Local HQ Progressive Dinner + Friends

 Local HQ Young Singles under 40 Progressive Dinner with some local families in town!

Such a good time!  T'was just a private get together among friends!  Jason Cocomise pulled it all together.  My group started off at Philip and Adar Nice's home.  They have a lovely home and are such a wonderful and serving couple!  How this progressive dinner worked is that the married host homes would provide the soup and salad course, and the main entree course.  The single men were assigned to bring the wine, and the single ladies provided the appetizers and desserts.  I was assigned to bring the appetizer to the Nice's.  I love Pinterest!  Yeah for it!  I made chocolate dipped mandarins sprinkled with course sea salt, and stuffed bacon wrapped jalapeño peppers!  They came out well.  If you want the recipe, I'll put it at the end of this post.  Here are a few pics from what we experienced at the Nice's home.  Thanks to them for having us over in their home, and thanks to Stephanie Szabo for being their helper too!

MOVING ON....

The next course was the soup or salad course.  Our group had the opportunity to have this portion of our meal in Charles and Tasha Wittsell's home.  They chose to serve us a swanky salad shown below served with a nice glass of red wine.

VIDEO

A sneak peek of what we experienced with the salad course in the Wittsell's home.  We were treated like royalty with just the salad course!  Charles and Tasha are an amazing and super vibrant couple!  Thanks to them for hosting us!  Enjoy the below video if you wish!

MOVING ON.......

The next course was the main entree dinner course.  Our group had the opportunity to have this portion of our meal at Jason and Brooke Cocomise's home.  They are such a fun and lovely couple!  T'was soooo happy to have the main course with them.  Thanks to them for opening up their home and having us over and also to Callie Cocomise for being their helper!

 VIDEO

Here's a sneak peek of what we experienced during the main course in the Cocomise's home.  Of course, it was Italian!  ....oh and soooo good.  Pasta with Brooke's special stuffed meatballs!   Enjoy the video below if you wish!

MOVING ON....

The next course was the dessert course.  Our group had the opportunity to have this portion of our meal in Steve and Tarah Hercus' home.  They are such a friendly and super talented couple!  It was sooo nice to kick back and relax with this course in their home. Thanks to them for opening up their home to us!

VIDEO

Here's a sneak peek of what we experienced during the dessert course in the Hercus' home.  Enjoy the below video if you wish!

 This is like the ultimate dream kitchen in my book at least!  Stainless steel everywhere, and pot and skillets hung from the ceiling like a master chefs kitchen.

 ....and the Mr.'s man cave is classically rocking with instruments

 ...and kneeling chair....you sit on your knees in it instead of how you would normally sit.

...and their bed is hung from the ceiling.   It doesn't touch the floor.  They did this themselves.

 ....Wow, I have to say that Steve is the ultimate handy man husband.  Who would think to have a hanging bed from the ceiling that they did themselves. Impressed!

We finished off the dessert course with a little glass of white wine and that was it!  My groups dinner from start to finish went from 4:30pm-9:45pm.  Wow!  What a night well spent with friends, married and single!  What a great extended family fun time this was!  I hope we can do it again sometime in the future!  

HQ SINGLES BRUNCH!

That same Sunday morning, we had a local HQ singles brunch.  It was a chicken and waffles motivational brunch for the HQ singles, but since I knew the Progressive Dinner was later that night, I kept my diet at brunch and didn't have any gluten, and just had the below plate of fruit.  Yummy enough!  Here are a few pics from that brunch.  I had a crazy super hectic busy day yesterday with prior commitments that kept me restrained to time, so I couldn't stay for it all, but stayed as long as I could.

 ...had a lovely table.  I sat with Ben Young, Andrew Miiller, Paulette Corey, Katherine Harmon, and Sarah Stewart.  All masculine and feminine lovelies!  :-)

 Going back to last week....a fun evening and dinner with Jessie and Ariel Hester.  Wow!  It's hard for me to believe....  I use to have them over when they were AC students, and now they are married and having me over!  Life!

VIDEO

Lactose free coconut ice cream for Ariel and I, and Jessie got the whole carton of regular ice cream to himself.  :-)

BELOW:  Deepika Azariah and I tried out the new health food restaurant in town called "The Real Cafe" where everything is organic and grass fed meats, etc.  I absolutely like it!  We both tried the stir fry...mine shown below.  The food is healthy and delicious too!  The food was great, but I have to say having a friend like Dee made it even better.  This gal classically rocks!  Anyone is blessed who has her as a friend.  Thanks to Tarah H. for tweeting about The Real Cafe when she went...that's what gave us the know and incentive to go!  The lovely Sherry B. and I went out to Coolgreens one evening last week too, but unfortunately, I somehow didn't take any photos.  ;-(  Too bad for the records, but I wanted to say something so Sherry knows how much I think she classically rocks....sweet gal!  :-)  Good times with friends!  Friends are such a blessing, and to be able to get together often with them is an even bigger one.  We're all going to try to take advantage of that even more this year than ever!

