As you may have guessed, Zumba is something I adore. I love the music, the history behind the basic steps, the people who attend, and the good vibes I feel when working out. It really has become something I am passionate about. I started teaching at a small local gym. The class is small (compared to the 104 people they had Wednesday night at Golds Gym) but, I enjoy every second of it.
Zachary asked me today "Mom, where does Zumba live?"
ME: "What do you mean Zach? Zumba doesnt live anywhere."
Zach: "When you go with Zumba to the gym, does she go home with you?"
ME: "No, Zumba is not a person. Zumba is a class I go to at the gym."
Zach:"Oh. Its not a girl?"
ME: "Nope"
Poor kid. I think he thought I was going with someone named Zumba all the time to the gym. It made me feel bad because he thought I was spending all this time on Zumba, and he wanted to know who I was sharing my time with. Maybe he was feeling like I was with someone more than him. It worried me a little. Dont get me wrong, heaven knows I need some time to myself. To refuel myself and "fill my well". I just dont ever want to have something like a gym class become a distraction from my real love...My family.
Its hard to find balance in the world. Its hard to wear so many different hats as mother, wife, sister, friend, a human being and not feel disconnected to some of the responsibilities of daily life. I am trying to maintain that balance. Sometimes I do better than others. Its a challenge to all women to balance their desires, needs, wants and expectations with everyday responsibilities and realities.
In light of these feelings, I went back and read a Confrence Talk from Oct 2009 .
I'll put a few excerpts of it to make my point. It gave me some much needed guidance.
"On a dark December night 36 years ago, a Lockheed 1011 jumbo jet crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing over 100 people. This terrible accident was one of the deadliest crashes in the history of the United States.
A curious thing about this accident is that all vital parts and systems of the airplane were functioning perfectly—the plane could have easily landed safely at its destination in Miami, only 20 miles (32km) away.
During the final approach, however, the crew noticed that one green light had failed to illuminate—a light that indicates whether or not the nose landing gear has extended successfully. The pilots discontinued the approach, set the aircraft into a circling holding pattern over the pitch-black Everglades, and turned their attention toward investigating the problem.
They became so preoccupied with their search that they failed to realize the plane was gradually descending closer and closer toward the dark swamp below. By the time someone noticed what was happening, it was too late to avoid the disaster.
After the accident, investigators tried to determine the cause. The landing gear had indeed lowered properly. The plane was in perfect mechanical condition. Everything was working properly—all except one thing: a single burned-out lightbulb. That tiny bulb—worth about 20 cents—started the chain of events that ultimately led to the tragic death of over 100 people.
Of course, the malfunctioning lightbulb didn’t cause the accident; it happened because the crew placed its focus on something that seemed to matter at the moment while losing sight of what mattered most.The tendency to focus on the insignificant at the expense of the profound happens not only to pilots but to everyone. We are all at risk.
Sometimes the things that distract us are not bad in and of themselves; often they even make us feel good.It is possible to take even good things to excess. One example can be seen in a father or grandfather who spends hours upon hours searching for his ancestors or creating a blog while neglecting or avoiding quality or meaningful time with his own children and grandchildren. Another example could be a gardener who spends his days pulling weeds from the soil while ignoring the spiritual weeds that threaten to choke his soul. we must not lose focus on the things that matter most.
I need to write this down. Read it often. And put it into practice everyday.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Haiti
The Earthquake in Haiti has been unreal. I cannot imagine the devastation. It only concerns me even more about an earthquake here in the US. Its only a matter of time. I wonder if I am prepared. I wonder how to prepare. Im glad I left the fault line in Farmington, Utah...:)- Seriously though...I cannot begin to comprehend what they must be going through. I saw a few of the performances that Hollywood stars put together to raise money. Most were fine. A song preformed by Justin Timberlake touched me the most. It was very sweet. I love the song. Thought I would share it, if you didnt see it.
<a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/" target="_blank">Justin Timberlake Performs Live! Hope For Haiti</a>
RMH Fundraiser
I recently participated in a fundraiser for our local Ronald McDonald House. It was really fun! 75 women donated money to come Zumba for charity. What great people! I got to teach a couple songs and shake it for a good cause. What a fun idea,eh?
