Confession...

.... I'm a terrible blogger.  So for those of you who actually still check in to see if there's been any new postings from me, I'm terribly sorry for being such a non-dedicated blogger. Somewhere in the process I got too caught up in the travel and lost my vision for writing about my experiences. I would start a new blog and not finish, then come back to it later and delete it completely because what I was writing about happened a month or so ago. Let this be a new beginning...

I bring you my Top 10 Anythings since my last blog!

10:  Getting our patio installed! This made the list because we love to have friends and family over and now I have a new space to entertain guests and it's a beautiful improvement to our home.

9:  USBC Women's Championships.  Although I bowled like it was my very first time, I had a great time with friends and made back some money I had spent in brackets.

8:  Going to Malaysia for the first time! I got a couple of great deals on purses at China Town, but I caught some type of stomach bug during my travel there which left me sick all week so I couldn't eat anything but broth and rice... HUGE bummer!

7:  Wichita! Although I have no desire to live there ever again, we do have pretty great friends that welcome us with open arms. Even though it was an unsuccessful bowling trip, it was nice to reconnect with our friends.

6:  Brunswick Bowling Camp.  Seeing Sean's idea come together after all the hard work and dedication he put into was really great. The campers seemed to have a really good time and the parents gave great compliments to all the guys that made it happen.

5:  USBC Queens.  My second time bowling in the event and 1st time cashing!!! A huge improvement over last year, so I'll take it!

4:  Walt Disney World!  My whole family took a trip to Orlando and it was the first time for my 3 brothers and 3 nephews. We all had such a great time making memories and spending time together.

3:  Attending the ESPYS.  Not only was it the coolest experience walking the Red Carpet, attending the show, and getting the VIP treatment from start to finish, but to actually take home the ESPY for Best Bowler was AWESOME! (okay, so It's Sean's ESPY but I still got to take it home :))

2:  POY.  During the PBA Summer Shootout it was announced that Sean was voted Player of the Year.  It was a very proud moment for me because I've seen how hard he's worked to get to this point in his career and to know that his peers acknowledge his accomplishments this past season through the voting process was such a great feeling.

1:  Celebrating Our 1st Wedding Anniversary.  August 26th is our anniversary and we spent it in Jamaica this year. We went on the Black River Safari where I got to hold hands with a crocodile and zip line over the YS Falls. We had such an amazing time together and it's been an exciting first year of marriage. Looking forward for many more together. :)

Other things worth mentioning:
Sean won his 6th and 7th PBA Regional Events in Orland Park, IL and San Jose, CA, respectively.
Also, while we were in California we did some sightseeing in San Fransisco. We took a tour bus around the city which my favorite part was seeing the "Full House" house, aka the Painted Ladies. I grew up watching that show so much that I felt like I was part of the Tanner family, haha.  We took the ferry to Alcatraz as well. I found the audio tour to be very interesting and I'm glad that we did the day tour because I think that place would freak me out at night!  And what's a trip to Cali without going to wine country?? So we went on a wine tasting tour to 3 vineyards in Sonoma and Napa Valley: The Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, Cline Cellars, and Madonna Estate. We had such a great time and it's thanks to Tony Reyes for inviting us out there.

So, our next trip is to Bangkok, Thailand and we leave tomorrow.  I fully expect to blog about our trip while we are there or shortly after I get back. I bought a journal so that I can write down what's going on while I'm on trips in hopes that it will help me transfer my memories to my blog.  I think that it is just as hard, if not harder, to start a new habit than it is to break an old one, but I want to share with those of you who have reached out to me and told me how much you enjoy reading my blog and I appreciate the kind words of encouragement. So I thank you.

