Crunch time

So I decided to enter the exams.

I told the teacher if she feels I'm not ready she can pull me out at the last minute.

However, I'm dancing my little tush off every 2 - 3 days.

D knows the rhythms, C and K imitate me and I have a cute little video of K saying "dig, across, dig, across, stamp, dig, dig".

Basically, if I'm not ready, I feel like at least I'll have given it my absolute everything.

And some things are already exam-ready. 

I still have 1 min 13 sec of the dance to learn, but I can't do some of it at speed yet. It'll come though. The good thing is I tell myself these things like - my body can do it, I just have to practise enough.

So you'll find me in the pause area or at the lifts at work, doing little bits of the dance, with not a care in the world about what people think.

In some ways I feel like I'm further along than I was last year... with exam prep... but that could be my imagination.

I have 5 lessons left and then it's show time :) And then I can chill til next year!

What's happening in your life?

PS old school blogging with no pics

Decisions, decisions

I realised that I better get a post up here before I break my excellent habit of writing almost daily in August.

My brain is way too busy lately and I realised tonight I have three decisions to make:

what to do with the house
we're praying and confessing and and and.... there are two things - 1) I don't know that the agent is doing a very good job 2) "natural circumstances" says that it's not a seller's market right now.

So now my prayer is yes, send the right buyer and super quick, but also, should we rent it out? I am normally violently opposed to renting because people don't take care of places. I know you guys who read and rent are responsible, but you know you're in the minority, right?

Also, I need to stop believing everyone. After discussing this stuff with a work friend, I went online and did some research myself. Agent has told me I can basically only get people in for a year, but what if there are people who will rent my house for a short-term and move when it sells. This friend told me that I would get money and have other people stage our house for selling :)



what to do about exams
Spanish exams are mid-November. I have to decide by the end of this month if I'm doing it or not.

I have the same story as in June... I would have to do the exam by myself....which is such pressure in the actual exam.

But this examiner is divine! AND it's hot. Too hot for normal life, but hot for exams is awesome because that means nice, warm muscles and I feel like I can take on the world.

I have exactly 8 lessons left and while I don't think that's optimal, is it ever? I know everything except the dance which we started tonight. But the last dance was 2:12 in length; this one is 3:38. That's a hella lot of dancing. Even a 1:30 in Spanish leaves you breathless.

She did say tonight I don't have to do it but my problem is boredom. If I don't do this exam, I know I'll be bored within 1 month of next year and I can't imagine 5 months of the same thing over and over again.

Ideas? Advice?

It's show time!

Today's my exam!

Since I started Spanish again in March 2014, this is my 5th exam and also the first one I'm doing completely alone.

We're 4 in our class and I'm apparently the only one who was motivated enough to get this done.

I had a wobble last week when I realised how short the time was and how much I still had to practise, and I briefly considered pulling out. After all, what's an exam fee in the grand scheme of things?

But then i thought of doing this same work for another 6 months and that kicked me into gear :)

I am ready for new work!

So pray hard for me at 5.15 this afternoon that my muscles stay warm, my body stays supple, my muscle memory kicks in and I nail this exam!

What are you up to today?
Have you taken tomorrow off work?

So the Spanish exam is over!

I had to have (and pay for) a private lesson yesterday morning to go over my stuff one last time before this morning's exam.

I practised like crazy on the Friday night and thankfully that paid off on Sat morning.

This morning in the exam my dance was not quite as "spot on" in one place as when I did it yesterday but certainly good enough to pass, I hope.

On the whole, both of us have never danced as well as we did today.

We technically haven't received our official notifications of passes yet - I'm considering that a mere formality! :)

Some thoughts:

it is super weird to be competing with all the teenagers.

My friend in my class is also in her 30s (I'm using that til the last possible minute!) and has a boy of about 3/4.

There is one other lady who is older than we are - deep into her 40s - but she's about 6 grades ahead.



The rest? All teenagers!!!

Were we as silly as teenagers are today?

At one point the teacher said, "GIRLS! Will you put away the cell phones and get dressed?!"

S (my partner) and I didn't even take ours out. I only took mine out afterwards to take a photo for memories!

Can't quite believe it - 3 months of lessons and here I am doing exams again.

I said to the older lady - I haven't done exams for ballet or Spanish for 23 years.

Well, Tuesday we start the new grade and bring on November for the next exam :)

(you know me with a goal...)



It's been so good for me to get over myself, get my confidence in my body back (it was fantastic to see me in the mirror yesterday - I actually could remember the old Dance Marcia) and build those muscle memories again.

And now that that's over, I need to get my kids' party sorted!

I actually have a TON of things to do during this very short week including my visit to the dentist first thing on Tues morning (can't wait!) and getting C's hair cut.

