Dancing Around the World

I've seen Matt's dancing videos before and love them. This is a new one. Thanks Susan for sending me the link.

Dancing With Your Kids - From Ellen

I've written before and have had lots of people comment over the years about dancing around the house with their kids. In this case Ellen featured a woman and her grown son. Love this.

SoulPancake 60 Second Disco

We often only celebrate when there's a special occasion. But we don't always need a reason to stop and have a little fun. So, the SoulPancake team headed to a busy bus stop to throw people a surprise celebration—just because.

Dancing in My Kitchen Haiku

five ten twenty years
how long 'til I dance again
if not now then when

Losing Weight by Dancing in My Kitchen

I have been on Weight Watchers for several months now. When I stay on program I lose a pound or a little less each week. The weeks that I dance around my kitchen and/or living room for 30 minutes, 5x a week, I lose an additional half pound. Plus my mood improves a lot which helps me stay on my food program. Three months in and I am feeling very optimistic. I can keep doing this!

Dancing in My Kitchen Changed My Life

Dancing in my kitchen and around the house changes...
My body
My energy
My attitude
My outlook on life
My mood
How I feel about myself
How I relate to others
My problems
How I look
How I walk
How I think
How I create
What I dream about
How I feel about aging
How I age
My life!

I danced today in my kitchen
When - Afternoon
How long - for 30 minutes
Mood Before - 5.5
Mood After - 7.5
Go To Song - Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Joshua Ledet

Dancing to Creedence Clearwater Revival

Sheila and I have been discussing how much we both like dancing to Creedence Clearwater Revival (see below).

Some of my favorite Creedence songs to dance to around the house are...

Proud Mary  Okay nobody sings Proud Mary like Tina Turner, but this is a close second.
Susie Q
Born on the Bayou  This one is probably my all time favorite.
I Put a Spell on You  Just so darn sexy!
Fortunate Son
Down on the Corner  Always makes me smile
Bad Moon Rising

Are you a Creedence fan? What's your favorite?

Dancing Before Facing Unpleasant Things on Your To Do Lists

Do you have to...
1.  make an unpleasant phone call?
2.  go for a job interview?
3.  have an icky money discussion with someone?
4.  have to meet your ex to discuss child custody issues?
5.  be audited by the IRS?
6.  meet with your boss about a mistake you made?

Whenever I have something I'm dreading on my To Do list, I always dance around my living room to improve my mood and energy before diving in. I figure if I can face...whatever...with a 15-20% better mood, it's bound to help my performance and coping skills.

Here are a few songs to help...
Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey
Feeling Alright by Joe Cocker
King of Anything by Sara Bareilles
Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall
Heaven by Los Lonely Boys
Dog Days Are Over by Florence and The Machine
In These Shoes by Bette Midler - and yes cute shoes help too!

My Mood Improves Dramatically Each Time I Dance in the Kitchen!

For those who are new to Dancing in Our Kitchens and all of my posts about dancing around the house, I thought I would explain how I use the mood scale in the left column.  For years I have kept track of my mood before and after I dance around my kitchen or living room. I found that I can consistently bump up my mood by 15-20% with as little as 10 or 15 minutes of dancing.

I am not a fabulous dancer, but I am an enthusiastic one and dancing in my kitchen has changed my life. I tend to wake up a bit on the down side, usually a 4 or 5. By dancing in the morning I improve everything that happens during my day because my mood is so much better.

I keep track of my dance moods with a great little journaling app on my iPhone called Wonderful Days.
Here's what I posted today.
Danced in my Kitchen for 30 minutes
Mood before - 5
Mood after - 8
Go to Song - Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall

On My Shazam

I am always looking for new songs to play when dancing around my kitchen. I have the Shazam app on the home screen of my iPhone so I can "tag" music whenever I hear something great. Here is what I have been tagging lately.

1.   Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is - Chicago 

2.   The Here and After - Jun Miyake and Lisa Papineau

3.   Israelites - Desmond Dekker and The Aces

4.   I Got the Feelin - James Brown

5.   The Clapping Song - Shirley Ellis

6.   Baka Play Baka - Baka Beyond/Martin C

7.   Salty Air - Bitter:Sweet

8.   My Sharona - The Knack

Dancing in Our Kitchens - Facebook Group

As I am sure those who have been reading my blog know, I like to dance around my kitchen. It improves my mood, makes tasks like unloading the dishwasher more fun, and helps me lose weight.

