Weekend Update

Today we had another birthday party to go to. What is it about this time of year, um, well I guess I should say what is it about nine months ago? It seems like there are birthday parties every weekend for the next 2 months (including my darling Spencer).

At this party they had little pools and waters slides set up all in the backyard, so Spencer had a blast. As childrens parties go, it was really great. Actually, I've been really lucky thus far, in the kid party department- I don't have any horror stories. And it's always fun to watch Spencer interact with children her own age, plus the added benefit of her being exhausted afterward.

She's been sound asleep since 8pm, which is a nothing short of a miracle! We have another busy week ahead of us, with a surprise in the making. Well, it's a surprise for Spencer and for you, my bloggy friends, but one that's been in the making for quite some time now. I can't wait to tell all ya'll about it! (How country/southern/Paula Deen did that sound, haha?) Don't worry, you'll know by the end of the weekend, I just can't resist a little suspense.

I hope everyone had a really nice weekend.

How Many Times and Numbers

This is an estimate, some numbers might be slightly exaggerated for comedic effect, but not really!

• 2007- Times a day Spencer says "Mum Me"
• 1002- Times a day I say "Yes, Spencer?"
  
• 505 - Times a day I tell Spencer "No"
• 322 - Times a day Spencer asks for "Gi Ga" (my mom)
• 62 - Times a day Spencer finds my cell phone
• 41 - Times a day Spencer finds my keys
  
• 10 - Number of temper tantrums Spencer throws a day
  
• 4 - Times a day I run the vacuum
• 3 - Number of loads of laundry I do a day
• 2 - Number of naps I wish I got
  
• 0 - Number of naps I actually get
  

So You Think You Can Dance - Recap

The auditions this evening start of in LA, Adam Shankman is the guest judge. Joshua Allen is in the audition room! He gets a hug from Nigel, aww.

Bianca Revels - Auditioned last year, but got cut right before the Top 20. Her mom is in the audience, she flew in just to support her daughter. Bianca does an a capella tap dance, and she just does a great job. She's fun to watch, and really uses her face in place of the music. She gets a standing ovation from the judges, Mary says she's the best female tap dancer they've ever had on the show. The judges send her off to Vegas!

Brynelle & Xavier Blanton - Brother sister duo- Before they audition we see some footage of them dancing, poorly, and bickering. Well, I have to say I find their dance to be a tad inappropriate for a brother and sister. They really aren't very good. Her jumps are weak, she doesn't have very good lines, and overall it just wasn't a polished routine. They will not be be progressing any further.

Debra Lawson - Starts off rocking on the floor, it looks like she's broken her ankle, wait.. no, it's part of the routine. She's just not very good. The judges are surprisingly really nice to her in their critique. Nigel says that her shape isn't that of a typical dancer, and she needs to learn what movements suit her. They talk about her Jewish faith, as it might get in the way of a professional dance career- dancing on the Sabbath and in front of men.

Suzanne Fernandez- She brought the crazy. It was a Fairy Medicine dance, even though the only medicine she is on is joy.

Michael Han- A male pointe dancer, dancing to Rihanna's Umbrella. Not good.

Calico Sequeira - She is 30 years old, so this is the last year she is eligible to audition. She is a swing dancer with a very cute, bubbly personality, unfortunately, her dancing technique isn't quite up to snuff. I'm sad for her, because she seems like a nice person who really loves to dance. Adam dances with her and they are cute, wow, he's a really great dancer. Sometimes it's easy to forget that these choreographers are also dancers.

Joshua Allen, Katee Shean, Lauren Gottlieb, and Comfort Fedoke all come up to "judge" Adam Shankman's "performance." It's pretty cute, and Adam tells Josh that he better be careful what he says, because he put him through! Of course he gets a ticket to Vegas.

Asuka Kondoh & Ricky Sun- Auditioned before, but she got cut right before the Top 20, they are Asian, International Latin Ballroom dancers. [Spencer seems to love them!] I think they're great, fun, snappy, and Duffy's Mercy really helps. Asuka really commands attention, she's a lot of fun to watch, but Ricky is also a good performer. Nigel tells Ricky that he's a fine dancer, and Asuka is wonderful, a great performer. Mary loves them both, as does Adam. They're going to Vegas!

Good Dancer Montage. There's a Naughty Ballerina who really gets Nigel's attention.

Nathan Trasoras - Contemporary dancer, who almost quit because of the teasing. Talented. He's only 17 and I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. He dances to Pollen and Salt, by Daphne Loves Derby. He's one of my favorite male dancers, but he's ineligible because of his age. NO! But Nigel gives him a Season 6 Ticket to Vegas!

Sammy Ramirez - Popping and Locking- taught by a dancer, Juno Segale (sp?) who got involved with a gang and is now in prison. He also like to wrestle. He does a really cool thing with his head and hear, almost moving it to the music. I can't believe he's had so little training, because he's great and he knows how to work the crowd. Adam loves him, thinks he's awesome. He has a great smile, I hope he does well in the choreography round. And he does!! Off to Vegas he goes!

Stacey House - I hate to devote space to this. Hot mess, is what comes to mind, although she's pretty entertaining to watch. She lives on a farm, so she's "self-taught." She's crying now, aww, I hate that. I feel so sad when these dancers don't realize that they're not dancers.

Amanda Kerby - Her dad has MS, although he's currently symptom free, and he loves to watch her dance. They both cry while talking about each other. She dances to Breathe Me by Sia, and she's very good. Maybe a little spastic, but that could be nerves. Her dancing is very beautiful, but it isn't the best I've ever seen. The judges like her and send her to Vegas!

