A dozen for the new year list
1. I have a wicked bad hormonal headache. I hope starting out in grouchy pain doesn’t cast a pall on the rest of my year!
2. My mom and my aunt are coming over for honeycake later. But we don’t have the car so no shofar for us. (Brett got a new-to-us car in what we’ve deemed a signing bonus. There are many advantages to going to work for a friend! But he doesn’t have the tags for it yet so we’re still acting as a 1-car family.)
3. Pennie is coming over tomorrow to see Madison’s very loose tooth! Yes, Madison is only four. We’re shocked, too.
4. Speaking of Madison and Pennie … the other day Madison and I were in the grocery store where there was a truly scary rubber animatronic witch with lit up eyes. (At the Westerville Kroger’s for you locals.) Noah would have had to leave the store IMMEDIATELY if he saw that at four but Madison was fascinated. I asked her if she thought it was scary and she said, “No, funny.” Then she wanted to touch it. Pennie is a huge fan of horror movies like Saw and The Hills Have Eyes (I can’t even look at those posters!) and also thinks they’re funny. Who knew horror appreciation was genetic?
5. I let the kids decorate for Halloween even though I usually make ‘em wait ’til October 1st but my head is killing me and I wanted some coffee and I wanted to drink it in peace. They did a bang up job of it, too.
6. I’m trying to dig out of the morass of undone housework due to Brett being home for that year. See, we thought he’d be a better housekeeper than I am but it turns out that he’s a surface cleaner. He doesn’t know that you also have to periodically clean from the inside out so I’m upending drawers, digging through closets and clearing off the top of the refrigerator.
7. I also went through the kids’ winter clothes and we will need to hit the thrift stores hard for both of them. I haven’t had Noah try his winter coat on yet but I think Madison is covered there thanks to Abby.
8. I’m caught up on work, which is a nice feeling. The article that was giving me fits source-wise went to bed and I really enjoyed writing it. I realize I’m most happiest when I can mix marketing communications with consumer stuff. Now if I can just figure out when to fit in creative nonfiction…
9. I’ve kept up with my exercise routine for over a month now. I’m definitely getting stronger and have lost a very little — and I mean LITTLE — weight. It’s going to be a long road to my fit by forty goals but it’d be an even longer road if I waited ’til fifty so I’m sucking it up. I love to exercise although you wouldn’t believe it just by looking at me. I also love to eat, which wouldn’t surprise you one bit.
10. To establish an exercise routine I can stick to I need: ease (no elaborate rituals, no weird schedules, no reliance on other people), privacy (no classes, no companions, no nosy trainers) and a decent soundtrack. One thing that surprised me about my mom’s trainer is that it feels like I’m moving in a smaller range than with the other but I think it must also be more focused because I’m really feeling changes in my back, especially my neck and shoulders. I get very sore but I’m also hurting a lot less from my whiplash (once I get past the lactic acid days) so the soreness is worth it. I haven’t really had a bad neck day since I started. Plus my mood? Not as psychotic.
11. I work out in the mornings while channel 34.1 (PBS) is showing kids’ shows. Madison watches ‘em while I sweat and Noah usually sleeps in. If he’s up, he’s doing his school work. A good time is had by all. (And today a better time than was intended because a quick glance at my browser’s history shows that Noah was on Neopets instead of Study Island. Busted!)
12. I want to think about buying a used piano for the kids’ big xmas present. I know Madison would like it and Noah might, too. But I don’t know anything about used piano buying. Anyone have advice to share?
Are you going “real” piano or considering the digital options?
Shirky, we checked out digital pianos a year or two ago and liked them (because of the headphones!) but they’re way too rich for our blood at this time in our financial life.
I’d say, whether you’re buying a digital or a “real” piano - and the digital ones sound better and have advantages, by the way - try it out first. If one showroom doesn’t allow the kids to try it out, go to the next one.
A friend of mine bought an electric - digital? - piano recently. I think she got it off Craig’s list? Anyway, we were just talking about this on the phone less than 2 weeks ago and she offered to share all the research and info she dug up on them with me so I can ask her to do so so I can send it on to you. I think she got it for a decent price.
Also don’t forget with the price of a used piano will likely come the price of tuning, and possibly the price of moving the sucker. You don’t have a lot of steps, but it’s still an added cost.
We found today at Party City that horror appreciation is genetic– my husband is a big horror fan, and Sophie was enthralled by all the enormous tarantulas and disembodied limbs, while Lucy was definitely spooked!
L’Shanah Tovah to you and your family, Dawn. Hope it’s a sweet one.
The best advice I’ve heard (but not yet used) is to befriend a piano tuner. They like to find homes for the pianos they’ve been tuning, but the family no longer needs, and they can check out a piano you might come across. (Like a mechanic and a used car.) Our piano teacher friend thinks it’s important to learn on a ‘real’ piano. Not sure why.
Thanks LisaCarol and nice to meet you!
We got a used piano in good condition for free off of Craig’s List. People give away pianos all the time–you just need to move it which can be a hassle. You might also post on freecycle every so often that you’re looking for a piano.