So, you've heard me talk about this for months now. You have seen how much fun I had at the competition. You've read tons and tons of posts and info about how dance has changed my life for the better.
You watched Dancing with the Stars and thought "Wow..." or "GEEZ! I could do that better than Master P or Kenny Mayne!!!!"
Deep down, you've secretly wished that you know know to waltz and rumba. Or maybe even two step.
Now, here is your chance. Dance World has a free - FREE - party on Tuesday evening September 5 at 8pm.
Directions here (it's near the Purity Dairy on Murfreesboro Rd.)
There's a little social time where you will have a chance to meet some of the instructors and then a mini class where they will teach the first pattern in 3 dances (I believe waltz, rumba, and foxtrot).
If you can't make it but still want to give it a try at a cheap price, they have an introductory special which is 2 private lessons, the Newcomer class on Monday night, and one of the weekend dance parties (which also includes a class before hand) for $49. You can't beat that with a stick.
There are no contracts; no obligations to continue on past that. No pressure. Call Todd at 646-1365. Please say you are one of Jonnelle's friends (I told him my blog name but I seriously doubt he'll remember).
If you go in September, it helps me out because there is the first ever guest contest. One of the prizes is a free coaching session. I'm not sure with who but I think it is David Hamilton (you know - I've talked about him before). I really really want that prize... help me out by trying Dance World out in September!
You know you want to try it out. So go do it. Thanks!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Fashion Review at VU
So, the students are back. This means a slew of funky clothes that I've seen before the first time around appear.
As Mr. Roboto has pointed out, the 1980's are back and have been back for a while. Popped collars, leggings with skirts or oversized t-shirts are back. I have the latest issue of Vogue still in the wrapper for fear that it will remind me too much of middle school.
I rocked that the first time around in 1986. I'm not doing it again.
And then today... what did I see?
A terry cloth romper. As in something I would wear to the beach to cover up my swimsuit. It does nothing to flatter the shape of a woman's body. It makes her boobs look like they are either non-exsistent or hanging at the waist.
I think there is a serious mis-representation that the Vanderbunnies are always dressed to the nines and overly made up. Seeing them on a day to day basis, they look more like they just rolled out of bed and picked up what was on the floor. That and designers are getting lazy by passing off bed and beachwear as the latest craze.
A terry cloth romper? What age are they? 4?
While I am at it - don't wear tapered leg jeans or leggings or stirrup pants (Oh geez.. I just felt something in my throat. Yuck). E-V-E-R. The only possible exception are the models they put those clothes on for the runways and advertisements. You need to be 5'10" and 110 lbs for those things to look good. If you are a normal woman and your legs to look good, go for a straight or boot cut leg.
If banana clips come back, that's it. The world will official be in a handbasket on its way to a very warm place.
As Mr. Roboto has pointed out, the 1980's are back and have been back for a while. Popped collars, leggings with skirts or oversized t-shirts are back. I have the latest issue of Vogue still in the wrapper for fear that it will remind me too much of middle school.
I rocked that the first time around in 1986. I'm not doing it again.
And then today... what did I see?
A terry cloth romper. As in something I would wear to the beach to cover up my swimsuit. It does nothing to flatter the shape of a woman's body. It makes her boobs look like they are either non-exsistent or hanging at the waist.
I think there is a serious mis-representation that the Vanderbunnies are always dressed to the nines and overly made up. Seeing them on a day to day basis, they look more like they just rolled out of bed and picked up what was on the floor. That and designers are getting lazy by passing off bed and beachwear as the latest craze.
A terry cloth romper? What age are they? 4?
While I am at it - don't wear tapered leg jeans or leggings or stirrup pants (Oh geez.. I just felt something in my throat. Yuck). E-V-E-R. The only possible exception are the models they put those clothes on for the runways and advertisements. You need to be 5'10" and 110 lbs for those things to look good. If you are a normal woman and your legs to look good, go for a straight or boot cut leg.
If banana clips come back, that's it. The world will official be in a handbasket on its way to a very warm place.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Word to the Wise....
You... in the silver Lexus Sportsmans on 21st....
WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING!!!
You missed me by about 6 inches. I was able to put my hand on the hood of your car.
You, Sir or Madam - I didn't look to see who was driving, are an official dumba$$.
WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING!!!
You missed me by about 6 inches. I was able to put my hand on the hood of your car.
You, Sir or Madam - I didn't look to see who was driving, are an official dumba$$.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
A follow-up
Yeah. That last post was kind of a downer. Y'all probably were wondering if I was drowning my sorrows in Oreos or pita and hummus (my current vice... er... favorite snack).
Nope.
