The Art of Being

Wow, so it has been a while since I last wrote. Sorry about that.
Since it has been so long, I was not sure about what to write.
Everyone has to be. So the art of being has been discovered.
Being. We all are beings that be.
[the word 'being' looks a bit weird now.]
Life is chaotic, but that is what I love about it. --you never know what to expect.
So let us start at the beginning.
School is seriously and ridiculously expensive. For that reason, my parents, Chris, and I decided not to return to Valpo this semester.
It turned out to be a really hard decision. I made some of the best friends I have ever had there, and in only one semester.
Guys, I love you. This semester was amazing, and can never be repeated. We will always have crazy awesome memories that we made, and it will never be forgotten.
Leaving Valpo was bad. Tough. Sad. Awful. Whatever you wanna call it.
On another note then, piano is confusing me. We have this weird relationship where sometimes we really like each other, but then sometimes it gets all cocky, like, "WOAH, Katie, I am way better than you. Go major in psychology or art or something else."
But then my piano teacher gets to it, and then it's like, "well, okay, I guess you're good enough for me, then." *wink*
So that's one part of my life I wanna figure out, but I probably never will. I'm gonna guess that our relationship will literally be like that forever.
**
*side note. I started work 3 days ago. Money is great! People are just....not.
**
So tonight was our family Christmas. When everyone in my family is at our house, it is a hot mess. Loud, obnoxious, and totally awesome. You can't hear anyone talk unless they pretty much yell, kids are just running around being kids, a movie is on somewhere (not entertaining the kids even though that's its purpose), the smell of lasagna is wafting through the house, the kids that aren't running around are trying to open the presents, and the rest of us sit at the table, eat chips and dip and popcorn, and just talk and laugh and tell the kids they're really not hurt and to stop fake crying.
And it's awesome. I love my family more than anything in the entire world. Ending the night with a hilarious round of Boxers or Briefs, and just laughing til we die is amazing. Sometimes we don't get along, but what family does? We are amazing. I would never trade my family for anything in the world. And personally, I think I got the best.
And so, it's moments like these when I really realize how blessed I am with the art of life. So I live on, and keep painting my own painting, as I watch others own lives get painted.
Tomorrow is a new day, and a new color on the painting of my life. And it's going to be awesome.

The Art of Unstress

As much as you'd like to deny it, unstress is a very real thing. It's probably the best feeling in the world. When you are stressed out, pretty much to the maximum, then you are relieved of said stress. Perhaps because you have finished that huge project, or the burden of learning/doing something has been taken off of you.
This happened to me yesterday, and I feel absolutely amazing.
School has been...school. And school is usually kind of stressful all the time. The thing that was stressing me out the most was accompanying. For those of you lack of followers that don't know what accompanying means, it's when I play piano for her while she sings.
And I seriously suck at it.
I have been to the point of crying because I did not want to do it at all.
But, I can't just stay in denial of this kind of stuff. So I picked up the pieces she gave me to learn, and learned them.
Well, I learned 2 of the 4 she gave me.
So I was half responsible. (So I was still in denial, whatever..)
So then the time came for me to play for her in our first practice together and play together for her teacher for the first time.
And I only knew 2 of the 4 pieces.
(this is a big deal)
I wasn't really sure of what I was going to do; I would probably just end up dropping the right hand altogether and playing the left hand. Because that's how awesome I am.
So we met, and she informed me of the greatest news that I had heard in (what felt like) a really long time.
She told me that her teacher had decided to only do 2 of the 4 songs instead of all 4.
And they just happened to be the 2 songs that I had decided to learn.
All the sudden, all my prayers about this had been answered, and all of this stress about learning the songs was just lifted off me.
I have never felt so awesome before.
Now, that's not to say that I'm not stressed at all, I definitely am about other stuff, but this was the biggest  thing stressing me for the past few weeks.
Life is so awesome, sometimes. My own painting of life isn't really turning out how I expected it to be, but it's great. That's kind of the way all paintings are. You start with a picture in your head, but sometimes it just isn't what you imagined it to be, but it's even more awesome.
Yeah.
So enjoy all of life. Enjoy the love, the hate, the jealousy, the awe, and the best friendships you'll ever have. Because life is your own painting, and will be whatever you make it out to be.

The Art of Contentment

Life, right now, is awesome.
I'm going to take advantage of that fact, and write about it.
Literally, everything seems to be going well.
Piano - improving a lot more than I expected this fast.
Friendships - incredible people that I already love dearly, and old friendships renewed.
School - grades are actually doing good. Not failing. Clearly a sign of awesomeness.
Idk, my life is just going awesome right now.
School is amazing. The people here make it amazing.
Studying music is amazing. I love studying my favorite thing in the world. If I could take a dance class and an art class, then it would definitely be complete. Hopefully both are in the future.
I know that my life will not always seem as good as it does now, so I am recognizing that right now, my life is awesome.
I love college.
God gives us times in life where we just feel awesome. Like how I feel now.
There are also times where our lives just suck.
God has given me an awesome experience in college and this point in my life. I love it here and I love my friends.
Because life is an art. There are good times and bad times in life, and they all make up the painting of our individual lives. If all times were good times, we would never appreciate them. The bad times make up the accidentals of our song of life, and the black and white colors of our painting that is life itself.
Take advantage of the good times in life, because before you know it, the good times are gone.
Tomorrow is a new day! We'll see what it teaches me!

The Art of Companionship

I know this is pretty much the same as friendship, but whatever, get over it. I have more than one friend.
I have found some of the best friends here at Valpo.
I love all of them a lot, and despite only having knowing them for a month, we can already be ourselves around each other, and talk about personal stuff with each other.
I don't know what I would do without my friends here.
Everyone needs someone there for them. Without any social life, we would probably go crazy.
But also, I'm probably going crazy hanging out with these people.
...in a good way.
The people I've met here are going to impact the rest of my life. The ones I know now, and the ones that I have yet to meet.
This is real. My new friends are just as real as my old ones. (which i miss dearly.)
God brought me to this school, and He brought me the friends that I would love.
College is everything I expected it to be. I love it here.
This is a short post, I know, but I just wanted to say something about my newfound friendships.
I love all you guys. You're amazing.

The Art of Mirth

I have not had this much fun in a really long time.
This weekend was probably one of the best I will have for a while.
It started off with a train trip back to Bloomington to pick up the car, and have a dinner out with Mom, Dad, and Kendra.
I needed to see them so bad.
I love it here in Valpo, it's my home away from home. But I miss home and everyone there terribly. Seeing them was something that I really needed, and totally brought happiness back to me.
We went out to dinner, and it was really nice. Me and Kendra exchanged school teacher-stories, and stories about life in general since the 3-weeks that I had been gone. It was awesome. She's my closest friend as well as my sister, and is needed in my life.
She brought about mirth in my life.
I really wanted to see my parents, too. I wasn't sure how much I was going to be talking to them while I was here, but sometimes I just call my mom just because I want to talk to her. Just cuz I miss her and Dad.
So that was also awesome. [and mirth-...ful...?]
Then tonight was absolutely incredible!
I love road trips with people I love. Me, Daniel Segner, and Chris Hartman drove to Indy and saw My Chemical Romance and Blink 182 live.
And it. was. UHmazing.
They were so good! We screamed, and danced, and yelled, and sang along, and took a bunch of pictures, and saw their tour bus........it was just awesome!
They were great live. Their music is amazing, they had a laser show, their drummer was drumming on a ledge that tipped him sideways.. everything was just fantastic.
I can't come up with enough positive adjectives to describe the concert.
We danced up in section G, surrounded by adults who loved the band, but were "too old" to dance, and didn't care. And laughed the whole time.
The whole trip and weekend was just a fabulous time.
Laughing was something that happened a lot this weekend.
That's what mirth is all about, right? It's being happy, especially when you're laughing.
And I definitely laughed this weekend. It was a great time, and something I will never ever ever ever forget.
Best time of my life.
[this totally beat out the 'we the kings' concert]
Next concert, we'll be in the front row, and he'll give his guitar to us instead of those other people.
Life is meant to be enjoyed. This involves going to concerts, and listening to the music you love.
Because life is an art. Art is meant to be enjoyed and remembered.
This is something that won't be forgotten.
We paint everyday differently, and everyday is meant to be lived a little differently.
Laughing should be a part of everyday life, though! Mirth is something that should be around...a lot.
Enjoy life! Paint a great picture that you can look at, and always know that it turned out great!
So who knows what tomorrow will be like?
Let's live it out, and see what it looks like when the time comes.

The Art of Enjoyment

Valparaiso, Indiana is definitely a place where I am enjoying myself. I have already made some great friends, and had awesome times with them already. :)
Life here is good. I love my classes and the teachers are great, too.
My room could probably use a cleaning today, though.
One of my favorite things about being here is the fact that I get to focus completely on music. I have 2 non-musical classes, and they're great classes, but I am excited to just study music. Musicianship, Music Theory, Piano Lessons, Piano Colloquium, Jazz Band, and Kantorei (choir). It's seriously going to be an amazing year.
One thing that I noticed is what I talked about with Heather. She said it's going to be easier to practice here because everyone around me will be practicing.
That is so true.
Everyone is already practicing. Freshman are already practicing. Non-music majors are already practicing. It makes me want to play, and I have gotten opportunities to since I've been here.
I have gotten involved with 2 different ensembles, (jazz band and choir), and they are both already a TON of fun. :)
AND (since this is the reason I actually started the blog) I got to workout yesterday, and we're going again today! So maybe I'll actually lose something this year instead of gaining the freshman 15.
Enjoying yourself is an important part of life. If you don't ever enjoy yourself, and you just feel sorry for yourself, then what kind of life are you living?
Life is meant to be enjoyed! It's meant to have fun! Laugh a little, cry a little, yell a little, whisper a little, and enjoy every second of it! Because life is going to pass us by, and before we know it, we're gonna regret not being happier throughout life.
We'll look back on the stupid things we got mad at, and wonder why we didn't just enjoy ourselves instead of being mad at nothing for a week. That was a week that we missed out on enjoying life.
SO paint your life the way you want to paint it, but enjoy it! Life is an art, and is meant to be fun! God gave us emotions, and yes, sometimes life will be hard. But don't let it get you down forever!
Even though we can't be happy all the time in this hard life, we can still enjoy whatever in our life is going right. There's always something going right in life.
You still have a house, you still can eat, you're still alive.
Live, laugh, try new things, pray. Everyday.
Because tomorrow's always a new day!
Enjoy it.
And we'll let tomorrow teach me whatever it wants to.

The Art of Responsibility

Responsibility is something learned.
I'm on my own now, braving the cold, harsh world.
and homework.
Classes started today. But even before classes started, there were things that I needed to be responsible for.
A major thing was signing up for choir auditions. The only downside to this was (besides my laziness) the fact that I signed up, then auditioned the next day. They told us when auditions were a while ago, but it hit me then. I was going to audition the next day. But, I had to be responsible. I signed up, auditioned, and got call-backs for the VU Kantorei. :) This is a good thing. So I did the responsible thing, and signed up for a time to audition again tomorrow.
I had to be responsible today for my classes. I had to get up early enough on my own to shower, get ready, and get to CORE class by 10:10. I had to know where the room was, and find it. Then I had to eat fast, and head to German class. I had to know where the building was, but I got lost and had to ask someone.....
[it's literally a 15-minute walk to my german class from my dorm. UH-nnoying.]
And of course, I had to do my homework. I had to write an informal paper, and answer questions in german that I had no idea what they were saying. BUT! That's okay! :) Today and this weekend was awesome, and I am loving every single minute of college.
But I have to say, to my lack of followers reading this, I miss all of you. I think of everyone back home all the time. I love you all :)
So far, I'm having the time of my life. I've made awesome friends, got to play piano with people I didn't know, leaned to say things in German, and walked for miles so far, and there's much more to come.
This part of my painting of life is going really well.
Because, life is a painting. I am painting this part of my life in the way I think is best for me. My friends and family will always be in the painting, but there are new friends that are added. And I love that.
Every day is a new day, and tomorrow's portion of the painting will be something totally different.
Life is good.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of enjoyment.

The Art of Change

Change is everywhere in my life right now.
Change of friends, change of relationships, change of state, change of school, change of life.
Change started with work. I took the job at Jillian's thinking that it would just be a job to get me some cash for college. But it turned out totally different than I had planned. I made real friends that I didn't know I would actually miss. I want to go back to see them, which is completely different from my last job. I'm so glad I have something like that to come back to.
Obviously, the biggest change in my life is my moving to Indiana to attend Valparaiso University. That changed my whole life. My friendships, my home, my attitude, everything. It's all different now.
For starters, I moved to Indiana. I've never ever moved in my life, so this is a huge thing for me. I actually live somewhere else. That in itself is kind of a big deal to me.
Also, it changed my relationships. I have a roommate, who is awesome. [:)] I have a whole new set of friends. I won't see my high school friends for a really long time. And I'm just now realizing that. All the people that I grew up with won't be there anymore. That's weird to wrap my head around. [I'll miss you guys a lot. :( ]
Everything in my life is changing right now, and it's weird, but totally awesome. I don't understand everything about it right now, but it will definitely be a good change. I'm super excited about everything.
Classes start Tuesday. :o
[this is the blog post with the most faces i've typed i think]
Pray that I practice piano a whole lot.
Life is awesome right now, because life is an art. We paint each day however we want, and the end result of our painting of life.
And so, tomorrow is a new day of more changes. And I freaking can't wait.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of responsibility.

The Art of Peace

So I have been really bad about writing in this lately. My bad.
Peace.
Definitely been a part of my life lately. It's a great feeling, being peaceful. It's a feeling of not worrying, and knowing that you're gonna be okay, no matter what.
Life is gonna suck sometimes, but it's gonna rock other times.
So yeah.
Tomorrow I move to Valpo. Talk about not a peaceful night. I'm way too excited and nervous to be peaceful. But laying on my couch, writing this, and just being quiet in the night, I realize how important this is. This isn't just me moving out, and making new friends and having a good time. This is a huge step in my life. This will probably determine how the rest of my life will play out. And that sounds like a lot more pressure put on me, but for some reason, I'm totally peaceful about it. I have friends and family that get me through stuff, and I know they will always be there for me. And that gives me peace.
I also learned a different kind of peace tonight. An apology was made towards Jim and Donna for my wrecking their car, and now I have a peace about that. I was super scared the whole time, and they were so nice, and the whole thing is just over. That is something huge off my chest. Accidents suck, but it was made to suck less.
Peace is something I need to learn over the next 4 years in my life. If I am never peaceful, and just sometimes sit, and do nothing, then my life will be chaotic. Bahh! It wouldn't work.
So here I am, practicing peace. Sitting on my couch, loving life. Cuz life is awesome right now.
Cuz life is an art. Peace can flow over us like paint on a canvas if we just let it. Let a peaceful day paint itself, because everybody deserves a break once in a while. Even a break from life.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of change.

The Art of Patience

So, when I said I was going to learn the art of patience, I never dreamed it would be in this way of learning.
I was thinking, "okay, there's nothing special coming up in the next couple of days, so I'll most likely lost patience with some customers at work."
I was kinda off.
On thursday afternoon, a beautiful day, I was on my way to Barnes 'N' Noble Bookstore to read, and have some coffee, and kill time before work. But it took me a little longer to get there.
I ended up being stupid and looking away from the car in front of me at the exact wrong time. She stopped and I failed to see it happen. So what else happens, but I rear-ended her. No one was hurt, and the airbags didn't even go off (Thank you, Jesus). But I broke her tail light and seriously dented the back corner of her car.
The car I was driving wasn't damaged at all, except for the need of a new license plate.
The thing about this accident that really got to me was the money. (It's always about the money). I'm standing there, Chris is talking to this woman, and the only thing I can think is that all the money I've been saving up for college is now going to this womans car. Working over the summer, overtime weeks, and dealing with stupid customers was all for her car. I couldn't stop crying, with the mixture of that and feeling shaken up because, well, I mean, I hit someone's car. That will always shake you up, right?
Anyways, so I just kept praying and asking, "Why, God? Why me, and why now, and why in this car, and why all my money?"
So the woman had decided she wouldn't call the cops, and we would pay her out of pocket, and that would be that. We both went on our merry ways, her to her grandchildren, and me to my books.
Lo and behold, a couple hours later, I get a call from the cops. Then I get a ticket for 120$.
As you can imagine, this makes my day WAY better, and I start crying again.
So, I'm getting a little impatient with everyone by this time.
The hardest thing to learn was to still do my job. In order to be a good waitress, and actually make good tips, the customer can't really know you're having the worst day of your life - that you just got into a car accident and lost all your money potentially and their tip is going to be the best part of your day. So patience was learned in one way.
Patience was learned in waiting to find out how much the car was going to cost. (between 100 and 1500$ worth of damage).
Patience was not being a brat to people when they didn't do anything to me, and I was just in a bad mood.
Patience to learn what was going to happen, and what the result was going to be.
Patience with God, trusting that He protects me. Always.

