Riot and Frolic

a mostly ballroom dance, but also a bunch of other stuff, blog

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about

I own and rock people’s faces off teaching ballroom dancing at Dancers Studio in St. Paul, MN. My husband and I compete professionally in American style and wrangle eight children in our spare time. I’ve been teaching and competing in ballroom dancing for over 25 years and have lots of opinions on it. I am an expert by any means, but there are quite a few dancers who are better than me and I have a solid knowledge of basic technique, so suck it.

  • The Finisher – Craftastic Edition

    I finished something.  Which, on one hand, is not surprising.  But, on the other hand, it is very surprising.

    Like several talented people I know, I start a hobby and then

    Ooooh, what's that shiny thing over there…

    Right.  

    Remember when I was all high on Vitamin B and caffeine early this week?  Well, I completed that cowl I said I would knit.  

    [For reference, a cowl is like a scarf but way better because Batman had a cowl and Batman is awesome,  NO MATTER WHAT MY BROTHERS-IN-LAW SAY.]

    knitted cowl

    done

    It was my first project "in the round", which apparently they should really call "in the spiral" so idiots like me don't work so hard.  Knitting on circular needles was fun and WAY easier than working on straight needles.   

    Note to newbie knitters like me: once you join the first round to make an actual circle, you don't have to keep "joining in the round" on every round.  But if you do, your knitting will have an original and creative-looking section like this:

    do not join in the round on every round

    i call this section "wonky"

    The finished piece wasn't as wide and slouchy as I would have liked, so I gave it to my youngest, and most annoying, brother-in-law and he seemed to like it.  Next time, more stitches or something.

    Question: my bind-off was lame.  Sooooo not stretchy like the rest of the piece.  What's up with that?  How do I fix that?  I did find this tutorial on a better bind-off.  Does anyone use this?

    I  am losing all cool credibility by going on and on about knitting, aren't I?  Ah, screw it.

    KNITTING RULES!

    Russell_crowe1
    One year ago: Food Frenzy.

  • Hangover Cure – Digital 40 Days – Day One

    New Year's Eve smacked me upside the head and reminded me I'm not 25 anymore.  Let's just say there was whiskey, whiskye, and some more whiskey involved.  

    Yeah, you heard me.  Whiskye.

    A month ago, I signed up for the Lifetime FitnessCommitment Day 5k with some friends thinking, "P-shaw, I'll probably spend the crack of 2013 in bed watching reruns of The Office.  10am race start?  No prob."

    Well, a party was thrown and I got tossed.

    The G denied my 2am request to text the friends that I wouldn't make it, on account of my being drunker-than-a-skunk.  The G even denied my later request when I realized I had sprained my ankle while chasing the wily party-host through the spillery kitchen.  (He threw a snowball at me!)

    Then, 8:56am, January 1, 2013 came pretty quick and my ride was coming at 9:00am. 

    I limped downstairs after donning ALL THE CLOTHES since a squinty glimpse at my trusty iPhone weather app told me it was 1 degree.  

    1 DEGREE!

    Insult to injury.

    My lovely friends arrive, in much chipper condition, and point out that it is -5 degrees.  

    The situation now:

    • below zero
    • worst hangover I've had in… 7 years.
    • going for a jog.

    We head to the Metrodome [FU, Mall of America Field, it's the _____-ing METRODOME] to huddle inside with the thousands of other nuts who thought the start of the new year was, like, a good time to start a resolution or something.

    Nerds.

    A few of us cool kids waited until there were 5 minutes left before the race started before heading outside to the starting line, despite urgent prompting over the loudspeaker that there were "only 30 minutes until the race starts… you only have 20 minutes until the race begins… everyone should be heading to the starting line to ensure they're present for the starting gun… there are only 10 minutes until the race begins… please head to the starting line… [get your butts outside, people]."

    One friend looks at me right before we start the jog up to the start line from the back of the pack, "How you doing?"

    "Heh, let's go," was the only slightly positive response I could think of.

    Turns out?  Running is an AWESOME cure for a hangover. 

    NOT THAT I WILL EVER DRINK AGAIN.  [sipping spiced bourbon….whoo-ah!… what?]

    Okay, so the run was a bit inspiring and we felt pretty bad-ass for running in -5 degrees (and I felt pretty BA for being hungover and still running), even though I did it under duress.

    Oh, and thanks for asking, my resolution to run/yoga for 40 days is going pretty freaking well, but that's a story for another day.

    And Lifetime, I love your events as they are well-attended and have a nice price-point and swell goodies, but you need to pay some attention to your signage and organization.  Post-race food and drink "lines" are non-existent; vendor and freebie-pickup areas are hard to navigate, let alone find.  A couple tweaks and you'll be up there with Team Ortho and the Twin Cities in Motion events.  

     
    Al-pacino-young

    One year ago: LLLL, in which I discover parchment paper and over-easy eggs.

