Mouldy: Me. I hurt my back somehow during my FIL's funeral and I've been able to really skate at the rink. In addition, my skates hurt my feet, so I need to visit Klingbeil's for another adjustment.


Fresh: Not much, just trying to adjust our family lifestyle to missing grandparents. Severe shortage of time and babysitters -- how often am I allowed to ask the teenager or my brother (who's doing well health-wise) to babysit?

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Sorry to hear that!

For the first time in two weeks, I'm going to go ice skating tomorrow! I'm very excited. Two weeks ago, I was extremely close to landing the loop, guess I'll have to start again on that one. I'm really worried about the train. Seeing as I don't look 16 or anything, and money is somewhat scare since I'm still at school and sitting exams, I get a half on the train. I went out with friends the other day, and got half as usual, and the conductor rumbled my friend, but insisted that I too was 16, even though I had never said anything, and he insisted he'd caught me before. He said he'd let us off, but if he ever caught us again, he'd get the police involved.

I don't think the police would care, and in any case, couldn't we get him for conspriacy to defraud or something??? I'm really worried, I think I'll just plead that I'm fifteen if I see him tomorrrow morning...It'd cost me almost £6 to get to the rink otherwise, whereas now it costs me £2.60.

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http://www.yourphotoalbums.co.uk

Sorry to hear about that ISk8NYC. Hope things will come together soon so you can skate again.

Fresh: Primary coach is back!!!

And we went over my backspin, camel and sit spins. He says that my sit spins (when I don't get lazy and do HOLD the sit position) is just fine.

Backspin is consistently at 4 revs before I end up on the BI edge. Legs are starting to cross over!!! YIPPEE!!! I'm actually closer to a back scratch!!!

Mouldy: Summer time is back and so are the kiddies!!! Skate guards aren't doing their jobs keeping the rentals kids out of the middle and I had to physically get an ice guard's attention to keep the rentals kids out of the middle since there's a BUNCH of us taking lessons in the middle of the ice. (Coach was doing center of the ice guard duty DURING my lesson and NOT watching my camels, which I wasn't happy about, so I had to do that to keep his sanity.)

We ended up staying in the middle of the rink to go over crossovers around the circle (needs some work...) and this 3 turn exercise w/the threes that I do have. It goes like this: RFI3, turn around and step to a LFO3, then RBO3! Repeat exercise, but switch the foot. (The BO3's need some work. My RFI3 are actually better now!!!)

Per my secondary coach's request, I am learning the attitude spin now. Was a challenge b/c 1) it was a weird position to be in and 2) I have to be care NOT to run into some BRAT who comes barreling in the middle of the rink and Jay had to chase the brat out... (Where ARE you, Mr. Ice Guard???)

I am consistently getting 2 rev. on the camel spins too... but he wants 3 of them!!! And of course, again, I had to abort a few spin entrances b/c of the brats again -- never mind be careful when they HEAD TOWARDS ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CAMEL SPIN!!! (HEY, KID!!! Didn't your mom ever tell 'ya you don't get camel spins thru osmosis or get near sharp objects??? And since I'm ranting, you also don't get it by bugging me afterwards to "show me how you do that" when you barely can keep your balance going forwards either!!!)

Looks like I have homework this weekend to work on those mouldy spots too...

Needless to say, as far as this ice session is concerned, it's a WASHOUT!!!

Lower back and legs are very sore and tired after the fact. I may have to bow out of my gym session tonight...

Fresh again: Thankfully, I finally got Annabel's wonderful handmade SOAP, so I can be "fresh" again after the washout of a session I got. (I know. Har har... time to get a new joke writer...)

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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!!!

Ooh, you should have seen how pleased she was after she had! It was on the hardest day of all, we were all exhausted, and there she was fizzing away like an Alka-Seltzer when you first put it into a glass of water!

You'll do it again, though, now that you already have. It might take time, but it's there now....

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

FRESH: Final run throughs before the competition tomorrow. Wore my dress--I like it! Finally!! I really like how the skirt swirls around when I spin. I did 2 good clean programs & a few 1/2 run-throughs (first 1/2 or last 1/2) that were decent, so I feel ready to go. Coach told me a very helpful tip: however high your arm is, you should be looking above it. So when I lift my hand, my face has to go up to match. His other comment re. that same thing: "I can see your hair, but not your face!"

