"The Elephant Diet" Day # 103 Sparkles and Glitter

I was both thrilled and surprised by what I discovered in the little Christmas shop in 1999 when my husband was sick and preferring to be alone in our 'get away' room for our anniversary.

I stepped into the shop and my little girl eyes immediately filled with wonder. Ornaments of every size, color and kind were available. Hollywood celebrities, fairy tale figures......you name it - they were there. Everything was dressed up in sparkles and glitter.

I've always been drawn to sparkles. As a young girl, I wished to be the baton twirler in the front of the parade so I could wear the pretty sequin outfits. Another dream was to be a professional figure skater. I was always interested in the beautiful wardrobe they wore. Coming from a conservative home, none of that was possible of course. My backyard and the ice on the farm pond were as far as any parade was going to take me.

Now, years later, in this showy Christmas shop, it was the ornaments that captured my attention.....for a while. Then I began to be turned off by all of it. In fact, I stopped looking at all the pizzaz and began a focused search for something more 'real'.

And then, I spotted just what I was looking for.

(To be cont.)

The daily update on my project:

I finished a medley of Christmas carols this morning to be sent off to Nashville for orchestration - if we decide to do that. Right now we are on the fence - should it be just piano or add other instruments to it? It will probably depend on the creative juice of the arranger and how the other songs are coming together on the rest of the project. If all the other songs are real 'big' we might end up keeping it simple. I'll be curious to see how it progresses.

Someone emailed me this morning and suggested I give my mailing address where people could send donations toward the big show. I hadn't thought of that but I love the enthusiasm, so since it was suggested, here it is:
611 Greenspring Road
Newville, PA 17241

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 102 The Christmas Shop

It all started in a little Christmas shop in Ephrata, PA in September of 1999.

My husband and I decided to celebrate our 10th anniversary in a special way and we saved all summer just to take a two-night vacation at the Inn at Donecker's.  We had a jacuzzi in our room and our own special waiter for our own private dining experience with food on the menu we couldn't pronounce. We had a great time laughing at what we thought we might be getting and hoping it was something familiar.  We thought we recognized the word 'angus beef' in the midst of the strong accent of our waiter and decided to order THAT!

Only problem was, I got a very bad stomach virus the day before we left and though it was short-lived, by the time I recovered, Tom and I were out golfing the next morning and he looked at me and said, "I don't feel so hot" and before we could get back to our room, he was already very sick.  He spent the second night of our 'outing' near the toilet.

I needed something to do that night, since he was definitely not in the mood for company.  I headed out to a local Christmas shop to see what I could find.

I was thrilled and then surprised.  (to be continued).


Update on show details.....

• Monday at 3:00 on May 6, I meet with Jean and Travis to talk further about the idea of HACC sponsoring my Christmas show.  Pray for the three of us!
• I heard back from the insurance agent today.  I am required by HACC to have liability insurance for my event.  $200.00 to meet their requirements.  Added that to my expense list.
• Sent a new recording of "Joy To The World" on the piano for Brian Green to begin orchestrating

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 101 Going Deeper

By now you are getting very familiar with all that it's going to take to do a CD and a show.  There's certainly more to come, but I think I'd like to take this a little deeper.  Committing to doing this "one bite at a time" or in simpler terms - doing one thing a day toward my goal (and blogging about it) has had a serious impact on me.

I now ponder other goals in my life and know that I can apply this to any of those goals and make progress.  

But just like the 'inner dolls' in the russian nesting dolls or 'matryoshka dolls' pictured below, there are many layers to this story.  I want to take you to at least doll # 4.  That's the beauty of this blog.  Only those who read it will get to know places inside of me that others may never know.  

One of our pastors recently shared a message using these dolls as an illustration and it was so powerful, I asked if I could use his idea.  I can keep this blog on level # 1 (my public persona) or I can take you to at least # 3 and maybe # 4.  Of course, # 5, represents the places in me that only God really knows.  I think sometimes I tap into # 5, but only as He opens the curtains and lets me peek.  Most of the time it's so deep that I can't get my brain around it.  At times, when I can let go of all earthly worries and details, I can sense that 5th level and that is where my dreams are coming from (in my inexperienced opinion).

