We love Yankee Candle

One of those odd places you'd not normally expect to have a good time is Yankee Candle in Western Mass.

It's their flagship store - but not just any store. They sell all kinds of things there, from kids toys, to gourmet food. Candles to wind chimes. We tend to go nuts when we go in.

Our good friend, J, is up from New York this weekend, so we took her to Yankee Candle. While there, we indulged. Last time, we went loved the Department 56 stuff. We talked about how we would love to start a collection of it, as our Christmas "Thing".

So today, we picked up a few things from the Dickens Collection and set them up on a table in our dining room. Eventually, I'll get some photos.

M came out too, and we watched Transformers, and enjoyed some beer.

Life is good.

Now in Rancho Cordova

Back on the road again. It's been incredibly busy at casa des Dancer et Geek. After the Rochester trip, we took a nice long weekend up in Vermont. Now this had two roles. There was a dance workshop on the Saturday and Sunday that I wanted to attend, and it was our anniversary weekend. I decided we should make a trip of it, and looked for pet friendly places so we could take the puggies. D graciously took care of the bun bun for us.

It was such a nice time. We got to decompress a bit, chill out and relax for a few days. We not only got to have the puppies, but there was a kitchenette too so I didn't have to stress food. We still went out for an anniversary meal. We went to the New England Culinary Institute's teaching restaurant there. Come on, admit it, you would've too. To see the faces of the students with my allergy list?? :D

The meal was beautiful. They did a great job, but also kept the allergy card for future training/teaching.

We went to the Green Mountain visitor center which was like going to Mecca for me. LOVED LOVED LOVED it. Lost of interesting displays and things to see. And yes, lots to buy. We bought some shirts, some coffee, and believe me, I could've spent a whole lot more there. I want a job there as a coffee taster/sourcer. :)

The workshop was really good, though very tiring. Between being laid up and traveling, I haven't been able to practice as much as I would like, and I was rusty. Also wore out very quickly - it was only a 5 hour class, with an hour break! I also performed that night. It was a public performance, and I have to say, it went really well. I didn't so much forget my routine as I had "mechanical issues" (started to get tangled up in the veil) so I swirled it and let it glide off my back. Geek said for all the world it looked planned. :D Hopefully Geek will get the pics up soon

The Sunday class was also 4 hours. Not quite as much fun. When I heard "choreography class" I thought the meaning was "here's some tips on creating a choreography". Nope. It was "Here's a new dance I've created, let's learn it together!" It's a good piece, but not entirely my style. Still, there was some new steps in there I didn't know and I can sort of see where she was going with it. I could see adapting it maybe, or just playing with it at home just for the practice in turns and barrel turns.

Also on the dance front, I have *another* public performance on the 26th of October up in Arlington. It's a gala show for Michael Baxter, who is a renown bellydance photographer. I'm going to be doing a shoot with him on Sunday for a couple of hours to get some professional posed shots, and he will also be taking pictures of the show, so I'll also have professional performance photos. I'm pretty excited about this. If anyone wants to come see me (and other dancers) shoot me an email or message and I can get you the specifics.

Now, as to why I'm in Rancho Cordova, I'm doing another presentation. It's to a government/public sector group I believe. I'm not sure who all my audience will be, but hopefully it will be a good crowd. I'm pretty confident in this particular presentation, as it's one of the "template" ones we use, and add/subtract to tailor to the crowd. It's another "quick" trip, I got in today and leave tomorrow right after the presentation. I don't usually mind these quick ones, but I sometimes wonder if they are worth the money it costs to send me out here.

On a side note, I forgot my GPS, so I had to rent a car with one. I gots a Ford Mustang! Yes, my tits just grew several cup sizes. So not only do I get to be here on a short trip, I get to pretend to have a mid-life crisis by driving in a red mustang.

When I get back tomorrow, there will be a lovely houseguest waiting for me. Our friend Janice is coming to see us!! It's been way too long. I really can't wait and am seriously looking forward to seeing her again and catching up.

I suppose I should consider getting some stuff done before bed here. Like set up my wake up call. ;) And clear off the bed of my stuff so I can sleep. At least I did remember to bring food, and they had a mini fridge all set up. BTW Geek, I wasn't so much hungry as thirsty I found out. Half a liter of water later, I feel much more human.

Downtime in Vermont

Dancer and I bailed out of the house on Thursday and hit the road to Vermont - we're staying at a lovely motel just outside of Montpelier, with the puggies, and having a fine time.

Yes, we have the internet and a laptop, but no blackberry, cellphones don't get signal.

We've rented a room with a kitchenette that is pet friendly, the views from the front of the hotel are stunning. Unfortunately the weather isn't holding out yet, and it's been wet and gray, so no pictures or video. To be honest though, we're both having a huge amount of fun doing *nothing* for once. The TV is on, we've both got books and we're napping the evenings away.

Today we went into Montpelier itself, with the pugs in tow. It's a small town, and has the feel of a bit of a hippy town. Only 4 chain stores on the high street (2 banks, 1 grocery store, 1 pharmacy), but tons of little craft stores, second hand book stores, the New England Culinary Institute has a couple of restaurants, a bakery.

