A Note to Myself

During the past year in Spain, I kept thinking, "I really need to remember that for next year", so I thought I would post some notes to myself on here. If you have any input, please add, I will take any advice!

We are in a unique situation where we are moving every year. We will have fully furnished apartments (including kitchen utensils, etc.) in Europe, so we pretty much just need to bring clothes. But it's tough to know what to bring and also what to buy once here. Almost anything I buy for the apartment will be left behind, and I hate to spend the money to buy the same things again every year.

1. I DO NOT need to pack as much as I think I need to pack. I don't need to pack every piece of clothing that I own, I can do laundry, and Europe is not a third world country, I can buy anything I end up needing. Also, there is always Christmas and family and friends visiting that can bring me something if I need it.

2. Trust the weather - if the reports say the city is cold, it's going to be cold, no matter how warm I wish it was! This past year, I packed for Avila, Spain while living in Orlanod,Florida. I brought lots of sundresses, shorts, sandals, etc. thinking that I could surely wear them in September and May. At Christmas I took all of these things home realizing that I will never wear them in Avila, even in Spring.

3. Don't bring more than one pair of shoes that aren't comfortable, no matter how cute they are. I won't ever wear them because I am walking so much (I guess this depends on which city we live in).
4. Bring an umbrella - small to pack, and not worth buying and throwing away every year.
5. If I have room (yeah, right!), there are some food items that I missed out on last year that would be nice to have, such as brownie or cake mix, a measuring cup and teaspoons, boxes of macaroni and cheese (my favorite), certain items I use for multiple recipes - packets of taco seasoning, ranch dressing mix, etc.
6. Also if I have room, a comfy extra blanket and some extra pillowcases would be nice. I love having a blanket on the couch to watch TV and read with, and also the pillow cases in Europe (at least the ones we had last year) are kind of weird - scratchy and very long.
7. I would like to pick out a few durable (i.e. won't break in suitcase) picture frames and bring a few pictures of family and friends to make our apartment seem more like home.


Things to buy at the beginning of the year next year (some things are just not worth the money unless you can use them all year):
1. Go ahead and buy basic baking and cooking ingredients - spices and flour, sugar, etc. (This year I waited until January, and it was so much better having a fully stocked kitchen).
2. Buy a Swiffer for the wood or tile floors - a broom just doesn't clean good enough.
3. Swiffer dusting rags - wet paper towels just don't work that great.
4. Go ahead and buy necessities - like hangers for the closet.
5. Get a bath mat for the bathroom - using a towel to stand on is no fun for an entire year.
6. Go ahead and get a cell phone at the beginning of the year. I went this entire year without a cell phone and it was doable, but not preferable.

I'm hoping that next year, where ever we are, will be even better because I will be more prepared and will be able to adjust more quickly. It will be different every year - the apartment will always be furnished, but the extent of our kitchen utensils will always be different. This year we had no dishwasher, and a random compilation of mis matched cups, bowls, etc. but next year we could have a fully stocked kitchen complete with measuring cups and cookie sheets (haha-the things I'm getting excited about!). Some of Matt's teammates had a DRYER in their apartment - this is a huge deal in Spain! I would be so excited if we ever had a dryer and didn't have to line dry clothes.

Anyway, we won't know until later this summer where we will be next year, could be Spain, could be a different country, but for now I'm just enjoying the USA! 

Packing

Last Tuesday I turned in my two weeks notice at work, and my last day is this Friday, September 23. I plan to fly out of Orlando to Madrid on Saturday the 24. Not much time in between! Luckily I've already been packing, my mom is coming down to help me pack, and Matt's parents are coming next weekend also. I only have a week left and I'm already tired of packing! I've just gotten to a point where I'm not sure what to pack next, so I'm sure having my mom down here will help a lot! I just need someone else around to make me get it done. I would rather be shopping for fun new clothes to bring to Spain...but maybe if we get a lot done we can go shopping toward the end of the week.

