You know its fall....

...when Longs Peak Scottish/Irish Highland festival happens in Estes Park. It is by far, the biggest festival in Colorado... and is the most fun!  It is also one of the bigger feissana (irish dance competition) that we have in Colorado.  I believe that this year, there were over 450 dancers signed up to compete. 4 years ago... it was also my first ever adult Irish Dance competition!  I only competed in a few dances, but I was hooked.  Last year, it was my fist ever competition as an &over. It is by far my favorite feis of the year. However, this year, I didn't compete. The competition fell about 3 weeks after I returned to dance after breaking my foot back in May.  While classes have been going well...my feet feel good. I haven't lost all my height in my dances...I have just lost all my stamina. So... 3 weeks was just not enough.
But...Jay and I headed up to Estes for the weekend anyway! Jay volunteered (I mean...I volunteered him) to help out with the stages on Friday morning.  It gave us the opportunity to walk around the festival without the mass insanity that usually occurs on Saturday and Sunday.

Since I was not competing, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and the scenery, and went horseback riding!

Mom and I before the ride

We saw a bear while on our ride!

refreshments after a long ride!

It was a three hour ride, with some trotting...and we were all sore afterward! But it was a great day out!!

On Sunday, we headed back to the festival.  I helped out back stage, making sure that all the small girls and boys got to the right stage, on stage and off stage.  Its always fun to see the tiny kids (11 and under) have so much fun at the competitions. There was one tiny dancer that was only 3 years old! While she was pretty much the cutest thing under the sun... I think it was a bit early for her to be competing.

The afternoon was the "big kids" competition.  Which would normally be when I compete... but not this year. However, I did stick around to help Miss Stacey with her hair and make-up.  Luckily, Stacey trusts me to get her stage ready....because I love, love, love getting people ready.

Stacey!!!

Stacey ended up having a kick-ass competition. I unfortunately did not stay around to see her kick butt... but I am glad she did!  I love it when my friends do well!

I am sad I missed the competition, but I knew that physically, it would be pushing myself too much...and could possibly injure myself. But, there are many more competitions to come... Octoberfeis in just a few weeks!!

Hiatus - the move

so... I have taken a bit of a hiatus on blogging. And as beautiful Miss Stacey exclaimed to me today... she hasn't had anything to stalk! So... a couple posts to play catch up.

First and foremost... I moved. Phew! It was tough... going from a 15 minute walking commute to an hour on the train commute. The things you do for love... eh?

Things have pretty much gotten unpacked. Pretty much. There is still a lot to do... like hang up "our" artwork.  And find places for all the extra stuff we have between the two of us.

The biggest issue Jay and I have had is combining the cats.  Over the past year, Jay has been the caretaker for Heather's kitties, Dodger and Oliver.

Oliver and Dodger

Before Heather left on her trip around the world, her 2 cats and my 2 cats lived together. One big kitty family. My cats, Gus and Willow and Dodger and Oliver had a balance... a pecking order.  Gus was the king of the castle, followed by Oliver and Dodger. And Willow was just the little princess of the group.  Once separated, Gus still reigned as king of the castle and Willow was still the princess.

Willow, the little princess

Gus, the King.

Initially, the re-introduction of the 4 cats went...poorly. Lots of hissing, screeching, growling...not good. Over the last couple weeks...its gotten better. There are still some issues between the cats, but luckily its getting better.

Thankfully.... only one more week of all four cats together. Then Heather will be back. And Dodger and Oliver will be moving to their new home. 

And Jay and I can get back to making our home... Ours. :)

The first thing that Jay and I did...was paint. The extra bedroom was painted a greenish-bluish hue.  As Claire put it, it was reminiscent of a hospital room.

the green...with the new white paint starting to cover it up

With help from my mom...and my tall boyfriend, we painted the room a fresh white. It opened up the room and made it look clean and big and airy. Which is good... because that spare bedroom is now the guest bedroom! Hooray! Guests can stay and not have to sleep on an air mattress or on the couch!

We have work to do to make the place "ours" instead of Jay's...but we're getting there!

Busy busy busy

Its been a busy last week (or so) for me. So I have been terrible at posting. Why so busy? Packing. Lots and lots of packing. To move!! I really don't have that much stuff... but its hard to pack when the cats keep trying to pack themselves...

one cat is packed and ready!

More updates and details to come!

T.G.F.D. (thank goodness for dance)

With all the frustrations that this week has brought. All I could say yesterday was TGFD. Thank goodness for dance. Pounding out my frustrations in hardshoes? Perfection. Emptying my mind of everything else but reels and slip jigs? Fantastic. Laughing over silly things. Stacey's sexy laryngitis voice, Julie's super sweet pink tape, and Mary's utter fascination about how wrong things have been taught? Wonderful. 


 For the 2 hours I was at dance last night...it was easy to forget the minor (and major) things that have been bugging me. Instead I got to focus on nailing the rhythm in my hornpipe step. Keeping my feet turned out on my treble jig run. Pointing my toes on my leaps in my slip jig.  Not looking at the ground during my reel. That was what was important and totally occupied my mind. 

Thank goodness for dance.




The best medicine

for a crazy week? girl talk in the car + dance + fabulous dance girlies = best medicine ever.

This week has been hectic at work. Like... stressed to the max, hectic. So stressed that I scheduled a massage for 6:00pm tonight... and I will be lucky if I can last until then. Le sigh.

But dance last night? Was awesome. Wonderful Miss Mary was teaching again last night... with some helpful tips from the lovely Julie. Combine that with 4 dancers (where was everybody?) and you practically get one on one attention. LOVE! I am still uber sore... but not nearly as bad as last week. My jumps are feeling better. My leaps are leaving the ground. And I can actually make it through most of my dances before I feel like I am going to pass out. Progress!!

Here is a quick little pic I snapped of Stacey's feet and my taped up feet before dance last night...

Now to just get my stamina back....

Sew Random

A quick update on some of my sewing projects... since soon I will be back to writing about running and dancing again. They will be back to consume my life!
But to begin... I have taken a page from one of my fave blogs, New Dress A Day, to give new life to some cute shirts that I have found in my thrifting adventures. I am not quite at the point of fixing the clothes to fit me... but I can make them into adorable purses and bags! Like this shirt for example. I loved the color and giant flower design... but the shirt was itty bitty....

 So I made it into a great extra bag! Perfect to take with me to the grocery store... or just quickly run out the door!

I have found a bunch of other shirts that I will eventually get to... but this one I wanted to show off since its going to be gifted away. Today! My wonderful dance buddy Melissa celebrated her birthday this past weekend. Since I wasn't there to celebrate, she is getting her gift tonight before dance class... Luckily I know she won't be checking out this blog before I get there!
Melissa's gift is 2 pieces. The first, was a shirt I found that had some extra writing and such on it. But I loved the main design so much I figured I could work around it...

this is what caught my eye

 So... I cut off all the extra bits that I didn't like, found some great green fabric in my stash and went to town!

 I think it will make a great shoe bag or hair bag or glitter/make-up/accessories bag for Melissa. Fingers crossed she likes it!!

I even added some festive trimmings!

For Melissa's slightly more "grown-up" birthday gift, I whipped up one of my special purses for her. Mostly they're special because I haven't moved on to a different type. Awesome. But I love the way the color combo turns out, so hopefully she does too! Happy Belated Birthday Melissa!!

Back at it!

Last night was my first night back at dance in... almost 3 months. It was awesome. Seriously. I mean, I was crazy out of shape...and sore from my waist down...and my feet were so taped it was like wearing an extra pair of socks... but it was awesome.

hello, hardshoes. I've missed you!

First of all... it was fabulous to see all my dance people again. All the adult ladies (and gent) and all the younger girls... it was awesome to catch up with them all. Stacey and I both celebrated that we made it through class (she hasn't been all summer either). And its amazing to see how some of the younger girls really change in 3 months. They all look so much more grown up. Crazy. And yes, I totally understand how old that makes me sound.
Second of all...it felt great to get my feet back into my shoes. To start working on some new blisters and get back into the swing of dance. Sure, during warm-ups, every time I left the floor I was a little afraid of coming back down... but I worked through it. And it will only get better and easier the more I am back at dance.

hooray! new blisters!

The best part of the night was that we have a new(ish) teacher for our Prizewinner class. This isn't saying that we haven't had great teachers in the past (because I love, love, love Jules - Cyn - and Karagh) but...now we have an official, every week, same time, same person - teacher. MARY!!! Mary used to dance for our school. Then she left to tour with Celtic Legends... then she fell in love and decided to move to Pittsburg... but now she's back! Back for good!! And teaching. In class last night, in the first 5 minutes my muscles were burning, and it felt good. She totally understands my fears returning after my broken foot, so all her criticisms were for things I can work on - without pushing myself to injury. I find myself inspired to dance and practice again.
Irish dance, how I've missed you!!

Today is the day

That I can return to dance!!  I am both excited to return to class and a little nervous (as to be expected after healing from an injury). But... since I have come back from a broken foot once before... I know I can do it again.

Can't wait to get back to normal and dance my feet off!!

Road Trip!!!

Jay and I have had a successful vacation (meaning no broken bones!). We took a road trip! We left Colorado super duper early on Thursday morning... and headed up to Montana!

Colorado sunrise

 Along the way we stopped to soak up some history at the Little Big Horn National Monument

gated entrance to where the fallen soldiers gravestones are

the Native American portion of the monument

We made it up into Montana in record time! We were lucky enough to have Jay's aunt and uncle up there to stay with. They were the best hosts, and had a beautiful place with a gorgeous view.

view from our "suite"

 We even had some furry visitors right after dinner! So cute, and so very close to the house.

visitors!

Friday, we got up early, had homemade biscuits and gravy with Jay's aunt and uncle, and headed off to spend the day at Yellowstone National Park. Neither Jay or I had been there before... so it was quite the adventure! The drive there took us over the beautiful Beartooth Pass.

We stopped a bunch of times on the drive up because the scenery was so breathtaking and gorgeous. We joked that we would never make it to Yellowstone, but we did... never fear! But not after we stopped... just a few more times along the way....

like for this awesome waterfall!

Jay wanted it to be a water slide

 When we made it to Yellowstone, we crammed in as much as we possibly could....

out picnic spot

 We covered most of the Northern part of the park... and even then we could have spent a few days there!

Yellowstone River

 We got to see some wildlife...

this big guy was just chilling by the road

 And check out some spectacular views...

looking down the Upper Falls

 I even got to take a picture of the Lower Falls... which is incredibly similar to one my dad took many years ago!

Lower Falls

 We went on hikes...

stinky sulfur, but pretty scenery

 And drove through some gorgeous parts of the park...

It was a jam-packed day. But totally worth the time. I only wish we could have been there longer. Maybe next time an overnight camping trip will be planned.

Saturday was a bit of a lazy day (we were on vacation) so Jay and I got to have another home cooked breakfast with his aunt and uncle (crepes!) and chilled for a while before heading to Custer National Forest for a picnic lunch.

view from our picnic spot

lunch! in the most perfect location

We made it back to his aunt and uncle's place with plenty of time for Jay to take a nap, and for me to catch up on my reading. While Jay was sleeping we had some visitors in the yard...

TURKEYS!

A dinner out with Jay's aunt and uncle was the cherry on top of the vacation. We headed to bed early that night so we could be up and out early the next morning. It was a short vacation, but great to get away. And... it was good to know that after nearly 4 days in the car together, Jay and I didn't want to kill each other. Looking forward to more vacations....

sunrise leaving Montana

A few little things

Its been a while since I have written, I know this. I am a slacker. What are you going to do?

But... this is a little post with a few random things before I lay a whopper of a post on you from my most recent vacation.
First... I tried my hand at making pizza about 2 weeks ago. I have never made pizza, short of taking it out of the freezer and throwing it in the oven. So... when I saw a recipe for BBQ chicken pizza... I just knew I had to try it. And of course, Jay would be my unknowing guinea pig. :)


tasty pizza!

 Another small (and yet, so VERY large) is that Jay and I have decided to take that huge next step and move in together. Gah! So... now we are faced with the daunting task of combining two houses. And choosing art, pictures, etc. Luckily, we have similar tastes in décor... so when we came across this little poster, we both decided we liked it and it would be a great first "together" piece to hang in the living room.

Its a bad picture, I know... but I will take a better one once its on the wall. Promise!!

I also convinced Jay that we desperately needed fresh herbs. Since he has a beautiful balcony... we bought herbs for a little planter! Hopefully one of us will discover we have a green thumb. Otherwise my brilliant fresh herbs idea will die. Literally.

More to come in the joining of places... it will be an adventure for sure!!