Don't worry...I'm still here. ☺

Hello, hello!

I'm taking a short break from the nearly 50 student evaluations I need to get done (a little over halfway there!) to make sure you know I'm still alive and well.  ☺  One of my adult students told me the other day that if I think time is going by quickly now, it only gets faster...which is really hard to imagine, at this point.  I'm doing my very best to enjoy each moment before it passes, though!

The holiday season, so far, as brought lots of quality time with friends, family, and loved ones - new and old, near and far - and I wouldn't have it any other way.  You all know relationships are second only to Jesus on my "life priorities list," so building/cultivating/growing them on any level just does my heart good.

A couple kiddo stories for you:
Before starting a duet, one of my students (the one who used to refer to duets as "dudettes," in fact) stopped for a moment to figure out how to count us off saying to himself, "Wait - what's the temperature?" as he pointed to the time signature.  I asked, "Do you mean the tempo or the time signature?"  He laughed and replied, "Oh yeah - the time signature - that's what I meant."

A few weeks ago, my favorite 4-yr.-old planned a trip to the Children's Museum and lunch at Noodles & Co. for our morning together before preschool.  When I thanked her for such a fun time together, she replied, "My pleasure."

Thanks for reading!  Sorry this was so short and sweet... Let me know if there's anything you'd like to hear/read about in the "scoop" - I'm always open for questions and/or suggestions! ☺

Stay warm out there!

Productively,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

having quite a few students miss their lessons tonight (even though this was due, in part, to illness, it was a huge answer to prayer, because I had my laptop with me and was able to fill the paid time completing some evaluations)

Pumpkin Spice Almonds

(memories of) Cocoa Gravy w/ Biscuits

"Young" Adult

Happy fall, dear friends! Hope this finds you well, as usual.

Thank you to those of you who called to sing “Happy Birthday,” wrote on my Facebook wall, sent a text or card, and/or helped me celebrate last week! I spent my birthday weekend with some of my very, very favorite people, and felt so blessed and loved to receive so many well-wishes, thoughtful gifts, and kind words on my special day!

Amidst the (embarrassing amount of) cat cards I received in the mail last week was a letter from the YMCA. After thanking me for my membership, it stated that according to their records, I am “no longer eligible for a Young Adult membership” (people ages 19-25), and therefore, my “membership will be converted to an Adult membership” ($10/month more than I was paying as a “Young Adult”).

Was it wrong for me to be slightly offended/disappointed/saddened that they didn’t at least wish me a happy birthday in this letter?! I know it wouldn’t change the fact that I’ll be paying more for my membership, but couldn’t they at least have softened the blow by saying, “Hey – we noticed you turned a year older…happy birthday! By the way, this means you’re an adult, now, so we’re increasing your monthly fee.”

I don’t know if they think adults use (or need to use) the gym more than young adults, or if they simply assume individuals magically make more money once they turn 26 and apparently enter adulthood. Which brings me to the question: When does adulthood begin?

Is it when you can vote?

When you can rent a car without the unnecessary amount of extra fees?

When you get married? Have children?

When you reach your ultimate career goal(s)?

When you can eat certain foods without gagging?

When you can no longer be claimed as a dependent on anyone’s tax returns?

When you can change your own flat tire?

When you no longer find “childish” things funny or appealing?


As of this month, I’m officially on my own, as far as health/car/life insurance goes…except for my phone bill – I’m still on our “family plan.” At least the cell phone companies understand – family is family, no matter how old you are…good to know some things never change.

Back to the topic at hand, though: What does “young adult” even mean? I mean, I know it’s the stage of life after being a teenager…but why does the “adult” phase come so quickly after the “young adult” one? I think a “young” adult should stay “young” as long as a child stays a child…let’s say 12-ish years. So, by that calculation, adulthood shouldn’t set in till age 30, right? Who knows…

Please know I’m mostly being facetious about most of this. In all seriousness, though, it feels kind-of weird to be considered a “real” adult…to be completely self-sufficient and to only really have to worry about myself when making decisions and/or life changes. (Charlie’s pretty good about going with the flow.)