After that we headed over to Bragg Farm who produce their own maple produce, picking up a 1/2 gallon jug of medium grade A maple syrup for my parents, and some other touristy stuff.

We headed back to the motel, dropped off the exhausted boys in the room, then made a pilgrimage to the Green Mountain Coffee head store - we both love coffee (Dancer is a huge coffee snob!), and have a Keurig machine these days. We browsed their museum, then bought some fun things from their store, before sitting down and enjoying a nice cup in their cafe.

Dancer is going to a dance class and performance tomorrow, so I've got the boys all to myself. I'm going to head to either the Harpoon brewery head office, or to an event they are hosting at an Olde English style pub, which is closer. If the weather holds off, I think I'll head to some of the walks around here too.

Although high on my list of things to go and see, if I can get a break in the weather, is the Dog Chapel. Oh yes. Worship the dog.

I DID IT!

I had my first ever public performance tonight. It went pretty well. I forgot all of my choreography as soon as I walked out there, but just went with the music, smiled, and played with the crowd. I know I was the only one to use the whole stage and try to involve the audience and make them care. I didn't fall on my ass and the applause was more than the polite patter, so I must've done something right.

I'm just glad I got that first one out of the way. Geek was great!! He came along with me and took tons of pics of all the dancers. He was really great to have there for the moral support.

Mundane update

Obviously, I'm back from Vienna. The flights back were fairly uneventful, and being in the middle of the plane meant I didn't get as sick as I did going over. This week has been mostly playing catch-up at work.

I started a new Wednesday class, which I went to last night. However, life has intervened and I'm going to miss 3 of the 6. :( I'm going to miss 4 of my other class sessions. Work has suddenly exploded with speaking trips, both for me and my boss. We're going to spend most of October out of the office.

Next week, I'm in Rochester NY, then I get back for a few days, then we're taking a trip to Vermont for a dance workshop/anniversary outing. I get back for a day, then I'm in Rancho Cordova for a few days, then I'm back then off to Atlanta for two days. My frequent flyer card is certainly getting a workout. :)

November is looking busy on the dance front. I've got a couple of shows I'm going to, and there's rumors of a BellyDance Superstars workshop being offered that I'd like to go to. Hopefully work will be a bit more quiet. :)

Good Times

I did end up going for the social drinks, which was good, as I ran into the BIG boss and the company owner. So I was seen Tuesday. Wednesday I went out with a bunch of the work folks and had a great time. Thursday was the Gala Dinner.
The Gala Dinner was the best time. We all (with a few exceptions) dress up to the nines (as in total black tie is what most folks did. I did formal but not too formal. My wedding dress wouldn't have been out of place here) and had a really nice dinner. The food (at least for me) was really good. My only complaint was for the appetizer they sent out a salad with only olive oil, no vinegar, and the olive oil was off. The rest was great. Much alcohol was consumed. They had a full on Viennese waltz demo. Now what that is is think Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin style dancing. That's what they did. It was so beautiful. The women were dressed in such gorgeous white dresses that were all satin and simple and the guys were in gloves and full tuxes with tails.

There was much gambling. I traded dance lessons with a co-worker. He gave me a waltz lesson, I gave lessons on turns. He's a semi-pro ballroom dancer so that was hugely fun to get a lesson with him. None of us were ready for the party to stop even though it was 1:30. A bunch of us staggered to bed at 3:30 but believe me, they were still going.

Today was the conference close. I ate, and then went out for a wander with a bunch of random folks from the conference. Now, these were all industry big-wigs, and here I am hanging out with them as equals. We walked around for a bit, but then they went to a bar. I was desparate to see some of the city, so I left. I stumbled onto the horse and carriage depot, so I went around the city for 90 minutes in the horse and carriage while he showed me some of Vienna's landmarks. I saw the Imperial Palace, Parliament, the City Hall (which was amazing at night), some gorgeous architecture, churches and statues, the home of Mozart, the second restaruant ever, the first coffee house and other toursit stuff. I had a blast. I met up with some work folk to go out to the bars. Eventually I came back here to chill out. I brought up some wine, and have been taking some time for myself.

Who knows? Maybe I'll get to go to next year's in Ottawa.

It turned out to be a good trip. I've met some great people, folks who are industry leaders. They know who I am and seemed to like me and all said hope to see me next year.

Tomorrow, I get to go home.

Team Fortress 2

I don't get excited about games very often, but if I'm reading this review right, Team Fortress 2 is coming to the xBox 360.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=83375&page=1

Team Fortress Classic is a game I played the hell out of. I loved that game. Sitting up late at night playing on a modem link, then playing in a friends living room at an impromptu LAN party with my keyboard on my knees.

It was because of TFC that I started a LAN party publicly, I just couldn't wait. The game rocked.

But I eventually grew out of it, and gaming. I stopped playing PC games a few years ago, with the exception of World of Warcraft.

Now Team Fortress 2 is coming. It looks great (not at all "gritty" or "realistic", which has been a huge turn off for me). Reviews sound like it's going to be fun to play, fun to learn, and, more importantly, I may be able to rocket jump again!

Can't wait!