Author - Amy

This past weekend was an absolute whirlwind! Why? It was the weekend of our Indiana state conference and not only was I on the conference committee but it was my first conference as state President!

For the first time ever, it wasn’t held at a University, but at Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne. Sweetwater headquarters is a pretty amazing complex and is a destination in and of itself!

I had a hard time choosing which photo displayed this weekend the best so I narrowed it down to four. They include, our IMTA Board of Directors hard at work during our luncheon meeting, my two former piano teachers, Dr. Lori Rhoden of Ball State (grad school teacher) and Kathy Grile from Taylor University (high school teacher), my piano teacher buddies Joy Morin, Daniel Patterson, and DJ Smith, and a photo of me doing Presidential duties at the banquet.

Needless to say I’ve taken naps every day this week following, but it was totally worth it!

And now onward to this weeks finds!

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Any time I have a “let-down” per say after a very busy time, my body tends to react. I’ve been running for the past six weeks like crazy between conference planning, attending the MTNA National Summit, being on a weekly committee at my church searching for our next pastor, presenting on two instances, once at the Kentucky MTA Conference and to the Indianapolis Piano Teachers Guild. It’s been non-stop, I’m telling you. Until now. Boom.

My let-down cold has erupted. It’s the time of year you may want to check out my guide for “Germ-Alert Season: A Studio Teachers Guide to Staying Healthy.”

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Getting started with rotating lessons 20/20/20.

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Do your policies need a facelift? Sometimes the middle of the semester is a good time to think about these kinds of things because you just got done going through the process and your mind is fresh with the improvements you want to make for the next time. Check out When Policies Get too Long for a little extra help.

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Sorry, but There’s No Such Thing as the “Clean Part” of Moldy Bread. Yeah, I’m one of those people who thought they could just cut away the moldy parts… :-/

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10 games you can play with students using those cute Iwako erasers.

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How to Become an Indispensable Piano Teacher. 

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Check out this teacher’s “BenchMark Program” for their students. Impressive video, Clinton!

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Using a paper towel tube to help you vacuum?? Genius!

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Consider baking one of these this week:

Applesauce Spice Bars | Simple but Delicious

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread | Joy the Baker

Simple Zucchini Bread | King Arthur Flour

Raspberry Orange Almond Muffins with Sprouted Wheat Flour |  Amy Chaplin (the other one)

Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake | Food Network 

Last weekend we got together with a group of 10 friends. One of the couples had spent a month this summer traveling out west in their new camper. Originally from Arizona, he was sure to bring back some of his favorite beers from their trip – several which he shared with us that evening. Drew and I absolutely loved this Orange Blossom Beer from Papago Brewery in Scottsdale Arizona.

Our Indiana State MTA Conference is being held today and tomorrow (October 5-6, 2018) at the headquarters of Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne. We have an amazing line-up including Frederic Chiu, Dr. Christopher and Katherine Fisher as our Pedagogy Clinicians, a premier of MTNA/IMTA Commissioned Composition Taxonomies of Pulse for Two Pianos a by Benjamin Krause, and much more.

Have a great weekend – I know I will! ~Amy

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Many of us are gearing up to make our Christmas music purchases for our studios. If you still need some ideas, you may find a few refreshing options in Trusty Christmas Favorites: Repertoire I Return to Year After Year or Christmas Collaborations: Recommended Piano Ensemble Music

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Cyber scams seem to have increased drastically over the last few years in a way that they’re becoming harder and harder to pinpoint. Emails especially are being designed so they are almost indistinguishable from our daily emails.  Check out this article on How to Spot Common Cyber Scams. If anything, be hyper-aware before you do anything online.

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An excellent Guide to Balsamic Vinegar.

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Do you struggle with adult students? Maybe you love adult students! Whichever way you lean, this six-part series on Adult RMM Lessons (not just group RMM), is a great peek into the psyche of those older learners students. Brief video testimonials by various adult students make me relate to my own students.

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Alton Brown is bringing back his cooking show Good Eats! I used to love this show. The new one is called Good Eats Reloaded. Check out the trailer here. Now if I only had cable… :-/

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Joy Morin’s course “Excellence in Piano Teaching” is gearing up soon!

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10 Essential Cleaning Tools Every Home Should Have.

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If you’re not already aware, I wanted to let you know the Piano Pantry Secret Letter that goes out at the end of every month now includes a teaching tip based on the principals of how we learn music influenced by Music Learning Theory. That last two letters have included video clips to go along with the tip! If you would like to stay in touch with Piano Pantry and also receive this monthy letter (it’s secret because it’s not shared anywhere else – even on social media). You can subscribe here.

Last weekend I celebrated my 30th birthday for the 9th time. 🙂 That’s age 38 for those of you counting on your fingers! Caught ‘ya didn’t I?

Our celebration was only a month late but I was happy to have gotten to celebrate with two of my closest friends. It’s been months since we’ve had a chance to go out just the three of us, but it’s those times that remind me how much we need friends and regular connection time.

