Gingerbread Mania

Tis the season...to make gingerbread houses! Dave and I in general got a jump on the Christmas season this year which means we got our tree the first of Dec, the decorating is done, and we even have some presents under said tree. (Of course our "holiday" newsletter still will not make it out in time for Christmas. Pick your battles I say.)

Last night I had the annual Dibble gingerbread extravaganza with a few friends from the neighborhood. There was some latent gingerbread decorating talent hidden amongst the crowd that finally found an outlet for expression. There was only one candy casualty. Kristin's house went down San Francisco earthquake style. We learned that too much candy on your house really can be a bad thing. Who knew?

Here are some pictures of the works in progress. There is nothing more magical than building an edible house except, well, maybe eating an edible house. That is pretty great too.

DC and Trio Dance

I saw a dear friend at the gym today who reminded me how long it has been since I blogged. Alas, I have been remiss in my blogging but I'm going to start my New Year's Resolution a bit early and start blogging again.

Dave and I ventured down to Washington DC for Thanksgiving. (Yes, Churchill is still running, one of the many miracles in our lives) We had a blast. A family that Dave knew really well from Layton has a strong east coast contingent and they were all getting together in DC. We were lucky enough to get the invite. Dave's good friend Dan-o flew out with his wife Autumn and daughter Audrey. We hadn't seen them in years and had never met their little girl (who is ridiculously adorable.) We stayed with Kara and Dave Ludlow and their gaggle of kids. Every morning when we walked into breakfast, their little boy Seth greeted us with "What are you doing here?" Loved it all, the kids, the food, the 11 pies, it was choice.

We also had the chance to visit the Library of Congress for the first time. It was a special experience, such an exquisite piece of architecture. We enjoyed it even more than we anticipated.

On our drive home, we stopped by Aunt Cleo's house for cucumber sandwiches and apple cake with her and Charles. Every time we get to spend time with the DC Dibbles we can't help but love them more and more. They are absolutely delightful. We even got to ride in Cleo's new chair :)

Last week was performance week with Trio Dance Collective. The show went really well, despite the fact I re-injured my ankle right before our opening night performance. Why I felt the need to do petite alegro with beats in warm-up class is beyond me. Despite some rather serious "ouchiness" I was able to perform quite well. The experience reminded me of how much I love to perform; the unpredictability, the ability to tell a new story every night. Good times.

On the fertility front, Dave and I have tried a round of Clomid. I have experienced some pretty nasty side-effects but hopefully it will all be worth it. The positive side is, any bad behavior on my side can now be blamed on the Clomid. "What? I couldn't help crying at that commercial, it was the Clomid." Or "I know I am being petulant and selfish, but really, it is the Clomid." along with "Honey, the Clomid is making me want ice-cream right now..." Let's hope Dave doesn't read this bit and get wise to my ruse...

Fall has fallen...

The leaves are changing color and so are the bruises on my ankle. I decided to carry two gigantic boxes and a plate of cookies down the stairs Monday night and it did not end well; picture boxes, cookies, and my body careening down the stairs. My ankle got caught in the middle of the action and snapped like a crisp twig on a fall day. The excruciating pain was over in just a few hours, it turned out to be a sprain and not even a very bad one at that. I was hobbling through rehearsals today and faking it like a champ. Although I will miss some performances this weekend, I should be in fine form again in no time. It is truly such a blessing that my ankle is healing so fast.

The last few months have gone by in a blur. Dave is working much overtime as the design stage of Rio will be over in another week. Only Dave and one other member of the design team are still wrapping things up with Blu, the parrot, and the other lovable characters from the movie. It comes out April 11th, don't miss it.

I am dancing with a contemporary dance company in NY currently, Trio Dance Collective. It is proving to be a wonderful experience. I'm learning so much from my choreographers and fellow dancers. They are a delightful group to dance for. I'm also learning that I am very interested in choreographing my own work as well. One of my performances this weekend would have been a solo I choreographed on myself as part of a showing at DNA. Unfortunately, the ankle won't permit it so I will keep everyone posted on future showings.

