the morning after plan B

haha! that title just had to be used! the derby team we played last night was the B team for the national champs - Kansas City Roller Warriors. and yes, their B team was named "Plan B"

the night was crazy. i was knocked all over the floor, jammed a very ridiculous & tiring first jam, and went to the penalty box for the first time. we had some drama but our night ended having fun at the after party with our opposing team and dancing our fishnets off.

i hadn't realized until this past year how much i have been missing being on a team. from 9th grade through college i was with my track & cross country teams constantly. then i graduated college, got married, found a job & started my photography business. somewhere in the middle i started feeling that nostalgic ache. and then roller derby happened!

i have always had the most amazing friends ever. and they will always be there regardless of time, distance or situation. but i was delightfully surprised when when i joined roller derby and suddenly gained 10 or so new buddies that live in (or at least near) stillwater. and i can't imagine being without them now, all my 8-wheeled accomplices. i think we're all saving each other in little ways.

Mary Tyler Gore putting the jammer panty on Robin D'Cradle (yep, its called a panty)

before the bout, empty house. Robin, Gore, okc derby gal Rican Rage who joined us for the day & her man, and ref BOB

pivot panty and potato skins

Flogging Margot's awesome socks

i finally lettered my helmet

waiting.

my only significant bruise from the night. i have no idea what i did to my pinky but it went numb for a while.

*love*

derby daydreams

this is me in my cube. every day.

post-bout & anniversary

sooo my first bout with the angels of no mercy was aaaammaaaaazing!!!!!!! i'm totally in love with it! the team, the fans, the knocking down & getting up, the rush of it all! morning welcomed me with a nervous stomach but i chilled soon and i remained calm (somehow) until the start! 

my heart jumped a bit the first time i stepped up to the line but as soon as the whistle blew i was fine. it wasn't nearly as scary as i thought it would be! even though all the opponents were (of course) bigger than me i did my darnedest to hold my ground...even when Toxic Ta'Kilah's giant boobs were about to knock me out!

here's an iphone pic my dad took before we started

yep, sexy, huh? with my slobbery mouth guard in hand and my hair slicked into the helmet. ha!

anyway, i had a blast! sadly, we lost go the green country thunder dollz but it was a fight the whole way and we entertained the small (due to holiday) but lively crowd.  i'm ready to get some more practice in now that i have a better idea of the end result. 