Arielle Coker & Phillip Chbeeb - He auditioned last year, (pop and lock) and got put through to Vegas, but he got Pneumonia and was unable to dance during that round of auditions. This year he had an automatic ticket to Vegas, but decided to partner up with his friend, Arielle, who's family was in a terrible car accident. Her mother taught them how to be partners, from a hospital bed. They are SO cute together! Even though he's not being judged (because he's already in) I'm amazed they were able to integrate their styles together so well. I wonder if they're a couple in real life? She gets sent through to Vegas!

Chanel Smith - A ballet dancer, it didn't translate in the choreography round. I feel sad for her, you could tell she really wanted it.

Kevin "Shakiro" Cormier - Not good. He likes Shakira, but he's made his own style. I guess it's Latin dancing, he's funny to watch, definitely entertaining! His nickname is because he's the male version of Shakira- which Nigel says is an insult to the singer.

Good Dancer Montage.

That puts an end to the LA auditions and the next round is in Seattle, with guest judge Mia Michaels- who's rocking a fierce hairdo.

Christopher Keller - A bunch of different ballroom styles, they play around with gender roles and dominance. She is not auditioning, just him. They're pretty funny, there's no way that they're SYTYCD caliber. The judges have a good time making fun of them. They seem like nice people, just not dancers.

Nick "Nasty" Salzman - B-Boy, hip hop?, he's pretty good, although he has some stumbles and then he just quits dancing. He gets an attitude with Nigel, which doesn't make sense, he says he wants to please Mary and Mia, not Nigel. Mary says says he was a yes, but he talked himself out it with his attitude.

Dmitrious Bistrevsky - I'm not sure what his style is, some of his moves are pretty cool, although most of them are amateurish. Okay, he's only been breaking dancing for three months, and for 3 months he's not bad. The judges have some fun saying it was S***, with lots of bleeps. They encourage him to come back in a few years, after he's had some more training. He had a great attitude, the exact opposite of Nick Nasty.

Bad Dancing Montage. Really Bad Dancers!

Kelsea Taylor - Contemporary dancer - She's fun to watch, Nigel says she's zany! She has a unique style, and Mia says she's a "disastrous weirdo" who she wants to see more of. Is that a real compliment? They send her to choreography and then to Vegas. She danced to Tore My Heart by Oona and Dave Tweedie.

Kuponohi'ipoi Aweau -Contemporary dancer, he uses a chair as a prop. Nigel asks for a pronunciation, and a nickname, which sounds a lot like Porno. He dances to Wasted Time, by Me'Shell Ndegeocello. He reminds me of Mark from Season 4, and he's off to choreography and then to Vegas.

Good Dancing Montage.

David "Sex" Soller - This year he comes with his mom! But it's still a no go.

Leonid Knyshov - Creepy! Talks about his many websites, one of which is about making your dating profile more likeable. I can already tell this has disaster written all over it. He does a lot of body moving, all around the stage. Basically just jumping, bouncing, spinning, waving his arms, and dancing like he was at a rave. Nigel says it was "indescribable!" Leo says he has been trained in many different types of dance, although it doesn't look like it all ALL.

Mia wants to see a battle between him and Sex. Sex's mom tells him to "Go for it!"

It's just a mess, a hot mess! They play it up, like it's a boxing match, with Round 1 going to Sex. They shake hands before going to the judges for the ultimate winner. Mia thinks Leo won, Mary goes with Leo, but Nigel sticks with Sex.

Nigel puts Sex through to the choreography round- he thinks that it's the only way he will get a reality check. And it's just sad, I feel embarrassed for him.

That puts an end to the first round of auditions. This episode had too many bad dancers and not enough good ones. Yesterday it seemed like everyone was great, but today, not so much. Next week begins the Vegas round! I'm excited to see who makes it into the Top 20. Although I'm sad that we will no longer have to hear "Cue Music" from Nigel, haha. Joking.

The Trash

Spencer loves to throw things away, and she's very good at it. She has her own trash can, and periodically throughout the day, I will hear it open and close. She loves it so much that makes her own garbage just so she can throw it away! Example: She pulls out a tissue, blows her nose, throws the tissue away; Repeat cycle 4-8 times.

Every day I have go back through her trash can (she only uses "hers") and make sure she hasn't thrown anything away that shouldn't be there. I always find something- pacifiers, little travel bottles of soap, fully wrapped granola bars, earrings... you name if, I've found it in the garbage. Oh yeah, my new tooth brush, which stayed in the trash. This will be my 3rd tooth brush in one month!

But it's just so darn cute, not to mention, occasionally, helpful. There's never any garbage laying around, as soon as she thinks she sees something that's trash. she's off to go throw it away.


In other Spencer news. she is now answering the house telephone. No matter where she is in the house, she will answer that phone within 3 rings, and say "Hello, Hello!" Luckily, only family members ever call that phone!

So You Think You Can Dance - Recap

The auditions are starting off in Miami, and Cat, as always, wears a smashing array of fabulous outfits. Tyce Diorio is the guest judge.

Tony Riendeau- Moves like a rubber band, so he says, and "anything goes." He reminds me of the funny guy/awful dancer character in a movies. Dances to Footloose which, as a song, I love, but he is really bad, at "Tony-Style" dancing. And then he falls down, and I feel badly for him. Mary says the same thing about him that I did (about the movie character dancing) and Tyce tells him he's awful, but appreciates that he's "quirky, kooky Tony." Then he has an asthma attack, I think.

Priscilla Marrero - Raised in Miami, she is spicy and saucy! Beautiful dancer, excellent extension and lines- great use of the music. She gives a really good performance, I was really captivated by her. Tyce LOVES her. She gets a ticket to Vegas.

Janette Manrara and Romulo Villaverde - They auditioned last year, they're ballroom dancers, she got through to Vegas, he didn't, but they are back again, dancing a Salsa. They do some very cool lifts and moves, and their footwork looks great (to me). Wow, their tricks are amazing. I think they are really exciting to watch! One of the best ballroom routines I've seen. Mary gives her a scream and they go to Vegas!

Jessica & Jennifer Guadix - Twins from Miami, I can already tell by their warm-up that this isn't going to be a Vegas bound group. And I'm right, they do some kind of weird stretching and gyrations, followed by some other random dance movies, some of which are pretty funny. Tyce said they were tragic, Mary said she had never seen anything like that before, and Nigel says this dance competition wasn't for them.

Bad Dancer Montage, with Tyce laying it on thick with the insults. I wonder where he comes up with these things? Some of them are really mean.

Joseph Smith- Hip Hop, really fun to watch, you can tell he's having a good time out there. Likes to use the word "Sha-Wam" which can be altered to "Sha-Whiz-Am!" But only for something really great. He gets put through to choreography and then on to Vegas. I'm really happy for him!

Wislande Letang - Hip Hop, I think, she's really not very good, although she does do the splits well. She didn't smile or try to sell the routine, she and Tyce have a little riff, and she decides to recommit to her education.

Bad Dance Montage. Mostly of people who were devastated after being informed that they had no dancing skills, whatsoever.

Erik "Silky" Moore - Tapping to Thriller. He is SO cute, just adorable, and he has the cutest smile. Great Moonwalk, worm, and reverse worm- I hope he's in the Top 20, because he makes me smile. Nigel says he "cleaned up and threw everything in but the kitchen sink!" Mary and Tyce both love him. He started tap dancing because his older brother used to tap, and he got a lot of ladies that way, haha. He's going to Vegas!

Paris Torres - She's wearing a tutu, which I love, and has a really beautiful jump. She reminds me a little bit of Courtney Galliano (Season 4). Tyce wants her to do choreography, but Mary and Nigel disagree and she goes straight through to Vegas.

Montage of some good dancers!

Megan Kinney - Contemporary dancer- they only show a brief snippet of her routine, but she looks like she's very gifted and talented. She's off to Vegas.

Alex Wong - Brief recap of his routine, I really wish we got to see the entire thing, because he looks great. Tyce says he's strong and masculine with great lines. Off to Vegas.

Geo Smith - He does a "native" African dance, with full outfit ensemble- feathers and beads, etc. They think he was entertaining, I think he did really well, considering what he was wearing. He gets sent to choreography and then to Vegas!

Talia Rickards - A widow, dancing brings her a little bit of joy in life. Her husband, they were high school sweethearts, died in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. She's fun to watch, and her story is so sad. Mary says she sees potential, but there's not enough depth, they decide to send her to the choreography round and in the end, she off to Vegas. Unfortunately, I would be surprised if she makes it any further than that.

This puts an end to the Miami auditions, they're now off to Memphis, TN. Nigel tells Tyce to not be so mean to the dancers. They showed a lot more of the good dancers this round, just look at all that red up there. Lil' C is the guest judge, I'm excited, he cracks me up with his philosophical critiques!

Marico Flake- He's a police officer in Memphis, patroling the entertainment district, and does a very interesting style of dance, called Memphis Juking. I'm really not clear on the correct pronunciation, and that's after a few DVR rewinds. If anyone out there knows, please tell me. Memphis Juking has been around for over 20 years, but has remained mostly underground; it emphasizes bounce, smoothness, and body control. He's a really cool dancer, kinda Twitch Boss-esque. Lil' C seems to dig him and so do I! Off to Vegas.

Dustin Dorough- Claims he's a cousin of Backstreet Boy, Howie. Kind of fitness dancing style, I guess. He does some pretty funny moves, but there is no way he's a hip hop dancer. Says he's still getting over the flu and bronchitis, and so he's not at his "full power." Mary and Nigel have nothing positive to say, except that he has a big strong body, but Lil' C says he should consider a style called Tricking, a fusion of martial arts and b-boy.

Christopher Carrozza - He's invented his own style, called Electric, which is a fusion of everything. It's Ridiculous. His long red dreadlocks are bouncing in the wind, and he's just jumping around waving his arms with the music. He's very rude to the judges, and rips off his contestant sticker as he walks away. Nigel gets very annoyed, and gives him a piece of his mind.

This prompts The Guide to a Good Audition

1. Always start with your best move.
2. Come dressed to impress.
3. Connect with the judges.
4. Always follow directions.

Caitlin Kinney- Her sister auditioned earlier (Megan). I think she's incredible, every move she does is accentuated and beautiful. I wonder if she was a gymnast before she was a dancer? She was, which I'm guessing prompted her hip reconstruction surgery. She danced to Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. Nigel thinks America will love her and I agree, she's amazing. Mary says it's her destiny and Lil' C says she was captivating and a blessing to watch. I predict she'll be one of the Top 20.

