Help

I always hate posting these "I need your help" blogs when it comes to my music stuff, but I really do need your help. If you have time. Sorry if this blog annoys you though. LOL.


I have two songs competing on Ourstage.com right now. They are both in the Semi-Finals to win $100. But....I need as many votes as I can in order to win #1 in each genre. If I can do that, then I will move on to the Finals to compete against ALL other genres with the prospect of winning $5,000 tomorrow night.

Competitions like these help support my music career, and well, help finance album costs such as studio time, software, manufacturing, photography, etc, etc, etc. And now that I'm a stay-at-home-mom /musician I could use this boost.

What you can do to help:



1. Go to ourstage.com and sign up for a quick free profile.


2. Go to the "Instrumental" and/or "Solo Instrumental" genres and start listening and voting. I have "Fly Away" in Instrumental, and "A Beautiful Storm" in Solo Instrumental. If you only have time to vote for one song, please choose Fly Away as it stands a better chance. :)


3. My song will pop up randomly multiple times, so don't stop voting after only seeing it pop up once. And if you've already heard a song, no need to listen to it again - you can just vote.


4. I would appreciate all the votes I can for my music, but of course if you feel someone else's is better, then by all means vote for them instead. But pretty pretty please vote for me. :)


5. You have until 9pm PST tonight to vote. You can do it while at work, in between tending the kids, or if you're utterly bored you can do it nonstop all day long.


Just by way of information, "Fly Away" got #1 in its genre in May and went on to win the #3 spot for the Finals as well. Unfortunately there is no prize for winning #3 though - so help me win #1 this month! :)


THANK YOU!!

Poor Kid

Poor guy. I don't know what crazy mom would dress their baby up like this.

Wait..that's MY baby!! Who's his mommy???

Week in Review

Once again, new parenthood has taken over our lives and we have to resort to doing the "weekly review". :)

Preston wanted to help out though, so here is our week in review from his perspective...

Mom's gunna give me a bath, I just know it. She said I had a diaper blowout. I like bathtime, but I don't like how my hair has been rubbing off. Look at me!

Maybe if I hide underneath this big yellow thing, she won't find me.

Doh! Found!

Dad seems to think it's funny that I do a faceplant into the front of the Baby Bjorn when I fall asleep in it.

This is my mom. She tells me I've been a fussy baby this week. I can't help it if I like it when she holds me all of the time. Now she carries me around in this thing. I guess it helps her gets things done or something like that. I don't really understand why she would want to do anything else besides hold me all the time though. Do you?

This is what Mom did to me the other day. Dad said he didn't like my hair hanging over my ears, and so Mom gave me a trim. She should be grateful that I at least have some hair. Although I am losing it on top. Daddy says I am taking after him.

Mommy makes me sit in this big thing and she walks around with me in it. I like it because it's really bumpy and that is how I like it. She likes it because she says it helps her to shed her babyweight. I thought I was her babyweight, so I'm not sure what she means by that.

Mom also says all her babyweight is being transferred from her to me. She put me in this outfit the other day. I guess it used to be my Daddy's and they want me to wear it for my blessing next Sunday. Mommy says I can't get any bigger in the next week or it will look funny.

Here's me chillin' with a burp cloth on my lap. It's cuz I like to barf a lot. What. Doesn't everyone?

Mom says my face is filling out nicely. She pinches my cheeks a lot. It makes me smile.

And here is me getting fussy. It's what I do best lately. At least that is what Mom says. But she still loves me. I know it cuz she still feeds me. And I like that. And guess what! I'm 6 weeks old now! Mommy says I have to hurry and wear all my newborn onesies as often as I can before they are too small. See my little belly poking out?

Dad says that we have a bear still. He got into our landlord's garbage and made a mess. Daddy had to clean it up since they were on vacation. And then Daddy couldn't even find our trashcan. He had to go deep into the woods to find it. Mommy is scared of bears. Daddy says not to worry though because my crying scares the bears away - it is so loud.

Here is my Mom and Dad. I'm sleeping. Mom put me in this rediculous hat that both Dad and I didn't like. But it was a hit with all the ladies. So I smiled and coo'd.

