oh. my. porcupines.

I have done it ONCE AGAIN. Ignored ya'll for another semester! So sorry! But in my defense, HIGH SCHOOL IS SOME TOUGH STUFF. So glad freshman year is over. Time to start anew as a SOPHOMORE! Woot woot!!

Edit: SOPHOMORE YEAR IS TERRIBLE. DON'T GROW UP. GO BACK TO KINDERGARTEN WHERE WE ALL BELONG!

Okay. Another pledge I am going to make. And you can guess how it's going to go this time.

Whew. Here it goes.

I am going to blog throughout the summer.

Maybe even throughout the school year next year.

I don't know.

But I WILL BLOG IN THE SUMMER.

If I have enough time for Pinterest, I have enough time for Plies.

Love you guys, and thanks for being there for me :)

Since I'm a little rusty....... any ideas for blog posts?

What would YOU like to see at Plies?

December Fitness Routine

Ok, recently I've decided that I need to step up my workouts. A few crunches and releves aren't cutting it. I've moved past that stage. It's about time. I've been doing them for 2 1/2 years.

After doing a bit of research (and by research I mean Pinterest) i concocted a recipe for my daily workout.

FIRST OF ALL. I am taking this pledge:

1. Drink one glass of water every hour. It will make you feel full. 2. Drink ice cold water. Your body will burn calories just getting the water to a normal temperature to digest. Also it is great for your complexion. 3. Drink 3 cups of green tea daily. It will help boost your metabolism, plus its anti-oxidants make your skin look great. 4. Take vitamins daily. Do not take vitamins on an empty stomache, otherwise they have nothing to catalyze with. 5. Eat ice or gum when hungry. This will make your body think it had food without the calories. 6. Eat spicy foods. They raise your metabolism. 7. Take cold showers because your body will burn calories to heat you back up. 8. Brush your teeth so you won’t be tempted to eat afterwards. 9. Wear a rubberband around your wrist. Snap it when you want to eat. 10. Use smaller plates and utensils so it seems like you ate more. 11. Chew each bite of food thoroughly and then take a sip of water between bites. You will feel full quicker and will not eat as much. 12. Sleep at least six hours a day. If you get less than six this can lower your metabolism by 15%. 13. If you start to feel hungry do sit ups. 14. Pamper yourself! Give yourself a facial, paint your nails, anything to make you feel pretty. 15. Keep track of everything you eat to manage your weight better. 16. Keep good posture, burns 10% more calories when you sit up straight. 17. Make a list of all the “bad” foods that you crave and tend to binge on. Each day, pick one to take out of your diet that you cannot eat again. Take one off the list each day until there are no more bad foods you can have. 17. Avoid alcohol! A shot of liquor has 100-120 calories, a glass of wine has 80 calories, a lite beer has 110-120 calories, and a regular beer has 140-170 calories. 18. Avoid eating anything bigger than about a cup, your stomach will expand and then you’ll get hungry more. 19. The smell of coffee is thought to supress appetite. 20. Wear applied lip gloss. It makes you more aware of what’s going in your mouth. Also, flavored ones may help with cravings. 21. Have 6 small meals a day. 22. Low calorie hot chocolate curbs chocolate cravings, and makes you feel full. 23. Take a picture of yourself wearing a bathing suit or something equally important to you, look at it before you want to eat. 24. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to realize the stomach is full. 25. Eat lots of fiber. It makes you feel full and takes fat with it out of your body. The natural cleansing helps improve both your energy level and overall feeling of wellness. 26. Before you dig into that cake, bag of chips, candy, or whatever, take a deep breath and count to 100. Usually by the time you get to 100 you will have convinced yourself that you don’t really want it. 27. Celery actually burns calories. Every hour eat a stalk of it. Not only will it fill you up, but it will also get your metabolism kicking. 28. Read the nutritional information. Remember, fat-free does not mean calorie-free. 29. Keep an eye on fiber content. Get as much fiber into your diet as you can, while cutting fat and calories. 30. Don’t eat a lot at once. Spread your food throughout the day. This will help to avoid binging and keep your metabolism going. 31. Avoid alchohol. 32. Do not eat in front of the computer or TV. This distracts you from recognizing you’re full. 33. Stay away from Slim-fast and other so-called “healthy” candy bars and shakes… one look at the nutition facts will tell you why. Save yourself the money, and the calories. Buy yourself some flowers instead -- they make you happy. 34. When having cravings try drinking a tall, icy glass of water with slices of lemons or oranges - sometimes what you think is hunger is really thirst. 35. Remember, an occasional binge doesn’t hurt, in fact it’s quite beneficial if you have reached a plateau (stopped losing weight). Just don’t binge too regularly! 36. Love and respect yourself and your body.

It's quite the read, but read it through and you will want to take it with me.

SECONDLY, I am going with this plan:

"Set your alarm for 6am. Don’t groan when it goes off and pull the covers over your head, get up and start your day. Put on a baggy top and running shorts. Go downstairs and pour yourself a nice big glass of ice water. Cut up some fruit and mix it in with yogurt. Add some granola. Now go outside. Stretch for 10 minutes. Skip for 5 minutes. Jog for 10 minutes. Run for 10 minutes. Walk back. Lay out a towel on the ground and lie down on it. Do 50 crunches. Yes, they hurt, but they are 100% worth it. When you’re done, get in the shower. Use a nice smelling shampoo and matching conditioner. Shave your legs and wash your body. Exfoliate your face. Get out of the shower and let your hair air dry. Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? If you do, good for you. Do this every day and you will continue to love yourself. If you don’t like what you see, do this every day and pretty soon you will. Being lazy might feel good at the time, but being active feels better in the long run. How badly do you want it?"

Now, to that plan I am making a tiny adjustment. Along with the 50 crunches, I am adding:

3 sets of wall holds, for as long as I can

15 to 20 bent-knee push-ups

20 chair dips

40 second plank into tummy tucks (as many as possible)

30 donkeys

20 front lunges on each leg

Jumping on the trampoline for (at least) 10 minutes

SO. here is the total workout:

"Set your alarm for 6am. Don’t groan when it goes off and pull the covers over your head, get up and start your day. Put on a baggy top and running shorts. Go downstairs and pour yourself a nice big glass of ice water. Cut up some fruit and mix it in with yogurt. Add some granola. Now go outside. Stretch for 10 minutes. Skip for 5 minutes. Jog for 10 minutes. Run for 10 minutes. Walk back. Lay out a towel on the ground and lie down on it. Do 50 crunches. Yes, they hurt, but they are 100% worth it. Then, 3 sets of wall holds, for as long as I can. 15 to 20 bent-knee push-ups. 20 chair dips. 40 second plank into tummy tucks (as many as possible). 30 donkeys. 20 front lunges on each leg. Jumping on the trampoline for (at least) 10 minutes. When you’re done, get in the shower. Use a nice smelling shampoo and matching conditioner. Shave your legs and wash your body. Exfoliate your face. Get out of the shower and let your hair air dry. Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? If you do, good for you. Do this every day and you will continue to love yourself. If you don’t like what you see, do this every day and pretty soon you will. Being lazy might feel good at the time, but being active feels better in the long run. How badly do you want it?"

THAT is my December pledge.

oh. boy.

ONCE AGAIN.

I go through a long bout of being unpredictably silent. Oh, me. Why are you so fickle? One moment you LUURRRVVVV blogging, and the next you don't post for a month!!!

Aye Aye Aye.

At times like these I wish I was a pirate.

here is what happened since my last post:

1. HALLOWEEN. I went as none other than Jack Sparrow.

2. I went to DisneyWorld. (fun stuff)

3. I went to the mountains for a weekend.

4. I had Thanksgiving dinner with my best friends and their family.

5. I got sick.

6. I watched every Disney Princess movie in a row.

7. I am watching last year's Spring Concert with my 6 year old sister while she sings every single song. Did I mention she has Ethel Merman's voice?? Yeah, I have a headache in places I have never had them before.

7. I decided to blog while I still have the chance.

8. Did I mention I haven't been at school for 3 weeks? vacation + Thanksgiving break + sickies = i'm gonna get smacked with reality like a one-eyed porcupine.

whew!

So, while I veg out on the couch with oreos and ballet concerts, I decided to get stuff done. Pointless stuff that means a lot to me. Like blogging and making a work-out routine. My all-time biggest excuse for working out it that I don't have a routine. Well, while I still have time, I am making one!! I will post later when it is finished! I hope that some of you will take the pledge with me :)

Sincerely,

Rebecca

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I am so embarrassed about my July post. I will NEVER quit dance and I will try my hardest to NEVER quit Plies. I cannot thank you enough for all of your encouraging comment - I love you all so much!! And for that other dancer...... well, she's 2233.2 miles away. Ancient history.

In the meantime, I will give you a run-down of what has happened since then.

