Calvin was asking me this morning about my business.
He wanted to know if I have a website. Yes.
Is it professional? Yes.
Did someone have to authorize it? Well I pay for for it and it can't be inappropriate but no one really authorizes it.
He is seeing changes in my photography. Many more clients coming to the studio. Lighting, backdrops. He's noticing my business is becoming a business. I told him that in a family parents have different roles and responsibilities at different times. I told him that when you first start a business you don't make a lot if any money. I started working when I was young by babysitting, then tanning salon, dance/gymnastic studio, dancewear store, preschool etc etc. When David wanted to go back to school to be a chiropractor I started a business and went to preschools and taught dance and gymnastics on site. Then we decided it would be a good idea for me to get a job in a chiropractic office to learn all of the office management/insurance side of things to help him when he graduated. David was working hard at school and wasn't able to work while he was in chiropractic college. I was happy to work so that eventually we could make a great life for our family after he graduated. I then worked at another chiropractic office in our hometown while David was doing his preceptorship which you also don't get paid for. Then he started a chiropractic business and it was a lot of expenses and took a long time to get established, get paid from insurance companies and we were very lucky that the doctors who's office he worked in needed a chiro assistant so I was able to work for them and bring Corynne, who was a newborn with me. Sometimes David would keep her at home on his days off and bring her to me to nurse. I worked at the office until I got pregnant with Calvin and just decided working at his office, teaching dance and trying to manage a house and 3 kiddos (who came to work with me) wasn't a feasible option. So I finally became almost a stay at home mom (I still taught 1 dance class). As Calvin got older I started teaching more and was teaching around 20 classes a week for a few years and last year decided to focus on my photography.
I often hear "photography is a hobby not a job" It is a creative outlets for people to share their passion and talent with others. And if I am getting paid for it...it is a job! Will I become a millionaire? Nope I doubt it. But I am so happy doing what I'm doing and wow what a full circle. I have helped and supported David through the years so he was able to go back to school and start his business and now I am the one needing the support to build a business. Life is funny that way. I call it the circle of giving and it is applicable to so many areas of my life! Support others if you can and if you have a person who has supported you make sure to thank them and don't ever forget what they did for you because they probably gave up things for themselves to help you.
I'm sure I was never thankful enough for everything that my parents did and I regret that. But now I'm old and smart and can be grateful.
I think making lists and thinking of all that you have done and all that others have done for you is a great exercise in gratitude!
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Josie's So You Think You Can Dance Audition
So..............there's a reality show who's motto is expect the unexpected (it would also work for SYTYCD)
We found out about SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) The Next Generation Auditions a few weeks ago. You had to be between 8-13. Josie was smack dab in the middle of rehearsing/performing in a 9 show performance over 3 weeks. We talked about different styles/choreography. Spoke to a few of her instructors and in the end settled on a contemporary piece Miss Christine had taught for class. We ask permission for Josie to use and make her own if needed. It was to Halo by Beyonce. There was a video upload option. We turned it in 2 hrs before deadline at midnight on March 1st. It states that not all videos are reviewed and you are welcome to come to open auditions at LA, Chicago or NY. We didn't hear back and Chicago auditions were March 11th. She kept saying she wanted to do the live audition but, I wasn't really sure so I did not really 100% plan on it.
Side story: when Josie was 6 (2009) I took her to audition (with Corynne)for GHDT's The Nutcracker. She was really a bit young to explain an audition to so I didn't. She was a perfectionist so only likes to do things she knows she does well (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree). I accidentally mentioned something about the possibility of not getting a part and I barely got her in the door. She has been in GHDT's The Nutcracker since then...even performing in the role of Klara in 2014. But that perfectionist tiny girl is still lurking around.
Josie is at a dance academy that has amazing training. She is part of a pre professional dance company that gives her the opportunity to perform with the professional dance company GHDT. The good of this is that she has some of the best training in the city. The bad of it is that it's a small academy and she is continually up against the same girls for the same parts in shows. She has been a dedicated dancer of the academy since it opened it doors, doesn't miss class unless she's throwing up. Fractured her foot and went to EVERY class (except 1 night) and rehearsal (more than 20 hours a week) and watched and took notes for 6 weeks.
