Professional. Rugby. Woman.

San Diego State - SMBA '12 Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 09:06:00 +0000

I'm blaming most of the reason that I've been MIA on the fact that I'm heading up the blog for my class. There are about 10 of us that write for it, so I don't do all of the writing, but I do make the attempt to keep it organized and stories flowing. If you want to see what I'm up to - check it out:

http://sandiegostatesportsmba12.blogspot.com/

I did get an internship already with SDSU's Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator. I'm going to work with her while in classes as much as possible, its going to be a fantastic experience, I'm going to learn a lot from her.

West Part II - 2 Months Late!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:44:00 +0000

After we left Wichita Falls, we were excited to get to Amarillo, Texas, since Tony Christi seemed to want to get there so bad, we wanted to see the hype.

Nipper was behind the wheel, so I was checking out where to stay and what seemed to be good. I found a hotel that was priced right, non smoking, no pets (Nipper was going to stay in the car) so I called and reserved a room. After I hung up, Nipper said 'was that room in Albuquerque?' Yep, it was. I had to call and cancel, although I promised if we stayed in Albuquerque, we'd use his hotel .

Our first destination was to The Big Texan where we were thinking of trying to split the 72 oz steak challenge. That's right, if you eat a 72 oz steak, baked potato, salad and dinner roll in under 1 hour its free. They even stream people making the attempt.

The Big Texan also has a Motel attached to it, so we reserved a room there but then thought it might be better to stay downtown Amarillo. So we cancelled the room there and headed for downtown. Amarillo does not have a downtown. There is nothing there. Some hotels, a convention center, a bank or two. That is about it. Back to The Big Texan it was, where I made Nipper reserve the room since they hadn't heard her voice. Dinner was gigantic, and delicious!

The next morning we left Amarillo and changed our plans, thanks to Rip's advice to go up North a bit to see Shiprock and the 4 Corners, then the Grand Canyon. So we headed for Santa Fe. We got into SF early enough to check in and walk the streets in the day time. I got a little over excited to see Trader Joe's AND Whole Foods all within a few blocks. The downtown was cute - we went to a few bars and had a good dinner at Cowgirl Cafe, then sprinted home practically before our ears snapped off.

Up early-ish in the morning, we stopped at WF for breakfast and these green things called vegetables, got ourselves some Starbucks mugs, and headed for the 4 Corners.

Insert 2 month's time and a blog that sat in the edit cue...

Ok - well for some reason once I got to San Diego, the hustle and bustle of settling in, starting school and getting bombarded with work made me forget to upload the 2nd half of our trip. EC is going to kill me!

In any case, we went to the 4 corners, the grand canyon and then made a long day's drive into San Diego where we were met by my new roommate BB. It was a fun trip, there were a few times Nip didn't think she was going to live through it, but we won't get into that. I miss here - and every time I go into a Wal-Mart, I look for a package of crayons, pencils and markers all in the same kit for poor Aidan, who didn't actually get what he wanted. I'm sure he's crushed with all of the other fun things Mommy brought home.

I'll try to upload some pics when I get a chance....!

Headed West!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:40:00 +0000

Its the 4th morning of our trip, we've landed in Amarillo, TX already, logging 1700 miles.

We left Baltimore with a car almost filled to the top, hardly able to see out of the back window. By now, things seemed to have settled down and I probably could have fit another few boxes in my car.The first day we hauled @$$ down to Nashville, stopped twice. Once to introduce Nipper to Sheetz, and she took the wheel! (Even after I was told of the story that Mushy had to drive in Spain after he'd shoulder surgery) But hey, we're still here and she's driven every day since... even if she still walks to the wrong side of the car.

We got to Nashville at about 8:30 and ran straight out to see what Music City had to offer. Had dinner at Margaritaville, then went to The Stage on Broadway where we saw the Chris River Band. Then we headed down to Tootsies where we were upfront for the fall of Mr. Tyler Farr. Literally, he sang with the band you see behind Nipper in the pic, was so drunk that he got off of the stage, went to his seat, and fell. Multiple times!

The next day we got to Graceland in Memphis to scope out where Elvis lived. To start, we must say Memphis is an interesting city. It felt like I was driving through the rough parts of Baltimore, then all of the sudden, we were at the home of Elvis. I wonder if people knew we were out of towners, two white chicks with a car packed to the top, bike on the back... not looking to the sides. In any case, this was a treat to Nipper, who just got married in Vegas! Why didn't she wear her dress?! The house was amazing - going back in time! The walls were carpeted or had drapes on them. Shag carpet, jungle like furniture, gigantic kitchen and several different buildings.

