Category Archives: Stuff

I’ve always gravitated toward the piano. I play for me, not for concerts or recitals. I studied with my mom during elementary school (she was a music therapy major, sang in a band, played guitar and piano). When I played her last college piece and she wanted me to keep progressing, she arranged lessons withContinue reading “Schumann and Should Nots”

Day 5. Five days. You know those sad cat diary videos where their water bowl is only half full and they think it’s the end of the world? Two snow days wouldn’t be so bad, except when paired with a school holiday and the weekend. The cabin fever is real folks, and the only wayContinue reading “Green Eggs and Ham”

When I was in college I loved studying — math, languages, dancing, choir, writing, piano, organ, computer science. This was before ergonomic designs were big and desks were made for different tasks. But one fateful exam week, while writing 18 page papers in German, several others in English, and practicing for my piano recital…I overdidContinue reading “Rest and Debussy”

It’s summer officially here. The last day of elementary school was “Field Day”– lots of games and outdoor play all day. My son came home soaked from head to toe, shoes and all. With the widest grin and speed-talker voice, he mumbled “It was so fun!” [unheard] “water balloons!” I drew a bath for himContinue reading “Last Day of School”

I don’t dread April yet, but this day always makes me cry. On April 20, 2006 I lost two friends in a plane crash on their way back from a rehearsal. Robert and Chris both did their undergraduate music degrees the same years my brother and I were in college. They were studying opera performance from our father.Continue reading “Eleven Years Later”

My best friend and I decided to spend our vacation together, celebrating halfway between our birthdays with whomever else from our group of friends who could come along. Las Vegas was planned a year in advance. We joked about all the things we’d do, but our trip took a much different spin when she learnedContinue reading “Vegas, baby”

The last month has been rough. And by rough I mean, it’s been a series of rolling crises. I had a fun meetup with my team from work in Barcelona. I was exhausted, but glad to have some downtime with friends while coworking and talking about the future. Upon arrival at home, I found out myContinue reading “Hopefully March is better”

My little ones have a favorite spot near the park. We go there from time to time in the winter, weather permitting, and more often in the summer. We wade in the creek with our rain boots, watch tadpoles grow over time, and see who can make the biggest splash by throwing a rock. TheyContinue reading “Appreciating the Outdoors”

This past November marked a work anniversary for me. It kind of passed quietly under the deafening election results the next day and a back injury I’ve been struggling with since. But I made it 4 years and I’m still happy at Automattic.com where I work as a VIP Wrangler. My previous software job IContinue reading “Four Years at Automattic”

It all started with an over abundance of saltine crackers from Wendy’s. Am I going to use these? They’re going to go to waste! Then epiphany. I should make that dessert that has saltines as the base. Now that I have, there’s only: It went together quickly. I’ll admit it was salty and sweet, butContinue reading “So I made the “Christmas Crack” recipe that’s floating around Facebook”