Procrastinating

I just read a question…”what have you been putting off doing?”

Good question. It’s called procrastinating. Hmmm…

Well, I am going to call the plumber this week. I’ve been putting that off for 2 years due to back/spinal surgery. It’s hard to clean house when you have to watch how you twist and turn. Especially floors! Ugh. Regular housework is fine now but…floors. And of course everything has to look sooooooo wonderful when the plumber or electrician or whoever-workman comes to fix something…and then you have to clean again after they’re gone. Ha!

So yeah, time for the plumber. Floors still aren’t great but well, he’ll understand I hope. At least I have a real reason though.

But think about all the other stuff we put off. Why? Well, some reasons could be finances. Maybe we just can’t find the right repairman. Other reasons could be that we just don’t feel like it. And if it’s not urgent then we procrastinate some more. Because that’s what we do.

So today, I called the plumber. And…he actually had time today and came an hour and a half after I called! Talk about the right time to stop procrastinating. Now I have a beautiful new NON-DRIPPING faucet. It wasn’t the easiest job for him because there was a lot of rust within the framework…from dripping so much. But after the drilling and hammering he got the old one off and the new one on. Then we talked about a plan for upgrading a couple of things for my bathroom. Wow!

So I now have a new healthy kitchen faucet…and a plan for the bathroom plumbing as well. I am well aware that sometimes it isn’t possible to get things done because of circumstances. But it feels like Heaven on Earth when you DO get it done.

And…I cleaned the inside of my car windshield too…the job ALL of us hate. Haha!

So. Now that the most important thing was repaired, on to the next round of procrastination! Yay! What can we put off next and for how long?!

https://www.makingmusicwitheve.weebly.com

https://www.avon.com/repstore/eczaja

Posted in Life with Eve | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Websites

We’ve all been there. Seriously. I’m writing this blog out of frustration!!!!

As many of you know I’m writing a subscription blog for creative careers, named Creative Careers. Ha! And I’ve created another Page for it…you can see it above in the Header. And, I’m trying to make it stand out so ALL of you can see it and flock to it and subscribe to it and rejoice in it and tell your neighbors far and wide about it and…

I love technology…except when the instructions don’t seem to match what comes up on the screen when you do everything they say!!!!!! And I’m pretty darn good at this. Harumph!

So…here I sit. You actually CAN see my new Creative Careers page. But I wanted it to stand out and look sooooo wonderful. Anyway.

Knowing me, I’ll probably rearrange it again. Ha! That’s me. And that’s a lot of people. We fix and fix and fix until we get it right…even if it was right the first time. How many of us have gone full circle with “editing” stuff? I’ve done that with music. Especially editing music for weddings so the bride can enter during the best part but get down the aisle in 60 seconds all whilst making the music sound like a complete work…even if I’ve only played the first page! Ha!

This brings me back to my website blog that I’m writing on now. I put a headline and url in to get to my subscription page, although the page is right there for people to click on. I was frustrated and inventing new words etc., spent a couple of hours haggling on this, and then deleted all the stuff I added. Hahaha! Oy vey!

So. At any rate. Thanks for listening to my website rant. But…this also turned into a big push for my Creative Careers subscription page. Click on the Home page…under the Header. There are 3 pages listed…Home…Creative Careers…Welcome. It’s the middle one…Creative Careers. You knew that. Ha!

Yes, you have to pay $10 per month to read it. But it’s good advice for the “personal achievement” careers. I’ve lived through that stuff and continue to as a musician. It never ends.

Now back to frustrating websites. Actually I think I’ll contact Support for advice…again. Hahahahaha!

Cheers!

https://www.makingmusicwitheve.weebly.com

https://www.avon.com/repstore/eczaja

Posted in Life with Eve | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Where Are We in Life

Have you ever wondered where you actually are in life? Stuff happens…big surgeries, loved ones dying, people losing businesses…what on Earth is going on? Does it make any sense to make plans for the future only when you see it explode without trying? Huh!