Tournament of Champions

I know I haven't been updating as much as I should have.  I think Draw Something took over my life for a while.  But, I'm back! What a week in Vegas we had!  Sean bowled incredibly well all week.  He led the Elite Qualifying Round after 20 games, averaging 242.25.  Unfortunately, those pins didn't carry over since a new field of players that had earned a title in the 2011-2012 season began bowling in the Round of 36.  Advancing into the Round of 36, and after 18 games, Sean qualified in the 5th position into Round Robin Match Play.  The top 18 players bowled another 18 games of match play to determine the 4 television finalists.  Sean's match play record consisted of 12 wins, 4 losses, and 2 ties.  In the position round, Sean struck out in the 10th to tie Belmonte at 222 a piece and claim the #1 seed.  He worked extremely hard to get to that championship match, and I am so very proud of him!  From the start of the tournament to the day of the show, numerous people told me that they believed it was Sean's tournament to win... Well they were right!!!  Ryan Ciminelli came off a great game into the Championship Match, and looked like he would be hard to beat, but an early missed spare by Ciminelli gave Sean the motivation to take advantage of his mistake.  I was a nervous wreck sitting there watching because I knew how badly he wanted to win this event and close out the season on a high note.  I just hoped that he would continue doing what he did all week through qualifying and match play and that was focus on his tempo.  When he threw the first shot in the tenth a feeling of relief, excitement, and happiness all rolled into one brought on the tears of joy as you all saw on the telecast.  He did it!!!  He bowled a great game with the exception of the shot in the 9th frame, leaving the 3-6-9-10, but he trusted in himself and made the spare.

The voting has started for Player of the Year and most everyone knows that there are really 3 front-runners for the award, and you may say that I'm biased, but I believe Sean is the most deserving of the award.  He led the Tour in points, average, and earnings.  He dominated the WSOB, although titles eluded him, he worked hard at his game through the rest of the season and came away with one of the most prestigious titles, the Tournament of Champions.  His season was a journey, almost every week fans tuned in to watch him, whether they knew the results or not because his story this season was very compelling.  Excitement for a record breaking 5 consecutive TV shows at the WSOB, disappointment in not coming home with a title, inspiration from two young men (Dan McCarty and Benjamin Doyle), and finally a victory at the end (and a major to boot).  Sean won twice in the 2006-07 season, but considers this season his most successful in his career even though he only won 1 title.  It's not about the number of titles won in a single season that defines POY, it's about the overall success a player has throughout the entire season.  A player doesn't lead 3 statistical categories without having an incredible season.

The top 3 vote-getters in the race for POY will be announced May 16th and the winner will be announced on May 28, live on Xtra Frame, during the PBA Summer Shootout at 10 Pin Lounge in Chicago.  Let's hope for the best!

And I would like to thank Jeff Richgels for his support in writing this article Why I'm Voting for Sean Rash for PBA Player of the Year.
Brunswick also released this Sean Rash Makes A Strong Case For POY

Paris... Finally!

Monday, March 19th
I'm all packed up, dropped Dexter off at my brother's house and loaded up the car. Got about 2 miles down the road and realized I had forgotten my passport. Crap. Well, better to have remembered now than at the airport. So I headed back home, grabbed my passport and jumped back into the car. Now I've got everything, I hope.
My flight is a little delayed, hopefully it takes off sooner than expected. Good thing it's delayed though, giving me time to get a movie downloaded to my tablet.

Tuesday
Just landed in Paris an hour late and I head to baggage claim. I saw Sean sitting there waiting for me, and he greeted me with a big hug! Ahhh, I missed being in his arms :).  Chuck and his wife, Deb, arrived just after I did, and we all went to find our shuttle. After some miscommunication and a very helpful airport employee we were finally able to get everyone in one place, plus running into Kevin Dornberger who was the key to our ride, literally he had the key, and load up the van, and we are on our way to the hotel.
After a much needed nap and a shower in a phone booth (just take a look at the photo), we headed to Plaza Bowl, where the Brunswick Euro Challenge was held.  Sean bowled the 8pm squad, while Leslie, Deb and I discussed our plans for sightseeing tomorrow.  My mother-in-law sent me her Top 10 Paris book, which had a ton of information on all the best places to visit, eat, shop and much more.  Sean bowled very well and shot 288 over and was sitting in 3rd after that squad, which put him in good position to earn him one bye into the finals on Sunday.  The girls and I made plans to meet in the morning and take the train into the city, so I was hoping it was going to be a short night, but Sean and I stayed at the bowl until about 1am...

