A friend of mine (Tam Wood) and I got the perfect photo!


For those of you who don't know, the MTC had a fantastic weekend of concerts. The Choir, Orchestra and a bunch of other people had more like three weeks of rehearsals and concerts. And the King's Singers, who were the guests this year, sang phenomenally. You can go to www.mormontabernaclechoir.org if you want more information as I've probably already said too much.
I'm just now starting to get into the Christmas mode...so for those of my siblings looking for their Christmas books, they have all been sent (except for Diane...I'll bring yours up on Sunday and Mark...Sara's going to take it tomorrow). I hope you enjoy the book this year. It was written by the son of a woman I used to sit by in the Choir.
We're supposed to have a storm hit us this evening. I really do believe it'll be a white Christmas in Utah this year! I'm excited although I hope that the roads will hold until I am safe on the heated driveway in Logan. Diane and Konrad have invited me up and so I'll spend a couple of days with them.
Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! I'll post a little more when I think of something exciting to tell you...or have more pictures!

End of the Tabernacle Choir Blogging

As you can see in the following picture, I was dumbfounded with the news that we are no longer permitted to blog about the Tabernacle Choir experiences we have. Most of the men didn't care, but I couldn't even sing!



So now I'm in a quandry...there's only so much you can blog about when you don't ride MARTA to work each day!

I'M HERE . . .

Okay, here are some pictures. This is how it all played out . . . I did my final walk through on September 25th. They had fixed most of the little problems, so Wednesday morning, I went and picked up the keys to the place. I started moving bins and boxes over from the apartment, which I've decided had the same magical powers as Mary Poppins' carpet bag. I know that most of the bins and boxes that are in my garage right now . . . yes, I have a garage . . . won't be in there in 2008. This is one woman who is not going to worry about dying and leaving a bunch of sentimental junk for someone else to throw out. Just pray that I don't die before 2008!

I have some cool furniture that Mom and Dad are really excited about. A rocking recliner chair, a couch (with recliners), and a lovely dining room table with chairs. Can you tell all of this was purchased before the mortgage payments begin in November? Ya...we'll see if there is anything else added in the next ten years.

But who wants to read all of this? You just want to see pictures . . . so let me end with this. When Mom and Dad first walked in for the first time Thursday, October 4th after choir rehearsal they were awestruck. Mom couldn't stop talking about all the storage closets and space, Dad couldn't believe how big it was. But best of all was in the morning when I went into their suite, Dad was laying in the bed looking up at the light and said, "You know Carol, you have really wonderful lights. They have a marble look . . . which means they won't need to be cleaned very often." And there you have it. I couldn't be more blessed . . . unless someone wants to come in and get rid of the bins and boxes in my garage!

PS—There are three rooms still to be posted . . . one of them has a name. You'll know why in the next blog! I'll try and write that in the next day or two so come back to see the rest of this great and spacious building!

It's coming...

Well, I did a walk through on the townhome last week. I will hopefully be signing on Monday, which will mean that I'll be moving bits and pieces over to the new place throughout the rest of September. The Choir sings at the Homecoming Spectacular at BYU this next week so my time is pretty well booked. And then there's conference rehearsals, conference, a few free weeks and then we're into Christmas rehearsals. Who would have thought the Choir would honestly keep me out of trouble! I don't have time to think about anything else. And that's all. I'm in Logan helping out the Lees in there quest to move. Seems like a lot of us are deciding this is the year to move! Anyone else getting any ideas?

A Funny Thing Happened On My Way Through PG

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Utah towns, PG stands for Pleasant Grove, a town between Orem and American Fork. And what is the funny thing? Well, it actually happened a few months ago but really July was the month that things REALLY happened. And I know you're wondering what happened so I'll just let it out. I saw this place and sort of walked in and looked around and several weeks later signed a contract on a townhome. Yes, it's true. I'm going to be emerging from the basement dwelling and living in a place that has lots of BIG windows to let in the sunlight.

Alison Lee was the first to see it in the family. I had to go sign some papers while she was visiting me and so we took some pictures. Alison, of course, is the lovely model in the model home. So here's a couple of pictures of the home. Mine will be, of course, without furniture as the one interior shot is of the model home!!

My building—and my garage (on the left)


The living/dining room/kitchen...and Alison lounging!


