Let's Celebrate, It's All Right!

( cool graphic inside )
ok So I really want Binky (binky1217) to go to Nationals this January. So I am on a one woman campaign to get her there. I told her all about the fun you all helped me have, and that she'd have soooooooo much fun because I wouldn't be the newbie and she would and so I could help her have fun (like she'd need help with a whole weeks worth of SKATING) so yeah. COME ON BINKY! YOU ARE GOING!!!!!!!!!

Anyway with that out of the way.. I am in a bit of pain as I pulled a muscle in my leg. Not sure how, I think it was when I fell down the stairs at the church, but I could be wrong. Long story, and yeah I don't want to get into it. Needless to say I am sore, and it sucks.

Because of my injury I did not paint like I told Andi and Binky I would. BTW, girls, our chat was AWESOME and we should do those weekly or something LOL Because it was so what I needed ;)

so yeah I am going to go find something to do that doesn't require me to move around... and because Duane is annoying me to no end... ( Friday Five: $Money$ )
( scripture meme )

183 days until Nationals

But that's the story of my life... I'm looking into jobs that I can do this summer... but I haven't talked to my parents yet.

I was informed by Anna that I *must* come, so I better not disappoint ;) she'll need a bunnier ;) LOL

Seriously though I think it's a go. We'll see. I will be so disappointed if I don't get to go.


I'm so stuck in the Mid Alaskan Winter Blues, and it's not funny. I can't get motivated. This is really wearing me out. I have so much work, and it's just piling up EVERYWHERE. I'm getting overly sensitive on anything my aunt says... it's really sucky around the house, or just about anywhere. The 'nationals plans' is really my only saving grace LOL so if I bug you with it, tough. Alaska's weather gives everyone a major downer.


Aunt Judy is in total spring cleaning mode. You can totally tell that she's been outside for a while, because Spring ain't comin for a while yet (yuck). But whatever makes her happy. I guess. LOL So long as she quits trying to clean MY room. If I want to be messy let me be messy... as soon as I have a 3 day weekend I'll get it back up to snuff. LOL

Yuka got into Cookie's food last night and she ate it and was soooo bloated afterwards, I was not happy with her... she slept on the floor all night because she was uncomfy and hot on the bed. She was so fat looking. It was kinda funny LOL I am so mean to my little girl LOL


Oh and I just found another Spoiler-ific site about Star Wars Ep. III... it's looking good!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.super-baris.com/ep3/

ok I am going to send this before my computer goes to sleep because the battery is almost up... I hate waiting in this hallway with no plug ins! *rants*

when this season hasn't even ended yet?

Ok so I've been doing the math for a couple of days...

IF I were to go and bunk with Chele and Brenda (which would so totally rock!) I would easily be able to afford the hotel food wouldn't be too hard, I normally just ate at the rink, but I can afford that too

the tickets I can get because the PFD will run about 900 bucks (at least that's what they're saying right now) so I can afford this...

besides I can talk money out of the people who love me...

I'm still trying to figure out the plane ticket... if I can get that then I am good to go and I will finally just make the decision to go!


so hopefully when I talk to mom (probably tonight) about it we can figure it all out.

and if not I'll send Commando Hez in and she can blast my parents with emails and info and begging and all that good stuff ;) (she has informed me that she is a good butt kicker, so hopefully it will not come to that! LOL)


oh and my aunt wants to know how big a group is going LOL I have no idea why
so far I know
-Hez
-Brenda
-Chele
-maybe me
who else is planning to go?

IF I go to nationals I think I can get by on the lower Plaza seats... if the worst happens and I lose my stolen seat (hee hee) I wouldn't be too far away and I can always have photos I want enlarged... I guess...

BUT then I have other expenses to consider before I go to mom with an estimate...

anyone looking for an extra roommate ?

ok the VIP seats are $750, and I'm guessing those are the seats that we "stole" ? If that's the case I will be paying over 800 bucks! on tickets alone!

I dunno. The more I look at this the more I'm not sure if I can pull it off...

I wanna go to nationals!

I want to fly all over and take photos of figure skating for magazines. That would be just awesome.


