Musings On Life and Art

Reassessing Musical Priorities

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:18:09 GMT

We've adjusted to the new member of our family quite well, I think! Mothering a newborn is infinitely easier this time around, although juggling a 2-year-old at the same time has produced its own set of challenges! Nevertheless, we have resumed our routine of running errands, visiting the library, playing at the park, and seeing friends. I have a Mother's Helper coming several mornings a week who has been so wonderful; her coming has allowed me to return to the gym, take my 2-year-old swimming, and enjoy this transitional stage. As normalcy returns to our home, I am thinking again of what I want to do with my music in the next 5-10 years. There are many opportunities within my church as well as in the rich musical community of the Seattle area, and I find myself, as usual, wanting to do a little bit of everything. It's like when I go to a restaurant and have to look at the entire menu several times before choosing what I want...and then still wanting to taste my husband's food!

My menu choices as of now...
Musical theater
Workshop presenter at church (training up other pianists)
Choir (church or community or professional)
Piano teaching
Chamber music
Recording my 2nd CD
Taking classes at the UW (vocal coaching, conducting, applied piano, chamber music)
Pursuing my Master's in Piano Performance

I have dabbled in all of the above over the years and am considering what to do next, especially as the girls will enter school in a few years and I will find myself with a little more time and a little more freedom.

Transitioning

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 07:43:27 GMT

Well, we're back to square one! Baby girl #2 arrived three and a half weeks early, and we are all adjusting to our new "schedule." Feeding every two to three hours, cat naps during the day, and juggling care of a newborn with the demands of our two-year-old. What an adjustment for her, to go from only child to having to share things, Mommy and Daddy's attention, time...with a baby sister! It's true that your heart expands with each child. I am completely in love again. Fatigued, pulled in a lot of directions, a tad bored at being at home for the last two weeks, occasionally frustrated...but so in love! God has been good to bless us with this new little one.

Reflection: From Classical to Gospel

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:06:27 GMT

I trained for 15 years, formally, to become a classical pianist. Four of those years were spent preparing to enter a college program, followed by four years of intense study as a performance major: two lessons a week, with a minimum of two hours of practice a day. Along the way I accompanied choirs, musical theater productions, voice lessons, and opera rehearsals.

After I graduated, I was asked to accompany the choir at my church. No problem, I thought, until I was presented with chord charts, placed in a rhythm section, and asked to play a variety of styles from blues to gospel to the occasional reggae, calypso, r & b, and country. It has been 11 years since that first "culture shock" and although I have seen progress in my playing, I still face uncertainty and self-doubt when faced with any "groove" varying from my Western European tradition.

Feeling lost is never so evident as when I am surrounded with musicians who grew up playing with a band...in a black gospel church...reading chord charts...learning by ear...you name it! It's as if I am entering a foreign country where everyone else knows the language, and expects me to speak because I have a mouth! But what comes out only slowly resembles the native language. Thankfully, I have been privileged to work with amazing musicians who are not only professionals, but also are willing to teach and bear with my weaknesses. Here, in no particular order, are the cultural barriers, if you will, that I have faced moving from a classical background to gospel, jazz, and blues:

From:
Reading notes on a page to Playing chord charts and/or Playing by ear
Playing two hands, all parts to Don't double the bass, leave room for other musicians
Scripted music to Improvisation
Isolated practice to Group rehearsals (or just a sound check!)
Hours of practice to Limited rehearsal time
Infrequent performances to Weekly or Bimonthly performances
Emphasis on technique to Emphasis on groove and creativity
One prominent cultural style to Many various styles
Learning to specialize to Learning to diversify

Last night my husband reminded me that if the tables were reversed, perhaps the very musicians I so admire would feel the same lack of confidence and "lostness" in reading through a classical piece. Perhaps! Nevertheless, I press on, seeking to become well-rounded and versed in multiple "languages" while continuing to perfect my mother tongue!

