working out for Disney

[Songbird76]

It's hard to believe we're in the last week of September. I go in tomorrow to get my sutures removed. I can't even feel that they're there, which is a good thing. Still, I'm just tired of caring for them. Today will hopefully be the last time I have to bandage them for protection before going out in public. I'm getting up early each morning to ensure the girls get out on time, so on Wednesday, I'm going to try and add back in early morning biking. I just need to come up with something good to watch so I can stay entertained for a while, but nothing too involved either.

Other than that, I'm just trying to balance things with the girls. I chaperoned region choir auditions over the weekend and after 2 years of this, I officially hate how Texas handles these things. I know processes vary by state, but their methods are horrible for the kids. I'll try and avoid writing a novel, but it was like choir prison with improper warmup timing/allowances, uncomfortable waiting conditions, zero tolerance for practicing, zero tolerance for leaving the room outside of minimal bathroom breaks (not counting the bus ride and 6:45am warmup at our school--- we were there for 9.5 hours!), questionable judging practices, and a concerning approach to audition materials.

I guess at least that is over and done with and I can focus on our trip to OK for our OU tour and the Ringo Starr concert along with all of Sam's travel for softball. I may actually get a little Disney time for one of Sam's next month. She's playing in the Orlando area right before Halloween. Originally, I had booked All Star Sports, but I got a better lodging deal closer to the fields (even after factoring in Disney Visa rewards and room discounts. I guess at least I won't be fighting I4 each morning. We still have a dinner planned at 'Ohana on our last night, which should afford us a view of the Halloween party fireworks, but we'll see how we feel. We have a 6am flight the next morning so she can get to school and I can get to work. So, we may skip it. She'll be playing in Clearwater a couple of weeks after that, but David is taking her. The following week, we'll be heading to Birmingham, AL. Collegiate camps are also a possibility, but all of that is still up in the air.

What do you mean by zero tolerance for practicing? The kids weren't allowed to practice their audition material? And how big is the region? When I was in school, we didn't have auditions for the districts. Each school was allowed to bring 10% of their members, chosen by the teacher and not counting anyone who had previously made All-State choir. So, since I made All-State my freshman year, I was a freebee after that for Districts. I automatically got to go to districts and the teacher could take me plus 10% of our choir. My freshman year, 10% was one student, and as a freshman, I didn't have seniority, so she chose someone else, but then that girl ditched All-State auditions and didn't show up to sing the national anthem at homecoming when she was supposed to, and I had to do it myself(we were supposed to do a duet), so the teacher took her off of the District list and was sending me instead. But then I got strep throat and lost my voice and I had only had like a week or two to learn the music, so I ended up not being able to go that year. But it was completely up to the teacher. All-State and All-Northwest were audition choirs, but they were done on cassette tape and sent in...no live auditions. How does it work in Texas??

 

[HouCuseChickie]

What do you mean by zero tolerance for practicing? The kids weren't allowed to practice their audition material? And how big is the region? When I was in school, we didn't have auditions for the districts. Each school was allowed to bring 10% of their members, chosen by the teacher and not counting anyone who had previously made All-State choir. So, since I made All-State my freshman year, I was a freebee after that for Districts. I automatically got to go to districts and the teacher could take me plus 10% of our choir. My freshman year, 10% was one student, and as a freshman, I didn't have seniority, so she chose someone else, but then that girl ditched All-State auditions and didn't show up to sing the national anthem at homecoming when she was supposed to, and I had to do it myself(we were supposed to do a duet), so the teacher took her off of the District list and was sending me instead. But then I got strep throat and lost my voice and I had only had like a week or two to learn the music, so I ended up not being able to go that year. But it was completely up to the teacher. All-State and All-Northwest were audition choirs, but they were done on cassette tape and sent in...no live auditions. How does it work in Texas??