Wednesday

Notre Dame

I slept pretty hard until the alarm went off too early in the morning.  Sean encouraged me to get out of bed by saying that I would feel more awake after my shower, easy for him to say since he was going right back to sleep as soon as I got up.  He and the Brunswick guys didn't have to be at the bowl until noon for a youth clinic, so he was able to sleep in quite a bit longer.  I met up the other ladies at their hotel across the parking lot, had breakfast and we had Jake Peters and Melissa Hurst join us for sightseeing as well.  It was quite an adventure!  I had been to Paris before, but that was 4 years ago and I didn't quite remember how to navigate around their Metro station or which line we needed to take into the middle of the city.  After some guidance from a couple of nice French men, we found ourselves in front of Notre Dame.  What an amazing piece of architecture.  The detail in the three arches is incredible, and that's before you even step foot into the church.  The stained glass windows are also beautiful works of art.  As much as Notre Dame is a tourist attraction, it is still a place of worship, and no matter how many people are walking through and taking pictures, people are there to give their confessions and services are still held, it's pretty amazing.

Arc de Triomphe

After walking through, we hopped onto a tour bus called Les Rouges Cars.  It took us around the city to 8 more sights, stopping at the d'Orsay Museum, Opera House, Arc de Triomphe & Champs Elysees, Grand Palais, Trocadero, Eiffel Tower, Champs de Mars, and the Louvre Museum.  We got off the bus at the Arc de Triomphe to have lunch down the Champs Elysees.  We found a pastry shop in the guide book called La Duree, so we decided to have lunch at the restaurant next door to it then go in for some macaroons and chocolate croissants.

Next up, we got back on the bus and took it around to the Eiffel Tower.  Across the street was a little mobile lunch cart serving fresh crepes, so we all indulged in strawberry and banana crepes and hot chocolate.  :)  What a great afternoon!  We rode the bus back to Notre Dame and found our way back to the hotel for a quick nap before heading to the bowl.   We made it a long night at the bowl, having a few beverages and even a little bit of bowling.

Thursday
It was my turn to sleep in since Sean had a Brunswick luncheon at noon.  I did plan on bowling a squad though at 8pm, so I had plenty of time to rest, get ready, and catch a shuttle to the bowl.  I finally was able to eat something when I got to the bowl.  Spaghetti bolognese was one of the better dishes on the menu, not bad for "bowling alley" food.  So, Sean decided that it would be best for me to only bowl one squad for the experience instead of the two that we had originally talked about because after seeing the scores from the previous squads, it would definitely be tough for me to make the cut. I didn't take any offense to his decision because I totally agreed with him that it would be silly to spend $200+ on 6 games of practice.  My 6 game total was 1123, consisting of 189, 182, 162, 222, 191, 177.  I received 48 pins handicap as a female bowler, so 1171 was my combined total, which was nowhere close to making the cut.  Another learning experience though and I am grateful to have the opportunity to bowl in the event.

Friday
Another day of sightseeing, but this time with the guys!  Below are a couple of the group shots:

The group outside of Notre Dame

At the Louvre

(Picture Left) From left to right:
Tom Hess, Liz Johnson, Deb Gardner, Chuck Gardner, Ryan Ciminelli, Sean Rash, Me, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Leslie Bohn, and Parker Bohn

Arc de Triomphe lit up at night

We had a great day around the city, had beautiful weather, and it is such a pretty city at night as well.  Sean and I had taken off after our late lunch with the group to take some pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc at night when they were both lit up.  Then headed back to the train station to catch one of the last ones out of the city.  By the time we got back, the buses had stopped running, so we had to walk back to the hotel.  The temperature had dropped pretty significantly as well, I could actually see my breath.  We decided to have dinner at one of the few restaurants still open on the main road back to our hotel, then had an uphill journey to work off the pizza and lasagna we had just eaten.

Saturday
I was in no hurry to go anywhere.  I think I spent all day sleeping and relaxing until I finally mustered up enough energy to get ready for the evening.  Went to the bowl and Sean bowled another squad, just to stay sharp for the finals on Sunday.  We watched for a little while afterward and we were invited to a dinner hosted by Mr. Valke.  The dinner was delicious, but we didn't want to stay long because Sunday was going to be a long day.

