Ketchup Time

It's been too long and I have missed you all...so it's time to catch up!  My play on words title was inspired by my 1st grader niece Gwenny who is learning how to write, read, and spell.  It just makes you stop and realize how many words we have that sound the same but are spelled differently...pretty confusing for a 6 year old!

Anyway...I haven't blogged forever, so here I go! 

Happy New Year to all of you, I hope it has started out with a bang!  We are one month in so I hope all of your resolutions are still in play ;)  Tony and I rang in 2012 with the team at one of the trainer's houses.  We had a great time, and sent our lantern flying at midnight!  This year everyone let off those paper lanterns that you see in the movie Tangled...and it was an amazing sight.  There were hundreds floating in the sky!  It was a great night, and we are looking forward to what 2012 has in store.

The girls!

Our 2012 Lantern!

Happy New Year!!





The month of January flew by, with my birthday, and a two week trip home for me!  The team made the Italian cup which will be played next weekend in Torino, and they are currently in 8th place in league (out of 17 teams).  Everything has stayed pretty normal here on the island except for the current snow that is still on the ground!  They never get snow here, so yesterday was SUPER quiet around here, and I am pretty sure everything was closed.  One of the downers of living in an apartment is not having a yard or grass to go play in.  Oh well..it is melting today and I hope it warms up before my Brother and Ashley arrive in two weeks!

Birthday outing for my two favs!

Birthday dinner!

Snow in Sassari...this is SO rare.

My trip home was the highlight of the month for me...I just love going home and seeing everyone and spending time with family.  This time I arrived a day late (due to a cancelled flight in Atlanta) to snow and icy conditions.  Not too mention the power was out at my parents...and stayed out for 5 days!  Thank the Lord for my sister Sara who had power...so we all snuggled as a fam there and enjoyed the cold conditions together.  Nothing like a slumber party in Gwenny's room to catch up on all the first grade happenings ;)

The best thing about home was a surprise birthday weekend that my sisters planned!!  Kristin flew in for 24 hours to surprise me and then they had booked a Seattle hotel for us to stay in.  I got to spend the day in Seattle with Kristin and my Mom, and then Sara came up and we met my cousin Lisa for a little happy hour....little did I know, another surprise came later, when Beth, Jessie, Katie, and Michelle showed up to join the party!!  It was SOOO much fun, we be-bopped all around Seattle and definitely made the most of our time together!  Best birthday ever that is for sure!  Thanks girsls :) 




Sisters :)



The surprise group!

Michelle, Jessie, and Lisa

So many great times...here are a few pics of things that happened at home:

My Dad (on the right) getting inducted for the 2nd time to the EHS Hall of Fame...Congrats to the 1969 team!

Meeting Blakely Biege for the fist time!

Can't get enough sister time!



Nephew Brody and I enjoying a little Starbucks :)

SO many more things went on at home and I think I fit in as much as possible.  I slept for two days after I got back here :)  But happy to be back with Tony and back in our little routine! 

Until next time...CIAO TUTTI!!

A Christmas of Peace and Joy

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!  I know I am a little late for wishing Merry Christmas but I sure hope it was true for you and your families.  This year as you know, we were here for Christmas and it was quite wonderful.

But before I get to Christmas, a very exciting thing that happened was that one of the fellow wives here, Gini Diener, who I have mentioned before had her baby boy Louis Antonio on December 23rd at noon exactly!  It was such a sweet Christmas miracle and he was so cute and perfect.  I went to see him right after he was born and he was so adorable.  Gini did amazing during labor, she really was a trooper all the way through her whole pregnancy, I hope I can do that well someday!  She was truly an inspiration of staying positive and being strong even in not so perect conditions.  Later on that same day I went back with Ro while the guys were at practice.  It was so much fun to just hold him and witness God's amazing gift of life.  But one of the best things was to watch Gini look at him and just light up with joy.  I don't know yet what that will be like, but it sure seems magical.  Louis is home now and doing really well, I see him pretty much everyday and love every minute.

Louis Antonio Diener 7 pounds and 3 ounces and 21 inches long.

Tony is such a natural with babies.

Louis and his little red Christmas outfit...so precious!

Christmas here was very peaceful.  That morning we opened presents, ate a Christmas breakfast, and then just relaxed together until Tony had to go to practice.  After practice we had dinner at Travis and Ro Diener's house, they were so nice to have us over, and even though there was only four of us, it made it really feel like Christmas to be with friends.  The Dieners (Trav and Ro) have been so much fun getting to know, and it feels like we have been friends forever...we almost even went caroling, but saved the neighbors at the last minute ;)  The team also hosted a dinner earlier in the week to celebrate which was very nice, and great to be all together. 

