Jazz, it's the only way I can get past punching him!!! Seriously, though, next time I will "screw my courage to the sticking plate" and tell him that he just MUST change his ways. I don't care if he's only doing it to cross-train for running; it's just scary and dangerous. Never mind stupid.

No, those are MY voices!!

so when the voices argue, I only do half the move, but half a bracket is a bad thing.
Lyle

Where are you training now, John?

Kateskate, I take it you are going to be showing the Husband how to do the Willow & Fiesta yet again at Oxford?! I think he's a total glutton for punishment, after Bristol, I really do.... and he's doing the Zimmer Trophy with his other partner. Me, I'm just helping out (have been asked to do some announcing); I'm finished competing for the season!

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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 they aren't, they're mine, all mine!

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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!

Yes - I am competing on Sunday! I will certainly try to show my best performance. I have strict instructions fro dance coach to try and show off, keep my head up, smile and not to look like he's forced me to skate. He won't be there to see it though. I have a friend there who I will turn to though to put me on the ice......

How did your husband do in Bristol? Who won that class? Were there many kids in it?

I will see you on Sunday

I can't now remember who won - some kid or other, I think. But Husband skated badly, and finished at least one place lower than he should have done, really annoying for him. His timing went off, yet again.... Let's hope it doesn't on Sunday.

Mind you, the kids didn't have it all their own way there! In at least one class, it was the adults who showed them all how to do it.

See you Sunday!

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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!

Looking forward to seeing both of you on Sunday. (Why, oh why did I volunteer to help with the announcing lol!)

Today: Skated on the teatime session as usual today.

Hockey ice: For some reason this session seems to attract more idiots than other sessions, but today it felt like they were really out in force! It was difficult to practice anything without a kamakaze kid skating through the middle of it.

Spins weren't that great today. Sit spins were particularly week.

Hockey ice:
Jumps still felt fairly solid, especially the loop/waltz jump-loop combo

Novice foxtrot felt better than it has done for ages. As I mentioned in my blog, I've given up stressing about Sunday, I'm just going to put my 'hey look at me I'm Jayne Torvill' smile on my face and enjoy myself! I'm looking forward to watching others skate, and this will (hopefully) both inspire me and take my mind off it.


S xxx

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

Attended bridge last night and a lunch time practice today.

Hockey Ice: Salchow was really shaky after being off ice 2 days. Unreasonably stressed that when I return from vacation it will be gone completely...I have fallen hard in a toe loop attempt twice. Find myself reluctant to do many of these. Weird because I find it actually easier than the salchow...but have not actually gone down with a salchow before. Before bridge class I felt really out of anything I knew for some reason. I seemed to do better in the class than my practice before.

Bridge worked on waltz-toe tap and another waltz..did ok but knew I could do better...then spins...I really get thrown by having a different coach for this. He makes us go from different entry that messes with my ability to center one footed. Oh well, I think it is good to not do it the same way each time. It will come..eventually.

Parents of the kids in bridge decided to bombard our ballet class that followed..if it were not bad enough that I had to be stared at for my tippy toe thingy that goes across the room only two by two, it was totally intolerable that the cell phones and not very attempted muted chats were going on. I spent the entire ballet class wondering what the social implications would be of just turning to them and saying "SHUT UP!" giggle. Did not find my Zen for this entire class!

Figure Skating Ice: Did really well today during lunch. Landed several salchows, a few toe loops and found my center on spins so much easier than yesterday. Practiced the different spin entries ....interesting how different each feels. Even the waltz-tap-waltz seemed better. Had the entire rink to myself for 35 minutes then was joined by one hockey guy.

Still doing well to include basic skill practice at least 10 minutes of every session. Seems to be helping somewhat as I am trying to get my LI 3 turn on the lobe to "work" consistently. A regular LI 3 turn is no problem for me...so it is frustrating that I still can't seem to translate it to the lobe without a right touch down...I will get this!

I have also committed to myself to make sure I do extra 15 minutes stretching before and after my step classes in hopes of improving my flexibility....We will see if that does any good! It sure can't hurt! I would always do the warm up but am very guilty of leaving as soon as the step portion of class is over.

today was my last day of seeing patients before vacation. I will have to do a few office things tomorrow...other than that, I am ready! Will have my skate classes tomorrow but no private lesson. I will make a really good retired person!

LOL, sk8pics, neither am I! I've been considering scratching, but since I've already spent $70, I might as well do it.