I guess I am just gushing over my pictures that turned out so great that I thought wouldn't... And to think they'd come out better if I had the press passes to use bigger and better equipment!!! I found out the other day that if I had asked for a pass I could have gotten one too, because I work for an official website! (granted it would have only been good for the ice dance stuff, but still!!!) guess I'll have to keep that in mind if I ever get to go to nationals again...

I want to go to St. Louis so bad it's not even funny... I want a lot of things, but I am definitely starting the begging for St. Louis... wouldn't that just rock if it were my Christmas present from the family???? I think it would be nice ha ha!!!




Oh and I just found out that for the first time in forever dad is taking the youth group to Y.E.C. Way to tick those of us who didn't get to go after jr. high off! Kassy's not even in the country, which is why he's probably going this year. ha ha! she can't kill him if she's in the land down under ha ha! I get to go, but I'm still very upset that we didnt go sooner... though our church/pastor is pretty much hated by the ABC of the SBC but still... we could have gone sooner! lol




and on another note, I am being forced to watch the superbowl from start to finish this year because it's an assignment for one of my classes... how horrible for a figure skating fanatic, right? darn you football!

ok well now that I have been random and really did not have a post with substance I am going to go pout somemore about my photos going MIA!

random title because I am watching the US Figure Skating coverage on ABC that I just got from purplecat... and it was the little shout out to Angela piece that was shown between the ladies' SP and the Pairs' LP... and now my question is:
WHEN WAS JOHN NICKS ANGELA'S COACH????? I just read the little caption under his name and it says "Angela's Former Coach" but I can't remember ever reading about them working together...

If any of your photos of Melissa and Denis turned out PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE email me and send them in an email to me so that we can use them on their official site (which I am trying to get going again... Joe isn't being too helpful so I think I'll bite the bullet ASAP and buy my own webspace for their site! in which case I need some advise as to who to use for that service)

thanks
-Tonichelle

I am pleading insanity for the ammount of photos I took in Portland. That's the only way I can explain it (since Hez and Melanie are both denying they had the power to intervene :p ha ha!). The final count is 25.5 rolls... I am insane


I took 12 to be developed last night... they'll be back Monday... $52.50 is, I think, what the cost will come to... *Sigh*

I was insane.

put these on the message boards but forgot to post them here...

these are the photos that I got developed down in Portland, so Heather has seen them, and I think Kat and Flo looked at them too (not sure though, it's all a blur!)

My grampy forgot my bday so when the check comes this next week (tomorrow or Tuesday HOPEFULLY) I'll be able to get some more sent out... or at least I hope so! LOL I don't think 50 bucks will be enough!

G'parents in Anchorage and I are on speaking terms again, guess we just needed to cool off... they are wanting to get me a new lens for my camera sometime this coming week too... so hopefully I have the time

I was so sick this weekend... but today is better... still not 100% but we're getting there! I got sick on thursday at school and a friend of mine had to drive me home. Embarassing. So I missed more class time. NOT a good thing...

tomorrow I have class from 11:30am to about 5:15... yuck.

anyway, the photos...


( ...are under here. )

I can definitely say that the ice dance portion of Nationals was a big part of why I went and why I had such a great time. Between Melissa Gregory's mom giving us the inside scoop about anything and everything (and do I mean EVERYTHING LOL) to the fact that I actually had more than one person/team to cheer for it was just really fun. Our section should have totally been deemed "Team G/P" because we were all really cheering our lungs out for them! LOL Not only that but Tanith and Ben are just so awesome that it just made for a fun competition (and those two teams are heads and tails above the rest of the field... you don't really see the difference until you put a lesser team up against Tanith and Ben though... Tiffany and Sergey are sooooooooooooo boring looking after Tanith and Ben skate LOL)

I really like Tiffany and Sergey though. They look well matched, both work well together. (And as far as I know, or really Melissa's mom knows the rumor about Tiffany and Peter are completely untrue) She has a lot of personality and it works. She is so pretty. Their costumes were great. But their FD left a lot to be desired. They had a sucky skate drawing considering they were back to back with Tanith and Ben and that REALLY made their weaknesses stand out. You can definitely see WHY Tanith and Ben are first and why Tiffany and Sergey barely made teh podium.

