by glen hansard and marketa irglova
. . .
last night for the first time ever,
brans and i sat down at the piano and sang together.
.
it was one of the greatest moments so far.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
five reasons
each day as work starts to wind down, i always get excited to go home and see branson. but today i'm especially excited for some reason, so i decided to make the time go faster and write down five reasons why i love branson:
number
1.
he is super smart. he is always rattling off random (and not-so-random) facts off about history, or politics, or something i didn't know. its fun to learn things from him. even though sometimes i act annoyed... "another historic fact... wahoo..." i really do love the fact that he is intelligent and loves to learn and to share what he learns with me.
number
2.
he is excellent with children. i think in older posts i've talked about him holding baby ava, or playing with pie face or wesley. but truthfully, i can't get enough! i love watching him interact with kids. example: a week ago, we spent a lot of time with his sister, kendyll, and her son, wesley, as well as his parents and brother, chad before chad went into the mtc. one evening we went up the canyon with good friends the pattons, the afore mentioned fam and grandma lowman. wesley wanted to go acrossed the bridge but knew he couldn't go alone... so he kept saying, "reed*! reed! bridge! water! reed! reed!" (*growing up, branson was known by his middle name, reed. but after the mission decided he wanted to go by branson) so uncle reed complied and took wesley over the bridge. watching the two of them gave me another glimpse of the future. and i can't wait to watch branson as the father of our kids!
number
3.
he is a handy-man. on many occasions, he had either fixed something of ours that is broken, worked in our yard, helped grandma with something or worked with my dad fixing something. he reminds me of my dad a little bit, because growing up, and even still, daddy can fix anything. i'm glad that branson is on that same track too. because i know how to fix some things, but certainly not everything.
number
4.
he helps me around the house. i have to admit that branson has done the dishes way more times than i have since we got married. i think i've only had to do them three or four times. awesome! and he helps me with the laundry - more than once we've changed out load of laundry together, and folded clothes together. though, i have to admit our methods of shirt folding compete - still not sure whose is better... and he irons. he ususally irons his clothes on sunday and occasional has ironed my dress, too.
number
5.
he has this little smile... and most people don't see it very often... but it makes me melt! ha ha i love it. when it comes to smiling in pictures, he'd rather be the tough guy who doesn't really smile, but i know the real smile, and let me tell you - its golden! golden in the sense that it brightens your day and makes you smile back. i love it when he flashes a smile at me. the lines in his face. his perfectly straight teeth. i l o v e it. and i love him!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
the phone call
just got a phone call... guess who?
that's right - our friend, or rather, the-crazy-stalker-pitifully-persistant-guy-we-know - - - none other than dwight*. (see story below)
i didn't answer... not gonna lie, i'm a little afraid to talk to him! so i just let it go to the voicemail.
another blinking light telling me there's a message waiting for me...
"hi, this is dwight, and i talked to you last week about my album i sent you..."
yup. heard enough. i've never been so filled with pity and the urge to laugh at the same time...
(giggling to myself)
that's right - our friend, or rather, the-crazy-stalker-pitifully-persistant-guy-we-know - - - none other than dwight*. (see story below)
i didn't answer... not gonna lie, i'm a little afraid to talk to him! so i just let it go to the voicemail.
another blinking light telling me there's a message waiting for me...
"hi, this is dwight, and i talked to you last week about my album i sent you..."
yup. heard enough. i've never been so filled with pity and the urge to laugh at the same time...
