A Resolute Pot of Gold

Adam performed in Optorock again this year. This time twice. He performed an original guitar solo that he wrote called "Resolute" to rave reviews! It was really awesome and I'm so proud of him. Here is the video I took on our little camera. I hope the quality is all right and you can hear it.

Here is the other song that he performed. Adam wrote the music, his friend Guy wrote the lyrics and they played it together with their other friend Ben. It was really a good collaboration on all their parts. This one is called "Pot of Gold" and is about finsihing the National Board Exams, and how those exams infringed upon their holidays, especially St. Patrick's Day.
These guys always write such good songs together! This is their third Optorock performance with original songs. They oh so totally rock!

Rejection... again!

Pooey! Another rejection letter for my writing. It's frustrating, but I know I just need to find the "right" fit. But I wanna find it now!

As a side note, it is 74 right now (23 celsius). And I'm loving it. At least the weather was cheerful. Yesterday was 78 (25.5)! That was a tie for the record high in Portland. But it's supposed to rain the rest of the week. Blech.

The Beach!

Today was an especially beautiful day! The sun was out and hot, and it prompted us to head out to the beach.


"The beach in April?" you say. Yes. We had some beautiful weather of late, and I hope it stays. Sorry to brag, but I really can't help it. It feels so good to finally have some Vitamin D!

I went with a 3 other friends and their children and we enjoyed the warm day. We slathered on the sunscreen (and luckily didn't get burned), put on our hats and swimsuits and played in the sand and ocean water.
Lizzy had a blast, and so did I!

Cupcakes and a little more Wicked

Here are a few new pictures that I finally got on my computer and some from friends. Enjoy!

Kathy and I out front in Portland just after seeing Wicked. It was so awesome!

You can see my huge belly here.

The stage before the show opened. That's a map of Oz on a screen that lifted later. On top is a metal dragon that moved and had glowing eyes. I wanted the dragon to breathe fire - I was disapointed.

We got in trouble for taking this picture. It's all copyrighted and apparently we weren't allowed any pictures. Oops!

For St. Patrick's day Lizzy and I got together with some friends in the ward. We made cupcakes and decorated T-shirts. Lizzy also got to make licorice and fruit loop necklaces and bracelets. Those didn't last too long!

Showing off her cupcake!


Lizzy being a princess ballerina.

Dress up with her friend.


Being cute.

Blossoms!!! Hooray!!!

Yesterday I noticed that the cherry trees are starting to bloom! Happy happy day! They are so fragrant too! I just wanted to pluck off a branch and take it home so my whole house would smell like cherry blossoms. Maybe spring really is coming!

Wicked is Awesome!

My friend Kathy and I went to Portland last night and saw "Wicked" at the Keller Auditorium and it was absolutely awesome! We loved it. The music was great and the costumes and stage were fabulous.

Here is a quick plot (courtesy of Wikipedia) for those who are unfamiliar with the play:

"Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Their friendship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, their reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. The plot is set mostly before Dorothy's arrival from Kansas, and includes several references to well-known scenes and dialogue in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz as a backstory."

Sounds very serious like that, but it is in fact a very funny play and very clean. We enjoyed it immensely and I will be buying the music. If you get a chance to see this one, make sure you do! It's awesome!

If I had a million dollars...

I was singing in the kitchen and Lizzy decided to join in. It went like this:

Allison: If I had a million dollars...

Lizzy: I'd buy stuff at the store.

Allison: If I had a million dollars...

Lizzy: But you don't.