Jenny Winston Diary: Catching up on the offseason

Eric and Jenny Winston visit NASA

EDITOR'S NOTE:

. She provides periodic diary entries on a range of topics to give fans a woman's perspective on the NFL and life off the field.*

As I sat down to write this diary entry, I thought I would write about Training Camp and the few days leading up to it. Then it dawned on me that I've already written about that in my entry entitled, Training Camp, last summer. It also dawned on me that I've been blogging for almost a year now.

I first would like to start out by saying how much I have enjoyed sharing my personal experiences. It truly has been a heck of a ride so far, and I hope you all enjoy reading this blog as much as I do writing it! And, I guess after a year, I should thank Mr. Eric Winston for being a good sport and allowing me to poke a little fun at him, his teammates and the sport he loves. So thank you Big E for having a good sense of humor!

I figured I would catch everyone up with what our offseason was like this year in my first blog of the 2010 season (Eric's 5th-Wow!) .

This offseason, we traveled to Hawaii for the first time. Eric has become involved in the NFLPA (NFL Players Association) and the annual meeting is held in none other than Maui every year. At first, I was a little unsure about how we would celebrate our anniversary with him in meetings all day, but then I realized that I would be able to celebrate all day lying by the pool! While he was busy discussing important union issues, I was able to meet many other NFL families from around the league. I think it was the first time that I met a group of women that didn't complain once about their husbands being trapped at the office all day! =)

Another highlight of our offseason was taking our 8-year-old to Disney World for the first time. I am going to go ahead and say that eight years old is the best age to take a child to Disney World. She not only loved meeting Mickey Mouse and Cinderella, she also went on every ride at the park without the slightest bit of fear or hesitation.

It was Eric that should have hesitated before going on a ride called "Mission Space." We read later in our "Guide to Disney" that anyone who dared to experience this simulated space training-type ride should be relatively low in weight. We also learned that first-time riders should always stick to the easier ride - "Green Mission" - at first. Whoops. Eric had a very rude introduction to G-Force. Apparently, Disney World has effectively found a way to expose people to up to 2.4G's, which is equivalent to 2.4 times a rider's body weight. Let's just say that Eric looked like he had just played in the roughest game of his career, without a helmet or pads. And sure enough, our little one wanted to ride again!

I mentioned this particular experience because the effects of G-Force on the human body were a big question we had for the some of the NASA experts who we were fortunate enough to meet this offseason. It turns out that G-Force can cause some serious effects, such as dizziness, intense pressure on your chest and lungs and shortness of breath. Can you imagine how much force we are talking about when you would be supporting at least double your body weight? There is a very good reason why offensive linemen don't go on to have careers as astronauts!

Bryan Lunney, a Flight Director at the Johnson Space Center, was nice enough to give us an amazing tour of Mission Control when we visited in July. Mission Control is staffed 24 hours a day by highly trained individuals that are responsible for the well being of the astronauts and the condition of the exploring spacecraft until it lands safely back on earth. I am sure that Bryan Lunney knows exactly how to respond to the pressure of directing a spaceship because he has NASA in his blood - his father, Glynn Lunney, was a Flight Director during the Apollo Era of space exploration.

As if a father and son both working for NASA wasn't crazy enough, how about identical twin brothers? We had the great honor of meeting Captain Scott Kelly and Captain Mark Kelly, who are both pilots for NASA. There is even a chance that they might meet each other at the International Space Station next year! Scott is scheduled to launch this fall, while his older brother (by 6 minutes) Mark is scheduled to command the last shuttle mission in February. Both are documenting their training on Twitter, (Mark @ShuttleCDRKelly and Scott @StationCDRKelly) and I would definitely encourage you to check them out!

That pretty much catches you all up to date on what Eric and I have been up to since my last blog. I can't believe it's football season again, and I couldn't be more excited for the upcoming season. You heard it here first: The Texans are going all the way to the Super Bowl this year!

Thank you so much for taking the time to ready my diary entry! If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me! I always appreciate feedback and suggested topics for blogs! Until next time.....GO TEXANS!!! =)

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