Chicago – A Volleyball Girl in a Social Media World

Falling Ice, Electricity, Chicken George, and Governor Palin (hehe)

Posted on February 11, 2010 by vballphil in Chicago, Chicken George, M2, MMT, O'Hare, Sterling, volleyball

So who knew that the Sterling Clinics (via Chitown) would be such an adventure! Of course it all had to start in LB…with the CRAZY flight to O’hare…I guess I knew I had to have a horrible flight since most of the flights in the last year have been pretty decent! Haha…And can we talk about the numb-biting cold I was greeted with there? WOW. Can say BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR….and with brrrrr comes MASSIVE STATIC ELECTRICITY! Goodness, I truly HATE being shocked every other minute. SERIOUSLY. Sucks when you are trying to coach someone and move them and then SHOCK. Good times…

Anyways, this Cali girl had no idea about “falling ice” hazards in Chicago! It is a serious thing! Of course Misty had to have some fun with this one. And then to see the Chicago River with ICE chunks in it…SURREAL. Oh, thicker jeans are really made in the colder climates?? Geez, how do we Cali folk survive out there! 🙂

After our fab frozen day in dwntwn Chicago, we picked up Megan and headed West. How much do we love Oasis stops btw?! They had a Starbucks so we were set! haha…2 hours later we were in Rock Falls/Sterling, IL….home of Chicken George! For all those who have no idea WHAT that is…think funnel cake mix with chicken (deep fried) with a sweet “jan” sauce. Thanks to the Pierce’s who took us to a place (for Kristy Pierce’s surprise bday bash) that served it! It was also there that we started to realize that Misty was not the only celebrity we had in our mist….Governor Sarah Palin’s TWIN!! Hahaha…Jen Bowman (another fab coach we had for Sterling) drove down with her mom Kristi Bowman. Kristi is SO a dead ringer for Palin. She even sounds like her! And the best part was people thought is was her! It was AWESOME!!

The clinics went VERY well the next day…TONS of kids. Can we say WOW! Yes, we will be back…and on top of the kids I got to see some of my FAVE midwest people EVER…the Podschweit’s!! Emily, Aubrey, and Mary Kaye – THANK YOU so much for joining us AND bringing such FAB help! I so can’t wait to see y’all in Reno!!

After the clinics we headed back to the Windy City and met up with some friends that I met way back in Turks in 07…Glenna and Mosi! So awesome to see y’all!! AND for the record, it might have been FREEZING there…but it was GORGEOUS!!

Next up….Dallas…HUGE REUNION in the works :)! So excited! Here’s to the next adventure!

You Know When You Are A Cali Girl in NYC When…

Posted on December 21, 2008December 20, 2012 by vballphil in airports, Chicago, Fun, Funny, NYC

Ok, do here ya go Angela and everyone else who wanted to hear my funny story…haha

Ok, so when I arrived into the city on Tuesday I decided to take a Taxi (inside of the subway with my luggage) to Merissa’s place. She had told me what to do to get in (since she was gonna be out and her cleaning lady would be there). So I get out and go to the first door that has the buttons to push for each level. I push her’s and pull on the door and it opens. Yea. So I put my two bags in between the two doors (there is another door to get through) and then pull on the second door. So I (with the first door open the first time) to push the number from the outside again and pull on the 2nd door. No luck. The next time, I decide to go outside completely LETTING THE FIRST DOOR SHUT and push the number. Then the first door is locked….with my bags in between the two doors…and it was raining outside (and I had my carry on bag on my shoulder with a laptop and no covering from the rain). Yea. I literally pulled a huge dunce moment and sat outside for like 10 minutes…hahaha. So finally I was let in by someone and walked to her floor and knocked. No one was there…and I look behind me and up comes the cleaning lady. She had missed her train and was way late. Good times, good times. Hahaha.

Here are a few more pics from Ice Skating (Thanks Taylor)

And here is a pic I took after I wrote my blog in the Chicago Airport. It is our plane, in the snow (ice and rain…we were delayed another 30 min) before they de-iced and put that green goo on there….

Wow…My Bday Trip Fun err Annoyance

Posted on December 19, 2008December 20, 2012 by vballphil in Birthday, Chicago, Friends, New Jersey, NYC

So who knew that almost a week ago I was flying high on life…ready for NYC…ready for a few things and one week later I would be sleeping in the Chicago Midway Airport, praying to get home today. Wow…how did it lead up to here? Hahahaha…well let’s examine…

So Sat came…off to Philly! When I landed, Kris and Danny picked me up and took me to Pat’s for some REAL Philly Cheesesteaks in Philly! It was my first time in Philly too…which made it that much better…needless to say my sandwich rocked! NO CHEEZ WIZ EITHER! hahaha….and another side note to Philly was that I finally got to see the real Liberty Bell (since us socal kids grow up with Independence Hall at Knott’s).

Sunday came, and it was off the NYC for some ice skating fun in Central Park (one of my fave things to do period). Unfortunately Danny, Merissa, and Michael could not make it, but Jessie and Kelly joined. Good times.

Monday was my day to veg in the countryside of Jersey. Kristen & Danny….love the house!!!!! It was a beautiful day out there. And I always love spending time with my doggie nephew, Auggie Doggie!! Such a cutie. Kris, if there is one thing you can count on it is me visiting NYC JUST for auggie!!!! And thanks guys for my bday cake!!

Tuesday I headed into the city and decided that I would do a whirl wind 10 min site seeing trip. From Union Square to Wall Street to the World Trade Center Site to Grey Dog’s in the West Village to Rockafeller Center to Times Square and home. A couple of side notes…one, IT SNOWED AT LUNCH AT GREY DOG’S! Me and Jessie were shocked! And even though my night did not go as plan, thanks to Merissa, Andy, and Michael for hanging!!

Wed, well it was my 32 bday! :)! I woke up to many texts and posts on FB (thanks y’all) and ended grabbing lunch with KT (thanks for that too). After lunch I kinda wandered over to the Empire State Building and then back through Times Square. So beautiful. For dinner, Jessie and Allie met me at Son Cubano for some yummo Cuban Tapas. Did I mention that Jessie got my some Magnolia Cupcakes? YUMMO! Then me and Jessie headed uptown to meet some friends…and even though (yet again) my night did not end up the way I thought, it was a ton of fun (thanks Merissa, Jessie, and Michael).

And then came Thursday…A day right night I wish I could do over again. I knew I should not have left NYC (due to the weather coming into the midwest), but did not have a good enough reason to stay. So I flew out to Chicago Midway, hoping that my Omaha flight was still a go…WELL NOPE. I was put on standby on an Oakland bound plane (since everything out west is booked for 2 days and my Omaha flight gets into omaha at 9p tonight). Then it was off to the cots for some ZZZZZZ…or at least tons of lights, ongoing announcements, and ARG.

Now, well, I am sitting at my gate wondering if this flight is gonna be cancelled and if I am gonna make it out of Chicago this weekend…Happy Bday to me!

The Windy City….2007

Posted on August 7, 2007December 20, 2012 by vballphil in AVP, Chicago, Duffy's, Friends, North Ave Beach

So the AVP traveled to Chitown this past weekend for the annual stop on North Ave Beach. And the Windy city was AWESOME! From the weather (for the most part), to the fans (with out the big stars in town), to the volunteer crew (over 300 people), to the Hilton Clinic (with 3 out of the 4 players who played in the women’s match on Sunday), and to the nightlife…things were pretty darn good!! Here are some photos from the weekend….