Been a busy time lately, but really good.
Last night was the first class of the "fall" season, and BOOM. I had over 40 students show up. I had to turn people away, and I felt awful about it. :( They were really nice about it, but it just kills me to have people show up and for me to say, "Thanks for coming all this way, but...". They stayed to try the class, and said they would sign up for a future class. And Kym was a huge help to make sure everyone could see someone. Thanks Kym! I don't know what I would do without my beautiful assistants!!

I was so happy some people dressed up! Katy was SO DAMN CUTE in her jester outfit, and Tami's saloon girl costume she made herself was awesome. Kym and DeAnn were orange beauties. I was in my Bollywood outfit through the first half of the evening, but during Basics II, my slickery shirt was making my pants slip down and I didn't want to have to keep hiking them up, so I swapped out my tee shirt. The whole evening was fun, and I had a ton of candy I had to take home at the end from all the offerings brought!

The weekend was rockin'. Three parties in two days, and more alcohol than I surely should have had, but much fun was had! Our partners in crime were Erik and Amy, who went as No 6 and No 9 from the Prisoner, which did my geeky little heart good. Some people even got it! It inspired Chris to finally try and do his Miss Hardbroom costume some year. Which means I could be Mildred, which I would love. :)

Friday night was Circus Contraption at the Showbox. I went as my can-can girl from last year, to give it some more "air time" since it only went out to one party last year. Despite the opening band going a little too long (but very talented and fun, no doubt), the night held a lot of energy and variety! The magic acts were fun (you know I loves the magic!), and lots of audience members in costume was great. My favorite was the group that did wicked martial arts and mock fighting mixed with amazing group juggling! It was incredible! I hope to see them again sometime. I ran into the beautiful trapecia at the bar, and really enjoyed reconnecting with her after many years. Sadly, Sharon-not-driving meant I didn't keep an eye on my drinking. And several doubles later (several being generous), I was begging to go home.
Which we did.
And I proceeded to puke my guts up.
Awesome, Sharon. Hot hot hot.

The good news (yeah yeah) is that you get all that nasty alcohol out, so you're not hung over the next day. Well, for the most part I was not hung over. I felt a bit off my game, and my tummy wasn't too keen all day, so we didn't end up going to Ikea as we had planned. Put it off for Sunday and rested up.

Saturday night was two parties: one at a friend of Amy and Erik's in Maple Leaf, and the other at Angela and Besh's over in Ballard. Party number one I was a tightrope walker, with my little skirt and ruffly panties, corset, black bob wig, and parasol. I had a couple favorite costumes, including the beekeepers who brought their dog dressed as a bee, and the guy who came as Lane from Say Anything complete with boom box, beige trenchcoat, and Adidas (which made me think we should plan an 80's movie costume party! The possibilities!). The night revealed many leiderhosen and Heidi's (more of the latter, as usual) and flapper girls. Their house was lovely, and the hosts continued a flashback theme by offering jello shots and beer pong. Oh Yeah.

On the way from party 1 to 2, I started to feel really ungood. Hot flashes and alternately feeling like throwing up versus tummy upset. I felt claustorphobic in my costume (in the little car, no less), and I realize that my carsickness was probably coming into play too. It wasn't alcohol or food--I ate and drank nearly nothing so far. So much to my embarassment, I asked Amy and Erik if we could stop by their house (which was just up the street) for a pit stop. I had brought a set of comfier clothes to put on later at Ang and Besh, which I changed into. But it wasn't a costume, and I couldn't show up to the party sans costume! So, bless-their-hearts, they drove us over to our house (we live only about 5 minutes apart) and I threw together a last-minute comfy costumes. I don't know when it happened that all my best costumes required restrictive clothing, like corsets and the like, but my options were limited. So I threw together a Bollywood dancer costume, with kameez, bangles, veil and Indian headdress over the top of my black wig. It was super comfy and pretty, and all was well.

The party was a madhouse when we arrived. The frat boys and girls from the house across the street were packing the place, so there were snow bunnies and hot schoolgirls and all manner of "the least I could wear=a costume". My favorite costume at this party was the cast of Karate Kid, including Daniel-san and the full complement of Cobra-Kai, including "BOW TO YOUR SENSEI". They had great gis, which one of thei guys had iron-on'd fabulous logos straight from the movie, and the girlfriends were dressed as the referees from the final match (which was also entirely studied and created down to the last detail). Loved it!!