After he told me that I did another run through really focusing on that--it really helped my balance on a lot of the footwork & turns because it kept me much more straight instead of leaning one way or another. Cool!

MOULDY: Coach didn't want to tape me, so I can't post a video. Hmmmm, maybe that's a good thing........

Fresh:

Jumps showed up today. yee ha! However, since "apparently you're in a jumping mood" the lesson got harder with more technique pointers so that at the end I was happy that my feet were still leaving the ground and I was still in one piece. Why do coaches do that, can't I have at least one day to bask in the glow of my "okay" jumps?

Spins came along too but then I freaked myself out because I started looking when I was spinning. Usually I let my eyes blur, but then I started focusing and blam! spins went home.

Mouldy:

This is my last week of spring skate and I can't afford to do summer.

Fresh: Practiced again last night and my new skates like to spin! The lutz and flips were also the highest they've been in a long time. I'm really getting use to the blade placement.

Mouldy: Trying toget in more practice before the pairs clinic next month. Hopefully I'll see my coach soon and can pair skate with him for a bit.

Stroking and Tango...

Fresh: Not much. Managed near the end of the lesson to get the right shape on the lobe going into the first corner of the Tango. Before without realizing it I was pulling off the edge and rolling onto a flat or almost inside edge.

Mouldy: Coach wanted me to take stroking up another level. Right knee hurting since I haven't skated since Monday.

Then on Tango, Coach wants more free leg elevation on the back outside edges (inbetween the cross-back chasses) plus some "air space" between the knees. Made the first few lobes of the dance feel totally different, but I think once I get used to it, I'll like it.

New boots should be here sometime next week or so...

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

Fresh: Went to the doctor yesterday, and he released me to do whatever I want to do. That means I have permission to jump now. It also means I go back to trying to spin.

Mouldy: Worked all night last night, so I couldn't go skate this afternoon.

Fresh - my back edges have returned! Coach was astounded. Am finally making progress on forward spin too! After so many interruptions the past 18 months, it really felt good to see progress.

Mouldy - alas, my high lasted only a few days, as Wednesday my garage roof (attached to my house) caught fire at 4:40 am as I came downstairs for my first cup of coffee. Fire dept responded within minutes but roof will have to be completely redone. But the stress just wore me out and didn't skate my usual Wednesday evening nor could I get the motivation for the rest of this week. But I have a lesson on Sunday (19th) and should be fine by then.

A lovely day of skating, I had my leson at 08:30 instead of 12.15pm. That was good, we worked on jumps, which were cool, and my spin was as centered as one would wish, which delighted me!
Then my instructor decided to teach me something new, a Three jump-half loop-salchow. Which terrified me, but it's so easy! It sounds really fab aswell, to anyone who knows nothing about skating. Then he decided to teach me something else new. The dreaded...FLIP.

It's rather exciting though, in some respect.

The ice rink was freezing today, all the ice was misty, and you couldn't see from one end to the other. It took quite a while to warm up this morning! Also the ice is getting...sort of...renewed? They're taking it down so it's dead thin ice on Monday, so apparently the ice will be crap.

Whoopeee.

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http://www.yourphotoalbums.co.uk

So sorry to hear about your FIL, and glad that I met him last month. Happy to hear that your brother's health is improving!

skateflo - How awful that you lost your garage roof to a fire, but how lucky that you were awake to call the fire department right away!

I've been having a stressful time too. My cousin, who was 10 years older than I, was hospitalized two weeks ago and suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest. He was revived, but the doctors were not holding out much hope of recovery, as he had suffered significant brain damage from lack of oxygen. Adding to the stress of his condition, it was like pulling teeth to get accurate information from anyone at the hospital, even though I was the next of kin. I was finally able to speak with the neurologist on Tuesday morning, and within 20 minutes, received a call that my cousin had died. The one ray of light is that the neurologist contradicted all of the other medical staff when he told me that my cousin was not brain dead, in a coma or in a vegetative state, giving those of us who were able to visit him shortly before his death the comfort of knowing that he may well have known we were there. I'm now working on making the appropriate arrangements and handling the settlement of his trust fund. It's going to be a few months before I'm done with it all, and I hope that the memorial service planned for August will bring closure.

