Oh Bob, you are so beautiful

In an attempt to become more politically aware, i watched "Hawke" on TV last night.  I very much wanted to understand the back ground of Australian politics, the ups and downs, the highs and lows, but my my, I was sooo distracted by Bob Hawkes beautiful finger waves.  Well to be honest it was Richard Roxburgh's hair, but he did Mr Hawke so well!


I have spend hours up on hours trying to make my finger waves work, sometimes it is win, sometimes it is fail, never before have I thought to look toward Bob for inspiration!   Well played good sir, well played!


Even as a mature gentleman, Mr Hawke has continued to pay attention to those lush locks of hair, the poor guy, he must sleep standing up so as to make sure not a single wave is crushed, THAT is dedication - THAT is why he was such a good leader, he knew what commitment meant, and by god, he looked good having it!

Do you dance like a fool at home?

What makes someone a good swing dancer?  Is it knowing a lot of moves?  Is it having devastatingly good looks? Is it having great connection?  Maybe its pulse?  

Could it be that a great dancer, dances??  Let me explain.  I spend a lot of time watching all levels of swing dancing, teaching the first two levels, observing the other levels and dancing with all and i think i have figured out what makes a good dancer.

A good dancer stops thinking of the grand moves, stops relying on brute force and starts actually enjoying whats going on, listening to the music, and moving to the swing. 

In your beginner days, you listened to ME!!  Oh how I yell in those classes, I tell you when to rock back, I tell you when to send your partner out, when to come back in, hell if I could tell you when to breathe I would (hang on, there have been classes where I have done that!!).

As time goes on, you start to listen less to the yelling, and start to listen to your own thoughts, you start to see how the pieces fit together, and for a while, you think you are dancing.  You look good, it feels pretty good.. little do you know, its like wearing tight pants after dinner, sure you look good, they are doing their job, but when you take them off and flop on the couch, its only then you realise how comfy you can be..

Am I saying that being a good dancer is like dancing with no pants on??  I guess I am.  When you stop listening to me, and you stop processing every thought that goes into a move, and you start listening the music (and your partner leads), you can suddenly feel so comfortable, and finally feel like you are dancing, rather than making move after move.

If you have had this moment, this blinding light bulb moment, I encourage you to share with your fellow dancers, Shan last night told me that she finally feels like she is dancing when leading Bal.  Shan has followed bal forever, and has been leading it for a little while, but finally, she feels like she is dancing when she is leading, and it feels good.  

It does not happen straight away, and sometimes we want it to happen so badly that we try to rush it but like being thirteen and waiting for our boobs to grow, your bra stuffing eventually gets found out, so relax and let the music carry you away!

If you are in a place where you are still waiting to feel like you are dancing, try shaking it up a little, come back to beginners or level one.  When you lead or be led by a dancer that is at a level "below" you, its much easier to see where your strengths are, where you weaknesses are, and what you are completely awesome at.  By the same token, ask someone beyond you for a dance, sometimes their feeling of dancing rubs off on you, and it can be completely inspirational. 

The biggest tip i can give you is an old fav of Duncans actually.  Go home, turn on your music (I love wearing my head phones.. they are massive and drown out all other noises), close the curtains and dance like a crazy person.  Feel how your body moves, when it works, when it doesn't, how your feet touch the floor, how heavy your hands are when your waving them round like you just don't care.  If you can do that and not feel like a complete berk (it gets easier) then your swing dancing moment is yours for the taking, any moment now.

LADIES This one is for YOU

Ok - let me just say - I have been a size 6 and loved it, I have been a size 14 and not loved it quite as much, but if you know me, you know that whatever size I am, I'm buying too many clothes to wear!  At the moment I have accepted the fact that im sitting around about at 10-12 AND according to the wii fit im 20kg over weight but.. well to be honest, im pretty happy where I am.. so.. I can not hoard all of my little size six and eight clothes forever, there is some really cute stuff that I just dont think Im going to fit into ever again.  Dont get me wrong I have donated a whole heap to charity, but what is left now is stuff that I feel needs to go to a good home, and perhaps I might get a few coins for!! 

For an inspection of Relle's ladies room and all she has to sell please email me or leave a comment on the blog, it looks like I will be a home owner soon so now is the time to lighten the load (kyle will thank you).  Quite literally first in BEST DRESSED!

PS - items up for grabs include entire work suits, burlesque costumes, general costumes and a whole heap of everything else!

Good Things Happen

Ok so this story is going to start of sounding like im pretty up myself, but there is a moral to the story I promise!

I was getting lunch in town today, when I felt a tap on my shoulder, instantly reverting back to my formative teen years I momentarily suspected it was store security, about to nick me for the lip gloss I bought in the shop the week before but still had not openend!

I was pleasantly surprised, instead I had been approached by a complete stranger who was about to make my day.  "Let me just say, your hair is amazing, really beautiful, I hope that does not sound strange, but I just had to tell you".  OMG!

I have to admit, I was not expecting such a compliment, but I did manage an earnest "Thank you", and my world famous blush (if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about!).  And like that, my mystery giver of compliments was gone, but the feeling of pride lasted with me ALL DAY.

This lady could have easily walked past me and later told a friend about a girl she saw with great hair, she could have easily given me a crazy look to try to convey "great hair", but she took a leap of faith and actually gave me a compliment, and having done the same thing myself a few times, I can honestly say, its not as easy as you might think.  

Its actually quite scary to approach a stranger and offer a compliment, how odd is that, shouldn't  it be easy?  I mean I understand why it would be weird to walk up to someone and say "oh boy, you are ugly", but why is it so hard to offer a compliment?  

To be honest, I think its because we dont do it very often.  Its like wearing vintage hair do's.  Sure it looks great (the compliments speak for themselves), but it was actually quite scary for me to wear my do to work for the first time.  It's quite a statement compared to the standard bun and bobby pins!

So the moral of the story is this:  TRY IT.  I think that the feeling that you will get from offering a compliment, is as good as the feeling the reciever will have!  You get to feel proud that you found your voice, and that you have made someones day, and they get to feel great about that scary new hair do, or new pair of shoes, or great tie.  Of course all compliments have to be genuine, but when you see a chance to give one, take it!!

As for trying out your new red lipstick, or upsweep, or handsome slacks, the more you do it, the easier it is!  I now have a range of vintage dos that I wear to work and now I cant believe I ever used to rock up just with boring hair! 

Whether giving a compliment, or dressing to recieve one, do it with confidence and you will be fine!!

Top photo is my work do, middle photo is my clean hair do, and bottom photo is my in the kitchen look!!