SuperBowl Party

Go Ravens! OK, so in all fairness, not everyone was rooting for the Ravens, but I was a bit annoyed with the coach of the 49ers for pulling Alex Smith (a Utah alum like me) mid-season for no reason.

So I was all for the Ravens. I also liked the coach of the Ravens better. He seemed calm and collected even in the crazy moments of the game and his brother seemed to be blowing his top every time he showed up on the screen.

But enough of my game analysis. Let's talk about the party. I cooked chicken chimis for everyone including Bossy's family. The only one missing was Drama Queen. She had commitments she didn't want to break. The kids also feasted on bean dip, chips and queso,

And of course we had to have Oreos and M&Ms! It was definitely a food fest. I have a bit of a sugar hang-over, so I think I'll head off to bed now.

Cleanup will always be waiting for me in the morning. Now where did I put that bottle of Tums?

Crafty's Crafts

I have shelves full of craft materials and sewing supplies in my laundry/sewing room. Usually they stay in nicely organized rows, but occasionally I will head back there to fold laundry, and I will find glue guns, pom poms, and felt strewn everywhere. I almost always know what that means. Crafty has been crafting again.

Sometimes I get really annoyed with her because she forgets to ask and she might cut up a piece of fabric that was ear-marked for something else or borrow from a skein of quilting yarn. But almost always I'm amazed by her creative genius.

These are her latest creations. They are Disney Princess-themed finger puppets made out of felt, wiggly eyes, and bits of yarn. Baby Doll and Scout think they are wonderful and they definitely have their favorites. In fact, everyone seems to have their favorites...my personal one is Mulan.

These fun puppets have also inspired the singing of random Disney songs in our home and I think the girls have YouTubed every one they can think of. Crafty even designed the castle to slip them all back into when the kids aren't playing with the puppets.

They were so popular with the kids that she also made the bride and groom and all of their paraphernalia. 



Now if her creative genius could just remember to unplug the glue gun...

Just a Little More

I know you are getting tired of these piano stories, but I want to tell you just a little more. They say confession is good for the soul...

I also wrote my name on top of my face

The biggest reason I don't accompany groups is because of 7th grade choir. There were two of us who played well enough to accompany our Jr. High choir that year, me and Catherine. She was a favorite of the choir teacher and (in my somewhat biased opinion) she got all the good songs and I got all the hard ones.

I practiced and practiced for hours so that I wouldn't make any mistakes and still my fingers shook when it was my turn. I'm thinking the year was 1978 so I would have been about 13 years old. I was assigned a song that was written by the Carpenters, a group that was pretty popular back in the day.

I was ecstatic! The song was difficult but doable and after several weeks I had it completely mastered and mostly memorized. I rarely missed a note during rehearsals and was looking forward to the upcoming concert. Catherine, however, was not happy. She was struggling with her song but eventually it came together and both of us were ready.

The night of the concert I was very nervous as I slid onto the piano bench. The lunchroom was filled to capacity with adoring parents. My friends were lined up on risers behind us. I played the introduction and they all began to sing.

All went well until about 10 measures from the end of the song. Wait, first let me say that I do not hold grudges and I have long since forgiven Catherine for her careless or deliberate behavior, I'm not sure which. But as we were heading into the final lines of the song, her page-turning left the song book on top of my hands on the piano keys.

There was a loud and gut-wrenching clatter of keys and the band teacher shot me (not her) a withering glare. She snatched the book away and after a couple of awkward attempts I finished the ending of the song by memory.

The following morning I tendered my resignation as choir pianist and from then on I was simply a member of the choir. And other than a brief stint on the organ at church, I have never really accompanied a group since.

Wow, I do sound a little bitter, don't I? Maybe I need to go practice some more...


Anybody know this song? It's called

"Top of the World" by the Carpenters.

Such a feelin's comin' over me
There is wonder in most everything I see
Not a cloud in the sky
Got the sun in my eyes
And I won't be surprised if it's a dream

Everything I want the world to be
Is now coming true especially for me
And the reason is clear
It's because you are here
You're the nearest thing to heaven that I've seen

I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world

Something in the wind has learned my name
And it's tellin' me that things are not the same
In the leaves on the trees and the touch of the breeze
There's a pleasin' sense of happiness for me

There is only one wish on my mind
When this day is through I hope that I will find
That tomorrow will be just the same for you and me
All I need will be mine if you are here


I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world

*Hi, this is Prima Donna! I hope mom won't get mad for me putting this is in here but I didn't recognize the song until I listened to the tune.  I think our choir sang the chorus and a girl did a solo in elementary school because I know all the words to the chorus and I'm remembering it slightly. I should probably look for a program in my scrapbook.*

For You, Little Brother

Are you up for another piano playing story? OK, so playing the piano was a huge part of my life when I was a teenager. I played pretty much every day and used it to relieve stress. Whenever I was upset or angry, those ivory keys absorbed much of my emotion. I had dozens of my favorite songs memorized so I could easily play them through tears of frustration when I had a fight with a boyfriend or failed a test.

Not that I always played that way. Sometimes I just found myself seated on our round stool running my fingers up and down the keys. Now before you start thinking I was talented, I want to confess that by the time I was 16, I only played for myself and the occasional little sibling that would join me. Even more than playing the piano, I loved singing my favorite songs.

My little brother, Randy, is 8 years younger than me. He was one of my piano buddies. We would sing together for hours until neither one of our voices could handle one more note. My other siblings often joined us, but I think he was my most faithful follower and one of our favorite songs to sing was One Tin Soldier. It was from a movie that came out when I was a kid and although I never saw the movie until I was an adult, the song was one that I loved to hear on my little apple-shaped radio.

At some point we acquired the sheet music for this song and I'll bet we sang it 500 times! When I got married and moved out, I took all my music with me even though I didn't have a piano of my own. I just knew that someday that would all change.

Now it's thirty years later. Randy and I don't sing together anymore. He has a family of his own and his wife, Natalie, is an accomplished player (much better than me). Fortunately I've found some new piano buddies. When I started playing again, Prima Donna pulled out my tattered copy of One Tin Soldier. I had sung it to my babies even when we didn't have a piano for accompaniment. Sadly, one of the pages was missing and it was virtually unplayable.

But Prima Donna had a plan. She ordered me a new copy for my birthday! We have been making good use of it. Tonight Sport joined us. It had been a long time since I had sung with a 9-year-old boy and even though some things change, others stay pretty much the same.

Why do I suddenly want to burst forth with a chorus of "Circle of Life?"