OH! and someone asked for my autograph! i probably shouldn't have said "you really want my autograph!?!" but i couldn't help it...i was in shock!

~~~

as i mentioned in my last post, yesterday was also our 6 year wedding anniversary! 

preston worked, i skated. 

we both halfheartedly wish we had planned something grand for our weekend because after all six years seems like one of those big anniversaries! we both arrived home smelly & tired but went out to the derby after party, had good time, and slept super late today. we've had so many planned-out celebratory weekends before and they were all fun...but there's nothing quite like playing the hermit together. especially when its raining outside!!! 

i can't believe its been 6 years! {side note: someone asked me yesterday "so, did you guys start dating high school?" haha! nope, i replied and was giddy upon hearing that they thought i was 23. heehee}

happiness & love, baby

we loved this quote & put it on our wedding programs:

"Here Love's longing draws back the veil, and illumines the recesses of the heart,

Creating a happiness that no other happiness can surpass but that of the Soul when she embraces God."

-Kahlil Gibran from Secrets of the Heart, chapter on The Way of Marriage.

and my derby names isss......

meet one of the newest Angels of No Mercy roller girls.....

Audrey DEATHbuuuuurn!!!!

preston made me do the growl, i swear.

(and this will look much more rockin' with my shoulder tat.....5 day countdown...)

i had a blast at practice tonight. ready to practice more and get faster! 

my red wheels & laces, new bearings and toe guard should all be here soon. and i now have tickets for the bout on May 29th, Sat 7pm at the Stillwater Expo. so shout if you wanna come! 

i think i'm an alternate right now so might not be skating this one unless something happens.

yay for roller fun!!!!

weekend weekend yay for weekends!!!

new glasses for me & my man! 

i am just so excited because he's (kind of) smiling and he never lets me takes pictures of him!!!! the ultimate test for a photographer - not taking photos of the one you love the most. 

anyway, i think i'm going to buy some like preston's in my prescription (which is something near "blind") 'cause i just love 'em!!!  but i love mine too. why am i so excited about glasses? it must mean i'm getting old - "oh goodness gracious, preshton, our shpectacles are here!"

anyway. weekeeeeeeend!!!! yiipppeeeeeeee!!!! 

gonna finish up some photo work tonight. then lunch & banked track derby bout tomorrow with mom! then scout's 2 year birthday party on sunday (2 years!?!?!) Yay for fun plans!

~

also...preston made me suit up in my derby stuff the other day & took some photos. but i'm not gonna post them until i'm absolutely sure i can skate and actually participate in a bout. (i'm just now starting to recover from some major anxiety-fueled type-A freakouts from my first skating practice earlier this week.)

SO - the deal is, this photo will be posted in full clarity once (if) that day arrives. And, this is being shown here ONLY. 

also...is it wrong that i get such a kick out of making our parents squirm!?!  hahaaa! we love it!

(e.g. my mother in law thought my glasses were a joke and then couldn't stop laughing when she saw preston's; my dad called my mom and told her about my new "hair-brained idea" of starting roller derby, right after asking me "are you crazy?"; and the list goes on...)

be afraid.

be VERY afraid.

(because i am! haha!)

i looove my new skates!

on a lighter note...

after work i went to the cross country course and ran 2 miles in my five fingers. AND, i seem to have found my favorite place in stillwater. i've been there a thousand times (literally, i'm sure). 

on the cross country course at the top of the big hill. next to the tree that coached had dubbed the big V (for victory.....whatever.) i stopped there to stretch and turned toward the west around 8:30.

just past sunset. and it was amazing.

the salmon sky, periwinkle clouds. all i could hear were birds and wind in the trees. the setting sun slowly turns all the greens to black. i can see the field, the horizon, the trees around me, the quiet apartments, the sky and nothing else. 

perfection.

i didn't want to leave. i could have curled up in that field to awake at sunrise completely surprised that i hadn't transformed into a flower through the night. (a weed is more realistic.) i'll have to go there more often.

on the down side, more blisters from breaking in the five fingers

drive, determination....and pissing your pants

so i decided a while back that i thought it would be freakin awesome to be a roller derby girl. i mean...skates, fishnets, eye makeup & flying around a track!?! sounds amazing to me! so i went to my very first bout at the drop of a hat on sunday night.

and as is custom with me, i fell in love in about oohhhhhhh.......5 seconds! 

so it started. the drive. the determination.

i'm doing this. i've been telling people i'm gonna do it and i'm not backing down. i want this!

so after burning with a 10yr-old-on-christmas sorta excited all day i emailed the Angels of No Mercy derby team of the Central Oklahoma Roller Derby. i squealed and squalled after the email was sent.

at lunch today i turned on my computer, checked my email and squealed (again) with joy! turns out its the perfect time to join cause they're really needing some new recruits (*clearing throat here* attention all you ladies in the stillwater/guthrie area come out & join!!!!!). a couple of their girls are leaving soon and some skates need to be filled. 

"oh, and btw, practice is tonight! come even if you don't have equipment!" 

so i went (sooo excited i could barely stand still or stop grinning like a cheshire).

i borrowed someone's skates that were a size or two too large, but needed to just try it out. and i sucked wwaaaaaaaaay more than i thought i would. hell, i started to put the freakin wrist guard on my elbow! in my defense i've never worn a protective pad of any sort in my entire life b/c i never did organized sports! i don't even think i've ever worn a bike helmet (much to the dismay of my doctor when i showed up at her clinic with a broken collar bone from bike riding...but that's another story.)

so, what if i suck? what if i can never learn to skate with my knees bent and my torso forward? what if i can never learn to stop? agah!!!!!! 

{minor internal freakout as i'm trying to figure out how to stop and not fall backwards}

chill. i can do this. i ran 10ks on a track, i can learn to balance myself on wheels!

and no, i didn't really piss my pants. only mentally.
 

so, i need to buy some skates asap. and practice.

once i get in some skates that are my size maybe i'll be a teensy bit better. but here goes!

practice again in one week! i'll be there with (hopefully) skates on!

and here are some photos just for your enjoyment (or dread, which ever you think)...