Shopping or Dropping? 12/10-12/16/2007 Practice Thread

[liz_on_ice]

Only 15 days till Christmas, where will skating time come from?

shopping - got to early freestyle this morning, edge drills had that lovely rrrrrrrrrripppp sound, three turns felt controlled. I wore a dress and felt pretty

dropping videotaped my program runthroughs. always a humbling experience.

[Bill_S]

The club had their holiday show last night, and I was out late. Because of that, I skipped the early morning practice today and just went to the evening session. Even that was quiet for the first 45 minutes. I guess that everyone wore themselves out last night for the show - or celebrated too hard afterward.

I wasn't in the show. I had photo duties for the club as usual. Still, one of the adults brought a Santa hat and toy bag for me to ...ahem.., pose with.

http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~schneidw/skating/images/bs_santa_spiral_sml.jpg

Happy holidays everyone!

[myste12]

Shopping: I finally got music for my freeskate! I've been waiting for it for 7 months. I was starting to think that I might have to skip mids and nats this year because I wouldn't have a program, so I'm thrilled that it's finally started. The IJS choreographer my rink uses is in town, and I'm hoping to finish layout of the program tomorrow. We started today, and I love what we have so far, my combo spin, spiral sequence, and axel. Now we have to fit 5 more jump passes and 2 spins into 1:30...8O

[Isk8NYC]

I wasn't in the show. I had photo duties for the club as usual. Still, one of the adults brought a Santa hat and toy bag for me to ...ahem.., pose with.

Happy holidays everyone!Thanks! Hope you have a wonderful holiday season, too!

What a great holiday card picture! We have a friend who was single until the ripe old age of 46. He traveled a lot for business, family (Greece/Cyprus) and pleasure. Every year he sent out a photocard of himself in one of these places - tripping over rocks at the Parthenon, snake-charming in Morocco, walking across the street (barefoot) at Abbey Road. Wonderful, funny, surprising. This is one of those photos - thanks for sharing it!

Shopping? Yep, instead of skating. And wrapping, and cleaning, and decorating a bit. But tomorrow's another day and the Coffee Club will be fun!

Dropping? Not too bad - it was very warm today, so I went for a walk in the sunshine and worked out on my spin trainer. The Maxiflex is wrapped, so I can't play with that anymore. lol

Great thread title, BTW!

[Morgail]

I wasn't in the show. I had photo duties for the club as usual. Still, one of the adults brought a Santa hat and toy bag for me to ...ahem.., pose with.

Happy holidays everyone!

Great photo! I agree with Isk8NYC - you should put it on your cards! :D

[ibreakhearts66]

shopping
we had our christmas show this past weekend. i just did a group number with some friends, and everyone seemed to love it which was nice.

double flips are getting closer. i've decided to work on them a bit even tho i need my new blades. still have issues on checking my shoulders and such, but i'm getting the rotation pretty well. i think i'm pretty close to getting it.

dropping
me! didnt get to skate today. i was busy getting ready for school and i fainted! i was just looking in the mirror, thinking about how nauseous i felt, and all of a sudden i woke up on the floor. threw up afterwards. so not good for my already sore throat (i'm getting over a cold). i'm not terribly concerned, but it was totally bizarre!

can't control the rotation on my double sal to save my life! even when i hardly pull in, i'm a quarter turn over! i don't know why my body thinks it's time for me to do triples...

hurt my hand warming up for the holiday show. i pulled in for a double sal, and managed to dig my nail into the webbing between my pointer and middle finger. took a chunk out. it was especially painful bc my hands were so cold

[SkatingOnClouds]

First the Dropping

Been really unwell with a nasty cough and chesty cough. Managed to do my part as Frosty the Snowman in the Ice Show, but it was a struggle. Have only skated twice in past 2 weeks.


Shopping
My first sessions back I didn't have much energy for jumps and spins, so worked on gentler things a fair bit, and achieved some moves I have never before been able to do. Mostly some footwork patterns, but also change edge spirals for the first time ever.

So excited that at age 48 I am still learning new things and improving as a skater!!!:D

[Laura H]

Shopping:

Last night was the last session of our group class - we did testing which was sort of odd, we don't test every time, just once in a blue moon and I guess it was one of those times!! Since the last time I had tested it was just to check off the Adult 1-4 levels, the coach tested me for FS 1, the only iffy thing was the backwards 3's which I haven't worked on tons, but was able to pull them off OK when we went through them. Also the scratch spin from backwards crossovers, I got my 3 rotations but she wasn't sure if I had all of them in the crossfoot position, so I said I would give it another shot and try to show her a clean one, well, I pulled in and it felt pretty good and darned if I was going to fall off the blade!! So through sheer force of will I kept everything in balance somehow for 4 1/2 rotations in the crossfoot position - it was pretty humorous!! And I got my check mark!!

Did salchows in public session that felt pretty good! And DS showed me the mohawk entrance to the flip jump . . . now I just need to get the guts to rotate it . . . :oops:

Oh yeah . . . and I did a BAUER! I've worked on them before but never had one really solid and with distance . . this one did . . . it was fun!! :D

DS came to the public session with me for some extra practice for the Christmas show (this Sat) - his last practice in Sat. freestyle was awful - he fell a couple of times on the lutz and then got really frustrated and upset with himself and everything just went downhill from there. But last night he was like a different kid, he finally relaxed and just had fun with it and the difference was AMAZING!! (whew!!)



Dropping:

Didn't get a ton of practice in for myself because I was trailing DS a lot of the time while he rehearsed his program! But what I did work on felt pretty good. No complaints.

[sk8_4fun]

Shopping I finally signed off My Skate UK passports after passing gold Free today. I now have the Both dance and free completed and can now concentrate on to NISA Level 1 field moves, and dances after Christmas.

Dropping I'm full of a cold and didn't skate as well as I hoped so I feel a bit lost and empty after all the preperation and now its all over. never mind, onwards and upwards! :D

[Rusty Blades]

Haven't posted today's practice - it went ok - but just in a general funk. Later....

[Mrs Redboots]

Shopping I finally signed off My Skate UK passports after passing gold Free today. I now have the Both dance and free completed and can now concentrate on to NISA Level 1 field moves, and dances after Christmas.

Congratulations! Will we be seeing you at competitions next year?

As for me:

Shopping: Good lesson and some useful pointers from the coach.

Dropping: Some things I thought were down to Husband were actually down to me.... alas....

[jazzpants]

Dropping:

The amount of jumps I do during a session. I'm still recovering from lower back problems from last Thursday and want to limit the amount of jumping I do.
Even if I was able to jump all I want, it would have been moot anyway. Monday night this week was REALLY crowded... to the point where our Silver level guy freaked out and cancelled his lesson right at the beginning of the session.
Back sit could be better...
Camels sucked for me. Then again, it's crowded and I didn't want to play Ginzu knives with someone's head there. :halo:
Oh, dear! My bracket exercise for NYC coach is sucky. :cry: Could be b/c the ice is slushy though... but I really shouldn't use that excuse.
I could do my footwork for my program, but couldn't push thru to speed b/c of the crowd.Shopping:

The few jumps I *did* were pretty solid. Loops and flips were fine. Loop-loop was a bit shaky though. I even managed to try a few lutzes just to see if I could land them. It's still a bit cheated, but all in all, I got 'em!!! 8O :mrgreen:
Other spins were fine.

[liz_on_ice]

shopping - second freestyle morning in a row today, after three weeks of very little skating, I finally made some forward progress. Worked on some of the harder bits of my program, then had three good runthroughs - including one changefoot spin that might have been passing!

dropping - jumps were low and slow

[Terri C]

Shopping:
Had a fairly good runthrough of my test program with Secondary Coach today. Not as nervous going into test day as I was last May when I last took this test.

Dropping:
My sitspin. I swear, if the bookies in Vegas were to see me skate, the odds would be 20:1 on me having to reskate the sit on test day. My goal is for that to be the only re-skate.

[Isk8NYC]

Shopping - Jumps were two-footed, but takeoffs were decent.
Moves were decent, esp. spiral patterns. Back XO were single-sided.

Dropping - I hate my skates (j/k); the blades need adjustments, but I can't get an appt. Grrr.

Spins were traveling, only managed 5 or 6 good ones. (Opposite spin was better)

[Kim to the Max]

Shopping: Had a lesson with coach :) Wasn't planning on it, but she had some cancellations! Did 15 minutes of freestyle...worked on program and freestyle. We also figured out our crazy schedules for the next few months...which may require us to have lessons over our lunch breaks from our real jobs.

Did some okay scratch/back scratch spins...not up to my standard, but they are getting better.

Dropping: When started going through our calendars, it was almost comical that I'm going to try to test in February and there were may be 2 weeks leading up to that that we would be able to get together on our normal lesson time...

I was screwing up my lutzes today. I was on the wrong edge and just not doing well. And, I was rushing my flips...grrrr....but we did 2 run-thrus of my program, which is going pretty good. I need to work on moving quicker and actually performing the program...it's been a while...

I need to get my skates sharpened...we'll see if I find some time during work tomorrow to run that errand...

[liz_on_ice]

shopping - lesson with coach finally (missed two weeks for different stuff). I tuned my program a bit more the last two days, and she liked it. Salchow is better, we worked some more on the changefoot spin and fixed a problem with my threes that should make many things work better now. She really thinks I'll be ready to test in January. 8O


The rink is pretty with the tree up!

dropping speed is not up to scratch at all

[jskater49]

Dropping

Got stuck in my driveway --AGAIN. With my daughter driving and me pushing, I did get it out but I was too late for my lesson. Coach was nice enough not to charge me.

DD couldn't get out at all. Had to drive her to school.

j

[jazzpants]

DOH!!! Sorry to hear that, jskater49. :(

Dropping:

Me... I slept thru my alarm clock again. Hubby is sick and was dead asleep also. Not only could he not act as my backup alarm clock, but he also could help get my stuff together for preparing breakfast for me, so I had to do everything. GRRRRR!!! :evil: (Luckily for me, I had it set up in the fridge itself late last night figuring that whenever hubby is sick or has his various health ailments that I have to take care of myself AND him.) Still no mercy from secondary coach (or her team coach) for that matter. :giveup: (It's okay. I can take it.)

Shopping:
True to her words, secondary coach made me warm up stroking, then with my jumps, before I did a runthru of my FS program. And given that I know that she wouldn't let me continue on with the rest of my program w/o landing a loop clean, I HAD to do it!!!

And just to make her point, she made me do the beginning of the FS program AGAIN thru the loop jump and made me land it clean again. (Well, it was a shaky clean landing... but only b/c this second loop jump ended up being much higher than the one on the first runthru. Or at least that's what secondary coach told me... :lol: )

Dropping again:
Footwork after the loop jump got really sloppy!!! Had to clean that up!!! GRRRR!!! :evil:

Also... had to clean up my toe loop too! Guess what? We're gonna relearn my toe loop YET again so I wouldn't toe-waltz. Wish me luck!!! 8O

Had to skip my flip at the end in order to make my scratch spin at the end. Primary coach hasn't gotten around to trimming the footwork off my FS program in order for me to make the time towards the end. And besides that, the time for the setup for my loop jump to be clean took up some precious seconds off also.

[coskater64]

Shopping:
Got on ice for first time with new hip. Still alive!!:D

Hip doesn't snap like last surgery, moves really well...absolutely terrifying. Can do nice deep edges, good cross rolls, 3 turns and good cross over forward and back. Managed about 40 minutes in skin tight jeans, tennis socks and skates I had not worn for over a year.

Dropping:
Realized I need to build strength up significantly. Only 3 weeks until I start back slowly with Adult Pre Bronze moves:D :D

[doubletoe]

Shopping:
Got on ice for first time with new hip. Still alive!!:D

Hip doesn't snap like last surgery, moves really well...absolutely terrifying. Can do nice deep edges, good cross rolls, 3 turns and good cross over forward and back. Managed about 40 minutes in skin tight jeans, tennis socks and skates I had not worn for over a year.

Dropping:
Realized I need to build strength up significantly. Only 3 weeks until I start back slowly with Adult Pre Bronze moves:D :D

Ahh! I was just PM-ing you to ask how you were doing! I am excited that your new hip is working so well! I'll have to remember to get one at the same place if I never need one, heh heh. ;)

[Scarlett]

Shopping -

Scratch spins are centered and strong.
Coach changed my flip entrance slightly. She has me holding back the push with my free leg which is making it less swingy and more controlled.

Dropping -

My loop has gone on vacation.
I am starting to despair over the sit spin. I may be pre-bronze for life.

[jazzpants]

Shopping:
Got on ice for first time with new hip. Still alive!!:D

Hip doesn't snap like last surgery, moves really well...absolutely terrifying. Can do nice deep edges, good cross rolls, 3 turns and good cross over forward and back. Managed about 40 minutes in skin tight jeans, tennis socks and skates I had not worn for over a year.

