Time to Rant

Wow, yesterday was the day from HADES! All of those balls I had up in the air, came crashing down on me. Apparently 2 months of working until 10pm (or midnight at times) and getting up at 4:30 have taken their toll. Thank goodness for my friend Pamprin!

It all began last Saturday at DD's Irish Dance show. DD is a VERY intense child. Takes everything she does very seriously. She's hard on herself when she makes a mistake, and expects everyone around her to be the same. Well, during this show her partner (who has been dancing less than 1/2 the amount of the 7 years DD has been) messed her up - forced her to turn the wrong way, with her back to the audience. If looks could kill, the poor girl would be six feet under. But that was it, the thundercloud disappeared as fast as it arrived. Unfortunately one of the owners of her dance school caught it, asked what was wrong - so, stupid me, I pointed out the problem DD is having with dancing with such an inexperienced dancer. You wouldn't believe the storm that came down on me.

I received an email from the owner - in it she said, "I have reflected a little further on the issue with *** and her apprehension for dancing with various partners... The reason for my follow up, is *** may not be suited to show class and its team nature. We would understand if *** decided not to take show class next school year."

I was floored, to say the least. Shot back a polite, but scathing email in response. This issue of problems with various partners, etc... news to me! As far as I know, this is the first time.

Unfortunately, for me, DD really likes participating in the shows - doesn't want to dance if she can't do the shows.

So, worked through that one - it appears to be cleared up as of today, but I will continue to watch it.

Then, fast forward to last night. DD had a figure skating test. She was testing Novice moves for the second time. She was ready the first time, but didn't pass. Skated a BETTER test this time, STILL didn't pass. The funniest part is that a judge that sat on both panels, scored her lower this time than last - indicating (at least in my mind) that she skated a poorer test. I was angry! Our best guess is that at 11, DD doesn't LOOK the part of a Novice lady - so she has no business even taking this test. Nevermind that her skills are passing. Heaven forbid figure skating should be even a LITTLE bit less subjective.

My biggest concern was making sure DD realized that I was NOT mad at her, she said, "I know mommy - it's the fricking judges". I lost it, laughing SO hard.

Sometimes kids can be SO precious!

Coming up for air again

These past two months have been absolutely NUTS! At the beginning of the year a person in my office was let go and since then two of us have been trying to cover the work. In the accounting world, the first quarter of a year is NEVER the quietest time... staying at the office until midnight is not my idea of fun. But as a coworker of mine likes to say - it is what it is.

Let's see... what have we done? Went to New York to see Legally Blonde the Musical, had a new (Juvenile) program choreographed, went skiing, knitted a pair of leg warmers while sitting at the various rinks, already had one competition, visited the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, spent more time at rinks, traipsed through Old Town Alexandria for their St Patricks Parade, oh yeah, spent MORE time in rinks. Best of all, I got a new camera - Merry Christmas to me!

Legally Blonde was wonderful!


We just spent the day in the city, but was good. Can't believe how crowded it got at night - guess that week between Christmas and New Years is not the best time to visit. Loved the Juicy dog ads.


The new program - 2.5 hours with Audrey, very expensive, but very worth it. I'm sure the year will start off slow, but could be a good year, depending on DD's ever changing moods. First competition was good - 2nd out of 3. Next competition is this coming weekend, 12 competitiors, so I'm hoping for top 1/2 (fingers crossed).


Skiing at Canaan Valley has become a tradition with us.


DD refuses to ski elsewhere. She loves the instructor she gets there - Ray. This time we brought a friend of hers. I believe they both had a blast. I know I froze my bum off. Didn't plan on skiing, so didn't bring ski clothing. It wasn't too cold, so I just skiied in sweatpants. Thank goodness I didn't fall, but even so, I still got wet enough to freeze!


Fortunately we got there right after a snow storm, so the girls had fresh snow to play in. This idea of bringing a friend is wonderful! It meant I didn't have to go out and freeze in the snow!



Yes, I know, don't feed the wildlife... I remember our first visit there, our room was on the ground level. We had just dropped off our bags, reopened the door to go to dinner, and there was a deer standing at our door. I shrieked and closed the door again.

