Probably should be doing real work like organizing the kitchen and mailing bills and making sure my bank account isn't at zero...but I'm not.  Instead I plan to regale you with the stories of Cowtown Jamborama X.  Get comfy, maybe grab a snack.

I will try not to bore you with the many organizational plans I had for getting all the volunteering stuff, though I will say that I'm not at all afraid of delegating things.  And in the long run, me not being responsible for everything was probably wise.  The Wednesday before Cowtown I went back to my house and borrowed some housing stuff from my mom, since we were supposed to be housing two people (more on that adventure later), and then hung around and ate dinner, and found it difficult to leave because the house was so cozy, and because it was pouring down rain when I left.  I managed to get back to the flat, though it was raining harder than it had probably for the whole summer and I couldn't get the bedding out until Thursday.  

Flash forward to Thursday afternoon, me running around like crazy to get the house tidied up a little, Adam coming over to do small home improvements to our bathroom, buy food, etc., before I needed to be at the airport when I discovered that the finished room in the basement was damp and soggy from being flooded the night before.  Oh joy.  Panic did not set in just then, I had too much else to do.  Once Adam and I had finished hanging the towel rack, he went off to help set up the Thursday night dance, and I went to the airport to pick up our weekend lodger, Claire.  She was coming from St. Louis where she studies, originally from California, and I knew I liked her the moment we met since she was wearing a Stark-Rogers 2012 campaign t-shirt, and had a button on her hat that said, "I believe in Sherlock."  Was she ever staying in the right house.  We picked up her luggage and headed back to the house where I attempted to get my bearings, and then we headed off to the Thursday night dance.  But food was necessary, so we found the venue, and then walked a few blocks to get pizza with Amanda, Lacey, Eric, and Jose.  Once stuffed, it was back to the club with the Black Top Ramblers, who were awesome but OH SO LOUD!!!  Louder than that.  No, seriously, louder.

Aside from the band, the group wasn't too big or small, there was some pretty good dancing, even if I never actually put my Keds on.  Adam and I danced to a song that was all about Adam Cartwright from Bonanza (there's a song, who knew?) and Eric watched the Bears lose to the Packers, and Kim and David taught the Stroll, and for about 45 minutes, it was like Soul Train in the club.  After that, we decided we valued our hearing, got slightly lost on the way back to the house and eventually sleep.

I was up and going as soon as I could the next morning, determined to be at the Eagles by 9:00 when we were allowed to open.  I had several projects ahead of me, ably assisted by several volunteers, and no major disasters until I'd been there at least 40 minutes.  Sharon took care of the desk, Mike started his first class, Ruth handled the food, Eric helped hang curtains that Lee made especially for the ugly corner in the back, and then our director called with news.  The drummer for Saturday night's band flying from New Orleans was ill with botulism and definitely would not be flying that day.  Instead our director worked to get him on the next day's flight as long as he was able to walk.  All in all, not a totally major blowup, and there wasn't a whole lot I could do to fix it, so instead, I just dealt with the rest of the day, which went pretty well.

Friday was easily the most stressful day, so much to think about and get in order, but I managed to have a little fun, and buy two t-shirts, and talk to people.  I wanted to dance more, but there was too much to do that day.  After the dance, I ran home and changed, and then went back to the Eagles to pick up the instructors for their dinner at Susanna's house.  My driving coordinator Jacquelyn could not have been more patient or invaluable that weekend, she was everything I needed and more.  And Susanna's house was gorgeous, and it provided me at least an hour of not needing to be anywhere, take a rest, enjoy fine weather and company.

I must point out that I probably spent eighty percent of my waking hours for the Cowtown weekend standing up.  I had some issue with sitting down, mainly every time I managed to get there, something would happen that required my presence.  Usually my phone ringing.  Ah, well.

After dinner, I took Kim and David back to the hotel, swept back to my house, rapid changed (one more skill for my superhero set), and made it over to the Friday dance in excellent time.  That night's band, the Robert Bell combo, hailing from Minnesota and previously heard at Heartland was swing, was pretty awesome.  It was nice to be able to dance right in front of the stage and not get your hearing blown up.  I also put myself into the Jack and Jill contest, which in retrospect, was probably not my greatest decision ever, but it's one of the few times where I'm not afraid to compete in front of a huge crowd.  However, I was not really built for super performance that night (I was a little tired), and I only danced with people I knew, but it wasn't bad at all.  I really only compete for fun, I know my skills have not hit their best yet, and I would actually have to focus more on my dance training to really get anywhere.  Oh, to be Chelsea from Wichita.

The rest of the evening went fine, I was getting pretty punchy towards the end though, and once I had the ballroom squared away, I dropped into the after hours, and then left to get some sleep. I hate it when I get all bitchy like that, but there were certain factors involved, and really, going home and sleeping was probably the best for everyone.