(giggling to myself)
Thursday, August 14, 2008
dwight*
as i begin this story, i realize very few will truly appreciate it... but who cares. its too good not to share!
so i got to work this morning, and as usual, first logged into my computer to check emails, and listened to any voicemails left for me overnight. and, also as usual, i had a message waiting for me from a truly special person.
in a monotone, sound-like-your-holding-back-tears voice, i hear:
"hi, this is [dwight*] (*name changed - but really for no reason other than i have a kind heart, seeing as how the poor guy doesn't have a computer... see below.) i sent in a demo album before i went out of the country and i haven't heard back yet. i sent it over a month ago and wondered when i could come meet with the representative of deseret book so that we can start working on my album. if you could call me back so i can come down that would be good..."
i erased the message before i could hear his number. this guy, dwight, has left me a message saying the same thing everyday for the past 8 days. not just like 2 or 3 days - e i g h t d a y s. ridiculous. but you gotta hand it to the guy for being persistant.
i did a little reseach, and found out that he had sent in multiple demos over the past year, all of which were not very good, and definitely not something that deseret book is interested - or ever will be interested. i also found out that each time he had submitted something, he HAD been sent a letter. overall, he has been sent 5. 5 letters saying that deseret book wasn't interested in his submission. so dwight lied to me. lame. so i decided it wasn't pressing to get back to him, seeing as how he a) called me everyday, and b) already received several rejection letters.
i was typing an email to a coworker, and my phone rang. my first mistake: not looking at the number. dumb move, shan. dumb. i answered the phone: "deseret book, this is shanna..." and heard a familiar voice.
"hi, this is dwight. i sent in a demo before i went out of the country and i haven't heard back yet. i sent it over a month ago and wondered when i could come meet with the representative of deseret book so that we can start working on my album. if you could call me back so i can come down that would be good..." (and yes, he said the exact same words he had said in all of the messages he had left me.)
i stopped him there. "you know, the people in the music department are very busy and don't usually schedule appointments like that, but you should have received a letter from us telling you that we have received your demo. are you sure you never received a letter?"
"well, i don't have a computer. so i need to come in and meet with the director so that we can finish my album and so i can make money."
"you know, our director doesn't make appointments like that. i'm sorry..."
"well, i'm a musician and an artist and i need to work and make money..."
"i understa-"
"my wife just bought an apartment out of the country and we're married and we need money..."
"ok, but i don't know how we ca-"
"so i just need to come and finish my album with you guys so we can have money to pay rent."
" i'm sorry, but that's not really how it works. we only work with our artists and our schedule is pretty full until the end of the year. but i can find your album and see-"
''i don't have a computer..."
"what?"
"i need to finish this album so that maybe i can have enough money to buy a computer. so you can't email me."
seriously, this guy was all over the place. i was going crazy! but i tried to be as nice and undertanding as i could. but when someone on the phone tells you the exact same thing over and over for 20 minutes, and you keep telling him tha same thing over and over, trying to make him understand that you can't help him how he wants... you start to go a little crayz. finally, i got him off the phone. i told him to just wait for a letter i was going to send him in the mail, and to expect it in about a week or so. the click on his end of the phone was a joyful sound to my soul.
background: in june, dwight brought in a green and gold chalice, which was loving referred to 'the goblet of fire' afterwards, and wanted to personally deliever it to the music director - he was stopped in the lobby, thank heaven. it was filled with peanut butter m&ms. good way to bribe a record label to listen to your stuff? well, maybe in another circumstance, but they were not in a package and were sitting is this gross green thing that had to have been bought at d.i. in like the 70s. and who knows who's gross, germ-ridden, sweaty hands had put the m&ms in the chalice. sick. we all know how i hate germs... and stitting in the middle of the m&ms was a cd, covered in star stickers and the primary stickers of jesus. weird... anyway, most of the building either heard about it or saw it themselves. so it kind of became a joke for most of the office - just something someone would bring up every couple of weeks for a good laugh. poor guy. truth be told, half of the office thought it was a joke, and for dwight's sake, i kind of hoped it was.
so after my conversation with dwight ended, i ran downstairs to tell my friend heidi, who was working at the front desk in the lobby, about it. i began my story, told her the gist of it, and we both started laughing. we both felt sort of bad for the guy. he just couldn't take a hint. or 5. he was just convinced that all he needed to do to make money from his album was to come in and meet with the music department! oh man, that is SO not even close to how the process works. particularly for something that wouldn't sell at all! even really, really great albums sometimes don't make the cut.
so as our laughter died down, a man walked through the door and heidi asked him how she could help him.
