Making Your Life Sing

So, I've been asked to be a speaker- a SPEAKER- (not just a singer) at our Co-Workers (the Mennonite women's group) soup and salad supper this evening.

Anne (pastor's wife) called me last week and asked if I'd be willing to share what I do with the group. They have this annual soup & salad supper and usually ask someone who has a particular skill set to come in and share about what they do, maybe have a little interactive activity together. Last year Anne (an artist) was the speaker and had everyone make greeting cards just in time for Mothers Day.

The funny thing is, I came up with my idea about what to talk about 2 weeks before I was asked. The Lord is funny that way, huh?

Anyway, I'm going to be using voice lessons as an allegory for spiritual growth. I've got 2 college students who are going to come in and be guinea pigs for me, I'll talk about Breathing (being filled with the Holy Spirit), Trust (chipping away at layers of bad habits), Baggage (emotional strongholds), Language (going deeper into God's Word), Resonance (finding your fit in ministry), and Performance (trials and temptations/ refinement). I'll use my students as examples and let them sing a few songs. We'll end with a short mini-recital. I think it'll be really fun.

So today, I should be working on refining my outline instead of blogging about this.

The Maestro Comes To Church

OK, so last week was a good week at church. It was Mothers Day, so that means our first service (traditional) was bigger with quite a few family guests and the second service (emerging/contemporary) was smaller because the young people went to visit their mothers.

I didn't think much of a visiting family in first service, except that I thought I recognized the dad. I asked if he'd been to our church before, but he said he hadn't. His wife was very bubbly and friendly- and they stayed for coffee/ fellowship time between the services. I felt like the first service went well, Cecile was playing piano (she's a fantastic play-it-by-ear kind of gal), and I didn't screw up too many things. I was asked to lead an extra reading that I don't usually read, and in general, felt like it was a good service. I was really feeling refreshed by the Holy Spirit's power and felt like He was really in control of both services.

Second service went pretty well too. We had the kids help lead worship on the first two songs- one of which was Keith Conner's "Great Big God" which they TOTALLY love! People came ready to worship and we had a great time of "going deep" in our Mercy service.

Matt had to work Sunday afternoon, so I took the kids out to lunch at Dairy Queen with our friends the Dixons. Stacy Dixon doesn't pull any punches, and if she senses any performing and hiding from me, she calls me on it (she's an annoying friend- in a good way). She felt like things went really well too.

LATER... that afternoon, I found out that this family in first service was the family of Delta David Gier, the conductor of the South Dakota Symphony.

I KNOW!

I found myself not sleeping over this on Sunday night. Why would he come to our little Mennonite service? I don't figure he'll come back. We're just not very high-falutin'. Matt says, "What makes you think he wants high falutin'?" I guess our wonderful friends, Bruce & Darla from Vermillion (who are friends with Gier), recommended Mercy to them. And the wife has been emailing Pastor Shel, looking for a church that didn't need to depend on Power Point. Well, our Good Shepherd service certainly doesn't!

So my challenge is to keep my focus on allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide and not be concerned about how I'm perceived. Who cares, right?

My Newest Stage Disaster Story

OK, so I've haad a few nice stage disaster stories in my past, my favorites being the time I lost all the crinolines out from under my skirt while singing "I Enjoy Being A Girl" alone on stage with just me and the orchestra in high school. Another was the time at USD when I was accompanying a guy who skipped from the first verse to the coda on his song, I flipped 3 pages and we ended the song in 45 seconds.

Today's experience is bound to go down in history.

I've spent a lot of time on the stage in my life. I've been doing recitals since I was in the 2nd grade, which was roughly 28 years ago. I am in front of people every Sunday at church and I'm used to being there, so usually I'm pretty unflappable. But today presented a new challenge I've not faced before.

I was playing for one of my students on USF's departmental recital, a weekly recital that all students taking lessons in any instrument must do once per semester. My student had chosen "Sei Miei Sospiri" (formerly known as "Pieta Signore"), which is a standard out of the 26 Italian songs book. It's a long song which repeats back to the begning after playing it all the way through, totalling somewhere around 5 1/2 minutes.

I usually play for my students, and I always photocopy my music for departmental so that I don't have to take all the books with me across campus to the recital hall. I copy the pages front to back, so that it's just like the book (I destroy all the copies afterward, and I own all my original copies, so don't bother calling the copyright police on me).

