Gettin' Warmer!

My niece Rachel turned three this month! Since turning three also means she gets to start dance with Miss Caté, I made her a hat and some leg warmers for her birthday.  She picked out the yarn when I was in CA in March (of course, that was ages and ages ago, so she didn't remember at all) :)  It's called "plum pudding" and I think it turned out pretty well.  I used flighty girl's hat pattern and just did a long tube for the leg warmers.

Cute, huh? :) Now Beth--you'll have to get a picture of Rachel-ee dancing in them!

Also, I made a hat for Giulia from the leftover yarn she picked out for her leg warmers back in January.  As I was knitting the hat, it began to resemble a "shapeless felt bag" rather than a cute, fluffy, pink hat, so I had to modify it a bit.. I think it turned out alright :) despite the blurry picture. Summer will have to get a better picture of it when it gets colder in Colorado!

Dance, Ballerina, Dance!

This is Giulia, one of my sweet little nieces. I knitted her some legwarmers for her birthday this year while I was in CA. "I want pink. Pink is my favorite color" (be sure to anunciate EVERY syllable of "favorite"). It seems that she likes them!

(And they're machine washable and dryable, just so you know, Summer!)

The Dancer In Me

Looking for pictures for my last post (I wanted some waltz move that was wild and extravagant--something I can't teach and my friend's won't have time to learn--just to be silly), I came across this quiz. Here are my results:

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You Scored as ChaCha

You are Cha Cha! Flirtatious and fun, you are the life of the party. People tend to add syllables to your name and count you incorrectly. You are versatile, approachable, and best when syncopated. For someone so sexy, you are a lot less of a tramp than most.

Cha Cha - 92%

Rumba - 83%

Samba - 75%

Viennese Waltz - 67%

Jive - 67%

Waltz - 67%

PasoDolble - 58%

Quickstep - 58%

Foxtrot - 58%

Tango - 50%

The first time I took the quiz it said I was Viennese Waltz. Which (honestly) I thought was just funny. That's one of my least favorite dances (too fast, stiff, and jerky). Of course, this quiz doesn't have West Coast Swing, which is (naturally) the best dance ever, so they couldn't get it right no matter how many times I took the quiz! They also didn't have Salsa, which is my second favorite dance. After those, though, here's how I would rank the dances they had:

Cha Cha

Samba (actually this one could be first--it varies on my mood and my partner)

Tango (and Argentine Tango!)

Foxtrot

Rumba

Waltz

Jive (I don't know Jive. I put it here because I imagine it's like swing. Somewhat.)

PasoDolble (I don't know this one either, but it sounds Latin-y and therefore outranks Viennese Waltz)

Viennese Waltz

Quickstep (Don't know it--but even though it might be "swingy" I don't think it's jazzy enough for me. I don't really like Lindy either. Even less than Viennese Waltz)

Which dance are you?

Dance Dance

Revolution! 

Well.. not really. We're actually waltzing. A lovely engaged couple T and I know are doing a (traditional!) waltz for their first dance at their wedding reception in December, and I offered to give them a few dance lessons. Even though they're paying me, it's really a great deal for everyone. I get to teach dance, they get to learn (at least, they get to try to learn from a not-professional teacher) for a great price! I don't think you'll find $20/hour private dance lessons anywhere else, but I may be wrong. Who knows? 

However, I think I got the better end of the deal :) It's not the $20 at all, but I get to teach dance again! I've decided I really love teaching, especially dance. Is there anyone in the Boston area who wants private dance lessons?! I'll teach you! 

I asked T if he'd take dance lessons from me. I want to teach him foxtrot because there are a lot of fun songs you can do to foxtrot (those songs that are not quite swingy enough for swing, even if it would work alright). He said he'd be glad to take lessons from me! He'll even pay me--his whole weekly salary for just one hour a week! How's that for a screamin' deal? :) But I guess that's the priveledge of spouses, right? 

