So Much to Say...

The Last Few Weeks....

2009-06-21T23:43:00.003-05:00

I realize that it has been more than a few weeks since I've blogged. But I feel like the last few weeks of my life have been pretty blog-worthy. I feel like I've been on the craziest roller coaster of emotions that I've ever been on.

My first recital as a dance studio owner happened last weekend. The few weeks leading up to recital were hectic and stressful and exciting. Turns out I have a tendency to be a "detail Nazi" when it comes to volunteer assignments. So I was up until 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning working, sleep for a few hours and then wake up and start all over again. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much.

The recital went better than I could have ever imagined. My dancers did awesome and all had a blast. My volunteers were incredible. I had about 20 or so friends give up their Saturday night to come out and help. They were awesome. I am most certainly blessed with the friends that I have. Recital was quite the culmination of nerves, a sense of accomplishment, gratefulness, humility, and relief. And I STILL couldn't sleep.

The day after recital was the memorial for my grandma. She died in December, but it was the first time that the whole family was going to be in town so we had it then. It was great to see my family.

Then came the Rev Dance Company auditions. The turnout was WAY bigger than I expected. There were some nice surprises there as well. And some great talent. Last year, I had a small but mighty competitive team of 7 girls. Now? 34 girls and 2 boys. Which is exciting! And crazy. And just a little bit stressful.

This past Friday one of my dancers was killed in a car crash. She was 18, just graduated from high school, and was just an incredible kid. She was so funny. And kind. And smart. Did I mention funny? It's been hard on me; it's been hard on my girls. So if anybody actually still reads my blog, please pray for the Senft family and my dancers. The wake is on Tuesday afternoon - it's going to be a hard day for all of us.

Stress, excitement, relief, more excitement, more stress, and grief. There's of course so many other emotions - I'm just not feeling too "wordy" tonight.

New Years Resolutions

2009-01-09T17:11:00.003-06:00

I'm usually not really into making New Years resolutions. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not really into commitment. But this year I've decided to make one. Actually two.

1. Take my vitamins. I was really good about it in college. Lately I haven't been too good. Okay, this is boring. I'm not going to blog about vitamins and glucosamine chondroitin (although I will say it's so good if you have joint pain).

2. Be more generous. There is a really cool group on Facebook called the 365 club. When you join, you are committing to doing one random act of kindness a day for all of 2009. The group now has nearly 3,800 members already. I was the 117th person to join, and it's crazy to see how many people have joined since then. I haven't really done anything groundbreaking. I let someone go ahead of me in the checkout line at the grocery store. I prepared lasagna and put it in the fridge so my brother could just put it in the oven when he got home from work. I scraped my dancers' windshields after class. I cleaned (the kind of cleaning where you have to use your fingernail - yuck) a couple of pots and pans that my brother had used. Like I said, not anything groundbreaking, but this group has been a great reminder that I'm not the only person that exists on this Earth. It's really interesting to read what some of the other people have done. To see the group click here.

What are your New Years Resolutions?

Sure doesn't seem like I have 'So Much To Say'....

2008-12-18T00:05:00.007-06:00

I haven't written a post in over 8 months. I lot has happened in 8 months.

For example:

I opened a dance studio. If you've been living under a rock/haven't talked to me in a long time/haven't facebook stalked me/don't know me... I opened Revolution Dance Studio in September. It has been an absolute dream come true. We have 78 students. Not bad for our first year! Check out our website at www.revdance.com
My BFF Amy got married. I had a blast being her MOH.
Missy and Matt got married. 'Bridesmaid' is my middle name.
I've become a substitute teacher extraordinaire once again. I actually really love subbing. Most of the time.
I started my 3rd season coaching track at USF. Still lovin' that gig.
My Grandma died on Sunday. Anyone who knew her knows that she was a really fantastic lady. I have such great memories of her driving me to all of my activities as a child - she always had a fruit cup in the car for me. My Grandma was a wonderful tap dancer. Guess I have her to thank!
I had a great last year teaching at Vaughan's. I really miss all of those girls. We capped off the year at Nationals in Branson, MO. Walkaway and Candlelight both placed 3rd in their age groups! They won some really large and in charge trophies.