Yeah, once they showed up at the audition site, there was absolutely no practicing allowed whatsoever. For kids who went later in the day, that meant sitting there waiting 8-9.5 hours without any final practice. The only time they could even sing was in the warmup room, which in Kendall's case, was 2.5 hours before she went in for her audition. For what it's worth, this is our region. https://align.tmea.org/Align_2224/tmeamapregion.php?region=33 It's made up of 30 high schools. I heard nothing about percentages or specific numbers. I just know that K's choir director required every single varsity singer to try out for region, which was enough to fill a full-size school bus. In NJ, I just remember the choir director hand picking who got to try out, which never seemed to be more than 10 kids. If I recall correctly, there was a limit (number of students), but a teacher involved in the choir that year (director, assistant, etc.) could send a few more kids to auditions...which never seemed fair. It never hurt me, but it wasn't fair. Texas region and All-State is a series of in-person auditions. They are linked, so you have to make region in TX to qualify to audition for All-State, which seems to have several rounds of auditions. In NJ, I could try out for All-State even if I didn't do region. I believe NJ had two rounds for All-State auditions, but the first round was a more basic weed out. I have no idea how they do All-Southwest, but when I made All-East, it was based on my audition scores for NJ All-State. All in all, I just think there are ways that TX could do this that is more kind to the kids and more logical for identifying the best talent.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Workout check-in:

I delayed biking for a few days. The steristrips created some discomfort in the incision area, so I just waited for them to fall off. I was good by Saturday and started my biking. I biked 9.15 miles on Saturday and followed it with a 20 minute kettlebell workout. It wasn't much, but I also walked around the neighborhood a bit with Sam on Saturday going door to door for a fundraiser. On Sunday, I biked 9.38 miles. I spent 2 hours earlier in the day working on the Halloween display, which involved lifting of heavy bins, squatting, etc. so that was the other part of my workout for the day. I haven't decided what I'll do today, but it'll be something. I'd really like to get out for a walk, but I just don't feel like it's safe. There are so many dead trees from the extreme drought conditions, but healthier looking trees are also coming down or dropping large limbs as well.

I went out last night to check on my Halloween display in the dark and I found this limb right where I'd been earlier setting up the display. You can even see the tethering stakes for some of the inflatables. So, I'm pretty happy this didn't land on my head.



About a week earlier, the neighbor diagonally across the street from us had a huge oak come down. His yard remained really well watered over the summer. So, we're guessing this tree was a victim of the heavy rain we had for 3 days on end. One of those days, we received over 5.5". Altogether, it was over 9" of rain in a short span. The hole in the ground (where the roots used to be) was filled with water so I guess the ground was too saturated for the roots to keep their grip. Thankfully nobody was hurt. Still, there are limbs and trees coming down everywhere and I don't want to be underneath any of them when it happens.





It's crazy because these are some of the healthier ones. There are brown trees all over that are coming down regularly.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Yeah, once they showed up at the audition site, there was absolutely no practicing allowed whatsoever. For kids who went later in the day, that meant sitting there waiting 8-9.5 hours without any final practice. The only time they could even sing was in the warmup room, which in Kendall's case, was 2.5 hours before she went in for her audition. For what it's worth, this is our region. https://align.tmea.org/Align_2224/tmeamapregion.php?region=33 It's made up of 30 high schools. I heard nothing about percentages or specific numbers. I just know that K's choir director required every single varsity singer to try out for region, which was enough to fill a full-size school bus. In NJ, I just remember the choir director hand picking who got to try out, which never seemed to be more than 10 kids. If I recall correctly, there was a limit (number of students), but a teacher involved in the choir that year (director, assistant, etc.) could send a few more kids to auditions...which never seemed fair. It never hurt me, but it wasn't fair. Texas region and All-State is a series of in-person auditions. They are linked, so you have to make region in TX to qualify to audition for All-State, which seems to have several rounds of auditions. In NJ, I could try out for All-State even if I didn't do region. I believe NJ had two rounds for All-State auditions, but the first round was a more basic weed out. I have no idea how they do All-Southwest, but when I made All-East, it was based on my audition scores for NJ All-State. All in all, I just think there are ways that TX could do this that is more kind to the kids and more logical for identifying the best talent.

That is the weirdest thing. I did All County in middle school for two years, and they just gave you an audition time and told you to show up. There weren't any specific per school numbers for the kids; it was if you wanted to audition, you were welcome to audition. Which led to a school with a magnet music program having a disproportionate amount of students in all county compared to other schools, but anyway.

