Not feeling too hot today, so I am enjoying my coffee from home today instead of at school.  Mmmmm…

Been a crazy couple of weeks for me with school, rehearsals, teaching lessons and rearranging lessons,and performances. My to-do list is at an all time high… Is it Summer Yet???

When my life is crazy, my house gets crazy and becomes a train wreck. Now I mentioned in an earlier post, that I am not a person that enjoys cleaning, but I have found that I like my house to be clean especially when my life is hectic. It creates a small oasis away from my thoughts and all the things that I have planned out or have to plan and/or do.

Looking around my house today as I am sitting drinking my coffee, I am realizing how bad I have let my house get. Over the last 2 weeks I have only been at the house for maybe 20 min at a time before I would have to leave for a practice, teach my lessons and then head to a practice, or a performance- Usually getting back home around 9:30-10PM. I went through multiple clothing changes and of course, let the clothes pile up on my chair in our room, used lots of hair products and tools which were left out on the bathroom counter, and have my tax papers, lesson plans, and random papers on the coffee table in the living room. Yuck! I have to get back on a cleaning routine.

Cleaning Routine

I started a cleaning routine at the beginning of the year and it seemed to work really well for me! But as the year as progressed and gotten busier and busier, the cleaning schedule has fallen by the wayside.  Are you ready to see it??? Ok, so it is seriously the easiest thing ever and I should be able to do it, I just forget, or want to be lazy in the evenings.

Here it is: Cleaning up 15 min a night! At the beginning of the year, I would go through the house and hang up my clothes, put items I had used throughout the day away, and go through the mail, other papers and organize. I would make it almost a game…. cleaning against the timer! Once a week, usually on Saturday morning or Sundays, I would deep clean. I would vacuum, clean the bath tubs, and then clean the toilets. If you need a quick fix clean, you can use my favorite cleaning wipes… ” Clorox Wipes”!

Here is my next project on the spring cleaning list: The dreaded closet with gift bags and tissue paper. It is a disaster.

As I catch up on rest today and enjoy my coffee, I  am actually getting excited about creating my new cleaning chart! ( I’m a teacher… I love charts and schedules and planners). As a teacher, I get really excited about normal everyday items… O the joys of the little things! More on my favorite teacher items soon!

——————————————THE WEEKEND UPDATE——————————————–

This weekend was again a fast weekend with so many things packed in to it. Dave and I got to have a fun date night on Friday night at Longhorn. We couldn’t remember the last time we had gone to eat there, but truly enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. Thanks mom and dad for the awesome gift card!

Saturday was solo/ensemble festival day for middle schools in Springfield. This is a festival in which students prepare a solo or an ensemble and perform for a judge to get a rating of 1, 2, or 3 ( 1 is the highest). My students have been preparing for this festival for over 3 weeks, using most of the class time to work with their groups, or with me as I accompanied them on piano. It was a super long day ( I was at the school from 7:30-5:30pm) but it was so worth it!!! I absolutely love seeing my students step out of their comfort zones and step up to the plate to perform… I  love seeing them gain more confidence from performing…. I love watching them in class as they work with their groups! AND MY ORCHESTRA BROUGHT HOME…. 30 – 1 RATINGS AND 12- 2 RATINGS!!!! WOOT WOOT… WE ROCKED CONTEST!

Saturday evening, Dave and I went out to eat at Houlihan’s to meet up with one of my “besties” from high school ,who was swinging through Springfield on her way to kansas City to see her family.  This was the first time that Sarah got to meet my hubby and our first time getting to see her sweet little boy, James! I can not believe she is a mother!!! She is seriously the cutest little mama ever and that little boy is truly blessed to have her as his mom!  Isn’t little James the cutest??!!!

Sarah has always been such a sweet friend, always wanting to help or listen if needed, and she is always one to encourage you and make you feel amazing…. That is a good friend! We met in church youth group, in middle school and became great friends. I met my best friends in that youth group and became who I am today because of their friendships and the wonderful youth leaders I had.

We had so much fun talking about our lives today, what her and her husband have been up to, how being a mom is, and of course, a walk down memory lane! It is so funny how many things you forget until you get back together with a great friend and then it comes back almost like it was yesterday! We laughed so much and Dave was definitely amused by some of our crazy stories and of course, how sheltered we were. We had such a great time eating and talking that I totally forgot to snap a picture of all of us 🙁 so I guess a pic from Facebook will have to work. They are cute little family!!!

Dave forgot his flash drive at work, so we headed that way after dinner. I was so happy to get to see where he has been spending some of his time since February. Really proud of how hard he is working in his classes and at his new job! Isn’t he cute?

Sunday was a big playing day for me. I had 2 church performances for Palm Sunday at a church in the a.m., a practice with Drury Civic Symphony Orchestra ( the community orchestra) from 2-4pm, then a practice for James River’s Easter presentation next weekend, and a make up violin lesson with 2 sisters who have a wedding they are performing for soon. And of course, it was a gorgeous day outside and I knew I was going to be super busy and would likely not get to be outside much.  I drove with the windows down to enjoy the weather, and I got to my rehearsal for symphony a little early to have about 20 min to soak up the sun! And I got to wear one of my cute sundresses!!!

The end of the night was spent with my favorite guy eating his homemade pizza, catching up on “Grey’s anatomy” and chatting! We have both been so busy lately, that we haven’t been able to have a lot of “US” time, so even the small amount of time that we get, it truly amazing! Love my hubby so much and how hard he is working.

Yummy… Homemade Pizza!!! I am so blessed!

Cheers to the beginning of a new week!!! We got this! Happy Monday All!