Saturday morning dawned and I was back down to the Lodge, making waffles with Andrew, working with Sharon and Josie at the desk, chatting with people, and actually managed to take a few classes that day.  Lunch was Indian food once again, as it has been for the last two years of my Cowtown experience, Saturdays are always for chicken tikka masala.  Which is still delicious, so really no complaints.  Before lunch, I took a class with Mike and Casey which was really pretty below my level, and overcrowded with follows, so when I had a chance I bowed out, and managed to learn the aerial Kim and David were teaching upstairs.  Adam was really good at it, and it's not nearly as scary as some aerials I've learned.  After lunch, Eric and I took Peter and Mia's advanced bal swing class, which was fun, no matter how bad Eric insisted he was.  After that, I promised everyone I would go take a nap while classes finished up, which sounded like a great plan.

In fact, once I got home, I did a little clean up, enjoyed the quiet, didn't hear my phone go off once, and was all psyched to take a nap on my new flannel comforter cover that I hadn't had a chance to put on my bed yet.  However, as I was shaking it out across my huge bed, I stepped through one of the wooden panels on my floor.  Oh, great.  Upon closer inspection, it was in fact termites.  I took a picture, sent it to my landlady, and proceeded to have a minor meltdown.  Eventually, though, I realized that like the New Orleans drummer, there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it right away, and though I didn't have enough time for a nap, I did have time to lie down and read, which is almost better than a nap for me.  After about forty minutes with prose by John Mortimer, I got up, and headed back to the hotel to ship instructors to Ruth's house.  I got some excellent stories about termite swarms from Mia, and Mike was very friendly about the whole thing (I wasn't totally beyond venting about it, but I tried not to make it my only topic of conversation.  Did I mention I was stressed?).  And Ruth's house proved to be another nice lull in the action where I got to sit, eat, and chat with people.  And attempt to forget about termites.  On the way back, with Mike, David, and Mia in the car, I got the hilarious story of why they all like staying at the hotel next door to the Eagles, one word: convenience.  Well, okay, but it was amusing.  Plus, my Captain America soundtrack was playing, and as Mia said there was some pretty epic music happening, and I explained how I liked to motivate myself on the drive to work, being a superhero, punching Nazis.  David said he would try to work that into their aerial warmups.

Another quick change back at the house, and I made it Saturday night (band complete with tired, little woozy, but completely there drummer) plenty early.  No competitions for me that night, and I was free to enjoy myself for the most part.  The couples competition was pretty sweet, and I managed to dance in front of the whole audience with the Cow...I still don't know how I feel about that.  For most of that night, I just enjoyed myself and that seemed to be enough.  Once the evening rounded itself out, I had the joy of herding up the volunteers (how do people stand me?  Even more, why do they take orders from me?), but we got the instructors and the band to the late night venue, cleared up the ballroom as much as possible, and made our own way to Studio 906 for the late night festivities.

Studio 906 is such a weird place, and in kind of a creepy neighborhood, but since building the new baseball stadium just down the street, it was not nearly as scary walking around down there.  Still didn't exactly go alone, but I wasn't really worried about being ambushed.  And I was without my armed guard for the evening, after all.  I had a taco that was mostly cheese, one Jello shot that was my entire alcohol intake for the whole of Saturday, enjoyed some goofy photography with friends, and had a nice chat with some of the instructors.  David and I had a fun talk about baseball, that was pretty cool.  I was also the early shuttle for instructors back to the hotel, but I only drove Mike who wanted to get some rest in case Peter brought people back to the room for more drinking and carousing.  Not a bad or impossible scenario, but Mike was very tired, so I zipped him back to the hotel and had a friendly chat with him.  I made another stop at the late night, since driving Mike took very little time, and I was surprisingly alert and awake despite the long hours.  I think I was slightly afraid of going back to the house and the newly-discovered inhabitants.  But everyone was having a good time, everything was under control, and I think I left at about 2 or 2:30.  I think that's the latest I've ever stayed at the late night.  After that, it was a quick change and into bed to sleep.

Sunday morning I was up by nine or so, and running a bit behind since I was still tired...but it turned out not to be a big deal since I was the only person at the Eagles until about ten minutes before the first class.  First emergency of the day was no water jugs and no cash box, but all was quickly remedied.  Classes went on while Carol cleaned up her vintage closet, corn came to be shucked, and a good time was had by all.  I managed to get in a couple more classes, and I really enjoyed Peter's lecture on swing at the end, which was kind of general explanation on the origins of swing, and its history.  He said lovely things about Cowtown, and in general made me feel proud to be a swing dancer and a part of something truly significant.

And then...the Corn Eating Contest took place.  First up, the junior division, which is really too adorable and very entertaining.  Billy's daughter won, as well as wore a cow suit to the contest.  It rather upset Ryan's daughter, but there were only three of them in the whole thing, and luckily Vivian's little girl is too young to take it very seriously.  I think the audience enjoyed it more than the competitors.  Finally, the adults were brought to the stage, which had various dramas, like Ben and his unfortunate method of eating corn, Jacquelyn and Josh competing for cleanest cob, Andy who was game to win, and the piece de resistance, the female instructors all dressed as swing dancing zombies.  Kim actually grabbed my arm, they were bleeding and buttering each other, it was pretty awesome.  All in all, Billy won, and then we all cleaned up the mess (Ben makes the largest, even the salt shaker was sticky), and called it a day at the Eagles.  I tried to get out of there as quick as I could since I had to get over to the evening venue in what seemed like a very short amount of time.  Managed it all the same, but there were plenty of hysterics before I could settle down.

