One last SOA nostalgia moment, if you please

Look at these screen shots I took of me as I watched my SOA videos during my nostalgia. Yep. THAT hair. It would be another 7 years before I learned how to get a better, less fluffy curly look. But once in a while, I still love having that 80s do. All it takes is a brush. :-)

Upper left - putting a new roll of film into my camera. Top of Grindelwald--just before I went down a slide and got my bum all wet. And then unthinkingly illegally picked a Swiss flower.

Upper right - singing in St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. Oh the sound!!

Lower left - singing at Luxembourg cemetery. Many tears.

Lower right - Venting/ranting/expostulating at a Paris restaurant. The video caught me JUST after I'd finished saying something, and I broke out into embarrassed laughter because I thought she'd caught it on tape.

 My spot--front one on the very end. It's were us shorties go. And in the other shot, you can see how I was always somehow near the percussion players when we performed with the band. I didn't mind. I gained a great love and appreciation for percussion (and a crush on that male percussionist there).

Singing in Notre Dame cathedral!!!!! Still one of the greatest experiences I know of for a girl who studied French and France in high school.

Remembering September 11, 2001 - 14 Years Ago

In the nostalgic spirit of the year, this was my journal entry 14 years ago:

9:55p.m. This day will go down in history. And not just for me, but for the entire world. I woke @ 6. Read scrip. We didn't get out to walking until 6:50 because we were waiting for Mandy & Jessica who wanted to join us. Today we ran for a bit. We went down by the Carriage ride place & beyond to a magnificent view of the river. Near the Statue Garden, Mandy & Jessica went on home. We 3 went in the Garden & collected leaves & flowers for our Botany prints in Pioneer Life. Came home & put my collection in books to be pressed. Went to breakfast & then to work.

It was near the end of work that I heard the Worldwide, country-shattering news: 2 planes had been hijacked & deliberately crashed into the 2 World Trade Center towers in New York City. Soon after, both buildings completely collapsed leaving unsurmountable turmoil, debris, casualties, etc. everywhere. Then it was learned that 2 other planes were hijacked. One ran in to Pentagon collapsing one wall & a fire still rages there. The other plane was headed for L.A. but crashed near Pittsburgh. Unbelievable devastation, fear, & anger in this horrific terrorist act. They say it's the worst since Pearl Harbor.

Reports & info. keep coming in. It's hard to keep track of everything. I think I would prefer to keep small tabs on the whole thing, but return to my purpose here in Nauvoo. I told Nathan in an e-mail that I'm glad I have such beautiful, spiritual, & peaceful surroundings here so that I can personally heal from this & watch the country heal. It is still very unbelievable. It looked too much like the movies & movies are fake. But this is real. To think that when I see the NYC skyline again, those 2 huge, identical twin towers will no longer be there.

Well, I had to pick up information throughout the day. All morning my feelings built up inside of me. I had an Eng. 430R meeting w/ Bro. Dahl. Then I finally had time to shower. Rel 390 (Teachings of J.S., Jr.) was @ 10:50. We were to have the Batemans' devotional @ 12 our time, but it was cancelled from today's events. BYU had a Prayer Assembly thing. We watched a Pres. Packer devotional from Nov. '93. Then the Academy gathered & had a prayer. It was then that I broke down. Mardie Jo was there for me. I needed her strength. I would have struggled much more today had she not been here. I called home to see if all was OK (of course, it was) & to talk to family. Only Andrew was there. I know he tried to comfort me as best as he could & I'm grateful.

I went to lunch & then we watched the news about "it." W/ everyone's comments & feelings being shared, I was able to stop focusing on my own worries. I started to cope w/ this & rely on my spiritual blessings to help me understand & accept what happened. I am doing much better. Talked to people in the Mailroom lounge for a bit. Had Choir @ 3:45. We sight read an arrangement of "How Great Thou Art" & "Here I Am, Lord." I liked both. We let out a little early, so I checked my e-mail. I got e-mails from Kiersten, Veronica, and Nathan :-)! I was very happy.

