They have no idea...

Last week, I was on an roller coaster of emotion.  I can't talk about some of it... yet.  But I will.

The completely amazing and wonderful thing that happened?  We won districts.  AGAIN.  Seriously.

The game was awesome.  We went up 1-0, but then Florida High equalized just before the half.  And we battled for another 40 minutes before going to overtime.  I was prepared for ANOTHER PK shootout when Madi Harris said, "Nah, Imma end it now."  See:



It was so awesome.  I can hardly believe that it happened.  Especially since the first time we played Florida High, we lost to them in the second half when they took the momentum and we couldn't get it back.

It was kinda sad too, for Florida High, because this was supposed to be a down year for us.  We went from beating them bad two years ago and last year.  They snuck a win this year at their place.  And a tie at our place.  But they had to definitely feel like this was their year.  Just before the end of regulation their keeper made a huge save against us.  It was crazy.  Its the kind of save, that as a goalkeeper, you know you got because you live right.  But they just couldnt keep Madi out of the net.  It was kinda sad for them, I think.  They have to know that this was the closest that they would ever get to us- because we are only losing three players. And we are gonna be damn good next year.

Dave's parents came up this weekend.  We did some belated Christmas festivities and they got to hang out with Nico.  Nico got a couple of new firefighter and police shirts.  Which is fantastic, because that is all he would wear if possible.  You know its bad when your kid wears the same shirt all weekend because you can't get it off him.  Seriously.

He is big and sassy.  He's loving the math- especially when counting down how many slides down the pole he gets.  Also, there is this:

Nico: Mama, do you know why I am letting you cut my finger nails?
Me: No, why are you letting me?
Nico: Because I like to do fun stuff with you and Dad.  And I know that I have to let you do this so that we can do fun stuff.

FINALLY!!  He gets it!  We go to Europe now! Kthnxbai!

Funs and Travels.

We had a really fun weekend around here.  It started on Saturday when I went down to Woodville for a run and to train my new goalkeeper (side note:  She's going to be pretty good.  She is so STRONG!  has a good work ethic.  And while she has been on the verge of tears several times during training sessions, she hasn't quit goalkeeping yet.  She's a great kid, too.  And she isn't a princess.  I dont think I am going to have to have the conversation about why wearing makeup in games....this is a bonus!!)

I ran on the trail... which was like, "meh."  I was having a good time of it, feeling good (it was only a three mile run) when I get passed by a pack of GAZELLES.  Here I am, overweight, red, sweaty, puffy faced, ready to die, and this pack of gazelles moves around me like I am standing still, in their little uniforms of spandex shorts and sports bras and six packs and pin straight hair pulled back into thin ponytails.  Oh well.

On my way back into town, I stopped by the hardware store in Woodville and picked up some more plants and seeds.  When I got home, I worked in the garden a bit because Dave and Nico weren't home yet.  They had gone swimming (so much fun!).  Saturday night Dave took Nico to the Irish festival downtown, Nico got to see bagpipes, which was cool.  We had a Nap:Fail on Saturday, so they didnt stay long.  I was at home doing cleans.

Sunday, Nico and I headed out early.  We had some errands to run.  Nico needed socks and such.  We also had to take his books back to the library in Woodville.  Since we were there, we stopped and played soccer and played on the play ground.



He had a really good time.  We went home and had lunch and naps.  Sunday night, Dave and I went to go play soccer.  Nico was not really that happy about this.  Dave and I had fun.  We picked up onto another team (since our team had a bye).  We didnt think that the team would be that good... it looked like some jackassery from the start.  One of our guys was sent off with an undeserved red card.  And we played against a kick and run team with a bunch of fast Hispanic guys up front.

The bad news is that I gave up 3 goals.  Obviously not pleased with that.  But we did win and I made a bunch of saves.  Good ones.  And I got my arm scrapped up:

So that was cool.  Dave and I have some fun travel plans for the next few months.  First, we are going to Louisville for Derby week next month.  Yay.  There will be boat races and parades and hot air balloon races. Fun.  Then we are going to a wedding on Siesta Key in May.  We have also bought tickets for a soccer game  (US men v. Scotland) on May 26 in Jacksonville.  I dont think I have ever seen the US men play, so that is pretty exciting.

I have a conference in Orlando in June- so Dave and Nico might come down for a trip to Sea World.  I think that would be a major blast.  Nico would really like it, I think.  Then in July we are going to Gulf Shores, Alabama for a Bishop family holiday.  Nicole and Cody are coming East and we are heading west.  Should be lots of fun.  I am hoping to fish and swim and be a bum.

I am trying to get some players together to play in Dallas at Labor Day.  My good friend Julia lives there now (and plays).  Am hoping she might be able to take the 4 players we have put us on a team.  That would be fun.

All for now.  I am off.

Snail Mail

So we've had Granny You in town of late.  She is here to hang out with Nico during his spring break.  Oh yeah, you heard me.  HIS SPRING BREAK.  Wha-what?  Know that saying, "Youth is wasted on the young?"  this particular situation exemplifies this.  What does he need a spring break for?  What does he know?

