The Days Are Merry and Bright

Between now and December 21st, I have ten performances. *deep breath*

As long as I breathe, take one thing at a time, focus on what I'm doing at the moment, keep my planner handy, and get sleep at night, then I continue to absolutely ENJOY what I do. I am a musician: I feel honored and privileged and blessed to say that! On top of my musical endeavors, I am a mother and wife and daughter and sister, so caring for and spending time with my family needs to be at the top of the priority list too.

This is a beautiful season. I love the holidays! It's not all fun and games, of course... we've all passed around a nasty cold that brought my cough from November back full force, Harmony has been working on her last molar coming in which led to a few restless nights this week, one of our cars got a flat tire that needed to be replaced, my sink is NEVER empty of dirty dishes, and I currently have four loads of clean laundry waiting to be folded and put away. But in spite of all the craziness, it's still been great capturing the best times with my phone camera, so that we can remember what we loved. If you don't follow me on Instagram, here is what's been going on with our family lately.

Every morning, Harmony and I eat breakfast together, light the Advent candles, and read a story.

It was so much fun setting up and decorating our first real, full-sized Christmas tree!

Creative retreat! More on that at the end of this post ; )

There have been plenty of silly, happy moments together.

Harmony had her first hair trim, at almost two and a half years old.

My mom did a great job! Harmony thought it was funny to look at herself in the mirror.

We set out our shoes for St. Nicholas' Day on December 6th.

The chocolate coins were a bust, but the Hello Kitty candy and stickers got a rousing cheer.

My family banded together to watch Harmony for an entire day while my best friend Heather and I went on a creative retreat! This is our third year getting together in December to review the entire year and set intentions for the next year. We have gone through Susannah Conway's amazing FREE workbook called Unravelling the Year Ahead, which you can download (did I mention for free?!) on her website here! Highly, highly recommended.

This year Heather and I met at a local coffee shop in the morning, talked and went through our goals, thoughts, and writing from 2014, and had hot drinks. Then around noon we went to a Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant that we've both wanted to try and ordered delicious food. Afterwards, we went back to her house to figure out what we hoped our lives would hold in 2015.

It's so great to have a good friend to discuss these things with. I might share a few of my plans for 2015 in a later post. I'm still in the process of choosing my One Word for next year, and finishing filling in my Unravelling workbook.

The older I get, the more I realize how vital it is to have intentions for what you want to accomplish, so that I can have direction to my life and know that I am still doing what I want to be doing rather than aimlessly wasting time! Yet that doesn't mean every minute of my life needs to be scheduled. I value rest, peace, and mornings in my pajamas eating donuts with my family just like everyone else : )  It's the long-term goals that I like having plans for, and writing down what I hope my year to look like is a great start to accomplishing what I hope for.

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Welcome to Our Home! Part 2

Earlier I posted a mini-tour of the first part of our home. Here's the second half!

Harmony's room! It's a small space between the main area of the house and the back den. She loves it. Her tea set, box of treasures, stuffed animals, and some musical instruments stay in here. The wicker chair moves around the house wherever she wants it to be.

Yes, her toddler bed is on the floor. It used to be on the floor in our apartment next to our bed, and she still rolls around so much in her sleep that we just keep it this way now. Half the time when she falls out of the bed she'll just pick herself up and climb back in! She also likes having her books nearby.

Two beautiful pieces of art that my mom created: the owl and the pussycat at sea, and my favorite childhood lullaby that I now sing to Harmony: 

May the Lord, mighty Lord, bless and keep you forever. 

Grant you peace, perfect peace, faith in every endeavor.

Lift up your eyes and you'll see His face and His grace forever.

May the Lord, mighty Lord, bless and keep you forever.

More art hanging on the wall, Harmony's beloved set of handbells, my rocking chair that Chris bought me from an antique store before Harmony was born, and Harmony's baby doll in the hand-made cradle grandpa made for her birthday. We were blessed with more than half a dozen hand-knit or crocheted baby blankets when Harmony came along; I rotate them every so often, so that we can enjoy the warmth and beauty of all of them!

Here's our den! We use it as a combined t.v. room and toy room. And craft room. And storage room. It's full of all sorts of odds and ends, like our vacuum, and the thing you hang clothes on folded up behind it. You can also get into the backyard from this room.

