April's Life Adventures


Experiences in my life that hopefully always lead to happiness. My joys, my sorrows, my kids, my world.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Conclusion

My attempt at the Weekly Anamnesis #9 hosted by Natalie

Conclusion

I was having a difficult time deciding between which university to attend. Many had given me scholarship offers, a few were better than the rest. One thing was for sure however, I did not want to attend the University of Utah. It was way too close to home, I didn’t like some of the instructors that I had known over the years, and I definitely did not enjoy the orchestra director which was the most important part of my decision. I informed them in a nice, well written letter that I was not interested in accepting the scholarship offer at this time. I had one friend in particular that also did not plan to attend their university, but decided to lead them on for a while and make them think that she was.

That was in the middle of my Senior year of High School. I had many things to still look forward to in this, my last and most grand year of school. One of the events that had captured my attention and provided me with much anticipation was the State Solo and Ensemble competition. I had competed in the School, District, and Region competitions already with Superior marks in each. I was at the top of my game. Not only was I playing a very difficult piece on the violin, I was also competing in my new found love of the viola. I was doing double duty. Two competitions in one day. I was excited and terrified at the same time.

The viola performance went without a hitch. I knew that I would get stellar marks yet again. It was now time to tromp my way up to the violin competition room. As I mentally went over my extremely difficult piece again in my head, I looked into the room to see who would be acting as my Judge. It was him. The very orchestra director from the University of Utah that I could not stand! I sent in my rejection letter a few weeks before, being very careful to not mention anything about my true reasons for turning them down.

It was time. I entered the room with a calm feeling in my heart. I was ready for this, the most difficult piece I had ever played in competiton. I knew that I would play a flawless performance, and I have to admit that I did. My fingers glided with ease over the strings, creating a wonderful mixture of sound and emotion. Many people came to talk to me afterward and mentioned that they had never seen me play with such passion. I felt that the superior rating was in the bag. The only thing left to do was wait until the Judge tallied his marks for everyone.

The stern woman walked steadily towards the board. She had my fate in her hands… My heart was racing, I was so excited that I was about to receive the marks that I so deserved. My superior was about to be handed down. My friend, who actually had to stop in the middle of her performance, but had not turned down the offer, was awarded a superior marking. As I made my way through the crowd towards the board, I had no doubt that if she could get a superior for a very flawed performance I would get one. I, the very person who felt the music flow through her veins. The very person who had worked so hard towards this day with one goal in mind, was given a fair. My heart sank as I ran towards the girls bathroom to cry in piece without the prying eyes of the entire orchestra. I was devastated.

When the time came to get back on to the bus for the return trip, I was pulled aside by my orchestra teacher and friend. He talked with me about how I felt about my performance and the marks that I was given. He knew even before I opened my mouth that I was upset. The puffy red eyes told the story so well. He assured me of how proud he was of my efforts, and how he would have awarded me the superior rating. There was nothing he could do to change it however unfair and unjustified it was. Our only conclusion was that the Judge was getting back at me for not accepting his scholarship offer. I should have led him on I suppose, but then I always thought that honesty was the best policy. I still think so, even if my only superior that day was on the Viola.

Posted by April_Mommy :: 9:56 AM :: 6 comments

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Monday, January 30, 2006

The New Vacuum

I was given a new vacuum for Christmas. I even posted about it once before today, saying how much I loved the silly thing. It sucks dirt out of my carpets that I didn't even know was there. It finds every fiber of dog hair and traps it in the lovely bagless container. That was until tonight.

My five year old daughter was supposed to be napping this afternoon. She wasn't. In fact, she had snuck out into the Kitchen and nabbed the oh so large plastic container of Garlic Powder. Of course, being ever so prone to mischief, she had to dump the entire thing out on the carpet and her bed. Yes, she got in trouble for this, but I don't need to go into that part of the story. The powder was not to big of a problem, not for the super vacuum!

I pulled it into her room, plugged it in, but didn't realize that I had placed it right on top of one of her miniature plastic horses. The second I turned the vacuum on, the horse was gone and all I knew was that there was suddenly a very loud Ka-Chunk sound coming from my beautiful vacuum, and a terrible smell emanating from it as well. I turned it off immediately as I realized that something was wrong. After taking out several screws, I found the offending horse, now mangled almost beyond recognition. I will be throwing it out before M sees the thing and gets upset...

