Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

I know i'm behind on my blogging. I'll catch up on the games later, but today I woke up to snow here in Lucca, Italy!

We normally get Friday mornings off and have a practice at night, but because the snow hasn't stopped all day and our coaches travel from outside our city, practice tonight was cancelled. We have one more game on Sunday until we get a short break for Christmas, so although I love a good snow, I sure hope its gone by my flight Monday morning to Egypt!

I love how in Italy, no matter, rain, snow or sleet, people still travel by bike!

I spent my time off by taking a bath and watching A Christmas Carol. I really have been wanting to see this movie since it came out last year, and I was kind of disappointed. It turned out more scary and dark then happy and Christmasy. (And yes I knew the plot before I watched the movie.) Still I thought with Jim Carey, it would have more funny uplifting moments!

Now for some sad news......

After 16 years with the Willis family, our chunky, and loving cat, Forrest "Fatty" Willis has passed away. I still remember when Dad (of all people) brought her into our home back in Fayetteville. She always had something to say and never met a cat toy that she LIKED or a bowl of cat food she didn't. The vet told mom that she was not overweight, but grossly obese weighing in at 17lbs. But she wore the weight well and proudly answered to the name Fatty or Fat Ass. She loved a good back scratch and was often terrorized by my sister or I by making her walk like an armadillo (or raccoon) while scratching her rear. (We both know she secretly enjoyed this, because she always came back for more!) She has been through lots of moves and lots of holidays and now it is finally her time to rest with her other siblings, Morgan and Sneakers. We will miss you Fatty!!! You always put a smile on my face!!!

Hope everyone is keeping warm!! Only 8 more days 'til Christmas!

Gobble 'til you wobble!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a great day with friends and families, save a slice of Pumpkin pie for me!

(the only thing with pumpkin in the name that I will eat Cam!)

On the court....we lost Sunday by 15 :( The game was a lot closer then the score shows, but right now we are tied for last with the team that we will play this sunday, so today I'd be thankful for a win this Sunday!!!!!

A loss

Last Saturday we flew to Taranto, Italy for our game on Sunday. This was against last years champions and a few of my friends. It was funny because after the game we had to hurry and shower and get on the bus to head back to the airport which was an hour away for our flight that left that night. Maybe our team was too worried about missing the flight, that we forgot to focus on the game :( we ended up losing our 4th game in a row 40-70. I ended with 12 and 7……

Moving on!

Everyday I pass this little house and this street corner, that for some reason have so much character! It looks so italian that I have been wanting to take some pictures.

I wanted to take more pictures of this house some scary lady was staring at me through her window, so I just got back in the car!

Excuse the attire :) this was taken on the way back from my morning practice, AKA my pre-nap outfit!

ehhhhhhhhh....

0-3 :(

Sorry it's taken a while to update. This internet key ran out of minutes and I am still trying to figure out how they recharged it since I can't see how much time is left on here. I know you all are confused, cause I sure don't know what I'm talking about.

ANYWAY.... let's see. To catch up, last week we went to one of the Powerhouses in Italy, Schio. They have a really strong team this year and are one of the 3 teams picked to win the championship, so we had our hands full. Unfortunately they were on their "A" game, and we.....well we weren't. We lost 79-46. Our coach really emphasizes defense, but it looks like we might need a little help on the offensive end! I finished the game with 18 points and 9 rebounds.

Last night we played our first game at home! We had a great turnout and it looks like we will have a tough place to play because our supporters really get into it. We played against my old team Umbertide and a friend of mine that went to NC State, Tiffany Stansbury. This team is also one of the teams picked to win the championship (side note: this Sunday we play against the TOP team from last year and this year) who ever made this schedule really didn't do us any favors!!!

