I can’t believe that one week ago it was was snowing, and today it is going to be almost 80 degrees. My legs are still tired from Saturday’s run (and yesterday I was RAVENOUS…hint to those reading: training for a half marathon and losing weight doesn’t actually work very well) and I’m tired from staying up too late to finish Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring last night (research for upcoming concert.) Oh well, another week is here and spring has sprung! I’ve got a full day of teaching ahead of me, and I’m looking forward to it.
Weekend Update
Do you like my titles? It’s hard thinking of good titles.
Friday night some friends came over for drinks, snacks, and *evidently* video game playing.
What? Company? (She spent much of the day on this chair)
We had wine, cheese, and veggies with hummus dip. Then the boys got tired of chitchat and decided to bust out the Wii and play some games.
Note the concentration in their faces!
I wanted to let you know about a few things that I am super excited about that are coming up soon:
Yes, that’s the movie with the orchestra playing the music. I can’t wait! It’s the event of the year!!
It’s not till June, but this could be amazing! I say could, because while I was super excited about it, I reread the description and see that the symphony is NOT playing…so that means it is simply a sing along movie? I suppose still fun though…
Other upcoming events:
March 26: Chamber Project St Louis plays at the Chapel, and if I’m not too exhausted from that morning’s race I plan to attend.
April 2: St Louis Ballet: Tribute to New York. This is the company affiliated with the ballet school where I teach violin, and I’m finally able to see them perform.
Then…April 10: The half-marathon I‘ve been training for: Go! St Louis. I can’t wait to run the streets of St. Louis with a ton of other people. After that I think I will tone it down a bit on distance and work towards improving my speed (over the summer, as it will be rather hot) by the time the fall “season” rolls around. I would love for the St Patrick’s Day 10 minute miles to be an easy mile by then.
What are you looking forward to most in the next month or so? (I know people are reading this—don’t be shy, come out and comment!)
Almost spring…
Flowers on the tree! There was a row of trees like this in the park.
So, I am officially a “hard-core” runner (shout-out to Jen for the phrase)—about 5 miles in today, a bird pooped on me. It hit my forehead and my sunglasses. I had to stop and clean it off (by wiping it on my jacket and using a bit of my water to rinse…) and I debated heading home but decided to be hard core and continue my run.
Has this happened to anyone before? I don’t think I’ve ever been pooped on by a bird…by a younger sister, well that’s a different story.
Friday news round-up
TGIF! What a crabby week I had. But now it’s Friday night and I’m excited to hang out with friends and relax.
I had a workout with Mike today where I only cried once…well, by cried, I mean got super whiny because one of the moves he wanted me to do really hurt my wrist, and then the modification hurt my hand. I didn’t run after because I am saving up for tomorrow’s scheduled 11 mile run and my right knee was feeling less than great. Weather looks good for tomorrow.
Then it was onto Whole Foods to get a few supplies for tonight—some cheese, wine, and veggies. I’m going to be hanging out with some friends. I made a fabulous dinner of Artichoke and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken (I used this recipe’s filling and this recipe for baking), Goat Cheese Grits, and canned green beans. Sometimes a nice canned vegetable really hits the spot. (It’s an old family recipe.)
I have earned my upcoming weekend. Tomorrow: nothing. Sunday: a bunch of different FUN activities. Next week is a semi-spring break (i.e. THREE of my schools go on breaks) so I get two additional evenings free and one morning free.
Oh, and a review of Winter Opera’s recent performance was published online.
Okay, I’m off to finish my prep for the evening. Have a fabulous Friday!
Funny searches
I love blog visitors. So, if you are reading this, THANK YOU and please tell your friends.
I am able to see what it is that people search for that brings them to my blog. I don’t have any fancy way to track statistics, just the ones that come standard with a word press blog. (Blog).
