Lessons

When I was in high school, I gave piano lessons to a lot of kids (maybe 10?). It was great to have such a relatively easy way to earn college money (I can’t remember what I charged, but it was significantly more than I could have made working at a fast food place).

In the past year, things have come full-circle as I’m now back to 10 piano students again. I have mixed feelings about it – about half the kids work pretty hard at it and do well, but then there’s the other half.

Their moms are always enthusiastic when they first call:  “Kailee is so excited to start piano! She plays around a lot on the piano at home, and – (here she’ll conspiratorially lower her voice) she’s really pretty good!”

Ah. The shot across the deck: little prodigy will soon be arriving. I’m still waiting for the mom who’ll say:  “Mariah has no sense of rhythm and really doesn’t plan to practice much, but I think the effort at a discipline-requiring activity will be good for her.” I think I could appreciate that honesty.

One little piano girl comes every other week. Her mom set it up that way, she said, because the girl had so much homework and she needed time to prepare. The girl is in second grade. Frequently the mom calls and cancels, resulting in lessons 3 weeks apart. She recently said, “I’d like her to progress as quickly as possible.” Yeah, that’d be nice, wouldn’t it?

Another mom is so excited because her daughter “plays the piano not because she has to, but because it’s fun! That’s what I want to see, her having fun!” This conversation begins to make me nervous, because unless this girl is different from 99% of the population, piano will (sooner rather than later) become not-just-fun. Like anything else worth doing, it requires effort. Hey, I’d like to eat cookies all day and skip exercise too, but I prefer not to weigh 200 pounds. What can I say? It’s fun to be able to play the piano, but it requires quite a bit of effort to get there. Sadly, that effort is not always fun. But (and this is a point that’s really difficult for many of today’s kids and parents) it is worthwhile to keep at it.

I begin a new piano student today (that is, if she can walk across the street through the expected 12 inches of snow). I hope your day will be lovely and worthwhile as well .

Menu Plan Monday

Last week and this week have been so busy. It’s a couple of those weeks where I wonder how I will get dinner made 5 nights a week – but somehow it always does happen. This week I am finally baking the 2nd turkey I bought back before Thanksgiving when they were so cheap. I think it’s a big pain to bake a turkey, but it will provide a lot of meat. I also learned my lesson that time that – regardless of the turkey’s instructions that it would take 3 days in the fridge to defrost – it will take a lot longer than that. This turkey has been in the fridge since Thursday; hopefully by Tuesday it will be thawed.

Here we go:

Monday: Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder

1/2 c. thinly sliced onion

2 T. butter

1 can mushroom pieces

2 c. diced, cooked potatoes

2 c. diced ham

2 1/2 c. milk

1 can creamed corn

2 cans mushroom soup

1-2 tsp. parsley

1/4 tsp. paprika

Combine all and simmer for an hour.

Tuesday: I will bake the turkey and also make mashed potatoes and probably green beans – heck, I’ll bake bread too

Wednesday: Make your own taco bar

Thursday: Curried Chicken and Chickpea Stew

Friday: Calico Beans – these are good and easy to make ahead in the crockpot for busy evenings.

What are you having for dinner this week? Lots of ideas at OrgJunkie’s.

Childhood Memories Friday: Weekly Reader

Do you remember Weekly Reader? You know, the newspaper for school kids? I came across one the other day.

It’s from 1976, and see the little kid’s lovely haircut? Can’t tell whether it’s a girl or a boy? Yeah, me either – unfortunately, I had that exact same haircut until about fifth grade. Trust me when I say it wasn’t pretty.

Inside, we see that it’s an election year:

I love how I confidently cast my vote for Ford. I have to say I’m impressed with Weekly Reader’s impartiality (although it’s also pretty bland) – Ford is from Michigan and has a wife and 4 kids, Carter is from Georgia and has a wife and 4 kids – they both hope people will vote for them … yawn.

How much do you wanna bet that the 2008 Weekly Readers were innocently proclaiming Obama’s “hope and change?”  Okay, I know, I know – it’s Childhood Memories Friday, not political rant day.

My kids still bring home Weekly Readers (well, actually they get Time for Kids, but it’s similar). When I taught, we always collected $2.50 or so from each kid for their subscription. It must be included in the (massive and growing each year) book fees now, because I’ve never paid for it separately for my kids.

I remember we got a cardboard-type binder to keep all our Weekly Readers in at the end of the year.

Did you get Weekly Reader? Do you remember going through it with your classmates each Friday?

Breathing Space

One of my at-home jobs involves writing questions for tests. I enjoy this overall, although much of the time I’m pitying the poor 19-year-old who has momentarily forgotten the difference between trochaic and iambic pentameter.

Anyway. In my searches yesterday to locate suitable material to use, I came across this gem. It was read at Jackie Kennedy’s funeral in 1994. I remember loving it then, although I’d since forgotten about it. Inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, I think it’s a beautiful take on the journey of life.

Enjoy!

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When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon — do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Ithaca, by Constantine Cavafy (1911)

Noted

This past weekend was band instrumental solo contest, so my daughter and I (and her flute) spent most of the day there. She played, and I played piano for her and two others. Observations:

How is it possible to come up with so many beat up, apparently 100-year-old pianos in a single location?

Tween/teen fashion is going through an awkward and/or just plain ugly phase. Apparently it’s the current style for girls to wear spaghetti-strap dresses, even when the temperatures hover in the single digits. I saw many of them, and it’s not a style a lot of people can pull off effectively (me included). Any back fat or arms wider than twigs just ruin the look. The funny thing is, just as I was thinking this, my daughter leaned over and shared essentially the same observation.

There are a lot of “accompanists” at contest. I put the term in quotes, because while I am an accompanist, I hope to never become an “accompanist.” These are usually middle-age women, moderately overweight with permed hair, who inevitably show up wearing polyester pants and a tightly buttoned blazer sporting a large musical note pin. They can be recognized by the large binders of music they tote around (or sometimes pull in little carts on wheels, if they’re really all that). They may have typed-up lists of the kids they play for (one even showed me her list, complete with her notations of the ribbons received by each). This event is deadly serious to them.

Trombonists produce a lot of spit. I mean, are they just spitting through the mouthpiece? Because I don’t think they could create more water on the floor coming out that spit valve if they did. After watching 4 in a row perform, I was just waiting for someone to walk up and wipe out in the big puddle of liquid on the floor. When it was my turn to play piano, I made darn sure to approach the piano from the other side.

I was listening to flutists (flautists?) play, not feeling too impressed, when finally one played who really knocked my socks off. I wasn’t expecting a lot: she was one of the unfortunate girls of the spaghetti straps. But then. She played in tune, had beautiful tone, was rhythmical, performed a really hard piece – she was great! Later, I ran into her in the hall and told her so. I do think it’s important to compliment talent and hard work when we find it:  I remember once during my high school performing days, the judge said, “Your teacher must be very good.” I told him I didn’t have a teacher, and he said, “Then you are very good!” The remark has stayed with me all these years.

Waiting in the hall ...

Glad that's done!

Medal!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday again – is it just me, or is this menu planning thing getting old? Ah, I know – it’s probably just the drudgery that is January February. What do you do to combat the monotony of coming up with meals to cook each day?

Here’s what the week looks like:

Monday: Chicken Enchilada Bake

Tuesday: White Sauce Chicken Lasagna

Wednesday: Tortilla Soup – a quick and easy favorite

16 oz. refried beans

14.5 oz. chicken broth

5 oz. chunk chicken (I usually just cook 1 chicken breast)

15.5 oz. black beans, rinsed

3/4 cup salsa

Combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 min.

Crumble a few tortilla chips in the bottom of each bowl.

Ladle soup over chips and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Thursday: Johnny Marzetti – I’ve never made this, but the girls mentioned it being on the school menu so I decided to give it a try …

Friday: Corn Chowder

1/2 c. thinly sliced onion

2 T. butter

1 can mushroom pieces

2 c. diced, cooked potatoes

2 c. diced ham

2 1/2 c. milk

1 can creamed corn

2 cans mushroom soup

1-2 tsp. parsley

1/4 tsp. paprika

That sounds good for a cold day.

What’s on your menu this week?  Lots of ideas at OrgJunkie’s.

Childhood Memories Friday: Sixth Grade

Sixth grade: my final year at elementary school. I was in Mr. Rucker’s class, but I also had the other two sixth grade teachers, Mr. Craft and Mr. Thompson.

Mr. Rucker was friendly, but not the sharpest crayon in the box. I remember listening to him go on while I surreptitiously kept track in a notebook of the number of times he said “uh” and “um.”

Mr. Craft was big and imposing. His favorite saying was, “Sit down and shut up.” Several sixth graders decided that “shut up” actually meant “meet me in bed in 5 minutes.” Everyone thought it was just hilarious whenever Mr. Craft would say that. He taught reading, I think, and I remember him playing us an audio recording of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum. It was my first exposure to Poe, and I remember being fascinated by the description. A rat ran over that guy’s head!

Mr. Thompson taught social studies. Remember how the chapters were divided into 2-3 paragraph sections which each had a heading? He would assign each of us one of those which we would present to the class the next day. We got extra credit for bringing a “visual aid” of some type. It’s so odd the things one remembers, but I remember one day rounding up a little blue plastic train from home and a banana, which I held on top of it as my visual aid for talking about some country exporting bananas. Mr. Thompson called me by my last name and was always kidding around. I kidded right back, being downright forward (or “sassy” as we said then), which was quite a departure from my usual reserved personality.

Sixth grade began during the Bicentennial year of 1976 – a very big deal. It was also an election year, and I recall Faith advising everyone not to vote for Carter as he supported “killing little babies.” I guess that was my intro to the topic of abortion. I remember fervently campaigning for Ford at recess – I was conservative even then (although, actually, I don’t know that Ford was all that conservative).

