So this weekend I went to country stampede. Probably the best day this summer, and whats even better is that I got to make that memory with my Aunt. First off I need to thank my Aunt and Uncle for letting me have the tickets. I got to see Mary James, Greg Hanna, Joey and Rory, Collin Raye, and Saywer Brown. All amazing acts, all amazing musicians. Country Stampede is all about the country music. This year, the big names that perfomed were Jerrod Neimann, Brad Paisley, Lady A, and Blake Shelton.
I will post at the bottom some of the acts that I got to see. My favorite part was Sawyer Brown. I amazes me the energy that he has on stage. Mark, the lead singer, is also a cancer survivor.
I will also provide the links to there websites. hope you enjoy! You may have to listen hard and turn up the volume. My videos are kinda jumpy.
Well this is end of week five and it also means that camp is half way over. Sad to say actually. I'm really gonna miss it out here. It also means that I need to work on my tan and get rid of my horrible tan lines, but that is in the plans for tomorrow.
Camp today was pretty simple. we watched a movie in the morning, went to lunch went swimming and watched another movie. Next week will be harder, we have to work around the set up crew for Wild West Fest. Not going to be fun
This marks the end of a really short but long and tiring day. We took the kids to go see and support one of our own kids. Brandon was in a camp for drama. And like most specialty camps they have an end of camp celebration, musical camps have final concerts, well for drama camp they have a final performance. I never thought I would see children that young have that much passion for the art of acting. It is amazing to see that. Brandon is a natural talent, and I hope and pray that God allows him to take that path through life.
I went to the pool today with the K-2 group and once again I got sunburned. I even screened up three times, with SPF 50!!!! This is ridiculous. Not only did i burn I'm scorched. My doctor says that you are only allowed two really painful burns in a life time...I just hit number three...skin cancer here I come. Its funny how its only my back that get really bad, all three times. Something needs to be done about that...So I bought aloe finally and started using it, it only lasted about 15 minutes, but my skin is so hot that it burns right through it. So tomorrow I will most likely go and get a bottle of vinegar and take a vinegar bath, not sure when. My aunt noticed that I was in pain and gave me these pain pills, they are stronger than ibuprofen but still over the counter, and let me tell you they are amazing,,,i just found a new pain killer!!!!
Today is also the start of Country Stampede. And I am so excited. My aunt and uncle are going Friday and Saturday, and They were so gracious to give me their other VIP ticket for Sunday and I get to experience CS for the first time in my life. Just to name some big names...Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Lady A are all playing this weekend. The Stampede takes place in Manhattan. So excited!!!
Camp today wasn't bad, we are still trying to figure out the discipline thing and I hope that before the end of summer we actually get things in order...But then again there will always be issues with that.
This weekend is also the funeral of our beloved Mae Wheeler back in St. Louis.
I'm kinda starting to miss home, not being able to see my other family is kinda heart breaking. This is the longest that I have been away from them and not getting to see them is sad. But on the other hand I get to bond with my other family, which before last summer I really knew nothing about. I'm thankful for this experience. I have grown up so much since I left home. Now hopefully I can get my act together and finish school and actually do something with my life.
I know that this is a little bit of everything, but as I look at my clock I can't help but remeber that I have to open in the morning. And with that, as much as I would like to sit here and spill my entire brain out to you all, I must go for the night and try to get some sleep. I will update you all tomorrow!
Hey all my wonderful readers. How are we all doing today? I am fine today thank you for asking. Camp today went really well, The behavior was in better check today, thank God. Lauren and I got a lot done today, got all of the files up to date and in working order, it needed to be done, especially since we are expecting a visit from the inspector before the end of camp. My sunburn is driving my insane!!!! Nothing new there.
Out side of camp, I got to learn how to pit cherries...Its not that bad actually, now I didn't really get to do a whole lot of them, but I had fun while I did do it. You learn something new everyday!
