The Piano Player

So . . . my daughter started playing hand bells in the junior choir at All Saints' Episcopal Church last year and wanted to branch out to the piano this year for Christmas.  I suspect it may have had something to do with her best friend Kayla playing the piano, but I didn't mind.  I grew up with a piano in my home but never learned how to play it.  I'm glad Katie was motivated, and at age eleven, I felt she was ready.

We went to a Raleigh Ringers concert in Atlanta earlier this year.
Katie is trying to lift one of the aluminum bells after the concert -- it's heavier than we thought at 18 pounds!

Here's a quick video of three songs and her recital piece -- it's under two minutes.  She positively LOVED The Lion King when she was younger and didn't hesitate to pick "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" as her first recital piece.  :)  Notice during this last piece that she isn't reading the music at all -- pretty cool!!

So, Katie's learning how to play the piano, and I'm learning how to make iMovies now.  We're taking small steps together!  LOL

Dressing up Dresser Tops

Although I do not consider myself a natural at decorating like some lucky friends I know, I do still like to try my hand at it.  I used to be an HGTV junkie back when they showed actual decorating shows instead of all the House Hunter-type shows like they do nowadays.  If you're familiar with Decorating Cents, Design on a Dime, or Design Remix, it will give you a feel for the type of low-cost, high impact decorating style I have (or, rather, try to have).

Anyway, when I was cleaning the glass tops of my bedroom dressers one day,  I thought it would be so neat if they had some type of umphh factor underneath the glass.

Enter some old wrapping paper I think my parents had given me.  Somehow I remembered I had it and pulled it out of the deep recesses of our closet.  Even though it was some type of nautical print, the colors matched the decor in our bedroom.  I spread it out on the floor (print side down), carefully lifted the glass top off the dresser, and laid it down on top of the wrapping paper.  Once I traced out the glass, I pushed it off the paper and cut out the pattern.

I thought it looked pretty good and decided to keep it like that.  I finished putting my accessories back in place and called it a day.  :)

One of these days I'm going to spray paint these white frames black and distress them afterward.

Why Small Steps Daily?

Well, I figure if I sort my thoughts out in this blog format, it would help me . . . and maybe anyone else who reads them, too.  I am like anyone else.  I have a family, a career, a household, and a myriad of interests (see my bio) to keep me occupied.  I do too much and don't know how to have down time.  Take tonight, for instance.  My husband has taken our kids to visit with his dad for two nights.  What am I doing?  I wasted half my time halfway doing chores like washing the sheets, staying away from a deliciously decadent dessert I made last night for a block party, and floating back and forth between Facebook and Twitter.  Oh, and I took a nap.  I mean, really.  I couldn't think of anything better to do!

Anyway, I do have some major areas of my life that need attending:

• My Personal Finances:  My husband and I are strong believers in being debt free.
• My health:  I do my best to eat well.  Also, I hit 40 a few years back and am determined to look like I'm in my 30's (or younger).  :)
• My family:  I mean both my kids and my aging parents.  Talk about two ends of the spectrum!
• My house:  I am constantly trying to decorate, to maintain, and beautify this place I call home.
• My hobbies:  I love to read, craft . . . well, just look at my bio.  :)
• My career:  I am a 21-year veteran in my field and have started grad school recently.
• My spirituality:  I am always on a pathway . . . 

So, anyhoo, these are the topics you may very well find on this blog!  It may sound like a lot, but then again, it's about taking small steps daily!