Home Sweet Home..

So..these past few weeks havn't been so great. Not at all. And I have just kind of hit my last point, so when you are are upset or frustrated, home is a good place to escape to for a while. But with our crazy jobs not so much time for that, so instead I made a blog of just some pictures of home. Miss you como.






Downtown Columbia, MO












The doctors office down the street from my neighborhood.















Rock Bridge--my high school.














My dance studio. Columbia Performing Arts Centre. I spent more time in the place then I did my own home.











































Okay..so this is the one of the oldest bur oak tree's in Missouri. It's in this tiny little po dunk town called McBaine right outside of Columbia about ten minutes away It takes about 7 people to fit around the trunk of the tree with there arms stretched out. But basically its out in the middle of nowhere where it is just you, a giant tree and a never ending sky of beautiful stars. I contemplated life here and made many visits with my friends.



What the whole town of Columbia, Mo is based around. University of Missouri Tigers. Go tigers















Ha..so this is 'Booches'...It is an old billiard downtown and has one of the top 10 rated burgers in the nation. Sounds silly but little places like this make it home.

























K-Life is the youth group that I went to from elementary through High School. I didn't get to spend a lot of time at church especially when I was older because I competed on the weekends
with dance so K-Life was just always a place where I knew I could learn about
God with some important people in my life there along the journey.



















My favorite boutique



Beautiful Fall













What you see from across the street from my house when it was snowing a year ago.










My backyard when it's snowing.

















This is Bob..He is my dog at home and probably
one of the best comfort animals I have ever met.
He is a sweetheart.




This is table is Table Rock Lake. It is the lake that is right below Branson, MO this silly commercials you see sometimes about all the shows. Anyways, it is a beautiful lake with Kanakuk Kamps at its dock. I was baptized on this lake my senior year of high school. I attended Kanakuk for 8 years and the end of my senior year, the kamp director Keith Chancy, and my dad actually baptized me. It is an experience I will not ever forget. Kankauk kept my relationship with God strong. Without attending here I would be lost in many, many ways.




Anyways this just a taste of the places of home..

Rainy Day..

So, I'm avid listener of my ipod at work. It helps me to escape the world and not feed into the drama of others lives. It is a good Friend to me, I believe he deserves a name, I will work on it. Anyways, recently in the past few days I have been finding a song on shuffle and listening to on repeat a good part of the day. The past two days have been 'A Bird Song' by Ingrid Michaelson and in today's line up the winner was 'Fix You' by Coldplay.
So as I sit here in tears watching it rain and listening to music, today fix you was just kind of the way of expressing how I felt through lyrics--not the whole song just parts. Lyrics have a beautiful of expressing life to me. I feel like I use everything thats important to me in life to express how I feel to an extent instead of actually being able to write /speak it. Anywho here are the lyrics, feel free to read.

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse.

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above earth or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream, down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face and I...

When I would play my song You used to sing along. I always seem to forget How fragile are the very strong. I'm sorry I can't steal you I'm sorry I can't stay So I put band-aids on your knees And watch you fly away I'm sending you away tonight I'll put you on a bird's strong wing I'm saving you the best way I know how I hope again one day to hear you sing You know we're not so far away Get on a boat, get on a train And if you ever think you're drowning I'll try to slow the rain In two years or so Drop me a line Write me a letter I hope to find you're doing better, better than today, better everyday I'm sending you away tonight I'll put you on a bird's strong wing I'm saving you the best way I know how I hope again one day to hear you sing I'm saving you the only way that I know how I hope again one day to hear you sing I hope again one day to see you bring your smile back around again

Distractions..

So it has been quite a while since I have blogged about anything going on in my life and I don't know if anyone actually will read this but I have come to learn something new about myself today. I always thought when I took class that one reason for doing so was that I could take my mind away from the world, yet when you take a contemporary, lyrical, etc. class it usually involves a story about life in the combination which is wonderful but also intern makes my mind focus on again on the struggles of life.

In relating to my life in the past week--My body seems to be doing any distraction possible to take my mind off of things. This Saturday I am teaching a tap class, kind of excited but nervous. I thought I had it all planned out--steps warm up improve combo. the end. but again trying to distract myself with anything I had already prepared a nice calm combination to a jazz song, but I decided to change it. I sat and listened to music for about an hour and a half and found Maroon 5--Can't Stop. So I watched old videos from break the floor in NYC from when I was younger for inspiration and an hour later listening to the music on repeat, I had a new combination, Harder, faster, and has a peel off-fun. But, a few hours later as I sit here I realize that when I put my shoes on and taped in the little corner of my bathroom for those few hours--, everything in recent life escaped my memory for the little time being until I took my shoes back off.

Such an interesting concept how the mind finds a way to express itself through movment--I may not be able to talk out of what I feel but my body can. And if not, then it finds away to escape me for just a little while--and I guess when I put my shoes on, life escapes me. Anywho it's interesting to learn new things about yourself everyday.

"The truest expression of a people is in its dance and in its music . Bodies never lie."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHU03M5XwEU

So I was on my way to rehearsal this morning and thinking about how much I miss the days of living in my old studio. It was home to me. The video is from my studio from this past year and the girls I use to dance with. It was a piece about one of my jazz teachers. They are amazing.

And so tonight I took class for the first time in well, way way too long. I was late but am so glad I had the oppertunity to come take. Thank God for the power and abilitiy of dance and its art. I don't know if it is just me but there is something about taking class that you are in a different world, you just let out everything you have to give. You can let out whatever frustration you are dealing with life or just simply feel the joy of dance. Such an amazing feeling. Anyways needless to say it was wonderful to get the oppertunity to take class tonight, I miss it.

"To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful." ~Agnes De Mille

New to the Blogging..

So, I'm new to this. I have read others Blogs and found it interesting but never took part until today. I think it is nice to have a place to share your thoughts with the world or at least interesting things going on in your life.
Soo..last night was starting week 5? of So you think you Can Dance. um Amazing. Always pieces you love and some not so much but in particular I loved Mia Michaels piece with Kayla and Kupono-"Gravity" by Sara Bareilles. I will admit I'm not the biggest fan of Kupono but that was brilliant. I'm always more attached to a dance with a story line especially if you can relate to it which I think everyone can.-some form of an addiction or struggle.

"Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity.
Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be.
But you're on to me and all over me."

I love song lyrics so anything that ties into a piece/dance of those lyrics is amazing to me. Just draws you in that much more to the story line. Hopefully the results will turn out well tonight. A friend sent me a blog with a story on the piece and it relating in a Christian aspect, it was definitely an interesting way to put it into life's perspective. How easy it is to get pulled in to the enemy, and not let go but wanting to overcome. Essentially do not let you addictions, life struggles past and present over rule you-you can always overcome.
'I can do all things through Christ who gives me Strength.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjHBXcRDv2Y