SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance)

My former roommate Hayley Thompson (shout out!) and I stumbled upon SYTYCD one night on the TV about 3 years ago. Never have I been happier watching TV. For me it is the most entertaining show on television. It is a gem amidst all the other seasons re-runs and quite honestly the only TV I claim to watch. I can even say I learn something each time I watch it—not bad a for a reality show! June marks the beginning of a summer long competition that bides for my attention and ALWAYS wins…because no matter what if I can’t watch it live- I tape it. Yes, I said tape it…no DVR for me, but a VCR works just as well for this purpose. What makes SYTYCD so amazing? The skill—the dancers are simply brilliant, as are the choreographers. Each week is a genre smorgasbord of dance, music and costumes. The participants are randomly paired and then draw from a hat a genre of dance they are required to learn and then perform within a week. Then the viewers can cast a vote for their favorite through a text. I never vote. But I do enjoy watching the results show the following evening where the bottom three couples have to dance solos and dance for their lives! Then, and this part I love, the judges decide—a real critique, not just a popularity vote!

This year my friends from work, Sara and Kari and I rotate hosting the SYTYCD ‘party’. We carpool to work so it makes it really convenient and whoever is hosting makes a nice meal in the crock pot so we even have a warm meal to celebrate the night.

If you haven’t ever tuned in to this show, this needs to change and …here are some tips for your first view:

1) Take Mary with a grain of salt—she is one of the judges, and likes to use high voice pitches. (Can’t say I didn’t warn you…but she has grown on me.)

2) Respect Nigel. Listen to his every word.

3) Cat Deely is really tall and has a great wardrobe.

4) Keep in mind most of the dancers and viewers are teens.

5) Dance is art—there is a story told by each dance and sometimes it is weird.

Let me know what you think!

Whirlwind

I feel my life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately and I don’t think it will be stopping anytime soon. It all began about April last year when Brandon decided to make a visit to DC where I was living and make an impression on my heart albeit unknowingly, to him. I won’t tell the courtship story here but I will say that within a 6 month span, I moved across the county, started a new job, got engaged, moved again and got married. I have also started a blog, which in my mind, is like a rite of passage. Most of the people I know that have blogs are excellent writers with creative minds and/or are married with or without kids. I fit one of those categories fully…I am married…and another category partially…I am pregnant! So if the whirlwind wasn’t going fast enough it just picked up! To be completely honest—which is not mandatory while blogging, the term roller-coaster may be more appropriate for this news. When I was taking the home test I was super excited and just wanted it to be positive…then I got scared and nervous and very unexcited about the whole prospect. I believe that is why we are given 9 months-so we can get used to the idea that our lives will not ever be the same---but in a whirlwind what is constant? What is the same? As in whirlwinds, Life is not meant to be constant.