A Penny For Your Thoughts

New Location

2010-10-23T22:17:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone... I've been having a lot of troubles with Blogger lately (formatting issues and such) and although I am quite reluctant to leave this familiar and memory-filled server, I have decided to move my blog to WordPress. It was a very difficult decision (and I'm not even sure yet, if I've made the right decision), but I have full hopes that my blogging future will be brighter and easier! Hopefully that will mean my updates will be more frequent too...

Anyway, here's the link to the new site - http://donata.dillie.us Check it out, read my new blog post on there, and let me know what you think in a comment! :-)

You Make Me Smile

2010-10-20T14:39:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! I apologize for not writing in forever. Between eating and sleeping (and a couple of other things), I've been super busy! But I'm here now, so without further ado, I will fill you in on the happenings around here.

Firstly, I'd just like to say that the October weather has been gravely disappointing. Unlike last year, there's been an abundance of grey skies, chilly temperatures and icy winds. =S The trees decided to jump from green to November golden this year too, with hardly a bit of October red. Other than that though, October hasn't been so bad. Pretty much like any other month, only more so. And, actually, the day of my birthday was perfect - blue skies and warm breezes and such. ^_^

To be honest, I still don't feel like I've recovered from algebra overload, or my insanely crazy summer, or my school cramming spring. All I want to do all the time (as I mentioned above) is sleep and eat. Rather inconvenient when you have a To-Do-List a mile long. But I happen to like sleep and I'm pretty crazy about food; so, as long as I can forget about all the stuff I have to do (finishing graduation announcements and updating blogs, for example), it's really a gratifying way to spend a couple of weeks.

I've had three piano lessons so far and I'm really enjoying them! Sadly, you can't practice piano while you're eating or sleeping, so my practicing has been suffering. My teacher is amazingly patient with me though and has gone to the trouble of making me up a practice check list, to help keep me focused and motivated and not feel so overwhelmed. It's definitely helping - I got some stupendous practicing in yesterday, and I'm looking forward to practicing today.

Choir, choir, choir... The coolest thing ever just got a little bit cooler. As if getting together and making a joyful noise weren't awesome enough - Mr. Smith informed us that we will be having not one, but two choir parties this year. Can you say Fantastical? B-)

Oh yes - I nearly forgot! The church picnic was epic. A smashing success. Worthy of it's own blog post, really. But unfortunately, I was too lazy to write one at the time, so a measly paragraph with have to do. I did brave the dessert contest and entered with a Strawberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake, which did not win. =P One of my cousins told me he really liked it though, so that pretty much made my day right there. ^_^ The best part of the day didn't come until later, however, when the adult games began. There was a signifiant increase in participation and light-hearted competitiveness this year. While I don't like to brag, I can't help but mention that everyone on my team was totally awesome. We didn't win every game (and even the ones we did win, I can't take any credit for. XD), but the whole experience was memorable and super fun. This picnic was very possibly the best ever and without a doubt, simply ripping!

Let's see... what else has been going on? I sent in my first college application this month. I applied to Northland International University, a Christian college in Wisconsin. I really hope I can go there because I would really like to go to a Christian college, their doctrinal statement looks close to what I believe, and their music department looks promising. I also registered to vote. Which brings me to my next paragraph...

I turned eighteen this month! On the 16th to be exact. It was a good birthday, as birthdays go. Tons of people wished me a 'happy birthday' on Facebook, Buzz, Twitter, an online forum, and in person! (Thanks everyone!) ^_^ A family I know was having a moving-in BBQ on my birthday, so I got to spend the day with friends and eat all sorts of splendid food and jump on a trampoline! Plus, they all sang 'Happy Birthday' to me and another friend, whose birthday is this coming Friday. The day before my birthday, I went to Macy's and bought myself some new shirts and a hat with some Macy's gift cards I'd gotten for my birthday. I'm really happy with all of them! I wore one of the shirts on Sunday and my friend, Bonnie, said I looked like I'd just walked out of Foyle's War. Talk about way to make me walk on clouds all week! =D

There's a hayride this Friday night - super excited about that! Any excuse to get together with friends and eat good food. ;-) I've also signed up for the SAT test on Nov. 6th. I'm glad that it's not too far away, as I really want to just get it over with. :-/ At some point this year, I'm hoping I can somehow finagle some kind of piano recital for my students. Not sure if it's going to work out, because almost every Saturday is already taken, but I'm hoping. I've been practicing driving a bit lately and I think I might, possibly be getting the hang of it. Maybe. In other random news, I've been filling out job applications lately too. Crazy stuff going on.

Anyway, that should be enough for right now. I'll try to update sooner rather than later next time, so the post won't be so overwhelmingly long. =P I hope you are all having a great October! :-)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again

unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

"To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled,

and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

"Who are kept by the power of God through faith

unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

1 Peter 1:3-5

Ain't We Got Fun

2010-09-30T00:27:00.000-04:00

Here's a slideshow I made today. Let me know what you all think! :-)

From Slideshows

I Could Have Danced All Night

2010-09-27T15:49:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone! It feels like forever since my last post! First of all, I'd just like to say that I think that September and October are my favorite months. Bluer-than-blue skies, a significant drop in humidity, warm breezes, and scrumptious cook-outs. I am so happy that my birthday comes right in the middle of October! :-)

Anyway... I have some super big, totally stupendous, absolutely fantastic news to share! I finished algebra!! It took me about two years to struggle through the nasty stuff, but now I'm finally done. I did an average of eight lessons a day for several days to finish in time to go spend half a week with a friend. I literally dreamed in algebra equations for a few nights, but I survived and managed to somehow (I've really no idea how) come out with a solid B as an overall grade. My stress-level has dropped considerably and, after some counseling, I think I'll be able to live a normal life now. ;-)

I spent half a week with my friend, Colleen, at her house. We didn't do too much (I was still recovering from Algebra Overload), but we had a great time. I introduced her to Foyle's War, which she liked, and we also watched My Fair Lady. I had forgotten a lot of that movie, but there a number of good scenes/songs in that movie. ^_^ We made chocolate covered strawberries and Chocolate Nutella cookies, both of which were fantastic. We also ate banana splits, M&M's, and pancakes. Plus, I got to drink Coke, eat pickles, play Phase 10, and post a prediction that started a rather fun and interesting conversation on the future of computers. Altogether, it was a pretty awesome weekend.

This morning, I had my first piano lesson since June. At first I was worried that eight in the morning would be too early for a piano lesson, but now I think it's a perfect time. Early mornings make me happy (mostly). My lesson went quite well and I feel confident that these next few months will be quite exciting and successful, as far as piano is concerned. Right now I'm working on Prelude in C Major by Bach from The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book One, and I'm just about to start a piece called The Hunt from Mendelssohn's Song Without Words. Fun, fun, fun!

Choir Practice started up again last week. We'll be having it every Monday unless it's a holiday or something. I'm very excited about that - choir is one of my favorite things ever, as I've said many times. Now, if I could just learn how to sing, it would be absolutely marvelous... =P

My cousins, Mark and Cadie, just had their first baby on Saturday! They named him Ethan Andrew. I've only seen pictures, but he looks adorable. I'm so happy for them and I'm so thankful that everything went well! It's kinda crazy to think of my cousins as 'aunts' and 'uncles' now. I guess we're all growing up. It doesn't seem too long ago that we were all playing "What Time is it Mr. Fox?" in the backyard. Funny how things change.

The church picnic is on Saturday, which I'm very much looking forward to. I haven't decided if I'm going to make a dessert for the dessert contest or not. I like baking quite a bit, but I'm not sure if I want to walk all the way up to the front and stand in front of everyone, while they announce who won. Still, I can only enter for a couple of more years, so I might brave it. Anyway, I am planning on playing the games this year, if I get over to the fields in time. Hopefully there will be more participation than last year. I'll let you know how it all goes...

Lately I've been in kind of a strange mood. Maybe it's being done with algebra, or perhaps it's these fantastic September days, or something else. Whatever it is, I've been doing lots of random, fun things. I edited a whole set of pictures, practiced piano for hours, finished writing chapter seven in my Irish story, cleaned up my room, and made iced tea. I've also been wanting very much to go ice skating and wear hats again. It's all kinda strange, but I'm not complaining. Summer is over, but I feel like sunnier days are up ahead!

"Be anxious for nothing; but in everything,

by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,

shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

-Philippians 4:6-7

Last Days of Summer

2010-08-31T22:13:00.020-04:00

Hello again! I can't believe it's already the last day of August. I'll miss summer, but I'm really getting excited about fall! Choir practice, different clothes, weather that I can ride a bike and take a walk in, mulled cider, hayrides, my 18th birthday, Thanksgiving, etc., etc. It's going to be lots of crazy fun...

Photo by Alex Laake

Speaking of crazy fun, let me fill you in on the rest of VBS. Playing the piano wasn't so bad - I wish I had played better, but it was still quite fun. On Saturday, I think I was very nearly in sync with Mr. Smith. Mostly... Anyway, the week was super crazy because of babysitting half the day and going to VBS at night. I got very little sleep, but I did get a nice, long nap on Saturday afternoon to make up for it. I had a really good time at the VBS picnic on Saturday. I got a t-shirt, a 'certificate of thanks', an adorable Mouse Detective key chain, a couple of chocolate snacks, and my very own picture with special guest, Dr. I.V. Bags! Lots of awesomeness. B-)

Photo by Jason Bailey

This week has been surprisingly relaxed. Or maybe it just seems relaxed compared to the rest of my summer... In any case, I've gotten more sleep and had time to remember my name and to breathe every now and then. I don't have any big plans for this week. I'm hoping to get my room organized, get a bit of school done, and practice piano. On Saturday, my parents are (Lord-willing) going to Wolf Trap to see The Sound of Music. It's my mom's favorite play, so I'm super excited for her getting to go see it!

That's all there is for now... I hope you all are enjoying your last few days of summer! Talk to you soon!

Reflections Over Afternoon Tea

2010-08-24T14:27:00.013-04:00

Hey everyone! I'm sitting here at the computer, drinking hot tea and eating Ciabatta bread, as I catch my breath and try to remember everything that has happened in the past few weeks since I last wrote here.

House-sitting went rather well, all things considered. It was a little crazy, because it felt like living in two places at the same time. I had my friend, Colleen, over to spend two nights with me. We had a good time together and consumed far more chocolate than can be disclosed here. ;-) The last night I was there, I edited chapter five of my first novel, Broken Things. I'm not entirely happy with it, but words and sentences flowed again for the first time since January. Very encouraging and inspiring! I also had brainstorms on both my other stories, which will hopefully come together soon.

When the people I was house-sitting for came back, I began babysitting their kids from 7-2 everyday. This is my second week doing that and I'm kind of looking forward to it ending when they go back to school in September. I love kids and these parents are super nice and laid back, but it is quite exhausting and time consuming. I'm thankful for the opportunity to make some money though - I'm going to put it all towards that laptop.

This week is Vacation Bible School. We didn't have it last year, which was rather disappointing, so I'm especially excited about it this year. Mr. Smith asked me to play the songs for it again! I read over my post from two years ago when I played for VBS before, and I laughed when I read about how I wasn't thrilled over the hat. However I felt about it before VBS that year, it grew on me. In fact, I had lost it for a while, but when I found it while cleaning my room, I dedicated a whole video to it. This year there are no hats (at least, not yet), but I did get a pretty cool bag. I'm having a bit of trouble with 8th notes (timing has never been my strong point), but my biggest problem is nervousness. Sometimes I play better under pressure, but last night I tripped up over easy sections over and over again. I'll just have to try again tonight...

Autumn is coming up fast and furiously. I can hardly believe summer is nearly over - an incredible amount of stuff has happened in such a short amount of time. I love summer, but I am definitely looking forward to days without humidity! I haven't checked my planner in a while, but I think I can safely say that this is fall is going to be quite busy, quite fun, and quite memorable. Talk to you all soon!

Home Again!

2010-08-05T18:53:00.005-04:00

Hey folks! I'm home again, but not for long. I spent the last ten days out of the house and now am about to go and spend the next ten days out again - this time, house-sitting for the neighbors across the street. Never a dull moment in my life!

I'm really looking forward to house-sitting. I've stocked up on food, movies, books, school and my stories to keep myself busy. I'm hoping to finish my Algebra while I'm over there, but we'll have to see how that works out. I'm having a friend come and stay with me for a couple of days while I'm there, so that will be lots of fun.

I saw my piano teacher on Saturday and apparently she had a super awesome time in Italy. I haven't had any lessons yet though for the both of us have been busy, and I haven't practiced. I'm hoping to start having them again sometime this month. We shall see... I've worked on one story a little, but not much. I'm really hoping to get a lot of writing done while I'm house-sitting.

Have any of you all seen the PBS series Foyle's War? My family just started watching it recently and I love it! I don't really like TV shows in general, but this one has totally captured my attention. Foyle is the Detective Chief Superintendent for the Police in Hastings, England during World War II. He, along with his driver, Sam, and his Detective Sergeant, Paul Milner, solve murders and fight their own war on the home front while all of England struggles for victory over Hitler. Anyway, I'm enjoying it so very much that I had to mention it to you all.

I'm off to eat a bit of dinner and get ready to go house-sitting. Talk later!

Flying Through Summer

2010-07-27T12:56:00.006-04:00

Hey people! What's up with you all? I've been having one interesting month. I've been here, there and everywhere - and even when I've been here, I haven't been all there. But, for the most part, it's been fun.

My Tupperware party was a huge success. Over twenty people showed up and I got a great deal of fun free stuff. ^_^ Entrepreneur Day went off without any major problems. There was a small turn out as far as buyers are concerned, but I have already begun planning better ways to advertise next year (if I am the one organizing it then). I am so glad it is over!

After Entrepreneur Day ended, I quickly moved on to new and exciting things. For the most part, I've been visiting friends. I visited the VanWingerdens down in Richmond for a while, which was very fun. They took me to the beach and to see The Sound of Music. I also went to visit my grandmother one weekend, and my little sister, Sarah, came too. We had fun watching Murder She Wrote and eating spectacular popcorn. Some old friends of ours, the Mitzels, moved back to Virginia this month and I, along with my younger brother and sister, spent a few days helping them move in. I've briefly gotten to visit with my friends, Colleen, Marie and Lizzy, as well as my brother and sister-in-law. Making lots of great memories. B-)

In my in-between time, I've been babysitting, teaching piano, brainstorming on my stories, practicing piano, keeping my life organized, working on making my graduation announcements, finishing the last bits of high school, and various other odds and ends. The laptop I use has been on it's way out for a long time, but it has recently began falling apart to an even greater and more dramatic extent. So, I spent half of yesterday and all of this morning backing up all of my documents, pictures and music to CD's. I'm saving for a new laptop and I'm hoping to be able to buy it towards the end of September or October. I'm looking forward to having a new one.

Last Sunday, I played the piano for church for the first time. It really wasn't as hard as I had always imagined it, though I was so nervous that I messed up the middle song. As it turned out, no one was even paying attention to me or my playing, as the AC had died and arrangements were being made during the singing for the congregation to move downstairs for the service. I was more or less invisible. Plus, the only the reason I was playing was because all of the other pianists weren't there, so a good portion of my friends (and of the church itself) weren't even there. I guess that makes a first time easier. I'm going to be playing again this next Sunday and I'm really looking forward to that. I'm also going to be playing for VBS, which should be fun.

I haven't had time to work on my stories, sadly. I have enough ideas to finish a new chapter in each one, but no time to write them all down! I'm going to try to make that happen tonight, but no guarantees. I'm going to be breaking into a new business venture with my friend, Ella Mitzel. I'll have more on that later as we're still in the early stages of setting it up. That should keep me on my toes! I think my piano teacher is coming back from Italy this week - I am very excited about seeing her again and hearing about her trip and having a lesson again! I have something planned almost every week throughout the fall already, and I am sure more things will pile on. I guess though, it really wouldn't be my life, if I weren't perpetually insanely busy. I'll be back soon to keep you updated on how things are going! :-) Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Crazy Love

2010-06-19T02:26:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone! Time to let you know how all that busy-ness is going! My room was clean at some point (two different times actually), but I'm not sure its exactly clean now. It needs a touch-up... As for painting and such, I have no idea if that's going to happen. But, I'm optimistic about it! Anyways, lots more interesting stuff besides room-cleaning has been going on.

I had a really good time playing the piano at the Family Fellowship, and according to a number of reliable witnesses, I played fantastically. However, when I listened to it on the CD, it bored me... So, I'm guessing the recording just couldn't bring out my awesomeness. ;-)

School, school, school... I graduated on Sunday night! But, I still have a bit of school to finish. 15 (fun) papers to write, 30 lessons of algebra, 6 chapters of Government to read, 15 novels to read and that's it! I'm looking forward to the papers because I had some really awesome ideas for things to write about. Algebra is AWFUL, but I'm just going to frown my way through to the end. Government is borrrrring, but not so difficult. The novels are a mix of interesting and not-so-interesting. But altogether, there isn't that much left and it will all teach me something (if nothing more than enduring and working through something I don't like =P).