I was the crazy kid who had been in chorus for a month and decided "Hey, this sounds cool, lemme audition". I made it both years and was second chair soprano my second year. Never did All-State; my parents said Orchestra and choir and all county was enough.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

That is the weirdest thing. I did All County in middle school for two years, and they just gave you an audition time and told you to show up. There weren't any specific per school numbers for the kids; it was if you wanted to audition, you were welcome to audition. Which led to a school with a magnet music program having a disproportionate amount of students in all county compared to other schools, but anyway.

I was the crazy kid who had been in chorus for a month and decided "Hey, this sounds cool, lemme audition". I made it both years and was second chair soprano my second year. Never did All-State; my parents said Orchestra and choir and all county was enough.

While we had limits on kids and directors mainly decided who went, your audition experience is sort of how NJ was with high school Region and All-State. I distinctly remember my first region audition. I had a 9am audition, we had to check in between 7:15-8:15am, and I was allowed to go to the warm-up room (which went over audition specific materials) until audition time. That's awesome that it was something you could just up and decide you wanted to do.

If you made second chair in the soprano section, I'd say you were very good and could have gone pretty far if your parents had let you. Although, orchestra and choir would be tough. We had kids who were in choir and band, but with the time and practice demands, they pretty much had to choose which would be their greater talent to pursue. I know we had an Alto II that tried for 3 years to make region and all state on clarinet with no success. She ended up focusing on choir and got the trifecta going into her senior year by making region, all state, and all east chorus.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Another workout check-in...

I don't love these late-night workouts, but right now, it seems to be the only time I'm able to carve away time to get it done. It hasn't been hurting my sleep (yet), so I'm good for now. I biked 9.27 miles and then worked with my 8lb dumbbells for about 15 minutes. I tried to stretch a bit, but all I wanted to do was shower and go to bed.

I'm kind of hoping to change it up tonight. Sam has practice and the park this team/organization uses has a nice walking trail. It doesn't have any of the tree issues like we have at home and the sun will be low enough in the sky that it won't be a real scorcher. Unfortunately, I think they're going to get rained out. So, it's probably the bike again for me. If that side of town gets rained out, but we're good up here, I've thought about heading up to the middle school's new track. No tree issues and it's a brand new everything. We'll see. I'm really looking forward to this weekend. We're supposed to have a few days with lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s. We've got softball and we're going to be at a park with no trails, but I may just walk the parking lot and field areas just to soak in the nice weather.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

While we had limits on kids and directors mainly decided who went, your audition experience is sort of how NJ was with high school Region and All-State. I distinctly remember my first region audition. I had a 9am audition, we had to check in between 7:15-8:15am, and I was allowed to go to the warm-up room (which went over audition specific materials) until audition time. That's awesome that it was something you could just up and decide you wanted to do.

If you made second chair in the soprano section, I'd say you were very good and could have gone pretty far if your parents had let you. Although, orchestra and choir would be tough. We had kids who were in choir and band, but with the time and practice demands, they pretty much had to choose which would be their greater talent to pursue. I know we had an Alto II that tried for 3 years to make region and all state on clarinet with no success. She ended up focusing on choir and got the trifecta going into her senior year by making region, all state, and all east chorus.

Yeah, I was pretty good. I had to do orchestra and chorus, though, because with my asthma, I couldn't take art (fumes bothered me). So I was in the non-audition after school orchestra, the chamber orchestra, and the after school chorus, and then I did all county. My parents were like, "Okay, enough." And then in high school, I took orchestra for one year, decided I'd had enough, and dropped it all. Well, until senior year, then I went back to chorus, but I was too busy with classes and journalism at that point to do all county/state. Then I did chorus in college and by then I was doing solos, and I sang the alma mater at graduation. Unfortunately, having my thyroid out detailed me in my 20s; I basically had to reteach myself how to sing and I lost a few notes on the upper part of my range and the lower part of my range. My range used to be three octaves. It's not anymore, which sucks.

