7 years of dance!

It came up on my Facebok TimeHop last week: seven years ago was when DD1 had her first trial of dance lessons.  When she was 3yo we had signed her up to gymnastics lessons.  As a toddler she was very 'academic' - she was already reading at this age, but wasn't the most coordinated of people, so we thought gymnastics might help her gain her balance etc.  And it did (and yes, she still does gym now).  On the same site as gymnastics, we would walk past a preschool ballet class.  DD1 would look through the windows longingly and ask to join in. So, a couple of months after her 4th birthday DD1 started dancing: 45min which incl 30min ballet and 15min tap.

She was only in the preschool class for a few months, before being moved up to the next classes: 45min each of ballet and tap.  And she was in her first dance school show, in our local theatre, that November when DD1 had just turned 5.  Of course, DD2 was being dragged around the classes, when we had to wait for DD1's lessons, so when she was old enough she wanted to start dancing too.  It turns out that you can start dancing from 2.5yo, so after the show had finished, DD2 started in the preschool class. 

It's amazing how time flies, but also how dance takes over our lives!  From a 45min class, I'm now at the dance school (which has now moved to larger studios) 6 days a week - sometimes 7 if there is a show or a festival coming up and extra practice is needed. My schedule is now as follows:

• Monday - DD1 & DD2 Joint private lesson for Musical Theatre exams
• Tuesday - DD1 does Grade 4 Modern, Grade 5 Modern, Grade 4 Tap, Joint Private lesson with DD2 for Festival solos, Grade 4 Ballet.  DD2 does her 1.5hr gymnastics class, and then joins DD1 for their Festival private lesson.
• Wednesday - DD1 does Silver Tap and Silver Jazz, then does her 1.5hr gymnastics class.  DD2 does Free Syllabus Ballet
• Thursday - DD1 does Grade 4 National.  If we're busy on the weekend, then DD2 will do her ballet, tap and modern classes on a Thursday.
• Friday - DD1 does Festival Duets class.  Then DD1 & DD2 are together for Junior Acro for Dance, Junior Musical Theatre, Junior Limbering, Junior Festival Groups
• Saturday - DD2 does Grade 1 Ballet, Grade 1 Tap, Grade 2 Modern, Junior Free Syllabus Jazz.  DD1 does a Theatre Company for 2 hours at a different performing arts school.
• Sunday - DD1 has monthly practices as part of Tap Attack Junior Associates that she successfully auditioned for earlier this year.

And that doesn't even include any dance festivals.  

Fortunately, the girls' dance school only does festivals during half-terms, but since it is half-term here now, we're having to travel 1.5hrs each way, to go to a dance festival in Pershore this week.  But we have had some success!

DD1 did her duet, and it was the best we'd ever seen her perform it!  She didn't get placed, but there were 24 duets in their group, so she had some stiff competition.

DD2 had her Tap solo yesterday, and got a Silver medal!  There were fewer competitors in her group, but is the first medal she has received for a solo so she is very proud of herself.

We're back at the festival for more solos and group dances next weekend.

I'm Back!

With a new laptop, so can finally connect to the world again - phew!

What's new with you? Seemingly not much has happened here, though I know I've missed writing, so it is probably more to do with my memory due to getting older, than anything else; as at some point in the past little while I have had something to say.

I had a mini-cancer scare.  Not a big one, and not anything I was actually worried about, but because I'm BRCA1+ I need to be extra vigilant.  The skin on one of my breasts has changed, so I had to make a GP appointment. The system at my local surgery has changed, so all calls now go through to a call centre that is centralised to many surgeries.  As a result, even though I phoned first thing in the morning and was on hold for 30min, when I got through there were no appointments left.  After a bit of a mix-up, I got a call from a GP and managed to get an appt the following day.  When I saw the GP he said it looked like dermatitis, which is what I suspected anyway, but better safe than sorry.


I'm actually 'on hold' at the moment to the same call centre.  I need to make asthma reviews for myself and the girls; but this new system is a nightmare.  I have opted for a call-back this time, but I've no idea how long that'll take and I daren't go to the loo in case that's when they choose to return my call.