I started working on my Irish story again! I made awesome progress and am about halfway through the next chapter. Hopefully, I'll be able to dig up some time to finish it before I lose all my readers. Piano has been great. I've had a piano lesson every single week since my last post. My teacher left for Italy today, so I won't have any more lessons until she gets back. But it is looking like I will probably have a ride to lessons after she gets back too, which, of course, is amazingly good. Its taking a long time for me to get back into the groove, but I'm sure it will come back soon. I have lots of plans for practicing during these five weeks - building up technique, memorizing phrases, enjoying music. Lots of fun!

Doctor visits have been productive and I still have more up ahead, but I am glad to be getting my health all figured out. The Mikado was epically awesome. I love Wolf Trap and I love Gilbert & Sullivan, so it was an incredible mix. Tonight, I went with the same friends to see Cats. It was my first time to even hear the music (other than Memory). It was really good. There were a couple of songs that I would have done a bit differently musically (if I had that kinda talent =P), but overall it was amazing. Some of them would be really cool songs to do the dishes too... ;-) I'm spending the night at my friend's house tonight too, which is pretty awesome.

My brother got married two weeks ago! It was a beautiful wedding with lots of flowers. The sanctuary was a bit hot, and I was feeling a bit dizzy, standing up there. It was my younger brother (a groomsman) that actually passed out though. He was fine soon enough, but it certainly was dramatic! He totally stole the show from David. =P Though I felt a bit ridiculous in my bridesmaid dress (its so hard to blend in...), it was fun to be a bridesmaid. Especially when we got to be announced. "Mr. Robert Lawrence and Miss Emily Dillie." Everyone claps and cheers as you come in. Cameras are going off everywhere and for a moment you feel really special. The reception was nice, but it seemed to all be a blur. Afterwords, there was a ton of cleaning up to do. I helped out with sweeping mostly and then I did my best to keep the younger kids occupied and from hurting themselves. That was fun, since they were so excited that an "older person" actually wanted to play with them. :-)

Lets see... the coming weeks are going to be busy, as always, but not quite as crazy as the past few weeks. Father's Day is on Sunday, I'm having a Tupperware party on Tuesday, I'm teaching piano to two new piano students on Wednesday and Thursday, Entrepreneur Day is on Saturday... Plus, I've got the last stretch of school to finish, music to play and listen to, stories to write, friends to keep up with, family to hang out with, and llamas to love! I might have even more piano students, plus I will be doing a bit of babysitting and dog sitting and house sitting this summer, which will be nice. I'm hoping to be able to save up for a nice shiny Macbook. I might settle for a PC machine that I can run Mac OS on if I don't save up enough though. I've been learning to drive a bit more, which is easier than it was last time I tried. So much awesome stuff going on in my life! I'm so thankful that God has given me so many opportunities to grow and to love. Life is so, so crazy, but also fun and there is so much to love and so many people to love!

This is a reallllly long post, so I will end it now. Hope you are having a great summer and staying cool! Talk later.

Do or Die Trying

2010-05-03T15:30:00.000-04:00

Time to get you all up to date on what's been happening around here. First of all, I've had a relentless dry cough for about a month. I went to the doctor twice, had my blood taken and tested and an x-ray done. From my blood they determined that I'm allergic to dust mites and dogs. We're not getting rid of our dog... but I am trying to get as much dust eliminated as possible. Clutter clearing, reorganizing, dusting, vacuuming, laundering, etc. And, it must be working, because my coughing has clearly diminished to only a minor annoyance.

I'm hoping this means that my bedroom makeover (fresh paint, laminate floor, wainscoting and all) will finally become a reality. Its starting to sound more like a joke now... but I keep hoping. :-) I've been making plans, calculating costs, counting my nickels... this could be the year it happens!

School is going miserably, to be honest. But, I found out I have two more weeks before graduation than I was counting on originally. So, now that my cough is starting to clear up, I'm going to give another wholehearted effort. I also found some papers I'd written and forgotten about that can count towards my English, so that's great news. :-)

My fictional writing has been almost non-existent lately. No new chapters are done or have even been worked on. I'm hoping to be able to squeeze some time in for a new chapter in my Irish story though, as I've been keeping my readers waiting far too long. I have been playing the piano more though. Between looking for new, fun pieces for my students, sight-reading and working on "July" by Tchaikovsky, I've been having a blast. I got an email from my old Russian teacher, which was very encouraging. I also may be able to take a few lessons this month from my other teacher before she leaves for Italy. In July, my very first piano teacher (from when I was six or so) is moving back to the area and will be picking me up and taking me to her house every week for a piano lesson. I'm really excited about that!

So much is about to happen that I can't even wrap my mind around it. A birthday party for my cousin, Mother's Day, a couple of doctor visits, the Family Fellowship, a visit to Wolf Trap to see The Mikado (sweet!), a friend's wedding, my brother's wedding, the HEAV Convention, Entrepreneur Day... And that's just the big stuff. It's going to be crazy, crazy busy over here, but also fun. Mix in with that good music, good food, iced tea, sunny days, good friends, etc, etc. and you've got a super awesome couple of weeks! I'll try to pop in every now and again to let you know how things are going...

"Then they that feared the Lord spake often on to another:
and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance
was written before Him for them that feared the Lord
and that thought upon His name." - Malachi 3:16

Votes Please

2010-04-29T18:15:00.005-04:00

(photography and edits by David Rhyne)

Hey everyone, I'll be posting a real update here soon, but it would be great if you all could vote for my friend, David Rhyne, here at Weebly. Voting ends April 30th, so please vote now! Thanks! :-)

Bird Contest

2010-04-20T22:11:00.003-04:00

This is a video I put together (with some help from family and friends) last year for the 36 hour film festival contest given by Christian Filmmakers. I didn't finish it in time (about an hour late) to enter, but I had a lot of fun making it. I finally got around to uploading it, so here you go. :-)

Broken Things

2010-04-12T23:05:00.010-04:00

For a long time, I've been talking about the novel I'm working on. It took me over a year to write the first draft and it will probably take longer to finish the first edit. I've enjoyed working it so much and I've already got the sequel developing in my head. Because I like this story so much, I asked a friend of mine, David Rhyne, to make a book cover for me. He did a great job and I wanted to share it with you all. I also thought it would be nice to share an excerpt from it, so you all can get a glimpse of it. Let me know what you think!

(halfway through chapter three)

“Hello!” Sallie greeted her at lunch. “How is your day going?”

“Well enough. And yours?” Danielle asked.

“Fine, just fine,” Sallie said. “I’m pretty sure that Brandon doesn’t like me though.”

“I’m sorry, what makes you think that?” Danielle asked.

“Well, he doesn’t dislike me,” Sallie said, “but he never talks to me and he doesn’t always sit with me.”

“I guess you have to give him some time,” Danielle said. “You can’t expect a guy to recognize your awesomeness after just one week.”

Sallie laughed. “I had a good piano lesson though. I suppose you’re pretty excited about yours!”

Danielle nodded and smiled. “Yes, as always.”

“Good luck!” Sallie said.

“Thanks,” Danielle said. She finished eating and walked quickly to her locker to pick up her books. Turning the corner, Danielle walked smack! into someone. “I’m so sorry!” Danielle said, stepping back. She realized it was Mr. Coulter, the principal. “Oh, I am very sorry, Mr. Coulter.”

“Where you headin’ to?” Mr. Coulter laughed.

“My piano lesson,” Danielle said.

“Ahh,” Mr. Coulter nodded. “Tell me – how do you like your new piano teacher so far?”

“He’s nice!” Danielle said. “He teaches very well."

“An improvement over your other teacher then?” Mr. Coulter asked.

Danielle smiled. “Yes, very much.”

“Good,” Mr. Coulter said. “Next time, watch where you’re going!”

"I will,” Danielle said. She slowed her pace as she went to get her books. As she walked down the hallway to her piano lesson, she shivered. She could still feel the chill of the rain that morning.

“Hello Danielle!” Ryan said, as Danielle walked in. “How are you doing?”

“Fine, thank-you,” Danielle said, forcing a small smile. “How are you?”

“Doin’ good,” Ryan said. “Now, let’s get to work.”

Danielle handed him her books and sat down at the piano, adjusting the bench. Ryan liked D Major and moved her on to A Major. The voicing in the Bach prelude showed significant improvement and Ryan told her to practice it hands together this week, but not neglecting the daily warm-up of practicing hands separately. “As essential as breakfast,” he said.

Danielle smiled, remembering her skipped breakfast that morning.

“I’ve got a new Chopin piece for you!” Ryan said. “I’ll play it for you.”

Danielle changed places with him.

The piece was a heartbreaking nocturne that Ryan played effectively. Each trill sounded like someone crying, every arpeggio like a pain hidden very deep inside someone.

“Do you like it?” Ryan asked, when he had finished.

“It’s very sad,” Danielle said softly.

">“Yes, but you’re a serious person – I think you can handle it,” Ryan said. “But do you like it? If you don’t like it, you don’t have to play it. I can find another one.”

Danielle studied the edge of the book. “I’ll play it,” she said finally. “I like it.”

“Good,” Ryan said. “I like it too.”

Chapter Four

It rained all week and Sallie’s mom could only pick them up from school, as every morning she had to drive her husband to work. It didn’t seem to matter how warmly she dressed, Danielle never could seem to warm up. Over the week, she developed a miserable headache, which kept her from practicing piano more than a half hour or so at a time. She slept in late on Saturday morning.

"Going to sleep all day?" her Mom said, throwing her bedroom door open. “It’s ten in the morning.” She walked away, presumably going to wake up Philip and Christine.

Danielle sat up slowly. If anything, her headache felt worse than the night before. She dragged herself through the shower and got dressed in her black turtleneck, a black and red plaid jumper, black leggings and black knee-high socks. She still didn’t feel warm though and grabbed her red cable jacket on the way out of her room. Walking downstairs, she used the handrail to steady herself.

"I need some tea,” she thought, heading for the kitchen.

“The twins had to do your job this morning,” Dad said. He was sitting at the breakfast nook.

Danielle saw that the dishwasher was unloaded. “Ahh, well that was nice of them,” she said, not knowing what else to say. She put the water on and loaded up the breakfast dishes.

“I suppose you’ll spend most of the day practicing piano,” Dad said.

“Was there something else you wanted me to do?” Danielle asked.

“No,” Dad shook his head.

“Then yes, I probably will,” Danielle said. “Or I’ll be doing homework up in the attic.”

Dad nodded and walked away.

Danielle decided to do her homework first and carried her books and tea up to the attic. Not having heard any noises up there since last Saturday night, she decided not to worry about it. Instead, she focused on the descriptive paragraph she had to write for English. She had just finished the first draft when she heard something. It wasn’t so scary during the day, even though it was dark and overcast out. Danielle tip-toed over to the bookcase and listened. There was some shuffling and then a voice – a man’s voice. She couldn’t make out what he said though.

Taking some books off of the shelf, Danielle leaned in all the way to the wall. Plunk. Something dropped onto the shelf. Danielle stepped back and saw a key, sitting on the shelf. Inspecting the bookshelf, she realized it had been lodged up in a crevice that she must have bumped when she stuck her head in. The crevice looked as though it had been built in, as the wood was smooth all the way around and there was just room enough for a key to slide in and the teeth to rest on a ledge, up inside. Danielle fingered the key thoughtfully.

She ran her fingers across the back of the shelf, looking for a key hole. She couldn’t find anything. Hearing footsteps, Danielle quickly placed all the books back on the shelf.

“What are you doing up here?” Christine asked.

“I was working on my paper,” Danielle said. “And then I came over here because I heard that scuffling noise Mom was talking about.

“It’s just mice,” Christine said. “They’re in the wall.”

Danielle nodded. “Probably.”

“Mom wants you to clean the bathroom,” Christine said.

“Okay, I’ll be right down,” Danielle said, walking over to her books. She stacked them all up as Christine walked out. Once Christine was gone, Danielle slid the key into a secret pocket she had sewn into the inside of her jacket.

Books, Buble, and Bridesmaids

2010-04-02T09:56:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone! Last month was busy, but not quite in the way I was expecting it to be... I decided to organize an event called "Entrepreneur Day" for homeschoolers to sell their crafts and wares. Usually a lady at my church puts it together, but she couldn't this year, so I decided to take it on. Keeping up with that keeps me on my toes, even though the actual event isn't until June. I'm really excited at getting a chance to organize something. It's the biggest thing I've ever pulled together.

School is coming, slowly but surely. It's amazing how much harder 12th grade is compared to 11th grade. It takes me a lot longer and tires me much faster. I can't wait until graduation! Writing hasn't been going well at all. Editing is so much harder than writing and it's taking a lot longer. But, I will get through it, eventually. As far as the story contest goes, the results were posted yesterday and I got second place! I'm super excited about that. Just to think that real authors like my writing is amazing! A literary agent is even going to critique my excerpt and give me advice. How cool is that??

I've been sick since Sunday, but I am feeling much better today. This is the first time I've been sick all year, which is a record for me! My brother is getting married in just over two months! It seems like it's coming up so fast all at once. On Saturday, my sister and I got fitted for our bridesmaids' dresses. The fabric is beautiful - I can't wait to see what the dresses will look like finished! In the spirit of randomness, I've also been listening to Michael Buble a lot lately. Some of his songs are really amazing.

Flowers are blooming everywhere, days are warmer, the sun is shining, people are smiling - spring is here! Easter Sunday is coming up and I don't usually let that influence what I wear, but this year I've got a springtime outfit all picked out. I'm so excited about warmer weather and sandals! Hope you're all enjoying the weather as much as I am. Talk later!

Windows Are Opening

2010-03-06T15:11:00.002-05:00

Spring is finally coming! Almost all of the snow is gone, we've taken down the blankets (that were over the windows to keep the cold out), we've opened up the windows, and I'm already planning my garden. I'm very enthusiastic about this spring - I have a great many plans to put into action.

First of all, I've finished both history and biology! I was hoping to keep the ball rolling and plow through the rest of my subjects right away. I have come to the realization however, that I must take a wee spring break. So, instead, I've forced myself to not open my story, to not open my school books, and to simply relax. It's been a little frustrating, but I know I'll feel much better afterwords.

My stories are going marvelously! My Irish story is coming along in a way I hadn't imagined, but I'm liking it more and more. I finished editing chapter five last week and I am very pleased with how it turned out. My other story, Broken Things, is not cooperating. The characters are not acting the way they ought to and so I have decided to take an indefinite break to clear my head. I love the story so much, I know that nothing can keep me from finishing editing it. But I think it needs some time. I'm getting more and excited about the story contest. I won't know who won until April 1st and I very highly doubt (and I really mean that) that I will win. Still, it is kind of fun to think about.

I have big plans for this spring. I want to plant a large garden and sell a great deal of the produce. Especially tomatoes. I've heard that there is going to be less of a supply due to weather problems, so the chance of me making some money at it is greater. I'm also hoping to have a yard sale. It's going to be a busy and fun couple of months here! Here's a verse that a friend sent me that really encouraged me - I hope it does the same for you.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
- Jeremiah 29:11

Epic Movie

2010-03-02T20:07:00.006-05:00

Thought you all might get a kick out of this! =)

The Midnight Blogger

2010-02-23T00:45:00.000-05:00

Well, things have been so crazy over here that I haven't had two seconds to think. During the day I've got so much on my mind that even when I do sit down to write a new blog post, I can't do it. So, I have waited until now, when I'm a bit more calm to update my blog.

Let's see... School is going great! I am going to finish history and biology this week! I'm quite happy about that. I've also been trying to plow through my reading list (I think there are twenty books on it!), and I sometimes consider writing one of my papers. I plan on actually writing one next week. Hopefully.

With the overload of snow we've been getting this year, I haven't been able to teach piano and that is throwing off my plans for music lessons. I have no idea when I'll be able to take violin lessons and piano lessons are still unattainable. However, on a bright note, my brother decided to rent a violin and I have been playing around on it and can already play Hot Cross Buns! I am immensely proud of my accomplishment. ;-) It is quite fun and not as hard as I thought it would be, which is all very nice.

As far as the story contest goes, I found out on the 14th that my story made it to the finalists! I was (and still am) ecstatic! To think that there are published authors that like my writing is so encouraging. Here's the page with my name on it - Story Contest. Scroll down to the 12th grade category and you will see my book - "Broken Things." I've actually finished writing chapter nineteen and chapter twenty since my last blog post, which ended the book! It needs a great deal of work and the edited version will look distinctly different from the original, but I believe I have learned a great deal from writing this rough draft and I think a lot of things will carry over into the edit. I'm almost finished writing chapter five of my Irish story, but I can't seem to clear my head enough to work on it. Things have been so busy...

