"T.J.C."... The Journey Continues!

"Success is not a place at which one arrives 
but rather the spirit with which one 
undertakes and continues the journey."
-Alex Noble

"A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles."
-Tim Cahill

"It is good to have an end to journey toward; 
but in the end it is the journey that matters most."
-Ursula K. Guin

"A.H."...
At Hopkin's

Here was the finishing night of the
28th Invitational Dance Carnival in Moose Jaw
Hosted by the 2 Dance Teachers in the centre
Denise and Barb

I adjudicated with the gal on the left, SARAH. 

I love this restaurant in Moose Jaw...
"HOPKIN'S DINING PARLOUR" 

DAY ONE of the Adjudicating JOURNEY last Thursday
"I.T.B."... In The Balcony
at PEACOCK HIGH
L to R...
My writer, Kendra, me,
the other adjudicator, Sarah, and her writer, Megan.
(we had several writers throughout the four days...
and they were all WRITE ON!) 

D.B.A.M. ...
"Diane's Big Adjudicating Mess!

DAY 2
at the TURNING TABLES
... Same adjudicators and writers once again!
"S.S."... Still Smiling!

"Q.N." by the "P.P."...
Quiznose by the Plant Pot!

DAY 3
"S.B."...
Supper Break 

"T.M.J.C."...
The Meal Journey Continues...
"B.P.... S.B. and F!"
Boston Pizza , Starbucks and Fruit! 

"R.C.P." ...
Really Cheesy Pose!
... ok... it is now DAY 4 we are tired!

"B.C.O.F."...
Big Chuckle Over Fork!!!!!!!!!!!!!
... that was "O.T.B."...
ONE TOUGH BURGER!!!!!!!!! 

A.T.A.T....
At The Awards Table!

Final day BARB and DENISE
handing out the AWARDS and DOOR PRIZES! 

"S.A.G." ...
Special Adjudicator Gifts

I have done this festival before and
 always get treated so well !

"O.T.T.S.C."
Over The Top Sticker Collection

This is my Adjudicator Sticker Binder before competition
... it is a little lighter now!!!

However... I will never run out of STICKERS...

I have enough to last me for the entire
JOURNEY of A LIFETIME!!!!!
This is where I replenish my supply!!!

YEP... I am an "O.T.T.S.Q."
OVER THE TOP STICKER QUEEN



Last Wednesday I was on a little
JOURNEY
to Moose Jaw to Adjudicate
The 28th Annual
Invitational Dance Carnival
hosted by
Barb from "Dance Images by BJ"
and Denise from
"Denee School of Dance"

On my Journey there and home
I did lots of REFLECTING of my
DANCE JOURNEY in life!
So many memories for me revolve
around trips to Moose Jaw.


Growing up I danced in many
Moose Jaw Dance Festivals
held in PEACOCK HIGH SCHOOL.
In fact one of the CARNIVAL hostesses, DENISE, and I grew up competing
in the same age bracket all our lives,
so we had a little time at the end
of this festival to go down
memory lane a bit!

I did my very first ever TAP SOLO
on that stage at Peacock in Moose Jaw...
to "Five Foot Two Eyes of Blue"
by Mrs. Millar
when I was 12 years old
(many moons ago!)
That song was kind of a description
of my looks then too!

We had a big chuckle over some
of the things that have changed
since then... such as
how the dance teachers used to
play their music on a record player,
which often would skip
(sometimes on purpose!!!)
The dance teachers even
were seen smoking back stage
at Peacock High School!
OH... the memories...
and the JOURNEY continues...

I was very fortunate to have met a
great dancer from Vancouver
named SARAH. She and I had fun
adjudicating this Carnival together.
I did all of the TAP along with
some Jazz and all of the
Lyrical and Hip Hop.
She did most of the Jazz,
all the Ballet and
Musical Theatre catagories.
 ... and I provided the stickers!
(ofcourse I did!) tee hee

We had many laughs between numbers
over this and that...and believe me,
after the long hours we did tend
to get a little PUNCHY!!!! hehehe
We were constantly thinking of
CODES for things...
and one that stands out is of a number I watched on the TAP SIDE of the page...
It was a tap group #, seeming somewhat
T.L. (Too Long) and
just as I thought it was over
and they were on their
JOURNEY off stage,
there was about an 8 count
space of music with no dancers,
when all of a sudden there was that
T.E. (Teaser Ending)
when the dancers all returned
to the stage to
CONTINUE THE JOURNEY
dancing!!!
I am laughing just remembering
that moment, but it might be
one of those
"HAD TO BE THERE" moments!

I did see some fabulous work at the
Carnival  and the event was
so efficiently run and organized.
I was ever grateful for my amazing writers
 who caught my every word and thought
as I tried to TAP into some
encouragement as well as construction
for each adjudication paper!
I must say I was also appreciative
 of my daily meals, snacks
and STARBUCKS, too!
All of those things contributed
to this fun little JOURNEY.

When adjudicating I am only
one person so someone else
might pick it differently than I do.
I'm am hired for an opinion!
But truly for the dancers competing...
it is ALL about THE JOURNEY
in the end!

As I JOURNEYED  from my stay at
"COMFORT INN" in Moose Jaw,
to my COMFORT ZONE
back here at home sweet home,
this morning....
I tuned into some
"smooth jazz" on the
Water Colors XM station in my car.
It is "International JAZZ Appreciation Day" today, and believe me,
I was grateful for the help of the
smooth jazz to make my journey
home more relaxing!

Life itself is really a JOURNEY...
I could hear my mom's voice
saying...
"'DUNDURN' good to get this far!"
as I passed through "Dundurn "
both ways on my journey!
She ALWAYS said that as
we passed that town !!!
(one of the many memories
of my mom in my life journey!)

Many of my dancer friends
were at dance festivals and competitions
this past weekend. Lots of them made
new memories on their
JOURNEYS as well.
This is always a fun time of year
in the season of a dancer!

The studio I am a part of
"BSOBAD"
(Brenda's School Of Baton And Dance)
Competed in Sherwood Park
this past weekend and continues
their festival journey this week here in town.
Congratulations  and continued success
as the JOURNEY CONTINUES!

My daughter adjudicated with our friend, Mandy, this weekend, in Biggar.
Mandy's Adjudicating Journey
continues this week here in town at
"THE PERFORMER" competition
which begins on Wednesday.

Later today I will see my grandkids again
after being away for the past five days!
I am invited to have supper
at Jana's with her family...
and hear about some her
little weekend Journey!

"The roads of life twists and turns
and no two directions are ever the same.
Yet the lessons come from the journey,
not the destination."
-Don Williams,Jr.


On that quote...
may the JOURNEY CONTINUE
with my rhyme of the day!

Life's all about the JOURNEY
 in the end...
About every memory and every friend.
And as the road of life continues along,
It helps to have some spirited
DANCES and SONG!
Every day is closer to the next one,
So make them all count
and keep having fun!
Life is a stage with action and lights,
Keep SHUFFLING ON
from mornings through the nights!