Ending January with a picture of these cuties.

Riah and Savvy the BEST of FRIENDS

She's on a ROLL the HONOR ROLL!!

So PROUD of this SMART 5th Grader. For the record I am not smarter than a 5th grader so don't ask me ask Mariah!

FOR REAL ON JANUARY 29

This weather could make you think your a bit nutty. Hot one day Cold the next.

Delays and Decisions...

Hope you week started off on the right foot. I had to start making decisions last night about what I would do today about Mariah's 3 hour school delay. So I canceled my first 2 classes and did make it for my 3 class but I was a bit bummed. The way I see things is that my students WANT to attend my class because this is a choice they made to enroll in and me canceling is just less time for them to reach there goal of becoming a dancer or just learning there right from there left. Yes I must write this because I have several student who are confused about the two. I guess that why they have me. Looking forward to a week a wonderful weather and lots of great dancing. Oh I showed them the conga line today and they seemed to love it. Maybe as much as I do.
Signing off  I am a bit tired.

Daytime Date...

Fun time with my best buddy Ed today. We met for lunch and the Duke Women's Basketball game against Boston College. I love spending time with Ed and was so happy the Sun decided to join us. Wonderful memories.

Slip Sliding Away....

WOW MARIAH

SO HIGH

Mariah and her teammates.

Not sure how your part of the world was today, but we had lots of ice dropped on us Friday and the ice had a sleepover and was still with us on Saturday morning when we needed to leave for the gymnastics meet in Greenville North Carolina. I had some major doubts about going but my favorite competitor was not letting me be a chicken and stay home. She had a meet to participate in and she was getting there even if she had to ice skate there. We headed out early and took our time and arrive just in time to check in, change and prepare for warm up. Mariah had a very good meet. Her scores are as follows.

Beam  8.45

Floor  9.40  2nd Place

Vault  9.325  1st Place

Bar  9.65  1st Place

ALL AROUND 1st PLACE

I am happy to see improvement. I am so pleased with her dance component of her floor and beam. Her dance lessons are really paying off and she is becoming much more graceful and elegant with nice extension and beautiful lines. I am so happy that she loves gymnastics, her team mates and coaches. The team received 2nd place in the meet and were so excited. WAY TO GO WAKE!!

The ICE is HERE!

School closings and weather forecast were what we have paid attention to this morning. The weather man had said the storm would move in this afternoon and Mariah's school had called for a closing at 1130. I decided to go to Food Lion on my way to pick her up and the mess starts to come out of the sky. I really wanted to call the weather woman and ask her to push the pause button and wait until I finished my shopping, picking up Mariah and the home arrival of Dougie and Drew. Oh well NO CAN DO and as I type this post I am waiting for Doug, Drew and Julia to arrive home. Doug left home at 10am and looks to be arriving home 8 hours later. This trip should have taken only 6 but Drew informs me that he had to clear the frozen car windows at least 5 time. Thats some serious ice and they even had de-ice stuff to spray.
MY PEEPS ARE HOME SAFE AND SOUND!!!

Class Night Out

Tonight was the night I had planned to take my Advance Latin dance class for our scheduled bi weekly outing. I must confess that I have never been to Cuban Revolution and really did not know what to expect. Arriving at close to 930 I was able to see the dance lesson that started at 9 finish things up. I love watching people teach because I feel that I can always get new ideas and I am interested in how other teachers present and communicate with there students. We were charged a $5 dollar entrance fee and went to find a chair. I was so surprised to see one of my all time favorite students Lawrence and another super sweet student from the past Lauren. I had my first dance of the night with Lawrence and loved our dance. He has made so much progress and is a wonderful dancer and leader.
More of my students arrived and I was able to have several dances with Doug which is my favorite partner on the dance floor and in life.
I loved seeing the students dance and try there moves.
We were on a short time span because our babysitter was only staying until 11pm. Our short and sweet night out was a blast. My one wish is to have had more space on the dance floor and for some random girls hair to have not sliced my eye. I am a girl who NEEDS HER SPACE!

What about you?

Sick MOM...