Ending result - I pay the ticket, and that's it. There's no deductible on the insurance, and they will cover the cost of her car. I don't have to give her any money, and all the money in my account is going to stay there.
God always protects us, and I'm sad that it took an accident for me to see that He's always here.
And so, again, life is an art. We must paint every day a little different. The past few days have sucked, but it's what makes life, well, life.
And trust me, the ending result of the painting of life will be beautiful.
And so, tomorrow is a new day. (thank God.) With every new day, there is something new to be learned.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of peace.

The Art of Friendship

Friendship is probably one of the most important things in my life.
I have probably learned to appreciate my friends more this weekend than I have in a long time.
It started off with Liz taking my shift at work. She didn't realize it, but it was seriously important to me that I got Sunday morning off.
[friends take shifts for friends.]
That made me appreciate friends just as a beginning.
But the real reason that I appreciated her taking my shift so much, was the reason I needed Sunday morning off.
Amelia is moving to Washington State to attend Moody Institute, and I probably won't see her again until next summer or after.
For those of you who don't know, Amelia [meia] is the longest friend I've ever had. I don't remember meeting her, because we were babies. We did everything together for years, and when things went down with church stuff, we kind of seperated for a while.
But we've been reconnecting again for about a year, and now she's leaving again.
Sunday morning was her going-away party. Although I had to leave early to work the night shift [that i didnt get off], it was a Sunday morning well-needed. I won't see her again until we're both back next summer.
It's weird, growing up. Moving away from friends and such. I've had really good friends in my life, but I don't have a memory from my childhood years that doesn't have Amelia in it. She's definitely one of the best friends I will ever have in my whole life, and I know that we will stay friends for the rest of our lives.
So, goodbye, Amelia, and all the rest of my friends who are leaving, and whom I am leaving. New friends are ahead of us, but there will always be friends to come back to.
Love you, Meia.
Friendship is a huge part of the painting of life. Without friends, the painting of life would be one person - you. However you paint your life, put people in it that will last your whole life. That's what will make the painting beautiful.
Paint life however you want, because life itself is an art. We paint every day differently.
And so, again, tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow, I learn the art of patience.

The Art of Existing

Mmm, yes, I would say that existing is an art of life.
Today and yesterday were particularly not-exciting days in my life.
Let's start off with working out.
I've lost 6 pounds! Yay! But I haven't been doing very well with it the past 2 days.....  But I can't let a little slip up blow my whole operation! NEVAH! I shall keep doing well with it, and lose yet another 6 pounds.
I must.
I'm running the paper route today, so that will help with it.
[BTW this is the last day for the paper route. YES.]
And, now, my life musically.
I had a piano lesson today....and it did not go as I thought it would. I honestly thought that I had practiced more efficiently than came out in the lesson. I guess it goes to actually show me how much more I need to practice.
Of course, practicing piano may actually be possible now that I don't have to do the route anymore. BAH.
So, I have resolved to get my piano piece done in two weeks! Rachmaninoff's prelude in D major <- will be done in 14 days. That's my goal. If anything else, I want to have 2 and a half pages known by then. I will this time. The next time I have a lesson, I will not disappoint. That was probably the worst part of my day, knowing that I totally let her down.
Anyways, I'm gonna eat a granola bar and lay on the couch now, because I'm already doing it.
Today and yesterday were nothing special. They were the background to my unique painting of life. Days like today set the stage for what the painting of my life will look like in the end.
Because life is an art. We just need to paint every day in accordance to what we want the painting to look like.
Existing is an art.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of friendship.

The Art of Persistence

The art of persistence.

This one seems to be a particularly hard one to master. At least for me.

As some of you may know, Chris and I have recruited his brother, Jon, into doing the paper route with us for the bribe of 100 bucks. While this is awesome because it reduces the ending time by about an hour or more, it also causes a slight inconsistency in my working out. When 3 people are doing the route, one person gets to drive, and only drive. This means that when I'm driving, I'm not getting any sort of physical workout at all. 

[btw, i refuse to get the freshman 15 next year. someone keep me acountable on that. thanks.]

Anyway, so when it comes to exercise, Jon doing it with us is kinda bad for me. But good overall. Thanks, Jon.

Persistency is also difficult with piano. Once I sit down and the piano, I can usually practice for a while. But I can't get myself to sit down. It's a hard thing to do. Especially with doing the paper route, and working 40 hours a week, it's incredibly easy to just make the excuse that I'm too tired or too stressed and just sit and watch TV or read or something. 

This is something that needs to be mastered by me. 

Just 3 more days of this route. FINALLY.

Life is an art. While some days are painted funny, it's what makes our lives into our individual paintings. We paint every day differently to make it ours. 

With that said, tomorrow is a new day, and a new piece of the painting.

Tomorrow, I learn the art of existing.

Yes, existing.

The Art of Appreciation

Appreciation.
I have learned appreciation, I would say, in the past days that I haven't updated. (sorry)
I definitely appreciate sleep more than I used to since I started doing the paper route. I sleep pretty much every time I get the chance.
I also definitely appreciate my friends and family.
Yesterday was probably the worst day of my life. We started off with the paper route, and it took us until 730 to get it done. (that's really late.) Then I got to sleep for 2 and 1/2 hours then go to work.
All day.
There were 4 of us servers there and we got slammed. Granted, I came home with a wad of cash in my pocket, but I was still almost in tears because all my tables pretty much sucked. A lot.
Then we found out that the car was completely dead. I had to walk to my dad's work, and get his truck to be able to drive back home (bawling).
But Chris was there for me to cry on. Amy was there to pick me and and take me to a much-needed night out at a movie. ;) My brother in law was there to make sure I had gotten a ride home. My mom was there to just comfort me. I definitely appreciate all that my friends and family do for me.
So did I learn the art of appreciation?
I would say yes.
Because, life is an art. We have to paint every day differently to put the whole picture together.
So then, tomorrow is a new day.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of persistance.

The Art of Stamina

God is a surprising character, I must say.
Since I started this blog, every time I say I want to learn the art of something, I seriously learn it.
Today might have been the craziest day of my entire life. It started off with my doing the paper route with Chris. That took way too long... but all papers were delivered and on time! That was one part of stamina learned.
After that, we went to work at 930. The company called RLI bought out Jillians from 11 to 3 so during that time, everything was insane. Everything we did was for the convenience of the guests. And let me tell ya.... other servers and managers were not bein so nice to everyone else. But that was the result of the stress of the afternoon, because after that everyone was pretty much back to normal. (unless they were a brat to begin with...then they just stayed being a brat.)
After that humongo party left, I worked a rehearsal dinner with another server there. That one went actually pretty well. The people were all in good moods because of the wedding coming up. But my feet still hurt like crap.
After that party left, in came the stress of my day. I learned that the last party I was assigned to work (which was at 10 pm, so I was tired and cranky and sore) was a shop.
[For those of you who don't know, a 'shop' is when a 'secret shopper' will come in and dine with us. Corporate has sent them to evaluate us. We get them once or twice a month.]
This month, our shopper decided to do banquets, which is what I happened to be working this particular day.
I prayed for an hour that it would go smoothly.
Guess what? God answers prayers. I didn't mess up anything, and I answered all the questions they asked me about the food and drinks and stuff like that.
So, what is the art of stamina?
It's being up since 3 am and working until 1245 and having to be on your best behavior because you're being evaluated at your last hours.
It's knowing that even when I wanted to just leave, praying will always get me through it.
The art of stamina is what I learned today. Today was crazy insane, but will be a big part of the painting that is my life. Because every part of life is an art.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of appreciation.

The Art of Determination

Determination.
I learned that today when I sat down at the piano. I started off strong, playing through the part of the piece that I already know.
Then I got to the part that I don't know. This is what determination is. I had to literally force myself to stay sitting at the piano to get through what I needed to get through today. But I did it! I feel as though I had a thorough and efficient practice time today, especially considering the craziness of my day.
I did not, however, have any time to work out. I practiced piano in the time I would have worked out, because that's a little higher on my priority list....just sayin.
BUT I ran around enough at work to make it a workout. I think my feet are going to be strong because of how much they always hurt after work. :P
Tomorrow is going to be an epic day. Good and bad.
To start things off, Chris and I start the paper route in an hour and a half. We'll probably be done by 6 am. Then I'll hit the shower and do my hair. Then head straight to work at 930.
And...then I'll get off at 1:00 AM.
Yes, you read correctly. I am working a 15 hour shift. That's how insane my life is. Bahh.
So, then, in every piece of music, there is an accidental. In every painting, there is a negative side, even if it is not painted.
Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow is my accidental.
It will be difficult, and, like accidentals, may be annoying at the time, but in the end, the whole piece of music that is my life will be brilliant.
[in other words, my paycheck is going to be bomb.]
So, here's to adding another piece of my painting that is my life!
Tomorrow, I learn the art of stamina.

