Worthy Of Affection

It's been a difficult week. My school load has been especially heavy, I'm going to/playing for a womens' conference this weekend, and I'm performing at school Sunday morning. All of that seemed suddenly so much less important when I was hit with the news that a woman from my church had passed away.

Her funeral is this morning. She was about my mom's age and is survived by a husband and eight children. She was healthy. No one would have guessed the extent that a viral flu would have upon her body.

I know that no ones like the subject of death, especially when it hits close to home like this. Personally, I'd rather not face my own fragility. But when tragedy strikes, we must know how to respond. Sunday, when I received the news that this dear woman was sick, I prayed. My whole church prayed. I begged God to have mercy. I know in some way - in His good plan - He has done that, but it sure doesn't feel as such. All we can do in dark times is cling to the promises that God has made to us - His children - knowing that one day we will see in full.

I came upon this post yesterday and was brought to tears by words that stirred somewhere deep within, words that rang true with my fears and hopes. They communicate more poignantly than I ever could. May they comfort you through joy and sorrow.

I'll leave you with words from artists Shane and Shane that gave me hope last night as I drove home from school.

Deliverer you brought us out of the miry clay
You set our feet upon a rock and You made us say
Holy is the Lord

We would declare your thoughts about us one by one
It’d be too many to count so we’d simply come
And sing of Your great love
So we sing, we lift our hands and sing

You are worthy of affection
You’re the radiance of all of His Glory
Let adoration fill this place
You hold everything together
By the word of your immovable power
We sing a song of praise

We are the broken down and we are the beaten up
But what can stop us from a song of unending love
Holy is the Lord

You are the treasure, the hope, the bright and morning star
You are the lover of our soul and you want our hearts
And sing of Your great love
So we sing, we lift our hands and sing

You are worthy of affection
You’re the radiance of all of His Glory
Let adoration fill this place
You hold everything together
By the word of your immovable power
We sing a song of praise
A song of praise

Worthy are You Lord

-Worthy Of Affection

Status

This is one of those rare moments that I wish I had a Facebook so I could post a short status update about a not-so-rare event.
(I guess we can just call it a short blog.)

How many times will I have to keep learning the same lessons?!
1. Chocolate still gives me a headache.
2. Performance-based living is enslaving.

I need Grace. For my headache and to breathe.

Captivated

Today I sat on the couch doing homework. The only time you'll catch me with the TV on is when I'm listening to the Classical Masterpieces channel. Such was the case today. I was listening to the 3rd Rachmaninov Concerto - the third movement at this point - when there was a power surge! The TV didn't reset fast enough, and I missed the end of the piece! Ugh! I was so mad!

All that to say, I've been listening to Rachmaninov today. His music is so wonderful and enchanting. This etude is incredible (and incredibly difficult - beyond my ability - but a girl can dream, right?), and it's the sort of thing I cannot keep to myself. I was compelled to share.

Enjoy! It's a true work of art.
(Yes, you may count it as your culture lesson for the day.)

Girls' Date!

Today was such a fun Saturday! Last night I stayed over with Glenna W while her parents and sister were at a youth retreat. We watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and I loved it! (Ty, it definitely beats AstroBoy! Ha ha!) This morning I left her house early to come home and practice. After a couple hours, I went back and picked her up. Before that, however, I took this video.

Have I mentioned that we have a rooster? If you or your friends are missing one, please claim him. About a week ago, this rooster showed up in our front yard. I first noticed him strutting past my piano room window. Mom, there's a rooster walking past my window! Of course, she didn't need to be told, as she was awakened by him that very morning. He's just stuck around. All my piano students this week came in and commented on him, too. It's the talk of all the neighbors!

I've named him Maurice, by the way.

Enjoy this video taken at 7 this morning.

After Glenna and I made it back to my house, we made a feast! No kidding! The waffle recipe said it made three waffles, so I decided to triple it. Three 10-inch waffles. Oops. We had waffles coming out our ears! Chocolate chip waffles, berry waffles, plain waffles! We also had sausage (contribution of the Ws). We weren't hungry for lunch until three!

In the evening, these two girlies came over! There brother was out with his dad for the evening, so we had a girls' night! They showed up with their adorable hats, and I grabbed mine, too! :) If you're wondering what looks different about me, I straightened my hair.

It took us about six tries to get this picture right. No worries, the car was still in park.

The weather was so beautiful that we decided to go walking outside.

