Thinking of Christmas carols, you see!

On Song: Husband landed his flip today!!!! Twice. In his lesson. It wasn't very pretty, and he didn't glide out of the landing, but it was a definite flip, and definitely landed. After that he lost it rather, and didn't land any more. But he is very pleased.

We then had a really good practice, both separately and together. So we were pleased.

Off-key: Not a lot, I think. My dance moves could be better, but then, that's not new!

Someone else will have to start next week's thread, as I won't be here.

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

Way to go Mr. Redboots!!! How very exciting to hear about your successes with flips!! -- oh, but the journey doesn't end just there. That is the great thing about skating, there is always something to dream and achieve. Ahhh. Desire is what feeds this sport of passion, artistry, and athleticism. Isn't it great?!

Off-key:
I am taking a break from skating today to nurse a few cuts and bruises. When working on Bronze MIF (backward power perimeter stroking) I must have caught a deep edge in a rut in the ice and fell hard (well, re-fell) on my right knee that is healing from last weeks flip attempts in jump and spin class.
Went to Seattle yesterday to skate with Casey. Practicing simple side by side waltz jumps, said partner decided to bail and not jump, and didn't cue me so I jumped right into him and took the brunt of the fall.

I was skating during a public session yesterday and some kid in hockey skates wasn't paying attention and ran into me. I fell straight on my tailbone and elbow. I felt all the pain shoot straight up through the crown of my head for at least a half a minute. THEN, I was exploring a little with catch camel spins and cut my finger. Hard to believe, all that bleeding everywhere for such a tiny little cut.

On Song:
Backspins are improving at a snails pace but I can see progress. Pairs practice went very well in spite of the fall. I always feel challenged and fulfilled in skating pairs. Even basic elements like simple waltz jumps, and stroking are improving. Overall for the last days skating, It was all wonderful. now... on to those Bronze MIF for my test in Jan...

On-Pitch: Not my singing! LOL! But my backwards is coming along great! Already faster on backward stroking than frontward and WAY smoother backward. Now I just need to deepen the backward edges and get the back cross-overs.

Not even in a bucket: Barely 3 months to my first competition and I still don't have any good one-footed turns! Might have to use some choreographic slight of hand to hide that

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

Sk8pdx: Sorry about the falls. I think the tail bone ones are the worst I have had so far but fear the skaters chin you guys talk about.. hmmm..will you still be making fun of my crash pads now? giggle. I have worn my knee pads since the one experience in hitting it so hard I saw stars! Now all I feel is cushy-ness!

On Song: The Christmas LTS recitals are complete. The first was Tuesday night and I was surprisingly calm prior to taking the ice. I had wondered if I might get "stage fright". But I barely remember the first night and left the ice wondering if I had actually done all the elements! Partner took pictures but no video of that one.

Friday night was by far my best one. I decided that I needed to be emotionally more present for the whole thing. I hit all elements but thought I might have done a 1/2 flip where a toe loop was supposed to be. I watched a video back and found that I had just invented my own little 1/2 flip/toe loopey thing...lol. I knew I had done something funky but was not quite sure. One waltz jump was a bit funky too in the landing but I was pleased to just keep moving. Friday was also the most fun since it was also the freestyle class number that included the pinwheel that whipped the end girls pretty fast. We did not quite end as straight as possible and the music ran out before we did but it was a blast and most enjoyed by my invited friends. Partner told me later that one little girl could not get hooked in and was racing the wheel for a while then just hooked to the other side...I remember the audience laughing at something....giggle.

Saturday mornings performance was a slight disaster. We had not even a second of warm up time. I know I have mentioned before how I simply cannot skate without at least a few minutes (more like 20 minutes or so) to get my feet to stop aching. I muddled through it but simply did a 1/2 flip in place of the toe loop as I knew I would fall otherwise. I was unable to hold the edge of the tiny waltz jump landing by letting my right arm wander around so sort of stepped out of it which looked really poor.

