More Wedding Pictures

I dug up some more wedding pictures, and as I had nothing better to do at the moment, here they are. And yes, Thanksgiving pictures will be published soon!

No blushing bride here...sunburned is more like it.

I don't know why I was smiling; I rememeber it was something like Frank had given me that special smile of his...and instead of bursting out laughing - I simply grinned.

"Don't like cake, don't like cake..."

"Alright, your turn, Frank!!"

I wonder if that ornament played any music?

See...we did get married in a church. I wasn't making that up, you know!

It's all over. Pity. Because now the fun part begins!!!

Not much going on around here...just busy working mornings at Dollar General with Frank along with all the household chores that cannot be neglected. So far no more possums, and no more missing food. I must say that when food went missing one could not help but think either Frank or myself was responsible; however, I assure you it was a rodent. Because when we eat, we eat it all, not leaving teeth marks and bites on bread bags and the like.

And now I must get back to my laundry - with Frank working so many hours between two jobs (about 13-16 every day) I simply do not bother him with petty household chores. Even the trash I'll be taking out myself because I just want to be able to sit down and spend time with him and not have to worry that things still need to get done. I cherish every moment I spend with my husband, and when he is home, he is responsible for nothing. Granted; he volunteers himself to do a lot, but I just want him to sit down, kick his shoes off, and relax. The most I've ever worked in one day is 13 hours, and it was not easy. Frank does it three days a week and it can be grueling. But he does it for me, he does it for us, so we can live by ourselves and have some peace and quiet. Right now he is trying to get an overnight job in case I can't work, and I can't help but love him for his continous efforts. He is the only man I have ever loved, and I will always love him despite what anyone says or thinks. Not only does he love me, he is faithful to me and does not stray. For those of you who are yet unmarried - having a mate to love, cherish and spend your life with is wonderful. I would highly recommend it.

Faithful
Responsible
Attentive
Never-ending
Karing

Loving
Initiative
Neat
Determined
Sincere
Endearing
Yielding

Wise
Interesting
Loyal
Succesful
Optimistic
Nurturing

The Abominable Opossum Part:2

So...this opossum story take bit of a twist. To the question of how it got in the house, well... it crawled up the the main water pipe and destroyed the floor around the pipe and crawled in. Talking with the Maintenance Man we figured there were more opossums around under the apartment. We decided that one of us should go under and check it out. Needless to say the Maintenance Man was scared so I went under, thankfully for me...& the opossums that there were none to be found. With no success at tracking the felons down, we settled for a trap by my front door. Well, 2 days went by with no success when one morning I was walking out the front door at 5:30am to go to work, When the mother of all opossums came running at me! With little time to contemplate, 5 hrs of sleep between jobs & extreme irritability due to lack of java...I kicked the opossum! It flew back and landed where of all place?, the trap. All the people in the apartment complex said it was the biggest they've seen. It was so sad, I put her in the back of my truck and drove down the road and let her go. She was so cute...all white with gray ears.

The Abominable Opposum

So…we had an exciting adventure here a couple nights ago – an opossum in the house!! I was just chilling in the living room, and Frank was at the computer, when we heard a bunch of racket in the kitchen. So we go look, and a baby possum was just knocking over stuff, and breaking into my Ritz crackers! Frank had me watch the little scoundrel while he went to go tell Miss Spivey. She called the police, and Frank beat the poor little thing senseless with two steel sticks. So when the officer finally showed up, he said we weren’t in trouble or anything, but there was nothing he could do. But we did have a good laugh. Frank and I ended up taking the possum to some old bike trails here in Belleview – hopefully far enough it won’t come back!

Love Is A Mystery

Love can come to anyone,
At any time and any place;
No one really knows how it happens,
It comes and goes without a trace.

Sometimes we think we are in love,
But are disappointed to discover;
That the other wasn’t worthy,
An unfaithful spouse or a lover.

True love will always be a mystery,
But faithfulness is the key;
Not only in our actions,
But in our lives, word and deed.

New Arrival

Well, talk about a long & a wonderful GOD given day.

We just got home from the hospital and we just had to share

the blessed new addition to the family with everyone.

So...without futher ado...We proudly present...

::Drumroll Please::

Phebe Lily-Grace Sosa

Congratulations Sam & Marisol

My Beautiful Wife & Precious Phebe

Frank Lindsey Wilson

Today is Frank's 28th birthday, and I wanted to post a picture of him for everyone. This is a picture from right before we got married last year, so he was still 26 in this pic. I want to say that I love Frank very much, and it is an honor and priveledge to be his wife. Happy birthday, sweetheart!

Overdue Wedding Pics

Frank and I have been married over 10 months already...very overdue pics!!! However, we finally moved out (hurrah!) and I am getting a lot of thigs done that are long overdue.

