Getting my Gaga on

At the end of the year it is tradition(this is a word you become very familiar with at East) for the teachers to do a stage challenge dance. This year we are doing an x factor slash American idol type thing. There are 3 dances, one is a Susan Boyle/Pussycat dolls mix, another features the horrid Beiber and the last one is Lady Gaga. I am in the Gaga dance and I have been trying to get in touch with my inner Gaga for the past week. It seems I can do the choreographed dance moves when there is no music playing, but as soon as I put the music on and try it, it all turns to rubbish! it would seem my body just wants to do some weird freestyle/acting/nerdy dance moves. I just wanna get my groove on and my groove is just not the Gaga groove. I am getting REALLY frustrated! I do not want to go on and not have it nailed, I would never want to go on stage if I didn't feel confident about a drama performance and it is the same for dance. Sadly I think me and Gaga will never become one. When the dance goes on youtube - which will be approximately 5 mins after we have performed it at school I will post the link and you can see the disaster for yourself.



This is the inspiration for my outfit - I will post photos of the finished product after the event.

Nobody puts Baby in the corner

I have aspirations to be Baby Houseman - for those of you who are over 50 or under 20 Baby is the main character in Dirty Dancing.




It is not the being swept off my feet and falling in love with a hot dance instructor that I aspire to have (although that is a nice little fantasy tucked away in the back of my head, but that is where it will stay) I aspire to be a dancer, a good one, not just a drunk bar top dancer. I worked damn hard last night to learn the steps for the cha cha and I have the blisters to prove it! I could insert a photo here of my blisters but maybe that is too much. I am going back for my second lesson tomorrow night.
I have to say Dirty Dancing prepared me well for my first lesson, cause although the dance instructor was not as hot as Patrick Swayze, he did tell me to keep my frame straight and not look down. Next I expect him to take me to a lake to practise our lift - I wonder if I have to wear all white for this experience like Baby did?

once I won a dancing competition...

...it was not a competition with any criteria that I was aware of, I didn't have to officially practise for it (although to be fair I had been practising for it, albeit in a completely unaware state for many drunken, pub dancing years)
This competition did not have that many other participates (about 6) but still I am the proud winner of a table top dancing competition held at a backpackers bar on Wakefield St; the prize (apart from the obvious adulation) was a 50 dollar bar tab - at the time I was very happy with that.
Why this anecdote? Well it is my segway into telling you all about my dance lessons. Tomorrow night I am starting to take official dance lessons - not as the teacher but the student! I am going to learn the salsa, the cha cha and some other dances they dance on Dancing with the Stars. It is not Dancing with the stars that has inspired me, but taking dance classes (as the teacher) which is the cause. I love dance class, but apart from dancing on tables there is not a lot of depth to my knowledge.
I am beginning with dancing for beginners but hopefully, if all goes to plan I may end up doing this



Bennett was not so sure about me achieving this. He is very concerned about me going, he said with a very concerned/disbelieving look, "I am worried you will fail" like it would some how be a reflection on him. I don't think I will fail, and even if I did, I intend to have fun doing it.

