One step closer

Last night, I finished my first semester back in school!  I spent the weekend finishing up a big analysis paper and had my last lesson of the semester yesterday.  Ahhh.... I can't believe it!  It hasn't really settled in yet that I can finally relax, but I'm sure it will later today when I get on a WV-bound flight.  Looking forward to seeing family and relaxing!

I really don't have time to be writing this, but....

WOAH!  I think I forgot what the end of a semester is like when you are in school!  Yikes!  And it's at the same time that we are supposed to be getting ready for the holidays - decorating, shopping, making travel plans, baking, going to Christmas shows, meeting up with friends, and on and on.  Who came up with this schedule???  Bad timing.
Hopefully I will get everything done in time and be able to catch my plane to WV, where I hope to put the breaks on long enough to throw a man in the oven and pass out a present or two.  (Or just pass out.)

It's December!!!

Look who is coming into style:

Thoughts of Thanks

It's THANKSGIVING!  Turkeys are running for cover, pumpkins are turning into pies, cranberries are getting saucy, and tons of people are clogging the streets to watch giant balloons roll past the buildings of New York.  I didn't get to go home to be with family this year, but I am glad to have wonderful friends to spend time with today.  Thanksgiving is such a great holiday because everyone loves getting together and eating lots of great food.  Taking time out to be thankful is certainly a good thing too.  I've decided to share 10 of the billion things I am thankful for this year.  In no particular order:


I am thankful for... 

1. this year especially, my education and for going back to school.  It's a delight to be back on track with music and working hard towards small and large goals.
2. a family that has supported and loved me through all my pursuits and helped me follow my dreams.
3. friends who surround me with laughter, love, and encouragement
4. God!  It's great to know that he has it under control, even if I can't understand a bit of it.  Also thankful to have found a church that both challenges and encourages me each week.
5. my job.  Gotta pay the bills and I'm lucky in these times to not only have a job, but to have a boss that's flexible enough with my insane schedule that I can go to school while holding down the job.
6. music - for filling my life with passion, love, creativity, and excitement.  
7. coffee...without which I would not function half as well as I do.  :)
8. my health - something that really should not be taken for granted
9. food - for making life a lot more delicious.
10. my iphone - for taking my organization skills and not only turning them up a notch, but making it a lot easier.  Also for providing several ways to keep better in touch with everyone. How did we survive before we had EVERYTHING in a little device in our pocket?

The more I write, the longer I want to make the list.  So basically, life could be a lot worse.   There is a lot to be thankful for!  To quote MMHoney, we just need to take the time to "slow down and smell the roses".

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

What are YOU thankful for?

She's a sweet little thing.

On Saturday I was walking up Third Avenue in Manhattan, enjoying the sunny side of the street, when I passed a pastry shop, La Delice Pastry Shop.  It's a very traditional, small, mom and pop shop with only enough space for big counters filled with a variety of cupcakes, cookies, cakes, bars, tarts, etc., etc., etc.  Pretty much any kind of desert you could wish for. The smell alone will give you a sugar high!  No room for tables... grab your sweets, your coffee, and go.  

I've been to this shop before, but the reason I bring it up this time, when I didn't even go inside, is because of  the cake in the window.  The shop does have a life-sized baker mannequin at the front door to welcome guests, but if he comes across a little scary (which he can at times) there are beautifully decorated cakes in the front window to help seal the deal. This weekend they had a Barbie cake.  (I guess it's not officially "Barbie" but a Doll Cake.)  The reason this excites me is because I used to have these cakes as a kid. I don't remember exactly how many I had, but I know I had a few and I was quite a fan of them.  I'm also not sure if they were all made by Mama, or possibly Mom made one too, but they definitely came down from that side of the family.  Kind of a strange cake, now that I think about it... but fun and I loooved it as a Barbie obsessed girl.  I doubt the Barbie cake is all that uncommon, but I know I don't see them on a regular basis, so it was kind of neat to see her in a NY bakery window.  Maybe I'll get one for my next birthday...isn't that what every 30-something wants? At least I'll know where to order it from...

Falling Leaves, Changing Colors

Wow.  Right this moment the setting sun is shining right down my street and highlighting every color of every leaf on the tree outside my window.  It is stunning.  As if the tree is on fire.  I've noticed that New York has been absolutely gorgeous over the past week.  The leaves are just at that place where much of them have fallen and the rest will fall any moment. The colors are at their most beautiful.  Even those scattered on the ground are vibrant in color. The hues seem to change throughout the day, deepening as the sunlight hits them from a new angle. It's sad that this most beautiful moment is so short, passing so quickly. I wish I could freeze the colors like they are now and look at them for months.  Maybe part of the beauty is that they are here for such a short time and have to be appreciated before they are gone.  Either way, I had to slow down several times this week to look at the beauty all around.  I bet we would all benefit from doing that more often.

