BIG little kids

I must admit, when we lose I don't really have much to blog about. The past 2 games our team has really hit a slump. It looks like there's no fight left and we have only 1 game left in the regular season. After that we have to play in the playouts because we were the last team not to make the playoffs and this years playouts is going to be a BATTLE. So now is not the time for our team to hit rock bottom. Like I said before, we are without 2 players that really helped us out. So we dont have a deep bench to come in and keep us fresh on the court, but we are hoping that one of the players will be back in time for the playouts. Either way, this week we need to turn things around and remember to have fun when we play, because when you stop having fun......you start working. And we are too far from family and friends to not be enjoying this experience!!!

OK, enough about that!

The other day Crystal and I were coming home from practice (It takes about 20 minutes to drive from our apartments to the gym on the highway), and we passed this little fair/carnival in one of the parking lots off the highway. They had been setting it up for a week now, but that was the first time we had seen it actually open. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, so we decided to pull over and see what it was about. Since it was right after practice the first thing we did was grab a hotdog and walk around to see what rides they had. This was our first mistake. It wasnt very crowed and we found out that all the rides were free until 4:30 so that gave us an hour to ride every ride we wanted to. This was our second mistake.


We started out going down those big slides that the little kids use with potato sacks or rugs. We were by far the tallest and oldest people to wait in line to slide (aside from the parents going down with their little children). But I must admit I could have stayed there the rest of the time. There is something so fun and freeing about sliding down a HUGE slide. But we moved on to the next ride. At this point there were maybe 5 rides that all spun around in circles, one that flipped you, and another that went up and down and backwards and forwards and so on. After the first ride, we moved right on to the second one....there was no line so we got right on. Unfortunately, we got in without knowing what it did, so I was on the outside and the whole time we went in circles Crystal was pretty much sitting in my lap. I couldnt stop laughing because all she kept doing was apologizing and trying to pull herself off of me but going against the force of the ride. We moved immediately from that ride to the next one. Again no line, so we got right in. This is when our day of fun took a turn for the worst. Midway through the ride we both kind of looked at each other thinking, maybe the hotdog and 3 rides wasnt the best idea. We managed to make it to the end of the ride and all the way home without losing our lunch but got of that ride and it felt like Saturday night at ECU. I have learned to appreciate the lines at the fair.




My typical gameday routine for home games is to walk on the beach and soak my legs in the cold water. Yesterday morning when I went to the beach I wasn't alone. The beach was FULL of Kite Surfers. I have never seen them in person, but I normally see their kites from the street as I go to practice. It was really interesting to watch, but I was more fascinated at how they were all in the freezing cold water, because standing in it up to my thighs was numbing!


Enjoy the last week of MARCH!!!! Less then one month til I come home!

Down, But Not Out

I love March for SOOOO many reasons, but March Madness is one of the biggest! And this year they are showing all the games on ESPN America so I get to watch til the weeeee hours of the morning.

Every year Clint and I fill out the brackets for fun. Im not a betting girl, and I couldnt imagine the pressure to pick teams with money on the line, because I freak out when we just do it for fun! This year's tournament hasn't let me down one bit.... there are so many upsets just in the first 2 days! I love cheering for the underdogs, although I seemed to only pick the higher seeded teams. Like I said, I said, I dont like to gamble but I like good games AND upsets! (Gives my team hope!!!)

So here's the bracket that I filled out..... It's already all messed up from the first round, but I guess it wont hurt to see what happens in the next few rounds!!
I know you can't really see it, but Im pretty sure none of you are too interested in the teams i picked ;) Only the final four, which today St. Marys knocked out Villanova, so I only have Kansas, Syracuse, and Kentucky left to win it.

I haven't posted anything in a while so let's see what Ive missed out on telling you...... The last time we had gone out, my camera took a nasty fall :( moment of silence................................................................................................................





It seems I cannot keep electronics for long without killing them... Wonder how Id be with a pet??? So as of now I am without a camera. Some GOOD news is, that since the last time I blogged, we won our game! It was against my old team and my old friends! I hate playing against them, but at the same time I love getting to see them all. We fought really hard and played well together for the first time in a while, AND they didnt play that good. SO the combination of both helped us win. Unfortunately, we won the game but lost another player. 3 weeks ago we had lost one of our 3 post players because she tore some ligaments in her foot, so she's now out for the season. It was a big loss for our team. Then the last game, one of our starting guards was taken to the hospital because she had cut her finger open and needed stitches. (For those of you with sensitive stomachs, skip ahead to the next paragraph). It turns out she broke her finger, but force of the break cause the bone to....explode??? cutting her finger open and causing her to get 5 stitches to close it up. It was the weirdest injury.....I have still not seen what it looks like, because i get a little woozy just talking about it......

