Living life..and trying some cupcakes, too.

It's already the middle of October and I want Fall to last as long as possible!  I decorated my front stoop in September and my mums are already dying :(  I also had stuck paper bats on my two front pillars, which looked really cool, until it rained hard a few days in a row and that was the end of that.

And less than a week from now, I'll be celebrating our seven year wedding anniversary. Yikes! Where does the time go, seriously?  As of now, we don't have any plans, although I always think we should do something extra special with each passing year.  It's just not a great time to go on a long trip as we're both pretty busy with our jobs (me: teaching, orchestras, gigs; him: a training program at work on top of his regular work load which = 12 + hour days. Yuck).  We usually save our big trips for the summer, and that's already happened this year.

The home studio has expanded more than I expected.  I didn't really want to teach too many students in my home, as I'd like to still preserve some personal time for other things that need to get done; but some parents literally begged me to take their kids as students and I have a hard time saying "no" (as we all know, already!) so I kissed goodbye to my sole week day off back in August.  It sure was nice having that one day off in the middle of the week all last year.

So what else is new?  Just got done with a performance over the weekend with my community orchestra playing Beethoven's 9th; two upcoming student Fall recitals; need to think about starting my Christmas shopping by the time November rolls around (yes, I always say that, but don't actually get started with my shopping until the week before Christmas); and just trying to stay on top of everything else that requires never-ending maintenance, like house cleaning, personal fitness, attempting to create healthy meals and trying not to suck too badly at playing the violin.  I tell you-- it really just gets harder and harder as you get older.  I'm already feeling it.

Part of me says to just go all in when it comes to the violin: get up at 5:30am (like I did a few times before the concert) and get the practicing done before the sun rises, keep at it every single day no matter what; the other part--the devil on my shoulder-- says "what's the point?" It's too late to put that kind of work in and you've already lost a significant chunk of time where you should have done that kind of work in order to absorb everything.

In the end though, just like everything else, I realize it's wasteful to even be thinking thoughts like the latter.  It's a struggle for me to realize and appreciate the art of "enjoying the process".  Whether it's running or working out and hating it, just wishing that I could possess a killer body without the work (I know, crazy talk)-- or hating how I sound when I simply play a G Major scale, wondering why I can't just breeze through the Brahms Violin Concerto already.  That is the real problem.  Longing for the result without paying any real attention to current process.  Every day is a process, and I guess that's what keeps life chugging along, right?

Can I change the subject to something perhaps a little more pleasant? Like, cupcakes?

Not my own picture

I ventured into Whole Foods yesterday after a failed attempt to retrieve a cupcake from a cupcake bakery as a goodbye gift to a fellow teacher, only to find it was closed on Monday.  I hardly ever go to Whole Foods, partly because there isn't one extremely close to me (although there's a rumor that one will soon open at Easton) but also because I feel like I'd probably end up spending three times as much as I normally do on our grocery bill anywhere else.
What I've discovered through roaming the aisles at WF is that there are certain things that are probably comparable to TJs or my normal grocery, and I just have to pick and choose what I'd like to get.  There's also no denying that the quality there is great.
So anyway, I got two cupcakes, one for moi and one for my friend.  I tried the pistachio cupcake--it was alright.  I got the maple pecan for my friend, which looked SOO much better, so I may have to get that for myself next visit.
Apparently, my husband also frequents WF for lunch with his coworkers on occasion.  This amused me the first time I heard about it.  If you know my husband, you would understand why.  This is the guy who refuses to go to a certain restaurant in a certain part of Columbus because there are "too many crunchy people there".  Realistically though, can you ever really avoid "crunchy" people?  Might as well embrace it and enjoy some Whole Foods while you're at it!

Okay.  Just got done with a sweaty row, so I need to shower and get ready for my teaching day. I may even pop into WF for our dinner tonight.  Lately, I just lack the creativity for coming up with good meals for our dinner each night.

Any ideas on what I should do for my 7 year anniversary?
Can you give me some good dinner recipes/ideas that have worked for you?
What do you prefer to read more about: Me eating cupcakes, or how I hate to practice the violin?

Feedback much appreciated!