Wood Floors!!!

When I started looking for a house almost three years ago I really wanted wood floors. The house I bought was wonderful and had everything I could ever need and want....except wood floors! Lately I have been wanting them even more. I had been looking at how much it would cost and checking craigslist for any super good deals. I was reminded that since my house is so old that there is probably wood under my carpet. I went home during lunch one day and pulled up the carpet in one corner and low and behold!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was wood!!!! That night I just got the impulse to rip up all the carpet in my dining room. I must admit I had a little something to drink which helped that impulse come to pass. :)

I the next few days I proceeded to move all of my dining/living room furniture into the front bedroom and onto the front porch (with some help of some great friends!). I ripped up the carpet in the living room also. After it was all ripped up I started pulling up all the carpet tack along the walls and the MILLIONS of staples! That was the worst part. After the floors were clean of things I got the impulse (sober this time) that I wanted to paint the two rooms. After looking at some different colors I decided to go with SMOKEY SLATE. A green/grey color. I painted all the walls in both rooms and it looks good.

I started researching how to sand and stain your wood floors...I watched all the youtube videos and read all the online tutorials. I was READY! I went and rented a sander and all the sand paper. It was amazing what I could do in just one day. It was starting to look really good!

After what seemed like an eternity of sanding I was ready to stain! I picked a medium color calle PECAN and applied it with a mop. It worked really well and the color is pretty even throughout. There was some water damage on two spots on the floor and those are a little darker but not that bad at all. After the stain dried I started to apply the polyutherane. I got two coats of that on the floors and called it good!

When everything had dried my base boards and the trim around my windows and doors looked yellow! I could not have that. So I repainted all of those and now they look just like new!

I had the men come back and help me move my furniture back into place. Now that I have been in the rooms for a while there are a few spots where the finish isn't as even as other places and a few little bubbles in the floor. If I had paid someone to do this job those things would NOT be acceptable. But since I did it and worked my butt off I think it just gives the house a little more character. :) So $219.00 later I have a remodeled living and dining room, sore muscles, and an experience I will never forget!

before..........

AFTER!!!

before.....

AFTER!!!

Interesting

WARNING!!! Please respect my blog and my opinions in this post. Thank you.


Why when a church is supposed to bring everyone ultimate happiness and truth does it seem to do just the opposite of that? Family members are always going to do what the church says and have that mindset no matter what. That puts a block on my relationship with them that prevents it from further growth and development.

My mother jokingly told me I should listen to conference (I think knowing that I wouldn't do it) but I got bored and thought I would look online to see what was going on. I sure wish I hadn't! All the google searches brought up Boyd K Packer's speech. I just couldn't believe how things were said. I read articles, watched video clips, and made sure I was uptodate and knew what really went on. I stood back and watched facebook posts and blogs about members of the church justify what this very closed minded, conservative man is saying. Part of a post said "we hear what we want to hear." I think that is an excuse and a way out to not have to disagree with what was said.

Six gay boys have committed suicide in the recent past due to homophobic abuse in the home, school, and community. These are only ones that have made the news. I am certain there are more and more attempts by others. This was in the headlines right before General Conference started. You would think that the leaders of that church would have shown some type of condolences or sympathy towards them or their families and if they decided to approach the subject than to do it in a matter of love and understanding, not ignorance and closed mindedness. Instead Boyd K Packer added fire to the flame and my heart goes out to those confused teenagers and young adults who had to sit there and watch a leader of a church say things like that in the matter in which he did.

Here is a quote that actually makes me giggle from Brigham Young: "The government should stay out of the business of the Saints and let us worship to the according to the dictates of our own conscience. If there ever comes a day when the Saints interfere with the rights of of others to live as they see fit, you can know with assurance that the Church is no longer led by a prophet, but by a mere man." First of all Brigham Young had married 56 women!!! Of course he thought that the government should stay out of his business so he could have more wives!

A lot of members are using that quote in their favor. I seem to think the opposite and see it. The Church is interfering with people's lives and rights. The biggest example is encouraging members to donate their money and time to Proposition 8. If that is not interfering with the rights of other to live as they see fit then I don't know what is! Stopping people from having the rights that they deserve. If the government didn't interfere then all the mormons would still be polygamists!

I remember reading online (I can't remember where though...) that the church is like Mary Poppins. It is suppost to be "practically perfect in every way" but it isn't, just like Mary isn't. Mary Poppins came into the lives of the Banks home to help and assist the family understand, love, and appreciate each other. At the end of the movie Mary Poppins leaves because there are other families that need her help. By that point the Banks family has each other and that is what is important! They don't need Mary Poppins anymore. She was vital and the key component in the story but her work was finished. I feel that same way about the church.....if only others felt the same way. :) I am grateful for the values and the lessons I learned growing up in the church, and all the fun activities and events that took place. Some things I will always take with me the rest of my life....but not everything!