"i just talked to shanna in music and i need to meet with her..." we recognized the voice immediately. the sad, monotonous tone- it was dwight!!! we couldn't believe it! it was so surreal. and thanks to heidi's poker face, we barely got through it.
heidi said, avoiding looking at me all together and pretending i wasn't standing right next to her, "do you have an appointment? because unless you have an appointment, i can't let you up to see her."
"well, i just talked to her and..."
"you could try calling her again and setting up an appointment..."
"well i just need to see her so can you call her and tell her to come down?"
"i'm sorry i just can't do that. she's really busy... everyone in the music department is really busy. but you can call her later and set up an appointment with her..."
he whipped out his cell phone and called right then! while i was standing right in front of him, trying so hard not to laugh! it was so hard! heidi and i both were dying - laughing hysterically on the inside. i had to leave. i couldn't not laugh outloud. so i whispered to heidi that i would be back later, and hopped on the elevator as fast as i could. i waited until i was 5 floors up, and let out a huge burst of laughter! and i couldn't stop laughing!
i couldn't believe that had just happened to me! it was so, so, SO surreal! who does that happen to? seriously... too funny. so for the rest of the day, a group of us would just look at each other or pass each other in the halls and just giggle.
what a fantastic day. my first crazy experience in the music department. awesome.
*upon reflection, i hope this story doesn't make me sound mean. the guy is basically stalking our department and everyone at work thinks he's crazy. not just like a guy who got rejected and wants another shot. crazy like some screw is loose, or a wire isn't attached in his brain crazy. and truth be told, i do kinda pity the guy. i hope he finds some other road to travel down, because this one - the lds musician road isn't going to lead him anywhere. it would only be full of heartache and disappointment for him. poor dwight.
so i got to work this morning, and as usual, first logged into my computer to check emails, and listened to any voicemails left for me overnight. and, also as usual, i had a message waiting for me from a truly special person.
in a monotone, sound-like-your-holding-back-tears voice, i hear:
"hi, this is [dwight*] (*name changed - but really for no reason other than i have a kind heart, seeing as how the poor guy doesn't have a computer... see below.) i sent in a demo album before i went out of the country and i haven't heard back yet. i sent it over a month ago and wondered when i could come meet with the representative of deseret book so that we can start working on my album. if you could call me back so i can come down that would be good..."
i erased the message before i could hear his number. this guy, dwight, has left me a message saying the same thing everyday for the past 8 days. not just like 2 or 3 days - e i g h t d a y s. ridiculous. but you gotta hand it to the guy for being persistant.
i did a little reseach, and found out that he had sent in multiple demos over the past year, all of which were not very good, and definitely not something that deseret book is interested - or ever will be interested. i also found out that each time he had submitted something, he HAD been sent a letter. overall, he has been sent 5. 5 letters saying that deseret book wasn't interested in his submission. so dwight lied to me. lame. so i decided it wasn't pressing to get back to him, seeing as how he a) called me everyday, and b) already received several rejection letters.
i was typing an email to a coworker, and my phone rang. my first mistake: not looking at the number. dumb move, shan. dumb. i answered the phone: "deseret book, this is shanna..." and heard a familiar voice.
"hi, this is dwight. i sent in a demo before i went out of the country and i haven't heard back yet. i sent it over a month ago and wondered when i could come meet with the representative of deseret book so that we can start working on my album. if you could call me back so i can come down that would be good..." (and yes, he said the exact same words he had said in all of the messages he had left me.)
i stopped him there. "you know, the people in the music department are very busy and don't usually schedule appointments like that, but you should have received a letter from us telling you that we have received your demo. are you sure you never received a letter?"
"well, i don't have a computer. so i need to come in and meet with the director so that we can finish my album and so i can make money."
"you know, our director doesn't make appointments like that. i'm sorry..."
"well, i'm a musician and an artist and i need to work and make money..."
"i understa-"
"my wife just bought an apartment out of the country and we're married and we need money..."
"ok, but i don't know how we ca-"
"so i just need to come and finish my album with you guys so we can have money to pay rent."
" i'm sorry, but that's not really how it works. we only work with our artists and our schedule is pretty full until the end of the year. but i can find your album and see-"
''i don't have a computer..."
"what?"
"i need to finish this album so that maybe i can have enough money to buy a computer. so you can't email me."
seriously, this guy was all over the place. i was going crazy! but i tried to be as nice and undertanding as i could. but when someone on the phone tells you the exact same thing over and over for 20 minutes, and you keep telling him tha same thing over and over, trying to make him understand that you can't help him how he wants... you start to go a little crayz. finally, i got him off the phone. i told him to just wait for a letter i was going to send him in the mail, and to expect it in about a week or so. the click on his end of the phone was a joyful sound to my soul.
background: in june, dwight brought in a green and gold chalice, which was loving referred to 'the goblet of fire' afterwards, and wanted to personally deliever it to the music director - he was stopped in the lobby, thank heaven. it was filled with peanut butter m&ms. good way to bribe a record label to listen to your stuff? well, maybe in another circumstance, but they were not in a package and were sitting is this gross green thing that had to have been bought at d.i. in like the 70s. and who knows who's gross, germ-ridden, sweaty hands had put the m&ms in the chalice. sick. we all know how i hate germs... and stitting in the middle of the m&ms was a cd, covered in star stickers and the primary stickers of jesus. weird... anyway, most of the building either heard about it or saw it themselves. so it kind of became a joke for most of the office - just something someone would bring up every couple of weeks for a good laugh. poor guy. truth be told, half of the office thought it was a joke, and for dwight's sake, i kind of hoped it was.
so after my conversation with dwight ended, i ran downstairs to tell my friend heidi, who was working at the front desk in the lobby, about it. i began my story, told her the gist of it, and we both started laughing. we both felt sort of bad for the guy. he just couldn't take a hint. or 5. he was just convinced that all he needed to do to make money from his album was to come in and meet with the music department! oh man, that is SO not even close to how the process works. particularly for something that wouldn't sell at all! even really, really great albums sometimes don't make the cut.
so as our laughter died down, a man walked through the door and heidi asked him how she could help him.
"i just talked to shanna in music and i need to meet with her..." we recognized the voice immediately. the sad, monotonous tone- it was dwight!!! we couldn't believe it! it was so surreal. and thanks to heidi's poker face, we barely got through it.
heidi said, avoiding looking at me all together and pretending i wasn't standing right next to her, "do you have an appointment? because unless you have an appointment, i can't let you up to see her."
"well, i just talked to her and..."
"you could try calling her again and setting up an appointment..."
"well i just need to see her so can you call her and tell her to come down?"
"i'm sorry i just can't do that. she's really busy... everyone in the music department is really busy. but you can call her later and set up an appointment with her..."
he whipped out his cell phone and called right then! while i was standing right in front of him, trying so hard not to laugh! it was so hard! heidi and i both were dying - laughing hysterically on the inside. i had to leave. i couldn't not laugh outloud. so i whispered to heidi that i would be back later, and hopped on the elevator as fast as i could. i waited until i was 5 floors up, and let out a huge burst of laughter! and i couldn't stop laughing!
i couldn't believe that had just happened to me! it was so, so, SO surreal! who does that happen to? seriously... too funny. so for the rest of the day, a group of us would just look at each other or pass each other in the halls and just giggle.
what a fantastic day. my first crazy experience in the music department. awesome.