I'm still going with my 2B Mindset training course.  I've had the virtual F2F session with Ilana, and am now finishing up going through the videos and the coursebook before I take the exam.  Fortunately, it seems that you can take the test as many times as you need, before you pass, as long as it's within 3 months; so that's a good sign.  But, I do want to complete it asap, so I don't have it hanging over my head over Christmas.  Speaking of which, I finally completed last year's tax return for HMRC yesterday.  Normally I like to do it in April, but I wasn't up to date, so kept putting it off and putting it off... Even though the deadline isn't until 31st January, I was still getting nervous that I wasn't doing it, so I'm glad I can feel relaxed now.

And this weekend starts yet another dance festival, so we'll be driving to Pershore and back, repeatedly, over the next week.  Both girls are dancing, and  it is good experience for them, even if it uses up all my time and money!

Hopefully, next time I write, I'll have something a bit better to say.

Why on earth would you be a Naturist?

Firstly, being a naturist is more than being naked.  For example, I still consider myself a naturist, but it's too cold to be without clothing at the moment - Brrrrr!  Naturism is the enjoyment of non-sexual nudity.  For me, it's simply the sensible option when hot, or when going swimming, or even when camping.

If you're hot, it's so annoying when you are somewhere where you can't remove your shirt.  Blokes have it lucky in that it's generally acceptable for them to remove their shirt when hot, but the same isn't for women.  So, I am a big supporter for the TopFreedom Movement.

Similarly when swimming - what is the point of putting on clothing that will only get wet and stick to your skin, leaving nothing to the imagination anyway AND you then have to do the ridiculous Towel Dance in order to get dry and changed? Or worse, look like you're trying to emulate Mr Bean?!!
Ignoring the fact that most people look better naked than squished into a swimming costume, it's easier to simply drip dry when naked, and redress quickly and efficiently.



Camping may sound strange, but you also feel warmer when naked than partially clothed, and showering when camping, again, s quick and efficient.  There's no need to take a bag of clothes to the shower, trying to shower without getting your clothes nor towel wet, and then balancing on one leg in a small cubicle, trying to change without getting your clothes on the wet floor and the water from next door's shower coming underneath.  Nope. Simply take a towel to the shower; shower; dry your body with said towel and then wrap it around your hair before walking back to your tent. Easy.

And that is all ignoring the sensory side of naturism - the feeling of the sun on your skin, a warm breeze, cool water etc.  It helps you feel alive.
And (again) the social side - firstly, everyone is treated as equals.  There is no evidence of anyone's status or education or money or anything else when naked, we are all simply who we are and are accepted as so.  There are the body beautiful, the young, the old and wrinkly, fat and skinny.  There are people with scars, disabilities, medical needs (eg stoma bags that you can see when naked).  Everyone gets accepted for who they are.  And (again, again) actually I never noticed until I became a naturist that people don't talk to my eyes when I'm dressed.  Yes, my boobs are on the bigger side of normal, but it was startling to me initially that, when naked, people DID look into my eyes/face when talking.  They'd already seen my breasts - no need for them to keep looking there to get a glimpse or imagine what was below my clothing.
And (again, again, again) yes, there are children.  Personally I think it is important that children grow up seeing real, naked people.  Firstly it takes away any potential danger or compromising situation about "show me yours and I'll show you mine" or naïvely getting into a situation they can't handle out of ignorance/curiosity.  Secondly, for their own mental health, it is important that children do not only see naked models or porn stars. People do come in all shapes and sizes.  Some people are hairier than others.  Some people are not totally symmetrical (in fact, most women's breasts are not symmetrical).  There is no such thing as "normal".

But what about paedophiles? In my experience, naturists tend to be more aware and more protective of children.  Obviously, everyone has to do what they are comfortable with themselves, but naturism is family-friendly and non-sexual.  So for me, I allow DD1 and DD2 to stay dressed or to undress as they want.  I do not allow any photographs of them when naked.  And they are supervised as they would be anywhere else. 
In the unlikely event that there was a paedophile at an event (obviously beaches are public so can't be controlled as well, but the police are on our side and swiftly act if there is any unwanted behaviour), Naturist Clubs and British Naturism have child protection policies and if there is inappropriate sexual behaviour (between adults) they will warn/evict/ban as appropriate, and if anything involves a child, obviously there would be an immediate ban and the police would be involved.

