Winning in the National Capital

It is such a wonderful time to be a NDSU Bison! Gene Taylor, the Athletic Director, is living the good life and BBB could not be more happy for him and his family!

Well, the boys did what I expected of them; they Won their third road game of the season! The game verse Towson was a great showcase of the capabilities of the team especially the players coming off the bench!

And then, the boys had a tour of our National Capital!

Below, the team in front of the Capitol Building from afar, lol.

And then the guys headed over to the place our proposal. Aww... I am sure Jason reminisced about that special night!

Overall, I would say they had a blast.

Up next, the MBB host Morehead on Friday night.

Michelyn

Mayhem in Minneapolis

A huge storm hit the Midwest late Saturday night/early Sunday morning and seemed to bring a haze over the Minneapolis area... This is my excuse for the set-back experienced by the Bison men on Tuesday night.

First Half Recap:
Short and simple, the guys played them even up until the last 3 minutes of the half. And then.... the Gophers went on an electric run in which they scored 8 unanswered points! Yikes, the Gophers ended the first half to lead by 11 points.

Second Half Recap:
The Bison started out the half cutting the lead to 8 and battled all the way to the end. But, they were out rebounded which proved to be too much to overcome. However in this half the Bison played the Gophers to a 2-point deficit. Their were plenty of positives to take away from this game as the Gophers are a Top 15 team in the nation, but I know the boys were not satisfied!

Check out this ESPN article about the game.

Next up the Bison travel to Maryland to play Towson!

Congrats to the Bison Football team for winning last night. They will head to the NCAA FCS National Championship once again in Texas. Yeehaa!

I have been slacking in my bi-weekly nail updates. I had to run out of the salon to meet a group of ladies for Ladies Night so I forgot to write down the Shellac blue color. It is one of the new shades, if that helps! On my left hand we glitterfied my ring finger instead of my index finger. BBB loves some glitz and glamour!

Michelyn

Wedded Bliss Wednesdays: Matters of the Heart

Greetings BBB fans. I am excited to begin my journey with Wedded-Bliss Wednesdays. Are you excited?

Well, I figured I should start at the beginning of the wedding planning process. For us this began with the date of which I was provided two options: May or August. Given the fact that I graduated in May 2012, that took this option out of the equation. Jason also gave me two weeks in August in which we could have the wedding and also take a week-long honeymoon. So, August it was!

After solidifying and discussing our date options which were limited to college recruiting and camp season, I decided to start thinking about a theme...

I realized through this process that I am not very creative or innovative! I have plenty of friends who have taken themes from movies or time periods and really captured this within their wedding day.

 So, this got me thinking....

For years I have signed my name with a heart. This fact kept coming back to me... I knew I did not want the heart theme to be cheesy like so much of the wedding decorations can be, but I realized that hearts and love reflects Jason and I's relationship.

With that, we moved forward with "Matters of the Heart" being the underlying theme of our wedding. Side note, did you know that hidden Mickey Mouses are inserted subtly into the Disney World/Land theme parks. This little reference was discussed and brought up by my mother who had gone on a tour during a NFLPA conference a few years ago. 

We used the Disney mantra when incorporating hearts within the wedding and related events.  

So, hearts were present during the engagement session, on the invitation (which will be showcased next week), for the party favors, and other areas of the wedding.

Even purses!

And jewelery

Did you have a theme for your wedding?

Michelyn





\

UND vs NDSU: MBB Gold Uniform Unveiling

Greetings Bison and BBB Fans. I am a very happy basketball wife as are the football wives!

Congratulations to the football team for beating Wofford College in a defense-packed game. The Bison team fought well and beat the Wofford Terries 14-7. Go Bison! Make sure you cheer on the football team as they host Georgia Southern in the NCAA FCS Semifinal on Friday. I wonder how many people will call out sick on Friday?!?!

Sunday was a busy day at the FargoDome as the MBB hosted the UND game and the football team held individual meetings and walk throughs. Well, all the commotion did not interfere with guys focus! The team also unveiled their new Nike yellow jerseys!

What do you think of their new jerseys?!

In the spirit of Golding out, Jason wore a yellow tie. Below, is a picture of us after the game!

I got the idea to tie my scarf in the "muffler" style from scarves.net. I must admit that it looked way cuter when I left the house. Please understand that this is after cheering on the team. Here is the video I watched!

Oh, and the team won :) 72-52!

Tomorrow the MBB play the Minnesota Gophers!!!!!

Michelyn

NDSU vs. Morehead + My Superstitions

Last night the Bison MBB played Morehead (Kentucky) at the Johnson Arena. And, the team won: 69-57!

Let me tell you... the team had me completely stressed out! Yes, me, this Type-Aer. Let me explain.

I am having some difficulties going to MELT in the early morning hours (that is 5:35am workouts), so I elected to do the 5:30pm class instead. Well, this put me in a pickle as the MBB played at 6pm. When I jumped into my car, the men were ahead in the first half (13 to 11).

I got home, took a shower, made my dinner salad and then decided to watch the rest of the game through the Morehead's website. WRONG MOVE!

By this time, the game was well into the second half with a score of 33 to 19. I started watching in the second half and I swear at that moment, the game took a terrible downslide! The Bison went on a 12-0 run and had me pleased THEN in the last 5 minutes of the game Morehead's turned up the pressure- mean mugging all over the court. They then responded with a 19-2 run of their own.

Like seriously, this is when my superstitious behaviors came into play. I first damned myself for even thinking of watching the game. Like really, the team was doing well! I should have stuck with the mobile ESPN checks. And then decided to turn off the computer and ate my salad in silence. Thank goodness the salad was delicious  because I was in a terrible mood because of the game.

