Cold, Cold, Cold!

After a couple more weeks of traveling, I remember now why I live in Miami and put up with the humid summers. Last weekend I made a quick trip to Utah again. I was in town literally like 48 hours and worked about 40 of them! The event was good, it's always a treat to go back to BYU and be reminded of my 'dance roots'. It's also nice to be somewhere where people are nice, friendly, positive and generally happy. However, I was cold from the moment I stepped outside. Although there was no snow on the ground, it was SO cold. I did run the one morning though in 40 degree temps.

I was home for 48 hours then left again for Columbus, Ohio. And if I thought Utah was cold, I was wrong. It was -4 when we landed on Tuesday night. I don't think I ever warmed up my toes and fingers throughout the week. I ran twice while I was there, and it was in the 20s. I looked like a freak running down the sidewalk wrapped up in coats, scarf, gloves, etc. The event was wonderful as always and the taping of the finals will be aired on PBS on February 25. So tune in and see if you can spot me working away.

The best part of my trip this weekend was getting to see Chris, Colleen and Max. They made the drive up one day and we ventured out for dinner. There was to be the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the outdoor mall we went to, but we couldn't make it through the parade and such to actually get to the lighting. It was SO bitter cold. Of course, I wasn't properly cold dressed, I don't think I even own a pair of closed-toe shoes anymore. But getting to play with Max for a couples hours warmed my heart!

I'm in the Chicago airport now on my layover back to Miami. I'm home for 48 hours again then off to Houston for Thanksgiving! I need to go home so I can thaw out!

I think I'll go back to San Juan...I know a boat you can get on...

I'm back from Puerto Rico. However, I might as well have been in PoDunk, Kansas because I worked the whole time! From 7:30 am until midnight for three days with no breaks. I actually had about 1 hour on Saturday that I rushed outside to take a look. It's too bad because this hotel has a fabulous pool and beach front. The lobby of this hotel is amazing and is a local hang-out since there are 4 bars and multiple live bands playing. Dancing in the lobby literally goes until the wee-hours of the morning. But alas, I needed my sleep due to the long hours, and since I was trying to recover from a cold I got in New Orleans, thus my dancing on the bar (at the bar) was postponed until next year. (Can you seriously imagine me dancing on the bar?! =-)) I'm home until Thursday then it's off to Utah again for the BYU Championships. I arrive there at midnight then work 2 straight days and fly out Sunday early, so it is another QUICK trip. I'm going from tropical heat to snow! That's my life...

The Big Easy

This time I am updating my blog sitting in the airport in New Orleans! I have been here 9 days so I'm ready to go home. We had our international championships all last week and executive meetings yesterday. I'm a little sick now, just a cold, I'm sure from lack of sleep and emotional stress. Luckily I had Amy, my mom and Isabelle visiting the event and they were a BIG help! Isabelle was entertainment for everyone, as you see in the pictures.

(The crew on Bourbon Street)

I'm running home to vote today, do laundry, unpack, repack, go to the office tomorrow for a few hours, then get back on a plane for Puerto Rico. The marathon continues....

A 10 Week Marathon...

It's been a while since I took the time to post something, I realize, but I started my marathon a few weeks ago and I'm happy to say I'm about 1/4 through it! And so far I'm holding up OK, not too tired...YET. It started with a trip to Hawaii. From Tuesday to Friday was the event, so I staryed an extra day on Saturday with nothing to do but lay on the beach, shop, etc. at my own pace. Then with a late flight on Sunday, I made the most of my trip, a little pre-cursor to my birthday, really not part of the marathon, but a nice break! Being 35 isn't all that great though.