So, like a chump, I have been working.  Not so much a big fan of the work during spring break.  :(

This is pretty cool... so one of the things about this project I am working on, is requesting medical records for patients who consented to be part of our study.  I have been a bit bummed because it seems like we werent getting a lot of records that we had requested.  Until I passed an Admin Assistant in the hall and she told me that my mail box was blowing up.  Turns out a lot of offices are sending records via snail mail.  Isnt that awesome?  Woooo hooooo!!

In other news, a peer at FSU (she is an instructor in Sociology) turned me on to new music.  This guy Yt is apparently a grad student in Sociology.  At FSU.


I am currently trying to figure out how to ask him to write/record a song for the War Eagles.  Seriously.  How amazing would that be?

Nico the Soccer Player

I took Nico to the soccer field the other day.  I wanted a brief soccer workout ahead of my trip to New Orleans this weekend.  Speaking of which, the tournament is going to be a lot of fun... we'll get to play with some awesome Dallas people.  And my friend Julia made a scavenger hunt.  Some items:

2.  Ride the Giant Whale at The Beach.
9.  Buy and wear a crazy mask.
16.  Sing karaoke at the Cat's Meow.
29.  Find and document inappropriate figurines.
49.  Score a goal.

So its entirely likely that #49 is out of the question for me... but a girl can hope, right?

In any case, while I was working out, Nico did this:



Isn't it cool?

Yes!

So because our sitter cant watch Nico this week and because we are on the road to Pensacola on Friday (four hours away) we decided to bring Ma Bishop up to Tallahassee to help with Nico.  The legislative session is going on now, so Dave and I just cant deal with the no childcare situation... so Ma Bishop is here.  Yay!!  Although I did just spend the last 12 hours driving and have yet to be asleep today.  You probably know how this is going to end- with me being a cranky beast!!

Other than that, not much new is going on.  We beat Bay Tuesday night (which is why we are still alive to travel to Pensacola on Friday).  We are just about the last public high school that is still alive, so that is cool.  I have also been talking to the Tallahassee Democrat a bunch... Wakulla is all up in the paper lately!!

I have also been turned onto the idea of time shares.  I think Dave and I need to buy one.  Apparently they are really cheap now.  I think I'd like 10-16 weeks of time shares... all over the world.  Wouldnt that be cool?  That way, I could afford my 4-8 weeks at the beach every summer... thrown in a ski week in January, plus the week between Christmas and New Years... maybe even Thanksgiving week somewhere?  Hell yes!!

All for now.  Going to get some sleep.

Championship game.

So, we won last night, which means that we are playing in the district championship game today.  While we did beat the team we are playing tonight twice during the regular season, once by three goals and once by five, I am kinda nervous.  A little listless- I'd say.  I dont really want to work, dont really want to be home.  Ihave no go explanations for this.

So no matter what happens tonight, we will be playing next Tuesday.  Who and where though, remain to be seen.  If we win tonight, then we will play at home.  If we lose then we will go to either Bay County (in Panama City) or Pensacola Catholic, depending on who wins that game tonight.  It is projected that PC will beat Bay, which means that we will likely host Bay next week.

Either way, its definitely the end of the season- while I dont want us to lose, I am looking forward to getting my life back.  Also, I need to put some QT in the office.  I havent gotten S$&T done since the season started.  I am sitting on two articles that need to be revised and resubmitted, not to mention a crap ton of stuff that needs to be done on the grant project I am working on.  For some reason, I seem to be having some sort of career crisis, where I dont want to do any of the things I really need to/should do.  I might just be really tired and worn out.

Plus, the house is a disaster.  I cant even imagine what our baby sitter thinks of us.

I am absolutely, positively not committing to do anything that requires a massive time committment from Feb-May.  I hope to work out, run, play soccer and hang out with Nico.  And maybe a little travel.  Between Dave and me, we have three bikes none of which is in good repair. I'd like to get one of them working so that I can take Nico for bike rides... as much as I would like to bike around town with Nico- I am really nervous about riding on streets with cars, even in bike lanes, just because Tallahassee drivers are notoriously BAD.

Dave and I are thinking about a trip to Carolina for skiing.  And by skiing, I mean, Dave skiing and Nico and I hanging out, getting in the snow.  I found a super cheap VRBO in Boone where we could go, which would be cool.

Potty Training

So- Dave and I talked about it this weekend- and we are thinking that it might be time to potty train Nico. He hates getting his diaper changed. He says he wants to get stickers for going on the potty. I think its time. But I am not trying to be stopping every 10 minutes on the way to Miami for Christmas. So I think we are going to do it the week we get back. The FSU COM is closed- so I will be home with him. Seems like a good time. Yikes.

Other than that- I mostly have Christmas shopping done. Just gotta tie up a few loose ends. Am hoping Santa is real good to me this year and I get an ipad. I just want one. I just do. I cant help it.

We played last night. We won. Really easily. All the original varsity members have scored a goal this year (except for Chelsea Thompson- who broke her arm before season started). We have a game tonight and Saturday. Then a game next week- then Christmas. Just trying to get through.

All for now.

for real.

Dear Family and Friends,
I made these last week.