Most of Harmony's toys stay in here, which is nice to have them contained in one main area. We have tried very hard to have toys that inspire imaginative play, and to limit noise-making or technology-driven toys. So far it's gone well. This past month I've been watching Harmony spend hours making up stories with her animal and pony figurines, building with blocks, playing with water toys in the bathroom sink, zooming her toy cars across the table, and developing her imagination!

More books! More art! More instruments! That is Harmony's rainstick in the corner. Yes, it's Harmony's personal rainstick. Our family gives awesome birthday presents to two-year olds. 

That's the door to my sister's room. No pictures of that space! We try to respect her privacy while she lives with us. My crafty things are mostly stored in that corner. The beanbag unfolds into a comfy mattress that many guests have used in our house.

Our room! I am still in love with this gorgeous comforter Chris and I purchased when we were first married. It is so cheerful!

There's the other entrance to my sister's room. Yeah, the floorplan is weird in the house. It's worked out well so far for all of us, though. I especially love the coat-rack my sister found for us at a thrift store. If you're curious, we have some knick-knacks on top of the bookshelf including a leprechaun whiskey container (empty) and a stuffed frog holding a guitar. WE ARE WEIRD.

Here you see all our clothes. Seriously, all of it is here except for the stuff we have hung up in the tiny closet you see on the side. We don't separate out our cold or warm weather clothes. The white bin is where I store my yarn stash, our gift-wrapping supplies, and all our heavy winter sweaters. My summer and winter shirts/t-shirts/tank tops are on the wire stand, along with our hats. Our pants and pajamas and underthings and socks and all Chris's shirts are in the dresser. 

It is bizarre to me just to realize how few clothes we own. Chris and I have very singular, independent (read"weird" again) approaches when it comes to fashion; we pretty much wear what we like, and what's comfy. Ninety percent of what I wear comes from thrift stores. Maybe I'll do another post about that later ; ) 

Oh, and I got that little ceramic pig on the dresser from a white elephant gift exchange years ago in Kansas City. It's adorable and matches my eight dollar thrift store lamp. Our wedding candles that we lit during the ceremony are on the dresser too. We light them during every anniversary. 

The newest art piece hung in our room, a beautiful quote hand-painted by my mom for my birthday this summer! I am so grateful to have meaningful art from many family members everywhere in our home. 

There you have it! Our home, looking decently clean, even though you can't see the dust on everything or the dirt on the floors. We're not spotless around here. But we do try to be welcoming. We look forward to having many friends over to enjoy time together!

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It's the Little Things

Overheard yesterday: "Oh, I LOVE you so much, ducky, but I have to gooooo now. I so sorry. I just have to leave. I will love you forever! Don't be sad... I will come back tomorrow.

Overheard this morning: "Do you live in St. Louis, pony? Yes, I live in St. Louis. We will visit each other here. Let's go play hide and seek and find each other. Let's fly!"

The imaginative play has started, and it's beautiful to see.

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We're all finally beginning to cough less. Of course that virus would run through the entire family. So now we're all trying to catch up on sleep together, which makes for some very cozy mornings curled up in our big bed with lots of warm blankets. I used to think that Harmony was not a snuggly child, but since this past summer she has suddenly turned into an I-want-to-cuddle-constantly person. Totally okay with me!

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A few weeks ago I was featured on a lovely blog called Zauberbear, answering the question "Would you rather be able to understand any language or be able to play any instrument?"  It was very interesting to write out my response to this! Head over here to check it out.

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During the month of November on Facebook I've been listing one thing I'm grateful for every single day. Here is the list so far:

#1     Seeing friends old and new at a guitar concert, fellow home-schooling moms and fellow guitarists!

#2     Two great performances with a guitar ensemble in Illinois.

#3     Cold pizza for breakfast. Yes, I'm weird.

#4     New-to-us pale green curtains for the huge windows in the den, the last windows in our home that needed to be covered.

#5     A successful final recording session with one of my students who worked very hard.

#6     Beautifully fresh flowers, a gift from a student's sweet family.

#7     Standing alongside passionate, dedicated music teachers who are an inspiration to me.

#8     Finding out that our new next-door neighbors are actually the neighbors from across the street, two houses down! They just wanted a bigger place to live.

#9     Honesty matched with graciousness. The truth is best given when paired with grace.

#10   A beautiful warm morning at the park, probably the last of the season.

#11   Almost a full night's sleep after a week of coughing (can you tell I was exhausted?).

