I have tears rolling down my face after watching this the first time. You may recognize a few faces!
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1658243660
Friday, December 21, 2007
I love this time of the year!
I have always had the best of intentions to send out Christmas Cards, but usually it ends up with me handing hastily addressed envelopes to people when I see them at church or a Christmas party. This year, I actually mailed my cards! Can you believe it? And I also included my blog and e-mail address on my cards. I thought this was an easy way to keep in touch with everyone in such a chaotic world. Well, my efforts have not gone unnoticed!
Clare, my roommate from a long, long time ago e-mailed me this morning. I had seen her earlier in the year, at Evan and Erin's wedding, and just had a ball with her and her husband, Chris. Since they live in Texas, I haven't seen her in several years. It was just great to hear from her and see that she's doing something she always wanted to do, audiology. I've added her blog to my friends list over on the side, so check it out when you get a chance (she recently started it, so it won't take too long to catch up with what's been going on with Clare and Chris!). Welcome to the world of blogging Clare!
Clare, my roommate from a long, long time ago e-mailed me this morning. I had seen her earlier in the year, at Evan and Erin's wedding, and just had a ball with her and her husband, Chris. Since they live in Texas, I haven't seen her in several years. It was just great to hear from her and see that she's doing something she always wanted to do, audiology. I've added her blog to my friends list over on the side, so check it out when you get a chance (she recently started it, so it won't take too long to catch up with what's been going on with Clare and Chris!). Welcome to the world of blogging Clare!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
What's in a name?
Facebook has a neat application that "analyzes" your name. I really liked the one for today:
Kinda sounds a little like me, don't you think?
Godly
Lucky
Outgoing
Reverent
Independent
Ambitious
Kinda sounds a little like me, don't you think?
Mr. Clean I am not!
My office is located in one of the older buildings on campus. Because of that, the offices have no storage and are poorly arranged for working conditions (totally throwing off my Fung Shui!). Today I spent the majority of the day cleaning with Linda and Sara. Many of you know that I cannot work in an unorganized office space, and this has been a great challenge of mine for the last three months, trying to maintain a workable office space.
The accountant in our office transferred to another department so that meant we got to clean her office. Now, I'm not saying that I'm the cleanest person ever, but remember when I cleaned my closet and talked about the lady that was on Oprah? That's what this office was like. I think we threw away about 1200 pounds of paper and trash, as well as rearranged the furniture. Several of the faculty were speculating about what the room was going to look like when we were finished. The office went from feeling like a coffin that was slowly shrinking in on you, to a space that could easily hold a small sofa and a chair plus the desk and filing cabinets! That's how much stuff we got rid of. I am probably going to feel every muscle in my body tonight when I get home! At least now, I don't have to go to the gym tonight.
The accountant in our office transferred to another department so that meant we got to clean her office. Now, I'm not saying that I'm the cleanest person ever, but remember when I cleaned my closet and talked about the lady that was on Oprah? That's what this office was like. I think we threw away about 1200 pounds of paper and trash, as well as rearranged the furniture. Several of the faculty were speculating about what the room was going to look like when we were finished. The office went from feeling like a coffin that was slowly shrinking in on you, to a space that could easily hold a small sofa and a chair plus the desk and filing cabinets! That's how much stuff we got rid of. I am probably going to feel every muscle in my body tonight when I get home! At least now, I don't have to go to the gym tonight.
Monday, December 17, 2007
'Tis the Season!
I always knew December weekends were extremely busy, but I always seem to forget how busy each year. Last Tuesday, I attended a concert for the Haas Hall Academy's Choir. It was their first Christmas Concert, and it really made me appreciate how much I have learned in my education to be a choir director. The director of this choir has had no training to be a choral director, he's the Spanish teacher, and unfortunately his lack of knowledge in the area of vocal music really showed. But the kids sang their hearts out and got an A+ for effort. Thursday night, I drove to Bentonville and saw Rachel's kids in their "Home for the Holidays" show. I taught some of these kids last year, and they did an amazing job as always. Kudos to the Spring Hill Choirs!
Friday night, I was invited to several functions, but instead chose to catch dinner and a movie with some friends. We were all anticipating the large amounts of snow the local weather forecasters had predicted, but eventually settled for all the wasted snow as it came down as an extremely cold, wet, messy rain. We ate at Mimi's Cafe, and then headed over to the theater to catch August Rush. It was so cute and a completely modern fairy tale. If you are in the music education business, you should see it. It's almost as inspiring as Mr. Holland's Opus. Almost. When we left, we couldn't tell if the puddles under our chairs were from our tears or from our dripping umbrellas.