I spent a week at a friend's house in early February which was immensely fun! We played in the snow, made snow people, watched great movies, ate tons of food (I don't think I stopped eating the whole week...), talked, played Monopoly, listened to Celtic Thunder, watched Celtic Thunder, watched the SuperBowl (go Saints!), and lots of other fun and random stuff. It was great to relax and to not have to think about anything for a while.

Tonight we had our first choir practice of the season. I was thrilled of course! Choir is one of my most favorite things and tonight was really wonderful. So many people came out and Mr. Smith was in an especially good mood and everything went down grandly.

In the near future I've got much planned! I'm finishing two school subjects, going full force into some others, helping a friend edit his website - Rhyne Media, finishing writing chapter five in my Irish story, editing chapter five of Broken Things, learning some new violin pieces, learning to play a choir song, emailing some people back (don't worry - I haven't forgotten about you!), and putting together vlog #2. I'll try to keep you all updated!

Thanks for reading!

Emily Jane and Chocolate Milk

2010-01-23T22:58:00.001-05:00

Whew... taking a few minutes to jot down what's been happening in my crazy life!

First of all, my cousin, Nancy, got married yesterday! After all of the weddings last year, I thought this one would be a breeze. Well, let me tell ya... it's totally different when you're involved! I wasn't even that involved - I was just the "Guest Book Attendant." Still, I found it much more emotionally challenging. In some ways it was more fun and in other ways, less fun. I was definitely more excited for the bride than ever before but I also felt much less connected with all of the other guests. All in all, it was a great wedding and I was so glad to be a part of it, even if just a small bit. The chocolate milk was definitely a success! One of the best parts for me was that I got to meet little Emily Jane - the Smith's granddaughter. Besides sharing my name, she was born on St. Patrick's Day - which is Irish of course and therefore special to me! She's just under a year old and so adorable! I think she just may have liked me too...

I've been working at school pretty steadily all month and am just a couple weeks from wrapping up history and biology! Super excited about that! After that, I have Algebra and English to finish. Algebra is nice and straightforward, but exhausts me. English is a lot less difficult for me in general, but has a lot more grey area which leaves me wondering if any of my papers are ever really finished... I shall put all my heart and soul into both and aim to finish Algebra by the end of March, and English by the end of May.

I don't have any plans to take up piano lessons again at the moment - I can't work out the scheduling and I've been so busy anyway that haven't had much time to think it over. It is sad, but it isn't as if I can't play the piano. With choir practice probably starting up again in just a couple months, I'm going to focus my piano efforts there. I'm planning on beginning violin lessons in March and just can't get over how exciting it is!

As far as story writing goes - I edited the first five chapters of my original novel about Julie and entered it into a contest. I don't think it will win, but editing those chapters really helped me organize my ideas out for that story. I'm getting closer and closer to finishing chapter nineteen! I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the month! I'm sorry to say that I have not worked on my Irish story at all since my chapter four. I've just been too busy... I will get on top of that just as soon as I finish chapter nineteen though.

As for my resolutions, I've been doing much better about sticking to my diet (and I'm feeling so much healthier and happier!), I made myself a jean skirt and I'm getting better about taking pictures! Every day when I write out my "To Do List" I can't believe how busy I am! My lists are always long and daunting, but I keep chipping away and somehow everything gets done. I feel bad because I have so little time left over to talk to my friends and it is sometimes hard to explain what it is that keeps me so busy. I just want you all to know that I'd rather talk to you than solve Algebra equations any day! Sadly, this is not really an option, so I ask you all to please be patient with me as I work through what is the busiest time of my life so far! I love you all and I hope that you are all having a great day!

Grace of God reaching us

When He found us despairing

Blood of Christ cleansing us

Bringing joy to our sorrow!

Rhyne Media

2010-01-18T22:37:00.007-05:00

Rhyne Media is a leading design studio located just an hour from D.C. - check it out!

No More Night

2010-01-10T15:31:00.008-05:00

Hello everyone! December was great! I kept ever so busy running around visiting, shopping, doing elf duty and such. Christmas was fun, although slightly different than from years past. We all went up to my grandmother's and ate lots of food, talked, and exchanged presents. I got so many wonderful things and I am ever so grateful for them - I certainly didn't deserve any of it. After a few hours, I had to leave to chaperone for my brother and his fiancee, Amy as they were going over to Amy's grandparents'. That was an interesting experience - I've never spent Christmas with strangers before, but they were very nice and I soon felt right at home. I was very sorry though to miss going with my family to see my cousins. I only see them once a year, so it was rather disappointing.

Our New Year's Eve service at church was postponed until the 3rd of January because of snow, so it didn't really feel like a New Year's Eve service at all... Not to mention the fact that the choir didn't even sing because Mr. and Mrs. Smith were out of town. As far as tradition goes, it was a rather strange service altogether. We did have rather a merry time however as there was still good company, great food and good music. The octet sang a song, and the congregation sang hymns and people gave good testimonies. So all in all, it was a success.

2010 is looking to be a very promising year. At the rate I'm going with school, I'm scheduled to be done with Biology and World History by mid-February. Algebra should be finished by the end of March and then I'll be able to focus entirely on English, as far as school is concerned. That's exciting!

I've been working quite hard on editing my novel. For this edit, I'm focusing on getting rid of pointless scenes, adding scenes to help the plot and suspense, making the text actually readable, and dividing the huge mass of words into chapters. Even that is difficult, but I know that my hardest edits are yet to come. I had a great idea the other day though, for helping out the continuity of the characters and the believability of the plot. I can't work on it until I finish this edit though, so for now my main focus is to hurry up and finish Edit One!

Music, music, music... It's been on my mind a lot lately. In early December, it became evident to me that I couldn't continue taking piano lessons for several reasons - the main one being I don't have any way to get to them! I'd also been growing more and more frustrated because I didn't feel that I was getting any better. For several weeks I avoided the piano. I did a lot of thinking during that time about what I wanted to do, particularly in college. I thought about writing and photography and even interior design. I kept feeling a pull back towards music though. After a great deal of thought and prayer, I decided that music is it for me, as long as I do it because I like it, and not because I want other people to like it. Deciding that made me feel much better about life in general, even though I still don't have a ride to my piano lessons. My piano teacher and I have been trying to work something out though and we may just come up with a solution!

These next few months should be lots of fun! Finishing up school, immersing myself in music (violin and piano!), editing my story, being in my cousin's wedding, taking the SAT - not to mention any other things that might come up! I'll definitely do my best to keep you all updated.

When my Pastor first mentioned this morning that his message was going to be on "hard times," my interest was caught immediately, as I've said way too many times that 09 was the hardest year ever. It's amazing how God's Word never gets old - the passage he read (Matthew 6) is very familiar, but each time I read it, it still is just as encouraging as it was before. The main point of his message was that we have to trust God no matter what circumstances we are in, that God will give us the faith we need to trust Him, and that how much we trust Him will be our testimony to the world. I'm afraid I wasn't a very good testimony last year. As I look back over each hard time, I see how much I failed in trusting Him. For this year, I pray that God would help me trust Him no matter what - no matter if none of my plans end up working out or if I go through many lonely times. Our hope is in Heaven, not here below!

No more night, no more pain

No more tears, never crying again

Praises to the great "I AM"

We will live in the light of the Risen Lamb!

Happy New Year!!!!

2010-01-01T00:24:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!!! I hope you all had a great 2009 and I hope that 2010 is everything you want it to be and more! As for me, I am more than ready to be done with '09 and move on to '10. I'm ready for new adventures, for learning new things, for making new memories. New Year's resolutions tend to be more of a joke, since people so rarely follow through (Looking back over last year's list, I think I accomplished maybe three...?), but here are some more for 2010, because it wouldn't be a proper new year without resolutions. =)

-Go to bed by ten

-Get up by nine

-Follow my diet faithfully

-Eat dessert only twice a week

-Exercise every day

-Finish high school

-Learn to play the violin

-Finish preparing "Talking About a Revolution" for a publisher

-Persevere, even through the darkest of times

-Paint my room

-Get a job

-Make myself a jean skirt

-Take pictures at every family gathering

-Read my Bible every day

-Keep my eyes focused on Christ, the author and finisher of my faith.

I've got a lot to keep me busy over the next few months! Tomorrow I'm headed to my cousins' and all the family will be there to celebrate the New Year. I know 2010 will bring challenges - many that I've never experienced before. However, I know that I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. I can persevere through the murkiest of waters, I can work through tense situations, I can make it through this year a better person. I never knew how hard it is to trust God until this year. I didn't know how painful something small could be. I didn't know that I could survive a year of heartbreaking loneliness. Now I know that no matter what happens God remains constant and faithful. His promises continue and His love never ends. That is the most important thing! Thank-you Lord for saving my soul!

Happy New Year!

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

2009-12-05T14:55:00.004-05:00

First snow of the season! It's kind of unusual for us to have snow so early - usually we don't get anything until January, so this is pretty exciting! I love snow - white fluffy stuff floating down from the sky, covering everything in a spectacular glistening brilliance. Not to mention the creamy hot cocoa, the Christmas music playing, and the flickering candles...

By the way, since I'm here, I though I'd mention some new updates. I'm planning on taking the SAT in March, which is great. It's another step towards college, which is exciting. Also, I'm hoping to take violin lessons in February. Just a few to see if I like it. I've always wanted to do this, so I'm looking forward to it immensely.

I hope you are all having a lovely December! Keep warm and cozy!

30 Random Things About Me

2009-12-04T17:05:00.002-05:00

I got tagged by my friend, Colleen, to do this random list thing, so here I am.

1. I love Ireland and hope to someday visit it.
2. I finished writing a novel a couple days ago, which is my first ever to be completed.
3. I'm a Christian.
4. My favorite singer is Ryan Kelly.
5. My second favorite singer is Andrea Bocelli.
6. Music is my most favorite thing in the world.
7. Someday, I hope to learn to play the violin.
8. Writing is my second favorite thing.
9. Photography is third.
10. I love Apple computers.
11. I've been planning on painting my room for three years.
12. I am the middle child.
13. I love the lights in downtown Fredericksburg during Christmastime.
14. My favorite color combination is blue and brown.
15. I envisioned the jacket I wanted a year before the stores carried it.
16. I want to go to the beach someday.
17. Speaking of seventeen, I am seventeen.
18. I can be somewhat dramatic, though it's usually for the sake of humor.
19. My favorite car is a Saab convertible, even if it would be expensive to fix.
20. At the moment, my favorite song is "Take Me Home."
21. My favorite hymn is "How Firm a Foundation."
22. Someday I'm going to open a Pizza Parlor.
23. I love the city and I love the country.
24. My cousin says I remind him of the violinist, Hilary Hahn.
25. I really want to meet a little girl named Emily Jane.
26. I want to have an ice cream cake for my wedding cake.
27. I get way too excited when I get a notification on Facebook telling me someone commented on or "liked" something I posted.
28. I like to randomly quote songs.
29. I like Punjana Tea commercials. Yes, I am weird. =P
30. If I wait long enough and try hard enough, I know that I'll find exactly what I'm looking for, because I always have.

I tag the following people -

Mom
Nicole
Rachel
Natalie
Becky
MJ

I'm Gonna Take a Little Time

2009-12-02T13:00:00.005-05:00

Hello! It's been about a month since I last wrote - sorry for not getting back here sooner! As you can imagine, it's been a wee bit busy around here...

School is going well, although Thanksgiving week I took off and I haven't picked it back up again yet. I'm hoping to get on top of that today. I've been doing a week's worth of Biology and US History per day, and trying to make it through an Algebra lesson everyday too. I'm really struggling with the math, but I'm more than 3/4 into it, so I am not too worried.

Remember how I said I wasn't going to do NaNoWriMo this year? Well, about a week into the month I changed my mind. I got a pep talk email from the NaNoWriMo people saying that if I was one of those writers who still hadn't written anything yet, not to give up. I thought about the original story idea I had, but still didn't like it. So, I brainstormed and came up with a story set in Northern Ireland involving the IRA. I worked and worked and worked at it for three weeks straight and finished my story in the early hours of yesterday morning. It was the first novel I've ever finished, so I was pretty excited. I also had gotten 50,000 words by the end of November 30th, which makes me a winner. ;-) They had a special offer this year that whoever won NaNoWriMo this year, they would get a copy of their book in paperback! That's pretty exciting for me! I have a year window to send it in, so I'm already busy editing.

As far as piano is concerned... lets just say I forgot I had a piano for a little while. Not such a great thing... I played around on it a little bit as I passed by it yesterday, and I thought to myself, "Wow, I forgot how much I love doing this!" I'm planning on devoting this week to excessive practicing.

The Harvest Dinner was a couple weeks ago and that was very nice! My grandmother was able to come, which was really great. The choir did well, which surprised me - and I think it may have surprised Mr. Smith too! I'm not sure if the choir is going to sing on New Year's Eve. We normally do, but the Smiths will be out of town for their son's wedding, so I'm not certain what will happen. I'll keep you all updated.

On Thanksgiving, we got together with my cousins and my grandmother. Although it was a little sad, overall everyone had a good time. We ate and talked and laughed and ate some more. I'm so thankful for all that God has given me this year. It's so hard to see why God gives us trials, while we're going through them. As hard as it was though, I'm thankful for those times because it made my faith stronger and brought me closer to Christ.

I think my teacher is having a recital this month, but I don't know yet. (I should really get busy memorizing that piece...) My cousins' bridal shower will be this month, I'm hoping to spend some time visiting my grandmother, and of course there's Christmas too. Not too mention school and book editing... Should be a fun and busy month! Just how I like it! Keep warm and dry and in case I don't write again this month - Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

These Mist Covered Mountains

2009-11-03T17:05:00.004-05:00

I've long given up the hope of things ever "calming down" or being "normal" again. It seems we're about to face another busy season! Since I last wrote I have started school up again full force, aiming to finish high school and graduate in the spring. A little impetuous for someone in 10th grade, but I've worked out a reasonable schedule and I am determined to finish it! After seeing the progress I made with my World History, I know I can do this.

Part of my eagerness to finish high school has to do with college. I've decided for sure now that I want to attend Pensacola Christian College. It's a lot lower than my original goal of George Mason, but a lot more reasonable. At first, I was hoping to get in next fall, but it looks like I won't be going until fall of 2011, which is okay. It works out better with money, as I'll have more time to save up. I'm hoping to start working at Chik-Fil-A this summer and I'm really looking forward to that. It's exciting to see my life actually start moving somewhere!

Guess what? There's going to be another wedding! My cousin, Nancy, got engaged Saturday. I am so happy for her! Her fiancee, Steve, seems to be a really nice guy. They are hoping to get married in either January or February. It seems like it is happening so fast, but I know they will be happy together. I remember the Sunday when Pastor had Steve introduce himself to our Church, and I thought to myself, "Ahhh... this one is for Nancy!" How strange that it worked out that way after all!

As far as other news, I started another book on Sunday, but I do not like it at all. I'm probably going to ditch it and just focus on my novel until I finish it. I was trying to do NaNoWriMo with my friends, but I don't think it will work out this year. Come to think of it though, my novel is the result of last year's NaNoWriMo, so I don't feel totally bad about not doing it this year.

Choir and piano lessons are continuing as usual - both fun and the highlights of my week. I'm not improving as much in piano as I would like, but I am improving in my practicing time, which is good. Hopefully, I'll be ready for the recital in December... I better hurry up and finish memorizing my pieces! Haha

That's all for now! I'll definitely keep you updated on how everything works out!

Seventeen

2009-10-19T12:28:00.004-04:00

Update time! =D So, since I last wrote a lot has happened. Two more weddings, a party , my birthday, and last, but certainly not least, a Celtic Thunder concert. The weddings were nice and enjoyable enough, although I must admit to being very glad that all the weddings are over for a while. As for the party, my parents let me host my very first party last Monday! I was so excited and nervous. I knew exactly how I wanted everything to be and how I thought it was going to play out, but until everyone actually arrived, I had no idea if it was going to turn out at all. But, in the end, it all turned out exactly how I wanted it to times a hundred. Everyone had a good time. Almost without me trying, the party went smoother than I ever dreamed. I am so thankful to have such wonderful friends!

My birthday was on Friday. It seemed strange to think a whole year had passed and at first I thought I hadn't changed much at all since turning sixteen. After consulting my journal from last year however, I realized that I've changed quite a bit. I've said a number of times this year that it's been the hardest year of my life, and looking back on it, it really has been. I'm well aware that I could have even harder years later on, but so far, my sixteenth really was my most difficult. I believe that the trials and heartaches of this year have changed me - hopefully for the better. :-) I think I'm much more serious now and much more stable. I know who I am and that enables me to understand other people better. I think that now, even if this year is just as hard as last year, I'll be able to face it better. I'm learning to stop using my circumstances as an excuse and to not depend on my friends to make me happy. Most of all, I've seen how faithful and dependable God is, even when I was unfaithful and even when I didn't trust Him. It is immensely encouraging to know that His love never changes.

