Monday, January 31, 2011

For Good

I promise to stop obsessing about my music ventures soon, but I just have to gush for a moment about having my keyboard back at my apartment.

New Addition to the Family

My lovely sister has been borrowing it for the past year or two, but now that she's in the dorms I have reclaimed my baby. Corban was a great sport to go with me to help load it up. Of course, he was handsomely rewarded with (brace yourself) a jar of my grandmother's much coveted home-made pickles, so it was kind of a win-win situation for him.

Grandma's Hand-made Pickles

Unless you are related to me, you have no idea how amazing these pickles are. I don't even like pickles generally, but these little guys are just to die for. My grandmother makes them completely by hand, even growing the pickles in her backyard vegetable garden. It's usually quite the feat to pry a jar out of my mother's hands.

And speaking of delicious food, here is a photo of my love making me Sunday breakfast. :)

Top Chef: Breakfast

Saturday, January 29, 2011

I'm pretty sure...

...I just peed my pants a little reading When Parents Text. Oh, internet, U R my BFF 4 ever!!!11!!1!

Friday, January 28, 2011

What Is This Feeling?



I am so terrified excited to perform! If the already-amassing butterflies don't cause me to explode in a big, gory mess first, that is.

After a quick cyber-trip to Amazon and a slightly less quick physical-trip to Pender's, I now have all my music books for spring!

music books, yay!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I truly adore...

...this living room.

awesome living room

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Dancing Through Life



Seriously, guys, you have it pretty easy on Valentines. Stuffed animals, jewelry, flowers, chocolate...it's all spelled out. Too bad there aren't any prescribed VDay gifts for men. Cologne? Tacky underwear? I am personally at a loss.

Mr. Johnson and I discussed it the other day, and we decided that 2011 is going to be just like 2010, only awesome instead of sucky. To further this resolution, I have started taking music lessons at a local collage. I am already in a haze of Italian solos and musical theater power ballads.

Don't wish, don't start

I'm not that girl

Only musical theater can make hopelessness into something beautiful and glamorous (mostly cause you know she gets the guy in the end.)

So far I approve of 2011.

balloons caught in tree
fan

Wishing only wounds the heart
I wasn't born for the rose and the pearl
There's a girl I know
He loves her so

Despite the highly commercialized nature of the holiday, I happen to love Valentine's Day. Who cares if it is a holiday propagated by super chains to sell cheaply made cards and teddy bears? I like cards and teddy bears. Flowers are particularly awesome.

Anyway, I made some new Valentine's gift bags.

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Thursday, January 20, 2011

When I Grow Up...

"So childhood too feels good at first, before one happens to notice the terrible sameness, age after age."

-Grendel, John Gardner

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Danielle over at Sometimes Sweet got me to thinking about my childhood expectations for my adult-self. In some ways, I still don't think of myself as an "adult," although at the ripe old age of 25 I can no longer deny that here we are, this is it, I am officially in charge of my own destiny. No one to blame it on when things get bad or disappointing. No feeling of entitlement to having my own way. Time to suck it up and figure things out.

When I was a teenager, I assumed that I would end up as a "professional woman." Someone who has her shit together. Someone powerful and confident who wears little power suits and has a personal trainer. My favorite cocktail would be a martini. I would graduate from college at 22, be generally awesome until 25, at which age I would meet the 6'2", brown haired, suite-n-tie wearing, Hunky McHunkerton man of my dreams. Marriage would follow at 27, setting me up for the big decision to pursue Career or Family in my early 30's. I would have it all figured out and be fully aware of this fact. I would feel like An Adult.

I had it all planned out. It was going to happen. It was destiny.

What I failed to take into account was my own personality and inclinations.

I am ill-suited for Business, capital B. I never, ever have my shit together. I am not confident in anything that I do or say. I hate pencil skirts and am not particularly attracted to the "hunky" type of male. Martinis disgust me.

I did everything wrong.

Getting down to the most basic flaw in my own teenaged dream for my perfect future self, I never once considered that in order to feel like adults, we must treat ourselves as such. I pretty much just let myself mentally stay in childhood, and now I wonder why some things suck so much. I never planned for adulthood. It was supposed to just happen one day, like getting my period or developing a taste for wine.

This is not to say that I am in any way unhappy with my life. Just a little disorientated. Somewhat lost without a map. However, I think that I have recently made my most adult decision so far: to stop trying to fit in to my childhood fantasy image of what an grown-up should be, and to try to decipher the inner-workings of my own messed-up brain to determine what it is that I would like to do and that would make me happy. Whether or not it is practical, fashionable, or exists only between the hours of 9 and 5.

So, that is what 2011 is dedicated to. Wish me luck. :)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Quarter Life Crisis

There are so many ways to think of birthdays- I know some people who celebrate their entire birthmonth and some who won't even admit to the day. I've been known, on occasion, to forget mine.

Not so this year.

This year I turned 25.

And I have nothing to show for it. For my quarter century of life, I have no real successes, no real career, nothing much to say for myself.

However, as I was reminded this weekend, what I do have is amazing people in my life who don't really care whether or not I have success, career, or property.

I have a best friend who will have Joint Birthday S'mores and Cocktails with me.

s'mores at Tillmans

birthday martini 2

I have a wonderful group of friends who will take me to see a very un-funny Rob Schneider and make up for it with drinks after.

at the Improv

Rob Schneider...his standup was not so great.

also wearing plaid at Stadium Cafe

wearing plaid at Stadium Cafe

sexy hair?

And I have a beautiful fakefamily and an amazing husband who will throw me a surprise party at the best little coffee shop/wine bar in the world.

Birthday party :)

So, I guess I'm doing pretty damn good for 25. :)

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

If You Were Singing For Pizza You Wouldn't So Much As Got A Wiff Of It

Go with a song in your heart, go with music in your soul. Leave with a memory of a melody. Go with a song in your heart.

RIP, Mr. Duane D. Gohlke, a great man who taught many generations of people to live with music in their souls (and shorts.)

Go With A Song In Your Shorts

Thank you, Mr. Gohlke, for always calling me by my last name, for telling the altos to be more manly, for lucky pennies that go in lucky left shoes, for never settling for someone's second best, and for always being a teacher first and foremost. So many lives were touched by your kindness, odd humor, and tireless devotion to music and education.

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. Amen.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Company

New Year's is one of our favorite holidays. Here's how it went this year.

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We sent out 2010 with a bang. Here's to 2011. Let's make it a good one.