Daughter Merchandise

So, Jennifer found the absolute dorkiest picture of herself she could find from her childhood and had it made into a blanket for me for Mother's Day.

I don't know WHOSE glasses she is wearing in that picture. It made us laugh and on top of that, it irked Julia who immediately sent a message to the family group text :

Best daughter? I don't think so!

Yesterday, we were at a game expo - E3, it was awesome - and they were selling t-shirts that said,

I can't believe I'm not an action figure already.

I told Ronda I should buy her one of those shirts and she said,

But, Mom, I AM an action figure already!

I told her that's what would make the shirt funny. I didn't buy it for her since she did not seem properly appreciative but the next day my cousin, Julie, sent me a message that she was at the store and saw this:

I am just putting the other two daughters on notice that I am expecting some daughterly merchandise for the next merchandise-supplying event.

Julia does the voice for Angie in Forgotten Trail, so, if we come out with some Angie merchandise, does that count?  These are the types of weighty issues that I ponder when I get my lecture written early.

My Mom Thinks I'm Cool: Ronda Edition

I always think all of my children are amazing. Today is the Ronda Edition.  Sometimes, idiot people who don't know her say stupid things about Ronda. So, just you have an idea why her mom thinks she's cool  -

Ronda finished filming Battle of the Network Stars yesterday. She has been working 12-14 hours a day and then working out after the filming is over. She had lost her voice from coaching on the set and was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

She came by the house to have coffee (point number 1, visiting Mom on Sundays. You should all try it.) and autograph shirts and jackets she had donated for Gompers Judo fundraiser.


Three of our Gompers Judo students are dual citizens with the U.S. and Mexico and have been selected to compete in the Mexican junior national championships. I was concerned that one of them was too focused on cutting weight. So, Ronda offered to talk to her, called her house and spent the next 15 minutes giving a high school sophomore tips on having a healthy diet and still making weight.

She thought that people would be more likely to donate to the judo program if it was a personalized item so she gave me some of her favorite shirts and jackets, including one from Battle of the Network Stars and several from Reebok. We had to go through this twice because when she came to autograph things she said,

"Hey, I really like that one, let me switch!"

and she gave one to Julia because it was sentimental and she remembered it being her favorite shirt at Julia's age. The point, though, is, these were things she really liked and it was hard to part with, so she figured fans might be more likely to donate money to get one.

The second part of this is that we discussed what to do with the dozen items she donated. My niece, Samantha, pointed out that the only people who can win an ebay auction are people who have A LOT of money. We thought it would be nice if people who had supported Ronda through thick and thin had more of a chance. So ... we decided to contact 12 people who had always been there for her and tell them that if they would like to donate $500 they could get anything from one of Ronda's favorite jackets to a t-shirt that Marina made for her to a t-shirt that she made herself. Yes, it's not cheap, but it at least gives a chance to people who don't have thousands of dollars extra lying around, and it will cover the expenses for the rest of the year for team jackets, a team dinner and our judo road trip to visit colleges and train (we always combine the two).

On Tuesday, we are having my grandson, Cal, pull names out of a hat to decide who gets what. He is only two and can't read so you know he won't cheat.

Update: Cal pulling names at 5:30 pm Pacific Time on Facebook Live today, June 19, 2017. 

(Sorry for the delay. I got backed up with work and our Master of Ceremonies was taking a nap two of the times I tried to arrange it.)

Just so you know, four of our students who started with us at Gompers Middle School are high school seniors this year. 

Meet our high school seniors

Did I mention that Ronda started this program (it was her sister, Jennifer's idea, so props to Jenn who did her student teaching at Gompers)? Ronda taught here for free for two years and has donated a lot of her own money and time ever since. (Also, those mats above are from Swain Martial Arts , from Michael Swain, just to show Ronda isn't the only judo champion helping make the world a better place).

Just to give you an idea of how hard these kids from south Los Angeles work and how much they deserve your support, here is just a little bit of practice yesterday. Now, mind you, Friday was the last day of school and they STILL all came to practice after school and Saturday was the first day of summer vacation and they STILL all got up and were in front of the school at 8 am to drive out to La Puente for an extra practice. 

I'm assuming since you read this blog you are NOT an idiot, but next time you read something bad about Ronda, know that THIS is what she did on Sunday after working nearly 200 hours over the past two weeks.

And then, she took her family to brunch.

I left it all on the field: Zero Regrets

You will never find me challenging the young adults on the basketball court.

I'm not joining the adult soccer league. For the love of God, my nineteen-year-old DAUGHTER plays in that league.

My friend used to play in the old-timers hockey league, up in North Dakota.
A lot of my friends compete in masters competition for judo.

Good for all of them but it's never happening for me.

Occasionally, my children, or other young people want me to go out and run with them, go a round of randori or some other stupid idea for when you are my age.

Forget all of that age is just a number nonsense.

This week, I was running around an obstacle course with my two youngest daughters, about whom it can be said that I am literally old enough to be their mother.


The next morning, Ronda called me and said,

Mom, are you okay? Do you need any ice or aspirin? Does anything hurt?

I told her I was fine, thank you, and I hurt when I wake up every day, but


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Here's what I do with my nine-working arthritic fingers - I make video games that teach math, social studies, English (and soon, Spanish). Get yourself some!




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it hasn't stopped me yet.

There are people who play technical judo and maybe they are out there competing when they are 60 years old, and, again, good for them.

If you ever read my book, (shock! you didn't? it's called Winning on the Ground) you'll know that the judo I do is a lot more physical. Years ago, when CBS sports asked Willy Cahill who to film, he said,

If you want judo that looks like ballet, get Robin Chapman (now Robin Chow). If you want judo that looks like a fight in a bar, watch AnnMaria.

So, now, I'm paying for it.

I don't feel sorry for myself, ever, but I'm not stupid, either.  Those years of two, three times a day practices, competing without weight divisions, despite injuries, took their toll. There is a reason you don't see a lot of former professional or Olympic athletes competing in the senior games.

Several years ago, I was at a judo clinic and a little kid asked 1987 World Judo Champion, Mike Swain,

How many times did you beat Koga?

And Mike had the best answer,

Only one. The time that mattered.

So, yeah, I don't feel bad about having arthritis, a knee replacement and a thumb reconstruction. I don't care about all the tendons, ligaments or cartilage that I'm missing. It was worth the price.

But don't ask me to run in your 10 K.


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