Category Archives: Random thoughts

Late night thoughts and ramblings

Poor Dobby.  That part always makes me cry.  (Well, not the part in this picture.  The part in the book and the movie.)

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When I tell people I am playing on the Metrolink this weekend, why do they ask if I am bringing protection?  It’s not that bad…is it?  I’ve only ridden it once.  I remember that being a little scary, but the RTA in Cleveland was always a little scary too and nothing ever happened.

Though, I certainly wish we had the public transportation of Paris…(link just goes to my recaps of Paris 😉 )

My sister Carrie is going to be on the radio tomorrow—you should tune in.  12:35 to 1 pm EST (that’s 11:35 my time) on Tuesday (I guess technically that’s today, isn’t it?)

How cute is she?  She plays the viola, which is like a violin, but bigger and more unwieldy.  (And the butt of many musician jokes.  I make them all the time and say “it’s okay because I’m married to a violist.”)

Here’s a classic viola joke:

An American orchestra had just arrived in Europe for a two-week tour. One hour before the first concert, the conductor became very ill and was unable to conduct, and the orchestra suddenly had to find a substitute. The orchestra manager asked everyone in the orchestra whether they could step in and conduct, and the only person who was willing was the last chair violist.

The manager was very nervous about this. “We can’t audition you,” he said.

“No problem,” replied the violist.

“There’s no time to rehearse. You’ll have to do the concert cold.”

“I know. It’ll be all right.”

The violist conducted the concert and it was a smashing success. Since the conductor remained ill for the duration of the tour, the violist conducted all of the concerts, getting rave reviews and standing ovations at each one.

At the next rehearsal, the conductor had recovered, and the violist took his place at the back of the viola section. As he sat down, his stand partner asked him “Where’ve you been for the last two weeks?”

 

I’d better get some sleep.  Tomorrow is my first official run of marathon training!

Black toenail

Aren’t Sunday nights just the worst?  A (hopefully) fun weekend behind you, a busy and stressful work week ahead of you…and for some of us writing here, a concert to go play before the night is gone…

Funny pictures help, right?

Oh, and here’s something I’m disgustingly, oddly proud of:

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While I was trimming my toenails I noticed a hint of black under the polish on my big toe, so I removed the polish to take a look.  Gross, right?  I presume this is still leftover from the Skippo?

This and That

Here’s a bunch of random thoughts and stuff I need/want to share with you all.

1.  I have been running lately.  Marathon training starts officially in just over a week so I’ve just been running for “fun” and fitness.  Chris started running (When he utters the words “I’m going for a run” I get VERY excited) and yesterday we ran together.  He’s training for a 5k we are doing together in mid-December, and yesterday we ran (very fast for me) 2.25 miles together.  Before than I’d been pushing my speed on 1.5 to 2 mile runs.  My legs are finally feeling less dead, and my hip feels better.

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It still hurts if I’ve been sitting for a long time or if I haven’t been foam rolling enough but generally I think I’m in decent shape to start training for the Marathon in April.  And to run the 5K AND to go to Phoenix in January for the PF Chang’s Half Marathon (very excited about this!)  I figured doing some shorter but faster runs would be a nice way to push myself but not overdo it.  I’ll have enough long, slow runs ahead of me in the next few months, right?

2.  Gil Shaham is awesome.  I saw him play the Beethoven Violin Concerto last night with the symphony.  VERY enjoyable concert.

We look ridiculous because we are 🙂

3.  Recently I was sent some natural shampoo and conditioner from Ava Anderson.

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The company’s motto is “Quality personal care without harmful chemicals.”

I tried the shampoo and conditioner.  The only odd thing is that the shampoo doesn’t foam like I’m used to.  Did you know that harmful chemicals make your shampoo foam?  Evidently that is just something companies add to make us feel like we are getting a more effective clean…and in fact is totally unnecessary.  Weird, right?  (Agree or disagree?)  Anyway, the stuff smells nice, and there’s always a bit of self-righteousness involved with knowing you are using something that is more natural and less toxic, isn’t there?

If you want to order anything from the website (there’s all kinds of beauty supplies, not just shampoo/conditioner) contact the representative by email and tell them I sent you and she will give you a 30 percent discount through Dec. 15.

4.  Caffeinated Baked Goods.  Who doesn’t like caffeine and baked goods?  Here’s a company that puts them together! Get up and Go offers caffeine without the coffee.  If you “like” their facebook page you can get a discount code to save 30 percent on all orders, AND on Sunday (tomorrow, they are calling it Black Sunday) you can get 70 percent off all orders! (After you “like” the page, click on “store”)  Now THAT’s a deal, and you don’t have to run anybody down in the parking lot to get it. I haven’t tried any of their stuff, but I hear it’s tasty, and the company reps are really helpful and friendly.

