Pet Peeves

Things that bother me:

- Talking at the end of songs in recordings. (For example: "What Was I Thinkin'" by Dierks Bentley. LOVE the song, but at the end he has to ruin it by saying (not singing), "I know what I was feeling, but what was I thinking?")

- Customers who tell me they have a student discount and then ask after every item whether or not I remembered it. This is what I do all day, and I'm pretty good at it, considering that they haven't fired me yet. Let me do my job.

- Interrupting

- People who don't use their turn signal. Really! When did that become optional?

- High school dating relationships. I know I was in a few of them... but really... really... you will most likely NOT get married. Please stop sucking face.

- Poor hygiene

- Missing apostrophes

- Unnecessary quotations

- People who go through check-out lanes while on the cell phone.

- Your/You're misused

- "Grandpuppies" - seriously?

- Fingerprints on windows

- People who ride their bikes in the middle of traffic going the wrong way - at night... and wearing black (for some reason, the bikers in my neighborhood seem to have a death wish)

- Misused semicolons. I guess people think using a semicolon makes them look smart. Au contraire, using a semicolon incorrectly only makes you look stupid!

- People who read over my shoulder

- CDs in the wrong cases

- Not soaking your dishes when you're not going to wash them right away and there's crud all over them.

- Stupid names. Not weird spellings (like Jayd instead of Jade, or Krystyn instead of Kristin or Kristen or whatever)... those are okay, but when it's like "Apple" or "Sunday"... really?

- Squeezing the toothpaste from the top instead of the bottom

- Those stupid geese that people put on their porches and then dress for the season. Seriously, your stone goose doesn't need a freakin' rain coat.

- People who have like 4 catch phrases that they repeat over and over. (I.e., "True story", "Nicely done", "Not gonna lie", "I know, right?", etc.)

I guess it's good I'm allergic to cats and don't like dogs - 'cause I have enough pet peeves to make up for it! (Haha, bad puns.... That's not on my list of pet peeves! That's on my list of Favorite Things to Do that Annoy Other People.)

Also, right now I'm listening to the album "You (Understood)" by Samantha Crain. It's really good. If you like folk, you should go check it out. If you don't like folk, you should check it out anyway. You might start liking folk!

In other news, I passed my voice jury for the summer. Not that I really thought I'd fail, but it's nice to have it over.

A mother and daughter took a taxi to the Salvation Army and the Save-A-Lot. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

Love and THE END OF AUGUST! (CRAZY!),

Leah Joy

Kids' Books

Why are kids' books almost always better than "grown-up" books? I mean, okay, I've read a lot of grown-up books that are good, but kids' books seem to be so much more creative. The Narnia books, anything by Madeline L'Engle, Edward Eager's Half Magic (and the ensuing series), Nesbit's Five Children and It (and other stories), and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Why can't there be other books that are this wonderful?

I don't have time today to write much more, but expect a summary of my summer reading list soon! :)

In the meantime, please enjoy this video:

Love and ... Lady Gaga?,

Leah Joy

Summer Plans

At the beginning of the summer, I made an epic list. Well, a modestly epic list. I had so many plans. Not only would I have a full-time job and be taking 3 credits of voice lessons, I'd also fit in time to gig, play guitar on a street corner downtown, and read 50 books. Every week, I'd get an item from Salvation Army and do a full makeover on it, like paint a table, or re-do a skirt, or something. Plus, I'd keep making and selling jewelry at the Farmers' Market. Of course, I was also going to have my Sr. Recital FULLY planned, down to the last detail. And I'd fit in time to finally finish the antique table my Grandpa gave me 5 years ago.

Now, with 2 weeks left in summer, I've realized that my summer has not been as epic as intended... but I'm still really pleased with it. My job was only part-time, but it provided what I needed it to. I survived my voice lessons. (Well, I still have 2 lessons and the jury, but still.) I gigged twice, and that was enough for me. I read 70 books (so far!) and have "conquered" the Farmers' Market (as much as it can be conquered by the likes of me). My Sr. Recital is sort of planned, my table is untouched, and I did two tiny makeover projects.

But I also got a mandolin and started learning to play it.

I took a road trip for a weekend and went to the Crayola Factory.

I reconnected with my paternal grandmother.

I organized the shelves in my room.

I started an herb garden.

I wrote a few songs.

And I dog-sat. (Never ever ever again.)

So I think my summer has been successful.

How about you, dear reader(s)? What epic (or modestly epic, or not at all epic) projects have you undertaken this summer?

Love and Lavender,

Leah Joy

Art Lessons

Both of my younger siblings are home-schooled, and this fall, I will be their Art (and Music History) teacher. I'm really excited, even though I'm totally not the teacher type. Both Art and Music History aren't really subjects that need to be "taught". You just say, "Here's a paintbrush. Consider yourself taught." Or, "Let's listen to the Beatles for an hour. Consider yourself schooled."

Anyway, I'm only doing a half hour once a week, and we'll trade off Art and Music History every other week. I did a lot of research today for lessons and projects, and I'm really pumped with what we'll be doing in Art. Here are some of my ideas:

- Cement stepping stones (with designs with colorful stones/glass/etc.)

- Batik fabric

- Paper maché

- Crazy daisies (flower dyeing)

- Warm/Cool Color Paintings/Drawings

- Observation Drawings

- Tie-Dye maybe... although the Batik might be enough!

- Magazine collages

- Mosaics

I'm pretty pumped! I love art stuff!

I've also planned several weeks of Music History. Since they're both under 13, I'm going to zoom through Ancient Greek-20th century music in about 3 lessons (that's 3 semesters of college Music History in an hour and a half!). But we'll slow down for Jazz and Popular Music and take it by decades.

Love and ART,

Leah Joy