Choreographer's Cuisine

I have been thinking a lot about Christmas over the last few years. Now before you read further, I need you to know I love Christmas. I love the decorations, the trees, the garlands, the lights, I love the excitement that fills the house Christmas morning and watching my family open their gifts. As I get older however, I've come to realize that Christmas goes far beyond these things. As a child I had a book called The Legend Of The Christmas Tree. In this story, a Dad is frustrated with Christmas, just wanting the true meaning of the holiday; not all the add-ons. The family tradition is to go get a tree at a tree farm. While at the farm, the tree farmer tells them The Legend Of The Christmas Tree.  The Christmas tree has tree points (most real ones anyway) this symbolizes the Trinity -Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Evergreens were chosen to symbolize the unchangingness of God. The lights get strung around the tree and now-a-days outside to symbolize that Jesus came into ...

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."  Author Unknown As I look back over the last year, I see that I have weathered many storms. But even in the midst death and immense loss, God's been teaching me to dance.

 RIPLEY'S!!! My plans fell through for Sunday, but the train still didn't leave until 2:30 that afternoon. We had a day, and I had an idea. Why don't we go to the aquarium? My friend readily agreed. She'd wanted to go there anyway, and it was hot. Perfect. So, we decided to go to the train station and put our bags in storage for the day, as walking around with suitcases and stuff gets tiring after a while and might look a little strange at the aquarium. My parents and sister had come to Toronto last August for a mini vacation while I stayed home to see if with the support team I had at the time I could manage longer trips in the future. I had never been to the aquarium, so this promised to be fun. As we walked through the various rooms set up with tanks of fish and other creatures from around the world we couldn't help but marvel at the beauty  of God's under-water creation - a part which we don't often see. Wait a minute, is that a movi...

My solo at the beginning of Flesh and Spokes Show time!!!!  Our call to the theater on Saturday was for 3:00.We made this call in plenty of time and were able to relax a bit before I was needed. After my rehearsal and notes it was snack time followed by make up and costumes. At rehearsal the previous day, it hadn't taken me long to adapt to the stage, but the wings were a problem for me. Every theater has different wings but in all the eight years I've been dancing professionally I have never seen wings like these. They were shallow and wide. The booms for the lights were in each wing making it cramped and scary (each boom held 2 or 3 lights and each light got very, very hot. Not to mention the lights are very expensive.) The set up was such that turning around in the  wing and remaining hidden would be impossible. This meant that for each of my 3 exits, I would have to go off backwards. One of the things we're taught as a dancer is to never look over your shoulder ...

They gave us Saturday morning off and my friend and I decided to go get breakfast at the grocery store. We were able to find the store no problem, but the problem was how to get in with a chair? There was an elevator off to the side, so we walked towards it. But instead of ending up in the store where we wanted to be we ended up in what looked to us to be the janitor's rooms. This carried on or a couple minutes until we found ourselves on the main level of the mall again. We asked a young man who was nearby how to get to the grocery store. He pointed us in the direction of a second elevator that took us right down to the store. Once we had what we wanted we decided to  eat out at the harbour. After breakfast we took a nice relaxing walk. Paws Way???? This was so fun!!! There were five or six of these along the side of a building. This one was my favourite. This was Paws Way

In Toronto during the PanAm Games  It was hard to believe as I stepped off the train with my boss on Friday July 17, that I would spend the weekend in Toronto. Even more unbelievable was the fact that this was my first trip without a family member. Far from feeling nervous or small as I sometime feel when I'm in a new place, I was excited. Yes I was there to "work,"  but my job is my passion so it doesn't feel like work. And besides, in just few moments, as soon as we got inside and through these crowds, I would be reunited with a friend whom I hadn't seen in over a year.  After the three of us found our way to the main door leading out onto the street, my boss, who had been my travel support and companion on the train, left us. My friend,  knowing in the way good friends do, that I'd need something to eat upon arrival had texted me an hour or so earlier and had gone out and bought me a steak panini After we split the panini, I had had something to drink...

"You are good, and what You do is good..." Psalm 119:68a A couple weeks ago we made another very exciting discovery regarding my Dyslexia. It began on a Monday morning at physio. My physiotherapist has been intrigued by all the previous developments since the program and we've started using some of the tools in our sessions. On this particular day an idea struck her. "Monica, do you know where your legs are?" Do I know where my legs are? The question sounded strange. But I thought for a minute. I knew I had legs but when I'm unable to see them I realized I didn't really know where they were or what the were doing. When I got home I relayed this new-found information to my mother who got really thoughtful. The next morning, she decided to ask me to orient while standing. After a couple of minutes of trying, I couldn't get oriented. When we tried again a few hours later, it took a full minute, but then I straightened up, stood away from th...

 "Blessings crown the head of the righteous..."  Prov 10:6a  It hardly seems possible that Wednesday May 20 marks the fourth year since I graduated training with my beloved service dog Cyrus. He has enhanced my life in so many ways. He'll fetch things that I drop, triggers automatic door buttons, and barks if I'm in a jam. If I fall over to the side, he'll come beside me and stand perfectly still while I use his back to help push myself back up. He's company when I'm home alone, and an alarm system as he starts barking anytime someone comes to the door! Walk between the raindrops Are you comfy Cyrus? Not only does he help me substantially both at home and in the community, but he gives me so much joy and laughter. He's such a little clown!! I can't help but laugh as he rolls around on his back on the floor or in the yard. Sometimes he'll just lay there and wag his tail on his back, look at you and sneeze. My Cyrus has blessed my...

"You are good, and what You do is good..." Psalm 119:68a Part one of the dyslexia program is finished!!!! The last half of the program was just as exhilarating as the first for me. One day, Carl had a surprise for me. He said I could make anything I wanted out of clay that hadn't been invented yet. I was not to tell him what it was. After I made my model, and he'd admired it and asked a few questions to get a clearer picture of what it was, he told me to make up a name for my invention. Electraski - I explained to Carl that this invention was a sit-ski like I already use, but this one was electric, hence the "electra" part of the word. I told him of my skiing and said that an electraski  would not only make it so I  could ski independently, but it would make winter easier for people in chairs because it would be able to go on the roads as well.  My Eletraski - yes I made the letters too. Now that I am finished the program with Carl, the ho...