Work Days

So much has happened since I last wrote I hardly know where to start. The days have passed by so quickly I have scarce been able to comprehend where one day ends and the other begins.

For Christmas, Frank and I cooked up Christmas dinner together. We had a really great time together and the end of the year finished much too soon.

January came and went like a whisper on the wind. Towards the end of the month I started working in one of the stores Frank works in, so we’ve been working most of our days together. Frank’s boss gave me only a few hours to begin with, but today we found out over 40 extra hours are available. So with only 6 of us working the store, we can have as many hours as we want or need. As it was, I was getting over 30 hours for this next week; and now the boss told me I could have 10 more if I wanted. Even Frank offered to work on our days off; so now it seems we’ll be working every day of the week. But that’s okay with me, because more than anything I want to move out on our own. Frank wants to move out too, and we just need our own space. We are spending so much more time together now with us working at the same store, and it has been good for us.

I will try to keep the blog updated…whenever I get a spare chance. I pray everyone is well.

The Path Of Life

I have been so busy wrapping up different music jobs and practicing that I haven’t had a spare minute to write on the blog. (So sorry folks.) To catch everyone up on all the latest...

Last Saturday and Sunday I played Handel’s Messiah with the Marion Civic Chorale and it went fairly well. Messiah is always difficult for any musician; and this oratory in particular is always taxing on oneself. I think we all did the best that we could, and with God’s grace made it through without any extreme difficulty.

On Tuesday I played with my orchestra at the Freedom Library right here in Ocala, and it went very well. There wasn’t a huge crowd, but that’s not what’s important. We had a wonderful time playing together, and we have only one more gathering before we break up for the holidays.

I have a wedding to play on Sunday afternoon, and I still haven’t gotten the music to it. So I have to sight read the whole wedding. I look forward to it. Only God can guide me through this one. I will have faith and trust in Him to direct my paths.

“Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16: 1-11

Last Handel Rehearsal

Practice went well tonight. It was our last rehearsal before the concerts Saturday and Sunday, so we went through the entire program with the chorus. One of my classmates from the college was there to sing for the chorus, and it was fun to work with her. We’re doing a lot of skipping in our performance of the Messiah, and I’m not really sure why. When we originally got our music 6 months ago, there were some pieces missing already. But now we’re skipping from #12 to #44 and that’s a bit of a stretch. But who am I to complain? Less work for me. Usually I don’t like cutting up music like that, but I hurt my shoulder the other day and appreciate any slack I can get for now.

Sorry I haven't e-mailed some of you. My e-mail is not working, thus the reason why I haven't written. So sorry.

Frank will be home soon, and I need to get some chores done. Till next time.

College Concert at the Appleton

My orchestra played for a church service today, and that went well. As soon as the service was over I had to run to the Appleton Museum and play with Miss Rosa’s college kids for their concert. Both engagements went well, and I was out a total of 9 hours. I am so tired from running circles all day that I got home, took a bath, am writing this real quick, and am going to crash. Frank didn’t have to work this morning, so I left the man in bed when I left at 9:15 this morning.

When Frank and I re-arranged out room, he never got around to plugging in the DVD player. So after I’m done with practicing music and my chores, I’ve been reading a lot. I enjoy watching movies, but it gets a bit much after a while. So I’ve just been reading a lot instead. Reading is better anyway.

I usually write more, but I am so tired from today – it was draining to say the least. I would gladly do it again though.

Tomorrow is the last rehearsal for Handel’s Messiah, so when Frank leaves for work Monday afternoon, I’m going to have to get on the button and PRACTICE! There are a few spots here and there that could use some brushing up.

Christmas Concert

The concert tonight was an absolute smash, and everyone did so well in their performances. It has been our best concert to date, and I am so excited at how well everyone is doing. There were a lot of people in attendance, and that was a surprise to all of us. Ocala was having their Christmas parade, so we expected a handful of people. But we had a great turnout and everyone sounded great.

My solo went well, as did Alex’s and Mr. Roger’s. I thought I would be a lot more nervous, but when the moment came, I didn’t feel the slightest twinge. After performing all these years, I’ve finally come to the point where I don’t loose my head. I’ve gotten a lot more confident in myself since I got married…I am not as shy as I was, and at least now I can do simple things that I never did before because I was afraid to. Things like making phone calls, doing my own shopping, making arrangements for this and that, etc. I can actually do things for myself without hiding behind someone else.

Dr. Spencer, his wife, and daughter came, as well as Pedro & Johanna and their 4 children. Even the clerk from the Ocala Library Bookstore was there! I hadn’t seen most of these people since before I got married, so it was good to catch up with everyone. Dr. Fishel, good doctor that he is, wanted to know all the details leading up to my marriage, and we had a good talk about everything.

