mini vacation

well sort of.

The past week I have had a vacation from the music school but I am happy to report that I have not ben lazy as I have done on past vacations. Here is what I have been doing:

~ Laundry:: lots and lots of laundry:: I have taken advantage of our hot dry weather and have been hanging our clean, wet laundry outside on our clothes line to dry. I have not used the clothes dryer in over a week. Yay me!

~ Practicing::violin::I have been considering returning to serious violin study. I have been researching teachers in the area and have found a highly recommended one nearby at LSU. I have not received serious, regular instructions since finishing my B.A. degree. I am anxious to keep studying and even have the idea of Masters Degree lurking somewhere in the back of my mind. :: Guitar:: I have been thoroughly enjoying my guitar. I've been picking out chords to some of my favorite songs and singing to myself.

~Cooking:: Every night:: I have loved being at home and able to whip up something to satisfy my husbands momentary whim. We have enjoyed cooking veggies from the garden and I have but up quite a few jars of tomato sauce lately. Today I am making a "Mexicanish" casserole and a chicken pot pie to put in the freezer for when I go back to work next week. I am aslo going to try to squeeze in time to bake bread.

Hanging with my husband:: my favorite:: I am so blessed to have James as my husband, best friend, counselor, handy man and spiritual leader. He so much more than I could ever deserve.

Happy Summer!

family time-nephews and bluberries

Someone has stolen my heart. This fellow right here is the thief. This is Benjamin Daniel McCoy and he is my brand new nephew. We had some great uncle James and Aunt Laura bonding time while pick blueberries at Grandmama's and Grandaddy's.

It was a great weekend.

life. moving swiftly as always.

Currently: 

:: Avoiding chores in favor of a coffee break. ::

::Reveling in my newly organized studio! I love it! ::

:: Making mental lists in my head of all the things that need doing and all the people I need to call before embarking on our Mississippi trip tomorrow afternoon. ::

:: Generally speaking, I'm just happy. Tired, overwhelmed, stressed out but, at the same exact moment, happy beyond words. My husband is not a small factor in this happiness. Everyday I think I can't possible love him any more. . that my heart and mind would explode if I did. But everyday my love grows. God is so good to us. How could I ever doubt him? ::

laura bakes bread

Monday morning, as I  promised my husband, I baked bread. It reminded me how thankful I am for my "new fangled" machines. One grinds the wheat (no kidding) automatically and the other (mixer) does all the kneading for me. It went really fast and made me ashamed that I shirk my bread making chore so often. It really isn't that hard when you have the Wonder Mill and the Bosch stand mixer with attachments. 

Ok that just sounded like a commercial. Sorry

Trying to be motivated on a Monday. This is hard.

What is with me these days? I was so sleepy yesterday; so after Church we did absolutely nothing. I was hoping to feel better this morning; motivated, ready to workout, bake bread and pay the bills. But no, I'm still sleepy and less than motivated. 

We are headed into the home stretch if you will, at the music school. One more weekend of recitals before Summer kicks off. Teaching/lessons continue through the Summer but the load is usually lighter and more laid back as everyone does not come consistently through the Summer.

After recitals I will be heading up to Mississippi to attend my sister's senior violin recital. In addition to this my brother and sister-in-law will be bring their newly expanded family. They have adopted another little boy and we all get to meet him during that weekend.

I'm also thinking seriously toward a creative project. My sister Bonnie and I had the amazing experience of recording an album of our favorite Celtic music about 4 or 5 years ago. We had fun, sold a few (enough to recoup expenses) and learned  lot along the way. Lately I have been really wanting to revisit the idea of recording again. We have grown so much over the past 5 years and learned more about ourselves and what kind of music we like and connect with.  I am exploring guitar, Bonnie, her vocal range and mandolin in addition to our fiddles. I am excited and really trying to start some of the preliminary structuring and planning. I am hoping for an album release by Fall 2010! I'll keep everyone updated. :)

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.

Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;

Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;

Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;

Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:

Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,

Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,

May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

This week

This week has gone by once again too quickly. Its been a good week overall though, I must say. There has been lots of teaching, of course; a little cooking, some reading, some learning of new tunes and a fair amount of just living. By this I mean coffee drinking, conversations with James, a beer with James, playing with the dogs and just being. 

I think I like being the best. I don't take the time to do that often enough though. I hurry through life most of the time and grow anxious about too many things. I think I  will, from here on out, only allow myself one anxious day a week.  Ha. I'll see if I can manage that. :)

My teaching continues. It continues at a pace that I am uncomfortable with and that will hopefully slow soon.  But I am very thankful for the opportunity. To be so successful at something I truly love doing is a blessing to be sure.

In family news there is a very happy announcement to share. I have a new nephew! My brother and sister-in-law have adopted again. Their first son is Lee. Lee is almost 7 and has been with us for a little over 2 years. Last week Christopher, who is 6, came home to be Lee's brother forever and ever! I have not met him yet but will Fathers Day weekend when we all gather in my hometown for Bonnie's (my sister) high school, senior, violin recital.  I am very excited!

Well these are the highlights- except for the face that I have way too many books I want to read and very little time to devote to them all. Its so frustrating!