The Haydenettes

This is a video of The Haydenettes' long program. They're one of the top synchronized skating teams in the world, and they're based in Massachusetts. I cannot express how difficult this program is or how scary it would be to skate. The audience is cheering so much that you can hardly hear the music at some points.

Deborah Burgoyne North American Invitational 2007

This past weekend, I competed at the Deborah Burgoyne North American Invitational in Wyandotte, MI. It was my seventh year competing there, and I had a good time as usual. The arena was remodeled this year, and the new locker rooms and registration (warming) room are great! The bleachers are much easier to climb, too, especially in skates.

I placed third in freestyle and fourth in interp, so I got two medals. I skated both programs reasonably well, especially considering that I hadn't skated since the previous Sunday because of the weather. It was fun to skate in the same event as one of the skaters I practice with on Thursday nights -- I'd never seen her interp program before, and it was great.

My friends Dan and Melissa let me stay with them, and it was so nice to see them again and catch up with them. They recently moved back to Michigan from Texas, and they're settling in well to a nice new home and town. They always make me feel so comfortable in their home, and they put up with me dragging them around half the state to watch me skate, too. I got the chance to take them to Ikea for the first time on Sunday, and I think they'll go back. I got the curtains we wanted for the living room that were out of stock when we went this summer (you can hardly see the light tan vine pattern on them in the picture; notice, too, that they aren't available in mail order) as well as another Dave, which may be the best thing Ikea ever made. I exercised an extreme amount of self-control and spent less than $100 in all.

Snow day!

Well, not really. I'm working at home. We got a lot of snow (8-10 inches?) yesterday and overnight, and this morning we determined that it would not be possible to get my car out of its spot unless the person behind me moved. That happened a while ago, but it took us about two and a half hours to clear enough space in front of the house to get the car out. (And that was with the snowblower's help.) Spike had quite a time going potty this morning.

NYR update 3

1. Floss. Doing well -- I think it's become a habit.

2. Go out to lunch at work only once a week. Doing very well. This week's free burrito adventure doesn't count as going out, as it was free. Sometimes I make lunch for my co-worker Alan, and he pays me $3 per lunch. I've decided that making two lunches for Alan is equal to going out one extra time, and this (plus going out less than once per week so far) has reduced my "lunch debt" from last year to 10.

3. Be on time to work. I still can't get the hang of getting out of the house on time.

4. Land flip. No flip yet, but new loop exercises. Because there's a loop in the flip, they should help.

5. Save money. I'm not spending much, but not saving much extra either. This resolution has become more important in light of the news that my company was sold this week.

6. New recipes. A few weeks ago I made peanut sauce for a stir-fry, which turned out really well. This week I'm considering making regular chili, which I've never made before.

7. Less trans fat. I was doing well until today. We were out to lunch with some friends and I ordered potato salad with my burger. One friend ordered cottage cheese, but they brought him fries instead. He didn't want them, so I ate them. (It was probably a good thing after all, as I didn't like the potato salad.)

8. Perfumes. Doing well. I can see the difference in two of the bottles, but one of them isn't disappearing as fast. Still, I think I'll make my goal. I use a different perfume about once a week for variety.

9. The Compact. I'm not doing as well as most other people on the e-mail list I'm on. However, I've made a list of everything I've bought this year, both to make myself consider the items and to keep track of whether I use them.

Burritos

Last week I got a voice mail message that I'd won 15 free Chipotle burritos in a drawing. (I'd dropped my card in a fishbowl the week before.) I called the guy back, and as it turns out, I had to redeem my 15 burritos all at one time. So I headed over there at lunchtime today with five of my co-workers, Steph, and two of Steph's co-workers. They gave us our burritos and even threw in free drinks, and they let me take the remaining six home. I told the guy that I'd be back and that I'd recommend the place. The burritos are tasty and are big enough that I could have saved some for later. I'm thinking that if I made some side dishes to go with it, Steph and I could split one of the remaining burritos for dinner.

Super Bowl joke

Courtesy of our friend David:

What do you call 53 guys sitting around watching the Super Bowl?

The New England Patriots.

Chicken soup

I'm not feeling well, so I thought I'd have some chicken soup for lunch. Campbell's Chunky Chicken with White and Wild Rice doesn't hold a candle to my dad's chicken rice soup. Unfortunately, I don't know how to make my dad's soup, and we don't have any in the freezer. I'll have to get his recipe -- he's told me several times how he makes it, but I haven't written it down.

Soup from a can always seems to have a certain taste (maybe it's the preservatives?), with the exception of Campbell's Italian Wedding soup. Homemade soup just tastes better.