So I go out to play for Corbin, my singer who was performing, play through the whole first page introduction, turn the page, and IT'S UPSIDE DOWN! I realize at this point that I have copied all the back pages upside down. O CRAP!!! Luckily, this song is in an easy key, has a lot of two measure a capella sections (where I don't have to play, so I can gather my wits), and I've played it several times.

SO... I read through the entire song, half of which was upside down, then I had to go back and do two of the upside down pages AGAIN!!!

Obviously, I didn't do it flawlessly, my poor singer kept looking at me like "what am I doing wrong?" Poor guy! He was trying to figure out why my eyes were bugging out and why I was on the verge of laughter the whole time.

This story is going to stick with me for a long time. I'll never forget poor Corbin!

So, I Got A Bike...

Check it out! It's even wilder in person! I call it The Mystery Machine. :) It's very Scooby Doo.

This is the bike I've kind of had my eye on for a few months. Matt found it for me (of course) in the new Trek catalog, and was trying to talk me into it. I'd really rather have this:


We are in desperate need of a replacement for the car that Matt drives, and I've always wanted a yellow car. The thought is to get a Bug for me and the kids to tool around town in, and Matt would get the Aztek. The kids are big enough to climb into the back seat of a 2-door, and the Aztek really looks more like a Matt car than an Amy car... But I've been warned that a Bug can be a lemon, so I want to do my research before I get one. Plus, I need money (details, details!).

But anyway, the bike is my Mothers Day gift from Matt & the kids. It was too hard to keep the secret, and Matt spilled the beans the same day he built it. He says he'd still like to accessorise it for me, with a basket and a bell and I don't know what else. I got to go visit it at the store this afternoon, and I took one look at it and said, "I'm definitely going to need a lock, because EVERYBODY's going to want to steal my bike!" Matt's trying hard not to let the store order any more so that I'll be the only person in Sioux Falls with my bike (of course, he doesn't have any control over what the other bike dealers in town do).

So now, I'm no longer the bikeless wife of the bike salesman.

The Magical Land of Oz

Today was the day of All City Elementary's annual all-school musical. They have a series of 4 musicals that they do on a rotation. Last year was "Little Red Riding Hood" and this year was "the Magical Land of Oz" (same story as the Wizard of Oz, but with lamer songs).

The way they do it, is each grade gets assigned a role- so this year, the Kindergarteners were trees & flowers, 1st grade was munchkins, 2nd grade was the Citizens of Oz, 3rd grade was flying monkeys. The 4th and 5th graders get the speaking roles. I volunteered to help with makeup for both the dress rehearsal this morning and the evening performance, so I got to see it twice. Matt & Maia came for the morning performance as well, because matt led worship team practice in the evening.

It was fun. The kids did a great job. I might have to help direct in the future. I'm sure it's not an easy job, so I'll save my comments. :)

Here's the 2nd graders at an off-stage moment:


Xander, Alexis and Robert getting ready to go on stage this evening:

If You Don't Laugh You'll Cry

I try not to complain about the weather around here too often. Nobody wants to hear it, and everyone thinks they've got it worse where they live. But here it is 2 1/2 weeks until Easter, and it snowed last night, going to snow again tomorrow. Today we had a high of 16 degrees and it just doesn't look like spring will ever come.

Depression has set in. That SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)? Yeah, we all have it. And we're pasty white ghosts. We need some sunshine around here- the kind that warms things up, not the kind that means it's colder because there's no cloud cover.

I find Matt's approach to handling his attitude amusing. He blames the weatherman. Literally. Poor Jay Trobec! This evening as Matt watched the news, I heard the following things,

"Curse you, Jay Trobec!"

"Oh, now you did it."

"That's it, I'm never speaking to Jay Trobec again."

"Seriously, the only way he's going to get back on my good side is if he comes in and buys a Madone 5.5 full carbon frame..." and blah blah blah bike talk.

"Jay Trobec's off the Christmas Card list."

"Jay Trobec better hope I never see him, or I'm going to punch him in the face."

Now, if you know Matt, you know he's not a violent man. Jay Trobec, if you read this, you really have nothing to fear.

Interestingly, I saw Jay Trobec at a coffee shop a few weeks ago. Kind of weird seeing people from TV out in public. Matt seems to spot them all the time, including one Sunday morning at church when one of the local anchors attended Mercy (not Jay Trobec, thankfully, or there might have been some voilence done in the name of Jesus).

