New Thing #28: Choreographing a Dance

For those of you that really know me, you know I can’t dance. Saying I can’t dance is an understatement. I have no rhythm, I can’t move my hips and I’m simply just not coordinated. Because of my lack of skills, I’ve never had a reason to plan a dance for anything before. 

Despite this obstacle, I was excited when I found out summer school would be having a “class acts” talent show. Despite not being able to dance myself, I managed to create and teach one to my students. They dressed up in 50’s apparel and danced to Rock Around the Clock.

Despite only working on it for a week, it came together well. Maybe I found a new talent…or maybe not, but I really enjoyed doing it! It was super cute, the audience and their families seemed to enjoy it and the kiddos really rocked it out! 

I’m already thinking about/planning my class talent show act for this Spring: We Go Together from Grease.

(the picture of the three students is posted with parent permission)

New Thing #27: ER Visit

Before I start this post, I want to state a couple of things. First, not all of my new things are planned…or, as in this case, welcomed.  Second, I’ve been undecided about whether or not I should blog this experience.  But because this was in fact something I’ve never done, it deserves a place on the list.

Wednesday morning my speech was slurred and it was hard to properly enunciate.  Shortly after I noticed my speech being off, the left side of my face got tingly and numb. Immediately, the same sensations hit my left arm. The symptoms lasted an hour or so and were over by the time I got to the hospital.

I spent at least three hours that morning being tested in the ER. Then I returned in the afternoon for a few more hours of testing.  Eight different tests were performed and every single one came back with absolutely nothing wrong. So the good news is I had all major tests run and everything looks great. The cause could have been a few different things. Atypical migraine, stress and a mini-stroke (Transiet Ischemic Attack) topped the list of possibilities. It was most likely just a migraine without the headache.

Luckily, I’m feeling pretty healthy and the doctors aren’t concerned unless it happens again. So here’s to hoping it doesn’t happen again. 🙂

Yes we took a picture on our way into the ER…it was a first. The other pic is a post-ER breakfast (with round one bracelet and bandage).

New Thing #26: KC City Market

Two weekends ago I took a trip downtown to get some veggies and explore the city market. I am still astonished at the fact I’ve never visited the KC City Market before now. I have been to ones in NYC and Chicago, but never here at home. 

I loved it!   Almost everything is locally grown,  fresher and cheaper. And all of the homemade goodies (bread, jam, pastries, etc) are simply delicious. Another aspect I loved about our city market is the ethnic restaurants and stores that surround the border of its location. This is such a fun area. I absolutely plan on spending more Saturday mornings at the KC City Market.

New Things #24 & #25: White Water Rafting & Backpacking in Colorado

Numbers 24 & 25 hands down top my list of new things so far. Both took place in Colorado this past week. We started our trip in Silverton, spent a night in Ouray and finished our trip in Colorado Springs. By the way, this was my first time visiting Colorado. So I could count that as another new thing…

New Thing #24: White Water Rafting

This has been on my “bucket list” for years and I finally get to cross it off! We spent our first afternoon in Durango floating down the Lower Animas River. It was more relaxing than I anticipated. We hit a couple of spots that tossed us around and made us work a little, but those moments were short-lived and few and far between. For a first timer, having an easy first trip was ok. Plus our guide was a pretty awesome dude to talk to. Still disappointing it wasn’t a more wild experience, but I absolutely see more white water rafting in my future and that will make up for it.

New Thing #25: Hiking/Camping/Backpacking in the Mountains

This was my first time officially camping (without restrooms or a vehicle within walking distance). I can’t think of a better, more beautiful, place to camp for the first time ever. We were someplace not far from Silverton (I think). We hiked out a couple of hours and set up camp. The next day we hiked without our packs for a bit. Then we packed up camp and hiked a little ways in to set up camp for the second night. The next morning we hiked back to our car.

We had a truly blessed trip. There were no problems, no injuries and no bears (despite certain circumstances). It was the perfect place to spend time with God, reflect and get to know some pretty awesome friends even better.