Bon Jour

So last week I rediscovered the French team of Nathalie Pechalat & fabian Bourzat. I vaguely remember them from the Olympics last year, though I kinda liked them but I think I only saw half their performance. Stumbled onto them last week & fell in love. This past weekend they won the European Championships which is skaterese is huge. One step below World Championships which are about 6 weeks away. I wanted an interview but had no idea where to reach them. They train in MOSCOW. I found Nathalie last nite on FB & sent her a message. Within three hours she responded very favorably. Interview today.

Clincher. Patinage wants it. A frenchie mag that is TRILINGUAL. You are paid per page which amounts to a decent amount once you translate things in French, English & German.

Rockin Around The Christmas Tree...

The kids Christmas show is tomorrow night. That means I have been listening to them warble practice their tonedeafness songs ALL NIGHT.

Little miss candy cane striped tights up there *is* a show girl after all so it is all "I'm a performer".

Seriously.

She's also in the very front again this year. She says its because she knows all the "hand motions" and keeps singing when everyone else forgets.

I know a bunch of hand motions too. I'd like to send them Disney's way.  They didn't respond yet which is pretty funny considering I'm not just going a way. I have an interview with their skaters this week! I did my checking & it's not legal at all to swipe my stuff & publish it without my consent so...

Either pay me or cease & desist.

The DJ & I are still messaging back & forth crazily.

(Pssst!  Just ask for my number already!)

Oh and pray, cross fingers, whatever. Maya has an eye appointment tomorrow.  As of last week it looked like more surgery is imminent. Pray her newest eye drop is a miracle in a .5 ml bottle.

Five For Friday

{My Things To Do This Weekend List}

1. Make these. Lots of them.

2. Attend THIS.

3.  Take the kids to see:

4. Drink a lot of:

5. Finally get & put up the...

Parisienne Walkways

A very early run through of what eventually became an Olympic program.

Now, Why Did I Just Do That???

I came downstairs a few hours ago and out of nowhere I  found myself submitting media requests for interviews.  I haven't done that in about a year. I have been far too busy with "big girl", important things like a real job where I make real money to support my little family. Do I really want to write again?  Hadn't seriously considered it until right now.  If I make a request and it is granted, I can't back out. Done deal.  That interview gets done, that event gets covered. That's just how I roll. In 15 years I have never been a no-show or late for even a phone interview.

So I don't know why I just did it, but I probably just put myself back in the game again.

Maybe I need it.  I think I must. I've found myself thinking of half done projects, disks of stuff in the drawer right at this desk- things that when I look at with a distanced eye, have real potential.

I think some of the forced personal changes (like leaving traitors friends in the dust) have made me shift more than I realized. I'm relying less on connections and interactions and much more on myself & my very personal, little world.  With that comes the need for creative outlets and ultimately, I feel like I'm home again. More comfortable back in the bubble with less people whirling around me.

It's a bigtime time for change. An offer has been made on a new house. 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths, fenced in yard...3 finished floors. It would actually be cheaper then where I am now. BIG DRAW, it is 2 blocks from where I am now and that puts me back in the kids school boundary. As of now I am out of it by almost a full block. I have never even discussed here the battle that I had with the district keeping my youngest in her school. We have boundary exceptions BUT if the grade is overcrowded they will randomly pull kids and send them to their "home" school. B was yanked back in September. In spite of our boundary exception form being approved last May. In spite of her having sisters in the school. In spite of the fact that my PFA ONLY names this school as off limits to their father. It took 2 weeks to get her back in and that was with calls to the superintendent from the DA & a judge. Next would have come a court order. I sit waiting for the "Tomorrow is B's last day" phone call to come again. It was terrible. No, it was worse. She was crushed & I was a jangled wreck & thank god I held my ground. Even the super. volunteered that no school is completely safe & he couldn't garuntee me that B wouldn't be accidentally removed from the other school. One medical room sitter manning the main desk at lunch that doesn't know my child or the situation- dad shows his ID & he is out the door in a minute with MY daughter. Couldn't even consider risking that. I feel we need to be in the boundary by next year so that there is no threat of anything. So this house, would be a good thing.

I've also been submitting my resume like crazy. The year & a half in government admin has really put me in line for some interesting stuff, so we'll see.

Snailey gave me her Xmas list today. She wants a new bookshelf and a new desk. And every pair of boots she sees. Rocks & Precious Gems are her latest I-Am-Just-Like-My-Mom obsession.  We went to a local Coal Mine Tour today & the gift shop has rocks galore. She came out skipping  with a little shopping bag full of stuff. She is loving third grade science so much & the rocks went everywhere with her for the rest of the day.

Don't ask me how I found this today but I thought it was hilarious.

Absolutely Precious

I watched this today for the first time in years. Still love it to pieces. Take 4 minutes & watch.

You Must Remember This

Enchantment

So I settled in yesterday to actually watch Stars On Ice. It used to be a tradition for me. It used to be videotaped & rewatched until the tape died. It used to be something that I traveled up to Lake Placid, NY over Thanksgiving weekend to see the opening show each year.

Used to be.

It was the greatest thing, hands down, on ice every year. Then it tanked a bit. I realized how absolutely phenomenal the cast had been & how amazing the pair, dancers & group numbers were- once they kind of sucked. I took it for granted as normal until it became mediocre & then I missed the previous awesomeness.

I used to see the show twice. Years on end I saw it in Lake Placid & then somewhere in PA. I think the last time I went was 2002, maybe.

So yesterday I sat & watched, deflated by the fact that even the television broadcast has been sliced. It used to be 2 hours & now a two hour show with 14 skaters gets an hour of time not counting commercials.

So I watched, kid & dog both on my lap. Micheal Weiss...ick. Todd Eldredge...ick. Ina & Zimmerman...GOOD!...Chinese pair...GOOD!...behind the scenes footage of group numbers that I'll just so want to see...eh maybe...concept- Live And In Color!...ok I guess. The idea is that tv is nothing compared to being in the rink & seeing the speed, feeling the wind even up high as skaters fly past...yeah that does work & it's true. Live is nothing like tv. I really had no expectations at all. I watched to see if maybe I'd want to go & see it live in March.

I definetly do. If for nothing else, then to see this:



I kind of remember liking Sasha Cohen a long time ago. She is clearly the selling point this year, even for someone like me that usually sleeps thru ladies skating. This was amazing. She's basically a ballerina in slippers being carried all over the ice by three pair skaters. The lifts are just amazing and I have to shoot it. Amazing stuff & I'm really thrilled to find it. I love when I have no expectations for something & then end up surprised & excited by it!