It might as well be Spring

Man, I can't believe I missed February all together! Whew! It was a short month, but long on music and things going on. First up, the Opera. Like last year, I was in the chorus for the Jacksonville Symphony's big Opera production... this year it was Turandot. It was a lot of fun and the leads were very talented and fun to work with.



The Opera tells the story of a brutal Chinese Princess (Turandot) who takes her issues and anger over past wrongs against her family out on every guy she comes across (via Beheading). I was a handmaiden. Fun times!

Um, what do you mean I'm not Asian?

Then, the day after the Opera, Stephen and I went down to Gainesville to see the African Children's Choir Musical, Journey of Hope. I had heard a lot about it, but not seen it yet, so it was a nice treat to go and reminisce about my time with the choir. Ah, memories.

For more information, or to see when a choir might be in your area, go to:

http://www.africanchildrenschoir.com/

Also, I got to visit with my Irish/Scottish friend and former co-worker, Kyle. (In case you are wondering about that- his family is Irish, but now lives in Scotland.) Kyle came on tour while I was there and is STILL working for the organization as a sound... um, guy? technician? engineer? Well, yeah he runs the sound. Anyways, it was super good to catch up and hear how he's been doing the last few years.

The following weekend was Valentine's Day. I had a concert in Orlando with the Festival Singers of Florida, so that pretty much took up all the time for V-day niceness with Stevie. Here's a link to a video of our concert- it was a lot of work, but a lot of fun!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvkJYPpqr8Q

However, I have to say that Valentine's wasn't completely about singing with no niceness. Stephen gave me this very nice present in the morning before I went to rehearse. Isn't he sweet?

Speaking of presents, I received this from a very nice 4th grade boy. It was his birthday and he was giving out cookies at school. ARMADILLO cookies. Awesome. I never did eat it because it was just too cute.

It looks like Steve is a member of El mariachi de Richard Simmons. Ha!



Bella's doing well- perfecting her Sphinx pose.

And right before February ended, I got to sing Jazz for a gig at the Cummer Art Museum in Jacksonville with some friends. We've been slowly getting things rolling as a band, and hopefully will get booked for some more things soon- I need the money! Yes, we got paid- woo hoo professionale!

Okay, well that's about it for February. Hopefully I can post again in March with actual MARCH stuff. Spring Break is coming- so hooray for that!

Return of the Mack

Hahaha. That song is funny. And no, I am not a "mack" but I HAVE been gone for a long time (from my blog). I looked it up and I can't believe that song came out in 1996. It really does not seem like that long ago. Oh well. So, to make up for lots of lost time, I am just going to post a bunch of things, maybe in no particular order. I haven't decided. So here goes!

First is probably the best picture we took all Christmas. Shelly and I bought this elf costume for Bella, and she was quite afraid of it when we first put it on her. She never did get used to the hat, so it didn't last long. But, she wore the holly collar for a few days. How festive!




Keller Christmas was fun! Here's a picture of my niece, Madison, and her new brother, Jackson. Grandma Carol is in the background.



Max, the dog, opening his Christmas present. He opened all the presents, actually. Note the shredded paper in the background. It was the funniest thing to watch him "help"!



The first annual Joiner ladies cookie baking day. Yep.



Ginny is the queen of icing, and I was helping her when I suddenly noticed this:
(Do you see it?)



It's a smiley face air bubble in the icing!
Whoa!!!

I made some VERY tasty Nutella cookies. They will definitely make an appearance again, soon!



This is the "Joiner Corner" sign at my parents house. AKA, the Narnia pole.



Right after New Year's, we went to my cousin's wedding in Rosemary Beach, FL. It was very nice and pretty!



Their wedding was soooo pretty and cool. Here is the central hanging light-fixture flower thingy that was suspended from the middle of the tent the got married in.



At the wedding!


What a cool night in a cool place!


I am proud of this shot I took. I stuck my camera in the crack of the open car door and just clicked. It was dark, it was about a 2 second window before they shut the door. Classic picture! Congrats to Donny and Caroline!



And this was our Christmas card this year. Happy New Year! I know it's late, but it's still new-ish! :-)


The Opera is coming up soon, as well a African Children's Choir Journey of Hope concert in Gainesville, AND a Festival Singers of Florida Concert in Orlando. Hopefully I will remember to take some pictures! Adios!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

(well, almost)

To most, I know it's a tiny bit early for Christmas music, but not according to my dad! AND, my pictures and other goodies I have to post are just too fun and cheery...

So, even though I will be busting out the Christmas music very soon, for now I will just say that November has been the most wonderful time, so far!

Back in the beginning of the month, we we're down in Deland visiting family and Stephen played in a gold tournament with my dad. Fun! (for them) :-)




Then, my school had an assembly where we learned about this place from a mom who had been stationed there as a JAG lawyer. She gave a GREAT presentation about the country, culture, history, and children there. Afterwards, our school participated in a warm clothing and blanket drive for the many orhpaned and neglected children she had told us about! I was very proud of all the clothes our students (led by the fifth graders) collected to send to that place. I believe they have already been transported there and are being distributed just in time for winter!





