Wicked, again

In December, I went to Los Angeles with my mom to see Wicked. We didn't really know what to expect, and once the whole thing started, it was so amazingly overwhelming that it was difficult to take everything in. We LOVED it~ as soon as it was over, I wanted to see it again. So when I found out that the Wicked Tour was going to be in Memphis, I informed my two friends that we would be going. I didn't ask, I told. And this past weekend, we went. Shannon and Jaime are also English teachers at the high school, and I was really excited for them to see the show. We also took Shannon's daughter Kristen. I tried to describe the show a little on the drive there, but I just couldn't do it justice. We parked at the Peabody in Memphis and walked to the Rendezvous to have lunch~ it was delicious! Then we walked to the show, and sat in our amazing seats, and watched a wonderful show! I also got to see my old friend Lydia (Hi, Lydia!), which was very exciting for me (only we get didn't a picture together, which I really meant to do). It was a fun day, and I got so caught up in the fun that I failed to take many pictures. The pictures I did take are kind of goofy (I do that sometimes). This is all I can offer for now; Jaime may send me more later.

I thought this was funny.

The theater

Shannon's daughter took this picture of us.

This old man had a teddy bear waterbottle purse. I thought it was hilarious.

There's a song about Memphis. It has Union Ave in the lyrics. Hence:

I was desperate for pictures that I could caption "Walking in Memphis".

Walking in Memphis

A bad picture of the great view from our amazing seats. I am holding my phone in my lap to take the picture~ that bar was way below my eye level.

Lists

Things I dislike:

* the no-slip coating on the bottom of our bathtub that makes cleaning the tub INCREDIBLY labor-intensive
* June heat waves that do not help certain people want to leave their drier, cooler climate and move here ASAP
* Wal-Mart trips
* Sunburns

Things I like very much:

* my new Land's End swimsuit (best swimsuit EVER) They were having a sale when I bought this suit (Monday) and I only paid $44 and got free shipping to boot! Yay!
* Dave Ramsey and his financial workshop
* air-conditioning
* I only have 11th grade next year, instead of 10th and 11th!

Things to look forward to:

* a haircut next Thursday
* game night next Friday
* Rendezvous and Wicked next Saturday!!!
* Mom and Dad's visit
* Our trip to Charleston
* the end my grad school
* the end of Jason's grad school

A Funny

I am currently helping with the toddler class at church. I've taught the class before, and I don't mind it at all. There's little to no preparation, and little to no diaper changing. Score! This past Sunday, I hoisted the giant plastic ark onto the kidney-shaped table and pulled Noah and all of the animals out of it (Biblical accuracy is what we strive for). I held him up and said, "Does anybody remember who this is?" One bright-eyed little girl gasped and said, "SANTA!!!!!" just as if the man himself had walked in and given everybody a pony. Of course Stacey (the other teacher) and I collapsed into laughter. This Noah wears a brown jumpsuit thing with a white vest, and he is approximately four inches high. No red suit, no belly, no bag of toys, although he does have a hard plastic bubble beard. I guess I can see the resemblance, but it was still so funny. After we calmed our laughter, I asked again who it was, and the same little girl said, very sadly, "Noah?", in this tone that implied that Noah was okay, but Santa would have been more of a crowd-pleaser.

As much laughing as Stacey and I have been doing, this may turn into a weekly post. And I thought I wouldn't have any teaching stories to share this summer! :)

Chills in Church

I love to sing. I don't sing exceptionally well, but I can carry a tune and read music and I enjoy music of all shapes and kinds. A quick scroll through my iPod will reveal rap, Broadway show tunes, Disney and Veggie Tales songs, Celtic women, country, contemporary Christian, classic rock, and even classical music. As much as I love all kinds of music, I especially love to sing in church. A classic church hymn sung particularly well will give me chills and bring tears to my eyes. This is one of the things I miss most about Harding~ the singing in chapel. I love hearing all four parts of harmony blending and shifting and separating into one glorious tune. Certain songs, though, cause me to break into chill bumps even when they're not particularly well-sung. I love certain hymns more than others (don't we all?), and thought I would share of few of my favorites and what makes them special to me.

"Holy Holy Holy"~ One of the few songs for which I sing the alto part. Not because I can't sing the soprano part, but because the alto part is so solid and so soulful. Often a line from this song pops into my head in the morning ("Early in the morning my song shall rise to Thee"), and I associate this song with all things lovely and new. I could sing this every Sunday and not grow weary of it.

"It is Well with my Soul" ~ I love the alto part in this song too, though that is not my favorite part. I love the words in the last verse:

"And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend..."

My heart races everytime I hear those words, and I like to think that if the Lord were to release a soundtrack, this would be the last track on it.

"In the Garden" ~ Part of the reason I love to sing is because my mom sang to me as a baby and toddler. I know she sang many songs, and even made up a few as she went along, but the only song I actually remember her singing is this one. I can't even sing it in church, because I start crying~ just as Mom is probably crying right now. Love you Mama!

"Where the Soul Never Dies"~ I don't know for sure why I associate this song with my Magra Peggy (my mom's mom), but I can't sing this one without crying either. I also cry everytime I pass through a Crabtree and Evelyn store, because it smells like Magra in there.

"The Greatest Command"~ This is the most recent song on the list. I heard this song for the first time at Haskell Singing School in 1997, and it remains one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

Feel free to share your own list!!

Publicity

I cruise many blogs, and one of them is having a great giveaway this week. Cruise on over to Fantabulously Frugal and check it out!

Destructive Behavior

I posted 10 days ago about some items I had ordered as end-of-the-year gifts to myself. We were in Branson last Thursday when my items arrived from Amazon. We had asked some neighbors to watch Bailey, and I thought about asking them to go down and get the box off our porch, but decided against it, since I thought the package wouldn't be bothered. Wrong! The mangy, in-bred dogs owned by our other neighbors apparently consider book and DVD cases food, and this is what was strewn about our yard when we got home:






The actual DVD still works, and I don't need the case, so that was okay. The book was a complete loss though, but my spoiled self has already received another. :) Normally we have items shipped to Jason's work, but I shipped these to the house since I am off for the summer. That mistake will not be made again.

And we're back!

Internet is up and running and regular posts will begin again on Monday!

Technical Difficulties

Last week our home was hit by lightning. Nothing was hurt except for our little satellite internet receiver, which needs to be replaced. This has been incredibly inconvenient for us as our grad classes depend on internet access. Plus, I haven't gotten to blog. I have been keeping a list of all I want to blog about, but it will all have to wait. I am writing this entry from the Harding library, where I am doing all my work until our internet is back up and running, which will be either Friday or Monday. Thanks for your patience!