Starting Today

Okay, so it's been a while. I have had every intention of getting on and posting every week for a few months now... Well, the procrastination stops now. Starting today, I'm going to be an awesome blogger! Let me clarify: I'm going to do awesome at posting frequently. This may not necessarily mean the posts themselves will be awesome, but just the fact that I'm posting at all qualifies as awesomeness. (There's my little disclaimer.)

And there you have my new pledge to do better. It's different this time than the last time, though. Honest... :)

Enough mumble-jumble. Let me tell you about these pictures I took the other night (Wednesday, to be exact). They're not the greatest quality, but I wanted to just snap a shot of Arianna doing what she does every night at bedtime. She LOVES books. She loves for us to read them with her, she loves to "read" them to us, she loves to "read" them to her little friends (toys, stuffed animals, etc.), and she loves to look at them all by herself. She will sit there for the longest time before bed each night, looking at her nightly selection of books. That in and of itself is pretty cute, I think, but lately she's latched on to a particular book that makes it even more cute. This particular book is Black & Decker's "The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair". It's been a couple of weeks now since she discovered it, and it still holds it's fascination, apparently.

If we are there when she's looking through it, she'll point to pictures and ask us what they are... If we're not around, she will just sit there and study them. I think it's pretty cool myself! Maybe after some more studying, she'll be able to show us a thing or two. We can certainly use a handyperson around here, since Dad's gone. :)

Arianna Singing

We thought it was so cute that we had to record it! So here is Arianna doing her version of the Winnie the Pooh theme song, with Daddy helping her out. The funny thing is, she's never even seen the movie this song comes from, and yet she loves to sing it over and over. In this video she is 26 months old. Enjoy!

Still Here

For those of you who may have been wondering, yes, we still exist. :) It's been forever since we've done anything on here, I know. Of course life has been happening during our lack of writing, and we are all happy and well here.
Jeremy has a crazy schedule this fall semester, and is barely home at all. He is gone from morning until 9:00-12:00 most nights. Fridays are our date nights (family date nights), because he gets home at 5:30 -- woohoo!!! :) Sundays he is home, too, so we are all able to go to church together and then to Nanny's house for family time and dinner. It's been rough for all of us getting adjusted to him being gone so long, but we are settling into a routine now. And we certainly treasure the moments we are able to share! Arianna has taken to waking up every morning, and immediately saying, "Daddy working". I think it's been especially hard on her getting used to him not being around as much.
Arianna is amazing! I love this little girl so much. You know, Dad used to always say how his love for us (me and Andreas) just grew and grew with every passing day, and each new stage of parenthood brought even greater joys. Now I am understanding this, I think. Every new experience we have together, every new discovery and accomplishment that Arianna makes, just brings greater joy to my heart. I LOVE being with her! She is like a little embodiment of everything that is good. Having her around always reminds me of what is important. She helps me remember to really appreciate the MOMENT we are in, to experience everything fully and then leave it behind and move on to the new moment and experience at hand. And I love her eagerness to learn every possible chance she gets! Wouldn't we all be so much better if we kept this desire to learn and grow throughout our lives? I am seriously just amazed by her all the time, and am so incredibly grateful to be her mother. What a beautiful blessing she is!!
When I last posted on here, I had just begun my new photography adventures. Since then I have had some sweet moments with my faithful camera companion, and have begun to more fully explore this art I love. It all seems to be happening so quickly, but I'm riding along to see where we go here. I have learned a LOT in the last couple of months, and am having fun! I have been able to photograph at the Earl and Palmer reunions, do sessions with Mindy and Craig's beautiful little family and Caleb and Logan, capture some special moments at Lea and Daryll's wedding, and all the while continue working with my favorite little subject, Arianna. :) I have purchased an editing program (Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 -- maybe someday I'll be able to invest in the all-powerful Adobe Photoshop, but for now I at least have something to work with that's decent), and have learned a lot about editing (though I still have a LOT to learn, I know). We've decided it will be worth it for me to purchase a backdrop stand, a backdrop and some lighting, as I will be offering portraits for the students at All-Star Karate. And I've decided it's time to finally make up some business cards and start offering my photography services. I'll be starting out offering a great deal compared to all the other photographers I've been able to find around here, just because I'd love to have the experience, and I feel weird charging as much as they do when I'm just getting started. I'm pretty excited about it all! If you live nearby, you'll probably be getting an e-mail about this soon, because I'm obviously going to need some people to take pictures of. :)
Okay, it's late and tomorrow is an early morning. Maybe I'll be able to get on tomorrow to post some of the pictures I've taken over the last couple of months...

