Think Before You Speak

Since I have started teaching, I have become a lot more sensitive to bullying, people do not realize that words do hurt.  I have seen this video several times, on people's Facebooks as well as in my own college classes.  Now, it is time for everyone to watch and listen to the message.  It is hurtful to use the word, and I am sure I have been guilty of using it myself, but it is time to stop. We need to raise our children with a sense of love and respect instead of hate.  I can change, can you?

please watch:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iSlok6muY0&feature=related

For some moments in life there are no words....

It has been a long time since I wrote one of these! But, a lot of people have been asking me to start writing again.. so why not!  A lot has happened since the US Open and Queens. Lets start with that and work our way up.  US Open, all I can say is heartbreak, every single time.  I honestly must say I thought this year I would be able to say, I am that girl you saw on TV!  Unfortunately, I was not able to reach my goal, but I came very close.  Hopefully next year I will be able to tell everyone, yep, that was me on Sunday!  After the US Open, I decided to go back to NY for my family.  

In September, my dad pasted away from a brain aneurysm.  I never had a chance to say goodbye to him, even though I spent every moment in the hospital by his bed side.  He was already hooked up to a ventilator and was unable to communicate with me.  I want to take this time to tell everyone how important it is to tell their family and friends how much they love them.  I wish my last words to him were, I love you.... but he knows I will always be his little girl.   After my dad pasted away, I won two tournaments in the same month, I do not think it was a coincidence.  He was able to see me reach my dream of bowling on tour, and now he will be able to watch bowl whenever he wants.  I am proud to be his daughter, he was a great man.  

Nationals, Women's US Open, and Queens.... Oh My!

Wow! My life has done a complete 360 in the last few months, and I cannot believe how much has occurred.  First and for most, I am no long a New Yorker, but I will always be one at heart!  Second, I finally feel independent for the first time in my life.  And lastly, I have found some success on the lanes.  Over the past year, bowling has really been a struggle for me, I have felt no matter what I did, I kept coming up short of my expectations.  I felt as though something was standing in my way, and finally I figured it out, me! I was standing in my own way, too afraid to make a mistake, that I cost myself a chance to win.

Queens

  Queens was held in El Paso this year, otherwise know as very far away from everything!  I was excited to hear from one of my best friends, Christine, that she would be joining me on the lovely drive (sarcasm).  She flew here from Michigan, spent the night, and then we were off on an awesome nine hour drive!  I will save you the boring details of the drive, but I will show you some of the great scenery (sarcasm).

Christine and I arrived in El Paso, after a run in with the law! Yes, we were pulled over for, get this, being in the left lane too long!  Neither Christine or I had ever heard of this law, but the officer was completely fascinated with the fact that we were bowling, even asking to see our balls!! (weird and sort of creepy!) We were tired and went straight to bed, well Christine did, I listened to her snore!!!! The next day I had team event for women's nationals and Christine came along to be my cheerleader!!! I love my team, and we always have a great time, does not hurt that we bowled great! After bowling, Christine and I had a chance to catch up with some of the other lady bowlers, I was excited to see Dee's pregnant belly :).  After leaving the convention center, we went to dinner at a Mexican place with my team, and had a great time.  The following day was doubles and singles, we all bowled great and Christine did a great job of rooting us on!  Right after doubles and singles, we all had practice for the queens!  By the end of practice we were exhausted and ready for bed!  The next few days were going to be long ones!

Qualifying Round

Qualifying was hard on me, I struggled early on to get into a groove, but just could not pull myself together.  However, I knew I could still make the cut if I just put forth a better effort.  On the last day of qualifying I finally pulled myself together to get where I needed to be!  After qualifing it was anyone's game!

Match Play

My first match did not go as I would have liked, I felt as though I bowled well, but just could not get anything going.  Lucky for me, it was double elimination, so I was placed in the losers bracket but still had a chance to make the show.  

My second match was a difficult one, I had to face Shannon O'keefe.  I respect Shannon and think she is an amazing bowler, she is also a dear friend.  I knew Shannon would be a tough opponent, so I put my noise to the ground and started out striking, my goal was to stay ahead of her the whole time and never give her the opportunity to get out in front of me, because that girl can strike!   I defeated Shannon and moved on in the losers bracket.  

My third match was against another friend Olivia, again it is always hard to bowl against people you have good relationships with.  I was successful and moved on in the losers bracket.  

