Bree and Patrick

2010-03-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

Still Singing!!!

I am really enjoying being a part of Choral Union this year. We are doing some amazing literature, perfoming in new amazing venues and I get to be around great people too! We have a concert this weekend and then we will prepare to record our next CD!!!! I am so glad that I continue to sing. It really helps keep things in perspective being on the other side of the podium once in a while!

2010-02-20T16:06:00.000-08:00

2009-07-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Shhh...it's a secret!

Patrick and I for quite a while have wanted to put up some art in our house. So, I thought I would give it a try for Patrick's Birthday and give it to him as a present! I am really pleased with how this is looking so far...considering I haven't really painted before! I am going to do then next
layer today and I bought another canvas so I may paint something else too.

2009-06-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

Decorating the Choir Room!

Here are my amazing girls decoupaging our letters! This was such a great day

The Final Product!!!!!

2009-06-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

2 months until the wedding!!!

2009-05-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

Our Engagement Pictures!!!

I cannot believe how fast we got our pictures back.....so quick that I didn't even have a chance to post when we finally got them done! There are almost 900 pictures that we have only started looking through. Here are some of my favorites so far.

2009-05-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

Grandma's

Grandma's are amazing! I am blessed to have my Grandma Fern as well as my almost official Grandma's; Grandma Nadine and Grandma Donna! Patrick right now is with his brother and dad in Colorado visiting Grandma Donna! I wish I could be there with them and I would love to see Grandma Donna, it has been such a long time! I remember when Patrick I first were dating, she lived with Patrick parents and I used to go into her room all the time and we would just talk! I am glad Patrick is there with her now. Here is a picture of the group including Patrick's Uncle Brian and Ric as well as his cousin Richard!

2009-05-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

Herbs

Well I am trying my hand at growing my own herbs: Rosemary, Oregano, Parsley, and Basil! I also have some mint that my mom gave me as well. So hopefully I will find my green thumb!

Tyra, I know you are a pro at this! If you have any tips for a novice I would love it!

2009-05-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

Is it really May?

Over two months ago Patrick and I planned to get our engagement pictures done yesterday! We thought, May for sure would give us some nice weather for our pictures with a backdrop of the great outdoors...but we were so wrong. Yesterdays downpours and roaring winds made the pictures a no go. BUMMER!!!! Our photographer says he rarely cancels a photo shoot even due to rain but the wind was the biggest factor! Patrick probably would have looked like he was standing next to Cousin It with my hair blowing all around my face! We have rescheduled for the 20th so keep your fingers crossed!!!

2009-05-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

Everything wedding!

Now that the wedding is drawing nearer, OK so three months still, I feel like any spare moment I have I am thinking wedding! It is just so exciting! Invitations are picked so now it is definitely getting to the homestretch!

Thanks to Tyra and her ETSY store, I found a great woman who is going to all of the inviations, placecards, programs and all other paper details. It is nice to know I am able to support someone's buisness like Tyra!! She is also spending so much time chatting with me to get the ideas ironed out and it is customized with what I really want, something I would not have found ordering through the normal invitation avenues, especially without spending an arm and a leg! If you have never checked out ETSY take a quick browse! Here is Tyra's store, she makes the most wonderful quilts and baby products! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5126216

These are the amazing placecards I found on the ETSY site!!! This has really shapped all of the details! I am so happy with how everything is coming together and I can now start to envision how the whole place is going to look.

Patrick and I are going to sit down today and pick out music for the reception and go over some other details! Also today we need to decide what we are wearing on Tuesday for our engagment pictures! So excited for that too.

2009-04-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

Anything Goes opens this week!

Shows are April 30, May 1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th!

all shows are at 7pm at Tumwater High School!

2009-03-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

Just a little sneak peak for all of you for the wedding!

I am having such a great time with the planning. I really love how much time my mom and I have spent together because of it. I think we must call each other at least five times a day:)

Love you mom!

2009-03-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Wedding website!!

I know, I know, so much for a new years resolution of keeping my blog updated. But here is what I have been working on!

www.ewedding.com/sites/breeandpatrick

2009-01-20T18:30:00.000-08:00

200 days until the wedding!!!!!

We can hardly wait. We are having a great time planning the wedding and are checking things off the list left and right. Right now I am working on a wedding website! Hopefully that will be ready to view in the next week or so!