That’s kinda what my life has been like the past 5 years. I retired from one job, had a plan, was soooo happy, made some changes for myself personally, then…BOOM! The infamous pandemic caused our Music Studio to close, my best music bud got sick and died, I had major back surgery…umm…

Finances were all over the place. I was all over the place. Tried to take care of my friend as best as I could considering we weren’t living in the same State at the time. I ended up in physical therapy for stress I didn’t even know I was carrying in my upper back. I started teaching with a very fine new Music Studio…in fact I think the owner approached me, since I don’t remember applying to teach there. Then I ended up having back spine surgery and radiation to annihilate a spinal tumor. And, of course, still trying to climb uphill financially whilst recovering.

Then, as I was feeling so much better almost a year ago, my Church called and asked if I could run the office part time due to a situation that was unfolding. Couldn’t say how long they would need me but it’s almost a year and I’m still there, and they still need me. Six months after that my big brother died…great guy. Then 2 months after that my car was totaled by someone in a pickup truck while I sat staring at the red light 20 feet from my home driveway. You end up feeling defeated.

Then little by little the financial situation started to improve. Now it is on the verge of becoming quite good. The “new” car is a car 3 years younger than what I had but a good car and a good deal! I’m feeling very good physically. I’m happier and more upbeat. It’s like my life has made the turn back upward after going downward for a couple of years.

So how do you handle that? Make more plans? Nope! Apparently the Spirit has life under control. I am so convinced of that at this point in my life. I’m not going to “interfere” considering every time I come up with a good plan (ahem!) the Spirit slaps it into infinity and I’m left reeling. Oy vey!

One thing I have always read and am seriously trying to do right now is think more positive than any time in my life. Be upbeat. It’s so easy to be afraid of what might happen in the future. We stress about it and then wonder why it indeed happens. If we can’t control the future then whey are we making ourselves sick about it? The only “real” time is the present. And that is what I am trying to work on with more confidence and definitely prayer. Do what my low gut feeling tells me to do now and feel positive that it will grow for the future…and benefit me. I’ve started doing a couple of new things…like setting up a section of this Blog as a Subscriber Blog about professional musicians. I’m even thinking of taking several of my blogs since the beginning and forming them into a book. I’ve wanted to write a book for several years now.

At any rate, I guess getting the drama out of my life from the past few years has started to clear a path towards seeing a clearer future, one filled with my own talents/desires which are leading to new ideas. Interesting. It is very interesting to see how life unfolds on its own. They always say “things happen for a reason.” I guess that’s true. I wish it wouldn’t be so dramatic but…there is a plan. Don’t you wish you knew what it is in advance? I guess the Spirit just won’t share will It? Harumph!

So how’s your life going? What are you praying for? Is it unfolding the way you thought it would or what???? Think about it.

And as I always say, as you well know, it’s ok to have pie whilst you are pondering your life. It does help!

https://www.avon.com/repstore/eczaja

https://www.makingmusicwitheve.weebly.com

Posted in Eve's Pilosophy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Voices and Building Them

You all know I’m an opera singer and voice teacher of 38 years. So I know a few thousand things about voice.

But I’m always impressed and thrilled when a new student enters the studio and has such a nice natural voice and some knowledge about how to use it. I have a new student who is like that. Two whole lessons and auditioning for her school musical. Nice voice originally. I usually start a lesson by explaining how voices work. Then start tackling the “breathing from the gut” issue. Always interesting to see how each student realizes that.

Starting a student on vocal exercises is always a trip. You very often discover that they have more voice and can hit higher notes than you imagined. And when you start opening them up, it can be purely amazing! The student I’m referring to has a nice natural voice. But as we explored more through some exercises, it opened up into something that was quite nice! We went pretty high up and then explored some pretty nice low notes as well. My diagnosis is that she has a very very nice natural instrument!

She brought her audition song which was handed out to those auditioning so everyone sings the same thing. We went through it. Since she had it almost memorized it was easier to move along and center more on her vocal production. And with a little more coaching to drop her jaw and enunciate the words more clearly, it not only improved her presentation and pitch but brought out more of her voice, making the entire song so nice to hear. I felt that she has a very real shot at getting the role she wants.