On my fourth match I made one of the biggest mistakes a bowler can make, I tried to strike instead of just getting an easy spare! I will have flashbacks about this moment forever!  It came down to the last game and all I needed was to spare and keep the ball on the lane.  However, I chose to try to strike, well that did not work out as planned, I split, lost and was out of the tournament.  I wish I could go back in time, but I can not, so I must learn from that experience and never let it happen again.  

Christine.. Christine.. Christine...

I would like to take a minute to say how wonderful Christine bowled.  She is still young and has not had as many tournaments under her belt as the rest of us, but looking at her performance in the Queens one would never know.  She really bowled amazing and I was so proud of her.  

U.S. Open 

Photo Shoot

These Photos are for The Girls Only Centereach Clinic March 21, 3-8pm

 Hosted by Myself and Diandra Asbaty

Denver... A Surprise and a Realization

  I arrived in Denver on Valentine's Day, it was the best Valentine's day present ever, I really wanted to leave Reno :).  I have never visited Denver before, and I could not believe all the mountains in my view.  Denver is really an amazing city, however, it was absolutely freezing.  Sunday, I arrived at my hotel, unpacked and relaxed. However, Monday was a very fast paced day, those do not usually happen out on tour.  I was working with Diandra to plan a surprise get together for Kelly to celebrate her success, and my roommate Christine Bator was to arrive later on that day.  I had to go find balloons, party decorations, check on the status of the cake, and then pick up Christine.  

The next day Christine and I had practice session, but we still had a few errands to run for Kelly's party that night.  Diandra, Christine, and I all went to lunch and then to pick up the ballons at Party City.  After picking up the balloons, poor Diandra had to ride in the back with them and I think her and the baby were being sufficated, so I dropped her off at the bowl.  Then, Christine and I went to pick up the cake.  After picking up the most amazing cake I have ever seen, we were off to practice.  

After practice, we raced back to the hotel so I could change my clothes and then headed out to the restaurant, so I could set up for the party.  When I arrived I was a little worried about the location, but it all worked out.  Kelly was so surprise, everyone had an amazing time, and oh yeah I caught the whole thing on video!  

You can see the video and all the pictures from the party here:

www.amandasfavoritephotos.shutterfly.com

A big thanks to 

Christine

Megan 

Kayla and her parents

Missy 

Shalin 

Jessica 

Thank You for all your help! 

New Things on the Horizon... Or so I have been told...

So it is midnight in Reno, I just finished an amazing dinner with amazing people and I am in bed reading a magazine.  As I flip through the pages, for some reason I decide to read the horoscope, which I never do.  (I promise!)  I was born on March 24, which makes me an Aries.  My horoscope reads as follows, "Success and happiness are on the horizon, and this is the time to fine tune your life.  Figure out exactly what you want to achieve.  At work, you are due for a lucky break."  Now, that might have been the best news I have received in a while, definitely makes Reno look a lot better.  For me this is two fold, in my professional life there exist the ultimate achievement, a title.  Each week I feel as though I am getting better and better, I can almost taste success.  However, each week I fall just a little short, but that does not discourage me, I keep pressing on.  The second part lies within the word happiness, I found it, but it might be just beyond my reach, but again I keep pressing on.

A Personal Note

Mistakes are part of life, realizing the mistakes you have made and changing them are hard.  However, changes make a person better.  I have made important changes to improve my mental and physical game out here on tour.  I take each loss and mistake, and try to make the changes so I do not repeat them.  The same rules apply in my personal life.  Sometimes you do not realize a mistake until it is too late.  However, I try and take the mistakes I have made to make me a better me.  Everyday is a new day, the past becomes the past and the focus should shift to the present. I cling to this saying in both my professional and personal life that a person I cherish once said, "If it was meant to be it was meant to be", I just hope it is meant to be.

Everyone should be on a Mission

For the past month all the buzz has been about the new Ebonite Mission.  Kelly Kulick used the Mission to win her first PBA Tour Title at The Tournament of Champions.  The next week we watched as another PBA Tour player stepped up to win using a Mission.  Last week at the Megabuck Tournaments in Vegas, the winner of the TAT also used the Mission.  Does anyone else see a trend here?  Ebonite worked hard in developing this ball and hit the nail right on the head, if you do not have a Mission, you need to get one.  This week at the Masters in Reno,  I will be on my own Mission.  During my practice session the ball looked amazing, and  I am confident it will work phenomenal on the fresh tomorrow.  It had a great shape, taking out the corner pins, which can often be a problem in the stadium.  If it gets a little to strong in the back, I plan to hit it with 1000 abralon to have it pick up a little sooner in the front of the lane.