Scottish Highland Games

Aye, Aye!
This weekend Scott and I channeled our inner Scottish selves.

Scott is part "Scott"ish (ha!), Irish & English, and has interested me in learning as much as I can about Celtic traditions and heritage.  When we heard it was time for the Scottish Highland Games, we were all about it.

The first rule of attending a festival just for Scots is to try their food.  I opted for a delicious Shepherd's Pie with a side of IRN BRU:

(both were ridiculously delicious.)

while others preferred ground sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs), also known as Scottish Haggis.

I don't care if having a bite of that is considered good luck for a year or not... I'm pretty sure that was my one and only time experiencing that.  I just wish I had I a picture of my face when I found out what I just put in my mouth - EEK!

Luckily, I quickly got distracted by the sheep tossing contest.

Although they weren't real sheep...the women were tossing real weights over on the other side.

After the games, Scott and I tried to find anything with "Hess" on it, since that's where Hesington stems from.

No such luck... but I did find a Claddagh Ring!

To summarize the rest of our day: there was sheep herding...

some axe throwing...

some elk skinned new friends...

 and some kilt wearing men...

The remainder of the details are found in this (what I found to be entertaining) video:



Hope you enjoyed it.  Cheerio! :)

Bittersweet Basketball

Scott and I went to the Orlando Magic vs. Washington Wizards game on Wednesday night.

The whole day we were both a tad irritable, and I think it's because we were nervous about going to our old stomping ground that just so happens to be the Amway Center.  Both Scott and I worked for the Magic and spent my four seasons dancing there side by side.

Back in June within the blink of an eye, Scott's position with the Magic disappeared, leaving me to make one of the hardest decisions of my life: I decided to hang up my dancing boots and not re-try out for the 2011-12 season. 

2010 Magic Dancer Photoshoot

It was the right decision for both me and for our first year of marriage, and it was the only fair thing to do in case we end up moving to new city.  We're trusting in God's plan for us and know it will all make sense in *2012*.

To be honest, I don't think either of us were ready to go back to see everyone yet, but we both sucked it up and went to the game anyways...

It was bittersweet.

We were a little bitter...and these cupcakes were a lot sweet.

It was completely different being on the other side's perspective.  We have both been a part of Game Nights for the past four years (Scott had been nine), so it was our first time going to a Magic game together as spectators.  The basketball was good...although that's not really what I focused on.

At halftime I went with a few other former Magic Dancers to our old locker room and took advantage of the opportunity to take a picture in front of our "cubes" we got ready in.

Part of me wanted to re-arrange the stuff in my cube to how it should be, but I refrained from doing so.  Part of me wanted to take a pair of pom poms and sneak into the girls line up ready to go on court, but I refrained from that too.

Instead, I found my dance manager Jeanine and took a picture with her.

Since I didn't really plan my "retirement" from the team, I never really got my goodbye photos in the locker room and I was taking full advantage of this situation.

When I went back out to the floor, I found my assistant manager Cherie and got another goodbye photo with her.

Isn't she sassy? They're always stylin' on the sidelines.

It was great running into everyone, catching up and giving hugs.  A few people were a little surprised to see us there, but I guess the time had to come sooner or later....

Ready or not - HERE WE ARE!

We came. We saw. We conquered.  

Thanks, Danielle for putting up with all of it! :)

You know what they say....when life throws you lemons, make lemonade.  Knocking off the first few resolutions of our New Year in 2012:

spend more time with friends

be spontaneous

go to a Magic game

Although I may have "hung up my dancing boots" with the Magic, I'm still a source of information and have a lot of advice on what it takes to dance in the NBA.  Feel free to contact me with any questions, anytime.  

I've started writing weekly for a blog based on a book about auditioning for a professional sports team called FullOut: The Series.  If you or anyone you know is thinking about trying out for an NBA/NFL dance or cheer team: check out my article on Audition Outfit Fashion.

Questions:

• What's one of your bittersweet moments?
• Working on any New Years Resolutions?

Naughty or Nice Stockings

Although our first Married Christmas is over, there is still so much I want need to share.  If I didn't elaborate on the presents that appeared in my stocking this year, it would be a shame...because they were out of control.

I'm not really sure if I was on the Naughty or Nice list this year because Santa (or Scott) left me pretty confused.  I'm beginning to think that Santa had nothing to do with this because everything I found had a Japanese label on it.

 Hmmm.  I do remember Scott saying something about a 100 Yen store.

Yup...it's all coming clear now.  I also remember saying something about all the stuff he didn't need to bring home from Japan:

Eh, you win some and you loose some...and I'm not quite sure which category my Stocking Stuffers fit under.  I need your help deciding, so let's start at the beginning...

We decided our new iMac and our new running shoes were our Christmas presents to each other, and I was kind of counting on Santa Claus to help me out with the stocking part...no such luck.

So, I did what anyone would do in this situation and started digging in.  The first thing that made me question Santa's work were these Spicy Choco Sticks.

Since when did spicy + chocolate = yummy?

Next up...exactly what I was hoping for...a Nose Ball Roller.

I mean, you never know when you might need to roll your nose.

We had a good 2-minute laugh at the next one...

Mind you, these are a size Large.  Who fits in those? And WHY are they made of my fuzzy sock material?  Oh, wait...I've been looking for these...Finger Puppets!

I love how there's two happy puppets and two angry ones.  What the heck? I promise you it gets even better...

Who's up for a nice round of the Panty Hose Game?

Or, can I interest you in borrowing my Instant Balloons?

The list of crap stuff goes on and on...but I'll leave you with the best highlight of all: Dried Fish.

Go ahead, dig in to those bad boys...I dare you.  I guess my Nose Ball Roller came in handy, after all.

Oh...my husband.   He found such joy in this that he decided to re-gift some of my presents for my niece and nephew.  Notice how the wrapping is just as awesome as what's inside.

What happened next is best explained in this video:

Whether you were good or bad this year...I hope your Merry Christmas Stockings turned out to be more Nice than Naughty.

Question:
Did anything outrageous end up in your stocking?

Gavin DeGraw IS Sweeter

If you're a frequenter of my blog, you would know by now that Scott and I share a love for music.  We always have background music on in the house and are often found singing random songs we make up to the dog, cats and to each other...true story.

Regardless of who's doing the singing we thoroughly enjoy music as well as attending concerts in our area.  Living in Orlando, it's been a great outlet to catch a variety of artists including Coldplay, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Natasha Battingfield, Colbie Callait, Robin Thicke, Rascal Flatts, The Fray and more recently Gavin DeGraw.

Yesterday, I shared why Scott and I have such a connection to Gavin's music, with a special attachment to:
More Than Anyone. <--- Click, if you missed it.

Today, I'm happy to share the rest:

• Saturday, Dec. 10th: I find out Gavin DeGraw will be playing at the House of Blues in Orlando.  He is in Show#3 of XL1067's XLent Xmas 2011.
• Monday, Dec. 12th: Scott gets back from Japan and I can FINALLY ask him if we're able to go (I never know what his schedule looks like these days).
• Tuesday, Dec. 13th: I'm on a mission.  I've been bugging Scott about the tickets non-stop and he reports that they're all sold out. :(
• Wednesday, Dec. 14th: After work, Scott makes a point that we will go and try to "buy tickets there"...from whoever, just to go.  I'm skeptical, but I really, really want to go...so I roll with it.

I was so excited for an impromptu date night with Scott.  We started with dinner at Friday's (Thank You...$25 Giftcard) and made sure to get to the concert by the time Skylar Grey was on for the pre-show.

We walk up to will call and Scott mutters "let's just see what we can do...".  Before I know it, we have 2 tickets handed over to us under his name.  WHAT?!

The stinker had tickets held for us the entire time...

Gullible or not...we had tickets to the show!!!! Booyah!

We got in, set up camp, and were stoked to see the show.  Skylar Grey, Andy Grammar and The Fray were also playing...but obviously we were most excited to see Gavin.  We parked upstairs (which Scott insisted on) as kept trying to get him back downstairs.  

Wouldn't you want to be in this sea of cute Gavin Santa Hats?

 

We were too late for the hats, but we did find some friends!

Right after we snuck into what would be "our spot" overlooking the crowd Scott told me to come with him and flashed me THIS:

Does that say what I think it does?!?!  Why yes..yes it does.

We were going to have a Meet & Greet! 

At this point I just couldn't believe it.  First the concert, now this?  My husband is pretty much the best.

I guess that's fair.

Meeting Gavin was amazing.  I am certainly not one to become starstruck or freak out about celebrities, but I was just beside myself that I was getting to meet GDG.  

The main reason for my obsession? He is so down to earth.  I could just tell he is a very humble person, and that's what makes me a true fan.

Okay, are you ready for the pictures?! I am!  

*Thank you to XL106.7 for providing all of these for us.

Wow..I just got a little nervous...I'm not sure what to say.

Gavin: "Would you guys like a picture?"...trying to break the ice. Sure.  Okay, that was great.

So....cricket sounds...(Thinking in my head I LOVE YOU!)...

Me: "Okay, I hate to be that girl, but I have to tell you something.  We have a really special connection to your music.  It's kind of what brought us together."

Gavin: "Wow, that's awesome." 

Me: "Yeah...your song 'More Than Anyone' really means a lot to us.  In fact, Scott sang it to me at our wedding!"

Scott: "And, she actually had it engraved inside my wedding ring."

Gavin: "No way...."

Me: "Way...More Than Anyone is OUR song, and it meant the most to me when I wanted something to engrave on it."

Gavin: "You guys, I am so humbled by this."

Me: "We are just such great fans of yours...from day one and are so excited to be here!"

I'm not kidding when I say Gavin was truly taken back while showing him how much we appreciate his music.  As if I wasn't a big fan before, this certainly was the icing on top the cake.

 The night was perfect and we spent the remainder of the concert in awe of what just happened.

Oh...there is one more thing that made this experience even Sweeter: @GavinDeGraw is now following me on twitter. *Sigh.

