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!

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...... ;)

Shots and Shows

Happy Friday everyone!!!!!


Let's see, what a week!!! After the big win on Monday, we decided to celebrate a little by going out in Florence that night. We are about an hour and some change from there, and on Monday nights they have a great lil club that plays Hip Hop music, and when you get Tuesdays off AND have a win.....well, you have to go! About 6 of my teammates headed out and we thoroughly enjoyed the night dancing and toasting! What a great way to end the night!



The next day I spent the day in bed. Throughout the week, with all the practicing, nothing feels better then to have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do!! I usually spend this day cleaning up around the apartment, going to the grocery store or doing laundry. That's how my days off usually go. But what usually gets me through the week is downloading my shows, the day after they air in the states. Let me start by saying that I do get alot of american channels on my TV here, but most of these shows are old, or Ive seen every episode more then once. They used to really keep me entertained, but this year they have really let me down. They show Dawson's Creek, which i didn't even watch back in the day, The Nanny, and when that comes on I have to immediately change the channel, and let's not forget that they show The Simpsons I believe everyday, ALL DAY. I will say that they have been showing a lot more college basketball games, which now that its almost March, I will certainly be tuning in, but all in all.... I watch my tv online. In the beginning I only had a few must see shows, but since the stations here have been slacking, I started finding more to watch. It's kind of sad because I tried to find a show for each day of the week, so when I get up, one of the first things I do is start downloading! And since the shows air at night in the states, I have to wait til the next day...which is not a big problem. Here is what gets me through the week (aside from talking to clint <3):

Mondays, Desperate Housewives. I got hooked on this show my first year in Italy when I didn't have internet and no american channels. My Italian teammate gave me the first season on DVD and this show became so addicting!! I wasn't very interested at first but since there was nothing else to watch I gave it a try. The plots are crazy, and the writer is a GENIOUS to think of the things he does. I would compare it to a modern day soap opera. I remember watching her whole box set (twss) in about 3 nights....coming into the morning practices looking like a zombie because I had stayed up all night watching. Each show ends with a cliff hanger, so its really bad when you watch them on DVD because it turns into a never ending movie. And now I have to wait one week between shows. I LOVE my mondays because of this show!!


Tuesdays, HOUSE. For those of you who know me, I usually only watch comedies or light hearted shows. I started watching this show last season when it came on back to back while I would come home from practice and started cooking dinner. It took a few shows for me to get interested. But I LOVE HOUSE! He is such a sarcastic ass, you can't help but love him. The one thing I dont like about this show is that after you watch a few episodes, you start to feel like maybe you have some kind of illness. I see House diagnose patients that are tired and sick, and Im sitting there telling myself I have the same illnes. But so far, I have not been positively diagnosed with any of the illness' from the show. I will continue to watch this until I do!! ;)


I also have to admit that I have recently been watching American Idol.... I know I know.... I wasnt even going to say anything, but its true. Crystal got me watching the auditions on roadtrips and I kinda got hooked. Then the auditions were over so I was ready to cut the show loose, but then Ellen became a judge. SOOOO I wanted to see how she was the first show. Then the second.... and now I have found myself watching to see who gets eliminated. I really dont find too many of the singers this season that stand out (the last time I watched this show was when Kelly Clarkston won.) I have to agree with Simon, there is just something missing. Hopefully that will turn around or else they will lose a fan. And seeing as I can't vote anyway after the live show, Im not helping or hurting any of the singers chances.


If youre still reading my blog about TV shows, on Wednesdays my show is Cougartown. This is a new show that I only started watching because I like Courteney Cox (how can you not like a Courtney???). And so far it is pretty funny, and no cliffhangers so I dont have to wait a week to see what happens. My lil heart can only take so many of those shows! (and American Idol comes on again this day.)

Thursdays, Modern Family. THIS SHOW IS FUNNY. I am a new fan, only a few shows in, but thanks to Crystal, and my sister, I will now become a regular. If you haven't seen it, give it a chance!! (Clint im talking to you!!!!!) ;)

Fridays, The Office, and 30 Rock. Fridays make me happy for SOOOO many reasons, but knowing that Ill get to watch the Office really makes my day! I have seen every episode a gazillion times and probably overquote this show way too much throughout the day. But this is one of those shows that will make you laugh EVERY time you watch it. I have been very disappointed lately because the Olympics has been on and have taken over my shows time slot. I am really feenin for some Michael Scott!!!!!!


For those of you who are overseas and cant watch these shows when they come on, here are some websites for you:

http://news.seriesgringas.tv/ (here you can download almost any tv show)
http://www.tv-dome.net/ (here you can stream any show you might not want to download)
http://www.oneclickmoviez.com (this website will give you almost any movie, new and old and its GREAT quality!!)

We're leaving tomorrow for our game near Napoli on Sunday. This is another important game, so hopefully I return Monday with good news! If not, I will always have Desperate Housewives ;)

You win some, you lose some...

Luckily this time we WON! Great game Monday night to get us out of a little slump. Still have so much to work on but its always great to get that win!

We started out on fire, then lost it.... Down by 9 to start the 4th and then ended up winning by 2 freethrows with 11 seconds left! It was almost a heartbreaker because they got a wide open 3 at the end, but thankfully for us, it didn't go in!!!!

And congratulations to Clint's team for getting a win tonight as well!!! It always feels good to win, but its great when we can both come home with one!