Who am I? Who are you?

In a joking manner I say that these statements reflect the theme of the past week. Here goes...

Over a week ago, my wallet was stolen from my purse at a symphony event. Yes, I did leave the purse out and in hindsight that was a poor choice. The drama continued as we learned that the purse was stolen by an employee of one of the symphony's primary vendors. Of course this all happened on a concert day - so an already hectic day became even crazier. Thankfully, the theif was not the most brilliant of crooks and her limited use of my credit cards made for a long weekend for her. It's hard to understand why some folks will continue to lie even when telling the truth would make life easier. Anyway, the police are involved, the crook is in jail...and apparently my picture is in the wallet of the theif's grandmother because I am one of granny's friends - or some other cockamanie story. One variation of the crook's story had me as her grandmother - earning me the dreaded nickname of "Granny Sue". Argh!

The other who am I event of the week involved me hitting my head. Yep, for all of you who did not know it - I am a CLUTZ! Yeppers, it's true - less than graceful am I. At Monday night's youth orchestra rehearsal, in an effort to prove my lack of grace, I managed to bonk my elbow on a stand cart. Sitting on a chair to recover from the shocking amount of pain, I managed to pass out - and yes, wait for it - hit my head. Best guess is that I hit my head on the way down - which would explain the loss of 15 minutes. Creating what...umm, yup - a concussion. Which led to dizzy spells and intense migraines. Ugh. I seem to be back to my normal quirky self which is a good thing - I think.

Maybe I should have taken ballet lessons as a child. Perhaps then I would be a more graceful adult. ;-)

Anyway, who are you? And why am I in your grandmother's wallet?

Opening Night!

Opening Night was met with standing ovation after standing ovation.

Hitchin' a ride

Today, on my way to the airport to pick up our guest artist, I spotted a hitchiker holding a sign that said,

BUM ON VACATION

Now, you should give this guy props for some creative honesty!

It's Fair time!

Woohoo! It's Fair Week, and it's symphony week. I was a wee bit crushed when I realized that the two overlapped because I thought it meant I would be deprived of fair food this year - afterall I have a rehearsal or performance every night of the fair run.

Not so!

My rockstar boyfriend had a remedy for my lack of fair food consumption - the fair food lunch.

Today we went to the fair for lunch. Small crowds, no admission fee - only the yummy fair food. I think we covered all of the bases - Roasted Corn (on a stick), hand-dipped corn dog (on a stick), Tornado Taters (not on a stick), funnel cake, and a chocolate covered banana with peanuts (on a stick!). I think I had my fill of fair food until next year.

Thanks, Bryan!

Weekend Update

I think a weekend update may be in order. It was kind of a hectic weekend, but ultimatey a fairly good one.

The weekend began when I received a call from Chiara on Thursday explaining that they were evacuating Houston and possibly on their way to Amarillo. I stayed near the phone Thursday and made preparations at our house in case they were needing a place to stay.

That day ended with the first rehearsal of the 08-09 season. After the hectic pace of the day it was pleasant to be able to sit and enjoy some music.

Friday came and went. Well, it was a little more busy than that. Bryan had a gig on Friday night so I planned to spend the evening by myself - a calm evening at home! After a trek to the grocery store I began prepping for our first dinner gathering. I spent the evening prepping deviled eggs, pasta salad, potato salad (i recently mastered my mom's delicious recipe), and bacon wrapped jalapenos. Phew. That's a bit of cooking. My eyes were also tuned to the TV as I watched the weather reports of Hurricane Ike.

Saturday morning met Bryan and I with more work. He headed to the TV station to broadcast the Tri-State Fair parade and I headed to the office to copy music for youth orchestra.

After I finished my work I headed to the house to prep a dessert for the dinner party - Triple Chocolate Cheesecake. Martha Stewart, can I just say you know how to make a cheesecake! This was the first cheesecake recipe that I had made that did not crack or stick to the sides of the pan. It was phenomonal!

Bryan and I joined the folks from the TV station for lunch at Country Pride. It's apparently a tradition that follows the Tri-State Fair Parade Coverage. That was the best Chicken Fried Steak I've eaten.

Saturday the party prep continued as Bryan and I prepped the house for our guests. Yardwork, housecleaning, and such...

We had invited Bryan's brother - Steve - and his family over for dinner. Their son had helped us move into the house and we promised him a steak for his efforts. So, that's what we had. Well, actually - Phillip had a steak and the rest of us had brats! ;-) Good food, good conversation, and fun filled the evening. Bryan's sister-in-law asked me if I had taken pictures of my food because it looked fabulous. Regretfully, I must admit I did not take any pictures. I'll have to work on that for our next gathering - as I am sure there will be one.

Votes for the couches were also placed as Bryan's family confessed that they thought both sets of furniture should stay in the living room. It's the thought that we are currently going with - it all fits, so why not?

Sunday morning included a visit from Kelly and Kevin (kelly had to make a work delivery) - but we seized the opportunity to give them a tour of the house. :) We hope to have another party soon at which we can welcome our friends to our home.

And to round off the weekend, there was youth orchestra rehearsal.

Phew. Is that really a weekend? Yeppers! And we are now off and running with symphony rehearsals.

More later...

Hurricane Ike

Hello friends! This will be a brief post as it is a slightly hectic day. I know many of you who read this blog are also friends of Chiara and her family. I spoke with Chiara several times this morning. She and the fam are in the process of evacuating as the most recent storm projections have Ike striking land near their home.

They are on their way to Austin and possibly Amarillo. I'll keep y'all posted as we might have "hurrication" adventures to report from Amarillo. (Hurrication is a term coined by co-worker Jenny who had to evacuate New Orleans prior to Katrina. She refers to her evacuation time in Amarillo as "Hurrication". It seems as good as word as any for this particular set of circumstances) I'm sure the Yeates Clan would appreciate your thoughts and prayers these next few days.

UPDATE
I spoke with Chiara at 5 p.m. this afternoon. She and the fam have arrived in Austin. They are going to stay in a hotel there for the time being. They were on the way to dinner at Kenny's favorite restaurant - Denny's - trying to relax and keep life as calm as possible.

Decisions, decisions, decisions

While our previous residences may be emptied, the keys turned in and the utilities transferred to our new home, we are far from settled in. There are many decisions to be made before our house can really be home.

Two homes merging to one brings with it certain duplicities. This past weekend we conquered setting up the kitchen - bringing order to the piles of boxes that had accumulated and finding a place for everything in the cupboards. It was during this time that Bryan learned I really am a sorter. Mom, this may come as a surprise to you but I do have some strong organizational tendencies that begin with my desire to have like things together.

Now that we are moving past kitchen organization it is time to tackle some other spaces. We have one living room and two sets of furniture. Originally we had thought that one set of furniture could live in one of the spare bedrooms. Unfortunately, the hallway doors are narrow and no large furniture can be moved down the hall. So, we must decide which set of furniture remains in the living room.

A few points to consider.

All of the walls in the living room are covered in a dark paneling. This has led some to question which set really fits in the room.

Both sets of furniture include a large couch (3 cushions), a oversized chair, and an ottoman. (The ottoman for the red furniture is actually covered with polka dots).

We are split in our decision, so we have decided to solicit outside opinions to help us with this task. (For those of you who know how well I like to shop - my indecision should come as no surprise). Obviously we both have our favorites in the race, so I won't share those opinions here. Please leave us a comment and let us know which set of furniture should stay.

Option A






















Option B


Thanks for taking the time to share your opinion!