Christmas Eve and Christmas

Christmas Eve was exciting, a winter wonderland turned our normal plans upside down. Dad and I went into Surrey and White Rock to pick up the grandparents on the way home we found out that Michelle's flight had been cancelled. She was told by mom to get to BC at any cost so with some quick typing and a $1000 put on her credit card (2 flights) she managed to get in at 7pm in Vancouver. Dad and I dropped the grandparents off at home and megs, dad and I did a little sledding in the backyard, shoveled the driveway for the 8th time that day (Mom did it 6 times). Dad and I headed out to Vancouver and thankfully the roads were much better and we made it to the airport in good time so we ate our Christmas Eve dinner in the Costco parking lot. We opened up our PJ's took our stocking pics and had to call it a night... no movie it was too late! All church services were cancelled because of the snow as well so it certainly was not a normal Christmas Eve at the Smith household but so great that everyone made it!
Christmas we headed out to my aunt's house and got to see our cousins for the first time in years; it was great to catch up.
Boxing day was fun we all slept in a little and then mom dad and I took Kobe for a walk the snow was up to our knees in some spots! When we got back we decorated sugar cookies, dad and his girls used to always have a sugar cookie day when we were little mom would leave the house because it would look frightening. We decided to start it back up this year since all his girls were home this year.
Here are some pics there is one of the adorable kitten Megs is watching for a friend, the backpacks for the Mission shelter, my sisters and me, sugar cookie fun (no we are not at all talented).

Megs and I went shopping today at Wal Mart. As a family we decided to forgo presents for each other and do something for somebody else so we are doing backpacks for homeless people. We filled them with blankets, socks, clothes granola bars etc. It was a lot of fun shopping except that Wal Mart is crazy right now... Dad I don't know how you do it! I am quite happy to be home and ready for a nap.
Looking forward to seeing all my grandparents tomorrow night... it will be a full house, I can't wait!
Merry Christmas everyone!!

Countdown to Christmas

After a few hours of delays I made it home safe and sound on Friday. The weather in CT was supposed to get pretty crazy and I was nervous I was going to be stuck somewhere but it was all good; the first hour and a half was like a roller coaster ride. With the delays I had about 20 minutes to get to my next gate so I was booking it only to find out the next flight was delayed... you have to love flying at this time of year! The worst part of the day was customs, I never know how to fill out the form. A question as simple as where do you live becomes quite complicated for me. I have absolutely no idea where I live. I normally put my BC address but when they ask why I was gone so long they deem that I live in the US. They just ask too many questions, I am waiting for the day they pull me in to search my bags.
Home is cold and I have never really driven in the snow before and after watching 2 neighbors fail to get out of the cul de sac I relegated myself to the house.
I showed my parents the dvd of my surgery dad seemed intrigued mom almost passed out...

The Electric city!!

It has been a while since the last update because things became routine around here for a bit with not much to report. However this past weekend Ben and his parents and I went to Scranton PA. Ben's mom had family that grew up in a town close to there so I got to see all the hot spots; intrahicite museum, steamtown mall, lake wallamapallpac. I did not spell any of those correctly. It was pretty funny.
I am excited to come home this Friday... time has gone by pretty quickly! Workouts have been going well now I finally feel like I ma getting back in shape. My ankle still hurts not sure what the deal is with that... maybe this is a rest of my life type thing. I have been avoiding running and shooting for the most part.

I started watching the show Chuck it is a really good one if anyone is looking for a few show to get into I like it!

neti madness

Thanksgiving morning I woke up early to help put the turkey on get the potatoes going etc. it really felt like Christmas. I am not sure what it was but it was such a letdown when I realized it was not even December yet. The only saving grace was the Thanksgiving day parade on TV, not too bad. Now it could never hold a candle to Mission Candlelight parade but what could.
Dinner was delicious although I was missing some of the classics... turnip!
Working out it back on track after a brief sickness break. I know I haven't talked any about my neti pot since the first time I wrote about it but wow. My nose was crazy runny and I couldn't sleep one night because I could not breathe so in the middle of the night I thought I would give it a whirl. It took a while but the water finally broke through and it was like heaven, I could breathe freely. I have been using it 2x a day while I am still recovering from this bug and it has saved my life. I am also convinced that the reason I am better and Ben is still sick 2 weeks running is because of this magic guy. It may sound/look disgusting however I would strongly recommend it during this winter cold and flu season.
I went to a high school girls basketball practice today and it was so much fun to shoot again. I just wish that I was in shape I have never taken this much time off before and while I know it was good for my body, right now it doesn't feel good in my lungs and my muscles. Getting back in shape sucks!

Last Friday night Ben and I headed into Boston to watch BU play against Vermont in hockey. It was a pretty good game although BU ended up losing so not the outcome we were looking for but Ben got to meet up with some old buddies he used to watch the games with. I got to hear some stories eat some really good food the only downside is it was FREEZING. Yes the wind felt like it ripped through my clothes no matter how many layers I wore it was not going to keep me warm. I am thinking it was this temperature that got me sick, I have a cold. I mean I get them one or two times a winter and normally have to play basketball through them but I have to say I prefer being in my own apt or house when I am sick.
Saturday we headed to a sports bar that actually had the mtn and watched the Utah game vs the Y it was awesome we smoked em, almost ensuring a BCS bid next week!
Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I am excited for some turkey!

little treasure

Check out this little treasure that I found in my foot. The last week or so my foot has been quite itchy around the scar, Ben called me paranoid said it was fine. I was not convinced it looked like there was a tiny piece of a stitch left in one of the scars last night I made Ben really look at it. Sure enough he grabbed a pair of tweezers and this guy came right out. I expected something small like a tiny piece not this mammoth. Ben said it was cool though because as soon as he pulled it out the hole closed right up after it.



In other news I booked my flight home for Christmas on Dec. 19th I am very excited for that! I have been baking some breads for Thanksgiving, they have been making them for years. I am a little nervous that they will not turn out...
I am finally back to working out and it feels SO GOOD!

Florida pics

My camera broke so no flash on any of the pics but here are a few that kind of turned out!

Review of my trip to FL

The first week of the trip was spent in Fort Myers Ben's parents own a condo on a golf course down there. We spent some time hanging out at the pool, I went to my first dog track bet on dogs... lost 2 dollars (I only bet once) people watching was at a premium here. Worked on my golf game a little hitting some balls at the range. We headed to Disneyworld for 3 days and nights and it was awesome!! It was my first time to Disneyworld and I was like a little kid. I had a strong urge to run everywhere, we spent the first day at magic kingdom my favorite park by far. Went on all the rides, watched fireworks, parades you name it we did it all in one day. The next day we were at Epcott I watched a film on Canada in the countries and it made me love Canada even more! Went to Animal kingdom and hollywood studios. It was a lot of fun I was beat at the end of each day. We bussed around everywhere as we stayed on site at the Port Orleans hotel. It was truly amazing how large Disneyworld was I was not prepared for it, I can not wait to go back!

what I have been up to!

