What does it mean when all the cups in a Beirut tournament contain nothing but water... are we getting old... have we lost our cool... or are we just more responsible and know that beer all over the floor is a lot less fun to clean up than water?

At Goodwill with my dear sister, we saw two jackets next to each other one with the well-known ubiquitous label "London Fog" and the other with the less well-known "British Mist."

There are days when being a woman is just really painful!

my very-very-old next door neighbor told me in a not-very-hushed whisper that "somebody on our street buys a lot of stuff from UPS, because I see that truck almost every day."

Today a bird crawled down my shirt and fell asleep.

why yes, i have had 10 year old popcorn on the cob freshly popped with salt and nutritional yeast

Christmas card making (THANK YOU AMANDA!) is only the first small step of sending them out.

As it turns out, sponge cake has only 3 ingredients in it, none of which is a sponge.
1 comment: four ingredients counting the 700 calories of whipped cream that you need to serve it with.

As I was toweling off after my morning shower, my door bell began to ring... and ring, and ring, and ring, so with my robe securely fastened, my feet in slippers, and my hair dripping wet, I tiptoed down two flights to find my down-stairs neighbor hopefully peering through the front door in her pajamas and shoe-less feet, more thrilled than ever to see that I was, in fact, home.

the total time i spent with doctors was only 10-15 min but total time in doctors office was more than 2 hours and 20 minutes by the parking meter.

This week has been incredibly fantastic for a multitude of small, yet meaningful occurrances, one of which took place yesterday when my new neighbor (Maryfaith) invited me up to her condo where I entered into an intriguing and moving discussion pertaining to Maryfaith's monthly energy healings, shambhala, the power of thought, and love.

Ice-cream sundaes for breakfast on sunday is a plus, and guy who smells sitting behind me for 3 hours on a bus is a negative so i guess today's a wash.

Well, all I can say is, I apologize for my lack of sentences this month... I could make excuses but that would probably be boring and not really beneficial to anyone, but I am back now and I will try to be better.

we did a hallelujah encore to the messiah today, and people were asked to sing along, and did so, but if you don't know the piece, and just try to sing whatever you think the melody is in your chosen range, it sounds really really weird.

don't you wish that when youre minorly sick with a headache or a light sniffle that you could choose to look the part and have people feel truly sorry for you?

partially solo recital made me so nervous, but was so worth it, for the last comment from the presenter "it's been a long time since i've heard a viola played so beautifully"

my mother sent me an advent calendar from austria, and it arrived just in time for today!

i got so excited about a certain soup and dessert party, that i literally spent hours reading through cookbooks for soup recipes that all sounded so good to me, and i ended up making bacon (and split pea) soup which was delicious but it wasnt from a recipe.

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.

OMy ability to mind-over-matter my way through a party was at it's best last night because after spending almost 7 hours socializing with both friends and strangers, I definitely experienced lunch and dinner for the second time at 5:30am (and no, I did not drink anything alcoholic at the party).

We all dressed up as a family for halloween, but when we took a picture we just looked like any other normal Austrian family dressed for a special occasion or festival.

If I was at a rally and wanted to see the stage, I don't think I would sit on top of a port-a-potty, but even more importantly, if I was at a rally, and I needed to go to the bathroom, I don't think I would go in a port-a-potty that had multiple butts on top of it.

For me, teaching someone a skill that I enjoy is almost as much fun as working at that skill myself.

I have earned my title of Italian grandmother without ever once having had grandchildren simply by pureeing rice with a garlic press and making ravioli from complete scratch with the most complicated tool being a rolling pin.

Is there ever a time when fighting is actually productive?

wonderful wonderful birthday party (two's a party!) with no baby and lots of outdoor hiking that tired me out so that i could only do 3 contra dances, and that with a break in the middle.

Today may or may not be the birthday of someone who may or may not also post regularly on this Live Journal. (YAY!!!)

brian's work used to have bagel fridays, but sometimes now they are on thursdays, and i always have fun if i drive him to work eating my free (free food *tastes* better) bagel in the car, and trying to figure out how much opium is left in the poppyseeds that get stuck between my teeth.

One more weekend of craziness and then I will have a full Saturday and Sunday completely free of plans!

i havent written in a long time and the mixture of guilt and non guilt stems from all the interesting things i have to say from my trip and from the amount of time i wanted to spend with my mom before she left until july (BUT NOW..... back to our regularly scheduled every day awesomeness)

I spoke Spanish for 5 straight hours today and I am proud to say, it went better than I thought it would, but I definitely need to beef up my vocabulary.

It was very difficult to say goodbye to a child and his family after working with them for almost a year and seeing them learn and grow together in such a positive and healthy way.

Some people are very good at making statistics talk for them so it is very important that you keep this in mind and always consider both sides to every argument.