Anna Dunn - Her dad committed suicide last year, and dancing has been an outlet for her pain, as she has a really hard time talking about it. Her dad was a dreamer and she thinks he would be really proud of her. I think she's really great, although I feel like I've seen this routine a bunch. (Kind of like a toy doll, or puppet, being pulled by strings). Nigel says she's too over-choreographed and that they need to get some feeling from her. She's a real cute-pie, I can see her doing really well in the competition. Lil' C says his father took his own life as well, (I'm tearing up now) and that she needs to use her pain when she dances. She goes off to choreography and then to Vegas!

Michael Prokop - His dad is the local high school football coach, which of course resulted in a lot of teasing from kids, but his dad is very supportive of him dancing. Nigel thinks he needs a little more work, and he does. He is very graceful, and I wish he had done better. They send him off to choreography, yea! I think he will be back next year and do a bang-up job. The judges see great improvement in him in the choreography round and they send him to Vegas!

Evan Kasprzak - Got cut last year, after making it to Vegas and the Top 40. He's back and dancing to Sinatra. He's adorable, I love him. He looks like he should have been an extra on Newsies. Nigel likes his routine because it had a beginning, middle, and end. They worry other styles will be difficult for him. Lil' C thought he was amazing, and he's going to Vegas!

Lauren & Lydia Guerra - Twins, a sister duo- They think dancing together makes them unstoppable. They are not perfectly in sync, but they're pretty good. One has power and one has expression, which together makes them one really good dancer. They're going to choreography and Nigel does a little teasing, but they're both going to Vegas.

Ryan Kasprzak- Evan's brother, he does a tap routine a capella, he's funny! I think he'd do will in Vegas, literally Las Vegas, he's a great showman. They're sending him to Vegas! They have go to be the cutest brother duo, ever.

That puts an end to this SYTYCD recap, whew, I'm tired. Tomorrow night we'll see the auditions from LA and Seattle.

Verify You're a Human

My latest word verification! Do you think it's a noun or a verb?

Warning... Boring Post Ahead

I haven't done our weekend recap, so I guess I need to do that. Saturday afternoon we had a birthday party out in Farmville, VA. It was a really pleasant ride, Spencer slept the whole way there- over an hour each way. The drive was beautiful, through lots of hilly farmland, with little Farmer's Markets dotting the road.

Spencer met a little boy at the party and they really hit it off! He was such a gentleman(boy), and would always let her go down the slide first. When we had to leave he said, "I yove you. Don't you yove me?" It was SO cute, of course Spencer couldn't really answer, but she gave him a big hug, and I almost cried. (She's growing up too fast!)

Of course you know what happened Saturday night, with the cricket spider, ewww! We didn't do much on Sunday, and yesterday we went to my parents house for a cookout, to celebrate Memorial Day. My brother was in a volleyball tournament this whole weekend, so we didn't really get to see much of them.

Today it was kind of iffy outside, so we couldn't spend as much time outside as we usually do. That doesn't bode well for tonight! I'm sorry that this is like the MOST boring post ever. I promise to do better tomorrow, after all, we have a big trip planned to the grocery store!

My Skin is Crawling

EWWWWW! I HATE, loathe, despise, etc., spiders. I don't want to sound all girlie girl, because I can handle some insects, they don't put me into freeze- want to call my dad so he can come and kill it- mode.

About 5 minutes ago I saw a spider, and not just any spider, a cricket spider! I was going to put up a picture of them, but they are so disgusting looking, I don't want it on here looking at me (or you) with it's beady little eyes. Do a Google image search, you'll see what I'm talking about. The thing that makes them so bad, is that they jump- leap is more of an accurate description, long and high.

So I saw the beast, standing between me and the bathroom, and of course I froze, afraid if I moved, it would get away and then come kill me in the night. When I decided to use my shoe, I went in for the kill, and it started jumping all around, so of course I started screaming (thank goodness Spencer didn't wake up!) That's when I got the genius idea to use the vacuum, and I sucked it right up! The kiddo slept through the whole thing.

Feeling rather proud of myself, I sat down on the sofa, still too afraid to go to the bathroom. All of a sudden I heard this weird noise and I jumped up and did a whole body shake to make sure there were no bugs or spiders on me. But the noise was coming from the vacuum! I got a little closer, not too close- to be sure, and listened. I heard it again.

LIGHT BULB!

The cricket spider is alive and jumping around inside of my vacuum. I keep saying that to myself, over and over in a very calm voice, as if that will make it all better. The cricket spider is alive and jumping around inside of my vacuum.

Right now I'm as jumpy as a two year old in a bouncy castle! I keep thinking that there are bugs crawling all over me and paranoia has now taken over. [Insert body shudder] As soon as I finish this up, I'm doing a floor to ceiling house check for any other potential living things that might have taken up residence in my house. What a way to spend a Saturday night!

P.S. I wasn't always afraid of spiders, ironically, my fear went from 0% to about 97% after I watched Arachnophobia. It was one of the those rare times when I was able to convince my parents to let me watch a PG-13 movie when I was 11; and I have never been the same since. If you've never seen the movie, don't watch it, and if you have, then you probably know what I mean.

Happy Trails

Spencer and I are off to a birthday party for one of her "friends!" It's over an hour away, so we need all the happy trails good vibes we can get. I'm hoping that since she woke up 6am, yes you read that correctly, that she will sleep the whole way. I have a book on CD that I really want to listen to, so I'm hoping that all goes well. I should have some pretty cute pictures to post when we get back. I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend!!

Male Baton Twirling

Last night a man trying out for SYTYCD, Thomas Martin, said he was a champion baton twirler. This left many a question in my mind, so this morning I decided to do a little research on the topic. I found out some pretty interesting things.

