Hey All I’m finally rested from the whirlwind of the Olympics!!! Since I have been home I have somewhat got back to normal life. Last wee our team appeared on Oprah with other Olympians. It was AMAZING!!!  First off it was cool to be reunited with teammates and also to see some of the other Olympians. For those who know me, know that I am a huge Oprah fan. I TiVo her show everyday. So, to get the chance to meet her in person and be on her show was a dream come true. She is definately someone in my top 3 people to meet!!! While there a couple of us stayed to hang out in Chicago and attend a Chicago Cubs game. That was my first time at Wrigley Stadium. We also started the PFX tour this past weekend in Mckinney,Texas. We will continue next weekend in Newton, Philadelphia. Check out www.PFXtour.com to see if we come to a city near you Other than that I have been gearing up and getting ready for UCLA, and getting back to coaching in the fall. I have also started planning my Holiday Camp. I will keep you all posted on what days I choose. Until then I have been catching up on my rest and enjoying life at home!!!  

August 12,2008

So we got through our first game, which went well! we beat Venezuela 11-0….it was a good game for us. Now the train is coming, we play Australia next. Which is a big game for us! My parents got in safely yesterday and were at the game today. I always feel better once I see them, when they are traveling overseas. I didn’t really get a chance to speak with them after the game, hopefully after tomorrows game I will get to speak with them longer. Other than that nothing new here except for I have been killing the free McDonalds in the village=). Just getting ready for tomorrow. Thanks for all the e-mails and support. We play again Wednesday morning at 12AM eastern time!!! Send the good vibes to Bejiing!

Natasha

August 14,2008

So today was a whirlwind day….we had a suspended game against Canda due to rain. The game was delayed twice before suspending the game til tomoroow. The only catch is that we are loosing the game right now 1-0 in the top of the 4th, I’m up to bat with a 3-2 count(CRAZY!!!) Anyways the game is to be resumed tomorrow after out scheduled game with Japan. Japan happens to be our biggest rivals. So just say that tomorrow is going to be a LONG day!!! But we have prepared for every possible situation and always have prepared for the worst! Keep sending the good vibes…thanks for all the support. We play the same time again which will be Friday morning 12AM eastern on CSNBC……Thank so much!!!

Natasha

August 17,2008

Hey all

Today we finally got to sleep in here. I also had the chance to hang with my parents today. I was able to get them into the village and they hung out here for the day. The got to see where I have been sleeping, eating and hanging out. It was good to get to spend some time with them!

We have a game tonight vs the Nederlands at 7:30 here. Which will be 7:30AM eastern time Sunday morning. I assume most of you won’t catch that game but still keep sending the good vibes!! We end end round robin play tomorrow versus China. It should be a good game!! That game will air 12AM monday morning eastern time on CSNBC again. Anyways I still thank you guys for all your support. Miss you all!

Natasha 

August 19,2008

Hey All!!

So w had a day off today after completing round robin play yesterday vs China. It was good to get a day off to regroup and get ready for the medal rounds that begin tomorrow! Since today we only had practice this morning, last night I went to watch Track and Field with my teammate Monica Aboott! IT WAS AMAZING!  I am always in awe of track athletes….We were able to catch the 200m Men preliminaries, 400m hurdles women preliminaries,and the 400m Hurdles Men Final (which was a 1-2-3 American finish!) Glad we got the chance to go. So after practice today we just laid low in the village. Getting ready to face Japan tomorrow. It should be another good game, this time around they are going to come out hard after our last game with them. So we are going to have to be at the top of our game! We play at 9:30AM here which is 9:30pm (eastern time)tuesday night there. The game is on CSNBC again. So tune in and cheer us on! Miss you all. Thanks for the contnued support!

Natasha

August 20,2008

Today is the day!! We play for the gold medal tonight! It has ben a long day here already just waiting around. Unfortunately it has been raining all morning so hopefully the rain holds up and the fields are ready to play on!! Not sure if you all tuned in yesterday to our game vs Japan but it was a great game! We won 4-1. Japan beat Australia last night, so we face Japan again. We are anticipating another good game. Hopefully everything goes our way!! I’m excited! We play at 6:30 here which is 6:30 AM eastern time on Thursday morning. Please tune in! I think that it is on CSNBC but check usasoftball.com to make sure. Please send the good vibes!!! Talk to you all soon.