Anyway, I was glad Matt was not with me when I made the local celebrity sighting, or there could have been some serious damage done to his perfect hair and smile.

Jay Trobec, tell the truth. Will spring ever come to South Dakota?

When I Grow Up...

Maia says that when she grows up she wants to be a grandma & a doctor. And she's going to fix people's teeth and toes.

I asked some of her preschool classmates what they want to be when they grow up (apparently it's a hot topic at school these days). Veronica said, "My name is Dr. Iseminger." So I asked her if she also wanted to be a doctor when she grows up. "No. I'm going to be a cow."

Preston says he's going to be Spiderman.

Best of luck with that. Which college do you think he'll attend? One that has red & blue for colors, I'm guessing.

Someone's Been Paying Attention

Tonight, Maia was not being very helpful in the assembly of a 750 piece jigsaw puzzle that Matt & I were working on (Matt got it to work on with Xander, but it turned out that it was too hard and Xander lost interest pretty fast). I called her a "stinky turd," not an uncommon thing for me to call her (that's awful!)

She retorted with, "I'm NOT that! Everybody chooses me. God chooses me!"

To which we affirmed that yes, indeed, God chooses her and me and the rest of us.

Sometimes you just need a reminder that none of us are stinky turds in God's eyes.

Non-Athletic

I got a phone call from the Sioux Falls Skyforce basketball organization today at about 1:30, begging me to come and sing the National Anthem at the ballgame tonight. Hey. Free tickets for me and the kids (Matt had to work). Unfortunately, we were only able to stay for the first quarter before venturing back home in the sub-zero temperatures to get the kids into bed.

It was fine. I did fine, and I would guess they'll ask me back. They didn't pay or anything, but we did get free mini-basketballs for the kids.

The last basketball game I went to was a Pacers game in Indianapolis. Let's just say, the energy level was not quite the same. It was ... fine.

New Fish Day for Maia

First off, let me say, I'm not sure what the deal is with our big "Presidents Day Break" here in Sioux Falls. I told one Indiana friend that we just really honor the presidents in South Dakota. The kids had last Wednesday through yesterday (Monday) off from school, right during the same week when I finally resumed teaching at USF after Christmas and J-Term break.

They spent a lot of time with other people.

Mom & Jim shouldered the bulk of the load, I took the kids there Friday afternoon, and left them there until Monday evening (USF does not honor President's Day, and I teach all day on Mondays).

At some point over the weekend, Maia decided that she also wants to have fish as pets. I said that since she hadn't spent her Christmas money yet, she could buy a fishtank and some fish when we got back to SF. Mom actually had a fishtank that had belonged to Aunt Rene', so she sent that home with the kids on Monday.

Today we went fish shopping. We wanted to get our fish at Mini Critters, because our friend, Megan, works there. But they didn't have any Bettas. I've really been impressed with Xander's Betta. It's lively, hardy, fiesty, and has a habit of snacking on the goldfish's long fins (well, they're not so long anymore).



Xander's got a "spicy fish" (red Betta) like this one, and a no-longer-long-tailed goldfish, as well as 2 golden snails. His fish are (as of today), named "Spic" and "Spam." Because they live in a clean tank (Matt & I cleaned and conditioned both tanks yesterday), and because one likes to eat the other one. His snails are named Bob & Joe. (Again, as of today).

This is what "Spam" looked like when we bought him. He's much stumpier now, and skittish for some reason...


These names are much easier to remember than the old names he had for them... one of them was Zahita, for a while his snails were Snickety and Snickerbob, but I think those are the two that died. So Bob & Joe is a lot easier to remember. His snails are pretty much identical, and he was thinking of naming one of them Noodle. I said he should call them Mr. Noodle and his brother, Mr. Noodle (Sesame Street reference).

Again, this is what Xander's snails looked like when we bought them. He has two. Now they're kind of grimy, and like to latch onto each other as food after we clean the tank!


ANYWAY- Maia chose a lovely deep blue-purple Betta, as well as a kind of purply-silver something... I don't know what it is. And one snail with a purply swirl on it's side. She decided to name the Betta, "Captain Hook" and the smaller fish, "Tinkerbell," while calling the snail "Peter Pan." So we have a theme tank going in her room. Her tank is a bit larger than Xander's. Maybe we'll continue to add to the tank with such characters as "Wendy," "Little John" and a whole school of "Lost Boys?"

