Whoa! I'm on YouTube!

Yeah, so I was just puttering about YouTube a few minutes ago and discovered that I am in a video. I played at my brother's wedding last year. His father-in-law asked me to listen to Here We Go by Dave Mallet and see if I could figure out a piano part. I added in some backup vocals, and it turned out pretty nice. I hadn't realized that anyone had uploaded it onto YouTube, but here it is in case anyone wants to check it out!

Puppy!

Yes, a little ball of fur has joined my family.  No, I cannot share a picture with you at the moment...  Sorry.  You will just have to believe me when I say that Riley is an adorable 14-week-old chocolate miniature poodle who is quite the terror when not in public.

My husband and I took Riley to my parents' house last weekend.  I warned my mom, "He's really hyper, and he pees all over the place."  What did that rascal do?  He was a lovely little gentleman, and my mother couldn't believe I would say that he was anything less.  I was floored when I took him to the vet this week.  He didn't pee on the floor.  He didn't hump any legs.  He didn't even try to nibble any clothes.  All he wanted to do was kiss people, but I warned them that I didn't have a stool sample because he had eaten it that morning.  The true Riley only comes out at home, when he sneaks a pee while I'm least expecting it.  He's very stealthy and clever at stealing socks, and I can't even explain how he seems to sometimes eat his poop while he's defecating.  Seriously, I will be standing over him, waiting to grab him, and he will still eat it.  I don't understand how it happens.  If only getting him to eat his kibble where that easy!

But, he really is pretty cute.  When he plays with a piece of dog biscuit and turns it into a game where he pretends that he's stalking it and pounces, it's impossible not to see his adorable side.  Or when he tenderly puts a paw on my knee and licks my hand so that I'll put him in my lap where he will fall asleep...  

I'll try to post a picture soon.  We don't have an Internet connection at the house, which makes things difficult.  But I will try to get a picture out here sometime.  Until then, you'll just have to try to picture the little pooper in your heads.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

So it's been a while...

It's been a difficult past few months. My husband got an awesome job in the county where I grew up, and since I couldn't in good conscience back out of my job at the very beginning of the school year, we have been living 3 1/2 hours away from each other. We have been driving back and forth every single weekend, and we just spend two glorious weeks together over Christmas break.

The musical this weekend (we're doing Wizard of Oz) marks the end of my first real post-college job. It's been an incredible experience. I keep reminding myself that there are other kids out there who need to learn music too, but I just keep picturing the faces of my band and chorus kids who are having a really hard time with this. I am having a really hard time with this. I built that program into what it is today. It's hard to just walk away from that.

But I am very excited about actually living with my husband again. I'm quite partial to seeing his face everyday. :) I'm also excited about my new job, which starts next week. A middle school has opened up a position for me. They want me to start a band program at their school and teach 6th and 7th grade general music. It's only one day a week, but it's more than I thought I would get. Plus, the principal has made it clear that his intention is for the position to grow. He really wants a successful band program. With a supportive principal on board, I think that I can do some really great things there. Hopefully!

Change is not easy for me. I like to put roots down and take hold. I don't like it when things come to an end. But beginnings hold a lot of promise, and there are so many exciting possibilities. I'm going to try to make the most of them.

To my wonderful husband: I love you, and I'm coming home soon!

Pachelbel Rant

Personally, I love Pachelbel's Canon in D. Even though I knew that it was terribly cliche, I had it played at my wedding anyway. Not everyone feels the same way, which I can certainly understand. I came upon this particular rant on You Tube today, and it's utterly hilarious. Perhaps some of you have seen this already since it seems to be rather popular, but I just discovered it today. Rob Paravonian is a genius!

Black and Gold

Once in a while I will check out the free singles on iTunes. Usually they don't offer anything remotely resembling good music, but I was pleasantly surprised with this week's selection. I listened to a sample of Sam Sparro's Black and Gold and immediately downloaded it. Now, maybe everyone else already knows about this song, but it was new to me. I usually try to listen to popular music since I teach middle school music and often need to know what they are listening to in order to know what they are talking about when they are making musical comparisons. However, I usually only listen to the radio when I'm driving, and I have been without a car for a couple of months. I tried listening to the radio when I got home from work, but I quickly realized that while I do have the patience to listen to such clever lyrics as Sexy can I hit it from the front, can I hit it from the back... while I am driving, I don't want that garbage in my home while I'm trying to relax. So anyway, if you haven't already heard the song and downloaded it for free on iTunes, I highly recommend it!



The lyrics are clever, and it's interesting how people are interpreting them differently. I think it's pretty clear that it's about wanting to believe in God and having a crisis of faith. He is wondering if evolution proves that there is no God but argues with himself that the truth is not necessarily something that can be seen. He feels that there is something beyond the black and gold of night sky, but he's not sure. Does anyone else have a different interpretation?

Once again, this song is free on iTunes this week!

Re: Reader-Submitted Book

As most of you know, my terribly clever and funny sister-in-law has a blog, and her video post today made me chuckle. Apparently, one of her readers sent her a copy of a book written by a woman Megan criticizes on her blog, and she was wondering what she should do with it. This is what I see directly to the left of my computer:



It has been doing a great job of keeping air moving in my office, and it is certainly serving a greater purpose propping up my window than it ever did as good reading material. Megan, with the summer months ahead you might find that book to be quite useful!

My One True Love

Yesterday marked a year since I married the man of my dreams. Happy anniversary, darling! This song I'm posting is for my husband. I love the song, but the music video isn't so hot.



The following video compares clips from the video above and an Apple commercial. Both had the same director.



Pretty crazy, huh? I guess the guy didn't have too many different ideas.