German Swag 101: Vils-BBQ

We have realized something lately - or rather, finally.

We have had access to unusually large and private backyard garden spaces at all four of our European homes, and we have never really taken advantage of it!

Now that we feel really settled into our Vilsbiburg world, we have discovered that we have the ability to host barbecues in our backyard!

It's a "Bring Your Own Meat" potluck setup, and all idea credit is due to our Swedarican (Swedish-Costa Rican, of course), Diana!

What we didn't anticipate was how awesome it would be to introduce our international friends to the very American campfire tradition of s'mores.

Granted, it has been an adventure finding marshmallows (in the USA, it's got an entire section of shelves to choose from; in Germany, marshmallows are hiding and it's up to you to find them!), and we found some graham cracker-like cookies that have a chocolate coating.

We are excited for what the summer in Germany holds, mostly because we know there will be plenty of BBQs!!! Sounds like a good reason to throw a 4th of July party abroad, right?!

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Elite Volley Agent Swags

I have just joined Elite Volley as an agent/recruiter!

We work in four main areas.

1. Helping International Student-Athletes get scholarships to play volleyball at top NCAA universities.

There are plenty of recruiting agencies overseas that tap into foreign players and their dreams of playing college volleyball in the USA. The difference with Elite Volley is that it is completely FREE for the athletes to post their profiles and be contacted by the universities.

They will never have to pay for this Elite Volley service throughout the entire recruiting process. We are literally only here to help create opportunities for the athlete!

2. Representing Elite Professional Athletes and placing them in volleyball clubs worldwide.

The founder and owner, Ryan Jay Owens, and I connected over our bad experiences with agents and agencies that left us wanting when we first started our international volleyball careers. We are both passionate about open communication, accessible support, and having a quality long-term relationship with our athletes.

We want volleyball players to understand all of their options, and Ryan has done a great job producing a Pro Volley 101 video series where interested athletes can learn about what their futures could hold.

I met Ryan originally when he partnered with Susan Salzbrenner of Fit Across Cultures to host the Athlete Blab in 2016. Susan's book Play Abroad 101 is also an incredibly helpful and insightful resource in educating athletes on what it's really like to transition to professional sports life overseas.

3. Offering NCAA universities and coaches access to our international recruits database.

We actively recruit the national team rosters from the U16 to U19 levels and are proud of the recruiting list we have compiled so far and continue to build. We currently have athletes from (countries listed alphabetically): Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey.

While continuing to grow our base of athletes from these countries, we are also focusing new efforts in Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Slovakia, and trying to reach as many more countries as we can in the process!

4. Promoting international clubs as they post their openings (both for players and coaches) to our professional volleyball database.

Instead of merely contacting agencies or hoping the right player will find the club's email address, clubs can now post into our database exactly what they need and can offer to a potential athlete. This network database will eventually extend to players who are looking to post their profiles to be contacted by clubs. Think of it as an always evolving volleyball jobs forum!

I am very excited to be a part of the Elite Volley team and looking forward to helping more and more athletes achieve their dreams of playing volleyball abroad!

Here's the thing: you can help, too!!!

We are always looking for athlete mentors, international connections, and how we can get the volleyball opportunities message out to as many athletes as we can!

There are three simple ways you can help us right away.

1. Share this blog post (via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, or email) and tag all of your volleyball, sport, and international friends and family, asking them to share with their network as well.

2. Comment below or email me directly that you would like to be involved as an athlete, coach, club, college, or mentor!

3. Shoot me an email, text, or direct message on Instagram or Twitter asking for a media-type photo that you can post and share on your social media network.

You can also now connect with me on LinkedIn, and you can see what we're up to at Elite Volley on Instagram and Facebook!

If you want to learn more about how this all happened, and the Agent Swags video that inspired it all, check out my previous post, New Work, New Season, New Vision.

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New Work, New Season, New Vision

Sometimes you don't realize you've been waiting for something until whatever it is shows up and you can't believe you've been without it for so long.

Other times you know exactly what you've been waiting for, but it's hard to tell when the right timing will align with everything else in your life.

I think we are all ready for a new season. 🌸🌼🌻 #SwagVilasbiburg

A post shared by Christy Swagerty (@whatupswags) on Apr 8, 2017 at 3:32pm PDT

Back in November, I totally checked out from blogging. I stayed online through my Instagram account, but I was burned out from blogging, updating, sharing, etc., etc., etc.

I decided to wait until I was interested again. Or maybe until I was interesting again. Just kidding; I did tons of stuff this year, too, like always!

I had some moments of photo gallery blogs to keep a base update going. My sister, Lindsay, continued posting her incredible Live Well series. I don't know what I would have done without her effort and expertise this year to give my blog life.

My last six months have been characterized by both of these kinds of "wait times," and I'm thrilled to announce that the wait is over.

I'm not going to binge blog like I used to because that's what made me feel like a robot churning out information. My website has always been about my experiences and stories, not for the Travel Channel. I needed to learn that again, absorb it, and return to the blog with fresh words.

I am much more passionate about the connection between sports and living abroad. The traveling that happens along the way is just a bonus.

I have two exciting announcements!!!

