Jumping Out of My Comfort Zone

I haven’t been around for awhile.  Thank goodness for D.L. Hammons Blitzs which get me visiting and commenting a little bit.  

I’ve been busy reading a lot, writing some, and taking care of Jessica who suffered a concussion almost a month ago now and is just beginning to feel better.  It’s been a challenge keeping her spirits up when she was told she had to rest mind and body completely which meant no computer to write on and no reading.  One day she was in her room and said she was just staring at the ceiling.  :(

What I’m most excited about though, is what I did Saturday.  In my last post, from January, I said one of my goals was to take myself to a new level this year and Saturday was what I was referring to.  

Two months ago my much younger skating friend talked me into entering an adult figure skating competition with her.  It was crazy, I know.  I hadn’t competed in 25 years, but I’m on the ice every day to teach, so I thought maybe it was possible.  

We had lots of fun training together but as last week came to a close and our event neared, I began to worry I was over my head.  My lungs were on fire as I tried to make it through my three minute program and two of the jumps were still giving me trouble.  What had I been thinking?  But I was also excited. I had to concentrate on the things I was good at and enjoy performing.    

Then Saturday was upon us.  I was nervous and I knew I hadn’t trained as much as I should have because of all those other things in life that always manage to create road blocks. I was as ready as I could be at that moment in time and I just had to go for it.  

I’d like to say that as soon as I stepped on the ice all my nervousness melted away, but it didn’t. I was determined though, to enjoy each one of my three minutes and show what I could do.

Jumping out of my comfort zone!!

As my music played, time slowed and each movement flowed from my body.  I had time to think about how lucky I was to be there with my kids, husband, and parents cheering me on.  

What a moment.  

During the last minute, I took a deep breath both to calm my excitement and to not pass out during my big finish.

When the last few notes played and I struck my ending pose nothing else mattered.  I had done it!  A huge smile broke across my face as I bowed and skated off.  I knew I hadn’t skated everything perfectly but I landed all my jumps and did everything I had hoped to do.  

The scores didn’t even matter.    

Alyssa, me, Jessica, and my coach

What have you been up to?  Any big news?  A-Z is coming up are you participating?



Kathy :)

Happy Halloween

First of all I hope all my East coast buddies are safe from Sandy's wrath.

On a happier note....I passed my skating test!!!  I was exhausted after my third element but somehow I was able to pull off the last 3!  Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to go for it (especially my wonderful kids and husband!)  I have just one more to go now.  :)

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Now on to the Scare Fest, hosted by Budd at Sci-Fi Media.  I saw this last minute over at Ninja Captain Alex's blog and thought I would join in on the spooky fun.  The object is to talk about a scary book, scary movie, scary story or make up your own scary story in honor of Halloween.

Watching a scary movie is never my desire, I've only watched them because someone else really wanted me to see them.  The images they create stick with me and creep me out for weeks!  That being said I have seen  a number of spooky films.  I think the one that stuck with me the longest was The Shining.  Creepy images continued to flash before my closed eyes for a long time after seeing that one!

In books Edgar Allan Poe stories always creeped me out.  I still remember one where a guy had put someone in a brick wall.

In real life, one night my mom and I were driving back home really late from a skating practice.  A fog blanketed the road.  All of a sudden a patch of the fog swirled up and took on the form of a person.  It seemed to pass our car and look at us.  It was there only for a second, but my mom and I both looked at each other, like "did you see that?"  I think she sped home the rest of the way.          

Yikes now that I've thoroughly freaked myself out in my dark house by thinking of all this Halloween spookiness I better stop and turn on some happy show tunes or something!

Have a Happy Halloween!

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I also wanted to congratulate the lovely Talli Roland who was interviewed on British TV Tuesday.  Yay Talli!  Hope it airs soon.  Stop by her blog and give her some love.


Kathy :)

Book Review and More

Book Review

Game On by Kyra Lennon

I just finished reading Kyra's charming story about feisty Leah Walker who moves from England to America where she works with a top U.S. soccer team.  Her life seems to be going well until Radleigh McCoy, a hunky womanizing player who thinks he's the greatest thing on the planet, takes notice of her.  His unwanted attentions not only irritate Leah but could also cost her her job.  Has she met her match?

This was a really a fun read.  I loved the antics between Leah and Radleigh and I couldn't wait to see which one of them would come out on top.  Right from the beginning this was a tough book to put down.

It's available on Amazon in paperback or ebook.    

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NaNoWriMo?

Only 3 days until November, which means NaNoWriMo is right around the corner.  I had a lot of fun last year participating and I did get quite a lot of my MS written.  I thought about doing it again and starting a new story, but I'm not ready to leave my now completed first draft behind.  I feel like I need to complete the edits before I can start on a new project.

So instead of doing NaNo, I've decided I'm going to do NaNoEditMo (that's what I'm calling it anyway.)  Since my first draft is about 80,000 words, my goal for November is to edit just over 2600 words, or about 8-9 pages each day.  That would get me close to finishing the second draft.  So if you have been debating NaNoWriMo, and you have a MS you need to edit feel free to join me.