So welcome to the world of training a voice. You assess the natural talent. You start exercises etc. You guide that voice during weekly lessons and impress upon the student the need for regular practice. I don’t say daily with voice because voices need rest too. I would encourage one day off per week and a couple of days of light vocalizing. It’s also good to incorporate songs that are not too heavy on the vocal mechanism on the “lighter days.”

As time goes by you start hearing not only a more solid sound and ability to hit higher notes but the voice starts becoming refined as well. More of a sparkling resonance. That refinement is not to be taken lightly! The voice is molding…solidifying. It’s moving forward. It’s like exercising at the gym. After a period of time you start to see your body molding into something more refined. More solid.

The key to developing the voice is to keep going. Yes, that’s it! Just keep doing what you’re doing. It takes some years to make a voice into an opera singing voice but the process is just to keep doing what you’re doing vocally if it works! As you move along the teacher works in more aggressive exercises and singing material. Challenges. Embrace them. You start building stamina. And the voice becomes more brilliant as you move along. It’s called growth.

Of course everything isn’t going to go smoothly. But your training should go somewhat smoothly with a teacher who can hear what is going on in your voice, and one who can guide you to the next step in vocal development. When I started teaching I was told a voice teacher has to develop “functional hearing.” And you do that by paying attention to your own lessons plus listening like crazy to all the famous singers out in the world. You learn in a hurry! And you start hearing “things” in voices that aren’t quite right. I would always say “that singer needs a couple of more years in the lab.” This means a bit more time working some of these issues out for a smoother production.

No not all voices out there performing are perfect. But a good voice teacher (and I think I’m pretty good at this) can hear the issues and strive to help the student through these things. Professional singers usually have a voice teacher to fall back on. One really does need to “check in” somewhat regularly to keep the voice at its best.

Getting back to my new student, I can’t wait to hear how she sounds this week. She really does listen well and will probably be singing her audition song much better than last week! This is exciting for the teacher. The student is taking control of their singing right away. I like that! They have somewhat of a plan you might say, about how they want to pursue and present their voice. And that’s a great recipe for moving forward productively in any walk of life. It’s all in the preparation. And having a good teacher. Yup!

https://www.avon.com/repstore/eczaja

https://www.makingmusicwitheve.weebly.com

Posted in Voice with Eve | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Finding Your Niche

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Posted in Making Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Another Holiday – Labor Day

So here we are, the “end of summer” so to speak. We celebrate the working people who is US! It came about in the 19th Century by the labor unions who were looking for very specific improvements in their working conditions. What came out of it was the 40-day work week with company benefits such as paid time off, vacation time and sick leave. So here we are today celebrating the common worker…US!

And, in my research, it’s the first Monday in September because they just wanted it to be between July 4 and Thanksgiving. In my opinion, we do need a holiday to jump-start our new year after lying low during the warm months of summer. And kids need a boost to starting the new school year.

I personally don’t care if I engage in the usual outdoor barbecue with family and friends. Sometimes you just want a day off. I slept in, made a very nice breakfast (ahem), went for a stress-free ride for about 20 minutes. Then did a bit of laundry…yes, laundry. My winter bedspread. I change to winter in September and to Spring in April. Very much on time I’ll have you know. And you know how it is. You get the urge to “do it now” to get it done so you don’t have to worry about it on a busier day, when you wish you didn’t have to worry about getting it done. Ha!

But you also reflect on the working group of us people…at least I do. We work. All the time. Even if you’re retired you still want to work at something. I remember a priest I used to work for saying right before he retired, that he “wanted to still do some priestly work. Didn’t want to play all the time.” And sure enough. The Bishop at that time used him very well. He sent the priest to be the interim priest at a parish looking for a permanent one, and then to another parish struggling to stay together after some uncomfortable occurrences with the parishioners. And positive results every time! This priest loved what he was doing. And he did it very well for several years after he retired.

So what we also celebrate on Labor Day is being useful. Yes. Humans need to feel needed and useful. I know several self-made millionaires who you would never expect were millionaires at all! They act like normal everyday people. They built their wealth. But they realize it as well. Plus their wealth also helps them to be useful and contribute to other areas of society that need extra help…e.g. charities etc.

