Christmas Break!!!!!

No more classes until next year!! Maybe I'll be able to catch up on my laundry now...hmm

So for this Christmas, I am actually earning a real paycheck, from both jobs! Thanks to that blessing, I'm actually able to afford Christmas presents for everyone!! Yay!! Unfortunately, being able to afford Christmas presents still involves spending a lot of money, or at least, my version of the term 'a lot of money'. You would think that with only two adults and 3 kids to shop for...well, two adults, one kid and two teenagers (who would be perfectly satisfied with $10.00 gift cards to Panda Express), that it shouldn't be too hard to come up with Christmas gifts that don't make me cringe every time I pull out my card. But alas things are not as they should be. If they were I would have a really cute car instead of an ever so faithful van that needs duct tape on the right side mirror, has a broken left turn signal and nonexistent A/C. I would be able to spend as much money as I want on anything I wanted; I'm thinking it would mostly involve buying lots of cute clothes. I would have my own studio to practice in and would be able to have private coaching sessions every day. I would also have my own very large desk. Something like this...

Just think, not only would my computer and printer fit on this, but I could also keep my sewing stuff on it. With an added bonus of shelf space for my Breyer Horse collection!! Note: I'm an keeping myself blissfully unaware of the price tag.
Oh yeah, and I'd have at least one really big German Shepherd dog that worships the ground I walk on...sigh.

Still, even with life the way it is , constantly running around, freaking out because I think I'm 30 seconds late and always craving Chinese food, there are perks.

To name a few:
1.) Tomorrow evening, my students and I will be dancing our Christmas performance at Ingram Park Mall right smack in front of Dillards. This will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase my students' talents, as well as my teaching skills. I think I'll stop at Panda while I'm there...
2.) I finally have my own space heater for my bedroom! It's currently working very hard at keeping my room temperature a blissful 80* during the day and 85* at night. It is my hope that warmer air throughout the night will result in less achy joints in the morning.
3.) NETFLIX!! For those times that I am actually home. It makes folding and hanging up large amounts of laundry and putting it all away in my Mary Poppins closet, that much more enjoyable.
4.) I am also (recently) able to afford food sometimes. I was able to treat Mandy (little sister, age 8) to Sonic this afternoon. I would have taken her to the Wok Inn, but she doesn't like Asian food (Insert all manner of horrified, shocked and dismayed sound effects here). This was great for Mandy because she is always asking for food. The kid's meal "toy" was stupid, as usual, but who cares when you have incredibly unhealthy french fries to enjoy?

And that's the end of my really long, strange post that very clearly spells out (I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING INTERESTING TO WRITE BUT I'M REALLY BORED). Now that I've successfully wasted 10 minutes of your time, I wish you luck in finding more interesting and hopefully more amusing reading material elsewhere.

Dairy-Free Pancake heaven!

For those of us who love pancakes and struggle daily with a dairy allergy, or lactose intolerance, breakfast can result in some very unpleasant cravings; until today!
HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY!!!!!!

Amy's Dairy-Free Buttermilk Pancakes!
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup plain soymilk
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons canola oil

Combine dry ingredients in your mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients and mix well. Then add the two together and pour into pancakes (in any size of your choosing) on your stove-top griddle.

UPDATE 06/02/2012: This recipe makes great waffles too! Just use slightly less Soymilk/vingegar so that the batter is a little thicker.

And now for an added bonus:


Amy's Dairy-free Buttermilk Pumpkin Pancakes

2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup and 5 tsp of white sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups LESS 3 TABLESPOONS of soymilk
3 Tablespoons white distilled vinegar
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons of canola oil
1/2 cup pumpkin butter*

Mixing instructions: Same as regular buttermilk pancake recipe.




*Pumpkin Butter

1 14.5 oz can of plain pureed pumpkin
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup & 2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon butter / earth balance spread
a pinch of salt

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium, stirring constantly, for about 30 minutes or until the texture is butter-like.

Forget Mary Kay (and other random updates)

I've decided that Mary Kay isn't for me. Or rather, I should say Selling Mary Kay isn't for me. I still love the products, but I do much better with a regular job. So, I am now a receptionist at Town And Country Vet. I LOVE this job!! I got to play with a little German Shepherd mix puppy who was only about 6 weeks old. She was so cute!! She was more intent on getting as close to me as physically possible than she was at playing and every time someone started talking about her she would look at the person and cock her head. Hilarious!!

