A Few Shots of History

Since I've been failing at taking any good pictures lately, I thought I'd show you a couple of pictures that have been taken but not shared recently.

Picture one: Tee hee hee.
Picture two: Notice the light spot on the wall.  We call it a shiny and David will stop at nothing to keep it under control.
Picture three: I am just proud that I took such a cool looking picture.

What the Parrish's Do...

...when Jim is away.  The dogs break rules like no getting on the couch without a lap.  I make a failed attempt at dinner... rice and gravy that was a lot better on the meat it was meant for.  But that's okay, I'm glad it happened while Jim was gone.  I still get embarrassed if a meal I make is bad for Jim.  You'd think after a lot of failed attempts I'd be over that by now.

I have been reminded once again why I love Ogallala.  I have never been offered a "call us for anything" so many times in my life.  So many people willing to go out of their way to help me out. 


As you can see, I have plenty of help already... these three have been keeping me company for the past couple of days. 

Students

I give private lessons out of my home in a bedroom converted into a music studio.  Basically, for me, that meant putting a piano and desk in there and filling the closet with instruments.
These lessons last a half an hour and range in ability and instruments, but a few things always remain the same.  My high energy approach, how much I desperately want to prove myself as an instructor and how great the kids are.
Each student is unique and bring different talents and challenges to the table.  That statement is a no-brainer to any person who has ever been around more than two people.  It is my job to fix the challenges.  Holding your instrument wrong can cause arthritis, so I fix that.  I fix mouth placement (embouchure, for those in the know) so there aren't any tonal problems.  I fix breathing control.  I fix rhythms, fingerings, note names. 
I teach basic music theory.  We memorize scales, followed by arpeggios, relative minors and etudes in those keys. 
In lessons, I talk fast and tell jokes.  I sing opera.  I clap and dance and stomp.  I have weird sayings like "sit like you are having tea with the queen" (usually followed with "the queen is not impressed with your posture!").  It's really exciting and exhausting for me and hopefully the student.
 But my most important job is to encourage kids to love music, and more specifically, the instrument they have in their hands.  It is my job to high five the flute player who finally hit that high G.  It's my job to flip out when someone plays an etude perfectly the first time.  It's my job to let these kids know that it's important to keep working because of how fun and amazing playing can be.
I worry sometimes that I don't teach them well enough, that someone down the road is going to tell them how stupid I was to teach them this way or that.  I hate when I disappoint parents who think their kids should be improving faster.  I hate when a student gets frustrated.  But it's all worth it when they do something they thought they would never get.  
The kids I get in lessons are usually pretty awesome and don't need a lot of convincing.  That isn't to say that we don't have issues that always need worked out (I would be out of a job if they got good that fast!) but they listen, they practice and they learn.  They are already interested in music and excelling.  This week I've had the opportunity to watch many of them perform.  The middle school band concert had old students and new who all played beautifully.  Today, Singing Across Nebraska featured my students singing instead of playing.  
I always tell the kids I teach I'm going to show up to their concerts with a big foam finger and root them on.  Someday I'll invest in one of those. 

Organization

You could call me an organization freak and it wouldn't bum me out.

My free time is opening up since Jim will soon be out of the country and I was looking for a way to fill it when I found a Do-It-Yourself tutorial online that got me so excited I finished the project early.  So much for keeping myself busy with this one while Jim's gone.  I'm sure I'll find something else to do.  Friends, I may be calling you to hang out in the next couple of weeks.

My music room is where I spend a majority of my time and the majority of our visitors spend their time.  Most of our visitors are my students, afterall.  This leads to two contrasting situations; it's the messiest room in the house and I want the house to look clean for my students.  So, the music room must remain "clean".  I keep a tight ship around here and our house is pretty clean and clutter free most of the time but the music room gets papers and music and notes and reminders and bills and instruments and tuners and markers and reeds...
So, when a student is about to come and I realize I have a bunch of stuff floating around, the drawers become my hiding place.  My dirty little secret in housekeeping, I suppose.

*Cringe*.  This is the worst place in my house.  Well, it was until today, anyway.

I made homemade drawer organizers for not only this drawer, but 5 others (even the underwear drawer!).  This whole project cost $8.99, plus a misguided purchase of ribbon for $1.62.  I didn't need the ribbon.

Two foam core boards from Alco, a sharp knife, my kitchen cutting board, measuring tape and a little scotch tape turned into...

This little project has revolutionized my life (at least for the next few days).  I love it.  Simple.  Cheap.  Everything is in it's place and can't be tossed around.  I am living in an organizers paradise.  The drawers I skipped might get this treatment soon, too, because it's just so AWESOME.

