Congratulations are in Order

..... to my kick-ass little daughter, M, who became a red belt in karate last night. She and L both study a Japanese form of martial arts (self-defense oriented) that I can't ever remember the proper name for. Anyway, she's now only about a year or so from becoming a junior level black belt!

And she looked GOOOOOD last night.

I Won, I Won!!!!!

I just love saying that....

Since I've known my hubby, every Christmas, often only a week or so before the big day because we've been so busy, we've trudged out to some tree farm, chopped down our own tree, lugged it home, strung the #$(%&# lights (I HATE stringing lights), decorated it, then proceeded to watch all the needles fall on the floor because we're too lazy to keep up the watering. Then spent days picking the needles out of the carpet because they get firmly embedded. So I started broaching the subject of an artificial tree a few years ago, with "NO" as the definitive answer, and "because I like the smell of live trees" as the reason. Even after I offered to get live greens and wreaths for the aroma, he still held firm.

Well, again this year, I posed the question, and I don't know what he'd been smoking (kidding), but the answer was "as long as you take care of it, go ahead". Huh? Did I hear that correctly? Yep, go do it. So I headed out the next day after perusing the deals online and settled on this one:


Brought it home, set it up, and all I can say is - looks fantastic! Even hubby, who won't admit defeat even when staring it straight in the eye, said "damn, it looks really good". And it does. Once all the ornaments are on it, I doubt many people will be able to tell the difference.

And I DON'T HAVE TO STRING ANY LIGHTS!!!!!!!! Or pick needles one by one out of the carpet!!!! Or wait until a convenient, nice-weather weekend to go get it!!!! Happy dance.....

The Wonderful World of ...orthodontia

So it turns out that this face, as charming, adorable, cute, and quirky as it is, needs serious orthodontic help. I mean serious. The orthodontist got very solemn after examining him and said "just about everything that can be wrong with a mouth is going wrong here". GULP.

Step one: stop the thumb sucking. Immediately. If he doesn't stop soon, the damage he's doing will be untreatable via the usual orthodontic methods. By that I mean surgery. GULP. We had a long talk with L and told him the truth - that he would need an operation if he didn't stop with the thumb. I honestly haven't seen it in his mouth since. At night, we're wrapping his hand in an ace bandage, which he's been great about, and he's just not thumb sucking during his "usual" times (TV, computer, reading) during the day. So, yay for that.

Step two: We go back in February, and if he's stopped the sucking, we'll begin what will be a very long process of fixing his mouth. As best I understand it, he has misshapen his upper jaw so that it's not nice and round anymore - it's pulled forward. He has a serious overbite, with his teeth slanted forward, and his bottom teeth are moved over to one side, leaving no room for future permanent teeth to come in. GULP.

Oh, and M will need braces, too, but not to the extent that L does. She has an open bite, and once a few more teeth come in, we'll start with braces for her.

Neither hubby or I had to have braces as a kid, so we are entering totally new territory here, people. In fact, in my day, I NEVER heard of someone 8 yrs old having braces. They are doing them much earlier now.

Donations to the L Braces Fund are now being accepted.....

Indian Food

Normally, I'm not a real adventurous eater. I'm not picky, but I don't eat "weird" things. Well, I had a gastronomic adventure yesterday evening. After the Robert Dick Recital, a few of us took him to dinner, and the restaurant of choice was a vegetarian Indian place called Udupi Palace. Wow, was I pleasantly surprised! Lots of things on the menu that I would consider yummy; I had trouble choosing! I finally settled on Dal Makhani, which is lentils cooked overnight on a slow fire with herbs (and curry). It comes with rice that you put it over, and a mild yogurt sauce to drip on top. It was soooo good! Everyone got something different, and all enjoyed their meal. If it wasn't so far away, I'd take the family. But maybe now I'll try to find an Indian restaurant near me. Yum.

Flutistically Yours

I don't know why, but I just felt the need to blog today. Lots has been going on. Yesterday, I performed Eric Ewazen's "Concerto for Flute" at the Charles Sumner School in downtown DC, as part of the Friday Morning Music Club's monthly recital series there. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this piece (in fact, Eric is composing a flute quartet, his first, for my flute quartet, Femme Flutale), and have so much fun playing it, I almost forget I'm nervous. Well, almost. There are 4 movements, and by the second, the nerves had worn off and I was just having fun. When I performed the piece back in April, the same thing happened. I can't tell you the high that comes from presenting an awesome piece of music to people, who have most likely never heard it before, since it's not a 'standard', and doing it to the best of your abilities. It is truly a rush. There were a number of people in the audience that were there JUST to hear my piece. All were flute players, one is in the National Symphony, and I was worried that that would make me more nervous, but it didn't. I tried my best to 'inhabit' the idea that they were there to hear me play well and support me, as opposed to being threatened or anxious about them being there. I continually work on my nerves while performing, and more and more, I am able to really enjoy the experience, and be "in" the music. It is addictive, really.

Today was another flute day. I went to a masterclass by renowned flutist, composer, and teacher Robert Dick. He is, to say the least, and interesting fellow. He composes music that really stretches the boundaries of what a flute can do, and is most definitely outside the limits of what we refer to as "normal" flute music. Lots of extended techniques that many call unmusical (including me at times), but there is always something to learn. His music is not my cup of tea, but I have the utmost respect for what he does. Tomorrow, he's giving a recital, and I'll be there, and I'm sure I will discover something new that the flute can do. Fascinating stuff.....