If it’s been a long time since you’ve had a chance to hang out with someone you call a friend, don’t delay. Let’s not let the important things in life get put on the back-burner amidst the hustle and bustle of life and teaching. It’s too easy to do.

I know of no more encouraging fact then the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.

~Henry David Thoreau

Onto this week’s goods.

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When it comes to hummus, plain has always been the way to go in my opinion. After seeing this post on the best hummus flavors, I’m thinking I should give some of the flavors out there a shot. The caramelized onion will be my first try. Which one(s) do you like or think I should try?

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Are you an Elvis fan?

Season 3 Episode 10 of the Revisionist History Podcast reminds us that even the King had his performance issues. Listen to Malcolm Gladwell explore Elvis and his Freudian slips in Analysis, Parapraxis, Elvis: The one song The King couldn’t sing.

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I know I share a lot on Friday Finds from The Kitchn but I can’t help it! I love that website. They always have interesting posts. This paper towel vacuum hack seems like a “why didn’t I think of that” kind of idea but I wonder if it really works as well as they say. I’ll have to try it next time I clean. Let me rephrase that. I’ll have to remember to try it next time I clean!

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If you’ve been curious about joining MTNA but are unsure if it’s worth it, check out these wonderful resources where other teachers are sharing testimonials for why it is important to them.

The ladies from 4D Piano Teaching (Discover, Develop, Drive, Delight), each wrote a post on “What MTNA Means to Me.” Check out Spring’s post and Whitney’s post.

MTNA also has an excellent video that all members should consider sharing on social media to help reach colleagues who may not already be members!

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Chick-Fil-A meal kits? Yes, please.

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A colleague at the MTNA Summit shared with several of us a couple of websites she loves for video game music transcriptions. They are ichigos and ninsheetmusic. She said they’re transcription website so the scores aren’t perfect but they’ve been a great resource for her.

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I’ve gotten really behind in my Feedly blogroll this past month, but have been catching up slowly the past week. What does that mean? It means I have a gazillion, yes, a gazillion, recipes I found all at once and I’m now dying to try. Maybe you all can try them for me and let me know what’s good and what’s not? That would definitely save me a lot of time! LOL. j/k

I couldn’t decide what to highlight so I thought I would just share them all, especially because we’re don’t all like the same kind of recipes. Surely you can find ONE recipe in this list to try this week!

Easy Skillet Tamale Pie. Easy – Skillet – Tamale – Pie – All good things.

Pull-Apart Cheesy Artichoke Pinwheels(you need a party for this one and I’m not having one soon so I’ll leave the testing up to you on this one!)

The Best Chicken Soup Recipe. I’ll admit, I have yet to find a chicken soup I really like. Plus I wish people would be more creative than calling things “The Best.” So unoriginal. Must work though because I still saved the recipe!

Skillet Lasagna. Lasagna is like the worst thing to make ever. It takes forever and makes way too many dirty dishes. This recipe, however, appeals to me.

Loaded Cauliflower Chicken Casserole. Cauliflower is definitely one of those vegetables I don’t have enough opportunities to eat so that made this recipe appealing.

Black Bean Veggie Burgers. I’ve never made one, but my pastor’s wife recently told me they have them on a regular basis and I want to be like her so this was an easy way. (I’m really kidding, but I’m feeling silly for some reason).

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad. This recipe just made the tail end of my summer food list.

Let me know what I should make! 😉

~Amy

This past weekend I was honored to get the chance to present to a lovely group of teachers at the Kentucky MTA Conference in Louisville. The session was the one that I gave at the 2018 MTNA National Conference in Orlando – Taming the Jungle: Digital Management Strategies for the Independent Music Teacher. (see details on my speaking page).

This photo is of the guestbook at the Airbnb I stayed at Friday night.  Isn’t it fun?

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Are you an independent music teacher that has an established studio and has been teaching no more than three years? You could win a $3,000 fellowship award through MTNA. Deadline is November 1.

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Pioneer Woman has another product out. Surprised? Not me. The woman has a food empire. I remember when I first head about her from my cousin back in 2006 or 2007 and she was still “just a blogger.” Bravo Ree.

If you’re into patterns and such, she’s your girl, as you can see.

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One of my favorite podcasts this past year has been The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman. The most current episode is about how to choose a past time. She shares excellent advice from Winston Churchill including three key points:

1. Be sure your past time is different from what you do on a daily basis. (In other words, don’t make your new past time learning another instrument, teachers!)
2. Engage your brain. (there are times for mindless activity but a healthy past time utilizes the brain)
3. Embrace audacity, not ambition. (Yeah, that one is hard for me).

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This piano zip line idea from Julie Knerr might be just what you need for your next group class.

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This week was a “clean out the refrigerator” week. I had some buttermilk to get rid of so I baked this Whole Wheat Molasses Bread from Joy the Baker. It has a perfectly balanced molasses flavor and is yummy warmed up with a pat of butter on top (or even dare I say Nutella?!)

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Prima Music just processed an order for me that included:

Have a great weekend everyone!

~Amy