Ah Grant Lee Phillips, your voice is a comforting one...

It's been ages since I've posted, and it would really take too long to mention everything that has been going on...so weee, an abridged list:

• Festivals! I believe I posted after Lollapalooza, if not, oops...that was a lot of fun, as was ACL Festival. Great music, fantastic friends, amazing cities.


• 30! I am.


• My apartment is almost looking like I want. I have the guest room to turn into an office, as it is currently one massive recycling bin.


• My mom is getting married!!! He's a cool guy. I'm happy for them.


• I am officially no longer married...my maiden name has also been restored. Despite being almost 10 months since the "split", it was the hardest thing I have ever done.


• I am teaching dance at the studio where I take classes. Youngest group I have ever taught, 3-5!. A definite challenge, but I'm excited about it.


• My car still sucks. I hope to be driving something else within a month.


• Julian is fantastic. I love when he is here. The sweetest cat ever.


• I finally finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm about halfway through The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. FUNNNEEEE.


• I lost my teddy bear. I am hesitant to write about as I'm not exaggerating when I say that I am pretty devastated by this. I've had this bear forever...hopefully wherever he is, he's cared for. :(


• I overheard a REALLY FREAKING AMAZING piece of information...that I'm not going to share, but I know a few of you will be insanely happy if it comes to fruition.


• Love? I still believe in it and hope it comes my way someday.


• I have the best friends anyone could ask for. I've been really selfish with my time and haven't done the best job keeping in touch, and I still get the sweetest check up messages. I really do appreciate and love it...even though I may not do a good job of showing it.

A'ight, enough of that. Take care.

Slug in a ditch…today is so slow…

Today starts the recital insanity. Rehearsals tonight, tomorrow and Thursday…full dress rehearsal Friday and the show on Saturday. I don’t know why I’m so antsy. I have a bowling ball in my stomach (not literally, that would probably destroy some internal organs—in addition to the stomach).

If you have an opportunity, look up the lyrics for the Everybodyfields song “Wasted Time.” Seriously. The lyrics are almost hauntingly familiar and the song itself is beautiful. That entire album (“Nothing Is Okay”) is filled with awesome. I am so freaking stoked to see them at Bonnaroo. That night is going to be insane, though. I will probably end up missing some of their set so I can get a good spot for PJ. Frustrating!

For good measure I would like to share my favorite recent married to the sea…
try the link!.

Love,
jamie

My car failed the emissions test…ftw?!? It’s a whopping 5 years old and only has 60k miles. Grrr…so yeah, I looked up the OBD problem code and apparently it has something to do with the coolant temp sensor. Fantastic. I’m taking it to the dealer Wednesday. Ugh. While I’m there I’ll probably see how horribly expensive it will be to fix the front end. Boo. I need to do too many little things with that car. The front end, I still need a spare tire (plus tools), I need to get the sunroof drain cleared…cars are too expensive. /whining.

This weekend was pretty decent. Canoeing was a blast though I have never in my life seen so many snakes on a river in Tennessee. I mean, I’ve seen snakes-a-plenty, but this was like Water Moccasin (Cottonmouth) mating season or something…scary! I am totally bruised up from a canoe flipping incident (that was, in retrospect, pretty funny) but it was worth it. I miss being outdoors…actually doing something physically active in nature, you know?!? I haven’t been on a good hike in forever and I no longer have backpacking equipment. I finally bought a new light tent, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Sigh.

I went to see the SATC movie Friday. Maybe it’s my inner cynic at the moment, but I left feeling like complete and utter sh!t. Ugh. It’s my own fault, but still. (Okay, so maybe I didn’t end the whining portion of my journal post…whatevers)

Yesterday was a much needed (for me, that is) make-up tap and jazz class. I have some new (to me) jazz shoes. It’s the first pair I’ve had with rubber soles and they grip the floor waaay more than I was prepared for which almost resulted in a hyper-extended knee. Fabulous. I will be using my ancient pair for the recital (Saturday, Saturday, Saturday!). Ha.

Today has been painfully slow. We are down to the last hour. C’mon clock, tick faster.

I’m a little sad about the lack of rock & roll in my life the past few weeks. I had six rock & roll weekends in a row and now this dry spell. What gives? I’ll probably see the Features on the 7th, but that’s over two weeks away. That’s too long. Boo. I don’t know why I am complaining, I’ll get more than my fill of Rock & Roll in two weeks at the ‘Roo. I’m so stoked.

So my dance recital is next Saturday (before the Features show). If anyone comes to see me dance, I’ll totally buy you a drink. Seriously. It’s all the way out near Gallatin and after last year’s marathon show [it’s split in two shows this year] I doubt anyone will want to go. This is my 25th year of dance. That kind of freaks me out a bit.

a bit of dance drama today inspired me to buy some new pointe shoes...and that is just what I did. can't wait for them!!! my last pair got destroyed due to a leaky basement. I'm sure my feet are going to hate me but whatever...as of a few years ago I could still dance in them w/o toe pads...my ankles couldn't be in that bad of shape, could they???



roar.

