Izanami66 Member

Well, the momentum hasn't stopped for me! I'm now teaching a class Monday nights, assisting with one and having troupe practice on Tuesday, and taking a class and practicing with my other troupe on Sunday. Whew!! July is actually a fairly slow month for performances, with only one show this weekend, but the next two months…

Hiya!! I'm Izanami from central Ohio. I've been dancing for about 7 years, and I can't imagine life without it. I dance with two troupes in the area and stay very busy with classes, workshops, and performances. I recently started teaching in my own town and am having a blast with it. I'm always up for talking belly dance,…

Good stuff MissDaisy and WarriorCupcake!! You'll smooth those snakearms out in no time! I really want to take a few burlesque classes at some point as well! I'm thinking of purchasing Sadie's new belly dance work out DVD to add to my exercise regimen rotation. My classes and practices are workouts, or sure, but I'd like to…

Very interesting article, and well-thought out response from Baconslave. I agree with the author and appreciate her thoughtful way of saying "I'm not trying to say thin people don't struggle, but the struggle is internal rather than societally pervasive." It made me think a little more about my relative thinness and the…

I'm totally in, but I'm starting tonight, so I'll go until October 2nd. I am assistant teaching a beginner class (1 hour) and then have 1 1/2 hours of troupe practice for our Sunday show. It should be a good start to the challenge!!!

I'm into that!! LOVE Halloween! One of my belly dance troupes does a Halloween number every year (my profile photo is my Steampunk Frankenstein costume). This year we're doing a belly dance take on a twisted Alice in Wonderland. A little more mainstream, but I think our take is pretty fresh. Age:30 Height: 5'3" Weight:…

Ah, ok cool. Sounds similar to what I've been doing. I have the Turbo Jam series on DVD, and I really love the Turbo sculpt, I just need to up my game a little and get some heavier dumbbells (5 is the highest I have right now, too). I hear as long as it's heavy for you and what you're doing, it's heavy enough.…

Nice!! What/where do you lift? I'd love to get more into lifting, but with my budget, a gym membership is just not feasible. I currently do strength training with bodyweight and dumbbells, but would like to have a better regimen. The heaviest I lift is squats with my fiancé's 35 lb kettlebell. :glasses:

I'm in!! Glad you're in your new home, and I hope the unpacking process is as painless as possible. I bought a house and moved just over a year ago, and I'm still unpacking boxes!

I did much better last week, but it's still difficult! I guess if you count dancing around to Pandora while I'm cleaning, I do dance a bit most days... Hehe, maybe we should try a 30 day challenge to start with. :laugh: Just keep dancin' sisters!! :flowerforyou:

I am, too!! I had about 9-10 days in a two week period where I did NO dancing (vacation and weird week). This week, I'm doing much better so far. Will try to keep it up.

Nice! I DDR'd as well on Friday!! It's the old school one on the original (modded) Xbox!! So fun.

I missed Saturday, unless I can count being at a belly dance photo shoot, then partying with my troupe!! We were in costume, dammit!! :D

Oh my, I love me a delicious IPA: White Rajah, Hopslam (of course), Hazed and Infuzed, Mad Hatter pretty sure I liked the Dogfishhead, but I can't remember! I guess I've drank too much since my last one! :bigsmile: The White Hatter is delicious too!! If I'm feeling fruity, I'll take a pear cider, Pyramid Apricot Ale, or a…

I'll check in at least one a week with a summary. Last night, I put on my Beats Antique Pandora station and danced around my house while I cleaned. I probably did about a total of 10 - 15 minutes of actual dancing. Also, my quads were almost immobilizingly (don't think that's actually a word...) sore from Sunday's…

Maybe invest in some Pilates DVDs. The calorie burn isn't super high, but I feel like the strengthening/stretching would be good for your overall health. I know I love it, and it's definitely not high impact. Good luck and just keep moving!! :flowerforyou:

July 14th sounds like a great start date!! I'm in! Let me know how you all want to proceed. :drinker:

I could be into something like that! What would be a good start date?

Next Gen ALLLLL the way. In fact, my fiancé and I watch one nearly every evening. I really did like the reboot movies as well. Zachary Quinto as Spock.... yes, please!

My favorite are turkey stuffed peppers. This recipe calls for green peppers, but I like red, yellow, and orange. The only change I make is to cook the turkey/tomato/rice mixture longer (if you're using regular brown rice, not minute rice) as it really takes much longer for the rice to soften up. Enjoy!!…

That is an amazing story!! I love that you got the confidence to go (and keep going) to classes!! Sooo much fun, isn't it? Oooh, your first performance! That is exciting!! You'll do great. The community really is so accepting and encouraging. Very little cattiness, and I think that is one of the best things about it!…

You lost weight on vacation? That's filed under "awesome" in my book!

Turning the big 3-0 in August! Sorta looking forward to the dirty thirties! :drinker:

Mmmm, my favorite is carnitas: put a pork loin (we usually divide one in thirds, so we get three meals out of it) in the crockpot with a little water or stock, and cover with your favorite spices. We use chipotle seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, red pepper, etc. We let it cook on low all day, and when you…

As others are saying, make your own with crushed tomatoes, garlic, herbs, a bit of sugar, etc. Super easy and lowcal. I also like to make pasta bakes, where I cook some whole wheat penne, and toss it with sauce and a ricotta/mozz/parm mixture and whatever veggies I have (sautéed), spread it in a casserole dish and top with…

One thing I like to do is make veggie kabobs or skewers. I cut up different veggies into one inch cubes, and thread them onto skewers. You can throw them on with your burgers or hot dogs and maybe baste them with some marinade (or just olive oil, salt, and pepper) and viola, grilled veggies! Some of my favorites are,…

Want!! Good idea!

PB&J Greek Yogurt. Never really been a big PB&J sandwich eater, but I decided to try it in some plain Greek yogurt, and.... yum!! I use about a half a cup of yogurt with about a Tbsp of preserves and half a Tbsp of natural PB. It's delicious! You could use a little more of the goodies if you want, but I find it really…

Ok, brief update. I made this again last night, using the same half chicken, half chickpeas method. However, I used regular lowfat yogurt, which I added off the heat, with about 1 1/2 Tbsp. of flour (cornstarch works too) whisked in to be sure to prevent the seizing and separating that happened last time. Turned. Out.…

Haaaahaha, that's too funny! Doum Doum tek ka tek, Doum take a left. :laugh: