Words of Wisdom: From One Coach's Wife to the Next

Remember when I was in Dallas for the Final Four? Yea, that was only weeks ago, but wow lots has happened since that time! Let's see, for starter's Coach Kemp got a new gig with Ohio University! Oh, and then I ran my first marathon. Yea, that has all happened in like 6 weeks!

If you read my Final Four posts (here, here, and here), then you know that I visited with Kelly Ryan, wife to Bo Ryan, while in Dallas. This was not the first time that I had the opportunity to interact with Kelly, but I had not seen her in over a year. Overall, it was nice to chat with her, and of course, Emily Ryan, wife to Will Ryan (also on staff at Ohio University). Emily and I were discussing my angst with joining Twitter, which I later succumbed to and got an account, and all the other social media Apps out there. Honestly, I think we live in a time when social media and news is at an all-time high and crazy level. I mean can we even discuss the Solange and Jay-Z debacle. Lordy, it's a little too much!

Well beginning in April the basketball carousel begins to twirl, and coaches get fired, hired, and move around like they are hot potatoes. I always get super stressed for those coaches that lose their jobs. I do realize its the nature of the job, but it just freaks me out, EVERY SINGLE TIME. And I know, half the time I do not even know the people, but most of them have families, and I simply feel for them.

So my angst for those coaches also comes for my own family! Trying to make and feel at home in a city that one may not call home for very long, can at times, be challenging. I have a girlfriend whose husband works for Exxon, and their family has moved a few times, with an impending move this winter. We speak often about the struggles of being a female making friends in new cities! Let's be honest, it is not easy!

And then moving to cities far away from your immediate family is also not easy! I envy my friends that have lived in their hometown and most likely will never leave! I sometimes chuckle when asked where are we moving to next, or where would I like to live. Unfortunately, those conversations truly do not happen in the Kemp Household. We move to the city where the next opportunity resides!

 So of course when Kelly sat down, I asked her how she has handled and handles feeling settled. She candidly shared how quickly the process was when Bo got the job at UW-Madison. She shared that he came home in the middle of the day with Saul Phillips (yea the Head Coach at Ohio University!) to tell her Saul was driving him out to Madison for an interview. And then like the next day he was hired! I, of course, am leaving out a few details, but that was the gist of the timeline. Emily and I acknowledged that back then there was no Facebook, Twitter, and ESPN reports 24-7 speculating on who was getting jobs. However, she shared that she was not really entrenched in all the speculations and was going about her day to day. And one may now ask, why did you get Twitter?!?! I know, I know, LoL!

But overall, Kelly shared this one important take away - Live your life like you will reside in that city forever!

So I left Kelly with that notion with a smile on my face to learn days later that I would be moving, AGAIN! However, now that I am over that (blog post here), I am forever, grateful for her words of wisdom. I know coaching is not the only profession with a high transiency level, but I am really Type A and overall do not like change! I do best with routine, and it takes me a while to get used to the realization that my current day-to-day will be changing. Luckily, this lady gets to keep her job so I will still work with my same colleagues - Amen for that!

Michelyn

Question of the Day: Do you like change? have you lived in the same city your entire life? Want to move? To where?

Road to the Final Four: Saturday & Sunday

Saturday was the big day, and boy was I excited. I have mentioned in my other Road to the Final Four recaps that my in-laws were also in town for a medical conference. We met them at their hotel, The Gaylord Texan Resort, for brunch. They have a Mexican-style restaurant who supposedly has delicious fish tacos. I ordered grilled chicken, but everyone else at the table had the tacos. 

After eating, we lounged for a bit, and then traveled to the Final Four games. The weather was quite dreary on Saturday and Sunday. We arrived pretty early at the arena, before the doors were even open and had to stand in the rain for like 30 minutes, which was no fun! Then once we got in, photos had to ensue!

Alma Mater #1

Alma Mater #2

Ok, so I was pretty stoked that BOTH of my alma maters were playing in the Final Four!!! What are the odds that that will EVER happen again! Well, in my opinion, very likely since they are both stellar schools - academically and athletically. As we already know, both of my teams lost which was a complete and utter disappointment. Like really!

I got a little slack from a few of my Florida friends because in these photos you can't tell that there is also blue stripes! I promise, the shirt has blue stripes as well, but it was not until that day that I realized that I was actually wearing UConn colors! Now that was not planned! I obviously brought them more luck than Florida or Wisconsin!

While we were walking to our seats, we ran into this guy preparing to do some pre-game interviews!

 It was neat walking pass famous coaches and NBA players. We actually walked by Bruce Pearl and Coach Kemp didn't even notice. I was like, you just walked by Bruce Pearl and did not say "hi." I was so proud that I noticed a coach, and that Coach Kemp had not. Trust me, that was the only one I spotted out of the millions. We stopped and talked to many college coaches and former NBA players/coaches that I can't even begin to remember. I usually can follow the conversation, but in those instances, I simply stood back because I was lost!

See the blue?!?! I had planned to bring this top even prior to knowing who was playing in the final games. I then was even more excited when both my alma maters would be playing. One shirt - two alma maters; happy score for me! It's a Topshop blouse purchased through Nordstrom's. This is the top as a dress...

Sunday was very low-key. The weather dropped substantially and it rained all day. Coach Kemp and I went to brunch at Ellen's Southern Kitchen. It was DELICIOUS! I had a "healthier option," Mushroom Garlic Toast with egg whites and Coach Kemp went in with the Big 'Ol Country Breakfast!

Really, Coach Kemp loves to eat! That face says it all, lol.

We then went to The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. You can't take pictures of the 6th floor, but here is a photo of the sign that used to adorn the building.

If you are interested in US history, presidential history, or simply like JFK, I highly recommend the tour. I cried during portions of it, and had goose bumps through the remainder.

Question of the Day: Where have you traveled to recently?

Michelyn

Road to the Final Four: Thursday & Friday

Well hello from Texas! Some days have been busier than others, so I decided to combine my recaps of Thursday and Friday!

On Thursday, I woke around 9:00am feeling really good after my night out with the boys on Wednesday! Honestly, I was quite concerned with my ability to "hang with the boys" solo but I had a lot of fun on Wednesday. I was not sure what Thursday had in store, I knew that many of my fellow basketball wives were arriving Thursday evening, so I figured I should get a good workout in. I was pleasantly surprised when I was the only person in the workout room for like 3 hours! I ended up running 10 miles and then followed that up with a 10 mile bike ride as well! Coach Kemp returned from the NABC conference around 4:00pm, and we just rested up.

Coach Kemp's parents were also in town as Dr. Kemp, my father-in-law, had a medical conference to attend. We met his parents at the The Oceanaire Seafood Room. Dinner was delightful, I ate the Wild Alaskan Halibut. And even more special because of the company that we were surrounded by. My father-in-law is a huge Wisconsin fan and he was not very pleased with my outfit!

The comical thing is that it was really a coincidence that I was wearing orange and blue!

After dinner we headed back to our hotel where we waited for the ladies to arrive. Unfortunately, Stephanie and Katie's flights were majorly delayed so Coach Kemp and I headed out to meet our Toledo staff in the McKinney area of town.

Friday was a really, really fun day! Well, if you are a basketball fan, at least. I again woke up around 8:00am, and worked out. On Friday the gym was PACKED with coaches so I was very pleased with myself for running a long-distance run the day before. I did a quick 3.5 mile jog and then headed to the Hilton Anatole - team hotel for the Gators and Badgers! I went to the Hilton Anatole to meet up with Emily Ryan, wife to Will Ryan and daughter-in-law to Bo Ryan. It was nice to catch up with Emily and her boys since I haven't seen them in a number of months. Prior to heading out to the AT&T Stadium, we hung out in the Badger dining/game room. I did not get too many photos because the players and coaches/staff were also in the room; however, it was really neat. I also had a nice conversation with Kelly Ryan, I will post more about that later.

We then got on the UW Family and Administrator bus and headed to the AT&T Stadium which is actually in Arlington, TX. Wow! That stadium is humongous!

Even though I am married to a coach, I have never attended a shoot-around, so it was a first for me. I think Coach Kemp was a little bummed that he was not able to experience the fun since he is such a big Wisconsin fan. Although we have been having fun, Coach has also been attending lots of convention meetings. 

After the 50-minute shoot-around, we re-boarded the bus and headed back to the Hilton Anatole. By this time, Coach Kemp let me know that we had plans with some of our basketball friends, so I had to rush back to our hotel to get dressed!

We dined with Coach Richman, Coach Olson, and their wives at Ocean Prime! I highly recommend their Teriyaki Salmon - it was so yummy! After dinner we went to the Adidas party, and out to a few other bars/clubs in the Uptown area. 

Michelyn

Road to the Final Four: Wednesday

Wednesday morning I woke up around 7:00am to feed Mr. Princey-Poo before he went to the trainers' for his Board and Train, eat my own breakfast, and to review all my packings for our trip. I, again, had the delicious breakfast concoction from Tuesday- honestly, if you haven't tried it you are missing out.

First, it's one the easiest and quickest breakfasts around, basically all you have to do is microwave the oatmeal, and you are done. Well ok, you have to assemble everything too. Just to remind you, this is 1/2 C Old Fashioned Oatmeal, 1/2 C Almond Milk, 1/2 Banana, 1 Scoop Chocolate Protein Powder, and 1Tbsp. Almond Butter. 

I then headed out early to Renegade for a quick pre-vacation workout! Have I mentioned how much I love Jen and Chris?!?! Well, I do! I love their clients (which includes myself and Coach Kemp), the workouts, and their whole philosophy on health and fitness. If you are in the Toledo, Ohio area, I highly recommend that you check them out. I mean they did win "Best of Toledo" personal trainer! 

