We Could Be Mechanics

Christmas break can get a little boring after a while. The days we don’t have games, we usually just practice and then sit in the hotel. So you can imagine the excitement some of the team and I had when we discovered that I was locked out of my car with no keys…

To give you the background details, I usually just lock my keys in my car and use the keypad on the door to unlock it. So I walked out to my car after practice and as I pressed the keypad, I realized it wasn’t working and I was in trouble.

So what does any 20 year old in trouble do? I panicked and called my mom, (because of course she could help me from a thousand miles away). Just as I was realizing that she was no help over the phone, some of the team walked out to rescue me.

Brittany, Alexa, Marta, Kailee, and I: I figured we were the perfect team to break into a car. So after trying to come up with a plan, we realized that I left a light on, which killed my battery (thus, the keypad wouldn’t work to unlock the door). All we needed to do was jump the car. Simple right? Wrong. We couldn’t pop the hood because that would require pulling a lever that was in the car. So we had to get creative. We looked up Youtube videos, found makeshift tools in Kailee’s car to use, and it looked like we were getting close to popping the hood. You would’ve thought we were true mechanics.

So what started as an unfortunate event was just another teaching experience. It was a reminder to double check my lights before I get out of the car. I learned that if basketball and school doesn’t work out for us, we can open up our own shop. And I was reminded of how lucky I am that each person on this team has my back on and off the court.

After all of this and about 20 minutes I was in my car and driving away, feeling thankful for my teammates. And feeling thankful for AAA. (Because we called them pretty much right away).

— Kaylee Johnson

A Cardinal Chistmas

As the holidays are approaching, between traveling, practices, and games, it can be hard to get into the Christmas spirit.

This year though, our team started a new tradition by doing Secret Santas. For those of you who don’t know what that is, everyone secretly draws a teammate's name out of hat and on the 21st everyone is going to give their gift to the person they have. We made a rule that you can ask one other teammate for help in finding a gift but that is it. Everyone is so excited to see what is in store; not only wondering what gift they are going to get but who it is from as well.

To prepare for all the gifts that are coming, Kailee Johnson even went out and bought a little mini Christmas tree to put the presents under in the locker room. Then Bird (Erica McCall) had her Mom bring up Christmas ornaments from home to decorate the tree with. They are even cardinal red and white to match our school colors! Its like our own little celebration. On top of that, most days we will listen to Christmas music in the locker room at some point.

Overall it is a total team effort to get ourselves into the holiday spirit and I wouldn’t want to spend the holiday celebrating any other way!

Brittany McPhee

Things I Miss From Ohio

Hi Fans!

As some of you know I am from Dayton, Ohio (more specifically, Centerville).When I left for Stanford I didn’t think I would miss anything about Ohio, but I was so wrong. Here are a couple things I miss:

Bill’s Donuts: Bill’s is a donut joint in Centerville, Ohio that has become more and more famous for its delicious donuts. The selection of donuts they have is extensive and none of them will disappoint. People from towns all over come to Bill’s to try it. It is open 24/7 so it is a really nice midnight snack on summer nights.

Skyline Chili: (I’m starting to notice a theme of food) Skyline is a restaurant that serves conies (mini hotdogs with cheese, onions, and mustard), 3,4, or 5 ways that included chili and cheese on top of spaghetti noodles, a 4- way has beans in addition, and a 5-way has beans and onions. I did not appreciate it as much as I should have, it is SO good.

King’s Island: King’s Island is an amusement park near Cincinnati, Ohio. I am not really a roller coaster person but it is still a lot of fun. There are a bunch of rides and games, but there is also a water park, which is my favorite. I love all the water slides, the wave pools, and my favorite is the lazy river. But my favorite time for King’s Island is around Halloween. During the fall, King’s Island has a “Fear Fest”. Fear fest is where they turn different parts of the part into “haunted house” type things. You walk through different parts and there are different themed places to match all your worst fears: clowns, hospitals taken over by zombies, werewolves, and much more. So missing Fear Fest this year was very different

Canes Chicken: Canes Chicken, to continue my food theme, is a restaurant that only serves chicken tenders, toasted bread, French fries, and cole slaw. They are the best chicken fingers I have ever had!

Graeters: Graeters is an ice cream place in Ohio. They have an assortment of unique flavors. My favorite is called the Buckeye Blitz, it is chocolate ice cream with huge chocolate chunks and little peanut butter nuggets. It is delicious.

-Shannon