Michelle Weber who is a Zumba instructor at the Hershey Golds Gym was in charge of the event. She did a great job. If I havent told you, she is the best Zumba instructor I have seen. She is amazing. She is my muse. Im fortunate to have been mentored by the best.-:)
Anyway, here are some pictures from the event. Thought I would share.
Veronica, Meridith, Michelle- Zumbalicious instructors.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
There is no Dana, only Zuul.
This seems to be the never ending catch phrase out of my mouth these days.
" there is no Dana, there is only Zuul".
Mike is afraid when he comes home. He peaks into the kitchen timidly.
"Um...whos there?" he asks with trepidation.
If its been a good day I will reply " Hey Mikey". The conversation will progress from there.
If its been a bad day, the repose follows "there is no Dana only Zuul".
(If you are not getting this post, this is a quote from the movie Ghostbusters.Zuul is a demigod and the gate keeper of Gozar the Gozarian. She takes the shape of a large demonic dog. It was a real demi-god worshipped around 6000 BC by the Hittites, the Mesopotamians and the Sumerians also.)
Then my head spins around and I shoot red lasers from my eyes, then implode myself into a ball of flames and scream hideously. (ok, ok. maybe its not that crazy, but close)
All this because no one will eat what I make for dinner.- Why, Why wont anyone eat normal things like spaghetti or chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, or rice? Why cant we have hamburger or cheese? Why cant we eat fresh things instead of frozen dinners? Is it really too much to ask for all 5 of us to eat the same thing for once?
Dinner Drama. Its the story of my life. The thorn in my side. The axis of evil. I hate dinner time. The worst part is, I love to cook. Its something Im good at. No one appreciates it, cuz they cant eat onions,celery, sour cream, peas,tomatoes, CHEESE (did I already mention this?), green things, peppers, salsa, etc...
Im Zuul again tonight.
" there is no Dana, there is only Zuul".
Mike is afraid when he comes home. He peaks into the kitchen timidly.
"Um...whos there?" he asks with trepidation.
If its been a good day I will reply " Hey Mikey". The conversation will progress from there.
If its been a bad day, the repose follows "there is no Dana only Zuul".
(If you are not getting this post, this is a quote from the movie Ghostbusters.Zuul is a demigod and the gate keeper of Gozar the Gozarian. She takes the shape of a large demonic dog. It was a real demi-god worshipped around 6000 BC by the Hittites, the Mesopotamians and the Sumerians also.)
Then my head spins around and I shoot red lasers from my eyes, then implode myself into a ball of flames and scream hideously. (ok, ok. maybe its not that crazy, but close)
All this because no one will eat what I make for dinner.- Why, Why wont anyone eat normal things like spaghetti or chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, or rice? Why cant we have hamburger or cheese? Why cant we eat fresh things instead of frozen dinners? Is it really too much to ask for all 5 of us to eat the same thing for once?
Dinner Drama. Its the story of my life. The thorn in my side. The axis of evil. I hate dinner time. The worst part is, I love to cook. Its something Im good at. No one appreciates it, cuz they cant eat onions,celery, sour cream, peas,tomatoes, CHEESE (did I already mention this?), green things, peppers, salsa, etc...
Im Zuul again tonight.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Hymn Angels
Have you ever heard the hymn angels? I do, all the time. Isnt that odd? I swear I will be in the strangest places and hear the strangest things. I was standing in Manhattan over New Years, looking at time square, seeing all the people and the song
"Oh, If I were an Angel" came to my mind. If you aren't familiar with this song, its a song about preaching the gospel to all the world. Another moment, on the same trip to the city, I looked at the Statue of Liberty and heard the song "somewhere" from west side story. "Theres a place for us. Somewhere a place for us"...it brought me a moment of reflection. Strange I know.- Anyway this kind of thing happens to me all the time. Sometimes its not even church songs that pop into my head, but the song usually brings me peace or enlightenment of some kind. Just touching my soul in some way.