Melissa and Denis *sigh* that dang thing on teh ice! According to Melissa she hit something on the ice -- she's not sure what -- that distracted her. She was thinking about stopping and asking the ref if she could look for it to make sure she didn't hit it again, but then figured it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. She informed us that it pissed her off to not have a clean skate. It was so cute the way she said it. LOL She is so sweet. She signed my sign I made for them the night before (stayed up till after midnight and the first time I forgot how to spell her name, and the second one looked like it was made by a drunk girl LOL). We also finally found out what their program is all about. It's titled (by Nikolai no less) "The beginning of my life" and is a tribute to their wedding in Vegas. (hence the "21" on the back of Denis' shirt, and the dice on the front... and the arm pull during their footwork) Anna renamed it "Cha-ching" and when Melissa walked up after the competition was over that was the first thing Anna said to her. Which got a big roll of the eyes from Melissa. It was too funny, and kind of embarassing, but what can ya do? LOL I still want to think that Denis is wearing a 21 to say "happy bday" to me as the 21st is my bday! WOOT!!! LOL

Tanith and Ben... what can I say? They were awesome. They are so fast on TV but just so much more so in person... and so Dynamic... and exciting... and hot... and awesome... and cool... and sweet... and wow... loved them... loved their program... loved everything about them. . They totally deserved the 6.0s in my opinion, though. Great to see them win another title!

I love how Dale just walks up and treats us like life long friends! She rules!

The pairs were a surprisingly exciting portion of the competition as well. I was really looking for a splatfest and not much else and I am happy to report that I was completely wrong. Sure there were a lot more mistakes than there should have been, but it was no less exciting. I was disappointed that Scott and Dulebohn didn't skate their best to get 3rd, but there's nothing I can do that about it. :(

Scott and Dulebohn seem like such sweet people! It's really heartbreaking that they can't get it all together. They could totally rock out otherwise. I liked their costumes, and their LP is awesome. I hope they keep it next year and totally get a place on the Oly team. The program has a lot of personality and innovative moves. It was an enjoyable program, and they seemed well suited for it. They looked like they liked it. It was a very comfy program for them, which was nice to see. Phillip was such a kick at the awards ceremony!

Inoue & Baldwin -- his parents sat behind us again. His dad seemed to be so excited about the fact that there were 3 teams on teh podium that were national champions... it was weird LOL They had a decent skate, but I honestly do not see what is so exciting about their competitive skating. It was really just ho-hum for me. I'm not saying this because I am now a fan of Katie and Garrett. I just was not as impressed with them as others say I should be. *shrugs*

Katie and Garrett -- talk about awesome. He should totally get the flu more often. (ok not really, but still) they were great. She gets SO much height on the throws it's scary (especially since PEter said it was because she goes too high that her ankle can't support the impact) but omg I loved the program --hated the costumes--it was great. they were great... had a total fangirly moment and everything. Brenda, it's all your fault! LOL They looked so confused to have won, though, in teh kiss and cry. Ok, so Katie looked confused, Garrett looked down right sick. Poor guy.

that night was just inspired. It was really awesome. the awards ceremony was great too. Hoping the pictures turn out really crisp!

The last few days have been so busy, so sorry these are late... it's just really hard to do everything, ya know!

So lets see, this was the Mens and Ladies SPs...

Tim was the highlight of the night. Though I'm not sure *highlight* is the correct word. More like the skater who brought the most emotion to the arena. Not just with his skating, but everything surrounding it. Talking with Anna she said Tim was doing awesome ON the ice, but off the ice he seemed to be a mess. That just makes me love him that much more. He's SUCH a sweetheart that OMG I just really rooted for him this week. She said he was red-eyed and he talked with Frank in the morning in the skater lounge. Frank was saying how he didn't know if Angela could take anymore bad things, and Tim basically agreed with the thought. Frank told him that after nationals he had to full out be there for her, and Tim assured him that 1. he knew, and 2. that he would be there for her. Then another person walked in and he just collapsed in her arms (can't remember who she said). I'm glad I didn't see it, just seeing clips of it all week was hard. I think he had to whole place pulling for him that night...