Though there weren't as many of the usual suspects (and James and Steena, James and Queenie, and Jim all crapped out! BOO!), a good time was still had by all. There was a fun name game being played by the chimenea which I will have to remember for future parties, and everyone was very nice and friendly. Besh was overdue, but did finally hit us with Rocky Horror, and we Time Warped and sang and yelled, and ran and screamed all over the house throughout. Then we ran and screamed for no reason a couple more times because it was so much fun. Then Amy and Besh played DJ to our small rave in the living room, complete with homemade glow sticks which delightfully stained our fingers, and Besh continued to hand out shots served in various mad scientist-appropriate glassware. I kept a nice buzz all night--perfect. And though I told Amy and Erik they could go home anytime they were no longer amused, they stayed amused and added much joy to the evening, and we ended up all leaving together...at 6am! Well, it was 5am on the clock, thanks to daylight savings, but it was a long and wonderful party. Thanks to Ang and Besh for an incredibly fun night, and thanks to Amy and Erik for bein' rockin' friends throughout it all!

FABULOUS!

Sunday Chris slept until 4pm. I woke at my usual 11am, ate some crackers and cheese, and came back to bed to nap from 2-4pm, when I told Chris we had to get moving to Ikea. We were both pooped, but really wanted to get kitchen info. So we head down to Renton, and Chris actually wanted to peruse a little! YES! So we walked through the sample rooms at the beginning, and took our time right up to the Kitchens. We strolled and poked and talked and eyeballed and decided we really do like the Liljestad best for our house. We talked to an Ikean, and played with the planner tool, and walked around some more and looked at countertops and door pulls. We choked at the cost of Liljestad, and considered Applad Beige, and I left feeling a little deflated. We are both still in love with the Liljestad, but realize that if we go with it, it will cost a good $1-$2k more than we originally wanted to spend. I think we can do it. Chris has more reservations than me, but I am glad we are having a good dialogue about it. I hope we decide soon, so we can plow ahead. I admit, I am eager to get to the demolition! I want to tear out that wall and pull down cabinets and cover the house in dust! WAHOO!

Spring is going to be so crazy busy, I know that if we don't do this around now, it won't get done. And with Chris having time off around Thanksgiving and Christmas, it would be a great time to take advantage of our free time to hammer it out. So keep your fingers crossed for us!

This weekend Amy and Owen tie the knot, and we, her sisters, will be blessing their wedding with dance. I can't wait! And Sunday we have a game-date with James and Steena. Busy busy. But good!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Camp was a blast.I am so awful at writing about fun and wonderful things. They feel so big and important to remember that I feel daunted at the prospect of trying to capture it in words. Oftentimes, I feel like I write very dry, play-by-play accounts, lacking any "storytelling" qualities. I am guessing that is how this post is gonna go...


The short start to this story is that Oasis West was in danger of being cancelled this year, possibly for good. Jean, the camp director/organizer, puts her own time and money into putting on these camps, and they can be a big risk for her if enough people don't sign up. This year, registrations were very slow. Add to that the fact that the guest instructor, Meera, would not be able to arrive at camp until two days into the event made it so Jean had to do some fast-changes to her usual plans. That included asking me to teach tribal--be on the official teaching staff at Camp West!

I had offered in past years to teach a little side-class for kicks, during free-time between the other workshops. Every year I got more and more people asking me about tribal belly dance, what it was, how it works, and could I tell them a bit about it? But trying to talk about dance, as they say, is like trying to smell the color 9. I wanted a chance to really let them experience it. And this year was my chance--and not just a little side-class, but a real workshop for the first two days of camp. :) I was thrilled and honored.

Arriving the first day, I set up my vending as usual. This was my 5th year as a vendor at camp, and I kept my inventory lower than usual, figuring my focus would be on the teaching more than selling. I let Hasani have more space in the cabin this time, since she always has sooooo much stuff!! I settled into my bunk in the cabin next door and head to dinner. Lots of familiar faces, but also lots of new campers this year. Most people seemed aware of the risk of Oasis being cancelled, and had convinced new friends and students to attend, making up a whole new batch of excited newbie campers. It was wonderful to have their energy! It really did remind me of what it was like my first year--so magical.

The next two days were the days I was teaching. It felt so strange, the way things set up at camp versus my usual workshops. When I teach, say, a three hour workshop, I start with introductions and a little chat about the dance, we warm-up and get grounded, go over posture, and then get to the meat of the instruction. Here, I had a little over a hour, the dancers were already warmed up, and the class was mixed between people who had never taken bellydance classes before to people who had taken 14 years of Egyptian cabaret. I had to walk in "cold", jump right into the teaching, and try to give them as much as I could in a very short time. Add to that the space we teach in is HUGE, so it feels so echo-y and...well, it lacks intimacy. But here I was...at my beloved camp, with my beloved camp sisters...and FINALLY getting to share my passion for tribal group improv with them.

And they ATE IT UP!

I mean, we're talking they would cheer, clap, and zaghareet after every new move was taught and drilled! I told them I wish they were in my weekly classes, with enthusiasm driving them to applaud every time I taught a new concept. LOL Afterward, they came to me in droves thanking me, telling me what a blast they had, asking where they could find the music, asking if I would be teaching again next year... They "got it"! Jean kissed me and hugged me and complimented me saying I was a great teacher, which made me want to cry.

I actually had more students in the second workshop than they first day. Apparently word spread that the class was fun, and some people who had dismissed tribal as "not their thing" came to try it...and loved it! That was my biggest victory of all! I am not out to "convert" anyone. I just want them to learn how joyful and uniquely exciting and connecting dancing tribal can be. I want them to know that it is not all grim faces and dark moody imagery and music that so many of them are exposed to. It is joyful and expressive and full of energy and... well, it's not what so many people think it is.

At the end of the workshop, they had a collection of a little over a half dozen fast moves and a short list of slow moves. To close the workshop, we did the Tribal Soul Train--for those who don't know, it's two lines jammin' and clapping while two-by-two everyone takes turns dancing down the center. I put on Superstylin' (always a pleaser), and we jammed together. Then we danced in a circle and ended with a bow to one another. The song was still going...and they kept dancing! Jamming all over the room, grabbing people who were walking in for the next workshop and getting them to dance along! It was amazing!!

I got inquiries about workshops in other towns, and people buying costumes and videos to take home with them. Some even decided they wanted to join the ranks of Tribal Bad Girls. *grin*

Meera arrived Friday night, in time for the hafla. She is so sweet and fun to talk to!! The hafla was amazing, as always. I was completely filled with awe at the way each dancer develops every year--seeing them tell their stories...more importantly, learning how to better express their stories through the dance. Looking us all in the eye and giving us all they have. I am so moved every year, and this year was no exception. In fact, I felt even more effected than usual this year--a mix of beautiful skill and the fact that I wasn't performing that night and could sit back and watch and enjoy fully!

After the hafla we snacked and danced. Meera came up to me and, with uncharacteristic shyness, said "Can I ask you kind of a silly question? Is all tribal so dark and...serious and...distant all the time? I admit I haven't seen much tribal, but everything I have seen seems to be like that." I laughed and told her it wasn't a silly question at all, but instead a very common one, and gave her my usual "no, that is not all tribal is" speech. She said in LA the community doesn't really talk much (she made imitations of of snobbery and snubbing) and she never felt free to ask before. That made me sad for her, but glad she had a chance to ask SOMEONE. I told her she would see what it was like the next night at the benefit.

Ah the benefit... we'll get to that.

First, the next two mornings, I ended up going back to bed after breakfast. I wasn't sleeping well enough, and wanted to be fresh for teaching, vending, and taking Meera's Bollywood choreography classes. So each day went eat breakfast , read a little then sleep, eat lunch, vend, teach/attend workshops, dinner, evening activities. Meera's choreography was TONS OF FUN! It was a cheeky Bollywood choreography to a song called "Joke Joke" (jo-kay), which means "warning" or "back off". (Here is a YouTube video of her performing the choreography at Ahlan Wa Sahlan--it doesn't do it justice, but you get some idea). I was surprised how much I took to it, for being such a foreign way to move, and so cutesy, which I don't always resonate with. It was a lot of fun, but moved very fast for this group of women. As I said, it is a real mixed bag, but most of them are hobbyists at best, so trying to learn 5 minutes of swift choreography in three short sessions was a challenge. She did get through it, but most of them weren't really retaining it unless they had her up front to follow behind. BUT despite the "griping" (not really) at how hard it was and how they didn't feel they were really learning it well, they all said they were having LOTS of fun doing it! I call that a success in any case!