On Saturday, my friend, Colleen and her mother took me and my mother to a Celtic Thunder concert at the Hippodrome in Baltimore, Maryland. The theater looked retro, which really added to the whole experience. For almost a year, I've been listening to Celtic Thunder's songs on YouTube. I listened to certain ones over and over again at different times. For instance, while I was writing the first chapters of my novel, Caledonia and Brothers in Arms were played countless times. During the first half of summer I listened to Take Me Home and Mull of Kintyre. During the last half of summer, Desperado and Ride On were my favorites. In the fall, particularly as I finished my world history, the songs were I Want to Know What Love Is and Castles in the Air. Of course, I had other favorites by them throughout the year, but these were the main ones. So, sitting in the dark theater, the music surrounded me and floods of memories rushed over me. Each song meant something and over the course of the concert, it was as if my whole sixteenth year had played over in my mind. Nothing can compare to a live performance and I hope someday to be able to do it again. My friend's mother also bought me a program and their song book, so now I can hold the memory of that night with me always. :-)

I'm glad to finally be seventeen - it's an age I've always looked forward to. I know I still have growing pains to experience and the maturing process really never ends, but I hope that at least now, I can face these changes with a stronger faith in God and the knowledge that all things really do work together for good to them who are the called, according to His purpose.

Autumn is Here

2009-09-30T11:55:00.002-04:00

Hello! I know it's been far too long since my last update - I've been crazy busy, as usual. :-) Since I last wrote, my friends Brigette and Arielle have both gotten married, and we had the Church Picnic. Both weddings were very nice! It is strange to see friends I grew up with and would talk with about getting married "someday," now going on and actually getting married and having their own homes. I guess it's all just part of growing up though.

The church picnic was much smaller than in previous years. Several key families were out of town, including our Pastor's family. I think we all managed to have a good time though. There was a dessert contest, the usual games, lots of food, and everyone had a good time. The day was perfect too! A really beautiful picnic day. I won the dessert contest for my age group (15 - 18) with a chocolate strawberry pie. It looked fantastic, but I never got a chance to taste it... My younger sister, Sarah, won in her age group (10 - 14), and won the whole contest over all, with her lemony white chocolate cheese cake. My older brother gave the devotional, which was very good.

My school has been coming along well - I'm almost finished with my world history! I've been doing a whole week's worth each day, which is a little challenging, but also exciting. I'm about 2/3 of the way through my algebra and I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the year. My writing is getting behind, but as soon as I'm finished with my history, I'm going to put all my effort into it. I'm hoping to write a few scholarship essays in place of some of the other essays in my English program. I'll be sure to let you know if that happens... If I keep working hard this way, and work all the way through the summer next year, I will probably be able to graduate in the spring of 2011. That would be great! I could take a whole year off of school before going to college. :-)

I've been having health problems for quite some time now, but had no idea why. I'd have these days (once a week or more) where I'd be exhausted, depressed, dizzy, insatiably hungry and have a miserable headache. I kind of ignored the problem for a while, figuring I was probably just not in a good schedule and that I was being lazy. I had gotten into a really good schedule this month though and everything was going great, when it happened again. I was very frustrated and told my piano teacher about it, who told me that I should talk to her sister, who is a nurse, about it. I did and after several conversations she told me that I probably have low blood sugar. Now she has me on a diet where I have to eat every two hours and I have to eat certain things. I can't have any sugar either. It seems to be working, although it's taking some time for me to adjust to it. I'm so glad that I can finally take care of this problem!

Piano has been sort of off and on this fall. Between the increased social activities, health complications, and working hard at school, I've been greatly slacking off in my piano. I've only had one piano lesson this month because of that, which is very sad. However, now that I am getting my health and school under control, I'm going to give my piano another whole hearted effort. I really love music and to give it up would be depressing. I'm so excited about the three pieces I'm learning - they are so much fun. Just writing about it makes me want to go practice!

As far as my story is concerned, I'm about halfway through writing chapter eighteen. It's a great chapter and I'm having a fun time writing it. My characters keep surprising me and taking me in directions I hadn't originally planned on, but it's all for the best. I had hoped to finish this story by the end of summer, but I'll be happy if I can finish it by the end of the year, considering how much I have to do! I've already got a rough outline for my adventure story, so I'll be starting that one as soon as I finish the mystery.

Choir practice has started again! There is something about it that is wonderful. I'm so thankful that I can be a part of it. I'm getting to help Mr. Smith organize the choir music, which I enjoy immensely. Mr. Smith also gave me a new song to learn, so that I can play it with the choir. It's called "Here is Love." Choir practice is something I've grown to appreciate more and more since I joined, two and a half years ago, and I am very thankful for every opportunity I get to be more involved.

There have been a great amount of changes this year. Not only the numerous weddings and the passing of my grandfather and my brother getting engaged, etc. - but I think that my friends and I have all grown up a lot. I have no doubt that we have a lot more maturing to do, but I can see how this year has changed us all. In the midst of this change and heartache, at times, a verse I found encouraging is:

"Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another: and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name." -Malachi 3:16

Even though I can't see or understand everything that's happening in my life, and even if I have to experience a lot of pain and heartache, I can know that God hasn't forgotten about me. He is still there and He hears my prayers, and a book of remembrance is being written for me and for everyone who trusts Christ as their only Lord and Savior.

Hey again!

2009-08-20T22:15:00.004-04:00

Time for an update!

Things have been going pretty good over here since I last wrote. I got sick towards the end of July and was sick for about two weeks. That was a little frustrating since I had planned to get a lot done, but I used that time to finish writing chapter seventeen in my story, so that was good. Since I've gotten well, I've been trying to work harder at piano and school. I also went to stay with my grandmother for a few days, which was fun.

We finished the bridal showers and are now onto the weddings. On Saturday, my friend Brigette will be getting married. It's strange to think that someone I grew up with (and is only seven months older than I am) is actually getting married! I think it will turn out really well though and I am so happy for her. :) In two weeks another friend, Arielle, will be getting married. She's about two or three years older than I am, but even that feels strange. I have lots of single friends left though and I'm in no hurry to get married. I'm just waiting for the right guy to arrive. ;)

I'm really enjoying piano and as much as I miss my Russian teacher, I'm really enjoying taking from my old teacher again. She's fun and always makes me smile, which is important. :) I know I'm going to learn a lot this year and I'm very excited about it!

Yesterday I worked at the greenhouse and I started teaching piano again this week after a couple months of no lessons. It's a good feeling to be working and making money. While I was working at the greenhouse I got really sunburned, so today I put some sunscreen on and did my school outside, which made it all turn into a nice tan. I've been trying (and not succeeding!) for the past three summers to get a tan and now over two days I sporatically get one! Haha... Oh well...

Sorry for being so random... it's been kind of a random month... But I'm feeling good and happy, so I guess random is okay. :) I have so much work ahead of me this fall. School, piano, teaching, writing, etc. Thankfully, I really enjoy most of it, so I'm looking forward to it.

God has been very good to me as always and I am so thankful that He has saved me. "But God commendeth His love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

-Donata

Keep Smiling Through

2009-07-21T00:23:00.002-04:00

Hello... here I am again, finally. It's been a long hard month and a long hard year. I'm glad we're more than half over with this month, as well as with the year. Still, even as difficult as this year has been, I've seen over and over again God's love and mercy. I know that He will remain faithful and that He will draw us all closer to Him through every trial. We may not know why something is happening, or why something isn't happening, but we can know that God is loving and just. He only allows into our lives what will draw us closer to Him and keeps no good gift from us. I am praying that I will keep my eyes focused on Christ and trust Him no matter what happens.

I've been trying to work hard at school. It's been hard with so much going on, but I am getting somewhere. I have a plan and if I keep my mind to it, I should be done with tenth grade by mid-October! That is a lot later than it should have been, but at least it's a goal and a reachable one.

I haven't been working on my story at all! I'm hoping to start working on it again this week sometime. I really am hoping to finish it by the end of summer... When I'm finished with that book, I'm going to start working on a totally different kind of story - an adventure novel. I'm hoping to write an adventure novel for "kids" that is somewhat similar to "Redwall" by Brian Jacques. Not very similar, but that same reading level and genre.

As far as my room is concerned, I highly doubt any painting will be going on this summer. Even if I had the money and the time I'm not sure I'd be up to it, to be honest. I'm quite tired from everything that's been going on and I'm hoping that I can just lie low for a few weeks. I'll have my hands full as it is with school, story writing and every day housekeeping. I am still hoping to be able to spend a week at a friend's house though. It's looking like it may be near impossible, but if we split it up maybe it will work out. We'll just have to wait and see...

There are about seven weddings taking place in our church this year. Two have already happened, and five more are yet to come, if I remember correctly. This means either a bridal shower or a wedding every two weeks... Without a doubt, this has been the craziest year ever. And I'm only sixteen... just imagine how much crazier life could be later on!

I'll try to keep you updated on how this summer progresses! Remember - keep smiling through! :)

-Donata

There is Coming a Day

2009-07-07T00:00:00.008-04:00

My grandfather died on Friday night. As you can imagine, this has been really hard for me and my whole family. I'm too exhausted to write much, but here is his obituary from the Washington Post.

Darrell D. Seals

SEALS DARRELL D. SEALS Of Springfield, VA went to be with the Lord Friday, July 3, 2009 at Virginia Hospital Center, Arlington, VA. Darrell was born July 6, 1936 in Lafollette, TN, son of the late James Seals and Dessie Seals. He was a member of Cherrydale Baptist Church, Arlington, VA. He had a successful career working at Fort Myer for 23 years as a Manager of Food Services. He also loved delivering the USA Today for the past 22 years. Survivors included his loving wife, of 45 years, Nancy Seals; one son, Ronald (Christine) Seals of Cape Coral, FL; one daughter, Cindy McDonald of Cape Coral, FL; two stepsons, Dennis (Adele) Dillie of Chantilly, VA and David (Kathleen) Dillie of Stafford, VA; one stepdaughter, Donna Lawrence of Catlett, VA; one brother, Melvin (Linda) Seals of Shepherdsville, KY; 16 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Relatives and friends may call at ARLINGTON FUNERAL HOME, Arlington, VA on Tuesday, July 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at Cherrydale Baptist Church, 3910 Lorcum Lane, Arlington, VA on Wednesday July, 8 at noon. Interment services will be private.

There is coming a day, when no heartaches shall come-

No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.

All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore,

What a day, glorious day, that will be!

Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord

2009-06-24T18:21:00.013-04:00

We sang this hymn on Sunday night, and it was really encouraging for me. : ) -Donata

_____________

Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord

Teach me Thy way, O Lord, teach me Thy way!
Thy guiding grace afford, teach me Thy way!
Help me to walk aright, more by faith, less by sight;
Lead me with heav’nly light, teach me Thy way!

When I am sad at heart, teach me Thy way!
When earthly joys depart, teach me Thy way!
In hours of loneliness, in times of dire distress,
In failure or success, teach me Thy way!

When doubts and fears arise, teach me Thy way!
When storms o’erspread the skies, teach me Thy way!
Shine through the cloud and rain, through sorrow, toil and pain;
Make Thou my pathway plain, teach me Thy way!

Long as my life shall last, teach me Thy way!
Where’er my lot be cast, teach me Thy way!
Until the race is run, until the journey’s done,
Until the crown is won, teach me Thy way!

Hard Endings and New Beginnings

2009-06-18T16:49:00.001-04:00

So, lets just say this hasn't been the easiest year for me. Change reigns supreme and I feel like no matter what I do, I'm messing something up! This month seemed the climax of it all for me and on Sunday night I was close to having an emotional breakdown. I've had little ones here and there all year, but I've never felt so exhausted, drained, and without hope as I did Sunday night. Thankfully, the Lord sent a friend to encourage me. Actually, He sent three. Two of my cousins had an encouraging word for me, and finally another friend of mine and I had a heart to heart talk. That really helped, and I feel much better now. I can see things in a better perspective now and the future doesn't look nearly as depressing as it did before.

So, here I am, finally beginning to really move on. I've figured out a plan to finish tenth grade this summer and I figured out what I need to be eating everyday and I'm going to start exercising everyday as well. Diet and exercise really do affect your emotions, so I'm going to put a lot of effort into keeping myself physically healthy and hopefully I'll come out a much more emotionally balanced person. :)

This summer I am going to work hard at school, piano, and my novel. I need to catch up on school, keep concentrated with piano, and finish my novel. I'm also hoping to remodel my room... wainscoting, laminate wood floor, paint, curtains, etc. The whole works. I've been talking about doing this for over two years now, so who knows what will happen, but I can always hope, right? :) I'm going to be learning a Beethoven Sonata (a secret wish of mine!) and I will hopefully be playing with the choir even more too. I just might spend a week or so at a friends house and I may even learn how to drive this summer. We'll just have to play it by ear for now.... but I'll certainly keep you updated!

Overall, I'm looking forward to the coming months. They may not be easy - they may even be heartbreakingly hard at times - but I know that the Lord will be with me through it all. I know I'm going to learn a lot and that I'll probably be a happier person because of it. I heard this song the other day and it made me smile. I will probably be singing it a lot this summer -

Keep smiling through, just like you always do
Till the blue skies drive the grey clouds far away
We'll meet again
Don't know where - don't know when,
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day.

-Donata

Take Me Home

2009-06-06T21:14:00.005-04:00

Here is a picture montage to Phil Coulter's "Take Me Home." Enjoy...

I Sit Here Thinkin'...

2009-06-03T16:37:00.009-04:00

Well... it's all over... I played for the judge on Monday and now a new year sits in front of me. I must say the judge this year was very nice - much nicer than last year. She was super encouraging, patient, understanding, and communicated what she wanted very well. As far as my playing went... I'm sorry to say that I did not play very well. I massacred three of the pieces and sort of did okay on three others - the only one I did well at was the Mozart sonata, which actually turned out really well. All of the others had memory problems.

But the judge was very kind and gave me super high scores - superior plus! 35 good points and only 2 bad points! She said she appreciated my artistic style of playing and that I had a lot of potential. She gave me some tips on memorizing and then thanked me for playing. So, it was a very good experience despite my bad playing.

That night was choir practice. That went very well and I even played my song really well despite not having even looked at it in over a week. :) I love choir practice...

I spent the night at my cousins that night and had a lovely time. We watched movies (I saw the movie North and South, a drama placed in England, for the first time. It was really good!) and talked and ate and laughed and totally relaxed. I felt much less wound up than before and was able to go to my piano lesson this morning in a relatively laid back mood. My teacher helped me out with my recital piece (the recital will be on the 14th) and the piece I'm going to play for Church (on the 13th). We had a good time. :)

It's going to be hard in these next few weeks to adjust to all of the change that's coming - changing piano teachers, learning brand new pieces, friends getting married.... But I know that whatever happens God's grace is sufficient for me. I used to think it was easy to trust God, but now I'm learning that it really is hard at times. But all things are possible through Christ who strengthens me. :)

As far as plans for the future - tonight I'm going to Prayer Meeting for the first time in a while! :) I'm super excited about that. The rest of the week will be spent sleeping, cleaning, organizing, and getting myself ready to take on summer. I have a lot to do this summer. I have to finish tenth grade, finish my book, paint my room (hopefully), begin a new program of music, teach piano (and possibly have a recital), and all the other little things thrown in the cracks. I'm looking forward to it!

I'll keep you posted on how it all goes...

Until next time - Donata

The Last Mile

2009-05-25T21:56:00.005-04:00

Here I am with one week left before exams. Six days until it's just me, a piano, and the judge... Since I last wrote a lot has happened... about three weeks ago I started practicing vigorously and eliminating as many distractions as possible. I've been practicing about two or three hours a day. For this last week I hope to get five hours in every day. I've reached that for today, which is encouraging. There is so much more I need to do, but there just isn't enough time. Tonight I gave a little concert for my family as a way of getting rid of some of my nervousness. It went okay - I played better than at my last lesson, but not great. I'm still having some memory and technical problems.

I've been fitting in school when I can and trying to keep up with regular, every day life as well. As far as my social life goes... it's practically non-existent. This is the first time in three weeks that I've spent doing much of anything on the computer. My story is pretty much where it was a month ago - I'm almost done with chapter fifteen, but not quite. I'm hoping to finish it right after exams.

I've been playing for choir (the piece I'm playing is a medley of Give Me Jesus and I'd Rather Have Jesus) and it has been a lot of fun. It's hard work, but I enjoy it so much that it doesn't seem like work. At first I had a lot of trouble with timing but after a few hours with the metronome, I've got it all worked out. I have two weeks between exams and the Family Fellowship, where I'll be playing with the choir, so I'll be able to devote much more time to the piece during that time. Mr. Smith has been super nice and patient with me, which has really made it so much easier.