Sunday
Finals day.  Since Sean qualified in the top 12, he earned 1 bye into the Final Round 2.  After 6 games of qualifying, he advanced in 4th, shooting 1383.  The top 8 moved on to the Final Round 3, which consisted of 7 games of round robin match play, and the top 3 would make the Stepladder Finals.  Sean bowled games of 221, 174, 216, 247, 246, 269, and 226, but only winning 3 of his matches to gain 90 bonus pins,  missing the show by only 22 pins.  He lost his last match 233-226, which cost him the 30 bonus pins that would have put him on the show over Mike Fagan... the eventual winner of the Brunswick Euro Challenge.  Congratulations to Mike on a great tournament.  He bowled exceedingly well in the stepladder finals, with the front 9 in the Championship Match.  Well done, Mike!
There was a players dinner following the awards ceremony, so lots of celebrating and good food.  Overall, we had a great time and I definitely wouldn't mind going back.  But if I do, the only request that I would make, is that we stay at a different hotel... something a little more comfortable that offers more room for an American couple.  (We do not travel lightly!)

Playing Catch Up!

I know it's been a while, so first off I would like to say how awesome it was to watch Pete Weber win the US Open!  Congratulations to him, he deserves it.  Whether you like Pete or not, he displayed just exactly why he is one of the greatest this sport has ever seen.  He threw one of the most clutch shots in history to become the only bowler to win 5 US Open titles.  Hats off to him.

Next up for congratulations is my husband for winning his 5th PBA Regional Title at the Plamor Lanes Open Presented by Brunswick. He needed a strike in his last shot to win by one, and that's exactly what he did.  I'm so proud of him and I wished I could have been there to watch.  I was bowling Women's City tournament that weekend, so I wasn't able to go.  I did have a great time bowling with the girls though.  We bowled team event on Saturday, which scoring wise was ok.  Then I bowled doubles and singles on Sunday.  Got off to a good start with my first two games being a 224, but fell apart game 3 with a 138.  I didn't let that last game get to me as I headed into singles.  I shot 255 to start, then 236 and 238 for a 729 series.  I haven't bowled that good in a while, so it felt pretty good! 

Sean and I had a couple of days together at home before heading off to Detroit.  We bowled the Metro Detroit Open last week on Wednesday.  It was held in an old wood house. Sean led qualifying and I bowled pretty badly.  It was a lot tougher than I had imagine, but another learning experience.  Thursday night Sean found himself in the winner's circle again edging out Brian Waliczek, 206-196.  With that win, he earned an entry into the Proprietor's Cup in July (an $1100 value).  I wasn't there to watch him win in Iowa, but I was glad I got to see him win again at this tournament. 

Next up was the PBA Detroit Open held at Thunderbowl Lanes.  Sean bowled really well through qualifying on Saturday, ending up in 7th after 9 games.  Afterward Sean and I went to his friend, Jerad's salon called Daybreak Salon and Spa.  I needed to get my hair cut and colored and Sean went for a massage and hair cut. They did an awesome job, I love my hair!  So if you live around the Detroit area, I definitely recommend going there!  Back to bowling... Sunday was a day to do work and win matches.  Unfortunately, he went 7-6 in the round robin match play and that wasn't enough to get him into the final 4.  He finished 9th overall and we headed home. 

Currently, Sean is in Kuwait bowling the Kuwait Open and on Tuesday we meet in Paris.  I'm so excited for this trip!  I will be bowling a couple squads, so I definitely need to get practicing.  The best part is, a couple of the wives are going also, so we will be going sightseeing and it's just going to be a great time.  I can't wait! 

Home for a Week - The Highs

Well, Sean is back on the road again, but we had a great week together. Here are some of the week highlights:

Monday, Sean came home early in the morning and I made us some biscuits and gravy.  Yummm!  Later that evening I gave into Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner... We haven't had it in a very long time and that's one of his favorite places to eat.  Beer and wings, can't go wrong with that!

Tuesday was of course Valentine's Day.  We had breakfast and exchanged gifts.  I had gotten Sean a card and his favorite cologne and he gave me a very heartfelt card.  Honestly, I expected more, since it was our first Valentine's day as husband and wife. (As horrible as that sounds, I know I put waaay too much emphasis on this "holiday" than I should have, after all, he was home safely and that's more than I should ever ask for.)  I had also agreed to babysit my nephew during the day, so we weren't really able to do anything together until after.  He did take me to see The Vow, which I thought was cute, and then we went to league straight after.  Not quite the romantic day that I had hoped for, but.... I did have a bouquet of red, white, and pink roses on the table where we were bowling that night waiting for me. :)   My husband did remember to get flowers!  Well he ordered them at least and asked the kind ladies behind the counter to arrange them before we arrived for league that night.  He's such a sweetheart and I was such a brat thinking that I wouldn't even get flowers this year.

