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.

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.