Until the 1930's, baton twirling was done by men- it evolved from the drum majors with their mallets. Then girls started to twirl and the batons became lighter and more hallowed out. It started being seen as a female only sport/activity. Cheerleading also was done exclusively by males until females began participating and eventually took over. While there are many male cheerleaders today, it's still not that common of a sport for men. Baton twirling has taken an even longer time to get men back in the sport, but there are a few out there- mostly one lone man on an all female squad.

**UPDATE: A more representative example of male baton twirling- Mark Nash. A VERY impressive performance!

The things you learn everyday!

So You Think You Can Dance- Recap

Auditions start out in Brooklyn, NY. I'm really just going to post some of my thoughts about the first round of dancers. Tabitha and Napoleon D' Umo are the guest judges. They do show so many terrible ones, so I probably won't get to mention all of them. The ones in red are going on to Vegas

Gabi Rojas- She suffers from rheumatoid arthritis- and dancing doesn't help her joints, now or in the long run. I know her style is contemporary, but it's also very "performance art" style- IMO. She's excellent, they give her a standing ovation. Her routine reminded me a little of Hok and Jaimie's (Wade Robson choreograped) "Hummingbird" in Season 3. She's going to Vegas, Nigel predicts she'll be in the Top 20, and I agree.

Weird weird contortionists- Mutation style dance form, and some really sick out of place joints. They make it to the choreography, but decide to leave. I'm really not surprised.

Crazy Kate and Just Ron- Ballroom-Terrible, but with some spice.

Pete Sabasino-The Tapper - From Philly with a lot of muscles, Nigel says he looks like a boxer! I think he's really good, Mary hates his outfit (Skinny wife-beater T-shirt, long baggy shorts) but loves him. Apparently a tap dancer has never made it into the Top 20 before, he thinks he's going to be the first. I hope he can do other styles well, because he's cute! Going to Vegas!

Tiffany Geigel - has a pronounced disability, almost no neck. I believe she suffers from Klippel-Feil I cried when she was talking about how people make fun of her everyday- she only has three out of seven vertebrae, BRAVE! She doesn't go any farther and she said she didn't expect to, she only wanted to show that all dancers don't have to look the same- She is a DANCER!

Maksim Kapitannikov- Ballroom dance with former SYTYCDer Faina Savich from Season 3, I'm not a big ballroom fan or very knowledgeable about it, but he was good. I don't really think he'll go very far if he goes to Vegas though. They send him to the choreography round and then off to Vegas, but he's no Pasha Kovalev (from Season 3).

Dancing Montage, no names, Going to Vegas.

Nobuya Nagahama - Voguing, Popping and Locking, Breaking, Funk Jazz, A Bunch of Crazy style. He's from Tokyo, Japan. Very good at using the music, especially with this little heart thing he does with his hands! Napolean compared him to Hilty & Bosch. He's going to the choreography round- YEA! He's going to Vegas!

Lauren Gottlieb is back, teaching the choreography round!

Day 2 of NY Auditions. I love how Cat Deeley says "Judges," it's so cute- "Jih-Jihs."

Arielle Taylor- Auditioned for season three, but was still in high school, got cut in the last Vegas round. Contemporary style, I think she's wonderful, very good jumps! Going to Vegas.

Thomas Martin- Claims that he was the number one national baton twirler, for six years running, when he was younger. I honestly didn't know there were male baton twirlers, and that they had competitions. He wouldn't be a majorette, so what are male baton twirlers called? If you know, please tell me. They do a Balero style dance and he's in all black with a turtleneck on, it looks like Lycra. AWFUL. SO BAD! He loves to perform, he says. He seems shocked that they don't like him. Flabbergasted, actually. I feel sorry for him, why doesn't someone who loves him tell him not to do this?

Dancing montage of really bad dancers.

Nina Estrina and Igor Zabrodin- Latin ballroom dancers, doing the Cha--Cha, she does a really low spin for a long, long time! I can't believe she didn't fall over from the dizziness! You could see her spotting on the spins, but at the end, you could see her spot waver a bit. Going to choreography round- Igor is going to Vegas, Nina isn't. That surprises me, because I thought Igor looked out of place doing the choreography.

Kellen Stancil- Uses an umbrella, contemporary, a little weird, but a beautiful dancer. His lines are excellent and his movements are very fluid. He breaks down in tears talking about his recently deceased aunt, saying she's the umbrella protecting him from the storm, his shelter and comfort. A tad too emotional for my personal taste, but I can't deny that he's a gifted dancer. Going to Vegas.

Chimezie Nwosu- Hip hop, really cool performance. I like how he uses the music, especially the honks and beeps. He doesn't like it when people keep mispronouncing his name, which Nigel does repeatedly. He's going to the choreography round. Napoleon thinks he will be able to work wonders with him once he gives him some good choreography. Yea!! He's going to Vegas!

They're done with New York now, on to the Mile High City- Denver, CO. Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo are not judging this leg of the auditions. I know everyone loves Mia Michaels, and she's great, (okay, she's a but mouthy, but her choreography is generally excellent) but I love Tabitha and Napoleon. Almost all of my favorite performances last year were choreographed by them. Sonya Tayeh is the guest judge. I don't know all that much about her, except that she choreographed last year critically acclaimed "The Garden" with Mark and Courtney. And she raocks a fierce mohawk. P.S. I love how Nigel's hair drastically changes between the rounds!

