Lifting the Suspense

Sorry, I've been busy and tired and all that. Didn't mean to keep you all in dire suspense over my little announcement about the possibility of me and Leo being on the tele. Without any pomp and circumstance here's what went down in a nutshell.

Tuesday part of the film crew and one of the celebrity designers of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" came to Therapetics to film a segment as they were in Tulsa (ironically in my neighborhood) to rebuild a home. The reason they specifically sent people to our office is the young boy who's family was getting the new home has Prader-Willi Syndrome along with other issues. He will be partnered with a service dog trained to be attuned to tics, sounds, and other triggers and this dog can help to curb anxiety and/or other potentially destructive behaviours for this boy hopefully helping him to leave a more normal life and take the pressure off of his family.

The organization that trains dogs for neurological issues is based in Tennessee, so they were flown in to Tulsa and interviewed at Therapetics while we trained our dogs in the background, showed them what our dogs are trained to do, etc. Suffice it to say it was really, really neat and Leo, being the cute puppy o' love that he is, attracted quite a bit of attention. So, we may end up on national tv. Or not. You never know what is going to be cut out so we shall see.

Of course, I didn't take one single photograph!! I know what the heck right?! In my defense I was rather distracted with Leo and all the attention he got and making sure he went to the bathroom, and so on that I just didn't think to whip out my camera and start taking pics. So I beg your forgiveness and I promise I'm working on getting some photos from other people (who obviously were thinking far more ahead than I). As soon as I can show you all what went down I will.

Uh wow

Quick entry to tell you all about something pretty cool. Leo and I may be on national tv here in the states! I'm not going to name the program until I'm sure it's okay to do so, and no I'm not being 'featured' or anything. Of course, I tell you all this now and watch them cut everything they filmed with me and Leo in! lol

Just wanted to share! I'll fill you all in later!

What I'm Getting Myself Into

Alrighty, fair warning, this post contains streams of throught that having been rolling around in my head. I promise pictures of doggies and snow will be back, so, if you would like to skip this post and wait for the puppies I understand.

I have experienced two two hour classes of Irish dance and boy have I become an addict! I've been stranded since Thursday afternoon because the ice and snow are not a happy combo in my big ol' tank of a car. In that time I've worked out and practiced to get more strength and get back in shape quicker. Motivation has come! Not to mention I've been looking up everything I can about Irish dance online.


Now this sounds pretty nerdy I know. I'm the type of person who fixates on something and needs to find all I can about whatever subject I have on my mind. As I've gotten older and hopefully wiser I've learn to try to find a balance, but, balance is challenging when you have so much time to sit around! I have done the laundry, taken care of the dogs, cleaned up the house, so I have been productive in other areas. But, what has been and is on my mind is Irish dance and what I can possibly do with it.

My primary goal is to get moving and find a healthy, fun, and challenging outlet. However, I am actually thinking to myself, "I can do this- and well!" This mentality is not common for me when I start something, it was even worse when I was younger- thank goodness life and experience has tapered the down self-doubt/depreciation somewhat, living that way wasn't fun by any stretch. The fact I am not intimidate by the Irish dance competitions I could attend and levels I could work my way up towards is a big deal for me. I usually stray away from competition as I tend to put way too much pressure on myself. I'm a perfectionist and I have not dealt well with that trait well in the past especially in competitive activities. Over time I stayed away from activities I thought would bring out that overly perfectionist competitor in me. Just didn't seem I could keep a healthy mentality and it was better to keep my distance than try to throw myself into the fire and see how I do.

I guess I've really locked on finding information about Irish dance because of these thoughts and emotions towards not being intimidated by performing and competing. I wanna know as much about it so I can see if this is the 'real deal' for me, so to speak. To be honest, it seems what I'm getting into is fun, challenging and perhaps I can work towards getting over some issues I have with putting too much pressure on myself and all that. I don't want to avoid the competition thing, I'm actually intrigued by it. So I guess I'll work towards learning the steps to this dance form first and perhaps after that dabble into being in a Feiseanna. Guess I'll have to keep at it to see. To sum up I'm really not sure what all of these musings really equate to, but, I'm willing to find out and see where this little activity can lead me to. Worth a try right?

We're Doing Fine...