What I know for sure is this:
I am loving this season of life and am trying my best to not take any part of it for granted. I love being able to stay out later than planned (after not planning to go out, in the first place), being able to keep such an abnormal work schedule and continue doing what I feel called to do, and being able to be available to help/encourage/spend time with others at any time of day or night. I love not planning meals, being the only one on my budget, and sleeping with more covers than the average person. I love days with no obligations and endless possibilities, nights spent with my closest girlfriends (eating food-that-shall-remain-nameless, painting our nails, and watching chick flicks), and the hopeful anticipation I have for meeting my future husband. Most importantly, I love being able to continuously realize and increasingly understand how fully and completely I am loved by the Lord – He never ceases to remind me that He is all I need – everything else is just frosting. ☺

To quote a dear friend (and Emily Dickinson), I am “dwelling in the possibility” of whatever adulthood will bring, but in the meantime, I’m living in the beautiful reality of what it has already brought.

♥,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

free birthday items

pending trip to the apple orchard
dark chocolate M&M's and popcorn (fresh from the microwave, of course, so the M&M's get melty)

BIG news!!

Hey there!

I've been working on checking things off my long-term to-do list in the past week, or so, before summer wraps up.  This has included working on/completing various tasks at Arts Inc., finding my own health insurance plan, and...buying a NEW CAR!!!!

No, I hadn't been looking for long.  Yes, I'd been thinking about it for a while.

As much as I love, love, love Paulette the Prelude, I knew I didn't want to go through another winter wondering whether or not I'd be able to get out of the driveway, to/from work, etc. in the snow.  Also, more space would be ideal when helping friends move, carpooling to various events, and hauling trumpets/groceries/music boxes/kiddos with car seats.

Paulette will be going back to her home in Topeka...and will surely be missed in Lincoln.

So, I decided that if I'm going to go bigger, I'm going to go big...SUV-big.  My parents had also been looking to upgrade and had done some worth-while research that was very valuable to me once I decided to start car-shopping.  I did a little looking and researching on my own and found this:

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (Turbo)

It was everything I didn't completely know I was looking for, and was a really sweet deal - a used car, but a 2013 model!  I decided to test drive a couple other makes/models of similarly-sized vehicles before seeing the Santa Fe in person.  I wasn't super impressed with them, and all the Santa Fe's great attributes I'd seen on paper more than confirmed when I saw and drove it for the first time.  It was meant to be.  ☺

The guys at the dealership (Sid Dillon of Lincoln) were not pushy, but instead, were very helpful and so accommodating through my entire first car-buying-experience.

Because they needed to detail the car and I needed to finalize my auto insurance, I didn't drive it off the lot the day I bought it.  So, it didn't really feel real for awhile...even after signing 74,152 forms and writing the largest check I've written to date.

Buuut...when I got to drive it home (to work) the next day (today), I realized, "OH MY GOSH!!!  I JUST BOUGHT A NEW CAR!!!!  AHHHH!!!!!!"

It doesn't hurt that a friend works in the detail shop at the dealership and put some extra hours and elbow grease into making it extra beautiful.  LOVE it!!!

I haven't decided on a name, yet, but I'm pretty sure it's a "he."  Bring on the suggestions!  ☺

Ecstatically,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

wedding-induced reunions

prayerfully-supported life decisions

garden-fresh cherry tomatoes

good grammar

Meanwhile, at the coop...

Caught yellow-faced...

Happy summertime (officially)!

I really can't believe June is almost over, and since I've heard many others express similar sentiments about time flying, I won't dwell on the fact that I don't know where the month went.

Instead, I'll share some great happenings from the month, so far...mostly one in particular: My best friend got married a couple weeks ago!!!!  It still hasn't hit me that she is a wife...with a new last name...and a husband!  Talk about time flying - sheesh!  Yes, lots of friends and acquaintances (older and younger than myself) have gotten engaged/married/had children in the recent past, but this one hit closest to home.  I'm so incredibly happy for them and excited to see what the Lord has in store for their lives from here on out.  It's just crazy to think how our paths were basically the same from 2nd-12th grade, then diverged a bit upon choosing different colleges, then even more when I decided to make Lincoln my home, and now she's married...yet our friendship is still the same as it's always been.  I could say the same for other people in my life, but this was just a pretty big deal, and I'm obviously still trying to wrap my mind around it.  Thanks for bearing with me.  ☺

In other news, the end of the private lesson term at the studio has brought some sweet notes and gifts from my students, among which were these beautiful flowers:

They've lasted for over a week, and Charlie has been pretty good about leaving them alone...until tonight, that is.  Apparently, he just couldn't wait till we got home to eat something, so helped himself to the lily leaves.  What he didn't count on, I'm sure, was the dusting of pollen that came with them.