#12   Seeing a best friend's amazing new guitar.

#13   A washer and dryer in my basement. No more walking two blocks to the laundry room in freezing weather!

#14   Artists meeting together to support each other and have meaningful dialogue.

#15   My sweet girl Harmony, the Mininsky.

#16   The beautiful snow falling in our city.

#17    The many, many cups of tea that I drink constantly throughout the day and night.

#18   Singing in harmony with another great human being.

Do you write out a list of gratitudes before Thanksgiving? What are some things you're grateful for right now? My blogging friend Marielle over at Magical Daydream inspired me to share what I'm thankful for today : ) 

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Welcome to Our Home! Part 1

We moved in to our first house at the beginning of June this year. Even though we're still renting, just the fact of living in a REAL HOUSE has been incredible! I've already written before about how blessed we feel to have a home big enough for all of us, myself, Chris, our daughter Harmony (otherwise known as the Mininsky), and my sister Emilia. Now that we're finally, truly settling in with the onset of cold weather, here is part one of our house tour, as best as I can show it with simple pictures online. If house tours bore you, feel free to come back later for more interesting posts ; ) 

My kitchen! It really doesn't get much bigger than this. I have about a yard's worth of counter space, a dishwasher under it, very few cabinets, a nice stove, a microwave above the stove, a great refrigerator, and a door leading to the basement. I brought in an extra little wire shelving unit for some more much-needed storage space. Most of my time is spent with this view, and I'm certainly not going to complain when I can look out a window into a beautiful green space with sun every day : )

Our kitchen leads into the dining room. We love hanging artwork on our walls, and every piece of art in our house is meaningful for us in some way, because of the people they remind us of and the stories behind them. This cross was created from the old floorboards of a local church where Chris was hired to sing at years ago, and they gave it to him as a thank-you. The wooden basket on the table was a gift from Chris's best friend from when he was stationed in the middle east a few years ago. We have squashes and pumpkins in it right now for autumn.

The dining room has so much light. I really can't get over how much LIGHT the entire house has. When your apartment of almost four years faces the north and has very few windows, you get used to living in a cave, so a house feels like a miracle of brightness! 

Our ten-dollar yard sale table and antique chairs from Chris's grandma have served us well, but we really need to buy more chairs at a thrift store soon so that we don't need to drag out the rocking chair every time company comes over for dinner! Two embroidered pieces of art are here, one a beautiful wedding gift reminding us of our anniversary with our names from a sweet friend, and the other a cross-stitch with a great Tolkien quote made by my sister: "Not all those who wander are lost."

I like the combined dining and living room set-up. We almost have a bookshelf in every room of the house, by the way. And we're running out of room for books. Somehow more books always sneak in. I wonder how? Guitar picture hand-drawn by my talented sister when she was twelve or something ridiculous. Everyone in my family has the visual art gene except for me.

Probably the best thing about moving into a house was that we were able to finally have a piano again! This is the piano my husband learned on when he was little. His family lovingly brought it out to St. Louis for him from Ohio over Labor Day weekend, and I'm pretty sure he's played it every day since then. It used to be his grandmother's. His father also plays piano, so it's a three-generation thing they have going on.

The chair and couch came from an estate sale that my folks found. They were previously owned by a jazz musician in St. Louis who took remarkably good care of them and (shockingly) didn't smoke. We love them! Painting of the lighthouse by Chris's grandmother, blanket crocheted by my sister-in-law, Harmony's guitar in the corner, glass vase made for us at our wedding, trombone case leaning against the bookshelf, Chris's bodhran (Irish drum) hiding behind the chair, my favorite moon clock on the wall. And our radio, because even though we have speakers that can hook up to iTunes on my computer or Pandora on the iPad or my iPod, it's best to have all your bases covered when you're a family of musicians, ya know? The one thing we don't have is an old record player. It's on our list of things to acquire some day when our child(ren) are beyond record-breaking-age.

This couch. It makes me happy. And the awesome paintings hanging above it are gorgeous too. I found them for a few dollars each at a thrift store, which is both awesome for being so affordable and sad because I would hate to see my paintings in a thrift shop for pocket change. At least we appreciate them very much! Yes, all my guitars are stacked in the corner, along with my mandolin. 