So, in light of this I wanted to share a little moment I had last night. I was laying in my bed thinking about what would happen to my children if I died. Who would take care of them, what would they remember about me, what would my funeral be like?- Have I declared any of my thoughts and wishes about these matters?
So...Im finally going to put my living will together. Get things organized.
Hopefully, Im not having these thoughts because of impending or looming events. It just got me thinking. One thing that I wasnt sure that I had ever mentioned to my husband was the songs I wanted played at my funeral. They are mainly songs that have significance to my life. Ya know, stuff the hymn angels play over and over again at the right moments.
So, with that said I created a montage of songs in my player to share some info about them. (Please excuse the major cheesiness of this post, but when I am gone someday, know I will haunt you if my wishes are not met!)
1) The impossible dream- I want this song played or sung at my funeral. Its always been one of my favorites. I once heard it played on a cello, no words were being sung, but I knew every line. It pierced my very core to hear them internally.
You can all dress up in costumes from the play ( Man of La Mancha) if you want. I wont mind. :)
2) Out of Africa- My mom played my the soundtrack to this movie on tape every night as a little girl. The opposite side of the tape had the Man from Snowy River soundtrack. I loved the tape. I still feel the security and love of a family when I hear this song. It brought me such comfort to hear it snug in bed with my family safe in our house. It should also be played at my funeral.
It wasnt until my adult years that I saw the movie. Ahem...(clearing my throat). Good thing. Its a passionate movie to say the least. Two words Robert Redford!
3) Romeo and Juliet- My mother played this on the piano all the time growing up. It still reminds me of her. Love you, momma!
4)Pride and Prejudice- My favorite movie and book. This song takes me away.
5)Some Enchanted Evening- South Pacific is my favorite musical. Its a classic that always makes me cry, laugh and love a little bit more. This was the song Mike and I danced to on our wedding day. It will always evoke beautiful memories of that day, and the day we saw each other from across the room. Engaged 3 weeks later. Married less than 4 months after our first date. Still happy 8 years later.- "Once you have found him, never let him go!"
6)Baby Mine- I listened to this and cried for the first week after the twins were born. Im not sure why I subjected myself to the pain of it. Especially when I left the hospital without any babies. I wasnt sure from day to day if either of them would survive. It was torture to hear it. But, I needed it for some reason. Looking back on it, I think I needed to know that even if the very worst happened "rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine".-It still brings tears to my eyes to hear it. I cant separate this song from Zach and Tanner.
7)This could be Heaven- Again, this song will forever be associated with Ashers birth. I turned this song on when I brought him home for the first time. I laid there and listened to it on my ipod and just stared at him. Thinking "I am the mother of three boys. I wasnt supposed to ever have any kids. I actually have a family. And this surprise baby is AMAZING!". It really was heaven. Still is.
Have you heard any hymn angels?-Im sure you have. Im a little crazy about music and its influences. But, its how I make connections I guess. :)
"Oh, If I were an Angel" came to my mind. If you aren't familiar with this song, its a song about preaching the gospel to all the world. Another moment, on the same trip to the city, I looked at the Statue of Liberty and heard the song "somewhere" from west side story. "Theres a place for us. Somewhere a place for us"...it brought me a moment of reflection. Strange I know.- Anyway this kind of thing happens to me all the time. Sometimes its not even church songs that pop into my head, but the song usually brings me peace or enlightenment of some kind. Just touching my soul in some way.
So, in light of this I wanted to share a little moment I had last night. I was laying in my bed thinking about what would happen to my children if I died. Who would take care of them, what would they remember about me, what would my funeral be like?- Have I declared any of my thoughts and wishes about these matters?
So...Im finally going to put my living will together. Get things organized.
Hopefully, Im not having these thoughts because of impending or looming events. It just got me thinking. One thing that I wasnt sure that I had ever mentioned to my husband was the songs I wanted played at my funeral. They are mainly songs that have significance to my life. Ya know, stuff the hymn angels play over and over again at the right moments.