Kayla Rodomski- They do a past story, her father left when she was very young and she and her mom went to live with her grandparents so they could afford all of her dance classes. Contemporary, kinda reminds me of Kortni, from last season, going to to Vegas. Her Grandpa starts to cry! Sweet.

Dancing montage of good dancers, Sonya loves all of them!

Misha Belfer and Mitchel Kilber-- Ballroom dancers- Same-Sex ballroom dancing is their forte, though only one of them is gay. I think they're kinda fabulous until they fall down. Like fall down in a can't recover kind of way. Nigel compares them to Will Farrell in Blades of Glory. Nigel doesn't like them as a pair, shocker. Mary says their technique needs work. Even bigger shocker (I'm not being funny here) is Nigel wants to see them dance with girls, but they fail to impress them. And they do need some work.

Allison Moist - (I hope that's not her real name)- Dancing to the theme from Star Wars, with light sabers, and lion ears and face drawn on- whiskers and everything! Before she said her face was painted like a lion, I thought she was trying to do her best Ewok. Oops. Um, not good. I feel too bad to say anything else about her, because she left the stage in tears. Mary says she pranced instead of danced. Sonya, after gaining control over her bout of hysterical laughter, says she flailed her body around. Nigel said she was obviously from another galaxy, far far away. They were mean to her.

Dancing montage of bad dancers. Really. Really. Really. Bad. Dancers.

Elias Holloway- brings his younger brother for dancing support, but he's not trying out. They do hip hop and pop-locking. I know the difference between popping and locking, but I don't know what pop-locking is- I'm going to have to look it up afterwards. They both seem a little strange, but he was very entertaining. He's going on to choreography. He doesn't do very well, Mary says he needs more training, but please come back next year and try out again.

Natalie Reid- who lost on the last spot last year, to her best friend Katee (Katie) Shean (who went on to the final four). She's a beautiful dancer, I'm glad she's back. Even if I didn't know that she and Katie were roomates and best friends, I would still think their style is almost identical. Every single movement is pronounced, even her fingers! Sonya LOVES her. Mary gets teary, says she's "very organic." Nigel says she's going to Vegas!

Brandon Bryant- the guy who lost out on the last spot to Gev Manoukian last year. Wow! He's intense and so is the music, O Fortuna Carmina Burana. I think he's pretty incredible, I'm not a fan of his shorts, but he's amazing. Mary starts bawling, through her tears she tells him he's everything a dancer should be. Nigel says he is a beautiful dancer. He was cut last year because he didn't let enough of his personality show through. I hope he's gotten better at it, because I really like him. He's going to Vegas!

Next week they're going to Miami and Memphis. So this concludes my SYTYCD recap.

Oh, I looked up "Pop-Locking" and Wikipedia, says it's a term that "gained popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s in some circles around Los Angeles as a general slang term for popping and its integrated styles. The term is controversial because some believe it generates connotative confusion by incorporating the word "locking", which also is the name of another distinct style of street dance (see locking) that is generally kept separate from popping compared to its more integrated styles." Okay, now I'm really done!

American Idol, Huh? So You Think You Dance?!

I am one of the very few Americans who HATE American Idol, I can honestly, and proudly, sat that I have never watched one complete episode! But it's not like I can live in this world and not know what's going on- it's everywhere you look. But tonight starts my favorite show, So You Think You Can Dance!

I was a little late to the SYTYCD hot tamale train, I didn't start watching until half way through season 2, when Travis inexplicably lost to Benji. Ever since then I've been hooked- it's the only show that I've ever voted on. I think what I love best about it is how hard these dancers have had to work to get where they are. Yes, there is a certain amount of innate talent involved, but so much of it is practice and dedication. Anyone can be born with a good voice, and not that there isn't work involved in honing that talent, but it's different.

I can't wait to see the new batch of talent this season, even though these first few episodes show as many awful dancers as they do good ones. Last year I was a huge Twitch Boss and Gev fan, but I also liked Joshua Allen, and I was happy he won. Who did you root for last year, if you watched?

In other blog business, Hayley tagged me in this alphabet survey, 10 Things I Love That Start With 'S'.

1. Spencer
2. Sleep
3. So You Think You Can Dance
   
4. Storms
5. Stars (the ones in the sky and the famous ones!)
6. Sunny Days
7. Spas
8. Sundaes
9. Spider Lilies
10. Snooze Button

Back in the Day

This would be me, circa 1996- please note the outdated scrunchie (outdated even for 1996) in my hair. I'm about 60% sure this picture was taken during cheerleading/gymnastics camp in Charlotte, NC. There's a 40% in could have been at the University of North Carolina. Either way, it was 1996 in North Carolina.

I used to cheer for Hilda McDaniel, the founder of All-Star Cheering; that means we only competed, we didn't "root" for anyone but ourselves.. To say the pressure was intense would be a huge understatement! I really loved it for awhile, and I was good at it. I won the All-American Cheerleading award in 1997, which is the most prestigious award in cheerleading (weird, I know). I had to try out for All-American status, in front of gazillions of people, being judged on technique, jumps, tumbling, spirit and overall crowd appeal.

I was only 15 then, but I'd already started to grow tired of it. I can't adequately describe the pressure and give it justice, because it seems so silly now. Even now, years after my cheerleading "career" ended, I have frequent dreams where I'm in the middle of a competition and I can't do a back-flip anymore. There are different variations on this dream- I can't do a twist, layout, handspring, or I forgot the routine.

