Just sitting at HOME!

So, I got back from a ten day vacation to Hawaii. What a great time. It was Heidi's wedding, but also a great vacation and time with good friends. The wedding was perfect, the weather was great (most of the time) and the people there were soooo much fun. I think it needs to be an annual trip. From the time I landed to the day I left we were busy....rehearsal breakfast, bbq, wedding, reception, north shore surf competition, driving around the island, eating garlic shrimp, swimming in a cage around the sharks, swimming, shopping, eating.....it goes on. It is times like these that I realize how great some of my friends are. However, upon return I also felt very missed by my San Diego friends......life is going good right now and is gonna get crazy once the club season starts.......but, I love it! Aloha

Hmmm, what's new

So, I am nearing the end of my JV season with Carlsbad! It has been quite the challenge to be back in the coaching world! It's great though. I am starting to teach some mom's beach volleyball on Wednesday mornings. I am playing a bit and probably resting the least. Something about me finds it hard to relax! But, there are certainly the moments when I really need a break. Life is good between coaching, workouts, playing, yoga, eating, and sleeping I cannot complain. Lots of love to anyone that still reads this!

Sleepin In

So, this morning is my so called day off. Sleeping in for me is about 7:30am and no alarm. I only have to coach his afternoon, so I consider it a light day. I think it has been a while since I last blogged, so a quick fill in.....been coaching every day, been playing a couple days a week, been doing my yoga and running a LOT of stairs. But, the best part is I get to hang out when I want cuz I do nor have to travel anywhere and no one really telling me when to get up......Club season is around the corner, so that will take up a big amount of time for me. But, all in all, life is good! And I am still lyin in bed!

Back in the Game

So today was officially my first day back coaching.....boy, what was I missing! It was a blast. But, needless to say I am wiped out. CArlsbad played in their first tourney today and we played great. A lot to be improved on, but w good start and something to build from. I am so surprised at the level of jv volleyball teams these days. The girls are monsters. Well, life is sort of back to normal....I am training/playing with a group of teams tomorrow getting ready for the Manhattan AVP event that I CANNOT play in....a little bitter, but what can I do! well, off to bed, cuz I am exhausted. Good Day!

Another Great Tourney

So I got back form Aspen yesterday morning.....What a fun weekend! We finished 3rd, but played great and lost only in the Semi's. Barefoot wine sponsored Angela and I so needless to say we were taken care of by Abby and the rest of the crew. Aspen is a very beautiful town and very expensive, so the filet and Crab legs were savored! Now, I am just winding down, getting ready to run some errands and recovering from 10 reps of stairs at Ponto beach. I think this might be a new weekly workout. It was Nancy, Veronica and I pounding away, burning up the stairs. Well, we have our first scrimmage this week, should be exciting!

Aspen Colorado

What a beautiful place! Of all the places I have been in this world, and there are a lot, Aspen is up there with the best of them. The weather here is fabulous 22 hours out of the 24......the rain tends to come in about 2pm every day for 2 hours. Angela and I are playing the MOtherlode event together.....so far we are 2-0......woohooo! We have a tough match next, so we are surfing the net to get focused yet relaxed! I wish I had a good pic of Aspen now, but I will put it on soon! Have a lovely DAY:)

The Little Things

I have found a great bathing suit for playing volleyball in. After watching Pri and Angela in Long Beach and San Diego, I went after the company that made the suits they play in. Just wanted to put it out there! This company is Zsu Zsi, check it out! I got a couple suits to try out and so far so good! It really is the little things that make me happy!

Life in the Fast Lane

So it really feels like everyday is a whirlwind. I woke today, headed to Coffee bean, made final practice plans, then zoomed to Carlsbad HS. The JV team practiced for 3 hours, then I headed straight to SFC to meet with Maria about club try-outs....ALREADY!!!!!! From there, quick lunch, 2 lessons..........then a night out with the girls. Movie and dinner. Just got home. I left the house at 11:30am and arrived home at 8:27pm. ON the go......I am heading off to Aspen this weekend for the Motherlode, and hopefully to see mi familia. We will see!

Love it!

