As always, it was difficult for me to find the right words to describe the year-end recital. I has been almost a month now and I have missed my sweet dancers so much. Tomorrow is dance camp, and I find myself so tickled with excitement to see them again. So thrilled, in fact, that I have finally mustered the energy to write about the show.
This year, our theme was “Believe”. It was about all of the things we believe in, whether it be angels, fairies, or monsters under the bed, believing love and believing in ourselves, and most of all, believing in our dreams and the beauty of the human imagination.
The show was perfect.
Hilarious, adorable, nerve-wracking, heart-soaring…. everything, even the things that went wrong….
Perfect.
I’ve said it before, but it felt like my birthday, Christmas, and my wedding day all in one.
The best part was getting to hug or high five each child as they came off the stage. Or maybe it was seeing all of their hard work being performed…. Or even seeing the looks on the parents faces, glowing with pride for their little ones….. Or maybe it was knowing that every single minute I spent during the last year dreaming, preparing, worrying, working- was all worth it…
Or maybe it was having the BEST support system of my husband, sweet Angie, my family, Mandy, and my dance family (oh my goodness… the BEST, most thoughtful, most loving dance parents and students in the world… how did I get so lucky?)
We did it guys.
Thank you.
First, a couple of links for you to enjoy (turn your speakers on!):
This one is one that I made for my brother. We played it at the show and everyone cried and rejoiced together as they gave my brother a standing ovation. He raised his arms up in the air.. a victory sign… and Angie and I agreed that it was a moment that we would never ever ever forget as long as we lived.
http://www.bingphotography.com/brad/
This link goes to the year-end slideshow I made. Hang on till the end of it so you can see all of my pretty costumes!
http://www.bingphotography.com/msod2009/
And of course, some photographs of one of the best days ever!
From the amazing and gifted Angie Hayes, who not only danced in the show and had a child performing as well… but she designed the stage, took photographs, and basically held me together all year long. I have the bestest BFF EVER!!!! (to the moon and back!)
“Dream”- the opening number
“Ordinary Miracles”
The hilarious hip hop girls!
“If All The Raindrops”
“Harry Potter and the Enchanted Dolls”
Nightsong Fairies sending the Apple Blossom Fairies off to dreamland….
Angels
Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars
The “Second Star to the Right” girls waiting their turn:
This next set of photos is from another amazing friend, Miss Jenny Kaeding. She drove 20 hours round trip just to be at my show, capturing it all with her fantastic talent. She also did everything from buying me tights at wal-mart at the last minute, ran to McAllisters and Starbucks for everyone, checked in on my poor sick hubby (who felt like he was near death at the time of the show, bless his heart!), and gave me hugs and smiles all weekend long. (I love you Jenny!)
Backstage:
A couple of little Baby Bing Camera Ninjas…
I told them all they had to go potty before the show, so they all tried to go at the same time, haha!
Backstage Yoga:
getting nervous and excited… 5 minutes till curtain!
Opening number:
Our awesome group… “All For Believing” (For those who care, I am on the far left and Ang is in the second row center)
More Monsters… I dyed pillowcases brown and sent them home with the kids… they did the rest! (Aren’t they scary?)
Brad watching his slideshow:
Brad’s “standing o” from the audience:
“When you Believe”- the girls of this group danced right after Brad’s show and dedicated the dance to him. They were so awesome!
*sigh*
My school is my heart. How did I get so blessed?
Off to spread some sunshine!
Bing
Bing
Filed under: Uncategorized
I did the UNTHINKABLE tonight.
I freaking cooked.
(I attempted it once last week and I could not bring myself to eat it…)
So what if I caught a dish rag on fire?
So what I burned my hand taking the tilapia and veggies out of the oven?
So what if the baked sweet potato “fries” were almost cold (thus needing to be reheated) by the time I finished baking the other stuff?
I cooked and no one died from food poisoning.
I cooked and my husband does not want to trade me in for a better model.
I cooked and it did not involve a microwave or toaster oven or an ambulance for the first time in my adult life.
By golly, I might just have to try this again next week!
Tonight’s menu:
baked tilapia filets
squash, zucchini, red and green bell peppers, garlic, onion, and asparagus
baked sweet potato “fries”
and, of course, sweet tea!
