Blog Archives
Week One on Jenny Craig – NOT! – Let’s Dance Instead!
It is important to not plan too much…
Yet, it is important to plan ahead…
Ah, grasshopper, in life, “balance” is the answer
and leads to wisdom.
(That “grasshopper” reference dates me… LOL)
Week One on Jenny Craig…
…ain’t gonna happen THIS week!
Yes, I know, I know, but my time this week has been spent practicing in the studio, taking lessons in the studio, and performing my “Line Dance Coordinator” duties for the Louisiana Country Dance Hayride. I’m having a blast and the work isn’t all that difficult, but it is time consuming. Lots of emails flying about as I’ve first set up the schedule then more as I’ve publicized the workshops I’ve set up.
And, the event is this weekend, starting on Friday which means that Friday I’ll be driving for 5-6 hours, starting out at an UNNATURAL hour of the morning, then spend the rest of the day in non-stop work, uhmmm, fun! Well work that is fun. Check out the Workshop Schedule.
Then all day on Saturday will be non-stop activities. Then Sunday will be half a day of fun activities disguised as work followed by a six hour drive home. Woo Hoo.
Oh, did I mention the EXCELLENT Cajun food at this event? I didn’t? My bad. 😉 Don’t tell Jenny. It will be our secret. Jenny doesn’t need to know!
So… friends, neighbors, and the 12 people that are actually reading this blog entry, starting week one of Jenny Craig just ain’t gonna happen. Not this week.
Countdown Check-list to start Week One on Jenny Craig:
- Clean out the pantry of all “bad” “not allowed on the menu” foods. That means anything like a half eaten bag of Oreos has to go!
.. Read the rest of this entry
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NEWSFLASH!!!! ProAm Students and Couples Dancers Discover Benefits of Learning Line!–Scientists Announce Earth’s Axis is Affected! Tentative Hayride Line Dance Room Workshop Schedule Revealed to Public!–The Royal Family Rumored to Attend!
FINAL UPDATE TO THE SCHEDULE!!! 4:45 am Friday Apr 27, 2012
Be sure to attend as many of these awesome workshops as you can when you’re not competing. They are FREE with your weekend pass. Take shameless advantage of these wonderfully incredibly talented instructors who will be teaching you FOR FREE!
Louisiana Country Dance Hayride
Alexandria, Louisiana
April 27 – 29, 2012
Ray Michiels – Event Director
WEBSITE: www.lacountrydancehayride.com
WOO HOO! I’m so excited to be headed to this event. My friends have told me so much about it…the good food, the social dancing, the great time they’ve had there. This will be my first time to attend. I can’t wait! A big “Thank you!”to Ray who asked me to be his Line Dance Coordinator. (And Jenny Craig does not need to know about the Friday Crawfish Boil or the Taste of Louisiana Dinner on Saturday! It will be our secret–nobody rat me out! Ok?)
Tentative Line Dance Room Workshop Schedule
If there are any changes, I’ll post an update. Here is the current version as of 4:45 am Apr 27, 2012! Read the rest of this entry
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Secrets of a Line Dancer REVEALED! / Newsflash!–Join the fun at the LA Hayride!
Yee Haw!! I’ve been added to the staff at the:
Louisiana Country Dance Hayride
– ON STAFF: Line Dance Coordinator
– ON STAFF: Teaching Line Dance Workshops
Alexandria, Louisiana
April 27 – 29, 2012
Ray Michiels – Event Director
WEBSITE: www.lacountrydancehayride.com
WOO HOO! I’m so excited to be headed to this event. My friends have told me so much about it…the good food, the social dancing, the great time they’ve had there. This will be my first time to attend. I can’t wait!
A big “Thank you!”to Ray who asked me to be his Line Dance Coordinator.
Calling All Line Dancers!
Be sure to check the website for updates to the line dance schedule. We’re working to bring you an awesome line up of great new dances and a couple of technique classes “just for line dancers.” It is going to be a blast!
Calling All Line Dance Instructors!
If you are interested in teaching a line dance or line dance technique workshop, then use my contact form.
SECRETS REVEALED!
Calling All ProAm Students and Couples Dancers!
