Day 14: A Picture of You and Your Family

I know that I skipped day 13 - it's an intense deep blog (well, that's how I took it anyways) - I need time to think. So in the mean time - day 14...a picture of me and the fam-jam.

I don't really like this picture of me per say, but this is the latest picture we have of us as a family, so it'll have to do - it was our random weekend trip to Seattle a couple months ago, at the Seattle Zoo. It's amazing to me how much Alexys has grown up in a few short months!!!

Day 17: Least Favourite Skater

And I can only pick one? LOL.

Okay, so I feel bad writing this post - I always wonder, what if this skater stumbles upon this post? What if they're generally offended by what I've written. I keep remembering that they're just people, no matter who they are on the ice - they've all sacrificed and worked so hard for their dream.

That being said, perhaps some should take a break and skate for fun and not to win the Olympics - cuz it's not going to happen. I'm going to list multiple least favourite skaters, because I really don't just have one and I've changed my mind a lot over the years - perhaps as I've grown as a skater, a coach, and a judge.

Perhaps the top 5 least favourites? Okay, deal (and with my reasonings - because not everyone is completely horrible - combined they WOULD make the worst ever):

5. Elvis Stojko: Okay - what a diverse skater - he's made the best and worst lists on my blog :) But seriously - I was in awe of him when I was younger and admired him. And then his attitude changed and I didn't like that. And then I started re-watching him skate and I ask myself only one question - was I blind? Okay, yes, he had quads and was fairly consistent - but he wasn't a machine. He could NOT skate, had zero transitions, and holy man, I think my spins may have been better than his (and that's not saying much). I guess it's a testament to how much I've grown as a skater - and the fact that I clearly just cheered for the underdog and/or the Canadian :)

4. Maria Butryskaya: I'll be honest. I never liked her. And I thought she was mean, rude, and funny looking. She was dreadfully slow, often cheated her jumps, had the easier technical layout of her day, and I hated her landing position, even when commentators praised her for good control - I think it just looks awkward and she lunges forward terribly. She also 2-footed a lot and had funny technique going into jumps.

3. Michelle Kwan: I know, right? You're probably going, but that's the only figure skater I know - or if you're a figure skater, you may have just disowned me. Don't get me wrong - I respect her as a person and an athlete...I even dedicated this blog to her with her retirement, remember? However, I just don't get her. She's overrated. She perhaps doesn't make the worst skater list ever - obviously she had talent and was a 5-time world champion - that's talent. I just don't like her. She doesn't actually bother me as much now - and again, probably testament to how far I've come in skating, but she couldn't not make this list. I always felt her artistry forced and never natural and I didn't like her jump technique in her upper body. I know nit-picky, but hey. My list.

2. Evgeni Plushenko: Oh brother - where to begin? I can't stand anything about this guy from air position on jumps, attitude, transitions, skating skill, spinning ability...I will give him that he IS a competitor - sheesh. He's been around forever and planning on making a comeback in Sochi 2014 (a second comeback) after having back and knee surgery this month. But just because you are hardcore at something doesn't mean you're good at it. This guy truly has no transitions, I hate his bubbly air postions, can't do basic footwork, and him and Elvis could host a -3 spin club and hold positions of VP and President. Seriously. Ugh. He does claim to know he needs to work on basics and spinning to make a legit comeback in 2014 and I am curious how he'll progress.

1. Rachael Flatt: Oh my. Determination? Check. Dedication? Check. Straight-A, Standford-bound? Check. We get it. She's hard-working. And she's apparently lucky to have been born in the States when she did. She clearly would have been second class consistently in the days of Michelle, Sasha, Tara, and Sarah. But in their current drought (well, how about current inconsistencies? Mirai and Alissa both have world champion fail to deliver potential), she's lucked out. She's the best of the US. Apparently. Though the US did just fine her for hiding an injury at Worlds and performing poorly. But that's a whole different can of worms. She's slow, she's got poor air technique, she's laboured, and booooooring. Yawn. And she's never, ever packaged nicely. Just ugh all around.

Day 12: How You Found Out About Blogger...

...and why you made one.

This is silly, but oh well.