I told this girl a secret: I had plans to get italian ices after our walk!

(Side note: my ring looks pretty. :)

*Favorite!*

I should know better than to tell a four-year-old secrets. ;)

To Emma and Glenna, "I'm whispering that we're going to get italian ices, because it's a secret."

Well, it was. ;)

We met some hoodlums.

The one on the left is seriously gangsta.

Apparently Glenna doesn't know where she picked up this girl.

Ha ha. :)

It was such a fun day! In addition to these chronicled happenings, I squeezed in a pretty good amount of piano practice, took Papa to the barber, got a steal on eggs and milk at Aldi ($2.89 for a dozen eggs and a gallon of milk!), practiced some sax and cello, did some online homework, and watched Little Women!

Weigh In

Thursday is my long day. I left the house this morning at quarter after six and arrived home tonight about ten till eight.

I've made a habit of laying out my clothes and books the preceding night (yes, like elementary students do) so that I'm all prepared the next morning. Last night I felt like I was packing for a week-long trip.

Packing list:
2 books for string tech.
3 books for theory. (And may I add the adjectives "Thick, large, and heavy?")
3 books and a recorder for my elementary class.
My sax method book (Oops! That's a Monday/Wednesday class!)
Bible study book and Bible for my time with Erin.
Lunchbox (Thanks, Mommy!)
Nalgene water bottle.
A huge stack of piano literature to practice. (Seriously! Sonata albums are not light!)
A metronome.
Staff-paper notebook
Folder for class syllabi/handouts, etc.

This all fit uncomfortably in a backpack and shoulder satchel.
Oh, and let's not forget the cello. That fit uncomfortably on my back.

Thankfully, my Mommy helped me unload the car tonight. I was not so lucky all day today.
My parents' reaction to my wide load combined with my sore shoulders led me to this moment...

Knock, knock, knock.
Dad: Come in.
Jess: I need the scale...I'm weighing all my stuff.
*Insert long chuckle from Dad*

Today's load weighed in at 20:17 at 45lbs.

***

Despite the cyniscm of this post (and my very sore shoulders!), today was all in all a fine day. I made use of all those hours I was at school by practicing, doing homework, and doing Bible study with Erin.
All that with sleeping in an hour, too...till five!

Oh! I forgot to post this picture on my last post! Too cute not to share. :)

Random

Finally. I had a great run this morning! Friday I failed at running, and Saturday I failed to run. Today I ran 5 miles, no problem. Except for my slip-up this weekend, I'm on track for a half-marathon in March. I'm training as if it's going to happen, but the truth of the matter is that it just might be too much with everything else going on. I'll at least be ready for a 10K in March as my back-up option.

I'm loving my Fridays at home and looking forward to watching baby Isaiah those days starting in two Fridays. I could really get used to this Friday and Monday off deal, but I'm trying not to be too greedy. I slept in this morning. :)

One week down. For the first time, I didn't have a breakdown the first week of school! :D I'm not feeling too overwhelmed yet, and I met my 30-hour practice quota. Let's see how I do weeks 2-16.

Here comes the random part.

I was going through pictures on my phone and wanted to share them.

In no particular order:

My dad's roaring fire

This is how Tootsie sits when I practice.

This is what is up in my practice room/piano studio. My teacher always had one, and my students seem to like it.

This is for me. (Can you read sideways?) I'm assuming I'll find out that seventh element at my lesson on Wednesday.

This is a "practice oom" at school. Ha. :)

Mrs' green onions? I don't even remember taking this one!

Maggie-moo on Saturday night. "Take a picture of me and Buddy, Miss Jessie!"

Sophie this very morning. Okay, so I had one interruption to my run. But you'd stop, too, if you had two adorable kids calling your name from their front lawn!

When I went to the doctor in December, the front desk lady made me wear this in the waiting room. I was the only one! My mom and I were dying laughing! (Ty, this had better not still be the background on your phone!)

Can you see upside down? The best investments this family has ever made: two dog beds at $5.99 each. They love these beds and their behavior has improved significantly since the beds were purchased!

French toast stuffed with cream cheese from Mimi's! Mmmm, some of the best I've ever had. Thanks for convincing me to get it, Cindy! I miss you!

Tali and me (and Chapstick, apparently) at an acoustic Copeland show.

...unfortunately, Aaron Marsh was sick with the Swine Flu. :(

Oh, how thankful I am that I don't have to carry an upright bass around!

