Oh Christmas Tree

Although Christmas vacation was supposed to be a relaxing time full of non-excitement, it proved to be much different than planned.  Overall it’s been good, but very eventful and exhausting.  Because of everything going on, blogging was once again neglected.  If my blog was a plant it would have died by now!  Fortunately it’s not and my readers (whoever is left anyhow) are all still around!  I’m assuming you’ve all had your own things going on as well and probably not too much time to be sitting around reading!  I’m a little behind but I’m working on catching up!  Really, I am!  As promised, I finally have another post with pictures!  

Christmas is my all time favorite holiday.  It isn’t even the actual day of Christmas that I love so much but mostly the time leading up to it.  Everyone seems nicer (except AZ drivers), lights and decorations are everywhere, and beautiful songs fill the air.  Christmas is just amazing!  Because I love Christmas sooooo much, I seem to have accumulated a fairly large amount of Christmas decorations.  I'd post pics of them all but I think I'd be uploading all day!

Last year we decided to upgrade from our little $30 tree we had been using for years.  We found one on sale for an unbelievable price and now have a 9 ft. tree.  We paid less for the tree than many of the other 6 ft. ones so we were pretty proud of ourselves!  We’re renting our house until we decide where we want to settle down and now whenever I look at houses I’m concerned about vaulted ceilings to accommodate the tree!   I guess that’s what I get though!  Every year I typically go shopping the day after Christmas and I had built up a pretty big collection of ornaments.  Luckily, this meant that we had plenty to decorate the 9 ft. tree!  That tree is what I call our “pretty tree”.  The ornaments match for the most part and it looks pretty organized and well-thought out.   Getting the star on top is always a little tricky but Mr. C manages pretty well!

We always have a second tree though, and this is the one I love decorating the most. This tree has colored lights and the special ornaments – the ones that are unique and hold sentimental value.  Every year my mom gets me an ornament to represent something that happened that year.  This tree also holds ornaments from my childhood and ones that have been given to us over our years together.   We’ve bought ornaments from Disneyland over the past few visits and these flank the tree as well. I’m thinking we might need a slightly bigger tree because I had to leave off quite a few this year!

Almost every other room in the house is decorated with the exception of the office and guest room.  I feel like I finally had things figured out this year and the decorating was at it’s best! 

My mom always had a Christmas village that I LOVED setting up.  Over the years pieces were added and the decorating became more an more intricate.  I wanted a Christmas village of my own eventually.  A couple years ago we got our first piece for Christmas.  We’ve been adding to it ever since.  I think the Kohl’s employees know us now because we’ve taken advantage of the sales of their village pieces numerous times this month!  We’ve snagged a few display pieces for great prices and have managed to get everything we’ve bought on sale.  We had a lot of fun this year setting the village up, even though it meant moving our fish tank twice (I picked a bad spot the first time so after refilling it with water, we decided it had to be moved a couple days later.  Oops!).  In the end, it was all worth it.

I love sitting on the couch with all the Christmas lights on, the “normal” lights off, candles lit, and Christmas music playing.  There aren’t usually too many of these moments with the hustle and bustle that always occurs in December, but when I get these moments I try my best to enjoy them.  Every year I think that I’ll leave the decorations up for awhile longer to enjoy but then Christmas comes and I’m ready to take them down right away.  I’m thinking it’ll be pretty busy when we get back to AZ so we’ll see how long they actually stay up.  We did manage to overlook one of our mistletoe balls last year and it stayed up for the entire year because we were too lazy to move it and then at a certain point we figured there was no point!  We'll see if we remember to take it down this year :)  Not that Mr. C complained any.....

Whatever's below the Energizer Bunny. Energy wise anyhow - not actually below physically.

Do you even remember me anymore?  I’ve been pretty crazy busy the past few weeks so I apologize for the lack of writing. I think some days I forgot I even had a blog! Some awesome stuff has happened in the past few weeks so maybe I’ll write about that eventually. Some super non-awesome stuff has also occurred but I will not be writing about that because I don’t want to relive it again and who really wants to read that anyhow?

