HAPPY 2011!

Happy New Year to all of my family, friends, and followers!

I apologize for taking so much time away from my blog, but it has been a nice break for me to be at home with my family and friends, and I have not been at my computer much.

After an exhausting 3 day trip to get home from Holland, I not only had barely missed the massive snow storm that hit all of Europe and closed down all of their airports, I had spent a day in Iceland, made some new friends, and thankfully made it home. As frustrating as all of that travel was because I couldn't wait to get home, I actually had a lot of fun and never imagined I would be able to visit Iceland! Definitely another adventure to add to my ever growing travel experiences.

Since being home, I have been super busy. Obviously I have spent a lot of time with my family, but I spent a lot of time with friends as well because most of them were home for holidays too. So although we return to Chapel Hill from all over the country and all over the world, somehow it seems like we continue right where we left off. That is what I love about Chapel Hill. Most of you have probably heard of it because it is the home of the University of North Carolina. But over the holidays, when the students are gone, it is a completely different town. It returns to the small Southern town that I have always known and loved. Where you see someone you know every time you go out, and as much as things change, they always seem to stay the same. It is very comforting and just what I needed after all of my travels and adventures abroad.

Being home isn't always easy though. I still have to follow my workout regimen and it can be a bit tougher without all the amenities of the Olympic Training Center, including other people to do the workouts with! On top of that, we actually got some snow this year, which closes everything down in North Carolina! This left me stuck at home. Fortunately my mom got a new treadmill a few months ago!!! Also, even though I made friends with the people at the local gym -- doing our workouts in there sometimes can be a bit difficult. Not all of the equipment is the same and I'm often the only female hanging out in the weights area of the gym! But that's also kind of the fun part. It was also pretty funny when I got a few of my friends to come do my workouts with me though. Needless to say they weren't too happy with me the next day! haha... they are troopers!

Anyways, next week we start back up in California with our full-time training, and Canada comes down for some matches as well. I am very excited to get back out there and see everyone. It has been 5 months since I have seen the team!! We have a big year ahead of us, and I have a feeling 2011 will be a good year for US Field Hockey. Keep following us and supporting us as we prepare for the 2011 Pan American Games this October!