We are taking some time off from ice dance. Much to our dismay, life got in the way this year. Combined with job changes and life changes, Jordan and I decided we needed some competitive time off.
It's all well and good, though! We still skate together when we feel up for it and life is going great! I am newly engaged and getting married in 2010! Yeah! Jordan's business is surviving the real estate crash and he is loving his vacation home in Whistler--hitting the slopes as much as he can.
The new news is that my fiance and I are trying to move to Bend, OR so skating will be less and less for Jordan and me. In the meantime, we are enjoying the skating time we do get to spend together and setting goals to learn new CD's. So, competition may be off our plate for now, but that's not to say it won't happen again. Jordan and I are just too competitive to stay out of the game for long!
So this year, we cheer on all the other adult dancers who will be attending Nationals this year! We are so excited that Free Dance has been added to the requirements. I wish I could be there to watch!
We are also excited to watch all the Senior level dancers take on the new Finnstep. What a cool dance!
Thank you to everyone who has cheered us on in competition. We are truly blessed to have such amazing friends and family. We LOVE you!
Julia & Jordan.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I'll get to it. I swear...
Catching up is so painful.
I will post more images and info. I will. I promise. It's just really slow. I leave my full-time job of 11 years next week and preparing for the big day is wearing on me a bit. I'm a little overwhelmed!
I promise I won't forget to post more from Adult Nationals. Daphne at www.ice-dance.com is still waiting for Championship Dance photos from me too.
Thanks for your patience!
---J
I will post more images and info. I will. I promise. It's just really slow. I leave my full-time job of 11 years next week and preparing for the big day is wearing on me a bit. I'm a little overwhelmed!
I promise I won't forget to post more from Adult Nationals. Daphne at www.ice-dance.com is still waiting for Championship Dance photos from me too.
Thanks for your patience!
---J
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
I'm horribly behind!
So SORRY!
It's been a whirlwind weekend and Jordan and I just returned home to Oregon late last night.
Unfortunately, we were forced to withdraw after the initial rounds of competition, something both of us are heart-broken over. Jordan fell incredibly ill and could barely walk let alone skate. It's been such a hard-luck season for us and honestly, I really didn't feel like blogging after all that happened this weekend.
However, I did continue to shoot lots of images and I will update throughout the week with stories from LP. Even though it ended up being kind of a crummy season for us, we still had a great time in LP.
Plus, it's NOT about what happens to you in life, its about how you REACT to what happens.
Positive thought & Onward to next season!
Stay tuned for updates this week and next!
Until Next Time,
---J
It's been a whirlwind weekend and Jordan and I just returned home to Oregon late last night.
Unfortunately, we were forced to withdraw after the initial rounds of competition, something both of us are heart-broken over. Jordan fell incredibly ill and could barely walk let alone skate. It's been such a hard-luck season for us and honestly, I really didn't feel like blogging after all that happened this weekend.
However, I did continue to shoot lots of images and I will update throughout the week with stories from LP. Even though it ended up being kind of a crummy season for us, we still had a great time in LP.
Plus, it's NOT about what happens to you in life, its about how you REACT to what happens.
Positive thought & Onward to next season!
Stay tuned for updates this week and next!
Until Next Time,
---J
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Centennial Dance!
Sally & Stan Urban are in 1st place. Lauren and Mike are in 2nd and Margaret & Chuck are in 3rd. What fabulous event!
They dance the foxtrot and the Tango today. Lauren and Mike took the orginal route and did the former Tango pattern, putting the mohawk right at center rink. Gorgeous!
Silver and Pre-Gold dance IR's were this afternoon and I took lots of pics, but I ahven't proofed them yet, plus we have practice in about an hour. Tomorrow, Gold and Championship rounds begin, so I'll try to keep posting as much as I can, but forgive me if my events sidetrack me!
Thanks for looking!
---J
They dance the foxtrot and the Tango today. Lauren and Mike took the orginal route and did the former Tango pattern, putting the mohawk right at center rink. Gorgeous!
Silver and Pre-Gold dance IR's were this afternoon and I took lots of pics, but I ahven't proofed them yet, plus we have practice in about an hour. Tomorrow, Gold and Championship rounds begin, so I'll try to keep posting as much as I can, but forgive me if my events sidetrack me!
Thanks for looking!
---J
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Day One...Competition Begins....
And we're still blowing off steam! Why? There's no dance today...only freestyle events (but keep scrolling down for LOTS of pics!)
Even without the great Kia and Molly here to keep us organized, we still managed to get the dancers together for the annual Ice Dancers dinner. We went to a great Italian place called Milanos. There were only a few of us, but that's ok. It's hard to do the dinner without the people we know and love who are normally present to enjoy it with us. Teri and Tim are sorely missed, plus Julie and Mike are arriving late. Word got out kind of last minute too, so that made it hard, but we made the best of it!
Of course lunch didn't help much as Lorna and I proceeded to PIG out on brownie sundae (she talked me into it, I swear.)
We drove to Plattsburg early today because it was the only place we could get ICE! Now that the competition has begun, practice ice times have been cut to only 20 minutes and you are only allowed to buy one. Argh!
Check out the line to try and purchase extra ice! Forget that.
Regardless, we managed to buy private ice for 7 dance teams in Plattsburg (thanks to Lorna A.)and we had a great TWO hour practice. It was fabulous.
Not that is mattered to Margaret. She won her Bronze Freesyle event today. National Champ, baby!!!
We are soooo proud of you! CONGRATULATIONS!! She even has a gold dress to mach her medal. Hmmm...psycho-analytical judging influence? Nah! Just Margaret's pure talent!