So, with that said I created a montage of songs in my player to share some info about them. (Please excuse the major cheesiness of this post, but when I am gone someday, know I will haunt you if my wishes are not met!)
1) The impossible dream- I want this song played or sung at my funeral. Its always been one of my favorites. I once heard it played on a cello, no words were being sung, but I knew every line. It pierced my very core to hear them internally.
You can all dress up in costumes from the play ( Man of La Mancha) if you want. I wont mind. :)
2) Out of Africa- My mom played my the soundtrack to this movie on tape every night as a little girl. The opposite side of the tape had the Man from Snowy River soundtrack. I loved the tape. I still feel the security and love of a family when I hear this song. It brought me such comfort to hear it snug in bed with my family safe in our house. It should also be played at my funeral.
It wasnt until my adult years that I saw the movie. Ahem...(clearing my throat). Good thing. Its a passionate movie to say the least. Two words Robert Redford!
3) Romeo and Juliet- My mother played this on the piano all the time growing up. It still reminds me of her. Love you, momma!
4)Pride and Prejudice- My favorite movie and book. This song takes me away.
5)Some Enchanted Evening- South Pacific is my favorite musical. Its a classic that always makes me cry, laugh and love a little bit more. This was the song Mike and I danced to on our wedding day. It will always evoke beautiful memories of that day, and the day we saw each other from across the room. Engaged 3 weeks later. Married less than 4 months after our first date. Still happy 8 years later.- "Once you have found him, never let him go!"
6)Baby Mine- I listened to this and cried for the first week after the twins were born. Im not sure why I subjected myself to the pain of it. Especially when I left the hospital without any babies. I wasnt sure from day to day if either of them would survive. It was torture to hear it. But, I needed it for some reason. Looking back on it, I think I needed to know that even if the very worst happened "rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine".-It still brings tears to my eyes to hear it. I cant separate this song from Zach and Tanner.
7)This could be Heaven- Again, this song will forever be associated with Ashers birth. I turned this song on when I brought him home for the first time. I laid there and listened to it on my ipod and just stared at him. Thinking "I am the mother of three boys. I wasnt supposed to ever have any kids. I actually have a family. And this surprise baby is AMAZING!". It really was heaven. Still is.
Have you heard any hymn angels?-Im sure you have. Im a little crazy about music and its influences. But, its how I make connections I guess. :)
What have we been doing?
There has been lots going on here. Here are some pictures of a few things.
Uncle Jake and Aunt Mariangel came on New Years Eve. We made special italian sodas with blue sugared rims (Zach picked the blue) for our midnight toast. Our guests had been awake for nearly 36 hours when they arrived so everyone was in bed before midnight except for Mike, who watched the ball drop alone for the the 5th year in a row.- I am not exactly a night owl anymore. Plus, I cant stand the the ridiculous new years shows on tv. BORING!! We were so glad they came to visit. I didnt get many pictures of their trip here (sorry!). We did all the local stuff and then also hit Manhattan for a little freezing cold weather and fun. The winter isnt the best time to see the area, but we found things to keep us busy and had some great memories. We just loved having them here to spend time with us and the kids. We miss them lots! Thanks for coming you guys!!
We took them to see Mr. Bo Jangles the enormous bunny at a local pet store.
We ate at Big Wong Kings (on Mott and Canal in Chinatown, NYC). I had the best meal out of everyone.Lucky me. I stuck with a classic, Sesame Chicken. It was yummy!
Mike had duck and pork. Looked better than it tasted. Big Wongs is definately an experience. I enjoyed it!
The Pennsylvania Farm show started. It was great! Oh those milkshakes. They taste great, but they are hard to stomach when you are staring at the belly and utters of cows, with all their smells and sounds.
This is a sculpture entirely made from butter.
I have been teaching lots of Zumba lately. These are a couple pics from the Ward Enrichment Zumba night. I was surprised that I got through this class without alot of gyration and chest shimmy's. I think we got through it without offending anyone!!! Kudos to me, I was really nervous about that.
And....drumroll please...The boys got a new bed. YIPPEE! It will also make two twin beds by putting a large headboard with a small footboard. Isnt that neat! I really love it, and so do they!
