Nice Weekend!
Jonas and his little cousin Hugo at his baptism.
Jonas's family church in Vännäs
Princess cake...and the opening of presents!!
After the baptism it was back to Umeå for a team get-together!! :)
Tomorrow I go back to the hospital to remove my cast. OH that is going to be great!! To actually move my fingers and bend my wrist!! Then it's back to the court for some needed basketball training! Big game this weekend at home vs. Sallen. Only 5 games left to season and it's good we have 3 of them at home. We really have to fight now!
I hope everyone had a great weekend. I'm tired so this is a short blogg. Hopefully I will have more energy tomorrow.
Take care
NO MORE SNOW
Last night we had a team taco night! Here are some pictures from the event!
Gina and me!!
After the dinner...Pam, Hjort and me went to watch a movie, It's Complicated. I liked it! I thought it was pretty funny and Pam laughed so loud in parts..HAHA!!
Today I watched practice and did some running on the side. It's hard to motivate yourself to run without a basketball involved sometimes. But I got a workout in, so that's important!! Only 3 more days in the cast.
Take care everyone, that's all I got now!
KRAMAR
Operation #2
SURPRISE...I went ahead and did my second operation today. They took a sample of skin from my arm and transferred it over to the wound (sår) on my hand. I believe they glued it together. The only reason why I went ahead with the procedure was because my doctor PROMISED only 5 days away from basketball. That's 5 days of not using my hand so the skin can heal successfully...I hope! My hand is in a giant cast right now because my doctor wants to make sure I don't use my hand at all. And trust me, I don't think I could if I tried. But the operation went good and now I just pray it heals good and the problem fixed! So 5 days sidelined again from playing, but the good news is I can still run and bike...so I'm going to do everything in my power to stay in shape. Last game I felt like I finally was back in shape, so it would be bad if I lost that again. So I have to work on keeping up my cardio.
The operation took about an hour and it was pretty simple. I didn't have to be put to sleep or anything, they just numbed my entire arm so I couldn't feel anything. Then it was an hour in recovery and by 12.00 I left the hospital. My hand left in a giant cast and just a simple sample taken from my arm. So now it's healing time!!
Here is a picture of my hand the night before my operation...
All casted up...
This picture shows where my skin graph was taken from.
I can't wait for the day my hand is free of bandages!!
I have some other BAD NEWS. My computer stopped working today. It just wouldn't start and kept freezing when it booted up. SO I took it into a computer shop and they said it might be the hard drive. That sucks because then I might have to replace it and lose everything that was on my computer. That might of been my problem also, too much on my computer. It just sucks because you really do start to realize how much you depend on your computer when you live so far from home. I'm a little more secure now here in Umeå and don't depend on my computer 100% like my first year...but it still sucks not to have your computer. It's like my life! It's definetly something I could not live without. I hope they figure it out...but for now I'm loaning a computer from the club.
Well time for bed. Just thought I would report on my hand. I know I had mentioned this being a possibility earlier in a past post, but with the doctor's recommendation and the weekend off, this opted to be the best decision to go ahead with it. Let's hope it goes alright and heals!
Positive thoughts!!
Take care, KRAM
Gotland...Visby
I will leave you with some pictures of Gotland. It was really pretty there and the weather was nice. The sun was shinning and we took a nice little walk through the city. I can tell that this island city would be a fun summer vacation spot. Maybe someday. Whats neat about Visby is the old stone wall that en-circles the city, I believe built back in the 13th century...now that is old!
View from our hotel room.
Pam observing the ocean.
Caught Caro outside while taking pictures from our room!
THE SUN!! I haven't seen you in so long...
Going to lunch...WALKING
Walking through old town.
Pretty view of the ocean and houses.
So now I am back to Umeå after a long 4-day road trip. Today we left early on the boat, spent about 3 hours in Stockholm city shopping, and then flew home to Umeå. I did way too much shopping today in Stockholm...bought some new stuff. A jean jacket, a pair of jeans, 2 shirts, and a nice pair of dress shoes (with a little heel). And then it was some sushi for lunch!! OMG it had been FAR too long since the last time I ate sushi...it was so good!! It felt good to spend the day away from basketball and to get my mind focused on sometime else. Shopping seemed to be the answer!! Now I am going to retire to bed early tonight, I have basket class/practice tomorrow morning starting at 8.20 so that's early. This weekend we are free from games and will take Saturday and Sunday off. I think it will be a good time for us to evaluate where we are and what we have to get done.