Some of the searches are pretty obvious, such as:
Hannah violin
violin teacher
hannahviolin.com (why not just type that into the address bar and see what happens?)
hannahviolin banana bread
Then there are the people searching for my friends:
Jen Gartley
Asako Kuboki violin
Valentina Takova cello
or sort of searching for my friends:
Gina Galati violist
Or famous people I’ve mentioned:
Mark O’Connor
Andre Watts
Leila Josefowicz
But then it starts to get more interesting, and I hope the people found my blog helpful:
pf chang half marathon medal
Suzuki group class ideas
rock n roll marathon tech shirt
spassfest
bacon bread
race to cure lymphoma
Washington Missouri catholic church
nachi cocum pictures (ah, I miss nachi cocum!)
Isabel Wilkerson
pancake wrist
You get the idea. People probably find my blog helpful on occasion, right? But then there are the funny search topics:
Colorado Christmas ornaments
rock and roll bathrooms
stage deli cheesecake
wedding church in front view
quartet music stand table
“Louis symphony”
what classification apple kuchen butter cake belong
strawberry shake the cheesecake factory
aught two 2002
what is word for recital pieces
salads for thanksgiving sooner
weightlifting Christmas ornaments
cat cutie sad
is there 6 more weeks of winter febuary 2nd 2011
code of pork with polenta
pf chang half marathon – I had to run for 30 minutes to reach the start line!
If you have a blog, what funny search terms have people used? Also, does anybody have a better way to track my visitors to suggest? Lastly, what is “code of pork”?
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Whee! I had to work all day, and now I’m too tired to “celebrate” but Happy St. Patrick’s to those of you who are celebrating.
I took a variety of “self-portraits” while I was waiting for students today. Many who did not show. Which I am getting tired of: not the no-shows (well, those too), but the parents who think they don’t have to pay. I sat there for 30 minutes. I have a waiting list. I have other things to be doing. If I am waiting for your child, you are paying me for it unless you canceled within the appropriate window of time. And I am going to start making parents sign a form agreeing to that. Once that time has passed, that time is gone for all of us.
I also wore festive socks. And my lovely purple shoes.
I was sitting on the front steps between students today, next to a student, and a man walked by the house with his two dogs. One of whom pooped RIGHT in front of us, and the man just kept going. So that’s the second thing annoying me today (1st is parents who don’t want to pay me for my time, 2nd is people who don’t clean up after their dogs).
Here’s something delightful today (so you don’t think it’s all me complaining…I mean, it totally IS, but still.) Do you read Pioneer Woman’s blog? Usually it’s a great blog with excellent recipes. Today it’s “Cappuccino and the Kitty.” If you like cats (and who doesn’t????) you should check it out.
Remember my excitement about the women’s fit tech shirt for the St Patrick’s Day race? Leslie and I had been annoyed that the Phoenix RnR race didn’t have women’s shirts, even though the race was more than 50 percent women. We had thought that perhaps for once, the race should provide ONLY women’s shirts, if that were easier. Why should we have to wear boxy, men’s shirts? Well, I mentioned this to Mike, and he said, well, I’d rather see a woman in a man’s shirt than a man in a woman’s shirt. To which I replied…well, it’s not all about you. What is my point? Well, this blog IS all about me…so I am going to continue to write this post.
I am feeling bad because I left a message for a parent that was a little harsh re: missing lessons and expecting to not pay,(in fact, specifically canceling because they don’t want to pay) and how this is NOT okay, and they should simply drop if that’s the case. I shouldn’t feel bad. I should feel good for being assertive, right?
One thing I’m glad about: I have my kindle with me at all times when teaching outside the home, and I’ve just started a fantastic book: “A Discovery of Witches” by Deborah Harkness. I got it after hearing an interview on Talk of the Nation, and so far I am loving it! (I’m also loving how quickly I got through this month’s “required reading” though frankly with all the students missing, some due to sickness, some due to “forgetting their violins”, or “didn’t feel like coming to their lesson” I’ve had so much reading time).
Okay. That’s enough complaining and randomness for one night, I think? Enjoy your holiday! (Chris says it’s not really a holiday since he had to work…I said, it’s not all about you! That is my new mantra.)