I have so many blog posts I’ve started and haven’t finished…yet. I have one on my final thoughts (final being relative) on the Whole30 diet I went on. I have one on general life as a freelance musician and how I have negative thoughts towards my own career because I allow other people’s thoughts too much credence. I have an unwritten one on the half marathon I ran earlier this month without really training, one on my thoughts on talent and music, and a couple other great ideas on well written blog posts…in the future. This is not one of them.

But who cares, right? This is my blog, and I’ll say what I want to. Tomorrow I plan to post about yogurt. Soon I will post about another local 5k that I want to help promote. I’m still running the contest about the Heart to Heart race on June 7 that you should enter.

My morning was spent helping to “score” a video that I’m helping a friend put together for an event. It was totally out of my comfort zone, but I’ve learned recently that I am much more capable on the violin and with other styles of music and coming up with just, well, STUFF off the cuff that I’d thought. I’ve learned, mostly, that I can do anything I set my mind to, and allow myself to do! I like to think of myself as Locke from Lost and no longer want anyone to tell me what I can’t do.

And I had a great weekend: worked my butt off for a variety of church performances, had a nice hike in the woods with friends, had a great dinner out at Basso and a few other wonderful home cooked meals, had lots of great conversation (I learned that I get very defensive of my alma mater and all that goes along with it!)

I’ve also learned that hiking in Missouri is mostly just walking in the woods. And that’s okay, especially when the weather is beautiful.

And it has been!

I keep saying I’ll be less busy soon, but I just keep saying YES to all manner of interesting musical projects and it just keeps being too busy. I’m struggling with balance at the time, but I’m okay with that. Right now my life is work heavy and a bit stressful, but I know there will be a time it is the opposite, and it’s important to think cyclically rather than day to day, at least as a freelancer.

How are you enjoying the lovely spring weather?

I see a lot of “spring cleaning” posts out there in the blog world. I’d like to add my own two cents.

As a woman who has trouble maintaining her weight, I have made some mistakes in the past by listening to people who say “give away clothes that don’t fit.” I think that’s a huge mistake, and I don’t intend to make it again.

1. DO give away clothes that you hate or don’t wear even when they do fit.

2. If clothes are too big but you still like them, take them OUT of your closet or drawers, and put them in a storage bin.

3. If clothes are too small but you still like them, again, take them OUT of your closet or drawers (Or if you have extra closet or drawer space, and this goes for #2 as well, put them in a rarely used area.)

That way, when you gain or lose weight, as many of us will invariably do so, you will still have clothes you like that fit! And if you gain or lose weight, and determine that you no longer like those clothes, well, give them away then. Trying to fit into a pair of smaller pants won’t encourage you to lose weight any more than keeping bigger pants around will encourage you to gain weight.  But if you have a variety of sizes on hand then you don’t have the added insult of having to waste money on new clothes while thinking of all the perfectly good jeans (for instance) you used to own that fit and looked good at that higher (or lower) weight!

All that being said, purging your closet can be great, and we all have clothes in there that we won’t wear EVER, and you should definitely give those away. But don’t make the same mistake I did of giving away perfectly good clothes that would have fit again in the future. Clothes really don’t take up that much space. Just put them away somewhere, and if you change sizes, go through them then and figure out if something fits that didn’t before.

And buy more shoes. Shoes always fit.

(Have you entered my giveaway for a free 5k/10k entry for a race in June?)

Isn’t tax day the greatest? I finished mine yesterday, and, for a self employed musician who had to file “married, filing separately” trust me when I say it wasn’t a happy day. Such is life. But that’s behind us now (well, my bank account is still crying…) and this small business owner who can now have awesome affordable health insurance is looking to a brighter future!

I think I went over the hump of “busiest time of the spring” and am looking forward to a little more breathing room. I won’t really have any until mid-June but it’s nice to have a few crazy busy days behind me.

Even though I mostly worked over the weekend, I did manage to get outside and enjoy some of the nice weather!

Saturday I did some judging for the Music Federation. I got to hear a lot of great performances by some young children, and felt more inspired for my own teaching!

