Yoga and week 4 fresh meat.

Sunday isn't quite a day of relaxing, it's a day of morning yoga and afternoon skating.

I ways look forwards to Sunday yoga as the class runs for 1.5 hours instead of the usual 1 hour, it's a bit different and involves a lovely long relaxation at the end.

This week we were doing the plough pose.  This was the first time I've done it and I loved it.

We didn't use mats or blocks to raise us up but we did do some free form leg bendy times from this pose that was a whole lot of fun.

After lunch I then headed for week 4 of Belfast Roller Derby fresh meat.

Kitted up for 3pm we started off skates, jogging and skills in our pads and shoes. Jogging is not my strong point but at least I didn't collapse 😂

We were reviewing things we've been learning.  Backwards sticky skating, the Matrix (aka leaning side to side and backwards on skates), single foot glides, falls and plow stops.  10minutes of hell continues to be one of my favourite drills, mostly because I actually know what's going on for once.

Then the new bit, T-stops.

Ok, I'm fairly capable of a t-stop using my right foot behind me, not so much the left

Another thing to work on I suppose.

I did give my industrial garter belt from Sock Dreams a road test at practice.  It's what ice hockey players use to keep their long socks up over tights, I tried it with thigh high Lip Service socks over leggings.

It worked ok.  I did have to re-clip the back right leg a couple of times but no drama and my socks did stay high. 

Very happy about it.  

Now it's Monday, my back is achey and I'm headachey.

So bed with lovely syn free homemade vegetable broth and series 2 Bedlam to view after a fun weekend.

Kitty x

Caturday off work, syn free noms and outdoor skating.

Oh happy Caturday when it's an extra off work type.  The only perk to a week in a building site.

Having a lie in is always a treat, getting up just long enough to make a syn free sweet treat breakfast to eat in bed...utterly worth it.

Icing on the cake (or sweetener on the syn free pancakes in this case) was cinnamon sweetener.

Easy to make, just fill a tub with sweetener and stir in ground cinnamon until you're happy with the flavour and seal up to use when you need it. Ta-da! Great in coffee, baking, sprinkled on fruit...anything goes! 

Spent my morning enjoying a bit of a Bambi about in my skates, trying to get to grips with side surfing.

I can manage this at a slow pace leading with my left leg, but with my right I just want to T-stop.  Argh!

And yes, silver disco jeans.  Well, why not?

The afternoon was a bit of an adventure.

Set off for the Comber Greenway with Emmarghhhage.

I'm not an outdoor skater so I really didn't know what to expect.  Aside from pretty grim road crossing it was awesome.

I managed to cross 7of8 of the roads on skates.  One was a pretty big road so I whipped my skates off and crossed in sock soles.  I'm sure drivers were amused.

Can't wait to do it again the next dry day we have.

One knee fall (to stop me trundling down a hill and face first into a road) saw a toe guard get shredded, so I frankensteined some new ones with scrap leather and tattoo fabric.

Tonight I'm snuggled up with a low syn dinner (peppered fish with vegetable and rice stir fry) and watching The A,B,C's of Death.

Bliss.

Kitty x

The inbetween blog

While I'm posting today I am going to add a link to a sporadic wee blog I was doing this year
Heels, hosiery and the happiness budget.

http://heelshosieryandthehappinessbudget.blogspot.co.uk

Not much there to be honest.
I really need to remember to write in these things.

I'm not going to delete it...mostly because I've managed to forget my sign in for it.  Gah!
So it can remain a wee dejected bloggy and I'll be incorporating my three H love here instead ☺️

Kitty
X

Back after a two year hiatus.

So,

It's been a while, yes.

I've read through the posts that went before and I can't believe it's been so long since I lost my derby love.

This year I've been working on finding my mojo again, rejoining Belfast Roller Derby is one of those big steps to getting back to more smiles.

Here I am, three weeks in to fresh meat and both loving and hating it.

I love feeling like I'm relearning something that made me so happy

I hate that I used to be so much stronger and excited about things, this is a real reminder of that.

What have we been doing for three weeks?

Well, there's been falls and plough stops and crossovers (!already!) and backwards skating and balance exercises and pyramid shopping trolley drills.

Phew!

My plough stops are dire, my derby stance is torturing my thighs and my sense of hopelessness is pretty overwhelming.

But I'll be back on Sunday to keep trying.

Meanwhile might fit a wee Saturday skate in if I get the chance.

And if it's dry might make it an outdoorsy one.  Yeahhhhh!

Autumn is coming

September has been an exciting month with lots of positives at derby.