Went to dinner & then to work. Melanie quit her Tue. night shift to I could have it. Isn't that kind? I finished. Mardie Jo & I went to watch more news. Then I went & e-mailed Nathan of things I've learned & felt today. It was a good e-mail. I e-mailed Elise afterwards & told her that I put a lot of me in it. We learned at dinner that Andy's (guy here in the program) grandmother and aunt were on one of the planes that crashed into the W.T.C. I really didn't have it that bad compared to him.

I'm upstairs looking @ the temple. I'm remembering the peace of my present home & I'm given the assurance that our country will get through this & I believe we will be the better for it. We sang "God Bless America" in Rel 390 today & I heard "Where Can I Turn for Peace?" I know the Lord is w/ us & is watching over us. I know there were reasons for this. And I find comfort in the scripture I heard today: "Be Still, and Know That I am God." We are loved. We are watched over.

SOA Memories Part 11

15 years ago - My European tour conclusion. The one morning Natalie woke up on her own (we blamed Krista's hair dryer). Having a Sabbath day with Jenny and Ciarra. My 5th and last lunch in Europe. Only getting to see Heidelburg castle from a distance. Experiences with The Gold Bus Song. An extremely emotional me that led to an extremely emotional last 24 hours as we said farewells, flew home, rode buses to destinations, and "slept off" the 1-2 hours of sleep we all got on the last night. My emotional causes were typical and a bit pathetic, especially at that age. But oh well. Even with all that, my European tour was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

 Our bus song. For all the world to see.... unsure emoticon smile emoticon

SOA Memories Part 10

15 years ago - My most difficult day on tour (one of many examples of how I was punished for so many years for being an introvert, and feeling guilty because I didn't understand what and how I was yet). But aside from that, experiences included seeing Reims cathedral (most reverent one I visited). Meeting LDS missionaries on the street! Concert in Luxembourg. The very somber morning of visiting Luxembourg Memorial Cemetery and singing at General Patton's grave. Sharing ice cream twice in an afternoon. Trying to play a bugle. Being cat-called at. Strasbourg--our last concert. frown emoticon



Luxembourg Cemetery at 11 minutes.

Second picture of us all together.

Natalie Spring Oh no! I hope I didn't make you feel bad. I was probably just trying to liven up the group. Heaven knows Krista wasn't the most talkative person.  I was maybe a little too Extra back then! Haha!

Heidi-Marie Tice Oh, Natalie--it wasn't you at all!! You were the perfect roommate and helped me get out of my shell more than I ever would have on my own. It was Gavin who started to accuse me of being in a bad mood and to drop it and then later proceeded to make fun of my standards and way of living.

Natalie Spring 😕 Well that's no good! Sorry about that. People can be dumb especially teenage boys!

SOA Memories Part 9

15 years ago - Disneyland Paris! Our concert was first (and the only time the choir sang Ol' Joe Clark correctly). Gavin & the Mormon Trio going on the rides together (Pirates of the Caribbean with the drunk people!!). Trying 3 times to buy The Perfect Beauty & The Beast music box, and failing. frown emoticonGetting my first Winnie-the-Pooh (oh the irony!). Seeing Chad jump over two guys--I wish my picture turned out better. Another hyper night because...I drank Fanta again...

Yes, I do save napkins from places. AND a receipt because it says Winnie Mini on it. smile emoticon

Now you can watch the last half! (Start at 6 minutes and see the correctly sung Ol Joe Clark.)

SOA Memories Part 8

15 years ago - one of the best days of the entire tour! Though not on the original itinerary, some of us got to go to VERSAILLES! (Another huge dream come true.) Downside was only one fountain was on, and it took us over an hour to find it. Sadly passing on going to the Louvre because of a misunderstanding. Lunch #4 (Salade Verte--because I could order it in French!). Our Mormon Trio + Mrs. Bean Led-by-Me adventure beginning on Le Metro. Experiencing the Paris ghetto (pure awesomeness) and actually getting to use my French. Finding the dress store meant for me, and not being able to afford any of the the dresses. Finding our destination: Le Sacre Coeur (ANOTHER huge dream come true); 319 steps and 75 footsteps on the ramp, in case you wanted to know how many. Le Metro back to Ile de la Cite where I bought my Paris beret and Paris scarf (may it rest in Lost & Found peace where ever it is). Paris Hard Rock Cafe. Going up la Tour Eiffel!!! Feeling sick on the 2nd "floor," not sick on the 3rd "floor," and being impatient with the elevators thus walking down all stairs from the 2nd floor to the 1st among the tower's sparkling lights. First and best sandal tan ever (which somehow created my fettish for sandal tans).