Just a few days ago I was thinking that I wasn't going to be doing much this year at the Family Fellowship. Just one piece with choir and maybe a piece by myself, but not a lot compared to other times. I was mistaken however! Not a whole day had passed before two of my friends asked me to accompany them. One will be singing with her family, and the other will be singing solo. I was so glad to be asked (accompanying is so much fun!) that I accepted right away. I don't know what either one is singing yet, but I'm sure I will enjoy playing it.

There is so much about to happen that I feel I can't even comprehend it all. Not only am I about to end a year of piano, but I'm also going to be changing piano teachers. That is a very difficult and painful change, as I like my Russian teacher very much. However, the change is less sad because I will be going back to my old teacher, who I also like very much. Taking from her will be different - probably very different - from what I've gotten used to, but I'm not sure exactly what's it's going to be like. I'll let you know...

Another big change is just my brother being engaged. I had no idea it would be so hard for me to adjust to it, but even now I am still struggling. It's hard in ways I didn't think of, but I know that's it will turn out for the best. I've been learning to take every care and heartache to the Lord in prayer and His grace is sufficient for me. The songs Mr. Smith has chosen for the choir to sing have been really encouraging too. I keep trying to map out and plan my future, and when I can't I get depressed and frustrated. I've just got to trust that the Lord as it already planned out and I just need to follow. Every day, every hour, and every minute I have to remember to hold everything out on in the palm of my hand for Christ to do with as He pleases. It has been getting easier, little by little. :)

Well, I suppose I should end now. This is a rather long update! I've got a full week ahead of me, but things should start to slow down after June first. Hopefully anyway.... In any case, I shall try to get back to you before too long and let you know how everything is going. Hope you all are doing well and keeping cheerful! :)

Until next time - Donata

Oh What A Beautiful Morning!

2009-04-17T10:58:00.005-04:00

Hello... long time no see! Sorry for not being around lately - things have been rather busy here! This time of year always is and every year it seems to get busier...

Anyway, I'll try to update you on what has been happening recently. To start, my brother and Amy are now officially engaged! I'm so happy for them. :) The baptism went well - much better than I expected. I was scared to death and my voice shook a lot while I gave my testimony but I did not cry and I didn't mess up much. Everyone gave really good testimonies. Some of them reminded me so much of my own experience that it was really rather uncanny.

I spent a weekend at the Tolers a couple weeks ago which was great fun, as always. Not quite restful physically but definitely restful mentally. :) We had a film festival, a bonfire of pallets, a birthday celebration, piano lessons for the little guys, and homemade pizza! Fun fun fun!

Last weekend I made a short movie for a film contest. My whole family helped, especially my Dad. I wrote the script and acted, Wesley Toler wrote the music for it, and Dad directed and filmed. It was a lot of work and took all of Saturday. I worked right up to the deadline - 1:00 in the morning. I finished editing by then, but there was not enough time to upload it and enter it in the contest, unfortunately. I was a little disappointed at not being able to enter, but I was so excited at actually making my very first video that it didn't matter much. It turned out so much better than I thought it would and the music went so perfectly with it! When I get it on YouTube, I'll post a link to it here.

School is not going very well - I really ought to be doing some now, instead of writing this... But anways, school is that thing that always seems to get pushed to the background. I really want to do it so that I can finish it and not worry about it any longer, but something else always gets in the way...

As far as piano is concerned, I have a lot of work to do! Only four pieces are fully memorized, and all need a lot of techinacal attention. Not to mention the endless scales, chords, cadences, and arpeggios that must all be learned to perfection by the end of April... I practiced ten hours last week and even that was not enough. This week I hope to get twelve in, and maybe the week after I can reach fourteen. There are only six weeks left before exams! Possibly less. I'm going to be busy!!!

I haven't been able to work much on my story, but I am currently working on chapter fifteen. It's going well, although I'm eager to finish it so that I can edit it and fix the inconsistencies and add things to tie it all together better. Writing a novel is so much fun - I hope to always be in some stage or another of writing a story. It does add such excitement to life! :) I don't know how much time I'll have to devote towards it in the next few weeks, but I'll write when I can.

In these coming weeks I'll be ever so busy with piano, school, writing, and housework so I doubt there will be much time for blogging. If I don't write for a while, you'll know why. :) However I will try to write as soon as I can.

Until next time - Donata

Exciting News!

2009-03-16T18:12:00.004-04:00

Hello! I have exciting news to share and now I'm finally free to share it with you all! :) Recently (within the past few days), my brother David started courting my friend, Amy. I am so excited! Of course, it's only a courtship. It's just to decide if they want to get engaged. If everything goes well though, I think it will be a wonderful thing! They are both so nice and (although I certainly know my brother has faults....) they are both easy to get along with.

As far as everything else is going, they are going rather normally. The weather chilled again, but it is supposed to warm up this week before getting chilly again. It is so hard to dress this time of year! School is going slowly and I really need to practice more piano, but these past few weeks have been rather busy... I think I'm beginning to get onto a better sleep pattern, which is very good.

A couple, Mr. and Mrs. Rohbuck, who were very good friends of my mom and quite nice to us, both passed away this month. The wake is on Thursday and the funeral on Saturday. It seems strange to think that they are no longer alive, since they were always so full of life. But everyone must die someday. It is comforting to know that I have a Savior!

On Sunday, I am getting baptized along with seventeen other people. It will be quite a big ordeal and to say that I'm nervous would be an understatement... scared to death would be a better way to put it! I'm excited about it too though and so happy that I'm doing it!

That's pretty much it for now. No handsome young men calling for me yet... but I'll let you know when one does. ;)

Until next time - Donata

Late Night

2009-03-15T00:12:00.004-04:00

Hello again! I know it's late, but I had to write something before hitting the sack tonight. It's been a long week and the later it gets, the longer the minutes seem to take.

Lately, I've really had a hard time with being content with where I am and with feeling lonely. It isn't like I don't like my family, but I keep longing for a time when I won't be here any longer - for a time when I have my own home and my own family to take care of. I know that nothing in this world will bring us complete happiness, although many things will try to make you believe they will. Mentally, it's easy to understand that, but emotionally it is quite difficult to really accept.

A friend mentioned this verse to me today though and it really helped. "For He satisfieth the longing of the soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." (Psalm 107:9) I will be doing a lot of praying and I know that the Lord will help me trust Him, even if I don't understand everything now, or ever. But, I know that whatever brings me closer to Christ, really is worth it.

"When thru the deep waters I call thee to go

The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow:

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress!"

(How Firm a Foundation)

Spring Days

2009-03-10T19:30:00.002-04:00

Yay! Warm spring days have been visiting us recently and they have been very much enjoyed! Short sleeved t-shirts, sandals and open windows... ahhh... what bliss! :)

Since I last wrote nothing much has happened. More piano practicing, school cramming, and general housework. I have been able to figure out some rather nasty word problems in my Algebra lately which always gives me a satisfied feeling. Tomorrow is my piano lesson and I'm supposed to have two pieces memorized (Rachmaninoff and Tchaicovsky) and both are only partially memorized. I need to go practice as soon as I get off of here...

On a sad note, my grandfather, who has lung cancer, had surgery today. Apparently there were some blood clots and they were doing the surgery to find out where they were and what they could do about it. We found out that he has really bad heart disease - so bad that there is nothing they can do about it. In fact, they said he is more likely to die from that than from the cancer, which is rather strange to hear after worrying so much about his cancer... Anyway, I know that everyone has to die and that we all have our appointed time but it doesn't make it any less sad that within maybe just a few months my grandfather will no longer be here. :(

To end things a little more cheerfully, choir practice is starting to be every week now. I do love choir practice so much! Mr. Smith is so nice and has such a great sense of humor - it really sets the week off right. :) I'm so glad that I will be playing with the choir soon - it's wonderful to be a part of something I love so much.

Well, I should go practice now. Hope you are having a wonderful day!

-Donata

The Last Day

2009-02-28T11:27:00.010-05:00

Hey there! I'm back to wrap up the month for you. :) I have recovered, mostly, from when I last wrote. It took a long time though and even now I've still got a bit of a dry cough hanging over. I am glad to be over the worst of it though and able to continue on with normal life!

Piano has been improving and I'm really enjoying working on the details and memorizing the pieces. My program is very difficult this year, but I like challenge. So far, I've got the Bach Prelude and Fugue and the Mozart Sonata memorized. Parts of other pieces are memorized, but nothing else entirely. Three down - four to go. I'm hoping by the end of March to have everything else memorized - February by Tchaicovsky, a waltz by Chopin, Arabesque I by Debussy, and Moment Musical by Rachmaninoff. It should only take two to three hours (okay, possibly four, depending...) a day to accomplish this. Anyway, I'm hoping to have everything performable by mid-April.

As far as school is concerned, things are slowly picking back up from when I was sick. It is not easy to get back into the groove of school and I'm struggling. I actually failed my Algebra lesson yesterday, which was quite discouraging. I went over the solutions book though and I think now I understand the new concepts. I'm just about to finish Ancient Greece in History and move on to Ancient Rome. I'm looking forward to that! History is moving slowly because it's combined with English and it takes me so long to write and revise the papers each week that it slows the whole process down. I'm going to try to get more on top of that though.

Since I was so sick for a couple weeks, I was able to make a lot of progress in my story. I'm currently working on chapter thirteen and I think I'm about two-thirds of the way finished! It's all coming along very nicely. Unfortunately, since I have gotten behind in other areas, I'm having less time for my story now so it could be a while before I finish this chapter. Mom hasn't been feeling well either, so I've had to step it up in that area too. On a brighter note though, I did decide on the main girl's name. Almost. :) I've kept it as Julie, since I simply can't think of her as anyone else. However, I'm still open to changing it should I hear some other name that seems to fit better.

Recently it seems the signs of spring have been coming more and more (despite the fact that they're calling for five inches of snow tonight...) and I am ever so glad. I can hardly wait for warmer weather, sunny days, and blooming flowers. I'm especially anxious to be able to wear sandals again! :) I've been making a lot of iced tea recently in anticipation of it and even that makes me feel brighter and cheerier.

Off I go now to practice piano, do school, figure out what to make for dinner, finish my Sunday School homework, etc. Hope you are all having a great day!

-Donata

Wipe Away That Tear

2009-02-15T11:50:00.003-05:00

Wipe Away That Tear
by Emily Dillie

Sometimes life is hard
It hurts and it makes you cry
But even though you may be scarred
To smile you must try

I know that you are lonely
But wipe away that tear
A new beginning will arise
To new dreams we'll adhere

Bright days are on their way
Soon we'll laugh and sing
Gray skies will drift away
The sun will return in the spring

When tears fall and you feel withdrawn
Although happy memories are declining
Remember a new day will soon dawn
And there will always be a silver lining

Greetings on a Sunday Morning!

2009-02-15T11:25:00.002-05:00

Hello! On any normal Sunday morning, you would undoubtedly find me in Church. I very rarely miss Church - in fact I think the last time I missed a Sunday morning service was over a year ago. However, today I am sick. I actually did recover from the last time I wrote. I got better within a couple of days and remained well until this past Thursday morning. I woke up feeling miserable with a fever, headache, cough, scratchy throat - the works. So, here I am - coughing and achy and not at Church. :(

On a brighter note, since I've been sick I've been able to do almost nothing. I've been allowed to simply sit here and listen to music and type away to my heart's content. I've been able to work on my story a lot, and am now in the middle of chapter eight. I wrote a poem too, which I shall post up here. It isn't very good at all, but it's my very first one, so it made me rather excited. :)

The idea of food has become so repulsive to me, as when I'm sick I'm not hungry and eating makes me cough more, that I hardly eat anything at all. A very strange thing for me since I'm usually hungry for something. I do believe I'll be about ten pounds lighter by the time I recover. I've already noticed that I'm getting thinner, which really isn't a good thing considering I'm already a decent weight. But I don't suppose it's really a big deal.

Anyway, this is turning into rather a boring post so I'll just leave it at this. Hope your day is bright and cheerful! :)

-Donata

Chilled to the Bone!

2009-02-04T20:01:00.002-05:00

Well, I figured that since I posted the "Country or City" post, I ought to go ahead and post a real update. So, here it is. :)

My title refers to the fact that I am sick with a cold and am chilled through. It's been building up all week and today I woke up feeling miserable. It's my piano lesson day and furthermore, Mom had plans for us to go to a Home School High School seminar afterwords, so I had to go. Although my piano lesson went well, and the seminar was quite interesting, I felt ten times worse when I got home and am now shivering and sipping on hot tea and sniffling.

I've been keeping up with school well enough and my piano practicing is steadily improving, but it is rather tiring and leaves little time for writing. I'm enjoying the school and piano though! I'm learning a lot of really cool things in my History book - for instance, did you know that the Ancient Chinese had an invention that could tell them when an earthquake happened and where as soon as it happened? They needed it so they could send help right away, since their empire was so vast it would take quite some time for a messenger to carry the message.

As far as my writing is going, I think slowly would be the best word to describe it. With school, piano, sickness, Church, and sharing the computer, writing time has been scarce. I'm hoping to make some progress tonight though. I've hit a bit of a road block though, in that I can't decide exactly what the main plot is going to be, what my co-starring characters' personalities are like, exactly, and how much of a role they are going to play, etc. I've almost got it all figured out though and should be rolling right along soon.

Another problem I'm having is the main girl's name! At first I called her "Julie" which really stuck well, but I think it sounds too childish. So, I changed it to "Bronagh" (pronounced like Brona) which sounded much better in theory than in practice. Every time I type it out I cringe slightly. Furthermore, whenever I think about her, I think of her as "Julie." So, the question for all of you out there in blog-land is: Should I change it back to Julie or change it to something else, and if I do change it, what do I change it to?

Anyway, I don't think there is anything else much to say. I hope you all are having a lovely day! :) I'm going to work diligently on my story, sip tea, sniffle, and shiver over here. -Donata

Country Mouse or City Mouse?

2009-02-04T19:44:00.003-05:00

I saw this on a friends blog and thought it looked interesting. The weird thing is, my results came out the same even though I answered some questions differently. Strange. Anyway, I don't think this is the ultimate test, but it was fun anyway. :)

How COUNTRY Are You? Have you…Ridden a horse? - Yes
Owned a horse? - No
Owned land? - No
Been 4 wheeling? - No
Said ‘ain’t'? - Yes
Been cow-tipping? - No - but I know what it is, which is kind of sad...
Been deer hunting? - No
Been swimming in a lake? - Yes
Caught a fish? - Yes
Seen a deer being skinned? - No
You….
Have worked on a ranch or on land? - No
Have lived in a house in the middle of nowhere? - Yes
Have been duck hunting? - No - unless you count on a video game...
Have gone swimming in a river? - No
Driven in a truck? - I steered the car once while riding on my Dad's lap when I was four.
Own or owned a confederate flag? - I don't think so, but my brother does.
Have said ‘I don’t like it… I love it’? - Um.. yes
Have a funny accent or people have told you that? - Yes
Own or owned a pair of cowboy boots? - No
Own/owned a cowboy hat? - No
Own/have owned a big dog or boxer? - No
Say ‘y’all’? - Yes
Have been made fun of for saying ‘y’all’? - No, not that I remember.
Go/have gone to church on Sundays? - Yes
Have ridden a horse to somewhere in town? - No
Have gone on a field trip to a farm/ranch? - No, but I spent a week on one.
Made deer jerky? - No
Have eaten deer meat? - Yes
Have shot a gun before? - Yes
Multiply by 3 and post your percentage:
I am 33% Country!

How CITY Are You? I’ve drunk Starbucks more than once in my life - Yes
Sometimes I link arms when I walk with someone - Tes
I shop at AE, A&F, or HCO - Not that I know of
I own 4 or more dress shirts/dresses - Yes
I will never be caught without my cell phone - No
I blow dry/straighten my hair on a daily basis - Yes
I will wear flip flops no matter what the weather - No
I own an over sized pair of sunglasses - No
I own 1 or more pairs of ripped jeans - No
I layer my shirts - No
I have/had a ‘Myspace mirror pic’ - No
When I’m not drinking starbucks I prefer water - No
I get annoyed with tom-boys - Usually, depending on the person.
I own an over sized bag or purse - No
I have seen every episode of Laguna Beach - No
My new fav is the Hills - what?
I say ‘lol’ in online chat - Yes
I own straight legged jeans - N0
I walk across the street whether cars are there or not - No
I wear necklaces - Sometimes
I own an iPod/mp3 player - No
I have the Internet - Yes
I have more than 1 screen name - Yes
I own/have owned a small teacup dog - My dog used to fit in my palm, so yes
I have said ‘lol’ or ‘OMG!’ accidentally in a real conversation - No...
I love shopping - Unless it's grocery shopping! :)
I shop whenever I have a chance - No
I have watched the Simple Life. - No
Multiply by 3 and post your percentage:
I am 30% City

(my question is, what is the other 37% of me? I'm thinking that at heart I really love the city and country mixed together - something similar to Ireland, NI, or Scotland...)