Other than that, Dave and I continue to love working with the youth in our respective church callings. We had a multi-stake youth Standards Event on Saturday that was a huge success. It was a long day but well worth the effort, most of the 230 youth in attendance had a marvelous experience and we heard lots of wonderful feedback from leaders and parents. Of course one parent did tell me on Sunday that when he asked his son how the activity was his son responded "torture." I guess you can't please them all :)

Spuddy Buddies

Dave's sister Margaret sent us a little present a few months ago because she is just that sweet. Being that she and her husband live in Idaho currently, of course it had to be potato related. Thus the "Spuddy Buddies," two lively stuffed potatoes, were introduced into our lives. It has been non-stop hijinx ever since. I have found the Spuddies in my underwear drawer, playing in the fridge, hiding in Dave's lunch so they could play with him at work, and even in my pillow when I am trying to sleep. Silly Spuddies...So yesterday as I was getting everything ready for Sunday diner, I found these guys hanging out on the table. Apparently Spud 1 had a primary lesson on being "revrant" at church and Spud 2 must have had a lesson on missionary work as he came home with his missionary tag on. All I have to say is, Dave is hilarious (and maybe has a little too much free time on his hands).

"End of the Month" Casserole

So once again the month is not quite over yet the Dibbles have completely expended their allotted food budget. (What can I say? We love food) It is about this time every month that creative juices start to flow and culinary masterpieces and disasterpieces are created.

This one is a real winner, we'll call it "Kitchen Sink" Tuna Delight. We've got Swiss Chard, left over stale bread from a restaurant we went to almost a month ago, tuna, cheese, broccoli, peas, Cajun seasoning, elbow mac, milk, cheese and the casserole requisite - cream of mushroom soup. Yup, if that isn't a recipe for deliciousness I don't know what is. What better way to celebrate Pioneer Day week than with a random casserole and a healthy dose of frugality?

The question is, will the Dibble eat it? Only time can tell, pictures and Dave's reaction to follow...

It was a resounding success! The casserole was quite tasty and Dave enjoyed it thoroughly. OK, he still picked around the Swiss Chard a bit but at least I tried to get some leafy greens into him. I don't know if I will be able to quite re-create it, but we will enjoy it while it lasts (which may be awhile with only two of us eating it.)

The Cox Family Takes Manhattan

Good times were had by all as Ellen, Tyler, Cierra, Josie, and Jensen visited the Big Apple for the first time. They summarily fell in love with our neighbor Susan and all things New York. We had ambitious plans and didn't quite squeeze in everything we wanted to but definitely gave it the old college try. We started at the Staten Island Ferry, walked to Trinity Church, visited Ground Zero, walked through China Town, had lunch at "Excellent Dumpling House" (you betcha there were some pork buns involved), roamed Times Square, sauntered through Central Park, and took a stroll down 5th Avenue. We probably walked a good 6 miles in the scorching heat, all on what little sleep was achieved as the entire Cox family huddled on our bedroom floor. Truly it was a delightful day, full of smiles, photo ops, and even some silly band purchases. Now if we could only convince them to move here permanently...

Pork Bun Fun

It has been my post-graduation mission to seek out the best steamed pork bun in NYC Chinatown. It has been a harrowing assignment, but for the good of mankind I perservered :). After almost every audition, I head to Chinatown to purchase one of these tasty treats. I've had an affinity for them ever since my wee days in San Francisco. I've been to 5 different bakeries and thus far the winner is...

Fay da bakery! This is a small chain, the one I went to is at 83 Mott St., near Canal St. The bun had a great filling to bun ration and the innards were sweet and tasty, with shredded pork as opposed to gelatinous cubes. Really, they are quite delightful.

Pick up a coconut custard bun while you are there as well, yum.

And who says I'm not being productive with my post-graduation time....

http://www.fayda.com/breads/steambuns.shtml

Paintball Extravaganza

We took the Young Women/Young Men in our Ward (church group) paintballing on Saturday. (I know paintballing isn't really a verb/gerund but since I'm out of school, I can abuse the English language however I please with out fear of receiving a poor grade.)
It was ridiculously fun. Although the Young Women were not as enthusiastic as the Young Men at first, in the end everyone got into the spirit of death and carnage and had a great time. We managed to escape with all of our eyeballs and appendages intact and not a tear shed. I learned quite a bit about our young ladies from the experience: Ivy has sniper blood in her, Rebekah is an animal on the battlefield, sweet Chloe is a killer, and Alex is never afraid to take one for the team. Heidi Angus is completely fearless and I am quite comfortable just hiding behind a bush and picking people off. Dave got a few welts but other than that we were unscathed. We finished it all off with burgers and fries at Red Rooster. Go team Westchester!!!