Anyway since it's been a few days I will just go with what I remember of the actual competition...

The mens SP is so stinkin exciting! I was all happy and bouncy to be watching them. Nervous at the same time, but over all I just love the US mens, I have about 5 favorites now...

anyway...

Mike's SP -- well I remember it was pretty good. He fell, and I was very sad. LOL. I was taking pictures and then he screwed up and I stopped because I felt I was somehow jinxing him. I was very surprsed they kept him where they did.

Tim -- Oh. My. God. That is the BEST program of his I have EVER EVER EVER seen. not because it was live, but because he skated with everything in him. It was the most emotional program, and I doubt he'll ever skate it as well again, but it was just magic. Then he hit his last pose and it was all over. Everything he had held in came flooding out and it took a lot of strength on his part to even bow without falling all over teh place. He was just uncontrollably sobbing. It was heartbreaking... he got a standing "o" but you'd have thought he was the lonliest person there. Everyone around us had this feeling of wanting to just give him an arena sized group hug, not because it was Tim and just about every girl my age(and some older lol) swoons at the sight of him, but because he just needed it. I know the helpless feeling, and I think that's what he was 'suffering' from.

Evan -- He's one of those skaters that you just have to see LIVE before you really appreciate what he can do. He has so much personality! And he seems to love to flirt with anyone! LOL He was all showman this week and he totally won me over!!!!

Johnny -- I did not like the costume. My high school's cheerleading squad had a warm-up costume similar to what he wore and it was just like... well, it was distracting. I think I'm one of the only one that doesn't find him to be "all that". He's just not my "type" of male skater (though Melissa Gregory's Grandma loved him) it takes all types, right? ;) He was good but VERY tentative. Even to me he was not as exciting as he comes off. I was not impressed, but I really didn't expect to be.

Matt -- I love Matt. Love him, love him, love him. *sigh* He's another one that I don't remember much. I was just so content to watch him skate and just be there. Not only that but I've slept since then. No doubt once I get the pictures back I'll remember more (or rewatch the SPs on tape :))

Ryan was also a joy to watch, but I don't really remember him either. I am so bad about that LOL I didn't take notes as it was a lot of cheering instead of writing. :)


The ladies event, FOR ME, was not half as exciting. I'm not a big ladies fan right now anyway. Love a lot of the pros, but not as many in the competitive ranks.

I liked a lot of the newer talent compared to the big names right now. I love Jenny though. OMG do I love her. LOL She is just so much fun to watch. She should totally do a Chicago on Ice type deal. That short is just TOO CUTE! I loved watching it live. She has got such personality

Michelle was well she was Michelle, and I was good while sitting with Heather and the gang because I was nice and I clapped. Unlike Heather who was being mean to me and my liking of a certain male skater (ha ha, she was good too LOL she and DAWN on teh phone, on the other hand...) I do have to say that I like her Short more than Bolero.

Sasha did not have a great program. Neat moves, but bland program even for her.

Kimmie is so cute, and she is so awesome. She wasn't even acting like she was aware that she was the new kid on the block. She went out and just rocked the world with her skating... so awesome :)

Katy Taylor is another up and comer that I really enjoyed watching practice and then nail her SP...

Emily skated first and I was really expecting a splatfest on her part. Her practices were terrible, but she really knows how to skate during competition. We sat in front of her brothers and I swear we were at a hockey or football game the way they cheered for her. OMG! Who knew two guys could make SO MUCH NOISE (actually her whole family was there).

Rosenthal (can't remember what her name is and I have everything packed...) has SO MUCH personality on the ice, if she could only land her jumps she'd totally have it all!

overall a lot of good skating... just not as exciting from some of the top names...