One of the coaches that I like teaches a beginners/advanced adult LTS came up to me after my performance and asked me to skate with her skaters since they were supposed to have 11 and only 3 actually showed up! They were to go on in only 5 minutes. I was scared because although it was pretty basic, I had never even seen their program and was expected to just go out there and follow. I am not experienced enough but she was desperate. I did it when she explained that the program was done in a line and I could just figure out what to do when the person in front of me changed. So glad I did because it was a blast with no pressure of jumping or centering a spin. We basically started in a line and swizzled, stroked along the red and blue lines. It was adorable...I loved that tape the best...Each adult had such a look of determination and a bit of pride. It was just last January when that was about my level so it felt sentimental too! giggle. (ahhhh, my one year anniversary with my skates)

Off Key: Our rink had a ton of birthday parties during the only available ice today. It was likely my last time skating until I return from my vacation. I was bummed I could not find space or patience to deal. Stayed about an hour then headed to take care of the million details of the pre trip stuff!

Well Done Dallas!

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

Great job Dallas!

Wish we could have stayed and watched but was glad I was there to wish you luck, being your surrogate skate-mom and all!

Spa Mama

Dallas: Way to go on the improvisation on your performance. (and happy skating anniversary!)

Nah, I won't laugh at you with your crash pads, Bubble wrap yes, crash pads, no. he he he!

On-song: well it was actually the 16th, but I wanted the chance to post it in a thread people would read. Our rink's ice show was on Saturday and it was AWESOME to watch. There were only a few truly good performances, but it was just so awesome to see skaters doing things that were at, or just above, the level I can skate at in a program and loving it. Watching the olympics is fun, but watching skaters perform things I could actually DO was a really neat experience. And I saw the adult synchro team perform for the first time and the team was just spectacular! Can't wait until the summer when I can join them Congrats to Courtenay who performed wonderfully!

Off-key: No ice time this week, and probably none next week. Guess I'll have to wait until the new year- unless I take my cousins skating over christmas, but then I'll have to skate in rentals, and I'm not sure if I could even do that anymore.

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

Many thanks, Jessi! The program for the show was mostly "On-Song", though I don't quite know how as they had blown a speaker early in the show and we could really only hear the music on half the rink -- D'oh!

Personally, I was a little tight because that left me to count the program on the half of the ice where we couldn't hear. I was concerned that my internal metronome would be off, but it wasn't and we managed to get into the cha-cha block on time and on beat --whew! DH said that we looked like we were having more fun than we had ever had at Christmas show time -- normally we're putting an almost finished or just-finished program out there and we look (and skate) scared, LOL! This year, the program's been done for a month and a half, so it's nearly at the level that we would compete it. Of course, we're off the ice nearly three weeks due to the holiday and the holiday rink schedule, grr...

Anyway, I had a "chopping broccoli" moment in the traveling circle (end of the program) when I clicked blades with another skater -- I was laughing as my feet tripped about underneath me, completely out of my control, but the momentum of the circle and the basket-weave hand hold kept me on my feet. At the beginning of the program, I only held my two-foot spin for two of the four counts -- don't ask me why -- I either spun reaaaallly fast or was thinking so much about counting the whole program that I exited early -- much more likely than me spinning super fast. Maybe one or two revolutions when I've been up to four or five in practice. Hit a nice spiral around the end (DH said) and he liked me and my partner because we "know how to sell a program" -- I said he was a dork and thanked him for the compliment.

Anyway -- to those who have yet to perform their holiday shows, break a blade!

On Song:
My new skates are wonderful. Stiff, but wonderful.

Spins were great; didn't try any MITF stuff other than edges and three turns.
A few baby waltz jumps and toe loops were okay, but they didn't "feel" right.

Spirals rock! Any edge, any direction. Support is a beautiful thing.

Off-Key:
Back crossovers are tricky in the new skates, so that's a priority on my practice list.

An hour in the new skates was enough, so I switched back to my old ones during the ice cut. Very strange to go from stiff boots with one kind of blade to soft boots with a different blade.

After a few minutes, I adjusted and was able to jump and spin. Glad I did switch because my last two privates were beginners; didn't have to worry about the new skated getting kicked/cut or losing my balance while trying to hold the skaters up.

__________________

needs tuning:
December 17, 2006 ~ Sunday
1:05 to 1:15 Since I skated yesterday my body was still kinda felt warmed up and fresh. So I did a few strokes, crossovers, and edge pulls on my left foot.

1:15 to 2:00 2 Waltz jumps, 2 Salchows, 2 Loops, Flip, Flip/Loop, Flip/Loop, Lutz, Lutz/Loop! Phew! So relieved, but when I tried my second Lu/Lo attempt, thats when my head started playing with me again.

