Ho! Ho! Ho!

After having read all responses about our next big "pahtay" the date has been set to December 15. Location is still in the works but there will for sure be festive activities taking place on this date.
Also, if anyone is interested there will be some practice sessions held during the winter. I will post a schedule (for when I am available if you want me to run some "real" practices) and I will also post some exercises that can easily be done whenever you have the time. I will also post some work-outs that are more challenging and some aimed at working both ball-control as well as stamina :). If you do those, you will ALL improve (although you may just end up hating me :) ) regardless of what your starting level of skills is.
Happy Thanksgiving,
A

Blog returning from the dead (again..)

After having had the blog (and my lack of upkeep) brought up at today's lovely baby shower I figured I may just as well write a short note welcoming anyone who may stumble in here. If you have not received an invitation to be an author on this wonderful blog, please, just shoot me an e-mail or call me and I will make sure you get said invitation.

Also, if anyone feels like kicking the ball around (and happens to read this in time) I will be torturing VA with some shooting and booting practices tomorrow at around 14:30 at the lovely (yeah right..) Parklawn field. We're going climbing afterwards too :). We will be doing these little practice session fairly regularly and, now that I have been reminded of my duties as a blogger, I will make sure to post short notes on here. However, I will not read the blog for you. That's all in your own hands :) :).

Back to the baby shower. Why was it lovely? Because it had lots of baby blue and pink? Beacuse we had lots cutsie games? Because we had a veeeery looong opening of gifts ceremony during which we all "ooohhh'd" and "aaaaahhhh'd" extensively? Or maybe because of the complete lack of any kind of alcoholic beverage???? OH NO!!! For the complete opposite reasons. We had beer, too much food, football, and doggies. We did indeed have games (or "A" game at least, Cranium... DO NOT ever ask Ryan to spell anything backwards :) ) and we did do the opening of gifts. We also did do artsie-fartsie projects in the form of onesies but the only thing that proved was that the Femmes do not do CUTE very well. We can do funny. We can do mildly insulting (or extremely insulting... whichever...). We can do annoying. But we are not very good at cute. And, that's a good thing :). BIG CONGRATULATIONS to the parents to be (be ready for the 6 months plus of no sleep... :) )!!!

Stay tuned for notes on Christmas party! I think we may have narrowed down the date(s) to December 15th or possibly December 8th. There will for sure be lots of drinks, lots of food, a couple of doggies, and US!! Personally I thought the gift exchange we did last year was so much fun it should be repeated. Let's see who manages to buy the most popular gift this year!! How many rounds did that six-pack of beer do before the rightful owner was decided?

Alright, update is done! Almost. I looked at the standings at WAWSL today and congrats to all Femmes on our Second place. We were the only team to take ANY point from the KT's. Good job everyone!!

A

New game time (better late than never) and game-report

Hi there,
the game against the Killer Tomatoes is taking place this FRIDAY (Aug. 3rd) at 6:30 pm at the Polo Grounds. The KT's are in the lead in our division with us as a close second. A WIN would get us up into first place :). SUPPORT by players taking the Summer off would be greatly appreciated. Beer and such after the game is a distinct possibility.

Last game was against another team from one of the other divisions, or rather a combo of players from two teams. Us Femmes did well and had control of the game pretty much all the way through. Unfortunately the score ended up being 1-1 (goal by Rachele) despite us having numerous chances. The defense was solid as usual and Wanda and Rachaed did some great goalkeeping.

I have been thinking about pre-Fall season practices. How do you all feel about Saturday the 18th? With a game on Wednesday the 22nd I doubt we will have time for two practices prior to the start of the season on the 25th.

A

First summer season game

Last night we had our first game for the Summer Season. Ok, so technically it was the second scheduled game but that one got rained out and this was the first game we actually played. It was one of those evenings when you think it is going to rain but it never does (for which we all were very grateful). 9 Femmes, 7 regulars and 2 Summer honorary Femmes, showed up ready play. Our opponents only had 5 players at the start of the game and a 6th who showed up halfway through the first half but at least they did not forfeit. For being our very first game on a small field we did really well and the two new peeps fit in very well. Without bragging, we had complete control of the game and our goalies (Wanda in the first half and Katie in the second - THANK YOU LADIES!!!) did not see a lot of action. We had a fair number of chances to score and did so quite early in the first half (our second attack or so). This pressure continued but I think we all need to "re-aim" to take into consideration the smaller size of the goals compared to the regular season goals :). In the second half we kept on playing and also scored a second goal.

