Thoughts

Well, I caught a little bit of flack for my car this past week (and for getting rid of my old one) but I stood my ground and am still very happy with my purchase.  =)  In some ways, I've been waiting for the "buyer's regret" that usually hits but it hasn't happened yet.  I'm not sure if it still will at some point or if I actually made a purchase where it's not going to hit me.  After other purchases I've made (which are way lower in sticker price than a car) in the past, that feeling of regret has hit after a couple of days.  I've had my car for just over a week now and I am still as happy/excited/giddy over my purchase as I was a week ago.  Maybe one of the differences is before this purchase, I actually did my research, weighed the pros and cons and then made an informed decision.  With other purchases in the past, I have just kind of decided I "needed" something and then went for it - not really thinking about what other ramifications could come from said purchase.  I love my car and can afford the payments so I guess those are the things that are most important.


Another purchase that I had made a couple of weeks ago (but just received this past week) is something to use during belly dance class.  I had found a weighted hip belt online that I wondered if it might amp up my rehearsals some (since I have unfortunately hit a plateau with my weight loss and figure re-sculpting) and I wore it to class yesterday.  The belt has 15 one-pound removable weights built into it and I used half of them during our two hour class yesterday.  WOW!  I will admit that I had sweat pouring after me by the end of the first hour and needed a second shower by the time I got home from class.  When I removed the belt after the second hour, I ran a couple of moves and they were absolutely effortless.  I was just amazed at what a difference it had already made after just two hours.  I was a little sore when I went to bed last night and went to get up this morning but that was only because my muscles were protesting some.  If the first time using them was any indication of it working, my muscles better get used to being a little sore because I'm going to keep using the belt and work towards adding more weight to it.  Especially with lots of upcoming performances and the thought of wearing a bathing suit this summer....


Well, I just got another belly dance gig lined up for this month.  I'll be performing with the troupe (including a solo in that show), the following weekend I'll be performing a solo during a fundraiser for Relay for Life, and the weekend after that I'll be performing a solo again in a performance of solos with my fellow troupe members (actually at the same location where I performed my first solo outside the safety of the studio).  I know I'm going to be a busy gal but I love getting out there and performing.  Performing, especially with my sword, fills a part of my soul I think.  One of these days I'm going to branch out and work with another piece of solo music but I think for the next couple of performances I'm going to stick with the solo piece I have been working with.  The piece has evolved over the course of the almost year I've been using it and I'm looking forward to seeing what variations come from my upcoming opportunities.


As I've been sitting here thinking, a kind of strange wave of nostalgia passes over me...  About four years ago I began working where I work now, thinking I would only be working there for approximately two years because that's the amount of time the wasband and I were supposed to live in this area before moving on.    Who knows where I would be now if that would have remained my reality...  I know some places that I wouldn't be - - - I wouldn't be at this place in my life; wouldn't be belly dancing; wouldn't be as independent as I currently am; etc.  Sure, those aren't physical locations but state of mind is a more important place.  Yes, there are times where I still think about changing locations but that doesn't seem to be in the cards currently so I'm going to continue to work on my state of mind.


Writing about state of mind, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the "challenges" I've issued over the last two weeks.  No, I still haven't been doing a very good job at completing the challenges myself but I'm still working on things.  I'm still working on turning my "flaws" into my uniqueness as well as finding a positive thing to say to myself in the mirror each day.  I guess those are just things I'm going to have to continue to challenge myself on a daily basis and I encourage you to do the same...