Oktoberfest Part Two

Post Performance Celebrations:

ie How to Enjoy Oktoberfest After You've Sweat Five Pounds Off

What better way to celebrate a fun performance than to get your German on, and drink some beer and have some good times at Oktoberfest. Ok, so I'm not technically German and I wasn't in a dirndl, but, I was in spirit!! Meghan and I felt the need to show our German-ness posing next to the beer stein. It's a bit kitchsy, I know, but, that dude on there is rockin' his leiderhosen like no other. How could we resist?


There are a lot, and I mean a lot of smiles after a performance. Especially, when you get to hang out with your friends to eat, laugh, and celebrate. Susan and Meghan so graciously posed in front of the tent we performed in to show how many good vibes were going on. Oh and yes, beer, there was plenty of beer to help with that; for the adults of course! I know what you all were thinking ;-)

Even the little ones joined in the good mood vibe. That's what I like about Oktoberfest, everyone seems to just be having fun. Sitting down, eating, drinking, watching the entertainment, or in some cases joining the entertainment (ie The Chicken Dance), and just enjoying the atmosphere.

How could I not put this picture up? I ask you... how?!?

The food at Oktoberfest is AWESOME! This strudel is heaven in a box. I never knew heaven came in a box, well other than one that contains decadent chocolate pieces, until Jon and I bought this strudel from one of the vendors. Oh.My.GAWD. It is soooooooooo delicious. The only thing that would be better than this is eating it in Bavaria. But, hey I'll take what I can get.

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I would say my only complaint about Oktoberfest is the fact we only get plastic, disposable, cups to drink our beer from. While we do get to keep the pitchers (sorry, don't know how I missed taking a picture of that- oh wait yes, I do... I was drinking beer from it) I do wish we had the actual mondo steins being carried around by servers like the original Oktoberfest. Because of the puny servings I did have to two fist it at one point.

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Which btw, do you know what kind of looks one gets when one is wearing a private school-esque skirt carrying around beer in each hand?? Too bad I didn't have an extra hand or I would show you what kind of looks you get when you're walking around in that get up beer hand in hand.

Love these people.

"Hey sweetie, what do you think of Oktoberfest?"

"Must have bigger beer containers!"

See even the young ones are on board with me here!

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Ok, ok I kid I kid!! Please no angry emails alright?

Irish dance instructor + Post performance high + Beer = Hilarious modern dance interpertation. I nearly peed my pants I laughed so hard.

You can only imagine the bladder induced stress I had when she struck this pose.

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Really, what more could one ask for? Great times, good laughs, tasty food and drink, wonderful friends, all at a fantastic festival. Now that's a way to spend your time after a performance.

Oktoberfest Part One

The Performance

Tulsa's Oktoberfest is a big deal around this area. It is run by the German American Society of Tulsa (GAST) and is in fact considered one of the best Oktoberfest's in America (somewhere in top 10... something like that). It lasts five days, it is extremely well attended by Tulsans and people from all around, there's loads of entertainment for children and adults, good food, bands and entertainers from Germany, as well as local groups (like my Irish dance school), and from other states. Like I said it is a well-run big deal and I think Tulsans are rather proud of this little fest. Follow the links for ore info about the origins of Oktoberfest via Wikipedia, and the Tulsa Oktoberfest.

Okay so after that little info filled paragraph onto the dancing! Or as I preferred to call it, 'Dear God we have to dance for an hour???' time. We danced in one of the smaller, 'family friendly' tents (yes, I know, but, it is America after all folks). Sunday is a pretty tame, 'low-key' day for the fest, but, still the tent was packed and the same went for most of the other tents I saw.
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GAST took very good care of us and even provided water and beer (woot!) for us! That said, the man in the above picture totally felt me up. Yeah... old man, in German garb, feeling me up pre-performance equals eww, but, it also means I have a funny story.


Jon was kind enough to tag along and take LOADS of pictures. These are some of the good ones of the performance. I will write up another post about the after performance fun. Oh and there was fun, but, I promise not TOO much fun. ;-) So sit back and enjoy the pictures and my random commentary about what we did.