After this, we made it to Little Rock for dinner. It seemed like it was a cute town, a nice downtown street, ice skating on the Arkansas River. After dinner we made it to Texarkana, AR where Smoky and the Bandit was filmed (we found this out as we were eating breakfast - thank you MH!).

After breakfast, we headed to Witchita Falls, but not without a stop in Paris Texas to see the Eiffel Tower.

When we finally made it to Witchita Falls to visit Juli and WFAC. Juli treated us to an awesome Texas BBQ at the Branding Iron, and even got Nipper to pose with some real cowboys. (check her FB for a photo) Then we went to one of the weirdest places I've ever been. A drive up bar. Yes, we drove up, a chick came out took our order and served us Red Draws in the car (beer and tomato juice). Where else other than North Texas?!

I will say, I finally heard my first negative thing about San Diego. Thanks Rip! Best stop thus far, next time we'll spend more time with this gang - thanks again Juli!

More to come on our time in Amarillo, TX - aka Armadillo.

San Diego or Bust

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:44:00 +0000

Its official! I am now a student again... uh oh! So now the name of this blog is totally shot, but I'm still going to keep it. I will at some point regain my professional status, and will always be a fan of rugby, or involved with it in some way, and I'm pretty sure I'll always be a woman!

The road trip commences January 2nd with my E'N'B who is flying all the way from Limerick, Ireland to make the journey with me.

Starting January 11th, I will be a Sports MBA student at San Diego State University. This program is incredibly unique, and I've been eyeing it up for some time now. It is one of the only Sports MBA programs in the country, where you do not have to dual major in MS of SM and an MBA. Its also a new program, first graduating class was in 2006 - so very close alumni relationships! I got to meet one of the alumni who is doing great things at Under Armor - she was pretty awesome!

Now - the fun part! I basically have 7 weeks to plan my cross country move, financial status quit my job and say good bye to some really great people I've met in Baltimore, and my old friends in Philly. (Not to mention the car I just bought.... needed to have its transmission and clutch replaced. Yes Mazda, I'm not a fan of yours.)

This is probably the most daunting and intimidating thing I've done, just looking at finances alone is enough to make someone up-chuck. But its also something that I am beyond excited for. No really... can not wait for! I'm convinced that I'm being tested as to my desire for this program by my car issues, and a few other hiccups.... psshhhtttt - bring it on! (no, I'm joking, that was enough thanks!) JB and I sketched out a possible road trip map on our flights to Phoenix a few weeks ago:

The tough part is obviously saying good bye to (most) of the life as I've known it for the past few years. I love Baltimore, I've made some great friends and genuinely feel as though I'm lucky to have been surrounded by these people. There are some that have made a huge difference in my life, and I don't think I could be more grateful. I've gotten to work at some of the best gyms in the Baltimore area, with some of the best coaches I've met yet. With all of the good bye parties and holiday parties I'll be attending - I'm sure we're going to take out 2010 with a bang. This is quite a 'New Year' for me, one with gigantic change! Seriously, gigantic!

SBCF had a party for me (b/c they're awesome) on Saturday which was a 'Centurion' consisting of a lot of beer and a lot of pull ups. Here are the ppl that survived all 100 minutes:

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks! Its a bitter sweet end to 2010!

Paleo Post-Workout Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Again, I'm using what I posted on SBCF's blog for here. These are delicious!

I made some protein post–workout ‘paleo bars’ Monday night that are pretty awesome. I mimicked Larabars and added protein.

Pureed:

dates*
pumpkin
pineapple
almond milk**

Mixed in:

coconut
pumpkin seeds
walnuts
almonds
cashews
protein powder (chocolate whey)

Amounts are relative – I didn’t measure anything – all of it is to taste. You want to make them really thick so they stay together. Spread onto a nonstick baking sheet (or glass baking dish lined with wax paper) and bake in the oven on 350 for 15-20 minutes. Store in the fridge (not mandatory).

*can sub dates with figs- might be easier to puree. Chop the dates before you try to blend them (lesson learned the hard way).
** can also use coconut milk for almond milk.
*** Larabars use coconut oil.

**** Other possible ingredients: carrots (think carrot cake), ginger, cherries, apricots, almond meal, almond butter, cacao nibs, baked apples, peaches, any sort of nut, lemon, and cinnamon….

These are called “post workout” bars because they contain a somewhat higher amount of carbs than we would normally want to snack on. Restricting higher GI carbs to post workout (30 min) allows us to take advantage of the time where we can absorb carbs without a large insulin release.

StrongWOman Competitions

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:15:00 +0000

I wrote this past for South Baltimore CrossFit a few weeks back, and just thought I'd copy it to my own blog. No need to rewrite the wheel, right? I did make a few edits, and expanded on my teams' events. This all points in the end to doing something that is beyond yourself, both in life and in sport.

The weekend of August 7-8 was the weekend of the Strongwoman. You won’t find very many women competing in, let alone doing ‘Strongman’ style events around the world, so the fact that there were two in one weekend was quite rare, and the fact that MW and I did both was just plain silly.

There is something to be said for women who are willing to step up and do things that are not ‘normal’ and to spare any sort of woman’s lib mumbo jumbo, I’m just saying kudos to those of us who are (patting my own back, and any of the other women at SBCF, Keystone and the Belles). BUT the greatest thing about the competitions over the weekend, was that there were some phenomenal competitors out, including a 58-year-old type-1 diabetic, a mother whose been training for 1 month, a few CrossFitters from around the area, some other rugby players, football players, weightlifters, even some veteran Strongwoman

competitors and a pro highland games athlete. Ladies – picture yourselves at 58 years old lifting an atlas stone over a bar, deadlifting an axle, or taking #250 into your forearms and doing the Conan’s wheel…. amazing!

As for the competitions, Saturday my rugby team (Keystone) competed against the Philadelphia Women’s Tackle Football team (Lady Liberty Belles) in what came to be known as The HERculean 2010. At first, I was bombarded with nervous questions about what each event would be, if each person would be able to do it, what the weights were, etc etc etc. These events were different from what anyone had done previously (with a few exceptions), so there was a lot of anticipation. Keystone defeated the Belles in a very close competition which consisted of the following: Tire Flip Relay, #95 log clean to overhead for reps in 90s, #135 atlas stone over bar for reps in 90s and then a 25M medley of a #200 yoke walk, chain drag, prowler push and anvil carry. MW gets a special shout out for her amazing feat of strength vs the 240lb atlas stone.

On Sunday, Judith and I competed in the Bad Ass Bitch Invitational at Iron Sport Gym, just South of Philly. I woke up pretty sore from Saturday, and was not really looking forward to the day’s events, knowing Sunday was going to be harder. I got there at about 9:30 to see JS making friends and pacing around the parking lot, not knowing if she should register, or if she really wanted to do this. I grabbed her by the pony tail and dragged her inside (not literally) and we both registered for the novice division. We waited for about 40 minutes for things to begin, JS made sure our coach for the day, JF and I knew that she was scared. For what reason? Because it was new to her…. but hey, she was still there! The first event was a press medley, ground to overhead however you can of the following: #110 barbell, #105 axle (2″), #45 dumbell, #105 log. This one hurt my already bruised up wrists from Saturday. Thank you JF for the wrist wraps.

The second event was a jeep pull, where we pulled a jeep that was in neutral a set distance by a rope that was tied to it. This was the most fun event, I thought. Who gets to go into work on Monday and tell people ‘I pulled a jeep this weekend, what’d you do?’

The third event of the day was the Conan’s wheel which is an odd-looking thing that pivots from the center, has an arm that sticks out, with weight that hangs from the middle. You have to Zercher grip the bar, which means you cross your arms in front of you and put the bar as far up on your biceps and forearms as you can. I had an awful grip when I picked this up, but once you’re up there is nothing you can do about it. I was pretty miserable for the entire walk.

They tell you this is about finding a happy place and believing your there… and *$&% was that true. Judith – give your opinion of this miserable torture device. BH – they made me do this as your revenge and I am sorry for all of the pain I’ve put you through pre-front-squat.

The fourth event was an axle dead lift, which is a 2″ round bar with no knurling – meaning the bar is very smooth with no markings to let you know you’re even. I wish I had a picture of JS KILLING a #300 AXLE deadlift, blowing her #275 BARBELL deadlift PR out of the water! Of the entire day, this was the most amazing thing I’d seen.

The final event was loading the atlas stone over a 46″ bar for reps in 120s. By this time, I was tired. My body was done, I was ready for this to be over, to go have a beer, and call it a day…. then I was told that since I was consistent in placing in the top 4 throughout the day, that I was in a 3-way tie for first. SOB! I was the last to go, one of the girls I was tied with got 8 reps, the other (with a hurt foot) got 5. With a strategy in my head, I went out and kept a consistent pace getting the #135 stone over the bar easier than I’d done the day prior (and the bar higher). I got to the 5th rep and missed it, throwing off my pace, got the 5th, and then the 6th… and had 5 seconds to get the 7th. I didn’t quite get it, so I’ll settle for 2nd.

I asked JS her opinion on the competition, she was surprised at how much structure there was in the competition, and how so many women were determined, and strong. You see the people you workout with in your gym and compare yourself to them, but going to something like this and seeing other extremely strong people, its humbling and inspiring. There was so much support among competitors – nobody there was out for themselves and I lost my voice screaming for other people. Everybody wants someone to PR, or to do something beyond themselves, which I believe is something Strongman competitions bring out in everyone at any level.

Why Women Should Lift Heavy Things

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:06:00 +0000

I've been wanting to do a post on why women should lift heavy things for a while. For ideas and research, I googled quite a few different phrases to see what would come up. One of the first searches I did, I noticed there was a blog titled 'Why Women Shouldn't Lift Weights' which I obviously clicked right on to see if this was a joke... but in the first few paragraphs it seemed to be serious. It talked about how in the past, women had to keep their feminine figures to appease their men, and how if women lifted, they'd look more masculine, or that when they did any sort of physical exertion, they'd pass out (not realizing having their body squeezed together by a corset might have some role in that), etc... so I kept reading for a while until I realized where this guy was going. Dale Andrew, who wrote this blog, closes with this:

"Some women let fear stop them from taking action. Other women push through the b.s. and drag others along with them. You are free to think that women shouldn’t lift weights. You are free to choose ignorance over education. You are free to choose your own conception of what it means to be a beautiful woman. But if you don’t, history shows that men will decide it for you."

This statement needs to be tattooed on Tracy Anderson's forehead. She is the personal trainer of Gwyneth Paltrow and some other celebrities. She has an eerily plastic looking face, and is described by Ms. Paltrow as 'the exercise genius of all time.' Paltrow also claims that she 'works. freakin. hard' as she is holding on to two band type thingys moving them up and down (video link here). To work on their arms, Ms. Anderson explains to 'take 3 pound weights, ONLY 3 pound weights, a woman should never lift more then 3 pounds.' It seems to me that the plastic in Anderson's face has seeped into her blood stream and made her crazy. Maybe just dumb. Dumb crazy - a deadly combination.
Wait wait wait wait.... get this quote: 'When you're 35, you either starve yourself, or you eat and you do serious cardio (as she dances around a room), but there is no free ride.' Holy crap, I can't stop quoting this video. Anderson 'Its much easier to change your body and change your muscular structure if you train, and get used to training in heat.'

I went to Tracy's website to find out her qualifications. Apparently she has done extensive research, and has 'designed the Hybrid Body Reformer, an apparatus that uses a fusion of aerobic and dance movements, to re-engineer the muscular structure.' Does that mean she's a plastic surgeon? No. She has no schooling or training that I can find.

OK - I'm done with that rant. For now.

On to the other research and words of wisdom I've accumulated since I've started to think about this blog post. There are so many directions you can take relating to why women should lift weights; confidence, bone density, all body image results, general sporting fitness, staying healthy, delaying or avoiding becoming decrepit, confidence and any other reason a lady may chose to or chose not to lift something heavy.
Clarification of my definition of heavy (in the lifting sense), it is something relative to each individual, but will be challenging to move it in the direction intended.

You do not get big in the gym, you get big at the dinner table. Women do not have enough testosterone to feed muscles for them to 'look like a man' or through some sort of Herculean effort. One pound of muscle burns 10-20 calories a day, while one pound of fat burns about 5 calories a day. Having more muscle tissue also increases your overall metabolism, which will then burn more calories at rest, you know, when you're not on the elliptical.

On that note... I've let this post sit in my draft box for some time now. I figure today - the day before I go to a Strongman Clinic to learn how to lift cool heavy things and throw kegs, flip tires and other fun things - would be the perfect day to set this post live.

Please feel free to post other resources as to why women should lift heavy things!

Yikes!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:17:00 +0000

I haven't posted something in a loonngg time! I have about 3 working posts right now, that I hope to crack down on and every day I find something new to blog about... but then time escapes me and it does not get put into words.

My new idea which is non-rugby related: Food in the workplace and why it is making (the) us all fat! My office may be a special example, see photos above taken from my phone (but I'm going to get a camera this weekend and begin to) showing some of the food and crap that is brought into this place. Besides the normal food that sits in our break room, someone brought in 2 boxes of truffles, a 24 pack box of 100 calorie pretzels, thin mints, lollipops, some weird kind of wafer things, some weird other chocolate crap and some other sugary thing that I didn't know what it was (thankfully).

Anyone else have issues with workplace food lurking in your face?? Laffy taffy - BW??!?!

South Baltimore CrossFit Starting Strength Posse

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:55:00 +0000

CrossFit Football posted about how strong the guys at SBCF are becoming. Totally weird that they all posed in the same way... check out the size of their shoulders!

*Apologies for the terrible PhotoShop job... I do have to work today...

TWITTER Account

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:37:00 +0000

I apologize to anyone who saw the Twitter posts on this blog. They were NOT my posts, and I have no idea how they were put up there. In any case, you can follow the real me @JennNull.

Stupid computer hackers with nothing better to do with their lives!

:-/

CrossFit Level 1

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:13:00 +0000

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I flew out to sunny San Diego, only to enjoy San Diego's one and only rainy day! I went to the University of San Diego to get my Level 1 Certification. It was a really good weekend in all, I met some awesome trainers and other athletes - mostly from the West Coast, but a few who also travelled X-country.

The cert was held at the University of San Diego's awesome facility, and by their head S&C coach Stephane Rochet. There was a pretty awesome coaching staff there from CrossFit as well, which included a... response... from Dave Castro to the recent firing of Robb Wolf from CrossFit HQ.

I learned a lot, although I think the training I've had at BWI and SB has put me ahead of most in the early Level 1 world.

Since I'd already been to the CrossFit Football Certification, I knew a little about what to expect, although I think I enjoyed the atmosphere of the football cert more. There was more 1v1 attention, and it was geared to sports athletes, and not 'CrossFit athletes' per say. I'd also met some guys who just recently opened a box in Philadelphia - East Falls to be exact, and have a few teammates who've signed up! Congrats Jay and Micah at CrossFit 215!

Tracking Me

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:54:00 +0000

I was invited to publicly track my goals with the boys, so wanted to share it with you all. If you look on the right, you'll see 'Jenn's Workout Log' which will have my progress and what not. Its a fun blog - the guys have been at it for about 4 weeks and are all doing well as they move into the harder loads. Point is to start at about 70% 5RM load and build up to your goals.

http://baltimoregetsbig.wordpress.com/

We're following Mark Rippetoe's "Starting Strength" programming... they're all getting bigger - ie eating a crap-ton of food. I don't need extra size, so I'm keeping my diet the same, if not improving it.

Words of encouragement are always appreciated!! :)

End of the Season - New Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Sunday (November 8th) was the last of the matches for the first year of the Women's Premiership League, and crowned a new national champion. NY beat out Berkeley 20-10 in what was one of the fastest paced women's games I've ever seen! You can see all of the final results on the WPL blog.

Keystone also defended our 5th place title to win the bowl championship for the 3rd year in a row, beating DC Furies on Friday 26-5, and the MN Amazons on Sunday 36-10.

The end of the season always brings the time of retirement announcements, and players leaving clubs for whatever reasons they might have, ie work, family commitments, bodies falling apart, etc. Committing to a competitive team is not easy. Personally this season has tested my commitment, and my drive - so next year is all up in the air. I've decided that Spring season will be a fun season for me.

**Pass about a week and a half**

I went into the gym last night to talk to TV and PS from SBCF - as they're both on Starting Strength along with SM. My goals over the winter are going to be to get stronger. I haven't set weight goals yet, but I am going to join these guys in their programming and hopefully be as successful. However... I am not going to do the bulking up part, as I've already got some reserves that can become muscle. :) Click on 'Starting Strength' above to see what the heck they've been eating!!!

I will post more on this as I actually set my goals - I can use this as accountability!

Anyone have experience with starting strength programming?

What would I do if I stopped playing rugby?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:56:00 +0000

This question was asked of each WPL player by YSC for a player bio previous to the season. The only thing I could come up with at the time was 'have a lot more free time.' This is an understatement. However, I've come up with a few more things I'd do:

Travel again - I'd have the money to do it! *Note - travel for non-rugby trips*
Prep for the GMAT.
Spend more time with friends/family instead of being 'too tired.'
Learn other sports.
Do more outdoor sports (kayak, whitewater rafting, hiking, biking, snowboard, etc).
Coach rugby?
Sleep in on Sundays.
Sleep in on Saturdays.
Put my first born into a homemade hot air balloon so I could get more publicity.
Volunteer for more things.
Go to those Saturday wine tasting events that are out in the middle of nowhere.

Who am I kidding, I'm sure I'd still fill my days with rugby in some fashion or another! Damn sport is addicting.
Hmmm... how to make money doing things listed above.....

Go Phillies!

National Grouch Day??

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Is today, October 15th! Wahoooooo - a whole day dedicated to me! :) haha sike. I'm a wanna be grouch.

The Baltimore Examiner has published an article that spells out some ways to celebrate NGD (National Grouch Day). How many of these have you guys done?

Ways to Celebrate National Grouch Day

1. Complain that absolutely everything is a bad idea. (Me? Never!)

2. Buy a box of donuts and whistle as you bring them into the office, get everyone excited and then drop them, upside down or throw them at a wall. Look up at everyone and laugh. (I may try this)

3. Ask your bus driver or cab driver why it is taking so long to get to work, even if you are running early. (I've only done this while drinking.. and in college)

4. In fact, look for fault in everything and everybody you come into contact with. A true grouch can only see faults. (Only while in good company of MR, SR, VV)

5. If on Muni, sit behind someone who is having a conversation and loudly correct their grammer as they mis-use it. (What is a Muni? My Mom would do this)

6. If someone gives you a, "What's new?", give them the answer they are looking for: "New York, New Hampshire, new clothes, New Jack City, Paul Newman, "new to the city". We all hate that guy. (I hate this guy too)

7. Loudly complain about something good that happened to you, "God, I cant believe I have to fly to Venice again for another wedding, I am so sick of Venice." (Um.... no...)

8. Most definitely, under no circumstances offer your bus seat to a pregnant woman or child. (Thank God I don't ride the bus)

9. Make sure you get at least one chance today to say, "I told you so". (I have an older brother, this one - no problem)

10. Tell everyone but your friend that you know her boyfriend is cheating on her. Making sure to discuss how dumb she is and how many times you might have told her or him that their mate was indeed a succubus. (Yikes)

11. Put someone on hold, then transfer them around the office while you go out to lunch. (HA - I like this one)

12. Flush the toliet as your neighbor is showering. Ten extra points if you do it to your husband/wife, twenty points if you do it to your child, thirty points if your child is under the age of 7. (It doesn't affect anyone in my house if I do that)

13. Drive solo in the car pool lane and then cut everyone right before the toll, flipping the bird to the nice woman who let you in, instead of a wave. (Haha - starting to think I'm less of a grouch)

14. Tell everyone you see today that you think Where the Wild Things Are is going to suck. (Already done.)

15. WRITE EVERYTHING IN CAPS (FINE)

16. Bait people all day by asking their opinions and then reacting the opposite grouch answers and lash out. (MY BOSS ALREADY HAS THIS ONE COVERED)

17. Tell uncomfortable and ridiculous lies about yourself. (I'M A SIZE 4 AND HAVE GOTTEN LIPOSUCTION 4x THIS YEAR)

18. "Why?" someone all day. (FLASHBACKS TO MY CHILDHOOD)

19. If you are the boss - fire everyone at least once today. (DONE. I'VE SEEN THAT OFFICE EPISODE)

20. Instead of kissing your wife when you get home, tell her how much you hate your life. (I DONT HAVE A WIFE)

21. Be creative and Happy National Grouch Day.

MARFU North vs South U-20

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:33:00 +0000

I was asked by my friend SS who is the coach of Shippensburg University's woman's rugby team to come out and help out with the U-20 MARFU North team yesterday. They were playing the MARFU South team - basically in a showcase for the overall MARFU U-20 team to play at ITT's in Florida in November.

I almost didn't go, because this weekend was full of driving all over MD/PA (a total of 535 miles, I just google mapped it) and I thought it would be too much - but I couldn't turn down the opportunity to help SS out - and meet some of the younger players in the area.

What a good time! These girls were so impressive, I must say that warming up and going through some defensive drills was a little slow, but they picked things up quickly. The scrummaging work looked better and better.
When the South decided to show up and the scrimmages were underway, I was really impressed with some of the girls who were there, they played some great rugby. One of the girls was 15!!! Talk about feeling OLD.

The best part was after the scrimmages were over, I was talking to a few of the girls (of course with my Keystone shirt on;) and they were so impressed with our club. They asked if I was going to be famous on the national team, which made me chuckle.... I should have said yes... but I think they were just as impressed that I have teammates who play for the US team. Then I told them that some of my teammates might be Olympians in the next 6 years... when one of them said 'I'll be too old by then - 25!' I almost smacked her... but refrained, as I would get arrested for beating a child! :)

Point being - its funny that I remember myself being in that position. Where I would look at an older player and think they were sooo good and that I'd never be able to play with them, and now they are my current teammates. Its weird to think that you're in a place for younger players to look up to.

Rugby in 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:43:00 +0000

Yay! Finally, 7's rugby will be in the Olympics in Rio!

Its already making Keystoner - Jen Sinkler famous!

Congrats to everyone that was at the 7's camp in Florida this weekend, especially Jeanna Breard from Severn River, Ida Bernstein and Allison Worman from Keystone!

Jon Gilson - For Woman: You Are Beautiful!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:39:00 +0000

I follow the posts of Katie's Midless Ramblings and think she is pretty entertaining, and probably spells out the same successes and fears that most women have. She recently re-posted a link by Jon Gilson from Again Faster who wrote about the popular media version of a beautiful woman - and what his thoughts were about them. Opening paragraph:

"If I were feeling a little more lawless, I’d gather all the copies of Cosmo and Seventeen, douse them in kerosene, and strike a match. I’d throw in reams of print ads from Calvin Klein and watch with delight as Kate Moss’ stick-thin image was reduced to carbon."

I really enjoyed this post, and while I don't know Jon at all, I've since read a few of his other articles and enjoy his posts.

Anyway - this is a great article. Read it!

Pet Peeve Posts... #1

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Most people that know me, know that I have several pet peeves. I am going to start a pet peeve post series.

Number 1 is: CHEWING WITH YOUR MOUTH OPEN! For goodness sake people, GROW UP! If you are over the age of 8, you should know how to chew. I do not want to hear or see what you've been eating.

What brought this on: I am sitting in a cafe, eating breakfast, playing on my computer... and I can hear the guy at the table behind me.

Good things about this cafe: there is a dog outside that is cute as hell looking at me. I think I'm going to take him home. The food is awesome. There is a cute little girl sitting at the table in front of me... I also want to take home. (big brother, that is a joke)

Anyone else hate open mouth chewers?

For ME, not YOU!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:37:00 +0000

Last weekend we were supposed to bring food for the post match social with Beantown. I put down something chickeny. So I saw in a store some chicken mixture with red peppers, spinach, and some other things and thought I would mimic that. I bought all of the ingredients, went home and made it.

Mistake number 1: I made this on an empty stomach
Mistake number 2: at dinner time
Mistake number 3: I never told anyone exactly what I was bringing -so nobody expected anything good
Mistake number 4: Look at that picture:

You can't tell me that you wouldn't have eaten it too? It is chicken, red pepper, asparagus, bok choy, squash, with garlic and safflower oil.
I finished cooking it and debated probably for about 10 minutes, before I got in my car and drove to Safeway where I bought 2 deli chicken/turkey things to share with the team. RH said they were pretty good though - so I think it was successful. Before I dug in, I did take a picture, it was so pretty!

I am making it up to everyone by having a team dinner on Saturday before our Furies match where I will make some similar things. I think that's a good replacement. This time, we won't have to share it with the other team. ;)

Upset? Says who?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:23:00 +0000

Final result of week 3 in the new WPL: Keystone 15 - Beantown 13!!

I've been telling people that we 'upset' the 2nd ranked team from Boston all morning - and a little last night. But then thinking about the word 'upset' in terms of sports, I begin to think that maybe we should put the emphasis on the team that wins, not the team that was upset. Why? Because I am not upset, I am quite happy and proud of Keystone. We've put up good fights against Beantown since I've started playing, but were never able to walk away with a 'W' even after matches where we knew we could/should have.

We were down 10-0 at half time! So, yes it is a true UPSET... but maybe it should be that 'Beantown DELIGHTED Keystone?!' Thoughts??

***I am wrong, we were down 13-10 at half time!*** (bad memory)

I guess the only problem with that is it gives away too much credit... when we say that Keystone upset Beantown, that shows where the effort lies and who did the work. OK - I've re-changed my mind. Yes - we UPSET Beantown.

This picture is hard to see - its our pitch after our picnic with a rainbow over it. Someone else was happy we won too!

WPL Kicks off!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:27:00 +0000

The first weekend of the new Women's Premiership League (WPL) kicked off this past Sunday throughout the country. As a new structure in the divisions for Women's rugby throughout the US, details have yet to be ironed out, but all in all, it seemed to be a success.

Cool features such as the USA Rugby Live Scoreboard will now show scores from each match within minutes of its' completion! Match reports will be submitted to Your Scrumhalf Connection's blog by Monday COB, so you'll be able to read about your favorite teams... ahem... Keystone. We are also assigned national panel referees, which is another huge bonus to this WPL league. Each match will be filmed - and videos of the matches will be posted for each team to see.

This is a huge step in giving rugby, especially women's rugby a more professional feel in this country. Something we don't get very often... ie- we're not a bunch of fatty drunk woman running around the place, I promise. It will start to promote competitive play, and hopefully bring the level of our national team up to England, or New Zealand level.

I'm going to keep this post brief, but if you'd like to read more on Keystone's WIN this weekend (38-8) you can read it on the Your Scrumhalf Connection blog link above.

Onto NY this weekend...

Injury set back

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:16:00 +0000

One of the biggest issues I have at work is trying to convey how important rugby is to me, and how its not just a social sport where people play solely for the social afterwords (as my 'post' on the Baltimore Sun may state otherwise). Trying to pull rugby out of that negative standpoint is tough in this country.

You put in all of this time training, both at practice and outside of practice. You drive/fly with your teammates all weekend to play a teams in Boston, DC, Philly, NY to bond with them, to play with them and to win or lose with them. Its something real, that even though we're not paid, or we're not on TV, or we're women, or Joe Shmoe at the office has no idea what 'rugby' is (there are no sticks), its a sport, one that people train hard for, sacrifice for... and love!

When I come into work limping, with a bruise, and stories of how we played in the downpour, my coworkers say to me shamelessly 'when are you going to realize that you're too old for this?' At the age of 27, I'm hardly one of the oldest females on the team, and I have a good few years left in me. They have their hobbies of cars, or kites, or..... god only knows what else. Its the same, except mine involves physical activity.

I sprained my MCL at the alumni match for Drexel, pretty much not doing anything productive. It was such a stupid injury, which I had to RICE... I got so extremely frustrated. Not only because it set my training back for the pre-season, but I had just signed up to attend a Crossfit Football certification that I knew was going to kick my @$$ if I was unfit for. I didn't stop working out, just adjusted workouts to allow me to work on the ROM and strength with the help of Ryan (head trainer at CF BWI). I credit him with helping me get my knee back to 100% by 5 weeks, I played 7's at 6 weeks and just completed the CF Football cert at 7 weeks - not dying, and actually not feeling anything weak in my knee at all. (Will have a later post on the football cert and what I did feel form it)

Leave it to say, pointless 'fun' matches may be out of my future for a while... as much fun as it is, its not worth it to go into a match like that, knowing I'm not going to give it 100% and get hurt for that reason. I'm also beyond thankful that it was not worse... (knock on wood) and am doing some things to strengthen it to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Thanks to Kasper on Tap

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:05:00 +0000

Thanks to Kasper on Tap, a beer blogger from the Baltimore Sun for letting me post a small bit on the drink up!
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/news/kasperontap/

His posts are really interesting! He went on vacation, asked for a guest blog so I sent one in. He must have taken a liking to the rugby + beer aspect as his son plays(ed) and knew a bit about the 'drink-up.'

Next post to come soon....

Did anyone see that Mac truck?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn N) — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:11:00 +0000

The one that hit me, reversed and ran over me again?
*I meant to post this yesterday, as I was feeling 10 times worse... however work - busy, post - pushed back.

I remember laughing quietly to myself when I would hear some of the more senior members of Keystone talking about how they don't recover like they used to, and how it took a few more days before things felt right again. I will never laugh at them again. Nothing can explain how it feels to play in a tournament all weekend and then have to be at work by 8am Monday morning. I can't imagine what my coworkers thought, when they saw me with my eyes hardly open, my pace slow.... and hopefully none of them saw me try to bend down to plug in my computer under my desk. I didn't think I was going to get up. I wish I could say today was any better. At least my computer was already plugged in. :)

Keystone competed in (and won) the Rites of Spring tournament in Baltimore this weekend. The schedule was a bit ridiculous, having a total of 5 woman's teams. We were scheduled 3 matches on Saturday, then to come in 1st or 2nd in the tournament you were (supposed to) play 3 more on Sunday. So a complete round robin, a semi final and then a final. Badly structured brackets.

In any case, we played a lot of rugby which is never bad, and went 3-0 on Saturday. It was a good day, good matches - enjoyed ourselves. (Barred some crazy person with big eyes)

Its not very often that Keystone gets to go out as a team together after a full day of rugby. So Saturday night, we all went out and had a great time, had a few drinks, was social and mingled with other teams! There are some fun stories we can all take away, but I will spare anyone the embarrassment, and keep them to myself. :)
*I would like to personally thank the Washington Irish guy who stopped by our tent on Sunday to give us a recap of an 'event' of the night before... highlight of the day!

Sunday at an early 9:40, we were scheduled to play the only team that we had not played yet... who went 0-3 on Saturday. We started warm up around 8:30 to find out at about 8:45 they didn't have enough people. Game forfeited. Next game up, scheduled for 12:10 against a team we'd already played on Saturday. They had a 9:40 match as well... lost it. Went home directly after it. Game forfeited. I might state the fact that it was pouring rain all day and probably only about 50 degrees out. This means we were at the pitches from 8:30 until the kickoff of the final match which happened (on the crappiest field they had to offer) at 3:10. 6 hours and 40 minutes. We were cold and miserable, I was sore/tight from Saturday's matches... and possibly the fact that I'd done 2 grueling crossfit workouts on Thursday and Friday before the tournament.

At least when all was said and done, we walked off the pitch after the W looking like mud woman I was lucky enough to only have a 5 minute drive home... someone now has some extra hardware taking up some space in their living room, kitchen, or basement.

Ahhh and yes... the week starts, back to reality. The bruises might fade slightly before this next weekend's match in NYC but if not, I'll add a few more to my collection before the end of the Spring season.

*Please keep JP Stratton in your thoughts and prayers, she is a Keystone Alumni who we all miss on the pitch and off the pitch. She'll pull through this illness, but we need to send her some vibes to help her get through it a bit quicker.