Our last venue was the gorgeous House of Loom, which was small but for Sunday night that's pretty safe.  The Careless Lovers set up as the band, the bartenders took care of the booze, and the bouncer dealt with the carding the underage crowd.  And I claimed myself a green velvet fainting couch in the balcony, and when Susanna showed up to cover the front desk for me, I had a well-deserved cocktail.  In fact there was a lot of discussion with the lady bartenders about what I should drink, and after two pretty, delicious French 75s, I unwound from my stress, and put my feet up on that velvet couch...and admittedly acted pretty silly, but I don't think I ever got out of line, and it seemed to amuse several people.  Then there was the Charleston contest, which I hope we have every year, because solo Charleston is sooo cool to watch.  Or maybe it was because I was tipsy, I'm not sure.  I didn't dance much, because of my lack of coordination, but I got to say goodbye to everyone, and eventually trucked back home to sleep (when I was safe to drive, thank you).

This year's Cowtown went great, I think.  I don't know what the final numbers were or anything, but everyone sure seemed to be in good spirits throughout, and whatever disasters I might have seen were probably things that only I could see anyway.  Everyone made it home safely from the biggest swing party in the Midwest, and hopefully we'll have a bigger and even better one next year.

Better start my spreadsheet now...=).

I'm watching Rear Window right now and it's making me smile.  I can relate to the beautiful Lisa Fremont who's in love with her own occasionally-grumpy camera bum.  I'm not exactly the fashionable model Grace Kelly (an $1100 dress would probably cause me to faint), but I do admire her.  And luckily Eric doesn't have a broken leg or things could get interesting in a homicidal neighbor way.


But anyway.


My parents have been gone a while, looking after Dad's parents.  Grandma fell and broke her hip, and things looked a little risky for her for a bit, but she rallied, and Dad says she's going to be okay.  Long recovery, but that sounds way better than the alternative.  It's been pretty stressful on everyone, and I think we're all looking forward to normalcy.  Soonest.


In the meantime, Jack and I have been looking after ourselves (newsflash: we are low maintenance cooks).  I also have to remember to water the plants and do dishes, Jack does trash and gets the mail.  Yay temporary roommates!  I have no idea what we'll do about the lawn, but I'm sure it'll be fine.  Sadly, it took us five days to get the mailbox open.  We're dysfunctional but functional?  Oh, well, the house is still standing, we haven't killed the cars, each other, or anything else, and, um, yeah.


Aside from our domestic hysterics (wee!), I went to the Champions Workshop last weekend with all the lovely people from Minnesota, Mike and Eve, Dee and Jeremy-Many=Names.  They were all great.  Mike and Jeremy are really fun dancers, especially Jeremy.  I danced with him twice and he likes to play.  That's so rare but fun.  Eve is very sweet, and Dee is just wonderfully sassy.  She taught us to groove, and I'll admit that I probably look like a total goof working my hips but I love it.  I need more groovy swing and blues.  And someone to dance with me to that music, but it would work alone.  We also got to watch the Heartland Hepcat and the Cowtown Cow hang out, dance, play Rock Band.  Good times.


Otherwise work is work.  I'm excited for Sunflower Swing, getting away for a little while, seeing my other grandpa, and maybe shopping?  I feel like I need something pretty to wear.  I love my new purple shoes (even if they cost me more than a pair of Aris Allens), and after learning from Mike, Eve, Dee, and Jeremy, I'm pretty psyched to keep learning dance.  I still love it.  I wish I had more time and money and ability to devote to it.  I fear the infamous game of Bases I went to over Memorial Day has done something to my leg.  Or it could be stress, I'm not really sure.  My left leg hurts, I do know that.  But yeah, more dancing.  Dance, dance, dance.  I don't know if I'll get to STL this summer, as I'd like to, but maybe I'll just save it up for Nevermore in November.


One never knows.


I wish I could dress and look more like Grace Kelly.  So glamorous, though I don't know if would do me much good.  I think I'll stick to being just me.  It's worked so far.

Ugh...too tired to blog.


Okay, that's not at all true.  I just feel like I'm blathering on a lot these days.  Nobody needs to hear this stuff.  Seriously, are you reading this?  Why?!

*sigh*  Anyway...

Apparently I'm not in enough different places at once these days.  I remember when I was a quiet girl who spent most of her time at home.  Still do, really.  People say life should be lived to the fullest, and you won't look back on your life thinking how awesome it was to get enough sleep.  Well, I'm pretty sure if I don't get enough sleep, I will look back and think I was a real jerk to people because I was tired.  And that life might not be so long if I drive into a lamp post.  Don't sleep and drive.  Tell your friends.

