I'm not going to lie. Taking before pictures is one of my least favorite things to do. Although when I'm finally seeing progress, I'm okay with it. I always feel super discouraged after taking before pictures. All I can see is a woman with tiny breasts, too wide hips, and too thick thighs. I was dreading taking before pictures today because I did indulge quite a bit during my two weeks off for the holidays. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised when I took the following pictures.

Every few months or so, I face the same dilemma. Do I, or do I not cut my hair?

I mean, when I actually put effort into it, it looks okay.

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and a Happy New Year! We were able to spend several days with my husband's side of the family in Texas doing nothing but catching up, eating things we shouldn't, and just having fun. The fact that I didn't have to cook, clean, and entertain anyone made it even better! Hehe. But we seriously had a great time. We played hard outside, enjoyed our brand new goodies and played with toys inside, decorated Christmas tree cakes, and shared lots of laughs we've unfortunately missed out on due to distance.

 On New Year's Eve, we spent time with my family doing pretty much the same thing... eating, playing games, opening presents from Christmas, and watching the New Year's ABC program. Eric and I rang in the new year with a champagne toast, called it a night, and ate the all important cabbage and black eyed peas the next day!




 Now that the holidays are over, let's talk about New Year's Resolutions. Yep, it's that time again! I had a hard time choosing only one item to focus on, so I decided upon several resolutions that focus on different aspects of my life. Here are the resolutions that I have ultimately decided upon:

 1. Grow my photography business! I started getting my portfolio established in January of last year. I had a slow start due to school and lack of time, but I ended the year on a high note with multiple photo sessions during the fall and several inquiries on weddings this year. I also expanded my services to hopefully attract more customers!

 2. Keep up the exercise and watch my eating habits! I'm not even going to lie. I've fallen off the wagon with my clean eating. I can't resist holiday food. It's my biggest weakness! But I've done very well with my exercising! Thankfully, I've worked out a minimum of 4 days per week with very few breaks for the entire year. Consistently working out was my resolution for 2018, and I can actually say that I kept it! Hoorah! Next workout goal is to crush P90x!

3.  Get better about providing feedback to my belly dance students, get more confident with my own dancing ability and teaching belly dance technique, and practicing more consistently! I have a really difficult time calling out people who are doing something wrong. I would like to get better about providing more feedback to my dance students as I know they are wanting to improve themselves in order to move on to the next class. I also need more confidence in my dance ability as when I know that I've made a mistake, I tend to withdraw into myself instead of letting it go, looking it at as a lesson learned, and not letting it hold me back from sharing myself with the audience for the remainder of the dance/set. I also really need to practice more consistently... Review one song daily. One song is maybe... MAYBE 4 minutes long. Surely I can dedicate 4 minutes to review one song once a day.

So those are my resolutions for the year! My friend and owner of Desert Sky Dance Studio likes to choose one word at the beginning of the year as sort of a focus point for the year. My word would be FREEDOM! Ultimate freedom from the 9-5, freedom from stress and worry, freedom from the confines of my own mind. I had a great start in 2018, and I'm determined to finish it in 2019!

What are your resolutions for the New Year?

These past few weeks have been a little bit crazy! We are rapidly approaching the holiday season, so naturally things are going to be more busy at school. Not only did we have our school's annual fall festival, we had Halloween for my babies, our school Halloween carnival and dress up day at school, and parent teacher conferences.

Needless to say, this mama is ready for a break! My kindergarteners have had a disruption in routine every single week for the past month (one of the perks for kids/drawbacks for teachers of attending/working at a private school). Tooons of special events, religious events, holidays, and the like. I am anxiously awaiting the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays!

Sienna started nursery and has had back to back sicknesses... Ear infections, stomach viruses, sinus infections, and colds have run rampant through our house ever since Sienna began daycare. Gunner is currently sick with an ear infection and sinus infection, and I'm waiting for Sienna to run fever at any moment since she has had a green, runny nose for the past several days. I am thankful at least my big one is past the stage of getting sick all the time. As sickly as he was when he was tiny, I'd say he paid his dues!