It was Thursday night, I came back into town from practice and we had our sitter watching Nico. I ran through town in an epic Christmas shopping blitz. I was at the Lowes next door when I felt like I should bake some cookies. So I strolled into Publix and got the items for this. They were delicious. I prolly shouldnt admit to this, but I have eaten most of them. Dave and Nico have gotten a few... but sadly, this has mostly been about me. And they ARE really bad for you. Know how some things you eat and you're like, "That wasn't really as decadent tasting as I thought it would be... it prolly doesnt have THAT many calories." And then your eyes POP out of your head when you see you just at 54954987324958723 calories? This isnt like that... you pretty much know you ate your daily allotment of calories in one bite. And you just dont care.

Apparently, I need to "Martha Up" in this hizzie and learn to sew. Because I want this real bad:

As Senator Clay Davis would say:


Went 1-2 in the tournament this weekend. Lost our big center back due to a cracked ankle. Out 4-6 weeks. Got another game tonight and tomorrow. Just need to get through till Christmas.

Nico is now providing the excuse, "I have lots of things to do," for why he cant take a nap or go to bed. Its adorbs.

adorbs.

Seriously, can't you just eat him up?

Also, check this out:



Isnt that awesome??

Getting the holiday started...

We had a really fun weekend around here. We played at Chiles on Friday night. And lost 1-0. We missed a PK, so we could have tied it 1-1. I can admit when I cause us to lose- and it was on me on Friday. When we got the PK, we quickly decided to let our attacking center mid take it. I dont think that she was having that great of a game... and I didnt think she could handle it if she missed. So I made the call and had our little big gun take it, thinking that if she missed, she could handle it (SIDE NOTE: in hind sight, this always ends badly... there was no good that could have come from making that switch).

Well... she missed and I was wrong. You know how there is no crying in baseball? Well, there isnt supposed to be any crying in soccer. But did... she was crushed. It one sense my heart kinda breaks for her... because she doesnt really know how good she is- because if she knew how good she is, she'd shake it off and just say, "that's okay, I have 20 minutes to get that back". Or maybe she has such a wide view of the team that she knows that was our best chance to beat Chiles. In any case, there has only been one other time that I have had a player cry that put me on the edge ready to start weeping... and its weird because it was in the completely opposite situation... we were playing at home and we were getting our butts handed to us. By Bay, I think. And Shay was in tears. I think we'd just gotten mercy ruled at home. And I told her that I could take a lot... I can handle a lot, but I cant handle her crying. She needed to suck it up.

I tried to get the little big gun's head screwed back on... but she basically played with tears on her face for the rest of the game. Had a couple of decent opportunities late, but it wasnt enough. Of course, the Chiles team triple teamed her all night. They didnt even play with her in the back... if the ball came into their defensive third, they just played it away, taking no chances with her.

Saturday was kinda fun- I went with some old coworkers from the DOH to Market Days, which is an annual craft fair in Tallahassee. I got some Christmas shopping done (whoot!!) When we got home, my friend LaVon taught me how to use the bread maker that my mom and dad got me for Christmas.

Which was cool... when we were at Market Days, I bought some peach preserves that went on this bread perfectly. Soooo delicious. I even had some for breakfast this morning.

Saturday night, we went to the Winter parade in downtown. I took some pictures and video of Nico but lost them when I synced my phone last night. Sorry. Here is a picture of Nico and me:

Sunday we had the girls over for a little team bonding... we watched the NCAA Championship game and then our game tape. They are fun!!

Afterwards, we went to Lowes to get our tree. Nico got a little tree (a branch that he found on the ground and carried it around). Now I gotta figure out how to make this thing stand on its own:

And our tree:

Dave and I tend to disagree on a lot of things when it comes to decorating and how to use the space that one has. For example, our office at home has three doors. Necessary? No. If it were up to me, I would permanently close one and have more space. But, Dave thinks that looks trashy... but one thing we both agree on is that we both like the look of a minimalist tree... no christmas ornaments... just lights and garlands. I can live with that. When Nico gets a little older (and can help decorate the tree- we might have to have two trees... an elegant one with just lights and garland and the other one... with all kinds of stuff on it :)

WHS Soccer Blog

Also, if anyone is interested in keeping up with the Wakulla High School War Eagles... check out our blog:
http://whsgirlssoccer2011-2012season.blogspot.com/

Nico, Soccer, Polo, and Puppies in the pool

Am I really down to one post a week? Man, I suck at life!

The weekend was pretty great!! We started out with a game at the Meadows against Maclay. Typically, Maclay beats us when we play. We started closing the gap last year when we lost 2-1 and defended a good bit of the time. This year we went at them pretty tough... and while they were missing their goal scoring machine, we were missing our Iron Lady, Norma Rae, who usually puts the muscle on their goal scoring machine, rendering her useless for the night. We went up pretty early and hung on to the lead for most the game until a handball by our GK outside the box. This resulted in a free kick and a goal and a reassessment of how terrible we are on defending set pieces.

Here is Nico... our sitter had to go home to see her doctor, so guess who came to the game and was annoyed he had to be there? Hint: his name rhymes with Rico.

Why does he have a tennis racket? That is a great question. I have no idea why!! Here is an earlier video, I took of Nico last week at the Taylor tournament. This is usually what it is like whenever he is at the field with us:



Saturday morning, Nico and I went to the gym (he went to the kids room). When we came home we really quick got ready to go to the Polo game. John Paul II a catholic high school here had a fundraiser at a horse farm out in Monticello. So we went and watched. It was pretty fun. Nico was relatively good- but was bored pretty quickly. He did get to sit on one of the referee's horses... named Holiday. That was pretty sweet. Will try to get the picture I took of him up later.

