Pathetic!

Not the Kings as a whole, just the goaltending. Pathetic is the only way to describe Dan Cloutier. He is a steaming pile of pooh. There was so much steam coming from that net last night, I could barely see the play. Not that I was missing much.
Except for a few defensive breakdowns, which is to be expected, he can be blamed for almost all of those 5 goals. Sad, really. The first goal was scored from the NEUTRAL ZONE! No one ever scores from behind the frickin' blue line! But no, he managed to let that one in. And then a second one a few minutes later.
I want to know what Crawford was thinking putting this guy in goal when Barry Brust should have had the start.
And to listen to the post game interview with this pile of pooh, he keeps making comments like "we made mistakes", "we didn't follow through" etc. Sorry, honey, YOU are the one who is making mistakes. YOU are the one who isn't following through.

The fat guy in section 107 could play better!!! Seriously!

Updating my profile....

I was recently brought to my attention that I need to update my profile. The children comment no longer stands.
As of next July, I will be a parent.
But will the traveling stop?

Nope!
I plan on showing my kids the world. If I have to sell my blood to do it, I will. My grandparents made sure I was educated in travel and so will my kids.
So, She Travels will be traveling a little less, but still traveling.
Where?
Well, as soon as the kid knows who Mickey Mouse is, its off to Disneyworld.
And in 2009 when Luc Robitaille is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, you'll find the family in Toronto cheering him on. ***Those who know me, know that if I have a boy, he'll be the Kings first round draft pick in 2025. :) *** The kid already has his first King jersey.
New York - we'll be in New York at least once a year.
So many places to take the kids........

What everyone's been waiting for.....

I'm pregnant. Due the end of next July. Totally unexpected. We'd given up until Spring 07 and then this! Who knew!

Bryan's excited and nervous.

And anyone who knows me, knows this kid will be a Kings fan. He'll be in the stands with the rest of us next season crying with us. I'm hoping for a boy, the Kings 2025 first round draft pick. :)

I had the first Ultrasound last Friday and found out I'm 6 1/2 weeks along. Not far at all. And the baby is the size of a cashew.

More.....

Christmas Parade.

This was the reason I went. I don't remember seeing this before so this was the reason I made my husband deal with the parking and take the day off to do this. Anyone who has ever been to Disneyland knows you used to park in the huge parking lot and walk up to the front gates. Because Disney sullied the name of the NHL by creating " The Mighty Ducks" hockey team, I've avoided them. I won't give them my money. But I broke down and went. The parking has changed. In place of the parking lot, they've erected the excuse for a park, California Adventure. Now, you park in a structure and are shuttled to Downtown Disney and then walk to the front of the park. Why they've made this so difficult, I'll never know. But I've seen the park now and can die in peace. I won't be going back anytime soon.

I will say this, during the parade, there was some Florida locals there talking to another group from Canada that come down every year to celebrate their kids birthdays. The Floridians had nothing good to say about the California location of Disney. It took all of my restraint not to say something to them. Now, I've been to both parks and yes, the Florida parks ARE better. However, I will say this. Walt Disney didn't have the land in California to do what he did in Florida so his original creation earns more of my respect than his later development. Also, whatever he couldn't accomplish in CA, he was able to in Florida. California is the rough draft, a wonderful rough draft and without that, Florida wouldn't be as good as it is. So a big tongue wagging to the people from Florida. If you don't like my park, leave. My castle may not have a restaurant and be three times smaller than the one in Florida, but its still better. Its original. Sorry about the vent. I know not everyone is like this, but she was so LOUD about it, it was annoying. And the poor Canadians kept saying that they liked this park. Their kids liked this park better and since it was their birthday present every year, this is why they made the trip.

They have their pride and I have mine.

Now, pictures......

Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion

are completely redone for the holidays. If you liked Nightmare Before Christmas, the movie, then you'll love the Haunted Mansion at Christmas. Jack Skelington as Sandy Claus has completely redone the Mansion. Pirates has been reconfigured slightly to include characters from the new movies like Captain Jack Sparrow and Davey Jones. The drops are a little bigger than before but the ride is still one of the best ones there. I was told no flash photography, but the people in front of me had their stupid camera phones out with flash, so I took out my camera too.

Disneyland at Christmas

Had to see it. Never been there during the Holidays before so I made Bryan go. He loved it - he'll just never admit it. :)

Some pictures from the day......

