Friday, March 30, 2007

Yee Haw!

My Action Research is done! I proofread it and it is complete. Just need to buy more printer paper and check on my ink supply, then I can print it out in hard copy form to turn in. I still have work to do on the brochure and tri-fold for the symposium presentation, but that's not nearly as daunting a task as the research paper was. Those two things and one additional assignment are all I have left to do before I can call it day on this teaching program. As for student teaching, I just have three weeks left of that too. Yippee! Oh, and another note...the Good Humor ice cream man cam through the neighborhood again, so we got some special treats. My son can hear that melody from a mile away, even from his upstairs window. Anyhow, it was a nice way to end the week. Tomorrow we are gonna head over to some friends and I'm taking the day off from school work. Didn't get to enjoy spring break too much as I spent most of in front of a laptop, but I'm a happy girl.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Good news!

And then there was light...at the end of the tunnel. I have finished typing my AR paper at long last! I still have some odds and ends to finish on it, but the worst is over. What a crazy week this has been. The last two days were the hardest as I did a marathon typing session off and on for It hasn't felt like much of a spring break as I have been slav36 hours. I just wanted to get it done and move a big step closer to finishing all of my coursework so I can graduate at the end of April. Woohoo! I slept in this morning til about 10am (stayed up til 2:30 last night). Took the kids to the park, called my best bud Shelley, and then plopped in a chair to relax my brain for the first time in days. I'm periodically getting stuff done on my AR, but not obsessing about it so much.

On another bright note, my daughter is officially potty training again...this time with success! Talk about another long journey. She has been potty training off and on since I began grad school back in August of 2005! I felt that she was just being stubborn about it and would learn when she was ready. Well, she has been out of her pullups for a week now (except for sleeping time) and is excited when she goes tinkle. My magic trick was the same as I did with our son...good 'ol fashioned bribery. If she goes...she gets a star on her potty chart. If she gets enough stars, she earns a prize (a toy). So far it has worked like a charm and she gets really excited whenever she gets a star. Finally! I didn't want to be dealing with a four year old still potty training this summer. Her birthday is in June and I hope that by then she will just go on her own without us reminding her to go.

On still nother positive note, we decided to splurge for our wedding anniversary and got concert tickets to see Celtic Woman in May. We decided it was a rare opportunity and we couldn't pass it up. Prices were actually pretty reasonable and it sold out fast. I've been watching clips of their show on youtube again lately. I blogged about them awhile back, but I thought I'd post another great clip for your viewing pleasure. My favorite member is Lisa Kelly and here she is with another great performance...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfO6JpR5Ip8. Enjoy! Til next time!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Going numb

I am slowly losing all feeling in my legs. Between the several hours last night and some 5 hours I spent typing on my laptop today, my legs are going numb from being in the same position for so long. It's like having a shot of novacaine. My whole body feels achy, almost like a flu coming on. I think it's just the erratic sleeping and eating patterns. My brain is fried, literally. I try to take breaks sometimes, but not very often as I get out of the "zone" I need to be in to write this dang research paper. I am soooooo ready to be done with it. Can I just toss it all out the window and call it a day? Probably not, but it's tempting. The good news is that I made a lot of headway in the last 24 hours. My mother-in-law kindly volunteered to keep the kids overnight so that I could concentrate. It truly allowed me to get tons done. I still have a ways to go, but I managed to finish Ch. 3 and am halfway through Ch.4 (out of five total chapters to write). Lots of little loose ends to tie up like scanning some materials and assembling all the pieces as well, but progress is being made. Can't wait to come up for air! Hopefully by my next blog I can report that the typing portion is done...stay tuned.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Kudos for...

As I drift in and out of homework mode today, I am taking the time to blog periodically as a distraction. I just got off the phone with my best friend and had a realization of how lucky I am these days. It's easy to take things for granted and I thought I'd make a short list of things I am truly grateful for...





  • Two wonderful children who always keep a smile on my face.
  • A hubby who challenges me, makes me laugh, and loves me for me.
  • A best friend who understands me to the core and is my other soulmate.
  • Bloomin' onion from Outback Steakhouse.
  • Good friends to spend time with and have fun together.
  • Parents and an extended family that will always be there no matter what.
  • Slipper socks so soft that they are like walking on a cloud.
  • I will be graduating with a Masters degree soon. Imagine me as a teacher.
  • My AR is almost done!
  • My dear Keely girl who wants to play frisbee no matter what time of day it is.
  • Chips 'n salsa are one of life's little treasures.
  • A roof over my head.
  • Internet access so I can surf youtube, myspace, blogger, and bazillion other places...and to keep in touch with others.
  • Concert tix to see Celtic Woman in May! For our wedding anniversary.
  • A foot in the door of the writing world (TBA).
  • Two cars that run.
  • A digital camera to record all of the kodak moments in our life.
  • Movies to keep us entertained.
  • Jodi Picoult for writing awesome books to read.
  • Hot cocoa!