08.08.09

2009-01-20T13:19:00.000-08:00

Can you believe is has been eight years since.....I have been able to wear earrings!!!! Yes one day, I picked out my earrings like usual, headed to Olympia High School where I was student teaching and then it began; the itching, burning, the swelling of my earlobes! From that day on, I have only been left to wear necklaces, bracelets, one brand of watch that I am not allergic to, and thank goodness my beautiful ring!! I tried every type of earring, nail polish, neosporen and to no avail, immediate reactions, until this Saturday!

My parents and I were headed to Bellevue to go to a nice dinner and an opera to celebrate my dad's birthday (It is actually today, so Happy Birthday Dad! You are the best!!!!) We got up there early, and went to the Bellevue square mall. I have had my eye on some amazing jewelry for the wedding from the Swarovski store and since they have one there we decided to check it out. The jewelry is amazing! I had pretty much came to the conclusion that I would be wearing clip-ons for the wedding but then the sales lady said that their earrings are made with surgical steel. So I gave it a shot! One minute passed.....nothing, five minutes...still nothing, day three wearing them ....still no signs of an allergic reaction!!! Yea. I LOVE these earrings, however, in retrospect I probably should have purchased something a bit more universal while my ears get used to earrings again, I will look pretty silly sporting these with my Tumwater High School sweatshirt this Friday:) Now I am going to scour the Internet for other earring manufactures that may use surgical steel too!!!!

2009-01-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

The most expensive chocolate I have ever had!

Reagan for the past several months has been home alone during the day. I put up a baby gate blocking the stairs and she then has the entire downstairs to sleep, play and to go outside when she wants through the dog door. Usually when I walk in the house she is sitting on the couch curled up in the blanket and then she gets up and runs to me. Wednesday though was an entirely different story.......

So I got home around 7:30 and as usual came in the through the garage to spot Reagan not in her usual spot but across the house in the living room playing with something. As I got closer I realized is was a bunch of wrappers completly empty and shredded. Lindt truffle wrappers that is, both dark and milk chocolate! Along with the wrapper confetti were patches of melted chocolate in my extremely light carpet! As I shared my disbelief with Reagan at the mess she made it starts to hit me......she ate CHOCOLATE!!!!

Now in a slight panic considering chocolate is poisoness to dogs, I realize how many delectable, soft centered truffles she has devoured and immediately called her vet. Being late in the evening she told me to take her to the emergency vet close to our house. So I hurriedly packed up Reagan and we headed out.
Upon our arrival we were quickly ushered into an exam room where I relayed my dogs fine taste in chocolate. They rushed her to the back and injected her with something to induce vomiting. Shortly thereafter pieces of fine chocolate start to come up, then I hear the nurse say "there's some wrapper in here too", followed by " just got and entire truffle, wrapper and all!" I couldn't believe it!!!!

The vet came into the room and told me Reagan was doing well considering how much she ate, however her heart rate was was 190 and should be around 130. Chocolate contains theobromine. A naturally occurring stimulant found in the cocoa bean, theobromine increases urination and affects the central nervous system as well as heart muscle. While amounts vary by type of chocolate, it's the theobromine that is poisonous to dogs.

At this point she tells me that Reagan will have to stay overnight to be monitored. She might need oxygen, EKG and IV fluids depending on how the night goes. They were really great telling me that they would call if there was any change throughout the night.

So I finally left and of course fell apart thinking about Reagan. Patrick was in Bellevue working so I was on the phone as much as I could be with him and keeping him informed as well as my parents who were at the Governors Ball. It was a hard night for me.

Luckily since I get up so early, I called at 4:30 and they said Reagan was doing great and I could pick her up! We are so lucky that she is ok! However that choloate ended up costing me $458.00 ($8.00 for the truffles) but well worth it.

2009-01-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

New Mindset

Yesterday I started a new fitness routine!!! It has been really tough with Patrick working in Bellevue to get a workout in (he was my workout partner and most importantly my motivator) and the class schedule at our gym was just not fitting into my schedule. So I started P90X. So far so good, it is a hard workout and utilizes a lot of the things Patrick and I did at the gym. I love the intenet componenet of it too, it hopefully will keep me accountable. I actually log on and say when I am going to work out that day or the whole week and then I log in at that time, do my workout and mark when I am finished. It links you up with other people who are working out at the same time as you and actually shows who is there and those that missed their workout!!! So think of me at 5:00 for day #2.