Coming home was probably the WORST experience of my life. The GPS is always trying to get me to go a different way, but I ignore it. This time, we were in no hurry, so I said, why not? Why not indeed! Long and windy road... and just when you've gotten to the point of NO RETURN... (or at least, no turn around) there's a sign - impassable in winter. Never really thought about what that means. I mean, how "impassable" can it be? The snow had almost completely melted, so it wasn't really wintery... right? WRONG! Little Passat has forgotten her German roots, obviously. Had a little trouble getting to the top, but slow and easy got us there. Just as we had crested the mountain (after we got home I looked up the stats on the mountain, the summit is only 4000') we came across a Land Rover coming the other way. The 3 guys in it had pitched a tent the night before because they couldn't get any further. Found this out AFTER I almost slid into one of them. They decided to get between me and their car, figuring at the speed I was going, if I were heading for the car, they could push me away. I knew at this point it was going to be rough. I believe myself to be a fairly good driver, and I have never been this afraid before. I truly believe it's because I had the two girls in the car with me. One lane road, ditch on the upside, cliff on the downside, and road covered in ice. After being positive we weren't going to make it all the way down, we did. As we got to the bottom I told the girls, "all I need now is for a deer to run in front of me", and BAM! no more than 2 seconds later - Bambi came leaping out of the woods, across the road. It was just the PERFECT ending to this drive.

Williamsburg, Jamestown and the Great Wolf Lodge.


I believe these two pictures say it all! I absolutely detest this hotel, DD absolutely loves it. I can honestly say they have the worst customer service I've ever run across. For the prices of their rooms, the LEAST they can do is be polite.
DD talked me into going down the Howling Tornado. BIG mistake. Good thing I don't have a heart condition. Okay, it was DD, my brother, his wife and me. I sat in the seat headed down the tube first - as we were sitting down, I fell back, almost went down the slide without the tube. Not a good start. Should have known then to get out and walk BACK down the stairs! But no, being the brave mom I am (ha!) I sat down. I thought that tube would NEVER end. As we got off we were laughing so hard people were asking if it was happy laughter, or terrified laughter. Let's just say, I didn't go on that slide again - DD went MANY times.

Jamestown was a blast. I've always loved it, very interactive, perfect for young children.



Irish Dance... stressful, in a way. DD is a perfectionist. Doesn't like making mistakes - works VERY hard to not make any, but when she does, she's very hard on herself. Heaven help anyone around her that makes a mistake, especially if it makes her look bad.


In School Feis - 4 dances, and she got 3-firsts and 1-second. She loved it - wants to compete "for real".

Disney Again!

Whirlwind trip this was, but a blast. Birthday trip for DD, surprise trip for a school friend of hers. I wish I was that good at keeping secrets! Her friend didn't know she was going until her family arrived at the airport. They flew down, we drove. Driving allowed us the freedom (without having to rent a car) to find an ice rink.



We had 2 rinks in mind on our way down. I try to learn from my mistakes - took DD off the ice for a week and a half in August - she couldn't land ANY of her jumps for about 3 weeks. Not going there again! Fortunately RDV Sportsplex is on the way into Orlando. We had stopped for the night in Jacksonville, so the drive to Orlando wasn't too bad. DD got on the ice and had it pretty much all to herself. $13 for private ice (the only others on the ice were a coach and student wandering around the rink doing laps). Wrapped that up and headed over to see the mouse.

Arrived at the Yacht Club early. As the porter was removing ALL the luggage from the car, a man approached us and said "you must be the XXX family, and this must be DD". I just looked at him and said "who wants to know?" This was our first time staying on the club level, so I hadn't experienced this level of Disney customer service before (of course I was paying DEARLY for it). Nice touch, but really not worth the extra cost. We were never at the resort while the lounge was open, although I have heard since then that you can ask them to leave somethings in your room. Good to know.



Highlights of the trip: Hanging out with friends at the parks, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, watching the girls go ga-ga over the Naked Brothers Band at the pool, being away from the rink and work.



Next up, thinking about going to Canada for a trip... Ottawa or Montreal. Time to start researching.

Busch Gardens

Busch Gardens Europe has been a favorite of mine since high school. Back then the fall was the PRIME time to visit. The park is open through the last weekend in October and back then the October weekends were usually cold, and the park empty.

Not so anymore! I heard the park actually reached capacity yesterday.



We've been season passholders for a number of years now - it's 2 hours door to door... not too bad. Back when life was simple it was fun to pack up DD after school Friday, and go camping in Williamsburg for the weekend. Don't really have time for that these days. This year the season pass was pretty much a waste - went yesterday for the only time this season.



The girls rode all the coasters - multiple times each. DD is a coaster fanatic, her friends aren't so much, but learned to love them.

High School Musical the Ice Tour

All I can say is WOW!

DD actually enjoyed it so much Friday night that she begged to be able to see it again. Fortunately there were tickets still available for yesterdays show.

I actually sat there mesmerized, studying the costumes. By Disney standards the costumes were pretty simple.

DD was grilling me on the actual skating skills. For her the special part was knowing one of the skaters in the show. It's someone she's known since she started skating. Alex is playing the part of Zeke, and what a great job he did!

I want to know... why do I feel like this is possibly the BEST Disney on Ice production that I have ever seen? At first I thought, maybe I feel that way because it's been so long since I've been to one. But, no, two of the coaches from our rink were there yesterday (and they used to skate with DOI), and they agreed - best show, hands down.

I'm going to chaulk it up to the skaters, the lack of silly costumes, and the choreography - I believe the same choreographer was used for the ice show as was used in the movie.

DD's FAVORITE song right now:

Regionals videos

After being told to expect the DVD in 2-3 weeks, imagine our surprise when it arrived yesterday (less than a week after the event).

After watching the videos, bad mom that I am, I'm even MORE shocked that DD won the whole thing. Not that I don't think she's the best skater I'VE ever seen... just surprised that the judges liked it.

Yesterday she worked with Audrey Weisiger again. It never ceases to amaze me how her whole attitude changes after (and during) a lesson with Audrey. DD has even come off the ice to point out how much her cheeks hurt from smiling so much during the lesson. It's not that they're out there having "fun", but DD just enjoys the lessons that much.

DD tried to downplay her excitement, but Audrey is supposed to be choreographing her Juvenile program. DD is already trying to "design" her dresses.

Here are the videos:

1st round (she placed 3rd)
Here are the judges placements:




Final round (she placed 1st)
Judges placements:

Regionals are over!

Phew, what a crazy couple of days! DD is beside herself with joy. She actually finished 3rd in her group - first clean program she's skated, in competition, since June 2004. This allowed her to go to the final round. The final round appeared to be a bunch of worn out young ladies. DD decided to play it safe - go for the clean program. Turns out it paid off. She won. Got her favorite thing for it to... a trophy. Complains that there aren't enough trophies in skating.

What bothered me the most: NASTY parents and coaches. Standing there looking at the results for the first event, a well known coach said (not really to anyone in particular, but I just happened to be standing next to her) "I can't wait for the new judging system, this judging is not fair". How should I feel about that? Maybe I shouldn't have taken it this way, but the fact that her skater finished 4th to DD's 3rd made me feel like it was directed at me.

Then there's the parent, when the results from the final round were posted this morning, that my daughter overheard "whoever put that skater in first was psycho".

Holy cow! And we wonder why kids are learning to be such bad sports?!?!?

Fortunately, in all this, there were a lot of great parents, and coaches that had nothing but wonderful things to say to dd. And getting to hang out at the pool Friday night with 2 of her skater friends was an added bonus.

Will post pictures/video when I get a chance.

Phew, the season is ALMOST over. Hard to believe all the hard work of this summer has been leading up to this moment. Dress is finished - well except for rhinestones. Guess what I'll be doing at the hotel Friday night?



How it goes all depends on which child shows up to skate. Lately it's been a major roller coaster. No biggie. This season doesn't REALLY matter. Next year, in Juvenile... different story. Fingers crossed on that one! Guess what she has going for her (for next year) is that (for the most part) her jumps are clean.

Here is a video of her most recent competition. Not the best job, but she was happy.



To decompress, in November I'm taking her to Disney for her birthday. Her only request was that she got to stay in a room on a floor where you have to use a key to get there. Wonder where she got that idea? The fun part is that she knows we're planning on meeting up with a friend that lives in Florida, but she has NO idea that her best friend from school will also be down there at the same time. Can't wait to see the surprise on her face! Hope the weather is nice!

