Game Face On! January 18, 2010

This Friday night I took in a local college hockey game with my friend and roommate, Tracy.

Now, I haven’t been to a real hockey game since high school when I saw the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves battle their opponent to the death. That’s right–Seawolves. Very dangerous creatures, those! They are the WOLVES of the SEA.

Despite the lack of my presence at actual games, I do love hockey. This love for the sport harkens back to the days of yore when my sisters and I received coveted roller blades and street hockey sticks and puck from our parents. Many an hour was spent out in the garage playing “hockey”. I, for the most part, was the goalie so I feel special affinity for that position.

My sisters and I mastered the skills necessary for the game of hockey by watching The Mighty Ducks Trilogy (yes, there are three of them) numerous times and so while I was watching the game last night certain phrases came back to me.

                                                           

I also found myself wondering if either coach of the teams on the ice ever had their players practice “soft hands” by using raw eggs instead of pucks, or if they ever tied their whole team together to show them how they must “skate as a team” and work together to achieve a common goal. I’m sure that they show all coaches these techniques when they get their coaching whistles.

As soon as I walked into the sports arena last night, I felt the thrill that one gets as they start to watch any major sporting event. The thrill of the win, the agony of defeat. They crowd is up, it’s down–it’s quite a rush. However, it was somewhere in the first period when my hockey knowledge started to fail me. I found myself wondering if football terminology would apply. Did that player just get an “interception”? Is there such a penalty as “roughing the passer”? If so, those refs were falling down on the job. Not that I’m judging. Hockey ref – now that’s a tough job. I saw one ref wearing a plastic facemask and thought “Well, his buddies will probably call him a wuss, but I bet his Mom would be proud of him!”

I’m glad to say that I got to see most of the game despite the people sitting in our row who had to exit and enter EVERY SECOND to refill their beer cups. Hey, guys? I didn’t pay good money to stare at your back. Towards the end of the game, the spirit of hockiness started to invade my body and I was channeling all my energy to keep from tripping or pummeling the six people who kept interrupting my view of the ice. I just wanted to sit them down and explain (albeit with clenched teeth) that since they barely saw half of the game, it probably would have been cheaper for them to watch “Miracle” at home. Sheesh.

I’ll say this – the hockey people know how to do music. Every second there wasn’t hockey going on, there was some sort of music blaring that kept the crowd engaged with what was happening on the ice instead of texting their friends or knitting a sweater.  C’mon – you can’t tell me this doesn’t make you want your team to take home the win!

 

I don’t know if I would have been able to handle all the excitement if it wasn’t for the Zamboni breaks. I think the Zamboni guys have the most peaceful job in the hockey realm. Think about it…just moments before players were smashing each other against the boards, getting into fights, battling their way towards the goal and then they all leave the ice and the Zamboni drivers get to make the ice all pretty again. It must be very soothing to make the world clean and bright. Yes, I think I’d like to be a Zamboni driver–I bet they get in free to see games and can talk with the players without loosing all their teeth. That’s the kind of job I could get behind…

Meanwhile, I think it’s best that I brush up on the actual hockey rules before the next game. No offense to Emilio Estavez but I feel my knowledge is lacking…I didn’t see either team employ the “flying v” all night.

It’s COOOOMMMMIIIINNNNG!!!! December 19, 2009

I kind of can’t believe that next week is Christmas. That seems a little nutso if you ask me. Luckily, I’m done with all my Christmas shopping and I’m ready, but I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of packing up and flying off to my parents house for the next few weeks.

After the festivities are over, the games have been played (over Dad’s strong objection) and the sleeping in has been had (over Mom’s strong objection) and all the presents have been opened and the gift bags safely stowed for next year’s gifts, I’ll still have something to look forward to. That’s right.

The 2010 American Idol season is just around the corner and as the promo shows us, “they all have to start somewhere”. Fortunately for us, “their” start is aired on national television. C’mon. You know you love it! 

A few thoughts and predictions for next year’s season that’s so rapidly approaching. After all, it seems like just yesterday that Kris Allen was crowned 2009’s winner and I was jumping up and down like a Mexican jumping bean all hopped up on sugar.

1.  First, we have the auditions to look forward to. I predict that our dear Ry-Ry will be less exhausted than last year and back to all his hosting glory. Not only that, but besides the jewels in the rough that squeak by with their yellow ticket to the golden gates of Hollywood, we get the crazy-with-a-dash-of-desperate idol hopefuls just BEGGING to be ridiculed. Of course, I’ll throw in a “bless their little heart” every once in a while so I’m not being cruel but this is going to be good. Let’s recall for a minute a few choice memories that we’ve gleaned over past seasons, shall we?