I first made a quick stop at the Kroger that is right across the street from their new facilities. Holy Moly is that Kroger on King Street nice! Its like a mix between The Fresh Market and Publix all in one! I walked around the store for like 10 minutes, just going up and down the aisles, I wish we lived closer! My intent was not to scope out the Kroger, I was there to explore the many Crystal Light options available. My goodness was I overwhelmed!

Like really! The market for flavoring one's water is this big?!?! Where have I been living? I really enjoy drinking plain water, on occasion I will add a little lemon/lime, but I just drink water. I, on average, will drink a diet Coke once a week, I really don't enjoy juices or milk, and am trying to not get in a serious coffee habit.

I did end up purchasing two Crystal Light Flavors, Raspberry Lemonade and Cherry Pomegranate. Last night I used the Raspberry Lemonade in my drink - vodka, water, and extra lime/lemon.

I was very pleased with this beverage and felt great this morning. I think I have found my new drink of choice. I would recommend, and will in the future, buy the squirt bottle. I opted to buy two boxes of the individual serving dry mix so I can share with the other coaches' wives.

So, I completely skipped a good portion of our day, yesterday, let me rewind. After my workout, I retuned home, showered, and then waited for Coach Kemp to return home from a short day at the office. Yes, the man worked even though we were leaving at 1pm. Did you read my post, "The Madness Never Stops" - honestly, the man works 365 days a year!?!

I was so pleased that Coach Kemp was able to score affordable tickets directly out of Toledo Express Airport. Our nearest, large airport is the Detroit Airport, which isn't far, like 45 minutes, but I just like to be done with it. Do you mind having to transfer flights? We went from TOL to ORD then to DAL, but we had no problems. I hear that a few wives are having some delays because of the rain storms in the midwest, I do hope everyone is able to arrive safely tonight!

Once we de-planed we had about an 1.5 hours between our flights which gave us plenty of time to get some food. I did have a snack post workout of 1/2 Braeburn Apple + my beloved Quest Bar. I had the White Chocolate Raspberry one, since I figured it would pair well with my apple, hehe. We found a Chili's while we were walking so stopped there for a quick lunch.

Can you see the disparity in our lunch options? Honestly, I am not sure how I muster the will-power to eat healthy with my beloved husband! He kills me some times, lol.

So it appears that their online menu is different than their airport and regular store menus. The chicken dish was from their "lighter choices" menu, and was surprisingly really good! The broccoli was simply steamed and the brown rice had some corn inside it. The chicken had a sauce, which if I was being really strict, I would have asked for them to cook without. My recollections is that the meal was about 550 Calories, but I don't know the macros breakdown, which is ok for the next few days.

As we were walking to the Chili's we passed Garrett's Popcorn. A little confession, I love sweets and it is my weakness. Like to the point that I would much rather have a piece of cake and/or cookie over any meal, and I do mean any. When I was younger, I would get an appetizer when dining out with my parents just so I could order dessert.  I was pleasantly full after our lunch, but my sweet tooth was kicking in hard-core. We decided to walk a little bit, our gate was at the most oddest of locations, and had little seating options. As we walked, we stumbled across Argo Tea Cafe! Have you guys tried it? Well let's just say the heavens opened, because I was really fighting the urge to say screw it and get some popcorn. Now the tea is nowhere close in flavoring as the popcorn, but at least I was able to settle my sweet tooth, and not completely sabotage my diet before we had even arrived in Texas!

I tried the Green Tea Strawberry Creme which is one of their seasonal drinks. It was super tasty!

By the time we both took potty breaks, we were ready to board our second flight en route to Dallas, TX!

While on this longer flight, I watched the first season of The Americans! Over the last few days, Coach Kemp and I watched Season 2, and then Coach Kemp got me Season 1 for the flight! Oh my goodness, I jumped and screamed a few times in flight. LoL! The flight attendants and the passenger seated next to me thought I was crazy! Coach Kemp kept looking at me with his "be quiet" face! Really?!?! How is a girl supposed to not react while watching that show. If you have not gotten into the series, I highly recommend it. Basically, the series is about two Soviet KGB officers posing as Americans during the 1980s, Cold War period!

And then we landed in Dallas. Took the NCAA shuttle bus to our hotel, got settled, and got the party started! I was the only wife/girl friend on Wednesday, so the night was pretty chill. We went to dinner at Hooters!

I ordered their grilled fish tacos which were really yummy! I also had a few of Coach Kemp's curly fries!

Overall, the night was really fun. I did not take too many pictures, being the only female, I tried to play it cool, hehe. I am really looking forward to a few wives being around. When we first got to the hotel around 6pm, we stopped by one of our friends room to chill and have a few drinks. I left to shower, and then Coach Kemp returned to our room reporting that all the guys would be ready in 30 minutes! Ok, prime example of why I need additional females! Yikes, I am a pretty quick dresser, but last night put my abilities to the test! Then lets not even discuss walking around downtown Dallas! All those basketball long legs, were not considering my 5-inch heels!