Derby Stance

Derby Stance
Here is another little something, something I wrote for the DGD Recruitment Blog.  It was edited by Striking Dervish. 

1st Recruitment Night

Dead Girl Derby's first recruitment night for the 2014 season happened last night.  Lots of interested women and men!  Dead Girl Derby is offering so much this year.  I am so excited to be a part of it.

If you ever though of joining derby and live in the Kansas City area, we have one more recruitment night on August 21st.  On my previous post, there is a flyer with the time and location. 

Dead Girl Derby is offering the four House Teams (Shotgun Sheilas, Royal Pains, Lovely Lethals and the Deadly Sirens), a Travel Team, a Zombie League (Black Plague and Gang Green) and a Co-ed Team.

Next season, I will be playing on my House Team -- Shotgun Sheilas and one of the Co-ed Teams!

Dead Girl Derby Recruitment 2014

Northland Encampment 2014 -SWAPS Contest

I am involved with a very large campout called the Northland Encampment.  It is held every two years, because that is how long it takes us to plan it.  We have a 1000+ people attending. 

This year I am in charge of the SWAPS contest, Flag Contests and Cooking Contests, as well as Tent City.
I just wanted to post this up in case anyone else was holding a SWAP contest and needed help coming up with ideas.

What SWAPS are...

Northland Encampment

May 3-5, 2014

SWAPS Contest!

It’s changing up a bit this year and will be better than ever! You can enter both Troop and Individual SWAPS!

Troop SWAPS will be voted on by the Committee Members of Northland Encampment for the Grand Prize and a popular vote will take place to determine 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place! So that means everyone will have a voice in determining our winning SWAPS! Each Troop needs to submit two identical SWAPS in a plastic baggie. The entry form must be in the plastic bag! Each SWAP is numbered by the SWAP Coordinator. One is placed on the Troop SWAPS banner outside. The other one will be inside Scott House for Committee Members and Volunteers to vote. Each Troop will receive in their Registration Packet, Voting Ballots for each registered Girl Scout and Adult in the Troop. The Voting Ballots will be clearly marked as “TROOP SWAPS BALLOT”. Each person will need to mark their 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice using the number on the SWAP. Instructions will be on each ballot. The Ballots will need to be turned in by 2:30 pm to the Voting Box outside of Scott House. Votes will be tallied and announced during the Closing Flag Ceremony.

Each individual wishing to enter in the Individual SWAP contest will need to submit two identical SWAPS in a plastic baggie. The entry form must be in the plastic bag. Each SWAP will be numbered. One is placed on the Individual SWAPS banner outside. The other SWAP will remain in Scott House for Committee Member and Volunteers to vote on. Each Troop will receive in their Registration Packet, voting ballots for each registered Girl Scout and Adult in the Troop. The Voting Ballots will be clearly marked as “Individual SWAPS Ballot”. The categories that they will be able to vote on are: Funniest, Most Unique, Theme-Related, Girl Scout Theme (Girl Scout Law), Trash to Treasure (Recycled) and Too Much Time on Our Hands (most elaborate or fancy). The Ballots will need to be turned in by 2:30 pm to the Voting Box outside of Scott House. Votes will be tallied and winners of each category will be announced during the Closing Flag Ceremony.

Susan G. Komen Kansas City

This Sunday I am participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I am a member of Pippi’s Pack. If you want to donate, click this link: http://kansascity.info-komen.org/goto/morgancartwright

Trims for Tatas Fundraiser

An amazing fundraiser happened today.  I blogged briefly about my team captain, Pippi Strongblocking, being diagnosed with breast cancer a few short months ago.  To offset the costs of her cancer treatment, there was a Trims for Tatas Event held at the Pinkie Couture Salon in Overland Park, KS.  This amazing group of stylists donated their time for this event.  

One group of ladies raised over $1600 to Shave their heads.  Pigtails for Pippi was started by the captain of the Deadly Sirens, Striking Dervish.  It grew to include Miss Mustachio (Deadly Sirens) and Wale on'em Jennings (Royal Pains), Tim Dye (Do'er Dye's Husband), Rebel Yelle (Shotgun Sheilas) and her father, Patrick.  

Here are some of the fun pictures from the day!  The photographer will be credited at the bottom of each pic!