"Where is my horse Mommy?""
"um, I don't know honey, maybe the monster under your bed ate it!"

Ok, so I wouldn't really say that to her, but I will be throwing it away before she finds it mangled. I am sure she won't miss it, the thing is one of about 12 or so that she has hidden all over the house. Back to the vacuum. I busted the belt and fried the motor. Ugh, I am leaving the day after tomorrow for the new job evaluation thingie with Sultry Husband and I really wanted to have a super clean house to come home to! The parts should be under warranty, but what do I tell the service center?

"So, how did the motor burn out?"
"I, uh, vacuumed up a horse."

I may just buy a new motor so I don't have to face the question. It will depend on how expensive the part is I suppose...

Posted by April_Mommy :: 10:23 PM :: 3 comments

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Saturday, January 28, 2006

New Team Member

I have asked my Husband to join me on this blog. He will post from time to time. I first suggested that he get a blog of his own, but he didn't think that he could maintain one and post as often as he would need to post. Therefore, I have invited him to be a contributer on this one.

He called himself Sultry Husband... I found the name interesting ;-)

Posted by April_Mommy :: 9:32 AM :: 4 comments

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Thursday, January 26, 2006

Connection

I am trying my hand at this week's Anamnesis #8

Connection

A friend asked me to invite a lonely guy to the dance. I was a likely candidate because I had sworn off boyfriends. Oh, I had one, sort of. He was in Texas, but I had quit writing him a month previous because I was tired of him asking me to marry him through every single letter. I told him no, way too many times to count, he was not the right one for me, so I quit returning his letters. I hadn't cut off the relationship yet because I thought it was a cruel thing to do unless I could cut it off in person... Sending what is called a "dear John". We just had no connection, no spark.

This particular dance was a "Girl's Choice", and therefore, a girl must ask or the fellow could not participate. I was not interested in this guy, he was definitely not interested in me. What he was interested in however, was his friends that would be at the party before and after the dance. We were having a murder mystery dinner, which means that everyone would be dressed up in costume, stage names, and a murder was supposed to be solved by figuring out clues from the character sketches that we all were given. At least, everyone else had a character sketch but me. I was a last minute addition to the original script you see, so I was supposed to make up a character as we went along. My friend who was in charge however forgot to inform me of this... I was unprepared.

Enter the Police Officer investigating the crime. A devilishly handsome rookie in full police costume, including the requisite night stick, handcuffs, and "Chips" glasses. My main problem was that my friend, the host, was his date. I knew that for sure he was taken. Men are like that... a joke I once heard... "Men are like parking spaces, all the good ones are taken or handicapped." imagine my surprise when he saunters up to me to grill my character for information on the Murder. I didn't have any clues and I cracked. Running to my friend, she helped me understand the game, and I was able to resume my "role" as a shady lady from the wrong side of the tracks.

Through the evening, Officer Frank N. Beans kept finding reasons to ask me questions. He didn't know that I was making up my answers as we went along. He was convinced that I was the murder suspect. He was so convinced, that he actually put his handcuffs on me at the end and attempted to arrest me. I was innocent of course and he was forced to release the innocent lady with the poetic name of Marry Menow.

My date didn't exist. He wanted nothing to do with me. All he wanted to do was hang out with the friends that he came to the party to see. I was alone at the dance, I watched the handsome cop twirling my friend around the dance floor and jealousy crept into my mind. I kept telling myself that this was crazy because he was obviously taken.

After the dance, we returned to my friend's home for desert. Officer Beans was alone because his date was busy serving everyone. He found me again, saying "So, April, I hear you are a music major". I about fainted. I had never told this handsome stranger my real name, my major, or any other important information. He had done his homework throughout the entire evening! He was interested in ME, not just my character! I decided to make it easy on him as he asked where I lived... I invited him to stop by sometime and he said "oh I intend to. How about Sunday?"

The ride home with my friend was filled with excitement. You see, he was actually a good friend of hers. She had no claim on him, nor was she interested. He was free! I had two whole days until he would come to see me again... So I thought. He knocked on my door Saturday afternoon. I wasn't home... My room mates told me later that this really cute guy came by to see me. I about died! I was in love and all I knew about him was that he is an incredible dancer and actor. He came again on Sunday, and the rest, well that is a much longer story. Let's just say that we indeed had a connection.

