What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Oh nooooooooooooooo....

A Blogspot outage is scheduled in 15 minutes.

This is the kind of cookie I am:

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting. You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Keeping Love Alive

How many times have we heard the words, "I just don't love him/her anymore". In this day of revolving door relationships, it has probably been more than once.

So how do we keep love alive?

I plead guilty to having bought into the fairy tale, peddled hard to every young girl, that "some day my prince charming will come and we will live happily ever after."

Two failed marriages (long story, long time ago) brought that magical thinking to an end!

So how does one keep the love alive?

It's in the little things.

Take today, for example.

Somehow the original Disney "Cinderella" had gotten to the top of our Netflix queue (not my fault, man! We..uh...we were on vacation and...the queue just got away from me...)

Unbelievably, I had never actually seen it.

Bob and I finally sat down to view it this afternoon (and men, that is a true act of love!).

Picture this:

It's Sunday afternoon, we've just watched the ultimate princess fairy tale, and I've achieved the state of blissful relaxation that just demands a long siesta.

I'm poised to make my move to the air conditioned bedroom when Bob stands up and says, "I'm going to Fry's Electronics to return those cables I got yesterday."

What? Have a nice time, darling. I'm taking a nap!

I try this: "The lines will be really long today. Can't you go tomorrow?"

My eyelids are growing heavier, and the very thought of Fry's, much less the freeway, is interfering with my state of perfect lassitude.

Bob: "I thought the traffic might be worse tomorrow."

He's probably right.

Me: "Oh no, the traffic going south on the 405 mid day during the week isn't bad."

Bob (kindly): "I wasn't expecting you to go with me."

Me: "Well, you go have a nice time. I'm going to take a nap."

Then I realized something.

Bob is trying to get our combined office/studio into some form of order so I can teach in there on Friday.

Here's what happened next:

I thought about what would have happened at the beginning of our relationship. Unable to endure such a lengthy separation, I would have said, "I'd love to go with you."

We would have held hands in the car and talked all the way there.

We would have held hands in the store and indulged in the occasional smooch.

We would have held hands in the car on the way home.

Then I got to thinking, "Bob would come with me if I had to go somewhere, even if it was somewhere with lots of pink."

There I was, wrestling with the indulgence of a perfect nap (alone) or the prospect of getting on the freeway and going to a crowded electronics store (with my husband)

I'd love to say the decision was an easy one, but it wouldn't be true.
I wrestled with my selfish desire, my right, dang it, for afternoon slumber. It seemed so lovely. It seemed so right.

Then I remembered...it's the little things.

So we got in the car together.

We held hands in the car and talked all the way there.

We held hands in the store and indulged in the occasional smooch.

We held hands in the car on the way home.

I'll remember that longer than any nap.

That's what keeps love alive.

February Recital

Dr. Joel

My excellent accompanist Dr. Joel and I are preparing for a faculty recital.

We've got a date: Monday, February 11, 2008

We've got a time: 7:30p.m.

We've got a venue: Munson Recital Hall, Azusa Pacific University

We've picked out some of the repertoire.

We even have weekly rehearsal time carved out.

We start this Wednesday.

I'll keep you posted.

Curb Your Chimera

"Scientists have begun blurring the line between human and animal by producing chimeras—a hybrid creature that's part human, part animal." Maryann Mott

National Geographic News
January 25, 2005

An ancient Etruscan statue of a chimera found in north-central Italy. The mythic beast had a lion's body, serpent's tail, and goat's head.

Photograph by James P. Blair, copyright National Geographic Society

Chimera
Function: noun

Etymology: Latin chimaera, from Greek chimaira she-goat, chimera; akin to Old Norse gymbr yearling ewe, Greek cheim On winter -- more at HIBERNATE

1 a capitalized : a fire-breathing she-monster in Greek mythology having a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail b : an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous parts

2 : an illusion or fabrication of the mind; especially : an unrealizable dream

3 : an individual, organ, or part consisting of tissues of diverse genetic constitution

Could the possibility of animals who are part human be the inspiration for the inscription on the door of the Washington Mutual Bank branch in Uptown Whittier:

"Please ask your pets to remain outside."

ASK???

We Found Nemo!

Bob and I took advantage of our last day off and headed for The Magic Kingdom.

It was in the upper 90's, but clear and beautiful.

Bob had yet to find Nemo so we joined the queue.

I was grateful for the strategically placed umbrellas!

Little did we know when I snapped this picture...

...that the Argonaut would be the sub we boarded.

I love this view. It takes me straight back to my childhood. I remember looking at those barnacles and impatiently anticipating my "journey through liquid space".

Bob waits with more patience:

The water is a lot clearer than it appears in this picture:

After the ride that completely rocks, we headed for lunch at the Hungry Bear Restaurant.

We enjoy the river setting.

We walked straight on several other rides. There were no waits for anything but Nemo. We even cruised right into my favorite Disneyland ride, Indiana Jones. Why is it my favorite ride? I'll tell you about it sometime.

We then headed for California Adventure and our all time favorite ride, Soarin' Over California.

Our friend David happened to be working the ride today. It was great seeing him.

I still had to take care of some business, but it didn't take long. No one knew I was sitting on a bench near Monsters Inc wearing a Mickey hat.

We had dinner at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante. It's an open air restaurant tucked away between Big Thunder Mountain and the shooting gallery in Frontier Land. The food is good and it never seems to be crowded. By then a breeze was trying to come up. It was lovely to sit outside and relax.

We had to find Nemo one more time before we left. We waited no more than 45 minutes both times we rode. It was well worth the wait. It's a fabulous ride.

Hope you too can find time to find Nemo!

On The Road Again

It's time to morph back into the professional road warrior that lurks within each freelance musician.

I greatly enjoyed the summer hiatus. The farthest I got away from home was 7 miles. Working in the parks of Long Beach has many advantages.

Today, however, I made the 74 mile round trip to Azusa Pacific University. Classes don't officially start until Wednesday, but I was on a mission of fear: Flute Auditions.

It wasn't fearful for me.

Pity, though, the freshman flutists who just yesterday bid their family good-bye and moved into a completely foreign environment.

Today, said flutists are required to play for the flute professor they've never met (me) to determine their flute-playing fate for the entire year.

Yikes!

I am happy to report that each and every flutist walked out of the audition under their own power.

Meanwhile, the traffic was light.

I'm just getting warmed up...

Hunkering Down

A little over 3 years ago (July 21, 2004, but who's keeping track?) a colleague from work offered to install an air conditioner for me.

The weather had been brutally hot, and this kind soul took pity on me.

We'd worked together for 9 years, but I barely knew his name.

He didn't talk much.

When he left after the job was done, he gave me his card.

We were married 10 months later.

Today, 3 years later, we are thankful for that act of kindness as we hunker down in the exquisite coolness of what used to be my studio but is now our bedroom.

While our neighborhood melts under the stifling heat, we thank God for that air conditioner...

...and for each other.