Butterflies, Manipulation and Brackets....

2008-04-06T12:55:00.002-05:00

I know I've posted before about my dancers and their butterflies. Here's a follow-up. I have a little 5-year old named Annie. Her butterly "colors" always crack me up. Usually it includes a couple of sports teams - Bears, the Fighting Illini, Cubs... and sometimes the Cardinals, White Sox, and Packers (clearly the girl doesn't understand loyalty yet). A while back I told her that her butterfly should have the Pistons on it too. I always get really excited when she remembers to put the Pistons on there and I'll give her a high-five. Now she'll yell "PISTONS!" and just put her hand up for a high-five. It's funny.

Yesterday I had 6 girls in that class put the Pistons on their butterflies. Sure they only did it to get praise from me. I'm okay with that. But I know that maybe one of them will become a true Pistons fan because of my dance class. I've manipulated my dancers and it feels good.

Annie's butterfly was hilarious. Not only did it include her usual sports teams, it also included my dog Noel, Jesus, Mary, Joseph... and yes, even the 3 wise men.

As far as brackets go... well my method of picking teams based on who had the cutest colors was a mistake. I did decent, I suppose. I had UNC and UCLA playing in the championship - seriously, colors don't get cuter than that. I'll have to think of another method for next year. Any ideas?

Happy Adoption Day Noel!

2008-03-26T22:55:00.002-05:00

Since we don't know when Noel was born, we celebrate her adoption day. Sadly my brother is in Egypt right now, so he's not able to celebrate with us.

But here is what my brother has to say about Noel. I think it's really sweet. --

I adopted Noel when I was a 21 year old senior at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. There had been some recent break-ins in our neighborhood so I went to the pound to simply look for a watch dog. When I first arrived at the pound, Noel (although that wasn't her name at the time) immediately caught my attention. She was in a cage in which she could barely move and weighed only about 35 pounds, at which time she was already about a year and a half old. She was less then three hours away from being euthanized with nobody on the list to adopt her. Trapped in her cage, she reached her paw towards me and looked at me with a sense of saddness and desperation as if she knew that I was her only hope for being saved. As she did this, she let out a series of small whimpers that I heard as "please, please help me!"

Being a college kid I was not sure if I was ready for the responsibility that comes with owning a dog, but I knew that in this case I did not have a choice. She did not deserve to have her life end in a shelter after only a little more than year into her life.

She is not the perfect dog in the sense that she comes from a championship line or that she can do amazing tricks. She is not perfect in that she can be stubborn and can sometimes have a mind of her own. But over seven years later, she is still the perfect dog for me. She is loyal and has been with me through thick and thin. Even on the worst days, she is always excited to see me when I wake up in the morning and when I come home at night. I don't know how she will be rated on this website, and I do not care, because I know she is the best dog that anyone could ever hope to have. She is my companion for life.

To see more of Noel, you can go to her page in the "dog park" -- it's pretty much a myspace for dogs, I think. :)

http://www.longliveyourdog.com/dogpark/album/29914-11796.aspx

I Forgot I Had a Bog!

2008-03-18T23:57:00.002-05:00

Oops. I haven't written in a really long time. As of this moment, I'm recommiting myself to this whole blogging thing.

Today's story -

I just filled out my bracket... solely based on the 'cuteness' of each team's uniforms. Good thing UNC has really cute colors.

Picking my bracket by what teams I actually think are going to win has never really worked for me, so I figured I might as well try something different this time. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thankful...

2007-12-20T23:36:00.000-06:00

My dancers and their parents are so unbelievably thoughtful. It's our last week of classes before Christmas and I have been absolutely showered with gifts. I'd like to think that I'm not a very materialistic person, but I have gotten some really cool stuff! I've received some beautiful ornaments (which I'm in desperate need of!), some bath and kitchen type stuff, a really sweet bag, Webkinz clothes and cards (yes I have Webkinz - blame it on my petite company girls - they got me hooked), and lots and lots of gift cards. Much needed gift cards.

