Marriage is...

This blog idea came after a phone call from my parents. They called to basically tell us about these weird things they do and if we did them to, then we were also weird. We had two out of three on their list. :) But anyway, it got me thinking. What is marriage? So here we go!

Marriage is... 

• Committing your life to another person
• Being able to compromise
• Building forts in the living room when you have no other furniture 
• Being willing to sacrifice 
• Trying to guess how much your grocery bill will be 
• Finishing each others sentences 
• Being able to laugh at each other
• Feeling completely comfortable with that person
• Living with your best friend
• Experiencing all those "firsts" together
• Hopefully having a family together
• Going to the bathroom with the door open (TMI?) :) 
• Leaving each other notes around the house or in luggage 
• Chasing thunderstorms and not being afraid of getting caught in the rain
• Having inside jokes that are only funny to the two of you
• Camping in your spare bedroom
• Having someone who helps you grow as a person and grow as a couple
• Learning to take care of someone else 
• Being thankful you found your other half 
• Having someone to enjoy your interests with 
• Not being afraid of arguing as long as you're always prepared to say "I'm Sorry"
• Being able to miss that other person, even if they're just in the next room
• Holding hands whenever you feel like it 
• Learning to budget 
• Being able to not have to do or even say anything when you're together
• A marathon, not a sprint
• Having someone to watch "Friends" with and then quoting it non-stop
• Running to the store at 10pm because your wife has a chocolate craving
• Learning to divide up responsibilities/chores around the house 
• Never going to bed angry
• Having someone to dance with 
• Completely ruining dinner or a dessert and being able to laugh at it 
• Saying the exact same thing and the exact same time
• Hard work, everyday 
• Trying to find excuses to get the other person to do something you want 
• An adventure 
• Having someone to share your crazy dreams with, even if they don't make sense 
• Singing as loud as you can on long car trips
• Purposely wearing matching clothes 
• Trying to find each others reflex spot, just for the fun of it
• Making plans for your future and being able to adapt when they don't work out
• Supporting each other in everything you do 
• Having someone to kiss anytime you want 
• Offering to drive when you're drugged on pain killers and bleeding from the mouth when your wife is faint from the sight of that blood 
• Learning from the good examples your parents set for you 
• Having someone to grow old with
• Knowing that after a long day you can get in your easy clothes and cuddle on the couch
• Respecting each other 
• Endless back rubs :) 
• Appreciating the little things in each other 
• Creating memories
• Making sure God always has a place in your relationship
• A lifetime together 
• Having someone to love and to love you back 

A Letter to Laura

My dearest Laura,

When I first met you, you were just this cute little freshman living across the hall from me in Centennial Hall at Wartburg College. You had a personality that you couldn't help but love. :) We became friends quickly.

Throughout our time as friends we've had a great number of memories. Some of my favorites... Watching Grey's Anatomy every week and even building quite an impressive Grey's Anatomy shrine over our TV when we lived together. Or taking pictures with St. Francis. At midnight. In our suits. What about that time we celebrated St. Patrick's Day and tried to take pictures of a shadows on that walk home... with a flash. I certainly remember that time you helped find "strippers" for my birthday. And that jersey party... well actually I'm not sure how much of that I do remember. :) I remember making and rocking our awesome duct tape outfits for Outfly and coming in first place, thank you! I remember that year you were my lovely Valentine's Day date at the Mensa and I remember watching the election results with you and literally jumping up and down on the couch at the Democratic sweep. I remember making a pretty kick-a$$ music video with you as well! And then there was our trip to South Africa and Germany. With that trip alone I could name a hundred more memories but I'll just touch on my favorite: Getting to row the boat in Germany, you being so excited to run through the glass sliding door at our hostel but not realizing that since we were back so late they had been locked and you running right into the glass doors, recording creepy voices on my stuffed bear and trying to scare the others outside their tents and pretty much everything else in between.

When Amanda called to tell me about your accident, she had seen it on Facebook before I had, I was in a bit of shock. I couldn't believe it. I can't imagine how something like this could happen to such a great person, especially while doing something you so obviously love doing. I quickly jumped online to try and find as much information as possible. Your amazing friend Kathleen set up a CaringBridge page and by the ever-increasing number of visitors, a lot of people are relying on that for information on you. Myself included.

The other thought I kept thinking was how sad I was that I haven't been a better friend and tried to keep in touch with you more. Because I don't know if you know this, but you are an amazing person.

You see, social media has been great because you feel like you can stay in touch with people so much easier. But part of me wonders if that's just an illusion. I think social media does make it easier to stay in touch and connect with people but it can also make it easier for you to drift away from people with less phone calls or meeting up with those "long-lost" friends.

I think that's what I let happen with our friendship. I let social media be enough. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing your face show up on my news feed, reading your status updates and seeing all the pictures you post. But I could have been better at texting you, or even writing on your wall more. Asking how you're doing. Or telling you how amazing of a person you are and what your friendship means to me.

And since there's no time like the present, here it goes:

Laura, you are an incredibly wonderful and awesome person. You are a beautiful person but more important than that, you have such a beautiful soul. Your spirit, energy and personality shine and light up any room you're in. You are such a fun and funny person. Most of my memories with you include a lot of laughing. You have touched the lives of so many people. Just reading through the guestbook on your CaringBridge page will show anyone that.

