Tra La -- It's May, that lusty month of May!!

Wow. I haven't felt like writing in so long, so nice to be in the mood again. April just kinda sped by, with Sweet Adeline Region 21 contest preparation... and this week contest is upon us! On Friday, May 5th I'll be competing with my quartet, "Hearts Afire" as contestant #10 out of 17; and on Saturday, I'll be competing with my chorus, Tucson Desert Harmony - and we are contestant #7 out of 10.

Contest. Where hundreds of women, all garbed in sequins, sparkles, glitter, all-in-ones (underwear best described as spandex armor), false eyelashes, stage makeup, and uncomfortable shoes. We aim to improve our scores from the previous year(s), and to see what the other barbershoppers in our region are doing. We meet up with old friends, make new friends... oh yeah, and we sing. We sing anywhere someone else isn't already. We sing in the hallways of the hotel, in the bars of the hotel, in the street, on the bus, in our rooms, and of course - on stage! We smile, we talk our butterflies into trying to fly in formation in our bodies, we self-talk, we visualize, we pray. We want to get past ourselves and give a gift to our audience. The gift of a musical experience that they will remember always. We want to judges to be truthful yet kind. We want to feel the love, hear the cheers, listen to the harmony, and laugh with everyone else who understands the inside jokes of a cappella singers. We also shop. We are attracted to things that glitter and shine as blackbirds to bits of tinsel... and there are plenty of vendors who supply us with our necessary goodies!

Himself was one of 26 'seasonals' at work who were asked to stay on permanently, so answers to prayers there! He's now full time employed, full medical benefits *heaving sigh of relief!* and a very decent salary. When you consider that it is a call center, in Tucson (not known for its high salaries and/or decent living wages due to being such a service oriented town...), and it is certainly one of the best companies in town, we are very very pleased. We plan to move back into the house I grew up in, rent it from mom for awhile, then make plans to buy it within the year. We plan to move the end of May, as the lease on the apartment is up May 31. We are very excited to be moving into more space -- and dreaming of all the things we want to do.

I've been traveling to Phoenix every weekend but one in April, due to quartet rehearsals and performances, so I'll be cutting back on that traveling now that contest is over shortly. I have agreed to be on the board for the chorus, so that will be a little more work, but I'm excited about contributing more toward the overall good! :-) I guess what I'm saying is things will hopefully get back to more normal, whatever normal is, in June.

I'll be teaching a craft class twice monthly in June, July, August & September, as well as singing for the June and August birthday parties at Fellowship Square. With another 20 songs under my belt from the birthday parties, by September I should have a complete show together, and can actually start marketing myself to other senior living residences.

I don't know if I'm changing -- regarding to accomplishing goals and increasing my self discipline, but I feel stronger. Hard to really describe... I do *GET* that for something to change, someone has to take a stand. My "stands" have not been rooted -- and I am still going with the flow, rather than staying my ground. I recognize this, and for most aspects of my life, I like the fact that I'm flexible, and spontaneous -- yet in matters of weight loss, exercise and my own business, this 'waving in the wind' is definitely NOT working for me! When I say I'm working 3 days a week, that means I cannot say on one of my designated work days, "sure, I can meet you for lunch on that day..." or think that I deserve a break. Because a break from doing nothing shouldn't be called a break. It should be called selfish and instant gratification.

This makes a lot of sense in my head. *ha ha!!*

Basically, taking 15 minutes at the beginning and the end of my day(s) to plan would enable me to plan to get to Curves... PLAN the meal to cook... plan the birthday cards I want to send, the phone calls I want to make, and the emails/internet surfing time 'rewards'. Maybe tonight I can start that. And make this move the fabulous opportunity it is to do some baby flying with FlyLady.