3:30 to 4:30 Felt rested so I did my same routine as the last session. Felt ok. But when I tried spinning, it all went to hell. Tried a couple of back spins and fell on my ### about 15 or more times. Same with my flying camel attempts, I just went splat, due to over-flying, I think.

4:55 to 5:30 Was a little pissed of myself, so I did back to back jumping passes with the lutzes and did very well. Improvised to christmas music again.

Sooooo sore and tired

__________________
Tim David's Website

On Song: Yesterday was performance #2 of our Nutcracker on Ice...and it rocked!!! I wish hubby was able to tape this show as it was the best! No one fell, all the numbers worked out splendidly and everyone was in the groove! I've put the word out for anyone that video'd to let me know and I can burn to dvd (that way I can get a copy).....

For my parts, I managed all my elements, even the waltz; waltz-salchow; which were right after a really nice scratch spin! Even our partnered spirals were good!

Off-Key: I went in to work late today...had a splitting headache, sore throat, and slight fever. I was wiped out when the alarm went off. I think I have performance exhaustion...usually hits the day or two after the show. Maybe some dehydration (again). Takes a day or two to bounce back.

I'm still finding glitter everywhere, but luckily I didn't put any on my face so didn't have to worry about getting it in my eyes (did that last year and a piece got under my contact). Told the girl doing the glittering I wasn't putting it on my face for that reason.

Hubby wants to skate tonight, but I don't-I'm wiped. Should be a slow day at work so I can rest.

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

TOTALLY OFF KEY!!!

Oh, dear!!! I hope yesterday was just a bad day or something, since I had a lesson today but no loops, no flips and no camels! No energy either. I guess I was stiff, lethargic or something. (Either that or the brunch that sitting in my stomach... new place, good food too!!! )

On Song:

Speed is still there, though I certainly can push faster than that. (Friday was MUCH FASTER!!!)

Look forward to skating in NYC soon!!! I'm flying out tomorrow!!!

All of you that did Christmas shows:

__________________
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!!!

On Song: Hooray! I was back on the ice this morning after a week off due to bronchitis. 3-turns worked, spin was okay, edges were nice.

Off Key: I have no lung power and stamina whatsoever! One pattern of fiesta tango took every breath I had. Oh well, it was a really bad bout last week, and I am just glad it's behind me. By next week, my lungs should be pretty close to back to normal.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah everyone!

On SOng:
Our Christmas Shows were fantastic. Special praise to my wife, boy is she tough. We did great in our pairs number and she's going in for arthoscopic knee surgery to fix her bad meniscus tomorrow! I'm lucky.

Off Key:
got up at 5 for the early skate, thought, hmm I wonder how many people will be there the day after our shows. OOPS no AM session today so back to sleep just as the alarm went off. Oh Monday, lovely Monday.
Lyle

WAY Off-Key: The ice at the rink where I go to ice-dance at the social session on Sunday. So brittle and weird, I felt like I couldn't skate anymore and hardly did any dances!!! Mostly socialized. My coach was tired and opted out of my lesson (we have this deal that if either of us wants to bag my lesson, it's okay -- I save money and he gets much needed rest) -- I figured since I couldn't skate anyway, why bother with a lesson because it's not like I could do anything!!

The funny part about this is that I've gotten spoiled now by my regular rink where the ice has been FABULOUS for the last two weeks ever since some of us decided that we wouldn't go there anymore if the ice stayed as crappy as it was, and it looks like the management finally heard us!! They have also been doing killer business on the weekend public sessions for some reason. They have no idea why the sudden popularity in recreational skating, as they do absolutely no advertising and run a really inefficient business -- could it be the new Starbucks drive-through very close to the rink????

Couldn't go to that rink this morning because my battery was dead when I went out to start and so had to get a jump, get a new battery, etc., etc.

On song: Hmm, 4 more days until the solstice and then the days will start to get longer again, which here in the rainy (and somewhat dangerous if you have been listening to the news from around here) Pacific NW is really a godsend, because having the sunset start at around 4 in the afternoon is a real bummer.

Skating-wise there is no song -- who knows if I can get those Bronze Moves ready through the holidays (sorry sk8pdx, it might not happen for me in January!).

__________________
Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

I can't wait! Here, it's pitch dark by 4:30 pm, and it's lovely when the days start getting longer. Although if you look here, it's extraordinary how, although the days get a little longer, the sun continues to rise later in the mornings for a couple of days, and then sunrise stays at 08:06 for a whole week before going back again.