So now we are down 2 important players, leaving us with a total of 7 professionals on our roster. Only 3 games left until the post season tournaments, so hopefully we will somehow find a way to win with the bodies we have left! Because of the injuries we have to adjust our practices and hope no one gets hurt during the 2 hours in the gym..... Funny thing is, people can still get injured OFF the court.

I was debating whether or not to share this story, but I think it is kind of funny. One night earlier this week I had gone to bed kind of early because I was really tired. I remember going to sleep and not even watching what ever Office episode that I had put on. While I was sleeping, I remember rolling over and for some reason, I THOUGHT I saw this thing fly up out of my bed and start spinning towards my head, and I FREAKED OUT. My reaction at this point was to grab my sheets and roll. Unfortunately, the roll tossed me off the side of the bed and onto the hard tile floor. I remember sitting there scared of whatever I had just seen, but then thinking that there was nothing there, only in my head. As I put the sheets back on the bed, I looked at the clock and it was only, 1:50 in the morning and then I began to feel a sharp shooting pain in my elbow, which had gotten banged pretty bad when I fell. It was kinda sad walking into practice with the few healthy bodies we have left, and having to get my elbow taped up because it was swollen and bruised, and having to explain what happened...... I wish I could have seen what that night looked like because in my head it looked like a scene from Paranormal Activity!

Happy March Madness everyone!

Top of the mo'nin to ya!

Happy St.Patty's day everyone!!! And Happy 31st Anniversary
to my parents!

Missing In Action.....

Sorry for the delay.... I was having some technical difficulties getting my internet recharged for the month of March, but I'm finally back up and running.



So the last 2 weeks.... lets see. One morning me and 2 of my teammates went to a local high school to talk to the kids about sports and school. For those of you unfamiliar with sports over here in europe, lets just say they dont exsist in the schools. For those young kids that want to play have to practice with the professional teams in the area. We always have about 2,3 and sometimes 4 young teens practicing with us. Now I dont mind going to schools to talk to kids or playing with the really young kids that are excited about playing basketball and at least know who we are, but HIGH SCHOOL is different. If they werent playing sports by now, then they werent going to start now. We walked into this room that looked like I had stepped into a time machine that sent me back to 1986.



There were so many banana clips, big hair, neon colors, and giant accessories. A few things had changed.....The boys jeans wear are super tight AND straight leg, the guys had almost a full bottle of LA Looks in their hair to keep the mohawks high and pointy, and BOTH the guys and the girls had muliple piercings on their faces. I know I havent been to America in almost 9 months now, but I hope our teenagers back home dont dress like that. Needless to say, none of these students were interested in hearing from women speaking about playing basketball. It was interesting to me to see an Italian High School though. I feel like back home we offer so many sports in high schools and that just gives opportunities for children to be rewarded with athletic scholarships that will pay their ways through college.


Aside from the appearance of the students, there some other differences. The big parking lot outside is filled with scooters. Kids in Europe can't drive until they are 18 so until then, they are weaving in and out of traffic on these "safe" 2 wheelers. School starts around 8 and ends at about 1 every day, Monday to SATURDAY! yes saturday!!! I remember getting out of school at 3:20 and having 10 minutes to get dressed and ready for practice right after. Then getting home around 6pm in time for moms homemade dinner. Italians are done around 1 and they dont even think about eating dinner until 9. I guess I am glad that I always had somethign to do to occupy my time, and Im really glad I chose sports! (Actually I just chose to do whatever my sister had done, and tried to do it better ;)........ THANKS CAM!!) Apparently my dear, sweet, older, shorter sister had posted a picture of me and her when I was a baby on her facebook page. In my "unflattering" years. But I guess thats expected, seeing as most of her childhood she was jealous of me ;) Here's a picture to show this side of her as I opened a present with joy......

Right now I cant get my hands on more pictures to embarass her with, but give me some time..... Sleep with one eye open Willis...... ;)