Well, my team broke 198 for the second week in a row, but it wasn't quite the showing that they had last week. I had to count at least one score in the 9.825-9.875 range on each event. However, those were balanced out by a few of my stars. Am I a little worried that my team has reached its peak, and that we've scored the dropped high score already? Yeah, but I've moved up into first place in my division and 11th overall. So, for now I think I'm in a good place.
Week 7 Superstars
Georgia Dabritz (Utah) got another 10.0 on Bars. I love her bar routine, especially that Comaneci, but I'm surprised she hasn't pulled out any of those huge scores on Floor. Have we seen a 10 on Floor yet this season from anyone? Cami Drouin-Allaire (GWU) got a 9.95 on Vault, which is exactly what I picked her up to do. Lauren Beers (Alabama) pulled out a great All-Around with two 9.95's (Bars/Floor) and a 9 on Vault.
Beam Problems
Balance Beam was my back to being my weakest event this week after rising up last week. I got only 49.375 after two of my regulars didn't compete the event - Dabritz and Jennie Laeng (Nebraska). It might be time to shake things around in that line-up a little bit. I didn't put in Lindsay Offutt (Pittsburgh) and she earned a 9.85. I also have a little wiggle room in trades, since I haven't put Taylor Bolender (CMU) in a line-up in a couple weeks.
Around the League
RQS started this week, but it didn't shake things up too much in the top of the team rankings. Oklahoma looks like they'll be tough to topple this year. LSU and Florida are still fighting for that number two spot. But oh man, did you see Oklahoma almost get upset by Michigan? That would have been crazy. And of course the biggest NCAA news this week is Kyla Ross's commitment to UCLA. I would have loved to see her at Stanford, but she'll do great with Miss Val's famous choreography.
Today is an important day. It's my best friend in the entire world, A's, birthday. And I get to see her!
This isn't the first time I've tried to surprise A on her birthday. Two years ago, everything was planned perfectly. I was to take a long weekend, skipping my few Monday classes and thankful to have Friday off already. My parents had booked a hotel room at Disney World and planned a fun evening safari at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
But I can't tell you how that went, because the trip only happened in some alternate universe. Here, the weather Gods were having none of it and they sent a mean blizzard to upstate New York instead. The storm moved in fast and then stalled, dropping a ton of snow. The winds picked up and you couldn't see across campus from the highest dorm. I was trapped. I told her about the fallen through plan, and that was the end of that.
But, when I was out in Arizona, A surprised me! My mom planned a visit with a few of her friends. Someone had extra points towards a vacation rental, and so mom told me to take a couple days off. I needed the break from work, so I didn't hesitate too much. However, I didn't know that she had been planning a surprise visit with A! We finally got our long weekend, though with cocktails and a private hot tub instead of a safari.
This year, I didn't go with the surprise visit. I was thinking of it originally, but considering how well it went the last time I tried, I decided not to tempt the weather again! So, while A is spending the morning on a Scuba diving trip, we'll all get together tonight to celebrate her birthday. I think the last birthday either of us celebrated together was A's 18th, so it's definitely been awhile. We're both 26 now!
Heyo, welcome to the 198 club! It's an elusive group, but this season it includes Oklahoma, LSU, Florida, and my fantasy team. That's right, for the first time, I have broken 198 for the week, which is always the goal, and I've done it in a pretty spectacular manner with a 198.312. The bad news is that it's going to be tough to repeat, and that the highest score gets dropped. However, the good news is that last weeks 197.931 will count toward my FQS average, and my team is a fully functioning machine. So let's break it down:
Not Quite Perfect, but Darn Close
I didn't get to count any 10's this week, which is a bit of a let down, but it does show that my team is incredibly well-rounded with a lot of depth. Of my twenty routines that counted toward this week's total all of them were 9.9 or above! For a team missing girls from any of the top 3 schools (Oklahoma, LSU, Florida), this is pretty impressive.
My superstars this week included Mary Jane Horth (Illinois) with a 9.975 on Bars and 9.9 on Beam, Cami Drouin-Allaire (GWU) with a 9.925 on Vault, and my two-meeter Ciera Perkins with averages of 9.9125 on Vault and 9.25 on Bars. My usual star, Georgia Dabritz had a rough Beam showing, with a fall for only a 9.3. It's okay though, because the rest of my team covered for her.
The More Things Change I haven't put the exact same line-up in two weeks in a row yet this season, and not just because of bye weeks. My trading has been working incredibly well. Each time I trade a gymnast, she immediately makes the line-up, and often contributes. This week, I dropped Jordan Hardison (Kent State) and picked up a Bars and Beam specialist from Bowling Green, Laura Mitchell. Immediately she was in the Beam line-up. She probably won't contribute on Bars barring an injury to another athlete, because that rotation is headlined by superstars, and I got a 49.675 for the week.