I feel bad even posting anything about today after the news on Angela, but I guess I owe it to those who are reading this thing (all 1 of you ha ha)

Anyway, I got out later than expected, but I made it just in time for Mike to take to the ice and skate for his SP practice... *gush warning* I was so happy to see him skate. I was the only one in our group to be excited, but I was. I think he's great. Yeah his programs suck but what can he do? He doesn't have much to work with, ya know? He was really hit and miss but still I enjoyed seeing him live. It was exciting. I loved it. He was hitting some clean quads, but none in combination which is what he wanted, big time...

I didn't take notes and I'm still a little shell shocked so I will do my best to remember...

Tim's Short program is interesting. The music choice was different -- very light -- but it was very good. It worked, which was surprising considering it's TIM. I love Timmy too, so it was great to see him out there... Evan looked very strong too. Frank Carrol was watching Tim pretty closely. I guess Tim is still upset about the whole dropping thing, but they've been cordial from everything I have heard, so that's nice to know. An article on Tim and Frank was in the paper today and Frank was very nice and understanding. It seems like he genuinely cares (though I think dropping him when he did was kind of off... don't hurt the guy when he's down!) Tim, though, seems hungry for a win. I hope he stays strong... he wasn't doing a whole lot in teh way of jumps today.

Then the announcer gets on at the end of the session and says we all had to leave because the warm-ups were closed. Which was weird because they hadn't been any time earlier in teh week. The WHOLE CROWD started to boo, then this one lady started screaming and throwing a fit. Thankfully Melissa's mom came in about that time and said that it seemed like a really dumb rule and talked us into staying. Which we did and we never had a problem. I also got to meet Melissa's grandparents today. They are so sweet. Her grandma is a kick! I had gotten a roll of film developed yesterday and it was all Melissa and Denis and her g'ma wanted several of the photos, so I am getting her copies. She is a sweetheart... that whole family is just so loveable. They are very warm and recieving... Not only did Dale--Melissa's mom--introduce me to them, but Heather and Mel as well. That was just so cool. She's a doll! Love ya, Dale!(not that she reads but still haha!)

Anyway the warm-ups were good... We cheered hard for Melissa and Denis--of course--and I took pics--of course... they looked so good, but Dale was giving us info on Melissa's troubles with teh footwork. About a week and a half ago Melissa got a concussion after falling on a part of it. So after that I was soooooo nervous for them. But they rocked the house. The personality they put in that OD is just awesome! I still think they should have had higher marks but NO one listens to me LOL

Tanith and Ben were stellar, which is no surprise. I hate her "skirt" but what can ya do? Marks were good, did not agree with some but again, what can ya do?

I then came home and ate tacos...

headed back to the rink and that's when I first heard the news about Angela. Erin called me and asked if I was sitting down and I said that yeah I was lucky to grab a seat, and she said "good because Angela Niko-something's mom died in a car wreck" all I could say was "Oh my God" over and over. I was almost in tears. So upset in fact that someone asked if I was ok and did I need to get somewhere, and I assured them that I was fine and that the next stop was mine. I then ran for the rink and prayed that I could get to Heather to see if she knew anything. About the time I got to our seats (which are not the ones we paid for but hey! No one has claimed them so far!) is when Dawn must have called because Anna and Mel said that they just heard from Dawn via Heather... Dawn was clearly upset and that made Heather upset... and since we were all talking about it the officials surrounding us heard and wanted to know what the heck was going on. There were a lot of people calling people... ABC was frantically trying to get info... it was crazy....

The opening ceremonies were so boring

the pairs SP was pretty ho hum for me. the US needs serious help... either the team is relatively clean with no real choreography or they have great choreography and sucky everything else... I honestly thought that had Tiffany hit everything they'd have been fine... I really like their short. Oh well. Katie and Garrett were really teh highlight for me. Other than her fall they were great. I think if they'd had warmed-up the throw she'd have hit it. Rena and John are a snorefest IMHO. I really don't care for their program. I never have gotten into their skating... his mom sat behind us...