Natasha

August 25,2008

Hey All

So I’m sure all of you have heard how everything turned out. A sliver medal wasn’t what I expected,It has been all very hard to swallow. It has been something we have been working on as a team for the last 4 years. To have it vanish in just one night hurts.

 At the same time I am proud to have had the opportunity to represent my country and all of you all! I walk away with a medal and a lot of memories that will never be forgotten. An experience that few get to experience, so for that I’m proud. You all have been with me through the way and having your support throughout has made my journey that much easier. So just wanted to Thank you all for following along!!! I will be in touch. Talk to you soon

Natasha

Hi Everyone!

Hope all of you are doing well. Thank you all for all the good luck wishes!!!Some of you asked me to keep you updated on how things are here!!

We have been here for 5 days now and time is already flying by!! I’m think that I have finally adjusted to the jet lag. We have had a couple practice days under our belt. I think that we are finally ready to start playing.

Two nights ago was opening ceremonies, which was amazing! The show that they put on was really unbelievable. Not sure if any of you got to catch it, but hopefully you did. It was really neat getting to meet some of the other athletes. The highlight was meeting Kobe!! (go lakers ) I was really impressed with him. He was really polite, nice and willing to mingle with everyone! Before the opening cermonies president Bush spoke to the entire USA delagation, which was nice because we got a good chance to mingle with the other USA athletes.

President Bush also made an appearance at our practice yesterday unbelieveable the entourage that he had with him. All those people for one man…..Crazy. If you go on www.nbcolympics.com and click on softball, you can see our pictures from opening ceremonies and Pres. Bush at our practice.

Anyway, we are 2 days away from our first game vs Venezuala. Watch if you can. We play 9pm (eastern time) Monday night on CSNBC. You guys e-mail me!!!It will give me something to do in between our games.

Hope everyone is well at home!!!

Hello Everyone!!!I know that it has been a while since I last wrote. We have been extremely busy!!! As you guys already know we have been traveling on our Bound for Bejiing tour for the past 5 months. We are now in our final month of the tour and 1 month away from the Olympics. I can’t believe how fast this summer has flown by. I must say that it has been such a pleasure playing in all the cities we have been thus far. Its been great playing in front of our fans and its been great seeing the response we have been getting. I have enjoyed all the good luck wishes and questions you have all wrote on my website.As for me, I’m doing great. Just ready to get to Bejiing. Right now we are currently in Spokane,Wa. We just returned from a week break. During my break a few teammates and I traveled to New York for the 4th of July. It was a lot of fun to be able to relax, and hang out!!! While there we attended a Broadway play In the Heights and went to Yankee game versus the Red Sox. Lots of fun!!! I know some of you have been voting already for the topic of my next video. I encourage you guys to keep voting. Once you click on products from my website, click on “the art of slapping” video icon and then at the top of the page you will see the icon to vote on my next video. I plan on making another video once we return from Bejjing. So keep voting!!!  Keep rooting us on!!! Go USANatasha 

Hope everyone is close to finishing their X-mas shopping. I know that I have been running around trying to finish mine the last couple of days!! I am almost finish!!Amongst getting ready for the holidays I have still been training. Last week the USA team just had a team camp. It was our last practices before we head into the big year of 2008!!! I am really looking forward to going to war with my 17 teammates, this upcoming year!!!This past weekend I was so honored to make my 1st trip to Twin Falls, Idaho. I did a camp with my old UCLA teammate Courtney Dale. I had such a great time meeting the young girls there.  From what I learned softball is growing in the area, so I was so excited to help promote this great sport in that area. I also met a great group of girls that played for CSI junior college. It was great to meet such a driven group of girls, who are ready to make their mark in softball. This is their 2nd year in existence as a program, so I wish them lots of luck this upcoming season =) I’m also getting excited for my 2nd annual Holiday camp that I’m hosting next week in Irvine. Last year I had a great turnout and a lot of fun, so I am definitely looking forward to this years camp. There are still spots, would love to have anyone who is interested!!!  Lastly, I wanted to wish everyone a Merrry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy your time with your families and be safe.   Natasha #29