An addition from a couple weeks ago, Chantelle Leohner (EMU) contributed one of my 9.9's on Floor this week, contributing to the rotation's 49.5. One of my favorite parts of Fantasy Gym is seeing these big scores from girls I may not otherwise follow because they aren't from popular schools. Some of my team's best athletes are from lower ranking schools like CMU, Illinois, and Pittsburgh. The Rest of the Division
My fantasy team currently sits at 3rd in my division and 35th overall, but I've been building up my average slowly. Hopefully a few more weeks will let me move up the ranks. My competition has some pretty fantastic girls, however. The first place team features freshman standouts Alex McMurtry (Florida) and Vivi Babalis (Georgia). Second place lucked out with veterans Caitlin Atkinson (Auburn) and Ashleigh Gnat (LSU). It'll be a tough run, but I'm working my way up!
You're invited to come over for breakfast anytime you want. But you should know that I'm not usually fully dressed and that I'm probably only half coherent until after I've put some caffeine into my system. Don't worry though, I've been told morning is when I'm at my wittiest. It's also when I wake to cook and bake the most delicious and decadent treats. Breakfast isn't healthy and it has no place trying. Butter. Cream. Sugar. Flour. Those are the ingredients I want in my breakfast foods.
Chocolate can come too. I still eat Eggo waffles with chocolate chips. I delicately place one chip into each hole in the waffle after it's toasted, then microwave the whole treat for 15 seconds. The chips glisten but they don't lose their shape. Stunning. A squirt of whipped cream tops it off. I fold the whole thing in half and eat it like a waffle taco.
If you do come visit, I won't want to share my coffee, but I might make you homemade hot chocolate if you ask nicely or offer to take the dog for a walk later. I'm not talking about the powdered stuff (although, that stuff's pretty good if you mix it into warm milk instead of water). I'm talking rich, creamy, indulgent. Semi-sweet chocolate chips. Cocoa powder. Heavy cream. Raspberries.
Oh that is the stuff.
It's heavy and sweet and bitter and sour. This isn't the hot chocolate you chug down. This is the one you cradle with both hands and breathe out of. This is the one you sip slowly and close your eyes, thinking about winterscapes and fuzzy scarves and fireplaces.
Didn't have a date over the weekend? It's okay. This raspberry hot chocolate can be your Valentine. I want to wake up to this every single day. Sorry coffee, we may have to reevaluate our relationship.
Raspberry Hot Chocolate for One Makes 1 serving, doubles easily
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Frozen raspberries
2 tsp Sugar
3/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Heavy cream
1/4 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
Sugar to taste
Instructions:
1. In a small saucepan, heat up the raspberries and one teaspoon of sugar until all the ice crystals have melted and the berries start to get soft.
2. Once you're able, crush the berries with a wooden spoon and stir into a syrup. Add the other teaspoon of sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat, and cool until just warm to the touch.
3. Once cooled a bit, pour the raspberry syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a small dish, pressing down to get as much juice as possible without pushing any seeds through. Set aside for later.
4. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and cream to a simmer. Don't let them boil! As soon as it starts bubbling around the edges, remove the pan from the heat.
5. Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Slowly spoon the hot milk over them and stir. Keep adding little bits of milk and stirring until the chips melt completely.
6. Add the melted chocolate and the raspberry syrup to the rest of the hot milk in the saucepan. Stir until everything is incorporated.
7. Place over medium-low heat, and add the cocoa powder. Stir until dissolved. Add sugar to taste (I didn't add any, but I like bitter, dark chocolate).
8. Pour into an 8oz mug, and top with fresh whipped cream and any last drippings of the raspberry syrup. Drink immediately for breakfast or dessert!
In the early days, we would decorate brown paper bags with cut out hearts. Mine were never symmetrical. I still can't draw a perfect heart, but I've learned to find beauty in imperfection. Then we'd spend an hour on Heart Day passing around store-bought cardboard cards with cartoon characters, terrible puns, and a bite sized Snickers bar. So no one was left out, we each brought enough for the whole class.
A little older, I would obsess over those chalky candy hearts with the sayings. I'd dump out each box I had received and use the phrases to write silly songs and poems, such as this instant classic: Be mine/ All mine Kiss me/ So fine Be mine/ So true Love me/ Miss you Be mine/ So fine Why not/ Cutie pie
In middle school, the days of cards for every classmate had ended. Instead, secret notes were tucked inside lockers, taped on top of desks, and passed down through a series of giggling girlfriends until they made their way into the hands of the crush of the week. We'd dress up in ruffles and kitten heels and hit the school gym. Friends of her arranged with friends of him the next slow dance. At the end of the night, more hearts were broken than hung from the ceiling.
