One-hand Wonder

If you haven't experienced it yet, let me tell you that you do A LOT with your left hand. Seriously, try to put your hair into a ponytail with one hand, button a pair of pants, zip up your jacket; you can't can you? That's what I've had to learn since I broke my hand two weeks and three days ago on December 29th during our game against Rhode Island (this is what happens when I go for loose balls...). It was pretty poor timing, being in the middle of the season right before league play, but it definitely could have been worse and I will thankfully be able to play again this season. Quite a blessing if you ask me.

I decided to document my progress here through pictures because I think they are much more fun...


12-29-11
My hand right after the injury- I thought I just jammed it bad or dislocated it at worst, and kept playing; no way it could be broken...


12-30-11
...I was wrong. Fracture of the left third metacarpal :/


12-30-11
Surgery scheduled for the next day- had an awesome nurse named Karen who insisted a take a picture with my stylish outfit


12-31-11
My amazing teammates were so good to me as usual-so much love, flowers, gifts, candy, and cards.


12-31-11
They wrote all over my arm and asked me at least 10 times that it was indeed the LEFT hand they were operating on. I guess I'd rather have them ask before rather than after surgery!


12-31-11
Drugged up and nauseous in my little sling..not the best way to spend New Years Eve but my teammates kept me company!


12-31-11
Hilary brightened up my cast a bit :)


1-2-12
Because I got surgery, I was able to get my cast off a lot quicker than usual (good thing too; I was already tired of that thing!). Had a nice Frankenstein hand waiting for me


1-3-12
Sausage fingers!


1-4-12
Stylish new splint that I get to wear for the next few weeks




1-8-12
Stitches out! Not too bad of a scar considering I had 7 stitches...pretty discolored and fat still!


1-8-12


1-12-12
Now you can hardly tell I broke it! Pretty amazing recovery-I definitely had some help from above!

I have learned so much from this experience already. Let me tell you, it is no fun to sit out. I have been so lucky in my basketball career to have never missed a game in high school or college until this point, and thank goodness because it's hard! I've only been out for a little over two weeks and I feel like it's been two years. This injury has really renewed my love for basketball and make me value it a lot more; all I want to do is to have full strength in my hand and just go out there and play! If only I lived in Harry Potter's world and could drink some Skele-grow and be back at it the next day...

Although I would never wish for something like this to happen, I am grateful that it did. I've almost come to see it as a blessing in disguise. So many things went right it was clear I was being watched over: it could have been a knee, it could have been my right hand...if I HAD to have an injury right now, this was definitely a good one to have. My bishop from my church also just happened to be at the game on that day(the first one he has been to), and he was able to give me a Priesthood blessing that same night. He blessed me with strength to get through this trial and a quick recovery, and it was so comforting to be able to get a blessing right away. It was pretty humbling and clear to me that Heavenly Father was watching over me and would be there every step of the way.

This experience has also helped me to see just how many people I have in my life that love and support me. Like I said, my bishop was at the game and he and his wife came up to me afterwards and asked if there was anything they could do for me or anything I needed. I thought about it and then said: thank you so much, but I have 14 girls in there that will help me with anything I need. I hadn't thought about it like that before but it is so true! I have so so so many people around me to help me through life during its ups and downs, and sometimes trials are the best ways to remind us of all we have. Seeing all of these wonderful people around me and being able to count my blessings really took my mind off the negativity of the injury itself, and allowed me to gain something positive out of the experience.

So, although trials are not very fun and I've really had to put a lot of work into physical therapy, keep my body in shape, and practice a lot of patience while my team enters league play without me, I've come to know that they are necessary for our progression. This has increased my faith so much and helped me to put more trust in the Lord, knowing that, in the end, everything will be alright!

Day trip #3: Brussels!

So yesterday was the last day of my first weekend extravaganza in Europe and we had a very nice day! Emily and I went into Brussels for the day to explore and see all the sites that I don't get to go see when I go into work every day. And, of course, lots of delicious food was involved! I apologize for this essentially being a food blog-it's rather disgusting but the food here is just so amazing that it needs to be talked about. Last night one of my roommates, Amy, was going through her photos from the trip and I heard from upstairs: "this is disturbing. EVERY picture of me has food in it. I'm either eating food or standing with it in my hand...did I do anything else??...oh look there's me with a waffle....op there I am eating chocolate fondue!" It is unfortunately true. Hopefully the walking and trips to the gym will help counteract it-if not, we should live it up while we can and go on a detox back in America! So worth it.

