A Week in Photos

Posted on November 24, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since Watch Me Juggle has seen me- I’ve had the craziest week of all this last week. I’m the absolute worst at saying ‘no’ to projects, so almost every day has been substitute teaching during the day, and picking up extra ballet classes to teach at night. That’s almost 12 continuous hours of standing/running around to the tune of “Miss Eva! Miss Eva! MISS EVA!” It’s really rewarding work, but I’m honestly proud of myself that I got through it. It’s not easy, by any means. Working in public schools has really renewed my appreciation for teaching dance. As much as I love working with the kids in the local schools, it’s truly my goal to be able to throw myself entirely into dance- whether that be running a company or a school, or teaching. It was something I dreamed of doing as a kid, and being able to be creative on a daily basis is truly a blessing.

Oh…and I also got another new job, that happened as well.

cue the bad juggling

Just throw all the balls into the air, and keep them there. That’s apparently my M.O.

Here are some snapshots from my week:

Let’s all just take a moment to appreciate these lemon ricotta pancakes. Wow! I only made it about half-way through these.

On Friday, I had a little time for yoga in the park with the kindergarteners I was teaching for the week. We weren’t sure if we would be able to do it, given the recent weather’s propensity for downpours, but the sun came out just in time. It was wonderful to see them all jump into something new, and like it. I had an amazing brunch the other day with a long-lost girlfriend of mine, and I think we have many standing blow-out appointments in our future together. Despite my crazy week, I also managed to make it out to Hawthorn in San Francisco for cocktails. And, by cocktails I mean reliving my college days by taking shots of tequila. I (embarrassingly enough) spent most of my Saturday shopping, and was in desperate need of a red bull by the end of the day. The trick is just to not sit down! Poof! Instant energy!

Anyway, I can’t say enough amazing things about the supportive people in my life. It’s so heartening to know that I have wonderful people who will back me up, under any circumstances. When things get overwhelming, as they can do sometimes when you have three jobs, it’s important to be able to accept a helping hand. It’s also equally important to “pay it forward,” when the opportunity presents itself. I’m a firm believer in an honest, kind word. I know how those simple things can perk up my day, so I try to keep it moving full-circle.

Now that the craziness has died down, I’m hoping to be back on my regular posting schedule, and have many fun things planned in the upcoming weeks to share. Here’s to adventures, and more adventures!

Hope this finds you well, dear readers.

EVA♥

30 Facts About Me

Posted on October 30, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello all!

Here’s an old-school head shot for you photographed by the studio’s lovely resident tech guru/photographer Miss Mary Lee Shalvoy. You might have also seen this elsewhere on my page, under the “About Me” tab.

If you’re reading this, it’s most likely that I somehow got myself together enough to finish a blog post and schedule it’s publication in advance. Go me! Why all the hooplah, you ask? Well, while you’re reading this, I’m most likely trapped in a classroom of ten year-olds, trying to keep them occupied while simultaneously winning them over with my goofiness. And yoga skills…

Anyway, it’s Blogtober day 30, and I thought I would play a game of get to know you by giving you 30 random facts about me! I love reading and creating lists like these- they appeal to my desire for randomness,while simultaneously making you feel like you’re getting to know someone in all their little details.

Here we go!

1…I was born with black hair and blue eyes. Where they went, I have no clue…

2…I can count to 10 in six languages…

3…It used to be seven, but I’ve completely forgotten my college Arabic…

4…I have a few double jointed fingers…

5…I have an affinity for remembering the lines from my favorite movies…

6…In 5th grade, I wanted to be a forensic anthropologist…

7…I had hair down to my knees for the majority of my childhood..

8…I have chronic foot/ankle pain from years spent dancing on pointe…

9…I’m allergic to cashews…

10…I’ve never had the chickenpox…

11…English is my third language…

12…My work commute is exactly two minutes…

13…I love the smell of freshly ground coffee…

14…I’m first generation American…

15…I own over 30 pairs of shoes…

16…I live in an apartment with an entirely lavender bathroom…

17…I wear the diamond ring my parents bought me for high school graduation everyday…

18…I’m 27 and I own several stuffed animals…

19…There’s a special place in my heart for overweight cats…

20…There’s a plaque in my elementary school with my name on it, somewhere…

21…There’s a section of my closet devoted to evening gowns…

22…I learned to walk in my grandmother’s kitchen in Austria…

23…I have a beauty mark in my left armpit…

24…I genuinely enjoy bourbon…

25…I’ve dreamed of living in SF since I was a kid…

26…I’m just crazy about Audrey Hepburn…

27…Purple is my favorite color…

28…I love flower-flavored desserts…

29…It’s a goal of mine to own a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes…