This is why Irish dancers wear bloomers aka kick pants under their skirts. If we didn't have those there would be quite a bit of errrmmm... yeah.

You wanna know what I was saying during this break? 'Omg I am soooooo sweaty- ha! I need a towel!!' I was dripping!! And this was after just one dance. To be fair, it wasn't nearly as bad as the Scottish Games, but, it was hot enough.

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Better than too cold I guess. At least the warmth keeps your muscles warm which does help keep your legs limber. Can you tell I'm trying to keep positive here? Good, just wanted to make sure.

Did I mention I love the fact we have a guy dancing with us now? He's so uber cool, from Canada, and a talented dancer. Guys get some really cool moves in Irish dance. Makes me wanna be a guy sometimes... well, at least when dancing. On top of the cool moves, they don't have to worry about the need for kick pants and tights. Almost makes it worth it right there.

One thing I love about our performance was the diversity in ages and abilities. That little one above is only six years old and she is so talented! She was the youngest and the oldest is over fifty. Very cool and motivating to share a passion for something with so many people from different backgrounds.

Hey look!! My turnout is getting better. Woot, woot!! I've been working hard on the building up my technique. While I certainly didn't dance my absolute best yesterday, I can see signs of improvement in places. Always nice to see some progress!

My instructor K.t and my good friend on stage together. They are extremely talented and downright lovely people. Side note: I want my K.t's legs. They are gorgeous!!

One of our younger dancers injured their toe, but, still wanted to be part of our Oktoberfest performance. So, instead of dancing she played some fiddle music with her sister. SO cute! Even though the sound wasn't always on (there were a lot of sound issues actually) the audience was very generous with their applause. And we dancers were grateful for a bit of a break too! It was a win win for everyone!

There were moments during the performance I got to dance and kinda be in charge of the younger dancers. Go me! You see that look on my face above? Yeah, that's me thinking. I had to call out what to do to the other dancers while dancing!! That was almost too much multi-tasking for my brain, but, hey a challenge is a good thing right? We stayed together really well and that's all that mattered.

The hazards of dancing with little ones though? They forget sometimes! It's cute though and in fact they could probably just stand there on stage and the audience would still eat it up. So while it can be a bit stressful to make sure a kid knows what to do on stage (and worry about them not doing it), it never ends up being a real ordeal as they are cute and up there trying their best. That's what really matters!

This is just a cool pic. That's all I have to say about that!

We ended our performance well despite a mondo big mistake, but, hey when it's onstage it's not a mistake right? So I rolled with it and I don't think the audience could tell anything went wrong. Performances can be hard, especially since we never get enough rehearsal time due to the fact we don't have our own space/studio yet. It takes a lot of focus to remember what is coming up next, it requires telling the younger dancers what's coming up next, etc, etc. However I find dancing up on stage is a good experience for me personally to work on getting over my stage fright and use it as a constructive way to improve my dancing.

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All in all yesterday was fun. Even with little mistakes and issues like the sound cutting out during a dance (and coming back on in the middle of my dancing which was 'fun') I think the crowd enjoyed it and we were happy to have been able to have a bit of fun onstage.

Tee Hee

Ok so I dance for an hour at Oktoberfest today and it was tiring, hot, and sometimes really long. That said, it was really fun and the good times had after the dancing were fantastic and made the hard work worth it. More to come tomorrow!

And We're Back

Ohh last week, how you took it out of me. My apologies for my blogging absence! I got a bit sick, the kids all took crazy pills at school, and yesterday I had three places to be and Leo had hot spots on his paw so bad he hardly moved for a day (he's a lot better now). My energy is coming back and now I'm back to blogging.

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So here's the long overdue post about the Scottish Games in Tulsa. I danced there a week ago and wow was I rusty- and HOT!

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The Scottish Games mean that there are multitudes of men wearing kilts. Young and old.

I wanted to hug this old man. He was decked out and didn't seem to be bothered by the hot weather. Though I wonder if his legs itched in those stockings that day.