Off to wash the dishes and pray I don’t break one!
Bing
Ninja Thought of the Day:
“Ain’t nothin gonna break my stride/ Nobody gonna slow me down, oh no/ I got to keep on movin’.”
-Matthew Wilder, “Break My Stride”
Sherrie Lemons is my Ghost of Christmas Past.
Except, not in a regretful, mournful way… more like having a living scrapbook of your teen self around all the time.
We are ten years apart, but sometimes it feels like we are only ten seconds apart. Her heart, her outlook, her worries, and the weightlessness of her own “La-La Land” very much mirror my own at her age (and sometimes, even now).
She is, of course, many things that I was not when I was 17 years old…
tall and gorgeous
confident
OCD
good at school
geeky in a cool way (I was definitely geeky, but not so much cool)
Knowing Sherrie only further confirms my belief that our lives are not parallel. We all intersect at some point. We all carry around pieces of each other. We are all a lot more alike than we are different.
Off to spread some sunshine,
Bing
Ninja Thought of the Day:
“In order to know where you are going, you must make some attempt to understand where you have come from.”
International Order of Ninjas
I grew up in a beauty shop. My mom worked for different salons throughout the past 22 years, and she even owned her own Aveda Concept Salon in the town I grew up in for several of those years. It was an interesting childhood, to say the least.
The women she worked with were all surrogate “aunties” to my brother and I. We were doted on and scolded by each of them throughout the various stages of our lives. We were often their guinea pigs for new styling techniques… I am sure that my little brother was one of the only 6 year olds in his first grade class with blue hair and an earring. My hair was always my mother’s work of art. She rarely did anything drastic to it, but she kept it long and shiny and beautiful for me everyday of my childhood. (As a result, I never learned how to even put my own hair into a ponytail until I went to college, and now she forbids me to tell anyone that my momma “does hair” because mine is always a tangled mess… ooops, sorry mom!)
Mom used to let me have make-over sleepovers in the beauty shop and it was no surprise that my friends loved my mom more than me! That was okay though, I adored my life as a beauty shop kid. My most favorite part of growing up in that environment was the listening.
You see, people TALK to their beauticians. For many, sitting in that chair is like sitting on a therapist’s couch. My momma knew everyone’s business and, I am sure, held lots of their secrets over the years. I loved listening to their stories, their worries, their celebrations.
And the clients weren’t the only ones I loved to listen to.
Beauticians have their own sisterhood, their own language, their own artistic way of viewing the human race. They understand aching feet and arthritic hands… and the need to be cheerful and social even when the person in your chair is smelly and has dandruff. They understand the emotional attachment people have to their hair… they hold people’s self esteem in their hands every day.
My mom’s profession has always been more than just a way to pay the bills to me. She inspires me to do what she does every single day. She makes people feel good about themselves. She is a big dose of sunshine to every person who has the privilege of sitting in her chair.
Anyhoo, what got me thinking about all of that was because I wanted to share some images from another crazy Bing and Friends Adventure Day.
My friend, Sherrie, and I got our own dose of sunshine last week when mom asked us to come be hair models for a class on “up-dos” she was teaching at the salon she works at in Southaven, MS called Hairlines. We were both faced with the first day of summer break and were excited to have something fun and relaxing to do, so we agreed.
After we left the shop, we decided that we were too “beautimous” to go unnoticed, so we made up a story about how we were Russian mail-order brides and were prepared to tell this to anyone who would listen. We grew tired of that game and decided to pay my BFF, Angie Hayes, a visit.
Many of you know that Angie is a fantastic and super amazing photographer here in Millington. (http://www.angiehayes.com/) Angie and I absolutely love to get together from time to time and try out new lighting techniques and play with lots of geeky camera stuff. We had so much fun planning those shots out and developing a concept and a story for each photo.
When I took them home to play with them, these two spoke to me the most.
(Sherrie’s hair was done by the sweet Nikki Brown and mine was done by my amazing momma, Debra Stockstill- go see them at Hairlines and tell them that Bing sent ya!)
Off to dreamland,
Bing
Ninja Thought of the Day:
Things only happen when they happen, never before.
International Order of Ninjas
Filed under: Uncategorized
Today I got to capture a brand spanking new relationship, The Sisterhood of Lilli and Sadie.