Isn't it illegal? No.  Naturism in the UK is not illegal.  In fact, in England and Wales it is LEGAL to be anywhere in public when naked, unless there are specific by-laws for that area.  I would say that common sense is needed, for example walking past a school when naked may not be the most sensible idea, but being in your own home or garden, or in the countryside or on a beach, nudity is perfectly allowed.

But what about The Naked Rambler? His is a specific case, and I do have some sympathy for him, though I don't necessarily think he goes about things the right way.  So, in Scotland, they interpret the law about nudity causing offense slightly differently to England and Wales, so I would not advise anyone to be naked in public in Scotland unless on a specific naturist beach/club or at a specific event.  Things are changing slowly in Scotland, but it's not something I could in good conscience recommend.  But he was arrested in England too! Yes, he was arrested and imprisoned for repeatedly breaking his ASBO.  Just because someone has an ASBO to prevent them being out after 9pm, does not mean everybody has to stay in after 9pm.  Similarly, just because someone has an ASBO preventing them being naked in public, does not mean everybody has to be clothed in public.  Whether I think the ASBO preventing nudity is right (I don't) is another conversation, but the reason for his arrests were for breaking that ASBO and refusing to dress to appear in court.

But what about your faith? All the Christians I know are prudes... Let's start by repeating the fact that Naturism is non-sexual nudity.  So whether a Christian would be classed by you as a 'prude' or not, has nothing to do with naturism.  If you read the Bible, you can see that nudity is not demonised at all.

Genesis 1:27, 31 says "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day." 
God saw naked people, and called it good!  It was only after they had sinned and felt shame, that they wanted to hide away and found themselves clothes.  Even throughout the rest of the Bible, there are stories of prophets walking, preaching, prophesying when nude. Nude is not Rude!
Anyone interested in finding our more about being a Christian and a Naturist, I would recommend looking at this site: Christian Naturist Fellowship.  Yes, there are enough naturist Christians to have a group and a website!  And yes, I have been to services when naked.

This is getting quite long, so I'll leave the story of how I became a naturist to another time...

Always Learning

Another of the great things of the 2B Mindset is there is no such thing as pass/fail.  You always Try it, Track it, and See if it works for You.  It gives you the freedom that if you do eat something that with hindsight you could have done without, then you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and start demolishing everything in sight.  You simply learn from your mistake and do better next time.

For example, I went away last weekend, and I knew I would not be in control of what food I ate, but was determined to try and stick to the Plate-It ratios as best I could. What I didn't foresee, however, was that there would be ZERO veggies.  I'm not joking!  Other than the final day, when I was free to eat 2 plates of salad, there was not a single vegetable served alongside any of the meals (or even within them!).  I did eat fruit every day, but the bulk of the meals were carb based (not even FFCs!) with meat and sauces/accessories.

So, my weight this morning, unsurprisingly, has increased to 95.4kg - only 0.6kg lower than my starting weight a fortnight ago.  But, I am not concerned.  I did drink plenty of water over the weekend, and I will return to eating Veggies Most today, and it will soon fall off again.

My key learning, is that if I go somewhere where I am not in control of what is being prepared, to plan ahead and take veggies with me.  It will be hard, especially without a fridge/cooker, but if I am travelling for a weekend, then there are some veggies that can cope without being refrigerated that can be eaten raw.  Rather than take a cake along if asked (which I did, not realising that everyone else took a cake too!), take along a platter of veggies, or perhaps some easy-cook vegetables that could be brought out as a side dish.


My weight has gone up, but all is not lost.
Learn, Move On, and Do Better Next time.

God's Story and Our Story

That was the theme of the church retreat.  We spent time looking at the overview of God's Story; looking back, looking forward and looking up at who God is.

If you ever get a chance to go on retreat, either with others or by yourself, I'd recommend it as a great time to step away from normal life and getting to know God (and yourself!) a bit better.