  • Coffee Trash Knit

    Vanilla SPICE lattes at Starbucks? Vanilla AND cardamom in my coffee? It's so close to my dream of coffee/chai/hot cocoa!  Get in mah belly!

     

    thank you, starbucks

    hey, pretty

     

    And then a $1 awesome paper-feeling plastic reusable cup from Starbucks that's recycleable and saves me 10¢ on each drink? Why, yes, thank you!  Impulse purchase achieved!  Garbage Challenge accepted!  5 Hour Energy on a longy-long road trip? Well, duh. Totally not too shabby.  I'm going to knit this thing. You just watch. I'm gonna. It's gonna be round and everything.

     

    lion brand cowl pattern

    you're handsome

     

    You GUYS. Coffee. Recycling.  5 Hour Energy. Road trip. Knitting.  Bam.  Why are my shins so itchy?

    Heath-ledger

  • New Direction – Digital 40 Days

    No, not this new direction.

    one direction

    who are these people?

    Not them.

    I'm a big fan of the lululemon blog (besides product highlights, they do great interviews, quick tutorials, motivational photos/videos, recipes, and more) and they recently posted about the Digital 40 Days program.  

    Common knowledge has it that 40 days of [insert new practice] is long enough to create a habit.  I'm game.  It kind of worked for me and coffee.

    Yogi extraordinaire, Baron Baptiste created the Digital 40 Days program as a companion to his book, 40 Days to Personal Revolution.  Although I'm not a BIG time yoga devotee, I do really enjoy it and was looking for a good motivator to do yoga more often.

    BAM.

    When you sign up for the Digital 40 Days program, you get a daily email and a couple yoga/meditation podcasts each week, plus access to the online community of d40d-ers.  Neat.  

    But since I'm such a rebel, I'm changing up the program a little.  Every morning, I'm going to get up "early" and run 3 times a week, or yoga it 4 times a week.  I need more running.  I need more yoga.

    Shit.  Now I told all of you.  

    And you might hold me accountable.  

    (That might have been the point, so shut it.)

    I'll tell you about how Day One of the #digital40days went next week.  Teaser: hangover, run, below zero.

    158751955584854793_sUu9amgJ_c

  • Happy New Year

    Celebrate with bacon.

    Bacon-wrapped sausage.

     

    butter that bacon

    nothing wrong with that

     

    Yes, I made the appetizer inspired by Homer Simpson.  Let me treat you to a scene…

    Homer: As long as you live in my house you will live by my rules. Now boy, butter up that bacon.

    Bart: But dad..

    Homer: Do it..

    *Bart butters his bacon*

    Homer: Now bacon that sausage.

    Bart: But dad, my heart hurts.

    *Homer looks at bart sternly and Bart wraps bacon around the sausage and eats it*

    Here's the recipe.  I also added that awesome bacon rub recipe instead of plain ol' brown sugar.  

     

    bacony sausage

    pork on pork

     

    They were just as delicious as they should have been.  Caramelized bacony sausage.  

     
    Homer_simpson_by_marinav92-d48c6y1

  • List of Last Week’s Labors of Love

    – what better way to celebrate the birth of Jesus than with RAVER BRACELETS?!  My auntie brought them to the Christmas Eve festivities after finding them in the dollar section at Target.  So you know I'll be stalking that area for $1 fun until the end of time.  

    raver bracelet

    no drugs were consumed

     

    – Christmas Eve was… loud.  The ladies got to open presents, more or less, all night.  They show their thanks by screaming.  This was the only picture I got that wasn't a purple blur of excited child.

     

    open

    eeeeeeee! still blurry

     

    – Christmas morning, however, was pretty chill.  After Midnight (candlelit!) Mass, I got to wake everyone up to open more presents (Santa came, gifties under the tree) at a completely reasonable hour.  Then we headed to my folks' house for more presents and caramel rolls.  

    I swear, the holiday wasn't as materialistic as it sounds.

    flannel

    – made a list of all the things that have been bugging me in 2012 and all the things I want to do in 2013.  It's a big list on both sides.  And it was cathartic.  Worries look stupid once you read them written out.  Dreams look awesome once you read them written out.  

    – not that I was going to, but I never have to see Prometheus because The G DESCRIBED IT TO ME SCENE FOR SCENE.  I don't know why I ever ask him, "What was [insert book/movie/song] about?"  After he saw The Watchmen, it took him 2. 5 hours to tell me what happened.  THE MOVIE IS ONLY 2 HOURS!  I did eventually see it, but I really already had seen it, with extra comic-nerd facts thrown in.

    – got an egg with two yolks.  It was freaky.  I made The G eat it.  

    Dammit.  Now he's going to turn into a superhero and not me.

     

    two yolks

    or dr. jekyll and mr. hyde

     

    – went to Les Misérables.   It was terrible.  I mean, Hollywood didn't make it more palatable or anything.  Everyone looks terrible.  Everyone dies.  Plus side, Hugh Jackman is great.  Anne Hathaway nailed The Song.  If you want to cry for 2.5 hours, go watch that.  