First off, we need to say a big Thank you to Anya Neezenbeg (Tessa Brant) for organizing this event!  Photo by Shelly Twibell

Raia F'ing Sunshine can rock the hawk!  Photo by Sam-I-Automatic of the Lovely Lethals

Miss Mustachio losing her hair!  Preston did a great job!  Photo by Steven Yates of KC Star Community Mingle

Raia F'ing Sunshine helping Miss Mustachio's hair hit the floor.  Photo by Steven Yates of KC Star Community Mingle

 Tim Dye losing his long beard by the hands of Pippi Strongblocking!  Photo by Steve Yates of KC Star Community Mingle.

 Anya Neezenbeg is helping Eileen Dover take care of that long hair.  Photo by Steve Yates of KC Star Community Mingle.

Striking Dervish's hair goes bye bye!  Photo by Steven Yates of KC Star Community Mingle

Striking Dervish, Rebel Yelle, Anya Neezenbeg, Gnarly Quinn, Gnarly Quinn's man and Rebel Yelle's Father!  Picture by Sam-I-Automatic

Miss Mustachio, Striking Dervish and Wale On'em Jennings

Photo by Sam-I-Automatic

And me..my hair is cute :)

Photo by Steve Yates of KC Star Community Mingle

If you want to check out more pictures, use this link:

Trims for Tatas!

Endurance

Endurance while in the Recruitment process last October about killed me.  It took me two times to pass.  It was a little trick I learned that helped me pass the second time.

In M.A.D.E. Roller Derby to make minimum skills you have to skate 20 laps in 5 minutes.

The beginning of October 2012, I did not pass endurance.  The first time I took the endurance test I was at 20 laps in 5:57.  By the end of October 2012, I passed endurance with a time of 4:57!

Today, I had my team mates time me.  I got 20 laps in 4:18.  I am super proud of myself.

My  next goal for endurance is to do 20 laps in 4 minutes or under!

So by the beginning of October 2013, I want to be at that time.

If you ever thought about joining Roller Derby and you are in the Kansas City area, Dead Girl Derby is starting the recruitment process August 19th.  Check out dgdrecruitment.wordpress.com to learn more and helpful tips and tricks that we will be posting.

Powell Gardens - Festival of Butterflies

The Butterfly Festival at Powell Gardens (http://www.powellgardens.org/) was excellent this year.  I think it was my favorite thus far and we have been going for a while.

Powell Gardens also has wonderful LEGO exhibits throughout the Gardens. You wouldn't believe how many LEGOS it took to make some of them.

Highlights of the Week!

1. Last Day Camp payment was made! YAY for an extra $140 a week!

2. 1 more loan payment, 10 more student loan payments and 22 car payments left. The extra money is in my sight!
3. My credit score went up!
4. Awesome Black/Green Derby Scrimmage
5. Friday night BBQ with friends!
6. The “Poop on a Stick” Lecture
7. Mary Kay Makeover by my derby sister, Zombina.

I have a trading card...what?

Photos Courtesy of Fire Branded Photography

Girl Scout Junior Badge - Flowers

Alli and another girl from her Girl Scout Troop visited the Kansas City Community Garden this past Saturday to work on their Flowers Badge.  The Flowers badge is part of the Legacy Badges.  This one covers the Naturalist section.

(picture of a Cicada Killer)



Needless to say, they had a great time and learned a lot of new and helpful information.   It was a wonderful learning experience had by all.  I even took in some new information.

The program started out with the girls identifying parts of the flower.  This is one of the requirements to complete the badge.  The girls were having a tough time with it.  I was having a tough time with it.  Who knew flowering plants were so difficult?

 

Do you know how to tell the back end of a caterpillar from its front end?  Touch it.  Press down on it and it will rear it’s front side and put its antenna out and try to be scary.  It wasn’t too scary.  In fact, it was quite cute.

In the fruit garden, we got to sample some fresh, organic fruit.  At the garden, they do not spray any of their fruits or vegetables, so you can eat them right off the plant.

We sampled some super sweet strawberries.  The blackberries were a bit tart but still good.  All the children enjoyed them.

 

Can you find Alli?  She was hiding in the Gourd House.  The entire structure is hidden with the vines and gourds.  We got one of the gourds to take home and cook on up. 