Dropping:
Realized I need to build strength up significantly. Only 3 weeks until I start back slowly with Adult Pre Bronze moves:D :D
NIIIICE!!! Glad to hear about it!!! I'll definitely ping 'ya if, God forbid, I ever need a new hip too... :P (Jazzpants praying she will never *need* surgery to continue skating...)

[GordonSk8erBoi]

The club had their holiday show last night, and I was out late. Because of that, I skipped the early morning practice today and just went to the evening session. Even that was quiet for the first 45 minutes. I guess that everyone wore themselves out last night for the show - or celebrated too hard afterward.

I wasn't in the show. I had photo duties for the club as usual. Still, one of the adults brought a Santa hat and toy bag for me to ...ahem.., pose with.

http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~schneidw/skating/images/bs_santa_spiral_sml.jpg

Happy holidays everyone!

This is a great picture Bill. Nice extension on the spiral! My coach would ask me why mine isn't like that :-).

[Mrs Redboots]

Dropping: Husband couldn't skate for more than about 20 minutes this morning due to work issues, so it ended up being a solo skate for me.

Shopping: Coach was complimentary about my Russian stroking! Makes a change...

[Terri C]

Shopping:
With a crowded freestyle and pre test nerves starting to hit, I skated a clean free program with only one thing left out and that one thing is not required.

Dropping:
One coach always teaches her skaters in the one corner by the Zam, which is the corner where I have circular footwork (8 step mohawk) going into a scratchspin. She never moves herself or her skaters! Ugh! Therefore while I did have to leave out the footwork, I did fight to get the scratch spin in at the end.

[doubletoe]

Shopping:
With a crowded freestyle and pre test nerves starting to hit, I skated a clean free program with only one thing left out and that one thing is not required.

Dropping:
One coach always teaches her skaters in the one corner by the Zam, which is the corner where I have circular footwork (8 step mohawk) going into a scratchspin. She never moves herself or her skaters! Ugh! Therefore while I did have to leave out the footwork, I did fight to get the scratch spin in at the end.

Good job! BTW, don't cut out the footwork, cut out the rude coach! :twisted:

[Skate@Delaware]

OMG I am freaking out (what else is new) because of last-minute costume add-ons/changes (yeah, what else is new!!!!)

Shopping: TOE-LOOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Despite the FACT that i HATE this jump, it kicked ICE tonight!!!!! I actually got some air time with this...and hit it with more speed than I normally do! My coach did not have too much to add. Yay!!! I had been practicing gliding backwards after the 3-turn and bending my knee more....then putting my toepick into the ice. Must have done it right!

Dropping: still sooooo far behind! Worked on the salchow, and we changed my arms...and it's so much better! (Oh I forgot to tell coach I actually scooped a few yesterday). My waltz is good if I watch my arms. I keep dropping my right hip AND lifting my free leg on the scratch spin. And the backspin has gone south for the winter, although I squeaked on out.

[SynchroSk8r114]

Shopping: Passed my last Pre-Gold dance, the Blues, today. I'm now officially on my Gold dances! :mrgreen:

Dropping: With finals all this week, I didn't get to test my Intermediate freestyle because one of my finals conflicted with it, so I had to scratch last minute. ::sigh:: So much for passing that this year... :roll:

[kimberley801]

Shopping: I'm getting all of my forward 3-turns!!! Even that pesky RFI. Overall, picking up more speed on the ice and my crossovers today had POWER! Now I know why bending the knees is so important!

Dropping: My right ankle felt weak. I do not have weak ankles. I was walking through the steps for a waltz jump (pretty much doing a three turn and then going onto a RBO edge - think waltz jump minus the jump part) and my right ankle was clearly saying "don't do it!!!! Don't jump!!!" So I didn't. I know my rec skates aren't meant for jumping anyways. I just can't wait until my new ones come in!

[ibreakhearts66]

Shopping: Passed my last Pre-Gold dance, the Blues, today. I'm now officially on my Gold dances! :mrgreen:


CONGRATS!!

shopping:
2T+2T combo was kiiinda happening. the second jump of the combo was toe-axely some of the time, but at least i'm DOING the second jump. it def needs work tho

even tho i'm over-rotating my double sal, i'm able to make it LOOK nice

dropping:
first time skating since friday and still getting over some sort of bug, so skating wasn't great. plus, i hadn't skated since friday (i know thats not that long, but believe me, it felt like ages).

i felt very discombobulated on the ice. double loops were just weird. the first one i tried did not have anywhere NEAR the height i'm used to. by the time i'd normally be at the top of my jump, i was already back on the ice!

camel spins. what the heck?!?! my camel is generally my best spin. even my coach said (years ago) that i had the best camel in the rink (:D :D :D :D ). well, today, i could not do one to SAVE my LIFE! i only tried a few, but it was sooooo weird. idk, i'm sure it was just today, but it was so annoying!

[jenlyon60]

I did Dutch Waltz solo today. Not to music, but just the full steps.

Doesn't sound like much, but it's the first dance pattern in total I've done since the knee surgery. And also the first time since the knee surgery that I've linked different elements other than alternating feet on the line or up and down the rink.

So I feel like I made another step forwards.

Coach is working with me to break my bad habit of dropping the left hip as soon as I push onto the right foot. This puts undue stress on the knee joint besides making holding a proper outside edge very difficult.

[quarkiki2]

Shopping: Well, finally a synchro practice wherre I didn't feel like throwing in the towel. Apparently, I'm skating better than I thought I was, LOL! I'm still not hitting the 1/2 flip as a jump (sometimes not even on the toepicks, yikes!) or the tap and cross in the circle footwork, but I am turning them both at the right time and ending the moves in the correct position, just not getting into the air, LOL! I step right into the next part of the footwork fine, so mmy fakes are fooling the coach -- and she WAS watching, LOL! So I am confident that, provided I get into the straight line and circle, I won't be the one looking out of place... I'm hitting the scary fast mohawk about 50% of the time, but I think that if we get one more team member it won't be a problem because I won't be as worried about getting into the pinwheels (that's why I've been miffing the mohawk).

Dropping: I'm still not doing crossovers into the barn door passthrough or in the pinwheels. It's because I'm terrified of the passthrough and the person I connect to in the pinwheels stumbles on a regular basis and doesn't give much support. On video, you can actually see me leaning into her like mad and she's actually leaning AWAY from the center of the pinwheel. Argh!

[Sessy]

I went skating first time after 2,5 weeks. It went okay. No backspins for now, but this season was shot anyway. I put together a programme for the club competition in march, that is, put together pieces I "stole" from programmes people posted on youtube. Apparently I can do a lot more types of steps than I thought I could.
However, spins weren't going well.
MISSING:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7671/camelgb3.gif (http://imageshack.us)
REWARD $30 IF FOUND

[liz_on_ice]

Sissy, that is a riot!