Um, saw the new Avengers movie and it was quite good.  I had my hangups having been disappointed with Iron Man 2, and not hearing great things about Captain America or Thor, but it was a delightful movie filled with action sequences and witty dialogue, and several attractive heroes to stare at.  I don't think I could pick just one.  Tony Stark is a dashing smartass, Steve Rogers is noble and dreamy, Bruce Banner is understated and humorous, Clint Barton kicks butt without wearing sleeves most of the time...I could go on and on.  However, the Hulk wins the funny award, and where would we be without Lou Ferrigno?

Also, I'm sorry Edward Norton, you were good, but Mark Ruffalo was better.  Learn to play well with others, Ed.

What else?  Swing dancing goes on.  I'm trying to get excited about taking more classes and getting some focused learning done, but life seems to get in the way.  So far I've missed two of the four weeks of my balboa class...*sigh*.  I want to take classes in Wichita, but I don't know.  I feel pressed for time management, and money may become an issue depending on how things go.  I'm also a little worried about Cowtown, and I'm sure the anxiety is only going to grow as we get closer.  I want to start planning but I have no idea what to plan.  Ack.  Neuroses, everywhere, in the fridge, under the couch, hanging from the ceiling.  Everywhere!

Been getting lots of book club time, though.  Sherlock is ticking along nicely, plus the new series was pretty good.  I thought the second season was a little overly complex, but they probably try to cram a lot in since they only get three episodes a season.  Also, regular book club has been a nice get together.  Our member Jen is moving to Texas so we all got together for drinks and hear all about her new house and adventures in moving.  I had a margarita and hardly noticed the booze, which means I'm either getting used to it, or I really didn't care at the time.  But I was sad to see Jen go, she's a lovely person with a wicked sense of humor.  And we had our usually meeting yesterday, and to quote Susie, we kicked it old school.  The old meeting place with a pretty involved discussion.  It was pretty fun.

Otherwise, summer is fast approaching.  The weekends are warm and pleasant, with the occasional summer storm.  Eric and I take a few walks once in a while, I leave my roof open when I drive, I'm debating on buying a new swimsuit (I don't think the old one fits anymore).  I'm really okay with summer being here, I just kind of want it to be summer for a long time.

For being too tired to blog, this has become a long entry.

Oh, boy.  I think my family has hit their hospital quota for the year.  Can we please give it a rest?  My paranoia getting a little out of control worrying about it, which is exhausting.  And so I try to suppress it and not think about it, which oddly, is also exhausting.  So I'm exhausted, and this weekend's dancing combined with a two mile hike on the hunt for a two room apartment has also exhausted my feet.


But at least Cecily and I found some fun looking apartments and duplexes, and got some ice cream to burn off our exercise.  It stormed a lot last week, but I had more issues with allergies than anything else.  The humidity came up a LOT and it was also pretty warm, so it was a familiar atmosphere.  All I needed was some Imo's pizza, a sweat-soaked trip to the Gardens, and to run into somebody at just about any business in Webster, and it would've been just like being in STL.  Ah, well.  I read a quote today that I don't remember exactly, but it said in effect that we go back to our hometown to remember what it was like, but we're really searching for our childhoods.  I can get behind that.


I should find out when Diablo 3 comes out, because Eric will be busy, and won't notice if I go to STL for a weekend.  Though with all that's going on right now, I'm kind of afraid to go any further than his house.  Maybe across the river.  Ugh, enough with the stress.  It's making me erratic, and I can tell it's making me erratic because I get way too focused on little things these days.  I just want to let it go sometimes.  


Ugh, I am SUCH A SPAZ.


Maybe I'm the one who needs therapy.  It's been kind of a rough year.  But, like my other family members, we all don't believe things have been that rough.  I mean, things could be so much worse (not that I want it to be), but things could be harder.  I think we feel like life has just been taking its turn, and we shouldn't really complain.  My grandmother passed, but it was bound to happen (I don't think grandma was sitting on top of the fountain of youth, she was never vain like that, plus she believed devoutly in Heaven, and that's probably where she is right now.  Hopefully having a nice cocktail and listening to Ella Fitzgerald while chatting with St. Francis).  It doesn't really count as a tragedy.  I think my family has this unspoken feeling that because we haven't actually suffered a tragedy, we don't need therapy.  We would never look down on anyone who does, there's nothing wrong with it.  I just think we don't consider ourselves entitled.  Me personally, why should I take up some therapist's time, when there's probably someone out there who needs it way more than me for something awful that I don't really want to speculate on.


*sigh*  I don't know.  I just want to relax.  And for my shoes to be fixed already.  And to take a day off.  

Well, this is the first time using the new blogger system-format-thingy and I'm already bemused by it.  Hopefully I can remember what's happened in the last few weeks despite the change.  Eep.


On the upshot, I can type in courier.  Why is that not my default font?!  Whatever, moving on to real stuff.