But yeah, I remember auditions going very similarly to that. I think it was we got a time and we had to show up an hour before, we did the audition, and then we had a sight singing portion and the prepared piece, and then we left.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yeah, I was pretty good. I had to do orchestra and chorus, though, because with my asthma, I couldn't take art (fumes bothered me). So I was in the non-audition after school orchestra, the chamber orchestra, and the after school chorus, and then I did all county. My parents were like, "Okay, enough." And then in high school, I took orchestra for one year, decided I'd had enough, and dropped it all. Well, until senior year, then I went back to chorus, but I was too busy with classes and journalism at that point to do all county/state. Then I did chorus in college and by then I was doing solos, and I sang the alma mater at graduation. Unfortunately, having my thyroid out detailed me in my 20s; I basically had to reteach myself how to sing and I lost a few notes on the upper part of my range and the lower part of my range. My range used to be three octaves. It's not anymore, which sucks.

But yeah, I remember auditions going very similarly to that. I think it was we got a time and we had to show up an hour before, we did the audition, and then we had a sight singing portion and the prepared piece, and then we left.

It really is a ton of time. It was my key focal point because I knew it would equate to scholarship money, but there's no way I could devote myself to anything else of great significance with my level of choral involvement in and out of school. That's sad that you lost some of your range from your thyroid removal. I still have the bulk of my range, but when I get sick and the top goes out, I always feel like a part of me is missing.

The people here think I'm a whiner for complaining about it, but I don't know how any of them could watch our state's current process and think it's good. Why is it so hard to just give people a time to audition a little bit of time before to warm up and be done with it?

 

[StarWarsGirl]

That's sad that you lost some of your range from your thyroid removal.

Yeah, I lost a few notes off the bottom and a few off the top. I mean, I should be grateful because a lot of people have permanent vocal chord damage from that surgery, not to mention massive scars. I didn't have the vocal chord damage and you can't even see my scar. They told me I wouldn't be able to talk after the surgery. I was talking about two hours after surgery, demanding food. For about the first year, I was extremely limited because of the swelling, and then after I can't even really explain it, but it feels different. I probably could get the upper notes back with some work, but I used to be able to hit a low C, and that's not coming back, sadly.

Why is it so hard to just give people a time to audition a little bit of time before to warm up and be done with it?

It's not that hard; making people wait for 8+ hours for a 15 minute audition is in fact stupid.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yeah, I lost a few notes off the bottom and a few off the top. I mean, I should be grateful because a lot of people have permanent vocal chord damage from that surgery, not to mention massive scars. I didn't have the vocal chord damage and you can't even see my scar. They told me I wouldn't be able to talk after the surgery. I was talking about two hours after surgery, demanding food. For about the first year, I was extremely limited because of the swelling, and then after I can't even really explain it, but it feels different. I probably could get the upper notes back with some work, but I used to be able to hit a low C, and that's not coming back, sadly.



It's not that hard; making people wait for 8+ hours for a 15 minute audition is in fact stupid.

Well, then that's awesome that you were able to retain so much. Just the mere fact that they said you wouldn't be able to talk and you can still sing is downright incredible. I'm sure some of the range loss is due to surgery, but some just happens as you age. At my peak, I had a little over 4 octaves, but as I age, I continue to lose a little on the ends.

Agreed!

 

[Sans Souci]

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a pleasant day. We just did the usual catering from Seasons 52. I also made an extra side, some cacio e pepe clover rolls and a sweet potato pie.

I have been working out with heavier weights and now I am scaling back. I am too hungry, too often; so now I am taking a break. I'm just doing bodyweight stuff for now.

My lingering covid symptoms are gone. I am not oversleeping and waking up exhausted anymore and my taste/smell is back. These things totally improved after I got my booster.