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

2009-01-27T15:23:00.006-05:00

I've been waiting a long time to use that title for a blog... :) We finally had our first snow of the season, and very possibly our only snow of the season, seeing as it is already almost Februrary. It was very pretty coming down and brought a graceful elegance to the cold gray atmosphere that's been prevelant recently.

To update you on my life since last I wrote - not much exciting has happened. I've been working hard at school and almost getting three hours of piano in every day. I usually only make it to two, but yesterday I reached three. My pieces are improving, slowly but surely. The Bach Prelude and Fugue are memorized, the Sonata is 97% memorized, and the other pieces are on their way. I have not been able to get much of my story written, which is frustrating. One of these days I'm going to get back to it though...

One super exciting thing is that Mr. Smith asked me to play officially for choir! I was ecstatic! At first, Mom and Dad said that I had too much on my plate already (which I'm sure you agree on) and that I couldn't do it until after exams. I was rather disappointed and maybe a bit depressed, but I was trying hard to wait patiently. However, on Sunday night, Mr. Smith suggested the possibility of me just playing one song. My parents were more comfortable with this and so I am really truly going to be playing for choir! I've been wanting to do this ever since I started taking piano lessons six years ago, so you can imagine how exciting this is for me. :)

Well... I need to get back to my History paper. I'm writing on a famous person from Northern Ireland - C.S. Lewis. So, I should go finish that up. Have a lovely day! Until next time - Donata

New Hair Cut and Other Things

2009-01-14T19:51:00.004-05:00

Okay, I'm finally getting a picture up of my new haircut. (I'm sure you were on the edge of your seat in anticipation! haha...)
So, it doesn't exactly show the details of the haircut, but you get the general idea - it's shorter.

As long as I'm here, I might as well update you on my life since last I wrote. I've come to a decision about my school. I don't know if I've ever explained to you my views on school, but I'll write them out now. I'm not against school - in fact, I can get really into it and enjoy it immensely. My main problem with it, is that it takes up so much time and it's hard to see how it's going to help me in the future. There are just so many other things (as you probably already know by now, looking at my other posts) that I'd rather be doing. Practicing piano, working on one of my two novels, singing in choir, reading, sewing, cooking, cleaning, writing to my friends, spending time with friends and family, etc.

However, I've been reading the advice from many home-school moms and the general consensus is that I really do need a high school diploma regardless of what I end up doing in the future. Whether I get married and have a family (the ideal!), become a concert pianist, piano teacher, writer, or anything else, a high school diploma will be very helpful and not at all harmful. So, my decision is to grit my teeth and work really, really hard until it's finished.

Yesterday, I went up with two of my cousins and we cleaned my grandparents house. It was a lot of fun - there is something about cleaning with friends that makes it so much more enjoyable. I vacuumed and dusted mostly, while my cousins took care of the bathrooms and yard work. Afterwords, I went to my cousins' house and had pizza with them. I've said this before, but it really should be said again - God has really blessed me with wonderful cousins and friends.

Today, I had a piano lesson. It went okay, but not well. I have got a lot of practicing to do - I'm thinking that three hours a day will be an absolute minimum. It's a little daunting, but with a little perseverance, I think it's doable. I'm going to be quite busy these next few months, but it will be worth it in the end!

Well, I really have to go now, although there is more that I'd like to say. There just isn't enough time to do everything! So, until next time - Donata16

Hey There! Hi There! Ho There!

2009-01-08T20:48:00.005-05:00

Hi! I'm back! Isn't that strange? I usually take forever in between posts and here I am posting two days in a row. The reason I'm posting so soon is because I had a super long day today and I wanted to write and tell you all about it.

I got up late, because I was out late last night with friends. Dad wasn't very happy that I'd been up so late and that I was getting up so late. He had to take Mom to the Doctor today, and right before he left, he said, "I expect this house to be cleaner when I get back." I decided that it would be more than clean when he got back. It would be perfect. I wrote out a list of everything we needed to do and once I had delegated some of the chores to my younger siblings, I got to work!

I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, cleaned off the table, changed the tablecloth, swept the floor, shook the rugs, vacuumed the whole house, cleaned the living room, straightened the sofa slipcover, folded two loads of laundry, made iced tea, set up a pot of coffee, made dinner (spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad), and my piece de resistance - I organized the linen closet! Which means I've already started completing my list of resolutions. It seems like just a lot of normal household chores, but it's a lot to do by yourself in just a few hours. It's been great enjoying it though. Everything is so clean and pretty! Ahhh...

Now I'm going to listen to some nice music and write another chapter or two in my story, while sipping on a nice hot cup of tea. -Donata

2009-01-07T16:09:00.004-05:00

Here are my 2009 resolutions!!! (I know I'm going to regret posting these up here!)

-Get up by nine every morning
-Practice piano at least 2 hours everyday
-Play well at exams
-Ready my Bible everyday
-Memorize the memory verse for Church every week
-Finish 10th grade
-Paint my room
-Paint the living room
-Exercise every morning
-Do Sunday School Homework every week
-Use my time efficiently
-Be more laid back
-Be more hesitant to criticize
-Finish both stories I'm writing
-Spend less money on frivolous things
-Organize linen closet

Okay, so I know that a lot of those things seem kind of small or obvious. But, when you have a life as unorganized as mine, you need to get the basics down before moving on to bigger ideals. :) Anyways, I'm going to try to keep these resolutions, although I know that I'm going to fail most of the time. The general idea is that I'll have everything accomplished or learned on that list by 2010. I wonder what will have changed by then...

By the way, I cut my hair yesterday. It is super short compared to what I had before. I originally was going for the Julia Stiles look from the Bourne movies, but it didn't quite turn out like that. I'll probably upload a picture of it later, but the picture uploader isn't working right now. Anyway, I think it turned out okay, even though it wasn't quite what I was going for. Maybe next time I'll take the Julia Stiles picture to someone who knows what they're doing... :)

Anyway, until later - Donata16

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T14:59:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year! Can you believe it's already 2009? I can't... So, as you've probably guessed, I've been super busy this past month. I wanted to post on here sooner, but there was always something else I needed to do. Anyways, I'll try to catch up on here and let you all know what's been keeping me so busy!

First of all, I've had a bit of a cold all month. This always happens to me in December. When I was younger, it was irritating because I'd end up going to the doctor and getting a lot of nasty tasting medicines and missing out on all of the winter get-togethers. Now that I'm older, I just take some simple cold/allergy medicine and then I can pretty much do everything normally. The medicine does make me a little sluggish though, so I act a little weird... but it's okay for the most part.

I've been rather busy practicing with the adult choir, the girls choir (that I organized), and accompanying with Adrienne. It's all been fun (stressful, but fun too), and it has taken a lot of my time. I was worried about the girls choir for a while, because they weren't singing very loudly and I am rather new to organizing choirs and such. But, with a little help from my friends and my mom, and the enthusiasm of the girls, we pulled through and I think it all turned out.

Preparations for Christmas was time-consuming as well. The funny thing is, we always say that we don't celebrate Christmas, but since we have so many relatives that do, we spend a lot of time on it. Shopping, wrapping, shopping, list writing, shopping, mailing packages, shopping, etc. It was fun (I do love giving gifts to people!) and we certainly made some memories. :)

The weekend before Christmas I spent over at the Tolers. We had a great time and added to our list of quotes. I got to help out with pallets (which was a totally new experience for me) and it was great fun! We even had another film festival, which I personally think is the funniest out of the three we did. Church was canceled that Sunday morning due to ice on the roads, so I got to spend extra time with them. It was so nice to be able to take a break from the Christmas rush and spend a relaxing time with my friends!

Christmas Day was a bittersweet day, filled with many, many good moments and a some sad things trickled in. I got so many very nice things (I really am rather spoiled!) and there was a lot of good food and the company was exceptional! One of the nice things I received was a digital camera from my Aunt and Uncle. If you've been watching this blog for a few months, you'll know how super exciting this is for me! I've been barely able to set it down since I got it!

One of the best moments in the day, for me, was when I gave my cousin, Nancy, a gift. Over the past few weeks, I had found out that she really wanted a certain CD (the soundtrack to Pride and Prejudice). Nancy is a very sweet cousin and often does a lot of favors for me, so when I found this out, I was immediately struck with the idea of getting it for her. From the time I got it, to the time she was opening it, the excitement was almost more than I could bear. She was so surprised and touched - it really made the day for me. She even wrote me a note later to say thank-you and it is one of the sweetest notes I have ever received. :)

The week between Christmas and New Year's is really not enough. I got sicker over the weekend following Christmas and just barely recovered in time for my piano lesson on Tuesday. I was not as ready as I should have been, although I did not play terribly. I have much to do in the way of practicing and memorizing!

Almost before I knew it New Year's Eve was here. The day moved rather slowly until we left for the New Year's Eve Fellowship at Church. I came 45 minutes early - first to practice with Adrienne, and then to practice with the adult choir. Both went reasonably well and then the ceremonies began. After a hymn and a prayer, we went downstairs for the food. The attendance was small, but decent considering how many people are out of town. The food was good, especially the shrimp. I was nervous though, so I felt kind of spacey. I ended up being more nervous than I thought I was going to be. After the food and the dessert, we went back upstairs for the special music and testimonies.

Not many people did special music, but everyone who did, did well. I was actually impressed with a couple people. The adult choir sang, and I went flat several times, but overall I think it went well. Standing up there, looking down into the congregation, I saw several people who used to be in the choir when I was too young to be in it. It was so strange to see it reversed. It made me sad, but at the same the music reminded me of how many things we have to be thankful for. God is so good and loving and merciful.

The girls' choir sang, and I think we did well, considering how nervous we all were and how many problems I ran into, even right up to the performance. My voice was shaking so badly, which I've never experienced before. It was irritating because I didn't know how to control it and it was keeping me from singing well. Several of the girls came up to me afterwords and told me how glad they were about how well it went, which made me happy for organizing it in the first place. Adrienne and I played, and although I didn't play very well (I think Massenet was rolling in his grave), Adrienne did exceptionally well. She played beautifully and covered most of my mistakes.

Overall, I think we ended the year nicely, and I am looking forward to this coming year. I have a great many resolutions that I need to write down and all that. I will probably post them up here later. God be with you till we meet again! -Donata16

Cold Weather

2008-12-02T17:33:00.005-05:00

Hi! December is here and with it cold weather. I can hardly believe it is here already - I think the older you get, the faster the days go by.

Thanksgiving came and went. Overall it was a good day. My dad and my aunt even played some volleyball with us. The food was delicous and there was a great deal of it! This year seemed especially different from past years, but fun. Sitting inbetween my cousins and listening to my grandfather tell us stories, I thought of how blessed I am. All of my family, the abundance of food, the merry atmosphere, and the love that binds us all together is amazing. I hope I never lose it, although I know that life must go on and things must change.

This month I have a lot to do. Our church is having a New Year's Eve Fellowship. The adult choir is singing, I am accompanying a friend of mine, I'm organizing a small girl's choir, and there will be food to make as well. I'm looking forward to it! I love singing, and I love accompanying on the piano. It will be a lot of work, but it will be worth it.

By the new year I also hope to memorize at least one piece of music. Maybe a little bit of a stretch, but a needed one. I only have a few months remaining until exams and I need every minute of it. I'm not a naturally disciplined person, so I'm really going to have to push myself.

Let's see if I can do it! -Donata16

Long Lost Blogger

2008-11-22T21:32:00.009-05:00

Sooooo.... you are all probably wondering why I haven't written anything recently. I am ever so sorry, but this month (as I predicted) has been extremely busy and stressful with a little fun thrown in for good measure.

Sadly, I have not been meeting my goals. I'm falling behind - which is my own fault for overloading my schedule. My new rule is to only put a reasonable amount of undertakings on my To Do List. It's hard to commit myself to that, because there are so many things I want to do, but I know I'll be a lot happier and productive if I follow this rule. This time of year is especially busy anyway, so tacking extra things on to my schedule wasn't very realistic.

I just reached 10,000 words in my NaNoWriMo story - a fifth of the goal - so I doubt I will reach 50,000 by the 30th. However, I am pleased that I got that much written down, and at 10,000 words or so a month, I might be able to actually finish this novel by the time I'm seventeen! =)

My room is not going to be painted this month, or this year. It probably won't be done until late spring. I'm lacking all of the neccesities - money, time and sanity!

I'm working on memorizing three piano pieces by New Year's, and so far it's going okay. I memorized one page of my Sonata this past weekend, and I hope to finish it by December. As far as piano is going in general, it is not going that well. I burned my fingers about a week ago and I couldn't practice and had to cancel my lesson this week. I never cancel my lessons, so this was a pretty big deal. I think I actually enjoyed it, but I don't think it will become a regular thing.

The Hayride got canceled because of the weather, but they might do it on December 5th. It will be quite cold. Brrrr! I tried to make the skirt for the Harvest Dinner, but it didn't turn out and I will have to redo it. I was rather upset about it because I worked ever so hard on it to have it ready in time, but I was able to find something else to wear and it worked out.

The Harvest Dinner was tonight, and I had a good time. I have to say that although this month has been rather stressful and I've done a lot of crying, there were some really good moments. My cousins and my friends have all gotten a lot closer. I had several good talks with my friends and and I want to say that I am so thankful for all of my wonderful friends! More than that, I am especially thankful for God's grace and mercy to me in saving me, and everyday. I let life push me down too much, but I really have everything to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving is less than a week away! It will probably be good and memorable and with a little sadness mixed in. I'm looking forward to it - being with my cousins and grandparents is always something to look forward to! Time is flying by faster than I can keep up with. It seems the 4th of July was last week and now Christmas is just around the corner. Well, you know, never a dull moment in my life! =)

Anyway, that's all for now! Until next time - Donata16

Sweet Sixteen

2008-10-29T17:19:00.003-04:00

So, I made it! I'm sixteen. It still feels strange. When people ask me how old I am I say, "Fift- oh wait, sixteen." Hopefully it will begin to set in in a few weeks. As far as the learner's permit test went....I PASSED!!! I was so surprised and excited. I am now an official Driver In Training. ;)

My super busy October is coming to a close, but November is on the front porch and looking busier than ever! I want to have at least one piece memorized by Thanksgiving. (I know - utterly insane. But I have to at least try, right?) I'm thinking Bach, but I'm not sure yet. Anyway, I'm thinking about painting my room Thanksgiving weekend (hehe, I know - even more insane...) and I joined NaNoWriMo, thereby promising myself I'm going to write 50,000 words towards a novel, Nov. 1 - 30. (Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!) I also want to make myself a skirt for the Harvest Dinner and there is a Hayride one Saturday too. November is going to be a lot of fun! =)

Sunday night we watched a Creation DVD at Church by Dr. Whitcomb. It was really good. He provided some really good evidence from the Bible about how there is no life outside of Earth. Even though I already knew that, it still made me feel kind of lonely to think "We are all alone here." When he got to the end he said something that I knew, but hearing it said again and in that context made me feel so much better. Even better than I had felt before the movie. My entire life, my absolute worst fear has been being alone in darkness. I've always dislike Sci-Fi and going to the moon has never been even remotely appealing. Space is so cold and empty. After I became a Christian, I didn't fear it as much, but it wasn't until Sunday night that my fears were totally dispelled.

After solidifying the fact that "earthlings" are alone, he said, "But actually, we are not alone! God is there." Isn't that an amazingly wonderful thought? We are never alone - God is always there. "Let your manner of life be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, 'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.'" (Hebrews 13:5) I've always known that, I had never really understood it before. It's a wonderful thing to know that God is not only there, but that He also loved me so much that He sent his son to die for me, even while I was still hating Him. "But God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) With that thought in mind, how can I possibly be unhappy?

Until next time - Donata16

Church Picnic

2008-10-13T20:13:00.005-04:00

First of all I had a super good time. My apprehensions were wrong - everything went really well. I wore a yellow shirt and jean skirt (as seen in the picture) and didn't feel uncomfortable, like I usually do. My brother and I arrived an hour early to help set up and filled hundreds (literally) of water balloons. They actually ended up not being very good water balloons, but they served their purpose.

The weather couldn't have been more beautiful - the air was crisp, but not cold. The sun shining through the autumn colored trees created a picturesque atmosphere. It was the most beautiful Church Picnic day that I can ever remember. The food was very good. As usual, I filled my plate up with everything that looked good and couldn't finish half of it.

