This ones for you kid

I was just wondering if anyone checked my blog and I convinced myself that no one does since I rarely get comments. Then I don’t post for a few days and I get blog guilt from Cindy…so here it goes

I am back in the classroom again. I have 73 kids in my top group this year and instrumentation is looking pretty good. I did have a tuba player move away over the summer which hurt. I would almost rather lose a toe than a tuba player. I was going to have three girl tuba players this year. We were going to have t-shirts made to commemorate such a historic event. I still have two tuba girls, but it just does not seem the same. I do have five horns this year which makes me want to do cart wheels! As always, my saxophone section is looking to be the most colorful of the group.

Why does it always seem like the saxophone kids are the colorful ones? My fellow band director at school Kim swears she is going to do her masters thesis on developing a personality test to determine what you should play. No more trying instruments out. Instead we will ask a series of preference questions to determine what you should play. I wonder what some of those questions should be? Anyway I should go and rest up. We start beginning band recruitment tomorrow and since we do not have the personality test yet, we will just have to do it the old fashioned way.

R.I.P.

I ran over a raccoon the other day. Let’s please have a moment of silence for the fallen woodland creature. (Silence) It was an accident. He or she was crossing the road and well into the next lane when the little bugger dashed backwards in front of my car. He or she might have been suicidal, I am not sure. Regardless the sound was not pleasant for me, so I can not imagine what it was like for him. So farewell raccoon, I hope you are in a better place. (I bet when you read the title of this post you thought it was going to be about school starting.)

BB King is just that...King!

Nathan and I went and saw BB King this past weekend at Ravina. He is amazing! I truly hope to be like him when I am 80 years old. This man played for two hours straight that is longer than most guys half his age. He was also very engaging with the audience and had a wonderful sense of humor. He joked about all the not so funny things that happen as you get old and his inability to hit on women. I hope I have such a wonderful sense of humor about ageing when I get older.

If you do not know that much about the blues BB King is a wonderful place to start. He really has made some of the quintessential blues songs his own. This past weekend he made us wait for it but he played “The Thrill is Gone.” This is probably his best known song but he put a different spin on his live version it was much more up tempo than the classic recording of his.

As a musician and a resident of Chicago I feel obligated to tell you the blues is for everyone. The blues is not depressing or pity party music. The blues acknowledges the hard times but takes more of a life gave you lemons make lemonade type attitude. I am always in a good mood after listening to my blues play list on my ipod. Go ahead and down load some BB King!

sneezing

I have a small medical mystery. For as long as I can remember I have had this tail… just kidding. Actually my mystery is not quite that interesting. I never sneeze just once. Lately I have started keeping track and I usually sneeze four times but not always. I do remember only sneezing once in high school, I think my friends Tony was a witness. But after my single sneeze it felt like I had to sneeze again and my nose and throat felt funny for a while afterwards. Does this happen to anyone else? Anyone have a theory on why I always sneeze multiple times? It really is a bit ridiculous anyone who knows me never says “bless you” after the first one because they know more is on the ways.

A book review plus some

I just finished a wonderful book called “The Secret Life of Bees.” I thought the story was thoughtful and very insightful into the issues of race relations, mother-daughter relationships, and survival of the human spirit.

The story is set during the beginning of the civil rights movement and it is told from the point of view of a 14 year old girl. I love the way the author addressed the issue of racism, both the kind that is blatant and also the kind people have without even realizing it, in a very honest manner without being preachy. I believe this idea is secondary to the story line of the main character Lily struggling with the loss of her mother at a young age and feeling like she had no love relationship with an adult, or anyone for that matter. I will not give any of the story away, but I do recommend that you read this book.

I have never been a trashy romance novel kind of girl, although I do enjoy a thriller from time to time. I am mainly drawn to stories told from the female perspective that incorporate real issues. For example, my favorite book to date is “The Poisonwood Bible.” This book tackles issues such as the sometimes unwanted spread of Christianity to certain parts of the world, racism, and survival. The story is told through the point of view of all four of a missionary preacher’s daughters.