How To Raise A Nerd in Today's Culture

Business Time

Melissa Kessler sent me this video on Valentine's Day. I laugh harder every time I watch it.

Valentine's Day

This year, Valentine's Day was such a nice blessing! Starting from the beginning:

The kids are out of school for our ridiculous "Presidents Day Break" from Wednesday until Monday. I started back to work at USF this week, so that made life a little tricky. So the kids spent the day at Aunt Rena's. I was scheduled to start teaching at 11:30, so in the morning, I made the shrimp kebobs planned for dinner (shrimp wrapped in prociutto or lemon slices, skewered with Calmata black olives, drizzled with olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and parsley), wrapped them in foil and stuck them back in the fridge while I simultaneously did some laundry.

Took the kids to Rena's then stopped by JC Penney's to get Matt a new pair of pants. While there, I decided to see if there was a dress I could wear that evening - and found a lovely little number marked down from $90 to (are you ready for this?) $6.99! I KNOW!!!

I went over to school to start my afternoon, remembering as I was doing some driving that not only had I neglected to pack a lunch, but I had forgotten to eat breakfast as well (this is a frequent occurence for me). Luckily, I didn't have any students signed up until 12:30, so I ran over to the cafeteria to eat. While I was there, eating lunch with the husband of the teacher who hired me, I got a phone call from my brother, Casey, who happened to be in town and free for lunch. At first, I was sad because I figured I was booked all afternoon, but as I looked at my watch, thought we could at least squeeze a coffee in. I told him to come over to campus, and we were able to get him some lunch at the coffee shop in the basement of the student center. So that was a nice surprise.

I taught at school until 3, went and picked up the kids from Rena's (she lives on the opposite side of town from us), then taught for another hour at home until 5:30. My last lesson stayed and ate supper with us, then was the kids' babysitter for the evening.

Supper was a remarkable feat. I managed a gourmet meal with about 20 minutes' prep time. It was on the table by 6:00. We had the aforementioned shrimp skeweres (baked, not grilled), ciabatta bread, Mediterranian curry cous cous, and fresh strawberries.

The kids had hot dogs.

I know you're dying to know what the evening was all about. We went to the opera. How 'bout that? Our local performing arts center hosted the Teatrico Lyrico d'Europa performing "The Barber of Seville." AND we got free tickets. Thanks, Bobbi! It's good to know people who know the right people, I guess! PLUS, we totally lucked out and got a parking spot right near the door (it was -4 degrees out). If you include the coat check, and the new clothes, the evening cost us about $42. The seats that we had would have probably sold for about $75 each, so we felt that we made out particularly well. Plus- new dress.

How was the opera? Pretty good. Opera's definitely an art form that takes some getting used to. I've only ever seen Madama Butterfly (twice, and been in it once), which is a Romantic Era opera. "Barber" is a classical era work, but Giaccamo Rossini. It's in a vein all it's own. There's a lot of text repetition, and the plot is absolutely ridiculous. The emphasis is definitely on the vocal prowess of the performers. The orchestra was excellent as well.



Isn't that a funny picture? You would think that maybe if your two leads are supposed to be "young lovers" that you might not zoom in quite so close, revealing that they're both well into their 40s. You also get the distinct impression that the tenor is actually Michael McKean (pictured on the right below), and you might get a little "Spinal Tap" thrown in for kicks.



Anyway, it was really nice, and the Mezzo did a great job. She was completely overshadowed, however by the Baritone who sang the role of "Figaro.'' He was awesome!

I've rambled far too long. That was our day in a nutshell. WAY better than last year, when Maia was sick, and I had to get a head gasket replaced on the car. AND work.

My Latest Thoughts About Europe

Matt I have been discussing and praying a lot about this opportunity to go to Europe (see previous post). Today, my thoughts are this:

The opportunity will still be there next summer. Maybe if we took enough time to plan things out, we could work out a ministry plan that would mean it really would work like a mission trip- especially for Matt. Hey, maybe we could even take a team with us? What if we did that, spent some time studying the language (I've been back into the German textbooks and listening to some confusing tapes from the library), and then Matt could go with the primary objective of mission, while I could go with the primary objective of continuing education?

