I Have Tennis Elbow and I Didn't Even Play!

The Super Senior Sectionals in Daytona have come and gone.....Space Coast Won, University Park didn't. CONGRATULATIONS to the great ladies from the Space Coast region. They played some awesome tennis.

I don't even know where to begin. Mom left on Thursday for the trek to Daytona. She traveled by way of the Soli-mobile (sorry no pic) which was a Toyota Sienna Van, totally tripped out with all the bells and whistles, and an extra top of the car luggage things. The van was full of tennis players, tennis rackets, and Soli Dastur the UPCC Super Senior cheerleader extraordinaire.

Friday started off with a Bang....They walked onto the court to play their first match and found themselves looking in a mirror. The opposing team was wearing the same tennis clothes as UPCC. No, it wasn't deliberate but it was freaky

.

This is NOT the University Park Country ClubTennis Team

The next game went a bit better and they pulled off a win. That was a great way to end the day.

Saturday started early for me. I got an early start to Daytona so I could be there for the teams first match of the day at 9:15 AM. It was an uneventful trip except for the little detour off of I-4 due to a very serious accident. I actually arrived at the tennis center before the UPCC players did. The Florida USTA Tennis Center is a very nice facility in the middle of nowhere although it is right across the street from the LPGA. It was a beautiful morning.

The day brought some well fought matches. There were many good shots, lots of deuce points and everal tie breaks. Unfortunately, UPCC did not prevail and were out of contention for the main prize.

Watching Karen and Bernie Finish One Off......Coaches on the Right, Cheerleader in the middle and Teammates on the Left

Luckily, the rain held off until the afternoon match was over.....We had a nice dinner at the LPGA Restaurant then off to bed.

Sunday started quietly as the match wasn't scheduled to start until 11:15 AM. There were some rain delays from the later afternoon matches the day before. This delayed the Sunday morning matches so it was closer to 12:15 PM before they got started. There was a lot of waiting

It was a disappointing day for everyone. There were some great lessons learned however, that will hopefully help them achieve many great wins in Daytona in May.

1. It's not necessarily a good thing to have an undefeated season.
2. It's not good to play against an opponent who wear the same uniforms you do.
3. You don't have to remember the opponents real names, Lola and Rosa will do.
4. You can knit and watch tennis at the same time (Oh, wait, that's not a lesson for them, it's one for me!)
5. Focus, focus, focus.
6. Olive Garden might be a better choice.
7. Tennis pro's are invaluable and will help you do your job as a Team Captain.
8. Pat M. really did deserve to win the Sportsmanship Award/Painting.
9. Soli is a great cheerleader....consistent and very enthusiastic and every team should have their own Soli.
10. Did I mention Focus.

The next month will be spent in private, individual lessons, clinics, partner lessons and psychological training. The Senior team really WILL kick some **** in Daytona in May.

I am proud!

Mom's Off Playing Tennis and I've Got the Dogs....

There's a pile of fur beside me that looks to be two dogs. One is the unflappable Miss Maggie (note the cute picture in the previous post) and the other is the ever serious and responsible (it's really tough being the oldest dog you know) Mr. McGregor. They are a wee bit upset because Mom left with suitcases today and that never bodes well for them. They do not like change and they really don't like when the humans are missing. (They really aren't going to like tomorrow!)


Maggie, McGregor and Mom (She's in the Blue)

So, Mom's off on the first of two Regional Tennis Tournaments in Daytona Beach!!!!
This is the ladies 3.0 Super Seniors. The team came in first in this district and hopefully will come in first in the region. I'll be heading to Daytona Saturday morning to cheer her and the rest of the team on.

The next Daytona trip is in May. She gets to take her own (she's the cap'n you know) ladies 3.0 Senior team to Daytona. That team goes as the undefeated (18 straight matches) champs in this District. They are going to be tough to beat. You have no idea how competitive these "senior" women can be. Anyway, at yesterday's USTA luncheon, Mom got a great trophy for leading the undefeated team. Wicked Cool, eh?

