Let's do this, 2016!

Vision Board!

For the first time ever, I made myself a vision board, filled with things I want to do/accomplish in 2016 (I like this better than a resolution). It feels different to me, and more importantly: doable. Each goal is hanging on a pearl on the tree, and once I've accomplish said goal, I'll take it down and put it in a "Mission Accomplished" box, and as the year goes on, I can add new goals to the board. I like that it's reusable, and it's quite lovely to look at (I'm a sucker for Autumn...hence the look of the tree and the hanging grapes on either side).

My list of goals for the year:

• Reach a healthy weight/fitness level (approx. 120 lbs)
• Participate in at least one dance competition
• Go to at least one weekend dance retreat
• Hike somewhere you've never been
• Visit at least one place you haven't been to. Ex:
  • Hawaii
  • Yosemite
  • London
  • Scotland
• Compose an orchestral piece like John Williams or Lenord Bernstein
• Compose an origonal choral piece
• Get website up and running
• Write a cookbook
• Write a short musical
• Things I want to purchase:
  • Vocal mic
  • New computer
  • Sibelius

It's not even February yet, and so far, I've already signed up for a dance weekend retreat (and will soon sign up for another!), AND I signed up for a Jack and Jill competition at said retreat. So that's two goals right there....

Also, signing up for this retreat (which is in March) has inspired me to get in shape. I mean, in a way that I haven't before. I signed up for a David Deida talk in April, and that was sort of inspiring to get me fit... but this dance retreat. Oh man. CRAZY inspiring. I'll be dancing Thursday evening, all day Friday, Saturday evening, and all day Sunday. And I want to be FIT so I can dance and dance and dance and dance and really get everything I can out of the weekend. Which leads me to.....

Mission Fitness X

I posted on facebook a challenge/pledge to exercise everyday until the event (though I don't exactly plan to stop once it's over.). My hashtag for it is #MissionFitnessX (since the even is called Mission Fusion Extravaganza). Yesterday was only day 2 for it, but I hadn't gotten a workout in and it was getting rather late. But I had made this commitment to myself, and I didn't want to break it. It felt so good! And I think a portion of that motivation of commitment comes from me practicing to love myself unconditionally. It hasn't been easy, but I am really starting to love myself in a deep and profound way that I've never experienced.

Baking and baking!

Soon.... very soon.... I will get my blog up and running for my baking creations. I'm just having SO much fun with it, and if I make some extra money doing it, great. If I don't, great. It's not why I'm doing it.

And FINALLY...
I finished the mirror!! Mom and I had put up IKEA mirrors (the big 12" x 12" ones) in a would-be "artsy" fashion...but it ended up looking horrible and completely discombobulated. So I searched far and wide on the interwebs and found smaller mirrors to fill the gaps with. It took me forever to start the project, because I was making it very complicated in my head on how to go about doing it. But eventually I sat down and said "fuck it" and just started gluing pieces down and improvised and let happen however it would happen. And it turned out GREAT!

Then, after posting a picture on Facebook, a friend recommended changing the light switch plate to a mirror as well. He gets genus points for that.

Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!

Somebody around here got reeeeaaalllllly busy. :-) It's a good thing.

The rest of October:

• Zoe left me a dead wolf spider. I made it into a pet for about 3 weeks and posed for pictures. 
• I started cooking/baking more and came up with a killer Asian Orange "Chicken"... gluten, dairy, meat, and oil free. Killer, I tell you.
• And for Halloween, I made a pumpkin pie from scratch. This was my second attempt and much improved... though it still wasn't quite where I wanted it. 

November:

• Annual German Choir Concert:
• I composed a new piece for my German choir... and of course, finished it the week before the concert. It ended up being a tad more difficult for them, but they managed to pull it off, all things considered. We'll do it again in February.
• We invited Stockton again, and they did a fabulous job! 
• It was a good time, and fun was had by all.

• Thanksgiving

• One of my favorite dishes for Thanksgiving is my cousin's broccoli cheese casserole... Unfortunately, it's a dish I can no longer eat because of...well...almost everything that's in it. So I made my own version that's, of course, gluten, dairy, meat, and oil free.... though VERY fatty cause the "cheese" sauce is made with cashews. But wowzers. Tasty. 
• Jess and Leah also made some special foods for the three of us to eat... Corn bread, stuffing, and a "meat" pie. SO incredible.
• And to top it off, I made another cherry chocolate cake, and NAILED it.

December:

This was hands down the busiest I've ever been for December... EVER. For three weeks (almost four) straight I had gigs and rehearsals every day, sometimes a rehearsal, gig, and dress rehearsal all at once. I was running! And it was awesome. 

• BV's Dessert concert was, yet again, a great success. (And ever MORE for me, cause I wasn't throwing up between acts!)
• The Christmas Pageant was just as adorable as ever. 
• Sarah and crew came into town! Of course, I was crazy busy, so I didn't get to see her nearly as much as I wanted... but the time we got to spend together was nice.
• I wrote an arrangement of O Holy Night for the Rancho Cordova Civic Light Orchestra and the River City Christian Choir. It was great to get back in the arranging saddle.... especially for a full orchestra. (It had been a looooooooooong time since writing for that many instruments). The piece was well received by all, and it was nice to be on 
• Did more baking:

• Created a killer banana bread muffin.
• Baked with yeast for the first time ever and made cinnamon rolls....Kate Style, of course. They need a little tweaking, but are damn good thus far, if I do say so myself.
• Had my first New Year's Eve gig... in Grass Valley....with a hilarious drag queen..... and good times were had by all.

This year was almost my first REAL Christmas tree. With solo powered LED lights, and a potted tree (which I plan to plant in the back 40 sometime soon). The only thing missing was my first ornament that Margie gave me....which is now lost in the massive clutter that is Scott's garage (or attic). I'm bummed about that, but I'll just have to get a replacement that represents it...cause there's no way I'm going to find it without massive amounts of looking.... for more than I'm willing to do.

Sarah and Ted got me that giant red ornament hanging on my
keyboard stand... It was too heavy for the tree. 

I ended up getting one more strand of lights that plugged in....because the solar ones only worked when the sun actually came out. *facepalm*

Jess posing with his present from "Santa." This was our first Christmas of
actually doing the Christmas thing.

Showing off the earrings that Leah got me (to bring out my eyes)
I love them.