The Art of Perserverance

Today was kind of awful, kind of awesome.
I stayed up until 3 am, then did a paper route for 2 hours. That was definitely my workout for the day. Hard work, doing a paper route. Especially in this bloody heat... ya.
Anyways, so that was a fun time. I haven't practiced piano yet, but I am getting to it tonight. I'm just resting for a bit after a freakin crazy day at work.
->10 hour shifts are not so much fun<-
All my running around probably got in some working out too.
So today was a good day to learn the art of perserverance. After doing the paper route, waking up for work wayy too late, then working from morning until night, it was a tiring night, but I learned to persevere through everything, and even got better with my tables by the end of the night.
So in the end, everything worked out. ['specially my tips. woot woot!]
The art of perserverance = learned, duelly noted, and added to my painting and art that is life.
BAM.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of determination.

The Art of Motivation

So yesterday I forgot to post. :P dang. oh well.
Today is a new day!
So I woke up today refreshed and ready for the day!
I didn't work out, but I went swimming at a friends house, so I got a little . (I heart sarah.)
So on tv today, I saw an advertisement for a workout made by Tony Horton. [I trust him for my workouts]. It's called the 10-minute trainer. Being as I'm talking about the art of motivation, just getting up 10 minutes earlier every day, and altering my diet a little (a lot), this seems to be way easier than doing a 45 minute workout everyday.
I practiced piano today! I'm started for the week. My motivation = I don't want to let down Heather. When I do bad at a lesson, and she [{unintentionally}] lets me know I did bad, then that's my motivation for the rest of the week. I feel awful and stupid when I do bad at a lesson, especially because piano is my major. I should be better than this.
Anyways, in about 2 hours I'm going to learn a paper route. Hopefully, along with whatever workout I do tomorrow, this is a bit of a workout.
Since life is an art in itself, I want to make the most of it, doing the most I can in life.
Ergo, I'm doing a paper route for a week [ish].
The art of motivation is something I need to remember and redo.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of perseverance.

The Art of Diligence

The art of diligence.
I have yet to learn so.
Today and yesterday weren't the best days. Because of my weekend trip to Iowa, I wasn't able to practice piano like I wanted to. But never fear, my lack of followers! I still have time to get in my 3 hours a day for a week. Hopefully tomorrow will be a new day, and a new motivation.
As for working out, I didn't get that in this morning, but I did do the p90 tonight before bed. I am seriously sick of feeling fat and..... blegh. Ya. It's just the way it is.
When I got home from Iowa, it was seriously tempting to go straight to bed, and just go to sleep because I was so exhausted from the whole day. But, I told myself that I would learn the art of diligence.
And I thought of you, fellow [lack of] bloggers reading this. I thought, if I'm going to have to go back, and keep writing in that blog, (and I would look absolutely stupid if I wrote that one post, then never again. You could assume by then I would just be a fat tard), then I would have to just push play on the dvd player tonight. I have to just keep pushing play. I have to. Or else, nothing will ever change.
Tomorrow is a new day. New motivations. New temptations. {That dreaded 3-day hump.}
I just have to choose how I paint the day, because life is an art in itself. I'm just trying to paint my life uniquely.
So then, tomorrow I continue the painting.
And tomorrow, I learn the art of motivation.

The Art of Beginning.

Today was the beginning of my journey to "a better me."
Now, I don't think I'm the only one out there who is sick and tired of feeling...well, .. fat. People can tell you that you're beautiful forever, but at the end of the day, you're going to believe how you feel.
So today, I learned the art of beginning anything. I got up today at 530, and ran around my neighborhood for half an hour. I then got home, and did a 45 minute work-out, and 150 ab crunches. But it's not just working out.
Piano, being a passion and major of mine, requires hours of practicing every day. So, when I get done writing this, I will practice my pieces. Because that's the art of beginning.
Tomorrow, it's going to be harder to get up in the morning.
[Hopefully, writing everything down will help me to stay motivated also.]
So, then tomorrow is a new day. Every day will teach me something new.
Living life itself is an art itself, and every day I must paint more of the picture to complete it.
Tomorrow, I learn the art of diligence.