. 5th. Yikes, I need to branch out a bit...)

Anyway...

I don't really take pictures of the process, since I get in the zone, and if I stop it will never get finished (I'm sanguine - I get discouraged/bored easily *shrug*)  so no step-by-steps for you.  Sorry. (not)

But, I will show you how it turned out! And tell you a little bit about how this project came about, etc.

In the beginning, there was a Wal Mart. Seemed like a pretty normal Wal Mart, but you shouldn't judge by appearances. Meandering down the aisles was a young girl, about 16 or 17 years old (yes, this story began over a year ago, if I remember correctly), not really looking for anything in particular, when all of a sudden she spied the fabric section!!! It's practically illegal to walk by the fabric section without at least looking, so, being a law-abiding citizen, she promptly looked at the fabric, heading straight for the bin marked "SALE" - because you never know what you will find for only a few dollars.

What lurked there on this interesting day, you may ask? Well, wonder no longer my friend, for I am here to tell you that a fine specimen, 6 yards of a shimmery, silvery purple knit-like fabric were just aching for someone to take it home and appreciate it's shimmeriness. (of course that's a word...maybe...)

So take it home the girl did, and it was locked up in the fabric collection closet, waiting for the perfect project that would use it's shimmeriness to the best advantage. The girl, who isn't the most decisive person on the planet, just couldn't think what to make out of it, until one day, a few months ago, she was drawing some medieval dress designs in her sketchbook, and fell in love with one in particular and though "There. That dress should be made out of that fabric."

But the girl was very busy, and the fabric kept waiting in the closet, feeling forgotten and forlorn.

Then, in a moment of inspiration, the girl (I hope you've picked up on the fact that 'the girl' is me by now...) spread the fabric across the floor with a pattern and sliced it up with a scissors. Yay!

Then the pieces were folded up and put away for another month or so.

Monday, June 18th, 2012 dawned with a feeling of promise in the air. Sure, it was cloudy, somewhat stormy, and everyone had a headache, but hey. This girl had a project in mind, and when she does decide a thing, she likes to stick to it. So, the shimmery pieces were taken out, unfolded, and the stitching process began with vim and determination. There were plenty of roadblocks and fallen trees, but in the end, perseverance won out (that and the shunning of family members who simply wanted to be helpful...I have to work on the social aspect of sewing projects) and the project of the shimmery purple dress was nearly done.

Thursday, June 21st, 2012, dawned with birds singing, a light breeze floating through the window, and a bright sunshine peeking over the horizon. The girl stretched, sat up, and thought "I'm going to finish that shimmery dress today", which didn't take much. It was almost done. (Okay, I still haven't hemmed it, or finished of the seams, but who's to know? Trifles!)

Now for pictures! I had a lot of fun trying it on - I've never used this pattern before, and it was my first time making a dress that had a lace-up back - I need help getting it on, but it is really comfortable and my mom doesn't mind being my lady-in-waiting.  ;)

Here's how the front looks - the lighting is really bad, so you can't really see how it shimmers. Sad for you.

The back - I sort of designed the sleeves by combining a couple of patterns and altering them to be that way.

Close-up of the lacing. Isn't it fun?!?!

Then I had to add the pirate coat and feathery hat, just cuz I'm me :)

So now you see what I've been doing this week, in between play practices for "Twelfth Night", in which I have been honored with the part of 'Viola', which I am VERY EXCITED about!!!

Of course, I'm not quite done with the dress, but I'm not too worried about that - I'm close enough that I'm certain that I will indeed complete it soon. :)

Meanwhile, it rests on Maxine, looking shimmery with it's laces, until I can return to it and finish it up with finesse.

101 good thoughts...more or less.

So, I realized after my last post that I had just posted my 100th post without taking any notice of it whatsoever, and I like to acknowledge milestones, so here. Were are celebrating my blog, post number 101. *Cheers*

Moving on...

GUESS WHAT I GOT!!!

Okay, you never will, so I'll just tell you.

Oh, and sorry for yelling. I'm excited, that's all :)

Meet Maxine :)

Yup. I finally got a dress form!!! *happy dance*

And I named it Maxine. Mad Maxine, if you will. (Yes, I named her after a character from a Jenny B. Jones novel. Be delighted.)

