Goal @ MindSay

Well if you live in the actual midwest (you know those states that make up the chef on the US Map?) you know our weather has been more like it should have been in April.  Winds, Rain, Sun, Humidity, then back down to freezing.

Anywho.  I passed my English Comp Class with a 101.75%.  I got full points for the abstract, ant. bib, outline, and precise(sp?) notes.  And I got a 195 out of 200 for the final 10-12 page paper.  What makes me made about this is the ONLY person to give me kudos is the same person who is my biggest fan about going back to school.  Dipshit (that would be Randy), my parents, other friends and family they all just said oh.  Fuckers.

One would think I would have all the time in the world now to fully decrustify my house since I have been off of school since last Thursday.  Oh no.  The kids have been going to practice now for two weeks.  We started games on Monday. 

Some very good things came out of me going ballasitc on those bratty kids and getting after the coach about not controlling the boys team.  Now one of the guys that runs the baseball and softball associsation in the town they play for is monitoring the boys practice.  Come to find out his son is on the team.  He gave me MASSIVE kudos for makign the general apology helped the teenybopper feild some parental phone calls and explained to them I had issues with only two of the boys and he heard the whole thing while he was helping his wife coach their daughters 12 and under softball team.  I do have a little fall out from a couple sets of parents but over all most of the parents are very friendly and a few have made overtures of making a point of backing me up about the way things are ran based off of last names and who lives where.  Coltin is now having a lot of fun as are the other 3-5 boys who were constantly being harassed for one reason or another.

My goal for my week off of school before I start my one summer class is to just keep the crust out of the house!  The kids have been told we will be having a house cleaning party either Friday or Saturday. 

I start class on the 26th.  We are taking a family camping trip to the Damm on the TRADATIONAL Memorial Day Weekend (that would be the last weekend of May).  The month of June I don't get to play anymore.  Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays are all game days for the kids.  Plus at least one to two tournies in June for both kids.  I have class that doesn't end until the end of June either.  WiFi connections in the towns are going to be my life savers!  Randy has been very busy even if the other guys haven't.  I don't think I will see him much this summer at all.  I have only seen him once so far this week and that was simply due to a transformer fire at one of the Army Corp Damm's he was suppose to go finish his project up.  No not his work that caught fire.  The fire was outside.  He is working on electrical and controls in the Damm control center.  He was home when we got home from DeLaney's game last night.  Surpised all three of us.

Regardless if Randy is able to come with us or not this year, the kids and I made a family decision that we will go to either MN's Adventureland or KS's Worlds/Oceans of Fun for a full weekend.  And we will do one major camping trip.  Simply because Randy bailed on us going to the BlackHills.  It has been put on the table via DeLaney to go to Yellowstone, Coltin put the Blackhills/Badlands on the table and I put a combo package on the table of hitting both plus making a pit stop outside of Denver to meet up with some of mommy's friends.  Possibly to have them pick a decent but not too toursity camping site that is close to them also!

Randy isn't sure what to make of us saying he doesn't get a choice at all.  He either goes or doesn't.  He understands but doesn't like it. 

Well that is about it for now.  Here is a run down on what we have done or gotten in the last week to two weeks:

Coltin:  Took one for the team on his first game.  Sporting a deep bruse on his arm and a faint bruse on his side.  Shook it off like a pro with minor tears and then ran the bases.  (I missed my boy's first game:()  The boys lost a close game 11-9.  Way to play as a team panther boys!

DeLaney:  Signed up for band for next year and going to be taking summer sax lessons free of charge via the school in June.  (Yay more running for mommy!)

DeLaney:  Was up to bat 3 times and hit all three time with two RBI's.  Her team won their first game!  yay Panther Girls!

Coltin:  Finally got his Rose Trantula and has been having a feild day feeding embryo mice and meal worms to the fuzzy additon to the family. 

Randy:  Has been all over Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska working on service calls, bids, and laying out new projects.  Will soon be heading possibly out to Idaho for a potential bid customer! 

