Hi Peeps!

First, a note to all the musicians out there. Have you ever experienced lesson anxiety? Yeah, I know. It sounds super dramatic. It's actually the worst thing ever. In high school, I used to always get nervous when I would go for my piano lesson and would mess up things that I had worked on forever. It would sound like I didn't practice sometimes! Anyways, I always thought that as I got "more mature" and comfortable with life, that I would get over these problems. But yet, I still fight these stupid lesson nerves. It's stupid because your teacher isn't someone who you should be super scared to play for. But I am sometimes. I guess that means I still have growing to do (as my teacher very bluntly pointed out the other day). So to all you who grow fat fingers in your lessons - it's okay! It happens to all of us (I almost said it happens to the best of us, but that implies I'm the best...). And don't think you will magically grow out of it. Learn to deal with the nerves and you're one step closer to being a professional. Obviously, I'm not, haha.

Okay, now to fun life! I finally finished my jewelry organizer thing!!!!!!!! After months of this frame sitting in my room, I finally sat down and thought about how to practically make this work. Add in the challenge that I didn't want to go to the store to get anything and you've got yourself a project! Anyways, this is what the final product looks like: (though I might still change it out for mesh at some point)
ALSO! My AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL Aunt and Uncle bought me a tea kettle and I got it in the mail this week. She had asked me if I needed anything for my condo and I mentioned that I wished I had a tea kettle. So, they went out and bought one! I was super surprised and excited! Aren't they awesome? To tell you how wonderful they are, they let me crash at their house whenever I want, and feed me well, and encourage me, and share their wisdom with me, and buy me awesome orange kitchen things!!!! (I've been drinking lots of hot tea the past couple days). Okay, I am done conveying my excitement. Here it is:

PLUSSSSSSSSSSS: I bought sweet potatoes the other day at the grocery store and I've been looking for a yummy way to cook them. Hopefully tomorrow I will have time to make sweet potato chips and will share my recipe and my success with you! (except you can't eat the chips). Alright, to the chips then!

Pictures!

So, since I'm blogging from my iPod (coolest thing ever, right?) I don't know how I organize the pics I post. So I'll list the captions and you get to guess the picture it goes with!! It's like a little game. Look at me providing entertainment :)

My cute cute cute cute dog

The fail cake

Yummy marshmallows! (I made them)

Bringing my avocados to perfection - they were on sale!!

CADBURY CREAM EGGS ARE IN THE STORE!! HOORAY!

Making Malts: all the ingredients in the blender, Maddie helping herself to the chocolate syrup, and the finished product with my new toms making an appearance.

Oh. And the pants in the tree pic. I can't imagine how they got there

A Little Bit of Ordinary

Dear friends,

I think you will be interested to know that I have had the most ordinary, average week. Almost nothing with writing about has happened, yet I am about to write a whole post. I thought that when I started blogging, my life would somehow be more interesting. As if this public journal would make me see with new eyes and even the little things would suddenly have a whole new life. I may be just a little idealistic. As you have witnessed, that didn't quite happen the way I had hoped. Even my roommates laugh at my writing (though I would be the first to admit that I need a lot more writing practice). Despite these major setbacks and heartbreaking realizations, I will press forward and pull out the good highlights of my week. (PLEASE tell me you caught the sarcasm).

Most exciting: I got to borrow my sister's car. So I had shelter the one day it rained this week.

Most nerdy: I met with my new chamber music group this week. And we read through the Brahms piano quartet in g minor. It made my day!! Such beautiful music.

Most mundane: I had a sandwich for dinner one night because I forgot to take the meat out of the freezer.

Most funny: after seeing We Bought a Zoo (good movie, go see it), I and my two roommates ran to our car to get out of the cold. When we got in the car we noticed the car parked facing us was full of guys laughing at us. Yep, we were cold-wimps, and we got caught. But they flashed their lights at us, so does that mean ythey think we are cute?

All in all, a good week. I love my class schedule and am still super pumped for 2012.

I Am Not Brave

I am back to school and I've finished up my first day of classes. Hooray! It was a good day. Class started after lunch and was home by 5 - the perfect schedule! My friends and I tried out the new campus restaurants. I had Moe's but there's also a Which Wich. That started off my day quite nicely. So here's to Spring semester 2012!!

