On Saturday, I was a “celebrity” for a local Dancing with the Celebrities event.

#1 – I’ve never danced before.

#2 – I haven’t been on stage in front of hundreds of people since I was 12.

I’m pretty sure everyone kind of held their breath about how my dancing abilities were going to pan out on stage.

One of my friends did this event a few years ago and I decided to do it this year when I was asked a few months ago.

Listen – you guys all know how much I love Dancing with the Stars. It’s my thing.

Watching it on tv is waaay easier than doing it in real life.

I’m just saying.

I met my partner Adam about 6 weeks ago and we quickly decided to do a Charleston.

Did I tell you that I have never danced before.

I do not count weddings. Or the 3 hours I took a cha cha lesson.

In any case, I danced with Adam for about 2 hours, 3-4 days a week.

I went down a pants size! 🙂

I had a legit dressing room.

Crazy, right?

It was really a cool experience to be backstage.

This was before the event when we were all practicing.

I’m looking like I’m excited here but this is my terrified face.  You know the one where I just realized I have to dance in front of 500 people!

Adam and I before the show started.

I didn’t really freak out until right before the curtain went up.

Some of our cheering section included my parents, my in-laws, our friends, some co-workers, and neighbors.  Adam’s family was there too!

And then it was time to dance.

Right before we went on to dance (like 30 seconds before), my mind went totally blank and I couldn’t remember the steps.

But then I heard the music and everything kind of melted away and I just danced the same dance I’ve been practicing for the last 6 weeks.

We did it!! 🙂

Every single person that competed in this competition worked so so hard. It showed because everything looked so good.

I was so proud to share the stage with these people.

We finished in 4th place (I missed the podium by 0.5 points!!! heartbreak!)

A big thank you to The Hubster. He supported me through this entire journey and never complained once when I came home late from practice. He totally picked up the slack and for that I am so grateful to have his unwavering support.

With my parents.

Some of my favorite peeps – my mom, my sister-in-law, and my mother-in-law.

My amazing partner Adam – I worked so so hard to make him proud. And we totally nailed our dance too! I really appreciated every single hour he put in to make us look good.

I am going to miss working with him every day.

That’s a wrap on Dancing with the Celebrities 2018!