A day in the Life

Yesterday was The Liederkranz Foundation Vocal Competition (wow that's a mouth full) and I sang for it around 4:30pm. I felt that I did pretty well, except for one tight high Eb at the end of Spargi from Lucia di Lammermoor. It's not that it wasn't there, I just felt that the note was a bit shrill...but who knows, it could have been just fine. The second aria they selected was The Laughing Song from Die Fledermaus...haha...I think they were truly entertained and didn't know what they were asking for when they chose it...no one milks that song like I do...if nothing else, it's a fun and boisterous piece with lots of places to garner a laugh...let's just say I did my job. At the end they wanted to know where I got my translation for the piece from and I had to owe up to the fact that I "borrowed" it from the Lyric Opera of Chicago's performance way back in the 1990's starring Ruth Ann Swenson. The judge who was doing the talking seemed excited and relieved by that answer...beats the heck out of me why, but no one does that translation, so I think the uniqueness of it gives me a plus...besides it's funnier than alot of the other translations out there. Now I have to play the dreaded waiting game until Friday to see if I get a call for the finals. Not that I'm being pesimistic, but my chances are slim...I'm being a realist here. Sopranos are the largest group of singers out there and I'm competing not only against a ridiculous amount of those who share that voice grouping, but with the whole lot of vocal fachs down to the Basses...and alot of them are already singing at the Met, so I've got stiff competition. Besides, I really wanted to just sing MY best and I feel I pretty much did that and gave them a memorable performance. That's all a singer can do...their best. The rest is based on opinion, what they're feeling that day and who they like. You can be the best, most polished techincal singer with great performing skills, and one judge just may not like the tambor of your voice or the piece you selected...it's all relative. So who knows where I or anyone stands? But let's just say, I'm not counting my chickens.

As for the ever steady quest of physical health. I'm sticking to my diet, but I feel that I caved a bit with eating a bit too much lo carb / no sugar added ice cream last night. I hadn't had much in the way of a real meal yesterday, so when I got home I had veggie soup w/a lean burger patty and then followed it up with the afore mentioned ice cream. Oh well, I've just gotta keep trying and watching what I do put in my mouth. Today I have a date to work-out at the gym, so I think I'll probably hit the Elliptical for 30 minutes or so. It's such a lovely day outside, I may try to convince my friend Nakeeta into perhaps walking outside for our lunch break...it's not every day that we have a day in January where it's sunny and in the 60's, crazy huh? Pshaw, Global Warming indeed...hmmm?

Tonight I've got my second hypnosis session. I really didn't like the first one, I just wasn't comfortable and it was hard for me to relax and let go of control, but hey that's me...lol. I do have to say however, I've been singing really great since, and have had one successful lesson and coaching after the other...so something really may have sunk in. So I've opted to give it another go. I'll let you know what I think of it once I go through it and roll it around in the ol' noggin.

Alright, back to the grind. Have a great Tuesday and good luck on your endeavors :)

Diet Obliteration

Ok, I totally blew my diet yesterday. It started off innocently enough by having lunch with my friend C. It was so cold and I didn't want to walk to far and besides there's nothing better on a cold winter's day than nice spicy Korean in hot stone bowls, unless you're going for lasagna maybe. Anywho I ordered the Hot Stone bibimbob w/beef and had a meat mandu (dumpling) for lunch, however I did opt for the multi-grain instead of the white rice. Feeling completely full and content I figured if I had rice then a chai latte with skim milk wouldn't be too harmful (I'm not really supposed to be having caffeine on this diet either)...and while there at Karen's, I spied a fresh loaf of chocolate, pecan, banana bread sitting on the counter. Before I knew it, I was ordering a slice to have with my chai...Oh dear, it really IS a slippery slope. So I figured, oh well, guess I'll make up for it by having vegetable soup tonight so that I don't add insult to injury. At 5:30pm I was off from work and finally headed home for once, where I figured I'd walk home, work-out doing some crunches and/or elliptical work and then dip into my spicy veggie soup, when I got a phone call from Jake (the awesome boyfriend). I wasn't even a block from the subway stop in the burg when I picked up my cell and to my delight he was off early and on his way home. So we made plans for dinner and my good intentions went out the window. My Grandmother Mille always says "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." Oh well, to the Devil because we met up for Mexican at Vera Cruz and I even ordered a Pina Colada (what was I thinking?) Of course I had an immediate brain freeze, and it serves me right for ordering a drink that contains probably more than my daily caloric intake. Thankfully Jake helped me drink it and eat the large plate of steak nachos that I ordered as my dinner. We then hopped in a cab instead of walking the cold mile home and cozily settled down for the night (him on the computer and me with my book). I swear sometimes we act like an old married couple...eek! Oh, I forgot to mention that I had a fudge covered Oreo cookie with a tall glass of cold milk once I was home, in case there was any calorie not ingested in the past 12 hours. I think its safe to say I not only blew my diet, I completely obliterated it!

