no school...ICE!

Well, the weather in southwest Missouri has not failed us. For the third year in a row, we are in the midst of an ice storm. This year's mix on the ground goes something like this. Ice, snow, ice, sleet, and now a LOT of snow! I just went out to take the trash out, and I thought i would never be able to trudge back through that craziness!

Im thinking tomorrow may be another snow/ice day for us, but either way we have been told we WILL have band no matter what so get your sleds or skis out and head to the band hall!

We will see!

"How about this weather gang?!"

Life doesn't seem to slow down for me, but its a great thing!

Here is a quick review of my week thus far...

Monday: Rehearsal ALL DAY
Tuesday: Class, work out, hair cut
Wednesday: Class, Band, Basketball Game, Dinner with Friends
Today: Class, Clean....RELAX

Yesterday was the busiest of my days but also the most exciting. While I felt like I was going 100 MPH all day, it ended on a great note. The BEARS wiped out Drake 65-44 which was a LOT of fun. After the game, some friends from band and I went to a local breakfast place (Ziggies) and had breakfast and chat for a long while. I then went home for some much needed rest.

This morning was one of those where you wake up not knowing what to wear to prepare for the weather outside. Weird how we can wake up one day and realize its in the 70's and wear shorts, but not even 2 days later feel like you can't put on enough clothes to keep yourself warm. Today, though, was a beautiful day. It was in the mid to upper 50's here and a light jacket did just fine for warmth.

Also this morning, I was awakened by the ringing of my doorbell. I rolled out of bed and answered it, a little worried about why someone was at my door, but it was the UPS guy with a new piano book my mom ordered me as an early birthday present! It was a great surprise, as I am sure was the condition I was in when opening the door after getting out of bed. (For more of a mental image, refer to the website below)

http://ryalsfamily-ours.blogspot.com/2009/01/musicmans-morning-encounter-with.html


ANYWAY! This weekend will be yet another exciting one. I will be traveling home to see a play my uncle is playing in the pit for and maybe catching up with a few friends as well. After a short visit, back to SW Missouri I go for yet another basketball game Sunday night. This one, though, will be nationally televised on ESPNU...if you have the chance to catch it.

LASTLY! I made Blue Berry muffins tonight and they are (were) delicious!

YUMMAY!

(picture of the new hair cut)

busy, BuSy, BUSY

Well, it seems that everything has returned to full swing in the Southwest part of the state. The first week of school was a little bit crazy with weird weather, challenging parking, and the usual stress of classes. I have been pretty lucky so far and haven't had too much homework. I am also lucky because my earliest class starts at noon and I really enjoy all of my teachers and classes so far. With so many band rehearsals on top of everything else, it is sometimes hard to have a positive outlook on things, but knowing some people who live in disappointment, I have to remind myself that with every day comes new and better things, and that I am very lucky to have what I do have.

Tomorrow is my day "off" from class but I do have band from 9-5. Hopefully it will not last THAT long, but most of my friends will be there with me, so it wont be too bad. After that day of rehearsal comes a piano lesson, another basketball game on Wednesday, a short trip home for a day or so and then another basketball game to end this week.

Until next time!

Ear Infection, School, and Basketball

Wow! It has been one of those SUPER busy crazy weeks for me, but I am loving it! Started out (not so well) with an ear infection in my better ear. OUCH! I hardly slept and woke up in a lot of pain, also realizing that I had to attend the first day of classes as well. But I got that all taken care of (thank god for insurance) and feel great now! As of yesterday I am in Symphonic Band, Basketball Band, and Nigh Jazz Band as well as the other 13ish hours I am taking this semester. Bottom line...IM BUSY..

This week is a great example of the very busy times i have ahead of me.

Today I had class from 12-2...band from 3-5...and a basketball game from 5:30-9:00
I have band on Sunday from 1-4 and Monday (a day "off") from 9-12 and 1-5

Add in homework, sleep, and piano lessons and you get one busy body.

