Sunday, November 18, 2012

Tis the Season

I don't care what people say about Christmas not being allowed until December. The Christmas Season can come as early as it wants! I love the feeling of the season, with the giving, the goodies, and the cheer that is spread all over. It's my favorite time of year! Since we won't be around much in December, we decided to set up the Christmas decorations and enjoy them for as long as we could.

One Christmas tradition we have started is getting a nativity in all the places we travel to. It was so fun pulling them all out today and laughing at the bargaining and other funny things we did when getting them. Here's a few of my favorite ones:

This one came from Italy and my mom gives me pieces every Christmas to add to the set. It was my favorite even as a little girl so a few years ago she got me my very own!
Here's one of the ones we bought in Poland this Summer. It's made of nothing but sticks and twigs!
Here's the one we picked out in Cabo on our Mexico Cruise this past Christmas! It is made of fish bone!
Last Christmas season was a bitter-sweet season because it was Eric's last Christmas Around the World. It was really hard dancing in the show and knowing we wouldn't get to do folk dance together again. Well, God hears prayers and knows our inner thoughts and struggles. A miracle occurred before the last show of Christmas Around the World that has not only touched our lives forever, but changed them permanently. A dear friend and respected faculty member who has always really admired Eric, brought us a Christmas gift wrapped in a beautiful red box with beautiful ribbons. It was full of Christmas ornaments collected from over 30 foreign countries and numerous folk dance tours. They were his most prized possessions and were full of memories from over 40 years. With tears in his eyes, he taught Eric and I a very valuable lesson. He said to never look back with bitterness or regret when things have to end, but to always be grateful for the memories and friendships created. He gave us the box and asked us that every year we would make it a tradition to decorate our tree and reminisce on the blessings that folk dance had brought into our lives.



This year has been extra hard now knowing that it is now my turn to dance in my very last Christmas Around the World. In fact, it's been painfully heart breaking and quite an emotional ride. But after talking with Eric, I realized that all good things have to end. I'll never be ready to let folk dance go. As we opened our magical box and decorated our tree tonight, tears were brought to both of our eyes as we thought about the blessings that folk dance has brought to both of us. We've made friendships that will last forever, we've touched lives of members all over the world, and have been made better individuals as we have grown closer to Christ.

I hope that as the Christmas Season continues on (and with Thanksgiving near) we'll all be able to reflect on the blessings in our lives. Good things might have to end, but the memories live on. After all, isn't that what Christmas is? It's a time to celebrate Christ and to reflect on all he did while on earth and  that he still does now. I am so grateful for my Savior and for all the many beautiful blessings he has given me.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Tender Mercies from Above

The past few weeks have been insane. And my house shows it. Thank goodness I'll have a few hours tomorrow to put it back together. We've had lots of last minute rehearsals, exams, errands, emergencies...it's been fun. Regardless, I have had an incredible amount of tender mercies happening every where I turn. I truly am humbled at how God knows each of us personally and takes care of us on a personal level. First off, the snow has just made everything beautiful. I don't know if it's the Christmas music that I have been listening to, or the bundling in layers to avoid turning on our heater, but it just feels like the Christmas season and it makes me incredibly happy.

Last week I received a very pleasant email informing me I had gotten a scholarship! Much needed blessing? Yes. Then on Tuesday I got a job I had interviewed for. A fitness instructor at BYU! Words can't describe how excited I am...I love working out and getting paid for it! I'm even more excited to get the experience so I can use it in the future for other jobs. I'm going to be teaching some aerobic and yoga classes. Super stoked!

Yesterday I spent a straight 6 hours studying and another 3 hours taking a test. Then I hurried to a show we had all night in Salt Lake. It was the first time I've performed Classical Indian in a little over a year, and it was really enjoyable. I came home earlier than expected to a husband who got me dinner and had planned to decorate all of our apartment for Christmas and surprise me. He was sad I got home early, but it was the thought that gave me warm fuzzies all over. He always knows what to do to make me feel good after a long and stressful day.


On Wednesday we had two precious additions born into our family! I can't stop looking at pictures and am so anxious to head down to Vegas in a few days and hold them. Did I mention we only have two school days before Thanksgiving break?