ONE LAST THING! I want to wish my mom a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! It was yesterday and I tried calling you, but no answer. So here is another attempt to let you know I am thinking about you and I hope you had a wonderful day! I wish I could of been there to celebrate with you! Love you and grattis!!
(My mom's trip to Sweden almost 2 years ago now...you need to come back!)
Well I hope everyone had a great weekend!! Miss you friends and family back home and thinking of you hard now!! Have a good week everyone!
PEACE OUT
Long Road Trip This Weekend
Tomorrow is game day yet again and a long road-trip awaits us. GAME-DAY vs. Norrköping kl. 19.00 in Stadium Arena in Norrköping. We play Friday on the road and then travel to Gotland to face Visby on Sunday kl. 15.00. It's going to be a 4 day trip because we won't return to Umeå until Monday afternoon. Saturday will be a travel day for us...we will spend some time in Stockholm, watch a Damligan game and then boat over to Gotland in the evening. Get prepared for our match on Sunday vs. Sunday and then catch the boat back to the main land Monday morning...EARLY. It's very important that we pick up some wins this weekend.
I went to the doctor today and got some results back from the patheologist that the wound on my hand is just a wound, which is good news that it isn't anything else. Just taking more than usual to heal. Looks like we will go ahead and do the skin graph soon. The doctor said that's the different between my hand healing in a week or 2 months....I like the week option!! I'll keep you posted on that.
Tonight Hjort and I went and saw Sherlock Holms at the movies. I liked the movie, I thought it was pretty good. I always enjoy going to the movies when the movie is good...hehe!! Earlier today Julia, Pam, Gina, Jo and myself had fika after lunch and guess what I ate....SEMLA!! Tis the season! Great day!
Now sits my travel bag in the middle of my apartment awaiting to be packed. And of course I am procrastinating. I have to make a check list before so I don't forget anything on this trip. Jersey...Shorts...Shoes...Ankle brace...Shooting shirt...Passport...CHECK!!
The day starts tomorrow at Dragonskolan for basket class-practice in the morning and then a team lunch at Droskan. Plane takes off 13.30. Hour drive to Norrköping. Then it's GAME-TIME!! LET'S GO COMETS!!! :)
Good luck everyone this weekend!!
Mmmm Semlor!!
Okay moving on from semlor. Tomorrow I have another appointment with my doctor and I think we will discuss the date for my next procedure, the skin graph. I have made my personal decision of waiting until the end of regular season. After our last game at the end of February. Then I hope we can do the skin graph. I don't feel like I can take any days off now because I want to be in shape especially at the end of season when it matters the most. And especially since I am getting a little more comfortable with the ball in my hand and finding a way to get use to shooting again. I need that touch back! I will talk to my hand surgeon tomorrow about this possibility and I hope she won't mind. I'll let you know how that goes.
Tonight Julia, Pam, Gina and me went to watch the Dalen-City innebandy match. Gammliahallen was sold-out and packed as usual for this game...and normally the games are always fun to watch with the heated rivalry. But tonight Dalen dominated and won the game 12-4, wasn't that exciting but I'm happy that Dalen got the win!
WELL time for bed! Early appointment tomorrow. Got to get some rest because it's been a hard week with a lot of practices. Game on Friday vs. Norrköping and then Sunday vs. Visby. WE NEED SOME WINS!! (have I mentioned that yet??) There you go Secret Stalker...Nothing that exciting right now.
Now I leave you with something you may of seen before...but I love it so much, I'm posting it anyway!! Watch this if you ever need some cheering up!!
Sov gott!
Bad Weekend
Sunday's game was much different. We fought hard that game but ended up losing to Mark 91-79. Mark is a good team and in 6th place in the league now. They are a much different team then the first time we played them. They are winning some big games now when they started out kind of rough. We had a game with them the entire time though and we never gave-up. Pam guided the way for us with 33 points. I had 14 pts and 5 assists and Julia with 12pts. That makes 9 games now in a row we have lost. It seems like forever since the last time we won a game. WE REALLY NEED TO WIN A GAME NOW.
This weekend we hit the road again for 2 more away games. We play Norrköping on Friday and Visby on Sunday. A long 4-day trip for us, but important games we must focus on.
TODAY IS A DAY OF REST. My body feels beat up, tired and sore. We got in late last night after two plane delays. Kind of scary on the first flight when we were in the process of taking off and then one of the plane's motor didn't turn on because it was frozen. So we went back to the gate and I guess they warmed up the plane some more. I can honestly say that's the first time anything like that has happened to me. Then on our second flight we had to get off the plane after we were all seated and claim our baggage. There were too many bags I guess. I want to make this clear, that I am not complaining about this travel because I know it is nice that we get to fly...it was just some weird circumstances.