Next was a trip to Utah for the wedding. All of you were there so I won't go into detail, but I sure loved seeing all my family, spending time at the cabin in the beautiful scenery, having our Bees meeting (cold water on mom and all!) and seeing my baby sister tie the knot. Whatever! =-)




And now, here I sit in the Mexico City airport. I flew in on Friday after work, arriving at midnight. We had an event yesterday that was really on a few hours long. The last hour was broadcast live on Fox TV in 43 Latin American Countries. So dealing with live TV keeps things on a tight schedule and we were in and out of the arena in only a few hours. Mexico City is HUGE! And the bus ride from the hotel to the arena which was probably on about 5-8 miles, took us 1 1/2 hours! It's weird to be in an event where you don't understand a word of what they are saying, but are expected to make everything run smoothly. It was a great experience which was paid for and which paid me very well for very little work. I just hope my face was on TV at some point. Maybe I could be the next Telemundo star?

It was daylight savings time in Mexico this morning, so I did get an extra hour of sleep before being on a 10am flight back to Miami. I leave first thing tomorrow for New Orleans for 9 days for our corporate championship event. So it's a quick laundry and re-pack for me today. Plus I have to stop at the office for a couple of hours on my way home. So, I'm going to grab some gatorade or something to keep me going and look ahead to the next big hill I have to run up!

Half way to Health? Half way to Happiness?

Well, I'm half way to something! If you didn't already know, I have been on the Tara Christensen weight loss program since the beginning of June. Really that's called Jenny Craig! Yeah, me and Queen Latifah. Yesterday at my appointment the scale showed I had passed my half way mark! So since June 4 I have lost 26.2 pounds! and I have lost a total of 30.6 inches around my bust/hips/waist/abs. Funny thing is, only about 5% of that is around my bust. So, yeah, we know that I do indeed carry the bra size for the entire family! =-) I was going to put a picture of me in my bikini on here, but decided to spare you! I'm not in THAT kind of shape yet. I obviously have a big chunk to go to reach my goal...but at least I'm showing some progress!

A last minute trip...

A morning jog... At the shower...














...A 'picnic' at home for dinner... Aunt Tara....
















Last weekend I made a quick decision on Thursday to fly home on Friday for the weekend. That's one of the benefits of lots of frequent flyer miles. Alee's last bridal shower was on Saturday and since I was yet to make it to any of them, I decided to jump over to Houston and enjoy some time with everyone. The weather was beautiful and so we enjoyed being together every moment...at least I did! I got to spend more time then with Nick before he becomes my brother-in-law. I hope he realizes he is 'marrying' me when he marries Alex. I was also trying to escape Ike, but once I got home it decided to bless us with some bad wind and rain, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Good thing I'm not going to Houston this weekend! I have a couple more weeks at home without travel so I'm looking forward to getting a lot of stuff done this weekend.

Nothing to Report!

I'm very happy to say I have nothing to report. I was home over the weekend and I was so lazy. I layed on my bed for hours at a time and read, which I NEVER do. It is kinda like the calm before the storm though I think. Once October hits, I don't have a free weekend until into December sometime. So I tried to enjoy this past weekend, although I was a little antsy at times with so much free time.

We survived the storm Faye. There was nothing much to her, just a lot of rain and some wind. I was out jogging on the bridge within hours of her leaving, and although there was a lot of debris around, there was really no harm done.

So I'm off to Orange County on Wednesday to the Embassy Ball. I always enjoy this event so I'm actually looking forward to it. It makes me miss So. Cal. though. Especially because I'm tired of the hot and humidity. The weather in Orange County is always perfect!

Sunrise Exercise!

Just another shot of my view the other morning while I ran the bridge. How can you not love this to wake up to!?

A Month of Madness!

I realize it has been a month since my last post, but it has been a month of madness for me. The day I returned home from NYC, Alex arrived for a week. We did both work and play, and it was nice to have a friend to play with even for a short time. Once she left, I worked three 11 hour days then left for California for 10 days for one of my major programs of the year. It had been my 'baby' for several months and it was nice to finally have it come to fruition, even if it was a lot of work. I had a great time, loved the weather, and would love it if they would move the office to Orange County! We did get to spend all Sunday at the pool at the hotel's pool party. We acted a little crazy and danced around to DJ, it's quite a unique relationship I have with my boss and other girl in my office! I'm home now, but back to madness preparing for the next program. I'm most happy when I'm busy, but do love a little break too! =-) It is very hot here in Miami right now, so spending my days inside is the best thing anyway. I'm home for a couple weeks then head to Las Vegas, home for a week then head to Orange County. So there's not a lot of rest, and certainly just enough time for my internal clock to get back on schedule each way before I have to change 3 hours again.

