Charlie Brown Xmas Tree/Snoopy Happy Dance, L/P. 12/15 - 12/21

Another week is upon us, so here we go!!!

I'll actually start with yesterday, our holiday show:

Good Grief, Charlie Brown: Well, I was predictably nervous during my program and had some bobbles--I skated into a rut and came to a dead stop doing my three turn for my sal/waltz combo. I had to stop and try again, and managed a weak sal and OK waltz, also bobbled my forward spiral, I slid a bit had to hesistate and then re-set it up.

Dance, Snoopy, Dance: Otherwise, it went pretty well for something I've had for less than three weeks and only practiced with the music 4 or 5 times. My back spiral must have looked pretty good--I got applause for that, much to my surprise!! The newer elements went fairly well, so for a program that is still rough, it wasn't a bad skate. I also skated a program with some of the group lesson kids and they did a great job. It looked really good from my vantage point--everyone got applause for their individual "tricks" and the girls were really excited. I also technically got my first choreography credit for this one although hubby's coach really did pretty much the whole thing. I was very proud of our girls.

And the Adult Synchro performance--we were first to skate. Let me set-up the Charlie Brown moment. My husband is an engineer and he's our music man and announcer for competitions and exhibitions. This was his very first performance on ice as part of the team. His sub at the console for this first number was the hubby of another skater in the group, and he's been sick as a dog all week with the flu. He accidentally started the music too early, then the second time volume was too low. Then we heard him asking for the backup tape-seems the tape wouldn't re-wind in the player. My hubby finally skated over and got it set. (Murphy's law--of course the equipment malfunctions when he isn't there!!!) At that point, one of the women on our team commented, "You know, we would have been done by now..."

And the entire group of us just broke up laughing. We moved around a bit to keep warm, my hubby rejoined us, and dance the happy dance, we skated a clean and solid program!!! The hysterical thing is my hubby wants to see the video--he swears he can't remember a thing about our skate!!!! The kids synchro team was absoutely awesome--I think they will getting some new members now that more of the kids and their parents saw what they did. Overall, the whole show had few glitches and was a blast. Its amazing, a few years ago our club was almost dead in the water. Yesterday we have 30 plus terrific performances. We have made a heck of a comeback.

So, how is your week going???? DO TELL!!!!

Yaz - I haven't skated a practice yet this week, but just had to pop in and congratulate you on such a great effort at yesterday's show! As you know, it's not just the ability to do the elements, but to recover from the challenges that are thrust in your path. Sounds like you did a great job in perservering despite some little set-backs. And the story with hubby is just priceless. Years from now, you will barely remember the "perfection" of the numbers that went well, but you and hubby will have this story to tell at cocktail parties and other friendly gatherings, and it will always bring on a smile.

Great job on all aspects of the show. Congrats again!

Congrats, Yazmeen! And congrats, Cinderella!

I've been off this board for a long time (lots of work travel, not much skating), but I'm back.

Big Snoopy happy dance: Big surprise! I can spin! My coach and I were working on one-foot spins and he asked how many times I thought I'd spun. I thought about 2 or 3 times, but it is really 6 or 8 times each spin... and I'm no longer very dizzy when I'm doing them. I think I'm focusing so hard on getting into them, centering them, and getting out of them that I'm not even seeing the rink as I spin.

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree: stuff needs work. FI 3 turns are better, but far from solid. I'm happy to be working on jumps, but they're little and tentative. But how negative is even a Charlie Brown Christmas tree? All in all, I'm thrilled.

Snoopy Happy Dance-Only five of us on the ice .
I did 4 nice waltz jumps in a row all of them good flow over the ice. Toe loops are going up up up off the ice much better today. My back left out side edge is getting much better, able to hold it longer and longer. I am able to go into my outside spread eagle at a higher rate of speed which enables me to hold on to it longer. So instead of traveling only inches I think I got a good couple of feet today.

Charlie Brown Xmas Tree- SPINS! I cannot get my spins to center!! I get good revolutions but my spins are all over the place. One good note about spins is that I am teaching myself to spin in the opposite direction. I can do a two foot spin with about 5 or 6 revolutions already.

ON Tuesday:

Good Grief, Charlie Brown: My poor coach was as sick as could be with a cold. Everyone's been a bundle of sniffles lately at the rink.

Head Beagle: She decided to re-work by body positions for all my crossovers (Her quote: "I'm dyin', so you're goin' down with me!!!!" ) Man, it was HARD--but really good. The goal was to avoid leaning too far forward or breaking at the waist on them. It did make a difference in their flow, but its tough to completely change one's ingrained bad habit. She always fixes something with my basic skating after I skate a comp or exhibition, and that's a good thing.

Back to Charlie Brown this morning: My shoulders are KILLING ME!!!! I thought I slept funny, but I think it was the change in upper body positioning yesterday--guess I found a few more of those muscles I didn't know I had. :\ Ahh, well, its worth it in the name of crossover progress!!!

Back to the ice for the MITF class after my trip to GPF. Didn't practice for a whole week so I wasn't expecting much. Besides, I was having a cold and didn't have much energy. Nothing to report really. During holiday season, I'll probably stay home. I'll start skating again after the holiday.

Happy holiday and happy skating to you all

Rats, Charlie Brown!!!: Still stiff this morning...

Happy Dancing Beagle: BUT had a big breakthrough. At Mercer last weekend, Coach Cathy was subbing with the Advanced Adults, most of whom were returnees off the ice for months, and I assisted. She brought up plain old backwards stroking, which I had not done in ages, and I noticed I was having the same balance and "swizzling with the push when I shouldn't" on a right back stroke that I have with a right back edge when I do formal edges. My coach and I were beating crossovers to death again today (a good thing) and I brought this up, and we noticed I tend to open my left hip up and shift my weight toward my left (free) leg instead of to the right where it should be. We translated the weight correction from stroking, to back outside edges and then to back crossovers. None of it was easy, and some of it felt downright weird, but there was a big improvement from the start. I'm finally starting to get the weight placement better, which improves the move overall. A very valuable lesson!!!

I haven't posted in a long time, because I kept meaning to skate...and not doing it. Finally I came back to the rink last Friday and was so dismayed to see how much I had lost.

Weak timid backspin - check. Stiff camel spin - check. Squatting sit/back sit spin - check. Back three turns with the weight completely on the ball of the foot - check.

So I came back Friday night with my son on the public session and my coach was there. Her lesson finished and she told me to get in the middle and she critiqued my spins for ten minutes. Then I made an appointment for a lesson on Monday, figuring that way I'd actually show up, and not just go to the nice warm gym.

I skated three times this week and things are improving. As an adult, I really think that it's use it or lose it, and at my best I was skating 4x week. My coach was a funny one and asked me to do a camel/change camel about 30 seconds after I got to the rink on Wednesday, to show one of her students. I gave her a who me? look but I did it. The back camel petered out, but in a strange way it gave me confidence.

Today the spins were good, particularly the sit/change sits which were the best, just like the old days - fast, centered and low. The backspin could be much better, but I have to remember that life is 99% showing up.

Congratulations to Yazmeen for what sounds like a very memorable show Happy holidays and good skating to everyone.