Oh, there is always more things to add. That's enough for one day though.



Spirit

"We are the people our parents warned us about." This famous quote by Jimmy Buffet was emblazoned across one of my favorite T-Shirts as a teenager. I didn't take it too seriously back then, but nowadays it holds true more than ever. When I'm talking to my kids, I find things my own parents used to say coming out of my mouth without even realizing it. For instance, I caught my son sucking on his two fingers, a habit he's trying to break. He had been covertly doing so and covering part of his face with a his sweatshirt to hide it. Startled by being discovered, he asked "how did you know that?" and I replied with "moms know everything." My mother would be so proud...:)
As I pondered this ironic twist of parenthood, decided to make today a lazy day for the kids. My bronchitis has become chronic and wears me out some days. So I went digging in our movie drawer for a DVD we hadn't watched in quite awhile. I am very selective in the DVDs that we buy, especially the children's ones. To keep my kids occupied, I decided to put on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. It remains one of my all time favorite feature-length animated movies. It is not only a great story about a wild mustang, but it deviates from the typical fare where the animals talk. Instead, Matt Damon provides the narration throughout and makes the sotry feel more realistic from the point of view of the horse. My kids are entranced by it as they loves horses. It doesn't hurt that Bryan Adams provides the soundstrack for the whole movie. Also gave me ample time to get some school work done, except I keep stopping to watch the movie.


Progress Report

Well, after burning the midnight oil yet again...my AR is finally seeing some progress. Last night I was up until 4am! I completely lost track of time and paid for it all day today. I was so tired and achy. I took a long afternoon nap with my kids and am now up again into the wee hours of the morning. I even had a small bowl of Honeycombs and a glass of milk to keep me motivated to finish the note-taking portion of the AR. What a process this thing is. Tomorrow I can finally begin to analyze all of my research data and turn it into something that makes sense. I spent the last two nights grading and taking notes on each of my students' final stories. I realize I may be speaking a foreign language to some of you reading this, especially if you haven't followed my journey in becoming a teacher. The short and sweet version of this neverending story is that I am getting close to the end of this research project.

What makes me really happy is that it is all beginning to come together in my head. I still have to complete my lesson plan templates, triangulate my data into a chart format of some sorts, and create a final writer checklist, and so on. There are a million little details to attend to. It's just trying remember which direction to head next that is the real key. It is 2:30am already and this blog is helping me organize my thoughts on what I need to tackle next. Hopefully, I can blog tomorrow and report even more progress. Action Research this and Action Research that. I eat, breathe, and sleep this stuff. This is my life for the next week. Ain't it fascinating?! At least I got out with the kids for a short while today. We ran some errands and went to the park. Took some cute shots of the kids before the trees lost their blossoms. Gonna go get some sleep now. Hey, I shaved off about two hours from last night's bedtime...:)

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Thank you!

A special thanks to my best friend Shelley for her efforts to update the look of this blog. I've been struggling to change the look of this blog for awhile and she figured it out for me. Now the template finally matches my title! She is as sweet as they come. Thank you!

Brokeback Mountain

Last night I finally sat down with a good friend of mine to watch Brokeback Mountain. Our hubbies were busy gaming on their computers and the kids were happily playing tornados in the bedrooms...:) Anyway, R and I had wanted to see this film for the last year and it was worth the wait. While I don't think it should have won Best Picture (which it lost to another thought-provoking movie, Crash), it was definitely ground-breaking. What sets this film apart isn't not just the love story between two cowboys spannng two decades, but the amazing cinematography that envelops the viewer so completely. The mountain backdrop was grand in scale, lush in scenery, and an amazing sight to see.


