12.31.2010

Good Bye 2010!



Dear 2011,
Please be better than 2010. Because 2010 kind of sucked. Not all of it.

A toast to my friends, new and old; family, present and lost; and my blog followers, known and unknown.

Copy/Paste from my Facebook note...

2010 was kind of a rough one. Initially, I thought we'd be golden, but it started with a cancer diagnosis and everything kind of changed from there. 2010 is ending on a more positive note. M has a new job; I'm quitting my part time job to seek other ventures; there are potential home improvement projects on the horizon; and my passion for dance has grown into this uncontrollable force to be reckoned with.

It's that time of year again when I start thinking of all the items I wish to accomplish in the upcoming year. All pending that there are no disasters to hinder progress. Here we go...


Small Stuff:

  • Get a new dishwasher.
  • Organize the home office so that it's productive and I can find things!
  • Paint the guest bathroom.
  • Take a ballet and jazz class at least once a month.
  • Cook one meal from scratch once a week. (Using fresh ingredients when available... not bagged stuff.)
  • Practice more, when I am at the studio. (Not play on my IPod...)
  • Find new Latin shoes that actually fit. And are comfortable. And don't make me want to fall over.
  • Repeat my samba routine without messing it up at the beginning and fixing all the quirks we ran out of time for.
  • Continue to learn about the manual settings on our SLR so I can keep taking pretty photos.
  • Complete my Project 365.

Medium Stuff:

  • Compete in two WCS events. Try Strictly Swing, if I can find a partner.
  • Compete in a Pro-Am ballroom event that I haven't been to before.
  • Successfully learn paso doble and put on one hell of a spring showcase routine.
  • Continue my "rule" to only go into the studio if there are two 45 minute sessions of interest (so, a private lesson and a class... 2 classes... etc.)
  • Continue to take Thursdays and most Fridays off from dance. (Sorry, social dancing friends!)
  • Apply for the CMP exam.
  • Study for the CMP exam. Yes, this means I'll disappear into a pile of books from the end of May until late July. :( No PSC for me this year.
  • Take the CMP exam in July.
  • Travel to NYC (by myself)! Visit Elizabeth and swing dance at John Lindo's studio.
  • Travel somewhere with Matt, pending his vacations.
  • Find new clients for the graphic design business.
  • Figure out more retirement options. (For Matt.)

Big Stuff:

  • Stay healthy!! Figure out all of my ailments and injuries, while not gaining new ones. That goes for my family and friends!
  • Learn west coast swing forwards, backwards, and sideways, so I can successfully choreograph something. Or at least social dance with a follower without doing 27 consecutive sugar pushes.
  • Turn August 2011 into a giant party month. You only turn 30 once.

12.30.2010

Zumba Shoes!!!

For some reason, I felt compelled to do dance aerobics for a full hour tonight.

I didn't die! I kept up with most of the patterns. And all joints, muscles, tendons, etc. are still in tact.

Will this be a regular venture in 2011? Probably not. But it was a nice dose of cardio. :D

And yes, those are turtles on my socks...

12.09.2010

Here we go...

Magnetic tube of doom. Let's hope we don't find out I'm claustrophobic the hard way.

12.03.2010

Cash!


We spent the evening over at J and K's house for dinner festivities. This was the one, calm, resting, photo I could get of their dog, Cash, with my Canon Elph.

The camera got him excited, so all my other photos looked like this...

11.27.2010

Painty... Painty... Painty...

Home office... Now in evergreen. M painted... I cleaned all day in prep for Christmas decorating. We're tired...

11.23.2010

Cold!


Yes, that's a low of 29 degrees... in November... in California...

11.22.2010

Final Score: Boots - 0 Hubby - 2


My new boots came in the mail today. They fit great... maybe a little too well. So well, that I couldn't take them off my feet by myself. So, M came to rescue me. Hooray. :D

11.15.2010

Missing Holiday


Amber Alert: Holiday called "Thanksgiving" has been reported "Missing." Last seen somewhere between "Halloween" and "Christmas," typically on the 4th Thursday of November.

Distinguishing features: often surrounded by gobbling turkeys; last seen wearing shades of red and gold; emits strong "pumpkin spice" scent.

"Thanksgiving" is often associated with lots of food. Local grocery stores have been put on high alert and are required to call in anything suspicious.

If you have any information regarding the wear-abouts of "Thanksgiving," or are just plain sick that "Christmas" seems to come earlier and earlier each year, you are encouraged to call local law enforcement. Or protest Hallmark. Whichever you prefer.

11.14.2010

Just keep swimming...

The story behind this is that, while in Orlando, I searched high and low for a Dory pin. I found lots of Nemo pins, Crush pins, etc. and so forth. The only Dory pin available was in a $22 set of Nemo pins. And she was with Marlin. Not by herself.

Desperate for a Dory, I bought the whole set and called it a day.

Did I know that they featured different character pins on different coasts? No...

So on my trip to Anaheim, I walk into the local "World of Disney" shop only to have this staring right back me.

Jeez...

11.13.2010