Tappin 2011

*I know I posted this the other night.  I'm sure of it.  But thanks to Blogger's major FAIL this week, it seems to have disappeared into internet nowhere-ness.  Thanks, Blogger.*

On Friday, I briefly mentioned that I was going to a dance show Saturday night with my mom and sister.  It is one of the two dance schools in Hershey (for a small town, it seems to have a very high concentration of dancers!) - One Broadway - and they have been known for years to put on quite a show every year.  The school got its start in 1991 (holy crap) when the two owners of the original school (Hershey School of Dance) had a falling out.  One Broadway opened down the street from Hershey School of Dance and quickly gained a reputation as the (in my humble opinion) stronger "talent pool" in town. 

Over the years, One Broadway put on some seriously amazing shows, which they called "Tappin."  Because of the talent of its dancers, it was able to pull off things that you'd see in big dance companies.  They copied - almost tap for tap - numbers from Broadway shows.  Tappin has always been a big production, and the weekend of the show is a big weekend in Hershey.  Girls took off school on the Friday before the show to "prepare," and the whole town turned out to see it. 

In the years after my sister's class left, things kind of got a little weird at One Broadway, and the quality of the show (from what I've heard) suffered.  I went back this year not really knowing what to expect.  I have to say that although it's definitely different from the years I was there, it seems to be on the up-swing.  There are definitely some talented girls (one in particular who I could not take my eyes off of) and for the most part, the choreography was very strong.  I think the show still has a way to go, but it's obvious that the current teachers (3 of whom are One Broadway alumni; 2 of whom I absolutely worshiped when I was a wee thing) really care about turning the school around and making it the spectacle it once was. 

Anyway, I know none of you really care about any of this, but One Broadway and Tappin were such a huge part of my life for so long, I really just wanted to talk about it a little bit.  To make it more interesting, and to help showcase some of the crazy things that One Broadway did over the years, here are a few pictures from my days as a One Broadway dancer.  Get ready, cuz I am about to supremely embarass myself!!

1989 - "Playin with the Boys."  My first year of dance.  I was 10.  And yes, that is a trash can lid on my foot.  That's how awesomesauce 1Bway was.  I cannot tell you how much it was to stomp around with that thing.  This same year, we did another number dressed as painters and carried ladders around.

1990 - "Baby, I'm a Star."  Little-known but awesome Prince song.  This year we also did Grease, and had pink ladies and t-birds.  I was a t-birds.  I wore a white t-shirt, black jeans, and black Converse with taps on them.

1991 - "Strike It Up."  Ok, so this year was kind of major for me.  I dropped my hula hoop.  In the show.  In the first minute.  It rolled across the stage, off the stage, and up the aisle of the theater.  I wanted to die.  Instead, I finished the dance, then ran off stage in tears.  I cannot hear that song today and not get all nervous inside.

1992 - "The Rhythm."  This was a fun one.  This year, we also did a number from Will Rogers Follies called "Give a Man Enough Rope."  We were dressed as cows.  Complete with horns and a tail.  You will never see that, internet.  Ever.

 1993 - I don't remember the name of this one.  My friends and I thought we looked like hookers.  I remember being terribly annoyed that we took the pictures this year in this costume rather than our other one.  Our other number this year was from the show Crazy for You.  We wore the same costumes they did in the show, complete with blonde curly wigs.  It was great.  And one of my favorite numbers.

1994 - "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas."  Our other number this year was called "Mardi Gras," and I hated it.  I think I must have skipped the pro photos this year.  It was my last year of dance and I was kind of getting over it.  Although I did absolutely love this number.  This is the only picture I have.  Look carefully and you can see where my mom circled my head. 

So there you are, world.  My tap days in all their glory.  I do miss dance sometimes, and have looked for tap classes in the area, but I worry that I'll never find anything as good as One Broadway so I never actually end up taking a class.  It's silly, I know.  That's me, though.  Picky to a fault.

*Sorry for the crappy photos.  They're pictures I took with my phone of the pictures my mom pasted in my baby book.  That's why they're so dark and grainy.

Wow.

9 years ago today, my life was railroaded.  What happened that night changed me.  If you'd told me then that everything would work out and that my life would move forward, I'd never have believed you.  I felt totally stuck.  And it scared me to death.