Friday was our date night, sort of for not being able to go out for dinner on Valentine's day.  We went to dinner at White Chocolate Grill, which was amazing!  I love their Four Cheese Spinach & Artichoke Dip.  Sean had prime rib and I had the grilled salmon, and to finish it off we shared a chocolate souffle cake.  I could barely move after such a great meal, but we had a show to catch.  We watched Safe House, which I thought was great, how could it not be with Denzel Washington??  I had such a great night, but I had such a bad cough and sore throat that I was feeling pretty miserable and just wanted to go home, take some Nyquil and try to get a good night's sleep.  So that's exactly what we did.  Between Sean being jet lagged and getting up with the dog to go potty and me coughing throughout the night, we hadn't gotten the best sleep that past few nights. 

Saturday we both got massages in the morning, ran a few errands, and practiced.  We met up with a few friends for drinks later that evening, which was a blast.  We both had a really good time catching up with everyone.  We couldn't stay out all night though, Sean had to pack since he was leaving Sunday morning. 

I'm so glad he didn't bowl the Ricart Ford Open in Columbus last weekend because we were able to spend that week together and his body needed the rest.  He had been on the road for 3 weeks straight, and having just flown back from Japan he needed to get his internal clock reset.  With the US Open being this week, it was also a smart decision because it is such a demanding tournament physically, he needs his body to be ready for it.  After his first 6 game qualifying block, he is at +121 and bowling great.  Two more days of qualifying ahead of him though, and on the fresh, so we can't get too excited yet.  There's still a ton of bowling left.  Wish him luck and words of encouragement on his fan page at http://www.facebook.com/SeanRashFanPage

Until next time, my friends! :)

Mini Eliminator Results!

I'm back home and finally settled in and getting back into my daily routine.  I had a good time in Vegas, but I'm so glad to be back in Chicago.  Although I was there for about 10 days, we still didn't have any time to go to the strip or catch a show.  Not a big deal since we go there about 2-3 times a year, for a minimum of 7 days at a time.  Maybe in April we'll get to see Zumanity.  After flying in Friday afternoon, I unpacked, freshened up, watched some matches for the USBC Masters, and went to dinner with Dan McCarty and his family.  We went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse and enjoyed the company and conversation of these new friends.  We found out the they will be moving to Massachusetts, which Dan isn't too excited about, but we know he will adjust well because he is charismatic and resilient.  Hopefully we will be able to visit them after the move.

As for the bowling part of my trip, it went well.  I enjoyed getting back on the lanes in a competitive scene, but I seemed to have forgotten how to settle my nerves.  With all the time I spent practicing before leaving, I felt pretty confident, especially knowing that I had Sean there along with all the Brunswick guys.  I ended up only bowling the International Mini because the scores for the International Open became extremely high and I would only receive 6 pins per game, whereas I received 14 pins per game in the Mini.  The reason for that is because women receive 6 pins in the Open and in the Mini there are 3 different divisions based on age and average amongst other factors.  I belonged to the Bronze division because my combined average for the past 3 years was 194.  Handicap was 90% of 210, thus giving me 56 pins for 4 games.  So here's the recap...

I bowled my first squad on Saturday at 3pm.  This was the squad to get most of the jitters out of my body.   I had a good start shooting 212, but then fell apart the second with a 145.  I couldn't quite settle down and in the third game I smashed my ankle with my ball.  Not only was it embarrassing, but it hurt like you-know-what... I moved onto the last game after shooting 169 and bounced back with a 205.  785 for the day, a little disappointing, but I had at least 4 more re-entries.
That evening, Sean was to fulfill Benjamin Doyle's wish granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wyoming.  Benjamin is a 16 year old battling brain cancer, but he doesn't let it get in the way of his dreams and goals.  He and his family came to Sunset Station and on the USBC Masters television set, Benjamin got to meet his favorite bowler, Sean.  Benjamin had bowled a 300 a few months ago and Sean was able to present Ben with his first 300 ring.  After a few pictures and interviews, Sean led Benjamin out to the PBA trucks to drill a Brunswick Nexus Solid for him.  They took the ball back to the TV pair and let Ben take a couple practice balls, and after making a few minor adjustments to the thumb hole, Benjamin proceeded to throw a 6-bagger!  It was so great to sit back and watch Sean and Benjamin work together and to see the smile across both their faces after each strike, simply amazing. 