The last weekend in March was Kaleb's mystery partay, which had (according to the invite) a Princess Bride Downton Abbey Final Four March Madness theme.  Yep.  Be confused.  I was hoping for a Thin Man theme, but that's just because I want to wear my prom dress again.  On the other hand, my costume for my character of Pvt. Yellin the guard of Florin (I AM THE WARRIOR!!!), I did work in my pretty purple printed corset, and the Dread Pirate Roberts boots.  The party was really fun, if a bit confusing.  Everyone looked awesome, we are a group that knows how to dress.  The weird part was that we didn't always know what was going on, and info kind of trickled its way to you, and I still don't know how, but I managed to be one of the winners for good guesses?  I have no idea, but it got me a new book to add to my out-of-control library.  It was also really warm that evening (when has it been 90 in March in Omaha?  Never since I've been there), so my costume worked pretty well (I decided not to wear tights or leggings, and the venue was well air-conditioned).  However, we went home after the party, and I was very glad to get out of my corset.  People talk about the great feeling of getting the bra off at the end of the day, a corset is about ten times better feeling. 

In a quick aside, in reading my book by Dita Von Teese, she talks about the small scars on her back from all the tight-lacing, and after wearing mine for about four hours, I can see how that would be an issue.  I had some pretty intense red marks.  However, no permanent damage.  I'm just a casual corset wearer...as much as a corset can be casual.

Anyway, the next week was fine.  Cecily and I have been discussing possible living spots, and apparently the townhouse next to Adam's is for rent, so at some point, we'll get out acts together and go look for someplace to live.  Or go to the zoo, that would be fun too.  But first, Easter!  I didn't do the whole holy week like last year, but I did make it to mass on Saturday night to watch Eric get confirmed.  I am fascinated that there aren't more fire issues, with the candles in the dark and such.  I definitely dripped wax all over my hands despite precautions, but perhaps the church's carpet is fire proof.  Anyway, once mass was over, Eric was allowed to have ice cream again so we headed over to Frank's house for that.  Frank also made midnight breakfast, and we watched the tail end of the Ten Commandments.  Moses parted the Red Sea, Dathon built the golden idol, Joshua Man saved Lillia again, and God smote the unholy for behaving like idiots, and it was pretty good.  One of these days, I'm actually going to have time to watch the WHOLE THING.  I don't think I've ever done that.  I either catch the first half, when Moses is cast into the desert, or the second half, when Moses comes back to Egypt and gives Pharoah Yul Brynner what-for. 

Okay, for the record, my favorite way to watch that movie is with my brother Jack.  Of course, we are probably totally blaspheming when we do watch it together.

Anyway, that week my dad also went to check on my grandparents.  Grandma wasn't feeling good, and Grandpa needed some help, so enter Dad.  He was a little spooked going down there, but everything came together, so I think things will be fine.  Plus my dad has his aunt and a few cousins nearby, so they can help my grandparents in a more immediate time frame than Dad would from Omaha.  Jack's been having kind of a rough time too, but I think he'll be okay.  He just needs a little stability and for bad things to stop happening to people.  I'm sure somebody will get right on that.

Last weekend, Eric and I went to his friend Rachel's wedding, which was totally awesome.  I don't know Rachel very well, but I make a good wedding guest.  Eric was one of many photographers, and despite the intense storm that went on during the wedding, it was a lovely wedding.  I didn't cry much, which is best for everyone.  I think Jason and Rachel did a great job, and hopefully they're on the straight road to happiness.  They certainly have a good start.

And so wedding season has kicked off.  I think I have three more, one for sure, the other two are just possibilities.  And I'm sure there are more that I haven't been informed of yet, but hey. 

Oh my goodness, where does the time go?  April's more than half over, I need to read for book club, start arranging any summer plans to be, taxes are done, Holmes's plates have been updated, and I'm sure there are other things I need to do.  Work remains its usual work self, though soon I shall a larger desk to hide things.

And hey, new shoes this week!

Ahh, spring is here.  It's actually kind of freaking me out.  Seriously, it's March and it's about twenty degrees warmer than usual.  It's been like that for WEEKS.  I'm not complaining at all, no way, I'm just a little suspicious (and I'm not the only one) of what this means for the summer.  I can only imagine the two extremes, that it'll either be unbearably hot in June (done that) or it'll snow (I think the latest snow I've seen in my lifetime was when it snowed in May in STL when I was twelve).  But until the weather decides to freak out, I'm going to kick back and enjoy being able to leave all my heavy clothes at home, and try to figure out where I'm going to store all my knee socks until it gets cold again.

Oh, no.  I think I just jinxed it.  Maybe I'll just leave them where they are until July.  Anyway.

Things are going pretty well in general.  Work is going well, though I still need more to do, but I'm sure it's lying in wait for me.  Plus after what I've heard about my old department's progress, I'm really okay staying where I am.  They can move my desk, but I'll keep doing what I'm doing.  Or more, I could do more, if anyone's offering.  Starting to think about plans for the summer.  I haven't been dancing as much lately, which I feel bad about, but I'm too cheap to go to lessons every month, and Monday night is not as convenient as Saturday was, but I need to start getting active.  I feel like a blob.  I'm probably not, but I am glad my boyfriend likes walking a lot.