I especially enjoy two parts of this video…1:04 i’m-too-caught-up-in-the-emotion-of-this-song guy and 1:19 this-is-my-moment-to-shine girl. But the best part is the moments from 1:30 to 1:36. Now THAT’S an audition montage for you.

Reaching just smidge further back in our memory I bring you this next clip. Gosh, I wish I could just memorize one line and sing it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over…well, you get the picture. Now that’s annoying. But it’s classic!

But all poking fun aside, we also get this:

And this…

And a little of this…

And lest we forget, also this (pipe down, Simon!).

2.  SO, as we all know, Ellen DeGeneres will be making her American Idol judge debut this season. Now, I think she came on board AFTER the auditions, so this is really more of  a prediction for next next year. But just so it’s in writing somewhere…I think some Idol hopeful will bring in a pet that they’ve rescued into their audition to garner her vote to send them to Hollywood. I’m just sayin’. (“Here, Ellen, be mesmorized by my chick named Fluffy and don’t concern yourself with, you know, the train wreck vocals of this audition…”)

3.  I’m kinda interested to see how the judges verbal sparring changes this season. I wonder if Kara will learn how to control her willy-nilly finger pointing and general decibel level. I wonder if Simon will find ways to tick Ellen off. I wonder if Randy will insert another “catch phrase” into the mix to spice things up a bit. I wonder if Ellen will have anything of substance to say…besides being funny, of course. All these questions and more will be answered soon!

4.  I wonder if I will ever love a winner’s CD as much as I love Kris Allen’s? Um. no.

Hold on to your hats, folks…we’re in for a ride of a season! But don’t you worry. I”ll be here to take us through it every step of the way. Well, except the audition phase. That is, unless something REALLY funny happens. Also, Paula Abdul who?

Bah Humbug(ish) December 13, 2009

It’s gone. Or really, to be more accurate, it never arrived.  It’s kind of like when you order a gift online and don’t spend your weight in silver dollars to get it quicker than standard shipping. 10-12 business days is a long time. But this is worse because it’s already BEEN 10-12 business days and I still don’t have it. My Christmas spirit has gone MIA.

I think it all started when the day after Thanksgiving passed me by and I didn’t pull out my boxes brimming with Christmas sparkle and cheer. A few more days went by and I honestly couldn’t muster the cheer-o-meter past a paltry “Christmas Apathy” level. I think I missed the window. I think there was a window and I completely let it collapse like a porthole to an alternate reality.

It’s not like I haven’t TRIED to get it back. After all, I’m not a total grinch!

• I’ve applied the ELF-ish philosophy. After all, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. Done that.
• I’ve made the usual Christmas treats…spritz cookies and Christmas truffles. Nothing.
• I’ve watched a made for TV Christmas movie per my roommate Liz’s suggestion.
• I helped my department decorate for Christmas. This involved setting up a Christmas tree. Ooooh Tannenbaum. Nope.
• I pulled out my Yankee Christmas candle. I’ve even burned it a few times.
• I’ve been Christmas shopping. At a MALL. C’mon now! That’s hardcore Christmas.
• The snow and cold is screaming wintery Christmas. That’s really only succeeded in making me more paranoid about driving on the roads.
• I made a Pandora Christmas playlist. And I very nearly fell asleep at my desk.
• I posted a few Christmas posts willing myself to believe them. Unfortunately, nothing happened.

Let’s face it…I’m practically a scrooge. Is there any coming back from this? At this point, I think it’s possibly too late. Maybe I’ll just skip Christmas this year. I mean, it didn’t work that great for the characters in John Grisham’s novel, but this is real life, people. I think I might be able to make it happen. Whaddya think? Is there hope? Or maybe some sort of vitamin I can take to restore this deficiency?

Christmas Contest November 30, 2009

So, because I like all of you and I heart the Christmas season I’m going to let you in on a secret. My roommate Liz is holding a contest from her blog featuring some of my handiwork.

Check it out! Click here for more details.

Oh, and also? Merry Christmas. Enjoy a Christmas song on me!

Great Things November 30, 2009

I used to be really into reading  Martha Stewart Living. Once, when I was in high school, I remember making a receipe from the magazine –  a strawberry cake – for family friends whose dog had just died. After all, nothing says comfort like cake, right? I scooped up the issue of Martha and went to the store to pick up ingredients. $50 later and after tracking two grocery store employees to find out what creme fraiche was, I came away with a few very valuable lessons.