And look at the color!!! I think that might be why it was on sale, since all the advertisements and even the box said that it would be a dark blue, but when I opened the box I saw my FAVORITE COLOR leaping out to me!!! And yes, my family can vouch for the fact that I totally hugged Maxine when I got her :) :) :)

So, now the hope, plan, and or concept is that now I will be able to design, contemplate, and construct new, fabulous dresses and other garments all on my lonesome and have them fit perfectly when finished. Tada!

Yeah, that's not likely, but hey! There's no excuse for failure now other than sheer laziness.

So let's not be lazy. There is fabric in that cupboard with my name on it and I am so going to cut it up and put stitches in it!!!

You've been warned.

"Blessed be his name, who hath appointed the quiet night to follow the busy day, and the calm sleep to refresh the wearied and to compose the troubled spirit." ~Walter Scott, The Talisman

Why So Long Silent

Hello! I've been gone a while, I know - but I have good reasons! At least, I think they're good reasons...

First, as you know, I had been preparing like crazy for my graduation party, which took place on Saturday, June 2nd. I know, I know, that's a really long time from now already.

How did that happen!??!!

Yikes. It's been...crazy. :)

On May 31st and June 1st, I had my first two dance recital performances. This was the town where I had only 5 dances, so it wasn't my big 'solo' recital, but it was really fun and I love those dances and the girls I danced with dearly!

Then there was the party. I was blessed with the most beautiful day I could have imagined for my party, and lots of people came, and everything was a huge success! It was a wonderful day. :)

Now I need to write thank-you notes...

We relaxed on the 3rd, somewhat.

Monday, the 4th, we were up very early and I had rehearsals all day long to practice the 9 dances I was in for my senior dance recital. I had performances Monday and Tuesday night, and I'm not sure how my legs didn't fall off, they were so tired! But everything went really well, and I'm going to miss all of my dance teachers, fellow students, and my dance studio a LOT next year.

On Wednesday, the 5th, my mom and I drove the 6 hours to my chosen college, stayed the night in a dorm, and on Thursday I had my Orientation! (I call it disorientation...) It was actually a really fun day -  I met lots of people, signed up for some very exciting classes (such as Script Analysis, Theater Crafts, Ballet, Math... just to mention a few), and, even though I had my doubts, became somewhat 'oriented'. :) I also found out that, since I'll be in the choir, I get to move on to campus a couple of days early because the choir is going to perform the first day of school. Whoohoo!!!

On Friday, the 8th, I went to the annual barn dance that some friends of ours host - I got all into it this year and wore a paper-ish cowgirl hat that I had found on sale in Target one day - it was bright blue, purple, and white, and yeah. Kinda weird. But it was really fun!

Then on Saturday (yes, you are getting like...a week and a half's play-by-play. Get over it.) I played piano for another wedding - this one was a lot more fun, not going to lie - there weren't any stressful solos other than the psalm.

Then I woke up on Sunday with a feeling of immense FREEDOM!!! I have no more really scary obligations for the rest of the summer that are going to completely terrify and stress me out! I'm done! And I'm loving it!!! The only things I have to worry about a bit is that I still play organ sometimes for Mass. Otherwise, I'm ready to embrace Summer and have FUN!

The fun has already begun - we had our first rehearsal of 'Twelfth Night' on Tuesday!!! It was just a read-thru, but I am SO EXCITED!!! You'll be hearing about it lots more in the days of summer to come, I'm sure.


"Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them. " ~William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night


"If music be the food of love, play on!" ~William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

A Delicious Day

I love it when you wake up in the morning to the sound of birds singing and you can feel that soft, warm, gentle breeze floating through the open window, and you look outside and realize with great joy in your heart that the sun is shining brightly in a perfectly clear, blue sky, and all the grass and trees are swaying softly, all green and beautiful, and there's a scent of blossoming flowers...

Yeah. I'm pretty much in love with today.

