Good afternoon/morning everyone! OK…so I had this amazing craving for a Pure Poppy/Dark Chocolate color combo last night. Ever have color combo cravings? I think I wanted chocolate…because I kind of raided the Halloween candy last night too, so I think Chocolate was on my brain the whole night. So I am running low on birthday cards, and y girls have some birthday parties they have been invited to coming up, so I thought it would be fun to pull out Everyday Classics (the Anniversary set from PTI this year) and the NEW Giga Guide Lines! How many of you have earned your anniversary sets already? I mean…it is coming up, so I am sure many of have. So wanna see my yummy colors?
Have you noticed I have been into sentiment flags recently? Love em. Yes I do. So how is everyone? You know that concert I was in and hated my performance in? It was reviewed in the Philadelphia Inquirer…of course. Ugh. I was expecting the worst, but was relatively pleased with it. He busted on my coluratura (fast passages) which I knew he would. Honestly…it deserved busting on. Said it needed finishing. It was so hard for me to execute that night. Maybe it has something to do with the 3 motrin I was on? LOL. Nothing like a concert during THAT time. So here are the nice things he said:
“Mezzo soprano K. Rebecca Oehlers, often heard in choirs such as the Crossing, was on hand for Handel arias, including the cantata Mi Palpita il cor and the famous “Ombra Mai fu” from Serse, delivered with spellbinding emotional concentration. lyrical passages were infused with great purpose, thanks to well-projected words and a rich, near-alto tone.”
So…as you can see…I am still not really over it. I guess you never are when you know you haven’t done your best, or worse, felt like you have let some people down. I guess it has helped me to really eat some humble pie and rely on God for all things, not just the things I feel I have no control over. Seriously, because you will fail eventually if you rely on yourself. Something to chew on for sure. Thanks for all of your emotional support through comments too. Nothing like some good therapy for me to tell thousands of people my failures and joys. You guys are the best readers ever. On another note…
I am totally addicted to fancy flours. www.fancyflours.com I just put in a 35.00 order….on cupcake wrappers and sugars. What can I say? They are colorful and beautiful! So today, my friend texted me. He wants to get coffee. Sounds good to me, since I have been doing laundry all morning! Oh…did I tell you I am not teaching this semester? Probably not, since I got back from Europe and had to get into the swing of everything again. What they did was essentially this: They got rid of the requirement for private lessons in the music major. How does this effect me? Well….essentially, the student pays me directly through the University. There is a fee for private lessons. A pretty big fee. Who will want to pay the fee if they don’t need the class? Especially in these economic times, I am wondering if my 10 years teaching there will be ending soon. I only had two students signed up for my class. Not enough to go in for. So there it is. New horizons await me I think. New times doing new things lie ahead of me. Things are changing. I am having weird dreams. Does this happen to you when times in your life change? I never remember my dreams, but I guess it is because of all of this stuff. OK…off to do more laundry. Hope you loved the color combo and will try it. It is so darned yummy!
Stamps: Everyday Classics (anniversary set/this set is not available for purchase) Giga Guide Lines
Paper: Rustic Cream, Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy
Ink: Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate
Other: Stitching, Pure Poppy Vintage Button, Fiskard Border scalloped punch
I just adore that card!! It is beautiful – love those cupcakes and circles and the colour combination? Delish!
WOW!! Stunning card. I was always at loss with the cupcake images…now you have given me a great idea. Cannot wait to try this out.
Interesting to read about your life as a teacher and congrats on that great review! I’d love to hear you sing some time. Best wishes from Heidelberg!
I absolutely LOVE that card!!! It is just beautiful, and FUN, too! The colors are fabulous! And your design is great, too!
Glad you are ok; don’t be too hard on yourself! We all have days/nights that things don’t go exactly right. No one can be perfect all the time! I’m sure any one of us would have LOVED your performance!
Have a great week…and thanks for showing us your gorgeous card!
Love the details of this card. The message flags are darling. Yum, chocolate.
Sweet dreams.
Such a great card!! The color combo is just yummy. I will definitely going to have to give this a try.
Oh my, that’s a great card! Makes me hungry for chocolate, all the better in chocolate cupcakes. And thanks so much for the referral to Fancy Flours. I loved it! For your own safety I’m not telling my husband who led me there. BUT, if I ever need influence over you, I can threaten to tell – and my neighbor’s husband too!
Great site, almost as addicting as paper and stamps! Good luck with the dreams – bet they lead you somewhere fascinating…
Oh my; love the card – that color combo is totally scrumptious!!!
oooo, yummy card!
nothing like not feeling good about a performance and then you’re reviewed! I think you’ll have to perform again to get that one out of your system. Have a gig coming up soon?
eh? how can you major in music and not learn privately on your instrument/voice? What kind of music program is it? Learning good musicianship through your specialty helps in oh so many ways of being an overall musician.
Sometimes, inevitable change is good.
I LOVE the card combo… it is yummy!! (and chocolate.. and lower in calories then the real stuff!) I am gonna peek at the link you shared.. I am scared.. I LOVE baking things too!
and to FUNNY I made a card last night with a flag.. I too LOVE the look…
have a GREAT day.. enjoy your coffee.. ignore the laundry!
Two big thumbs up. Cuteness!
Yep, love your “color-combo-craving-creation” Becky!! Really a fun card.
Hey–I can relate to your dreams and unsettled feelings with your job changes. My district is most likely going to cut my program (Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools) for next year, which will mean I’m either out of a job entirely or that I’ll teach a very different subject next year. So I’ve been having weird stress dreams, too. I know we are often our own worst critics, but I think you are being very hard on yourself. You do something that many, many people could never do, even if they had the talent or work ethic that you do–you are very courageous to get up there and lay it all out there on the line each time. Remember what a good role model you are being for your girls here, and how you would not want them to be so hard on themselves in a similar situation. You’re good stuff; remember that! Thank you for sharing so much of your talents with us. –Elena
((((((HUGS))))))))
I LOVE the card!
I’m sure you did wonderful, no matter what you say. Me being from the Philly area, I now will have to scout out your performances! Hugs for you and your many talents!
I **LOVE,LOVE,LOVE** THIS CARD!!!
Becky, God will open another door for you if this one closes. He knows where He wants you to be. Unfortunatly, it seems that He has to use what we think are adverse circumstances to get us from where we are to where He wants us next. Otherwise we would never change. He’ll place you where He wants you when you TRUST Him!
I will mention that my daughter was a music (piano) major and graduated from Radford University earlier this year. Without a teaching degree, she was hired to teach in our local school district – 3 choirs and 2 elementary schools. That was an act of God.
I know how much time her music major required and her private lessons were invaluable. I can’t believe they think someone can be proficient in voice or an instrument without private lessons! That’s crazy.
And of course, I LOVE the card with your daughters.