Recent Projects

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 05:11:06 GMT

Gospelfest10 is taking place this weekend at Seattle Pacific University. I have been one of the rehearsal accompanists for the mass choir for the last couple of weeks, and this morning I had the opportunity to attend the symposium: a collection of general sessions and breakout workshops dealing with the history and development of gospel music. Among the presenters this weekend are Melinda Weekes, Phyllis Byrdwell, and Elias Bullock - all three of whom are amazing musicians, scholars, and presenters. The symposium continues throughout the rest of today and tomorrow afternoon, and then the festival culminates in a mass choir performance and celebration of the gospel music tradition this Saturday at 7 p.m. If you are interested in attending any of these events, it is not too late! For more information, call 206-281-2966 or check out the website: www.spu.edu/GospelFest10. This is my fourth Gospelfest, my second in Seattle (the others were held in Detroit), and every time I attend, I learn something new and am inspired (and humbled!) by the quality of musicianship.

I am nearing completion of our second baby's room (Another girl! In June!), so I have been busy sewing...a crib skirt, diaper caddy, changing pad cover, baby quilt. And I found these cool fabric-covered letters at Anthropologie that I managed to duplicate using some wooden letters from the craft store, fabric scraps, batting, and my hot glue gun. Hand-me-down clothes have been washed and put away, diapers and wipes have been purchased, and now we just need the baby! :) Well, I want to purchase some blackout curtains and a somewhat compact rocking chair, too, but the crafting is pretty much done!

I've been reading a TON lately, random selections of fiction and non-. Some of the books I have loved recently: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (forgot the author's name - sorry!), March by Geraldine Brooks (likewise, Year of Wonders and People of the Book by Brooks), The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, An American Childhood by Northwest author Annie Dillard (one of my favorites of all time), James Dobson's new book Bringing Up Girls, Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood by Jim Fay and Charles Fay, and Stay Home, Stay Happy by former Real-world "actor" (not that I've ever watched the show...well, maybe a few times!) Rachel Campos-Duffy.

And...drum roll please...I've managed to carve out some actual practice time lately, since my daughter recently turned two and has developed the ability to...(shockers!)...play independently for as long as 15 minutes at a time!!! What a blessing this has been lately. I am enjoying reading through some new-to-me classical music and am putting together a potential playlist for my next CD project. Woohoo!

Altogether an enjoyable and productive time (shall we call it "nesting"?) before baby number two shows up to upset the routine a bit! But oh, how we are looking forward to meeting the next member of the family!

Until next time...

Toddler Books We Love to Read

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:50:41 GMT

As a former elementary school teacher, I own hundreds of picture books - most of which were relocated to my daughter's room when I quit teaching. Recently I went through the ones in my daughter's room and decided to "downsize" a little by packing some away, putting others in her closet, and reorganizing the rest in easy-to-use white tubs. I am so much happier with her bookshelves now that they hold both age-appropriate books and some of her toys.

Some of the books I left on her shelves:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? By Bill Martin Jr.
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Counting Kisses: A Kiss & Read Book by Karen Katz
From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Have You Seen My Duckling? Nancy Tafuri
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Just Grandma and Me by Mercer Mayer
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
Peek a Moo by Marie Torres Cimarusti
Silly Sally by Audrey Wood
Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth
Time for Bed by Mem Fox
Welcome, Precious by Nikki Grimes
Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill

At 18 months, my daughter especially loves peek-a-boo books (like Nancy Tafuri’s Have You Seen My Duckling?), lifting up tabs in Eric Hill’s Spot books, and books where she can take part in an action (like Eric Carle’s From Head to Toe). We go to the library just about every week and browse through its board books and picture book shelves. I also spend time looking through the library's booklists online and placing holds...so that when we get to the library it's not such a challenge chasing after my busy toddler and perusing books!

Finding Time to Read Again!