I keep looking at the pictures and thinking "D*mn. I look good." The makeup was perfect. The hair, though painful and very crunchy by the end of day three, was rocking. I'm not sure what I will do next time. I don't think I could stand that many bobby pins and rubber bands in my hair again. I was driving home when I finished and was ripping the rubber bands apart because they were seriously hurting my head. Every stop light...
*snap*
*twist*
*sigh of relief*
*repeat*
I met with my dietician last week and we talked about the fact that I stalled out for the month of July. Understandable - there was a major transition in my life. I ate out almost every meal, which meant a much higher sodium intake and fluid retention. So, it is back to the food journals and watching every portion. I get plenty of exercise but eventually I am going to have to add regular strength training and yoga to my schedule. Muscle burns more calories, even if it does weigh more. So August is going well.
We talked about my goal for the rest of this year: to lose another 20 lbs.
She asked if I didn't hit that number would I be upset.
I said "No. There are countless other benefits to what I am doing. I am happier overall. My mood has improved. My blood pressure has gone WAY down. It's almost normal. My clothes keep getting bigger and bigger on me. I just had to re-purchase my wardrobe - for the second time this year. As much fun as that is, I would rather not do that again until the spring lines are out for next year. My skin has cleared up for the most part. The number will eventually catch up to what I am doing. I can't be fixated on that. 20 lbs is a reasonable goal but if I only lose 18, that's fine, too."
She said that was a very healthy attitude to have about it because she has had clients who felt like complete failures because they were one pound short of their goal. To me, that says they still have many emotional issues regarding food and their bodies.
I know. I still have them. Part of me wants to explain some of this to Todd. Part of me says that it isn't any of his business. When I told Linda (my belly dance instructor) that I dropped another dress size, she was so proud of me. I thought her face was going to pop off her head for her smiling and beaming. You know - that kind of re-enforcement is enough to keep anyone going.
One of the problems is perspective. I don't have it. Everyone else can really see the changes in my body, even from week to week. Often, it isn't until my pants fall down that I start to grasp it. Even then, I don't have a real perspective or longitudinal view of what has been happening. That is until I saw the DVD from Presentation of Standard back in early June.
That nasty voice tried again to tell me how fat and ugly I was. I told him to shut the hell up because I wasn't falling for that twice. I know how I felt at Presentation and the competition. I bought the lie once. No dice. I felt awesome. Everyone said that we looked very comfortable and like we were having a great time. So, I watched the video and saw "OK... flappy bird arms. That is something that Alisa fixed in the coaching session. I know I don't do that anymore. Thank God. That is awful. But.. wow... WOW! I really can see how much smaller I am than I was just barely 2 months ago. My stomach is smaller. My arms are smaller. My face is thinner... my hair looks better now (kudos to my stylist and the magic of color!) I can really see it! It is working. I am doing something right."
An aside that I've probably told everyone but will just tell you again because I can't remember. One of the dances we did is called the Peabody. It is a fast foxtrot. Its international standard cousin is the Quickstep. Todd sprung this one me 2 days before the competition. Fortunately, we had been working on many of the same concepts for other dances so I didn't have too difficult of a time picking it up.
Anyway, at the comp, we were the only couple out on the floor. Not many people know the dance so it is a fight to keep it alive and kicking. Only one other person over the 3 day event entered a Peabody event. She was as a much higher level than me (and older). One of the other instructors came up to Todd sometime on Friday and said "my students were watching you with that girl in the purple dress. They all want to learn the Peabody now. She looked like she was have the absolute best time."
I was! How can you not love dancing to Cole Porter's "Let's Misbehave?" I was singing along and dancing away. I saw the judges smiling and having a good time and in the middle of it Todd says "Are you remembering your heel leads?"
"Yes!"
And when I won I said "See? I told you I was taking heel leads." One thing is that even if you are the only person in an event, the judges do not have to give you first place. It isn't automatic that you will win. I've heard stories of people getting 2's and even 3's. Still, it felt a little hollow.
Nope.
I keep looking at the pictures and thinking "D*mn. I look good." The makeup was perfect. The hair, though painful and very crunchy by the end of day three, was rocking. I'm not sure what I will do next time. I don't think I could stand that many bobby pins and rubber bands in my hair again. I was driving home when I finished and was ripping the rubber bands apart because they were seriously hurting my head. Every stop light...
*snap*
*twist*
*sigh of relief*
*repeat*
I met with my dietician last week and we talked about the fact that I stalled out for the month of July. Understandable - there was a major transition in my life. I ate out almost every meal, which meant a much higher sodium intake and fluid retention. So, it is back to the food journals and watching every portion. I get plenty of exercise but eventually I am going to have to add regular strength training and yoga to my schedule. Muscle burns more calories, even if it does weigh more. So August is going well.
