The Weekend

This weekend we will not be doing anything super exciting. We're planning on going to my brother's house and chillin'. We're going to mom and dads to give a lesson. I'll be doing some work. None of this matters. The fact that it's the weekend is the important part. It has been a long week. Five days worth!!!! We're not used to that. We're used to three and four day weeks.

This weekend I am going to try and focus on not focusing. I want to do things that I enjoy: reading, maybe write (like now), maybe draw (!) which I have been really looking forward to. Heather got me a charcoal pad and charcoal, so I might experiment with that. Anyway, I'm looking to do enjoyable things. Starbucks!!! (Maybe not...I'm kinda boycotting...their prices went up AGAIN...ugh).

Another fantastic thing is that we are a week closer to being married! I cannot wait! That's all I got for the moment. I will talk to you all soon!

Sam

To Breath is Divine

Since Heather has updated one large aspect of our lives, I suppose I will touch on another.

We both have one more short week before our first semester in teaching is in the books. To say the least, it has been quite the learning curve. We both are thankful to say that we have a much clearer idea of how we want next year to start and understand better how to run it. Even this next semester will run more comfortably. We'll still be stressed at times and tired, but I am beginning to understand that that will never change. Our personality's won't allow us not to be stressed; we are always striving to create a better education for our students.

This month we finally realized the financial significance of our private studio. Before, the money we earned giving private lessons just kind of blended in with the rest of our income. At the end of last month we were both sweating about how we were going to get through January. We were always fine, but we thought it was going to be close. We don't want to touch our wedding savings to pay for anything but what it is for. We were a little more conscious of the money coming in from private lessons and realized that we are COMPLETELY AND COMFORTABLY in the black for the month. That has been very relieving. So often, finances is a major contributor to our stress level. Not now!:)

As far as our private studio goes: great! My students are finally starting to come around and are making some noticeable progress. For a month or so (maybe because of the holiday season) my students were not making any strides and I could tell they were not practicing as much as they need to. I can definitely tell whether or not a student has put some time into practicing in the first five minutes of a lesson. Most of them certainly did in the last couple weeks. So, our focus turns to solos for solo & ensemble. I can't wait to see them perform! It is such a fantastic experience for them. Speaking of, I need to go find some pieces for them.

Peace out!

Sam

Update...

Okay, okay...I'll update!

Let's start will the wedding. First of all, when we started planning, things were incredibly disjointed and we were doing it all ourselves. What a stressful pain in the butt! We made the (very good) decision to start hiring out and finding a new venue. Oh my goodness has that been WAY better!

Here is the status of everything:

Ceremony: Same as it has been - St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Fabulous! Although I am NOT looking forward to our second premarital counseling session. That is entirely different kind of pain in the butt.

Reception Venue: Now at Dance Street Ballroom. Amanda (the owner and brains of the operation) is amazing! She takes care of setting up, centerpieces, candles, lights, all of it. So cool! Pricey, but awesome and easy!

Food: We opted to go with a caterer. We are using Puttin' On the Ritz (run by Shannon, a friend of Amanda's), and are going to have scrumptious food! Again, more expensive, but it comes with dishes, bar tending, and a plethora of other amazing inclusions. Yay for Mom and Dad not having to worry about food!

Photographer: Nathan Coltrane, a guy we met through school is doing our pictures. He took a long time to do our engagement photos, which was nice, but I hope he get through some good wedding photos after the ceremony without keeping us from our guests at the reception for too long.

DJ: Steve Baker, a friend of Sam's is going to do this for us. I got to hear him DJ at a bar at the end of summer and it seemed fun and good enough for me!

Florist: We interviewed and chose a florist last night. Special Touch Floral, also recommended by Amanda and run by Esther, is a wonderful florist and very affordable. She put together a package with everything we wanted and a bit more for the price of one bridal bouquet at any other florist. Super exciting!

Honeymoon: Still working on this aspect of things. Costa Rica is out I think. Hawaii a maybe, and Cabo San Lucas is looking like the best option for us. More on that at a different date.

So that leaves us with wedding bands, cake, invitations, and tuxes left to go! Woohoo! We just put together a final in a month! Wow!

Now, other updates...on the physical front...we are not doing so well. We haven't gone to the gym and we haven't used "The Biggest Loser" game on Sam's new xbox. This is a problem. We want to, or at least I know that I do. But after a long day at school and then teaching private lessons...the last thing I want to do is work! Again...this is a problem. I need to find some motivation!!! You would think that I had enough, right? with trying to shrink a bit so that I can get my dress altered smaller, and also so that I can wear a nice bathing suit on a the beach of whatever resort/city/country we end up choosing for our honeymoon. Always a work in progress I suppose.

Okay, there is my update...Your turn!

Hangin'

Happy Monday! I am saying this because I teach and I have it off. Two of them in a row actually. So today is a reason to rejoice. Guess what I have done today?? Given a sax lesson, and driven for about an hour. Other than that, nothing. And it feels marvelous. Heather and I did not work out (yet) due to some scheduling changes, but we plan on doing it later today. Getting back into that routine is going to be very nice.

That's all I had to write about, because there is nothing to report for once:) Yay!


Sam

School, break, Christmas!

Merry Christmas Break! Heather and I are going to OFFICIALLY be on break tomorrow, but today will work. It has been a long and exhausting few months for us. As first year teachers, we've learned to WANT to walk away from our job to push the reset button. Before we were naive and thought we'd always want to be there to make our students better musicians, make our program stronger, etc. But, we have figured out that this is not realistic. Creating your program takes time, effort, and yes, the ability to refocus (and be ok with taking the time to do so).

This break we plan on taking it easy; sleeping in, eating a lot, working out. We will pepper our break with a little bit of preping for teaching, but that will not be our main focus. Although that will make us effective, simply resting will probably benefit us just as much.

All of our concerts went fantastically well. We have not though about it (I don't think), but they were our VERY FIRST CONCERTS as teachers. Considering that, it did go well. Certainly, there were some downsides and some (a lot of) things we need our students to learn to take the next step, but the concerts were a good place to start.

We hope you all have a great Christmas. Jesus is the reason for the season! I intend on trying to really make that a focus of the break. I hope you all do too!

Sam

Stress-Free Fee!

Weddings are stressful. And they shouldn't be. It should be a magical day for the happy couple to share with their friends and family and each other. Therefore, I think paying for a more expensive venue and catering is a good option at this point. We shall call it...the Stress-Free Fee!

Now if only there was that sort of thing for my thesis and oral exams...

Break Time!

I am taking a break from writing my thesis, and decided to update! (Aren't you proud of me, Sam? :) )

Speaking of my thesis...if everything goes well, I will be done writing it this week, will meet with Dr. Ellsworth on Friday to find out what I need to do to fix it, will fix it next week, print, turn the damn thing in, and schedule my oral exams. Oh, and bring Patrick a latte. A really big one! I had a dream last night that I had too much to fix, though, and couldn't get it done in time to turn in this quarter. While that would be entirely my fault as I have procrastinated more than even I would have thought I would, that would be a nightmare to be sure. I hope it isn't the case.

I want to read. For fun. REALLY bad. And organize at home. I have been wanting to reorganize the closets and cupboards and things, and have been too tired, either honestly physically tired, or mentally tired from either writing or thinking about my thesis. It would be nice to have the energy to do something else.

Which means: I need to push through and get it done! Here goes nothin'! Wish me a good week, because it's about to be long!