Number 28 Learn Ballroom dancing

Date: Ongoing

When you have cancer, there is nothing you want more than having your "normal" life back. Sadly, that never happens. The counselors explain to you that after cancer, you have to find a "new normal." It's more than rebuilding your old life; it's building a life. One of the things I like best about my New Normal is that, in this life, I get to dance!

I wasn't sure I was physically strong enough to take this on yet but I had been given the okay to take on a little more and then spotted an advertisement on Craig's List for a ballroom dance partner. Opportunity was knocking!

Okay, other List-pals, meet Rob.

His dance partner was moving to another town and he needed a new one so I answered the ad. Rob is not an ax murderer. I was concerned about this because it was just after the Craig's List murders so I asked him and he assured me that he was not an ax murderer and I'm sure he was just kidding when he said he preferred knives, right, Rob?...Rob? Unlike the rest of you on the list, Rob didn't volunteer because he didn't even know about the list. It didn't seem fair to be using someone for #28 when they didn't even know there was a #28 so I told him and he was nice enough to agree.

So, I have learned two dances so far, the rumba and the cha-cha. I am miserably bad at both but Rob has been very patient and I'm sure I will improve with time. I understand we are learning the waltz this week. That's my favorite dance and plays heavily into my fantasy about being an international woman of mystery (What??It could happen!) I was also inspired last time by a very intriguing dance that was demonstrated for us - the Argentine Tango! Um...wow. I needed a cold shower just from watching this dance. Good Catholic children are taught, when dancing with a partner to leave enough room for the Holy Spirit between them. I think learning this dance will require some serious squishing of the Holy Spirit! Seriously this is a hot dance! When you add a backless dress with a slit in it and all the very interesting undergarments that must go with it...I cant wait!!
Okay, okay, you have to walk before you can run...for now, the waltz. In order complete this item on my list, I want to learn these dances from International Style Ballroom Dancing (remember...International Woman of Mystery...not Domestic Woman of Mystery):

Slow Waltz
Tango
Viennese Waltz
Slow Foxtrot
Quickstep
Cha-Cha
Samba
Rhumba
Paso Doble
Jive

Stayed tuned...more to come


UPDATE June 17, 2009

I LOVE the waltz!!!! I want to waltz everywhere I go! I love the waltz so much that I bought it new shoes. Okay, I am also finding myself a little too short and having to dance on tiptoes so I hit a BOGO sale a Fioni's and got these for practice (and some really cute sandals too!) . I will try them out at the tango lesson this week.

Here we are practicing the waltz last week.

UPDATE: In July, in addition to the ballroom classes, Rob and I started taking weekly Argentine Tango lessons. We are becoming quite proficient at this and are about to attend our first milonga. Here we are at a recent tango practice

December 5, 2009 The Milonga!!! We made our first trip out of the safety of the pink walls of the dance studio to go to a milonga at Carlito's in Savannah. Wasn't quite sure what to wear so I looked at pictures of other milonga's on the internet and threw this dress together.







Here's a before and after of the dress I put together for milonga. I'm not really into the big flower thing but I saw that most of the dresses with the big slits had one so I went with it.




Here's the dress in action:

Can't wait for the next one!!

UPDATE: Rob and I continued to take lesson for almost two years and then figured we knew enough to get by. We had another project in the works together and decided to devote the dance time to that. Watch for details on this blog...

Number 20 Attend a Science Fiction Convention (in costume)

Date: September 5-7th, 2009

My adventure companion for this one bailed on me. We were going as Star Trek Enterprise women from the original series with the big hair and short skirts. I hardly ever get to wear big hair - I want my big hair! I've got two months to find a replacement! The convention is three days long so I have more than one costume that I want to wear. Friday will be my Enterprise costume. Saturday, I want to be Kaylee from Firefly. Someone once told me that I reminded him of Kaylee so I rented what I thought was Season 1 of the show - turns out it was the only season of the show! Bummer, I was really getting into it. I saw no physical resemblance between Kaylee and me so I guess he was referring to how we are both kind of annoyingly cheerful. Here's the costume on Kaylee (I've got most of it done already, just need to "distress" the coveralls some more)

Here's the BIG one: I want to enter and WIN the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty pageant!!! I'm working on this one... check back.