But one of the things I admire most about you is how strong of a person you are. You, at least from what I can tell, without a doubt know who you are. You have your beliefs, your values, your passions. You know what these are and you go and you fight for them. Your internship at Denver Bike Sharing is enough to show that. You have truly taken life by the horns and are living every day to the fullest. You have no idea how much I admire you for that. Even more, I admire the fact you really know what you want to be doing in life and you're doing it! You're not just sitting back thinking about what you would like to do or how you would want to live your life. You're out there!! Not everyone can do that. And that's one of the reasons I love keeping an eye on you on Facebook so much! :) You are an inspiration to me. And I'm sure that you are an inspiration to many others. So thank you.

And thank you for our friendship. Even though we haven't stayed in touch that well, you have made an impact on my life. And You continue to do so, even if you don't know it! You have made a difference in my life and I am a better person for being your friend. I consider myself blessed to have you as a friend.

I'm going to make a vow to become a better friend. Not only to you, but to all of my friends that I "stay connected" with through Facebook. Because your accident reminds all of us that life can change in an instant. And it's important to tell those you love just how much they mean to you.

Laura, I hope that this letter has shown you that from me. And to all of my other friends, I hope you all know how much you mean to me as well. And I'm going to find time to talk to you all soon.

Laura, there are so many good thoughts, get well soon wishes, healing vibes and prayers that are being sent to Colorado from all over the country, I think we might actually be able to see them shoot across the sky. So please, get better soon. There are so many of us rooting for you and ready to be here and help encourage you throughout your recovery. When I'm out in Denver in October, I'm going to do my best to be able to make a trip to see you and be just one of the many there to help you on this road. I'm looking forward to seeing you then. And to catching up soon. And to staying in touch with you so that I can watch and see all the amazing things you're going to continue to do with your life.

All of my love,
Liz

PS I thought I would add some pictures from all our fun crazy times! Because who doesn't love looking at old pictures and laughing at themselves!? :) 

Watching Edwards speak at Wartburg in 2007

Wartburg Homecoming 2008

Fall 2009

Summer 2008

St. Patrick's Day

A picture of our shadows :)

Ready for the jersey party!

Yup.

OUTFLY!

Roommate love :)

Go Dems! :)

Warburg vs. Luther 2007

Valentine's Date 2006

Us at the Wartburg Castle, May Term 2006

Rowing a boat in Germany! :)

With our stuffed animals, Africa

Swimming in the rain in Africa

Right after we took a dip in the ocean, South Africa

Pretending to fall from the sky... South Africa

4-wheeling in Namibia

Us with the guy to let us row the boat :)

I added this picture because it was one that you, Laura, took from our trip to South Africa.
The caption was "me and my sisters"

Sorry for so many pictures! But there were a lot more I could have added as well! :) We had some good times Laura. And here's hoping we have many more!

Beginning of Fall

The start of fall is here. You can't really tell by the weather yet, but you can by the activities! We have had some nice cool fall-like days and they've been great! I'm looking forward to when this is the case every day! To me, there is nothing better than a nice cool fall day. But there have been other things that tell us fall has arrived.

Austin has started school. This will be his third year teaching already! It's crazy how fast time flies! Austin was definitely ready for school to start this year. The week before school started  he was at the high school or the middle school until 10pm or later getting things and his classroom ready! I admire his commitment and the focus he had those days, but at the same time I was ready for him to be home when I was getting ready for bed! :) This year, while the final numbers are still being determined as students finalize their schedules, it looks like Austin will have his biggest choir yet. It's amazing to see the choir grow under Austin's leadership. If you haven't done so already, head over to Facebook and "like" the Riverside Vocal Music page. That way you can keep up-to-date on everything that is happening at Riverside.

Another thing that tells me fall is just around the corner is my work schedule. It's quickly filling up with college fairs and before I know it, I'll be scheduling my high school visits as well. This will be my second year of fall travel season and I guess we'll see if it will be as busy as last year. My guess is yes. :)

A couple of things that we've been able to do to enjoy the last of summer... A couple weeks ago we were back in Macendonia for Donia Day, the town celebration. Austin was a judge for the parade. It was a fun day and we got to see a lot of people from "Annie" that we hadn't seen in a while, so that was really great. We also saw probably the coolest thing I've ever seen during a parade. The John Deere Implement just down the road had a pretty sweet surprise for all the kids. They had one of their tractors pulling a grain auger and the arm swung out over the streets and from it dropped hundreds of Tootsie Rolls! It was pretty amazing! And the kids loved it! 

This past weekend we went up to Minnesota to spend some time with my family. Originally we had planned on going to the Minnesota State Fair. But then we found out that weekend was going to be the time to harvest grapes at my uncle's vineyard. Well that is just simply something we can't miss, so we ended up helping out with that instead. It always promises to be a good time.