Mouldy:
I thought that it would be good for me to teach and skate as usual on Wednesday morning, but didn't sleep much Tueday night, so it was a complete wash out.

Fresh:
I started coping better on Thursday, and skated Friday at the last of the great empty public sessions before the summer schedule starts. Both FO and FI threes are still there and improving! The R side of the prelim power threes is getting better, and I actually managed to step forward on the L side twice, which is also an improvement. I finally properly held the first LFO edge on the prelim spiral pattern. This has been a big problem because of my pronation that still has not been fully addressed (getting my orthotics on Tues!). Best of all, I tried an exercise I had seen being taught in group freestyle/moves lessons. From a standstill, push onto a BO edge and do a BO three. I can't believe that I had the courage to try it, and even better, was able to do it, and actually check the three. Only did the R side, will have to work up the courage to try the L .

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Huge hugs to those who have lost loved ones recently.... I hope you are being able to grieve properly.

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

hugs! hope that everything gets better soon!!!

Fresh: SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!
I'm officially finished with 11th grade. finally!

Skating's been going pretty good, except I'd been having trouble concentrating because I had finals all week.

Mouldy: scraped and and bruised my left ankle. So that's kind of sore. Also I've been feeling stiff lately, does anyone know how to get loosened up? I mean I stretch before I skate, but is there something else I should be doing?

~kittie

To dbny -
sorry to hear about your family loss, and the screwed-up health-care system.
I hope that skating will help you, find peace again.
Skating can be great therapy, and a needed break from the troubles of life.

...........

Fresh: My first skate since the doc released me. Of course, my coach started right back with spins and jumps. The muscle memory is still there.

Mouldy: The jumps and spins are not. Tried waltz and jumping off that left outside edge is iffy. I have to teach my brain that it is ok to do that again. Coach said I got pretty good height, but minimal distance. Flip was funny. She says I don't trust my left foot yet, and she's right. It'll come back in time. Then, salchow. We just worked on the 3turn entry for today.

I tried to do a one foot spin, and could do the back crossovers and the step onto the outside edge, but couldn't make myself do the 3turn into the spin. (If anyone remembers, it's how I broke my ankle) I tried it with a 2foot spin, and that worked. I guess I just have to remember that I have to go backwards here before I can go forwards.

To dbny - I am so sorry to hear about your loss and of your interaction with the health system. And now you are dealing with the legal aftermath as well. That will take much time, patience, and courage. I hope that skating will help on the majority of days you go to the rink, as there are bound to be days you will want to just turn around and go back home. Been there, done that.

It seems this season we have had a number of injuries, some quite serious, and other difficulties effecting our posters. I just want to offer my sincere and heartfelt best wishes to all those posters no matter where you are in your journey.

As many of us have found, skating can be great therapy and a needed break from the troubles of life.

Fresh: I am back on the ice after 4 weeks of doing nothing. Met up with my former Canskate coach for lesson today. We re-worked the first few jumps and spins. And OMG, what a difference she made! She got me into awaring my body/arms/legs positions. I am kind of pissed that why didn't my present coach @ my club bother to tell me anything about skating at all.

This is a brand new start for me. After all these years of leisure skating I finally got my butt together to work on the prelim elements seriously. Hopefully I'll be able to test this winter and get my NCCP certificate!

Mouldy: Stuck in the traffic for 2 hours on my way back home due to highway construction and a trailer truck fire!!! stupid 401... ><

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Reach out for the sunshine ~*

Even though I had a pretty good practice session on Thursday (did a entire power three pattern without putting the foot down or chickening out) please add me to the "Skaters going Through Rough Times List"
If you've read my posts from earlier this week on this thread, then you know that my mom is back in the hospital. For the most part, she stopped eating and drinking because of clinical depression- this is what we've found out the last two days. She is now on a antidepressant and I hope that she gets back to her normal self!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

I'm sorry to hear that your mom is having more troubles, Terri. I hope the antidepressant kicks in soon.

