I heard from my mom several hours ago.  Needed a bit of time to assimilate it.   

My grandmother passed away this afternoon - peacefully and with both her daughters at her side.  2 days ago, it was a her 91st birthday (I was off by a couple of years.  I thought she was the same age as my grandfather.) .  

The stroke had taken away most of her movement, but when my mom told her who was with her and asked if she knew them, she actually made the effort to nod.  Considering she was pretty much paralyzed and she's been living in a state of dementia for years now, I suppose it's debatable whether or not she truly recognized her two daughters ... but we like to think she did.  

Even though I didn't know the woman you became, nana, I'll always remember and love the woman you were.

May you rest, finally at peace.  Free to be yourself again.

This userpic is a new head shot taken by ohiblather this summer in her gorgeous back yard.  I've been needing a new, more professional head shot for my voice over website and other voice over related applications.  Debbie did an awesome job and has been hugely generous with her very limited time.  We made an afternoon of it and it was a lot of fun.  I don't usually enjoy having my picture taken, but Deb has a way of making you feel comfortable (I'm sure many of you already know that. ;-)) .  It certainly helps that we've known one another for years.  (It amazes me how many years it's really been! :-) )

 I've been waiting a while to adopt one of the photos because I wasn't sure if there were more coming :-)  but having asked a few people's opinions, this shot was the clear winner.  Thanks so much, Deb!  You rock! 

Life continues with voice over work coming fairly regularly.  There are some good things in the works - and even if I don't actually get the projects, I've been up against some truly talented folks.  So you know how people say "it's an honor to be nominated"?  It really is.  No fooling.  One of the women I was up against for a job just recently, actually wrote a BOOK on the subject of voice overs (I own it, in fact) so losing out to her?  I mean, I didn't get the job so that sucks.  But being the other voice talent in consideration alongside her?  A HUGE honor.  It's encouragement when so much of this business can drag you down.  Repeatedly.  And then stamp on your corpse. *laugh*

I'm still looking for more agents... The more I have, the more opportunities I have.  So that search is ongoing. 

But there's some other not so great news too.  My grandmother (who is 93 and living in a Home in Florida) had a stroke on Friday.  This is actually *another* stroke as she's had one before, though it was a small one.  Originally, we were told this one wasn't so bad either.  But on Sunday, I got a call from my mom that she'd been advised by her sister and the Home that they needed to go out there ... That my grandmother's stroke was much more severe than they'd originally thought.  My mom and dad were on a plane to Florida on Monday morning.

Now I haven't seen my grandmother, really, since she came to my wedding (and I did desperately want her there.  She and my grandfather had been divorced many years before, so it was an iffy thing at the time.  And she came.  And I loved it that she came.) almost 20 years ago.  A year or two after that, she started developing signs of dementia and some time after that, she stopped being able to take care of herself.  Her life after that, has been a progression of gradually more supervised Homes, my mother and her sister doing their best to make her as comfortable as possible.  When I was younger, I would exchange many letters with my grandmother (part of the reason I really wanted her at my wedding).  We didn't talk about anything special.  Just filled one another in on our lives and such (she's lived in Sarasota Florida for as long as I can remember, so I never did see her on a regular basis, even when I was a kid).  But I have fond memories of that.  Those memories are old ones though.  I have no recent memories of her to speak of. 

I'm upset more for my mother than myself.  My mom was really broken up about it when we spoke on the phone on Sunday so she could tell me she and my dad were on their way to Florida the next day.  My mom's relationship with her mother has been a very complicated and difficult thing - for both of them, I think.  But there's always been a lot of love there.  And it's always hard to see someone you love suffering.  That goes for my mom and my grandmother - and for me and my mom too.

So at this point, I ask only that you send out prayers and good wishes for my grandmother's recovery, or her gentle passing, if that's what's to be.  Honestly, I think the latter might be a mercy ... but maybe that's a horrible thing to say.  :-/

I received a lovely little usb drive in a lovely little gift box from Debbie and Allison today when we met for dinner.  