This year, as part of all the rearranging, we had the hafla on Friday night, and Jean and Sherry (the camp cook) arranged for the staff to perform at a benefit at the Vashon Eagles Hall. We had originally planned one set, but the folks working out the benefit wanted the dancers to fill more time, so we offered to do a second set, and include our Bhangra Fusion in honor of Meera's visit. This was a little nerve-wracking, too, knowing that Meera, a "native" trained in Classical Indian Dance and who dances Bhangra, would be watching. Whew!

We were additionally concerned about the venue. We have definitely had experience with dancing in Eagle's Halls, and all the drunken redneckery it can entail. We were pleased to mark that the smoking ban does extend to private clubs such as this, so at least that wouldn't be an issue. But we were ready to jump in with both feet to help raise money for the Vashon Food Bank.

My gals arrived just before dinner, and came and ate with all of us, then we head back to the cabin to get ready together. We only had a short time to get ready before heading out to the venue, all the campers caravaning along Vashon highway. We arrived to our lavish dressing quarters--the auxiliary office--and prepped for the show. The office was stuffy so we hung out in the lobby area, which was an iffy proposition. We joked that we should have had a contest for the most times being hit on by dirty old men. I was hit up twice to join the Eagles in the first half hour, to boot.

The performance was so much fun. Me and my gals were joking and laughing together all night long. The crowd was WILD WILD WILD for our brand o' tribal. Both sets we did completley improv (with only opening/closing staging combos type thing) The performers all night were top notch--I was honored we were among them! There was a live band playing for nearly everyone but us and a few other performers, so that was an extra treat. To see my drum-chick heroes, Nicole and Jane, jamming together again was a treat in itself. Jean opened, then us. Then Vashti, Leyla, and Meera, who did two Bollywood songs, including Joke Joke which we all sang along with, and rocked our socks. We were treated to Lila Perry and Hasani before ending with the incomparable Cassandra. Her skill, her humor, her charisma on stage...And her finale was this INCREDIBLE ZAR! Yes, in full bedlah, she did a completely riveting zar that had us all completely caught up in the moment. Then she recovered and finished with her denoument and exit! Usually, that is the part where someone has to carry the person offstage, ya know? And here she was smiling and dancing off. It was jarring and strange and amazing!

Afterward I was open dancing! I got the chance to chat with Meera more, hear about her background and all. We ended up talking when I walked past her and she grabbed my arm and gushed that our Bhangra performance was the *best* Bhangra fusion she had ever seen, and she wasn't "just saying that". High praise indeed! It felt so incredible and validating to have someone who really knows Bhangra be impressed with what we do. :)

But by far, the coolest most magical part of the whole thing was on the dance floor. We were jammin' together, me and my gals, as we do. We talked about how we felt bad that it seems so cliquish when we dance together at events like this. You know, everyone is dancing their style that they love during open dance. Everyone else's just happens to be solo while ours happens to be a group style. But we still are very sensitive to appearing to be closed off to others, so we kept trying to catch the eye of other dancers outside the circle when we could to let them know we weren't shutting them out. As luck would have it, Lauren and my Port Angeles girls were the first to look interested, and I beckoned them in. Sarah threw the lead to me, since I knew what they had learned at the workshops...and before you knew it, the entire dance floor was in one giant tribal circle!! AH MAGIC! THIS IS WHAT TRIBAL IS ABOUT! Being connected like that, being able to dance together in the moment no matter where or when... I was thrilled. Unfortunately, the band changed to a difficult rhythm, and we couldn't keep it up any longer.

The dance floor was getting strange. Drunk Eagles men were coming out and hitting on everyone, grinding up behind us, trying to get in on our dance circles. Kym returned from a simple walk to the bathroom and breathlessly sidled up to us saying, "Don't leave me alone!" as she glanced warily toward a man following her through the door. We seemed to be rescuing each other all night long, trying to close ranks from harrasing men. So we went outside to get some air...where we got hit on, of course.

And before you knew it...the night was over! My gals were catching a ferry, and I was back at my cabin sipping wine and exchanging stories of the icky Eagle's men (like one walking up to a voluptuous camper saying "Do you want to go home with me and have sex?"). The absolute worst (yes, worse if you can believe it) was the fact that one man showed up late and there were no more seats for the show...so he offered to pay $100 so he could STAND IN THE BUSHES AND WATCH THROUGH THE WINDOW. If that isn't weird enough...the Eagles putting on the benfeit said YES! WHAT THE HELL?! So all night there was this balding 60 year old man farting away in the bushes watching us. EW!!! Par for the course at performances at the Eagles Hall...

