4/28/12

Some Gushing

Out of nine children in my family I have always been the dancer. The one, the only. It's been kind of lonely. None of my siblings understanding what could possibly be worth all the aches and pain I've put my body through. Alone in my knowledge that having a bad day/sad day/stressful day... is nothing compared to the feeling that can be achieved after dancing for a while. Are there even words to express how that feels? I'm not sure....even now I'm sitting here trying to figure out how I would describe that feeling and I just can't. Bliss probably or something similar. I've been known to bring myself to tears in class dancing a dance that I choreographed myself to a song I picked myself. It's personal, it's emotional, it's liberating. (I'm sitting here thinking about dancing and it makes me want to get up, move my coffee table and bust a move.)
But do you want to know something? I'm no longer the only dancer in my family. Little sister Gina has joined the ranks. And, she is good. Recently she choreographed her very first dance and she shared it with me. I think maybe there is a possibility that I am slightly biased, but even if I weren't her sister I feel like I would be saying these same things. Like for example if I were her college dance teacher and I knew this was her first time doing choreography I would try to take her under my wing and make sure she got whatever she wanted out of dance. She's got it. Whatever IT is, it's in her and you can see it when she moves. I've known people who have danced for years and years and never achieved the naturalness that she has when she moves.
I was on the bus today listening to songs by an singer/song writer she recently introduced to me and the song she is dancing/choreographing to came on; some tears came to my eyes there on public transportation thinking of the movement my sister had created to those words.
She says we can dance together this summer when she's home from college and I can't wait. I'm going to hold her to it. And then I will record it and share it with all of the internets to behold and share in. But until then, here is the song she is dancing to. It's wonderful.

4/25/12

Things I learned from my nieces

1. It doesn't matter how old you actually are, you can always act as "mom" to someone.
(even your 33 year old aunt)


2.  It doesn't matter if you fall down....
 Just so long as you get back up and keep going with panache!


 3.  Don't let the size of something keep you from getting on and giving it your all.


4.  Twirl, twirl all the time. And then when you're not twirling make sure you're striking a cute pose.


 5.  Remember to make wishes. 
 6.  Stop and smell the flowers. Who cares if they're roses? Just smell the flowers.


 7.  Read. Read all the time. By yourself, with friends or cousins or sisters or whatever, just read.


 And above all else, let life itself excite you.



4/20/12

The way I live

Sometimes I'm in the middle of doing something I know is weird or possibly even gross and I go with it anyhow. It's like I can't stop myself, I have no other choice, I'm condemned to live a life of weird/grossness.

One of the "weird" things I do is that I shove things between the back cushions on my couch. Items currently residing in my couch...skittles chap-stick, laser cat toy and a tv remote...pictured here:
I should be ashamed maybe?
Also my phone would be shoved in there but it was busy taking the picture of those other items. But, rest assured it's back in there now, tucked safely between the eggplant velvet cushions.

Now, let me confess one of the "gross" things I do. I can't help but lick my fingers when I'm eating. Even if I'm holding a napkin or there is one in my lap, if something gets on my little digits they go directly into my mouth. I don't want to miss out on a single morsel of tastiness. That's just not the way I live.

4/19/12

New

Yesterday was my birthday. I had a pretty laid back day, filled with awesome things. 
Awesome things that happened:
  • I got my new iphone! (of course this only happened because I first lost my ipod which was NOT awesome.)
  • I got a package in the mail from bestie Rachael filled with wonderful things like books, handmade earrings and crocheted wash-cloths.
  • I had a late lunch/early dinner with Kyle, Stefani and two of the cutest girls in existence Marcela and Katelyn.
  • After teaching I got picked up by sister Kareen with a surprise Gina in the car with her! 


These girls LOVE salsa.
 I love birthdays, I'm not sure why exactly but I do. And also I love my new iphone, be prepared for a lot more picture posting on this blog of mine. Like this one below...for some reason I now feel it's necessary to show you what happens to me every morning. I am obviously not quite awake yet and my little Emma would like for me to hurry up the process.
This is what it looks like to wake up at 33 and one day


4/6/12

My Daily Cry

I visited Dooce today, like I do every day, sometimes what she writes is funny, sometimes it's touching, sometimes she posts cute pictures...whatever it is I am usually entertained when I go there. Today was no exception, however what I was not expecting was to cry. She posted this video and it didn't take very long into the video for there to be tears streaming down my face, not out of sadness but more out of hope maybe and maybe tenderness and maybe also because I just wished I could hug each of these people. I don't know if you'll appreciate it as much if you were never Mormon but you should watch it anyways. I wish everyone would just be nice to each other.

"It Gets Better" at BYU


Also kind of going along with that is this quote I found today on She Takes Flight:


I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason.


Hugo Cabret. 'Hugo'


4/5/12

I am a really good cook

Eating healthy means eating more vegetables, but I can't always eat them raw because sometimes I just want delicious hot food. This evening I steamed some veggies on the stove, transferred them to a bowl and got out my nutritional yeast to sprinkle on top. I did what I always do with the bag....put it on the stove. On the burner I'd JUST been using. I realized it immediately but the damage was already done, now my house smells like burnt plastic, there is nutritional yeast all over my stove and a hazy mist of smoke hanging in every room. It's a good thing those veggies tasted delicious, and now I have a reason to walk to Fred Meyer tomorrow.
Could this be why I'm single?

4/3/12

Wicked

Over the weekend Kareen, Rachel and I drove to Portland to see the Wonderful World of Wicked. Before the show started we took some pictures. I was first up, this was my pose:

But then Kareen and Rachel had their turns and their poses were all normal and apparently "non-embarrassing" so I said: "should I take another picture and just be "normal"? So then I took this picture:



Which apparently was still super "posey" and still made Kareen and Rachel laugh at me for that being my "normal" pose.