I'm not doing that great financially right now, so it's really nice to have those gift cards. I'm very thankful. I met with my small group at Barnes & Noble tonight to pick out a new book for our study. I got a book, the workbook for it and a hot chocolate with a gift card I received from a few students - and still had 15 cents left. Woo-hoo! I'm also in need of a winter coat - it's kind of cold around here. I saw the exact kind I wanted at Target yesterday for $50. Definitely don't have that kind of money right now. I got a gift card from one of my classes tonight. $50. I'm pretty pumped. And like I said... thankful. Very very thankful.

The Evolution of the Butterfly...

2007-12-18T15:28:00.000-06:00

Stretching with the little ones is always really fun. And usually really funny. Every time we do our butterflies, I ask my girls what color butterfly they want to be. At the beginning of the year, they usually pick one color (typically pink, sometimes purple, and in Amber's case... brown). By the middle of the year, their response usually sounds something like this:

"Well my body is going to be tan. And my head is going to be brown. My wings are all the colors of the rainbow, pink, black, purple, yellow, pink, blue, purple, green, yellow, pink sparkles, rainbow sparkles, all the princesses, castles, Hannah Montana, Sponge Bob, Sandy, Patrick, Sponge Bob's house, Sandy's house, Patrick's house, pillows, all of the girls in the class, you (that's referring to me, their wonderful, amazing ballet teacher), ballerinas, diamonds, gems, crowns, and sparkles."

I kid you not. It's hilarious. My personal favorite is pillows.

What color butterfly would you be?

I'm back

2007-12-03T13:50:00.000-06:00

So I just returned home from an 8-day adventure in the Caribbean. My mom and I went on a cruise. And it was nice. And warm. I hiked and did a canopy tour in Jamaica, went scuba diving in Grand Cayman, went to an adventure park in Cozumel, and layed on the beach all day in the Bahamas. Oh, and shopped. Pretty much everywhere.

The ship was nice. There was lots to do. I read a couple of books, got myself a tan, had a couple of drinks... a day, spent time with my mom, watched movies and football on the big screen under the stars, met some really cool people, and bought a couple of really nice things. It was a great trip.

I'm really glad to be back though. I heard so many people on the ship talking about how they were dreading going back to work. I couldn't wait. I love my job. I missed it while I was gone. I missed my kids.

I went to the studio last night to work on some choreography for the week. And I've gotta say, I think the break was good for me. I have really been struggling lately with my choreography. I haven't been feeling very creative. But last night I was on a roll. Which was very refreshing. Now hopefully I can remember everything I came up with last night....

My Breaking Heart...

2007-10-17T00:30:00.000-05:00

So I'm staying with my friend's daughter this week while they're in California. It's a pretty easy gig. Really easy, actually. She's 15 and has a ridiculously busy schedule. Between dance and poms, I basically don't see her. Except when I'm driving her to where she needs to be. This week is actually pretty much cooler than the rest of my weeks. I get to drive a really cool car and I have internet. No complaining here.

My friends just got a dog from a rescue group about a month ago. Her name is Tika. And my heart absolutely breaks for her. I don't know what her past is, but I'm positive that it was rough. I'm not sure if she was abused or neglected, but I'm certain that she was not treated the way that she deserved to be treated. And anyone who knows me knows that mistreated animals kinda gets me going. Tika lays in the corner of the dining room all day. Except at night, when she comes up to their bedroom and sleeps in the corner. It's very sad. She's very unresponsive. Although today, day 2, she actually made eye contact with me. She's very sweet. She lets me sit by her and pet her and all that. But that's about it. Oh, it's so sad.

Here's the little girl. Isn't she adorable?

Blog Slacker...

2007-10-09T12:42:00.000-05:00

As previously discussed, I don't have the internet. So I go online about once a week. So blogging doesn't really happen. I'm loving Joliet. Here is my new environment:

I definitely fit in a lot better with my brother and the dog than I ever have in a house full of girls. This is my kind of crib.

On Getting Old...

2007-10-01T12:32:00.000-05:00

I've noticed lately that I'm starting to do some things that make me feel, and probably look, old. For instance, I find myself listening to - and enjoying - talk radio. Just the other day I was listening to Larry King Live. I never thought I'd see the day. They were talking about autism and I found myself sitting in the driveway listening to the rest of the segment.

