Monday, December 14, 2009, 6:20 P.M.
The girls at the
Ross Country Jamboree and I have begun wearing the same color on the nights that I work there. Last weekend, we enjoyed Red Night. To perfect my outfit, I bought some shiny red high heels. We had a lot of fun, and I even yodeled "Cowboy's Sweetheart." Now, I'm in the middle of the last week of school before Christmas. When you're in charge of the education of 109 sixth-graders, and it's 11 days until Christmas, life can be a little hectic. However, it's a fun time as well. Friday at 3:00 P.M. is looking good right now, though! On Saturday, I'm going to be a guest on the
Corydon Jamboree Christmas show. Good times!
|
Red night
|
New kicks
|
Friday, December 11, 2009, 7:03 A.M.
We received a surprise on Monday: TWO-HOUR DELAY! A light snow produced some slick roads, and the administration thought it best to delay. AGREE! I was able to enjoy a
run, and Ed was able to enjoy some extra sleep. In other news, the
Croonin’ for Crohn’s web site for 2010 is now available. Check out the site for
C4C#4. The new address is
www.CrooninForCrohns.com. Ed picked out the colors. The bands performing at
C4C#4 all play different styles, so it's going to be an eclectic evening. Mark your calendars to attend
C4C on April 10, 2010!
|
2HD @ BMS!
|
C4C#4!
|
Sunday, December 6, 2009, 2:46 P.M.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I have all of my gifts made and wrapped. Part of the Christmas season includes attending BNL basketball games with Dad. We've sat under the basket at home games for years and years. Cheering for the Stars and screaming at referees are fun Christmas traditions. Mom and I decorated each other's houses over the last two weekends. Dad has been
learning the different features of his camera and took a cool pic of his and Mom's Christmas tree. Continuing with Christmas fun, I'll be
performing in a pair of Christmas shows over the next two weekends. Come share the Christmas fun!
|
With Dad at BNL
|
Dad's artistic pic
|
Sunday, November 22, 2009, 9:58 A.M.
This weekend, I am enjoying a rare
gig-free weekend. Believe it or not, I have three of these in a row! That kind of schedule, plus time off work for Thanksgiving, will allow me to spend more time with family and more time preparing for Christmas fun. Yesterday, Mom and I decorated my house for Christmas. Next weekend, we'll hit her house! Last weekend, I had Friday off for a Remicade treatment. After that, I decided to treat myself to a pedicure, something I've never done before. (I've always used gift certificates from someone else.) Though you can still see the blackness in my big toes from the
marathon, it's nice to have ten toes to be painted! That evening, I was able to see the
Little Nashville Express at their debut performance in their new (though temporary) home, the Brown County Playhouse. It did my heart good to see them performing a regular Friday night gig again. Saturday brought an awesome show at the
Corydon Jamboree. Tammy and I were on the show together, so that made for a fun evening. Last week, I decided to darken my hair even more. It sort of matched the chocolaty fur of one of the little lab puppies that visited
Bedford Middle School last week. Ed and I seriously considered adopting one, but we just don't have enough yard for such a large dog. Ed even had names selected: Kamea, Maebe, and Kona. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!
|
Ronna & Tammy
|
Pedicured toesies
|
With "Maebe"
|
Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 8:53 P.M.
Happy Veteran's Day! Two weekends ago, I had a
crazy weekend where I sang at three different venues and ran a
5K. It literally exhausted me, but I had such good times that it was worth it.
Forever Gold had a retro dance at BMS, I enjoyed Halloween at the
Corydon Jamboree, and I reconnected with friends at the
Miss Indiana USA pageant. Last weekend was a little more relaxed with just one show at the
Ross Country Jamboree on Saturday. It was Purple Night, and was one of the best shows I've ever enjoyed there. This weekend, I'm back at
Corydon on Saturday. However, first I'll get to enjoy the
Little Nashville Express at their new home: the Brown County Playhouse!
|
Purple night
|
With Steel Man Dave
|
Ed & Lisa jammin'
|
Running to the run
|
With Kevin on Halloween
|
Singing at IN USA
|
Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 7:29 P.M.
