5-4-3-2-1 MANKATO!

So tonight, we leave slightly warm Los Angeles to freezing Mankato (HIGHS of 27 LOWS of 19), BUT there's still a few last minute things we still need to do before lift-off.

5 - Pack! We've got a handful of uniforms including some top secret stuff to be unveiled on opening ceremony. Plus, we can't forget all the girly stuff like a couple of hair dryers so we don't have to take turns, bobby pins, and pink make-up. Plus, we're going to live stream our games and document our adventures. We got a whole collect of equipment, still cameras, video cameras, computers, etc. We'll be bright, chic, and technologically equipped for Mankato.

4 - Plan! There's going to be a few familiar faces as well as some new faces we'll be meeting up with while we are at the tournament. We're coordinating a visit to the St. Paul curling club as well as maybe a quick drive to the Spam Museum. We're also looking forward to Coach Joel from Wisconsin, guiding us for a few days, as well as a few family and friends that will try to come out and watch. Maybe our devoted fans will cheer Team Bond Girls into doing really well at the tournament. Hopefully, we'll see a few of our Pink, Black, and Grey T-shirts out in the stands.

3 - Prepare! Team Bond Girls always have a few extra things they do to prepare for the Club Nationals. We try to update an exercise spreadsheet to track all our activity. Cindy burns us a mix cd which we play on replay in the van, and that sets the mood as well as theme for the year. Our highlight song is "Firework" by Katy Perry, but I can't give you the entire playlist. We'll have another post with our song selections, and you can guess which Bond Girl chose it. We've held fundraisers and various sales, and thanks to all our supporters because you've made this event possible.

2 - Life! Things are still going on while we are away for one week. I feel kind of bad that I'm leaving the hubby with the task of preparing the baby's room while I am gone. I was supposed to pack up all my stuff so that it would clean for him to scrape the popcorn off the ceiling, paint the walls, and assemble the furniture. We'll see if I get to that errand tonight after work and shopping for some last minute items. I'm sure that while I am away, my husband is going play...at his "nerd party." Yep that's right! It's mainly a bunch of males rolling dice, and moving tiny figurines across a board, and blasting each other with fantasy powers. The girls and I will just have to have fun without them throwing heavy rocks on a very slippery board, yelling "hard" at the top of our lungs.

1 - Remember! The number one thing that I want to remind myself and others is that we are there to have fun. Sure we don't get a lot of quality ice time at our club, and we don't get to work on things we'd like. Just traveling to Mankato is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Team Bond Girls gets to spend one week with some amazing curlers on perfectly preened ice. We could get our butts kicked, but who cares since we most importantly want our passion for curling to match the brightness of our pink uniforms. We are proud to be curlers and to represent women who curl, the growing MOPAC region, and of course, Hollywood curling.

Are you ready for this blast off of pink? Mankato, here we come.

-Domino