So, a while ago I bought a cheap Sansa clip 2G mp3 player.  I thought it was great, which in ways its far superior to a previous iPod shuffle.  I can actually see and select songs.  However, as I'm getting ready for my outreach in Paris, I've wasted practically 2 hours trying to compile two playlists on it.  Of course I don't have the instructions, and stupid me just thinks I'm doing it wrong.  So, I use my tech savvy and start googling for help.  Turns out the stupid thing only ALLOWS one playlist!!!  And this was after several times of it being deleted when trying to create two, and having to reselect/load the songs over and over and over...  You get the picture... 

Sigh... 

I refuse to cave and buy an iPod.  One, I don't have that kinda of money to throw around, and two, I don't think they're all they're cracked up to be at the price they rip you off at...  In my humble opinion (apologies to any endorsers, lol)

Wow, life has been like an avalanche and picking up speed!  So busy!  Been trying to get ready for going overseas with lots of stuff going on in my life.  My wonderful roomies threw me a "Bon Voyage" party tonight, with French theme and everything!  One of my roomies, Mandy, made an AMAZING food spread.  From eclair cake, fruit pie, cheese & crackers, quiches, croissant sandwiches and more!  I was so busy having fun that I forgot to take pictures!!

Now, in an hour or so I'm being picked up to go to a weekend Bachelorette Party in Palm Springs!  Woohoo!  Never been there but ready for some girlie fun times :D  Then, the evening wedding is next Friday, yes, that's the 4th of July for you Americans.  Hey, at least they'll get free fireworks for their wedding.

I leave the very next morning after the wedding for Paris!  I'm doing another christian outreach like the one I did in South Africa last year.  I considered going back to S. Africa, but unfortunately it starts during the wedding.  Still, I get to use my elementary French and work with youth!  I might try to blog again before I leave, but I only have Monday & Tuesday night to finish packing and it's craziness...

Au revoir!

I've joined the challenge and here's my house of colors!

Yellow:  The Endust cloths I've been using in cleaning my entire house...

Orange:  My current tv show I'm re-watching, Star Trek: The Next Generation!!

Red: My suitcase, as I prepare to leave for France in a couple of weeks :D  It's a little battered from all my flyings to visit family over the years and going to South Africa last summer...

Purple: The decorations of one our bathrooms!  Can anyone read/figure out what the chinese character at the top left on the bamboo decoration is?  I do know what it is ;)

Green & Brown:  The lovely carpets our house came with...no, we didn't pick that color and the wicker chair as the necessary mud color... I mean brown

Blue:  My rocking chair, complete with foot rest :)  I reupholstered the foot rest, called fun with a staple gun :D

Black:  My computer, which my computer specialist friend last night worked on last night.  He figured out the problem with my sound is actually the motherboard :(  We got a virus off it and cleaned it up some, so it's better.  Would be good if I could wipe it, but I don't have my disks and key codes to reinstall :(   So stuck now...

White:  Of course, it's my cat, the lovely Grace!

Love is... using eight 5-mL syringes of food and one syringe of 8 mL of water three times a day, with her .25mL syringe of meds twice a day.

Love is... letting your pet sleep on your lap even after your foot has fallen asleep AND you have to go to the bathroom...

Love is...not doing this differently if you could do it over again... 

Had an AMAZING time last night out west coast swing dancing.  It started off pretty disappointing, wih a very low turnout.  There'd been a dance convention over the weekend, and it was a good long shot that people would come to this place Sunday night.  However, either people went to get food and were so exhausted they stayed home; or, they were watching the Lakers in the play-offs and celebrating afterwards.  So, starting to get late, there was a very bare turnout and I thought of calling it a night.

However, a couple more people turned up and two of them were very high-ranking talented dancers.  I've danced with them before and really nice guys!  These guys are sizzling with talents and due to low turnout, there was no hold-back on us dancing a lot together .  Earlier in the night my dancing hadn't really found the right groove and was feeling kinda bleh.  However, suddenly my body and soul clicked, and I was ON.  (Freely giving credit to these two awesome guys helpin' me get back in sync).  There was no barrier between my ears hearing the beat, to my heart being moved, to my body being the outlet.  I didn't think; I felt, I DANCED.  Now, I'm always technically moving in a dance and trying to be musical. But I feel you can only really call it dancing for times like last night!  Also, one of the reasons I had such a blast was the freedom these guys allowed in the dance as we played off each other creating new moves and styling.  I could have danced the entire night if my alarm wasn't set to torture me with a 3:45 am wake-up call.

On top of that, one of my favorite pro-couples came out to the club.  While they were dancing one song, I just suddenly got floored in inspiration by them (I'm feelin' ya Van - see his blog "Got inspire?").  Watching them was pure poetry and artwork.  Ben and Melina have won 3 of the US championships.  They are simply amazing.  They are smooth and fluid, yet their innovation is jaw-dropping.  My browser won't let me access videos, so I'm not sure which one this is... But here's one video of them, click on link...[I'll update this part later for anyone interested...]  2006 US Open

I've been kinda really laid-back the last couples of years in my dancing and I'm ready to step it up.  I've been competing a little on the side, but just for fun.  Because the last time I was competition/performance driven was for music. Since 2000, when I dropped being a music performance-oriented major, I'm still burnt out.  So, I've really wanted to treasure and protect my dancing. Enjoy it for the creative outlet it is, for I'm never more clearly expressing myself then on nights like last night.  However, now I WANT to go all out, just for fun, for ME and for Him.  I'm not out to prove anything to myself or anyone.  I simply want to enjoy to the MAX the awesome blessing that God's given me of dance.  Maybe it's simply been a perspective change long-overdue, but sometimes I admit I can get pretty stubborn.

Vive la danse!