This is the Title of an Uncreative Violinist.:)

How is it possible that a whole week has passed since we were getting ready to leave for Thanksgiving break?  It was all seriously a blur.  We arrived in Canton late and I got up fairly early (although not as early as I had hoped) to start preparing my side dishes.  In the end, I didn't have enough time to make the two pies I had wanted to make, but it turned out alright because there was more than enough food and the guests ended up bringing unexpected desserts of their own. I made brussels sprouts gratin, pureed turnips with thyme, sweet potato pecan casserole, and homemade bread rolls.  The turnips were my favorite thing that I made and I'll definitely make them again in the future.  The rest of the break was spent mostly at home with the family.  There was one day in there that I didn't leave the house due to, ahem, feminine issues.  My family and husband have quickly learned that I am utterly useless on that one particular day every month.  ...

I know I've been MIA, but I wanted to drop a quick post before I go out of town and am absent even more.  Or maybe not--I may find myself twiddling my thumbs while at my parents house and wander over to the computer and write a super interesting post about how much food I ate over the holiday weekend. Anyways, I have today off because I squished all my students into Monday and Tuesday so I wouldn't have to be stressed about all the things on my to-do list.  Originally, I had this grand plan to make ALL the dishes and desserts I'm making for T-day in advance, but then I remembered that it would be more of a hassle to load food into my car along with three individuals' worth of luggage, three furry animals (and one that sheds--my brother's cat, ick) a PS3 system and recording equipment (what the heck? my brother insisted).  So I just decided I will get up at the butt crack of dawn and start chopping/boiling/baking and hope that it's all ready by the time guests ...

Yesterday, as I was teaching, I was thinking to myself how amazing it is that literally each and every one of my students (I have around 35 right now--the number has dropped considerably since summer) have their own unique personality and how differently they all behave during their lessons.  For students who have been with me for more than half a year, I more or less know what to expect as far as their attention span, their reactions and gestures, etc.  I've been noticing, however, that one quirk that sort of gets under my skin that quite a few students do, is watching my face AS they're playing.  And it totally gets in the way of their playing because they are so focused on reading my facial gestures to gauge whether they're playing well or not--it's both annoying and hilarious.  If it gets really bad, I usually make a comment about it in the nicest way possible (I really don't want to crush their innocent spirit or change who they are), usually in a joking way s...

Monica from Run Eat Repeat did a "7 Random Things About Me" post and asked her readers to do the same.  Since I didn't want to take up too much space, thought I'd do it on here.  Here goes: 1.  The thing I get asked the most by strangers when I'm out and about is "What nationality are you?"  In the past, I never knew how to answer it b/c I didn't feel like going through every single nationality.  I soon learned that there's a term for mutts like myself and the specific backgrounds we have: I'm eurasian!  Half Chinese and a smattering of a few European ancestors.  Even though my mom is from Argentina, that really isn't an ethnicity as that country inhabits immigrants from mostly Italy and Spain. 2.  I seriously think that if I weren't a musician, I'd enjoy being a repo agent or a detective because I'm good at tracking down people who don't want to be found, and/or finding out useless facts about them when most people c...

Well, there it is.  I missed practically a week of postings.  Maybe I should take the easy way out and just make a list of 30 things I'm thankful for in just one post.  Is that alright? I was out of town this weekend on an impromptu trip to Middletown to visit the in-laws and didn't really have the time or adequate access to the internet. I keep seeing Facebook statuses saying their Christmas decorations are already all up.  What the heck?! It's not even Thanksgiving yet!  I mean, it's almost here and I can't wait, but seriously, how about waiting a week and a half for one holiday to pass before getting started on the next one?  Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'm so excited to prepare a plethora of side dishes at my parents' home.  I've gushed recently about brussel sprouts and I'm definitely going to make that this year. Every year, I say I'm going to get a head start on my Christmas shopping (NOT decorating, those are two different things, I sa...

I'm doing such a bad job of religiously posting my 30 things...this is turning out to be a "20 something Things I'm Grateful For"--sorry!  I'm just not used to posting every single day and let's face it--there are some days I'm just busier and I forget to do it. It's a perfect day today and I just got back home from voting.  Eager to find out the results, although I have a feeling I know how it will turn out.  Regardless of the results-- I'm thankful for the right to vote .  Around election season, I tend to get riled up by comments on Facebook (I know, I'm STILL on FB) and I really hate that.  I try to imagine if I'd let myself get that worked up if faced with some people in person, and I don't imagine that I would.  Maybe a little, but not to the extent that a social network allows for.  I need to remind myself that that is what is so great about our country--we all have different opinions and worldviews, but we're perfectly fre...

