Hilary Branch

It’s been an interesting month – getting my new store up and running, having our first Christmas together since we’ve been married….realizing we’ve been married almost 7 months now!  It’s taking some time to sort out how to manage my life…what my priorities are.  Haven’t got that quite sorted out yet…

We bought our first Christmas tree this year.  It started out as a joke.  I said I wanted a live tree, and so Shawn brought home this potted tree that was about 6 inches high.  Turns out that I absolutely love it!  Of course, our few ornaments ended up on the table beside the tree – it’ll grow into them eventually.

Shawn and I joined this Ignatius Spirituality group a few months ago, and it’s been really wonderful to explore the Trinity and how I interact with the Three of Them.  We meet every other week and talk about where/how/when we’ve experienced God in our lives, and it’s always turns out to be quite illuminating…I tend to find things out about myself that I didn’t know were true.  I’m becoming more aware of the different movements of consolation and desolation that I experience, and in turn, I am more aware of how God is moving in my life.

As you may have noticed from my last post, I’m starting a new project.  Never did I think I would actually start broadcasting myself on YouTube…but I woke up one day last week and decided that this was the thing to do.  I must admit, I had a little hurdle of self-consciousness to jump over.  But I’m feeling pretty good about it.  I’ll be recording some of my own pieces along with some covers.  So keep your ears open for what’s coming along next!

My goal is to record one a day for the next little while.  I have no idea if this is a realistic goal or not, but we’ll see what happens.  I have got a lot of songs to share and I’m looking forward to reading your feedback!  It would be sweet if you decided to subscribe to my channel.  I’ve gotten some comments on the posting on facebook, but I have yet to receive comments on my actual YouTube Channel.

It’s high time now that I finished getting ready for work.

Later!

Tonight was fantastic.  So great!  We had our “Friends and Family” night at my new store, and at 3:30 (half an hour before it started) there were already about 40 people waiting outside!  The whole night was just non-stop.  We had to kick people out at 7:30 so we could clean up.  All my partners did so well – I’m super proud of them all.

So we bumped our opening til Friday, to make sure that we were completely ready.  Our final order is arriving tomorrow, and we’ll be able to get everything properly set up.  I’m very excited.

Today is a very good day.

Playlist:

Party in the USA – Miley Cyrus

I apologize for my absence in the last few weeks.  Things have been slightly nutty as my store is opening in FIVE FREAKING DAYS!

Just saying…

The last few weeks have been filled with interviews, hiring, training, ordering, making sure things are going well in construction.  Not that supervising the contractors is actually my job….I just like looking at it.  It’s so pretty!  All my orders are arriving on Tuesday, so it’s going to be a crazy week.  Wednesday is our Friends and Family Event, which is happening between 4 and 7 at the new store in Brunswick Square.  We’ll be raising money for Big Brothers, Big Sisters – so drop by if you’d like.  You can follow the store on Twitter too, @Starbucks3644.

On another note, I’ve just finished another song.  It’s super different from any other that I’ve written so far, so I hope you like it.  Once I’ve got a less rough recording I’ll pop it up on my myspace for you to have a listen.

That’s all for today.  Off to spend some time with hubby…maybe we’ll hit the Santa Claus Parade later tonight.

Peace!

Today’s Playlist:

Summer Rain – Anna Ternheim
Shoreline – Anna Ternheim
Somebody’s Outside – Anna Ternheim

You should check her out…she’s lovely!

I realize that I have already broken my promise.  But perhaps every two weeks will just be my writing routine.

Last week I was in Fredericton filling in for the Starbucks manager there.  I must admit I was pretty nervous going into it.  Wasn’t really sure how the staff would react to my leadership.  Alas, my worry was for naught..it went really well!  I had a great week.  The staff there are super nice and helpful – you should go visit them. I certified my very first barista, Jessica, too, which I’m quite proud of.  Did a bit of an overhaul on the stockroom which was badly in need of attention.  Got to hang out with my Freddy friends, watch Survivor for the first time, and bless Majid, our lovely host at Caribbean Flavas.  Fantastic restaurant by the way…you should definitely check it out.

I’m playing at Thandi’s this Friday, so this week is being spent brushing up on some old songs and learning some new ones.  Just learned a couple by First Aid Kit, whom I love deeply.  If you’re looking for a place to hang on Friday night, come check it out!  Thandi’s has fabulous food, atmosphere, and – ahem – entertainment, if I do say so myself.  Maybe I’ll have my new song written by then.  Only I’ve hit a bit of a lyrical roadblock, so I’m not sure when I’ll get going on that again.  Must be in the right frame of mind.

Anyhow, my fingers are sore from playing guitar too long, and typing really isn’t doing anything to aid their healing.  Going to go make some tea and hang out with the husband.

Later.

Here it is.  A brand new blog!  Not sure if it will last, but my lovely husband did me the honour of getting me my own domain, so I should make an effort.

It’s a new life!  I am a graduate, a wife, an assistant manager at Starbucks.  It’s a good time.  I was going to be taking my Masters at St. Stephen’s University in Worship Studies and Spiritual Formation, and decided that it would be best to postpone that for the time being.  As if I didn’t have enough on my plate already.

This coming week I’m going to be working at the Starbucks in Fredericton, filling in for the manager there.  Should be an adventure!  Shawn will be in Ontario and I will be in Fredericton.  Better both of us on the road than one of us stuck at home alone.  Just saying.

We just had our second open mic night at Starbucks East Point last Saturday.  It went very well in my opinion.  A sweet band called Jam, Spots and Hospitals played.  I quite enjoyed it.  Also got a couple of our regulars up there showing us their talent.  And of course I played a couple of songs.

In the midst of writing a new one by the way….pretty different from the rest of my stuff.  We’ll see how it turns out.  I’d like to bring my guitar with me next week, but I have the feeling that I’ll have to stash my stuff at the kiosk before I get to check into the hotel.  So we’ll see how that goes.

I am taking advantage of no longer having a reading list and have decided to have a year of classics.  I’ve just started reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.  So far, I haven’t a clue what’s going on, but I hear it gets better after the first couple chapters, so I will go on.

I must say this is one random post, but it’s been quite a while, so it will take me a bit to get back into the swing of things.  I’ll try my best to make things interesting.

Tonight’s Playlist:
Turnip Farm by Dinosaur Jr.
World Go ‘Round by No Doubt
Spotlight by MuteMath
Old Man by Neil Young
Falling for the First Time by The Barenaked Ladies
Undone by Weezer