These two little girls are incredibly lucky to be born to a family full of strong, loving, hilarious, sassy women. These women know how to celebrate being girly in little ways everyday. They always have lipstick and purses, advice for each other and shoulders to lean on. I am lucky enough to be a bystander, a witness to this beautiful family and the sisterhood they share.
These girls will grow and change and make mistakes… but they will be there for each other. Through pillow fights and hair pulling, make-believe and make-up lessons, first boyfriends and first bras, worries and wedding dresses. They will be good at being sisters, because they will have been taught by the best.
To Lilli and Sadie, may you always leave your eyes and heart wide open to all of the magic that your sisterhood holds.
Off to dreamland,
Bing
Ninja Thought of the Day:
A ninja speaks with action.
-The Ninja Handbook, from The International Order of Ninjas
Filed under: Uncategorized
Chaotic Randomness, a.k.a. A look inside a Ninja’s brain:
When I was 13 years old, I wrote a full dictionary of words I made up (or ones that already existed that I changed the meanings of).
If I am in my car alone, then I HAVE to be singing. My most favorite song to sing is La Vie Boheme, but only in my car. I know every. single. word.
I feel like I should come with some kind of disclaimer so I don’t hurt people’s feelings when they interact with me. I have the uncanny ability to say the WRONG thing at the WRONG time to the WRONG person nearly every time I open my mouth.
Bar-b-que chips are my favorite, though I really don’t enjoy eating the actual chip… I’d really just prefer to lick the seasoning off of them
If I could wear just one thing every day, it would be my favorite old cotton skirt and shirt. In fact, if the outfit was perpetually clean and it never got cold outside, I just might wear it everyday.
Compliments and praise make me dizzy and anxious and really gets my blood pressure up. I am perfectly fine to roll along through life, just doing my own thing, making others and myself happy through dance and photography. When people start saying really nice things about my work, I suddenly become super self-conscious. Knowing that people think I am good at my art has the potential to change my art and that scares me. Sometimes, oblivious and invisible is blissfully better than noticed and appreciated. Sometimes. (I really just need to learn to be more gracious.)
I have a serious q-tip addiction. I have GOT to stop using so many q-tips a day or I am going to damage my ears!
I love the way little kids smell when they come in from playing outside… like sweaty little puppies. “Playing Outside” has a very distinctive scent… if someone bottled that, I would buy it (not wear it (ew), but just have it around in case I feel lazy or nostalgic).
My sense of humor can be so dry, I am only actually funny in my own head. To people who don’t already love me, I am just an insensitive jack ass. Or a weirdo.
I suck at housework of any kind, but I cannot function when my house is messy. So I guess that means I cannot function most of the time.
Most people don’t believe me, but my dog (Beau) and I have a secret language. He gets me. I get him. I won’t reveal all of our secrets, but I will say that he refers to himself as “The Beau-Dawg”. He’s also quite funny.
I absolutely loathe talking on the phone. I want to be able to see the person’s face. To read their lips. To hug them hello and good-bye instead of just saying it.
The food I crave constantly is my momma’a homemade salsa and chips. Whenever I get my hands on some, it disappears in a blink and I DO NOT share. Don’t even ask.
Shoes are only perfect when they are old, ugly, and don’t match anything.
Off to help sick hubby not starve or thirst to death….
Bing
Ninja Thought for Today:
You should never spin as someone tells you to. It is your body that is spinning. This idea is called “owning your spin”.
From the International Order of Ninjas Handbook
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He says he saw me first. I say I saw him first.
It was April, 1997 and we were on a hot sticky school bus (number 11) in South Mississippi.
I noticed his eyes first, sparkling mischievously behind the longest eyelashes I had ever seen on a boy. The second thing I noticed was his dimpled smile and perfect, white teeth. I was 14 years old and my heart totally melted in my chest for the first time in my life.
Later, around midnight on May 25, 1997, he would tell me that he noticed my waist length blonde hair and had to restrain himself reaching across the seat and touching it. We stayed on the phone the entire night. He was 15, but his soul was much much older. We both discovered that we had already realized that the world was big and we had so much time, so much to learn, so much to do. The best part about that night, was realizing that we both understood.
that sacrifices would be just another part of the journey
that love was about more than romance
that people could make true, unbreakable promises and mean it
That understanding- that honesty- we shared that night, even as children- ultimately led us down a life altering path towards each other.
From May 25, 1997 to May 25, 2009… Every relationship experience, every first, every good, every bad, every heart-soaring and heart breaking, every memory, every idea, every dream, every moment… all of it has been wrapped up in each other.
How rare is that?
That we are the only people who have been able to truly break each other’s hearts? That we are the only people who have been able to truly love each other’s hearts?
There is another thing we talked about on that night, 12 years ago today…
yet one more thing we understood…
That is, if everyone on Earth could know what we knew, if everyone could feel what we felt and love how we loved…
then everyone would know what it was to be truly happy.
That night, we made a wish for everyone else. And for us.
That it would last.
That we’d always look at each other with wonder and tenderness and understanding.
And lucky for us…
Summer, 1998 (photo courtesy of my momma)
Summer, 2008 (photo courtesy of Angie Hayes)
Happy Anniversary, my lovey.
Bing
To the outside world we all grow old.
But not to brothers and sisters.
We know each other as we always were.
We know each other’s hearts.
We share private family jokes.
We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys.
We live outside the touch of time.
-Clara Ortega
Meet Chloe (one of my beautiful ballerinas) and her awesome brother, Cade. These kiddos have the uncanny ability to make me throw my head back in a fit of laughter nearly every time I interact with them. I can bet that things are never boring at their house!
Their relationship is the perfect mix of hugs and bickering, compassion and hair pulling, protectiveness and name calling.
They love each other the way only a brother and sister can.
Off to spread some sunshine,
Bing
Ninja Thought for the Day,
“If you are really there, where you are shouldn’t matter.”
-from the International Order of Ninjas
Filed under: connection, dance studio, friends, ninjas, photography, sunshine
Two weeks until the show. Everyone is excited, nervous, thrilled to be a part of it. I am very busy… busier than I think I’ve ever been in my whole life. But I love it!
However,
there is a familiar feeling that is creeping up.
Knowing that these are the last two weeks of an amazing year… Knowing that I will have to say goodbye to the kids and parents for the summer… Knowing that I will walk around a little bit empty until these incredible people are a part of my daily routine again.
I’m already missing them.
Their giggles, their hugs, their insights (”Ms. Bing, your knees smell like ice cream!”).
I will miss watching their movement.
Clumsy, soulful, erratic, silly, joyful, beautiful.
Cross your fingers and your toes for me…
That I will not be a blubbering, sobbing, mess when the time comes….
Off to soak up some sunshine…. (otherwise known as opening the curtains to my home office while I work! haha!)
Bing
Ninja Thought of the Day:
Being a ninja is not about being there; it’s about having the impact of your presence felt whether you were there or not.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Edited May 19, 2009…
So…
We got too excited.
He isn’t cancer free… he’s just finished with treatment.
They have to monitor his white blood cell count and scan him and keep an eye on the remaining bits of tumor for the next year.
If nothing changes, he’ll be considered “in remission”.
They say the cancer has an 80% chance of reoccurring in one year.
But I say… my brother will be in that 20%.
Bing
Original post:
January 7th, our worlds are rocked. Brad is having emergency brain surgery and They say he may not make it.
January 8th, They say Brad has cancer and it is a horrible kind. They say he may never get completely better.
February 9th, Brad starts Chemo… They say he will be in treatment until June.
April 10th, Brad is now finished with chemo and onto radiation. They say he will be needing 33 treatments. They say he won’t be the same.
May 12, Tomorrow Brad gets his last radiation treatment…. not even close to needing 33.
…….and They were right about one thing… Brad is not the same.
BRAD IS CANCER FREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
He is a living, breathing, sarcastic, funny, redneck, superman, history making, CANCER SURVIVOR!!!!!!!!
That is all.
Please return to your regularly scheduled Tuesday evening….
…except…
maybe return with a little more Bradley Miracle Magic in your heart?
Love,
Bing
Oh, and Dr. Benn and Dr. Johnson… you now have iconic hero status.. my family cannot be more grateful for your dedication and amazing care. You guys are definitely a big part Superman Brad’s super powers!!!!!!!