The last two weekends have presented us with lots of fun musical opportunities. On October 15, Ed and I played a
sock hop with
Forever Gold. It was an intimate setting, and ended up being one of our favorite gigs we've ever played. Just check out
the pics! The next night, I was excited to see the
Little Nashville Express for the first time since the fire. They played the Masonic Grand Lodge in downtown Indy. It was so good to watch them make music together. I put together a
slideshow of that gig as well. The following night, Ed and I attended the Blooming-Tunes concert that was headlined by our friend C.J. Watson. It was a cool concert that featured award-winning songwriters in several genres. October 23 was the night of the much anticipated
benefit concert for the
Little Nashville Express hosted by the
Ross Country Jamboree. It was a wonderful concert, and I was honored and thrilled to be asked to perform in the show. It was good to see everyone again, and the
band's spirits were buoyed quite a bit. I also made a
slideshow to share the fun of the
benefit concert. Finally, I was on the show at the
Corydon Jamboree on Saturday night. Good times! Now, I'm looking forward to another sock hop with
Forever Gold this weekend, this one for my students at
Bedford Middle School. I'll also be performing at the
Miss Indiana USA pageant on Sunday. Let the
gigs keep rollin' in!
|
Ed at the sock hop
|
Fun in Indy
|
...starring C.J. Watson!
|
Little Nashville Express
|
The trio
|
Jo at the benefit
|
Full house
|
With Kim, the organizer
|
Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 11:59 A.M.
Two weekends ago, I was honored to be part of a dinner honoring "History-Making Lawrence County Women." The dinner supported the Lawrence County Museum. Also honored was Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman. She gave a great speech about her Lawrence County roots. I discussed my work with the
Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. One of the coolest parts of the evening was getting to go to the top of the Masonic Temple. Once there, I had an awesome view of downtown Bedford. I even had a clear view of
Bedford Middle School. It was a memorable evening. In other news, this week is Fall Break! We had conferences yesterday. Now we get to enjoy Thursday and Friday as vacation days. On the agenda are a shopping trip, a lunch date with friends, and two
singing gigs. Speaking of
gigs, I have two slideshows to post ( 1,
2) from shows last weekend. I'll get to those on one of my vacation days this week.
|
Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman
|
Overlooking Bedford
|
Thursday, October 8, 2009, 6:29 P.M.
Happy Fall! I hope you enjoy the autumn look on the web site. I also archived the
Summer 2009 What's Up posts to make way for new fun things. Much has happened in the last two weeks. Fall is here, bringing with it a massive spider web on my porch and a new scarecrow named Leo. Also, the cause of the
Opry fire has been determined to be arson. The
Times-Mail ran
an article I wrote called,
“My Little Nashville Opry” that tells about my memories there. Luckily, the
Little Nashville Express is staying together, and I'm designing their
web site. I was able to perform with a few of them this weekend at the
Ross Country Jamboree. The
LNE benefit is only two weeks away! In other news, Mac earned fourth in the Jr. City, and Dad was named the Sr. City Champ for the fourth year in a row. Way to go, guys! My latest news is that I am no longer blonde. Hooray, Fall!
|
Spider web
|
Jo & Leo
|
LNO meets RCJ
|
Mac & Sam
|
Dad the Champ
|
New 'do
|
Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 10:48 P.M.
I apologize for being a horrible web domain updater. JoKai.net has taken a back seat to
Facebook lately. With
Facebook, updating is so quick and easy. Life has been a little zany lately, so
Facebook has been the best way for me to stay electronically connected to friends. Ed and I enjoyed a trip to Spring Mill for the annual Candlelight Tour on Saturday night. We enjoyed listening to the musical groups that were performing along the walkways of the Pioneer Village. It was such a lovely evening. Little did we know that a couple hours later, my beloved
Little Nashville Opry would be destroyed by fire. So many years of musical history were gone in minutes. I've been struggling greatly with the loss of my “friend,” the
Opry. It the greatest sense of loss I've experienced outside the loss of a person. There is so much speculation surrounding the fire, and it's making it even harder to cope. I appreciate all my family and friends for helping me through this tough time. Hopefully, the
Little Nashville Express will once again have a home. RIP
LNO. ♥
|
Spring Mill fun
|
Rustic scene
|
Opry memories
|
|