January 2013

January 2013
Our Little Family of Three

Friday, April 29, 2011

The Anticipated Wedding

Yeah, I'm one of those crazies who stayed up and watched. My mom, Ashley, Hannah & Jessica (two of my friends from work & school) watched as well. We were all tired but too invested to turn off the tv and sleep. Hannah, at one point, let out an audible, romantic-style sigh. We all started laughing! We're so cheesy!!


Prince William & Prince Harry en route to Westminster Abbey for the wedding ceremony



Catherine and her sister, Pippa, arrive at Westminster Abbey for the wedding ceremony




The wedding ceremony




Exiting Westminster Abbey after the wedding ceremony




Now married, Prince William and Princess Catherine take a horse and carriage ride back to Buckingham Palace.




Arriving at Buckingham Palace after the ceremony




Their first official kiss after their marriage ceremony at Buckingham Palace



Although I'm exhausted now I'm glad I watched. Trav thought I was crazy! He stayed home and slept. :) But it was fun to see such an historical event take place. Prince William and Princess Catherine looked so beautiful!



Isn't this the most hideous hat you have EVER seen?

But I must ask why someone didn't...actually I won't because I'm so dumb-founded. This is Prince William's cousin, Princess Beatrice. She obviously has great style.

All these pix came from people.com and there are tons more posted! Check it out!!!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

GOOD-freakin'-BYE!

This month flew so fast! It was crazy for us, so that's probably why. I haven't been home much the last three weeks and I've missed Travis a lot. I've been tired, hungry, stressed, and EDGY. But I should be congratulated because I did pretty well, considering those feelings. Travis has been a trooper too. He just patiently waits for me to calm down. He has incredible control of his emotions, thank goodness. I love that man.

I have to share a dab of inspiration I received last week during my hellish responsibilities. I was sitting all alone in a booth at the school food court. I was eating and taking a minute to escape when I looked at the person sitting at a table across from me. In his hands was a book titled, "Tough Times Don't Last But Tough People Do". That was exactly what I needed to see in the EXACT moment I needed it. I don't know who the author of the book is or anything. All I know is the title struck me. I stared at the book cover for a few minutes just eating up the message. I honestly couldn't take my eyes off it. I'm so grateful "someone" is aware of me and my individual needs. It was so perfectly timed...tough times don't last but tough people do. Hmmm. I can do this. So can you.

Tomorrow is my last day of finals and I'm thrilled about it. It's been a rough semester. I take that back, it's been a rough year. I don't know if I did it to myself or what but this past year was a year of painful stretching and growth. I took some time-consuming classes, some of which merely taught me what I DON'T know. Seriously, my form and analysis class taught me NOTHING. I'm walking away from that class with the realization of how little I know about music. That's it. Nothing gained. Only panic and second guessing. I don't think music is something that can be conquered. It will always be bigger than those who study and love it. There is no end to music. While it's wonderful to participate in it's incredibly overwhelming to think about.

Travis has been heavily involved in his art. He's working on another piece for Fictionist (the local band competing for the cover of The Rolling Stone Magazine). He's pretty excited about where this piece is going. I think it's going to be amazing when it's done. He's shown me some sketches and explained his ideas and I must say it's pretty cool. It's going to be very symbolic and deep, kind of like his Radiohead piece. I can't wait to see it when it's complete. His goal is to have it done in two weeks.

Travis also enjoyed his Spring break from school. Just before break he came home and said he was ready to lose it with some of his students. They were being rowdy and obnoxious. I think they were needing a break from school, just like he was. Trav spent nearly all of his time in his office area working on his Fictionist piece. He's in heaven right now! He comes home from work and gets right to business with his art. It's been a little while since he's been excited -- REALLY excited -- about art. So I'm trying to stay out of the way as much as possible. I'm trying to let him escape into his world of art.

.....
I'm honestly at a loss. I've already practiced my oboe for the day, so I'm not going to do that. I'm allowing my voice to rest for the week so I'm not going to sing. I don't have a final to study for. This is so bizarre. I don't know what to do with myself. I have TIME. Oh my goodness. What should I do? Watch a movie? Start a book? hmmm....what do people do with spare time? It's so foreign to me right now.

Well, I guess I'll go piddle around. That may sound awful to you but it sounds amazing to me!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

winding down

We. Survived.

Shan Gui 山鬼, by Zhou Long



This is a piece commissioned by UVU. The UVU Chamber Choir performed it last week for the world premier. It was pretty intense learning it (it's in Chinese). The instrument accompanying us is a Chinese instrument called the pipa (pronounced pee-paw). Through a grant, Dr. Criddle was able to commission this piece as well as fly the composer, Zhou Long, and the world renowned pipa player, Ma Jie to UVU for this performance. It was a wonderful experience.

Friday, April 8, 2011

a couple of pix

Travis has been busy doing art work for a local band, FICTIONIST. Trav created two pieces for the band and it looks like they may use his work on a t-shirt! This is really exciting!!! As a bonus, Trav LOVES their music. I must say I'm a fan as well. They've got a good feel to 'em.






The band is seriously considering using the piece with the hand on a t-shirt. They REALLY like it. I honestly like them both. Trav's so awesome. We hope this continues to progress in the right direction.



I performed my duet this past Monday, as part of the Dixit Dominus performance. We get to perform it again this Sunday, April 10th at 8pm at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. I would love for any/all to attend. It's gorgeous and I'm so grateful to be a part of it.


Yes, that extremely young man conducting is the one I've blogged about (the one all the women are drooling over - makes me SICK). But he's very good at what he does - incredibly talented. Incredibly intimidating.

Hope to see you Sunday evening!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Queen of the Night Aria


Queen of the Night played by the incredible Diana Damrau.

Here's my aria (a solo in an opera). Watch it and tell me what ya think.

PS This is in German....and I'll be singing it in German. :)

Calm BEFORE the storm?

Whoever said that is either ignorant or oblivious. Maybe both. There's been no calm. There's only been STORM! Ahhhhh!!!

I have had three teachers scream at me (either directly or indirectly) in the last 3 days. Sweet!! Averaging one per day. I have three more weeks of this.

For what it's worth, I'm getting REALLY close to tackling my Queen of the Night Aria. I'm excited that I'm nearly there! I've worked freakin' hard on it all semester. I perform it twice next week. I must tackle it. I must.

I posted a video of this aria for your enjoyment. :) Listen to it - from beginning to end. At first it doesn't sound too terribly hard. And then it goes freaking crazy. Listen to it. It'll BLOW your mind. It's hard! And you must understand this is an opera piece from Mozart's "The Magic Flute". The Queen of the Night, who I'm playing, is messed up. She's evil and manipulative. She's selfish and MEAN.

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.