Callie is back in her house most days. She comes in to eat, but we have to leave the door open. She comes in through a sliding glass door. They make cat doors for sliding doors, they look like long, narrow windows with a lockable flap on the bottom. You put them in between the door and the frame and "close" the door to keep it in place. I am just trying to figure out how secure it is. We let her come into eat last winter and our heating bills were

I know it's Black Friday, but nothing is catching my eye this year. I have everything I need. I'd rather put that money towards a nice meal in a restaurant or a vacation.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning-

Checking in with a bodyweight workout. It was about an hour. While I was working out, I noticed this orange-tainted fluid coming out of my nose when I was doing stuff like down dogs and kicking up into handstands. I had sinus pain behind my right cheek bone and into my upper teeth Thursday and yesterday with post-nasal drip, it's that time of year when I start getting pain. I looked up 'orange fluid coming out of nose' and it all points to a cerebral spinal fluid leak, which sounds scary. After I eat breakfast, I am going to call my doctor and see what he thinks.

Then Callie seems ill. She barely ate yesterday and she was sleeping most of the day. She came out for a bit and she went onto the roof. She looked like she has lost a little weight to me. She usually jumps up on the deck railing and jumps from there onto the roof. She struggled to jump onto the deck railing. She made it onto the roof without a problem, though. I was watching her and she was on the roof for 5 min and she went back into her house. She didn't come out to eat. Last night, I opened the patio door and she didn't bother coming out. I peeked in and she just opened her eyes, she didn't even lift her head. Her eyes looked glassy. She did leave last night for a bit, so I went out and changed her bedding. She was in her house this morning and she is still there. I looked in on her and she usually will come out because she knows I will feed her. I hope she is ok. :'(

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Good morning-

Checking in with a bodyweight workout. It was about an hour. While I was working out, I noticed this orange-tainted fluid coming out of my nose when I was doing stuff like down dogs and kicking up into handstands. I had sinus pain behind my right cheek bone and into my upper teeth Thursday and yesterday with post-nasal drip, it's that time of year when I start getting pain. I looked up 'orange fluid coming out of nose' and it all points to a cerebral spinal fluid leak, which sounds scary. After I eat breakfast, I am going to call my doctor and see what he thinks.

Then Callie seems ill. She barely ate yesterday and she was sleeping most of the day. She came out for a bit and she went onto the roof. She looked like she has lost a little weight to me. She usually jumps up on the deck railing and jumps from there onto the roof. She struggled to jump onto the deck railing. She made it onto the roof without a problem, though. I was watching her and she was on the roof for 5 min and she went back into her house. She didn't come out to eat. Last night, I opened the patio door and she didn't bother coming out. I peeked in and she just opened her eyes, she didn't even lift her head. Her eyes looked glassy. She did leave last night for a bit, so I went out and changed her bedding. She was in her house this morning and she is still there. I looked in on her and she usually will come out because she knows I will feed her. I hope she is ok. :'(

I hope you are both ok. The fluid from your nose sounds a bit scary.

 

[Figgy1]

I hope you are both ok. The fluid from your nose sounds a bit scary.

X2

 

[Sans Souci]

I hope you are both ok. The fluid from your nose sounds a bit scary.

Thank you.

I think we both are. I couldn't get a hold of my doctor, so I made a Telehealth appointment. I was going to cancel it because I thought I just had a sinus infection after more googling around. I decided to keep it, because I thought she could prescribe me something for it. I had my appointment with a NP and I told her about my pain, my nasal discharge and my concerns about a CSF leak. She started googling it and asking me questions. Then she told me it was rare and she didn't think I had it, but to go to urgent health. She then said, they are limited and that they might send me to the ER. I asked her for antibiotics and she said she doesn't prescribe antibiotics for only 2 days of sinus pain. OK, then. I never went the urgent care or the ER. I was going to go if I felt off or developed any other symptoms such as dizziness or headache. Plus, I read if you bend over, such as to tie your shoes and the stuff comes out, it's likely a sign of a leak. I replicated the moves I did during my workout and I bent over to tie my shoes--nothing. I think I have a run of the mill sinus infection that I have been treating with Advil and decongestants--neither of which I think it great to use for the long term.