I'm slowly getting more confident on the track (somedays more than others!)

Sad news is the loss of Queens PEC for Tuesday training, but our final scrimmage there was a full on fight. Black team Vs White team...and Whites won! Go go my team :)
Everyone played hard, there was trash talking (in fun), refs jumping downed skaters and war paint!
We are now even more psyched for our first intraleague bout in December!






Check out my game face (aka quite blank)

Crafting ha taken a back seat this month, I have made a couple of nice pairs of knitted fingerless gloves though...












And last night was all about baking cupcakes for Ruby Murder






Tonight BRD is off to the VLC for scrim and drills...my search for wheels suitable for the wooden floor continues, the 88a's aren't cutting it!

Oh, and if you tweet, I've just made a derby account @Kitty_BRD, add me :)

<3
Kitty

It's tough going

I've been having a crap time in my own head recently. Non stop headaches and far too many painkillers do not a happy Kitty make.
Still, gotta keep going.

Tuesdays advanced roller derby classes have been a strange mix.
My first one was lead by the awesome Ani Position.
We had a Smarty Party ;) pretend cow tipping.
I do not like the PEC floor though...silly porridge to skate on!

The wooden floor at the Valley continues to baffle me though.

On Saturday Hannahbolic Steriods and I took to our skates in Belfast to flyer for Lush




I followed that up with a trip to Loko shop to get lovely new Reds Bearings....and a swanky skate tool. Winner!

Then there was Sunday Endurance. Oh dear sweet zombie Jesus. 20 down is my least favourite drill ever. Attempting 210 laps and sit ups...yeah...no. I managed 186 :(
But I made myself feel better by giving my hand print panties their first outing...



I'm a bit obsessed with 'what's in your skate bag'...so here's my skate bag...


Hmmmmm, I carry a lot of crap!

Oh oh but this Tuesdays PEC session was scrim-tastic. I'm pretty sure I did more tripping and blocking of my own team though...which made me completely paranoid and by Thursday I couldn't deal with anyone and spent the day sleeping. Fail.

But I'm back on track and yesterday's session with our freshies was awesome :D
McSlay and Zombee show them how to GET LOW


So roll on Sunday skating

Crafting has been good this week.
Bearing necklaces (decorated with my awesome new rhinestone setter)



Actually, rhinestones on everything...



I'm also knitting a straight jacket themed jumper....




<3
Kitty

Nearly a week and no blogging. Oh dear

It's been a hectic old week. Let's start where we left off.

Last Thursday was Belfast Roller Derby's first training session at the Valley Leisure Centre. I had high hopes for the wooden floor but fear of a new venue.

The space we had in the main hall was great and we had a fab turn out. I wasn't in best form and after struggling to keep my knee pads in place during our pyramid pop ups warm up drill I had to swiftly exit to be sick.
Like a kitty cat that sorted me out and the rest of the session, including a scrimmage at the end, was ace.

I don't like wooden floors though. It felt all wrong under my wheels.
I'm sure I just need practice.

Friday was our second fresh meat intake skate. Not just as many present and this time I was included in the skating as I haven't passed my minimum skills yet (and am not skating in the advanced Tuesday session)

Part of me enjoyed getting to do basic skills all night, and it was great helping our lovely new girls and skating with them...but seeing my derby friends watching as I did knee falls and stops made me a little sad, and even more determined to up my game. (I have to admit it was nice having a session where I felt like I could actually do what was being asked of me!)

Saturday was a work day, then Sunday for Endurance training...
My least favourite session of the week :(

I'm happy to report that the pyramid pop up warm up drill did NOT make me puke that time!

Pace line of seven laps each was a killer...I ended up doing something ridiculous like 84 or 91 laps. Poor Hannahbolic Steriods and McSlay were at the 170 lap count though!
Then...horror...re sitting the rules test!
Fingers crossed I actually got it this time!

The big treats from Sunday though were
1. Getting my helmet name! Whoop!






And
2. Gutter Snipe telling me to bring my skates to Tuesday practice! Yes! I've passed enough mins to get into the advanced class aka lots if lovely scrimmaging!
So I was a tired but happy Kitty on Sunday







Crafting wise it's been an ok week. Nothing too special.
I've finally gotten round to trying bottle cap necklaces...dead easy!












(Cleaver one is a little gift to Sigourney Cleaver, I hope she likes it!)

Plus I got Ruby Murder's jumper finished







...
One last thing. The mystery of the straws that have started popping up in my back yard was solved when I witnessed Castiel bringing one over the fence this morning as a wee present for me...bless!






<3
Kitty