New Video

Hi Everyone,
I just returned from Spokane.  It's late and I'm very tired, but it's good to be home.  I just posted a video of my performance at the non-test level at the 2012 Northwest Regionals.  I won 2nd place, with a couple of first place votes from the judges to boot.  Enjoy, and please share your comments with me as soon as you have a look.
'Night!

-Bonnie

Bonnie at Northwest Regionals!

This is going to be a long day!

Hi Everyone,

I have been living at the rink lately.  Today I woke up at 5:00am again and got to the rink for the 6:30 session and skated until 9:45.  I was suppose to get up at 4:00 am to make the 5:45 session but my mom had a hard time waking up.  I ended up having my dad take me.  It was nice having my dad there.  I don't see him as much any more since my mom has been taking me in the mornings.  It was an exhausting morning but totally worth it.  I landed my axle and did a pretty good camel spin.  My mom wants me to do six revolutions in the camel and fast but so far I only have done five on my good ones.  I really need to work on getting a good stretch in my camel position.  My mom and Diane were kind of laughing at me yesterday because I was bending my knee in the camel.  It did slow me down and so I know I need to work on that.  Diane, my coach, gave me a list of things to work on yesterday. 1) Be fast with out rushing.  2) Look up and show confidence. 3) Keep my knee up on the attitude.  4) Keep my leg strait on the lunge. 5) Hold out my landings but don't lose the speed of the program.  She probably told me a lot of other things but right now I can not remember.

During the ice cut today I got to watch part of Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy! It was so funny! That is one benefit of having my dad come.  Of course after that my dad cracked the whip and had me skate around the rink until my legs were burning.  Then he had me come off ice and do wall sits.  It hurt a lot!  I then went around the rink 5 times fast and then did my program again.  Diane wants me to go through my program at lest 5 times a day with the music, but my mom likes me to go through it ten times.  She wasn't here today so I did 7.   There are only 3 weeks until Regionals Diane changed my program around again yesterday.  She wants me to do the hardest jumps for my single jumps and for the combo jumps as well.  So I am doing a Flip, Lutz, and Salchow as my single jumps and Flip - toe, Lutz - Loop as my combo jumps.  I have got a lot of work to do to make this great, but everyone believes in me and I know if I keep working at it it will be great for Regionals.  My older sister Katherine is having her birthday just before Regionals on the 24th and we are trying to do something for her.  She really likes Harry Potter and the last movie just came out so it should be easy to find things for her.

(PS  I wrote most of this long hand with a pencil while waiting in my Dad's gray cubicle so that he could take me home at Lunch time.  I don't like gray carpeted walls.  yuck!)

I have a video my mom made of one of my program versions.  It keeps changing but this was one of my first times through so don't laugh.  And Yes I Know that I'm Slow. Very very slow.

Bonnie

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New News

This week I spent a lot of time on the ice because we changed my program up a lot. We need to get it perfect for regional's.  I am so sore from the ankle weights my mom got me.  I have to put them on and put my leg up as high as can get it and hold it for a minute.  Must rest.
It's in less than 4 weeks, so the pressure to prepare is on, but today I got to take a break!  After lessons today our whole family got to go to Sauvie Island  and picked a ton of blackberries and some peaches. We went to the store to get some canning things to make blackberry syrup and  jam we got to help make it. We're making jam, syrup, and a bunch of other things with the fruit. It's going to be soooo good! It's great to be in the kitchen and working with my mom and my sister.
In other news...while we were going home we smelled ash from forest fires near Mt. Hood.  I hope the firefighters are able to get that under control.  It was really, really smokey.  

New Program, New Chore

We just barely started putting together a brand new program to the same music and it's now 5 weeks until my next competition.  This means that I need to get it perfect really soon - people are telling me it's pretty cut-throat there.  By "there" I mean the Northwest Regionals in Spokane, WA.
I'm here at my home rink bright and early.  I'm doing every available freestyle session now.  And in case you were wondering, I have done dishes enough so that I get to trade that in for a new chore, probably the living room. Yes!!!
Off to warm up now.

All the best,

Bonnie

Ice Fest Video and Regionals

I just got my video of the Seattle Ice Fest.  It took forever to come but here it is.  I am working with Diane to rework my program for Regionals.   I will be competing at the non-test level.  We have a lot more jumps and combination spins and foot work so it really does not seem at all like this program, but I don't really have time to start from the beginning.  It is 5 weeks until Regionals! Yikes,  I really have to work hard if I want to be competitive.  Wish me luck!