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes.

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Terri, I already PM'ed you on this, but I do hope that your mom recovers soon so you won't have to worry so much and concentrate on your skating!!!

Mouldy:

Had a lot of housework to do... and got stuck in traffic. It took me long to drive to the weekend rink than I actually skated on it!

Fresh:

Ended up having to skate again after going to my pilates session and having a quick dinner. I ended up at my alternate weekend rink instead. I worked mainly on Bronze Moves this evening, though the footwork part of my artistic program was definitely worked on to death as well.

Mouldy again:

Took over an hour to warm up those legs well enough where I could easily bend and do my Bronze Moves as well as I would like them to be. And I still can't get my footwork to work in at faster speeds... but slightly better this evening, nonetheless.

Fresh again:

Bronze Moves was still decent despite the "fresh" legs and the forward power 3's started building up steam (speed) as the night progressed...WOO HOO!!! Boy, do I wish BOTH my coaches could see that last run!!!

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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!!!

Fresh: Final lesson on our free dance before the competition, unless we decide to spring for 15 minutes of Coach1's time on Wednesday. Coach2 loved the tweaks we'd had at the Mountain Cup, and said how much we had improved, both on the assisted 3-jump and on the lift.

In our lesson with Coach2, we worked on the compulsory dances for Friday, mostly on the Riverside Rhumba (our Golden Skaters' Waltz was deemed okay without more than a cursory glance, thankfully). He said it improved a great deal during the lesson!

Also ran through my programme for tonight - I can see myself coming 3rd out of 3, but at least I get a medal, and I don't really care..... nor do I care if it comes last on Friday. I've tweaked the choreography yet again - hope I can remember what I decided to do!

Mouldy: Not a great deal. My foot still hurts in my boot, but not badly. Managed the whole session without having to take my boot off.
Coach1 said, and I think he meant it as a compliment, that now that I'm so much thinner, the judges are more likely to notice my bent free leg and unpointed toes.... and I wore my blad boot-covers this morning instead of liturgical green, as Lionel said that bright boot-covers make him more likely to notice my mistakes instead of Husband's! Hoped it would work on Coach1 (well, it did to a certain extent!).....

Trying to quickly re-learn the Festival Quickstep for a recreational competition next weekend (no lesson, because of Team Challenge). Must download the steps, as I'm sure what Husband tells me isn't quite right from what I remember of the dance!

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

Fresh: I landed my first loop-loop!! Still can't manage a waltz-loop though - it's hard for me to get the leg right and get the right edge/balance on the waltz landing. My edges are slowly coming along. Hopefully I can get in enough practice today to pass the test tomorrow!!

Mouldy: I'm sore/tired now, and sleep isn't helping much. I'm wondering if I should just not skate today to have more energy tomorrow...

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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

FRESH: Competition went quite well yesterday. I wasn't skating against anyone, so I got first place--and also last place! I skated fairly well, a couple of little wobbles but nothing too serious. Everyone said how beautiful my dress was, so I guess it was worth the stress of waiting for it! And I'm quite pleased w/ the video--I look fairly relaxed & I kept my head up, & my arms aren't just stuck straight out from my sides, so overall I think it looks pleasing to watch.

MOULDY: Having seen the video I do think the new dress isn't the most slimming thing I have to wear. I know they say the camera adds 10 pounds but I do think the dress also makes me look a bit chunkier too.

** as an aside, Mrs. Redboots & others, I tried Bach Rescue Remedy! Funny--the website I originally saw it on, I thought it was too expensive.......then last week looking through a pet supply catalog there it was! For quite a bit less, and I double checked--it's exactly the same bottle! So I ordered it along w/ a new leash & doggie treats. It tastes NASTY. I put 4 drops under my tongue, then another 4 just before I was to skate. I don't know if I'd swear it made a difference, but my legs weren't shaky & I felt balanced & solid. On the other hand I got a horribly dry mouth during my skate which really bothered me--don't know if that was nerves or a side effect?