So today was a good day. Many things that could have been done, but very few that got done. I woke, played volleyball at Ponto beach with Veronica, Colleen, and Kelly..... lot of fun! Drove to SFC to interview the new middle school coach, then straight to Oceanside to check out Zsu Zsi swimsuits. These swimsuits are awesome. They are cute and designed for athletic women. Stephanie, the owner, gave me a couple to wear for the Motherlode next weekend, so we will see how it works out. BUt, I gotta say I am very excited for a great swimsuit sponsor. After that, home....relax for a few minutes then off to the movies with Drew....we saw Tropic Thunder......Hilarious! Now I am off to bed! But ahead in the next week......more Carlsbad volleyball, meeting with Maria to get SBVC rolling for the next season and many, many lessons. Life is good, slower than normal for me, but sometimes I need this! tata

What's going on Today, August 21

In case you are still checking out my blog, sorry for not keeping it up lately. Needless to say I have been busy. I am always busy, except for this very moment. So, here is what life has been for the past month, since my return from Marseille, and visit with family. I started coaching for Carlsbad high school, I had some good times with friends for 2 weeks, and I have been debating getting back into the gym to train for next season. Coaching is consuming most of my time right now, and I am having fun! We started with try-outs last Wednesday, had our teams set by Friday and have been running double days since. In between these practices I have been doing some lessons, trying to get girls ready for Fall season. Good times with my friends included being tour guide of San Diego, which I am not great at, a trip to Vegas, a trip to Huntington Beach (which is like a second home), and trips to the airport. I have also managed to move back into my condo, very happy about that. Well, that's my life! Kinda tired now, but its a good thing!

A Day in my Life

So, after an eventful evening at the movies with the family....meaning I got carded to see the movie, and my 29 year old sister was not let in without her ID....I woke this morning on the air mattress in my condo. As I woke, Alicia, my sister in law, was watching tv. Soon, we were off to meet the rest of the gang for breaky at Swami's. Very Good! After that, off to the paint store (success), then to the bed store (success), then home! Once home, I had about 30 minutes to stop and breathe before heading off to yoga. Yoga was great today, and I was beat! After yoga, straight to the sista's house to load up the vehicles and get people to the airport. Upon return from the airport, stopped by Krystal's house for about an hour before heading home. Its 8:42pm, I am tired, and am eating leftover pizza before bed. The most exciting part is that when I wake, I am heading to LB to watch Lewis dominate at the AVP!
Good NIght!

Love Volleyball Camp

So, since I have been in the USA, I deplaned, drove home, ate, slept, woke and started coaching. We finish every day at 4pm....so 830am-4pm, I am coaching kids! After 4 pm, I have a million things on my brain. Unpacking has still not happened, laundry....nope,finding a decently comfortable bed....kind of, and deciding where I am going to live, think I got that taken care of. However, dinner with the family is mandatory every evening and usually an evening activity. So, basically, I have not really had any time for me. But, I cannot complain....I have my beautiful nephews here, Alicia and Bil also. It has been fun, tiring, but fun! Today is the last day of camp, and I think it is has been a good one this year.

Jetlag

So I have been home for 3 days now, and my normal wake up time is anywhere from 4-6am. No one else is usually up, so I grab my computer and check out what's going on in the world. After that, I shower and get ready for camp. Camp, camp, camp.....there are over 60 kids we are coaching this week. There's nothing like getting off the plane, sleeping a few hours and then hanging out with 7-14 yr olds all day. But, really, I am beat! The whole family has been here for the week helping with camps, so every evening after camp finishes, we have a bbq or go out to dinner and then usually I am out by 9pm. Such is life, huh! Well, I hope all of you that read this know that I am home now, so drop me an email or phone call.

Coming Down

Coucou everyone! So, we are in Dublin airport.....kind of hard to believe we are finished with this season. I am beat.....totally exhausted. I love volleyball and I love competing at the highest level, but there is a point of balance you need. I am so excited to be going home and getting back to some normalcy, but I will miss this spontaneity in life....of traveling to random places and meeting crazy people. Heidi and I have certainly made some great memories, and I hope they continue. I have camps to caoch for the next 3 weeks, Heidi's got a wedding to plan, and then who knows what's next. Our last night in Marseille, we shared a bottle of vino, sat on the port and just reminisced about how lucky we are to do what we do.....TRAVEL the world and play volleyball! These are 2 of the greatest things ever invented! Well, tata for now, I will do my best to keep this updated even when I am in the US.
Bisous

It's been good!!!!!!

Well, we have come to the end of our season in Marseille, France. We ended on a positive note, by qualifying! This has really been an amazing summer and beside the fact that we did not qualify for Beijing, we played at the top of our game and have had an experience of a lifetime. So many people have followed this journey and kept up with where we are and how we are playing. We will leave tomorrow morning for NYC and then to LAX.......home sweet home!

Rough ONe!

