Italian Festival at the University of St. Thomas campus.
I got a free ticket from the art department at work because many of the art students were going to create chalk art at the festival. My coworker, my parents, and my dad's cousin (and all the other attendees) enjoyed good food, opera singing, tarantella dancing, viewing the art and more! Here are some photos of the event, the adorable artists, my silly dad and his cousin on a gondola, and also a flyer about the Celtic Beer festival next weekend!
#festivals #italian #language #food #houston #opera #flags #dancing #tarantella #italianfestival #gondola #italiansociety #languageclasses #movies #cookingclasses #celticbeerfestival #universityofstthomas
Finished! "Self Portrait: Laelia" October 2019
I feel many things upon finishing this piece. Relief, because there was a long period of inactivity before I finally finished it (I was starting a new job etc). Joy that it turned out to be so interesting, after all. Accomplished. For now, I am going to enjoy looking at it, and then soon, I will get it professionally photographed to go on my site.
#finishedwork #complete #art #orchid #laeliahilliana #orchidart #splashofcolor #pottedplant #blooms #houstonartist #tissuepaper #acrylicpaint #layersofpaper #accomplishment #finallydone #project #selfportrait #mynameisanorchid #houstontexas
Mark your calendars! Keep an eye out around town as we advertise this holiday market! Notice the first column, 3rd down- the octopus waving is my work! This year's show will be bigger than last year, so get ready to come shop for the holidays. Vendors will be selling jewelry, clothes, art, homewares, food items and more! More info later.
#holidaymarket #houston #gifts #clothes #art #jewelry #food #purses #pillows #bags #blankets #artprints #texas #events #houstontexasholidaymarket
Muchas guitarras.
Recently, I visited Guitar Center for probably the first time in 15 years. The last time was a location in Tucson, Arizona, I believe. I found myself there in search of a new microphone. I want to record more singing videos, but it is difficult to capture classical singing through the confines of my phone's recording capabilities. The friendly sales associate directed me to a usb condenser microphone which I can use with my laptop. I have not bought it yet, but I plan to buy it soon. I am the world's least technologically-saavy person, but the salesperson was patient. During my visit, I journeyed to the acoustic guitar rooms which smelled amazing- cedar wood! Glorious.
In the meantime, as I save money for the microphone, I have been enjoying my practice sessions in the choir room at work. Shockingly, I practice singing nearly every day for 35min to an hour! My teenage self never practiced my cello that long even in a 2 week span!
#motivation #inspiration #singing #guitars #microphone #usbmicrophones #awholenewworld #technologicallychallenged #acousticguitars #guitarcenter #savingup #plans #vocalist #arias #recordingissues
September is PCOS Awareness Month!
It is the end of the month, and I am finally getting up the motivation to post about it. I care a lot about increasing awareness so that the issue will get more funding to find a cure. But I am less enthusiastic about telling people about my personal health issues.
🙈🤐😫
-PCOS is short for poly-cystic ovarian syndrome. -It is an endocrine issue with a strong genetic link that affects nearly all areas of the body, not just the ovaries. The hormones are out of whack, so anovulation, infertility and more.
-autoimmune: Women with PCOS have a 50% chance of developing diabetes, 4-7 times greater chance of getting ovarian or endometrial cancer, heart disease, depression, etc etc.
-Physical symptoms: weight at the belly, hair and skin problems of various kinds, easier to gain muscle mass than to lose weight.
🥳🥳🥳 Ah, the joys. You want to know how I discovered I had it? I was around 23 when I suddenly gained 60lbs in a year even though I was daily riding and training horses, dancing, and walking a ton, eating normally. I went to my PCP- There is something wrong, I know it! He tested my thyroid etc. "You're as healthy as a horse!" He said laughing at his own joke. Another year or 2 went by, I could barely lose 10lbs, more weird symptoms arose that I had no way of knowing they were related. Until my periods skipped for the 1st time since I was 10. Went to gyno dr. She ran different blood tests and did ultrasound which revealed more surprises resulting in a surgery. "You have PCOS and you need to get an ultrasound every year bc you are at a high risk for cancer." She gave me birth control which made my life a million times better. Then began 9 yrs since and counting, of learning how to manage PCOS issues. I may not be Ms. Slim, but it takes enormous effort just to focus on being happy and healthy, trying to balance all this immune drama, so I am proud of myself.
Please support PCOS research or organizations such as @pcoschallenge for the work they do in the community.
#pcos #pcosawarenessmonth #september #help #resources #pcoschallenge #infertility #cancer #diabetes #autoimmune #endocrinedisorder
"The heart makes a song of all this. There it is beneath your ribs. It will sing you how to live. It will tell you to forgive." -Joy Harjo
This is the first poem to stir my soul in about a year if I am honest. The last one was by Mary Oliver. I studied creative writing (creative nonfiction emphasis) in college, which included poetry classes through the honors college. To me, poetry is a cross between essays or novels and music. Poems are often turned into song. A lot of healing and letting go in my life has been through music and the arts, as I have mentioned. My heart feels like this mass of a million events and stories that tumble around in my head, causing a lot of roucous. I often tell people that when I sing, it feels like "everything inside" comes together, focuses, and suddenly my self makes sense.
#poetry #joyharjo #uspoetlaureate #poems #love #heart #oceans #mountainranges #islandbirds #helpful #oprahmagazine #reactiontopoem #reflection #singer #houston #soprano #childrenplay #flooding #houstonfloods #forgiveness #healing #peace #senseofself #focus
