Ready or not, here it comes!

Oh life. :) This is a common phrase the comes out of my mouth, especially on beautiful days like today when the sun is shining and I realize that school begins again soon. Soon as in tomorrow. Time feels like it has FLOWN by this summer, which is actually pretty normal. So many fun things, so little time I guess.

BUUUTTTTTTT... there are a few things of note that need to be pointed out.

- On August 13th, my mom graduated with her Masters degree from Brigham Young University! This is such a huge accomplishment (see previous posts) and my family couldn't be more happy for her, especially Dad. He's the man! For standing by mom and motivating her in the first place to actually apply for college when she didn't know if she could do it is a big ol' task. But, way to go mom for making it the past 7 years and doing it quite successfully I might add! You're an important motivator in my life.

- My sweet sister Kendra had a birthday last week! Happy

birthday sista! I can't believe how big her little ones are getting either.

They are the sweetest girls with pretty dang awesome personalities. Just check out the picture below. Can you see that? M. does the "bug eyes" when she's trying to be goofy, B. will help take care of the babe any chance she can get her hands on her, and H. just is a chub that smiles and laughs ALL the time (sometimes even on command!). They are the joys of my sister and brother-in-law's life and they definitely are a joy in mine as well. Aaaaaannnnndddd I get to see them TODAY! Thank heaven for family parties :) That's all I'm sayin' about that one.

- Last but certainly not least, school is officially going to begin in less than 24 hours. Yes, I still get the nervous bug in my stomach the night before, set out my

clothes, and pack a lunch like I'm in elementary school. Whatever it takes to be on time in the morning man! I'm really Really REALLY glad I chose to come to BYU though. At first, I'll admit, I was terrified because during Fall and Winter semesters it's easy to feel like a teeny spec amid a monster crowd of students. After a while though, it's pretty easy to find your "spot", you know? To click with new people and to make so many great friends has been a real blessing :) Once I passed my freshman year though, it seemed to get a WHOLE lot easier. Thank the heavens above for awesome roommates now. I have the best ones ever. If you don't believe me, you should meet Anne and Torrey. They're great. :)

As usual, life is rollin' along whether or not I think I'm ready for it. I'm stoked to start a new year of school and have a feeling like this is going to be a great one.

backpacks and chiropractors

I am celebrating!

This is an interpretation of a conversation I frequently have with friends, parents, teachers, strangers... you name it. I even got a weird pick-up line one time about a backpack. It went as follows:

Strange guy: "Hey, your backpack's real big."

Me: "Umm, yeah. Thank you?"

... and that was the end of that, thank heaven.

Bbbbbuuuuttt... today is the LAST day I will carry this lovely 27-pound wonder to school and back again. Trust me, a big backpack is something like a signature Courtney thing to have (of all things). Just ask one of my school chums. Not even joking.

So, this is goodbye to the ridiculous back-breaker of the century... for at least 8 weeks anyway. :)

mi madre

Are you ready for this??

This is big. Real BIG. Ok. Here goes.

My mama and I carpool to school together. That is, until today. My mother has been going to school for the past 7 years. Yes, she's finishing a Master's degree, it's not just one long bachelors degree like mine... she actually accomplishes stuff.

Mom packed her school bags and started her college journey when I began 8th grade. At first people would tease and say, "your mom goes to college!" thinking they were funny like Napoleon Dynamite or something. It was junior high, okay? In reality, they were right though. My mama was going to college. I gradually got used to the fact that mom would pack a lunch the night before, have homework, and think about tests at school just like me. We would be racing to get out the door or sometimes share the bathroom to do hair in the morning. This got to be the norm.

Once I started college, she and I have stressed about finals together, laughed about lame tests, take drive-thru runs just to get some chocolate in the system, and study for countless late nights until we both nearly fell asleep on our books. The last item happened WAY too often, let me tell you. She has played the role of mom, student, editor, teacher, motivator and friend for the past 7 years and somehow has juggled it all very well in my mind. How she did it? I'll never know. My mom is Wonder Woman people. Face it. She is.

Don't get me wrong, the last 7 years haven't been stress-free, care-free, or a 100% joyous ride, but they've had their moments of glory. These little mercies came when tests were passed, professors worked with us, or we simply made it to school on time that day. I've learned so much from watching my mama go to school. The following is a compilation of things that have gone through my brain when I consider the last 7 years that I have learned from watching her...