The Dinamo girls :)

Merry Christmas!

The American table...

The day after Christmas was another festive day, since the Dieners had made it home safe and sound with baby Louis, we had a big Christmas dinner with all six of us.  The food was amazing (thanks to Ro's cooking...I learn a lot from her), and the friends even better. 

Christmas dinner with the Dieners (yes both couples are Dieners, the boys are cousins)!

Look at Tony's hair in this one...I think it is the longest ever!!

Like I said it was truly a Christmas of peace and joy.

The team had a game on the 27th and lost, but now will have 5 more games in the span of 2 weeks!  Game night tonight against Pesaro and then they head out of town Monday for a road game.   UPDATE:  The team BEAT Pesaro...way to go Dinamo.

Looking forward to a fun New Years eve tomorrow night with the team...and welcoming 2012!!

CIAO TUTTI!!

Being a Stranger in your own home.

SO back again to living in an apartment that is fully furnished and everything we have is not ours.  It is kind of a funny concept if you really think about it.  We just show up here or any city we have played in and we move into a place that has totally random things that someone else has picked out and put together. But this season we have lucked out for the most part and uur apartment is nice and everything in it is new, so no complaining here.  But I must admit at times I dream about un-packing our wedding gifts that have been boxed for over three years and getting to pick out my own furniture, decorations, paint colors, etc.  It is just funny feeling over here of being a stranger in your "own" home.

For now here are a few pics of our 2011-2012 digs:

Living room

My Bathroom

Master Bedroom...do you like the tree stickers on the closet?

Spare Bedroom/Laundry drying room that has a secret bed sytem which is quite nifty.

Our brand new kitchen...what a treat :)



Our view from our balcony.  The sunsets right over that hill, so pretty at night.

Sweet ride...love having an automatic.

So there is a quick over view of our home away from home...if that is what you can call it?  Tony's team just beat Varese at home to move them into 7th place as of now.  The team looked great and we had a fun time at Tony's Pizza after the game.  This week they head to Treviso to play on Saturday for a TV game.  I am expecting some more fun times with the wives. 

CIAO TUTTI!!

Summer Sweetness straight to Winter Wonderland

I honestly can hardly believe that we are already back in Italy for another season of bball.  This year started a little bit differently for us, but we have landed back in Sassari on the island of Sardegna.  This is the team Tony played for two years ago when they won the championship to move up to Lega A.  The team is still in Lega A and right in the middle of the pack as of now. The season is well under way and again...can't believe it is already December!  I feel like we skipped from summer to winter in a blink of an eye.

SO since I haven't blogged in forever, I have to give a run down of our extra long summer at home.  It was busy as usual...so here we go:

-10 Weddings including my cousin Chris to Gracie, and Tony's cousin Nicole to Joe.  All of the weddings were extremely fun, and Tony and I were able so see so many family and friends which is always the best.

-Trips to California, Nashville, Las Vegas, Ocean Shores and about 5 trips to lake Chelan :)

-Working for me, house flipping for Tony, and a lot of bball workouts for us both (well OK just rebounding for me)

-We got to meet our new nephew Mason who joined the now Schmidt family of five.

-Lake days at my parents house with lots of swimming, tubing, volleyball and of course family&friends&food.

Here is a glimpse of our summer in pictures...

Our Nephew Brody...such a stud muffin!

Disneyland 2011

The family at our favorite spot, La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs.

Sara, Ashley, and I enjoying the Disneywalk.

The first gal we see in Disneyland, she is always so funny!

The night Liz told us she was prego!
Blakely Ann was born November 23rd, and she was perfect!

At Tony's Grandparents 60th wedding anniversary surprise party.
Had to document Tony's summer choice of facial hair too.  

Celebrated our 3rd Anniversary!! 

Celebrating at Joseph Magley's wedding!

Tony surprised me for our Anniversary, with dinner at Palisades and a night at the 5th Avenue  that was playing Aladdin!
Loved it!

Great friends who I miss dearly, Beth and Jessie!  Enjoying Brooke McCully's wedding!

Nashville where I surprised my Sister Kristin...whoop!

Our darling Nieces Taya, and Hadley up in Seattle for a visit!

The newest Schmidt family member Mason!  He is SO cute...love him!