The ice came and it was bad, but, not so bad we lost electricity. Now the snow if falling on the iced over world and predictions are saying it'll come down all day. No work for me nor Jon so it's like Saturday and we're on the couch just chilling out. There is power, we're warm, and all of us, dogs included, snuggled up. Nice to slow down and take it easy.

Bracing for Impact

When you live in Oklahoma you get used to a wide array of bad weather, tornados being the most obvious example. Three climate zones intersect in this area so things can get interesting in a matter of hours. All Oklahomans are amateur meteorologists because of this.

Tomorrow we are supposed to get ice, then it's supposed to turn into snow. It is likely I will be stranded because of this, but, that's not my concern. Apparently this ice storm has the potential to get as bad as the icestorm of December 2007 where we had downed power lines, over half a million out of electricity- you get the idea it was bad. So, if this storm does come in and we happen to loose electricity I will drop off the face of the earth blog wise. If that happens I want to say I will miss you all very much and please pray for my sanity. I don't know how long I will last without the internet. ;-)

Michael Flatley Eat Your Heart Out

I am one of those people who do not idle well at all. Last year I was pretty much a lump, which was kind of needed to recooperate from the college burnout. During that time I began French lessons for the intellectual side of things and have continued since. However, physically I wasn't doing much- walking here and there, Pilates/Yoga every now and then, nothing consistent at all though. I don't know what the holiday break did to me, but, I decided enough was enough. I was tired of sitting around. I began to search for dance classes in the area.

I took adult ballet classes in college and I decided to see if any adult classes would agree with my schedule. Much to my surprise many didn't and I began to realize that maybe I shouldn't go that route. I love ballet, I really do, however, I have always wanted to take Irish dance. Yes that stuff they did in Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. Not going to lie, Riverdance inspired me years ago and while I tried to take a class some time ago (it was canceled last minute) I never got to it. Now seemed like a great time to see if I could do it

After a search on Google, a few emails back and forth, some rearrangement of a few of my piano students, and what do you know I was enrolled!! I began last Wednesday, in a more advance class, with two other adult dancers, two teens, and two younger girls. To sum it up- I had a blast!! I learned three types of steps and boy did it kick my butt! I didn't do half of what my fellow classmates were doing, but, I was sweating like a pig on rotisserie. It was an intense, but, fun workout and I love being around people who know more than me. The adult students helped me out, everyone talked to me, and I found the atmosphere welcoming. Watching everyone else is a great motivation and I hope I can do what they can one day.

I am hooked. It's fast paced and uses muscles I never though I could get in shape. What is also neat is I can go as far as I want with it. Irish dance is a competitive performing art, there are different levels and several age groups including those who are above, even well above, 21 years of age. If I want I could go to a feiseanna (Google can better define that word than I can) and be judged amongst my peers and try to move up in levels. Or I could just do performances with the school I am taking from, or both! This is something I couldn't do as an adult ballet dancer (without being a pro or teacher of course) and I am really excited and intrigued as to what I will learn and experience in this unique art form.

Yeah I know, like I really need something else to do right!? But, really, why not? My schedule is flexible and it's better to try it out and not like it than to never try at all. Truely, it's better late than never!

The Boys

Since Leo's arrival not even a week ago people have been asking about how Louie is dealing with his arrival. To my surprise many have expected that Louie would be jealous of the little guy.

Louie, however has been great. There was an adjustment period for him- like he was trying to figure out his role in all of this or something. I don't know how else to describe it. There has been no agression, just lots of sniffing that quickly evolved into lots of play.

Louie is acting like a big brother, playing with Leo, watching out for him when we took a walk, and other little things. They really seem to be hitting it off and forming quite a bond.

Leo tires out easily as puppies tend to do. He naps a lot and Louie never bugs him to play more. Usually, Louie takes the opportunity to get in a nap too. Sometimes, however, Louie will come up to Leo and give him kisses. I'll need to get a photo of that sometime. But that's the extent of the 'harssment' Leo has to suffer. To be honest, Leo's the one initiating play by pulling on Louie's ears, jowels, and tail.

To be honest, I wasn't worried about bringing in another puppy. Louie knows no stranger human or dog. Adding another critter to the pack has added a nice dynamic to the house IMHO. Oscar on the other hand... well, he's taking a bit longer to adjust.

I'm sure that dymanic will get figured out in time too. In the meantime, I get plenty of smiles and giggles watching the boys, Louie and Leo, go at it. I am looking forward to plenty more in the future.