S ~Most people I know have absolutely loved the movie Moana. A huge portion of those people, though, say something like this:
“Moana is amazing! I loved everything about it—except that weird crab.”
I heard that so many times before I watched it that I was all ready to hate the crab.
But guys… Tamatoa? He and I connect on a very fundamental level. The level of Shiny.
I’m not sure when my love affair with shiny things began, but I was a child during the early 90’s, so Lisa Frank and roll-on body glitter figure largely in my memories.
Ryan, too, loves shiny things, but I think that’s partially because he has ADOS: Attention Deficit—OOOH! Shiny! Once, when we were in college (back when we were just friends), he was going to go latin dancing with me and my roommate, but he was going to be late, so he told us to wear something that would make us easy to find. We knew exactly what to do: I wore a shirt covered in sequins and she wore one with glitter.
It worked.
And note: I already owned the shirt covered in sequins.
My love of shiny things has only been enhanced and exaggerated by being back in the ballroom dance world the last couple of years. AB (Aurora Borealis coating) Swarovski crystals are a staple of the ballroom world—they shine a rainbow of colors and sparkles under stage lights, and can catch a judge’s eye from across a crowded dance floor. Swarovski crystals coat our dresses, our ears, our throats, our wrists—even our hair.
Sometimes, though, I want to wear sparkly things that aren’t full competition-level bling. Sometimes I want the quality of Swarovski but in colors that match my outfit for a date, or things with both sparkle and motion to wear social dancing or for when I’m teaching.
I’ve had trouble over the last few years finding exactly what I wanted, so I finally decided to just make some instead.
Now my only problem is that I love them so much I don’t want to sell them. I want to keep all the pretty shinies for myself.
Tamatoa, you fabulous, glittery, selfish crab, I feel you.
