Jazz in the Park

Bentonville is now sponsoring an Orchards Park Summer Concert Series that mimics the Gulley Park Concert in the Park Series in Fayetteville. Luckily, they contacted the FJC (Fayetteville Jazz Collective) to play last night, which meant lots of fun girl time for me with Jayme, Megan and Pam! (Cute picnic basket/cooler/quilt included)
Full House (another group hubs plays in) will be playing on August 27th!

(apologies for the terrible photo quality and power lines!)

My close friend Jayme is moving to Denver this week (I'm driving out with her on Wednesday and flying back Sunday), so it was quite the treat to spend time with her working music camp the last two weeks, and @ the FJC last night.

(isn't she pretty!)

Speaking of UA Music Camp Counselor-ing... what a blast! The counselor/staff crew that works the camp are incredible and so much fun to work with. Staying in the Pomfret dorms and eating in the Pomfreteria is pretty terrible- not gonna lie; however, hanging with tons of rad musicians/teachers/people is so worth the small price of cold showers and starvation (or NOT eating the terrible, awful, nasty food).

I did not take any band camp pictures (gasp) but tons of my friends did, so I'll hijack their photos as soon as they post them!

Anyhoodle, that's about it! 

Tonight, the FJC will be playing on the main stage at the Walton Arts Center with Tom Tirrato to play a Frank Sinatra Tribute... I'm not gonna lie- it's going to reallllllly rock.

If you're bored, throw on your little black dress and come out for a night of dancing and fun!

Wachaa!

This is going to be a hodgepodge of a post, so hold on!

This week has been pretty crazy. I've been running a lot, and improved my pace yesterday by three minutes! The pace was 1.3miles/17 minutes. Not great by any means, but slowly getting better.

I don't know what it was about yesterday, but I felt great! When I got on the scale this morning and my eyes almost popped out of my head. I lost two more pounds?! That makes my loss this week 4 pounds so far. I haven't had a loss like that since my first week of Weight Watchers. :) I think it was a culmination of a few things. First- it is my "time" of the month (I'm sure you needed to know that), and I am pretty sure I retain water the week prior.. actually I'm really sure. I think that's why I didn't have a loss last week.

 Second, I had wine last night... for the first time in a very long time... after exercising... and eating a light dinner... and that didn't sit well on my stomach. I'll stop there.

 And last, I ran a lot more this week than I normally do!

 I didn't go over my daily points this week once- even with the wine yesterday, so I'm proud that I haven't had to use my weekly flex points this week! This week was also focused on eating more vegetables and drinking more water--I even ate only veggies a coupla' days last week.

Cheesy- but I had Chase snap a photo just so I could see if i liked my outfit and to see on camera what my progress looks like... and to make sure I didn't look like a total chub.

and here's my attempt to get a shot prior to asking hubs...  hehe

So after this, we went to Fayetteville for the FJC at Scarpino's. While Chase played, Stephanie and I relaxed and enjoyed! I love this girl.

 

To make this post even more random, here's a picture from the conference last weekend! This is Dr. Artie Almeida. I <3 her. 

She was such a fantastic teacher. Her lessons were fast paced, activity packed, and involved total physical response to the extreme! Her directions were precise and wow.. she just rocks. Now I am looking even more forward to finding an elementary job and having my own classroom to try some of these ideas! Especially Mallet Madness! What a great teaching tool.

That about wraps up all the randomness!

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Btw... we're waiting for the rain to stop so we can go camping! *crosses fingers* that it will stop soon. Normally rainy days are appreciated- but we really want to get out of town and relax!

Fabulously Exhausing Day:

Today was fabulous... and exhausting. The title definitely says it all.

2nd grade's programs is going to be great- after lots of hard work on the student's part and our part! Have I mentioned that I love teaching? Just checking...

I had my first official interview today and it was FUN! No matter what the outcome, I am just so blessed to have been able to go through this process. It has been so pleasant and joyful for me. I have great friends... and I think this was God's way of showing me how many amazing people he has placed in my life.

Feeling like a grown up is fun!

