One week down...six to go...

Well, one week and four exams later, I have an average of 96%. So far so good. I had 3 exams between 96% and 99% and then one that was 91% which brought my average down. Oh well, at least I'm still passing as of right now. Next week will bring it's own set of challenges I'm sure. It's been great to learn something new and really challenge myself. I have had to learn again how to let go of my perfectionist nature and let myself make mistakes. Not an easy task for me, I can assure you, but I'm learning. It's great to be part of a company that knows that mistakes are normal.

Anyway, I'm off to practise...gotta sing at church tomorrow!

Back at Sun Life...

So I started a new "day job" journey returning to my roots at Sun Life this week. I'm starting in a new department so now I will be taking calls and handling paperwork for the Individual Life Insurance Department. I have 7 weeks of intense training in front of me. In that time, I will complete 12 assignments, 12 closed book exams (must get a 90% average and I'm only allowed 1 retake through the entire training time) and many many hours of mentoring time and case work studies. Today was the first day that I started panicking. I love the training Sun Life provides and I feel confident in their ability to teach me, I'm just not sure how confident I am in my ability to learn! We did our first two rounds of Computer Based Training (CBT's) today and I had totally forgotten how much information was in those crazy courses! I felt like my brain would explode after the first one! There are 10 more of these?!?! Aack!

On the up side, it was great to see some familiar faces again and be welcomed back by people I have missed dearly. I've also gotten to know some new faces which has been a lot of fun so far. There are a total of 7 students in my class...a big change from the 23 I had the first time I did this! There have been some changes at Sun Life and I'm looking forward to seeing some new computer systems and working with some new policies and procedures. It should be a lot of fun!

Stay tuned to find out how I'm doing with all this crazy studying ahead of me! And now...back to the books!!!

The Power Lab...

My son, Declan has been attending Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS) at our church this past week. This program was designed mostly for kids who don't normally attend church or sunday school. There were well over 100 kids there this week. They did science experiments and learned songs and bible verses that talked about how God gives us the power to be thankful, to help others, to tell others about Him, to be courageous, and to live for Him. Yesterday was parent day. I had the wonderful opportunity to witness these beautiful children dance and sing praises to God. I was in tears most of the time. There is no better sight than seeing children who didn't know Jesus before the week smile and sing and move to the rhythm of God's love for them. It touched me so much. The kids were telling us all the things that God gives us power to do and after every one they would all shout, "Ah-ha!". It was so cute! Even Rowan got involved! When the scientists thought that the kids were being a little loud and needed to be still and pay attention, they would say, "ooooooooooooo" and the kids would follow by saying, "ahhhhhhhhh"! What a great idea! I may try that at home! The kids all got a T-shirt, a CD and their science experiments to take home with them at the end of the week. I love the CD! It has such great songs!

I remember attending DVBS when I was a kid. I remember it being a lot of fun and I looked forward to it every summer. If you've never sent your child to DVBS, think about it for next summer. It's inexpensive and very worth while. To the adults who invested their time to make DVBS such a success, you are truly amazing! Thank you for giving so much of yourselves to make this week so special for our children! My prayer is that the seeds you planted this week will grow strong and tall and these children will live out the lessons you taught them this week!

Sign on the dotted line...

That's right...Brad and I have finally hashed out the details of my contract and I have signed it. It feels so good to get that done and out of the way. Now I can really concentrate on actually MAKING my music! Without going into a lot of detail, I have signed on with him for the next 6 years. We are hoping to get 3 CD's made in that time. There will be concerts and tours and the hope is that a larger label will want to sign me by the time my contract with Brad is complete. I feel really good about the terms that we have agreed to and I'm looking forward to some interesting experiences and challenges in the years ahead. I'm glad we took our time getting all the details settled, it made for a better contract. It helps that I know a little more about the business now. So, I guess that you can now say I am an Indie Label Recording Artist. Sounds weird to me still, but I guess I'll get used to it.

I laid in another scratch track last night. That's 7 songs down and 5 more to write. Woo hoo! I was starting to feel pressured to finish up writing my songs but Brad, true to his calm producer type style, assurred me that there is no rush. We have set April 15, 2009 as the date we would like this album to be completed. This is a good thing as there is still so much work to do. Once all the scratch tracks are done, the hard part really starts. We then have to add drums, guitar, strings, tweak the piano and main vocal as well as lay in background vocals. Then it all has to be mixed, mastered and produced. After that there is publicity shots, posters, t-shirts, the making of the CD's, promotion packages and concert dates. When I start thinking in terms of what all needs to be done still, I start feeling slightly ill. One thing at a time...that's what I keep repeating to myself lately.

My new equipment is still on order. I'm starting to get impatient! I want my keyboard! Hopefully it won't be much longer.

That's all for now, folks! I'll keep you updated as things start to happen with the album.

Ready for the stage...

Thanks to my wonderful husband, I now have the necessary gear to really create some awesome music AND take it on the road! After a lot of research, this is what I chose...

What you see above is the Roland FP7. This is an 88 (full size) key stage piano with arranger options and the ability to record whatever I do onto a USB Memory Stick right from the board. It has awesome speakers, great sound, and really nicely weighted keys. It also has a special feature. The keys are made of a special material that keeps your fingers from slipping off the keys when you get sweaty under stage lights. It's a magnificent piece of machinery that I can grow into as my skills improve.

What's a keyboard if you don't have anywhere to put it? This is the Roland V Stand. It looks awesome, it's much more stable than the traditional X Stand and most stage pianists have one of these in their arsenal. While much more expensive than the X Stands, it's very durable and good for touring. I think I'll get a lot of use out of this.

If you're going to bring your own gear to a show, you need a way to get it there. Gator makes a great gig bag with WHEELS!! Trust me, when you're hauling around a piano, stand and accessories weighing anywhere between 50-100lbs, wheels are a great thing!

All my new toys should be arriving sometime next week. My great friend Rob at Notables ordered everything...no floor models for this girl! If you're in the Lethbridge area and you're looking for some instruments, sheet music or accessories, check out Notables. I have to say they have great customer service. Rob worked really hard to stay in my budget and still get me everything I wanted and a little extra to keep me challenged. Thanks Rob!!!

P.S. On the album front...the first 6 definate songs are scratched in and drum tracks will be laid tomorrow night. I'm still not happy with some of the keyboard parts so pray for me as all this tweaking gets really frustrating. I'm a little worried about writers block becoming a problem as I start writing the final 6 songs. Please pray that my imagination and creative musical mind stay sharp as I try to find the lyrics and melodies God wants on this album.