long time no see

its been a while.

i havent written much,

mainly because we got some big news that

i didnt really want to write about on the internet.

lots of stuff been going on.

But lets just say in the last few months

I may have emigrated to Australia with husband

i may have a little bun in the oven

we may be very excited

The tiniest turtles...

So aside from seeing the most Giant Tortoises in the world

we also happened across some of the tiniest turtles.

Husband and i were so excited about happening across

two little baby turtles taking their first steps from their nest into the ocean.

It was an absolute dream come true for me.

Something i thought you only see on tv,

or in a controlled environment.

This was nature at its best and most natural.

Seeing those little babies use every instinct inside

of them just to make that big journey to the even bigger ocean.

I may have shed a tear of joy.

i felt like a very proud mama.

Galapagos -Giant Tortoise

Seconds off the plane from a 27 hour trip

and husband whisks me off to see the islands

most famous inhabitants.

The Giant Tortoise.

I tell you, there aint no better cure for 

jet lag than these little beauties.

They reminded me so much of my wee Del-Boy

(who currently lives with my mother-in-law

who spoils her rotten and hand feeds her each day)

the same characteristics 

only much much bigger.

So adorable.

I think my favourite one may have been the 

one who was in the swamp.

Mainly because she reminded me of 

Morla the Aged one from Neverending Story,

yes there may have been quite a few 

quotes and re-enactments going on there

(luckily i recently introduced husband to the movie so

he is no on parr with my brain waves)

I can also tell you that their favourite food

is Guava, it makes their faces very pink!

Returning to reality.....

Coming back to London was like

coming back down to Earth from the moon

with a huge depressive drag of gravity.

no more husband

no more sun

no more amazing exotic adventures

no more old friends

no more new babies

just regular old life

i wasnt looking forward to teaching at all.

but it turned out to be pleasantly surprising.

In my first class none of my regular students turned up

(did they know holidays were over,

i hope thats the reason and not

that i've scared them away)

but a new little girl turned up,

7 years old.

she has been teaching herself ballet from a ballet

book she has at home.

It was so nice to spend the time with her

for her first lesson and not just to have 

her manage to scramble along at the back

as i'm sure i'll have to do next week

(if my students turn up)

as she struggled with each new movement,

'wow! thats really hard'

she would say,

and then she would try a little harder.

My second class i was just covering for

another teacher. A boys ballet class with two 10 year old boys.

I actually really enjoy cover teaching as

i can be relaxed and not worry about

teaching class 'etiquette' or discipline,

I asked them what their favourite steps

where and they told me the ones that they like

but only get to do sometimes,

so we did all of them.

So nice to see some really enthusiastic 

(pretty good) boys.

\i guess i'll make it through

here without husband a little bit longer.

Later Gators....

I feel like i only just saw husband,

its funny how seeing him a month ago counts as recently....

At any rate its my turn to go and visit him.

In the Galapagos Islands.

A once in a life time trip.

I will cherish these amazing times i have to travel at the moment

and explore these exotic far off locations

with husband.

Funnily enough,

currently both husband and i have 

both day dream about settling down 

and just staying in one place the two of us.

Feet firmly on the ground.

Pain in the back....

I always thought that when i stopped dancing all my aches and pains would go away.

Turns out its not that easy.

For the last year and a half i've had aches and pains all over!

some of it is my body adapting to a new life style,

others are left over problems that i never properly sorted out.

Mainly i've been having re-occuring back pain.

It comes and goes some days i'm bedridden and other days its back to norm.

Coming from my dance background it s very hard for me to teach without getting physically involved myself.

my husband always tries to tell me that i should take it easy when i teach, no demonstrating full out to 2 year olds! i explain to him they are the worst culprits for needing to be taught visually.

after a bout of back pain recently that just frustrates me more than anything

(im used to being in pain)

the physio finally persuaded me to go to the Doctor and have a scan.

So thanks to husbands private work medical insurance,

i very speedily got a MRI done.

Unfortunately it did show up some disk degeneration and bulging,

but fortunately nothing that has affected the nerves or bone as of yet.

So i feel so releaved to have some actual proof that my back pain isnt just me whining like an old lady all the time.

Looking at all these pretty ballet pictures at the moment 

just makes me think of their poor spines!

Adventures in the ballet class....

Once a week i teach in a nursery

where the class are more of a dance/drama

based class as opposed to pure ballet.

I find these classes great fun,

and love trying to find out new ways to incorporate 

different stories into our dance adventures.

To make it more tricky the classes are predominately 

filled with little boys.

When i've taught this style of classes before

it was easier to think up stories as

you can pretty much just go through the Disney Princessess.

So lately we have been on a visit to the Dinosaur museum

where we have marched like scary T-rex's

and flown like pterodactyls.

We have been pirates looking for lost treasure

being chased by crocodiles,

and on safari in the deepest jungle.

we have sky-dived into Australia and

jumped like the Kangaroos and spun like the Tasmanian Devils.

These little boys have a lot of energy...

it keeps me on my toes first thing in the morning,

in fact the only way i think i am able to make

it through without going crazy

is from having been the older sister to 5 crazy younger brothers.