Thank you Lord for men who dress in kilts and do us the favor of wearing shorts underneath. From what I understand most, if not all kilts, are all wool. For their sake I hope they were wearing their light weight summer kilts. I have my doubts.

Did I mention it was hot out there last week? Like almost mid-summer hot. Summer decided to make one last stand and of course it was on the day we had to dance. As you can tell I was less than enthused about having to be there. I wanted to dance, but, I knew it was going to be rough as I had just started practicing again after a six week break. Add the heat in there and I just wanted to run. But, alas, the show must go on!

Photographic evidence that I love, love to jump. And my form isn't nearly as good as it was! The beginning of the performance wasn't bad. But, after about 10 minutes I thought I was melting.

We have a new addition to our little dance school and his name is James. I don't think I have to point out where he is in that picture. He's really cool,talented, from Canada, and one tough cookie for having to dance in that heat in black slacks and a long sleeve shirt. I felt bad about my complaints. At least I had a t-shirt on.

We danced two 15 minute segments. I was told that my face looked about as red as my skirt towards the end. Darn pale skin and my tendency to overheat! I think we all lost five pounds dancing out there. Apparently Irish Dance has about the same cardio impact of full on running- while I am no scientist nor doctor I would like to throw in my, 'YA THINK?!' in there. It was fun though, the crowd was delightful and forgiving of our rusty performance (first time the 'band' was back together and we rehearsed just an hour plus-ish before we arrived at the games). Thanks to Sarah's kids and hubby who showed up and watched my face nearly explode! lol And of course we must give Jon some major credit for taking pictures of the dancing and for taking me to get a cold beverage at QuikTrip after. We wanted to stay longer, but, the heat was making us both very tired so we headed out and sought relief in cool drinks and air conditioning. That said, the Tulsa Scottish Games were fun, bagpipes and kilts everywhere, games, dancing, and good food. What's not to love and enjoy?

Fall Beckons

I can't help but have a, "My thoughts on fall approaching" entry. So if you'll allow me a bit of musing here and random photo-age I'd appreciate it. Even though, the daytime temps still hover in the lower 90's we can feel fall approaching here in Tulsa as the morning temps are much cooler and the humidity is beginning to drop. I don't think fall really starts in Oklahoma until October, so, with the end of September approaching I'm anticipating the cooler and crisper air! This probably has to do, at least in part, with my car not having a/c. But, seriously I do love fall!

Mina doesn't get a lot of face time on my blog, but, she's still around and Queen Bee of all.
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Fall makes me wanna clean. I know there's spring cleaning, but, what's wrong with a little fall cleaning I say? Oh, right cleaning involves work. Well, guess it's a small price to pay for some good clean 'feng shue' around the house right? Oh and fall means new clothes must be bought. Especially since I've been wearing the same black slacks 3-4 days of the week (different tops of course!) at work. A new job and a change of season is the perfect time for shopping, n'est ce pas?
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Okay... so anytime of the year is a good time for shopping really. I just get buyers guilt if I don't have a good rationalization for shopping.

The dogs love that temps aren't in the 100's anymore. Can't say I blame them there!
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Fall also means I'm back to Irish dance and hopefully my French language classes (if they're offered on one of my few free nights. Fingers crossed!). I'm still sore from last Thursday night's dance class and I've discovered that my feet lost their most of their calluses. I've been on blister watch for the past two days. Luckily, none have popped up yet, but, the balls of my feet are tender. Getting back into the groove of dancing has it's price. Oh why oh why did I not practice during the break!? Oh, right, I was trying to get a job. Then I got a job. I guess that's a reasonable excuse. ;-)
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Fall also brings the Scottish Games, the Tulsa Oktoberfest, and the Tulsa State Fair. Plaid skirts, Highland games, leiderhosen, bratwurst, beer, fried food, and mullet sitings- what's not to love?! Naturally I'll be attending these said events and going bananas with the camera. I hope I can capture a shot of the illusive 'skullet' at the fair. There's always a couple in the crowd, but, getting a clear picture of this phenomenon, and being inconspicuous about it, is very, very challenging.
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I love fall, but, I love every season for one reason or another. I think that's because, by the time a season ends I'm ready for a new one to begin. I love the changing of seasons the holidays in them, and the events, big or small, they bring.
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Do you have anything to look forward to during fall?