I'd say come for a visit, but I'm not sure when I'll be there. A "soft" date for closing is the end of September. Mom and Dad have first dibs on the extra bedroom of course, and I think with that in mind, I'm booked for all Conferences and big Choir events for the next several years.

The Car turns 100,000!

Well, I knew it had to happen, but when I drove away from the lot back in 2002, I never realized I'd hit the 100,000 mile mark in FIVE years! It happened. And it happened during the biggest rainstorm of the year. Alison was down for the weekend and we had a countdown on our way home from Choir rehearsal last Thursday on a very rainsoaked stretch of the I-15. Of course we pulled off and drove slow along the shoulder until we got our pictures. Good thing as it was SOOOO wet the whole freeway was standing water. In fact on the radio they had these weather warning messages telling people to get into a secure location and stay away from windows. We just tucked in behind a FEDEX truck for the rest of the trip home—he cleared the standing water away and was our shield from all the wind. So now I'm on to a new adventure with The Car. It's been great so far, and from what I hear, 100,000 is baby steps in the life of a Honda!

The Rest of the Trip

CINCINNATI
Bus Pals—Allen B, Rufio, Karen


At the River—Nola and Carol (Sopranos)


Bowing—One Time Only—PLEASE!


Well, we got to Cincinnati and this was the first place where the cost to connect to the internet was under $10. Being a Salmon I hadn't wanted to cough up the $15-$20 beforehand (or after either). I spent my free evening in the hotel room blogging...reading e-mails from work...and just feeling like I could finally get news on Wimbledon. My roommate wasn't interested in sports and she seemed to get the remote quicker than I did!

Cincinnati was our performance with the Pops...the Cincinnati Pops. It was a great crowd, their conductor (Erich Kunzel), LOVED us and was so enthusiastic in his praise for the Choir so it wasn't hard to sing for this "new" conductor. This was also the only place where we actually bowed...yup the whole choir...and it wasn't too uniform. But Dr. Kunzel was having a blast and we did as well. It had rained a lot the morning of and even during our sound check so we had to rely a little more on the Lord as this was another outdoor venue with a lot of tickets sold for the grassy knoll beyond the amphitheatre. And He didn't disappoint. The sun came out and dried up all the rain (sound familiar?) and the grassy knoll was filled to capacity come concert time. What an appreciative crowd as well! Couldn't believe how responsive they were. One insight...Dr. Kunzel conducted Come, Come, Ye Saints and it was interesting to sing under the baton of one who doesn't know the depth of feeling this piece has for so many Latter day Saints. It was a little more difficult conveying the spirit without Craig but I think we were able to convey the message to both the audience as well as the Cincinnati Pops. We must have done something right as Dr. Kunzel announced at the end of the concert that we were staying in Cincinnati so we'd all better go out and buy a home. That brought quite a few laughs.

NASHVILLE
Carol and Georgia (Events Staff)


Camille's Friends


Canada Day


Nashville was our next stop. And it was a fairly long drive...but what am I saying...ALL the bus rides between towns were long! We got into Nashville and had about an hour before our sound check. I hadn't been keeping track of our venues so when I walked in and saw the NHL insignia on walls and doors and walked on the rubber-floored hallway, it wasn't hard to realize that it was the Nashville Predator's arena we were performing in! I was so excited! ANYTHING that has to do with hockey is FANTASTIC! So, I was in heaven knowing we'd be singing in an NHL venue. But more importantly knowing that if it got too hot, they could just jack up the coolant in the floor and we'd be happy. It was our first air conditioned venue since Toronto and boy was that a treat. It was also our first venue that had sizeable changing rooms. Most of the time we had rooms that would fit maybe 15 people instead of 150! So this was, by far, the BEST venue we ever sang in. I met some great people in Nashville. They were Events Staff who were stationed along the hallways by the changing rooms. When they realized they had a REAL fan, they tried to give me a team locker room tour but things were locked down as they were doing some renovating. Just as an aside, the ushers, events staff, security, and anyone I met who wasn't in our entourage were so wonderful and fun-spirited. It made each location so enjoyable.

After the concert (which was one block from the hotel) we headed back to our rooms. When I got into the lobby, I met some of Camille's family. She has an older brother living in Tennessee. It was great meeting them. They had brought some friends of theirs as well. A woman who was a Canadian (lots of those transplanted in Tennessee and Georgia I hear), and an older couple who had great personalities and had enjoyed the concert immensely. We had to sing the national anthem for him...the CANADIAN national anthem. It was a great!