My blog was started January 6, 2006 at Blogger. Here's my first post.

I actually blogged through MSN Spaces before here - but I don't have access to that - it's probably gone. Still - 2006 - that means I've had this blog for 5.5 years. I'd say that's something pretty neat especially considering I've updated it fairly regularly without too many hiatuses.

I don't know how I found out about Blogger specifically or why I chose blogger. Probably because that's all there was.

And why? Not sure - cuz I liked to write and pretend someone's listening? I just like to talk about life. And I like to write - it was an obvious choice :)

Kinda neat though. I started this blog before I was engaged. Now I've been engaged, married, and had a baby. I'd like to go through and print lots of these posts using that book thing. One day.

kortney elise

Day 16: Your Dream 2014 Podium

This one is kind of dumb and repetitive, so I'll make it short and to the point...shocking, I know.

I almost skipped it.

But I'm a rule follower. Even if they're just pretend rules.

Dream 2014 Podiums (as of today):

Ladies:
1.  Joannie Rochette of Canada
2.  Sarah Hecken of Germany
3.  Mirai Nagasu of the USA

Men:
1.  Patrick Chan of Canada
2.  Jeremy Ten of Canada
3.  Ricky Dornbush of the USA

Pairs:
I truly could care less unless someone captivates me between now and then. I hope that Meagen Duhamel and Eric Radford are on the podium and I like the little team from Saskatchewan - Paige and Rudi. But honestly, not in love with anyone yet...

Dance:
1.  Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada
2.  Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the USA
3.  Kaitlin Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada

I know - a little bit North American biased save for my German girl. Oh well. A girl can dream right?

kortney elise xoxo

Day 11: Another Picture of You and Your Friends...

Me, Wendy, Bre, Court, Danalee, and Lisa at Stars on Ice in May

Day 15: Predict Gold Medalists in 2014

Ouch. This is hard. You never know who might spring out of no where in the next few years. Let's do a couple of scenarios:

Men: Patrick Chan.
Actually - I don't think there are many other scenarios. There will be challengers and new faces...there will be competition by 2014, but I'd probably wager that barring meltdown, PChiddy firmly has that 2014 Gold hanging around his neck. However, there is the stupid Olympic Canadian Mens Curse (Kurt Browning, Elvis Stojko, Brian Orser...) - sigh.
Who else to watch? Denis Ten of Kazakhstan, Ricky Dornbush of the USA, Takahiko Kozuka of Japan, and (unfortunately) Artur Gachinski of Russia.

Ladies: YuNa Kim.
Yep. I said it. I think she'll repeat. Well, that's one possibility, but I'm not going to bet money on it. Her heart didn't look in it at Worlds this year, but being who she is and where she's from...I would not be surprised if she pulled a Katarina Witt.
Who else to watch? Kanako Murakami of Japan, the Helgesson sisters (Joshi and Viktoria) of Sweden, Sarah Hecken of Germany, Maé Bérénice Méité of France, Mao Asada of Japan, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia, Adelina Sotnikova of Russia, and Mirai Nagasu of the USA.

Dance: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir
Yep - said it here too - another repeat. Truly, my only prediction for someone else would be Marlie (Meryl Davis and Charlie White). I think that barring injury these 2 teams will back and forth it all the way to the Olympics and then post 2014 we'll feel a big sad top of the podium drought...except that new teams will fill it immediately.
Who else to watch? The Shibutanis of the USA, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada, Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Ktsalapov of Russia, and Jana Khokhlova and Fedor Andreev of Russia.

Pairs: Some Russians.
They won't go defeated in their own country in Figure Skating - trust me. I just don't know which team to pick and quite frankly don't love any of them. I hope that Aliona and Robin retire before then, but I have a feeling they might not and will end up sorely disappointed. I think the recent Chinese dominance may be meeting an end. For now at least.
Who else to watch? Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada, Caydee Denney and John Coughlin (if they last - new team), More Russians, and Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China.

I'm sure, as always, a new face will pop up and surprise us - that's what makes the Olympics magical and special, why it's only every 4 years. But hey, educated guesses are fun, right?

kortney elise xoxo

Day 10: Songs you Listen to When You're...