Thank you SO much for putting that together, guys.  All of you that participated ... I mean, wow.  That's just about the most special birthday gift I've ever received and I'll treasure it and the songs and birthday messages on it.

I'll also say that I have some of the most INCREDIBLY TALENTED friends on the PLANET.

Just sayin'.

;)

Love you all! 

I FINALLY have a page up for The Muse's Muse on Facebook.  I don't know what I was waiting for.  Maybe the next ice age? ;)  But it's there now.  I hope you'll "become a fan" if you're interested in songwriting. :)  

Thought you guys might get a kick out of this.  It's put together by My Next Demo, a company run by a friend of mine and a fellow voice actor named Jason LeBlanc.   Let me know what you think.  Seems a different way to spread the word about my voiceover stuff.  And it certainly fits the theme of my website. ;) 

 Well, as with most voice actors, I'm constantly attempting to improve my demos. There were two spots in my commercial demo I wasn't *entirely* pleased with ... and today, Dave DeAndrea (a voice actor friend of mine in Oregon and an *extremely* talented performer) helped me update things so that those two spots are gone, and a couple of spots I'm much happier with, are in their place.

The cool thing about it is that the two I've added are actual jobs. :)  (In case you weren't aware, depending on the talent, a lot of voice demos are made up of pieces that aren't *actual* spots that particular talent has done - but spots that were "simulated" and directed by a professional voice coach so that their voice's best qualities could best shine through.  Unfortunately, some of the work we do for clients *isn't* what we might feel is our best work - but as long as the client is happy, that's what matters.  However, when it comes to a demo, the audio that's your calling card, you don't want to settle. ;)  So you can really tell a talent that's been in the business a *while* if he or she has enough spots they're happy with from actual clients to include in their demos. ;) ).

One was for 1800hotels.com , and the other was for a service offering from North State Communications in North Carolina (which is still going on and should be regularly heard in that area) called "Plex". You can hear the new demo here. If you feel like giving an opinion, feel free. :)

It's been a while since I've written anything about my voice over stuff, so I thought I'd post an update. :)  I've been keeping busy with a bunch of projects.  Panera Bread in Georgia, North State Communications in North Carolina (I'm the voice of "Plex"), the narration for an Entrepreneur of the Year award for Ernst & Young, some PSAs for the Alaska Tobacco Control board, along with various other spots of the lesser known variety (but still paying decently well) from some regular clients.   I'm really pleased with how things are going, even though the last couple of weeks have been a bit slow, overall.  I've been doing auditions, working on promoting myself (I've joined the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce and have a meeting there on Thursday morning to learn more about it.  Nothing like getting known for what you do in your own back yard!) and in general, not taking any time to rest on any laurels because if I don't continue to try and drum up business CONSTANTLY, I end up with lengthy dry spells after the busy spells ... I think that's just how this business goes.  But I'm loving every minute of it. 

Then just yesterday, I got some nice news ... One of the things I also do while I'm participating in teleclasses, reading about the business and craft of voice overs and marketing myself during the slow times, is take part in voice over contests - just for the fun of it.  This particular contest was put together by a woman named Marla Kirban over on a voice over social networking site I'm on called Voiceover Universe. There are actual prizes for first, second and third place.  And they judge folks on their interpretations of various scripts.  The first two were commercial reads.  The third one, was a TV Promo read (the sort of thing you'd hear in between television programs to advertise an upcoming program).   Yesterday, I was told that my entry received the second prize for the TV Promo category. :)  This is very exciting because there are a great many REALLY TALENTED voice over artists that entered this thing.  Plus, I was the only female chosen to be within the top three.   The cool thing about this is that the second place prize includes an hour consultation with Marla Kirban, who is well known as being a very knowlegeable person in the business. Talking with her will be HUGELY useful.

So all in all, things have been pretty good ... It could always be busier, but in general, I'm happy and enjoying my work.  There's a lot to be said for that. ;) 

I hope those of you reading this are doing well too (and enjoying your summer!)!

