I'm okay

Friday when I was going to pick my daughter up from afterschool I was running late. And rushing. Running even. And I slipped and fell down the stairs onto concrete and slid. Ouch. I scrapped all the skin off the palms of both my hands. Quite a bit of the skin off the back and fingers of my left hand. And I'M LEFT HANDED> nice right. And my poor face is reminiscent of when I hit my head on the bottom of the pool. My brother had to come pick me up from school. My wonderful big brother said "You're not really going back to school tomorrow looking like that. I would drop out. Maybe Mama and Daddy will let you change schools." Way to be supportive right. That's how I feel now. Like I got "STUPID" tattooed on my forehead. I spent most of yesterday laying in bed. I knew I couldn't skate. I couldn't even move my hands enough to put my skates on. And how could I possibly dance with somebody if I can't even hold their hands. So I drove Lexie to the rink, made her put on her own skates. And I sat & watched. After practice when we walked back out into the rink a little girl started staring at me. I said "I fell down." Sometimes you really shouldn't run. She said her brother let her write in his journal. And I felt better.
Tomorrow I have to go to work looking like this. I was a lot braver in high school. But I'm okay. And I get to say my face broke my fall.. cause that's got to be the coolest quote ever.

Doesn't he look just like me?

I've been getting a lot of awe he looks just like you when I show people my boy's pictures. My sister was supposed to be looking for a baby picture of me. I'm about 1 1/2 to 2 in this picture so not really a 'baby' in the sense that my brother and Nolan are in theirs. But you can see how much we all look alike. Check it out he does look just like me when I was baby doesn't he.
Nolan's Pics


And Me...

And my brother....


So what you think.. who does Nono look like?

Nutcracker 2008

The parts came out this week my daughter's solo is Chinese Dancer this year. She is also in the holiday dance. I should get to dance with my daughter. I always thought she'd be older and bigger by the time that time came. I'm worried about trying to dance with someone so much smaller than me. We skated together yesterday practicing some on our own and she was a little frightened when I spun her around. I should've explained ALL the steps first before we did it. She is also in the Waltz of the Flowers. Seems like she has quite a big role this year - and its going to be a lot of work. We're foregoing the competition next month in anticipation of Nutcracker. She is all signed up to take her MIF test though. I'm ready for that to be over with and done. I've been half*ssed trying to lose weight all year in anticipation. Seeing the list of parts makes it feel a little more real. I have to get my act together now. Only 8 weeks until showtime.

I promise to post pictures as well video of me skating this year.

Yardsale

We had a yard sale on Saturday at my apartment complex. Having moved from a pretty good size house to a tiny apartment I have way more stuff than room. So I was excited about having a yard sale and hoping to get my apartment uncluttered. It was about 60 degrees and windy on Saturday. I was up early to get set up and spent almost all day Saturday out in the cold and only sold 4 things. It was pitiful. My daughter made a friend in our complex and her, her dad, and sister sat up their stuff right next to us. So the kids got to play together so that was good for her. But I was pretty bored all day - and did I mention cold. On a side note, at one point her friend left to watch "The Suite Life" and my daughter started in on the whole but Julia gets to go to her apartment by herself. After I said "Julia is older than you wait no she's not she's just bigger" I had to explain that sometimes I don't agree with the choices other parents make about what they let their kids do. I can't control what they do but she's not wandering around the complex by herself.

At any rate, I got this junk email from a friend/co-worker today (you know the kind that people send to everybody). Her new neighbors that just moved in yesterday moved in because their old house burned down. And they were in need of baby stuff (stroller, crib, toys etc). My niece CJ got my daughter's crib when she was born. But I was otherwise able to give some stuff to help some people in real need. I guess the whole yard sale thing worked out the way it was meant to in the end.

Some people are so lucky:-)

You've probably heard me say that it'd be cheaper to build a fake ice rink in my backyard with all the money we spend on going to the rink. It really would.

I got this email earlier today from my online friend Karean who lives on the other side of the country. She gave me the go-ahead to post her pictures to my blog. SHE finally did what I've been saying forever that I'm going to do SOMEDAY. I told Karean that I want one for Christmas. Which is just not even possible because I now live in an apartment complex and I don't have a backyard to put a rink anymore:( For the time being I love my apartment and don't plan to move anytime soon. But when I have a yard the first thing I'm getting is a big fake sheet of ice. And I'll teach my grandkids how to skate on it. Karean thought that was funny. My daughter tells me she doesn't intend to have children so I might just get my backyard rink before I get grandkids. I'll just teach my brother's grandkids how to skate on it. I act like his kids are mine anyway.


What I really need is to meet someone in Durham who is just like Karean - beautiful, smart, friendly - with an ice rink in her backyard. Then Lexie and I can come over everyday and make her sick, bored and tired of us skating on her fake ice all the time. How cool would that be.
:)

Nutcracker

I found out last week that Nutcracker rehearsals will start November 1st. I couldn't be more excited. My daughter did Nutcracker in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. I did Nutcracker in 2005 & 2006. So this will be my 3rd and her 5th Nutcracker on Ice. It is always so much fun. It is my favorite part of figure skating. I always get stressed out around competition time. But Nutcracker has this whole other 'feel' to it. I hate everything about competitions frilly lacy dresses with sequins and glitter. I could go on and on about how much I hate glitter. Which I was doing just last week to some poor person at work as I was prying glitter out my pores like it was poison on my face. But I suck all that up and spray boatloads of glitter into my daughter's hair and twist crystal twirlies into her head. And somehow despite my aversion to those things she manages to look like a figure skater when she skates onto the ice.
I wanted to quote "Go Figure" but I can't find the movie and I can't google the quote I want. Or least I'm not googling it right. So here is a paraphrased version.

"So tell me Caitlin what is it you love about figure skating" - Coach Natasha Golberman
"Oh that's easy the glitter"
"And well when my feet hit the ice I feel like... no one can judge me, except the judges of course." - Caitlin Kingsford

The first time I saw the movie I laughed at that quote. Its ALL about the glitter. I think our daughters would be just as happy if we bought out the glitter counter at Claires and we wouldn't even have to spend so much money on skating lessons and ice time. I like the other part of figure skating, the part without the glitter. The part that I get to share with my daughter once a year when Nutcracker rolls around.

Sharing some pictures

So we're all settled in the new place. And these pictures are from a couple of months ago - but I just got around to getting developed. This is my first picture of me with the baby. He is getting so big. I look like a drowned rat because we spent the day at the lake. But I'm sharing anyway because it is the first picture of me holding Nono. (This is at my brother's house not my apartment)

There's a picture of my living room and the kitchen in the background. The one of Lexie with my nephews. Its actually the best picture of my apartment with the furniture in it. The boys helped me move. They're awesome like that.

And also a picture of the pool. Which we haven't really got to enjoy because of hurricane season. And we had a few days of colder weather (highs only in the 60s or 70s) so I guess it is closed for winter now eventhough its going to be back in the 80s this week.