She was insistent that she REALLY wanted to give the SYTYCD a go. The excitement and insistence that I was seeing from her to do something new was a new side of Josie that was just creeping to the surface. She wanted a chance to be seen by someone else. To get a chance to be judged against others. Traveling expenses aren't inexpensive even tho it was just a drive and overnight hotel so we had to discuss and make a decision. David said we could hit the road so hotel reservation was made, lots of paperwork filled out and a cd with music from her solo was made. We also had to provide birth certificate and parent ID.
I (Lydia) am not only a realist but also NEVER want to give my kids false hope. So we discussed that this was for TV and chances are so slim but Josie was insistent that she really wanted to give it a go.
The website for SYTYCD gave 2 different pieces of info regarding auditions on 2 different web pages. This was the beginning of mama's stress level rising to the top. 8am or 12pm...what?????????? seriously TV show....organization?
Recommendation "Breathe!!!"
During the process we ask for recommendations on choreography and styles from a few of her instructors. It was no surprise to me the fabulous advise, tips and help that was provided. It takes a village.
We found out the Maddie from Dance Moms, Jason Derulo and Paula Abdul were judges. Josie had no clue that Paula Adbul sang and I'm trying to play her greatest hits...yeah she still has no clue. She only knows her as a judge from reality TV.
Josie wasn't willing to miss her dance classes on Thursday evening so I picked her up at 8pm and we left for Chicago. The ride was uneventful. Me and my phone for navigation and she and her macbook with downloaded episodes of Pretty Little Liars. Off on an adventure.
We arrived and found our parking garage that we had reserved thanks to tips from friends. Scoped out the Hubbard Dance Studio and realized it was TOO FAR TO WALK and went back to the hotel. We were fast asleep.
Alarm rang 5:45AM
We had to get up early as we still had NO idea what time the auditions were...are they at 8am or noon???? How do I not have Paula or Jason's cell#????? Hotel was awesome but their eggs were made of melted plastic toys. strangest thing I've ever encountered. Lot's of carbolicious food at the Hampton Inn but besides the plastic eggs the protein was nada so donuts and waffles it is.
We had to go to the parking garage for our purses...seems like a great idea to leave them in your car in a parking garage overnight in Chicago...right????? Then hailed a taxi (Josie got quite a kick out of me doing this since it was my first time and I wasn't really sure what to do).
Taxi took us to Hubbard Dance and we Aaron said "trust me come back between 11-12pm (12 was when open auditions start). We took another taxi to Navy Pier and walked all around, took pics, had lots of fun and stopped at target because NO shops are open at 8am. But J got a super cool chicago shirt that shows the theatre district on it at Target.
We walked back to the hotel. Josie rehearsed her piece. We got more food. We packed up. Took everything to the car and took another taxi to Hubbard and got there at 11am. We stood in a line(which was nice and short) and a dad was talking to his wife behind us that we were in the wrong line. Then we went to the real line which wrapped around 3/4 of the building. I was a bit irritated since we initially got there at 7:30am and were told to leave. But quickly met some cool mamas and the hours and hours of standing in freezing cold ensued.
1. There are no judges here. Producers are making the decisions.
2. It is improv (you hear music...you dance) WHY WHY WHY did we prepare choreography and a CD?????
3. It is 16 counts of improv...count to 16 yep you are done
4. People who had 6:30am appt time are just leaving 6 hours later
5. Target will tow your car if you parked in their garage (we did not)
6. It's FREEZING
7. There's a starbucks in target...our girls don't know each other but it's freezing and they need to be somewhere warm.
8. Josie made new dance friends YEAH!
So it was a LONG day and luckily 4 moms made friends and we all let our kids hang out in Target. Josie is 13 1/2 and always been super responsible so I was fine. I don't think I would have been fine with it when she was younger. 5 hrs later we were moved to the short line for lyrical for her to audition. Lyrical and contemporary are both non defined dance styles i.e. not jazz, ballet, etc. So......the guy wasn't sure if there was lyrical and contempory or just 1 for both. At that point we didn't care! So 5 1/2 hours outside and we are going in. We had about 15 pieces of paperwork that had to be filled out. They actually only need 2 of those. Since Josie is so tall they ask for birth certificate and proof I was her mom. Luckily she is 13 and I am her mom so all the papers passed inspection. The rush you to the warm up room where the girls changed and warmed up.
They literally got about 1-2 minutes to warm up. Then HURRY and grab everything we are going upstairs. I'm trying to grab all of her stuff, and mine and go upstairs. Once upstairs we wait on the other group to finish auditioning.
(Advice given before we left from a great friend and support person to Josie and I... "Breathe!!!!!"
I didn't notice till looking through pics. Secret message on the wall from our friend.)
I see what they are doing and go tell the girls because NOONE has given them ANY INFORMATION AT ALL on what they are doing (except here say from others in line). They are lined up 5 on one side of producer panel and 5 on the other side and one girl at a time goes in the center of the 10 girls and does 16 counts of improv. It's time. Josie goes in. There's a viewing window. I stay back and off to the side as to not freak her out. She is watching the girls in her group. I know already what's going through her mind. She went 8th out of 10. And she goes. She starts strong and she breaks from her training to fit in with what the other girls had done midway through her 16 counts. It is all over in 160 counts of music. 10 girls and around 2 minutes and noone fit the bill. She was so fine with it all. She had a blast. An amazing experience. We were in line for 6 hours and in and out of the building in less than 10 minutes. When you were done they cut off your wristband and literally said that you are to get your things and leave and there is no reason for you to be in the building anymore. The judge also told the lyrical girls that they did not need anymore lyrical dancers so they wasted his time. Nice, but again it's all for television. There was a nice young man who apologized to the girls for the "british man's" demeanor.
While in line we found out that Trump was having a rally a block away so when she was done we were getting a taxi as fast as we could back to the parking garage and get the heck out of there before the craziness began. Our trip back was filled with lots of talk of friends made, instagram accounts exchanged with new friend, silly stories, new adventures and future fun.
One of the biggest things that both Josie and I wanted was for her to have the experience of being in front of judges. She's only done auditions at her current dance academy in front of teachers she sees every week. She wanted to experience something new and be judged against other dancers than just the dancers she against every single time she's in a show.
I think this gave her the confidence to go out in the world and do more things. Step outside the box and don't be defined by one person or place. Take chances!
Going into this we both said there's VERY LITTLE chance that this audition will turn into anything. Let's go for fun and the experience. Moms and kids were crying and sad and really went thinking they were gonna be on the show. I want my kids to be confident but be realistic. One of the previous SYTYCD contenders came out and said "we know you can all dance. Every single person in this line can dance! But that's not gonna get you on the show. It could be hair, skin color, could be a twinkle in your eye, etc etc etc that makes you the person they choose"
To recap. Josie thanked me a hundred times and said she had an amazing time. I am thankful to my village of people who supported Josie (and me) and helped when ask. Thanks to Gregory for allowing the use of the studio for her video audition and thanks to teachers who gave tips, choreography and support. We both think that if it were under the same circumstances that we would not recommend it unless you had the time and money to give up for "the experience" as judging 8-13 year olds on 16 counts of improv is an impossible feat.
And we only told a handful of people (a few literally the day before) because I didn't want the added stress of Josie feeling like she had to do well because she had told others. So we kept it quiet until after. But, we both felt that the experience was really cool and it was ok to share that with everyone. So we hope you enjoyed hearing about our little adventure.
We found out about SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) The Next Generation Auditions a few weeks ago. You had to be between 8-13. Josie was smack dab in the middle of rehearsing/performing in a 9 show performance over 3 weeks. We talked about different styles/choreography. Spoke to a few of her instructors and in the end settled on a contemporary piece Miss Christine had taught for class. We ask permission for Josie to use and make her own if needed. It was to Halo by Beyonce. There was a video upload option. We turned it in 2 hrs before deadline at midnight on March 1st. It states that not all videos are reviewed and you are welcome to come to open auditions at LA, Chicago or NY. We didn't hear back and Chicago auditions were March 11th. She kept saying she wanted to do the live audition but, I wasn't really sure so I did not really 100% plan on it.
Side story: when Josie was 6 (2009) I took her to audition (with Corynne)for GHDT's The Nutcracker. She was really a bit young to explain an audition to so I didn't. She was a perfectionist so only likes to do things she knows she does well (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree). I accidentally mentioned something about the possibility of not getting a part and I barely got her in the door. She has been in GHDT's The Nutcracker since then...even performing in the role of Klara in 2014. But that perfectionist tiny girl is still lurking around.
Josie is at a dance academy that has amazing training. She is part of a pre professional dance company that gives her the opportunity to perform with the professional dance company GHDT. The good of this is that she has some of the best training in the city. The bad of it is that it's a small academy and she is continually up against the same girls for the same parts in shows. She has been a dedicated dancer of the academy since it opened it doors, doesn't miss class unless she's throwing up. Fractured her foot and went to EVERY class (except 1 night) and rehearsal (more than 20 hours a week) and watched and took notes for 6 weeks.
She was insistent that she REALLY wanted to give the SYTYCD a go. The excitement and insistence that I was seeing from her to do something new was a new side of Josie that was just creeping to the surface. She wanted a chance to be seen by someone else. To get a chance to be judged against others. Traveling expenses aren't inexpensive even tho it was just a drive and overnight hotel so we had to discuss and make a decision. David said we could hit the road so hotel reservation was made, lots of paperwork filled out and a cd with music from her solo was made. We also had to provide birth certificate and parent ID.
I (Lydia) am not only a realist but also NEVER want to give my kids false hope. So we discussed that this was for TV and chances are so slim but Josie was insistent that she really wanted to give it a go.
The website for SYTYCD gave 2 different pieces of info regarding auditions on 2 different web pages. This was the beginning of mama's stress level rising to the top. 8am or 12pm...what?????????? seriously TV show....organization?
Recommendation "Breathe!!!"
During the process we ask for recommendations on choreography and styles from a few of her instructors. It was no surprise to me the fabulous advise, tips and help that was provided. It takes a village.
We found out the Maddie from Dance Moms, Jason Derulo and Paula Abdul were judges. Josie had no clue that Paula Adbul sang and I'm trying to play her greatest hits...yeah she still has no clue. She only knows her as a judge from reality TV.
Josie wasn't willing to miss her dance classes on Thursday evening so I picked her up at 8pm and we left for Chicago. The ride was uneventful. Me and my phone for navigation and she and her macbook with downloaded episodes of Pretty Little Liars. Off on an adventure.
We arrived and found our parking garage that we had reserved thanks to tips from friends. Scoped out the Hubbard Dance Studio and realized it was TOO FAR TO WALK and went back to the hotel. We were fast asleep.
Alarm rang 5:45AM
We had to get up early as we still had NO idea what time the auditions were...are they at 8am or noon???? How do I not have Paula or Jason's cell#????? Hotel was awesome but their eggs were made of melted plastic toys. strangest thing I've ever encountered. Lot's of carbolicious food at the Hampton Inn but besides the plastic eggs the protein was nada so donuts and waffles it is.
We had to go to the parking garage for our purses...seems like a great idea to leave them in your car in a parking garage overnight in Chicago...right????? Then hailed a taxi (Josie got quite a kick out of me doing this since it was my first time and I wasn't really sure what to do).
Taxi took us to Hubbard Dance and we Aaron said "trust me come back between 11-12pm (12 was when open auditions start). We took another taxi to Navy Pier and walked all around, took pics, had lots of fun and stopped at target because NO shops are open at 8am. But J got a super cool chicago shirt that shows the theatre district on it at Target.
We walked back to the hotel. Josie rehearsed her piece. We got more food. We packed up. Took everything to the car and took another taxi to Hubbard and got there at 11am. We stood in a line(which was nice and short) and a dad was talking to his wife behind us that we were in the wrong line. Then we went to the real line which wrapped around 3/4 of the building. I was a bit irritated since we initially got there at 7:30am and were told to leave. But quickly met some cool mamas and the hours and hours of standing in freezing cold ensued.
1. There are no judges here. Producers are making the decisions.
2. It is improv (you hear music...you dance) WHY WHY WHY did we prepare choreography and a CD?????
3. It is 16 counts of improv...count to 16 yep you are done
4. People who had 6:30am appt time are just leaving 6 hours later
5. Target will tow your car if you parked in their garage (we did not)
6. It's FREEZING
7. There's a starbucks in target...our girls don't know each other but it's freezing and they need to be somewhere warm.
8. Josie made new dance friends YEAH!
So it was a LONG day and luckily 4 moms made friends and we all let our kids hang out in Target. Josie is 13 1/2 and always been super responsible so I was fine. I don't think I would have been fine with it when she was younger. 5 hrs later we were moved to the short line for lyrical for her to audition. Lyrical and contemporary are both non defined dance styles i.e. not jazz, ballet, etc. So......the guy wasn't sure if there was lyrical and contempory or just 1 for both. At that point we didn't care! So 5 1/2 hours outside and we are going in. We had about 15 pieces of paperwork that had to be filled out. They actually only need 2 of those. Since Josie is so tall they ask for birth certificate and proof I was her mom. Luckily she is 13 and I am her mom so all the papers passed inspection. The rush you to the warm up room where the girls changed and warmed up.
They literally got about 1-2 minutes to warm up. Then HURRY and grab everything we are going upstairs. I'm trying to grab all of her stuff, and mine and go upstairs. Once upstairs we wait on the other group to finish auditioning.
(Advice given before we left from a great friend and support person to Josie and I... "Breathe!!!!!"
I didn't notice till looking through pics. Secret message on the wall from our friend.)
I see what they are doing and go tell the girls because NOONE has given them ANY INFORMATION AT ALL on what they are doing (except here say from others in line). They are lined up 5 on one side of producer panel and 5 on the other side and one girl at a time goes in the center of the 10 girls and does 16 counts of improv. It's time. Josie goes in. There's a viewing window. I stay back and off to the side as to not freak her out. She is watching the girls in her group. I know already what's going through her mind. She went 8th out of 10. And she goes. She starts strong and she breaks from her training to fit in with what the other girls had done midway through her 16 counts. It is all over in 160 counts of music. 10 girls and around 2 minutes and noone fit the bill. She was so fine with it all. She had a blast. An amazing experience. We were in line for 6 hours and in and out of the building in less than 10 minutes. When you were done they cut off your wristband and literally said that you are to get your things and leave and there is no reason for you to be in the building anymore. The judge also told the lyrical girls that they did not need anymore lyrical dancers so they wasted his time. Nice, but again it's all for television. There was a nice young man who apologized to the girls for the "british man's" demeanor.
While in line we found out that Trump was having a rally a block away so when she was done we were getting a taxi as fast as we could back to the parking garage and get the heck out of there before the craziness began. Our trip back was filled with lots of talk of friends made, instagram accounts exchanged with new friend, silly stories, new adventures and future fun.
One of the biggest things that both Josie and I wanted was for her to have the experience of being in front of judges. She's only done auditions at her current dance academy in front of teachers she sees every week. She wanted to experience something new and be judged against other dancers than just the dancers she against every single time she's in a show.
I think this gave her the confidence to go out in the world and do more things. Step outside the box and don't be defined by one person or place. Take chances!
Going into this we both said there's VERY LITTLE chance that this audition will turn into anything. Let's go for fun and the experience. Moms and kids were crying and sad and really went thinking they were gonna be on the show. I want my kids to be confident but be realistic. One of the previous SYTYCD contenders came out and said "we know you can all dance. Every single person in this line can dance! But that's not gonna get you on the show. It could be hair, skin color, could be a twinkle in your eye, etc etc etc that makes you the person they choose"
To recap. Josie thanked me a hundred times and said she had an amazing time. I am thankful to my village of people who supported Josie (and me) and helped when ask. Thanks to Gregory for allowing the use of the studio for her video audition and thanks to teachers who gave tips, choreography and support. We both think that if it were under the same circumstances that we would not recommend it unless you had the time and money to give up for "the experience" as judging 8-13 year olds on 16 counts of improv is an impossible feat.
And we only told a handful of people (a few literally the day before) because I didn't want the added stress of Josie feeling like she had to do well because she had told others. So we kept it quiet until after. But, we both felt that the experience was really cool and it was ok to share that with everyone. So we hope you enjoyed hearing about our little adventure.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
PUNKED by the Wind!
Although I really wish I had a video to share with you of this hilariously funny story, I do not so I shall type it out.
I went to the gas station and got gas so that I could mow the lawn. It is extremely windy today...not kidding...crazy windy. So I am equipped with long socks, old tennies, my winter coat and hat I knitted and put the gas in the lawn mower. I start, or should I say try to start it and NO WAY...ughhhhh battery dead???? I give it a few attempts and knowing David has the jumper cables at work in his car I decide to move on to cleaning so I get my big container/bag that I usually keep in the back of my car and see if there are any unnecessary items in it that I can unload or toss. I set it down in the drive, and the wind flips it over and things start flying. This is where I keep my "green" bags that I take to the grocery store (20 of them) with me. I run across the street grabbing what I can out of the neighbors yard, come back start putting it back in and another gust...BAGS, neck pillows, umbrellas. At this point I'm looking around to see if anyone is potentially recording this and I'm gonna be on a viral video later today. Finally get it gathered up again. Put it on a shelf in the garage, because at this point if the wind takes it again I might just let it go. In the process of putting it on a shelf I knocked off a giant bucket of around 200 golf balls. YEP SURE DID! Again, looking around to see if perhaps I'm being punked. Got the golf balls picked up...went after the lawn mower again and found that the battery was charged but that there was LOTS of corrosion on the battery and cables which I was able to remove with a paste of water and baking soda. I'm a part time amateur mechanic in my spare time. And voila lawn mower started! Got all the grass done, kids to activities and fettuccine alfredo DONE! What caused a little stress in the beginning ended with laughs and a feeling of accomplishment! A video would have been great tho right?????
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
I'm Retiring...
I've pondered over how to go about doing this. And in the end I decided to start by telling a few people to make it real for me and then adding more and more to the list. And now what's left but the internet. I have decided to retire from Wishes. Retire sounds so much better than quit. I don't every want anyone to feel like I "quit" on them. I have taught under Kelley for 12 years and what an amazing journey it has been. I have some of the most amazing forever friendships and have been lucky enough to meet some of the most wonderful, caring and loving parents and kids through the years. My love for my students will stand the test of time. Once a student always a student! I will always care what you are doing and how you are so if you see me out and about make sure to stop me and say HEY!
We are in the process of moving to a different home closer to my husbands office. However, we will still be in Fishers so let's go dancing at the Free Summer concerts...OK????? I have also always had a passion for photography and have started my own business which I'm super excited about. This way I can still hang out with kids which is my favorite thing to do, be creative and make amazing photos at the same time. And there's no doubt there'll probably be some dancing going on in a lot of my photo sessions!
I will be at the studio, picture day and Paramount theatre through the recitals. I'm so glad to share my last recital with such an amazing group of students. Every one of you mean so much to me!
I'm working on gathering lots of photos of me and my students through the years so if you have any I would love it if you would send them to me at moody_lydia@yahoo.com I am FB friends with some of my parents but if you know of anyone else who has been a student please pass this along.
LOVE YOU ALL!
Miss Lydia
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Bonnie Boor's Strawberry Pretzel (salad) Dessert
I always thought it silly that it was called salad so I prefer to call it dessert:)
I like to make a little extra crust so it's a little thicker because that's my fav part:) The glass dish I used this time was a little bigger than 9x13 so I just did a little extra of all the layers
2 cups crushed thin pretzel sticks
(Crush with rolling pin or use food processor (I prefer FP)
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups boiling water
1 package (6 ounce) strawberry flavor gelatin
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup whipped topping
2 heaping cups sliced strawberries, fresh or frozen
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Combine crushed pretzels with 3 tablespoons sugar and butter. With a spatula, press pretzel mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan to form a crust. Bake 6 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely.
Pour 2 cups boiling water over strawberry gelatin. Stir until melted and let cool to room temperature.
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and whipped topping until combined. Spread evenly over cooled crust.
Add strawberries to cooled gelatin and let thicken slightly. Spread strawberries and gelatin over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until firm.
Cut into squares to serve.
I like to make a little extra crust so it's a little thicker because that's my fav part:) The glass dish I used this time was a little bigger than 9x13 so I just did a little extra of all the layers
2 cups crushed thin pretzel sticks
(Crush with rolling pin or use food processor (I prefer FP)
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups boiling water
1 package (6 ounce) strawberry flavor gelatin
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup whipped topping
2 heaping cups sliced strawberries, fresh or frozen
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Combine crushed pretzels with 3 tablespoons sugar and butter. With a spatula, press pretzel mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan to form a crust. Bake 6 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely.