I’ve always been the “personal achievement” career person. I think all of you who read my blog have already been saturated with that. Ha! But that’s how I feel useful. Of course I feel useful in the regular jobs I’ve had but I feel the MOST useful when writing about my subjects, the stuff I do with my own personal passion. I’ll bet you can list them in your sleep by now. Ha! Music, Makeup Artistry, Professionalism, My Philosophy about Life. My “categories” are usually listed above the blog…which one I’ve assigned the most recent article.

Anyway. So back to Labor Day. We labor at our stuff and are proud of ourselves. We love accomplishing our stuff. We love accomplishing stuff we’ve invented and making it come to life. I come from a creative family. My Dad especially. He was a musician. He was also a wonderful artist. He built furniture. I’ve done and continue to do all of that. Just so you know, the furniture I’ve built is shockingly still standing. Ha!!!!! But I’m proud of my work. I’m proud of my accomplishments and I have felt very useful engaging in these activities.

Again, that’s what Labor Day is all about. Working, yes. Feeling you’ve accomplished something that was very much needed, yes. Feeling useful, yes. We’re not robots. We love to work and feel we’ve contributed to society. We ALL do.

So do celebrate this Labor Day. Celebrate the working class which is really all of us. Celebrate yourself. Eat a hotdog. Have ice cream. Play games. Lay about. Relax. And yes, I do know that many work on holidays. But still celebrate yourself as you work. Because that’s what us humans do. And we make a pretty darn good collective contribution to our society.

Cheers to Us! I’ll have more pie!

https://www.avon.com/repstore/eczaja

https://www.makingmusicwitheve.weebly.com

Posted in Eve's Pilosophy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Staying Grounded in Creative Careers

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Posted in Making Music | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Name

I was reading my own blog mind you (haha) and saw a “prompt” that said “Where does your name come from?” Good thing to write about. I hadn’t thought about that. Ha!

Well, here goes. My first name is after my mother, Evelyn. She always told me it was from Eve, the first woman on Earth, as in Adam and Eve. It actually is derived from the old Medieval French name “Aveline.” There is a pretty long history of the name Evelyn and its variants online.

The name “Evelyn” itself is of English origin associated with meanings “desired” or “beautiful.” (Gosh…thanks!!!) It also used to be a name for both men and women years ago. However in the current times it’s become only a woman’s name. In Polish, which I am, it’s “Ewelina” (pronounced ev-ve-leena). Yes, I have been called that as well. I’ve also been called Evenly, Eleven, even Twelve and Thirteen (joking around). My big sister calls me “Eves” for whatever reason she uses plural. Hahaha!

So now the last name, Czaja (pronounced chah-ya) is not the most common Polish name around. Not a ton of us in the USA. You’d think we would all be related. But we’re not. In fact being from Chicago, there was a family on the far South Side with the exact name of my Dad, Mom and older sister. And we didn’t know the other family existed until we got their mail one day…sent to the wrong address. We were floored! Ha!

This is my Father’s lineage in Poland. It apparently has roots in the name “czajka” which means “lapwing” (bird). My nephew actually drew a picture of a lapwing a number of years ago. He researched the name and found a bird. Ha! I had also read some time ago that my name Czaja was in the same family with the Russian name Tchaikovsky, like you know, the great Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. I’ll take it!

And…my Mom’s maiden name, LaBuda, is derived from the Polish word “labud” which means “swan.” So my Mom was Evelyn Helen Mary Labuda (swan) Czaja (lapwing). And my Mom’s 2 sisters had married names Sowa (owl) and Drozd (thrush). So they were birds too!

So as you can see, my family was for the birds!!!! And we’re all musical. And Mom and I had really good singing voices which I took as far as becoming an opera singer. And with our close relatives also being for the birds, I guess that explains how nuts we all are. Ha!

Interesting stuff investigating your own name. And lots of information actually tracing the origins and meanings…how it came into being the actual name it is. Haha! But with all that being said, I’m very happily Evelyn Virginia Sophia Czaja.

Now go out there and start investigating your own name. Seriously. There’s tons of information online that you can begin to trace. You just might find something as incredible as I did…that both sides of my family were for the birds! Chirp chirp. Ha!

