Lots and lots of dancing

Yes, that's me. :) Pregnant with Anne, even. I've been practicing and practicing for my big night on Saturday, and as is always the case, I'm nervous. I mean, I like to dance, right? So I should enjoy it, right? Rather than feel like I have a date with a firing squad at 8 pm Saturday evening? I'm trying. I do love to dance. Mostly though, I love dancing with my classmates surrounding me, and watching *others* dance. Dancing by myself still challenges my brain quite a bit. But I'm trying.

I have 2 small kids, so practicing isn't exactly a walk in the park. I used to try and practice before they went to bed, to get additional time in, offering Anne her own veil as a bribe. This was a colossal fail. First, she'd try to eat the veil. Occasionally, she'd drag it around the house behind her, which was fine. But within moments, she was back at my side, crying and clinging to my legs. Not exactly conducive to dancing.

So, now I wait until she's in bed to practice. And that's fine, except that I'm kind of tired by then, but there's nothing to be done. In my tiredness, I do risk the following veil malfunction:

*perform floaty veil movement*

*promptly step on veil*

*slip and fall on veil*

...from a heap of silk on the floor, the Catholic Librarian rises, and attempts to reassert her dignity...

This has happened more than 1 time, I assure you.

This time, we also have my sword in the mix, which I knocked off my own head the other day while showing Henry how to spin a cane. I get all of these bright ideas after 8 pm these days.

But it's going ok. I keep telling myself that I simply need to dance for ME. I'm not trying to impress anybody. Nobody is going to think that I'm the best bellydancer they ever saw. I hope that they enjoy my performance, but in the end, I'm just dancing for myself. I simply need to try to relax and interact with the music, and things will be fine.

*sweats*

The music that I picked is very fun. It's an Arabic pop tune by Nancy Ajram. I just want to enjoy myself and have a good time.This IS what I do for recreation, after all.

Tonight is slated for my "dress rehearsal" since practicing in costume is a must in belly dancing. All those beads are *heavy* and can change the way you perform. So, I'm going to do that, and just pray that my veil doesn't develop a mind of it's own as it's prone to do.

We'll see how it goes. Do you think anybody would notice if I glued my sword to my head?

Ugh, yes they would. I wouldn't fit through the doorway. Damn.