This is the Title of an Uncreative Violinist.:)

So I am in my 11th week of pregnancy--11 weeks & 5 days-- and I had my very first experience with "morning sickness" this past Monday.  One day (and all night) only.  I had to cancel lessons, although I only had two regular students (both of whom were sympathetic and understanding).  What no teacher wants to hear--especially when they're not feeling well--is that some unexpected students showed up through a misunderstanding and missed message, and then you get an email from their guardian who doesn't even live in the same country as her wards, chewing you out for not being there when they showed up for lessons, even though you tried to reach them just in case. Any teachers out there who have experienced a little hostility or resentment by parents (or other such role, as this isn't even a parent) either over pregnancy, illness or because of your performance schedule?  I was chewed out for having all three, as this month is also busy for me with gigs, and I te...

Just popping in quickly to talk about my first ultrasound appointment! I went in yesterday and met my OB for the first time.  Truthfully, it was actually my first type of visit since I've never been to a gynecologist's office before either. I know, really bad. I was actually still undressing when she came in, so it was awkward, but she put me at ease and we laughed about it.  It was a very quick and succinct appointment (especially since I had minimal questions--couldn't think of any since I've been reading up a storm on the internet) where she did a pap smear and then an internal ultrasound. Until that moment, I honestly was wondering if anything was in there; I'm grateful that I haven't been sick at all, but at the same time, I was concerned.  But there it was!  A real baby in there... moving and with a strong heartbeat.  That was a surreal moment, and now I understand what other mothers feel!  No longer a skeptic :) Excuse the coyote magnet... ...

Just a quickie update here! Can't remember exactly when I last posted, but I think it was a month ago maybe?  Anyway, I'm almost 10 weeks along and so far I have really felt... nothing. Ha.  No nausea still, no hard hitting cravings or aversions, but I will say that I have become VERY picky with food.  And that is a noticeable change because previously I have eaten anything AND everything in sight.  I am normally the least pickiest eater in the room.  And while I normally really enjoy looking up new recipes and trying them out in the kitchen... the past few weeks I've resorted to take out and even completely boring stuff like boxed mac and cheese and peanut butter sandwiches which I NEVER EVER make.  My husband even stared at them saying, "what's this.... beige stuff?". I just have temporarily lost my desire to cook. I am concerned that my love of vegetables has left me, because I really need those more than ever right now.  But I am eating more fru...

So... apparently, I have little patience and find myself getting antsier with each passing day about whether I should or shouldn't share my news.  After a lot of thought, I've decided that I really need this blog more than ever to record every detail and memory at this time so I can cherish and look back at everything in the years to come--as well as learn from my experiences, whether they be good or bad. Traditionally, society tells women to not share this type of news until at or after 12 weeks.  That's right-- I'm pregnant!  I am well under 12 weeks, so because of that I've been very hesitant to get too excited or share with too many people, especially on social media where news travels super fast (and to those I may or may not know that well, too). How far along am I? I am around seven weeks according to the date of my last period (when I called the OBGYN's office to make my first prenatal appointment, they asked me this to estimate my due date) and my...

So tomorrow is November 1st and I haven't written anything in over a month.  What have I been doing?  Well, the biggest thing that happened during October was the Columbus half marathon which I ran (with nearly no training, unfortunately) a few weeks ago.  I was pretty nervous about it but ended up running it slightly faster (I think?) than my last half marathon, which was the Cincinnati Flying Pig in 2012.  That was a terrible day in that I felt pretty awful physically.  So even though I felt MUCH better for this last half, the no-training-part kind of made both experiences equal, I suppose.  Still, I had always wanted to try the Columbus half, I did it--and maaaybbee I'll do it again, but who knows.  Not sure how I'll feel about it next year. Then this past weekend, some old friends from college and their two young kids visited from Cincinnati and spent a good three days with us, so the house was filled with quite a bit of noise (our dogs...