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:21:45 GMT

My daughter is now 18 months old and busier than ever. Fortunately, she is learning to play a teensy bit more independently, which is allowing me to steal a few moments away to read! I've discovered a wonderful new-to-me author who writes gorgeous pieces of juvenille fiction: Kate DiCamillo. Wow. Her writing is so rich, and her storytelling so engaging, that I've been devouring her books. The ones I've read recently are: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline - his illustrations are amazing! The Tale of Despereaux - I haven't seen the movie, but the images conjured up by Kate's writing are enough for me! (And I love how she frequently addresses the "Reader" during teachable moments - but not in a condescending way) Because of Winn-Dixie - such a feel-good story about a girl and her dog I've also discovered Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life, which I've decided I need to buy for someone's Christmas present. It's her memoir, but more than that, her life "through" food, so it is interspersed with recipes. A memoir and cookbook...the best combination in my mind! Yummy and inspiring! And for my daughter, we have been laughing our way through Sandra Boynton's picture books. They are perfect for her, perhaps a little over her head at times, but she laughs when I laugh, so it's great fun! Tonight we read Blue Hat, Green Hat. Other favorites of ours are The Belly Button Book and Pajama Time! And the best part...they're board books, so she can "read" them on her own without ripping the pages! I've also returned to the piano to "read" Chopin's Sonata in B minor. I had forgotten that I studied this sonata in college, but as I've been working on it lately it's starting to come back to me. I figured out that if I put my little girl in her highchair during snack time, I can get a good 15 minutes of practice in! Stealing a few moments here and there...I'm starting to see some progress! Happy days. Love reading.

Only a Season

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:41:17 GMT

Trying to remember that this is only a season...

My daughter can now climb up onto the piano bench on her own, which means I am *never* alone. She loves to play "with" me, and I've done a little sightreading with her by my side, but there is no chance for focused practice.

And when she's napping (more and more seldom, sigh!) or in bed for the night, I grab those precious minutes to do my Bible Study, clean my house, or catch up on "quiet" projects.

I fear losing my skills and never being able to recapture that focused energy I once poured into practicing.

But I know my daughter craves my attention and loves this "mommy and me" music time.

Sigh.

Blooming

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:45:54 GMT

I've been watching little yellow blossoms appear on my tomato plant for a couple of weeks now, and today I counted 23 that have turned into little green tomatoes! I am sure they will all ripen at the same time and I will be up to my ears in tomatoes...I'm planning now to make lots of marinara sauce with olive oil, fresh basil, and garlic, and freeze it for the winter. Yummy! Also "blooming" is my daughter's speech! At 16 months old, she "talks" non-stop. Mostly jabbering, but I know she's trying to communicate. I need to record some of this sweet speech! My ironing board "grew" a new cover last week. I found an online tutorial that showed how to take the existing cord and casing and use it with new fabric to create a new cover. The fabric I chose is a robin's egg blue with bold red geometric shapes. Love it! Lastly, creativity is in full bloom as I've been preparing to teach a keyboard workshop this weekend at my church. The title is "Chord Charts Without Tears" and it's a 50-minute session on how I approach learning new chord charts (worship tunes). Since I am a strong sight-reader with a classical background, I probably approach reading chord charts and playing in a band slightly differently from your average musician. Hopefully something I share will inspire others to try some new things! Happy, productive days!

Projects

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:10:00 GMT

I am never bored. Tired? Yes. Uninspired? Sometimes. Having a tendency to procrastinate? Ohhhh, yes! (In fact, there is a stack of ironing waiting for me downstairs as I type...) But I am never bored! I just finished my denim/scrap quilt and am quite proud of it. We will be using it for picnics this summer!

It's not perfect - I'm an amateur seamstress at best! And I'm not proud of the puckering, but on the whole I like the color scheme and the weight of it. It will be fun to take on picnics!

Also on the docket:
*Organizing our business files (ugh!)
*Creating a Montessori activity notebook for my toddler (in process!)
*Sewing felt beanbags for my daughter (need to buy the beans...)
*More filing - personal bills (sigh)
*Planning for a birthday dinner and baby shower next week
*Preparing to teach a workshop on Sightreading Basics for Church Musicians - This is the one I am most interested in working on at the moment. There is a need in our choir and among praise team members at my church for some sightreading training. I am currently writing a curriculum for a 6-8 week workshop that incorporates excerpts from hymns, worship songs, classical oratorios, and ballads (Since gospel music is mostly taught and learned by ear, it is not included here). Since we sing such a variety of music, I believe we need to be purposeful in training up our singers to more adequately prepare for leading worship.

And to add another level of challenge, the above things need to be accomplished during my daughter's two naptimes (quickly fading to one!) and after her bedtime - when I am not doing household tasks and spending time with my husband! It is a juggling act, but I enjoy having such a full life! :)

And, since my daughter has inherited some of my busy genes, we keep busy during her awake times opening and closing doors, drawers, and cabinets. She helps load the laundry into the washer and dryer, "cleans" my windows with baby wipes, and eats the crumbs off our floors (what a little helper!). We are also spending most sunny days at the park swinging, people watching, playing in the sandbox, and feeding the ducks. I think if we lived at the park, she would be most happy! We also try to get to the library once a week to play in the children's area and check out new books. And we've had lots of family time with Daddy lately - going to the Children's Museum, playing on the waterfront, and of course, visiting the park. What fun!

Container Gardening

Fri, 08 May 2009 07:30:00 GMT

I am trying my hand at container gardening again this year. Since I lived in an apartment for so long before getting married, I have a random assortment of pots. And with Spring being here and all, I felt they needed to be filled! So on my deck now I have two tomato plants, several pots of parsley, thyme, chives, two butter lettuce plants, salad mix (who knew you could grow a whole salad in one pot?), and several different flowers.

Parsley and Tomatoes

Foreground: Butter Lettuce and Parsley
Background: ??, Salad Mix, and Violet Landscape Geranium

While the Baby's Napping...

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:30:00 GMT

What I'm thinking about right now (Baby's napping, so how should I spend my time?):

1. I should exercise.
2. Need to plan vacation to Sunriver
3. Want to make a Montessori notebook of toddler-appropriate activities to do with my daughter
4. Potential move to a new house in the fall - need to paint, organize, purge
5. Need groundcover for under the front maple
6. Laundry's ready to be put in the dryer
7. Is the chicken thawed yet?
8. New Nicholas Sparks book on the shelf...
9. What's everyone doing on Facebook right now?
10. Should plan friend's baby shower
11. Want to post cool links on my literacy blog
12. Planning trip to OfficeMax: printer ink, black notebook, blank book for new Bible study
13. Really want to bake cookies...should exercise and eat a piece of fruit instead
14. Happy the sun is out!

Happy Days

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:35:00 GMT

My little girl turned one recently! It's hard to believe she has grown so quickly out of the baby stage. She is walking, learning how to hold her own spoon, drinking exclusively from a sippy cup, and can say a few words: cooky, tick-o (tickle), bub-o (bubbles), and dadEE (imagine a french accent!). She loves music and dances every chance she gets. We love her to pieces! So my days are busy, and much less "mine" than "ours." Hence, the sparse blog posts and lag in "projects." We spend a lot of time playing with my daughter's kitchen, reading books, and blowing bubbles. We also try to get in weekly trips to the library for storytime, swimming at our gym, grocery shopping, and playdates with friends. Life seems manageable as I work around her 2 naps a day and she becomes a little more independent and a lot more fun! I waffle between thinking I'm ready for "another one" and selfishly wanting to hold onto these happy "simple" days for awhile!

Eating Green

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:58:24 GMT

I just finished reading In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan. It was a surprisingly quick read for me, I suppose because I enjoyed his writing style. If you haven't heard of the book, Pollan basically argues for the return to eating "whole" foods: non-processed, straight from your garden or local farmer's market. I haven't joined the organic foods bandwagon, though several of my friends swear by it. And I'm not very "green" in my lifestyle, although we've started recycling a bit more this year. But since I do have a breast-cancer survivor in my family and I'm raising a one-year-old now, I'm becoming a little more health-conscious. Hence, the book. So this week when I went to the supermarket, I decided to try shopping for whole foods by spanning the perimeter of the store (produce, dairy, meats) and refraining from the aisles of packaged goods. Believe it or not, I stayed away from the ice cream, because the stuff on sale had about 15 million ingredients in it and seemed too full of things I couldn't pronounce (I'm going to make my own out of milk, eggs, and chocolate!). It was remarkably satisfying, and I felt healthier just walking up to the checkout stand with my cart full of good food! AND...I saved $50 over my usual grocery bill! (When I came home, my husband asked if we'd have enough to eat for the week! We do!) I'm excited for spring, as the farmer's markets will start opening back up and I can start planting some of my own herbs. I'd like to try a few vegetables too...we'll see. I'm not giving up completely on store-bought pasta, chips, or breads - I couldn't possibly make ALL of my own food, but I am going to try to shop a little healthier and make things when I can. We've already grown accustomed to homemade spaghetti sauce, so there's no going back on that one. And since I am no longer working full-time, I have the luxury of time to cook and do more of my own baking. So for awhile, we'll try eating green! This post was written as part of The Parent Blogger's Network blog blast featuring Nature's Source cleaning products. Post your secret to living naturally and you'll get a chance to win $250 Visa gift card and a set of cleaning products!

Books I'm Reading

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 07:00:00 GMT

My daughter is switching her nap schedule again, so as we adjust I am finding less time to read! I have, though, been able to finish a few books already this year. You can see them on my Booklist 2009.

On my shelf waiting for me are:

Circling My Mother, by Mary Gordon
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan
The Nine: Inside the World of the Supreme Court, by Jeffrey Toobin
Without a Map: A Memoir, by Meredith Hall
The Sum of Our Days, by Isabel Allende

I got them all from the library...I'll let you know if they are any good!

Birth of a Blog

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:41:30 GMT

I've started working on another blog: Growing Readers and Writers - resources for teaching literacy. Basically it's my thoughts on what's going on in the teaching of reading and writing currently. When I taught first grade, I loved teaching literacy and learned so much from my own experiences and from my colleagues. Since I won't be back in the classroom for awhile, I thought I'd keep up my skills a bit by blogging about my experiences and providing current resources for teachers. Eventually I think I'd like to pursue a position as a literacy coach in my children's school (I know, have the kids first, then raise them and get them in school! :). In the meantime, I can enjoy reading and compiling resources at my leisure, hopefully to the benefit of other teachers! You can view my new blog at http://growingreadersandwriters.blogspot.com. (Don't go away - I will still be posting here about everything else!)

Recent Accomplishments

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:06:23 GMT

Baby Girl (approaching her 1st birthday):
*Can now climb up the stairs
*Top front tooth is halfway in
*Has slept straight through (11-12 hours) for the last few nights!!

Myself (forever 29):
*Finished sewing a cloth book for my daughter's 1st birthday
*Made a cute crafting/cooking smock for my niece's 2nd birthday (pattern found here)
*Read John Grisham's new book, The Associate (excellent, by the way!)

It feels good to have something to show for my time! And crafting has been really satisfying lately, even though I'm not much of a seamstress.

On the docket for this week:
*Mending, sewing on buttons
*Lunch with a girlfriend
*Putting laundry away and other household chores
*Cleaning off the desk

Seeing as the mending has been sitting at the sewing machine since the baby was born, that will be an accomplishment in itself if completed this week! :)

In the Works

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 10:40:00 GMT

Sometimes I think I should just stop all these "other things" and "just" be a mom. I still don't know what that means though...sitting around and watching her play 24/7?

Here's what I have going on in my brain right now:
*Writing a book on singleness, and the lessons God taught me during that difficult wait
*Preparing for my goal of being a part-time elementary literacy coach (refining my first-grade writing curriculum, reading up on current trends in reading and writing, creating a new blog or website as a resource for teachers)
*Recording a worship CD
*Keeping up with my love of reading
*Household projects: organizing, sewing, painting, tiling the backsplash behind the stove

And then there are the daily household chores, investing in friendships, and investing more purposefully in my marriage and child (intentional time doing things together, exploring, creating memories).