Enjoy!

https://www.makingmusicwitheve.weebly.com

https://www.avon.com/repstore/eczaja

Posted in Life with Eve | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Navigating Skincare and Makeup

Oy vey! SOOOO many products on the market. Skincare that deals with real skin issues…in about 5 minutes after applying it! Wow! That’s even faster than having surgery!

All kinds of interesting product additives which sound kinda weird but can make you look younger lickety-split…even though you seriously wonder what that weird ingredient actually is.

Lots of new makeup items…foundations, glowy products so you can “glow,” blushes, lipsticks, uhhhhh…I’m exhausted thinking about this and I haven’t even mentioned most of the new products out there.

If you’re drowning in this sea of “what on Earth do I use already” you’re not alone. I’ve been using and studying skincare and makeup for just about as long as I’ve been studying music. And yet…the one piece of advice I always fall back on is something a Merle Norman Skincare/Makeup Studio employee told me some…I dunno…45 years ago? I dearly loved Merle Norman. One day I was sitting in the studio and we were doing some makeup thing and talking about products etc. She said, “it doesn’t really matter which products you use. Just use something to help your skin.” She’s right!

My Mom always used Ponds Cold Cream to cleanse and moisturize. Never soap. She had great skin. After a while my sister got her going on Mary Kay products. Also a great choice. Mary Kay Ash looked glamorous until the end!

And that’s my point as well. I have written before about using what works for you. I always look for ingredients such as Hyaluronic acid (something our own bodies produce), Vitamin C, Niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3), Aloe vera, Shea butter…to name a few. The less artificial components in your skincare and makeup the better. And…I also always promote cleansing and moisturizing rituals both in the morning and in the evening. The evening is really when you want to deep cleanse. “Beauty is born at night” they always say. Try to make that come true for yourself.

Plus it takes only 5-10 minutes to accomplish this. Do you honestly think I want to spend 25 minutes in the morning and evening doing a skincare routine? And I’m a skincare addict! Nope! Cleanse…eye cream…facial serum…moisturizer…done! 6 minutes. Haha! In case you think this is too fast (and snarky) of me, remember you’re after long-term success. Regular skincare does provide this!!!! Get it into your daily routine like brushing your teeth. You’ll be amazed at how little time you spend doing this and how good you get at it! And you’ll also be amazed at how you look on your 65th birthday when everyone is aghast…”you’re 65? Gosh…you look 15 years younger!” And that, my friends, is the point! You age gracefully and classy. And it makes you feel confident and more in control. It’s not surgery and you won’t look 25 at 65 but you’ll look great for 65! You will!!!!

My advice has always been to look at the product line you are interested in. Look at reviews from actual users. Also look at ingredients. If you are sold on what you are reading then try a product. You may have to do this 2-3 times etc. before you settle on a product or full product line that works for you. Be sure to look for products that deal with sensitive skin if that’s what you need. Be picky! The key point is that your skin feels good…moisturized. You can do this. You can navigate this sea of products and find yourself a great routine.

Switching to makeup…I’ve always said as a Makeup Artist mind you, you don’t have to do makeup if you don’t want to. And if you want to, you don’t have to do a makeup routine to rival a showbiz celebrity on stage. Again, like the skincare advice, try a few products from a makeup line that you are interested in. See if it works for you. Look at the list of ingredients. You might even try looking up online the more organic lines of makeup and what their ratings are especially from top-notch cosmetologists and dermatologists. You might have to do this 2-3 times like the skincare project.

There is such a thing as natural makeup. You use what you want where you want it. One of my cousins said years ago, “…as long as you feel finished.” And she’s right. I usually do only eye makeup/eyebrows and lipstick for daily stuff…after my morning skincare routine. If I have to teach (musician here) or do something else more formal, well it’s the whole foundation, eye makeup, blush, lipstick routine. But realistically. Not for the stage and not heavy-handed. And the more organic/natural products you use the more your skin retains its moisture during the day. Your makeup doesn’t dry out. If you’re doing your skincare routine correctly with good products and your makeup the same, then your skin will look good all day. Seriously!