We normally spend the morning picking grapes and then celebrate the end of the harvest with a big potluck and lots of drinks to go around! This year was no different! Now, as you may already know, this summer has been particularly dry with not a lot of rain. Well Saturday, this was not the case. The one day pretty much all summer it decides to rain is the day we're out harvesting grapes. Well it made things interesting at the very least. It was pretty cold and very wet, but we managed. 

Harvesting in the rain!

By the end of the day we were very tired, wet and muddy. But the harvest was a success! I also got second place in the "Perfect Bunch" contest! I was really aiming for first because that prize was a giant wine glass that fits an entire bottle of wine! But second place wasn't bad! 

My second place bunch!

Overall it was a great, but very tiring, weekend! Both Meg and Dan were home as well. It's always great to see them before the busy fall begins!

This next weekend we're heading to see the other side of the family in Tipton! We're having a big party and I think it's going to be a great way to wrap up the summer! It'll be really great to see this side of the family as well since it's been a while!

Marketing & Branding

So we're currently hiring a new Director of Marketing here at the University of Nebraska Omaha. We're actually creating an entire Office of Marketing - something we've never had before, which really amazes me considering the size of our university. So I've recently been sitting in on these interviews and some of the discussions have made me think.

One of the bigger issues that we face here at UNO is a branding issue. We don't have a brand. We rolled out with some new logos within the past year and that's been a good start but it's not enough. We need to have a defining brand that when people hear or see it, they know - UNO. Like Nike or Pepsi. Or other universities like Texas or Nebraska Lincoln. They have well known brands. This is what we lack.

It also made me think about Wartburg. Now Wartburg is obviously is a little bit of a different class than UNO because of size and private versus public, but one thing that Wartburg does right is that it has a brand. Be Orange. There were some shirts that I saw recently that the Wartburg Ambassadors were wearing that said: "Be Orange. It's a Wartburg thing" And that's so true. (By the way, can I get one of those!?) Anyone who knows Wartburg knows 'Be Orange'. They've done a great job marketing that, using it everywhere and for an extended period of time.

Before I started working at UNO, I worked as a marketing coordinator for Kruger Seeds. I really enjoyed that work too. I loved the planning and the variety. And while I was there we even were able to do some re-branding. Kruger changed their logo and came up with a brand. And while I wasn't a part of the team that presented those ideas, I was involved in some of the process. And it was really great. With their old brand, you would ask dealers what is Kruger Seeds? And they wouldn't be able to get you a straight answer and everyone had a different answer. With the new logo and the new branding, we could ask any dealer what is Kruger Seeds? They would all answer 'First Class Seed. First Name Service.' Within a year, we could see this change. It was amazing! 

Sitting in on these interviews and talking about what needs to be done here at UNO gets me excited. Talking about branding and what that means to UNO. I love it. I've forgotten how much I love that part of marketing. I will tell you that since I've been out of school for a while, I might not know as much as I would like about branding specifically and marketing, but I feel like this is something that I would maybe want to do in the future. These discussions make me want to go back and read and learn more. I want to be a part of these conversations.

I guess this post leads back to that 'age old question' of "What does Liz want to do with her life? What is her calling?" I love working in higher education. I love the work I do with students and getting them excited about going to college. But I also love marketing and branding. Am I better at one or the other? Who knows. I might say I'm more comfortable with higher education mostly because I'm doing that right now. Maybe I need to combine the two and start searching for work in higher education marketing.

Either way, this post mostly just serves as a place for me to write down some of the thoughts I've had. I guess if you have any suggestions or recommendations, I'm all ears. :)

Wedding Memories

This past weekend, Austin and I had the chance to attend and be a part of the wedding of some good friends of ours. This was actually the first wedding we've had (or could make) all summer. So it had been well over a year since we've attended a wedding. And this got me thinking...

The wedding this past weekend was simply beautiful - full of love and joy. You could see it on everyone that was present. Austin and I had a the amazing opportunity to be a part of this wedding by singing. It's always an honor when we get asked to sing and be a part of someone's special day. And this was no different.

Throughout the ceremony and even the whole day, I was reminded of our wedding day. We too got married at the Wartburg Chapel and that in itself holds a lot of memories. But the day brought back a lot of feelings. Those feelings of butterflies, of complete joy, of the unexpected. Your wedding day is going to be one of the most fun and joyous days of your life. And after three years of marriage, you forget what those feelings were like. You lose sight of them. You get caught up in the every day stuff. The normal. The boring. And I think it's good to be reminded about how you felt on your wedding day.

Your wedding day is more than just a big party. It's the day you commit yourself to another person. Fully. Completely. You make vows. You make promises. You agree to spend the rest of your lives with each other. And that's where it can get tough. Because marriage is not like the wedding day. It's not all fun, party and dancing. It's work. It's compromise. It's exhausting some days. But it's what you've agreed to.

Don't get me wrong. I love my husband. I love our marriage. I love our life. But it's still easy to lose sight of these things. Maybe that's why you're suppose to make a big deal out of your anniversary every year. To help remind you of those vows you made on your wedding day. To help remind you of that joy you have deep in your heart. Of that love. I'm sad to say that Austin and I haven't been the best at celebrating our actual anniversary. We're both busy that time of year and we haven't even really been together on that day. But I think we need to do better. I think we need to take the time each October 24th and watch our wedding video. To look at the pictures. To read through our guestbook and cards. I mean, why else do we have them? 