True story: I want to own a small farm. Something big enough to have chickens, sheep and maybe a cow. And a HUGE vegetable garden, some fruit trees. I had relegated this as a project for after Nico went off to college, thinking that this would only be possible if we could live way out in the country, which Dave does not want to do. However, after visiting the farm for the polo match, we had a good conversation about it... turns out we weren't communicating very well. Which is cool... because it means the next place we live might work for us living on a farm. Maybe.

We chilled out easy on Saturday night. Sunday morning, I woke up and went for a run. After, we prepared to take the dogs to the annual Puppies in the Pool... where we take the dogs to Truesdale pool, which they open up to dogs the last weekend of the year (before they clean it).



It was pretty fun. Nico was getting ready to throw the ball when Drake lunged forward and snatched it out of his hand. It scared Nico pretty bad, so he wanted to cuddle for the rest of the time there. We won a raffle drawing, which was cool because we never win anything. We won a leash, which would be really cool if we walked our dogs... but they are pretty much beasts whenever we walk, so we dont walk them very much.

Nico's overly cuddliness on Sunday ended up being the first signs of sickness... and he commenced ralphing at about 430. It was really random. But he had a pretty high fever, so I just hung out with him at the house. We layed on the couch and watched TV till he fell asleep. I stayed home with him on Monday and he was pretty much better by the evening.

That is all... except for this video of Nico feeding the guess, which I forgot to embed. Enjoy!!

Trick or Treating and Soccer...

Halloween was pretty fun last night. I burned up some more AL by staying home from work. I made a pot of corn chowder (delish). I went with the standard $20.00 Halloween costume from Target. I have come to the conclusion that I am plenty of things: dedicated, hard working, committed, etc. But I am not very clever nor particularly smart. It's okay... I am perfectly on board with this characterization. While I may never come up with a clever solution to a problem, I am your girl if you need the problem worked to death. I can do that. This translates to Nico not having particularly creative or clever halloween costume ideas. That's okay.

Behold: the cute monkey. Without his monkey head on. Oh well.

At the Halloween party at his school, Nico ran around with his little friends Avery and Alice. Avery was in an adorable peacock costume- they basically ran and ran and ran. It was hilarious. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow.

We drove over to Lafayette park and did trick or treating over there. We saw several people that Dave knew. One of them let us in their house and showed Nico a REAL guitar. The boy is in LOVE. The friend held the guitar up to Nico so he could strum... he thought it was *VERY* cool. So while I was kinda okay about Nico wanting to be a drummer, I am not sure I am as on board with him wanting to be a guitar player... I have met very few guitar players that weren't tool-bags in real life. Just sayin...

We did well in our preseason tournament over the weekend. We ended up finishing 2nd overall. We won two games beating Santa Fe and Bucholtz (both Gainesville teams) to do it. Santa Fe ended up being much easier than we expected.... and Bucholtz, well we played them hard.  We held them to a 0-0 tie for 65 minutes... in the last 5 minutes our little transfer from Fl High last year scored on a corner kick that seemed controversial. We held on to win and had a shoot out with Ft. White after the game to settle a tie in points for second... Out GK came up with a save and forced one to the cross bar to clinch the shootout and 2nd place... so that was pretty cool. I can't wait to see the AD on Thursday and be all like, "here, please take this trophy- I dont have room for this..."

There were two really interesting things from this weekend... Thig, Amy and Taylor all played *VERY* well. Thig is a junior who has been hurt the last two years... she is healthy now and looks to have put some muscle on... and is doing great. Taylor and Amy seem to have figured out the high school game, because they are just dominating... Its awesome. We are at a place now where all three are contributing. Which is awesome.

Another interesting result is that we beat Santa Fe 6-2. Madi (our little big gun) scored 5 (2 unassisted). Lincoln beat Santa Fe 4-0, which is admirable. But we beat them 6-2, with Madi scoring more goals against Santa Fe than all of Lincoln scored against them. This is interesting. Our game against them in a month will be very interesting indeed.

In any case, we open our regular season tonight against Madison County. Looking forward to it.

Tryouts and Texas

Not much going on around here... No offer letter yet from FSU. So I continue to go to work. I have a long laundry list of items on my to-do list before I go. I dont want anyone to shake their fist and say, "Bishop!" when they have to do something I didn't do (and should have) after I leave. So its a lot of crossing my t's and dotting my i's.

I also feel the need to use up all my health care before I go. So I'm trying to get my annual checkups done and the first consult for my left knee, which currently has the odd habit of catching when bent sometimes. Its the most disconcerting thing I have ever felt in my knee. Plus it grinds like its full of gravel, pebbles and small rocks. Which is never good for business.

