Sunday, May 22, 2011

20,000 steps and a Japanese Bath House

Today I walked 20,000 steps.  I know this because my place of employment gave me a pedometer a few weeks ago and I brought it on the trip.  Right now my legs and feet are throbbing!  It is 10:30 pm and we are going to bed but first I had to recap our day. 

First off we found an awesome bakery and had a hard time choosing from the many options.  I got a sandwhich thing and a cream filled croissant.  Soooo good.  I will lobby to go again in the morning.

Best bakery in the history of bakery's.

Next we were off to see a Shinto Shrine.  While there we were able to catch a drum show and a traditional wedding.  

You could FEEL the sound from the drums.  These drummers must get a great workout! 

The main gate to the shrine.

Entrance to the shrine.

Several seconds after sitting down to patch up my blistered feet,  we were shooed off this ledge and told we could not sit there.  Japan is strict!


The wedding.



The Bride.

The thing about this Japan is:  very few places to sit, everyone walks a ton and all the women are wearing high heels.  Also, the fashion is awesome.  These ladies are all about the socks.  Tons of cool tights, thigh high's, fishnets and leggings.  All paired with short shorts.  It's like their all on their way to roller derby!

No where to sit but on the ground.

Then we walked down a street that is the Japanese Champs De Le Elysee's.  Lot's of high end shops, etc.  Zack found a toy store and bought a Bay Blade and he is very excited to show his friends at home.  We also found a little stand selling octopus balls which we all love so we sat and ate 2 orders.  It was a beautiful sunny day.

Octopus Balls! (Tiny pieces of octopus meat with a breaded coating and sauce)

Fancy cars on a fancy street.

We had been told that there was a good revolving sushi bar in the area so we spent about an hour trying to find it and then ate there.  It was fun, you sit around a circular bar with sushi chefs in the middle and a conveyor belt circles in front of you.  You just grab a plate of whatever you like and at the end they add up your plates and you pay by the plate.  Steve ate 15 plates, I had 7!

The revolving sushi bar.  You can see the drinks on the plates right there.  They don't have rolls like we do.  It' s all just fish.  It was delish.

Even Zack partook of some sushi.

Next we were off to the Ghibli museum, which Zack was excited to see since we love Hayao Myazaki movies at our house.  When we came out of the subway it was pouring rain and cold.  So much for the beautiful day.  The museum was fun, but everything was in Japanese so we didn't know what we were looking at all the time.  Steve says his reading skills have waned.

The museum gardens.

The Ghibli Museum in the background.


**Post-Edit Warning:  The following may contain TMI, read at your own risk.
Now for our bath house adventure.  Steve has been wanting to take us to an authentic bath house.  I was not so hip on the idea.  First of all it's totally nude.  Second the men and women are separate.  That is good and bad.  Good because, well, you know, it's nude!  Bad because my translator and guide would not be with me to tell me what to do.  Thirdly, we were all jet lagged and exhausted.  Do you know what I do when I'm exhausted and stressed?  I cry.  So yes, there were a few tears shed.  I got over it quick and Steve asked a worker to help my mom and I. 

We went in and rented a towel and wash cloth, stowed our shoes in a locker and then to the women's locker room.  You're supposed to shower and clean up before you soak in the hot water baths.  We just bit the bullet and stripped everything off, just like everyone else did and headed in the direction everyone else was going.  I tried not to stare, but at the same time I needed to see what the others were doing so we wouldn't commit any no no's, so I stared alot.  We got into the bath area and there were little stools in front of shower head things and soaps and a big bowl.  Everyone was soapin up and scrubbing down so we sat down and did the same.  After a while I realized my naughty bits were touching the same plastic stool that everyone elses had touched.  I tried not to think about it. 

After we were thoroughly clean, we couldn't decide what to do with our washcloths.  So we stared and noticed everyone was carrying them around with them and some were covering their bits a little so we did the same.  This made me feel better because I recently had some laser hair removal done and there is nothing covering my whoo hoo, if you know what I mean.  Annnnyway...We enjoyed our time flitting from pool to pool, some indoor some outdoor, some salty, some scalding, some freezing.  At one point we were told by a nice Korean lady who spoke English that we were not supposed to put our wash clothes into the baths, just to keep them on our heads or on a nearby rock.  Ooops. 