So to my friends that just got married, to my friends who are currently planning their weddings and to my friends who have been married: Remember your wedding day. Remember that joy. That nervousness. That love. Remember those vows. Those promises. Remember the Bible verses you had read or the songs that you had sung. Remember the family and friends that were there to support you. Remember that God is there every step of the way. And remember your spouse. And why you love them. Why you married them.

Austin, I love you with all of who I am. I love every day we've spent together and I look forward to every day we will get to be together. I cherish all of the memories that we've made and try to wait patiently as we make new ones. I will love you every day of my life. You are my other half. And I would be lost without you.  

"Where you go, I go; and where you live, I'll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I'll die, and that's where I'll be buried." 

Ruth 1:16-17

Surrender

Do you ever make plans? You get this great idea of something you want or something you want to do. Sometimes these plans are just an idea that you have and some plans are set into motion by other events.
So you have these plans and you start thinking about your future. How it's all going to work out. What you're going to do once it happens. How you're going to react. How you're going to tell your family and friends. You start to get excited. You get your hopes up. You start dreaming and imaging how wonderful things are going to be. How amazing everything will work out because of your plans.

But then something changes. Your plans go awry. Your dreams and your hopes are gone.

Has this ever happened do you? Have you ever felt this disappointment? This frustration? This sadness? It's happened to me, too. More than once.
But then I realize something. I realize why my plans don't work.

My plans get changed because they weren't God's plans for me.

I've always strongly believed that everything happens for a reason and that God does indeed have a plan for me. I don't know what His plan is, I don't know what it entails or how it will work out. But I do believe it's there. I believe that I have to trust Him. To have faith in Him.

It's easy to say "trust in Him" or "have faith in God's plans for you". It's very easy to say those things - to yourself, to others. But it's a totally different thing to actually follow through on them. And this is where I've been struggling lately.

I know that God has a plan for me. But lately I've had my own plans in mind. I've had my own wants and dreams. I feel like what I have are good plans, good wants, good dreams. I feel like they're things God would approve of. That God would want for me in my life. So what I can't understand is why God isn't just giving me my plans, my wants, my dreams.

But that's not how God works.

And so I'm struggling. I'm struggling to let go and let God. I'm struggling to let go of my plans and surrender them to God. I'm holding them too close and I'm not sure how to let go of them. I don't know how to start that process. Sure I can say that I've let go of them, but deep down I know that's not true.

Some days while I'm thinking about our future plan - whether it be my plan or God's plan - I try to listen for an answer from God. I try to listen and hear if he'll tell me what the right plan is. You see, two years ago when Austin and I were trying to figure out if a move to Western Iowa was the right plan for us, I heard God. I heard God speak to my heart telling me that it was the right decision. And that whole week I was reassured by verses I heard on the radio or hymns that were sung in church. I heard God speak to me that week.

And so that's what I'm listening for again today. I'm waiting for God to speak to my heart. I'm waiting for that reassuring verse on the radio. I'm waiting to hear God. But I'm not hearing anything. So I wonder: am I listening too hard? Or am I not listening in all the right places? Maybe I'm expecting this time to be exactly like it was two years ago - a clear voice. And I wonder, will God speak to me the same way again? Or am I not opening up my heart enough to fully listen to what's around me?

And so here I sit. Waiting. Listening. Trying to let go.

God, give me the strength to let go. To let go of my own plans and wants. Help me to surrender them up to You. Give me the patience to wait for Your timing. Help me stay strong in my faith of You. Help me to open up my heart so that I will hear You when You speak to me. Amen.

Dog Days of Summer

I realize that I haven't written a blog since last month. And I really don't have any excuses. With Annie over, we had all of our free time back! Maybe I just haven't written because nothing too exciting has happened since Annie... well that's not completely true either. :)

With Annie over, Austin and I were both excited to have our evenings and weekends back. But that first week or two right after the show, I have to admit: I was bored! I couldn't remember what I use to do with all my free time before Annie! I wasn't even sure what I wanted to do with my free time now! But that has past and I'm back to enjoying my free time again. I do still get a bored a little easier but I'm trying to enjoy doing nothing while I can... as people keep reminding me - whenever we decide to have kids, our free time is completely out the window! :)

Over the week of July 4th, Austin and I traveled up to South Dakota for a family reunion! My cousin and her family had recently moved there where her husband is the director of a bible camp. The camp is right on the lake, along with a retreat center - which is where we stayed. We were so excited to head up there to have a mini-vacation and to spend some time with the family. However, we ran into a little bit of a problem about 20 miles outside of Council Bluffs. 

Yup. We got a flat tire... It was the first time either Austin or I had ever gotten a flat tire so we weren't entirely sure of our skills to change a tire. We did have a spare in our trunk but we called a tow truck to come and help us out. Well it was close to 100 degrees outside and after waiting in the heat, Austin decided to just try and figure out how to change the tire. At this point, a state trooper had pulled over to make sure we were okay and see if we needed any assistance. He helped Austin get it all started but then told us he had to leave because a man up the road was threatening to jump in front of traffic... yeah.

