Tomorrow is Shane's Eagle Court of Honor, and I can't freakin' BELIEVE how much work it is to get everything ready! We're making good progress but there is still a LOT to do to tie everthing up.
I ordered a cake from Costco yesterday then went and picked it up today and went to Wal-Mart AGAIN (I feel like I'm living there again lately), got home and realized I had forgotten the plasticware and paper plates. grrrrr. So guess where I'm headed later!
I think it's going to be really nice, though! Kelly put together a slideshow to the themesong from the TV series Enterprise that just fits Shane and his experiences perfectly. I still have a lot to do with pictures (decided that putting a scrapbook together this late in the game is insane so I'm just saying no to that, but I need to put something together that showcases his Eagle project) and we're fine-tuning the programs.
My brother Fred is going to read the story of the eagle and the chickens, and we're framing a copy of it to give to Shane. If you've never heard it you can find it online, and I will also post it here sometime in the next few days. It's very inspiring to anyone, not just an eagle scout.
Well, I'm going to catch a quick catnap and then jump back into the madness!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Swingin' Times at the Senior Center!
Yesterday I had a phone message from a grandma in our old ward who is very involved at the Senior Citizens' Center in our community. She hosts a variety show every month and was having trouble getting a pianist and asked me if I could help out--TODAY. I got the music last night, went over it this morning and decided what I could handle on such short notice and what would have to be done A'Cappella.
I have to tell you about this lady. She is absolutely hysterical; it usually takes her 5-10 minutes to answer a question because when she starts talking she gets reminded of something else that she then talks about and sometimes she ends up back round to the original subject. She likes to sing for her testimony on Fast and Testimony Meeting. She totally cracks me up! In some ways she reminds me of my Grandma Thompson (Grandma didn't sing but she was a hoot in other ways) and I think that's one reason why I feel so much affection for Margaret.
So when I got to the Center I couldn't find her because she didn't think to tell me where they were practicing; it wasn't in the gym where they serve lunch and they had two ladies with guitars already performing. Finally tracked her down, and when I came in she was going over the program with the performers. One of the men was particularly full of himself, shaking his head at everything, and informed me that I was NOT accompanying him. I was like, "You're right; I'm not!" He was looking pretty sharp with his pressed black pants, white turtleneck and cell phone holder attached to his WHITE BELT WITH MUSICAL NOTES PRINTED ALL OVER IT!! After the group cleared out I sat down at the piano to run through a few songs and he treated me to an impromptu performance, after which he said, "No offense to your piano playing, but if you're the kind that just plays as it's written it won't work because you're supposed to follow me." So spunky me, I said, "Ahh, you like to take artistic license! I do follow the singer, but I was given this last minute so I would have said no anyway because it wouldn't be fair to me OR to you." He then proceeded to tell me that he and his wife are professionals because THEY get paid for singing at the Centers, and told me of an audition he went to for a musical many years ago where the pianist was just terrible and so he requested to sing without the piano. The director said, "So you think you're that good, huh?" and he said, "Yes, I am," smoked the audition and landed the lead role. And I thought male ego peaked during the teenage years! :)
I was sitting in the lunchroom for about 15 minutes before the variety show and it was so touching to me to watch the people around me. Some of them just cracked me up--they had decorated the tables with Mardi Gras beads and masks because today was Fat Tuesday, and one little old lady sat there with one of the huge feathery masks on the whole entire time. A lot of them were wearing the beads. Every now and then when a favorite song was played, one or two couples would get up and dance, and at one point a couple of ladies got up and danced, too. They really respond to the music!
I played old love songs for about 15 minutes as they got their lunches, and after finishing one of the songs I heard, "That was beautiful," and looked over to see a little man with an oxygen tank seated close to the stage. It really touched me how much a simple thing like providing some meager piano playing out of a simplified book can lift someone's spirit.
As I watched the little couples dance, I thought what a beautiful thing it was to see those little men still holding their wives tight and dancing with them. THAT is true love!
It was a really neat thing to see Margaret in her element. She spends every day socializing at the center and talks about it a lot at church. People giggle a lot when she raises her hand in church because of how she rambles and some of the funny things she does, but I have to say that watching her today was really something. She is a leader there, and people look to her. I saw faces light up as she greeted people, she got a more comfortable chair for the man with the oxygen tank. She looked absolutely beautiful in her dress. She really shines, and it's wonderful to see her doing what she can in her way to reach out to people!
I have to tell you about this lady. She is absolutely hysterical; it usually takes her 5-10 minutes to answer a question because when she starts talking she gets reminded of something else that she then talks about and sometimes she ends up back round to the original subject. She likes to sing for her testimony on Fast and Testimony Meeting. She totally cracks me up! In some ways she reminds me of my Grandma Thompson (Grandma didn't sing but she was a hoot in other ways) and I think that's one reason why I feel so much affection for Margaret.