A Beautiful Piece of Equipment

We finally decided to take the plunge and invest in my new camera! Why, you ask? Well, my cousin Lea is getting married in a month, and has asked me to photograph the special occasion for her. With this in mind, we decided it was time for an equipment upgrade. So on Wednesday, July 16th, we went to Circuit City and bought a Canon EOS D40.

It was quite an investment, and while it is incredibly exciting, it is also a little scary. It's a whole new ball game now. Do I really have what it takes? We'll find out... I have a LOT to learn, but am eager to begin! :)

Pretty nifty, eh?

The whole package: The camera, lens, carrying case (our old one was too small), plus an Epson Stylus Photo printer (not seen here - it came for free with the purchase). So exciting!!! :D

And now I embark on this new journey of photography...

Music Man - Zelda vs. Mario

Hello Everyone!

As you may or may not know, last semester I did a jazz band arrangement entitled Zelda Vs. Mario. It includes four main themes from the original nintendo games The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. Today, I finally got a live recording of the jazz concert in which Studio 11o of Henry Ford Community College performed my piece for the first time. It was a really neat experience (it's a rush!) to have everyone playing music that I arranged.
So, here it is, for your listening pleasure...dedicated to old school gamers everywhere:

Zelda Vs. Mario http://www.box.net/shared/0kcfli2w40
Big Band style!


Sincerely,

Music Man


P.S. Comments are welcome...like if you think I should try and get this arrangement published.

Upcoming Gigs

I am a little scared but mostly excited about the next two Fridays coming up. I am going to be the live music during the Dearborn Farmers Market and Artisan Fair. Basically, the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce got my name from someone for who I played a college related gig for earlier this year. I'm nervous because that gig was only background music, and I was playing in a group. This time it'll just be me and my instruments, and I'll be singing. One cool thing about it is that they said I could play whatever I wanted...So, I'm going to play a mix of covers (oldies and new stuff) and originals. The down side to all of this is that they can't afford to pay me directly, but I am allowed to put out a tip jar.

This is going to be the first time for me to ever do a solo act like this...so, like I said I'm both excited and nervous.

If anyone wants to come and hear me play (it's free!) here's the info:

When: July 11th and 18th from 11:30am - 1:30pm
Where: West Dearborn, Between Monroe and Military just south of Michigan Ave.
Why: You like my music? Emotional support? So you can say you knew me before I got famous? Why not?

A Visit

Last week we were blessed with a
spur-of-the-moment visit by some family! Danielle (Jeremy's sister) came with her two boys, Caleb (3) and Logan (1), and Jeremy's mom, Barb. They stayed for four days, and we had a great time.

Arianna loved seeing Grandma, but was not always sure that she enjoyed having the boys here; she is not accustomed to sharing all of her toys, and is rather used to being the center of attention. But she and Logan had some good playing moments together, and we're sure that in the future we'll all look back at this visit and laugh about how by the end of the visit she would scream whenever he came near her. :)
It was really good to visit with everyone. It's crazy how much the boys have grown since we last saw them! Aren't they adorable? I'm glad we had this time together before the family reunion (which is just a few weeks away now!).

If you want to see more pictures, check our flickr account (the link is at the bottom of this page) - I just added a whole bunch.