2009-01-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Leavenworth Patrick has been wanting to have a family Christmas in Leavenworth for the last couple of years. This year we made it happen. Patrick's mom, dad, grandma and grandpa were up from California so it seemed like a perfect opportunity! On Christmas day we had my parents come over and we opened stockings and some gifts, had a little breakfast and then loaded up the vehicles for a beautiful drive to Leavenworth. It was a little surreal to have snow all the way there.

This is Patrick's Dad, Grandmother and Mother enjoying some Bavarian delights!

Here is Patrick and I doing the same! Like our hats? There is a very small but completely stuffed store filled to the brim with hats! Patricks is a true Bavarian hat and very warm I might add. By the way all of our last names Osgood, Yancey and my mothers maiden name Connah were all in the German book of last names!
We also did some with tasting with my Parents!

Leavenworth is absolutely beautiful at Christmas!

2008-12-31T09:28:00.000-08:00

What have we been up to?? A review through pictures.

New Years Resolution #1. Blog at least once a week!!!

Patrick and I went to Bend Oregon for a great trip. We ventured through the lava caves. Here we are at the end! The last five minutes we were litterally crawing to get the end which thanfully opened up a little!
We stopped on the drive to Bend to get some pictures of Mt. Hood. It was a beautiful drive.

We went to a Gypsy Kings concert at the Chateua Ste Michelle Winery with a great group of friends. I think this is the only way I will see a concert again! It was great just to sit on the lawn, share some great wine and cheese and spend time together!

Here we are at the Lynden fair near Bellingham. We went with Chris and Kaysha and wandered around and then sat down for some of the concert!

A caroling we will go....this year two of my choirs caroled all thoughout the community again. This year we added a new venue of Zoo Lights in Tacoma. It was so much fun. Here we all are on the stage after they sang for an hour! This is such a great time of the year!
Patrick had the opportuity to go to Hawaii this year with his friend Jon and brother Joe! They had a great time. Patrick got a lot of great pictures but none with anyone in them! I will have to get Jon's pictures for shots of them on the trip!

Reagan LOVES being under the covers or under a blanket! She is just too cute! I just love having a dog. She is starting to get out of the puppy phase. She sits, stays, lays down, drops a toy and will get up or down on comand. I am pretty happy with her training so far. She still loves paper and if I forget to close a bathroom door I get a toilet paper streamer around the house!!!

Natalie and I both got to play Belle within a years time. What an experience to share! Natalie was absolutly amazing!

2008-05-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

Little Shop opens tonight!!!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks getting ready for the show to open! I think it will all pay off with an amazing show that we can be really proud of! The kids just astound me with their abilities and the sets and costumes are incredible. I am looking forward to some more relaxed time in the the next week without late night rehearsals! This weekend, I am going to see My Fair Lady with my mom at the Paramount....that will be a nice chance to have some fun!!!

Come see the show!

2008-04-06T14:23:00.000-07:00

We bought my wedding dress today!!! I LOVE it!!!! Yea!!!

2008-04-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo! It's Spring Break!!!

2008-03-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

This is my the show that I am currntly musically directing! We have a great cast and we are desiging some pretty ambitious sets too! The show will be up the first two weekends in May!

2008-03-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

Vancouver Pictures! We spent one brisk morning at the Calipano Suspension Bridge. It was a nice walk around the park and they had quite a few suspension bridges between the trees too! The Calipano Bridge is about 250 feet high above the ground! I just love this picture I took at the aquarium! We took quite a few that day but this one in particular stands out to me.
This is The Fish House where the proposal happened! It is right in the heart of Stanley Park! We had wonderful food, great wine obviously lovely conversation and to top it off a decadent chocolate dessert!

2008-03-24T12:37:00.001-07:00

We're Engaged!!!! After a wonderful decade together....we are finally engaged!!!! This has been such a fun couple of weeks as we have started to plan a wedding and the next phase in our lives! I am one lucky girl.

2008-03-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Reagan update!