- Nothing is impossible if you stick to it long enough.

- Fake it until you make it.

- If you think you've studied so much that your brain is saturated, study some more.

- Don't give up.

- Don't forget to pray. It gets you through things.

- Hard work pays off.

- Time will go by whether you set goals or not.

- There are three options when it comes to the outcome of an assignment: good, better, best. Choose one.

- The best effort you give to something doesn't always turn out to be the letter grade you get at the end of the semester. But, if you give it everything you have, it will be positive.

- Quitting is not an option.

My mama has been my inspiration throughout my whole life. She's someone I look up to and love. I'm so proud of you mom!

NOTE: To those of you who find it offensive to get up and yell during graduation ceremonies, I apologize in advance. I am coming to support my mother and am bringing a sign. A big one. I may also wear the most annoying color you can imagine so she can see where my family is sitting through all of the bright lights as she crosses that beautiful stage and gets the empty diploma holder. That's all. Thank you :)

events and happenings

Hello.

Yes, I'm still alive.

The last few weeks have been a little nuts around here. School is in full swing for Spring term but may I remind you, it is rapidly coming to a close! Hallelujah! There are a whopping 4 DAYS between the end of Spring term and the beginning of Summer term (both of which I am a participant) so maybe I'll get lucky and get out there to play some tennis for a few moments... wouldn't THAT be nice! :)

A few things of note have happened in the past few weeks that I wanted to let you all know about! ... yes, all 6 or 9 of you that happen to glance at this blog when you're bored out of your mind. I'll number for the sake of forgetting chronological order or something...

1) My sweet brother has graduated from the University of Utah and has started the masters program in architecture there! So proud of him!! Congratulations Scooter! This is a big deal. I'm so glad to see you follow through with your dream of going to college. You're a great example. The best brother I've ever had I'll say. Love you man.

2) I officially tested out of my first class in college. Woo! It wasn't too bad but this one was a relief when it was over.

3) My cute brother has so much happening in his life that this post may seem a little bit focused on him... but let's face it. He has a much more thrilling life than me at this point in time. I'm so happy for he and his wife - they just moved into their first home! I'm so happy to know that they are finally moved in and enjoying life right now. Scotty was in Haiti on a school trip with some classmates and professors while Michelle + family moved them into their new home. So happy times - they are proud owners of their first home!

4) I have nearly made it through Spring term! Classes go by so quick but it's going well and hopefully will end well next week... :)

5) I have rediscovered my love of tennis. Yes, that's right. I played last week for my first time and was so pumped that I want to play every day in summer! To remedy this craze for the sport I even signed up for a Beginning Tennis class in Summer term. I have a racquet, I may as well use it!

So... life is plugging along! I'm really excited for my family. These events have brought us together so much and I know that there will be more happy moments to come!

Thank you Krommer.

NOTE: Personal epiphany occurred recently. It made me the happiest person in America today :) Read on if you're interested.


So. I found it. Yeah, I really think I did. It's a little thing called motivation. Motivation to practice. Motivation to study. Motivation to be the best Courtney possible. Motivation to work. Motivation to use time better. Motivation for a lot of things. It hit me today while I was practicing in a big room all by myself.

There I was. Little me and little instrument. Big ol' room. For not having practiced in about 3-4 weeks I was feeling like it was all hopeless. There was no way on this good green earth I was going to make it through one more useless day of practicing. Giving up was definitely on the menu today. It was definitely the no-matter-how-hard-I-try-this-will-never-sound-good thought process.

Know what I'm sayin'?

Well, when I played, my sound filled it all up. The whole room - it was amazing! I was sick of scales, arpeggios, thirds, fourths, sixths, rhythm patterns, etudes, solos, piano accompaniments, long tones, stop-tonguing exercises, hand stretches, reed breakage, reed warpage, old reeds, lightheaded-ness when I didn't breathe deep enough... you name it. But as my sound filled up that huge space, I realized it actually sounded... good. Yeah, it did. And I felt like things started coming back - the dynamics that tend to fly out the window when you don't work on them (especially a good piano), breath support, articulation, flexibility, tongue positions... shall we just say musicality IN GENERAL?!?

It was a wake-up call. This is possible. I can do hard things. Life doesn't hinge on one class in college and (thank heaven!) there are always times to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again. When something like this happens, there's no way I can go back to working like I did before. This term is going to pass through my life in flying colors. Four weeks to go and I think it's going to end up okay.

Thanks for experiencing my wake-up call with me through a blog.

Discovery!

I did it.

Rediscovering running is a beautiful thing after a long while of absence from the roads.

New favorite sound: good running shoe soles squishing against the pavement on a quiet road where you can actually hear it.

Sound weird? Try it. :)

Recognition

I have to write this down before I forget...

I was visiting my sister's family yesterday for the after party of Scotty's graduation. So, after Olive Garden, my niece Morgan wanted to ride with us from Salt Lake to her house in our car. We were chatting it up in the back seat (as much as you can chat it up with a 7-year-old...) and then the most amazing thing happened.

Dad turned on Classical 89, that blessed station that plays what I think are the most commonly played classical songs ever. But, to my surprise, Morgan pipes up, "Hey! I know this song! It's on a BARBIE movie. This is the part where Barbie is dancing..." and she goes on to tell me everything in the movie that is happening while the song is playing in the movie. She was so detailed and even sang along in her childish voice to the parts that were familiar to her.

Bless that little girl's heart, she made me the happiest future-music-teacher-in-America that day. I was able to have a teaching moment, telling her that "No sweetie, the song is actually called 'Swan Lake', it's not just the name of a movie" and about the composer. I was amazed how much that child was absorbing music.

This is the little first-grader who opened my music dictionary (with no urging on my part!) and was sounding out names of instruments. She read it like a storybook...

What a wonder.

I am so proud of my brother. See him? I think he's pretty much the greatest brother ever. Ever, people.

He's accomplished something HUGE, by the way. Can you guess?

Yes. He is going to graduate from the University of Utah tomorrow in Architecture! He's finally done it and I'm so happy for him to move onto grad school at the U. Even though it's the U...

All feelings aside about rivalry though... I can't wait for our family to get together and par-TAY because of this kid! Congratulations Scotty! I love you!

You're my favorite brother.

Welcome to Spring Term.

I decided that I forget to write on my own blog because I'm trying to keep up with my other friends and forget I have a blog... well, here's to updating every once in a while.

Here's a brief update!

Things I have done...

- Successfully completed Winter Semester 2010

- Learned much

- Turned 20... no more teenage years... weird... but good

- Am actually enrolled in classes unrelated to music

- Looked forward to a fun-filled summer spent (hopefully!) more outdoors than in

- Yet again... filled my backpack to exploding - this will never end, I swear

Things I hope to do in my so-called "free time"...

- Read more

- Enjoy being outside more often

- Move to a new place so commuting will be easier school-wise

- Laundry

- Run more

- Live life a little more fully. We've only got one. We might as well do the best we can :)

So... this little bloggity blog is an easy thing to forget about! I'll try to document my Spring/Summer more... maybe this will be a good time to actually bust out my camera and take pictures that are up to date.

scotty moses photography

To all who are looking for a photographer for an event, happy day, or just because, you should check out Scotty Moses' blog for photography...

scottymosesphotography.blogspot.com

He is good. And he will make you look good. No, I'm not advertising because he's my brother and I love him so you think I'm biased...

He really does some great work.

Check it out!!

whoa.

My first all-nighter.. who woulda thought? Let's hope that this little beauty never happens again this semester... my brain hurts.

bloggity blog...

So this silly blog decided to put the music player ad right SMACK in the middle of my page.

Ignore please. Don't turn the music off.. but ignore. Oh and disregard the beepy noise in the middle of good old Frank Sinatra. No, it's not a "bad-words" filter - Frank is very clean in this song, thank you very much. It just beeps weird. I'll checked it out after finals or something...

So to fix to awkward ad situation I'll just make a super long post later to push the music player weird stuff outta the way.

Enjoy!

...it's my party...

Do you ever wish for things?

For example, I wish I could...

... be a kid again solely to have rocking birthday parties.