Happy

Sad

 Bored

 Hyped

Mad

Yep. Diehard Gleek.

Told my mom the other day that I swore up and down that if Glee happened while I was in high school that I would have demanded singing lessons so I could be in Glee club.

Fairly positive she's happy it wasn't.

Cuz I can't sing...but when these songs come on, let me tell you 'bout the dance moves I've taught Alexys... :D:D:D

kortney elise xoxo

Day 14: Top 5 Favourite Pairs Teams

5.  Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy - These are my not really, but yeah, fine kinda, fifth placers. I don't know why I couldn't think of any other pairs team I loved - maybe there hasn't been one. I like these guys commitment to creativity through the new system change over - a lot of pairs of become too cookie cutter - these guys reach for the limit and wear purple unitards. What's not to love?

4. Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler - I think I feel compelled to include these guys - even if personal-life (his, actually - so only half) brings them down the list a couple notches. They are the first pairs team I actually remember as a kid and that counts for something...or something.

3. Jamie Sale and David Pelletier - I cried watching their long program in Salt Lake in 2002 - tears of joy and happiness because what I witnessed was magic. And then I cried when the got their marks and they were second. And then I cried again when they got the second golds awarded. I cried happy tears when they married and had a baby - I cried when they divorced. Definitely knocked them down for their personal lives and I think it's weird they still tour together. I know it's their jobs, but weird to me. I couldn't skate with an ex-husband.

2. Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao - These guys have a love story from start to finish. From being "worthless" Chinese skaters without a hope in anywhere...their coach took them from being nothing to being Olympic Gold medalists...and then they fell madly in love, he proposed on the ice, and then they got married on the ice. Awwwww <3 They went from literally terrible little nothing skaters to great technicians to great artists on ice. They are a testament to dedication, improvement, and the beauty of pairs skating.

1. Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov - I guess I'm a sucker for pairs teams who fall in love and get married and make magic on the ice. These two are my original favourites - my first email address (Haha, I can remember that!) was "katia4200" in honour of her (though I think the 4200 was just a number)...I used to want to be named Ekaterina and I've oft' considered it as a child's name. They were just so meant to be. I have her novel "My Sergei" and read it every once in awhile for a good cry. They were magical.

Day 8: Short-Term Goals for This Month and Why

How perfect - it's June 1st. I can talk about June, yep, yep, yep.

Let's see. Goals? Well, I folded my laundry (the mountain high, huge pile of 4 weeks worth of laundry, ugh) - so that can't be a goal - I'm thankful for that though!

What else? June is a funny month for me - there's not much going on that I set goals towards.

Trial judge a high test day: That's happening this weekend - it's the next step in my Evaluators Promotion as a judge. I have my low test day promotion already. This one will be much harder.
Why? Because I like to check goals off my judging checklist (in my brain). This one is next.

Find and sign Alexys up for a summer activity: She's done gymnastics the end of this month, so I'm going to find something for her - haven't decided what yet.
Why? I do much better with commitments than drop-in.

Beg Anne to come visit us this month (or is it next month - this might actually be a July goal) :)
Why? Cuz I really miss her and want her to visit.

Finish my wedding scrapbook: This is a good goal. It's about halfway done. Yes, I got married 4.5 years ago. I have a lot of scrapbooking to do. This summer might be a good time to catch up sans skating. I'll aim to finish the wedding one this month, we'll see how that goes.
Why? I love scrapbooking...I just don't have time.

Get Alexys completely out of pullups: She's in panties all day at home, except for sleeping...and when we're out in public. She doesn't poop on the potty yet. That is the next step.
Why? Well duh, pullups are expensive diapers.

Double my work paycheques.
Why? Because I can and having extra money is fun and feels good.

Pay off the rest of the dentist bill: This will be done and I can't wait - it does depend on the above goal though. I have good faith it'll happen.
Why? Paying off debt feels SO SO good.

I think that's a good set of goals for now.

What are your June goals?

kortney elise xoxo

Just because - Alexys sure wouldn't share these fresh picked strawberries with her Nonno, that's for sure!