Tomorrow, I am going to get my skates sharpened, assuming the guy is there. I skated on really hard ice tonight (similar to Ice Works, I'm sure) and had a lot of difficulty with spins and footwork.

Did my run-through in lesson tonight and my coach says my jumps have improved, but that my speed needs to come up. And I couldn't do my spiral or my change-sit due to traffic.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

Well Mrs. R., LilJen and Rusty Blades, you are all welcome to those voices. I want Voice Two to go away so I don't have to hear all those "safe/negative" messages any more... and it would be nice if Voice One would just stop arguing (at least long enough for me to hear my coach).

I did wonder where they'd got to ... now I know. I'm guessing that voice 1 had obviously given up the fight and wandered over the oceans and was followed by voice 2, whining (as is her way) that "I can't *do* that!". The problem for me is that I can hear voice 2 perfectly well across several thousand miles of water, but can't hear voice 1 at all. Could you please mail voice 1 back ASAP (you can keep voice 2, stuff it down a deep mine shaft, and drop whatever you like on top of it)? Thanks

I've been known to sit in the penalty box and tell Voice #2 to shut the heck up! Works, too!

Oh, that's why I'm announcing the last two hours, to cover your competition (and when Husband is skating, please, it's pronounced "Smith", not as spelt - these Irish!).

I am amused to note that our ice hockey team is at home to yours!

Meanwhile, skating ice: Today's practice was okay, except that I am beginning to see what the judges didn't like about our Fiesta, given the work we are now doing in our Reverse Kilian hold - I shouldn't have cared to have tried a Fiesta this morning!

Our cross-rolls in shoulder hold really are working now, although I do tend to lurch forwards. And we are getting nice outside edges in most of the holds. Foxtrot hold felt a lot easier (wonder what we are doing wrong???), and we actually tried the beginning of the Foxtrot, which wasn't a great idea... we didn't quite fall over, but very nearly. The trouble is, when Husband goes into his cross-roll-3, he forgets he has a partner....

Hockey ice: He is still worrying about his back edges in the Willow Waltz, which are not what they should be - I could have told him that from the time we competed it as a couple! Ah well, you have to find out these things for yourself or you don't know them.

Ended up with a nasty fall when I was working on my back cross-rolls and failed to negotiate a speed bump. I went down quite hard, and then felt my head jerk backwards and was like, "Oh no!" but luckily managed not to hit it! But I did bruise my left hip - it's still sore now. But as I wasn't actually hurt, I did make myself get up and complete the run-through of my Dance Moves. But owwwwwwwww!

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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!

Hockey Ice

Dance teacher was late. Ice was very wet and the rink was extremely cold. It has to be liquid nitrogen levels for me to think its cold!

Arms WILL NOT cooperate. I try and move them smoothly and gracefully but no…..And my stupid head. I really really tried to keep it up for the whole willow waltz and teacher said it wasn't really. He said it still looks a bit flat. He says he knows I'm trying but that we really have to work on it. I know and I try and it worries me that it isn't getting any better. But then he said it has got better - my arms used to be a lot worse it you can believe that. And I used to skate hunched over and head down. Slow progress.

I feel like I'm getting ill……

Figure Skating Ice

Run throughs were ok. Nothing special. My feet feel fine. I feel in control and nothing is making me panic steps wise.

Not the best skate today though……

Eeek! reading this made me wonder if I should have had my skates sharpened....and if it's too late to do it now....I had them done about 2 weeks ago and they are "just right" for my ice. Oh well, maybe I won't worry about it now, since they are just right for spinning anyway and my jumps are ok with them. Something to add to my "pre-comp checklist"

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

Lol - that's me exactly whenever I try and skate with my teacher. I scare him I think. I like wandering off and doing my own thing!

Ah to have the back edges instead of the forward ones! I really don't like the second forward inside before the mohawk. I'd like to swap and do the men's steps.....

Kate: The things that you are focusing on now, the arms & the head & the expression--those just take a long time to really be great & look natural. They can only come *after* the whole dance is very comfortable for you, and you feel confident and strong. So good for you!! You are doing the dance so well that you're allowed to spend time on the aesthetics!! And I do know exactly what you mean..... Going out to do YET another pattern at 7:00 in the morning on a COLD dark rink, and I hear my coach's voice from the other side: "Smile! This is fun!!"