    How was your holiday?  What are you doing tonight?  HAVE FUN.  BE SAFE.  

    HAPPY FREAKING NEW YEAR!

    EDDIE REDMAYNE

  • For Better or For Worse

    After yesterday's crabby post, I want YOU to chime in on today's topic.

    The classic artistic dilemma: quality or quantity?

    Or, in ballroomy terms, lovely basics or flash & trash?

    I go back and forth on this subject A LOT.

    I generally believe that the foundation of any art is the most beautiful part.  Punctuation in writing?  Great  Scales in music?  Great.  A box with rise and fall in Waltz?  Great.  

    But then I go to competitions and see that, often, quality doesn't win.

    GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!  HOW DOES QUALITY NOT WIN?

    GAH.  I don't know.

    The obvious answer is to obtain both quality and quantity.  Just be really really ridiculously good… Period.  Like these fools.

     

    I mean, I get it.  Open routines look like fun.  Turning, tricks, dips, splits: all that crowd-pleasing stuff (now you have to admit you were suckered in by the crowd-pleasing effects, which, 90% of the time, are the easiest part of the routine) is Neat.  When it's done well.  

    I worry about those people who have barely touched Bronze before they're clamoring for their Open routines.  

    Fucking "Open".  It's not candy, people.  You'd think it was the hottest day of the year and Open is ice cream, the way people drool over it.  Open is a pain in the ass.  And you look like an asshole if you jump into it too soon.  Please God, learn how to do a toe lead before you start your Gold Waltz choreography.  Maybe even know how to do an open break before you break out your Open Rumba Showdance.  

    I'm not sure why many people think having the better label on their dancing is better than being a better dancer.  There's no fanfare that plays when the Gold/Open people take the floor or even free ice cream.  There's not even a membership card.  

    There is, however, a general sigh of relief when a good dancer takes the floor.  I know that there will be a minimum of awkwardness with a maximum of knowledge being portrayed in the dance.  It sucks when it's the other way around.  

    But the question remains: should I show something done correctly, that's not super-impressive or should I do something that seems impressive, that isn't actually being done correctly?  

    Some people would probably say neither.  What would you say?

    I'll leave you with this, a quote from an awesome former student of mine:

    If you don't know or understand the basics, you'll never get better, and if you forget the basics, you'll never become great.

    74168725084279447_qhBECdSF_c

  • Pressies

    Since I already wrote this post once and my server somehow lost it, I'm very cleverly writing this all over again… except without the cleverness.  

    Here's our partial Christmas inventory:

    Plate_og_5

    Plate_og_5

    Plate_og_5

    Plate_og_5

    Plate_og_5

    because, duh

    What'd you get/do?

    47780446016938647_iISxda1D_c

    i didn't get this

  • You Know You Want To…

    Hey, you.  Are you reading this over the super-lame Interwebs?  Get with the times and subscribe to Riot and Frolic via The Emails!  Go to the ye olde right sidebar over there ———————————–> and click on "Subscribe to the Feed" under Follow the Riot…  (It's free!)

    You can get new posts sent straight to your inbox (click on the little email icon) OR you can have a new RSS feed (click on the little orange rainbowy icon) OR if you're knowledgeable about this sort of thing, you can pick your news reader service (I don't know what that is).  

    Thanks, you!

  • Dummy

    "If I knew what would make me happy, I think I would probably try to do it."

    Direct quote from yours truly.

    If I knew what would make me happy, I THINK I would PROBABLY TRY to do it?

    What kind of defeatist language is that?  

    Let's try again, dummy:

    If I knew what would make me happy, I'd do it.

    Dammit, Nike!

    Nike-just-do-it

    you're right

    Like my friend's advice of "If you keep asking yourself the same question, you're asking yourself the wrong question" ["why do I feel so tired and lazy all the time?"], I file this under Running.

    I haven't reeeeeeally run since the marathon… in October.  I've made a couple half-hearted attempts to get back and even done a 5k race or two, but blaaaaah, is what my brain said.

    But my brain is stupid.  

    If I don't run, I don't get up "early" (8am is early for our family).  If I don't get up early, I don't get any time to myself.  If I don't get any time to myself, I go something something.

     

    I've been asking myself (here's Babs' advice at work!) why I've been so crabby with the little ladies and The G and why I've been so unproductive and sleepy for months.  It took me until LAST NIGHT to figure out my 3 months hiatus from running was making me nuts.

    Of course, it might not be running for everyone (although I can't recommend enough the idea of sweating once a day, it seems so cliché BUT IT'S TRUE!), but like I was talking about Friday, what is it that makes you crazy if it's not in your life?

    Poster_ENG_web

    A) Get more of That in your life.

    B) Keep getting That, even if you think it's too much trouble.

    C) Get over it; it's not too much trouble.

    dean winters

    hey, dummy