Were it not for toting groceries up and down stairs, confined spaces and low water pressure, I might consider making this apartment dwelling a long term deal. It's easy to keep clean and there is no yard to keep. And there is no one below us to hear the scampering of my children's feet every night at bedtime. Or the occasional melt-down over having no backyard and no playscape for exploration.
I caught this clip over at Lara's blog. It's awesome. And has me convinced to leave the violin and viola packed up for now. At least for the people next door who've already gotten a few "knock, knock hellos" from above mentioned children. If they complain, I'll just threaten Puccini. :)
29 April 2008
settled for now
20 April 2008
Recital clip
I can hardly believe it is over. It went very well... I think we had about 65-70 attendees. I felt so great afterwards. I've been looking forward to performing again for a very long time!
Below are a couple clips (and above is a sweet picture of me and my "little" brother), the first is a viola piece called Romanze by Max Bruch. The second is a violin duet called Double Concerto for Two Violins by J.S. Bach. Don't my violin partner and I look funny together? I am about twice her height! Lol! (And no I am not pregnant... I think I look pregnant in these videos... that darn white silk shirt is not so flattering under those stage lights.)
Enjoy!
17 April 2008
How you doin'?
I miss you all and visiting your blogs! Just another week and I think I'll have some semblance of a life back. In the mean time feel free to let me know how you're doing, or just say hi.
Yes, we're still packing (I have too much stuff, I guess). But I am also preparing for a recital on Saturday night. You're all invited, of course.
I will try to see if I can upload video of a song or two for your enjoyment next week.
14 April 2008
silly girl
Every night when I tuck 20 month old Sasha into bed:
S: Mom?
me: What baby?
S: Want something.
me: Okay, what do you want?
S: Um... chicken.
And then we giggle...
S: Mom?
me: What baby?
S: Want something.
me: Okay, what do you want?
S: Um... chicken.
And then we giggle...
11 April 2008
9 is fine
Adriana's party was a blast. Although the salon plans fell through (they had to close down for some reason) the girls really enjoyed themselves.
This is how the invitations turned out. There is a great site that will generate tickets for you with whatever text you want on them here.
The decor was really fun. I threw black material over my curtain rod to create a stage area for the girls to perform. They sang along to Hannah Montana music videos and were not shy about it! We also played "name that Hannah tune", which they loved.
Each girl took home a tshirt... I found iron on jewel letters at WalMart and put words like "Fab", "Glam", "Rock" and "Star" on each shirt (the tees are plain Hanes for Girls tees, also from WalMart).
Adriana modelling her shirt:
The mic-a-like cupcakes:
A small group shot - you can sort of make out the backstage pass necklaces each girl got. I made them myself and they looked very realistic. I wish I'd gotten a closer shot! When they arrived, each girl received a stage name. If anyone forgot to use stage names rather than real names, they had to give up their backstage pass to whomever caught them. The girl who'd collected the most at the end of the party won Hannah Montana shampoo.
I thought this was so cute - Adriana's little brothers peeking at all the action from the top of the stairs!
On to the next party... Jonah is turning 6 soon, and he wants a Dinotrain party. (?) But first I must finish packing! I'll be by your blogs as soon as I'm done!
Technorati tags: birthday,parties,themed,what begins with k?,Gesu Bambino
08 April 2008
Music and my life
Allysha of Bells on Their Toes recently started a second blog about the arts, called Just an Orange. It is a lovely place to visit and she asked me (me?) to contribute something about my music. It is posted over there today.
I have many callings. And I feel obliged to say that motherhood comes first (after all, that‘s all I can talk about at My Many Colored Days). But music, well music is a vital part of my existence. And I am so grateful that somebody is interested in how that came to be… (thank you Allysha)!
How does music fit into my life? Well, sometimes (just like any mother) it is merely a tool I use to lull my child to sleep, or even just to get him to brush his dadgum teeth. But, I love to play my violin for children. They are such a gracious audience… birthdays, class parties, or even just because there’s a Backyardigans song with violin accompaniment that would “sound so cool, Mom“! And occasionally, I am able to step back into familiar territory and play on stage, or for an event. Whatever the reason, music is an integral part of my life and relentlessly finds its way “in“.
I began studying the violin when I was 8 years old. I remember it vividly;
read more...
03 April 2008
26.2...
...is the number of miles in a marathon. I've taken to running in the last few months. Never thought I'd be a runner. I tried a few times in college with my roomates and it seemed like the most brutal form of exercise. I'd been dancing for years, so running felt like a form of punishment!
I have several MOFs who are runners, too. Many of them are currently training for the Wasatch Back and a number of other individual races. I guess this is the next step for me, although I haven't the desire yet. I've been running 10-12 miles a week for a while now (3-3.5 miles x 3 or 4 days a week) and I feel like I should be going somewhere with it. Only, there is still so much I do not know. If I try to think of things in terms of hectic motherhood, however, it makes a little more sense. Here are a few runner's terms I've picked up.
FARTLEK
I totally get this (and not in the way that you might think, although the analogy of changing diapers was the first to pop into my mind. Second thing to pop into my mind was that my brothers actually used to call each other "fartLICK". Ew.). Anyway, think of it this way... have you ever tried to cook dinner (moderate speed- don't want to burn it!), help your children with their homework (slow and steady, with patience) and be ready (as in nicely dressed) for a church meeting at the same time (SPRINT!)?
SPEED WORK
Some days you just gotta pace yourself. You want to dive in so badly, but in order to endure to the end of the day, you have to reserve your energy stores.
"HITTING THE WALL"
Defined as "The dreaded point (and awful feeling similar to what your body would feel like if you ran into a wall) during a race when your muscle glycogen stores become depleted and a feeling of fatigue engulfs you." Uh-huh. I call that 4:00 in the afternoon!
INTERVALS
It's like tidying up a house. You do a fast sweep through the house. After a 5 minute break you have a new mess to tend to. And so on.
RUNNER'S HIGH
The feeling of exhilaration that comes after a good hard run. Or childbirth. Or naptime.
TAPER
Runners usually cut back mileage 1 day to 3 weeks before a race. Like when I decide to let my kids buy lunch rather than make it for them, right? I'd really like to incorprate this more into my housekeeping. I don't think dh would go for it though!
There's so much more to learn. In both arenas. But they definitely both reap what you sow. And they both push you, some days harder than you'd like!
I have several MOFs who are runners, too. Many of them are currently training for the Wasatch Back and a number of other individual races. I guess this is the next step for me, although I haven't the desire yet. I've been running 10-12 miles a week for a while now (3-3.5 miles x 3 or 4 days a week) and I feel like I should be going somewhere with it. Only, there is still so much I do not know. If I try to think of things in terms of hectic motherhood, however, it makes a little more sense. Here are a few runner's terms I've picked up.
FARTLEK
I totally get this (and not in the way that you might think, although the analogy of changing diapers was the first to pop into my mind. Second thing to pop into my mind was that my brothers actually used to call each other "fartLICK". Ew.). Anyway, think of it this way... have you ever tried to cook dinner (moderate speed- don't want to burn it!), help your children with their homework (slow and steady, with patience) and be ready (as in nicely dressed) for a church meeting at the same time (SPRINT!)?
SPEED WORK
Some days you just gotta pace yourself. You want to dive in so badly, but in order to endure to the end of the day, you have to reserve your energy stores.
"HITTING THE WALL"
Defined as "The dreaded point (and awful feeling similar to what your body would feel like if you ran into a wall) during a race when your muscle glycogen stores become depleted and a feeling of fatigue engulfs you." Uh-huh. I call that 4:00 in the afternoon!
INTERVALS
It's like tidying up a house. You do a fast sweep through the house. After a 5 minute break you have a new mess to tend to. And so on.
RUNNER'S HIGH
The feeling of exhilaration that comes after a good hard run. Or childbirth. Or naptime.
TAPER
Runners usually cut back mileage 1 day to 3 weeks before a race. Like when I decide to let my kids buy lunch rather than make it for them, right? I'd really like to incorprate this more into my housekeeping. I don't think dh would go for it though!
There's so much more to learn. In both arenas. But they definitely both reap what you sow. And they both push you, some days harder than you'd like!
01 April 2008
10 most popular posts here at My Many Colored Days
I've been doing some Spring Cleaning and packing, which are essentially 2 means to 1 end (and that is getting out of this house!) So I thought I'd buy myself some blog time and repost the 10 most popular posts here at My Many Colored Days. They're labelled, so read one or read all!
My first ever post that yielded one sympathetic comment:http://accordingtolei.blogspot.com/2006/01/introduction.html
One of my favorites: http://accordingtolei.blogspot.com/2007/01/hey-what-is-going-on-here.html
The most comments: http://accordingtolei.blogspot.com/2006/07/bathroom-mans-portal-into-another.html
The least expected most popular search at My Many Colored Days, "prodromal labor": http://accordingtolei.blogspot.com/2006/06/theres-upside-to-prodromal-labor.html
My Christmas gift to fellow bloggers: http://accordingtolei.blogspot.com/2006/12/gesu-bambino.html
The most popular Woman to Woman topic: http://accordingtolei.blogspot.com/2007/05/woman-to-woman-celebrating-me.html
The second most received comments: http://accordingtolei.blogspot.com/2008/02/am-i-gonna-learn-this-lesson.html
One of the funniest (insert apology to poor woman whose search for "how to get 2 year old to stop swearing" got her to this post): http://accordingtolei.blogspot.com/2008/02/on-swearing.html
More of the kiddie humor: http://accordingtolei.blogspot.com/2006/02/slang.html
ENJOY!
Technorati tags: babies,Woman to Woman,prodromal labor,what begins with k?,Gesu Bambino
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