what makes me happy? swing dancing

Tonight I went swing dancing (east coast and lindy hop) with a whole bunch of friends from my ward at a place called Lindy Groove in Old Town Pasadena. 

Let me tell you - I was beyond excited to go because it had been two years since my last visit and I was looking forward to see how my friends would like this different scene. 

Long story short, they are hooked.
Glad they finally understand what I have been loving all of these years! I must admit, I have been keeping this love tucked away for awhile with my recent work schedule and my other love for temple nights and salsa dancing.

Cat, you missed out!  And all you other G7 readers... you're next too.
You may get bit by the jitterbug and like it. 

I will never stop loving the groove of the lindy hop.

We were also privileged to see this amazing performance: 

{The video was filmed earlier this year at Camp Hollywood}

Dancing makes me happy. 

Dancing to old music makes me happy. 

Dancing with cute old men who have great style makes me happy. 

Dancing with guy friends who are just picking up Lindy Hop makes me happy. 

and watching my friends get caught up in what feels like a time warp back to the 40's makes me really happy : )

luau on aliso beach, aka what heaven should look like

Let me paint a picture for you: 

I now work on Saturdays.  This leads me to a strong desire to do something incredibly fun the moment my feet touch my driveway, and at least talk with my friends in hopes that I can meet up with their fun they've been enjoying while I've been sitting working.  

I live for texts during work.  I keep my phone on silent but am mindful to catch a glimpse of my phone's screen every once in a while to see if anyone is kind enough to update me on what the rest of the world is in enjoying on their leisurely weekend day.  I am a receptionist, mind you - and if you've ever worked front desk you know you are bound to find at least a minute of down time when you can sneakily and gleefully reconnect with the outside world, even if it be for just a brief moment. 

A few Saturdays ago I got one of the best texts.  It was from Cecilly and it read something like "There is a Luau going on in Laguna tonight!  Come with me!"  You don't have to tell me twice when an invitation includes the word Laguna. 

If the location couldn't be exciting enough, the people sure got me even more stoked once we got to the spot.

I have never seen so many good looking YSA's in one place. 

This sight caused me to say, "I think Heaven should look like this. Yup. I quite like this right now." 

great dance performances - hula, haka, and others I don't know the names of... and an amazing dance following. 

I found these photos on the event photographer's facebook.  Looks like we made the cut. 

watching the dancers 

they pulled up the Bishop and other guys in the San Clemente 5th ward to show us their best "tiki face"

in case you were wondering, dancing on sand is difficult. 

 I am in this above photo.  Only part of my profile can be seen... a whole bunch of us G7ers are rockin' it in the top middle section. 

And yes, we danced around those tiki torches. Hair and skin were almost burnt {not mine} and after a few limbo games and congo lines the torches were extinguished.  In the end I guess we are all pyros. 

heaven. 

Later on, another friend said to me, "It's like we're in 'YSA the movie!'"

We concluded the night with breakfast for dinner at a diner a few miles south in Dana Point. 

It was great fun, and I hope to be able to attend more outdoor dances soon.

What is it about dancing outside that makes me so happy?

in case the world really does end today...

I will have no chance at fighting off any zombies. 

You know that "what if" game people like to play and the usual is always asked: "What if this was your last day on earth, what would you do? Would you confess your love for anyone?" 

This is my answer: 

I would spend my day at Disneyland with all of my favorite people {that's including you, family. I got lucky, I have the coolest relatives.} 

And then I would confess my love for Captain EO and dance my heart out until the walls came crumbling down and the zombies ate all of us. 

Surprised?  You shouldn't be. 

You wait, little girl, on an empty stage for fate to turn the light on

Recently I had this HUGE desire to watch The Sound of Music.  That was a new thing for me, because I hadn't watched it in many years, and it was mostly for the funny goatherd song and the DO RE MI on their bikes. We only have it on VHS, and it's no where to be found on TV, so I resulted to watching the songs on movieclips.com as many times as I felt necessary. 

I have a thing for gazebos, dancing in the rain, and yes, I will finally admit, pink dresses.

Sixteen Going on Seventeen
The Sound of Music at MOVIECLIPS.com