Santa Smells: Large puddles all over the ice this morning where they were obviously trying to even it out a bit, and for some reason they didn't freeze over until well into the session.

Couples lesson went fairly well, but why do I sometimes get the feeling that the coach focusses on my errors more than on Husband's? Sometimes it really is him-not-me, but to hear my coach at times, you'd think I had a perfect partner (well, he is very nice, of course, but I do wish he'd connect his shoulders with his feet, it would make my life easier!).

Jingle Bells: After doing our exercises, we had some fun with highlights we may or may not put into our free dance when we get that far. Our spin was going fine, until he asked us to do something with our arms, which then made it didn't happen at all! We had a bit of fun with the drop-downs and a teapot sequence, though.

Meanwhile my Mohawks are coming back slowly, coach having b*gg*r*d them up completely for me last week.... but I can do them in the Swing Dance, which is what matters. Still slightly rushed, but even I can feel the technique is better!

Rudolf ran away: Then spent too long in the pros' room talking to coach2 about the NJS & stuff (showed her the Bronze men's protocols from Oberstdorf last year), and then when I did go back out to skate I got cold.

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Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Santa Smells:

Broke my right wrist and arm last week skating. I am so dissapointed since I am living right next to a rink for only three more weeks, and then it will be more inconvienient. I was hoping to squeeze in as much skating as possible before I moved!

Jingle Bells:

It is so pretty and picturesque here in the mountains of Idaho! Also, I got all my holiday shopping done really early

__________________
--
Natalie

http://www.ILoveTaB.com

Jingle Bells: I did some great spirals today, both the basic pattern on the Silver test, as well as the alternating edge spirals. Wheee! I had the whole ice to myself, so there was lots of room to really get speed and stretch going. Even though my muscles were fairly 'cold', my free leg was slightly above hip level on bith legs. Now I'm inspired to really work at getting a higher extension. I also got a pair of nifty new gloves from my coach as a holiday gift.

Santa Smells: I tweaked my knee while either working out at the gym yesterday or while getting tangled up in my puppy's leash, so all I could do was spirals today! My coach thought it might be an MCL problem, so she didn't want me to do anything that would require twisting or turning.

OWW!! I'm so sorry to hear that. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Frank

So sorry to hear about your broken arm, TaBalie! Heal fast!

Jingle bells Had a great practice today on nice ice and with just about 4 or 5 people on the ice. Got my salchow back (it had been whippy and spinny and just all-around scary!). Did part of my new interpretive program with the music and covered maybe 2/3 of the ground my coach wants me to cover, so that was pretty good! Then had a good lesson with my spin coach where we also worked on some long-held back edges. Showed him how my waltz jump has improved because of the back edges work he'd been doing with me. It was all good.


So, Santa didn't smell at all today!

Happy skating!
Pat

__________________
August 22, back on the ice!

Jingle Bells:

Fewer people on the freestyle sessions for the next week or so.

Santa smells:

Backspins "had" been going well until I had to do them in my lesson yesterday, when they abandoned me.

Jingle Bells: Kilian is s-l-o-w-l-y getting better, which even coach admits. I am determined to make friends with this dance, because I have seen a few shining moments when it was actually fun. So all I have to do is get rid of this "OMG, I'm going to die!" feeling the rest of the time......

Santa Smells: Not sure how much skating I'll get to do over Christmas, & I need to. I missed a week over Thanksgiving & I lost a lot of ground that was painful to gain back.

ETA: Joan, I know exactly what you mean about elements abandoning you during your lesson! My coach is probably VERY tired of hearing, "but it was really good yesterday!!"

Santa Smells: my right bunion looks bigger than ever. Turns out I won't be able to compete at the New Yr. Invitational b/c my father is coming to visit that week.

Jingle Bells: My boss is on vacation, so I got to go out in the middle of the day to get my blades sharpened and skate on a nice public session at Hillsborough! Practiced my new program and am finally remembering the step sequence that Diana Goolsbey choreographed for me last week. Didn't attempt any axels b/c I was wearing jeans (Josef Sabovcik I'm not). Merry Christmas, everyone!

Oh dear. I'm really sorry to hear this. I know just how it feels since I broke mine in September. I hope you heal quickly.

Jingle Bells
I had my last lesson of the year today and I was brave enough to skate for the first time without my wrist splint on! I landed some decent lutz and lutz-loop jumps and skated a clean programme.

Santa Smells
I was somewhat tired as we only finished our run of shows on Sunday night and what with my daughter's birthday yesterday, I've yet to have a bit of a chill-out to get over the hectic week. Of course a tired body isn't conducive to decent skating and the one element that really didn't want to happen as well as it has of late was my camel spin. I did manage a few semi-decent ones, but I messed up so many.

Probably no skating for me now till the new year though I may make it to the rink on Friday, depending on how I feel!

Nicki

TaBalie: I'm sorry to hear about your arm! Get better soon!