The game started off slow for both teams, and the score at halftime looked like what the score should look like after the first quarter. 13-16. That was kind of embarrassing, but it showed we played good defense against a good team. Again, you see that we need some help on the offensive end. The end of the 3rd quarter and the 4th we gave up. The final score: 32-51. It is awful when you see players stop playing hard. I am sure it was tough for the crowd to watch, but this team is full of young girls that played on the A2 team that won the championship last year. (Still following?) So they are only used to winning and when we get down, they feel the game is over. Luckily this was only the 3rd game of the season, AND luckily these 3 games are of course important, but against top teams, so we are not EXPECTED to go out there and beat them. I hope we can learn from these games and when we finally match up against other teams, we will have some more confidence and keep fighting for 40 minutes. I finished this game with 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Moving on! A couple of weeks ago we had some photos taken for our team..... 

sPOokY SCary!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

This year my team decided to have a make-shift costume/halloween celebration although in Italy it isnt that big of a holiday just yet. Finding a costume was really a choice between witch or..... well a witch. Again, my camera is still out of commission, but I was able to get some pictures on my computer before hand to send off.

Also this year my teammate found some pumpkins at a grocery store near her house, so she gave one to me since she's never carved them before. So here is my before and after:

Not very spooky scary, but I forgot how hard it was carving a pumpkin! And I only had my kitchen knife to use, so it was very challenging!

And here is my halloween costume:

TRICK OR TREAT!!!!

But so far the best part of halloween has been all of the TV specials. The Office and Modern Family had some GREAT Halloween episodes this year, so if you need a good laugh tune in!

ohhhhhhh and oNe :(

So we had our first official game this past Sunday. Opening games are always in the same city so all the teams play in the same gym. The best part of this is that I get to see all the girls and that I have played with and against for the past 6 years. And since this year the opening games were in Milan, afterwards we all met up Sunday night to cut a rug :) And since my camera took a nasty spill at my sisters wedding I am without any evidence of that night until my teammate sends me proof that it took place. So I'll post those later. Now onto the game.......

We lost by 17 :( 51-68

The beginning of the 4th quarter we were down by 1, then...... We ran out of gas. It was a team that we could have beat, but Sunday just wasnt our day. Unfortunately that day I couldnt hit sand if I fell off a camel (a reference for Clint)..... I thought this year id write about our games win or lose and post my stats...although after this game, I'm not sure if I want to!

11 Points (5 for 17 shooting), 15 rebounds, 5 turnovers and 5 steals.

If you wanted to try and follow the games online, this is the italian website where you can find stats and articles about ALL of the teams, only thing is its in Italian. GOOD LUCK!

http://legabasketfemminile.it/

Red, White, and BLUES

One week ago I was heading to America for my sisters wedding, and now I'm in a hotel room the day of the game writing about it! It went by so fast, but Cameron's wedding was one weekend full of nonstop fun......and smirnoffs!

I arrived in Myrtle Beach around 9pm last Friday and was greeted by.....well no one. I started to drag my bags around the airport wondering where anyone was after my 20 hour day of travel. Luckily when I got outside I saw my mother following behind me, and a few doors down the breezeway, I saw my Dad going inside the airport. That's about right. It's funny how sometimes you can be so tired, but once you get to your final destination you all of a sudden have so much energy. We went back to my parents house where we spent the rest of the night hanging out with Cam, her friends, Paul and his family, my parents and their neighbors and granny, again with smirnoffs in hand.

Saturday was the rehearsal dinner, although the dinner wasnt until after, and by dinner we mean BBQ.....which is not to get confused with a Cookout.  The rest of the day and night was spent on the porch cheering on college football since Pauls family is from Alabama so everyone was glued to the TV when Auburn was playing.