The whole place is decorated for the holidays. Every lamp post has a wreath on it.

88 lines..

...about 44 women.

Sorry, just noticed that I've posted 88 times now and that song came to mind.
Wow, being unemployed really screws with your mind.

Yeah, so I'm unemployed. 5 years at one place and they screw you. I should have left when they gave us our notice. I should have known their empty promises would lead to heartache.
A new chapter in my life.
A new chapter.
I need to find a job.
At Christmas time.
Not going to happen, right?
Well, I'm going to see if it'll happen.
It needs to happen.
Severance runs out in 6 weeks.
Unemployment should kick in in about a week. I hate dealing with the government. I better get unemployment.

Time to let the dog out. He's acting funny which means he probably has to pee. He's pee'd on my pile of dirty clothes in the laundry room twice this week.

For my friends.....

Sierra and Michael who just had their baby last week - Savannah.

I made these announcements for them, just have to mail them. I hate the Post Office so the thought of going anywhere near the place gives me hives. I usually avoid the place like the plague and use those mailbox etc places. Since I don't have one by the house, I have to go to the PO. :( I can do this.

I made them girly, but not too girly. I think all of the brown kind of counteracts the pink. Since Sierra is pretty much like me, I know pink is pretty much an unheard of color.......

God help me if I have a girl.......

Some pictures of the Prince.

Someone knows his place in this house. This is my little Prince. Thanksgiving was stressful for this little guy. Begging for food and attention can wear a pug out, ya know?

Thanksgiving....

Its just the beginning of the holidays isn't it? After a day filled with family and food, the holiday season began. Did I mention food? We had a 24 pound turkey and a 20 pound ham. Did I buy too much food for 11 people? You bet! But the leftovers were so worth it. I'm of course, turkey'd out at this point and ham doesn't sound so good right now either. Now I have less than a month to recover in time for Christmas. More food.

Some pictures from my Thanksgiving.

Happy Turkey Day!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Eat a lot and enjoy your families!

:)

Kings Rink Tour....

Coming to a rink near you!

So, after a long debate, I decided to hit the Aliso Viejo Ice Palace. Originally my mother was going to hit that one and I was going to go to the one closest to the house - Riverside Rink. But then!! The Kings announced WHO was going to be at which rink so I decided against Riverside and made the drive to Aliso. Boy, was it worth it. :)
Michael Cammalleri, Alyn McCauley and Marty Murray were the Kings there. And David Courtney, the Kings PA announcer at Staples. I gave the man props for the good job he does at Staples compared to that loser over at the Ponda Center. They have fake cheering, recorded cheering. How sad. And the announcer screams. It scares the you know what out of you whenever he speaks. And you never know when he's going to do it, it just sort of happens. You're sitting there watching the game and then this voice from above shouts, making you jump out of your seat. Okay, dude, its just a goal.

Anyway, moving on. So they did it a little different this year. Instead of strictly a Q&A session like last year followed by a small workshop with the kids, they just did the workshop. You could submit questions for the players to answer. They'd call them over and ask the question. Not bad, but I liked having them stand there and answer the questions. Of course, their moronic 'bodyguards' were there - like a bunch of kids are going to hurt the players. This is supposed to be for the kids, for the fans, but the fans can't get anywhere near them. And the rink wasn't that packed - not as bad as last year. I think everyone went to the rink Anze Kopitar was at. :)

But Cammy did see the jersey, pointed and winked. And My mom got her picture with him. he's such a sweetheart. Great personality and a great hockey player. And cute. Terribly cute. Make you want to toss your panties at him cute.

Cammy Q&A - Wears #13 because when he was 7, his dad lied about his age to get him on a team. When they handed out jerseys, his dad told him to wait because he was the youngest. the only number left was 13 so he took it. Only one other player wore #13 at the time. Since its not a lucky number, he makes sure he sticks to his superstition of putting his equipment on exactly the same way every time.

Also, he loves playing with someone like Kopitar. This year, Coach Crawford has him in more of a defensive role which he's getting used too. He said he likes to play the entire ice and this is his chance.

Cammy

Crowding the goalie

Team picture. Cammy is laying on the ice in the front row.

Whats better than a Ducks loss?