Saturday, November 10, 2012

Sparkling Snow and Hot Chocolate

You know how there are silly little things that secretly make you giddy inside? Snow is most definitely one of mine. Thursday we enjoyed a nice warm day of sunshine and sandals. Friday was a different story. Here's a few pictures I took today after Eric and I walked to the park and played in all the snow! I love how sparkly the ground is, how white the trees are, how all the local radio stations are now playing Christmas music, and also how bright it is from all the light reflecting on the snow. There is something completely magical that accompanies a beautiful snowfall like yesterdays. Today I set out some Christmas decorations, made homemade hot chocolate, and bought some cinnamon air fresheners. Bring on the Holidays!!!








Sunday, November 4, 2012

A weekend AWAY from school!

Lately it's been hard to find time away from our homework and rehearsals for each other. In fact, it's been impossible. Finally a few weeks ago I got a brilliant idea to plan a "mini vacation" away from Provo! It had to consist of JUST US and include NO HOMEWORK. This week we barely saw each other at all because I had morning and evening rehearsals every day, and Eric had tech rehearsals until midnight every night. When yesterday afternoon finally rolled around, we were more than anxious to leave!

Where did we go? No where special. Salt Lake City. I know, I know. It sounds lame. But it was about as far as we could go in 24 hours, and it still felt amazing to get away. We checked into our hotel and then explored the new City Creek Mall. Then we walked around Temple Square (I can't wait for the Christmas lights to be put up)! We wandered for a while trying to decide on a restaurant for dinner. While wandering, we stopped by this AMAZING waffle place called BRUGES that our brother has been telling us we had to try! We decided to pass on waffles, due to them being full of gluten, but we got an order of giant fries and enjoyed them (anyone who knows me knows I really REALLY like fries...as long as they're not fried in an oil I'm allergic to). While sharing our fries, we started really missing Europe (well that's something we thought we would never say...). Everything about this little small waffle store reminded us so much of the small waffle stores we went to in Poland. The music was authentic, the menu, the size of the store, and everything else.

 We did a lot  more reminiscing when we went into a small German shop we found by the Capitol Theater. It was full of candies, chocolates, pastries, and even souvenirs that were all things we'd gotten in Germany! We really miss Germany. Especially the food. And the music. And the beautiful landscapes. We are going to start going back to that store when it gets closer to Christmas time...because no where in the world has better chocolate than Germany.

We finally ate dinner at the Blue Iguana, another place that made us miss Europe. You had to go down a narrow stairway to find the restaurant in a basement, the service was lousy and took almost 15 minutes for a waiter to even show up at our table, and the "Authentic Mexican Food" tasted just about as authentic as the nasty "Mexican Food" we'd eaten in Poland. We still enjoyed the food, because we were starving by this point, and we had some good laughs as we talked about our funny experiences this Summer in Europe.

Walking around downtown Salt Lake made us both feel like we were in Europe...weird. There were a lot of homeless people, nasty and creepy old apartments that towered over business and restaurants, and there were a lot of stinky and dirty streets. I make it sound like it was awful, but we really do miss it. Hopefully we'll get to go back there soon! The rest of the night we watched football in our hotel while I ate some dairy-free ice cream and Eric enjoyed his coke zero (can you tell we were both in vacation mode?). Day light savings couldn't have happened on a better weekend.

Sunday we ventured out into the middle of no where...literally NO WHERE....for about an hour, trying to find the Sprial Jetty. Though we mostly only saw fields and cows, we finally took a turn and stumbled right on it! It was actually pretty cool...and I'm glad we went.

On our way back to Provo we stopped at the new Brigham City Temple. It was SO BEAUTIFUL I just kept taking pictures. Actually, all of Brigham City was beautiful. I'd never really been there before, but while driving down the beautifully colored main street, Eric and I both agreed we wouldn't mind living in a quaint town like this.




Now we're back in Provo getting ready to cook a big dinner and get acquainted with our homework. Though it was only a mini trip there and back, it was incredible. Exactly what we needed. We might have to make time for a few more "mini vacations" in the future!