It looks official- Nico, Dave and I will be going to Dallas for Thanksgiving. Whoot!! Pretty excited about that. I told Nico about it last night, that we are going to stay in Maddox and Emme's playroom (Nicody made the room above the garage a play room put a pull-out sofa in it.) The last time I was at their house (April 2010) all I could think about was how much fun Nico would have playing. See, we arent very good about toys in our house... for a variety of reasons... but let's just say that Nico doesnt really have that many toys and he doesnt play with 75% of what he has. That being said, he is going to have a blast. He doesnt have much of a chance to hang out with older kids (like Maddox). The oldest kids in his school are 3- so he is totally going to love playing with Maddox, who I am sure is really excited to hang out with "the little kids".

We started tryouts this week. I think we are going to have a pretty decent squad this year. Returning a lot of players from last year. Thig- who has been hurt a lot in the last two seasons looks pretty good- strong and healthy. Madi (the little big gun) looks like she has put on about 20 pounds of muscle... which is good, because she needed it. At the start of last year, we had one girl playing club ball in Tallahassee (Thig). This year, we're gonna have five on varsity alone. Which is pretty sweet. It raises the stakes, obviously... but I think we're gonna be good.

We have a bunch of new players coming in... but only a few that have a lot of skill. But the rest seem to be athletes, which I can totally work with. Also, I have a freshman who seems to not have a real strong grasp of reality. Seems to think she is going to be starting on Varsity as a freshman. And no, its not the freshman who is going to make the Varsity squad. They are so cute with their non-grasp of reality!!

My gk is trying to make the case for being captain. We try to have three captains, one of which is an underclassman. Lets the younger player learn the ropes and take on some leadership after the seniors graduate. As it is now we have two senior captains. So in order to have a younger player be a captain, plus my gk, I would have 4 captains...which is a little weird. Of course, she was an MVP last year, so there might be a good reason for it. Plus, it would be good for her to work on being a leader...

Her grades are not very good... but not because she is dumb. Her grades arent very good because she would rather do ANYTHING else than study... am wondering if it would be too much pressure to dangle it as a carrot. Like she has to maintain all Bs to keep the captain band? I don't know...

Nico's been pretty fun lately. He is really grasping language. And starting to ask questions. He was home sick with Dave on Monday and Dave had to leave to go to practice. When Dave got home Nico asked, "Daddy, where did you go?" So awesome.

Despite my fears about him being a band geek when he grows up, I think all signs point to him being in the band. Which is unfortunate... however, it might keep him off the football team... which I dont mean to disparage... I just see the way it is coached in places like Wakulla and I am not a fan... 15 under employed grown men as assistant coaches? Really? Getting in a kid's face to scream at him about how he better get his a$$ in gear? No thank you. The sense of entitlement that comes with being successful? Don't get me wrong, I have seen some entitled-a$$ soccer kids that I wanted to punch in the face. It just seems to be much worse in football.  Which, how could it not?  Down in the county WMS and RMS play each other at the high school.  Under the lights.  And the girls soccer team has to reschedule varsity games so that shit can go down.  True story.  This actually happened.  Which is terrible... I hate that because I come from a football coaching family (a grandfather and two uncles).

Plus music is good for kids... helps them excel in math and language. And lets be real here, he is going to need all the help he can get in math. But he is getting big and I am already sad for when he gets to be 13 wont want anything to do with us anymore :)

We lost last night 3-1. 

I have mentioned it before- but one of the toughest things we do is the pregame talk.  We never know- pump them up?  Or chill them out?  Get them pissed off?  Or schmoopy because they are BBF forever.  Last night we did it all.  We explained that the game was special... because they were playing at home on a team full of girls that they all liked.  And they should play for the seniors.  We explained that no one (except for the coaches) expected them to win, so the pressure was off.  We explained that Gulf Breeze was expecting that we'd be an easy opponent and the night would be full of lots of GB goals.  We explained that Dave and I had done everything we could do to get them to this point and that it was up to them now.  Only they could answer the question:  Are we "there" yet (meaning, can we compete with the good teams?)

The answer?  Yes.  Hell yes!!

It was awesome.  We came out with the idea of being a lot more conservative and a lot defensive than we would normally.  The girls hate it- but its a pretty effective strategy.  There was no easing into the attack:  from the first whistle,Gulf Breeze was BRINGING IT. I definitely had several "Ohhhhhhhh shiiiiiiittttt!!" moments.  It looked a bit dodgy early on- our GK had 8 LEGITIMATE saves in the first 10 minutes.  One of our wingbacks made TWO different tackles (from behind) on two different breakaways. It was live.  It was sort of like the "Chinese" in this video:



But we hung with them.  Kept making saves.  Kept getting lucky.  The great thing, I thought.  Was that while we were totally under attack for most of the game, we still found space to play our game... several times we put 8-9 passes together.  Inside, outside, down the line.  Up the line, inside, outside, drop pass.  It was really nice.  We kept our composure- nobody lost their cool.  Nobody freaked out.  I am not going to lie, I was ready for some of them to wig out from the pressure.  But we didn't.  We just played.  Hustled our butts off.  Made strong tackles.  Defended a BUNCH of corner kicks (which is to be expected).  And just kept playing.  Our backline played all 80 minutes.  For real.  Its one thing to play 80 minutes against Godby.  Its a totally different ordeal to play 80 minutes where you are basically defending the entire time. 

