First blog post of the year

So I've been a little behind on updating things around here.

This year I had only one New Year's resolution: to pass my Adult Bronze moves in the field test before September 1, when several elements on the test will change.

We began to focus primarily on the moves test in my lessons last June, and I decided not to skate in three competitions last fall because I finally started making progress on the moves and I didn't want to start working on my program again and lose the gains I'd just made. I decided to compete in Wyandotte in January, as I usually do, and we found out that they'd be having a test session in conjunction with the competition. It made sense for me to test then, even though my coach couldn't go, as I'd be there anyway and there would be other adults testing at the same time.

I'm pleased to report that I skated well during the test and I passed! My crossovers felt good, and I did some of the best left back outside edges I've ever done on the back crossover to back held edge pattern. (Part of that was because I didn't have to worry about running into anyone during the test.) One of the judges said I looked relaxed, which surprised me, as I didn't feel relaxed.

I did, however, feel quite relaxed during the competition later in the day. The warmup felt like any other practice, and I had fun skating my program. I'd been spending so much practice time on preparing for my test that I'd only run the program with music three times since I competed it last March, so I knew it'd be a little rough, but it wasn't terrible. We're working on getting some of the transitions to be smoother before sectionals on March 13.

In other news, I've finished two books on my Fill-in-the-Gaps list (Treasure Island and Wide Sargasso Sea), and I read a total of 25 books last year. I'm ahead so far this year, as I've finished three already. Knitting is going well -- I finished a cowl and several dishcloths, and I'm working on a baby blanket for our impending nephew. We celebrated the seventh anniversary of Lucy's adoption day last week. (I told her the story of how she was adopted and there was catnip for everyone.)

And now I'm caught up.

Just a dream

My coach has been out of town for a couple of weeks, and I've been working on my Bronze moves in the field again. That's the next test in the adult stream; I have to pass it before I can test Bronze free (which I'm not ready for yet). Last night I had a vivid dream that I went to the rink in the morning for a lesson and I found that my coach had signed me up for a test session without my knowledge. (I don't think this could actually happen, but apparently it could in my dream.) I decided that I may as well test even though I didn't feel ready, and to my surprise, I passed. Tomorrow I'll have to see whether my dream improves any of the moves in real life.

Obligatory monkeys on ice post

Hilarious.

Photos and updates

I'm a little behind in my blogging again. My synchro team, Cincinnati Style (sorry, no Web site this year), skated well at Fraser in late January despite only having skated three practices together as a team. (One skater on the team was injured, which left them without have enough skaters to compete. In an effort to recruit an additional skater for the rest of the season, they ended up recruiting three.)

In our category, Open Adult, we tied for fifth out of nine teams. (The tiebreaker gave us sixth place.) We were thrilled, as we thought we'd surely be ninth. Here are some pictures of us on the ice.

Here we are doing footwork in a circle:



This is a pinwheel, again with footwork:



Here is a tri-spoke:



This is part of a block that moves down and across the ice:



We have another competition (Tri-States) in two weeks; we've worked hard on polishing the program and adding footwork, changes of hold, and other touches. I'm thrilled to report that the traveling circle doesn't scare me anymore, and I think we're improving each week. It's wonderful to skate on a team again -- it pushes me out of my comfort zone and makes me a stronger skater, and I love being part of something that's so much more than any one of us can do alone.

A week after Tri-States, I'm competing at the Deborah Burgoyne North American Invitational in Wyandotte, MI. This all-adult competition is friendly and fun. I'm working on a new program, and my goal is to skate the entire thing in time with the music. (And remain vertical, of course.)

2009 resolutions

1. Read 45 books or more this year, 15 or more of which are on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list.

What the heck -- let's try this again.

2. Lose most of the 34 pounds I gained in the past two years.

My goal is to fit back into all of my pants. We have recently begun to use our new Wii Fit, so I hope it will assist me in this goal. I will also eat more fruits and vegetables and not so many cookies, chips, and the like.

3. Keep doing 50 pushups, flutters/Supermans, and situps every night.

Every night that my arms aren't KILLING ME from FOUR HOURS of synchro practice, that is. I joined a synchronized skating team in Cincinnati that lost a skater recently to a knee injury. They were desperate to find a replacement because they no longer had enough skaters to compete. I forgot how sore your arms get when you hold them up for two hours at a stretch!

4. Consistent loop.

Or, failing that, a semi-consistent loop. I'd be happy with one in ten right now -- I haven't seen my loop in months. If you happen to discover it wandering around Cincinnati or Michigan somewhere, please send it back. I miss it.