Flower Badge Requirements

Naturalist: Flowers

Purpose: When I've earned this badge, I'll know all that's wonderful about flowers.

1. Uncover the science of a flower:

            * Go on a flower hunt to find your favorite flower and five other kinds in your town. Record     or sketch             what you see.

            * Plant a seed or bulb of your favorite flower and grow it until it blooms.

            * Interview a botanist, ask why they became a flower specialist.

2. Look under the petals:

            * Dye a flower by putting the cut stem into water with food coloring. Keep track of the changes.

            * Find out about why flowers smell. Watch a fragrant flower and record who or what visits it.

            * Find out about different flower families. What are some other flowers in your favorite's family?

3. Find out how flowers help people:

            * Find a flower that turns into a fruit and make a snack using that fruit or an edible flower.

            * Find out about three different medicinal flowers or herbs and how they help people.

            * Try a recipe for bath beads or another product that uses flower scents to help people relax. Does it             work?

4. Have fun with flowers;

            * Make a flower necklace.

            * Make a work of art with dried or pressed flowers.

            * Make your own flowers out of craft materials.

5. Send a message in flower code:

            * Make a bouquet of flowers.

            * Make a corsage (broach or bracelet) of flowers.

            * Make a flower arrangement in a vase or other container.

Getting Ready for Derby

Here is something I wrote for the dgdrecruitment.wordpress.com website.  I wanted to post it here, too.  If you want to join derby, here are a few things that you can do to prepare.

Getting Ready for Roller Derby:

You’ve made the decision.  You want to play roller derby!  Here are a few things to consider getting ready for the Dead Girl Derby training camp:

1.       Attend a Bout!

No matter what you have seen in the movies or on TV, you MUST experience a roller derby bout live!  Attending the game will help you understand the mechanics of the game.  It will show you what you are getting into.  You may also be able to chat with some of the players before or after the game. 

Dead Girl Derby has three upcoming bouts:

                July 27^th at Kemper Arena

                August 17^th at Hale Arena

                September 21^st at Kemper Arena (Championship Game)

2.       Do Research!

Check out the history of Dead Girl Derby!

(Or whichever League you are joining)

Dead Girl Derby skates with the M.A.D.E. Rule Set. A good place to look is Skatemade.org.  At this website, you can take a gander at the rules.  It will link you to popular articles on M.A.D.E. Skating.  There are links to quite a few rookie specific articles.

YouTube videos of M.A.D.E. Derby games.  You can learn a lot by watching.  There are also lots of videos on skating technique.

3.       Budget

Make sure to add a section in your budget for Monthly Dues (can also be quarterly or yearly, whatever you decide works).

Skates and gear will need a space in your budget also. (There will be more posts on gear and where to purchase soon)

4.       Skate, skate, skate and skate some more!

Get on wheels!  Hit up as many open skates as possible!  Don’t worry if you do not have your own skates just yet! Rock the Rentals! Get confident on your feet.  Try skating faster each time! Practice those crossovers!  Try skating in derby stance for extended periods of time!

5.       Get in Shape

Roller Derby Boot Camp will test your fitness and you want to make sure your body can handle the different challenges thrown at it!

Try to spend 30 minutes/5 days a week doing some type of cardio activity.  Sprints and suicide drills are always excellent!

Strength training is great!  You will need strong legs and core!  Squats, lunges, calf raises and wall sits will help with legs.  Planks, crunches and pushups will help your core!  Don’t neglect the upper body through, you will need that strong for your balance.

6.        Stay positive!  It’s hard work, but you can do it! 

So many things I want to write about, but I don’t feel like I can on here right now. 

When one door closes, another one opens.  It opens to a journey that will be life-changing.

10. Describe your most embarrassing moment….

You would think my most embarrassing moment would be when I was jumping around and peed my pants in public or when I feel up the stairs in front of people, but it’s not….

My most embarrassing moment took place in the summer of ’95.  I had just finished 7^th grade. I was on a mission trip with my childhood church. WE went to Red Bird Mission, deep in the Appalachians.  It was beautiful and serene and I am still waiting for the day when I can return.  Even thought I don’t actively participate in a church or organized religion, I still believe that the Red Bird Mission is a great cause and I was deeply impacted by visiting.