1. My Dingolfing 4th division volleyball team finished in 2nd place! This was cool enough, in and of itself, but then we just found out this week that the 3rd division needed an extra team and we have been bumped up a league!

This can happen sometimes, but it's never something that can be counted on in advance. We did work hard to get 2nd place, and with a little bit of extra luck, we have been rewarded in the best way possible!

You can enjoy some of the game photos and our best match of the season.

Oh, and I suppose the second part of the first announcement is that I am indeed returning to play in Dingolfing for at least two more seasons!!!

2. I have started a new job! My next post will detail this in a much more in-depth way, but here's the why and how of it. I have been keeping my ear to the ground (waiting, waiting, waiting) for a location-independent job that only needs an internet connection. This is incredibly important for me as I am now relying on Marc's basketball jobs for wherever we will live. With this new work, I have full location flexibility.

But the best part of it is that it's what I am most passionate about: sports and living abroad.

You can check out my staff bio at Elite Volley, and see if you're interested in any of the services we have to offer. Next post will have all the info, so you can stay tuned for that as well.

Want to see how I got the job? Be warned: the main requirement was to be creative!

(Special thanks to the many friends who contributed to this video!!!)

That's the main news from Swags! I'm embarking on my giant trip of the year on Monday. We are doing the USA a little bit different this year, going through Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. Then I head back to France to visit friends in Paris and the south, play some volleyball in Annecy, and end in Switzerland before taking the train back to Vilsbiburg in June!

Instagram will, of course, have all that insanity on it, and I will be updating the site in a much more reasonable manner now, too.

I will also be back-posting some of my adventures from this year as I have time during the summer. These will include my days spent in Milan, Lake Como, Baden-Baden, Hallstatt, and a whole lot of Salzburg. There were also many wonderful moments with our friends here in Vilsbiburg and Landshut, as the day-to-day life continues to support and enrich our world here.

If you're reading this, that means you've stuck around, so thank you for that. I guess we can say that, in the end, it looks like we are all going to get what we have been waiting for.

Check back in the next few days for the Elite Volley post!

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Live Well: April

Welcome to this installment of the Live Well series provided by my very own sister, Lindsay Wampler. I may be a traveling expat athlete, but I really haven't explored the health and fitness aspects of that world on this website - which is where Lindsay comes in. 

Lindsay is a 28-year-old occupational therapy grad student in Southern California and health and fitness coach. Her family consists of her wonderful husband, Justin, two dogs, and two cats. They both strive to live well through healthy eating and exercising, and I am very thankful that Lindsay is happy to share her expertise with us each month! 

Be sure to check back the first of each month to see what Lindsay's Live Well advice is, and please feel free to share her wisdom with your family and friends!

LIVE WELL: APRIL

April showers bring May flowers! Pop out the umbrellas and enjoy making your home bright and cheery this spring! Who is partaking in Spring Cleaning this April??? Comment below with your best Spring Cleaning tips and tricks!

Beverage Boost

Enjoy the tastes of spring with this mocktail:

Berry Spritzer
Serves 2

Handful of blackberries and/or raspberries
1 lime's' juice*
1 Tbsp. agave
Club soda, to taste
Ice

Muddle or puree berries. Mix all together and choose amount of club soda according to taste. Cheers!

*Or 1 drop of Young Living Vitality Lime Essential Oil

Workout of the Month

Healthy Eating Recipe

Serves 4

1 spaghetti squash (recipe only calls for half of insides; freeze other half for later)
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. oregano
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. frozen corn, thawed
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime's juice*
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash outside of spaghetti squash and place whole squash on baking sheet; cook for 50 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes, then cut in half. Take out seeds first and discard. Then scrape out squash flesh into spaghetti strands and place aside. Freeze half of mixture and keep other half for casserole. In large skillet, heat oil. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, and red bell pepper. Saute for 2 minutes. Add spices (cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt, and pepper) and saute 1 more minute. Then add beans, corn, and cilantro; stir to combine. Add 1 lime's juice* and stir. In same skillet, add in half of spaghetti squash and stir to combine. Add any more salt and pepper, if desired.

Preheat oven to broil. Pour mixture into 8x8 or larger baking dish. Top with cheese. Place under broiler until cheese melts and becomes browned.

Enjoy!

*Instead of using 1 lime's juice, you can substitute 4-5 drops (depending on preference) of Young Living's Lime Vitality Essential Oil.

Essential Oils Mixology

Diffuse this aroma to get you jet-powered to Spring Clean!!!

Energy Boost
4 drops Lemon essential oil
4 drops En-R-Gee essential oil

Fill home diffuser with distilled water. Add essential oils. Voila!

About the Author

My name is Lindsay and I once was a Swagerty, too, but I now am a Wampler. I am a Christ-lover and am disciplined to live the life of my dreams! I suck at traveling because I am scared to fly, but I love to explore the cities around me and build a home I love to spend time in. I am a wife, mother of fur babies, occupational therapy graduate student, online health and fitness coach, and a sharer of my love for essential oils! I am also a lover of all things Disney!

You can find me on Facebook, my group page, and Instagram or reach me directly through my email at lindsayannwampler[at]gmail[dot]com. I would love to hear from you!


Let us know if you try any variations of these delicious recipes, challenging workouts, or essential oils mixes in the comments below!!!

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