In the years following, the anniversary of that night was a day that I stayed in bed and wallowed.  I dreaded it for days beforehand, and it made me feel anxious and sad and scared and angry.

These days, I don't even really think about it.  I had no idea it was today until I woke up and logged onto facebook and saw that it was Matt's cousin's daughter's birthday.  A few years ago, I discovered that her birthday is the same day.  If I hadn't realized today was her birthday, I wouldn't have realized today was the anniversary. 

I'm so proud of myself that I no longer dwell on it and that I've moved on to a point where I barely even think about it anymore.  The girl that I was before that night will never exist again, but I'm closer to her now than I was for years after.  Days like today remind me how strong I am.  And that, above anything else, puts a smile on my face.

Nerd Alert!

You guys.  I love Harry Potter.  Possibly more than any book or movie series ever.  My sister gave me my first Harry Potter book back a thousand years ago when it first came out, and since then I have devoured them.  I have read them over and over.  I have pre-ordered new books so that they arrive on my doorstep on the day of release.  I have gone to see every single movie in the theater.  I have purchased (or had purchased for me) every movie.  I have the special edition books (The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and Harry's schoolbooks).  I have a Harry Potter keychain.  And a pewter Harry Potter Christmas ornament that does not hang on my tree but rather sits in its box on my bookshelf.  On display.  In our living room.

Yes, I realize that I am 32 and not 12.  But there's something about these books that just totally suck me in.  It is the first series where I really feel like I lost myself in the book.  Where I really believed that a place like Hogwarts existed.  Where I really tried to picture what a hippogriff looked like and how butterbeer tasted.  I love seeing the movies not only because I love seeing the stories come to life, but also because I love seeing how closely my imagination of these things matches the director (who, as you know, consulted a lot with J.K. Rowling). 

So, because of my love of all things Harry Potter, I was bored the other day and started playing on Pinterest and Etsy.  Here are a few Harry Potter things I just luuuuuurve.

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I don't do tattoos, but this might make me reconsider

Hogwarts snuggie?!  Yes, please!

I wish I could pull these off!

So true

And for future Erin/Matt babies...

Gryffindor beanie!



Onesie



For the nursery wall

So?  Am I a huge dork, or what?

Answers to the New York Quiz

Ok, so here are the locations from the TV and Movie Tour photos I posted on Wednesday.

1. Trump Tower - as seen in Celebrity Apprentice, Borat, and August Rush

2. New York Public Library - as seen in Sex and the City, Spider-Man, Ghostbusters, Breakfast at Tiffany's, etc

3. Washington Square Arch - as seen in When Harry Met Sally, August Rush, I am Legend, etc

4. Will Smith's house in I Am Legend

5. Katz's Deli - as seen in When Harry Met Sally ("I'll have what she's having"), Across the Universe, Man vs. Food, etc

6. Toby Maguire (aka Peter Parker)'s apartment in Spider-Man

7. Dean and Deluca - where Felicity worked (I so totally miss that show!)

8. Hook and Ladder 8 - as seen in Ghostbusters, Hitch, and Seinfeld

9. Will Smith's apartment in Hitch

Celebrity - Jeremy Piven, aka Ari Gold!  Just walkin down the street in Tribeca.  Matt's the one who spotted him!

10. #10 St. Luke's Place - The Cosby Show

11. The Friends' building!

12. The Soup Man - aka the Soup Nazi, from Seinfeld!

So, how'd you do???

Fun Fact Friday

The Kentucky Derby is on Saturday, and I'm pretty excited.  Actually, I'm just excited in general for the weekend.  Matt and I packed up the car this morning for a road trip to Hershey for the weekend.  Tonight we'll just chill at home with my mom and step-dad and my sister and her husband.  Our plan for tomorrow is that my mom, sister, and I are having spa day at the Spa at the Hotel Hershey.  We'll spend the day getting pampered - chocolate massage, pedicures, and laying around in our thick terry robes. 

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In the meantime, the boys are playing a round of golf.  We're meeting up with them later for a Kentucky Derby party at the Hershey Country Club.  I never used to watch horse races, until a few years ago when my parents became co-owners of a racehorse.  Because of that, I have a better understanding of racing, so it's a little more fun.  Plus, at the club, they are serving mint juleps - I've never had one, so I'm anxious to try it.  Saturday night, my mom, sister, and I are going to the dance show in Hershey that my sister and I performed in for 15 years.  I'm excited to see how things have changed since Callie and I left the dance school.  Plus, Matt's cousin's daughter is performing in several numbers, so it'll be fun to watch her.

