I am very very sad to report that I am just not ready to compete at the level required to win a Grand Slam. I have been working very hard over the past few weeks and my shoulder is doing great, but there is way more preparation and training needed to compete to win my fourth grand slam and I have just ran out of time. If they can move the Australian Open back another 3 weeks, I think I could be ready!! I have very mixed feelings, I am so disappointed and sad that I can't defend my title from last year and at the same time, I am so excited to be back on the tennis court training.
After spending a majority of the last few months in Phoenix/ Scottsdale, it's been nice to spend some time at home with a normal regime of waking up and going
to practice. I know that I'm working pretty hard when I need to take little power naps in between practices.
If I may say so myself, I was the official Santa Claus of 2008. I set up little worker shop in my hotel room in Phoenix and one at home for the weekends. I don't know how many presents I wrapped but I never thought I would come to a point when I didn't want to do it anymore. So that lead to a quick stop at Papyrus and a stack of Christmas bags. The shopping on the other hand, I never get tired of. I was helping out all of my guy friends and their shopping lists. Shopping with or around men is a nightmare to begin with, but during X-mas time its a complete disaster. They're constantly complaining about the prices at the checkout. Their go-to is usually gift certificates which I have a problem with because there is absolutely no thought or meaning behind it. Others just walk around the stores saying Bahh Humbaa..
My grandmother was in town for quite a bit which led to a few things...cooking and doing non-stop jigsaw puzzles. There is only one thing that separates my cooking and my grandmas. You see when she's in the kitchen it seems like no one is there. When I'm cooking, I let the whole world know! There's flour all over the kitchen counters and ten feet away on the floor, I call everyone to let them know I'm cooking, and I finish that off with a mass email to my friends with a picture of what I cooked. And its always around the time the cleaner comes in. I guess I'm also leaving out one minor difference between the two: her tastes A LOT better.
Quote goes to Natalie when the paparazzi were following us around in NY. 'Do they always make conversation with you like that?' Yep, there's a very open dialogue when they're snapping your picture and no it's not normal.
As far as music I have a new favorite..Michael Franti...you have to check out his songs 'Say Hey' and 'Never Too Late'. The Killers new album is amazing! Song four is my fave on the album.
On another note, I wanted to let everyone know that I started working with a new Nike design team end of last year and have been working very hard on this years dresses. I cannot wait to play in them and unfortunately will have to debut the Australian dress a little later. There will be six of them altogether, changing colors in between the grand slams. The color palette is stunning and starting in 2010 you will see some really cool graphics.
I want to thank all my fans for their support, especially all my fans in Australia, I promise I will be there next year.