Today I also had my second lesson for my bible study, and I would like to take a second to talk about God. I believe that God has put me here for some reason. Now whatever that reason may be, I don't know. I believe that He gave me this job because it is what he wants for me in life. I have discovered that if you follow in His path and do what he wants you to do, all will be well with you. For some people, this takes a while to learn, and I'm glad that I learned that early. I have walked in His footsteps since last summer, and I cannot tell you how well things are going for me. I have this amazing job, I got to travel on my own across the country, I got to witness my cousins wedding, and I got the chance to grow up outside of my home back home. I have been given many many chances to follow His plan for me, and up until last summer it seems that I have been fighting Him tooth and nail. I know that dance was my passion and not something that I was destined to do, especially because of my injury. Music, is another example, while it is my passion and life, its not really the best career move for me, because like most of us naturally talented people with voices, we just aren't good enough to make it to the big leagues. Which honestly is fine wit me. I have gotten to sing with so many different people, some famous too. Like Mae Wheeler. And if any of you have seen The Hangover, The Female Cop...Yes Ive even gotten to sing with her. She is actually a St. Louis native. Another example, the drummer for Beyonce...Yep you guessed it, I actually know her, her and I took lessons together from Pauline Stark... My passion for children, like singing, is a God given talent, I believe that that is Our Lord's plan for my life, and I for one am glad that I have this.
I know that this is cutting it short...but I have to hit the sack, considering its 11:32 pm and I have an early day! More to follow on this story...hope it wasn't too boring!
Hey all, I have fallen a little behind on my posting, but that is ok. Yesterday was a needed vacation of blogging. So here I am and its another day behind me. Kinda sad if you think about it, Hays has really grown on me, yes its a small town, but small towns have a lot of perks. Especially a town that is all about farming. Monday really wasn't anything to ride home about to begin with. Today however is. Now before you go any further, most of this may be more negative than most will want to read. So fair warning.
Today was complete disaster. So let's start off with the positives. Every counselor that we have on our payroll today was there, minus Eileen. The afternoon went really fast. The rest of the day is pretty bad, we had behavior issue after behavior issue. I cannot stress enough the stress that our kids caused today. I had one counselor go home early because he couldn't handle it anymore...understandable. We took the kids to the library to see a juggler, which was fun. The kids really enjoyed it. Lauren at one point took all of the counselors and had a small on the run meeting, out list of things just got bigger. Especially since we found things from last week that really needed to be picked up after they were used last week. Not really the highlight of my day.
the best part of my day today was that the fam and I went miniture golfing after a steak dinner. We had a lot of fun and I enjoyed myself, which is a positive.
On another note, I am recovering from three days of sunburns. And its rough!, but nothing I can't handle
There are many different bands that I have grown up with, and one of them that stuck with me was U2. First introduced to me when I was about 6 years old. My dad and I have a special bond over our love for music. Many of the bands I listen to have been brought to my attention by my dad.
U2 formed in 1978 after Larry Mullen pinned a 'musicians wanted' ad to the notice board at Dublin's Temple Mount School. Adam Clayton had discovered rock'n'roll as a thirteen year old, buying his first acoustic guitar and then talking his parents into buying him a bass guitar. 'It just sounded good to me. Deep and fat and satisfying.'
From the beginning, U2 were marked out by their passion. "A band before we could play" was how Bono put it in early interviews. Edge remembers reading UK music papers NME and Sounds every week and then hearing about this 'wild kid called Paul Hewson.'
The four teenagers, who initially called themselves 'Feedback', rehearsed in Larry's Dublin kitchen, Bono on vocals, The Edge on guitar, Adam Clayton and Larry making up the rhythm section of bass and drums. Inspired by punk, but insulated from the standoffish cool by the Irish Sea, Feedback had become 'The Hype' and then 'U2' and were soon building a local reputation based on the passion of their performances.
'I suppose a watershed moment would have been seeing The Jam on Top of the Pops, 'remembers `Edge. 'And realizing that actually not knowing how to play was not a problem... music was more about energy and trying to say something and not necessarily about great musicianship.'
