another opening.

This sunday I will get to sing like this....

that's me (on the right) in college being an opera singer.

...in this building....

Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland

this picture doesn't do its massiveness justice

...where I will play the part of this woman. Which is an honor.

I'm so excited to be performing again. For those of you who aren't too slick with math (I can barely add!) I was pregnant with Teddy during my run of Hairspray. After the show closed I turned into a giant watermelon, gave birth, and while still shrinking decided to give The Lamb of God a go. I have a very supportive husband who encouraged me to audition when I was still getting the hang of motherhood. His family, and subsequently he, love and respect the arts and that is very lucky and wonderful for me. The show has been such an incredible journey and the rehearsal schedule has been perfect for my new mommy status. It's very important to me to be home with Teddy, teaching and caring for him a majority of my time.

Last night we had tech rehearsal. There was something magical about getting hooked up to a mic pack again. Is that weird?! Singing with full choir and orchestra in a building that sounds like your shower on steroids was pretty amazing.

I am passionate about my family. I am so passionate, and passionately in love with, my son and my husband. I am passionate about my beliefs. There is room in there too for my great passion for music and the good old stage.

What are your passions? How do you make them work/make time for them in your life? Pottery, blogging, scrap booking, sword fighting, swimming, lifetime movie-ing, dancing, photography, biking, hiking, bug collecting, eating chocolate, crafting, reading? tell me.

I'll leave you with the Top 10 Wierdest Hobbies from odee.com if you don't have a passion here's some you could try:

1.playing dead

2.appearing in the background on TV

3.giving away ten dollars to strangers

4.mooing

5.collecting ecstasy pills

6.tattooing vehicles

7.suing

8. gooming dogs (you have to look this one up!)

9.riding rollercoasters

10.knitting breasts (to each his own?)

someone.

Someone has found his hands... and he thinks they're very exciting.

Can you imagine meeting the world for the first time or realizing that those pink balls of dough that whir by your face all day are YOUR HANDS and you can use them to DO things? Baby life is so very exciting. It's amazing to me that we all start out relatively the same way; discovering our hands, peering out at the world through new eyes, pooping our diaps and then all blossom into very different people who discover very different things. This universe is an amazing place.

ps. check out my sister Court's FANTABULOUS craft blog at www.masteringhomemaking.com

cheetah shoes, retrenchment, and other spiritual thoughts.

It was the perfect storm.

Phil started doing our books and felt increasing pressure to find a summer internship that can pay the bills.

I listened to an LDS podcast on the Retrenchment Movement.

Then... I bought amazing shoes.

Let's start with retrenchment. Retrenchment means a cutting down, or back; reduction. In layman's terms this means to simplify. In 1869 Pres. Brigham Young called the women of my church to retrench or, in other words, to simplify their lives.

"I desire them to retrench from extravagance in dress, in eating and even in speech. The time has come when the sisters must agree ... to set an example worthy of imitation before the people of the world.... There is need for the young daughters of Israel to get a living testimony of the truth... We are about to organize a retrenchment Association, which I want you all to join, and I want you to vote to retrench in ... everything that is not good and beautiful, not to make yourselves unhappy, but to live so you may be truly happy in this life and in the life to come."- President Brigham Young

Apparently women were getting very preoccupied with lavish table settings and fine dress. They were spending a great deal of time on embellishing their clothes and preparing big dinners. It all sounds pretty modern to me. I go online and drool longingly at dresses or try to be Martha Stewart only to find myself crying in a pile of glitter with burnt-by-glue-gun fingers.

It was hard for some women to take the lace off of their skirts and simplify their lives but they were encouraged to spend their time enriching themselves in more valuable ways. Now I love a lacy skirt (I think I would have been the girl in the laciest of all skirts as a matter of fact) but my podcast historians explained that it wasn't a puritanical movement (everyone wear black and look morose) but instead a shift in priorities and a returned focus to important things like spiritual growth and testimony.

I haven't been asked to throw away my clothes or stop throwing dinner parties. I think I'll always like to dress well because I love beautiful things. I like to look my best and express myself through what I wear. All of this being said I did take away some new perspectives on priorities in my own life.

Now onto SHOES. I bought the most marvelous shoes. They fit perfectly and looked so sassy... because they're cheetah. Cheetah never ceases to make me feel like a million bucks walking down the street. I brought them home and showed them off. I looked at them lovingly in their box. I'm not sure if I pet them...but I feel like I did at least with my eyes.