Alright so I have been out in CT for about two weeks now and things are going well. I am going crazy not really being to work out right now I know it will be better for me in the long run for right now I am antsy. My ankle is doing well, it still flares up when I walk around on it a lot so I have been icing lots still but overall it is feeling much better.
I have been going to work with Ben at the golf course he keeps taking me out to play a few holes I am not so good but I have a couple good shots every time we go out so I have improved.
I went to the Rascall Flats concert Saturday night with Ben's sister she got tix for her birthday and she took me it was awesome. I do wish they would have played more of their old music because I hadn't heard any of their new songs until I saw them.
We have gone to two UConn football games Ben did the tailgating cooking up a storm. Mom I picked out your signature baileys although I went with the mint chocolate kind and mixed it with hot chocolate instead of coffee.
I head to Florida tomorrow with Bens parents. We are going to hang out at their condo in Fort Myers for a week or so and then Disneyworld for 3 days!!

I am headed off to Connecticut tomorrow my week in Sacramento went well. The first few days were rough I slept about 16 hours every day and felt high on the pain medication. I made it through and had quite a few people who helped take care of me which was nice. I am going to be excited to when I can eat something besides soup and sandwiches my kitchen is quite bare. My stitches were removed yesterday and the surgeon said everything looked good. I was so excited to shower again no more baths! I can walk without the boot around the house but just to keep the swelling down I have to wear the boot for another week or so when I am out and about a lot.

successful surgery!

The day began at 530 when I got up showered and met Jill to drive me to surgery. I got in the pre-op room and was there for about an hour and a half before surgery even began! They were so thorough, I answered the same questions around 10 times; what ankle are you having surgery on, what is your name and birth date. Everyone was very nice and time flew by answering questions and staring at the cops trying to get a glimpse of the inmate who was in for surgery! The nurse told me two guards were standard if there were 3 cops I should be worried, settling thought!
The last thing I remembered was being told I was being given a little something that would make me feel like I just had a glass of wine. I think they meant 10 glasses of wine taken as shots because I don't remember being wheeled into surgery. My trainer who watched told me I was still semi conscious but I can't recall it. Waking up was good apparently many people are cold I woke up and had about 5 warm blankets on me so I was trying to throw them all off sweating. The nurse was laughing at me, she went and got me some ice chips because I kept telling her I was so thirsty. I got into a wheelchair for the first time and made it out to the car where I promptly called mom despite being really out of it.
The doctor said it went great I may try posting the pictures in a few days. He shaved off the bone spurs and then took a look at my joint which he cleaned up because there was a fair amount of damage. Don't quote me on any of this I had just woken up when he was telling me what they did.
I am going back to bed.

Celine Dion in Sac town!!!!

It has been a while I had a blast at home but had to get back to Sac for surgery bright and early tomorrow morning. I got in to Sac around 5 and my manager was saying she was going to Celine Dion I got really excited and she told me she could probably get me tickets!!!! I just got back from her concert and she was AMAZING! Such a great performer and so many good songs, it was awesome! I will be waking up in a few hours and should get to bed soon because I am hungry and thirsty.
Back to home I got to see Megs play 3 games it was so great to watch her out on the court again and her team is so cute. Had two Thanksgiving dinners Moms was amazing we had all of Megs team over and the Kyba's so there was some mild entertaining stress but Mom was an amazing cook and pulled it all off. Megs and I ran the peeling sweatshop.
I will update later with some stories from home but for now it is off to bed.

whirlwind days

Things have been crazy since I got back home. I landed on Thursday and Michelle and I headed to Cecil B spa to see Maria and for me get a much needed eyebrow wax with the master and then I did a sun treatment. You have heard my stories about tanning but I was determined to look tanned for Jens big day so I didn't blend in with her dress. Let me just say this is the way to go the lady exfoliated me which felt fantastic then I took a long hot shower and was moisturized and then she rubbed the tanning lotion on me. The result... tanned with no streaks finally!!! Friday morning was spent reclaiming my closet apparently my parents forgot about me while I was gone. I have moved from a bedroom to the closet to all of my rubbermaids being buried the closet under all the old junk from the office. Megs was so gracious to help out I unpacked all of my clothes and then packed them all back up again. Friday night was the rehearsal dinner and it was so great to catch up with Jen. Saturday morning was the big day and it started fairly early. It was such a fun day all the bridesmaids got their hair done by Rachel and make up from Maria. There were no problems and Jen was the most beautiful bride. I only cried once, Jen was crying right before the ceremony started and that got me going a little! I managed to keep it in besides that. I found some pics that some other people took so I will post them I am sure more pics will follow.

Season over...

We lost in overtime in game 3 last night. It was pretty upsetting, a lot different from last year when I was ready to be done with it all. The girls were all really cool this year and I had a lot of fun with this team so while I am now excited to go home it is dissapointing that it all came to an end. I am working on very little sleep right now as our plane left far too early this morning and I had to rush to do my physical and many other little tasks. My to do list is quite long right now. We re x rayed my foot today in a standing position and the bone spurs are very evident just standing and bending they really bang against each other. This is what is causing all the pain. After seeing the x ray the doctor went back and forth about surgery my first x ray was laying down and they were not as big or visible. The plan is now to take a month off and evaluate. If I am feeling better after a month then I can try some court workouts but if that causes discomfort then I will go back to Sac for surgery.
Tomorrow is my exit interviews, buying shoes for the wedding and packing I leave Thursday morning! I need to go get some food my cupboards are empty!

playoffs are here

We lost our first playoff game tonight against San Antonio we were down 20 at one point and actually came back and almost pulled it off. Hopefully next game we will not dig ourselves in a big hole, we leave for SA tomorrow morning and play our next game Saturday.
Britt got picked up by SA so I got to go out for dinner with her last night and hang out which was great. Since my car buddy had her husband in town I decided it was time to drive what I know refer to as the dreaded red car. I was nervous because a week ago it started jumping when I turned it on after turning it on and off 3 times it stopped. The car was doing great until I got to downtown Sac thank goodness I was on a side street because I was driving along and all the sudden the car jumped a little and shut down. I go into freak out mind put it in park turn it off and find the emergency blinkers. Cars are starting to pile up behind me and I am beginning to sweat. I turn it back on and what do you know it runs fine I pick up Britt and we make it to my apt where it will sit until I get it shipped home. This car hates me it never broke down for anyone in our family but I have had to take it to the garage 2x. I just need it to get me to Arco where it will be picked up and then I really never want to drive in it again. I don't understand how it can just run fine and then just turn off I hate cars.
It is time to pack early morning.

Playoff bound!

We made playoffs clinching them last week with a victory over Seattle which made it all sweeter! I am done for the year I am practicing and well that may not be the smartest it most likely will not do further damage and I could not handle watching that many practices. This weekend we had a back to back in Texas but our game was cancelled because of the hurricanes kind of crazy and it has been moved to a different arena as Houston's Reliant arena was an evacuation site. Myself and Chelsea Newton stayed home for the trip been lifting heavy and killing the pool workouts. I am pretty excited because tomorrow will be our first day off in quite some time.
I went to my first high school football game last night... wow! It was really like the movies and it was out in the country so saw a truck with a gun rack on the back how cool is that!
It is getting cold in California, I didn't even know it got cold here but last night it was 54. After months of 90+ it was a shock.
It is time to eat...

We are one win away from securing a playoff berth with 3 games left this season. I met with our surgeon tonight and after reviewing my mri again he said the best route would be to take 3-4 months off and hope it heals. It is kind of like my sprain from last summer in the sense that once I did it it is something I will recover from or will nag for my career. I guess I have a bone bruise and a chip in the bone the good news is that the chip didn't completely break off so nothing is floating around. He said the ankle and foot is the last place you want to operate on. I am going to need some serious patience to do nothing for 3 months, we will see how that all goes.