It's been a while...

...so I'll hit the highlights.

We replaced the smart with a 2009 Volkswagen Rabbit, which we both love. We got a good trade-in value on the smart, and I think it's found a new home, as it's not on the dealer's Web site anymore.

My tenants moved out. We need new ones. I'm considering hiring a property manager. Last weekend we stripped the wallpaper from the downstairs bedroom, and I'm going to go paint it this coming weekend. It looks better already.

We delivered the art car to my niece a couple weekends ago. I spent about three hours teaching her to drive a stick, and it went pretty well with the exception of the clutch lasting a mere three days. They got it fixed, and she's doing pretty well with it. The only places we didn't finish were the roof and the edges of the front bumper where it wraps around on the sides, and she's been working on it some with her friends.

I've been skating more now that the rink at the state fairgrounds (where my club is based) is open for the season. Tonight I centered a bunch of spins (usually they're not that consistent), and this week my waltz jump improved as well.

I'm still here

This weekend I competed at the Deborah Burgoyne North American Invitational in Wyandotte, Michigan, and I tied for second. I was mostly pleased with how I skated. I two-footed my first salchow because I was concentrating on getting a deeper entrance edge -- we worked on that in my lesson on Thursday. The rest of the program went well, and I didn't shake at all afterward. I haven't watched the DVD yet.

I stayed with Dan and Melissa, and we had a lot of fun hanging out and catching up. Saturday night we made cookies and watched Kathy Griffin, and I left for home this morning after the freezing rain melted into rain.

In other news, Steph and I visited the Smart dealership this week. They had a black and yellow car inside, and we both really like the color in person. I test-drove a silver Passion Coupe (the trim level I'll be getting), and I liked it a lot except for its clunky shifting. The reason they won't offer a traditional 5-speed manual escapes me. My car should arrive in about two months. In the meantime, my Honda will probably turn over 200,000 miles in the next two and a half weeks or so, and I have the camera ready to document the big event. It is not allowed to break down at 199,999.9 miles like Marshall's Fiero did on How I Met Your Mother.

Weekend update from last weekend

Lots of fun things were going on in town last weekend. On Saturday afternoon, we went to the Indianapolis Auto Show at the Convention Center downtown. It seemed small to me in comparison to Chicago's, but I expected that.

VW had a nice area with two New Beetles (a triple-cream 'vert and a Sunflower Yellow hardtop), assorted Rabbits and Golfs, and a Jetta sporting VW statistics all over (VW owners are 29% more likely to recycle, 70% more likely to maintain their own Web site, and so on). I asked the guy how much they'd pay me to drive around with statistics all over Phoebe, but he said they'd probably just give me the stickers.

We sat in numerous cars, including a Toyota FJ Cruiser, a Honda Element, and a Dodge Magnum. The Smart Car was in the middle of the Mercedes section, and t were so many people crowded around it that it was difficult to take a picture. I talked to the two salesguys there, and they put me on some sort of VIP list to go to the dealership and take a test drive. They also told me that I'm in the first wave of cars to come in based on my reservation date. Yikes.

At the Mini display, we sat in the new Mini Cooper Clubman. It's like a Mini Cooper with extra room at the back, kind of like a station wagon; it's nine inches longer than the Cooper. Steph fell in love with it and wants one. I wonder if we could fit both of them in the garage at the same time.

Saturday night we finally got to see the Naptown Roller Girls roller derby team skate a bout against the Kalamazoo Kamikaze. It was fantastic -- not something I want to do, as I sustain enough injuries on my own, but I appreciate the skill involved. Their next home bout is Feb. 9.

NYR update 7

1. Floss: Still flossing consistently.

2. Lunch: Trying to do better, but going out about twice a week. Things have been really busy lately, but they're starting to calm down, so I should be able to make some things I can freeze and bring for lunch.

3. On time: I got to work early once this week.

4. Flip: I haven't been working on flip attempts much because my loop disappeared and reappeared again. I need good technique on the loop before I get a flip.

5. Save: Doing well this month. Instead of putting any extra money that comes in into savings, I've been throwing it at the truck payment. Looks like it'll be paid off ten months early!

