Dear SD,
Happy birthday, darling! I love this picture of you from our Christmas card shoot - it reminds me of the silly moments we've shared and all the things you do to make me laugh. Best feeling in the world. I love sharing this life with you and feel so fortunate to have you by my side. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate you this week! Wishing you a wonderful birthday and a great year to come!
xo, Ashley
Sweet November, that wonderful season of preparation, thanksgiving, and rest before the holiday hustle and bustle.
The nights get cooler, the days get shorter, and we wait for glimpses of those first few snowflakes of winter (well, some of us do). But with the rush of the end of the semester, a full teaching schedule, and a few other projects to manage, the rosy glow of my ideal November fades a little.
I admit this is usually the time of year when I put my head down, do what I need to do each week, and look forward to a fresh, new year when I can take a breath and hit "restart" on goals, plans, and living in general. I get burnt out on my goals. I get tired of my routine. I lose focus.
But this weekend, I took some time to sit still, to be still, and I realized—life is too short to live with your head down. There are so many things to enjoy in the moment (like the brilliant yellow trees, glowing in the sunlight outside my window right now).
Sometimes I find myself so wrapped up in my to-do list that it doesn't seem like there is time to do anything but what is absolutely essential. Does that ever happen to you? This weekend, I was reminded (partly from reading this post) that we're given enough time for everything that matters. It comes down to how we manage our time and the priorities we set.
What really matters? Here are a few things that came to mind:
Making time for that passing conversation with someone in the hall
Offering a word of encouragement to someone who is feeling overwhelmed
Baking cookies to give away to others
Making the people in my life a priority and being fully present
Going the extra mile with kindness and grace
This is how I want to live my days this holiday season. This is how I want to spend my time: focusing on what matters. The rest will fall into place, as it always does. What will you make happen this month?
Oh, y'all. The past few weeks have been hard. The unrest and turmoil in the government. A great loss in the Eastman community. The stress of work and school and teaching and trying to find a proper balance. The pressure to succeed and make a mark. It's easy to succumb - to complain and get frustrated, to give in or give up. It's also easy to become immobilized by these challenges and feel incapable of moving forward. I write these words from lived, personal experience. But I believe there is more to life than the pressures of our daily lives. From the midst of these challenges, we can be grounded in true, sincere gratitude.
Image Credit: Lara Casey
Do you believe these words? Does the seemingly simple act of giving thanks really have the power to change things - big, daunting things? I believe it does. So, I'm starting over. I'm starting with gratitude.
First, this is my favorite time of year.
There are so many wonderful things I love about the fall season - the crispness in the air, the crunch of leaves beneath my feet as we take an evening stroll, the need for scarves and boots, hot apple cider on a chilly evening, and the beautiful colors that greet you at every turn. It's glorious.
With fall, comes my very favorite holiday - Thanksgiving. I love the traditions, the hustle and bustle of gathering together, cooking, preparing a meal together, serving each other, and visiting with friends and family. And I love that though we've progressed as a society since that first Thanksgiving, it's name hasn't changed. Thanksgiving - a time to give thanks.
Here's what I'm doing to stay grounded in gratitude this season - making a gratitude list (you can download the [download id="1" format="6"] here). Hang it above your desk, print it out and add it to your planner, or if you're like us, post it in your kitchen so that you see it every day. Make a list of everything you are grateful for in life and add to it each day. Look for the little things, the things we tend to overlook in the hustle and bustle and business. Live a life of gratitude.
Dear SD, Two years ago today we celebrated the start of our marriage together on the most beautiful, sunny fall day in the rolling hills of southern Vermont. We reminisce often about that day and the sweet memories we hold and I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to build another year's worth of memories together this year.
Remember that time we visited Niagara Falls in the winter?
We went skiing in Utah, saw Pink Martini at the Jazz Festival, and watched a few of the chase scenes for The Amazing Spider Man 2 being filmed downtown. We shared a pulled pork sandwich from Bogart's in North Carolina (the best!) and sampled the wares of several local food trucks - Marty's Meats (with that amazing fried chicken sandwich), Le Petite Poutine, Macarollin', and Cheesed and Confused (with the pulled pork + macaroni and cheese grilled cheese sandwich). We bought an air conditioner and wondered how we ever got along without one. We had a white Christmas, saw the pink magnolias in full bloom in the spring, ate lobster in the summer, and went apple-picking in the fall (we even made an apple pie - and crust - from scratch!).
I love the things you do to make me laugh. I love your sweet, selfless nature and all the ways you serve me. I love when you tug on my hand during our after-dinner walks to encourage me to walk a little slower and enjoy the moment. Thank you for showing me kindness every single day. I admire your integrity and your giving spirit. I love your heart, SD. I am so grateful for you!
Happy 2nd anniversary!
I know it's been a few weeks since our trip to NC but our time at Lake Junaluska was too good not to share! Here's a quick recap of our experience at Music and Worship Arts Week 2013:
- observing the middle school choir, under the direction of Dan Stokes
- meeting new people and catching up with good friends
- buying new music to play with SD
- accompanying two reading sessions
- attending an amazing organ recital, given by Andrew Henderson
- singing around the piano at the house
- learning a few new handbell techniques
- discovering the Blue Rooster Southern Grill (we ate there twice in one week AND we ran into our former pastor from Rochester and his wife BOTH times we were there. Really, what are the chances?!)
- inspiring worship + inspiring sermons by Susan Leonard-Ray
- huddling under an umbrella on the deck in the evenings during summer rain storms
Love the Blue Ridge Mountains - there's something so peaceful about this view and that fresh mountain air.
The Rose Walk at the Lake did not disappoint and I loved making this walk to worship each morning and to seminars and rehearsals throughout the day. Such beauty!
In the evenings, we spent some quality time at the lake house - so many memories here, including having the guys grill for us last summer!
SD had been waiting for this moment for an entire year - the best pulled pork sandwich (ever?) from Bogart's in Waynesville. We had more than our fair share of good southern food during our week's stay!
On our last day, we took a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway - can you ever get tired of this view?
The hydrangeas were in full bloom everywhere we went and I could not get over the blues and purples - my favorite!
Read about last year's trip here.
Last week, Rochester welcomed jazz musicians from around the world for the 12th annual Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. SD and I always love being a part of the crowd at festivals like this - downtown comes alive with good food, good music, and people of all ages. The Jazz Fest offers a variety of shows - some free, some $20, and a few headliners at $55-$125 per ticket. We're usually more than content with the shows on the various free stages set up in the streets and we made a plan to visit Gibbs Street (pictured above) for the opening night festivities.
Friday afternoon, I received an email saying an anonymous donor had donated XRIJF club passes for a select group of Eastman students! So began our exciting night as club pass enthusiasts.
We hopped in and out of several of the $20 shows (Prime Time Brass, Bill Dobbins, Phil Robson Trio, and Patricia Barber, to name a few), pausing long enough to hear snippets of the groups on the free stages and sample of few food truck wares. Halfway through the night, we stopped in the middle of Gibbs Street to review the evening's line-up in the program book. A young couple approached us and asked if we wanted free VIP tickets to Friday's headline show, Pink Martini. The show was halfway over at this point but we gratefully accepted and eagerly made our way to the crowded hall. It was AMAZING. We heard the last seven or so songs, spanning a variety of genres and styles, pinching ourselves to make sure it was real. We found the couple after the show and thanked them again for giving us the opportunity to attend such a great show! We walked around a little while longer, happy and overwhelmed with gratitude before heading home for the night.
We spent the week in North Carolina (more on our trip soon!) but we made it back to Rochester in time for the last night of the Jazz Fest. After we finished unpacking, we walked down to one of the free stages to hear Trombone Shorty. The crowd was ridiculous - around 30,000 people - it was so awesome to see so many come out for an event like this!
The show was great - mostly pop/funk rather than the jazz side of things I know he's sort of known for but we really enjoyed hearing him live and being part of such an exciting finale to this year's Jazz Fest! We are already looking forward to next year!
Image credit: personal
It's Lake Week!
We're off to North Carolina for a week of worship, seminars, reading sessions (I'm even accompanying this year!), and a little R&R (including our share of southern food). This is my sixth time attending Music and Worship Arts Week and I learn something new each time. It's a time of renewal, inspiration, and fellowship and I always feel refreshed when I leave. Here's to a great week!
P.S. Read about last year's trip here.
Image Credit: unsplash
It's been a little while since I've shared a newsy update with you and I thought there was no better time than the present! Here's what I've been up to lately and what I have planned for the summer:
First of all, I finished my first year of doctoral work at Eastman - one year down, two (hopefully, two) years to go!
For the past few weeks (and until my summer class starts in July), I've been focusing on a few professional projects (paper submissions and academic CV, anyone?). I'm also teaching a few piano students. Have I mentioned that I love having a little bit of teaching back in my schedule? I am learning so much being back in school and it's been wonderful to be able to immediately apply new ideas related to teaching and learning.