[sk8tegirl06]

Dropping: My last lesson for this semester :(

Shopping: Since I passed pre-pre fs last week and this was my last lesson with her for about 2 months, my coach decided to just go for broke....we started sit spins (no big deal) and then we moved onto camel spins.....omg :P I have never even attempted a camel before. I have attempted sit spins, they haven't been pretty but they exist.

[doubletoe]

Hmm. . . Sessy's camel AND Ibreakhearts' camel *both* missing? I'll bet they're playing hookey together! Just knock before entering, because you never know what two camels might be doing when they think they're alone. . .:roll:
MISSING:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7671/camelgb3.gif (http://imageshack.us)
REWARD $30 IF FOUND

[liz_on_ice]

Hmm. . . Sessy's camel AND Ibreakhearts' camel *both* missing? I'll bet they're playing hookey together! Just knock before entering, because you never know what two camels might be doing when they think they're alone. . .:roll:


I would gladly adopt any baby camels that result!

[Rusty Blades]

DROPPED! The whole @$#% session! A blizzard rolled in early this morning and I didn't even get to the rink :evil:

[Sessy]

LOL! I don't think my camel is quite old enough to be procreating!


Maybe sk8tegirl borrowed them ;)


I don't get it, where it went. I thought they were easy... I guess I'll take a camera with me on monday afternoon, that session's usually empty for the first half hour. I'm kinda guessing it's the entry edge. All my spin problems come from that.

[Mrs Redboots]

Hmm. . . Sessy's camel AND Ibreakhearts' camel *both* missing? I'll bet they're playing hookey together! Just knock before entering, because you never know what two camels might be doing when they think they're alone. . .:roll:
MISSING:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7671/camelgb3.gif (http://imageshack.us)
REWARD $30 IF FOUND
There's a whole herd of them somewhere - Husband's has obviously joined them..... wonders whether male camels have harems....

[Mrs Redboots]

DROPPED! The whole @$#% session! A blizzard rolled in early this morning and I didn't even get to the rink :evil:

Are you building a rink in your back garden again this winter?

[Rusty Blades]

Are you building a rink in your back garden again this winter?

I had started to but got side-tracked into a different project. Being in a rural area with the WORST dial-up Internet imaginable I got REALLY PO'ed and decided to do something about it. I put up a 68 foot tower and brought in wireless Internet from a community 12 miles away. I have established an Access Point and begun distributing Wireless Internet service to my neighbours on a Co-Op basis. With the construction (the tower), and having to learn a lot of new stuff (like programming routers and radios) I didn't have time to get the rink together before the ground froze. So this year, no, I don't have my backyard rink. I am also fighting the urge to move it to the north side of my house and make it a full size NHL rink 8O

[Kim to the Max]

Dropping:

Ugh, won't get to the rink tonight because of a big snow storm...plus, someone side swiped my car as I was driving home to get out of the snow :evil: and then they left the scene of the accident.... AND...I just had the car fixed from when someone else hit me...I'm not happy right now...That also means that I'm probably going to miss my lesson tomorrow with my coach...again....not happy....not happy at all....

[momsk8er]

Sorry to hear about everyone's weather problems. And everyone's camel problems. If I see any sitting around I'll send them your way. Don't have any extra myself unfortunately. Only have ones that are 2-3 revs.

Shopping - Tuesday spins. Centered, fast. Lovely.

Dropping - Thursday spins. Traveling like crazy. What gives?

[jazzpants]

Sessy: that is WAAAAAY too funny!!! LMAO!!!! (And if someone found mine, please return it back to me too!!!) :P

Shopping:

Primary coach changed my footwork today so I can get into the thing faster. So hopefully I will have a bit more time to get into that loop jump and actually land it clean! :mrgreen:

Dropping:

Unfortunately, *I* don't think it's any faster. If anything, I like my old one better... :evil:

Furthermore, it's actually more difficult towards the end. All you guys who did the Rhythm Blues dance in the prelim Dances know exactly what I go thru when I have to learn to do this cross behind step chasse thingie on a FO edge. It's deceptively tricky to do but I did eventually started getting the hang of it. And if that's not enough, I then had to step right into this one foot turn thingie. (It looks like a twizzle... but he didn't call it a twizzle. :twisted: )

Lower back not cooperating. I almost killed myself trying to do a clean landing on the loop today. And I had to leave the rink early anyway b/c I had a meeting (which I found out when I got to the office that it was CANCELLED, so I actually didn't have to rush back... :frus: )

This is the last lesson I'll have with primary coach this year. :cry: I won't have one 'til next year... 3 weeks!!! But I'll be in very good capable hands that belongs to my NYC coach! :mrgreen: (Praying that my bracket exercise will still be there when I see him...) :oops:

[sk8tegirl06]

Trust me I did not borrow anybody's camel spins :( (Not today anyway.) I was spinning on one foot but other than that there is no way these resembled camels at all. I am not used to spinning without being completely upright (scratch and sit) having to actually look at the ice while spinning is very strange. I'm just very excited to have even attempted a camel, considering last year at this point is was in gamma/delta isi levels.

[doubletoe]

So this year, no, I don't have my backyard rink. I am also fighting the urge to move it to the north side of my house and make it a full size NHL rink 8O

Well, just re,member, a big sheet of ice like that is just an open invitation for wild animals like bears, who think they might do a little ice fishing on your property. Here's a useful excerpt from my arctic wilderness survival guide. . .

"To catch an intruding bear, you will need a saw and a bag of frozen peas (preferably Birds-Eye, but any brand will do). Using the saw, cut a large hole in the ice, then spread the peas around the outside of the opening, making sure to cover the entire circumfrence of the circle. Now hide behind a tree. When the bear comes to take a pea, kick him in the ice hole."

[Thin-Ice]

Trust me I did not borrow anybody's camel spins :( (Not today anyway.) I was spinning on one foot but other than that there is no way these resembled camels at all. I am not used to spinning without being completely upright (scratch and sit) having to actually look at the ice while spinning is very strange. I'm just very excited to have even attempted a camel, considering last year at this point is was in gamma/delta isi levels.