Sunday morning (are we STILL in Nashville?) was sacrament meeting, brunch, and then we got on the buses for Memphis. And yes, it was Canada Day and no, the opening hymn for our meeting was not the national anthem. It was sad...BUT I had brought some Canadian flag stickers and my buddies from Cache Valley were only too happy to wear my flag proudly on their lapels. In fact, if I had been smart, I would have bought a huge roll of Canadian flag stickers when I was in Canada so ALL the choir could celebrate my national holiday!

MEMPHIS
Last Sound Check


The Really Cool Altos of Row 5


Last stop. Our singing voices were getting tired, but at dinner they announced that a young girl from California who was at St. Jude's having treatments for a brain tumor, was coming to the hotel and a few of the Choir had said they would sing to her. Barry (general manager) said we were all welcome to participate if we wanted, so at 7 pm everybody showed up in the lobby and on the terrace to sing to Chase. We sang 4-5 songs for her as she and her parents sat in chairs a good distance from the choir members (her white blood count was so low they couldn't chance any infections). Those twenty minutes made the back aches, the sore feet, the sweaty performances all worth it. What a wonderful opportunity we had. We didn't know that Chase's favorite primary song is A Child's Prayer...and that was the second one we sang so it really touched the family and all of us.

The next morning was free time—if you can imagine! It was great. We went down to Beale Street, the area of Memphis that was the birthplace of the blues. A lot of the choir members went out to Graceland, but since I have never loved Elvis (don't hate me for that), I was happy to wander Memphis. Hot, muggy, Memphis. We watched the ducks wander down the red carpet of the Peabody Hotel followed by Craig Jessop, the honorary duckmaster. I went to Hard Rock Cafe, didn't eat there as I couldn't bear to spend so much money for a burger! Our sound check was that afternoon and again we had a great air conditioned venue. This time it was home to the NBA's Grizzlies. Gotta love those athletic arenas. It went well. When we started the first song the whole choir started quacking in honor of Craig's honorary title. It was good for a few minutes of laughing without much singing.

FRIENDS
Peggy and Margot—the WonderWardrobe Ladies


Kirtland Temple—Ruth, Carol, Margie


Fun Second Sopranos (no joke!)—Carol and Cyndi


So the concert came, we sang our hearts out, and the audience loved us. I wasn't too sad knowing that it was my last time seeing the concert dresses bag. I wasn't even sad that it was our last concert. I was just so happy to participate in a tour where we touched so many people, where I got to know so many cool choir members (outside of the second altos), cool spouses of choir members, and enjoyed a very casual chat or two with the conductors. You gotta love tour for the opportunities a regular Thursday rehearsal does not afford. So bring 'em on...even outside of the North American continent!

I must add one more thing. We had a group of women who signed on for a Fit in 95 challenge. It started 95 days before tour and it was fun to work on various challenges to prepare for the tour. But it was even BETTER to have a support group that kept me from eating too much at the buffets, helped me want to find time to exercise, and just kept me aware of the goal to stay healthy while on tour. I had hoped to get a shot of the group while we were on tour but that was impossible.

So that's the final tour report. And now that I'm back, things probably won't be as exciting to blog but I'll see what I can do to spice up my life a bit!

MTC Tour 2007

Well I finally got a good connection in a hotel where we actually have some free time. It's actually quite amazing that there aren't more choir members dropping like flies with the schedule we have. But I can honestly say that it's been great thus far. We've had some really hot performances (in more ways than one) and it's taught me how to stand still with sweat rolling down my face, my back and my neck!! I'll give you an update on each location...that might be easier!

