i recently had an e-mail discussion (is that like having a pen pal a la 2011?) with a great and wonderful friend of mine, who told me to start blogging again. i was telling her that i thought my useless drivel wasn't really interesting to anyone, namely me. well, i still think that's true, which is why she told me to start writing again. i guess we need to journal or blog to find out why we feel the things we feel, and reading other people's blogs is comforting (and entertaining, maybe) because we find out we're not alone in this strange race to the end.

so here goes.

fall is on its way. i feel like i write this every year, but this is my absolute favorite time of year. i thrive in the fall. i love the weather, the food, the fashion, the brand new structure of school. i love it all.

and i particularly love this fall, because i have so many exciting performances coming up, and a slightly less-crazed teaching schedule. this will mean less money, but, and here's the best part ~

i'm not alone anymore!!! i have a husband to share the burden of bill paying!!! woot woot!!! turns out, you don't NEED to marry rich to feel the release of financial hardship!!! isn't that wonderful to know? so ladies, hold out for the one. you know ~ the guy who makes your toes tingle every time he looks at you. the one you shallowly practice writing and saying his last name after your first name. marry the impractical choice! because no matter how much money he makes, it's still more than just your salary.

unless he's a bum and doesn't work. then run.

you say, "duh. everyone knows that, dummy." and it's not like i was looking for a rich guy. i really wasn't. but i never knew the financial freedom of two incomes. there was that other marriage, but it really doesn't count. too dysfunctional to to count.

well, i guess it also helps that my man has a real job.

definition of a "real job":
a job that has a direct deposit of a set amount every two weeks or at the end of every month.
a job that, if your client forgets to show up, you are not out that money you would have been making, if they had remembered their blankety-blank appointment. (in my case, voice lesson. why is it so hard for people to remember a lesson that is at the same time every single week?)
a job that offers luxurious perks like ~ health insurance ~ ooooooh. (by the way, doesn't everyone deserve health insurance? doesn't your plumber or piano tuner, who are most likely self-employed, deserve health care?)

anyway, i have never had a job like that. so i tend to put my hubby up on a golden pedestal.

this morning, i made ratatouille. ratatouille with a twist, that is. i saw this awesome french chef do this and i thought it looked awesome.

you take all the veggies in your fridge and saute them in a dutch oven. then you add marinara sauce and let it all bubble until, well, until you can't wait anymore to eat it. then you take a serving of it and put it in an oven-safe dish, and crack two eggs on top of it. broil it until the eggs are done to your liking (i like a little tiny bit of runny, but not too much), and add fresh basil and parm, if you'd got that.

it is insanely good, and i feel so good having just eaten an entire garden of delicious veggies. and some protein on the top. i feel like i can conquer my day off!!!

what to do with all this energy now?

hmmm...

nap?