Directly (and I mean like.... directly) after my interview, we left to see the Jazz at Lincoln Center and Wynton Marsalis perform at the WAC. (drools) It was basically fantastic- although the bass player definitely was a fav of mine for the night.

They played a composition written by one of the members of the orchestra. It was basically a salute/ode to different artists from the MOMA. I really enjoyed "Pollock" and "Picasso." I'm pretty sure you all know Picasso... but Jackson Pollock is a little less widely known. I didn't even know who he was until my sophomore year of college. Boy had I been missing out. I learned a lot my sophomore year of college.. oye.

Anyhoodle. It is far far passed my bedtime, and tomorrow will be full of fun school stuff, and then Praxis studying with Pam and Jayme. So for now- toodles!

Sunshiney Day:

What a b-e-a-utiful day! But first.. let me rewind.

The FJC played spectacularly Friday evening. My favorite new tune of the night was Ellington's "Concerto for Cootie," mainly because my extremely sexy and talented husband played the trumpet solo. It was kinda great. A close second was Maynard's "Birdland." It was a little rough around the edges, but I am really looking forward to hearing it again in the future!

Here are a few quick snap shots of the evening. It was stellar dark, and my main goal was to listen, so my shots are pretty lame.

Hubs in the mix. 

Drew grooving. 

Stef and Eve(not pictured) are my Scarpino's gals.

Last night was Chris's birthday, and we went over to his and Stephanie's (not same as pictured above) house to celebrate. It basically turned into one huge Wii Rock Band party, but it was a blast. Such great people. 

Stephanie is a great host!

Hubs and I actually got to pose together for a picture!

And now we are back to today... which was absolutely wonderful. I have missed the sun! We got to sleep in this morning since we stayed out at Chris and Steph's house until midnight. After that, we did a few small things around the house, rode bikes up to Central JH and then got cleaned up. Chase had a meeting for the APO and I made the weekly Sunday trip to Wal-Mart. 

Have I mentioned that I absolutely love, love, love E-mealz? They make my life so much easier. I currently use the Points Plan. It has helped me reach the 10lb goal! Oh yes... 10 lbs! Since I have joined WW I have lost a total of 10 lbs. The best part is that we have totally changed our lifestyle in a way that will be beneficial to us for the rest of our lives.

*****ALSO! Pampered Chef party at my house on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 6:30pm (est). If you love Pampered Chef, then I definitely hope you will come! There will be fantastic food (of course) and great fellowship. If you would like to come, but aren't able to attend, you can order online at:

http://www.pamperedchef.biz/jennicox

Just click "Shop Online" and then type in "Kalyn Cavalier" for your host! I really hope some of you can make it! I am looking forward to seeing y'all. *****

We can all use a little sunshine in our lives.

Jazz Collective:

So, the hubs and a few of his buddies started a Big Band almost a year ago called The Fayetteville Jazz Collective and they are playing tonight at Scarpino's on Dickson Street. It's kinda fabulous, and I really love the atmosphere. If you're itching to swing dance, or just want to sit back and enjoy some sultry tunes, you should come out to Scarpino's tonight at 8:00pm.

Here's an article from last October from FayettevilleArts.org:

"Local musicians Chase Cavalier, Ben Harris, Nathan Mcleod and Michael Olefsky recently established the unique, 17 member big band with a dedication to performing challenging music at a very high level, as well as to provide an outlet for local composers to showcase their work. The band currently performs pieces by local composers Lindell Black, Dr. James Greeson and Rick Salonen, filling out their sets with a widening variety of standards by Sammy Nestico, Thad Jones, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Chick Corea, and Gordon Goodwin.


The Fayetteville Jazz Collective consists of 17 talented and experienced local musicians. The performers are Nathan Mcleod, Art Fogartie, Jonathan Howland, Sarah Manasreh and Rick Salonen on saxophone, Michael Olefsky, Steve Carruthers, Gerald Sloan, and Matt Shipes on trombone, Chase Cavalier, Michael Howland, Rob Kain and Shane Harris on trumpet, Ben Harris on guitar, Drew Packard on bass, Claudia Burson on piano and Darren Novotny on drum set"

It'll be fab, so come and join us!