I love that my menu is signed by all of us who sat together!

First 1/2 shows ride on les Bateaux Mouches (because White Bus missed it when the rest of us went), our fun at Hard Rock Cafe, and ta Tour Eiffel. Don't watch the second half! That's for tomorrow's memories. smile emoticon

SOA Memories Part 7

15 years ago - The whole reason I wanted to go on this tour: Singing in Notre Dame Cathedrale!! (And also one of the few who used a bathroom inside--all the way down in the dungeony depths.) Repulsed by the breakfast of just bread (I think this was the morning I cut myself on a hard roll, too.) My 3rd lunch in Europe--items I'd hoped to try for many years (un crepe chocolat et un croque-monsieur). Sightseeing bus tour (more of Paris I'd been longing to see!). Concert at St Roch (where singing Battle Hymn of the Republic took on a new meaning for me).

Concert at St. Roch Cathedral:







Singing in Notre Dame!!!!! (And at 7:02 you can see me with "the gang" waiting for our bus to re-group--wearing the same green backpack that I use today on small trips!) (At 9:15 you can see my "Ever After' moment when I was relating some Heartbreak Hotel moments to the ladies--so glad she didn't capture that conversation on film!!!!)

SOA Memories Part 6

15 years ago - traveling to Paris!! My 2nd lunch in Europe (it was McDonald's....). Buying moutarde in Dijon pour ma Maman (Mom) only to find out later it had alcohol in it (oops--we still kept it for many years just to look at it). Stuck in Parisian traffic. Riding les Bateaux Mouches at night (and NONE of my pictures turning out). Hotel Mercure renamed Heartbreak Hotel (guy problems). Best of all--finally starting to see ALL the things I'd spent the last 4 years reading and studying about in French class (like la tour eiffel--sparkling!)

SOA Memories Part 5

15 years ago - Switzerland, from the German side to the French side, and feeling the full weight of homesickness as it was the longest I'd ever been away from my family. Trummelbach Falls. My 1st lunch in Europe, eaten at Interlaken (and it was Italian....). Bought 2 more music boxes (also now in possession of nieces). Ending in La-Chaux-de-Fonds with a short choir rehearsal before our concert (and we STILL didn't get Old Joe Clark right, grrr).

Our first Pic of all of us together

 See the beautiful falls? (Gotta thing for waterfalls....) And the song they picked for the background of this video was the perfect one for how I and many others were feeling as we loved our experiences but longed a bit for home.

SOA Memories Part 4

15 years ago - Grindelwald, Switzerland. Taking Dramamine to prevent car sickness during this 2nd pass through the Alps. Tasting REAL chocolate--heaven. Discovering SNOW after our gondola ride up Mount First. My feet and back side getting very wet going down a slide on the mountain. Becoming an absent-minded criminal. Finally getting to hear the band perform.

See the wrappers from the amazing chocolate?

Beth Hornbaker Absent minded criminal??? Did you steal something Heidi??

Heidi-Marie Tice I saw this poor little flower sticking up out of the snow.I thought, "Oh how sad" and picked it without thinking. Because picking it saved it, right? Yeah.... Then as soon as I picked it I remembered: it is illegal to pick flowers in Switzerland.

Natalie Spring I am enjoying these posts more than you know. Ahhh the memories!

Heidi-Marie Tice What I didn't say is WHO told me to go down the slide first.... smile emoticon

SOA Memories Part 3

15 years ago - Stresa, Italy, one of my very favorite places of the whole tour. The beautiful Isola Bella. Viewing mountains and palm trees with gorgeous Lake Maggiore in between. The best bed in all of Europe. The only time I was able to swim in Europe. Italian GELATO! Learning to skip a rock (in Lake Maggiore). My 2nd castle.

Natalie Spring That was my first time skipping rocks too! Thanks to Kyle for showing us how.

