Go hard, or go home

I'm in a great mood, and I want to share it.

Today was the first day I was able to walk NORMAL again, and it was awesome!! At times, my hip still got stiff and felt a bit of pain, but it didn't stop me from walking. I was SO happy, you have no idea how good it felt to be out again.

I was at school from 3:00-6:15 with my dancers today. Because I've been absent, we havent had any time at all to practice for all of our upcoming events. My crew kids learned more of their new dance, which was difficult to teach it, because I wasn't able to dance yet. Instead, I had to rely on my arms and using the proper words to express the move I needed from them. Surprisingly, it worked great, and the kids did a FANTASTIC job. They have already learned more than half of the dance. Now, all we need is to make it sharp. 

Later, my Zumba girls joined me for practice, because they have a show this Friday!! They will be performing 3 new Zumba songs at a Kango show in the park. What really made me happy was the amount of NEW girls who will be performing. Some of the girls, I'd never seen in class, and I was like "Who are you?! You're an excellent dancer!" I'm happy that I keep discovering new dancers.

Tonight was also perfect. My crew kids joined me for dinner. I made my favorite dish ever, Lemon Zest Pasta. I also prepared a MASSIVE salad, but no one hardly ate it, haha. The kids ate the hell out of the pasta, and they loved it. We also turned on Step Up 3D (a dancing movie), and we all admired the awesome and fancy dance moves. It was a blast!! It makes me so happy to see them get inspired, and I can see the wheels moving in their heads with ideas of new moves and tricks. I loved spending some time with them outside of the studio. I hope I'll have more of them come spend time with me now!!

This week, I am still supposed to take things slow, but I am totally going to work. I've got a busy day tomorrow, and then later I'll have Elena, CJ, and Bill joining me for food and drinks at my place. My week is packed with rehearsals, interviews, dance classes, and English classes. On Saturday, I'll be in Stip all day for the big Model UN conference, but then I'm only 3 days away from MY MOMMA BEING HERE!! Hot damn!! I cant believe it's so close...I really can't. Anyways, enough ranting from me; here is your quote for the day:

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.
—Ambrose Redmoon

Stable

This is about to be an awesome post.....

First and foremost, here is a new video:

This video covers a little bit of everything, really. You'll see my home, covered in snow-meals I eat- packages I open- my dance studio- my photography kids' photos on display- and my dancers performing at Kango's show.

The show on Friday was fantastic!! I could not have been more proud of my dancers....THEY DID EXCELLENT!!!!! The show was a great success, and for the rest of the night, all of the musicians were giving shout-outs to the dancers, and even asking them to come dance some more. My girls took advantage of every opportunity to dance, and they even managed to get some photos with some celebrities. Here are some photos from the night:

Here are some of the photography kids' photos. They were paid for by the school, but already people are expressing interest in buying some of the prints!! Hopefully now, the kids can start pricing their photos : )

Left to right: Bobi (dancer), Emilija (counterpart), me, Stefani (dancer), Lilika (you all know Lilika)

I love this people. They keep me happy on a daily basis....I dont know what I'd do without them. <3

Emilija and Me : )

Me and some of my dancers!! 

Left to right: Kango, Next Time (band) singer, Kango's daughter, Next Time (band) guitarist, Kango's daughter

Me and the guys from the band. They were awesome and sang a song from Nashville, which they dedicated to their "new friend." :D

In other news, Arnaud (French friend, which you'll see in the video) and I have been hanging out a lot more lately. We've been whipping up some killer meals, playing tennis, and sitting on my mini balcony, because the weather is finally hitting 50F!! I've also spent nearly ever single day in the dance studio with the dancers.....we have to get everything together before Thursday's big show!! I'm so excited for it!! I've got 8 volunteers coming into town for the event, and I think it'll just be great.

That's all I've got for now. I've very proud of my recent accomplishments, but even more proud of all my students who have worked so hard. My students are becoming like family to me....I simply adore them!!

White Daisy Passing

You remember those cookies I said I'd made?? Well I only have 4 left!! Haha, I've been enjoying sharing them with everyone...I simply need to make more!!

The past 24 hours have been a blast. Last night, I ate home-made gnocchi and drank sparkling wine with Arnaud, my French friend. We even prepared some fresh tomatoes with mozzarella, which I havent had since America. It's funny too, because in America, I hated tomatoes. The tomatoes here (especially the ones from the warmer weather) taste so much better!! Anyways, we hung out chatting for hours on end, until I finally forced myself to walk home and pass out with a full belly. 

This morning, I worked with my breakdancing guys some, and then I later had my Zumba class. A couple of songs into the workout, I had some guy with a huge afro walk in. He approached me and explained how he is the "Jimi Hendrix of Macedonia." Apparently, he's like a Macedonian legend in the music world, and all the girls said he was well-known and popular. Well anyways, he asked if my Zumba girls would be willing to perform at his show on Friday night....I asked the girls to raise their hands if interested, and more than half the class raised their hands. So I guess my ladies will be dancing for the show!! His name is Kango:

Apparently, there are a lot of famous people going to this show, and the thing will last from 8pm-2am. I asked Emilija if she was going to go with me, b/c he handed me a VIP pass, but her son will be in Skopje for bronchitis, so I dont know if she will be around to go with me. Either way, I'm flattered that he asked my girls to dance, and I'm even more proud that they have the confidence to agree to dance!! I can't wait to watch them on stage...I'll be like a proud momma!!

After class, I decided to go upstairs and visit with the Director and his Turkish friend he's had in town. The Turkish guy is a big Salsa dancer and I think a world champion. He runs a dance school in Turkey, and we have been talking about bringing some of his dancers over for workshops and stuff. We've also discussed making a trip to Turkey to visit his school and get some workshops for ourselves, which I'm really excited about!! We ended up Salsa dancing in the office, followed by coffee, and more discussions over future plans for the dance studio. The vice Director even gave me the nicest compliment today. When I apologized for how I was dressed (b/c I'd just gotten done with the dance class), he said not to worry and that I always looked nice, no matter what I was wearing. I laughed and said, "no no you are lying." He said  that I always come in with a smile on and I'm always very positive. He then gave me a high-five handshake, and that compliment just made me feel fantastic!!

The last great thing that happened to me today, was I received a letter in the mail from one of my students. The letter was so sweet, it just made me glow. I showed my mom on Skype, when I got home, and she actually got a little teary-eyed over it. It was really sweet, and it is something I'll keep with me. : )

Well, that's all I've got. I'm exhausted, and my ankle is hurting me from jumping around too much. I plan on doing nothing but resting and eating in bed all night. : ) Night!!