Today was a pretty relatively slow and stress-free day.  Arrived at Central Presbyterian in downtown Columbus for a quick rehearsal and performance for what was apparently the last service there before they close their doors.  The church is a historical landmark, but sadly has suffered a loss in size of their congregation so they can no longer maintain the church.  It's sad.  I have no idea what will happen to it, but I suppose playing Vivaldi's Gloria with choir was a nice way to hold their last service. After, I stopped by Easton town center to get in a quick look at some of my favorite stores, but I only left with one pair of black slacks which is just another boring item to add to my collection of concert attire.  I'm not really into any of the trends I'm seeing this season--or maybe they just don't look great on me.  Either way, leisure shopping has become a chore for me in recent years, so unless I go with a friend, I probably won't be doing that a...

I was tired after coming home from teaching last night, and the hubs had a tiny nerd get-together at our place, so I just crawled into bed.  Today, I went to a student's chamber concert and then ran around doing different errands.  Tomorrow morning, I'm up bright and early for a small rehearsal and performance for a church service downtown. Before I go to bed, however, I do want to say how thankful I am for my students.  I love them all and I have a great group of kids this year.  There are an exclusive number of kids that have been with me long term and are dedicated to sticking with me (until they're ready to move on), but the majority of my studio each year experiences a regular turnover, and I'm so lucky that each one brings a unique and entertaining personality to their lesson each week!  They definitely teach me so much more than I expect and they motivate me to continually improve myself as a teacher and musician so I can give them my best. On a com...

I won't be writing much since I don't really have a lot to say, but I did want to check in with #3 (or #4 technically since I 'accidentally' started this on the 31st) of "things I'm grateful for". I'm SO thankful for my car.  It sounds arbitrary, I know--but try to imagine your life (unless you live in a big city) without one.  I find it so incredibly difficult to imagine what life must have been like over a hundred years ago.  Isn't it funny how far our society has come technologically speaking, and yet, I feel like our intelligence and education has heavily spiraled downward compared to people at the turn of the 20th century. At any rate, I remember what it was like to be without a car for a few miserable days when I got myself into a small car wreck 2 years ago.  My parents graciously lent me their car while we shopped around for another one, and we were also incredibly lucky when the insurance came through and we were given more than what w...

This sounds absolutely awful and is probably the complete opposite of a lot of modern marriages today, but for the most part, my husband handles the finances in our household and I tend to not really know what's going on.  It's not that he hides it from me or thinks I'm not capable of understanding it, but I just don't ask and sometimes certain things go over my head (investments, Roth IRA, etc.) so I find it easier to just ignore it.  This is something that I definitely want to change because I realize that at any moment, I could very well be on my own--God forbid something should happen to Ryan--and have to deal with all of this myself.  Also, I'm growing a little tired of my own tendency to walk away from things when I don't completely understand them at first.  It's such a bad habit. ANYWAYS.  Up until recently, I was under the impression that we had some debt and not a lot in savings.  I was very wrong.  My husband just disclosed to me today that...

I went for a nice short, slow run Sunday afternoon and I felt pretty normal afterward.  I still am not sure if I could ever handle a truly long distance (anything longer than a half marathon) without injuring myself, but perhaps the key for me is to be a lot more consistent and take in the miles gradually.  It's possible that my routine of sporadically running here and there and changing up the mileage each time was a lot worse for my body than I thought.  As the temperature drops, I'll probably be finding myself going to our gym and using the treadmill (which I absolutely hate); I thought about joining the local Urban Active just to use the indoor running track, but running in circles might drive me even more crazy than the treadmill.  At least I can watch TV while using the TM. Our evening entertainment tonight is an Austrian film based on a true story.  The Robber ( Der Rauber) is about a marathoner who robs banks.  When my husband selected it on Netf...

Hannah from HANNAHVIOLIN is posting one thing she's thankful for each day for the month of November.  I think it's a good idea and will join her in doing the same.  Although I'm not consistent with posting something every day, it will force me to take a closer look at how fortunate and blessed I really am.  And yes, I know I should be thankful for what I have every day of the year, but for the eye rollers and party poopers out there, I think major holidays are especially good for precisely these kinds of things.  Perhaps they are viewed at as cliche, but I think they serve a purpose and greater meaning. So.  The first thing that comes to my mind that I'm thankful for (and the order of my "things" are completely random as I think of them) is that I have a job.  I was thinking about this on my drive home from teaching today; when one thinks of a successful career or being gainfully employed, becoming a musician isn't really the first thing on their list....