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Anyway, back to the Fun Fact Friday.  Since tomorrow is the Derby, here are a few fun facts about it!

~ The Kentucky Derby trophy is made of 56 ounces of 14 and 18 karat gold

~ The horseshoe atop the Derby initially pointed down until 1924 when they rotated it 180 degrees.

~ Early Times is the official Kentucky whiskey used in the mint juleps served at the Derby.

~ The Garland of Roses, which is presented to the winner, has been shipped to Danville, KY to be freeze-dried since 1996.

~ In 1896, the race was shortened from 1 1/2 to 1 1/4 miles because they were concerned that was too long for the colts to run in the Spring.

~ There has never been a winner out of post #15 (I already emailed that fun fact to Matt so we know not to ever place bets on that horse)!

~ The fastest Derby time was posted by Secretariat in 1973, at 1:59.40

And now I leave you with some pictures of some fun Kentucky Derby hats...

Have a great weekend, guys!
*facts from here.  hat photos from here.

New York Trip...and Quiz!

2 weeks ago, Matt and I spent the night of our 6-month anniversary in New York City.  The hotel stay and tickets to a show were gifted to us by our friends GM Matt and BM Steph.  Steph and I have been friends since childhood, and the two boys can say the same.  It was at their house in Boston where Matt and I met.  They have been a part of our relationship from the very beginning, through the good times (we said I love you for the first time at their house) and the bad (I lived with them for three weeks when Matt and I broke up).  So they know us better than probably anyone else.  And they knew that a trip to New York would be perfect for us.

We arrived at the hotel and checked into our room, then headed downtown to see Ground Zero.  I hadn't been there since 9/11, even though I'd been in the city plenty of times.  I just couldn't even bring myself to go down there.  Now, it looks like a big construction zone, as they are rebuilding some of the towers and creating the memorials.  We spent about 2 hours down there, then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.  After an ok dinner at Nino's Positano, we went to our show - Avenue Q.  If you haven't seen this show yet, do yourself a favor and go.  It is absolutely hysterical.  After the show, we stopped in at an Irish pub for some live Irish music and a few drinks, before heading back to the Waldorf to finish off the night with our complimentary cocktails (dirty martinis!).  Here are just a few photos from Saturday...

Steel beam cross from Ground Zero

Dedicated to the survivors of 9/11

The next morning, we woke up and walked over to Ellen's Stardust Diner to meet the tour bus for the New York TV and Movie tour.  The tour took us all over the city, and I was so excited to see parts of the city I'd never seen before - Alphabet City, the lower east side, Tribeca, SoHo, etc.  Really really fun.

So, are you ready for the quiz? 

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Can you name the celebrity?

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In a comment, name as many as you can.  Like I said, you won't really win anything other than bragging rights; I just thought it might be fun!  I'll post the answers on Friday!

Ding Dong! The Monster's Dead!

I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice note saying I approved of it.  (Mark Twain)

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Rot in hell, bin Laden.

Here's the thing, though.  Already.  Not 12 hours after US Forces killed Osama bin Laden at his hideout in Pakistan, people are making it political.  I've seen lots of snarky comments from my facebook friends from both sides of the political spectrum: "Obama did what Bush couldn't...again" (democrat) and "Obama will be sure to take credit for the war and killing bin Laden" (republican). 

This morning when I was watching the news, the state representative for New York was interviewed on The Today Show.  He made a comment in which he said, "I would just like to say, as a Republican, that President Obama did an excellent job..." I'm paraphrasing a bit, but he definitely said "as a Republican."  Why?  Why not "as a human being" or "as a citizen of the planet Earth"?  "As a Republican" has no place in that statement. 

Why must EVERYTHING turn into politics?  The monster is dead.  Who cares who's responsible?  Who cares who started the war or gave the order or whatever else?  He's dead.  Gone.  The man responsible for taking thousands of innocent lives on 9/11 is no more.  Leave politics out of it and just be glad.  Justice is done.

In any case, many many many thanks to our men and women in uniform.