I Could Settle For A Slow Down...

I love the Spring season. The weather just seems to make every perky and happier! The downfall to that...it makes kids not want to be inside at dance class. My kids are MORE than ready for Spring Break, as am I.

I am looking forward to the next week off from teaching. I am entitling it my "mental holiday." Not having a break since Christmas can do some damage to yourself mentally. I have been trying NOT to plan my week of break off and just enjoy some time to myself, but those of you who know how I am this is very difficult to do. I still will be working half days for the awesome Town of Garner, but that is OK with me considering I get my nights off and can have dinner at an actual dinner hour and watch my night time shows. I really would love to take a day trip to the beach and just enjoy the sand and sun. But then that involves those awesome gas prices we have going on right now and money is pretty tight.

I cannot remember the last time things in my life were steady or not in full speed. SO MUCH IS ALWAYS GOING ON. The next few weeks I will once again have to move into a new space which I am excited about but the fact of moving and unpacking and organizing makes me a nervous wreck. Recital is also fast approaching which means even more chaos! I am really looking forward to recital this year. I love watching my kids dance on stage and seeing them light up. Watching them get their costumes last week and just the excitement of that made my week. My kids have been working hard and once Spring Break is over we get into the weeks of the nitty griddy to make sure every last detail is polished and ready!

As of right now I think a weekend of puppy love will cure anything! I am puppy sitting Charley this weekend and I am really excited to spend some time with this doggy! Also my boss, Dawn is getting married on Saturday to a really great guy. I am so honored to get to be apart of their day and get to celebrate a beautiful relationship they have. So maybe this weekend's kick off to Spring Break will be just what I need...puppy, friends, & a great example of true love!

Here we go Spring Break 2011!

Competition Season

So it is that time of year...MARCH MADNESS.

Not the exact March Madness you may be thinking of but the March Madness that takes place in every dance studio across the state. It is crunch time. Two more months till recitial and competitions among the company kids are flaring up!

This year I had the pleasure of getting to choreograph four numbers to go off to competition.

3 solos 1 duet.

I have really enjoyed getting the chance to teach these kids numbers and watch them perform on stage. They are very dedicated and work very hard to do their best at performing their routines. I very much loooooved picking out their costumes. Though my fashion friend Canaday will tell you, I may not be up on all the trends when it comes to daily wear...I do know how to pick out a sassy costume and bedazzle it up!

My first soloist, Emily, is a sassy middle schooler who knows how to work it when it comes to being on stage. I could not let her down with her routine when she choose the Pussycat Song, "Wait A Minute." The girl plum tickles me when I watch her perform.

She could entertain any type of crowd and that is why the child TOTALLY deserved the overall 1st place she got at the very first competition we went to. I was so proud. If this is what it feels like to be a proud Mom, I am well on the way.

My next soloist is Miss Morgan. Like Emily she is a sassy middle schooler who LOVES jazz dance like her dear teacher Miss Amy. She is dancing to Ally & AJ's "Potiential Break-Up Song." Her debut performance was this past weekend where she killed it on stage.

Morgan is so dedicated to dance she will always try and perfect any move thrown at her.

I was so proud of her first performance and she looked KILLER in her Lady GaGa inspired outfit with her rhinestone fishnets and that slicked back bun she had going on. 4th overall at her first try. Heck no one can complain with that!

As for my last soloist, Chandler, she is a very special high school junior who has been dancing most her life. She is a very unique girl who always goes against the trend and loves to stand out in her special way. I wish I could be half the individualist she is. Unfortunately Chandler went through what all dancers HATE...the dreaded injury. She had a bad knee injury that led to some inflamation and prevented her from performing her "Cosmic Love" solo. Chandler's song is such a mix of lyrical and jazz flare it works PERFECT for her considering she loves to break the trend. I cannot wait for her to perform it this next weekend in Raleigh!

Finally, my two high schoolers Paige and Chandler or as I like to call them Paigey & Chan Chan (haha). They took on the task of learning one of my highly emotional lyrical pieces. Christina Agularia's "You Lost Me," started out as a combo this past summer for a lyrical class I was subbing for. The owner of the studio loved is so much it became Paige and Chandler's lyrical duet to compete with. I found this very interesting considering I know I would have spent SO much more time coming up with a concept and material HAD I KNOWN this little combo would develop into a routine! Instead I just went with heart and feeling to make movement to this amazing song. Chandler and Paige do me MORE than proud when they perform. Standing off in the wing last competition in tears I have never been so proud to have any of my work performed they way they did with such emotion and dedication. Seeing both of them tear up the first competition while performing really showed me that I was doing more as teacher than just teaching them dance, I was showing them what dance emotionally was all about and I didn't have the chance to experience till college. I love working with these girls because they are almost old enough to understand the meaning behind things and the dedication it takes to be a good dancer. If you are in Raleigh next weekend YOU MUST come see them perform. They are something else.

So far this year I loved teaching the team and watching them perform on stage. I hope I get many more opportunities to choreograph for them! If anyone is interested in coming the first weekend in April to watch the girls perform PLEASE let me know. They will be in Raleigh at the Memorial Auditorium!!

Life After the Holiday Season

So here it is 2011.
The holidays are gone. My two week break from teaching is sadly over. And my mailbox is currently filling up with bills and tax filing information. In a way I am glad the holidays are over. My credit card gets a break and I only have to go two more weeks before I can get a paycheck.