Pssssstttt! I’m going to share a secret with you. Just between you and me. Don’t tell anyone…
I started out as a line dancer. When I started ProAm, the skills I acquired by line dancing were a significant factor and my secret weapon, through my whole first year as a Newcomer. Those skills and a lot of practice time, eventually garnered me 3rd Place at Worlds that year… My very first year as a ProAm Newcomer and I was on the podium! Read the rest of this entry
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Dancing: How much does it cost?
In some of my posts I’ve mentioned as an aside, that competitive dancing is not cheap. Because of that, a couple of the readers of this blog have emailed me to ask “Just how much does it cost?” To which I must answer, dearest readers, without qualification, and without my usual drama:
“A lot!”
I. Am. Not. Exaggerating. This wonderful exciting, fulfilling, passion is very expensive.
But it doesn’t have to be expensive, at least not at first:
- I am a competitive dancer and I’m working hard to progress to a point where I can “Turn Pro” meaning that my costs are on the high end of a cost spectrum which actually begins at almost zero.
.. - For someone just starting, who is curious and just checking out “this whole dance thing” it is possible to start with little or no cost.
.. - And most importantly, the money I’ve spent on dance has been worth every single penny. I would do it all over again, absolutely, without hesitation.
A while back I heard on NPR (National Public Radio) an interview with Karl Pillemer, the author of a new book: Thirty Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans.
I recall from the interview, that the number one piece of advice which Older Americans would like to pass on to younger generations is
“You shouldn’t wait to do something
which you really want to do.“
Do it now. And dancing, dear readers, all four of you who are actually reading this blog, is definitely one of those things which should not wait until “Someday“. Do. It. Now. You have been given a royal decree by my inner domestic diva. If you don’t go and do some dancing she may throw her bon-bons at you!
But I digress… Back to to the topic at hand. 🙂
If you are one of those folks who demand “instant gratification” then scroll all the way to the bottom of this post for the “quick and dirty answer”. But if you want a more developed explanation of the costs then keep reading: Read the rest of this entry
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UPDATE: Headed to the Oklahoma Dance Rush!
UPDATE 9:39 pm :
I posted the following to my Facebook page and after I did that I read it, thought it was mildly amusing so I decided to post it here to my blog as well:
I am very thankful for (1) being on the line staff so my 3 day pass is comp’d (2) a very good best friend who is “floating me a loan” and paying for my half of the hotel and my half of gas for the trip up and back this weekend (3) that I had already pre-paid my dance entry fees *before* I lost my job.
——
I’m excited to see old friends again this weekend and to be dancing with my awesome partner and with my Temp-Pro, Melissa Jefferies who is doing a Two-step with me so I can get a qualifying event while my Pro is down (temporarily) for the count and becoming rounder every day.
——
Yes, I’m thankful and excited for all these things. But is it too much to ask that once, just once, I have *everything* ready and packed for the trip say around 5pm the night before so that I can just relax and enjoy a nice DVD movie instead of frantically searching for where the heck all the stuff went since the *last* contest? Hmmm? Just once? Maybe? One day? *sigh*
I’ll be in Norman Oklahoma this weekend, home of Oklahoma Sooners! Boomer Sooner!
UPDATE: Last weekend I bought a ball cap at the ballpark but when I got it home I realized I had gotten the wrong kind, but of course I had taken all the tags off it and toss them at the hotel. So, I called up the University Bookstore phone number off the receipt I had and spoke with a really nice guy named Jason who is one of the managers, told him my tale of woe, and he said that I could exchange it without the tags. Yay!
The occasion will the this year’s Oklahoma Dance Rush. It should be a fun event with lots of dancing, competition, vendors and workshops. Here’s the details:
Apr 6-8, 2012 — Oklahoma Dance Rush
Norman / Oklahoma City, OK
Event Director: Beth Emerson & Mike Shoemake
WEBSITE: www.oklahomadancerush.com
— I’m ON STAFF: Teaching Line Dance
..
— I’ll be competing in Intermediate Couples
..
— I’ll be competing in Intermediate ProAm, but doing only a single dance to get in a “qualifying event” toward meeting the qualification requirements to attend the World Championships.
..
— Unfortunately I will have to scratch my one line dance that I had planned on competing. It just isn’t ready for prime time yet. 😦
See ya on the dance floor in Oklahoma!
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