This WONDERfilled Life...

I wouldn’t say I’ve been in a creative funk…but I haven’t been as “prolific” as I thought I would be…especially since the music world has been a little slower than usual (or at least compared to my action-packed January/February) and considering the kids have been off of school for two weeks.   Did you catch that…my kids have been home with me, all day, every day, for TWO WEEKS!!! I had lists of cleaning, organizing, music making and creating that I just knew I would get done…then I remembered about taxes, my sisters memorial scholarship was due (Super and I are part of the panel that adjudicates applicants) oh and then there was the four days I was incapacitated due to the stomach flu – the horror that was our house with three out of four of us sick…well…I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. The reality is I did get somethings done…I got almost all of Bubba’s potty trainers cut out. I almost finished our taxes and I submitted my ranking for the scholarship this morning

If you couldn’t tell by my last post we’re a little CRUNCHY around here.  We cloth diaper, I use a “CUP” for that time of the month, and we do not use paper products (plates, napkins etc).  We try and recycle everything that our blue bins will allow and shy away from single serving packaging as much as possible.  Here’s the thing, we also realize that our small contribution of trying to REDUCE-REUSE-RECYCLE won’t change the world or even put a speed bump in the trajectory that the human species is currently on BUT being thoughtful about these things helps us to appreciate what we have, pine a little less for what we don’t and helps guide us to better living within our means and be a little less "consumeristic".  A few years ago we got rid of all the single / short term use plastics in our house.  We slowly recycled all our Glad containers as they wore out and cracked and eventually replaced them with a set of glass, Pyrex, food saverware.  These are awesome except t

I can have the best laid plans…but when “doodie” calls…I drop everything and take care of it.  I started a really awesome (I think it will be awesome) project two weeks ago for my horn.   I was in the designing phase and decided I needed some black mesh.   Cut to me tearing my sewing studio apart looking for one of THREE stores of black mesh that I know I own.   I couldn’t find a single one…so I decided then and there that I would organize my fabric after my year long crafting challenge (more on my trials of de-cluttering soon).   I got a ton cleaned up…but as I was organizing, I found a diaper cover half repaired and I realized I should probably finish that and just get it out of the area.   I finished fixing the cover and wouldn’t you know it we started having problems with every other diaper cover we own… If you didn’t know already, we’re a little crunchy…when I was pregnant with P I knew I wanted to cloth diaper.   I would stay up late throughout my pregnancy resear

I’ve thought about this topic for almost 6 months…more probably.  So many things we deal with as musicians (and a freelancer on top of that) are just really good life lessons and lately I keep coming back to the concept of "planning".   You have a goal, you have an end game, an end vision.   Maybe it’s a new patio for the backyard, or getting in shape before a certain event,  or the giving a recital with a certain theme.  No matter what the end "product"is you have to take certain steps to get there.  Decide on what style of patio you want, set a budget, hire a contractor or spend some serious time on the Googles learning a new skill set. Dreaming the dream, seeing that end goal is the EASY part.  I can create vision board of any and every success I can imagine but that doesn’t put that ball in motion toward that goal.   Looking back on what I would consider some of my greatest accomplishments I realized that the most successful moments in my life came fro