Last Post of 2008

In the spirit of New Years' reflectiveness, I thought I'd copy a tactic I've seen on a few other blogs and post the first sentence of the first blog of each month as a sort of Year In Review.

January: When I think of January I think of:Snow, blue, ice, crock pot meals, soup, coffee, fires, lazy late afternoons, wind, slower times, flannel sheets, freezing nights, gloves, and my Birthday.

February: Hmm. I keep getting worse at this updating the blog thing.

March: I seem to be getting the sneezes.

April: I had a fantastic time in SC at my friend Katherine's wedding.

May: I think May is always a bittersweet month for me.

June: As of tomorrow, I'll be in DC for the week.

July: I've been watching the Olympic Trials for Diving, Gymnastics, Track, and Swimming for the past few weeks.

August: In about 15 hours and 42 minutes, I will be headed to Maine on vacation!

September: Well, I'm home from SC and had a great, albeit busy, visit.

October: October is, and really always has been, my favorite month.

November: Somehow in the last 4 years that I've lived in Annapolis, I've become a Navy Football fan.

December: Does anyone know where September went?

So there you have it...the bloggy Year in Review at Just Another Page in the Book of Life...

Bliss

I had the ideal lunch hour today. I picked up a free Mocha at Starbucks that I got for filling out a survey, and headed over to the salon/spa around the corner from my office. I'm going to a semi-formal event for New Years' tomorrow night, so my tootsies needed a polish so that they'll sparkle in my sparkly 3 inch heels!

I brought my book, so I read and drank my coffee in a massage chair while someone was massaging various masques, oils, and lotions onto my feet and legs. Deeelightful! Soothing instrumental music was playing in the background, and a wall of water was cascading in front of me.

After my pedicure, I swung by Chick-Fil-A to pick up my lunch with a gift card I got for Christmas.

Coffee, Crack-fil-A, and body/mind pampering all in one lunch hour...that shopping center around the corner from my office is a dangerous, yet happy, happy place!

The Return

Tap, tap, tap...is this thing on? Heeellllllooooooo out there Blogosphere! Do I still have anyone reading this blog after my long hiatus from my primary means of external processing? I'll assume I do and continue on.

As you can probably imagine, my long absence from this here bloggy blog was due to a number of factors, all of which stemmed from the Christmas Season of busyness. It began with my voluntary indentured servitude to the chorale...I think someone counted 13 performances/gigs in a 3 week span. That was all wonderful...I had my normal Messiah moments, teary eyes during Christmas Carols, seating dramas, as well as a few insecure times. Par for the course.

Then, last week, I met my parents in Williamsburg for our Christmas trip that involved seeing sights, dinner and lunch at a few of the taverns, brushing up on my Revolutionary War knowledge, many humorous family moments (apparently my Mom can go 20 hours without eating while my Dad and I have to eat every few hours), some fun shopping purchases, musical diversions, and lots of catching up on sleep.

On Christmas Eve, we drove up to Annapolis. After 2 years of missing out on the fun at the Home For Wayward Chorus Girls' Christmas Eve Bash...I decided that this year I was not going to be sleeping in SC at 2AM on Christmas Day getting texts about how much fun everyone was having without me. The party begins at 6ish, breaks up around 9 while everyone heads to sing at church, and then reconvenes around 12:30 AM after church. It was quite a lot of fun, and I think I got into bed around 3;30. Whew!

So, I'm back...and caught up on things like work, finances, and cleaning. Now, if I can just check laundry off my list, all will be well!

Friday Favorites

I had every intention of writing a meaningful post about Christmas today...but my brain is a bit fried, so that fell by the wayside. In its place, I'm going to post a list of things that I'm currently loving.

• LL Bean Flannel Sheets in Bay Blue. Perfect for frigid December nights.
• Peppermint Mocha Twists at Starbucks
• I'm still digging Enya's new album And Winter Came
• Lavender Bubble Bath
• Audible.com Audiobooks
• Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion- light and creamy without being sticky
• Water. From the tap. Great when you have to sing...

Anything in particular that anyone else is attached to at the moment?

The Bag Lady

At my office, I think I am the crazy bag lady. Every day, I have mutliple bags I bring to work. There's my laptop bag, my purse, my iPod case, my lunchbox...and recently I've had other bags with me due to the hectic nature of my schedule. You see, I don't like carrying one big bag. Even in my tiny purse, things get lost. In my OCD organization mode, I want separate bags for separate purposes. Otherwise, I don't feel like I can ever find anything...

My bag lady ways reached new heights on Friday. I literally had 8 bags with me that I had to carry out to my car. The normal bags...laptop, purse, iPod case, lunchbox...but add to that a Target bag of things I'd purchased, my gymbag (for a workout I never got to), a tote bag with make-up, hair stuff, and my chorus clothes (I was headed straight to a double gig evening), and my music bag. I was quite the sight as I walked out of the office and to my car.

Frazzled Friday

My brain is just a little too scattered to come up with any cohesive thoughts today...so I'm going to resort to a bullet point post. You know, I think those are the easiest to digest most of the time, anyway.

