Seven Quick Takes Friday (at Camp Patton!)

1. And the lamest blogger of the year award goes to... myself. I know, please, don't everyone be jealous all at once. For some reason it takes an OMG IT'S QUICK TAKES FRIDAY jolt to get me to post. And I don't know why... I love blogging and writing. Perhaps this (incredibly prestigious and not at all made up) award will be what I need to get it going!

2. I had the stinkin' coolest experience this morning. You may remember the surgery I had that I posted about back in July. Well a couple weeks ago the post got a comment from someone whose parents saw my commercial. This girl has hyperhidrosis just like me and had been suffering for many years. I offered her my email address and we've been corresponding ever since. This morning was her surgery! A couple of days ago I thought it might be nice for me to stop in and see her before her surgery. (I live only a couple blocks from the hospital.) But then I thought, is that weird? I mean... I'm an introvert, I'm not usually trying to make awkward conversation with people I don't know. But then my mom wisely told me to go with my gut, and honestly, I would have found it comforting to talk with someone who had personally had the surgery. So I emailed her and asked if I could stop by or if that'd be weird. She said she'd love to meet me. So I got to Cabell this morning and had a really awkward conversation with the  nice lady at the desk. It went something like this:

Lady: Can I help you?
Me: Yes, I'm looking for _____________."
Lady: I think she's here, let me look. (Looks at paper.) She's here, but she can't have visitors yet. 
Me: That's okay, do you know if her parents are here?
Lady: I don't know, but you can look. 
Me: I don't know what her parents look like.
Lady: (Gives look.)
Me: Um, well, see, I don't actually know _________. Dr. Kiev did my surgery too and _________ emailed me and we've been chatting so I thought I'd come see her. 
Lady: (Still looking.)
Me: Oh, I mean, she knows I'm coming!
Lady: Let's look over in the waiting area for her mom. 

Luckily, said lady was SUPER nice. Cause honestly she could have said "Are you family? I can't tell you if ________ is here. Security?" 

3. Anyway back to why it was a cool experince. (Or "stinkin' cool" I believe was the expression.) I got to meet her, talk with her and her mom and generally feel awesome that I'd met someone just like myself. I brought her some hand lotion, like my mom got me after my surgery, and she started crying, so her mom did and me too. I'm just DYING to know how her procedure went and how she's feeling. I can't wait to hear from her!

4. In other news, I had to find this old thing I'd written that I knew was somewhere online. The only thing I knew to do to find it was Google myself (you've done it too, don't lie) and this is what came up:

Dude, I'm not going to lie, it is AWESOME that I'm the only Anna Lafferre in the U.S. and Canada. Sure, Lafferre has been a pain to pronounce and spell all these years, but how many people can say they are the ONLY person with that name in the U.S.? Not many I bet! And I mean I know we're all special,  blah, blah, but AWESOME. :)

5.  I held a kitten at work today. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Once again, if you knew me 3 years ago, you'd be like WTF? Where did Anna go? Until I got Baby Snicks I was not known for my love of animals. I still don't like cats much, but WHO can turn down the opportunity to hold a kitten that weighs less than a pound? I about died. Although I bet Snicks knows I held another furry little one. Yikes.

6. My sister Erin has kindly been working on the dance studio website. She's doing it for free, and I saw the basic format the other day and it is so lovely! She is coming over tonight so we can go over some content-related things but it should be up and running by Monday!

7. This afternoon I've been reflecting on the fact that I have a lot of really good friends. People that I probably don't thank enough or tell enough how much I appreciate their friendship. I am a really blessed person. As the Ellis Paul song goes, "Thank the Lord for the friends he cast in the play he wrote for you." 

Go see amazing Grace for better takes this week! 

7QT Friday!

1. Another week spent worrying about Snicks' poo. Lordy day. I got up Monday morning (thank God it was a holiday from work) and found that he had had a bout of... shall we say... diarrhea at some point early that morning. I spent about three hours cleaning it off the floor, the walls (seriously?) and off Snicks himself. Rabbits do not get baths, nor do they like the water, so hovering over the kitchen sink while clutching a squirmy Snicks and trying to wash his tail end was a really enjoyable way to pass 30 minutes. After researching online and learning that Snicks was to die any minute because he could not survive a bout of diarrhea, I realized he had what is loving and correctly called "poopy butt syndrome" (no lie) possibly because I am an overly indulgent mama who provides Baby Snicks with ample time with his best friend, oats. Needless to say Snicks has spent the remainder of the week hating his life while I've provided him with only greens, hay and some pellet foods. Unfortunately for oats, Snicks has found a new best friend. His name is shoebox and Snicks had enjoyed snacking on him this week. They've grown so close.

2. Also speaking of Snicks, sometimes I look down and I honestly realize that I have a rabbit running around my house. A rabbit. Just roaming. Odd.

3. Has anyone ever realized that "turn it off, then turn it back on" is like the catch-all quick fix for pretty much everything in the world? Internet not working? Turn your computer off then turn it back on. Cable guide frozen? Turn off the cable  box then turn it back on! Too bad we can't use that for things like people and days. :) 

4. For those that know me, you know I have literally been counting the days until the Season 2 premiere of "Once Upon a Time." (23 more days!!!) I am so excited. Every Sunday night I tune in for the weekly dose of fabulous magic to get me through the next week. #MagicisComing is trending on Twitter and I LOVE IT!

5. I love teaching my students in ballet. They are wonderful. This year, I'm teaching Creative Movement to the 3-, 4- and 5-year olds; teaching a class called Dance Fundamentals to kids who are around 7-, 8- and 9-years old and then teaching our oldest students who are all in middle or high school. It makes me so happy to have our dance floor full of kids standing at the barre. Fabulous! And my little ones exhaust me and crack me up. The hardest part is listening to the sound of my own voice non-stop from 5-8:30 p.m. every Thursday. I know it's hard to believe, but I actually do get tired of hearing myself. 

6. This weekend I am headed to Louisville, KY for the wedding of a friend of mine. I'm very excited for her! I'm also really excited to be travelling there and staying in a hotel with my BFF Melissa. What a fun weekend away!

7. I am contemplating a somewhat big life change and would appreciate any and all prayers for discernment. Thank you. 

Adventure Runs in My Veins

I grew up with two younger brothers and two younger sisters. I also taught ballet to little children (still do) and did a lot of baby-sitting. Far past the age where most of my peers had "grown up," I still had Santa Claus at Christmas, I watched a lot of Nick Jr., I built tents out of couch cushions and sheets, I dressed up barbies and read stories about princesses.

It stands to reason that I very well may never grow up. Sure, I have a job, I live in my own apartment and I pay utility bills. But Anna who believes in magic is really the truth. In my heart, I really believe that true love is real, that baby Snicks understands what I'm saying, that real life can be like a fairy tale. I never want to be too "old" to chase an ice cream truck or catch a firefly. I like to dance around my apartment and think really I'm Snow White. I think my life holds more promise than it shows right now and that there is so much more to my life than there seems to be.

A dear friend of mine sent me the link to this blog post this afternoon. It perfectly states exactly how I see the world. In summary (my favorite parts):

"Children revere story, because they live inside it. They live inside it because they understand that we are all more than we seem to be. I am a creator born of the Creator. Adventure runs in my veins. There is winter, and there is cold, and there is dirty laundry, and there are sticky dishes. It is mine to delight in making them all over again, to make a tent of the sheets, and a carpet from the moss – spaces for the sacred ones to gather. There is a promise in that."

Anna who believes in magic, indeed.