Business as Usual, or Not…

I’m not going to be able to be on the ballroom team or take any dance classes this Fall. I actually may not be doing ballroom seriously ever again, which makes me sad, but I’m getting too tired and too busy to keep up with it all! It’s hard trying to do ballroom AND get a separate degree AND have church callings AND take care of a house/husband; frankly I have a hard enough time just doing one of those at a time! So I’ve been feeling a little bummed about that, dance has been a huge part of my life after all, but I think I’ve come up with a solution! I’m trying to start my own dance costume rental business! I’m not very business-ly minded, so I’m a little anxious about it, but I’m also super excited! I feel like this is a way for me to keep in touch with the ballroom world (yes, the ballroom world is different from the real world, haha), but at my own pace and on my own time. 

My business is called Sofi’s Costume Closet. Ballroom dresses are so danged expensive that most college students can’t afford to have a nice dress when they want to start competing. I have a ton of costumes that I’ve collected over the years and I’d love to help people out and maybe get something out of all those dresses I have hanging around! When I was dancing I looked for a place to rent a dress and everything I found was either still too expensive, or hard to find/hard to understand. So I’m hoping that this is something that works out! If anyone has any ideas for me I’d love to hear about it!

Oh, and as a side note, lots of people wonder about the name Sofi so I guess I’ll explain it here, and you guys can spread the word ;) One of my dear friends from high school made up Sofi as a nickname for me, which never really caught on, but I like the idea. It’s the first two letters of my first name and the first two letters of my maiden name (SO corro FI elds), so now you know! I used it because Socorro is not a very user friendly name ;) Anyway, check out my website, “like” me on facebook, and recommend me to anyone you think could use a costume!! I could really use the support! 

Sofi's Costume Closet

Facebook Profile - Sofi's Costume Closet 

We've Made it Two Years!!

FOUR whole years together, TWO whole years of marriage :)

On this the second anniversary of my marriage to the love of my life, I feel I must share a story. I’m a little ashamed that I haven’t written this down sooner because the memory isn’t as clear as it once was (Karl you’ll have to correct me on some of the details). Anyway, this story takes place after Karl and I had been dating for awhile. One night as he was dropping me off at my dorm after what, I’m sure, was a very romantic date, Karl suddenly got all bashful and shy. He pulled me in close to him so that his arms were around my waist, stared deeply into my eyes (ok, maybe his eyes were staring past me as he tried to muster the courage) and said, “you know how some people say ‘I love you!’ all the time to just anyone?” I nodded (here I am thinking that he’s going to say something goofy) and he continued, “Well, I don’t do that, because to me saying ‘I love you’ is something really special and important; it means something… and… I think… I love you.” It was the cutest thing I had ever heard. I loved him and he loved me. Three months after we started dating I knew without a doubt that one way or another I had to be with him for the rest of eternity. Now, we may have chosen “another” instead of “one way”, but he is my eternal companion and I have never regretted marrying him. I feel like I will never be able to express my feelings of gratitude and joy that he found me, that he chose me, and that he is still choosing to stick with me. I love him more than anything in the world, and I just pray that someday I’ll be able to be the wife he deserves.

Happy Anniversary Muffcake!!

Sleep!!

Just as a kind of follow up to my last post, I found these tips (fibroblog.org) for getting better sleep and thought I'd share :)  

Get a Better Night’s Sleep

• Maintain a bedtime routine.  Try to go to bed the same time each night and get out of bed at the same time each morning, conditioning your brain to know when it’s time to sleep.
• Don’t sleep excessively during the day. Naps should be less than half an hour long, so you don’t have enough time to enter REM-stage sleep. If you nap too long and do enter this stage of sleep, you may have trouble falling asleep at night.
• Check your diet. Eliminating certain foods may help improve your sleep. Don’t forget to consider what you’re drinking. Remember that caffeine stays in your system six to eight hours after you consume it, and it does fragment sleep.
• Don’t use alcohol for help falling asleep. As the alcohol is absorbed into the system, the body goes through a mini-withdrawal that fragments and destroys the second half of sleep.
• Eliminate stimulants, including tobacco.
• Turn down the lights. Excessive light exposure in the evenings may prevent your body from releasing the melatonin that makes you feel sleepy. Light exposure not only refers to lamps and other lighting, but also to television and computer screens. And, if you need to get out of bed during the night, try not to turn the lights on–you may inadvertently fool your brain into thinking it’s daybreak, and time to wake up.
• A warm bath will help you relax–and cooling down afterward will help prepare your body for the induction of sleep. Be sure to wait at least an hour after your bath to go to bed, so your body temperature has a chance to go down.
• Arrange your bedding surface so it offers you the most comfort, especially if pain tends to keep you awake.
• If you’re having trouble sleeping, get out of bed–but don’t immerse yourself in an activity that requires a lot of concentration. Go to another room (be sure it’s not brightly lit) and listen to some music or do another relaxing activity. When you start to feel sleepy, head back to bed.