Pour 2 cups boiling water over strawberry gelatin. Stir until melted and let cool to room temperature.
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and whipped topping until combined. Spread evenly over cooled crust.
Add strawberries to cooled gelatin and let thicken slightly. Spread strawberries and gelatin over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until firm.
Cut into squares to serve.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Easy peezy Christmas treats
Round pretzels as many as u can fit on a baking sheet. Set a Hershey's kiss in middle...be creative with flavors. Bake on 170 degrees for 3-6 minutes. Push an M&M onto melted kiss. Again be creative with flavors. I put in freezer for couple minutes to quick harden.
We did menthe filled kisses with mint M&Ms and Carmel Filled kisses with regular M&Ms. Tried cherry cordial kisses but didn't work to well as the center was to liquidy.
We did menthe filled kisses with mint M&Ms and Carmel Filled kisses with regular M&Ms. Tried cherry cordial kisses but didn't work to well as the center was to liquidy.
Grandma Brown's Holly Cookies
My dad's mom, Ann made these every year and we LOVED them. We couldn't wait to get to grandma's house to have a holly cookie. They taste similar to a Rice Krispie treat, but way better!
½ cup butter
30 large marshmallows
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp green food coloring
3 ½ cups corn flakes
red hots
1. Melt butter and marshmallows, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and food coloring. Mix in corn flakes. Grease a spoon and drop spoonfuls of mixture on vegetable oil sprayed wax paper. Put red hots on and press so they stick.
2. Let sit until they have hardened.
½ cup butter
30 large marshmallows
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp green food coloring
3 ½ cups corn flakes
red hots
1. Melt butter and marshmallows, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and food coloring. Mix in corn flakes. Grease a spoon and drop spoonfuls of mixture on vegetable oil sprayed wax paper. Put red hots on and press so they stick.
2. Let sit until they have hardened.
Heart candy cane chocolates
I saw this on Pinterest but just had photo so here's how I make them.
2 candy canes shape of heart then melt choc in a squeeze bottle. Squirt choc in heart. Can top with crushed candy canes or any other sprinkle. Then drizzle with choc if desired. Put in fridge or freezer for few minutes to harden.
2 candy canes shape of heart then melt choc in a squeeze bottle. Squirt choc in heart. Can top with crushed candy canes or any other sprinkle. Then drizzle with choc if desired. Put in fridge or freezer for few minutes to harden.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
DIY Christmas card display
Take fishing line or very thin metal wire (for jewelry making) and tie drape rings with clips every 4-6 inches. I have been wanting to make a cool display for years and never got around to it. I had just taken these off some curtains I had in our old house last week and it hit me. So yeah for creativity!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Onto the good news...
Research started immediately for the perfect dog for our family. First on the list NON SHEDDING! Next sm to med dog leaning toward small... Not difficult to potty train... Gets long with kids...references from friends and family. We did online quizzes to match us up with dogs and cross referenced top results with references from friends and puppies and very young dogs that were in shelters foster or rescues. I felt we needed a young dog to train properly from the get go. A couple dogs came up 2 shih tzu poodle mixes called shihpoo and 2 Shih tzu yorkie mixes called shorkies. The shihpoos were in Marion and were 6mths old and the shorkies were in coal city and were 4 wks old. Lots of questions and paperwork I felt like I was adopting a child. Drove to my moms took grandma and great grandma with us and what do u know we fell in love. They were all making fun of me because I looked over every inch of the three we had to choose from. Checked out all the coloring. Did they stand straight. Ones bobbed tail looked weird. One was too light. I picked the shorted muzzle but didn't want the skinniest pup. Ones ears were longer ones higher on its head. My mom thought I was nuts. I am not taking this lightly. This is a big commitment. So here are some pics of our new baby who comes home July 23
We have good and bad news...