I checked my phone before leaving for my early class this morning and saw a text from my Mom. She has gotten into this habit of sending a mass text to me and all my sisters when she wants to communicate something of importance to us. I am not sure what her reasons are for this but I guess it saves time and other issues. Having to tell and share info over and over and over and over can get stressful and sad so the one text plan is Nana's method.
 I think its pretty awesome that at 74 she is better at using a smart phone than a lot of adults are and she can rock on her Facebook skills and stalking abilities and her best friend is the like butter. My mom is amazing. So to make a long story short she had a infection and is now on the road to recovery. This road did include her first ambulance ride. I also hope that my other sisters know that I don't want to have to hear by way of text the next day that our Mom is in the hospital and they have to notify all of us ASAP.
I along with my sister Karen were a bit shaken up and I decided to get a airline ticket to go and see for myself how Nana is doing. I have travel plans for Feb 4-7 and am looking forward to seeing her with my own eyes. I will also make a quick visit to see my cool kid Omar in Fayetteville Arkansas at the the University of Arkansas!!
Say my prayers of thankfulness that Nan is ok.

Yummy lunch.....

Today I enjoyed watching the presidential inauguration. I liked his speech and really enjoyed the singers and especially loved the poem. Celebrating Martin Luther King and making plans for my personal future.
Thanks to this wonderful country we live in. ALL my DREAMS can come true.
God Bless You and May God continue to BLESS AMERICA!

Great place for lunch.

Mariah and her bff Savvy. Such sweet girls.

Meets and Comedy Shows...

Busy day for half of the Daffrons. Mariah was in the gym at 9am and left the gym at 7pm. She trained from 9-12 and also helped with a meet her gym was hosting. Doug and I were there also he was helping with the sound system and I judged floor and helped with registration.
Drew was at home enjoying the comforts of home and getting a bit of work finished.
I had a fun night out with Drew, Julia and her parents. We were at a comedy show in Carrboro NC which is next door to Chapel Hill NC. 4 comedians and a packed audience = a great time. Grabbed dinner at Chills and was amazed I was able to stay up past 1130pm.

Snow and Sun

Just like hot and cold make warm Snow and Sun make slush. Today had been a day to make the most of the little snow and ice that we got last night. What a tease! Mariah always makes the best of most all situations she is in. She played outside for a couple of hours and changed her wet clothes 3 times. Got to love her spirit. She came in for her last warm up and got ready for gymnastics. The day off was much loved by her.

Let it snow......

The rain is falling as I type and the wind is blowing so hard that when Doug and Mariah were driving home from the gym there was a lot of power outage. I see and hear on the news that we are suppose to get between 1 and 3 inches of snow. I wonder if it will be just one slushy mess. Its so cold outside and the wind is so strong I am afraid that the wind could blow Annie away.
I have had an outstanding week of classes. I have double the amount of students but I feel that we are getting into a nice groove. I have been reviewing with my advanced latin class and we have spent both class on merengue, in intro latin we were introduced to the elements, points of contact and dance positions cuban motion and basic merengue. Social dance intro was great because I got them started with  foundation material and the carolina shag. They picked up all the material quickly and were dancing on time to the music. I am looking forward to a long weekend due to the holiday Monday.

This is the grill and can you see the slush.

Baby it's COLD outside!

I have arrived home both Monday and Tuesday after teaching and put my sweats on to just relax. Monday and Tuesday were gray but today was freezing! So happy to just turn on the fire and have a nice warm rest. Mariah is back at school and on the mend. The medicine I purchased in Mexico seems to be working wonders. May have to go back and get more. Haha just kidding.

Hope your staying warm and having a relaxing evening.

Mariah's Barbie Production...

We have had a quite weekend. Mariah has a nasty cold and has spent all day yesterday and today in her pj's. She has spent a lot of time in bed but started playing with her Barbie's last night and today. She has played a lot. She has engineered this amazing swing and has such a creative imagination. I  have gotten all my class handout revised and sent out. All the laundry is complete. Doug is at the annual staff seminar and I know he is having a great time listening, learning and loving all of our great staff.

Hope your weekend has been refreshing. 