Today so far, I've been on the straight and narrow, but I hear the distant calls of the bialies downstairs asking me to eat them, or at least one. If you've never had a bialy, its like a bagle yet flatter with I believe onions baked inside or something...guess I should look it up, but who cares, it's just delicious toasted with butter. I've decided not to freak about my diet for the rest of the week, seeing how it's Friday, and allowing myself the few things I enjoy eating. I believe I'll have that multi-grain bagel with low-fat scallion I sooo adore, and I also think I'll have some Chicken Pad Thai that I really love from Amarin (really the best in all 5 boroughs). Monday will be a lovely fresh start to my diet, my work-out, and my Excel "Nutrition & Fitness Log" that I generally keep up so well. Besides, I'll have everyone on the bandwagon with me starting at the same time. So it'll be nice to be on the same page with my gaggle of girls.

Have a great weekend, I know I will :)

The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl

I got a new book on Friday and have been thoroughly enjoying it! I guess this is a bit of an endorsement, but so far I've been totally engrossed in "The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl." I've read this young woman's blog for awhile and now I find it a treat to read her first book that happened to come out of her many years of blogging. I won't ruin it for you, but it's a truly inspirational read and full of wit & lovely reality. Not one of those guru self-help books that say "I can make you thin" and then take your money. No, Shauna's book is a real life story, about real life success due to real life perseverance. As I've always said, Perseverance is the key to gain anything you truly want in life.

So now that the commercial break is over, let's talk New Years and the Not Fat part of this particular blog. I've been back on Phase 1 for officially one week today. It's been tough, but I've overcome pastries, desserts, salty snacks and the rest of the sugary / empty carb foods & snacks that have been put in front of me. I did finally break down and buy the locarb/no sugar added ice cream to curb my insistent PMS calling for chocolate!...Not too terrible though, it has only 4g of sugar per serving...and I also went through a lot of caffeine-free diet coke as well, so the sweet & chocolate cravings were met if not completely satisfied. Honestly, I can't wait to meet my fitness & weight goal so that I can finally concentrate on the maintaining and allow myself to indulge every now and then. But as for now, I feel if I indulged, I wouldn't be able to stop...that's just where my mind is at the moment and I've got to gain control over the whole kit'n caboodle before I make such allowances. After next Wednesday, I can have my once a week multi-grain bagel w/low fat scallion that I look forward to every Saturday. I know it doesn't sound so unhealthy and terrible, but believe me, bagels are the devil when it comes to weight loss, and besides it gives me something to look forward to in the treat department. I'm generally ok with saying no to sweets (except when I'm totally menstruating), but it's the breads and potatoes that are hard for me to avoid. My God, I could totally eat a whole loaf of hot french bread with butter in one sitting...or an entire platter of french fries...damn the french and their tempting carbs ;) lol

I don't generally make New Years Resolutions, I believe anytime is a good time to make a change or do something good for yourself. So if you missed Jan. 1st and feel that you've already blown the year and it's only the 2nd, I say fooey! Start now, there's no time like the present, and only you can really make the change, no one can or will do it for you. So get your but out there and do something good for your mind, body and spirit. Life's to short, so Carpe Diem!