We adopted a dachshund Bassett rescue dog That a good friend fostered. She has an older niece but no young kids. Teddy tried a home and snapped at but didn't bite their children but they decided against it. We did a trial and the day we said yes he bit my friends 2 yr old. He has since bitten nieces nephews ups lady and last thurs a good friends little boy. He is very good with our family. Never bitten our children but we've established the pack order with him. We assume that he was probably abused by a 2-4 yr old child as its always that age group. Anyway it was a very difficult decision one that wasn't taken lightly but we are surrendering him back to his foster mommy. He I a very good dog but we can't take a chance on a serious bite on the face, eyes etc. Corynne is very attached to teddy and was very upset. We assures all the children we would work very hard to provide them with a special new dog who would be safe for our family and friends.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Special experience
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Muffins with Mom
Calvin has a fabulous teacher who mixes learning with fun and crafts and love. Mrs Michelle is a great teacher! For muffins with mom the children made us some fabulous gifts and Mrs Michelle made us a scrapbook of the year in her class and personalized it for each child. 
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Josie Lane is blossoming
I felt this was a time where I had to make note of something really wonderful going on with Josie.
Above you see her at age 1 and 2 in Dancing Dolls and Happy Feet classes. She has always loved dance as most kids do when classes are fun and filled with dance, a fun teacher (Miss Kelley), lots of props and super cool songs. When Josie was 6 she auditioned for a part in GHDT's Nutcracker. She got the part of a unicorn and they had just opened Academy of Gregory Hancock. I remember the first time going for auditions and they didn't have the floors down yet. Josie had taken dance since she was one and decided to put the girls in a modern class, which was something wasn't offered at the Fishers Y. She was the youngest in the class at AGHDT as they didn't typically take students till 8 but since she was in Nutcracker they went ahead and let her. She had Miss Meredith Brown and fell in love with dancing that was more demanding, more technical but in her eyes still very fun! I always told Miss Meredith she had the perfect blend of "sweetness" and "I know you can do this so get your but busy!" She added ballet to her night of modern and was still taking classes from Miss Kelley too. The following year she added a second night with Miss Melanie Eakman, who has the same sweet personality as Miss Meredith and the same get busy attitude! Again, great teachers just solidifying that we made the right choice to add AGHDT into her dance life. This year she made the choice to really beef up her dancing. She takes 10 hrs of dance a week between 2 studios. I am constantly checking in to make sure she is still happy and doing what she enjoys! Someone ask me if Josie minds giving up her Sat for dance. I said it's only the morning and she doesn't think twice about it. In her eyes she's not giving up anything. It's her passion...when she gets home from dance on Saturday's she's typically choreographing dances or doing dances she already knows all afternoon.
Over the past 2 weekends Josie has done 2 dress rehearsals and 4 shows. She did 7 numbers in each of AGHDT's shows and 7 in each of the Wishes shows. Ask her if she wish she did less! Ask her if she is tired of dancing! I can tell you what the answer would be NO WAY! In both AGHDT's and Wishes shows Josie had a little solo in part of a dance. I remember watching her in Miss Melanie's ballet thinking where did my baby go? I couldn't help the tears from falling. Where's this tiny little girl with feet so chubby that I could hardly squeeze them into her ballet shoes? The answer is that in the past 3 years she has grown not only as a dancer, but as a young lady. She is responsible beyond her years. She knows her schedule, she keeps track of her own dancewear. She practices. And this is on her own. I have never once said Josie you think you should practice that dance or work on this. All while getting straight A's in school. Now, onto watching her in her solo in Wishes. She was a helper for the intermediate jazz class and did around 10 fouette turns in a row without stopping, falling or hesitating. If you know what a fouette turn is you will be highly impressed. At this moment I felt immense pride. I realized the week before she was growing up and now I choose to embrace this awesomeness and revel in the power, balance and strength that it takes to do these turns. This is my beautiful daughter! I AM PROUD
The saying goes "It takes a village to raise a child". It also takes a village to teach one to dance. It is so important for dancers to have many types of dance and we have found studios where that is possible. I feel very lucky that all of you: Meredith, Melanie, Martin, Gregory, Kirsten, Sara from AGHDT, and Diane, Kelley, Jere, (and I have to take a little credit since I've been her dance teacher too:) from Wishes have been a part of Josie's village!
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| Solo in Miss Melanie's Lucy |
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| This was Martin's Broadway Jazz Josie front right |
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| Fouette Turns |
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