Wait! On A Positive Note...

There have been good things going on though! 

1) As you all probably know (IF you have read any of previous posts), I teach piano lessons and have been for 2 and a half years. Not only is this great because I'm spreading a love of music and my knowledge and skills to others for their enjoyment, I'm also beefing up my resume and getting my foot in the door to the world of music education. Every year in April, Pittsburg State University (which just so happens to be the college I am getting ready to attend this fall... :D) holds a festival for area grade school and middle school students to perform for ratings: Mid America Music Festival. As a student, I participated in Mid America in 1995 and 1996 playing piano and obtained 1 ratings both years. As a teacher, I have had one student who has went to Mid America (last year and this year). I am so very proud to say that at this year's Mid America, my student earned a 1 rating on her piece. It's almost the end of July and I am still supremely proud of her!!! I am really looking forward to next year with the hopes of having other students get to have the same opportunity to shine for the judges. :) It's times like that that make me feel I have chosen the right career path, and make my journey to my degree totally worth the work and time that I put into it. :)

2) Yes, I know. I've been mentioning Pomplamoose a LOT in recent posts. Do I care? Not at all!!! There are a million reasons why they are my favorite band, like I can identify with them, they're super talented, their music's really awesome and makes me super happy (their newer stuff is great to blare in the car with the windows rolled down and I do NOT care about the weird looks I get from people passing by, as not many people in my town have heard of or are fans of them), and... the list goes on. I actually discovered them at a good time in my life too. However that is a story that I might have to save for later, but if Jack and/or Nataly ever read this, I just have to say THANK YOU!!!!! :) Oh... on to the point of this segment. Nataly Dawn has done a few shows on a new online performance platform (I'm not sure how new it actually is, but it's new to me and may be new to you too!) called StageIt to promote her new solo album that has a yet-to-be-determined release date (and I am patiently waiting, because I am a good fan... okay... mostly patient... I'm only kidding myself... haha). During these shows, she will raffle off her handwritten set list (autographed!) to the highest tipping fan (You can tip the artist on StageIt. Much fun and you know that you're contributing to a good cause: you're helping your favorite artist!). I think I will let the following picture do all the talking now:

If you're wondering, no, Josh was not a happy camper when he first found out, and yes, he did get over it rather quickly. Oh, and yes, this was an excuse to jazz up my blog with a picture. I'm not stopping at just this though. :)

3) In the 3 months since my gall bladder surgery, I have lost 13 pounds! "But Megan, how have you done this?" Easy! Josh and I don't go out to eat anymore so I'm cooking on his nights off, only because I feel it's kind of pointless for me to cook a good home cooked meal for myself so I get to go all out for him, I quit drinking pop (or for those of you NOT in Kansas, "soda..." Today was the first time I had a Pepsi in almost 3 weeks. I'm super proud of myself.), I started working out with one of my best friends via different workout DVD's (although I've been slacking and I need to stop that) and I walk the dog several times a week. I'm way excited. Which leads to...

4) My dog is HOME! I'm so very pleased to say that the newest addition to the Lynch family, Tundra, fits in quite nicely. The cats don't seem to think so, but they're warming up to him. We are currently working on training, as he has not yet learned his manners. This isn't too big an issue though. He's super smart and picks up on commands very quickly. The only downside is that he can be pretty stubborn which is just typical breed behavior when you have a Great Pyrenees. We also spent the first month in and out of the vet's office because of some health issues that needed to be addressed (a missing eye and a tick infestation) and he also needed his shots and other things. We are proud to say that he has a clean bill of health: no more ticks, the empty eye socket has been sealed, and he is putting on weight and looking great! However, at the moment he doesn't exactly look like a Great Pyrenees, as he has been shaved, and his hair is growing back out. This is going to be an every summer thing. I don't want him to suffer in the horrid, humid Kansas heat, and his coat will be grown out by the time the weather starts to cool off. I love my Pyr!!!