All in all, we did really well and it looks like this Summer season will be better than last years (ok, so that's not that hard but still.....).

The post-game beer event was only attended by Mary, Schehe and the kids, and Annika (beer good!). Next week we may be looking forward to a pool session at the Rehman residence so ya'll should be there!!!!

Until next week!
A

Summer season schedule

Yey! The Femmes will be participating in the 7 on 7 Summer outdoor season. Those of us who are not playing for some reason or other (wimps!...) are kindly requested to, at their convenience, come down and cheer us on. Bring beer! Please... :)

The schedule is as follows:

11/7 Killer Tomatoes 6:30pm, Polo Grounds
18/7 Crush, 6:30 pm, Lincoln 1
25/7 First Ladies, 7:30, Lincoln 1
30/7 (note that this is a MONDAY!!!!) Nuisance/A-Team, 7:30 pm, Polo Grounds
8/8 Superheroes, 7:30 pm, Polo Grounds
15/8 Heat, 6:30 pm, Lincoln 1
22/8 WMD, 7:20 pm (note the time!!), Lincoln 1

Please, remember that PARKING is a b$$$$h down there and try to give yourselves a little extra time to find parking. Or just take the metro (although that is even harder to park if you have to.... hmmmm.. never mind...).

And, let's be nice to the Summer players who are not on the team during the "regular" seasons and make this a nice, fun Summer for all.

A

STUFF

Hi all,
after only one post on the last couple of months, although being about underwear no less, it is time to revive the blog :) :). We will be playing the Summer season starting on July 11th (Julie is in charge of that...Go Julie!!!) and some of us (not me) will be in the Washington Freedom Cup on July 14th. We will be adding parties, events, and fun stuff to the running around not to worry.

Practices: well, there is this really nice field VERY close to where Jen and Allen live and it is available to us. This location has the added benefits of post-practice bbq's at J&A's :). I will post a number of dates for all asap.

Jerseys: Some of you still owes me monies ($30). Bring when you can. Thanks.

No piccies today. Will come later.

A

the most perfect sportsbra ever invented! :)

Hey all,

I just have to share with you my latest discovery of the most perfect sportsbra ever! It’s made by Under Armor and it’s available in lime green! :) Yep, lime green.

Seriously though, it’s made of a great wicking material and has a nice streamlined shape. The following is a list of all the benefits that I think make it so perfect :)

UNDER ARMOR PREMIERE SPORTSBRA:

Wicking material – most bras have this nowadays but then they also have a lining on the inside which seems to defeat this purpose.

Molded cups – good support without flattening you out any more than absolutely necessary. Great for us A/B cups who don’t have much to work with as it is! :)

No bulky lining – this fabric doesn’t need it and there are no seams in the cups that would cause chafing anyway.

Thin elastic – I find that the bulkiest part of a sportsbra is the bottom part that goes around the rib cage – it’s usually a thick elastic band wrapped all around with fabric. This bra has a unique elastic band that’s exposed and blends right into the bra...much less bulk and weight than the usual style.

Mesh inserts – in strategic spots for more cooling.

Slight shoulder padding – OK, so A/B cups don’t really need this but the rest of you will appreciate this feature!

Racerback straps - streamlined straps that are located in the perfect spot to soak up back sweat but not cover your entire back.

Color – it’s lime green!!! :)

Sizes - lots of sizes available...small, med, large and x-large for the A/B cup (PREMIERE 1) and also for the C/D cup (PREMIERE 2).

Granted, this will cost you a little bit more than the typical sports bra ($42) but none of them are exactly cheap anyway and this one's worth it. And if you go to City Sports, they’ll give you 10% off if you show them your gym membership. :)

Check it out! http://www.underarmour.com/ProductDetail.cfm?site_id=2&dept_id=7&coll_id=2113&pf_id=1001116

Btw,

if anyone feels that running around a soocer-field is not enough I will happily provide opportunities to run, kick, pass, dribble and so forth on days when we do not have games (and that would be any other day except Saturday). Virginia can testify to my diligence in making you all suffer (but getting so much better). And, with the Washington Freedom drills under my belt I am certain you will all positively hate me in no time.... As if that is not enough I would like to treat you all to a picture of the beach(es) on the Cayman Islands (I just went there for diving). For fun I am harrassing you all with a picture of my nephew (yep, THATs a boy in that dress LOL... His Dad, my brother, was a little hmpf-ed at dressing Theo up like this.. Me and Mum (her name is Annika too) laughed pretty hard. The last pic is of Kasper the uber-mascot for the VF's (an honor he is now sharing with Soba :) ).
A btw-btw: if anyone feels like dogsitting I do have a number of trips planned where K can not go :(.
Peace,
A