I guess someone died so this was us at the funeral. That's my Grandpa Southworth. He's a Stake President, and it was one of his counselors that died. Mommy was sad. She cried. She said that the man who died was like a Grandpa to her.

This is Mommy and Grandma and Me. I'm the cute one.

Here's me with Grandpa, Mom and Dad again. Grandma is taking the picture. I love my family. And they love me.

I am excited because I get to meet my other Grandparents next weekend. Mommy says that I will get to meet Grandma and Grandpa Thomas, and Great Grandma and Grandpa Lindsay. I have so many people in my family!

Well until next time. Its past my bedtime now. Goodnight!

Invitation

(click to enlarge)

P.S. Please email Jenni at suitedreamer at gmail dot com if you are planning to come over for the luncheon so we can know ahead of time how much food to prepare. Thanks!

Projects

So I'm finally getting some of my creative energy back and have been enjoying getting some long-anticipated projects done around the house. Here are a few I've been working on...

After 3 years of marriage and the same white cotton sheets, I finally went and bought some nice satin ones. Also a new bedspread and new throw pillows. Our bedroom has been one of the last rooms I've been able to work on since no one ever sees it. My goal is to make it more romantic and a hideaway for Will and I - instead a storage room for everything we don't want company to see.

I want to eventually replace our bed headboard with a 4-poster wrought-iron frame and hang chiffon drapery from it. Also get some nice wall hangings, and a new dresser. We took my old white dresser and put it in the nursury for Preston, and so right now I have no dresser and am just using a storage bin.

Getting a dresser would also provide a place for me to put my jewelry wardrobe again - instead of on top of the entertainment center in our room.

I also am in the process of getting photos printed and framed so that I can re-do our entry way. I want to do a large photo "collage" of mixed sized black framed photos on the wall. I also want to add a saying, but not sure what yet. Possibly something to do with either "Love at Home" or "Families".

I also finally got our dining room table cleared of all perscriptions and hospital paperwork and replaced it with a nice floral arrangement.

The last and most time consuming project will be re-organizing our closet. It's been 9 months since I've journeyed back into the deep dark corner of the pre-pregnancy clothes area. Not to mention I think 1/2 of my clothes are on the floor because while I was pregnant I would attempt to wear a pre-pregnancy clothing item, only to find out it wouldnt fit. I would take it off and be unable to pick it up off the floor because I couldn't bend over. LOL. So yeah...gunna work on cleaning up that mess for sure.

Also, see the lonely instrument in the corner back there?

It's going to be played again. I no longer have rib issues (I had 4 dislocated during pregnancy). I am going to start up teaching piano again at the beginning of August. And you're all the first to know that I am starting work on a new album, set to tentatively be released in August of 2009.

It is going to be called "Portraits" and all music will be themed around nature photography. I asked my Dad to join me in the project and so for the next year he's going around Washington and Oregon and taking photos of some magnificant things like volcanoes, oceans, wildflowers, sunsets, beaches, etc. It will all be piano-based music but think more along the lines of a filmscore for each photo. I will be incorporating more ethnic instruments, vocals (Enya-esque), and I will be playing the violin more on this album.

It will indeed take me the entire year to complete though...right now it seems like I only get piano time in to play lullabies for Preston. Although I do have several themes started for the album.

Big Boy!

Preston had his 1 month checkup yesterday. He is a growing boy! He weighed 10 lbs 15 oz, and was 22.75 inches long! That is compared to 7 lbs 6 oz when he left the hospital and 19.5 inches long! He is in the 75th percentile for height/weight.

I wrote more about his appointment in my Belly Diaries.

Here is Preston - a picture I took of him about 2 minutes ago. I love it when he sleeps this good and I can get a few things done.

Check out his hair though - he is going through the "old man" stage. He had a full head of hair when he was born, but its been rubbing off during his baths and now he has a "receeding" hairline on both sides of his forehead. Hopefully it will grow back in soon.

Will wants me to snip the hair around his ears though because it hangs over. I'm scared to death to do it though - afraid he'll move and I'll knick him with the scissors. So I'm trying to find a good time when he's asleep where I can trim the hair up above his ears so he doesn't look shaggy. (It's bugging Will more than me LOL)

Preston Smiling

Preston will be 5 weeks old this coming Friday, and this morning I got him to smile a bit for me. Newborns don't really know how to smile much, so this is his version of a smile. :) I thought it was pretty cute, even if he was probably tired of me tickling his little footsies.