Santa smells: because I can't skate today, as son is sick with bronchitis. I got called by the nurse and had to leave work to pick him up from school. He had been better but guess he just wasn't rested or well enough to deal with school.

Jingle Bells: So, we watched a Veggie Tales movie today (a Christmas one) and he heard a song they were singing, he says, "Mom, why don't you skate to this?" Stuff like that never crosses his lips! I suggested we all skate to it as a family and he said he'd think about it.

And I got my dining room table cleared off (finally), dishes washed, and am attempting to de-clutter next to my side of the bed (the piles of books and magazines have really gotten out of hand ).

And my daughter's boyfriend showed up in the nick of time to alleviate the boredom and play video games with the boy!

So, I'll skate tomorrow for my coach and see how bad I do!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Jingle bells: I finally understand the European pattern!! And I can keep up to the music in 14-step!! And I also am getting much more speed in my program...I actually have started to finish early!

Santa smells: None yet...but I am skating today...so some might come up!

Wrapping up a couple of days:

Jingle Bells:
My footwork sequence finally covers the entire length of the ice, I'm pushing harder and getting faster. When I started it, doing all the steps only took me to centre ice, so that's a big achievement.
Smelly:
Rocker in the middle of it is non-existent.

Jingle Bells:
Coach didn't make me do flips, I've got a huge mental block (yes I saw that other thread).
Smelly:
Did loops until my foot grew another bunion.

Jingle Bells:
Skated at the big club with the competitive skaters. This I'm used to, usually dance pairs and singles. Last week there were a whole bunch of pair skaters. I tell you, that was the most scariest thing. The speed, the lifts (the fights) the throws. I hugged the boards most of the time and watched. They DOMINATED the ice.
Smelly:
Big waste of $15 and lesson time to hide in the corner.

Jingle Bells:
Christmas is coming and my body needs a rest. I've got a few overuse injuries, although nothing broken (sorry TaBalie)
Santa Smells:
Ankle, foot, knee, other knee, hip, wrist, other wrist.

Eating way too much candy. Anyone for New Years Resolutions?

TaBalie: AUGH!!! Sorry to hear about your arm and wrist!!! OUCH! Get well soon!

Jingle Bells: Made it to JFK and my in-laws in one piece. Am resting comfortably now!

"Santa.... PHEW!!! Take a BATH ALREADY!!!"
Made it to JFK just in time for the MTA Transit Strike to start! TOTALLY SUCKS!!! Thank goodness I'm in Long Island, but makes traveling to the different rinks in Manhattan difficult. (I was hoping to make it to Chelsea Piers and Central Park during my stay...and get some major shopping done before Christmas.)

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Thanks so much for the well wishes! I think I will get back on the ice next week, but just do stroking, etc.

Jazzpants---soooooo frustrating re: the MTA strike. I hope you get to skate at those destinations (report the details if you do! )

__________________
--
Natalie

http://www.ILoveTaB.com

Jingle Bells--
Skated in two shows this weekend (see the holiday shows thread). Both were really fun to be in and to watch--great experiences.

Santa Smells--
Turned up on Monday for jump class to find it was cancelled. I skated the freestyle session beforehand but really had turned up mainly for the class, and I was pooped on the ice, so didn't push myself as hard as usual.

Interesting aside--
My husband and I were watching one of the GP events recently. My husband is not a huge fan of skating, and he acts like watching it on TV is a special form of torture. I commented on one skater's triple axel and he corrected me and said that the guy had only done a double axel, and sure enough, he was right. He also remembered some of the skaters we were watching and remembered who he liked and didn't like. (So now I'm thinking that some of his moans and groans are put on....)

__________________
Ask me about becoming a bone marrow donor.
http://www.marrow.org
http://www.nmdp.org

MAYBE your husband and mine are related: my husband who claims to know nothing about skating will walk into the room and say something like "Gee, hasn't Sasha lost too much weight? Her jumps don't seem as high, so maybe she's not getting enough to eat" or "gee, when did Kurt Browning lose ALL his hair?". If he doesn't know ANYTHING about skating, how does he know who these people are and what they were doing/looked like before now?

Perhaps your coach thinks YOU are more "coachable" (i.e. paying more attention or can make changes more readily? Although I will grant you this can be very frustrating!

When a friend and I were preparing our "couples" number for ISI Worlds last year, my friend -- who I will grant you is a better skater than I am, because she skated pairs as a teenager -- would get very little feedback from our coach. Everything was about me "pointing your toe more" or "holding your head up" or "going faster". Later, during my private lesson I asked our coach why she always pointed out MY errors... and she said "when I tell you to do something, she improves it too, and she becomes defensive when I point out what she's doing below standards. So sometimes, even when you're doing fine, I just put your name in front of what I want her to correct." It was maddening to hear.. but I do understand her logic.

Santa Smells (cut down on the beans, old chap!): Get to the rink this morning and the Coach wonders aloud where the Husband is! Duh, that's next week.... actually, today is the last day he is working this year, and he's gone up to Newcastle to sort something out, so crawled out of the house at about 05:00.