Exhibit B. I went up to CMU this weekend for homecoming. When I was in college, we wouldn't even go out until at least 10:00. Saturday night - we were home at 9:52pm. I'm embarrassed. Granted, we were up since 3:30 in the morning (4:00 am departure! - who am I?), so we were really tired. But I'm still embarrassed.

Speaking of homecoming, it was really fun. My friend Missy came up with me. I tell ya, that girl is hooked on Mt. Pleasant. She's been up there with me 3 times now. We left early Saturday morning, tailgated, went to the football game, hung out at my old teammate's apartment, went out, went to bed, woke up, and drove home. I really wish I could do longer visits up there.

The game was great. We beat Northern Illinois 35-10. The team looked really good. The only downer of the trip was watching a guy have a heart attack in the stands right by us. It was really scary. They did CPR on him for probably a good 25 minutes. He didn't make it. So it was really sad, awkward, scary... all of those things. I felt so bad for his family.

The highlight of my trip had to be hanging out with my old coach and his family. We went out to dinner and grabbed a drink on Saturday night. I was really close with all of them in college. We used to have the boys stay at our house every once in a while so L-Train and his wife could have a night alone. They were 4 and 6 my freshman year. 9 and 11 when I graduated. Now they're 12 and 14 and huge! The 14-year old is 6'2" now. It's crazy. My boys are growing up so fast. So it was definitely a trip to hang out with them.

It was really great to be up there and run into old friends and teammates. I really do miss my CMU friends.

As always, I'm awful about remembering to take pictures. So here's a couple that my friend Mary took...

Tailgating

The game

Mary, Mike and Me at the Cabin. I miss my throwers.

The guy at the Cabin who had eyes on his butt. For real???

Watch Your Language!!!

2007-09-25T13:20:00.000-05:00

So I have this little 4 year old who has better manners than pretty much anyone I know. She is quite the proper young lady. Sometimes when I say 'yeah' she says, "No, it's 'yes'". The other day I said 'thank ya' to one of my girls and she said "It's not 'thank ya' - it's 'thank you'" I'm being corrected by a 4 year old. How funny...

Well I'm in my new place. The move went really well. I've realized that I have some pretty incredible friends. Not that I didn't really know that already, but I was definitely reminded of it on Sunday. I had 6 friends that were completely willing to give up their Sunday afternoon to help me move all of my stuff. Which was great. We made it all in one trip. But they didn't get anything out of it. Except for some pizza. Of course we had a great time along the way. But I'm just grateful to have such wonderful friends.

I don't have internet at my new place, so I'm sure I'll be spending quite a big more time at the local Panera. Which will be great around Christmas time. Last year, I got like $75 worth of Panera gift cards from students.

I Was a College Athlete...

2007-09-18T23:15:00.000-05:00

As I'm packing stuff up and getting ready for the big move, I've been going through some stuff that I haven't looked through in a while. I read through some old newspaper articles from high school and college. Looked through some old pictures. Found some of my old workouts (man, I used to be strong). I was a standout high school athlete. An average D1 athlete. And I graduated and that phase of my life was over. Just like that. And quite frankly, I miss it.

I don't miss hurting just about every day of my college career, which I, over the course of the 5 years I was there, had a displaced nerve in my arm, a dislocated shoulder and 2 knee surgeries.

But I miss the people. I miss accomplishing such great things. I miss being part of such an amazing team. I miss my coaches. I miss having my parents come support me at my meets - seriously, they came to all but 2 meets my entire career. I miss the locker room. I miss my CMU track family.

3-time MAC Champs

The best meet of my career...

2003 MAC

Championships

Always having a good time together.

Perhaps one of my ugliest pictures ever...

But I still love it.

Me and Tash after she just won the MAC title in the javelin.
I was very proud of my roommate and best friend.

Throwers sending birthday greetings to our teammate John while he was on a 2-year mission trip in Argentina.

Tash and I realizing that our track careers had just come to an end -- a very emotional day.

I'm blessed that I'm able to coach the sport I love so much at a collegiate level. I just hope our athletes have an experience as amazing as the one I had during my years at CMU.

A Really Long Blog Entry...

2007-09-17T23:57:00.000-05:00

Even though I'm 26, it still makes me feel really good to hear my mom say that she's proud of me.

