Riot and Frolic

Smooky

It's Halloween, people.  Maybe, since you're still hungover from the "Halloween" party from last weekend, you forgot, but October 31 is the actual date of All Hallows' Eve.  

And since I haven't started listening to Christmas music, don't ring in the "New Year" at 9pm (yet), or let off fireworks for every night for three weeks (that's you, neighbors!) before July 4, the little ladies have not put on their "smooky" outfits yet.  

But I will give you a preview.  

Can you guess what we are?

it's no shinny fringe, but they are a little farkly

random neutral colors

serious surf hair

Let me tell you, I'm a little proud of the ladies' dresses.  'Cause I made them.  No pattern.  No swearing.  And completed. 

he doesn't seem scary at all...

One year ago: LLLL, a case of vertigo and getting used to "backward" scrolling

The Garbage Challenge - Battle of the Bags & Compost City

The morning after I wrote about my quest to save the world, I did this...

d'oh!

 

Yeah.  Morning and thinking do not go hand in hand.  

But I have made headway!

• I put grocery bags in my car and have actually used them.  It's now the little ladies job to bring them in to the store and they freaking love "important jobs" and their little brains remember these things better than I do.  Although I may be teaching them the wrong meaning of "important".   
• We bought a compost bin!  
  

  hot garbage! awesome!
• And a little compost bucket for the kitchen!  I've never been so excited to make garbage!
  

  there's egg shells and pomegranate remains in there, too

That's it, really.  But 3 things!  That's something!  

Some setbacks?  Tea.  

Yeah, that's right.  Tea.

I'm a big fan of fresh beverages, just like the next person, but why does tea have so much packaging?  

tea, tea bag, tea bag's bag, and tea bag's bag's house

tea bag's see-through bag. saucy.

Food, in general, is also troublesome.  Milk bottles are recycleable, but my beloved Greek yogurt's carton is not blue-bin friendly.  Also, ice cream buckets - not green.

Does talking about kitchen scraps count as a "Foodilicious" post?  Do you compost?   Do you seek recycleable packaging?  DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR REUSABLE SHOPPING BAGS?  If not, I can lend you my children.  But you have to feed them.

 

Criss Cross

 

List of Last Week's Labors of Love

- a haircut!  This wouldn't be such news if I was a normal person, or had shorter hair, or listened to any advice ever given about healthy hair.  But the last time I got a haircut, there was snow on the ground.  

Ew.  

I got 6 inches cut off and still have an unreal amount of hair (for me), so I decided that next year about this time, I'm going to go Locks of Love and get something awesome like this...

yes

 

- I made snacks!  Proscuitto, basil, and fontina cheese on bruschetta, and some chicken sausage and apples.  Crap.  It was delicious.  

yum

- finished up processing all the tomatoes from the garden.  In an effort to find the best (read: easiest) way to make tomato sauce, I got out the Kitchenaid food strainer my ma-in-law gave me.  It attaches to my mixer and whirred contentedly while I threw tomato after tomato into it.  Easy peasy.  

I didn't really get how it worked at first, though.  I put a bowl under the spout to catch all the strained business, but hadn't thought about the... unstrained business.  Until I had this coming at me...

 

hey-o!

 

Gross.  There might have been some tomato "extrusion" on the floor.  And by "might", I mean, there definitely was.  

- got a great piece of advice.  "If you keep asking a question, you're asking the wrong question."  Example: every night before bed, you ask yourself "Why didn't I workout today?"  Like every night.  Maybe you should ask, "why didn't I get up earlier?" or "why did I watch 3 hours of tv?" or whatever.  Great advice.

- I made spinach-artichoke dip with the help of an anime star, V.  

 

kitchen elf

 

(Have you seen her lately?  Under the striped shirt, there's a huge hot pink tutu, leggings, and rainboots.  I'll post a picture sometime, but she dresses like a teenager from Tokyo.)

- I also brought back Saltine Cracker Toffee.  So guess who bought broccoli today?

It's been a pretty boring week around here, as you can see.  Please tell me about your week.  Did you vacuum?  Watch paint dry?  Go bungee-jumping?  Buy a monkey?

 

mitch rapp

One year ago: The Pinterest Project- Flapjack Friday Frills.  Syrup.  Yum. 

 

Goldilocks and The Three Floors

Director's note: Goldilocks will be played by Kate in this week's performances.

Once, there was a little girl named Goldilocks.  She was a total beeeeeeeach to practice with, because she was always complaining about something.  

 

you wouldn't know it by this picture, but Goldilocks is a total wench

 

This week, Goldy is taking issue with every surface ever invented.

