Back to Mexico!

Last night, I received an invitation to go back to Sinaloa, Mexico- the state where Mazatlan is located. The conductor of the state symphony there (the Sinaloa Symphony Orchestra of the Arts) heard me sing the Queen of the Night and liked me well enough to ask me to be the soprano soloist in their performance of the Schubert Mass in G Major and Beethoven's Chorale Fantasie and Holst's Christmas Day! They're going to pay for my airfare, my hotel for a week, about $30 a day for expenses, plus $1,000 to do 2 performances! I'm so excited to have my first real paying gig, and one I didn't even have to audition for!

I'll be in Culiacan, the capital city of Sinaloa, Dec. 2-7, and we'll perform Dec 6 & 7. Now I just have to go buy the music and learn it in a month. I also want to learn as much Spanish as I can. I totally faked my way through this summer, but this time I want to speak it better- I want to keep up the good impression!
The best part was when I spoke with the conductor in person over the phone and he told me I should send a CD to every agent in New York City because he thinks I'm ready! That made me feel so fabulous, especially after some of the crazy and discouraging coachings I've had lately.

A very well respected, well renowned vocal coach from Houston came for a few days to work with singers at UT. He charged $75 an hour, and everyone said it was well worth it. I spent my hour with him, and the whole time he worked on my speaking voice because he said I talk funny, and that it must be hindering my singing. Finally, when my hour was up and I went to leave, he asked me if there was neurological damage or a disconnect between my face and my nervous system. I had NO idea what he was trying to get at, so I left, discouraged, disappointed, and upset.

But now I can ignore him and all the other Vampires in the world and feel much better, because I'm being paid to sing!

Return to Normal!

The Magic Flute is finally over, and I am slowly regaining my life! It was a wonderful experience, I learned a lot, and even got another gig out of it. I was asked to sing one of the Queen's arias at a VIP event for the Austin Lyric Opera, and got paid $50 to do it! I was TERRIFIED, but sang it really well anyway, and was just thankful Ross came so I could squeeze his hand before I had to sing. Now I just have to catch up on everything I let slide for the past 4 months!

Ross is doing pretty well in school this semester- just aced an exam in his computer science class! YAY!!! We are loving San Marcos- sometimes the traffic is bad and the 18 year olds drive terribly and we feel old, but it's a cute town, we're making friends, and school is better here for Ross than at UT.

Ross was also called as the Elder's Quorum president for our church here (for those who read this who aren't also LDS, that means he's kinda in charge of all the men in our congregation- he has to keep tabs of them and make sure they're doing all right;, they have an hour meeting every Sunday he has to preside over; and generally it's a lot of responsibility). Ross is terrified also, but I know he'll be great! Our branch is pretty small, mostly single college kids, a few couples. It's nice. It will be a lot of work for Ross, but we're lucky it isn't a huge family ward with hundreds of families with kids!

Promised Pics of Costa Rica, Mexico

It took me forever, mostly because my camera broke almost as soon as I arrived, so I have had to rely on fellow singers' to post these before I could copy them. But here are some promised pics:

The group in front of the Children's Museum in San Jose (where we performed in Costa Rica)
The 3 Ladies in rehearsal
The Queen and Pamina (Juliann and Julie-Anne)

Il Directore at the Coffee PlantationThe beautiful waterfallThe hummingbird at the Truck Stop/Bird Garden
The truck-stop owner's cow with our stage manager's daughter
The Jungle Cruise (Katie, Me, Julie, Laura)

The Howler Monkeys on said jungle cruise
The 3 Ladies in performance in this theater (the Anna Peralta Theater in Mazatlan).
Also, check out this website for a story about the show, and even a little video clip of me!

Jaco was a blast! Apparently, it is pretty well known for it´s surfing scene, and I could see why right away. The waves were ENORMOUS!! And the water was soooooo warm!! I was so used to the Pacific Ocean being nice and frigid, so it surprised me to find it actually warm and comfortable! I have a nice sunburn on my shoulders and back in some patches where I missed with the sunscreen to show for my 3 days in the sun, too!