Me:  Have yet to make use of my burn ring (thanks Nebraska Wind!), passed my class, is signed up for full time classes in the fall, and was awarded one of twelve Student Ambassordor slots for the next school year at my jr. college!   (nobody but you all know this yet!  I figure nobody listens to me around my house so why bother telling them)

Wish me luck on my Basic Fundlemental Biology Class this summer!  They are starting the first three weeks/chapters out with basic chemistry!  I have never taken chemistry!

Unlike our moms & grandmas before us, more women now are in careers. That's okay, very okay. Because a woman is a man's equal even in the workplace. She, given the same training, is equal to the task and may even shine brighter. She can hold her own, be brilliant, be tough. and too brings to the job this something else God gave to women -- a nurturing heart.  So you see, the only difference is -- she wears lipstick and high heels! :-)

I won't say we did excellent at our first TKD tourny but we did really well for being one of the bigger Regional Tournies in our area!

Hell there were ppl all the way from FL that showed up outside of Omaha to the Tourny!  It doesn't suprise any of us that we had ppl down from MN, ND, SD, IA or even up from MO, KS, and AK.  But it did shock a lot of folks that we had folks from FL, CA, OR, GA, and a couple from CO!  Why the FL one shocked us over the West coasters and the GA folks, is because the person was a lil 7 year old 1st Degree Black Belt!  I even talked to his mom (sittin next to each other during the Adult and Tiny Tot's BB competitions before opening ceromonines!).  This lil boy's mom flys him all over the states for TKD tournies!  This weekend they were of course in NE, last weekend AJ (my assistant instructor) saw him in St. Paul, MN and the weekend before they were in NE again at a smaller state Trouny!  Must be nice to be 7 years old and being flown all over creation by parents with money!:P  I don't begrudge them doing that but I'll be dayumed I fly anywhere for a tourny unless my kids eventually make it to one of the big ones out in Las Vegas.  Even the World Championship ones we won't ever fly too!  That is only down in Little Rock!

Anyway, AJ is waiting on BB point standings to be released Monday morning to see if he made it to the World Champinship (Only those in Leadership Status can collect points and go on to World Championship or get any State Championship or REgional Champsionship).  Mr. G (his first tourny also) placed in the BB also with forms and got a Victory Medal (basically 4th place -they only place 1-3) on his weapons. 

The kids and I weren't up till after opening ceromonies.  Which by the way was kick ass KEWL!  Master K not only owns the Bellevue NE school (outside of Omaha) but owns 3 other schools in NE also, so they of course always host regionals and he went out of his way this year because they got some High Ranking Masters to help judge this year.  A 1979 Triple Crown NE State Championship and World Champioinship Woman (can't remember her name) who is also on the ATA Board of Directors was there, along with the Current 7th to 9th degree Master who is currently the Triple Crown Holder for World Champioinships and one of the retired World Championship Head dudes that helped our Founding TKD Org and TKD Style Master Lee with some of the forms was there.  They were all there to help judge!  Not to mention a few other high ranking TKD folks who were helping to judge.  Then for opening ceromonies after all the chitter that irritates ppl, they had a Korean group come in and did a whole Korean Dragon show with 4 dragons.  It was AWESOME!

I managed to watch all of DeLaney's section and she did EXCELLENT for her first tourny!  A Victory Medal (again 4th place) for forms and a 1st placing in Weapons out of 5 girls.  She was the only ranking in her group.  All the rest were higher ranking and a total of 8 girls ages 8-10.  Sparring will come as we do more torunies.  I didn't get to watch Coltin's because my section was called up and gettin started at the same time Coltin's was.  So i relied on DeLaney to take pictures for me.  Coltin also did EXCELLENT!  He got a Victory Medal for 4th place in forms and got 3rd in Weapons out of 4 or 5 boys.  There were three other boys the same ranking as he was and a total of 15 boys ages 8-10 that he had to compete against.  Alas though Coltin wasn't able to spar.  The ignorance of a Mamma and not knowing that lil boys had to have a cup.  First who would have thought at that age group they require a cup.  They have really nothing there:D  So the judge (4th degree Dan) helped calm him down by letting him be the offical score keeper (usually reserved for BBs) and told him not to get mad at me cause us Mamma's don't always think of those things and just to have Daddy take him cup shopping before our next tourny!