My hero!

Austin got the spare on successfully and we had called up to a place in a small town just up the road and they had the tire size we needed! So we slowly made our way there, got our new tire and $150 later, we were on our way! Luckily we didn't run into any other problems on the way there!

Once we made it to South Dakota, we enjoyed a few days relaxing on the lake and hanging out with family. We had a lot of fun. We went paddle-boating, tubing and playing on the water toys, that you can see in the picture below. 
 

We had a great time and it was hard to leave! I think everyone agreed that it would have to be something we should do every summer! :)

Since then, we really haven't done to much. Austin is still enjoying his job at the airport, mostly I think because it gets him out of the house! He's also been working with students doing voice lessons and next month, he'll be taking some students to All-State camp back at Wartburg. I think Austin is ready for school to begin again and start working with all of his students for another great year at Riverside! 


For me, the summer is also going well at work. Orientation days are definitely the busiest but the free lunch makes up for the early morning those days. :) I can tell that fall is starting to get closer because college fair invites have started coming in and soon I'll be scheduling high school visits again. I've also been working on creating our new books for the school year. These are the books that we give out at college fairs, high school visits and campus visits. I've really enjoyed doing this and it's helping me keep busy. Another exciting thing is that our entire office will be heading to Denver in October for the National Conference for Admissions Counselors. I'm so excited to get back to the great city of Denver and to hopefully learn some new things!

I think that's about it for us. We're just trying to get by in this heat wave that's hit the US. I hope you all are staying cool as well! Enjoy the rest of the summer before it's gone! :)

The Sun will come out Tomorrow!

Austin and I have gotten our lives back! "Annie" is officially over! Our performances were just this past weekend on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And for the first time in at least recent history at the Grist Mill Theater, all four shows were sold out!! Pretty big deal!

Each show was awesome! The audience was just what we needed as a cast to get that extra energy and enthusiasm on stage. There were no major screw ups or anything. The music was great (obviously with such a great music director! ;-) haha), the lines were given smoothly and no one tripped on stage! :)

Overall, the show itself was a great success. We heard a lot of positive feedback. But more importantly than that, were the friendships that we made at Grist Mill during our two months there. Rehearsals were long and often, but we met some really great people! Every person in the show or helping with the show really made it so much fun. And although I think Austin and I (and probably everyone else in the show as well...) will enjoy our free nights and weekends again, we're really going to miss hanging out with everyone.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy from the show! 

Austin makes the best faces!

See? 

Meg and Grandma J. came to the show!

John and Austin during warm-ups

Before our second show

Mr. Warbucks and Drake like the dress! :) 

Mom & Dad Zaruba came as well!

After our third show

As you can see from the pictures we had a good time! 

The cast of "Annie" 

If you want to see more pictures, they're up on my Facebook page! :) 

Keeping Busy

Okay, now we've definitely been keeping busy!

Annie rehearsals have been in full swing for a while and with our performances next week, we're really working hard! Rehearsals are pretty much every day from 6:30pm until around 9:30 or 10pm. Last night it was 10:30. This makes for a rather long day. Especially on the days I have orientation at work. On orientation days, I have to be at work by 7am which means my alarm goes off at 5am and I'm out the door around 6am. Those are very long days. Luckily however, we don't have any orientation days next week, the week of our performances! So I'm very happy about that!

Annie has been a good experience for us! It's gotten us out of the house actually doing something! (We like to really just enjoy the time we have to ourselves right now and normally not have to do a whole lot of anything. But I know that this has been good for us for when we do have little ones running around and keeping us busy in the future!)  We've also met a lot of really great people! The cast is a fun group to work with! It's also been great having the chance to get back on stage and for me, to really sing again! It's been so long since I've gotten to sing, you forget how much you love it! And it's been fun working with AJ, with him working as the Music Director and as a fellow cast member. I think we were both a little nervous about it since we like to butt heads so much... ;-) but it's been really good and really fun to work with each other.

Another bit of exciting news is that AJ has gotten a part time summer job!! YAY!! :) I might be a little bit more excited about this than he is... haha! AJ will be working at Enterprise at the Omaha airport. Basically he will just be driving cars back and forth between some locations at the airport. So it's pretty simple, just part time and just for the summer! Plus, it's at the airport! And if you know AJ, you know how much he loves airplanes!! I just hope he keeps his eyes on the road while he's driving and not up in the sky watching the planes!

As soon as he has that schedule worked out, he'll also be doing voice lessons for some of his students. So he will be keeping busy this summer! Which is good. For both of us. :)

An Infomercial

Are you a fan of Mr. Austin Zaruba?
Do you like his energy and enthusiasm?
Do you enjoy his music and teaching abilities?
Do you love watching him dance up on stage as he directs?
Are you sad because he lives so far away and it's just plain hard for you to get to all of his concerts?

Well you're in luck!

The Riverside Vocal Music Program has created a new website full of all Mr. Z's concert videos! Starting back from his very first concert during his first year teaching in 2010 all the way up to the present!

(Okay, well maybe not quite yet to the present time... We're still working on loading all of the videos from different concerts and events. We manage about one a week! So keep checking back until we've got them all up to his last spring concert!) 