After we were sufficiently dizzy and overheated, we decide to go back to the locker room and change.  While changing, the valet lady from the entrance came in holding my mom's backpack. She had left it in the cab on the way there and the cab driver realized and brought it back to us.  We were very surprised and happy that he was so caring and honest. 

So, it was a bit awkward of an experience but not as bad as I thought.  Sorry, no pictures of this!

Now we are nice and clean and relaxed and going to bed!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

We're in Japan!

Zack's first ever plane ride!


The Plane


After a super long day of flying, which started at 6:30 am, we arrived in Japan yesterday (Saturday) at 2:30 pm.  (Can I just say that I envy people who fly first class?  We were like sardines in a plane!)  We took a train into Tokyo and then had to drag our luggage through the busiest subway stations, up and down stairs, and then down the streets of Tokyo to our hotel.  It's a good thing I do roller derby because my awesome skillz came in handy.  I just had to literally push through people because they do not move for you!  I did a couple of hip hits, took a whip from Steve and rolled my suitcase over some guys feet.  No problem. 

The Japan subway turned us into devils!


Our room.  The futons were surprisingly comfortable and the guesthouse was very clean.

We are at a cool hotel with futons on the floor.  Last night we found a Ramen shop and had Delicious ramen and gyoza.  We were going to go to a bath house but Zack was falling apart so we'll try and go tonight. We slept well and were all up at 5:30 this morning feeling much better!

The Kimi Ryokan - our guest house hotel while in Tokyo.

The Delicious Ramen shop we found.  The two cooks were very friendly.

Zack only asked to go home 4 times last night.  We'll see how he does today, having slept.


Robes and slippers were provided by the Kimi.  Zack's is a little big!

It's a good thing that Steve speaks Japanese or we would be completely lost here!  It's funny to see people's reactions when this tall white boy starts speaking their language to them, they are usually quite surprised.


We are having a great time and I will post when I can!

Zack was exhausted by the time we got on the train from the airport into Tokyo.


The bathroom area of our hotel with showers on either side.  The toilets were around the corner, as was a wooden bathtub.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Zion National Park

I found this post that I never finished because I was waiting for pictures! It is from October 2010.

Over UEA weekend we wanted to go camping and Steve came up with the idea to go to Zion's since we have never been there together and Zack has never been. We found a really neat place to stay called Zion Ponderosa. You can camp, trailer camp, rent a cabin, rent a covered wagon or rent a room in the lodge. They have a really nice pool, hot tubs and spa. They also have tons of activities you can do like miniature golf, rock wall, zip line, 4 wheelers, etc. It was great and I would stay there again. The best part...showers! Nice, clean, private, hot showers!


Steve planned our whole itinerary and it was full of hiking, and more hiking! He did a good job researching hikes in Zion and had the GPS coordinates for the more obscure ones. Unfortunately we forgot our camera! Big bummer. Fortunately, Steve took a few pics with his phone.

No pics of Steve since he was using his phone camera! :(

The highlight of the trip was our 5 mile hike up to Angel's Landing. I wasn't too worried when he told me we were going to do 5 miles because we did 4 miles in Glacier 2 years ago and we all did fine, Zack is a good little hiker. I SHOULD have been worried. Angel's Landing? Ever heard of it? Apparently I am the only one who hasn't because every time I mention it people's eyes get big and they say things like: "You hiked Angel's Landing with Zack!!?" When I told my mom we hiked it she told me people die all the time on that hike. (Upon further googling, I found that about 6 people have died on this trail in it's history. I am surprised it's not more!)

On our way up, I look like I'm dying.  I was!  Zack loved climbing in the drainage system.

Good thing I didn't know about the deaths before we started. It was a really hard hike for me as I am pretty out of shape and you gain 1500 feet elevation, but I was really proud of myself for doing it. It was nothing at all for Zack and Steve, I probably held them up. It took us 4 hours and that included a half hour break at the top to eat lunch and look around so I feel like that is pretty good time.

After 4 1/2 miles of hiking we got to a spot where a bunch of people were sitting and eating. I thought that was it and was ready to dig into my lunch when Steve informed me that we still had a half mile to go and then he pointed to where we were going. I literally got sick to my stomach and asked him if he was joking. I thought about staying put but my pride wouldn't let me. That, and I wasn't about to let Zack go without my protection.

The last little climb to the end of the hike, treacherous!

