Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

1:10p Happy New Year!
Howdy everyone! Happy New Year, I am SO out of practice skating wise. I skipped the last few sessions before my vacation, and started back up today. EEK.

My knees are killing me this year. I had a rough time with them over my vacation, even without skating, so I'm really worried about how this year will go.

First- the cute skating story.
I took my 2-year old (3 in March) nephew ice skating in Dallas. We had SO much fun. He could barely stand on the mats before we started, so I was a bit worried, but he LOVED it. Unlike some little kids he understood that he had to keep his feet flat to let me push him, so me and his Dad took turns pushing him around. It killed my back (could barely move the next day) but was totally worth it. When I would push him really fast, and do curves with him (he could hold his feet well enough we could go back and forth) he said "Too fast, Aunt Jessi!" It was so cute. After about 30 minutes we tried "stand like a statue" and he was able to stand all by himself on the ice. I tried to get him to stomp/march, but he'd just pick up both feet and make me or his Dad hold him! After wards he went with Lovely (grandma) and decided he liked to ice skate out on the mats better- the ice was "too slippery". Listening to him say slippery (which he came up with on his own) was SO cute. Later he told everyone he liked it, but it was very slippery.

Now my skating.
I skated club ice in Cedar Rapids today ($7- I hate paying for ice) after having skipped morning freestyle so I could save my knees. I have completely forgotten how to skate. I couldn't even do 3s in the field! The ice up there is so weird- really smooth and very hard. It is very fast, but hard for me to skate on. It was difficult to practice, because a group was rehearsing and coaches were spotted along the boards with their kids, so I didn't know where it would be safe to spin or jump. I did one scratch spin, and it was nicely centered :) No backspins though- I need to stand in place for those, and that didn't seem safe. The one good news- power pulls were WAY easier up there.

Then we did rehearsal for the club show. It's going to be a disaster. It starts with some chassess into two repeats of the 8 step mohawk. If I was in the other line I might have a chance, but my line does my bad mohawk- I can barely do it slow, now imagine it to the beat of "under the sea". I don't want to ask to be put in the other line though, because the group is large, and as is I don't know how it's going to be possible to have this done by late February. We got about 1/4 through the first of three songs! The good (not really- I hate that the only thing that is good for me is someone else who is clearly not happy) news is I'm definetly not the worst skater- as I can just turn the wrong way and keep my feet going at roughly the same time as the people doing the move correctly. There is a little girl who I doubt is out of basic 3 (she can't skate backwards, I don't think. At least not more than wiggles), who, poor thing, just cannot keep up. She actually broke out crying, and Andy tried to console her and encourage her throughout the thing. After Andy went to work with the other group I said "L. want to know a secret? I'm a big girl and I can't do it either" That made her laugh, and at least for then I think she felt better, but I was so frustrated the entire time I can't imagine what she must have felt like. I'm behind her in the passthrough section and the last 4 people have to slow down so much because of it that I don't know how we'll ever make our next mark in time, but she still does the marching/toe pushes, that I don't think she can safely go any faster. I'm wondering if Andy will go home and retool her part, having her highlighted as some cute fish or something instead of with the group (which includes multiple national level skaters). I just can't imagine she's having too much fun, but it's only the first rehearsal. I was so stressed the whole time, but it was mostly fun, and this way I get to meet some of the club skaters.

Still no schedule for the second number at all. That's also stressing me out. We did get a change today, though, and now instead of 4 adults, it is 3 adults (one who says he isn't doing it) and LTS skaters. So I'll be a competent skater in that group, but I hope Danilo and I are somehow highlighted and not part of the LTS group- that's not what I signed up for.

Knees are dying, but I'm going to have to live at the rink for the next two months if I even want a chance of doing well in this show...
Lessons start again wednesday.