I was born to…

• create
• teach
• sing
• cook
• be wild?

For the last few months I’ve been training for a fun run, which takes place this coming Sunday (May 12th), which is also Mother’s Day here in Australia. It’s called the Mother’s Day Classic, and it’s taking place in various cities and towns around the country.

Inspired by my sister, and a handful of other friends, I thought it would be good for me to do  something that would:

1) Help others out

2) Improve my health

It was the perfect event to sign up for, as my Mother-In -Law has been affected by breast cancer. You can read my blurb on my sponsor page below, if you like. Also if you have a few spare dollars to donate, you’d be supporting a wonderful cause…but no pressure! My sponsor page will close on Friday May 17th.

https://register.eventarc.com/sponsor/view/180321/alice-emor-kan

While my beautiful sister and her husband were visiting recently, we had the opportunity to run together, and it was so invigorating. Anita was encouraging, and shared some running tips with me, and it was also a wonderful opportunity for us to just hangout and be sisters. She’d run the Paris half-marathon not long before heading down under!

Sisters <3

Funnily enough, when I was out running recently the Bruce Springsteen song “Born to Run” came up on the playlist. I’ve never been a sporty person, but I’m really enjoying running. I can just put my running shoes on, do some warm up stretches, and I’m off! Lately I’ve felt so much better physically and mentally.

Who’d have thunk it? Born to Run? Definitely not me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt2mbGP6vFI

There are a few others that cut to the bone as well, which I’ll share another time. Earlier this year I was in Indonesia for a family reunion. My life is most definitely paradise compared to that of so many others.

One way that our family likes to help others who struggle to get their basic needs met is by   choosing Christmas gifts from these organisations.

Tear Australia’s Useful Gifts Catalogue

Christian Blind Mission’s Gifts of Life Catalogue

World Vision Gifts

Oct 15: By the way I came across this appropriate post by Annabel Candy – The Power of We. Here she shares about how she is getting into the action for World Vision, and encourages us to do the same, with other bloggers, for Blog Action Day. Annabel also links to other fantastic posts on the same topic.

Have you thought about how you can help others who struggle to get their basic needs met?

This is who we went to see…

These tickets were a birthday present to Musical Papa back in August, so the excitement about going out together had been building up for a while.

As it turned out the last time that the 70 year old Legendary Count Basie Orchestra toured around Australia was 40 years ago…before I was born. A couple of the musos in the band have been there for that long, which is incredible!

The sound of the band altogether was like an organism. Each musician contributed to a very rich, warm and round sound, yet when asked to step up for a solo they put their individual stamp on their moment. We were blown away!

Needless to say we had a great night out, thanks to our wonderful neighbour for babysitting the kids!!

Bleary-eyed photo of us after the concert, thanks to the flash!

Click on the link and enjoy Count Basie’s well-known tune “April in Paris”, which the band played as an encore for us…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmNeRAQUG2c

Have you seen any live music lately?

 Joining in with Aussie Wordless Wednesday for the first time in a while

p.s. If you’re not sure what the last photo is about, head over to

Bananas in Pyjamas on ABC :)

…sitting on a throne (yes a drum stool can be referred to as a throne ) is one of my happy places!  I feel privileged to be able to share my love and experiences of music with some great kids, including my own three!

Where are some of your happy places?

Don’t forget to check out some other fantastic blogposts on this most awesome of days, thanks to the lovely Jess!

Last month I took my soon to a drum and percussion extravaganza. The photo above was taken at the end of the evening. Four amazing musicians from different parts of the world playing together! They all shared their stories through words and music.

We also bumped into a student of mine, and his father, who’s also a musician, and the little kids sitting next to us adopted X-man as a big brother for the duration  of the concert. It was very cute

I’ve been fortunate to have played music of various styles with people from all over the world!

…silence.

…in the air.

…part of life’s journey.

Recently we were travelling around, with  friend visiting from Perth. We crossed a bridge, and my son started vocalising the beat that he heard as we drove over the road.

Which sounds have gotten you into the groove while on your travels?

…having fun with a tune that we already know!

The students in my percussion ensemble love playing this piece, and we’ve made it even more interesting by playing it in a Latin vibe.

Is there a song that you like which is a variation on the original version?