The next morning, we recorded the video. Every year, the teachers lead the campers through their lesson or choreography for a video camera. It is put on the camp video, which you can purchase. The video includes footage of the hafla (and this year the benfit as well), and the choreography film so you are able to have a visual reminder of what you learned. So we put on the funky tunes, warmed up and reviewed what we learned, and danced a full song for the video. it was very simple, and I did my best to try and pair each of the moves together in some combination, so they can see how they transition smoothly. I know I didn't smile enough, but I just kept thinking, "I am a teacher on the camp video! I am a TEACHER ON THE CAMP VIDEO!" I know that sounds silly, but it was such a big milestone for me to be there, in that role, at the camp I love so much.

I packed up my vending stuff and had an hour before lunch. I wandered over to the lodge, and found Jean packaging gifts for the camper awards. We chatted a while about the fact that Camp West may not happen next year, that Camp South is not even happening this year due to low registrations. They may be switching to a weekend workshop format in 2007 for West and South, which would be a terrible shame. Jean had some valid concerns, including feeling like she is limiting Cassandra's exposure as a teacher, and wanting her to be more accessible when she travels. Having workshops or shows near Seattle, and/or moving any future camp to a location which doesn't require a ferry trip, is her hope. But of course it has to be affordable, to boot. tough bill to fill. She seemed to be hinting at wanted me to help her produce a show locally next year, but I told her I didn't feel I was qualified to promote such a show. I do haflas, and host workshops, but a full fledged stage show is not something I am interested in taking on right now.

Sadly, what I love most about Oasis is...it's CAMP! I can't say I would go out of my way to take workshops with Cassandra if she came to town. But it is worth it to me to take from her as a part of camp, because the experience of being at camp with all those amazing women, and sharing in all the fun and community, sharing our dance together...THAT is what makes it an annual pilgrimage for me. And I think the guest teacher is important too. Her list of requirements for the guest instructor is an interesting one, including some vague idea of scholarly background in their field. Which of course, anyone teaching you would want to be assured they knew their business. But it sounded more like...I don't know. It just seemed limited. THe dance world right now is riding a wave of fusion fanaticism that I think they could benefit from taking advantage of. And I feel like what she loves in a dance teacher (she specifically mentioned Denise Enan being one of her favorites guest teachers...who was specifically my LEAST favorite ever in 7 years of camp) may not necessarily reflect that of the audience she is trying to tap. Camp has to diversify more, and definitely advertise more. She asked me to help her with marketing and promotions online, and that is somethign I feel I can be really helpful at, so I said of course.

Now I am home, loving my pups and hubby. It looks like fall fell in the last 5 days since I was away. Literally, the trees exploded with color, and leaves are fluttering to the ground all over the place.

Back to reality, it's time to start planning Amy's wedding dance. Me and the gals worked on it this last week and have it pretty much staged. Capitol Club is this Thursday, and Nomaditude is getting ready for their Winter Fest performance. Good times!

So the funny thing about my life is that *part* of the reason I started my own business was to be able to work on my own time--not tied to the 8-5 schedule, so to speak. And for a few years, it worked that way.

Sorry I have been so out of touch, dear friends. I just have not had time or inclination to write. Feels like a ton has happened, but *shrug*

This past weekend Chris and I attended his little sister's wedding. I am sure most of you know what I am talking about when I say that there are a handful of weddings you attend in your life that feel...perfectly...right. Where the couple is so obviously right for one another, you feel honored and full of joy at being witness to it. Stephanie and Nathan's wedding was one of those rare, beautiful unions.

The wedding was on a beach in Morro Bay, CA. The backdrop was this sandstone wall, overgrown with hanging shrubery, with a small creek cutting along the front of it. We were seated on a sandy bar facing the wall and creek, with the ocean crashing against the rocks to our left. It was overcast, but warm enough, and the rays still managed to burn us a bit. The wedding attendees were limited to a small number--parhaps 30+ of us in all.