So yesterday we played in the qualifier. We had only one match to win, but do oyu realize how much pressure that is?????We were the number one seed playing the 16 seed, Netherlands. They were 2 young girls, but very athletic....We proceeded to get the most out of the day by losing the first game terribly...21-13. We continued to play very poorly, and were trailing all of the second game, until 12-14, then we scored 2 in a row, for the 14-14 switch. After that, we were point for point, but we got the 18-17 switch. From there, we pulled out the veteran plays and won 21-18. To start the third.....we scrapped for every point, then took a timr out at 4-7 (yes, we were down). We were thinking, but never said it out loud....we could be finished here. However, after that time-out, we scored 3 point to make it 7-7. Next thing we knew we were up 10-9, the switched at 11-9. We proceeded to finish the game out at 15-11. Woohoo......good ending. Today, we face Italy....the same team that knocked us out in Moscow. All we can do is have some fun while doing what we love.

See you all soon.....

In Marseille, France

I know these titles are far from spectacular, but at least they get to the point. We arrived in Marseille this afternoon. Since the last blog we drove to Montpellier (la Grande Motte-to be exact) to stay with some friends in their parents house. It was a cute French house, fabulous food, and great people. It was a great change from the hotel and 5 Euro breakfast we have been feasting on. I think one of the best things you can do while traveling is immerse yourself in the culture. Well, now we play tomorrow...our last event....will let you know how we do!

8 more hours

We started off this morning in Munich...frantically getting to the post office before it closed, then deciding we needed to DRIVE south. So, from 2:40pm til....now, 11:25pm we have been having a Smarty Party.....really, it was not sooo bad. Heidi did most of the driving from Munich to France, then I finished us off for about 300km to Lyon. We are at the Etap (cheap hotel) and will head south in the morning. Bonne Nuit!!!!!

Since Day 1 of Driving in Europe

So we have been on the road....literally, driving for the last week. Last Sunday we left for Hamburg to meet up with Lauren, we stayed one night in Hamburg, before heading to Braunschweig to stay at the Dume's house. We arrived at midday and just relaxed, did a little shopping and ATE! Next day was gigantic breakfast and a lil more shopping, before heading to the Farmer's Market! This market was 3 minutes walk and we had bread, cheese, pommes frites, pickles, and wine. Just a lil wine! From there we walked to the neighbors house and finished the evening. Next day, we were off to Hamburg again to get our luggage from the Dutch girls. And, to watch them play on Thursday.....so we stayed in Hamburg for one night. Today, it is Saturday morning, we are 8 hours south of Hamburg in Munich, with Philip......We will begin our next leg of the journey to Marseille this afternoon.

Cruisin'-part 1

So we are out o Moscow, Russia and on with our lives.....After a LONG travel day on Saturday, beginning in Moscow with a delayed flight (because there is only one runway most flights are delayed)...we flew to Rome, arrived at 8:45pm (15 minutes before our connection to Amsterdam)...we had passport control and customs to get through, which put as at our connecting gate at 9:15pm. This means our flight should have taken off....but again, DELAY til 10:30pm. The good news, free meal! We boarded, flew (slept the whole way), and landed in Amsterdam at 1:30am....poor Marleen picked us up bc our rental car co was closed. We woke the next morning 9:30am (wanted to be on the road at 8am) and drove back to the airport for our rental. We got a SMART car cabrio, woohooo!!!!!! What a fun piece of machinery, this made up for the lack of sleep the day before.

What are we doing today?

Well, it is our 4th day in MOscow, Russia. We actually went sight seeing yesterday.....saw the Red Square and Hard Rock Cafe....woohoo! We are currently sitting on our hotel beds, which are fairly nice in comparison to anything outside the room, and blogging/ sleeping/ looking at pics of the summer/and figuring out our next week and half of Europe! We are not going to the Olympics as we are not in the top 24. We are , however, in the top 34....which should account for something:)
Here are some pics of the last few days!

In Russia Today!

So we arrived Russia about 48 hours ago. Kind of gloomy, rained a bit and thunder and lightening. We play at 10 am tomorrow against Spain. We are going to bed now!

C'est la Vie

So, we arrived in Moscow, Russia tonight after 3 flights originating in Stavanger and transferring through Oslo and Stockholm. I am tired! We are all tired! And the front desk is closed for check in until 12:30am. So, again, Russia is proving itself to be the most "unfun" stop on this tour. But, I am going to try and turn things around. We left Stavanger in a hurry this am, and left the house with a kitchen (where we cooked fabulous meals) and the living room with 2 couches, the normal size beds and a washing machine. There was also very good weather in Norway. I hope for more here in MOscow. Well we are on the home stretch and counting down. It has been quite the adventure this season and the results are going to get better. We play Tuesday, and will have our draw on MOnday night. I will let you know who we play. Love you all and thank you for your support.

