Tonight is our night for two dances: Fox Trot and the Tango. I'm a little worried about the Fox Trot. The song isn't strict tempo and I've taken some liberties with it. I think the audience will love it but I'm not sure about the judges.

My mom is in town. We went to dinner last night and she told me that she was happy I hadn't rushed into getting back together with Josh. Arggghhhh. She ticks me off. I agree that it's good that I haven't rushed into getting back together with him, but she makes it sound like being with him is a bad thing. It's so stupid. I could really, truly be dating a bad guy, but I actually fell for a guy that any normal (emphasis on "normal") parent would love. He's smart, he's kind, he's talented, he's family oriented, he goes to church on (most) Sundays with his mother. For the love of Pete, what else does my mother want?

After dinner I rehearsed with Josh and he could tell my mother had gotten to me. He's okay with her, and he tolerates my father, but I know it frustrates him to see them get to me. I told him how annoyed I was with her. He put his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug and said, "Thank God for Aunt Lu." How true that is. Don't get me wrong. I love my mom. I even love my father despite all of the pain he's caused, but I am truly blessed to have Aunt Lu.

Our rehearsal went well after I let go of the frustrations. We were at the dance studio and Jennifer and JD stopped in to see how we were doing. I told them not to spy on us (joking of course...well, sort of!). They told us they have no reason to spy because their dances are great. This brought out the competitors in both me and Josh. We're ready to kick some you-know-what! :)

Jen asked Josh which dance he likes best. He told her he likes our Fox Trot song ("Feeling Good" by Michael Buble) better, but he likes the Tango because - and I quote: "Nicole wraps her leg around me." Jennifer laughed and gave me a look that said: this is encouraging! He was joking, I know, but I like it when he's flirty.

He's been very flirty lately. This morning I was sitting at my desk at work and he came in and gave me a flower shaped lollipop just to "brighten my day." So sweet! He said he wanted to make sure my mother wasn't clouding my day because we have to be "Feeling Good" for tonight. This is the Josh that I fell in love with.

There's this song on the Sara Evan's CD that Amanda gave me. It's called "Niagara" and it completely describes the way I'm feeling about Josh right now. And the song sticks with you. It's more than just the lyrics. I keep thinking about it. I'm supposed to sing next week at our dance competition and I keep thinking about that song. It's just that if I sing it, Josh will know everything. It completely gives me away. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that kind of disclosure. There are actually two other songs on that CD that fit how I'm feeling: "Need To Be Next To You" and "I Give In." It's my new favorite CD. (Sorry, Nat, it's Country!)

Another interesting development, Angelo and Mona have teamed up with a new marketing strategy. Angelo noticed that people from the dance studio are spending a lot of time at his restaurant. A lot of our audience as started showing up to hear Josh and Jennifer sing. So they are using the competition to get the dance studio people to the restaurant and the restaurant people to the dance studio. It's actually pretty smart since Jen and Josh both have small "fan" bases from both the competition and their performances at Angelo's. But now they're pulling me in to it. Mona thinks that people have an interest in my "partnership" with Josh so she and Angelo decided I'm singing with the Doo Wop group Friday night. I told Mona I want a raise. She thinks I'm joking.

Well, I think this post is way too long and not really about anything that exciting so I should go. I've got to get to the dance studio to get ready for tonight!