My mother once told Mr.C that I’m exhausting. Not exhausted but exhaustING. As in, I’m a lot of work to be around. The two of them are constantly amazed at my energy level. If something needs to get done, then it just needs to get done! I do use my Mt. Dew as a sort of power boost. It’s like nitrous for me (the car kind, not the kind they use at the dentist although for the record I LOVE that stuff. It makes the needles oh-so-less-scary)! I’ve also discovered that at a certain point, lack of sleep becomes normal and I’m able to get less and less sleep and more and more done! Unfortunately I’m not the energizer bunny (I'm just whatever's below him on the energizer scale) and at a point I do hit a wall, usually crashing one night and going to bed at a ridiculous hour like 7 pm. One time I actually went to bed at 6 pm. That was just terrible.

Last week was crazy but I feel so free this week (free of homework at least)! I've officially completed my second semester of grad school! That means 12 credits while working 40 hours a week, keeping our house in order, feeding my husband on a semi-regular basis, and trying to have a life! Sometimes I think I do challenging things just to prove to myself that I am capable of succeeding! I also have begun procrastinating which I think is just another attempt to prove to myself that I can still do things (and do them well), even when it seems impossible. The case of my awesome APA formatted 15 page research paper I wrote in one day is a great example of this! The only issue with me doing things like this is that I really have no sympathy for people who complain and really have nothing to back their complaints up with. I definitely buy into the idea that if you’re going to do something then you should do it to the best of your abilities! I do think this leads me to have high standards for everyone around me, something that has proven to not always work out too well.

My advisor told me that taking such a full schedule and working full-time was discouraged. I also love proving people wrong. It makes for some great motivation! Not only have I been fine handling the classes, but I’m also rocking the grades. I’m scared to actually write this and possibly jinx it but I’m hoping for straight A’s this semester. So far I’m halfway there! Apparently my other professors have busy lives and are taking their sweet time with grading final projects and tests.

While the semester was a lot of work, I’m pretty proud of myself. I’m super modest today, can’t you tell? There was a point where I wasn’t sure I was going to make it and considered dropping a class. I know there are plenty of people who think I’m crazy for getting a master’s degree especially when I still don’t know exactly what I’m going to do when I grow up! There are the others that look at me like I’m talking in a different language when I say what the degree is in (M.Ed. in Human Relations in case you’re wondering). It’s like déjà vu because that happened for my Bachelor’s degree too (Design Management – don’t ask!)! I think I’m finally to the point where I really don’t care what these people think! I’m just excited I’ll have my master’s degree at 25. I’ve also learned some amazing things about psychology, child development, and a bunch of other random things! That 15 page paper I wrote was about medical procedures used during childbirth and I can say now that I have a much better grasp of exactly what I want during labor, although we still have some time for that. I should also note that it slightly terrified me. I think I’m just one of those people who loves school (most of the time anyhow).

So anyhow, I guess the point of this post is that I’ve successfully made it through this semester! I wish you all a wonderful 9 more days to prepare for Christmas. We’re flying back to Nebraska in 2 days and I’m elated to be going home. I don’t make it back as often as I’d like so I’m always grateful when I get to see my family for the holidays since I miss them throughout the year. I’m sure I’ll be writing more about that later though. I promise my next post will actually include pictures and won’t take weeks to write!

Where my b*$#@*s at?*

*The title of this post was created by Mr. C.  He seemed REALLY excited about it so I just went with it.  If you’d like someone to blame, please direct your comments to him :

The holiday season is a time for appreciating how blessed I am.  This weekend I was reminded of how fortunate I am to have such wonderful people in my life.   I spent time with some friends, my grouping sister (we met at the Walk to Emmaus), and my husband this weekend.  The Christmas season makes me extra mushy so you’re getting a very mushy post today.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you (yes I do know that the title of this post does not convey a mushy message)!