Stavanger

Well, Stavanger came and went, as far as competition. We won our first macth vs. Czech and lost to Georgia! So, now are chances for the Olympics are getting slimmer. The chances are not gone, but are getting away! So, we really need to just finish our FIVB experience with a good attitude and ton of fun!!!!!!!!! Who knows?

On another note, Norway is SOOOOO expensive! Our Subway sandwich cost us $17. And, my coffee was $5. Therefore, we are eating in and grocery shopping, thank goodness we rented a house for the week. We have a cuisine of cultures in this place, so it is much fun. Just a random fact for everyone, my dinner tonight consisted of 2 hot dogs, spaghetti, vanilla cream cookies (6 of them) and 3 pieces of toast. I think it is all under $10........Well, that's all the excitement for now.......But, another cool fact about this place is that it stays light out until midnight!

In Paris!

I know my titles are getting a little boring, but I am running out of creativity! So, we are heading to Stavanger in about 30 minutes! But a little recap of Paris........I got a free haircut at the volleyball tournament. And, we rented bikes one night, and BTW the nights have been soooooo warm and beautiful, and we spent a good 3 hours on our butts on our bikes. We had 3 French brother show us just about everything there could possibly be to see in this city. And, there is no lack of beauty in the churches and buildings. This night we were out was a National music festival and there were live bands everywhere, and people everywhere ti the wee hours of the night! BUt, it was a blast. I recommend doing this when you visit Paris.

its about killing time

Well, there could be worse places to be when you have not a whole lot to do. We leave Monday for Stavanger and have been just hangin out in Paris. There is sooooooo much to see here, but once you've seen it, you have to get creative. Last night, we walked to the Eiffel, which takes about 6 minutes, and apparently high school finished, so there were about 5000 not so-sober high school kids wondering around. We just people watched for about 30 minutes, then headed over to the Notre Dame and did some more people watching.......as we attempted to get ourself home...we walked along the Seine, then a NICe gentleman picked us up and drove us to le Hotel!

Another Day in PARIS

So, we lost in the qualifier in the PAris Grand Slam. And the last day has been running around this city trying to get ready for our event in Russia. Getting additional pages for the passport, obtaining visas, reserving flights, reserving hotel....not to mention the hotel reservation for the rest of our stay in Paris. The positive has been the weather is beautiful, we are all healthy and we are in Paris. We have certainly had our share of paninis and crepes, and done a ton of walking.

Happy Father's Day

I think of all the people that look at this blog, dad will be the last.....but in case he does, just know I love you dad. And, yes, I am sending love from Paris. We arrived this morning via night train.....not a bad service. We practiced a bit and then started a photo shoot of Father's day poses. To all you dad's that may read this, have a great day and enjoy yourself.....and most of all, relax !

Day 1 Grand Slam

We got grand slammed today......okay...we started off great in every match, then did not finish strong. Tomorrow is a new day and we have 1 more pool play match. The best part of today is the benches we got for the games. Let you know how we do.

Big Day in Berlin

Well, after two matches yesterday and 2 victories, we are in the Main Draw of the Berlin Grand Slam. Baby steps! Our goal was to qualify for a Grand Slam and it happens to be the first one! We played hard and it payed off. I guess our loss to Japan in Poland was a blessing in disguise, cuz it gave us time to rest and recover and play focused, aggressive volleyball. We played Asao/Take of Japan and Semmler/Koehler of Germany. We won both in 2 sets. So today we are off to play Renata/Talita of Brazil and Cook/Barnett of Australia. We have our work cut out for us, now it is the next step we are aiming for. A finish of 17th or higher would be a huge baby step. Let you know how we do!

Berlin

We are in Berlin now. What a beautiful city, with tons of people, and a hot sunshine. The weather is very much like POland. So we play tomorrow. First match is against Japan (Asao/Take) at 12pm. So rest tonight and a little of Season 3 of 24.

Off to the Airport

We are finally leaving this beautiful town of Stare Jablonki....only to enter into Warsaw for the evening. Tomorrow we head to Berlin. Berlin is the first of 4 Grand Slams...........We are definitely feeling good and ready for our next event.

Traditional Polish Dinner!!