Anywho, Emily and I got into Brussels about 1 (had to sleep at least ONE day this week) and had lunch in the gorgeous Grand Place. If you haven't noticed by now, every city in Europe has one big beautiful square that everyone sits in and enjoys a cafe latte or a nice meal outside. It's quite lovely. I hadn't gotten a fresh waffle from a restaurant yet and they had some delicious ones on the menu, so I caved and had to get one. Great decision. Then we finished our meal, snapped some pics in the square and went down to see Mannequin Pis, the little peeing boy statue that is very famous in Beligum-they stick him on postcards, dress him up, it's a lot of fun. Growing up I also remember playing with a little knife that had him on the handle that was my grandpa's that he got in WWII in Belgium so there's a personal connection there too. I was going to see that little boy pee no matter what!

On the way, we passed all kinds of cute little shops that sold Belgian lace that they are famous for (it's all over there darn windows), little trinkets/magnets, and rows of chocolate shops with free samples! Yum. But then, then we saw the most wonderful waffle shop in the world. I was floored at the delicious little boats they filled with a warm waffle topped with strawberries, bananas, chocolate, jam, or any topping of your choosing. Emily turned to look at me with a "well we have to get that" grin and I just said I can't! I can't possibly have TWO waffles in the span of an hour! Turns out I can. And I did. I'm ashamed to say it but don't worry I didn't eat dinner AND went running/did P90X abb ribber so I probably worked off, oh, 1/4 of the waffle calories. Fair trade. That thing was the most delicious thing I've ever had though. Waffle paradise. I'm kind of proud to say I had TWO Belgian waffles, in Brussels, in an hour :)

After we got our waffles we were walking along and I see this gray fountain area to my left that barely catches my eye. I turn and after squinting my eyes I can just make out a little boy statue peeing into a fountain. The darn Mannequin Pis that I was so happy to see was about the size of a cabbage patch kid. Talk about anti-climatic. Emily looked at me and said THAT'S what you wanted to see?? We got a good laugh out of it and I still insisted on taking a pic with the little man though and even his larger cartoon counterpart at the waffle place. We spent the rest of our time strolling through the park outside the Royal Palace and enjoying the sunny weather! Great times in Brussels!

View from our lovely lunch spot in Grand Place

Waffle #1 of the hour

(words cannot properly describe the deliciousness so I must leave it blank)

Mannequin Pis and our waffles just chilling...nbd

And there he is ladies and gentlemen! The no-bigger-than-a-cabbage-patch-kid most mischievous little peeing boy in Europe! Good times

Such a wonderful weekend that I'm sure will be matched by Paris next weekend! Five of us are staying in one of the girl's aunt's APARTMENT IN PARIS!! SOOO excited for that. Yay Europe! Love you all! au revoir!

Real Life Fairytale

Was anyone else as fascinated by the Royal Wedding as I was? I haven't been able to stop thinking about it for days! My mom has always been in to the celebrity gossip scene and I enjoy hearing about who's dating who and staying in the loop, but never like this. I will be the first to admit I'm obsessed. But I'm totally ok with it because they are just so adorable. Any human with a heart has to let out a sigh and a smile when they see a real-life prince and princess get into a horse-drawn carriage and happily wave as they head back to the palace.

Unlike a lot of people though, I woke up at 5am to watch the wedding live.Now in 20 years when the world looks back on the wedding and reminisces about this time in history I will be able to tell my kids that I experienced every second of it LIVE! Kind of a cool little tid bit of history that I was apart of. I wanted to experience it with the world: ohh when Kate exited the hotel and desperately try to see who made the dress, ahhh when William saw her for the first time at the alter, and giddily await the first kiss. And let me tell you it was worth it. Maybe it was early morning grogginess or overwatery tear ducts, but I literally sat on the couch with one hand over my heart, the other wiping away occasional tears, and my head slightly tilted with a blissful smile on my face. I really am my mother's daughter.

My favorite part of the whole thing was that the two just looked so darn in love! William couldn't stop putting that goofy smile on his face whenever he would look and Kate and she was positively glowing. She was one of the prettiest brides I have ever seen and represented a princess in every sense of the word. It was magical! So, it's safe to say that I truly am a royal nerd (I stayed up to watch the royal wedding special later that night and proceeded to watch highlights all the next day) but I'm alright with it. Those British folk are just awesome- the royals, harry potter, david beckham, love actually...doesn't get much better than that. Cheerio!