I love the type of friends you can just hang out with.  There doesn’t need to be any specific plans (although that’s helpful) because no matter what it’s fun.  That’s how my high school friends were and I’ve learned since graduating that friends like that are actually pretty hard to come by so I’m glad I was able to snag a few more since the high school friends I stay in touch with are pretty far away.  This weekend was one of those hanging out with friends weekends.  I NEEDED a weekend like this.  I had been so stressed last week that I just needed to relax.  I did have a few school related things I fit in so the weekend wasn’t all relaxing, but overall it was great.

Friday night was spent with someone who has progressed from an acquaintance five years ago to a super close friend now.  I joke that she’s my free therapist but honestly this woman keeps me sane sometimes.  She’s always there to listen and I know she’s always got my back.  We made dinner, then whipped up some cookies, played Mario bros. and drove Mr. C crazy with our lack of coordination during the game.  It was the first night in awhile where I didn’t do anything productive and it was great!

After doing some group work and running around Saturday morning, Mr. C and I spent the late afternoon/evening with one of my college roommates who also happens to be one of our favorite people!  We headed to the mall and ended up hanging out in the kid’s play area.  I should mention that she does have 2 wonderful little boys who were playing so we weren’t being creepy!  We talked and watched the kids who were way more entertaining than I would have imagined.  I think at one point I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.  I think the other parents thought I was nuts.  We met her husband at Red Robin and got our money’s worth of fries!  All in all, it was a great afternoon/evening.  I then went home and collapsed on the couch.  I made it to bed by 9 that night for some much needed rest. Great day!

Sunday morning we met my mother-in-law at church.  I love that we see her every week.  Normally the three of us do lunch but this week I met my grouping sister after church.  Grouping is basically meant to keep us on track with the changes we made in ourselves during the Walk to Emmaus. My grouping sister and I haven’t been meeting too long – a little over a month now- but I usually look forward to it.  I say usually because some days my bed is very hard to leave but once I’m there then it’s all good!  We always seem to get off topic but it’s okay, that’s part of what makes it so fun. 

After grouping and some shopping I caught up over the phone with a friend from college who’s since moved away.  It was great hearing how her life is going and her future plans.  It seems like we’re always able to pick up where we left off when we talk - something I always marvel at.

Sunday night Mr. C and I had a much needed date night at my most favorite restaurant!  We usually save the Melting Pot for anniversaries; however I decided that we needed an extra nice date this week.  With all the finals stuff, Christmas events, and work I felt like we hadn’t really spent any time together in weeks.  This, I decided, was a requirement for an extra nice date.  I love the food, the quietness, the romantic setting, and the food – did I mention that yet?  It’s just a great place. If we could afford it I’d go there weekly!  Luckily for me we cannot because my pants would not appreciate that after awhile.  It was great though; we enjoyed our food and actually talked!  After heading home, we snuggled up on the couch to watch The Santa Clause 2.  Super cheesy but a great Christmas movie and a great end to a wonderful weekend.

As I was getting ready for bed I thought of how sad I was that the weekend was ending.  But, I also thought of how blessed I was to have such great people in my life.  It’s been said that people come in and out of your life as you need them.  It can be so hard to let some people go, however if I had not done that, I wouldn’t have had anyone I mentioned in this post and I simply can’t imagine life without them now!  So, thank you to all of my wonderful friends and family who are in my life, even if in a small way.  I am truly blessed to have you in my life and I can only hope you feel the same about me!

Thanksgiving, #40 and #41

It seems like forever since I’ve sat down to write anything.  My past few weeks have been packed with so many things  PACKED!.  Much of the past few weeks have left me feeling like I’ve been pulled in opposite directions.  I’ve been stressed, tired, and not always the most fun to be around.  Luckily Mr. C is very understanding and I know he always has my back. I’m so very thankful for him!  Amidst all the pulling and stressing of classes, work, and random commitments, I have actually worked in some fun though!  I can’t really remember that much of the past month or so (fuzzy from tiredness, not from drinking!) but I do distinctly remember thanksgiving so that’s what you get to read about!

