24

Howdy, howdy, howdy! I'm 24 years old now :) I was born on Labor Day and my birthday was on Labor Day this year. Yay! It was a good birthday. I went out to lunch with my bff Andrea at Buffalo Wild Wings. Then I met my parents at the movie theater. We saw The Debt - really good movie. Then my brother and his family came over for supper and cake.

Since my last post, I left you wondering how our team did in our volleyball tournament. We were seeded 3rd out of nine teams. We never got to play the all-girl team again, but we would've definitely beat them if we had, and we ended up with 2nd place!! The team seeded in 8th place won - weird, right? They played the number 1 team and beat them! We watched with wide eyes in hopes that the 1st place team would lose, and they did. Holy crap, it was hilarious :) So we ended up in the championship game with the number 8 team and lost. It's okay. We should've beat them, but they deserved to win. They played a better game than us. It's as simple as that.

Now I'm on a new volleyball league with a different team. We played our first game last night and won. It was fun, as it always is.

Here's a picture of my niece Elsie. She is 2months old now!Elsie and me in August.

Time for a Kinsey Update

Since I've been gone, I need to do a catch-up with the lovely people who (hopefully) still read my blog when I have a new post. I'm crossing my fingers on that one.

1. I've been in bar volleyball league since the end of May. We're pretty good. Probably 2nd in our Wednesday bracket. There's one team that's really good, and a guy on the team wears one long colored sock. It's weird, so we call him the sock man. And whenever we have a really good hit, Jeremy says, "We need to put a sock on you!" Haha, we think it's funny.

2. On Wednesday we played an all-girl team. We had three guys and two girls on our team, since Andrea couldn't make it to the game. The rules are you need to ask the other team if it's okay to play with less girls than guys. I hate asking, and I've only had to ask one other time, but I strolled over to their side of the net and asked politely, "Is it okay if we play with three guys and two girls? My friend is a teacher (put that in there for good measure) and she can't make it."

They were silent for about five seconds too long before one girl said, "This happens to us every week."

"So is it okay?" I asked, completely ignoring her snarky remark.

"Fine."

Good, I thought. Then we started playing and the all-girl team totally sucks!! They are really bad. The snarky one did that one arm hit almost every time a ball came to her. We won all three games easily. Then at the end I heard the captain talking to the ref: "What would have happened if we said no they can't play with more guys?" The ref shrugged - he was probably thinking, it doesn't matter because next week is the tournament and the brackets are already up and you guys suck, so it really doesn't matter.

The girl then said, "Because next time this is not going to happen."

I stood there, signed off on the score sheet, and walked away. Seriously, they are the 2nd to worst team on our league. We could have played with three people and still killed them. I can't wait to play them next week (with our entire team) and really slam it in their faces.

3. I have a new niece in my family. My sister Tyne had her first baby in July. She named her Elsie, and she is soooooo cute! I'm her Godmother too! Yay! She likes to poop though. Just today, she was at our house and my mom was holding her. Then we heard this loud, juicy fart, and my mom pulled her away and Elsie's poop shot out of the side of her diaper - onto my mom's leg and the floor. GROSS! That was a nasty one. But she's still cute :)

4. I'm slowly running out of money. Even with my job (which is now only part-time) I'm just making my loan payments and other bills. It stinks. Thank goodness I live at home and don't have to pay for rent or groceries. Oh no, I just said, "Thank goodness I live at home." Something might be wrong with me.

5. Big Brother is my new favorite reality TV show. I want to be on it so bad! Does anyone else watch it?

6. I'm obsessed with a new show. It's not a "new" show, but it's new to me. I started watching Battlestar Galactica on Netflix Instant, and I LOVE it! It's so good. If anyone is looking for a show that is action/romantic/drama/mystery, then this is a show for you! It's also kind of funny. I started watching it on Sunday and I'm already done with the first season.

Battlestar Galactica

Well, I'm off to a wedding this weekend, and I promise to post more.

Softballin' for a good cause

I've been walking like an old man with really bad knees today. Saturday night I woke up in the middle of the morning, tried to turn over and realized my legs weren't moving easily with my body. Plus they hurt like a son of a mother. My left leg is scraped up, both my knees are bruised with scrapes on them...I look and feel like I got beat with a rusty board in a ditch.

But really, I'm okay. It's nothing serious. You see, I played softball at a Memorial/Scholarship fundraiser this past Saturday. Since I haven't played serious ball since 2006, these aches and pains are normal. In fact, if I wasn't hurting I think I would be more worried, because I stole bases (safe every time), dove for a ball (caught it), and got slid into (I played short-stop).

