Thursday, June 21, 2012

Impulse...wild hair...call it what you will.

Hey there!

Really quick - a couple stories before I get to the real reason for this post:

Charlie's latest "thing" - jumping up and hanging onto door frames.  Yep - he leaps almost 5 feet into the air and hugs door frames...for no apparent reason.

Also, one of my teenage boy students drew this (to earn a "motivation system" point):

And now, drumroll, please....








I bought this today!
For those of you who care, it's an Alvarez from the '80s.
Here's the explanation:
Since so many families take vacations, have baseball games, etc. during the month of June, I have quite a bit of downtime at the studio due to them missing lessons.  So, while teaching in the room with lots of guitars in it, I decided to pick one up, and with the help of a book, try to learn a bit.  I enjoyed learning something new so much that I wanted to be able to continue the learning at home!  I talked to one of the guitar teachers about it, and he pointed me to a local guitar shop (where he also works and which happens to be right across the street from the studio), and I went on over there during a break today...and walked out with a guitar!  I'm looking forward to the challenge and potential it presents!  Any suggestions or tips are welcome!  ☺

That's all, for now.

Happy Friday (almost)!

Strummingly,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

"Appletini" Crystal Light
teacher discounts
fresh pineapple

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Those were the days...

As I sit here with my toenails drying, everything checked off my to-do list, practicing trumpet for the fun of it, and of course, writing a blog post...just because, I'm thinking that there will (probably/hopefully) come a day when I look back on these times and think, "Those were the days..."  You know the song, right?  We had it on a player piano roll, and it was one of our favorites!  Click here to refresh your memory.


Anyway...this evening, I'm cherishing this season of life and trying to not take it for granted.  Though there are days when I long to be married/starting a family/etc. as so many of my friends/peers/acquaintances are, I really love setting my own schedule, doing only what I want to do (and when I want to do it), being able to see/help/hang out with friends as often as I please, the list goes on and on!  I also love knowing God has me right where He wants me...and though I'm ready for whatever comes next, I'm also content to stay in this "place" for a bit.


A couple entries for my "nanny diary":
While the 5-yr.-old was playing out an intense chase scene involving a semi-truck (cattle carrier), "The Lion King" (little plastic Mufasa figurine), and Scar (another plastic lion figurine), he was not only narrating the story, but giving it its own theme music.  I couldn't quite decipher whether or not it was original or something he'd picked up from a show, but it was definitely meant to intensify the scene he was creating.  It reminded me of "The Emperor's New Groove."  (If you don't understand this reference, watch this video.)


After complimenting me on my painted toenails, the 2 1/2-yr.-old asked, "Can you do those on your kitty?"  Meaning, "Could/do you paint your cat's toenails?"  This came completely out of the blue, and I had to laugh out loud before explaining to her why I don't and will never do so.


Mmmk - that's all, for now.


Happy Father's Day (almost) - especially to my dad!!  ☺


-Kensy




Favorites of the day:
being sought out (for a variety of reasons, but in this case, to play trumpet at church)
young men who notice your "foggy" headlight and offer to do a restoration treatment on it
grocery shopping

Monday, June 11, 2012

#100!

So...apparently this is my 100th post!  I noticed the count on my list-of-posts page before beginning a new one and was pleasantly surprised to see that number!  It makes me think of "100th Day" projects in elementary school!  Sorry - I'm not going to make a picture with 100 Cheerios, beads, marshmallows, or pennies for the occasion.  Here are some other stats, though:

  • I've been blogging for exactly 1 year and 7 months.
  • There have been 7,267 pageviews from...
  • 10 different countries!
Thanks again to all you faithful readers!  Again - I'd like to extend the offer to write about anything you request (within reason), so feel free to leave a comment, anonymous or otherwise.

I hope you all had a great weekend - I sure did!  Saturday was spent at the pool and a summer concert/festival with friends.  It was pretty much the perfect summer day!

