National Champions

It's not everyday that I hear antiquated euphemisms like, "Golly day," "Gee whiz" and (my personal favorite) "Golly gee Moses" thrown around, but then again, it's not everyday that I play a Father-Daughter tennis tournament where half of the participants are in the over 50 age bracket. This past weekend was the 10 year anniversary of the first such tournament I've played with my dad and upon our fifth attempt (and several Golly Day's later), we finally captured a national title!

Perhaps more valuable than our big win, however, is the evolution of our relationship. Let me set the stage - my dad and I are intensely competitive and incredibly similar. Our understanding of one another bonds us in a unique way and we seldom argue, but on those rare occasions when we do, the sum of two stubborn personalities produces explosive disputes. So, imagine, if you will, how that eruption might play out on a tennis court, in the heat of battle...not pretty. Our particular brand of arguing might not catch the attention of the casual observer, but that's only because pride keeps us from making a scene. There is an initial confrontation, of course, but from there complete silence and non-verbal cues take over and can last until someone decides to apologize...I know, not very Christlike;) The worst of these arguments took place three years ago in our last tournament together when we disagreed over the correct way to give a high five, ha! We didn't speak until two days (and two matches) later. The whole family gets a kick out of that story now and for me, it's a reminder of how miraculously harmonious this year's tournament turned out to be!

We may have survived our matches without any major spats, but I sure loved watching everyone elses! There are four National Father/Daughter tournaments every year, and unless you have seen one of these family tournaments in action, you would never believe the shenanigans that take place. Bad line calls, daughters yelling at fathers, fathers yelling at daughters - you name it and it has probably happened. Friendly competition? Sometimes...but definitely not always.

In addition to seeing my family (the tournament is held close to home in FL), I also got to see some long lost friends. I was reunited with a former teammate who transferred to Duke after our sophomore year together. She and her father played in the tournament as well and we got lots of time to catch up. We had a great time reminiscing!

I was a little (okay, a lot) excited to hear that she reads this blog, so I promised a shout out;) Great to see you, Lauren!

Dad and I got a picture together after pulling out a three set quarterfinal match against the #2 seed. The wind this weekend was ridiculous and I am notorious for failing to successfully handle that particular weather condition. I was steamed after we lost the first set of that match, not because I was playing poorly, but because I could not believe that after months of wind-free conditions in South Florida (according to Dad), I happened to be there during a particularly gusty resurgence. Curses!

Here we are strategizing before the final.

Action Shots
(Thanks again, Lauren:)

Champions!

Okay, I know this isn't the NCAA, but I had to throw up the #1!

Mom and me - yes, I know we look like sisters.

This day was topped off by the presence of a few great friends from my junior tennis days. Chelsea (on the left) played for College of Charleston and Danielle played for Minnesota.
It was so nice of them to stop by!

Last, but not least, my old coach stopped by! He worked with me through high school and into college...no small feat! Twelve years later, I think I have finally figured out the mental side of the game that he tried to explain to me so many year ago. Better late than never, I guess:)

So, there you have it. Happy Tuesday!

Living Lately

Not much to report from out here in the dry expanses of the Arizona desert except for a depressing 25 degree temperature drop. I was so cold after my morning walk today that I did something I haven't done in approximately 14 years: I took a bath - and it was glorious. Not only did I emerge all cozy and warm, but I was able to continue laboring through The Bonfire of the Vanities while I soaked. In conclusion, baths are underrated and they may just become my new "thing."

In other news, we spotted a scorpion in our garage! The discovery immediately transported me back to my childhood when my 5 or 6 year old brother, Drew, woke me in the middle of the night to frantically explain that he found a "lobster" in the bathroom. Though I was confused by the possibility of a crustacean sighting, I jumped out of bed and excitedly raced across the hall to the bathroom we shared. Drew, eager to show me the critter in question, led the way. When our feet hit the tile floor, we got down on our hands and knees to view the "lobster." Though I was only a year older than my brother, I got that tingly feeling in my gut that suggested this mystery animal was not a sea creature, and I sprinted into my parents room to explain the situation. Thankfully we called in reinforcements before attempting to play with or poke at our discovery. After coming to the rescue, our parents explained that we had found a very dangerous scorpion. That turned out to be the beginning of a pretty serious infestation in our home. Though none of my immediate family was stung, one of our summer housesitters got zapped by a scorpion hiding in his shoe. Ughghghgh! Just the thought of it gives me the creeps!

