it's been a while...

At least it feels like it! Perhaps because there's been more going on than just school....

In no particular order, here are some of the things I've been up to:

1)A Trip to MESA!
Which included:

2) The wedding of my cousin, Liesl, to Sam
I was the flower girl - I always forget how much time and energy these things take. I'll soon forget again. That's why I'll be willing to do another wedding.
Liesl was beautiful, Sam, handsome. Andy...heh...he and Mike my uncle were fun to pester. Matthew kindly let me use his spiffy camera, and I worked on getting pictures of them.
I loved borrowing the camera, so I didn't have to just stand around awkwardly outside the temple. Instead, I was the annoying relative, following people around, trying to get some nice candid shots.
And, as tiring as flowers are, it's always rewarding. I think these arrangements turned out quite nice.
Pictures will be forthcoming.

3) Auntie Marki's 50th
That means she's old.
FYI: Age is determined by the number of your kids married, and then, once there are grandkiddies, that changes the formula once again.
It really wasn't her birthday-day in Mesa, but her husband wanted to have something down there that her AZ friends and family could attend.
I got the job of getting her out of the house - that part wasn't hard. We just went to Food City.
mmm....Buneulos....
It was after Food City that was tricky. I had to lie. It was an effective lie, I must say.

4) General pestering of relatives, okay, mostly Marki and Mike.

5) NOT letting Matthew fluff up my already quite fluffy hair with a balloon. Bad Matthew.

6) Flying back to Greensboro, and though loving the time with Family, ready to be back home.

7) General straightening up, and doing post-travel laundry.

8) Enjoying Spring Break!

9) Teaching
I have one oboe student, and now two! beginning piano students.
I have really enjoyed teaching piano. Especially, because it's not just the piano I teach. I get to talk about theory stuffs, too. And we learn note names, and all that good stuffs.
One of my students is about my age. I really really like teaching adult beginners. They get concepts really quickly, making teaching challenging, which forces me to think about how and what I teach! hoorah!

10) Borders books
I was given a gift card for my birthday (Thanks Frau!) and perused the store to find the perfect books. Well, the perfect books for me to enjoy right now.
Book 1: What the Dickens
Book 2: Playing With Grownups
Book 3:The American Wife

I also contemplated The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It was the movie tie in version. I hate those covers! Mostly, though, I think I didn't want to deal with emotional turmoil right now. Or anything too serious. Selfish, I know, but when I buy a book I'm not ready to read, they end up sitting on my shelf for a while, and then as they receive the stigma of shelf sitting, I don't want to read them. I don't understand me, either.

As such, I ended up returning books 2 and 3. They still look really good, but I don't know when I'd get them read. They didn't speak to me. (I only use that word because I can't think of a better.) I enjoyed the Tooth Fairy story.

On the return trip, I swapped the books out for The Mysterious Benedict Society. I really enjoyed the book, even though it kept me up till 4!

Some day in the future I need to list all the books I've read that I've thoroughly enjoyed. There's some I keep thinking about, but I know will never get reviewed by me anytime soon. For example, Horns and Wrinkles. Loved it. Fabulous entry in the American Folklore category. I randomly picked it up at the library because of its cover. Nicoletta Ceccoli is a wonderful illustrator. And who doesn't want a story on about trolls and the Mississippi?? The Hunger Games. Rapunzel's Revenge.... Okay, okay. A future entry.

I also had some Borders Bucks, so while my car was getting new tires, I walked over to the conveniently located Borders, and got Me Talk Pretty One Day, and The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I don't any more about them then what the covers say. I'm excited about them both (especially Me Talk...the opening pages deal with March in NC with him being apathetic to basketball.I'm looking for some pointers in dealing with this. [Venom: Not a hater! :) ])

11) I'm getting caught up with my homework. The latest book I've read for classes is a history of Muzak. As far as books for classes go, it was pretty entertaining, and not a drudgery to read. It even mentioned Bonneville corporations involvement in Easy Listening, and Lex de Azevedo got a shout out. Who knew!?

And now today is Friday. I have a whole list of things to get done today, tomorrow and Sunday.

Grocery shopping, cleaning the bathroom, homework, dishes....


Life is good.