MorningStar

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ........

Sometimes. Maybe just enough to buy one new piece of music.

Advice to choir directors: If you have a budget at all, use it, or they will assume you don't need it and you won't be able to buy any new music. Then after people walk off with the music you do have already, you will be stuck with Sally DeFord and hymns. I do love you, Sally DeFord, but I also love lots of other composers.

I'm the same way! I would rather play 6 flats than 3 sharps! Our old director gave us a Sally DeFord song and it was 5 sharps. I was going, "What the heck? Can most ward choir pianists play this?!" I appreciate the free music, but after a while most of our songs were by Sally DeFord. Same with my last ward.

The nice thing is, you know that almost every note you're playing is a sharp! Except for those double sharps. Those kind of make my brain hurt.

Her best songs are Primary songs.

c#?! Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Most of the things I'm given I can sight read, but that doesn't mean I have time to squeeze in a practice when I have four children who have piano, Scouts, concerts, homework (that makes them cry), family obligations, Christmas to plan, piano lessons, etc.

Me too. I just wish I could divide the duties sometimes because one of these years, I'll come down with some barfing illness and it will not end with, "Wow! Sis. MorningStar can barf and play at the same time!" I woke up feeling sick on Sunday and that made me worry a bit. I almost had to leave in the middle of our practice.

When one of my best friends got married, her pianist flaked. She didn't get sick. She just plain forgot and this was after she had told her in a rather demanding tone to leave her $100 on the piano in an envelope. The bride was freaking and one of our friends just happened to have wedding music in her car. Woo hoo! So did you ever find out what happened to the pianist?

YES! OK, you can't let him see it or he'll probably make you do it for reals.

Hahahahaha!!!!! Ask them what looks easy about it. Is it the 5 sharps? The three key changes?

My personal favorite is, "I have to hire an accompanist for this competition and I can't believe they want $30! So I thought I would ask you instead."

So you know how I'm supposed to play some chime sounds on that one song at the end? N and I were strongly considering bringing a triangle or xylophone as a joke. "DING!" But then she thought he might say, "YES! I like that!" So, so tempting. It's a G, in case you're wondering. You know, in case you want to play a chime sound from the back.

I'm the only available accompanist at the moment for songs beyond the primary book/hymnal. I have three pretty difficult songs I'm working on and a bunch of not so difficult. Sometimes I have to ice my arms, especially for this duet piece for stake choir because we have to play at weird angles. I spent 6 hours on a piano bench on Sunday between Primary, two ward choir rehearsals, stake choir, and a musical number. Craziness. Then the thought enters my head, "Oh my gosh. What if I got sick?! I'll ruin the whole program!" I figure I'm getting my parents' money's worth for my piano lessons.

So this is a new one. I talked to a lady who said her sister left the church because other churches pay their pianists/organists and she was sick of being overworked. I'm guessing this happened around Christmas time. Really, we pianists just need to set boundaries with people - let them know we will play with x amount of notice for x amount of songs and expect others to simplify if it's too much for us. It does get pretty rough when you are the only available accompanist. I joked with a friend that I wouldn't leave the church over that. I'll just put a tip jar on the piano.

I don't know about Derpy, but my daughter started watching it and then one morning I woke up to find my boys watching it. Their sister was still asleep. They tried to claim they were just making fun of it, but there was a My Little Pony marathon in our home that day and my son asked, "I wonder who's going to get married? Shutterfly?"

I've seen these things work out and I've seen some disasters. If you know it's the right thing, just thank people for their concern. My brother didn't like my husband at first, but now he talks about how glad he is that now that we're all grown up, it's awesome that we all married people we get along with so well.

What a horrible situation. If this were to happen to me (not that my husband could put up a child for adoption without my permission), I think I would want there to be a relationship with me and the parents who adopted them.

GumNut is only $3200? I can't think of a reason why anyone wouldn't want to buy him. I could use a violent pet that eats spiders.

An I feel statement. "When you swear, I feel like smacking you." I remember being pregnant and being extra annoyed about this sort of thing. I was in the bathroom after taking a shower one day when I heard one of my husband's military co-workers in the living room talking to him using the F word every sentence. I came out and glared at him then looked at my husband like, "Why don't you tell this moron to watch his mouth in our home?!" The guy literally used the F word in every sentence, but admitted that he wasn't allowed to talk that way around his wife. This is what he said. "I have to go the the ****ing store to buy some ****ing soap for my ****ing TDY bag." So he stopped using the word around his wife, but strangely his 3-year-old started saying it. Your husband will probably clean up his language for your child. That is, until he hits his thumb with a hammer. Or your future toddler accidentally or intentionally whacks him in the crotch with a hard object.

It's very awkward when my kids get invited to parties on Sundays. I don't want the family to think we are disinterested, but then we don't want to come across as holier than thou to tell them we believe in keeping the Sabbath day holy. My son was trying to get together with a Jewish girl to play the violin together. Saturday didn't work for them and Sunday didn't work for us. It was nice that both of us understood though. :)

Hwat the hweck?

One thing I have been wanting to do is record myself reading this book to my sister that she used to make me read all the time until she fell asleep. Of course, I'll have to do the special voices. I just need quiet and a good recorder. My dad actually bought a really good recorder and it might be quiet over there. I have been a little ambitious this Christmas, so we'll see if I have time.

I loved the recipes my mom printed out and put in a box for us. That is, until more than a few of them had typos and omissions.