The end of break was quite a whirlwind. I wanted to get my fill of shopping and friends and cooking. And sleep, but that didn't really happen. On Thursday, I was rubbing my sore neck when I discovered a lump on the side of my neck. Yeah, that's what I thought. I mentioned it to my mom and went to bed hoping it would go away. I'd like to say that I was reasonable and knew that there are many reasons for there to be a lump on your neck. But all I could think of was the worst possible scenario. I knew I either had lyme disease or cancer. And I hate to admit it, but I was kinda scared. I had a flight on Saturday and just didn't want to deal with it. On Friday I had plans all day (detailed below), so I just ignored the little scary voice in my head. That night we decided that I should go to the doctor in the morning - before we left for the airport at 11. haha. Long story short, the doc said it's probs just my lymph nodes fighting off an infection and prescribed me some antibiotics. BUT if it doesn't go away or I find more, I should go get a blood test. Oh.

What did I learn from this little wrench in my perfect week? Well, that I am a scaredy cat. The only brave thing I do is that I play sudoku with a pen - though that is probably more foolhardy than brave :) So maybe one of my new goals is to do brave things every now and then. Though bravery isn't something to go out and seek. It just kinda happens in certain situations. But if I live my life in a way that leaves no regrets, I think it will be easier to be brave.

And what did I do on Friday? (don't you love that I start all my paragraphs with a question). I went ice skating! And it made me feel OLD!! I had so much trouble. Once I actually tightened my skates it went a little better. But boy oh boy, it was a struggle. I did fall once, unfortunately, and now have a nasty bruise on my knee. But I wasn't as sore as I expected to be! Hooray! All in all it was fun and a great way to end the break.

(I bought blackberries yesterday - they were on sale!!)

Lessons Learned

I always feel like I learn a lot of life lessons when I am at home over break. I guess getting back to my roots and into my comfort zone gives me the opportunity to observe and think. But, it's late and I'm failing at my attempts to go to bed early the last week at home. So I'm going to give you a few quick lessons that I will take back to school with me.

- It's really hard to cut your dog's hair yourself. And the first haircut probably will look rather funny. No, I did not try to groom my dog. My sister did. I came home from an evening out to find dog hair on the kitchen floor. All I can say is poor, poor doggy.

- Family takes care of each other. It really is true that sometimes you've only got your family. And I am so thankful for mine.

- I still need to learn to pack appropriately. For some reason, I still don't know what I need on a trip. Either I forget something important, like a toothbrush or pajamas. Or I completely err in my estimation of how many clothes to bring. But I still can't fit everything into my suitcase. Problems!

Haha. I've had a wonderful Christmas break. Tomorrow holds friends and ice skating. There's a new outdoor rink in town, so exciting! I've never actually experienced skating at an outdoor rink. It's so movie-like, glamorous. Then I head back to school. This is going to be a great semester!

Laziness, optimism and health

Hey folks! I'm sitting here in bed enjoying one of my last few nights at home for Christmas break. It's rather sad actually. I think this is the first break that has been a good bit too short. I could use several more days to spend time with people, relax, sleep, and PRACTICE!! I am NOT feeling burnt out on piano anymore, but I really haven't put in any practice time! It's terrible. I guess maybe that means it's a good thing I'm going back to a place where I practice a lot. But I do think I know why I am feeling less rested and not ready to go back to school. One word: laziness. This is something I am definitely wired for and have to really fight sometimes. Something I learned over this break is the difference between laziness and rest. I think that rest is intentional. It can be productive and it prepares you for the work that is to come. Laziness just sucks everything out of you. It's unproductive and makes you want to do nothing else but keep being lazy. I don't know if those are universal definitions, but for me there is definitely a distinction. Rest is important, laziness is something I need to avoid. So, here's hoping that 2012 brings true rest.

Did you know that 2012 is going to be awesome? This is something I'm believing more and more every day. I am usually pretty ambivalent about that magical switch from December 31 to January 1, but this year I am feeling optimistic, maybe a little too idealistic, and ready to seize each and every day. I don't really have any personal resolutions, but I do have those grand plans that always come at the beginning of a semester. One of my friends is going hardcore on the Paleo diet. And while there is no way I could do her 30 day cleanse, she does have me inspired to add at least a little more health into my diet. So, I will be adding food adventures to my life and my blog this year. Tonight we tried Kale chips. Super easy to make, and kinda yummy! And a bonus, Kale is a superfood (whatever that means, haha). Wow, that sounds boring. Kale chips and healthiness. Oh dear.

Ok. I have a lot more I can say, but I'll save it for tomorrow (or the day after). I had too much caffeine today and am in jeopardy of rambling! (If you don't consider blogging itself rambling).