Truce

In lieu of a New Years resolution, I made a New Years truce.

Back in April, there was a small (read epic) turn of events between myself and a nice frat boy.  He and I had met through a networking group and had been flirty with one another for a few months - neither one of us were available, but there was no harm in flirting or being friends.  

While heavily intoxicated he was belligerent.  Belligerent is putting it mildly, but I should not beat a dead horse.  He was blackout drunk and being a jerk.  No less than a dozen people apologized to me for his behavior and I haven't spoken to him since that day.  Which I was PERFECTLY fine not associating (or even acknowledging him every Thursday morning) with such a douchetard!!   

As it would turn out, I did speak to him again.  

New Years Eve I went to Flo with several friends to ring in the new year and see "Big Iron Band" play.  As we're all sitting, enjoying martinis... in walks frat boy.  I literally saw him and muttered "of all the jerks to walk into MY bar on New Years Eve, it has to be that douchbag".  Clearly I was not impressed he was breathing my air, around my friends, or listening to my friends' band play.  About 32 seconds later I hear "Hey I wanted to come say Happy New Year!".  WHAT?  Did you just come over and speak to me?  THE NERVE.

Long story longer, he slid into the booth with my friends and I, and proceeded to make small talk.  I was over holding my tongue, and proceeded to let him know (surprisingly, in a calm and not Earth shattering voice) how disgusted I was with his behavior at Rockin Ribs and what the was a reason I hadn't spoken to him in  eight months.

He apologized profusely and stayed to toast at Midnight.  SHOCKING - no really, I was shocked.  I was shocked he let me tell him how I felt.  I was shocked he apologized.  I was shocked he stayed.  I was shocked he wanted to count down to 2013 sitting next to me, surrounded by my friends, in one of my favorite bars, listening to my favorite local band....

Our Toast: "Happy New Year.  A truce and a new beginning to an old friendship."

Stage Fright...

It is NO secret that I love Jazzercise. I first started Jazzing when I was a sophomore in college.  I've gone off and on throughout the last 12 years - stopping for a knee or shoulder surgery, a car accident or three...you know, just taking a break.  LOL

Well often when you open your big mouth and request a certain song the instructor will ask you to come up on stage and do the routine with her.  Its just one of those Jazzertraditions.  This morning I decided to text Beth and ask her if "Womanizer" was going to make an appearance in her set today.  AMAZINGLY ENOUGH - it was there, on the front of the curve just waiting for me to show a little crazy!  :)  **disclaimer: I am not a Britney Spears fan, but I LOVE this song and the routine that goes along with it!  In true Jazzerstyle, Beth cues up the song and without even looking at me says "we have a special request for some old school Britney and the requester is going to come up on stage with me RIGHT???"  Of course she knew I would politely decline and smile, like I have for the last ...uhm decade.  Well much to my surprise the entire class starts hooting and hollering - and I crumbled to peer pressure!

Yep thats right....in my cute little black yoga pants and **sparkley** purple jazzertog top, I took the stage for the first time EVER!  EvEr EvEr!!  I think Beth was more surprised than I was.  She even commented after class that she was so excited and happy I joined her.

I love my jazzersisters - and all the cute comments on my Facebook wall.  You girls are the best!!

Where Fun and Fitness Come Together

Since I moved to lovely Springfield - there have only been a couple things that were consistent in my life, no matter what, one of those is Jazzercise.

The women of Jazzercise really are a little family - it doesn't matter what time of day you take class, which instructors you prefer or even which class format is your favorite.  Everyone really does get to know one another and we have fun in and out of class.  Its more than 55 minutes of working out to your favorite songs of today and yesterday - its shaking your booty with your besties while laughing, singing and burning calories!  Can I get a "Wooooo"!!

Tonight we had practice for the Springfield Cardinals game.  Tomorrow night just before the game starts we get 10 minutes of life in the lime light out on the field to strut, shake it and of course do the funky monkey.  :) 

No Really, Be There!!

When someone has a baby...you be there for the person.  You help them overnight, take them meals and ice cream in the hospital, send flowers, bring presents for baby, run to the house to feed the cat and grab things mom discovered she needed, bring them home from the hospital and run them around because mom can't drive yet, hold the cute little monkey for a while.  Its sort of what friends do - there is nothing to gain, there is nothing motivating you.  You just do it because its the right thing to do and you be glad in it.

Now that we know what to do, there are a lot of things you don't do: be selfish, be rude, be stand-offish, divert attention to yourself, start fights, cause drama, refuse to be supportive, refuse to come visit, play games, play guilt trips, create more work for mom, break a water main in the subdivision so there is no running water (that was random, but nonetheless SO happened).

There have been a couple times this week when it took all I had to hold my tongue because sometimes people need to be slapped.

That is all.

Be There!

When you're laying in the pool with a friend who starts having contractions, you sorta start keeping track of things.  When you and that friend head out for dinner and the contractions get stronger and closer together...you really start keeping track of things.  And of course when the fireworks on the 4th of July end and the friend says "hey lets head down to Labor and Delivery now, shall we"...you sort of go without hesitation and of course you stay for moral support!

Now I must confess...children are not exactly my forte.  (Read I don't even really like kids and don't know the first thing about them)  I had the privilege of learning first hand about 100 more reasons why I have NO desire to have children.  For roughly 24 hours I watched a friend go through every single emotion humanly possible and enough pain to scare me half to death.  She did it like a champ though...I'm proud of her!  (Read I have absolutely no idea what it is like to be pregnant, be a single mom or go through actual child birth - nor do I wish to learn.)

Joy: FINALLY having her body back, being able to hold little Owen, and of course the simple fact that he was a miracle baby that she thought she would NEVER be able to have.
Exhaustion: Mental and physical.
Sadness: That the baby's dad is a total asshole and loser, the loss of her mother and the fact that she couldn't be there during this most AMAZING time.
Fear: Its not only frightening to go through child birth, but its really scary to think about being a mom.
Happiness: For family and friends sending texts and love constantly!! 
Pain: That goes without saying - refer back to YAY for good drugs.

I will say that of all the people on earth that I could have shared this experience with, I'm glad that it was her.  Giving birth is really a lot of hurry up and wait...there is "checking", "effacing", "membranes", "contractions", "breathing", "positioning", drugs - oh there are drugs!  Thank GOD for pitosin, epidurals and phenegran.    No matter what you think will happen or how you think things will come along...it really boils down to mother nature and that kiddo taking their course of action in accordance with their plans! But it is a really neat thing to experience (read its scary and time consuming, sometimes icky, but a miracle all in itself.)

Having not quite wrapped my head around the whole thing - I'm just happy that I could be there to support her, hand her ice ships and squeeze her hand during the process!! Most of all I'm excited that baby Owen is here...healthy and perfect!  I mean...look at the little foot!!  **sniffle**

Don't Look At Me With Those Puppy Dog Eyes....

No really...those puppy dog eyes will NOT save your little butt, no matter how small or cute, when you've left your toy laying on the keyboard of my laptop.  ^^shrugs^^

A couple weeks ago...WOW really, two weeks ago a friend of mine found a pit bull in his neighborhood.  He kept the pit for a few nights while I worked on a solution for the poor guy.  He was dirty, tired, half starved and had the cut ears of a trained fighter.  Thankfully he was no worse for wear and in good temper, so Mary agreed to pull him for rescue!  

**shakes pom-poms**

We loaded up pretty pitty and headed to the Republic Animal Control to drop off the pit for Mary to take into rescue and find a forever home that suited him well.  The 20 minute car ride was uneventful and he really was a doll.  He was very sweet, easy to crate and all in all just happy to be alive.

Upon arriving at animal control, for whatever reason, Client decided to roam around and look at all the puppies while Sherry and I worked on logistics and intake forms.  **BAD IDEA** Ok well not so much...he comes out of one of the dog runs with this "super cute and cuddly" little black male weiner dog.  He has me hold the dog while he texts a picture to his fiance.  **BAD IDEA**  Puppy is in the car with us headed back to Springfield.  (read 'what the hell, this is going to end REALLY BAD and not only am I going to have to take this poor sweet puppy BACK to animal control in the morning, but Im going to have a client SUPER pissed at me and the other one sleeping on my couch for letting him bring the damn dog home in the first place).  I kicked him and puppy out of the car, almost without even stopping in the driveway in an attempt to make a getaway BEFORE fiance can come home.  Uhhuh...I drove far, far away like a big chicken!!

Next morning, I get a call "well we aren't in huge trouble, but there has to be some negotiating done here"
I reply "there is no WE and I don't negotiate with terrorists or fiances.  SORRY and I proceeded to laugh uncontrollably while listening for the demands of the fiance, not a terrorist!" 
Client: Well she said we could get another dog for Dougie to play with, but it has to be potty trained and house broken.
Me: Well potty training is easy when you do crate training at the same time. Its super easy, I'll walk you through it.

blah...blah..blah (read 20 minutes of smooth talking)

Me: Okay Ill come by the office and pick him up, he can live with me for a couple weeks while I potty train him and house break him.  Ill use him for my BNI presentation and then you can take him home to the fiance and VIOLAH we saved two lives at once!

WTF How did that happen??


Baby has gone to Relay For Life, SAAF House board meeting, Relay Wrap Up meeting, been neutered, been wormed, gone on a million car rides and somehow become a normal part of my daily routine.  OH and ps, not only is he potty trained and crate trained...but he can "sit".  **no frogs were harmed while that picture was taken.**

Wooo I rule!!

Now that brings me to my point...don't look at me with those big puppy dog eyes...they may have worked on Client to get him to bring you home from the pound.  They may have worked on fiance to get her to let client adopt you.  But they will get you out of trouble for sending messages to friends on facebook when you've gone and left your toy on the keyboard.  **ahem**

FLASHMOB!! Do It!!

Turn Around...5-4-3-2-1

Why Jazzercise?  You mean other than the fitness aspect??  Because its a good time...more than the rockstar fun workout, the friendship are amazing and life long.  Since I was a student at SMS I have Jazzed on and off...I'm now 30.  The women there are their own sisterhood - we do things together and share the jazzerspirit.  We laugh, cry, shed pounds, go through relationships, have babies, get married, get divorced, lose loved ones, gain pounds, break ankles, get in car accidents...all together.

Last night was the first Springfield Jazzercise flash mob.  We sort of took over the Hollywood Theatre steps and made a little scene...but the crowd loved it and we had a blast!!  It was a great opportunity for us to not only share the jazzerlove, but spread awareness for the center.  Its FUN marketing.  Ps...everything is jazzer-something.  Jazzerbooty, jazzerlove, jazzersister...you know, its a jazzerthing.  :)  Hell we even have jazzertogs clothing!

Shake, shake, shake...**shakes jazzer pom-poms**

Life Is Not Always Great

There are things in life that are great, there are days that are great, there are great turn outs and even Great Danes.  But life, as it turns out, is not always great.

Once in a while life throws us curves, and hopefully we learn to swerve...

Noone asks for relationships to go bad - yes I mean spoil.  No two people will ever enter into a relationship that is void of arguments, struggles or hardships.  It is part of the relationship - be it business or personal.  No one asks to be diagnosed with cancer, no one wants to ever let a furkid cross the rainbow, no one wants to be in a car accident (let alone three). 

These challenges are things that you work through together and hopefully it not only makes you a stronger individual, but it allows your relationship to grow as well.  Then again, perhaps those challenges just make you grow apart in your relationships because you want to bottle up your feelings and struggle alone.

Nice Guys DO Exist

I met a guy about six months ago, truth be told I was kinda into him until I got to know him.  He's a great guy.  The more time I spent with him and the more I got to know him, the more I really just enjoyed his friendship.  He has become like a brother to me...and he is just fun to be around.  Its just easy.

We talk about football...Go Chiefs!  We talk about the weather...we both work outside most of the time.  We talk about the horrible way teenagers dress...and wonder where their parents are.  We laugh about horrible fences in the Ozarks...and I text him addresses of those that needs his TLC.  Its really just friendly banter and getting to know one another.

For the first time in our friendship we had a "real" conversation.  It was heartwarming and sad all at the same time.  He is genuinely an amazing guy who deserves the perfect girl.  Well not perfect...but she should spend as much time on her hair as he does...

Anyways, most of our conversations are lite and playful.  He is going through a miserable divorce with a seemingly manipulative and rude woman.  I just got out of a 7 year relationship.  On the odd occasion one of us brings up said relationships, its because we're having a bad day.  Todays conversation was about a seemingly wonderful date last night with a potential new gal:

"I've been on group dates and such, but this was my first real date, the first time I've just been able to relax and cuddle with someone, and the first time I got to sleep beside someone. I literally didn't sleep at all last night because I liked the feeling so much and didn't want it to stop. I forgot what it was like to watch someone wake up and smile the first smile of the day."

After I wiped away a tear, it made me realize that nice guys are still out there, you can go have a romantic dinner then curl up and cuddle.  There are guys out there who just want to make you smile and feel your heart beat.  **Shocking, I know**

In this day in age where "friends with benefits" and "one night stands" are common practice...its really really nice to know that there is at least one nice guy on the planet.  And I have the privilege of calling him a friend.

Rule #4 - Know What is in Your Drink

Im sure it would be appropriate to note that all you young ladies should always watch your drinks...those boys are always up to no good.  However...this is just pure funny if you were around that night.

Picture a long bar in the middle of a wine store at about 9pm on a Tuesday night.  There are five of us just relaxing after a networking event.  We all have glasses of wine in front of us.  The store owners' husband walks up to join us at the bar with a red, plastic tumbler.  Upon being asked "So Jeff, what is in your drink", he replies "Ice".

Indeed....ice was in his drink, which was in the red tumbler.  To date...no one knows what the drink was, but we all know he had ice in his drink.