I feel I am always going to disagree with my family and friends I grew up with on the subject of the church. The church is going to be the thing that drives us away from each other. I will be the one who doesn't go to the "Celestial Kingdom". I am a good person with a good heart who is contributing to the good of my community. If I don't get to spend time in Heaven with my family and friends because I was not follower of the church than I don't think that is Heaven. And frankly I don't want to go to a place where there is ignorance, closed mindedness, and hate.

If you are jewish, a minority, gay, handicapped, an outcast, or even the popular kid we need to accept eachother with love and understanding. We need to celebrate diversity!!!!! It is the only true thing we all have in common!

Holiday in Scotland

I left Wichita at 5:30pm to meet up with Cassidy and Sami in Atlanta. It was a long flight that I tried to sleep through. We were in the middle of the plane so our air and lights were not able to be reached unless we stood up. Part of Sami's light fell on her. I made a big deal about it to the flight attendent.... Little did she know I had something to do with it falling down. :) We took a train to the hotel we would be staying at while in London. I thought living in NYC and walking up 5 flights was rough. We walked up 4 very narrow and steep stairs to our closet of a bedrrom. So small! And the bathroom was a closet. That day we went about London and explored/toured House of Parliament, Palace of Westminster, House of Commons, House of Lords, and Big Ben! We took the subway to save some money and man it was so hot and humid and we were down there for 2 hours with some lines closing and using alternate routes. We ate dinner at a Pub that night (the first of many!) and I had a british beer named after Sam. That night we went to LOVE NEVER DIES. It was actually better then I thought it would be. The Phantom was great and I love his song he sings in the first act. The special effects on the screens were really cool and the technical aspects. We sang three songs from this show the entire trip! "Love Never Dies..." "Bathing Beauties...." and "My Christine.." people who heard us (mostly me) would think we are crazy. Which we are!

We woke up early and had a Traditional English Breakfast which consisted of a fried egg, ham, sausage, beans and a tomato. Sami ate the beans and some peaches! We headed out to Westminster Abbey and went to the War Cabinet Rooms that Mr. Churchill set up during WWII. The underground rooms/quarters are where people lived for over 16months with no light or windows. It was pretty amazing and very interesting. We headed over to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard and then we toured the palace. I want to live in a castle. During the Changing of the Guards we looked over and there was a little boy peeing and his dad was so proud of him and gave him a kiss. The rest of the trip I kept saying in my horrible British Accent "Mommy...there is a little boy over there peeing on the queen's flowers!" Took a taxi to the Tower of London and I never realized so many executions took place there. We took a taxi to Traflaga Square and had some photo shoots there. It was quite the site to see me and Sami get up on those lions!!! I even helped a little boy down. I am so Christlike I know. Cassidy and Sami finally found the candy store and bought a lot of it!!! I bought some and shared it with the office at home. That night Sami and Cassidy went to Wicked. I went to Priscilla Queen of the Dessert. I absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED it. I can't wait to see it again when it comes to Broadway. The dancing, costumes, singing, and the bus were absolutely brilliant!!!

The next day we checked out of our four story walk up hotel and took a train to Salsbury to go see Stone Henge, Old Sarum, and the Salsbury Cathedral. I loved it all. It is all getting so commercialized but it is just breathtaking to see all these sites that I have heard of since I was a young boy. There is so much history over in Europe that I absolutely adore. I loved the city of Salsbury. I thought it looked like the town that Pinocchio took place it! I was just waiting for people to break into song and dance! The tower in the Salsbury Cathedral is the tolest in the UK and the 4th tallest in Europe. It was quite the site inside and out. There was a boy who kept staring at Sami ever since the train ride and I kept calling him her boyfriend. He was always where we were that day...Interesting. Cassidy met a nice family from Spain and chatted it up with them in Spanish. We got back to London and took a flight to Edinburgh to spend the night there.

Edinburgh is my one of my favorite places we went to. The old architecture is beautiful and all the hills that the buildings are on are cool but were quite a workout for my calf muscles. We walked up the cobble stone streets to the Castle and had a wonderful tour of that and even saw the cannon go off! We saw the Scotland Crown Jewels and THE STONE OF DESTINY!!! There was so much history with this castle and all the events that had taken place there. After the castle we walked down the main street and there were street acts, mimes, singers, performers everywhere. We were there during the Fringe Festival. We stopped and watched a few of them and they were very entertaining. We looked in the shops and decided to shop at one where they were very friendly and wanted to know all about it. The son was quite embarrassed when he made a joke about me and Sami and she responded "the gent is my brother" his face turned red... We thought it was funny. All of there things are made in Scotland unlike an Indian fellow who owns 30 shops on the street who ships stuff in from India. I thought that was interesting. That is where I got some scarves and my kilt!! We ate at a pub called Whiskeys and I had some fish n chips. I also had an Edinburgh beer and some whiskey of course. That night we headed to the castle for the annual Military Tattoo Festival. It was like a glorified Marching Band, motorcycles, dancers, army trainees, horses, and even a band from North Carolinia. It was quite the show...Just wish it didn't rain most of the entire time. The show must go on! Don't forget fireworks at the end.