I eventually decided that I had to stop cheering for either my high school squad or my All-Star squad. I ended up choosing to stay with high school because I felt there was nothing left I wanted/needed to accomplish in the AS world. And I didn't love it anymore, and you really need to love something if you're going to sink 10-15 hours a week in it (that didn't even count on my high school practices and games, or gymnastic classes/practices). I also really wanted to do show choir and there was no way I could do all of them. (Did anyone watch GLEE last night?)


Most people who know me in real life ALWAYS ask me if Spencer is going to be a cheerleader. My immediate, gut response is always an emphatic "No!" But I don't really mean that, Spencer can do whatever she wants. It's just me, being selfish, not wanting to be immersed in those thoughts and feelings again.

The next question people ask me is why I didn't cheer in college. There are two reasons: the first being I severely dislocated my shoulder and tore my rotator cuff at a pep rally my junior year. That ended any possibility of cheering for a big school. I never planned on that, I always wanted to go to W&;M, but you never know. There were a lot of times when I wondered if I should go to a big school and cheer- what else had I been working towards all these years? For most cheerleaders, that's the ultimate dream, and there I was turning my nose up at it. So when I hurt my shoulder, I really felt that it was a sign from the cosmos. The second reason, and not to put down W&M in any way- because I LOVE that school, but my middle school squad was better than theirs. (And no offense to the cheering squad there, either!  There were definitely some great cheerleaders, they were just not in the majority)

That is the story of my cheer history! I used to omit my cheer history whenever I met someone new, mostly because people always assumed it meant I was a dumb, snobby slut. But that makes me mad at myself, I should be proud that there was a time in my life when I was really really good at something! (even if it was cheerleading!) Now this isn't a video of us, I only have VHS tapes so I can't upload it, but just so you have an idea of the level of competition, here is a video of Hilda's current team, Cheer Factory.

Retail Therapy Spending

Whenever I need a boost in spirits, I indulge in retail therapy. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but this is why I have had to make some rules for myself regarding spending.

Katie's 7 Rules of Retail Therapy Spending

1. If I buy something, I must sell something. They don't have to be the same value, but if I buy something I don't need, then I sell something on eBay that I no longer want. That way there is still money coming in and not just money going out.
   
2. I give myself a price limit before indulging. The price can vary, depending on my financial situation and the reason why I'm feeling I need retail therapy. Ex. A big fight with friends or family may have a $50 limit, whereas a difficult day with Spencer would probably have a $15 limit.
   
3. There is also a monthly limit that I give myself. If I spent $15 every difficult day with Spencer, that would roughly be about $300 a month! By setting a monthly limit, I have to decide what warrants retail therapy and warrants a nap and some Hershey's kisses. This month had a $75 limit, some months have more, others have less.
4. Retail therapy spending, (RTS) always comes from my PayPal account. I take the allotted amount out at the beginning of each month and put it into my regular account. I must always have at least $300 dollars in PP, I never let myself go under that amount, at least in terms of RTS. If I only have $350 in there at the beginning of the month, then I can only take $50 to spend.
   
5. If I don't spend the full designated amount in that month, I put it back into PayPal. Some months are more difficult than others, and I like to have a little cushion for freedom, just in case.
6. Know when to say NO. If my first thought is "I don't know if that's worth the money" then it isn't. I usually prefer to spend smaller amounts on many things than a large amount on one item.
7. RTS is only on me! Almost all of my money is spent on Spencer, so RTS only really works if it's something for me.

These are my purchases for this month, and I'm proud to say that the most expensive item was $6! For all of these items, I spent $20!!

Vintage flower pots with a really cool removable base.

As you all know, I am a Kappa Kappa Gamma. Our symbol is the Key and and our colors are blue and blue (different shades of blue). So when I saw this for sale at Maisy's Market, for just $4, I knew it was meant to be mine!

Little white vases

Mini vintage flower pots.


This is 50 tulip poppy seeds, for just $1.99!

This month's theme seems to be flowers, I keep gravitating towards anything having to do with them. So that's how I indulge myself, without going over the top. What are somethings you all do to boost your spirits?

After All These Years

When I was in Italy, I was only 20, so recipes and cooking weren't high on my list of priorities. But there was one dish that our host made for us that I loved so much, I had to get the recipe. Somewhere in the jumble of life post-graduation, I lost my Italy notebook that contained the recipe. (Remember, I keep everything!) I was really upset when I couldn't find it because I could not, for the life of me, remember what the name of the recipe was.

I even went to the Italian grocery store in town here and tried to describe the contents of the dish, but they had no clue. And I don't blame them- I was like "It has these things in it that are like nuts, but they aren't, I think, and it can go with pasta, and it's REALLY popular in Italy!" I finally gave up, even though it's irked me all these years. Every time I go to an Italian restaurant I would always check to see if it was on the menu, thinking that if I saw the name written out, I'd recognize it. But that never happened either.

So last night I went into the attic to put some things away (to keep them from Spencer) and I saw an old crate filled with my things. I know I didn't put it up there, so I was curious and started going through it. Most it was junk, an old hula man that sat on the dashboard of my car during high school- type things. But as I neared the bottom, I saw it! A beat up old black notebook that had Italian words written on it. I could the Hallelujah Chorus of the Angels!

I didn't look at anything else in it, I immediately went to the page where I knew the recipe was written. There it was- "Farro Con Pesto." It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to remember, but it's name has alluded me all these years! It's supposed to be "Farro con il Pesto," but Italian grammar was never my strong suit! haha.


