California Corn Salad with Avocado and Abbie Lee's Dance Moms go to Hollywood

Abbie Lee and the Dance Moms in Hollywood watching the In10sity competition.  Abbie Lee is actually recording one of our girls in this photo.  Can't blame her...

I'm a dance mom.  Yep, a real, honest to goodness dance mom.  With 3 years of practice under my rhinestone belt, I can whip out a bun in no time flat, handle costume changes in mere minutes, and keep my dancing girl fed and energized in between it all.  Have I mentioned that I'm also a Nationally acclaimed costume designer?  (That's my story and I'm stickn' to it!  You can read about The Boots, here and here.)

Their girls are good...

However, watching Lifetime's weekly version of Dance Moms, I can honestly and thankfully say my life is nothing like theirs.  Spending my weekends with my own group of Dance Moms, we have none of the back stabbing, no yelling and arguing, and nothing but pure support and encouragement.  These moms have become some of my best friends, just as the girls on the team have become some of Liv's best friends.

That being said, we are competitive, and given the chance to dance against Abbie Lee's talented team, we knew this was an opportunity not to be missed.  Taking our National Champion team to Hollywood's In10sity dance competition to meet up against Chloe, Brooke, Paige, Nia, Maddie, Kendall, and Mackenzie, was an afternoon filled with pure fun and competition.  While we didn't have a chance to compete against the little girls, our team did compete with Brooke and the group number.

California girls might be better...

While I will admit to being a tad envious of the private dressing rooms the Dance Mom girls had access to, we managed just fine in our own crowded room under the stage.  The girls, theirs and ours, all danced beautifully, and everyone had a good time meeting the tv girls and moms.

Personally, I didn't have much of a chance to speak to them, however I did bump into Dance Mom Holly in the hallway and she was nothing but happy and extraordinarily friendly.  Christi and Kelly on the other hand, literally turned their heads and wouldn't even make eye contact while walking by.  Understandable, I guess, as they are probably tired of making small talk with other moms.

As they sat in the audience, the moms appeared to be good friends, and with the addition of Jill, who has recently returned from the Candy Apples Studio, I was eager to see their interactions.  On tv they are portrayed as frequently arguing and bickering, however, here in the audience we didn't witness a single argumentative moment, and Jill seemed to be a welcomed part of the group.

Dance Mom Jill takes the stage during the Parent Dance Down

Seeing Jill on tv, my perception of her was not a super positive one, but after watching her interact with the other moms and then participate in a Parent Dance Down, she's quickly becoming one of my favorites.  She glowed onstage as she danced, cartwheeled and radiated pure fun, seeming to really have a good time while some of the other moms seemed to be more inhibited and not really happy to be up there.  Admittedly, you won't ever find me up there either.

Tomorrow's episode (9/4/12) of Dance Moms is this competition, so I won't give away the details.  But, just know that when Abbie Lee talked last week about going to Hollywood and the quality of "those girls in California" and how talented they are, she was talking about us...

California Corn Salad
Keeping Liv and the girls on our team fed and energized takes work.  Filling our coolers with healthy snacks keeps them focused and their bodies fueled.  This easy salad, frequently found in my cooler, provides protein from the beans, vitamins and minerals from the tomatoes and avocados, carbs and a little natural sugar from the corn, and pure flavor from the lime and olive oil dressing.  Pack it over ice and it's sure to receive a Platinum Award.

1-2 ears corn, grilled (or 1 cup or so frozen kernels)
1 avocado, cubed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
cilantro, to taste, chopped (we use about 1/4 cup as a starting point)
3 Tbs lime juice
3 Tbs olive oil (I usually "splash" in place of measuring)
salt and pepper to taste

Grill corn, or alternatively use thawed, frozen corn.  Cut corn from the cob, and add to a medium mixing bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients, taste and adjust.  Use the lime and oil measurements as a starting point and tweak to your taste (I frequently find myself adding a bit more lime).

Chill, and enjoy.