"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagnination, and life to everything." ~ Plato


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

5 - Shrak


Funny misprint at Fred Meyer.  :)

Not a lot of pictures or entertaining things today... I did not manage to get a picture of the surprise I was talking about yesterday...  I will save it for another day.  Early tomorrow morning I am off to Vancouver, WA to be with my roommate and her family and friends for New Years.  I'll be back late on the 1st.  I'm taking my computer and hopefully I'll be able to post something really fast each day.  If not, I will most certainly take the pictures and will upload them when I am back home. 

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

4 - Bach


A page from Bach's Mass in B-minor, which my choir is learning for a concert in Spring semester.  :)  I listened/sang along to about half of the learning CD today.  It's some really gorgeous music and I'm excited to learn it.

In other news - I'm writing some fiction again!  I've been inspired into the writing mood by the album "Lungs" by Florence + The Machine (which is what is currently being played the most on my ipod).  It's a pretty exciting thing for me to have both the time and inspiration to get some of the stories in my head down.

There was another fairly significant occurrence today, but it will probably be the subject of tomorrow's picture, so I'm going to leave you hanging!  haha!

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Monday, December 27, 2010

3 - Seattle Art

Two pictures today!  :)


Iconic Seattle...

and one of my favorite pieces in the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) - armor made out of army dog tags.

Obviously, I was in Seattle today.  My dad, a good friend, and I went to see the Picasso exhibit that has been here for several months now.  We got there about an hour early and subsequently got to wander around the main exhibits before heading into see the Picassos (no pics in there, obviously).  

I don't consider myself an art snob or anything, but I generally enjoy considering art.  What I often find most interesting is the history behind it... and sometimes the potential meaning of the piece.  There were some really cool new "permanent" exhibits that took you through Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Western European art history (medieval Christianity, Renaissance, and Age of Enlightenment).  I think I would enjoy taking an art history class sometime...  :)

Do you go to art museums?

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Sunday, December 26, 2010

2 - Holiday Reading



I am really excited for my choir's trip to Germany and France in May/June 2011.  ReallyExcited.  This feeling has only been heightened (exponentially heightened, I may add) by my perusal of the Rick Steves' guidebook that my parents gave me for Christmas yesterday.  I have read more of this book than I have of any of the library books I picked up at the beginning of my 2 weeks off! 

Rick Steves' "Travels Through Europe" was an often-watched television show after dinner during my childhood, so I'm already fond of the guy.  :)  What I didn't know was that he is a great writer, as well.  (I particularly appreciate his dry sense of humor...)  He's so great that it makes me want to travel all over Europe - not that I didn't already, but the book makes me feel like I really could pack up for a Euro-tour for a month sometime in the relative future.  By myself, even! 

I'm not sure if my parents know what the consequences of their actions might be... hah.  This is definitely one of my favorite Christmas presents and is soon going to be a well-read copy.  :)

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Saturday, December 25, 2010

1 - Merry Christmas!

It has been a wonderful holiday full of family time here at the White House.  :)  Good food, games, gifts, and laughs! 

I would like to use this post to officially announce the beginning of my 2011 "365 Project"!  Starting with Christmas Day, 2010 and [probably] ending Christmas Day, 2011, I will do my very best to post a picture a day here on my blog.  Hopefully there will be some words to go along with them.  :P 
Disclaimer: Sometimes there will be effort behind a shot and sometimes there might not be.  My main goal is to just get a picture up here!  (I'm not sure how I am going to get this accomplished when I'm on Choir Tour in Europe, but it will work out somehow.)

Well, here we go!


"Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord." ~ Luke 2:10-11 
:)

Merry Christmas!
Love&Harmony,
Erin

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Grumpus

I think doctor-prescribed painkillers (for example, the ones they give you after they take your wisdom teeth out) make me a grumpus.  Also, staying at home and having to lay around eating soft foods for two days straight probably heightens the grumpus effect.

For a first experience with this sort of thing - surgery -, I also want it to be one of the last.  Laughing gas is funny - but not in an amusing way.  I mostly remember just fighting to stay connected to reality at the front part of my brain as the rest of my body gave up and was floaty, and feeling myself forcibly smiling to let the nurses know that I was doing okay.  I squeezed the stress ball one of them gave me to find a vein for the IV as hard as I possibly could and did NOT want to let go... Then I woke up in a completely different room, freezing cold and holding a large, comfy, friendly-looking stuffed monkey.  Only a little disorienting. 

Note for future reference:  When the nurse tells you to remember to be a couch potato all day, take her advice and don't go up to the kitchen to ask your mom something.  You might faint.  I did.  Yeah *fail*.

The rest of Monday was full of movies and sleep.  I did catch most of "Meet the Robinsons" but only 5 parts of "The Holiday".  (I had just watched the latter on the night before coming home from college, so I didn't miss that much.)  After the kitchen incident, I did not leave the couch until bed time.  Tuesday was basically back on the couch and kind of going crazy - still on the painkillers (just one!) and still fairly light-headed because of that.  But mom was at work so it was sister who was taking care of me.  Luckily, she can make noodles.  :P  Monday and Tuesday consisted of lots of noodles. 

Wednesday (yesterday) I started just trying to take good old Tylenol.  I felt icky for about the first half of the day.  I'm blaming that on the painkillers getting out of my system and having not done anything for the past two days.  Getting out and going for a walk was SO wonderful!  :)  Made cookie dough, too.  And a giant mess to go along with that.  Also did laundry, fulfilling my need to contribute to helping run the household when I'm actually at home.  haha.  My life sounds incredibly entertaining, I'm sure.  By the end of the day, I was well enough to get to church music practice for Christmas Eve mass.  It was good to see people (and to drive).  :)

So, thank goodness for Tylenol, being able to drive myself around, good friends at church, singing, and sleep to help cure my grumpus-ness. Today, the plan is more cookie dough for a cookie-decorating "party" and hopefully a couple of my friends will stop by in the midst of that.  Also planning on getting my hair chopped off.  Well, not as drastic as "chopped" per say, but definitely cut. 

The rest of break will hopefully involve seeing more good friends, music practicing, major reflection, maybe some creative writing, and maybe some blog-writing.
And bless your heart for reading all of this, if you did.  I have no idea how this could have possibly been very exciting - I'm not even on drugs anymore!  haha.

Merry Christmas if I'm not back til then!
Love&Harmony,
Erin

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

"All is Well...

with my soul, with my soul...
And I wanna love everyone,
I wanna show them what you're made of,
Cause you give me peace."
~ "Well with Soul" by Ruth

I just needed to post and say that my friends are amazing people.  I posted a slightly angsty status on Facebook this past weekend, which is not something I usually do, (it was also a quote from a musical...) and was flooded with notifications of people telling me the nicest things about myself. 
That sounds so vain... but I really really needed it!  :P  haha.
I guess I appreciated it so much because well, who doesn't like nice words (especially about themselves), and because in some ways I guess I'm usually the person in the other position - supporting someone and telling them what they need to lift their spirits -  whether it's compliments, that I love them, or making them laugh.  It's nice to know that I have touched people in such a way that they want to send it back to me.  :)

Life has been crazy with Christmas concerts, school, friends, and, just everything.  Now it is dead week - more homework, concerts, voice jury prep, practicing, and studying.  But that's okay.  Because I have great friends and 10 days until Christmas break!  :)

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Snow, snow, snow, or....

Not yet.
But we're close.  Apparently it's snowing in Seattle, or, as a friend of mine put it in her facebook status, "Snowflakes are flirting with Seattle right now."  :)  Come over to Parkland, please!!!

I just want to be home!  It's not homesickness - just ready for a break and what "home" means!  Even if it's only for 5 days.  And I'll be doing homework most of the time.  But it's okay!  haha.
I am excited for:
seeing Harry Potter again with my family
turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie!
seeing my besties!
visiting old family friends
possibly doing some shopping (what the heck?!  I never like shopping!)
possibly witnessing Thanksgiving snow  :)
drinking hot chocolate and probably having a LotR marathon (over the course of three nights)
playing Wii with my sister and our friends
playing Christmas music  :P
...
being home.
<3

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Friday, November 19, 2010

Happy News

My best friend is [officially] engaged!  :D 
Weird, but oh so wonderful!
Congrats Hannah and I can't wait to see you over Thanksgiving break!

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Song of the Day

"I am chasing a storm,
And it's raining on every town from here to New York,
And it takes me places that I've never been before.
Oh, but I am not afraid,
Of the things that might come my way-
I just fold my hands and pray.

Cause I am yours always, forever,
Take this heart and make it clean again.
Where you lead me I will follow,
Let your spirit rain down, down, down,
Rain down."

~ "Here to New York" by Ruth
:)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Long Week

Things that have (so far) contributed to a long two weeks:
- Feeling supremely frustrated in the practice room when trying to sing, like I can't sing well and can't improve...
- Not finding any kind of time to express everything I have been holding in for the past two or three weeks in a journal-writing kind of way
- Having constant projects in all of my classes
- Utterly failing at piano lessons
- Not letting myself express anything
- Stress from registration
- Realizing that I can't keep acting like a vocal performance major while being a music education major and stay successful//sane
- Not seeing my family/being home in a month

Things that have made it better:
- Laughter with friends
- Floor-event game night
- Completely breaking down and actually letting myself cry at voice lessons
- Subsequently hearing from my voice teacher that I have the ability to be a coloratura soprano... that my upper range is "free, warm, and crystalline"  :)
- A really epic first performance of our main piece for the choir/orchestra Christmas concerts
- Being thankful that I'm in Choir of the West and am surrounded by phenomenal musical peers
- Knowing I have seven days exactly until I will be home for Thanksgiving break
- Warmth/care package from the family
- HARRY POTTER 7.1 PREMIERE!
- Hugs
- Flirting... hahaha
- The most epic Bazinga to date:

- Visiting my Ordal peeps!
- Embracing the fact that it is going to be cold and rainy from now on... which means it could snow at some point
- Getting classes I needed/wanted for J-Term and Spring

Knowing that I have a lot to look forward to and so many reasons to be happy makes breathing a lot easier.  :)

The end.
Love&Harmony,
Erin

Monday, November 15, 2010

Blog 3.0

Hello, dear reader!

If you are reading this, you have successfully navigated to Erin's blog part 3!
Funny story, because this time wasn't fully intentional.  Our school emails are based off of Google Accounts and they just did a big switch in the past two weeks or so to make it "more like an external Google Account" or something like that.  My other Blogger blog was based off of my school email and now I can't log into it - basically, I  try and get stuck in this eternal loop of fail.
Long story short, after several days of angst, I have decided to make another Google Account, and a new blog under a slightly varied URL and the same title as my old blog. 
Here is the link to previous posts from the old "Song from the Heart" in case anyone is at all interested....
http://erinmwhite.blogspot.com/

A post about real life is coming soon, especially because Thanksgiving break is next Wednesday.  :)

Love&Harmony,
Erin