Some people don't like taking home left-overs when they eat out, but I always look forward to lunch the next day when I know there is a tasty treat from yesterday's meal waiting for me in the fridge.

friday off 5 years ago meant all day in bed followed by some swing dancing, but today it meant soaking in the sun with some spring cleaning and having dinner of questionable origins brought over by our 94 year old neighbor.

The greatest part about this whole broken ankle thing, is that I get to wear my favorite socks for two full days, instead of just one!

There seem to be so many technicalities that get in the way of progress these days.

a long day of doctor, feverish child, two rehearsals and 4 hours of driving, so there is nothing too fun to relate.

All this time at home means that I have so much time to write, though I somehow managed to forget my one sentence for a few days there.

definitely not flattered by the nice ice-cream shop guy asking if i wanted a spoon when i bought two pints, on my way to watch scott pilgrim with keith and alisons growing family

I went to the gym today (crutches and all) and ended up chatting almost as much as working out with all the people who wanted to talk to me about what I did to my foot, and THEN, one of the gym managers offered me a free hydromassage... so much for cardio!

losing a check made me really anxious and worried but a nice janitor found me to personally give it back to me. (what should i give him as a thank you??)

spending the night in worcester with brian in wilmington is so lonesome, even though i am surrounded by people.

easter is always a time of renewal in so many ways.

went to a shower in a shower of rain, and brought back balloons, lilies, washcloths, and chocolate - how does that make any sense?

My parents and I were the talk of the Jewish deli that we stopped at for dinner as I crutched up to the table with my excessively casted foot and my bird sat at the table with us, tweeting (not to be confused with posting on a social networking site) to the family of four next to us.

Thank you, Amanda's work, for the lovely flowers you sent, after Amanda went home to NJ - I will enjoy them and take care of them.

It's nice to be in the company of a good friend you are feeling somewhat lame-ish (a good friend who may also be having some lame problems of her own), especially when the endlessly entertaining and lovely family of that good friend come over to visit for a while!

My quartet needs a morality booster. (haha)

I definitely did a lot of sleeping today, which hopefully means I also did a lot of healing today and I'm pleased to report that I have not had to take any pain killers since the early morning.

A cold blustery April day with occasional showers is the perfect day to play some music and hang out watching movies.

I am continually amazed at the kindness and selflessness of my friends... they make my life rich!

Amanda is staying with me while her destroyed foot heals, and she is inspiring with how happy and humorously she is treating the situation.

4:30 wakeup call for brian to volunteer for the boston marathon means i get extra practicing in, but it also means that our day is time-skewed enough that we arrive too *early* to get any ice-cream at the local ice-cream place.

I am officially a bionic woman with a plate and 10 screws in my right ankle, and I've been told that the x-ray, when shrunk looks much like dock on a peaceful lake.

havent been answering my phone all weekend only to discover i missed a non-life-threatening major surgery and several (more fun) other things.

Hard things become so much more manageable when the people you love are close.

theo watches the windchimes make noise in the breeze (or in this case, thunderstorm) and conducts them.

Sometimes a simple workout and a little balancing activity results in ankles pointing 90 degrees in the wrong direction.

I cross the street and jog along the cracked pavement of the arboretum where, even in the middle of April, Conifer Trail rekindles the warm feeling of Christmas as the scent of evergreens fills the air.

maryland family adventures include the driveway being completely washed out in a day's worth of rain, thrift and health-food shopping, and making our own homemade icecream and soymilk with a vitamix.

Brian's Grandma's advice for ShawnZ learning to sew works well for life too: "Don't try to go to fast, or you'll make some bad mistakes."

Naturally the midnight text message that I sent to my attractive, intelligent male friend was a desperate plea for videogame advice as opposed to a booty call.

first time ever packing in advance for a trip (just a weekend trip to MD, nothing fancy)... a whole 12 hours before leaving!

Another reason why my free month at the gym is terrific: hip hop dance class!

Solve for Theo: Theo-(Mama+BabySpencer)=Jealousy; (Theo+CatToy)-(Mama+BabySpencer)=Indifference

A pair of red plaid Converse sneakers led me through the double door of my favorite sandwich shop where a smiling youth behind the counter asked me what he could get for me, and I replied, "I'd like Peas on Earth."

on my agenda was fix a 25 year old xylophone, but when i got there, it actually looked like it was just in perfect condition!

I truly believe that I have the coolest siblings in the world!

http://jabeccawalk.blogspot.com/

oops, the concert hall forgot that it was spring and kept the heat on for winter, so with all the people in the hall it was something like 85 degrees!

