Piano Recital

Molly's piano recital was last night. I have been teaching piano to Molly all semester. I love teaching. Both my parents are teachers and I've witnessed some trying times for teachers, which has taught me to give them the respect they deserve, but consequently extinguished all desire for me to become a teacher. Teaching piano is different than teaching academics, granted, but it still creates that teacher-student relationship where you want this little person to succeed and never give up! It has been a really eye-opening semester.
Since, I'm leaving for D.C. next week, I had to discontinue her lessons, but what kind of teacher would I be if we didn't have a recital with cake and brownies???


















Molly and the keys
















Student and teacher and pretty, pretty flowers



















Molly and family and me

Thank you, Hansens!

Eff stands for Friendship

Friendship comes in all sorts of forms.
I will expand on this subject.


#1 - Bracelets
Friendship bracelets never go out of style. I have a pretty hefty collection of them that have been given to me, made for me, or made by me. The best are the kind that come from special places. Kristen sent me one from Guatemala once, Amber gave me one from Belize, I have a few from my piano teacher to congratulate me on a good performance, I found some purple string in my house last summer and wore it as a friendship bracelet signifying good change. Anyway, I love friendship bracelets. They are like a token of companionship - something that never leaves your side and is always holding on to your arm.







MelissaPearl.

#2 - Concerts and Parking Meters
Friendship comes through music when you go to a concert and carpool with some friends just so they will help you pay the parking meter fee.
i'm kidding.
Sharing music with people is so bonding. Sometimes, when I'm feeling alone, I find a friend in a music artist I've been feeling connected, too. You start singing and dancing and gyrating and before you know it, you've connected with those people on a whole new level.
Last night, Becca, Brooke, Marie and I went to the Thao concert. Afterwards, we talked about how we tend to have epiphanes on life in places and scenes like that. I ask myself, what do people think when they look at me/us? Do we make them happy because we are happy, or do we annoy them with our jovial light? This is called being concerned with how others think [caviat] but in a way that evaluates how our actions and appearances reflect who we are or who I am. In other words, there are lots of different personalities you find in an audience at a concert, and we don't want to be the misfits, we want to be the open-minded.

Marie.Brooke.Becca

#3- Elephants
I think our dear friend Ashley Belle would have us know that friendship comes by way of elephant ride. Friendship with whom - the Indian Elephant Guide, or the actual elephant, you ask? Both. IndianElephantMan teaches you how not to piss the elephant off and the elephant promises a safe ride if you scratch him behind the ears.
This is what we call a conditional friendship.
Better than none at all.
Indian.Ashley.Elephant. [India]


I wish I had pictures to sum up all the ways I've been blessed with friendship lately. There is the good old chocolate chip cookie friendship, the sunday-school-back-scratch friendship, the stopped-in-the-middle-of-the-road-to-say-hi friendship, and the occasional i've-been-waiting-your-phonecall friendship.

Next time on Analyzing Abstract Arbitrary Things in Life that Don't Really Need Analysis:
Living in a Van.

Until then, thank you for reading my blog, dear friends.

Koenig und Koengin

Shoshone (shu-shone) Falls.
This is where you jump
in the air
and gravity
never catches you.

I spent the weekend with my friendboy (if you're dyslexic, that's great) in Brigham City, UT and Twin Falls, ID and then Brigham City again. The days felt like summer time in Alaska - they never ended. We ate frozen yogurt from the frozen yogurt factory, watched movies, did yoga, made cookies and fruit salad, made people laugh, made conversation, and other makeable things. I really loved my weekend.

We roadtripped to the temple Saturday morning. We made a few wrong turns and flipped a few ill-advised u-ees, but we made it their because God doesn't want to stop anyone from getting to the temple, I'm sure.

At the luncheon, we met a couple named Doug and Analisa and they were funny. They liked us a lot. The next day was going to be there first year anniversary. When we said goodbye, I said goodluck on your anniversary in Idaho. I have faith in them because love never fails, not even in Idaho.

This one time in Target, we got frustrated with each other because we couldn't agree on which lamp or candle to buy for the newlywed. But it was quickly resolved when we realized how silly it was and how good kissing feels.


Do newlyweds really need light, anyway?

After the wedding, we went to the waterfalls. We had to blaze some trails down to where they were. We had our own little adventure. They were great and rushing. Really, they were manigifcent. I didn't know Idaho had so much to offer.



We spent the rest of the weekend in his town with his friends and family who I felt were my own friends and family. His dad gave me a fossil, his mom gave me a hug and a kiss, his best friend gave me breakfast on Sunday, I learned how to play the game called Brooklyn in best friend's car, and his nephew blew me kisses. We played pool and I never won, on purpose of course.

My favorite parts were probably when we ate watermelon, walked to church, and when he sang songs on his guitar (and I tried to harmonize).

I had a great weekend.
Thanks, D. Thank you so much.

<3 your kangaroo pouch jacket.