Tonight was the first basketball game since school was back in session and it was a REALLY fun game. Not only did we win (68-55) but the student section (1,300) was FULL and there were 7,589 fans which is very good for a cold weekday night.

Here are a few pictures of the fun!

Back to real life!

Well, as of tomorrow, Christmas (Holiday) Break officially comes to and end. A sad yet exciting end as well. This means the start of new classes, new opportunities, and the chance to catch up with all the people who've been out of town for the holiday season. I am not too excited that my first class of the day is Business Statistics, but when I started my public speaking class I dreaded it as well and it ended up being one of my favorites. A positive outlook can make any situation just a little brighter.

Also! I will begin giving piano lessons this week to one (and maybe two) students. One of them is for sure ready and will begin on Thursday, the other, however, has a mother who seems to be a little reserved or high maintenance about the situation, for lack of better words. Either way, I am very excited for this opportunity and am hoping it will help out as far as money goes.

It is also an exciting time for the great State of Missouri with Jay Nixon taking ranks as Governor and in just a week we will have a new President of the United States. Seems like just yesterday we were all anxious to watch the votes come in to see who was elected.

Well, school tomorrow means I need to get to bed semi-early! (Although my first class isn't until noon!)

Goodnight!

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my moms birthday! Her 27th birthday to be exact! (you're welcome)

So..this year I went above and beyond for your gift mom! Here it is!



I know what you are thinking, "oh you shouldn't have!"
I figured that this was the perfect gift because it can be used for so many things.

You can set it as your background, print it off and share with others, frame it and stare at it every day. There are endless opportunities!

So, once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

----

As a side note, as Mr. Hoover would say, "How about this weather today gang?!"

This is for you mom!

I wasn't planning on posting tonight, but I just found out something kind of exciting.

Last summer Missouri State was supposed to do Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat during the summer, but didn't get the rights to do it. Well, they just announced that they will be doing it THIS coming summer!

I know this is a favorite in our family so hopefully some of the gang can come down to see it!

Goodnight all!

A Productive Day!

Today was one of those days where you wake up, get ready, and dont stop! I woke up semi-early and went to work out at school and then came back to shower. After that I ran a few errands, took down the Christmas tree and decorations, and went to a movie.




The movie was called "Doubt" and starred Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was a very intense movie and of course, Meryl Streep was amazing!

A little about it...

"Set at a Catholic school in the Bronx, it centers on a nun who grows suspicious when a priest begins taking too much interest in the life of a young black student. Is she being overly protective or not protective enough? And can she work within the system to discover the truth? "

After the movie, I came home and cleaned the rest of my living room and rearranged it. I moved my piano into the living room to prepare to (hopefully) give some lessons as a side job.



Pretty clean if I do say so myself!

Coffee and Waffles!

Today wasn't too exciting of a day in the southwest part of the state but it was nice to have a relaxing day! Since the weather has been so crazy and today was a colder day, my friends and I decided to get coffee and catch up on each others lives. We all used to work together and as of a few weeks ago, all quit too. Kristen is getting ready to get married on Saturday... in FLORIDA! I am very jealous of her, although the weather a few of the past days has been pretty close to what she will experience in Florida. We had a great time chatting and telling fun stories.

After that great time, I came home and realized that it was later than i thought. I hadn't eaten so I figured Iwould try out my new waffle maker I received from my mother for Christmas! After a few pre-cooking preperations, I made myself two waffles and they were wonderful!



Well...goodbye to the weekend and hello to job hunting!

Until next time!

Here I Go...

I thought I would give this a try, since it seems to be the new thing to do!

To catch up on the last few days...

I just got back from a fantastic few days with the family celebrating the holidays! Everything went really well and was crazy as usual. Boy! did time fly by though! I have a basketball game tomorrow to play at and in a little more than a week, the spring semester starts! With that comes many rehearsals for the Symphonic Band's performance at the MMEA conference as well as more basketball games. That on top of homework, class, spending time with friends, and getting a job (soon hopefully..right mom?), will keep me very busy.

Spending all of that time at home did kind of spoil me though, so now its back to cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry!