Creating

When I get busy or preoccupied with other things I don't create. I've recently tried to start doing something creative as daily as possible. I've been writing some music--(for those of you who don't know I used to  be incredibly involved in music in high school and well before that (starting piano at age 7 and adding instruments and voice lessons since then))--and that's pretty fun. I've rediscovered that I actually have a half-way decent voice so that's exciting! And I can record my voice and piano skillz on my iPod!

But today I'd like to post something I wrote last fall. I don't know what you'd call it. Some sort of short creative non-fiction I suppose. Alyssa?? In any case, I couldn't sleep and decided to look out my window. It was 2:00am. My roommate was over at her BF's and I was cold.

OBSERVATIONS FROM MY WINDO OVERLOOKING THE IOWA RIVER

I'm not the first aspiring writer to view the space here, nor am I the best. I watch as hundreds of blackbirds (Black Beard) take wing, fly over the river, and land again at the very top branches of the barren trees, transforming their bony limbs into branches of great leaves sillouetted against the river and the buildings with their tiny lights. 

I realize I'm also not the first to sing to the birds outside my window as I sit trapped inside with myself. A damsel in distress with nothing to be distressed about. I look across the river towards the hospital. I see lights on in a few of the rooms. Not only are the occupants of those rooms trapped in their rooms, they are trapped in their bodies. They're the real ones in distress. 

I see a distant stoplight change and cars drive by. The helipad search light--I think that's what it is--flashes orange-yellow-green. And other red lights blink on and off in asynchratic and always-changing rhythms. I see a cathedral from way back when placed on top of a much newer building. A never building. I wish I knew more about this place.

Proof and Comfort Food

1. I ate at Proof today for lunch. My Dadddy took me out since it was the second-to-last day of my internship. I've eaten there a couple times before--I always get the Moroccan Chicken Flatbread and the Spinach/Apple Salad. 

It's GOT to be one of the best restaurants in Iowa. No, the Midwest. It's only open for lunch Monday-Friday and only open for dinner on Friday nights. And that dinner menu is fixed, changing each week. 

Weird? Yes. 
Awesome? Yes. 
Delicious? OMGYES!

I am not a food critic. Not even an amateur. But that place is some serious cuisine. Alyssa, you would LOVE it.


2. I love my Grandma's sugar cookies. So simple. The cookies are crisp and sweet, never frosted but always with a little extra sugar sprinkled on top. I don't know that they taste any more spectacular than other sugar cookies. Some people might think they're bland. But for me they're some sort of comfort food. (She dropped off a bag of cookies today and I had one before hopping in bed.)

I don't totally understand "comfort foods" but I think that's the closest I've got. I really like my mom's lasagna recipe... Does that count? I also like when my dad makes tuna and noodle casserole. We can only have it when both my mom (who is allergic to mushrooms and we use cream of mushroom soup to make it) and brother (who is allergic to fish) are gone. So it's kind of a treat, and something that my dad and I share. Does that make it comfort food? 

This is the first picture in Google Images under "Comfort Food"

To me that just looks like lunch on Sundays when we used to all go to church together in the morning.
Does it make it comfort food that I can associate a nice memory with it?
In any case, I like food and I like things that are comforting.

What are your comfort foods?

Iowa

I love living in Iowa.

I love my drive to and from work.

I get to see things like this:

These are images of Iowan landscape, but not of my actual drive. My camera battery is dead and I can't find my charger. I wanted to post pictures from my beautiful daily commute, but these are the next best thing!

I love driving on gravel roads and seeing cows and horses grazing Iowa's green grass, corn and soy beans growing to feed the world, deer jumping over fences and rabbits hopping alongside the road.

I love the wildflowers.
Such vibrant purples and orange. Bright yellow, red and blue.
I also love the prairie grass once covering Iowa entirely.

I love barns and farm houses, old and new.
I love the silos peaking through the tree-tops like the ancient castles in Europe.

I love Iowa's rivers and creeks, lakes and ponds.
I love being IN and ON Iowa's rivers and creeks, lakes and ponds.

I love spending days (all day long) fishing.

Especially here:

Especially with him:

This dragonfly was cool too...

Iowa is such a beautiful place if you just spend some time exploring the back roads and waters. I was glad to spend a semester back home in my darling small town full of the nicest folks (yes that is a VERY "Iowa" term) and surrounded by some of the most peaceful and serene places on Earth.

In fact the word Iowa and the word love look pretty similar, no?
love Iowa
I can see it at least.

I'm looking forward to spending a full summer at home and fully intend to go back to my secret fishing spot, wander through the creek on my grandpa's farm, and canoe. Somewhere. If I don't find my camera charger soon I'll have to buy a new one.

I'm ready to get back out there and take more pictures of the places I love.

I'm Back

Hey everyone!

As you may have gathered, I'm a pretty big fan of all things music. I have a wide range of musical interests (and love getting new music if you have anything to suggest!) but in this post I want to promote some local talent.

I think it's really important to support local musicians and help them establish a home fan base. If they don't have that how can they spread their music? I'm sure many of you know people who play in a band, or maybe you dabble a bit yourself. I have a handful of friends who are playing in bands in the area, and two bands in particular mean a lot to me.

The first is a band called Saved on Sunday, or SOS. As the name implies, they are a modern Christian rock band with a really positive message and well-written music. They released their debut album last summer, (and my name is mentioned on the inside booklet!) and they've been playing around the state and even around the world since then. All members are from the Des Moines area. I've known three of the four for several years, and the lead singer/guitar/keyboard/songwriter (Dan) is one of my very good friends. You can check them out HERE! Or add them on Facebook HERE!

This video is of their CD promotion concert for their first CD Change the World. Enjoy!

The second band you should check out is Shades. They are all from the Des Moines/Ankeny/Ames area. I'm great friends with the drummer (Gavin) and this band is really important to him. Their music is a lot harder than I usually listen to, but it's really good.

This video is from their CD Release Concert last Sunday. I went to it and it was a great concert! Unfortunately there were probably only 25 people there. Their CD is self-titled and only cost $5 to buy! The quality of this video isn't that great, but you can get an idea.





We have such a rich music scene in Iowa if you only take the time to check it out. Make it your goal this summer to go to a couple concerts by local bands you aren't familiar with. They'll really appreciate your support, and you'll enjoy hearing good music and supporting your community.

If you want information on getting copies of these CDs let me know!

Applesauce and Pretending

So I wasn't going to write this as a blog post, but I've just got to.

1. Have you ever not eaten something in a looong time and forgotten what it tastes like? Sure you have. Yeah. I had some applesauce today, and man, that stuff is GOOD! I was kind-of shocked. I mean, applesauce is such an unassuming snack. I don't think I've ever thought (or said) "Wow, you know what I could really go for right now? Some applesauce." It just doesn't  happen. But I tell you what, I'm excited to have some for breakfast tomorrow!

2. Today when I was walking to my car after work I started crossing the street and then the countdown began starting at SIX so I accidentally pretended the street would turn to lava if I didn't get the sidewalk by zero and when I made it just in time I realized my heart rate was actually a little elevated.

That was fun.
You're welcome for the run-on sentence.  
(When I typed that I started to type "fun-on" instead.)

Paying it Forward

Yesterday I was in Iowa City for a brief couple of hours. I said hello to a few friends, and missed saying hello to a few more. It was really nice to be back for a while though.

When I parked at a meter for lunch my friend and former roommate put money in it before I could even park straight and get out of the car. That was really nice! Unfortunately we could only put in one hour's worth at a time. Well we figured we wouldn't be in there more than an hour, so we decided it was fine and would watch the time. We forgot.

After a delicious lunch at MONDO'S SALOON (DElicious! Thank's Alyssa!) we realized we must have been there for over an hour. We basically ran out to my car, only to find someone had put change in for me! I had 47 minutes left! So when I saw that the meter next to me was expired with a car still sitting in it I put in 40 minutes worth of quarters myself.

People call this "pay it forward". To me, it's all part of something I like to call the Human Connection (not outloud or to other people, just to myself really, but now you know!) and it's one thing that really fascinates me.

My Backyard

We've had a swarm of deer in my backyard every winter since they replaced half the forest behind my house with a golf course. But this winter is the first time we've had turkeys. The first time I saw them I was a little freaked out because I've never seen a turkey SO CLOSE before!

THEY ARE DISGUSTING

But each deer and most of the turkeys have their own personalities. It's fun to watch them interact. Some will be really angry, some really lazy, and some really attentive. My dad took this short video of a scene at our birdfeeder from the upstairs window when he came home for lunch one day last week I think. I hope you watch the whole thing through--it really tells a story!



Hope you enjoyed that as much as I do! There is always fun like this over here. (come visit me?) The only down side is how impossible it is to play in the snow. It's very dirty with all those animals eating all day...

Home

Going home after a long day of hard work is a very exciting prospect. Getting there is a sense of relief. And today, I feel good!

I didn't have to be at work today until 1:00pm. (I'm usually there by 9:00am, and it's about a 30-45 minute drive depending on traffic and weather). But from the moment I got there until about 9:30 at night I was work-work-work-work-working. Then drove home and watched SHAUN WHITE KICK MAJOR BUTT!!

But not only do I like getting back to my house and my bed, I like Iowa in general. I really do. I like the people and the atmosphere, the landscape and (despite all this snow) having four distinct seasons. Here is a video that anyone who has lived in or drived through Iowa will greatly appreciate:



Now I don't just like living in Iowa. I love my hometown as well. Here is another video about all the awesome things we've got going on in Indianola, Iowa.



Consider me your travel agent for Indianola! I've done all of that and more here, and absolutely believe that Indianola is a great place to be.

Athletics

For Valentine's Day Carsten and I just had a nice simple day at home. Home in this case means his parents' house. We had planned on going swimming, but there was something going on so that was nixed. Instead we went home and just hung out. We watched the second half of the second Jurassic Park (we watched the previous half Friday afternoon) and ate yummy chicken noodle soup. When the movie was over we watched some WINTER OLYMPICS! My current obsession.

--Right now the two Chinese pairs took gold and silver in some of the most beautiful figure skating I've ever seen.--

Anyway, we just had a nice cozy evening being silly and watching some quality athletics. His present to me was an iPod cord for my car, and mine to him was an external hard-drive. We're super cool. :-) Basically it's just nice to spend some time together since we've been living in different towns for a year and a half. (Only about two and a half more to go I suppose).

Then Sunday was spent watching more Olympics! I can't get enough. Skiing, snowboarding, figure skating, speed skating, luge--it's all been spectacular! As soon as they start playing it, I'm watching until they stop (more or less.)

Also, I've been continuing to work on getting myself back in shape. I'm hoping to go to the gym tomorrow night, and maybe tomorrow morning if I can get up. My new bed is so comfy!

A Good Sleep After A Good Day

Today I got to sleep in. [YAY!] I also had a dream that I was pregnant, which is scary! But according to the internet that means I am "going to give birth to something new and exciting in my life." (sounds like a fortune cookie... and I did eat Chinese take-out for supper.) So that's cool. I don't know what this new and exciting something will be, but I can't wait to find out.

Anyway, at 11am I went to the Des Moines Art Center with a class. I think the last time I was there must have been in 7th or 8th grade. There are actually some really neat pieces! I was pleasantly surprised. :-) There is a sculpture of a little girl in bandages that almost made me want to cry instantly upon seeing her. There was an old painting of an old woman who looked like she was either A. On the verge of death, or B. about to come to life and complain to me. (I used to work at a nursing home so I got that a lot.) There was a Monet, a Picasso, and a Warhol. There were many beautiful paintings, and many that were just plain weird. There is also a giant mixed-media piece that I remember from when I was a little girl. It's got a lot of metal, a ladder, train tracks, ballet shoes, and lots of gray. It's by a German artist and has something to do with the Holocaust. Seeing good art makes me want to make good art.

I then got lunch with my mom and had a yummy chicken-and-cheese quesadilla, lazed around the house, picked my brother up from school (we drove around a little extra to talk and listen to music), and then Carsten came home and we watched part of a movie while I had a Diet Pepsi (LOVE) and he ate Doritos. After dinner my family went to an opera at the local college, which has a great opera program. The Mikado was the first opera I ever saw, and that's what we saw tonight. They did a superb job! All students, but you wouldn't know it. 

Now I'm sitting in my brand new bed. We found out it was made less than a month ago. I got it last week. It's SO comfortable! Then tomorrow I'm doing yoga, swimming, and celebrating Valentine's Day. Should be some good posts coming up!

 

goodnight moon

Pretending

Today at work I got up to go do something (I don't remember what.. oops.) and I happened to look out the window. What I saw confused me and excited me at the same time. A big, black, SUV of some sort pulled up and parked across the street, and two guys got out. One had two bags of nice flowers, and the other had a professional-grade camera. Camera Man took pictures of Flower Man as he got them out of the back seat, as he closed the door, as he rushed towards the building, and as he went through the revolving doors. They were both smiling really big, at least I think they were, and they were moving really quickly.

The way I see it, Flower Man was about to propose to his girlfriend, who works at the great big GIANT insurance company across the street. Camera Man is a professional photographer that Flower Man hired to document this special day. Flower Man bursts into the great big lobby and makes his way up to the 5th floor and down the long hallway to the room where his girlfriend works. Camera Man goes in first to scout out the area. Then, when all is clear, he signals for Flower Man to sneak in. You see, Girlfriend works in the cubicle in the far end of the room, and there's no way she'd see him come in unless he was being really obvious. So he sneaks in, sneaks over near her cubicle. Camera Man takes some more pictures of Flower Man sneaking in, and then, Flower Man is at Girlfriend's cubicle, and the proposal plays out in the sweetest way all of us can imagine. She says yes, the hug, they kiss, they cry, and the whole office cheers.