So, check out the website here: https://vimeo.com/riversidevocalmusic

And enjoy the musical talents of the Riverside Vocal Music Program! They've come along way in just two years! It's pretty cool to watch the first concert and then to watch them again just this past spring! You can also tell how much they admire and respect Mr. Z! So way to go!! :) 


ENJOY!

Some Music Updates

I seem to be averaging about one blog a month... I can't blame it on us being too busy because while we've been busy, we haven't been that busy. So I'm going to blame on it on the fact that we just don't have a lot going on. We can be boring people. :)

AJ has officially finished up with the school year. Okay, well not quite yet. He still has two more weeks of school but when it comes to all of his concerts, performances, etc. he has finished. The Middle School concert at the end of last month sounded great and he had those kids doing some pretty difficult music for their age! They sounded great. The High School concert also went really well! He was able to show off some of the smaller group talent and showcased all of his seniors that will be graduating. My Mom and Grandma actually made the trip down for the concert and I think they really enjoyed themselves! They just kept saying how amazing the choir sounded and the quality of music they're singing. They also kept commenting on how much fun AJ seems to have when he's up there conducting. And it's true - he just dances away on stage! :) He brings a level of energy and enthusiasm like none other and the kids respond to it. They were so focused on him the entire time - very professional! And you can tell how much they respect him!
AJ also had his Large Group Contest back on May 4th where the choir traveled to Elk Horn, Iowa to perform in front of three judges. The choir sang their very best, did an outstanding job and walked away with an Excellent (Division II) Rating! And they really deserved it! (Well, actually I think they deserved a Division I, but I'm not a judge!) They sang a level 3 difficulty of music and for a program so young and still growing, they rocked it. They did really well. AJ and I have been working on putting together videos of all his past concerts recently and when we were watching the video of his very first concert at Riverside - with only like 12 kids - it was amazing the difference in sound they have, the level of professionalism while on stage, and how much more talent they have now. It's been fun to watch them grow as a choir.

AJ also decided to start some traditions at Riverside. This past Saturday, he held the first ever Riverside Choir Awards Banquet. He asked students and parents to help bring food and we had a nice little brunch on Saturday morning. AJ then spent some time explaining everything that they had done throughout the year and then presenting the students with their awards (letters, pins, bars, etc.). It was a really neat thing and fun for those students to get recognized because they really deserve the recognitions. Another tradition he has decided to start was recording the choir singing songs from throughout the year. So last week I took off work to help with the project. We spent all morning at a local church in town recording the choir singing a number of different pieces along with some small groups. For the first year of doing this, the CD will have 20 tracks on it! And with the sale of all the CDs, the money will go straight back to the Music Program, which is really great. So, because I know you're all interested... :) if you want to buy a CD, I've included the order form below. You can also go to the Riverside Vocal Music facebook page and download it there too! And just in case you haven't already, you should go to the facebook page and "Like" it so you can stay up to date on all Riverside Vocal Music stuff! 

I think that about does it for us right now. "Annie" rehearsals are still going great and I really love being back on stage and singing again! I forget how much I miss it! 
More from us later - as soon as some things happen! :) 

A little of this and that

Things are starting to get busy for us around here! Usually summer is a time to relax and take things slow... but at least for the beginning of the summer, that isn't going to be the case for us!

I decided to audition for "Annie" - the community theater show where AJ is music director this summer and landed the role of Grace Farrell (secretary to Mr. Warbucks)! I'm pretty excited and definitely excited to be back on stage - for the first time since 2005! - and to be able to do some singing again! We started rehearsals this past weekend and it looks like "Annie" is pretty much going to consume our lives until the end of June! :) Not that I'm complaining, I think it's going to be a lot of fun and it's with a great group of people!
We have performances June 21st - 24th so let me know if you want tickets! :)

Even though we've only had two rehearsals, it's been fun to watch AJ work with all the little kids in the show! It never ceases to amaze me how well he is with kids. And I'm sure most of this is because he's just a big goofy kid himself! :) But it's just so much fun to watch him in his element! I've been lucky enough to be able to do this quite a bit lately!
Last month AJ had 15 students from the high school that went to solo/ensemble contest. Basically for those of you that don't know, this is a competition the students go to where they've prepared one or more pieces of music and perform in front of a judge. The judge will then score them on a number of different areas and give out a rating that ranges from Division I (Superior) to Division IV (Poor). The 15 students that AJ took were the largest group of kids to go to contest from Riverside. Of those 15 students, they walked away with 8 Division I's, 6 Division II's and one Division III. It was an outstanding day for those students! You could tell how hard each of them worked and how much they wanted to do well, not only for themselves, but also for Mr. Z! :)

Tonight AJ has his last Middle School concert for the year and the last High School concert is next Monday. He also has Large Group Contest this Friday night. Large Group is essentially the same as solo/ensemble contest, only the choir goes and performs as a whole in front of three judges. Last year the choir received a Division II. This year, with a choir that is practically tripled in size, AJ is hoping to walk out with a Division I. He and the students have been working very hard. AJ also found out recently that he has just under 50 students signed up for choir next year! This is just amazing considering that the started with just around 12 his first year - just two years ago! He is really doing some great things with the Riverside Vocal Music program!

