Hey guys!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

We’ve been working long and hard on these two dances! They’re so different from one another, but I’m ready to go for it and do our best! The quickstep is lots of quick footwork and keeping a beautiful frame while the samba is very rhythmical with lots of hip action. So it’s time for me to shake it again!

People ask what I do in my trailer before shows, and the answer is not much! Mondays are a little crazier since they’re performance days, but I usually try to find a few minutes to relax. If my kids are here, I’ll spend some time with them. Otherwise I’m just chilling, catching up with phone calls and emails. I wander through hair and makeup, get that done. I’ll sit and chat with Mark. He and Derek are in a band together – if you don’t know – called Almost Amy, and he plays me preview of songs he’s been writing. I got to hear one last week and it sounds awesome. You should check them out!

That’s all for now. See you tonight!

Kristi

Hey guys!

I’m happy Cristián is staying! We were all so worried about him and didn’t know what was going to happen. A torn tendon is tough to deal with, but I really admire him for finding the courage to continue because he’s so great in the competition. You don’t want to be stopped because of an injury and he has an incredible spirit to fight and keep going even when you have an obstacle, so I’m really happy he’s not leaving. In skating, I had injuries here and there — I’ve had sprained ankles and torn ligaments and you kind of push on and do the best you can.

It was sad to see Shannon and Derek leave. They made a great couple. I think they showed improvement every week and coming into week seven, they did an amazing job. She should really be proud of how far she came and how much she grew in the competition.

I was so surprised to be called safe first this week. I was sure we were going to be waiting for a while. You never know. There’s always a pit in my stomach. It felt good and was definitely a big relief when they announced our names. I’m worried every week but this week, we realized, we’re really relying on our amazing fan support. We were hoping people liked it more than the judges.

So Kristi Yamahoochie, huh? Gotta give them props for that one! I guess it’s a good thing I’m showing off a sexier image though for our dances. I don’t know if it’s ever been hidden, but it’s nice that I can be seen as not one-dimensional anymore like I was during the first few weeks. People think I’m very serious and focused – and I am – but there’s definitely more to me, so it’s fun to show people different sides of my personality. I’m not sure how to retaliate to that though! I’ll have to bug them about their silver eye shadow! Jerry Mirrorball Eyes or something? I know, not as good!

Next week we have our last two unlearned dances – samba and quickstep. Now that we’ve done two dances in a week already, I feel a little bit more prepared going into it. We’ll see how the week goes!

Thanks for your support! Talk to you later!

Kristi

Hey guys!

I want to start off by sending my best to Cristián de la Fuente. As you probably know by now, he got a muscle spasm in his arm during his and Cheryl Burke’s samba. I got a pit in my stomach when I saw that happen. You never want to see a competitor go down like that. I’m really hoping he’s okay and he’ll be back. Both Mark and I are thinking of Cristián and Cheryl.

Overall, I’m very pleased with our Viennese waltz and cha-cha. It was intense learning two dances. You work harder, your hours are longer, but I think it came together pretty well.

The waltz was just a beautiful dance. With the dress and all, it just felt like we were flowing and floating out there. It was a really emotional song and I’m glad that Bruno and Carrie Ann saw that we were really into the emotion of it. It’s a beautiful story. Len didn’t like it as much to say the least! But that’s okay! Mark said tonight we obviously weren’t Len’s cup of tea. Some weeks you get great scores, some weeks you don’t. Mark said it was his fault because it was his idea to use the umbrella in the dance. I think everyone has a different eye on what they like. It’s a subjective thing. In skating, you deal with that as well. You really have to go out there and do your thing and be happy when you accomplish your goal and I think we were.

Speaking of skating, it was so much fun getting out of the studio and taking Mark to the skating rink! We needed a break from rehearsing. It was pretty crazy this week with all the practicing and learning two numbers so it was kind of like, you know what, “Let’s go into MY comfort zone! Let me show YOU a few things.” Mark had fun. He was a great sport and he actually was a great student because by the end! I don’t know if they showed it, but he was skating around pretty well; however, he can still use a little bit of work! Mark said he doesn’t know what I’m talking about because he IS a klutz on skates. He was very sore after skating too!

The cha-cha was so much fun to do! It ended too soon. I wanted to keep dancing but we would have probably run out of gas. I had so much fun and I love that song too! I think my green costume really captured the essence of the cha-cha. The dance is all about moving the hips and shaking it and all that stuff so this dress moves. It’s kind of a little 1920s flapper flair, and it’s the shortest costume I’ve had up to this point!

That’s all for now! Thanks again for all of your support!

See you tonight!

Kristi

Hi guys!

This will be a quickie! So much to do today! Learning two dances this week has been intense to say the least. People think it gets easier learning dances and choreography as the show goes on, but it doesn't. Trust me! I am excited and nervous for tonight. Keep your fingers crossed!

See you all later!

Kristi