We left Edinburgh and took a train to Inverness where we picked up our rental car after waiting an hour and not understanding where to meet the rental car lady.....but then we were off and we drove by and waved to Nessie and were on our way. We were nervous about driving on the left side of the road but we did well. The country was beautiful and one of our first stops were the Steps of Whaligoe. They were old fishermen steps where they women would get the fish from the boats and walk up with the fish on baskets on their heads. There were supposed to be 365 but I believe there were a lot more! We stopped by several castle ruins along the coast. It reminded me of Avonlea. I bet the two of them got sick of me saying that all the time. :) but it really did look like Prince Edward Island, Anne of Green Gables, Avonlea, etc... Cassidy's driving wasn't the best and Sami got a little sick and laid down. We stayed the night at a B&B and it was very nice. The next day we had a Scottish Breakfast. I even tried the black pudding. We were off to Orkney Island. We got on the ferry and it was like a cruise ship!!! We arrived in Stromness and drove around that little town for a bit before we were off for our day of history. We stopped by the Stones of Stennes which are currently three standing stones between two lochs of water. Down the road was the Ring of Brodgar. This is the oldest set of ring stones in the world! Even older than Stone Henge. We then took a guided tour of Maeshowe. It is an ancient burial with graffitee in it from the Vickings! It was really neat. We drove up to the Brough of Birsay which is an island that can only be accessed at low tide. Sami and I got some seashells and touched the ocean!!! We also went to Skara Brea Prehistoric Village. It is the oldest ruins in the world. Older than the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids. It was neat to see how the houses were set up and the surroundings. They were built in the ground with connecting hallways from house to house and common areas. We were runing short on time so we just spent a little time at Kirkwall. Looked at a shop and the cathedral and we were on our way. We kept driving and stopped at the Italian Chapel that was built by some Italian Prisoners during the war. We made the ferry back to the mainland and had dinner at the School House. Cassidy saw a review for it online. It was good, but a little...A LOT...pricey. A very friendly and very talkative lady and her son ran it.

The next day we did a lot of driving. Our first stop was in Durnass where we climbed down to a cave. We stopped at an craft fair and got some hot chocolate. I bought some truffles and some chocolate there also. This area is completely different than the rest of Scotland that we saw. Mountains, trees, waterfalls, etc.. It was beautiful. We stopped at a beach and walked around a bit. We got to our B&B and went out and watched the sunset. We went to a pub and got some food and drink. This experience entertained us for a long time. Listening to the locals and their choice of words and actions! haha. The next day was another long day of traveling to and on the Isle of Sky. We stopped at the Eilean Donan Castle. It was pretty neat and a great location. We stopped at a local craft fair and it was really neat. We found some hand woven shops that I bought a sweater and a vest from. I am excited to wear them when it gets cold. Made stops at Kilt Rock, Mealt Falls and to Dunlum Castle. A Great location for the castle...but not much of a castle left. We eventually found Fairy Glen after some wrong turns and it was very magical. Looked like it was out of a movie. Cassidy and I got out and took the hike to Neiss Point (Sami was sick again from the driving). It was quite a hike but the views were absolutely to die for. I sat down for a bit and looked out. There was something very spiritual about the whole atmosphere and experience there. I tried to take some short cuts getting back to the car....and low and behold my shoes were covered in mud. That will teach me. We made it to our B&B and the best one of the whole trip! The ladies name was Jan!!! Just like our mother.

We drove down to Glascow to get on our flight to London. We spent the night in London and then made the journey home. None of our T.V. screens had sound for the entire flight!!!!!!!! AHHHH. But we are alive and able to talk about it. It was a beautiful Country and I am glad I got see all that Scotland had to offer.

LIFE DARLINGS........

One down, four to go! Yesterday we finished the run of GYPSY. I have a great staff and we did a great job, but you never know what to expect or what will happen on the box office side of things. By last night I needed a stiff drink and a cigarette. Too bad I don't smoke, it would have calmed me down. I still think my sister Sam and I are crazy for going into customer service with our jobs. It bonds us together and we understand each other. I don't understand that is someone has a problem with their season tickets that they wait till 15 minutes before the show and demand the best seats......They have had their tickets for four weeks now. Also, who yells and is rude to get what they want? Two year olds that is what! I have had enough pearl wearing, lipsticked teeth, strong smelling old ladies yell at me this past weekend to last me till Christmas. Who knew my days on at Taco Bell, Frontier Pies, The Country Club, and the Cruise Ship would come in handy with this job???? When patrons start to get mean and pissy with me I lose my politeness and willingness to help. I am not rude, nor do I throw back attitude, but I get what needs to be done taken care of and that is the end of it. On another hand I have great team players for my staff and we have a lot of fun while working hard. It is a great atmosphere for all. It always takes me a while to get back into the swing of things so hopefully in two weeks when the masses come again we will be alright!