I FOUND IT!!!

10 years. I have waited and hoped and dreamed for good fromage blanc to come to Tulsa for 10 years. The last time I delighted in the creamy nuttiness of fromage blanc was, of course, in France. Being in Tulsa can have it's disadvantages and one of those, for me, was the fact I couldn't find fromage blanc in any of the speciality stores. Finally Whole Foods decided to start carrying it. First it was a California company which was so-so. Had the taste, but, didn't have the texture at all. No where close. I was disappointed, though I tried to like and enjoy it. Then they started carrying Vermont Butter & Cheese's version and it is nearly exactly how I remembered it. Add a bit of honey or sugar and I go to a rather creamy happy place.

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It may sound dorky, but, I am really, really excited this stuff is in T-Town.

The Hangover*

Home sweet home!

*aka Why I haven't been able to blog the past few days

What a ride.

Ever since Jon's deal was accepted on the house we've kept saying to ourselves, 'Is this really about to end?' When we began to look at houses for Jon we knew it would be a bumpy road- but, we were in NO way prepared for the big growing pain it would become!

Allow me back up a bit. Jon's father told Jon that he would help out with the downpayment. Suffice it to say it was a generous offer and of course who would want to say no to a little extra help?! But, boy that little extra help proved to be a bit of a problem!! Jon wanted to live in a particular area of Tulsa, known as Midtown. His father was a little reluctant as he didn't think any home that wasn't the super nice old ones in that area are worth much. Jon figured he could just use his usual power of persuasion and work his father into the idea of a midtown house.

He was wrong... oh so very wrong.

Months dragged on. Jon became more disconnected and well downright depressed. Communication with his father was nill and no house shown by Jon to his father satisfied him. Little did we know his father believed that a house in Jenks would be worth more in the next few years as that area is 'in development'. Finally the situation came to a head. I was furious, frustrated, and upset that Jon wouldn't stick up to his father leading me to be uncertain about our future.

Fortunatly Jon and I worked through our rough patch. Then as soon as we began to settle things Jon's father hit a breaking point and issued an ultimatum to Jon, a house in Jenks or no gift. Suffice it to say I was amazed when Jon stood his ground- the first time he really had to do so to his father! At the same time, I was so proud, worried about what this would mean in terms of getting a house, but, somehow by Jon taking that step I knew things were going to work out.

And they did!

Jon's father backed off and relented. We began looking at houses with a realtor who was a friend of Jon's family as opposed to looking online, arranging a time to see things, all on our own. In about two weeks we walked into the house. It was serendipty from the start.

The neighborhood was one of the original neighborhoods we were looking at. The owner was a former co-worker of Jon's. So far so good. Then the concern came up that Jon's father would take forever to look at the house because he had just undergone galbladder removal surgery. However, Jon's father asked his son-in-law and brother to look at the house. After getting postive reviews he said, 'Okay let's go for it!'

The bargaining phase as I said was intense. Jon had to do more standing his ground, but, it turned out to be so good for him. His father actually respected his position and thanks to Jon's cunning and a lot growing up he's done over the past months he was able to take control over the situation and get the deal accepted. Now we wait to make sure the house is okay after inspections- but, major victories have been won and no matter what happens I am so very proud of Jon and us for taking some hits, learning from them, and growing up.

Now you have an idea as to why I'm so drained!

Mayfest

Nothing like a massive downtown bloc party to help lift my spirits. I did some volunteer work this weekend as well as walked around and ate loads of good food and checked out some awesome art. I love downtown Tulsa- it's very unique with its many art deco buildings amongst modern ones. It has a lot of character and a nice urban feel. Naturally I took a gob of photos!

Not going to lie... love this little city I'm in!