Monday, July 29, 2013

Home Again

My cousins came back last week from their trip to the other side of the world. They spent seven weeks in Indonesia including a 3-day stint in Singapore on their way back. We missed them a lot but those seven weeks went by surprisingly fast. Can you believe it's almost August already?! Summer needs to slow its roll a bit, fo' sheez.

We spent some time over the weekend catching up. We took the boat to Duke's on Friday for dinner. My brother met us there also. It was gorgeous but we didn't stay out long. The girls were still jet lagged after 30 hours of flying. I know I would have been half dead for a few days after traveling that much.


On Saturday, it looked like it might rain but we trekked out to kayak anyway.  Roy and I are getting into kayaking lately and this was our second time out this year, first time on the river. The water was only a few feet deep and the water was really clear. The rain stayed away until we were all done so we got lucky.

Jess, Roy, and Tiffany.

Rain is a brewin'
 
It was Angela's 15th birthday that day.

We see these beautiful white birds by the river all the time. I think they're called egrets.

So that's my story for today. Roy and I are looking for a possible new residence but I'm conflicted about moving away from the river. It's so beautiful out there and we will probably go out there less often if we're not living right next to it. Hopefully we will stay close.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Pre-Bronze Moves Like Jagger

Yesterday I took my first U.S. Figure Skating skills test and passed! Yippee! 

This calls for a Futterwacken dance

If my warm-up was any indication of how my test would go, I would have definitely crashed and burned. It was horrible! My coach calmed me down though and told me to drink some water and pretend that it was wine. I think it worked =)

Here is a score sheet from one of the three judges. They all had similar comments but this one was the most descriptive (and legible).


I've never been complimented on my lobes before, hehe. I was most worried about the consecutive edges but thankfully I was able to show my best performance on those. There were shaky moments for sure but overall I'm happy with the test. Of course my easiest element, the spiral, was probably the worst - right was good, but the left was way off balance and a total disaster. I was hoping I would get a re-skate on that part but the judges didn't bother. All three gave me the PASS.

So now onto Pre-Bronze Free Skate (spins and jumps). The next test session is August 22nd so hopefully I'll be able to test then but only if I'm ready of course. Synchro season is fast approaching so looking forward to that too.  I heart skating.

Hope you are staying cool in this heat wave!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

July Sixteenth

Today would have been my mom's 64th birthday. She passed away in 2009 about three weeks after her 60th. The first couple years following her death, I found myself doing special things around the time of her birthday.

In 2010, Roy and I were in Malibu, CA for my BFF's wedding. Her anniversary is tomorrow:

So pretty

Liz & Steve - 07.17.10


In 2011, we went white water rafting, my first time, at Ohiopyle State park:

07.16.11 - Scary but exhilarating!

Youghiogheny River


After going rafting, I told myself that I should do something adventurous every July to celebrate and commemorate my mom's birthday and life. She died too young and it is a reminder that life is too short to not live life to the fullest.

So to continue the tradition, last year we were invited to a wedding to be held in mid-July in Michigan. It was for Roy's cousin's daughter and instead of flying out, we hit the road.  We watched the first full season of The Sopranos on the way up and back.

Sam & Aaron - 07.14.12

Luna Pier, MI - Lake Erie

Tigers vs. Angels - The Tigers went on to win the World Series!

This year, we don't have anything in particular planned but I am taking my first figure skating test on Thursday so I'm thinking that counts, right?  Four years ago, I would have never in a million years imagined that I would be doing loop jumps and camel spins and would be competing in an actual U.S. Figure Skating Sectionals event for synchronized skating. When I was 9, I dreamed of being a figure skater and I have the scar on my jaw to prove it (attempting triple axels in your living room is a bad idea)! So to celebrate my mom this year, I'm living out a dream and I'm going to skate and be the best skater I can be.

I wish she was here to be a part of my life but in a way she is more involved in it now than she has ever been before.

I love you, Ummah, and happy birthday!