Thanksgiving has never been one of my favorite holidays.  I never really understood what all the hype about stuffing one’s face was all about.  I don’t’ like gravy, mashed potatoes are okay, and stuffing just grossed me out.  I’m sure you’re reading this with your mouths hanging open in shock or disgust!  I don’t enjoy watching football either so that’s not really a game-changer.  Did you get that…game-changer!  Ha ha.  Ok, I’m done making jokes.  So, it’s surprised me how my feelings have changed since moving to AZ.  Every year thanksgiving seems to mean a little more to me.  It’s hard knowing my family is getting together and I’m missing it another year.  I’ve come to appreciate the time with family even more now that it’s pretty limited.  Apparently I did also care about the food because every year I find myself missing something – the twice-baked potatoes, cranberry salad, stuffed celery, or deviled eggs. 

Lucky for me, Mr. C’s family is here.  Every year there’s a moment where we’re all together, playing games usually, and I just think of how amazing/crazy it is that these people have all let me into their lives and their traditions.  These people that I didn’t know about eight years ago have become so special to me.  While things may be different with them, they have their own unique offerings.  This thanksgiving I appreciated the candied yams, a VERY long game of dominoes, the um…interesting….things that came out during “the game of things”, and the family that treats me as if I was always there.

Mr’s C’s aunt who we’ll call Aunt W. is an amazing quilter!  As you may remember, learning to quilt and making a quilt were things on my 101 in 1001 list.  I’m super lucky that Aunt W. knows how to quilt and was willing to teach me because I may have been out of luck on this otherwise!  She helped me quilt a pillow and by helped I mean that I would have been totally lost without her!  She was very patient and said that “we” needed to fix things whenever something was wrong, never that “I” needed to, which I loved.  It took a few hours but the pillow turned out great and it’s the perfect Christmas addition to our bed!  While it may be awhile before I’m doing a full quilt, I did enjoy it and am very thankful that I had such a great teacher!

The quilting happened Friday afternoon, after a super exciting morning of Black Friday shopping!  I never really NEED to go out that day but I just like it.  Maybe LOVE it.  I started going out the day after Christmas which is when I stocked up on most of our amazing decorations that make up like 10 tubs in our garage.  Eventually I realized that if I liked the day after Christmas, I would probably love the day after thanksgiving also.  So, one year we headed out to target around 9am to get a Christmas tree.  We decided to actually wait in line for the stores to open the next year and it was great.  I think we got luggage.  That was a dumb idea.  Dragging huge pieces of luggage through the crazy shoppers was not fun!  Waiting in line outside in Phoenix is a piece of cake.  Now this year we waited in line in Flagstaff.  Let me tell you that it was cold.  Apparently it was 7 degrees.  We arrived to Target around 2:15 and got in line.  We had a good spot too.  I asked what time it was and my response was 2:20.  After what had to be an eternity of shivering and trying to imagine being warm, I asked again what time it was, convinced that it had been forever.  Mr. C told me it was 2:30.  I tried to be ok, I really did but it was SOOOO cold.  My feet were the worst.  I didn’t make the best decisions regarding footwear and I couldn’t feel my toes.  I imagined myself telling someone “yes, I lost my toes in 2010.  I was waiting for a GPS that I just HAD to have.”  After repeating that story in my head over and over and Mr. C asking me if I wanted to go, I decided I couldn’t take it for another hour.  I know I used to live in Nebraska but I’ve become a wuss in my seven years here.  I know, I need to work on it.  I’m all over that.  Anyhow, we got in the car and drove to McDonalds to get breakfast only to be disappointed that they don’t serve breakfast at 3am.  Now tell me, what would you be ordering at 3am?  I can’t think of an instance when I would not want breakfast at 3am if I was at McDonalds.  Anyhow, we ordered, waited over 20 minutes, received a messed up order with a coffee that was leaking everywhere, and then drove back to Target.  We got in line again further down and waited for about 35 minutes.  In that time we reviewed our map and strategized.  The last five were by far the hardest. The no toe story popped back in my head but I held out.  The line finally started moving and we all cheered!  We got inside and powerwalked to the GPS and then split up to find the rest of the stuff.  As always, we got everything we went for!   Of course the stuff we went for wasn’t the most exciting but it did make it to the ad!  I don’t know that I should share this but if you’re reading my blog then you must be super cool (or super bored) and I appreciate you reading so I will share a bit of our Black Friday knowledge with you.  The line was wrapped around the store.  I think it was wrapped around twice actually.  The electronics line was about ten people long.  Every year we choose the electronics line.  It rocks!  We walked out with all our stuff about 5 am, an hour after opening time.  After sleeping for two hours we were as good as new!