This weekend has been spent relaxing with family, trying to keep my kids' sicknesses at bay, and preparing for the upcoming week. My kindergarteners will be presenting an interactive zoo on Wednesday, so we will be busy working on that this week. I will be finishing up the choreography for my Intermediate level belly dance class and working on our songs for the December showcase as well as making sure I stay current on my workouts.

'Tis the Season!

I hope everyone has a fantastic week! I leave you with a few pictures from this week! :)

As a full-time kindergarten teacher, wife, mom, and dance instructor, it's hard to find the time to bake treats. My "treats" have generally been grab-and-go fruit, the Chobani flips, or the like, something that I can easily stuff in my lunchbox to bring the school. But I've recently discovered a recipe, a healthy one even, that is a total game changer...

I'm telling you, these cookies are the BEST! When I'm craving something sweet, these are my go-to for a healthy, guilt-free, QUICK indulgence. What's even better is the fact that it only has 3 ingredients...

2 ripe bananas
1 cup of quick oats
1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips

Yummm...

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Grab a cookie sheet and spray generously with cooking spray. My personal favorite is the coconut oil spray! (Sidenote - I love the way it smells too!)

3. Mash your ripe bananas together (the riper the better because they are much easier to mash) and add in the cup of quick oats. Stir until blended

4. Add chocolate chips and stir until chocolate chips are evenly distributed.

5. Add generous spoonfuls onto the baking sheet and form into cookies. You can easily make around 12 cookies depending on the size you want them.

6. Place cookie sheet in the oven for about 12-15 minute and cook until golden brown.

7. Enjoy your healthy cookies! :)

A great playlist is something I consider a workout must-have! Did you know that music alone can enhance your performance and increase your endurance? After a certain amount of time exercising, your muscles get fatigued. Music not only provides the motivation to get you through your workout, it provides a distraction, keeping your brain focused on the music instead of the exhaustion. Whether you are at the gym lifting weights or doing cardio at home, these 50 songs are guaranteed to get you motivated and your blood pumping!

1. Cardi B - Bodak Yellow
2. Mark Holiday - Nuclear Warhead
3. Kevin Gates - I Don't Get Tired
4. Antiserum & Mayhem - Trippy
5. Katy Perry - Dark Horse
6. Sneaker Pimps - 6 Underground
7. Tsar B - Escalate
8. Missy Elliot - Gossip Folks
9. Nicki Minaj - Anaconda
10. Limp Bizkit - Rollin'
11. Limp Bizkit - My Way
12. Justin Timberlake - My Love
13. Ariana Grande - Everyday
14. Ariana Grande - No Tears Left to Cry
15- DEV - In the Dark
16. DEV - Bass Down Low
17. Britney Spears - Till the World Ends
18. Britney Spears - I Wanna Go
19. Britney Spears - Work B***H
20. Awolnation - Sail
21. Chevelle - The Red
22. Imagine Dragons - Thunder
23. Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes
24. Eminem - Till I Collapse
25. Iggy Azalea/JLo - Booty
26. Limp Bizkit - My Way
27. Liam Payne Feat. Quavo - Strip That Down
28. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry
29. Fetty Wap - Trap Queen
30. Sage the Gemini - Gas Pedal
31. Selena Gomez - Good For You
32. G-Eazy Feat. Grace - You Don't Own Me
33. N.E.R.D, Rihanna, Drake - Lemon
34. DJ Khaled Feat. Rick Ross, Snoop Dog, T-Pain, Ludacris - All I Do Is Win
35. Fergie - Fergilicious
36. T.I - What You Know
37. David Guetta Feat. Akon - Sexy Chick
38. Daddy Yankee - Gasolina
39. Savage - Swing
40. Cardi B. - I Like It
41. Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
42. Rihanna - S&M
43. Korn - Freak On A Leash
44. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like
45. The Pussycat Dolls - Don'tcha
46. Nelly Furtado - Say It Right
47. Ciara - Oh
48. Missy Elliot Feat. Ciara - Lose Control
49. Tinashe - 2 On
50. Lil' Jon and The Eastside Boys - Get Low

What are some songs on your playlist?