I talked to one of my colleagues at USF today and she said there's a remote possibility that the school might even put up some money for a trip like that (IF all the full-time facutly haven't used it all up).

So maybe not this year, but I'm still hoping that one of my students will go. It would be a lot more fun with Matt along. He makes everything more fun. Plus, we've always wanted to go to Europe together.

Now to see if I can stay disciplined enough to focus that far in the future... :)

New Home for Pooh

Let's start by saying, "This is the jewelry armoire my wonderful husband got for me for Christmas."

Isn't it lovely? It holds all my jewelry in a multitude of drawers, with two hidden side doors, and since I've started using it, I haven't gotten my long tangly necklaces messed up as often - and never in storage, just on my neck. Notice the little stool sitting in front of it? That belongs downstairs in the kitchen. It's Maia's "I can't see" stool. She uses it whenever she needs to see what's going on above her eye level. It seems to have a mind of its own, as it will mysteriously turn up in the ideal spot to bark your shin or stub your toe at all hours of the day. Last night, I noticed it in our bedroom.

I should have known something was up, because Maia came downstairs during piano lessons yesterday afternoon announcing that she had a gift. It was the ring box (complete with the ring) that Matt gave me a pearl promise ring in some 18 or 19 years ago. I don't wear it often because pearls are fragile and the ring's sentimental. I saved the ring but let her play with the box and didn't think much else about it.

This morning when I went to put my jewelry on, I found new tenants in my jewelry armoire. Tigger had moved into the earring drawer:


Pooh had completely taken over the watch drawer:


And poor Eeyore had to go to the bottom drawer and displace the pins and brooches:


Maybe I should just rename my jewelry chest, "The Hundred Acre Wood" and put a sign that reads, "Mr. Sanders House" on it.

Would Xander move in too?

If You Confess Your Sins...

I am trying to teach my children the value of confession and repentance. I think Maia's on the right track, but might have a few kinks to work out.

Tonight at the dinner table she yelled at Xander, "Say you're sorry to Jesus! And to Santa!"

Gift from God or Test of my Pride?

So, I have an opportunity to go to Europe this summer.

Some friends of ours, Bruce & Darla from USD, are starting the International Performing Arts Institute (IPAI) in Munich, Hamburg, & Keifersvelden, Germany, and will do intensive training with singers in the areas of opera and musical theatre in order to jump-start their performance careers. Matt & I just happened to have some time to kill in Vermillion the other night after Larry's funeral, since Mom & Jim had the kids with them in Sioux City, so I gave Bruce & Darla a call (I haven't seen them since last summer) and boldly invited ourselves over. It was such a God-thing that I called that evening, because Bruce had just been out doing auditions and had talked to one of my students, (one he's particularly interested in for IPAI), so he wanted to talk to me about him...

...and also offer me the opportunity to go along and be one of their accompanists.

While there, I would also get the opportunity to take some of the classes in dance or acting, and have voice lessons with some of their fine staff that they're bringing in from all over the world.

It would mean going to Germany and Belgium for 3 1/2 weeks.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Yoo hoo, you have a husband and family.... remember them?

This makes Matt quietly jealous. If the situation were reversed, it would make me insanely jealous. I don't think I can use his trip to the Trek factory in Wisconsin last year as justification to say we'd be even... We're trying to work something out so that he can come for part of the trip.

To add more spice to the stew,

Bruce & Darla are amazing artists, but also radical Christians who believe that life is mission. They spent about 6 years in this area of Belgium previously, and while there, helped get this cross-denominational youth church up and running. One of the things they would love to do while there running this institute, is help this youth worship team get better at what they do- and they see Matt & me as a component of that. This is the type of mission work we could really get on board with!

So we're trying to figure out a few things...

* What do we do with the kids? It's almost a full month, and that's a long time for them. Even if Matt only comes for a week of the 3 weeks (which is all the vacation time he has left), he still works 40 hours a week, so we'd have to figure out some kind of child-care solution.

* How will we afford this? I don't know how much it's going to cost, but considering our tax situation, we have nothing to give right now (of course, we know that if this is a gift from God, he will provide financially for us).

* Can this be considered a mission trip? If life is mission, and there would be many opportunities to help build the local church, why not? I mean it's an unusual mission trip, but seems fitting for an unusual person, such as myself.

* How do you lead people in worship if you are not fluent in their language? I don't think 3 weeks is going to make me conversation-ready!