I had this past Monday and Tuesday off so I could have some time to entertain my good college buddy (the one who got married last summer in Colorado) who was in Ohio for someone else's wedding over the weekend.  Originally, the plan was for her to come on Sunday afternoon and spend Monday and Tuesday here (with plans to visit Cincinnati somewhere in there) but then we thought it made more sense for her to go to Cincinnati before coming here.  In the end, I was so happy it worked out that way, because I had NO time whatsoever over the weekend to clean the house or do anything, really.  I had two rehearsals and two concerts Friday and Sunday; I taught literally all day Saturday.  So when I had Monday all to myself, it was a wonderful change to know I had nowhere to be but home, and could take my time cleaning and grocery shopping. By the time my friend and her husband arrived at midnight Monday, the house was quiet and ready for her visit! Wow, did I miss her!  ...

Have to make this short as I need to start cleaning ASAP for out of town guests coming later. Since September started, things have increasingly gotten busier:  more students, more rehearsals/concerts, more practicing... more everything.  Arrrghghgh!  I love Fall so much, but I wish it could be a season of "slowing down" rather than speeding up.  I'm all for slowing down. Ooh, also keep forgetting that I signed up for the Columbus half marathon way back in February, and back then it felt like I had forever to train for it... and it's coming up in a few weeks.  Yessss.  I am SO not ready.  I went on a few measly, slow and scant runs the past few weeks that were not too encouraging.  However, I am pinning my hopes on the fact that the last half marathon I completed was in a very hilly city (Cincinnati) AND got slammed with my period basically on race day and was frieking miserable the whole time and STILL finished at a decent time, even with 3 re...

House organizing, cleaning and decorating is coming along.  Slowly, but surely.  I still feel hesitant to post pictures of every room, since they're still not complete or how I would like them to be.  One room that I do love walking by (and it's hard not to, since it's on the main floor) is the living area: I absolutely love the plantation shutters, oak floors and how light and airy everything is.  Even though I'm not a huge fan of "open concept" I do like how there is a definite space for each room even as they still spill into each other: Looking at entry way from upper level Galley kitchen   Picture taken at night with shutters closed   Right now, those are the most "completed" areas, although I'm searching for a small table to put in the entry way to replace the shoe rack.  Every day, I think of something else I need or want to get for each room!  Ahhh. That's it for now.  I can already tell this home-own...

Good morning! So we closed on our house last Friday morning, and immediately began moving stuff in.  We spent the next three days moving and my parents came Saturday afternoon and left yesterday around noon.  We couldn't have done it so efficiently without their help.  Sunday afternoon, the hubs' coworkers came to help move the heavy stuff and they really got the job done quickly!  I made a trip to our old apartment to grab more stuff, thinking I'd get back in time to have pizza with all of them, only to come back and discover they were already finished, ate and had left. My mom and I did a lot of cleaning (well, SHE did, lol...I also cleaned a lot, but had to organize and put everything away) and I'm so grateful she crushed the kitchen area, since I hate cleaning kitchens (especially after someone else has lived there). Anyway, I took "before" pictures when the house was completely empty right after we closed; we've mostly put everything away, excep...

Less than 24 hours until we close on our new home!  I'm a little impatient, so here is one pic of the soon-to-be home: We did the final walk-through last night; we weren't too thrilled to discover that some of the carpet looked to be in worse condition than originally thought, due to the owner's furniture covering those spots up.  We also (to Ryan's dismay) discovered a hidden crawl space we didn't know existed (and most likely the inspector didn't notice, either) that led to a view of the foundation which had large cracks in it!  Sigh, I am trying to stay on the positive side and hope the owners have a reasonable explanation for that.  At this point, of course, we are all in and couldn't back out even if we wanted to.  Everything else looked in fine shape, so that is good.  I am still excited to move in and make it our own. Last week, we got an email from the sellers inviting us to the neighborhood cookout that our new neighbors are throwing as a ...

