It’s been two weeks since my last post?? Man, time sure flies when you’re sick and travelling. I’ve been feeling guilty about not dropping in to say hello and give you an update on the Girl with the Tree Tattoo. I hope you’ll forgive me for my absence. Here’s what’s been going on.
A Thank-You Note to 2016
2016 was a rough year. Just in the last week, the world lost two amazing women, who were also two of my favorite Hollywood actors. Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds were an inspiration to me. Princess Leia showed us that we can be strong and feminine at the same time. The way Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds’ character in Singin’ in the Rain) teases Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) as she’s driving him to Beverly Hills is my go-to when I’m searching for my Foxtrot character. I love the way she playfully puts him in his place and firmly stands up for herself, despite the fact he is a famous (and therefore intimidating) celebrity.
Guest Post on Dance Comp Review: Dealing with Ballroom FOMO
Hi everyone!
For those who celebrated, I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and/or are having a wonderful Hanukkah! I spent a lot of quality time with family, eating, talking, watching movies, baking and eating. I definitely need to do some extra Zumba this week!
Winter Blues (#DontGiveUp)
Got a few things bringing me down, as sometimes happens. I thought I’d put the blues to good use by sharing them with you and also sharing what I plan to accomplish anyway, in accordance with my #dontgiveup and #keepgoing mantras.
So let’s get this riff started.
Energy and Motivation
In the Facebook group related to the Momentum ’17 challenge I’m doing, someone asked how many people were holding down a job while also trying to build their business, and besides the obvious time challenge, what their biggest challenges were related to that situation. If I haven’t already explained, this challenge is for people working on building their own brand/business, a.k.a. entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is starting to feel like a cliché to me as so many people reject the normal way of making money (i.e., get a job with an already-established company) and strike out on their own. It’s funny to think that being “self-employed” or an “entrepreneur” used to be a euphemism for “can’t get a job.” Now it’s all the rage! I’m not one to jump on trends (I frequently avoid them on principle), but I do want to be able to eventually support myself with my writing and dancing, and there’s no time like the present to start thinking of the business side of things. And when it’s a free challenge, why not!
The Dancer that I Used to Be
Have you experienced a setback and you’re struggling to get back to where you were? Maybe instead of focusing on going back, you should focus on moving forward from where you are now.
I feel like I have been saying ‘I used to…’ a lot lately.
Somewhere in the middle of all of the health struggles I have been dealing with lately, something interesting occurred to me.
In many ways, I have been trying to go back to being the dancer I remember before I got sick. I was faster, sharper, fitter and more grounded. I think my thinking was that if I could get back to that place, then I would be able to move forward again to become the dancer I want to be.
But it is time for that thinking to be put away.
I will never be the dancer I was again. Simply because you can’t go back. The past is the past and while it may seem a bit like the ‘glory’ days, by always wallowing in ‘what used to be’ you will never be able to move…
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Don’t Give Up! Part 2
Back in July, I wrote this cheesy motivational post about not giving up. Someone found it the other day, so it showed up in my blog statistics. I felt like doing a follow-up.
A Sunday Morning Waltz
It’s been two and a half weeks since my last dance lesson, which was also the last time I danced ballroom at all. Being busy with other things, like driving across country, Thanksgiving, blog- and book-related work, and the day job (yes, still working the day job!), has helped keep the withdrawal symptoms tolerable. The Zumba game has helped too; I think it’s going to be my ticket to avoiding too much holiday weight gain in the next month. But finally, this morning, I broke out my ballroom practice shoes.
Book Review – What You See Is Not What You Do: A Simple Formula for Ballroom Dancing by Nick and Lena Kosovich
Back in July, one of my readers sent me What You See Is Not What You Do: A Simple Formula for Ballroom Dancing. Although he felt the book moved a little slowly, he highly recommended it for the great information it contained, which had helped him several times while trying to conquer a challenging new dance step. Four/five months later, I have finally found/made time to read the book and write up a review!
Settling In and Road Trip Reflections
Hello from Pennsylvania!
I hope all of my American readers had a lovely Thanksgiving. I got to see a lot of family that I haven’t seen in a long time, so that was nice. And yes, I ATE! We’re still eating turkey leftovers. Turkey on salad, turkey quiche, turkey omelets, turkey noodle soup…you have to get creative with the leftovers! What’s your favorite version of leftover Thanksgiving?
The Girl with the Tree Tattoo 