Oh, and I'm already sick of it being election year.  Last election was an issue of who did I think would do a better job, this election is who am I least likely to punch in the face?  Seriously, where did they find these people?  Some of them are so conservative that I am shocked that more people haven't seen the connection between ultra-conservatives and Islamic extremists.  Not ALL Islam, just the crazies who don't think women should have freedom, and that fun is a ridiculous capitalist idea.  Oh, boy.  It's all so depressing.  And I'm just going to say this now, purely my opinion, I do not mind if you disagree with it, just please try and respect it: if you're a man trying to impose your will on what a woman can do with her body and the associated functions, DON'T.  Unless you can have a period/child/yeast infection, you cannot attest to anything that a woman feels on any of those points.  Some days I wonder if people even know how to treat other people like human beings.  Also, your faith is not the only faith.  I'm sorry, this is a really big planet, there's a lot of people around, you're not wrong for what you believe in, but neither is anyone else.

Okay, okay, okay, I'm done.  That's it.  I will not talk about this stuff again this year (hopefully).  I hate how torqued off I get.  That's what I really, really hate about elections, it makes us all a little bit insane.

Anyway, better things to talk about.  No PrincessCon this year, schedules can just not be worked out, sadness, but I'm sure travel is in my future.  And I know my friends really want to go to London for next year, but to be honest, I've been to London.  I want to go to a beach.  Plus it's going to be expensive and I don't think I have enough vacation time for a week there.  I don't know.  I'm trying to psych myself up for it, but I don't really want to spend a thousand dollars on travel and burn all my vacation time just yet.  I'm planning to move out soon, and that's going to take a good chunk of things.  I don't know.

Gosh, what's with all the complaining?  Enough of that.

Eric and I had a great double date over the weekend with our friends Adam and Dianna.  I cooked my curlycue alfredo, and finally nailed the alfredo recipe.  I've been having issues getting it to thicken, turns out if you just keep adding cheese, it works out fine.  Eric made asparagus and a salad (I love his salads), and set a lovely table.  Adam and Dianna brought tasty bread pudding for dessert.  We enjoyed dinner and the lovely weather, watched Megamind (excellent flick), played some Quirkle (I won), and went down a rather bumpy slide (ow, my tush).  Our friends left and though it felt like it was only 10 at night, it was actually midnight.  Spring is blowing my mind, but at least my sinuses haven't totally exploded yet.

Let's see, Kaleb's mystery party is this weekend, apparently my swordfighter character carries a bow (seriously?  I'm carrying a sword anyway).  I also plan to wear a corset and a skirt, so I may be an unusual looking guard, but hey.  We'll see how it all goes.  And then April is here.  Holy cow.

Muppet Show theme will now be stuck in my head, and hopefully yours too.

I should blog, shouldn't I?  Blogging it shall be.

So after the rather epic birthday weekend, really the work week was just details until we left for Des Moines and the kick ball change of a swing workshop.  I can't believe I just wrote that.  Anyway, I did manage to go to the doctor and have my first physical probably since I quit contracting.  I really like my doc, she's really nice but a straight shooter about things.  I like that, fair and forthright.  Getting brutal honesty is just as brutal as it sounds, especially when it has to do with your body and health.  But luckily, I'm so healthy she can see why I haven't been in a while.  But regular upkeep should be encouraged.  Especially now that I'm getting out of my immortal 20's.  I will probably start need to eat and sleep and exercise regularly, and stuff.  With that in mind, I also managed to come down with a sinus infection right before the weekend, making my life pretty unpleasant, but not unbearable.  Just lots of coughing and a rather sore throat.

But I was determined to go, so after work on Thursday, I peeled my way home and finished packing, trekked over to Eric's house where we packed up his car, and then went over to pick up Jillian and her minimal amount of stuff.  She is the smartest packer of the three of us, but as has been well-established, Jillian is a minimalist, and Eric and I are alarmists.  We pack for the unexpected.  Also, we discovered Lee in a rather unfortunate neon Flashdance outfit, but since she claimed she wasn't leaving the house that day, I will not fault her for that.  It's not unusual for me to wear unacceptable things when I know I'm staying home.  With that, we set off for Des Moines and the Thursday night kick off for Heartland.

Despite a horribly ragged throat, I danced a lot more than I thought, and have established the Wonder Woman shirt as an excellent thing to wear.  My boyfriend sang once with the band, Verity and our soon-to-be new friend and roommate Hurley won the endurance contest, and we enjoyed dinner with a man from Scotland.  How lucky can we get?  We spent the night with Rae and Larry, aka Miss Heartland and Mr. Heartland.  The inflatable mattress was a little questionable (rolling over was difficult) and apparently Eric got mad at me during the night (neither of us actually remember that), and in the morning we were all a little weary, but when everyone was tidied up, Eric, Jillian, Verity, Amanda, Hurley and I went for breakfast and got to know each other, then Target to pick up some more supplies, and then to the hotel where we all hung out and enjoyed some excellent pool time.

