Ballerina Inturrupted

I finally found a leotard that was small enough for Ara... or she finally grew big enough to fit the smallest one..

Either way I found one!

We had a lot of fun today playing dress up, taking pictures, dancing, and laughing. She is just the cutest (and clumsiest) ballerina ever!


Ara has been testing me lately. She acts as
though she can't even hear me when I ask her to do something she doesn't want to do.. or stop doing. Actually it feels like she is especially testing my patience and possibly my sanity. Sometimes it's about something small, like putting her plate in the sink when she is done eating. Other times it's scary, like when she decides to make a chase game out of "don't go in the street!". I have honestly been beside myself in frustration. Today was better though. I have been cracking down on the small stuff, I think I let too much slide usually. I have reinvented the time out punishment. Instead of sending her to her room (filled with toys) she has to sit on a kitchen chair for 3 minutes with no talking. Every time she gets up the time starts over. I can see that my struggle is not over by a long shot but even some small improvement is welcome.

Tomorrow we are going to the corn field maze! I am excited. I took Ara there with my family last year for the first time and there are horse drawn carriages and a huge pumpkin patch and over priced hot dogs and fun fun fun!

I took my flute to Bill (the flute fixer) and he gave us a pretty nifty tour of his piccolo factory I will take a camera when I pick my flute up because I want to talk more about it!

Ara says I stink.

From fluteloop

Italian soda

To do

Bank, target, flute repair, safeway.. Boring but so much easier with a car!

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I forgot what my original topic was.

The weather has been so amazing! It feels like fall finally and I feel drawn to go outside as often as possible. This is really like spring as far as the plants are concerned, everything is green from the monsoon rain and happy with the sunshine and mild temperatures. Yesterday my Mom, Joey, Ara, and I took a $5 pizza to the park and had an easy picnic. I helped Joey put together his new lego sets on a picnic table and the sunshine felt like a warm blanket while a slightly chilly breeze kept us cool. Ara ran my Mom around the park playing soccer, sliding, swinging, exploring. It was a very nice day and we found a creepy giant moth dead in the grass. I took a picture with my phone and uploaded it yesterday but I don't think it looked like much in the picture.

Usually on Tuesday I take Ara to the YMCA and either do the elliptical or afro aerobics but we have been home bound since the car died. I could take the bus but I never have any cash! I think tomorrow I should look into a bus pass. So, just to get out of the house and enjoy the weather I strolled Ara down to the park again. We had the whole place to ourselves which is really rare expecially with the schools around here on fall break. Don't the kids go outside anymore? I sound like such an old fart saying that lol. "Why, when I was your age young wipper snapper..." But seriously it was nice not to worry about the dog people, and the sports people, and the creepy guy people. My aim was to tire Ara out for nap time, I ended up only tiring myself! Still, it was fun and although it was no afro aerobics I did get in some excersize.

I still don't have an oven but I am still considering making a Batman cake for a co-worker of A's. The landlord said he would get us a working oven about 6 weeks ago and last week he mentioned he had been 'looking' for one on craigs list. Comforting. I plan to gently remind him again in a week. I would like to be able to bake something for Thanksgiving at least. The oven hasn't worked since we moved in May.

I am still excited about the cake, practice for my Dad's wedding! I even discovered tonight that You Tube has a bunch of 'how to' video's on cake decorating. Of course, what DOESN'T You Tube cover? Awesome.

I am going to bite the bullet tomorrow and call Bill (the flute fixer). My poor flute has been in terrible shape for waaaay too long. I am hoping it isn't going to cost a ton but I'm afriad it will be a complete overhaul situation. It will be lovely to have flutey in good working order again though! Oh how nice it will be. I may have a cheapy flute but it's mine and it has served me well! I borrowed a student's flute for the Stravinsky concert last Saturday and that was nerve wracking. Trying to feel comforatable on a different flute in a few hours.... Reminds me of my piccolo fiasco last year on the Finko Concerto. Everything was fine though and I am de-stressing as we speak.