I realize the topic is controversial and polarizing, but if the moviegoer can set aside their preconceived notions and/or prejudices they might just experience the simplicity of the movie's appeal. I will admit that while I consider myself to be very open-minded, I struggled at first to accept these two talented hotties, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, as star-crossed lovers. I had trouble seeing past the fact that they are both straight as an arrow and well-known for dating Hollywood starlets such as Kirsten Dunst and Naomi Watts. In fact, the actress who played Heath Ledger's wife, Jennifer Williams (nominated for her role), is now his real life leading lady and mother to his child. It is a tribute to their acting skills that they made their affair so believeable and endearing. They were both nominated for Oscars, but lost out to other actors. I would strongly urge everyone to see this film, because it isn't just a movie about two gay cowboys as some chalk it up to be. It is about how love crosses all boundaries and the powerful hold it can have on all of us.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Unearthing rare finds...

I think I am becoming addicted to you.tube.com. It has kept me hooked on stuff til way too late into the night when I should be getting some sleep. This website is literally a goldmine for retro clips. I started off tonight looking up random musical artists that I liked from the 80's such as Madonna and Rick Springfield. I unearthed tons of Solid Gold clips that will bring you back to the days of yore. At the risk of revealing too much, I secretly dreamed of growing up to be a Solid Gold Dancer at one point. I was really big on the dance shows. From Fame and Flashdance to the wonder that is Xanadu, I was hooked on that scene. Last night, I even found a real blast from the past called Dance Fever. I remember loving that show as a kid. Talk about your obscure stuff.


Anyhow, just when I thought I'd checked out everything there was to see from back in the day...I discovered yet another untapped treasure trove of clips. This time I looked up gymnastics footage from various competitions. Not only can you watch rare clips of Nadia and Olga, but you can also see just about anyone under the sun. What really hit home was when I found some video footage from the 1988 Olympic trials of Kristi Phillips saga to make the team. I had recorded the whole thing on VHS years ago and it got misplaced somewhere over the years. Imagine my surprise and delight to watch her story unfold again. She was always one who really touched me. The fact that I thought I'd never see the footage again only made the discovery all the more sweet. You can watch her story here if you care to...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW4T45sWvl4&mode=related&search= or just watch this flexible phenom in action to see what moves she made famous here...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsfcjrRvxn4.
I dare you to go digging and see what you find! I could blog on and on about other stuff I check out, but I need to actually get some shuteye. Nighty-night!

Monday, March 19, 2007

Places to go, books to read

What a wonderful gift to have a day off with my children. We finished working on report cards Friday afternoon, so my CT and I were given the option to "work" from home. I did work really hard on Sunday and was able to cross several things off of a lengthy 'to do' list. So today I devoted to running errands and hanging out with my two spunky kids. We had to go to Office Depot so I could get a trifold. I wanted to get a jumpstart on my Action Research symposium presentation. Then we headed next door to Barnes & Noble to check out children's lit section. N and K got to pick out one book each and enjoyed flipping through their choices in the reading area.

Afterwards, we made a couple of other stops before going to Costco for groceries and a quick lunch. This particular Costco was built last year and is the largest one in the world. We opted to grab some hot dogs and split a churro. Oh baby, are those churros yummy. Initially, I was going to take the kids to the park after all of our errands were done. However, the rain kicked in and so unfortunately we had to scrap that plan. So instead we went to the library and I let them pick a couple of videos and books to to check out. Between the book store and the library trips, N and K are set for reading material for awhile.


I truly enjoyed this day out with N and K as I have felt a little disconnected from them in recent weeks due to my crazy school schedule. I only have one more week to go of full time teaching and then I go to only three subjects. My courseload is slowly shrinking as I finish eash aspect, so it's home stretch time. With spring break coming up in a week and graduation on the horizon, I can't wait to do more with my kids. Also, on a completely different note I found myself anxious to have the read for pleasure again. I envied my kids that simple luxury. As I scanned the aisles of the book store and the library, I began to mentally compile a list of future reads. Someday down the road maybe I'll blog about my impressions of them as I cross them off of the list. Just for fun, I am adding them here for my own reference. In no particular order...



  • The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner
  • Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
  • Geisha, a Life by Mineko Iwasaki
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
  • The Glass Castle: a Memoir by Jeannette Wallsf
  • Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
  • The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
  • Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
  • In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing by Lee and Bob Woodruff
  • Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Friday, March 16, 2007

Finding the center...

It took me two months to get there, but I finally found my center. The other night on American Idol, Diana Ross coached one of the contestants to find their center so that when they perform they will be focused and ready. Well, that was great advice I think. Teaching is a performance and there is an art to it. I spent a long time worrying and fretting about all kinds of things that raised my anxiety level to unhealthy levels. For the last month I have felt an amazing sense of calm.