As I am sure you have already noticed, my blog name (Born to Dance) doesn't seem to have any pictures or blog posts to suggest I actually dance. haha. Well, I'm adding some pictures!!!

A New Post!! Warning: May Come Off As A Sales Pitch, Because That's Exactly What It Is.

Well, I haven't been here in a while...

I know, shame on me. I keep saying there really isn't anything to blog about, and technically I'm right, but I've recently become an Independant Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics and I figured, why not blog about all the products that I've tried and liked/disliked? Perfect!! Something to blog about!

Now I've been using the Timewise Ultimate Miracle set for about a month now, and I really like it. In fact I don't think there is one product that I don't like. The 3-in-1 cleasner gets all the grease off, (and I've got a lot of grease by the end of the day) and the Microderm Abrasion step 1 is AMAZING!! It's just abrasive enough to smooth out my skin and clean out my pores like they've never been cleaned before, and the Step 2 Replenish closes my pores back up and soothes the skin after the harsh scrubbing of the Step 1. The age-fighting moisturizer is just enough to moisturizer my skin without replacing all of the nasty grease that I had just finished washing off and the Day Solution and Night Solution are fantastic too. The Night Solution provides a lot of vitamins and anti-oxidants to my skin that I was previously applying with oils such as Vitamin E, Jojoba and Shea and as wonderful as those were, I can tell my skin is a lot healthier now with the continued use of the Night Solution. The Day solution has sunscreen in it which doesn't smell strongly so I can put it on every day and not have to worry about smelling like I'm on my way to the pool. The Firming Eye cream? Wow. Even on my incredibly young skin I can tell a difference. If I ever develop crow's feet, or laugh lines, it won't be for a long time!

When it comes to the foundation that comes with the Ultimate Miracle Set I have to say I really prefer the Mineral Powder Foundation. I'll use the Timewise Liquid Matte-wear foundation for spot cover-ups but I prefer the Mineral Foundation for the rest of my face. My sensitive eye-lids don't have a problem with it and my face doesn't feel like it has much of anything on it.

Then there is the complimentary bag. I LOVE that bag! I bring it to all my parties and consultations because it holds everything! Okay, I do have a separate bag for my paperwork, pens, calculator, etc. but my roll up travel bag holds every single bottle and tube of product that I need for my demonstrations. If you ask me nicely, I'll tell you about it, or show it to you in person. Unless of course you're from out of town in which case I would be happy to send you a demonstrative video.

That is the basic package that I center my parties and personal consultations around. There are two other products however, that I have just recently tried. They don't come in the Ultimate Miracle set, but they are sooooo worth paying for.

First Product: Mary Kay Intense Moisturizing Cream for Dry skin

First of all, while I have very greasy skin on my face, my legs are incredibly dry. So that's why I bought this product. I wanted to see if it would work better than any of the other intense moisturizing lotions that I've tried before. Result: It works!!!!! My legs stay hydrated for more than 12 hours!! I don't even have to use very much, maybe 1 1/2 tablespoons worth per leg, if that. I'm very happy to have this product. I will never go without it again so help me!

Second Product: The Timewise Even Complexion Mask

Wow. Slap this mask on, leave it for 12 to 15 minutes and rinse it off, you'll see and feel a difference after the first use. My skin is so purified it's lighter and softer! I just used it for the first time today so we'll see if it helps with the acne, but so far I'm quite impressed.

So those are my product raves for the week. My encouragement to you: go to my website: http://www.marykay.com/amyDfehrenbach/default.aspx and try out the miracle set! You can get just the Miracle Set, which includes the cleanser, moisturizer, day and night solutions, or you can get the Ultimate Miracle set which includes the cleanser, moisturizer, day and night solutions, the Microderm Abrasion set Steps 1 and 2, the firming eye cream, foundation of your choice with complimentary powder brush (unless you prefer the liquid in which case an applicator is not needed) and to top it all off you get a complimentary Travel Roll Up Bag to hold it all! Or you can go to the website and pick out a lip-gloss. Your choice. Just as long as you know that all the profits that I receive from each sale goes to paying for my Ballet Teacher's certification classes, the gas to get there and what ever repairs my dear, aged vehicle may require to keep running. For now Mom and Dad are paying for almost everything except for gas, but I would like to be able to help a bit more. So help me help them!! Support my business and beautify and rejuvenate your skin in the process!