by Rachel | Uncategorized
This weekend, my husband and I are both going to be enjoying sporting events at which the national anthem will be sung. The difference is, I’ll be singing it at one, while Zach will get to hear Christina Aguilera’s rendition at the other.
That’s right, folks: my husband is going to the Superbowl.
Not that I’m jealous or anything. I mean, how often do I get the chance to perform the Star-Spangled Banner for our local minor league hockey team? Chance of a lifetime, if you ask me…although the monster truck rally back in high school comes in as a close second :)
All kidding aside, I’m extremely happy for Zach. Football is one of his passions — he’s almost as good at fantasy football as he is at selling insurance. But not only does Zach get to enjoy watching the Steelers vs. Packers; he also gets to enjoy the sounds of Lea Michele, the Black-Eyed Peas, and the aforementioned Christina Aguilera.
He’s promised to take lots of pictures and videos, and in return, I assured him that my mom would record my performance (not much has changed since my childhood). One thing is safe to say: we’re both very excited about our sporty, star-spangled weekends. Go Steelers and Springfield Jr. Blues!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Recently, a reader wrote to me the following:
“I don’t know if you’d want to blog about your desktop but I’d like to know…is your desk always so ordered? I have a feeling you have an ability to clear the desktop daily. I am consistently in the midst of so many huge projects with my classes, well, I see the top of my desk 3 times a year. One of my goals this year is to see my desktop more than 3 times a year. Maybe you could show us what your desk looks like when you are REALLY in the swing of things.”
It’s confession time. I always have to organize my desk for photos, because it definitely does NOT look this neat on a regular basis.
In the picture above, I was in the midst of filling out student applications for my local federation of music clubs’ upcoming Junior Festival. This was right after I received the email, so it was the perfect opportunity to capture the evidence of my cluttered desktop.
So even though I’m guilty of the occasional messy desk, I’ve become very good at making it appear neat and tidy. I really have no choice, considering there are students and parents in and out of my office/studio on a daily basis. But what they don’t notice is my inbox tray stuffed to the gills, the papers concealed under a music book, and the sticky notes tucked into a drawer.
Despite all of these confessions, I do have some tips that help keep the visible clutter to a minimum and maintain my sanity.
- I keep filing boxes stacked right underneath my desk, so that I can quickly file away invoices, pay stubs, and important documents that don’t require further action.
- I make it a habit to empty my inbox tray (and then empty the trash can) every Sunday so that Monday is a clean slate.
- Almost everything has a place or a dedicated folder. I only allow myself one tiny junk drawer for things that I can’t find a regular use for yet just can’t part with.
- I’ve broken all of my former pack-rat habits. When I moved out of my parents’ house after college, they forced me to throw out the boxes and boxes of schoolwork — dating all the way back to 6th grade — that I absolutely did not need. It was hard at the time, but I’ve never looked back.
- I keep a scanner on my desk so that I can digitize anything I think I might need later but don’t want taking up valuable space.
And just in case you thought perhaps the picture up top was staged for this blog post, here’s another one (taken back in the day, when I still had my old Macbook and warhorse printer) to prove my occasional desk messiness.
What about you? Are you one of those people who always has a perfectly tidy workspace? If so, please add your tips in the comments. And if you’re a total slob, tell us about that too so we can all feel better about ourselves. (Just kidding, sort of.)
by Rachel | Uncategorized
On this day one week ago, I set out at 4 a.m. in search of the perfect Christmas gifts for my friends and family. After 8 straight hours of shopping, I returned home with a trunkful of goodies…for my home studio.
Okay, so I did buy a few gifts, but picking out useful things for my favorite space was much easier :) I just couldn’t resist all the Black Friday deals I came across, not to mention the Cyber Monday deals online. Here’s the run-down on my discounted haul:
- Multi-Color Storage Cart: I’ve had my eye on this for awhile, as it’s perfect for storing all of the forms and worksheets I use with my students. Luckily, it was one of the doorbusters at Shopko on Friday morning and I got 60% off.
- Blank CD-Rs: This might sound like a silly thing to be excited about, but considering how many blank CD-Rs I go through each week, I couldn’t pass up packs of 100 for ten bucks.
- Flip UltraHD Video Camera: I’ve been using this particular video camera for almost a year to record all of my Sunday Singalong videos, courtesy of my mom. I gave it to her as a gift last Christmas, but loved it so much that I’ve been “borrowing” it ever since. The Flip was on super-sale, so I decided it was time to invest in one for myself and give my mom’s back.
Commotion in the Ocean: I’m always on the lookout for good singable stories, especially when they are on sale. Amazon is my go-to place for new children’s books, and I found this one on sale (along with a few others) during Cyber Monday.- Flip Video Tripod: I’ve been rigging up my own tripods all year, but when I came across this legitimate one for cheap, I added it to my online shopping basket.
- HP Ink Combo Pack: Another seemingly boring purchase that was actually quite exciting to me! I go through a lot of ink printing visual aides and other resources for my students, and it definitely adds up. So anytime I can get it for less, I take advantage of that opportunity.
There were a few other items for my studio that made their way into my cart (both in the stores and online), but these were the ones that made me most happy. Did you buy anything work-related over the Thanksgiving holiday? If so, please spill!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
They grow up so fast, don’t they? :) This month has been so incredibly busy that I missed Listen & Learn’s actual birthday (September 4, to be exact) but I figured it’s never too late to celebrate! 2 years and 485 posts is worth a little celebration, don’t you think?
My little website has been through a lot over the past 24 months. It started as a wee blogspot blog, and then became a BIG blogspot blog when it was featured as a “Blog of Note” by Blogger last September. But it outgrew its home this summer, and thus found a new one as a self-hosted WordPress site. Now it’s bigger and better than ever, and it’s not done growing yet!
Listen & Learn has allowed me so many great opportunities, including having a songbook published, recording a studio album, and meeting hundreds of wonderful readers (both online and in the real world). I have so many more plans for L&L — it feels like I’ve just gotten started!
I continue to be inspired by those of you who read, comment, and benefit from Listen & Learn, so I hope you’ll keep doing all of those things. I can’t wait to share what I have up my sleeve in the coming weeks, months, and years. Thank you so much for your support, and for helping me celebrate!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
This past Sunday, my husband and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. Zach is the planner when it comes to special occasions and vacations, so although I knew we were going to Chicago (we had a wedding there the night before), he surprised me with a stay at the W Hotel, a boat tour, several romantic meals, and a trip to the beach. Zach knows how much I love sun and sand, so it was quite a treat to spend the afternoon relaxing on the shore of Lake Michigan together.
And as I lay on that beach, enjoying the gorgeous weather and perfect company, I was reminded of just how lucky I really am. Not only do I have a loving and supportive husband, but together we have a beautiful home, an amazing family, and more blessings than we could even name. I have a career that I love and feel genuinely excited about when I wake up in the morning, and a place where I can share my work with people all over the world (you!) who find it interesting and valuable.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the tidal wave of life sometimes that we forget to step back and see the big picture. I’m often guilty of this myself. It took a day at the beach to make me realize that, all things considered, my life really is a day at the beach.
[For more mushy thoughts and snapshots from my anniversary weekend, feel free to visit my photo album on Facebook.]