I have been anticipating this Monday of all Monday's for quite some time. Today we officially start going crazy with preparations for my graduation party - which is this coming Saturday - and while we've been planning with a vim that is thrilling to see, and have pretty much got the displays and decor to a state near completion, we still have to do all the cooking, cleaning, arranging, and then there's the lawn...

The thing that I'm the most worried about how the yard will look. How sad is that? 

The yard is beautiful, but the grass must be mowed...

And I really want to mow it myself, but I just don't know yet how that is going to work out, because I'm going to be so busy, that if it is raining on Friday, it won't happen, and it sure isn't going to happen before then. Unless Dad does it, but we'll see what comes of the situation.

So, today we're making chicken salad. Or at least cooking the chicken...I think we're making the salad, but I'm not positive on that. And there's a lot of chicken...

I don't even like chicken all that much.

Also, I have to practice my 14 dances - my first dance recital of the year is on Thursday!!! I'm so excited. 

It's going to be a crazy week.

But you know me - I thrive on crazy :)


"Cats are a mysterious kind of folk." ~Walter Scott


"One hour of life, crowded to the full with glorious action, and filled with noble risks, is worth whole years of those mean observances of paltry decorum, in which men steal through existence, like sluggish waters through a marsh, without either honour or observation." ~Walter Scott

What you don't expect when you're Mowing...

It was a deliciously sunny, hot, breezy day - not exactly perfect for mowing the lawn since it's so windy that the grass clipping kept blowing into my eyes (SO not pleasant!), but despite such minor discomforts, it was really quite enjoyable! Plus, I flatter myself that I do a really neat & somewhat pretty job on the lawn, so I took pleasure in that, too, as I rode about on the Husqvarna, clipping the green growth to an even length...

Then something highly unusual occurred.

As I angled the mower towards a part of the yard that is near the road, I glanced up to see a lovely, tall, brown horse cantering over the field across the road - directly towards me!

At first I didn't react. I was like "Oh, cool - there's a horse. Pretty..." and just kept mowing for a few seconds while this sunk it.

Then I was like "Wait! Why is there a horse?!!?!?" (by now the horse was prancing on the road, about 30 feet away from me) "Pretty sure that's not supposed to happen."

Now, I don't have a lot of experience with horses, so I was not about to attempt to catch what by now was obviously a runaway horse - especially not without knowing how tame it was.

So what do I do?

I'll tell you, I turned my mower around and sped away back up towards the house.

Yep. Mowing all the way.

I eventually thought about this sensibly, parked the mower and ran the rest of the way.

The rest of the story is fairly uneventful - I found Mom out back, trimming the grass around the house, and yelled at her "There is NOT supposed to be a HORSE on the ROAD!!!" (yeah, I think that's pretty much exactly what I said) and she looked at me, all confused, and said eloquently; "huh!??" so then I explained, she ran around the house (going around the most inefficient way possible to get inside), called Dad, then called the radio station to report that a crazy horse was walking along down the busy U.S. highway...doesn't seem exactly safe  - or it wouldn't be, except that what is normally a fatally busy highway just happens to be closed for road construction right now, so the horse was probably not really being as silly as one might think at first...

This is where my story concludes. I went back to mowing, the horse kept walking until it went over the hill and was out of sight, and the last I heard was the the highway patrol people were driving along beside it, wondering what to do, since apparently no one knows yet who the horse belongs to.

I personally think this is all quite hilarious.

Epically amusing.

Stimulating cachinnation...

Yeah, you get the idea. I'm laughing. :)

Cookie Salad and Rhubarb Wars

Today something unheard of happened in the barn-house kitchen. Are you ready for the shock?

*drumroll*

We made cookie salad.

I know, I know. Not that shocking.

For some people.

But for me? I'm pretty sure this has never happened before. (Mom doesn't really...appreciate...cookie salads. Sad for her, right?) But I do. I appreciate the wonderful concoction known to mankind as cookie salad. Therefore, it has been assembled in our kitchen and is waiting (well, sort of waiting....) to be consumed with dinner this very evening.

Yay!

Doesn't it look appetizing???

I think so, anyway.

Oooh, you wanna know what else happens on crazy Friday nights? Rhubarb duels. 

