Tender Mercy Tuesdsay - 47th Edition

BEST Tender Mercy ever was given to me this weekend you guys. 

So remember last year when I got to perform and it healed my heart, body, and soul?

Yeah, I remember that too. :o)

Well, it's happening again this year! Wahoo! We're doing a director's piece to Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley. We're not dancing to the entire six minutes - the music will get cut.

I am so excited at the opportunity to perform. I think it's really important for our dancers and their parents to see the directors dance. They get the chance to see that we really are skilled at what we do. :)

Dancing has always been such a great place for me to release my emotions and what not and I feel so blessed that I am still able to perform.

We had our first rehearsal last night and these girls that I get to dance with they are just....AMAZING. I love them so much and getting to spend time with them on a fairly regular basis is going to keep me so happy.

Tender Mercy Tuesday - Performance Edition

Today's Tender Mercies are all about dancing. I am so blessed to still have dance as a part of my life. I love it so much and even though I am not always the one on stage, the rewards of seeing my girls put their best effort forward and come out on the otherside different people make my heart burst with joy.

My students are amazing. They have worked so hard these past few months and they look marvelous on stage. I love each of them so much and getting to work with them from week to week and see the mass improvements they have made is incredible.

"To touch, to move, to inspire. This is the true gift of dance." - Aubrey Lynch

I am also oh so very grateful for the tender mercy of being able to perform again. Dancing these past few weeks and learning this choreography has been a healing balm for my soul. 

"To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak." - Hopi Indian Saying

That quote above perfectly describes how I feel during the piece I am in. Dancing this peace is me letting my heart speak. If you don't have anything going on tonight be sure to stop by the Covey Center and see many beautiful moments. Have a great day y'all!

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things, schmings

Welcome friends. It is finally Thursday. It felt like it took ages to get here, but here it got. I've struggled this week to find focus and productivity while at work and I VERY MUCH need the day off tomorrow. I have only about 5 bazillion things on my mind so let's get right to it shall we?

• I skimmed/read John Bytheway's "What I Wish I'd Known When I Was Single" the other day. Don't laugh. I got it a while back when I was in a relationship (it was a free digital download okay?!) but hadn't ever read it. I skimmed it during a break and came across a quote by a random person in John's life that I loved - you might have seen it on Twitter: "The wrong one, Is the right one, To lead you, To the best one." Isn't that just great? I love it.

• Don't judge, but I'm getting a spray-on tan tonight. I haven't seen the sun in a REALLY long time AND while my legs are in REALLY good shape I have so many bruises that it's pathetic. I tend to bruise super easily and I often don't know where I get said bruises. I want my legs to look fabulous on stage and this is more for me then for you....I'll tell you how it goes later.

• I am very tired. I have stayed up late the past couple of nights - not for a boy, but just because. sigh. I am SO sleeping in tomorrow.

• I still need to make a dentist appointment. Have I mentioned how much I hate the dentist?

• BYU won their basketball game last night. I'll admit I'm sort of a fair weather fan when it comes to basketball - but the game was tons of fun to watch.

• I perform in FOUR DAYS people. I really hope you're coming. Make sure to find me after the show and say hi. 

• Oh and said performance that is in four days? Yeah...we still don't know what we're wearing yet. :P 

• I've started reading Emotional Geology recommended to me by the ever lovely Angie. I can already tell this book is going to 1) be amazing and 2) change me. I'll be sure to post a review for you later.

• Sister B's birthday is coming up. I'm excited for the plan I have for her. YAY birthdays!!!

• I didn't go running last night and I won't go again until after the show - but I DID do a pilates workout. Kicked my trash. 

• I love Natural Ice chapstick. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

• I bought new mascara (falsies! we'll see how it works) and lipstick for the show last night. My performance makeup has dwindled in the past few years.

• Did I mention that I am tired? because I AM!

• Finally, my fingernails are the healthiest they have been in a LONG time. I'm loving it. :o)

And that's it for me peeps. I hope you all have a great weekend. I have a little something prepped for you tomorrow but other than that I'm probably going to lie low. I have a ton going on and I'll be fairly busy for the next five days. :o) Woo hoo. Catch y'all on the flip side.

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Dating Battle Stories: Blindman

{artwork by Roommate A}

First off, I have to apologize. I started writing this and then stopped. Don't ask why it took me so long but I figured all y'all deserved to find out how my first "first date" in a long time went down. Roommate A set me up with her boyfriend's roommate - Blindman. I had never met this boy before Friday the 14th. (I did Facebook stalk him, but that's about it) He seemed cool (based off of the stalking) and Roommate A and her boyfriend vouched for his coolness... so I agreed to a blind date.  Our date consisted of the boys picking us up, driving to Nickel City and playing games for several hours and then going back to my/Roommate A's apartment for pizza and The A Team. Then I went to bed and everybody else hung out.