For some other great news, we heard back from H&R Block about our amendments for the previous two years of state taxes and we will be getting some money back!! We'll actually be getting back right around $1000! So we're very excited and this is going straight into our emergency fund - as part of our Financial Peace University learning. And speaking of FPU, we have officially graduated! We had our last class last week and we're kind of sad it's over! It has been a lot of fun going to class every week, learning some really great things, but also meeting and getting to know some other people in town. It'll be strange now having to go to class now every Wednesday! And I would say it'll be nice to have our Wednesday nights back, but we've moved on to "Annie" rehearsals now!

I think that's just about it for us right now! If I don't post anything for the next two months, now you know that we'll be busy! :)

God and His Plans

You know, life has a funny way of working itself out. Or maybe it's more God's planning. I'm always truly amazed when things in life get complicated and I start to worry and fret and wonder how it's all going to work out. But then something happens and I see that God truly had a plan in place all along. I suppose you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about?

There was a new position created at Wartburg in the Alumni and Parent Association Office for an Event Planner. I decided to apply and landed an interview. (Now, I don't want you to think that I don't love my current job at UNO because I do. I love what I'm doing, I love working in higher education and I love the people I work with. This was just something I thought I should apply for.) The interview itself went great. The staff at Wartburg were friendly and welcoming and of course it's always great to be back on campus! The position would be helping plan different events throughout the year including Family Weekend, Homecoming and area Outflys. And as it was at my alma mater, it could be a dream job for me. I love planning events, I love all the work that goes into them, the details, the organization. And I love seeing the end results. And who wouldn't want to work for such a great place and one that is so close to my heart?

But after the interview,  I wasn't sure what was next. I didn't know what I would say if they offered me a job. AJ has a much more specific job and he can't just move anywhere. I followed him out to Western Iowa for his job at Riverside. And I realize that it's probably going to almost always be that way - me following him. And I honestly have no problem with that! AJ knows what he wants to do, has that passion and a true talent for it! I will gladly follow him wherever his career may lead him. But AJ doesn't have anything lined up for a job in Eastern Iowa. He has this great job at Riverside and is excited to see how the program continues to grow. I'm not sure I could ask him to leave that. Especially if he doesn't have another teaching job lined up. AJ thought if I was offered the job I should take it. We've lived apart before and although that didn't really work out in our favor last time, he believes that we're in a better place to do it now. It would be his third year of teaching and we know a lot of people in the area now - he's more comfortable. And while I agree with all of that, I still wasn't sure living apart was something I wanted to do. We've begun to talk about when we want to start a family and living apart isn't exactly ideal for that.

And so we were at a crossroads. Waiting. Waiting to hear back from Wartburg. And trying to figure out what I would say if I was offered the job. Well the call finally came on Wednesday afternoon. Wartburg called and told me that it was down to me and one other person and after a lot of discussion, and not without some hard choices, they offered the job to the other person and they accepted. I was told however that they had nothing but great things to say about me and would keep me in mind if any future positions opened up. And while I was bummed about not getting an offer, I was also relieved. I honestly believe that God knew I would not be able to make that decision. So He made it so I wouldn't have to. I am glad that I did the interview. I love Wartburg and would jump at any chance for another interview down the road. And maybe this interview will have been my foot in the door for something else. Something down the road that has better timing for both me and AJ and his career track. Everything happens for a reason. And this situation was no different.

Ironically enough, after receiving the phone call from Wartburg, AJ and I had our Financial Peace University course that night. This lesson was called Working in your Strengths. The class description reads: "This lesson will show you how to avoid dead-end or mind-numbing jobs and provide tips for job hunting, writing a résumé, and acing an interview. Plus, you’ll learn tips for finding extra jobs if you need cash to attack your debt snowball." And our homework for this class period was to come up with a three year professional plan. Well this is something I've always struggled with. I admire AJ so much for knowing what he wants to do and the fact that he's able to do it and do it so well. And while I like the fact that my degree gives me the opportunity to be flexible and do a number of things, I still struggle with what I want to do for the rest of my life. There are a number of things I love to do. And I do love working in Higher Education and I believe I want to stay working in Higher Ed, but doing what exactly? I'm not sure. We were even asked in our discussion after the lesson if we could do anything in the world and money was no object, what would it be. I couldn't answer. I don't know what my dream job is. I'm still searching. I wish someone could tell me what I'm really good at, what my strengths are and what exactly I should be doing. But I know this is something I have to discover for myself. I need to figure out what God put me on this earth to do. But if you have any suggestions, I'll take them! ;-)

Let's get on with some updates now, shall we? March was a busy month for both AJ and I. For me, the month was filled with high school visits and college fairs. For AJ, he was busy working as the National Honor Society adviser and planning the ceremony as well as getting his students ready for solo/ensemble contest. We were also lucky enough to have some visits from friends as well! Amanda and Chelsea were able to come down and we had a pretty fun girls weekend! Even AJ said it wasn't too bad with the three of us together! ;-) The last two weeks of March I was actually up in Minnesota at college fairs. It was a long two weeks to be away from home and from AJ but we survived. I was also able to go to Osseo, WI and visit Meg the weekend in between! It was great because I hadn't been able to visit her yet or see her preach! It was a great weekend and really great to have some sisterly bonding time as well! :) I also managed to get in some time with some high school friends for another baby shower! It's so much fun getting together with these girls and catching up with all of them, but it's also fun to see how our get together's have changed! We had four adorable babies that we kept passing around and it was just so much fun! I can't wait until the next time we're all able to get together again! Maybe next time we'll even have to bring our husbands!