30…I used to be terrified of dogs, but now can’t wait to own one…

EVA♥

A Letter to My Younger Self

Posted on October 27, 2014 by 4evamaria

Dear Little Eva,

It’s me: Adult Eva, from the future. (Could this get weirder? I think not. Just go with me on this…)

I may be 22 years older than you, but I’m still figuring things out. Life can be all sorts of confusing, and there’s always some crazy new thing that gets thrown at you. I’m not saying that I haven’t picked up a few gems of wisdom along the way. So, here are some tidbits of advice that might help you out:

Half your head is bangs. Get a trained professional to fix this ASAP.
While very endearing, red and pink are not quite the same color. You’ll figure this out eventually.
Always, always, always wear shorts under your dress. Those metal slides will burn your butt something awful.
I know you’re coming right out of the 80’s, but try to wear some real pants every-once-in-a-while. You’ll have your whole adulthood to live in Lululemon leggings. Amazing, right?
There’s nothing scary under the bed or in the closet, but it doesn’t hurt to check.
Sliding on parquet flooring in your tights is really fun- just say no. Loosing teeth is a really big hassle.
Yes, some bushes have berries. No, it doesn’t mean you should eat them. Save your mother the freak-outs please.
And speaking of freak-outs, stop taking your emotional cues from adults. They’re not the end-all-be-all, and can overreact at times. If anyone hasn’t told you this yet: everything is going to be fine.
Also…pennies. Quit eating pennies. It’s not attractive.

Remember that you’re a good kid, no matter how hard other people might be on you, and quit being hard on yourself. You’re a brave and spunky little person, and you should be proud of it. Also, good job on the good grades and the being nice to people. One day you’ll look back at your younger self, full of nostalgia, and be happy with the way things went. So, enjoy!

Love,

EVA♥

Only moderately peevish…

Posted on October 22, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

Today’s Blogtober prompt: Pet peeves. Now, this perplexed me a bit, as the majority of the month’s prompts have been entirely positive. Writing about pet peeves seems like inviting yourself to a one person bitch-fest, pardon my French. On the other hand, pet peeves are entirely innocuous. They’re personal, and don’t even have to make sense, really. And I’m sure I’m probably the embodiment of someone else’s pet peeves, so it’s all in good fun. Here are a few of my pet peeves:

Holding the door open for men and not being acknowledged. At all. Eye contact and a smile would be nice, at the very least. I am not your personal doorman or a doorstop. If the roles were reversed I would most certainly thank you. Common courtesy, learn it.

People chewing with their mouths open. This makes me want to slap anyone instantly. I know, it’s totally unreasonable.

People that don’t give up their seats for the elderly, heavily pregnant women, and/or women with small children on public transportation. Rude. Just rude.

Your car has a turn signal for a reason. Use it.

People who like to listen to the same song over and over…and over again. It’s like beating the dead horse you used to really like. Now I never want to hear that song ever again. Stop it!

People that order ridiculously complicated food or beverages. For example, I once found myself in line behind a woman at Starbucks who asked for a venti, no-foam, half-caf, quad, nonfat, sugar-free vanilla latte, with 10 Splenda. Yes, that’s right: 10 Spenda packets. They asked her to repeat her order, I’m convinced out of sheer disbelief. I feel like this has come up before on the blog, but it’s one of those things I can’t forget even if I tried.

On a similar note, picky eaters drive me up the wall. Everyone is entitled to his/her preferences, but when you refuse to eat 90% of all foods, or can’t eat food that has touched other food, we need to start questioning your level of adult.

Celebrities who insist on giving their children nicknames, or strange nouns for their proper names: Apple, Ace, Mars, Alabama, Peaches, Fifi, and, my favorite, Moon Unit.

#Excessive #use #of #hashtags! #Itsevenbetterwhenyouputanentiresentencetogetherlikeitsawordbutitsahashtag. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

…

OK! I think I’m done…for now. If you want more fabulous pet peeve posts, go check out The Daily Tay and Helene in Between, the lovely creators of #Blogtober14.

EVA♥

…and a Piñata

Posted on October 21, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello all!

It was recently my friend Rachel’s birthday, and what better way to celebrate than with a sunny backyard barbecue? We had the required array of food: hot dogs, barbecue chicken, salads, chips and dip. There was good weather, good company, and good food, so it was a perfect afternoon in my book. Also, there was a piñata. I’m sure you could gather as much from the photos.

The innocuous, sparkling Dora the Explorer-covered star seemed to bring out the security dog in Maddie. She was entirely determined to rescue us all from its threatening presence. If you look closely, the star seems to only have four points, as she dismembered it as we were in the process of stringing it up. We had to remove her from the yard just so the birthday girl could take the piñata out properly. Of course, we let Maddie have her fun with the remnants, yet she wasn’t happy until she had systematically taken it apart. Bless her- I’m convinced the sparkling streamers just weren’t her style.