which reminds me NAOMI LANG and posse sat behind us (which meant that Peter T was there too... and the BABY!!!) the baby is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute! And was so hyper... and sweat... she is all cheeks! I loved talking with Naomi and playing with the baby. She smiled at me! I felt special (though she was more interested in grabbing Anna's hair. It was so funny!) Naomi was really cheering on Melissa and Denis which was awesome. What made me sad, though, was the fact that when the first flight came out for the warm ups Naomi was telling her mom she couldn't sit through the competition. She kept saying "it's going to be too hard to watch" but she made it through the whole thing, but it was obvious she was missing being out there. I wouldn't be surprised if she thought about a come back. She obviously still loves it. Johnny also sat behind us, but his silver shoes scare me LOL Not a big fan of his so I was more excited to make faces at teh baby. Peter, Mel informed Anna and I, smells really good. LOL

and I just saw what time it is so I'm leaving you all now!

not sure what the schedule is for tomorrow... I'll have to sleep on it!

[edited to add:] I totally spaced talking about Peter Carruthers. He was looking very nice all dressed up for the pairs SP... and I noticed he was wearing a pink shirt. Which I pointed out to Heather (who first looked towards where he'd sat all week during practices LOL) and then he stood up to mess with his jacket and we saw that he was also wearing a pink tie with purple diagonal stripes... so we got to have a little fun with that (he must be tributing the ice dancers as those colors are the most popular with them this season LOL) so there's some more fluff stuff that you didn't want to know ;)

I haven't really read anything yet, but I know Dawn knows so I'm pretty sure someone has already announced it, but Angela and her family and coach were in a car accident this morning as they were coming from the airport. Angela and her dad were treated and released, her coach is still in the hospital(I have no idea how he is) and her mother was killed. I've been at a loss for words since I found out (About half an hour before the pairs SPs). Heather was on the phone with Dawn several times, and nobody had any clue about it. Not even a lot of the officials. We sat -- again -- behind the judges/ABC moniters/cameras and they were already starting the news on it... Peggy didn't get on camera at all and so Christine Brennan was called in (not who I would have chosen) PEggy looked REALLY upset. Terry also was visibly upset (you can't hide your feelings in your eyes...)

I'm just, I don't know...

I'm praying, Angela...

Well I got to the rink sooner than I thought I would, which was great as I caught all of the mens practices... It was neat but I just wasn't into paying attention! I don't know why but all day I was just zoning!

Anyway I did try to keep watch of the "big names" as I figured that's what's important. Heather and Mel found me and then later Anna found us, so we were this foursome having fun. It was neat.

Group A:
Johnny was the only one who didn't run through even half of his program... this whole group was incredibly boring... I missed a few of the run throughs, but over all it was just a whole lot of standing around with a few jumps put in by Johnny and a lot of unknowns that really didn't keep my attention... Johnny had a few problems with his jumps though.

Dick Button was there, so I kept trying to get him on film, but he's too short when he sits and could never get a good view of him.

Group B:
Evan was late getting to the practice and missed the warm-up, but his coaches were on time! LOL Timmy looked really good. Calm and confident. Did not run through his entire number, and left before Jordan Wilson got to run through his. I took a lot of pictures of him though. Mike wasn't there :( (but that made Heather happy LOL)

Group C:
Ryan had a good practice, fell on a couple of jump attempts, but over all really promising. He looks really strong. His warm up and all work after his music looked good too. All of the men in this group skated through their programs. A couple of the men did not show up. Matt looked really good in warm-ups, but when it was his turn to skate he fell on both 3 axels. :( The second one he hit hard and was in a similar split position than Johnny was -- just not as bad... just looked bad LOL After his music he worked on the 3axel combo and had awesome results. He has been rubbing his right(?) leg/knee throughout the practice though. :-s None of the men had clean run throughs.

Then I called Melissa Gregory's mom (she is so awesome) and we figured out where to meet during the Dance CDs... She sounded really nice on the phone which was a big help because I was sooooooo nervous. So I told her where I was sitting and what I was wearing and she said she'd look or me as soon as she got there (she was waiting for Melissa to finish getting ready). I was sort of nervous about it, but Heather and Mel and Anna were there so at least I wasn't all alone! LOL

Dance CDs -- GO MELISSA AND DENIS!!!!