Luckily this little guy was already dead, but the thought of his siblings scurrying around outside and maybe even inside our house, makes me really uncomfortable.


On the baseball front, Tyler has gotten to play a few more games than we originally thought. Though he is on the "taxi squad" and technically only on the active roster for Wednesday and Saturday games, he has been the beneficiary of his teammates' injuries and special activation permission by someone at the MLB offices. When we found out he wouldn't be one of the "priority" players here, we both were a little disappointed, but we've been so blessed by how God has provided playing time opportunities for Tyler when they seemed all but impossible.

This past Tuesday was one of those "bonus" play days, and I decided to go support Tyler even though his game was an hour away in Phoenix. I arrived at the field slightly flustered by how difficult it was to find the facility, so it took me a minute to notice how many people there were in attendance. The Arizona Fall League isn't a huge draw for anyone other than scouts, agents or family members, so when I saw several hundred people in the stands, including a packed scouting section, I was puzzled. That was until I saw the abundance of photographers aiming their telephoto lenses at the pitchers mound. Turns out, I had happened upon the Stephen Strasburg circus, and got to see for myself what a $15 million arm looks like.

The Henley/Strasburg Matchup
Though this particular at-bat did not result in the homerun I was imagining, it also wasn't a strikeout:)

Happy Halloween To All!
Go Yankees!

Halloween Decor - 3 Types

With Halloween fast approaching, I am realizing that we might actually get to hand out candy this year. Our neighborhood is chock full of little munchkins, and I might feel a bit guilty if we were "that house" where the owners are at home hiding in the shadows just to avoid answering the door.

Though we may be participating in the Halloween shenanigans, that does not mean I'm taking a ride on the Fall Decoration train like so many of our neighbors. After doing some simple reconnaissance work, I have decided that houses in our neighborhood fall into three main categories:

1. Not Sure What You're Going for Here, but You're Freaking Me Out.

They also have a pentagram painted in blood on their front door...just kidding.

I mean, is this really necessary?

2. I Went to Michael's the Day After Halloween Last Year, Got Two of Everything
And Then Spaced It All Evenly Over My Front Lawn.

They must have a spare room dedicated to decoration storage.
3. Cute, Nice and Normal

I know what you're thinking - She must have a lot of time on her hands if she went from house to house to document Halloween decorations...

In my defense, these houses happened to be pretty close together, but I'd be lying if I said I was comfortable with the lack of structure in my days (though I'll save my thoughts on that for another post).

So happy Halloween, my friends. And, don't be afraid to slap that kid who tries to sneak four handfuls of candy out of your pumpkin shaped serving bowl.

Happy Sunday!

Home in AZ

My newfound, if not temporary, humidity-less existence is better than I ever could have imagined. When I caught my first glimpse of a cactus, I had no idea that it signaled entry into my proverbial promised land. Straight hair, tennis without need for a wristband, sun time minus the spontaneous sweating...how glorious!

CACTI!

We moved into our house a couple of weeks ago, and I gotta say, I could get used to having a master bedroom. Too bad we have absolutely no idea where we’re going to live when we leave here, and I'd venture to guess that the odds of enjoying a king bed and spacious bathroom again in the near future are slim. But, alas, that's the way it is. We will be enjoying our double sinks while we have them.

In addition to a master bedroom, we also have FRIENDS! Well, our roommates count as two of a total of four, but still...

Here we are playing a friendly (sort of) game of Scattergories.

Roommates and 'Gories champs...I hate losing, especially in a word game, but they were

good, really good.

Friends!

Oh, and one more thing. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the latest installment in my Tour de [Beating] Tyler. Yes, yes, it's true. I was victorious yet again, this time in the most unlikely of sports: golf. My chances of defeating anyone in a chipping contest could be compared to my chances of ascending to heaven Elijah-style, so I resigned myself to yet another loss at the hands of my husband. But, that was before I chipped in, thrice (ha, I've always wanted a reason to use that word)! I can confidently say that 3 chip-ins from 3 different locations will never happen for me again, so, at the risk of alienating readers with my obnoxious gloating, I felt like I needed to document this;) I will enjoy this feeling while it lasts because with a green in our backyard, I have no doubt a rematch is just around the corner. (And, sorry for the weird formatting...blogger is doing something very strange and I don't know how to fix it.)

Happy Friday!