With 80 degree F weather in February this past weekend, the niece and I took advantage of it and took a walk after services.  So fun!  My niece is such a joy!

 She didn't want to leave when I told her it was time to go back inside.  Look at the face!  :-)

......still keeping up with piano last week.  My piano teacher had me to review key signatures with the circle of fifths.  Surprisingly, I remembered some of it from way back in like 1987 when I learned it as a little muchkin!  Moving forward now!!!!!......No social good times this week...all in balance....but the week after next.  Just kidding!  We'll see what happens.....so much work and overcoming to be done!  Life is exciting!

RECIPES to Appetizers that I made for Local Progressive Dinner if you want....

Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers!

(got these recipes from Pinterest....can't claim these recipes as my own.)

INGREDIENTS

12 jalapeno peppers

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

2 cloves minced fresh garlic

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

12 pieces of turkey bacon's

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Cut peppers in half as shown and take out all the seeds.  Throw seeds away.  Melt cheeses together, and then mix in all other ingredients evenly in with cheese.  Fill each pepper with the mixture.  Cut turkey bacon slices in half.  Wrap a half a slice of turkey bacon around each filled pepper and secure with a tooth pick.  Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes, and voila....yummy stuffed jalapeno peppers!

CHOCOLATE DIPPED MANDARIN'S

INGREDIENTS

8 seedless mandarin's (halo's/tangerine's work best)

8 oz semi sweet chocolate

course sea salt (note this is not the regular table salt...it's super course)

DIRECTIONS

Peel mandarin's.  Melt Chocolate in a double burner sauce pan, so chocolate won't burn.  Dip half a mandarin in the melted chocolate, put on plate, and sprinkle course sea salt over the mandarin half with the chocolate.  Let cool to harden.  Repeat process until done.

Family Night - Sister in Law and Niece Fun

  While my brother was at graduate club, my sister in law and niece came over and we had a family ladies night.  So fun.  Perks to having family next door.  We ate dinner, watched a movie, talked, played the piano (Aunt Carolyn really was trying to sneak in some practice time LOL), danced, played a quick game of pool,  and more.
ABOVE:  I really like this pic of Sonia and Sophia looking at each other....shows the love of a mother and daughter....so beautiful!
BELOW:  Sophia decided that she would make a booster seat out of one of the sofa pillows all on her own.

BELOW:  Aunt and Niece love  :-)

My niece may not have the privilege of being raised in Texas, but she has family who was, so she's somehow picked up on rodeo riding; only she pretended like she got bucked off a tiger instead of a horse or bull. ;-)

BELOW:  Aunt Carolyn really likes shooting video of me.  It's pretty funny.

BELOW:  It makes for a super happy niece when the Aunt lets them jump on one of her guest room beds.  After all, Aunt's are suppose to be fun!  ;-)  Here is a visual of what pure, innocent 2 year old joy looks like!  Oh, and I have seen pictures of the Statue of Liberty recently, so decided to pose like it at the end of my jumping.  Weird, yeah, but I'm 2 and very random.  :-)

This is what happens after you jump on your Aunt's guest room bed for awhile....you get tired and have to rest for a bit.

....getting really sleepy!

Once Sophia recovered from her "exercise" by her little cat nap, she decided to "get a little studying in with Malachi's Message."  ;-)  Really like these pics!

Sophia looking at the author.  She did this all on her own....got off the bed, chose this book out of 5 others on the shelf, and returned to the bed to "look at it."

BELOW:  Seeing my Aunt film me made me nervous, so I was "all done"  and put my pool stick down, and got off my bean bag chair.  I did get the first shot that I took in the hole first try, but of course Aunt Carolyn missed filming that.

BELOW:  Dinner!  Aunt Carolyn had cabbage, ginger garlic chicken, yams, brown rice, and ginger garlic bread.  She made an extra plate for Daddy for when he got home.  That way Mommy didn't have to cook and could enjoy a night off and Daddy would feel included.

....Orange Izze + a half lemon cut and squeezed in + fresh tangerine + 2 shots of vodka equals a yummy and easy mixed drink for the Mommy and Aunt.  :-)

BELOW:  Apple pie with caramel drizzled on top, topped off with healthy vanilla coconut ice cream.  When you're lactose intolerant, and your sister in law is too, it makes it simple..... coconut ice cream.  It doesn't taste quite like "the real thing" but it's close enough.

