Friday, June 29, 2012

Barksdale's Games 4 & 5

Undefeated still. Both games were close. The fourth game ended 11-10. That was a competitive team. I managed to block a pass once and later in the game scored a point. However, after leading 3 points we let some points go, making us even 10-10 until the last couple of minutes. Our team had possession and scored one more point to finish the game. The fifth game resulted with another tight game (9-8). That week, we had less people playing and also implemented zone defense for the first time.

Zone is mainly covering an area of the field and which uses more than 1 person to mark/defend the handler (offensive thrower). I was put in the center of cup at one point. To me, that was the easiest because all you had to think about was following the disc. The only hard part was to be fast enough to keep up w/ the disc. If there's dead wind, it's really fast. Zone is typically used on a windy day. Anyway, next week we play 2nd ranking team, which will be interesting to see how that ends up.

I'm excited to play, but really hoping that everyone shows up, especially our key players. It made a difference that some didn't show last week.

Funny story, I joined a practice last night with a club team and man was I whooped. They did several drills for about an hour and then some scrimmages. By the second half, I ended up chillin' or resting to watch and learn because I couldn't shake the little pain from my bruised knee. I ran into a guys cleat while making a deep cut. And I ask myself, why do I do this to myself. You are a mom of 3 and torturing yourself to what? I'm a perfectionist, I want to do my best at whatever I do.

I admire those moms who can sew, garden, do crafts w/ their children, and post about it on their blog. I do not plan on running a marathon, nor compete in a triathlon. That's just not me. Well, I know what's involved and how much these things tend to cost. So, to save money I will occupy my time w/ affordable activities like resort to playing Ultimate. It's soooooo much fun and forces you to stay fit. It drives me to wake up at 6 a.m. if not 5:30 to go to the gym to get a few miles on the treadmill so I can keep up w/ these college girls. Thanks to my loving husband, who supports me in this crazy endeavor I can have those nights to practice and/or play.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Best Printed Photobook: Costco

I designed an album via Costco Photo Center (www.costcophotocenter.com) . I found it to be the best site for printing photo books, as well as photos. Believe me, I've tested Target's shutterfly, Target's Photo Center, Walgreens, CVS, Kinko's, and the quality and turn around time doesn't compare. I had trouble w/ the different online interfaces the other stores use and Costco's photo site is the easiest to manage. 


My first photo book was for my son's first year. That was so fun and easy compared to my attempt to scrapbook my daughter's first year album, which took days. The only thing is that you are limited to their themes, so I chose the simplest ones. Also, you can't customize the page layout, but it was the closest I could find to having the most options. Most importantly, was it user-friendly? Yes. 


A full-color 30 page photobook for $24.99
You can do a lot with 30 pages


For my second photo book, I hired a photographer who had awesome talent and a great price. I wanted to make an Anniversary/Father's Day/Birthday present for my dad. Yes, lame me kept putting the book off for that long. Originally it was a birthday gift which then became so on and so forth. On the month of my father's birthday, we got all the grandchildren and my parents to take a quick photo shoot. Quick, because 6 kids under the age of 6 isn't easy, especially in the freezing weather that Summer day, in San Jose. He took several shots for an hour and then gave his editted digitals to me. Now that is hard to come by. The photographer, Jim Resonable, did an awesome job. His work is featured here: www.jimresonable.com/, as well as some photos below.


My youngest at 5 months



Still in love after 32 years



Lolo with the grandsons


My second child looking for trouble at 2 years old



My niece leading the way



Precious

Okay, so finally some pics of the photobook:


Leather cover is only $5 more


You can choose different layouts per page





Several background themes to choose from

Photobook Tips

These make great gifts, or for your personal collection at home. Here are some tips on creating an interesting photobook below:
  1. Select simple themes. I believe the photos are the most important.
  2. Collect photos based on your theme or purpose
  3. Make layouts of photos with similar color schemes
  4. Upload the same photograph for different photo slots and crop at different angles
  5. Create a story throughout the book
Hope that helps. Let me know how I can help you with your photo book by leaving comments/questions below.

