Wow, time has sure flown by. I can’t believe it when walked into the Studio again for the first time on Monday that a year had already gone by so fast. We have done so much, travelled to so many places, had the pleasure getting to skate in many different places, and well just generally had a busy and overall very good year after I had a moment to quietly reflect. But, it felt so good to be back. It was almost like we had never left.
To recap, our year since the tour:
We went home for a short vacation in May back to our place in Florida. We had a lovely two weeks there seeing and enjoying the good company of our close friends and families. We also took on a project of fixing up our front walkway. We created a little paradise on the way into our home. We got new rocks for a small rock garden, Sean put in new landscape lighting which turned out amazing, put in new plants, and a new boarder to the walk way, and Sean also has planned to put in a waterfall once we are home again??? It looks amazing and it was a nice little reward to have the time to do it.
Then before you know it we were packing again and this time it would be for a few months on the Freedom of the Seas that is out of Port Canaveral, FL. It is a one of the largest Cruise Ships in the world and one of 10 ice rinks that are on a ship that are out to sea. We had a very talented group of skaters so it was a lot of fun doing the show with them. It was a fairly busy summer with the number of guests that came to cruise. I think over the entire summer and fall we were out to sea we had a total of over 80,000 people cruising and over 70,000 people came to watch the show for the time we were there performing. It is always such a great experience to work at sea. You learn so much about not only just skating but also about life in general. How to manage yourself, deal with others, the importance of safety in your every day life and also at sea too. It is a great experience to cruise and I recommend if you ever have the chance and you have never cruised take on. There is nothing like being out on the open waters with nothing else around and feeling the warm sea breeze on your face. It is something that I do miss when I am on land for sure. But, then to be honest there are some parts about living on land that you just can’t get on a cruise ship too, like getting to cook your own meal. That is something that even though you think you would not miss it, there is something about being able to go into your own kitchen and grab and make something when you want. We finished up on the ship at the start of November. Sean left a few weeks before me as there was some illness in his family back home in Canada that he had to help with. So, I finished up my role there and said goodbye to ship life for this season and 2011.
We then had the unfortunate issue in our life to deal with. Our truck was stolen from a mall parking lot in Canada. Sean had went for dinner with his mom and when they came out to drive away there was no truck. So sadly, Sean had to break the news to me as I was still in Florida at the time. It was so sad as we had our truck which we called “The Beast” for 11 years. It had been with us since we were married and we even carried our own little stuff mascot inside that was called “Bones”. There has been no sight of it and it has been since that start of November so they say it will most likely never be found. It was unfortunate as even though it was an older truck Sean took such great care of it and it for sure did not look its age. It was in mint condition and just had undergone some new upgrades and a tune up. So someone is very lucky and got an early Christmas present as “The Beast” was ready to travel for another few miles yet. I do miss my truck. There is nothing like a little fart like me sitting up in a truck and driving it. Just love it. But, for now no more truck
The middle of November saw us packing again and this time we would be heading back to England to start the 2012 series of Dancing on Ice. Well, we would be doing the training for series 7. We arrived and got straight to work meeting our new partners the day we flew in and then the training would begin for the next 6 weeks leading up until the Christmas break.
Sean was so pleased with his partner who at the time when we got here we could not say who we got. But, now as of yesterday we are able to talk about. Her name is Chemmy Alcott. She is a three time Olympic Skier for the UK. She is out this season due to suffering a broken leg in training. So, she is using Dancing on Ice as a way of rehabilitation for her skiing as her dream is to be the only person in UK history to attend 4 Olympics for skiing. If she manages that it will be something quite special. They are doing really well together and having a lot of fun. And as for all of you that read my blog last year about my experience with Johnson having fun and enjoying what you are doing is 1/2 the battle.
My partner for this years season is the “One and Only” Chesney Hawkes. He is a dad of three, unbelievable song writer and had the big pop hit back in the 90′s ” I am the One and Only” He has been super nice to work with as well and is picking up all the basic skills of skating so well. It is amazing really how much he absorbs in a two hour skating session and just how smooth his skating is getting. He has taken his wife and kids out so it is nice to see they have all learned new skill that they will be able to do for the rest of their lives together. We have a really fun routine and it is so cool to watch him get into the moves. He is such a perfectionist wanting each time he does it to be the best he can do it. He for sure does not like it when he does not do it as well as he thinks he should. But, right now I think he is doing just fine.
We had our show and tell before Christmas. That is where all of the Pros and the Celebrities get together and we show the production team and Chris and Jayne and all the coaches where we are all at with our routines before we break for Christmas. It was a great day. Finally nice to have the chance to meet everyone that was going to be in the show. Everyone is so lovely and for the most part everyone did really well with their show off. I think when you look at everyone it is the first time in a long time if I am going to be honest that there is no one that is going to run away with the competition. Everyone has a chance so it will be interesting how it all turns out once the series starts. But you can tell everyone had been working hard which is nice to see. There were a few falls and a couple of injuries but everyone did well and most of all you could tell everyone enjoyed the experience and that is the most important thing at the end of the day. We all took a group photo and then it was Christmas Break!
Then it was time to go home for the holidays and for Christmas to spend it with our families. Christmas Eve we spent with Sean’s mom and family and then on Christmas Day we were at my home in Stratford with my family. I was again very lucky this year as my sisters were home from work, my mom and dad were there, and then also my two grandmothers. My mom’s mother is 96 and my dad’s mom is 93 and my grandpa’s sister was also there and she is 94. So, pretty special to have three family members there at the table with us for Christmas Dinner. We are so fortunate. The most special part about the day that finished it all of was that it started to snow. We woke up Christmas morning and the ground was green. But, by the time we were finished with our dinner it was white all over the ground. I guess when I dreamed and wished for a white Christmas it came true. It was so magical to sit there and eat our dessert, which by the way was the best apple pie, watching the snow fall to the ground around all the Christmas lights. Truly Magical.
Then back to reality, we were packing again and this time it would be to come back to the other side of the pond to join everyone to get started for the series seven of Dancing on Ice. I really can not believe it starts this Sunday. The week is flying by. We got back two days before New Years. Had a great weekend and New Years with our friends here, and then Monday I was back at work learning some new moves for the opening number for the series and then yesterday all of the pros were back in together for the first time after the holidays to work on the opening number together with Chris and Jayne and then at the end of the night we found out which week we would be skating in. I can’t release which week we are in just yet but it is going to be exciting I can promise you that. And the opening number is going to be so cool!!! Lots of Fun!
So, yes the weekend will be here before you know it and until then we will all be putting the finishing touches on our routines and making those last minute adjustments to everything that needs to get done. Get ready everyone Dancing On Ice is back and we are all ready to go! See you Sunday for the fun to begin.
There you have it, in a nut shell my year since DOI began a year ago. I wonder what new and exciting journeys and stories I will get to write about this year. Stay Tuned the excitement has just started.
Cheers, Jodeyne