So when I got to the Center I couldn't find her because she didn't think to tell me where they were practicing; it wasn't in the gym where they serve lunch and they had two ladies with guitars already performing. Finally tracked her down, and when I came in she was going over the program with the performers. One of the men was particularly full of himself, shaking his head at everything, and informed me that I was NOT accompanying him. I was like, "You're right; I'm not!" He was looking pretty sharp with his pressed black pants, white turtleneck and cell phone holder attached to his WHITE BELT WITH MUSICAL NOTES PRINTED ALL OVER IT!! After the group cleared out I sat down at the piano to run through a few songs and he treated me to an impromptu performance, after which he said, "No offense to your piano playing, but if you're the kind that just plays as it's written it won't work because you're supposed to follow me." So spunky me, I said, "Ahh, you like to take artistic license! I do follow the singer, but I was given this last minute so I would have said no anyway because it wouldn't be fair to me OR to you." He then proceeded to tell me that he and his wife are professionals because THEY get paid for singing at the Centers, and told me of an audition he went to for a musical many years ago where the pianist was just terrible and so he requested to sing without the piano. The director said, "So you think you're that good, huh?" and he said, "Yes, I am," smoked the audition and landed the lead role. And I thought male ego peaked during the teenage years! :)
I was sitting in the lunchroom for about 15 minutes before the variety show and it was so touching to me to watch the people around me. Some of them just cracked me up--they had decorated the tables with Mardi Gras beads and masks because today was Fat Tuesday, and one little old lady sat there with one of the huge feathery masks on the whole entire time. A lot of them were wearing the beads. Every now and then when a favorite song was played, one or two couples would get up and dance, and at one point a couple of ladies got up and danced, too. They really respond to the music!
I played old love songs for about 15 minutes as they got their lunches, and after finishing one of the songs I heard, "That was beautiful," and looked over to see a little man with an oxygen tank seated close to the stage. It really touched me how much a simple thing like providing some meager piano playing out of a simplified book can lift someone's spirit.
As I watched the little couples dance, I thought what a beautiful thing it was to see those little men still holding their wives tight and dancing with them. THAT is true love!
It was a really neat thing to see Margaret in her element. She spends every day socializing at the center and talks about it a lot at church. People giggle a lot when she raises her hand in church because of how she rambles and some of the funny things she does, but I have to say that watching her today was really something. She is a leader there, and people look to her. I saw faces light up as she greeted people, she got a more comfortable chair for the man with the oxygen tank. She looked absolutely beautiful in her dress. She really shines, and it's wonderful to see her doing what she can in her way to reach out to people!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sweetheart Ball
As I'm writing this, both of my children are at the Sweetheart Ball at school (not with each other of course--I would have said, "Like gag me with a spoon," at the idea back in MY 80's high school days; no personal offense to my brother, but seriously!). It has been quite a week in more ways than one, and it's fun to see them having these experiences.
Brittany's date just picked her up a few minutes ago, and he seems like a very nice young man. He brought her a beautiful corsage. He looks a lot like Clark Kent to me, except with curly hair. :) Going dress shopping with Brittany was so much fun; we found a dress that is very modest and attractive, and she looks absolutely stunning! It's a black print; it's totally unfair how great she looks in black!
Shane's group left awhile ago; the guys stopped by here to get dressed before picking their dates up, and he looked sharp as well--black and red. I'll post pictures if they give me copies of their dance pix.
They are both out with people they haven't gone out with before, and I am glad. They both went through breakups recently, and it's good to see them having fun with and getting to know other people. It's a nice change from the drama that's been going on around here for the past few weeks. Teenage relationships make me tired; I'm thinking that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that I didn't date in high school. The drama in college was almost too much for me at times, and that was with people who were supposedly more mature!
Brittany's date just picked her up a few minutes ago, and he seems like a very nice young man. He brought her a beautiful corsage. He looks a lot like Clark Kent to me, except with curly hair. :) Going dress shopping with Brittany was so much fun; we found a dress that is very modest and attractive, and she looks absolutely stunning! It's a black print; it's totally unfair how great she looks in black!
Shane's group left awhile ago; the guys stopped by here to get dressed before picking their dates up, and he looked sharp as well--black and red. I'll post pictures if they give me copies of their dance pix.
They are both out with people they haven't gone out with before, and I am glad. They both went through breakups recently, and it's good to see them having fun with and getting to know other people. It's a nice change from the drama that's been going on around here for the past few weeks. Teenage relationships make me tired; I'm thinking that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that I didn't date in high school. The drama in college was almost too much for me at times, and that was with people who were supposedly more mature!
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