Another note I finished the first season of GLEE. I watched the pilot back when if first aired and I just haven't had time to watch it. My brother hooked me up with some cool technicolor dream coat thing.....ok it is some type of techinical thing that allows me to watch movies and tv from my computer to the big screen. I just got addicted to it and I yelled at the TV a few times, along with laughing, singing along, and crying. I love that it is not a show about the popular kids nor about sports. It is about what these kids really face in high school and the image and the concerns they really have. It shows what things REALLY happen in people's lives and how they find something they can connect to and improve their life and self being. They learn to be there for each other and to work hard for something they believe in............They have really good voices and production numbers too, so that doesn't hurt at all!!! I can't wait for the second season to start.

I started to watch SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON last night....The old Disney movie. I have such fond memories of that show and wishing I could live there. I still think it would be really cool and secretly think it would be quite the life. I will finish it tonight...my favorite parts are the swimming in the ponds and sliding down the waterfalls and swinging on the vines...AND when the pirates attack and all their cool tricks to keep them away. That is all...Peace Be With YOU!

Come to my garden

So my garden is really enjoying all of this rain and now sunshine. I have cut and have eaten half of my lettuce. The carrots are getting big as well as the onions. My tomato plants are HUGE. Squash is starting get flowers and will be ready before I know it. I am not going to be the best at wedding my garden....I am just being honest. But I am pretty proud of my hard work.

Here is the view from the back of my yard.

Here are the carrots, lettuce, onions, tomatos, and cucumbers. Jesus has planted 12 hot pepper plants in my garden too. I can't remember where they all are but I am sure they will grow.

Here are two of my rose bushes. I was under the impression that all four bushes would produce red flowers....but one has pink roses instead.

I will post more pictures when I things start to harvest. Peace be with YOU!

Update

Our Fesitval of Broadway Concert was last night. It went really well. We do highlights from our upcoming season. All the out of town performers worked really hard all weekend to put on a great show. I was fortunate enough to direct/choreograph it again this year. It was great to spend some time with the college kids who will be spending their summer with us at MTWichita this year.

I have planted a garden. Tomatoes, carrotts, lettuce, summer squash, peas, and cucumbers. We will see how it all turns out. So far so good. I sort of did a remodel on my back yard also. I will post pictures of that later.

I was also able to sneak a trip home to see the family for a weekend. I took Samantha gambling for her first time. She thought it was stupid. Then when my family took my back to Vegas to catch my flight we had a little family night of gambling. Such bonding time!!!

The summer is quickly approaching!!! AHHHH!!!!! I will survive.

Katie

The death of my former college classmate and friend has inspired me to write. I never saw Katie without a smile on her face. When I saw her get mad she even had a way of having a smile. I was fortunate enough to become a Gamma Phi Guy in the sorority which she belongs. When I visited Katie and Rachel in Chicago they introduced me to deep fried green beans. She was a part of our annual Thanksgiving Dinner at OCU and she always believed that my jello mold would turn out. It NEVER did and hearing her laugh would make it all okay.

I don't know why death happens to those that give of their time, passion, and energy. People that are changing the world by teaching kids to love the Arts, Dance, and to be better human beings. I believe in Prayer and I believe in God, but I don't understand nor do I have the faith that things will be alright. I have many things to be grateful for and many things that I understand and believe in. But when someone dies who affects so many people in a positive way, I don't have faith or understand that. People will say "It was her time" and "everything happens for a reason" but I don't believe that and I don't find comfort that her journey was over. Because she has and should still be changing the lives of the children of Chicago right now.

I will miss you Katie, and I can't even imagine how your family and your OCU sisters and close friends are taking this. All I can do is send prayers, energy, and positive thoughts to them. The world has lost a wonderful friend, teacher, and human being.

I'm in a New York state of mind

I got back from NYC. I had a good time but it was time to be home.

I left Friday Evening so I could spend the weekend with some friends before it was all work. I stayed with my great friend Roy from college. He lives in a five story walk up right in midtown. A great location and apartment. Roy, Nancy, and I went to brunch the next day and shopping at H&M for my nephiews. On Sunday Nancy and I went and saw MEMPHIS. The singing and dancing was awesome!!! Another awesome note is that the OBAMAS were there!!! Not Mr. President but the lovely ladies were. It was a neat experience and neat that the audience reacted so positive to them. I was also able to meet up with my old NYC roomates Lyndy and Jeromy for a drink and catch up. I just love them!

Monday was the day to catch up with people. We had the MTWichita Open House where everyone came by to say hello. It was so nice to see people I haven't seen in a year and to catch up with them. After Monday it was work work work by day! I was the monitor for the auditions. I checked people in, answered questions, and just dealt with the divas! All the auditioners were very nice this year, so that helped a lot.

By night we were able to see shows and eat dinner at some fun places. My favorite of course was BECCO. If you go to NYC go there for some great Italian Food!! We also went to ARIBA ARIBA- so fun!

Here are my reviews of the shows I saw:

MEMPHIS-loved the overall show. The choreography was so great and inspirational. Overall feel of the show I loved!

