So... it's March...

I had every intention of writing at least once a month, but alas, that particular plan has gone awry. That said, I feel like it has been slightly okay for me to not write because I have been rather ridiculously busy. I think the easiest way to catch everybody up is to just do it chornologically.

I last updated at the beginning of December. In the middle I did a wonderful week of concerts (performed Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, attended one on Wednesday) amid the last week of classes of the first semester. The week after that, right before flying out to Memphis for Christmas, I got engaged. ;-) I realize for most of you who are friends with me on Facebook, this is not particularly "new" news. However, I'll give you a bit more information. His name is Ben, and he's older than I am (4.5 years). He's currently driving a fuel truck for a company in the area, but he's also a licensed commercial diver. It means that he has a normal 8-5 job, which is good cause mine definitely isn't - normal, nor is it 8-5. He comes to my concerts and deals with the craziness really well, which I am incredibly lucky to have found.

After that, I headed out to Memphis. It was absolutely amazing to get to spend that much time with that portion of my family. I got to meet my niece and nephew (well, technically the children of my cousins, but close enough) as well as just get a week to relax. Plus, Mom and Dad brought the pup to Memphis so I got to see my Cady-bug.

So I came back from Memphis and then DDF took over my life. Mostly. We had an amazing fundraiser (our Random Acts of DDF) where students do all sorts of performances and we do a silent auction. It was really cool, the kids did amazing, and we made quite a darn-bit of money.

Weekend after that was the Alaska Music Educators Association, which I ran the band portion of, since I am the president of the Band Directors Association. Another year and a half of that, and then we'll go from there. It ran really well and I had a lot of good experiences (other than the whole car dying thing, but that was fixed).

Then I had two DDF tournaments, a weekend off, and two more DDF tournaments. My students did absolutely amazingly. You can read about it...
http://www.homernews.com/stories/020112/schools_ddtes.shtml#.T1GUIKvDlus (West High)
http://www.homernews.com/stories/021512/schools_ddfdaw.shtml#.T1GUHKvDlus (Service High)
http://www.homernews.com/stories/022212/schools_tcsas.shtml#.T1GUM6vDlus (State)
We had five students place in the top 5 in the state, as well as a bunch of other students who placed in the top 11. I was also awarded the 2012 DDF Coach of the Year. Personally, I think there was some sort of mistake but I feel incredibly honored. It was awesome to watch my students grow as much as they did. The only thing that was rough was that I spent the Saturday of the State Tournament (it runs Thursday-Saturday) with the nasty flu bug that was going around Homer. It was not a pleasant morning, but the afternoon was better, at least.

So now, DDF is done - at least at the high school level. I need to sit down and plan out the middle school level, as well as the rehearsal schedule for the spring play that we're doing - Chicken Every Sunday, by Julius and Philip Epstein. It's already been cast and we've done our read-through, but there's still a lot to do before we really kick into rehearsals and get going. I'm also playing percussion for Into the Woods, which is the choir musical for this year. It's been really nice to get to play, something I haven't done anywhere near enough of since I moved up here.

Next week I get to head to Texas. I haven't been down there in forever, and I haven't seen my grandma or the rest of my family in 2.5 years... so Mom and I are going to be down there for a while. It's a good way to spend spring break, and I'm excited about getting to see everybody as well as relaxing.

The wedding is in the planning stage - Pinterest is an amazing thing when it comes to this. Mom, Jenn and I have been pinning things to a wedding board for me, though I think that some of the things that are on there might be a bit silly. ;-) It's going to be in Green Bay, sometime during the summer of 2013 (the date hasn't been set just yet). We're going to do the wedding and reception down there, as well as another party when we get back to Alaska so everyone can get a chance to hang out with us, especially without having to travel to the Midwest.

That's mostly what's been keeping me busy. School is going well, and I'm excited about the music that the students have chosen (with my help) for the spring concert. This weekend I'm house-sitting, so I guess it's time to go cuddle with puppies!