We talked about my goal for the rest of this year: to lose another 20 lbs.
She asked if I didn't hit that number would I be upset.
I said "No. There are countless other benefits to what I am doing. I am happier overall. My mood has improved. My blood pressure has gone WAY down. It's almost normal. My clothes keep getting bigger and bigger on me. I just had to re-purchase my wardrobe - for the second time this year. As much fun as that is, I would rather not do that again until the spring lines are out for next year. My skin has cleared up for the most part. The number will eventually catch up to what I am doing. I can't be fixated on that. 20 lbs is a reasonable goal but if I only lose 18, that's fine, too."
She said that was a very healthy attitude to have about it because she has had clients who felt like complete failures because they were one pound short of their goal. To me, that says they still have many emotional issues regarding food and their bodies.
I know. I still have them. Part of me wants to explain some of this to Todd. Part of me says that it isn't any of his business. When I told Linda (my belly dance instructor) that I dropped another dress size, she was so proud of me. I thought her face was going to pop off her head for her smiling and beaming. You know - that kind of re-enforcement is enough to keep anyone going.
One of the problems is perspective. I don't have it. Everyone else can really see the changes in my body, even from week to week. Often, it isn't until my pants fall down that I start to grasp it. Even then, I don't have a real perspective or longitudinal view of what has been happening. That is until I saw the DVD from Presentation of Standard back in early June.
That nasty voice tried again to tell me how fat and ugly I was. I told him to shut the hell up because I wasn't falling for that twice. I know how I felt at Presentation and the competition. I bought the lie once. No dice. I felt awesome. Everyone said that we looked very comfortable and like we were having a great time. So, I watched the video and saw "OK... flappy bird arms. That is something that Alisa fixed in the coaching session. I know I don't do that anymore. Thank God. That is awful. But.. wow... WOW! I really can see how much smaller I am than I was just barely 2 months ago. My stomach is smaller. My arms are smaller. My face is thinner... my hair looks better now (kudos to my stylist and the magic of color!) I can really see it! It is working. I am doing something right."
An aside that I've probably told everyone but will just tell you again because I can't remember. One of the dances we did is called the Peabody. It is a fast foxtrot. Its international standard cousin is the Quickstep. Todd sprung this one me 2 days before the competition. Fortunately, we had been working on many of the same concepts for other dances so I didn't have too difficult of a time picking it up.
Anyway, at the comp, we were the only couple out on the floor. Not many people know the dance so it is a fight to keep it alive and kicking. Only one other person over the 3 day event entered a Peabody event. She was as a much higher level than me (and older). One of the other instructors came up to Todd sometime on Friday and said "my students were watching you with that girl in the purple dress. They all want to learn the Peabody now. She looked like she was have the absolute best time."
I was! How can you not love dancing to Cole Porter's "Let's Misbehave?" I was singing along and dancing away. I saw the judges smiling and having a good time and in the middle of it Todd says "Are you remembering your heel leads?"
"Yes!"
And when I won I said "See? I told you I was taking heel leads." One thing is that even if you are the only person in an event, the judges do not have to give you first place. It isn't automatic that you will win. I've heard stories of people getting 2's and even 3's. Still, it felt a little hollow.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Looking Fabulous and Feeling Fat
First, I think I am completely addicted to ballroom competitions now. It is like meth or crack but better for you. And it is about as expensive once you add up the coaching, lessons, costuming, makeup, hair, accessories and all that.
I know I haven't talked all that much about it here because it would likely encompass about a week's worth of blog posts. As you can see from the flickr pictures, I looked great. I had a great time. Seriously. It was probably one of the best times of my life. Everyone said I looked like I was having so much fun. One instructor told Todd that all of his students now wanted to learn The Peabody after seeing our demonstration of it. David Hamilton gave me some good marks (and lots of compliments on my dresses).
Ben Ermis said that I was doing very well - "very soft through your knees, relaxed.. beautiful expression." (Ben and his wife Shalene are the 2004 National Champions in American Smooth. They are so good. Shalene makes me want to learn the man's part just so I can dance with her.) Todd rushed over to participate in that conversation. It was really cute.
And after such a high like that, there is bound to come a major fall. I got the video from the smooth dances (I didn't know I was supposed to turn the order form in before the event so I missed the rhythm dances). Within 2 seconds I got nausated and had to shut it off. It took a couple of different attempts but I finished the video. I was so sick to my stomach. What I saw on there was what the enemy wanted me to see: a distortion. I saw how big I looked. I thought "Oh my God... what a disgusting fat blob. I can't believe I look like that. How ugly!"