Package Day

I love getting mail.  It's become an exciting part of every day for my whole family.  We come home for a quick lunch and to feed the dogs.  We let the dogs in from the back yard and they go straight for the front door.  I slowly open the door and look for passers-by (I want to make sure there isn't someone readily accessible for David to clobber).  I open the door and it's like an explosion of puppies and excitement roaming the front yard.  I run to the mailbox and within seconds we are all back inside. 
Today was the best kind of mail day because we got packages.  I love getting packages.  Even when I know they will be there, I get excited seeing them.  It was replace time here in the Parrish household for a few key items.
For one, my beautiful purple yoga mat is leaving cute little crumbs on the floor, on my clothes, in my hair, and they magically end up all over the house.  So it was time to replace the poor mat that has done many months of service.  Another was to restock toiletrees-- today the biggest bottle of face wash known to man showed up on my door.  Seriously, I don't think I will ever run out.
And last but not least (in excitement or expense) is the Ninja. 

I have been getting a lot more serious about home cooking absolutely everything and a good blender and food processor are important factors to that.  Since my current food processor was a dollar store buy from when we first got married and is not even big enough for small tasks and my blender is just not as blender-like as it used to be, it was time to upgrade.

After many reviews and videos and tech sheets later, I chose the Ninja Pro for my blender/chopper needs.  It came with extra canisters.  It has lots of blades.  And added bonus, I can honestly tell visitors to be on guard-- I have a Ninja in my kitchen. 

Things Change

Dear Joan,

Your whole family visited your grave yesterday.  All of your children and their children and your husband.  We braved the cold wind for just a few minutes to praise God for the time you were here.  Stan said a few words to you, too.

A lot has changed since you were last here.  It's been a whole year so of course it's to be expected.  In our house, David is full grown now.  I make all of our food homemade and as organic as possible.  I run a lot more and have a few more students.  Jim is going to China and Japan really soon for work.  We are still really happy.  

 Lezlie is a happy mama to your youngest visitor yesterday.  Jonathan Luke Derber.  She is focusing on raising him with all of her strength and she is a great mother and I know exactly where she got it. 

Can you believe those are your nephews? So big now and playing cowboys.  One of them is wearing Jim's old cowboy hat. 

Gail is in college now and doing so well.  She's really active with Campus Crusades and seems to be really enjoying college life.  Last year, she hadn't even graduated from high school yet.  Now she is on her own and all grown up.

Things keep moving and changing even though you are gone.  We all think of you often.  I don't know what Heaven is like but I know you are enjoying every second of it.

Can't wait to join you,
Your daughter-in-law
Kristin

Granola and other stuff

I admit that I made this during the summer, so this picture is a few months old.  But it looks yummy, doesn't it?  Let me assure you, it was.  Granola in general is pretty good, but with fresh strawberries... mmm...
With the little warm up we've had the last couple days I've been craving summer.  I want drip down your chin peaches, fresh strawberries, farmer's markets.  Bike rides and walking the dogs at night.   Runs where I'm not stiff from the cold-- I couldn't believe how fast my run was this morning because it was 10 degrees warmer!  I want swimming outdoors, meeting at the park to have lunch with my husband.

February is a little early for wanting summer, so I plan on soaking up every sun filled moment I can get.  I hope you all enjoy whatever weather you are in.

PS
South Dakotan's how is the weather?  We'll be there Saturday... is it warm there? 

Lunch

Happy Valentine's Day!  I know there are a lot of varying opinions on this holiday. Some of my dear friends are not at all in favor of celebrating this day and they make some valid points.
But, much like St. Patrick's Day, I kind of enjoy Valentine's Day for the change of pace.  I like walking into stores to be greeted by flowers, stuffed animals and hearts.  I like seeing men walk to their cars with a dozen roses.  I like waiting for a seat at the Golden Village along with other couples on lunch dates.
Sure beats a normal day.
I don't need flowers or romantic gestures specifically because it's Valentine's Day because I've been blessed with a pretty romantic fella'.  But I enjoyed our lunch date and watching the other lunch daters.  Jim kept count of how many he overheard who ordered my meal -- I think he thinks it's gross.  There were quite a few of us eating Tofu and Vegetables for lunch today, though, so he was proven incorrect.  I reminded him that I'm pretty cool, so of course what I order is going to be popular.  Ha.

Of course, I'm feeling a lightness of spirit today which could account for my positive view on all the Valentine's Day festivities.  I'm just very content.  I couldn't help but smile at the stuffed teddy's at Pamida, or the guy buying a bracelet for his girlfriend.  I couldn't help but be chatty at the checkout counter when I bought my new hat (yup, Shannon--I bought it!).  It's just an overall good, spring feeling day.