One year, I hand made cards for each member of my family. I painstakingly cut (slightly better, but still crooked) hearts from construction paper and came up with my own witty phrases. I was the only one to deliver Valentine's that year. The next year, I made none, and each of my parents and siblings gave me a card instead - surprise! Love's not only romantic, especially when you're a preteen.
Flowergrams were the big thing in our teens. We'd buy them for friends, donating the funds to heart disease foundations. Yellow meant friendship. Pink meant crush. Red meant forever. On one, I quoted a mutual favorite song and never signed it. I never should have pursued that boy anyway. The dances still happened, but the dancing was closer. So were the chaperones. We left in groups, girls heading home for sleepovers and all-night gossip sessions about the boys they danced with.
College nights meant fancy meals at the dining hall, with pink, heart-shaped pancakes one year. A later year, the night was Chinese take-out and watching the Olympics on a tiny tv in the corner. Sometimes, I'd see people in movies get dressed up to go on elaborate dates. I wasn't sure anyone did that in real life. I'm still not totally convinced.
Last year, I got a puppy. She cured my lonely mind and curled up in my lap. This year, I spend the evening with her in my arms again. The Boy is working late, but it's okay. There's no need to send a photo of the pup that says "Life is Ruff," because he'll see her when he's home in a few hours. We'll all hug, and eat homemade ice cream on the couch. We'll get up together and make breakfast.
The Boy is working late on Valentine's Day, but that's okay. It means there's literally no pressure to make a reservation and get dressed up and go out to eat a prixfixe dinner that is far too overpriced. It also means that I get to spend the evening instead cuddled up with my little Muffin.
This dog has so many nicknames, but Muffin is one I probably use the most (other than her actual name, Tessa) if you include all of its various incarnations. Muffin became Puffin - a combination of puppy + muffin, which became Puff.
Her full name, which honors her Arizonian heritage is Teresita Cascabel. It means Tiny pepper of the earth, which is pretty appropriate for an itty bitty Chihuahua. I like portmanteaus when coming up with nicknames for Tess, so I often call her Tessabel. Occasionally she's Fluffkin, a matchup of fluffy and pumpkin.
The dress she's wearing in these pictures was a Christmas gift from Aunt A, my best friend in the entire world. I thought the soft red skirt was perfect for my little Valentine. You may recognize the heart pillow from my Disney-themed living room. Enjoy the photo shoot, hopefully more than Tess did!
Because the dress was a gift, I don't know where you can find this exact one. However, I found one that's similar. Note: that is an affiliate link. If you click on it and make a purchase, I can earn a little money at no extra cost to you!
Another week, another trade! This week I dropped Taylor Noonan, who was injured at the beginning of the season. In her place, I picked up a Bars anchor from Southern Utah, Jaime Armijo. Her average is above 9.8, and even though I already have two bar specialists in Chelsea Davis (Georgia) and Austin Sheppard (Michigan), it was an event I'd been hurting on.
Week 5 Superstars
Obviously, Georgia Dabritz (Utah) is my number one. She's basically my anchor, and I depend on her scores a lot. This week, she scored her second 10.0 of the season, this time on Vault. I just hope she improves on beam a little bit and she'd basically be perfect.
Mary Jane Horth (Illinois). Did you see her bar routine this week? Pretty gorgeous, if you ask me. And apparently the judges too, since she got a 9.975. Love it. Lauren Beers (Alabama) got three 9.9's this week on Bars, Beam, and Floor, and Sunny Kato (Illinois) got two on Bars and Beam. But my surprise star of the week was Lindsay Offutt (Pittsburgh) with a 9.925 on Floor.
Team Analysis
Thanks to Road to Nationals, I don't have to constantly chart each of my gymnasts' progress, because they do it for me! Here are a few charts for some of the athletes that are contributing the most to my fantasy team over the last 5 weeks:
This week, my weakness was Beam for sure, but it's pretty clear that the event has been a problem all season, so far. I probably would have been fine had Halle Moraw (CMU) not fallen on her best event, but because she did, I had to count Dabritz's 9.775, my lowest score on any event this week.
Around the League
There was a bit of a disagreement over scoring at the LSU vs Georgia meet. LSU superstar, Rheagan Courville, scored a 9.95 for a Vault that did not have a great landing. Speaking of scoring discrepencies, Tory Wilson (Utah) got a 10 that many are saying she didn't really deserve as well. I know the scoring has gone way, way up in the past few years. Personally, I think it's time to reevaluate the scoring system. There's a ten-point scale, but it's rare to see a score below a 9. When 90% of you scoring system is hardly even in use, something needs to be changed.