The challenge right now is that nights are unpredictable (sometimes I sleep, sometimes I walk back and forth from the baby's room trying to console her) and even the simplest daily tasks take a looong time to complete because I have a toddler literally underfoot (she likes to play under my legs as I wash dishes or cook). Even talking on the phone is difficult at times because she wants my attention to stay focused on her (or she wants to chew on the phone, hard to say!). I've given up doing anything on the computer while she's awake for the same reasons.

I know I need to keep reminding myself that this is just a phase and I should be grateful for her desire to be with me all the time. There will come a day when that is no longer true, and I'll miss her tugging at my pantleg to get up.

Right?

Walking, Walking, Walking

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:24:25 GMT

My daughter has been walking independently for about 3 weeks now. She's 9 months old, and it is the cutest thing ever to see her wobbling around the house - my little Minnie Me! But...with the walking have come more sleepless nights, 2 mouth injuries, and a cold. I swear her brain works overtime, so that she can't settle down to sleep very long during her daytime naps and loves getting up between midnight and 3am to do some more walking practice. I have reverted to my "sleep when the baby sleeps" mantra from her newborn stage (which means more housework piling up and less time to read, blog, etc.). Ugh. The mouth injuries both happened as she was walking around the kitchen. The first occured when she sat down hard, jamming a water bottle up into her gum, and the second was only a few days later, when she landed face first onto her pacifier (on the rug), re-opening the previous wound to her upper gums. Both times there was a ton of blood and crying, and my heart was in my throat. And both times she recovered quickly, the bleeding stopped, and after napping she happily jammed more toys into her mouth to chew on. I pray that there has been no damage to her teeth, for I'm convinced that she has been trying to cut her upper teeth for several weeks as well. And the cold came on a couple days ago, so she has a horrible cough and runny nose. I think Corey and I are about to take part in this loveliness as well, as we've both been complaining of sore throats lately. It's all a bit overwhelming at the moment!

Happy New Year!

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:21:57 GMT

My husband and I ushered in the New Year by hosting dinner for my grandmother at our house. We had a nice quiet dinner of flank steak, mashed potatoes, salad, and brie baked in a sourdough bread bowl. Mmm. Then we put the baby to bed and watched home videos from when my mom was little. It seemed an appropriate way to end 2008, in which we introduced a new baby into the family and witnessed my grandfather going Home to be with the Lord. Our year was filled with family birthday celebrations, vacations, and a lot of "firsts" for us with our daughter. We are grateful to have many memories with our extended family. Looking forward to 2009, I haven't made any resolutions. I like this one that I came across today, though: "Celebrate Motherhood." With so many transitions into new motherhood last year, I felt like much of the time I was in survival mode. I'm hoping to take the time to enjoy my new role this year and not complain about the little stuff.

New Mom Daily Routines

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 06:15:00 GMT

Life has definitely changed over the last 9 months. My baby girl has grown from a helpless newborn to a very independent crawler. I think that one of the biggest shocks of motherhood for me was the realization that my time is not my own anymore. Though my husband helps out a ton, I am still “Mommy on-call” 24/7. The most menial, routine tasks can sometimes seem monumental when tending to a babe-in-arms or an aspiring toddler underfoot. (I never thought I'd have trouble deciding what to do with the baby when I went to the bathroom, showered, or prepared meals!)

We borrowed a Baby Bjorn, Playmat, Sit-n-Spin, and Bouncy seat for the first 6 months. They were lifesavers in terms of giving me time to work around the house! And since we borrowed them instead of purchasing them, we saved some money and don’t have to store them currently!

I’ve heard that adding another child to the mix triples the workload. As hard as it’s been for me to figure out how to do life with one, I cannot imagine how moms juggle two or more! Props to you!