Thats what we have been up to lately.-
Uncle Jake and Aunt Mariangel came on New Years Eve. We made special italian sodas with blue sugared rims (Zach picked the blue) for our midnight toast. Our guests had been awake for nearly 36 hours when they arrived so everyone was in bed before midnight except for Mike, who watched the ball drop alone for the the 5th year in a row.- I am not exactly a night owl anymore. Plus, I cant stand the the ridiculous new years shows on tv. BORING!! We were so glad they came to visit. I didnt get many pictures of their trip here (sorry!). We did all the local stuff and then also hit Manhattan for a little freezing cold weather and fun. The winter isnt the best time to see the area, but we found things to keep us busy and had some great memories. We just loved having them here to spend time with us and the kids. We miss them lots! Thanks for coming you guys!!
We took them to see Mr. Bo Jangles the enormous bunny at a local pet store.
We ate at Big Wong Kings (on Mott and Canal in Chinatown, NYC). I had the best meal out of everyone.Lucky me. I stuck with a classic, Sesame Chicken. It was yummy!
Mike had duck and pork. Looked better than it tasted. Big Wongs is definately an experience. I enjoyed it!
The Pennsylvania Farm show started. It was great! Oh those milkshakes. They taste great, but they are hard to stomach when you are staring at the belly and utters of cows, with all their smells and sounds.
This is a sculpture entirely made from butter.
I have been teaching lots of Zumba lately. These are a couple pics from the Ward Enrichment Zumba night. I was surprised that I got through this class without alot of gyration and chest shimmy's. I think we got through it without offending anyone!!! Kudos to me, I was really nervous about that.
And....drumroll please...The boys got a new bed. YIPPEE! It will also make two twin beds by putting a large headboard with a small footboard. Isnt that neat! I really love it, and so do they!
Thats what we have been up to lately.-
Monday, January 4, 2010
Christmas and Stuff
I have been so lazy about blogging for the past three weeks. I had Holiday brain cramps. You know, that feeling that you cant think about anything important or it will ruin the wishy-washy feeling of holiday glee. And you might never leave reality behind again, so you just sit aimlessly staring at your TV screen, eating anything and everything, praying that the next gift or knock on the door will be life altering. Like a pair of ruby slippers or the Publisher Clearinghouse sweepstakes winner, or the HGTV New Mexico Dreamhouse winner (BTW, we didnt win! All that daily entering for nothing, shoot!). So, here I am playing catch up with pictures and events.
Seriously, I never thought I would be one of those stressed out Christmas goers, but this year I seemed to be on the verge of disaster at every turn this holiday.Maybe it had something to do with those DARN Zhu-Zhu Pet Hamsters the boys asked for. I spent endless hours trying to run to the store to get one before they were snatched by the greedy ebay whores, who sell their souls to make 40-60 dollar profits on a 10 dollar toy. Luckily, Santa had some for the boys Christmas morning, disaster averted.
(He told me he got up at 6 am to wait in line for them)
My biggest challenge was finding a gift for Mike. The kid gave me no help and told me that all he wanted for Christmas was a shovel!?! Really, a shovel. A Shovel??
Nevertheless, it all went fantastic and we were spoiled as usual. I honestly felt a twinge of guilt and sadness after looking around at all the items and thinking "There is a recession going on, and you wouldnt know it at our house.Can I be happy when there are so many sad and going without this Christmas?"- I am grateful for the blessings that are poured down upon us. The gifts from our family members and the generosity they show time and time again.- Truly, we are spoiled.
Thanks to all! We are aware that there are so many without. I need to try harder to teach my children what the true meaning of Christmas is, because the gifts may not always be there. And that is not what is important. Can we be happy without all the stuff?- I hope we can. I think we can. I pray we can.
Anyhow, here are some photos to document the day. It was lots of fun. We had a snow storm the week before Christmas so we had some fun sledding in our yard. Z&T also got to play with daddys electric trains, which are reserved for special occassions.Lots of fun, hope yours was too!
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