Five years after the release of How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, in March 2009 the band released No Line on the Horizon. Their 12th studio album was written and recorded in in Fez, Morocco, Dublin, Ireland, New York and Olympic Studios in London. The album calls on the production talents of long-time collaborators Brian Eno and Danny Lanois, with additional production by Steve Lillywhite.
This post marks the end of week four. This has been a week. Camp was decent, we had our moments. The highlight was getting paid, the down part, read my previous post. I have been a little distracted this week and my posts show it. I think its more that I am really tired all the time. And I know why, I'm not used to working long days and being in the sun all day. Its taking its toll.
This weekend I am mowing the grass again and going to a wedding for a family friend. Lauren and I will meet up sometime this weekend to get the key back to me. I am a little tired, and last night I even went to bed early. The other thing that happened to me was my mom had her doctor's appointment with Dr. Mah and she starts her fourth type of chemo next week. Not really happy news, but not bad news either. My mentor passed away on Wednesday night. she was 77 years old and died from colon cancer and Leukemia. It was a sad thing to hear, but it was her time to meet her maker. She is with our Lord and Savior.
Summer is going by really fast out here, six more weeks and before you know it I will be on the way home for another wedding and school..
So this in a little more important than what happened at camp yesterday. This morning I was informed that a legend of music from St. Louis has left this earth. She is with our Lord and Savior. She Will truly be missed.
"Singer Mae Wheeler (pictured), known to generations of St. Louis music fans as “Lady Jazz," died this evening at her home in Maryland Heights after a long illness. She was 77.
Wheeler, known for her charity fundraising efforts as well as for a musical career that spanned six decades, had been battling colon cancer since 2006, and was diagnosed two years ago with leukemia. Her doctors had sent her home from the hospital last month, saying that further treatment would be ineffective. In recent weeks, Wheeler was surrounded by and cared for by family and friends, including a granddaughter who established a Facebook account for her so friends and fans could send their best wishes. During that time, she gave a final interview to Terry Perkins of the St. Louis Beacon, which you can read here.
Born on May 15, 1934 in Memphis, TN, Wheeler moved with her family to the St. Louis suburb of Richmond Heights when she was five. She graduated in 1951 from Douglass School in Webster Groves, and according to published reports, later attended Forest Park Community College for about a year, majoring in music and communications, before meeting her husband Jimmie Lee, who was in the landscaping business.
The couple had five children, but when Jimmy Lee died of kidney disease in 1964, Wheeler was left as the family's sole breadwinner. She worked as a restaurant cook, took in laundry, and cleaned houses to make ends meet, but never gave up on her desire to sing. Wheeler eventually broke in to the music business at the tail end of St. Louis' Gaslight Square era, crediting fellow singer Jeanne Trevor for helping her to get her first gigs at places such as Vanity Fair, the Black Horse, the Dark Side and the Red Carpet.
Wheeler often referred to herself not as a jazz singer, but as a “song stylist" who interpreted a wide variety of material, from jazz and blues to pop, rock, Broadway and more. In the 1970s and into the 1980s, Wheeler was a regular performer at Hannegan's on Laclede's Landing and also worked at other spots such the Moose Lounge in north St. Louis and an early incarnation of Kennedy's, also on the Landing. In later years, she performed frequently at the now-defunct Brandt's in University City, as well as at other restaurants, lounges and clubs around town.
Over the course of her career, Wheeler worked with hundreds of St. Louis musicians and singers, and also appeared with nationally known entertainers including Pearl Bailey, Count Basie, Sonny Stitt, Mitch Miller and Arthur Prysock. As best as can be determined, she released two recordings, Live in 2000, and Just Friends in 2002. Both seem currently to be out of print.
Wheeler also became known as an event producer and philanthropist, putting on the first version of what would come to be called “The Divas Show" in 1996 at Westport Playhouse. Subsequent editions of the concert would follow annually for the next dozen years, showcasing many St. Louis female vocalists and raising money for Wheeler's favorite charity, a scholarship fund for high school graduates with C averages who wanted to attend college. One of the best known recipients of one of Wheeler's $1,000 scholarships is drummer Kim Thompson, who put the money toward her education at Manhattan School of Music and has gone on to become a successful professional musician, performing with pop singer Beyonce and many others.