Weekend visitor

Michelle was out here for the weekend it was a lot of fun. She got in the night before we played Houston so we hung out and caught up and the next day spent a little bit of time pool side. I was on IR so didn't need a nap or anything like that. We had Sunday off so we went to church and then headed to the mall. I am not going to lie I was tired after the first store, leaning on anything I could I can't keep up with her shopping. She did make a lot of really cute purchases. She left the next day so it was really short but good to see her and have a visitor.
Right now we are two games up on Houston so we are in 4th place with 5 games remaining. I am not sure if I will be playing anymore this season, I have been practicing but I am nowhere near 100% unfourtanetly. I had my MRI on Tuesday morning I haven't talked with our surgeon yet but I do have a bone spur on my Talus I believe. This could very likely mean surgery when the season is over. Our surgeon will be at our game on Sunday so I am going to discuss options with him then. One of my teammates has the same thing sprained her ankle really bad a few games before the break and she didn't practice all break hoping the pain would go away and she is still in incredible amounts of pain. If I do have the surgery I would be out for 8 weeks. It sucks but I can't play the way that I like to with the pain right now so I will keep you all updated after I talk with our surgeon.
We are off to Phoenix tomorrow morning, only 5 games left!

Third times a charm!

A few days ago I arrived at the practice facility and was notified that I had drug testing that day (WNBA tests a minimum of 3 times a year I believe) I got on with my normal treatment and drank a little water then went back to check in and provide a sample. I produced my sample and they check to make sure it is not too diluted the guy has a crazy little machine and he takes a drop of your pee and drops it on this contraption that looks like a kaleidiscope he looks through it and it tells you the number. My first sample was a .8 I have to be at least 1.5. Apparently I am too hydrated so the man said well you didn't eat breakfast then so go eat something. I said I didn't eat breakfast we are here for over 6 hours of course I ate breakfast maybe enough for two people to make up for missing lunch. Then he said well don't drink anything else, heading into practice it didn't seem like the best advice. I left practice during stretching and provided my second sample which registered at 1.48 he said it couldn't pass because when my name came up on the computer it said "no dilutes" I guess my sample earlier this year was a little close. I went away really discouraged I mean it sucks to pee in front of somebody one time now I have to do it 3. I tried to drink minimally in practice because I was not about to stay at the practice facility all night to provide a sample and I managed to squeeze one out. I say squeeze because I didn't really have to pee but I really wanted to leave, I filled it just to the red line.

My ankle is improving I took two days off of practice and we had two days off so four days of complete rest and I tried to practice Monday. I say tried because it hurt and I don't know why I keep on going when it hurts I am stupid. It is feeling better today I can walk without pain now which is really nice. When I run it just feels like something is locked and the inside of my ankle won't bend so any type of flexion like running, shooting all bother it. I am going in for an MRI on Tuesday morning just to check things out make sure it is nothing serious.

We played our first game last night against LA and got smoked, paparrazi lined our hotel because Brittney Spears was staying there too, didn't see her at all though.

We are back at home to play Houston tomorrow.

Michelle gets in tonight and is staying for the long weekend!

The Fair

I had my annual appearance at the fair last night it was awesome! I posted a few pics below it was at a berry factory. I was in heaven, chocolate covered strawberries, marshmellows, apples you name it. Shari the owner of the booth was so sweet and super cool we could eat whatever we wanted so I had a toffee chocolate covered strawberry and a chocolate and caramel covered apple. Shari also pulled out her wine that she makes and gave us some of that because it goes so well with her chocolate. On top of the free samples she gave us this massive gift basket to go home... it was great! The hour went by super quickly I had some flash backs working the register, made some chocolate covered cheesecakes, berries etc.
I sat out of my second practice today and I put up a picture of my ankle it is pretty right now! I saw the doctor before practice started and I am hoping that it heals and I don't have to worry about it any of this but I am really really tender on the top of my ankle and I could have chipped off some bone spurs that are now floating around in there so if that is the case they would have to open me up and shave them off. Praying for a quick recovery and no surgery!

highs and lows

Well Ben left for home Monday night he was scheduled to leave Sunday but his first flight actually got cancelled so I got an extra day with him.
Yesterday in practice I came down on my ankle pretty badly a few days ago I had come down on it but it was one of the walk it off sprains that hurts a lot for a minute and then the pain goes away. This one was different I sat out the last 15 minutes of practice and in that time I already had a very nice golf ball on the side of my ankle. It is dissapointing because I felt like I was finally playing the way that I used to and with other injuries it looked like I was going to get some playing time so this feels like a set back. In the meantime I am icing and elevating all day long on our day off today and see how it all goes tomorrow, which I assume I will have to watch from the sidelines.
I do have to say it sucks being injured when you live alone, I remember getting ankle sprains at home and not leaving the couch all day except to go pee. Now I have to go cook, grocery shop and do all that the things you take for granted!
I decided to not go overseas until after Christmas I will re evaluate in December and see if I want to go over at all or take a break. Mentally and physically I can't play basketball year round anymore I need breaks!

Weekend off!!

After working our butts off the since the break we were awarded with the weekend off! Friday night Ben and I headed to Raley Field to watch the AAA baseball team it was a good game the Sacramento rivercats won in extra innings. This morning we were off to San Francisco my first time spending a day there since I was drafted! I was dressed and ready to go in the morning when Ben warned me that the temperature was much cooler on hte ocean. I have become so accustomed to 100 temperatures I found myself freezing today! We walked around the fishermans wharf, took a narrated boat tour (so cold and windy) around the bay area and did a little shopping. It is such a big city we certainly didn't see it all but hit some cool spots and had fun. We didn't take too many pictures but here are a few from the boat that we did check out the hair flapping away in the wind.

100+

It is HOT in Sac the last few days have all been over 100. I am so thankful we have air conditioning otherwise I would melt! Practices have been challenging especially because we only have 6 people practicing the rest are battling injuries. I just look at it as I don't have to feel bad about having a little dessert.
Yesterday I went jet skiing for the first time I was a little nervous I had visions of flying off but I had a lot of fun although I prefer not to drive I don't have the handle on that yet. Ben was loving it he now wants to buy jet skis. It was a good way to stay cool hanging out around the river.
I have the pics from Lake Tahoe below

Lake Tahoe

We had a day off yesterday so I headed up to Lake Tahoe for the first time in my 3 years in Sacramento. It was so beautiful, I loved the lake the colors were so amazing it was 3 different shades of blue. We drove almost all around the lake stopped for a picnic. We walked around Heavenly resort it had a bunch of shops and restaurants we also tried our luck at gambling. I don't know why people gamble it sucks, they take away all your money and it is like a tease you think you are doing well because every once in a while they reward you and the noises I do not like it!
I have some pictures of it all but I lost my cable that connects my camera to my computer so I will post them when I get another one. My cell phone charger also is not working so my call with Michelle was disconnected today (the beeping sound was my phone) and it won't charge when I plug it in. A trip to best buy is in order.
Practices have been really hard a lot of sprinting and we have no subs right now which is good in the sense that I am getting in shape but man my legs are feeling it at the end of the day!

sore but getting back into it

Workouts in Sac have been really good, tough but good. The first day back we lifted really heavy so I am still trying to recover from that! Everyone is back in town tomorrow so that will be the first real team practice. Apparently we will only be going two or three days really hard and then a day off. That shouldn't be too bad but it is depressing to think that our next game is not until the 28th. I remember thinking that 4 days off in between games was too many.
Went to see the Dark Knight last night it was a really depressing movie I should have known it was coming when there was not a single movie I wanted to see during the previews. I forgot to say that I went to the drive ins in CT I think they are the best way to watch a movie. Two movies for the price of one, you can bring all the food and drinks you want and you can lay down and relax, I love it!