There are just too many memories from that night to write about, but let's just say we will be laughing about them for years to come! It was fun getting to meet both families (although I already knew mine) but friends of both sets of families and friends of the bride and groom. At any given time you could walk into a different room and see 4-5 people standing in a circle talking and laughing and 30 minutes later it would be new faces and new smirnoffs :) 

Sunday was Cams big day! We woke up around 8:30 (at this point my body doesnt know where it is or what time it is) and helped mom prepare breakfast for the families. The afternoon went by fast, and before long it was time to head over to HOB for the big event! It was a wedding/costume party, so there were lots of brightly colored tuxedos, some mullet wigs, and a few sets of Blues Brothers in the crowd. The ceremony itself was performed by my sisters friend who was ordained on the internet and lastest about 10 minutes. Then it was time to start the celebration! The families headed down to take pictures while everyone gathered upstairs around the bar. From then on there was lots of food, drinks, music and dancing, and later came some karaoke! I hope there is no video of that, because my sister and I sound the exact same.....and she sounds HORRIBLE up there! (love you cam!)

I am still waiting on some more pictures, but these are a few I had on my camera. The sister karaoke and the cupcake tower.... 2 words: D Licious!

After all the dancing,  I drove the bride and groom off to an after hours club that was completely empty, making it the perfect place to continue our celebration! All the people from the wedding followed and we finished the wedding off right then all headed back to our rooms. 

After 2 days of napping hard between practices, my body is back to where it needs to be, right in time for my game tonight!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS MR. and MRS. MORRIS!!!

Coming Home Celebration!

Tomorrow morning I get to go back home for a few days to see my family and a few friends for what I call my "Coming Home Celebration" but what my sister keeps referring to it as, her wedding!

I am so excited that I get to be there for her day, the excitement overshadows the fact that I will spend almost 24 hours traveling! Completely worth it!

Wedding pictures soon to follow!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

My best purchase so far in Italy......

The day after our tournament we had the day off. So, like I normally do, I slept in then went to a store here, Stefan, that is like a family dollar. I could spend hours in these stores that sell nothing but crap for cheap, but when im over here I have to remember that the stuff I buy I cant bring home. I needed to find something to rest my feet on when I sat on my little couch. This is what I bought:

This thing has always been in my life, but for some reason I never bring one overseas with me. When I saw it in the store, it was a no questions asked purchase. For those of you who don’t know what this is, I would like to introduce you. This is a head massager and it is well worth the 2 euros, or 3 dollars at a Bed Bath and Beyond. There are really no words to describe the sensation, although after trying it out this summer on a few of my friends, it does get mixed reactions.

Needless to say I forgot why I was in the store to begin with, and when I sit on my couch with my feet on the floor now, at least I can massage my head.

Talk the Talk, and Walk the Wok

This past Saturday we traveled a couple hours up the road to play in a tournament. This was our first real scrimmage against other women’s teams, there were 2 teams from A2 and 2 teams from A1. Saturday we played against one of the A2 teams so there wasn’t much competition. But it was great seeing how our team played together offensively and defensively. I think we ended up winning by about 30 points, so Sunday we played in the championship game against the other A1 team. We will play against this team a couple of times this season so it was a good time to see how wed stack up. We ended up winning the whole tournament! We played great in both games, but I think the best part of our team is our defense.

Now we count down to our first game of the season on October 24!

Even better then the victory this weekend was a little restaurant that we found in our City. Its called Wok Sushi. Normally im kind of nervous when I try new sushi spots, especially in Italy, but this place was new and pretty big. My teammate, Shamela, and I went and we were not disappointed! It turned out to be a Chinese buffet where they would special make sushi rolls, or grilled meats or fish, or you could pick any meat and vegetable for them to cook in their Wok.

My pictures don't do it justice, but believe me it was delicious!

I will be going here weekly. And our little waitress was so excited to meet us. She asked for our autographs and for some pictures with us BEFORE she knew we played basketball here! I guess it was cool for her to see 2 women over 6’2. All she kept saying was “oh my, I cant believe……” Next time ill ask for a discount.

Anyway, if youre ever in Lucca, Italy, I highly recommend this Italian, Chinese-Japanese Sushi bar/ buffet, tell them an American sent you ;)

Once Upon a Time.......

