How's Married Life? At 6 Months.

At our 5 month anniversary, we shared some sparkling 

white grape juice like we had at our wedding.

D i s c l a i m e r  :   S a p p y   P o s t !

We just celebrated 6 months of being married on December 13th. I get the question daily, "How's Married Life?", and my short answer is that is is awesome and we love it! There is so much I could brag on my husband for, and thought I'd type out my perspective from being six months into marriage.

David and I have talked about what we like most about being married. Of course, since we didn't kiss until our wedding, one of our favorite things is that we can kiss whenever we want! David says what he likes most is not having to say goodbye, and that we can be together every night and wake up together every morning. (I told you this post would be sappy!) We love each other so much, and it has been the best six months of our lives.

I've gotten more sleep since we got married, because I've adjusted to David's schedule. I used to be up till midnight every night researching music stuff on the computer and organizing bridal boards on Pinterest. Ha! These days, bedtime looks more like 9:00 PM. I have found that I'm more productive when I get enough sleep, and start the day early. 

Marriage has made me more domestic, for sure. I've taken up baking, as you can tell from my Instagram posts these days. My Mimi gave me some of her starter for sourdough bread, and I have made a batch about once a month since we've been married. David loves it, especially fresh out of the oven. It makes our whole house smell amazing!

 

We are so blessed to have awesome neighbors. My neighbor Myrna has become my buddy, and she has been sharing recipes and tips with me. I've made a few batches of her banana bread recipe that have been absolutely delicious. We like to swap homemade goodies, and it has been fun to learn from someone with more experience. I'm thankful to have several neighbors we know and are good friends with.

We've hosted some parties and had friends over, and that's something we really enjoy. Some of our friends with kids will come over, and David will bring out his big box of Legos, and they get wide-eyed with excitement. They love building things with "Mr. David". He is so good with kids, and we enjoy getting to know friends over a home cooked meal, and doing life together.

David's an avid deer hunter, and has gotten several does this year, but has been waiting for and wanting a big buck. The other day he got a 10 point buck, and was so excited! We're thankful to have meat in the freezer, and we eat it often in spaghetti sauce and tacos. The antlers of his buck are proudly mounted on the garage!

A few months ago I started an Etsy Store online, called "Home Sweet Athey". I'm selling some things that David has made, or I've repurposed, and some vintage items. I made some Peppermint Hot Cocoa in a Jar that's been flying off the shelves as people have been shopping for Christmas gifts. I'm hoping to expand our store in 2016. I enjoy the process and it's fun!

I love keeping house, and have tried to make a routine of cleaning a little as I go, in between traveling to sing and the commitments we have. I just wrapped up my annual Christmas tour, and it was a festive, caroling whirlwind, but it was a blast! I'm thankful for some rest during Christmas and New Years, to prepare for 2016. We will be spending Christmas with family in TN and Michigan, and looking forward to some quality time together. This past year has been amazing, and I can't wait to see what God has for us in the coming years.

Marriage is wonderful. I highly recommend it, when it's the right person. It's been a smooth transition, and feels like it's the way it's supposed to be. I am so glad we waited for each other, and that I found someone who loves me well, and loves the Lord. I'm pretty sure I got the best end of the deal. ;)

The next question of society is to ask when we're having babies! We get that one a lot. It's really nobody's business, but we're pretty open about wanting to have kids, and it will happen when the time comes. There are no announcements to be made at this point, but it will probably happen sooner than later!

So with that, we hope you have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Practical Tips for Touring and Booking

Practical Tips for Touring and Booking 

by Lydia Walker Athey

CSMI IMPACT Conference 2015, Gatlinburg, TN

Planning - Keep a calendar, map out your goal. When do you want to book? Where? Keep track of your mileage for tax deductions.

Booking:

• Make a list of venues or contacts

• Write a short script of what you want to say.

• Place the call or email. Sometimes calling can be terrifying, but keep your goal in mind.

• Ask for the booking, ask about the payment, write down all the details.

• If they say no, ask them to refer you to others or recommend someone else to call who might be a better fit.  Give them something to say yes to.

Confirm - Call back ahead of time, confirm details, ask any questions, send flyer or info to promote.

Promote! Make it your goal to be the first person to come to mind when they need a musician. Create Facebook event pages and invite your friends (send reminders with interesting content like videos or links to your music). Send out your schedule to your email list. Print flyers and put them up around town on community boards. Text individuals in area and personally invite them.

Prepare - practice songs, make setlist, send lyrics or videos for projection, plan what to say between songs, remember to mention merch. Spontaneity will flow out of your preparation, and will give you more confidence. Remember to make a plan for travel, food and rest!

Show Up! (On Time = Early) Sound check is important to assure a quality experience. Play the gig, do your best, give 100%. Be confident, smile, be kind. Be respectful. Even if you’re not the most talented musician, people will appreciate a good attitude.

Make contacts- meet people, give out business cards. Say, “Can I give you a card?” or “This is for you”. (If you have a blank back on your cards, you can use it to write extra information and even offer for others to write on the back of your card and keep it.) Encourage the ones who are excited to refer you to their business, friends, family or organization with your card. This is the time when ministry can happen when you can ask about their story.  They will remember you positively if the conversation is not all about you :)

Thank the host /contact /sound guy. Smile, make eye contact, say “thank you”. It’s important to let them know that they are appreciated.

Repeat business - they will call you back if you do a good job, communicate well, and show up on time. They will also refer you to others. Feel free to ask them to keep you in mind for future events, and to refer you to others who are booking music. You can also ask people for a review or reference that you can use on your website, press kit, etc. 