Don't look at the ice on your camel.. that will pitch you up on your toe pick and stop your rotation. Ask me how I know... and how many lessons and $$$ it took for me to at least be conscious of it....:oops:

[Sessy]

That's true. Coach E. has made me paranoide, she kept yelling "CHIN UP!" with her harsh nasal voice when our class was doing camels to the point that now when I do a camel, a little nagging nasal voice inside of me keeps screaming "CHIN UP!"
It's scary how she gets into my head. :twisted:

BTW I think I know where they went!
http://dl.ziza.ru/other/122007/14/pics/41_pics_73458.jpg

[Rusty Blades]

When the bear comes to take a pea, kick him in the ice hole."

GROAN! That is SO bad!

[Sessy]

yeah I don't actually get that...

[sk8pics]

That's too funny about all the missing "camels." :)

As for me, it was all Shopping in my lesson today.:mrgreen: I did backward crossovers! :mrgreen: My coach was holding my hands, but I did them fine and they were moving quite fast, so much better than the forward xovers. He was quite surprised but very happy! My ankle bends just enough to allow me to do clockwise back crossovers, but it is really at the current limit of my ankle's flexibility. Still, it was good enough for me! Also we did forward and backward inside and outside edges. My left back outside edge was better than my right back outside edge, just like before the left ankle was broken. :roll: My coach was holding onto me through all this as it was a moderately crazy session. It was kinda like dancing with him since we were in a Killian-type of hold for all the forward edges. It was WAY cool!

Also got to see some more people that I hadn't seen in a year, including one of the older coaches who hadn't realized that I'd broken my ankle, and that was nice, too. This one coach was very gracious in welcoming me back, so again, it was really nice. All in all, a nice and great lesson!

[Isk8NYC]

When the bear comes to take a pea, kick him in the ice hole."GROAN! That is SO bad!

I didn't get it until you quoted the punchline. lol Awful.

I left my coaching business card for the pro shop guy because I really, really need him to adjust my right blade and he's not returning emails/calls. I didn't think this was a busy season. I might take a crack at it myself if he doesn't get back to me soon.

While I'm cutting competition music for the twins, I might just cut music for a Prelim Free program for moi. When they're ready to take the Pre-Prel MITF test, I'm going to take my Prel MITF and maybe the Pre-Bronze Moves & FS. If I feel strong enough by then, I might take a chance on scheduling the Prel FS, maybe not. I think I prefer not having the "contingency" testing hanging over my head. Still, it would be fun to skate again. (The Adult Synchro coach approached me last night, but I'm not ready to have others depend on my skating. lol)

Still rooting for you, sk8pics. Good work.

[sk8_4fun]

There's a whole herd of them somewhere - Husband's has obviously joined them..... wonders whether male camels have harems....


perhaps they are busy starring in various nativities at this time of year??8-)

[Mrs Redboots]

perhaps they are busy starring in various nativities at this time of year??8-)Ah, could be, could well be....

[Scarlett]

Shopping -
I don't know where they came from but all of a sudden I had the ability to do back outside 3's on both feet at speed.
Scratch spins were centered and fast for me.

Dropping -
Someone has run away with my jumps.

[Rusty Blades]

Dropping: (Actually too cold to drop anything - it would shatter!) DAMNED cold in the rink today (-34C outside 8O ) - BURRRR! - did about 20 minutes warm-up on the ice and then went to sit in the lobby with one of the coaches with my skates over the heat vent to warm up my frozen toes!

Shopping: After 10 minutes of baking the boots in the lobby, my feet were fine for the rest of the session :D

Upright spins were really cooking this morning! :mrgreen: Sit spins - so-so. Reverse spins - coming slowly. Waltz jump, Toe Loop, and Waltz/Toe combination - all progressing slowly (which is pretty good for an old broad who's half frozen!). Really thrilled about the combination jump - never though I would have one at my age :mrgreen:

Gave my coach a Tim Horton's gift certificate for her birthday, which she claimed to have forgotten about! - glad I reminded her that she is a year older :halo:

[Isk8NYC]

perhaps they are busy starring in various nativities at this time of year??8-) :lol: :lol: :lol: You could be right ....

Finally! A decent skating workout. It feels like months since I've skated well. I impulsively took a long lunch and went to the twin-surface ice rink, planning to skate their late freestyle. The cashier was having problems ringing up the fee because I was a walk-in. (new software) I suddenly realized that (a) I did have cash money in my wallet; and (b) the public session was completely empty! Saved myself four dollars, had the ice to myself, and skated a much longer time! yay!

Shopping:
Spins were excellent, I even took some videos because they were working so well. My first backspin was centered, huge circles, but centered. *relieved* Even did a few good camels, but couldn't combine them with anything else. Layback and sit spins were excellent, as was the forward scratch. (Not as fast as I would like, though.)

Jumps were very good, not high, but still okay. Did a bunch of mazurkas, THEN tried the toe loop. Success! Need more punch and rotation on the flip and loop.

MITF - Prelim moves were pretty good, even the nasty *(&^&*( threes-on-the-line. My new trick is to turn my shoulders parallel to the wall after the turn. I think I've been "overchecking" my shoulders, which is why I couldn't bring my feet back together.

Started working on Pre-Juv moves; this is going to require a coach. Not pretty at all.

Dropping:
I was very dizzy throughout my skating. Don't know why, but now I feel really tired. Worst of all, I forgot my cell phone at home, so I couldn't contact my older DD when it was time to pick her up. (Why she can't just come out of the school and look for my car, I shall never know.)

[blackmanskating]

Upright spins were really cooking this morning! :mrgreen: Sit spins - so-so. Reverse spins - coming slowly. Waltz jump, Toe Loop, and Waltz/Toe combination - all progressing slowly (which is pretty good for an old broad who's half frozen!). Really thrilled about the combination jump - never though I would have one at my age :mrgreen:



This one made me crack up!!!! LOL you are too funny. "Old Broad who's half frozen"??? That was an instant classic. Congrats on the combination jump.


BlackManSkating

[Skate@Delaware]

Sessy, not only do your posts kill me, but your TAG LINES have me ROLLING sometimes!!!!!!!:lol: "what's left of your unit"?????? ROFLOL!!!!!!!!

[doubletoe]

yeah I don't actually get that...