Next dilemma... where/when to cruise in 2008? I know, TOUGH decision that I have to make. Due to the potential competition schedule we really can't go away for spring break as we have for the past 4 years... so now I'm looking at getting away just after school gets out. Toyed with sailing up to New England/Canada... but I can't seem to do it - to me cruising is palm trees, sand and beautiful blue water. So, now, drive to Florida to sail for 7 nights to the Western Caribbean (3rd sailing on same ship, 3rd trip to same islands, but this ship is moving to the west coast, so we'd like to sail on her once more), or hop on up to New Jersey for a 5 nighter to Bermuda? Decisions, decisions!

Cape Hatteras Here I Come!

We've been going to the Outer Banks since, well... forever. At least the 80's. For the longest time we bunked down in Avon (on Hatteras Island), but more recently we've continued on down farther down the road to Hatteras Village. This despite arguments that Avon has more to offer ( read... more bars ).

My memory may be getting faulty, but it seems to me that the water down in Hatteras Village is clearer and warmer than that in Avon. It's definitely less crowded than Avon.

One of our biggest problems is that certain family members only want to shop at Food Lion, and that's at least 1/2 hour each way. Me, on the other hand, don't believe in cooking (on a good day) and on vacation, forget about it! So, for my family it means a daily trip into Avon for more beer.

We've gotten spoiled over the last 4-5 years. Oceanfront house with a pool, elevator, wireless internet... can't be beat. After sitting on the beach, playing in the ocean all day, it is SO nice to head back and hit the pool in the evening.

The view off the front decks on one of the houses... this was probably one of the noisiest houses. The ferry loading area can get quite busy.


On the Ferry to Ocracoke

I absolutely love sea oats

The Beach Bunny

So quiet and peaceful

The battle of the crabs. Towards the end of the vacation we have a crab feast - we pick 2 crabs to battle it out, the winner gets released.

The winner is...

Ha! Did you really think we were going to let you go? (We do - I personally take the winner down and release him into a canal)

Yum!

I'm a little crabby

Double/triple yum!

Time to try something new. Putting a video in this.



The video arrived yesterday, and just further confused my world that is DD's skating. Oh well. She's happy with the video, and wants to take it to camp tomorrow. That's unusual because she's usually not willing to let anyone else see the videos of any performance where she wasn't 100%.

After watching the dress in action (I'm not "allowed" to watch it live), I do believe I'm going to lengthen the skirt. Not sure if I'm going to just add a second layer underneath, or redo the one skirt entirely. Don't have much time to do it... next competition is in September, but I have a beach vacation before then! WOOHOO!

New dress and success

Sat at the hotel putting the rhinestones around the wrist flounce on this dress. Decided not to put rhinestones around the skirt since I'm not sure about the length of the skirt, and make change it - didn't want to waste the rhinestones.

Program started out rough - DD fell on first jump. It's one she can do in her sleep, but I think it was a good wakeup call. She then proceeded to land everything else in her program, and place 2nd.

Take a look at the judges placements... what was judge #1 thinking?




She still hasn't skated a clean program (no falls) since June 2004, but there's still two more this season, so she still has a chance. She's asking for a Juicy purse when she finally does it. Good luck!

Skating dresses (and associated nightmares)

DD's season is well underway. She has never made it through an entire season without outgrowing her original dress. Fingers crossed for this season - it ends in October.

Finally coming up for air. Spent 9 hours at the machine Saturday (and that was just to put the bodice together). The first attempt at the dress, in my mind, wasn't successful. For some reason my idea didn't translate as well as I had hoped. I'm not really sure why, but I HATED the skirt, and the whole thing was just so heavy.

This is the "HATED" dress. More stones were added after this picture.


All I need to do is permanently attach the skirt, and stone the whole thing. All by tomorrow at 4:30am. Sure, not a problem. Did I mention that the dog at DD's retainer last night? So we're off to 2 orthodontist appts today. Add to that that she skated this morning, and skates again this afternoon... somewhere in here I'm supposed to work, I think.

This dress got me to thinking about all my stressful home-stretches leading into competitions. Lots of rhinestoning at the hotel the night before the event.

This dress was a late night in a hotel in Charleston, SC...


This was a hotel in Aston, PA...


This was a hotel in Hagerstown, MD...


Hotel in Ardmore, PA...


Okay, there are no stones on this dress... I just love the dress! Probably my favorite dress to date. She was so little then! And skating to 101 Dalmations. Oh how I miss those days.