Afternoon Tea

Sometimes I feel like there is nothing more perfect in the world than a wonderful cup of hot tea. Admittedly I'm a bit of a tea snob. My favorites come from a tea shop in England, although fortunately the Fresh Market down the street carries a few selections so I don't have to spend an arm and a leg on shipping!

 favorite cup for tea!

It finally feels like fall this morning. Not only is it starting to look like fall with the leaves changing colors, but this morning's 8 mile run was actually, wait for it, cold! I got home and could barely move my fingers :-). I loved every minute of my run this morning, despite the drivers on Peachtree that just can't seem to yield to people in cross walks. And after a wonderful haircut I feel ready to tackle the day. That is after my tea is done steeping. Because practicing the violin on a clear, crisp day with a hot cup of tea just hits the spot! Oh, and Lucy dog curled up at my feet is pretty nice too :-). It just seems like the perfect day!

new haircut. No FRIZZ!!

Happy Friday!

Taste of Atlanta

This past Saturday I got to have a little foodie fun! My friend Jaclyn and I headed to the Taste of Atlanta festival and spent the afternoon eating. We might have done a little too much eating since I felt like I never wanted to eat anything again by Sunday evening at our Chicago team reunion where, yes you guessed it, we eat even more (needless to say Monday's run was pretty awesome since I was all fueled up!).

one of my favorite places was right up front. West Egg!!

you can't go wrong with a Nutella crepe!

you would have a line this long if you to were serving Fries with Parmesan truffle oil! It was that good!

still good despite losing an awesome chef

fried goat cheese ravioli made to order = yummy! Only problem, it burned our tongues

Iberian Pig. It was so good we went back a second time!!

cooking demo. It was in the sun, and we ended up leaving. Part of my motivation to go was not wanting to eat brussel sprouts that were being cooked

The smart people at Cafe Intermezzo were offering gift certificates for coupons. Took a slice of cheese cake & a $10 gift card for later

Who wants a cupcake?

It was a crazy weekend, and it's carried over to the week. Needless to say I feel behind all ready, which means I don't have the fabulous blog post ready that I want. This is part of the reason:

leading the students in a little halloween concert. Like my hat?

all of the leftovers. Dear parents, what you don't take home gets given out during the week. They'll get the sugar one way or another (there are at least 2 dozen cupcakes left over, down from at least 6 dozen that walked through the door!)

At least I have a pretty view for this insane week! And I think there's only 1 stink bug left!!

stink bugs

I've had a little project going on the past 2 weeks. It's called operation kill the stink bugs. See my violin studio has a little problem. It's been over run with stink bugs, and not just one or two here or there. I haven't actually counted, but I wouldn't be surprised if I had 2 dozen dead stink bugs. It's been a pretty big problem. What's a stink bug? This my friends is a stink bug:

They like light, and they especially like my curtains. There is usually

at least 6 of them crawling on the curtains most days...

There are a few things that make stink bugs difficult:

1. They fly. There's nothing quite like a 5 year old girl noticing that a bug is flying around during her violin lesson. Lets just say there are a lot of high pitched squeals being released these days, not just from the students...
2. Do you know how stink bugs get there name? They're kind of like skunks. They feel threatened and they release an odor. Dear stink bugs, it is so not cool to let that fly while I'm working!! My studio has not smelled right for weeks!
3. They creep me out (just being honest), and I really just want them to go away

Hence operation kill the stink bugs. I know they are getting in through the poorly installed air conditioner, and window.

Step 1: spray foam the cracks around the air conditioner

Step 2: recaulk the window. I can't do anything about the fact that the window doesn't sit in the track right. I know they are getting in because of someone didn't know how to install a window level or plumb (thanks for that)

I don't think I've had any new "friends" the past couple of days. Hopefully it stays that way!!

Success versus failure

"There is no downside to winning. It feels forever fabulous. But there is no teacher more discriminating or transforming than loss. The great secret of athletics is that you can learn more from losing than winning. No coach can afford to preach such doctrine, but our losing season serves as both model and template to how life an go wrong and fall apart in the most inconceivable places. Losing prepares you for heartbreak, setback, and tragedy that you will encounter in the world more than winning ever can."
                                                                 - Pat Conroy "My losing Season"

Success versus failure is interesting isn't it? With success you are on top of the world. You achieved your goal, nailed the interview, got the dream job. Failure brings you crashing down. Or does it? Success and failure mean different things to different people. I get a daily devotional from my church. This week's focus has been looking at how the desire to succeed can take over our lives. It's been an interesting week to think about how success affects our lives coming off a race where I didn't meet my goal. One might deem it as a failure. I don't. I also stand on the verge of having a completely full violin studio. In fact we are having trouble fitting everyone into a slot. Success that has me slightly stressed out. I've watched others try to figure out if they have meet with success or failure. What does it all mean? I've watched as some who have reached some of the greatest success in running, qualifying for the Boston Marathon, attack others who they have deemed not as worthy as them despite having their own qualifying time. They have been blinded by success.

Losing is an important part of life. We often learn more from our mistakes more than our successes. It's why I tell me students there is no such thing as a bad sound. One student admitted just yesterday that she didn't want to try something because she thought it would sound bad, because she was afraid. How do know if you don't try? The thought of losing can bring us to a crashing halt. In life we lose more than we succeed, but that's part of what makes success feel so good. The idea of finally making it over that hurdle we've been trying to get past. In playing the violin I learn more by what doesn't work. It's a puzzle that I have to solve. Once I solve it I move on to the next. It's how we grow and get better. So what's the next puzzle? And how will we handle it?

Purple Haze

Maybe Mr. Goat knew that my fabulous friends on the Nike Team were headed to San Fransisco for their race. Whatever the reason, he's decked out in an awesome purple haze retro look today. It was too awesome not to share. Happy Friday everyone!!

I love cupcakes!!

How about something lighter today? Maybe cupcakes?!!

I've had this odd tradition since July that I like to have a cupcake the night before a race. Doesn't mater how long the race is, I just like to have a cupcake. I mean it's important to fuel properly before a race, and everyone talks about carb loading. Cupcakes have really yummy carbs :-D. And frosting!

So I talked to my friend Amy about cupcakes in Chicago. Where should I go? She gave me two places to try, and then said if I didn't go to Sprinkles she would kill me. Okay, Sprinkles it is (you don't have to tell me twice). It ended up being a lot further from the hotel than I realized. A mile each way walking from the hotel to be precise. Good thing Mom and I went Friday!

Cute, right? Wait till you see what's inside! They had these:

mmmmm cupcakes! I got the pumpkin spice, which I had Saturday night, and this lovely chia with cream cheese frosting post race. I've heard a rumor that Sprinkles has been talking about opening a location in Atlanta. Dear Sprinkles, please hurry up! I'll bring friends!!!

And they had everything decorated for Halloween :-)