1 - Tiffany & Sergey = very nice. she is definitly the more expressive of the two.
I have honestly no idea so :p I am just going to comment on the ones that seem to have caught people's attention so if you want to know about someone else tell me!
8 - Tanith and Ben = WOOT WOOT!! awesome, awesome, awesome! They made it feel like a program. Tanith SOLD the program and Ben was solid... and he's easy on the eyes so ;)
***Melissa's mom came over then and we chatted with her during the zamboni twins. It was really cool! And after filling her in (well, as best we could) she gave us the awesome news about Denis! We also asked her about what the judges looked for in the CD and she said she had no clue. Which made us laugh, but really what DO they look for???***
11 - MELISSA AND DENIS = awesome awesome! ended a little off of the music, but it was a hot ending pose. Thouth they could have higher tech marks, but whatever!

I didn't stay, I felt very dizzy :-p

Ok so after a relaxing afternoon I headed back over to the rink...and with PERFECT timing, because I ran into.......... *big trumpet fanfare* HEATHER!!!!!!!!!! I actually noticed her and said her name and I think I scared her! But I was sooooo glad I ran into her... i had SO MUCH FUN at the practices!!! So we headed to wear the judges sit and we sat behind there, which was so cool because Peter Carruthers was RIGHT THERE!!!! OMG!!!! I was all into watching Peter and not the skating... so I/B and the other two pairs might as well be statues, because I was watching Peter interact with Doug Wilson! OMG!!! I was hyperventalating by that point!!! Doug Wilson, the God of US Figure Skating TV (director wise anyway) alot of what you see on TV when it comes to FS is because of that man. Luv ya, man!!!

Anyway back up a bit... when I/B and the other two pairs (see how well I pay attention??) were skating Katie was up in the middle section of the seats (200 level) in her warm up clothes stretching, looking very fab. Garrett was bouncing up and down in the K&C area (which looks like crap right now, but they are still setting it up) they went inside after the "warm up" before the practice...

fastforward till after the fangirly moment. Hez was rocking out with catching me up with all sorts of awesome things (which she also told Dawn so I'm sure she's already updated you all with that rocking info!) We had some fun making up stories about what Doug and Peter were talking about (though Hez insisted for the longest time that it was Dick Button because of the hat Doug was wearing LOL) and Heather was informing me about all the things that the skaters had improved on. Which was really cool, and fun, because we were chatting and it was awesome. I've never met her before, really met her, but we just hit it off... oh and dad, if you're reading, she thinks you're a kick, I listed all your favorite skaters (and she met Jenni and Todd and saw baby pics!!!!)

anyway back on topic! KAtie and Garrett were rocking during their practice... they were spot on just about everything... Garrett had one obvious slip up and it was just when he really had to hold on to the landing of their sbs jump combo he just didn't have enough speed to get a lot of height on the second jump, but the rest was awesome (though Heather said he might have 2 footed on another jump) I got a whole roll of nothing but them so hopefully some come out ;) Everytime they hit something HEather was -- Brenda is going to be so happy/excited about this -- it was funny.

anyway it's 10pm here even though my journal is on AK time LOL so I will be getting to bed soon...

lots to see tomorrow!

Trying to catch as much as possible of the senior stuff...

8:50am - 11:40am = Men FS Practices (Group A is going first and I really don't like any of the skaters in it... HOWEVER if anyone wants me to report on one of those skaters [or even take a few photos] comment and I will drag myself out of bed for AT LEAST part of the practice ;))

12:00pm - 1:45pm = Dance CD Competition (Yeah, I'm going... call me crazy)

2:00pm - 4:35pm = Ladies FS Practice (Michelle is in group A... guess I can manage to watch, right? *tee hee*)

I will not be watching pairs practices as I'm pretty sure I will 1. be beat by that time rolls around... and 2. because the groups I care about are skating late in the evening (sorry Brenda! I am going tonight though!!!)

the question is Should I stick around for the JR ODs and Pairs SPs? please comment (even those of you reading who don't have a journal here! Anon. posting is allowed!)