I expect your days are like ours - some days it seems as though the sun simply hasn't bothered to rise at all.

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

Well it still isn't as easy as it used to be, but it seems ok. doing all my singles very easily and spins are good. I do have the occasional position that just brings a tear to my eye, trying to avoid them. Making it through 3.30 plus program with only 6 jumps.

__________________
Who me? Couldn't be....
http://www.youtube.com/bouldersk8r

On Song
Had my first lesson in 7 months with the ice dancer who had helped me on the details of my program choreography. I think her new input has solved some problems and cleaned up the look of the section I was having trouble with (now I just have to get the corrections/changes into my body and start doing them WELL, LOL!)


Off Key
My double salchow is still nowhere to be found. I landed one nice one yesterday, but then the moment was ruined as soon as I looked at my landing mark and saw that it wasn't clean. In trying to get it clean, I just made it fall apart completely after that. I'm trying to completely change the entrance to my toeloop, which makes the single awkward, never mind the double. Back to square one. Sigh.
The flying camel was erratic yesterday, too, even though I was so sure I had fixed it earlier in the week. And, as always, the change foot part of my combo spin remains cursed whenever I do it in my program, even if I nail it in practice.

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

Fussy, curmudgeonly comment from snobby musician: shouldn't it be "in tune" rather than "on song"? Anyhoo. . .

In tune:

Finally a lesson today after so many weeks of sucky schedules, illness, and owies. Got some very detailed tips and critiques on some of the pre-bronze moves, which really pleases me. I have renewed hope that my waltz blob-ish-thing on the ice will someday in fact look more like a waltz 8.

Ran through Dutch Waltz solo several times. I think my lobes are all kinds of different sizes, but at least i don't forget the steps, which is more than I can say for the Canasta Tango. Dance Buddy also taught me Rhythm Blues and Cha Cha today. not that I'll remember them, but at least I do know the steps that are unique to them and I can pull the patterns out of my folder & practice on the floor.

We're hopping in the car Wednesday and heading east, where several rinks will be open and within 1/2 hr drive of where we're staying, including one rink that has an Olympic-sized sheet (woo hoo!). So I can get some decent practice time in for the 10 days we're gone.

Off-key:

Not enough time to warm up before coach arrived! My fault--I was running late. But it did mean my BW crossovers looked pretty crummy! Ah well.

Found out that one rink will be taken down mid-Feb (old and warped, apparently) and won't be reconstructed until late summer!! Dunno what this will do for ice time all those months. I really don't need any more changes in the rink's schedule--it's been hard enough to rearrange my life around the current schedule!

I need bungee cords for my legs, because my free leg is always drifting away from my skating leg. Or maybe magnets on each ankle. Duct tape? And weights for my arms, which are tending to fly far too high, causing me to lose control.

On song:
My spins are back, finally!! Yippee!!
Jumps were all pretty much present and accounted for
Finally, finally, finally- we are now asked to wear the yellow sash when we do our programs and there is a file for putting CD's in line!

Off Key:
Did program runthrough for Bronze freestyle test- it was pretty bad that even though I fell on the loop, I also two footed my toeloop ( that NEVER happens!) and bailed the salchow. None of the spins were available for that either.

A funny moment today
Terri: " we can play with Silver moves today"
Coach: "I don't know what's on Silver moves"
Terri: "Eight step mohawk, forward and back crosstrokes, threes in the field, pre- pre spirals, and power pulls"
Coach: "Uh, we'll freestyle today"

Makes me think this next moves test will be a doozy!

__________________
Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Or maybe coach just wanted a week to review the patterns to make sure he/she was going to teach them with the correct focus for the adult test....

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

NOOOOOO!!! don't make me go through this all alone! My primary coach thinks I am ready though. She just wants to see more power to make up for when I get nervous, so I can still pull it off and hopefully pass.It is going to be a very full test session.

Hey, we got lucky here in pdx after those awful wind storms. Parts of Seattle (especially on the east side) were without power for up to 48 hours.

Off-key: Axel disappeared. The first few I do are rotated, but I'm sitting down. Then I get super frustrated and the rest are utter crap.

On song: Um ... I actually made it to practice today? I only skated two days last week. I'm sure that contributed to my Axelitis.

Sk8pdx: You're NEVER alone... you got the whole skatingforums board cheering you on!!!

So get going!!!

__________________
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!!!