Now that Reagan is getting a little older she is really getting fun to work with. These pictures are from a few weeks back on our first trip to a park to play fetch.....or really with her right now it is run really fast, bring the ball back and plop down about three feet away from you and chew! Oh well.
This last week has been really great for Reagan because she has been spending every waking second with the Yancey's dog, Poquita! Poquita is such a well mannered dog who can just relax with you, Reagan is finally learning that she doesn't have to run around and play ALL DAY!!! Reagan has really caught on to the commands sit and stay! Pat can have her sit and walk around the corner and she won't budge until he calls her! Woo Hoo!

2008-02-22T13:15:00.000-08:00

Rapunzel picture!

2008-02-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

Fashion and function!

Patrick and I have been attempting to walk Reagan three times a day. I have a wool sweater that I have been putting her in for our walks but now it is always raining. The last time we went out she was soaked! So today I picked up a rain coat for her! There is one I will get for her when she is older and full grown but this one will suffice for right now!!

2008-02-02T07:32:00.000-08:00

Love at first bite!?!?Joe brought over his dog Peter today for our first puppy play date! We were excited to see how the two of them would get along and I was curious to see how Reagan would do with a dog in "her territory". Reagan hid next to either Patrick or I for a few minutes and then the fun began! They chased each other, shared chew toys, jumped and just seemed to have a great time togther! Reagan should be about the same size as Peter when she is full grown so they are a great match! I just love this picture with Reagan on Peters back...notice her little tounge hanging out.

2008-01-30T09:05:00.000-08:00

February 28,29 & March 1, 2008

Olympia High School Performing Arts Center
Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings – 7:00 p.m. Saturday matinee – 2:00 p.m.

After February 4, tickets will be available through the Olympia High School box office, 596-7036 or ohsboxoffice@osd.wednet.edu

$15 Reserved seating (lower section)$12 General admission (upper section)

Cinderella is the other musical I am working on but in the capacity of Musical Director. This production is with the Olympia School District, the same group I did Beauty and the Beast with last year. I always love working with Kathy and Colleen!

2008-01-28T06:04:00.000-08:00

Rapunzel! Right now I am working on two musicals. Rapunzul is the first one coming up in February and I am playing the part of Rapunzul! I am excited to be working with the Olympia Family Theatre for the first time. Their philosophy is theatre for kids, meaning adult actors performing for kids. The show was written by the same people that wrote for the hit TV show "Friends" so it is funny and quirky for kids and adults alike. The shows run from February 15-24th at the SPSCC Mainstage.

Friday February 15th at 7:00 pm
Saturday February 16th (matinee) at 1:00 pm
Saturday February 16th at 7:00 pm
Sunday February 17th (matinee) at 1:00 pm

Thursday February 21st at 7:00 pm
Friday February 22nd at 7:00 pm
Saturday February 23rd (matinee) at 1:00 pm
Saturday February 23rd at 7:00 pm
Sunday February 24th (matinee) at 1:00 pm

Tickets for Rapunzel: The Musical can be purchased from the SPSCC Box Office, or online by clicking here. Call the SPSCC box office at (360) 596-5508 for more information.
Kids (Under 13) - $8Teens (13-18) - $10Adults - $15Seniors - $12

2008-01-27T09:50:00.000-08:00

Our Puppy!!!!! I have waited forever to say those words. I have always wanted a dog and now she is here with us. Her name is Reagan and she is a Minature Pinscher. Right now she is 10 weeks old and weighs around 4 pounds. She is supposed to get between 8 and 10 pounds. She comes to her name (most of the time), likes going on walks, and LOVES to snuggle. Patrick and I are now addicted to the TV show the Dog Whisperer. If you own a dog, it is a great show to watch...really we are training ourselves on getting the behavior we want from her and doing quite well. I really think Patrick is Washingtons Dog Whisperer, he is amazing with her.

Reagan has been to my parents house several times already. They love her (especially my mom). Reagan even went clam digging with us! We bought a bell trainer yesterday that we hope will work for her. We are training her to ring the bell to go outside and go potty! Hopefully it will work!

2008-01-27T09:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas in California!