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Testing Day

I've mentioned a couple of times here that I'm working toward taking my last couple figure skating tests.  I've been practicing a couple times a week to try to get ready for my next one.

And today is the day!  Yikes!  I hope I'm ready.  There are 5 sets of different sequences that I have to skate in front of the judges.  It only takes about 12 minutes, but I'm always exhausted by the time I do them all.  I just hope I can keep my nerves from getting the better of me.  But it will be fun because Jess and Alyssa are going to be taking a couple of other skating tests as well.  So we'll all be cheering for each other.


Have a great week!
Kathy :)
  

Putting Yourself Out There

Regionals

Alyssa stood alone at center ice.  The pounding of her heart was all she heard in the silence before her music started.  Hundreds of eyes looked down on her, watching her every move.  She wondered if she really belonged here competing against all these more experienced girls.

Reminding herself that this was a great experience, she took a deep breathe and pushed the negative thought aside.  Her music started and she glided across the glassy surface.

Two and a half minutes later, she smiled, bowed to the crowd and skated off the ice.  She had just skated her personal best and nothing could make her happier.

****

 That's how I would describe our trip to the Regional Skating Championships last weekend.  Alyssa had a great skate and it was a fantastic experience.  She ended up 12th out of 18 girls but she was happy because most of them had quite a bit more experience at that level than she did.  She proved to herself that she did belong there.  

I was proud of her for even having the guts to be out there.  It takes a lot to stand in front of your peers and elders and be openly judged.  But if you don't, you never know where you stand.

Then I thought how similar writing is.  If you never put yourself out there and have other people read your writing you'll never know if you're improving.

So get out there and let others see your writing!  I'm trying to find as many opportunities as possible, that's why I entered WRITE CLuB.  It's been great fun so far.

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Healthy Writer's Club

Started by Shallee McArthur as a way to inspire us to get out of our chairs!  This is what she says about it:

As writers, we hear a lot about the "butt in chair" tactic, which is great for our manuscripts, but not so great for the actual butt in the chair. Every Friday, I'll be posting about how healthy I've been that week and how it connects to writing. If you're game to join the fun, you can run, walk, bike, make a healthy dinner, play tag with your kids, etc. Then, you post about it on Friday (or whenever you want)

This is what I did this week:

Mon: 1 hour skating; practicing for my test (I might be almost ready to take it!)
Wed: 1/2 hour of light aerobic workout
Thur:  I was supposed to run stairs with the girls, but we were all too tired, maybe today!


Check out what everyone else did here.


Have a great weekend, get some exercise and let someone read what you've written!
Oh and don't forget the next Knights of MicroFiction is coming up soon so be ready!

Kathy :)

S is for Skating

S is for Skating


I can't remember a time when I wasn't thrilled by the feeling of the ice beneath my blades.  The cool breeze caressing my face as I glide over the silken surface, I feel a freedom that I can't explain. I don't know why, but it is something that is a part of me as integral as my own hand.  The combination of artistry, musicality, and physical movement is both challenging and inspiring to my soul. It recharges my creative energy and allows the other areas of my life to flow with ease.

I thought maybe as I got older, it wouldn't be as much fun, but even now, every time I step on the ice my heart flutters with excitement.  Most of my time is now spent coaching and I'm grateful that I can share my passion with my students and my daughters, Jess and Alyss, who skate with me every day.  But once in awhile I get to really let loose and have some fun myself.  Here is a video that Jess took of me the other day while I was spinning.  I thought it was kinda cool.  Hope you enjoy.

Make sure to check out all the other A-Zers.

Have a super Saturday!

Kathy :)

It's Ok to Lose

11 skaters,  2 coaches and 2 minutes of music.
The first beats pulsed through the huge arena.  We held our breath and watched every movement our skaters made. There was no way to help them now, like baby birds learning to fly, they had to skate this without our help.  All their hard work for 5 months was coming down to these 2 minutes.  I could only hope we had prepared them well enough.  Their first few steps were a little shaky with nerves, but they quickly found their footing on the slippery surface.  They thought on their feet and added an extra element when they realized they had skated faster than usual.  They took their final pose and it was over.  We could breath again.

The team I co-coach.  11 great girls!

My friend, (the other coach), and I were so proud of them.  They made only one stumble but recovered quickly.  They had finally come together as a team.  We couldn't have asked for more.

I could see the other teams were much more experienced than we were, so I wasn't surprised when we got the scores back. We had taken 12th out of 12.  But how were we supposed to break it to the girls?  They had given their all.  Would there be tears?  or would they be proud of their effort being a brand new team at a big competition?  We got them all together and my friend asked, "Did you have fun this weekend?  Are you happy with how you skated?"
They all shouted "YES!"
"Can you see the things we need to work on?" We asked.  They knew where it was leading, but they understood that if they wanted to be good enough to win they'd have to put in a lot more time and effort.
If we hadn't come to this competition, they never would have realized how much better they could be.  Even though it's tough to take last, the overall experience of the weekend, staying as a team in the hotel and bonding was far more positive than negative.  Now they are excited to get back on the ice and see how they can improve.  Sometimes it takes losing big to light the fires of ambition.        

