New Hair

Today I tried something new with my hair.

                               This is what my hair usually looks like= straight

This is what it looks like when I curl it like before=very barrel curled

                     Today I tried a new technique where you
wrap the hair around the curling iron without
clamping it

It turned out like this! 

Yay!

Brother John

Today was my brother John's 9th birthday!

Anyone who knows me a little knows that my little brother John is possibly the most important person in my life. We are 12 years apart, a bonus baby as my mom calls him. It has always been a joy to be in his life. Sometimes I feel like more of a mom, but as he is getting older we are starting to develop a really sweet brother/sister relationship.
Here are some special things that I love about my brother:

I love cuddling together and reading

we have a great time coloring together

He is very smart, works very hard in school 

He is learning to play the cello, which is something
new we can share!

He is so creative and loves to have fun!

 












 I am so grateful that I stayed in Denver so that I could be close to him! There is nothing quite like being siblings and I am so blessed to have such an amazing brother in my life!

I love you buddy!

future freak out

My future has been on my mind a lot recently. In particular, my career. It is my highest goal, currently, to become financially independent of my parents. I see the burden that it is causing them to pay for my schooling and housing. I wish nothing more than to be able to alleviate that stress and take care of myself. The problem is that I'm working as hard as I can teaching violin lessons and only making enough to cover food, gas, and a few other basic needs. As a full time student, I don't have any more time to get another job to help with this.
For the past 9 months, I have been living under the hope that I will finish my degree in music and follow it with a masters in education, from which I will teach. I had not decided whether I want to teach music or classroom.
While talking to a friend of mine a few days ago, it was mentioned that this hope might be resting on shaky ground. It is possible that with a bachelors degree in music (even with a masters in primary education) there would be no way to teach in an elementary classroom. His thought was that I would have to go back and get ANOTHER bachelors in education.
After hearing this I began to freak out a little. What if all of this is going to still get me no where? What if all of this time and effort is only going to lead to me starting ALL OVER in order to do what I feel called to do? How much longer am I going to have to be going to school without time to get a job and take care of myself?
I really hate this! I see so many people around me who are able to make it on their own, supporting themselves. Why is it that I am still stuck burdening my parents with my own debt? Why is it that I want to free them, yet I am stuck?

My next step is to try and get some information as to what will be expected of me if teaching is my goal.

Any prayer or wisdom would be greatly appreciated as I am very frustrated and discouraged!

my first (little baby) grid

1. I began my day with my friend Michelle at a coffee shop in 5-points downtown denver.
2. Then, I went to Daniel's house where I could do laundry for free and take advantage of his cable. I watched by first episode of House.
3. This afternoon I went to Mom's middle school and played for her classes. I had a great time talking to the kids and answering the millions of questions!
4. I took a trip to walmart to get groceries and to get embroidery thread (more to come)
5. Then I made meatloaf and potatoes for Daniel and his roommate Keaton.
6. I ended my night with some great time with my wonderful boyfriend!

It has been a great day!!!!

**as a note, I began making a friendship knot bracelet today! It is a really great craft to keep my hands busy!

Savers experience

Today I went to Savers with Daniel's mom, Martha. I have been to thrift stores before, and believe me, I am fully up on how they all work, but I haven't been to Savers before. We had a great time!

Martha bought some shirts for her husband, a shirt for her and a table cloth. My purchases included:

Two shirts for Daniel

a green shirt for St. Patrick's Day

Overview

I'm so behind on blogging that I don't know where to start. I keep opening up a new post and trying to figure out where to start, but there's too much to cover. So today let me just give an overview of the last week of my life and then we can all start fresh.
1. One week ago today I gave my junior recital. It was very good! My A string began to unravel halfway through the first half, proving to be an unexpected, tough setback to overcome. But surprisingly, no one seemed to notice!! Daniel and I performed an encore together that I think was the hit of the night! I was so blessed with so many people who came and supported me!
2. Last Saturday Daniel and I (plus our families) attended a dinner for a camp we are counseling at this summer. It is called Cross Bar X. We had a great time at the dinner meeting new people. I enjoyed showing my parents where I plan on spending my time this summer. They even bought a painting in support of the camp :)
3. Monday began finals week at school. While that wasn't so much fun, the impending Spring Break was a good motivation! Also on Monday I played a very exciting gig. Read more here.
4. Tuesday I took (and probably failed) my sociology test. I have struggled so much in this class. I have gone to class and done the reading. I have talked about the concepts to make sure I can relay the information back. And yet I still get C's on my tests. I really just want to pass this class!
5. Thursday night I had the final orchestra concert of the quarter.
6. And finally, today was my last final of the quarter! Which now means.....

it's SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!!