The ceremony included a multi-stage water blessing. On the alter was a pitcher of water, and as guests arrived, we were invited to walk up, hold the pitcher of water, and "bless" it with good thoughts and feelings for the couple. Chris and I did so, holding the pitcher between us, and kissed over it, infusing it with love and successful marriage juju. The ceremony itself was very personal to them, for certain, and various readings enumerated the significance and symbolism of water and the color green (their wedding color) in their relationship. The attendants had processed with tall staffs topped with multi-colored ribbons, and stood like sentries creating a circle around all of us--keeping all that juju in! My favorite part was when the two entwined their fingers to form a sort of bowl with their upturned palms, and the many qualities of the blessed water was invoked as it was poured into their hands. Then they walked into the creek along with the officiant for a private exchange and blessing, after which they said their vows and exchanged rings. Seeing Stephanie kiss his ring before placing it on his hand makes me tear up to remember it even now. And the imagery of she in her beautiful silk gown and Nathan in his kilt standing in the rushing creek...so beautiful.

Afterward, they had a lot of people taking various photos, and Stephanie reminded Chris that she had asked him to take "official" photos. He didn't remember that, but we had been in this role before and enjoy it very much. And it had the added bonus of Chris getting to play with his new camera I got him as a belated anniversary gift (which is freakin' sweet!) Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't hire out to do wedding photography together...it's fun! I do the "staging"--they stylist if you will. We frame them together, and Chris does the magic with the camera (aperature values? huh?) Having this beautiful beach as a backdrop, and two willing subjects (and their family and wedding party) made for a fun and creative time. Chris has offloaded the photos, but I haven't seen them yet. Can't wait to see how they turned out.

I was bummed that we didn't have more time to explore the beautiful region. We flew in Friday night, went straight to the (delicious and beautiful) Italian rehearsal dinner. Then Saturday at 11am was the wedding, we did photos, then rushed to the park to help decorate and set up for the barbecue reception, then hung there for hours eating and chatting, then back to the room for me to nap in preparation for an intended night out with the bridesmaids. We were on our way out to dinner when Gina stopped by and admitted she and the gals were too tired to hang out after all (they had been running around taking care of all the details the entire weekend). We tried to find a place open to eat, but everything was closed around 9:30. We picked up dinner at the local Albertsons instead, and had a "romantic" meal of pizza and salad on our hotel room bed.

Sunday we checked out at 11am, got some breakfast at a lovely little cafe in San Luis Obispo, and then hung at the tiny airport until our 2:30 flight to LAX, to continue through to Seattle.


On the trip home we experienced continuing exception to an otherwise uneventful trip, which is due to the fact that "Christopher Moore" is a name on the friggin' no-fly list. So thanks to George W, Chris (and I, with him) can never do electronic check-in, and they have to take our ID's into some back room and cross-check his birthdate and description with the guy who shares his name (which includes this other poor guy who is also not-guilty-but-treated-like-he-is). In LAX, they were having various issues with planes and computers which had us switching to a different flight (which was a 1:30 flight which was delayed to OUR flight time, which we switched to, and OUR flight was delayed an hour), and that combined with Chris' name being George W'd, we stood in line for (no exaggeration) 2 hours! Yes, our entire stopover was spent standing in line and at a counter waiting for a guy making calls all over the place to verify Chris' identity as an Honest To Goodness Law-Abiding American. I pressed the gentleman (who was very nice, though frustratingly un-forthcoming in sharing with us when the computer delays persisted) to allow us to step away from the counter long enough to get some food to take on the plane, and when we got back, they had finally cleared him. Then they issued tickets for the wrong flight, and we had to change that over before rushing to use the bathroom and right to the gate to board immediately. Chris is eager for a new President to take office, and hopefully fix these ridiculously ineffective procedures to "keep our air travel safe". *snort* While we're at it, chalk up the carriage of liquids and gels on planes. I packaged some of my products, but left the rest in my carry-on, and nobody said boo to me. I mean, come on. Why in a labeled package? I could put ANYTHING in a "Herbal Essences" travel bottle--the label does not do a damn thing. Limits to 3oz is also ridiculous, considering I can fill a gallon sized bag with multiple 3oz containers; not to mention I could have 2 friends do the same thing, and pretty soon we have over a pound of "shampoo" on the flight. *waving dismissive hand at the government*

But I digress!