It took me awhile to figure out where the yellow came from, because he didn't knock over the vase ...then, I noticed a bite out of a leaf and put two and two together.

Lastly, I have a couple shameless plugs for work:
Please contact me if you or someone you know would be interested in attending the Nebraska Jazz Camp (middle school-high school aged students).  Registration deadline is July 1, but we can get you in afterward, too, if necessary.

Also, the Lincoln Municipal Band's 2013 season is nearly in full swing!  Mark your calendars on Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. starting July 7th through August 18th for some excellent music at the Antelope Park band shell.  "Like" the band on Facebook for more information and updates...and we'll hope to see you there!  ☺

Stay cool,
Kensy

P.S. For those of you who don't already know, my brother has an internship in Pennsylvania this summer (with CNH), and my parents and I are driving out to see him soon!  So, hopefully, my next post will include some pictures and exciting stories from back east.

Favorites of the day:

building new relationships

the color of polish on my toenails

road trip snacks

Painted fingernails

Don’t worry – the title will be explained – I just need you to be on board with reading the post in its entirety.  Got it?  Ok.

For quite awhile now (as in over 10 years), I’ve had an idea in the back of my mind to write a book titled “Painted Fingernails.”  It would be a non-fiction book about being the only girl in certain situations…the only one with painted fingernails.  : )

This idea originated back in middle school when I was the only girl in the trumpet section of three.  (Those of you who know who the other two were…you know what it was like.)  This wasn’t the first time I’d been the only female in a situation, though:

On my dad’s side of the family, I’m the only granddaughter of 10 grandkids.  I’m the third oldest, so my aunts would always jokingly (but somewhat seriously) promise to keep trying for a girl for me.  It didn’t happen, but I think everyone’s pretty ok with it – we got some pretty great guys out of the deal!  : )  On my mom’s side of the family, I’m the oldest cousin, the next oldest is a boy, and the next is my brother.  I think interacting with the males of my family from such a young age created a basis for the future male-dominated situations of my life, such as…

…my elementary school gifted class.  From 2^nd-6^th grade, I was part of a gifted class that met once a week for an entire day of fun, random, and memorable educational activities.  (Perhaps I’ll dedicate a post to this class someday…if you were in it, and have any specific memories, send them my way!)  Anyway, I was one of few, if not the only girl in this class of 12.  We continued to have a couple special classes together in jr. high, too.  I’m pretty sure this is where I learned to understand boys of all types and interact with them in a variety of situations.  Hopefully, they learned a little bit from me in return.  haha

I continued to be the only girl in various trumpet sections throughout my school years.  This meant some quality time spent in sectionals and on tours.  In high school, my name got misspelled on a couple occasions…the “s” was mistaken for an “n,” so I was “Kenny.”  The nickname stuck, due in part to the fact that it fit in a little better with the rest of the boy names.

Call me crazy, but I believe all these experiences molded me into a girl who appreciates guy time more than girl time, on occasion.  Please don’t take this to mean I don’t value my girlfriends or the time I spend with them – I do more than words can express.  Rather, I just think I get along with and appreciate guys more than your average girl, and that this is a result of the quantity and quality of guy time I grew up with.

Interestingly, I’ve discovered that this appreciation/phenomenon occurs whether I’m in a relationship or not – I’ve enjoyed guy time just as much when I’ve had a boyfriend as I do now.  I think I just appreciate it more when I’m single, because it’s not so readily available. : )

So, this post goes out to all the men in my life – past, present, and future.  I value you, our friendships, and the time we’ve spent together.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!  I'm off to pull out the red fingernail polish.  : )

Love,

K

P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts about any and all of this!

P.P.S. This blog allows me to see how many times each post is viewed.  At this point, the leader is the “There’s a new man in my life…” post.  Just FYI.

Favorites of the day:

sunshine (and opening the sunroof and wearing a skirt!)

playing on a Trumpet Fest concert today

this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqfsto6mJ_4