To Nora

I was introduced to Charles Ives in my High School Music Theory class. We sat in a kind of gross storage room just outside the choir room that sat the six of us. We spent most of our talking about Sarah Palin or gossiping about our teachers. I honestly didn't learn a whole lot in that class about music theory (that was my own fault) but if all I took away was Charles Ives, than that class was still worth while. We listened to a recording of Variations on America (1891) which is also known as his 4th of July Symphony. If you listen to it, especially the last two minutes of it you will realize why as a teenager I thought it was wild crazy awesome. For the last couple of years I listened to other works of his and have a soft spot for his art songs. He's like a happier, more sentimental, less surreal Ned Rorum. And when I became pregnant with Nora and listened to the songs he wrote for his daughter, they touched my heart.

"To Edith" is a song he wrote for his adopted daughter Edith. The words were actually written by his wife Harmony and Ives put it to music. Not everyday here is smiles and kisses but this song encompasses the best part of parenthood. In the video they give a more detailed background for the song. The music begins at 1:10 and don't worry if by the end of this there is a swelling in your chest and a few tears at the corners of your eye - that's totally normal.

So like a flower,
thy little four year face in its pure freshness
That to my bedside comes each morn
in happy guise - I must be smiling too.
O, little flower-like face that comes to me,
each morn for kisses -
Bend thou near me while I inhale its fragrance sweet
and put a blessing there.

Thank yous and Pumpkin Station

Thank you to everybody who commented on my last post. I was trying to figure out how to write this without sounding cheesy but I couldn't... So get ready, here comes the dairyfest. I love you guys for taking the time to watch me and then taking more time to comment. I wish I could devote entire posts to each one of you and the individual talents you have that I admire but I think I might use up my word limit and reveal my inner creeper/people watcher. But it really did mean a lot to me. I realize the song is far from perfect. And the more I listen to my recordings the more things I hear wrong but that's what recordings are for right? So thank you thank you thank you!

So, since this blog isn't just about me - John is liking his classes. He's taking Artificial Intelligence and Computer Architecture. I like watching him do homework sometimes because he will just sit there and think for a while. He has this face that is so John. I can't describe it well but John's eyebrows will furrow and his eyes will fixate on a certain point and I swear that he can stay in the same spot sitting indian style and thinking for hours (intermittently reading). It's pretty amazing. Then out of nowhere he'll return from whatever realm he was in and talk to me about what he's learned from his trip to the beyond.

Work is okay but it's the Navy and we both don't care for it. I feel like his mom when he goes to work. I fear that his shipmates are being a bad influence and that they aren't feeding him well enough and keeping him up too late. John doesn't like the Navy because the job he signed up for isn't really the job he is doing, he doesn't have any of the resources to do his job, nobody else wants to do their job, and the whole place is a dirty grey prison on water where "rec time" is PT. But to focus on our blessings...

 

Nora is amazing. She's beautiful and happy and smart and a total wild thing. I used to think while I was pregnant that John and I would have a quiet child who was like us and liked to sit and read. Nora does love to read I guess but she is nothing like I thought I wanted and I'm so happy about it. She is a climber and a runner and she is so social. If you give her the smallest bit of attention she'll return it with smiles and giggles and hugs. When she is angry she is angry and I am still trying to get used to that side of her, but her wide range of emotions keeps things interesting. To celebrate fall last week we took her to "Pumpkin Station."

True to Nora's style, she would only try to pet/chase the goats that were running away from her and not the docile ones that were sitting and eating hay.

 

For some reason the dump truck was her favorite. 

She also went down the giant inflatable slide and climbed haystack mountains. It's a hard thing to wear her out but we succeeded! After all was said and done she came and crashed in front of the tv with us and snuck some popcorn.  

 Yes I know, we spoil her.

I Am The Neighbor You Hate

I've been away from school and voice lessons for about a year and a half and it's been rough. I've been trying to keep up my chops and I really feel like despite being away Heavenly Father has blessed with a will to practice and a desire to get better. I'm actually really proud of my progress. So that's one part of why I wanted to post this video. The other reason is that I have had a really difficult time performing. I get so nervous and I feel like I can never show who the real singer inside of me is. (Wow that is so cheesy) So what better way to overcome your nerves than performing in front of the people you admire and respect most! (Oh my goodness what am I doing?) This song is a work in progress and I will be singing it for my audition recording. I would love some feedback from you classical music buffs. The beginning is flawed. I was having a hard time figuring out how long to take before I came in. But if you have any tips or suggestions I would love to know! This is me laying it all out there. This is the dream you have when you accidentally go to school naked. (I'm not even wearing make-up in this video guys! yikes).