Missing Home

I am just at the 3 month mark now of being away from home and I can't even lie, I MISS IT LIKE CRAZY! Tyler and I have already started discussions of the first things we will do, see, eat, etc. when we get home this summer. It's only the end of January and we still have a few months to go, but we can't help but get excited daydreaming about it!

I can't even describe to you the feeling I get when I think of being back home. It is like how a little kid feels on Christmas morning. But multiply that by 100!! I have never appreciated home more than I do now. Of course we are loving our time here and are soaking up every minute of this opportunity, but there is literally nothing better than home!

Seeing family and friends is the first thing on both of our lists. Obviously. We can't wait to spend time with everyone! We are looking forward to a relaxing and fun summer with our loved ones. 

After friends and family, the next thing on my list is going to the grocery store. Yes, I am so looking forward to going grocery shopping and I am 100% serious. I might have to get 2 carts when I go because I know I will just be throwing everything I see in there! There is soooo much more variety in America. The other day I was standing in front of the refrigerator, holding the door open and just staring into it. I said to Tyler "I'm so sick of eating the same things over and over". I find myself getting frustrated lately when I am trying to make meals and having to figure out translations or substitutions for ingredients and sometimes not even being able to make a meal I had wanted to because the ingredients are not available here.  Thinking about American groceries is making me drool and I can't wait for them!

I NEED SOME DIET SODA IN MY LIFE AND I NEED IT NOW! Diet soda is my guilty pleasure and going 3 months without it has been quite the accomplishment for me. They have "coca cola light" here but it in no way tastes like diet coke! Diet Dr. Pepper and Canada Dry Ten Ginger Ale are my favorite sodas and I would pay ridiculous amounts of money for one of those right now! 

Chipotle. Tyler and I love burrito bowls from Chipotle and I have no doubt we will go there the first 24 hours we are home. We also can't wait for Subway, HuHot, Whistle Binkies, Chester's, Caribou Coffee, Starbucks, John Hardy's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cherry Berry.... Can you tell we are missing American food? 

Shopping. This applies to Tyler just as much as it does to me. I am able to find clothes a lot easier than Tyler here but my options are still limited as I can only take so much of the "euro style". Tyler on the other hand rarely is able to find anything that will fit him. I really don't understand it because there are plenty of tall men here and I have no idea where they shop. Everything is super slim fitting for men here as well (it's that euro style) so finding an XL is more like a medium here. We were shopping a couple weeks ago and we found a shirt that actually looked like it would fit Tyler. He decided he would try it on just in case and decided to grab another shirt he liked too to see if it would fit. The first shirt we found fit him and we were both pretty impressed that he actually was able to find something that fit. He then tried on the other shirt and came out of the fitting room and I just started dying of laughter. It barely covered his stomach, sleeves were about 3 inches too short, and SUPER TIGHT! Poor guy, can't find any clothes or shoes out here that fit so I know he is looking forward to being able to find some clothes back home!

I really could list about 50 random things that we can't wait to do. But just experiencing anything and everything at home is what we are looking forward to. From no language barrier to driving our own cars to sitting on the deck enjoying the summer nights - we look forward to all of the simple things! We love Italy but there really is no place like home. Maybe if I put on some ruby red slippers and click my heels a few times I can magically transport home for a few hours? ;-) 

Tyler's games

So many of Tyler's games have come down to the last few seconds and being tied or up/down by a couple of points. They have been so exciting and I figured I would share a few links to videos from his games for those of you who would like to see him in action!

This is the game where Tyler scored the game winning free throws.  At the end, when he is shooting, the announcer says "Dei (not sure on spelling) Tyler, dei Tyler!" It is pronounced "die" and yes, it's a little disturbing to hear that constantly yelled at the games :) But dei just means "let's go! Or come on!" So fans are constantly yelling "dei ragazzi!" (Let's go guys!) or "dei Tyler!" PS - enjoy my jumping if you can spot me in the crowd ;)
http://youtu.be/Ri1YeGGOFhU


This next game was crazy. It was an away game against Imola (E-mo-luh). Imola is a town only 20 minutes away so I was able to be at this game. HUGE RIVALRY! The atmosphere was so crazy and you can see a few seconds at the end how the fans were yelling at each other... This was going on the entire game! We started off not so great and were down by 20 at one point. This video comes in around a little over a minute left and we are down by six. You will see the shot Tyler's teammate made for them to win and I'm not even kidding you - so many crazy shots like that are made in Italy! I don't know how they do it!
http://youtu.be/EB3EIiNTzbk

This last one is the last few minutes of regulation and last minute of overtime from a game a couple of weeks ago. Some of the cuts are weird but you will catch on to what's going on. This is the game that Tyler blocked the final shot and we won!
http://youtu.be/iWMGKqCxs7Q

I hope you all enjoyed being able to see some of Tyler's games! It has been a crazy season so far and I will be sure to keep sharing videos that I find!