The bags are packed.....

The money is exchanged and the camera is loaded. We're off to Europe for two weeks. I'll be updating my blog every couple of days, but I won't be noting it in the 2peas Blog thread when I do. So, if you want to check back, bookmark this!

So, our flight on Terrorist Airways leaves tonight. Got my Ativan ready.

Not looking forward to dropping the dog off at the sitters for two weeks, but I'm sure he'll be fine. There will be two english bulldogs for him to play with so he should be fine. Won't miss us too much. I got him a new toy to take along and of course, his favorite blanket. He'll be fine. I just have to keep telling myself that......

And I leave you with a picture of the man I love!

2 more days.....

2 more days....2 more days...

If I keep repeating it, those 2 days will be come 1 and then I can count the hours. Just checked the Princess website and my boat is docked in St. Petersburg. Very cool sunset over there.

I made a very difficult decision this morning. I won't be taking my Digital Rebel with me on this trip. There is too much that could happen. Sure, I can take it on the plane with me Friday but (God forbid) if something should happen while I'm over there and they change the carry on restrictions AGAIN, I'll be forced to pack the camera. I'm NOT packing that camera. I paid WAY too much money for it to subject it to the 'security' personnel and the baggage handlers on the tarmac. I've seen the way they 'handle' bags and there is no way anything is surviving the 'luggage toss'. I'm convinced those guys are in some kind of competition with their co workers on the tarmac to see who can throw what further.

So, the Canon A80 will be making the trip. And to think, I rushed my husband into getting this back in June so that I had time to learn the functions. This camera was purchased for this trip specifically. Its not like I go to Europe every day and I wanted to bring back some really awesome photos. Guess that won't be happening......

So, in honor of no camera, no photos today.

Extra hockey tickets.....

have been secured. Yep, I called and purchased some tickets for the special games this year. Opening night, the Rangers and Islanders, the Jersey retirement ceremony for Luc in January.
Of course, I still have my awesome seats now. Lets take another look, shall we?
I'm loving these. Can't wait for the season to actually start.I worked on some projects this weekend. I finished the layout from the Kelli Crowe class I took at the Oasis a couple of weeks ago.

Lots of stamping and water colors. Loved the idea though and Kelli was too cute! I know, the LO is about a hockey player. Sorry! I'm obsessed. And I really didn't have anyone else to use the LO for and Luc just popped into my mind as we were working on it.

I also made the little shell covered book from the Jenni Bowlin kit from a couple of months ago. I love these little books. 7 Gypsies 4x4 mini books. Book is painted with Ice colored paint from Lil Davis Designs, then coated with some of the glitter in the kit. I ModgePodged the shells over that and then covered them with clear Glitter Glaze (LDD). I printed out some beach and sunset pictures in wallet size and added them to the pages. Nothing too amazing but a cute little book to keep on my desk at work. Something I can look at when I don't want to be here.

Busy, busy, busy....

So, busy these days. Busy working, getting ready for the trip, cleaning. Busy. I can't believe we leave in 4 days. We booked this trip over 400 days ago and I've been counting it down. People at work were laughing at me when I posted the first count at some 400 + days.
Well, it creeps up when you aren't paying attention. And I wasn't. With work and other vacations planned in between, time really flew. I finished up the travel journals for my mother and I and we've ordered the money from the bank. Still lots to do. My family is pretty much packed, but I'll wait until the night before to do ours. Why? Because I try to wear myself out for the flight. If I stay up all night packing, I'll be exhausted and sleep on the plane. Trust me, I've done it before. Well, with the aid of some Ativan. I'm not a good flyer these days. Terrorists and turbulence are my biggest fear. so, if I sleep through it all, I could care less.
Some pictures of the travel journals....

I used the Sarabinders with the lined papers for journaling. A few pockets and envelopes are stuck in there to hold the good stuff. With a full 14 days over there, I should fill mine up. I've booked us on every tour that takes us to historic castles and other places. I love the history.
Can't wait. 4 more days.

Of course, I can't be ALL happy about this trip. There are several things I'm going to miss while I'm gone.

2 Michelle Hill classes at some of my LSS.
1 Frozen Fury - the best preseason hockey game in the entire league and several parties in Vegas with the LGK crew
Birthdays
The Long Island Scrapbook Expo - My mother and I were going to fly back and go with my cousins.
I'm sure there is more that I'm missing, but they don't matter. The above items matter. But, what the hell, I'm going to EUROPE baby!!!

We're #1!!!

Well, the Kings fans in general are #1, according to the Hockey News 2006-07 Yearbook.
Yep, of the top 5 things every hockey fan should experience before they die, partying with the Kings fans is #1. Wow.

Don't believe me, here it is in black and white (with a little purple and silver for flavor)!

