Spotlight on..... MLog March 15-18 « Back to Group Discussions

[forestmushroom]

Welcome to your spotlight on thread, MLog!

Some starter questions:

Where do you live?

What do you do (day job, profession, SAHM, etc.)?

How did you select your MDC name?

How many children do you have?

Ladies, ask away!

[MLog]

Where do you live?

I live in a small town in Maryland, about equal distance from Baltimore and DC.

What do you do (day job, profession, SAHM, etc.)?

I am co-owner and artistic director of a dance studio.

How did you select your MDC name?

Nothing exciting here... my first initial and part of my last name.

How many children do you have?

Lol!  Only the LO inside.  We weren't exactly planning this one.  I always wanted many kids when I was growing up, but as I got older and dealt with more and more children at the studio I changed my mind.  DH, who never wanted any kids when he was younger started feeling like he did want kids.  It didn't cause distress between us and we kind of took the "we'll see" approach.  Well, sorry if this is TMI, but as we like to tell people now, the "Leave it in and pray" is not an effective form of birth control.  DH was super excited at first, it took me longer to warm up.  I would say we're both full of anticipation now.  Of course last night I did look in the mirror and think to myself, "How did I get here?"

[BubbleMa]

Speaking as a former preschool teacher, having your own children is completely different than working with other people's children.  In a good way!  :)

How did you and your DH meet?

[MLog]

Well, since it's early morning and I can't sleep, here's the long version of how DH and I met.  The summer before my senior year of high school I went to a summer dance program in Arlington, VA (I am from central CA) where I became good friends with Kate.  Upon choosing Towson University (in MD) for college Kate was very excited because she had a friend (Jessie) she had danced with previously who was also going to Towson.  So Kate made sure that we knew to look out for each other.  During the second day of freshman orientation all the pre-dance majors where sitting around talking about where they had danced previously and the girl next to me mentioned Arlington.  Turns out she was Jessie, Kate's friend.  Well, we hit it off from there and became very close.  Fast forward to senior year, I was finally spending most of my breaks staying in MD since I was working here.  Jessie and I spent a lot of free time hanging out with her high school friends who had for the most part stayed local.  I was dating someone else at the time, but apparently my future DH (Ben) was smitten with me.  I had no idea!  But Ben made it a habit to be at every outing I went to (often driving an hour each way to come out to Towson.)  When he showed up at a dance performance in June and ended up sitting with my parents my mom asked me who was this boy who was so in love with me.  I told her she was crazy.  Ben and I were just friends and I was still dating someone else (on and off for three years).  Ah, mother's intuition...

Summer after senior year, while I was at home in CA my boyfriend called me up and dumped me.  This was the third time he had done that over the years.  The first person I called was Jessie, who was out with Ben.  Jessie consoled me for a little bit, then handed the phone to Ben.  We talked for hours that night... and every day after that.  Neither of us got any sleep that summer due to the hours and hours of talking and the time difference.  By the end of the summer my phone bill was $2000.00!  I returned to Maryland in the fall to do my student teaching and we pretty much spent all our free time together.  We would stay up all night talking and talking and talking.  It amazes me now how we were able to function so well on no sleep.  Ah, to be young and in the the puppy love stage!  And we've been together ever since.  We've survived two cross country moves since we started dating and have been married 5 years.  And while we both agree that relationships sometimes take a lot of work, I wouldn't ever trade him for someone else. 

[BubbleMa]

What a sweet story! 

[MLog]

Thanks!

[julieandemmett]

Have you been dancing since you were a little girl? Was it your dream after college to open a studio? Has it been what you expected? Does your studio mostly focus on ballet?

[MeredithA]

What is your favorite recipe? 

[MLog]

Have you been dancing since you were a little girl?

I started taking dance classes when I was 5, but only because my older (12 years) sister danced and I always wanted to do everything she did.  Well, until she decided to be a math major in college. 

Was it your dream after college to open a studio?

Not exactly... I knew I wanted to teach dance from the time I was 10.  I have a degree in Dance Performance and Education.  While I was in college I started teaching dance at the studio I now own.  It was/is the exact type of studio I wanted to be a part of.  During the time we moved back to CA (2005-2007) the owner of the studio called me up and asked if I would be willing to move back to MD and buy the studio.  So then I called my friend who was the studio office manager and asked if she wanted to go in on it with me.  DH and I moved back to Maryland, and then started the purchasing process with my now business partner.  We've owned the studio since June 2008.

Has it been what you expected?

Oh boy... how to sum this one up... I absolutely love it now.  That's not to say that there are not hard days.  My two biggest frustrations are dealing with non-supportive parents and of course $$.  My business partner deals mostly with the paperwork and financials and I get to do the "fun" stuff.  I teach a lot of classes and am responsible for the artistic side of things.  I'm always trying to spend millions of dollars on productions, costuming, etc. and my business partner is always trying to rein me in and make sure that the business stays afloat.

The first few years, through the buying process and the first two years of ownership, were VERY, VERY hard.  The studio was the previous owner's baby, she built it from nothing into a successful studio with a great reputation over 20 years.  A nice way of saying it is that she wasn't really ready to let go.  She stayed on as a teacher and a "consultant" until the spring of 2010 when she abruptly quit mid-season.  It was not pretty.  Luckily we really only lost a handful of students and no faculty in the transition.  It is sad because she is no longer involved in any capacity and I think that's probably really hard for her.  However, I must say that my business partner and I are much more at ease now.  The daily stress of having the previous owner involved was often unbearable.

Does your studio mostly focus on ballet?

Primarily yes.  We have a ballet conservatory program that leads into a pre-professional training program.  This is definitely our strong suit.  We also offer tap, jazz, modern, hip-hop, and a few ballroom classes.

[MLog]

What is your favorite recipe?

This is a tough one!

In the winter I really love making roast chicken.  We use this simple recipe from a bride and groom cookbook we got from our wedding.  The seasoning consists of garlic, lemon, and rosemary.  It is so easy and just tastes so darn good right out of the oven.

And one other... one of the few cravings I've had during this pregnancy is for carrot cake.  DH is gluten free and I really prefer making things from scratch since it's much cheaper than buying all the GF mixes.  Of course sometimes it can be challenging finding recipes that work with what ingredients I've got and that I feel comfortable attempting.  Anyway, I did hours of internet research on different GF carrot cake recipes and found one that is sooooooooooo delicious.  I've made it twice now and it's great because yeah, I'm having sweets, but it's healthy, because it's carrot cake, right?

If anyone is interested here's the link: http://cakesnbakes.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/carrot-cake-2/

I use a different recipe for the frosting than the one included in the recipe.  And I use my own GF baking mix.