I am folding in my life from the outside edges.  It's time to pack and move.  I have very little experience with this sort of thing.  My husband moved frequently as a child and worked for a moving company in his late teens.  My close friend is preparing to move her family of four to Japan.  And here I am, in awe of putting my life in boxes to relocate less than three miles away.

At first, I was perplexed, overwhelmed and didn't know where to start.  My husband gave me good advice.  Start with the nooks and crannies.  Those are the places you'd hate to find locked and loaded on moving day.  That gave me a sense of direction.  This house has plenty of nooks and crannies, too.  They contain all of the stuff that I pretend not to have, but enjoy the availability of. 

I've often said that for me, home and soul are connected.  My space and my self are kissing cousins.  Therefore, exploring the nooks and crannies is a bit like looking into those emotional closets where we keep excess feelings out of sight and out of mind.  Feelings like shame and guilt.  During worship service this morning, it seemed that an emotional closet opened and some really old ugly junk toppled out onto the floor of my consciousness at my feet.  Darn it, I forgot I had that stuff.

What now?  Pack it or head for the dump?

Every time I aspire to some creative venture, my first defeat comes quickly at the hands of an expert in the same field.  I keep thinking, "I can do this fiction novel thing, sure I can."  And then I go and read a book like The Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright.  It is such a masterpiece, even my greatest intentions pale in comparison.  I have told everyone I know about this book.  I'm like a tiny little Oprah.  When something becomes one of my Favorite Things, I let the world know.  That makes me good at marketing, right?

And with blogging, I'm really doing my best.  Well, I could be doing better if I didn't have all these other pesky projects going on like work and parenting.  I want to write, really I do.  Yet some days, more often than not, I give in to the teenage urge to post a youtube clip.  UG.  Please know that music is a deep and inspiring interest for me.  It's not just "hey, here's a song".  Know that when you listen to a song I post, you are in a sense reading my mind. (OK, the teeny bikini song was pure fluff.  I apologise.)

OK, so I'm trying to put out a decent blog that a few people might enjoy reading.  Then along comes someone like http://thepioneerwoman.com/  to put ol' Cambrya to shame.  Now, that is an entertaining blog!  I wonder, does she do her own web design?  Because that's really something I stink at.  Maybe she has an assistant who does all that.  Maybe my blog would be fantastic if I had said assistant to make my thoughts look all aesthetically pleasing.  If she designs her own page, I just don't want to know.  Add that talent to the cooking, gardening, photography and quick wit and she's the type of woman that makes the rest of us want to crawl in a hole.

I know, I know.  Everyone has to start somewhere.  Jason Wright was probably a pitiful blogger (or equivalent) one day, long ago.  I just want to be noteworthy for something.  Did you know that I can write with my toes?  I also posess the amazing ability to recall useless music trivia and lyrics, and really fast too.  Marketing, remember I'm really good at word-of-mouth marketing.  And let me just say, I think I am a blast at parties.

Pioneer Woman says that she channels Lucille Ball and Ethel Merman.  I do not believe in the channeling thing as an actual phenomenon.  But the concept of molding your personality to embrace the essence of some remarkable character is interesting to me.  So, from now on I'm going to use the word channel, but I don't really mean it.

I have decided that I channel Claire Huxtable from the Cosby Show and Maxine from Judging Amy.  The characters, not the actors.  Although Tyne Daily is quite a woman.

Who do you channel?

It's been SOOOO long since we danced!  Join me today as I prepare for summer vacation.  This is a cha-cha, which I have learned is quite a workout.  Here's a quick lesson:

Girls:  Step forward with the right foot and then back together.  Cha cha cha (which means switch feet real quick three times).  Step backward with the left foot and then back together.  Cha cha cha.  There you have it!  Once you have the steps going with the music, then do swirly things with your hips.  Pretty soon you'll be wearing that bikini with pride!

Boys:  Step backward with the left foot and then back together.  Cha cha cha (which means switch feet real quick three times).  Step forward with the right foot and then back together.  Cha cha cha.  There you have it!  Face your partner and you should be doing a mirror image dance that looks nice together.

Whether you choose to cha cha or freestyle, this dance Friday selection requires attitude and kahunas.  Do like I did this morning, and it's been waaaay too long since I did this, cast off the serious self and the to-do list and SHAKE THAT THANG!!!

Welcome to epeemom, mathmission and other new xanga friends!  Dance Friday is a longstanding Cambrya tradition that dates back to my previous site.  Back then my computer lived in the laundry room.  I wanted to be the only woman with a disco ball in the laundry room!  Point being, you cannot possibly look more ridiculous than me.  So, participation is a must.  The only rule is that you have to dance along.

A note to my readers:  (He he, I've always wanted to say that.  Yeah, all six of you!)  Due to a significant life transition, I may be writing less, or more, in the weeks to come.  I'm not sure whether I will be distracted or more contemplative through this process.

The transition involves a change of residence.  During the searching, planning and negotiation for our new abode, I came face-to-face with a conundrum. 

Which is more important in a dwelling place; aesthetics or practicality?

If faced with a decision between a home that is artistic, beautiful and pleasing to the eye and a home that is adequately fitted to the practical goings-on of your every day life, which would you choose?  Assuming all other factors are equal such as location, finances, etc.  I'd really like to know what you think, so post some comments on this.  If you are interested, I'll let you know which I chose.

P.S.  Dan in Real Life is the best movie I've seen recently.  Very inspiring and quite hilarious.

Dale and I took our first Cha Cha lesson last night.  It is much more challenging than Rumba because of the fast pace. (What a workout!)  Other than that, they are quite similar.  I think this song is actually a Rumba.  If passion is defined as something that captures your attention and you could do for hours without being concerned for time, dance and writing are my big 2.