Smooth Away

Smooth Away. You've seen the commercials. And you thought to yourself, "That can't possibly work." So did I, until a recent trip to the "As Seen on TV" aisle at CVS. Tyler and I were browsing crazy products (that I secretly wish I invented) like Strap Perfect and Fix It and he suggested that I purchase the Smooth Away system. Hmmm, could this be a subtle hint? Admittedly, I have more arm hair and likely more leg hair than he does (thank goodness for razors), but frugality usually stands between us and any potential impulse buys. That said, only minutes later we were walking out with our $9.99 hair removal system.

Tyler went to work assembling our purchase immediately after arriving home. He read the directions first (which I would have skipped...inevitably causing me to rub my skin off) and handed me my buffing pad. I tried it on a little patch of arm hair and, drumroll please, it worked! It's just like sandpaper for your skin...fantastic.

Now, I know you are wondering why I didn't post a picture of my newly hairless arms, and that's because they aren't hairless...yet. I just can't get up the guts to "smooth away" my fuzziness lest I end up with Spikey Arm Syndrome (i.e. those people who shave their arms but don't do it often enough). My point is that arm hair removal requires maintenance that I am not sure I am ready for. I'll keep you posted.

It's funny, all of this hair talk brought me back to the first time I shaved my legs. I was in 5th grade and I used my parents shower so I could borrow my mom's razor. I survived, nick free, and headed out to the kitchen to have dinner with my brothers. As we ate my dad came home from work only to be told by my mother that, "The shower drain may be a little slow tonight." If embarrassment could kill, I would have been a goner.

How did I write a whole post on hair removal? TMI perhaps, but informative nonetheless. You can thank me later.

Happy Friday!

More wedding shots...and a little bit of West Texas

*Rehearsal Dinner*

The Bride!

*Ceremony*

These two are an incredible couple!

Great Friends

*Driving*

We started our cross-country (sort of) trek the morning after the wedding and stumbled across Fredericksburg's Octoberfest! What a neat little town.


We browsed through the cutest used book shop and got some quality reading material. The books below were a little out of our price range...I opted for a couple of 1$ selections (nothing makes me happier than a good bargain!)


For the rest of the trip, we saw a lot of this:

But, we made it safely to SURPRISE! (I'm sorry, I can't say or write that word without giving it its proper exclamatory credit) yesterday afternoon. It's really a pretty town and reminds me a lot of South Florida. Tyler's field is beautiful and they have a huge tennis center within walking distance of his clubhouse. I'm hoping I'll at least get to hit some balls there even if they don't need any help on the teaching end. We'll see.

Peace out!

On the road again...

I'm writing from a hotel in the middle of nowhere, otherwise known as Willcox, AZ. Tyler and I are about five hours away from our final destination (SURPRISE!) and I am pretty excited to see civilization again. I have never driven West on I-10, so this level of nothingness has been quite the experience for me. Of course, when I contrast miles and miles cramped in a car with the past week full of fun with friends and, well, I may have gotten a little spoiled.

After spending a few perfect days in Houston, we headed to Austin for my great friend Jacky's wedding. We stayed at the Hyatt Lost Pines (beautiful!) and though the weather didn't exactly cooperate, I enjoyed a couple more days with some of my favorite people.

We spotted some familiar faces upon arriving at the hotel and somehow Tyler struck up a conversation about the triple jump with my friend, Kimy (not quite sure how that happened). Turns out, she holds triple jump record at Memorial High School in Houston. Who knew? So, of course, the logical next step was to reenact the event...in unison.


We laughed, hard. I did a lot of that this weekend, especially upon beating Tyler for the second time in the past couple of weeks...at horsehoes! I'm pretty sure I made one of the most skilled shots in the history of the game in order to clinch my title, and then I proceeded to jump up and down while laughing hysterically and waving my hands in the air. To be fair, Tyler did beat me in our previous best of two and best of three contests, but then I suggested we play a "winner take all" game, in which I proceeded to dominate. With form like this (below), it's really no wonder I emerged victorious.

Poor, poor Tyler.

We also happened upon a Discovery Channel moment. Do you see the leaf below (in the center)? It is being carried by a tiny ant! Isn't God's creation amazing?

Last, but not least, here is a picture of me with my great friend, Mimi. I laughed when she asked if it would make the blog. Little does she know that just about everything (note the photo above) makes the blog;)

I'll post the rest of the wedding pictures at our next destination. Yea for Jacky and Peter!