Lazy After Class Dinner

It's been such a long day. Up early since Angelo had his usual "flop fest" and we had to get up early for Kindermusik. (We co-sleep and since I had to get up and ready early, I snuck out of bed to shower and dress.) He was up about 9:00 am, which is about an hour and a half early for him. He was in a pretty good mood, but wanted to be held, so I finished the morning routine with him on my hip; not so unusual. He threw a few fits before we got there and I wasn't sure we were actually going to join the class. We eventually made it in and with a few hiccups, he warmed up and mellowed out. It all ended well. Joanna invited us to come over and play and Angelo and Bella had a _great_ play-date. We played outside and inside, ate Annie's mac n' cheese, enjoyed Tramp's lovely doggie company and left so worn out that he fell asleep within 5 minutes of leaving their house. He slept about an hour total in the car. Then Daddy (whose office is right beside the garage) brought him up. He nursed and cuddled for about a half an hour and then played adorably until Daddy was done with work and could play with him while Mommy got ready for work. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and got changed to teach. 

Seemed like there were very few people on campus, comparatively. found a good parking space and got to class in plenty of time. Had a great last class in the series. This has been such a great class!! It's a beautiful studio, there was a large enrollment and the energy has been up every week.  I wish we had a few more weeks in this cycle, especially since I don't have anything set up for the next class.  I've been working on it, but nothing has gelled up; it has been difficult setting up classes in Morgantown in general since I moved back. But, I am sure something will work out soon. In the mean time, it would be a good time for people to set up private lessons and use the instructional DVD. (www.TribalBellyDance.net/classes and TribalBellyDance.net/market)

Eventually, I got home about 9ish and find that Angelo is asleep on Daddy's chest; not suprising given that a "good nap" is 3 to 3 1/2 hours and he'd only slept one. Since I just want to sit and relax, I pull out an Amy's all natural frozen spinach pizza. Then I see that it has feta on it. Great for me and Angelo, bad for Eric, who hates feta. So, I search for other easy, quick options. First I put a box of Quorn Southwest "chick'n" nuggets (only available at Giant Eagle in Morgantown), then I start a box of Near East all natural garlic and olive oil cous cous. I pull out a bag of organic  frozen spinach and throw it in the wok with a little organic olive oil. When it's almost done, I throw in a couple fork-fulls of minced garlic. It is all done about the same time. Layer cous cous and spinach, arrange SW "chick'n" and serve. Yum! Could've used a little bit of salt, but considering how much energy I'd already expended, it was pretty darn good. As of now (10:37), Angelo is still not awake to experience this "masterpiece". 

I'm a member of the Tribe.net tribe "healthy food for lazy people", but don't actually follow it. :) Ha Ha! 

Workshops I'm attending/shows I'm performing in

The picture is actually of me in the car after the last Jalsah, which was so much fun, I forgot to take pictures. :) 

Here are some other really fun things I'm doing and hope to see people at (remind me to take pictures):

April 4th- Onca in Charleston, WV (2 2 hour workshop + show) http://www.wvbellydance.com/workshop.html

April 25th- Variety Vaudville Follies, Historic Met Theater, downtown Morgantown. Fundraiser for MT Pockets Theatre- www.MTPocketsTheatre.com 

May 2nd- Teletha (her bio) in Beckley (? hour workshop + show) email Alexandra: theshadesofamber@hotmail.com
find the registration form here: http://www.taletha.com/events.htm

May 30th and 31st Eva Cearnak in Pittsburgh (3 hour workshops each day. show Sat. the 30th) http://www.zafiradance.com/eva.html

July 11th Urban Tribal Dance Company in Morgantown!!!!!!!! (Check out this amazing youtue video of them:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MVZbvaOZYw and their website: www.urbantribaldance.com)

Serendipitous find on humility and confidence

I have some students who  will be performing for the first time soon, and because I've witnessed issues in the past and discussed with other teachers who have had similar problems, I thought it was necessary to address the topic before it had a chance to become a problem. I of course am assuming the best about the students, but have seen too many times students who get "drunk" on the "stage high" and then stop being open to feedback. I just saw this link that Tiffany Boscner posted on facebook and checked out the link to the newsletter. without knowing it, hers was the first article I looked up! And it talks about what I was trying to convey to my students about performing, enjoying positive feedback, but remaining open to learning after!  this is what she said:

Humbleness and Confidence 

by Tiffany Bisconer

The idea is, in the world of creation, a choice between humbleness and confidence does not need to be made. The interplay between humbleness and confidence is a continuous balancing system apparent within the life of an artist. Humble confidence helps to keep an artist honest about their abilities, and assured enough to continue to put forth the effort inherent in creating. It also allows a person to be aware enough to know that being humble is what ensures continued growth.

Humbleness is thought to be reflective of a willingness to learn, to listen and a display of quiet compassion. To show humility is to admit to being human in an interconnected circuit of existence that is not simply isolated to one's own accomplishments, abilities and goals. Admitting mistakes is a positive side-effect of humbleness, a sign of humility that can allow an artist to overcome short-fallings and continue to improve their craft and ultimately refine their message. Humbleness is not weakness or self-depreciation; rather, it is truly wisdom in action.

To feel secure with a knowledge base after having worked hard to accomplish a level of mastery within a field, is a fundamental task towards the development of confidence. Confidence should not be confused with arrogance, ego, or a feeling of superiority. Confidence is belief in one's abilities. The more confident a person, the more capable of humbleness they become. The sacrifice of ego can open up doors of learning, which ultimately leaves a person open to the calls of inspiration that can motivate future work. Being as though art is created as a form of dialogue, the projection of true confidence can be a vehicle that drives an artist to succeed in communicating their vision.

When to be humble? When to be confident? Know that these are not opposing roles or conflicting concepts, they have the capability of being accomplished within the same moment. If a person believes in themselves and can bring forth the combination of confidence and humility, that interplay can be the most powerful sounding board in projecting an artist's intent. Ultimately, to have the most impact and to continue treading towards a higher level of work, confidence will need the support of humbleness each step of the way.

~Tiffany Bisconer is the founder and director of Beauty ConspiracyTM Artistry. She is a multi-faceted artist who finds her passion in cultivating creative thought and action in her own artistic path and in the lives of those she has the honor to work with.www.tiffanybisconer.com

Link to the article/newsletter (Creativity Calling)

Website for Heather Stants/Urban Tribal Workshop

www.TribalBellyDance.net/workshops Thought I'd go ahead and hyperlink that one to make it easier.  Hey, teachers, I'm offering a discount for groups of 5 or more registered together! Email me to find out more: Narah @ Tribal Belly Dance. Net 

Heather Stants/ Urban Tribal Dance Company in Morgantown July 11th!!!!

So, while there is still a lot to catch up on here (so much going on), I really wanted to share this exciting news!  It is officially official! I'm bringing Heather Stants, director of the Urban Tribal Dance Company here to Morgantown, WV July 11th!!!! www.tribalbellydance.net/workshops will give you the current details.  Check out this awesome video of them!  We'll have a show that evening too! This is so cool, not just for me, but for the Morgantown community as well! 

Crazy Crazy Week!

It has been crazy busy this week, but exciting! Baby birthday party Tuesday, to Baltimore to see Cirque (Kooza) on Wednesday, to the National Aquarium Thursday, back Thursday night; Friday preparing for the Liz Strong workshop and show and now I'm back to the 'burg today for a private lesson with Liz. I'll fill you in on it all later...

how your newborn is telling you what he/she needs

Was on FB with a friend and reminded me to post this really cool and important thing for new parents (or veterans who need help with their brand new, totally different baby). it was so helpful to us when we were trying to figure out what Angelo needed. there's a list of sound reflexes babies make that tell you what they need: ney = i'm hungry, owh = sleepy ; heh = change me; eh = burb me, eair = has gas I just used the list i got off of oprah.com (which used to list the pronunciations too, but doesn't now), but theres a whole program that teaches you how to hear it better. even just that list made a huge difference. so much so that I'd say "are you hungry" when Angelo said 'ney' and by 4 weeks, he was saying 'hungee'!!! My Mom heard it and was blown away. the program is here