In the Symphony Hall bathroom I witnessed a conversation between two women who were emphatically agreeing on the excellence of Beethoven's violin concerto, which we had just been performed, until Woman #1 said, "I'm sorry could you repeat that, I lost my hearing some time ago and need to see your lips," which I found rather puzzling considering the topic of their conversation.

I wouldn't consider myself a neurotic neat freak but there is a certain satisfaction that I get from cleaning my home... especially when I use scented cleaning products.

Last night I made my very first attempt at restringing my guitar (it went well I think), but then in the morning I had a note under my door saying that there have been a few problems in the building with noise violations and that tenants should refrain from playing musical instruments (among other things) after 11pm, though I don't think I am the only one who has been disturbing the peace because I realized that all of my neighbors received the same notice.

I was sooooo right about the day off thing... I feel GREAT today, and I have been singing all day long which is always a sign of holistic health for me.

I think that after working 5 days a week and spending the past 4 weekends running around and enjoying myself with wonderful friends, I am officially exhausted and really just need a day to collect myself and get a good night sleep.

I have a need to spend some quality time experiencing something artistic or engaging in an creating something that allows me to express myself in an artistic fashion, but what?

For the first time in our lives, Drew and I experienced a whoopee pie in the state of Maine.

It was a perfect day to explore some of the more "alternative" areas of Boston with my very wonderful friend.

I shared this ice cream magnificence that looked more like an Easter ham!

School buses always have the sign on the bumper that says "keep back 100 feet" but do you honestly think anyone driving in down town Boston is actually going to leave one hundred feet distance?

One of my 2-year-old local Boston clients picked up a box of blocks by its handle, told me it was his purse, and then said he was going to pick up some "Stah-bucks" for us.

My bird fell in the shower today (he often sits on the towel rack beside the tub while I shower in the morning) while trying to fly to my head, but once his wings got wet he lost his powers of flight and let me tell you, a wet bird is not a pretty sight.

I went to Salem, MA with Corey yesterday where we participated in a tour that left something to by desired, by one of the most uniquely scattered and random dudes I have ever met, whom we retrospectively named "Topher" since he managed to forget to provide us with his real name.

Boston Public Garden on a sunny Saturday in October means that every fifth woman you see is wearing a wedding gown and is being trailed by a parade of photographers and a disgruntled wedding party.

Perhaps you have a friend whom you go without seeing for weeks, months, maybe even years, but when at last you are back together again, it is as if you have only been apart for a few hours.

I consider it a great accomplishment that at 24 years of trials and tribulations, a thorough education, living in the "real world," experiencing heartache as well as great accomplishment, I am still able to derive such sincere joy from the simplest things... like the laughter of a 2 year old who has autism.

Every morning my bird calls me from my bed to come and play with him, but he has gotten to the point where he does not start chirping until he is sure I am awake, which he can tell by the sound of my movements; what a smart little animal.

Sometimes I am convinced that Mother Nature is incredibly empathetic; she picks the perfect days to cry.

It is not every day that I allow myself time to simply sit and experience a piece of music, and I say "experience" because when you have your headphones on (using headphones is the best way to listen with your whole body), and all of your energy is completely dedicated to attending to the sensations that are hitting your body through your ears, it truly is an experience.

Cold and rainy Monday's make me wish that I was wearing comfortable pants and that I was all wrapped up in someone else's arms.

 i have now bathed in a solid copper bathtub while listening to the rain drizzling down on the skylights

"Octoberfest" means 6,000 twenty-somethings crammed into the back lot of the Harpoon Brewery carrying the same Harpoon Brewery pint glass with oompa music being projected over the scene as it is performed by old German men wearing identical red vests.

only in new york city: church service with hundreds of dogs, a camel and a macaque and a turtle and (human) dancers with flowers in their hair?

This morning, I was early for the group that I run and when my boss saw me, she cheered and congratulated me the way your mom celebrates when you take your first ride on a training-wheel-free bike; maybe I should be early more often.

when somebody asks me what my favorite thing to eat is i never know what to say - do you?

This is the most binary-ish day I have ever seen: 10-01-10!

first day of october brings the start of packing for our austria trip next week, and a last violin lesson before i leave but unfortunately it doesn't bring taza chocolate since they don't carry it in every store in the nation, boo for having all the urban sprawl and not being able to use it.

Sometimes I forget that I live several miles from the coast and I find myself confusing the sound of wind in the trees for waves on the beach.

Found an overdue library movie behind the couch, and the irony is, i have 4 overdue library movies, all renewed once (2 weeks!) and we didn't even watch a single one, but we sure figured out how to hide them around our house for our treasure-hunting pleasure.

Watch the Amazing Race on CBS because one of my friends from high school is on it!!