Easter weekend AJ and I drove up to Minnesota where we were able to spend a nice long weekend with family and friends. We managed to get in some good cousin bonding time as well during the weekend since all of us were back home (even if not all quite at the same time...). It's always fun when we can get together which is so hard to do now! But we can always have a good time. Easter itself was a joyous holiday and it was good to be back in church! I'll admit AJ and I have not been very good about getting to church lately! We need to get back in the habit because it's always so great and refreshing! The Monday after Easter we headed back home which of course included a stop to see our growing clans-baby! We just love spending time with him and he is just the cutest baby! :) Monday was a long day though spent in the car, at the doctor's office and getting our taxes done. I am so glad that we finally have our taxes done and it was a lot easier than I thought! We decided to take them into H&R Block because we had too many questions and concerns, especially with me working in Nebraska but living in Iowa. And while it did cost us some money to get them down, the payoff has really been worth it. We originally thought we were going to have to pay a huge chunk of change to the state of Iowa but it turns our we had been filing wrong! So while we still had to pay in, it wasn't nearly as much as we first thought. We also found out that we filed wrong last year (2010) as well! So he was going to look into it further and see if we could possible get some money back from that! So we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Well, that's about it for us right now! School will soon be ending for the year for AJ and then he'll be busy working as the Musical Director of "Annie" for the community theater. We hope to spend this summer with some family time and maybe taking a vacation or two! No matter what we do, we know we'll have a great time!

Future planning?

Life here at the Zaruba's is going pretty well these days. We had a pretty great day last Friday actually. I got a call about mid-morning from Progressive letting me know that the other insurance company had accepted liability for the accident! This in itself was awesome news!! But what made it even better was the fact that our car repairs hadn't been finished yet so the bill was going to get sent directly to the other company - we didn't have to pay a dime! I was one happy camper. And then to make things even better, we were able to pick up our car on Friday afternoon - repairs were done and it looked as good as new! It was a relief to have this all taken care of and we were so blessed that everything worked out in our favor.

Last weekend was pretty busy for both AJ and I - we each had to work all day Saturday. AJ was working with Riverside's speech team and they had districts all day. The great news is that they did have a couple of students make it to State so they'll be heading over that way soon. I think AJ is going to continue to help out with the speech team, especially within the area of Musical Theater. I think he really enjoys working with these kids and he's talked about getting more involved next year.
I on the other hand, was busy all day in Omaha working at our Housing Showcase on campus and then later Saturday night at our Dual Enrollment Hockey Event. It was a long and exhausting day, especially after being on my feet all day. I can tell you that AJ and I both slept soundly on Saturday night! 

Our classes at FPU are continuing to go well. We took a big step this past week and cut up all of our credit cards. That was a little hard for me to do. We had recently taken them out of our wallets and locked them up in our safe-box, but I liked having them there in case of an emergency. But as Dave Ramsey teaches us, we should really have an emergency savings account instead of using credit cards. And so that's what we're working towards. We are still learning a lot each week; this class has been very beneficial. I would encourage anyone who has ever considered taking this class to do it. Or if you haven't considered it but would like to feel more financially secure, this is the class to take. It has been well worth the time spent so far. 

In a couple of "great news" stories... our clans-baby is officially one year old now! It's hard to believe it - even more so for his mom and dad I'm sure! :) He celebrated his birthday party last Sunday but since AJ and I were both so exhausted from working on Saturday we were unable to attend. Hopefully we can make it up there soon to see the little man and of course his parents. :) I also had a very close and dear friend of mine get engaged recently! After the phone call I was literally jumping up and down! I am so excited for her and her new fiance as they start this adventure of wedding planning and the journey of marriage together. I wish them both a lifetime of happiness! :) 

Other than that, AJ and I continue to have conversations about our future. This is something that we discuss quite often actually. We talk about when we would like to start having kids possibly, where we see ourselves in five years, etc. The thing is that every time we talk about our future, it always seems to change. I shouldn't be surprised but sometimes I feel like it can be discouraging. I know that all of our talks of future plans are just that - plans. Plans change. And with so much unknown about the future, it's hard to set any plan in stone. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like it to be so. 
With each discussion, it seems one of us always has a change of heart about something. But this is always a reminder about the compromise of marriage. Finding a "plan" that we can both agree on. Talking about a future we're both happy about. And most importantly, remembering that things are not always going to work the way we want them to. Things are going to change, our plan is going to change. We have no control over many of these things. Most important we need to remember to trust God. To ask Him what He plan for us is. What His future for us looks like. And we must remember to be quiet long enough to hear what He is telling us.