The search is finally over...

As we were unpacking wedding gifts a few months ago, surrounded by boxes and little storage space, I said to Michael "We need a bigger place."

He nodded his head in agreement. 

And thus the seed was planted.

Of course, we always knew we were not going to stay in our 2 bedroom condo for that long. Maybe another year or two until we decided to expand our family.

Then we found out that a unit in our building had just gone on the market and that there was a lot of interest in the building. 

Hmmmm...maybe we should ride that wave?

So we did. 

We met with our realtor in early February and discussed what would need to happen in order to get our place stage ready.

Lots of stuff.

Ouch.

But all very doable.

We began casually looking at houses, perusing real estate websites, going to an open house here and there, just to see what was out there.

Not a whole lot.

Inventory was quite low. 

But we were getting a sense for what we liked, what we didn't like, square footage space, neighborhoods we wanted to be in, etc.

In the meantime, we were making arrangements to put our place on the market around Spring Break, which was during the last week of March. Plenty of time!

About two weeks before we were planning to go live and have our first Open House, our realtor called and said there was a couple interested in seeing our place, fully knowing it was not staged yet. 

We were a little hesitant at first (our condo was cluttered with boxes and other things), but realized there was nothing to lose. This was Tuesday. They wanted to see it Thursday morning. So the next two days we scrambled around getting everything ready and clean and as "staged" as possible. 

It looked great, all things considered.

And they LOVED it. So much so that they put in an offer that night which we ultimately accepted.

It was a relief to not have to put our condo on the market, move things into storage, paint, have it "staged" at all times, be out of the condo so people could see it, etc.

But holy sh*t! We were under contract!

And, uhhhh...holy sh*t! We needed to find a new home! And fast.

So thus the intense home search began.

The pressure was on. 

Quite honestly, it started to become more stressful than it was fun. I know everyone says looking for a new home should be a fun process, but at some point, you realize you are in a time crunch and it becomes really quite stressful. 

I was on Homesnap constantly.

We picked up on when homes would go on the market (usually mid-week) and learned that we had to make appointments to see them before the Open House over the weekend. Be the first ones through the door.

We were blessed with some snow days and Spring Break that allowed us to see homes during the day.

We had our one major disappointment (you can read about that here) which left us feeling deflated and down in the dumps. And somewhat bitter. But it also taught us some very good lessons. Definitely some non-attachment lessons. (sooooo hard!)

It also forced us to think a little more outside the box. We were pretty set on a single-family home but started to reconsider town homes. We actually looked very seriously at a new construction of town homes. Not exactly in the area we wanted to be in, but a more short-term situation. 

Funny thing is, we were about to put in an offer on that when we saw a house pop up on the market. It was in the area we wanted to be in and had most of the things we were looking for in a house.

But the Open House was Easter weekend and we were going to be out of town for both Passover and Easter. 

So we made an appointment to see it the Monday after Easter, right before school (8:30am!). Michael would close on our condo later that very same day.

Aaaaaaand we loved it. 

This was it.

(Ummmm…how about that backyard view? Yes, that is a golf course.) 

As we were standing in the kitchen deliberating with our realtor (because everything happens in the kitchen, right?), she reminded us that, in the span of a little over 3 weeks, we had seen 28 homes with her (that's not counting all the open houses we saw on our own!). We had basically seen most of what is out there. 

So we put in a very aggressive and strong offer.

We wanted this house.

It helped to now have cash on hand. 

And we got it! We were soooooo excited and relieved!

We closed 2 1/2 weeks later and are now home owners. Yipppppeeeeee!

It doesn't feel real. At all.

I don't think until we move all our stuff in and spend our very first night in our new home will it finally sink in. 

But it’s certainly exciting. 

I’ve never owned a home before.

Being a foreign service brat, I always wondered if I would be the type of person that would want to settle down and establish roots or feel the need to keep moving.

Well, I found a mix of both. I definitely want to stay in this area, but I have also moved 9 times (within the area) in 14 years. This will be my 10th, and FINAL, move. For awhile, at least. 

So, here’s to home ownership and all the joys it will most certainly bring!

A few workouts:

Do what makes you happy. 

"Week of" recital prep...

It’s the week of this recital I’ve been prepping for since the end of January. 

A good solid three months. Or close to it.

Practicing in the pockets of my day. Or huge chunks of my “snow” days and occasional weekend. LOL.

It’s tough. It’s hard preparing for something when you have a full-time (draining!) job and a part-time one. 

It’s especially hard when you are a bit of a perfectionist (I’m putting that mildly...) and used to pursue a career as a concert pianist. And attained a certain level of performance which is no longer realistic just because that is NOT your current career choice.

I don’t have hours a day to practice like I did in college. 

Or access to a Steinway grand piano every day.

I have a 14-year old digital piano at home.

And good friends with grand pianos that I can, on occasion, practice on. 😃 

The reality is that there is a certain level of performance, or confidence in performance, that is very difficult to attain just because of the limited time that I have. 

So, there is an inner-conflict going on. 

A letting go that has to happen.