More Sound of America memories

15 years ago - Venice & Verona! Shopping 1st meant I got my first ever porcelain doll (with the gorgeous hair, whom I no longer own) but never got to have my dream of riding in a gondola. Watching the niftiest demo at a glass factory. Getting Italian silk ties for the men in the fam. Singing in mass at St Mark's Basilica. Avoiding high tide in Venice (rather gross). Sunset over Venice  (unforgettable). Impromptu performance in the 3rd largest Roman Coliseum. Seeing Juliet's balcony.

See the awesome postcard in the upper right? I ADORE this post card. View #1:

View #2: (P.S. - this includes a things from Stresa and Grindelwald....)

Mass in St. Mark's Basilica:

Sound of America memories

This month marks 15 years of one of the greatest experiences of my life: my European tour! I am overcome with nostalgia. I've started posting on Facebook my memories, but realized I should probably put it on my blog--one of my more "permanent" places of reminiscing.

So, to catch up. Yesterday's post:
15 years ago - my first taste of Europe. Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Eating sauerkraut, bratwurst, and mashed potatoes for dinner. Having meat, cheese, and chocolate corn flakes for breakfast. Seeing the biggest snail of my life. Figuring out German money. First concert--on the cobblestone square! Buying a cuckoo clock which now hangs in my own home. Hearing the cathedral bells ring out over the town. ‪#‎SoundOfAmerica‬ ‪#‎Memories‬

Natalie Spring This made my day! Wish I could go back and do it all again. Of course with my good friend Heidi of the Alps. "Grandfather! Grandfather!"

Heidi-Marie Tice Natalie - me, too! That was one of the best months ever. And you were the best travel buddy. I'm in major nostalgia for SOA, so be on the look out for more Remembrance posts! smile emoticon

Rothenburg concert:

Today's first post:
15 years ago - Salzburg! Taking a ride in the Salt Mines beforehand (from which I still have my mini salt shaker). Feeling very sick and helpless because I couldn't find a Priesthood holder for a blessing. Visiting and singing around the Sound of Music sites. Buying my 1st music box (which a niece now has). Tasting Fanta for the 1st time and getting REALLY hyper after (something in that stuff....). Visiting my 1st Castle and my 2nd cathedral. (Almost) Eating the most disgusting seafood salad with whole octopi and seahorses in it--and thus totally losing my appetite the rest of the evening, even when the Beer Hall (in Inzell) where we performed gave us a free meal. ‪#‎SoundOfAmerica‬‪#‎Memories‬

Concert at Inzell. (Go to 2:50 to see the totally irreverent song, and thus a favorite of our repertoire.)

(Go to 2:50 to see the totally irreverent song, and thus a favorite of our repertoire.)

Today's second post:
15 years ago - Driving through the Alps, Part 1! Going on my first (and so far only) Alpine Slide--and watching Nate go flying over 3 people. Trying to hike to a lookout point at Grossglockner Pass and not being able to make it because of lack of oxygen, but later receiving flower bouquets from Kyle and Jason for trying. Experiencing my car sickness for the first time, just after we crossed into Italy and started heading down in elevation. Having my first Italian meal with the largest plate of spaghetti I've ever seen--and it was the appetizer!‪#‎SoundOfAmerica‬ ‪#‎Memories‬

My Newest Random Analogy

Brilliant thoughts come to those who sneeze!

Maybe.

We had a terrible winter here in Utah this year. Meaning: We didn't get one. Barely any precipitation of any kind. And a lot of warm weather, particularly in February. Which means things started to bloom much earlier. Which means those bloomin' things that trigger allergies which don't normally come until mid-May started in March. At least for me.

Now, here is my little personal background to allergies. Growing up, I did not suffer from them. At least, not enough that they left an impression on me. It's possible that I may have had an occasional day or two of hay fever, but it never brought much attention to itself. Especially as my father always suffered terribly from his allergies. What I had, if anything, was a sneeze compared to his days of watery eyes, sniffles, etc. Literally. I must have sneezed a few times and then it was all over. And then when my precious Little Bug ended up being allergic to everything as a child spent years of shots and daily allergy pills, yeah, I certainly had no comparison.

One spring in late high school, I helped lay mulch at our new house. AHHHHH-choo!


