A short trip to the coast, a missed birthday party, and the violin

Today the family and I hopped into the Subaru Forrester and heading for the coast. This is an easy day trip for us, maybe an hour, maybe more depending on your shore of choice. This is the Pacific Northwest.. pick one. We normally head over to Seaside, which is the tourist trap beach, but it also happens to be the city that is home to many of our close friends, so we usually get to visit them when we go there. Today they were taking a art class final. Oh well.. I spent my time wading and looking out into the vastness of the Pacific Ocean (when I wasn't neurotically watching my boys to make sure that said ocean did not drag them away)

Where I really wanted to be today was my brother's surprise, but not anymore surprise Birthday party in Washington. There are several reasons that I couldn't be there, but it still sucked that I wasn't there. Ultimately I know that I would have been able to actually see him for all of like, 5 minutes, and then he would have had to entertain some more of the other people that had come to the party, and 4 hours up and 4 hours back with irritated children in the car would have been a drag, but if I had a transporter, I so would have shown up. I miss my little brother, and I love his little family, and sometimes it bugs me that my brothers and I are so far apart. Really we are all so busy with work and kids and everyday life that we almost never see each other. I miss them. (Except those times when my brothers are bratty! They can still be bratty in their 40's!)

I had some more practice time with my violin today, I'm getting better, the cats were in the room and NOT slinking. Even the darling husband said (with no little surprise, I might add)

"You don't sound bad!"

That really was nice. I was telling my friend, Heather, that I noticed as I was playing the last couple of days that I find myself pacing with the violin as I play, walking back and forth in the house, as if I was quieting an infant. It feels that familiar to me. Today while I was doing the open string exercises I found myself looking at the sheet music and not looking at the strings, and I was hitting all of the right notes. Of course, as soon as I realized that I was doing that, I got that 'Holy Crap, look at me!' thought, and I completely fumbled. Go figure.

Violin Lesson

So I got the violin back from the very talented instrument doctor, and I was ready to start playing, except that I had no idea how. I have no time to leave the house after work, as I have 4 kiddos to look after and dinner to put on, and mounds... really MOUNDS of laundry at anytime, but I'm a determined lady.

So I hopped onto the Internet, and (although it goes against my principles, because it takes away money from local music teachers) I down loaded a basic program to learn the violin. Yesterday was the first lessons. How to hold the bow, the violin, and how to start to practice going from one string to another without sounding like a unrehearsed cat fight.

I didn't do too badly, the dog stayed in the room, and the kids all said it was cool, if uninteresting. When I started to explain "the seven plains of music" their eyes glazed over and they retreated to the garage to watch TV.

The cats however, kept slinking around the room in a crouched position looking back and forth wearily.

I'll be practicing this lesson again today, I think I need more clarity in my transition. Cool Huh?

Freaky Weather girl.

Yesterday was beautiful, I think it hit 70 degrees. The kids were out playing in the sprinkler, all four of them, running in the yard.

And just as an aside, can I just say, that you know children feel like they are in their own home when you walk into your bathroom and find a pile of completely soaked clothes that were peeled off a body and left on the floor, pooling water around them. These were girly clothes... I really AM the 2nd mom.

Anywho, there has been this freaky stomach flu going around, and yesterday it was my turn...cool huh? Sunny, beautiful day, I'm inside wrapped in a blanket, shivering. Go figure. The point of all of this gibber-jabber is that about 3:00 pm, at the height of the wonder day we were having, my shoulder goes all wonky.. and I KNOW! I said to Asha as she walks in,

"Well, It's going to be raining tonight"

She looked back at the front door, saw no clouds at all and raised one eyebrow, (she does this so well... I'm so proud!) saying nothing, but her meaning was clear.

Well I was awoken several times last night to a raging, pouring maelstrom. It has got to be raining very hard to wake me, I've lived in Northwest Oregon all my life, rain is nothing to us. You can tell a tourist by their use of an umbrella. We all just wear hoods, or get wet.

So, I say that I have arrived, nearly two years since the shoulder incident, and I can tell you if rain is coming better than the professionals.. I can tell you if it is a cold snap, snow, giant storm, there is a difference.

A couple of weeks ago it felt like someone had re broken my shoulder, and I found out there was a tornado warning off the coast of Washington... I think that I should start looking for new job.