... enjoy the annual, always acceptable, standard yellow-with-chocolate-frosting cake that I've enjoyed since I was five.

... hang crepe paper from the kitchen light fixture and call it "fancy, party decorations".

... wear Pippi Long-stocking pigtails with a party hat.

... tell everyone who I love just how much I love them on a beautiful day like today.

... not have to get one year older and wiser, too so darn fast.

... make this lovely day last forever.

And yet, even when I wish for things so child-like as these every now and again, I still love the fact, plain and simple, that it's my birthday...

... and I've finally broken out of my teens. Hallelujah.

And because it's my birthday, I can do what I want today. It's my day :) Bring on the party, the cake, and the company! Even General Authorities celebrate my birthday with me - perks of having an early-Aprilish birthday, people. Let's just face it, it's true. So. Here's to a wonderful day full of new things around every corner.

:)

the week of AWESOME. period.

The week I've been waiting for all semester is finally HERE! I've waited a while for this week to come. At first, when school started this semester, I didn't think it would actually happen, but alas, it has. As much as I tried to stay on top of it, school has nearly clocked me over the head yet again.

For those who are students reading this, you'll know exactly what I mean. Umm... as in some professors believe that their class is the most important class EVER taught at BYU, hence you should devote your life (for the next two weeks at least) to the assignments, projects, and final exam due in that class. The only catch is that nearly all of mine seem to think this way!

Now, don't get me wrong, I know that some professors are actually reasonable individuals who know that students get feeling like this and need a break. Sanity is surprisingly somewhat important in this little lovely experience called "college". Who knew?

Anyway... the week has finally come that all projects are rearing their ugly heads daring me to work on them all at once. Yeah, this is not the most ideal way of approaching things for me. One at a time is enough, thank you. My brain is constantly sliding between Music Theory, Wind Symphony, New Testament, the somewhat inconsistent radio that is constantly going in my head, Ballet, and Music Dictation. I had no idea my brain could work this fast on simultaneous things... wow. I feel for my friends who I talk to on a daily basis - how does anything I say make sense with all of the rubbish wandering around my brain??

So, as my friend would say, "it's time to punt!" In other words, it's time. Don't mess around and just get it done. Let's face the week of death with courage people!

To all overwhelmed students out there - we can do this! A day at a time, people... a day at a time.

Family

Definition: people who are related to one another.

In my case, I've never been more grateful for family as I have been at this point in my life. Yeah, we've always been there for each other through thick and thin, good times and bad times, etc. etc... but I never realized how much I love 'em until just recently.

In my mind, family should be your home team cheering you on even when you feel like you're going to fall flat on your face and don't want to even think about getting up again. When I think about it, my parents are my biggest cheerleaders. I have never seen two people so dedicated to their children's happiness as these two. Everything in their life is focused on making and keeping their family safe, comfortable, and close to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Family is important and for me, consists of people who are only concerned about my happiness.

Are you getting the drift that I love them... just a little?

For me, there is no other feeling like knowing I have a strong foundation for my life because of what I've been taught by my parents in my home growing up. They've shown nothing but love for me my whole life. I think I'm beginning to realize that not everyone else has this kind of situation, which makes me so much more grateful for that which I DO have.

Point being? Never take your family for granted. You never know how vitally important they are to you until your life is pretty muddled and you just need help from the people who know you the best.

You know you've studied music too long when...

Do you ever hear a door squeak or a chair scrape across the floor and wonder, "what pitch was that?"

Yeah. Didn't think so. So unfortunately as I was studying in a building on campus today, desperately trying to focus on writing a paper, I heard a chair scrape and thought "oh a Major 2nd..." and thought nothing of it.

A little while later, it happened again.

And again.

Little did I realize, that what I was doing was NOT very normal. Identifying intervals because some piece of metal scratched the floor?? Good grief. Look what school is doing to my brain... After only studying music for two short little years my brain is already so used to identifying music concepts that I can't stop doing it. Even after I leave the music building for a while.

New Start :)

Hello! Ok, so I broke down and did it people. I made a blog. I never thought I'd do it but they looked kind of fun. So. Here's to the start of an awesome blog. I know there's nothin' here yet but in a month or so, we should have some new additions to this colorful page! Thank you to those who inspired me to make one of these little things :)