Well, we know the end... the guys pulled it through, but this really brings to light my insanity, lol. I truly have a problem during away games. I swear that if I change my routine the game will turn on the dime. I have so many examples of this insanity that I could most likely write a whole blog about it.

Here is an example. I recently traveled to Green Bay after the men won 3 games straight. While Jason was getting dressed, he placed his shoes on the bed and I freaked out that it was bad luck. Jason responded that he had put his shoes on the bed the entire time they were in Pitt. To appease me, he took the shoes off the bed and guess what happened... They lost to Green Bay!!!! See what I am talking about?!?!

Now I am screaming.... Throw the shoes on the bed!

Michelyn

Wedded Bliss Wednesdays

Now that the actual wedding festivities have passed, I thought it would be fun for me to reflect on the many aspects of planning a wedding and the actual day itself. I know some of my friends and relatives were surprised that I elected to not share during the wedding-planning process; however, I really wanted the whole day to be a surprise.

Plus, any more suggestions and comments from outsiders would have driven me batty. I can be so indecisive. Once I make a decision, I find it is best that I simply go with it instead of seeking additional consultation. I had too much going on last year (completing my dissertation, internship, first year cohabitation) to stress about what others thought about my plans. Now that it is over and we thought it was a success, the comments can come on flowing. I know there are plenty of things I could have done differently, but in all, I do believe the day was perfect for Jason and I. 

So join me on Wednesdays when I will discuss many aspects of the BBB (Brains, Beauty, and Basketball) wedding! 

Michelyn

Coaches Corner: Fit + Well All Over the World

In another installment of Coaches Corner, I sat down with Emmy Smith wife to former NDSU standout  and professional European basketball star Andre Smith.

How did you and Andre meet? 

Andre and I met at NDSU in 2006 at a  basketball party…..he walked me home and I told him we should hang out again sometime and his reply was: "That's Ok. I'm going to marry you some day so it doesn't matter." Needless to say we eventually started dating awhile later and look at us now ;)

So, you are a graduate of North Dakota State University as well. What was your major? 

Dietetics

And, you played basketball for the Bison. Do you miss the sport? 

I totally miss Bison Basketball. Not just the games, but mostly the girls, teammates. I spent so much time with them I was so sad when it was over but fortunately I'm still really close with several of them.  As far as the actual game of basketball is concerned,  Andre fulfilled my desire to be involved with the sport. Our life for sure begins when the season starts and I love every minute of it. It's funny because I played guard in college, while he's  an inside guy. We have a lot of disputes over guard vs. big man and sometimes I wish people could record our arguments….it's entertaining. I still have so much passion for the game and I'm so thankful I get to watch Andre follow his dreams.

After college I got into personal training which was the smartest decision I made (besides marrying Andre!). I love to workout but I love helping people understand that working out is a part of life,  not just something you have to do. The fitness industry is also something I can take everywhere in the world because everywhere in the world people are working out! I recently became a certified health coach which is not only helping people get in to shape, but helping them to modify their life for healthy living.

Do you have any funny workout experiences overseas? 

Ha, Yes! So many I wish I could record them all. It's funny to me because being a former athlete I've always known how to workout with intensity and I consistently still do. But overseas, not many women do….don't get me wrong, there are countries where I've seen women workout hard, but the intensity isn't quite the same and I think I surprise some gyms with my craziness….haha, can't help it. It may also have to be with the fact that I've got a terrible sweet tooth. Just recently I was on the stair climber at the gym here in Russia, and some guy watched me for a full ten minutes…weird uh? I thought maybe he was waiting for someone, or to use a machine, but he literally just watched me. Yikes.

Your husband plays professional basketball overseas. How many countries have you two lived in? Which country has been your favorite? Why? 

This is his sixth season and his second season I started traveling with him. We were in England, then Turkey for two years and in Italy last year. Without a doubt Italy was my favorite. I loved it. I loved the food, the culture, the lovely people I met, the language (which I was so lucky to have a tutor to learn) and of course the historical parts of Italy (Rome, Venice). Such a beautiful country. We are in Russia this year and just like any new place, it takes some time to adjust, but I love our place and as long as I have Andre, I could live anywhere! 

What is ‘Fit and Well All Over the World’ referring to? 

Meaning that no matter what country I'm in with Andre, I can find ways to stay fit and well, or just plain healthy! In my opinion there's no excuse to not taking care of yourself, therefore, I believe you can be 'well' anywhere you want.

You must dish- are the ladies anything like what we see on Basketball Wives? 

Honestly I haven't experienced quite the extreme of Basketball Wives in America, but like everywhere you go there's a little drama, a little rudeness,  a little I'm on a high-horse action, but in my opinion the wives that are overseas with their husbands have to find ways to get a long because sometimes we're all we have! I love going to new countries and meeting new people…it's great. My best friend last year is from Croatia, how crazy is that?!

What is your most memorable basketball experience? 

There was a road game my junior year at NDSU and for some reason we were having a hard time preparing mentally for the game, so in the locker room we turned the music up (I think it was Fergie..haha) and just started going crazy, being silly girls. I'll never forget a few of us dancing on the benches and making up actions to the song. Needless to say, we went out and played one of our best games that season. We totally 'rocked' it if you know what I mean ;)

www.gobison.com

Thank you Emmy for the interview. I really enjoyed her stories about her former teammates, many whom I have had the pleasure to get to know personally. I also think this couple is special since they both played and love the sport of basketball.

Also, please follow Emmy's blog, Fit and Well All Over the World, as she chronicles fun workouts and healthy recipes. She recently posted some videos of workouts that can be completed in about 15 minutes. I am waiting for her fitness contract as her body is INSANE! I did just run a quick 4 mile run before reviewing her post. Really, if I had a body like that... I would need to move to the Caribbean ASAP!

Michelyn