Diary of a Delirious Opera Singer- Episode .999: Cutefest 2007

Welcome to Cutefest 2007!

This blog will take several parts to post...but believe me everyone it will be so worth it! So here is the rundown on winter break.

I guess you can say this... like sands through the hour glass so are the days of a delirious diva... I love my family, boys suck, I'm the most awesome person alive, and kids are fun...that pretty much sums it up (and you get to hear all about it, in episode form!)...but I decided I would create a cheesy montage using photos and videos so you could all experience it with me (hooray for cheesy montages!)

We start with my return home...

Idaho Falls, ID...no snow on the ground (yet...) and an eager family awaits the arrival of the most awesome person alive (moi) What followed was what seemed like an endless cutefest led by my fabulous nieces and nephew, who know more than they should and are always good for a laugh. Here are some things I learned about them...

Austin is a quiet trouble maker who flies below the radar...he is an evil genius in the making...too bad he's so darn adorable, he'll never be admired for his true genius...

Macee is a future supermodel, if there is a camera out she'll pretty much find it and demand that all pictures be about her...

Addie is a silent genius who knows a lot about a lot, she just chooses her moments to showcase what she knows, and of course when she does choose to share, you have not the slightest clue what she is talking about because she speaks in her own language...but if you nod and act like you understand, she will happily continue her banter.

I also learned what it means to be a supermodel, I asked the chillens to do their best super model pose...you can only guess the results...

During a rousing breakfast discussion, the topic of the Princess Bride came up...Kelly marvelled at my ability and Amber's to quote the entire movie...Austin found it quite entertaining and decided to give it several tries himself...here are some of the results...

One night, as Amber and Kelly were out making preparations with Santa for Christmas, I had an awesome night of babysitting...the kids and I crashed on Amber and Kelly's bed to watch movies and Austin got bored... It was then that at WWE Smackdown occured...Austin came out victorious, while Addie and Macee put up a good fight...

<--- The calm before the storm...

The winner and still Champion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (P.S. this is my favorite picture out of all the pictures I took this break...It captures perfectly Austin's evil genius side!)

Oh...and another side note about Cutefest 2007....my Grandma Winberg got a new dog and a new apartment, unfortunately for her the dog came first and she had to leave her under the watchful eyes of the most awesome person alive and her sister...The kids couldn't get enough of Divi...if grandma has to ever get rid of her I hope she gives Amber the chance to adopt her (or me, that dog LOVED me...yet another reason I am the most awesome person alive...)

Well that is all for Cutefest 2007...Don't worry there is still more to come...I am after all I am the most awesome person in the world, and you of course dear reader can't get enough of my escapades...

you know you can't because I said so!

On the next Diary of a Delirious Diva....Christmas CRAZYYYY!!!!! Find out just how we know Addie is a genius and what happens when there are just too many presents under the tree...

The end of the Thanksgiving Break Crazies...atleast I think so...

Finally, a picture of Joe Smiling! However, it isn't hard to smile when you have a daughter as adorable as RayRay!
Amber's Angels...doesn't Addi look like a human Minnie Mouse? Macee and Austin look soooo cute!

Ladies and gentlemen, the antics of Uncle Justin! First we see him and his fabulous family! Lanae and Lane are too cute! Then we see him getting up close and personal with Raylee as she and Kiersten strike a pose.

Austin gets strawberry happy!(I wish I could have gotten his strawberry dance on tape...it was priceless... he is so much like his uncle at that age its frightening...)




Ahh the happy couple!

So....I found all my pics of Aaron and Holly's open house wedding reception in Idaho Falls, along with a video that was too fun not to share. Aaron discovered as he mingled with the various people that came to wish him and his new bride well that Addi didn't appreciate a game of follow the leader....however, between you all and me, I think Addi ate it up and actually enjoyed the extra attention from her uncle- especially because it was his big day and very few people were paying attention to her.

More Thanksgiving Break Insanity

Here is a video of Addi that was too cute to keep to myself. Addi is dancing at our Karaoke party!

Crazy Thanksgiving!!!!

Well y'all, sorry its been a while since I've blogged. I've been a busy bee! Its all a downhill slope to finals and I have had a lot to do since I'm not only a student, I'm also a teacher! It seems like everyone is wanting a piece of the diva right now...but I'm managing. I just finished writing a book critique and a 15 minute presentation on the said book...yea for voice pedagogy....yea for grad school...yea for music classes nonstop!...

Well, I thought I would tell you all about my Thanksgiving break.