To bring everyone up to speed on a couple things….. This summer my only sister/sibling, Cameron, got engaged to her boyfriend, Paul. They are getting married on 10-10-10 and luckily I get to leave Italy for a few days to participate in this special day!!!!! The other week I bought them a few gifts off their Bed Bath and Beyond registry. Including a coffee maker, some pillows, something for the grill and this ceramic cow creamer that was too cute not to purchase. A few days later I received this email from Cameron:

“There once was a princess named Anastasia Beaverhausen. Anastasia was about to marry her Prince Charming, Lord Bartholomew Von Inkus. Whilst Anastasia sat in her tower awaiting the day that she would become Lady Anastasia Beaverhausen Von Inkus, she dreamt about one day throwing an impromptu brunch for her soon to be in-laws, the very prestigious King Bernard Von Inkus and his ex wife, Lady Susan of Wellington. Alas, she never got to throw her impromptu brunches for she was without one special thing that separated the town folk from the poofy white collar. Anastasia knew that if she were to invite the King and Queen to brunch, and not have this particular item out for them to see, that they would surely not allow their son to marry this common peasant. One day, while Anastasia was on Facebook talking to her best frienemies Madame and Sir Belche A Lot, telling them how she wished that one day the Inkus Mannor would accept her. At that very moment, the doorbell ring, and Anastasia went flying down the very lengthy spiral staircase, catching her extremely long braid of hair on the banister, causing her to fall backwards, hitting her head, knocking her unconscious. While Anastasia lay helpless with her loyal pack of guard dogs at her side, Lord Bartholomew pulled into the driveway with his Ford F150. Lord Bartholomew sashays into the castle, seeing the box of goodies, and Anastasia laying helpless on the ground.

As he opens the box, he brings the priceless cow creamer over to Anastasia and pours her concoction of Captain Morgan and Diet Coke from the cows snout, into Anastasias mouth, waking her up with glee. To this day, Lord Bartholomew says he has never seen Anastasia so happy to have a ceramic cow with holes in its nostrils. As they lay their heads upon the most fancy pillows you have ever seen, all they could talk about was how they should feast on potatoes on the grill and coffee in the morning to celebrate their upcoming nuptials. So the story goes, that the priceless creamer was found in a far away land by Anastasias sister, Madame Happycleavage of Cocoa Village. Madame Happycleavage has spent years, and lots of gold covered chocolate coins, traveling the world to find this gift for her adoring sister. While Madame Happycleavage was riding a camel thru Egypt Land, her camel got a flat hump and Madame Happycleavage was stuck on the side of sand dune. A handsome dark knight, Knight Hefty Von Tootall (pronounced too tall), came to her rescue and showed the lovely Madame Happycleavage the way to the secret treasure where they would find a nice place to sleep, a nice place to clean up from all the sand, and a nice place to find anything your heart desires, Bed Bath and Beyond.

With this knowledge, one creamer made 4 people very happy. And they all lived happily ever after.

The end.”

I thought it was too creative not to share ;)

CONGRATULATIONS CAM AND PAUL! See you soon!

Almost settled......

This past week my team finally gave me my car for this season. As I said before this is a small city and a new team to the first division so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But they handed over the keys to a new Mercedes!!!

Ok, so it is a Mercedes, but a little bit smaller then what you were thinking. I have been over here for 6 years now and I have somehow never seemed to see the inside of one of those little Smart cars. Let me take you on a tour:

The inside:

The END.

My Smart car:

I think that covers it. I do see why they call it a smart car though, it is both a manual and an automatic….so it’s a semi-automatic. And I don’t think I will ever have a problem parking in the city here or weaving in and out of traffic!

Here is a picture of our gym (the picture inside didn’t turn out too well, but you get the idea). They have other sports here too, as well as an indoor swimming pool.

And here is my apartment.