"This floor is too slippery."

"This floor is too sticky."

"This floor is juuuuuust right."  

Unfortunately, this last set of boards has only happened on the competition circuit (but only when no Latin dancers are selfishly pouring castor oil on it).

So Goldilocks is getting in her fair share of complaining and learning something new every day about herself.

The floor is too slippery.

At her best and honest self, Goldy really likes this floor.  But anytime she's actually standing on it, she's hating it.  

Slippery floors are no good if Goldilocks is not going to pull her center in.  And squeeze her legs together.  And keep her head up.  AKA, "WORK".   All at the same time.  Boo.  Hiss.

Goldilocks likes dancing lazy sometimes and slippery floors only remind her of her tendency to slack off.  

The floor is too sticky.

Learning where little G doesn't get her weight over her foot by falling right over said foot?  Not the most fun learning curve.  Goldilocks bites it a couple times while practicing her "lines" on tacky surfaces.  

Turns out?  Goldilocks wasn't using proper technique to do her tricks.  

Hey, Goldilocks, why don't you practice doing your big checking line by actually doing a contracheck?  You know, gather, use your supporting leg, all that nonsense?

The floor is juuuuust right.

Let's face it, Goldilocks knows this never happens.  The beautiful competition floor with minimal cracks between the tiles and a glossy perfection of tack?  There's people on it.  People who are trying to take Goldilock's blond curls off with their rondés and such.  Gridlock.  Road rage.  Bad drivers.  

And while we're at it...

The floor is too small.

Oh, because Goldilocks doesn't  know how to turn?  She can't rotate?  Because her choreography is sooooo epic that it won't be contained in anything smaller than the WDSF Open floor (275 x 123 feet - it was almost a football field, yo)?

[Read: sarcasm.]

The floor is too big.

This seems like a ridiculous complaint, but if Goldy came from a tiny studio space and went to USDC, she might get a little overwhelmed.  

But, oh, the places she'll go.

Her legs would think it's a challenge and somehow she would be transported from one corner to another.  Note: her teacher/coach would remember this sudden grasp of leg swing and will harp on her to find it from here on out. 

Goldilocks has learned...

Your biggest obstacles are your greatest tools.  The worst practice area will teach you to stand up, use proper technique, master your floorcraft, command a space.  And getting over yourself will probably help, too.

How to Make It Easier Than Childbirth

I'm sure running a marathon should be easier than giving birth, so in my ever-hungry, anandamide-high week after the "run", I tried to come up with ideas to make the next one better.  

 

bring it, next race

 

Yes, the next one.  I went to demolish this year's time in an epic fight to the death.  

So, here's what I'd do...

1. train.  Fucking train.  Sorry.  But seriously.  If I could finish by not reeeeally training, let's get real and bang out some 17+ mile runs here.  Dear Lord.
2. peeps.  I'd have a lot more of "my people" out on the course.  Or, if not more, at least have those fabulous friends spread out more often along the way.  And maybe I'd NOT like to know where they are.  That way, I'd have to keep going strong the whole time.  'Cause I don't want you to see me with my "tongue hanging on the ground" (my folks requested that they see me before that point, I think I acquiesed).              
   

   who's got two thumbs and isn't walking [right now]?
3. gels.  I also scoffed at gels.  It could have been that I'd been running for 17 miles or it could be that THEY WERE THE MOST DELICIOUS FOOD OF ALL TIME.  As I approached the 17th mile marker, there were volunteers who were calling out "Vanilla!" "Strawberry!" and when I heard "Chocolate!", I veered for that voice.  I don't know if they did anything, but I do like the idea of fudge in my pants...  Bad choice of words.  #runningjoke
4. the route.  The course was beautiful, I think.  There was a "turn by turn" video at the expo (the big mall/race number pick-up/party before the run), but I skipped that, because duh, I was running it the next day.  But after my fail with The Bridge (it's not the Ford Bridge? wait, it's not the Lake Street Bridge?!), I think maybe I'll take a looksee for the next one.
5. I'd love an excuse to go to Vancouver (maybe this one will be a full marathon this year?), but the Twin Cities Marathon is really one of the highest rated races in the state.  Plus, #1 will be slightly less possible if I'm in Canada.  The handy MarathonGuide.com is helping choose wisely.  [Does anyone else read that as "marathong uide"?  Hilarious.]

Ta-da!  It's a short list.  But come on.  I'm not an idiot.  Often.  

 

Q!

The pictures of me running were taken by my good friend, the amateur photographer/Microsoft nerd/PROFESSIONAL BODYBUILDER, Scotty the Body.  He's too hotty.