Nevermind the many many compliments I recieved over the weekend. Nevermind how I know I felt. I allowed myself to spiral down into a hole that took 3 days to get out of... many tears and a lot of frustration and prayer.
Elena reminded me of something truly special about the entire weekend: it was a place where people came together for a shared hobby, regardless of color, age, or body type. We got together to have a good time and cheer each other on to do our very best. My own perceptions got in the way.
The realization of "it was all a lie" came when I went clothes shopping this weekend and have dropped another dress size. I'm now as small as I was in the 8th grade (as best as I can remember). That completely rocks.
I know I haven't talked all that much about it here because it would likely encompass about a week's worth of blog posts. As you can see from the flickr pictures, I looked great. I had a great time. Seriously. It was probably one of the best times of my life. Everyone said I looked like I was having so much fun. One instructor told Todd that all of his students now wanted to learn The Peabody after seeing our demonstration of it. David Hamilton gave me some good marks (and lots of compliments on my dresses).
Ben Ermis said that I was doing very well - "very soft through your knees, relaxed.. beautiful expression." (Ben and his wife Shalene are the 2004 National Champions in American Smooth. They are so good. Shalene makes me want to learn the man's part just so I can dance with her.) Todd rushed over to participate in that conversation. It was really cute.
And after such a high like that, there is bound to come a major fall. I got the video from the smooth dances (I didn't know I was supposed to turn the order form in before the event so I missed the rhythm dances). Within 2 seconds I got nausated and had to shut it off. It took a couple of different attempts but I finished the video. I was so sick to my stomach. What I saw on there was what the enemy wanted me to see: a distortion. I saw how big I looked. I thought "Oh my God... what a disgusting fat blob. I can't believe I look like that. How ugly!"
Nevermind the many many compliments I recieved over the weekend. Nevermind how I know I felt. I allowed myself to spiral down into a hole that took 3 days to get out of... many tears and a lot of frustration and prayer.
Elena reminded me of something truly special about the entire weekend: it was a place where people came together for a shared hobby, regardless of color, age, or body type. We got together to have a good time and cheer each other on to do our very best. My own perceptions got in the way.
The realization of "it was all a lie" came when I went clothes shopping this weekend and have dropped another dress size. I'm now as small as I was in the 8th grade (as best as I can remember). That completely rocks.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Comments on Bellevue Community Church
I spent the morning working on a big ol' long post on the events at BCC. After some thought and a little prayer, I've decided not to post it except for one thing.
I am asking all of my brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for BCC. I've read some very hurtful and ugly things as well as some very reasonable statements from members on both sides. Pray for healing, God's guidence and wisdom, and peace in this very difficult time.
To those that feel wounded by the firing of Dr. Foster, there is no reason to disrupt a church service over it with banners, buttons, and threats. If you are that hurt by it, don't go. Find another church, but be aware that you are dangerously close to falling into the cult of David Foster zone. Find constructive ways to air your grievences and concerns. AND hear both sides of the issue. Ask both the elders and Dr. Foster tough questions. Push through any spin and ask for hard evidence.
Ask God to guide you on where you need to be. Don't let the emotions drive you to or from a church. God is in control and let Him direct you. You may still be needed at BCC.
I am asking all of my brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for BCC. I've read some very hurtful and ugly things as well as some very reasonable statements from members on both sides. Pray for healing, God's guidence and wisdom, and peace in this very difficult time.
To those that feel wounded by the firing of Dr. Foster, there is no reason to disrupt a church service over it with banners, buttons, and threats. If you are that hurt by it, don't go. Find another church, but be aware that you are dangerously close to falling into the cult of David Foster zone. Find constructive ways to air your grievences and concerns. AND hear both sides of the issue. Ask both the elders and Dr. Foster tough questions. Push through any spin and ask for hard evidence.
Ask God to guide you on where you need to be. Don't let the emotions drive you to or from a church. God is in control and let Him direct you. You may still be needed at BCC.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Pictures from this weekend
are up at flickr. Go see. Go see! And this picture was the best birthday present I could have received. I love it!!!!
Movie Quote
Teacher: Earth that was could no longer sustain our numbers, we were so many. We found a new solar system, dozens of planets and hundreds of moons. Each one terra-formed a process taking decades, to support human life, to be new earths. The Central Planets formed the Alliance. Ruled by an interplanetary parliament, the Alliance was a beacon of civilization. The savage outer planets were not so enlightened and refused Alliance control. The war was devastating, but the Alliance's victory over the Independents insured a safer universe. And now everyone can enjoy the comfort, and enlightenment of our civilization.THAT is why I love Serenity.
Young River: People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome.
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