Don't be TOO surprised...

...Two posts in two days!

I FINALLY got my scrap/music room set up and actually took PICTURES to show it off!

(The FABULOUS Damn Yankees with my AXL Badwater SRO and my Aqua Mist Athena Luna Electrics! Sadly-it's missing the Ovation, Fender, Martin and the one signed by STYX...)

What do you think? :)

j

***I got my Quantum of Solace tickets tonight-9:50pm Friday night at Jordan Commons! I can't wait!!!

...personal legend...

It's almost 11. My bedtime. I'm supposed to be finishing my Tuesday Pilates or showering or quietly reading in bed. I'm not...
The funny thing is that at at 3:00 this afternoon I was actually looking forward to all of those things. I DID do some of the supposed to's: three loads of laundry+hanging EVERYTHING all up (for once), practiced guitar for 20 minutes (my minimum each day), cooked dinner, got lunch ready for tomorrow (so I don't have to eat oatmeal), pulled breakfast and set out tomorrows stunning outfit.
But now that it's time for bed, I'm far from being ready. Instead, I choose to sit and enjoy friends blogs and finally add to my own. I'm also WAY too wired because I've had iTunes on for the last four hours. What have I been listening to? Only the standard Rockstar playlist-of course. Here's a sample.

You, Me and the Bourgeoisie by The Submarines
Dressed to Kill by Landon Pigg
Trouble Is a Friend by Lenka (I've come to know that myself and it's been reinforced by this month's T.R.A.S.H. selection.)
Chinese Democracy by Guns N' Roses (Some new GNR after 17 years!)
Afraid by Mötley Crüe (My FAVORITE!)
Enjoy the Silence (Reinterpreted) by Depeche Mode (Yes...I admit that I was missing my Aaron for a minute...)
Your Soul Today by Chris Cornell ("Can I visit your arms? Can I visit your legs?..." Are you kidding? ABSOLUTELY!)
Lovers In Japan / Reign Of Love by Coldplay
Delicate by Damien Rice O Rock
Everyday Of My Life by Glen Burtnick (Again...ABSOLUTELY!)
I`ve Just Seen a Face by The Beatles
I Only See You by Benton Paul (I'm also missing WP BAD!)
She Talks To Angels by The Black Crowes
Hook Me Up by Bon Jovi
Who You Are by Cary Brothers (Cary Brothers can be my hero any day! (Watch the video...))
Eleanor Rigby by David Cook (Yep...he got my vote!)
Mercy by Duffy
A Little Less Conversation by Elvis Presley (Don't ask...)
My Moon My Man by Feist
Hitchin' a Ride by Green Day
Flip Flops by John Lisi (I love him...he loves my shoes...ask him...)
Somewhere Only We Know by Keane (I would give anything to be back in Holland.)

...bliss...

So, a few of you have been asking about the adventures of guitar. I'm currently STILL on the opening to "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses. However, the good news is that it's coming along nicely and I don't have to look at my picking hand any more. Good news: after an hour long butt kicking, I'm finally feeling (a little) comfortable with the stinkin pick. It still doesn't sound as fabulous as I'd like it to, but, that's the reason I'm taking lessons. B picked up his famous pink mission pen and was strumming with it and he sounded better than I do when I *TRY* with the pick. He tells me, "It's because I'm strumming lightly." Turns out death-grip, karate-chop, Mr. Roboto isn't the correct way to hold a pick and strum. Who knew? ;)

I've also changed picks for the time being. My fabulous free Arrow pick from the STYX show had a bit of a snag in it-which is tripled when in my hands. I've opted for a PICK BOY Medium .70mm. It's white with raised bumps so I can actually FEEL where it is in my hands. As lame as it is (and sounds) I really wanted to use one of my "cool" picks that I've picked up along the way. Those will have to wait...

j

...about MY Personal Legend...I believe I'm close...

An A- by U Standards...

Yesterday came too, too fast...

Last week was one big blur-peppered with an assembly or two (I TOTALLY got to meet Miss Utah...), afternoon naps, T.R.A.S.H. Book Club, TWO trips to Heartland and some deep cleaning and pile making, and meeting Chauncy the crab spider. It came and went so fast that I'm not too sure HOW it came to be October 5th, and just how I let this slip by-yet again for two weeks...

So the Weather Man told me to expect gray clouds and LOTS of rain yesterday and that's just what I was greeted with when I finally rolled out of bed at 8:30. It was a perfect morning for a bath and some T.R.A.S.H. reading. At 10:30 I finished the book that I was given on Tues. the 30th. Classic Patterson. I found myself getting SO absorbed into the book that I started seeing and FEELING things that weren't there. (At one point, I DID see a mouse-however it WAS outside and it more afraid of me-than I was of him. (I was pretty creeped out, though...))

After the prunish bath, I got myself put together for the 20 minute trek to Guitar in Union Square (Sandy). I could NOT believe the drivers. It's as if they had NEVER driven in the rain before. People were running lights right and left (ALL THREE TIMES IT WAS A BLACK MUSTANG!) and most cars didn't have their lights on (I guess because it was 1 in the afternoon it didn't mean it was time for the lights to be turned on. Never mind that it was DARK from the clouds AND pouring...) Amazingly, I arrive for my lesson in one piece and EARLY.

I sit down and get to have the chat-again-about using a pick. I HATE guitar picks! HATE THEM! I don't know what mm. I should be using. I don't know what size. What brand... (They all feel different, by the way...) I'm not even TOO sure how to hold the stinkin thing! With B's help, I finally settle on a FREE pick from The Arrow 103.5 that I got while waiting for the STYX show at The Depot last Feb. I'm thinking that B chose that one because he used one like it for a couple of months.

From there, we start our warm up: Strumming a "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" down/up strum pattern/time, while playing D, Am, G, and C chords. These I'm actually able to change to and from quite quickly. THEN...Daddy walks in. I've got a MAJOR complex about playing in front of ANYONE-let alone him. (You know...because he knows EVERYTHING about the guitar, theory, technique-everything.) I'm having a hard enough time playing for B-and that's with constant reassurance that I have nothing to worry about. "I really want you to believe me-you're like in the top 5% of my students-for how long you've been playing." (I started lessons on Aug. 16th.) Okay-but that still doesn't take away the massive anxiety that I'm feeling. (Which, in case you're wondering, is why I signed up for guitar in the first place. It's time to push past that hang up. "Bring it ON!" I said. It's proving more difficult that. It's been a struggle to even leave the bedroom door open while practicing...) I finally had to close my eyes to push out all of the other distractions while I talked myself through this ridiculous fear. Surprisingly, I was able to relax enough that both hands got to do what I was asked to do: keep time and play clear chords. Success...

I've been learning "I Will" by The (GENIUS) Beatles. B's written it out to include bar (with 6th string roots), regular, and power chords that I get to move through. All while playing a "1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a" time/strum pattern. I chord and strum down on 1, 2, & then up on a-then change chords and strum down on 3, 4, & and up again on a. Everything combines seamlessly and smoothly into 16th notes in 4/4 time when B plays it. My version usually includes a 2 or 3 second pause between chords, but I've got the strumming/counting down and can move from chord to chord without thinking too much. I've just got to get my fingers in the right place. "Wow!" B says. "I'm gonna give you a....90% for that. That's an A at Murray High, but...an A- by U Standards." Thanks, B.

From there we discussed Chord Alterations. Now, I've got that chords consist of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th note in a Major scale. I've even got that to play a minor, all I have to do is flat the 3rd. Then comes the next step-that I'm STILL trying to wrap my head around: Sometimes, it's the 1st, 3rd, 5th then 7th notes. Sometimes the 5th is optional. Sometimes you can flat the 3rd AND the 7th. AND...if you're not confused yet, why don't you try "sus"ing extra notes in! ("Sus" means "suspended") Say, you come across "Csus2" that just means adding the 2nd note of the scale-in addition to others that make up the chord.

Okay...