We had a wonderful trip down to California! It is really amazing all of the things we were able to do and it was great spending Christmas with Patricks family. I was really excited to go to Disneyland for Christmas with all of the lights and the snow machines. Here are Dannelle, Joe, Patrick and I in front of It's A Small World. This by the way was pretty amazing for the holidays. It was all decorated for Chirstmas inside and they played carols from all over the world!
Here we are on Space Mountain!!! I have been waiting to go this on ride for years. Everytime we have come down to Disneyland it has been closed for some reason. I LOVED IT!
I have SO many pictures of all of us in the many looks of Minnie and Mickey!
This is my favorite picture of the two of us from our trip. This was on Tom Sawyer Island.
The amazing icicle covered castle. It was beautiful. Unfortunatly it was too windy that night so they were unable to do the firework spectacular however it still SNOWED!!!

Our real reason for heading to California for Chirstmas was to see Patrick's parents who just moved to down there. Patrick was actually born in California they moved up here when he was in the 5th grade. Most of our time was spent in Ojai and Ventura with all of Patricks extended family!

2008-01-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

Clams anyone??

Here are a few pictures from our first time out clam digging! It was a beautiful day down at Ocean Shores and an amazing sunset. After we got our 15 clam limits we made a bonfire and had smores! It was fantastic...... I can't wait for the next time we go

Patrick's first clam!!

2007-05-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

Roomie Dinner!!!

I had certainly missed my PLU gals. Jaina was so great and planned a whole evening for us! You Rock! We met for dinner down at the Oyester Bar and had a great meal and chance to catch up!

After dinner, the girls went to Starbucks as I rushed back to school to get ready for the our musical Seussical! They came and watched the show that night. It was so nice to see all of you guys and I am so glad we got a picture all togther. I can't wait to get together again!

2007-04-29T16:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Carol, Natalie and I went to The Light in the Piazza. It was amazing! I was already enamoured with several of the songs before we went, namely the title song because my advanced women's choir (Bonne Chanteuse) is singing it, but now seeing the whole show it is all incredible!

Besides the show, it was so great to spend some time with Carol and Natalie outside of choir rehearsal. I am a lucky girl to have them in my life! Carol I hope Gary liked the pizza you brought home to share;) And Natalie as always, muchas gracias for the laughs!

In my choir room, I have on display about 15 musical posters, some from NY, others from Paramount shows, and some I have ordered online. I so was excited to get one for this show. During intermission they were selling nothing, so I was pretty disappointed. Then, at the end of the show they announced they would be selling fully signed posters with the proceeds going to Broadway Cares! Needless to say, Carol, Natalie and I bolted and picked up our fully signed posters! Woo Hoo! I can't wait for the next show!

2007-04-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

A Few Florida Pictures!

Carol and I on Miami Beach!

I am so fortunate at THS to have amazing singers and just all around great kids to be around. Two of Seniors, Alica and Carolyn, made the National Honor Choir! There were only 6 other girls from the State of Washington who were accepted, so you can really see how awesome of an opportunity this was! They did such an amazing job and both were truly changed by the experience. I hope to have kids go to the next National Honor Choir which will be in Oklahoma in 2009!!!

This was taken right after the concert! These are my two students that went, Carolyn and Alicia!

Carol and I had a great time in Florida together! We spent lots of time walking around Miami, shopping, eating, and of course some time on the beach!

Carol and I ate at the Hard Rock Cafe while were there. The HRC is attached to a great outdoor mall. It was so nice to walk around there at night and they also had concerts every night!

We also had the chance to go to the Miami Seaquarium. I can't believe how great this shot turned out because it was on my camera phone:) But we had a great time...Oklahoma 2009 here we come!

2007-04-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

Weekend in Pasco

Saturday morning we all got up to the smell of fresh cooked bacon. Patrick and Kin made bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns for breakfast! We piled into our vehicles and headed out to Pasco where Big Pat and Loreice now live. I had not seen the house yet so I was very excited to finally go. Big Pat picked up tickets for us to see the home opener of the Pasco Fever arena football team. It was a lot of fun, unfortunately the team lost .

The next day we headed out to a miniature golf course! It was a perfect day to out playing! Before we headed to the miniature Pat couldn't resist taking a swing or two! What great form:)

Here is Big Pat lining up a shot!

I caught this shot of Patrick after he his a hole in one! You will just have to imagine one of me leaping into the air after my TWO holes in one!!!!