So I hope you feel the same today, Valentine's Day or not!

Just Smilin'

 Today was what I would consider a success.
I ran a longish run this morning, followed by a workout.
Got ready and walked to work.
Bob was back and gave me the cutest elephant statue I've ever seen.
Work went very well, as spirits were high all around.  Luis is always happy on Monday's, I'm usually pretty happy after a good worship Sunday.
Lunch was a grapefruit, some celery and dip and a few pieces of roast chicken.
The afternoon was less eventful but still pretty good.
Cleaned the house in record time.
Roast for dinner (My favorite!) followed by treats from Sidney and Emily!  (Thanks ladies!!!).

I have to admit...
I kind of love Monday's.  And Tuesday's.  And Wednesday's....

The Notebook(s)

I have a deep appreciation for pretty, unused notebooks.  I have grand notions of filling them with well thought out sentences on profound topics in a beautiful handwriting.  Fear of ruining beautiful notebooks with my sporadically slovenly handwriting or by simply saying something stupid keeps me from using them often times.
But when I found a set of pretty little notebooks in the Lampstand for a reasonable price the other day, I couldn't resist.  The best part of these little notebooks is they each serve a purpose.  A prayer journal, a sermon notes journal and a personal journal.  The personal journal has yet to be touched, which is why it isn't in the picture.  I did however use the sermon note's journal during the worship service and have been utilizing the prayer journal this week.
Before I was introduced to learning multiple instruments in the 8th grade, with that solidifying my decision to focus on music, I thought I might like to be a writer.  As an only child in the middle of the country, I spent countless hours entertaining myself.  I'm sure to the outside world I looked like a nut case, walking around my llama field telling myself stories.  In my early education, writing stories was something I was known for being "good" at.  Of course, in elementary grades it doesn't take much to write a story and grammar isn't too particular.
Even as late as my last year in high school, when I decided to duel enroll with a local university, writing in some capacity was in the back of my mind.  I planned on minoring in writing to fill the extra hours to complete my degree.  That was until English 101.  MLA format can beat the desire to write anything out of someone, especially when you aren't that good at it.
Now, I don't claim to be a good writer.  I have since realized that my talents are found elsewhere, if I do indeed have talents that is!  I do enjoy it, still.  I guess that's why I like to blog.  Added bonus, I don't have to mess up a blog with sloppy handwriting or poorly worded sentences!

Fuses

This is the second post of today, in case you were interested.
Again, Bob has been on a missions trip for the past week to India (click to read his blog).  I mentioned that I learned that I am more productive the busier I am.  I also learned that it is so good that I get along with Bob and Shannon.  (Bob, if you read this... don't leave the store that long again, okay?).  I should share with you the big lessons I learned this week, too.
I was reminded that I was put on this earth as a servant and need to act as such.  More on that later.
I learned that I have a hard to ignite, but short fuse.  You know the saying about people who get mad easily having short fuses.  Well, my fuse doesn't just control my angry gland, but my emotions in general.  The best way I can think to describe it is like I'm a candle that has been dunked in water.  It takes some time to get the little wick lit, but when it is, it's a matter of minutes before there is a meltdown and I end up a puddle.  I have a cry fest and solid up again.

This is going to be so hard to write without incriminating people-- the problem with living in a small town.  I will try to be vague and still make the point.

I was taken advantage of a few times this week in different circumstances.  Each instance was slightly frustrating but the trigger was a parent who came to the store specifically to tell me he was unhappy with his student's grade in band and blaming me for it.  Fire lit.  Suddenly all the little annoyances of the week were bigger.  Meltdown.  Puddle.

It seems the kids that try really hard at lessons don't do as well as they'd hoped.  And the ones that don't try just keep on not trying.  It seems that some customers will always and forever think I'm the biggest idiot to ever work at a music store.  It seems that common courtesy and being considerate of others is no longer common at all. 

So, I had a cry fest over the phone to my mom where I seemed to keep repeating "I need a vacation!" over and over and thanking her again and again for the plane tickets for my trip at the end of March. 

To be honest, the things that happened weren't as big as they seemed at the moment.  That is what having a mental breakdown does to you.  A fueled pity party can only get bigger and the more you feed it the less you want to put an end to it.

I forgot for a while that I am a servant of Christ, that I shouldn't concern myself as much with how others treat me, but how I treat others.  I'm guilty of making people feel less or blindly doing something that hurt someone else.  I've decided for my own gain not to do something that could have helped someone else out.  I've taken advantage of peoples time, money, resources.  I forgot that I need to remember how I've been forgiven so I can forgive others.