TORONTO
Toronto City Hall (across from our hotel)

Albertina and myself in front of the Marriott


I didn't take my camera to the sound check in Toronto. BIG MISTAKE! The Roy Thompson Hall was stunning. If you want to read up on the event, go to mormontabernaclechoir.org and read the Toronto article. I wrote it...amazing I know. But you can be the judge. Two experiences with Toronto. When we went to the sound check the first song we sang was the national anthem. I have to admit that I could not finish singing the anthem. I actually shed tears...got all veklempt! Here I was in Canada, with the world's most well known and loved choir with many of them being close friends, singing MY national anthem. Even on the second run through I couldn't finish it. Even in the performances I had to really concentrate to keep myself from losing it. It was an awesome experience. I LOVE my homeland. I'm proud to be Canadian (yes, I even sewed a Canadian flag on my backpack) and there aren't many in the Choir who don't know that! In fact one of my bass friends (he's in the Chicago story as well) told me yesterday that he got emotional during the anthem as well. What a glorious bonding experience! I did omit one very phenomenal event...when Lloyd asked those who were Canadians to stand, there were six of us with Canadian flags and we waved them proudly. I got a little carried away...waved mine like it was a hockey game and I had a ten footer on a big stick. Looked a little weird with a tiny 8 inch flag on a toothpick. But it just brought the house down so we were all happy to be Canadian. I think I'm the only one with a Canadian passport however. That made me even prouder. One more thing for the siblings...I went to dinner with Albertina (one of Dad's secretaries). She was so happy to meet me and told everybody this was Carol who sings in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. And would then say that she worked for my father...and that "her parents were like family...parents" to her. I was able to get her into the matinee performance (found a ticket from one of our staff members). She was ecstatic and was so happy to have spent time with one of the Salmons. If any of you are in Toronto, you'll need to look her up. She's a good woman.

CHAUTAUQUA, NY
Craig at the sound check

The Row—Carol, Ann, and Christie


Many of you may not even know where this is. To tell you the truth, I don't either. It's a town that awakens each spring/summer for a great performing arts season. They have a wonderfully old amphitheatre with wooden benches. Not too comfortable but the crowd was soooo fantastic! This was another double concert venue (matinee and evening performances). The fact that I had pulled two all-nighters earlier in the week at the office to get stuff done before I left as well as performing twice the day before, made itself manifest during the matinee performance. Instead of eating dinner I just laid down in a presbyterian chapel on their cushioned chairs for a couple of hours so the evening performance wouldn't kill me. It worked. I survived. But what really helped me survive was our conductor, Craig Jessop. I'm not kidding. The man saved more than myself that night. Imagine an orchestra of 60 or more, and 300+ choir members performing their fourth 2-hour concert in less than 24 hours...with a very short night's sleep (crossed the border by bus after midnight). Needless to say the miracle to perform a stunning performance was found in Craig. He walked onto that stage with so much enthusiasm and energy it was like an instant spark and my whole soul and body just had every ounce of energy I needed to perform something that a minute before was totally out of reach. Humbling to say the least because I knew Craig and Mack were just as tired—if not moreso—but the Lord had blessed us. Which brings me to one more ah-ha experience. I'm starting to realize the reason the Choir and Orchestra tour. It's not publicity for the Choir or even the Church in that respect, it's an opportunity to touch the souls of those listening so when a couple of young missionaries happen to be in their neighborhood there's some memory deep in their hearts they can't quite figure out BUT just might be enough for their spirit to recognize something and prompt them to listen to the message. And again I'm humbled by what the Lord has allowed me to participate in.

BLOSSOMFEST—CLEVELAND, OH
Dinner with the Cache Valley Girls (Marilyn, Kathie, Camille, Yvonne), Me, and Morgan Hansen (our cousin)

Performing at BlossomFest

The Homers, the Johnsons and Me



Now, what more can I write about? Well, can we say SWEAT! Yup, let's get a little technical here. Firstly, you've taken a huge group of people from DRY heat into a climate where we have 80 percent humidity. And what does that do to you besides changing your hairstyle? Ya...it puts your body into a tailspin attempting to regulate it's temperature. Firstly, if you notice how dark it is AROUND the stage and then how bright we all look, you'll understand this sweating phenomena a little better. Not only do we as a choir contend with humidity, we also contend with stage lighting, long dresses, full suits for the men, and a closer than usual neighbor on either side! Ya....we were all fire hydrants. In fact within the first 10 minutes of the concert I had sweat trickling down my back, sweat trickling down my face, and a bunch of sweat making tracks down my neck. And what can you do? I was mumbling to my neighbor, Camille (from Smithfield), that I couldn't take it. I even stopped singing (mouthed the words) while I attempted to go to my cold place (grade 2 winter...walking through the fields to SWC for school). Unfortunately, nothing helped. They instructed us to bring bottles of water on the stage...forgot to mention the beach towels that would have been appropriate as well. By intermission I had given up trying to control my sweat glands and just let them go crazy. Interesting note...once you have become a huge sticky mess your body pulls back and doesn't send too much more sweat out there. It's like a spider cocooning it's next meal. I had a full-body coating of sticky sweat all over for the rest of the concert. Well, me and 300 others. And I thought it was because I was out of shape!