LOL! I'll PM you the explanation, Sessy ;)

Sorry about the awful joke, everyone, but that was me practicing my sense of humor in anticipation of my possible third retry on this test today! :roll:

[jazzpants]

GROAN! That is SO bad!
OOOOOH!!! I get it now!!! :roll: <<<Cymbal crash here...>>> That is REALLY BAD!!! :twisted:

[singerskates]

Dropping:
My oxygen levels are not very good. I've been to the doctor because I was having pain my chest and back even after my sickness cleared up. Last week I had to play some very complicated music on flute and recorder for my church's music minister (He's a music teacher and very high level professional pianist who sometimes travels for huge gigs with his band.). He has us doing pieces you'd hear the Philharmonic play like "A Classical Christmas (Hallelujah, Amen!, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring{I have a big Recorder solo in this and it's at the speed of light.} and For Unto Us a Child Is Born arranged by Dave Williamson)", "Mary Had a Baby (with Wonderful Counselor also arranged by Dave Williamson)" and "Season Of Joy (with Joy to the World and yes again arranged by Dave Williamson)" which is again at hyper speed. Anyway, I played ever ounce of air out of me and somehow got the notes out but when I was done, I was in horrible pain with my chest and back all tight. As soon as I was done I headed to the clinic only to find out that I may have to get my asthma medication changed because my oxygen levels were very low when they tested me. The doc wanted me to try taking my rescue inhaler 6 times a day to see if that would help but as far as skating and playing my woodwind instruments go, I'm not getting enough air to get through a whole song or my freeskate program. I die half way through. Looks like I'm going to have to see about getting those asthma meds changed.

I've also noticed that in the last month my skating has slid down a slippery slope in quality. I still can get into my spins but I feel very dizzy and out of breath when I'm doing them. I also notice that I can't seem to centre like I use to do before the lack of oxygen.

My waltz, toe and salchow jumps aren't getting as high off of the ice as they use to either. Splits have split, flips rotate but seem to be done on the ice as I have no get up and go. And the lutz, well, that's very funny as I can get into the right position to take off, rotate it all the way around but don't have the energy to stay on the right side to land it clean. This too is height deprived because of the lack of energy because of the lack of oxygen.

I've tried taking double doses of my rescue inhaler before skating but it's not doing anything. And I've not missed a dose of my preventative either. I've got to get this fixed before tomorrow at 10 AM when I have my lesson with my primary coach. I also got to get my lungs working because I have a huge dress rehearsal with the choir and band for this Sundays musical performance in which as I've stated in above paragraph that I'm playing my flute and recorder but not only that I'm also singing the high soprano parts when I'm not playing flute or recorder on those mentioned above pieces and others not listed here. I need the oxygen.

I tell you, it's that Mr. Al Gore that has let all of the oxygen escape into space, just so that he could write his book. It's his fault. Just kidding. LOL Got ya!

Shopping:
Got some edited and remastering paying jobs from one of the coaches at my rink. As it stands, I've done 5 of the 11 jobs given to me done but some of these take more than an hour or so. I'm really picky with sound quality. I've still one to collect tomorrow which will boost the 11 to 12. It's the one that really kills my ears every time I hear it. But hey, I'll be getting real cash for this. So far the coach who employed my services really loves my work.

Dreaming of Gifts:
Now if only I could get my skating to be as good as my music performances, editing and remastering! Then, I could medal at Adult Canadians and pass a few FS tests.

[Sessy]

LOL! I'll PM you the explanation, Sessy ;)

Sorry about the awful joke, everyone, but that was me practicing my sense of humor in anticipation of my possible third retry on this test today! :roll:

Oh. How'd it go?

(btw your pm box is full)

[Sessy]

Sessy, not only do your posts kill me, but your TAG LINES have me ROLLING sometimes!!!!!!!:lol: "what's left of your unit"?????? ROFLOL!!!!!!!!

I got it off a blog of somebody who'd collected the funniest lines from army instructions. :mrgreen:

There were a few others, like:
-"Cluster bombings from B-52s are very, very accurate. The bombs are guaranteed to hit the ground." (USAF Ammo Troop)
-"It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just
bombed." (US Air Force Manual)
-"Any ship can be a minesweeper... once."
-"You, you, and you ... Panic. The rest of you, come with me." (US Marine Corp Gunnery Sgt.)
-"Don't draw fire; it irritates the people around you." (anonymous)
-"Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death ... I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing." (old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Japan)

[sk8rxforxlife]

lol love you comment.

[ibreakhearts66]

this whole thread has me cracking up :bow: (i bow because nothing has been able to make me smile lately)

ok so
shopping
did some REALLY nice axels. thats still a big deal for me because they STILL mess with my head.

coach also told me that i had a really nice camel. she wanted me to demonstrate for one her students, and i didn't do any very good ones (camel was still missing) but i guess she still learned. my coach told her how i get my speed by bringing my arm around and up. i was like "is that bad?" and she said "no, you have a beautiful camel" =D

she also said i have really good split jumps and split falling leafs!

i also found out that the part of my double toe that i was concerned about (the skid on my take-off edge) isn't a bad thing!

ok aaaand...drum roll please....

I STARTED TRIPLE LOOPS!!!!!! (see "my coach has gone crazy" thread lol)

the was still plenty of dropping
my jumps weren't as great as they had been. it took me longer to do a 2toe in my lesson than i would have like. my coach hadn't really slept in 2 days and you could tell. she started singing along to "it's been a while" but made up lyrics along the lines of "it's been a while since i saw sarah land a jump on foot" and various comments. she gets frustrated when i have a jump landed and put my foot down, but i told her that i only do it as a special treat for her. they're always fine when i'm not in lesson! she knows that tho. we were just having fun

double flips. ugh. by the end it was getting better. coach had a field day with that one too. she was demonstrating proper prep for the three turn and stuff and started dancing like one of those cane dances.

...still over-rotating

[liz_on_ice]

shopping - skated almost 2 hours in a crowded public this afternoon. It was hard to find room to jump, and impossible to work the dance-step sequence, but I didn't care. The freestyles are so lonely. I never thought I'd get to feeling that way, but there it is. I liked showing off. Salchow and toe loop were both good, and I practiced some transitions from my program.

dropping - gaining some weight back, and it shows in tight skating clothes :oops:

[Isk8NYC]

Just a Camel Comment: when was the last time you all had your skates sharpened? Maybe you're due...

Shopping:
Back spins were great, for some strange reason. I nailed everyone of them.
Sit and forward scratch spins were good.
Prel MITF were fine, my "Parallel Arms" trick on the Alt Threes is working! Yay!!!
Finally figured out the Pre-Juv MITF pattern that had me baffled yesterday- it only took two days. lol

Dropping:
Jumps were okay, but I didn't do many of them because my knees are stiff from skating yesterday.

The 3T-Mohawk patterns that circle the center are intimidating.
The skaters can't watch where they're going and they need to do them at speed, so it's dangerous on a busy session.

Shopped and then Dropped:
Saved a loop landing (just barely) after kicking myself in the skate laces with the heel of the free foot.
Bad because I was lucky to land it - you could see the flat edge and the 'bounce' trace.
Good because it meant my free foot was in front! Finally!