1.  Martha is too smart for me.

2.  I like cooking with ingredients that I’m familiar with and know how to pronounce.

3.  No cake (or any other baking endeavor) is worth $50.

Then, I discovered Real Simple. I find that for the most part, this magazine lives up to it’s name and it’s much more my speed. But to this day, if I pick up a Martha Stewart Living, I always head to one particular part of the magazine…the “Good Things” section. I still love that section, even if I have benched Martha from participating in my kitchen adventures (after all, I already have a handicap…).

This blog post is my ”good things” list. However, being of a somewhat competitive nature, I’ve entitled this post “great things”. Take that, Martha! Ahem. Moving on.

1.  I love my family. Through the ups and downs of life, I know we’re there for each other and that comes even more into focus around the holiday season. Even if my Mom does forego our homemade-with-love construction paper ornaments for a hotel tree look with matching bulbs and ribbon wrapped around the girth of the tree. Also, Mom, I think it’s time we give a less…shall we say…symetrical tree a home this year. Let’s get one that would really make Charlie Brown proud. Whaddya say?

2. My church is AWESOME. ’Nough said. 

3.  I’m so blessed to work where I do. I love my job. I mean I really love it and would probably come to work even if I made a million bajillion dollars playing the lotto (Don’t worry, Mom. I’m not playing the lotto). If that were the case, though, you can bet that I’d be better dressed. And accessorized. And I’d probably be the most popular girl in the wholllle office.

4. Living where I do, it’s fun to have access to a bigger city and all the events that it offers. While American Idol tour chose not to travel through Colorado (I’m not bitter…I’m just sayin’), I did get to see Wicked and a Casting Crowns/Matt Redman concert this year. Man, I loved Wicked. And if I’ve read one blog post about Wicked I’ve read them all…and was fully prepared to love the show based on all the recommendations from friends. But it really did capture me – the story was clever, the performances were amazing, the costumes and sets were dazzling, and the music was fun with just a dash of wit. The only thing I would have changed would be to have better seats!

The Casting Crowns/Matt Redman concert was lovely, too. I mean, it did creep me out a little bit to be in such a big crowd of people right at the start of the flu season and H1N1 debacle, but I was able to mostly tune out the coughs that I heard in the auditorium and listen to Mark Hall and his group lay out what living the Christian life should really look like…in song form. Plus, the company of my roommate Liz was highly enjoyable.  Now, if I would have only had a mask, I would have been able to fully enjoy everything.

5.  Fantasy football season came around at the end of summer and for the first time ever in the years that I’ve been playing, I set up my own league. Let me tell you, it’s hard to keep the power of being commissioner from going to your head in the beginning…I set up the rules how I wanted them and phoned lots of friends and family (the family turned me down flat, but I’m not holding it against them too much ) to participate. It’s been a fun season with a fair amount of winning, but it’s not over ’til it’s over. Or someone sings. Or something.

6.  Easily the best American Idol season happened this year. And it’s been a wee bit of torture to wait for the season champ Kris Allen’s CD to drop. Now I have it. In my possesion. Now that’s a great thing. Don’t even get me started!

7.  If last last weekend was a chapter in my life story the chapter title would be “Movie Weekend”. I took a random day off of work (I have to use or lose the vacay days, people!) last Friday and took in New Moon with my friends Katie and Stephanie. In my humble (but always true) opinion this movie was 10x better than Twilight and most of that was oweing to Taylor Lautner’s character, Jacob Black. Who knew that Kristen Stewart knew how to smile?

On Friday night, I went to see The Blind Side with my roommate Liz and Johanna and Tim. I know what you’re thinking – Sandra Bullock with blonde hair? But stick with me. I cannot even tell you how great this movie is. It’s a touching story of Michael Oher, a high school student with a bad home life and bleak looking future, and the family that took him in. The movie is so well done – not cheesy, just the right amount of emotion and plenty of laughs throughout. Other than the story in general, the best part of this movie was this kid. He was hilarious as SJ (Shawn, Jr.).

On Saturday, Liz and our friend Ashley hosted a “Jane Austen-a-thon” at our house. We watched Jane Austen movies that I’d never seen…Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion…and threw in Sense and Sensibility just for fun. It was super fun and times of laughter with friends. Plus, the snacks didn’t hurt anything.

8.  Etsy.com. Apparently it’s been around for a while but this year my friend Erin introduced me to the site through her blog and I’ll never be the same. I’m not even sure how to really explain it, but I like to call it a website where Anthropologie meets Ebay. It’s great fun to browse the site and I’ve had good success with ordering from there, as well. Erin recently opened her own shop. You should check it out if you’ve a mind to get a totally unique Christmas gift for someone on your list.