The last half mile of the hike is literally along a thin (thin as in a few feet wide) spine of rock with 1200+ foot drops offs on both sides. There is occasionally chain drilled into the rock to hold onto and pull yourself up with but when you are going up and dozens of people are coming down, sometimes you have to let go to let someone pass. It is really hard to describe how scary this path is. If you want to see for yourself this is a good video.

Can you see the narrow ridge I'm talking about?  This photo is a view from the end of the hike, that is what we walked over!  It is as small as it looks.

We made it to the top and were rewarded with fabulous views all around us. It was truly beautiful and I was so proud of myself and Zack (and Steve) for completing the hike, ALL THE WAY! On the way back down, people kept commenting how they were amazed at Zack and his hiking skills. We were all proud.

I highly recommend this hike to everyone. Just be care full!

Here we are at the top!

After the hike down we waded through the river and Zack got pretty wet. It felt good! Then Steve wanted to go on a couple more short hikes. Ha! We had to break it to him that we were done for the day, I was dead and Zack was shivering cold, so we went into town and got some pizza and shopped for rocks. Zack was in heaven with the rocks, but who knew they could be so expensive?

The next two days we did some shorter hikes including the emerald pools (3 miles and a cinch!) and weeping rock. We also found a cool mini-narrows on one of our adventures and Steve and Zack had fun exploring and rock climbing. While in the narrow, I pointed out a dead tarantula floating in a puddle with some weird worms. Steve went to pull it out and found it was alive! We had fun saving it and watching it crawl around and then we placed it in a sunny spot so it could warm up. Boys love stuff like that!

Giardia anyone? On the Emerald Pools hike.

We did have some rain one afternoon so we went and soaked in the hot tub. It poured that night, but our new tent held up pretty well and we were only a little wet in the morning. Steve is a great cook and we had a delicious dutch oven dinner of roast with potatoes, carrots and onions and every morning we had a deluxe breakfast.

Chilin on one of our hikes

I always worry that Zack will be bored on vacation with just his old parents but he always has a good time and doesn't seem to mind. He has fun exploring and playing and has never complained about us. I am so grateful that we are able to take so many fun vacations together, it is something we make a big priority and it is good bonding time for our family. Even if I do get a little grumpy when I camp! (I hate dirt and creepy crawlies!)

Zack wanted to climb every rock and hill!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Daisy Update

A couple of weeks ago our agency rep. told me she would ask for an update on Daisy but that we probably wouldn't get one.

A few minutes ago I got an email from her and the orphanage had sent an update! They said she is doing great and gave her measurments. No pictures though. Here they are:

Weight: 8.5 kg = 18 lbs. 12 oz
Height: 73 cm = 28 3/4 inches
Head: 43 cm = 17 inches
Chest: 44 cm = 17 1/2 inches
Feet: 11 cm = 4 1/2 inches

I looked the numbers up on the growth chart and she was not even on it! So then I looked her up on a Chinese growth chart and she is 15% for weight, 10% for height and 10% for head. She is tiny!

Well, I guess those 12-18 month clothes I bought her are not going to fit! Better do some more shopping before we go!

By the way, we are leaving this Friday! We are so excited!

I will try and blog from there, but may not be able to. If I can't, I will post when we get back. Wish us luck!

Monday, May 9, 2011

We got it!

We were hoping to get our travel approval today... and we did! Right now we are making travel arrangements and hope to leave in a week and a half. We are so excited! Exactly 3 weeks till we can meet Daisy!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

She has a name

If you don't want to read this whole long thing, scroll to the bottom...

I don't know about you, but I think choosing a name for a child is a difficult task, made even more difficult by my dear husband.

When I was pregnant with Zack, I thought picking a girl name would be so much easier than a boy name. I had several I liked. Steve wanted Emma, I loved Ivy and there were others too. I just can't remember them because that was over 8 years ago. For Zack, we had a short list and narrowed it down to two, which we couldn't decide on until we met him. When he was born, we knew he was a Zackary and not an Alexander.

As soon as we had a picture of our baby girl back in October, I started looking through the baby name books, even though I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to name her. I had to be sure, plus, did I mention Steve hated the name I wanted? HATED. So, every night I would read through a book and write down any possibilities. Every once in a while I would read them to Steve and he would listen and say "yes", "no" or "maybe". I made it through 2 whole books and had about 20 names. Steve whittled it down to 4, in about 30 seconds. Lilly, Daisy, Lucy and Ivy. Did I mention that the name I wanted that Steve hated was Ivy? So, really he whittled it down to 3 names. But, I wasn't crossing Ivy off yet, I thought I could still convince him.