Though I will keep you posted on the details as things unfold, right now, I'm going to start sharing the 'why' behind this whole idea of a Christmas show.  Stay tuned.

         # 1 Public     # 2 Family    # 3 Personal   # 4  Hidden  # 5  Unknown

Today I got an e-mail from the president of the Christian Student Fellowship of HACC.  He would like to set up a meeting between the three of us - himself, the advisor and me.

That's good news.

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 100 Caught in the middle!

I was hoping Day 100 would be the thrilling announcement.  Keep praying and (a-hem) mark your calendars anyway.  November 23.  Help me pray that it all comes together for that date.

I presented my vision to another group of people Friday night and they all said they'd be there at the show!  So my group of supporters is growing and I can't wait to step up and say THIS IS IT!

Until then.....

I was able to talk with my producer Friday afternoon and the only way he can provide a score of the music we have so far (in the way the conductor would like) is to stop the creative process they are in right now.  They are cranking out the songs - that's for sure.  But not all the songs are completed, so he would have to stop what they are doing and focus on printing.  As you can understand, there is a flow to this thing and I certainly don't want to stop that.

Once all the songs are completed, we will still want to take a step back and make sure there is final cohesiveness and that all songs are as we want them.  It made sense to me.  But the conductor needs to see the score to know what musicians to hire.  If he can have that by the end of May, he assured me that we can get moving on this beast.  I can see his side too.

Somehow, I felt caught between two worlds.  The orchestral world and the Nashville recording world.  I'm the middle person between the producer of the CD and the conductor of the live show orchestra pieces.  It's not an easy place to be, but I am certainly learning to ask a ton of questions.  (I thought I already learned that lesson).

I'm still enjoying this whole process in spite of the twists and turns.  My producer promised that we could have the score by the end of May.  Time to do a dance.  That's progress.

Looks like I am booked to record vocals for the CD on May 23 and the week of June 18 at the studio of Phil Naish.  That was an exciting piece of news!  

I got to work with Phil in January on the single I'm doing for Creative Soul Records 15th anniversary project and he was very easy to work with.  Now I get to do the whole project with him.  This put some sunshine in my day in spite of the other delays.  Sounds like I'll also be doing a photo shoot in June.  Yikes!  It's coming together fast.

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 99 Waiting

I met with the conductor and his wife today.  I am so grateful for their input and advice.  I know so little about what I am embarking on and they give me plenty to ponder and decide.  He is the connector between my vision and the players I will need to make it happen.  Until he has all the information he needs, I can't move forward.

He needs to see the score of the music being recorded so that we can then determine how many players we need and how that fits into my budget.  Once we know what we need, he can hire them.

When I asked if it was too presumptuous to go ahead and book the venue and set the date for the show, no matter what, he responded with an analogy I could easily relate to.

"Booking this venue and planning to go through with the show at this point in the journey would be like climbing out onto the skinniest branch with someone else holding the chainsaw."

Since I have never worked with a professional orchestra or conductor before, I have considered his words and know that they are probably the voice of wisdom.

So on my way home from meeting with he and his wife, I called my producer in Nashville and told him that in order for me to move ahead with the show, I need to have a score of all the music we have so far.  I have no idea what's involved in that process, but I offered to do whatever leg-work I could do to move this along.

I made another phone call too.  I called the sound company.

The conductor asked me what kind of acoustics the venue has.  He explained to me the difference between an arts center built for theatre and hall built for concert.  Apparently a hall built for theatre is very different and 'dead' so that words are easily understood when someone is speaking.  A concert hall is set up to be 'alive' with reverb so that the acoustic instruments are heard well.  See what I mean.  Of course it makes sense to me.  But I guess my lack of theatre experience just gets deeper.  I didn't grow up in this world of theatre and orchestra halls.  I am learning as I go.  Thank God for people who are patient with my lack of experience and knowledge.

