Making Time Count

       In a crazy week like this week; jam packed with get-togethers, consoling friends, kid's field trips, and losing a horse on the ranch; when you finally get a chance to stop and access the damage it looks like a tornado hit. Luckily, that storm just missed us but trying to relax seemed impossible in the mess this hectic schedule left in it's wake. Tackling the mess seems overwhelming so where do you start? How do you start? Do you start or just give up?

Set to 10 Minutes and Go!!! 

      Only one tool in my box of tools could help, the egg timer.
      I decided to work on one surface at a time beginning in the kitchen and work my way toward the bedrooms. 10 minutes clearing counters, 10 minutes clearing coffee and dining room tables; 10 minutes clearing the family room and kitchen floors, and a 10 minute workout on my dance floor. Then 10 minutes clearing off my bed and my bedroom chair so I could sit down and take a well deserved 10 minute break.
      The trick is to allocate 10 minutes to a task and quit whether you finish or not. Evenutally

Time to Dance!

The Corner Dance Studio is ready to dance. This is one great place to workout for under $140.
     --The Barre- an unfinished handrail-- $2/foot. (Stain we had on hand)
     --Hand rail brackets- $4 each
     --A gallon of paint- $22
     --The floor- 100 sq ft - interlocking floor mats - $84

Optional Features: Mirrors; DVD player, CD/MP3 Player, Dance Portraits.

     We chose the corner of the basement just at the bottom of stairs for convenience and to encourage the open space to draw you in. My son can't walk by it without hopping on the floor mats and doing a few Karate chops. I even caught him doing a few revele's at the barre. That barre just draws you to it. Located just in front of the laundry room door, I put in a load and this inviting space lures me in. Click the remote on the TV/DVD player we set up on a small entertainment center and stocked with workout dvd's. All set to move our bodies and accelerate our fitness.

The Master Plan

    My grandfather was a professional wall paperer. When he retired, he and my grandmother bought a ranch style house that he promptly wall papered. Every room had a different color, print, and even texture of wall paper. It was like a house collage. The living room had an open wall to the dining room so basically it was a great room. And yet, the living room and dining room had different wall paper patterns and colors as if they would never be viewed together. The kitchen had a bar that opened into the dining room and you guessed it, the kitchen had it's own flavor of wall paper.
    This spontaneous, use what you have on hand, style of decorating creates a unique, although hodge podge, look for your home. If you want a more polished look

Ballet Conditioning: No Tutu's Required

   Ballet is defined by Dictionary.com as "a classical dance form demanding grace and precision and employing formalized steps and gestures set in intricate, flowing patterns to create expression through movement." All the girls on my street lined up on a barre or two in their  youth and participated in the formalized steps and gestures with varying degrees of grace and expression. We all thought we were ballerinas but none of us went on to make a career out of it.
   Ballet conditioning is actually all that work we did at the barre to prepare our bodies for the rigors of the ballet dance and to earn our toe shoes. Toe shoes, the coveted acheivement of all aspiring ballerinas. Ballet conditioning, done without toe shoes,