NEXT TO NORMAL- Awesome show!!! Loved all the people in it. Story was great and ended on a hopeful note. I didn't realize that it would. Everyone kept telling me "look out for the surprise ending". There was not a surprise ending. Rog and I figured out the surprise very quickly and enjoyed the performance and the music. The stage was set up really neat also.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY- Could have lived without seeing this show. My favorite part was the curtain. They used it in a really neat way. And the trick with the tassle on the curtain was neat too. In one scene they had really cool lights and I said "Those are David Neville lights for sure!" I guess it doesn't speak much of the show when my favorite part was the curtain and lights!

COME FLY AWAY- LOVED LOVED LOVED the dancing!!! If you go in knowing you are seeing a dance concert and not a musical you will love it. So much technique, style, and passion up there. I liked their personalities and execution. I would see it a few more times if given the chance!

SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM- What a great evening of theatre! Lots of clips from his life and interviews about the shows he has worked on. It was very personal and a neat experience to be a part of. Barbara Cook's performance of SEND IN THE CLOWS and Norm Lewis' BEING ALIVE will stay with me for a long time to come. It was a very memorable evening with lots of great performances!

AMERICAN IDIOT-I didn't realize that I was going to a rock concert. After the opening number Roger and I realized we should have put some sun screen on, brought some sun glasses, and ear plugs! It just wasn't my cup of tea. I thought the T.V.s all over the back of the stage was cool. Probably my least favorite show I have seen. But if you are a GREEN DAY fan and are familiar with the CD go see it! You will probably have a great time. Oh and GREEN DAY was there at the theatre also.

PROMISES PROMISE- I really enjoyed this show a lot. We have three alumni in it from MTWichita. It was the first paid preview and we had AWESOME SEATS!!! They turned the overture into a dance and it worked really well. Sean Hayes was great in the part. Kristin Chenowith was well.......Kristin. I am familiar with the old choreography from Michael Bennett for TURKEY LURKEY and I loved it. This version of TURKEY LURKEY was good, just nothing like the original. So I was a little sad about that. We got to go backstage and talk to some people. Sean said hello to us!!! haha. Everyone involved with the production should be proud and I hope it runs for a long long time!!!

THE FANTASTICKS- We had an alum Edd Watts in it. It was a great production of the show and he did a great job. It is not my favorite show in the world, but it was done very well.

I was inspired and ready to teach and choreograph for another year! It was LONG DAYS AND SHORT NIGHTS!!! But I loved it and love my job! Peace Be With You!

Why are the Arts in our schools important?

Cuts are being made to the public schools here in Wichita. One of the first things cut are always the Arts. Why is this you may ask? Through my research I have found that studies have been taken for years about students who take classes in the Arts and those who don't. In every result the student who has taken classes in the Arts gets higher scores in every area of testing. How can this be? The Arts help students become critical thinkers. The student digs deep inside themself and takes risks emotionally. They put their soul out there on the stage, in their painting, or through the instrument they are playing. They put themselves on the line. They develop their imaginations and creative thinking process. These are things that will benefit them in whatever field of occupation they choose to go into. Marketing, Teaching, or business....you name it and you need to have critical thinking skills along with being creative. Through the Arts we are able to fine tune what we are feeling and discover a sense of accomplishment.

To establish a relationship and an appreciation with the Arts we must introduce the youth while they are in elementary school. Through the creative process of the teachers and from being introduced to art and music the student will begin to use what they are exposed to in their everyday classroom work and life. They won't even realize that what they have been exposed to is affecting them.

The things I remember from elementary and middle school are involved with Art. I remember my mom coming to school to teach us the process of cleaning sheep's wool, coloring it, and using the spinning wheel. I remember having competitions to see who could get the longest finger weaving chain. I remember making coil bowls and using the kilm. I remember having a daily news show in my 5th grade class and presenting it live every month for the whole school over the t.v. I remember making wire trees in Art class along with a glass candy dish in shop class. I remember choreographing for the schools dance company. I remember being the lead my senior year in the school musical.

The Arts are probably one of the most important things in my life. In High School I chose to attend a performing arts high school because it was so important to me. I then chose to major in Dance because I knew what it meant to me and how I couldn't see myself doing anything else with my life. I then took my job at Music Theatre because I believe in the Arts with all my soul. I believe that my small part in working with the youth in Wichita will establish a respect and an appreciation for the Arts. I hope that it will become something that is of value and treated with the dignity that it should.

Now if we can only get the school districts to think that.........

Safe Environments

I was first introduced to safe environments when I was taking dance in middle/high school where we were able to express ourselves through dance and improv however we see fit. To express our emotions of what we were feeling at that time through dance. It really meant a lot to have that safety and that environment during that time.

I next experienced safe environments when I was in college. Roy, one of my best friends, started ICE CREAM. That was code for a dance class. It was always so fun to go there on a week night and just dance! I personally always loved across the floor best! There were all skill levels and all different types of personalities that attended. Everyone cheered each other one, helped with steps, and just morally supported one another. We believed in each other and let people get what crap they were going through out of their systems through the combinations. There was an unwritten rule of respect that what happened and was experienced in that room during ICE CREAM was something special and should be kept that way.