It's one of those necessary survival skills I've acquired in the last couple of years to get through the overwhelming amount of work and stress. It hasn't been an easy road, but I am glad to finally be on the right path so to speak. I think in those times of extreme stress, you have to remind yourself that "this too shall pass." And remember that if you can keep your mindset steady and looking forward, time goes by more quickly. While I still have a lot of work to complete, I am looking ahead and finally enjoying the ride. Hey, it doesn't hurt that I'm down to 149lbs and counting! I haven't seen that number on the scale in at least a year. With springtime in the air, it makes me want to get out and get moving. Well, I'm off to teach America's future.

Monday, March 12, 2007

From the great beyond...

Tonight I had a wonderful walk down memory lane. And it happened at just the right moment. I had had another stressful day of student teaching with my CT (must've been his time of the month or something). However, I've been learning how to let his control freak issues roll off my back as much as possible, though it isn't always easy. Anyhow, I had to run out to Office Depot to pick up some copies I had sent off for printing (more Action Research stuff). They had slightly screwed up my order, but I accepted that it was the best they could do. They usually do a really good job and I had to get back to my homework anyway, so I headed home.

On my way into the house, I noticed the constellation, Orion's Belt, winking at me in the sky. For those in the dark, it is an infamous series of three stars in a row. My affinity for this constellation goes back several years. For instance, while I was a freshman in college I worked late at the school library. On my way back to my dorm, I would oftentimes look up at the sky and be bid good night by the ever-present Orion's Belt. That same year, one of my older brothers was suddenly killed. His name was Ryan. Needless to say, it was a terrible time for my family. It might sound a little strange, but the name connection hit home to me. The three stars have often brought me some comfort over the years since his death. I like to think of the winking stars as Ryan watching over me, especially in times of stress.

What's more, Splash just happnened to be on AMC. This movie is a sentimental favorite of mine for many reasons, but primarily because it was one Ryan and I saw repeatedly in the theaters when we were young. For whatever reason, we were obsessed with the film. I think Ryan said he saw it in the theater some 17 times! My tally was only 4 times, but I caught up long ago when I bought it on video. My brother even tape-recorded the dialogue and transcribed the script. We memorized much of the movie and would act out the different parts. Yes, we had odd hobbies as kids. Everytime I watch it, I still know many of the lines thanks to our constant rehearsals.

Our history together was complicated, but he was definitely my creative counterpart. I guess the double whammy of seeing Orion's Belt and Splash gave me a much-needed dose of brotherly love from the great beyond. I still miss him and like to think he's still looking out for me in some way.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Long day's journey into night...

Had a very interesting week. Taught all day Monday, stayed home sick for two days, and returned to teach on Thursday. After school, my supervisor and CT both gave me my midpoint evaluation. Overall it went well. As they sat and discussed the good, bad, and the ugly of my teaching skills, I listened and looked on...responding when appropriate. What they drilled into me was that I needed to be more confident and not worry so much. And by the way, life will only get more intense during my first year of teaching so I should learn to balance it all now. Then I'm told to it this way and then that way and this other way, but be sure to develop my own style. Don't stress out though. Ooooh the irony. The great thing about having your own classroom is that you pretty much call the shots and you don't coursework such as work samples and action research papers hanging over your head. AND you don't have professors cooperating teachers watching your every move like a hawk.

So I went home Thursday night and had to punch out two complete lesson plans and develop a prewriting worksheet due to a last-minute schedule change. At about 12:30 am, I felt pretty good about what I had produced. I came to school tired, but feeling peppy. I sailed through the opening activity with enthusiasm and even began reading that way. Then my CT's moodiness kicked in. He continued to be prickly throughout the day about every little thing, not realizing that HE was a the major reason for my rapidly fraying nerves as I tried to teach. It didn't help that my professor was 20 minutes late for the writing lesson he was supposed to observe. He caught the last 5 minutes or so and then caught a crazy day of math.

We were playing a game and though it began well, it ended poorly. Unfortunately, I didn't plan out certain aspects as well as I should have (it's all in the details with first graders),so they got quite squirrelly and chatty. It also didn't help that today was Friday and they had fundraising activity called Jump Rope for Heart. At the end of the day, they were gonna jump rope in teams in the gym. They were super-excited for this and it was all they could think about. My CT was climbing the walls and his face was turning red whenever the kids weren't acting just so. I think I'm just way more go-with-the-flow on offbeat days like this, where he prefers to maintain order at all times. My CT didn't want to release me from teaching to debrief with my prof, so we he left me some written comments and promised to catch up with me later by phone. Don't know when though. At least the kids and I had a blast in the gym as they jumproped for an hour by day's end. They were so tired out, but with the adrenaline flowing. It was a great way to end the week.