Practices update and newbies

Hi all,
the practices will be held on SUNDAY March 25th (meet up at 10 am) and THURSDAY March 29th (meet up at 6pm) at the Ellipse in front of the White House. This is you chance to show off yor skills to W, kick the ball at a guard with a huge gun (ok, no dirty thoughts there.... or, wait, was that just me??), have to climb an electric fence in order to retrieve a lost ball/friend etc etc. The location is very inspiring with regards to ball-control skills!
Here's a map of the location. We will be at the "lower left corner" of the Ellipse. Usually there is street parking on the side streets off 17. Good metro stop is Farragut North.
http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTExNmIycG51BF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEc2VjA2ZwLWJ1dHRvbgRzbGsDbGluaw--#mvt=m&q1=Washington,%20DC&trf=0&lon=-77.037506&lat=38.89424&mag=2

Also, after practice Sunday anyone who has time and wants to hang out is welcome to join us at The Capitol Lounge. A map is located at:
http://www.capitolloungedc.com/location/
And from that page you can also navigate to other pages with menu etc etc.
Btw, I believe we have 5 new ladies to welcome to the team: Mary, Erin, Daniah, Jennifer, and Sharon. So, all the "oldies": BEHAVE!! BE NICE!! Just kidding! I am certain the new peeps will love us and have a great time on and off the soccer-field....

See you all SUNDAY!!!
A

Baltimore Blast!

HELLO Becky!! :) It was great meeting you yesterday and I hope we did not scare you off... Everyone, meet Becky our latest recruit (front right in pic). Be nice to her!!

And, a big thank you to Julie for our very free tickets! You are our bestest friend ever :).

A brief summary:
1. The Blast did not really blast, they more ran around like chickens with their heads no longer attached. Some of them were pretty to look at though, but ball-skills?? Not so much.
2. Cheerleaders... well, I am for once almost at a lack of words. They sparkled, they did some cheering (fortunately VERY far away from where we were seated), not so much jumping around, they brought out the big dice (now how fun wasn't that? LOL), and yeah, that's about it.
3. "The Blast" - the unofficial superhero, saviour of indoor soccer fans, chick-magnet, and all that jazz. Ok, so he was slightly overweight and/or the tights slightly too small. Superhero had a... ahem... "gap" between parts of his outfit. Not so flattering.
4. Sagu!! Say no more!

And last but not least:

5. The FANS!! No soccer-game is complete without fans. I will leave it to someone else to describe the Blast Fanboys and Fangurls....


Now let's back up, the evening started with 10 of us trying to find a place to eat at the Inner Harbour around 5:30/6pm. Not such a brilliant idea. We spent about 40 mins trying to get a table ANYWHERE but had no luck. In the end we had to wander off towards the convention center and a bar with the suspect name of " The Wharf Rat". Carol and Wanda (who happened to be missing during our restaurant search since they were running a bit late) were the ones who actually got to the place first and grabbed a big table. WR turned out to be a pretty cool place with nice beer and food (ok, yeah, Virginia... we should have just gone there right away). To be perfectly honest, I do not in general have a hard time liking any place with a separate beer menu. Ryan, the only girl in the group, of course tried the "3 Lions Ale". It's 7.5%... Another thing that appealed to me was the Robert Burns Poem on the beer menu: "Gude Ale Keeps the Heart Aboon"... Poetry AND beer... WOW! (total detour: I am so proud I have been to the house where RB lived and died... So very cultural of me!).

After having finished our meal and done the ceremonial "how to pay with twenty diffferent credit cards" procedure, we headed to the Mariner arena for the game. Our seats were pretty much front row and we bumped out a whole family (or at least I "think" they were all related) of probably not so prominent citizens when we got there. What's up with stealing other peoples' seats anyway? Just asking. I can not in any way say it was a good game but it was fun to watch. I am pretty sure it would have been even more fun with more beer but I will probably need to test that theory to be sure. The game was played in 4 quarters of 15 minutes each. Each goal was worth 2 points (unless it was an own goal then the "non-scoring but point receiving team" got 3 points. Hey Sagu, here's a hint for you: put your body or at least your foot BEHIND the ball, not above! Who knows, one day you might miss ...) ). There were a couple of good plays, a lot of pulling, pushing, and shoving, some nice shots, and a really nice breakaway ending in a goal.

