Writer Butterfly on Zujava: Leafography

You know, for a very shy person, it can be extremely intimidating to publish your personal thoughts on the internet. Sometimes a little encouragement may be helpful. In the leaf Words of Encouragement is a collection of sayings and words of wisdom that give me strength. I hope they do you, too. }i{

Butterfly and Flower Poster by Joyful_Inspirations

Piano Keyboard Mouse Pad by Joyful_Songs

The first time I remember being on stage was when I was five years old. I was asked to sing a song about a traffic light at a school event. Perhaps not the most exciting "gig", but I sure caught the performance bug at that point. I started taking ballet, tap dancing, and gymnastics at age 6 and enjoyed dancing in front of a larger crowd via the dance school.

Coming from a family that is very musical, I was motivated during my young years by watching numerous uncles and cousins sing and play instruments. I clearly remember watching my mother and grandmother play organ and sing and could not wait to try playing myself. I started taking official lessons at age 8 on organ for about 4 years, then piano lessons for several years after that.

I started playing flute at age 9 and many other instruments over the years while participating in several bands, orchestras, and choirs leading me to major in music education in college.

Since then I have taught music and performed in a variety of settings which I enjoy sharing about in pages that I write about over the web. You may find tons of articles about music education and music in general one of my main pages at Joyful Songs. The following are leafs that I wrote regarding some of the musicals in which I have performed in recent years.

Butterfly Lunch Portable Speakers by Joyful_Inspirations
Shall we enjoy listening to some music together? }i{

Reading is one of my all time most enjoyable things to do! I find it so relaxing to curl up on the couch under a soft blanket with a cup of tea and a good book. (In fact, I considered being a librarian at one time so I could be surrounded by books.) I read several different kinds of books, but I think my favorite genres are science fiction and mystery. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) and Agatha Christie (Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot mysteries) are two of the authors whom I have read the most of, therefore I had to write leaves about them! I have also written book related materials about The Ivy Malone Mystery Series by Lorena McCourtney, a unit study full of lesson ideas for teachers about A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, lesson plans and fun activities for Christmas Books by Jan Brett, a children's book review on the Arthur Book Series by Marc Brown, and a list about Free eBooks.  }i{

One of my hobbies is hiking and taking pictures along the way of flowers, trees, and animals that I find. Taking photos of butterflies from my butterfly garden relaxes me. What makes it more fun for me is taking these photos and creating them into something that hopefully will be inspiring to others. }i{  One of the places that I enjoy doing this is at my Zazzle stores, Joyful Inspirations and Joyful Songs! Here are a few of the ones I like the best!

Autumn Snow American MoJo Pillows by Joyful_Inspirations

Isaiah 35:1-2 ~ The Crocus Postcard by Joyful_Songs

Happy Mother's Day Card ~ Roses Design by Joyful_Songs

Psalm 16:11 French Creek Bridge iPad Covers by Joyful_Inspirations

Matthew 13 Poster by Joyful_Inspirations

I don't know yet, but I have many ideas that I am excited to explore while this Butterfly is flying around at Zujava. In the meantime, I am having fun creating here and meeting new people at the "Zu"!