[Sessy]

Just a Camel Comment: when was the last time you all had your skates sharpened? Maybe you're due...


Hmm funny, I was thinking my blades seemed a little dull on thursday. Guess I'll have em sharpened on monday... Must've been that walk I took guardless through the dressing room.

[Morgail]

Shopping:
-spirals getting better, but not back to pre-injury form yet
-did 8-step mohawk pattern at speed (will ignore the scratchiness for now:) )
-sit spins a little better than last time
-did more consistent backspins than I did last week
-cross strokes were good
-3 turns were okay - did them in pattern today
-taught some newbies how to stop and encouraged a boy who told me he wants to skate pairs :D

Dropping:
-dances weren't cooperating
-power pulls are still bad
-tried camels for the first time since I've been back. Not so good. I did 1 or 2 decent ones out of about 10. I either overshot the entrance, or fell onto a deep inside edge. Probably a combination of technique issues and a not-strong-enough ankle to hold my weight up.
-sit-backsit didn't happen
-rink was FREEEEZING. I had to wear my parka-like coat until I warmed up, and my toes were so numb I couldn't feel the bottoms of my skates. Plus the rink parking lot was on the verge of being flooded from all the rain/icy stuff.

[Sessy]

Definitely need a sharpening. Backward outside crossrolls were gone too, and I do those to warm up.

Strangely, the camel was *kinda* back.

[doubletoe]

Shopping:
Yesterday I finally had my blades mounted to my new boots and today I skated in them for the first time. By the end of the hour, I was able to do all of the Intermediate MIF (except the back power 3's, which I didn't try). I also did my spiral sequence and threw in a salchow and a backspin as the zamboni was coming out. The boots fit perfectly, the mounting is just right and the skates function great. And I always appreciate it when new boots don't make my ankle bones feel like they're being smashed between two 2x4's. Heat molding rocks! :bow:
I was also lucky to end up on a very sparsely populated freestyle session (which would have been even better if a pairs team hadn't shown up). I later found out that the rink I normally go to on Sundays was really crowded, so I was glad I'd decided at the last minute to go to this one instead!

Dropping:
I kind of miss my old boots, which were autographed by Daisuke Takahashi and Miki Ando. :(
My arches were achy for the entire hour, so I got off the ice after the first hour instead of skating two hours like I normally do on Sundays. I hope this goes away before too long. I can skate in them as long as I have to, but my arches don't really appreciate it.

[jskater49]

Shopping

We had our holiday Gala tonight and I was in an adult number to "It's the MOst Fattening TIme of the YEar"...during the warm up, I felt like my waltz jump, toe tap, half flip was just too much turning around and out of control so I just did a waltz toe loop and I really jumped big.

Dropping.
I fell DOING NOTHING BUT SKATING FORWARD. Yea right before they went into spirals going two different directions in two different circles...we were the third number after the ice make and the ice was slippery so I slid and didn't get up so fast and was terrified I was going to get run over!

Shopping
I got up, found my place and finished the routine without further incident.

Then at the end of the show, all the skaters just skate around and wave to "Auld Lang Syne" and the adult grabbed hands - with me end the end and yes, I was able to hold on and keep up as we went around the corner. Then they got funny and played crack the whip and I still kept up. One thing I can do is skate fast.

DD did a very sultry number to "What are you doing New Year's Eve" --she's 17. Got a few comments from folks about how that was a different side of her. "Better to get it out on the ice than somewhere else" is what I say ;)

j

[jazzpants]

Shopping

We had our holiday Gala tonight and I was in an adult number to "It's the MOst Fattening TIme of the YEar"...during the warm up, I felt like my waltz jump, toe tap, half flip was just too much turning around and out of control so I just did a waltz toe loop and I really jumped big.Good to hear you did well on your jumps.

ISk8NYC is probably gonna go "Heh heh heh... :twisted: " for this...but ever since I saw that song title, I've had that tune in my head!!! Thanks, jskater49!!! :twisted: :P

[Isk8NYC]

ISk8NYC is probably gonna go "Heh heh heh... :twisted: " for this...but ever since I saw that song title, I've had that tune in my head!!! Thanks, jskater49!!! :twisted: :P"Heh heh heh... :twisted: "

Congrats and enjoy the new skates, doubletoe!
Good work, jskater49!

Today, I shopped, dropped and WRAPPED for hours. I'm beat.
Ironically, today's paper said that would count as exercise, so I did, along with a few minutes on the spin trainer. I'm getting three revs on the back spin but not more than two forward. It's helping my twizzles, I figure.

[dbny]

Dropping:
Yet again, no practice - so boring. I feel like I'm pushing the rock of Sisyphus, every week back to the beginning. I know that there is progress, but it's so slow when I have no practice time. Work is killing me. I put in a 12 hour day today, most of it on the ice. Began with groups and ended with our holiday show.

Shopping:
The show!!! Actually ended on time, everyone skated who was supposed to, no major mishaps. The worst was one poor girl who went on with her guards on, kept getting up with no clue what was wrong. She was like a fawn trying to stand and walk for the first time. Another skater went out and rescued her. It was a group number, so she was able to catch up. My own tot LTS group did far better than I expected, and all the parents were pleased. My one soloist, who has a touch of ADD, didn't forget anything, improvised when she ran faster than the music, and turned a fall at the end into something that looked planned. Our skating director did an amazing job of pulling it all together while dealing with some very demanding and unreasonable parents. I'm sooo glad it's over!

[jskater49]

Dropping:

Shopping:
The show!!! Actually ended on time, everyone skated who was supposed to, no major mishaps. The worst was one poor girl who went on with her guards on, kept getting up with no clue what was wrong. She was like a fawn trying to stand and walk for the first time.

We had the same mishap in our LTS number! Same cluelessness. I gave the coach in charge a hard time (good natured) (What's the first thing you check before you put a skater on the ice?) Her excuse was the guards were black and blended in with the floor and most of the kids don't even own guards and she just got by in the crowd :oops:

[Laura H]

Our rink's holiday show was last night too and seemed to go OK - I didn't see all of the numbers due to running around backstage but didn't hear of any disasters . . . we never got an adult number together because everyone was too busy planning the show . . . but DS (9) did great on his "Grinch" number "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" . . . he was SO nervous I think he might have been green even without the face makeup . . . but appeared amazingly calm while doing his actual routine. He landed his lutz without incident (that was the one iffy part . . . usually doesn't have problems but nerves were causing him to only land it 50% of the time in practice!). He even hammed it up a little bit which I was very happy to see, cause he usually takes things so seriously and forgets to relax and just have fun!

