Ellieeeeeee and Me!

Hola! This is me and Ellie. She goes to BYU and I start UVU on Monday. We're just hanging out in our kitchen.

We're really cool. Just in case you were wondering.

I am good enough! I AM! I AM! I AM!

I'm frustrated.

When I signed up for violin when I was 4 years old, I would never have been able to foresee how competitive it would be.

So, life went on. 16 years of violin lessons later, you think I would be able to be at the top.

Oh no. That's apparently not how it works.

So in April, I sent an audition tape to the Suzuki Association for my Violin Teacher Workshop I would go to that summer. It went badly, but my REALLY good excuse is that I had been practicing the wrong song all week. So it was no surprise when I got a letter saying that I would have to re-audition.

So, I go to the workshop, it's AMAZING. During the week I have all kinds of opposition: bike race down Provo Canyon makes me late, my car gets totaled, you know -- things like that.

After, I practice the songs they want. Hard. And I tape them a million times and pick the one that is SO close to being perfect it's crazy.

Today, I get my second copy of the exact same letter they sent me in May.

This is like geting the exact same letter from USU Music Department two years in a row. I'm not liking my accumulation of rejection letters. Not at all.

All these adversaries against me being the musician I want to be should make it seem like maybe music isn't the way for me. BUT, I, on the contrary, believe that all these adversaries against me only PROVE that I NEED to be a musician. I just have to work all that much harder. It's all going to work out. I know it's what I need to do.

Phew, I feel a lot better after writing that.

Brad Paisley, Suzuki, and let's sprinkle in a little KeSha, okay?

Life is good. REALLLLL good.
Seriously.

#1. I got a new car. It's the car I was talking about in my last post . . . we ended up getting it. And its SOOO much better than my last one! Yay!

#2. I've started a 6 year old on violin. And she's adorable. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE teaching beginners! Love it! So much. I can't even contain myself. I mean, hello, it's a 1/10 size violin! It's adorable! And she's adorable too!

#3. KeSha has the BEST music to run to. I'm serious. It's awesome. Two miles today. That's a BIG deal for me!

#4. Family vacation! Half was a "stay-cation" and the other half staying at a cabin in the Uintahs. Part one included: "17 Miracles" (holy amazing!), boating with the Savages at Strawberry -- and catching myself a fish, a horse ride, Sakura Hibachi Grill/Japanese Steak House/best food I've ever had . . . ever, and Stadium of Fire. Brad Paisley! Woo! Part two included: the BEAUTIFUL Uintah mountains, so stunning!, catching myself another fish (no big deal), four-wheeling (LOVE IT!), and reading a bunch. Oh yeah, and the cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Love those.

#5. Have you ever seen Kid History? Well, you better go look it up. Episodes 4 and 5 are the best things ever and super quotable. . . It makes me laugh so hard I want to throw up. Not kidding.

#6. Dani and I got jellies. The shoes. For 3 bucks at Smith's. Need I say more? . . . bonus points, they were also purchases with Ben & Jerry's ice-cream. "Cheesecake Brownie." And I love Dani.

#7. I have such a good job, and FABULOUS co-workers. So fun to work with!

#8. I've been reading Fablehaven because I finally have time to read. Okay, not really, but I've been MAKING time. It's definitely a mandatory part of my life. Reading, not Fablehaven. Even though it's pretty dang great.

#9. No more waitlists! I got into all the classes I wanted to. Just got into brass techniques today. Yesssss.

Well, I hope you can see how great my life is.
Life is good. Reallllllllly good. Love it.

Penelope

It's been a week since my poor Chevy Cavalier was totaled.

Here's the story:
I stayed at my old roomate LeAnne's house last Thursday night. I parked my car on the side of the road, like any normal person would. I had a great time with LeAnne. We went to the midnight showing of Green Lantern . . . it was alright. We got back to her house at 2:30 A.M. We went to bed instantly.
Apparently, at 3:00 a drive who was high off of . . . Ambien? completely smashed into the back of my car. The police found him wandering around the neighborhood. They then tried knocking on the door of my roomate's house, but we were DEAD to the world.
Therefore, at 7:00 the next morning, I was awoken by LeAnne's dad who announced that the police called, my car was totaled. I was awake FAST. And sure enough, I no longer had a trunk. . . completely squished.

So, that was an adventure. I had to get my roomate to take me to my Suzuki Violin Teacher Workshop in Draper, and my aunt picked me up.

This week, we're getting all the insurance stuff taken care of. BEST news: I bought Penelope for $4600, and the insurance is covering $4200. Pretty good.

Bad news though, I found a PERFECT car, but when my Dad offered $4000 for it, they said they had already gotten an offer for $4300. DANG IT.

So, me, the innocent victim who parked her car like a normal person on the side of a street in a very calm neighborhood, one that even had SPEED BUMPS, is now in search for a car to replace Penelope. She was doing so well, before she was murdered.

Oh well.

I just keep reminding myself that a car is just a thing. It's just a hunk of metal.

And I wasn't in it!
And neither was anyone else, or anything important.

So, I guess I'm just inconvenienced. It still feels VERY unfair though.

No Life, Without Wife -- Bride and Prejudice

Oh my word.
Picture this:
A remake of Pride and Prejudice.
Set in modern day India
AND -- it's a musical.

So, all I'm saying is: watch this. Best song of the movie -- for those of you who are aware of the story, this is when Mr. Collins comes to visit . . . here he is "Mr. Kholi" and he says to the Mrs. Bennett figure that there is "no life, without wife" -- thus, the inspiration for this song. Kind of fantastic. Okay, REALLy fantastic.

Dust In The Wind by Kansas

So one of my FAVORITE things to do in this whole world is make music with my Dad. He plays the guitar, I play the violin. And he's been begging me for . . . forever to buckle down and learn the violin part to Dust in the Wind. So, thanks to my incredible Suzuki ear training I did as a child, I was able to pick out the part, and my Dad and I played. It was fantastic. I just love playing with him . . . and I love playing with Seth too! I just love my musical family!

In other news, I've been working on the guitar. A cute boy in Logan taught me some chords, and how to play "Hallelujah." And this week, I strummed out "Picture to Burn" and "Our Song" by Taylor Swift. So dang fun. Why have I not picked up the guitar before?

HOMEEEEEE

Well. I'm back in Heber. I've been back for a week.
And I really don't like it.
Granted, it'll probably get better once I start working.
But here's the thing.
I have zero friends anymore.
Okay, that's not entirely true.
Yeah . . . my families great and all.
But my Heber friends? On missions or working.
And all my other friends? Live two hours or more away.
So, basically, I have no social life anymore.
However, I've done some awesome things this week.
First of all, I met with my advisor at UVU. Things are coming along there.
Next, I bought $5 jeans.
Then I had some chinese food.
And then I went on a horse ride, and remembered how much I really like riding
I read Wuthering Heights on my trampoline
Then I mowed the whole lawn and got sunburnt (the good news is that it's tan today)
And today, I went to a rodeo, and I wore cowboy boots.

So, good things are happening in my life. Not so much socially, but I think it's going to be a good summer.

And so, here I am. The slightly more tan version of the person who moved back from Logan last week. I think I'm nearly caught up on my sleep from the past year. But I miss my roomates dearly. August 2010 to May 2011 were the BEST months of my life. Good things are most assuredly ahead. I hope.