Dear Blogger,

It’s over between us.  We were good together but I have to move on.  Wordpress offers me more control and you know I need that. 

It’s not you. 

It’s me. 

I’m moving to fluteloop.com with a wordpress blog and I know I will be happy. 

I wish you the best, you were always good to me.

 

fluteloop

 

Technorati Tags: wordpress,blogger,moving to wordpress,breaking up,goodbye,fluteloop.com

My dinner date!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The darkest hour is upon us all!

How amazing does this movie look? I am so excited! I remember seeing the first trailer before Twilight and as excited as I was to see that movie it was nothing compared to how much I am anticipating Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!

YTSO

The world's first collaborative online orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall on April 15, 2009.

It has been really interesting watching this cutting edge idea unfold on You Tube. I enjoyed watching the audition and introduction videos made by the musicians. I wish more orchestras would feature their members in a prominent way, and I don't mean the sterile biography! I watched this hour long performance and browsed the comments which were from a wide range of YT users.

"great out of this world....IDEA thank to all stars"
"omg 1 hour... WHO DOES IT WATCH?OMG :D"

I wonder if there is a plan to hold another collaboration. At that point it might be a tad more competitive after all this publicity! I wish I hadn't procrastinated making a video. Not that I think I would have won but at least I could say I tried! I told my students about it, I thought it was a more of a youth orchestra and I imagined my video being ridiculed! It takes courage to put a video of yourself playing out there for all to judge. In an audition it's between you and the people behind the screen. If you fail spectacularly it can be your own little secret!

This makes me think of a grown up honor band...

Congratulations to all involved!

More on Susan Boyle.

Every time I watch it I cry. I wonder how she will top that!

We have sky

View of the desert sky taken last weekend from the car.

Goose Bumps

It’s never too late to seize the dream!

Technorati Tags: Britains Got Talent 2009,Susan Boyle,singer

Happy Easter!~

Woman Attacked by Cuteness I mean Polar Bears

A polar bear attacked a women at the Berlin Zoo after she climbed a fence and jumped into its habitat during feeding time.

Sometimes things don't turn out the way you planned I suppose?

I guess she miscalculated when she put on her essence of seal perfume that morning.

Joking aside though, what is the purpose of the bear form really. I know that seems stupid and it's not really a well thought out question but bears seem so fluffy and cute. You know, when they aren't attacking you. I mean why the big floppy paws and cute little faces? I look at a predator like a shark and I can appreciate a well designed hunter. More importantly I DO NOT feel an urge to hug it. But look at a polar bear... it's cute! Anyway, moral of the story is don't scale walls and jump into polar bear moats. I hope they don't blame the bears for this one like that poor cat in the San Diego zoo a few years back.

People can't want what they want

I spent all day looking for a new (used) car to replace our Camry that has now become the shining beacon of pristine used car-ness that no other car will live up to. I have been looking on Craigs list and it seems every "good" deal I find is a crock. The old saying holds true, If it's looks too good to be true, it probably is. I never knew so many salvaged cars were out there masquerading as "excellent condition" cars. If I wanted a car with a salvage title I would run back and buy our Camry. I feel extra tired today. The good news is that my neck and shoulder seem to be healing. I am still all "crackly" though. If I straighten my back or move my neck around I hear pops and creaks. But if I don't do extra wiggling I am feeling ok. I was even able to pick Ara up to see over the rails at the zoo yesterday.

We had a play date with an old friend of mine from school and her 3 year old daughter. Ara was in heaven, having someone her age to hang out with. She even defended her new friend... a little boy was chasing her so Ara pushed him down. I don't condone her actions of course, but I understand her little logic. She was sad when I scolded her for it and had her do a time out. She really tries so hard to do the right thing, I hate to correct her when she feels so grown up and proud of herself. On Monday I took her to the park and she yelled at a jogger, "No running in the street!" Today I put her step stool in front of the kitchen sink and she did the dishes. Which is mostly playing with water, soup, and scrubbing brushes. Before I could stop her she drained my entire bottle of organic dish soap. She turned to me and said, "mama look what I made!" So happy and proud of her sink full of ultra soapy water. What a character!

Hopefully we will make a car decision soon. I need to put this whole thing behind me, I am dreaming cars and accidents and STRESS.

I will have zoo pictures just as soon as I unload them from the camera.... Oh and I had dinner with my high school band director from California! That was pretty awesome possum.

Sleep time.

I leave you with a quote from a recent library pick, Six-word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak.

"People can't want what they want."
~Dr. Drew Pinksy

Taking time to play~

Last week was so doom and gloom, with the accident, injuries, and the insurance drama. So today I decided to just get out of the house. Ara needed a day of sunshine and running so much and it made me feel good to see her cheeks flushed with exercise and happiness. We walked to the park with the princess carriage loaded up with Ara’s tricycle, helmet, bouncy ball, water (it was hot today!), and strawberries to munch. It was a good day.

I received information in the mail from the Montessori preschool I was interested in. I was so excited because the website for the school says it is a charter school, meaning free tuition but it turns out only K-5th grade are free. Preschool is NOT free, in fact it would cost more than our rent per month. Plus they run on semesters like the school district and they are a month away from summer break. I feel discouraged. I think she would really benefit from a few hours a day in preschool. She is so smart and active and she is dying to play with kids her age. Between the car fiasco (buy a car, drive for a week, get smashed by a reckless driver, tons of out of pocket fees) and looking at these astronomical tuition rates I feel trapped by the almighty dollar. I keep thinking if only I could contribute the extra money we could do this for her. The school sessions are only 3 hours in the morning. Not really enough time to have a job. I think it’s time to put some effort into building my studio up again. She is just growing so fast I feel like the clock is ticking and I need to get everything just right. There are no “do-overs” in parenting!

Technorati Tags: Montessori,princess carriage,fluteloop.com

The joy in learning

Foam letters in a craft store create preschooler frienzy!

Ara takes so much joy in knowing all of her letters. We are working with her on knowing both the upper and lower cases and introducing small words. She is a cute little learning sponge with a pony tail and a too small shirt!

Favorite Shoes!~

 

Here is a little factoid about me you may not know; I have funny feet.  I walk on the outsides of my feet, I have the Filipino shuffle going on, and I’m convinced they are more flipper than foot.  I’m ok with it, it’s part of who I am but until recently I thought I also had to accept that all shoes would be uncomfortable.  Not so!  Says the pretty shoe in the picture.  Salomon Woman’s trail running shoes.  The actual model I have are a little different but I couldn’t find a picture, this is close enough.  This shoe, is my new favorite shoe.  I expect shoes to hurt when they are new.  I’ve accepted that as a fact of life.  But these shoes felt wonderful from the first day.  So, for all of my fellow weird footers out there.. don’t give up!  And to the shoe fairies THANKS!

Technorati Tags: Salomon Trail Runners,fluteloop,favorite shoes,wide width,funny feet,shoes