Plus in my lesson I found that my unprintable cross-cuts had vanished! Wail.... I could do them last week! And I have no idea what I was doing differently that I couldn't do them this week, and nor did my coach, who usually does know!

Jingle Bells: However, my back cross-rolls were relatively okay, and the other exercises I did not too bad, and then I made the coach dance with me as it was Christmas. So that was fun. We did the Swing Dance and the Fiesta Tango to the music, so he could feel for himself where I was having trouble, and why - but oh, bliss being partnered by him, he does make it so much easier compared to Husband. ("Well, so I should!" he said, when I said this, which is, of course, true). Then as he didn't have any other pupils this morning (although one grabbed him for a session on the harness as he was free), we walked through the Foxtrot (why do I lose my right foot doing that Mohawk? It never goes on the ice where I think it's going to go!) and the 14-step (much more successful; I think next lesson I'll make him do it with me to the music).

How come I can do the level 6 dances (Willow & 14-step) reasonably well, but I have trouble with the Foxtrot, which is only level 5?

__________________
Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Santa smells; my favorite winter leotard, that I've had for years and years is starting to fall apart.
Jingle Bells: Had a great lesson and worked on some pairs elements with my coach. Lots of fun.

__________________
Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

because the Foxtrot is a harder dance! I believe that to be true, especially where the 14 step is concerned. If you can do that mohawk, the rest is a piece of cake. Foxtrot is much more difficult, both in the steps and in the partnering.

And I too am always the one getting corrections in my team lessons. Last week, *finally*, coach gave partner a correction not once, but twice (!)----but when I rejoiced briefly by saying, "so---it was HIM, not ME that was doing it wrong??" Coach promptly ruined it by retorting: "I said he did it wrong. I did not say that you did it right." •sigh•

I'm willing to accept that much of the problem is me, but it sure would be nice to hear a little more thrown my partner's way too. Interesting that we all have that same experience.

You might want to make a paper pattern of it (and save it once it does fall apart)--you might be able to get someone to make a copy of it....

__________________
Ask me about becoming a bone marrow donor.
http://www.marrow.org
http://www.nmdp.org

Mika good idea. Congrats on two shows this weekend!
I think I got it when I started skating, so it's held up pretty well.

__________________
Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Santa Smells: Everything sucks. I hate the whole period of time right around xmas. My skating friend of over a year and I had a falling out. My blades are dull and need sharpened, but I won't be able to afford it until January. My rink is excluding the time between xmas and new year's from the monthly rate, so I'll be off ice for a week. Everything skating-wise is kinda crappy, but I'm blaming it all on the above factors, for now. Hopefully things pick up in January.

</whine>

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Jingle Bells: Because I'm still tired from the show, we worked on "fun stuff" which meant jumps so we (I) did waltz (which was good), salchow (rushed but good), toe-loop (fair but that's an issue jump with me). I told her I've just been taught the 1/2 lutz so we hit on that and she tweaked it. That is a cool jump! Then she taught me the Ballet Jump! My first few attempts were clunky and dorky.....so I need to work on that one.

Santa Smells: Then we hit the loop jump. I have problems getting over on my edge, so she had me switch back to the 3-turn entrance with no luck. So, we practiced a backspinny-thing, to get me over on that outside edge, and then going right into the jump from back crossovers. I fell onto my left hip once (nice bruise today I forgot about my arnica cream last night but did ice it), but I actually got over onto that edge once!!! And, because I'm doing this backspinny thing, I actually did a backspin!

So, for practice today (assuming the rink isn't swarming with kids, since 1/2 the schools are out already), loops, toe-loops, 1/2 lutz, 1/2 flip, flip & ballet jumps! Spins-scratch & backspin! Back 3's! 3-turns with speed!

Today I'm also trying out my "new" skates I got off E-bay. I've moved the blade over a bit more so I'll see how it goes.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

All Jingle Bells today: Salchow is not scary any more, although not back to its best level, but I'll take it for now. Big thing today was that I did my whole new interpretive program with the music and all the jumps and was able to do everything, only clutch my coach once or twice (he hovers nearby when I'm new to a program), and finished right with the music. Second run through was actually a little better. What a relief, because even a week ago I couldn't see how it was ever going to work! In fact, my reaction last week every time I got to the salchow in my new program was . But today it didn't seem so bad. Then we ran through my free program, which I hadn't done since the Halloween Classic. First did it without the music to see if I remembere the steps, then with the music, and it was pretty good. Really surprised me and made me feel good.

Also my moves lesson was good. My moves coach brought his little girl with him, set up with a movie to watch while he taught me, and I'd brought her a little travel cannister of peanut M&M's so she had that to nibble on while she watched the movie. Very cute kid.

Also gave my primary coach his Christmas present today and he liked it. So that was good, too!

Happy Holidays to everyone!
Pat

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August 22, back on the ice!