Those are the biggies right now, and of course, the ultimate question: Is this something that God wants me to do or that I just selfishly want for me?

So, after Europe, then what?

I mean, it's not like I'm going to audition for a national touring company or anything. But this could be a good opportunity to boost a performance career here in South Dakota. Bruce & Darla seem to be really good people to know. They are the kind of folks that make things happen. It would be nice after all these years to finally be able to say, "I'm a professional singer." Even if it is small potatoes here in Sioux Falls.

So these are the things bumping around in my head today.

Please check out their website and send me your thoughts. (www.internationalperformingartsinstitute.com) I can't do links in my blog posts from my home computer anymore (complicated), but check it out anyway.

Death of a Local Legend

Matt & I were very saddened to hear of the death of a beloved college professor from USD yesterday afternoon, Professor Larry Torkelson.


Torkelson was our choir director at USD, and was really great at what he did. He was passionate about beautiful choral music, and never shied away from having us sing liturgical text. His faith was evident in his love for the music he brought out of us, and he was one of the few college associates that we had who was genuinely happy for us when we went into church music as a career.

I was really strongly influenced by Torkelson while at USD and beyond, especially as I got my master's degree in choral conducting.

Last year, we were honored when he ruthlessly hunted us down and asked us to sing in an alumni choir. We went to USD for rehearsals once a month from September until our concert in April. I'm really glad we had a last chance to sing under him again.

Larry's funeral will probably be this weekend, and he's asked the alumni choir to sing a couple of his favorites, "Agnus Dei" by Peter Williams and "Laudate Dominum" by Mozart (we did this song at our wedding).

I bet Larry's loving heaven right about now. He thought there was beautiful music here on earth!

My Day Off

I have a day off today. I actually have many days off this month (hence the huge number of blog posts in the month of January compared to the rest of the year), but this morning is my treasured time with both kids in school for a couple of hours and nothing expected of me. Usually, I exercise during this time. Sometimes I go shopping, but that's not really an option, considering I'm not making much money this month and our precious renters still are choosing to live rent free.

So I think I'll work out. I'll do my step aerobics video complete with weight training and an abs workout. I work so hard during that video that I actually look better when I'm done- immediate bio-feedback!

OK, so Matt got his W-2 from work this week and we looked at it last night. The good news is, his job is paying more than a starting teacher's salary in South Dakota. The bad news is that there was only $24 paid to Federal for taxes. $24! Crud. I was hoping to use our tax return as a nice healthy down payment on a different car to replace Matt's (a cute little yellow bug), but considering that all our other jobs do not make enough to warrant them holding anything out for taxes, and I'll have to pay self-employment tax (which seems unreasonably high to me), I'm just hoping that we break even or can afford to pay what we'll owe.

In other news, Matt gets to set his "trip goal" for 2008 tomorrow night at work. If he sells enough stuff by December 31, he could win a trip for 2 to some sunny, warm location far from here. I'm counting on it. He said he's looking to see what the lowest possible amount he could set it at would be (slacker!). Maybe only $100 more than he's made so far this month?

OK, well time to get Maia up and start the madness anew.

I don't know why this should surprise me...

...but my children are really weird.

OK, so since birth, my kids have pretty much had to learn to deal with me teaching lessons in the home. They've always been good at entertaining themselves and pretty much taking care of themselves while I'm teaching, but usually I teach after school. Tonight I had an evening lesson. Just one. Usually I try to do evening lessons on nights when Matt is home to keep the chaos to a minimum. Well, tonight was a makeup lesson due to the cold so Matt was not home. When I was finished, both kids had smiley faces drawn on their stomachs, backs and Maia had eyes drawn on her butt cheeks. They also took the liberty to use the ball point pen and make masks for themselves. Maia was a kitty, and Xander... he's just weird.

To their credit, they did wash off their faces all by themselves. Of course, the pen left scratches in Maia's sensitive skin which will still be there when she goes to school tomorrow. The marks on the tummies and backs are still there. May have to have an afternoon bath tomorrow!

During my lesson, both of them came down the stairs to the piano room, lifted their shirts to reveal the drawn-on faces- using their belly buttons as noses- and hollered, "Cake!" Then ran away screaming with laughter.

Luckily, my student has a younger brother and knows all about this life I lead. It happens in her house too!

Never a dull moment around here.