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I spent part of the late afternoon wandering our property and taking some pictures. Everything you see here is on our property. How cool is that? 
I cannot tell you how much I am in love with this property. It is absolutely gorgeous, do you not agree? It truly is a blessing.
This is easily one of my favourite swing dancing videos.
First, it’s Balboa, which is my newest fancy, second, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable song. And the couple looks like they are having so much fun together. I haven’t been able to figure out if it’s a routine or not. Obviously the couple has danced together and practiced all of the moves they did together, and probably danced to this song together… but I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem like a performance.
Anyway, I think another reason it looks fun is because he gives her ample room to play in the song (times 0:21, 0:43, 0:45, to name a few). I was reading an opinion on this on another dancer’s blog. I don’t really have any tricks in my repertoire beyond the basic swivel (and maybe a fake kick or two…), and as I’ve said about other blogs, I don’t necessarily agree with everything she’s saying, but I think I agree with the overall point she’s making. The dance is about both people on the floor. I heard a critique on a couple once in the past, and one of the critics raved about the woman’s ability to wait for her partner. There was one move (I can’t remember it exactly), where he spun her out and then did some trick on his own, and she had to wait for a couple of beats for his trick to finish before he turned back to her, and she did so, perfectly. It wasn’t even something I’d noticed before, but I guess that’s another thing to think about. The dance isn’t about being in motion all of the time, or pulling out moves to make it fun. The dance is about the two people on the floor, enjoying the music, the atmosphere and most importantly, each others’ company.
Anyway, just some thoughts, I guess. And if you want to watch the video again, check out the fabulous turns at ~1:04 and the unbelievable dip at ~2:06 . The dip is slightly less amazing, but slightly more realistic/copy-able when you realize what her left arm is doing.
Yay!
As my readers can tell, my posting has been very dry as of late. I can promise soon (within the next few days, I hope) a significantly cleaner, homier view of my room than the last one I posted, but beyond that, I’m a little short on ideas.
So, here is your grand opportunity! Those of you who have been following me for awhile (and of course, those I am friends with in real life) probably have a fairly good idea of who I am. But if there is something that you’ve always wanted to know, a question you have had that you would like me to address here, ask away! This is your chance!
For those not in that category, this is your chance as well. Maybe I blogged about something and referenced a previous post, but you’ve been unable to find it. Or maybe you are sure the answer must be in my archives, but you really don’t want to go through them all. Or maybe none of the above and you’re just curious, this is your opportunity, too!
Keep in mind, I won’t be answering questions of too personal a nature. Granted, my idea and your idea of personal might be completely different, so feel free to ask anyway. This is just my disclaimer.
I feel like I’ve written a post like this before, but if I have, I didn’t get a landslide response, so just pretend like I haven’t and ask those niggling questions!
They could be questions about faith, about friendships, about church, about work, questions about my opinion on topics silly and serious, requests for more reviews of movies, books or tech-y toys, anything you can think of.
Annnnd, go!
I discovered this today, scribbled on a scrap of paper in with many other notes of a similar kind:
I’ve learned that strength and dignity are not lost through displays of weakness.
A silly example is when I confess to a friend that I cannot open a jar of jelly. I feel… laughably weak doing so, especially when this friend takes the jar and in one motion, twists off the lid. But to use this as a metaphor (ah, metaphors), in a very simple way, this is how the Body of Christ should look. I am strong in some areas, but I am also weak in others. If I readily display my strengths, but hide all of my weaknesses, two undesirable things happen. First of all, assuming everyone else is also hiding their weaknesses, my strengths become completely irrelevant. As far as I can tell, there isn’t anyone who needs what I have to offer. No one is weak, so what does it matter how strong I am? And the second problem is that we have all sorts of weaknesses, frayed threads, weak links, crumbling walls (whatever other image you’d like) and none of these areas are being addressed. No one is saying, “hey, I’ve got a leak in the dam over here, can anyone help me patch it up?” and so it continues leaking and eroding, growing weaker, spilling over, spilling out, and eventually breaking, sometimes in catastrophic ways. But when we confess our faults to one another (a trusted one another), when we admit our weaknesses, we find people who are strong in those very areas.
“Yea, I can’t open a jar of jelly, but I can whip up a mean grilled pb & j sandwich.”
And my friend says, “I can certainly open a jar of jelly *twist*, but grilled pb & j? I have no idea how to make that, but I sure am hungry.”
And there we are, filling each others needs, complimenting each others’ strengths and weaknesses and building each other up. When that is how we seek to live, our lives become inextricably intertwined, balancing each other out and becoming greater than we were just as ourselves.
Hopefully my metaphor can carry the point I am trying to make, despite being (as I’ve already admitted), a rather silly example
And just for the record, grilled pb & j is for real. And mighty tasty, especially if you’ve got a sweet tooth. If you can help me get this darn jar open, I could be persuaded to make one for you
Bravo. It is exactly as Cameron Schaefer writes here: Life’s about choices. A refreshing reminder.
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