So....there was a free dinner for the players and tournament peeps. They drove us on bus to a restaurant 15 minutes out of Stare Jablonki..........there was polish dancing, polish music, polish food, polish drink, and the few of us that dared to go had a blast. We are heading to Warsaw in the morning, maybe some good shopping there.
Now, it it well past bedtime!

Polish sausage

We cannot seem to find them anywhere. Everyone has been asking what its like to eat Polish sausage in Poland. No have, only Polish Ravioli. Today was a rough one! Breakfast, internet, nap, 24, internet, lunch, 24, dinner, dessert, and now.....well, blogging! We really left our room only to eat breakfast and dinner. We had lunch in our room. No volleyball today. The break feels good. Our bodies are tired. Tomorrow, we will watch some and get a little workout in, then head to Warsaw on Friday. We will be sightseers for 24 hours before hopping on the plane to Berlin.

Stare Jablonki still

Yesterday was the qualifier and we were unlucky. We beat the Australians in 2 sets and lost to the LITTLE Japanese players in 3 sets. We did not play well, and they made very few errors. Not a good combo. Trying to figure out where to go in Europe next. We have one week til the Grand slams, so it is important to rest and recover. Talk to you lateskis!

Poland Day 2

Last night was good sleep, no dogs, no roosters, and we closed the curtains. After breaky today we headed to the courts, practiced for an hour, then had a pedicure and massage. Pedicure was nothing special but long overdue, massage was interesting. After returning to the hotel for a little rest and food, we headed to the meeting. Yeah the meeting that tells us who we play to qualify. Our first round should be Australia (but they play Poland first). Then on the other side of the bracket, Japan plays South Africa. Could go either way. Our goal is to play the way we can and to be in control, with confidence, and intensity. We have all the skills to qualify here in Stare Jablonki. To all of you who read this, just know how much I appreciate your support and love. Through all these travels, its easy to lose touch with those people at home cuz you get so into what is happening right now (in my time zone). I know back home, graduations have occurred, school years ended and seasons ended. Congrats to everyone for taking the next step in life. We are all moving right along. Ciao!

And check out our Hotel!

We have a very unique hotel room, hotel hallway, and route to the restaurant. Hotel Sanjimino. It is out in the middle of the nowhere, surrounded by fields of wheat, or corn or something. Here are some fotos of the inside and out. And our secret walk to the restaurant, through the kitchen.

A day in Stare Jablonki

Today was a very exciting and funfilled day except for the 8 hours we spent in our 2 star hotel room trying to watch 24 on surfthechannel website while it buffered every....mmmm.....4 seconds. We are still not finished with one episode. This website allows you to download and watch for free a ton of shows......the catch is that some take FOREVER to download. So, once we woke at 3:52 am to the alarm I had set in Barcelona, we quickly fell back asleep, only to hear the farm dog outside barking away. After that came the rooster. And, i believe the sun went down about 11pm and rose around 3am. Kind of like Alaska....! Well, we caught the shuttle to the site, which is surrounded by lakes and barns. Practice for an hour, lifted weights, swam, saunad, showered and headed back to the hotel for lunch. That's it!

Poland Bound

So, we have successfully sight see(saw) in Barcelona.......we hopped off the subway to see Sagrada Familia........ and have made our way to Stare Jablonki, Poland. Never in my life did I think I would make it to Poland, but again, volleyball comes through and sends me to a foreign farm country. We woke this morning at 4:00am and left by shuttle at 4:15am. Sat in the Barcelona airport for 2 hours, drank our shot of coffee, had our last chocolate croissant in Spain, then headed out. After a 1.5 hr flight, layover in Zurich, and another 1.5 hour flight, we landed in Warsaw. The FIVB shuttle was waiting for us. Along with Mexico, Angola, Japan, and Australia, we hopped in the 15 passenger van and began the 3 hour journey to STARE JABLONKI. It was a cramped space, 12 athletes, a couple coaches, and tons of luggage. I guess it comes with the territory. We drove about 1.5 hours, I slept, snacked some, and we arrived at the Polish KFC (not really) the driver was hungry so he picked KFC. Some lady was selling strawberries in the parking lot, so we bought. Literally, we arrived 12 hours later. We are at Hotel Sanjimino, just ate dinner, and keeping all my favorite people updated. This town is really like a fairy tale land. Not much going on. well, we are going ot find massage and facials tomorrow. I think we deserve it! Love you all and thank you for your prayers and support.

Barcelona Day 3

So we played Germany this morning and were unlucky. I am beat! The sand is deep and we played 12 games. At the sight there is a museum and behind that the Stadium from the '92 Olympics. Heidi and I took a walk and found some great foto opps.