the preconcert jitters got heightened when i listened to a recording of what i was playing for the first time and didn't agree with what they had to say in their interpretation (the very reason i stopped listening to recordings a few years ago)

the kind of pre-concert pep talk i would give is not the kind of pep talk i was sorry to hear today: (not directed at me) "you guys sound terrible, so when people tell you after the concert how nice it sounded, remember, the room is flattering and that you need to prepare your music next time"

Coffee at 6pm backfired yesterday (though I usually don't have much effect from caffeine) and had me practicing at 2am this morning and writing in all kinds of markings in my music, all of which made a lot of sense at the time and some of which i erased in confusion when i awoke.

back in civilization with all kinds of Thanksgiving leftovers and none of the usual clean-up - what a joy!

Slept in a sleeping bag or two last night and proceeded this morning with upstate New York Thanksgiving mostly out-of-doors (minus running water and electricity), with Turkey-on-a-spit and gravy over the fire and pies in a reflector oven and everything turned out great and my father even wore a Thai tie for the occasion.

I was the queen of one-armed cooking all day today.

I was preparing a short statement about a Telemann Fantasia that I'll be playing soon, and completely made up a fact, looked to find the truth, and found that my made up fact was in fact fact.

after a hard day of being double booked twice and scheduling myself to the brim for the rest of it, contra dance was the perfect thing to bring my spirits up, and then drew's spontaneous songs brought my spirits even higher.

Yesterday tapas for dinner (YAY bri steve joe ivy & ben!) and today snacks for dinner (YAY concert, amanda & ben) so maybe tomorrow i should eat real food between my teaching schedule and two back to back rehearsals.

Banana bread and banana bread beer for lunch - for real...... and we've been planning this for months.

I know this is America, the land of patriotism, but we are also the land of having random holidays and months, like Pizza month, and Talk-Like-a-Pirate day, so I designate today as National AUSTRIA month - pumpkin seed oil for all!

In my hazy not-really-awake stage at 3am, I truly asked Brian "why did you put Theo down standing up?" instead of thinking maybe the kid has finally learned to pull himself up on his own.

had a conductor with negative competence today; in fact, he took a perfectly wonderful group of players who were playing a piece of music that everyone already knew and had played before, and created a beat pattern so difficult to follow that we couldn't even get all the way through it in rehearsal.

Today i tried to use the word "fortuitous" as many times as i could - it's an SAT word my sister looked up - and it got stuck in my head.

one of my students today was so cute when i told her she did something "just right" and promptly told me the entire story of goldilocks and the three bears, and then followed that with her own version where the bears visit goldilocks' home and find that nothing is really right for them and where goldilocks scares them all away when she finds them there.

"helping" amanda (as much as pregnant baby with child can) move into her new apartment (JP!!) made me realize how much of my own stuff i want to just get rid of and while i hold such irrational sentimental attachment to these random things i don't want to ever have to move them.

When i drive even short distances at night I stay in the car when I arrive at home and sleep and it feels so good but the awakening is sooo sad.

it's all backwards when you leave for a dance too tired, become energetic during the dance, energetic enough to go to a sleepover (traditional spontaneous moving-amanda-into-her-new-apartment sleepover), from which you emerge the next day tired.

i read 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed and theo got excited and started bouncing around and when i said "one fell off and bumped his head" he fell down and bumped his head, so i started laughing and he gave me a really confused look and then started laughing hysterically.

I'm trying to grow out my toenails so I can cut them off straight (also i'm obsessed with cutting nails too short) but they keep chipping and breaking oh noes!

I am really enjoying all of these binary days... today is 3 2 2 (11/10/10).

I am moving this weekend, and although I'm not completely excited about transferring all of my possessions from one side of town to the other, I can not WAIT to be in my new place!!

theos first word is officially "geige" which is german for "violin"

what are the chances that when there are 3 uncut fresh delicious pumpkin pies on the table waiting for you that you will want to make a chocolate cake? (i ended up having both! :))

Before they changed daylight savings time the best birthday present of all was to get an extra hour of birthday time but I still like getting an extra hour not on my birthday, though by the time March rolls around, I've come to resent that I have to eventually give that hour back.

I would really love to recount a chat that some guy initiated with me because this dude's opening line was full of inappropriate ridiculousness and I feel like my response was pretty fantastic, but as the lines exchanged were not quite PG, I will have to leave you wondering (or you can ask me and I'll share it with you privately).

Bananas, pineapples and butternut squash are available all year round, but somehow, in New England, pumpkin is a "seasonal" flavor.

I should be reveling in my free, unplanned, uncommitted weekend, but I think I have forgotten how to do "nothing" and I find myself feeling a little depressed instead of relaxed.

twelve hours of sleep feels so good that it should be against the law.

My Christmas planning has begun (as have the Christmas Carols in select stores... personally I think it is a little too early for "Deck The Halls"), and I'm already really excited to give my sister her present!!

a lady sat next to me at an evening concert at a church holding a dog in a little dog carrier next to her chest and looked at me holding my baby, smiled, and said: "oh how nice, you have one too!"

Being back in a learning atmosphere is so refreshing and I find myself feeling re-energized and enthusiastic about my job!

Today I completely seriously wrote "3 NOV 2008" on a student's assignment book and she looked at me and said "You know it's not just 2010 right? it's actually already almost 2011."

How did tank tops and flip-flops turn into fuzzy boots, a down jacket, gloves, and ear muffs so quickly?

a flat tire on the way to the polls is how we knew our vote didn't matter.

Pop culture can be so silly!

Can it be that one simple conversation puts to rest months of discussions, arguments, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and tears?

If there's someone on your list whom you're hesitant to call, because it's been "too long" just call because sometimes they are sitting around waiting and wondering if it would be too awkward to call you too, you should probably call them now.