The very next day after returning to San Jose´, I had to jump right back into a bus and head East- this time for Limon on the Caribean Coast! The ocean was gorgeous, and I was very sad we didn´t have time to take a dip. A beautiful coral reef is supposed to be close to Limon. But we were there for a concert, and then had to come right back to the city. The concert was really fun! There were very enthusiastic and appreciative people listening to us, which gave us loads of energy and excitement, too. That´s my favorite part of singing: when I´m singing for a crowd that is enjoying what I´m giving, it feeds me and is like electricity and it makes me give more. I love it!!!

One more day in San Jose, thank heavens, and then we head to Mazatlan! I wish I could be heading home. I´ve been really home sick and depressed (and I´m blaming the city for it more now that I´ve been able to get outside of it and actually enjoy Costa Rica), and will be happy to return to Texas. But Mazatlan should be fun. All those years living in Los Angeles, and I never once got to Mexico!

Beach Excursion!!

I cannot wait! Tomorrow morning we leave for Jaco, a beach town on the Pacific Coast! We will be staying at Hotel Cocal, which looks very nice. It has 2 pools, horseback riding, air conditioning, and the best amenity yet: hot water!!! I´ve really been enjoying my homestay family, but I must say the idea of a hotel after 2 weeks here seems perfectly heavenly!

An update on Ross: he got his acceptance letter to Texas State and spent yesterday in an orientation for transfer students. He´s registered, finding most of his classes did transfer over (minus the Italian, but as he´s just doing computer science here that isn´t a problem), and that financial aid is pretty comparable to UT. Life is wonderful indeed!!

Midway Point Update

Hello Loyal Blog Fans!!!!

I promised updates before I realized how quaint and antequated Costa Rica really is! I have been having issues since day 1 with the internet and phone availabilities here. I am at a computer lab in the museum where we perform our opera, and even here the internet is cutting in and out. Such a pain! But definitely a lesson in what I take for granted at the same time!

Costa Rica is a very beautiful country. The people are warm and friendly and wonderful. But I hate it here and am miserable anyway! Isn´t that terrible? Well, we are staying in a very ugly, depressing city. Every building in San Jose is concrete with metal bars covering the windows, large metal gates surrounding the buildings, and barbed wire coils across the top for good measure. The roads are dirty and in very poor condition, and the city is very unsafe. One of our first evenings out we witnessed a 2 men in masks pull over a car, hold pistols with silencers up to the passengers` heads, and steal their car. The owners of the restaurant where we were when we saw this kept trying to keep us calm because witnesses to crimes often find themselves way more involved here than they would wish for. I know carjacking happens a lot in US cities as well, but we usually don´t see it or the signs of it in our little bubbles, and having to go home after that incident through the ever-present caged streets of San Jose really effected me. I can´t wait to leave this city behind me.

San Jose has been pretty exciting, though. I sprained my ankle on the opening night of our opera and had to go to the hospital for x-rays after the show. It was a very nice hospital, and I was very fortunate to be seen by an ankle-knee specialist who was trained in Canada (so he spoke excellent English.) I speak a few words of Spanish now, but am mostly getting by on tons of sign language and a little bit of Italian! Another singer here, our Pamina, also spent an evening in the ER, due to an allergic reaction to an anti-biotic she got at a pharmacy here. I think we are all pretty stressed out and there seems to be quite a bit of illness going around our little group of 11 singers.

But we have also had some fun excursions. We've been to 1 beach for a day trip, and will go to another for 3 days this coming weekend. We went on a guided tour and got to eat breakfast at a coffee plantation, see a volcano (I had just hurt my ankle the day before so I didn´t get to see the actual crater, but it was beautiful), see a couple very impressive waterfalls, the rainforest and cloud forest, as well as go on a jungle cruise. That was my favorite part. We rode a boat that looked just like the ones in Disneyland down a river, where we saw some iguanas, some lizards that walk on the water, some howling monkeys that actually howled at us, a 3-toed sloth, a gigantic crocodile, and some very beautiful birds- all 100% real!!! Very cool.

The opera is going pretty well despite illnesses and accidents. We have 2 more shows here in San Jose, and I only get to sing 1 more time as the 1st lady. I lost one of my performances of the Queen of the Night when Julie got sick and had to go to the ER. But I don´t mind too much since I get to sing it again in Mazatlan and Austin.