2011 seems to be a bit more promising in big girl land. I remember back to this time a year ago how I was so excited that it was 2010 because it was "our" year. I spent New Years Eve in my wonderful Meredith apartment with my amazing roommate and her awesome photography skills excited for the year to head my way. As I welcomed in 2011 a week ago I decided to go out for once on New Years instead of sitting in on the couch and waiting for Dick Clark to drop his ball on Times Square...which I will attend one year...it is on my bucket list. I was surrounded by my friends dancing and celebrating. Even though I had to wait till New Years Day to get my "real" kiss of the New Year, I was fortunate enough to get many good luck cheek kisses from my wonderful guy friends. I knew that night I was fortunate to be surrounded by my good friends to ring in yet another year.

2011 has a lot to look forward. To begin...
- I have not one, not two, but SIX weddings so far to be apart of/attend. This will involve a lot of celebrating my friends next BIG step into the big world.

- It will be my first year having my choreography judged at competition with my lovely students. Five pieces of my work will go to competition starting in February. This is very nerve racking but I know will help shape me even more as a teacher.

- I will be leading my own two week dance camp this summer for the town of Garner. BIG DEAL. I guess working for the town part-time has its perks!

- I will be attending the PULSE tour which is a dance convention of all the top choreographers of today's time such as Mia Michaels, Wade Robeson, Laurieann Gibson, and so on. Really excited to be taking there classes and be standing within 10 feet of all these people.


HOWEVER there are things that I need to work on for the year
1. USE MONEY WISELY.
2. Find a permanent living situation for myself so I won't have to worry about moving anymore.
3. Continue to stay creative with my choreography
4. Start saving money better considering I have to live off it during the summer
5. Don't sweat the small stuff
6. ALWAYS stay happy for others in there endeavors...one day I will want them to feel the same for me
7. Find some sort of community service involvement
8. Have more girl nights...much needed girl nights
9. Learn to cook more in depth recipes
10. Get a puppy...no puppy will ever replace little Lily but (wo)man needs her best friend


Hopefully I can accomplish those 10 goals. If so I would be quite content with myself. So here is cheers to a new year, a new beginning, and a promising future.

End of 2010

So the end of 2010 is fastly approaching. It seems weird that such an epic year is coming to a close so soon. I remember last year at this time I was nothing but pumped for the year 2010 because it was the year that I had been waiting for what seemed like forever. This was the year I was finally going to be forever finished with school and be able to start my new life! As I look back on the year I think about all that I have done/accomplished/been through/paid for (most important).

It has been a costly year with a new apartment, new expenses (bills), and attempting at saving a little puppy's life. All these things have come with great headache but I have grown from them to say the least.

I have to look back on the year on the good things though. I graduated college, I have two jobs that provide for me. I am teaching dance to some wonderful kids, I have a place to live, and I have kept up some pretty important friendships. For that I have to be thankful for what I have. Bad things will always come up but I believe it is all about how you approach them and what you learn from them. Now as I face 2011 I have to look forward to a LOT of close friends getting married, unfortunately a new living situation, heading a dance camp this summer for the town of Garner, and hopefully new developments within my career. Maybe within 2011 I can become finacally stable, find a decent living situation, and try again at the whole man's best friend. As long as I surrounded by important friendships and my family I know I will be able to make it through as much as I can.

Cheers to 2011!

Things I love about Fall

1. Cooler Weather
   
2. Scarfs
3. Pumpkins
4. Candy Corn
5. Pumpkin Bread
6. Colored Leaves
7. Light weight jackets
8. October Birthdays : )
   
9. Boots
10. Smaller energy bill!

Here is to hope that this blog post will send good vibes towards the weather and grant us our fall wishes!!

My Kids

OK so I do not have kids of my own BUT after becoming a full time dance teacher this year all my kids that I see every week have transformed into "my kids." I look forward to seeing my kids each week, listening to the stories they have to tell me, and it is always a good day when I get self portrait drawings of myself from my kids. They never cease to amuse me.

This is what I look like apparently to one of my four year olds. Pretty entertaining.

I have to admit I am a fan of the MTV "Teen Mom." Tonight's finale episode got the water works going when one of the Mom's Caitlynn was reunited with her daughter a year after giving her up for adoption. Although she was sixteen when she made the decision, I feel like she was very grown up and mature with her decision because she herself knew she could not provide what this child deserved. Her reunion with her daughter really brought to attention to the fact on how children can effect and alter your life.

Children change adults lives. They can make you happy when you are sad. They always give you something to laugh about and it is very hard to stay mad at them. I love seeing my kids. My kids change my life. They teach me something new everyday.

This is why I am a teacher.

When you were 4 years old.

Can you even think back that far? For me the only reason I remember the age of 4 is because that is the year my brother was born and I became and big sister and also the same year I started taking dance classes.

It's entertaining to observe the four year olds I have in class. As a teacher its interesting to sit back and think...is this how I acted when I was little? Did I really believe in all those myths that Disney was telling me through those very popular Disney Princess' about true love, blah, blah, blah. I almost want to take these little girls by the hand and say, "Honey, I know that Ariel is all cool and everything and she totally grew legs and fell in love with a guy while having no voice...but in the real world you are going to have to work a lot harder than that to land your true love so just push all those fairy tale ideas out of your head."

Things are so simple in the eyes of a child. They play pretend and believe one day they will grow up to be a Princess. Playing house is fun. A child wants to collect as many baby dolls as possible and take care of them as their own. Dressing up is fun. High heels are comfortable. A huge tree can easily become your dream home.

Think about it. What were your favorite things to do when you were small? What did you dream of. Being around these kids keeps me young...allows me to remember what is important about being a child. One day they will figure out that they probably will never be a princess and "playing" house is actually really quite difficult and having lots of babies is not something you want to collect unless you desire to be Kate Gosslin and as for your dream home...well it very well may end up being a tree in this economy.

So until they grow up its sweet to watch them dream. I could never spoil those dreams for them now because that is what keeps everyone going...dreams of better days.