Happy 11-11-11

Busy busy busy busy busy!!!
Anyone who thinks going back to school and keeping a job is easy is nuts!  No time for anything!

Had a big orchestra concert last week and spent this week in rehearsals for a concert of new music.  Last night I played in the premieres of two pieces - playing both clarinet and bass clarinet.  Tonight we repeat the concert at a different venue.

I'm enjoying being back in school and working much harder on my music...but it's CRAZY times!

Not enough space.

Twice a year I am faced with this ginormous task of switching out my clothes from one season to the next.  I kind of hate this task and I wait until the last possible moment to do it.  As the weather gets cool, I try to wear cute jackets over any 3/4 sleeve shirts I can come across, with the pants that stay out year round.  Usually there is a light scarf that will help me last another week into the fall.  But eventually that just doesn't cut it anymore and I need a sweater and am forced to do the big switch.  This entails standing atop a wobbly stool and pulling a ridiculously overstuffed army sized bag from the top of my small closet. Usually either the pulling out, or the pushing back up almost knocks me off the stool to a near death.  I always try to get rid of a few things to lighten the load, but I don't really have much excess.  My clothing purchases have dwindled greatly over the past few years, possibly inspired by the pains of moving stuff around?  Why is the only storage in my apartment up high?  I guess it represents New York.  No room to expand outwards...build up!

Anyway - I came across a few interesting ideas during my switcharoo this season.  First of all, somehow without busting down a wall and expanding my closet, I was able to install a hanging shelf organizer to hold my sweaters.  I'm not sure how it actually fit, and things are pretty tight, but I'll take it!  Having the sweaters in there opened up a shelf where I can now store all my music books for school, which were taking up a nice space on the floor.  And somehow by rearranging the stuff on top of the bookshelf I was able to store my big ol' bag o' summer clothes up there, which opened up a little square of space on the top shelf in my closet!  Wow.  I don't even know what to do with that space yet!  It's amazing.  I wonder if that's a sign of living in a New York apartment for a while.  If you sit and stare long enough, you will figure out a way to come up with just a little bit more space.  And that space will make an unbelievable difference.

The other idea, which is actually a question is: why do I have 3 billion hangers when only about 50 will fit in my closet?  Where did they all come from?  And shoes...there is just no good way to store all of my shoes.  Oh well.  I'm doing all right, I guess.

Perfectly Pumpkin

It is the time of the year to O.D. on pumpkin.  I love it!  I've been eating pumpkin flavored everything since it came on the scene a few weeks back.  I made pumpkin bread, had pumpkin donuts, pumpkin coffee, and pumpkin delights (thanks to Mom!).  I bought pumpkin spiced granola at Trader Joe's, but I haven't tried it yet.  Maybe tomorrow...or maybe I'll try it tonight! There is a pumpkin candle burning in the kitchen.
It may seem a little crazy, but pumpkin stuff is only here for a few months, so it's best to overdo it while you can.  I would like to have pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin soup.
And, of course... pumpkin pie!

Mini Pumpkins!

After writing and rereading this, I feel like "pumpkin" is kind of a funny word...

cooler outside = soup inside

Fall must officially be here, because I just made SOUP!!!  First thing this morning I ran out to the grocery store to purchase my goodies and came back to chop chop chop those veggies.  An hour or so later the apartment smells delicious and I have a big pot of my favorite lentil soup to get me through the weekend. All right!!!

From the Met to the Mets

This summer we tried to take advantage of the summer and the city and get out and do some different things.  Like going to the zoo, botanic gardens, beach, and white water rafting.  It was a lot of fun and a way to take little "staycations".  Most of our adventures were actually inspired by those coupon websites: Groupon and LivingSocial.  Those sites clutter my inbox with a lot of junk, but occasionally something good comes along.  Not only are the offers good because they give you a discount, but also because they make you think of things that you might not normally think of.  Also good for people like me, there is a time limit to purchase and use the coupon, so I can't put it off for long.

On a recent weekend I grabbed myself a Groupon to go to a Met's game!  The weather has been on the edge for a couple of weeks now, but that Saturday turned out to be a perfect day to take the train out to the stadium and watch a game from the nosebleed.  And for once, I went to a game where the team I was cheering for actually won!  I was nervous when half way through the game the score was still tied 0-0, but eventually it picked up, got a little exciting and then the Mets sent those Phillies packing!  It was a lot of fun!

Go team!!!