Until next play date sometime in the future.........

PIANO update! :-)

Piano lessons are underway.  My life has become God and his Work first of course, and then piano as the new time consuming addition.  Intense!  I became ill with the flu for about a full week, nasty flu bug, so that hindered practice, but last Sunday, I crammed in a weeks worth of practice to be "fit" for class yesterday afternoon.  My bosses are wonderful at HQ; they are letting me off work an hour early the days of piano lessons, so that I can make it in time to the studio for lessons.  When you walk in, there are voice lessons you hear going on to your left, other instrumental lessons to the right, and you walk down a long hall and find my piano lesson room.  It's really neat to walk into all of that.  Gets you in the mood.  I am realizing more and more how God opened this door for me and so many around here are encouraging me to stick with it.  It's all about serving him in the future....trying to use whatever time I have with my life style to be as productive as possible for God.

So, my first assignment was to learn and memorize a 15 page, yeah, song entitled, "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen."  It's by composer Edvard Grieg from Norway.  He composed it for he and his wife's 25th wedding anniversary.  Apparently, they had a big anniversary party and he played this for his wife.  Lovely!  At first, I was like, are you serious......memorize this monster long song!...but I have a really great teacher who knows how to push me, and it's not that bad at all once I got going.  She knows what I'm capable of, and I have to trust her.  I have the song very roughly technically learned and memorized, but she said I play like a soldier and need to speed it up.....she said I play very technical without feeling; I've heard that before from previous teachers, so it must be very true.  ;-)  Anyway, in lessons yesterday she would hold my arm and elbow while I played pushing it at certain points to make it move with feeling.  Talk about a distraction while playing.  Not only is your teacher right there, she's pushing you.  LOL  Who knew piano lessons can be so physical...arm workout!  LOL!  Sounds lame, but that is so hard for me, so the goal is to put my body into my playing.  My teacher wants animation to bring my piano emotion out.  Above is a short clip of me playing the beginning of the Wedding Day at Troldhaugen...apparently very militaristic. 

Also, she told met o memorize I think it is a 6 page song....Chopin's Opus 64 No 2.  I was excited to get this song.  I have always wanted to play it, but just never did.  I blanked out at the end of the video above though.  My mind was sapped of piano energy by then and my memory failed me, and that was the end of that for the day.  LOL  Real life practice....just aim the camera and get whatever take I get without redo's....Funny stuff!

...and last and actually least with my piano, my teacher, every week assigns me a chill out song to just sight read to end every practice that is way below my level.  The chill out songs are super easy.....I mean super easy.....I don't have to practice them as I can just sight read them as I play, so that means no memorization on those either, so I like her making me do this.  At first I thought it would be lame to play such lower level songs, but I can see how it's kind of piano yoga at the end of an intense workout, it makes you feel peace....and I think she's using it to gradually build up my speed at sight reading pieces at my own level.  She said doing this chill out song exercise with a different song every week will increase the speed of sight reading subconsciously.  ...so above is me playing the super duper easy song entitled "The Nut gatherers" inspired by the famous painting.  Okay, so far, she seems like a great teacher...best one by far I've ever had.......to be continued! 

BELOW:  is a pro playing the song I'm working on "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen"  This is not the composer Grieg, he's not living anymore; but another great player playing it.

Wow, do I have a long ways to go!  Beautiful quick song!

...and below the Chopin Opus 64 No 2 piece played by a pro

...and the famous painting "The Nut gatherer" that inspired my chill out piece of the week.

BELOW:   Photo of the real Troldhaugen home in Norway outside and inside how it looks today.   Composer Grieg and his wife have been long dead, but his famous anniversary song made his house named Troldhaugen a tourist attraction to this day and the source of a song that is taking up my evenings this week in hard piano work.  A reason to go visit Norway.  :-)

My Life the Past Few Days.....

Having the flu is like being bit by a big dog who won't let go of it's grip no matter how hard you try to free yourself; and when the dog finally lets you go only after mistaking you for an elephant when it hears you blow your nose; you don't have the energy or strength to run away from it full speed, so it follows you around until it finally goes away fully. -- Carolyn A. Coats

Sapphire! - a few of my favorite things. :-)

The Precious Sapphire!

My personal favorite stone because of it being described of what God's throne appears.  I love the color.  It makes for a peaceful atmosphere.

Catching up :-)

 I am still alive for those wondering.  It's just little ole me, so I doubt the Earth stopped rotating.  LOL!  It's just been hectic and I'm trying to make sure I'm focusing on what I need to be more than ever.  Still a lot of overcoming to do.  I also had cheated a bit with my strict all natural diet in staying busy, and paid the price a few weeks back w/my health, so I have been trying to get back great health especially with piano lessons starting up, so took a time out to catch up.  Here are a few pics and vids of things I've been up to if you want to see.

