WOW!!! No one has started a new thread yet??? I guess I will... (I choose this thread title to describe my job search. I either get a flood of jobs or none at all... )

Leaving for my lesson now... will write later...

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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!!!

Well I guess technically this is last week, but I just got back from vacation.

Feast: I skated at Polar Ice Peoria on an adult skate with a friend (who posts here on skatingforums, but I think wants her location unknown). The rink was lovely, with nice ice. It wasn't a very crowded session, which was nice, and I was too shy to say hello to any of the other skaters- but everyone was nice about sharing ice space, and they had some very good adult skaters, including a couple who was practicing stroking, and a learning the dutch waltz, which lead me to believe they were a pairs team- as their stroking was much stronger than their waltz would lead you to believe it would be.

I had a great skate, though I couldn't center spins at all, and it was just lovely to skate with my friend. I did all my silver moves, and actually did okay with most of them. I think summer 2010 is a reasonable goal there. I actually practiced all my jumps, which I rarely do, so that alone makes it a great practice.

Famine: Now that I'm back in Iowa the horrible pain in my right arm has returned. I thought I was rid of it, as I was pain free in Arizona. This does not bode well for synchro

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

(((((Skittl)))))

Famine:
Got on the ice yesterday (to work) for the first time since skiing last week, and nearly fell right away. Not sure, why, except maybe my body expected more resistance from my boots/skates. That went away, but as the day went on, I discovered that I was slipping out on all FO edges. I know it's partially due to dull blades, but I just could not tighten up enough and find the right place for my weight to deal with it.

Feast:
Went in the AM to give a short lesson - I never work on Mondays because I'm too tired. Found that I was fine, and worked the FO edges after I was done, and got things in order again. Also grabbed my Basic Skills book and learned the Canasta Tango in prep for ice dance lesson on Thurs.

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Feast: Did four sequence of the Rhythm Blues, and did the cross-behinds every single time. I have such a mental block about those that this was much more of an achievement than it sounds!

Feast and Famine: After our lesson we tried the Golden Skaters Waltz to the music. On the third attempt managed to do the cross in front/cross behind bit twice (which I normally can't manage that quickly) and was so excited by this that I promptly fogot the rest of the steps.

Famine: During our lesson we were doing backward chasses in waltz hold. In my attempt to actually get something resembling a back edge slammed straight down on my hip/thigh, and took my husband down with me. Not a bad fall, as these things go, but frustrating, as after all this time I still don't have back edges with any sort of curve.

Both Feast and Famine:
Did two runthrus of my technical program, with a couple of laps of stroking around the rink between the first and second runthru. I'm glad I got to try for that, but OMG!!!! I'm TIRED!!!

Primary coach thinks the second run thru was better. Me? I thought the first one was better since I did land my jumps (both the loop and the lutz) on the first runthru but not the second. Dunno...

Feast:
The runthru did go well. It's FINALLY stablizing and I am ending on time!!!

Famine:
Flip wants to go on vacation. It's very inconsistent this afternoon!!!

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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!!!

Feast
-Discovered I can do 2flip from traveling 3s. My coach was trying to figure out how to put the 2flip in my program and I really didn't think I'd be able to do 2flip like that. Apparently I can! Need to add more speed though.
-Sideways leaning laybacks are improving
-Inside edge back camels are starting to get consistent.

Famine
-Popped like, 7 double loops before finally doing them today. I was just so afraid of catching my edge/heel for some reason.

Slightly Hungry
-Double axels were even closer today than yesterday, but still nothing backwards on one foot.
-Coach has decided I'm doing a double axel AND triple toe in my Novice short. Ummmmmmmm....But yeah, she was trying to decide what jump I should do out of footwork and she said, "How's your double toe walley?" I replied that it was fine and showed her one, thinking "Only a double toe at Novice?!" I land the double toe and she goes, "Ok, good. Go do a triple." In all honesty they weren't tragic attempts, but I was just a little over the whole idea.

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Youtube Videos

But of course, everybody forgets the steps to the GSW! We were playing with it a bit last week, and I found it really hard to get my weight in the right place on that step.

As for me:

FEAST: Think we have our free dance more-or-less choreographed.

FAMINE: Husband dropped me on the ice from a great height (well, from the lift), and then laughed. And I have a really sore behind now (luckily not my coccyx, just above there), and have been mainlining arnica, ice and ibuprofen!

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

Feast: Had a fabulous lesson with my instructor (We were ALL BY OUR SELVES AT THE END OF THE SESSION FOR A GOOD 15 MINUTES!) and skated for 2 hrs...did power pulls, lunges, spins, you name it...all came together well...

Hang on to your butts for the famine....

Famine:Found out my mom has a large tumor (malignant) in her colon, hence colon cancer. Doctors are EXTREMELY concerned. It may have spread. ALSO, within that same hr yesterday, lost my job. I have 2 weeks left.

So sorry to hear all your news. Take care of yourself and we'll think good thoughts for you.

Your coach is funny!

Ouch! I hope sitting isn't a pain! And neither is sleeping! Try adding a comfortable cushion when you sit...

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope the best for you and your mom.

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Okay, bad things first.
FAMINE
+The ice sucked before resurfacing. It's so hard I could barely make a hole when I chopped the ice with the end of my blade.
+After resurfacing, I fell from forward power pulls as I was pulling onto the right outside. Slipped off the edge. I slid a big distance...
+School holidays for primary and secondary and JC students, so there are wayy more people than normal. Didn't do much and kept setting up jumps at where kids with the metal support were...
+Right outside edge feels bad but I blame the ice.
+A skater with hockey skates (you know, those kind...) nearly skated over my leg as I was trying a hydroblade. I didn't see that, but I heard the shouting that two skaters made and saw that they actually pulled him back. Terrifying. And to add icing, he asked what I was trying to do and then demonstrated a great hydroblade AND got up from it...