“Maybe now, she'll reach back," Wheeler said of Thompson in a 2010 interview with Kenya Vaughn of the St. Louis American. “In doing all of this I just want people to know that we need to help one another. Plus, I want these children to know to always reach for the sky and don't ever stop trying to be a winner."
Wheeler moved from her longtime home in Richmond Heights to Maryland Heights in 2007, as her old neighborhood was bought out for a redevelopment project. Her final production “Unforgettable Legends" took place on Halloween night 2010 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Mae Wheeler is survived by two daughters, MarYam Aaten and Mary Wheeler, and three sons, Steve Wheeler, Kenneth Wheeler and Khamaron Wheeler, as well as 16 grandchildren and at least 18 great grandchildren. As of this writing, there's been no announcement made yet about funeral arrangements or a memorial service.
For more about Mae Wheeler's life and career, see the embedded video below, which is a segment aired on local PBS affiliate KETC's program Living St. Louis earlier this year when Wheeler won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis. You also may enjoy the video below that, which features an brief informal conversation between Wheeler and a fan at Brandt's back in 2006.
A personal note: Although I didn't know Mae Wheeler well, I had a chance to perform with her (and for her) a few times in recent years at various benefits and all-star shows, and to cover her as a journalist. I liked her as a person, and admired her philanthropic efforts and fighting spirit. The St. Louis community certainly is diminished by her passing, but our town also benefited greatly from the things she did while she was passing through. Rest in peace, Lady Jazz." http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=82940
I have had the honor of singing and playing with her several times in my life, she was, is one of my inspirations.
Another day down. Today was interesting. Not a whole lot went on today. The kids played kickball again, one group went to the pool and one stayed back and watched a movie. I bought popcicles, but we didnt get to eat them because the freezer that we have at the building is really old and horrible at freezing things fast. So hopefully they will get the chance to eat them tomorrow...we will see.
It seemed like after Eileen left today, the behavior dame broke and all hell broke loose again. But this time we noticed that the kids seem to respect her more, but we need to work on that the rest of this week. We did tornado drill this morning and discovered that one of our kids is claustrophobic. Not a big deal for drills, but it may become one if we actually have to use the bomb shelter for a real tornado. I guess we'll deal with that issue when we have to cross that bridge, if we cross it...knock on wood please!!! Tomorrow hopefully will be better with the behavoir. Today we had a kid actually get kicked out of the aquatic center because he wouldn't listen to the lifeguards, I know all about that.
One last thing I want to talk about tonight is that I recently learned that a friend of mine's grandmother died the other day, so I ask that you keep him and his family in your prayers for a while, while they deal with this time of sorrow. The funeral is tomorrow.
This week so far has been really easy, but then again its only Tuesday. We started the CIT program today, and the CITs are loving it, so far. Tomorrow is the first talent show for the Summer Blast Camp, and man are they pumped about it. So much that they asked for a dress rehearsal!
Everything seems to be going well, and there isn't anything at this point that I would change. Our counselors are flexible and amazing with the kids. I feel really confident with this job, and rumor has it that Eileen loves the chemistry between the counselors so much that she wants to ask all of us back next summer....but its just rumor, only time will tell.
I feel like I've talked your ear off and I'm tired, so since I'm opening up tomorrow morning, I will see you all on another day!
Ok, so its been a while since I've updated you all on my mom's condition. Today she had her appointment with Dr. Mah about where to go from here. If you don't remember, she was kicked out of the drug trial because her liver function was compromised, and the drug trial was based on the liver function.
So she is back to square one, her cancer has gone back to the point that it was before she started the drug trial. She starts chemo next week, she gets to keep her hair, which she is extatic about and her chemo will be one week on and two weeks off. This is the fourth type of chemo that they will try with her particular cancer. So hopefully she will pull out of this again. She is hopeful, at least it sounds like it.
For those of you who have kept her in your prayers, I and my family thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