For the next few months, when I would go to bed, I would get the list out, and stare at her picture. Trying to decide what she looked the most like. Then the time came (about 4 weeks ago) that we had to decide because it was going on the paperwork we had to send in. We would not get to meet her before we named her.

One day Steve begrudgingly told me that if I really wanted to name her Ivy, I could. Reeeally?! I don't think so. I would always feel like he hated her name every time he called her that. (Did I mention that the reason he hates that name is because of the movie "Poison Ivy" with Drew Barrymore? He hates Drew B. and although I haven't seen the movie the character named Ivy was quite the evil skank and he can't get past it. Weird.)

So we were left with Lilly, Lucy and Daisy. In the end I decided we couldn't name her Lilly because that is a trendy name for girls adopted from China (ever seen Modern Family?) and although I thought she LOOKED like a Lucy, I didn't love the name. So....her name will be Daisy! I really do like the name a lot and so does Steve so we both win! Plus it really doesn't hurt that I know 2 awesome girls with the name Daisy!

Her full name will be Daisy YuChen. Yu Chen is her Chinese name and it means morning rain and we really wanted to keep it to honor her Chinese heritage. I hope it fits her!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Zack Says...

Z: I want to learn how to play the Jello.
Me: You mean the Cello?
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We have put Zack in soccer a few different times because he loves it and asks to play. However, he is really funny because he will run towards the ball, give a little kick at it and then back away, like he's hesitant to really get aggressive and take over.

One night as Steve and he were getting ready to go to a game, Steve was giving him one of his pep talks.
S: Tonight, I want you to be really aggressive. I want you to go after that ball and kick it hard! I want you to take over and be mean and aggressive! OK?
Z: Well, I don't know about being mean, but I can do the rest of that stuff.
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As our trip to China gets closer, a lot of people have been asking me things like: "Is Zack just so excited!?"

At first I would just smile and say "Yep!"

But lately I've just been telling people the truth, which is: he is nervous and worried and not very happy about the whole thing, to the point of not wanting to even talk about it. Here is why:

1. He is smart enough to realize that his life as an only child is about to be rocked.
2. He is peeved that he is getting a sister instead of a brother.
3. He hates drawing attention to himself, being stared at, talked about, laughed at, etc; and he realizes that our trans-racial family is going to draw attention.
4. He is nervous about the actual trip to China (we are taking him with) because he gets homesick and misses his pets terribly. Also, I warned him (I didn't want him to be in shock when it happened) that strangers in China might stare at him, get in his face and ask to have their pictures taken with him. (See #3) The horror!

In an effort to address some of his concerns with out actually sitting him down and talking it out (he won't), I went to the library and got some books about kids getting new siblings through international adoption. (In case you are wondering they were: Just Add one Chinese Sister, My Mei Mei, Waiting for May and Jin Woo.)

We read the first three and while they were sweet, none of them was really what I was looking for.

On Sunday, we had some time so I told him we were going to read the last book. It was the one called Jin Woo. It is about a family of three including a brother around Zack's age. They find out that the baby boy they are adopting will be coming to them the next day on an airplane. (Sometimes people opt to have their babies brought to them instead of going to the country but only a few countries allow this and I think it is 'no bueno'.)

The book is from the boy's perspective and he talks openly about how he is nervous to be getting a baby and how he doesn't really think it's that great. He's really nervous until they get the baby and he makes him laugh and holds him and likes him and decides he's great after all. It's very honest and realistic and similar to what I think Zack is feeling right now. I hope our story ends the same way, with Zack really liking his sister once he gets to know her.

At one point in the book the parents are pressed up against the glass at the airport trying to catch a glimpse of the baby and the picture shows the boy looking all sad. I asked Zack how he thought the boy was feeling, he said something about how the boy was feeling bad. I asked him why he thought the boy was feeling that way and he said very matter of-factly: "Because he knows his parents don't care about him any more, they just care about the baby now."

