Day 14: More Than Just Music September 9, 2009

My wonderful, inspirational piano teacher of 10+ years, Ellen Masaki, passed away on Monday in her home. She was surrounded by a steady stream of musicians and students who filled her final hours with the sound of beautiful music. I can think of no better way for her to go and I wish I could have been there to say goodbye. She has weighed on my mind heavily today, as I think back with such appreciation and gratitude for the many life lessons that she taught me since I was 6 years old. In the beginning, my mom would drag me to my 8 am lessons on Saturday mornings (torture) and Mrs. Masaki would sit patiently as I stumbled through the same 4 notes over and over again. The memories of that are so vivid. But slowly, over the next few years, the morning wake-up times became less of a chore and the sounds became less painful to her and we saw the potential to make really cool music together. Her competitive spirit and discipline were contagious and while at times, it felt like piano, recitals and competitions were complete torture, it was all worth it. Piano has, like no other interest or activity in my life, helped me grow, gain confidence, learn about mental toughness and redefined “winning” for me. Thank you, Ellen Masaki, for believing in me and giving selflessly to the local Hawaii community through all these years. When the kiddos get a little older, I hope to make you proud and start tickling the ivory once again.

Here’s an article about Mrs. Masaki in today’s local newspaper:
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/Many_isle_musicians_first_learned_joy_of_music_from_acclaimed_piano_teacher.html?mobile=true

Day 10: Loving my big ears September 3, 2009

My family and husband like to tease me about my big ears (literally). They tend to stick out a bit.  Today, my Gratitude Challenge is asking me to focus on one of my five senses and be grateful for all the gifts that I have because it.   I don’t stop often to appreciate all the capabilities of my quirky ears, but today is the day!  Some things that I have stopped to take note of today that have resulted from the gift of hearing:

- Listening to music during breakfast (Nathan’s choice = Beyonce, Sophie’s choice = Do Re Mi)
- Waking up to Sophie’s sweet voice calling me from her bed (“Mommy, where are you?  Where are you….?”)
- The few seconds of silence I had in the car while driving to work – instant de-stresser.
- People laughing at work = makes me happy
- The normal hustle and bustle sounds in the office- assurance to me that folks are getting work done and collaborating
- Silence while driving in the car this morning with Eric and being totally OK with it (vs. when you’re dating and feeling the need to never have uncomfortable silence during a conversation because it felt awkward or “wrong”)

Day 4: Procrastinating/A-Z August 25, 2009

OK, I have a confession to make. I think I’m supposed to be on Day 7, but it says something about a Video Post of myself and as I sit here in my pajamas and glasses with a bowl of cookies and cream ice cream (oh no, don’t read my Day 3 post), I’m just not ready to go there.  So instead, I’m going to add my list of things from A-Z that I’m grateful for:

A = aloha
B = birth
C = college basketball, christmas, courage
D = dollar scoop Tuesdays
E = eric
F = family, forgiveness
G = glasses, google
H = hard-working teams, hugs, hot baths
I = innocence
J = jesus
K = kites
L = letters, love, lessons
M = mom’s cooking, magic penny
N = new ideas
O = organizers, optimism, on time
P = Punahou, piano lessons
Q =quiet time
R =reality tv
S = so you think you can dance, second chances, sleep, swedish fish
T = teamwork, tp chocolate, tupperware
U = underdogs
V = vanilla extract
W = water
X = xerox machines (had a hard time here)
Y = yoga
Z = zoos

Day 3: Breathe August 19, 2009

Today I woke up and remembered to take a few, deep breathes to properly wake up my body before starting the day.  It was a good call before Nate and Jack’s 8:30 am crazy playdate.   Think robots, smoothie making and catching roly polys before dashing to work.  Whenever I do this, I can really feel the difference. I’m more relaxed and calm and most of all, thankful that I’m actually taking 10 seconds out of my day to improve my health and feed my brain and soul.

On days like today, I’m grateful for clean air (Hawaii air is amazing, but Bay Area bad isn’t too shabby) to take in and more importantly, the gift of good health.  With life these days feeling so crazy and jam-packed, I want to try and focus more on taking care of myself and those around me.   Oh no.  Lots of implications for this that are food, exercise and work related…

Being taken care of August 18, 2009

Tomorrow, my sister and her family leave us after 3 weeks of vacation here in the states.  The cousins had so much fun and I’m getting sad thinking about saying goodbye to them.  My family is on a mission to bring them back to the Bay Area!  Nate now scours the neighborhood street for For Sale signs and we’re keeping up with the real estate market around here to convince them to move back sooner than later.  Being with my sister for 3 weeks straight reminds me of what an amazing person, mom and sister she is.  During the rare moments when my sister, brother and I are all in the same place, I notice us reverting back to our childhood roles.  Shelli, the oldest, is the responsible caretaker.  Randy, the middle child, is the thoughtful one.  And me?   Well, I notice myself indulging in the role of the youngest child– spoiled, cared for and looked after.  Thanks to both my sister and my brother (who looks after me 365 days a year, since he is local– phew!) for being so, so good to me.

Quiet Time on the Airport Tram August 18, 2009

Ever since I was a little girl, I always thought I wanted three children.  I thought this was the magic formula to family happiness (being from a family of 3 kids) and of course didn’t realize all the time and energy you need to devote into being a loving, present parent.   These days, I’m thinking differently.  I already find myself wishing for more solo time with my children and husband, too.   With trying to juggle a hectic work schedule and school/activities for the children, I find these times so rare and it makes me think twice about being able to add a 3rd little one to the family and give that person the proper time and love.   Last Friday, my son Nate and I woke up early to take my parents to the airport. Nate LOVES airports and it’s usually my husband that takes him on some adventures.  Riding the tram back and forth.  Going up and down escalators and elevators.  Walking to the baggage claim and watching luggage come onto the carousel.  This time, it was my turn and I have to say, it was SO nice to spend some alone time with my little guy.   It’s the quality vs. the quantity of time. I have to keep telling myself that. Even though I may not have as many hours in the day to physically be with my children, I’m going to look for more of these minutes and moments to share with my family.

Day 1: Jumping in! August 14, 2009

When I was at the NY Stationery Show a few months back, I stopped by a cool new product booth that was selling hip journals each with a different inspirational words on the cover– joy, thankfulness, passion, wisdom, kindness….the list when on and on. It was a long day (although found lots of great design inspiration) and I was missing my family and feeling guilty for being in NYC while my husband watched over our two little ones. Kind’ve had a “woe is me” moment and that’s why I immediately grabbed the shiny “Gratitude” journal that seemed to be calling out for me. Had the greatest intentions of starting to journal, but the usual daily grind got the better of me and now the journal is picking up dust. Excuses, excuses. So, I guess it’s quite fitting that our company is starting this great initiative, The Gratitude Challenge- it’s perfect for me. My hope is that by the end of this little blogging experiment, I won’t need to consciously block out time in my day to blog about Gratitude (have to admit, that’s my state of mind right now), but that is will just be more a part of me.

Today, I feel especially grateful for my parents coming up from Hawaii to shower my kiddos with so much love, so I can crank away at work!

Hello world! August 14, 2009

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