Carey Family

Sue

My Happiness Project

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Five of my dearest friends met together last month to discuss our book club pick: “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin.  We had a lively discussion on the meaning of compromise vs. collaboration and what really makes us happy and what doesn’t.  At first glance, we seem an unlikely group, thrown together originally because of our volunteer work, but the bonds we’ve formed have helped all of us in good and bad times.  They gave me courage to change because I was wavering on how many of the concepts I wanted to implement in my life.  I am not elastic enough to want a full-blown project like the author, so I gave myself permission to cherry-pick some of the ideas that really resonated with me.  So I am going to spend the next few months working on the following resolutions.  Some of these things I do already, but could do better; some need to be started; and some just need to be done with regularity.  I am hoping to see an increase in my level of happiness as I am more mindful of what I choose to do in my life.

Vitality: exercise better; toss, restore, organize; tackle a nagging task

Remember Love: don’t expect praise or appreciation; give proofs of love

Aim Higher: blog regularly; enjoy now; plan my days

Lighten Up: take time for projects; cut people slack

Contemplate the Heavens: scripture study; temple attendance

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Brian Stokes Mitchell concert

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Last night Scott and I attended the Brian Stokes Mitchell concert at BYU and it was fantastic!  I got the tickets as soon as the season ticket options was available in July and it was a good thing because it sold out the first day single seat tickets were available.  He is such an amazing singer and actor and so personable on the stage.  He introduced each song and told stories and I was just in heaven.  He opened with “Some Enchanted Evening” and sang mostly Broadway music, with a Gershwin tune and a “list” song called “Waters of March” by the well-known Brazilian composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim.  During this song he also played the melodion and said he is always asked what that’s called.  He said it’s a harmonica with a keyboard for those, like him, who are too lazy to learn the harmonica.

He sang “Soliloquy” from “Carousel” and said it’s the best musical theater song ever written for a baritone.  I’ve always loved the music from that show and he was so powerful.  He also sang “This Nearly Was Mine” from “South Pacific” which is my favorite from that show and said it’s the 11:00 song from SP.  He explained that when Broadway shows used to start at 8:30 pm, there was always a powerful song that came at about 11 pm in the show that was the apex of the emotional arc of the story and in SP, it’s Emile’s song, “This Nearly Was Mine”.  So I was right to love that one the best. 🙂  His rendition made you feel as if he really had lost everything.  It was awesome.

He also sang “Dulcinea”, “Stars”, “Another Hundred People”, “Wheels of a Dream”, “The Impossible Dream”, “Where is the Life that Late I Led?”, “New Words!”, and “I Was Here”, plus some others.  He was backed by piano, bass, and drums.  The whole show was really great and I am so glad we were able to attend.  After the show we waited in line for an hour and a half to get a program signed for Brian.  We told him that Brian is in the musical theater program at BYU, is a baritone, and dreams of being on Broadway.  He said, “Good for you for spelling Brian the right way, and my condolences to you as parents that he wants to be on Broadway”.  Then he laughed and signed the program, To Brian, Sing!!, Brian Stokes Mitchell

Wherein I Try Something New

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I tried something new: I made an online photo book.  I am a paper scrapbooker who hasn’t really had time to fuss with learning any digital scrapping except cropping and printing photos.  A friend regularly makes online photo books that become hardbound books and has been encouraging me to try it for a very long time.  I saw a big sale on winkflash and decided it was time.  I wanted to make a book for Brian for Christmas that included all his theater gigs to date.  This included 4th grade to 12th grade and seemed like a good candidate for such a book.  It turned out to be more complicated than I had originally envisioned as I tried to collect the photos.  I found that even though I have tried to be good about organizing our digital photos, there was room for improvement because I couldn’t find photos I knew I had taken.

Over the course of three weeks I found photos, sorted, gathered, cropped, fixed red eyes, picked backgrounds, wrote journaling and made a book.  It just arrived in the mail and I was very excited.  I looked through it and saw some things I would do differently on the next book I make, but overall, I was very pleased and it was fun to learn a new skill and be creative.

wrap-up The 2nd Challenge 2010

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2010-2nd-challengeChallenge Guidelines:
There are four levels:
— Curious – Read 3 novels that are 2nd in a series or second time you’ve read the author.
— Fascinated – Read 6 that are 2nd in a series or second time you’ve read the author.
— Addicted – Read 12 novels that are 2nd in a series or second time you’ve read the author.
— Obsessed – Read 20 novels 2nd in a series or second time you’ve read the author.

Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010.

My original post said I would choose Fascinated and read 6, but things changed during the year.  I kept going and ended up with Addicted……..

1. Round Robin, by Jennifer Chiaverini (2nd in a series & 2nd time for the author)

2. Tears of the Giraffe, by Alexander McCall Smith (2nd in a series & 2nd time for the author)

3. The Missing, by Beverly Lewis (2nd in a series)

4. Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine (2nd time for the author)

5. Monster, by Walter Dean Myers (2nd time for the author)

6. The Queen of Attolia: The Queen’s Thief #2, by Megan Whalen Turner (2nd in a series & 2nd time for the author)

7. The Sea of Monsters: Percy Jackson & the Olympians #2, by Rick Riordan (2nd in a series & 2nd time for the author)

8. Dragon’s Gate, Golden Mountain Chronicles 1867, by Laurence Yep (2nd time for the author)

9. Born in Ice, by Nora Roberts (2nd in a series & 2nd time for the author)

10. The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #2, by Michael Scott (2nd in a series & 2nd time for the author)

11. Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen (2nd time for the author)

12. The Fourth Bear: Nursery Crimes #2, by Jasper Fforde (2nd in a series)

Some good news from each of us

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Scott: switched our TV service from Comcast to Direct TV so that we have the correct stations to see ALL the BYU football games this year.

Sue: received “Mockingjay, book 3 of the Hunger Games” in the mail today and will be starting to read it tonight.

Mark: after spending all summer talking to various people at BYU, he just found out that he really had been accepted into the Music Dept. in February but some kind of mix-up sent him the denial letter instead of the acceptance letter; he has been stressed and praying and investigating other options since he got home from his mission in May but now he can do what he really wants to do with his life; not only is he now a music major but they’ve also approved the lateral move to a sound recording emphasis because he’s already taken some of those courses.

Brian: after spending almost 6 months in his first area of Escondido, he is being transferred (we won’t find out where until Tuesday); he is being made a senior companion AND a district leader with this transfer.