Somehow wedged between the guitars and the shoe bin, I've fit my desk in front of the window. It's perfect for daydreaming, story-composing, and letter-writing. I guess it's good for answering emails and doing bills, too. The desk is old, shaky, and beautiful. If I was a better person I'd probably fix it up or varnish it or repaint or something. 

Even though I have a vintage desk, the chair I sit at was taken straight from the dumpster. It's made of pine, dingy, and sturdy. Completely mismatches my desk. And then we have our entryway, which tends to get super cluttered because we dump everything on that tiny little table which already has my odds-and-ends on it such as papers, music, tissue box, huge jar of Skittles, and set of speakers. The artwork next to the doorway is a metalworked Celtic knot which was a wedding gift. 

So there's the first half of our home! Here is the post showing the second half.

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Dear _____, I Miss You. Here's a Letter, Finally!

Dear _______,

My letter to you is under a pile of guitar paraphernalia on my cluttered desk, halfway finished, along with several others that are not completed yet either. It's not because I don't care about you, but I know that you understand that already. That's why we make such good companions, right? Because no matter how long we go between actually hearing from each other, let alone seeing each other face to face, you still care about me and will be excited to see me or get a letter whenever it happens.

Life is so incredibly filled with good things here, and my calendar is constantly filled weeks in advance now. I even schedule in down time now, which I call my "breathing room", you'll be happy to hear! Sometimes you just need a break. But all the events going on are exciting, truly they are, with friends and family and students and musicians, outdoors and indoors, in town and out, many adventures everywhere. So even though I might feel busy, busy, busy, it's my own doing, and I wouldn't change it! You're quite busy too, I imagine.

I do miss you. Sometimes, in the midst of having fun doing what I love, it would be nice to have you at my side enjoying it too. Or even when I'm having a great time, occasionally I'll pause, savoring the moment like you told me I should, and soak it all in, then mentally write it down and send it to you in an invisible letter. Day-dream letters, I call them. Have you received any yet?

Right now the lunch dishes are still on the table, I'm shivering because the temperature has fallen to below fifty degrees and I need a sweater, errands still need to be run, and I think Harmony is creating a water scene with the bathroom sink. Sigh. At least she's happy and learning to play independently, right? I just finished my emails for the day (they take forever sometimes!), and finished an editing job that I volunteered to do. A friend and her toddler came over this morning to play. We're going over to my folks' tonight for dinner, and then trick-or-treating.

If you were here right now, I'd wait until Harmony went down for her nap, then I'd make us some hot tea, and we could sit in the den in front of the two huge windows that look out into the yard and just drink in all the gorgeous autumn colors that decorate the trees right now. It's like a constantly changing painting, with all the red-orange-yellow-brown-purple beauty to be seen and the sunlight scattering pale gold across the grass. The wind has brought the cold that will welcome November with a proper chill. I love it.

I'll be handing out Christmas music to my guitar students this next week. I don't like to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, but you know how it goes... the musicians have to learn all their music before the season, so that when December hits (or for my house, the day after Thanksgiving), they can pull out the carols all ready to perform. I enjoy the enthusiasm of my students as they learn to play these well-loved tunes, so fortunately there's no "bah humbug" about it.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, it will be here before you know it! November will be filled with music rehearsals, writing my novel during NaNoWriMo, and enjoying the last of the warm weather before real cold sets in, so the weeks will fly fast. I doubt I'll be able to send you this unfinished letter sitting on my desk before then, but let me tell you now, even though you already know it, that I am so very grateful for you, my friend, and you bring light to my life through the memories we share and the lessons you have helped me learn.

Much love,

Lyssa

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Happy 300th Post, with Giveaways!

 I can.... now celebrate the 300th post I've written here. That's a lot of words! I also updated my blog look, as you can see, and changed my URL, so you might need to update it in your feed if you're a follower here. It's now http://playingthemusicoflife.blogspot.com/ instead of playguitar4him like it was before.

I want.... to finish my novel I began last year during NaNoWriMo, "The Naming of Fio Re". 50,000 words of a very rough draft are written, but the story was never finished. I have big plans for what to do during NaNoWriMo this year, though. You'll see a post here soon about it!

I should.... not keep eating the 1,197 Skittles in the jar next to my computer that I won at a family reunion. They are my favorite candy besides Butterfingers, but there is just soooooo much sugar!

I have.... a weird left hand thumb. It's been that way all my life. There's either a ligament too long or missing (or something) so it doesn't stretch out or bend well or do what I want it to do. It used to really frustrate me when I would play my guitar but over the years I've learned to work with it.