6. Recipes: I haven't tried any new recipes lately, but I might get ambitious this weekend.

7. Trans fat: Doing pretty well. Out of microwave popcorn at work. I did eat at Arby's today, though, which was bad.

8. Perfume: The large bottle is done now, and I'm working on the small bottle. I think I'll achieve this goal before the end of the year. I'm so confident about it that I've chosen several more perfumes to concentrate on next. I know that I'll always have several scents; I like variety and I have several favorites that I don't think I could choose between. However, I don't need as many as I have today, and having too many causes trying new BPAL scents to seem ridiculous. I want to be able to try new scents within reason.

9. Compact: I haven't bought anything new since... hmmm... it's been a little while. The books at Half Price Books don't count, but the chain and S hooks for the Sky Chair and the new toilet seat do.

The problem with Twitter

The problem with Twitter is that I don't have anything to blog about anymore because I Twitter it all.

We have just moved to a new building at work. My space is less than half the size of my previous space. I barely have room to turn my chair around. I was extremely happy with my previous space, which I occupied for more than five years. Our new building is very nice, and it is in a convenient location.

This weekend we went to the Barnes and Noble in Noblesville for the Harry Potter release party. The trivia questions were fun. I finished the book on Sunday afternoon; I hadn't finished rereading Book 6 by the time we got Book 7. I liked the book. I won't say any more than that so I don't spoil anything for people who aren't finished yet.

As of yesterday, I've read more books so far this year than I did in all of last year.

I will finally get to skate on Wednesday after more than five weeks off the ice. I haven't been off the ice for this long since I hurt my back in 2002. Getting back on the ice then was difficult because I was so afraid I'd hurt myself again, but I don't think I'll have that kind of trouble now.

In my dreams

Last night I had strange dreams. It was hot, and our bedroom was rearranged because the roofers were in the middle of having it painted. In one of the dreams, I went into a store, which had ice instead of a floor. I expected to go in and skate a program, but I was able to skate a little on the way in.

The first thing I did was try a backspin, and I held it for five revolutions. I was excited when I got to two, and although the spin slowed down, I hung onto it, and I was so happy that I screamed at the end of it. In real life, I've never gotten past just under two revolutions, and the dream was really great because I could finally feel what the spin is supposed to feel like. I dreamed about my one-foot spin before I was able to do it, so I hope this is a good sign.

We worked on my backspin in my lesson this week, and my coach had me keep my free foot behind my skating foot on the entrance, which helped a lot. I did one that felt really good on Thursday night, and I hope it continues to improve.

Apparently it can be bribed.

So yesterday on the way to the competition, I told my loop that if it showed up, I'd buy it a shirt.

I forgot that it likes clothes.

My freestyle program went well, although I didn't land the loop. The ice was hard, but I coped with it pretty well. After my second spin, I looked up and saw my friends Patti and Kurt from synchro standing by the boards watching me -- I didn't expect them to be there, but they had a lesson nearby in the morning and decided to stop in and see some of the competition. I skated clean except for the loop. I placed second out of three, which I'm happy with.

My showcase program went well, too. I attempted the loop in the warmup, but it wasn't happening, so I moved on. I had to get off a minute early because I was the first skater in my group, but I was ready. My old synchro coach, Susan, was standing by the boards cheering for me and holding the Wicked monkey I'd brought as my mascot. (I considered skating with the monkey, but I thought it might throw me off because I hadn't done that before, so I let her hold it.) I skated the program much better than I did in Wyandotte. It was faster, and I felt more comfortable with the changes we'd made. I landed my loop and was so surprised that I wasn't sure how to get into my next element -- I'm used to landing (incorrectly) on my left foot. I placed second after Rhonda's very cool program as Daphne from Scooby Doo.

I had to buy the competition shirt for my loop -- I was afraid that if I didn't, it would never show up at a competition again!

Three loops

Tonight at practice I managed to land three loops. They weren't pretty, but they were on my right foot. It's been several weeks since I landed one -- lately they've been few and far between.

I'm competing at Skate Cincinnati on Saturday, and I had two good program run-throughs tonight. My loop even showed up in one of them. I probably shouldn't even suggest this, but if my loop wanted to accompany me to Cincinnati and show itself off in front of a bunch of people, I wouldn't argue.

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.

Music?

If you recognize the music behind the EV1 commercial I just posted, please let me know. It'd be fun to skate to.

New Year's resolutions

It's the last day of 2006 -- time to post my New Year's resolutions.

1. Floss every night. I used to be really good at this one, but I started forgetting sometime this summer, and I need to get back to it.

