Lauren Veronie : Loud Life

A Very Happy Birthday in Latrobe, PA

It's my birthday! I'm now the ripe age of twenty-seven, and I've had a great day celebrating on the road. The Field Band started Summer Tour today, with our first concert in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The American Legion presented Colonel Palmatier with a bouquet of roses, and he kindly bequeathed them to me, since it was my special day and all. Here I am suffering from Miss US Army Band pageant delusions.

Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday by making Star Wars cookies. These are my newest kitchen gadget. The first time I used them, it was with Betty Crocker's sugar cookie recipe, from scratch, and they came out perfectly. This time, I was in a hurry, so I just bought the store brand refrigerated dough.

Clearly, that didn't work out so well. I learned my lesson, and even though they were a bit nebulous, the peanut-butter chocolate-chip Darths were delicious. Brendan's present was a generous gift card from Williams-Sonoma, so now I'm trying to decide on my next baking project. He said, "well, I knew it was a gift that I would benefit from too." Ha. 

Last Spring, the landscapers working on my yard found some bulbs hidden in the mulch beds. They re-planted the bulbs, and by the end of June, my yard blossomed with beautiful orange daylilies. Now I like to think of them as my birthday flowers. I've been watching them grow for the last month, just waiting for the first flower to open. Sure enough, they bloomed just in time to enjoy before we took off on tour. I'm hoping they will attract some bees to my squash and cucumber plants.

Brendan and I sprayed down the crop one last time, and now we are back on the road. I'm grateful for the many friends and family who got in touch throughout the day—it made my 27th very special!

Three Years & Father's Day

I hit my three-year mark with the US Army this past Thursday. On June 16th, 2008, I left Dallas for Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri to start the grand adventure of Basic Combat Training. I look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in this picture, but inside I was definitely nervous, excited, and uncertain of what lay ahead.

It turns out, these past few years have been some of my favorite. I've accomplished things I once only imagined—running a half-marathon, soloing in a packed hall, playing concerts in forty-two states, and so much more. I also picked up a house and a handsome fiancé along the way. I couldn't really imagine what I was getting myself into when I boarded that Army bus three years ago, but I'm grateful everything worked out just the way it did. Here is my new, shiny Good Conduct Medal, which is generally awarded after each three years of service.

It's easy to remember my Armyversary because it is always right around Father's Day. Celebrating with my Dad in Willis was one of the last things I did before shipping out. I couldn't be in Texas this year, but I'll be thinking about my awesome Dad a lot this weekend. I'm only slightly bitter that my other siblings are enjoying his BBQ and sucking up as usual, while I'm stuck in Maryland struggling to maintain favored-child status by sending measly cards and gifts. It's just not fair. Here's a great picture of Dad at DisneyWorld in 1985.

Happy Father's Day, Dad. You're the best. I love you! 

Back to Basics

I've been thinking about getting "back to basics" in several areas of my life. Particularly, the fundamentals of playing music. The core of my euphonium sound. I'm currently reading Also Sprach Arnold Jacobs, a wonderful resource. As a singer friend said after borrowing it, "I'm finding it hard not to take a highlighter to it." Right now I'm trying to approach each practice session with the goal of adding new, positive habits to my playing, rather than focusing on correcting problems or mistakes. So I've been doing a lot of singing and buzzing—intervals, etudes, solo music—anything I can do to improve my ear. 

Another area where I'm trying to get back to my roots, pun intended, is gardening. For the past year, Brendan and I have been researching and considering what kind of food we put in our bodies and where it comes from. We try to eat locally whenever possible, and the most recent incarnation of that goal has been transforming my yard into a container-garden oasis. I'm learning as I go here, and so trying to keep realistic expectations for my crop yield.

Today was an exciting landmark for my squash plants, as they are showing their very first blooms. Field Band gardening is bound to be a little tricky. First of all, we can't plant until we get back from Spring Tour. This year, that meant late May. On top of that, we will be taking off mid-October, right in the middle of my bountiful (in theory) Fall harvest. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my plants over tour, but if they are actually producing vegetables, I'm hoping some hungry neighbor will help me out with the watering.

So far I've planted tomatoes, a variety of peppers, yellow squash, acorn squash, cucumber, onions, eggplant, cauliflower, strawberries, herbs, and because I'm an optimist, a tangelo tree. I've got lots of little flowers blooming, but so far the only pickable items are these peppers.

Speaking of nourishing my body and getting primitive, I've been trying some new things in the physical activity department. A group of Field Band soldiers have been attempting to qualify for the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge, which has forced me out of my comfort zone. Here I am going for the long jump. You have to lift off from the edge of that white board on the right. Yikes!

So far I've completed the 200 meter swim, 1k sprint, 2k run, and the shot put. It has been a lot of fun and definitely a challenge. I was breathtakingly bad during the swim test, and absolutely exhausted afterwards. Logically, I want some more of that! I'm going to start swimming after work and try to improve my form. Here is a group of Hooah chicks celebrating after a victorious 2k. Running, jumping, swimming, throwing heavy objects—I'd say that's about as basic as fitness gets. 

After music, food, and exercise, pretty much the only important thing left is coffee. I've finally taken the plunge and am now grinding my own coffee beans. Yes, I know, this is monumental news. It's my blog, so I can talk about whatever I want, right? If I were chasing extra-credit, I'd have gotten a hand-turned mill. Alas, I am not *that* basic, and am enjoying my fancy KitchenAid electric grinder. 

This week I'm all about growing a little each day, from euphonium to vegetables. So I think I'll sip on this delicious, perfectly-brewed mug of Joe, cozy up with my tuner, and do some mouthpiece buzzing.

Foxy Fun

Sometimes life gets busy and I end up looking like this fox, (caught scavenging for food in Bob's backyard in Colorado). Things at work and at home have been nonstop since we returned from tour. There have been a few bittersweet moments, like Lance leaving for Iraq and helping my sister-in-law get through their first week apart.

There was plenty of laughter when I was joined by several lovely relatives for a quick weekend visit. 

I had the surreal experience of trying on dresses and actually finding The One. Don't worry—this isn't my dress, and although I really liked it, the one I settled on looks completely different. It's a good thing too, since Brendan wasn't a big fan. Ha!

Geordi has also been having an exciting week. We've had lots of human guests, including my friends Dan and Grace, who came to visit for a few days before they leave for Heidelberg, Germany. Dan will be stationed there for the next several years, performing with the United States Army Europe Band. They were accompanied by Norton the Yorkie and Ziggy the Maltese-poodle mix.

Dan and I had fun playing duets, dusting off my grill, and catching up before he takes off for Europe. They depart my house for Delaware tomorrow, and I'm sure it's going to feel a bit quiet and empty around here. So far, June has been a lot busier than I expected, but in a good way. We leave for Summer Tour in two weeks, so I'll be spending the rest of the month practicing for C-TEW, recording with TUSAFB, working on my meager container garden, and getting into a routine just in time to hit the road again. So if I walk by looking like that fox, just remind me to relax and enjoy myself. Summer is here, and it's all good.