It’s Sunday again.

Here we are on a Sunday again and I have another to do list. But today’s is a little more simple because today will be my day to get myself ready to go to TMEA. I’m more excited this year than before because I have an All Stater (he’s THE Jazz Guitarist in the All State Jazz Ensemble). I’m a little worried for him because he had some amp problems at the Hill Country Jazz Festival yesterday – and by amp problems, I mean his amp started smoking – so hopefully he can get that all worked out before we leave on Wednesday.

I’m also excited because my friend Ron McCurdy will be conducting the All State Jazz Ensemble and he’s flying into Austin on Tuesday evening and will be driving into San Antonio with me on Wednesday. He lives in LA so we talk in short bursts on the phone but I haven’t seen him since the last time he was in Texas which was a few years ago, I think.

I’ve also been invited to the Westin La Cantera for a spa treatment and some wining/dining by a group courting both TJEA and JEN to use their services for event & hotel planning. I’m excited to see what their services offer as well as time in the spa. From the website, you can see that it’s a beautiful place. I maybe looking forward to this most of all! 😉

So, today includes laundry, putting away laundry, packing and just general house cleaning so I can come home to a semi-clean house. I want to get a “hot little pair of black heels”, as I’ve been saying for 3 weeks now, as well today so hopefully a shoe shopping trip will be made *ahem – Mrs. Klenzendorf*. I’m going to my Bollywood dance class with the girls tonight, too so I guess I better get moving. Happy Sunday!

Not Lazy Day

It’s 10 am and I’m still in my pajamas. But I got home and to bed fairly late last night (or early this morning) after celebrating Crystal’s birthday and making sure people got home okay (then picking up a little snack). Fun was had by all and there was NO DRAMA!!! YAY!!!! So, I’m going to write my Sunday To Do Blog while still in my PJs. 🙂

I’ve got a hand full of To Dos today and if I post and cross them off here, I think it might keep me accountable to get it done. We’ll see. Here’s my list:

Sunday’s To Dos:

  • Run Dishwasher & put away dishes
  • Clean kitchen floor
  • Go to grocery store
  • Give the dog a bath
  • Prep tax stuff
  • 6-7 pm dance class
  • That’s not too many things, especially because the dishwasher is running right now. My girlfriends & I decided to take up a Groupon offer that came in for Bollywood dance lessons so for the next 4 weeks, we’ll be learning a new dance style. I’m really excited. Too bad next year’s show won’t incorporate any world music. Alright, on to a little breakfast and the to do list! Happy Sunday!!

    ————UPDATE————

    Clipford decided to air dry after getting his bath and being toweled off a bit. He spins SO FAST!!!

    ————UPDATE————

    So, I got everything done except prep my tax stuff. It’s all in one place (pretty much) but my accountant sends me a worksheet thing each year that I just need to go through so it should be manageable tomorrow. I made a beef stew today, too so I guess that’s a good substitution. I’ll blog the recipe/process with pictures later. Now, I’m gonna enjoy the Grammy’s, shower and go to bed.

    Blogging in my brain

    It’s funny because when I’m driving along, or no where near a computer, I always think of things I want to blog about. Heck, I’m constantly blogging in my brain. Little snippets of those blogs show up on Twitter & Facebook updates. But there is so much more that I want to say but just don’t have the thoughts as I sit in front of the computer. They need to invent a way for me to voice blog while I drive. I guess I could podcast somehow with my digital recorder or something. Would you mind hearing my voice on a regular basis? I don’t know – I tend to yammer on when I talk. It’s easier to edit writing.

    Speaking of technology, what’s a good software for FTP-ing stuff onto my online servers from my Mac? I so rarely pull out the Dell laptop these days, it would just be easier to be able to do that from here (my MacBook Pro). **UPDATE – I found this one on the Apple site. I hope it works well. I don’t see why not… **

    In case you hadn’t seen or heard, I got a new dog. He’s a pretty cool little dude. His name is Clipford and he’s part Chihuahua, part Pomeranian. Someone told me they’re called Pom-Chis but I’ll just say the whole thing ’cause that just sounds silly. He’s 1 year, 4 months old and mostly potty trained. Or, maybe I should say that I’m mostly trained to make sure he keeps up his potty training. My friend Sarah R got forwarded an email about this family who was moving to Montana because dad got a job as a ranch hand. There are no inside pets allowed where they’re going to live so they decided to give their dogs away. I was fortunate enough to bring Clipford into my family. I’m reading a few of the Cesar Milan, Dog Whisperer books and trying to be good about being the Pack Leader consistently. I think I’m doing okay. Naomi came over today and I showed her a few of the things I’ve learned. She seemed impressed. 🙂 Clipford & Pfema seem to get along okay. They certainly don’t hate each other – YAY!

    What else? Not dating anyone new, work is still busy but fun and I take on too many projects. Nothing new. My friends Stacy & Stephanie had their baby girls. The Montoya brothers are both officially back in Texas! I think I want to do some voice over work to make some extra money (yes, I know it’s still one more thing but this one might PAY) but I have no idea how to get started. I can’t wait for LOST to start back, either.

