Randomeeze

While I sit here enjoying my chocolate-soy-banana-strawberry smoothie, thought I would post some random musings before I hit the cardio-pilates.

It's been a really great couple of days. It's Parent/Teacher conferences at the school this week, which means I'm out of there by 1pm. Nice. I get an extra hour to do whatever I please. This extra hour has been used to do some very soul-needing things.

Most of you know that we did not bring our Boston Grand piano with us when we moved to the West Coast. A few reasons, really. One, we could only afford a one-bedroom rental due to the high cost of living out here. The Boston needs her own room, and we didn't have it for her. She is patiently awaiting our return to the midwest at Rob's parents house. Although Gerry, Rob's mom, had it tuned by a dude with a hearing aid. Yes, I said hearing aid. When we came home at Christmas the piano was an entire half-step down. Ugh. We can't wait to get her back and treat her with some love and attention.

Maddy and the Boston, 2002

The past few months here have been hard on me, due to the fact that my livlihood has been crushed- I have no piano to practice with. Being a voice teacher, my privilege to sing for a living is compared to no other. Because no one wants to take voice lessons here, I have been feeling as if the life was sucked out of me. I missed singing, I missed the artistry of proper technique. I was in a funk.

Then the lightbulb went on in my head *ding!*. We have a keyboard in the closet! Granted it isn't a gorgeous Boston Grand, but it'll do. So the past few days, I've been singing like a crazy woman. I start off with my vocal function exercises- great for the "ladies" (other word for vocal chords, courtesy Patricia Linhart, diva extraordinaire). Pat taught these to me after my stint in the hospital with my appendectomy. Due to my asthma, the docs intibated me, leaving my chords split wide-open with no hope of coming back together to make beautiful music. Fuckers. I was right in the middle of a show, too. Anyway, VFE's bring the ladies back together even so gently- like a massage for the chords. I've been doing them for two years, and to this day, the ladies thank me! After VFE's, it's on to the practicing. And wow, do I sound good! It's been a long time coming, after not singing for months on end.

The Make-Shift Boston


The sun has decided to come out for an undetermined amount of time. The past few weeks has been more sun than rain, and it has definately improved our spirits. I still don't want to stay here, but it surely makes our time here less miserable.

With my extra hours this week, I also baked a beautiful blueberry pound cake. Wow was the sonva-bitch hard to make! But just look at it...

Yah, go ahead and say it... I'm a domestic diva. At least I like to think I am. I'm the quintessential maven of good taste, without all that Martha Stewart-like bullshit. And boy is that a good pound cake! I wanted to get it in before I start Phase Two in a week or so.

That's all to report. On to the pilates. Tah for now!