Lessons, OMSI, China

I had lessons today and worked with Diane on some fun spin combinations.  After spending five hours at the ice arena my family and I went to OMSI and had a lot of fun.  We even got to see someone make ice cream with liquid nitrogen.  That was awesome!  It tasted pretty good too.      I finally got to talk with my Dad since he left for China.  It was great to talk with him.  I miss him when he's gone.  He sent me this picture though.  He took this from his hotel window. 

 

I am getting ready for Regionals now.  We are completely reworking my program.  

Jumps, Zumba and, Redemption

This morning I had a really good time with my coach, Diane.  I was really excited because she said all of my jumps were perfect!  Yea!!!  I was told by Diane that I should not even think about competitions until I got my Axle, Lutz, and Flip.  Today she told be I might be able to go to Regionals.  I am so excited.  I still need  to work on timing for my axle so that I pull in at the top of my jump, but things are going good and I am working hard.
In other news I had a fun mother daughter night last night.  We went to a Relief Society meeting that all the daughters were invited to.  It was so much fun.  They had a Zumba class and a Hula class.  We first went to Zumba and then we went to the Hula class but it was boring so we went back to Zumba.  I love to Zumba now.  That was the first time I had even heard about it.  It was so much fun.  My older sister Katherine did not like it at all though, she said she did not want to make a full of herself.  I wish she would have just tried it for real and not worry about looking silly.  It would be great if I could do Zumba with her but at least my mom liked it.  She said she has been longing to dance for a long time and this felt so good, so I am sure I can get her to Zumba with me.
Tonight I will be taking my church Beehive class  to the Lloyd center to go ice skating.  I am so excited to be able to show them what I can do.  Roller skating was terrible, but I am sure this will be great!!  I could even teach them how to skate and do tricks.  Tonight will be so fun! 

Today I went to my first lesson with my new skates apparently they had no real pad in the bottom of them  so we got some other ones and they felt much better. I was able to run through my program a few times and it felt good.  This morning  my Dad left for Boston then next Friday he will go to China for a week.  I miss him.  He left at 4:15 am before any one could  wake up except my mom.  I got some videos of me and others skating I hope you like them.

New Skates, Part Deux

Great news everyone! I just got my new skates Saturday and I was able to skate in the for the first time today.  It was really, really to skate, to do anything in them.  The blades were new, and the boots have a lot more support than I am used to - very, very stiff.  I felt like I was skating for the first time again, until I got used to it.  I only skated in the new skates for about 15 minutes, then put my old skates on, worked on some other moves, and then put the new ones back on for a while.
While we were at the rink, Samuel's teacher, Brittany, gave us washable markers to write on the ice with.  Samuel scribbled all over the ice with them.  Mary practiced tracing letters on the ice.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  I drew Samuel a spider so I could watch him stomp on them. He is skating now too.  So cute!  I have video of all of this, but need to figure out how to get it off of the camera to the website...
Stay tuned.

All the best,

Bonnie

Axels, Roller Skating

Today I went to the rink and I landed 1or 2 axels - it was an okay amount, but my friend Felicity can land 8 or 10 a day.  Not to worry.  I will post video of me doing my best at axels tomorrow.  

I did a layback spin with my foot really really close to my other foot today. It was scary!  I felt like I was about to fall over I was leaning back so far. I'm headed back to the rink early tomorrow morning to go for it again.  

In other news... my Mom is my beehive leader (young women's leader at church) and thanks to her, we get to go skating as an activity for our group!  Weeeee!

Yesterday, I went roller skating with that same church group.  I kept falling, even though it is similar to ice skating, you can't turn on a dime and the only way anyone could stop was to fall down. Weird, right?  Plus, the music was so loud it was vibrating the ground.  Can't wait to get back on solid ice. :)

Yeah-Yesss!

Hi Everyone.  I passed my test!  Next stop: pre-pre free style test for jumps and spins. Diane won't let me take that test until I have an axel ready for competition.  That's gonna take some time, but I am totally excited about it.      Big thanks to my friends at the Lloyd Center Ice Arena for their help and encouragement.
Thank you Diane, for helping me be the best skater I can be.
Now, time to stretch. And get my little sister to give me enough room in the living room to practice jumping.

New Boots!

