"The Elephant Diet" Day # 106 Christmas in Black and White

Just when I start wondering if I can really do this thing, I get a song in my 'inbox' to listen to and approve.  It happened again this morning.  I woke up to the song "Christmas in Black and White" in my mailbox.  It is glorious!

The song is an instrumental and is a medley of Silent Night, Angels We Have Heard On High, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and What Child is This.  I arranged it on piano (the black and white ivories...thus the name) with a story in mind.  It starts slowly, demonstrating determination around the holidays to NOT get too busy or stressed THIS year.  But every year, it never seems to fail, the pace picks up and I soon find myself very busy by the time Christmas arrives.  The tempo does the same thing on the piano and moves to a hurried pace by the time we get to the song "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen."  By the time we get to Dec. 25, we are all in need of tidings of comfort and joy.

After the hustle and bustle of God Rest Ye, we slowly move into the song What Child Is This, to remind us to slow down and enjoy the beautiful moments of the season.

The orchestration that Brian Green wrote around my piano parts are gorgeous!  As I listen, I can envision the orchestra on the stage with the grand piano playing this amazing medley.  I can't wait for you to hear it!

It's been a very busy week on top of the fact that my Mother's health has been dancing on the edge of disaster with two falls.  Fortunately, nothing is broken, but she is not able to walk on her own without a lot of pain.  When I go through this with her, it makes me wonder if I truly can sustain this pace of life if something happens to her.  It's the one thing that makes me hesitant to commit to this show.

In the meantime, I have a CD to think about and in two weeks I head to Nashville to start recording vocals.  That means I need to be rehearsing the songs and getting in shape for that.  I'm also trying to arrange a session with an image consultant who will help me pick out a wardrobe for the photo shoot in June.

Tomorrow night I do a concert for a women's event and I really need to get ready for that, plus work on the two songs we'll record in a couple of weeks.

Fortunately, I've been able to get good rest at night, rise around 5:15 a.m. and have plenty of time to start the day with prayer, scripture meditation and exercise.  It helps to keep my life in balance.

Someone recently sent me a blog post from Lance Wallnau and it was so good - I'd like to close out the week with this.  It's a good word about facing our fears when contemplating something big.

If it scares you, it simply means you are doing something you are not yet comfortable doing. That’s all. It does not mean you will get hurt and it doesn't mean you are not courageous. In fact, nobody is really courageous if they feel no fear. The courageous person is the one who does not let the fear they feel control them. In fact every time you move toward the thing you fear, you expand. Every time you do the thing you need to do in spite of fear, you redefine who you are to the one person whose opinion matters most - YOU. Every barrier you break, every fear you overcome, makes you larger on the inside.

What other people think is of little account as long as you guard the reputation you have with yourself. If the thing you are dancing around is not something that is going to cause you physical harm, you need to ask yourself - who will I become if I do this? Every reward you have in life is attached to your growth and your greatest growth comes when you risk something. And courage is not always a physical test. Some are physically courageous but timid in expressing their feelings or having that courageous conversation they have been avoiding. If it scares you - you should look at it twice and ask, "If I do this thing will it make me larger?" If the answer is yes - do it.

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 105 An Answer from HACC

I heard back from HACC already!  I didn't expect to hear so soon.

If I want the Christian Student Fellowship group to sponsor my event at no cost to me, the students must have a prominent role in the performance.

I've pondered this all day and I have come to the conclusion that I'm not sure that is the direction I want to go.  I'm already juggling a lot of things in my life without adding the complication of involving students I don't know on a professional level, especially since it's not a music or dance club or some kind of specialty club that is used to performing.

I honestly don't think I can manage a CD project, a big show, caring for my mother, working part time at the church, doing concerts and events already scheduled AND bring on a group of students too.  One must draw the line and I have the pencil.  : )

I am so delighted that I have made these contacts however, and you never know what might come of this in the future.  For now, I'm off to a good start with the school and felt warmly received from the very beginning.  I have been impressed with their prompt and professional responses.

I feel like I'm on my way to building a good lasting relationship with this school.  For now, I think I need to let go of the idea of having them sponsor the show.

An update on my mother.......I called the hospital on my way to the church last night (I had a meeting to lead) and they told me that she was about ready to be sent home.  The nurse from the retirement community where she lives called later and left me a message saying that they did x-rays and no bones have been broken or fractured.

Can you hear me sigh a big sigh of relief.   I could use two of me sometimes!  For now, the only one of me that I have is very grateful that she is ok.

Now off to a birthday party.  

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 104 Good News and Bad News

The Rose Lehrman Arts Center at HACC where I met Jean and Travis today.

Good news:   I met with Jean and Travis today at HACC.  They seem excited about the possibility of sponsoring my show and confirmed that if they did, there would certainly be benefits for both of us!  The next step is for them to take this idea to the student government group and a few other people to talk about details and the possibility of a contract so that all involved are clear on the deal.

They weren't sure that I could sell tickets if they sponsor the show, so that is a very important detail, but aside from that, I walked away feeling great about the connection no matter what happens in the end.  It was a profitable meeting and Travis - the new president elect of the Christian Student Fellowship Group - was excited about the possibility and shared that their group has never done something of this size but he liked the idea.  He even asked if we could begin our meeting with prayer.  Of course!!!!

Bad news:  As I walked out of the building to my car and felt my soul elevate to another level, I received a voice message that my Mother (who is 90) fell shortly before they called and they were taking her to the ER.  She was apparently complaining about pain in her left hip which is the hip she broke Feb. 13, 2012.  The doctor was so pleased with her progress at her last check up and told me that many people her age never make it this far.  My soul quickly fell from the elevated state it was just in a moment ago.

As I processed this information, I realized that one of my fears about doing this show is how my Mother will be health-wise. Is it safe for me to commit to such a big adventure at this point in her life? I always want to be available to her if she needs me.  A big show will certainly put a strain on my time with her.

On the drive home, I committed all of this to God, one more time, and asked Him to lead my steps and show me what to do.

I'll have to continue my Christmas shop story another day.....gotta run.

"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.