Sugar rush plus caffeine rush?  You’re welcome!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above (Ava Anderson) and for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

5.  Yesterday I learned that some jerk had slashed one of my tires.  Sometimes I love living in the city, other times I can’t stand it. We tell ourselves that crime can happen anywhere, but the rates show that the crime is so much higher in the city.  But we really like being near non-chain restaurants and being far from strip malls…

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You can see two of the knife marks.  There was another obvious one and a small hole that was likely the fourth slash.  It almost felt personal!  (I’m sure it wasn’t.)

I’m going to take this opportunity to just get all new tires, since that’s something I think I need.  But I’m not happy about it.  At least they “only” slashed one tire so Chris was able to put the spare on for me rather than having to get towed.

Sometimes I disgust myself with my optimism 😉

6.  This is a great time for movies.  We are going to see Skyfall again tonight (I rarely see movies in the theater twice, but Chris and I both really enjoyed it and wanted to go with some friends) and we’ve bought tickets for the midnight showing of the Hobbit.  We haven’t been to a midnight showing in awhile (I’m thinking not since Return of the King!) and we were much younger then, but we are really excited about it!

7.  I’m having that Sunday laziness/not being excited about getting back to work tomorrow.  It’s always tough transitioning, isn’t it?  Once you actually ARE back to work it’s no big deal but it always seems like it’s going to be worse than it is.

Theorbo, brisket, and a banana peel

Happy Monday, dear readers.  I trust you all had wonderful weekends to relax and prepare for the upcoming week.  I don’t know about you all but I feel like I’m on vacation already, even though I do have a couple more days of teaching and a concert to play tonight.

Saturday I went to Dressel’s with Melissa and then to a concert at the Tavern of Fine Arts.  It was an early music concert, which isn’t really my thing, but man, the instruments sure are gorgeous.  The group, called Such Sweete Melodie, was very good though, so the concert was enjoyable.image_2

You can see the man playing the theorbo in the background—it’s the really long guitar like instrument.  I think it’s a funny word.

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And this is called a virginal.  It’s similar to a harpsichord.  AMAZING looking.  (I know you’re all snickering.  I’m pretending I’m mature, okay?)

Sunday we went to our friend Vanessa’s house for a brisket dinner.  Russell, her fiancé, spent days making the brisket.  It was well worth it, I’d say.

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We realized there was quite the collection of symphony “one-year” musicians so I tried to get a picture.  This is actually the best one of a series of about six that I took. 

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Brisket, chili mac and cheese (homemade chili over what the Canadians call “Kraft dinner”) and coleslaw.  YUM.  Russell is a genius.

This morning I had a workout with Mike at the gym.  Front squats, back squats, straight leg dead lifts, leg press, and back extensions.  When I returned to my car I saw this.

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Somebody was trying to kill me!  Did you ever play Mario Kart?  I couldn’t stop laughing at this. (In Mario Kart, you can toss a banana peel at another player and they will skid off the road.  In reality, banana peels do not make cars do this, no matter how tempting it would be when somebody is tailgating.)

More Pictures of Leslie’s Wedding and My Toast

Leslie and Peter get back from their honeymoon soon, and I was thinking about them this morning.  I haven’t spoken to Leslie since she left (obviously) and I am excited to hear all about their travels!  Anyway, I was reflecting on their wedding a bit more, and I thought it would fun to post my toast—well, at least what I planned to say since in the moment I improvised a bit.  I also got some nice pictures from my Aunt Connie and thought I’d share a few—also some are my Mom’s…hope you ladies don’t mind I borrowed some pictures! (really, this is for Leslie who I’m sure will be eagerly catching up on my blog when she returns.)

The Girls!  and Carrie.

We are definitely wearing more makeup and have fancier hair than we should for those outfits.  Is something going on?

Look at those EYELASHES!

Chatting with the groom right before the first look pictures were to be taken.  Carrie is awkwardly carrying a few things.  Staying true to her name at least?

Sometimes nature is just the best, huh?  Though I’m pretty sure this was manmade, it still counts as nature, I think.

My Aunt Connie and my Mom.  My mother had a fall on a hike the day before—yet still standing strong.  Hard core, right?

The mariachi band was serenading us but evidently we were too preoccupied with our ceviche and guacamole to notice.