It has been many days since I have blogged, but for good reason.  I have been practicing for my pre-pre test and getting up a 5am every morning to go to the Lloyd Center and Mountain View Ice Arena to learn from Diana.  It has been a lot of work, but I am happy with the results.  The days have been long, too.
My poor dad has only been getting like 4 hours of sleep every night because he has coworkers in China and he gets up early to take me to the rink.  My mom has been a huge help, too. She went with me today to get my new boots and blades!  The boots are baked on so they are an exact fit.  They were really hot when they came out of the oven, but when they cooled down they felt really nice.  They're very tight in the heal so that I can skate better and do jumps better.  What a difference!
Of course, I won't wear them until after I am done with my test. They will take some getting used to.
Look for videos later this week of me doing spins (including sit-spin!) and generally having an awesome time on the ice.  Oh, and my old program will be reworked, too.

At Home & Giveaway!!

Today I wasn't able to go the rink because my Mom threw out her back and it was really hard for her to move at all.  (Mom is a little better, moving around now, but what a pain for her!  I'm sorry Mom!)  So, I did a bunch of off-ice exercises to fill in the time.  Mostly, I focused on jump-arounds and pilates exercises.
I'm thinking of cutting my hair (sort of).  Well, it would be easier to manage - put it up, keep it out of my face, stop whipping people who stand next to me when I turn my head.  :)
In other news...I am happy to announce that I will be doing our first giveaway!
Anyone who knows Lovejoy Bakers in Portland, OR knows how awesome their breads and other baked goods are.  They even have sandwiches and other nice things to eat for lunch & dinner. They are one of my favorite places to eat in Portland!  From now until Friday August 12th at noon Pacific Time, any new followers of my blog will be entered to win a $20 gift certificate to Lovejoy Bakers!  As always, donations are also always welcome.  Join my team, donate today!  Thanks for your support. Every bit helps.

All the best,
Bonnie

It hurts to smile :|

I mentioned earlier that I had some bad mosquito bites. Now you know what I mean.  Please tell me no jokes.  My cheeks just can't hack it right now.  Kthxbai.

Long, long day

So here is the deal friends: it has been a super long day. I'm beginning to think that the mosquito bites on my face and foot were actually spider bites. Yuck! they are weeping a little bit, but they're starting to get better.  Diane gave me something like peppermint oil (?) to help draw the poison out, or whatever it is that makes them itch, etc. It's working.  Thank you, Diane! Too much information?  My daddy says what everyone really wants is to read about what's going on day to day. So now you know. :)
I'm working on edges and footwork, getting ready for testing.  I'm also working on spins and jumps, but most of the time is all spent on edges right now.  First things first. Time for sleep.

All my best,

Bonnie

Axels, Axels, Axels!

Today, during practice, I landed a ton of axels, more than my mom could count.  I even over-rotated on one of them.  In case you're wondering, an axel is when I spin one and a half times in the air and land backwards.
Mosquito bites are bugging me big-time now.  On my right foot and on my cheek, of all places.  It itches like crazy, but my dad keeps telling me not to mess with them.
It's time for a late snack: saltines and ice water.  Mid-afternoon snack of champions.
Daddy tells me we will have a raffle/giveaway coming soon.  Look for more info right here in the next week or so.

All the best,

Bonnie

New Skates!!!

Today, I went to the rink with my Mom and Mary and Samuel (my youngest siblings).  Mary is 4 and Samuel is 2.  They all skated, which was great.  I worked on my spins - camel spin, back spin, scratch spin, and sit spin - getting them faster and cleaning up my technique.  I got a couple of them really, really fast, which made me really dizzy.  It was kind of scary on some of them because they were so fast and not always centered, so they went a little... all over the place.  But I got a couple of them super-centered and the feeling was awesome!!!
My mom says they were really strong spins and the exits were nice.
After our time at the Lloyd Center, I went to Sherwood to meet with Jim and Diane to get my feet measured and pick out new skates.  I'm super excited about the new skates because there is a cut-out in the back that makes it much easier to point my toes and bend my knees.  The boots are really pretty too.
They're similar to what one of Diane's other students is using right now.  I want to send out a great big thank you to everyone who donated so that I could get these new skates.  I would especially like to mention my Grandma and Grandpa Allred, Grandma Hanks, Aunt Christie, and Aunt Kristin.
I'm also excited because I will be getting new blades too.  We haven't figured out which ones we will get to pair with the new boots yet, but they will have Huge toepicks, great for jumping.  The gold seal blades have the perfect rocker which makes it easier to rotate on a spin, but a little harder to balance, so we might go with those.
In other news, my foot still hurts from a mosquito bite I got.  The bump there is getting huge and it makes everything just a weensy bit harder.  That will pass.  Dishes are also bugging me a lot day to day, but that too, will pass.  Onward and upward.

Happy Birthday, Auntie Joanne!