Figure Skating Ice! Kilian was much improved today, though I didn't have to do it w/ music, which was my saving grace. I try to do it fast, but I know it isn't really up to true tempo. But who cares!! I did good consistent patterns w/ really solid edges, which I know are a lot deeper than some of the tests I've seen lately. So I may have a shot of getting to put this out sometime in the next few months.

Hockey Ice: Coming out of the choctaw in one corner, which is a totally blind position for me & at which point I'm flying around the corner backwards at top speed--I see a kid skate behind me just out of the corner of my eye. I about had a heart attack! I bailed out & said a VERY bad word which I'm afraid he probably heard His coach made him come over & apologize to me.....I don't think he was actually in my way (if he were I would have hit him), but he came so close & was totally oblivious that I was bearing down on him, it scared the heck out of me.

Thanks - I know it should be a good thing that I'm focusing on arms rather than steps. But its frustrating!! I shouldn't expect so much so quickly.....

I'm impressed the coach made him apologise. Some coaches don't even tell their pupils to look behind them when going backwards or to watch out for someone doing a programme. I've even heard one coach tell her pupils to just skate no matter what and everyone else will move.........

When my coach says "Watch your arms and shoulders", then I know I'm getting my edges as good as he thinks I can get them!

Meanwhile, Husband's arms & shoulders on the LBO edge where the lady does her RFO3 are enough to make a cat laugh, but at least he's getting an edge now. I don't think he did when we did the dance together - it was all he could do to stay solid so I could do the 3-turn! Maybe this year....

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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!

Hockey Ice: Boy, this whole week so far has felt like it. I was on a business trip with no ice available last week and came home this week knowing that both lessons would be devoted to the cha cha in preparation for this morning's test. Both lessons were rough, as my mind was elsewhere, and the test this morning was a trial. The judge's comment "slight loss of unison on end pattern" just goes to show that what you feel and what people see are two different things, because I felt more like I was trying to wrestle my poor coach to the ice! Despite passing, there'll be a good bit more to do before I'm happy with this one...

Figure Skating Ice: Well, at least I passed, and next lesson we'll give this one a break. I'll ask to work on the Fiesta for some fun.

Rob

HOCKEY ICE
Oh, where oh where did my loop-axel go? But I have vowed not to obsess about it, even though it's in my program. In the meantime, I'll just practice the axel from a regular mohawk RBO edge setup and hope the loop-axel comes back on its own.

I'm still having trouble finishing my program on time, and unfortunately, there's nothing I can--or am willing to--take out in order to end on time. I'm hoping it's just a matter of my body not having enough pep before 7:30am, and that when I have to skate it in competition I'll do okay. . .

FIGURE SKATING ICE
Not that we actually HAD figure skating ice this morning (it was hard!), but . . .
The camel and flying camel both seem to be finding their way home. Whew. Also, my Intermediate MIF are almost there now, which is good since I'm testing in less than 2 weeks. My entire bracket pattern was surprisingly smooth and solid this morning, and I'm starting to fix my arm positions on the back power 3's so that I don't look like I'm about to lose my balance the whole time. Then, just a little more smoothness and sureness on the back double 3 pattern and I'm there.

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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

I saw a girl working on these this morning--something interesting, they had her holding a Thera-band so that it went from hand to hand, *behind* her back. I watched her do it a few times, my guess is that it was to help w/ her posture (not to lean forward), & maybe the way her arms worked together. It looked interesting, I might try it next time I work on these.

Rob--Congrats on passing the Cha-cha!! That's a fun one. Have you looked at some of the Juvenile CDs from the US Regional videos yet? They have to do a Cha Cha this year & there are some pretty good ones! Might inspire you.

Yay Rob for passing the cha-cha!!!! if only the ice dance was as easy as the ballroom version..... i might have a snowball's chance in he**

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

Thanks for the acknowledgements.

For better or for worse, I don't know anything about any of these dances in their ballroom originals. I've done very little dancing in "real life", apart from some English Country Dance at early music workshops a couple of times and a dreadful six months when my parents signed me up for square dance lessons when I was about 13. I haven't had a television since, um, around the time of the Calgary Winter Olympics, so I can't even watch "Dancing with the Stars". Time to hit the library and see what they have in their DVD collection...

Rob

Many congratulations to Rob!

Although it's not part of our test structure here; no two couples do it the same way! But I do find it a heck of a lot easier than either the Fiesta or the Swing Dance, which I understand are the other two dances at the same level.

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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!