*upon reflection, i hope this story doesn't make me sound mean. the guy is basically stalking our department and everyone at work thinks he's crazy. not just like a guy who got rejected and wants another shot. crazy like some screw is loose, or a wire isn't attached in his brain crazy. and truth be told, i do kinda pity the guy. i hope he finds some other road to travel down, because this one - the lds musician road isn't going to lead him anywhere. it would only be full of heartache and disappointment for him. poor dwight.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
petco park
i survived. first flight ever and it was mildly enjoyable. a little turbulence, but nothing i couldn't handle.
so while in san diego, one morning we decided to take chad (branson's brother who goes into the mtc today) to petco park - home of the san diego padres. they had a tour going so we decided to check it out.
i have to admit, it was pretty sweet. its a really nice stadium and it was awesome to go down in the dugout, sit on the couches in the clubhouse, and sit in the press box for a few minutes. totally rad.
the lovely park from the seats behind home plate:
brans and chad on the phone in the dugout:
(sidenote: when they picked it up, it started ringing...
ha ha hopefully there's a padres employee who was like,
"what the...? stupid prank callers..." ha ha)
chaddy waddy on the padres dugout phone:
brans and i infront of petco park:
it was a fun trip! we're glad we could spend some time with chad and the rest of the family before he left!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
leavin' on a jet plane
in just a few short hours, i will be embarking on a new adventure.
i'm going on my very first airline flight.
i'm a little nervous. i'm sure it will be fine. its just the thought that i've never actually done it before. i'm sure we won't crash and i'm sure i'll probably like it when its all over, but the butterflies are building in my stomach as of now.
in just two and a half hours, brans and i are flying to san diego to see his brother before he leaves on his mission. it's going to be a fast trip, but i'm super excited for the 3 days.
hooray for in-laws living in california. what a blessing.
so wish me luck and pray for safety and not too much turbulence.
i'm going on my very first airline flight.
i'm a little nervous. i'm sure it will be fine. its just the thought that i've never actually done it before. i'm sure we won't crash and i'm sure i'll probably like it when its all over, but the butterflies are building in my stomach as of now.
in just two and a half hours, brans and i are flying to san diego to see his brother before he leaves on his mission. it's going to be a fast trip, but i'm super excited for the 3 days.hooray for in-laws living in california. what a blessing.
so wish me luck and pray for safety and not too much turbulence.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
finished
i finished breaking dawn yesterday, and may i just say that i thought it was an excellent book. though, not for the faint of heart. it is pretty intense. and the target audience is completely different from the first 3 books - a mistake, perhaps? not to me. but i'm sure some people will be offended and disappointed because its written for a more mature audience...
not that its dirty or smutty - because it most definitely is not. stephanie meyer has a way of writing passion without including all the smut. which is one of the reasons i think she is such a great author.
needless to say, i thoroughly enjoyed it - the whole series, too! i'll be starting it all over again soon, i'm sure. its good books like this that i can read over and over again - - - harry potter, the princess bride - - - some of my classics. love them.
it was awesome to get into a book again. its been a while for me. i've been so busy with engagement and wedding stuff for the past 6 months that i haven't really read anything, much to my dismay. i love reading! its one of my favorite things. so its nice to know that love is still alive...
as to not spoil anything for anyone, just know that i thought it was an excellent book - one i will reread many times i'm sure. yay for stephanie meyer's talent and for sharing her imagination with the world.
not that its dirty or smutty - because it most definitely is not. stephanie meyer has a way of writing passion without including all the smut. which is one of the reasons i think she is such a great author.
needless to say, i thoroughly enjoyed it - the whole series, too! i'll be starting it all over again soon, i'm sure. its good books like this that i can read over and over again - - - harry potter, the princess bride - - - some of my classics. love them.
it was awesome to get into a book again. its been a while for me. i've been so busy with engagement and wedding stuff for the past 6 months that i haven't really read anything, much to my dismay. i love reading! its one of my favorite things. so its nice to know that love is still alive...
as to not spoil anything for anyone, just know that i thought it was an excellent book - one i will reread many times i'm sure. yay for stephanie meyer's talent and for sharing her imagination with the world.
Monday, August 4, 2008
breaking dawn
i'll admit it. i'm addicted.
i love vampires and werewolves.
i got the book on saturday afternoon and only have 83 of the 754 pages left to read before the twilight series is complete for me. and let me just say - this has been quite an intense book! i've loved every heartbreaking, mind-reeling minute of it thus far. i'm just counting down the hours until my lunch break so i can finish!