    Naomi came over and she & I did plant some greens in the garden today. Romaine & Butterhead lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and bok choy were added to the garden boxes. I’ve also added a satsuma tree to the backyard. We didn’t take any pictures yet but I’m sure there will be some soon, as well as yummy dishes and little oranges. The peach tree is starting to show flower buds so maybe some peaches will be available sometime as well. Gardening is so good for the soul!

    Well, I think that’s about it for now. I’ll brain blog & drive more and hopefully, some of it will show up here.
    Love you, mean it!
    ~C

    1, 2, 3…already?

    I can’t believe that 3 years ago today, I closed on my house! I wish TextAmerica wasn’t so stupid and didn’t delete my account (they shut down free memberships a while back) ’cause the post from that day had a great shot of my “taking a break” from moving. Too bad I’m no where near paying off the mortgage! Thank goodness my mortgage agent told me that in NO WAY was I to even consider a variable interest loan on the house. 🙂

    One of those update postings…

    Quite a few things have happened in the last month or so. I guess I should bring my silent readers up to speed. I say silent readers because I was told yesterday, “I think everyone reads the Big Benford Show”. Kinda made me think I might wanna update this more regularly now! By everyone, I think Steve may just mean him and a few other music folks but hey, here’s a shout out to anyone who reads the blog:

    HI READERS!

    Over spring break, I did some more planting. My intentions were to start the 2nd garden box but I didn’t end up getting enough soil so it’s just sitting, waiting for more soil still. I might plant some stuff once school lets out so I can have a fall “harvest” as well. In the original box, I planted a tomato plant and a pepper plant as well as some basil and more Greek oregano. A lot of the things I planted last year are coming back. I have a couple of poblano peppers that are already almost full size! The tomato plant is HUGE already and I have a lot of little green tomatoes starting already. If anyone needs any sage or rosemary, please let me know. I have so much, I’ll never be able to use it all. I guess I should find recipes that call for both and give that, as well as the herbs as gifts. I’ll try to get some pictures of the garden soon and post them. I’ve been slacking on picture taking of it. I also planted a peach tree recently. I have pictures of it –

    Here’s the tree about where I’ll plant it.

    Here’s the hole I dug.

    The tree is in!

    It’s got quite a few more leaves on it now, too. It had one little tiny peach bud pretty quickly but the storms and high winds that came through in late March knocked that bud off the tree. I’m hoping more leaves = more buds soon. I’m just happy to have another tree in my barren back yard!

    After Stanley passed, I spent a lot of time trying to be home as often as I could be for Pfema. I think it took about a week or so for him to miss Stanley and now, he’s just kinda lonely. My dad says that animal don’t necessarily remember specifics like that for too long. The Jazz Ensemble kids were great and they showed up to school on Monday with tulips for me. I need to find a place to replant the bulbs…I think there are too many for the small pot they were in. I need to learn more about bulb planting – can’t be that hard.

    Later in April, our bands went to UIL Concert & Sightreading Contest. For the first time in Stony Point Concert Band (my group) history, we got 2-2-2 on the stage and 2-2-1 in sightreading. This is a great step for this ensemble and I’m so very proud of them. No trophies yet…just improvement. YAY!!!

    And that brings me to the other reason why I kept saying that April sucked – Keith and I broke things off. It wasn’t mutual at all but I respect his decisions. It’s really better for me in the long run. I, like Pfema, got beyond it pretty quickly…especially understanding who he is and how that is different from who I am. There are things about him I miss but honestly, I mostly miss the male companionship. Luckily, I have smart friends and for the most part, no one we both hung out with feels as though they have to choose sides. I guess it helps that we didn’t break things off angrily.

    This brings us to May – and BIRTHDAY MONTH!! It’s funny, a few years ago, you would have known May was birthday month WEEKS in advance but this year, I’m not feelin’ it as much. Maybe it’s because I’m a much happier person in general these days and I don’t need a special occasion for me to feel excited about life.

    I’m really coming to see that sometimes, people do things to fulfill their need to feel important. I know there are many things I’ve done in my life for that purpose. I also know that there are many things I’ve done in service of others or for true personal growth. Finding the distinction between the two is not always easy, especially when you are not centered and truly understanding of who you are and what your life’s purposes are. I’m very fortunate to have parents who have guided me, since I was very young, in a path of self understanding. I think this is why I have achieved so many great things so far in my life. When I bought my house 3 years ago (can you believe it’s already been 3 years?), my mom asked me if I was afraid that being a home owner might intimidate any men I might be involved with. I told her that if anything I do intimidated someone, they’re not the right person for me to be involved with. I feel the same for my friends. I’m quite blessed to have many friends who have their own lives and don’t feel a need to compete with the people around them because they are secure enough in their own lives. It sure does make life easier. 🙂