red-checkered fun

Happy New Year! Can't believe it's already been a year, eh?

News, news, news...

Christmas ended up being really good. I spent a lot of time with my cousins who have grown up so much, and we played a good solid 3 games of lazer tag and some Nancy Drew while I was in Madison. The family spent New Years in the UP, which was different for us. So much good food, a lot of doing nothing, and a fun evening with my cousin to ring in the new year . Eventually I ended up back at school with a giant box of knickknacks from Christmas to stuff into my room and enough motivation for this month to make me feel like the Energizer Bunny.

So, it is January, the month devoted to giving myself a swift kick in the ass every morning so that I get up and do what needs to get done. In this case, that would be working out, practicing, homework, and all of the little projects that I seem to think I will have time to complete. Here's my Project Box, as I like to call it:

1. Reorganize Room/Email inbox/Xmas Presents (mostly done)
2. Work on conducting
3. Start Baroque violin repertoire
4. Cook dinner (did that tonight - spaghetti with meatballs, Caesar salad, garlic bread, white wine)
5. Finish summer camp applications
6. Pinhole camera
7. $5 from lessons to the Fun Fund


Riveting, I know. But I am excited about the pinhole camera! A new foray into some different kind of photography. I'll try to post some pictures when I get the box up and running. And the Fun Fund is dedicated to saving for the next trip to Vienna, or wherever Dan convinces me that we need to go. I have only a year or so left on my flight benefits, so traveling is a must. Must must must. Ireland? Germany? England? Australia? New York?


Today I bought the newest Coldplay album. I'm addicted to their single, "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall." Favorite moment:

As we saw, oh this light
I swear you emerge blinking into
To tell me it's alright
As we soar walls
Every siren is a symphony
And every tear's a waterfall

I'm not usually one to post song lyrics. Sometimes that gets to be a little lame, but this one is just so good. If I had my own radio station, I would play this one on repeat for at least an hour. A perpetual dance party to Coldplay is always a good idea.

...

You can tell that it's J-term when I don't have a lot to post about except dinner plans and my new favorite song. But I will say this about January - it is the calm before the storm. Second semester comes and goes like a breeze, so I am determined to enjoy the quiet, the space, the solitude.


Here's to butter, fresh basil, a glass of white wine, and my grandmother's red-checkered apron. :-)