Youll have to excuse my babytalk.

Family Fun

We had our first official overnight visitors since having Preston. Thanks for coming to visit us Luke, Jenn, Karly, Spencer, Noah, James, and Elizabeth!

We had fun going to the beach at Lake Washington and having a picnic, kayaking, and playing in the water. Then heading down to the pier in Seattle and riding the ferry over to Bainbridge Island and back. The weather was beautiful and we couldn't have asked for better company to enjoy it with!

Will and I sitting on the grass at the park at Lake Washington, eating P&J sandwiches

Luke with his cute little boys - Noah and Spencer - on the ferry in Seattle

Will with our little guy, Preston

A cute little redhead who thinks the sun is way way too bright

Video of everyone on the ferry

P.S. We didn't take very many pictures with our camera, but Luke/Jenn and James/Elizabeth took some so maybe they will post them on their blogs. :)

Time for a Change

Soooooo....what do you think? I'm still unsure.

Week in Review

All right. So we've been slackers with our blog this month so far. But it's probably because the little munchkin has his days and nights confused and I've only gotten about 3 hours of sleep in the last 48. Which seems to be the norm lately...Zzzzz....


But here is what we've been up to when we're not trying to get some sleep...

Preston has been having some serious daddy-son time being packed around the house in the Baby Bjorn (which Will likes so he can have his hands free)

We finally got Preston to take breastmilk in a bottle. Now Will can have some bonding time with him, and it will enable me to get back to teaching piano here in a few weeks so that someone else can babysit him while I teach.

We went up to stay at a fabulous Bed 'n Breakfast called my parents' home. lol. It was actually a Bed 'n Breakfast and Lunch and Dinner. :)

(Below: Preston with Grandpa Southworth. Yep, he's putting on a little face chub and is a big 10 pounder now)

Yummy chocolate mousse made by Grandma Southworth.

We all went over to Whidbey Island for the 4th of July to take some sunset shots (Brandie, sorry we didn't stop by!! It was a last-minute idea)

G&G Southworth watched Preston for a bit so us lovebirds could go for a stroll

And then Preston got to go for a stroll as well...

My mom and I enjoyed the beautiful sunset...

While Will took some amazing pictures...

And then we got to enjoy the fireworks from across the bay going off at Port Townsend.

This morning as I was up at 2:00 am feeding Preston, I heard a very loud bang and got up to look out the window. Our furry neighbor was back and was not so graceful this time about getting into our trash can. I immediately went and woke up Will and said "The bear is getting into our trashcans right now!". By the time Will got to the window to look, the bear had dragged them down the side of driveway and managed to get around Will's doubled-strapped bungee cords.

As you can see, he actually bent the lid to get into the trash.

I called the Fish & Wildlife department this morning. This is the 4th or 5th time Mr. Bear has visited us. Enough is enough. I'm freaking out here.

And this is little Preston having some awake time in his swing as it is about 6:30am right now, and I'm blogging because I'm waiting for him to fall asleep so that I can go back to bed too.

We will be blessing Preston on Sunday, August 3rd and any friends and family are of course invited to attend. Our church is at 11am at the Issaquah Building.

This Sunday will be our first Sunday at church now that Preston will be 4 weeks old this Friday. We wanted to keep him home a month to avoid unnecessary germs and handling. We'll see how he likes it! I've been singing him primary songs every night and he loves "Give Said the Little Stream" and "I Am a Child of God" the best.

Will ran a 19 mile race last Saturday and did great. Preston and I went and met him at the finish line - sorry we didn't get any pictures.

I'm healing up great from the Csection and am pretty much feeling mostly normal, aside from not being able to lift anything too heavy. And its still hard to turn over in bed and my incision is still tender to the touch. But I'm actually feeling really good and will be excited to get the green light from my doctor next month to start exercising again. But in the meantime we have been enjoying slow walks with the stroller.

We are enjoying parenthood, but miss our sleep. :) We look forward to seeing Grace next Thursday, and hopefully Jenn & Luke, and James and Elizabeth too here pretty soon. Till next time!