After my 4am bed time the night before, I woke up at 1:30pm to a phone call from my mom who jokingly asked me (knowing I don't drink) if I was recovering from a hangover, to which I responded, "Yeah, those 4 oz of beer that I drank really did me in."

most disappointing live dvorak played by professionals ever... broke my rule and listened to it the second i got home.

I'm guessing McDonalds and "epic Fail" both didn't exist when the company who built Tanya's piano was named McPhail.

As I rushed across the parking lot carrying my hot-off-the-stove side dish, I knew something was not quite right, which I quickly confirmed when I looked down and realized I was still wearing my bedroom slippers and being that I was in a rush, I sported them all evening at the dinner party with my coworkers!

Strange foods that I don't think are strange but people don't know about include Kasha (visiting Alex today, she said she sometimes bought that cereal, but she didn't know it was made with buckwheat) and Nutritional Yeast (which gained me a pretty funny look from Chuck over the dinner table last night, when he asked what was in the delicious sauce).

I felt like I gained an extra day or two (and thought I should maybe get out of life's fast lane) when I asked today whether it was the 7th, or the 8th, and was told it was the SIXTH!"

In The Economist there was a quote about my actual dinner today, though I didn't share the magazine's opinion: "Look at this muck," says 35-year-old Pamlesh Yadav, holding up a tin-plate of bilious-yellow grains, a mixture of wheat, rice and mung beans. "It literally ticks in the throat. The children won't eat it, so we take it home and feed it to the cows."

In the words of my dearest, "You know whats awesome? Things. Things are awesome."

I found a killer parking spot at the gym today, where I proceeded to sleep in my car, then woke up two hours later and drove home- some work out!

It astounds me both ways: how inspiring music can be to such diverse audiences, and also sometimes, how uninspired people can be by music (getting and and leaving in the *middle* of the Mendelssohn Octet?)

I dare everyone to take the Milton (name of a pillowcase filled with rice that gets put in the microwave to heat and then use on minor aches) challenge: Microwave for 8 minutes and 88 seconds (happens to be a lucky chinese number, but also the easiest to type into our particular microwave) and see how much stuff you can get done around your house in that time.

The Phantom of the Opera plot was best explained by Jim as "Creepy as in 'pedophile' not creepy like a horror movie."

As I drove through my old familiar stomping grounds of Ithaca on Friday night, a sigh of tranquility went streaming through my body: like returning home after being gone for far too long.

the least funny april fool's day joke was telling us rehearsal would end by ten, and at 10:30 we were halfway through... I fixed it by leaving and dancing two contras instead (thank you drew and alec!).

three breakfasts in a row (one of the last times bagels in the car from brian's work) one of which overlapped with hanging out with shannon until it was time for her induction.

there's something satisfying about going to whole foods, and spending less than the person in front of you on food that will last you about 10 times as long, even if that's literally all you eat (grains, legumes and flour for the win!)

Some people make me laugh sooooo hard, I lose my balance and fall to the ground with a belly rocking giggle that leaves my eyes drippy while I gasp for a breath!

Yesterday I got bit by the tiny yet mighty teeth of a two-year-old boy, and today I have a bruise.

wow, what an inspiringly mature first performance from my youngest (yet older-souled) sister - solo bach is hard!

My favorite student told me in a grumpy voice: "Sometimes, you always win."

One month free membership at a classy all-women's gym has been fantastic, although I must say, I have never seen so many bare bodies in such a concentrated area in my life... it's a little strange.

My baby was never as small as the precious 6-day-old Abigail that I held today....

A trip to the laundromat is always an experience: homeless drunk woman asks me for spare change, homeless drunk woman proceeds to sit in the laundromat although she has no laundry to do, disoriented homeless man (presumably homeless woman's boyfriend) enters laundromat, disoriented homeless man proceeds to speak loudly to homeless drunk woman, disoriented homeless man curses at and threatens other laundry-doing 20-something man, I call 911, cops ask homeless couple to leave, laundry-doing 20-something man asks me for my phone number.

My twenty year old brother slept mostly through his birthday DAY, lying next to his sweet nephew, but then we partied it up in style, with gift-wrapped bacon, and a Mendelssohn quartet read through.

Even though I was little too old (or maybe have just been through too many years of school) to find the Science Museum exceptionally engaging, it was still neat to watch a bearded man create lightening.

My babyest sister really pulled off a mature Schostakovich quartet, at the end of a very two-and-a-half hour student concert.

I zumba-ed so hard, I lost my earrings!

three job offers to choose between, but i'm not the one making the decision.

It always makes me smile when I see the JP oil truck drive around town because it is painted pink and white and has a big pink ribbon on it symbolizing breast cancer awareness, not to mention that this particular oil company donates a portion of their proceeds to breast cancer research!