It will be what it will be.

My friend (with whom I am playing this recital with) and I were joking during our last rehearsal how we have been putting this together in the “fringes” of our day. It’s that corner of the room that you never get around to cleaning and is dusty and has cobwebs forming. It’s that part of our day, that itty bitty corner, that we are somehow, magically, fitting in the rehearsal and individual practice time. 

I had a student ask me the other day how long the recital is. 

I answered, “It’s about an hour of music.”

“What?!?! That is soooooo long! How many pages is that?”

Hmmmm…I don’t actually know. Maybe slightly under 100?

So I counted the other day. 

109. 

That’s right. 109 pages of music. 44 of which is solo piano music and memorized. (EEEEK!)

(this is my quick math on scrap paper...LOL!)

I gotta give myself some credit for that. And a break.

In the pockets of my day I have managed to practiced 109 pages of music.

Goodness gracious, Larissa. Go easy on yourself, girl.

So I watch videos like this to help me take things less seriously:

We are opening with the "Habanera" from Carmen, by the way.

I love the Muppets. 

Here’s to trusting the process. Trusting the preparation. And letting things be what they will be.

And being satisfied with that. (the toughest part!)

Yesterday’s workout:

Do what makes you happy.

Shifting priorities...

A lot has been going on recently.

Like, a lot a lot.

But in a good way.

I have found that I am most productive in the morning.

I am, self-admidatly, a morning person. 

I try to do the things that are most important to me before school.

Quiet time.

Meditation. 

Journaling.

Working out.

(you can read about all of that here.)

And, on occasion, practicing.

When I was planning to surprise my now husband with this crazy piece of music (you can read about that here), I was working out AND practicing before school. That included a 4:15am wake-up call. 

UGH.

Not doing that now.

Instead, I am choosing between working out and practicing.

And for the the next few days, it’s practicing.

Because with all the “stuff” going on in my life, most of which I was not anticipating, I am needing to get more sleep. 

So, it’s me, a cup of strong coffee and my boys … Franz, Ludwig, George and Alberto.

Say what?

That’s Liszt, Beethoven, Gershwin, and Ginastera.

I’m a perfectionist at heart. And it’s driving me bat-shit crazy that I have not had an adequate amount of practice time (or mental space!) to prepare for this recital in the way I would like.

So, right now, piano trumps the gym.

But only temporarily.

However. 

I have convinced myself that certain pieces I am playing are almost like a workout. Because they make me sweat. LOL!

Like the 3rd movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata:

Or Ginastera’s “Dance of the Arrogant Cowboy”:

There’s more. But those are the two that get my really riled up. Ha!

So, here’s to temporarily shifting priorities. Finding that balance. Going with what is most important in this moment. 

My one workout this week:

Do what makes you happy.

Introvert fail...

My husband and I are similar in many ways, but also quite different. Not exactly an "opposites attract" thing, but more of an "opposites compliment each other" thing.

One of the biggest differences is that I am an introvert and he is an extrovert. 

To some, who meet me for only a brief period of time, I may seem like an extrovert. But that is mainly because I need to lead an extroverted life due to my job. I feel like I am an introvert leading an extroverted lifestyle.

But I am definitely an introvert.

I like keeping to myself.

I replenish by having alone time. Being by myself. Not talking. Not interacting. 

Preach, Audrey. 

Silence.

Ahhhhh…

Silence is golden.

My job can be very overstimulating at times.

I am surrounded by sound and music ALL day.

As an elementary general music teacher, my day is filled with singing voices, musical instruments, underlying chatter, etc. Let’s not forget the screaming children (our music trailers are directly next to the playground).

Even if I have a planning period, our walls are so thin that I can hear exactly what is going on in the music classrooms next door. 

I am NEVER in silence while at school.

That’s why when I get into my car after a full day, I sit in silence. 

I don’t turn any music on. No podcasts. No Pandora. No Spotify.

Silence.

Ahhhhhh…

Again, silence is golden for an introvert like me.

Our Spring Break was very busy with house hunting. 

Oh, and did I mention I am still prepping for a recital?

Ha. 

That. 

Yeah. So, practicing my solo stuff and rehearsing with my soprano friend.

I was still teaching.

And being social.

It was busy. 

In all honesty, I did not get the time to replenish like I needed.

Let me rephrase that.

I did not make the time to replenish.

So I am coming off Spring Break tired, and, quite frankly, in need of a break, ironically enough.

I did not do a good job in the self-care department.

I did not meet my introvert needs.

Doh.

And I have to be very careful because I am feel like I am walking a thin line right now.

But the end is near.

In a lot of ways which I will disclose later on… 😃

Being an introvert can be hard.

Especially when life gets crazy chaotic.

Luckily I have a very supportive husband. He knows when I’ve hit my threshold, even before I do sometimes.

So, introverts, go be you. Replenish. Be alone. Be quiet. Don’t talk to anyone. Because they’re ain’t nothing wrong with that.

I didn’t really work out this week. Too busy extroverting. 

LOL.

Do what makes you happy.