After I graduated college, worked as a performer, lived in NYC, and now teaching. I have installed my own form of a safe environment to the teens I teach and choreograph for. The first big success of this was during AIDA. I was trying to get the passion out of the teens for THE GODS LOVE NUBIA. I set the mood and what I expected. I told them that it was a safe environment and what happened there would stay there in that room with the cast. One by one the teens opened up about how they felt and what they were experiencing in their lives. We ran the number after that and words can't describe the energy that was experienced in that room. Everyone believed in the safe environment and chose to go for it. It was a lot of work to get to that poing that we reached, but ever since that day it gets a little easier each time to get to a safe environment with the teens I teach.

Through the last few years living in Wichita I have kept Safe Environments alive through the dance classes I teach and shows I direct/choreograph. I see the frightened looks of the teens and the resistance that put up, but once we get there the outcome of them releasing their emotions and hardships and dealing with what they are going through is priceless. I am also able to learn and grow by sharing what I am going through and what bothers me. I am able to work through things just like they are. I learn so much from them.

Art is about communicating and human feelings, emotions, and relationships.

To quote one of my teens: "THE WORLD SHOULD BE A SAFE ZONE."

Communication

I read the recent DANCE STUDIO LIFE MAGAZINE and one article entitled “Little Kids, Big Expectations” here is an excerpt from it that really hit home

“These early lessons in dance class are not necessarily intended to develop them into prima ballerinas, they are life lessons. Along with dance basics, I am teaching them how to be good listeners, be respectful, connect with another person, and rise to challenges. I am teaching them self-respect and self-excellence. I am introducing them to values that will help these children grow into adults who do not accept mediocrity in their lives or in themselves. Those lessons need to start very early on, and those values will help these children change the world.”

This just hit home with me. I couldn’t have put it into words better myself. When I teach dance this is what I try to instill into my kids and teens. During the off season when I direct and choreograph for high schools and theatres, I just don’t teach steps to them. I TEACH and I get them to not only learn the dance steps but all the other qualities that go along with doing a show. I agree that the youth that I teach will be the upcoming generation that will change our world for the better. It is my job as a teacher to make sure they have all the confidence, tools, and support they need to do so. So even when I am not teaching “dance classes” I am still a teacher when working with the youth in the Arts.

Another thing I was reminded about in music theatre/performing is the word COMMUNICATION. I teach about passion/energy and that is the basis for everything. Doing something without passion is not worth doing in the first place. I teach my teens to always have passion when learning/performing. One thing I need to remember to do is to make the word “communicate” just as important as passion. The Arts is about communicating. Whether we are trying to tell a story, and emotion, entertain, or whatever-we have to communicate in some form to get the message across. Music Theatre is about connecting with each other on stage, and making the audience feel something for the characters or shows. You have to engage the audience by communicating with them. When a poet writes a poem he needs to do it in a sense that touches the readers. An artist needs to use colors and styles to get his feeling across to those who look at the paintings. A musician needs to play his instrument with such feeling that the notes and melody are accepted by the listener in a fashion that touches them and makes them feel the certain mood. All of these are forms of communicating. The Arts are about communication. Without that key factor, it is not Art. And how does one communicate? With Passion! So I have been teaching the youth of Wichita correctly, I just need to add the last step and make sure there end product of passion includes communicating.

I have joined the bandwagon

Since I enjoy reading and stalking my family and old friend's blogs, I thought that it was time to join the bandwagon. I recently took a two week vacation to the British Virgin Islands so I will dedicate my first blog entry to that trip. (It is going to be long!)

We left Wichita on a foggy Sunday Morning. Our first transfer was in Chicago. Once we landed in Chicago we realized we wouldn't make our connecting flight to San Juan. Nancy talked to representatives on the phone and at the ticketing counter. The best that they could do was get us down there the next morning. That would have put us off by a day. Besides, we had a boat that paid for and that timing would put us off a day on our schedule. Nancy found a young Russian Boy working for American. She worked her magic and got all ten of us on a United Flight that left in 20 minutes! We got to San Juan three minutes earlier than we were supposed to on the American Flight! We had a few happy hour cocktails at the airport before heading off to the 35 minute flight to Tortola. Once we landed in Tortola we realized that our bags did not make the connection! AHHHH!!!!! We filled out all the paperwork and headed off to spend the night on our sailboat. That evening we ate at Pussers where I experience my first Painkiller of the trip.

The next day half of us went shopping for drink and food supplies, while the other half checked out the boat to make sure everything was running smoothly. Still no bags had arrived, we decided to go to a whole in the wall store and purchase a few $5.00 clothing items to make it through the week of sailing. We decided to sail to Trellice Bay the first night. It is a bay right by the airport on Beef Island. Once we got there we jumped in the water and started swimming. I couldn't help myself so James and I took our swimsuits off and skinny dipped....one of the many times for me that trip! We got word that our bags had arrived. Mark, Tyson, and myself took the dinghy to the beach, then walked to the airport. After some arguing with American about them not helping us transport our luggage, the three of us headed down the road, then the dirt road, then the beach, and then to the dock. We took two trips back to the sailboat with all ten people's luggage. Finally all of our stuff was with us, we were ready for the fun to begin!