It was the first year doing this fundraiser so only three softball teams signed up to play. Hopefully, in years to come there will be more teams. Our team, Y2K Plus, consisted of graduates from 2006-2009 (or 2010...), then there was a team of 8th graders called Future Stars, then there was a team from the graduating classes of late 1980s and early 1990s. Their team name was Golden Girls. Betty White was unable to make it...she's just sooooo darn busy these days :)

It was really fun to play both teams, but I enjoyed playing against the Golden Girls more since the competition and skill level was near equivalency.

Our team, Y2K plus, beat both teams. YAY! We only won by one run against the Golden Girls, and we beat Future Stars by 10 or something.

It felt like old times and it really made me realize how much I miss organized sports. I felt like I stepped in a time capsule. My skill level was still up to par (I haven't lost much athleticism...which I am very thankful for), besides the fact that I was huffing and puffing after I rounded the bases, but that's due to my lack of running lately.

I wish the day lasted longer. The sun shined, the temperature was beautiful (albeit hot), and the company was nostalgic. It was a perfect day. Perfect.

De'ja Favre??

Yes, again I find myself staring at a newspaper filled with Brett Favre's sad, old face. Excuse me, ma'am, what year is it? Ohh, thank you, 2010, not 2008. I feel like I'm reliving my summers over and over, since this story about Favre hasn't changed.

Seriously, he needs to retire and stay retired. He should not, I repeat, he should NOT, say he's going to retire, miss training camp (on purpose...I honestly think that's what he's doing) and then make a public announcement saying, "I'M BAAAAACK!!!"

Now, to clear up how I feel about Favre, (if I'm hard to read, already) I should tell you my history with him. Back when he was playing with the Packers, I loved him. I wanted to marry him, or at least have his babies, so my babies could grow up and play professional football and make their mother lots of money. Needless to say, he was like a god in Wisconsin. Then he said he was retiring (the first time, not to be confused with the second or the third), and I cried. I cried over a professional football player.

After he said he was returning, I was all happy again, but a little peeved. When the Packers didn't really have a place for him, I understood the position they were in. Then I grew to love Aaron Rodgers and now I want to have his babies. Brett Favre played for the Jets, and it didn't bother me, because well, the Packers and the Jets never played each other.

Then, Favre called it quits again, but later caught the eyes of the Purple People Eaters - the Vikings...ick. Excuse me while I throw up. And that's how Favre became a Viking. I was spitting angry!!!!!!! I almost cried again, for why would Brett do such a thing? In the name of FOOTBALL, why would Favre (a once beloved Packer, turn away from the team that gave him life, the team that made him great, and become a Viking? Why? Why?) So after I grieved for his ignorance to all of Wisconsin, I began to dislike Favre.

Sure, he played one helluva season with the Vikes, but stick a fork in him-he's done.

Well, for now at least.

But just think, the Packers are really gaining ground here. They had a pretty good season last year, and with Favre out of the picture for the Vikings, I'm expecting great things for Rodgers' and company.

And Brett or Aaron, if you're reading this, I guess...ya know...if you're up to it, that "baby offer" will never expire :)

It was like a Beach Boys song

I played sand volleyball last night. A friend of ours needed two players to fill in and luckily both my sister Kyrstin and I were able to help out. We played three games and had a lot of fun.

Oh the joys of sand volleyball...the list is endless:

1. You can sport a nice tan or work on one.

2. Beer...need I say more? (I just drank water though)

3. The competition is always fun.

4. Taking your frustrations out on the volleyball.

5. Diving for a ball just feels really good.

Okay, so the list is not "endless."

So last night as we played this team of middle aged people, I noticed this lady in a pink shirt who would only use one arm to hit the ball. There was nothing wrong with her other arm, she just used the one arm to bump the ball. Oddly enough, the ball would go over almost every time. I couldn't help but laugh when she successfully got the ball over the net with this one-arm technique.

Then it started to frustrate me when the other team, as poor as their volleyball skills were, would score on us. I mean, our team consisted of four previous Elk Mound High School Volleyball teammates and two guys who actually knew how to hit the ball. Hmmmph! We should've killed them with our awesome talent ;)

We did end up winning all three games and I think we beat them by a pretty good margin each time, so that made me feel good about myself. But if I hit like One-Arm Pinkerbell, my hits would've went sailing left or right into the other court, since I was properly trained to hit a volleyball the right way.

Let me end on this note: Although I had a great time playing, I didn't appreciate the sand in my face, hair, crevices, and holes. And get your head out of the gutter - EAR holes .

"Tell it to me in Star Wars"

I asked my five year old nephew, Connor, what I should blog about today.
Connor: "Star Wars."

Me: "What about Star Wars?"

Connor: "It's AWESOME!!"

So in honor of Connor, that is all I'm saying about Star Wars in this blog post. I agree that it is awesome, and I don't want to ruin a good thing by talking anymore about it.

