I realized today that I have been rather lazy about blogging lately. Sorry about that. Actually it was a post by Ryan Jahnke this week that has inspired me to take to the keyboard tonight. Ryan asked his "friends" to comment on what figure skating means to them. There were many great responses- from the hilarious to the downright heart wrenching. Mine was kind of middle of the road (I feel beautiful, graceful and can defy gravity at least for a little while every day.) It made me realize that the very reasons I love to skate are shared with so many others out there.
On the subject of my new skates... well... I skate barefoot. I know, I know, it is totally gross and makes the skates break down faster, but I can't do it any other way. I actually thought that there was something wrong with my beautifully crafted, fully custom Harlicks that Phil designed for me because I was wearing TIGHTS! I even went as far to call Phil and tell him that I was sending him my right boot to be fixed. Lo and behold, all I had to do to fix the problem was to take off the darn socks. It seems that the socks make my feet slip around like mad and make the bottoms of my feet hurt like crazy! When I don't wear socks, I can grip the bottom of the skate with my toes and feel way more in control. And... my feet don't slip! Probably because they are sticking to the sides of the boot with sweat - EEEEWWWWW! Oh well - I am glad that I don't have to send my skate in because I would have been off the ice for at least ten working days and we can't have that now!
I have decided to briefly retire from competition for a bit. I have been working on my Silver Moves and just basic skating skills. I have even been entertaining possibly taking ice dancing - I hear that it is great for edges :) I have to talk to the Boss and the handsome young man to set that all up.
Little Muffet is still chugging along. She kicked ice at her last competition and we are very proud of her. The axel is still not totally happening. We have gone away from "rewards" and now are going to set her up with an elite jump coach for a few lessons. We are hoping that the mere "scare" factor may get her to land it on her own. Keep your fingers crossed.
Well, that is all for now. Muffet and I are gearing up for Alice in Wonderland on Ice! She is a flower and I am a Black Card. Fun, fun, fun!