I never ever EVER want to hear that midnight blues music EVER EVER EVER again (unfortunately I will have to hear it tomorrow UGH) I am soooooooooooooooooooooooo sick of it! Why can't ice dancers do the same thing as ballroom dancers? I mean it'd be a lot easier on those of us watching, and I'll bet they'd have more people watch!


Anyway, didn't really pay attention to all the dancers. Just Melissa and Denis in their group (which was soooooooo cool!) and Tanith and Ben in theirs. It was a CD/OD practice so I got to see a lot of dancing. I am not knowledgable about dance, but I can definately see why Tanith and Ben are first in the US. They are soooooooooooo fast. If any of my pics come out sharp it'll be a miracle! Melissa and Denis are really quick and smooth too. but Tanith and Ben are gonna win. No doubt. The real competition will be for 2nd place, because all the teams look pretty strong... hoping for Melissa and Denis to come up on top though! I bumped into Nikolai today... ok not really he was walking up the stairs while I was coming down so we "brushed" by each other... I am not a fan of his by any stretch of the imagination but it was... well let's just say I got all jittery.

I chickened out and didn't call Melissa's mom LOL looks like I will have to try for tomorrow. LOL I am so lame! But I did get to see them as they watched Tanith and Ben's flight. Denis was really into watching everyone but Melissa was being all kissy faced at him, when she wasn't talking to their coach(es) it was cute! I was getting all fangirly then, thankfully the practice session was over so I left and headed back to the appartment for a little rest. :)


tonight I'll catch a few flights of pairs practice... tomorrow ice dance starts... so *crosses fingers* Go Melissa and Denis!


oh and look I found me in a picture

Ok so I planned on going to the Senior dance FD practices, but I got turned around with directions from a very helpful but misinformed volunteer, so I watched the novice everything. It was really fun. It’s seating ala carte so I got a great seat and had a lot of fun. It was freezing in there, but it was fun. I got there during the first flight of nov ladies practice, and then watched the 2nd and 3rd flights as well as the dance and then the competitions for everyone. There were some awesome skaters!!! I was really surprised with what they could do. Totally confused until they got the programs and the scorecard booklets, but finally figured it out LOL

Tomorrow I am going to try and catch Melissa and Denis’ practices, maybe even try to get ahold of Melissa’s mom... *crosses fingers* I want to catch the pairs practices, but they run until sometime after 10:20 (that’s when the last flight starts practice) so Brenda do you know what practice group Katie and Garrett will be in, if they’re in a group that isn’t skating late in the evening I’d go and catch them and take pictures (not that they’d be developed until some time AFTER nationals, but still) But yeah, that’s my plan. Haven’t had time to really get in touch with Heather, but I assume she made it okay. I just don’t want to catch her at a bad time, and the fact that I can’t remember how to get to my voice mail while roaming so yeah... gotta find a good time for both of us which will be impossible but whatever! LOL

Anyway on to my novice feelings...

For me what made the event so cool was watching the mens and ladies. Yes, I understand what goes on there more than anything else, but it was just neat to see the young talent. I am on a time crunch here as Erin has plans for us for the evening, so I will update late tonight on all of it.

I met a really nice bunch of people today too... learned a lot about volunteering too. I doubt I'd ever be able to do it (how can they expect me not to gush!!!) so for now I'm stuck being like the ONLY person who doesn't have those cool little name tag thingies! LOL


and some of the skating parents are annoying! One lady was all ticked off that I brought my camera with me to the event! It takes too much time to check (not really as it took them less time to look through it than it did her purse) and it is distracting to skaters????? I don't have a flash on any of my cameras... so I am really confused on that. She even seemed ticked that people other than family of the skaters were allowed to watch the competition... I really wanted to chew her out, but then figured I'd just find a seat furthest from her. So I did. LOL

anywho gotta get ready to go, so I will edit this in a bit!!!

Ok so I am being a bum today. I was able to get on an earlier flight that was a direct one into portland... so I got in at 6am OR time, so I let Erin sleep for another hour before calling her... then I came to her house and we CRASHED! and I've been sleeping on and off all day

now I am bored so ( on to a pointless survey stolen from priestess_x )