Love, Bonnie :)

Ice and Rest

So yesterday was the seminar with Randy Gardner and Tiffany Crosswhite.  I did 2 hours of off-ice work with Tiffany that included Pilates (killer!) and something like a ballet exercise that was supposed to help strengthen our calf muscles.  With Randy we worked on weight change, and crossovers together, and individually we worked on jumps and spins, where we got scored.
I took a bit of a hard fall on my left knee and I am still trying to recover. Time for a good rest.
Samuel (my littlest brother) is making me laugh. Ouch!!! My tummy muscles are sore too, from the big Pilates session.  My daddy keeps giving me my ice pack and saying Ad astra per aspera (he spelled it for me too). Gonna have to look that one up.

All the best,

Bonnie

Vulcan Ice Academy

Working on jumps again today.  High fives from Diane on my lutz!
The Lloyd Center ice is packed.  Lots of people here that I don't normally see.  Randy Gardner is here this morning.  He is giving a seminar over the weekend that I'll be taking part in, at least the Saturday part.  My dad says the arena reminds him of the Vulcan school from Star Trek 2009.  He's such a nerd! That is actually a good thing tho.

Wow! Thank You!!!

Got to the arena really, really early today.  Diane has me warming up with toe loop, salchow, loop, axel and lots of backspin when I land so I can prep for double jumps.  After that, I worked on my forward and backward camel and sit spin so I can start pop-over and jump spins.  Exciting stuff!  I am so stoked!
I can hardly believe the huge outpouring of help that has come from my family and friends to help pay for equipment and testing.  Thank you all so, so much.  Please feel free to share my blog with everyone you know.  Every donation helps a ton.  More updates to come, as often as I can get them here.

All the best,

Bonnie

Seattle Ice Fest & Thanks!

Hi Friends,

Here are some pictures of me at the Seattle Ice Fest.  Enjoy!
https://picasaweb.google.com/Shannon.Perez/BonnieAtSeattleIceFest2011

Best,
Bonnie
P.S.  Thanks to everyone who has already donated.  Your generosity is inspiring!

It's been a while!

Well everyone, it's been a long time since I've put an entry in this blog.  My dad says it's about time.
For those of you who haven't heard, I took first in the Seattle Ice Fest at Olympicview Ice Arena at Mountlake Terrace, WA.  That was at the Freestyle 2 level, but I am gearing up to compete at a higher level.
This August, I am planning on doing the U.S. Figure Skating pre-pre testing.  I have also been blessed to have a new, awesome member of my coaching team: Tiffany Allred from Allentown, PA.  Tiffany is an expert in human movement and physical fitness.  She is also my aunt! :)
I want to thank everyone who has made or will make donations to help me continue my skating career.  I appreciate all you are doing and I promise to work hard to put every penny to great use on the ice.
I'll check in again soon.

All the best,
Bonnie

Spring Invitational

Today I won my 3rd competition.  It was pretty easy because I was the only one skating in my level.
In my spiral, I got my leg higher than last in my last competition.  Diane's husband Dennis was there and he was very nice to everyone.
Congratulations to my friend Emily Wong for placing first in her category, too!  Hopefully I can get some photos posted soon. :)

At home today

No skating today.  At home taking care of Mary who is a little sick. She had some Gatorade and said she was hungry, just before she fell asleep.  I hope she is okay in time for her competition - that's only in a week.
Big thanks to Grandma for commenting on my posts.  More video and pictures to come soon. :)

Lesson with Phillip Mills

Hi everyone!  I am going to start posting videos of my skating for you to enjoy. Please feel free to share comments.  I would really like to hear from you!  Click here to view my choreography session with renowned figure skating choreographer Phillip Mills.

Special thanks to Phillip for coming to Oregon to help me and others and my home rink with our choreography.

New Routine

I just did my exhibition today - a trial run of my skating routine for my next competition.  I was pretty nervous at first, but then when I went on the ice, because there were so many people, there was a lot of clapping and whistling.  That made me feel kinda better.  But then the music didn't work and I waited for a long time to start.  Once it finally started working, they had to re-announce my name and everything.
It went okay, but afterward my whole body was shaking because it was so exhausting.
Mary, my sister had her exhibition after me.  All I heard during her skate was "Awwww!" She's so cute.
Check out my videos.  I recently got to work with famous skate choreographer Phillip Mills on a new routine for this upcoming competition.  Enjoy!

First Post

Hi! Welcome to my blog. I'm Bonnie and I am a figure skater. This blog will help me share my experiences in skating with you. Skating is what I do, and I love it. Follow my blog and you will get a glimpse of what it is like to learn to skate, work hard and compete.