Tiredness

I shouldn't be this tired at this time of year. Things are winding down, the seniors have left, I am having a fun time focussing on and teaching my juniors (my year 9 English class and me are in the midst of devising a cupcake unit - which involves working cupcakes into anything we learn) and it is not far till the 10th of December when all lessons end for the year, hooray!
But today I am very, very tired, and it is all to do with children. Not the children I teach but the children in my lovely family.
It may have escaped your notice but I have a 13 year old child. There are things you can moan about when you have a 13 year old child and you are a full time working single mother - and sometimes I do. But there are lots of things that you should be grateful for when you have a 13 year old child and last night I was reminded of the wonderful qualities he has now acquired.
Last night my nephews, aged 8 and 5, came to stay the night. Feeding them dessert and letting them play on the computer was fine. I loved having a full dinner table and listening to their conversations; and listening to their squeals of delight as they played games on the computer. Everything was absolutely delightful until bedtime.
Following is a rundown of events that made me tired and grateful for a 13 year old.
7:30 Luka (5 year old) cried because his brother had two pairs of boxers packed and he couldn't find his anywhere (tears about such a mundane thing should have been a foreshadowing to me of the night to come)
8:00 Stories read,teeth brushed and children tucked in bed. Mission done...
8:01 Noah out of bed "can you please stop walking around, I can't sleep"
8:05 Noah out of bed "I want my mummy" Cries. Cuddle and back to bed
8:08 Noah out of bed "the bed is too uncomfortable, I want my bed" Cries. Cuddle and we watch some Guns n Roses on youtube together - we dance, he goes back to bed
8:30 Noah out of bed "I miss my mummy, can you text her?" Take Noah to bed and lie there with him until he falls asleep.
9:00 Crawl out of bed without waking Noah and go upstairs for some me time.
10:00 Decide I better go to be because they will probably wake me early in the morning.
10:01 - 11:30 Luka sound asleep in my room makes the following noises "cough, splutter, slurp, snore, cough, snore, splutter, cough, snore, drool, chew on tongue, cough, snort, cough, cough, COUGH, cough up a lung, snore....etc"
11:30 Noah wakes up "I have a sore throat" Cries "can you call mummy?"
11:35 Luka wakes up "I need to blow my nose" Cries - not sure why.
11:35 - 12:30 I am up and down getting drinks of water, tissues, and looking in vain for liquid panadol.
Around 12:40 I manage to block out the constant stream of noises coming from Luka and drift off into a restless sleep which is disrupted all night by weird dreams and coughing noises.
6am - both boys awake and wanting cereal. Breakfast is followed by them asking me for more food at 15 min intervals, after an hour of this I ask "do you have worms or what?" blank looks are returned from both boys "I'm hungry" Noah states.
Nice to meet you hungry, I'm tired. I lamely think but wisely do not say.
It occurs to me after they left that perhaps it is strange that I want more children, even though it would mean I would have to go back to this sort of life, which is one Bennett grew out of a long time ago. But I do, for all their foibles, they are wonderful.

domestic goddess

Some days I feel like a real domestic goddess, I feel like this when I am busy pottering around the house all day and I really enjoy it instead of thinking about how annoying it is to be doing all these mundane housework jobs. Today was one of the days I really enjoyed it. I cleaned the house, did 4 loads of laundry and made 26 amazing cupcakes to give to my form class tomorrow since it is our last form class for the year - well actually last form class ever, as at East your form class is a class you teach so you don't have the same form class the next year.
Here is one of my wonderful domestic goddess cupcakes



John-Paul may think these look familiar and that is because I saw them once on one of his blog entries and remembered them.
I am immensely proud of these little creations.

Rhythm is a dancer

On Thursday after school we had our dance afternoon extravaganza which we called "Rhythm is a dancer" This was the final assessment for our Year 11, 12 and 13 Drama classes and our year 11 Dance class. It was also an opportunity for our junior drama/dance classes to show off to the paying public, one of the dances they had created throughout the year. East has a sensational performing arts department, and by that I not only mean the staff who run it (although obviously we are awesome) but the girls who attend our classes. I am in awe of them and they inspire me, with their openness, determination, drive and passion. I often feel incredibly proud to be their facilitator. I sat back and watched them perform an amazing show; with dance after dance that made me smile, swell with pride and feel that little flutter you get inside you when you watch something that 'talks' to you. I love watching people perform, and I love performing myself. my performances may not be out in the public putting on stage productions (I know from past experience how much time that takes and as a single mother my son must take precedence at this stage) But everyday I perform for my classes. I have done dances, improvisations, skits, round offs, handstands, and told multiple jokes and stories. I could not get through a day without doing this because it makes me happy to perform. Everyone of the girls that performed on Thursday feels the same. It showed when they performed and it filled my heart. This may sound cheesy and make some people feel a little sick, but I don't give a damn! It seems not many people value teachers and all they try to do and achieve, sometimes that hurts. But some days I feel so fantastic about my job that I don't care what they say. Next year we have even more drama and dance classes, so we must be doing something right.