A Second Entry!

I'm actually making a second entry! I'm on a roll.

I am so glad that this hectic week is over. It was the week of opera scenes at BYU. I was playing the role of Madeline in The Face on the Barroom Floor by Mollicone and Meg in Little Women. We had performances every night last week - Tuesday through Saturday. I don't love the either role on my voice. They just don't feel good. Meg is too low and Madeline's part sits right on my passaggio. On top of that, I have been having some vocal struggles the past few days and am wondering if I am getting sick or something. I had a voice lesson on Thursday and Friday and they were both VERY frustrating. I just feel like I am not getting what my voice teacher is trying to teach. But I did just start working with her so I need to be patient. I switched to her studio less than two months ago. She is wonderful. She has sung at the Metroploitan Opera and is still on their roster. I am VERY lucky to have her. I think that there is always a huge learning curve when starting with a new teacher though. I am changing my whole way of thinking about technique and so it will just take time.

Stephen has been gone a lot the past couple months. He was gone for over two weeks in January and for over two weeks in February. But I am flying to Germany next week to see him! He has a performance in Hamburg, playing the Barber Concerto. I can't wait! It will be my first trip to Europe.

It's sometimes really tough having him gone so much. I usually am totally fine for the first week or so, only minimal crying. But then starting into the second week I get all weepy. I just feel like I am on the verge of crying nearly all the time. But I keep surpressing the urge to cry and self-pity until finally at about the week and half mark I break down sobbing. Then after getting it all out, I feel a little better and am less weepy for the next few days. At least this seems to have been the pattern thus far. I will unfortunately have MANY more years to learn how to better deal with his absences.

I try to stay strong for Stephen's sake as well. It wouldn't really help his career any if I am constantly calling him and crying over the phone about how much I miss him. I need to try to be supportive and positive! My dad gave me a blessing a few minutes before I got married that encouraged me to not be selfish in my relationship with Stephen, but to be supportive of his career. I need to keep working on developing that attitude.

So this Wednesday I will be flying to Germany to see him! Only four days! We will be staying at someone's home while we are there. I will try to write more about my experiences there and post some pictures of my first trip to Europe and our first trip to Europe together!

I am the first counselor in the Primary presidency and yesterday we organized a Getting-to-Know-You brunch. The goal was to have the kids get to know their new teachers better and vice versa. It went so well! A lot of kids showed up and just about all the teachers came. It was a great turn-out and a great success.

This morning I am going to drive to Salt Lake to see my Grandma Pieper. When I had told me mom that I was feeling really lonesome, she said, Maybe when you feel that way you should go visit your grandma who has been without her sweetheart for almost 13 years now. Wow. Good point. That would be so hard. Maybe we can commiserate. Or just keep each other company! So I am going to go to church with her and then stay for dinner afterwards. Candice and Peter are coming for the dinner. They drove down from Salt Lake last Sunday to have dinner with me. It's really nice to have her and Peter so close.

I'd better go get ready to go. I'm really liking keeping a journal so far. It's good for me to get my thoughts out.

Never in a million years

I never thought in a million years that I would ever have a blog. But my sister Kashann and I were having a conversation on the phone today, and she told me how nice it has been for her to have a blog as a sort of journal. I told her it sounds all nice and good but I am not the kind of person that could really get into it -- somehow I equate bloggers with creative, crafty people and I am not one. Plus, I don't want to add one more thing to my to-do list. But she continued to do her best to convince me, and I surprised myself by almost buying into the idea. I told her I would look into it, but knowing I probably never would get around to it. She called me up a few minutes later and said that Kennon had just set one up for me called stephenandalainna.blogspot.com. Ummm...okay. So there you have it. I now have a blog, whether I like it or not. Kind of funny actually.

But then I started thinking... Maybe it would be really good if I started keeping a journal again. My journal writing has been ABYSMAL since my mission (by abysmal I mean I haven't written a single journal entry since then). I have been feeling SO guilty that I haven't recorded any of my experiences with Stephen during our dating and engagement and the first few months of our marriage! You know that feeling when it's been SO long since you've written in a journal so you keep pushing it off because the list of things you should be recording gets longer and longer and longer and you don't even know where to begin? That has been my syndrome for the past year and half, and starting this blog may help me break that vicious cycle.

So here goes nothing.