THANK YOU to Gavin for a wonderful night & to my husband, who never ceases to amaze me.

More Than Anyone

Since the day Scott and I really started talking, we have shared a mutual love for Gavin DeGraw's music.  Before I even met Scott, I had been in love with the Chariot (Stripped) Album and would listen to it every single night as I was falling asleep - literally - for at least a year.  Although Gavin became popular for more upbeat songs like "Chariot" and "I Don't Wanna Be" his voice on this album in particular is very soothing, soulful and calming.

I LOVE his music.

Fast forward a few years and there I am on a 20+ hour plane ride to China, with Scott sitting next to me.  Eventually, we got to talking and I was curious to what he was listening to in his ear buds...

Lo and behold, it was the Chariot (Stripped) Album.  Who would have thought?  Right away, I asked him to share and for the duration of the trip we both listened to it, pretty much on repeat.

 Although I love every single song on that album, if I had to choose a favorite, it would definitely be "More Than Anyone."

Well...what do you know...that's someone else's favorite too.  To make a long story short, fast forward another few months and Scott eventually sang that song to me when we first starting dating as our phone conversations came to a close, almost every night.

THIS was our song.

When it came time to choose a first dance song at our wedding, I immediately turned to it.  I found it very odd that Scott refused to agree, but didn't think much more of it.  For months, we debated back and forth and eventually agreed on "Hold Us Together" by Matt Maher.

So where did "More Than Anyone" come into play?

His ring.  I wanted to engrave something special in the inside of his ring and rather than going with the standard "Scott + Heather 7.22.11," I decided to engrave "More Than Anyone 7.22.11." I'm sure you can figure out why...

*Ignore the PROOF on these 2 photos.  Both came from our wedding photographer: Elegant Imagery and we are still, very patiently waiting to get our photo CD in the mail.

After the toasts, Scott surprised me by singing the song to me, in front of everyone.  I laughed, shocked that he pulled this off without me knowing, cried because all of those emotions of falling in love resurfaced, and became smitten with my new husband: +100 brownie points for you, Mr. Hesington.

To avoid doubling the post size of this one, I'm going to give you a preview of a complete surprise that Scott pulled over on me...this time, it was worth +500 brownie points.

The full story to come tomorrow....

To be continued...

Playing Catch-up

After a complete whirlwind of a weekend (including yesterday)...this girl is ready for a break!  As I'm transitioning between jobs, performing in The Singing Christmas Trees, working on side projects and keeping up with this blog it's been a crazy ride for a few weeks.

Today Scott left for Okinawa, Japan to go on a military tour to perform for our troops.  He will be traveling with a group of NFL cheerleaders and has an opportunity to show some of our men and women overseas support through entertainment shows, which you can read more about here.

What will be be doing exactly? Lots of skits...and will be wearing something like this:

No, not really.  But he will be dressed up and ready to entertain.  And that mustache?  Yup...he's still got it from Movember.  I thought I would be in the clear by December 1st, but I was wrong.  Apparently if you're going on a trip to Japan you HAVE to go with a fu manchu.

My mistake.

Since he's gone I will have a chance to catch up on my mile-long TO-DO list that keeps getting pushed aside.  I'm going to miss him terribly, but it will feel good to get some things done around here.  Besides getting some much needed R&R, I'm looking forward to being productive around the house but I'm even more excited about playing catch-up.

You know...the usual:
Laundry, clean out my closet, catch up on some organizing, spend some QT with these girls:

and go on a run or two with this guy:

Speaking of Roadie, look what we saw on our way in for dinner at Texas Roadhouse last night :

Apparently, there looking for dogs like him.  Even though we found him wandering aimlessly in our condo's parking lot, you guys had your chances to claim him last year....we're keeping him, Thank you! :)

We've already got our Christmas Decor and our Christmas Tree up this year, but I'm just now getting around to rummaging through our Christmas music.  Between the two of us, Scott and I have collected quite a variety, and I'm determined to find Mannheim Steamroller.  I absolutely LOVE them and it all started with my mom playing it as we decorated our tree each year growing up.

They're coming to Universal this year and shows have already started.

Photo courtesy of the Orlando Informer

I'm keeping my fingers crossed we can go when Scott gets back.
Speaking of music, PLEASE tell me I'm not alone on this one...

I just can't get enough of Linus & Lucy this year! I've always loved the song, but some reason when hearing it this year in particular it makes me stop whatever I'm doing and dance like this:



Personally, my style is like the two twin girls in the purple dresses bouncing side to side.  Besides that, the guy in orange shuffling is my second favorite.  It's just SO good and hearing the song or seeing this video puts me in the best mood.

Beyond Christmas music, I'll be playing catch-up on my blog posting.  Since Scott took the camera this week I upload allllll of the pictures I've been wanting to write about.  I've made a goal for myself to also upload all of the pictures I've been meaning to on Facebook.

No excuses...I'm doing it!

Although I don't have an iPhone right now (you would probably roll on the floor if I told you about my bad luck with them)...I have my beloved MacBook and I'm putting her to good use this week.

Off to barre I go.  See you a lot this week! :)