My niece Sophia really likes Skye.....never mind the almost decade age gap....who wouldn't though....she's a great gal.  :-)  Maybe three or four weeks back we took these pics.  Sophia really likes Christy M.'s homemade lip balm as well.  Who wouldn't though.  It's all natural made from real beeswax from bees that they raise.  She "harasses" me for some every time she sees me, literally every time.  One time, she had emptied one of my tubes in putting it on over and over.  #greasy lips!

Usually, I try to only show pics of "sustenance" but in this case...red shoes on purple carpet are a few of my royal favorite things!  Ummm...judging by this pic though, this time of year, I need to add lotion to that mix though.  Just saying...LOL! 

Below:  Paulette helped Joshua and Sherry with the singles progressive dinner, and they needed drivers, so I accepted the draft and have to say, it was a lot of fun and a fun way to serve in driving, catching up with old friends, and enjoying the dinner!  I had the opportunity to go to Dwight and Becky F'.s for the appetizer course.  Becky and I use to be roomies way back in another life it seems, not really, but you know what I mean.  :-)  She's always been great in the culinary arts dept!

 The appetizer

For main course I had the opportunity to go to the Locher's home.  The food was soooo good!  They took the time to smoke the meat, I think.  Wow!  Fun group there

The Main Course Entree

The Rouzer's for the dessert course!

Mrs. Rouzer is known for her lovely dessert.  She has won our summer picnic baking contest every year I think.  I had a great house for dessert, oh and for fellowship too!

switching gears! - PIANO!!!

I am sooo excited, and most people know that I was accepted into a piano program here locally in my metro area.  I am sure it was a miracle because I am soooo rusty that there is no way I'm sure I would have made it otherwise.  Last fall when I applied, at first I got a no response from the studio, but then a few days went by, and then the head teacher of the studio emailed back and said she liked me and that I was accepted in and that she would teach me personally.  There are several teachers with their masters there, but she only accepts certain advanced students, and I am NOT that good, so a definite miracle.  Wow!  It is one of those things where you have to put down $100 just for the application fee...and if you don't get accepted in, your $100 application fee is gone and no refundable.  If you are accepted, then, you have many hundreds of dollars to pay afterwards for the lessons, so this is serious business.  My goal is to get good enough to serve God and His Work if that is what God wants.  There seems to always be piano player shortages; especially FOT time.  If I progress well enough, I will be able to perform in my own recital....not a recital where you play one or two songs, but a recital more like a concert where I play many pieces from memory with just myself playing.  That sounds scary, and I KNOW it won't happen this semester unless a huge miracle happens, but I'm hoping for Spring 2018, though the way the world is going these days, who knows what I'll be doing then, but at least I have that goal.  It is going to take A LOT of hard work and time.

BELOW is a very for fun only practice session of me playing around with the song Humoresque by Antonin Dvorak.  My piano needs a big tuning.  It sounds more like a harpsichord right now. LOL. I had seriously thought about getting a harpsichord for fun last Spring but ended up having to get a Jeep instead so for the next week, I have a out of tune piano that mimics one at least.  LOL. Have to get my piano tuned here quickly for practice purposes though my lessons will be at the studio.  Piano lessons start up next week.  Been practicing hard to start off strong.  This was just a fun run through....not a great performance, but a laid back no shoes type of practice...and pretty simple song too.  I hit a really bad note in the middle of the song and laughed at how it took me about 3 or 4 seconds to register how bad it was before moving on.  It was like I went into 3 or 4 second shock.  LOL!  Looking forward to improving with the lessons starting.  I will post piano vids on my youtube channel as my lessons progress.  Here I go!

If you're wondering what a harpsichord actually sounds like, this link will tell.  :-)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TobXjDXF0s

BELOW:  My Uncle James swung into town maybe three months back to bring my Aunt Mary's luggage to my home.  My Aunt stayed in my house during the FOT since she attended the FOT here at the HQ site.  My uncle brought his wife with him as well.  I don't see him often at all since we live different life styles, he's not religious at all and never has been, but every few years he'll pop up to say hi or something.  We had a little piano fun before he hit the road and left.  Below is him playing while I sang making up words to a famous song singing about how if you don't know the words, just make them up.  :-)  Words of wisdom for singers....NOT!!!  :-)

...and then he just R and B - ed it playing by himself for a while.  He's more of a R and B artist and I'm definitely training to be more of a classical one.  Totally different styles!  Piano fun!