Now i've got to think of more Adventure stories....

Things....

What have i been up to lately.

Teaching, teaching, teaching.

Pilates,Pilates Pilates,

Teaching -

I've changed ballet schools and i'm really enjoying my new school.

Its a very different environment,

the students at my new school have more professional

aspirations (even at a young age)

so i can treat them like young professionals,

and they actually responding well to it,

so rather than thinking to my self all the time,

are they 'having fun' are they 'being stimulated'

i can focus on

are they learning? are they progressing? are they improving?

hopefully the learning and improving is what stimulates

them and makes it enjoyable,

i know thats what ballet always meant to me

and thats what i want ballet to be to my students.

Last Sunday I volunteered at a charity gala held by the

school at the Royal Opera House

where the children performed and auctions were held.

They raised over £300 000 to be used for dance scholarships.

It was just parents watching week...

i hope i survived it....

Pilates

I'm thoroughly enjoying my teacher training with Alan Herdman Pilates.

I know some of the other students on the course struggle with

the style of teaching, but it suits me to a T.

Every week i come away feeling i ve learned so much.

I worry about when i have to go out and actually start finding a job,

its a whole new industry to me,

hopefully i can make the cross over.

Been and Gone....

So husband has been and gone...

10 days.

10 busy days.

When husband comes he likes to fill up his social calendar with every

 Tom, Dick and Harry he can think off....

i reign him in a little, but i also enjoy seeing what a good friend he is to those around him, 

even though he only has a few days in the Uk a year he 

wants to make sure that he phones and

 meets up with everyone he cares about.

 (It upsets me when i see people dont realise what an 

effort he is making and give him the cold shoulder)

Bonus points....

my Dad decided to drive down to London whilst he was here 

and brought my three youngest brothers to visit us...

unbonus points, 

he was being spontaneous and didnt inform us first or

 he would have realised that we werent actually in London but in Dorset!

bonus points

 he made an extra effort and drove the boys down to spend the 

day with us in Dorset. 

It was great to see them. I hadn't seen them since

my wedding a year and a half ago...how time flies....

and somehow i'm not as good at my husband as 

making time to see loved ones. 

My little brothers are not so little anymore...

nearly towering above me!

We had a great time taking them to the tank museum in Dorset.....

hree boys in a museum for 3 hours...

we could hardly get them out...

they loved it!

Husband and i also had a weekend 

getaway from London at Windsor....

where we went to visit the Queens house and also went to Ascot.

Ascot was sooooo much fun...

i tired my hand at betting on the horses (only a pound a race!)

 and lost nearly every time....

Gambling is a fools game...

why would you do it! 

i tried lots of different techniques for wining,

choosing horse by best name,

best outfit,

best odds,

worst odds,

eventually i won a race and made a wooping £1.25

(but was still way in the minus)

as my father always taught me, 

its not gambling if you know your going to loose...

It's always hard when husband leaves...

and London seems so much brighter when he is around,

in fact it actually was brighter when he was around this time.

After weeks of rain the sun shone nearly every day....

he was wondering why i keep complaining about the British weather

enjoying the changing of the guard a little too much at Windsor  Castle

My little monkey of a borhter enjoying hanging around at the tank museum

Ski-Ballet....

oh my goodness, how have i never heard of Ski ballet before,

apparently it had a brief Olympic life back in the 80's...

oh the 80's

check out this article

Little things....

today whilst teaching 7 year olds classical walks in ballet.

me : 'Wow! you guys! 

That was so much better, you did it so good this time round.

I'm so pleased with you.'

Little Girl puts her hand up : 'Miss Rebekah, I think we were much better because you

told us about the magic diamonds on our shoes'

Sometimes it good to know that the crazy things you 

say actually go in one ear and not just other the other.

Long long distance....

Husband and I have spent more

of relationship long distance than together.

and I think sometimes people ask us

why are you apart?

How can you do it?

Why would you do it?

and it can be tough at times,

but with modern technology he is only ever 

a text message away, 

literally at a click of a button.

and he is in my thoughts 24/7.

The other day i accidently left my phone at home and

the whole day i felt like i was missing something...

and no it wasnt my phone,

it was my husband.

Normally everytime a thought pops into my

 head i send him a message about it.

It can be anything to annoying man on the tube

to, 'i'm thirsty.

he's in on everything.

It makes me one of those terrible people addicted

to their smart phones.

But i can assure when he is around

the phone goes off.

The main thing you have to have to make 

a long distance relationship work

is TRUST.

and future goals.

Both husband and i have seen our separations 

as important steps to future goals,

gotta think big and focus on the bigger picture.

oh dear...

another mushy post....

Real food....

One of the things I hate about commuting around London from studio to studio,

is that despite my best efforts i normally end up picking food up 'on-the-go'.

London is the King of 'on-the-go' food.

Everything is packaged and processed to be eaten on the tube,

and dont get me wrong some of it is not just crappy junk food,

but probably fairly enough nice and healthy stuff....

but it all adds up and i end up spending a fortune everytime i just walk past a shop.

I liked this little video i saw on a Cup of Joe.

I try to prepare food at home, 

but so often i just run out of time, or am too tired

and why should i bother when its all there in front of me.

