It Is Well With My Soul

 I wanted to start my morning off with a hymn that I find very comforting.  I've known this hymn my entire life.  It takes me to a place of contentment and hope, what better way to start my day.  That is all.

Daily Challenge Update

 This is where that ideal of not being so hard on myself comes into play LOL  My latest challenge was daily exercise and admittedly, I have fallen flat with that one.  It is one of those things that in my head sounds great but somehow I have not managed it yet.  Part of it is the time change.  On top of being tired after a long day at work, it's also dark when I get home so walking is out.  Our neighborhood, sadly, is no longer safe after dark so I have no plans of walking in that atmosphere.  Of course, we do have exercise equipment at home I can use...I just haven't yet LOL  I hope to change all of that in the upcoming week.  Maybe even today.  We shall see!

Having my daily water is going fairly well still and I'm still dressing nicely every day for work.  I can still tell it has impacted my daily routine and existence with these two factors in play.  Adding the exercise in will only enhance that.  I am not going to create another daily challenge for myself until I honestly start working this last one into my normal routine.  Wish me luck!

That is all

Being the accompanist

 One of the things about playing the piano that I miss the most is accompanying friends of mine when they're singing.  Back in my first round of college days, I would spend hours in the practice rooms with friends and help them learn songs.  Sometimes I would help fellow actors prepare songs for auditions.  But  mostly it was just having fun.  My friend Marcia and I would literally spend hours in there going over music.  And once I got a piano in my apartment, many nights were filled with music.  I truly did enjoy it.

I was never one to enjoy playing solo in front of people, whether at home or in a recital setting.  There was so much pressure...at least pressure I'd put on myself.  But I was great support when there was someone else in the spotlight.  I did accompaniment on at least 3 different shows and had absolutely no issue as far as nerves go...even when I did hit the occasional wrong note.  I also learned how to take music from a condensed score and modify it for my abilities so that it not only supported the singer, but made me sound pretty good as well.

There is a great connection between a singer and an accompanist.  You have to be able to guide each other through the journey of a song.  Sometimes, one party will get lost or off track and the other must be able to bring them back, often without anyone else realizing what is going on.  There is just something simply beautiful about the relationship between piano and singing.  To connect and make music together with someone...I do miss that.

That is all.

Recipe of the Day - Cranberry Orange Chicken

 This is a fairly easy recipe that I found in one of my (many) church cookbooks.  I made it for the first time last night and enjoyed it.  I would tweak it a little as far as the cooking time goes.  When I'm making a recipe for the first time, I tend to follow it to the letter.  I will only adjust it once I've done it the original way LOL  Anyway, the sauce is really good and could probably be used with other meats.  Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Chicken

*4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can whole cranberry sauce

2 cans mandarin oranges, drained

1 envelope onion soup mix

8 oz French dressing

Preheat oven to 350. Place the chicken breasts in a pyrex or casserole dish. Combine the other four ingredients and pour over chicken.  Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour**.  Serve over rice.

*you can totally use bone in chicken, with or without the skin, for this

**I would decrease the cooking time to probably around 45 minutes, maybe even less if the chicken is cooked up to proper temp.

Jesus Loves Me - Piano

 I wanted to start out my week with something that reminded me of and honored Grandmother.  As I start to get myself back into the ritual of participating in church, I cannot help but think of her.  Every Sunday, we sat in the fifth pew on the right.  This song was played at her service years ago and it was so perfect for a person who taught kindergarten for 40 years.  I hope that this week my life will truly reflect hers.  That is all.

Quote of the Day

 

So true!  Music is the one thing that is consistent in my day.  There is always music...on the radio, in my head, on the record player.  It enhances my joy and depletes my sadness.  A powerful force in my life and I am thankful for it.

A Prayer of Thanks

 

As we are in the season of Thanksgiving, I am very thankful for all that the Lord has blessed me in my life, especially over the past year.  Now, some may find it hard to be thankful for that with all of the bad things going on and I totally understand that.  I find myself thankful to God for the small things and the specific things.  I am thankful that I had a job to sustain me during all of this.  I am thankful I had a home to come to at the end of the day.  I am thankful that Michael and Squirt are in that home with me.  I am thankful for the family that I have and the friends that are family.  I thank God, for myself anyway, for helping me focus on what I find important and learning how to better take care of myself.  I am very grateful for that, Lord.  The spirit of Thanksgiving that you invoke in us is something I will do my best to carry with me each day of the year, not only in November.  That is all.