What a miserable couple of days! I hadn't a clue what was going on. Went in for one of my regular doctor visits (I already had enough other things "wrong with me") and asked her about it. She said mulch carried some powerful yuckiness and I was probably allergic to something in that. She gave me some free sample allergy pills. I took one, and voila! It was over with for the year. Since then, I noticed that every time I would move to a new state (5 times now), I spent the first couple of years having a few days of hay fevery allergies. If it felt a bit too miserable, I took a sample allergy pill and was fine. The sneezing et al. never lasted beyond 2 or 3 days. And within a couple of years, my body had adjusted.

But not here. Not in this different part of Utah that I moved to. I blame it on the cottonwood trees. For the last 3 years, around May, all of the sudden I'd get my sneezy, hay fevery symptoms. Within a day or two, I'd start to notice all the white stuff floating in the air, and my car being covered in green dust. Yep. I figured I was stuck with hay fever in this part of Utah for as long as I lived here. I also didn't have any allergy pills by this time, but within 2 or 3 days, it would pass.

Not. This. Year.

Wow, have I ever learned sympathy for those--like Dad--who have suffered so much from allergies for many repeated lengths of time. I am going on 6 weeks of sneezing, itchy eyes, watery eyes, and sheer exhaustion. A vast difference from 2 or 3 days. And I caved and bought no-frills allergy pills. Which didn't seem to help much. And then tried a well-recognized name brand of allergy pills--which seems to have made things worse! I know what I've been sneeze suffering is still nothing compared to Dad. But the shock and frustration of being so tired has left me the tiniest bit whiny about the whole thing. It has eked over to other aspects of life. I've certainly been a little less patient than I would wish. And the emotional roller coaster has chosen to have more lows than highs. All of which could easily be resolved if I could just get some decent nights of rest.

But!

Lessons can be learned. As I mentioned before, sympathy. But on Sunday as I was coming home from a date, and had yet another one of my body-racking sneezes, my moment of brilliance came.

Allergies are like being single!

They are! Here are some similarities:

*It's rather a nuisance--some times are worse than others.

*It can come with a great deal of pain, but I'm not going to die from it!

*It's not romantic.

*It sometimes draws attention to me.

*Most of that attention is unpleasant, but it isn't harmful. And it often comes with sympathy.

*I'm not the only one who suffers from this.

*It can be harder for others, it just depends on the season and the situation.

*I some times lose sleep from it.

*Tears have resulted.

*It can bring a lot of frustration.

*Some things/situations make it worse.

*It doesn't rule my life. Moments it seems it does, but overall no. I have my life and it is wonderful. It just has this which is some times inconvenient. And annoying. But it's a part of life!

*It brings its own humor.

*It can be fun....sort of.

*(At least this time around) medication won't solve it. But I still need to do all I can to take care of and deal with it.

*I have to remember and work at being patient and cheerful in a situation that is certainly not one I'd choose, but it's my lot right now and I can grow stronger from it by doing my best to be as Christlike as possible in spite of everything.

*It will be over when it's over.

The Explanatory Story of the Bathroom Comment

So, a few days on Facebook, I posted this:

Pre-ordered my Josh CD. And this HAD to be the Song of the Week (though this is the shorter version): 


(Now I feel the need to go clean a bathroom.... Long story.)

Now I can see the confusion related to this. So I felt the need to explain, as it is actually humorous and not worrisome.

As a young teen, I discovered my parents' record collection. Already I was a lover of musicals, so I was pretty excited to find records like the soundtrack for Oliver! I started to discover a bunch of other songs on records that I enjoyed. So--oh the old school tech days--I recorded the songs I liked from the records onto a cassette tape. (Yes, that meant I had to put the recorder up to the speakers as the record played. This was analog--we couldn't do a digital transfer!)

This tape was very treasured, and somehow, it became the tape I always listened to as I cleaned the bathroom. There was a cleaning routine, which meant the cleaning always began with the toilet (worst first) and then the sink, and the cast of Oliver! singing "Who Will Buy" and "I'd do Anything." Eventually I would get to the shower (biggest last), and if the timing was on, inevitably I would be scrubbing shower walls as I listened to "What I Did for Love." When I first recorded my cassette, I was not familiar with A Chorus Line. I saw a movie version once some time in my high school years. I remember not being as fond of it, but I still adored the song. Every time I cleaned a shower my heart would soar as she sang, "Goooooone! Love is never gone!"

