Playing catch up....

I am so having a hard time concentrating on writing this post!  I've been working on it for hours!  I swear there has been 200 distractions, from birthday texts (for the cat!!) to phone calls, from Facebook to Itunes, from a cat wanting attention to the dog not knowing what he wants......and that's just been this evening!

Wow - I haven't posted since my Reflections post?  Sheesh.  

Mother's Day was nice - We did our usual Sunday brunch, then I suggested to Randy, since he didn't get me anything that we go to a greenhouse to get a new tree for the spot where we had to old cherry tree taken out.  And I could get a hanging basket for my mom. 

So we ended up with another cherry tree, since the maples I was looking at would get too big.  This one is a sweet cherry, so maybe we'll actually get to eat some!

And I couldn't pass up a candy corn plant!  

If I was in a warmer zone, this could go outside, but it won't survive Michigan winters, so it'll be an indoor plant. 

Telly's has some cool stuff in their fairy garden section, so I got this bobble-head skeleton for my ceme-terrarium. 

My fur-babies. 

Daisy is 2 today!  

(Well, yesterday since I started this post before midnight!)

Saturday before Mother's Day was the last dance competition of the season - whew!  It was a busy day, since it was just the one day and final awards were scheduled for 3:45pm! 

Angel's first dance was the production that was the last number of the morning (all the beginner & intermediate levels) session which meant the afternoon was crazy busy with costume & hair changes! 

These first 2 were snagged off the Dance Force Facebook page.

 Clue - Production

Love that they got the ending pose, complete with the "victim" in mid fall! 

They got a High Gold / 1st place.

 Where Feet May Fail - Lyrical

High Gold

their teacher threatened to kick their butts because they did so much better in jazz with mostly the same girls!

Three - Angel's solo

High Gold

This was the first time she's ever danced barefoot!  The stage was really slippery and we saw quite a few kids slip & fall.  It was funny that after the last comp, Angel told me her teacher wanted to know if I was OK with her going without tights & wearing different shoes for this one, since the fishnets & jazz shoes were not "working".  Then same thing with going completely without once we got here.  Hell, if Gabby thinks it better to go without, then go without!!  

Girl Power - hiphop line

Platinum / Division Highest Point for HipHop / 1st Place

and a special "Power" award from the judges because it stood out to them.

We shared a dressing room with a team from Detroit and they were really impressed with our hiphop.  They had some good small group routines, but they were too "girly".  Our hiphop tends to be gritty & tough.  

They Don't Really Care About Us - tap

High Gold / 3rd Place

Final Song - jazz

Platinum / Division High Point for Jazz / 1st Place

....and I learned that colleges send out scouts to dance competitions like they do for football & baseball games!  Angel, Sarah & Lauren all got invitations to try out for the University of Detroit Mercy dance team!  

I'm still trying to figure this out.... they must have been watched for a while.  Angel texted me a picture of the business card from the stage before awards and the only dance any of them had done was Clue that they had just finished.  And there are 30 girls on stage during that!  And the fact that all 3 of them are in the position to be able to try out - meaning Angel & Sarah have already graduated high school and Lauren is a senior....

But anyhooo, she respectfully declined, since UDM didn't have any programs she was interested in, and she didn't want to have to drive all the way into downtown Detroit for classes anyway.  

But still - how awesome is that??

We also had official studio pics done.  I'm going to be out of town late next week, and I bet that's when they'll arrive, dammit.  They got some pretty good ones, like usual.  I'm glad I looked closer at the packages and realized I was able to get 2 poses in an 8x10 instead of just one because I'm going to love the picture in her Miss Peacock costume!  

Some randomness....

Angel drove us to that competition, which felt really weird, but my car was in the shop.  We picked it up that evening and I noticed for the first time this paw print on my center console!  Clearly a reminder from when we brought Rusty home, since his jellybeans (toes) had been sweaty at the vet's office.  And also a glaring sign that I need to clean my car! 

Jack got his first "puppy cone" at the ice cream place. He enjoyed it very much!

I found more nutcrackers at the Salvation Army.  And they're Halloween ones, so even better!  That was a successful trip to the S.A. because I was looking for shorts to pack for my trip.  I never find clothes there, but this time I found a pair of shorts, a skort & a pair of capris right away and they all fit perfectly!  

Speaking of my trip - I leave Thursday!  We still need to work out details (like exactly when we're coming home) but I'll be driving to Cincinnati to pick up Laura and then on the road to Houston (with her pugs and apparently 2 cats, too that Gin is adopting from her).  5 hours to Cinci & then 16 to Houston. 

Gonna be an adventure - can't wait!