I was recovering from a cold right after FKO but luckily, I have wonderful music partners who are SO much better at con reports than I am.  Allison really picked up the slack and Debbie made heroic efforts even though she too, was sick.  (Thanks, guys!!)  I'll just say it was an awesome convention, FKO is like coming home, and I love you guys. :-D  I had a fantastic time and I (of course!) am really looking forward to next year's FKO which is probably the next time I'll see some of you.  (Though I will be at GAFilk, as per usual.)

The second part of my post is this:

Any of you have netbooks or are doing research into it?  I'd love to hear your opinions.  As some of you know already, I went and got myself a little 8.9" Acer Aspire One netbook recently when my Fujitsu Lifebook kicked the bucket (or had the bucket kicked FOR it ;-) ).  I'm loving it.  I really am.  About the only thing I wish it had was a larger screen (so I could edit audio on the actual unit.  It's really too small for that now) - and possibly an optical drive, though that really isn't all that necessary.  The keyboard is a little small for extended periods of typing too, though it's workable.  I don't have overly large hands so it's not a HUGE problem.

Still - I'm looking to find a netbook that is as *silent* as possible.  When I record in my little home studio, I have the netbook right next to me.  And I'm using a condenser mic.  That condenser mic (a Rode NT1-A - which I *love*, by the way) could pick up a neighbour coughing from down the street.  A computer with a noisy fan or lots of moving parts that makes the unit vibrate (yes, that sort of underlying hum can be heard on recordings), will definitely be a problem.

Netbooks are getting better by the *minute* though.  And there are now a number of 10" models coming out that are looking especially appealing - especially if I can get them with an SSD (a solid state drive - or a flash drive - not a spinning disk drive as the units have previously come with).  And SSDs are getting larger in storage size and cheaper in price all the time.

As I've mentioned before, I have $1300 in credit with Best Buy and they've told me they'll get in anything I want, even if they don't normally carry it.  So ... I've been thinking - and I'm wondering if any of you folks have any experience with any of the following (or their predecessors) and have any thoughts on whether or not you think they'd be as silent as possible and would suit my purposes otherwise:

Lenovo S10
Acer Aspire One D250
Asus PC S101
Samsung N110

All of these are fairly new units (some of them not even yet available to buy in stores) - but I'm curious about whether or not any of you have heard any news about them (yes, I've looked on the Internet and have read some of the review sites - which is how I even know their model names) or have had experience with the units before them.  If you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it!

Hi folks.  I've been pondering this question for a while now, and I'm driving myself insane looking at all the plans and options and ... bleh.  So I thought I'd ask my friends what THEY thought.  (That's you guys.  Yeah.  You.  Really.  No, don't look around.  Well, I guess you could run for the hills if you want to, but I kinda hope you won't. ;-) )

Here's my dilemma.  My husband and I are currently with Rogers for our cell phones (we're in Canada - and there are relatively few well-known cell phone carries here.  I swear - Canada is a third world country when it comes to cell phones.  It's SO not funny!).  We're paying about $66 per month for both our phones on a plan that's about as low as we can get with them, but *still* is way more than we need.  100 minutes a month?  Yeah.  We don't even come CLOSE.  Neither of us use our cell phones for more than 50 minutes a month - if that.  (I used mine for *12* minutes last month, just to give you an idea - and James didn't use his for much longer).  Our 3 year contract (yes, Rogers makes you sign a *three year contract* with the inclusion of a phone - and ours are WAY old at this point) is up in May.  We're looking for a new option - probably not with Rogers.

We've been thinking of a pay as you go carrier.  But after doing quite a bit of research, ( here are the problems I've encountered. )

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

This is cool.  One of the stations I'm doing radio imaging for (kind of "drops" with another fellow - and he gets most of it but <shrug> - what can ya do?) - has streaming on the web now!  If you're interested, have a listen to 105.9 The Wave in Oregon.  (Just click on the little speaker icon there in the left hand top corner just below the header graphic). 

