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SAJ takes Ballet
I decided Bug didn’t need to have all the fun in ballet class so I joined one too. This local studio has a really cool program where you can enroll the whole family and take unlimited classes for a flat rate. But by far the best thing about this studio is that it is catered to moms and when you take classes they have free childcare right in the same room. So while I jumped around and plie-ed, I could watch Bug out of the corner of my eye.
I thought this might be a bad thing as Bug could watch me as well and throw a fit causing me to have to leave class and go fix whatever was wrong but thankfully that didn’t happen. They had crafts going on in the next room and she was happy as a clam. I love our new dance studio!
Now I’m just afraid this studio is going to blow up with popularity. I’ve had that happen before. I used to take a lot of yoga classes back when I was working full time and my favorite class kept getting more and more crowded. It was terrible. You couldn’t turn around without whacking into another sweaty body.
One day I was so claustrophobic I walked right out of the class and took a blanket with me accidentally. The office staff ran after me, apologizing for the crowdedness but I was really embarrassed so I just kept walking all the way out to my car with the blanket in tow. I still have that blanket and it still humiliates me whenever I see it. I should just take it back to the yoga studio and be done with it. It’s seriously been five or six years, I’m sure they would have no memory of me by now.
So anyway back to the ballet class. I really like it. It’s just hard enough to get me sweating but not too hard that I’m gasping on the floor while everyone else flounces around me. The only problem is that all the other girls appear to have been real ballerinas in their lifetime before motherhood. Their necks are so long, their arms are so graceful and their legs are like giraffes. I feel short and squatty and of course I’m as graceful as a mack truck.
I’m not letting my discomfort get the best of me though. I know this is just my perception of reality. I’ve come to realize that I’m just a very visual person and I’m prone to notice differences when I’m in a group of people who are different from me. I notice things like I’m the only one with bushy out-of-control bangs while everyone else has their sleek hair swept back into a neat bun.
Does that help me change and become more sleek? No. Well, maybe a little tiny microscopic bit over a long long time but I think my quirky character is pretty ingrained. I’m okay with that. While I might not have grace or super long bendy limbs, I do have a strong will and I know giving up just because I feel awkward isn’t going to get me anywhere. Though maybe next time I will try to find a shirt that doesn’t have paint stains on it.
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Long live the epic walk!
We set out on an epic walk today. I’m sorry for using that word, epic. I read somewhere that somebody hates it when people use that word to describe things other than something something something but I can’t remember what the something something was or who said it or what irritated them about that word being misused so I’m going to use it anyway because I’m ignorant and it has a nice ring to it.
Anyway!
Bug had a bee in her bonnet about taffy and I only know of one place where you can get taffy (besides the grocery store of course but that’s boring or Old Town in San Diego which is a bit out of our way). That place that I know is Balboa Island. There is a candy store there that has barrels of the stuff. So we decided to walk there.
I don’t want to completely give away where we live (though it’s not that hard to figure out thanks to google and some bad choices I made several years ago) so I won’t say how far we walked to get to Balboa Island. But it was far. Far enough that it took up most of our day but it was the best day walking adventure we have ever had. It wasn’t really that far where we would need to pack water and a lunch but we dilly-dallied. Something Bug does very well.
We discovered a new park that has fantastic play equipment. While Bug sea-sawed and swung on the swings, I day dreamed about all the birthday parties I could host there if only Bug’s birthday wasn’t in January. I might just have to throw her a half birthday party some year because summer birthdays are so much more fun than winter birthdays.
When we finally pried ourselves away from our new favorite park and ambled over the bridge to Balboa Island, we found that there was a sand castle contest going on. Who knew! Not us. I really need to stay more updated on these things. We LOVE sand castle contests.
Balboa Island’s sand castle contest was just our speed too because the beach there is so narrow that the castles were pretty small and un-impressive. We could have entered this contest and beat the pants off them. Next year I might just have to do that. Also, unlike our local sand castle contest, this event is on a Saturday which means I might be able to enlist my family who can never make it to anything other than meeting (church) on Sunday. Pass it on, Mom!
We walked around a good chunk of the island. Bug chose the water route and ducked under all the docks that moor boats along the water’s edge. She got a kick out of waking up all the ducks that sleep there in the shade during the heat of the day.
Walking around the island is so pleasant. There is a big walk way along the water and butting right up against it are all the tiny little Mc-mansions. Everyone is always out enjoying the day and many of them strike up a conversation with you if you are walking slow enough, which we always are. Bug made many friends today.
Of course we got some taffy and then it was lunch time so I ate three tacos while Bug ate three bites. As you may have gathered, I’m not so swift on uptake when it comes to the no-treats-before-lunch-rule so I paid dearly for that one. And then I spoiled her even more by letting her get a frozen banana that Balboa Island is so famous for.
I was thinking that she might eat the banana and get some nourishment from that but I am an idiot because she ate all the chocolate and sprinkles off the banana and then decided she wasn’t hungry anymore! I should have known better. I would have eaten the mushy frozen banana but my teeth are sensitive and I don’t really like cold things. Yes, it’s true. I drink my water at room temperature and I don’t like ice cream that much.
Then we ambled back home just in time for Bug to fall dead asleep in her bed an hour late for her nap. Which was fine. We’re living summer hours here at La Casa de Ponnay. Bedtime is often pushed back an hour or more. I don’t really don’t care that much. Sometimes she even sleeps in when I let her stay up and then I don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn, which is really really nice.
It was a great day. I’m tired out from walking. Bug is tired out from playing. I don’t feel guilty for keeping her inside all day watching tv or stuck in the car while I run errands. It was a great Bug and Mom day. Long live the epic walk!