Alee's 'one-eye' as she broke her sunglasses! We HAD to go shopping!

Of course I spent a few hours at Disneyland!
I told Isabelle I would take a picture of Dumbo for her!

Fireworks over the castle at Disneyland

Marina del Rey, view from my balcony at the Ritz Carlton

View of the pool/hottub from my balcony at Ritz Carlton

Suzanne at Venice Beach, such a lovely place . . . NOT!

A little of our craziness at the pool

Me and the "boss man" at our event

New York City!

I'm back from my week in NYC. It was a busy week, but what's new. I look forward every year to this event as I love to wake up early and run across the Brooklyn Bridge. Which I did every morning I was there, most days before 6AM! The sun is just coming up over the city and it is such a beautiful view. You also have a great view of the Statue of Liberty from there. Like all of you, it is nice to be reminded of our freedom and be grateful for our circumstances. I tried to imagine being on a boat for weeks and coming upon NYC and feeling overwhelmed with excitement to begin a new life. What courage it must have taken all of those immigrants. I had a great view from my hotel room on the 25th floor, which would have been perfect to watch the fireworks over the bridge, but I was in the ballroom instead.

The competition was the best of the year! Such excellent dancing, it was a pleasure to watch and work. I'm back home now though and am still trying to find the bottom of my desk. SO much to do! Ahh! And I have to leave again in a week for LA for 10 days. I think I'm getting tired, really! Alee is here though so I'm hoping to pass some work to her. Have a good weekend!

Tara's Travels Times Two?

Happy 4th of July!
I'm in NYC at an event and while sitting here on the dais I am connected to the internet, thus I'm playing and doing other work while I'm sitting here! So I decided to try and check out my blog, but I couldn't remember my blog address as I don't have it bookmarked on my laptop. I knew that the title of my blog though was Tara's Travels so I typed that in and guess what? There is another Tara with a blog named Tara's Travels. Go check her out . . .she's not as exciting as me! (As you know, my blog address is actually Tango-Tara)

Ballroom in Boston

I was in Boston over the weekend for the Yankee Classic. Unfortunately, I spent A LOT of time in the ballroom and no time out sightseeing. Seeing as it was my first time to Boston, I was hoping for at least a few hours, but it wasn't happening. On Sunday I was working from 7:30 am until 9:30 pm with no break! One afternoon I literally escaped from the ballroom while things were very slow and put on my running clothes and ran up to Harvard. It was about 3 miles so I had to run pretty fast so I could see it, come back, put my dress back on, and act like I had never left! But it was nice to see the sights of MIT and Harvard and the scenery of the river. I did have some good scenery in the ballroom as Max (from DWTS) was judging over the weekend. I admit he was pretty gracious in taking photos with anyone that asked and giving autographs, etc. which it seemed everyone wanted. But he would then turn around and roll his eyes at me. Some people are so stupid in the things they say, I would definitely do more than roll my eyes after hearing some of the silly stuff that comes out of people's mouths. Here are some pics and a little video. The sound is bad, keep in mind that I took it with my phone, but you can see what I watched all day Sunday.

A Peacock in Miami???

The weirdest thing . . .I have a peacock that lives at my apartment. I really never expected to see a peacock in Miami, not that I know where I expect to see one. He/She lives in the trees in the front of our building. I often see him sitting on the wall in our driveway, as you see in the picture, just feet away from my car. It's a little shocking to pull around the corner and see that sitting there. Last night he was walking in the parking lot and stopped for the longest time at my car. I think he could see his reflection in it. I don't really like pets, so I'm glad this is as close to one as I get!

A Quick Trip . . .