This Friday members of the Desert Sky Dance Company have the privilege of attending the Bayou Belly Festivale held in Lafayette, Louisiana. I am so pumped because not only do we have the opportunity to learn from belly dance greats such as Kimberly Larkspur, April Rose, and Ariellah, but the Desert Jewels and advanced class will also get the chance to perform at the Friday and Saturday shows (eeeeek)! We are nervous, but extremely excited!

Since we are leaving early Friday morning (the 6 in the morning kind of early), I started making a list of essentials I need for the trip. Here are some of the items I will be bringing to Bayou Belly Festivale 2018!

1. Clothes, clothes, and more clothes! This is kind of an obvious one so I won't say much more. I will be packing 2 pairs of casual, belly dance outfits. More than likely some of my cute, frilly dance practice pants, a sports bra, and some of my practice dance tops. Since I will be staying overnight, I will also pack two pairs of pajamas. I may go ahead and pack one set of clothing just in case we decide to go out and eat. Comfort will be king this weekend since I will be dancing up to 6 hours a day this weekend!

2. Hygiene Essentials - This includes my toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, shampoo and conditioner, shower gel, hair brush, deodorant, body spray, and a razor. I like to economize by using my hair conditioner as shaving cream instead of bringing actual shaving cream. I will also bring my Cetaphil face wash, tea tree toner, and moisturizer.

3. Shoes - I will be walking around in mostly flip flops when walking from class to class, but again, I'll pack a nice pair of shoes in case we decide to go out. I also can't forget my dance shoes otherwise my feet will stick to the floor while dancing! For me they are a must - apparently I have really sweaty feet!

4. Costumes - I will be performing two dances so I will be packing both costumes to go with it. My first costume will consist of pants, a belt, and a top. My second costume will be just a top, skirt, and wrap.

5. Jewelry - You can't complete a belly dance costume without the jewelry! I usually opt for simple, so I will bring my big earrings, a simple necklace, and a few bracelets. I prefer to go all out with my earrings, but simple for the rest of my jewelry!

6. Make-up - I will almost need to bring a separate vehicle for all the make-up I will be bringing! I have a bag full of stage/performance make-up that consists of primer, liquid foundation, concealer, multiple pallets of eye-shadow colors, a contouring palette, several different types of mascara, blush, brow creme/powder, lipstick (must have), liquid eyeliner (another must have), tape (for eyeliner and eye-shadow purposes), Cetaphil  and q-tips to fix mistakes and remove my make-up at the end of the day. and my various make-up brushes. I also like to bring a shimmering body powder to cover myself with before performances!

7. Food - Since we will be staying overnight, I will have to pack my own food. For breakfast I will eat a Larabar and banana, lunches will consist of peanut butter sandwiches, a yogurt, and a fruit, and supper will most likely be something I order from Waitr. We will also eat at the local Greek and Lebanese restaurant on Saturday night. Snacks will be the Sargento balanced snack and a Herbalife shake.

8. Drinks - I drink nothing but water, so that will be easy - bottled water! I will also bring some celebratory champagne to share with the ladies! I will also bring a water container so I can refill on the go because the places we dance will have a water fountain.

9. Other - A sewing kit and safety pins are two items that should be in every dancer's bag! You never know when a costume will decide to malfunction. I can't count how many times I have seen someone panic about a costume coming apart or needing adjusting right before a performance! It's better to be prepared!



I can't wait to dance with this group of beautiful ladies this Friday and Saturday!

*These gorgeous photos of the Desert Jewels and advanced class were taken last year by The Dancer's Eye - Fine Art Belly Dance Photography!*