Good news: my mom is definitely fine and there was no cardiovascular emergency last night, though I must admit, I was really scared for a few hours there and had a terrible case of the "what ifs" which is a game I would prefer never to play again.

I am proud of my high-heel-wearing attitude, but took it too far today - all the way to the entrance of the gym.

What else should I do besides send her directly to the emergency room when my mom, who is home alone because my dad is on a business trip and my siblings are hiking the Appalachian Trail, calls at 10:30pm to say she has been having chest pain and tingling down her left arm for the past two days?

I dare you to try having heartburn *before* sitting down to dinner. (thanks who)

A long, flowing conversation with a friend you love and trust is always the best way to spend a long, snowy car ride home.

Goodbye Maki, and Happy birthday Bach: here are some cupcakes, Amanda and Brian and I will listen to some of your music and sing a round for you, that ends with the words "we wish you a long long life" and change those words to... "so thanks for all your music" before finding out that your birthday is only on the 21st in the Julian calendar, which i've never used, but you did, well, for the beginning of your life - it's all ok, the Ben Stiller show didn't steal your show, Johann.

A whist-full brunch is better than a wistful bunch - especially with mimosas.

A beautiful weekend, on a beautiful mountain, doing beautiful skiing (that might be an overstatement), with beautiful people (and that would be an understatement) is all I could have wanted right now!

I can't think of a better selling-point to put on Saffron-Chamomile tea than the one we saw today: "Aphrodisiac for impotency."

My neighbors will just have to get used to the strange (in our society) sight of my little boy playing naked in our yard... it's just so much fun!

The fine dusting of flour I gave my groceries when the seal on the bag broke was just enough to make the oranges we gave to Amanda on St. Patrick's day (is there a joke somewhere about the Orange and the Green) look very very moldy.

I would never have said this 5 years ago, but some movies you just don't have to finish watching.

These days, there are three words that are making me so very happy!

In my little town our "large group discussion" of the "our town reads" book takes place at a starbucks with a grand total of 10 people (including Theo)

I wished so many people a Happy Pi Day, and I was really shocked at how many people stared at me blankly even after I spelled out the whole "three point one four" for them... I'm just glad that I celebrated it, made a wish on 1:59, and ate blueberry pie.

twinkies should be illegal, and massages should be mandatory.

Black diamonds, icy slopes, moguls- I can handle it... it just takes me a second or two to work up a little extra umph of courage and remind myself that I AM in control... and my new ski pants help!

How was my little family extra productive (yay baby breakfast, car fixing/cleaning, used-items delivery, friend catch-up + general household stuff) on an extra short, 23 hour day?

Four weeks of inspiration meant it only took 10 minutes to paint the canvas once I had the requisite supplies.

The last Saturday before daylight savings was full of sunshine, smiles and productive endeavors: I updated my ipod, I ran around the pond with my updated ipod playing motivational music, I walked down to collect a delicious free sandwich, I stopped by the oldest community theater in the US which happens to be 3 blocks from my house where I collected information on upcoming performances (RENT in April!), I saved a woman from losing the cup of soup she had placed on the top of her car and forgotten before driving away, I filed my taxes which will provide returns that will in turn allow me to finally pay off my credit card bill (hoorah!!), and now I am off to a contra dance!

A memorable concert at Mechanics in Worcester, where the Violas play the WHALE (in Haydn's creation) had a favorite moment: "Maybe just a tad too much lower viola!"

Today I watched as a thin man wearing a bow tie stoled down a gray street, dodging the raindrops, and bopping his head from side to side as if dancing to the music of the traffic.

It was a day of tasting cinammon in things that had no cinnamon, like pancakes.

Invalids serving invalids.

Instead of "duck, duck, goose" we play "yuck, yuck, eeeeewwww"

A friend wanted to introduce me to someone famous, whom I had never met before, but I was too socially confused to recover from his long, warm hug and his exclamation "Soooo good to see you again!"

This day was just awesome, but walking in the dark in the rain and in the cold was an extra awesome ending.

The coolest girls all wear teal to the (soup and dessert soiree) party without prior coordination.

Not so much a cacophony party as a Raffi party, aka a songwriter-I-had-never-heard-of party.

A guy came up to our table, and told Amanda she was an old soul and a seeker, and he could sense knowledge from Brian's eyes, and then looked at me and told me I was rude.

Looking at an old picture of the marvelous Robert Frost, my dear friend said to me, "He looks like one of those upside-down people," and with that, I laughed until my stomach ached because I knew exactly what she meant and could never have come up with a more accurate comment to describe that particular photo of Mr. Frost!

So much amazing energy that I think I should go to the gym every day, literally.

My first kiss... from my little Theo that is.

So many things to get done today that even though I only managed less than half of them and had Labeeby to help me all day long I was still exhausted.