A (not so) Fun Fact About Me

2007-09-17T00:32:00.000-05:00

I'm hard enough on myself. So when I feel like I'm being judged, I put my guard up. Some people get mad. I just shut people out. It's easier that way.

I guess I'm starting to realize it. Or maybe I've always known it, but I'm finally admitting it.

How do you respond to judgement?

Long Weekend...

2007-09-16T00:08:00.000-05:00

I don't know exactly how I can teach dance for 9 straight hours. Literally, 9 hours. No break. I was at the studio from 7:30-4:30 today. I don't know how I don't get hungry or have to pee (too much information?). I think my bladder is awesome. My friend Amy thinks I'm ruining my kidneys.

Speaking of ruined, how about Notre Dame's season? Or I'll even go as far at this point to say their future. And I'm a fan. But come on. They're pitiful.

Okay - huge dilemma. Bears kickoff is tomorrow at 3:15. My friend's wedding is at 3:30. I'm going to the wedding. But so is my cell phone with ESPN mobile. Is it tacky to be following the game during the ceremony? During the reception? How far is too far? Where's the line?

Putting myself in a bride's shoes... There are some people you just expect that kind of stuff from. And you go with it. I don't think I would be offended. Then again, I would never schedule my wedding on a Sunday during football season. There are some things you just don't do.

Which leads me into a story. Mom, hope it's okay I share this one. My grandpa died in January of 1986. What else happened in January of '86? That's right folks, the Bears won the Superbowl. Conveniently enough, he died just in time to have his wake be on the day of the Superbowl. So my parents did a bang-up job of planning it so there wouldn't be visitation hours during the game. They said that you could see all the Bears gear underneath people's coats as they came in to the wake. In between the visitation hours, my parents had to go home and "check on the kids." Turns out that's just code word for "have a party." Genius. And that is why I love my family. And get inspired to watch the game during the wedding.

Those Crazy Russians are at it Again...

2007-09-13T00:48:00.001-05:00

Russian region to host Day of Conception

By MASHA STROMOVA, Associated Press WriterTue Sep 11, 12:51 PM ET

Make a baby. Win a car. Don't be surprised if the streets are empty and curtains drawn in this central Russian region Wednesday as residents take up an offer by the regional governor to help stem Russia's demographic crisis.

Ulyanovsk Gov. Sergei Morozov has decreed Sept. 12 a Day of Conception and is giving couples time off from work to procreate. Couples who give birth nine months later on Russia's national day — June 12 — will receive money, cars, refrigerators and other prizes.

It's the third year that the Volga River region, about 550 miles east of Moscow, has held the contest. Since then, the number of competitors — and the number of babies born — has been on the rise.

"If there's a good, healthy atmosphere at home within the family, if the husband and wife both love each other and their child, they will be in good spirits and that will extend to the workplace. So there will be a healthy atmosphere throughout the country," he told AP Television News. "The leadership (of the country) is interested in the family."

Russia's population has dropped since the 1991 Soviet collapse, fed by declining birth rates, a low life expectancy, a spike in emigration, a frayed health care system and other factors. The country — the world's largest — now has just 141.4 million citizens, making it one of the most sparsely settled nations. And experts estimate the population could fall below 100 million by 2050.

Just 311 women signed up to take part in the first competition, in 2005, and qualify for a half-day off from work. The next June, 46 more babies were born in Ulyanovsk's 25 hospitals compared to the previous June, including 28 born on June 12, officials said.
More than 500 women signed up for the contest in 2006 — resulting nine months later in 78 babies, or more than triple the region's daily average. So far this year, the region's birth rate is up 4.5 percent compared to the same period last year.

"I don't think people get pregnant just to get a prize on the 12th (of June) but if the dates coincide and they give you a ... car there's nothing wrong with that," said Yuri, a 28-year-old father-to-be who declined to give his last name.

Last year, President Vladimir Putin called the demographic crisis the country's most acute problem and announced a broad effort to boost the birthrate, including cash subsidies for couples giving birth to more than one child. Women who give birth to their second or third child receive $10,000 vouchers to pay for education or home repairs.