Go Kings Go!

Is it almost that time? Yes it is. Hockey season is creeping up on us. Slowly creeping up. So I finally finished the book for my friend Brian. I like his better than mine. I managed to find an actual patch from a jersey on ebay (love that place sometimes) and glued it to the cover. makes it look more official. Inside is plain purple and silver photo mats cut to fit mostly 4x6 pics and some other sizes. My second favorite page is the first page - dedicated to Luc Robitaille - the King of Kings.


Speaking of Luc, I just received an email from the Kings that they'll be retiring Luc's jersey on January 20th. Its a game against the Coyotes, which means that whiney biatch Gretzky will be there. He better not try to hone in on Luc's night. So, I'll be wearing that 2005-06 Season Ticket holder Luc jersey one more time before its retired. Okay, I'll wear it once more when he's inducted into the Hall of Fame and THEN I'll retire it.

As for the 2 peas Blog question for this morning:
What do you look forward too during the middle of the week?

I look forward to the weekend. Especially when I have fun things planned. I have a class this Friday night at the Scrapbok Oasis in Irvine with Kelli Crowe. Two classes actually. And then Saturday, I'll be driving down to the Pink Pineapple for a class with Michelle Hill (Yes, I follow her everywhere I love her classes.) I'm dragging my lucky mother along to both of these. Pictures to follow......

Altered letters.

I love these things. Just finished my 'e' that I ordered from www.lettersbyjanna.com.

Heidi Swapp paint (brown) and Little Davis designs cream colored paint. I think I used the LDD Marmalade font foam stamps to stamp my name. Outlined my name with LDD Glitter Glaze. Crystal in the center of the stamped flower.

Flowers are mixture of Bazzill blossoms and HS Flowers. Coated them with glitter glaze and attached with a MM jewel brad. I'm thinking it needs a little more, but not sure what else to add.

Sitting here in Salt Lake......

....just waiting for the stores to open. That's right. I'm going exploring today before I fly home. I heard there are some amazing scrap stores here and I intend to find some of them. Now that I've figured out the way the streets are organized, I might be able to find them. It only took me 3 days to figure it out, but the next time I come back, I'm prepared.

Before I left, I had a chance to renew my season seats and possibly pick out new ones. Since nothing was available in my section that was better than what I had, I started looking elswhere. I found that section 106 had some decent seats. My husband wasn't too excited about the extra money, but he said to go for it. My mother is excited and has made it very clear that she'll go to any game. :)

So,

this is the view from my seat. Row 14 Seats 1 and 2. Sorry for the dark pictures, but they had the lights off in there and it was hard to get a better picture.

A couple more pictures from the locker room tour etc:

They have all kinds of pictures from the history of the team hanging on the walls as you walk in. This was my favorite. The 1993 team that went to the Finals. This has to be the best season in Kings history. I remember how excited I was!

The locker room. I think that lonely seat in the corner is Sean Avery's time out seat. :) I would love to know where Jason Labarbera sat...

The view from the bench. This is what the players see when they look up at the Jumbotron. Nothing like getting a players perspective.

Okay, I'm off to find those stores!

Clean!

My room is clean and organized. I finally have the proper paper storage. It took two of them, but the paper racks from Target fit perfectly in the corner and now sort out my paper by brand. Still labeling everything. I reorganized my Bazzill cardstock too. No more 'collections', its all soted by color. All of my chipboard fills up one very LARGE drawer. I never imagined I had that much chipboard, but apparantly I do. Better stop buying it......

For someones post on 2 peas, you can sort of see my ribbon storage in this picture. Its two dowels hung across the desk. My dad hung something to support them in the middle since they were so heavy. I made this entire desk out of closet organizers from Target and Lowes. Just the cubes and drawers with a piece of matching laminate 8 feet long x 48 inches wide for the desk. Then I stacked more cubes on top. My dad drilled two holes on each side and we stuck the dowels through. The book case in the background in gone and was replaced with an Expedit bookcase from Ikea this weekend.

Bazzill by color. If I felt like wasting more time, I would have actually sorted based on the Bazzill sample thing, but I wanted time to scrap this weekend.

Remember that chipboard drawer I told you about? Well its that bottom one. The big white one. Yep, its full of chipboard. Lots of it. Rows and rows of it. Boxes of it. Apparantly I'm obsessed with chipboard.

But my room is clean and organized. I know where everything is and I got three major projects done this weekend.

Long week.

It's hard to be away from home for so many days. You get nothing done. I spent the entire week communting from a hotel room by the beach. Sounds nice, except for the fact that we were never really down there. We both worked so many hours this week that all we did was sleep down there. It was still a nice change and the commute took about 15 minutes compared to our usual hour long (or more) drive. Cute little room. We had a balcony but we were on the side of the building so we had to look to the right to see the water. Still nice.