Thanksgiving came and went without a hitch. My boyfriend arrived safely on Wednesdayfrom Houston and we were connected at the hip the whole time he was there...it was lovely!

Thanksgiving day was crazy...dinner was an hour late and would have been later if Seth hadn't pitched in to help...I felt so bad that he was helping, he was supposed to be a guest, but everyone seemed to be doing their own thing and didn't mind that dinner was going to be super late...I've decided that for Christmas dinner I am assigning the sides. I am going to make the Prime Rib and the pies (Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake and Razzleberry) but everything else will be assigned...everyone is married now but me, and I may not always be around to make sure traditions happen. I have complete confidence however that with a little extra tuteladge Amber will be able to take over the madness(just kidding, she could do it now if I let her...) Besides, what good is a top secret turkey and prime rib recipe if you don't share it with atleast one person, right?

On Thursday night Aaron and Holly came to the apartment that Seth and I were staying in (there were 2 bedrooms!) and asked if we wanted to go see a movie...Holly has a family tradition that they see a Christmas movie on Thanksgiving Day and wanted to carry it on. We ran into Amber at the Wal*Mart parking lot when we took Aaron and Holly to get some cash (they just got married and switched to a joint banking account and had yet to get new debit cards...) Amber begged and pleaded her cause for Black Friday help...Seth, a Black Friday Virgin, agreed to go- we planned to meet up at Wally World at 4 AM....! We then went and saw "Fred Claus" which was cute! However, I had a migraine through half the movie and was ready to toss my cookies by the time we left. Seth sensed a disturbance in the force as we drove up through Ammon and into the hills to look at the city lights. He rushed in with his white charger and saved the day! He took me home and put me to bed. He stroked my hair and massaged my head until I fell asleep...awwwww....
We had some extra special fun on Friday. We went Black Friday shopping with Amber and her friend Ashley we got up at 3 AM and debated if we really wanted to go and at 3:45 we both decided that we siad we'd go so we should, so merrily (and slowly) rolled onward and upward for our 4AM meeting time...there was a minor catastrophe and Ashley ended up going to the hospital...no it wasn't from the shopping, and she is fine- no letters of concern, please... We all went to IHOP for breakfast after we conquered Wal* Mart...Amber managed to get most of her shopping done there (yea for price matching) but Seth and I were completely exhausted. We swore to each other that if we get married and have kids we WON'T get into the Black Friday craze...he was a Black Friday virgin and Amber put him in electronics...electronics at Wal*Mart is not exactly an easy feat for a first timer to Black Friday, but Seth managed it masterfully! I posted a few of our IHOP pics...I managed to pick up a digital camera in the midst of the insanity (actually Amber bought it since I didn't bring my purse and she still owed me some money, I wrote her a check for the difference)

On Friday night we went to Amber's house for a sibling date night. After a delicious din din of stroganoff covered baked potatoes we sang Karaoke...I have to say the highlight of the night was Aaron's rendition of "You make me feel like a natural woman" (as you can see from the pic he was totally feeling like a natural woman by the end of the song...) and his ever popular impersonation of the chinese guys from A Christmas Story singing "Deck the Halls" or should I say "Deck the Hawrs.." The kids ate it up! It was awesome to watch them dance around. It was the best, they were so cute...they even sang a rendition of "It isn't any trouble to S-M-I-L-E" super adorable...Austin is such a stage hog! He takes after his auntie

After Karaoke we played Catch Phrase and the Boys got all huffy cuz they lost both times. The first time we decided to give them a redo because some of the rules weren't clear...but when we rematched we still kicked some butt! It was the best...boys are such sore losers.

Seth and I stayed at Amber's house until 12:30 and she asked him some tough questions...which I'm glad for...really, I am. We had such a great time, I hope we get to have a chance to do it again. I wish Kiersten and Joe could have stayed beyond dinner, it would have been fun to see Joe bust loose on Karaoke..I bet he's a paaaarty animal! And Kiersten and I missed our yearly opportunity to serenade someone with "She's my kind of rain" I think this year it would have been Holly's turn to recieve a special dedication, but no luck since Kiersty poo left!

Seth left on Saturday morning...I started to cry in the morning a little, he wiped my tears and spent extra time with me that he should have spent getting ready. He told me I had 5 minutes to miss him and every time I cried I was eating up the time...When he finally started his car, he opened the door to the backseat. We both got in the back and talked and said goodbye as we waited for the car to warm-up. Once he left, you can bet that I fully used the last of the 5 minutes I had left...I went into my parents apartment and cried my guts out...almost literally, it felt like my guts were going to come out...but I was a good girl, I only cried for 3 minutes and decided to try to buck up... I went to the computer and started a new countdown until I get to see him on facebook and myspace...but it seems like this countdown is taking a lot longer than the other one...oh well...c'est la vie...I will be in Houston on December 26th, it can't come soon enough.