In Ulyanovsk, everyone who has a baby in a local hospital on June 12 gets some kind of prize. The winners of the grand prize — a locally made SUV called a UAZ-Patriot — are couples judged by a committee on criteria such as "respectability" and "commendable parenting."

Perhaps not surprisingly, the effort has drawn snickers. According to one joke circulating on the Internet, regional university teachers — after being ordered to draw up special activities for Wednesday — proposed covering the floors of school gymnasiums with mattresses and dimming the lights.

Andrei Kartuzov, who won the last "make a baby" grand prize along with his wife, Irina, said they had been planning to have another child anyway.

The campaign "is a good help for people, especially for those living in villages," he said. "If they hold such actions every year, then maybe we will have (more children) growing up and Russia will be bigger."

On Faking Confidence...

2007-09-07T00:38:00.000-05:00

I'm not really the most confident person. But I've learned that to get through life, sometimes you just have to fake confidence. Like when approaching strangers. Or inviting people to do things. Or teaching other people something out of your own 'area of expertise.'

I'm always terrified when I'm teaching my own choreography to my students - no matter if they're 3 or 20. I'm always worried that they won't like it. That it's not good enough. I'm usually pleased with the end-result, but the process really freaks me out. I believe that movement is personal, and when I'm creating that art I'm making myself vulnerable. And I don't particularly like being vulnerable. So I worry what people think. I don't so much worry about what judges think when we go to competitions. They can take it or leave it, I really don't care. But I worry about my dancers think. I want them to be doing something they enjoy.

But I know that if you want people to believe in something, you first have to believe in it. So I fake it. I had the ultimate test for me last night. It's our first week of classes at the studio and one of our teachers already needed a sub. So I took her classes yesterday. One of which was Advanced Hip Hop. Anyone who knows me knows that hip hop is not really 'my thing.' But I shimmied something up and figured I'd make it through okay. Imagine my surprise when 26 people showed up for class. I gave them fair warning and proceeded with the class. And hey, they actually seemed to enjoy it! I even got a few "that was a really cool dance"s afterwards. So I guess all ends well when you fake it.

I'm Movin' On...

2007-09-04T15:15:00.000-05:00

So clearly I've moved my blog. Mainly because xanga is blocked on our church computers. Which is funny. It's blocked for "mature and adult content." Please. There is nothing adult or mature about my blog. Or my life for that matter....

I'm also moving. As in a change of residence. My house is offically 'breaking up.' Kind of sad, yes. I'm moving to Joliet. With my brother. And his dog.

Here are some things I'm looking forward to:

paying dirt cheap rent... which makes me one step closer to being able to one day call myself a homeowner (it's my American Dream - a house and a dog)
hopefully getting to hang out with my bro more, even though we have completely opposite schedules
living with his dog. Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with Noel. She's the greatest.
Being forced to downsize on the things that I own. It's about time.
Earning some extra cash flow on all of the furniture that I'm selling. That's a major bonus, really.
Being WAY closer to St Francis, which means that I don't have to leave the house anymore at 5:00am for a 6:00 practice. Yahoo!!!!
Not feeling obligated to do so much anymore - it happens around here.
Having a live-in sports watching buddy. You don't get that much living in a house full of girls.

Some things I'm not looking forward to:

Not being able to wear fleece anymore (see above statement about living with dog). Which stinks. Because I really love my fleece pants. All 4 pairs of them...
Living much farther away from my friends in Naperthrill (a rather obvious one)
Living with my brother. Let's be honest. Sometimes it's just not as fun than living with a bunch of friends.

Moving on... (get the theme here?)

I would personally like to thank the Vs. tv network, which up until last week I had never heard of. They broadcasted 8 days - that's right folks, 8 days - of track and field coverage from the recent World Championships. And you better believe that I've tivo'ed and watched (well, I'm almost done) every episode. It's really been a treat.

Notre Dame Football. Oh wait, I really don't want to talk about that.

Michigan Football - ha! they got beat by a 1-AA team. I'll just focus on that and not the Notre Dame loss.

Joni Kay's family has been staying with us for what seems like forever. 3 of her sisters and her brother-in-law have been here since Thursday. They just left today. It's kind of nice to have our house back. Except it's a complete mess. Enough about that...