Few more pictures from Univsion Profile

Gabby with Univision cameraman and her coach, Dorothy.

And this one is her taking off her skates. Not a big picture but it took about 20 minutes to shoot from different angles and it did not make the final cut. Of course, neither did my part in the overview. ha,ha.

Gabby on Univision Television

Hello Family and Friends,

Gabby was on television this past week. She was on a special segment called Promesas de Fortura (Promise of the Future). The program features kids that are in sports training for the future. Through a series of very lucky phone calls, they got to Gabby. Big thanks to Dorothy!

Okay, so... here we are on the day of the taping for the show. I got there late - naturally. So Gabby, Dorothy, and Sally are out on the ice with the camera man. The reporter was stuck in traffic so the camera man taped some skating segments and action shots. It was pretty neat. Gabby took thte place of the reporter and actually interviewed Dorothy, Sally, and myself. She went on to do some split jumps, a few axels, and some toe flips...and some twizzles for good measure. She was certainly flying around the ice. In the video, which I hope to upload here soon, you can see some of her friends in the background.

At the end of the taping, Gabby was presented with a very nice medal from the station. It's gold and it reads, "Promesas de Futuro" - Promise of the Future. To see Gabby speak spanish was really neat. All she had to say was "Gracias deportes 45" - heh,heh...it took a few takes but she got it.

Gabby passes her tests!!!

Alright!!! Gabby passed her tests this morning. She skated very well and had good edges. She is now skating at Juvenile in Free skate and Pre-Juve in moves in the field.

Congratulations to Gabby! I'm proud of you!

joe.

Gabby's Testing Today

Hello All,

Never a dull moment around here. I was talking to my friend the other day and they were asking why I have not updated the blog lately. WELL...just getting busy but most likely... I used to update this blog on Saturday mornings. You know, a nice day of the week when it's my time to pause and reflect on the week. I also used to do it early in the morning before the house wakes up and it's just me, Misty-meanor, and Kitus. All...on my lap.

Well, I guess, what's happened is that Saturday mornings became a SKATING morning. Yes, early to bed and early to rise for skating and training. Saturday mornings are a bright spot for a training session on Stroking and Jumping. Val and Elena teach the class with their daughter Sasha watching attentively from the DJ booth next to me. Usually, one of the many kids and parents are watching Sasha and keeping her busy while Mom and Dad work to keep our young skaters focused and working on honing their skills. The skills they learn in stroking and jump/spins are the building blocks that will help them later in their careers.

So, here I am... fixed Gabby some breakfast. Her usual - 2 waffles...with some butter on top... and syrup. LOTS of syrup. Gabby likes the waffles swimming in them and then kind of dips in them. Once in awhile, she'll deviate from her routine and "let" me put some bananas on them. But, she likes her routine. Now that I think about it, it was only this year that she stopped having her DAILY glass of White Grape juice. She had her juice EVERY morning since she was a baby. That's what...10 years of white juice? I think that is a big reason that she stays pretty much healthy. Grape juice has all the natural anti-oxidants.

It seems I digress (again). Today is Gabby's ice skating test. She is testing for Pre-Juvenile free skate and Juvenile moves in the field. Okay, that's about all I know. I had to resort to the power of the internet and look this up. This is what USFSA (the governing body that Gabby belongs to) has:

Juvenile Moves in the Field Test (JM)Candidates must skate the correct steps and turns on good edges, with good form, flow, power, and preciseness to their steps.
Eight Step Mohawk Sequence
Forward and Backward Free Skating Cross Strokes
Backward Power 3-Turns
Forward Double 3-Turns

I am sure that there are elements missing. They're documented somewhere in the rule book.

I've not been putting very many pictures on the blog. I promise to load more. I just forget to do it from the laptop that i'm on.

Oh! Almost forgot to mention that Gabby in in 10th Annual Nutcracker show. i forget how many she has been in...3 maybe? This year she has a duet as one of the cyberdolls. This really ought to be a great show. Each show holds about 700 people and we have 3 of them.

I'll put more here on my next update.

Take care!

joe.