The paper did a nice little write up too, with a focus on the rink closing unexpectedly this spring, causing the skaters to have to travel to keep up their skills over the summer . . . nice little bit of publicity for the figure skating program, I hope!
http://www.thestate.com/local/story/260045.html

[Skittl1321]

The worst was one poor girl who went on with her guards on, kept getting up with no clue what was wrong. She was like a fawn trying to stand and walk for the first time. Another skater went out and rescued her.

This must be requisite for Christmas shows. We had one girl go out with one guard on, until a coach finally caught her to take it off.

[BatikatII]

shopping:

Didn't skate for me at all this week - just in our annual panto on ice.

It was Peter Pan this year and for once the adults - some of us at least- had some lovely costumes and weren't 'villagers' or 'peasants' which is the usual lot of adult skaters. This year they'd mixed adults through lots of the group numbers and with 5 others I was a lady pirate or a 'pirate wench' with colourful skating costumes and a bit of 'interaction' with Hook. Perhaps a little suspect since Hook was actually a 17 year old lad and most of us were over 40!:lol: Didnt' do an awful lot in our routine - lots of posing to start but did get the opportunity to do some fast backwards skating, back spirals and sitspins, even if our only jumps were 3 jumps (waltz jumps). Were initially promised loops but some of our number couldnt' manage much more than a 3 jump so we went for conformity over difficulty.

Some of it was fun but I spent a lot of time videoing as i'm official videographer this year. I had a couple of people to help me so we cover all the angles and make sure everyone can be included on the finished product.

Dropping:
Having survived all 7 performances without falling I managed the 'going on ice with skate guards on' thing, on the last night after the show. After the finale the whole cast usually circles the ice to wave to the audience and people stop to speak to friends and family etc. I went to get my camera to take a pic of my daughter (one of the 'lost boys') and dutifully put on guards to go through to the locker room. Then came back and was distracted by someone asking me about fetching some cast members and stepped straight on to the ice with guards, with the inevitable consequences. It's so weird that feeling when you know your skates are not gripping but you can't for a split second figure out why - and then you hit the deck - just as you remember why! Bruised my hip but luckily camera was undamaged.

[looplover]

Shopping: I posted earlier that I was on hiatus from skating due to loss of second job, but I refuse to go on hiatus from skating. I do have to cut back, but my coach is willing to do less lessons. Still I'm doing one per week until Feb. bronze test, decided until my electric is about to get shut off I'm still skating (how's that for AOSS).

Had three absolutely correct backspins of five revolutions each this morning. Yay!

Was somewhat calm during 1st half of program.

Dropping: Why I registered this handle as "looplover" I have no idea cuz I'm currently a loophater. Two foot every one in my program. Out of the program they are ok but no height. I actually would rather do a flip but didn't suggest it because I need to get the loop right eventually. I keep bending over.

Was not calm in 2nd half of program (footwork after spin, am dizzy), so I looked weird. Didn't get either sit spin today for some reason but I know I was slow going into it. Yesterday there was a birthday party of 11 or 12 yo boys at my practice rink so that was pretty much a wash. I felt worse though for the girl who skates at Junior level and usually has a lot of free ice space.

[dbny]

We had the same mishap in our LTS number! Same cluelessness. I gave the coach in charge a hard time (good natured) (What's the first thing you check before you put a skater on the ice?) Her excuse was the guards were black and blended in with the floor and most of the kids don't even own guards and she just got by in the crowd :oops:

The kid in our show is one of the more advanced skaters, not LTS, and her group practically ran out onto the ice, with no chance for anyone to check anything. I was afraid I would be the one to do that, and tried to get someone at the door to the ice to check, but we ended up using two different doors (not planned that way), so that didn't work.


Having survived all 7 performances without falling I managed the 'going on ice with skate guards on' thing, on the last night after the show. After the finale the whole cast usually circles the ice to wave to the audience and people stop to speak to friends and family etc. I went to get my camera to take a pic of my daughter (one of the 'lost boys') and dutifully put on guards to go through to the locker room. Then came back and was distracted by someone asking me about fetching some cast members and stepped straight on to the ice with guards, with the inevitable consequences. It's so weird that feeling when you know your skates are not gripping but you can't for a split second figure out why - and then you hit the deck - just as you remember why! Bruised my hip but luckily camera was undamaged.

Ouch! (((((BatikatII))))) I think it must be the hectic pace of these shows that does it. There is always too much to do in too little time, and always some sort of glitch to be seen to.

[Sessy]

Shopping: I posted earlier that I was on hiatus from skating due to loss of second job, but I refuse to go on hiatus from skating. I do have to cut back, but my coach is willing to do less lessons. Still I'm doing one per week until Feb. bronze test, decided until my electric is about to get shut off I'm still skating (how's that for AOSS).

It's called passion.

[vesperholly]

Shopping: I posted earlier that I was on hiatus from skating due to loss of second job, but I refuse to go on hiatus from skating. I do have to cut back, but my coach is willing to do less lessons. Still I'm doing one per week until Feb. bronze test, decided until my electric is about to get shut off I'm still skating (how's that for AOSS).
I was in the shower this afternoon, contemplating what bills I could cut down on to have more money for skating. "Heat? No. Electric? No. Cable? Hmm."

Although today I got paid for Learn to Skate coaching. :D Getting up super early on Saturdays pays off!

[Sessy]

You mean you still *have* cable? :lol:
(no seriously, I know a lot of people who don't anymore)

Showering shorter might go a long way though. Showering is pretty expensive: it's water, gas AND electrics all running at the same time. Oh yeah you could try those economical lamps. They look a little like an electrical heating spiral, but have a normal lightbulb fitting. In the Netherlands they say 4 of those could save around 200 euro a year, but your electricity prices may be lower. Here in the student dorm we have them almost everywhere, it's not dark.

Isolating some extra might help as well, my mom isolated her roof from the inside with just foam, along all the joining points and cracks, and isolated with foam and strip around all windows and her heating costs dropped spectacularly because the temperature stays at something like 16-18 degrees centigrade without heating. A normal room temperature would be like 19-20, but on workdays she doesn't turn it up because she only has dinner then goes to sleep, it's only on weekends that she uses it, that saves tremendously!
She's also using an electrical heating blanket to heat her bed only instead of heating the whole room, and she put a layer of some sort of foamy plastic under all her floor surfaces, which keep the floors feeling pretty room-temperature to the touch, not giving you cold feet. She was on quite a tight budget by the way when moving in (as in, even buying a washing machine had to wait), so all those adjustments aren't very expensive. Plus, you'll be saving the environment.