So my CT ends the day with the prophetic announcement that he needed to talk to me about math class and I wasn't gonna like it. Since there were some kids still present, I asked if we could wait until they had at least left. He realized this and agreed to wait. The proceeded to go into grave detail about several little things he noticed that had been going wrong the last couple of days. He felt the children had been walking all over me. I was in partial agreement on that assessment. I had been out two days to battle bronchitis and am still not feeling up to snuff. I listened and felt that he was at last tactfully critiquing me and offering things to to try to fix the situation.

That's what I had been needing from him. It's fine to tell me to work on this or that, but at least give me some tools to work with since he knows more than I do about teaching. Up to this point, he had been using a tough love approach. That was fine in some instances, but not as his entire mentoring style. If you've read any of my previous blogs, this journey has been a long, stressful one. In the end, we came to better understand one another. I was able to share some things that had been on my mind and he responded pretty well. I still expect some days to be challenging, but at least now I feel more at ease. He even knows now that he is kind of my Sgt. Foley (see An Officer and a Gentleman) and laughed at the reference.

We got a babysitter and Hubby took me out for dinner at McCormick & Schmick's. I had Idaho Rainbow Trout and clam chowder. Hubby21 had a $25 coupon, so that saved us some money. Then to stretch out legs a bit and prolong the evening a bit, we walked around the outdoor plaza. We each got a gelato for dessert. Mine was chocolat and oh did it hit the spot. My first gelato ever too.
Afterwards, we came home and found the kids watching Cars. Hubby and N sat together in his chair, while K and I sat together to finish the movie. It was really a wonderful way to end the week. Got to watch Mater "get 'r done!" It capped a very rollercoaster week with just some quiet, and long overdue family time. Woke up this morning and realized I had Stepford kids...that is, they decided to act like robots in voice, movement, and everything else. Very cute actually.


Well, that concludes our program. Stay tuned next time for the ongoing saga of K's potty training. Just wait and see what comes out! Literally!

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Missing: Idle Thoughts

It's interesting how over the last two days that I've been home ill, I was relaxed and not too preoccupied with other things. I got some extra rest in, surfed the net, and worked on some homework to feel a little productive. My mind was at ease. However, since I had to attend class or it would affect my grade, I went. It wasn't too bad actually, but it it just made the reality of all that is due a glaring reality that I can't ignore. It's like telling the sun not to shine in your eyes, there's little you can do about it.

So I went to bed with a lot on mind. I initially fell asleep okay, but then insomnia kicked in. I woke up somewhere around 12:30am and didn't get back to sleep until 2:30am. Just too many thoughts from my "to do" list racing through my head. Today I get to start playing catch up on all that I've missed while I was out sick. Though I'm still battling a cold and bronchitis, I stronger physically. My goal for the next few days is too really tackle my Action Research and the other little things that need to be done. We'll see...off to school for another day of teaching.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

The doctor is in...

After almost 3 weeks of working sick, I finally caved in and stayed home. I haven't been able to shake this cough and was getting another cold, so I also went to see my doctor. Since I had no appointment, they sent me to Nurse Treatment. After a bit of a wait, a nurse took my vitals and called my doctor. He ordered a chest x-ray, so I went over to that lab and had that done. Then I took the x-rays back to the nurse as ordered. That nurse got me an appointment to go see my doctor, so I headed up to his part of the clinic. The front desk lady told me to go right in and give the x-rays to my doctor's nurse. She seemed surprise and said she'd get to me as soon as she could.



Did I mention this is all at Kaiser? Thank goodness for that, because every place I needed to go was right there in the same building. I used to detest Kaiser, but now I actually really like them. It's pretty convenient healthcare overall...but I digress. So I am waiting for about 45 minutes and decide to see approximately how much longer the wait will be. The receptionist calls back to the nurse and gets me right in. The nurse apologizes as she said she didn't realize I had an actual appointment until just then. So she takes my vitals too and I wait for my doctor. After examining me, he informs me that I have bronchitus. He prescribes me some antibiotics and two inhalers to deal with the inflammation and coughing. They told me my oxidation saturation levels were lower than normal due to my difficulty breathing. I guess that simply means that my lungs weren't getting enough air. Went to the pharmacy and spent $45 in meds, plus my copay for the visit, not a cheap day but at least I can start the mending process.