• First of all...I really have the worst handwriting. On Tuesday, I jotted down a few things that I wanted to mention on the blog. Today, I can only make out one of them. Nice.
• The one thing I could make out was a note about my Starbucks experience prior to rehearsal on Monday evening. Maureen and I have not had the best baristas at grocery store Sbux's in the past few months. Incorrect orders, bad attitudes, apathy...surprising since Sbux has had to close stores. Anyway, we went to the Not-So-Safeway on Forest Dr, expecting to wait awhile for our bean juice and be treated to an apathetic barista. Not so! Our barista was witty, charming, and made our drinks quickly. Isn't it sad that enthusiastic service is the exception to the norm? Props to you, Calvin!
• I've felt unprepared for a lot of things in the past few weeks. Most of it is out of my control, but it's hard for me to deal with, anyway.
• Before Thanksgiving, I downloaded Enya's new Christmas album, as well as Yoyo Ma's Songs for Joy and Peace. Both of them are excellent, and I highly recommend them.
• I haven't figured out how I am going to squeeze dinner into my packed singing schedule tonight. Oh well, perhaps I'll make up for all of the cookies I inhaled last week.

Where is Pa-age, Where is Pa-age, Here she is! Here she is!

In case anyone is looking for me in the next 2 1/2 weeks, I'm gonna make it a bit easier for you.

Tomorrow evening, I'll be singing carols at the Paca House in downtown Annapolis with the newly formed AC All Women's group, and then on to sing the Reluctant Dragon at this benefit for the WBAL Kids' Campaign. Saturday, I'll be at the Home For Wayward Chorus Girls watching the Army/Navy football game, decorating our house for Christmas, spending some quality time with a certain someone, and enjoying a "mini" piano bar party. Sunday, I'm attending this benefit for the ASO, and then singing carols at a Christmas party here.

Next week, MondayTuesdayWednesday nights will have me rehearsing here, and Thursday and Friday I'll be Celebrating Christmas with this concert (click on the link and buy tickets. Now!). Saturday, I'll be Celebrating Christmas with the same concert at this venue. Sunday...All-female caroling here.

The next MondayWednesdayThursday involves rehearsing Handel's music about the life of my Messiah here. FridaySaturdaySunday I'll be performing that bastion of choral repetoire here.

And then at 5 PM on Sunday, December 21st, I will drive to Williamsburg to blissfully relax and spend Christmas week in the Colonial City with my parents. Until, of course, I drive with them back to Annapolis to sing at the Christmas Eve service here.

I love this time of year....Promise!

Catch me if you can! (Seriously, buy some tickets. The Arts need us...)

The Magic of Cheese Straws

For the past 3 years, part of my Thanksgiving vacation at home has involved what my family and I have dubbed "The Cheese Straw Factory". I wrote about the Southern art of cheese straws a few years ago, in this post. In short, cheese straws are like a flaky cheese biscuit. Yummy, flaky, spicy, cheesy goodness. And they are considered a Southern delicacy...served anytime...but especially at events such as weddings, funerals, showers, etc. I like to give tins of them away as Christmas gifts. This year, the factory opened just like any other year:

With cheese grating.

Even my Daddy had a job in the factory this year.

After grating, the next annoying part is to mix the dough...which can really only be done by hand. It takes quite awhile to incorporate the flour, butter, cheese and other secret ingredients into each other (you didn't think I was actually going to give my recipe away, did you?)

In years past, we've made the cheese straws fancy by pushing the dough through a cookie press. Unfortunately, the cookie press we used last year got worn out. My mom bought a new one...but it was way too big to actually get any dough through. My poor hands would never have made it through 5 batches of squeezing out cheese straws! Instead, we made them the old fashioned way... with our thumbs!

After they get smashed...we added a stylish touch by imprinting the tops with a fork.

I bet you want to see the finished product, huh? Well, I don't happen to have a picture of the finished product yet. However, some of you will be receiving your own lovingly cared for and created tin of cheese straws soon. Enjoy with port, madeira, or just as a yummy snack. Bon Appetit!

December Already?!?!

Does anyone know where September went? What about October? November? Hmm. Somehow, it seems that we've encountered December. Usually, I'm ready for December. I actually look forward to it every year. This year is no different, but it somehow has snuck up on me.

I've written about my crazy December singing schedule for the past few years. This year has, I think, reached new heights. I'm not really complaining though...I love being busy, especially doing something I enjoy (singing in a chorus). However, when I put together my calendar for December and looked at the next three weeks, the only nights I have without a rehearsal, performance, or "gig" are this Saturday, and Tuesdays. Yikes. That includes the weekends. But seriously, I do look forward to these 3 weeks every year. They are lots of fun, and exhausting at the same time. This year has set a new record, though. Maureen and I were unable to figure out a night to have a Christmas party like the ones we've had the past 2 years. There literally is not a weekend night when we could have it. Last night, we were trying to figure out when to pick up our Christmas tree. There is little time to do that as well. She jokingly said she was going to email our conductor and make him pick it up for us since it is his schedule that is making us crazy! I'm sure that would go over well...

Anyway, I don't feel as prepared for December as I have in the past. I'm not sure why...most of my gifts are purchased, with a few exceptions. There is no party to plan and prep for. My room is fairly organized. I have my schedule under control. Work is pretty sane. Yet, I don't feel ready for December yet. Maybe I can hold it off for awhile? :) Likely not. I don't think I have a choice in the matter!