How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

I know there's one. I just know it. Somewhere among my ancestors and stories there is a sword fighter. Well..one besides mother and myself. There's one who originated this call to arms. I have yet to find him or dare shall I say her? One day I would like to have a name, a story, or a hint of just who this person was. I don't know if I will ever be so lucky to learn their identity. That sword fighter passed down their gene to me and I have to thank them. Sword fighting is great way to stay in shape. Plus swords are cool! If you are new to my blog, you may not be aware that I fence. Summer of 2015, I returned to the sport after a 20 year hiatus. You can read about my fencing pastime in these posts: Something About Me Saturday: I Went To A Fencing Class This Week Yes, That's Me Fencing!  A Great Life Lesson October 21, 2017 was real good day for me in regards to fencing. I came in third place in Open Foil in a tournament at Binghamton University. Me and my 45...

Yup, that's me fencing foil this past Saturday at Binghamton University. This was my first competition since my knee surgery back in June. Good news...the knee is still attached. Even better news... I placed 5th out of 14 in mixed foil. For me at my age, that's not too shabby :) 

My poor lonely blog.  So sorry I have been away and not paying you proper attention. I know you miss me. This will change very soon. I miss writing and I miss doing research. I have to get things back into balance again. To my followers, if you've been wondering why you haven't seen many new posts, these are some of the reasons why. 1) This is my new occupation. I am a taxi mom. I shuttle children back and forth to sports practices, games, and different school events. I am not complaining. Really, I'm not. This is just the way it is when you have kids who are active and have special interests. 2) Fencing! Fencing! Fencing! This is the logo for the fencing club I am a member of. It was designed by my friend and fellow fencer Rosaleen Marion. Pretty cool, right?! If you are a newer reader of my blog, then you might not be aware that I do fencing to stay fit. I fenced in college for 4 years and then life happened. I am so grateful that after a long hiatus fr...

What a great day! My little man participated in his first fencing meet yesterday. In a post from earlier in the year, I shared how my son had decided to follow in his mother's footsteps and take up the sport of fencing. If you missed that post, here's the link:  Something About Me Saturday: Another Generation Takes A Stab At Fencing I warned him before the meet that the point of attending was to try to score touches and to observe other more experienced fencers. Also, it was great practice for him getting hooked and unhooked to equipment more quickly. This was going to be a learning experience. He was the youngest participant (he's only 11) and he was competing against college aged and older folks. He was a winner for being there. I have to say thank you to several of the Binghamton University fencers who were there yesterday and gave my son advice and words of encouragement just as he was knocked out of the tournament. It meant a lot to him and to me to have that suppo...

This past weekend I attended a fencing meet at my alma mater Binghamton University and I have to say that I didn't perform as well as I think I could have. With that said, I still had a blast. There's something wonderful about spending time with people who share the same love for the sport of fencing. Fencing speaks to me on a primal level. It speaks to my senses. I love the sound of blades clashing and watching fencers in motion. I even love the smell of fencing equipment. Hold on. Let me re-phrase that. I love the smell of relatively clean fencing equipment. During the tournament, I sat down and chatted with a fellow fencer, named Tom who I hadn't seen since the Spring.  We started talking about how it is now to fence as opposed to when we were younger. Another friend of mine puts it best, "The body ain't like it used to was." We're not as fast or flexible as we used to be. Tom shared a real gem with me. He talked about his own personal fencing g...

Guess who's fencing now? That not so little dude on the left started fencing this past Monday. You know I am pretty excited about this. He had a lot of fun.  Here's hoping it continues. In the end, if he decides the sport isn't for him, I am totally okay with it.  (Says the mother secretly wishing for a training partner.)

I am absolutely exhausted! Why? I fenced foil and epee today at Binghamton University, my alma mater. Can I tell you, I'm paying for it now. After a shower, dinner, and a bunch of Ibuprofen I am now relaxing in front of the TV just like princess Tiana. No tiara or fancy gown for me. Just a cozy bathrobe and slippers :) Pure heaven! I didn't win anything but I sure did get some good exercise and got to hang out with some really cool people. Hope everyone's having a good weekend so far. 

Here are a couple of pictures from the event I attended in October. Sending out a big thanks to my best friend for capturing these. Tomorrow's event is at Binghamton University again. Last time, I fenced foil and came in 10th out of 17 fencers. Wish me luck! Hoping I can at least do that or better this time. We'll see what happens. No matter what, I know I will have fun!

I mentioned not so long ago on this blog that I started doing fencing again over the summer. It seems like it was just the thing I was missing. I have to say it has been challenging. I am still trying to figure out how to fence in the body that I have now. You know the one that has birthed a couple of kids and is bit slower and heavier than it used to be. I wrap my knees now before practice and have a bottle of ibuprofen ready for afterwards. The good news is I've lost a few pounds and toned up quite a bit. This whole process I am going through right now is about challenging myself and leaving my comfort zone behind. Being an introvert makes it all too easy for me to want to just stay up in my house and do nothing. Well that's not exactly true. I have to take care of the house and be there for my kids and husband. Oh yeah and there's that darn  genealogy addiction that keeps acting up.  Yes, that's me fencing up top on the left. I attended a ...

As I mentioned in my post,  Something About Me Saturday: I Went To A Fencing Class This Week , I finally took a stab (pun intended) at getting back into the sport. I fenced while I attended Binghamton University from Fall of 1990 through 1994 but stopped once I graduated. What I loved about the sport then and still do now is how it makes me feel. When I fence it allows my inner warrior princess to come out and do battle. There had been something missing in my life that I couldn't quite figure out what it was until now. It's the feeling of being strong, independent, fierce. Perhaps I will go so far as to say, a bit bad ass!  Well, this warrior princess fenced again last night and as a result, today I'm not feeling so bad ass. (Smile)  That's okay. Today I rest to fight another day.