Instead, I'll show you all pictures from my wonderful Brewers weekend! Enjoy :)The whole family

Courtesy of my sister-in-law, April, is me with my Farfrompuken sticker.
Also, the necklace I'm wearing was made by sister, Tyne.

Tailgating

"Juuuust a bit outside!"

I know that's a quote from Major League, but it's all things baseball to me.

Here's the shirt I made for the Brewers game on Saturday. I decorated it with fabric paint. The logos are from 1970 to present. I hand drew them all...outside...while getting a tan (burn, actually, but now it's a tan).

Front


Back

Wednesday Musings: Take Niner

A Salute to Wednesday Musings: Take Nine...here is a quote.
"Two, four, niner, five, six, seven."
"I can't hear you, you're trailing off and did I catch a niner in there?" - Tommy Boy

I was watching The View this morning and I could NEVER be a guest co-host. Too much interrupting.

On the same note: I think Joy Behar's hair is getting bigger every year.

It's full of secrets...

I made my own shirt for the Brewers game on Saturday! It's really awesome, if I do say so myself. I'll post a picture of it tomorrow.

Last night I taught my almost 2 year old niece how to "pound it." Our fists explode and everything.

My five year old nephew plays T-Ball and he constantly wants to be the one who gets the ball. At his game on Monday, he was playing shortstop and was cheering for the other team to "HIT THE BALL!" over and over. Then he went up to his teammate and asked him "Do you know any Star Wars people?" Needless to say, I laughed throughout the entire game.

My sister, Tyne, did a giveaway last week for one of her necklaces. Now she is taking orders. If you would like her to make you one or buy one that is custom made, drop by at TyneBoden Necklaces. She made one for me. It's a wishbone one and it's really cool!!

In movie news: I'm seeing Sex and the City 2 tomorrow with my sisters. I'm taking my oldest nephew to The Karate Kid sometime next week. And last, but definitely not least, I'll be seeing Toy Story 3 the week it comes out!!!

It's weird that all the movies I'm about to see are remakes or sequels.

Have a happy Wednesday!

Shame On You!

High school sports. Ahhhh, those were the good ole days, right? Eh, I suppose.

Don't get me wrong, I love sports. I LOVE athletics! I really do, but sometimes the politics or something else got in the way of the game.

Let's take a look at my junior year of volleyball. That year, the coach's daughter was a freshman. She was a great athlete and so were a couple of her freshmen friends, but they weren't quite ready for the varsity level - or at least that's what the varsity team thought. Our coach felt different. Needless to say, the coach's daughter and her friends played varsity with us.

After we voiced our opinions on the matter of the younger girls' little experience, we had a "meeting" after one of our away games in our high school locker room. Here, our coach yelled at us. We took it in stride and some of the girls cried and some talked about it and some (me) just sat and took it all in. At one point, my friend Hayley accidentally knocked a table over and us girls giggled about it (because it was funny...and really late at night). Our coach thought we weren't taking the meeting seriously and stormed out. When she came back she yelled at us some more and said, "SHAME ON YOU!" This is an example of politics getting in the way of my love for volleyball.

I'm not saying that my coach was mean or anything, because she was a very good coach. At the time though, I just wanted to play the game without any drama.

Next came softball. Not so much politics in this sport, but other things. Like the year I was in a "slump" with another girl. Our coach moved us down in the batting order, instead of giving us a chance to hit. We never got to practice improving out hitting game during practice...so how were we supposed to get better? Magic? I don't think so. To top it off, my coach printed off an article on hitting slumps and handed them out before a game, where she announced that me and this other girl were both struggling and should really take this article seriously.

If Derek Jeter can go 0-a lot, then so can I. DJ and I had a slump going on at the same time. Except, he was still getting paid thousands and thousands of dollars and I was, well, wasn't.

Another softball moment. It was a windy day one game. I played center field. I had about three or four hits out to me one inning, and the wind would take the ball a lot further than expected. Naturally, because of this wind thing, I couldn't get to the ball in time. So my coach yells from the dugout, "KINSEY! CATCH THE BALL!!!"

I thought to myself, you come out here and try and catch the ball. It's not as easy as it looks. I have a lot of field to cover on top of this frickin' wind blowing the ball every which way. Does it look like I'm trying not to catch the ball??.

So anyway, this post probably sounds like a rant, but I loved high school sports...really, I did. It was just those few moments (which as I look back on them, have made me a better player) that weren't about the game so much as about politics or just about winning.

To me, that's not what sports are all about. It's about love for the game, diving for a ball on the gym floor, getting an ACE and celebrating in the middle of the court, hitting a double, throwing out the runner at home, and (as weird as this sounds) getting hit by a pitch and running down the line to first base where the assistant coach would say, "Pain is temporary, Pride is forever."

Then I would think, yeah, but that really hurt.