WOW! It was the saddest thing I have ever heard! I explained to Zack about how it's possible to love more than one person, he loves me and daddy and grandparents, etc. Just like that, Daddy and I have lot's of love to give to him AND our new baby. He started to zone out and look around and was NOT enjoying our conversation. Then he told me he didn't want to talk about it.

Sigh.

I sure do love that boy, but he really does push the limits of my parental creativity! Would it be too much to ask for this baby be an "easy" child? Probably, but one can always hope, right?

***If you have any experience with older children being upset about new brothers or sisters and how you handled it, I'm all ears!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

From Geek to Chic

This is the first mouth guard I have ever purchased. I knew nothing of mouth guards before starting roller derby 13 weeks ago so I went to the store and picked one in the middle price range and made sure it had a strap for easy in and out. As you can see, it is big, bulky and bright. The strap cut into my cheek, I couldn't talk, at least not clearly, and I had to take it out to quench my thirst.

Geek!


The other day I heard about a great mouth guard via my favorite social network. I decided to try it out.

Chic!
I know, you're probably thinking "Where's the new mouth guard?" I'm wearing it! It's thin, comfortable, I can speak clearly and drink easily. There is no need for a strap because I just keep it in the whole time! The package also claims that it is 30% stronger than conventional guards and that germs from your hands won't stick to it. It was extremely easy to shape to my mouth, especially while looking in the mirror. The Protech Dent Mouth Guard is the only mouth guard for me from here on out. A two pack sells for $39.99 and it's worth every penny. You can get yours at www.protechguard.com.

**Full Disclosure: I was given a 2 pack Protech Mouth Guard to review for this post. It did not affect my opinion of this product.

**Also, if you are my friend and you wear the 1st kind of mouth guard, I do not think you are a geek. Don't be offended!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

One more step

I have been sick in bed this week and just got up for a bit to work on adoption stuff. It's a good thing I did because I found out we got our I800 approval on Monday, the letter should arrive today. I called and talked with our dossier specialist at the agency and she thinks it is reasonable to assume we will still travel in May. I sure hope so because airfare to China DOUBLES at the end of May and into June. Paying over $2000 for airfare is not in my plans. Pray for us that all the paper work will go quickly! Thanks!

Friday, February 25, 2011

LOA Baby!

This afternoon I went to open the door for my mom and there on my porch was a Fed-ex envelope! I was so excited and sure enough it was our LOA (final approval from China)! We waited 45 days which isn't too bad as the average wait is 52 days right now.

According to my calculations we will travel to China sometime in May! We have lots to do to get ready, I better get to work!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Our Valentines Project

This year is the first year that Zack had to make a valentines "box" for school. I asked him what he wanted to do and I pulled up a bunch of ideas on-line for him to see that we could maybe copy. I had a few boxes saved from Costco that would be perfect.

Well, he glanced at my "cute" ideas and firmly stated that he wanted to make R2D2. Um...really? We can't just paste some red and pink paper on a box and call it good? Apparently not.

So, I spent a whole day trying to find a garbage can in the shape of R2 and the rest of the supplies and then we had a super busy day scheduled so we had a total of like 3 hours to get this puppy done, the night before the big party.

I think it turned out pretty cute! I promise this was not one of those projects I took over and did. Zack actually did most of it. He was pleased with it and now he has a cool trash bin for his room. Win-win!

(Notice the shirt, he loves anything Star Wars)

Friday, February 18, 2011

I need your help

I am having trouble coming up with a roller derby name. So, will you take this survey and help me out? Thanks!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Our baby is 8!

Zack turned 8 years old on January 30th. It is a party year (we do them every other year but I may have to change it to every 3!) so I researched a few options and he picked the exotic animal presentation. Since my house is too small to have 14 crazy kids AND exotic animals, I decided to have it at the church and it worked out really well.

I am so lucky to have my mom and sister to help me with this stuff! Thanks mom and auntie Ally! (It's a good thing Ally was there because it turns out that my mom and I have a balloon tying handicap!)


I came up with the idea to blow up about 150 balloons, two of which had a special paper inside that said "you win!" While the kids were waiting for the animal presentation they went into the room with the balloons and had to pop them all to find the ones with the prizes. It literally took about 1 minute and was sooooo loud! Then we made them clean it up!

We ordered 6 animals and I think it was perfect because it lasted a little over an hour and I don't think the kids could have sat still much longer. But it was really hard to choose which ones we wanted her to bring. Below is the giant snake (a python I think).