Back row, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Craft, and Mr. Rucker is on the right (with me in front of him).

What do you remember about sixth grade?

Box Tops for Education

Box tops for education – you know, the little postage stamp-size pieces you find on all kinds of General Mills food products.

Hopefully you cut them out, because schools can redeem each little box top for ten cents towards the purchase of playground equipment and other stuff. I know, ten cents? But every little bit adds up when a lot of kids are saving them.

General Mills has a special offer ongoing through March 18. Sign up at their site (naming your favorite school), and that school will be credited with 5 box tops.

General Mills and MyBlogSpark are being even more generous, because they are offering one of my readers a $25 gift card to any of the Kroger family of stores as well! Make sure to check your local Kroger ads; many Krogers are offering special deals this winter where you can earn extra box tops by buying certain products.

To enter, tell me something your child’s school has earned by using Box Tops for Education – or anything else Box Top related. I’ll choose a winner Feb. 5.

Here, There and Everywhere

Have you ever been in the market for a product, did a little online shopping for it, but wished you could save time by finding the best price without all the looking?

Well, there’s a site you should know about: ShopWiki.

ShopWiki is like google in that it searches the web for the item you want to buy. It then takes you to a page comparing all the various sites you could buy that item at. For instance, you can search for  flat irons, hair styling products, or conditioners.

The site shows you various buying options, along with guides helping you know what to look for. It’s a great way to save time (and money) when shopping online.

Book Chat

Another month’s reading roundup:

The Choice reviewed here.

I found When You Reach Me by looking through the book club fliers my kids bring home from school. I don’t order books often, but I use the fliers to mark ones that look promising for checking out from the library.

This one looked good, so I got it for my 12-year-old. She enjoyed it, so I read it too. It was great! The premise:  have you ever wished you could go back in time to change something you did when you were younger? That’s what this book is about … sort of … it involves time travel, game shows, life as a tween, growing up in the 1970s … I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I’m aware that my review is pretty scattered. Honestly, the book is, too, though – read it and see. Alert that I recall one “bad word” in it (why do authors of young adult fiction feel the need to do that?), but other than that it was mercifully romance-free (another rare thing in the YA fiction world, from what I’ve seen).

In the last few days, When You Reach Me was named the 2010 Newbery Award recipient as best children’s book of the year. I think this may be the first time I read the award winner before it actually won!

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I knew I’d eventually want to read Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue. I took the girls to see her at an October 2008 campaign stop in our city, and it was a memorable and wonderful experience. I’ve always liked her charm, down-to-earth style, and well – rogue demeanor.

This book read pretty much as I would have thought. I enjoyed learning about Sarah’s past (she’s almost exactly my age, which made it even more interesting). Although I like her, I don’t think she comes across as the sharpest crayon in the box (for instance, she got a D in a college course once and spent her first semester of college lying on the beach at a college in Hawaii. Nothing so awful about those things; just not what I’d expect from a very cerebral individual). I don’t say that to her detriment, though – despite the media beating she has taken, I think she’d make a good president. Don’t presidents have tons of advisors for the details anyway? And she has more executive experience than our current leader (not that he’s an example to live up to anyway, though).

I regret that so much of the book reads defensively, like an explanation for everything she was accused of by the press during the 2008 election. That’s too bad, and I regret that she felt like she had to keep explaining herself and her actions over and over.

In spite of that, what shines through is her non-nonsense demeanor and commitment to ideals such as individual freedom and doing the right thing regardless of party affiliation. I like that.

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We recently went through ADHD testing with one of our daughters. What a pain that was – financially, time-wise, stress-wise, you name it. Turns out she doesn’t officially “have it,” but that doesn’t help me much in knowing how to light a fire under her.

A friend recommended The NDD Book, and I’m glad she did. In it, William Sears posits that most kids diagnosed with something these days are suffering NDD (nutritional deficit disorder) instead of or in addition to other maladies.

Dr. Sears advocates eating whole foods. He sees the biggest food enemies for kids as high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, numbers (ie Red #40, etc), monosodium glutamate and aspartame. He’s big on eating more omega 3’s.

As you might suspect, certain aspects of the book annoyed me (the author recounts a conversation you might have with your child:  “Grandpa got cancer because he wasn’t making good food choices.” He also advocates having your child create foods for himself with strips of pepper, carob, sprinklings of flax seed, etc. and enthuses that “your child will be so excited by the colors that he won’t even notice he’s eating healthy stuff!”  Good luck with that).

But I have to say that reading this book really did motivate me to cook and eat healthier. One complaint is the effort it takes to actually do that – make almost everything yourself, give up almost all boxed foods, pre-sweetened yogurt, etc. I feel like I’m becoming a pioneer! On the plus side, hopefully my family will be healthier for my efforts.

What are you reading? Tons more ideas over at 5 Minutes for Books.