The gingerbread cookies did not win the desert contest, but the people I really made them for enjoyed them immensly. My cousins really love them and it makes me soooooo happy that I can make something they enjoy so much. There seemed to be a lot of cheesecakes this year and all the ones I tried were pretty good. I think next year I'm going to make something with strawberries on top. I'll have to give this a lot of thought.

Anyway, we did something different this year and it appeared to be a success. My cousins brought the game, "Dutch Blitz," which we all like to play. After lunch, Nancy and I played. Emma and Adrienne, two friends, soon joined and the game got very exciting! Cards were flying so fast I could scarcely take in what was happening. It was a great deal of fun and I think it might be the start of a tradition.

So ends another Church Picnic. Next up is my birthday, which is in three days. I'm really nervous about taking the test for the learner's permit. I mean... it's not like I have to. I'm only doing it because I want to, but at the same time I'm getting super super super nervous. We'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.....

Wedding Bells

2008-10-06T15:08:00.005-04:00

The wedding is over and my cousin is now married. The rehearsal dinner actually ended up being nicer than I thought it would be. I pretended I was Lady Marguerite Blakeney from "The Scarlet Pimpernel" at a dinner party. The wedding was very beautiful. It was outside and the setting was marvelous. The Appalachian Mountains stood in front of us, displaying a magnificent show of fall colors. I had never been so close to anything like that before. It was breathtaking.

The reception was held inside. The music wasn't my favorite and I don't think there will be any dancing at my wedding, but overall it was pleasant enough. My cousin Tony gave a touching speech and even though it wasn't very long it was very sweet. So, with a mixture of tears and laughter we witnessed the wedding. I can hardly believe it's all over - it seems just a few weeks ago that we were going to the engagement party!

This Saturday is the Church picnic. I usually look forward to it but this year I'm feeling rather nervous and apprehensive about the whole thing. This has not kept me from making plans however! :) I am going to make gingerbread cookies for the dessert contest (I highly doubt they will win, but I like them so much it doesn't matter!) and I might even make myself a new skirt to wear. Or perhaps I'll wear my jean skirt. Oh well… whatever happens, life will go on so I'll try not to waste too much time worrying about it. :)

Well, that's all for now folks! -Donata15

Autumn Leaves

2008-10-02T20:44:00.004-04:00

Ahhh...fall is here and the air is starting to get that crisp feeling. Autumn is my favorite season of all. There is something about the brilliant show of colors on the trees, hot mulled cider, freshly baked gingerbread cookies, and the reviving cool air that fills me with delight.

Another thing I like about Autumn, is that my birthday falls right in the middle of October, on the sixteenth. I suppose that someday I may not look forward to it so much as I do now, but right now I'm still excited. Although I've never looked forward to turning sixteen, there will be some perks. The biggest one (that I can see now) will be that I will get to take the learner's permit test. I'm a little nervous, but excited too.

Not much has been happening since I last wrote. Just the usual ups and downs of everyday life. "The ecomony is failing..." - "What am I going to make for dinner?" - "I need to memorize that waltz by Chopin!" Which reminds me: I was thinking the other day how funny it is the things I get stressed about... and the things I don't get stressed about. Things like terrorist attacks, snipers, hurricanes, the economy failing, etc. don't scare me. I just kinda go, "Oh, really? Okay." But when it comes to what to make for dinner, getting behind in school, a bad hair day, or even just going to the doctor I get super stressed. Wierd.

Anyway, I just finished this really great book. It's the best book I've read in years. The most captiviting, intriguing, heartbreaking, and yet still satisfying book of the year is "The Scarlet Pimpernel." From cover to cover I was entirely enthralled. The wit was charming and the twists more surprising each time. It passes with flying colors as an adventure novel and as a love story. A lot of books I pick up and think, "Wow, I want to go write a book." This book I picked up and thought, "Wow, the book I want to write has already been written!" Alright - enough raving. You'll have to read it for yourself to see if you like it.

Tomorrow night I'm going to a Rehearsal Dinner and on Saturday afternoon I'm going to the wedding of my cousin Mark and his fiance, Cadie. I'm a little nervous, but it should be fine. It will be a memorable experience if nothing else. :) And for once I actually know what I'm going to wear! Tomorrow night I'm going to wear a jean skirt I made this week (well, it's almost finished - I've still got to put the hem in...) with a nice shirt. On Saturday I'm going to wear a dark blue dress with a brown sweater and I'm going to curl my hair and put it up. At least, if everything works out. If it does, I'll try to get a picture up here of me.

That's enough for now - the night is not getting any younger and I need to get some sleep. Until next time - Donata15 :)

A Different Camera

2008-09-20T11:32:00.002-04:00

They stopped selling the other camera, so I went looking again. I picked out this one, and even though it isn't the color I wanted, it is less expensive! :) Hopefully, within a month or two I will be able to buy it. -Donata15

Home Again! Home Again!

2008-09-18T15:22:00.005-04:00

Home sweet home... it seems like forever since I've been home. I took off on Sunday the seventh to visit my friends, the Tolers, for a week. I had a remarkably splendid time! We talked, sipped tea, talked, tried on clothes, talked, went shopping, talked, sewed, talked, and even had a "Film Festival." It was all so relaxing and wonderful - I can hardly believe it really happened. It will be a beautiful dream forever in my memory.

I didn't get much sewing done, but I did get about halfway into making my little sister, Sarah, a skirt and I cut out the fabric to a jean skirt for myself. I got fabric for a plaid skirt and it will be really pretty when I get it done, but it will probably be a few months before I make it. A lady in our church gave me two whole boxes of fabric too, so I have plenty of skirt making materials! Isn't it wonderful how the Lord always provides? It makes me so ashamed to think how much I worry and complain (even just to myself) when all the time God is taking care of me.

After I got back from the Tolers, I left with my family to go to Jamestown and Williamsburg for three days. We stayed with a family that my mom knows and had a great time. I had heard about the places in Williamsburg so many times that seeing them was a treat. We went to the Capitol, the Governor's Mansion, the Apothecary, the Wigmaker's Shop, the Magazine, the Gunsmith, the Blacksmith, the Printers and Bindery, the Post Office, and many other places. I had a memorable time and there was talk of us maybe going next year too.

Now, here I am. Back at home trying to get into a routine of sorts. I'm not even going to attempt getting back into school until Monday. There is laundry to catch up on, dinner to make, clothes and such to unpack, souvenirs to put away, my room to straighten, a bit of sewing to do, piano to practice, and of course all the in-between things that pop up. Sitting here, sipping on hot chamomile tea with a week and half of vacationing behind me, I am ready for anything! :) Until next time - Donata15

Summer in Review

2008-08-30T17:04:00.002-04:00

Well, let's take a look back at the summer and what I wanted to get done and what I actually did get done. I wanted to make myself a new set of clothes (that actually fit), learn how to draw, start all of my school (French, World History, Music History, English, Writing, Algebra and Biology), memorize three pieces of my new music program, redecorate and organize my room, spend a week visiting some friends, spend a week visiting a mother and helping her out, and of course, rest up from my stressful fall/winter/spring. Hmmmm....

Well, did make myself two new skirts and a new dress. The dress feels a little awkward, but the skirts are nice. I didn't do the art this summer, but I wrote it into my school schedule. I've started my school and I'm only doing French, World History, Writing, Algebra, Biology, and Art. No Music History and the English is part of my World History program. I wrote a schedule out for my school and started using it this week. It works beautifully and this year of school looks to be a success.

As far as memorizing goes, lets just say it didn't happen. I have made progress, but not so much as I should have. Not as much as I'm going to make this fall. ;) It looks like painting my room won't happen until next year unless something changes for the better in my financial situation. My week with friends is going to be more of a fall activity, but it will happen. (Yay!!!)

And rest? Am I rejuvenated enough to start another stressful year? That's hard to say. As they say in "The Princess Bride," "Life is hard and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something." Life is hard in every season, but it's how we work through and respond to these difficulties that shape who we are and if we are happy or not. So, I may not ever really feel completely healthy and energized and ready to tackle the world's problems (or even my own), but I can still be happy.

The fall days ahead look busy busy busy and most importantly, productive. I seem to thrive on busy (most of the time) so I am looking forward to these upcoming weeks. One fall event that I can hardly wait to start is choir practice. It seems forever since our last choir practice and I do miss those happy meetings with Mr. Smith trying to bring some kind of musical sound out of us. This year I am going to be a diligent choir member and practice the songs faithfully.

Well, I'd best go for now. Until next time - Donata15

Miss Elizabeth Bennet

2008-08-29T21:26:00.002-04:00

Take the Quiz here!

I suppose this explains why Pride and Prejudice is my favorite novel... :)

Change of Plans!

2008-08-23T16:29:00.003-04:00

Well...... VBS is over and I am exhausted! What a week it has been - fun, stressful, busy and fast. I can hardly believe it's all over. I had a hard time playing the piano at first, but I got used to it and it was so much fun! I must say that I love accompanying. Oddly enough, I think I enjoy being stressed. Weird. Even messing up in front of everyone isn't as bad as I thought. Everyone makes mistakes so it isn't a big deal. I'm kind of sad that it is all over, even though I am relieved as well. I hope I get more opportunities to play for the Church in the future.

As it turns out, I will not be visiting the Tolers next week as previously planned. We are shooting for the second week in September though. As for painting my room, I'll have to play it by ear for now. Perhaps I won't get it done until spring. But in any case, I've had a good summer.

Now that VBS is over, I need to focus on school. Algebra, History, Writing, (maybe some art!), Music History, and I'm sure that there is something else I'm not thinking of right now. My novel is coming along really well. I've gotten half way through my novel writing course and hope to be finished with the first draft by the end of the year. Okay, maybe that's a little over hopeful.... :) Even though I haven't gone anywhere to rest, I feel like I'm ready to start a new year of school.

As for piano, I have started to record how much I practice in my piano notebook and if that isn't motivation for practicing I don't know what is. I mean seriously, can you imagine if I showed up with only thirty mintues written down? Super embarrassing! :) And besides, I'm really enjoying this program of music. It is certainly a challenge and will take a lot of hard, concentrated effort, but I'm sure that it will be rewarding. Music never fails to revive me.

That's all for now! God be with you till we meet again - Donata15

Mid-August Update

2008-08-15T14:23:00.006-04:00

The middle of August has arrived. The following weeks are going to be very busy indeed - next week is VBS, the following is a week at the Tolers, the first week in September I must get a lot school done, and the second week I'm going to paint my room! It's going to be a lot of fun.

I am going to be super involved with VBS this year. I'm playing the piano, helping my brother teach the 9-11 year olds, and I might be part of my class, depending on how much I need to help my brother. It ought to be very fun, except that I have to wear this hat that I don't think will be very flattering, but even that isn't so bad.

Last night I went to my cousins' house for dinner along with some friends. Pastor and Mrs. Gifford were there too and they made me laugh harder than I've ever laughed before. They told us about how they met and their honeymoon and it was so funny I nearly fell off the bench I was sitting on. We all had a grand time and I am so thankful to have such wonderful friends.

I've been trying to keep my last commitment to be content, but it is very hard. Before I even know what I am doing I start wishing for things I don't have and feeling sorry for myself. I think the more someone has the more they want. My piano teacher just got back from a vacation in Mexico and she described the people who had served them. The live in small little houses with bamboo sticks for walls and they cook outside on an open fire. Their salary is only five dollars a day. But these people are always smiling, always working, and always trying to make your stay enjoyable. When they're done working, they go home and eat outside with their families and enjoy being alive! I'm going to try to do that more often - enjoy being alive!

Be Happy!

2008-08-06T17:58:00.003-04:00

Hi! It's been a couple days since I made my last real update, hasn't it? Well, here's my newest commitment. I've decided to not worry anymore. I'm always wishing that I had something that I don't have (a camera, fabric to make clothes, more time to do what I want to do, a trip to the beach, etc.). But what a waste is that? I mean seriously! Everyone has troubles, but worrying only makes them double the trouble. I'm just going to be happy about the things I do have. Haha - that sounds so cliche. But, after all, cliches wouldn't be cliches if they weren't so true, right?

There really is a lot to be happy about. The sun is shining, I have a cup of hot tea, we are all safe and (for the most part) healthy. Think of all the luxuries I have - contacts instead of glasses (yay!), a bed on the floor instead of a loft bed, a mirror in my room so that I don't have to use the one in the bathroom, a family that loves me, wonderful friends that I don't deserve, all of the school books I need for tenth grade, and I've got some fabric to make myself clothes. The list is endless. I really am not thankful for all of the blessings God has given me. As a result I've been unhappy and I'm sure that it's affected the way I treat other people. From now on, I hope to, with God's help, be thankful for what I do have instead of unhappy about all that I don't have.

What blessings do you have? -Donata15

The Camera

2008-08-05T00:27:00.006-04:00

Here is the camera that I want. It's the perfect color and size and it takes nice videos (I tried it out at the store) and everything. But it's a little out of my price range at the moment... :) So, it will just have to wait a few months... or years. -Donata15

Making Plans

2008-07-21T14:57:00.004-04:00

We are nearing the end of July and summer has really set in. Hot, humid, and sunny. I love summer, and I think I'm coming to the end of my decompressing time. Now, I'm ready for action! It took much longer than I thought it would. Actually, I thought I would snap right out of my "preparing for exams" mode into my "busy summer days" mode. It's been almost two months since exams and I'm only just now getting to where I want to be busy again.

First of all, I want to start practicing piano seriously. Two hours a day. Dad said he would let me take piano for one more year, so I want to make the absolute most if it that I can. Besides, I really do love piano - practicing isn't something I'm against - just something I have to make up my mind to do. I'm going to play the piano for VBS this year and I am so excited. I love accompanying.

I'm going to spend the last week of August with some friends, and we're going to make ourselves clothes. I'm really looking forward to having some new outfits that fit. I spent Friday at my cousins' house and my cousin Nancy helped me make a dress. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I got super inspired to make myself clothes. Making clothes is like piano - I like doing it, but it's something I've got to make up my mind to do.

As far as school goes, that kind of got put on the back burner for a while. I got discouraged with my History because of all the writing that goes along with it. It may seem strange that I got stuck with writing, since I like writing, but I was having quite a hard time with it. I am determined to do it though and I'm sure that with some stick-to-itiveness, I will accomplish what I've set out to do. I haven't touched my Algebra yet, although I am interested in it, because I feel I ought to catch up in everything else first. Biology was going along fine and it doesn't look to be to much trouble. I was hoping to take the art course that we have, but it looks like that will have to happen a different summer. :) My novel is coming along, although slowly. Again, writing is like piano and sewing. I'm going to have to make up a schedule for myself so that I can fit everything in.

Being busy is fun but not something to be taken lightly. Being busy requires being responsible enough to know how much to do, when to do it, and how much I should put in to each thing. And let me tell you - that is still a work in progress. Hopefully, by God's grace, I'll be able to learn that this year. I wonder if anyone ever learns it really well, but I'm going to try.

I think I've said quite enough for now! Until next time - Donata15

Independence Day

2008-07-05T17:08:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was the 4th of July - one of my favorite holidays. I look forward to it all year and I've never been disappointed. This year was different from all of the others that I remember, which was a disappointment, but I'm not sure if it really was a let down. Things can't stay the same forever after all.

Last year, one of the best parts for me was the sameness of everything. It was bright and sunny - patriotic music was playing and the whole family was together. Betsy, Cadie, Sarah, and I played ping pong while the boys played football. Fireworks were enjoyed as always - out on the lawn with Uncle Dennis' compilation of patriotic music playing on the back steps. Hot Dogs and Hamburgers were cooked out on the grill, we brought potato salad, and Grandmommy brought her famous deviled eggs.

This year was overcast and gloomy. I can't remember the last 4th of July that wasn't sunny. Nobody wanted to go outside and the we didn't all eat together. Matthew, Betsy and I ate in the front room, which was fun - but still different. Granddaddy wasn't feeling very well and Grandmommy was worried about him, as were we all. The food was the same, but no one seemed to enjoy it as all the other years. When we went out on the back steps to watch fireworks it rained. Betsy and I sat under an umbrella together, which was fun, but still different.

That night, us three older kids stayed later. Dave and Chris watched a documentary with Matthew downstairs. Betsy and I didn't feel like it, so we put together their new portable DVD player, set it up on the piano bench and watched "Almost a Bride." It was quite fun and cozy; drinking sprite, eating Fritos, and cuddling up under a blanket together. We certainly made fun memories, and it will be a 4th of July that I won't forget for a long time.

Still, even with as much as fun as I had, I hope next year is a little more "normal." Or at least hot and sunny. -Donata15

Summer Days

2008-06-17T14:59:00.004-04:00

Ahh..... summer is here and life is good. Well, almost anyway. I had so much I wanted to do all winter and spring that I pushed off until "after exams." That time has come but I have so little time to get it all done. I think perhaps I was a little too over-hopeful. I wanted to make myself a new set of clothes (that actually fit!!!), learn how to draw, start all of my school (World History, French, Algebra, Biology, English and Music History), memorize three pieces of my new music program, redecorate and organize my room, spend a few weeks visiting friends and helping out mothers with small children, and last but not least, relax. Relax???