That's it....One official YOU ARE WAY COOL trophy

Now, for a little move update. The airline ticket is purchased.....Misty and I will be flying to California. I just didn't think I could deal with the drive for 4 or 5 days with the cat. I just booked the auto transport company. I didn't know it was so reasonable. I am very impressed. I am just hoping I have my car back in time to be shipped. You see, I took it for it's 10000 mile service (never mind that the odometer read 12, 578...I've been busy.) Things were going along nicely. I got a call around 8:30 AM telling me they were done with my car. I said I would be in after work to pick it up. After lunch I had a voicemail asking me to call about my car. "HMMMMMMM this does not sound good," I think. I bravely pick up the phone and call the dealer and after a few minutes of their favorite game of transfer, transfer, who can lose the caller, I finally got to someone who thought they might talk to me. It seems that, somehow, as everyone was just minding their own business, while my car was allegedly parked in their lot, someone ran into it! EXCUSE ME! Did you say someone ran into it?????? "Why yes, we just wanted you to know we will have a loaner car for you until yours is fixed," they say. Surprisingly, I was okay with all that. I actually only started to freak out after they told me the car wouldn't be ready until late next week. I know there's plenty of time to get my car back and get it to California but that just seems to be pushing it a little. When the reasonable part of my brain kicks back in, I'll let you know.

Until then, it's off to DAYTONA!

Uncles, Moving Dentists and Easter

WOW!!!!! My uncle ran the Boston Marathon today and finished in a great time. I can't imagine running for four hours with twenty-some thousand of your closest running pals and being able to do anything other than fall on the ground and wait for someone to drag me to the side of the road. I think it is phenomenal that he had the drive to train and run and finish. Congratulations to YOU!!!!! YOU ROCK!! I can't wait to hear all about it.

This is my uncle who ran the
Boston Marathon today.

I know it's hard waiting to hear what my current thoughts are about moving to California. First, I AM still going. Although I occasionally have pangs of "I don't wanna we've.....I need some sugar." (shades of my cousins daughter's departure from our house a year ago.) There are some things that just hurt about leaving at the same time there are many things that are joyous about moving and starting this new adventure. I am also amazed that, for a woman who manages to make a lot of decisions every day, I keep changing my mind about things. Should I drive? Should I leave all my stuff here or take it with me? What to do? So, today's thoughts are: Fly....me AND the cat (reservations are made), ship the car, ship the stuff. I am amazingly okay with that (for now.)

I really hate going to the dentist.......I went today because I had a huge crater in my mouth. Now, what you don't know and perhaps have no real desire to know, is that I have had a crater in mouth that is large enough to store nuts for the winter, for a couple of years. The crater is the result of a third root canal on the same tooth, gone bad. Anyway, today was crown day.....another decision....do it now, wait until I get to California. Well, I voted for getting it done today. Now I've been walking around all day long ecstatic that I don't have a crater in the back of my mouth but a little concerned that I keep biting my cheek. Do you forget what to do when your teeth are partially missing? There is so much I don't know about teeth other than I like having them and hate it when they hurt. P.S. - I don't really hate the dentist, he's a nice enough guy and he puts up with my crap.

Easter was quite something this year. I have never done the whole Holy Week services at church before but I have now. I sang in the folk group this year and we sang at Holy Thursday mass (which was one of the most beautiful services I have participated in,) Good Friday services x 2 (Veneration of the cross and prayers around the cross.) They were nice. Holy Saturday x 2. One was a 2-hour Easter Vigil mass which was very nice. It was only disrupted by a young man who got a little overheated and fainted. The other folk group members didn't know I could fly off the little bleachers and down to the alter so fast. The kid was fine and it was a bit of excitement. My voice was gone by the time Saturday night rolled around but it recovered nicely by Sunday. The only problem is that I keep hearing the Litany of the Saints (which we sang beautifully) in my head on a continuous loop but I don't know all the names so I change them. I am a mess.

This is Miss Maggie, my mother's dog. I didn't really have anything to say about her but my sister told me that a blog without pictures is very boring and no one will read it.

Life Got Crazy Real Fast!

In the course of one week, life had become a little intense and nuts. I have accepted a job in California.....Yipee, it's a cool job (I hope) and an amazing opportunity. BUT....now the games have just begun!