A Kings win. Three games in three days for me. I'm tired, but its all worth it. Now I have a week off from games. The Kings are on a Road Trip.

So, after the disappointing loss by the Kings on Thursday to Philly, the Ducks were treated to a loss by Chicago. Chicago took waaaayyyy too many penalties to win a game, but win they did. Normally, when I go to the Ducks games, they win. I'm a good luck charm or something. :(

And then tonight, the Kings beat Phoenix - not necessarily a hard thing to do. Gretzky is too emotional to coach. He's still in the mindset of a player. Just because he was a great player, doesn't mean he'll be a great coach. And Gordie Howe trumps Gretzky any day. Howe played the entire game, Gretzky, well, we'll save my disgust for him for another day. I dont' want to ruin the awesome feeling of a win with that man.

And JR got laid out by Cowan. Not exactly a clean hit, but a hit. JR was booed every time he touched the puck. In an interview after the game, JR apologized for sucking last year and even went so far as to say that "if I were a Kings fan, I'd probably boo me too". Guess what JR:

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Not only did my Kings win, but the Monarchs put on a good show in Manchester. I'll get back there one of these days.....

Jason Labarbera - yes, my goalie - stopped 46 shots for a shutout. YEP! You heard it here first. A shutout. My boy! Must have been the mojo from the jersey. I've been wearing his jersey to the Kings games and whenever I do, he wins. The one time I switched up and wore Cammy's jersey, he lost. So, whenever the Kings have a game the same night as the Monarchs, the JLB jersey makes an appearance.

They even voted him one of the 3 Stars for the game too.

#1 Patrick O'Sullivan - Hat Trick

# 2 Jason Labarbera - 46 saves and a shutout

#3 Noah Clarke - 2 goals

More Europe!

Oestergard - a mile long pedestrian street. Lots of shops, churches, fountains - you get the point.

Town Hall in Copenhagen. At one of the Pedestrian street was our hotel and at the other, Tivoli Gardens and Town Hall Square.

Parliament Building - 4 dragon tails swirled. Pretty cool to see.

Statue of the founder of Copenhagen - Bishop Absalom. We were told on our tours that anything that looks like gold, is gold. This is on the front of the Town Hall Building.

Teresa is coming!!

Teresa Collins is coming to my lss. Yeah. In January. Yeah!
Tuesday January 30 th @ 7pm.
Yeah!
And the Kings don't have a home game that night - amazing! That almost never happens.
So, the Oasis needs to hurry up and open already so I can call and reserve my spot.

More pics!

The Opera Hotel. Where we stayed before the cruise.

Tivoli Gardens - one of the entrances.

Nyhaven - the canal street with restuarants and shops. And the Little Mermaid statue.

Interupting the Baltic pictures....

....for a little more love. This time, from the Union Leader in New Hampshire.

Last night provided a rock-em, sock-em 4-2 victory by the Monarchs over the Toronto Marlies that saw too many hits to count, fights and hard-earned goals that sent all 5,332 in the Verizon Wireless Arena home a winner.

Monarchs goalie Jason LaBarbera (5-5-1) once again was Mr. Everything, making 35 saves. He saved a Toronto penalty shot. In fact, a penalty shot has never beaten LaBarbera in his career. Just before Stephenson's insurance goal, LaBarbera snuffed Westrum on the blind side during the 5-on-3.
"What a great save by LaBarbera," said Morris. "That was the turning point. Just took the pressure off."

Roussin's first was a finish in front of T.J. Kemp's rebound at 7:10 of the second period. At 11:00, Toronto's Marc Moro beat LaBarbera on a sharp wrister from the left circle. And 2:34 later, Roussin got his second on a power play. He almost lost the handle on the shot as moved at the net from inside the right circle and that alone may have fooled Marlies goalie J.F. Racine (35 saves).

I will be sporting the Labarbera jersey at Staples Center tonight in honor of the win!

A little teaser...

So many people have asked for pictures from my Europe Trip in September so here they are. Just a few every day. These are from Copenhagen, Denmark.

The first one is the happy group. My family on the way to the airport.

In the air. Just before we started our descent into London.

Landing in London. Bryan was fascinated with the little plane beneath us as we circled. I HAD to take a picture of it. It is kind of cool.

Sunset in Copenhagen. Finally there. After hours in the air and battling the horrible security measures in London, we made it.