So, all in all the weekend was great.  I spent thanksgiving being thankful and grateful for my other family.  I spent Friday enjoying the crowds and a patient teacher…and being thankful for my toes.

I also would like to mention how thankful I am to my readers. My group may be small but they are dedicated!  I’ll buy you dinner when I get famous!  I wouldn’t plan on that anytime too soon though….

I hope to be writing more often soon.  My brain feels like a mess trying to keep everything straight but I believe I have three tests and two projects/papers due in the next week or so.  After then my sanity will be restored, I’ll have more time to blog, and I may even find my motivation to work out that’s been hiding all semester!

Happy B-day Mr. C

November of Mr. C and my first year together was a busy time.  It’s when we started hanging out more, when we celebrated Mr. C’s b-day together for the first time, and then a few days later when we officially started dating.  Years later, November was the month he asked me to marry him and I excitedly agreed.  November has become one of my favorite months because of all the special memories it holds.

Apparently I’ve set a precedent for blogging about family/friends on their b-days so in honor of Mr. C’s b-day today I am going to do just that.

Mr. C is a pretty funny guy (in the laugh with him, not at him sense).  He makes me laugh on a pretty regular basis.  Amongst all this laughing you’d think that I have one or two amazing stories I just have to share with you but I’m blanking out today.  To be fair, I just got back from a weekend out of town, the house is a disaster zone, and I’m super behind on my homework and over stressed.  Therefore, I’m giving myself a pass on thinking.  So, since you don’t get a story I’ll tell you about some of my favorite qualities.  That’s about the deepest thought process I’m capable of doing today.

There is quite a lot of laughing at our house as I mentioned earlier.  For Halloween we saw this very weird Snickers commercial.  Basically these two kids were standing on top of each other and dressed as this freaky woman who was throwing Snickers bars into this lady’s cart.  The plan was to make sure the lady bought good candy for trick-or-treaters.   Anyhow, the point is that it was hilarious, mostly because it’s so weird.  Luckily we have TIVO and I was able to rewind.  We watched the commercial at least four times and were both crying by the end.  I think I was actually laying half on the couch, half on the floor.  It was simply hilarious.   You might be thinking I sound crazy, but if that’s true then Mr. C and I are crazy together.   I love that he just gets it.  He gets my craziness, my weirdness, and my unusual thought process.  Anyone who puts up with all that should get a medal or something.  Unfortunately I didn’t plan for this and have no medal to give out.  Maybe next year.

In general, Mr. C’s a pretty simple guy.  I asked him to pick anywhere in the city to eat for his b-day and he picked the spaghetti factory.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the spaghetti factory, but it’s a b-day dinner which means the place has to be awesome!  It’s probably good we’re together because I tend to go overboard sometimes and he does a great job at balancing me out.  He loves his electronics, watches, and our house but I’m pretty sure he’d be fine living in a big cardboard box with the puppy and I.  

He’ll be the first to admit that he can be a bit of a nerd.  If you have any doubts, remember that the guy carved the pi symbol into his pumpkin.  I love the nerdyness though and I’ll admit it’s rubbed off on me a little bit.  While you won’t catch me carving math symbols into pumpkins I do have a nerdy side to me as well.  I’m now watching Eureka! with him and also have dreams about the ipad.  Style wise he has come a long ways since when I met him so at least he’s a stylish nerd!

He’s always pushed me to pursue my dreams.  I guess I’m lucky in that sense because I’ve had a lot of people in my life that have been supportive when I’ve needed someone.  He’s thoughtful, hard working, and gives most things his all.  I say most things because there are a few thing around the house that we both hate doing and just choose to ignore.  He’s a great dad to our puppy and she LOVES when he chases her around our coffee table in a game of tag.  All-in-all, he does a pretty great job of keeping Coconut and I happy and we’re very grateful for everything he doe.