Later on, when everyone finally found their roommates and began checking in, and got themselves arranged, we met up with Adam and Dianna and went for dinner at the brewery we went to last year.  It was quite tasty, and we managed to stay inside for the majority of the trip.  After dinner, we changed out and headed to the dance.  It was fun to meet up with people we hadn't seen in a while, and run into new people, and just dance dance dance.  Christian and Jenny from STL, Jeremiah and Evan from Wichita, our own Omaha gang, the loveable Iowans, and of course Jamin is always great to see.  I did not get to dance as much as I would've liked because of my nasty drainage, but it was a good time anyway.  We didn't make it to late night, but we did enjoy the Jack and Jill prelims, and seeing the Hepcat.  Sharon Davis did a burlesque routine that was quite impressive (less burlesque, more solo jazz).  Dianna and I have decided we should like to learn some burlesque.  Adam has decided he would like to watch us learn burlesque, and I'm willing to bet Eric would join him in that opinion.

The next morning we managed to sleep through the first class.  I would say I was upset but I really needed the rest, and I enjoyed the classes I managed to do.  Eric and I went to Sarah and Dax's class on musicality which was pretty cool.  We danced to live music, and had to adapt to what they did, which at first was really hard, but I think the more I think of the music while I'm dancing now, I just love to do it.  Then we went for lunch at Bread Co. and ate with Ben, Carol the Vintage Closet lady, Christopher from STL, and James and Lindsay came later.  Then we went back for class number two with Jamin and Janie, which was mainly awesome because of their teaching presence.  They taught kind of unexpected tricks to with the usual swing send outs and swing outs.  I also caught up with Rae to ask about the finalists for Miss Heartland, and though I didn't make the cut for the official position, I did make it into the calendar, which was all I really wanted anyway, so it all worked out.  More on that later.

In the evening, we were diverted from making it into Zombie Burger (more on that later too), and went for Greek food instead.  I think we turned out taking up half the restaurant, but it all worked out there too.  Then we prepped for the dance and headed over in time to see the African demo, which I like, it wasn't quite as extensive as last year's but those ladies have skill.  I bought a big new hair flower from Sarah, which is lovely and came in handy.  Danced a lot with Eric and Christian and Hurley and Jamin.  Adam and I managed to St. Louis shag without getting ourselves killed...mostly.  I had to rest for the next few songs.  We watched the partner contest, and Christian and Jenny were definitely who I was rooting for.  And they managed to win!  Eric also got some pretty awesome pics of the coolest Cardinals fans in the room.  The evening rounded out with the contest winners, and as a Miss Heartland contestant, that also meant I got to be a prize girl.  Our official Miss Heartland 2012 was also crowned, and I think they picked a pretty good one.  She and Rae have real dedication to the position.  We also enjoyed a last song with the band where it turned into a bit of a mosh pit.  Dax managed to crowd surf.  The energy in the room was epic.  I love Heartland.

We were lame and went back to the room to sleep after that.  I'm a little bummed about not having as much energy this year as last, but I still had a brilliant time...so I don't know what I'm complaining about.  Though I did wake up Sunday morning with all the sinus drainage clogging my head.  Perfect setup for a pinup girl photoshoot.  Eric woke me up before he went to church, and then I got up to shower and pack all my stuff again, and figure out what to do for my photoshoot.  Next year, I hope I have warning before I actually go to the shoot so I'll have all I need, but it turned out all right.  We checked out when Eric came back from church, packed up the car, dropped Jillian at class, ran to the grocery store, had lunch, and went to the ballroom for my pinup shoot.  Miss Heartland 2012 was in there when we got there, and she looked super cute.  I came up with a couple good ideas for my calendar shot, so hopefully there was at least one good photo in there, but the photographer was a very cool guy, Rae and Pam looked them over and liked them too, so we'll see.  Cecily has already declared that I shall be Miss February, though I imagine I will be a more random month since I had no theme.  I'm thinking Miss September.

After that, we went over to the ballroom for classes.  I didn't manage to take any, since I felt the worst on Sunday that I had all week, but I did watch Mike and Dee's routine class, and Sharon and Nick teach their class.  Then we went over to get into Zombie Burger and opted to avoid the sit down area and just go through the to go area.  Big advantage.  Since the majority of the group was roaming around, only the three of us were in to begin with and managed to scout an area for the rest.  I enjoyed a burger named after a French horror flick, it had chicken and goat cheese and onions involved, so I was pretty happy.  I also had a Crunch Berry shake which was pretty darn awesome.  It made me super full which made the Sunday dancing a little difficult, but there was still some good dancing.  I hope Hurley can come to Cowtown, and the Jamin and Janie come too.  I'm always glad to see Christian and Jenny, Mike and Eve, Larry and Rae, and the rest.  I met some lovely new people, and I truly believe that I got everything I wanted out of it.

