Hi everyone,

Sorry it's been so long, but I wanted to wait until after competition to update you. Yesterday I competed and debuted my short program to "Paint it Black" at New Jersey Councils. I was so incredibly nervous. It wasn't so much about the competition, but how I would be able to handle myself. I had a run of pretty rough competitions last year and I couldn't quite get that out of my head. Needless to say, I had goals for myself and I accomplished them. I was proud of myself and it was a very good thing to build my confidence for later summer competitions. I decided not to compete the long because I had two long days at the competition with my students (who all did very well and I'm proud of them) and my short and driving back and forth. Besides it wasn't quite ready yet.

Now that I'm out of school for the summer, I've been able to skate a lot more. While I was in school I was getting very fustrated and didn't know if skating was still worth it. Now that I can focus on it, I know how much I love it and I am still willing to put the time in. I'm taking a few days off because I've been going non-stop for very long. After that I'll be getting ready for my next competition which will be the Liberty Open in Delaware. I'll be doing both my programs and my long will be to "Firebird." I'm not 100% sure what other competitions I'll be doing before Norths. I have sent my application in for Collegiate Nationals [August 6-9, 2003 in St. Paul, MN]. I'm very excited about it, but financial situations may keep me from being able to compete. I'll be saving as much as I can, but if not this year, there's always next year. Because Regionals it also such a far trip for me [Jamestown, NY] and to me it is a little more important, I'd have to be able to have enough for both and if I can't do both I'll definitely choose Norths.

So, right now I'll be enjoying a few days of R&R and counting the days until my new skates arrive. I can't wait, I need new ones too badly! Hope you all have a wonderful summer and I'll be in touch soon.

All my love,
Stephanie