Father's Day

Dave got the royal treatment on Father's day. I made his favorite muffins (Blueberry Crumble) for breakfast and we feasted as Millward and Spuddy sat on his present. He received some long awaited church shoes and a lot of love. Isn't it fun to wrap up necessary buys and make them into surprise presents? It just makes life a little more exciting. The primary was very cute as they sang in church and all of the men in the audience got a candy bar (which most of the wives promptly ate.)

We had Brenda and Wen-Chun over for fish tacos that evening and went on a lovely walk along the Bronx River Parkway. The fire-flies were out in full force, Wen-Chun was thoroughly impressed. It was so much fun to have the ladies over. What a great day. I'm glad we got to celebrate the amazing man that Dave is, although we have yet to have any of our own children, he is such a powerful father figure to so many. I love that guy...

80's Prom

Our dear friend (and Bishop), Mark Newman, turned 40 with style. He had a "half-way to 80" 80's prom at the Tuckahoe community center. The location itself was priceless, 80's ghetto fabulous. Everyone dusted off their bad tuxes, puffy sleeves, jelly bracelets, and big hair and hit the dance floor. It was delightful, we loved every minute of it. David Dibble is quite the dancer and now the secret is out. What it is it about 80's music and outfits that make you bounce up and down like a white guy/girl? It is just inevitable that you end up dancing like Kevin Bacon in Footloose. The highlight of the evening was Bishop Newman explaining to us that dancing is just referee moves all linked together. He choreographed an entire dance of referee moves to "Simply Irresistible."

We even stayed up until one o'clock, which is pretty wild and crazy for us these days.

Graduation and Final Concert. MFA Liz with the Dibbles, the Durens, and our lovely neighbors; Susan and Michael

Testing, Testing

I went in for my HSG today. It really wasn't as bad as I anticipated. The nurse who attended me was wonderful. She had a calming, compassionate, peaceful persona and made sure I was informed about every detail of the procedure. It was nice to have a friendly face by my side during the entire experience. Although trust me, having a balloon inflated in your uterus is never a good time. My nurse kept asking me if I was experiencing any discomfort, I told her that I better get used to a little discomfort if I am planning on having a baby. She laughed :)

Dancing is going well. Realizing I still don't know what kind of movement/company is even right for me. It is like the dating process, just trying out different choreographers to see where I fit. I have two auditions this week, for Trio Dance Collective and White Wave. We'll see....

A road diverged in the wood...

I am officially starting a blog.  A little late to be jumping on the band wagon one might suggest, but I say better late than never.  Now that I have graduated from Purchase College with my MFA in dance performance, I have considerably more time on my hands.

I kept telling myself I wouldn't start blogging until Dave and I had children.  After all, who wants to read a blog without cute baby pictures in it? It is like receiving a Christmas card with a family picture of just a couple, something seems to be missing.  

Largely selfish motivations caused me to change my mind.  This post graduation period - even though it has only been a few short weeks, has been extraordinarily difficult.  I am attempting two seemingly impossible endeavors - to become pregnant and have a professional performing career in the NY dance scene.

Dave and I have been trying to have children for 4 years now and are finally seeing a fertility specialist.  Our journey has been an emotional roller coaster and continues to be a challenge.

Auditioning in New York is no emotional picnic either.  Add to these new found stresses that my support system of friends I've developed at school for two years has now been cut from my life.  

Somehow sharing my experiences with all of you seems to help me find meaning in the struggle, and not feel quite as lonely.  I'm grateful for everything I've been given, my loving husband, the gospel of Jesus Christ, my talents, and my trials.  This will be a time of building faith and finding joy in the journey.  It promises to be very entertaining as well.  Here's to entry number one and new adventures to be had.

- Liz