Can't wait until next year!

Goodness me, the end of January already?  Well, since my last post, I have been requested to talk about myself (how dull), so let's see what's the haps.  Not a whole lot, Christian and Jenny came back for another workshop weekend, which was quite productive.  I think I only skipped one class, the beginning lindy (should probably know that by now), and I took a private with them, so I think I learned plenty with them.  They taught the Tranky Doo routine, more STL Shag (awesome!), how to practice alone, and we fixed my swingout (again); staying low, keeping my arm a little less extended, and hooking my triples in front of the swivels.

Yes, I speak dancer.

Christian and Jenny are just lovely people to hang with.  I hauled them back to Troy's for my lesson, and later went to dinner with them, as well as Eric and Ben.  That was good times, plus barbecue was nom.  I think I'm getting pretty good at this dancing thing, and I'm quite looking forward to Heartland.  I'd love to be in the Miss Heartland contest, but I'm not too confident in my entry.  We'll see.  It'll be fun either way.

I've also been given a more active role in Jitterbugs now being the Volunteer coordinator.  I think Nate and Christy are okay with how I do things, I have no idea what the volunteers think, but no one's complained yet.  We shall see on that one too.  It's not as scary as I thought it would be.

Work is still kind of just work.  I had my evaluation, I did fine.  People think I should've been rated higher, but honestly, I have a better job now, I'm getting paid better, people are satisfied with my work, I really have no complaints.  They're eventually going to move my desk, and eventually I'm going to have walls, and there will be new duties and responsibilities, but no one's in a huge rush.  Oh, and I get to meet with my scary vice president on Valentine's Day, joy of joys.  Hopefully I won't take anything she says personally.  I'm trying to rise above that if I can, but it's a work in progress.

Someone did mention the other night how girls didn't know anything about swingouts, which did get harshly under my skin, and I did want to punch him.  But I didn't and he wound up apologizing, as he should have.  You shouldn't generalize about people like that, and he has no right to do so, because that would imply he dances with all the girls, and I don't like dancing with him because he acts like a creep.  And I know what's going on in a swingout.  Twit.

But anyway...

Last weekend there was dancing, practicing my Christian and Jenny advice, getting cranky because I was hungry, ice skating in some very chilly weather, and late night shenanigans.  It was fun, but next year, I will eat in advance and wear much warmer clothing.  But it was a good cause, and the Thriller Dance on ice was impressive, and watching Dena, Clint, Adam, and Eric do the Shiver skate was pretty fun.  They are braver than I, and probably have better circulation.  Boy, I was cold towards the end.  We went to Village Inn post skate and warmed up, and then I went home and wisely took muscle relaxers before sacking out.

Saturday I went to the zoo with Cecily, and despite it being January, it was a pretty nice day outside.  It was a pretty cool zoo, and I'll have to go back when it's not under construction to see the rest, and when Cecily and I haven't been up till 4 the night before, but the parts I did see were great.  I was a little shocked at the open water features in the Kingdoms of the Night exhibit (hello, open pool of water in the dark?  Safety hazard!) and the animals that were allowed to wander (lots of birds, the ducks were cute though), and how many tigers the zoo has (and the stoner jaguar, what the what?).  We saw the desert, the swamps, the big cats, the primates, and the jungles.  We ate lunch in the cafe that overlooks the jungle and watched the white handed gibbons play.  We also discovered why tapirs are not normally viewed standing up (it's like a fifth leg!).  But we had plenty of giggles.  I liked the orangutans and the wallabies a lot.  We also saw an aardvark and an armadillo, and more than enough snakes (eek), and some really big fish.  With an f, not a ph.

After the zoo we went over to Adam's for a viewing of Sherlock Series two.  I only got to watch the first episode, but it was pretty epic.  They are almost too clever for their own good, but I had a blast.  Then I headed over to Matt and Vivian's for their appetizer partay, which was fun AND I cooked something for it.  Spinach artichoke dip, not bad if I say so myself.  Which is good, because I have plenty o' leftovers.  The crab rangoon won, but even I have to agree with that.  Plus lots of hors d'oeuvres apparently come covered in bacon.  That's all right with me too.  There were further shenanigans plus THE BABY!  She's so cute, she can hold her head up now.  I got to hold her a little while, and then got shafted because Lisa didn't get to hold the baby because she'd been sick all this time, so therefore she got the baby the rest of the time.  Whatever.  I got to hold her when she was six days old.  I managed to make it home not long after midnight, and then slept till noon the next day.

Sunday I had many goals, but no energy, so I did laundry and gassed up my car, and left it at that.  My weekends have been quite activity filled lately, and I think that the end of January 2012 may be shaping up better than the beginning of January 2012.  We'll see.  Less than six hours left.

I also think my life would be much improved if I kicked every morning off playing "The Circle of Life and "Sister Suffragette".  Thank you, Disney on Pandora.