Now I am going back to my couch and not getting up for a really long time. I hope everybody had a great weekend! Maybe it went better than mine...
KRAM
On the Road...
COME ON COMETS!! KOM IGEN COMETS!! Let's get it done!!
Tip off tomorrow at 16.30 and then Sunday at 15.00. Return Sunday night to Umeå. Both teams will be good competition for us. Brahe beat us at home earlier this year 62-72 and we beat Mark at home 68-57. Hopefully we have something to prove tomorrow vs. Brahe. They have one win this season and it's against us. We are a different team with Pam and Gina, so game-on!!
Good luck to all those with games this weekend!!
More Work on the Hand :(
Not the best news today from the doctor. Found out that more work needs to be done on my hand. Not as intensive as the first operation, but hopefully a procedure that will for once close my wound. It's still open and not healing properly so the doctor wants to take a skin graph and place it over my wound. That means taking a sample of skin from another area (probably my upper arm) and then transferring it over to the area not healing. My doctor said it will at least take 10 days for recovery and doing NOTHING with my hand. But now the decision needs to be made on when I will do this. I can continue to play with it the way it is and then do the procedure after season...or find 10 days that maybe we don't have a game and get it done sooner than later. The last time I decided to do it sooner than later, it left me out 5 weeks from playing. AND I do not want that to happen again. OH maybe I should just chop my hand off now and not worry about it anymore.
So soon I need to make this decision and I will keep you posted on what I decide to do. I don't want to miss anymore games so I think I might just wait. Thats what I am feeling like now. But we will see. And of course it depends on how my hand keeps on doing. I really think it gets better everyday and that the wound is a little smaller than before. I still can't make a fist with my hand and my fingers are pretty stiff, but I think each day my flexibility in them is getting better. I'm trying to stay positive. :) VIEWER DISCRETION again, just want to show you what I am dealing with. 
What else is new besides my hand?? My classes/practices at Dragonskolan have been going well. I have had two lessons and my third one tomorrow. The guys are older but eager to practice. I have to adjust my coaching a bit, and I need to find some challenging drills for these boys. And we need to work on their listening. We all know how well guys listen...oh wait, they don't. I will have my final lesson in the evening at Skufruskolan with the younger girls.
Well today I have been absolutely exhausted so I think I am going to go to bed and hopefully rest up! We have some VERY IMPORTANT matches this weekend!
Sov gott!
Tough Loss
My hand is getting better and better each day, but still not healed right. I still have an open wound on my hand that still produces an orange clear fluid at times. But the good news is that I can use less tape now and I only tape around my wound. So it's nice to have some more freedom and I can actually move my wrist around. I think it has made a little bit of difference when it comes to shooting, but you can tell it's still not natural to me to have this tape on my hand when I play. Last night I scored 19 pts and had 12 rebounds. I still missed a lot of buckets down low and that's sooooooooo frustrating to me that I didn't finish the shots down low. I guess it will all come back with more "game-like" opportunitues and getting back into "game-time" shape!! OH I can't wait for that. I never want to have an injury in my life again (I wonder what the odds are for me on that one).
It was really nice to see Carro step it up last night on the offensive end. I think that is something she is capable of every game if she puts her mind to it. She opened up with 9 pts in the 1st quarter and 13 pts to end the match. Pam had 17pts and really guided us in the 3rd quarter with a commanding response after half-time. Julia stepped up her deffensive play and Gina played physical and ended up with 8pts.
Now this weekend we travel AWAY. Actually the next two weekends are on the road. We are to the point that WE MUST WIN SOME GAMES. It now feels like FOREVER since the last time we won a game. We need to get back to some winning habits!! We have a crucial game on Saturday vs. Brahe and then Mark on Sunday. That's only 3 days until our next game. 3 games in one week this week...something different than normal for us, but with the season ending at the end of February, I guess it's no surprise. The following weekend we will have a 4 day away-trip playing Norrköping and Visby. So not for another 3 weeks until we get to play home again :(
Today we are OFF and my body is needing the rest for sure!! Will be a calm day of chill'laxing I hope!! Tomorrow I am back at the hospital for another check-up...but I'm sure it will carry on the same.
Good-bye for now!!
Ha det så bra!
GAME DAY!!
Telge is the number one team in league right now so it's going to be tough, but we have nothing to lose. We had a solid performance against Solna so now we just need to keep it up!!
