Life By Lindsey Rae

Sometime last year, when Jerrod and I were in our other ward and teaching the 8-year-olds class at church, I remember we walked by a class of smaller kids, who I am now assuming must have been 3 or 4, and they were learning about how Heavenly Father gives us fish. The lesson was called, "I'm thankful for the fish."
At the time, I said to Jerrod, "I want to teach the lesson about the fish. That sounds like a fun class. haha."
Well, I guess I got my wish, because I am now the new teacher of the 3-year-olds in our branch.

Jerrod and I both got asked to do new things at church. Jerrod is now the branch missionary leader. It's going to be a little bit of a big job...mostly because he has to be to 7:30 am meetings on Sunday's, and we are, of course, not morning people. I'm feeling a little bad for him about that. The branch president stressed to him many times that he really feels that this is the most important calling in the branch. They just started this branch a year ago and they haven't seen the growth in our area like they had hoped because of the housing market being as slow as it is. So, we need to work on our missionary work a lot. Which, of course, every branch or ward does, but when a branch is new, we have to work extra hard to strengthen it.

As for me, I went in and sat with my new class this past Sunday and came to find out that they are quite the handful. A bit out of control. Our primary presidency told me that they didn't have the most structured time in nursery...I guess because they didn't always have a consistent teacher or schedule like needed to. (There is a shortage of people when you have a smaller/new branch, I guess.) So, apparently they are not used to having much routine at church.
I understand that they are 3, but I don't think this means that they are allowed to disobey when an adult tells them "no". I will have to see how it goes once we get going. I am hoping that once we get in a schedule and they come to expect that, they will start to calm down some.

In my efforts to allow myself more productive vocal practice sessions, I've decided that I am going to start doing some recording myself at home. I want to be able to listen back to myself and analyze what I am doing more closely. I also think that it will help me to feel more confident going into the studio. Being primarily a live performer, it's somewhat difficult to get used to the studio setting and adjust to the environment. For example: wearing headphones, like you have to do in a studio, changes the pressure on your ears and so you have to learn to hear things differently. I don't think it's the most natural thing for someone who has a lot of voice training.
I got a mixer and have a new microphone coming to me. Now all I have to do is learn how to use the software. I'm going with Cubase. Just the LE version, but a challenge for me when I have no experience with it. I feel like there are a lot of things I am focused on recently and my head is full of a lot of new stuff.

Ok, so my computer is rebuilt and back to me. (Jerrod put XP back on it instead of Vista, to speed things up, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about that yet...)

Anyway, on Saturday, I tried made a little video and this is the first chance I had to post it. I'm going to have to play around with the settings and editing more on the camera, I think, but this is my start.

It's a couple days after the fact, but here it is anyway.

I spent a little time today playing with my camcorder and I was planning on making my first video blog to post here. However, Jerrod wants me to give him my computer so he can start rebuilding it tonight. So, I don't think I am going to be able to edit my video until at least tomorrow or Monday.
Giving up my computer is always a painful experience. But, it will be better and faster after, so hopefully it will be worth it.

Today I got a prize in the mail. A present from Jerrod, actually. He recently bought me a camcorder and it came today. I got a Canon ZR950. I spent awhile trying to figure out what would be the best for me to get and it was difficult, because since this is my first one, I'm not sure what my use will really be with it. I didn't want to spend too much because of that. But, at the same time, I want something that will have good enough quality videos. So, hopefully this will be a start.
So, I might start making a few video blogs now.

Jerrod, of course, doesn't like his picture taken. He thinks that I may have a lack of subjects to record and so, being he is the only one around, is afraid that I may come after him with it. I told him I may need a pug dog to go with my new camcorder so I have something to record!

So, I just turned on the TV, was flipping through the guide and found a new show. It's called, Bathroom Divas: So You Want To Be An Opera Star?
It's a show that's a singing competition type thing...like American Idol for opera singers and much more low budget. Not sure about the name of the show...I think they call it "Bathroom Divas" because supposedly the singers are going from singing in the shower to singing opera. (However, I don't think that anyone goes from singing in the shower to suddenly being an opera singer...I have personally know is a lot more in between there.)