Jamie and Aunt Lisa as they are getting ready to go! I will miss my wine buddy Lisa:)
On our was back home we decided to stop by a few wineries. We started at Oakwood Cellars. This shot is from the beautiful Terra Blanca and we ended with Blackwood Canyon! What an action packed week! Lots of great memories and fantastic pictures too!

2007-04-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

Happy 50th Birthday Loreice!

This weekend we threw a surprise birthday bash for Loreice's birthday! We got her to our house by telling her that I was singing a Bach Cantata with our schools orchestra....(which will actually be happening sometime hopefully). Her mom and dad, as well as her brother Johnny and his family flew up from California!

I thought this was a fun shot of Patrick, Joe, and Danielle on the stakeout for mom's arrival:) The local family did the first surprise when she first walked in the door! Shortly after, everyone else who was hiding up in the loft popped out! She was blown away to see everyone there, it was a very special moment for all of us!

Here is a fun picture of Patrick, Bree and Kin!

Our gourmet chef in action! Kin made an incredible meal for all of us! From our prosciutto wrapped asparagus to the pork loin.....ummmm! Not only does it taste fantastic but always looks like a work of art! You rock Kin....we are so glad to have you back in WA.

Here is Aunt Lisa and Big Pat waiting for dinner!

Loreice eats many things I would probable never try.....so Pat and Kin decided to have almost like a fear factor set up for her of gourmet delicacies, if that's what you would call it! She had no qualms about trying anything! This is the one that did not taste good to her pallet (pigs blood!) She was brave and you can tell we all got into this event!

It was certainly a fun day and it was also so nice to see all the family from California!

2007-04-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

Spring Break Getaway!

Patrick planned a fantastic trip for us over my Spring Break. We boarded the Victoria Clipper at 7am for a lovely 2 1/2 ride to Victoria. Here is a nice shot of Seattle as we headed off. That is about all I could take of the wind outside so we headed in and had a champagne breakfast! After our boat ride we immediately boarded a bus for a tour of the city and to head to the Buchart Gardens. I did learn quite a bit about Victoria from the tour but on the way back from the gardens all the guide talked about was hallucinogenic mushrooms??!!?? Here are some great shots from the Gardens which were so beautiful and full of amazing colors.

After the gardens, we checked into our amazing hotel, the Fairmount Empress! The hotel is incredibly old but regal with amazing woodwork and furnishings! Our hotel was virtually next to the Parliament building so we walked over there for some pictures and a tour!

We ended our evening with a great dinner at Pescatores and a walk around the city. Patrick was having a blast with our new camera...especially these night shots of the Parliament building and our hotel. Here is the Fairmount Empress.

On Thursday, we had tea in the Empress room. This was quite a lavish event. We were started with a lovely fruit cup while we selected our teas. Patrick chose the Jasmine Green Tea and I had the Berry Tea, both were excellent. Next a three tier platter was brought to our table. The bottom plate was covered with little finger sandwiches. The next plate had scones and a green tea and cream flavored pastry puff, and the top was desserts. Here is a picture we took right after the tea. This is the courtyard of our hotel. Our last sightseeing stop for the trip was to Craigdurrough Castle. The main entry was amazing. It was six stories tall and the woodwork was unbelievable!

And for Pat and I, nothing will stop us from our favorite place to eat if it is nearby. Our hotel was a mere one block away! Yes...the Old Spaghetti Factory. There is nothing like Mizithra! What a great way to finish off a wonderful trip!

2007-02-08T17:55:00.000-08:00

Pizza Sole

Well Carol came down today to take me to a birthday lunch! It was so nice to spend some time with her...since the last time I had dinner with her was...let me see ....Monday:) She picked me up at school and we went to Casa Mia and had our favorite Pizza of all time Pizza Sole. It has red and yellow tomatoes, basil, balslamic vinegar, and several types of cheese. Yum! We also had piece of the richest chocolate cake possible! Carol you rock!!!

2007-02-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

Chris and Kaysha are married!

Patrick, William, Bree and Joe!

Well this weekend Pat and I headed up to Bellingham for Chris's wedding. Pat was the best man and I sang in the wedding. Friday we spent all day decorating the reception hall and made it to the wedding rehearsal just in time! It was my first time rehearsing with the accompanist. I was quite nervous because he reads lead sheets and not classical music...but we made it work. I sure Franz Schubert was rolling around in his grave at the improvized nature of the accompaniment but it worked for the wedding and everyone loved it!