I haven't written in a while, not even private entries or anything. It's that whole not finding the words to say what is on your mind/heart thing, ya know?

Things really are going well. A lot of stuff is confusing and I'm a little perturbed at some of the absolute mess that I hear, but what are you going to do...this stuff is messy, so I guess it just comes with the territory/decision.

I have Julian this week and next. He's been sweet and a big help (you know, doing dishes and all...ha!).

I really want to go to dodgeball tonight, but I don't know if I am in the right headspace. Plus, if boozergirl isn't there, it won't be as fun. I swear I'm going back, really!!!

Dance is going okay, I missed too many classes this term, so I'm incredibly worried about the performance. Argh. This will be my 25th year on stage, that is just weird...

It is amazing how much a lack of music hinders my productivity (well, maybe not really…but it seems that way). Dave has my ipod headphones. He has new ones on the way, but left this morning for Key West. :P

I wish wish wish I had been able to make that trip. :(

So my dance recital was this weekend. It went very well…I think…I’ll have to see the dvd to be sure. I always have a bit of a balance problem during performance, it’s weird…but I was able to manage it.

New planner confidence…I was really sad that my badass franklin planner (though I hate the “cultlike” thing w/ that organization…you can screw some 7 habits) was running out of days…and I hated the ugly burgundy pleather exterior…so I did some searching and found a lovely filofax that is much more my style…

Today was my first day using it at the office and I do love it so! It’s a bit smaller than the franklin one, so that will take some getting used to. Funny, I have a newish palm pilot and it actually has dust on it…I am just really digging the old fashioned organizer.

Okay, the fire alarm keeps going off (they are working on it)…it is officially time to call it a day. Peace!

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Nothing bad going on, quite the contrary, work is kicking my @ss, but in the best possible way… Had a great weekend (am now on the very poor side [though it was well worth it], so please don’t ask me to do anything that costs…anything). This weekend we celebrated a friend’s graduation from law school, I got to go on a boat (thank you ihateuryan !) and I had a family/extended family (Dave’s bandmates) picnic of sorts...and I have to brag about the kick@ss strawberry shortcake I made…
Sorry about the crappy picture…the digital camera apparently took a vacation and I am relying on the craptastic cellphone camera…

Mom brought Kaylin over Monday and she was wearing a dress that I wore when I was her age. It’s a little sailor-type dress. I can’t believe how tall she is getting!

I have rehearsals every night this week (for Saturday’s performance). I messed up so bad last night that I was on the verge of tears. It’s just ridiculous to make mistakes or forget things this far into the game. I know it will all come together, it’s still frustrating. I’m ordering the DVD, but I am afraid that when I watch it I’ll look completely ridiculous.

I have insane mosquito bites that I think are now infected because I scratched them too much. So now they just look gross. Yay! Seriously, I put Neosporin on them this morning, but that really doesn’t help w/ the itching part. Yipes!

Funny, you would think I would have something of more substance to say after this little lj vacation, but I don’t. Maybe I do and I haven’t found the right words…heh, story of my life.

I tried to watch Porco Rosso Sunday night…but just got tired and went to bed halfway through (actually, I fell asleep on the couch). Maybe I was just buzzed enough to not have the attention span for a movie, but it didn’t capture me the way Miyazaki’s other films have. I’m going to have to give it another chance.

I have a ton of things to do, and they aren’t going to get done by my rambling.

Peace,
j.

So this is pretty amazing...the song that I choreographed ("Everybody's Got Their Something"--Nikka Costa) is pretty much the same tempo and style as Amanda's ("I Don't Feel Like Dancing"--Scissor Sisters)...sooooo, we have taken the half song's worth that I choreographed and tacked it on to the half song that Amanda choreographed. We are going w/ Scissor Sisters which rawks! It fell together so well it's almost scary.

That said, I will have to miss the 2 hour rehearsal next week as well as the actual performance...but Amanda is awesome so I am really not worried. *whew!*

Still sick, I think it's officially a sinus issue. I took a Bayer Back & Body (aspirin w/ caffeine) and it helped w/ the pressure immensely.

I am missing dodgeball...no contacts (yet) and the sinus thing. Garrrr....

It is an incredibly beautiful day. I am usually not big on Spring (as there is almost always the call for some form of severe weather, and I sit around freaking out about it), but we are two days into it and it's not half bad.

A few things going on, some good and some bad. On the good side I am back to choreographing every song I hear in my head. I stopped doing that a long time ago, it feels good to have it back...on the bad side, my knee started hurting during plies Tuesday. It hasn't really felt right since. Kind of pinchy. I DO NOT want to see a doctor until after June. I would be heartbroken if I had to have something done, or was instructed to stay off it. I'm just going to take it easy for a week or so.