Anyway, to my story. Red Bird Mission has a K-12 school. Some of their students live too far away to commute daily to the school. Therefore, the Mission has dorms.  One of our jobs while we were there was to repaint the bathrooms in the boy’s dorm room. (And you boys are dirty! It was not fun scraping the rust off the dividing walls of the stalls because you couldn’t aim) the first thing we did was scrap all the paint. That morning, we had tackled the lower parts of the walls. After lunch time, we needed to do the upper walls.  I was the first one to arrive back.  I got on top of the nasty boys toilet and began scraping the paint.  When I had finished that spot, I stepped back to get off the toilet.  I failed to remember that there was no lid on said toilet.  I stepped right into the nasty toilet.  I thought I was still alone in the bathroom.  I was wrong.

For a few hours, everyone was staring at me. They were giggling and smiling at me, whatever, I could not put my finger on to it as to why they were doing this.

One person finally asked me how it was to take a swim in the toilet.  My little just got out of 7^th grade heart was devastated.  People were laughing at me.  They were laughing at something I did.  The person, who heard it all happen, had exaggerated slightly. Making it just a little worse.  I think it was so embarrassing to me at the time because I thought I was alone and got away with it.  And the fact that I was only in 7^th grade.

Dead Girl Derby....THIS SATURDAY!

You should be there!

You always tell me you want to come!

So come!

Be there and have fun!

I am playing in the second game!

11. Describe 10 Pet Peeves you have

a.       The sound of people eating loudly, smacking and crunching of food and the sound of someone licking their fingers and sucking the sauce off of it. It’s called Misophonia.

b.      People who are obnoxious, loud and rude to people at work, just because they think they are lying.

c.       Loud, always have to be the center of attention people.

d.      Those who think problems will go away if you simply ignore them.

e.      Those who say they will show up at something and they NEVER do.

f.        The answer of “I don’t know” or “I don’t care” if I am asking a question that requires a response.  Then when someone else decides, they don’t like the choices that other people make.

g.       Ill fitting clothing.

h.      When I call someone, they don’t pick up, and then they answer with a text.  If I wanted to text you, I would have done so.

i.         People who sleep all the time.

j.        When I am out of a product I really like and then I never find it again.

7. What is your dream job and why?

My dream job is to teach at an institution of higher education.

Teaching what? Teaching US History from pre-antebellum to the 1950s. Specifically, Civil War History.  I love learning and researching the Civil War. So much history here..on US Soil. The only true domestic war in this country.  I have traced my family back. I may talk about that sometime.  I have visited battle sites. 

So, I love US History and want to teach others to love it too.

4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year old self

1.       Don’t quit the job at Sonic for Galyan’s.

2.       Have Fun.

3.       Open up to more people.

4.       Don’t worry about what people think of you

5.       Never, ever get a credit card.

6.       Don’t expect too much from others.

7.       Keep volunteering.  It’s in your nature. This is just your start.

8.       Don’t keep secrets

9.       Be happy.

10.   The world is not against you.  There are just lots of obstacles that you will have to overcome. You will overcome them.

3. Describe your relationship with your parents.

Dad: it’s there, but barely. Neither of us is good at communicating and that’s where it is lost.

Mom: wonderful, we try to help each other as much as we can. We get frustrated with each other, but normally it is quickly resolved.

And we danced the night away....

My friend, my mentor, my roller derby team captain was diagnosed with breast cancer two weeks ago.

When she broke the news to our team, we were all devastated. We were crying, sobbing, complete messes. We aren’t just team mates, we are family. When one feels pain, we all feel pain.

Tonight, we danced the night away with our friend. She was happy and worries free.

Next week, her battle to eradicate cancer from her life begins.  She will destroy Wendy.

15. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

This is simple.  A cat. Because I love them. They make me happy and as a cat, I would make others happy. The End.

2. Describe 3 legitimate fears.

§  Falling over the edge of something. (Side note: I am not afraid of heights)

§  Raccoons: Because they ate my puke.

§  Failing my children somehow.

Employed....

I have been working for the Great State of Missouri for one year today.

It’s been a long year, but it is much less stress than my former employer.

I do my work, I get left alone. I love it.

With one year in, it means I have passed my probationary period and now, I am an official employee.