I am sleepy....

It's been a long week and weekend and I think it's probably a very good thing that I have tomorrow off of work....

It really started on Wednesday night with dance rehearsal, Thursday was my birthday as well as choir rehearsal, Friday I went to work and then had a dance performance, yesterday was a day working on my apartment, and today was a dance performance approximately 3-3.5 hours from here... I'm tired.

The dance performance on Friday was special in more ways than one. Our dance instructor hired a live band to come to our studio and we had practiced a choreography to dance to their live performance. It was a little bit nerve wracking just because we weren't 100% sure if the band was going to play the music the same way they played it on the CD we had been rehearsing too (luckily they did!). This was the first time that I had performed to live music and it definitely was an interesting experience. Not only was this my first time performing to live music, it was also my first opportunity to do a mini solo to live music (I shared one piece of music with two other girls where we each took our turn on the stage). Another first for me this night was along with my solo, I danced with a veil. Originally my instructor asked me if I would want to use a sword with this solo but I wasn't personally feeling it with the music - so I opted at the last moment to use a veil instead. I don't know if I would classify it as my best performance however, I felt okay about it because I challenged myself and went outside of my own comfort zone. I just have to look at is as yet another aspect of my personal growth along my quest.

The trip to and from today's performance was filled with fun and laughter. Because so many of us attended today's show, we ended up taking two vehicles and the vehicle I was in laughed the entire way there and the entire way back I think. I couldn't even tell you at this point all of the stuff we laughed about (I do know that some of it was about things that were pretty dumb) but it was nice to laugh so much that I think I might have earned a few more laugh lines and some sore abs/ribs in the morning. =)

I don't think that my doggies are too pleased that I haven't been home too much over the last couple of days so it's probably a good thing that I get to stay home tomorrow. Granted, I will spending tomorrow (hopefully) continuing to work on the never-ending "stuff" that needs to be done around the apartment -- especially since my Mom will be here in just over a week! WooHoo! =) Yes, I am very excited about this fact! I know that I have lots of things to get done between now and that time but I will hopefully get it all done... We'll have to wait and see...

I think I'm just feeling as if I need a Mom "recharge." I'm not saying that to put any added/extra pressure on Mom but I feel that it's true. For the last number of years, I have developed a very special relationship but I think in some ways, I am trying to make up for lost time with Mom. As I've written about before, there was a point where I wasn't as nice as I could have been to my Mom and spent a lot of time responding "whatever" to anything that she said. It's not like that anymore. While there are times we don't always see eye-to-eye, we talk it out these days. I really hope that this relationship between Mom and I continues. =)

Well, since it's been a long and crazy week, I am going to sign off for another week and see what this upcoming week brings! =)

To do list...

I had a list of things that I wanted to accomplish this weekend and I don't know if I really accomplished any of it. I started quite a bit of what was on my list but I don't feel like I can really cross any of it off. Oh, well. I still have time to get this stuff done... I hope...

For some of the things on my to do list, I don't have a time limit to get them done. Other things on the to do list do have a time limit since my Mom will be here before I know it... Even though I have quite a bit to do before she comes, I am definitely looking forward to her visit! With everything I have going on before she comes, she will be here before I know it. This coming week I have parent/teacher conferences at work, dance rehearsal, two dance performances this next weekend (one of them will be to live music so that will be interesting...) and then just the other random things that could happen throughout the week. It's a good thing I have a week off when she's here. =)

Something that I guess I can say I accomplished this weekend is I took two large trash bags and an oversized laundry basket all full of clothes to donate to the Goodwill. I can't believe that I had that much stuff to get rid of and I still probably could use to donate some more (I got rid of articles of clothing that no longer fit but I was still hanging on to them). It did make me feel good to know that someone who needs those clothes will be able to get use out of them.

I think getting rid of these clothes is yet another thing I have needed to do to find some closure with everything that has happened to me. Some part of me feels like I was hanging onto some of these clothes in the effort to hang onto that "other me." Most of the clothes were too big so I don't know why I was hanging onto them other than that reason. I guess when it comes time to replace some of these articles of clothing I will have the opportunity to replace them with quality clothing (even though I did have some nice pieces) rather then just buying what I could find that fit.

In an effort to "jump start" my weight loss again, I got two new workout games to use on my Wii. At this point I have only tried one of them but it definitely worked up a sweat! One of the things that I like about the work out game that I have tried is it has a "quick workout" feature that allows you to get a workout in just over 15 minutes and it also has different levels that you can choose from (from beginner to advanced). Hopefully I will be able to keep it up and it will give me the results that I'm looking for. =)

Well, even though it's getting late here, there are one or two more things that I do need to accomplish (hopefully) before going to bed. I have a long week ahead of me and I know I need to get some sleep but I also need to un-bury my bed first. Wish me luck.... =)