My man with a very BIG fish. :D

Okay, that's enough for now. I hope you enjoyed this little adventure. Back to practicing. The downside to sleeping in is that I've still 4 more hours to go today!

Instrument Frenzy

This is the tale of a pianist...
...turned string and wind player!

KIDDING! I'm practicing more piano than ever, but I'm also getting to experiment with other instruments.

This semester I'm in string techniques and woodwind techniques II. On Wednesday, I brought home an alto saxophone. I was delighted when, earlier that day in class, I played my first notes on my first try! Hooray for not being a complete newbie to reeds (because last semester's six weeks on the clarinet made me an expert all of a sudden). The alto is borderline large for my locker, but I think it'll fit just fine.

Today is a different story altogether.
Today my life changed.
Today I was given a cello.

Because we ran short on time in string class today, my teacher didn't get a chance to go over my instrument. Needless to say, it's missing an A string and the bottom string (yeah, I don't even know its name yet) needs replaced. But that's okay, because I really don't know what I'm doing anyway.

And anyway, you don't have to have a fully functional instrument to carry it around school all day. That is just what I did, from 8am until 6pm. Two trips to the music office to beg for a bigger locker proved unsuccessful. (No one was there both times!) What choice did I have? I carried my cello in its large, hard case from class to class. Yes, I was jeered at. Yes, I looked cool. No, I still don't know what I'm doing. Even hoisting the instrument onto my back was a big feat. Even more complicated was taking if off! Thankfully, I had my cello handling assistant (aka Erin) around to help me. (We have five classes together, so she was stuck with me.)

When we went to Music Forum today (music school-wide concert every week) we had to sit in the back so I could lean my cello against our chairs without blocking anyone's view. If you're wondering what all the real cellists do, they keep their instruments in their lockers.

(Still don't know how to rotate.)
Sorry I cut your face off, Erin. Unintentional, I promise. That big black thing peering between our heads is my cello (not very conspicuously hiding in its case).

FYI, I don't know the correct sitting/standing positions for sax yet. This week was sort of like, "Hey, here's an instrument for you. Have a great weekend!"

I know this doesn't quite count, but I thought it needed mentioning.

Last week at a music conference, I purchased a little soprano recorder. I figured it was probably a good thing to have as an aspiring music teacher, right? Well, soon after making my purchase, I attended a workshop in which recorders were given away. So then I had two. Well, I picked up my books on Tuesday for my elementary music class, and guess what came with them?! Yes, a recorder. So now I have THREE.

Looks like oboe and bassoon are next. Look out double reeds, here I come!

Matane

Today we said "Matane" to Tsukasa.
We did not say sayonara.

Matane is a non-permanent goodbye that essentially means "I'll see you soon."

She is moving about 2 hours away to live with my dad's uncle and aunt while she attends school in their town. Somehow, perhaps because she's been in and out the last six months or because she'll be in the safe-keeping of family, it doesn't seem as though she's left.

I was at a conference Thursday-Saturday, so when I got home yesterday I soaked up my time with her. Before I'd left she'd asked me what Japanese meal I'd like her to cook.

I grinned when I replied that I'd like tempura. Tempura is delicious, but it takes a lot of time to make.
Nonetheless, we made tempura yesterday.
:)

In case you're wondering what in the world we're doing, let me tell you about tempura.

Tempura is a fried dish, and here we are coating the mixed vegetables with the flour/other special things mixture. In addition, we fried zucchini, sweet potatoes, and chicken.

Somehow I neglected to photograph our huge feast after it was all prepared. Too late now, because it didn't last long!

The best part about this stage is that you get to get messy! I love putting my hands in gooey things like finger paints, so this is my favorite part!

After your vegetables are thoroughly coated with the frying mixture, you place a handful in the hot oil. The difficult part comes when you flip it over in the oil. After all, it's not flat and round like a pancake; it's a handful of mixed veggies, and each handful is a different frying experience. A true master can do it with chopsticks. Of course Tsukasa can, but we all mostly stuck to the spatula last night.

Here is our master chef.

Oops. You caught me taste-testing!

Julia and Carissa also came over for the night. Julia is a fantastic cook, as well, so I learned so much hanging around Julia and Tsukasa. (Did I mention Julia made homemade strawberry ice cream last night? Mmmmm!)

So cute!

Sisters!

(I just look like I know what I'm doing with those chopsticks.)