Instead, I had a meltdown and that is unacceptable.  I said some choice words to people who may or may not have deserved them the day after my pity party, but I deserve many choice words myself.  I found myself easily irritable in situations that normally would not have been an issue.

I'm glad that I'm solid again and my prayer journal now has this meltdown written in.

Productivity

As I've mentioned, my boss, Bob, has been on a missions trip to India for the past week.  He will be returning tomorrow to his excited wife and maybe to the store on Monday or Tuesday.  His blog and the topics discussed in it made me feel a little silly writing in mine.  It's not like I hit a lot of life altering points when I'm discussing shampoo, at least not to the severity of Bob's recent post on our all knowing God planting his medical mission exactly where it needed to be to help a little boy.

So, a combination of extra time at the shop and not having anything really interesting to talk about held me up.

I really like my job and I don't mind for a second taking on extra hours.  I'm one of those people who actually enjoy coming into the store even on my days off just to see how things are going.  I even kind of liked the responsibility of having to open the store every morning and the knowledge that there wasn't someone readily available to make executive decisions for me (not that I made any executive decisions... except when I sold the store to this one guy... should have left a note for Bob on that one...).


So this week has been busy, not only with extra hours but in learning and other things.

One thing I learned this week is that I tend to be more productive when I have less time.  The house takes a lot less time to clean when I only have a half an hour to do it.  I want to make meals that take a long time to prepare because it's become somewhat therapeutic to stand in my kitchen preparing meals.  I somehow find time to walk dogs and stop looking at facebook as often and my to-do lists are checked off quickly.

So this week, I learned that I should keep myself busy to get everything done.

I was able to make a healthy deep dish chocolate chip cookie pie (no sugar, no gluten... I have no idea what other people thought of it at the date night social, but I loved it since I could eat it [I'm not eating white sugar]).  I used chocolate covered katies recipe (google her, she's pretty great), except I used dates instead of brown sugar.

And David and I got some much needed tug of war time in.

I also researched our summer vacation and all sorts of extras that are normally on the "to-do someday" pile.

The Guitar

Not a lot of people know this, because I normally avoid sharing information that could cause major embarrassment, but a couple of years ago Jim bought me a guitar for Christmas.  As a woodwinds instructor, I hate to admit that it's an instrument that I don't practice regularly, nor do I follow a practice plan like the one I set out for every single student that comes in the door.  Of course, if my students knew how little I practiced at their ages...

My guitar, while a professional model and possibly the best sounding 6 string I've ever heard (remember, I work in a music store, so that's saying something),  is somewhat wasted on a slacker like me.  However, I can say that I have successfully committed Black Bird to memory, I can play Hey Jude with some sheet music help, and I can play the first few measures of Classical Gas.  I can also sight read very beginner guitar licks well, as I try to be a little bit ahead of my student, anyway.
So, while I am the proud owner of a beautiful guitar, and I can sound impressive for a total of maybe 5 minutes, 10 if I have sheet music, I have a long way to go.  But I figure, this instrument deserves a good player.  So I'm off to practice. 

By Smell...

Sunday we had Nate and Danielle over for lunch to help us with the enormous turkey breast we had made.  We tend to over buy our turkey because then it works out where it should just be getting done when we get home from church.  It was really nice of them to come and bring desert (which was delicious!).  But even with help, we had a lot of leftovers. 
Having an inkling that this might be the case when I decided to put turkey randomly on the menu (which we do probably once a month, because we both love turkey), I decided to try my hand at homemade pita pockets, using this recipe.
Now, the recipe tastes awesome and worked out pretty well, but of course, next time they will turn out a little better.  This time they didn't really act like "pockets" (I think I needed to make them a little bigger).  So, they won't be the easiest pita pockets to eat, but I've never claimed to be a clean eater anyway.

Jim has shown me how to perfect cooking peppers for pitas/paninis/etc.  It's by smell and makes me feel kind of like a food Jedi.  "You will smell good, green peppers!"... Okay, that was a stretch, I admit it.
Anyway, a little olive oil and sea salt sprinkled over orange, red, yellow and green peppers with some pieces of leftover turkey sauted until the veggies are slightly brown and go from smelling like "just food" to "mmm...foood!" , stuffed in homemade pita pockets with a little bit of pepperjack cheese for dinner tonight.  Mm... sometimes I love leftovers.  Tomorrow will be some sort of turkey casserole, and later this week is turkey noodle soup, maybe turkey chilli over the weekend....