I got nervous when I saw the alto sax and brass listed, but it turned out that another judge took over my room for those kids.

Then I played a concert on Sunday that was actually quite a lot of fun. Mozart Requiem is always enjoyable and intense…it’s the very last thing that Mozart wrote and just amazing to think about his short life and what he accomplished in it. I haven’t done nearly as much…

Students, note this is how you play at the tip of the bow. See how I am not over the fingerboard? Also, watch the conductor. You just never know what is going to happen. It’s also important to try to get as many lines in your forehead as possible.

One thing I’m dreading is the upcoming hearing for my divorce, but I’m also looking forward to having it be DONE. This process has been long and challenging, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Things that are awesome: omelets with a little parmesan cheese in them. Way better than non-parmesan cheese omelets (which I ate for many many days of whole30).

I got quick cooking steel cut oats at Trader Joe’s today. I love steel cut oats but they take forever to cook, and frankly, they aren’t nearly as good reheated. I eat leftovers a fair amount for sure, but I don’t really want leftovers for breakfast (this made all the whole 30 breakfasts especially annoying).

Thanks for your comments on my last post (some on facebook.) I definitely agree with one who said that for her, not thinking about food and just eating when she’s hungry is the best bet, and just aim for qualities in her meals like balance, variety (lots of colors!) gratitude and moderation. I would love to be able to do that, and I do think that is my ultimate goal. It’s hard when your weight has always gone up or down to really figure out how much you ACTUALLY need to eat to maintain. And since I’m trying to lose right now, I’m not any closer to being able to do that. HA.

I do figure that continuing to work out regularly will help me out. And I really do enjoy lifting weights, and I really do enjoy walking and biking, and occasionally running (had a great run earlier this week) and always the feeling AFTER finishing a run.

My friend April shared a great link about running today. You might have seen it, but anyway: 75 Thoughts Every Runner Has While Out for a Run.  Number 7 and 43 are my favorites.

Well we are definitely at that part. Tornado sirens woke most of the city up this morning before 6 am and there is another storm coming through right now. April is the cruelest month, so I hear.

That didn’t stop me from hitting the gym this morning to wail on my pecs (or something like that!) and now I’ve got some work to do on my band music (in case you forgot, I’ve joined a band—I’m the violinist for a Trans-Siberian Orchestra Cover Band) for practice this Sunday. Bands practice, orchestras rehearse? And then teaching. I feel like this week has flown by…is that a sign of being busy or old?

That’s me, transcribing something I need to learn. I can learn by ear, I suppose, but it’s way easier once I see it written down. I’d been putting it off, but honestly it only took about 20 minutes to write that down. It’s amazing what you can do when you just sit down and do it!

People have been asking me my thoughts on Whole 30 after I finished. I have so many thoughts, but it’s hard to figure out what are real thoughts and what are reactions to being “able” to eat whatever I want again. Today I have had oatmeal with pb, yogurt, and bananas for breakfast, followed by a post gym meal of eggs, bacon, and a mix of purple cabbage/beet greens. It was delicious and totally hit the spot (both meals.) I’m definitely trying to stick with “healthy” eating, but eating Whole 30 for a month has made me question what that means…really I just want to eat without giving it that much thought, feel good about what I eat, and not spend too much money. That seems easy enough, right?

Tuesday night was a lot of fun. I met up with a friend from out of town at Mission Taco. I’d been there once before and had tacos, so this time I tried a burrito. It was delicious! I couldn’t believe there was a 30 minute wait for a table on a Tuesday night, but I guess that’s the price of trying a “trendy” restaurant. Fresh margs and mexican food…worth a 30 minute wait indeed. Whole 30? Not at all. Delicious and something my brain needed? Absolutely.

Though I’ve gotten pretty used to black coffee. Some people say, if you can’t drink your coffee black, maybe you don’t really like coffee. I say, I can drink coffee any way it’s served. Black is good, cream and sugar is good, coconut flavored coffee (this pictured cup) is good too.

Enough random thoughts. Hitting publish and off to work/practice!