Update: I now have my Klingon name thanks to the Klingon Name Generator. I am:

Arizhel of Martok

Update, June 10, 2009: Checked out the rules of the contest and the wardrobe of Klingon women. I guess I cannot dismember a human for the talent portion of the pageant as I had planned due to safety considerations. Also, I noticed that all the fashion choices of Klingon women seem to have two things in common: cleavage and weapons. Okay, one down. Better look into Klingon weapons. I also found out who Martok was (just in case anyone asks).

Update, July 31, 2009: I'm IN!! I'm one of the ten contestants in the pageant. I saw the others had military ranks so I gave myself one too. I chose "Commander" since that was my rank at Space Camp. I also gave myself a last name too - Nosilla which is just Allison backwards. Now I have to think of a talent for the competition.

Update, August 1, 2009- Bribed Rick into going to the convention with me but he really doesn't want to go. I'm asking my dance partner if he'd like to go instead. He had loaned me an ethnography he'd written on Klingon culture so I know he might at least be interested in this stuff. Hey, he can probably translate from Geek to English for me. What a plus!

Update, August 10, 2009 - Message from Rob this morning: "Dragon Con is on !" Whoo Hoo! Finally, an adventure companion for this one. It's been like pulling teeth! I know technically, he is double-dipping in The List since he is also # 28 adventure companion but let's think of this as a reward for being such a good sport about being dragged into all of this, shall we?

Update, August 20, 2009: Dance partner Rob had an idea for my talent competition at the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty pageant. I was telling him about my new belly dancing class and he suggested that this would make a great talent and suggested that the Star Trek "fight music" would make it even more arcane. Perfect!!! My belly dance instructor, Jasmine, not only loves the idea but will actually be in attendance at Dragon Con with another group so she can come watch.

Update, September 5, 2009 - It's the day we leave for Dragon Con and despite my early order and many follow-up inquiries, my Klingon headpiece has not arrived from the Halloween Depot. Rick and I are off to the Acme Costume Company here in Savannah for help. INCREDIBLE place!!! The make-up artist there knows exactly what to do and gives me what I need with clear instructions how to use it. They have my business for life!

After the worst game of Count the Cows ever, we arrived in Atlanta about 8 and checked into one of the overflow hotels. It had a shuttle bus to the convention so we didn't have to worry about parking (which was outrageously expensive anyway). I put on my Uhura dress (right) which I discovered to be "granny length" by Dragon Con standards. I'm posing by one of the walls in our hotel lobby which we decided was decorated in "early bathroom." Right next to this pillar were some lovely turquoise chairs.

We spent a good part of the evening in the registration line because of some computer foul-up - Seriously??All those nerds in one place and no one could fix a computer??? Then we went to a showing of Joss Whedon's film/sing-along blog, "Dr. Horrible". I had never heard of this film but it seemed to have an enormous and dedicated following. A very upbeat experience, indeed!!

Saturday was costume Number 2- Kaylee from "Firefly." The night before, I had seen several Kaylee's and was determined on this day to have my photo taken with every one I ran into but could not find one other Kaylee the whole day!(but I saw dozens of Dr. Horrible's) So Rob went to his geeky stuff and I went to my cool stuff and we caught up with one another for dinner. I had gone back to the hotel to practice my dance and change for the Dawn Look-alike contest. I thought I was a pretty modest Dawn but felt quite awkward when I joined an elevator full of teenage boys from a church group from Kentucky who were definitely NOT there for Dragon Con. Who am I supposed to be? I'm Dawn, mistress of Satan, of course. I overheard one say to the other "That's abhorable." Me? Mary Poppins? Abhorable? What teenage boy even uses that word?? I hiked my fishnet stockings and two left sandals (don't ask) right outta that elevator!

The contest was a blast! The costumes were incredible- seriously, some of the girls must have invested hundreds on their costumes. They were stunning! Plus, the contest was hosted by Anthony Daniels who played C3PO in the "Star Wars" films. He was outrageously funny! Who knew? The picture to the right is me with a sword and a severed head of some Amy Whinehouse-looking person who cut me off in the line to the ladies room. After the contest, they gave us all invitations to an after-party for all the contestants hosted by the illustrator of the Dawn comic books, Joseph Michael Lisner. They said I could take a guest and Rob didn't seem to mind being around all the pretty girls so he went with me. It was in a suite at the very tippy-top of one of the hotels (can't remember which) which was incredible. They had a video of the contest going and alcohol was flowing...Rob insisted that I enter again next year JUST so he could go to this party again. That's us on the left on our way to the party. I got rid of that red wig right away. Rob is Lex Luthor and made this really cool glowing Kryptonite that he kept in that box. I got a little "fuzzy" on a lemony-lime concoction and then we headed back to our hotel. On the way, we ran into an old pal of mine from childhood and he let me take a picture with him. He was a little "fuzzy" as well and I'm not referring to that blue fur. I have my sword out because I was using it to push people out of the way who got into our path. Did I mention the lemony-lime concoction?

Sunday- For some reason, we both had headaches when we woke up. Anyway, this was Klingon day! Rob did a super job making me ridges on my forehead with this wax goo and spirit gum. (Yes, ladies, that's right- Rob gives great forehead) Lots of people asked to take my picture. so I guess I wasn't the only one who thought it looked good. This was shopping day for me, I headed to the vendors for trinkets and baubles and T-shirts. Wow! You could get just about anything there. Wish I had brought more money with me! Then on to the pageant!

Okay, I didn't win but like, the Dawn contest, this was SO much fun!! We had celebrity judges but I only really knew two of them, Dwight Schulz from "The A Team" and Alan Ruck from "Ferris Beuller's Day Off." Here are some photos













I'm threatening the audience because they are booing me.



Waiting with the "girls" to go on stage. My belly dance instructor was texting me good luck messages while I waited. Thanks, Jasmine!









(left)Doing my talent portion of the program- a belly dance with daggers.
(right) Some folks we met.

I'm not quite sure what this blue box was (I think I heard someone call it a turd-ass...or was it Tardis?) but I think it had something to do with Rob's religious practice. He came to worship it several times while we were at Dragon Con and seemed to have a kind of nerdgasm whenever near it. He even has pictures of it on his tie. The fact that he invited me to be in a photo with him and this object and even let me get inside made me feel quite special. This doesn't mean that we are married now, does it, Rob?

Number 88 - Enter a soapbox Derby-type Event

Date: August 29, 2009

Ooooo, Oooo, Oooo!!! I just found out that the Red Bull Soapbox race is going to be in Atlanta this year!!! Sending in the application today!! Check it out

http://www.redbullsoapboxusa.com/races.aspx

Now for the important stuff:

1.Pink paint...Check!

2. Fuscia Ermine...Check!
3. Cerise sequins...Check!
4.Tiara...Check!
5. Lime-colored rhinestones...Sheesh, no. Don't wanna be gaudy!
6. Mechanic/Companion...Dr. M (acceptance pending)
7. Find out how to make a car... Okay, better do this first

Update June 6, 2009 - Sister Jean has requested a spot on the Pit Crew and suggested that the vehicle should be constructed to resemble a breast cancer ribbon. How very apt! Will finish and submit the design sketch today. They only choose 40-50 teams so cross your fingers for us!!

Finished the plan and will submit it in the morning. Rick took one look at my blueprints and pronounced them unsound. We will see about THAT, sir! Well, Here's the outside of the car, anyway:

Update: June 9, 2009- Dr M. has agreed to be my adventure companion on this adventure even though I didn't give any details on what will be involved. What a good sport!! I guess if I had to describe what the role was in one word, I'd say "ballast."

UPDATE June 24th, 2009 -We're in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just got this communication:

Congratulations! Out of approximately 160 applications, your Team was selected for one of the coveted racing spots to complete in Red Bull Soapbox Race Atlanta! Come August 29th, you will be speeding down 10th Street near Piedmont Park in hopes of attaining Red Bull Soapbox Race glory. I will be in touch soon to confirm details and discuss your submission.
Teams… start your building!

It was intolerably hot in the garage so I took over the den for awhile to build the car.


We named our car the Betty D. After of friend Betty who was just beginning chemotherapy for breast cancer the day we left for the race.


Update August 25th - Dr. M will not be able to attend due to an orthopedic issue that requires immediate treatment. Fortunately, cancer pal, Nancy will fill in with her daughter Christina! The car will be finished tonight and ready to go! We are pretty excited about the race and our trip to Atlanta!!!


Update August 27th - Sister Jean arrived from Florida with the truck. Nancy assembled our cheerleaders, Meg and Paloma, and the finishing touches were put on the car.
Adding fluffy feathers and a ponytail to our parasol the night before we left. My den is a MESS!

August 28th- Jean and Rick loaded the car into the truck with a tarp in case it rained. We picked up Nancy at her school and we were off! Christina and the cheerleaders were in another car; they were going to stay the whole weekend in Atlanta. Nancy and I talked and giggled the whole way while Jean drove. She did a spectacular job! It was pouring rain the whole way!!. The car didn't get wet at all but some of the parts made of old pizza boxes, like the fins did warp a bit for the moisture, but for the most part, the car arrived intact. We went to a team meeting and met teams from all over the country. We ate dinner with the Mad Hatters from Canton, Ohio and Keeping it Wheel from Jacksonville, FL. Nice buncha guys. They told us only 50% of the vehicles make it to the finish line - yikes!! Then Jean and I hit the hay and Nancy and pals hit the town.

August 29th- Race Day!!! This thing was HUGE. We had no idea what a big deal it was. It was like a gigantic carnival and silliness was the word of the day. We touched up the car, had a safety inspection and then posed for pictures and did interviews for about three hours. It was like being a movie star. What was really cool is that we got hugs for lots of other breast cancer survivors. That right there made it all worthwhile.

We walked around and looked at the other cars too. There were some really creative work put into these cars and costumes!

So, how'd we do? This article from our local paper, The Coastal Courier, written by Patty Leon, explains it all:

Team Boobie-Do Crosses Finish Line on Foot

Fort Stewart school teachers Dr. Edith Allison and Nancy Cintron made the voyage to Atlanta on Saturday to race in the 2009 Red Bull Soapbox Race, but crossed the finish line on foot after a slight problem forced them to improvise.


"Sadly, we didn't get to fly with our Red Bull wings," Allison said. "We jumped into the car like we were Batman and Robin and heard a crack. We tried to go on but lost a wheel."

Allison said Cintron just grabbed her by the arm and said "Let's
go."

"We ran for the finish line hand in hand, "Allison said. One of the judges, Michael Knight from 'Project Runway' gave us a score of 7 (out of 10) just for style, I suppose. They wrapped up the wheel we lost in a ribbon and gave it to us as a 'booby prize.'"

Allison and Cintron are both breast cancer survivors.

After she was diagnosed in 2006, Allison decided she would beat the disease and challenge herself to live life to the fullest. Inspired by the book "101 Things to Do Before You Die", she made her own list.Driving in a soapbox race was the seventh item she has completed on her list.
Allison's sister, Jean Marie, helped her design the car by incorporating the breast cancer awareness symbol, a pink ribbon.

Allison embarks on her next adventure this weekend at the 2009 Dragon-Con event in Atlanta. She will dress up like a female Klingon and compete in a beauty pageant. Allison isn't sure what she'll complete after the pageant.

"The way it works is that I draw out the next adventure from a jar and the name of someone who has agreed to be an adventure companion with me from another jar and then the fun begins," she said. "We don't get to pick. Fate throws us together. I have been taking ballroom dance and Argentine tango lessons. That's kind of ongoing."

Follow Allison as she tackles her list of 101 items at:

http://edidod.blogspot.com/2009/03/welcome.html

Nancy and I race for the finish line in our crash helmets

Related article:

Coastal Courier: http://www.coastalcourier.com/news/article/16141

Number 23 Reach my Goal Weight

Date: August 24, 2009


I got the O.K to engage in weight-bearing exercise now so it's time to get rid if some of that pudgy, doughy stuff that accumulated during my sedimentary time. Here is my proclamation:

I, Edith, will lose 25 pounds of jiggle between June 1, 2009 and August 24, 2009 (dammit!)

That's 12 weeks. Here's how I am guaranteeing my success:


1. I had an unwilling, unnamed helper (under duress) take 12 very unbecoming photographs of me in a very unflattering and unforgiving swimsuit - one picture for each week of this project.

2. If I make my weight goal for that week, he will destroy one of the twelve offensive photos.

I put this

in front of

the TV

(for now).

Thought that

might help

3. If I do NOT make my weight goal for the week, he will post one of the photos on his Facebook page, tagging me in the photo, causing it to be sent to all my Facebook pals, thereby causing me great shame.



I blew the dust off
this thing in the
corner of the Man
Cave. I had to change
all the settings back to
"Wimp"





4. I have enlisted the help of several of my Facebook Pals to react strongly upon seeing these photos and to state, in no uncertain terms, how disgusted and grossed out they are by the pictures, further deepening my shame. Although they are my friends, they have promised to be brutal even begging "Please, dear God in Heaven, lose the weight! I DON'T want to see those pictures!"
If all goes well, none of us will ever have to view the pictures. I haven't even looked at them.

5. At the end of the twelve weeks, hopefully, all the pictures will have been destroyed and I can get back into those favorite jeans.