Later that night Phil and I talked about some of our financial concerns. Namely him finding summer work to support our growing family and get us through to our LAST YEAR (yeehaw!!!) in law school. In the morning I felt resolute that I should pray for a paid internship. So I knelt down by Teddy's changing table, held his chubby hand and we prayed for Daddy. That's when it came, the strong impression that my shoes were going to have to return to the shoe store and that I had been selfish and that at least during this time of uncertainty I need to retrench.

Now I hope in a few months I'll tell you about how returning the shoes blessed our family and how I happily got to buy them again but that's not what's important. What is important is that the shoes are NOT important. That's what I had to learn.

So what's getting in the way of what will truly make you happy? What distracts you from truly good and beautiful things? If I can return my "SOLE-mates" so can you.

a look back: dressing the pregnant part.

Warning: this post is a parenthetical mess. Everything I wrote brought on an aside (and a thought (within a thought) within a thought)... There I go again!

The other day I squeezed my ever-changing body into my tightest pair of pre-pregnancy jeans. I zipped the steely little zipper and fastened the button. HALLELUJAH. (Cue actual hallelujah chorus ringing through my mind with celestial lights beaming down from the ceiling of my apartment bathroom.) I am still a few steps away from comfortably fitting into my "old clothes" but slipping into those oh so petite joe's was such a triumph (even though I wasn't comfortable enough to wear them around yet) like a medal for every day I've put exercise on the menu and a pat on the back for not saying yes to every single dessert.

As excited as I am to see my old body return I loved being round, spherical, globe-tastic, and lovely (the transitional recovery phase... not so much). I think being pregnant is absolutely gorgeous and excluding a few days wherein I held water like a broken down ship I felt pretty dang... pretty. I really enjoyed the tummy and found dressing to be a blast. I got a lot of great feedback on my preg-outfits and a lot of gasps and surprised faces when I explained to people that I wasn't wearing "maternity clothes." So here are my tips for looking fabulous with child, even when you have that big bowl-full-of-jelly body.

1. There are only 4 real maternity items you need and you can get all of them at target: swimsuit, tank top, belly band, black leggings. The maternity tank was my favorite staple. I wore it as a shirt and paired it with every cardigan ever known to man. Since my arms weren't pregnant (until the very last week!) this was a great way to stay in my own clothes.

2. Buy now and later clothing. Right now stretchy leggings, jersey maxi dresses, and flowing tops and tees are all in so use it to your advantage. Take someone shopping with you who is relatively your original size (I took my little sis) then both try on the same item. Does it work on both the belly body and the original frame? Will it retain elasticity? Then it's a go. Why buy something you can't wear a few months later?

sweater and skirt: Anthropologie, tank: Target, bracelets: Kate Spade, gold hoops: Berkeley Street Seller,

roots: free of charge

see!

3. Belts are your best friend. They help to frame your growing curve and accentuate your new waist which now resides right under your bra line.

tie dye dress and necklace: Anthropologie, sweater: J.Crew, belt: my mom or dad's circa probably the 80's

4. Have fun with clothes. Enjoy wearing crazy patterns and colors. Your tummy may feel larger than life so why not make some flamboyant wardrobe choices? I found my pregnant body could wear things my more understated self couldn't dream of.

soooooo very pregnant in florals and polkadots

Sweater, dress, and belt: Anthropologie (On Sale ofcourse honey boo boo child!)

Shirt: Forever21, Necklace: Ella J Boutique

Swollen face and hands c/o Theodore

5. Shop your own closet. Clothes are more flexible than you might imagine. Many of my dresses became shirts as my womb bloomed.

6. Shop your husbands closet. Nothing is cuter than a baby belly in Dad's gingham button up. If your husband is as trim as mine this won't work in the third trimester... alas.

Shirt: Phil's, Sweater: J.Crew, leggings: Tara's from Anthropologie

So there are my tips. I hope what you take away from this isn't a need to shop but to shop smart and BE THRIFTY. I hope you also know that 90% of my clothes were purchased on major sale because a sucker is born every day but it doesn't have to be me! Maternity stores are absurdly expensive and the clothes are here today gone tomorrow. It's my personal theory that they take advantage of your heightened hormonal state and charge you through the nose (or through the belly button). Nine months really do fly by faster than you think so keep a maternal perspective and remember what's important: the little person growing inside of you. So look beautiful with less cash, get creative, and celebrate your new bod. Heaven knows life is about to get much more expensive!