1. I visited with a good friend who I hadn't seen in 8 years
2. I had another bithday
3. School/Ballet started
4. I planned a trip to Disney
5. I auditioned for Cinderella
6. I got the part of one of the stepsisters
7. On September 29, 2011, I made a trip to Dance Fashions Superstore with my ballet teacher to try on none other than.................POINTE SHOES.

Yep, I got my pointe shoes. I haven't even had them for a week. They don't smell bad yet :)

Quick question for experienced dancers: Is it normal for the satin to come off of the toe within the third wear? 'Cause mine did.

Well, are we caught up? I hope so.

I decided to change my theme to Halloween, so I would be obligated to change it in less than a month, ensuring that I will stay connected with Plies :)

Love,
Rebecca

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

Hey ya'll! It's a rainy Labor Day down here.......... and so Pinterest consumes my day, instead of homework.

I am a nerd. via Pinterest (duh!!)

I am a nerd. I KNOW I should be working. I feel so bad, skimping out on homework to blog and repin and repin again.

It's time to get the pack of 318562881356 cans of Pumpkin at Costco...... via Pinterest

But what a loverly day to sit back and bake some pumpkin chocolate chip brownies. Yep, I've got a recipe for ya'll! It's time to get the pack of 318562881356 cans of Pumpkin at Costco....... It's fall! Finally...... for any others out there who live in the South, you KNOW why I am so happy. For others who are unaware, it is HOT. Too hot. So hot its not fair. I can't wait until its cold.

Recipe Adapted from this loverly lady.

Enjoy!

I am so sorry about the last post. I meant most of what I said, except for the quitting parts. I will keep Plies alive, but I can't post everyday. I am definitely keeping up ballet classes. After taking my first summer ballet class yesterday, I replenished the aching part of my body. My mind clouded with thoughts as my pique turns got faster and faster. Eventually, I did a semi-double without falling over. That's a first for me. My body does not like turning.

Thank you so much for all of the warm comments. I have never felt more cyber-loved. I know that I am not strong enough for pointe, but I just want to be. Because that other girl has never been nice, I felt like she didn't deserve them, you know?

Will return,
Rebecca

a depressing matter

Hi. I am writing this post while I am on vacation because it needs to be written. Other posts have written about the general matter, but this post is coming from my heart. I woke up this morning in tears because my feelings were so strong.

Last night at a Fourth of July party, a fellow dancer came up to me. She is quite younger than me, very immature, but she has amazing feet. She asked me when I was getting my pointe shoes. I told her the truth, this fall or winter if I work hard. She responded in a snotty way, "I am getting mine Thursday." Now, you must understand, my dance teacher is so kind, she sends out an email saying who will get their pointe shoes, so that no other dancers have the shock in class. I was told of three dancers getting their pointe shoes by my mom several weeks ago at home. When this dancer told me of this, I was shocked, and it was all I could do not to burst out in tears.

It's not selfish. You might not understand, but I've worked harder than that dancer. No doubt I am happy for her, but it's just depressing.

I sometimes doubt if ballet is worth all of the heartbreak. Maybe I'll quit after summer term. I don't know. Maybe this is just one little speed bump in life that has flattened my tire. Will I wrangle enough courage to put the spare on? Or will I wait for someone to rescue me?

Dancing is heartbreak. As long as I dance, my heart will break. After I get my pointe shoes, there will still be more instances. Why me? Why couldn't my mom have put me in ballet class when I was two? It's not her fault. I have so many thoughts spewing out of my fingers.

Alone in this messy room, I feel small and weak. I have a voice telling me it;s not worth it. "Why don't you just stop the painful mornings of prepointe? Throw away that theraband. Just throw out your ballet bag and never return to classes!"

My face is damp with tears. It took so much guts to write that. Ballet is hard, but that's why I do it. No one knew about these hidden feelings, but now you do. I had them all bottled up inside. I had to let it out. If I told one of my ballet friends, it would get around and make a huge fight with that one dancer. If I told a non-ballet friend, he/she wouldn't understand and would flip out over my tears. If I told my mom, she would make me do something I didn't want to do. Talk to that other dancer. That's the last thing I want to do. I never want to see her face again. She's moving in a few weeks. This may sound horrifyingly horrific, but I can't wait. Her brother is one of the sweetest boys I've ever met, but she has been nasty and rude ever since I met her.

I hate ballet. I love it, also.

I'm sorry I ever promised to keep up with posts. I knew I couldn't. I might not ever again. I might come back, once a week, month, year, but I'm not sure. For now, I just want to curl up in a corner and die. I love the 3 people who read my blog with all of my heart, and I will cherish you forever.

Goodbye.