All in all, it was a good evening. The Femmes may just return to Baltimore for another lesson in how not to play soccer... and maybe some more beers.

Peace,

A

Jersey winner!!

Hi all,

ok, we have a winner in the jersey competition: Switzerland (see pic). The shirt I had at the party is an Adult Medium. There seemed to be some confusion as to how the size relates to a "normal medium" so I am providing the link to the sizing chart:

http://www.scoresports.com/products/sizing.asp

The delivery time for the jerseys is about 2 weeks. It would be totally awesome if we could start the spring season in the new jerseys, don't you think? If so, to be on the safe side I would like to place the order no later than Sunday March 11. Prizing for the different sizes can be found at:

http://www.scoresports.com/details.asp?ProductID=545LIMKELBLK

And, a big THANK YOU to everyone for making it to the party (hugs to everyone :) :) ). It was FUN!!! Kasper slept all of Sunday :) :). Looking forward to seeing some of you at the Blast Saturday. An update on practices will be forthcoming. I figure we at least want to wait until the snow is gone (some of us at least. Not me, I'm Swedish andIve played soccer in knee-deep snow before....). I think our first game is March 31st (our boss Jill would know for sure, right Jill??). I think having 2-4 practices before that would be a good thing. We'll see.

Alright, that's all for now. As for getting payment for the shirts to me, I don't really need that before placing the order but I do need a 100% decision on your size. I will need the money before actually giving you the jersey though...

Later,

A

Social Committee stuff

Dear Femmes,

Spring season is fast approaching, and I thought I would update you briefly on a few SC details. First, a hardy welcome to our fourth member of the Social Committee, Sarah. That's right. She has joined the ranks as of Saturday so stay tuned for upcoming super cool, super fun stuff. For now we have the Baltimore Blast game coming up this coming Saturday. This should really be mandatory attendance considering it will be more of a learning experience, but fine, we'll put it under the social category. Julie still has 4 tickets left, so harrass her if you want to go and don't have a ticket yet.

Also, many of you heard mention during the party about a new Femmes concept. SHARK NIGHT. This shall be a time when the women go out for a night of fun drinks, food, or whatever is happening to check out dudes. We shall pick an area and target some happening spots for some eye candy. Allen has graciously volunteered to help the women determine which dudes are players and which ones are worthy. Ryan has...well, not sure how he said he would help...I heard talk about attracting gay, Black males, so.... Anyway, we shall be planning a ladies night out (with a couple of escorts) to hunt (or at least check out, make fun of, drool over) DC males soon. Stay tuned for more to come...

A Big Fat Thank You to Annika

I wanted to give Annika a million thanks for the awesome party she threw. For the absent Femmes, you all missed a great get together. We had a Smörgåsbord (for those of you non-Swedish speakers - it appropriately means Swedish buffet right Annika???) of amazing dishes prepared with love by our Swedish chef, and her very special assistant (I did the chopping). Swedish meatballs, big fat pieces of meat on skewers, salads including a funky combo of cabbage and ramen noodles courtesy of our little bully, shrimp, chips, veggies, cheeses...burp...and to top it off homemade blueberry pie and a strawberry one. Then three Uber models paraded the new uniform options and a winner was declared. I'm sure Annika will fill you all in on those details. I don't think any of us stopped laughing during the Pictionary tourney lasting until about 1:30, and yes, Sarah is still undefeated in Pictionary. That's okay though, she will be eventually dethroned. Alison and I will make sure of it. Jen you SHOULD have stayed. So thanks again Annika. It was a fantastic time.

Practicing with the Freedom

Hey ladies,

If you don't mind, post a comment if you sign up for Spring practice with the Freedom so we know how many VFs we'll have out there and can coordinate transportation (and possibly post-practice refreshments...). So far, I know the following are in:

Ali
Annika
Julie
Kate
Rachael
Virginia

We want to overrun this practice session and use what we learn to dominate the O-30 Division again this season, so SIGN UP!!!

OK drill sargeant I'm ready - I can juggle the ball 3x (and that's a major improvement)! Sad but true, but if you run some clinics, you'll have all of us in shape to (finally) win the spring season! Looking forward to warm weather and outdoor games....