Day #2

We sailed over to Virgin Gorda to look around and explore The Baths. We anchored a bit of a ways from The Baths and hiked on over to what we thought was the right place. Once we got to a beach we were told we either had to swim around or hike three miles. Scott and Tyson decided to go get our dinghy. After we got there we hiked throughout The Baths and took some neat pictures. We took a nature hike to the top of the island where we ate and drank at a bar called "The Top of the Baths." James decided to try french fries at every island we went to. I helped him on this challenge of course! This place had the best fries by far! After a few painkillers it was time to head back to the boat. We had a rough time getting back in the dinghy since it was at a mooring ball and it didn't have any handles on it. Scott and Tyson single handily pulled us all aboard. I have a killer bruise on my man boob from trying to get in! We made it back to Isle Dance II (The name of our sailboat) and were heading off. We thought we spotted another man in a speedo...(we played a game where we counted how many men were in true speedos....we made it to 57) But to our suprise it was a woman topless. Tried to get pictures, but they didn't turn out so hot. We sailed around to the other side of Virgin Gorda and spent the night at Leverick Bay. A friend said that this place had the best snorkeling ever! Chris, Tyson, Jessica, and myself thought we would go try it out. Once we got on shore there were little mino fish everywhere. Jessica didn't like them one bit. We got in the water and started snorkeling. What a dissapointmen! Murky water with no coral anywhere, not much animal life, and tires and bottles on the bottom. We did see a few starfish that we held and put back where we found them. So that was the highlight of snorkeling. J.B. later that night caught a blacktip shark. He took care of it and we threw it on the grill. I have never tried shark before and it was GOOD!!! I brought some glowsticks I had bought and they were a hit this night! We put them in the freezer so we could enjoy them another night!

Day #3

We set sail across the channel to Norman Island. We stopped at The Indians where we snorkeled for a bit. It was very interesting and cool to see all the underground life. We spotted a few small square jellyfish so decided to head back in. We then sailed over to The Caves. We jumped in the water and we were surrounded by these Yellow Tail Fish. Nancy started throwing in some bread and they were not afraid to go pouncing right in front of your face for the food. It was a very neat thing to be surrounded by tons of big fish swimming all around you. We made our way to the three caves and it was very interesting to go in there and see what nature had done. Especially, all the colors on the rock walls from the works of Mother Nature. I brought a underwater flashlight and it sure came in handy for our expedition into the three caves. We headed back for the Isle Dance and sailed to The Bight. We got a mooring ball and started partying.....This was the stop of the famous Willy T floating bar! We decided this would be the Bachelorette party. Before the festivites started, J.B. caught a grouper and he heard that if you pour alcohol down its mouth it kills it instantly. That is a fact. It worked! Nancy made some great pink shirts for us all. James and my shirt said "Bride's Bitch" we names ourselves brides maids because there were no girls for Jessica to have. So we gladly took on the role, along with bringing supplies for the party! I got a veil and a sash with a button for Jessica. James got some penis straws, a boob crown (for Tyson) and a boob and penis shot glass for both he and she. I got some big rings that glowed and decided to get the glow sticks out again. We were ready!!! We headed over to the bar and decided that we needed to do the shot ski. That is a ski that has four holes in it for shot glasses. We all took the shot together. I had several.....a lot..... of painkillers. We made friends, danced, hung from the high beams, and Tyson even did a body shot off of Jessica. We met some interesting people, and had a CRAZY good time. The Bridal party left earlier then the the bachelor party did. Come to find out Mark fell into the water at the Willy T and Tyson fell in trying to get back to the sail boat from the dinghy. Memories were made on this night for sure!

Day #4

We sailed back to Virgin Gorda to The Bitter End. On the way we stopped back at our home port of Road Town on Tortola. We needed more boos of course! Once we got there we went on land to explore. This harbor is very high class and stuck up. Very pretty, but the attitude there was not. There were triangle topped cabins all along the hillside. They looked like teepees to me. We walked around and explored all the nice facilities and looked at all the big and beautiful yaughts. While we were gone J.B. and Nancy were on the boat and he caught a Red Snapper. Later that night he caught a Tuna! We ate like kings!!! We had a long sail the next day to Anegada.