I'm just very happy to finally see a singing competition on TV that has singers, being judged by real professional, trained singers, coaches and teachers. And nice to see it's not all about showing how bad some people can look and sound on national TV.
It's on a small network, that we didn't have until we got DirecTV. It would be good to see a show like this coming from a more mainstream source, because it would be nice if more of the general public could truly respect the art more and understand the amount of skill it takes for us to learn to sing opera and classical music. It's pretty much a lifelong process, I think.

And actually, I think this is a Canadian show. So, maybe you've already seen it back home?

Tonight we made plans to go down to Franklin, about 45 minutes south, to go to the our church's temple.
Jerrod came home from work a little later than he had hoped, because he had some meetings that held him up and then he was also feeling quite sick. Last time we had planned to go, he had also been sick too, and we hadn't been able to go because of that. But, we didn't want to put off going any longer, so Jerrod said he wanted to try to get there no matter what this time. I felt sorry that he was not feeling so good.

Since were were also running late, we weren't sure if we could get there when we needed to be, but I guess we must have both been praying for it, because the traffic was cleared in some normally busy areas, in rush hour, and we got to the temple with time to spare.
We were also asked to help out with some things while we were at the temple, which was special. I guess that we must have really been meant to be there today, because even with the negativity that tried to stop us beforehand, we were still able to go and have a very good experience that was a great strength to my testimony of the gospel. I could feel the spirit strong, telling me that the things we learn about at the church and in the temple are true. To be able to go into that haven, safe and away from the cares of the world is a blessing. A great opportunity to step back and put life into prospective.

I could watch this over and over again....



Ok, and I also hurt myself again today! This time it was my leg. I was at Hobby Lobby (which is a craft/home decor store) and there was this big metal cross, for a lawn ornament or something, that was sticking out into an aisle, (not put away properly) and I ran into it. I got a bruise on my ankle and it hurt to walk for the rest of the day.
So, now that is two injuries to two limbs, in one week.
(I did wake up with my arm was swollen the next day after hitting it on the weight bench. It's almost better now though.)
It just hasn't been a good week when it comes to the safety of my limbs.

Today the temperature got up to 73 degrees. That's how it should be in February, as far as I am concerned. If it was this nice everyday, I would feel better. I always feel better when the weather is nicer.
So, since it was nice out, I had to work outside to take advantage of the good day.
I mostly finished up organizing my stuff in the garage. Jerrod cleaned it all up a couple weeks ago, and left my stuff on one side for me. But, I couldn't do much with it when it was cold out, because I didn't want to stay outside in that. (I hate cold a lot.)

I seem to have injured myself again. I am a little too good at running into things. When I was cleaning I hit my funny bone on Jerrod's weight bench in possibly the most un-funny way possible. My arm is still hurting very badly hours later and doesn't want to bend anymore. It was more than the average hitting the funny bone.

I also started sanding a cedar chest that I've had for months now, that I have been planning to re-finish. It was a second-hand item that I got awhile back, but I haven't had the chance to do much with it...and also wasn't sure how I wanted to finish it, so I was hesitating to start. But, now I think I am going to do it in black to match our dresser and use it in the bedroom to store extra blankets and that sort of thing. It's pretty dirty right now and so it's going to be a lot of work to clean up. I'm a germ-a-phobe, so that kind of freaks me out. But, at least I got a good portion of the sanding done, which is good. I really have a desire to refinish furniture, because it's cheaper if you can find something good that is second-hand and also, it allows you to be creative in doing a finish you want. But, I really, REALLY hate sanding ...my arms and hands get tired quickly, even with the electric sander.

There has been lots of bad storms and tornadoes in the south tonight, including Middle Tennessee. Doesn't sound like much came into Wilson County (where we are) though. But, there was quite a bit near where we used to live, not too far away. We have had some rain and quite a bit of wind, but from what they are saying is going on in some other areas, nothing very bad comparatively. Hopefully it stays that way. I feel more concerned about storm damage now that we are homeowners and not just renting. It would not be fun to have to be the ones to have to fix things.