I've decided, that if I make it, to reward myself at the end of the twelve weeks with this lovely frock that I have been eyeing




UPDATE June 11, 2009 - CLUNK! CLUNK! That's the sound of my hand weights dropping. I ran into cancer-pal, Nancy. She has developed lymphodema and tells me she has to wear a compression sleeve for the rest of her life and warns me not to do any lifting . I looked around the Internet and found several medical sites state that doing any resistance training on an arm after lymph node removal is contraindicated. Hey!!! How come nobody told me this????

Lymphodema

I guess I'll have to find another way to get rid of this jiggly stuff on the back of my arms.

************************************************************************

Here is the chart that will be used to keep track of my success (Check back weekly)

Date/ Weight Loss

1. June 8 - 4.5 Pounds!! Our eyes are safe (for this week). One picture deleted!!

2. June 15 - 2 Pounds. Just barely made it this week. One more of the Sentient Bean's chocolate croissants and you'd be screaming in horror now. Two pictures deleted!

3. June 22 - Another close one!!! One more horrid picture gone AND I forgot I was wearing button-down shorts and accidentally pulled them off without unbuttoning them. Now THAT'S progress!

4. June 29 - Almost halfway there. 10.5 pounds lost so far and no one has had any eye damage

5. July 6 - Halfway there!!!!!

6. July 13 - Okay, this is going to be tricky. I lost alot of weight this week but it was a result of the stomach flu so I don't think I should count it toward this goal. What I'll do is average it out after I stabilize. I won't destroy a picture until after that happens.

7. July 20 - All stable and averaged out and I am still on track. Two more pictures gone and four inches gone from my body!

8. July 27 - Still on track!! Another photo obliterated. Can't tell you how good that feels!!

9. August 3- I don't wanna talk about it ;-(

10. August 10 - Okay, back on track!! Your eyes are safe!!!

11. August 17 -Going back to the gym is really making a difference! I'm still on track and a little bit ahead!

12. August 24- Can we do it? YES WE CAN!! Made it with two pounds to spare!! Stayed tuned for pictures in my new dress

Number 100 Beat a Life Threatening Disease

January 3, 2008


Here I am in my second least favorite place in the world* - the hospital - battling cancer. I had a super team of doctors and wonderful nurses and technicians who brought me back from a really bad place. Just four months after this photo was taken, I was walking the Survivor's Lap in the Relay for Life (I'm the one in the white hat that my friend Tonia made for me)

*Once in the army, I was naughty and they made me clean out a (very) used trash barrel. It was really big so I actually had to crawl inside to do it and found out, in a very personal way, the meaning of the expression "bottom of the barrel." While this was not as life threatening as cancer, I WANTED to die so I will have to call the inside of this trash barrel my least favorite place in the world.

Number 101 Continue your Gene Pool

I already had two children when I started the list (Becky and Rick, below) and the chemotherapy fried my ovaries so this was a tricky task. Fortunately, my daughter and her husband, Josh were expecting a baby when I became ill. Toby Logan Gullage (T Lo G, if you're friend) was born during my very first cancer treatment giving me a reason to live. He and I have a whole lifetime to live together now full of horsie rides, and playing fly-fly and watching "Bunge Bob."I can't wait!

Number 8 Realize Your Childhood Dream

July 20-July 25, 2008

Like the rest of America, when I was a kid, I was in love with the Mercury astronauts. I was sure I would become an astronaut and couldn't wait for my turn in space!! The Teacher in Space Program brought it even closer for me. Well...I'm pretty sure I couldn't pass a flight physical now so I had to make an adapted version of the dream - I went to Teacher Space Camp and I had a blast!!!

(Left)I was selected to be the Mission Commander. Here I am at the controls of the Endeavor simulator. Really, this is not as easy as it looks, I was a sweaty mess by the end of the mission.

(Right) This is me with the rest of the Endeavor crew. I found out it takes every person doing the best job they can do the get the mission completed. We had a great crew and their commander didn't crash the shuttle! Whew!

I also learned cool stuff to take back to my class. Here, I've made a model of a satellite out of candy. We also learned to make REALLY cool bottle rockets, got to meet some astronauts, built some solar shields and I even ran into a former student of mine!

We took the same training that the astronauts take. Here I am escaping from a submerged helicopter and swimming to meet up with my team (right). We also took anti-gravity training (cool!) and were tortured by this cetrifuge (didn't care for this... BLURP!)

(Below) This was kinda cool.

This is me riding a zipline

This is an actual space capsule that went to the moon