For February’s interview, I’d like you to meet Antoinette Datoc, otherwise known as the Dancing Housewife. She is a fellow ballroom dancer, as well as a blogger and podcaster.
Spoiled
I was straight-up spoiled this past week! I danced four nights and saw the Dancing with the Stars Live show on the fifth night. And that was after a whole day of ballroom training at the Smooth Camp last Saturday. Yes indeed, I was spoiled.
Smooth Camp and Giveaway Winner
Just popping in for a quick update because, to be honest, my brain is a little overworked and the creative juices just aren’t flowing that well tonight.
I Feel Great! Something Terrible is Going to Happen.
Ever get so used to things going wrong or off-script that when things start actually going your way, you get suspicious?
I’m feeling very suspicious. My last few lessons working on tango have been awesome. Thanks to extra work from my second job, I will have enough money to go to the competition I wanted to go to. I had no weekend and am working almost every night this week, BUT I WILL HAVE THE MONEY TO COMPETE!
*brief break to do a happy dance*
Ok, what’s the catch?
When You Start to Doubt Yourself, Remember This
We’ve entered the second month of 2017. It’s usually around this time that people start wavering on their New Year’s resolutions. Bad weather prevented you from making it to the gym last week, and this week you had to work overtime and were just really tired. Multiple people at the office had birthdays, which means cake, and you didn’t want to be rude and not have a piece, or two. Then your friend was having a hard time so you comforted her by having a girls’ night complete with pizza and booze. Or, if you’re like me, your demons got loose and you decided to go to bed at 8pm, foregoing the stretching and dance practice you were going to do.
Drowning in a Pool of My Own Ambition
I know the title is a little dramatic, but I just liked the sound of it so much when it popped into my head. A neutral alternative title could be “One Thing at a Time.”
I think I got a little overexcited about 2017. 2016 was full of change and delays and detours; I was laser-focused on getting back on track and making up for lost time. We’re one month in and my laser focus has turned into a light show with beams shooting every which way. It’s getting hard to see where I’m going.
Book Review and Giveaway: Competing Like a Pro by Jessika Ferm
I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I first received a copy of Competing Like a Pro: Spotlight Strategies to Help You Shine On and Off the Ballroom Floor almost a year ago, and I only read it in the last couple months. Jessika, the author of the book, actually took lessons at the same studio as me. We have never met in person, though I remember seeing her around. It may be awhile before we officially meet since I learned that she recently fulfilled her dream of moving to Costa Rica! She still plans to take lessons on return trips to the U.S.; they will just be spread out a bit more.
Interview: Cindy Muller, Owner of My Ballroom Boutique
For 2017, I decided to start monthly interviews/guest posts. I want to share other ballroom dancers’ stories. Some have been inspired by ballroom to start other passion projects. Others found ballroom to be their saving grace. We all have one thing in common: a passion for ballroom dancing. If you have a story you want to share, please let me know!
To start the year off, I’d like you all to meet Cindy Muller, ballroom student and owner of My Ballroom Boutique! Cindy and I met virtually through this blog and Facebook, and we share similar financial struggles in making our competitive dreams come true.
Finding Time Vs. Making Time
It’s a rainy Sunday here in Southern California. Perfect weather to stay in, get some house chores done, and do some writing! While laundry was tumbling and turning in the washer and dryer, I finished reading another ballroom book over breakfast. Next, I was going to sit down and write my review. Thoughts for my own next book started flitting around my head though. I also needed to put together the article for the interview I did with another ballroom dancer. Then I started thinking about my own dancing and how I should review my waltz and do more work on learning the tango routine. I knew the competition I was aiming for would get here faster than expected. Speaking of competing, I wondered how long would it take to find a suitable amateur partner. I just started posting on social media this past week that I was officially in search of one. I needed to do more cross-training and recommit to regular stretching too. I should also do another assessment of my finances and figure out where the remaining comp money was coming from. Then there were the other investments I was thinking about making this year. Tax time was also coming up. I needed to get my business structure solidified.
Aaahh!
Pivots and Head Congestion
Recovery from the flu has been frustratingly slow. My energy is still not at 100%. I go to bed around 8:30pm. I have this lingering congestion in my head and chest that refuses to leave, no matter how much medicine I throw at it. And I have developed painful knots in my neck and shoulder, a combination of coughing for over two weeks and working in my lesson on Tuesday as hard as I was two months ago, without consideration of the fact that I haven’t been working my body that hard for two months.
But my hip connection is feeling solid!
The Girl with the Tree Tattoo 