Sadly, a quick drive through Burien revealed I was again to be completely disappointed I couldn't get my Wah Kue's! They closed and locked the doors as we drove up at 8:30pm! WHAT THE?! We picked up some Mandarin Gate (poor substitute) on the way home, and when we got there...the house felt sooo empty! NO PUPPIES! WAH! We pretty much pined all night for them.

In the AM, Amy and Erik's friend Pawl came to get the old couch we were giving away (they grow 'em tall in that part of the country!). Anyway, he took the sofa, and we head out happily to get the pups. Ah, family! The report card from the Doggy Haven staff said they didn't eat as well as their last visit. And Gretchen was timid around th big dogs, which is a new development. We need to get them back to the dog park... So they put Gretchen in with the little dogs area. Both Loki and Gretchen apparently threw a FIT when they were separated ("1-2-3-AAAAW!"), so they put Loki in with the little dogs along with her, and apparently they BOTH were a million times happier in there, and the rest of their stay was a happy one. :) The report also gushed about how sweet and cute Gretchen is and how much all the staff adored her. We have the best puppies.

Home again, we cuddled and coddled the pups for a while, but had to head out again...this time, to finally begin our "Ikea collection" with a new Ektorp chair. Doesn't matter how few things you come for, you walk out with more, and this was no exception. We wandered through the store, sitting in different chairs and taking in different inspiration ideas. We discovered that the slipcover we thought we wanted for the chair was waaay brighter red than we realized AND was this fluffy corduroy fabric. The other options were entirely not right for us, but we resigned ourselves to the plain beige, with hopes that they would come out with a different color cover in some future year that we would want.

We grabbed several other items, including the rug I have wanted for a while and thought would look good in the new dining room (it does!), and on our way out was checked the As-Is section...and tada. Another Ektorp chair--a display model with a few scuffs on the slipcover--was for sale at a very discounted price. And to boot, everything in the As-Is section was an additional 25% off that day only! Over $100 off total. It had a white slipcover, which was not our plan, but we figured using white in the interim--washing it as best we could, and swapping it out when we get a color we want--would work fine. So home we went with two WHITE Ektorp chairs. WHITE. With two BLACK HAIRED DOGS. With the wet, muddy Seattle WINTER COMING ON. Yes, it is temporary, but it still felt (and feels) so...wrong!!

We took the next two hours before I left for class playing rearrange. Sadly, the way I dreamed we would arrange the room will in NO way work. Particularly when we get the Ektorp sofa-bed to match, which is a foot longer than the current little loveseat, there is simply no other way to arrange the room than the way it is currently set up. So I got no satisfaction in that arena. But Chris was realy determined to get a layout I was would be happy with before I had to dash off to class. He made some great suggestions on re-orienting the current layout, and when I was in the shower hosin' off, he cleaned the room and set up lots of beautiful candles. It looked lovely, but still felt "off". Bottom line: part of it is the fact that the chairs are white and larger than the loveseat--making them stick out and seem larger than they are. It also makes the loveseat look "freakishly small" (Chris' words), which makes us all the more eager to get the sofa ASAP. The current TV stand is small and very different than the other furniture in the room, and combine that with it being all the way across the room, and the rest of the furniture is cuddled around the cozy red rug, it feels very separate and different. Once we get the TV bench on our list, it will help tie it together, and give us room to store our DVD collection. And last on the list of furniture "to-do's" is to get a large, square coffee table. This narrow one we currently have adds to the tunnel-feeling of the room as it is oriented now.

The good news is that the room feels very opened up! It feels cozier--more conversational-nook feel than it had before. The whole room feels softer since we angled some stuff to take some of the sharp corners out, and the furniture feels larger and more "overstuffed" in the small room (but without actually BEING bigger--we downsized overall). We are eager to get some new art up, as the walls are more exposed now, and the blank canvass it reveals is begging for attention. As it sits now, Chris and I each have our own easy chair. Gretchen says, "FINALLY! I have the couch to myself I always deserved!"

Now what to do for the bedroom when we're done in here. Or shall we work on the kitchen...? So many plans!


Today is my first troupe night since Renee has left for Germany for the rest of the year. I am trippin'! I feel so WEIRD! Renee is so much a part of my dance life, it's like a limb has been cut off, and tonight I have to try and work without it. I know that sounds dramatic, but it really feels more acute than I realized. I hope she gets a chance to e-mail soon. I wonder how her trip went, and how things are shaping up? They have been there about 3 days by now. Only 10 weeks and 4 days left... Heehee