Our little big gun (LBG) Madi scored AGAINST the run of play.  It was pretty much awesome.  She is going to be a great player one day.  She is THE FASTEST player with the ball that I have ever seen on the soccer field.  That says a lot, because in highschool, my center back and wing defenders were three members of our highschool's 4X100 team.  I think the following two pictures pretty give you a sense of the kind of player she is:

Stepping over lunging players and charging GKs?  Its what she does.  We scored about 25 minutes in and held them until almost the half- when GB equalized.  In the second half, Gulf Breeze kept the pressure up and we couldnt keep them out of the net. 

It's not a terrible way to end the season.  The last game of the season is always difficult for me- because I am sad that our run as ended.  But today, I have been walking around with a combination of tears in my eyes and a smile on my face, because they played their asses off last night.  And they are so tight.  After the game, all the girls were bawling because it was our last game for seniors...

But I feel like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders.  I am not worrying about anything today (except for this sudden influx of gray hair that I have noticed on my head.  WHA-WHAT?)  If I could choose an ending for our seniors, I obviously would have chosen the ending the included a state championship.  But I'll take this.

I heart Soccer.

So that is what is up lately.  We're in survival mode around the Bishop-Royse house.  Inevitably it comes down to this every soccer season.  The last couple of weeks, where we basically just work, coach, travel for soccer and sleep.  In one sense, its always crazy when we get to this point, because we're like, our season is so close to being over... but really, it feels like it just started.  Weird. 

We have our Regional Quarterfinal game tonight.  We play at home against Gulf Breeze.  For all intents and purposes, we aren't supposed to win tonight.  Gulf Breeze is a long-time powerhouse in the panhandle.  They lost their district final game... so my guess is that they are going to come out gangbusters.  I think they are expecting an easy time of it against us.  Which would be a mistake, I think. 

If there ever was a team to take down the Gulf Breezes of the world:  it's us.  We are DUE for a game of epic proportions.  We haven't put together 80 minutes of good soccer since Leon.  We're scrappy.  We're willing to play 65-70 minutes of ugly soccer if it means we can sneak a goal.  We can play physical.  We  are willing to designate 2 players to mark their leading goal scorers.  We have scored against the run of play.  When WE DECIDE we want to, we can dig in and defend all night.  So I am really excited for this game tonight- really looking forward to see what team shows up. 

Know what I am also excited about?  I am helping to organize the old North High Alumni game.  We used to have one going back when I played there.  It was a boys/mens game and the alumni played the current varsity team.  I dont think that is allowed anymore.  So we'd likely just get a scrimmage together of all alumni.  So that is pretty cool.  The trash talk has begun:

Chris Clark (the boys goalkeeper who graduated in 1999?):  Guess I gotta dust off the gloves and find my old jersey (dont know if I even fit in it anymore). 
Me:  You assume Brian Mariea and I are going to let you play in goal (referring to the boys GK who graduated in 1998 with me). 

Casey Lissau (field player who graduated in 1998):  I'm going for the hat-trick whenever this game goes down. Y'all better start training... Evens are gonna dominate (referring to the team with the even numbered graduation years). 

Jessi Bishop-Royse Suddenly I'm glad to be an even...

Chris Clark:  u and Brian r both evens so looks like i get my net after all.

Me:   yeah, with Casey Lissau scoring a hat trick on you. Good luck with that :)

This is going to be awesometownvilleberg!!  Very excited about this.  Especially since when I am not playing in goal, guess who is playing in the field?  THAT IS RIGHT!!  Last time I played in the field, I had a game-winning header in the semifinals of IMs.  And I was 4 months pregnant!  How do you like them apples?

So that is what is going down lately.  On the Nico front, we have a new development:  THE BOY LOVES TO READ.  NO JOKE.  He has become a Readie McReaderson lately.  I LOVE IT.  I was worried- it took him a long time to get interested in books.  I remember when he was 10-11 months old, I'd go to sit down with a book to read him he would sit for one page and basically get up to run around because it was BORING!!!  Now?  He sat by himself reading Tuesday night... for like 10 minutes while I was making dinner.  It was AWESOME.  He loves to read in the mornings wit Dave.  So I have distributed books all around the house- in our room, his room, the living room, the bathroom (for bathtime).  It's awesome, because his game of "Let me see how long it takes to tear this house up" gets really old after a while.  Also it means that we can start going to the library and book stores again.  WHOOO HOOOOOOO!!

Worn out.

With weekends like this one, who needs the work week?

So it started with Friday night.  By now, most of you know: we won the district championship game.  We left WHS at 4 on Friday night and traveled to Panama City to play Rutherford.  We played well.  We definitely tried to play our style of ball, which is fast, complete with nice passing.  The game was scoreless  through regulation (which was odd to us, because we were expecting to score some goals).  One thing that may have hurt us (compared to Rutherford) is that we 22 players on the squad (I pulled up some from JV for Districts).  They only had about 13 players- so our plan was to run their legs off.  The only problem with that, is that its hard to find a rhythm tha tway.  Oh well.  So we get through 2 10 minute golden goal periods (yeah, I know... who does golden goal anymore?)  And got to the PK shootout. 

