Today some actors from a local production of Footloose came to my office, and I was stunned to realize that despite being a dancer (of sorts) AND a child of the 80’s, I don’t know the Footloose dance. ! This led me to reflect on other “classic” dances I’ve wanted to learn for a while:

…just to name a few. I guess I need to teach myself, because we sure aren’t going to learn them at my line dancing class. What famous dances do you know, or have always wanted to learn?

* = Semi-related: Debra suggested we go to NKOTBSB this summer, but I thought it was kind of expensive and I was never especially into either band. The concert was Monday night, and now I’m seeing friends’ pictures and it looks like it was a total blast. Mistake!!!

4 Comments + Posted in: fitness

So what did everyone do this weekend? Me? I auditioned for Wheel of Fortune.

With my intelligence concentrated on the language side of my brain, I’ve always been freakishly good at Wheel of Fortune. The Wheelmobile came to the DeSoto Civic Center this weekend, the closest it’s ever been to Memphis. When my mom told me about it, I knew I had to give it a shot. I had no expectations – I just wanted to go for the experience.

Tryouts were held Saturday and Sunday, with three “shows” each day. Upon arrival, we filled out applications, which were put in a giant drum and drawn at random onstage. They called five people up to the stage at a time. Each person was briefly interviewed by the host (Pat and Vanna were NOT there), and then the group played a speed round – where each person guesses one letter, gets a few seconds to solve the puzzle, and if not, they move on to the next person.

At the very beginning, the host gave a brief rundown of how everything would work. He said they were looking for personality and energy, and suggested we all think about how to make ourselves stand out in the interview portion. As the randomness of this blog attests, I have MANY interests and hobbies I could have talked about. But only one of them might make people remember me in that setting. So I planned exactly what I would do if I got called up.

The hopefuls (before the show started – a few minutes later it was much more crowded)

I was prepared to be there all afternoon and not to be chosen at all. I was fine with that – as I said, no expectations. But I was in the third or fourth group called to the stage! I went down, got my picture taken, and had a few much appreciated minutes to compose myself while the previous group finished their puzzle. When I went up for my interview with the host, I told him where I was from, where I work, that I like reading and cooking, and that I had been line dancing for four years. Exactly as I had expected, he asked if I would be willing to dance. I said yes. So he had the sound guy cue up some music (I think it might have been “Viva Las Vegas”), and I line danced in front of several hundred people.

My family and friends were shocked that I did this, and I admit, I’ve never been a performer (at least not since early childhood). But I have confidence in my line dancing, and darn it, I want to be on the show. If you’re wondering, I did the Catfish because it’s the easiest dance I know that isn’t just back and forth steps. I knew I wouldn’t mess it up no matter how nervous I was. The crowd clapped along and was into it, so I took it as a success!

Then it was time to actually play the game! The category was Phrase, which was kind of lame since other groups got specific categories like College Life or What Are You Doing? We went around a couple of times guessing letters, and I ended up solving the puzzle!!! (It was “And Away We Go.”)

Callback final tryouts will be held here in town sometime in August. If you make it through those, you get to be on the show. The host said solving the puzzle doesn’t guarantee you a place in the finals, but since I solved AND entertained the crowd, I feel pretty confident that they’ll call me. Either way, I know I did the best I could, so I’m at peace with my Wheel of Fortune experience.

My brother’s friend’s wife also tried out – I saw her before the next show started. She got called up and solved a puzzle too! I was also approached by two sweet older ladies who were interested in joining a class, and one older man remembered me from a dance I went to with my mom on Friday night. This isn’t the first time line dancing has helped me connect with people – it seems to be happening more and more. Who knew it could open so many doors?

4 Comments + Posted in: tv

On this busy afternoon, I’m happy to share the latest and BEST YET music video from my good friend and gifted songwriter, Myla Smith. Enjoy! :)

Add a Comment + Posted in: music

I came across this recipe yesterday (sorry, I don’t remember where) and decided to make it immediately. I was not disappointed. The original recipe was a little fussy, so this is my version. It’s so simple and packed with summery flavors!

Tomato & Avocado Toast
Serves 2 as a main course sandwich.

Ingredients:
2 large slices quality, hearty bread
2 small, very ripe avocados
juice of 1 lemon
4 oz goat cheese, at room temperature
1 package small tomatoes (grape, cherry, etc.)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
fresh basil, roughly torn (optional)

Directions:
1. In a shallow pan, drizzle tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes, either on a grill or in an oven preheated to 350, until skin starts to pucker (probably 10-20 minutes – keep an eye on them. I used the grill and it took about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool to just above room temperature.

2. De-seed and scoop out the avocado. Squeeze lemon juice over the avocado flesh and mash to desired consistency with a fork. Set aside.

3. Toast bread slices until very toasted and crisp (in a pan or toaster oven if your bread is too large for the toaster). Smear about 2 ounces of goat cheese on each piece of bread. On top of the goat cheese, spread half of the smashed avocado. Place a few tomatoes on top of the open-faced sandwich. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper and garnish with fresh basil if desired. Serve (with a knife and fork) immediately.

The fanciest bread I had was a small artisan loaf from the Kroger bakery, so two slices of that equaled about one serving. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. :) I used about half the recommended amount of goat cheese and avocado. I didn’t skimp on the roasted grape tomatoes, though, because roasted grape tomatoes are on my list of Favorite Things Ever. They taste miraculous, like spaghetti sauce in solid form, and they make any dish more exciting. And all you have to do is oil and season them and toss them in a pan. Try them on a salad today!

Related: Yesterday I had a brilliant idea for indexing my recipe cards. I’m going to label them with little pictures for seasons and occasions (summer, winter, party, good to take to new parents, etc). It’ll make it easier to get inspired and find what I need. I’m excited! :) And yes. I am Monica Geller. I cook AND I have 11 categories of towels.

6 Comments + Posted in: domestic, food, summer

Can someone explain Pinterest to me, and what makes it so great? I typically use Delicious to bookmark interesting stuff, and weheartit to find cool images (including the one above). From what I can tell about Pinterest, it seems to replace both of those services. But maybe I misunderstood.

I am NOT an early-adopter type. I’m usually one of the last to get on board with trendy or newer-and-better websites. I’ve only started using Delicious in the past year or two. For years I stuck with little-known Bibliophil for book tracking, even though everyone told me Goodreads was much better. They were right, as I discovered when I eventually made the switch. And of course, I just gave in to Twitter a few months ago. Those are only a few examples.

Semi-related: after my too-short stint at Blissfully Domestic, I’m interested in similar opportunities at other sites. But most of the contributor-heavy sites I’ve found (Babble, The Stir, etc.) are only for moms. :| I’d also prefer to write stuff that matters in some way and doesn’t exist purely to get pageviews (which eliminates a lot of other sites). I feel like I’m letting myself down by not pursuing more writing opportunities, but I don’t really know where to look. It’s discouraging.

6 Comments + Posted in: the writing life