This off-season I ended up not going to play in Europe, as I usually do, because I had surgery on my left elbow, so I decided to take some time off from basketball. I didn't touch a basketball for about three months. I don't think that has ever happened in my life! And since I had some time for myself, I decided to do something that I had never done. I went to visit Mickey at Disneyland! It was my first time and even though I'm not crazy about rides and amusement parks, I can proudly say that I got on every single ride at Disneyland!

Also, I was able to run the Ticha Penicheiro Basketball Camp for boys and girls! I had a great turnout and I'm looking forward to the next one that will be this summer. I also enjoyed just being in my house and not having a schedule. I did work out and did rehabilitation, but it was mostly whenever I felt like it! I made sure I spent a lot of time with my dog Magic because I always neglect him whenever the winter comes. I usually pack up and leave him for about eight months!

It's great to be home because I can catch up with my friends and spend some time with my family! Because of my hectic life, I unfortunately never have time to come here and just relax! Out of the whole year, I usually just spend two weeks (maximum) in Portugal, so this off-season has been great because I have been home a lot and I definitely enjoy being here! This week the weather has been great -- temperatures hit the 70 degree mark today, so I loved the sun! I even laid-out on my "terrace." BUT, my favorite thing (besides my mom's cooking) is to have an opportunity to look at the ocean everyday! The first thing I do when I wake up is go on my balcony and watch the waves. I just love the beach!

My city, Figueira da Foz, is not that big, the population is about 45,000 people, but to me it's the perfect size! To compare it to any city in the States would be hard, but maybe Virginia Beach. I see some similarities, but on a smaller scale!

I was SO sad when I heard the news about Kristin. She is a GREAT person and an awesome player. I haven't had a chance to talk to her. We usually chat over the internet, but I haven't seen her online the last couple of days! I knew we were going to lose a piece to our puzzle. No matter what player Atlanta was going to pick, that player/person was going to be missed by our franchise. But I know Kristin will do great. She has such a bright future ahead of her. We complimented each other well and I knew when I was having a bad game, I could always count on her to pick up the slack! I better not have any bad games this year! GOOD LUCK BUDDY!!

My elbow is doing GREAT! I'm so glad I had the surgery to repair it! It bugged me the whole season and I was hoping that with some rest the pain would go away! Dr. Lewis did an awesome job with the surgery and even though he couldn't guarantee me that I would be pain-free, I decided to risk it and go for the surgery! It took me about 6-8 weeks to rehab and to recover, but I feel fine now and the pain I had is totally gone! The hardest part of rehab was to realize that I had NO range of motion in my left arm. It was also tough working through the pain everyday to get it back!

My major concern when I leave the U.S. to come overseas is my dog, my house and my cars! Fortunately I have great friends and great neighbors that give me a hand! I guess I'll take this opportunity to give a shot out to Laura, Lisa and Kate that take care of my dog Magic, start my cars every now and then and drive by my house to make sure everything is on point! To my neighbor Gayle that checks my mail box and keeps an eye on my house THANK YOU for making my life easier!! :-)

I haven't added any watches to my collection recently, since I'm on a budget because I'm currently unemployed!! ;-) (Laughs) I have watches that I have bought in Italy, Russia, Poland, France and Portugal!