A note:  we have been involved in three PK shootouts while Dave and I have been coaching.  We lost to Crestview and Taylor our first year of going to the Chiles tournament (where PKs are used to determine a winner after a tied game).  We also lost to Rutherford last year at the Chiles tournament.  We generally dont do well with PKs (we lost a game against 2-1 Taylor earlier this season when we failed to convert a PK in the last few minutes.)

For those of you who have never seen one, here is a video from Uruguay and Australia.


While I expected PKs to be a moot point against Rutherford (given our propensity to score goals on them), we'd been practicing PKs a lot lately.  Dave and I also understand strategy now.  I used to think that you put your best shooter at #5- to make it when the pressure is on.  That is false- you put your best shooter at #3, because shots 3 and 4 often determine the winner.  Most shootouts are over by the fourth kicker.  So we put Kristine at #1.  On paper, she isnt the best shooter, but mostly because she consistently puts the ball in the same place, every kick.  Our GK knows where she is going to go, so she often makes the save.... the #1 spot should be someone who is consistent and who you're pretty sure is going to make it- takes the pressure of #2 kicker. 

Kristine makes it (despite the fact that she hit it weird and it didnt go where it usually does).  Rutherford shoots and Froddo almost gets a piece of it.  But it went in. 

CB steps up.  Her presence as a shooter was probably a little surprising to her.  She's a senior that doesn't play ALOT.  But she can strike the ball well- and it's usually one of those difficult strikes that isn't in trouble of going over, but isn't on the ground.  She made it.   RHS steps up and Froddo makes the save. 

Julia steps up.  In the #3 spot, she is by far the most consistent shooter.  A senior, she often she makes every one in practice.  She didn't play particularly well during the game... she had some good moments, but seemed to be a little out of sorts.  Was a really frustrated at her self and maybe nervous that we were going to lose.  In hindsight, we probably shouldn't have put her up to take a PK.  Because she missed.  Her little shoulders sunk and I could hear her heart break from 40 yards away.  RHS steps up and makes theirs.  Tied: 2-2. 

BT our senior forward steps up.  She had one of the best games of her life on Friday night.  She is finally the player that I always thought she could be. She is one of our softball players- and when she steps up to do something- she has swagger.  Like, "I know this is going in.  You know its going in.  Let's get on with it."  And it goes in.  Awesome.  Here is where it gets surreal:  Froddo makes another save.  She made two saves during the shootout.  Which is pretty amazing, because they are just so tough to do.  I figured it up once, and a goalkeeper that is about 6 feet takes up approx. 6% of the goal with their own body.  Which means that 94% of the goal is open (this doesn't account for diving ability of the gk).  The thing with shootouts is that the GKs arent supposed to make saves.  Basically, you wait until someone screws up and doesnt make theirs.  Froddo made two saves on Friday night.  So, we go up 3-2. 

Alina, (who missed the PK against Taylor earlier this season) steps up and cool as the other side of the pillow puts hers away.  There was this weird moment after she did it where everyone was like, "Did we just win?  They can't tie us, right?  Oh.  Okay!  We just won!  Whooo hooooo!!"  It was pretty much amazing.  Here is a link to the wmbb.com story about the game (complete with video). 

So after doing all the pictures and the whatnot, and getting dinner and getting home, Dave and I didnt get home till 330-4 in the morning.  But guess who was awake after his 8 hour nap?  Nico.  Guess who didnt want to go back to sleep?  Yeah, Mr. Cranky Pants.  So after grabbing a couple of hours of sleep we got up on Saturday and got to it.  Sunday, Nico was in rare form, tearing everything up.  Drake threw up a bunch.  I went to take Gordon for a run (because I felt bad because with Drake home, I feel like he isnt getting as much attention).  On the run, Gor-Gor bolted in front of me, causing me to step on his foot, roll my ankle and fall pretty much face first on the asphalt.  Yes, that makes three times in the last week that I have hit the deck (in case you are counting, LRM).  Plus, Nico has a cold, so he kept waking up last night. 

We have practice this week-MTW, then our Regional Quarterfinal game against Gulf Breez on Thursday.  Gulf Breeze is the team that has the girl that put us out of the tournament last year (she went on to play at UF).  I think its a bit ironic that we are playing them- it means that they lost their district game :)

In any case, just trying ot make it through the season.  Always just trying to make it through the season.

THE.WORST.DOG.EVER.

So we had a little adventure last week.  We lost the dogs. 

So we didn't really.  They escaped the yard (long story) on Thursday night.  Gordon came back that night.  Drake, not so much.  Long story short, we got him back on Friday, but he was at hospital (btw- I am purposely dropping the "the" from hospital.  Of course this doesnt work if you DONT say hospital in a british accent.  So do us a favor and just say it with the british accent... that way it doesnt look like I was supremely lazy and didnt type "the").  Apparently Drake hurt his foot pretty bad, so the guy that found him took him to his vet.  The vet fixed him up but recommended that Drake stay over the weekend. 

I think Gordon is a little stressed out.  Not only because he misses his buddy, but because he is having to be the sole object of Nico's affection, which is probably a little much when you're an autistic lab named Gordon who only wants to be left alone in the solace of the People Bed.  He upset Nico a bit on Monday when Nico turned suddenly to hug him.  Because he is the Original Jumpy McJump- he was trying to get out of the way.  Because Nico has gotten pretty strong, he hung onto Gordon as he jumped away.  And promptly fell down.  And started bawling.  Broke my heart.  He doesn't understand that Gordon is autistic. 

