September 3 - Earliest Memory

September 3rd prompt: What's your earliest memory?

I've been debating all day as what to write for this. My first memory isn't very happy, it's of my parents yelling at each other at the duplex we had just moved to. I was about 2.5-3 years old. Sorry guys, definitely not the most uplifting post, but it's the truth. The other ones I have after that aren't much better. :]

#Blogeverydayinsept

Sept 1 - Hello

I cannot believe it is already September!! I'm going to try and join my friend Sar with Blogging Everyday in September (#blogeverydayinSept). According to Sar, I don't have to blog on weekends (thank goodness). I will definitely be following the prompts as I find that unless something happens, I don't have anything to blog about. A shout-out to Whitney for organizing this!
Today, the prompt is to reintroduce myself--to old and new readers alike.

I believe that the best way to chronicle your life is through words and photos. Lots and lots of photos. I take a lot of photos of my favorite girl in the whole world, Sicily:

"Are you really taking another picture of me?"

"Mom, stop! I'm reading!"

She is adorable when she cuddles :)

My favorite human is my fiancé, A. He's not a blogger so I won't put his picture up but dang, he's handsome! We are getting married this December, and, nerd that I am, I wanted to choose a wedding note that I'd remember, so...

December 13, 2014 (12-13-14)

This way, when I'm old, I'll know how to do the math to figure out how many years we've been married :)

I am a professional musician I have been playing flute for over twenty years. Take a look at my website! http://www.flutingmiller.com/

I love taking photos of my food. Yep, I do it a lot and I'm not ashamed of it

I love playing card and board games.

I am originally from Seattle but moved to Santa Barbara for my grad studies. I am Greek and I love Greek food. A couple years ago we moved to Los Angeles. One of the things I like best about living here is the restaurants!

Ok, honest moment: I love all food and ice cream. I don't eat it much anymore but if you're going to do it, it has to be Ben and Jerry's!

I love names. I like knowing the roots, why people choose or don't choose them. I also love handwriting and have particular ways I write certain letters. When I was in 6th grade, I decided that I didn't like lower case R's and I haven't written them since (unless it was chem class or trig where the lower case r is imperative). Which way do you write your A's?

This is the best way I've had my name spelled since I was a kid:

I celebrate Sicily's birthday every year, even if it's something small like singing her Happy Birthday. 

About Me

Anyone remember those old quizzes that we used to post on MySpace and LiveJournal? (BTW: I apparently still have my LJ account and even logged in. I only know one person that is still updating theirs. Is anyone else?

I thought it would be fun to do something like that on here, because, why the heck not?? Let's link up!

*Which TV show could you watch over and over and not get tired of?

1. Big Bang Theory!! (definitely my favorite show of all time)
2. Project Runway (some seasons more than others)

Which TV show is your guilty pleasure?

• Teen Mom, depressing at times but definitely a reality check for any of those young girls who think "if we have a baby, it will fix things!"

What is the best video you've seen online lately?

Definitely the video below, which is funny because a day or two after I shared it on my Facebook timeline, People magazine posted it on their website. I love seeing strong women who are proud of their accomplishments. And dang, this girl's self-control is incredible!!! Plus, I always wanted to be a gymnast. *Enjoy*

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/07/16/kacy_catanzaro_kills_it_the_former_gymnast_is_the_first_woman_to_complete.html

If you were going to write a book, which genre would you write in?

Probably non-fiction

If you could meet one actor/actress, who would it be and why?

Ellen Degeneres! I love her sense of humor and she seems so witty. I would love to see what she is like in 'real-life.'

If you could learn one skill, what would it be and why?

Language! I want to minimally be bilingual. I am working really hard on a few languages but I know that I need more immersion, more practice. I am working on Spanish, French, Greek, and Italian.

What's one of the scariest things you've ever done?

Move to California for grad school, knowing that I would be moving away from everything familiar and not know anyone.

Describe a major goal in life you have yet to reach:

This is hard to admit for the world to read but it is definitely hard for me that I haven't won an orchestral job. I love playing orchestral music and I miss playing regularly with ensembles.

Headlines

I've been thinking about this for a while so it's interesting that the Huffington Post is now getting on the bandwagon.