On a higher plane however, we did visit Kirtland on Sunday afternoon after sacrament meeting. It was a cool experience. Touching as the Choir was able to sing in the Kirtland Temple some of the hymns that were in the first hymnal compiled by Emma Smith. What a great experience. Humbling to know we were on sacred ground with all the events that transpired in that area.

CHICAGO
Kite Flying

The Row (Me, Ruth, Camille, Delores, Sybil)

Dinner at Ravinia


Okay. To set the stage...I went to breakfast Wednesday (not a usual habit) and was sitting with a couple of friends when Lloyd Newell comes up and asks Cherilyn if she knows of anyone who would want to buy two WICKED tickets from a couple who had decided they couldn't attend the performance that evening in Chicago (Oriental Theatre). So I'm sitting at the table wondering whether I should go or not. I had heard a lot about this musical and figured since I wasn't going to be in Chicago again I might as well raise my hand as an interested party. And off I went the happy owner of a ticket to WICKED. Remember though we're still in Cleveland. And won't be leaving until 10:45 (ended up being an hour later). And once we do get to our hotel we'll have to take a 45 minute cab ride down to the theatre...are you following...yes. Needless to say we (there were ten in the party) were feeling good until we hit traffic outside of Chicago. And then the bus took a wrong exit, and then when we did get to the hotel the bus had to drive AROUND to the back of the hotel before unboarding. We did get to the theatre, but missed the first four numbers. Thank goodness in each taxi van we had someone who gave us a synopsis of what they thought we'd have missed. Now, with that said, it was a great event! I had to look ahead however and say I have something to look forward to the next time I see it.

And Chicago? Well, it IS the windy city and I DID pack a few kites to fly off the Navy Pier. Unfortunately, the next Batman movie had taken control of the end of the pier so I was unable to fly my kites there. Happily, John and Margie Murdock and I found a park. I've added a little movie. You can see how much fun we had. Funny thing...the windy city may have some wind but not in a park...and not coming from the same direction. It was fun though. And yes, we did sweat...but we're used to it now.

So our evening concert was at Ravinia. Another fantastic amphitheatre with a lot of grassy areas for people to come and enjoy the concert. There was some rainfall prior to the concert but it cleared up nicely and the grass was covered with people. And not just people on blankets but people with tables set up and having shrimp cocktail, wine, fruit salad (in a fancy cut watermelon)—I told one group that if there was an award, they would have taken first place. They had a lovely flower arrangement as a centerpiece. AMAZING! What's up with the west's version of concerts in the park?

This was my first experience as a Row Leader. Row 5, and I took it to the limit...letting everyone know that I was the leader, even the organists. Sometimes you have to be a little out of control to get a few laughs. And especially when everyone is tired and sweaty.

So now we're in Cincinnati and we're singing with the Pops tomorrow. I'll tell you about it tomorrow night.

Tour Prep

So tonight we have our pre-tour concert. I think some of the family have tickets to attend. I'm glad they'll be attending the second half though...I think I'm a little better at those pieces than the first half! But I'll be ready to go come the Toronto concerts on June 22!
I'm learning new things though. For instance, you really CAN pack over a week in advance! No kidding. Our dress bags (with everything we need for the concerts, plus a dress or two) have to be packed tonight. Sunday we have to drop off our big suitcases (which we won't see for the first three days), and Thursday morning (June 21) when I fly out I'll have packed everything I'll need for three days in a carry on. I'm going through my closet looking for non-wrinkle wear, which hasn't been too fruitful. BUT today, my friend here at work told me that you can buy some kind of spray that de-wrinkles your clothing. WAHOO!!! Anyway, I'll be trying to post a play-by-play of my experiences while on tour. If not, you're always welcome to read up at mormontabernaclechoir.org for updates.

