It's all in the hips

I believe it's been a bit...

Seems as though I haven't blogged about dancing in a while so why not do so now?! I'm still into it full swing, pun intended, and am still loving every minute of it. My dad and I have actual dance shoes now and joined the swing club so I take that as meaning that we are hard core professionals now! Or not ;)

We have graduated from the beginning to intermediate classes although there are certainly some things that I have yet to master from the beginning class such as my poor frame. I just can't seem to keep good compression when I partner dance! That probably makes no sense unless you've partnered danced before! Regardless of my poor frame, our hearts are still in it and we at least feel like we do well :)

Last night pops and I went to a bar/restaurant out south for dinner, a few drinks and an introductory lesson to salsa! It was a blast! After the lesson, they open up the floor for whoever wants to dance! We really had a great time and I'm sure I'll return next week! Apparently, every Tuesday, they have an introductory lesson to all sorts of stuff (rumba, salsa, cha cha, two step, night club sway, blah blah blah) and then afterwards the west coasters show up and swing!

Not 100% sure I'm going to my normal lesson tonight though. I've either got a really slammin' (and not in the good way) case of allergies or I've got a cold. My head is filled with crap and I can't seem to hold my eyes open. Blah.

Even though it may be the weather making me feel like this, I can't ignore that it is FREAKING BEAUTIFUL outside this week! We have a FULL garden now and the mister has started working on renovating our deck which I am SO excited about! It really needs a facelift!

Also, Monday was my last day to teach this semester. It's always bittersweet it seems. I totally miss my students and being in front of the class but I also love the extra free time I have to do whatever! Now, I still have a stack full of projects to grade so I'm not out of the woods yet but I'm not lesson planning for a while! I start a summer course up on June 1st so it's just a little break really.

Sorry if any of this seems disjointed or discombobulated or whatever....my brain is struggling through all of the snot today. Nice image, eh?

OH! Also, I am thinking of making this blog private so if you're a reader I don't know about and would still like to read this, let me know so I can invite you to it!

Ta Ta! Bodaciously ;)

Tis the season for helmets

For Christmas this year, I received two pairs of galoshes. I had searched and searched for months before trying to find some myself and had ZERO luck. I even had one young worker at a store who had never even heard of the word galoshes. Seriously? Apparently, I had harped around enough to let it be known that I was in the market for some of these shoes and was gifted the pair of pairs!

Today I'm wearing my galoshes and I'm not happy about it. I'm down for some rain here and there and often times, need a good washing from the sky to match my mood but as for springtime storms in this part of the country, I'm not so welcoming. We've got possible severe storms in the forecast and it's got my stomach in knots. I love living in Oklahoma more than I can express but this time of year, I find myself wishing I had a spring retreat in a non-tornado-threatened area to abscond to. I'm pretty sure this time of year scrapes precious moments off of my life much more than other times of year. The worry I go through has my body manifesting anxieties in not so friendly ways. Did I mention I hate tornado season?

Now, try teaching while having a huge chunk of worry in your body. Now try explaining tornado season to people who have only lived in this country for a few months. Try acting brave for them. Try to act like it's no big deal. I don't act. I tell them like it is; that I'm petrified of pulling a Dorothy Gale and that nothing scares me more than springtime storms here. I teach them weather terminology that is rarely heard anywhere but here. I teach them how to safely protect themselves when they hear the sirens. I teach them that it's okay to be scared but that it's important to keep a level head admist those fears.

Perhaps I make it worse than it should be. Many of my anxieties are anticipatory. When in the moment of the feared moment, I'm fine yet hours, days or weeks before I am sick with worry. Perhaps someday I'll welcome these type of storms the way I welcome those that arrive during other parts of the year. Perhaps.

I've informed the mister that I'm purchasing helmets for us for tornado season as I've read that blunt force trauma to the head is how most are fatally injured in tornados. He's not really down but it makes me calm down a bit. And think of the photo-ops with those helmets ;)

Did I mention that our one year anniversary of marriage is this Sunday? It is. True story.

Death Boxes

cars are deathboxes to me. here's yet another issue i have. i despise cars. everything about them. i used to LOVE driving around and listening to music. i couldn't wait to turn 16 to be able to drive! i thrived on shifting into gears and racing away from all my worries. now, my worries sit on four wheels in driveways and on roadways. i hate to drive. i hate to be a passenger. i hate that cars are such horrible pollutants. i'm lucky as my husband and i carpool together thus one car stays at home so we're not creating as much toxins as we could be but we are still contributing nonetheless. i miss driving a standard. i miss not being scared of cars.

i also have a few weather issues. my driving issues are intensified HORRIBLY when bad weather is thrown into the mix. it's debilitating honestly. i rode with my father today to a dance lesson to a suburb about 30 minutes from where we are located. it was misty and foggy and i thought my lunch would soon be on my lap from the nerves. not to mention we were on the highway which i don't even care for on sunny days!

my driving and weather issues are about to send me back into therapy. truly.

tonight i am supposed to attend a girls' night ornament exchange in the same aforementioned suburb but after my experience earlier, i called the host, explained the situation and have bowed out. she's been in the car with me during some of my 'moments' and understands. it sucks though, for lack of a better word. it just sucks. i HATE that i let these fears get the best of me. i figure though, it's better for me to stay at home rather than be scared and jumpy and endangering not only myself but other motorists on the roadways. as for being a passenger with someone else, i trust very few people behind the wheel. my father is one of those few and if i was such a wreck with him, i don't believe anyone else will be much better.

it's time for me to live in a city with amazing public transportation; where i need no car; where my weather fears only involve what type of shoes to wear. but for now, i'm here and i must deal.

*sigh*

i wish everyday was fall-like weather. i wish i had a teletranporter. i wish i could fly like i do in my dreams. running start and i'm off.....