Pat looked very handsome in his tuxedo for the wedding......I think it has been since dances in high school since he has been dressed up in one:) I have some pictures on Pats phone that I will load when he gets home.

The reception was very nice. Billy played DJ and did a fantastic job. My least favorite part of every wedding is......the bouquet toss. TOO MUCH PRESSURE!!! So I as usual sauntered up with all the rest of the single girls and like usual the bouquet was launched over the entire group and probably landed as far away from me as possible. Then Pats turn was up for the garter toss. Chris turned his back to the group for the slingshot style approach. The white garter flew across the room. Pat sprung up and snached the garter!!!! We had a great time dancing and spending some good time together!

It was so nice to spend some more time with Chris and Kaysha, as well as some other friends from High School. I wish them all the best in their lives together:)

2007-01-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

This week John and Shannon came down to see Beauty and the Beast and ended up staying through Sunday. Sunday we had a relaxing day driving around together. We first went to Yelm to that meat market and sampled lots of jerky, including ostrich and buffalo. The lamb was my personal favorite because it was moist and had great flavor. We purchased quite a variety to eat along the rest of our journey! We then headed to down to Centralia to McMenamins. We played three games of pool and thanks solely to Pat, we won all three games!:) Pat and I shared a great sandwich with shredded beef and we also got a beer sampler to try all of their brews..... And what day could be complete without some ice cream. Pat and John are huge fans of the Olympic Mountain Ice Cream which is served at Bayview Thriftway. We once again had many samples:) I went with the Pumpkin Praline Ice Cream, it was delicious. Pat had a scoop of that along with Malt Vanilla. It was a great day and so nice to spend some time with a fun couple!

2007-01-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

Beauty and the Beast

Well it is hard to believe the show is over and done already!! It was an absolute joy to be onstage again! After that reminder I hope to start auditioning for shows in the area. Here are a few great pictures that have been sent my way. I am so excited to get the DVD. They are combining the best clips that they were able to get over the four nights!! How special to have that keepsake!

Thank you to all my friends, family and THS students and staff who came to the show!!! I was astonished to see so many people there!

2007-01-13T19:40:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to be in a show again! I didn't realize how much I missed performing. I have directed, choreograhed, and musically directed about 15 shows in the last 5 years so I am enjoying this time while it lasts. I am musically directing Sussical this year not once but twice. Once at Tumwater High School and also at CTE this summer !

Beauty and the Beast is at Olympia High School

January 18th and 19th at 7pm
January 20th at 2pm and 7:30 pm

2007-01-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

A Caroling We Will Go.....

Well December was a month filled with many concerts and caroling opportunities! This was such a blast with the kids! It is amazing how much they bond even if we are just traveling a block or two!!! Here are three of my girls at the Thurston Mason County Dental Society Christmas Party! This was our first peformance of the season. The venue was beautifully decorated but what made it even more special were are the friends that were there....Tyra and Josh, Don and Alice, Katie and Steve, Mrs. Hamilton !!!! It was pretty fun to have them there:) Another fun place to sing was the Clyde and Dale tree farm. We sang in the gift shop for about a half an hour and then we were pulled around through the tree farm and we sang to all the families as they cut down the trees. It was a blast! Many of the kids got their trees with their families right afterwards. What a great tradition!

Here is Bonne Chantuse! We sang at Top Foods. Unfortunatly our sweatshirts did not make it for the performance. So we attempted Holiday sweaters and scarves. I am in the front with phase one of becoming brunnette for Belle! It was an interesting venue because we were standing facing the salad bar! People would stop by for a song or two and then head off for their produce items. $100 was donated in our name to the Salvation Army so that was nice. They girls were real trooper learning all of the carols. There is so much to do at this time of the year but they are phenomonal musicans and dedicated students! By far my favorite place to go simpley because of the acousitcs is the L&I building. It has the most gigantic rotunda so the ring is unreal. I felt like I was back in some of the cathedrals in Russia and Latvia that I had the pleasure of visiting a few summers ago! The girls were blown away by the sound!

