It gets a lot of hate, but I unapologetically love LA! But really my heart belongs in Chicago and I’m glad I ended up here.

New phone day! I’ve been putting off getting a new phone for way too long. Then just had no time or energy to do it. I’m the type that keeps a phone until it basically dies. I had a 12 lmao. Now I have a 17!

Today my husband found in his father’s sock drawer: $1k in hundreds Approximately 250 gift cards of various amounts some to places in other states 😳

2026 can fuck all the way off

Another awkward Mother’s Day with my in-laws where they give me a Mother’s Day card and present because I’m “like a mom to my students” (no, I am not), so I’m “not left out” 😐 everything isn’t for everyone, and that’s ok 🙄

Tfw your student gets off the waitlist and accepted to their #1 school so they email you on Sunday morning just to tell you 🥰

Had a great time subbing for the Wedding Singer at Metropolis Theatre! I get one more chance tomorrow to hopefully make less mistakes 😅 It was a mini-Jekyll reunion with some of the pit & actors. It’s always a good feeling when you know almost everyone in the pit & have played with them before ☺️

Everything is terrible but my students are a joy as always and I get to sub for a friend in The Wedding Singer for the next two days at a theatre I’ve never played at before. Trying to find the good in many bad days.

It is 50 F outside and my neighbor is running their A/C 🤔🥶 my heat is on

Right before I left our dog Molly had a weird growth on her mouth that I just noticed Thursday. My husband had to make a vet appointment and take her because I was going out of town for 5 days. The earliest appointment he could get was tonight right before he picked me up at the airport.

All Star Wars is good actually, and people who don’t like all of it are sad haters.

I’m flying home tomorrow afternoon. Being here to help my mom has been good and bad and hard. I’m really glad I was able to do it, but taking care of elderly parents is not easy. She’s been doing surprisingly great after her surgery and post care hasn’t been very difficult, luckily.

I used the vacuum cleaner today, so I have no been put back on the very bad and scary list. I’m no longer to be trusted! For now.

My friend posted on fb thanking her PTA for the teacher appreciation breakfast and it was just a whole ass avocado on a plate. No knife. Literally in unpeeled whole avocado. wtf is anyone supposed to do with that??!? We really just hate teachers, don’t we??

We have reached an exciting development!

We’ve had so many wins happen today and boy did we need them 😮‍💨 please let this be an upward swing for a while and not a fluke that’s going to make me regret saying anything.

Met a little snek friend after going to the grocery store.

Cat spent the morning staring at me from the kitchen, then pretending to not stare at me. Anytime I walked nearby he would meow or chirp happily at me and want pets.

Post your warning sign Half rests are dangerous

Cat no longer runs away from me, but is still slightly distrustful of my presence in his current digs. When I was emptying my mom’s drains (sorry, gross) he seemed to think then maybe I could be ok and not sent to kill him and started purring.

In hoarding news, my husband has been cleaning out and going through my FIL’s office since he died two weeks ago. Today he found about $3k in cash in multiple different amounts in random envelopes hidden everywhere, probably about 75 gift cards, and 100 books of stamps 😳

Name your top 15 shows ever, gut instincts only Lost Seinfeld Friends The Pitt ER Mad Men Clarissa Explains it All My So-Called Life Gilmore Girls Beverly Hills 90210 Project Runway Top Chef Designing Women The Office Arrested Development

I flew to my hometown today to take care of my mom because had a double mastectomy this morning. It’s a small town and hard to fly to so I flew into Knoxville and a friend picked me up and drove me here because she was coming here anyway. So after a long day of traveling I’m here.

Chicago suburb edition: Evanston, Berwyn, Winnetka

Enjoying the preview of the Wedding Singer at Metropolis Theatre! I’m subbing for a friend next weekend so I got a free ticket!

Clarinet, saxophone, flute

I know I’m exhausted and burnt tf out when I have two last minute lesson cancelations today and my immediate reaction was “oh thank god” instead of being annoyed for losing that income. I just can’t even care right now.

One of my high schoolers told me today something was “from the 1900s, so it’s really old”. I said “excuse me?!?” The look I gave her!!!! 😅

I enjoyed Great Gatsby! The ensemble songs were probably my favorite.

At the end of my FIL’s funeral on Saturday during the processional the pianist played a song that I instantly recognized but couldn’t place right away. We got in the car and I realized it was “Once Upon a Dream” from Jekyll & Hyde! Which is why I knew it so well lol.

We had a Jolly Holiday playing in Mary Poppins with Elmhurst Children’s Theatre!

Woke up at 6:30 to pick up my MIL to go to the funeral home before the mass at the church. Then over to the cemetery and luncheon. We were home for about an hour before we had to leave to go play Mary Poppins tonight. I’m just glad it’s all over.

My father-in-law’s wake was tonight. It was exhausting. Many of our friends came though, and it was so nice of them and I know it meant so much to my husband ❤️.

Oooh

My favorite song from Mary Poppins!! This is from tech, ignore the measure my brain glitched and I forgot that the key was Gb because 6 flats is dumb.

I took some time for myself this morning to go walk at the arboretum. I’ve been so tired and stressed that when I’ve had any down time I’ve just been couch rotting but I made myself go and it was good for the soul. Most of the daffodils were gone but there were still some left! Blooms everywhere!

The last few weeks have been difficult to say the least, but being able to play music with my friends is keeping me sane. Every rehearsal and performance gives me a few hours of bliss doing what I love and do best and allows me to forget all the shit happening in my life right now.

Welp spoke too soon. I was up taking her out to have liquid poops at 3:30 and 5:30 am 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 she’s had meds again twice this morning and her last poop was at 10:30. Please god let that be the last time because I have tech week and I cannot deal with dog diarrhea anymore 😩 sorry for the 💩 posts.

Well life goes on. After playing Little Mermaid Friday and Saturday I had sitzprobe for Mary Poppins this afternoon. Totally forgot to take a sitz pic though. That music is no joke! There’s hard stuff in there. I have a sub for Friday night and Saturday matinee because of my FIL’s wake and funeral.

Came home after a performance to find that my elderly dog had diarrhea everywhere that I had to clean up at midnight so I would kindly like the universe to GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK

It’s been a rough couple of days, friends. My father-in-law passed away suddenly on Thursday night, right after learning that my dad was in the ICU (he’s been moved to a regular room this morning) and my mom is having a double mastectomy in 2 weeks because she has breast cancer. It’s been a lot.

Kinda wild getting the mailer for the show I’m playing in with my friend’s pictures on it! 🤩

Just took Molly for her yearly exam and rabies shot. We used to get the 3 year shot but that seems silly now so we just got the 1 year. She’s doing great and the vet said she’s the oldest dog they have as a patient 🥹

All of my in-laws are Catholic from the southside of Chicago. They are also varying degrees of trumpers (some still support him some don’t but still voted for him 🙄). I’m kinda dying to know what they think about his pope comments 🤭 are their brains exploding? Will they ever admit they were wrong?

Playing the Little Mermaid (for the 4th time) in a very hot middle school gym with no A/C with my husband.

Sometimes you just have to make lunch nachos

Can’t stop Won’t stop (sneezing)

Lots of medical emergencies, people vomiting, the power going out or fire alarms going off. Pits are where I have the most wild stories (probably because that’s pretty much all I play now and am not currently doing any orchestra stuff).

Oh no I just found a full reed water cup that was in one of my gig tote bags that was from a month ago 😱

If you see this, post an image you saved because it made you laugh.