Dec. 1, 2011

STANFORD, Calif. - Throughout the season, Stanford's women's basketball team will be checking in with their thoughts on Page Five of the game notes. This week's "Page Five Chronicles" features junior Mikaela Ruef shares the joy of getting to spend Thanksgiving with the team at her family home in Beavercreek, Ohio, and senior Grace Mashore continues her "Saving Grace (From Reality)" blog with another update on one of her favorite reality families!

Nothing Like Some Home Cooking For Thanksgiving - By Mikaela Ruef

Mikaela Ruef

"Surreal" is the best word I can think of to describe being in Beavercreek, Ohio on Thanksgiving with the team. Until now, my Stanford world and my Ohio world have been separate, and I was apprehensive yet eager for the merging of the two. The moment the plane touched down in Cincinnati, I was smiling ear to ear. I was in my favorite state with my favorite people, how could I not smile? The first two days were spent in Cincinnati, enjoying the many wonders of the "Dirty Nati" including, but not limited to Skyline Chili and Graeter's ice cream.

Thanksgiving Day can only be chronicled as my "perfect day", and thus far, the happiest day of my life (happier than the day I got Roger's autograph and that's saying something). It started with us practicing at my high school in front of my coach, my former teammates, and current high school team. Everyone got to see the gym I played in, the halls I roamed, and the town I ran back in high school.

Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined Thanksgiving dinner going any better than it did. Somehow, my family was able to devise a seating arrangement for 50 people in our tiny house, and my mom (with the help of many others) made enough of the most delicious food I have ever tasted to feed everyone twice. She even managed not to burn the rolls, a feat I can't remember her ever accomplishing. During dinner my mom told me she could tell by the chatter that everyone was enjoying themselves, which made all the work worth it.

This is going to sound sentimental and corny, but bear with me and I'll end with a joke. When you spend Thanksgiving with your team, you miss your family because that's who you're supposed to be with on Thanksgiving. When you spend Thanksgiving with your family, it's weird because you miss your team, but then you realize it's because they're a part of your family. So when you get to spend Thanksgiving with your "biological family" and your "team family" nothing is missing and you feel pure, unconcealed joy, or at least that's how I felt. And that is what I'm most thankful for.

You may be from Ohio if you root for a college team though you've never taken a class there. (It's funny cuz it's true... what up OHIO STATE!!!)

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Saving Grace (From Reality) - By Grace Mashore Grace Mashore HELLO STANFORD FAITHFUL! I hope everyone had wonderful Thanksgivings! We had a week filled with hard work and intense focus so needless to say, when the season premiere of "Kourtney and Kim Take New York" (a spin off of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians") came on, I was thrilled to take an hour out of my day to watch the "k"raziness start once again! It was a great drama filled, production staged, scripted hour of reality TV at it's best! One of the many great things from this week came from my realization that I am one step closer to being connected eternally to these entertaining people...it was brought to my attention that our very own Susan Borchardt (strength and conditioning coach extraordinaire) lived NEXT DOOR to Kris Humphries (Kim's 72-day husband) while her husband played on the same team with him. Also needless to say, Susan was not as excited by the Kardashians as I am and I am sure thought I was a little "K"razy when I then proceeded to accost her for info on what he is "really like when he isn't on TV." Apparently he is EXACTLY the same, which I find awesome. It's real! These people are really "K"razy; it's not just one big joke! In my mind, this makes watching the redi"K"ulousness that much more fun. Mindless TV at its best! I hope everyone out there is finding their favorite reality TV show, even if it's not the Kardashians. Next week I will branch out, don't you worry! See you all at Maples this week!