So despite all the anger from time to time, I think it's safe to say that I won't be turning into the She-Hulk any time soon. :)

It is time for me to wrap this up though, I have to babysit my friends' kiddos in the morning, and then get ready for my super busy weekend, which will consist of making 4 homemade pizzas and some Mountain Dew cupcakes and going to see "The Dark Knight Rises" Saturday night for Josh's late birthday party with a few of our awesomely awesome friends. He was 25 on Tuesday. Yay! :)

Peace out.

Blowin' Some Steam

Just to clarify, this is not going to be one of those "I'm so mad I'm going to trash talk everybody" types of blogs. Feelings will be spared, and no names will be mentioned. Why? Because 1) I'm too classy to do that and 2) I'm not really mad at anyone in particular.

I'm tired. I'm grumpy. It's been a tough week. The universe has been working against me, from the menial things (realizing right before serving supper that I bought a bad package of hamburger buns) to the downright frustrating major issues (dredging up old issues from many years ago). For some reason, my patience has just been super thin. Hurgh. I also haven't been sleeping worth a crap either, but that could be because Josh doesn't get home from work until around 4:30-ish in the morning, and I've turned my days and nights around. This habit MUST be eradicated before August 20th, as I will be getting up early to get ready for classes. Granted, my classes don't start until 8am and 9am, but I still have to leave an hour early, as I have a nice little 40 mile drive ahead of me before said classes start.

I'm mostly mad at myself for being so damn preoccupied. My mind tends to wander into territories I've been trying to keep off-limits for a long time, which makes me sad/mad/frustrated/conflicted/aggravated/annoyed and any other negative feelings I missed in that list, so I stick my nose in a Sudoku book and solve them. I listen to a lot of rap (songs that make me want to shake my butt tend to perk me up a little bit, even though that is NOT my normal go-to genre). I spend hours upon hours playing games on Facebook nonstop. I tend to forget that I have other outlets: piano collecting dust, a book sitting on my end table with one read chapter, and a neglected journal sitting in my bedroom. I forget I have responsibilities: dishes that need to be done, a dog that needs to be walked and also needs training work, laundry to do, and other housewifely duties. Then the next thing I know, I look at the clock after hours of very little productivity, and it is almost time for Josh to come home from work. Now I'm not grumbling about the lack of a social life (I DO have one!), I'm just frustrated with myself for ignoring my normal, blissfully uneventful life.

I also realized that I had been ignoring my blog. Well, not exactly ignoring it per se, but there is a reason that I don't update very often.

I'm a housewife. I cook meals, keep my house clean, and make sure my husband and pets are well kept. My life isn't exactly the most exciting. My thoughts can be fairly repetitive, which would make daily blogs insanely redundant. When the going gets real bad, I keep it personal. Airing out dirty laundry on the internet for all the world to see is a big pet peeve of mine, and I pride myself in keeping my personal issues just that-- personal. I also don't want to bore anyone with my mood swings (Those depression dips can get pretty low, just sayin'.). When classes are in session, the best you can get out of me is music theory and whatever other subject material get covered in class.

But then again, if you actually know me personally, you would see that there's no wonder I stay pretty wound up. I'm battling a mental/emotional illness, my mom is dead, my immediate family is pretty much split down the middle, my husband and I fight (Although that's just normal. My mom always used to tell me that if you didn't have any fights/spats/disagreements in a marriage that someone's getting walked on. Don't worry, there is no divorce on the horizon, we don't fight that often. We. Are. Fine. Josh and I ALWAYS land on our feet. Together.). These are things I don't like to share to the general public, because I don't like to dwell on negativity. I like to blog about fun things, like my random Pomplamoose plugs (Good music is a gift and should be shared generously) and my silly little discoveries and victories (Anyone remember my gushing over the newfound use of hyperlinks in my blog?) I might talk about how much I miss my mom, and that that loss has impacted my life in a big way, or briefly mention the depression in passing, but that's about the extent of it.

What truly matters though, is that I am alive. I'm healthy. I have a great number of people in my life who love me and make this crazy ride we call life totally freaking worth it. Somehow I feel that I've touched on this before. Here I go with the repetition! Oops!

That being said, I probably ought to wrap this up pretty quickly. Until next time...