I would.... appreciate it if someone could discover/invent the 25th hour of the day. I vow that it would only be used for practicing music. Promise.

I like.... coffee-flavored drinks. In other words, drinks involving coffee, just not straight coffee.

I love.... autumn. It's my favorite season.

I have.... worn make-up only twice over the past year. My skin is not perfect, I often have shadows under my eyes from lack of sleep, and my cheeks are pale instead of pink, but I don't care enough about what other people think to wear make-up! I'll stick with what I've got, warts and all (or in my case, pimples, because my skin seems to think that I'm a teenager still). At least I always try to be clean, wear only clothes that I like, and make sure that I'm not a mess!

I need.... to learn how to bake better. All my cakes are near-disasters. So sad. I won't even attempt any pie except pumpkin, although I can make a decent cheesecake for some bizarre reason.

I get.... a thrill out of little traditions with friends, like going to the same mom-and-pop burger joint to drink home-brewed root beer, or visiting a favorite coffee shop together, or watching a beloved movie as an annual treat, or giving the same gift of a great new book every birthday, or going to a favorite park to sit on "our" bench.

I can't.... go outside at night without looking for the moon and stars. They're beautiful. I can lie outside for hours just watching the night sky.

I don't want.... people to freak out when they realize how much I actually notice. Sometimes I even pretend that I don't notice something, in case people would think I was weird, like instantly seeing the only familiar person I know out of a crowd of hundreds at a concert on the opposite side of the venue, or recognizing the grandmother of one of my students who stopped taking lessons two years ago. My memory is strange, unpredictable, and mostly remembers stories, faces, and music.

I don't like.... math. It's my biggest academic challenge.

I don't love.... parents who ignore their children who are being too wild or inconsiderate on the playground. Seriously, lady, this is the third time your kid has knocked someone down because he wasn't being careful when he barreled up the stairs to the slide!

I don't have to.... be anyone except myself. I'm far from perfect, but I am who I am, and as long as there's a new day, there's a new chance to love and learn. I'm blessed to be surrounded by friends and family who support me. And I'm so thankful for my favorite guy who is crazily himself right along with me : )  Throwback picture time to when we were still dating in college!

I don't need to.... tell you that I absolutely love to write! Besides writing on this blog, I also write about education for children on my other blog, Life is the Teacher, and I write privately in my journal, and send hand-written letters and postcards to awesome people all over the world. I also love reading what other people write; you can find a list of bloggers who I enjoy on the sidebar! And if you'd like to exchange a postcard, send me your address in the "contact me directly" box on the sidebar way down the page.

This list is taken from Steph over at Misplaced Brit!

As a mini-celebration of writing three hundred posts here, I'm doing two giveaways today. The first one is up: come check out these books I'm offering! The second giveaway: go here for amazing-smelling soap!

*I accidentally screwed up the comment form for about twenty-four hours, so I apologize. Everything should be fine now!

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Nostalgia

Welcome to October! Warm weather may still hang on for a little while longer, but autumn is certainly here, in the air, the night smells, the fading leaves.

Summer begins to meld into memories. I look back on everything these past few months brought. They have certainly changed me, for the better, I hope.

A particular piece of music always brings peace and thankfulness to my heart at this time of year. Do take a listen to it below. It fits right in with the first prompt for the beginning of October at Write Alm: Nostalgia. I was privileged to perform this piece in the video many years ago; you can hear me and my friend Catalina performing the duet at the beginning. This music has stayed close to me ever since then.

May you too look back on your summer with happiness and enjoy the changing of the seasons!

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Everywhere I Go

~ A notebook, because you'd be crazy to leave the house without one.

~ My leather wallet.

~ Raspberry breath mints... no idea where I got them, because I didn't buy them...

~ A pack of gum free from the 4th of July parade.

~ Because everyone carries an extra set of guitar strings around with them.

~ My life-saver in asthma emergencies.

~ Not one, but two of my favorite type of pen.

~ A comb that I never use.

~ Chapstick of the best-smelling variety: pomegranate.

~ Tea, also in case of emergencies.

~ A nail care kit, which is an absolute must for all classical guitarists. It makes me feel weird because I don't even wear make-up. It's just the nails on my right hand that have to be perfect all the time.

What do you carry everywhere you go?