I took Sunday off, only practiced.  I had also drilled the new C-System Versa Max and the Nexxus, so I wanted to get used to them .  I would have to say that I love the Nexxus and I'm still trying to get used to the Versa Max.  I have a difficult time trying to read that ball since it is all black and it's hard to tell the shape.  I know that it does go long though, that's for sure.  I had started using it for a few of my spares though.  Typically for the 2-8, the bucket, 3-6-10 and washouts.  (Spares that I typically chop with my plastic ball.)  The next squad I bowled was Monday morning.  I threw the Nexxus all 4 games, shooting 228, 219, 169, and  234.  Total with handicap was 906 and I thought that my score would be good enough to get me into the finals, but I was feeling pretty good and wanted to try to improve my score in the next squad.  Unfortunately, I didn't bowl as well on the burn.  I ended up with an 815, which was high for that squad, and I waited for the last squad of the day to finish up to see where I placed.  Both my scores were only good enough to get a free re-entry, since in the last squad a kid shot 941 earning him a spot in the finals.  I was bummed, but still grateful that I got those additional entries. 

Tuesday morning I went at it again.  I had a little bit of a slow start with a 181.  I felt like I was playing the right part of the lane, I just had a lot of ring 10's and knew I had to stay patient.  Next game was 256 and I was having fun!  Game 3 I shot 259 and game 4 was 203.  I had a really good feeling about this set and was pretty confident that it wouldn't be beat this time.  By the end of the day, I advanced to the finals and was so excited and proud of myself!  Celebration dinner at PF Changs with the Brunswick group was in order!  A side note here, the Kung Pao scallops were amazing!  Sooo good!

So after all that bowling, I figured my body deserved a massage, so that's exactly what I did Wednesday morning.  Called up Massage Envy, since I have a membership with them, and got a car service from our casino host.  I had a wonderful hour massage and since DSW was within walking distance, I couldn't resist.  I was in need of tan/brown flats and that's exactly what I got, plus a new black pair... :)  Back at the hotel, I grabbed lunch and went up to the room.  The night before I noticed that our door didn't lock shut and I had to pull it to hear the latch click.  I knew that housekeeping had already cleaned our room, so out of curiosity I tried opening the door without inserting my room key and it opened!  So I felt a bit uneasy knowing that our door doesn't completely close and lock, so I had maintenance come up and check out the door.  They open and closed the door about 20 times and of course it locked every time for them...  After about an hour of replacing a part and adjusting it, they finally had it fixed.  I didn't have enough time to get ready and bowl the last squad, so it turned out to be a complete day off for me. 

I had 3 more entries left, and now I was bowling to get into the bye tournament.  So Thursday morning I attempted to post a number, but was pretty unsuccessful.  I shot 757 and was pretty disappointed and confused.  I tried again the next day and didn't do much better with a 798.  I needed to bowl about even scratch to have a better chance of making it into the bye tournament.  Saturday morning was my last chance since I only had 1 entry left.  My 4 games consisted of a 194, 238, 150, and 216.  Game 3 was a let down, I got lost in the transition, but Robert Lawrence came over in the 10th frame and gave me some encouragement and told me what I needed to do.  So, I ended up with an 854 grand total and it was enough to get me into the bye tournament.  I was the 7th seed and later that night I had to bowl the 2nd seed.  I took some time to relax up in the room and get re-energized.

I was already guaranteed 1 bye in the finals, and I need to win matches in the bye tournament to gain more byes.  I was so nervous because I knew winning the bye tournament meant more money and a guarantee of at least $2000.  Through practice, I threw only a couple of shots that I felt confident in, and was unsure if I would be able to repeat those shots during the match.  I was feeling butterflies not just in my stomach but all throughout my body.  I tried calming down before each shot by taking a deep breath and going through my pre-shot routine, but as soon as I took that first step all those butterflies came fluttering back.  I was not consistent at all and the match was over before I knew it.  I lost the match, but my competitor also out bowled me... and he even had more handicap than me!  I was still in the finals though, and was still guaranteed $1000.

