Two book reviews

So this blog, although mostly a food blog (because I find food fun and exciting!) will also include bits of and about my life. Mainly music, as that is how I spend a huge amount of my time, but also hobbies including gymnastics (there hasn't yet been, but will be a ton about gymnastics, my ALL-TIME favorite sport to watch and to do--I am obsessed with gymnastics!), work outs, and reading. I want to start doing regular book reviews, as I tend to read about 4 books per month. So without further ado, I give you reviews of the two books I finished yesterday in bed. (I always have 2-4 books started at any given time, usually a combination of music, psychology, Christianity, memoirs, and some fiction. Many of the books I read combine two or three of these categories.)

First book review:


Stradivarius by Donald P. Ladev

This is a cute general fiction book about an old, precious violin that is passed through many hands in many generations. (Sort of like the premise of The Red Violin, which totally made me think of KathEats, as she just watched that movie! :) A young boy is born in rural West Virginia (close-ish to me, and I've driven through those parts of the state) and he acquires a cheap violin at first. He practices hard and is basically a prodigy, thus making exceptional progress. Eventually of course, he acquires the Stradivarius and falls in love with another musician at Julliard. It's a very predictable book, but it's still cute. :)

Second book review:


Carly Patterson: Olympic Idol by Susan Valentine

(I don't know why the picture is turned sideways. I couldn't get it to rotate! Sorry!)
I LOVE Carly Patterson (she's my all-time favorite gymnast!! You WILL be seeing more of her on this blog! :) but this was disappointing. Probably because it was quite sloppily written, with many errors in the information presented. Therefore, it was disappointing, and it was also a little too short, as it was written for kids (but I had to read it anyway. :)

Breakfast was a lovely bowl of strawberry oats plus half a grapefruit. (You've seen very similar bowls of oats in the past. But I finished the strawberries, so I'll have to do something more exciting tomorrow.


Up close:



I had a bunch of random snacks yesterday afternoon, which was good because all I had in between a 2 hour rehearsal and a 2 hour concert was about 3/4 of a PB sandwich (there was NO eating time! I didn't have any breaks because I played all 6 of the pieces).

But the concert went well yesterday. I don't think any of us played our best (we were probably tired from the too-long rehearsal!) but it went OK. Our conductor was having an off day (I like him, don't get me wrong!) but it was a little rough in some places. Regardless, we had a lot of positive feedback and the audience seemed to like it. So I'll consider it a sucessful concert. :)

The only random snacks I took pictures of were:

Bowl of broccoli and edamame:


BBQ tofu:


And this tea that was on sale:


There were several spoons of PB eaten because for some reason I always play better having consumed a large amount of (healthy) fat. I don't know why, but it works. *shrugs* Anyone know why this is? Like my fingers just seem to be more responsive. I Don't Know.

OK, the plan for today is to hit the post office, the bank and Whole Foods quickly, then go to the gym, and teach from 4-6:30, then play a church service from 6:30-8pm, then play racquetball from 9-10pm.

Have a great day!