9.  I found it. The bedspread that I never knew I always wanted. Now, if only I could come up with $500 that I didn’t need to spend on my college loans I’d be home free. Sniff.

10.  And of course, football season is a great thing, too. If there’s one thing I love it’s bone crunching action interrupted intermittenly by awesome commercials and ending with interviews from players and coaches that bascially state the obvious.

Reporter – “Hey (insert name of sports player here), why do you think your team couldn’t pull this win out?”

Coach – “We have got to go out and execute to win the game. We have got to play better than we did tonight. If not, we don’t have a chance to do anything.”

Me – Oh, really? SO glad you cleared that up for me.

And right now? I’m sitting in my blue recliner thankful that I have warm slippers for my feet and the option of hot tea right upstairs. Come to think of it, I really could use some hot tea…

Christmas, Christmas! November 9, 2009

So, my friend Renee just blogged about Christmas music and I thought it was pretty awesome. Here’s a link for you to enjoy the merriment, too. And remember – “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!”

http://reneesrandomrantings.blogspot.com/2009/11/three-camps-of-christmas.html

Observations from the Blue Recliner October 19, 2009

Today I woke up and felt horrible so I stayed home from work. Here are a few observations from my sick bed recliner.

1.  Ice water is the most amazing beverage EVER.

2.  My coffee table isn’t really in the middle of the room like I thought it was.

3.  It takes considerably more effort to kill a spider when your nose is running and your throat is on fire. Maybe the spiders could give me a bye week or something?

4.  Fruity Pebbles make everything better. They have colorful, magical properties.

5.  Oprah’s gotten old. And why is DREW CAREY on The Price is Right?! What happened to Bob??

6.  I really need to vacuum.

7.  Texting is like a window into the outside world. I miss people but I’m thinking the feeling isn’t mutual…

8.  I’ll never take clear sinuses for granted again. I swear.

9.  Digital thermometers are the best invention of all time. I can read the numbers realllll clearly.

10.  I miss my mommy. Is that okay for a grown woman to say? Whelp, too late now.

I’m going to bed and will hope to see the light of day tomorrow…

Gotta Love American Futbol October 11, 2009

Whew! Well, right now I’m watching the kick off of the Colts vs. Titans Sunday night game. Gotta love that Peyton Manning. Also, I have to say that I’m really enjoying the fact that the Southwest Airlines commercials are poking fun at the ridiculous bag charges of all the other airlines. In fact, I think a convincing argument can be made that the best commercials happen during football games. Especially the Sports Center commericals. And anything with Peyton Manning and Justin Timberlake has an excellent chance of being freakin’ phenomenal.

 

But all in all it’s been a great day on the football front. A couple reasons for that:

1.  Lots of close games, two of which went into overtime. And let me just take this opportunity to brag on my 5-0 Broncos that won one of those OT games! I feel I owe a big apology to Josh McDaniels, whom I unfairly judged on the whole Cutler/Orton debacle of 2009.

2.  In tribute to the old school Haddock ritual of watching football on Sunday afternoons, I made chocolate chip cookies. It used to be my “job” at home and I’m pretty sure that rekindling this magical combination is what helped the Broncos win. Also, the fact that it looks like this outside didn’t hurt matters.

Football season just makes my heart happy. I’m currently slugging out my fantasy football game with Todd’s team and can’t wait for Monday nights game to see if Mark Sanchez can pull in the points I need to stay undefeated in my league. I guess we’ll see, eh? There is one point of contention that I’d like to bring up to the Denver Broncos, though. Would it KILL you to draft a good looking QB? I mean seriously. Exhibit A and B below.

Jay Cutler – dashing, isn’t he?

Kyle I-Need-A-Better-Haircut Orton

But, at the end of the day, I guess all that matters is that we win, right? Right.

Maintainance October 5, 2009

This morning on the way to work I moved a piece of paper containing directions off of my dashboard and discovered that underneath my odometer, my beloved Saturn was trying to give me a message. The message was short, but sweet (just like me) and said “Change Oil”. Well. That was a pretty clear directive. And I wondered why my car had been dinging at me since yesterday.

I lost no time in calling the service center to make an appointment for today. Here’s how the call went.

Service Guy: “Hi, my name is blah blah (he kind of mumbled this part). How can I help you?”

Me: “Hi, my name is Amy. I need to schedule an oil change.”

Service Guy: “Okay. Well, it looks like we’re all booked up for today. It’ll have to be tomorrow.” He proceeds to list all the available times.