Posted by April_Mommy :: 9:43 AM :: 8 comments

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Wednesday, January 25, 2006

A life in boxes

Before he graduated from college, we put everything in boxes. We knew where we were going, to a new adventure in life. Graduation day came, then we left. My dad drove his truck while pulling a trailer rented from U-haul.

Eight months into the job that was supposed to last us a lifetime, we packed up again. Pregnant as I was, I let my husband do the heavy lifting. A new job in a new city... The adventure begins again.

The city doesn't live up to our standards and we decide to move again after a month. The job transferred us to Idaho. We have already thrown out our moving boxes. The husband must hunt and gather again. Still pregnant and gingerly packing. We don't want any unexpected surprises.

A friend has a house for rent, we move in. A nice little house, the first we have ever lived in. I really like the freedom that a house provides but this isn't my choice for type. The baby is born here. Her first bath, first ride in a swing, many firsts happen in this house.

Baby is now two months old. Our new house is waiting, but we have thrown out our boxes. Perhaps we should save them? Only a few blocks separate us from the house we have dreamed about. I can actually lift the boxes this time, but choose to let the husband take care of it.

Three years is a long time to live in one place. For us anyway. Time to move again, we think. A possible job waiting, excitement is packed into each box. A much larger moving truck will be necessary this time. Hopefully this next stop will be a long one.

Posted by April_Mommy :: 3:34 PM :: 3 comments

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Saturday, January 21, 2006

Daisy

Part of my husband's new job will be writing profiles for animals that need homes. Because of this, he decided to practice on some local shelter dogs. The only problem with this, is that when we walked into the place, we were told that there were many animals scheduled to be put down that week. Our hearts could not take it! There was one animal that caught our attention more than the others, we couldn't handle thinking about such a wonderful, friendly dog being destroyed. We adopted her... The main problem there is that we already have two dogs, and don't want another. So, we have taken it upon ourselves to find her a new and loving home... If any of you are interested, you know where to find me ;-)



Warning: this dog may kiss you to death! Daisy is a seven-monty-old lab mix with enough love and affection to fill up an entire household. The only reason her previous owners got rid of her was because they didn't end up having enough room for the poor gal. They loved her, though! She's also great with kids. They had a two-year old who liked to wrestle and grab at Daisy, but Daisy never once growled or nipped as a result. Daisy plays well with other dogs but doesn't need them to keep her company.

If anybody out there is interested in a playful, cuddly dog who gives kisses by the truckload, Daisy could be the perfect match. And if that's not enough to cinch the deal, here's one more detail. With her vertical leap and athleticism, she has future Frisbee champion written all over her.

She probably won't want to live in a kennel since she has spent a lot of time in one at her previous home. But if you are looking for a wonderful inside dog, or have a little space for her to stretch those free-spirited legs, you may have just found your dog.

Give Daisy a chance. She'll win you over.


Posted by April_Mommy :: 3:28 PM :: 5 comments

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Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Tiki's Revenge

Last night, it was my husband's turn to cover the bird and put away the dog's for the night. He was a bit preoccupied, so he forgot one very important item. As he was putting the blanket onto the cage, he forgot to say the magical words of "Goodnight Tiki Bird". I wouldn't have thought that this would make much of a difference, but to Tiki this is an important part of his day. It is the time in which he can talk to us and repeat the words. As my husband started to walk away from the cage, Tiki decided that this was unacceptable. He started to GROWL! My parrot has taught himself how to growl when he is angry. My husband realized his mistake, and then tried to make it up to Tiki by saying goodnight, but it was too late. Tiki remained silent. I laughed so hard! I am also wondering who is training whom, for I believe that my husband has learned not to forget the goodnight saying...

Posted by April_Mommy :: 8:51 AM :: 4 comments

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Sunday, January 15, 2006

The Inside of Me

I wrote an entire blog this afternoon in response to the confusion that Karen felt when I revealed what kind of art form I was. In ways, I agree with the computer matched assessment, yet I find myself needing to explain a few things to some. However, I deleted the entire post because it started sounding like a woe is me fest, and that is definitely not who I am.