I was given a doctor's note to stay home for two days and rest. I had been pushing myself way too much on account of my solo teaching in the absence of my CT. With all that he has had to deal with personally, I felt that I had to be there no matter what. Well, my body agreed up to a point and then didn't give a choice in the matter. It was a good thing I stayed home actually, because my cold got a little worse. I struggled with whether or not to go in, but I am home again today and am trying to rest. I HAVE to attend class tonight or it will lower my grade. So I am trying to take it easy. I am doing a little homework so that I feel somewhat productive. I will return to work tomorrow and cross my fingers that these meds kick in. It's funny how we take our health for granted and one day we can't. My doctor said if you push bronchitus too far, it can result in pneumonia. That scared me enough to step back a little.




Sunday, March 04, 2007

Boys' Day Out

Well, I am very glad that I was able to talk Hubby into spending the day with our son. I had a lot of homework to do and was trying to come up with alternatives for him and the kids to do while I worked. It was a beautiful sunny day outside and so I suggested that he and our son go to the roadster show at the convention center. He was concerned about money and rightfully so, but I said screw it and have a good time with N.


So they left early and grabbed a bite to eat at Carl's Jr. Then they rode the Max into downtown Portland. So while the boys were out, K and I had some girl time at home. Knowing I couldn't conentrate on homework and keep her happy, I put The Little Mermaid on for her. She was content to color pictures and watch her movie as I tried to get to my homework. Then the phone rings and it is Hubby telling me I better get to the bank to deposit some funds as we were running low.

I got K ready to go and even let our dog, Keely, come along. We went to the bank and put in some funds. All was well with the financial world once again. Well, then we both a got a craving for a milkshake, so K and I each got a small one from McDonald's. I figured if the boys were out having fun, K and I could have a little treat. After running one more errand, we went back home to finish K's movie. I made her lunch and then put her to bed for an afternoon nap. After several false starts, I finally got busy with homework.
Hubby and N came home in the late afternoon very tired. Hubby said they had not only enjoyed the roadster show, but also stopped over at the Saturday Market (yes, they also have it on Sundays) to split an elephant ear. Then they too grabbed a milkshake from McDonald's. Great minds think alike I guess...:) Anyhow, it was a day spent apart, but I was so happy for Hubby and N to have a father-son day out. N really enjoyed himself and got to spend one-on-one time with his daddy. K and I had our own little bonding session. The day was fun AND productive. Not too shabby.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Caledonia

Last night, as I grew bored with the results show on American Idol, I channel-surfed and landed on PBS. It was telethon season once again, which means they pull out on all the stops in their programming. I was treated to an encore concert by an amazing singing troupe called Celtic Woman. I had first seen them last Christmas during the last fundraiser, but hadn't thought about them in awhile. The concert took place last year at Slane Castle in Ireland. If you like celtic music even in the least, you will fall in love with their incredible sound. Think Enya x 6.

What sets Celtic Woman (you'd think that their title would be plural, but it's not) apart is the purity and sweetness of their voices. Whether singing individually or all together, their music really resonates with the audience. One of the members is actually a violinist that dances as she plays, not an easy feat. In addition, their orchestra includes a two percussionists that pound on their drums like a tribal beat and a Irish flutist that plays solos that just call to your soul. The fact that they play traditional and contemporary Irish songs widens their appeal. The only way


As if it isn't obvious, I was really moved by this concert. My hubby and I have been fans of celtic music for years anyway and incorporated it into our own wedding. I guess the only way I can really capture the magic of this concert was that it was literally like poetry set to music. There was one woman in particular, Lisa Kelly, that sang a song called Caledonia that truly stuck with me. Not only was it a lovely song in and of itself, but when you set it against the castle backdrop, a choir, and an orchestra...her performance was the definition of feeling the music with all of her heart. I have never forgotten it and it has since become one of my favorite songs. Here is small lyric sample from the chorus...

Oh, but let me tell you that I love you
That I think about you all the time
Caledonia you're calling me
And now I'm going home
If I should become a stranger
You know that it would make me more than sad
Caledonia's been everything
I've ever had



If you trust youtube, here's just a taste...



Just type in Celtic Woman in the search box and you can easily watch more videos of their performances.