Callie came back this AM. She was waiting for me at the patio door at 5:30. Her appetite was back in full force and then some. She left Saturday and she was moving so slowly. I honestly thought she was going somewhere private to die. We'd been putting out all sorts of tasty things for her to eat and she was uninterested. She loves to eat and never turns down a meal. I don't know if she had a cold or a fright or what. The same morning she was acting weird, I heard a skunk making high pitched noises on the side of my house. I don't know if the skunk was screeching at her, because she likes to run around in the same area. Maybe she was spooked by that? All three of us looked for scratches on her the best we could. I was able to pet her this morning and I was feeling around the best I could for any type of wound. I think when she was spayed, they gave her a rabies shot, but I told my son if she is acting highly weird, copious drooling, etc to close the door and call animal control. I hope whatever was wrong with her is gone. It's hard enough when a house pet is sick, but my options are pretty limited with a feral cat.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning-

Checking in with a workout that is like non-stop lunges, squats, push ups and some mat-type work. It's a bit boring, but it's not too bad.

My weekend saga is over. I am not googling stuff anymore. I was only googling because I thought maybe I had a sinus infection and I wanted to get on something for it, unfortunately, the worst case came up my results. Callie is back and eating like a linebacker, too. I am so relived. I honestly thought I was never going to see her again. It was so raw and rainy last night and I had visions of her somewhere shivering and in pain. But she was waiting for me at the door this AM and was kneading her front paws when she saw me, because I equal food to her!

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning

Checking in with more bodyweight workout. I did one yesterday and one today. I've just been going through my downloads and doing workouts I bought over the years. I went for a very chilly walk yesterday, but I had thermal leggings and many light layers on. It wasn't too bad. I got up way too early b/c my husband has been up north since Monday and is returning tomorrow night. So, I got up to workout, then I swept and mopped my kitchen floor.

We think we figured out why the cat was off last week, but I will spare everyone the details. lol

I am thinking of doing a month of yoga starting Friday. It's arguably the most stressful time of year, so I think some yoga might help me with anxiety that comes with the holiday season (and everyday, tbh).

I hope everyone has a great day.

 

[MinnieM123]

Good morning

Checking in with more bodyweight workout. I did one yesterday and one today. I've just been going through my downloads and doing workouts I bought over the years. I went for a very chilly walk yesterday, but I had thermal leggings and many light layers on. It wasn't too bad. I got up way too early b/c my husband has been up north since Monday and is returning tomorrow night. So, I got up to workout, then I swept and mopped my kitchen floor.

We think we figured out why the cat was off last week, but I will spare everyone the details. lol

I am thinking of doing a month of yoga starting Friday. It's arguably the most stressful time of year, so I think some yoga might help me with anxiety that comes with the holiday season (and everyday, tbh).

I hope everyone has a great day.

From the little I know about yoga, it sounds like a great exercise for the holidays. There is a calmness about it, and I think you'll benefit from picking December to start up a routine. I hope you have a great day today, as well.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

I did a yoga-ish class today. It was 1 hr 20min, but it went by quickly. It's like yoga, but there are sections with a little bit of cardio. It was hard for me the instructor over the music, so I had to keep looking up at the screen. By the time I was able to do what she was doing, it was too late and she moved on. I'll get the hang of it eventually. I also went for a pleasant walk, since it was a little "warmer" outside today.

Tomorrow is tree decorating today. Oh wait, it's not because one of my Christmas trees is still up and decorated since 2021. It's near the room where my husband works when he's here, so nobody sees it. I got tired of asking him to take it down. I don't even want to touch it because I've seen spider webs on it. It's in a very "spider-y" place in the house. I like decorating windows over trees. If it was up to me, I would just have a mini tree and place it on a table in the living room. My husband likes the bigger trees, so he decorates them.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

Today I officially started my month of yoga. I am in a 2 week trial of a yoga app. It's an app I've wanted to try for a long time, but it was $40/month. I think that's ridiculous, but they had a Cyber Monday sale where they slashed the price and it's good for as long as I keep the membership. So, I bit. They have other stuff on there, like resistance band workouts and gliding workouts, too. But today I did a yoga workout that is a little different from the vinyasa yoga I do. It was good and there is room for improvement for me. I do feel better for taking a break from lifting weights, as much as I enjoy that activity.

Have a great weekend, everyone.