2007-01-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

THS CHOIR CONCERT

December 14 2006

Well it has been a crazy couple of months around here! I had my first big choir concert at Tumwater! It was certainly one I will never forget! The concert was the night of December 14th....and if you can remember that day.....it was the night of the big storm. My princpal announced at the begining of the concert that if the power were to go out that we would all leave and sing "Silent Night" on the way out:) All started according to plan. My Women's Choir sounded wonderul on some very callenging literature then the THS Noteables were a delight as they sang "You Raise Me Up" made famous by Josh Groban, a THS standard Toomba and then "A Charlie Brown Christmas Medley"!!!! These are the new outfits for the Noteables! They are so gorgeous on stage. I especially like havingthe boys in black with their great green tie! It is really sharp! This was the last moment of normalcy at the concert. As I was talking after the THS Noteables ......the power went out!!! As I said before the plan was to head home but the audience was not about to leave. Flashlights were pulled out all around the auditorium, a headlamp was given to my amazing student accompanist, beams of light from flashlights now dimly lit the singers onstage. As they say.....The show must go on!!!!! The kids were amazing! It is amazing the feeling of community and support that was in that room. We could not have had such an amazing experience without that audience. The last half of the concert was in the dark! Bonne Chanteuse was the first choir in the dark. They were spectacular. I feel so blessed working with them. They are phenomonal singers and people! Concert Choir was the last choir onstage. They perormed one of my all time favorite pieces of choral literature, "Five Hebrrew Love Songs" by Eric Whitacre. Accompanied by piano and violin, the harmonies in this piece are increadable! Our final song is in memory of a student who lost her battle with cancer in 2000. We surounded the audience and sang as theylit there candles. They then hummed the tune again as they excited the PAC. It was a truly magical moment. The audience sat in awe for a moment and then erupted in applause!

2006-10-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

This Sunday I got the chance to go see Wicked with my great freind Carol and her daughter Natalie who is also one of my former students! The show was amazing! I also did not realize how funny it was until I saw it live. Plus, Megan Hilty, a Bellevue native, played Glinda and she was astounding!!!! This has certainly made me want to get and out and see more shows. I didn't realize how much I had missed it.

2006-09-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

Patrick's Painting company Sound Painting has really taken off recently!! This is his ad from the phone book that just came out.
Patrick painted my parent's house this summer when they remodeled the kitchen and living room. It is an amazing space now! The Artisan Group headed the remodel. They were so impressed with the quality of his work that they call him almost daily for new projects!
His schedule has been extreemly busy this summer but I know under his tired exterior he is really excited about where Sound Painting is headed! I know that I am extreemly proud of him and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

2006-09-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well I have decided to start a blog for Patrick and I! I am just having a great time catching up on the lives of great friends. Despite miles of separation it is amazing how close this can make me feel in your lives.
Well I have to start my first blog with my experience of being a teacher at THS and our first spirit assembly! The assembly was going great; we were cheering, the dance team and cheerleaders performed, and recognition of the seniors on our sports teams was great......and then we got to the staff and students competition. Two students were called up from each grade level and little did I know, as well as two unsuspecting teachers. I heard Mr. Brimer and then Ms. Osgood please come on down! We slowly headed to the gym floor wondering what was about to transpire? I was handed a large industrial garbage bag, which was pre-cut with holes for my head and arms. I am sure during this time things that I could not post were running through my head. As the kids were cheering they explained all of the stations that my colleague, DJ and I would have to complete. We all lined up and we began......
Station 1 DJ had a large bowl on top of his head and I successfully launched three water balloons into it!

Here I am sprinting to the next station!!!

Station 2 located across the gym, I had to act as his arms and put bright pink lipstick on him as well as gold eye shadow

Perfect shade don't you think! That lipstick actually stained my hand for the day!!

Station 3 Once again on the other side of the gym, we had to pop a balloon between our backs.
Station 4 I then had the pleasure in front of the entire students body, to plunge my face into a bowl of chocolate syrup to locate and remove a cherry from the depths of the bowl!!! Picture my face totally brown now from my nose to my chin!
Station 5 I then had to throw a melted whip cream pie at my colleague (ok your right, that wasn't too bad)
And Finally.....I had to ride piggy back all the way to the other side of the gym!

Oh.....don't we look good!

And just to let you know we did WIN!!!! Ok, Ok, we weren't the official winners, but in our minds we were....they always let the seniors win. They did not carry piggy back......we are calling for a re-match.