I made a quick trip to Texas over the weekend. No work involved!! I flew in Thursday night to Houston. Friday afternoon we drove over to San Antonio to see Amy, Ben & Isabelle. Then Saturday we drove BACK to Houston. And on Sunday I flew home. As always, it was too fast and there was little just hang-out time. But I can't pass up the moments to see my family. It was nice to spend Father's Day with my dad! And it was nice to be around nice Texas-folk, in wide-open spaces, and men in cowboy boots! (You'll notice the picture Isabelle took of her crazy mom!)

Morning in Miami

I'm sure you all know that I jog in the mornings. Usually it is just around my 'neighborhood'. I look forward though to Saturdays when I go over to the Biscayne Bay Bridge for my 3.6 mile, double-round-trip jog. Although it is a good workout, the best part of the experience is the view. On one side is the city and port (on weekends there are usually 5-6 cruise boats docked there) and the other side is the ocean looking toward Key Biscayne. I LOVE the scenery and always feel energized after my weekend runs. Since I won't be home this weekend, I decided to get up early (5:45) and make the short trip over to the bridge. This morning was a beautiful sunrise over the ocean onto the city. Plus the view also included about 100 men on racing bikes! =-)

Sunday by the Sea

Yesterday I took a couple of hours to relax. My usual weekends are filled with errands, cleaning, Target shopping, birthday/holiday shopping, etc. etc. Since I'm gone a lot of weekends, the list of things to do while I AM home can get pretty long. Pretty soon there is no weekend, it's just more work. But yesterday, thanks to my friends on South Beach, I visited their pool for a 'picnic'. It was hot, but there was a nice breeze. And I'm always reminded of what a beautiful city Miami is when I'm sitting there at their pool.

MOVIE WATCHER

As you may, or may not, know, I'm an avid movie watcher. On the weekends that I'm home, I sometimes see up to 3 movies at the theater in a weekend. I guess it's my 'escape' out of my every day life. I regularly go to AMC theaters, where I have a 'movie watcher card' where you get 2 points for every ticket you buy. You get free popcorn, drinks, tickets, etc. as you build points. My point total as of this weekend was 606 points! So you can see how many movies I see at AMC theaters alone! So I am going to keep a running total here on my blog of my points and the last 6 movies that I have seen. I will give them my personal rating in case anyone is looking for an opinion before seeing a movie themselves:
=-) I LIKED it, a definite must see
=-l It was OK, depends on your personal likes/dislikes
=-( Don't waste your money!!

Blackpool

International Blogger!

So. . . it's official . . .I finally have a place to post my life! Amy had been at me for a while to do this and I told her if she would set it up for me, I would do it. In the meantime, Sarah also felt the need and got me going. Thanks Sarah! I expect it will take me some time to figure out how to do it, but then everyone can keep up with me! I know I am not the best at "keeping in touch", so perhaps this is the best way to do it.

I returned the beginning of this week from Blackpool, England. I was there for the Open British Championships. While these are not the world championships, where only two couples from each country are allowed to compete, this event has become the dancers world championships since anyone and everyone is invited to compete. In one event there were over 500 couples from around the world. My time is spent mostly watching and staying up on the current gossip. Which leaves a lot of free time. UNFORTUNATELY, Blackpool is like the armpit of England. It is typical England overcast, grey, rainy, cold plus dirty, nasty, boring and full of ugly people. I know that sounds harsh, but if you had to spend over a week there, you would have the same opinion. Strangely enough, it has one of the most beautiful, and largest, ballrooms I have ever seen. So for one week a year, the town is full of beautiful people.

There is a Starbucks there now, so many hours were spent there drinking and talking to pass the time. This year I was with all four of my bosses. The two guys from Dance Beat and then my boss and his boss from Arthur Murray. Good thing I had no desire to go wild there. I had a great time as always with Keith, Didio, and this year Tom at our nightly dinners and then into the ballroom. I've posted some pictures of my time there. The USA had a stellar year and won the Professional Team Match for the first time ever in over 40 years!