Random thoughts

Learn, change, and grow #reverb10

Prompt: Lesson learned. What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward?

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The best thing??  It’s so hard to come up with these things every day when I’m busy…I can easily think of good things I learned about myself, but the pressure of “best thing” is really tough! 

Good things:  I have more self-control than I thought.  I actually enjoy muscle soreness and sweating.  I can run.  I have infinite patience with small children in a one on one setting (though not in a group).  I will always be swayed by cuteness, particularly kittens and fat cats.  I love to learn, and have a constant sense of wonder about the world I live in.

So what is the best thing I’ve learned?  I will continue to learn, change, and grow every year, every month, every week, every day.  That’s the answer to both questions in one. 

Or I’m really tired.  Either way, that’s good enough for me tonight!

Christmas

Christmas Tree part 2 (but probably not last!)

I wanted to include a few more pictures of my ornaments so you can feel like you are in my living room with me (oh and it is nice and warm under my throw blanket).

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This guy is a s’more angel playing the trumpet.  I don’t remember where I got it, but how cute is he?

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My mother loves to give me violin ornaments—this is a creepy cat playing the violin.  Each year it grows on me though—by next year it might be my favorite!

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Here is a more normal violin ornament my mother gave me.  Tasteful Smile

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I wanted to get something to commemorate this year.  Those are real diamonds!  (not really).

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The tree with the lights on! 

In any case, I’m really enjoying my Christmas tree this year—it hasn’t fallen down at all, and it’s just beautiful. 

The only other Christmas décor I’ve put up is on the mantle in the living room.  I’ve got a few figurines and a bunch of cards on display. 

 

In other news:

Tonight is the last student concert!  My Child of God students are playing all the songs they know, accompanied by yours truly on the piano.  I’m sure they’ll be fantastic.

Tomorrow is a busy day:  a 5k in the morning (just across the street at the park) unless I deem it too icy (possible), a wedding, a mass, and a 4 hour Christmas party.  THEN—-VACATION TIME!!!!  (can you tell I’m excited????) 

HBBC:  1 mile walk: 1 point, workout with Mike: 4 points, 7 f/v: 1 point, total:  6 points.  Total for week of Dec 11-17: 36.4, Total so far (Nov. 20-Dec. 17): 149.5

Random thoughts

Friendship #reverb10

Prompt: Friendship. How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?

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Okay, so I am a bit late on this one.  I procrastinated because I didn’t have a good response.

I have had to make new friends many times in my life, because I have moved several times, and because my friends tend to move as well.  One of these days I will be somewhere more permanently…perhaps I am even there now and just don’t know it.  But until then I will continue to make new friends, and struggle to keep in touch with old friends.  Facebook is a great help for keeping in touch with old friends—both acquaintances and the sort of friend who, if you end up in the same city with them for a few hours, you can pick up exactly where you left off and have a fantastic time with them. 

It’s harder to make friends the older I get.  Sometimes I just don’t want to make the effort to get to know new people and to let them get to know me…other times I meet people who I know would be great friends, but they already have a bunch of friends.  And then many people have children and don’t have time for friends, or have nothing in common with us non-child-bearing folk.

How has a friend changed me or my perspective on the world this year?   One of my new friends loves to try new restaurants—that is always fun.  Other friends encourage me to take classes such as pottery, yoga, or spinning.  I guess if I had to sum it up, my friends tend to encourage me to get out of the house and try new things…Chris and I are creatures of habit, especially if left to our own devices, so it’s good to have friends who push you out of your comfort zone. 

Change is a gradual thing—though showing up to a new class or restaurant is a sudden burst—but personal growth is gradual.  I love having a wide variety of friends with different interests and strengths, and I know they will continue to push me to grow as a person.

Christmas, Food, Teaching

Ice day

We had a bit of freezing rain…and no school today!  I am still teaching at home today, though a few students have canceled.  My “inclement weather policy” for my home students is that they can decide whether to come or not, with no penalty.  Most of the roads are pretty good by now, though the sidewalks are still slippery in places.  I really hate ice—give me a foot of snow ANY day.

I was glad they canceled school last night rather than waiting until this morning because I got to sleep in with no worries!  I do miss the students though—I won’t see them until January now.  I’ll also have to mail home some things I was going to hand out, but that’s probably better anyway because then the parents definitely get the memos.

Tonight we are planning to go to a friend’s holiday gathering.  I wasn’t going to go because I thought I would be exhausted after a long day of teaching, but I’m down to four students now (and we’ll see if they all show) so my energy should be high! 

I’ve decided to make a nice Christmas dinner for Chris and I before we go to Long Island.  I love making/planning big holiday meals and I don’t get to do that when I visit the “in-law’s.”  I don’t want to go overboard, but I have planned a menu of Ham  (not Ham Solo), Corn Pudding, Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli, Smoky Cheddar Loaf, and for dessert, Egg Nog Tres Leches Cake.  Sounds good?!?

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Ham Solo

After the meal we’ll exchange our Christmas gifts (and open any that were mailed as well).  Should be fun! 

HBBC:  5 mile run: 5 points

Random thoughts

5 minutes #reverb10

Prompt: 5 minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

What to remember?

How to make a proper meal and eat tons of veggies

How to work out and enjoy sweating

The green of Belize

The blue of Honduras

How tired I feel right now, to remember it’s ok to say no to stuff

The feeling of finishing my first race

That I don’t really care for bikram yoga, no matter how “good for me” it’s supposed to be

That I want to do another spin class

All the stuff I’ve learned about teaching…how high of standards I can hold a student to

That children love icing

That a purple reindeer sweater is a great idea

Knee socks are definitely best in the cold

Sticker charts are NOT a good way to motivate most students

Salmon is delicious

My hair looks best long

My next cruise will be on a different line than Carnival

Time’s up!

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Teaching

Cookies for students

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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

thoughts about violin, teaching, running, life.