Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I had a wonderful birthday, starting with a Singing Valentine to a Middle School teacher. Many Sweet Adelines and Barbershop Harmony Society choruses do Singing Valentines as a fund-raiser and City of Lakes Chorus is no exception. It's a lot of fun to see the different reactions of the recipients. Today I was singing with Karla, Shirley and Bonnie. The cupcake in the photo was from Karla. I made the card using an Xcut embossing folder I got from my friend Heather (love it - thanks again, Heather!). Here we are doing a Valentine for Karla's daughter Kenzie, sent from her boyfriend serving in Kuwait.

L to R - me, Bonnie, Kenzie, Shirley, Karla

Kenzie was in the middle of a class at St Catherine's University but the professor knew we were visiting, as did a bunch in administration. We usually gathered a crowd of bystanders wherever we went. Fun story about the costume - Karla and I decided to wear the red chorus jackets half the chorus, including Karla and Bonnie wore. Shirley and I wore blue jackets for chorus so we borrowed red. Well, I forgot to put Bonnie's name on the email, then we neglected to talk about costumes at Monday night's chorus rehearsal. Long story short, Bonnie wore whatever red she had - we decided she looked perfect in her vest! I also did two Valentines on Saturday with Cindy, Ellen, and Mary. We surprised Dan, the husband of a chorus friend, at a church retreat. Then we sang for a young couple at a St Paul restaurant - so adorable! And we all managed to wear the red jacket but each of us embellished to our own style (mine, the minimalist - LOL).

L to R - me, Ellen, Dan, Mary, Cindy

Tonight I had dinner at Applebee's with my brother and his wife. They'd been on a cruise and I took care of their cat Misty. She went home with them which makes me sad - I'll miss her! Anyway, hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day and thanks for stopping!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi everyone - hope you're having a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I enjoyed my day soooo much, starting at 6am with a call from dear friend Heather; she called from Ireland to wish me a Happy Birthday - how cool is that?!  I also received several other special birthday phone calls - dear friend Ferne called from California, sister Tami called to sing, Aunt Carol called to sing, Mom & Dad called and sang a duet.  Heather wouldn't sing but we nattered (her cute word) for about an hour before I had to race off to do Singing Valentines. 

The past few years I've been out of town on my birthday so I've missed doing the Valentines.  I have so many great memories of amazing experiences we've had over the years.  My chorus, City of Lakes Chorus, does these as a fund-raiser.  Quartets, either organized (like I've been in over the years, including Chord Company with whom I sang for 16 years) or pick-up (listened to by the chorus's Music Team to find a good blend of voices), go out into the community to sing for the gifter's loved one.  We bring a card and a box of chocolates and sing two songs:  "Somebody Loves You" and "Cuddle Up a Little Closer".  Today I had a pick-up group with my former tenor from Chord Company, Elaine, and two ladies from chorus who've sung together in a quartet, Ellen (on lead) and Mary (on bass).  I sang baritone, as usual.  We also send Valentines by email or telephone but it just isn't as much fun as the in-person visit.

We did two Valentines in Minneapolis - one at a paint company and one at a nursing home - and one in St Paul at a school.  Then, since we were out and about anyway, we swung over to Mary's mom's assisted living home and sang for Betty and some of the other residents.  Hey - found a birthday twin, one of the students at the school (we were singing for one of the teacher's aides).  We sang Happy Birthday to her and she enjoyed it so much!  It's always such fun to see the smiles and sometimes tears of the recipients.  Betty used to sing in Sweet Adelines but can't anymore - the look on her face as she heard our harmony was just precious.  Here's our foursome at the school - the staff had made this little photo booth with balloons and things for the students - well, we borrowed it for this quick snapshot :)

L to R: me, Ellen, Mary, Elaine

Can you see Ellen's shoes?  They have hearts all over them!!  Plus she had glittery jumbo heart earrings too - very glam! As the Valentine Birthday Girl, I think I need both of those fashion accessories!  Speaking of birthdays, my friend Lynn has her birthday today too.  She tries not to rub it in that she's a year younger than I.  Well, here's the Valentine Birthday card I sent her.



It features a Decorate It! set LP269 by Hero Arts that I found at Target last year (with the little heart cards and the Valentine sentiment, among other stamps and a couple inks).  I stamped the heart with the Hero Arts cling Canvas Background using Sugar Distress Ink for a soft texture.  I stamped XOXO on the inside then punched a hole and tied it shut with some May Arts ribbon.  The birthday sentiment is from a new Hero Arts clear set Messages with Flourish.  I white embossed it and added a few dots with a white gel pen.

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!  Thanks for stopping!!

TV appearance!

Hi all - so excited to have been on TV today!  Watch us here on the Thursday 2/10 Twin Cities Live show!  They interviewed two of our members - sweet Kelcey and wonderful Janet and showed clips of the chorus City of Lakes & my "retired" quartet Chord Company.  Yesterday they had teasers for the show, featuring my quartet, and it was fun getting phone calls and emails from people who saw it.  Still hope to have time to make a card later today but probably won't get it posted here.  You still have a chance to order a singing Valentine by email if you're interested - my quartet recorded it for this fun chorus fundraiser.  Thanks for stopping and have a great night!

Singing Valentines

I love Valentine's Day (my birthday!) so much, mainly because my chorus does Singing Valentines as a fund-raiser.  We have a lot of fun, going out as quartets, to sing a song for the purchaser's loved one.  I wish I could share all the amazing times we've had doing this.  Embarrassing a burly truck driver in front of his cheering coworkers about being a "buttercup" (from the old song Cuddle Up a Little Closer) or singing for a tiny child undergoing treatment at the Shriner's Hospital (still brings tears to my eyes!).

This year I'm excited to report that my former quartet Chord Company (we retired last summer but still sing in chorus together) will record a video Valentine!  The chorus will be able to send the YouTube link by email.  Don't you love technology!  There's even a special for sending a Valentine to someone in the military.  The advertising flyer includes a photo of Chord Company wearing our red contest suit from last year.  Not this photo - this is one we took with my camera - suit looks more rose colored here; I'm on the left.

For more info - go to http://www.cityoflakes.org/

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!  I'm hoping to finish a card I started last week and have redesigned about three times!