I have always been a healthy eater...thanks to my mom...but it wasn't necessarily an interest. For my first three years at LSU I was a pre-med major. I thought I was going to be a pediatrician. But dancing as a Golden Girl meant that I was required to stay in shape and I wanted to do it the RIGHT way. I was already dancing several nights a week at Tari's School of Dance (in addition to danceteam practice and classes for my dance minor). I had picked up running as a hobby and started reading "healthy" magazines. Prevention was one of my favorites.
And that was it...after three years I switched majors...first to nutrition pre-med, then to dietetics. I took my first cooking class (part of the curriculum) and was hooked. The Food Network became my favorite channel. I moved out of the sorority house (yay Phi Mu!) and into my own house with a kitchen and began to cook meals for myself and my roommates. I started subscribing to WAY to many food magazines and printing recipes from the internet as well (which I have saved in several binders).
During my last year at LSU my mom passed away unexpectedly. I was in the middle of applying for dietetic internships, but felt that I couldn't move away at that time. So after graduation, I decided to stay at LSU and get my Master's (in Human Nutrition and Food) and continue teaching at Tari's. This is when I realized that what I really wanted to do was DANCE.
I started dancing at the age of 3 at Creative Dance Center. My training was ballet and modern based. Then in 7th grade I tried out for and made danceteam...but I always continued my studio training (at Creative Dance Center, Northshore Academy of Dance, and Tari's). I was a member of the Covington High "Dancin' Darlin's" and then spent my final danceteam days as an LSU Golden Girl, serving as captain/choreographer for 3 of the years.
Once I completed my Master's, I moved to Houston to start a dietetic internship. I finished the program, passed the Registered Dietitian exam, and decided to stay in Houston to work as a dietitian at Life Time Fitness and dance for the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company.
I started Deliciously Golden in 2008 when I was moving back to Louisiana from Houston. I wanted a way to stay in touch with my clients. At that point I was already an avid blog reader (I now subscribe to 126...and counting) and I figured that was the perfect way!
But what was going to be the name of my blog? My then roommate, Danielle, gets credit for the name Deliciously Golden. It represents several things about me:
1. The color gold has followed me since elementary school...seriously. My school colors went from blue&gold, to black&gold, to maroon&gold, back to blue&gold, and finally to purple&gold. I was a Golden Girl at LSU and now I'm the choreographer/director for the Black and Gold...the New Orleans Saintsations...Golden through and through!
2. In one of the pictures of my mom that I had with me in Houston, she was wearing a gold dress...we were at an LSU game of course. Danielle never had the opportunity to meet my mom, but she would tell you that she feels like did...in a gold dress.
3. I eat an apple just about every day...it's a joke that I usually have one in my purse. Despite the fact that it's hardly ever a Golden Delicious apple (I'm partial to Pink Ladies), the name fit.
And that's how Deliciously Golden was born.
I now live in Baton Rouge, where I work as a choreographer and dance teacher, both for Tari's and the New Orleans Saintsations. I have the perfect opportunity to use my nutrition degree in both of these settings. I am able to help girls who are struggling with weight and body issues everyday. I can guide those who are preparing for dance auditions and need to lose weight to do so in a healthy way. In the (near) future I hope to grow these two passions of mine into a business...but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading DG!