All the big famous skincare/makeup lines are using more natural ingredients in their products. Consumers demand it especially the younger ones who are entering into this world of skincare/makeup now. We older ladies used many products years ago with some ingredients that not only are not natural but not very good for us either. Good thing most cosmetic companies are seeing their way into going more organic. This includes Korean and Japanese products which are very much organic and great to use. So, lots to explore out there.

And please don’t feel defeated or unwilling to try because of the volume of skincare/makeup products out there. We’re all overwhelmed! That’s a given. Take baby steps. It’s an adventure. And you’ll gradually educate yourself so that as you investigate more products, you’ll know exactly what to look for because it works for you. Then you’ll be unstoppable…and opinionated…like me. Ha!

Enjoy! It’s a trip!

https://www.avon.com/repstore/eczaja

https://www.makingmusicwitheve.weebly.com

Posted in Makeup Artistry | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Summer Time

What a time to write about Summer…when it’s almost half way through August. Ha!

Well, there’s been a bit of uncomfortable stuff happening since March so yeah, I guess I didn’t get to this “down time” relaxing moment until now. Better late than never right?

In March my big brother died, in April my incredible back/spinal surgeon was killed in a private plane crash, and in May some company pickup truck slammed into me from behind and ended up totaling my car. So. Not really in the mood for musing about relaxation periods during the summertime. But here goes anyway.

We do so much in our lives. Then we worry about all of that…daily. Oy vey! Then we solve daily problems in our lives. Then with the 10 minutes we have left in that day or even in the week, we try to relax. Hmmm…

I don’t have an answer for this. I know a lot of therapists, psychologists talk about prioritizing stuff, going to exercise classes like Yoga which can help one relax, meditation, etc. I’m not quite into that. I’m the type of person that might actually do all of this then come home and continue stressing out over the same stuff like I just took a “coffee break” and returned to my job. Hahaha!

But at the moment, I’ve been just laying back and trying to savor the end of summer as low-key as I can. Just knowing that you don’t have tons of activities to attend to, holidays etc. makes you feel a bit more relaxed and not overtly stressed out. There has to be some time in your yearly routine that you can actually feel you can put things on the back burner and chill. Ahhhhhh… Not to worry. All those things you aren’t stressed out over now are not going away. They’ll resurface when the summer-relaxed-time is over.

This relaxed time also lets you reflect on what you’re doing during the year…besides the crappy surprises like car accidents etc. And for me, what am I really doing re my music business, Avon business, advertising my businesses etc. This is where I came up with the decision to monetize a part of my infamous Blog, the part about being a professional creative person…musician, make-up artist, Avon lady. Personal achievement careers as I like to call them.

This relaxed time also helps us reorganize ourselves to be more efficient which leads us to be less stressed when pole-vaulting through the year trying to balance everything. It’s like de-cluttering your home. You move stuff out of the house and reorganize and hopefully feel better about how things are organized now.

Another type of reorganization is when a couple of people close to you have died. In 2022 my best friend/music bud died. I took stock of my life insurance and actually doubled it so I would be more confident having adequate coverage for an entire funeral. After my big brother died in March of this year, I looked at my Trustee, POA and WILL documents. I upgraded those to reflect the current situation now. This type of real personal action makes you feel lighter, like you’ve shed some emotional weight etc. Interesting.

And of course, taking stock of your diet and health. What healthy things do you do daily and most days during the week that work for you? See improvement? What can you tailor a bit to work better and make you feel better?

Lots of things in your life run through your mind when you have time to let them, without stressing about them. And what you can accomplish, rethink, reorganize, reprioritize etc. is truly amazing. And the stuff is still there…only more reasonable. More handle-able.

So. I’m actually still chilling after writing this. Anyone who knows me knows this is impossible for me. But I actually am! Cool. Ha!

You know, you still have a couple of weeks before the return of the yearly routine…beginning of September. Still have time to calmly rethink and reorganize your stuff. Watch TV whilst you’re doing it. Listen to your favorite music. Eat your favorite food before you return to your healthy way of living. Ha! You’ll get it done and without the usual stress. Yay!

https://www.makingmusicwitheve.weebly.com

https://www.avon.com/repstore/eczaja

Posted in Life with Eve | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment