Other sports have them, why not Derby?

A few weeks ago I was in my local sporting goods store and spotted these gems :

Its a dry erase board with a permanent picture of a sports field (baseball, soccer, lacrosse and basketball). Coaches can draw out plays on them and wipe it off, draw out another one. I almost picked up a basketball one for our league since we practice on an indoor gym floor, but I was sure something existed for Roller Derby.

A quick Google Search proved me wrong. BUT I had seen small dry erase boards at my local Dollar Store, and I DO have a Silhouette Machine for cutting vinyl....

Ta-dah!

I found an image online of a derby track, erased most of the markings off of it, plugged it into my Silhouette and traced and cut the vinyl in my team colors, and applied it to the dry erase board. Who knows what the longevity of this one will be.....but for now, at least maybe I'll be able to understand some of the drills our Training Committee has us do LOL  :)

Skate Sling

I found some 2" wide black webbing on sale at Joann's a few weeks ago. It was packaged like ribbon, on a spool and pre-cut. I picked it up thinking I would use it for handles on a tote bag or something, but quickly realized I could use a skate sling! My gym bag is kindof small, and I can either fit all my gear (helmet included) OR my skates and most of my gear (helmet clipped on the outside of my bag). With a skate sling, I could easily transport my gear and my skates and still have a free hand to lug the medic bag, copy of the rules and any other goodies I bring to practice...without having to make two trips to my car--success!

I tried this several different ways before finally settling on this particular method. The strap is only about two feet long, then two loops that are about a foot long sewn directly to the main strap.

It was so plain and boring that I decided to use some blue glitter paint and add my derby name :)

Home Bouts, Banners and Water Bottles...random I know :)

I've been so insanely busy lately! We have had several Roller Derby Bouts that are only weeks apart! In fact, this Saturday is our very first home bout! I cannot wait...but there is so much to do.

1st I'd like to show you some fun easy things I did with my Silhouette Vinyl Cutter.

When I saw these adorable water bottles on sale at CVS I knew I had to have one...then I took mine to practice and all my derby sisters wanted one too...I went all over town checking all the CVS stores and even my boss at work was looking at the ones by her house for me! I managed to get three that still had the rhinestones on them and were in good shape...for $1.75 each!! So I added Derby Names and gave them to my derby sisters :)

For our first home bout, we needed a banner to hang over the penalty box. I didn't have enough heat transfer vinyl on hand, so I ended up appliqueing the words on, but used the most awesome glittery heat transfer for the star :)

Then, our Bench Coach needed a tie! He had one previously, but one of our girls had applied the heat transfer vinyl in a rush in a hotel room literally minutes before we left for our 1st bout....and ended up burning the tie and the vinyl wasn't stuck very well. So before out last bout he dropped another tie off for me to work my magic on...

I survived!

Well, we lost our first bout....but man did I learn a lot!! We were spazzy for the first half, but by the second half we really got our act together and were at least able to keep the other team from scoring too much more by then :)

It was a great experience and I can't wait for more! This is by far my favorite picture of the night. Me and two other girls who have gone through this whole journey together. We all did the boot camp with the other team last January, all tried out and all didn't make it. We all did the wreck night, and still didn't make it. Then we found Coastal Derby Empire and encouraged each other not to give up on this crazy derby dream.

Now we are here. Having passed our minimum skills tests and survived our first public bout.(And all smiles!)

I'm so happy to have these lovely ladies in my life, and on my team. :)

First Jersey!

Well, my new Roller Derby League is Official. We have our jerseys and are skating in our first public bout this weekend!

To say I'm nervous is a HUGE understatement. I feel like there is so much pressure. To be a good teammate, to look "derby", to have fun. Its all just overwhelming....I mean, the actual GAME is pretty overwhelming to a Fresh Meat like me already. I'm just hoping that my nerves will calm down a bit once I get my massive to-do list under control and that we do just have a lot of fun! The team we are playing are supposed to be super nice ladies and they are great friends with some of the seasoned skaters in my league...so I'm looking forward to meeting new derby friends....and trying not to think about the audience and question my skills.

Oh and did I mention I am running a 5k the morning of the bout? Yeah...didn't check my schedule before signing up for that one :) I think a nice run will help me relax a bit though, so its a good thing...maybe a morning run will become part of my pre-bout ritual this season :)

Fresh Meat Class of 2013

Well, its been about a year in the making.....and FINALLY I have passed my WFTDA Minimum Skills Assessment and am officially Fresh Meat!! (Like REALLY passed it...25 in 5 and all!)

I am now eligible to bout, and let me tell you....its a great weight lifted off my shoulders. I have been wanting this for so long, and it seemed like such a HUGE obstacle for so long now....and finally....in one short night I did it!!!

A. Mean O. Acid finally comes to life and will be playing Roller Derby alongside some amazing teammates :)

With the season starting (First bout is Feb 23rd) I have decided to close up my Etsy Shop for a bit....not sure how long, but I simply do not have time to sew right now.

See you on the track! :)

Roller Derby Wheel Bag

I've been trying to make a compact wheel bag for my spare sets of wheels, but one that can be washed when it becomes stinky from being in my skate bag all the time.  This was my second attempt, and it still needs work (notice that not-so-straight zipper top stitching? yeah, me neither)

Its clear vinyl on the top so I can see which set of wheels are in it, made from cotton fabric and light interfacing, has a handle so I can grab it and go easily. The zipper runs along the top, and it fits 8 wheels. While I do like it a lot, there are some changes I will make next time.

#1- move the zipper further down the side (leaving a few inches of fabric above it so my top stitching can look prettier--which also is what sealed in the raw edge as the bag is not lined)

#2-make the zipper ends a little neater

#3- use a sturdier fabric, like a cotton canvas or something. This one is very flimsy.

Other than that, I'm pretty pleased. What do you think?

Nov 28th will never be my favorite day. Ever.

Today marks the 6 year anniversary of my Mom's death. It has been a totally terrible day. I slept terribly last night thinking about her, cried myself to sleep in the middle of the night....cried all morning, and in the bathroom at work a few times. Our son saw me crying this morning and he got upset too. Which made me feel guilty on top of my grief.

I don't even want to face anyone today, although not one single person has asked me how I was doing or even knows what a difficult day it has been for me (except my sweet husband), and I'm grateful for that!

After hiding my crazy out of control emotions at work all day, I'm not going to practice tonight. I can't face people.I am going home to snuggle with my sweet little boy (who informed me this morning that I could still talk to my Mom...I just had to make sure to look up to Heaven when I did it so she would hear me.) Then I'm going to crawl in bed, pull the covers over my head and probably cry myself to sleep....and wake up in the morning knowing I've survived another year without my Mom and nothing has changed. It still sucks. :(

First Scrimmage!

Coastal Derby Empire has our first Scrimmage against another team this weekend! Its a closed scrimmage, so our friends and family won't be able to come...but it should be very educational for us to see how we handle the pressure of playing another team, and give us some points to improve on as well. Personally, I'm not as nervous as I thought I would be....I'm actually quite excited to get this under my belt and know how I will react so I can plan for the next one! A little nervous that this will be my only scrimmage for a while, since I'm still not very confident in my skills.....but we'll cross that bridge when the time comes...for now--Happy Scrimmaging Weekend! :)

Roller Derby ate my life.

Seriously. I can't remember what I did before Roller Derby! Between a spontaneous trip to the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS last weekend, to all the extra practices and PR for our first scrimmage this weekend, I have zero spare time. I haven't been to bed before midnight in, well, I can't remember when the last time was! I'm exhausted, getting sick and can't stop smiling!

Coastal Derby Empire will be playing the Columbia Quad Squad in a closed scrimmage this Sunday! Its exciting, and should be very educational. I'll just be glad to get a scrimmage under my belt :)

Although it is a little disappointing that my husband and son can't even come to see my first scrimmage against another team...hopefully there will be more though.

Oh, and zero sewing has taken place in this house in quite a while. I need to get some ID card holders ready for my wholesaler.....and I did cut them out and interface them...but no sewing yet.

Derby Name!

In all the excitement of passing my assessments, I completely forgot to tell you my Derby Name! Since this journey began in January, I've had many many ideas for a name. But one just came to me, and I love it! I knew it was the right choice. Esp since I can deliver some mean hits....that is, while my target is standing still--still working on the whole hitting a moving target thing!

So here it is, I will henceforth be known on the track as "A. Mean O. Acid"

A team mate sent me this cartoon shortly after I announced it--too funny!!

Memories

All the talk about Big Tex burning down reminded me of a certain cowboy that was a big part of my childhood.

This is "The Big Ugly Man" as dubbed by my older sister. And he was the highlight of any trip to our Paternal Grandparents' house.

My Dad was in the Army, so we were all over the place growing up. In between Duty Stations or even sometimes for the holidays, we would drive back to Texas where both sides of the family were. On the drive to my Dad's parent's house in the Tool/Seven Points/ Gun Barrel City area we would always watch for the Big Ugly Man. We wanted to see what color shirt he would be wearing, and how his paint job was holding up and if he was still holding the wooden rifle that he had for several years. It was also an indicator that we were getting close to our Grandparents/Uncle's house and that we had better get our shoes on and start getting ready to have that leg of our trip over. We would get so excited!

Over the years he started to show his age, but he was still there. His paint jobs would be less frequent, and I'm pretty sure the building behind him was abandoned. But I thought he would always be there.

Its been many many years since I've been back to Texas, much less to that area. I always thought the Big Ugly Man would be there forever.

A quick Google Search today proved otherwise. (Photos courtesy of Florida Muffler Men)He's been moved! Restored, given a new paint job and a new life. While I am particularly sad to see his cowboy hat go and by the addition of facial hair, I'm so glad that maybe he can still be a fond childhood memory and landmark for another family. He always did look good in Red, it was one of my favorite "shirts" over the years :)

Do you have any great childhood memories of strange statues? I also vaguely remember a Yogi Bear statue somewhere by my other Grandmother's house....