The afternoon also happened to coincide with Fleet Week, so we had the pleasure of having a Blue Angels flyover. I told Rachel it was entirely in honor of her birthday, obviously. I left the party with a purse full of candy- some things never change.

I can’t believe that October is flying by so quickly! I’m looking forward to getting into the Halloween spirit, and am steadily stocking up on my pumpkin-flavored goodies from Trader Joe’s. I’m enjoying Fall while I can…only 63 more days until Christmas, and not enough hours in the day.

EVA♥

I’m a Professional

Posted on October 17, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

Happy Friday! Blogtober is going in full force, and I almost feel as if my day isn’t complete if I haven’t visited Watch Me Juggle at least once.

I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, by any means, but if there was a job with any of these traits in the job description, I would be hired in a millisecond…

I’m really good at tripping going both up and down stairs. On a similar note, I’m really good at high heels. Ok, I’m decent enough at walking in them, but I can always find the most amazing bargain when it comes to shoe shopping. I found the above Pour La Victoire shoes for $11.50. That’s right. $11.50. Brand new. I win.

I can make a mean at-home latte. I’m also a professional coffee drinker, if that were a real job.

The boss lady says that while I may look pretty, it certainly doesn’t stop me from being a complete and utter goof ball; usually to get a laugh or a smile out of even the most stoic people. It makes me happy.

I’m like a chipmunk with a cheeseburger. You’ll wonder where I put it all, it disappears so fast.

Google-stalking people. I can do it.

As the infamous Jenna Marbles says: “Goo hoarding.” I excel at keeping bottles, all just shy of empty, all over my bathroom. If you need enough volumizing shampoo for a hamster, chances are I have it somewhere.

I can kill hours in thrift stores. I’m a professional Thrift Store Wanderer. I usually come out with some amazing treasures, too.

I have a knack for finding the best parking spot…approximately two seconds after someone else does.

I’m also a professional at:

Wearing Lululemon
Awkward somersaults
Drawing directly on my eyeball with eyeliner
Leaving my dishes in the sink forever
Staying up way past my bedtime
Making funny noises
Petting cats for hours
Making mimosas
Dancing

Add these to my resume.

EVA♥

If I Were President…

Posted on October 11, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the first ever Saturday edition of Watch Me Juggle!

Today’s Blogtober14 prompt is, appropriately enough: “If I were president…”

Why is this so appropriate, you may ask? Well, primarily because the president himself was in my backyard yesterday. Before you ask questions, yes, my backyard is totally the W Hotel in San Francisco. I’m a busy girl, so P made sure to tell Mr. President I said hello, because I had a ballet class to teach and couldn’t make it, naturally. I also got sent this super blurry photo of him:

See? It’s totally like I was there.

Now, I can’t pretend that I’m wildly involved in politics at this point in my life. Unfortunately, the older I’ve gotten, the more disillusioned I’ve become with them. I’ll admit that it’s difficult to stay optimistic when the men and women in office are so gridlocked in their own political party differences that they can’t even perform their basic job functions. Not to get overly political on the blog or anything- that’s not what I’m here for, to be quite honest. Yet, there are a few things I feel passionate enough about that I would want to change in this country, if given the chance. I’m sure that this is a gross oversimplification, and that none of things would be even remotely possible at this point, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

I would love to improve the quality of public education in this country. I’ve received an exclusively public school education, from kindergarten to university level, and was quite satisfied with my experience. But, I would love to make art and music education a priority. I dream a country in which the vast majority of schools are arts-based. It’s my personal belief that many of the problems we’re seeing in younger generations, the inability to express feelings until they’re vastly out of control, the penchant for violence, etc. could be almost entirely avoided if we valued the arts more in this country. Unfortunately, we are a completely consumerist culture, and don’t see enough value in investing in the formative years of life, or in our “twilight years,” for that matter. We dump an obscene amount of money into entertainment and sports, but most of these things aren’t thought-provoking or personal the way that the arts can be. If we put them on equal pedestals, instead of dismissing artistic endeavors as a gross waste of time or a childhood occupation, we would be all the better for it. I’ve personally committed myself to an occupation that, while paying jobs do exist, will leave you in a constant struggle to make ends meet. Once upon a time, dance was government subsidized, and there were a vast number of successful companies touring the country. Now, you’re lucky if you see upwards of $100 for all your hard work.On another note, the mental healthcare system in this country is deplorable. Just walk anywhere, anywhere in San Francisco and you’ll see what I mean. The people who need this help the most aren’t getting it, and I’m sure statistics will point to the fact that many of them are veterans. I could go on and on, really. These are just a few things that have been on my mind since I first caught sight of today’s prompt.

*Phew*

And lastly, if I were president, I would also say:

Free chocolate for everyone.