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Liebster Award

Last year, one of the other blogs I write was nominated for the Liebster Award, and this year another fellow mama-musician blogger has nominated this blog for the same. Awesome! Thank you, Selwa, for the nomination : ) The idea behind the Liebster is to build the blogging community up by helping people become noticed by a bigger audience.

In accordance with the rules of the award, I'm following these steps:

1. Reading the answers of the questions written by the blogger who nominated me.

2. Nominating eleven different bloggers who have less than five hundred followers.

3. Writing a post here featuring the Liebster Award and answering the questions given by the blogger who nominated me.

4. Letting the bloggers I've nominated know that they deserve the Liebster.

So here are my answers to the questions give by Selwa!

1. Why did you start blogging?   It was back in 2007 when I was in college and had a LOT to say. Twenty year-olds are quite opinionated ; )  Don't worry, the vast majority of all my youthful ramblings have been either deleted or moved elsewhere! But the habit of sharing my thoughts stuck, although over the years my motivation to blog has changed. 

2. What motivates you to continue blogging on a regular basis?   These days my blog is used to document my life for my own benefit and for family members to see, and also as a place to work through the mysterious or hard places in life. Writing is the way I process everything. 

3. What's your favorite post that you've written? A Christmas Miracle: Finding Jane

4. Favorite color?   This changes based on the day, based on the season, based on my mood! My current-at-the-moment synesthetic responses also affect it. I just love color!

5. Of the blogs you follow, what are your top three favorites?   the habit of being, soule mama, and journey mama.

6. What other blogs have you written for besides your own?   I currently write at two other blogs, although one of them has been sadly neglected for a while. Life is the Teacher is my place to explore education and my role as a teacher and home-schooling mother, while Unwrapping Love is where my friend Heather and I are documenting our journey into gratitude by listing one thousand blessings we are thankful for. I've also thought about creating a secret blog one day, where I could freely write anything I chose under a different name... we'll see if that ever happens!

7. What interests do you have, other than blogging?   That would be a toss-up between reading and music and knitting and nature, as far as my personal hobbies go! Then of course I love being with my family, hanging out with friends, cooking good food without having to clean up afterwards, snuggling, and thrift store shopping.

8. What is your number one goal as a blogger?   To explore who I am and hopefully speak truth into my own life and into other's lives and to love the mystery of our existence! Oh, that was three goals...

9. What's the top item on your bucket list?   To go back to Europe, and hopefully see my friends from Germany again, one day! I think I left a little piece of my heart in tiny Bad Nauheim.

10. Who is your biggest inspiration?   There are different people who inspire me in different areas of life. My friend Nicole inspires me with her knitting projects and vivacious, unafraid way of playing with yarn. My friend Heather inspires me as a thoughtful person, with her conversations and her writing. My friend Alec inspires me with his tenacity and musicality as a guitarist. My mom inspires me to be the best mother I can be. My husband Chris inspires me with his calm, laid-back manner. My childhood guitar teacher, Kelli, and my college guitar teacher, John, inspire me to be the best teacher for my students. There are so many inspiring folks out there!

11. What's your favorite topic to blog about?   There's no favorite. I like writing about everything! 


Okay, here are the eleven people I'm nominating for the Liebster Award:

the habit of being

Rachel at Clean

Under the Big Blue Sky

Poco Mountain Girl

Fourwood Thinking

Peace, Love, and Spit-up: Life Written Down

PJ, Your Friend

student in heels

mighty violet

becoming claudine

milagro girl

These are the questions I'd love to see answered by those I've nominated:

1. If you could suddenly jump up right now and go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

2. Name three people who inspire you, and why!

3. What book(s) are currently on your bedside table?

4. When was the last time a stranger made you smile, and why?

5. Do you have a calendar, a day planner, a smartphone, sticky notes, a to-do list? How do you plan and keep track of life?

6. How would you describe your fashion style?

7. If someone could magically bring you whatever food you're currently craving, what would it be?

8. What do you think of when you look up at the stars?

9. Name a song that is speaking straight to your soul these days.

10. Do you still have any of your childhood toys?

11. Are there any subjects that you don't like to blog about? Why?

Thank you again to Selwa for nominating me for this award! I look forward to seeing more lovely bloggers pass on the joy.