The sound tech is busy setting up for a big convention in Hershey, so I offered to call back on Monday when he is in a better position to talk.  I want to ask him about the acoustics, since he is familiar with The Rose venue and is the one who recommended it to me.

So once again, I am waiting for many more things to fall into place, even though I have already been working so hard at this day after day, bite after bite.  Just as one elephant disappears, more appear.  But it's ok.  I'm learning so much from this.  I am at peace with the process.

Day 100 might not be what I was hoping.  But it will be whatever it needs to be.

Now I must focus on finishing a song for a little boy who will turn 1 on Sunday.  Today is my birthday.  It's been a wonderful day so far.

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 98 Contacts!

Contacted my insurance company to find out the cost of liability insurance that I'll need for an event at Rose Lehrman's Performing Art Center.  (They require that!).

Contacted the Christian Student Fellowship Advisor at HACC and presented the idea of their group sponsoring my Christmas show event at Rose Lehrman's Performing Art Center.  It was received warmly. They meet tomorrow morning.  Since their previous advisor passed away this year, they need to appoint a new one and then my proposal can be passed on to that person.  Praying for favor!

Created a 'thank you' package to be dropped off at the conductor's house tomorrow.  He and his wife have been so helpful through this process (more than they know).  I will also drop off a CD of the music we have so far from TN.  It's a rough mix, but it should give a better idea of what musicians we will need.  I hope he'll give me a 'yes' to doing the show....tomorrow. 

Worked on my Day 100 to do list.  Surprise, surprise!

Enjoyed the moon as I left the studio tonight.  It's so bright.

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 97 Fear or Trust?

Still trying to make a final decision about the show.  Fear is a stronghold right now.  A few thoughts about that.....

Inside Things:

When other people book me on their own initiative through word of mouth recommendations (which is how I get most of my bookings), that feels like a big stamp of approval.  But when I decide to initiate my own creative show and invite people to come, that takes everything to a new level - (I think that's one of the big things I face right now....the reckoning with the old voices that say it's vain to do this - I fought that same mind-set when I started singing my own songs instead of other people's).

Facts:

From what I have figured out so far, just to use the venue, hire a sound and light company, orchestra and conductor, will cost $12,000.00.  Ticket sales alone will not cover this, unless I charge an unmentionable amount for tickets, which I won't do!  That can chase anyone away from a dream if nothing else will.

A remedy?:

As I've taken a few days off from the elephant diet to step back and really examine it closely (plus catch up from traveling so much lately) I realized that fear is the final giant I must face.  However, yesterday, I read an article in a leadership magazine with a phrase that caught my eye and began to release me from the clutches of fear:  "The only remedy for fear is trust."  Jeff Manion - Leadership Journal.  

Is it time for me to trust the desires God has placed inside of me, trust the One who gave me this gift in the first place and trust that as I take one step at a time I will end up where I hoped and have a great journey in the process and touch people with hope around the holidays?

News:

Still getting caught up from being away in NY and CO....just paid sales tax for sales in CO and recorded my sales information in my files for accounting purposes.   

I've been doing music each night at a local church, after working at church all day...and preparing for a ladies' tea in Elizabethtown, PA this Saturday.  I'll be speaking and sharing music on the topic of "Working Out On the Inside Things"....one of my favorite subjects!  

I've been taking a break from blogging because of the busyness and feeling like any spare time I have right now should be used to spend time with my husband, even though it's very little time.  

I'm slowly working my way back into the groove of dieting....eating my elephant, that is.  

Took a few bites today:

...phone calls that will hopefully lead to contacts with HACC to see if their Student Assoc. will consider bringing me in as a guest artist (which could mean no charge for me to use their venue)

...researched more on-line about setting up ticket sales for the event through on-line services

...e-mailed conductor to get a final commitment from him about Nov. 23 (hope so!)

...e-mailed someone else for recommendations on conductors and concert masters in case I need a plan B

.....still going!