Ah…slept in this morning…

I played two weddings yesterday afternoon—one at St. Cecilia’s Church and one at the Marriot at Union Station.

We went to a friend’s New Year’s Eve party last night.  It was fun—lots of our friends were there and there was good food.  I took my camera but didn’t take any photos…maybe someone else will have some (I posed several times).  I decided to dress up so I wore my silver and black dress!  It was fun

Today is my last relaxing day…I have to start preparing for teaching on Monday (and beyond!).  Orchestra doesn’t start until the following week, but I’ll need to give some thought to what repertoire the group should play this semester.  There are still a few pieces from the fall we didn’t get to, so we’ll start with those, but after that, I’m not sure yet.  For my other classes, I’ve changed the grouping so it’s now by grades, which will be better (K-2, 3-4), but I’ll need to be a little more creative to keep everybody moving forward.  I think it’s time for the 3-4 to learn music reading…and the k-2 all need some work on technique fundamentals.  For my private students, it’ll be a week or two of catch-up.

Last night a few friends asked if I had any New Year’s Resolutions.  I told them I had some ideas, but nothing overwhelming (lots of little things, really)…I’m looking at my list right now, and as it is now January, there are a few specific goals for each month.

1. Read one book about teaching.  I am going to actually read two books this month—both of Ed Kreitman’s.  They are on the shorter side—Teaching from the Balance Point, and Teaching with an Open Heart.  I’ve read the first before and started the second, but I want to read both again fully.  I’ll share my thoughts about both as it goes along.

2.  Try new restaurants. We have plans for tomorrow to go to Milagro with friends (also combines with “do something with a friend each week”), and then for Chris’s birthday to 1111 Mississippi, so I know January is covered for this one.

3.  Cook three new recipes per month.

4.  Read one “classic” novel per month.  Haven’t picked it yet…maybe something Jane Austen

What else is on the docket for the month?  My trip to Phoenix, of course, with the race.  There’s the Suzuki Association’s Parents as Partners Online, the Chamber Project concert at the Siteman Center, my Spinning class, the Yoga for Runners Workshop, and of course my usual teaching and various gigs (not so many weddings in January).  Should be a great month!

HBBC (last week): January 1: 10 mile run: 10 points, 7 f/v: 1 point, total: 11 points, January 2: 20 minutes stretch/20 minutes weights: 2 points

I brought two kinds of cookies today to my students at Child of God.  Originally I had made these cookies in a hurry over the weekend for my Good Shepherd students…but then school was cancelled–

Last night was the Good Shepherd Orchestra concert.  We had missed our last rehearsal on Monday due to the weather, but I knew the students were ready.  The only thing we hadn’t been able to rehearse (as much) was exactly how to act onstage, i.e. getting set up, bowing, etc.  So that was a bit of a mess, but they played great!  We also had a cellist join in, who hadn’t rehearsed at all, but he was advanced enough that he definitely added a nice touch to the group.

The one problem was that I should have double checked tuning before we began.  I had tuned everyone before, but after we got onstage we just got started, and one of the student’s violins was somehow completely out of tune.  He noticed as soon as we started and became very upset.  I felt awful, but there was nothing we could do until the end of the piece.  Two things I learned:  remind the kids not to freak out if their instrument is out of tune and just to remain calm and get my attention in between pieces, not DURING, and secondly, to double check tuning right beforehand.  Nonetheless the students did very well, especially since we missed the last rehearsal day.  Congratulations to them!

Back to today:  I needed to have all the Child of God students meet together and I wanted to run through the entire program, which is all of the pieces they know, from Pre-Twinkle Express to Perpetual Motion plus Jingle Bells.  (Obviously not all the kids play them all, but several do).  Behavior is an issue with several of the students, so on Monday I told them the plan:  IF they could be quiet and practice the run through with 10 minutes to spare, THEN we would have cookies.  If not, then no cookies…

I also threatened if anybody forgot their instrument they would not be allowed to perform on Friday.

We almost didn’t make it.  One of the girls forgot her instrument, and was crying (it’s not a teaching day if somebody doesn’t cry).  However, she was one of the students who always remembers…this was her FIRST time forgetting!  I told her IF she played the program five times between class and Friday she could still participate—I wasn’t wanting to punish them especially a first-time offended. (Yes, I’m soft).  Then her violin showed up anyway!  One student’s bridge fell over—he claimed he had no idea how that happened (I saw him and another student collide…).  The instruments were all badly out of tune.  Three children claimed bathroom emergencies.  Everybody had questions about where to stand, when to play, what song were we playing, etc.  BUT somehow we soldiered through and played all the songs with ten minutes to spare.  I was so glad as I did not want to take home these (less than) homemade cookies.

I made two kinds—gingerbread and sugar cookies. (One of the students has a peanut allergy, so no Monster cookies or anything super-fun like that.) Both were from cookie mixes to save time, and both were iced.  The students preferred the gingerbread, but then again, the sugar were slightly burnt.  And yes, they asked to trade for not burnt ones…and returned the burnt ones to the tin rather than tossing them out.  They also asked why I didn’t bring the pumpkin ones from before. But they all said THANK YOU and I know they will be good on Friday night for the performance.

Whew. One more student performance to go before vacation!

Edited to add HBBC stats:

HBBC:  30 minutes cardio/strength: 2 points

It’s the last week until Christmas break, yippee!

And what an auspicious start—but let me back up.

Inside of St. Clare Catholic Church, where I performed with the Masterworks Chorale (is there one of those in every region?) over the weekend.

The outside of St. Mary and St. Mark’s in Madison, Illinois.  I performed at a mass last weekend, on Saturday, and will perform next weekend as well.  The picture doesn’t do it justice—it’s ROUND.  I’ll try to get a picture next time… the people are very nice and appreciative of our music, which is always a treat.

So that was Saturday.  NO WEDDINGS.  WEIRD!

Sunday I woke up to about 2 inches of snow, and it was still coming down.  Not a blizzard or even much of anything by Cleveland standards, but pretty bad for St. Louis.   It was also really windy.  I decided I just couldn’t brave the storm to go to the Metro East concert that afternoon—I was disappointed, but I knew most everybody else involved lived very nearby and I would have had close to an hour commute…just too risky with the weather, and when I was not necessary.  I hope the students weren’t too disappointed I wasn’t there   Next time, I promise!  I just hate driving in the snow here…the roads are SOOO slippery.  I miss Cleveland roads.

I DID brave the elements to get to the Masterworks Chorale concert but by then the roads were a bit better.  I was still terrified the entire time.

Monday:  One of my schools was canceled due to the weather.   (VERY VERY cold as well…5 degrees when I set out in the morning) Half-snow day!  Except our orchestra concert is tomorrow night—the students are ready, but I don’t know the details, and I had hoped to know by rehearsal…oh well!  I guess I will find out on a “need to know” basis?  I did enjoy the afternoon off, especially as I had (again) postponed my long run.  8 miles on the treadmill this afternoon was very boring.

I then taught three private students.  They were all great fun!  I can feel the week ticking by towards vacation…sorely needed vacation…

Wish the Good Shepherd Orchestra luck on our performance tomorrow night!  We are playing Good King Wenceslas, O Come All Ye Faithful, and We Three Kings.

HBBC:  Sunday:  90 cardio/strength workout: 6 points, 7 f/v: 1 point, Monday:  8 mile run: 8 points, 7 f/v: 1 points, total for both days: 16 points