I finally got my television the other day and this year it has TiVo! So now I can record all the shows I miss during practice and all the late night basketball games that come on while I sleep!

I finally thought that I had everything I needed and was all settled, and then 2 days after I got my USB key for internet, it shut off. They said that for one month I could use up to 3g…. (no idea what that meant) but apparently I used that up in 2 and a half days. So now I am again without internet and waiting to see what they come up with next. For now I can find a wireless spot outside my apartment in certain spots. This is usually what it looks like before and after practice posted up against the street lamp!

Hopefully this coming week I will have everything so from now on all I have to worry about is practice!

Back In Action

It seems I left everything hanging now that I look at my last post! I have 2 reasons (or excuses) for this. 1. My team ended up losing the last few games, and dropped down to the second division :( and 2. The last week of the season my computer died on me... Luckily around that time Clint had come out to see me, so there was a way to continue blogging.... so refer back to excuse #1.

A lot has happened since then, but I'll catch up on that a little later. Let's fast forward to NOW!

About a week ago I arrived to my new city, and my new team in Lucca, Italy. This team won the second division last year so this is their first season in A1. I like playing for these teams because they are usually filled with young girls and a city thats excited to be playing in the first division. Lucca is about 30 minutes from the city where I played last year, which is right on the water, and about one hour from Florence. What makes this city unique is that it has a wall surrounding the entire town and it has been this way since the medieval times. I live just outside the wall. I will take more pictures later, but these I found online to give you an idea.

After about a week of practice and getting to know the girls, it is still kind of difficult to see how we will be as a team. We are VERY young. I am the second oldest on the team, following our most experienced player who is from Portugal but has played in the Italian league for 11 years and 5 years in the WNBA. We have one other american who is also young, but is very strong and athletic. This is only her second year overseas, but I think she will be a huge help for us in the post.

That is all for now. We got today off and it is my first full day with internet so I will be spending the day catching up and getting settled into my new apartment!

Season's OVER!!!! (almost)

We lost the last game of the season last night..... So now it's on to post season play! The last 4 teams in the league play in the Playouts. So Sunday we will go to Napoli and play a team in a best of 3 series. The second game will be played here in Livorno and if need be, game 3 will be back in Napoli (which is a 7 hour drive to the south of Italy). So 2 more wins and I will be home!! Thats in a week and a half! I hope the team will pull together and do what we have to do out there, because last night we fell apart once again at the end of the 3rd quarter. 2 more games!! ONLY 80 more minutes! Sounds so easy!

Ok, enough of that..... Today I spent my day off 10 minutes up the street at Marina di Pisa. I had been there last week for the first time and it was GORGEOUS!!! So when I woke up this morning I thought I'd head down there again. The water is so clear and instead of sand its white rocks.... really pretty! And as I had posted before, my camera had died a few months ago. Luckily, I have the sweetest boyfriend in the world that bought me a brand new camera and sent it to me for my birthday!

I guess he figured I treat my digital cameras as disposable ones, so why not just buy me a disposable one??? Anyway, I was going to wait and take 13 more pictures and then take it to get developed and put on a CD, then upload them to my computer so I could post these pictures.... But then I thought I'd just take someone elses pictures off the internet so you could see what I was talking about RIGHT NOW! And when the day finally comes that I do get this camera developed, it will be a surprise what all is on it! WIN WIN!




All in all it was a great day off and when I came home I started going through all my things to get ready to start packing! You would think that after 6 years of playing overseas, I would have my packing down to a fine art... you'd be wrong. I am not a fan of packing. Can you imagine putting 8 months worth of things into 2 bags that cant weigh more then 50lbs. each? Note that you have to pack during the winter months, include casual, dress AND workout clothes and shoes and toiletries! I could fill both bags with my shoes alone! I get very stressed when it comes time to pack so that's why I have to start preparing a week and a half ahead of time. So wish me luck...... on both packing and the games!