She let all the kids touch or pet each animal. The kids loved it! Here is the giant bunny, who is still not quite fully grown. He was very cute and I would love to have one as a pet, if we didn't have a dog.



The striped salamander could only be touched with wet hands. I passed on petting this one.

This is a giant Tegu lizard. He actually broke out of his box at the very beginning while she was introducing herself to us! He was very curious, I think he smelled cake.

This is a chinchilla, the softest animal I have ever felt! It was adorable and I would also have one of these for a pet. Maybe when the guinea pig goes to GP heaven. Zack got to feed it some raisins.

Lastly was the chameleon lizard. The picture doesn't do justice to the pretty turquoise color he had on.

I think the adults enjoyed the presentation just as much as the kids. It was really well done and I would recommend this company to anyone who wants to have a fun, interesting party. They are called Wild Things Science. (Zack with grandma Bernice.)

I have a friend who lives down the street and she does cakes. I wasn't up for making the cake this year so I called her and told her Zack wanted a Poke Mon cake and asked if she could even do that. She was like "no problem". I wasn't expecting too much because, well probably because my imagination is stunted. Anyway, I went to get the cake and this is what she comes out with: !!!!

She is amazing right?! Zack loved it and I was sad to cut into it, it just seemed wrong! There must have been like 6 cake mixes used to make it because it fed everyone and then there was a ton left over. Unfortunately it was delicious too and I pretty much ate most of it by myself due to the fact that Steve doesn't really love cakes.

All the kids were begging to eat the ears and tail so I gladly handed them over. Imagine their surprise when they bit into...Styrofoam! Yuck.
It was a fun party and Zack was happy and I am happy to have it over and done with! (I have a party throwing phobia you know so I must reallllly love my child to do these kinds of things!)

Love you Zacky! You're my best boy!

Friday, January 28, 2011

I love it!


I just completed my 4th roller derby class on Thursday last and I LOVE IT!

My back is finally healed enough that when I lay on the damaged part it just hurts a little. I can now move around normally without wincing in pain or crying out. So I guess I didn't break my pelvis after all!

This week was the most fun so far. Instead of breaking into two groups (veterans and new girls) we all stayed together and literally skated around the track non-stop for over 2 hours. It is a really good work out, more than you would expect.

First we did a time test. We had to skate 25 laps and see how long it took. Eventually we have to do it in under 5 minutes, to pass the minimum skills test. I came in last place at 8+ minutes. I would have been really embarrassed but everyone is so freakin nice that they all cheered for me the last lap. Everyone is very supportive and encouraging, it's really great.

Next off we paired up and took turns pushing each other around the track like shopping carts. Imagine the front person (cart) crouched into derby stance (see derby stance photo) and the rear person pushing them around by their hips.

Next we learned how to whip each other around corners. I was so scared but it turned out to be doable and really fun. Whenever the teachers tell us we are going to do something I immediately think "there is no way I can do that!" But then, I try it and am amazed that I actually CAN. The whipping was really fun.

Lastly we all got in a line and started skating, fairly close to each other. The front person had to skate really fast around the track to catch the back of the line and then weave in and out of every person and then skate around to the back again and the new front person would do the same. It seemed like it took forever! By the time we were done I was so tired I couldn't skate anymore and it was almost 10:00 (class is supposed to be over at 9:30). Some people stayed a while longer to do the exercise again but this time with some hip checks thrown in. I'm glad I didn't stay for that because I saw a lot of falling down going on.

All in all it was great and I can't wait for next week. I am hoping to get some good practicing in this week so I can get better.

Here are some pictures from last week and this week:


This is derby stance. We practice this for hours, until our legs are jelly. Wanton Rebellion has no mercy!

More of the stance. It really is amazing how much more stable you are while skating with this posture.

Our team logo which was artfully designed by one of our teachers "England's Glory". Love it!

Last weeks practice. Not sure what I am concentrating so hard on, probably just not falling!

This weeks practice. The track is bigger than it looks in this picture. Trust me.

I really need to get some cool derby clothes. (It's just sooo cold in there!)


**Oh yeah, I was going to ask: if anyone can think of a good derby name for me I am taking suggestions. I have a couple of ideas but I am not sold on them yet. The one I really wanted is already taken (you can't have the same or similar name to any other derby girl in North America).