The night was a complete success, and we all had a wonderful time. If we keep practicing and improving, we’ll be able to do a little traveling and who knows? Maybe we’ll go overseas someday.

Cleaning The Trailer

Frank’s shoulder is still paining him, so his boss told him to rest up his shoulder and be fresh for tomorrow. I was happy, and Frank was even more so. We just lay in bed all morning, and I finally got used to the smell of Icy Hot all over Frank’s back and spine. Icy Hot smells good – it’s mentholated so I fell asleep so fast it wasn’t funny. But when one smells Icy Hot for 12 hours in a row it can get a little bit much. I didn’t mind the smell. But it did make me very sleepy, and Frank had trouble trying to wake me up. We did have a good time together, even though we squandered most of it sleeping. But as long as we’re together we have a good time. Whether it’s arguing the merits and demerits of frozen bread and milk to throwing the covers at each other to sitting quietly watching a movie, we always have a good time.

Frank’s mom and I are cleaning up the trailer in Belleview so I can set up a studio for my music classes. We went tonight and did some work on it, and we went to see Frank as soon as we were through. Frank and I like to take stabs at each other in public (I really don’t’ know why) but it always amuses the customers and employees at his job. Just tonight he mentioned that he should have bought milk and froze it. I was surprised at that, and said I wasn’t sure frozen milk was all that good. Frank replied that it was no different than eating frozen bread, and I retorted that I always thaw my bread and then eat it. He then said that milk was no different, to which I agreed instantly because I still wasn’t sure why we were even having that discussion. There was as an older couple he was waiting on who heard the whole exchange, and they were both grinning at us the entire time. The lady smilingly commented that we sounded like an old married couple, and Frank told her that we were married, but that it hadn’t been all that long yet. I couldn’t help it, I threw in the comment “he’s the one that’s old, not me.” That got everyone laughing, but for my own personal safety I steered clear of Frank until he cooled off about that jibe. He wasn’t mad at all; he feigned annoyance for the sake of the audience which included his mom. We love doing crazy things like that…it’s so much fun to feign an argument and then make up. Or should I say make out?

Of Pain & Practice

Frank hurt his shoulder moving all our stuff yesterday, so when he went to work this morning he came right back. He couldn’t move his shoulder past a certain point, and he was in a lot of pain. His boss sent him back home. He didn’t do much but lay in bed, and I joined him. He went to work this afternoon, but I was glad to have him here in the morning. We sometimes like to lay in bed and talk, but most nights we’ll just curl up in each others’ arms until we fall asleep. That’s always easier said than done, because we have to turn around several times before we get comfortable.

I practiced a while for the concert I’m playing on the 1st. I don’t want to over practice, but I do want to be prepared. Switching between the violin and cello might be a little challenging, but I think I can manage. I wasn’t too thrilled about doing a solo, but Miss Helen and Alex egged me on until I couldn’t say no. What inspired me more than anything was when Alex started practicing with Mr. Norman for her solo. So I picked cello since Alex doesn’t play cello, so I don’t get competitive and forget the whole point of playing is all about. Miss Helen was gracious enough to let me use her cello, and that is always a high point in any day for me. Her cello sounds so good I can be having a bad day and still sound good.

I’m real excited about this concert on Saturday, because it’s the first concert where I will be playing as Mrs. Wilson. It seems as if the music world is taking me seriously at last, and I’m more than thrilled to be playing among the best of Ocala. With Miss Helen having a bad shoulder and barely being able to play, she has been giving me all her jobs. At first I was so worried that I wouldn’t be good enough to fill in for her, but I keep getting calls and requests to play, so I can’t be that bad. I’ve been practicing a lot more than I used to, so that always helps.

I need to practice Handel’s Messiah. It has some rough spots, and I don’t want to goof up a perfectly good job because I didn’t practice. December is always so busy for musicians, but we love the business. In the spring the Marion Civic Theater always has jobs, weddings in the summer, and Christmas preparation in the fall. It’s a full life, but one I enjoy very much.

Frank was suggesting that once we move closer to town he trade in his Cruiser for an automatic vehicle. That way I can drive myself to my jobs and drop him off and pick him up from his. He teased me and said he wondered what I would do with a car to drive, and I replied I would do what I’m supposed to – drive him to work, drive myself to rehearsals, weddings, and concerts, and then pick him up at the end of the day. Guess I better get good with directions…as I will have to be doing a lot of it in the near future!