Stuff is odd around here. Nothing bad, just odd.

Oooh, I totally have a soda in the fridge, I'm on it!

I made it through, I'd love to say that yesterday got better, really I would. And you know what? In a way it did. I met up with Ramona after work and enjoyed Old Style on the patio at the Red Door. It felt good, kind of like old times. We've both been so busy that we don't do that much anymore, we used to spend every monday evening on a patio somewhere. The weight I felt in my heart stayed with me the rest of the day actually helped me sleep. I felt like I literally sank into the bed and welcomed my dreams with open arms.

I woke up early today, and felt incredibly refreshed. I left the house early and had pre-work coffee and laughs with Noelle. All day, despite any re-work...any roadblocks, I have felt good. I know in a few hours I will be tapping my heart out and attempting to Tango...and having fun with some of the best choreography I have ever danced to (does that make sense??).

Today is better...and hopefully, with a little luck and effort, tomorrow will be even better than today.

Cheers,
j.

Dance was a blast last night. We have officially started all of our dances, woohoo! I love dancing in character shoes, just feels very graceful. While on the subject of dance, do you think there is some kind of surgery you can get to make your legs more flexible? (I'm halfway kidding) No amount of stretching has helped. I even tried yoga, and that was just embarassing. My back is flexible, but my hips and legs...not so much. I can't touch my toes, I can't do anything even remotely close to the splits. I look elderly when I try. I feel okay about it at my current studio, just because it is kind of understood and I really do try hard. But in new environments I am very self conscious about it.

Dodgeball tonight! First night of the season! I love exclamation points!

I've been in a horrible mood and have taken it out on Dave. He doesn't deserve that...no one does.

Say Anything...I forgot what an incredible movie this is. Some parts of it make me miss "those days" terribly.

Dance was incredible tonight. One of the best nights in a long time. We started working on the tap and jazz dance. Both kick @ss. The jazz is hot as hell. Can't wait to learn more!! We also worked on some basic tango stuff. I don't know exactly how tango ties into our ballet class, but I've always wanted to learn the right way to tango, so I'm not complaining...I noticed that while I haven't lost anymore weight, I have much greater muscle definition. Booyeah.

*Edit* HOLY CARP BATMAN! I never realized that Jeremy Piven is in this movie.

This has been an odd week thus far.  Nothing in particular, everything just feels slightly off.  Weeeeud.

The sky is really eerie.  Extremely low clouds, but they are thin.  We were supposed to have severe weather today, but it is to our south (thank God).  I am proud of myself.  I didn't turn on alert function of the weather radio last night...and I didn't bat an eye when I drove to work in heavy rain.  I don't think I am "cured" of my fear (anyone new to this journal...I have a debilitating fear of tornadoes/strong winds/really bad storms), but I think I am starting to live with it.

I started taking a practice LSAT today.  I finished the first section.  I didn't do terrible...and I guess I should wait till I take the rest of the test to calculate my score, but I still am bummed that I missed a few.  But for the first time, that can't be too bad.  The questions were fun.

It looks like I will be performing a jazz and a tap dance in the studio's recital this June.  The music for the jazz is frickin awesome.  "Feelin' Good" by Michael Buble (sp??).  The dresses are bad@ss as well...and it looks like we'll be in character shoes, yay!

Seriously, you guys have to see this sky.
 freaky!  I can't find a current skyline picture, but I can assure you that it looks weird.

It's already over.  That said a lot of things are over, namely the Wednesday night dance class.  I do believe I am limiting my instruction to tap next semester.  Ahhh, tap dance.  The girls did a fabulous job on Friday.  It was a major relief and it also gave me a bit of a pat on the back.  Woohoo! 

The rest of the weekend consisted of night-swimming during a thunderstorm (very very cold), sleeping in, shopping, Borat, H Cues, family birthday fest, Halloween H2O (now we just need to watch Resurrection and our Halloween marathon will be complete!  FINALLY!) and a clever book about things on cats.

Oooh, does anyone have a good Thanksgiving recipe they would like to share??

This week absolutely flew by...I think it was the excitement of Halloween coupled with a day off.  Next week, I fear, will be equally as quick.  Not that I like dragging through the work-week, but next week is the last dance class, dress rehearsal and performance for the girls.  I'm incredibly nervous...what if it falls apart?  What if they space out or something?  Argh.  As much as I have complained, this has been a great experience.

I am going to Bowling Green tonight.  I absolutely hate that I am missing the festivities for shampooincident

Tomorrow, who knows...I'd like to just go on a hike or maybe spend the early part of the day in the hammock.  I definitely plan on sleeping in w/ little Juleser.

I voted yesterday.  Have you voted yet????  Eh, after all the people that were early voting I doubt the lines will be bad on Tuesday.  But don't forget!!!