But i agree,

the best food is food that you know what is in it.

The other day i was going to buy a spinach and ricotta pasta sauce,

and i thought to myself  wait a sec,

i could make that easy.

so i bought the ingredients and it took a few minutes,

and i made it.

and it was delicious,

and the level of satisfaction and appreciation for my food was 

far more.

and i had leftovers that i froze for another meal....

Also this month i stopped drinking Fizzy Drinks.

i think its the first time in my life i've gone more than a week with out some form of soda.

(or even a few days, my parents had us drinking it young!)

and sure there have been a couple of days when

i've really really fancied one,

but more often than not i've had a really nice time

buying fresh fruit juices instead....

but dont get me wrong,

i'm counting down the days till

my next can of Irn Bru!

Life gets in the way.....

Whooopssss.

been in blogging limbo.

Its not that nothing has been happening,

in fact a lot has been happening.

Long story short but whilst i was away having a lovely 

holiday with husband a few work emails

came in that gave me a distinctly bad feeling that

things weren't going good.

(it spoiled my Christmas a little)

and in fact after arriving back in the country and

calling my boss everyday (to no avail),

it eventually turned out

that they had decided to give my job back to the

girl who i had taken over from

and effectively unemploy me.

GREAT!

they gave me a bunch of reasons that 

they had decided to do this....

but this was the first time i had heard of any problems,

as i explained to them,

if you were unhappy with my work 

surely telling me so i could do a better job.

To make matters worse i found out this information

from my assisstant, 

(who forwarded me the updated schedule

which she had been given a month previously...

reason that i hadnt been given it was because my name wasnt on it.)

and eventually got the boss to contact me...

via text message.

Well, it knocked back my confidence a lot...

i wondered what i had done wrong.

How could i go from thinking i was doing a fairly good job 

(does anyone actually think they're doing a good job when they teach?)

to being unemployable....was i really that bad?

I negotiated some work till the end of the month 

to give me time to find new work.

But i'd lost my footing and was second-questioning my every class.

Then i went in and assissted a new girl that they had brought in 

to take over one of my classes.

and from the second the class started i realised she 

was a terrible teacher, and i'm

fairly sure had blagged her way into the job.

And i thought to myself,

i've got stuck in the middle of some, 'office politics'

and somehow pulled the short straw.

And starting next week i've got myself a new job.

That i'm really excited about,

at a high calibre school here in London and i'm excited

about working with the school as the Director is quite

inspirational to me...

and i think its going to be a better fit to my style of teaching.

So here's to fresh starts.....

Being Married

The other day someone made the comment to me 

that they didnt feel like they were married even though they

had been married a year.

And i defended it saying that being married to me has made such a huge

difference in our relationship.

Somehow i feel like a different person.

I feel like Mrs Reid.

not Miss anything.

It didnt happen over night,

i didnt wake up the morning after wedding and feel 

everything had changed.

I guess its a bit like birthdays,

you change age over night,

but gradually over the year you realise that you have developed

and changed and no longer are the person you were a year ago.

Everything just feels more solid now.

Before if he annoyed me

i always had the option to say,

actually you bug me, 'goodbye'

but now i have to think to myself,

this is forever,

is this something that i'm going to give on

or is this something that is too important and i need to take on.

give and take,

it started out a bit like that,

but at the moment it feels like

we're on the same path,

sometimes i feel i know him better than he knows himself,

sometimes i realise he knows me better than i know myself,

little things still surprise me,

things i didn't know about him

(he says i didnt ask....

i say why would i out and out ask you 

if you worked in a cowboy rodeo before?)

some people think that marriage is just a piece of paper,

something legal incase at one point you need to divide up your assets.

its so much more.

i cry a lot more at movies,

especially war films,

i think to myself,

imagine if that were husband...

in Saving Private Ryan one of the guys in the background

got blown up and i noticed he was wearing a wedding ring....

oh dear....

i didnt stop.

i love it when we are around other people

and i get to show him off.

'this is my husband'

and if i can see that they dont quite

see how fabulous he is

i pity them 

and secretly smile at what i know i have

and they are missing out on.

hmmmm....

where did this mushy post come from.

Dont worry,

i've got loads of actual interesting stuff to write about at some point.

like my trip to the Caribbean,

trekking through bat poo,

fooling some poor real estate agent into 

taking us around as we were considering buying our own private desert island....

Unproductively Productive....

So i rather productivley made myself a work website this evening.

Suprisingly it didnt take that long, only a couple of hours

and for so little effort i'm pretty impressed with myself...

check it out

http://mrsrkreid.wix.com/rebekahreidballet

My man....

This is my husband...

flying

my very own superhero

and i miss him,

and leaving him behind after 15 days together 

not knowing when we'll meet again

makes me sad.

Coming back to London,

a place that never feels like home to me

makes it even harder.

Being messed around by your work

so that you've got from being

part time employed

to virtually unemployed

makes it sucky.

But he reminds me 

that our future is bright,

he reminds me that the time apart is important

for our future time together.

and he reminds me that this

was my own decision

and i can change it at any time.

sometimes i wonder.....