The last few days we started practice early so I have been reading by the pool for about an hour I think I have my first tan of the summer. I am going to see if I can be dark (for me) by the end of the Olympic break.

I am headed off to the grocery store I miss BCs fresh fruit already!

vacation over

Before leaving BC I had to get mom to pack my bags she is super packer and because I wanted to save 15$ bag fee I decided to use just a carry on. My carry on was so full I thought it would be best if I didn't buy anything but then we went into Boston for a day and I found a really cute pair of pink sneakers that I felt I just had to buy and a t-shirt! Good news is that I actually fit it all into my bag on the way back.
Some things we did:
Went to Boston where we walked around BU campus, walked some of the Freedom Trail, had some great Italian food in the North End, and watched an imax movie about the Grand Canyon. The day went by really fast, my legs were feeling all the walking the next day.
Bens parents took us to Newport R.I. it started off as a fishing village but has seen major influences of every era of American history. Now it is the site of the mansions that rival any mansions in Europe. In the 1920s there was a competition to see who could build the most extravagant summer home they were modeled after the best castles and mansions in Europe.
Saw the church where JFK was married and the home he summered at.
It was a great trip to Connecticut so good to see Ben and his family again his mom could use your prayers.

The next few weeks in Sac will be training and individuals just like pre season college again!!

hiking pics

Mission

Well the countdown is over olympic break has officially began. We lost our last game before the break which was disapointing but 7-1 over the last 8 games is pretty darn good. I actually got to play in the last two games because of injuries to our guards so it was a lot of fun to be in the game again! I drove home right after the Seattle game last night with mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa.
Had a good sleep and made some crepes this morning and visited with Jen. Tried on my bridesmaid dress for the first time now all I need is the shoes! Megs, mom and I went on a hike this morning to teepot hill. I have some pics and will try and post them later. Tonight it's time for some of dads famous bbq veggies and turkey burgers, I have been hearing about it for quite some time now so I am excited to finally try it out myself.
Tomorrow I am going to visit the grandparents and then take a red eye to Connecticut!

visitors and a break

Well the Olympic break is almost here! I am looking forward to my seven days off in the mean time it has been great having some friends and family out to pass the time. Mom and Megs are here with Bec and Wendy so I have introduced them to big spoon which was quite a hit, got pedicures, and hung around the pool.
I am off tomorrow to Seattle and then home for a few days before heading out to CT.

visit to childrens hospital

One of my teammates and I visited the childrens hospital today for a read to achieve appearance. I knew going in that we were going to be reading to a bunch of children at the hospital but it was so sad to see these kids. About 80% of them were burn victims and some were really really bad but these kids were all so great. They were so excited we read a few stories and then took a picture with each of them signed some f the pics and then everyone got a few books, bag, mini basketball, foam hand basically a little goodie bag. We visited a few rooms as well for kids who couldn't make it down because they had just come out of surgery. Appearances like these are great and I wish we did more of them, I also wish I knew Spanish because a lot of the kids spoke only Spanish I really think I should take some language classes.

13 days to go

Alright so I am getting really really excited for the Olympic break it has been SO long since I have been home and while it will be a really short visit I am pumped. Then I get to see Ben and his family as well which is going to be great I am really cramming it all in but hey make the most of your 7 days.
The car is back and running smoothly for the price of 247 keep in mind it would be much cheaper if I didn't have to get it towed one block! Again I am just thankful that the steering wheel didn't stop working while I was driving.
We were in last place but in the last two games moved up to the final playoff spot the West is crazy tight. Everyone on our team seems to be injured, I am doing good just really sore achilles.

I hate cars!

I have decided I don't really ever want to have to own a car. I understand it is inevitable if I live in North America but they suck. It is my goal to postpone buying a car for as long as I can. The little red car that Ben drove down not sure if you remember but the steering wheel didn't really want to turn (right before Ben left for CT). Upon dads recommendation I picked up some power steering fluid from wal mart and let the car sit in it's spot until I had some time to deal with it (side note while sitting there someone drew a massive male reproductive part exploding on the back of my car as well as some little ones all along the side. Thinking about reporting it to the office just to see how they describe it in next months newsletter; my car is not the only victim). Today I had my teammate follow me to the car shop only problem I couldn't find it and wound up pulling into a business park and what do you know the steering that had been difficult throughout was now impossible all the muscle in my arms would not turn this wheel. Thank God it didn't happen while I was driving! I was grumpy and mad at the stupid red car so I just left it there prepared to ditch it (sorry Megs) so when I found my way to the auto shop (1 block away) I was not prepared and had to guess the vehicle model, year and no idea what the license plate was. Thankfully the ladies at the reception were super nice and I did guess both the year and model correctly so they won't know how ignorant I really am. The only concern is that I have not heard back from them left the keys there a few hours ago was hoping they would call back tonight, I will keep you all posted.

There was some good today we had our players association meeting today which means CHECKS!! Basically the teams in the league all have a minimum salary and whatever they don't spend gets divided up and given to all the players in the league. It is always exciting as we have no idea how much it will be for and this year it was 1460 a few hundred more than last year!
I also learned that I can get free health insurance for the rest of my life with workers comp. A lawyer from them came and talked to us today about how we can file for accumulative injuries at the end of our career (as long as we have legit injuries) I think I am in seeing as though the doctor told me that my foot injury will never heal! I was pretty excited about that!

The air is so bad today that as soon as you go outside your eyes are burning.

the new smells of summer...

We just went 0-2 on our Texas road trip not so good. One of our guards Kara was injured and didn't play so I got like 6 minutes in each game and in the first one against SA I hit both of my shots and scored 5 points and afterwards everyone was telling me how well I played. I really couldn't help but laugh as I would never consider this a successful game but I just smiled and thanked people instead! We had our season ticket holders accompany us so we had a get together with them always interesting. Our bus was caught in the parking lot practice facility for about 30 minutes unable to pull out as it was the 4th and all the gates were locked that would enable the bus to pull out. People in Texas really do love America... saw some fantastic t-shirts on the riverwalk wish I had my camera. I didn't see any fireworks though in Houston we stay at the mall so I didn't actually go outside except to board the bus! Nicole and I started power walking around the mall after an appearance with our season ticket holders and she really wanted to go into this metro park store and there was this massive group of people and a whole bunch of police officers and we walked up to the door and were like can we not shop here? All of the sudden a security guard opens the door and says sorry we have a famous soccer player in here but come on in ( the power of a Sacramento Monarchs T) well the famous soccer player was Ronaldo. Pretty cool they shut down the store for him but we were allowed to be in there as well Nicole snuck a picture or two of him.
We got back Saturday after the game and Sunday was a day off so after I went to church and worked out I feel asleep for a few hours only to wake up and go back to bed, so good to have these catch up on my sleep days. Travel wreaks some havoc on your body.

California has had some really bad forest fires this summer and there are some days where I feel like I am back in Salt Lake with the inversion. You can't see the sky and it smells like burning, couple that with 100 weather and I don't really leave my apartment much. The burn from a few weeks ago has humbled me I have officially given up all forms of tanning (although I may have to find some solution for Jens wedding in Sept) for now I am done with all. The smell outside is bad but it is nothing compared to the fresh smell of raid ant killer that permeates my apt. Yes I still have these creatures everytime I think I have gotten rid of them they show up in a new location. The migration pattern began on the carpet moved to the sink on to my bathroom and just today in the laundry/ food pantry. Why they are here I have no idea I don't leave food lying around I really don't have much food to begin with so it is not like my pantry is stocked with open packages there is nothing for them. Last summer it just took one spray they keep coming back this year. Maybe it is time to go to the front office and have the pros give it a shot.
We play tomorrow we are in last place in the West right now but have a four game road swing that could potentially put us in second place. Tensions are higher than normal!!

Happy Canada Day!

Sadly there will be no bbqs or fireworks today for July 1st but we do have a game tonight!
I got a call from the bank today saying that there were some strange purchases on my visa card, I checked it out online and sure enough I had spent around 600$ in Las Vegas on the 28th. Seeing as though I have not been to Vegas in quite some time I had to call and cancel the card and now fill out all the fraud papers when they arrive. Kind of makes me mad not sure how they got my card number. I hope they get caught.
We take off on another road trip tomorrow to San Antonio and Houston.

Just got back from Indiana and Minnesota. Old assistant coach Carolyn came out to Minny it was so great to hang out and catch up after the game. She is the new head coach at North Dakota State and she has a bball court in her basement so I know have to make a trip out to North Dakota just because this was a dream of mine as a child.
When we got back in town Britt was here so we made a little dinner and went to get some frozen yogurt at this new place that is fantastic! It was just like old times Cass came over but unfourtanately I was a bum and fell asleep at 1130 too tired!!
We played last night and an old national teammate came up to the game Cal Bouchard. I hadn't seen her in like 5 years but she is living in San Fran now and extended an invitation to come down and they would give me the tour. I am hoping to take them up on it maybe over olympic break!
TOday is a day off I am still really tired from road trip so just laying low all day.
Our team cut somebody last night this is the craziest business it is always so unnerving. I think that last night was the last day to cut someone so I made it for the year!

boat day

It was another day off today thankfully because we went hard for two days. A lot of sprinting and running again which was good. We watched the Celtics win the championship last night which was pretty cool Ben had the champagne and cigar ready. I made him go outside the cigar smelt really bad! This morning I met with my agent about overseas I am looking for something just until Christmas and then taking a break again. We will see if this actually happens! After that it was off on the boat with Jeff and co. it is so much fun although I am so tired now and I wish I could find my camera cord to show you a picture of my back. Apparently I didn't reapply the sunscreen often enough in the 100 sac weather. Yes my back is a lobster the only place that is burnt. I will have to work on that for next time. It was a great day I am so tired from hanging out in the sun I am ready for bed now. It is movie time Ben is attempting to figure out how our dvd player works why does it have to be so complicated?

back in sac.

Finally back home and no longer sleep deprived. It was a long road trip that began with me finding out hours before our red eye that I was going on the trip (we only travel 11 but carry 13 on roster). The red eye to NY was good I was knocked out somebody had some sleeping pills that were the bodys natural sleep hormone or something I don't know I need to get some for flying because it knocked me out as soon as I sat down until we landed. We had a practice and then I met up with Lei for dinner in teh city it was so hot and humid I was sweating walking down the street and so I was done after dinner and went back to the hotel for bed. THe game the next day was at 4 and we won which was exciting because we played horrible. It was a mini reunion for Dexia I saw Kat who plays for NY and Romi was visiting from Belgium and Jen came up for the game as well. It was so good to see them Jen made a really cool little cd of pics and music brought back some memories. Ben was also out so it was so great to hang out with him again.
The morning after the game we bussed 6 hours to Washington DC and spent a few days there before our next game. Practicing everyday we had practice one day at Maryland I saw our score up there on the memorial to the team...
I went out to dinner with old ass. coach Daron Park.
We beat Washington and a real shocker here I was put in the game with 30 secs left as a defensive stopper yes let that sink in. They needed a 3 and I was the guard they put in I was surprised.
We flew to Minny the next morning for a back to back game and won again so it was a very very good road trip.
Back home in Sac and practiced again as we had LA last night. Ben arrived from Bellingham that night he is here for a week and drove Monty down good to have her back.
Lost to LA last night I didn't play at all.
Went over to teammates house last night to hang out slept until bout 1130 this morning felt so good.
Finally bought a pair of sunglasses and jeans.

I went to see Sex and the City the other night with a bunch of girls on the team and it was pretty good long but good. The next morning was our day off which was great I headed out the mall in the morning in search of sunglasses and jeans and came back home with neither. I got some new shirts but still have to wrap my head around the sunglass prices in the mall here before i make the purchase. I did get paid the other day but 300 seems a little much so for now I will continue wearing my broken ones.
I did get a library card yesterday and I was so excited the library is really small but I have managed to read two books in the last two days.
I arrived at practice this morning and was selected for drug testing!! I had to pee so I thought I was lucky I was in and out and then they brought out a little machine that he put drops of my urine on to test the PH (normally they just use the piece of paper) and I was .5 away a little too hydrated. An hour before practice starts and I am not allowed to drink any more water. There were 6 of us selected and it always happens that when you really really have to go so does everyone else. Of course this happened right before we met for practice I luckily got in after holding it for only 20 minutes. The second time was good although not by much! We had people running in and out of practice the first 30 minutes.

Pay day!

Pay day today it is really sad how much of the money goes to taxes...
After a long road trip we are back home for what feels like another training camp! We have 2 games in 2 weeks. The first game has come and gone and we are now in the home stretch with only 2 more practices before our next game. We have been doing a lot of running 24 seconds down and back twice. I don't really stand a chance at winning these sprints until we have run a few and then the it is like I get fast! I spent a day on the boat with my old strength coach and his family and some otehr people it was pretty funny because the river was really like spring break. Drunk people dancing on the boats in little clothing music bumping. We didn't tie up with any of these boats we were kind of like outcasts with 2 babies on board. It was a toss up with who was more entertaining the babies or the drunk people making fools of themselves. It was so relaxing just to hang out on the river and relax.
I tried to get a library card today but had little success i actually have no proof that I live here so going to have to wait for the supervisor and sweet talk him!
Day off tomorrow I am headed to the mall for the first time since I got out here my sunglasses broke and I need some out here so I will be doing a little shopping.

long road trip

I just got back yesterday from a week long road trip while we played horrible and lost all three games I did get to see my family and Ben and his family so the road trip was not all bad. Our first stop was Seattle and Megs, mom and dad all came in early to shop and visit with me so the night before the game we went out to eat on the water. I really do love the Northwest Seattle is so beautiful! Dad parked about 30 minutes away from the restaurant loving the new health kick the family is on! We had to find me a Barnes and Noble so that I could buy some more books for the long plane rides ahead. At the game there was a lot of people to visit with... Michelle and Erin made it down and I didn't really get any chance to chat with them but it was so good to see them again, Midnight Viper was calling. My old college teammate Julie, Dave and their adorable baby Brooklyn. She was asleep by the time the game ended but she did wake up to wave goodbye. My old university manager was there with a really cool pair of shoes as a present. My aunt and uncle and cousins were all there as well as the Heritage girls bball team that sold 50/50 tickets.
The next stop was Chicago where I caught up with my old college SID Hope it was great to talk with her again catch up.
Connecticut was the last stop I got to see Ben again and his family they had about 20 people there so it was a large group of purple shirts in the arena. We grabbed a drink after the game and tried to forget the basketball play on this 3 game road swing!