So, happy birthday to you Mr. C.  I celebrate the day you were born because I can’t imagine a world without you. 

Denver - #99

I feel the need to warn you that this is another serious one.  Every now and then I am capable of being serious…well, for awhile anyhow.  In case you hadn't figured it out, this is also #99 on my 101 in 1001 list.

I spent the first 17 years of my life in a town of about 20,000 people in Nebraska.  I then moved to the huge city of Phoenix where I encountered many new people, ideas, and grew more than I thought possible.  The move was scary and shortly before I left my small town in Nebraska I had second thoughts.  Luckily I had some much needed pushing.  Leaving my friends, my family, the town I was actually able to navigate through, and all of the little things I had become accustomed to was very difficult, more so than I had anticipated.  Of course I adjusted and now I have all of these things in AZ.  Although we’re not quite ready for kids, now is the time when we’re planning our future.  Apparently when we weren’t looking we became adults.  I really think that I should have gotten a card in the mail or at the very least an email to inform me that I’m officially supposed to be an adult.  An instruction booklet and a crystal ball would have come in handy as well. 

Part of the planning of our future includes picking a place we see ourselves raising kids and continuing to build our life together.  We spent our four-day weekend in Denver doing just this.  We’ve been back and forth about moving for the past couple years.  The plan was always to decide what we were doing by May 2011.  That was years away and then suddenly it wasn’t so far anymore.  We talked about moving back to Nebraska, going to Kansas or Colorado or staying in Arizona.  After driving our families and friends crazy for awhile we finally narrowed our choices down to Arizona or Colorado.  With less than a year (closer to half a year), we’re getting down to the wire.  Each place has something special to offer and the choice is so hard.  Arizona is where we’ve started our life together.  We have our wonderful friends, Mr. C’s family, jobs, we know the area, and we have established ourselves in terms of doctors, salons (ok that one’s just me!).  Arizona means no scooping snow ever, no ice, and none of the hassle and insecurity of moving.  However, Colorado has quite a few pros too.  Colorado would be a great place to raise kids.  Schools are better, we’d actually have seasons, we’d be in the same city as some of my family, close enough to Nebraska to drive for holidays and not too far from AZ too see Mr. C’s family and our friends.  Colorado would mean a completely different lifestyle for us.  There’s so much to do and did I mention that they have all 4 seasons?  All FOUR!!!  I almost forgot there were four since I’ve only seen 2 the past few years.  

We stayed with my aunt and uncle this weekend and they and my cousins gave us some great tours including the different areas of town, malls, downtown, and the Red Rocks amphitheatre.  We also got to meet up with another of my aunts I don’t get to see very often.  The weekend was basically an attempt to get a better feel for the city and see if it’s a fit for us.  I think the best part of the weekend was actually my aunt’s cooking and just hanging out with everyone. 

Although the weekend was wonderful, I’m just plain terrified now because it seems so REAL!  I’ve had a couple failed adventures over the past few years and like most people, I’m not a fan of failing.  Mr. C is excited to move but he’s pretty laid back and sometimes I feel like I’m running the show and that makes it even worse if I make a bad decision when it’s something like this that involves both of us. 

There’s so much to consider – jobs, home prices, our future with kids, our families, and our willingness to start over again.  I’ll keep you updated but in the meantime, if you happen to stumble across a crystal ball please send it our way!

#67 Ballet

With work and school and all the other little things I’ve been squeezing into my free time, I haven’t been working on my 101 in 1001 list much, however attending a ballet other than the nutcracker was one of my items and I’m excited to say that it’s been accomplished!  This is not to say that we won’t be going to another one again soon but at least I can feel like I’m making progress on that list!