And I finally got my husband to watch the Curious George movie with me. I love that monkey. I even had a Curious George birthday this year. My last birthday. No more after this one. I'm going to stop at 29 and pretend that life at 29 is where its at. Of course, 30 may not be too bad if the few things up my sleeve happen. We'll see.....

Where.......

....have I been? I've been down in Dana Point this week. My husband, wonderful man that he is, had some coupons for a hotel down there right on the beach so we've been hiding there. I didn't take the laptop (even though the high speed in the room was tempting). We still have two more nights. Rascal is staying with my mother since he's not welcome at the hotel. :(
He'd be enjoying the down mattress and fluffy pillows though. So, technically, I'm on vacation but I'm not. We're 50 miles from the house but very close to both of our offices which makes the commute very nice in the morning. Yes, we're still dragging ourselves to the office every day. I've been working crazy hours and copious amounts of OT while I train my replacement so I can move into another position. Not easy, let me tell you.

One of the perks of my new position is a trip to Salt Lake City this month. Can you guess what I'll be doing while I'm there? Yep, sniffing out the best stores. So if you have any recommendations, let's here them. I'll be staying in SLC andI'll have a car. :) Hey, I can't save ALL of the OT money!! :)

I'll leave you with one picture - this is a little preserve beach in Dana Point Harbor at sunset. The little cove is located on the ocean side of the jetty just below the Chart House restaurant hill. I'll post a few more pictures when I'm officially 'home'.

Having breakfast

with the GM. Yep, the GM of the Los Angeles Kings is holding a breakfast this morning. The fans will finally get to meet him and hear his plan for this sorely lacking team. Of course, the regualr people will be there to ask questions and make him squirm. I'm getting a seat up front so I can see the beads of sweat on his forehead as he and the other front office members try not to get caught in a lie......

Attn: Janna H!!!!

Here is one of the letters I ordered. I painted the 'k' a green color and stamped pink flowers using the Heidi Swapp flower stamps and then went over them with Lil Davis Designs Glitter Glaze. (I swear I would paint the walls of my house with this glaze if my husband would let me!!) I finally have a few days off after a hectic month so hopefully, my 'e' will get done this weekend. I'll post pictures of that when I'm done.

If you haven't checked out her website (which is up and ready for ordering(YEAH!)), check it out. http://www.lettersbyjanna.com. I'm about ready to order some more letters. These things are 24 inches tall people!! Thats one big letter. But, I've started a collection of "E's" and this is one of those unique finds. She has them in other sizes if the 24 inch ones are too big for you.

Just picked up......

...some of the new Junkitz Laguna Boy and Teresa Collins Halloween papers at The Scrapbook Oasis (link to blog under my links). I love this store. Always carrying the best stuff. Of course, my friend Karen owns the place. :) Friends in the biz. :)

My new toy from Target.com came today. Wish it came in white, but at this moment, I don't care. I need something to organize my smaller paper collections.

I'm off Friday - Guess what I'll be doing??? :) My scraproom is a mess! I couldn't have anyone over even if I wanted too! With two of these things, its going to look like a store!!

43 days people! 43 days! With a new position at work to keep me VERY busy between now and then, I'm hoping time flies. Of course, it won't because I'm actually counting.......

45 Days....

.....until this!

And this!

45 days until I leave for Copenhagen on the cruise. 45 days. When I booked this cruise last year, the countdown started at over 400 days. I hung a countdown on my wall next to the intinerary and my coworkers all laughed at me. I sent weekly reminder emails to the family so they knew how many days we have left.

In 45 days from now, I will be on a plane to Europe to catch this boat:

Isn't she pretty?

***Note to Janna! I'm trying to find where I put the pictures of the letters. I'll post them when I find them. *** :)

Ahhh!! Someone take my wallet away!

Like now! Just take all the credit cards out. While you're at it, take all of my frequent buyer cards and internet access away. These CHA Sneak Peaks are killing me. I shouldn't look, but I do. The worst part is, no one will have any of these awesome papers and embellishments for at least a few weeks.
My LSS and favorite store, http://www.thescrapbookoasis.typepad.com/ is posting Sneak Peeks all the time. Karen and Wendy are awesome!! Now if I can just get my hands on that new stuff.......

Waves crashing on the beach in Santa Cruz, just north of the boardwalk.

Cute British Pub we stopped at for lunch near Half Moon Bay.

Update coming....

I'm working on uploading the photos to Photobucket and then I'll post some on the blog. Had a great weekend in Santa Cruz for my cousins wedding.



Foggy coastline near Half Moon Bay









Natural Arches Beach, Santa Cruz







More foggy coastline.

My little cousins....

