Project!

While searching for Easter dress ideas for when I'm rich again, I came across this!



What an excellent sewing project! It looks amazingly easy too. I've never been able to find a good wrap dress because they're always either a million dollars or they're made out of jersey fabric which generally looks horrible on me. It clings to all the wrong places and avoids all the right ones. I've decided. Once I'm rich again, I'm buying this.

We had some church this morning.

We sang some Mendelssohn:



But the best part was during a hymn that brought the entire church to its feet, most of us having difficulty remaining dry-eyed. I can't describe something like that, except to say, yet again, that I love this church.

Microwave Cake, take 5

You're probably sick of microwave cake by now. Sorry. I even swore to myself that I wouldn't post about it again because I'd written about it so many times. But, ladies and gentlemen, I was handed a new recipe, and the world flipped over, and I just have to write about it again. What is this, microwave cake take 4? (Here is where you say, "Behold, she writes blog post titles after she writes the actual post." Is that a problem?) I just looked it up; it's take 5. Lauren found this recipe and posted it on my facebook wall after trying it and discovering its wonderfulness. Since I've been making microwave cake on feast days since Lent started, I figured today would be the best day to try it. In case you don't want to actually click on the link to the recipe itself, I will give you my slightly modified version.

4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 tablespoons white granulated sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 1/2 tablespoons Nutella (I don't like Nutella - a crime, I know, don't shoot me - so I used hot fudge)
3 tablespoons milk
splash of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons melted butter
(I added a 1/2 tsp peppermint extract)

And I made frosting with a little powdered sugar, milk, and 1/8 tsp peppermint extract.

The consistency of this cake is pretty miraculous in that it's EXACTLY like regular cake. It would probably be better to have more than one person eat it, because it's very filling.

Go make it right now.



(P.S. This picture displays everything that is our apartment: recital/music major flowers, creative tools, dessert, comfortable living room, and ridiculous magazines.)

Where I'd like to be right now...

I would give anything to be back here right now:


where they have stuff like this:


and this:


and this:


There are ancient places to worship:



hidden among cobbled, windy streets:


and even the police officers are friendly:



Unfortunately, in order to do that I might have to go back in time.

Stuck

I know it's been awhile since I played in the pit for this, but it's stuck in my head...




(This is from Throughly Modern Millie, if you were wondering.)

I haven't been writing too much lately because I've gotten into a fairly regular routine which doesn't allow for too much outside of the mundane. Not great for blogging material. My routine looks like this:

Alarm goes off at 5:45. I turn it off every five minutes until 6:25. Sometimes I see a glorious sunrise, and then I remember why getting up this early is peaceful and calm and lovely, provided that I've gotten enough sleep the night before (unusual).


(This isn't at Gordon at all, but I woke up to one that looked a little like this today. It was gorgeous.)

By the time I finally get up, I have about 20 minutes with which to shower, get dressed, pamper(?), brush my teeth, gather all my junk (oboe, music, pursebag, huge binder, box of cereal, cell phone, computer, computer charger, flute, clarinet, occasional sax, keys, ID card), put on my coat, and run out the door. Then I remember why getting up early is only peaceful and calm and lovely if you get enough sleep the night before so that you get up on time.

I get to school between 7 and 7:30 - almost always much closer to 7:30 than 7 - and set up my stuff on my desk area. Once the bell rings, I go set up the band room.


Once I finish that, I go back to my desk area and catch up on a whole bunch of paperwork. Not so fun.


Sometimes I hang out with some cool band kids,

(I would insert a picture of them here, but I don't have one.)

and then I go and conduct some ensembles.


After that, it depends on the day.

Mondays include working at an office after school, then coming back to school until 7 or 8 for rehearsals.
Tuesdays I go from school to class at Gordon to Wind Ensemble to Orchestra.
Wednesdays I have the afternoon off, but I usually have a million things to do to catch up.
Thursdays I have Wind Ensemble and then church choir.
Fridays and Saturdays for the next few weekends I'm working at school for a festival thing.
Sundays are church and things.

Going to bed should happen around 10, but usually doesn't happen until at least 11.

All of that means that I drive the same route between 7 and 10 times every week, and I go that way at least six out of the seven days. Like I said. Routine extraordinaire.

What?

Hey world. Snow in April is just not cool.*


Or maybe it is cool, because it COULD lead to snow day number six and would allow me to successfully avoid a full day of elementary school BY MY-FREAKIN'-SELF.**


I'm not counting on it though. That would just be too darn exciting.







*Logically, I guess a temperature of 32 degrees does qualify as "cool." A thousand pardons to those scientifically-minded people out there.

**I don't mean to complain. It's just that I've never had full authority over a class of real students without a music teacher present. This frightens me.