Other than that, not much going on here.  Weekend started out pretty rough.  I ran the Resolution 5k on Saturday.  And promptly ate it face first on the sidewalk on Jefferson mid-race.  The good thing about when I fall down: it tends to be falling forward.  So at least I can catch myself.... sort of.  I finished a minute faster than the 5k I ran last week.  And I wasnt last.  Suckas!!

We went to Suwannee after the game and did not do well.  We got beat all over the field.  We were missing two starters, a defender and a forward.  Our little big gun put an awful lot of pressure on herself to score (since our other forward wasnt there) and pretty much took her ownself out of the game.  Our GK made a bunch of saves (despite giving up three goals), including one, where she made contact with a striker at the top of the box that sounded SICK.  I fully expected the striker to stay down dead (she did get up, but did so with a little bit of a limp).  That did make me a little proud- it warmed the cockles of my cold, dead, GK heart. 

It was pretty not good.  My worst fear has come true:  the vibe that we were working before Christmas break?  Yeah, that is gone.  It's just not the same.  So I guess we have a new rule: no more Christmas break.  I gave them two weeks off during the holidays this year, for them to study for finals, etc.  I guess we can't do that anymore... maybe schedule games during Christmas break?

When we got home, I stepped off the sidewalk and rolled my ankle... which probably wouldnt have been so bad, except Leslie was right next to me... wondering what the hell I had done.  It was pretty much the perfect end of my fail day. 

Dave and I are trying something new with the food budget: having a food budget.  Normally, we just buy whatever we want and not being very good with the leftovers.  I checked out Foodonthetable.com and Prudence Pennywise to come up with some interesting recipes, including a Chicken Curry that I made last night.  Be jealous!!

Nico is pretty much adorable.  He is rotten, dont get me wrong.  Often when I ask him to put something away, he throws it on the floor.  So that's not good.  But he does know the various rooms of the house... so when I say, "Nico, let's go put your shoes in your room." And he knows where to go!  Very cool!

Regular Season District Champs!

So the big news around here is that we are the regular season distric champs!!  Waka waka!! 

Yeah, we are pretty much awesome.  We beat Rutherford on Saturday, despite getting down by a goal early.  Difference between this team and previous teams?  Prior to this year if we got down by a goal early on, we'd fold up like a bunch of lawn chairs.  We seem to be at a place now, where we're like?  Its only one goal!  And we have 70 minutes of game ahead of us.  Lets see you hold on to that lead!! 

So we have two regular season games left Tuesday (senior night) and Saturday (we go on the road to Sewannee).  Then next week, we skip the play in game (first time in 5 years that we have gotten to skip the play in game :)  We go to Panama City on Friday night to play the District Championship game.  Whoot!!  That is pretty exciting. I think this photo pretty much sums it up:

On another note- I ran a 5K on Saturday (before the game).  Again, with the lack of preparation.  I dont know who I think I am- maybe Kelly the Baller?  First, who thinks they can just show up to run a 5K?  Secondly, who cant do the math to see what that would entail?  Seriously- since I started my "Run Every Day of 2011" Resolution, the furthest I have run is 1 mile... which wasnt a big deal when I calculated that a 5K is 2.2 miles (its not).  A 5K is 3.1 miles.... so much of the race was Sucktownvilleburg.  But I am glad I ran it.  I had planned on running the Resolution 5K on FSU's campus this coming Saturday.  But Leslie (a friend and the other assistant coach (pictured next to #21) suggested that I run the Billy Bowlegs race this saturday... and she would run the Resolution 5K next week. 

On another note- how cute is THIS guy?

Don't you think he should be selling jeans for Gap?  Or hooded fleece sweatshirts for Old Navy?  Here is the thing:  If this soccer/judo/track/cross country/baseball/academic thing doenst work out for Nico, I think he might have a future career as a model.  No seriously.  Look at him and his cuteness! Can't you just eat him up?

Release the BEAST!

I was off of work yesterday, suckas!!  Yeah, Nico's childcare was closed yesterday, so I took the day off.  We had a pretty fun little morning- ran a few errands.  Came home and made some more dog biscuits.  Seriously, the dogs love them and they are fun to make with little guys.  We also made Turkey soup with the last of the turkey from the Holidays.   So that was pretty fun. 

Nico starts back at school today.  Guess who is going to be a little Beast?  Nico getting to do whatever he wants+change in sleeping routine=BEAST.  Good thing I dont have to get him from school today... now the girls can't tell me what a bad mom I am for Nico getting COMPLETELY OFF THE CHAIN.  When they confront me, I am just going to point to Nico with a surprised look on my face. 

We had our first practice since the break yesterday.  Looks like the goodness we had rolling before Christmas hasn't rubbed off or mysteriously disappeared.  Seriously- I half expected to show up to practice yesterday and for it to be a HOT MESS all over the place.  Even awesomer?  EVERYONE is healthy.  KG (one of our seniors who has been nursing an (ankle) injury, is back.  So is Thig, one of our sophomore midfielders).  They weren't squirelly- which is a first for us.  And they played well.  So that is pretty exciting. 

Heart.