Ball Change

What is it about music and dancing that grabs our attention? I can't get enough. My friends laugh at me for watching dance-themed movies repeatedly. I'm not alone. Just look at the success of Dancing with the Stars!

I still can't get enough. I took ballroom dance lessons and fell madly in love. No, not with my dance teacher. He was shorter, older and happily married. And not why I was there. Sure, there is something to be said for the love of dance movies for the love story that's usually involved, but that's a whole other post.

I fell for the challenge, for the femininity, for the way I felt after each class. But, I had to take a hiatus for a little while, it just got too expensive.

Dancing has been a huge part of my family for as long as I can remember. My mother, her brother and sisters ballroom danced from their tween years to when they were young adults. Their uncle Bill ran a dance studio that allowed all of them to dance and compete as a hobby. They were good. When I was younger, my Mom and Uncle would bust out classic swing and spin tricks at family picnics every now and again. My favorite Aunt who teaches pilates and zumba decided that she missed it too and began dancing and competing again just about a year ago. My Dad was even dragged to classes to learn The Hustle when he and my Mom before they started a family. To his suprise, he could actually keep up, and even now, at weddings my Mom is never disappointed, he will always dance.

It's been such a constant in our lives that the idea of not dancing seems like a huge mistake. Thnking back to years of tap, jazz, ballet and point, I just remember loving all of it. Sure there were classes better then others, but Miss Trish's dance school from when I was 5 years old until I was just about 16 years old, was one of the best parts of growing up. My competitive nature always wanted to be the best in class and the showstopper in me sat through tight french braids that made my eyes water and bright pink n' blue make-up every year with patience, becuase I knew what shortly followed. Lights, stage, bouquets, and routines that were as natural as blinking.

Fast forward to now and I still love it. Without the stage and audience filled auditorium of proud video-camera clad parents. Without the need to be the best in class. Without the ballet fingers and rond de jambes'.

What is it about dancing that grabs so many people? It is a scam? A feel good tactic? I wonder what it is about moving your feet with a partner that just puts you in a better place.

I can talk myself in and out of alot of things. Unfortunatly, this seems to be one of those things I just can't get enough of. Whether it's in the movies or the real thing, this just seems to be my habit. A nice combination of nurture and nature. I'm sure a fraction of it is the part where ballroom dancing is done in heels and with glitter...just an added layer of fabulous :)

So, here we go. Step, ball change.

What kind of dancing moves you? This applies to everyone so think about it! If you're brave enough, I dare you to try it...

Who Are We Kidding, He's Just Not Into You!

Dating is ridiculous. I've come to that conclusion. I'm not saying that I date often enough to really lay my claim to the Gods of fate and destiny, but all in all, it's just the word dating when used as a verb feels simply ridiculous. I'm disenchanted by what dating has become versus what it use to be. The classic form of it - boy meets girl, boy asks girl out, takes said girl out - out doesn't mean come over and hang out, or let's grab some food at a diner or even meet me out with my friends for last call. Everyone is so ready for the shortcut to happiness that they forget about the courtship. The flirtation. The chase.

I'm currently watching "He's Just Not That Into You" and so much of this movie is so true. When women are too available, men don't want them. When men are too tentative, women don't see the spark. [Lights get brighter and the sound of a children s choir begins]

The funny thing is, we've all coddled our friends when "he" doesn't call, or ends up being a disappointment. We've even been on the receiving end of hearing from our best girlfriends after a situation with a guy doesn't work out that "he just doesn't know what he's got and he'll look back and be sorry" or "you can do better"...yada yada.

While all of it makes you feel better, gets you though the emotional roundhouse to the face, at the end of the day that's all it is. Comfort.

When he stops calling, when he treats you not a great as he use to, when he communicates only through texts, all of it really just leads to the inevitable. He's not interested. Maybe he's interested in touching your cash and prizes. But after that, he has no need to return to the bank. Let's face it, if you want to be more than just an ATM, you'll stop kidding yourself and embrace the rejection. At the same time, there's nothing wrong with taking out a $20 every now and then, if you know what I mean.

What I didn't like about the movie that I actually really liked about the book was that there were kitschy love stories woven throughout, that even though they are highly illogical, they work out. The book basically just told women to stop being ridiculous. Which was why it was such a success.

With that said, I do beleive that romantics and realists can share a heart. Case and point. I am a hopeful romantic, but I also have stopped believing all the B.S.

Is there one person for everyone? I'm not sure. A younger more naive version of me once thought so, but I don't know that I believe that anymore. I do believe there are people that help you get through certain parts of your life and that some people are lucky enough to find ones that stick around long enough to go through the bulk of life with each other. But what if that's just not in the cards for everyone?