What was most eventful for you this weekend?

PS do we need to talk about Father's Day?

A quick little catch-up post

this one was playing in my car for a few weeks (mind you, all the driving I do is TOPS 3 mins one way, and that's in the traffic)

the kids like Lip Service :)

So we currently have the House of Sick.

I was dreading last Friday because the expected high was only 9 degrees (48 F - thanks to a nifty little app I downloaded a few days ago called Converter).

We also had gym, a lunch here for friends and a party straight after that on Sat. The friends cancelled which gave us some white space so onward to the party. Boy, was it cold. I suspect the kids picked up whatever it is from there since there were at least 3 sick kids, including the birthday girl.

They had some runny noses on Sunday but were so bad on Monday we all stayed home.



Nanny S wasn't here (that's a post for another day) and I was feeling terrible too. I took some Degoran and made the kids sleep, so we all had a lovely long, 2 hrs 2 min (according to Fitbit) nap.

K was fine for school yesterday, I felt worse (really, really shaky - I couldn't even lift a book to read) and Connor was up and awake coughing for about 30 mins at 4 am so off we went to the doctor for some good old anti-biotics.

(if anti-biotics are not your style, I understand - I personally like to suffer for as short a time as possible).

I walked in, opened the drawer to set out their PJs (do you still do this?) and underwear, saw the light and dashed out for my camera :)

And after one dose, I was better... not so shaky. So I quickly cooked supper, intended to eat with the family at about 6:30, but I lay down on the bed "just for a moment" and when I woke, it was 10:50. YES!

The house was in darkness and everyone was sleeping.

So I ate a meal quickly (hot cross bun, tea, banana and yoghurt) so I could take my meds and then I read a book (HAHA - no joke!) til about 5 when I eventually felt tired and slept.

This is the life.

I said to Julia yesterday that I was sick but it felt great to have the FREEDOM to recover properly without being bombarded with SMS, emails, phone calls from project managers. Small gifts.

Today, I have no more shakiness, still coughing a bit.

happy pegs

Now there's the small matter of my Spanish dance exam on Sat.

I chatted to the doctor about this yesterday and she said IF you rest well (no physical exertion) for the next 48 hours, you'll be fine to have a lesson on Friday/ Sat and the exam on Sun. So I didn't go last night obviously since I was out cold. She may be able to squeeze me in on Sat. If not, I'm rocking up to the exam and just giving it my best.

What else is there to do, right?

love the light!

In the meantime, I decided to take the good doctor's orders because I have been feeling like I'm supposed to also be ENJOYING this time off too, it being a gift and all. So this morning I was playing with photos and albums, I want to finish May today so I can print off the monthly pics for the albums and for Project Life.

Speaking of photos, I can't WAIT to show you my latest obsession. Once I'm done with May, I'll have time to take more photos of the project and blog them.


So how are you? Are you well and healthy?

Ole'

I've now had 5 Spanish dancing lessons.

I'm really enjoying it but it's not as easy as I thought it would be. Some of it is... I remember the one dance like it was yesterday but some other things that should be more "obvious" are taking longer to get settled in my mind.

Also, clearly I'm 22 years older because my body doesn't twist into the turns, etc. as easily as it used to :)

The other girl in my class decided to do her exams in June so I'm joining her.

What the heck, right?

And I like a goal :)

So here I am at 39-odd years doing Spanish dance exams I did when I was 13 :)

But it's all good.

Best of all, I enjoy it and it's good to clear my busy mind - I have to keep focussed or I completely lose the rhythm.

Now that all the enrolment fees and gear has been paid for (I just got my skirt tonight), it should only cost R500 pm!

How are you keeping your head clear these days?

I didn't mean to keep you in suspense!

I've had some a lot of people checking up on me.

Thank you so much.

I didn't mean to be deliberately quiet.

I really just work with extreme micromanagers and at the moment, survival is key.

pic by D of me in Ballito; cropped by me because my bum was far too big in the original photo

I will write more when I have time but I don't tonight since I decided today that my health is most important and I MUST go work out twice a week and once on the weekend. To keep sane but also to keep the stress at bay.

So I cooked supper, ate with the kids, and dashed out the minute D arrived home... to Spanish Dance lesson 2!

It was quite terrible because it was a very advanced class but I'm glad I went because I'll get there in a few months' time :) Also, I learnt that if you stop thinking so much and just focus on the rhythms, you can keep up... mostly. There's a life lesson there.

Next week I'm going back to the baby class and I'll stay there a month, and then see about moving up...

The gynae appt was ok (but I cried), the work thing was ok.... and I'm ok.

How was YOUR Monday?

PS apparently my US friends (the Mandys) know more about Oscar than I do! Hilarious :)
PPS tomorrow's interview is at 2pm!