Yesterday, it was another spectacular Sunday school session (hooray for alliterations!) and worship service.  Then, I got to help host a Nebraska Brass concert and had the pleasure of working with a lovely older woman who came (volunteered) to help.  That evening, I had the opportunity to play for an ordination service at church.  I was moved to tears (yes, more tearfulness...) when each of the supporting pastors (there were 11) individually laid their hands on the young man being ordained and gave him their own words of encouragement - from scripture and otherwise.  Such a powerful display of Christ-like love and support.  I wondered if they were all remembering their own ordination during this time.  This was followed by a violin/piano/organ arrangement of "Here I Am, Lord" - one of my very favorite hymns...it always gets me.  Luckily, I was able to compose myself before playing for the last hymn.  Even though the service lasted much longer than I anticipated, I was glad to be a part of it.
Charlie says, "Hey."
That's all, for now!  Have a wonderful week!

Centennially,
Kensy

P.S. If I had made the decision to go to France with the NWU band, I would've been gone for the past 10 days.  Though I know they all had an amazing time, I do not regret my decision to stay in the least!  Not only would I have missed out on a week's worth of work and had to find subs/make-up times for so many students, I would've missed that beautiful wedding last weekend and all the great experiences this weekend!  Maybe (hopefully) next time, Europe...  ☺

P.P.S. Those of you who work downtown and/or have a lengthy lunch hour should come check out the Lincoln Community Foundation Garden Performance Series concerts at noon on Wednesdays!  Yours truly will be hosting a lot of them from here on out, and I'd love to see you there!  Look the series up on Facebook, or click here for the schedule of performers.

Favorites of the day:
cool old houses
sunshine
iTunes

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Good tears

Hey, all!


This past weekend, I got to witness the marriage of one of my good college friends to the man of her dreams!  It was a beautiful ceremony (as were all the festivities!) - such a testament to God's faithfulness.  I was reminded of the perfect plan He has for each of us and how intently we need to trust His timing in our lives.


For me, weddings pretty much always mean tears (of joy and happiness).  This was definitely not an exception.  I hadn't had a "good cry" in awhile, so once I started, I wasn't to be stopped...for the whole weekend, it seems!  Here are most of the instances that evoked tears for me this past weekend:

  • hymn/song selections before the wedding ceremony even began
  • two grandsons kissing their grandmother's check after escorting her to her seat at her grandaughter's wedding
  • groom seeing his stunning bride for the first time
  • hymn/song selections during the ceremony
  • beautifully choreographed first dance
  • Maid of Honor's speech
  • Best Man's speech
  • various points during a Dave-Matthews-Band-centered worship service (esp. the song "He Loves Us")
  • the song "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz (video with a beautiful explanation of why he wrote it and a live performance - click here)
  • this proposal video: click here (please watch this - soooo cool)

Such a wonderful celebration of life and love happening amongst the various tragedies/illnesses/unfortunate circumstances that have hit close to home, lately, leaves me with many more thoughts on all these situations.  We won't delve into all that, for now, though.  All I know is I am so very thankful to be so very blessed.


I haven't posted much about Charlie, recently, so for those of you who have been missing this segment of the "scoop," here you go!  (Those who could care less can skip past the pictures.)
I had just washed this (his cat carrier/time-out spot) out and was still washing the blanket that goes inside before putting the lid and door back on.
He felt the need to make use of it right at that moment, though.
Also - it was his 2nd birthday yesterday!
Typical.
Better.
No, I didn't throw him a party.  FYI - pictures in a hat was the extent of the festivities...and a "special" can of food. There were no balloons, candles, singing, etc.


Speaking of balloons - did you know the supply of helium on the earth is quickly disappearing?!  Look it up...


Tearfully (not really - it just fit the bulk of the body of this post),
Kensy


Favorites of the day:
birthday celebration staff meetings
flexibility (in scheduling, etc.)
sugar snap peas from Mom's garden