Friday night Mr. C took me to the ballet.  Well, I asked him to take me but nevertheless, he took me!  Last year we went to our first ballet together and I loved it.  He fought falling asleep due to the lullaby type music and the fact that the lights were off, but told me he enjoyed the parts he was lucid for.  I do have to admit that I dozed a little during the Nutcracker last year due to the extreme sleep deprivation that always occurs around Christmas time but I caught 90% of it!  Even with the falling asleep, I was very excited that we made it.  Mr. C is pretty willing to go anywhere that’s really important to me and for that I am greatly appreciative.  With our crazy schedules lately it was great to have date night be something out of the ordinary.

We had planned a nice dinner but by the time I got home from work it ended up being a little later than planned and we didn’t have time for our first choice.  We ended up eating a quick dinner at Pei Wei which was still pretty delicious.  Every time we go downtown I’m reminded of why realistically living in the city would not be for me.  I had a period of time that I was convinced I should move to Chicago.  I looked at lofts online and dreamed about living in the heart of the city.  I told Mr. C that we should move and he told me he was cool with that.  I think he knew that it was just another one of my ideas that would fall through soon (which it basically did).  While I still think this would be amazing in some ways, I also know how frustrated I would be with traffic, not having much space, and the noise.  I still love being in the city atmosphere though and even though Phoenix isn’t like many other cities, I do enjoy going downtown from time to time. 

After shelling out $12 for parking we went to will-call to get the tickets.  Of course our name was spelled wrong so we made our way through a couple of lines before actually finding our tickets.  We had to wait awhile before taking our seats so we enjoyed some people watching.  Mr. C is pretty quiet in his people watching but I tend to narrate my every thought.  There was this couple we spotted in the parking lot and they were just plain WEIRD.  The guy was super tall, well built, and had on a suit.  He was pretty good looking but something about him was just strange.  The girl was crazy short, round, and had on a shirt that looked like she had robbed several sequin stores to make.  They walked arm in arm and at first I thought the guy was gay and the girl was just very attached to her gay friend, however I soon learned that was not the case when she placed her hand in a certain spot.  Mr. C enjoyed a delightful ten minutes or so of my narration about this strange couple.  There was actually another couple a few feet away from us also trying to get the scoop on them.  Here’s an excerpt for you of my delightful narration skills.  

Me: OMG that’s that couple again.

Me: So what do you think their story is?

Me: They’re together right? Like together-together?

Mr. C: Yes, I think so

Me: Are you sure because it’s just plain weird.  What’s up with the arm thingie?
Mr. C: I don’t know (mumbled).

Me: Are you sure they’re together?  OMG she just grabbed his butt.  I think that’s affirmative.

Me: Do you think they’re married?

Me: Can you see a ring?
Me: Look for a ring!

Me: Ooooo, he has a ring.

Me: Oh my gosh, she has a ring.  Wow, they’re totally married. 

Me: Do you see it, do you see the ring?  WOW!

Me: Isn’t this crazy?

Mr. C: Uh-huh.

Me: Ok he’s drinking a tiny cup of espresso.  That’s totally weird, right?

This was about the time where we could take our seats.

We had fairly good seats which was great because we barely bought the tickets on Thursday.   The guy in front of me was super tall which worried me for awhile because I couldn’t see a thing.  Luckily the seats next to us were empty so I ended up being able to see perfectly.  The ballet was A Midsummer’s Night Dream.  I read the synopsis before the ballet began but it seemed like everyone was in love with someone else and it got a little confusing at times.  Even though I was confused at times it was still wonderful.  It amazes me to watch the dancers glide on the stage.  The ease with which they jump makes it look like at times they are on a trampoline.  Every movement was perfectly timed.  I can barely remember the actions to dumb dances like the Macarena so it always impresses me when I think about all the practice that went into each movement in order to make everything look so effortless and put together.  There were a bunch of little girls, maybe 8 years old or so that appeared throughout and I was amazed at how good they were for such a young age.  My niece is a dancer and a pretty good one at that so I thought of her during the performance as I saw all those dancers twirling around.

The night was great and I’m so glad we made it to a different performance.  Next month is the Nutcracker which I’m very excited about!  We found out about half-price tickets an hour before the show so we’re planning to make it to the February ballet now as well.  I'm making progress on the list!