Hey!  Just a quickie update since I need to get ready and out the door soon... We are coming to the end of our stay in the temporary, tiny apartment, and are looking forward to closing on the new house nearly a week from today!!! Wow.  It feels like it was forever and a day since we started the house selling/buying process back in April--and also feels like it's been a mere few weeks at the same time.  A real whirlwind process.  I'm very, very thankful that our condo sold first before we discovered a home we loved.  That does not happen very often and I know a lot of people who can be in a real bind because of it. So thankful. In the meantime, life is still going as usual:  trying to be a good housewife and cook more than I get take out (I write this no less than 12 hours after I resorted to Cane's Chicken for dinner last night!!) which is probably a 70/30 ratio... that's still good, right?!?!  Trying to work out more, read more, focus more on my ...

Today is Lazy Sunday.  Actually, this whole 3-day weekend was pretty lazy.  For the Fourth, some friends invited us over for a cookout; it was lovely, I didn't have to make one single thing, and the hostess was an excellent griller/chef!  Grass-fed beef, brioche buns, tomato salad drizzled with balsamic and goat cheese, tasty guacamole and chips and veggies with dip.  We lazed around talking until we thought it was time to go get some Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.  Besides the OSU Buckeyes, Columbus is probably also known for Jeni's, which was started here and we are lucky to have one at nearly every turn in the city.  They have a seasonal flavor that I tried and loved--Saison with Sunflower seed and Golden Flax.  I love any kind of seed in my ice cream :). Also got their Black Coffee.  I usually rotate between the Queen City Cayenne, Black Coffee and  Whiskey and Pecans flavors.  You can view more flavors here as well as see if there is ...

So we finally closed on our place yesterday!  Now, we just need to worry about finding a house.  We are actually all set for an inspection on one tomorrow morning... but after three or four houses that fell through--one we were in contract with, but had to walk away after a not-so-great inspection--in the last two or so months...I am so hesitant to act definite about anything. I've learned so much these past few months about the housing market and what kind of unknowns there really are.  One can never be sure about anything these days.  So until all our stuff is actually in the new place, and we've signed all documents--I won't be mentioning or posting any pics of houses any time soon. Ryan and I spent nearly 10 hours both Saturday and Sunday trying to make this place shine.  Our next door neighbor was scratching his head at us, even asking, "Why are you guys cleaning? You already sold the place!". Like I said before, you can never be sure of anything and we ...

So just like many of my many favorite bloggers out there, I too, seem to be slowly falling off the face of the earth. I'm still here.  Just like I know you all are out there somewhere, too.  We all have lives, and taking some extra time to sit down and type out stuff that sometimes you think: "who the heck even cares to read this... why should I even care?" seems too insignificant and bothersome in light of the real stuff that we need to tend to in our everyday lives. But then, writing can be therapeutic and purging.  Not that you have to write about anything personal--but just getting something out there can be a surprisingly gratifying release. I know I mentioned we were in the process of selling our condo and looking for a house.  We're now in the middle stage of all that. Sitting on the patio of our temporary apartment, typing away. We thought we would be waiting for a very long time to sell our condo, but as it turned out, the opposite problem happ...

Update as of July:  I received another FB message not long ago from this photographer with disappointing news that the author, Patrick Ness, did NOT approve of the cover photo for the Dutch edition of this book. Ha!  Oh well.  My "15 Minutes"... wasn't even that. It's O.K. though.  I have more than enough photos by this photographer sitting in a box waiting to be framed for the new house--not really necessary for it to be on a book cover... but it was a little exciting while it lasted! Three years ago, I did a photo shoot with a fabulous local photographer as a little pet project of hers.  You can't see the original photo that I posted here,  unfortunately, due to copyrights, BUT, this morning I found a message from her on Facebook telling me that one of the images she took made it on the cover of the Dutch version of "The Crane Wife" by Patrick Ness. SO random, but delightful! I am dying to get my hands on a copy--how often is it that one can...