Since my last post, I feel like it's only fair to mention that my dad had a roaring fire going from the time I walked in the door yesterday until bedtime.

You must understand that it's a real labor of love for my mom to allow us to cook tempura in her kitchen. The stove is her baby, and we made a huge mess on the stove. (We always do.)

Here she found some interim period where the stove was not in use and set to work.

Caught you! You're so cute, Mommy.

Last night, Erin joined us for our traditional Japanese meal. After dinner, Blue managed to escape out the front door, so here we're outfitted for dog hunting. If you're questioning our fashion (okay, my fashion), don't judge. It was freezing outside.

Tsukasa's friend, Hiroko, also came for dinner. Sadly, Tali Rose was busy and couldn't be there. :( She loves tempura, too. I'm thinking I'll "make" Tsuchan come back for my birthday and make it with me! :)

After dinner and dog-hunting, Tsu called us all into the family room for a family meeting. She shared from her heart something special with each member of our family. It was so sweet and made us all cry! Since she's Tsukasa, she also made us all laugh. :D

Here she's recounting her many "dinner dates" with Papa ("while Chuck and Pam were out and Jessie was on dates with Tyler").

Papa couldn't quite hear her sweet words and naturally assumed she was teasing him.

Our whole dinner gang (minus James, who'd already left)

Our little family.

We love you, Tsu.

And you will always be just that: family.

A Little Space, Please

We have this little space heater.

Let me amend my statement.
Ahem.

We have a small space heater that serves as the sole heat provider in our home.

That's better.
Actually, it's not entirely true. The heat is turned on in the house (or so I'm told), but my dad's idea of thermostat temperatures is a little strange. For instance, he considers 66 degrees hot in the winter, but 80 degrees cold in the summer. Don't ask me. I don't understand.

The other night before bed, I shivered down the hallway. The thermostat on my side of the house read 66 degrees.  If the hallway says 66, I know my room is at least a few degrees colder, since it's on the end of the house and all.

This brings me back to the space heater. We use it like wood stoves were used in the olden days (except for the cooking part, of course). As a family, we huddle around the heater in family room. Yesterday morning my mom was reading Frankenstein to me. Yes, the heater was on. Curled up in a blanket, I was lying on the floor just to be closer to the heater.


At night, each inhabitant gets a few golden minutes with the heater in his room. It's so sad when my dad enters a second time to take it away to the next room! This method seemed to be working fairly well until I couldn't find the heater anywhere at 5:30 in the morning! Just you try to practice with frozen fingers. I finally concluded it was in my parents' room. Carefully and quietly, I opened the door. It wasn't cracked two inches before both my parents and both dogs were awake. Oops! They now place the heater in my music room before going to bed.

Last night my dad brought in the space heater before I was ready for bed. Thinking this was just a kind gesture (and certainly not part of the bedtime ritual), I enjoyed the warmth and then turned off the heater and my lights (yes, my daddy taught me well) before leaving the room. Ten minutes later, my dad found me in the kitchen.
"You turned the heater off?"
"Well, yes. I didn't want to leave in on in my room while I wasn't in there. It's a fire hazard and all."
"Well, there goes your 10 minutes."

What?

I don't think he was quite that cruel sounding, but the heater was definitely gone when I went back to my bedroom.

Let's just say I slept in a shirt, a sweater, a sweatshirt, jeans, and socks last night.

*I read this comic this morning after I posted and laughed so hard! I cut it out of the paper and taped it on my dad's mirror. :)

Baby L Comes to Visit

Meet baby L.

His first name is Isaiah. He is 2 1/2 weeks old. Here he is with his parents, shortly after his birth.

A closer view

Well, today he came to visit. Yes, I do mean that we were privileged enough to watch this little one at our house today while his mommy was out.

He slept for the first hour and a half, and I just sat by his car seat, trying to will him awake. Perhaps it's because I'm a youngest child, but little babies bring out the "kid big sister" in me that I never got to be to any true younger siblings.

J: "Mom, when's he going to wake up?!"

M: "Jess, let him sleep."

J: "Why won't he wake up?" Whispered quietly, "Wake up, baby."

I was so happy when his feeding time rolled around, so I could finally wake him!

Isn't his hair amazing?

Truly, isn't it?

Speaking of hair, I'm sorry for the bed-head and PJs. I'm still on break.

(But just to clarify, I was practicing at 5:30 this morning.)