Loopy Loops

Went to a Sunday Freestyle session and it was only me and another skater so I got the phone out to record some video. Here's my loop and loop-loop jumps. I should record myself more often because there's a lot of things I need to correct, like looking down less and more knee bending. I look so stiff!

Food Truck Feast

Last Friday the cousins, along with Roy and I, hit up Food Truck Feast in Midtown Harrisburg. This gathering was much smaller than the FoodStruck event we went to the week before, but it was a lot closer to where we live.  Roy's buddy Tyler runs the Grills Goin' Wild food truck based in Lancaster and he was at both events. We love the food Tyler makes so we try to make it to his truck whenever we can. We love the pulled pork sandwich and NOLA fries.

This event occurs every third Friday of the month until October. Here are some photos:



Skating Update

Last Saturday officially wrapped up the 2013-2014 synchro season with the Team Reflections Banquet. I dragged Roy with me and it was a good time. I think his good time started after he got a few beers in him. It was nice to hang out with the other skaters and their families in normal clothes and in room temperature. You get to find out who they are in their non-skating world. Figure skaters seem like a rare breed but there are many of them out there.

We reminisced over our progress throughout the season and the coaches handed out awards. Surprisingly, I received the Most Improved Skater Award for the Adult Team for the second year in a row! I was certain I wouldn't get it again so I didn't even realize it when my name was called. I'm glad I'm improving each year. I'm certainly putting in the time and effort but I wish I could put in more. This is terrible but I'm going to compare it Candy Crush. Skating is like Candy Crush.  There are hundreds of levels or skills to work on and some you blow past and others you are stuck on, FOREVER. You can't pay $0.99 to move onto the next episode in skating, unfortunately.  I can't believe I just compared my life to Candy Crush, but my life IS Candy Crush lately, so there you have it.

Here's a pic of the lovely OJ team:

It's been over a year since I started taking weekly private lessons and I've managed to get my scratch spin, sit spin, and camel spin fairly consistent.  My Camel-Sit is there, but not always consistent. I am out of breath after doing just one of those so I have to get more fit. It's amazing how skaters make things look so easy but it takes so much energy to do all the things they do.

My jumps are getting more consistent and I can land my Lutz but I'm trying to make it look effortless. I'm practicing right now for my Pre-Bronze Free Skate test which consists of a waltz jump, toe loop, one foot spin, two foot spin, forward and backward crossovers, and a spiral. The last three years of practice should make me a pro at these elements, right? I wish.

My next goal would be to get a program together and get more fit (because otherwise I would never make it through the program).  Music makes skating more fun and it actually makes it easier to nail elements it seems because you stop thinking about what you're doing and you just go with the music. Over thinking and analyzing are killers for me. You don't want to know how many times I've adjusted my blades. So much that I should carry a screw gun in my skating bag.

Speaking of getting fit, Roy joined a kickball league. He has yet to play a game because the field wasn't ready. More on that later!

Happy Easter Weekend (aka regular weekend for me)!

We Like to Party

My blog posts have been sparse lately because my mind has been preoccupied with party planning and work has been less than stellar. Roy and I are planning to get hitched in Vegas sometime in August and then we're celebrating our newly married status with a shindig back home in November.  So far we've got the venue, DJ (with karaoke!), photo booth and photographer booked.  Right now I'm figuring out what to do about catering. I get a lot of questions about the dress, both for the wedding and reception, but I don't really have anything picked out. I do know it's got to be short for Vegas because it'll be hot as balls out there. I just want to get the major details out of the way and then it'll be easier to focus on the frou-frou stuff.

I've also purchased a domain name for the wedding web site and picked theme colors:

Midnight Navy, Peacock Teal, Plum, & Berry
 



I really like the jewel-tone look and I couldn't just pin it down to two colors.  The venue is a barn so it'll be very "woody" and I think they will all go well together.  I was digging the neon color trend but I imagine that'll look really outdated in the pictures. These colors might look that way also but the 80's always come back to haunt us now and again so why not.

I've given Roy two major projects for décor; I'm sure he'll wait until October to start them. Have you ever planned a large party? Got any tips??