If you like dancing around your kitchen too, you might want to join a little Facebook group I started. We're talking about music we like to dance to, dancing with kids etc. Stop by and join in the conversation and fun...

Dancing In My Kitchen

I have been dancing again. It sure helps my moods. I have been losing one pound a week on Weight Watchers. I want to see if dancing every day fwill make it 1.5 or 2 pounds a week. Plus it's fun.







Time of Day Danced - Morning
Time Danced - 30 minutes
Mood Before - 5
Mood After - 7
Go To Song - Koop Island Blues

Dance in the Movies - 1921 - 2010

Dancing with My Dog Lola

Keep Calm and Dance

If there ever was a motto for my life this is it.  Of course an alternative saying could be Keep Calm and Go Take a Picture with Your iPhone. But, it's not quite as catchy.

My friends Lois and Michael told me about the Keep Calm and Carry On poster created in England during WWII. Lois then found a neat little Keep Calm and Carry On app. It tells the WWII story and you can make your own customized poster.

So remember KEEP CALM AND DANCE!

Motivating Myself First Thing in the Morning

I originally posted this on April 19, 2009 at Cynthia's Blog.

I tend to wake up in the morning a little down and unmotivated. I don't know why. I'm not dreading anything in my day. As a matter of fact I like how I spend most of the day. I have tried to figure out the "why". I know all the wonderful things that happen in my life when I get up in the morning and dance. It changes just about everything for the better.

I give up on figuring out the "why" and trying to reason myself out of bed. I found out a better idea is to leave my shuffle next to the bed with my earphones ready to put on. Then I JUST PUSH PLAY.

What I have found out is it is impossible to lie in bed while Louie Louie by the Kingsmen is playing. Don't believe me? Just try it...

My "works every time" Go To Song - Louie Louie

Update 4/20 - Woke up this morning...mood my usual 4.5. I put my earbuds in, pushed play and was dancing as I got out of bed at a mood of 5. Danced 30 minutes until my mood was a 7. That's a 25% increase in my mood! What else can do that in 30 minutes? Thank you the Kingsmen and also to Steve Jobs and all the Apple folks who made my iPod shuffle! I'm a happy woman.

I Danced Today

I originally posted this on Cynthia's Blog on April 16, 2012.

I danced today! I danced for 30 minutes this morning and improved my mood by 20%. It's funny how on the days I dance, everything else seems to fall into place.

Conga Line

Dancing Around My Kitchen While Making Carrot Cake

I originally posted this on Cynthia's Blog on May 31, 2010.
Decided to put some music on and dance while baking my grandmother's carrot cake. I put the batter into individual bundt muffin tins.
Time of day - afternoon
danced for - 40 minutes (but a lot of stop and go while baking)
mood before - 6
mood after - 7.5

Great song to bake and dance to...Livin' For The Weekend by the O'Jays

My Grandmother's Carrot Cake Recipe

1 cup of wesson oil (I used canola)
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
2 cups of grated carrots
1 cup of drained, crushed pineapple
1 cup of nuts
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 t of soda
1 t of baking powder
1/2 t of salt
1 t of cinnamon
1T of vanilla

Cream oil sugar and eggs well. Add drained pineapple and carrots.

Mix well by hand...sifted flour, soda, salt, baking powder. Add to create mixture. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (spray Pam on bundt pan). I baked small bundt muffins at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Icing
1/2 box powdered sugar
1/2 cube oleo (I used butter)
2 oz cream cheese
1T vanilla

Thin if necessary with a small amount of milk.

Dancing Around the Kitchen With My Friends

I originally posted this on March 20, 2009 in Cynthia's Blog.

So after visiting the Museum of Modern Art in San Jose Susan, Tricia and I went back to the house and danced around the kitchen while making dinner.

danced - early evening
how long - 10 minutes
mood before - 7
mood after - 8

Today's Go To Song - Wade In The Water - Eva Cassidy

Wine to drink while dancing and cooking - Sbragia 2006 Gino Zinfandel