Monday, Monday...

Today's Monday and that means it was the first day of 3-4 yr old ballet/tap/tumble class! Seriously, these kiddos are super cute! And even better, they are well behaved! Only 1 cry-er and she eventually joined class! A teacher's dream! Of course, it was only the first day so I'm sure they will all become more comfortable and more out going. I still have a feeling that this will be a good class! After last year's babies, I am very thankful for well behaved children!

I also have 3 very full ballet classes on Thursday's. Very exciting! Some many of the new kiddos signed up for only ballet class which I find very flattering. I think all the ballet TV's shows are causing an upswing in the area of ballet. No complaints here! I have never taught a really full class before! I have so many wonderful ideas for our recital! (I know its 8 months aways but I liked to be prepared!) So many adorable costumes and lovely pieces of music to pick out!

I love that I have my job to throw all my energy and extra time into. Especially since in a few weeks I will officially be a pageant has-been! On September 29 I will have to crown a new Miss North Texas! I'm not ready for this! I am normally not an emotional person but I have cried more in the few months since Miss Texas pageant then I have all year! I know its lame. But I spent so many years and all my energy working towards a goal that I didn't accomplish and will never have another chance to. Maybe I put too much importance in becoming Miss Texas and neglected the other parts of my life... I almost feel like I was absorbed in a long serious relationship and now that its over I'm looking around thinking "where did every body go?" Although I am certainly blessed to have friends who not only supported my dream but also believed I could actually be Miss Texas. So I guess I'm looking around thinking "When did everyone get married and when did I get old?" Ah, time flies when you're having fun!

Things I wish I knew as a freshman

Yesterday classes started back at dear ole UTA and I finally started my senior year! Since this is my *cough* 6th year in college I decided to share somethings I learned in my journey as a professional student that I wish I had known all along!

1: IT'S OK TO GO TO A COMMUNITY COLLEGE FIRST! (It's not grade 13!)
If you look back on my college career you will see I did things way out of order. I went to UNT my first year, made bad grades (see #2), transferred to a community college for two years then went on to UTA. I personally wasn't ready to live on my own and clearly wasn't responsible enough to get myself to class everyday. Plus I missed my mom a lot and spent the majority of that year driving back and forth from Denton to Fort Worth and didn't get much studying done. If I would have just started at a community college I would have saved myself a lot of money and probably would have made much better grades. When deciding your college path do what's right for YOU! Don't let others influence you into making decisions you aren't comfortable with and be confident in that fact that you know what is best for you.

2: GO TO CLASS AND STUDY!!
I know it can be very tempting to sleep in without Mom or Dad there to push you out of bed and off to school in the mornings but chances are you will NOT make the grade you want by skipping class everyday. The grades you make your freshman year will haunt you the rest of your life! Sounds dramatic I know but it's true! Bad grades = low GPA and low GPA's are very hard to raise. Grad school might not seem like something you want at 18 but you might change your mind by the time you're 23/24 and your freshman grades might keep you from getting in the school of your choice or being accepted at all.

3: BE BRAVE AND OPEN TO NEW EXPERIENCES!!
In college you are going to be exposed to all types of people. Don't be scared of what is different from you or what you're use to. There are so many wonderful people who are nothing like you! They may talk or dress or think differently from you but that doesn't mean they're wrong. Have new experiences, try new things! Explore who you are and what you believe, learn new things about yourself. Fall in love with you! And lastly, don't let a relationship consume your whole life! Don't be so attached to your BF/GF that you miss out on new people and experiences. You don't want to look back on your college years and realize you wasted a lot of time on a insignificant person.

4: GET PLUGGED IN!
One of my biggest regrets is not joining a sorority/club/organization in my early years of college. Since I bounced around campuses so much this clearly would have been difficult but if I had established friendships and roots in my first year things might have worked out differently. Universities can be very overwhelming and it can be easy to feel lost in a sea of students without strong friendships. While achieving higher education is your first priority, college should also be fun! Joining a group provides friends, fun and a since of belonging that can be difficult to find your first year on campus.

*inspired by my dear friend Anna. <3 *

I'm a neglectful blogger...

...but honestly nothing worth blogging has happened lately. Unless you count rereading the entire Harry Potter series from cover to cover or watching tearful Grey's Anatomy reruns (thank you Netflix!). I didn't think you would... The studio is closed for summer break until after Labor Day so I don't even have wonderfully funny baby ballerina stories to tell. Classes at UTA start on Thursday! I was ready to go back but now that it's two days away and I have to start waking up at 5:45am again...not so much. But the start of a new semester always brings the promise of new experiences and friends. Oh and of course the furthering of my higher education.

I am doing something soon that I have been wanting to do for a long time now and am very excited! I am moving out of my parents house! [Insert victory dance] As some of you know my grandparents are very sick (and completely crazy!) and moved in with us. Needless to say, our house is very crowded! I just have to hold out a few more month then I will only have to share my space with my teeny tiny Bella! Filling an apartment takes a lot of stuff so I have started shopping! Look out Target!Dishes, appliances, furniture...its been pretty fun! I even started up-cycling some old wicker furniture that has been cluttering our living room. It was brown, fraying in some places and all together ugly. I cleaned it up and painted it black. I'll post pics when they're completely finished but they already look tons better!

I Have NOTHING To Wear!

I haven't done much self-exploring (I blame the 104 degree weather) but I have explored my closet! I seem to have a talent for opening the door to my jam pack closet and still never finding anything to wear. My usual remedy for this is to go straight to the mall and buy random tops and bottoms just to come home and have the same problem in a week or less. It's not that I really don't have anything to wear, I just get tired of wearing the same outfits over and over. So I decided to try and mix things up before heading to the mall.

My closet is categorized and color coded. I started by pulling out a top I haven't worn in a while and tried to find different bottoms and accessories to match.

(Of course Bella was there to help!) Then repeat using the same top.

I made it through my entire closet. It was very time consuming, but well worth it. I have lots of new outfits without going to the mall. And now I know what I actually need for the mall instead of buying separate pieces and hoping I have something to match! I took pictures with my iPad so I have go back and look at them in case I have another "I have nothing to wear!" moment. =)

Pages!

Pages are up! Not all have posts yet... but make sure you check them out! Keeping with my shoe theme they are titled "Kitchen Shoes", "Dancing Shoes" and "Explorer Shoes".
"Kitchen Shoes" is all about healthy eating, tips, and meals I want to share.
"Dancing Shoes" is about my adventures being a dance teacher. Lots of funny stories to come, I'm sure!
"Explorer Shoes" will be all about the new hobbies and new things I discover about myself. =)

The start of something new

Hello all,
Welcome to my first official blog that doesn't only consist of pageant appearances and prep work! I decided to start this blog for a few reasons. Many people have asked "What are you going to do now you're not competing?" The short answer- I have no idea! And as I was drowning my sorrows in a pint of Ben & Jerry's the other night, I decided to google "hobbies for 20something women" (pathetic I know) and one of the reoccurring suggested hobbies was blogging. I don't think "blogger" will become my new identity but at least it will give me something to do while I explore my options.

I also thought this would be a good place to share my nutritional journey. I will be the first to admit that my "pageant diet" is not realistic for everyday life! Nor would it be healthy, ironically enough! So, like the rest of the population, I am trying to find the happy medium between eating only protein bars and eating like I just came home from fat camp. This past week has been a junk food marathon! And while actually feeling full for once is great, I feel pretty gross! It's time  to put the junk food down and start eating clean! (Minus dessert of course!)

Being a title holder was such a huge part of my life but it wasn't my entire life. There are more things that make up who I am besides the crown. Since I haven't really explored anything new about myself to tell you yet, let's start with what I already know;

• I am a devoted Christian and love Jesus whole heartily.
• I am completely in love with my dog, BellaRina. She is a 4 yr old Toy Shih-Tzu and honestly I would rather spend my days with her than most humans.
• I love my job! I am a dance instructor at a studio in Fort Worth, teaching ballet, jazz & tap. One day I'd like to open my own studio, but for now I'm happy just being a teacher.
• I'm still in college. I go to the University of Texas at Arlington and really enjoy it. Perhaps I'll become more involved at UTA...?
• I am obsessed with Audrey Hepburn & The Beatles.
• I'm really into music; top 40's, oldies, country, classical, pretty much anything.