Day #5

I woke up and we were already sailing. It was very windy and the waves were very big. I worked on a cruiseship, but I was getting a little uneasy. I went down to take a nap which helped. We made the trip in record time. Anegada is a flat island that is only 28 feet tall. So you think you are sailing nowhere, but you suddenly see the trees appear! This day also happened to be Nancy's birthday. We rented two cars because there were so many of us. Tyson, Jessica, James, and myself were in the jeep-while the rest were in the mini van. We drove through town and stopped at a bakery and had some great homemade treats. I had my first TING which is kind of a mix between Squirt and Fresca. We stopped at the lagoon to see flamingos, which were several hundred yards away, but we saw them no less! Tyson had fun four wheeling through the dirt roads through all the puddles that were there from rain storm the night before. We first stopped at Loblolly Bay and went snorkeling. I thought that this was the prettiest beach I have ever seen. Miles of sandy white beaches and crystal clear waters. There were reefs far out and we swam to them and snorkeled. This was by far the best snorkeling we did down there. Big beautiful bolders of coral reefs and marine life. We ate at the bar there (and a painkiller) I had conch fritters and we were then off to Cow Wreck Beach. We got there and then I realized that this place was the prettiest beach that I had experienced. Snorkeling was not as good, but there were probably 15 people there and we were the only ones in the water the whole time. Chris took some great pictures of the happy soon to be wedding couple and they even took a shot of the "Green Fairy". Proud of them! We headed back to the boat to get ready for our Lobster dinner on the beach for Nancy's Birthday. She also made us caribbean blue shirts with the name of our boat "Isle Dance II" and we wore them this night. Our lobster was caught that day and grilled right next to us. It was the biggest and best lobster I have ever had. We had several photo shoots and I decided it was time to pull out the rest of the glow sticks. It was a wonderful day and a great way to spend a birthday with friends and family!

Day #6

We sailed to Cane Garden Bay on Tortola. This port had lots of beach activities. We got there when the cruise ships were there. So the beaches were packed with Europeans (this is where we got most of our speedo count) I decided to head off by myself, and after a couple times of walking up and down the beach I found a great little bar with seats in the shade. Come to find out painkillers were 2 for $5.00. I could not pass that up! I met three different couples from England and chatted away about cruiseships and such. I was ready to go back, but I missed our dinghy. I sat on the edge of the dock watching our boat members swimming. Tyson came and got me. I then swam back to the big trampoline in the water. I did some tricks and flips then James, Chris, Tyson, and Jessica came and got me and I took them back to the bar. We drank some more and went swimming in the ocean. By this time the cruiseship people were gone and the beach was almost vacant. I decided to take my suit off again. After a while I noticed that it was gone! I was so mad. I searched and searched and started freaking out. I was going to have to swim back to the boat naked!!! hahaha. Chris Clark had it the whole time. I guess that is what I get for making people give me piggy back rides without a swimming trunks on. :) I was a little out of it and don't remember much of the night......

Day #7

We picked up more friends that traveled to the wedding but didn't go on the sailboat trip before hand. Four members of Jessica's family, and four friends of ours arrived also. We sailed to Sandy Cay which is an island owned by the Rockerfellers. It was very pretty and lots of fun to spend time with the new kids! We then sailed to Jost Van Dyke and ate at Foxy's. We even met Foxy himself. Tyson put his boob crown up on the ceiling. I hope it is there the next time we go back! We then sailed around to Sopher's Hole. We rented a slip this night and were between some very fancy boats. We ate at Pusser's again and guess what....I had a painkiller! Pretty bad service and messed our bill up, but we were used to that from everyone being on island time. Our other friends left back to the hotel, and we spent that last night on the Isle Dance II.

Day #8

We started sailing the boat back to Road Town and we got caught in a storm. Raining very heavily and the waves were very big. It cleared once we got back to where we got the boat from. We took a taxi up the mountain to our hotel The Tamarind Club. It only had 12 rooms and we the wedding party took 11 of them. The food here was to die for. I could eat all my meals for the rest of my life here and be perfectly happy. The outdoor pool/bar/dining area was very nice....They could spend some time in the rooms though. None of the doors had locks on them, which was cool and kind of weird also. We sat around and relaxed, took the ten minute walk to Josiah's Bay and scoped out where the wedding was going to take place the next day. Tha night we partied and all had fun. The groom had a little too much fun! haha

Day #8

After some confusion with the wedding cake, Nancy made sure all was well for the wedding!!! Jessica went into town and got her hair done and Chris went and got a couple of his photos developped. (His pictures are AWESOME!!!) We had the taxi take us down to the beach and I raked the area where the bride and groom were to stand (I am such a great bridesmaid) except the damn justice of the peace and her girl friend walked all over my hard work! I was so mad, but I wouldn't let that ruin the day. The wedding was absolutely beautiful. It was so neat to have close family of the Reeves' and friends be there on the beach experiences this wonderful day. I choked up quite a few times. The photos went well after and the bar down the beach even gave us all jello shots afterwards! Tyson wasn't able to drink the champagne after the wedding, so as a good brother and bridesmaid I helped him out. We went back to the restaurant and had some delicious food. We took some pictures at the hotel, then went to bed to catch our flight early the next morning.

Day #10

We took a sarari bus to the airport. It was quite the ride! We made all of our connections and our bags made it home also. The next day it snowed! haha.

I am grateful that I was able to be a part of something so special and such a neat occasion. I am proud if you made it through my first blog posting. Peace out girl scout.