New Blog

I have started a new blog. Since I barely blogged on here, I am starting a business blog, for Music with Mommie and my private lessons. The name of the blog is Stephanie Jones Music which you can link to from my profile. I will probably keep this one but only blog on it occasionally as I have for the past 2 years. Oh well, I guess its just not my thing. Visit my new blog. http://stephaniejonesmusic.blogspot.com

YAY for KAY

Hehe! Kay is my quartets new bass! A true match. I can't wait to get started. YAY!

What a month! I have been to Florida, I have picked up three new private students, and I am the Director for Music with Mommie in Murfreesboro. Yep, all this month, oh yeah and we auditioned new basses for the quartet. Everything music. Life is good! The best news of all though is that I got invited to go on the music team retreat to Gatlinburg in June. I will learn more about giving PVIs. This will make me a better teacher and musician all around. What an honor and priviledge.

Every Mother

Every Mother should be able to leave and go on a retreat of some sort throughout the year. I know for me I always look forward to chorus retreats or chorus competitions, when I know I get a break from everyday life. I don't have to think about paying bills, kids, husband, or anything really other than singing and looking good. This is a time for me and just me! Being a mother means most times that you are last in line. Your family always comes first. It is important to have a time where you can find who you are again. For me, music is such a huge part of who I am that, being a Sweet Adeline was the right thing for me. Not only do I get to go on retreats and to competitions (now all over the world since we are winning our region), I go to a weekly rehearsal every Monday night. Again I get me time.

I feel that I am a better mother, because I give time to myself. Yes, I am gone every Monday night, but I am home with my children all the time and the time that I am able to spend with them is better time because I have had a time of renewal for myself. I encourage all mothers, to get involved in a hobby or with their church, a mom's club, or something that will allow them to have time to themselves.

Region 23 Competition

WOW! What an exciting and rewarding weekend. I got to help with the Rising Star competition, compete in the quartet competition on Friday, and compete with my amazing chorus, TuneTown.

So, Sherry and Elizabeth picked me up and we began our trip to Chattanooga. We went through the schedule for the next two days, and of course we had to stop at one of our favorite places to eat. The City Cafe. This is a picture of Elizabeth holding the to go menu so we could order food later in the weekend.

We had a great 2 hour rehearsal after dinner, then got ready to go help with the Rising Star competition. Here's Elizabeth and Michele ready to get on the elevator. Aren't they pretty!

The Rising Star competion was one of the best yet. Here is one of the quartets that I got to coach a few times. They won 2nd place. Woohoo! Go, My Four Ladies!

The next day was the big day for quartets. We had only been together for 3 1/2 months. But we learned fast and rehearsed hard. I will never forget one of the girls asking me where my water was. I said, no, I don't want to drink anymore cause I am afraid it will make me burp. Then Michele says, oh man, you are right, all I can remember was Michele's constant burping all the way up to the minute before we walked on stage. Seriously the girl could not stop. I turned to her and said, umm, you are really gonna have to stop that now, and she did. Seriously that is my memory of before walking on stage! Too funny! We put it all out there on that stage, we sang the plan, and in my opinion sang it well. I am proud of my sisters in song. Way to go Kraze!


We came in 8th place, which I am being told is actually a great thing considering the caliber of quartets that were competing this past weekend. Our very own Fiddlestix came in 1st and Last Minute came in 2nd, improving by 70 points since last year. We are so proud.

The biggest competition of all was the chorus competition. I was so excited and nervous all at the same time. Waiting to hear our score was like waiting to find out if the pregnancy test was positive. I seriously had a lump in my throat, I thought I would throw up. Then we heard 2nd place and we knew we had won! But waiting for them to announce it was taking FOREVER!!! So here we go to International again. I am so ready for this journey and for the party next Monday night.

Tuesday

Feels like Monday still. I am really looking forward to getting to sleep in after taking kids to school only two more days this week. Daylight savings time still has got me beat every morning. It has just been really hard waking up lately. Also I don't like waking up when it is still dark outside. Poor Justin is almost late everyday. So I am always yelling in the mornings lets go, get in the car, get moving and most of the time it is Caleb who we are waiting on to get out the door, pretty much every morning. That child is so hard to wake up and he is mean in the morning, really mean.

I really can't believe I am still blogging. I just wanted to mention that. LOL!

Cam's Bday pics

Kraze

Have I talked about how awesome my quartet is lately? We are now ready to go to competition in three weeks. That leaves little time to finish the final product of performing on competition stage. I am so excited this year. This is the year that my chorus has to win first place and score higher than 623, and it is the year I might get a medal for quarteting. I have only been in one other competing quartet and that was two years ago. We came in 6th and won novice quartet. This year we do not qualify for novice. All of us have competed before and the other three have all medaled before. I will try not to let the medal control me, but it is hard when you want one so bad.

So we have our costume, and yesterday I bought our earrings. It was almost like the earrings were meant to go with this costume.



We are still trying to decide if we want to buy another top, but right now we might just go with wearing our own black tops. Quarteting can get expensive, when you pay for music, contest fees, coaches, costumes, hotels, etc. If and when we get a medal we will be able to book gigs and make money for our quartet so it won't come out of our own pockets. I am excitingly waiting.

Spent

Man, what a day! I am just spent. Since 2:00 I have been running around like crazy, being mommy, teaching, teaching, being mommy and teaching, and being mommy. Wednesdays have almost become stressful to me since I have taken on the Wednesday night class at church. Cameron is so wishy washy about going to his class that tonight he wouldn't go. Then one of the ladies said , oh I can get him to go and I said please do, so she took him and he went. I am glad, because it was very difficult to teach my class and have him running around not sitting still having me say Cameron come sit down. She has offered to help again next week if I need her. It just stresses me. My shoulders and neck are hurting tonight cause I am feeling the stress.

I also picked up the musical theatre class on Wednesdays so, I go from teaching 2 lessons, straight into musical theatre, then rush home, then back out the door to go teach Kindergarteners at church, then we wait an extra 40 min for Caleb to get done with Youth group. This is the part that really stresses me, having two tired little boys in the car for that long waiting on their brother. They are cranky and then it makes me cranky. I can't wait till it gets warmer and they can play outside on the playground while we wait. Okay I am putting kids to bed now.