More Old Pictures

Okay more old pictures! I got a few more albums online from my mom (she had our old slides converted to digital photos, which is just awesome.)

This is to remind me of when I say, hey, I wonder how I’d look bald. There it is. That is my brother Jesse holding me awkwardly.

I think Jesse has me in a chokehold. Check out the old school plastic diaper cover!

My first birthday! I was a pretty happy child, evidently!

My brother and I taking a nap. Or at least me taking a nap and him posing for a picture. We are utterly adorable.

Another angle. You can’t see my little legs, but my head is pretty cute too.

Why are you interrupting our reading, Mom?

How stylin’ am I with my short dress and knee socks? LOVE THIS OUTFIT. I seem to be holding an art project of sorts.

I’m less sure about this outfit…but I had the legs for it, so why not, right? Jesse had the legs for his outfit too.

This picture is great because Jesse is giving a perfect look at the camera. He looks like a model and I look like I just rolled out of bed.

ONE foot in the air running! Longtime readers know that is rare for me.

I was so tired I just fell asleep like that, evidently. Interesting note: that bed is still in my room at my parent’s house.

I had a pretty awesome mohawk for awhile.

I joined a T-ball team for awhile. If I recall correctly, I never got a hit. (Process that…the ball doesn’t move.) I don’t have the greatest eye-hand coordination.

I did NOT know how to hold kitties when I was younger. I’m pretty sure this cat wasn’t enjoying that.

Case study on why NOT to tell kids to smile for a picture. Leslie is standing in front of me, and please note my “book it” button. I was WEARING that voluntarily at home.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed those pictures! I know that (most importantly) I do. It’s fun to see pictures that you haven’t seen in years…because as awesome as slide shows are, they are a pretty inconvenient way to look at pictures.

Is a MOOC Right for me?

Thank you to StudentAdvisor.com for sponsoring this post. To learn more about MOOCs visit Mooc.StudentAdvisor.com.

Do you think of yourself as a lifelong learner?  Do you have curiosity about the world beyond what you already know?  Were you always trying to take the maximum number of hours of classes in college beyond just the requirements for your degree?  Do you love to read?  If you answered yes to any or, better yet, all of those questions, you might want to consider taking a Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC for short.

Many world renowned universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Duke have free open online courses available for anyone who is interested.  There are a variety of websites that offer these courses, such as Edx or Coursera.  Basically it’s like going to a university and taking classes, but it’s a virtual college that is free and open to anyone.  Either way, you can attend class in your pajamas!

I have never taken a MOOC before but I have been interested ever since I heard of them.  The problem I had was deciding what course to take.  There are so many subjects that I didn’t get to learn about in college (I was a music major.)  The subjects offered range from Greek Literature to Psychology to Game Theory to Calculus.  Some of the courses are 5 or 6 weeks long, some are longer. The descriptions are well written and very appealing.  For a few short hours of studying a week you’ll become an expert in Sociology or Climate Change or Statistics.  My brain starts spinning at the possibilities of things I could learn!

For the rest of this blog post, please visit (insert link to post here)

For more information about MOOCs, please visit StudentAdvisor.com. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Throwback Tuesday

I think that’s what people are doing, right?

My mom recently had some slides converted into digital form. I wanted to share a few of me as a kid!

Me holding my sister Leslie. Look at those CHEEKS! And my adorable eyes and blonde hair.

Me, Leslie, and my brother Jesse. Leslie laughed because I was stuck with the yellow pjs since they had pink and blue covered. Already chewing my fingernails, it looks like.

I was evidently very proud of my baby sister. Who possibly had the mumps in this photo…she had the biggest cheeks anyone has ever seen.

Like now, I tanned easily.

An early violin recital. I seem to have won some sort of award than Leslie is taking a bow for.

Remember the dome house that my dad built and my parents live in? Here’s the beginning of the construction. I’m in the green with stripes. That’s my Dad, me, Jesse, and Leslie.

And one last one, as to not leave my mom off the blog. On the couch, my dad, baby Leslie, my Grandma and Grandpa (mom’s side), my Mom. In the front, Jesse and me.

Aren’t old pictures the best? I probably take more pictures in a couple of weeks than we used to take in a year! It was different when you had to buy film and pay for developing, wasn’t it? But I think that makes the pictures more precious, in a way.

Violin Shaped Cookies

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Recently I had a violin recital at my home for my home students. Each year I invite the parents to bring goodies for a little reception afterwards, and for the past three years one of the parents has brought violin shaped cookies. Aren’t they adorable? (not to take away from what the other parents brought—butterscotch brownies, fruit, more cookies…I love my students!).

I don’t have a recipe to share, but it’s a sugar cookie recipe. The detail in the icing is so fun! (You should totes pin the recipe.)

One student was overheard saying “I don’t know how many of these I’ve eaten, but I can’t stop.”

It’s Monday so I’ll post some pictures of My Cat

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The cover for my new violin case is slightly padded and therefore, perfect for kitties.

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The proper way to pet a cat: pet under her chin, scratch her ears and the top of her head, and THAT’S IT DO NOT START SQUEEZING HER TUMMY NO MATTER HOW TEMPTING THIS IS BECAUSE THEN SHE WILL RUN AWAY.

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Once she retreats to a safe distance she can stare at you while resting comfortably on your new purple case cover.

Purple Violin Case

I recently had a birthday.  One of the things I really wanted was a new violin case, so when my mother offered to help me get one, I went to the internet…and found a purple violin case! It’s the same model (basically) that I had before. Initially I had wanted to avoid the model, since the buckle had broken and I felt that it hadn’t really been that long (8 years?) but after reflecting on the cost of the case ($200), the cost of the instrument inside (not saying that here ;)), and the amount of times I opened and closed the buckles each day (several), I decided it was a very cost-effective and necessary investment…for my parents to make. (I would totally have eventually bought one myself, but HEY it’s easier this way right? THANKS MOM AND DAD!)

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Isn’t it beautiful? It’s made by Bobelock and is their fiberglass half moon case with puffy cover. It’s really beautiful and I love it. (Matches my stand too 😉 )

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I moved all the important stuff over, leaving behind a pile of broken pieces of rosin and a boatload of paper clips.

I’ll be the snazziest one at gigs now and all the cool kids will be jealous of me.