Flu Shot

Thanks Target! Better late than never! After hearing so many kids sneeze and watching the news I rushed out to find a place to get a flu shot before I went to dinner and the women's basketball game last night. CVS said no and they were out of the vaccine at other clinics so I was determined to find a place and Target has this new doc in the box kinda clinic that I remember getting a flyer for and offer this service. My arm is a bit sore today but I am praying I will not get the flu. Doug was able to take Mariah to Target after gym last night and she was given the nasal mist and seemed to do great. The Daffron is 3 for 4 in the Flu shot game. Doug is holding off or out so we shall see.

NOSH

I have a GOAL to try a new restaurant at least once a month. Last night Ed treated me to a yummy burger and chips at a neat restaurant close to Duke campus. What would I rate it on my  PAGE scale. This is my system so please don't over think this.
 P-Poor
A-Average
G-Good
E-Excellent
NOSH receives a grade of G.
The BIG question is would I return and the answer is YES, but I would want to try another item on the menu. Maybe a wrap or salad or a daily special. Lots to choose from. Gotta love options!

Duke Chapel at night

Duke Women's Basketball

Duke Tenting Has Begun

The Tents are going up at DUKE!

School, School, School

Starting tomorrow we will all be  in school. I start a new semester at Duke tomorrow and I'm excited to see previous and new students. Drew started his new semester today and Mariah is the star she has been back in school since last Wednesday. I have to get to sleep soon because 6am will come early. I have sent my students a welcome email and typed out my course objectives for Advanced Latin Dance. I have lots of great things planned and pray for good health for myself, family and students.
Cutting it short for tonight but plan to post some pics tomorrow. Maybe a group shot of each class.
Cheers!

Back to VES

Love the smiles

This is the smile that comes to mind when I start to miss this guy. Taking him back to school today felt right. I was not sad or stressed. Drew started preparing for his ACT today. The coach showed up here at 1130 and worked with Drew for an hour. We got the car packed and headed out by 2pm picking up Sola and stopping at Barnes and Noble to buy the book for Drew to use for his ACT. I did not think to look at the gas gage until we were almost out. WOW I have never cut it that close but am thankful we were able to make it to a gas station without sitting on the side of the road. We grabbed dinner for the guys and headed to campus. Unpacking Drew was smooth and we were able to get his bed set and a bit of de cluttering. Drew seemed happy and it was great to see and hear his friends welcoming him back. When we said our goodbyes at the car I drove away feeling peaceful.
I spent half of my drive talking to Omar and catching up on how his holidays were and what is happening in his life. I totally miss seeing him on a regular basics and miss his energy. My phone died so we had to end our conservation and the rest of my ride was pleasant. Tomorrow I plan to prepare for class on Wednesday and help out at Mariah's school.
 I gotta a great feeling that 2013 is going to be an awesome year. Hope you feel the same.

Blog face lift

I really like the red that we had for the blog last month but wanted to make a change for the new year. I like it a lot better. I hope its easy to follow. We have had a busy week with Mariah back in school and back to the gym. Our weekend has gone by fast and Mariah was so excited to have her bff Savvy have a sleep over. Larry went back in the hospital on Friday and Doug has been spending time trying to be with Larry and bring his doctors up to speed with whats happening with him.
I am sad to type that Drew will be going back to school tomorrow. He has been home for 3 weeks and we have loved being with him. I know the time will fly by but I am going to miss him so much.
Duke classes start on Wednesday and I am teaching 5 classes this term. I am teaching a 830am class for the first time in my Duke career. I am praying for lots of energy and that my semester is as good as the last one.
The weather is cold and Drew has come down with a cold, I have a scratchy throat and am taking my vitamins  to avoid more symptoms. Hope you and yours are well.

Guilford College

This campus is beautiful.

Today Drew and I drove to Greensboro to visit Guilford College. The weather was really cold and I wish I would have had a pair of gloves and maybe a hat. This is another great option for Drew and will put this on the list to apply to. This is a college that I had read about in the book named 40 Colleges That Change Lives. I would recommend this book to anyone who has someone in there life that is planning for college. Wonderful resource and some really great school. You can go here and check out the book.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0143122304

Happy New Year!!

Party Hats

This is our traditional meal for New Year's day!  YUMMY