So on Wednesday I pre-ordered the next Josh CD. With it, I was able to have two immediate song downloads. And one of them was "What I Did for Love." I couldn't wait to hear Josh sing that long-loved favorite. And if anyone knows how to soar on notes, Josh does. And not only does Josh do unsurprisingly amazingly awesome on "Gooooooone!," but his version then has hime sing it a second time--complete with key change!

And that my friends is while I will forever love and adore Josh, and this song of his, and still feel like I need to go clean a bathroom (specifically a shower) so I can sing "Gooooooone!" while scrubbing. Truly makes the work go faster and not seem like work whenever I can sing along as I do it. Especially a song that lets me belt like that. "Gooooooooone! Love is NEVER gooooooooone!"

2014 Book Challenges Wrap Up

2014 is over. So then are my book challenges. This year was the busiest of my life. If it was just work considered, no I have had busier. (I don't think anything will surpass my first year as a children's librarian.) But work was quite busy with the YSRT extras and creating new and very successful programs. But let's also throw in that I actually had a social life to speak of this year, which was always a goal. Quite a bit of one! And another musical. And a couple vacations. So life--in work + out of it--was very busy.

I still had the goal to read less, because I would much rather have the social life right now. It felt like I read very few of what I needed to (children's and teen chapter books). The year ended and I could see how it affected my Reader's Advisory skills at work. Not good. So this year we will not have a goal to read either more or less than my norm. Just to read. :-) Still, I'm sure you are dying to know how I did in my challenges. I'll be nice, and I'll end your anticipation.

GoodReads Challenge

I said I would try to read 300 books. I managed! Kind of. I'm 0.5 books short. But oh well. Close enough! (Close can count in horseshoes, hand grenades, kissing, and book challenges.) There were more picture books in that total than I had anticipated, but I'm still OK with that. That may affect the comparisons.

2014 HM & SL & Friends Book Challenge

I was so close. Four books shy of reading 50 books within 12 categories. I tried. Very much. But it didn't happen. So here are the pdfs of my charts. Let's hope they're more readable than last year.

Books I read that were under 100 pages (and not picture books)

 Books that I Own (supposed to read 6)

 Adult Fiction by author I've not read before (supposed to read 4)

 Classics (read 2; we all picked the same two)

 Religion books (read 4)

 Mystery (read 4)

 Books set in other country (read 4)

 Award winner or nominee (read 4)

 Other (read 4)

 Nonfiction (read 4)

 Books on ToRead list (read 6)

 History (read 4)

 SciFi or Fantasy (read 4)

 Totals

Let's See how the comparisons add up. This is the first time I'm seeing these results as well:
Oh my word. I read more books! 299.5 vs 287. I know. Not a lot. And a ton of picture books. But oh my word! I can't believe I managed more.

With pages (which does not include any picture books), I read less. 24,656 vs 29,584. No surprise. So even though more books, I still read less.
And the points? 1429.9 vs. 1152.6. Woohoo! Thank goodness we added way more points to books we owned or were on our to-read list. Otherwise I don't think I could have managed that. Especially when books over 900 pages only gave me 5 points! Such fun.

And, then there's my A to Z Totals (aka The Scrabble Challenge) with comparison to last year:

Count Scrabble points for first letter of each title and author that I read. Bonus points for letters my names start with. (Not including picture books.)


2013 Titles: 223
2014 Titles: 79 (uh, yep. There's the proof of how much less I read when picture books aren't included)
2013 Title Letters not read: G, J, K, N, Q, X, Y, Z
2014 Title Letters not read: K, Q, U, V, X, Z
2013 Highest Scoring Title letter: H (35 points)
2014 Highest Scoring Title letter: B (27 points)

2013 Authors: 254 
2014 Authors: 64 (oh my word)
2013 Author Letters not read: E, I, Q, U, X, Y
2014 Author Letters not read: I, N, Q, R, U, X, Y, Z

2013 Highest Scoring Author letter: Tie! B & H (30 points)
2014 Highest Scoring Author letter: H (35 points) More H's than last year.

2013 Grand Total: 477 
2014 Grand Total: 346. (Very far down, even though I didn't have as many repeat authors this year. At least, it felt that way.)