Not as Young as I Once Was

So, I'm hurting. So hurting. Just got back from a great weekend in St. Louis playing in a volleyball tournament. There were 15 teams in our play level from all over the country (Baltimore, Dallas, Florida, Columbus). It was a lot of fun, but I'm paying for it now. Played 8 pool/group games on Saturday (8 AM - 5 PM). We went 0-8. Yep, everyone was scared of us. Sunday was elimination time (two loses and you are out). We were the bottom seed in the bracket play, kind of like starting as the 16th seed in March Madness. And we lost our first match to bump us into the loser bracket. But as with any team I play with, there has to drama. And the funny thing, we didn't lose another game. We clawed our way through the losers bracket to the Championship game. Beating 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th seeded teams (who all lost at some point). Everyone was saying "you guys are still here?"

While we lost in Championship game, 2nd place isn't bad. And it was a lot of fun. But playing 8 games on Saturday and another 8 on Sunday (because we just kept winning) takes its toll on my 28 year old bones and muscles. Might ask for physical therapy gift certificates for my wedding gift because I feel that I'll still be hurting in October.

And I got a little beat up. Hitting the ground, scraps, bumps and bruises. Check out the picture. Oh yea. And who says that volleyball isn't a contact sport.

And Masha will be happy to know that I had to cut my shell necklace in order to play in the tournament. She absolutely hated the necklace. But maybe I'll put it back together for our wedding. She'll love that. A little wedding gift.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures from the tournament. And the exhausted look on James (old friend I've known since 3rd grade and plays on another team) after the long weekend.

Here comes St. Louis!!!

This weekend, I’m heading off to St. Louis to play in a volleyball tournament. It should be a great time, but I don’t know if my body can handle the 8 hours of playing/day, followed by the 8 hours of drinking/night. Sure, you say that there are still 8 hours available of sleep, but that doesn’t mean my body recognizes that. Any tips would be helpful. I’ll send you pictures later and put them up here.

Nothing much to report on the election front. Voting is on Tuesday, so there is a lot of pushing and shoving on the media front in order to get coverage. Like the current mayor and his pledge to pay $100 to any college student who works on Tuesday to hand out literature at the polls to voters. I should be able to predict his vote percentage based on the amount of college students out drinking and paying off bar tabs on Tuesday night.

Additionally, I hope that you’ve all had a chance to enter into the February Madness pool and made your picks for the elections. There are some great prizes!!! But no $100, sorry.