My house is not that big...just average size, probably, but after living in an apartment, every time I have to walk from one side to the other, it seems like, ah, it's so far! It's such a long walk!

We had the missionaries from church over tonight, which was nice. Nice of us to feed them! haha, Just kidding.
Jerrod cooked Chili and I made potato casseroles...(don't get too excited now)....from a box. I also made croissants...from a box and cupcakes....yes, also from a box.
That it came from a box is not important...box food can be delicious....the point is that I(helped) cook supper and then donated my food to others. I did something nice today! :)
I also took a few cupcakes to give to the kids of my next door neighbors. They thought it was very sweet, so that made me happy. I did a good deed today, and it even involved making something in the kitchen. Who would have thought....

I was actually able to wake up for church today, which in my mind, was a miracle, because I got little sleep last night and I usually need about 10 hours.

This afternoon Jerrod and I spent some time getting out house organized somewhat more, as we had a bookshelf we got over the weekend to set up in the living room. We had some boxes to moved still and we put them away to make room for the new shelf. Most of those boxes are just full of books and we are going to get another bookshelf to put up in the bonus room to actually hold them.

The shelf we got this weekend was one we have been planning on getting for awhile. We were always planning on getting it, but the furniture store never had it on sale and I, of course, refuse to pay full price for the most part. So, we were kind of waiting to get it and looking around at some other places to see if there was something we liked more for a better price. But, it turned out that this model was going to be going out of stock now and so we ended up getting a floor model at $75 off the regular price. So, it made me feel better to know it was a sale, even if it was a floor model...there is a few scratches that we will repair, but this was the last of this color too, so we didn't have much choice in that.
Anyway, it fills up the room very nicely. We have some pendant lights that we had bought a long time ago to put over top and it actually turned out looking really good over the shelf. Even better than I expected! So, I am very pleased. Now just to figure out what I want to put on it....

Today I spent a lot of the afternoon watching the live broadcast of the funeral of President Gordon B, Hinkley and also some of the memorial tributes to him that were running on BYU-TV.

The service that was held, was, of course, very nice and the spirit of the truthfulness of him being a true prophet of God was definitely felt by all it was definitely felt. It was so great to hear from some of the General Authorities of the church, including President Monson, who will become our next latter-day prophet and president of the church. At the end of the service they showed some video clips of him humbly visiting the members of the church in many places worldwide. And then his greatness was shown; even receiving the highest honors from the President of the United States. The thought then came to me that after seeing just those few short video clips, it would be nearly impossible to deny that a man of God, even a prophet had not just been shown. He could have been no less than a prophet of God.
I felt so sad when I heard President Hinckley had died last week. I felt I wasn't finished having him here! I will miss hearing him speak and his sense of humor and feeling the love he has for the church. He was president of the church for 12 years, which was really most of my impressionable years growing up. As one of the general authorities who spoke today put it, the youth really felt like he was "their prophet," which I think was true. Because, for my generation, he was the prophet that most of us grew up with, so I think we feel a keen sense of closeness to him. And when I was a teenager, it seemed like we had a lot of firesides where he often spoke specifically to the youth and I always thought that was pretty neat that the Prophet thought we as youth were important enough to come speak to us so often.

Throughout the week as I've thought about the blessing of having a prophet today and President Hinckley's guidance to us specifically in the last 12 years, the words to this hymn came to my mind often:

We thank thee, oh God, for a prophet to guide us in these latter-days.
We thank thee for sending the gospel to lighten our minds with it rays.
We thank thee for every blessing bestowed by thy bounteous hand.
We feel it a pleasure to serve thee and love to obey thy command.

When dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us and threaten our peace to destroy,
There is hope smiling brightly before us, and we know that deliverance is nigh.
We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness, we've proved him in days that are passed.
The wicked who fight against Zion will surely be smitten at last.

We'll sing of his goodness and mercy. We'll praise him by day and by night
Rejoice in his glorious gospel, and bask in its life giving light.
Thus onto eternal perfection, the honest and faithful will go,
While they who reject this glad message, shall never such happiness know.