Summer Busy times!

Summer always has a strange rhythm, doesn’t it? It speeds up and slows down at the same time. For me, things have definitely shifted into a faster gear—especially at work. For those who don’t know, I work in the grocery industry, coordinating delivery plans to make sure stores are stocked and running smoothly. And when summer hits, so does the hustle.

Vacations, cookouts, holiday weekends...they all mean more planning behind the scenes to keep things moving. Lately, I’ve been juggling delivery schedules like puzzle pieces—making sure everything fits, even when it feels like the pieces keep changing shape.

With the extra busyness at work, it’s actually been a good time for our community band to take a little break—we’re officially on hiatus until August. I already miss the weekly rehearsals, the laughter during warmups, and the joy of making music with friends. But I know we’ll come back refreshed and ready to play when the new season kicks off. In the meantime, it’s nice to have a little space to breathe.

I’ve still been carving out time to see friends—grabbing dinner, catching up, laughing a lot. It’s funny how even a simple patio meal or a spontaneous evening out can work like a reset button. No agenda, no expectations, just good food and better company.

I’m also trying—emphasis on trying—to keep stress from settling in too comfortably. That means getting outside when I can, saying yes to things that feed my energy, and giving myself permission to say no when I need space.

So that’s where I am this summer: working hard, slowing down when I can, and trying to be present for all the little moments in between.

Hope your summer is bringing you a mix of light, laughter, and maybe a little less screen time.

Trying to be a bit more professional...

I'd like to try to be a bit more professional in my blog posts, since this is not just a way for me to vent, but I know that others are reading through the posts as well! So, here goes nothing! My attempt at talking about our upcoming patriotic concert on Sunday, June 29th...

Behind the Scenes: Preparing for Our Patriotic Concert

As a board member of our community band—and someone who handles logistics for our concerts—I always look forward to this time of year. Our annual Patriotic Concert is one of our most cherished events, and this year, it’s happening on Sunday, June 29th at 4:00 PM at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church.

From rehearsals and stage diagrams to flag décor and making space for the community chorus—we’ve been busy.

Music, Community, and a Lot of Planning

This concert is more than just music; it’s a community celebration. That means coordinating not just our band members but also our community chorus, who will be singing with us on several selections. Adding singers to the mix always brings an extra level of excitement—and complexity.

We’ve worked hard to make sure everyone fits on the stage (which is no small task when you’re combining instrumentalists, vocalists, percussion gear, and patriotic bunting!). We’ve spent time adjusting our setup to ensure the band and chorus can perform together comfortably and with clear sightlines to the Music Director.

Rehearsals, and Red, White & Blue

Behind the scenes, we’ve been coordinating rehearsal schedules between the band and the chorus, and making sure our flag-themed decorations are ironed and ready to go. There’s something special about walking into a space draped in red, white, and blue—and we want every audience member to feel that sense of pride the moment they step through the door.

A Musical Tribute to Our Country

This year’s concert program includes a mix of stirring marches, reflective tributes, and classic patriotic favorites. From “America the Beautiful” to rousing Sousa pieces, it’s the kind of music that brings generations together. And with the voices of the community chorus added in, the experience becomes even more powerful.

Join Us!

If you’re in town, we’d love for you to join us. Admission is $11 person, and there’s no better way to kick off the Independence Day season than with live music, fellowship, and a celebration of the values we all share. Bring your friends, your family, and your love for music—we’ll take care of the rest.

Birthdays and PTSD

In the years since my dad's passing, I have not wanted to celebrate my birthday. Too many painful memories, and it has resulted in a PTSD type response when anyone would want to wish me a happy birthday or want to celebrate. 

However, this year my birthday has fallen on Memorial Day, and I spent the day performing in a Memorial Day ceremony with the band I play with. The City of Sugar Land invited us to perform in their event, and Jeff, Mom, and David all came to watch the event (and us perform). 

It was a good day. No stress, no issues. 

Dinners, Get Togethers, Work...

Around the beginning of this month, I met a couple of friends for dinner. We found a really interesting Italian restaurant that has parts of Fiat cars in it. It was a really fun experience and we had a great meal out of it!

On the flip side of that coin, it continues to be super stressful at work. We've had a couple projects go live at work, and both got botched because the person leading the projects did not know who all needed to be involved and therefore not everyone was notified of changes to processes. 

On one of the projects, we estimated that we would be able to cut out 25-30 routes a week, which is exactly what we are doing. Now the transportation director is saying that he wasn't aware that was going to happen, and he now has drivers without loads...but he was the one who led that project and was told about the reduction in loads.

Cannot win for losing. Trying to get everything together correctly and still getting yelled at.  LOL

On another note, the managers of my department said that they want the supervisors to start leading the departmental meetings each week. They asked me to go first, which I did...even though I was very nervous. I decided to have some fun with it, and came up with nicknames for each f the supervisors, based on the areas that they supervise...We'll see how the other supervisors do.

Projects, Work, Oh My!

We have had a lot of projects going on lately at work. I'm not upset at that per se, but it seems like everyone is trying to get their ideas in of how it should work...and none of them are the right way of working correctly. Both have been delayed multiple times...now we are supposed to go live with one of the projects this coming weekend, and one more next week. No one really knows what is going on with either of the projects, so we will see, I guess. 

Bi-Polar Weather

We have just started February...within the last month, we have had 2 very cold spells (one of which included actual snowing in Houston), a tornado, and now weather in the 80's...with some areas of Texas getting into the 90's this past week. Heck, within the last year, we've also added to the above a second tornado, a spring storm that knocked out electricity for days, and a hurricane.

The weather is getting absolutely ridiculous!

New Year New Travels New Weather

Jeff and I are finishing up our long holiday work weeks. We've been working mostly straight through since the middle of December. We'll soon be finished up and back on our regular schedules at work, but after we take a few days vacation to recoup, relax, and decompress after the busyness of the season. 

We have booked a room at a casino resort in Louisiana, but are also aware of a polar vortex heading our way around the same timeframe. While we are looking forward to getting away for a bit, we are taking extra precaution to secure the house for the freezing weather. 

Not something I wanted to plan for while trying to recoup and relax, but we will survive!