Change of plans

just FYI, I've switched to writing on my blog that I had pre-marriage. Mostly because I don't have to sign out and sign back in with a different account all the time, and also because this really isn't "our" blog considering that andrew doesn't write on it-- so by all means, continue reading here:

cartwheelingdowntheaisle.blogspot.com/

voila!

:)

The last hurrah

Well we're down to our last finals -- I only have my smooth final and Andrew has a religion final tomorrow, but we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I actually feel like I did pretty well this semester, especially considering how busy dance has been.. Final week has actually been my most relaxed week since the beginning of the semester!

Naturally, we've begun christmas preparations :)

Yes, that is mistletoe at the center of the arch :)

We were watching a not-so-fascinating war movie the other day, and quite honestly it was getting long so I picked up my crochet hook and tried to imitate those headbands I've been seeing in stores everywhere; I think it turned out quite nicely!

Those things are sold for nearly twenty dollars; I'm thinking this might be a good business opportunity... anybody interested?

On another note, we had the (good) surprise visit of my uncle and aunt (Olivier is my dad's brother) over thanksgiving break. They were staying at a friend of Lolan's house and we got to have a little evening of music with them; Olivier and Lolan sang and Andrew played with two of the family's sons (two violins and a viola).

And this is what I've been up to on team.... we have some pretty outrageous props in our Lindy hop routine!

And this was at the team Christmas social. Andrew had learned his lesson from last year and went through the first time with two plates piled high... of course :) I have to admit the food was quite good though, and so was the company and the entertainment! Andrew played the violin and 1 o'clock did an outrageous mariachi number... it was absolutely hilarious! And of course Andrew practiced all of his good manners learned in his etiquette class-- despite me blowing him off when he tried to hold my chair... oops! we're just not used to gentlemen anymore!

And after tomorrow, we will be FREEEEE to do whatever we please! well not really, but you get the idea...

The next day we went up to Draper to do a family dinner with Andrew's mom's family-- on the road we saw some interesting sights...

Notice what is behind the man on the motorcycle... yes, that would be a dog!

Andrew discovered a new hobby during the break... :)

On our way back we got a new armoire to lighten the load of our ridiculously small closet... Ikea stuff is so much fun to put together.

And here is the finished product... Andrew is ecstatic, and so am I. It doesn't take much to make us happy!

Thanksgiving again :)

And now for a picture of the fabulous cranberry sauce!

While we waited for the Turkey to finish cooking, we went for a walk in the Provo Cemetery (Some of Andew's ancestors currently reside there) Did you know that Casper was from Utah?

Provo Cemetery is really a beautiful place. If you ever get a chance to visit, you'd be surprised a what you'll find. We saw several masonic tombstones, some of men who died in France during World War I, some with a birth and death date in the same year... There are so many stories to be told just from the tombstones.

Andrew was sick all weekend so he got to rest while we ladies did the cooking :)

And voila! a Thanksgiving dinner (without a dinner table...)

And the thankful turkey! We wrote things we were grateful for on it... duh

And the best part is that we have plenty of funeral potatoes left over!!

Halloween

I know this is delayed, and out of chronological order, but I never did get around to uploading pictures from my camera. So here!

We had a thanksgiving get together with Haleigh and Gavin and Meghan and Collin to watch "I am Legend" and decorate holiday cookies.

One of the cats lost its leg, so someone added stitches...

Haleigh and Gavin came as inmates... wearing XXXXL pajamas! :)

Thanksgiving

and we are already on thanksgiving eve! (if you can say that :)
So despite waking up to no hot water this morning and going to work essentially all day for the two of us, we have a lot to be grateful for this year...
Tomorrow we will have our first Thanksgiving together with Andrew's parents-- I even have fresh cranberries to make (hopefully-knock on wood) the best cranberry sauce ever! Not to mention I've been craving pumpkin pie since the leaves started to change.

Thanksgiving also means something very special: it means that the day after I can FINALLY listen to Christmas music out loud! (yes, I've been listening to it on the ipod or at work for weeks already, but not out in the open... we have Mr Scrooge at home...) So the day after will be as much a celebration as the day of!

I'm half tempted to try out "black friday" simply because I've never done it-- but it sounds like a lot of fun/misery. In my mind I see images from "Jingle all the way" (yes, this hidden pearl of Schwarzenegger's (WOW I almost spelled that right the first time -- and the spell checker apparently has it in its dictionary...) was a family tradition and we watched it every day of December) We'll see.

Speaking of Schwarzenegger: he was an interesting presence in our family culture. My mom always had a crush on him--she was an aerobics instructor during her young adult years, so I imagine she felt a special kinship with Mr Universe because of their shared passion for... cultivation of the body?
In any case, he was her hero, so whenever I felt discouraged she would always quote him: "you know what Arnold Schwarzenegger would say? 'Set your mind on a goal and stick to it until you've reached it'" (or something to that effect...) Needless to say she was thrilled when he became the governator of California! And so, although I never saw any of the terminator movies (growing up in an all girl family...) I have probably seen all of his comedies and can quote lines such as "Dere IS NO BATHROOM!!!" (congrats if you can tell me what movie that comes from...)

Schwarzenegger has become an inevitable part of my holidays.

Dancesport!

Well, it has finally come and gone, the moment we've been working towards, and we can't really complain too much!

Here are some of the pictures of Andrew's practices for cabaret :)

And then the real thing! All the rest of these photos were taken by other people: I shamelessly stole them off of Facebook :)

The loot we brought home was:

Andrew: 3rd place in pre-champ smooth

3rd place in the cabaret championship!

Lydia: 4th place in pre-champ smooth

6th place in novice standard

6th place in gold bar standard (class event)

Overall, we had tons of fun and danced our hearts out. and now we can rest a little!