I'm interested in pop culture, not religiously, but I find it interesting. However, seriously, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West? Ugh. Kim became "famous" for a sex tapewith Ray J (ugh again) and no comment at all about her 'snake dress' below? I'm convinced that her publicist and mother are so well connected. That's the only explanation for the "positive" publicity she constantly receives.

Out of all the people to keep "up"on, I hate that the Kardashians receive so much media attention. And little research is done into Kanye's numerous altercations and arguments/ comments/ etc.

And this:

Seriously? They feel the need to announce when someone is single?

Books

My personal goal over the last 6 months or so has been to READ the books I've already purchased and 'haven't gotten around to reading.' I hate that despite the number of times I've moved, there are books that have journeyed with me, only to sit on the same bookshelf and remain unopened. I've made some great progress so far and am adding books to my Amazon wish list. That being said, has anyone read any of the following books? Thoughts? Reviews?

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud











The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)












Pivot Point by Kasie West (Young Adult)

Life Lately

Wow... it's crazy how time flies... somehow it's basically the middle of March and each time I go to blog, I realize I want to start with "what a crazy few weeks it's been!" What have I been up to?! Does anyone else have those moments, where you can't help but stop and think, "wait... it's the middle of "x" month already? When did that happen?"

I ADMIT....
I really like watching Storage Wars... though you know they only show the best lockers because the odds of getting these amazing finds every single time... yeah, no. I could live without the drama between people and the banter, but I like seeing what random crap is found. I cannot relate though, I can't imagine having a storage locker, not having enough money to pay for it, leaving my stuff in there, and not seeing that stuff again. I guess I'd hope that if I had a storage unit, it would only be to hold items that were really important. I know when I was moving between places, I had one temporarily. Is that the key, 'temporarily?"

Anyone else ever wonder if people watching this show have that 'aha' moment: "That's my stuff!!" In general, I really do like the show though I have to say, as a professional musician, I cannot stand it when they find an instrument and give it it's first "general price." Good grief, it just shows complete ignorance sometimes. You are not going to get $600 for a beginning 3/4 violin when the bridge is broken, it needs to be re-stringed, and there is a crack in the body.

And did you see this!? Wahoo for BBT!!

'The Big Bang Theory' renewed for three more years!!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/03/13/cbs-renewal-of-the-big-bang-theory-to-continue-growing-advertising-income/

and

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/03/12/the-big-bang-theory-renewed-for-three-more-years/

Brain Dump

Too many things.... floating around in my head.... It's been a tough few weeks. Lots going on, working a lot, and sometimes, you just need to vent.

What's Been Going On/ Things I've Seen

• It's awkward enough when you walk in a bathroom stall someone forgot to lock. It's even more awkward when you're watching it happen to someone else.
• I saw the most inefficient tow-truck driver I've ever seen. He was on I-5 driving 50 mph and there were sparks coming from the bottom of his vehicle. When I got closer to the tow-truck, I realized that the third truck being towed was not positioned or secured properly and was dragging along the pavement. Holy bananas, people, holy bananas. First thought: oh my goodness, is this really happening? Second thought: I'm so glad that's not my car! Third thought: how are they going to explain that to the owners? Now, maybe it's a car to be junked and it won't matter in the long run. We can hope. However, none of the cars looked in that bad of shape and at the end of the day, you can't get very car when one of the cars you're towing is scraping pavement causing sparks.  Even worse, the guy kept driving, didn't even slow down.
• Think of the person you who most frustrates you by being negative.... got it? Ok, good. I hate it when someone asks how you are doing, or how your day was, and when you start describing it they have an instant response of "oh, well you should be happy you have a job." Seriously? I KNOW that! I was laid off in 2012 and I KNOW what it feels like not knowing how you're going to pay bills, when are you going to get a job, health insurance could lapse, this is not a good economy to be finding a new job, it could take months/ years, what am I going to do??? It's ok to acknowledge that not every day is perfect, in fact, I think it's healthier to do so. I don't dwell on the negative, it's ok to notice it's there. 

On a completely different note. I'm finally using my instagram account: FlutieSteph