I didn't play well on the road pretty disappointing I felt like I had my shot this year and I know I am a better player than what I am showing. I guess just keep working to get better and hopefully I will get another chance.

We are in Sac for the next week and a half or so and today it was back to the basics at practice complete with some running to finish it all off. We even had someone collapse! Fun stuff coach put 24 on the clock and we went down and back 2x we did this numerous times I was feeling it at the end but it is always after a practice like that I feel good.

I can finally buy groceries

Well I made the team today so we have our home opener tomorrow night should be exciting! I will be in Seattle Monday night!!! I have to go start putting together my list for mom and dad!

Waiting game...

So I find out tomorrow if I make the team it has been interesting. I have had a pretty good training camp but we have a lot of guards in camp and not so many bigs. This is a rough part of the the profession never knowing where you stand living life on the bubble, always being prepared for the worst!
We had a meet the monarchs appearance at the mall today and we actually had to do a shooting contest. The guards had to shoot 3 pointers in the middle of the mall with a sport court set up. We were shooting for these cute little kids to win them prizes so of course the pressure was on. I am happy to say I won though although I was for real nervous. Then we signed a bunch of autographs and don't even want to count the number of people who make comments about how I didn't play last year and how much does that suck, will I play this year... I always wonder if they think before they ask. How does one reply to that question besides smiling and laughing. There was also one lady who kept trying to get the shirts off our backs, like we should just walk out in bras! This one lady was really adamant and did not think this request was weird or off the wall.
Hopefully all goes well and I will be in Seattle on Tuesday and Connecticut at the end of next week!

Media day

Sunday was a day off and it was really good except that I was quite bored during the day so I took a trip to Target to kill some time and buy some more books, I really need a library card. At night we got a suite to the Alicia Keys concert, only my second concert ever! She was with Ne yo and Jordin Sparks but I skipped the opening acts to eat dinner and rest and then went for Alicia. The concert wasn't great, her voice is amazing and I love when she plays the piano but for a concert it was a huge arena and I feel it would be best suited for like a bar. She only sang like 5 of her songs and the other songs were like Usher, Prince, so it was weird she wasn't singing her own stuff. She does have an amazing voice though and now I can say I have been to two concerts!

Media day was today which meant an early practice... never good! Media day is always a big production they have someone come in and do our makeup and the locker room is out of control. There are 4 hair dryers going, straightners are plugged in at every outlet. The temperature is about 10 degrees warmer it feels like and our media lady is counting down the minutes until we have to be done. Media day itself is a lot of saying the same thing over and over again, too much smiling and cheesy commercials!

Tanning the other day was an experience I have some streaks obviously I need some practice. I guess I rubbed too hard on some spots I am going to have to ask more questions next time... whenever that will be!

Officially tanned!

Today started early this morning... we had an appearance at the Sacramento race for the cure. There were so many people there it was cool. The monarchs do an appearance there every year but this year we were actually in town so all the players could attend as well. We hung out in one of the expo rooms and had a basket for people to shoot at, arts and crafts, the hip hop crew performed every 20 minutes and we wandered around, mingled, and signed autographs. It was cool to be there... it made the early morning bearable!
After that it was straight to practice where we watched film of our scrimmage against Atlanta from yesterday. Practice wasn't too hard it was a lot of five on five against the guys and since we have so many guards there was a lot of subs.
The most exciting news of the day came when I went to the tanning salon today for my first spray tan... I was really really nervous why I am not sure. I tried to do everything I read about online exfoliate, put on lotion etc. There were a lot of instructions, the placement of hands, elbows in, neck up and top it all off the machine was talking. I thought I was prepared until it started spraying and I felt to clasterphobic I had to calm myself down a little. Apparently you have to wait 4-6 hours for the results so I am hoping that there are no streaks! I will let you all know how it turns out. I am not sure if this will be a forever thing but we do have media day on Monday and people are still making fun of how "white" I am so I thought I would try this out.
As far as the team goes I am really nervous about cuts, people keep telling me I look better than I have ever looked before but it is quite competitive. Nature of this job I guess is you never get to feel too secure.

updates

I had my birthday the other day so after practice there was quite the rendition of happy birthday and some cupcakes to eat... kind of reminded me of elementary school when mom would make cupcakes to bring to school on your birthday. After practice I got all the phone calls from the family... thanks everyone. Although Megs I never knew you got up so early (840) wow working girl. I went out to dinner last night with my old strength coach and wife and baby boy it was really good to see them. They had just had their baby last summer so it was crazy seeing how big he is now such a cutie! Then it was home to bed to get ready for another day.
Todays practice was a lot of fun mostly just 5 on 5 stuff not very much breakdowns which is great. We are scrimmaging Atlanta tomorrow, not a game just in the practice facility but it should be fun. Haynie is back in town with Atlanta so it will be good to see her again.
The ankle is doing good swollen still but don't notice it too much when I play.
A new Office is on tonight so I am about to go cook dinner and have a nap so I can stay up for it!

travel days

The last 3 days really feel like a blur. We left for Florida Sunday morning at 430am we had an hour layover in Salt Lake if only it was a little longer and I could have visited with people. We got into Florida around 5pm and it was so hot and humid I don't know if I can live in a humid place I absolutely hate the feeling of being sticky. It was my first time in Florida and my first impressions beside the heat was that it looked great long stretches of highway running through the ocean so both ways you looked you saw people swimming and boating. We stayed at the Innisbrook it is a golf resort and the owner of the Mystics (team we played) just bought the golf course thus the game in Florida (by the way she bought it for 35 million dollars) the resort was massive. We pulled in and had to get out and check in and then board the bus again to be dropped off at our places. The rooms were all time shares so they all had a different flair most of them not so pretty on the inside. A great set up but with full length mirrors as a wall, plaid and flower couches in the same room and some tacky wall paper we were very happy ot hear that the new owner plans to renovate immediately!

That night I walked to one of the club houses to eat and my first impression of Florida didn't last long. I was eaten alive by bugs, saw about 10 geckos, heard of alligators in the lake areas around our housing, possums and armadillos all roaming around I decided maybe it wasn't for me.

The game was the next day we lost in OT we probably should have won I played okay not great still need to do better. I actually rolled my ankle in the first half I thought I would never really roll it again because I had done it so many times but it went all the way over and I somehow managed to strain the ligaments on the top I don't know why I can't make it through a training camp healthy. We left the next morning after the game at 4am. Since it is a 3 hour difference and it was right after the game most of us only slept about an hour so we were not looking pretty at the airport! The bag rule went into effect for Delta on Monday I am mad that the airlines are doing that. Your second bag will not cost $25. I did find out that since I am a medallion member that I can check 3 bags free though which is good to know since it appears as though all the airlines are turning to this.

We got back to Sac and got in a quick pool workout came home and passed out!

short visit

Ben just left today so I am back to sitting alone in my apt every night... kind of sucks. Ben actually cooked dinner for me every night after practice it was so great coming home so a cooked meal I was very impressed.
We had our first exhibition game at Arco last night I didn't play well, I didn't play horrible either but I still played scared and didn't really settle down. Something to work on for the next game! We leave at 430 am and actually have an hour layover in Salt Lake if only it was a little longer and I could see people. We are headed to Tampa to play Washington in our last pre season game, quite a few of the players won't be traveling with us because of injuries so it will be another chance to get some minutes and keep working on things. People keep asking how I feel this year and I don't really know some days I feel good other days I have no idea so final cuts have to be made by the 17th of May and I guess until then it is a waiting game.
After Ben left today I went to buy some books so that I have something to do on our long flight back East, if anybody has any good recommendations for books to read I am always looking!
I need to head to bed so I can wake up tomorrow morning.

last few days

Vegas has come and gone quickly and it didn't go that well! Our team played horribly no excuses we were not sharp. Started over again today we got three players back in camp today which was nice we as two of them are post players... I got to play a little four in the scrimmages in Vegas. I just have to say that there are some BIG girls out there. I got my neck re adjusted when one of those big girls went up to block my shot (she came down on my head) a little stiff this morning.
The exciting news is that Ben is in town although I feel bad because practices are so long this time of year that I am gone from 10-4. There is not a whole lot to do around my apartment complex so that sucks but it is really nice to come home and he is here!
I tried some self tanning lotion today a little worried about it after slathering myself up I read that it was for medium to dark skin I would classify myself as very white or light skinned. Hopefully I don't wake up streaky but I have a feeling that is going to happen! Hey it will just help me stand out at tryouts!!

Open practice

So today was an open practice in front of the fans. We all had to get introduced and run out of the tunnel, this part I could do without I hate running out of the tunnel by yourself! However the fans would cheer whenever you made a basket and I mean layups, jump shots it didn't mater. I love it though we are working on defensive drills cheering on the D and everyone in the stands is clapping for the offense. That old saying "offense sells tickets" is true! I have to say I could get used to someone clapping everytime you make a shot though what a confidence booster.
Vegas tomorrow and the day after we get back Ben will be here! To pass the time there are playoffs for hockey and basketball and just for tonight a cutting edge marathon yes there is more than 1, there are in fact 3 although they maybe should have stopped at the first!

a little bored in sac town

Well I have the internet in my apartment! For the second time since I moved into the apartments someone has come into my place while I am at practice and replaced things (couch and modem)! Not sure how secure that makes me feel I guess that is the upside to living out of two bags you don't really have to ever worry about losing things you really care about!
Training camp has been up and down I have had good days and not as good days. The biggest thing of it all is mental for me so just trying to keep on growing up in that area it is always a struggle for me! Training camp is competitive this year, so just trying to do my thing! Good news is that the soreness is gone and my legs are back under me after a day off today. I went and got a massage to try and help a sore groin and got into a cold tub again. I also saw another dentist and I guess the diagnosis is to try using sensitive toothpaste.
I really have been conserving my energy not doing too much the only place besides arco and the grocery store was a trip to Target for some books and other random purchases. I say this every year but I really need a library card out here.
We head out to Vegas on Sunday for a mini controlled scrimmage against Houston and Detroit.
Ben is coming for a quick visit on Tuesday morning... can't wait to see him again!

First day down!

First day of training camp down. It went alright there was definetly more running than last year! Boy am I glad I worked out hard on my own not to mention at altitude. I was really nervous before camp started but they slowly eased away as time went on. We have about 7 new players in camp so there was some teaching and I am very glad I came in early and got the stuff down before camp began. The soreness from new lifts has also subsided which is always helpful.
Not much else to say about Sac. I have been hanging out at the apt resting in my down time. I did bite off good chunks of my tongue on both sides today at practice I got hit and somehow my tongue was caught between my mouthguard and bottom teeth. I thought it was supposed to heal fast but it is still hurting when I talk and eat. Still working on the internet so the posts will remain short and sweet!

another dentist

Well I spent about 40 minutes on the phone in the last two days trying to figure out my internet good news is that I am not stupid they have to re-configure something so I am supposed to wait and will receive a call sometime tomorrow maybe! I picked up a slight connection in my apt so I haven't moved my computer and am trying to take advantage of this!
Things are still going well my body is still adapting to the new weight workout (translation I am still reallly really sore) but hopefully by Friday I will be good! The new strength coach we have is good I have been wearing a heart rate monitor for workouts kind of neat to see how hard you are working. I think it will really help me as I always worry that I am out of shape and this will tell me if I need to do a little extra cardio one day or if I am good.
Physicals were today for me and good news I passed. They just came in and asked if anything hurt no, asked about the foot and examined it. The doctor told me it was not ever going to get better while I am playing but once I am done it should be okay. THen he asked if I could make it through the season with it I said yes and that was that. We have to draw some blood and give a urine sample. I held my pee for about an hour this morning because last year it took me forever to have to go pee I was prepared this year but it was a relief to be given the cup. Today I snuck in to see the dentist as well right after my workout. He took an x-ray and my teeth all look fine but there was a dark cloud above my tooth which he said could be mucous builidup (I realize this is digusting). Then he took out the air thing and started spraying cold air into my teeth and remarked at how violent a reaction it was when this water hit my spot. I have now been refered to a tooth specialist to see if he can give me a diagnosis and treatment! I have to call and set up the appointment time.
I am off for an appearance tonight and have to figure out which car I can take... I really need a bike!

Internet seems to fail me

Hey all so I made it to Sac safe and sound. For some reason I can't get my internet set up here... seems as though we are starting a trend! Anyways things are good I am really really sore as I lifted with the new strength coach the other day and it was a good workout but a few of the lifts I hadn't done since college. Despite emerging my whole body in the cold tub I woke up this morning and rolled over wincing in pain! I have had two workouts with coach and Ticha in which have been really good to get in early and set up. The new apt is nice a lot like the ones from the last two years maybe a tiny bit bigger. I am on the first floor so no stairs and the pool is right outside my balcony *good for visitors*.
Alright my time is about to run out I signed up for some wireless free 15 minute service thing that I could use as long as I watched some ad. HOpefully I will have it figured out and be able to get a little more in depth!

I hate packing!

Well I started packing again today and it sucks! I hate moving and cramming everything into two bags every few months. I guess it goes with the job so what can you do. Ben and I went up to Park City the other day to eat some dinner and walk around a little, I absolutely love the utah mountains they are amazing. I am going to miss them in Sac. It was a good dinner with Lans and one of her friends.
I had my lesson today with the little girl from the gym and she was really sweet and actually pretty good! Her grandpa had told her of the tennis ball drills and she had already practiced them. Her family was there and they were videotaping so she would have it for future reference. Now this story is somewhat embarassing but totally something that would happen to me. She was doing some tenns ball drills and dropped the tennis ball and I turned ot run next thing I know my ankle has rolled over and I am falling down to the ground! Ahh not good worst part all captured on film, it all happened so fast I was laughing can't even remember if I said something or not I certainly didnt look at the camera after it. I guess maybe I will never outgrow the klutz stage I thought I was doing so well lately...stupid ankles. I think that I should probably consider taping or bracing this summer now.
I have to get back to packing, finish it all up. Tomorrow just hanging out with Ben won't see him again until end of May which sucks. I leave Tuesday morning to get a few workouts in before camp starts. I guess we have new apartements this year no more Medicci I will update you all once I get to Sac.

Headed back to Sac!