Feast
+LANDED LUTZ after a few attempts. I thought I was going to lose it. All lutzes have a stuck exit, in that when i land, I stay there.
+Flip feels so much better, and I got a few good-feeling loop in!
+Realised that looking at the ice/down before/during/after the jump makes the jump lower.
+Sit was nice, and camel feels better, minus the bendy free leg...

Diet
+I'm eating way too much lately, and it's starting to show in my tummy!!!

((((dance2sk8)))) What an awful day for you and your family. My prayers are with you and your mum.

I would smack mine if he laughed! Hope you feel better soon.

(((((dance2sk8))))) What a terrible day for you. I hope your mom's cancer has not spread!

Been there. Hope you get that under control, and wish I know how it's done.

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Oh dear, how awful and worrying for you; I'm so sorry. Please, go skating as much as you can, as it will seriously help you - your mother is going to need you badly, and you will help her far more if you can come to her fresh and relaxed after skating, rather than tense and worried after a poor night's sleep. And one CANNOT worry when on the ice, it simply can't be done!

My behind is fine this morning - the arnica was totally magic! I am aware there is still a bruise there, but that's all.

Did not skate today; wanted to, but woke up very tired indeed, and simply couldn't. It would have been dangerous. Am going back to bed soon.

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

Oh no. What an avalanche of bad news! Sending hopes and prayers for a 'best case' diagnosis/treatment for your mom and 'better job NOW' for you. ((((dance2sk8))))

This week's thread title is appropriate since all I could think about last night was the corned beef and cabbage dinner I prepared before I went to the rink. I knew DH was cooking it and I didn't want to miss out.

As a result, I left last night's session (with only ten people on the ice) early to get home for dinner, lol.

Feast: Jumps were good, as were MITF.

Famine: Spins were awful; I need a sharpening.

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Feast: Show program is coming along...I am switching around the axel and the loop, just can't get the axel to go off where we have it now...coach is okay with it...

I am actually doing an honest to goodness flying camel now Coach saw a few as I was practicing and was impressed...

Famine: my axel has been nicknamed the 9th Circle of Hell....need I say more? I was getting frustrated and coach said to me, "Is it the 9th Circle?" ha!

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Skating Dreams

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES." --Nike

Feast: after my 3 year break and a big relocation, I now have a coach and some tentative goals!

Famine: skating still seems really unnatural to me after spending those 3 years on ballroom, so I hope I can be patient (not a personal strength) while I get used to it.

dance2sk8:
You are in my prayers- what a sucky, terrible double whammy!!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Feast: Today was my first time on the ice since before spring break (as in my first time skating in almost two weeks...). It went much better than expected and I even did a program run-thru!

Famine: I cut out some elements from my program (the flip at the end of my jump seq.) and didn't do some elements very well (like the last lutz in my program, the last spin, and the footwork).

Feast: I finished on TIME! This has been the first time I have finished with the music since OCTOBER! Yay me!

Famine: I almost ran into a guy while I was doing a BRO spiral... I could feel the wind moving between us. I don't know if I actually ran through where he was standing (facing away from me talking to a girl he's going to do a dance program with for the spring show) and he moved, or if I just got really really close to him. Nonetheless, it freaked me out.

Feast: I'm skating three more times this week because my professor canceled class Friday!

Dance2sk8 - I am at a loss for words, so I will just send you a big ((((HUG)))).
I agree that it's a good idea to keep skating if you can. When you step onto the ice, it may be your only break from the pressures and stresses you are dealing with. And it's true, when you're on the ice, it's all you think about because otherwise you end up on your head!

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Dancetosk8 - Sending all my positive thoughts your way.

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Famine - lack of skating coach on lesson day, went to the session for practice anyway. Flip is a flop, I think I'm going to swap in a salchow in that spot. Even if I land it, I'll never make the immediate RBO3 transition out of the landing into the heel pivot the program calls for. I can do it with speed and style coming out of the sal.

Feast - solved the last remaining "how to get from element A to element B while matching the music" problem in the program. I'm keeping up with the music and being expressive and stuff. Working on more speed.

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It's all about the dress!

My prayers are with you and your mother. Here's to hoping that it hasn't spread. And whilst it also sucks that you're job hunting, on the positive side it gives you more time helping your mother (being positive will help you and her). And I second (or third) all the recommendations for skating when you've got the chance. Keeping a routine will help in this difficult time, whilst also providing you a good release from the stresses of life.

Feast: Spins were better after I stoned the edges of my blades. Definitely need a sharpening.

The kids said my layback was good. I was thrilled that it was recognizable.

Famine: Too crowded to practice MITF

Too wobbly to practice jumps higher than a waltz jump.

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On A Diet (or so it appears ) Still skating, still progressing veeeeeeery slowly - just don't have time to post much. Since I am skipping Nationals this year, coach is being kind to me and we are just working on polishing basic skills. All that will change at the end of June when we start working toward the 2010 Nationals - then my coach goes back to being her whip-and-chair self

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

Feast:
Major feasting today during the first runthru of my artistic program!!! It went smooth and flowed for the most part. STILL not perfect, but it ran really well. I also got in some good looks (as in I'm actually moving before I JUMP and was gliding out when I landed!!! )

Famine:
The second and final runthru wasn't as good. I had people in the way during the footwork section and had to adjust to go around them.

Someday... SOMEDAY... I'm gonna learn how to do hockey stops and spray ice so I get back at my EVILLE choreographer!!! Yup!!! After I paid him at the rink door (I had already taken my skates off), he looked like he was gonna skate away... then turn right away and "showered me with affection!!!" (Alright! He only got my ankles... but GRRRRR...someday... )

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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!!!