Saturday we went to Leo's Pizza for a Winberg family reunion. We don't get together often with my real dad's family, but when we do it is always a blast (the pictures of Addi with pizza face and my family say it all!) Everyone was asking me about grad school and what I've been up to and they all said how proud they were of me...it helped so much to hear that, it made me feel like my dad would be proud of me too if he were here... that night was Aaron and Holly's open house. I did Holly's hair and her mom said that she liked it better than she had liked it on Holly's wedding day, which made me feel so good- yep, I still got it when it comes to hair and makeup! We got to see family and have a good time chatting before and during the open house..it was a good day! I saw Brother Barnes, one of my old Pocatello Institute teachers and he kept gushing about how fabulous I looked...he said grad school has done me a world of good...I didn't know I looked that bad before...(I joke, I joke!)

Well, its late...those are the major events of the week, it was nice to see everyone and I am looking forward to next week and coming home for a month long break (well a week of that break will be spent in Houston with Seth and his family, which I'm super excited about! Don't worry, I'll take pictures!)

Hugs and Kisses until next time!

Britt

Pleasant Suprises...

Hello again all,

Well, Thanksgiving is once again upon us...its amazing to think how fast a year goes by, before we know it, it will be January 1st! Well, I found out this week that I have been offered an audition with the Ohio Light Opera on November 30...wish me luck, I'll need it. My friend Joel, who was offered an audition as well, lovingly mentioned today that the audition is in Salt Lake City on the 30th and that our big Concerto Aria competition (that we are both competing in) is the next day at noon. We have a long weekend of driving ahead. The plan is to leave Thursday afternoon at 2 PM, drive to Idaho Falls, spend the night there with my family then leave in the morning for Salt Lake and play for the day before our audition. Then, we have to turn around after our auditions are over at 5 PM, drive back to IF, spend the night again and then leave early in the morning on Saturday to make it back for the Concerto Aria competition... oh yeah, good times, but a pleasant suprise none the less.

If I wasn't two seconds away from being driven insane I don't think I would know what to do with myself.

Speaking of being 2 seconds from insane, I have three days until D-Day...or should I say S-Day, the day when Seth is finally out of Houston and with me. I am eagerly anticipating this because of what is riding on it...without giving too much away, a lot is riding on this following week going well. I am trying not to think about it too much. I just want to enjoy Thanksgiving, cooking enough to feed a small army, and spending time doting on my loving boyfriend. I guess I'm starting to put a foot off the "go with the flow" wagon, need to make sure that I pick it back up before I go rolling off the wagon completely and eat dust!

I am super excited to see my family. I miss them all so much, but being away has been good for me. I'm not as close so I don't have to be as involved as I used to feel like I had to be, and I worry less about them, although they are always in my thoughts and prayers. It has also been good for me and my older sister Amber, I don't know if it's just me, but I find myself feeling a lot closer to her than I've been in a long time. I feel like we are reforming that a bond that got lost somewhere between junior high and high school... it is so nice to call her and talk every day, I really find myself being so grateful for the little chats that we have. I love listening to her and helping her...I love that she seems to finally acknowledge me as an equal, or atleast a grown up... I love her to pieces and I am super excited to spend time with her where I can spare it this week.

My brother just got married...which means (insert scary realization music here DUH DUH DUH!) I am officially the last single sibling in the Winberg family. All I can say is, I hope that my dad is proud of me where ever he is...I held off...I do seem to recall him telling me when I turned 11 that boys were bad and that I should stay very far away from them, except for my brother...he was good by association to dad...I didn't think he thought I would take it so much to heart for so long (tee hee...) So I am also looking forward to a fun filled weekend with the open house in IF and all of the lovely stares and pitied glances from relatives who feel so sorry for my tragic state of singledom...Truth...I could care less, I love my life. For the first time in a long time I am perfectly content. I have faith and I know that there are bigger and better things out there for me, I know that God will direct me to where he needs me and to who needs me. Maybe the glances won't be so pitying when they hear that I have a beau...that is if he still wants to be my beau after putting up with my family...(LOL [wink wink])

Well, cheers and Happy Turkey Day, I hope you all gorge yourselves on triptophan ( I think that is how you spell it) and pumpkin pie (or in my family's case pumpkin cheesecake, cheesecake with homemade berry sauce, and apple pie...I love cooking for a crowd, its my biggest thrill in life!)