Over the holiday weekend, we visited SD's hometown of Sandy Hook, CT and enjoyed spending time with his parents, brother (who flew in from Utah), and family friends. Of course, there was enough good food to feed a small village - everything from a southern-inspired menu of smoked ribs, cornbread casserole, and summer berry pudding to a New England seafood supper. I even held a lobster! It was wonderful to be "back home" for a few days. Read more about our weekend here.
Later this month, we're flying south to NC for Music and Worship Arts Week at Lake Junaluska (read about last year's trip here). In addition to a week full of inspiring worship, seminars, and events, we are greatly anticipating fried chicken and sweet tea dinners and at least one pulled pork sandwich from Bogart's in Waynesville (SD will tell you it's the best he's had). Then, in July we're heading to Chicago for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy - I've been invited to present some of my research on creativity in music learning at two poster sessions and SD is graciously joining me for moral support! (For those of you that may not know, a poster session is an opportunity for people to display their research and discuss it with others in the field.) I'm honored to have this opportunity to share my work but I'm also thrilled to finally attend this conference!
Despite the lure of summer travel, Rochester is pretty wonderful this time of year. The restaurants and coffee shops on Park Avenue become open-air in the summer months, spilling out onto the sidewalks with a very European feel (furry friends welcome). People sit in the park with their paper bag lunches and books to pass the Noon-time hour. Personally, we enjoy spending time in the late afternoon/early evening up on the roof of our building, admiring the view and relishing the peacefulness of the summer breeze (we're pretty sure it's a slice of heaven on earth). There are festivals almost every weekend, celebrating everything from the lilacs in Highland Park to jazz to barbecued ribs and bluegrass to the historic Erie Canal. We made a summer events calendar just to keep track of it all. Our summer bucket list includes:
- dinner with friends on the roof - a night out at the Jazz Festival - an evening walk + gelato - homemade carrot cake - exploring a few of the neighboring towns during Canal days - Fried Green Tomato sliders - pleasure reading (just finished reading 7, currently reading EntreLeadership) - take-out taste test between the two leading barbecue places in town
Wishing you all a wonderful summer!
*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
With the recent holiday weekend and a long car ride on either side, I finally finished reading 7 by Jen Hatmaker (please be impressed that I stuck with this bit of pleasure reading throughout the spring semester).
The book chronicles the author's seven-month experiment: seven categories (food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending, and stress) stripped down to seven essentials for a month.
Seven food items.
Seven articles of clothing.
Seven items to give away each day.
Seven forms of media to do without.
Seven ways to reduce waste and become more environmentally responsible.
Seven places to spend money.
Seven prayers a day to remind us to pause, give thanks, reflect, and focus on what matters.
My heart has been challenged by this "mutiny against excess" — our lives are so full, so busy, and yet we strive for more. We live with more than we need and yet we buy more. We value our abundant wardrobes, earthly possessions, and excessive lifestyle spending habits.
Consumerism and the need for more have become part of our societal identity. Whatever happened to that life of simplicity, abandon, and giving that Jesus talked about? It's easy to lose sight of what we really need in our lives versus the things we want.
Where are our priorities in life? What do we value? Do our spending habits reflect this? Are we responsible with the things we've been given? Do we freely give away what we don't need or do we feel the need to hold onto it? Have we ignored opportunities to help those in need?
If you're looking for a witty, easy-to-read book that will challenge you to live a more fulfilling life, I encourage you to read 7!
Have you read this book? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Related post: The Go-Giver
Sometimes, you just need to rest.
It's something the go-getters among us and those of us with healthy work ethics sometimes struggle to recognize but really, you can't give and do and be all the time. Sometimes, you need to time to be filled and inspired and refreshed.
Intentional rest is more than just taking time away from work. It's choosing to spend time doing the things that truly fill and revive you. For me, it's a way to clear my head and my heart, focus on what matters, and dream a little.
This weekend, I made time for intentional rest - lunch with SD at a new-to-us restaurant, time outside (our first spring-like weekend!), a trip to the farmer's market (our first time since November!), reading and writing for pleasure (a novelty these days), even coffee and sprinkle cookies on the roof of our building (with coats on...). It's amazing how much of an impact these little things can have on the rest of the week.
What does intentional rest mean to you? Maybe it's taking a leisurely walk around the neighborhood before dinner. Maybe it's meeting a friend for lunch. Maybe it's taking the afternoon to go for a drive with the sun roof open. Maybe it's reading your latest book. Whatever it is, be intentional about it. Make time for it. Those things are as important as anything else you do during the week.
