life is good!

it's rained twice today... pretty hard... the first good rains since ike - it's washing everything clean ...

the show tonight was wonderful...i felt in the groove dancing... i was on & it was FUN.... that's what it's supposed to be!

costuming ideas are coming...

gas at valero was 2.99999

and the full moon was beautiful...(earlier - before the rain rolled in)

the plants i planted are happy and full of life - i did not kill them!

it is the little things... yes!

WHAT IS GOOD IN YOUR LIFE?

working on the 3C shows - and adding private classes too!

just starting to look at youtubes and dvds submitted ..... knowing how long the shows can be... and adding up performance minutes...


oh.. and i'll be adding the healing arts classes - and opportunities for private classes with almost everyone... bu sure you are on my mailing list... that info will go out via email... since not everyone is on tribe. 1st paid - 1st confirmed on the privates.... pm me your email if you don't think you are on the list for these classes.... they won't be offered via the registration system on eventbrite...

more wisdom from tiki the yoga dog...

Good morning to my fellow yogis and yoginis! With all the parties and celebrations for my birthday last week, the past week has been full of fun and excitement for me. This week, though, I’m back to my normal schedule and back in the swing of being a yoga dog.



Even though it was great to be back in class and back to my yoga-dog duties, this week did seem a little boring and routine compared to all the excitement I had been having. My first instinct was to start wishing for the next big birthday party so that I could have fun again. But then it hit me that this was no way to go through life – living only for events that happen every once in a while and mindlessly trudging through the rest. I want to have fun in between those big events, too!



With this thought in mind as I was watching yoga class, I realized that there was a valuable lesson for me in the way that y’all practice the poses. You see, with yoga, our first inclination is just to focus on hitting these big, exciting postures, and we sometimes forget about all the movements in between those postures. But the more we practice, the more we become aware of our bodies and how we move into and out of the postures; we start to enjoy not only the poses, but all the stuff in between the asanas, as well. We learn not to rush from one impressive pose to the next, but instead to really get in there and experience every bit of the movement. This lesson begins to carry over into our daily lives, and before we know it, our hearts are filled with an appreciation that causes us to move through each day wide-awake, and experience everything that day offers, even the stuff that used to feel boring and mundane.



There is much more to life than just birthday parties, just as there is much more to yoga than hitting impressive postures. When we start to experience and enjoy the movement between the postures, we’re teaching ourselves to experience and enjoy even the day-to-day routines in between the exciting parties.



So this week, I’m going to focus on really living and experiencing my daily routines, not just blindly sleepwalking through them until my next party. And I hope you will also focus on connecting to the appreciation and joy that keep you energized and radiant, even in those weeks between birthday parties!

photoshop help....

does anyone know of a good reliable photoshop wizard?

i need a few things done quickly... HELP!

my new motto ...

nobody is human

(shortcut from ...nobody is perfect + everybody is human...)

Party Party Parteeee

The Urban Gypsy 5th Anniversary party is August 12th at Avant Garden...

Can you believe it's been that long since we first performed? It was a HABDA show @ Sirrom.

We've made so many dance friends along the way.... seen troupe members come and go..... learned so much & lived to tell about it. UG has endured and and "boy howdy" have we loved the trip! Our present troupe formation has been together for over a year - we are strong and are all having so much fun! But, we wouldn't be who and where we are today without everyones input along the way.

BEEEG Thanx (!) to all our current and former students, to the current and former members of Urban Gypsy & Gypsy Sister and to our fans & supporters of the art .... each & every one of you have been a part the journey! THANK YOU!

For our 5th anniversary show...
Banjaran Salon welcomes Almaazah and Safira as our guest dancers.

It's our largest wish that you (you know who you are) come and share the celebration with us! With a big throw down at the end of the night with anyone who knows some of the vocab.... hey - that's what it's all about right? Dancing together...!

Mark your calendars… There are going to be games .... and prizes for the audience! You are all going to love it......come have some cake & dance!

Fish Pedicure...

www.iht.com/articles/ap/...Pedicures.php

really....

How about them pancakes!!! ?

www.pancakeday.net/about.htm

Why does the date for Pancake Day change every year? Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day — all four terms refer to the same day-- the day before the beginning of Lent.

Apparently you have to PROVE you still have your "pancake".... by flipping it...


What is Pancake Day?

Many people are familiar with Mardi gras celebrations on the day before Lent. But in Liberal, Kansas, the day before Lent means just one thing – it’s Pancake Day.

The friendly little competition between Liberal, Kansas, and Olney, England, with women running down the streets of each town flipping pancakes, has been going on for more than 50 years now. It is still the only race of its kind on the planet.
( I WONDER WHY???)

On Shrove Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008, at 11:55 a.m., the race goes on again, with the overall score standing at 32 wins for Liberal and 25 for Olney. In 1980 the score didn't count, because a media truck blocked the finish line in Olney.
( OH THE HORROR!)

It all started in 1950 from a magazine picture of the Olney women racing each other to the church. Liberal Jaycee President R.J. Leete contacted the Rev. Ronald Collins, Vicar of St. Peter and St. Paul's church in Olney, challenging their women to race against women of Liberal.
( IT ALL STARTED WITH THE RELIGIOUS TYPES... FLIPPING THEIR CAKES IN PUBLIC!!!)

In Olney, the Pancake Race tradition dates back more than 500 years to 1445. A woman engrossed in using up cooking fats (forbidden during Lent) was making pancakes. Hearing the church bells ring calling everyone to the shriving service, she grabbed her head scarf (required in church) and ran to the church, skillet and pancake in hand and still apron-clad. In following years, neighbors got into the act and it became a race to see who could reach the church first and collect a "Kiss of Peace" from the verger (bell-ringer.) The kiss is still the traditional prize in both races.
(( COME ON AND RING MY BE-E--E--ELLLL.. RING MY BELL!~)

Racers must still wear a head scarf and apron and the runner must flip her pancake at the starting signal, and again after crossing the finish line, to prove she still has her pancake.

Oh dear.... there is a pageant too!
www.pancakeday.net/about.htm

Fire and shimmy..... July 8th.... Hot fun in the summer time....

Everyone sing along ! Hot fun in the summer time....

Banjaran Salon Welcomes members of Empyrean Fire Tribe....and more fab'n freaky guest spinners....

It's July in Houston... the fire works will be over....but it will still be HOT ! We are bringing you Belly Dance and Fire performance!

Urban Gypsy is bringing some things to the stage you haven't seen in a long while and some things you've NEVER seen before! Yusefina's students will be debuting a drum solo, Amiya with sword, Jala in lovely sequins and beads, some crazy veil, spinning skirts.. and so many shimmies!

Second Tuesdays... party.... party..... party....
... mark your calendars...

Banjaran Salon, Always Featuring Urban Gypsy and Friends
@ Avant Garden (formerly Helios)
411 Westheimer...
IT"S FREE...

8pm upstairs.... outside later..

AND... the show is usually over by 10p... it's a school night afterall!

Thanx to all the fire folks who are joining us... sharing their skills w/ the community... and helping us light up the night!

Pass the wurd... werd....

what to do w/ all these beads?

a possible project that popped into my brain...was taking my naked and headless barbie - covering her in glue... then beads...

like a barbie disco ball....

putting her in a bag and shaking her... like shak'n bake chicken... with beads'n barbie...

hanging from my rear view mirror -?