What do you believe? I'm curious what the consensus really is out there.

Better Than The Haynes Sisters

If you understood the reference in the title of this post then give yourself a hand!

The Haynes sisters, better known as the girls that stole the hearts of Bing Crosby and Danny Kay in White Christmas, sang, danced and dazzled crowds. The music and love stories of White Christmas are what captures most people. And yes, you can't beat Bing's breath-taking blue eyes, but for me, the reason I love it most is the Hayne's sisters. When I watch this movie, they always remind me of mine.

I'm lucky enough be one of three sisters. Each of us are very different. And though we resemble each other with similar features,we don't look alike. We don't always agree, we yell and hang up on each other, we call back and apologize, and we can laugh together at the ridiculous life situations we end up in (they are usually the one's laughing at whatever recent disaster I find myself in) . I was trying to come up with the best way to talk about the three of us without just saying we love each other, and being a fan of lists, I came up with these.

Here are the 5 things that the three of us will always agree on, will forever keep us close, and straight up make us the better, true-to-life version of any sister duo or trio in movies.

1. Our love of love stories. From a heart manipulating movie to a really well told story from our friends and family, love stories move us. We will always ask "How did you two meet?" for the pure fact that we're hoping to hear a doosey one of these days.
   
2. Dessert. We blame it on our Dad. He instilled the ever famous Eggo waffle sundae after dinner. No matter the meal, dessert is never forgotten. Our sweet teeth are fine tuned and always on the prowl.
3. Never settling for anything less than the kind of love you want to last for as long as possible. Having parents who are still married and that not only tolerate, but really love each other are the driving force behind it.
   
4. There will never be any strawberry in the world as delicious as the strawberries we grew in my grandparents garden. The patch was ours. Granted our grandfather did most of the work, but he still said it was ours :) To this day they were the best fruit I've ever had.
   
5. Make-up, hair and accessories. Because we beleive the finer things and looks in life are always found in the details. We are a trifecta of style. One of us rocks the make-up muscle, the other can do amazing things with hair, while the third can dress up pajamas with the right scarf, belt or bracelet and it can be mistaken for couture.
   

So while we might not don blue feathered dresses (although, that doesn't sounds like a bad idea at all) or have the ability to carry a tune, I can absolutely say that the Haynes gals got nothin' on us. Here's the fun little song that inspired this post - Sisters.

Winks and smiles B's :)

Dare, Double Dare, Physical Challenge.

I loved Double Dare on Nickelodeon. Mark Sommers managed to ask questions that I was always ready to answer and something about jumping into piles of slime or slide down an oversized foam mouth to capture a flag was for sure the kind of challenge I was more than ready for. I can't even remember what the prizes were. It could have been a lifetime supply of Capri Sun and I still would have wanted nothing more than to be on the show.

As Double Dare and other shows like Legends of the Hidden Temple moved their way to the game show tomb known as The Game Show Network, my eagerness to achieve something completely fun and difficult hasnt changed.

Enter my mucha-motivated best friend. She shall remain nameless, but this girl has the type of motivation for physical exertion that you only see on HBO Sports. Well, with out further adieu her sucess and badgery finally sank in and I've commited myself to participating in a duathlon in July. Similar to the well-known triathlon, a duathlon takes out the swimming and rotates a 2 mile run, 27 mile bike ride and finishes with a 3.1 mile run.

This will not be the last time you hear about my 2010 adult version of Double Dare. So here we are, something big to commit to in the new year that not only can be a really cool achievement, but a way for myself and my three best friends to kick some ass as a team.

Topsy Turvey and Tipsy

My life has changed. It was a weird moment to take a look around and not recognize what I have been so familiar with and see things brand new. To recap it all would take much longer than a blog post or even two. I suppose that's how it's supposed to be. You make changes to make your life better and then before you know it you're evolving (in a non-Darwin kind of way). Imagine that, a grown-up life to call your own.

I took a small hiatus from my blog posts for the pure fact that becoming even more fabulous needed some time and effort. Oh c'mon, you know you just chuckled a little bit. Stop shaking your head.

So here we are, on the brink of fatty-Claus coming to town (put down the cookie that Paula Dean told you was made with only 3 sticks of butter instead of four) and Amy Grant's "Grown-up Christmas List" or the "Christmas Shoes" songs to bring unnecessary tears to your frozen face while driving. Let's lasso in the holiday the same way a cougar reels in her under-thirty prey, with tight sweaters, charming smiles and a festive red, green or white cocktail.