The fun thing about this is that the fellow who asked me to do this is a DJ on the station (his name is Dave DeAndrea), and is also a very talented voice over artist himself.  I met him through a message board for voice over folk - voice-overs.com - and he has a lot of the people from that message board on his station doing various commercials.  I can recognize most of them. :-D

I'm REALLY grateful to Dave for giving me a shot at this.  I'd LOVE to do more of it - but I'm told by several sources that female radio imaging is rare - that most stations have a guy doing the main stuff and a woman just doing a few "drops" here and there.  And that these days, with the economy in the toilet and radio stations in general hurting pretty bad, radio imaging is a REALLY tough nut to crack for a woman looking to get into it. Well, I'm far from giving up on it.  Trying to find a bunch of guys to do co-demos with so that I can promote an entire package ... We'll see what happens with that.  I'm just going to have to get creative with my promotions, that's all.

Anyway, the station is smooth jazz in format, so if you like that sort of thing and want to hear my radio  imaging, feel free to check it out. :)

I'm really happy with the way it turned out:

Piece of Cake Voice Overs & Vocals

I thought I'd share.  Let me know what you think when you get a chance to check it out.

(The cakes make me hungry every time I look at them. :-D)

I immediately thought of Seanan when I first saw this ... :-)    Enjoy!  (keep moving through the panels ... Alina Pete ROCKS.  And I *so* recognize members of my own "geek squad" in this web comic ... ;-) )

http://www.weregeek.com/2008/10/24/

Whatever it is you celebrate at this time of year, I hope you have a wonderful one!  James and I are spending a quiet day at home.  My family doesn't celebrate Christmas (I'm seeing them Sunday for lunch anyway...) and James' family is far away in northern Alberta (we've talked to them on the phone and sent and received gifts).  So it's really just us.  And that's fine.  I'm thankful for the wonderful relationship I have with my chosen love every day - but made even more aware of how lucky I am at this particular time of the year.  Yes, James is cooking us a Christmas dinner.  ;-)  It's tradition at his home and he does a wonderful job of it.  Since I can barely boil water, I'm *very* appreciative. :-D  We've been up for hours and haven't even opened our presents to one another yet.  A few little things each.  Nothing huge.  We discussed it beforehand and we both have a pretty good idea of what we're getting the other.  It works for us and it's FAR less pressure.  We've been working really hard to lower our debt this year too (and we're doing really well with that!).

Part of what made that a lot easier, was the selling of one of my websites.  ( Cut because I care... )

Enjoy this wonderful time of year, folks.  I wish you all the very best that this season can bring to you.  And have a very Happy New Year too!

Well, it's kind of none of my business - it's not my country, after all.  But congratulations to the US for their choice of President.  It remains to be seen whether or not he'll be better than the President McCain would have made.  I can't make any predictions about that.  But it certainly sounds like Obama will *try* to do everything he's said he will do - including listening to and considering those positions that are different from his own.  Considering he's still a politician (the hazards of voting - you always have to vote for a politician :-D) that's actually saying a lot. It makes me hopeful for the future - not just for the US, but for the rest of the world. 

Of course, Proposition 8 still passed ... which makes me go, WTF??  I'm not sure how it happened but I really hope it gets thrown out before it's put on the books for good.  That's just ... *facepalm*.  Wow. 

Enough about politics though.  Generally, I don't talk about it much.  It interests me, but I think I'm conditioned by the general yawn-fest that is Canadian politics.  That's why I find myself sticking my nose into US politics.  It's so much more interesting. ;-)

ANYway, I also wanted to post an update about the Best Buy situation ... My Fujitsu laptop is no more.  It's been well and truly broken and the only way to repair it would be to purchase another motherboard for it.  That motherboard is going to cost WAY more than the unit is worth at this point so ... Best Buy has come up with an alternative.  They've offered me $1300 in what amounts to store credit - but they've also told me that if I want a computer they don't carry, they'll get it in for me.  I did some research on what the Fujitsu was worth at this point in time, and that seems like a fair and reasonable amount to me.  I spoke with Pablo, the manager over at the Best Buy in Newmarket this morning, and he confirmed this arrangement. 

So pretty much, this issue is resolved.  I'm impressed with how Best Buy handled it - their BC HQ and their managers here in Newmarket -  even if I'm still *not* impressed with their hiring practices for Geek Squad staff.  I will never take anything of mine in to their Geek Squad again.  I don't even want to see the FACES of those guys, frankly.  But I will continue to shop at Best Buy.  I'm thinking that's a pretty decent outcome for all concerned.