Okay, I promised you guys my toast.  I went last, and while I waiting for the three men to do their toasts before me Carrie and I decided I definitely should do a binders of women joke, so I led with something about how originally Peter was going to have only those three men speak (fathers of bride and groom, best man) but Leslie gave him binders of women who would be qualified and they chose me.  People laughed.  It was very topical 😉

 

Hi everybody! I’m Leslie’s older sister, Hannah. Leslie was my maid of honor back in January when I married my now husband, Chris (wave) so I guess she figured she owed me…and by owed me I mean wanted to get her investment back—I kept track of how many dollars she spent on me and have made sure to pay that much plus inflation.

I’ve been looking forward to her wedding ever since my own back in January. I tend to think of my wedding as the event of the year, so I guess this is the second event of the year? Or maybe the event of the school calendar year?

But seriously, as the oldest sister, I had to do a lot of things first growing up and then Leslie would follow after me, usually about six months later. Even though she’s three YEARS younger…yes, yes, I know. Hard to believe. In fact if I hadn’t told you I’m sure you’d think she was the oldest, am I right?

Like I said though, I had to do a lot of things first and then Leslie followed behind. I started playing the violin—she copied me about six months later—to be fair this was more our mother’s decision than anything, but still. Then I remember when wearing those white keds were all the range and all the kids wanted them. I begged and begged, and finally my mom broke down and bought me a pair—I believe they were the off-brand, but nonetheless good enough to be quasi-cool…and then bought Leslie a pair shortly afterwards. I also recall begging for permission to shave my legs, and then about six months later Leslie started shaving too. Either I REALLY needed to shave long before or she really was a very hairy young lady!

I guess that’s part of being the oldest sister—breaking down barriers and then making things easier for the younger generation. Carrie probably was born shaving and might be getting married next month, for all we know, but I’ll save my toast to her until then… It’s a lot of pressure sometime though, knowing everything I do, Leslie will copy shortly after wards! I’m still waiting for her to catch up to my height and shoe size.

I suppose Leslie did a few things first. She started getting into running before me, and I guess I might even say she inspired me to sign up for my first marathon in the spring, since she is going to run it too—but then again, after we’ve spent the last two years planning weddings, we’re going to need SOMETHING to do. And she was a maid of honor before I was too, and she set the bar pretty high for her toast. She also moved farthest away from South Carolina first, as evidenced by how far we all had to fly to get here—and growing up we both always figured the farthest from the south that we were the better off. No offense to Mom and Dad of course— (wink)

Nonetheless, we are all here tonight to not only laugh and make fun of the bride and groom, but to wish them a lifetime of joy and to show our support for their union…or at least to eat tacos and cupcakes on their dime! Let’s raise our glasses to Leslie and Peter and wish them the best, today and forever!

Day in my life

I thought this was a fun post last time, so here we go again. 

Yesterday:

9:15 Woke up

9:45 Downstairs, coffee, oatmeal, checking email, facebook, twitter, etc.

10:00 Wrote yesterday’s blog post

10:30 Washed dishes

10:40 More emails

10:50 Foam rolled

11:00 Practiced violin, tried to stay calm and relaxed about tonight’s concert and NOT PANIC OVER SOME OF THE SHIFTS THAT I KEEP FAILING AT.

11:50 Practice break

12:00 Got sucked into this article about the Williams-Sonoma catalog

12:20 Sent out Thanksgiving messages to people attending our Thanksgiving telling them when to show up and reminding them what to bring. 

12:30 Practiced more.  Spot practice.

12:55 Shower and get dressed.

1:30 Make sandwich for dinner, heat up leftover pasta for lunch.  Eat.  Read other blogs.

2:00 Dry hair/do makeup/take videos of the cat

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2:15 Practice violin

3:00 Leave for teaching

3:35 Arrive at the school, set up my room, tuned, mental preparation for teaching.

4:00 Teach

5:30 Change for the concert

5:40 Drive to the concert—Chamber Project St Louis at the Schlafly Tap Room.

6:30 Arrive at the venue.  Short warm up

7:10 Concert starts.  I am on the second piece.  After I played it was intermission, then another half which I watched.  I didn’t keep track of the exact times, but I did lots of chatting and schmoozing with everybody there—we had a great crowd!

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8:30 Downstairs for dinner.  Mahi Mahi Tacos.  And had a few bites of some Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert.

10:00 Moved across the restaurant to the pool and darts area. 

11:30 Went home.  Went to bed.

So there you have it.  Another day in my life.  I never know what to do with the tenses when I write these things.  Past tense?  Present tense?  Should I be doing some sort of futuristic tense?