Eat a lot of peaches...

hmmm, no the title has got absolutely NOTHING to do with this post. I was just sitting here thinking of nothing (yeah, that happens sometimes... never mind) and since I couldnt think of a title for this post I just picked the song off the radio. What I really wanted to say is that I, me, Kicker1, also known as Annika, will be back in DC tpretty soon to entertain (yey, parties) AND make your lifes miserable (ohhhh, practice..... THINK drill sergeant LOL). In any and all situations GREEN (lime green) will shine...
Actually, what I really wanted to say is that I will be back in the DC area Thursday next week already :).
That's all folks...

Party update

Hi there,
looks like we have 15 people or so showing. Only 11 of these actually play soccer but everyone has promised to bring drinks so all can come *tihi*. The climbers in the group may want to know that the gym is only 15 mins from where I live and climbing really brings out the thirst :). The sample jerseys have arrived and are awaiting judgement. I have a little "wrench" to throw in as well just to make it all much more exciting (and no I am not telling). You will have to wait and see!! I am hoping all can make it to the party!

I am very excited about our Spring season and I think we will have an awesome time on and off the field. The planning of HHs and other events will begin as soon as this member of the SC is safely back on American soil. Right now it looks like the American Postal (non-)service has decided to meddle and instead of the normal 3 day crossing of the continent my Approval Notice has jourenyed for no less than 7. Exciting...NOT! I shudder when I think of the time it will take for it to cross not a continent but a large body of water and an entire country or two (albeit small countries...).

One note: I think everyone who has been to the clinics with Washington Freedom will have free entry to their home-games this season. We should use that and sponsor the American Womens Soccer League (and I live about 10 mins from the arena so post-game parties are included in the price as well...).

Later!

eVite for Jersey party

I just sent the eVite out so the party is a definite GO! I know I will for sure be home before this since my paperwork is done and woring it's way over to me (via NIH).
Link for eVite:
http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=ULLEYXVWSMZYCYSXXCGP

Kick it!
A

testing testing

Many thanks to the US gov't for delaying Annika's return so that she could have so much time on her hands and be so bored that she came up with this fantastic idea. Seriously, great job Annika. I like it!

So the bit of news I have to add is that we now have two new climbers on the team! Alison is kicking some serious butt on the wall. She's unstoppable! Tonight she will belaying me ON HER OWN for the first time. So...this MAY be my first and last posting... The other very cool Femme to take the plunge is Jen and one of our loyal fanatics, Allen. They too did very awesome. When climber #2 comes back, I will organize something for the others of you that expressed interest. That's it for now... Oh, one more thing. Now that winter FINALLY decided to pay us a visit, we ought to be thinking... road trip to SKI.

And today we have SHORTS...

Hiya all,
In addition to the jerseys the place also has shorts if we want to get really fancy. The price range is between 11 and 16 dollars. With full uniforms we sort of have to kick b**t don't we? :)
Anyways, no need to vote on this. Just check them out and think about if we want to do shorts too. They are in price order with the cheapest (solid black) on top.
Later!
A

SHIRTS SHIRTS SHIRTS!!!

We have two shirt options for the next season as displayed here. Hopefully we can reach a decision by the end of February and send the order out. According to my file (the not-so-secret VF Jersey file that is) all numbers up to 20 except for 14, 18, and 19 are taken. The good thing is that I think everyone has already decided on a number (check the e-mail that will be sent out in ohhh about 5 mins or so... not that any of you are awake yet since it's 5 am in DC but 11 am here in Sweden (btw, it's snowing like crazy here...)).

Party announcement:
Jersey Party will be held Saturday February 24th, 5 pm at Annika's place. SKs, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, doggies are all welcome.
If we (The Social Committee) manage to figure out how to do things a link to the Evite will be posted here (don't hold your breaths though...at least not for too long).

Later!

Start of the pre pre pre pre- season

Welcome!
This will (if things go as planned... granted they rarely do but it is still worth a shot) be the home of the infamous and spectacular Violent Femmes FC. To be honest we are not really a soccer CLUB as the name would hint at but a collection of ladies who like to kick a ball around. We are located in the Washington DC area (expanded to include Virginia and Maryland). Actually in our case Virginia is located within DC most of the time but that is due to no fault of her own.... Get to know the team and you'll figure out what that means (maybe...).
Things posted here will include but is in no way limited to: future events to be held and reports (with silly pictures preferably) from said events, times for practices and games, notes from games and reports from the post-game HH that are part of the game day routine, pictures of things not related soccer (like dogs, and SKs , and stuff), notes on things not related to anything really other than that they may be fun to post, and pretty much anything else anyone on the team can think up.
Kick it... just kick it!!!