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Goodbye November, Hello December

Making:: this habit of getting up early permanent. Between six o'clock and six thirty is the best time for me, as long as I'm asleep by 10:45 or 11:00 at night. It's so peaceful and centering to have time to myself every morning before the day begins. Thank you, NaNoWriMo, for helping me cement a new habit!

Riding:: the carousel during free hour at the St. Louis zoo! Got there just in time. You wouldn't think it to see Harmony's expression, but she really does love it!

Celebrating:: my 50,000 word goal for NaNoWriMo! I've been so busy writing 1,667 words per day that the rest of the blog here had to take a little break. Technically, I'm a "winner" because I succeeded in writing that many words during November, but in actuality, my novel is not quite done... more on that in a later post....

Planning:: my musical calendar in December, full of endeavors on guitar and mandolin, solo and in collaboration with other musicians, playing an instrument myself and conducting an ensemble!

Playing:: outdoors in the autumn weather as much as possible with the Bug, walks on every day above forty degrees, exploring nature. Fall in Missouri is the bomb.

Baking:: the best pumpkin pies ever, with the help of the Bug and her dada. We have eaten pumpkin pie every week during November! It's just so tasty.

Enjoying:: our first time trick-or-treating together exactly one month ago! Harmony dressed up as the adorable Bug she truly is ; )  Her dada wore his mad scientist rainbow lab coat, because why not?

Spending:: lots of playdates with grandma and grandpa, who like nothing better than to have an afternoon or evening or morning with their first grandchild. 

Reading:: books that we find in the local Little Free Library just down the road, planted in somebody's yard! SUCH a cool idea!

Lingering:: in the pages of Kindred, the magazine where my poem made it into the autumn edition. One more goal on my Life List down : D  The poetry and stories and photographs in it are enthralling!

Setting:: a Guinness world record for the most somersaults rolled at the same time, on Art Hill in St. Louis' iconic Forest Park! TOTALLY AWESOME!!! I've always wanted to do something that would get into the Guinness book, but never had the confidence to put it on my Life List (you can find it on my About Me page at the bottom), because it just seemed too far fetched. Now I know the truth: always put down ANY goal you have, because you never know when it might come true!

Watching:: my baby grow into a more independent, capable, curious, interactive, let-me-do-it-myself toddler. With pigtails! I almost died from the cuteness.

Learning:: the holiday dance with my flashmob group. Hopefully I'll be dancing at a few great events with them during this season!

Anticipating:: the beginning of Advent tomorrow! Time to get out our Advent wreath and candles. Might as well get out the Christmas decorations too, right?

Wondering:: whether we'll get a Christmas tree or not this year. There just isn't a good space for it in our tiny apartment. Time to have a family council and make the decision. Perhaps a small tree, just a wee one for the corner? It would feel so strange to not hang any ornaments. 

Boosting:: our immune systems with fresh-squeezed lemon and raw honey in our tea, elderberry syrup, garlic chunks (cut 'em up and swallow whole), vitamin-rich vegetables and fruits, and bone broth. Echinacea-goldenseal tincture, cold-steam humidifiers, hot showers, and lots of rest for those currently ill.

Deciding:: to participate in the December Prompt-A-Day over at Write Alm. Last year I did the December Photo Project, and I'm going to try to continue that tradition again this year along with the daily writing. Maybe the photo can even be inspired by the day's prompt! For me, writing and taking photographs helps keep me in the moment by relishing what I am doing in the present and then remembering the good later that happens every day. 

Hoping:: to hit the halfway mark on my list of 1,000 gifts written in my journal by the end of 2013. Yes, it's been a year and a half since I started naming gratitudes. Yes, you're supposed to write down 1,000 blessings in one year. Yes, I am still feeling so thankful for this project that I'm going to continue it to the end even if it takes me twice as long as it was supposed to!

Repeating:: the first twenty-one verses of Romans 8 to myself over and over, writing them down over and over, silently quoting them and out-loud saying them and forgetting and re-re-re-remembering. The goal of several women in my Bible study is to have the whole chapter memorized by the end of our time together in April, but right now it's going to be a push to polish down just this much through December. 

Plotting:: hand-made or locally made Christmas gifts. We don't have a lot of money, and we really want to make Christmas not all about materialistic gifts, so we're trying to keep the actual gift-giving simple and meaningful. Stay tuned for a post tomorrow with plenty of links for gift ideas, both home-made and bought! 

Loving:: all the days and sweet moments from November, and looking forward to sharing more of them with you in December!

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