Please do not take my thoughts on literature as me saying men are incapable of thoughtful commentary on tough issues or they are not aware of the world around them. I think I love female driven stories written by women because I am one and I find it easier to relate too. Although I will admit I have more than once found myself angry at female characters in stories written by men. For example, almost every female penned by Shakespeare is weak in some way whether it is Ophelia losing her mind or Hamlet’s mother marrying her husband’s brother after his untimely death. Yes, you can argue that it was the time that those plays were written and females are not portrayed like that anymore, but I still see it as a problem. Just look at Memoirs of a Geisha by Golden. Although this book is very well written and the main character does display moments of great strength, in the end her whole life has been about being with one man.

I guess I have just done so much reading about women who need to be saved or shown the way by the men in their life that I need a break. Wow, I really meant this just to be a book review not a rant. I am always open to reading suggestions, no matter who the author.

Ode to bread

I am a total carbohydrate addict, and sandwiches are one of my favorite things to eat. However in the interest of healthy living recently I have started making wraps instead of sandwiches. Wraps are ok but I do miss the bread. Until now however I could not find a bread that was low cal, high in fiber, and tasted good. Drum roll please………..Healthy Life Rye Bread meets all three criteria! It is only 80 calories for two slices, yes that it is right two slices not one, 7 grams of fiber (hmmmm fiber) and it really does taste like rye bread not cardboard.

In the interest of full discloser this bread does have a lighter texture than normal rye bread and no it is not as good as my favorite full loaded sourdough. But Healthy Life Rye is a tasty everyday bread. They also have a wheat bread version, but I have not sampled it as of yet and can’t comment.

Now I must go eat a sandwich and maybe take a nap!

Tall Ships

This past weekend my husband, a few friends and I went to see the tall ships at Navy Pier. It was nice but not worth the $12 to board the ships. If I had to do it again, I would go and just walk around and not pay the $12. Maybe if you knew something about sailing or were a huge history buff you could justify the cost. Otherwise kids take my advice and just enjoy walk along the river/lake front and save your money.

Another attraction that is not worth the extra money is the Hover Dam Engine Room. Earlier this year we went to Las Vegas and took a day trip to the Hoover Dam. The trip itself was fun and worth the time and expense. However once you get there they charge $11 to see the engine room and you have to wait in line for a half an hour or so. I did not think that little extra was worth the time or expense.

Grrrr Irish!

I am angry with my heritage! As most of you know my heritage is as follow: 75% German, 25% Irish. And I have found over the years that I look and tend to act in more of a German manner. I am a fairly serious person with a strong work ethic (very German.) The couple of times I have been to Germany, I looked like everyone else there. My maiden name means something about running in German. Do not even get me started about how German my married name is. Now for the most part, people of German decent tan fairly well, my husband being exhibit A.

Unfortunately my ability to tan is not traced back to my German roots, it is directly tied to my Irish heritage. In other words I burn badly with only limited exposure to the sun. Every so often I forget how Irish my skin tone really is and yesterday was one of those days. I spent the afternoon outside. Although I did spend a fair amount of time in the shade and put sun block on before I left the house, it was no use. I literally match my pink pajamas right now. Why is that the one Irish trait I get? Why could I not be good at writing poetry or enjoy whisky? These Irish traits I do not have, but being pasty is the one I get.

I am ok with the fact that I will never be really tan. In fact, I do not go out in the sun a lot. I don’t want my skin to be the texture of shoe leather when I enter my 40s or worse yet have to deal with skin cancer. I wish I could however be able to spend a day outside every so often without looking like a lobster the next day.

The Closer

I feel obliged to give five stars to TNT’s police drama The Closer. I am a huge Law and Order fan; I do not discriminate between the original, svu or criminal intent. During the summer I go through a bit of withdrawl. Not that I can not see a rerun of Law and Order six times a day, however I have seen most of them. Yes that is right I have probably seen nine out of ten Law and Order episodes since the shows inception, but I digress.

Last summer I stumbled upon The Closer to help fill the void that no new Law and Order’s had left me with. I enjoy the show because it is a bit like my beloved Law and Order, only with more of a southern personal twist. The main character is deputy police Chief Brenda Lee Johnson, played by Kyra Sedgwick. She is an Atlanta native who was brought in to run the Priority Homicide Division of the LA PD. I love watching her deal with her detectives sometimes eloquently and other times not so much, but always with a large helping of southern charm. The character is very good at her job while still struggling with her own quirks and neuroses. If you get a chance check out The Closer, it airs Monday night at 8pm in the Chicago land area. Now I must run and take a drum set lesson.