Hope to see you all there!!
Heja Comets!!
BLONDIE!!
I realize that I have posted a lot of pictures of myself lately...haha!! But times are boring and these are the only pictures I have now!! I went and got my hair done today by Frida and now my hair is brighter and lighter and more fun!! BLONDES do have more FUN!! Now I know I was blonde before, but now I'm really blonde!! I like it!!
Tomorrow is game-day vs. Telge. We play at Gammlia kl. 19.00. LET'S GO COMETS!!! Telge is currently in first first place in the league, but you never know...anything is possible in our league this year. NU KÖR VI!
Vi hörs!! :)
Be Strong!
Today we scrimmage against the guys at practice. More blisters on my feet. Then I went and watched IKSU play. They lost 8-4 but it was cool to see Frida score a goal and also Rebecca for Rönnby. After the game, it was a quick visit with Maria at the hospital and then I went to church.
At church, I actually listened to the entire service with no translation. There are a handful of us that speak english at church and they do have a translator that helps out. But I took the challenge today and just sat and listened. Let's just say that for the most part I understood....pretty exciting. I have to force myself to do this more.
Church was just what I needed today and it put some things in perspective for me. I normally don't write about my faith on my blogg...but today I think I will quickly mention something. It seems that there are a lot of challenges and obstacles that present themselves in our lives everyday. Most times they are never planned and they can be frustrating. We always seem to see the negative and demand the explanation why does this happen?? But for me I constantly have to remind myself that it is God's will and he will never test you beyond anything you can not handle. I'm going to leave one of my favorite Bible verse and I hope those that might be feeling low can find some strength from it or inspiration within it...
"No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it"
1 Corinthians 10:13
Just thought I would share that...anyway TOMORROW I start early at Dragonskolan 8.45 class. I am going to be the substitute for the basketball class 3x's a week now. They are 16 year old guys so we will see how much my coaching or teaching of basketball skills might have to change. Clearly it will be a different style and most skills have been developed by now...but it will be fun to do something different. After class I'm getting my hair done by Frida!!! What an exciting Monday planned.
I hope everyone had a great weekend!!
KRAMAR
New Shoes...OUCH!
Today I went to my doctor's appointment and the temperature was -27. I didn't a double take when I saw that. The doctor's appointment went alright. She actually said that it looked like it improved a little and the healing process is progressing. She then drained my hand where it was swollen. That was kind of gross because all this orange-red fluid came rushing out my wound. In fact, it actually squirted up into my doctors face...haha!! But anyway, she took some of the tissue from my wound and they are going to test it just to make sure what it is. Its back to being bandaged and still more waiting for the healing process. Any tips on how to make this thing go faster??
Today I saw Maria for the first time in 3 weeks and she was tan. I guess thats what 3 weeks in Thailand does to you :) We had lunch at Angelini (which is pretty good) and then did a little shopping in town. It was so great to hangout with her again. I sure did miss her! Sorry I didnt make your game Maria :(
Practice tonight was lugnt. This weekend we will have two practices, including a scrimmage with the guys. Nothing else really planned except for movie night tomorrow!! Oh I am going to checkout Frida's IKSU play on Sunday.
QUICK QUESTION...With or without hat??
I hope everyone has a great weekend. STAY WARM!!
Less
Haha!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bored today, so I sat around playing with my camera. It was WAY too cold outside. -23 and just miserable to stand one second in that temperature. I don't normally complain about the cold...BUT IT'S COLD and I don't like it!!
Yesterday we lost our game to Solna by 15 pts...63-78. Not too bad actually, we played really well in some spurts. I think in the second quarter we were up 8 pts or so. But Solna is a strong team and there is a reason why they are 2nd in league and the swedish masters from last year. They are tough and have depth...something we do not have. Gina, our new player from Hungary, had a pretty good debut. It will only get better I think, as she adjusts to us and gets comfortable with the team. As for me, it was hard playing a basketball game after not playing for 6 weeks. I ended up with 15 pts and 10 rebounds, 4 steals also. I missed a lot of lay-ups and some FT's as well that I normally make. It was frustrating at time because I have to adjust a bit to my hand, and it's not where I left it. I have to build it up and get use to playing again. It will come with time, I just have to keep working on it and not let my frustration get the best of me. Which it did a little last night, when I got a technical foul from the ref. Apparently he didn't like me yelling at him too much. Hope that doesnt happen again. Pam had a good game scoring 20 pts and pulling down 7 rebounds I believe. Julia also had a strong performance scoring 14 pts and fighting hard on the floor.