I have memories in my past that are very depressing. If I had the choice to do it over again, I would run screaming away because no one should have to live through that twice. I was outgoing in school, as far as I wanted to be accepted and thought that this was the way to do it. I even went as far as to invent "holidays". Basically, I would tell my friends that "today is a happy day, because it is National Smile Day". Which it really wasn't, I just needed an excuse to be happy. Now, I throw parties or plan activities mostly because I have learned to laugh. I have learned that life is far to serious and we all need to lighten up and enjoy ourselves along the way. If I can bring a little joy into someone's life because I threw a party, I am more than happy to play the part of the host.

My husband and I compliment each other nicely. We each bring out the best in the other. He has dreams and aspirations to be a great and mighty writer some day. I am content to sit quietly behind him as his own personal cheering section. He will always have my encouragement. I will stand by his side, fully believing that all of his dreams for the future will come true. Would I want the level and type of success that he seeks? No. He seeks to realize his potential, nothing more and nothing less. The fame that might come from that is a result, not what he seeks. Fame may come, but success is what matters. I would rather stay home and curl up with a good book (he is my favorite author after all). The part of me that wishes to go "Unnoticed" as the picture claims, is the part of me that wishes the spotlight shine on those who need it. My husband is very talented, however I would support him even if he wasn't. That is the greatest gift that I can give, my love and friendship. If that means that I let someone else have the stage, fine with me. Although if someone needs to laugh, I will be the first one to invite them to a party.

Posted by April_Mommy :: 5:18 PM :: 1 comments

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Art Form

I first saw this on Karen's site, I really liked her result, but I found my result interesting...

Architecture
You are Architecture.
You are the most functional art form and rarely do
anything without some practical purpose.
Although you are capable of easilly outstaging
the other arts, you usually prefer to go
unnoticed.


What form of art are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Posted by April_Mommy :: 7:52 AM :: 4 comments

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Thursday, January 12, 2006

Bring on the Boxes

Ok, so last night hubby went out and conquered. He went to the local Super Walmart at 3:00 am to get me some good packing boxes. No, we are not moving yet (not till late February), but I am a bit excited about the whole thing. I bet you couldn't tell!

So far this morning, I have spent over 2 hours packing boxes. Only non-essential stuff like books, baby clothes, toys, etc. Things that we won't really miss in a month or two till we open them up again in our new place.

The fear is that we won't find a house that we like where we are going. It is (if this is possible) a smaller town than the one I am in. The only real difference is that it is an all inclusive town with nothing else close by. Here, we only have one grocery store, a hardware store, and not much else. There, we will have everything we need. At least I will always have the internet right?

Posted by April_Mommy :: 12:17 PM :: 8 comments

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Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Done Deal

Thanks everyone for your encouragement with our little frustrations over the past few weeks. Today the blessed e-mail arrived. We have been extended an offer to join this wonderful company for a two week evaluation period. This is EXACTLY what we wanted to hear. Our two weeks begins in the first part of February. If all goes well, we will be moving towards the latter part of February... This time, I am excited to move, bring on the boxes!

The waiting place no longer has hold on me, although a terrible cold does! For the past two days, I have been lying in bed wishing that I could just go to sleep! Alas, the cough from hell would not allow that to happen. I am much better today, but still a bit shaky... A pretty good explanation, I would think, about where I have been all weekend :-)

Posted by April_Mommy :: 5:10 PM :: 9 comments

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Friday, January 06, 2006

The Waiting Place

When I graduated from High School, my eldest sister gave me a book. It was Dr. Seus "Oh the places you'll go". I thought it strange at the time, but this book has come to mean a great deal to me and has real truths in it for every day life. This week I have been remembering one particular part of the book more than the others.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

This week my Husband was told that he was the number one candidate for the job that we REALLY want. It would be for a company that he believes in, doing something worth while that would bring him joy. This company called him two days ago and stated that if his references checked out, they would extend to him an offer.

Does it really take two days to call a few people? We know that they have not called yet because our references are also friends of ours... Who agreed to call us the moment they heard anything. Now it is at the end of the work week. Friday. There is no chance that they would call us over the weekend, so we are in the Waiting Place. We can not escape it until next week at least! And here, I wanted to celebrate and start packing this weekend. *le sigh*

Can we really be expected to live in this heightened state of anticipation all weekend? I want to skip ahead to where the Boom Bands are playing.