Yeah, you know that's right. 

Just...don't ask  how these things get started, okay? Thanks. :)

Looks like fun, doesn't it? 

Obviously Mom thinks so...

Until you get stabbed.

Well, that's what happened to me, anyway. Trudi lost by a fit of merriment. It was most amusing. 

"Life is worth living as long as there's a laugh in it." ~L.M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables

Craziness Continues

So, I've been silent for almost a month...not sure how that happened, but I intend to make it up to you now with an extra-exciting post about a lot of random happinesses (of course that's a word) that I have been experiencing. And yes, I like words that start with 'ex-'. :)

To start off with, I had a project that I wanted to share with you. One of my attempts at creating something without using a pattern, (other than to get the correct shape & size - I'm not that good) so here are some pictures: (note - it's not finished yet, so don't expect pictures of the final outcome just now)

These are the fabric scraps that were in the cupboard. I stared at them and pondered it overnight before I came close to deciding what to do with them...

A quick sketch of the design I came up with. Now, to accomplish...

The velvety fabric was SO stretchy that I lined each piece individually before I began the assembly.

I know the grains of the fabric are going opposite directions, but I thought it actually had a uniquely fun effect.
Oh, by the way, this is the front of what was becoming a vest. :)

The completed vest. I really liked it - alas for my impulsive scissors ...

Although this is kinda fun, too - I just need to finish it. Finding a way to attach that skirt was NOT easy. I think I ended up with elastic...there was much room for improvement in construction process, to say the least...
but this is how it's looking right now.

And this is what Bootsy thought of my endeavors...

So that was my latest sewing adventure...I wasn't sure if I was pleased with it or not, but I think I'm getting closer to being able to go back to it. I have a whole big plan for the finish...or I will eventually. ;)

~*~*~*~

Moving on - It has been crazy (more that usual) at my house this month. We're preparing for my graduation party, which is going to be the second day of June. I finally go my invitations made and sent off, and then my mother and I turned our sights to the bookshelves in our 'library'. (You can sort of see how they looked in the picture above Bootsy ^ ) Mom and I decided that we could re-organize all the books and then put some of them away in order to have shelves to make little displays about my life. I know, this is a very self-centered project, but Mom and I are having so much fun being crazy together, eating Smarties, and being artistic (we think), that it's actually more about spending time together and sharing memories than creating a display - although that is what we are, in fact, doing. 

Here's some more pictures: 

Here's how the library looked whilst we wreaked havoc...

I guess I took pictures after it had gotten somewhat organized....oh well. You can imagine the chaos, surely. :)

After we tore all the books off the shelves (the vacuum cleaner came in quite handy - there was dust) we sorted through, disposed of a few, and then bagged up the rest and piled them in a discreet corner of the house.

Now the real fun could begin. 

This was the first section we did - 'Childhood'. A lot of memories tucked in there...

I love this shelf. I don't think it's quite finished yet, but you get the idea of my fantasy-love. :)

And there be classics.

I was having some fun with angles. This is from a corner of the ballet shelf. 

This is what I did yesterday morning - cut out little paper-doll-like pictures of myself so mom could place them as her humor suggested itself.  

Don't be alarmed - the glove is not going to attack you. I don't think...

This is my 'costuming' shelf. There are pictures of me in costumes I've either made or put together, drawing I've done,  etc. *happy sigh*

I was Juliet in Shakespeares 'Romeo & Juliet' when I was 14 years old. It made a huge impression on my life, I think. Therefore, there is a shelf. 

And a dagger. And I had a bit of fun with that 'poison' bottle and label... 

So that's what I've been up to - along with trying to learn 14 dances for recital. Yikes. I'm getting close, though! I only have 2 weeks of classes left. It's sort of a bittersweet-sad thing, and even though I'm really excited to move on with my life (college!!!) I'm going to miss my dance classes a LOT. So these next few weeks are going to have to be awesome, so I can treasure the memories forever. :)

"All it takes to triumph over adversity is the conviction that you can" Author unknown

"We know what we are, but not what we may be." ~William Shakespeare

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't." ~William Shakespeare, Hamlet