Random thoughts

HBBC

I read a few “healthy living blogs” and came across this fun little holiday challenge to stay in shape.  I’m not that concerned as I have enough motivation from Mike and my half marathon training, but I figured, hey, why not?

HBBC Logo

HBBC Rules
1 Point per mile (run/walk/snowshoe)
1 Point per 3 miles biked
1 Point per 20 minutes of weight lifting, Pilates, yoga, stretching or abs
1 Point per 15 minutes of another form of cardio (i.e. kick boxing, aerobics elliptical)
1 Per day where you reach a minimum of 7 servings of fruits and veggies

Challenge will run from Nov 20 to Jan 7…this helps to cover you for the major holidays!

Additional points: Because I am all about taking care of your entire mind, body, soul connection there will be additional posts/questions where you can earn points throughout the challenge.

Today’s workout:  1 hour kickboxing video, 4 points!

Teaching

Saturday evening thoughts

Today I am thankful that I had a weekend without a wedding!  Ordinarily I am happy to play weddings, but it’s definitely nice to have a weekend off–I enjoyed judging the SIUE competition and hearing some really hard-working/talented students play.  But it’s nice to have a break!  In fact, I only have a few more weddings this year, which means I’ll have a couple more weekends off (not next weekend though), so I have that to be thankful for as well.  Basically it means that wedding season is over, and I’ll have easier weekends until April!

What to do with all my “free” weekend time?  Well, obviously the time will easily be filled.  I’ll never have those weekends other people have, where they have two days stretched out with nothing scheduled.  People are jealous when they find out I have random days/mornings off during the week, but I don’t think people really realize that I simply never have weekends off. For instance, today I judged a competition for four hours.  Including my commute, that was 5 1/2 hours.  It was fun, but I’m just pointing that out to you.  It wasn’t an afternoon spent at the mall or hiking 😉

What else am I doing this weekend?  I have dinner plans with a friend tonight–I have been hanging onto a Groupon for Yemanja Brasil and Chris doesn’t really like it, so I’ve enlisted my friend Melissa.  I have been there two or three times before and really enjoy the food, and the caipirinhas are fantastic also.

Tomorrow will be very fun!  A few weeks ago I signed Chris and I up for a class at the Kitchen Conservatory in Clayton.  The class is called “Grown-ups Mac and Cheese.”  We will learn how to make three different kinds of mac and cheese, salad, and sorbet.  I am really looking forward to it.  After that we head to a friend’s housewarming party. It’ll be a big day of food…luckily I will have run six miles or so beforehand 🙂

And then…just two more days until vacation!

Teaching

Being a judge

I am judging a student concerto competition in a few short hours.  I am very excited to hear everybody play!  It’s the SIUE John and Kay Kendall 10th Concerto Competition.  First place will win $100 so the pressure is ON.

I used to participate in these sorts of competitions all the time when I was younger–I loved competitions…and winning 😉  When I didn’t win, I would vow to work harder and longer and win the next one.

As I got older, when I didn’t win something…I felt like it just meant I wasn’t good enough and maybe I should do something else.  Weird.  When did that change?  Was it in grad school?  Or afterwards (perhaps in my first orchestral job, when somebody in a principal position actually SAID that to me?)

I do know this:  I will be the best darned judge ever!

Random thoughts

Women in Music

I usually listen to NPR when I am driving around town.  Today I caught part of “Cityscape,” a local show that covers the arts in St. Louis.  Susan Slaughter, former principal trumpet of the SLSO was on the show talking about some upcoming brass holiday concerts (a yearly event, evidently.)  Susan was principal trumpet of the symphony for over 30 years.  She just recently retired, and is greatly missed.

In any case, she was talking about the challenges women playing brass instruments faced back when she was starting out (late 1960’s/70’s) and how they worked hard to pave the wave for women today.  She told a story about the former principal cellist of the symphony at the time of her audition and how he told her, years later, that he stood up and walked out during her audition, but then heard her play and hung around.  She mentioned that all she and the other women wanted was a chance to play an audition, and IF they were the best, to win.

Listening to the interview made me very emotional!  What a jerk, to walk out of an audition like that.  How is it any better that he came back because she played well?  I’m sure many men played poorly and he didn’t walk out!   I wish people would just put aside their judgemental presuppositions, and instead simply try to treat every person as they would wish to be treated.

In any case, I am certainly thankful of how far women have come.  I would never be turned away from an audition or job interview because of my gender (and string players certainly were, just not quite as recently as brass players).  It’s due to people like Susan Slaughter. I want to say, Thank you!

Here is a link to the interview.   It’s the first segment.

Food

Pie and family

My first student today is sick, so I have an extra hour this afternoon.  I am getting my list together for grocery shopping, and I want to go ahead and get the ingredients for the pies I am planning to make (and perhaps one non-pie dessert).  I wanted to extend a moment of thankfulness for my recipe box, and by extension, my family!  Let me explain.

My recipe box was a wonderful gift from my grandparents for Christmas several years ago.  The recipes are from my grandmother and my grandfather made the box.  All of my aunts and uncles and most of my cousins (all?) have the same recipe box, containing the same recipes.

 

The photo looked best with the bananas in the photograph with it

 

 

The box contains some of the greatest recipes in the world.  My grandmother is a terrific cook and a phenomenal baker and I learned many recipes from her.  When I need a good recipe, I always look in this box first.

Right now I live farther from my family than I have before–I used to live at home with my parents, then in Cleveland I was near my grandparents and some aunts and uncles (and brother in Columbus for awhile).  When I lived in Charlotte I was just a two hour drive from my parents.  Now…it’s a long way to anyone…12 hours home, 7 hours to Wauseon, etc.  But when I pull out my recipe box to look up a pie or cookie recipe, I feel very close to my family.

Today:  I’m thankful for my family 🙂

 

Random thoughts

Tivo!

I am so thankful for my Tivo!  I am rarely home or available to watch my favorite shows when they come on…but my tivo records them for me to watch later.  The other best part is that I don’t have to pay attention when a show comes on–my tivo records it anyway.  Tonight it recorded a cool show I watched over the summer, “Human Target.”  I love action/spy shows–Burn Notice, Covert Affairs, Alias, etc.  And my tivo will record them all for me!  (Okay, not Alias, because that ended…but you get the point 😉  ) I never have to worry about forgetting to set the VCR.

(Yes, I’m tired.  But I do love my tivo, seriously! )

(P.S.  Jillian’s 30 day shred level 1 was pretty good–I sweated a lot and my legs/shoulders burned!  I’ll do it again a few times before moving to level 2.  Wish it were longer though…)

thoughts about violin, teaching, running, life.