YoYo Days

Yes, I've been known to climb a tree or two.

Aren't I just the cutest thing you've ever seen?

5 Things I'm Loving Now

1. Sausage biscuits for breakfast


2. My upcoming hard earned bonus


3. The current cup of Joe I'm having this morning


4. A day off w/my hubby (which is probably the best out of my 5 today!!)


5. I do have a green thumb-w/the help of my family. I've worked so much that I tend to forget to water my tomato plants and peper plants. I'm excited that I have 3 ready cherry tomatos and a couple of pepers

Birthday Moments

It's been one week since I've turned 31. Allot has happened, all in good ways. Only I, close friends and family know that my birthday week is always crazy, so I'm finally updating blogger world!

I was able to take off 2 days from work and focus on what I do best, play music. Our Flutissimo Flute Choir on Friday played in front of a judge, which gave us great advice that will help get us ready for National Flute Convention. That competition is in August and as I wrote in an earlier post of news...well that's it! I will have the privilege to get to go to Charlotte NC for the first time ever in my life and play 3 fulfilling days of music. I'm going alone, but will be with 20 other people representing the proud state of TEXAS!! Just a bit of background on this event:
We began 2 years ago sending in tapes of our concert performances that included 45-60 minutes of music. This year only 2 Flute Choirs were selected from Texas to get to perform in Charlotte NC. Don't worry out there Texas fans, I'll make sure I represent our state well! More to come on this event.

Following the Friday night performance in front of the judge, my loving husband (yes he went, that's why he's the best) drove me back to the house and there we enjoyed a relaxing night with our family. Concluding this evening which was my actually birthday, he surprised me w/a cake.

The next morning I woke up and headed back to the Texas Flute Society event in Denton. I wanted to take a master class w/this lady from El Paso. All were invited to perform w/4 years or more experience. We worked on 3 pieces, followed by us playing them in a concert. At one point 30 minutes in, the lady called out, "I need a Flutissimo player to play this." At first, I was like, oh, is she talking to me, then I quickly noticed that yes, she was, so I spoke up and told her I was playing part 2, and then asked did she need to me to play part 1. Basically in that brief moment, after it was over, I thought to myself did I just do that in front of 50 people w/no problem, and our group must be a big deal. So knowing this, and knowing that I'm performing on stage in an hour w/our group, I made sure I played the best performance I could. Playing our concert was bitter/sweet for me b/c I knew I was playing w/people for the last time until the fall. I knew that my journey was not over, as 20 of us will continue working hard, and perfecting the pieces for Nationals.

When I was done w/the festival, I went home and got ready to go over to a friends house to help celebrate by birthday. We cooked out steaks, asparagus, and my friend made the best Cesar Salad w/her families homemade dressing. She even made her own croutons. Yum. Then came the best part, her homemade cake that mainly consist of pound cake, chocolate, and amaretto.

As always we had good conversation that paired well w/the wine.

Sunday was a day of relaxing. We decided to stay home which is a rare opportunity, as I always have something going. We enjoyed the pool for the first time this season. It was a bit chilly, but that quickly was overlooked w/us enjoying fun laughs and conversation w/family.
So after all that playing in many forms, it was quickly back to the grind mill as my husband had to be at work at 2AM.

True Friends

My weekend started Tuesday after a long work stretch of about 10 days. I also played four times last week, so my days and nights did not finish until close to 11pm every day. I really enjoyed last Tuesday's performance. We had a small group out of our Spring season play at the re-grand opening at the Hurst Library. I really enjoyed playing in front of these 3 young ladies. I mean young, they were just starting out playing the flute. This venue was a very big deal for the city. They had media, cameras, and about 200 people were able to get up close and personal to us. At one point in the concert one of the girls asked "What's that?" We then described to her a flute she had never seen...The base flute. We quickly showed her the alto, and the E flat flute. This is why I play.
Also, something big came out of that concert that I will post another day.

So yesterday my tools included a rake, shovel, wheel barrel, and gloves. I played w/weed killer to mortar. I helped lay down lime stone and shovel out a gravel drive. Yes, today my obliques are a bit sore, but after all this is what you do to help out a very dear friend. To be honest I actually enjoyed it. I was reminded of the many projects I was next to w/my dad.
I'm really looking forward to the finish product the Sat. when we go over for a graduation party.

Well, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my weekend night w/my hubby. I work another two days, and have my normal weekend back!
Everyone enjoy.