After the gig,-report to fans how it went. Post highlight photos or video to social media. Use it to expand your audience and start promoting the next gig.

Resources:

CDBaby.com - Disc Manufacturing and Digital Distribution

MailChimp.com - Email lists made simple and easy

IndieOnTheMove.com - Venues and Booking Contacts organized by location and genre

Find more about Lydia at www.lydiawalkermusic.com

Her new worship album, Communion, is now available for download on iTunes!

What's Next? How you can help.

Friends,

I hope you are having a wonderful day! I wanted to check in with you since it's been about a month since the new cd, "Communion", released to the public!

Many of you have listened to the CD and given me some feedback on what your favorite songs are. I would love to have your help to let other people know what you think of the music.

Would you consider rating and reviewing "Communion" on iTunes? It only takes a few minutes. Here's how!

1. Go to the album on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/communion/id1033368767

2. Click "View in iTunes"

3. Click "Ratings & Reviews"

4. Select "Write a Review" and Rate the Album (5 Stars!)

Thank you so much! Your support is so important and valued. I appreciate you!

Blessings, 
Lydia

New Worship Album + Videos

I'm excited to announce that my new worship album, "Communion", just released on iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby on September 10, 2015. The goal of the album is to be a resource for a personal worship time. It includes upbeat praise songs, reflective worship songs, scripture reading and prayer. I would love for you to download a copy and hear the new music!

Download "Communion" on Amazon!

Watch my latest music video, "I Lift My Eyes", filmed at Dunbar Cave State Park in Clarksville, TN. Featuring a shofar call of worship, and Native American flute. 

Based on Psalm 121. 

Also, here is a live version of my song, "Come and Fill This Place", also on the "COMMUNION" album. This song is about welcoming the presence of the Holy Spirit. Thanks for watching!

Are you Married or Happy?

I recently got married, on June 13th, 2015, to a wonderful man named David. I love being a Mrs! Even though we are still new at this, marriage has been fun so far! I have felt so peaceful and stress free during this first month. It was a relief to not be planning a wedding anymore! That stuff is no joke. I tried my best to enjoy the process, and made a point to stop and treasure different moments along the way. I prayed a lot during that time of preparation for God to allow me to be gracious in all the dealings, and not get caught up in the details.

The wedding was beautiful, and things came together the way they were meant to. We kept things under budget to make sure that the most important things were taken care of without breaking the bank. Many family and friends pitched in with their cooking or decorating skills, and were so helpful in making the day a success! Our pastor got sick the day before and we weren't sure if he would be up to officiating the ceremony, so we had my uncle prepared to be a stand in, just in case. Thankfully, our pastor was still able to officiate and did a wonderful job.

We decided to honeymoon in the Gatlinburg, TN area and it was the perfect choice. We both love the mountains and it was nice to get away and focus on being together. We had saved our first kiss for our wedding day, and choosing abstinence before marriage is an important part of our story. We were so happy to finally be married and be able to kiss whenever we want! Being married is awesome! It was so worth it to both of us, and we wouldn't change that. After dating 4 years, it is so good to be able to fully express our love for each other, the way God intended it, between a man and woman in a marriage covenant.

During our time in Gatlinburg, we walked down the main street downtown, and passed a man selling tickets. He said, "Are you two married or happy?" and we laughed as we kept walking. When we walked back, he asked again and we realized it was his opening line to start a conversation with potential customers. This time David said, "Both!"

Everyone likes to give advice. I think we have heard enough marriage advice to last a lifetime. Most of it unsolicited from strangers who find out someone's getting married, and they give WAY too much information about their personal life. We have gotten healthy spiritual advice from several couples that we look up to. One card we received encouraged us to read the bible and pray together, to build a strong spiritual foundation for our marriage. We have already begun to do that, and it does make a difference. We are thankful for the good advice we have received. The rest, we will take with a grain of salt.

Another thing I learned through this process, is that weddings bring out the best and worst in people. I was determined not to become bridezilla. Wedding planning was fun and sometimes overwhelming. I had a few breakdowns, but they weren't really about wedding details. I was surprised by the friends and family, and even a few acquaintances who were so kind and went above and beyond in helping to make the wedding come together. There were people who came early, stayed late, asked how they could help and allowed us to borrow things so we wouldn't have to buy or rent them. You never know what a small gesture of kindness can mean to someone.

We registered at Walmart, Target and Amazon. I was surprised at how many people shopped from our Target gift registry. Almost everyone went to Target. I put way more items on the Walmart registry thinking that would be many people's first choice, and ended up having one or two items from that one. After the honeymoon, we went shopping with our Target gift cards and stocked up on some supplies for the house and some camping gear!

I've written a lot of thank you cards. Like a boss. That was a huge priority to me, and I stocked up on thank you cards and stamps ahead of time, and wrote cards for both showers and sent them before the wedding. I kept some more on hand for gifts at the wedding and items we are still receiving in person or in the mail. We have been extremely blessed by all the lovely cards, gifts and well wishes we have received from family and friends. We are very thankful for their support and encouragement. It helps to know that so many people have our back and are cheering us on as we adventure into marriage!

Getting settled at home these last few weeks has been nice. I love our house, and David has been gracious to make room for me and my stuff, invading his space. We've adjusted well to living together and he is such a sweetheart. Bless him, I got the good end of this deal! He spoils me, and treats me so well. I guess it gets harder from here, but we are committed to getting through the good days and bad days together, and to raise a family with Godly principles in this chaotic world.