Strictly Ballroom

Ballroom. 

Love. 

Awesome Body Movement.

This scene from "Strictly Ballroom" from the brilliant director Baz Luhrmann is one of my favorites. 

(This scene is actually the reason why I wanted to start ballroom at age four)

I got my wish in High School. Junior year I took my first ballroom experience. 

That is when the magic disappeared. 

My partner for most of the semester had two left feet and wasn't even able to pick me up

(and at that time I was 140lbs.. . sucker punch to the self esteem) 

However I was determined to do it again my Senior year.

The magic reappeared. 

(QUE FAIRY DUST!) 

I had become Ballroom Co-Captain with a fabulous partner. 

We came up with dances and basically did what our instructor told us to do

"I want sex on the stage while your clothes are still on!" 

To the awesome sounds of Lady Gaga

We performed a Tango/Salsa. 

and damn I wish I had the tape for it.

For two years now I have been danceless. . . 

Now my wish gets to come back to life as I will be joining UVU ballroom. 

There is no place like next fall. There is no place like next fall. 

Trading Spaces

So I am doing this 30 day picture album on my facebook. . . Each day is a question that you add a picture to, like 'A picture of something you love', 'A picture of who has stuck it out the longest with you' and so on and so forth. 

Today is day six and the question is ' A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day'. . . . 

So I actually thought really hard on this one. . . 

So at first I had this one:

It's Agelina Jolie.... one day with Brad Pitt, and juicy lips. Need I explain more? 

Then Came my next thought. . . 

Interesting question, and I'm going to take a slightly different approach to it, since the wording was pretty open ended. I imagine that spending a day in somebody's shoes would be a great lesson in empathy. With that in mind, I would choose to spend a day as my best friend. While we've been together for about three years, I know that I am anything but perfect. Mind you this is just a theory, but perhaps it would be easier for me to identify and fix my more glaring imperfections with the added perspective of walking a mile in his shoes.

Who would you trade places for a day? 

Nothing was learned.

Yesterday, while at a local fast food restaurant with the little boy I nanny a group of woman with there children came in. They sat one table away from me and I could hear their whole conversation. They were talking about General Conference and what was said, of course marriage was one of the big topics, however there were a few sideline topics. 
A young girl came in holding the hand of a little boy. She told him to go play while she ordered the food. The little boy kissed her on the cheek and said "Thank you Mommy" and they parted ways. The table of woman who were obnoxiously loud to begin with,  examined what had just happened.
"She is to young to be a mom" "She looks to be Sixteen" "She must be the high school whore!" . . . and so on and so forth. 
The young girl came back in, holding a tray of food, she called her little boy back to the table and they began to eat. The table of woman, pretty much just watched her the whole time. . . some of them looking in disgust. You could see the uneasiness in the young girl, for you could tell she knew she was being watched and as soon as the food on the tray was gone she looked at the little boy and said, "It is time to go home." The little boy got really upset and began to plead with her to stay, "But mom! I want to play!" tears began to roll down the little boys face and the young girl bent down to pick up the little boy. As she did this, I noticed two things. . . Tears were rolling down her face and she was wearing a CTR ring on the right hand. Then the things were gathered and this little boy and girl walked out. The mothers at the other table began saying praises that they had left and that the bad influence was gone. 
If any of you know me, you know how weak my heart is to matters of quick judgements and the underdog and hot blood began gushing through my body, raising my body heat, making me terrible angry and ready to scream. I didn't know this young girls story, but obviously by the way she was treated by these older woman had caused some emotion to stir within her. It made me think of a dear friend in High School, who was smart and ready to take on the world as soon as she graduated such as getting a degree, traveling and even wanting to serve a mission. Yet the summer of her senior year she was raped and got pregnant and went her whole senior year with a growing belly, disgusted looks and rude gossip. 
Yes, Marriage and courting was talked a lot in this 181st General Conference. . . but that was not the only thing said. . . Look at the other messages, such as Bishop Burton, who all though was talking about 'Helping the poor' was also expressing being kind to everyone. "The work of caring for one another and being 'kind to the poor' is a sanctifying work, commanded of the Father, and divinely designed to bless, refine and exalt His children," ~Bishop Burton 
A 15 year old girl holds her 1 year old son, people call her a slut. But no one knew she was raped at 13; make fun of someone for being fat, but you don't know that person has a serious medical condition that causes her to be fat. Call the old guy ugly, but you don't know if he got a serious face injury after serving the country or saving a life. Stop stereotyping and think before you start talking trash of others