Cheers to the season. Put on your heels, dip your finger in some frosting and give yourself a gift. One for you, one for me. That's how I shop.

Thriving in Sulfuric Acid

The Planet Earth series narrated by Sigourney Weaver is something that I will watch whenever it's on the Discovery Channel. Even if I've seen it already. Tonight I watched an episode about underground caves and the habitats that survive and thrive in them. In complete darkness.

Imagine that. A world where you can't see ahead of you. Sounds somewhat similar to the life we know, even with our eyes wide open.

A particular cave in Mexico, called Cueva de Villa Luz is made of thermal sulphur springs inside the cave that surprisingly feed enormous amounts of sulfur loving cave life. Wildlife has adapted over centuries to thrive in this toxic environment. Most without the sense of sight, underwater creatures not only live in total darkness, but in sulfuric acid.

Aside from the beauty of the Planet Earth series, I'm always intrigued by something new that I didn't know before.

It's amazing the metaphor that can come out of this particular series on the sulfuric cave. The concept that adapting to the environment that you're presented with, is possible. That the body and mind can adapt to its surrounding and not only live, but flourish.

Now, I'm not saying that if you're world feels toxic to just sit in it and hope you adjust, I suppose my point-of-view leans more toward the concept that your surroundings might not always be ideal or perfect, but you can live in it, change it, and before you even realize it, it's exactly the kind of place that's perfect for you. That where you are, helps evolve who you are.

Maybe not as literal as the blind sulfuric acid cave life thriving in Mexico, but look at your situation. Your life.

I found myself remembering a time when I wasn't where I wanted it to be, but after time, tears, and tequila, I can look around at this moment and know that I'm happy I'm here.

I also realize that moments of an adapted life or environment don't usually last long before something else pops up and I find myself in an emotional temper-tantrum again. So, when you can look around appreciate and exhale, do it. The nice thing to remember is that you don't have to stay in a dark cave filled with sulfuric acid, you always have the option to change direction.

Are you happy with where you are at this moment? Look around and ask yourself why you may have said no. Fix it and give it time. You'd be surpised when you find yourself looking around again and ready to exhale and smile.

Soul Snacks Make a Happy Girl

We all go through these periods of our lives where you get pulled down, feel unlike the person you were or should be, and just sit on a roller coaster of emotional "Debbie Downers" and "Mary Catherine Gallagher's". I feel like sometimes it just takes time to wade the water and climb out of whatever it is that you're going through. They could last a week, a season, even a year. Most of the time you don't even realize you were in a funk until it's gone.

So how do you get through these? Great question, right? I don't have a cinematic reveal on how to move through this, but I can offer a few suggestions or what I like to call "soul snacks" that can help get you back to the most fabulous version of yourself. Getting past the funk really might just take time, but here are a few tips that can lead the way to a happier personal perspective.

Snacks for the Soul
- Go out to dinner with a friend, order whatever looks delicious, do not order a salad, stay long after the check has been paid and talk with whomever makes you feel like the best version of yourself. (side note, if it's your boyfriend that's been giving you heartburn lately, do not take him, choose a different dinner partner).

- Watch a great TV series. The kind that evoke happy thoughts or new perspective. My choice will always be Sex & The City. For others it may be Seinfeld, The Office or even Perfect Strangers...I don't know why, but trust me on this one.

- Make a plan or a ton of plans. Fill up your calendar with things to do. Don't just save it for the weekend, let it spill into your week. Nothing will get you through a Wednesday better then knowing you have plans to do something after work.

- Time for a big-ish change. My thought about being stuck in a funk is that you most likely got into one because something happened or is happening that you couldn't control. Funks usually sneak up on us and force us to be stuck in a rut. Well, bitch slap it away with something that you can change. It could be a big as changing jobs or as small as finding something else to do besides work and drinking with friends. Change helps you grow and before you know it, you've grown right out of the funk!

-Give yourself a day. Take a Sunday and make a big breakfast, relax, shop, do whatever makes you feel relaxed. But do it alone, I've found that a lot of times you need to pull yourself out of it and the best way to do that is spend time alone doing things on your own for yourself. If you need some serious soul-food, pull out the Visa and get a hot stone massage...yes, they work they pull you right out of negative thoughts and into about 50-80 minutes of pure bliss.

Snap out of it. If nothing else, these were a few suggestions that offer moments of happiness and smiles, which I believe helps to pull (girls especially) out of a funk. Happy Friday, have a fabulous weekend, make it a memorable one!