Long weekend

Long weekends - my favorite kind. I took yesterday, Friday, off work and I won' be going back there until next Wednesday with any luck at all. I wrapped nearly all the Christmas presents in the house, and did some errands. I always overestimate how much I'm going to get done, and yesterday was no different. Even so, it was a good day to have off. Heck, everyday is a good day to have off.

Today, I must run Emily to her dance class/rehearsal here in a short time. Then, when I come back, I am ready to launch into holiday BAKING. I have big plans (again) - chocolate chip cookies for my brothers, oatmeal raisin for my grandfather, and oatmeal butterscotch for the Jerry. f course, the girls will be eating their fair share I'm sure. I have also bought stuff to make cream candy, so I am hoping to attempt a few batches of that as well. Then again, I'd love to go see Sweeny Todd today, but that might be an evening thing.



I really need to make time to load stuff on my new ipod. I still have a $25 iTunes card to use and I haven't begun to get through all the music Terry gave me. Not only that, I have 4 CD's waiting for me to rip. Here is a portrait of my little lovelies.
I got up at 4:50 this morning because I wanted to run. I was still too wiped out from last night, so I went back to bed until about 5:30. Then I got up and was on the road about 5:45. I haven't had a run in over a week now and the first mile about killed me, but then it all came back and I finished a 6.5 mile run in about an hour. Not bad. It was really nice out, no wind and maybe about 40 degrees. I smelled lots of wood burning, people must be burning in their fireplaces. I would love to have a fire in ours. I suppose I should bite the bullet and just open up the damper this morning and let the chimney start warming up. I hate to have all the heat sucked out of the house, but the last two attempts at a fire resulted in the family room full of smoke. It could be that the chimney just doesn't draw good enough, but more likely, I don't let it warm up enough before I light off the fire. The previous owners of this house used the fireplace, for sure. Perhaps I should buy an insert this spring, then I can have a fire without worrying about wasting so much electricity.

Black and White

I stayed up and played piano last night until nearly 2 AM. I think I would have sat there all night if not for knowing I had to get up and go to work the next morning. There at the bench in the wee hours of the morning, I had an epiphany. Sometimes, things are so random and yet so perfectly in order. I went to the gym last night and I wore pants that are black with white stripes down the sides of the legs. I didn't change when I got back home, just launched into chores and when I finally got time, I sat down at my piano. Sweet Jack had come in and he curled up on my lap, which is very unusual for him, he's not a lap cat so he must have just been cold. Anyway, I was playing and I realized Jack matched my pants - black and white cat on black and white pants. I then looked back at the piano keys - more black and white. Then I looked back at the music, black notes on white paper. Then, as if that weren't enough, my eyes traveled up to the picture hanging over the piano - my favorite Nancy Noel "Sarah" - Amish girl dressed in black holding a white cat. All this black and white in one place at one time, just like it was meant to be that way. For some reason, I got an idea about what I should do with myself. I think I want to go back to school and study music, and become a REAL music teacher. I have thought about becoming a teacher, but when I checked into it, I thought that if I did that, I would need to teach business, technology, math, or English to middle school or high school. That's what I could do quickest. BUT, if I could teach music, then that's something I myself could be interested in doing. I could be interested in teaching science too, but there's a lot I could do with music. The thing is, do I have to be a good musician to teach music? I will need to find that out before I put a plan together.



I have lots to do today - lots of errands to run. Our router bit the dust so I need to go buy a new one and install it sometime this weekend. I must go try to find bow resin. I need to deposit a check for Sarah (but first I have to FIND the check), and I need to pick up Emily's proofs. I can't wait to see them. These are photos for the Junior Miss Dance competition and ABT auditions next summer.



I am taking tomorrow off work to Christmas shop. I'm going to try to do it ALL in ONE day. Will that be possible? It has never worked out before, but I have been making a list so maybe I can get a lot done. This weekend we are putting up the tree and lights outside - do or die.



Here is a photo of the girls I took before their little piano recital out at Greenbo last weekend. The lodge was decorated for Christmas and the fireplace had a huge fire - it was very nice.