Busy Bee Month Approaching

May has always been a very busy month for me ever since my kickball days. Yes, that's a very long time ago. This year is not any different. I'm about to have my spring concerts in May as well as competition. Check out the concert link from my flute choir:

www.flutissimoflutechoir.com/concerts.html

We are full swing in baseball season. We are enjoying as much baseball as we can.

We have graduations this month, my birthday, which I'm not sure what we are doing. I'm playing my flute on my birthday weekend in Denton, so I'll figure something out around my fluting!!

We've been working hard and playing hard these past few weeks, and as long as we are healthy, I see the month of May being another memorable month. We have such great close friends and family that support us to keep creating moments in life.

Spring into Bulbs

I really love tulips. They are a very simple flower to me. Tulips have clean crisp lines. They are the first signs that spring is arriving. Last Sunday I planted my Spring flowers/Summer plants. I planted my peppers and tomatoes. We will see how they do this year, as they will get more sun where they are. When we were in the apartment, all my plants got the morning sun only. I do have two great waterer's (if that's a word). I remember to water them about twice a week!

So far here in TX we have had great Spring weather. I hope we do get some rain to fill up the Guadalupe River. We might go this summer, and I hear you want to go to the river when it's a medium grade, which means the water is flowing at a steady pace. I don't want to swim when it's shallow, and we are hitting the rocks w/our tubes. This will be the first time we experience the River, and I hope the conditions are great.

Wow, I can't believe it's mid April. Happy Birthday to a dear friend today. You mean so much to us. Your friendship keeps growing stronger by the year. You are always there at any given time of the day to hear us and be there for us. Your amazing.

Saving my Pennies

My husband often makes fun of me when I pick up a penny on the ground. Sometimes I tell him, it's the 2ND one I've found today, or I'm one more away from rolling one up and sending it to the bank. I've been collecting change and paying off credit cards with them. I sometimes add that extra change to a bill. I feel it's my little part of paying off my debt. So, I'm here to tell you that it is OK to pick up that dirty penny on the ground and drop it into your piggy bank, as long as you wash your hands afterwards. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I'm going to save more pennies by enjoying reading my book.

Passion for teapots

This post is all about teapots! I wonder when my passion started on liking these little joys. My mom gave me my first teapot the first Christmas I was in my first apartment. It's solid white and my biggest teapot. I have a smaller red vintage teapot that I like to call my Chinese teapot. My newest teapot I got from my husband for our 6th year anniversary. It's blue and it resembles the calm ocean days. (At least that's what the paper says) I want to continue my passion with teapots and learn new teas when Teavana opens up at the mall.

Time at 30

What are you doing at 30? I ask myself if I'm living in the moment more, like I mentioned at the first of the year. I'd like to say yes, but man is time flying by. Here in Texas we've had very unusual weather the last 3 weeks. The first two weeks started w/record low temps, and this past week unusual warm temps for February. We broke a record low yesterday, I think at 63 degrees. During this crazy weather times I was able to finish one book and begin the Twilight series. My mom gave me the entire set for a Christmas gift last year. This is the first book I'm reading:

as well as enjoying a cup of:This is an herbal tea, and tastes yummy.

The beginning of the week started off w/my valentine giving me a cupcake and the perfect size roses in a cute old milk container. The cupcake's icing was a marshmallow filling. We both were surprised by that. Yes, I shared!!

The end of the week will conclude w/me visiting a new salon today. I'm stepping out of one salon and walking into a new one that has opened downtown, off 7th street in Fort Worth. I'm not sure if this step is permanent, b/c I want to make sure I have the experience I'm looking for in this salon. It's been almost one month since my part time job at AVEDA has ended. I worked there for so many years, and will miss the discount majorly. We partnered w/one salon that helped our pockets books the last year. Especially my pocket book, since I have to go color my greys about every 2 months!

We will be visiting and cooking dinner w/our dear friends tonight. So, I'm off to enjoy the weekend.

Snow Day

Friday, February 4Th we woke up to this:

View on the Front Porch,

Allen's parents house,

View of the neighborhood,

View of the back yard,

The spa, turned into an ice rink,

Frozen fountains,

Allen hard at work

Texas Snowman!

We may not have been able to go ski this year, but we still were able to get out our ski gear!

Shortly after taking this picture we decided to go out to the front of the house. We began walking the neighborhoods. We were the first outside, so we were the first to make snow tracks. The time was around 9am. Walking side by side, hand in hand, this moment in time, was peaceful. We heard nothing, no planes, no cars, no school buses. The view was peaceful too. You did not see any streets, no curbs, no sidewalks. I semi felt like I was in the country, but only semi, b/c the houses were to close together! My husband said at one point, that GOD sent us this snow, knowing we were not able to go ski this year. We both miss not being able to go ski, but next year will come fast as it always does. For now, I'm glad I was able to soak this moment in and enjoy it.

Super Freeze XLV

Hello all and good morning from DFW. Currently as the Green Bay Packers enter into the Cowboy stadium for media day, I'm sitting here wondering what they are thinking. I know both teams are used to this weather, but I wonder how locals are talking to them. One thought I have is I wonder why they think they are the only one's on the road! Anyways,
I wanted to give you 5 essential items you need for today.

1. A fantastic cup of coffee or hot chocolate
2. A blanket
3. Sweaters for your dogs
4. A great book
5. Food for the soul: My favorite is potato soup

Resolutions Check

As we are approaching the end of the first month of 2011, I looked over my resolutions for the year. I finally completed the Wicked series. My mom got me the latest Nicholas Sparks book, which is what I'm reading now. So far, its an easy read, relaxing, and enjoyable. I'll be reading more today!

Now on to my money resolutions. I can say I saved as much as I could, controlled the food budget, and paid the minimum plus a tiny bit more on a credit card. I must say, I've always been a saver. For example, I was the only sister that still had Christmas candy when Valentine's Day came around. Another example is my little sister knew to find change in my tootsie roll!

Traveling is on my resolution list, but for now, we have not. I'm sure we will go somewhere in the summer.

How are your resolutions going for 2011?

Yummy Meals

I found a great inexpensive meal, that can serve 2-6 people. So far, we've cooked this meal a couple of times, and everyone has seemed to like it. My favorite part is the mini egg roles. Check it out:

Cook your favorite type of rice, I prefer brown, but the hubby likes white, pop in your egg roles in the oven, and while both of those are cooking, then you stir fry your veggies! Very easy meal, I can even do this one!!

Save, Save, Save

I have a major goal. I've decided to take on a fast for the year. I'm going to take this one month at a time on this to be a success. I'll try to be as detailed as possible and still keep our personal stuff out. I'm going to save as much as possible this month. I came across this article the other day, that has given me more inspiration to save as well as pay off as much debt as possible. She went on a saving fast. I love the idea. I really think I can save the money we need for a down payment and pay off a debt that has really bugged me! I have 2700. to pay off my least credit card. So this month my total goal is 1100. 800 is what rent would have been, 300 will be extra from my next paycheck. Today was a great start, I brought my lunch to work. Last week we only went out once. Also remember in my last post about keeping January "calm". We are doing great. We helped ring in the new year, and went to dinner w/a dear friend. This week will be more eating in, and I'll be finishing a book I've been reading! I know writing this down will keep me on track as well as more committed. I'm going to write down dollar amounts on the calendar to keep me in check. I have an amazing support system next to me too. I'll update each month and tell you how I'm saving!

A new Year

A new year, and a new decade is upon us. I have many goals ahead, as I believe we all should. Some of the goals consist long term, complicated, and others are short term, and are not very complex. Some personal goals of mine are:

Read more:

1. Finish the Wicked series


2. Read the entire Twilight series


3. Read more Nicholes Sparks books
   
   

• Work out more and do more Yoga classes

The biggest thing I need to work on is "Live in the Moment" I think that should be my 2011 motto. I'm to much in a hurry, and always on the go. I can be at home and believe I can do one more load of laundry while I vacuum.

• Pay more down on our debt. I hope to have 2 more cards done, which is a very realistic goal.


• Find our First House!!


• Double what I have in my savings account

Now on to travel:

• Go anywhere Kaylan wants to for her birthday in June


• Go to San Antonio once


• Go ski, either the Rockies, or in the Vermont area,


• Go to see the Fall foliage


• Maybe go back to San Diego

Learn to cook actual meals.

I want to learn 12 new recipes. I'm on a start. Today I cooked omelets.

All in all, our first week into the new year is good. We were able to spend the new year, celebrating it w/Allen's grandmother. We all were able to have a home cooked meal on Allen's birthday w/her and his family. The night before that my entire family was able to celebrate my dads birthday at Genghis grill which my dad loves!

For the rest of January, I hope to keep it low key, as we need every penny to go towards a down payment for a house. So, for now, I hope to start on my reading!