The finals came early at 8am on Sunday.  I watched the first round since I had the 1 bye.  Two people advanced and the 4 people who earned 1 bye, including me, joined in the 2nd round.  The top 3 bowlers after one game would move on to round 3.  Once again, my nerves got the best of me and I just could not put anything together.  I was checking my competitors scores throughout the game and about halfway through I just felt like I was out of it... especially since 4 out of 5 of my competitors had a higher handicap than me.  I didn't give up though, I was still determined to throw the best shots I possibly could. 

Overall, I am happy with the way I bowled and I definitely learned what I need to work on for some of my upcoming tournaments.  I'm extremely excited about throwing my new balls and practicing more with them.  I have the rest of this month to practice and half of March before I head to Paris and bowl the Euro Challenge.  So be on the lookout for a post on Paris!  This will be my second time going, but it will be a whole new experience for me.  I'm truly excited!

Anyway, that wraps up my Vegas trip.  Sean is currently in Japan and comes home Monday morning.  We've only been able to talk about 2 brief times a day, pretty much when I'm waking up, he's going to bed and vice versa.  We get to spend almost a week together before he heads off to New Jersey for the US Open.  Also, we get to spend Valentine's day together, which I think this will be the 2nd time we're actually together in our 5 year relationship.  He usually would send flowers and chocolates to me, this year I'm not sure what's in store for us.  We bowl league Tuesday nights, so I know for sure we will be bowling at night, but we do have all day together.  Hopefully he gets rid of his jet lag all day Monday!

I hope my readers have someone they care about to share Valentine's day with, or maybe even tell that someone you've been crushing over your true feelings.  Whatever the case may be, know that someone is out there thinking of you and take time to remember those that you may have lost that were near and dear to your heart, whether they were a friend, family member, loved one, or classmate.  

We will never forget our fallen Huskies 2/14/08.

Off to Vegas!

Wow, time has flown since my first post.  Well, I had a great two days with Sean while he was home.  I picked him up from the airport Monday night (the 16th), unfortunately he was delayed 3 hours because his plane diverted to London from Frankfurt due to a medical emergency on board.  Hopefully that person is okay, but I'm just glad he came home safely.  For dinner we went to his favorite restaurant, Carrabba's... Chicken parm and fettucini alfredo - his usual.

Tuesday and Wednesday we pretty much did laundry so he could have clean clothes for the 3 weeks he'll be on the road.  Sean and I both got pedicures and I got a mani as well - I absolutely love the fact that he is not afraid to tap into his feminine side!  We bowl league Tuesday night with my brother - always a fun time.  Wednesday we practiced,  went to the mall to get our rings inspected and cleaned, and got a couples massage.  We have a membership at Massage Envy, so we get a couples massage at least once a month, which is awesome time together.... sure we're on different tables and silent during the 60 minutes, but it's just therapeutic and releases some stress.  It definitely puts us both in a better mood too. 

Thursday morning he was off to the airport again.  He flew to LA and bowled the Cheetah Open.  Unfortunately, it was not a good weekend for him.  I wished he was home because we celebrated our nephew, Kyle's, 1st birthday.  I always miss him, but especially when we have family get-togethers. I watched my other nephew, Anthony, bowl league on Sunday and I practiced as well since I was there. 

I am bowling the Mini Eliminator and the International Open in Vegas next week, so I have been practicing everyday to gain more consistency in my game.  I tried tweaking a few things, but I don't want to change too much before a tournament.  Hopefully I bowl well.  I still love the competition and I'm continuing to learn the game, so it's all a learning experience for me, and if I bowl well, that's a huge bonus!  I'm also looking forward to seeing Dan McCarty and going to dinner with him and his family Friday night.  Sean and I met Dan at the World Series of Bowling in Vegas this past November and he is such an incredible kid.  If you're not familiar with his story, you can read about it here.

I fly to Vegas on Friday morning, so tomorrow is a day of packing, last day to practice and drop my dog, Dexter off with my brother and sis-in-law.  I am sooooo very thankful that they take him whenever Sean and I are out of town.  I'm sure Dexter loves the company too instead of being boarded at the animal hospital. 

Well, until next time... My next post will update you on how I bowled in Vegas, so check back soon!  (And wish me luck!!)