Monday, June 25, 2012

My Pin Boards

I plan on featuring a few finds once in a blue moon. But if you'd like frequent pin updates you can follow my boards here: pinterest.com/jholly/


a snip of my 64 boards

My Flip Side

My Filipino Family and the endless stories to come. My father was born into a litter of 11 Sarmientos, my mother of 9 Aclans. Both came from the slums of the Philippines. Okay, maybe not squater poor but does mentioning that my dad walked to grade school barefoot help? Not only do I love them dearly but I barely know the details of their lives. Like many Filipino-Americans, I think we've barely scratched the surface to learn so much about our parents and ancestors. I would love to find out and share that with you all.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Barksdale's Ballaas Weeks 1-2

Week 1: Game 1
Met my captain and teammates and had so much fun. It was my first day of league and I learned a lot. Still learning of course. My captain, "Cheese" and co-captain "Sarah" are chill and very good at Ultimate. The team is a good bunch from college aged to middle-aged. I believe I fall in the middle? Gratefully, I was placed w/ another mom on the team who's played for 10 years. Yeah, she's good. We've got plenty of runners, catchers, and our lethal weapon, strong women players. Did I fail to mention this was co-ed? Other than the fact I made a turn, it was still a fun and good first game. We won 15-6, I believe. Score board here: http://tallahasseeultimate.com/summer12.html.

Ultimate in a Tiny Nutshell
I'm working on staying fit and practicing throws, but I'm eager to learn the rules of play. That's the confusing part for new players. Defense with terms like Force away, Force flick, and poaching. "Away" is opposite side from "home," which usually is where your team's belongings are. So when you're marking the handler, you block them to force them to throw in direction your team calls. However, if you're defending middle players or non-handlers, then you face opposite the direction of your team marker. Uhhhhh yeah. Confusing throughout the games especially with several turns quickly happening. On the offense, you have to coordinate w/ your teammates so you don't block each other, esp. the handler and the receivers. There are 2 typical ways to do that. "Vertical Stack" or "Vert" in short, or "Horizontal Stack" a.k.a. "Ho" for these Tally players. Okay, I won't go into the details of that one. The point is, it controls the flow of traffic among your teammates, making it feasible for a smooth drive down the field. Here is a link to some basic info. about the game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_(sport)


Week 2: Game 2 & 3
This was a double header, 2 games back to back. We managed well. First game was a score of 12-5 (I might have to correct this later). Second game was close, yet we won 10-9. Had a few episodes of scary Yikes. At least 3 incidents where the other team clobbered our teammates unintentionally or maybe intentionally. These were girls mainly. One of our girls was in mid-catch and the defending player practically ran into her. I don't know how that counts as defense, esp. when Ultimate is a non-contact sport. Anyway, my teammate was on the floor crying and I freaked out thinking she was seriously injured. Everyone froze on the field watching to see if she'd get up. I was within a yard of her and talked to her to see where the pain was.

Thankfully, she was crying out of embarrassment and was simply shocked. She slowly got up and wiped her tears off. I was so pumped up that she was crying, then I said, "She totally had that." Because she had the  catch and someone crazy ran into her mid-air. She landed hard, flat on the ground. Then, she learned that only she could make the call "strip." No one on the team can call it for you. If you have the disc in your possession and if someone knocks it out of your hand that counts as a "strip." Anyway, after her confirmation she called it a "strip." That was a major foul and a strip, and we got the score! That was a good game but talk about some iffy moments.

It's the beginning of the league season, but we're all serious about this game. We've got a great team with positive energy and competitive attitude so I think we can win this. I'm looking forward to keeping track of the games, post some pics, and possibly some vids. Who knows, one of these guys/gals might be pros one day. Right? It's exciting, considering that Ultimate just became a professional sport April (2012).

Tally Ultimate League Summer 2012


So, I joined a league via tallahasseeultimate.com. I'm both nervous and excited to play. There's one huge BUT... In the first week, I checked out the crowd and I am definitely outnumbered by young folks. How young is young? Hmm, well if you subtract 10 years from my age I believe that counts.

Welp, I'll just chug along the field and hopefully learn the right plays and get more fit throughout the summer.  Goal for the first night is to learn all the rules. I'll be sure to let ya'll know what I got. Hold up, I'm learning for the first time. I know the terms, HUCK!...FORCE FLICK!...V-stack...etc. But it's another animal to play it right in the field, in the game. Wish me luck.