That is all.

EVA♥

Who knew…

Posted on October 10, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

It’s finally Friday.

Yes, that is a tiny umbrella. The kind you put in tropical cocktails.

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you seem to have too much to do and not enough time to do it in? Coupled with the fact that this week seems to have dragged on forever, it’s been quite the roller coaster. And what do I do when things get crazy? I close my shades, light my favorite candle, and schlub around the house with a cup of coffee for company. Glamorous, right? Oh, so productive as well.

I never thought blogging would be the one thing that I want to do in the day. To the point where I would curl up with my laptop in the same manner that I might curl up with a book at the end of an evening. I never thought that it would be the thing that would make my life seem calm and normal, a comforting thing, really. Sure, I tend to get really down on myself when I don’t make it point to publish on time. Of course, this schedule is entirely imaginary and entirely dependent on me. Then again, what schedule isn’t totally arbitrary when it comes down to it? I’m really enjoying giving myself challenges, and cultivating my little space on the internet. I didn’t give much thought as to how much time and energy I would want to pour into Watch Me Juggle when it all began a little over a year ago, and while the idea of being a full-time blogger sounded beautifully appealing, I had no idea of how to even remotely get there. I just remembered that I once had a dream about being a writer, and that I wanted to write, regardless of whether or not anyone was reading. And that’s all you need, really. So, who knew?

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend, and Happy Fleet Week to all of my San Franciscans out there!

EVA♥

Five Things

Posted on October 1, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

Thank God we’re halfway through the week. I know, I know, it’s only Wednesday, but look on the bright side, at least it’s not Monday. My schedule has suddenly gone from 0 to 50 in the course of a few days. Remember way back in the day when I posted about studying for the CBEST? Well, I’ve finally been hired as a substitute for the local school district. Perhaps the most encouraging this is when, upon sharing the news with my students, that they all seem so excited to have their dance teacher making guest appearances in their school. It’s a bit of a change, but I’m just taking things day by day. It’s also ‘Five Things’ day, so let’s hop to it!

First off, I bring you an unnecessary overload of cute for the day. Truthfully, it’s probably enough cute to last you the whole month.

I CAN’T EVEN. I DIED…I AM DEAD. Let’s face it, if I was the owner of 4 pounds of wrinkles I could dress up in baby clothes and feed lettuce, I would never leave the house. You would find me in my pajamas, rolling on the ground with the thing, only leaving the house to buy it more food. And myself more coffee. Perhaps I’m not ready for pet ownership.

Lovely Alameda roses on an afternoon walk.

A bit of a throwback to one of my last performances with my partner Ryan.

Today is World Ballet Day! I got to watch some of San Francisco Ballet’s live-stream rehearsals. It was such a lovely experience, and a wonderful idea. I hope they do similar live streams in future. Because everyday is world ballet day for me.

Perhaps one of the best cards ever. Just another reason to go to the bookstore!

Photo c/o Rachel Lorencz

Being as inept with technology as I am, I couldn’t figure out how to pull this gem off of my photo stream in time to post it on last week’s Maddie the Dog cuteness. I do love this photo, though; mid-kiss, yet she did manage to get me on the nose.

Happy October!

EVA♥

Sorry Not Sorry

Posted on September 29, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello all!

Happy Monday! Today’s post was inspired by my new blogger-crush The Other Juliet. She’s my latest blog-spiration, and new internet friend, in that weird way where you feel as if you know someone entirely, but they know nothing about you. Oh, internet. I so adore her commentary on life as a 20-something: Leggings are not pants, Don’t buy me sushi, and the infamous Secret single behavior. It’s the strange little things in life that make us feel oddly connected. That and all the amazing GIFs.

Palm House, SF & their prickly pear mimosas. My new favorite place.

//Sorry, I’m not sorry that I go to brunch on a regular basis. And by brunch, I mean mimosas + french fries at noon.

//Sorry, I’m not sorry for drinking lattes at any hour of the day.

//Sorry, I’m not sorry for having 800 different soaps in my bathroom. I like my choices.

//Sorry, I’m not sorry that I can cram a whole cheeseburger in my mouth in under 3 minutes.

// Sorry, I’m not sorry for spending what little disposable income I have on shoes/Lululemon.

//Sorry, I’m not sorry for the amount of dry shampoo I use in my hair. You don’t even want to know.

//Sorry, I’m not sorry I fall down all the time. Yes, I’m a dancer. Yes, the floor should be clear of all obstacles. It’s totally your fault.

//Sorry, I’m not sorry that my car is basically a closet on wheels. Yeah…you never know when you’re going to need a pair of emergency high heels. It’s happened before! Now I can be instantly glamorous on a moments notice.

You’re welcome.

EVA♥

*cue the bad juggling*

cue the bad juggling