Life in the Too Fast Lane

Diane and Konrad come home from Europe today. I came up to their place last night just to make sure they didn't have water damage, a burned down house, or mice. And it was just perfect. It was really nice of Diane to give me a key and let me come up though. I needed a place of refuge from the last two months! The proverbial fast lane has reached some pretty high speeds, but I'm sure everyone else has busy lives as well so I'll put a end to this.


One of the bigger events the last few weeks just happened to be with the Choir. We sang Mendelssohn's Elijah with Bryn Terfel! Let me just say it was one of the highlights of my short sojurn in the Tabernacle Choir. I look back on the major events I've been able to participate in, and wonder if those who don't know the "who's who" of the musical world really understand how important the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is when it comes to missionary work with these people. Our experiences with Bryn have pretty much sealed that relationship and I think we'll see him several more times throughout the years. But he, and others who come, have an opportunity to feel the spirit and go on their way talking about those experiences with other people in their genre. I chalk it up to Craig and Mack. Both of them are without guile, and guests of the Choir sense that and are drawn to it. So who knows when we'll see Bryn again, but we'll definitely see him.
And now I must go walk. Diane's place really affords an opportunity to work muscles you didn't know you had when you're walking on the flatlands. Looking forward to a little burn!

What the...

Can't believe it's been so long...well, no, I CAN believe it's been this long. Life has been super busy since the last post. We'll be having our third major concert for the Tabernacle Choir this weekend since Conference. Ya...and it isn't easy stuff either. Oh well, it's fun, keeps me out of trouble, and out of the office in the evenings.

So, Mom, Dad, and I went to Nauvoo and some other Church history sites in Missouri in April. I'll add some pictures at the end of this to confirm that we actually went. It was fun even if we had some nice rainstorms during the first day or two. No problem though...we were doing our big driving days then. We flew into St. Louis, picked up a rental car, stayed the night enroute to Independence. The following morning we spent the day in the car...went to a "Waffle House" for brunch (which was pretty greasy...), and then stopped in at the visitor's center at Independence. The next day we visited Liberty Jail, Far West, and Adam-ondi-Ahman. Great places to visit and get an idea of the life of the early Saints. The rest of the trip we stayed in Nauvoo. What a great place that is! I'm sure most of you have been there but if you haven't, make it a point to put that on your list of places to see in the next 5 years. It's worth it! There's a spirit there that you can't find in too many places and it stays with you.

Anyway, that's all I have time for. If you're reading this and want to attend the Elijah concert this weekend with Bryn Terfel, give me a call. I have a few tickets left for either Friday or Saturday performances. That would be May 11-12....thought it would be important to add the dates.

Enjoy the photos!

The Community of Christ Temple
Inside the Liberty Jail Visitor's Center
Overlooking the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman
Carthage Jail and 82 yr old missionary guide!
Awesome condo in Nauvoo!!
Mom and Dad at the end of Parley Street by the Mississippi River
Outside the Pendleton Schoolhouse-Mom got an A!
After our second temple session

NEWS FLASH!

Here's the flyer for the upcoming birthday celebration for Dad/Grandpa! Plan to attend but let me know if you're coming and sleeping over.

Winding Up

Last night I went to Logan for Erin's sophomore vocal recital. What can I say? It was great. Erin has quite the talent and I was proud of her and excited that I could be at such a wonderful event. I especially loved her last set and kept being reminded of some of the great Jazz/Broadway artists. It was really fun!

Our ward choir sang in a Choirside for the stake last Sunday. It was great. Bottom line...we were the designated clean up batters so had to end with a bang. The MTC (Mormon Tabernacle Choir) had performed a piece from Cameroon in January and it seemed simple enough for me to teach the ward choir (although they are VERY accomplished). Anyway, we sang that as our last piece...we had to, it contained a conga drum, wooden block, a triangle, and two shakers, along with a little swaying by the choir. There were a lot of happy faces in the crowd, and a few stoic faces, but all in all our ward choir had fun and that's what it's all about, right? Soapbox moment...I sometimes worry that we lose the feeling of rejoicing in ward choirs and although we couldn't use the percussion instruments in a sacrament meeting, this Choirside was the perfect place for it. Not that all sacrament-appropriate music is dull and boring, but ward choirs really need to have an opportunity to learn something fun and light. And this was the perfect song for it. I actually moved from being a conductor to being a singer so we could just enjoy performing.