Over two weeks since my last post.  In that amount of time, I've: Attempted to begin half marathon training for the Columbus half I signed up for in October (and I'm not really worried so much about completing it--I've done halfies before--but I'd like to perform better) last week... and failed miserably with only two runs completed.  The last, of which, was stupid because I pushed myself too far and did a 7 miler that was supposed to be a 3 miler, and ended up hurting my knee. Celebrated Easter weekend with continuous church performances from Friday thru Sunday.  Had family over and made an AWESOME beef brisket (actually set an alarm for 2am Sunday morning so I could get that thing out of the oven!) Did some house hunting.  Actually made an offer just recently, but we are not hopeful about their accepting it.  We shall see what happens... Made some tasty meals via Pinterest (will have to post about that later) So, other than the house stu...

I had a friend over today who is moving to Latvia.  I love any excuse to cook/make food for friends, so I thought chicken salad sandwiches would be perfect, along with the usual hors d' oeuvres of crackers and cheese and a Caprese salad kabob idea I saw on Pinterest. Per usual, I forgot to take pictures of the main food, but here is a link to the recipe I followed for the chicken salad, which was quite tasty: Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad And for the Caprese salad kabobs, I just used grape tomatoes, basil and mozzarella balls from Trader Joe's. So simple, but really delicious and perfect for Spring time:     But what I was REALLY excited for was this:     Strawberries and cream cake!!!  The first cake I've made in a long time.  Turned out rather well, I think.  I was so proud of it!  Stayed up until 1AM making it, but it was worth it.   Along with some Trader Joe's wine and a game of Scattegories, it...

For six out of seven days this past week, I managed to cook our meals and not resort to take-out.  The exception was Saturday night (last night) when we went to Melt Bar and Grilled in downtown Cubs with some friends.  Ahh, so much fun!  We just don't get to hang out with people too much these days.  Everyone has kids (and lives, lol) so it's just not always possible for everyone's schedules to coordinate. I didn't always remember to take pictures, so I'll just post some links to the recipes I made. Sunday:    Spicy Stewed Beef with Creamy Grits Monday:  Leftovers!  [the stewed beef recipe made soooo much, next time I'll need to cut it in half] Tuesday:  Leftovers again! But left out the grits as we were getting sick of it and replaced it with side of veggies. Wednesday:  Apricot Chicken with Almonds and a Southwest couscous salad with roasted Brussels sprouts. Thursday:  BLTE's.  No recipe--just used horserad...

Yikes, almost 3 weeks since my last post?  Unacceptable!  Truthfully, I'm trying so hard to be more productive throughout the day and along with being "productive" in my book, is less time spent on electronic devices.  Don't get me wrong--I still LOVE reading my favorite blogs, but somehow, it seems like all my favorite ones have gotten the same itch I have to *gasp* start living life, too.  So, by default, since some of my favorite ones have either gone defunct, private or just not posting as often, I have fewer blogs to read which = MORE time doing "real life" things! Also, it could be that a lot of bloggers I like happen to be more or less the same age I am, and I've definitely noticed some changes in myself since reaching my 30's.  I have less tolerance for idle time, have got a LOT on my every day to-do lists, and my husband and I are pretty much consumed with our life goals of improving our situation in order to start a family with the least ...

Currently, I'm recovering from a cold.  I took the last two days off and will be doing a couple of hours worth of makeup lessons this Saturday morning. I really hate being sick.  Hate it!  I'm not sure if everyone feels this way when they're sick, but ever since I can remember, I've always craved extra healthy foods when sick.  I try to be good about my fruit and veggies intake (but don't always make it) as well as drinking more water (also bad about that), but somehow, when I'm under the weather, my body is literally screaming for just the good stuff.  Anything green, lots of vitamin c and tons of water and tea.  When I'm feeling normal on any given day, I'll typically drink coffee and coke zero. I've cut back on the soda drastically, but once in awhile, I enjoy it when I'm parched.  Today, the thought of it made me go "ick". I certainly wish I could eat as healthily as I do when I'm feeling under the weather, but I'll be g...