Ok...so lots of pictures from last night's practice. Please keep in mind, I am not a sports photog. I do portraits. Plus, Ice rinks are challenging to shoot in. Bad light, white ice, dark subjects and fast moving objects---grrr....
So, these aren't the best. I odn't have the great sports lenses needed for this kind of work, but I know the pics are what everyone loves. So here ya go! Enjoy.
Oh and here's Bob, scoping out the competition! Hee!
Oh and last, but not least....Jordan's new red shoes. Aren't they cool?
My partner is so hip.
Until Next Time,
---J
PS Dance competition begins tomorrow. Oooh! I can't wait to take more pics!
Even without the great Kia and Molly here to keep us organized, we still managed to get the dancers together for the annual Ice Dancers dinner. We went to a great Italian place called Milanos. There were only a few of us, but that's ok. It's hard to do the dinner without the people we know and love who are normally present to enjoy it with us. Teri and Tim are sorely missed, plus Julie and Mike are arriving late. Word got out kind of last minute too, so that made it hard, but we made the best of it!
Of course lunch didn't help much as Lorna and I proceeded to PIG out on brownie sundae (she talked me into it, I swear.)
We drove to Plattsburg early today because it was the only place we could get ICE! Now that the competition has begun, practice ice times have been cut to only 20 minutes and you are only allowed to buy one. Argh!
Check out the line to try and purchase extra ice! Forget that.
Regardless, we managed to buy private ice for 7 dance teams in Plattsburg (thanks to Lorna A.)and we had a great TWO hour practice. It was fabulous.
Not that is mattered to Margaret. She won her Bronze Freesyle event today. National Champ, baby!!!
We are soooo proud of you! CONGRATULATIONS!! She even has a gold dress to mach her medal. Hmmm...psycho-analytical judging influence? Nah! Just Margaret's pure talent!
Ok...so lots of pictures from last night's practice. Please keep in mind, I am not a sports photog. I do portraits. Plus, Ice rinks are challenging to shoot in. Bad light, white ice, dark subjects and fast moving objects---grrr....
So, these aren't the best. I odn't have the great sports lenses needed for this kind of work, but I know the pics are what everyone loves. So here ya go! Enjoy.
Oh and here's Bob, scoping out the competition! Hee!
Oh and last, but not least....Jordan's new red shoes. Aren't they cool?
My partner is so hip.
Until Next Time,
---J
PS Dance competition begins tomorrow. Oooh! I can't wait to take more pics!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
3 Olympians...and lil' 'ol me.....
Wow! What a night.
I got to hang out with three 1980 Lake Placid Olympians--Pairs Champion Michael Bottecelli, Dance Champion Lorna Aldridge and Men's Singles Champion Charlie Tickner.
I can't even BELIEVE it!
And you what was so great? They are so passionate about us adult skaters. Adults! We are not future Olympians. We are not elite athletes. We are working moms, dads....career folk...ordinary people who just happen to love skating.
Michael B said it so well,
"Adult skating is one of the few remaining purest forms of the sport left."
Yes, we do it because we LOVE it. We may make complete idotis out of oursleves, but we don't care. We may flop. We may trip. We may cruise at a snails pace out there. But, who cares? All we really want at the end of this thing called "Adult Nationals?"
We want to FEEL good. We want to FEEL like we skated our best and that all the hard work and goal setting got us somewhere.
How pure is that? And these three people right here, people who are at the top of the sport understand that and revel in it.
This night was one of the best in my "adult" skating life.
Thanks Mike, Lorna and Charlie. You have inspired me beyond what I ever thought I could imagine.
Michael Bottecelli in 1980 at the Olympics:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JPCCWijylsY&feature=related
Lorna Aldridge, then Lorna Wighton at the 1980 LP Oylmpics:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pM6fqEfcq2A
Charlie Tickner:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1AVcwz_jtgI
We are competing on the same ice as these great legends. Wow. How cool is that?
Until Next Time,
---J
P)S. I took TONS of pics of Dance practice tonight, plus video. I'm just too tired to post it all tonight. I'll do it tomorrow. I promise! Goodnight blog world!
I got to hang out with three 1980 Lake Placid Olympians--Pairs Champion Michael Bottecelli, Dance Champion Lorna Aldridge and Men's Singles Champion Charlie Tickner.
I can't even BELIEVE it! And you what was so great? They are so passionate about us adult skaters. Adults! We are not future Olympians. We are not elite athletes. We are working moms, dads....career folk...ordinary people who just happen to love skating.
Michael B said it so well,
"Adult skating is one of the few remaining purest forms of the sport left."
Yes, we do it because we LOVE it. We may make complete idotis out of oursleves, but we don't care. We may flop. We may trip. We may cruise at a snails pace out there. But, who cares? All we really want at the end of this thing called "Adult Nationals?"
We want to FEEL good. We want to FEEL like we skated our best and that all the hard work and goal setting got us somewhere.
How pure is that? And these three people right here, people who are at the top of the sport understand that and revel in it.
This night was one of the best in my "adult" skating life.
Thanks Mike, Lorna and Charlie. You have inspired me beyond what I ever thought I could imagine.
Michael Bottecelli in 1980 at the Olympics:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JPCCWijylsY&feature=related
Lorna Aldridge, then Lorna Wighton at the 1980 LP Oylmpics:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pM6fqEfcq2A
Charlie Tickner:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1AVcwz_jtgI
We are competing on the same ice as these great legends. Wow. How cool is that?
Until Next Time,
---J
P)S. I took TONS of pics of Dance practice tonight, plus video. I'm just too tired to post it all tonight. I'll do it tomorrow. I promise! Goodnight blog world!
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