The day after Nicole and Joe's wedding...such an incredible event!

At Krystal Mattich's wedding, here is a shot of a good portion of the supper club kids!

My Love

My niece Gwenny's first day of 1st grade!

The Gondola ride up at Crystal.  SO cool, but want to go back on a sunny day.

Congrats Yuen's, what a beautiful wedding!

Waiting for the Tower of Terror :)

Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary to two very amazing people.
Tony's Grandma and Grandpa Binetti

Congrats to Lance (my B-I-L) and Kevin for getting hired on at the Enumclaw  Fire  Department.

Wedding shower for our cousin Chris...here with the Miller girls :)

Our badges were awesome in Nashville...so was our hotel the Grand Ole Opry .

Goodness gracious....this summer was a blast!!

We ended up signing a little bit later then normal, so I have officially been here 3 weeks and Tony almost 2 months.  This is the first time that we have been back to a place that we have lived before so that is a new twist on things.  I haven't needed to spend my first couple of weeks walking around with my neck strained in every direction trying to find something cool and interesting...I already know most of those things!  It is actually kind of nice knowing how to get to the gym, the grocery store, re-visit our favorite restaurants etc.  Not too mention this is one of my favorite places we have ever been...so I'm a happy girl.

The best part about this team is the huge group of Americans!  I am in heaven :)  There are 6 American wives/gf's and then three other wives/gf's that all speak English....so we take up an entire row at the games.  I already knew one wife, Gini Diener back from our first season in Castelletto so it has been so great having a close friend right out of the gate. She is due with their first baby boy Jan. 1st so we are all very anxious to meet this baby Diener soon.  :)

The only real downer of this season and being in the first league is that we do not get to come home for Christmas.  If you know me, you know how sad this makes me.  I absolutely love love love Christmas and I am truly sad we don't get to be home with our families.  BUT, that is the way life goes sometimes and being able to share it with my husband and the good friends we have here, will be special too.

OK first blog back from the summer is officially up and running.  You will see me back here soon.  Tony's team heads out of town this weekend so the girls will do some shopping, shopping and more shopping ;)

CIAO TUTTI!!

Home Sweet Home

Well I honestly can't believe it is this time again, but I am heading home!  Prima Veroli ended the season in 6th place in Legadue and is heading into play offs this week against Rimini.  We didn't get home court advantage so Tony will play the first two games away, the second two games home, and the third one away again.  GOOD LUCK BOYS!

I am excited about going home but I will say it has been a really different experience for me here this year...I finally have had FRIENDS :) It was so nice to have wives here the entire season, we all became close and I will miss them!  Thanks Adriana, Amanda, and Cinzia for a great time this year...and I am really hoping for a reunion in Italy next season :)

I thought it would be fun to blog about a few things I will miss and a few things I can't wait for...so here it goes!

Things I will miss:

-The one on one time with my lovely husband.  We really get such quality time together over here, and when we go home we are SUPER busy and this special time doesn't happen very often.

-The peace and quiet...this culture still honors siesta which is basically a four hour nap time in the middle of the day.  And as much as it can be annoying, it is a great excuse to hang out at home with no where to go (because everything is closed).

-The very nonchalant driving!  I have to re-train myself when I get home that I can't go any speed I want, roll through stop signs, pass when I feel like it, park where I want to, and not even worry if I slightly bump another car. ;)

-The food!  I really love Italian food, the freshness is amazing!  Of course my favorites...the pizza, pesto, Parmesan cheese, and gelato! Mmm....

-The basketball of course!  I love watching Tony play and his team too...such incredible athletes, and makes me miss playing even more.

Things I can't wait for:

-My FAM!  I miss my family so much and it is always the best thing ever when they are all waiting at the airport when I get home.  This year will be a little different with out Kristin and Teej there, but I know I get to see them in June :)

-My friends...it is so fun to finally be able to talk in person with my good buddies and go for walks, play volleyball, basketball, cards, starbucks runs, and fun times out on the town!

-Shopppppping...I can't wait to get back to Bellevue Square, Downtown Seattle U Village, Costco, etc! :)

-The food!  OK so this one is on both lists but I love the food back home too, so much variety and you can get whatever you want when you want it...that is great!

-My car...and as most of you know she is an oldie, but she is a goodie!  I am just excited to have an automatic and big enough car so that people don't have to crawl into the back :)

So back to the United States I go!  I am so excited to see everyone...CIAO TUTTI!!