After the movie, I headed over to Jamie and Rachel's where we worked on our Christmas Special we "volunteered" to perform on Sunday. We worked on our arrangement of Silent Night, and then I headed home to the b.e.d. Saturday was a great break. Since the Bentonville Children's Choir concert was cancelled due to the inclement weather, I got laundry done, finished all my Christmas cards, wrapped a few presents, and watched "Holiday in Handcuffs." Seriously, that's what I watched! All while I waited for the massive amounts of snow.
Sunday was great. I did have to make a few trips to the sink to get some hot water to unfreeze my car doors, but unfortunately I did not have to dig my car out from the blizzard we were promised. I think I counted a total of 254 flakes of snow on my car. So many people came up to Jamie, Rachel, and me after church and said they really appreciated our song. Rachel played the piano, Jamie played his saxophone, I played my flute, and Rachel and I sang. It really did go well. After church, I went out to eat with some of the people from the praise team and then we saw I Am Legend with Will Smith. Afterward, I took some time for myself and wandered through the mall looking for some sort of Christmas present I had missed. Eventually I made my way home, watched the Survivor: China finale, and then headed to bed. Ahhhh-mazing!
Friday night, I was invited to several functions, but instead chose to catch dinner and a movie with some friends. We were all anticipating the large amounts of snow the local weather forecasters had predicted, but eventually settled for all the wasted snow as it came down as an extremely cold, wet, messy rain. We ate at Mimi's Cafe, and then headed over to the theater to catch August Rush. It was so cute and a completely modern fairy tale. If you are in the music education business, you should see it. It's almost as inspiring as Mr. Holland's Opus. Almost. When we left, we couldn't tell if the puddles under our chairs were from our tears or from our dripping umbrellas.
After the movie, I headed over to Jamie and Rachel's where we worked on our Christmas Special we "volunteered" to perform on Sunday. We worked on our arrangement of Silent Night, and then I headed home to the b.e.d. Saturday was a great break. Since the Bentonville Children's Choir concert was cancelled due to the inclement weather, I got laundry done, finished all my Christmas cards, wrapped a few presents, and watched "Holiday in Handcuffs." Seriously, that's what I watched! All while I waited for the massive amounts of snow.
Sunday was great. I did have to make a few trips to the sink to get some hot water to unfreeze my car doors, but unfortunately I did not have to dig my car out from the blizzard we were promised. I think I counted a total of 254 flakes of snow on my car. So many people came up to Jamie, Rachel, and me after church and said they really appreciated our song. Rachel played the piano, Jamie played his saxophone, I played my flute, and Rachel and I sang. It really did go well. After church, I went out to eat with some of the people from the praise team and then we saw I Am Legend with Will Smith. Afterward, I took some time for myself and wandered through the mall looking for some sort of Christmas present I had missed. Eventually I made my way home, watched the Survivor: China finale, and then headed to bed. Ahhhh-mazing!
I'M A HORRIBLE FRIEND!
I completely forgot Erin's birthday. Erin, my friend, please accept this apology for missing your 25th birthday. It was by no means purposeful and I am bringing you a funfetti one night this week! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!
Gloria in Excelsis Deo!
Angels We Have Heard on High may be my all-time favorite Christmas Carol, and no, it's not because I'm narcissistic and like my name to be sung to me hundreds of times. I love the melody, the message, and the music of this song.
Most experts believe this song is an old French carol dating back to the 18th century, however, some believe it may be older than that. The first documented version of the song appeared in a French collection dated from 1855. The verses are very French in their style, following a specific chord structure and style relevant to the 18th century. The chorus is where a lot of experts differ. Some experts believe this chorus may date back to the beginning of the third century. While it is very melodious, the chorus only uses six notes and moves in a very linear motion. The chorus is very, very similar to Gregorian Chant, since it uses a small amount of notes and moves very linearly. It is also believed that the chorus, which states in Latin "Gloria in excelsis Deo," comes from the original Christmas Mass, and means Glory to God in the highest, the greeting the angel says to the shepherds when appearing to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:13-14).
Here's a video of my hero Sandi Patty singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the US Air Force Reserve Band from her 2006 production Yuletide Special. Enjoy!
Most experts believe this song is an old French carol dating back to the 18th century, however, some believe it may be older than that. The first documented version of the song appeared in a French collection dated from 1855. The verses are very French in their style, following a specific chord structure and style relevant to the 18th century. The chorus is where a lot of experts differ. Some experts believe this chorus may date back to the beginning of the third century. While it is very melodious, the chorus only uses six notes and moves in a very linear motion. The chorus is very, very similar to Gregorian Chant, since it uses a small amount of notes and moves very linearly. It is also believed that the chorus, which states in Latin "Gloria in excelsis Deo," comes from the original Christmas Mass, and means Glory to God in the highest, the greeting the angel says to the shepherds when appearing to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:13-14).
Here's a video of my hero Sandi Patty singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the US Air Force Reserve Band from her 2006 production Yuletide Special. Enjoy!
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