The Piano Player

So . . . my daughter started playing hand bells in the junior choir at All Saints' Episcopal Church last year and wanted to branch out to the piano this year for Christmas.  I suspect it may have had something to do with her best friend Kayla playing the piano, but I didn't mind.  I grew up with a piano in my home but never learned how to play it.  I'm glad Katie was motivated, and at age eleven, I felt she was ready.

We went to a Raleigh Ringers concert in Atlanta earlier this year.
Katie is trying to lift one of the aluminum bells after the concert -- it's heavier than we thought at 18 pounds!

Here's a quick video of three songs and her recital piece -- it's under two minutes.  She positively LOVED The Lion King when she was younger and didn't hesitate to pick "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" as her first recital piece.  :)  Notice during this last piece that she isn't reading the music at all -- pretty cool!!

So, Katie's learning how to play the piano, and I'm learning how to make iMovies now.  We're taking small steps together!  LOL

Running to Stand Still

Responsibilities.  We all have them, some more than others.  

In the past sixteen months, I have experienced helping my stepmother with her massive stroke to which she has never fully recovered and still can’t use her right arm, starting a graduate program, worrying about my chemical/environmental engineer, Georgia Tech-educated brother who was out of a job for almost two years (the company he worked for folded in the economic downturn) and moving him out to Dallas, Texas when he did get a job with the EPA, taking care of my father through aortic valve replacement redo and gall stone surgeries, having my own biopsy of a lump, and working with my doctor to solve the mystery of why I am suffering from amenorrhea for the past nine months. 

Talk about the phrase "when it rains, it pours!"

As a side note, my doctor says I'm quite the enigma!  LOL  Seriously, though, we're trying to find out if it's stress-related, menopause, or something else entirely.  Believe me, I don't want Door #3 in my life.


In addition to all of these experiences, I continued in my roles as wife, parent of two active, honor roll children who are involved in soccer, choir, and music lessons, and educator of high school alternative students.  Indeed, spare time was quite the luxury.  Forget the metaphorical plate holding all of my responsibilities, I had to upgrade to an industrial-sized platter!  However, I still felt the need to challenge myself by enrolling in the specialist graduate program through Piedmont College.  One thing is for certain, the support I've been given by my husband and my developing spirituality have been nothing short of AmAzInG in helping me survive during these stressful months.

My makeshift "study nook" in our bonus room was my home base
for getting my grad work done these past 16 months.
See my blog post on Stash to Study for more on decorating this space.

Well, as we know, time stops for no one, and I have just three more classes remaining of  my last course to attend of my graduate program and will finish on April 24 and graduate on May 5.  I'm so excited!!  Hopefully, things will start to calm down after that!  It's totally been about taking small steps daily these last sixteen months!

Why Small Steps Daily?

Well, I figure if I sort my thoughts out in this blog format, it would help me . . . and maybe anyone else who reads them, too.  I am like anyone else.  I have a family, a career, a household, and a myriad of interests (see my bio) to keep me occupied.  I do too much and don't know how to have down time.  Take tonight, for instance.  My husband has taken our kids to visit with his dad for two nights.  What am I doing?  I wasted half my time halfway doing chores like washing the sheets, staying away from a deliciously decadent dessert I made last night for a block party, and floating back and forth between Facebook and Twitter.  Oh, and I took a nap.  I mean, really.  I couldn't think of anything better to do!

Anyway, I do have some major areas of my life that need attending:

• My Personal Finances:  My husband and I are strong believers in being debt free.
• My health:  I do my best to eat well.  Also, I hit 40 a few years back and am determined to look like I'm in my 30's (or younger).  :)
• My family:  I mean both my kids and my aging parents.  Talk about two ends of the spectrum!
• My house:  I am constantly trying to decorate, to maintain, and beautify this place I call home.
• My hobbies:  I love to read, craft . . . well, just look at my bio.  :)
• My career:  I am a 21-year veteran in my field and have started grad school recently.
• My spirituality:  I am always on a pathway . . . 

So, anyhoo, these are the topics you may very well find on this blog!  It may sound like a lot, but then again, it's about taking small steps daily!