Wow.  OVFF was awesome.   Enjoyed having the chance to chat with folks I get to spend far too little time with.  I loved doing the new songs Urban Tapestry had worked up, even though we only played a few songs in the open filks.  I loved getting the chance to do some jazz on Sunday night in the hallway.  Was definitely in the teehee zone by then.  Though Mary, you got me beat on that score by a LONG shot. ;-)

Congratulations to all those very deserving winners of Pegasus awards.  Way ta go, guys!   You all ROCK. :-D

I will shortly have some news about the Best Buy situation, incidentally ... I'll post about that separately when things have been finalized.  But it's looking good.

And lastly, a quick request ... If anyone was recording Sunday night, Amy did a *gorgeous* version of The Lady on her fiddle ... I'd *love* a recording of that.  If you happen to have one, I'd be hugely appreciative if you would consider passing it along to me.  Thanks so much! :-)

Supernatural last night?  Rocked.  Hard. :-D  I'm really loving that show.

Had a fun practice with Allison and Debbie last night.   Just doing some last minute practicing for OVFF as we have a few new songs we're hoping to try out there.  We also exchanged birthday gifts since we hadn't had the chance to do that before... Allison made me a cross-stitch!  It's wonderful.  All sorts of "J's" all over it with a big "Jazz" cross stitch in the middle.  It's fantastic.  And it *totally* matches my office.  I just have to decide where to put it up.  She also gave me a really lovely coppery-colored journal book with music note motifs all over it.  It's gorgeous.  Debbie gave me a gift certificate for Snarkface!  Woohoo! :D  And some of her Blush cards, which I think are totally adorable.  Also, some little chocolate Godiva beads (I *can* be strong and have only one or two a day.  Yes.  I can.  I'll keep telling myself that. :-D), a journal with the theme of "women reading", and a huge block of brightly colored notepad paper. 

I'm always so amazed at how taleneted Debbie and Allison are with their various crafts.  I'd love to be able to draw, or even doodle.  But my doodles are pretty pathetic.  And my prowess with a needle?  Legendary.  In the "it's legendary how *bad* she is at it" kinda way. ;-)  My mother once tried to teach me embroidery and needlepoint.  It was a wasted effort.  The poor woman. :-)  Oh well.  I do benefit from the crafts that Debbie and Allison do though - and I'm enormously grateful for that.

Some good news, voice over wise ... Big enough that I've had to sign an exclusivity contract to not work in a certain industry ...  But I can't talk about it just yet. :)  I'll let you know when I can and will direct you to samples when that happens.

( More Best Buy Updates.. )

And in other news, really looking forward to seeing folks at OVFF!  YAY! :-D

Just a quick request, if someone would be willing ... I've grown really fond of the Splenda flavor packets for coffee (though I use them for a lot more than coffee. :-) ).  I believe they come in three flavors at the moment - Caramel, Mocca and French Vanilla (and apparently, easily found at just about any grocery store?). 

Would someone be willing to pick up a couple of boxes of each and pass them on to me at OVFF?  If you let me know how much they turn out to be, I can either reimburse you at OVFF, or pay for them now through my Paypal account (which is in US dollars).

Unfortunately, these Splenda flavors are not found in Canada - and after having asked the Canadian Splenda folks through their website, I've discovered there don't seem to be any plans to, either. :-/  WHY, I have no idea.  It seems kind of a no-brainer to me.  But <shrug>.

Anyway, feel free to email me directly, or respond here if you'd consider this.

Thanks!

Ok.  For those of you that really don't care to hear about weight issues, feel free to just pass this on by. 

( If you *are* interested, feel free to take a peek. )

Wow. 

Just .... Wow.

(Thank you, Teresa! :-D)

Wishing you all the very best the year can bring.  It would be nice to get a lot of it today, but I think it's safer to spread out all that good stuff over a longer period ...

You deserve lots of good stuff though. :)  Have a great day!