Hey so the draft has come and gone and it appears as though I am staying in Sac. I didn't know if I was going to be traded or anything just because I don't have my plane ticket yet and I am heading out on the 15th! I am looking forward to this year while my foot isn't 100% (I don't think it ever will be again) I can play through it. I have been working lots on my shooting just trying to be more consistent and it has been feeling really good. It is pretty funny since I work out at the rec. center by the house I am staying at I have been getting a lot of people coming up and asking me where I play. There is an indoor track on top of court so people can watch you shoot while they work out. Today I had a grandfather who saw me doing my tennis ball dribbling and the other day he watched me shoot so he came down to talk with me again and asked if I did personal lessons or clinics. I said I wouldn't mind doing some and so he asked if I had some time before I left because his grandaughter loves to play and these skills would be really great for her. I said I could help her out (I am there everyday anyways) this Sunday I will be helping her out! Then he asked me what my rate was I just laughed I said well I really haven't done this before... he said he would figure out a fair rate, it really doesn't matter that much to me!

Besides meeting all sorts of new people at the rec center I have been playing a few games of pick up a week. The first pick up game was frightening I felt like my lungs were bleeding and was officially out of comission the rest of the day (we played at 1230) I may have been dehydrated and a little altitude sickness but I am happy to report that two days later we played again and all was good! I was totally fine, feeling healthy and in shape... thank goodness.

spring break and neti treatments!

Alright so I know there has been lots of time in between posts but I really don't have all that much going on right now! Still the same schedule, although last week was spring break for kids around Salt Lake this resulted in mass chaos at the gym! For many parents around this area a cheap, perhaps free if you are a member day care service is to drop your child off before you go to work and pick them up on your way home. Yes this really happens there was about 25 boys aged 8-14 running crazy around the gym. It was so packed one day that I actually had a shooting contest with a ten year old boy for a hoop! Did I feel bad... a little but he was really cocky and thought he could win so at the end of the day I put him in his place and got my own hoop. The next day Ben adn I headed up to the U to shoot in tranquility it was a very nice change!
I am happy to report that spring break is now over and the gym is all mine again.
The U girls got a really bad and not warranted 8 seed at the tourney and got knocked out on Easter. It was sad, March is the best time of year for basketball but it sucks when it all comes to an end as it did for them.

In other news my "sinus infection" (placed in quotations because who knows what is going on anymore) is still there after a round of amoxicillin. I am not sure if the Belgium dentist missed something or the fact that I have had it for 5 months means it will be stubborn to try and get rid of. In attempt to finally rid myself of this I headed to the health food store for a Neti Pot. I had heard some great things about this contraption from nurses and doctors so I thought what do I have to lose. I dragged Ben to Wild Oats and we had 2 people come up and tell us how wonderful these things were so 20$ later we headed home to see what kind of miracle this neti pot could work for me. The pic is down below and basically you stick it in one nostril and water goes all up and through your sinuses and comes out the other nostril. The first time I looked at the pic and tried to figure it out after 3 failed attempts in which I really felt like I was drowning I pulled up you tube. It is crazy how many people post videos on that thing but anyways it was a sucess I watched a few of htem and got the technique down the first time it took a while for the water to go through (maybe indicating an infection). I have been using it everyday now and quite like it I am thinking it will be fantastic after travelling and supposedly you don't get sick as much. Although it has not fared much better than the antibiotics in curing this tooth thing. Perhaps I will head to the dentist one of these days and see if he can figure it all out.

After a week of wonderful spring weather winter is back in Salt Lake I woke up to a dusing of snow this morning and was not all that happy about it!

Masters of Surprises!

This past weekend the Smith girls all met up in Calgary to celebrate mom's 50th a few weeks early! It was early because we all knew we could go that weekend and this way she would have no idea what was happening. I flew in Friday morning and thought it was rough because Ben had to drop me off before work so I had a few hours to kill in Salt Lake but Megs took the bus from Lloyd! Crazy girl I guess thats what happens when you live in the middle of nowhere but it took I think 8 hours or something like that so she was on teh bus around 2am! Michelle picked us both up and she had go back to work so Megs and I went to the outdoor courts with the intentions of shooting a little... bad idea first off Calgary is cold secondly it was really windy. We would shoot a regular shot and sometimes it wouldn't even touch the rim it would be pushed so far the left. Instead we ran some shuttles on the court with a few free throws inbetween. That night it was surprise time we decided it would be best to pick her up at the airport with all 3 of us. We got to the airport early so just waited sitting down and looking at the board which still said her flight hadn't arrived. All of the sudden I turn around and there is mom she somehow managed ot surprise us darn it! We still unvelied the beautiful sign Megs made and took some airport pics. Off to the house where we watched some movies and headed to bed. The next morning wake up call came real early for me it was off to Saturday morning spin class. We were home and showered from the gym around the time I am normally waking up I tell you what Saturday was a really long day! We made some crepes from Cooking Light and enjoyed a relaxing morning. At 2 we had a spa appt we all got massages and we got mom a facial as well. Took a little nap at the spa while waiting for mom and then we got some more movies and had some dinner. The next day everyone took off a little close encounter with Megs as we got really turned around trying to find the bus depot. After quite a few wrong turns and a couple of illegal U-turns we made it, with 6 minutes to spare before her bus left! I left later that night so it was a quick weekend but a lot of fun!

I am back to training in Salt Lake now hanging out with Ben. Hem and I are having a little baking day today for Easter!

adventures skiing!

I am back into my daily routine of the rec center! I finally kicked the sickness I think I may have been cured when I went skiing the other day. Alta has this ski free after 3 so Ben took me up there sporting almost all of Bens ski clothes (minus my jacket) I felt like a little kid all over again. He told me how to dress from the socks to the 10 layers I had on... if only he had reminded me you are supposed to go to the bathroom before you get all dressed! I had so much fun skiing again, it wasn't a great day out the snow was blowing in some spots and quite cold but it is so pretty up there and I had a blast! I really thought I was going to be terrified as the adrenaline was pumping before hand I felt like I was about to play a game thinking I was going to forget everything but it all came back pretty quick and before you knew it we were skiing hte black diamond! Okay so for Alta skiers this is not steep at all I mean it was a black diamon on the beginners chair lift however I can still brag about it! The plan is to go for a half day now when it is clear and gorgeous and go up to the top of the mountain to get hte full view of Salt Lake! I only wish basketball training had more to do with skiing as it was a whole lot more fun that working out on the elliptical.

I am getting my butt kicked trying to get back in shape I have to say I hate this feeling of not being at the top of my game but it is best for me in the long run so I guess I just have to suck it up... I could be playing on cement floors in Belgium so count your blessings I guess!

I tihnk my sinus infection is going away... I am too afraid to really test it (this means drinking or eating something cold on the other side of my mouth causing horrific pain) but if it accidentally happens the pain appears to be less. Hopefully this means that in another week or so I will be free from this... finally!

pics

I am posting some random pics of of overseas because I said I would. There is a a few of the girls on my team and I in front of the Eiffel tower, my team in the Red Square in Moscow, my parents in the Grand Place Brussels, Tyne Cot cemetry in Flanders Fields, crazy tractor day in Namur, Michelle and I in Dinant, Michelle, Jen and I at castle in Ghent, teammate Jen and I in Antwerp (note it is New Years day and those are all alcohol huts behind us many people still in previous night attire at 2 in the afternoon)!

Feeling a little better today haven't been this sick in quite a few years hopefully I will be better tomorrow! Went to the girls game tonight against Wyo, they won clinching the MWC title! It was like a mini reunion at the game a lot of fun. I got to see Jules and her adorable baby who isn't really a baby anymore Brooklyn, such a cutie can't wait to get together and play with her some more!

Winter is back out here I was enjoying the sun but the mountains are so beautiful here when it snows.