2. Go out for lunch at work only once per week, cumulative (not counting weekends or when I'm on vacation). I've made this resolution since 2005, and I've varied in my success. In 2005, I ended up two ahead, but in 2006 I was 16 behind, so I have 14 weeks to make up. Guess I better get started on that ham and bean soup.

3. Be on time to work. Despite six months of my best efforts to leave earlier, I keep leaving the house at the time I used to need to leave when I lived on the east side. Old habits die hard.

4. Land my flip again. I've landed it twice from a standstill, both in 2005, and I want to transform that into a real flip jump. Unfortunately, it seems like most of my jumps arrive during times of great personal hardship. I'd like this one to come more easily.

5. Save money. We have a long list of things we want to do to the house and items we would like to purchase. I'd like to save more money toward those things. The next few items include a chest freezer, a new computer for Steph, and getting Phoebe's check engine light (yes, it's back on again) checked out.

6. Try more new recipes. I bought a new cookbook yesterday called A Slob in the Kitchen, which has some interesting easy recipes. My adventures in cooking have mostly turned out well, and I'm interested in exploring several other cookbooks we have. I've started dating recipes when I try them, too.

7. Less trans fat! I've been trying to cut down on my trans fat consumption recently. Guess I'll be getting my fries from Chick-Fil-A or Wendy's when the craving hits. I admit that the Shedd's Spread Country Crock limited-edition cinnamon spread that I love so much has half a gram per serving, but I should be allowed one indulgence, right? Besides, I don't use much of it.

8. Use up at least three of my perfumes. I have a lot of perfume, and as much as I've tried, I'm not a one-scent kind of girl, although Flower Moon could almost make me into one. I'm running out of space on top of my dresser for perfumes, and about three-quarters of the ones I have are scents I like but don't feel the need to purchase again when I run out.

9. The Compact. The Compact is a movement in which people don't buy new stuff. They do, however, buy used stuff. Exemptions are made for such things as food and health and safety items. We're going to try it and see how it goes. New stuff resold on eBay seems to count as used, too.

A real sit spin

In my lesson last Tuesday, my coach liked my sit spin -- she said that it was the best one she'd ever seen me do and that it was a real sit spin. I've been working on it for a few years, so I'm happy that it's improved.

Let me take a moment to say how much I like my new coach. She's very detail-oriented, much like I am, and her technical knowledge is unbelievable. I understand things on a different level, and it makes all the difference. In saying that, I'm not putting down my old coach in any way -- she is also an excellent coach. In fact, she came back for a visit about a month ago and had time to fit me in for a lesson during a week that my new coach was out of town. We worked on some of the exercises I've been doing with my new coach, and she helped tremendously by linking parts of them to other things I can do. She also said I've gotten faster since she left in August, which is pretty cool.

My Basic Skills class

I've been teaching Basic Skills skating to kids on Wednesday evenings this fall through Winter Club. (Many skaters join clubs; it can be a cheaper way to get ice time, and it's your link to USFS.)

I teach Basic 4, which consists of forward edges on a circle (inside and outside), forward crossovers in both directions, backward stroking and glides on one foot, back snowplow stops, backward pumping on a circle, and forward outside three turns (left and right).

Teaching is extraordinarily difficult. Now, I have never been under the impression that it wasn't, and I'm not a natural teacher, but I've really been having trouble explaining some of this stuff to the kids. Unlike me, they don't ask questions during class, and sometimes I can't figure out what they're doing wrong or what they need to know.

The kids have been interesting. I have a little girl who's about nine who doesn't talk much and two girls who are both about twelve who are friends and like to push each other around. One of them is really happy and enthusiastic and the other one is a little quieter. No-Talker Girl is very focused, and she's been having a hard time with three turns. The other two like three turns quite a bit and picked them up more quickly -- for them, it's just a matter of learning a little more body control.

I'm happy to say that all three of them passed my level last week! One of them even gave me a hug. No one is ready to move up into my level next week, so I'll be helping to teach the adults, which I find much easier.

Halloween on Ice

Thanks to a tip from our friend Amy, Steph recorded the very end of Halloween on Ice last night -- the finale was Nancy Kerrigan skating to "Defying Gravity." Even though Nancy isn't my favorite skater, I have to say that I was impressed. Her program was different from mine (because she's a much better skater than I am, so she has more elements to choose from and also a longer cut to work with), but there was one spot (the "close my eyes and leap" part) where we do the exact same thing, and that was fun to see. It's not very often that I get to see an elite skater do a program to the same music I skate to.

Halloween on Ice will be rebroadcast on Tuesday morning on the Style network.