Monthly Musings: February (Birthday Edition, Part II)

Sunday night the weathermen across Dallas began their shining careers. In a matter of days, their faces became familiar in every Dallas household. Kids everywhere were asking the same question, "Is school going to be cancelled tomorrow?"

Yes, I was among them. And yes, my school was cancelled. (I found out when I woke up in the middle of the night and checked the school twitter account. Yes, you read that correctly.)

Ice Monday meant I stayed in my jammies until 5PM. I practiced a full day, drank a lot of hot drinks, snuggled my Weimaraner, and avoided icy roads. Oh, and I Skype taught for the first time ever with my Frisco students. There were some challenging aspects to it, but overall it worked well.

Since it stayed below freezing on Tuesday, the roads were still treacherously icy. We even had some flurries! 

I'm convinced Brooklyn thought the snow/ice were off-limits. She kept trying to sneak chunks of ice, and once when I called her inside she grabbed a big hunk and ran indoors before I could stop her. Can you blame the pup? She's never seen the stuff before!

While we were all getting accustomed to life in PJs, Wednesday the schools reopened. They stayed open for the rest of the week, but by Friday evening everything was closing early. The temps had stayed right around freezing, and on Friday a new band of snow came our way. Brooklyn hunkered down to prepare for the inevitable.  

It was snowing when I went to class on Friday. Hours later, I stepped outside to find my campus coated in white!

Snow selfie!

In which the Florida girl is justified in wearing boots

I simply could not wait to get home and let Brooklyn out in the yard! Flurries and ice are one thing, but inches of fluffy white is another thing altogether!

To say she loved it would be an understatement. Even after we'd played outside for a long time, she continued to sit by the back door.

She also thought that snowballs were high-value treats. We didn't inform her otherwise.

Score!

Saturday morning, everything iced over again. Ty and I managed to drive down the street to try a workout group. It was a core workout just walking inside. You'd be surprised how much you use your abs when trying to walk on ice.

I had another cozy day at home at the piano. This week could not have come at a better time. I'm truly considering it a birthday gift from Heaven. It was a much needed respite! One more week until Spring Break, and one month until my recital. Loving this extra practice time.

March MUSIC Madness

For the month of March, I'm challenging my students to listen to 15 minutes of piano music every day. I've copied my original email below. Feel free to join in and check out my Spotify playlist! You won't be disappointed! :)

Dear Parents of Students,

One of my classmates inspired me to join her in a musical version of "March Madness." This is how it works: I'm challenging all my students to listen to fifteen minutes of piano music every day throughout the month of March. I'm committing to listen right along with you all! Listen on your commute or while you're getting ready for school.

I've compiled a Spotify playlist for your easy access. It totals to just under seven hours of phenomenal piano music - many standard classics and some of my personal favorites. (In case you're wondering about the math, 15 minutes for 30 days actually equals nearly 8 hours so I've cut you some slack. :)

You will need a Spotify account to access the playlist. Account registration is free; just know you may have the occasional commercial interruption. You can access the playlist through the web or by downloading the desktop or app version. I'm sure many of you already have it!

I've attached a calendar for easy record-keeping. Please print it out and have your student keep it in his/her binder. I would love to offer a musical reward/incentive, so I'll keep you posted. :)

Thank you for partnering with me on this! Click the hyperlink to access the playlist: March MUSIC Madness. It is listened under the account user "jessicawelshpiano."

Let me know if you have any questions! Happy listening!

Jessie Welsh

Monthly Musings: February (Birthday Edition, Part I)

My favorite day of the year came and went. It was absolutely perfect. (We're talking about my birthday, in case you didn't know. February = Jessie's birthday.) Texas even got with the program and made my birthday last nearly a week. Monday and Tuesday were both ice days, so the celebrating continued into the week.

Let me back up.

A February birthday for a Floridian means perfect weather: light jackets, sun, and a nice breeze. Dallas made planning a bit tougher. During the week leading up to the big day (Saturday), the forecast changed four times. It vacillated back and forth between torrential downpour and clouds and 70s and 30s. Finally, on Friday it looked as if Saturday would be cool and cloudy, perfectly acceptable for my birthday plans.

Birthday Wishes:
1. Run a half marathon
2. Go hiking with my family

Likely because of the unstable weather forecast, White Rock Lake was wide open. On an average Saturday morning, the lake is highly populated with runners, walkers, cyclists, dogs, strollers, etc. We saw a few running groups training, but I'm guessing many anticipated the clouds would turn to rain and the forecast would change yet again. Mary Anna ran with me, and we headed counter-clockwise around the lake this time. We parked in the neighborhoods surrounding the lake, ran the 9 miles around the lake, and then ran back to the car. Unfortunately, I slightly miscalculated the distance, so we had to add another mile at the end of our run. But in the end, we completed 13.1 miles in 1:48:56. It occurred to me afterward that neither of us have run a half marathon distance since our race in October. Not bad at all.

On top of the dam - I love this stretch!

Hydratin'!

I had a post-run recovery breakfast cooking in the crockpot for when we finished. I called my family on FaceTime and opened their gifts. I think the kids were a bit disappointed in the "grown up" gifts under the bright wrapping, but I've been enjoying my essential oils starter kit daily!

Annual birthday picture! (Looking a little rough, but I had just finished a half marathon, thank you very much. :)

Birthday flashbacks: 2013 & 2014

After a tasty breakfast, some quality foam rolling, and a shower, Ty and I headed to an outdoors store down the street. My Welsh fam sent me some birthday money, and it was burning a hole in my pocket already. Afterward, we packed a lunch, loaded up the dog, and took the highway south to Cedar Hill State Park. What did I buy with my birthday money?

A backpack for Brook!

I have been wishing for one of these for quite some time. I plan to use it for my long runs, so Brooklyn can carry all our gear. Hands-free running is a dream! We're also hoping to do some more hiking/trail running, so I have great plans for this pack. On Saturday, she hauled our lunch. (It's about time she pulled her weight!)

If you thought Brooklyn would be tired after running a half marathon, you guessed wrong. She was wild as ever! We took a 3-mile trail that is shared between hikers and mountain bikers. For safety purposes, we walked counter-clockwise, while the bikers took the route clockwise. Ty's favorite part was dreaming of biking the trail and simultaneously reliving his Nashville biking memories.

Cedar Hill is known for its hilly areas, and the trail had some good inclines. It also veers around Joe Pool Lake, so we could sometimes see that in the distance.

After our hike, I was certainly tired, so I put my feet up, iced my knee, and watched some Netflix. After that respite, the dinner party preparations began. Mary Anna and I had sliced most of the veggies the previous night, so there was very little to do except the actual cooking. After a long run and a hilly hike, I was stoked about this dinner.

Green Curry

Pad Thai

I didn't manage to snap a photo of our dinner guests, but it's because I was entirely present in the evening. After dinner, we enjoyed brownies, hot tea, and the 90's Edition of Trivial Pursuit. I could not have asked for a better evening. Finally, our sleepy guests departed with full bellies and wide smiles, and I was struck by how very blessed I am.

Stay tuned for Part II: Icemageddon!