Me: “Well, I’d really like to bring it in today. Is there no availability at all? I can be flexible on the time.”

Service Guy: “Oh. Well, would you like to bring it in in the morning or the afternoon? I have openings at 9, 10, 10:15, 10:45, 3:00, 3:30, 3:45…”

[Hmmm. No availability today, eh? I think someone's being a bit lazy...]

Me: “I’ll bring it in at 3:45.”

Service Guy: “Sure. We have a semi-synthetic oil change with afdsl;jka afjk;asfj  jfasdfks;j dfawofeksa (this is what it sounded like to me) for $24.99. Do you want that?”

Me: “Um. I don’t know (the semi-synthetic thing was kind of throwing me off). If you put that in my car will it continue to run and will the “Change Oil” message turn off? That’s really all I need.”

Service Guy: [long pause] “Yes, ma’am. This is what most people get.”

Me: “Great! Let’s do that, then.”

You’ll be happy to know that the oil in my car did get changed but you probably won’t be surprised to learn that they “found” lots of things that could spiff up my car. Yeah, they saw me coming from a mile away.

Wakey, wakey! :) October 2, 2009

Why am I awake and blogging at this hour? It’s a perfectly valid question. I’ll tell you, but first let me just say that I am definitely a dog girl. This doesn’t mean that I’m fit for the circus (thought I do a nice trick of switching a rubberband from two fingers on my hand to the other two fingers that is pretty hard to figure out.)  I just really like dogs. Now, the really yippy ones aren’t necessarily my favorite, but as members of the “dog” family, they get a free pass.  Four of my good friends in my fair state have dogs that I really like. I’ve often thought of rescuing a wee pup from the pound and giving it a good, loving-yet-firm, home. But here’s the deal…it comes down to the fact that I’m not ready for the responsibility. After all, if I can’t take care of a blog, I certainly can’t take care of a dog. And I should also probably take care not to confuse the two.

Which brings me to the fact of why I’m awake. Or actually, it doesn’t connect at all but what do you expect at this hour? I should probably develop better sleeping habits, I know. But in my defense, I tried to go to bed at my normal hour. A few things delayed my shut-eye. Namely, three.

1.  My stomach. I went to bed, tossed and turned only to realize that my stomach was growling. So, I downed a few saltines, washed them down with a swig of water and had high hopes for my rest. But…

2.  My pillow situation had other ideas. I just bought a new pillow from Target. I think it’s an amazing pillow and instead of using the flat pillow and stacking a small throw pillow that I’ve been laying my head on, it’s only one pillow. That’s just more efficient! Problem being, we haven’t developed that cozy lay-my-head-down-and-go-right-to-sleep relationship yet. We’re still in the “get to know” phase. ‘Nough said.

3.  The spider. I think by now you all know me well enough to know how I feel about these creatures. After some more tossing and turning, I remembered that I needed to charge my cell phone and got up to find the cord and plug it into the wall socket. After fumbling around, too stubborn to turn on the light and wreck what little “sleepability” I had, I finally succumbed and flicked on the light. I spotted the cord right away and leaned down to pick up the end of it and was eye-level with a spider. Luckily for me, I’m kind of messy and had a shoe nearby. If I’d cleaned my room like I was supposed to last night, my shoes would have been a few yards away in my closet. Yards are like miles in spider killing measurements.

I grabbed said shoe and put it on my feet to give the stomp a little more gusto. But the creepy arachnid edged closer to the wall making it nearly impossible for me to crush him like the bug that he is. He headed for the space between the wall and my bed. I tossed off the shoe, dropped to my knees and made a few more attempts on his life. He got away and I could feel the panic rising…if I couldn’t kill this spider, I wasn’t sure what my options were but I can tell you that sleeping in my bed was not one of them. With a valient effort, I lunged forward and the spider met the underside of the shoe. Safe!

I have to say, though, that the day I find a spider in my bed is the day that I buy a bunk bed and sleep on the top level. I know they can get up that high, but all the spiders I’ve found in my room have been on the floor. I’m just sayin’. The top level of a bunk bed is not generally the safest place for my person, especially in the morning. Let’s just say my consciousness awakens fully at approximately 9:05 AM and leave it at that. So, needless to say I’m really holding onto that option as a last resort.

But now, this blog post has done it’s job (it’s better than warm milk or counting sheep!) and my eyes are sleepy. So, I’m going to go now and hope that you don’t feel used. After all, what are friends for if not to help other friends fall asleep post spider-trauma?

Sweet dreams!