I don't know what really happened, but I really hope it was a proposal. I'm excited for their life together!

Friendly Strangers and Familiar Faces

1. Friendly Strangers
I have this fascination with people who are genuinely friendly to strangers. When people tell me to have a nice day and really seem to mean it, I actually get super happy for the next few minutes at least. I'm really trying to be more so, but sometimes people just strike me as particularly nice.

For example, last week we got a brand new [used] copier in our building. Before we had to walk SEVEN (7) BLOCKS (MORE LIKE 12 IF WE TOOK THE SKYWALK, WHICH WE DO ON COLD DAYS LIKE THESE) just to make copies. In  non-profit arts management there is a lot to copy. Programs, invitations, thank-yous, marketing pieces, music, you name it. So it's understandable that getting a copier in our building is pretty exciting! (We finally set it up to start working today and that was awesome). 

I was the only one there, as my boss was in Florida with his family. Lucky! I at least knew where the copier was going and everything. But there I was in my heels in the snow watching this one guy try to unload this big copier. Of course I wanted to help, but felt like I was doing a very poor job. But it was no matter. We got it moved in and he was super friendly, just chatting about things and making jokes, all while being very efficient. It's just nice to see a delivery guy who isn't grumpy. I don't know why I think most are...

Then today I was leaving work and [there is a Starbuck's in my building] decided to buy a bottle of water before I left since I was going to the gym right after [which I didn't end up doing]. I must have looked hurried or stressed or something. I don't know. The Starbuck's guy smiled at me and seemed really nice (was he hitting on me? Sometimes I just figure everyone knows I have a boyfriend.) and was asking me about how my day was and stuff. I told him it was pretty busy since my boss had been on vacation until today.

I just realized he may have given me a discount on my water (1. That sounds sooo elitist, and 2. Ok maybe he was hitting on me... I'll have to see what that water normally costs). As I left he told me he hopes my week gets less hectic and I said thanks have a good one. It made me smile.

I can procede with this in one of two ways. Either

A. Avoid Starbuck's when he works because I really don't like when guys ask me out. It just makes things awkward. Or

B. Use this to get more discounts. Opinions? Carsten?


2. An Unexpected Familiar Face
Today a new student joined one of the Youth Orchestras. I thought I recognized him, and I thought I recognized his name, and I knew where I recognized it from. But what were the odds?? When I asked for his e-mail address and stuff to send his parents info (he's only in middle school) I had to ask if he attended the Junior Scholars Academy last summer. And he got really excited "Yeah! I thought I recognized you!" It was cool.

We have the BEST kids at these camps!

Since I don't have any pictures of my own I'll leave you with a cool picture of outer space because I feel like it and totally loved it when I was in Kindergarten-2nd grade.

 

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." -Howard Thurman

Music Monday

One of my favorite bands (if not my absolute favorite) is Cloud Cult. They have brilliant lyrics, beautiful and haunting melodies, strange noises, and every song is full of heart-wrenching emotion. I think everyone should own their CD entitled: The Meaning of 8. That album literally changed my life and kept me going through some really tough times. The songs on this album speak to me about life, death, faith, perseverance, people, patience, reflection, sorrow, and most of all LOVE. Some songs on this album easily bring me to tears, while others leave me feeling overjoyed.

Here is just one of the amazing songs on this album:

This Weekend

1. BEING NEGATIVE-FREE
 I spent Friday night with Carsten (my boyfriend) and took this picture of the coffee mugs in his room:

I'm excited to be negative-free! Are you? Also, the IMAGINE mug is one I got for him :-)

2. LIVE MUSIC
I'm working at the Des Moines Symphony Academy this semester, and one of the perks is getting to go to free shows. Of course this also requires weekend work, but it's been pretty fun so far. This weekend I got to see Ariel Alexander, a jazz saxophonist and really cool person, play a show with local kids and professionals. It was wonderful and made me miss playing jazz, and remember why I love it so much. I tried to get some pictures from the show, but it was pretty dark so I couldn't get anything to come out. Here's the best I could do:

But it was really cool. I always love live music of [almost] any kind, but jazz has such a different feeling than so many other kinds of music. Their set list was not in fact set at all. They just played songs. Jazz standards are the same all over so Ariel can come from California, rehears with some guys from Iowa for a couple hours, and then play an outstanding show. If you ever have a chance to go to a real jazz concert I would say GO. Watch how the musicians watch each other, listen to how they listen to each other. It's a great experience for a music lover.