On Saturday afternoon, I had some time to myself, so I listened to worship music whilst reading and exploring the Bible.  After doing that for a couple of hours, it was interesting to see that though I had no specific plan of what I wanted to study, it was very clear that God was showing me all about His love, and that His love is continual and evident throughout the whole of His story and our story (which coincidentally, or God-incidentally, was this weekend's theme).

So, I'm going to share with you some of the verses I was reading and meditating on: God loved us, loves us, and will always love us.  We do not deserve God's love and there is nothing we can do to merit it.

Psalm 138:1-3

I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your loving kindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
In the day when I cried out,
You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

John 15:5, 12, 16

"I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

1 John 4:18-21

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  We love Him because H first loved us.
If someone says "I love God" and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him; that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Proverbs 13:5

A righteous man hates lying,
But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.

1 John 1:6-9

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.


Our Father
Who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thine Kingdom come
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us
And lead us not into temptation
And deliver us from evil
for Thine is the Kingdom,
The power and the Glory
Forever and ever.
Amen


Revelation 3:5

"He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before my Father and before His angels."

Jude 24, 25

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Saviour,
Who alone is wise
Be Glory and majesty
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His Sanctuary,
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!

"Pervert!"

That's what I shouted at 3am Saturday morning, on my church retreat!

Fortunately, I didn't wake anyone else (I was in my own room, and my neighbours didn't hear me) because it was just a nightmare.  Very odd.  I often have nightmares/strange dreams, but usually I just wake up suddenly from them, I don't usually shout/scream, so I can only think that it was because I wasn't in my own bed.

We had just moved house to a secluded old home (which incidentally was laid out similar to my childhood home); everybody had gone to bed and there was a knock on the door.  DD1 said there were loads of people outside trying to get in, but my dad said to ignore it.  I pretend I'm sleeping because I know that if they notice I'm awake, they will make me get up and answer the door, but I am comfy.

Eventually, the voices go away from the front of the house, and get louder where I am at the back.  This house has been built on a hill, so even though I'm upstairs from the front door, my bedroom is at ground-level at the back of the house.  Teenagers start peering in my bedroom window and they see me pretending to sleep, as I'm under the covers naked.  They then break the window and try to pull the covers off me.  As there are so many of them, I can't keep my duvet around me, so I start shouting "Pervert! Pervert! Pervert!"
And then I awoke.

A Weekend Away

I'm going on my Church's weekend retreat this evening, and I'm looking forward to it.  It will be a
good chance to get to know the people from my church more, and to build up my relationship with God.  It does mean that I will be entirely offline until Monday, but a break from technology is good for us all, at times.

To prepare, I have packed my bags, baked a cake, and bought myself a sandwich for tea.  I have written my husband a detailed list of where the children have to be and when, as apparently the kitchen calendar isn't good enough!  He even has it easy, because DD2 is at a party tomorrow, rather than having to be taken to dance, then home, then dance, then home again, as I usually have to do on a Saturday.  I do the Saturday running-around, because my father-in-law is ill so my husband has to travel to Wales each weekend.  Despite our hectic lives, Friday night is usually our Date-night, because we have THREE hours where BOTH girls are in dance lessons at the same time!  It's a mini-miracle!  So, I'll be missing that tonight, as I'll drop the girls off at dance, and then head straight to the retreat.  My husband will be able to have the chance to go for a decent length of run, before having to pick the children up.

This will be a test for me, as I will have no control over what I eat.  All the meals are prepared as a group, and provided for the group.  I will have to keep in mind the principles of the 2B Mindset, and aim, at a minimum, to drink Water First and eat Veggies Most, even if I can't practice the usual way to Plate It for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  This morning I have lost weight, so over the fortnight since I started I have lost 2lbs/week - assuming I don't put on any over the weekend!  I am allowed a treat, so will have a slice of the cake I made, but will try (honest!) not to have a slice of every cake, biscuit or cookie that is on offer.

So, God Bless you, thank you for reading this blog, and I hope you have a blessed and peaceful weekend xx