Stephen and I were invited by some friends to attend a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert at the Jacksonville Arena. It was a lot of fun!




I didn't really know what we were going to see, but it turned out to be equal parts:

-Made for TV Christmas Movie Musical




-Laser Light Show (a la Stone Mountain!)

-Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Mania!

-And Symphonic Rock Concert

Here is a little video I sneaked with my camera! It's a very awesome version of "Flight of the Bumblebee" (Just imagine 2+ hours pretty much like this! I'm glad I don't have epilepsy!)

Then, last weekend we had a Friends Thanksgiving Dinner at our friend Joel's house. We made so much good food- I didn't know we have such talented cooks as friends!

I was proud to pick up the torch for our long-held family tradition of making fried turkey. It turned out pretty good for my first time!

Have you ever seen a real cornucopia? I have.

One of the many businesses based in Jacksonville is Peterbrooke Chocolatiers. This chocolate-coating machine is in the little store near our house... yeah, let's just say the smell alone is AMAZING. 'Tis the season for CHOCOLATE!!!!

I'm sure with all the holiday things coming up, more pictures will be coming! Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Monster Mash

Yeah, so I am not a very big Halloween person, but today was a teacher work day at school and Susanne (my co-teacher) and I was a little loopy after some heavy-duty lesson planning.... so, we raided our costume closet- to dress up Bella (who is here today hanging out while we work.) This is our first Halloween with a dog, and I didn't think I'd be into doggie costumes, but it was VERY funny and Bell was a good sport. However, she is back to her regular costume: disguised as Black Beauty. :-)


Little Red Riding Hood


Blurry Close-up, but the expression was too priceless!

She was not really a fan of the princess hat. I guess she takes after me!

Butterfly Bella!

Ooh la la! She makes a tre' good french maid, no?

Tarzan! (Imagine her doing the Tarzan yell!)

Court Jester

Lady Bug

Lamenting her hard life as a Cabaret Singer. Or maybe she is ready to be a red-hat lady!Hahaha!

Over the River and Through the Woods

So, things have been BUSY lately. But, I must say, well worth the effort. So a little over a week ago I began my epic journey out West and (UP NORTH) to visit some friends from African Children's Choir and go to a wedding. It was a ton of fun! We hadn't seen each other in at least 2 years, if not more for some of us... so it was great to catch up. Although few people understand this: once an Auntie, always an Auntie.

Enjoy the slideshow! Click on the link to go to Picasa where my web album is shared for any who want to snag these pictures (Jackson!!!) :-)

PS- in an unrelated note, congrats to my sister-in-law who just had her fourth child- a little boy named Jackson!

I'm sure with all of the events on the horizon, more will be coming (soon, I hope!)

Adios!

happy talk

Given the state of things lately (bad economy, bitter politicians, broke government, bailout on wallstreet, and brazen dictators...) I have decided to post a blog of only happy things.



So, if you can't blog anything nice....



First of all (of course) is my cute dog at the dog park! Tell me this isn't such a happy picture!







Last Friday night, Stephen and I (plus Joel) were able to score free tickets to the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. There, we were fortunate to hear Sarah Chang play Sibelius' Symphony in D. And OH MAN!!! She is about 50 times more talented than she is pretty, so as you can see, she is a total freak of nature! It was such a beautiful performance, I would have even paid to go! (But still, hooray for free!)









These are two of the turtles on campus at school. Their names are Ursula and Squirt and I strolled past their window one day to find them sunning happily under their UV lamp. They are about the size of your hand, and c'mon aren't their faces so funny?!?!









Happy evenings at home with Stephen and Bella. Enough said!








Pretty Orchids set out for a parent meeting at school. Click on the picture to see it bigger- the detail on the petals is just stunning!

Last week (all of the sudden, out of the blue, completely unexpectedly!!!) the weather got cool for a few days. It was even in the 50's in the morning for a few days. It got me all excited for Fall. Everything was so pretty and crisp and the colors of earth and sky just seem so much more vibrant when the sweat isn't pouring into your eyes. Bring on the Global Cooling!!!

This past Saturday, Stephen and I got MORE FREE TICKETS (courtesy of Steve's work) to the FSU vs. Colorado football game. We even got to sit in the luxury box! And on top of everything, miracle of miracles: we won!!!

And lastly, this weekend I will be in a concert in Orlando with a new (and outstanding) group of singers! I even have solos!!! Wish me luck and come by if you're anywhere near!

With all that happiness, I almost forgot about all that crisis.

It's almost like I've heard that somewhere before... :-)

My country tis of thee

My country 'tis of thee- sweet land of liberty- of thee I sing.

You know, I never noticed how grammatically strange the lyrics to that song are. Anyways, it's old.

I went to a John McCain rally in Jacksonville last Monday and here are a few pictures from it. The one of me is pretty unflattering, but it's the only one I have that proves I was there. Follow the link at the bottom of the post for more. Adios!

Here's the link for more photos and witty comments:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=155814&l=890c0&id=736990331