3. THE HUMAN CONNECTION
Last summer I worked as a camp counselor/resident advisor for a summer camp for gifted students. One of the camps was the China Scholars Program, or CSP. This program hosts several students from China for two weeks, and during that time they take classes, have social time, and interact with American students. This takes place during the summer before their senior year. Of the 20 or so kids who come, a handful are selected (based tests they take) to attend The University of Iowa for their freshman year of college.

I actually was not a couselor for this camp, as there was another camp going on at the same time. But I did get to talk with some of them and get to know a few. The girl I talked to the most (such a sweet person!) was Gloria (they all got to pick English names). I got this e-mail from her this morning:

Subject: I am so happy that I fianlly have your e-mail!

Hi Hannah,

I am really very happy that I finally have your e-mail!  I am Gloria, a member of CSP last summer. Do you remember? I try to contact you long ago. But I forgot to ask your e-mail when I was in America and I also forgot your family name. (I only know Hannah! Sorry!) So it is really hard for me to get your e-mail address. But luckly yesterday I found a papper and your name was on it. So I ask Jon to tell me your e-mail! He is really a nice guy!

       OK, actually I want to tell you a good news that I will study in University of Iowa this September! So I can meet you then and I also want to be your friend! And I can still remember that you said you loved my shoes and I promised you to bring a pair from China. So could you tell me your size? Thank you!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Love from Gloria

SO MUCH CUTE!!!!!! 

This absolutely made my day. It's this kind of thing that makes me LOVE this summer job. I don't even know what to say besides this is so precious and happy!

Grease

While getting dressed this morning "The One That I Want" came on the radio. Bathrobe + towel on my head + 8:30am + "I got chiiiiiiiillls--they're multiplying" = megafun.

Fitting and New Things

1. For the past month or so I have been trying not to over-eat. It's pretty tough because I love food, especially carbs and cookies. But by utilizing a handy itouch app I have happily lost about five pounds. Today I am proud to fit into a shirt that I haven't really fit into for a while!

Here it is:

 

And a close up:

 

This makes me happy! :-) I'm still working on getting back in shape, but it's always nice to see progress.

2. I'm living at home this semester so I can do an internship. I'm working on a lot of event planning and marketing/promotion. I help coordinate concerts and recitals and rehearsals of youth symphonies as well as professional musicians. I absolutely love it! I have a beautiful office all to myself and awesome coworkers who operate under that attitude that I know what I'm doing, but are happy to help me when I don't.

Living at home presents fewer challenges than I would have expected. Mostly I miss my friends at school a TON. But the biggest problem has been my bed. I moved my bedroom to the basement instead of upstairs, and I've been sleeping on a 25-year-old queen bed. 

BUT NO MORE!

My daddy loves me and spoils me, and bought me a wonderful, comfortable, new queen-sized bed tonight. I love it and can't wait to get it home. I'll post about it once I sleep in it overnight. I'm really excited!

3. On the way home from the GINORMOUS furniture store we stopped at Target. Well, my dad parked and I ran in and bought things. (I got paid on Monday! Yay!) Here is what I got:

New flats. I really like heels, but my feet don't after a while. 

 

Also, I got some plain-colored long-sleeve shirts. Unfortunately the green one and the orange one have to be returned. All three shirts are mediums, but those two are too tight. Oh well, the blue one is softer anyway. I'll get two more in that style.

 

4. Finally, my car reached this AWESOME number of miles the other day as I pulled into work:

 

This made my day. :-) And yes, my car has seen a lot of pavement.

Now it's bed time! Goodnight!

New Beginnings

"We healed the devil with a couple dozen cookies,

We found the answer in the last place we were looking,

And in the end all we want is the beginning."  

-Cloud Cult "A Place"

I'm starting a new blog!

One that I feel represents me [or the person I think I am] a little better. My last blog was very negative, but now I'm at a better, happier place in my mind and body and soul. At least, I am working towards that place where each breath brings a satisfied smile and all the rottens and sours in my path turns to SPRING flowers like in the Prius commercial. In a word, peace.


It's a themed blog this time, where the theme is simply things that make me smile--Things that make me reflect and appreciate and treasure and giggle and wonder and love. The working title for now is just "Things I Like" until the right title hits me.

I like new beginnings because they give me a chance to take a deep breath, close my eyes, and make the changes I need to make.

My goal is to make happy a verb.

Take care. :-)