You know what? Blind dates are awkward. I sort of forgot that fact in all my years of dating the same person. You don't know how that person acts in social situations, you don't know what they like, or ANYTHING. It makes it so hard to figure out what to say and what to do at any given moment during the date. So, my overall feeling? Awkward. I've heard through the grapevine that he thinks I'm a cool person but whether or not he'll ever ask me out again is yet to be seen. I think I would go out with him again if only because I don't think anyone should be judged on relationship compatibility from a blind date alone. Unless the person is a creeper or you feel super uncomfortable all night or something. (which I didn't. It was just awkward. Normal awkward - if there is such a thing)

So there you go. Nothing else has really happened in my dating world since then. I've been busy hanging out with groups of friends and getting ready for the show in FIVE DAYS. (get your tickets now!) I keep hoping for something to go down with Sweetums...but we keep missing each other. Our schedules have been polar opposites all month long and that has made me oh so sad. I do have something up my sleeve in a couple of weeks...we'll see how that pans out. :o)

In other news I woke up this morning thinking it was FRIDAY when in fact it is only WEDNESDAY. I'm not a fan of this. :P

Bravery

Sometimes I pretend to be brave and sometimes I am ACTUALLY brave.

Saturday I pretended to be brave, but yesterday - yesterday I was actually brave.

Yesterday after my church meetings and after choir I introduced myself to a new guy in the ward. I talked to him for a long time and I feel like we clicked just a little bit. I felt so good about myself for getting my flirt on and what not. GO ME!

Also, I was brave yesterday because I initiated an online conversation with SwingKid. This is the first time that we've had a real-time conversation in eight weeks and it was good. I held my breath a couple of times, but overall it was good.

I am excited for today - if only because the countdown to the show begins. :o) The next 10 days are going to be busy. I have a laundry date with my sister, a temple trip to make, friends to see, dentist appointments to make,  a couple hours of rehearsal (we still have to finish our piece! EEK!), a Winter-een-mas party, a Saturday FULL of rehearsals and then a show to present. It is going to be a full week and I am excited for it.

Thursday Things

Thank goodness it is finally Thursday. Even though I have to work tomorrow, I tend to love Thursdays. This week has been long and HARD. Yesterday was a good day and today should prove to be an even better day. I have a yummy pizza lunch to look forward to, teaching ballet, and rehearsal. Oh how I love rehearsal. Let's go over some things shall we?

• The show I am performing in is in 11 days. EEK!!! SCARY!! Do you have your tickets yet?

• My hair is getting SO long and I love it. A lot.

• And yet there is still a part of me that would love to whack it off. I love a drastic change.

• It has been slightly warmer round these parts lately - enough so that it has melted all the ice that was causing me  grief. I really want spring/summer to be here NOW.

• I have pink fingernails. They make me smile.

• I need to make a dentist appointment. I hate the dentist. Seriously - I have never been a fan of going to the dentist. Do you have a good dentist in Utah county you love?

• I'm working on some fun things to happen in the month of March. I'm quite excited about them.

• This year January seems to be going by faster than it has in years past, I am very much okay with that.

• I really like the image below. Makes my heart happy. Have a great day y'all!!

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Pointe Counterpointe

Alrighty guys. Two weeks from today I am making my (big) comeback!! I am performing in Academy of Ballet's gala show - Pointe Counterpionte.

This performance is on January 31st and February 1st at 7pm. Yes, I know it is a Monday/Tuesday which is a little odd...but it doesn't mean you can't come! Dates can be ANY night of the week! Or better still, bring your FHE group/family. :o)

Anyways. Details. You can purchase tickets through the Covey Center's website, go to their office, or give them a holler on the telephone. Tickets are $8 for the balcony and $10 for the Mezzanine/Floor. If you are a student/senior, you get $2 off.

Now, you might be asking why you should come to this performance in downtown cougartown at the end of the month.  Let me give you 5 REALLY good reasons.

1. You get to see me perform on stage for the first time in 2+ years. The piece I am in is amazing. It's a director's piece and we've been working so hard on it. So come. 
2. You get to see my amazing contemporary piece. This piece is really cool. Seriously, it's one of the coolest things I have ever choreographed. It was hard for me to choreograph and VERY much outside of my box - but it's turned out so cool!
3. It is not ALL ballet! In fact there are quite a few contemporary, modern, and jazz pieces in the show!
4. You also get to see my take on the classic Waltz of the Flowers dance. Shorter than the original, this piece is just aesthetically pleasing. 
5. Did I mention you get to see me dance? I am really excited about this and I would love to have a TON of friends come and support me. Especially seeing how my family lives so far away these days.

So there you go. 5 pretty darn good reasons why you should plan on attending Pointe Counterpointe this year. I hope you come! :o)