We have 16 days left, and the final 7 of those in Mexico. I am hoping I will enjoy that country more. I really enjoy traveling, and really enjoy beautiful places like the rainforest and cloud forests, and the beaches here are gorgeous, so I can´t fully explain why I am so depressed here. It is a very poor country, and that has a lot to do with it I suspect, but not all. I will try and see if I can verbalize it more in my next post.

Leaving on a jet plane

My bags are not even out yet, let alone packed, and I leave tomorrow morning!!! EEKS!!! I'm getting more excited today, but a little freaked out at the same time. I will try and update my blog while I'm gone, but pictures will have to wait until I get back. Ross and I decided I should leave our digital camera state-side: should anything get stolen, we'd much rather it be something easy to replace! Give Ross a call- he'll be all alone! :( We got our new digital phone number finally: (512) 667-6868. Call away and let us test it out!

I'm sorry I won't get a chance to call all my sibs before I leave, and even more sorry I am broke and won't be able to get souvenirs for anyone. But I am hoping to send out postcards! If you want one, email me your address at rossandjuliann@gmail.com- gonna be checking that one at internet cafes when I get a chance!

Our New Address, for the Faithful Few!

For those who still check my blog despite the lack of regularly updated posts, here's our new address!!!

Ross and Juliann
520 Linda Drive #1207
San Marcos, TX 78666

As far as I can tell now, email addresses and cell phone numbers will all remain the same. Ross and I will be getting a new digital phone number- hopefully this weekend- but will keep our cells for emergencies. I'll post it when we get it!

I can't Believe it!

I can't believe it's already been a month since my last post! Sheesh- sorry guys! Ross and I have been busy packing up our current apartment and trying to decide on which apartment to move into. We have 2 choices- both have lots of pros and lots of cons, but by the end of today we should know where we'll be. It's been a little stressful, but I tend to think it has more to do with San Marcos and the way people operate there than it does with us personally. Otherwise, I've just been rehearsing a lot for the Magic Flute. The staging is a little like a Las Vegas night club act, but we'll see- hopefully it won't be too tacky. Ross has been busy doing most of the packing and getting ready for the move, for which I am extremely grateful!

Now for what we're REALLY excited about: Robosaurus is coming to Austin!!! July 2 he's coming to the Alamo Drafthouse to open the live-action Transformers movie. We were excited enough about the movie, but when I heard Robosaurus would be there- WOW!! I didn't think I'd be that hyped up about it- I've only seen him on Modern Marvels on the History Channel. But now we'll get to see him, LIVE!!! We can't wait!

A week apart

Ross heads to Lake Charles with his mom today. He's going to help her out there, fixing up their computer, cleaning up the attic, anything they need done, really. I have to stay behind to work, but who knows- I might end up going out next weekend to pick Ross back up. He had thought of going this summer when I'm away, but no one would be able to watch our kitties. So he goes now.

While he's away, I plan to practice as much as I want in our apartment (I've been trying to practice more at UT lately because my singing is getting louder and Ross can't escape from it when I do it in our tiny apartment), I'll watch lots of opera and chic fliks, and eat lots of salads and wheat bread (things Ross rarely eats with me)!

Point of No Return

Ross and I are definitely moving to San Marcos at the end of June. We've turned in the fees and can't turn back now! Apparently there is only one apartment complex in all of San Marcos (that we can afford anyway) with washer/dryer hookups, so we really only had one choice. The Colony Square Condominiums, which seem even more run-down than our current complex. But there are nice perks (aside from the hookups): a small pool which, unlike our complex now, is open 24 hours a day; the ability to plant whatever you want in the area around your own apartment (it makes the place look very eclectic, but at least I can plant tomatoes and flowers and no one will care!); a HUGE kitchen; and 2 bedrooms in each apartment. I've been told there is a fantastic produce shop down the street, and supposedly we live next to a river which could mean very pretty landscapes or lots of mosquitoes, or both! And we don't live nearly as far away from TSU's campus as we currently do from UT. Now we just have to start packing!

For those of you who don't know where San Marcos is, here's a map:

Nummy Mother's Day

Ross and I are headed to Lake Charles to spend Mother's Day with his mom and family. I'm hoping, as it is Crawfish Season, to also be able to pig out on some delicious Louisiana Mudbugs! They are often served by the bucketful, and if you've never had them, I would highly recommend it!

Other news, Ross and I are looking to move to San Marcos soon. Our lease is up at the end of June, so hopefully we can move around then. San Marcos seems smaller than Austin, and the apartments there are all together, very close to the Texas State University campus. I'm looking forward to the change, and the feel of a small college town. Ross is looking forward to a new school, too- I think! :)

Sadness Is....

Failing a test.

Being rejected by San Antonio Opera.

Happiness is.....

Eating peanut butter & chocolate chip cookies.

A purring kitty on your lap.

A thunderstorm outside.

Neglected Blog :(

Hello all you faithful fans who continue to check my blog despite any signs of life for over 3 weeks!!! Here's a little schedule of my life during that time, just so you can see why I haven't been blogging!

Typical Performance Day:
7:00 Wake up- if I've gotten to bed early I might hit snooze only once :)
8:30 Work begins- crazy days dealing with the drama queens in the office (seems a higher concentration than the average here at the opera!) as well as the lunatics who call us
5:30 Officially off-work, but still have to work at:
6:30 Box office at performance venue
9:00 I can now go home, hungry and cranky!

Typical Non- Performance Day:
7:00 Wake Up
8:30 Work- I get to skip out from my desk occasionally to teach a lesson down the hall
5:30 Off ALO duty, on to lessons
8:00 Finally finished teaching all my lessons for the day!
8:30 Time to try and come up with something for dinner- I've bought groceries on Saturday, but I always come home too late to really cook anything so all my meat and vegetables have gone bad! :( This usually means another night of boxed jambalaya, frozen pasta, or when very rushed, unfortunately it's fast food :/
I get about an hour to veg, and then it's bed time.

Busy days. And after all that work, I had to fight for my overtime pay! I was told, also, I only had to work full time until the performances were over, but now they're so backed up with work for next season, I still have to work full-time! I can't wait until I can have my life back!

I applied for the San Antonio Opera's vocal competition. Winner gets $3,000 + a contract to sing a role in their next season! I desperately want to practice a gazillion hours a day to get ready, so pray for me that ALO will start letting me work less! If I get accepted even to participate in that competition, it will be the 3rd weekend of May- I'll try and keep you all informed!

Meanwhile, Ross is trying to finish out his semester- a difficult task when he was wheeless (stupid Fiero was broken down for almost a month!) We keep looking at San Marcos, and just aren't sure if we should move now or wait until this fall. Ross seems pretty set in applying for Texas State, though, and it really feels right. So now just keep Ross in your prayers too!

Crappy Blogger!

I may not be great at keeping my blog updated lately, but at least I know it's because I'm busy! And man! am I busy! But it's good busy. ALO (Austin Lyric Opera) runs a music school, and they asked me to start teaching voice and piano lessons with them, in addition to my office work there. I'm very excited about this! But that meant this week I've been working full-time in the office, teaching for their school, and then teaching my private students. Lots of work! But hopefully it will also mean lots of moolah! $$$$ :)

A New First

I got my first broken bone yesterday- a broken toe! I kicked my old bike's kickstand and it hurt like crazy but I didn't think anything of it until today when my toe turned purple and black and is all swollen and ugly! EWWW!!

Queen of the Beach

Back in December, the director of the opera department at UT approached me about singing the Queen of the Night in a production of The Magic Flute in Costa Rica and Mexico this summer. I was really excited at the time, but then didn't hear anything else from him until a couple weeks ago. He didn't want to give the part to me after all since I was supposed to have graduated and he was trying to cast only students, and I learned he had been asking all over for someone else to do it, but when he found out I still have an incomplete hanging over my head, he agreed to let me take the part! I guess he already has another Queen from Mexico, but wanted 2 covers so we could alternate and not get too tired.

So, now if I can raise $900 and some living money for the trip, I will be spending June in rehearsals here in Austin, July 14-August 12 in San Jose and Mazatlan, and then September doing 28 performances in and around Austin! The production will be crazy because I'll be off stage the whole time singing to a video camera, so the audience will only see video screens on stage, but it should be fun and a great experience!

SPRING BREAK!!!

WOOYA!! I love spring break!! At least I would if I had a break! I am actually working every day this week, and must admit I am enjoying my new job at the Opera. It's really laid back (surprising in the operatic world), casual dress code, really nice people to work with, and comp tickets for Rossini's Barber of Seville. Not much to complain about, really. Things will get crazy as that performance draws near, but even that seems pretty easy to deal with, especially now that I'm getting the better of my cold. I swear I've been sick every month since I started working in the nursery at church!

So how is Ross enjoying his spring break? Staying up all night, sleeping all day, video games 24-7? Actually, not so much of that! Ya, he stays up all night and sleeps a good portion of the day, and has had his share of crits and pwnage, but he has also cleaned up all my closets that had previously been left in utter chaos by yours truly, he's filed our taxes, and is trying to get the laptop working again. Spring break? or spring clean? o.O

Ya, I know. We're nerds.

Catching Up

I have not forgotten my blog- I promise! Right after my last post, Ross' and my laptop died, and since then, I've had to fight for computer time since Ross practically lives at the computer! Today I have actually caught him away from the desk and am taking the moment to blog to my heart's content!

I had a great birthday- thank you everyone for the phone calls, emails, cards and gifts! I celebrated with a couple parties with friends, some delicious cakes, and I got all I wanted, including a new job which just fell into my lap- I have been working at the Austin Lyric Opera answering phones and selling tickets since Monday! So far it seems exactly like the kind of job I was looking for. I also had a great lesson with my teacher last week, which cleared up a lot of the doubts I vented in my last post. And Ross has made a final decision about UT that has seemed to lift a lot of the burdens he was feeling, making the both of us much more happy! UT just is not the place for him, and we now look forward to a new and better school for him. Keep him in your prayers as he begins the process of finding that dream school!

Something Bothering Me

I went to visit my voice teacher at UT last week and she said something that has been really knawing at me ever since. I told her I had been a bum since January and hadn't really done much of anything and that I really enjoyed not doing anything and having a break, and she said, "I think you have a love/hate relationship with singing." This really gets me, because my other teacher at USC kinda said the same thing. She said, "I don't think you love to sing." But I DO love to sing. But if I love it so much, why did I allow myself to take a break from it for a whole month? Why aren't I out in some opera company singing already?

I have yet to be able to answer those questions for myself, but on Monday I will at least answer something- and for an opera company: manning the phones and selling tickets for Austin Lyric Opera. :) Hopefully I'll learn something working behind the scenes, and hopefully I won't stay behind the scenes forever!

Early Spring, Early Birthday

Punxsutawny Phil's prediction of early spring came true here in Austin. The weather was gorgeous this past weekend, and it seemed the whole city was outdoors! Ross and I were no exception, and yesterday after a very uplifting regional conference for our church in which we were able to hear our prophet speak, we went for a hike along Bull Creek in St. Edwards park, a pretty place full of woods and waterfalls and trails.

This weekend, too, Ross's family was in town. We had tons of fun with Julie, Matt and Scott- we saw Ghost Rider, ate at Fuddruckers, and best of all, I got an early birthday present, a digital camera!!! I took some pictures of the Mathesons, but their publicist deleted them from my camera before I could post them! But thank you again for the wonderful time and wonderful gift!

And I got one more early birthday present today. Ross made me the best spice rack in the world! I got so tired of the bottles falling out of my tiny cupboard everytime I went to cook something (if you look closely in the pics you can see a few bottles in plastic bags whose lids broke in those falls). Ross is a little disappointed in how it turned out- he already wants to make another with improvements :) - but I am absolutely in love with it and think it's the greatest thing ever!

Yesterday instead of enjoying the beautiful, 80 degree day we had, Ross and I headed to the movie theater for a matinee and saw Bridge to Terabithia. We both loved it! It was very true to the book, very well acted, the special effects weren't at all distracting but actually worked with the story, and in the end we both cried like babies. It was great!

Fun With Links

Ross and I had a pretty busy end to our last week. We visited the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory for Valentine's Day (free ice cream- what a great Valentine's date!), Ross had a test on Thursday, Friday we spent the day at the temple in San Antonio, then Saturday I sang the Queen of the Night's Vengence Aria with the Texas Choral Consort in an evening of operatic arias and ensembles. I think I performed fairly well, despite feeling a bit hoarse, and Ross said he could tell the tempo Saturday night was a little too slow for me.

As for the hoarseness, I thought it might be my throat still recovering from coughing so much with my cold, but Ross is having throat issues as well, and when I sing lately I really feel kinda funny in my throat- just unresponsive and my voice doesn't seem to resonate in quite the same places it usually does. Perhaps we're dealing with some Cedar Fever?

Me today

I hate villains!

I hate stories where the good guys look like stupid fools for naively trusting the villain. We all know what the baddies are up to, but somehow the heroes can never see through the lie. I HATE that! And last night's Heroes episode was full of that kind of thing. But still I love the show- after not watching TV for so long, I am surprised I am getting into this show so much, but I can't stop watching it! And I can't stop following the comic, either. For all you Heroes fans that just watch the show, you really need to read the comic, too! This week's is all about Sylar and what happened between the last two episodes. He's so evil! So scary!

Beside being Heroes fans, what's new with Ross and me? I'm slowly getting over my cold- I get sick way too much, and everyone says "Take vitamins," and I do and still get sick. I think I just have a crappy immune system. But at least I don't feel as guilty being so unproductive when I'm sick. I have an excuse! And luckily Ross hasn't caught my cold yet, and he's been quite productive and has pretty much keeping caught up in his classes, despite the stress. Life is good, despite the villains!

The Perfect Dinner

Earlier this week, I believe I achieved the perfect dinner! I found this recipe for barbequed ribs on bettycrocker.com, and we LOVE it! So good! Combine that with really moist biscuits and a green salad, chocolate pudding for dessert, and voila! The best meal we've had in a long time! And one of the easiest, too!

Where does time go?

Time has been flying by lately- I can't believe how fast it is! I haven't been doing much of anything with that time, either, but here is a list of my current time stealers, not counting teaching, of course:

1) Rearranging my living room- amazing how much more space and light we got just by moving my piano from one wall to another, from moving our TV from an old bookcase to an old desk, and from freeing up our fireplace. It's wonderful!

2) Brother Cadfael

3) Heroes (I love the graphic novels!)

4) Books I'm currently reading (a few at a time since I'm in a non-fiction mood at the moment): Square Foot Gardening, How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously, and Jesus the Christ.

5) And of course, blogging!

Not Forgotten

No, we have not forgotten about our blog, or about posting. We just haven't had anything blog-worthy this last week. I got a couple new piano students (would love some more voice students too), Ross helped a friend change the brake pads on his car, we watched as much of the Mission Impossible movies as we could stand, and then hung out with some friends. Nothing big.

This coming week has some promising fun, though. Austin is supposed to get below freezing again this week, and we're hoping that doesn't mean another ice storm. Maybe more snow would be something to write home about! Otherwise, I've begun practicing again (after taking January off) :), and Ross has been keeping up with his classes so far. He's got a heavy work load this semester, with tons of reading and papers, but the outlook appears positive so far!

Umm, that's all I can think of for now. Boy! Do we lead an exciting life or what?!

The Secret Garden

I still have spring fever, and just reread The Secret Garden in an attempt to appease my illness! I had forgotten how good that book is, and had forgotten one of my favorite parts about it. I was just talking to some friends about my fear of auditioning earlier, and find this part to be most fitting for my life at the moment, too.

In the last chapter of the book, Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote:
“One of the new things people began to find out in the last century was that thoughts--just mere thoughts--are as powerful as electric batteries--as good for one as sunlight is, or as bad for one as poison. To let a sad thought or a bad one get into your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet fever germ get into your body. If you let it stay there after it has got in you may never get over it as long as you live…Much more surprising things can happen to any one who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time and push it out by putting in an agreeable determinedly courageous one. Two things cannot be in one place.

"Where, you tend a rose, my lad, A thistle cannot grow."

Wonderful stuff! I want to make a big sign with that last bit and put it up above my piano so I won’t forget it!

Learning

A lot has happened in the last couple days. I teach piano and voice lessons for my job these days, and Thursday I taught a voice lesson in which I think I learned more than my student. I’ve been struggling with this kid since I started teaching him, because at 18 he of course knows everything and won’t listen to me, the one with 2 degrees in voice. So Thursday he sings a song for me and I have to tell him it’s not the best choice for him and he then just spends the whole lesson arguing with me.

What did I learn? When I brought songs to a certain teacher at USC, she used to tell me that my voice wasn’t big enough for such and such song or I wasn’t ready to sing this or that song, or some such excuse. I would get so mad at her and think she was just being a bully. The more I teach though, the more I see maybe she was just really bad at communicating the same kinds of things to me that I was trying to communicate to my student. The song he sang was for a tenor, he is more of a baritone, and I can’t really help him sing notes that his vocal cords just can’t reach. Not all songs fit every voice. It really was an eye opening experience for me. I am learning every day to forgive my old teacher more and more.

Second thing to happen was a flat tire. I normally think flat tires are bad things, especially when it’s raining and it happens right before teaching a piano lesson, and when the items to change said tire aren’t in the car so people have to be called to come help while I sit and wait at the piano student’s house for an hour or so. But by sitting there, I got to talking to the mom of this student, and ended up telling her all about my little brother’s psychotic wife, who is doing every thing she possible can to destroy him.

At the end of my story, Lisa (the mom) tells me her brother went through the exact same thing and that his wife had Borderline Personality Disorder. This makes the second person, disconnected to the whole affair, who has verified something Lief just happened to stumble on to in a bookstore- his wife is sick and has this Borderline illness. It is also a testimony to me that Lief is not alone but that God knows him and what he is going through and is helping him through it. There is no such thing as a coincidence!

The Thaw

I can't stand the thaw!! Even in Colorado I hated this kind of weather. Our ice storm is finally over and everything is drippy and soggy and mushy and nasty outside. I guess it's good to be thawing, because now the city can resume its activities, and I can finally go grocery shopping- Ross and I were getting tired of Mac & Cheese! But UT cancelled classes again today- at least this time it was just the morning's classes. So Ross can go to his afternoon classes and I can clean while he's gone. It's funny, but I can never really clean when other people are around. I'd better get over that, because when we are ready to start our family it's going to get harder and harder to find time when no one is around! :)

I am super excited, though, about this blog thing! Since I created it last night, I have heard from 6 friends that otherwise would just be waiting in my address book! How fun is this!!

Reconnecting

Yesterday I talked to my friend Stacy for the first time in close to a year. It was great to hear from her, but sad at the same time because that really shows how lousy I am at keeping in touch. Then, tonight I watched a silly girl movie with my friend Callie (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants). I actually really liked the movie, and relived some memories through it. Once again, though, I felt sad because I have been blessed with so many wonderful friends and such a wonderful family and I shouldn't waste that. So, when Callie also showed me her blog and how she keeps her family in California updated on her baby and her family here in Austin through Blogger, I decided I had to try it. So, I will send this blog to everyone I want to keep in touch with and will try to keep it updated religiously.

With that said, the first item to share, of course, is the breaking news of snow in Austin, Texas. Ross and I weren't as excited as we would have been normally had we not just had more than we could appreciate in Colorado a week ago. Inch-thick ice covered everything here- cars, roads, electric cables. UT and the rest of Austin cancelled everything for 2 whole days, so Ross and I played Anarchy Online (yes, we're nerds) and watched movies and tried to keep warm. (If you wanna see some pics, as Ross and I don't own a digital camera yet, go to http://www.news8austin.com and look for the photo gallery link near the botton on the right of the page- tried posting it directly but they make it hard.)

Meanwhile, I unfortunately have a case of Spring Fever. I found a great book on gardening at the used bookstore right before the storm came and haven't been able to put it down while I'm stuck inside. I will be trying Square Foot Gardening out on our patio as soon as we're thawed out. Ross goes back to class tomorrow and we cross our fingers it will be the last semester for him at UT. Everyone, wish him luck! :)

Love.........Juliann