No Spend Month Re-cap

I thought it was about time to update everyone on the status of our no-spend month January and what we have since spent money on.
No-Spend January was very successful.  We had more money than I anticipated at the end of the month.  We did not go out to eat, we did not go to a movie or rent a movie, we stuck to our grocery list and the two shopping trips.  There were only three exceptions to the no-spend month rules.  We bought some pain medication for Jim's knee (Aleve-$5), an extra gallon of milk, and toothpaste when we ran out... I thought the rest of the world would appreciate that.
To explain I am just going to be honest with you regarding our grocery budget.  We normally have a grocery budget (specifically, food and cleaning items) of $300 per month.  We aren't too terribly strict with this amount.  Some months will be over that, and some will be under.  It is still my belief, even after our very strict month, that sticking to that amount is not the most important aspect of grocery shopping-- feeding my family is.  Toiletries are above this amount, but aren't an every month expense and vary, so I try to keep it "as cheap as possible".
So this month, after a month of eating out of our pantry and being careful with our expenses, we hit the grocery store.  We left having spent $400, which is actually quite typical for a month when we have to buy dog food (usually an every other month expense).  We bought a few toiletries above that, but it wasn't bad.
So all in all it was a good idea and one we will probably replicate a few times this year.  The next attempts, I think the savings will go directly to our mortgage payments.  Then, when we have a no spend month a few years from now, we won't have that mortgage payment to make.  Wouldn't that be awesome?
This month will not be nearly as strict.  As a matter of fact, we've already been out to eat, been to a movie, gotten hair cuts and I bought some running gear.

I didn't learn anything earth shattering, other than we did eat out a lot more than we should and my body is already used to not eating out.  I would rather eat in and make dinner, as I have really started enjoying cooking and baking.
The first two pictures are pretty self explanatory.   New gloves, hat and top.  Last picture is of the dinner rolls I made this morning for dinner tomorrow.  I also made pita pockets.  Baking is so calming to me.  Too bad most baked items aren't healthy.  These, however, are decent as far as flour items go.  And yes-- that is a mug.  I don't have fancy dough cutters. 

Shampoo

It's a sad, sad day for a girl when her favorite beauty product is taken off the shelves.  I lamented the loss of my shampoo almost a full year ago, when it was no longer available at Wal*Mart and rejoiced when I found it still sold at Pamida, stocking up for the inevitable-- when it was no longer available.
For a while I was able to get all of my hair products online.  My stash was running low so I made another order to discover that most of the line that I have enjoyed for years is no longer being made. 

Being the research junkie that I am and having this tragic event occur while Jim was out of town, I went into full-on research mode complete with hours of internet time, music in the background and carrots with ranch dressing. 

I may be exaggerating-- it is not and will never be a tragedy to lose a beauty product off the shelves.  I was not kidding, however, about the amount of research I did. 

I learned the basics of shampoo and read hundreds of reviews on various brands and varieties within those brands.  Since many of my readers (Ha! Many... so, 6 out of the 7?) are women and since my husband also found my knew found shampoo knowledge useful, I thought I would share.

The first ingredient on your shampoo bottle will inevitably be water.  Followed by the is the primary detergent used.  The detergent is obviously what cleans the hair, or, strips it of oils.  Some detergents are healthier than others.  The four primary detergents in shampoo are ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate.  These are ordered, for your convenience, from harshest to nicest to your hair.  This ingredient is the main ingredient in shampoo that determines the health of your hair, so it seems.  The harsher your detergent, the more often you will suffer from split ends, as it strips your hair of even the good oils.  The worst shampoos, apparently, are those with two of these ingredients listed.  Pantene Pro-V is an example of this. 

The shampoo I love has only sodium laureth sulfate (the least harsh detergent)  so I scoured the internet for brands that have only that detergent.  I discovered websites like directionsforme.org have the ingredients listed right away.  I was also looking for things like "silk" "shine" and "gloss" as I have straight hair.  And it had to be for "normal" hair, because those designed for damaged tend to do more damage.  I also wanted something with extra products, like mouse and a finishing spray.

So, I had it down to Nexxus, Marc Anthony, Tresemme, and Fructis.  There were other brands but these ones were the ones that had a line that matched all of my criteria.  Nexxus, while tempting with it's avocodo oil (supposedly amazing for your hair) was the most expensive.  Tresemme disappointed in lower ingredients (I could go into detail on that one, but this is already getting too long).  I used to love Fructis and Jim uses it but I wanted to try something new. 
Marc Anthony shampoo matched my old shampoo the closest in ingredients and also had the shortest ingredient list.  I have this theory that less is more in most things that require ingredients that I can't pronounce. 

So the verdict: I'm glad I did my homework.  It's almost like my old shampoo but smells more salon-like.

So there you have it.  Way too much information on shampoo.