Seattle Symphony

Last night I went to see the Seattle Symphony play Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 at Benaroya Hall. This was only the second time I had been to the venue, the first was years ago to see Sigur Ros perform (which was an amazing experience). It's a very intimate venue and the acoustics are quite impressive.

I was delightfully surprised by the program, as I was only expecting the piano concerto and there were 2 additional sets. The first set was Stravinsky's Suite from Pulcinella. It was beautiful, and perhaps my favorite music from the show. The second set was Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor. The piano was played by HJ Lim, a 26 year old pianist who was incredible. We were treated to 2 solo encores after the Concerto was finished. Her precision and skill is astounding, and, I say this every time I leave any concert, it makes me want to practice the piano more! The last set was Mozart's Symphony No. 29 in E-flat major. I've never been a huge Mozart fan, but there's nothing like live symphony music, and it was great.

Overall, my first Seattle Symphony experience was a great one! I would love to go back again.

Let's try this again...

I had so much hope and vigor the last time I wrote in this, and then I'm not quite sure what happened. Maybe it was a mix of where I was in my life at the time and a bit of fear and a lot of laziness that made me forget about my blog. But I'm going to put that behind me and start anew.

That's what new years are for, right?

I do still get a feeling of hope and encouragement every January 1st. Even though the last few weeks haven't been ideally spent (I haven't been allowed to take any time off of work for the holidays, so I've been a little bitter and overworked and complainy), today I still have a feeling of "There is so much time for all of the things I want to do. Everything's going to be great."

I'm beginning the year with my second round of Jillian Michaels' "Making the Cut". I did this 3 years ago exactly, and was amazed by my results. I dropped more than a pants size, lost inches in every spot I measured, and lost a few pounds. I felt great and that was the catalyst for me getting in (and staying in) better shape. It's amazing what just healthy eating (I will never call this a diet, because diets aren't sustainable. This is a choice to eat good foods and is sustainable!) and a bit of exercise can do. I have fallen into a rut in the last year and haven't spent as much time on myself as I should be, so I'm jumping in again.

I really like the setup of the book, and if you're willing to put in the effort, it's really worth it. For one month, she gives daily meal plans with recipes and workouts 4 times a week. It's 100% on you to follow it, so it's not for the feint of heart. It was very challenging, especially just in the pure time it took to go to the gym and cook 3 full meals a day, as well as the restrictions on not eating out even once throughout the whole 30 days. I'm looking forward to kick starting the year with a refreshed gym plan and healthy eating. Considering I work with an absurd amount of coworkers who love to bake, I need to get back to better eating, and I think this will be a good way for me to do it. Sometimes you have to go all in to make even a simple change.

Happy New Year! I hope, and think, that 2013 is going to be a good one.