Last College Rehearsal

Frank bought a new bed for us, as his back just can’t take or old bed anymore. So we got up early this morning, and put the bed in our room. We had to go to my last rehearsal with the college kids, as the concert is on Sunday. We always have such fun at rehearsals. Miss Rosa told us that in professional orchestras the players aren’t supposed to talk during rehearsals. We tried doing that but it didn’t work at all. It was just too hard to not talk in-between pieces, especially when our timing was off on a couple measures in “Ave Verum Corpus.” I didn’t want to say anything about it, but with the concert on Sunday I just worked out the problem area with Patrick since we have to be very careful not to mess up the soloist. We left the college with all the information we needed for the concert on Sunday.

As Frank and I were leaving the college, a white truck looking suspiciously like the McClain’s truck parked just a few parking spots from where we had just left. Frank pointed it out before I even saw it, and asked if it was anyone I knew. How he remembered that truck I don’t know. But he did remember. And sure enough - it was Matt, and Frank pulled over so I could say hi. I have never seen Matt surprised or taken off guard at any time. But the look on Matt’s face was priceless as I called his name out the window. I asked him how he was doing but he was so stunned I had to repeat the question. We spoke only briefly as there was a car behind us, but it was so good to see some one from church.

After we finally left the college we went to the Red Lobster for lunch and had a really good time. The waitress was most pleasant, and I enjoyed myself immensely. I had Chicken Alfredo, and Frank had a shrimp plate. The biscuits were so good I’ll do anything to make then at home. I never thought I’d ever go to a restaurant that sells primarily fish, but I like fish now. I eat things I said I’d never eat – fish for starters, pickles, mustard, and tons of other things. Frank got the ungratefulness and pickiness out of me. I eat what he puts in front of me with no questions and no faces.

Since we got a queen sized bed, we had to buy new sheets and a comforter. So we went to Wal-Mart and spend a couple hours matching the colors for the comforter and buying extra pillow cases. We stopped by the clothes rack that was on sale, and Frank picked out some clothes for me. I found some nice blouses for the cool weather and a few various other miscellaneous items. We had a great time just being together.

When we got home we fixed the bed up with the new sheets, and then we re-arranged the entire room. It took us only a couple hours, and then we showered, and went to sleep. I may not have had Frank home yesterday, but today more than made up for it.

Work

Frank had to go to work today from noon till eight or ten tonight. I guess I’ll try to practice for the concert on Saturday as I have a solo to play on the cello. I have the concert with my string orchestra on Saturday, then we play for the Sunday service at the church where we practice, then I play with the kids at the college that same afternoon. Since Frank has to work I really don’t have anything I’d rather be doing then practice my music anyway. And I will get my parts down perfectly if it kills me. Frank has his job, and I have mine. Much as it breaks my heart to have to spend the afternoon we usually spend together a part, there is nothing I can do about it. I will bury myself in my music as I have always done and hope the next 10 hours go by quickly.

I really need to practice Handel’s Messiah as the next rehearsal is the 3rd of December. I have the next 6 or 7 hours to practice, and if truth be told I really don’t have the heart to do anything else.

Last Rehearsal

Frank works only the one job today, so we were able to spend the morning together. After he went to work, I pulled out my music and instruments, and practiced till my fingers could no longer move. I have rehearsal tonight, and it’s the last rehearsal before the concert on Saturday. I have so much going on my head is spinning. But I’ll manage. With hours of practicing under my belt I feel more confident about all these concerts next month. The end of the year is usually crazy like this, then everything cools down until spring. Summer is wedding season, and fall is preparation for the holidays again. Musician’s lives are very busy, but very exciting. Maybe someday I’ll join up with the Philharmonic Orchestra in the Villages again and go on fancy overseers trips like Italy or France. All in good time.

Frank had Tuesday and Wednesday off, so I look forward to spending the next two days with him. Even when we go to Robert’s or just do things, I like being with him. The last two weeks we’ve gone to Robert’s and had a real good time. All we ever do is go out to eat, shop for movies, and hang out and play video games, but we have a good time.

And again, I need to get back to practice because my break is over. I have only a few more days before the concert on Saturday.

Music From The Heart

Frank did indeed, have to work today, but not anything to be done about that. I just sang for a good long while from my book of favorite hymns, and practiced for a good long bit. I really need to practice all my music real good, because I have a string of concerts and engagements to play next month that I do not feel ready for. And if I don’t feel ready because of lack of practice it’s going to show in my music. The point of playing music is because one is confident in the music and in one’s own ability to perform it due to prior practice. Otherwise one might as well be trying to make a brick wall sing. Music without feeling is empty. There is only one thing I hope to accomplish as a music teacher. And that is not to make my students sound good. If I can teach them only one thing, it will be this: to feel their music with all their hearts no matter what. And in doing that, they will always sound good.

Well then, teacher needs to go get some of that feeling into her music now…I must confess I am very hard on myself. Frank’s mom tries to tell me how to do it, but the last time she said something to me was indeed, the last time she’s ever going to tell me how to play music. No one can tell you how to play music – because it has to come from your heart.