It feels weird that it is my last week at work! This is the first job I've ever had, and I'm not really sure what I'm going to do when I get to Spain, so I'm trying to enjoy this last week of getting up early and being at a desk all day. I would like to have a job in Spain just to fill my time. Other wives of basketball players in Europe have told me I'm going to be really bored, but I'm looking forward to it! My mom is giving me a Nook for my birthday (I can't wait to go pick it up!) which is the perfect gift, so I will get to read a lot. I plan to work on my cooking/baking...I figure I can learn to cook some Spanish food, and also if Matt and I miss some American comfort food, they are bound to have the same basic ingredients over there right? So maybe I will learn to make some things from scratch. I would love to be a great baker, also. And I figure I can go for a run every day, spend time with God every day, all the things I want to do now but always seem too busy to find the time every day. I've heard that in Spain (and really in Europe), everyone takes life slower and really enjoys things - like the taste of food (not just eating to be full), and nature, and meeting new people (not just quick awkward small talk). I didn't make it all the way through the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" but I got the gist of it. I'm really looking forward to living in Europe and I hope I can learn to slow down and not always have to be entertained by something the way we are here in America. All the other basketball wives we know suggested I think of things like these to fill my time while Matt is busy or traveling.

I hope I'll be able to get a fun job too, to fill my time. I would love to be a nanny to just one or two kids, I would love to work in a cute clothing store, or maybe tutor someone in English. The problem is that I don't speak much any Spanish...but hopefully I'll pick it up fast once I get over there! I'm trying to learn some now, but I don't have anyone to practice speaking with.

I'm so excited to finally see Matt again and to see the cities of Avila and Madrid! Matt's team is supposed to book my flight, so I gave them the information for a flight on Saturday, but we think they may book it at a later date if they haven't found us an apartment yet. I'm not expecting to know when I'm flying out until maybe the day before! That has been the trend in the past, so I don't know why I should expect anything different now :). The earliest I would go is Saturday though, so I'm just going to be prepared for that.

On a side note, Matt had another pre-season game the other night and scored 17 points which made him the highest scorer on both teams!

24 Hours

For anyone who doesn't know, this summer Matt has been pursuing the opportunity to play professional basketball as his career. We signed with an agent (Emilio) in June, and Matt has been working hard on his game all summer and gotten some pretty cool opportunities to play with some NBA players through the Pro-Am tournament. Matt went to the National NBA Developmental League try out in July and was recently offered a contract with the D-League. We considered the contract, but we felt like an opportunity to play in Europe might be a better path to take. Emilio felt like he could get Matt a contract, probably in Spain. He's been in contact with us all summer, keeping us updated on his efforts, but basically because of the NBA lockout this summer and because of the economic crisis in Europe, things have been moving really slow this year.

This past Friday morning Emilio called Matt and said "I know this is crazy, but how do you feel about being on a plane to Madrid tomorrow?" Emilio had gotten Matt a tryout with two teams right outside of Madrid, one of them a top team in the ACB (top division) in Spain. He felt pretty confident that if Matt could go over there and they could see him play that he would get a contract.

Matt called me at work and we discussed it, and felt like we should take the chance. After talking to his family, we booked the flight. I came home for lunch, but then had to go back to work while Matt ran some errands. We were both so excited, nervous, worried, anxious, happy, surprised...all at the same time. My stomach was in knots all day, and it was hard to focus at work. We've been waiting for this call all summer, and now it was here! After work, we went to the Rollins soccer game where some of Matt's teammates were so he could say bye to them. Then we went to Verizon to take care of phones, and to the Nike outlet to get him some things he needed. It was so much fun, Matt doesn't spend a lot on himself, so I made him buy a couple pairs of Jordan shorts, a dry fit work out shirt and some other fun stuff. I told him when he got to Spain he could see all the nicely folded new clothes in his suitcase and think of me :). Then we came home and a couple of Matt's Rollins teammates came over to say bye, which was so nice of them. They hung out for awhile and helped us pack, which actually didn't take too long. We didn't know how long he was leaving for...if he gets a contract this could be him moving over there, so we packed a lot. We managed to fit it all in a big black rolling suitcase and a big duffel bag, and also a carry on. By the time we finished packing everything we were so exhausted from being so nervous and excited all day that we were able to fall asleep pretty easily. We woke up the next morning, finished packing some last minute things, made copies of important documents, and then I drove him to the airport.

I was so excited that this opportunity was here that I didn't even realized he would be leaving. I didn't have time to be sad until after I left him. It was weird dropping Matt off at the airport having no idea when or where I would see him again! It could be when he comes back, or it could be when I go to Spain and meet up with him!

So that was our crazy 24 hours, but we are so grateful for this opportunity and so excited! Hopefully it will work out!

On the way to the airport

My handsome man (doesn't his new haircut look great?)

At the airport (notice the new shorts) :)