Hugs and Kisses All!

Autumn Randomness...

WOW!!!! So, its Veteran's Day and apparently in Montana not only do the banks, post office, and courthouse close, but so do the schools...so Brittany is enjoying a fabulous day off. Oh wait, but it isn't really REALLY a day off...nope, I get the joy of opera rehearsal, awwwww... why oh why can't people just learn their music, I ask you? Oh well, life goes on and so do the blizzard warnings. That's right folks, we have a blizzard warning up here in Missoula, if the weather continues on like this its going to make that 5 hour trip home to Idaho Falls a 7 hour trip and the Monida pass into bad news bears...I guess everyone can just continue to pray that I make it without a scratch (on me or Sophie- my car..yes, my car's name is Sophie...)

I am soooo excited for Thanksgiving its disgusting. I have to call mom and make sure that she has done atleast the shopping for the turkey, it will need to be defrosted before I get home as I can't get home until Tuesday, and a completely frozen turkey usually has to sit in a cold water bath for 3 days (there you all learned something new...) I've spent all morning looking up recipes! This year will be especially big because I have a man coming...that's right and not just any man, MY MAN! Seth is coming from Houston, and I can hardly wait. He wants to help me cook, but knowing what a kitchen commando I am it will be interesting to see if I can resist the urge to scoot him out. I did promise, however, that I would be nice to him and let him help me- he is stoked to cook with me (between you and me, I think he is more stoked to learn my top secret turkey recipe...my turkey is LEGENDARY!) I am super excited because I found a recipe for pumpkin cheesecake...which means I have one less pie to make if I can combine the recipes...cheesecake in my house is a holiday tradition, I don't think anyone would forgive me if some form of cheesecake wasn't on the table.

Well...speaking of holiday traditions, I am super stoked to go christmas shopping! It is totally going to rock! I love shopping, especially for other people, and I am one of those freaks who genuinely enjoys giving more than getting presents (granted I won't whine and complain if I do recieve...) My favorite is watching my nieces and nephew with their Christmas presents, its so funny to watch them open them. I remember last year getting the pleasure of watching them open presents from Santa and Austin got super psyched over a pair of socks...SOCKS! I remember being a kid and wincing if I got clothes, bring on the good stuff! But Amber and Kelly have done such a wonderful job making sure that their kids are super greatful for anything and super excited for just about any big party type situation. I only hope and pray that I can have that same kind of effect on my kids someday.

Well, now that you've all heard me ramble I have to go. I have to finish getting ready to leave for opera rehearsal! Yahoo for Gianni Schicci.

Hugs and Kisses!

Still Kvelling!

Okay...so my yiddish isn't as great as I had hoped it would be by this time in my life...but that doesn't mean I can't a kvelling (kuh-vell-ing for those of you who don't know) or fashuganah...but I'm mostly kvelling. I won the District Metropolitan Opera Auditions here in Montana, next step Regionals in Seattle...and then, dare I say it Nationals in New York City onstage at the Met working with their coaches and piano players....I really don't know what to say or think. I am just counting my blessings and I am so grateful for the chance to show my stuff. I've tried now 3 times at the Met audition, the first two times with little or no success and now the third time is a charm!

It meant so much to me to have all my friends cheering me on. For the first time in my life I celebrated something...I mean REALLY celebrated, I went to the fanciest restaurant in town with my friends and spent $40 on dinner...no I didn't buy for everyone- that was just for me! That's right, your Brittany Ann decided to go uptown (or atleast as uptown as you can get in Missoula, MT)

Of course the first person I called was my boyfriend...I've really come to rely on him...its scary and sad to think about the possiblity that someday he may be there, he is the first person I want to share good news with and the first person I want to run to when I am having a bad day...I've never experienced that...I usually just want to tell family when good things are going on and I usually keep my stresses to myself- but he has changed all that. Perhaps I won't have my semesterly nervous breakdown, I won't have it because I get to complain all I want to my Sethie and listen to him complain too...its a beautiful thing we've got going.

So, the countdown to the Met is on! I already have to think about changing my program, which means I will be learning a new aria...AGAIN...but an even better countdown is going on- 20 days people...20 days and I get to be in my Sethie's arms! I am completely Kvelling now! 20 days and I get to kiss him and be all ooglie eyed...

Moving right along...the semester is half over here at UM...WOOHOOO... I Just hope I can get my stuff in order, especially since I have a recital to learn music for. Heres hoping!