UPDATE 07/18/13: I passed! More on the results in a separate post. Yay!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

One Week Until Test Time

Next Thursday I'll be taking my Pre-Bronze MIF skating test! I know I'm ready although I still have moments in practice when I need a mulligan (do-over).  Oh well, we'll see how it goes. I'm looking forward to working on free skating skills when I pass this test (I must pass!). I enjoy free skating much more than MIF.

One day in practice recently I had the most beautiful spins (they felt beautiful anyway) and I was almost able to do a complete scratch spin, centered, from beginning to end like I was Michelle Kwan (yeah, right). It was oh so lovely. It was like frolicking on the mountain pastures of Switzerland with the Sound of Music playing in the background. Then the practice ended and some time later, another began. That heavenly spin was no where to be found and I'm still trying to find it! Damn you scratch spin, damn you for giving me the greatest pleasure I've ever known and just taking it away! I can't even step into any spin correctly. It's like I have physical amnesia or something. Ugh. Skating is like unrequited love and it's pure agony. But yet I keep coming back for more. It's like chasing a rabbit you know you'll only catch once out of 100 times but you keep chasing because catching it feels glorious!

Same with the flip jump. Sigh. It was so perfect and now it's rubbish. Thank goodness for my spiral - that is my bread and skating butter (knock on wood - I'll probably catch a toe pick next time and eat some more ice).

Monday, July 8, 2013

Stick to the Rivers and Lakes

Roy and I had a good time this past holiday. Spent a lot of time outdoors, doing outdoorsy stuff, you know? Here's some photographs for your viewing pleasure:

Went biking on the 4th of July along the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg. Saw two baby groundhogs chomping away (one is on the far left by the day lilies).

Intrigued, but not impressed.

Later that evening we went to Duke's on the river to watch fireworks. There were two shows this year, the first from Metro Bank Park after the baseball game then the regular show immediately following - both from City Island. They should have done them simultaneously.

On Saturday we headed down to Lake Needwood in Maryland to BBQ with my BFF's. Sang, the grill master, cooked us some lamb...
 
... and these yummy pork ribs. He got there early to get these babies on the grill so they can cook for a few hours. They were so good. We also had salmon, steak, and Italian sausages. We can sure put some food away.

Here's a panorama view of our grill and shelter area. It was nice because this picnic area was tucked away and we didn't have a crowd like the other two areas. Plus it was nice and shady.


 
Here's Kathy with some archery action. There was an archery range by our shelter which was pretty cool and Sang and his brother have their own bows and arrows. The bow string tension was 55 lbs. so it was hard for us ladies to pull it all the way back. Kathy is hooked! Must be a Korean thing - Koreans seem to dominate in this sport.


After archery, Roy and I went kayaking and my friends rented a row boat. Roy and I used our kayaks for the first time and I loved it! He got me one for Xmas but he ended up using that one and I got a smaller one. It works out better because I can carry it around on my own.
 
Lake Needwood. The last time we were here the lake was being dredged so we didn't get to go out on it. After kayaking we went back to our shelter and ate some more. Later that night we hit up Rockville Towne Center for more eating and drinking. PURE GLUTTONY.
 
We didn't go out on the pontoon boat for fireworks because the river rose up to 9.5 feet over the holiday. All the rain and flash flooding up north was to blame. We actually took the boat out of the river just to be safe (the flooded river tends to pick up fallen trees and other debris which can damage boats that are docked).  Some boats were out but we witnessed one that lost engine power and had to be towed back to dock. It's not unusual for that to happen but it's hard to anchor in deep, fast-moving water so in this case that would have been especially sucky. Fortunately the river is already on its way down to normal levels so the boat will be back in soon.
 
On Friday night we went to the movies and saw "This Is The End" with Seth Rogan. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. It was pretty high-larious. "Really, Jay? Does the power of Christ compel me?" LOL.
 
And that brings us back to... Monday. Ugh. Hope you had a great holiday and I'm jelly if you are off today!
 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...