There was about 10 of us women age grouped from 17-39 because there was only 3 girl for the 17-20 age group and the rest of us were the 30-39 age group.  So instead of putting those 3 women off by themselves they just lumped them with us.  Only two women did weapons (me and a higher ranking woman) and of course there was only 1 other woman at my rank and the rest of the women were either two ranks ahead of us or clear up to the rank below black belt.  I did pretty good if I must say so!  I got a Victory Medal (4th place) for forms, and the other Blue Belt Rank lady that didn't do weapons and the other Camo Rank (my rank) also got the Victory Medal, so in other words we tied for 4th place and since they only count 1-3 we didn't have to do what is called a Form off:P:D  The other blue rank and I were the only ones that did Weapons.  She got first and I got second.  I didn't get to watch her form beause I was running over to Coltin's matt but EVERYONE said I got jipped out of 1st because I may have had my chucks do something funky twice, she dropper her weapon twice.  The other Camo belt ranking goes to the same Academy as the Blue ranking women who took first and said she is either sleeping with the instructor or doing some massive kiss ass because they both started at teh same time and the Camo belt lady is right were she needs to be at and the other lady is two rankings higher then her now.  Plus the 2nd Dan judge (Dan is the degree of black belt) is one of their Academies sister school instructors and Camo woman and the other ladies think that is why the lady who got first in weapons got it.  I didn't see her weapons form and I dont' care.  I placed!:D  Again I did good in sparring didn't place but it was our first tourny and the judge even said once I get some things down I am going to be a force to be reckoned with because I don't just do kicks or just punches I do a lot of combos!

They were doing closing ceromonies by the time Coltin and I were done and getting changed and we were getting complements left and right on how well we all three did!  The Triple Crown Lady went up to DeLaney and told her she was really impressed with her form and gave her a few tips to clean it up before testing and our in school tourny.  Coltin's judge and the Men's Triple Crown Current Champion both told him he did great and the guy took Coltin up to another tourny matt and showed him what he could do to improve both his form and his weapons!  I had the head guy that was retired and on board of directors show me a couple of arm and hand positions to help my sparring and complement all three of us and said that he is hoping to see us at some more tournies and asked why we weren't leadership yet.  That he was watching all 3 of us all day long because he sat near us, and was really impressed with not only how well we did but how the kids and I were NOT shy and talked to EVERYONE and even helped out others in our postion of being first tourny.  And he asked Coltin's judge  if she would please find out why we weren't leadership.  Coltin's judge is testing at World Championship with our insturctor for their 5th Dan BB and when I explained that I had leadership i just haven't taken it yet cause my kids didn't make it to open try outs and now have a invit try out after our in school tourny, the Host Master popped in and told Coltin's Judge (guess she is going to be at our tourny helping) to tell our instructor to get us in Leadership ASAP so we can start earing points!

Over all we did REALLY good, and I am proud of my kids.  They went in to have fun and that is what they did!  Sure they placed in weapons but that wasn't the goal.  The goal was to get some experenice in and I delibreatly choose a BIG tourny to do it so they would get over the nervousness and here they both placed!  We all are on a Marital Arts high today!  It was late by the time we got out of Bellevue into Omaha and I decieded NOT to stop anywhere for food and we picked up Micky D's in IA before crossing BACK into NE on our way home, so we are going to the Olive Garden today for a celebration lunch!

I'll post pictures later (sorry none of me cause I was the only parent there to manage my two!) and wish us luck on preparing for our next rank testing this coming Saturday!