I was writing out my list of activities that I enjoy the other day. It was two pages long and I'm sure I missed some things. When compared to that list, my list of summer projects is really quite small. There is just way to much that I want to do and so little time to do it all in. I'm worried that I'm not going to get anything done. Or at least not done to my satisfaction. I've got to sit and down and get my life organized. With chaos constantly zooming around me that isn't going to be any easy task. However, I'm sure that with God's help I'll be fine.

One thing that has made me very happy, is that I recently was asked to work at the greenhouse for a couple days. Getting to do another activity may not sound like a lot fun, but this is a paying activity. A paying activity that really helps where my piano lessons are concerned. I'm not sure if I'm going to get to work any more days, but at least I was able to work a couple days.

The most interesting and exciting part, was that a few days previous I had had a talk with my Dad. We talked a lot about piano and how far I should go, etc. It was a very good talk, and I realized afterwards that my piano lessons are really not my piano lessons. Nothing we "own" is really ours'. It all belongs to God. So, if God wants to give me piano lessons, nothing is going to stop Him. Sounds simple enough, but I had never thought of it like that before. I stopped worrying and no more than three days later I was asked to work at the greenhouse! Yay! I think God wants to bring us all to the point where we realize that nothing we do is going to make any difference. His Will is going to be done no matter how much we worry about it.

Okay, I think I've written enough for now. :) Until next time - Donata15

It's All Over

2008-06-02T16:28:00.003-04:00

The Family Fellowship at church was on Saturday and it went very well. All of my pieces turned out nicely and my piano student played exceptionally well. I received a great deal of compliments and I was happy to have made an impression on so many people. It reminded of me of how much I love playing for people. I get scared to death, but somehow I still enjoy it. It probably wouldn't be as much fun if I didn't get so scared.

Today, I played for the Piano Guild. It doesn't seem like it's really all over. I've been working on these seven pieces for a year and in less than an hour the entire exam was over. The judge didn't even have me play two of my pieces and she added a lot more scales, chords, and arpeggios than I expected. Last year I only had to play one or two extra scales. I was disappointed at how I played, but my score had improved since last year. Last year I had 24 good points, and 5 bad points; this year I had 34 good points and still only 5 bad points. The results were definitely surprising to me and I know that my teacher was very pleased.

After my piano lessons I always have something to work on; something to improve. Now, even though I didn't play as well as I wanted to, I feel like I have nothing to work towards. There is still the recital on Sunday to get ready for though, and soon I will have new pieces. That makes me happy! I talked to a friend of mine who was my first piano teacher. We had a nice long talk about piano and whether or not to stop. After discussing that conversation with my mom, I decided that I'll keep taking lessons for now. If something happens and I have to stop, then I will. But right now I'm just going to take it one step at a time and the first step is to keep taking lessons. (Yay!!!)

I'm more happy that I'm going to keep taking lessons than that I did well at exams. I think learning new music and practicing piano is much more fun than a piece of paper with numbers on it. I'm glad that I got a good grade, but at the same time I know that I didn't play as well as I can play, and I also know that I have a lot more to learn. I'm just super happy that I'm going to have the opportunity to learn more, and I am going to try to apply myself and appreciate these lessons more.

Now that exams are over, I have a whole list of summer projects to begin and I can hardly wait!!! I'm going to start school (which is super exciting!), paint my room, spend a week at a friend's house, make myself new clothes, garden, and begin working on my next set of pieces. School consists of world history, algebra, writing a novel, biology, and French. I'm really looking forward to it. I should be able to do almost all of it on my own, which is important to me. It helps me if I work on my own hours by myself.

I think sometime tonight I will think, "Oh, wow, I played for the Guild today. It's all over! I got great marks and it's all over!" Right now I'm still in a state of shock. Everything happens so fast that I haven't had time to think it all over. I feel like this week end was a huge rush of events and it's going to take a little time to get used to everyday life again. Ahhh.. tonight I'm just going to relax.. isn't that nice? I haven't been able to do that in a long time. :) -Donata15

A Few Minutes

2008-05-23T14:10:00.005-04:00

I have a few minutes in-between my piano practicing times to write here. So here's the update:

I had my lesson at my teacher's house this week and it was the worst piano lesson ever. My second to last piano lesson before exams and six of my pieces could not be played from memory. Only one was memorized - only one! I was not happy and my teacher was more than a little upset. My one hour lesson was extended to an hour and forty minutes, but it didn't really help. I only got worse as I went along. The fact that I was messing up so much made me more nervous and everything flew out of my head. Thankfully, I managed to keep a straight face until I got into the car. I couldn't keep from crying then, although it was rather embarrassing to be crying in front of my older brother.

Last week I had planned on practicing more - what happened? I'm not really sure, but actions do speak a lot louder than words and whatever plans I had to practice didn't happen. I think I practiced (at most) about three hours. Pretty pathetic. I remember that I was really tired and I was finding it rather difficult to get much done at all, but I didn't really feel that was a good enough excuse to give to my teacher, so I didn't mention it. Anyway, when I got home from the

unpleasant piano lesson I practiced for an hour. Yesterday I practiced for four hours, and today I practiced for two hours with two more to go. My sleeping schedule is finally becoming normal, which is a great help.

Now, I have six pieces memorized with only my Chopin left. It does help that at one point or another all of my pieces were memorized. So, re-memorizing them is not as hard as it could be. I think I will actually be ready for exams although they are only a week away . Tomorrow night I have to play all of my pieces in front of my family; on the 31st I am playing with Adrienne, the Toler's, and I am playing Chopin; exams on the 2nd - and then it will all be over

Something my teacher said made quite an impression on me for I cannot get it out of my head. She said that I was going to be cleaning and cooking for the rest of my life, and that now is the time to practice. Now is the time for piano. It is kind of sad to think that in less than three weeks I will probably not be taking piano lessons anymore. This is my last opportunity to audition for the Guild. It gave me the determination I need to practice like I've never practiced before in order to be completely ready for exams. I'm not wasting these last few weeks. -Donata

The Piano Lesson Aftermath...

2008-05-14T17:07:00.007-04:00

Well... I had the dreaded piano lesson today and the results were not particularly pleasing. Actually, I played really badly. My teacher was not happy and I wasn't exactly thrilled myself. I mean seriously - two of the three pieces I played I couldn't play completely from memory. My exams are less than a month away and most of my pieces have major memory problems. That is not good!!!!!

Here's my plan for the following two and a half weeks: 1) Practice a minimum of two hours a day; 2) do not neglect any piece, but give attention to all nine; 3) aim to practice four to five hours every day; 4) go to bed by eleven every night; 5) get up every morning no later than eight; 6) eat healthy consistent meals; 7) limit my "leisure time" (facebook, blogging, reading, thinking, etc.) to an absolute minimum.

I also have a plan regarding everyday things and not just piano. Along with my sleeping schedule and cutting down on my "leisure time," I also want to start cleaning something up every time I go into a different room. For instance: I get up in the morning - I make my bed. I go into the bathroom - I straighten the towels. I eat breakfast - I clean the kitchen. I get dressed - I clean my dresser. That way I can be cleaning as I go, instead of having to spend an entire day dedicated to cleaning. Those have never really proved to be efficient or productive.

Considering all I have to do, my blogging in the next month will probably be scarce, if not non-existent. You may be wondering why I am taking the time to type up this blog if I really have so much to do. The answer is, I am tired and I need some unwinding time. Here I sit - dressed in a comfortable shirt and skirt, ankle socks, my hair straight and casually let down, a hot cup of Constant Comment tea, and Joshua Bell playing "The Girl With the Flaxen Hair." Ahhh.... :) Such sweet relaxing time. The dishwasher is quietly cleaning in the kitchen, the counters are wiped clean, and the dish drainer is full of clean drying dishes; my little sister is playing a game while my Mom and younger brother read books. Just think - in a couple of minutes I'm going to have to disrupt all of this beautiful peace to practice on the terribly out of tune piano.

That time is now. :( I'll be back at some point in the future, although it may not be near. -Donata15

Sunny Afternoon

2008-05-13T18:10:00.006-04:00

Ahh... at last the sun is shining! It seems like it's been raining for weeks with all of the flooding and mud. I am ready for warm weather and lots of sunshine.

Anyway, I've been super busy recently (as usual) and I have had a lot on my mind too (as usual). To start with, I have felt tired and dizzy with a headache ever since my last post. Instead of taking extra special care of myself to cope with this, I've been taking even worse care of myself. Because I'm tired, I sit around until it is very late before I force myself to get up and get ready for bed. So I get to bed late and therefore get up late. On Sunday night I actually stayed up until seven (actually, that would have been Monday morning). Isn't that awful?

I had a piano lesson on Thursday at my piano teacher's house, instead of at her church. She just got a baby grand piano and it is exceptionally nice. I didn't play very well, but it was certainly a much better piano. I haven't practiced much - mostly because I haven't felt well. I just haven't had the energy or strength needed to practice anything worth practicing.

Entrepreneur Day was on Saturday. Somehow my Dad didn't hear about it until thirty minutes before I had to leave. He wasn't exactly happy about that. I was tired because I had stayed up until two-thirty the night before making cards and bags of tea. My cousins, Matthew and Nancy, took me. Nancy was just as nervous as I was so we didn't discuss any of the possible misfortunes. :) Actually, it went very well and I got to set up my stuff next to some friends and we had a jolly time. I made much more money than I thought I would, and I spent half of it there.

It rained all of Sunday and I felt like such a tired mess. Despite the fact that I had read my Sunday School lesson, I felt horribly unprepared and didn't raise my hand for anything. We got pizza for Mother's Day, which was really nice because I didn't have any dishes to clean up afterwards. :) I learned the memory verse for church, and was able to say it all alone. I don't like saying it by myself, but I figure it encourages Pastor, so I did. I even got up to say something about Mom when the testimonies time came. I had a whole outline in my head until I stood up. As I got up everything rushed out of my head. I'm not even sure what I ended up saying; I was so nervous.

I practiced with my flute-playing friend and the singing family, went out for pizza at Brother's Pizza (which was great fun), encountered flooded out roads everywhere, stayed up until seven (not a good idea), went to choir practice (which was not the best ever, despite the fact that I sang better than usual), and my brother bought me a milkshake (which was very good).

Today has been okay, as far as days go, but not great. I'm still tired, my head hurts, and I have a piano lesson tomorrow that I am not ready for. What am I going to tell my teacher? "I didn't feel like practicing this week." I don't see that going over very well.... oh, well - I will live through it. Anyway, I should go now. I will have to stop listening to Joshua Bell's lovely violin music and endeavor to practice piano.

2008-05-06T20:14:00.003-04:00

Here I am again. Sometimes I get so frustrated with life and how everything is going. It slowly builds up and before I know it I'm crying.

Today I got up later than I wanted to. For some reason I've been super tired recently, so I slept in until almost ten. I was able to get some things done, but I still felt tired. I practiced piano for almost two hours and managed to actually get annoyed. Usually I enjoy practicing, but today it was not going well at all.

Now I feel dizzy and my head hurts. I have so much piano practicing still to do, birthday presents to catch up on, a room to clean, closets to organize, dishes to clean, stories that I want to write, and clothes that I need to make. What do I feel like doing right now? Curling up under a blanket, drinking hot cups of tea, and listening to some music.

Spring Afternoon

2008-05-02T15:26:00.003-04:00

My usual habits have changed for today. You can almost always find me in either a dress or a skirt doing something very "girly". I love playing the piano, scrapbooking, shopping, quilting, bear making, etc. Today, however, I took a break from normalcy and spent my afternoon outside. Dressed in my jean capris black polo shirt, I mowed our lawn, which was in desperate need of it, and I transplanted all of my marigolds into pots. I got the dirtiest I've been in a long time and I had marvelous time.

Unfortunately, this was the week that I committed myself to absolutely, with no exceptions, practicing piano for a minimum of two hours everyday. That may sound slightly ridiculous, but when you consider how many pieces I have to learn, and how much time I have to learn them, it is the only reasonable conclusion. Besides the seven pieces that I must

have memorized and ready for performance by June 2nd, I am also accompanying one of my friends on May 31st (our Church Family Fellowship). She is going to play her flute while I play the piano. Another friend of mine just asked me recently if I could accompany their family while they sing at the Fellowship. I love playing the piano, and I love playing with people, and I love performing, but I'm going to need at least two hours a day of diligent practice in order to be ready.

Yesterday, I bought a recital dress. I love it! It was a little big in places, but Mom is going to adjust it here and there and then it will be perfect. It is off white with pink flowers on the bottom, and it comes with a pink sweater. It is so cute - I can hardly wait until the recital to wear it! The second best thing to performing a piece you love, is to feel pretty while you are playing it. :)

Well... I would love to stay and talk, but duty calls. Despite the fact that I'm not really hungry, I have to go make dinner. So, bye for now! -Donata15

Sunday Afternoon Update

2008-04-27T15:48:00.003-04:00

Well, I had a bad, or rather, as my brother says, a tested day, yesterday. It was really awful - everything from having to kill some baby mice to my brother getting sick at one-o-clock in the morning. I even started the day having a nightmare... I don't feel like getting into the details of anything, but I am ever so glad that it is part of the past now.

Today has been much better. I got up early enough to curl my hair, which always makes me feel better. We made it to Sunday School and the sermon afterwards was particularly good too. I had the gift for one of my friends all ready to go, and the bag of clothes for some other friends ready, and I got to talk to everyone I needed to at church.

Concerning piano, I'm thinking that I'm probably not going to stop altogether, but just switch teachers. The thought of having to stop taking lessons from my Russian piano teacher is sad, but I know the will of God will not lead me where His grace cannot keep me. So, if it is His will for me to change teachers, or even to stop piano altogether, I know I'll be okay. I just wish I knew what His will is for sure.

Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say for now. -Donata15

So Confusing....

2008-04-23T16:50:00.003-04:00

Well... I had a piano lesson today. It was a really great lesson, as lessons go. I mean, I played reasonably well for practicing the record breaking amount of one hour for the whole week. Obviously there were problems, but overall my piano teacher was really pleased.

She told me that I was the only student of hers that was playing seven pieces for exams. Everyone else had downsized to five. I was super happy to hear that, because I always think that I am so far behind the rest of her students.

She also told me, as usual, that I was really improving immensely and that I can go really far if I want to. I could probably even get a scholarship to a college like George Mason if I work hard for a couple of years. It's hard to explain how tempting this sounds. I love piano, and I even love practicing most of the time. Ever since I played at my first recital -five years ago - I have had this dream of becoming really really good and then preforming in concerts.

But, I have already come to the decision of not taking lessons after the recital this year - or at least taking from a less intensive teacher. We can't afford it, the transportation is a problem, I am a highschool student, and I have a family to take care of. (Being an older sister carries a great deal of responsibilities.) Taking piano lessons just doesn't seem at all reasonable. Something is going to suffer. My schoolwork is already suffering, and I feel guilty every time my parents write out a check for my lessons.

What am I to do? If I knew that for sure someday I was going to get married and have children, it would make this decision a lot easier. It is hard to know what God wants me to do. How do I know the difference between signs to stop taking lessons, and obstacles to be overcome by simply trusting God to supply. Should I say, "We can't afford this and it's selfish of me to ask my parents to fund this," or "We can't afford this, but God will provide?" How do I know if piano is something I will hardly ever use in my future, or if it will be a large part of my future?

So many questions and no answers - at least not yet. :) I guess for now, I will just trust that God will provide me the answers. My tentative decision is that unless something changes by June 2nd (i.e. I get a job), my piano lesson days with my Russian teacher are over. -Donata15

Reflections on a Weekend

2008-04-21T15:18:00.001-04:00

I spent this past weekend at a friend's house. It was most refreshing and I now face my coming weeks with new energy and vitality. I have been trying to figure out why it was so stress-relieving to be there. The first things that came to mind were that the change of scenery and the lack of responsibility hanging over me had been the reason. Upon closer observation though, I think those were not the only reasons.

While I was visiting, I noticed something was special about the family. The way the parents corrected the children, the way they prayed, the way they talked to me - it was all motivated by love. Obviously, no one can do everything out of love, although we all would like to, but I could certainly tell that the atmosphere was saturated with 1 Corinthians 13 love.

"Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." -I Corinthians 13:4-7

To see it lived out was such an encouragement to me. I realized that it doesn't matter if meals are unscheduled, if there are always dishes to be done, if the piano doesn't get dusted, or if it is a struggle just to keep up with laundry. All that really matters is if we have love.

"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." -Galatians 5:14

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen." - II Corinthians 13:14