Jess and Alyssa's team with their coach

Have big losses or rejections given you the determination to work even harder?


Kathy

Happy Birthday Jess!

Jess at 3 months

After 26 hours of labor, 15 years ago today, I became a mom for the first time.  I stared at the tiny little bundle in my arms and wondered what our future would hold.  I was instantly in love with her. Her dark almost black eyes stared up at me, trusting my every move. I felt too young to be responsible for this tiny human.  My husband and I still felt like kids. Did we really know enough about life to guide her?
I had no idea how proud I would be of her 15 years later!  I think now I'm learning more from her than she is from me.  She is always helping me with computer stuff and encouraging me to accomplish my goals.  Yesterday she advised me to stop cleaning and just sit down and write.
Lately I have cherished our early morning writing/editing sessions.  We sit with a cup of tea and laugh while we examine the silly sentences we have committed to the page.  I'm still in awe that she has finished her first novel before me!

And then there is skating...my two passions other than family are writing and skating.  When she and her sister finally decided they loved it, I was thrilled.  I could now share my love of the sport with them and it has been an incredible journey.

I can't wait to see what the next 15 years bring for her!

Stop by her blog over at Write Skate Dream and give her a big Happy Birthday! She would love to get 2 more followers to bring her to 100 today!

Kathy

Jess doing a back spiral :)

Campaign Challenge

Okay here is the first challenge for all you Platform Builder Campaigners.  The assignment is to write a piece of flash fiction of 200 words or less.  It must begin with the words "The door swung open" and for an extra challenge end with the words, "the door swung shut" and keep it to 200 words exactly.   Hop on over to Rachael Harrie to get more info.  Here's my entry.  Hope you like it.

The door swung open before I was ready.  I had to calm down, had to focus.  I was shaking not from the cold, from my nerves.  I'd been waiting for this all my life.  Here and now I could prove who I was, show the world what I was made of.  Time slowed.  A million thoughts raced through my head as my coach pushed me to the ice.  All those hours of training came down to these 4 minutes.  My stomach twisted.    

     

     I glided to my starting pose, inhaled and waited for my music.  It seemed like forever.  Then the silky smooth strains of the violin began.  I was no longer afraid.  I felt strong as I skated over the glass-like surface of the ice.  I felt free.  I loved the feeling of the cool breeze tugging at my hair and the smell of the ice... it's cold and moist... and inexplicable.  It's the smell of freedom.  As I soared into the air my mind was clear and happy.  I didn't care what the world thought of me.  I knew who I was.  That's what mattered.  My music stopped.  I bowed and skated off and the rink door swung shut.  

Kathy

Check out all the great entries over at Rach Writes and don't forget to vote for your favorites. If you like mine, I'm number 236.  :)

Ambush on the Ice!

They got me!

The other day at work my teen-aged students were all feeling a little goofy. I could tell they were up to something, I just didn't know what.  I skated over to see what was going on.  Bad idea!  A snowball came whizzing at me from one direction and another girl smashed one in my hair.  We all laughed but I made ready my plans for revenge.  They got back to work.  I had them gather around to talk about a particular skill.  I made my move.  I was only able to get one of them with my snowball, but it felt good for a moment.  Until the snow ran into her face.  Then I felt bad, but she laughed and vowed to get me back. Near the end of the session, I spied some of them trying to accumulate a secret snow stash.  I pretended not to notice, I figured I would simply evade them.  But just as the time was up, I felt someone grab my sweatshirt. Then an avalanche of snow spilled down my back and nestled into all the layers I was wearing. I must have looked like a dog trying to shake water from his coat as I tried to shake the snow out.  But it was fast melting against my skin.  There was only one thing left to do.  I jumped off the ice, and started crazily peeling my extra layers off.  My students surrounded me and we all roared with laughter.  I decided I didn't want to get them back.  I guess in this instance it was really more fun to
receive than to give.

Kathy  :)  

When we're not throwing snow at each other we do actually work hard!

Skating

My student & daughter at practice :)

When I'm not at home with my family, I'm on the ice.  It is my passion.  Gliding across the frozen water, I feel a freedom of spirit that I can't fully explain.  Even the smell of the ice excites my senses.  When I think about it, it seems silly.  Why would I spend so much time in a giant indoor refrigerator teaching people how to move across the artificial surface.  Why?  Because it is fantastically fun.  I honestly can't imagine my life without skating.  It is part of who I am.  

I love the skating itself but I also love the coaching.  I am thrilled to spend all day teaching what I love to people of all ages.  Each one of my students are such wonderfully different people. I strive to not only improve their athletic ability but to be a positive influence in their life.  To be one more person who cares about them and to show them that although perfection is not attainable, it is worthy to strive for in all areas.   

Kathy

Click on the video to see a single axel performed by Alyssa.