We're having our next lesson on Election Day.. at least I'll have something to look forward to that day, huh? :)

'Tis the Season

Not the Christmas Season, but the wedding season! This is not a complaint at all--I'm just astounded at how many of our friends have been (or are, or will soon be) getting married! It may have been "just because" we got married that I started noticing, but the number of weddings we were invited to really seemed to increase once T and I "took the plunge." Actually, I really love it. So many good, holy, faithful couples getting married and devoting their lives to God's will and His gift of life (that's another side of the coin--SO MANY BABIES are coming (and have come) from these couples! I think openness to life is one of the most important aspects of getting married. If you're not ready to accept children, don't get married. (Sorry if that sounds harsh, it's just the way I feel)). The door of our fridge has had at least one wedding invitation on it for the past two years--this summer we've received well over 10! (For those who don't know, we always put any wedding invitations we receive on our fridge door to remind us to pray for the couples.) Anyway, the real reason for this post is because yesterday, T and I attended the absolutely beautiful wedding of Bridget and Yuri! T's family grew up with Yuri's family in the Seattle area and Yuri since moved to Boston for an MBA from Harvard. He met Bridget here (Bridget, a true Bostonian in the best (Irish) sense of the word!) :) and the wedding was held at Bridget's home parish. It was simply lovely. The readings were particularly beautiful. The first reading was Tobias' prayer with his new wife, Sarah on their wedding day (Tobit 8:4b-8). "Grant that she and I may find mercy, and that we may grow old together." The second reading from Ephesians 5 exhorted wives to submit to their husbands, and husbands to love their wives "as Christ loves the Church, giving Himself up for her " (Eph 5:25). But the gospel was the most intriguing. Bridget and Yuri chose the passage about the miraculous catch of fish from Luke (chapter 5). Jesus asks Peter to cast his nets again (after toiling fruitlessly all day), which Peter does. The result is a great abundance of fish! Bridget and Yuri chose this passage, the priest told us, because they realize their marriage will not be all sunshine and roses after the wedding day. There will be difficult times when their efforts seem fruitless, but if they truly trust in God, He will reward their labors. This couple knows that their wedding isn't all about them, it's about God--and God's love for them. And the reception was so much fun--yummy food, great conversations, old and new friends, dancing, and hugs all around! It was wonderful to catch up with so many friends (some of whom T hadn't seen in 10 years!) and spend time with a quality group of happy people. My feet hurt today from dancing, as well as my legs and my arms. But it was fun :) And Bridget and Yuri look so happy together. Praise God for such good couples, who are so focused on Him!

Shall We Dance?

So--I've been missing Spokane's fantastic dance scene (no joke--Spokane Dance is a quality studio!), and T and I finally decided to start looking for some place to dance in or around the Boston area. After a rather lengthy online search, we found a few near-ish places where we could practice a bit. And last night was our first night out dancing! I still miss Spokane Dance, but it was good to dress up again and put on my (favorite!) dancing shoes to tear it up on a real dance floor. We're both pretty out of practice, but it was still fun :) Then today I dug out all my old dancing notes from undergrad dance classes and private lessons. I took dance lessons for three years at GU and loved every minute of it! Of all the dances, my all time favorite was West Coast Swing. Buddy Schwimmer, one of the greatest swing dancers ever, came to Spokane Dance occasionally for weekend workshops. He is so amazing! I was fortunate enough to have taken a few private lessons with him, and several group lessons. (Here's a video of his son and daughter dancing, followed by a demo of Buddy and his wife. This man can move like you wouldn't believe!) Here is a better video of Buddy and his wife, Laurie (only the first 1/2 of the video). While I remember thoroughly enjoying every minute of the dancing, deciphering my sparse notes on the subject were another matter (even a copious-note-taker like me has a hard time jotting things down while dancing). T was good enough to let me play teacher for a little bit and helped me decode my notes: 'kick-bat-change, kick and press, cross, step, swivel, step, step" (etc, etc, etc) :) So we're enjoying getting back "into the swing of things" (if you will allow the pun) and are looking forward to perhaps taking lessons in the fall. Also, dancing is turning out to be fabulous exercise--I'm sore today in places I never would have guessed! Hopefully between dancing, walking, biking, and yoga I can get back in shape.

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This is Benji and Deborah Szekely in a Jack and Jill competition--I'm pretty sure that these two dances are all lead-and-follow (meaning that they were not rehearsed or choreographed beforehand). So amazing. I want to dance like this when T and I go out (especially the second dance)!! This is Benji and his cousin, Heidi, the most amazing dance partners EVER (also, in 2006, Benji won the SYTYCD competition. And I've actually danced with him!). The video explains it all--this is why I love west coast swing. I want to dance like Heidi; I want Benji to teach T all he knows. Here is another video (the performance before theie first video here). This is Buddy and Laurie Schwimmer, Benji's parents and Heidi's uncle and aunt.