"Don't get nervous about the combinations of alterations..." B says as I'm sitting wide-eyed, pick in hand (mid-air) with a white knuckle grip in G chord position. (However at the time I DID "sus" the 5th... ;))

After all that, my lesson wasn't over. I got a new song! "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas! I LOVE this song! Dust features the Travis PIMA finger picking method. So, while playing the chords with my left hand, my right gets to be engaged in a super fancy dance: my Thumb (P), Index (I), Middle (M) and Ring (A) fingers work together to create a 1 2 & 3 & 4 & (4/4 time) beat "Useful for emphasizing a melody note." What's interesting is that on the beat 1 my P and A are picked together THEN I move into beats 2 P, & I, 3 P, & M, 4 P, & I. Now, I is ALWAYS on string 3, M is always on sting 2 and A is always on string 1. P is free to move around on the 4th, 5th or 6th string-depending on which string the root of the chord I'm playing is on. Awesome, huh!!! The best part of this song (and what it's known for) is the INSTANTLY recognizable intro. I switch back and forth between the C and Am chord-BUT, while PIMAing there are chord alterations taking place. So, I start in C, remove my first finger, add my third, then back to C. and so forth and so on to Am with alterations...

Sweet...

j

Life in Technicolor

This stinkin thing hasn't been updated-because, well, I was telling myself that I haven't done anything worth sharing. Then I changed my mind...

I decided that I get to keep this up for my fabulous friends-whom I miss more than words can say-AND to remind myself that life for a girlie who spends all her time with 5 year olds is pretty amazing after all.

So...with Guitar Lessons, Learning Spanish and Dutch (thank you Berlitz), reading for KJK T.R.A.S.H., Liberty Elem., Concerts, the Step Out to Fight Diabetes 2008 Walk, Creating for http://jonnajonna.etsy.com, etc., this gets to be updated on a regular basis. I'm aiming for every Saturday-at least. And yes, I get to include pictures. (I know...;))

***

As a taste of what's to come, here is a random list of my last few weeks-in no particular order:

I'm learning I Will by The Beatles for guitar. I'm also working on strumming patterns and both 6th and 5th string root bar chords. I have callouses on my fingers and one running the length of my left index finger... My lessons are every Saturday, from 1:30-2:30. I'm learning on my Acoustic/Electric purple Ovation Celebrity (then I'll break out the Luna, Fender or AXL).

I had dinner with Blues Legend Bryan Lee and his band last Tuesday (Sept. 2, 08) and loved up John Lisi his new guitar player (BEFORE I know just WHO he was...it was a good thing, I'm thinking...) ;)

I started work at Liberty Elementary two weeks ago-but my kids started school last Thursday (Sept. 4, 08). I've had a blast, learned a lot and decided that I had best learn some Spanish to keep up.

I ripped up the carpet in my bathroom and my brother and I put down tile. All in 4 days-by ourselves. (I mostly watched, but DID get to smoosh grout and clean up...)

My Walk Team, "Team-The Jon Dansie Band", has raised just under $900 for Diabetes research. We just found out that Cyprus Credit Union/CRA donated $300 towards our team goal of $10,000! We will Step Out on September 27, 2008. See my page for more info:
http://main.diabetes.org/goto/jonna. Or see my team page http://main.diabetes.org/goto/jondansieband to check our progress!

***

Life is Gorgeous...

Until next,

j

Beautiful Twists

Elladean, a friend of mine, once explained what a Beautiful Twist is...

"Beautiful Twists are twists that turn out to be beautiful and unexpected moments in our lives."

I am thrilled to report that I am finding myself in the middle of one such Beautiful Twist! My life the last three weeks or so has turned itself upside-down and inside-out. I've begun things I never thought I would, taken on so much more than ever imagined, and suddenly stopped things I once thought I could never live without. I have created so much abundance in my life, changed the world, moved mountains, made history and surrendered to myself to the greater good...

I cannot say where it is I'm headed or what will happen once I arrive, but I do know it's for an amazing reason-whatever that may be... I'll share what I can along the way...

LIFE IS GORGEOUS!!!

Jonna

***For more info on Beautiful Twists and Elladean's fantastic treats, visit: www.beautifultwists.com & http://elladean.etsy.com