Life is good. Work is REALLY busy. Choir is still a blast and I'm continually learning more and more...and realizing there's so much I need to work on. But I like challenges and change (the latter not as much as the former). Speaking of change, I started a program called Fit in 95 with some of my Choir friends. As of March 18, we had 95 days until tour. We're having two-week challenges that are health/fitness related. I'm excited about it. Here's the flyer...just in case you wanted to see my design skills (ha ha ha).

I'll honestly try to post more often but time just seems to be flying by. If I don't post before Conference, here's a bingo card you can download for any kids who want to participate in playing bingo while they watch conference. And yes, that is me...hopefully I won't be sitting in no man's land!

Almost a Month!

I really didn't want to be one of those bloggers that gets excited in the beginning and then doesn't blog for a month so it frustrates those looking for new info. Sorry about that...to those 4 or 5 people who care to know! First off, thanks for the comments...that was kind of fun reading them. And Mindy, just for the record, I attended the OTS concert on Saturday evening and it was soooo good! But, I had no one to watch and wave to because you weren't there so as soon as your Thai stint is over, you'd better get back in so I'll have a friend. The Choir is scheduled to move back into the Tabernacle in April. There are several concerts scheduled for that and ours is the evenings of April 6 and 7. As always, we haven't seen any music for that yet, it's apparently an Easter Concert, but tickets will be very difficult to find. They rearranged the benches on the main floor so there is more leg room...but then that means fewer seats. Our first broadcast is scheduled for April 8. I'm excited, but a little saddened as well. My experiences as a Choir member have only been in the Conference Center so I think I'll miss that. That and the fact that when I've sat at my computer all day I've always been able to have the 10-15 minute walk from my car to the music boxes to the loft and then the same walk back at the end of the evening. I'll have to find another way to get in my exercise. But on the upside, everyone I've spoken to says the Tabernacle is so much better to hear each other...which is always a problem in the CONF. It'll be exciting, to say the least. Oh, and keep your eyes glued to your television/computer screens during the Saturday afternoon session of April conference...that's when you'll get a good look at the new interior! I'm trying to find a way to get a picture of the Tabernacle up on my blog before the world sees it...I'll see what I can do now that we have a little more access to the secret tunnels under and around Temple Square.
Lincoln's debut as an EFY video star...looks good. I saw a rough cut the other day. He's got a great "behind the ear" shot in one scene. All you Canadians will be happy to know he's made us proud by wearing his Roots toque! It rocks!!
So I don't think I have any great pictures to load. I'll see what I can do about getting a still of Lincoln's ear and toque in the next little bit. Stop by again to see additional pictures.

I'm in!

Okay, so the last few days I'd been trying to get in and update my blog but I had forgotten my username AND password. Go figure...thank goodness they have ways to help you remember or I really would have been matching Jordan's updates!
I've finally figured out the weather here in Utah. If there is a big storm brewing, we'll get it on a Thursday or Sunday. How do I know? Well, Thursdays and Sundays are the days I drive up to Salt Lake for Choir...and why not put a wrench in the Tabernacle Choir commuters' lives? It's happened that way ever since the first of the year. Our two really big storms landed on Thursdays, and then this past Sunday morning I was surprised with at least an inch of snow on my car and more coming down when I went out to leave for Choir. I'm just glad there were fewer cars on the road Sunday morning. And I'm grateful that I learned how to handle winter driving in Canada...where we know that you don't drive the same on wet/icy/snowy roads. Steady as you go, eh? And for goodness sake, don't overcorrect!
For you people who are following Lincoln Salmon's acting career, well, he just finished a film shoot for an EFY DVD last weekend. He was awesome...totally casual and very comfortable in front of the camera. I don't think I can take any of the footage and put it on my blog just yet, but hopefully I can load a little of it sometime before the end of the year...
And below you'll find a little smattering of my trip home for Christmas. Nothing like the good ol' Canadian Rockies...my parents and their excitement over the gifts their family gives them...and all the conversations they have on the telephone!
And thus endeth this post.

First Blog Right Here...

So saith Tara as we sit on her couch working on her cool VINYL CUTTING company logo. And let me tell you...this is gonna be one hot logo when we're done with it.

And that's all.

I'll try to post more often than Jordan does...