The funniest part of the whole thing is that I wrote it out in Italian and in the metric system! I guess I was trying to assimilate to all things Italian, but the first thing I thought to myself as I read it was "wow, pretentious much?!" Luckily I still know enough to understand the majority of it, so at least that part of my brain is working okay.

I know you're on the edge of your seats for the recipe, which is SUPER easy, delicious, and it will be a great addition to you Vegetarians out there.

Pesto

• A lot of basil, about 1 and 1/2 to 3 ounces, per your liking
• Handful of pine nuts, about 1.4 ounces
  
• 4 and 1/2 ounces of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. of salt
• Pinch of garlic- per your liking
• 1 and 3/4 ounces of Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Take the basil, pine nuts, and garlic mix them together in a bowl
• Crush them together and mix well
• Add oil, salt and Parmesan

Farro

• Cook 0.55 quarts of Farro (that's a little more than 1/2 of a quart, it's exactly 17.6 ounces)
• Use a lot of water and salt, and cook for 30 minutes (remember to stir!)
• Drain the water and refrigerate
• Mix the farro with the pesto sauce
• Optional - add 4 tomatoes chopped in small pieces

Buon Appetito!

Some of the conversions are a little wonky, due to the fact that it was in grams. In case you don't know what farro is, or if they tell you it's not at the grocery store, it is sometimes called Emmer Wheat, more specifically, Triticum dicoccon. Here is a picture of it.

Big Girl Shoes

Yesterday, Spencer decided she wanted to go "bye-bye" and she proceeded to do all the necessary things that I always do before we go anywhere.

Find the phone and call our visitees.

She put on "her" shoes- my old Kappa flip flops.

Had to do a shoe reboot, and get the purse.

Got to have the money, honey! .

Found her noonie and "Come on Mum Me, let's go!"

Honestly, I didn't tell her to do any of this, I just sat back and watched in amazement (and took pictures of it) as she got herself ready, just like I would have done. Unfortunately, this was at 8pm and we did not go "bye bye." All dressed up and no where to go!

You Are Who You Love

When I was three years old, I was in love with my babysitter's 25 year old son. I wanted to marry him and I was quite jealous of his finance. For some reason, they liked me and I was invited to their wedding. I can still remember it- my embarrassed dad carrying me out of the church, while the ceremony was in progress, as I kicked and screamed and wailed that I didn't want him to get married! I shudder at this memory, luckily, years later, the happy couple like to tell it as one of their "funny wedding stories," of which I am the highlight/punchline.

It seems that this was a foreboding omen of the boys/men I would come to like in the future- The Unattainable One. Okay, now I realize that celebrity crushes are completely unrealistic and fantastical, but even most of my celebrity crushes were the bad boys. It all started with Uncle Jesse.

Uncle Jesse was the first poster of a male that I had hanging in my bedroom. Please note, it was Uncle Jesse, not John Stamos! And when he'd play his bongs- pitter patter went my heart!



Next came Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block. He wasn't the bad one of the group, but all of my friends loved Joey McEntire. (This was when we were 8-10yrs old) My first concert was actually the New Kids, with Tiffany as their opener. We were like 2 rows from the top of the stadium, so I had to watch the whole thing on the jumbo tron, but it was one of the most exhilarating moments of my first eight years on Earth!

I first saw Gone With the Wind when I was in the 3rd grade and became immediately infatuated with the great Rhett Butler. I even made my mom buy the book- which took me about 2 months to finish. I still remember how crestfallen I was when I realized that Rhett Butler wasn't real and Clark Gable was dead. But he was so passionate, and he bought Bonny Blue a pony, and I loved that.

Now we get to my first real lusty crush- Chris O'Donnell. I fell in lust with him during Mad Love and even more so after Circle of Friends. I still have this huge (5ft x 3ft) Mad Love movie poster that I got for my 14th Birthday from some equally infatuated friends! No, it's no longer hanging up. Most of my tweeny crushes now cause me mild embarrasment, (like Scott Baio) but not Chris. He was on NCIS the other night and he is still foxy.

I was never a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, but I really loved Romeo & Juliet; hence, my temporary crush on Romeo Montague, as played by Leo DiCaprio. He looked really good in that movie, way better than in Titanic! (at least I think so.)

Jordan Catalano. Made my heart swoon with all of his bad boy, emotionally stunted-ness; Jared Leto, not so much. I have probably watched the Boiler Room episode of MSCL like 30 times. One of my first realizations that it seemed possible that the good girl could tame the wild boy. That she was so great he would change his crazy ways for her. Please note, this is an Urban Legend.

What about the rest of you? Who were you're crushes in during your pre-teen, teen years? Any really embarrassing ones?

To Tweak or Not to Tweak

I got some really cute pictures of Spencer yesterday, and I thought I'd play around with them a little. These were taken on our daily walk around the neighborhood.

Original

Vintagey

Vintage-ier

Original

Just a little bit of tweaking.

And then I got a little carried away! It's hard sometimes to say ENOUGH, when it comes to photoshop editing. But I still like how it turned out, although I have no clue how I actually created it.

One of my new flowers!

A completely untouched photo, except for cropping. Spencer insists on bringing a purse with her when we go out, even if it's just on our stroll. This is her favorite of my purses, and it's just the right size- big enough that's it's still "Mum Me's bah" (bag) but not so large that it bigger than she is. (My really big bags are her favorite ones to carry around, I don't know why.) After she dropped it for the 100th time, I fastened it to her stroller strap.

I hope everyone has a great Friday!!