Wrappin' it Up

Lately, I have been having lots of fun concocting delicious lunches for myself. Mostly, my creations have taken the form of wraps. Here are a few of my recent experiments:

This delicious wrap consisted of a Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Wrap filled with my own special Tuna recipe. I mixed together tuna, mayonnaise, a squirt of dijon mustard, olives, avocado, grapes, and pecans and put it inside the wrap, along with tomato slices and green-leaf lettuce.

This is a traditional wrap with a Southwestern Flair. It consisted of a whole wheat wrap with ham, Mexican 4-cheese, salsa, tomatoes, and a little ranch. I then fried it in the skillet in some butter (Butter makes everything better).

Another wrap I made that is not pictured was made with a Spinach wrap, turkey, provolone cheese, avocado, ranch, and tomato. I then fried it in the skillet.

All of these wraps were absolutely DELICIOUS!! I heartily recommend them. Actually, I'm getting hungry just thinking about them. How much longer til lunch??!

Summer Reading Review: Piano Lessons

I am trying to squeeze in some extra reading during the summer - since I never really have time for it the rest of the year! One book I read recently was Piano Lessons: A Memoir by Anna Goldsworthy. This book is written from Anna's perspective and describes her lessons with her piano teacher, Elinora Sivan, over a period of several years. Anna began taking lessons as a precocious child and gradually falls in love with the piano and decides to become a concert pianist. Her teacher offers her words of wisdom on not only how to play the piano but also on how to live life. She is an exceptional teacher, who doesn't settle for simply playing the notes but insists on true artistry. I really enjoyed this book. Mrs. Sivan reminds me of my own teacher Louise Barfield. Mrs. Sivan studied in Russia, and Ms. Barfield studied with a Russian teacher at Juilliard, Adele Marcus. Ms. Barfield says some of the same things Mrs. Sivan says like, "Listen with your eyes, see with your ears" and "What makes the difference between being good and being great is the little details." They both want their students to get beyond merely playing all of the correct notes with good technique and seek to get inside the composer's mind and determine what he or she what trying to convey through the music. I found this book inspirational, riveting, and easy to relate to. I would recommend it to anyone interested in music and especially to those pursuing a career in it. For me, it motivated me to practice harder and be more dedicated to being a true artist. Any book that does that is well worth the time it takes to read it!

And Then There Were Two...

So this weekend instead of the normal house-full it was just me and my Dad. Yup. The fantastic five, Mom, and Joe went to Greenville to work with Ashlyn at a children's conference at the Evangelical Institute and Tay went on a missions trip to New Orleans, leaving me A-Lone. (Well, technically with Dad but since he was at work all day, it pretty much felt like I was alone). It was pretty nice most of the time. I got to practice all day with no interruptions. I broke up the practicing with some working out and snuggling with Sofi. Then, at night Dad and I went out to dinner. So, it was pretty fun but I still missed the little dears. It was SO quiet that it was a little creepy. They are all back now though, so life can resume its normal crazy quality! :)

Random interesting story...Saturday night we were at B & Js waiting for a table. I was mentally rehearsing my pieces. I had my hands by my side and I guess I was moving my fingers some as I played through the music in my mind. An older gentleman noticed and said, "Are you practicing?" I said sheepishly "Uh, yeah, actually, I am." We started talking about music and piano, and I actually ended up giving him a business card! :) Moral of the story...you never know when using your time wisely might actually pay off!!

I saw this idea on another blog lately - a few questions to its readers after every post. (Actually probably a lot of blogs do that, but I just noticed it on this one.) I was thinking it would be a great idea to incorporate on mine (when I actually post that is!). So here goes:

1. What do you do when the other members of your house are out of town? Do you like it or is it lonely?

2. What is your favorite type of pizza? Totally random, I know, but we are watching Pizza My Heart and the pizza on there looks A-Mazing!!

Rain, Rain ,Go Away

I.Love.Summer. The end. Period. It is just so generally awesome. Of course, I still do not have enough time to do everything I dream up but it is pretty awesome just the same and contains way more possibilities than during the school year. Of course, practicing takes most of the day, but with the rest of the time it is super fun to dream up all kinds of activities, goals, plans, and projects. So far, we have gone to the library (nerdy I know, but so fun! I don't always love to read - I have *selective* reading tastes which some people refer to as picky *GASP* but I do love the atmosphere of a library. I get the wonderful sensation of all of this knowledge right at my fingertips. It makes me feel kind of tingly and very energetic), watched some old Hayley Mills movies that we have been wanting and wanting to watch - like Pollyanna and Summer Magic, ridden our bikes to the Marina to have our quiet time, and had lots of cozy moments eating lunch together while watching Andy Griffeth, Brady Bunch, Father Knows Best, and Leave it to Beaver. I have lots more plans written in my handy dandy little notebook. cSadly, it has been raining every day so we have been unable to visit the beach or the pool. Sniff. Tear. Hoping for Sunny Days soon!!