No regrets, just love

I think when your body is overwhelmed with too many emotions all at once, they start to void each other; they cancel themselves out. Then you get to a place where you just don't know what to think or how to describe this emotion, because you kind of feel nothing. That's where I am right now. I still haven't come to accept that what just happened actually just happened, and this might be my main problem, but it just doesn't feel, REAL. I just went on the rockiest roller coaster of my life that involved nerves, excitement, anticipation, joy, panic, anxiety, disbelief, and then, just to end with a bang, a sucker punch of sadness. With all these feelings in my heart, my mind just couldn't take them all in, so right now I kind of just am. 

One thing you can feel in a time like this though is love. That's one feeling that can trump the rest and squeeze through when you need it most. It wasn't supposed to happen like that. It wasn't supposed to end this way. We weren't supposed to face this surprise ending. But it did and we are. And you know what, as much as it may hurt/sting/disgust/torment, I'm happy I did it. I love my life and these girls I get to share it with. No matter what the outcome of this game or season, this group of girls was special and I consider this year a HUGE success. Why? Because I came to love 15 other girls more than I ever imagined and had the best year of my life. This was a special group that knew how to have an amazing time and they will always have a special place in my heart.

So maybe it didn't end the way we planned, but it may have brought us even closer together; crying, hugging, and loving have a way of doing that. This was a special year, and one that I will never forget. 

Take me to that old familiar place
Take me to memories we won’t erase
Take me to all that we had
Good and the bad

I’ll never forget you
I’ll never let you go
I’ll never forget you
I’ll always remember, I hope you know

Love actually is all around

What is love? This has been the pressing question on one of my teammate's mind recently and a question that I wanted to find an answer to. Although I have never experienced love in a relationship before (sigh), I have indeed felt its presence in many forms. And because, as a human, I have the capacity to love another in the highest form, I think that also gives me the ability to imagine it and the right to write about it. Also, after watching Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility and still finding myself trapped in 17th century England with British accents lingering in my head, it only seems fitting.

Love is the most mysterious of things because it doesn't seem controllable; it is something that springs up out of the corners of our hearts and soon takes over our entire body in a much too short amount of time. Is this meant to happen? Are we perhaps being told by some greater force that we are to love a certain person even if there is no rational reason for doing so? This idea troubles me for the simple fact that sometimes love is anything but the positive emotion contained within its definition. Sometimes (a lot of the time), love is hard. Love can hurt. Love can bruise. Love can torment. Why?? Why is the deepest emotion contained within the human heart allowed to hurt and uplift all at the same time? I just can't fathom how this can possibly be the case or how this is at all fair.

Then it dawned on me. Love can surely hurt and sting, but it might still be able to keep its good name. I started reading My Spiritual Journey, a semi autobiography on the current Dalai Lama (it was an amazing experience and a wonderful life decision by the way, one I will have to elaborate on in another day) and learned about love in its simplest, purest form. One main point the Dalai Lama made was that in life the most important lessons we learn and our greatest stages of growth are often found in times of hardships. Our friends - if they are indeed true friends - surely do not provide us hardships and therefore can not be counted on to help us in this area. But our enemies, they do a WONDERFUL job of testing us, hurting us, and throwing curveballs our way; and for this, we should love them. They are the ones who make us question who we are, what we stand for, and what we want to become. They are the ones who give us the greatest opportunities for growth, and we should not show any anger or hostility towards them, but rather love them all the more for this.

If this is indeed the case, that we grow the most from hardships and trying situations, well maybe then that is why love is sometimes hard, a struggle even. It would only make sense that the deepest emotion found within human hearts, an emotion that can take us to the highest of highs and the lowest of loves, would have the greatest potential to help us change for the better. When we are forced to wander through the deep valleys of a lost, unfound, or unrequited love, we walk a path that leads to personal insights and a deeper connection with the pure human being inside of us all. The human being that in its most basic form yearns for happiness. When we get to this most basic state, we feel a greater connection with ourselves, and the people around us who are all looking for the same thing. This in turn harvests a deeper love for those around us or the sole person who walked the path beside us.

Love, then, is one great eternal round. Something that goes through cycles of good and bad in a resounding rhythm that keeps the world spinning. Something that has the ability to bring the best out of anyone it touches and inspire them to do more for those around them. Something that enhances every other emotion and cuts to the very core of the human heart. Love is something that we should all look to find and harvest in our own lives for it is indeed the beginning and the end of human existence. Love is the fuel of life.