Apple of My Eye

Kiana, my wonderful daughter, instantly became the apple of my eye. She was perfect from day one, absolutely beautiful. She is the biggest joy in my life. Kiana makes everyone laugh with her off-the-wall comments and silly humor. Unlike her brother, she's a bit shy. But once she's found her comfort zone, she loves to be in the mix of things.

The most endearing thing about Kiana is how much she loves her brother, Jordan. He is her best friend and she loves being around him, even when he's being a pain in the neck. Kiana also loves good food. I believe she has quite the gourmet palette for a nine-year old. Everything from sushi to ribeyes or from brocolli to zuccini. She loves it all, with the exception of fruit. Don't ask me why.

Having Kiana as my daughter has also been very humbling. She and I are so different, and I've come to realize I need to embrace and accomodate those differences. I often think I learn more from her than she from me. And that's the greatest thing about Kiana...she enriches everyone around her. I am very blessed to be her dad.

Let's hear it for the boy!

I promised I'd be writing about my family, so I'll start with my man. Jordan is really a wonderful kid. He is just plain nice. Possessing a wonderful ease around others, he makes friends instantly. He's naturally inquisitive, continually asking "why? and how?". Never shy, and fun-loving by nature, Jordan is always up for anything. In fact, one of the most common things I hear is, "Sure Dad." What an absolute blessing he is. In May, he turned eight which marks eight wonderful years with him in my heart. Let's hear it for the boy! Let's hear it for my Man!

Salsa - Spice it up.

In grade school I took Latin. I went to a prep school where the headmaster also taught Latin - so it was obligatory. Now I'm into Latin again. This time it's Latin Dancing. Since I found myself single again, I started looking into new interests. Some just fell by the wayside (like working out ... not a gym guy). But one thing that has stuck is Salsa. My parents are avid ballroom dancers, and one evening I followed them to a Salsa class. What I found was that I really enjoyed the partnering aspect of social dancing. I was raised in the 80's so I grew up dancing to the music stylings of Madonna, Duran Duran, The Cure etc. But I never learned more structured dance, the art of the lead, and how fun learning new combinations can be.

Thanks to my salsa instructors, Grace and Hugo, I know enough to make it through a song without totally boring my partner - simple turns, cross body leads, a few fancier things, enough to make it a fun evening. I used to feel intimidated with only knowing a few combinations. It took me a while to ask anybody to dance when I went to a latin club. It doesn't help that I'm basically shy about the club scene. But now my confidence is budding and I'm starting to get out there more.

Living right in between DC and Baltimore, I'm surprized at how many places there are to dance Salsa in the area. You can find a "Latin Night" almost every day of the week. The best in the area is Gardel's near Baltimore's Little Italy. An upscale dinner club with Salsa on Saturdays, Gardel's features terrific dance floors on three levels. In D.C. there are a lot of options. Some of the most popular are Zanzibar, Carribean Breeze, and Cecilia's (incl. NoVA to be exact).

So come on. Spice your life up. Find those hidden interests and get out there!