Going to the park

Giant dead moth

Ara Playing at Church

Went with my Mom and Joey to church on Sunday, I have mixed feelings about it but Ara did enjoy their swing set!

Rehearsals TCO

It's been a tense and hectic week of rehearsals. The concert is tomorrow and really hope that there will be an audience full of optimistic supporters. Losing our director/conductor so suddenly at the end of last season has put the orchestra in a difficult position. Luckily it has some dedicated members that are working to ensure it's survival. I really enjoy playing with this group. I thrive in a chamber music setting and I want to play, damn it. What? That was me being optimistically supportive!

My flute has crapped out on me, I can feel the thousand 'I told you so' coming from the thousand people who have told me I needed to have it fixed. It was still semi-playable until about.. last night. There is just simply no more mileage in my pads no matter how hard I mash down my fingers... and the foot joint has been broken into 2 pieces since last year. (gogo scotch tape) I know, I am so ghetto. I just hate to have to be without my flute for any length of time.. but it's time. This Stravinsky is difficult enough without having to compensate for leaks. I make life so much harder than it has to be sometimes!

I've got my eye on you!

Beads

Ara and I did some bead work today. She likes to pick out the beads and then I usually string them although she is getting pretty good at it! We made this bracelet and a book mark (which I was really excited about).

We also played a board game today. My sister gave it to Ara for her birthday and I put it up in the closet. I thought she wasn't ready for such an advanced game. She noticed it today up on the top shelf! I didn't see any harm in giving it a try and although we didn't 'exactly' follow the game we did have a lot of fun. It was so cute, I would say, "Ara it's your turn to pick a card" and she would carefully pick up one ladybug card. We would read the number on the card. If it said something like, "move ahead 3 spaces" she would move 3 spaces.. and then 4, and 5, and 6... all the way to 14! She is enthusiastic if nothing else.

WoW treadmill race

I thought this was an interesting little experiment. Wouldn't it be a perfect world if we LIKED doing things like running on a treadmill to power a game character! When I used to play FFXI I tried using an exercise ball as a chair. Not quite in the same league as these guys but, hey I tried right?

Speaking of, I haven't been to the YMCA this week.. and I feel it. I am missing the freedom that having a working car gives you. Not that it's life or death but it's so much more of a hassle! I missed flute club rehearsal tonight because I couldn't get there. I would have had to leave early to get to the TCO rehearsal but still it would have been good to go since I think it's the last chamber rehearsal before a couple gigs. I don't know.. I am terrible with remembering dates. I ended up practicing the Stravinsky which I REALLY needed to do anyway. I am frustrated that it is taking me so long to understand this piece. I feel like I am cramming and my brain isn't processing the information! The last two nights I have gotten less than 4 hours of sleep, so tired. Sleep. Soon. I hope.

Blurry but cute

Areon Flutes

Areon Flutes, I am so excited about this group! They won bronze at Fischoff and are really paving a path for professional flute ensembles. Check them out!

TCO Concert this Saturday

Ara needs wings

So we are in the car late afternoon and driving west facing a setting sun.

Ara says, "the sun is over there, mama you want to drive past it?"

I say, "it does look close but the sun is actually very high up in the sky"

Ara says, "but the birds could reach it!"

I smile at my brilliant girl and say, "that's good thinking, they might be able to fly so high"

I know thats a fib, but I don't want to shoot down her ideas all the time.

Ara says (more to herself than to me), "I need wings"

Five Friends "vote while you poop"

"You can literally register to vote while you poop, if you have a laptop"


I'll admit it, I registered today. Go ahead and judge I deserve it!

Ara

Just so pretty

Red dress

Purple Car Oh Purple Car

The purple car is sad...


...the transmission is dead now and it's worth more than the car so that is that.

Time for something new(er).

I have always had hand-me-down cars (I'm not complaining) but this is totally new territory to me to be looking at cars. I have a choice? Well, not really but in this situation I have more choices than I have ever had in the past.

So I have seriously weighed my options, and I've decided I would like a sparkly kinda silvery blue color! Hahahaha....haha...hah....ah.