WICKED....ly AWESOME

Lisa, Jane and I went to Wicked... and it was TOTALLY AWESOME!!! I was glad that I had made a lovely eye patch to wear to the occasion.. heheh...

What else will WICKED inspire in the future I wonder???

Beta Sigma Phi - Facinator Workshop

Last weekend I was blessed to be involved with a wonderful group of ladies who belong to the Beta Sigma Phi an International Womens' friendship network... They do some wonderful things in our community and towards the end of 2010 they are holding a FASCINATING cocktail fundraising event.. They all wanted to make their own.... so they asked me if I could run a class for them.... Man I had my works cut out for me!!! 9 ladies with totally different ideas.. and most of them not so sure how to put keep it together.... It was a SOLID 4 hour workshop.... With me not stopping... My only worry for the day was that I did would not ignore anyone for too long.. As I knew I could not be with everyone all at once... but in true Ursula creative schizophrenic mannerisms... I was able to jump from task to task, instructing each lady how to assemble her individual fascinator....Last week I heard back form Margaret (the wonderful event coordinator) that all the ladies really enjoyed themselves.. and each of them love their creations.... Phew!!! (*sigh... and wipe brow) I've been blessed to make some really lovely friends with these ladies.. and am very grateful to know them...

They were helping me raise funds to go to Singapore with the Queensland Festival Chorus as well.... Through this workshop... Thank you to the lovely lady that really wanted to come but was unable to ... yet still donated to my fund!!!! Bless you all!!! Muwah....

Creative Mediums that inspire me...

Last year I was nominated for an Australia Day Awards night...
Because of the nomination I was invited along with some guests to go to the dinner and awards night.. there must have been at least 200 people in attendance... It was a lovely night... The food was great the company grand and the decorations were very Australian... Lovely... There were 60 nominations in various categories....

I am very humbled and a little embarrassed to have been nominated.. but mostly grateful that I can do something to help out in some small way.. One never sets out to receive recognition for things you do... I heard this from almost all of the winners in each category of nominations on the night and it really does ring true for me!!! Most of what I do with the PaperANGELS, Community wise and with QPAC Choir is because I LOVE IT!!! Because it is an escape from the real world and lifts me up from the woes of life... It fills the well and allows me to be a better person so that I can give more of myself to my loved ones....

I was nominated for fundraising events with PaperANGELS for the Marter Mothers... and The Arty Farty Morning Tea Party.... The tour to Singapore with the Queensland Festival Chorus... and other things that I do at church or with the community relating to craft and sharing of the talents the Lord has blessed me with... Because of the influence and support of each one of the PaperANGELS Team I would not have been able to do half of the things I have over the last few years... I am grateful to all of them and mostly to Liz (who came with me on the night & didn't want photos of herself!!!)
And I am extremely grateful for my involvement with such a wonderful Choir... and a TOTALLY AMAZING Choir Conductor Alison Rogers... Music communicates when there is no words or when Language is a barrier... It touches the soul and enriches your life... It moves people in ways that words alone would never do... I believe that it is the language of the Angels!!! And I am ETERNALLY Grateful to have it in my life.. and to be exploring, learning and creating through this medium! What a blessing it has been to my family's life in 2009! I can only hope that it will continue to be such a huge part of our families life for years to come!!!

In recognition of our nomination all nominees received a framed certificate and had to do a walk on the stage.. which frightened the life out of me!!! Get me up there to sing or act.. no problem.. perhaps a few nerves... but it is not imposable.... but to stand and just be me... phew.. that is hard... especially when you feel that it's all a bit of a fuss... being recognised for the little something you were able to give back when so many wonderful people and organisations had given to you over the past few years... I was humbled and honored to be there.. And very grateful to have Liz there with me...

Happy NEW YEAR!!! - 2010

May you all have a wonderfulAnd may you be blessed with much joy and happiness... May this year bring many great opportunities too good to pass up.. and may you create many opportunities to grow and learn in every way possible!!! God bless and keep you safe...

(this is a photo of our family and a friend with sparklers on NYE.. you can achieve this by making your shutter on your camera stay open longer.. I think it is called ISO speed.. or if you are lucky enough to have a fireworks setting it will do it automatically for you.. Brilliant effect!!! and heaps of fun to do!!!)

Singapore Queensland Festival Chorus Tour 2009

This year I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Singapore with some members from the QPAC choir and from AVAE and VM..
We had a brillinat time!!! We stayed for four short days and crammed so much into it! It was an AWESOME once in a life time experience.. that I am hoping I may be able to have again in June 2010... Depending on Audition success and finances of course.. because believe me the desire is sooo there!!!

It was a massive learning curve, for those of us who have not performed for a long time and even greater experience for those who have never performed. We had enormous growth in the areas of musicality and professionalism. Allison’s (Alison Rodgers - Conductor) courage and belief in us was undeniably generous and faith promoting! The piece that we performed was Gustav Holst – The Planets - Neptune. It was the hardest 5 pages of music I have EVER seen!!! And it scared the life out of me when we first got it. But with loads of practice especially in the car every day I was able to get it into my head. We Performed in the Esplanade Concert Hall.. $600 Million dollars worth of Sound engineered building genius, where the roof can be adjusted to suit the desired acoustics for each and every performance. The Esplanade is one of the World’s top 3 acoustically designed buildings and professional artists would do anything to perform there! There were over 300 orchestra members made up from The Western Australia Youth Orchestra and Singapore’s Orchestra of the Music Makers. The whole performance received a reasonably good review which if you like you can read here.. pianofortephilia.blogspot.com

Here are some photos to look at.. some of the highlights...