Posted by April_Mommy :: 3:21 PM :: 7 comments

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Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Tiki

I have decided that it is time for the world to meet Tiki. He is one of the favorite members of my family. He is green, grey, and blue. He is my Quaker Parrot. We raised him from a hatchling of about 2 weeks old. This bird loves me!

We really don't know if Tiki is a girl or a boy parrot, and I am not sure if it really matters. My husband and I started calling Tiki a boy from the beginning (probably because our dogs are boys), anyway my Dad insists that Tiki is a girl because "she" is so sweet and gentle... I sort of agree, but the only way to find out for sure is to pay a vet to do a DNA test on the poor thing, which I don't see as worth the trouble at this point. Perhaps if Tiki lays an egg in about 10 years we will know for sure, but until then, Tiki is a he in our eyes.

Last night, the funniest thing happened. My husband and I were playing a card game and Tiki was walking around on the table with us. He would come up and nudge my hand so I would pet him. I noticed a little bit of a "mess" that Tiki had left on the table, so I grabbed a paper towel to clean it up. I no sooner started rubbing the area than Tiki attacked the towel! He grabbed on and would not let go, so I started dragging him around the table. We laughed so hard that I cried! Tiki laughed too (his laugh is actually a reproduction of mine... When I laugh, Tiki laughs, which makes me laugh harder, which makes Tiki laugh harder). Anyway, just picture this little green bird sliding all over the table because he wouldn't let go of the paper towel that was supposed to clean up his mess...

As for words, Quaker Parrots are the second best talkers out there (just behind the African Grey's). Tiki is almost two years old, still a baby, but he already says "goodnight Tiki Bird" because that is what I have said to him every night as I cover his cage with a blanket. He laughs, he is starting to bark at my dogs, he sings words to songs that we sing with him, and the funniest is that he mimics the sound that my squeaky cupboards make when I open them. (I would put some WD-40 on the hinges to stop the squeak, but his sounds would then stop too, and they make me laugh too much. Which makes Tiki laugh, which makes me laugh... You get the idea).

Quaker parrots are great fun, Tiki will live about 30 years, so they are also an investment, yet I am thrilled with the results of my hand raising him... Gentle, loving, and silly. Tiki Bird is probably my favorite pet (don't tell my dogs, they may get jealous and try to eat him).

Posted by April_Mommy :: 9:24 AM :: 6 comments

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Monday, January 02, 2006

Karoake Anyone?

My daughters love to play with my computer. They seem to be able to sense when I forget to lock the door to the office. I sometimes allow M to use the paint programs on my computer, and both girls have a few learning games that they love to play. My office has become the ultimate fun place to be. Usually this isn't a problem, but last night one of the most random and strange things happened to my computer.

M had been in the office earlier playing A game. I returned later and began to work on my computer, playing some music while doing it. I noticed something strange... Dido suddenly sounded like a high tenor. I changed the song to Evanescense and started to giggle. Amy Lee sounded like a man pretending to sing like a woman, if you get my meaning. Then I tried Josh Groban, ahh now he just sounded plain evil. My husband and I laughed, then started to wonder what the little mischief queen had done to my computer.

After quite some time, we still had not figured out what she had done. My husband and I were contemplating quitting for the evening when he found something interesting. He went into the control panel, clicked on the "Multi Channel Sound Manager" icon. Within this innocent looking program, there is a pretty little button to click. It was called Karoake, and it gave you the option to lower or raise the pitch and key of any song played on the computer to one more suited to your singing voice. I have to admit that once we figured out what she had done, we laughed even harder and experimented with our favorite songs and changing things to see what they would sound like.

I have come to one conclusion however, my daughters are either computer geniuses, or they are just lucky in the random clicks of my mouse. They find menu's that I didn't know existed, they create havoc where there should be none, and most of all they find ways to do things with this computer that I didn't even know could be done. Needless to say, I have now created a user menu for my computer which is password protected. They will have access to only the programs that I choose, but then knowing these two, they will find a random way past my passwords...

Posted by April_Mommy :: 1:33 PM :: 9 comments

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