• Resigning from my current job......You would think you write a letter, give it to your boss, talk about a potential plan for transitioning your responsibilities (being a department of one, that's a bit tricky) and you would just go on trying to get things tied up. Well, not so.....I have spent the remainder of the week explaining everything over and over and over again about what I am going to do, where am I going to live, and so on, and so on, and so on. That being said, I will miss all these people and that's what makes the explaining so difficult.
• Move my stuff or have a garage sale? This is a decision worth some thought. It's very expensive to move my stuff but....it's my stuff. It would be fun to have new things and not have to move all the junk out there to store in a closet. I'm leaning towards the big garage sale.

Some of My Stuff in Storage.....My sister wanted measurements of some of the furniture way back on the right hand side.......Here they are......some is not so big, and some is a little bigger. What can I say?

• Cat Transportation Have you ever really sat down to think about moving a cat all the way across the country? While Misty doesn't mind riding in the car, I'm not sure 10 hours a day for 4 days is exactly her idea of fun. I'm seriously considering flying her out after I arrive......4 hours of aggravation for her or 4 days. You choose!

In case you were thinking there really isn't that much stuff in the storage room....here are a few more pictures:

Now THAT's a PO'd Cat!

Many of you know that unlike the rest of the family, I am a cat person. I love them and their independence. As a single person, they are a great room mate.....not a lot of talk, little to clean up, not a lot of cooking involved, doesn't get too aggravated when you leave them alone....perfect! Well, I have Misty.....

Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?

Misty is three years old and has tolerated a couple of moves and now lives with 2 dogs. (I'm certain they will be the subject of future posts but for now, I'm sticking with the cat.) She loved it when I moved in to this house because it has a lanai (that's a patio with a screen over it for you non-Floridians) and that's like the biggest room with a window in it for her. What's really cool is that from time to time, other moving objects pass her way (unsuspecting Gecko's) and she tries to get them to play with her. She doesn't understand that they don't like playing hide and go seek when the hiding place is her mouth.....oh well. Anyway, one of Misty's challenges over the past year has been to find a way to get out of the lanai to the other side where there is green grass to eat. Unbeknownst to me, over the past few weeks, she accomplished just that. She managed to push a loose part of the screen out and create a little kitty door to the outside that she has been freely going in and out of for an unknown length of time. She has been very good about not getting caught until the other day when we came in and found her on the outside of the lanai and then all of a sudden she was in the family room.......she's really fast good! So, being the handy person I am, I got the spline and spline tool out and put new spline in to secure the screen. Misty watched with great enthusiasm for a new challenge. The first night she voiced her opinion about the whole confinement thing with great persistence and loudness. If looks could kill, I'd be a trapped Gecko playing Misty's version of Hide and Seek. Not to be outdone by a mere human, she went after the weak point again and successfully loosened the screen enough to get out. Being the human that I am with opposible thumbs and all, I figured more drastic measures had to be taken. As you can see below, an elaborate wall has now been constructed from 12 x 12 tiles and bricks.

The blocked Escape Route

Misty is not pleased.

Can You Speak Cat?

There's a piece that's Missing....

Yesterday, I found out I could create a blog. Today, I can't get to it on the internet with the URL I was given. I must be missing a step.....hmmmmm.....story of my life. Have you ever felt like you were'nt given the same book as everyone else or that yours was missing a chapter on something? That's sort of how I feel right now. I will get it figured out but I will probably have a little swearing and gnashing of teeth before it is all done.

For those of you that don't live in Florida....it's beautiful, sunny, 80 degrees with not a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze. Sorry.

Here's a picture that I would have included in yesterday's post but I didn't know how to do it then.....I do now. (See I am learning!)

(Kathleen, Bridget and Me dining in Long Beach)

Holey Moley.....All she Wanted to Do was Post a Comment on Another Blog......

So, I'm sitting here answering some email when my cousin sends me her Mom's and Brother's blog address. I go for a visit and lo and behold, I end up with my own blog......So, now I'm sitting here wondering if it's going to be good enough, will anyone actually read it or what? So many things going on.

Just returned from OC for a job interview. Interview was great! OC was very nice, having only been to LA, Long Beach, etc. OC was like another world. Well, of course, after the all day job interview there was enough time left to go to the largest yarn store I have ever been to. The Yarn Lady in Laguna Hills is an amazing place. I could have spent a lot of time and money there but limited transport space prevented overindulgence.

Had a great time with my Cousin and Aunt. It's nice to have family you like in a place you are thinking about moving to.

As soon as I figure out what I'm doing with this blog, I will definitely write more.
Mary Pat