Our next game is Tuesday vs. Telge...the league's first place team right now. Tough start for us, but I think it will make us stronger. I was pretty impressed with us last night fighting hard and believing we are good enough! We need to keep that spirit heading into the 2nd part of season. KOM IGEN COMETS!!
I got some new basketball shoes today. I will try those out tomorrow at practice. I have a doctors appointment also tomorrow. I think they will discuss how to get my hand to heal. I think I will post a picture to show you what it looks like at the moment. VIEWER DISCRETION!!
So yeah, that's not normal. And that's what I have been playing with. We will see what the doctor says tomorrow.
Julia and I went to watch Dalen play tonight. It was a good game up until the final 3 minutes, they lost 6-4. Then I came back home and just lounged around on our day off from basketball. Now I am just trying to stay warm dressed in sweats and covered in blankets. Tomorrow is Friday and a boring weekend awaits. With a game Tuesday, it means a weekend of practices. OH going to watch Avatar on Saturday...I want to know what all this hype is about. I wish we were playing though :)
Well goodbye for now!! Work starts up tomorrow with classes at Sköfruskolan!
Lycka till önskar jag mig själv!!
I Get to Play on GAMEDAY!!
THE ONLY THING that is good about injury, is the feeling of how excited you are when you get to play again!! The chance has FINALLY come!! Today I get to play in our first home game back from break vs. Solna. I have not played a basketball game in almost 6 weeks. I can't believe it has been that long. I know that my hand is still not perfect, but it's good enough for me to play. And that's all that matters right now. We have been practicing hard this last week, so I really hope it pays off on the court. We got nothing to lose in this game so let's see what we can do. The game also features Gina's debut to the team. She has practiced twice with us now and she will play in our rotation which is good for us!! She's a great shooter and I think she is going to be able to make some pretty interesting passes!! 
So today at Gammlia kl. 19.00!! It's GAMETIME!! GO COMETS!!
Happy 80th Birthday Grandma!!
Grandpa, Grandma, Dad and me at the Centennial Celebration.
Grandma with her great-grandchild Lauren and Chad.
Grandma!!
It's kind of neat that all of my grandparents are in their 80's now.
Today is even more cold than yesterday...-17 degrees and it seems to be getting colder and colder. I guess they are predicting -25 for later tonight. THATS FREEZING!
Soon it's our second practice of the day. 4 days in a row now of two-a-days. GAME TOMORROW finally. It's my first game back in 6 weeks. I can't believe it's been that long since my last game... I can't wait! We play Solna at Gammlia kl. 19.00. Hope to see some of ya there!!
Later homies...
BURRRRRRRRR!!!
Now it's nap time!! We have practice late tonight. We have a new player also that will be arriving from Hungary. I don't know too much about her so I can't write a lot, but I really hope she can make us better and at least give us more numbers. She comes at 18.00 and will have her first practice tonight! I've been told she can shoot good...so that's always good!! :)
What else?? I'm sad that my friend Sophia is going back to Switzerland today. It was fun having people back for the holidays, I wish they could stay longer :( But I have a feeling time is going to go by pretty fast now. Only 2 more months left of regular season play. I'm looking forward to the 2nd half of season!! We have to make another run!
That's all I got for now. Another blogg post will be coming soon!! Hopefully something more exciting. I promise!!
KRAM!!
More Pics from 2009
New Year's Eve creating our own fun!!
Skating on New's Year Eve
Christmas Camp 2009
Christmas Camp!
Two thumbs up for 2010 so far!!
Peace out homies!!
Happy New Year!! eller Gott Nytt År!!
Dinner
Celebrating the new year...2010 here we come!!
Pam just before she took her nap on the sofa.
Just lounging around, Cissi, Ann...Pam up just before midnight...haha!
Party hats!! And Sophia is alive!
Just hanging out! Sophia, Pam, Ann, and Cissi
10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2..1...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
HORRAY FOR 2010!!!
So happy!!
Watching fireworks!! So pretty!!
So there concludes the evening!! Felt good just to relax because it's really almost the first time I have done it all break!
SO FAR 2010 has been good! Today has been a day of laundry and cleaning...getting stuff done! Tonight I plan to have another calm evening of doing nothing!! Pretty much snowed in today as well. It has snowed non-stop so far. So I'm having a cozy day inside!! Good thing there a lot of movies on TV now!! :)
SNOWED IN
I hope everyone had a great New Years Eve and New Years Day!!
Love to all!!