...are all getting into Scrapbooking because of me. I have two little ones that live in Kitty Hawk. I give their grandmother, my Great Aunt, any scraps and old stuff I don't want and she sends care packages back to them. They're going to be at the wedding this weekend so I made something for them. Just something small to puts pictures of this weekend in. I ordered 2 extra Projects kits from the Jenni Bowlin July kit and made them. Aren't these cute? I love Jenni Bowlin's stuff. I have a ton of glitter and shells left over. I made two books using the supplies for one. I coated the shells with Little Davis Designs Glitter Glaze to give them a shiny look and painted the book with light blue glitter paint from LDD. I wrapped each one in a bag with a one time camera for them to use. I love when kids take pictures - you get a different perspective on things.

Driving up the coast.....

...is going to be relaxing. A nice quiet drive up the coast for my cousins wedding in Santa Cruz. I'll post pics when I get back.


Cute picture except for my husband coming out of my dogs head. I had to take this picture before the dog moved. He gets nervous when people start moving around, like he's going to get left alone or something. He's sitting on my mothers lap - grandma. Yes, I need to have children. But how cute is this? He's more like a person than a dog. Seriously. I'm just waiting for him to open up one day and talk. He will, I know it.

So, I made this for my cousins wedding present. Its another altered box with a mini chipboard album in it. Not sure who makes the box, but the paper is all Paper Salon Palazzo.

Projects

I also have a few projects I finished. One of them was a box for my grandmother. I used the June Jenni Bowlin kit and project. I glued swarovsky crystals to the Bazzill Brad in the middle of the flower and made a little mini album for the box.

Bling!

Okay, I used to hate this word, but now I love it. Just a little 'bling' on the layouts, you know? I'm a swarovski crystal freak and tend to look for ways to use them on my layouts.....
So, about those flowers I mentioned in my previous post. Here are a few more pictures. You just can't see the amount of bling on some of these but let me assure you, its there.

My mom and I did all different sizes
and colors. Loved the way they all came out.







Now, on to the Kings Prospect Camp. I was very impressed with some of the prospects and look forward to seeing them in a Kings Uni:

1 Richard Petiot - already technically played with the Kings, but I think he's developed over the last few months and he has a solid future ahead of him.

2. Konstantin Pushkarev - saw him on a line with Kopitar and O'Sullivan. For three guys who haven't played together before, they seemed to 'mesh'. O'Sullivan is the only one with speed on this line, but the other two make up for it in skill. I can see this as being one of the Kings top two lines in the future.

3. Anze Kopitar - pretty big. Not as fast as I thought, but I think he was a bit confused by some of the drills. In fact, I think a lot of them were a bit confused by what Marc Crawford was drawing on the wipe board. I liked what I saw though, he's a good finisher.

4. Patrick O'Sullivan - while I'm disgusted with the trade of Demitra, I can't be disappointed with who they got in the trade. O'Sully fits in well. He was the only one with any amount of speed out there and totally clicked with his Camp linemates Kopitar and Pushy. Hopefully this kid puts on a Kings uniform instead of a Manchester one this year.

5. Matt Ryan - I didn't see much of anything from him. Did not stand out on the first day of camp.

6. Petr Kanko - I love his grit and determination. He reminds me of Jeff Giuliano. There is heart and determination, but the skills are lacking. Most of the time, I saw him picking himself up off the ice and hustling back into the drill. I know the ice is bad, but no one else had this problem.

7. Brady Murray - He's small with a big mouth. It's always open and it seems he has a bit of Sean Avery Syndrome. He likes to be in charge and it constantly telling everyone else what to do. I didn't see any leader qualities in him, but I do see someone who likes to be the center of attention.

8. Gabe Gauthier and Dany Roussin - not much from either of these two. Someone commented that Roussin looked like crap because he was wearing Pavel Rosa's number. I don't think that was it.....

9. Brian Boyle - can you say drool? He's massive. At least a head above everyone else. He's not too bad on skates either. Most people his size don't skate well. He can skate. He's not drowning in finesse while on these skates, but he's god skills. A wicked shot and he uses his size to get in the middle of the situation. Several times I saw him planting his behemoth frame in front of the goalies. Now if that isn't a screened shot, I don't know what is. Oh, and he's probably the best looking (yes, I mean HOT) of the rookies. Sorry, Cammy, but Boyle has the tall, dark and handsome features. You're just dark and handsome. I like my men TALL and Mr. Boyle is tall. I'm glad he decided to stay with Boston for his Senior year.

10. Trevor Lewis - the other draft pick. Not too bad, but I think he needs some time in Manchester to develop.

11. Patrick Hersley - okay, so here's another one that I'm very interested to see how he does in the NHL. This kid has a wicked shot from the point. Corvo like shot, but he's fairly accurate. I liked what I saw, but I'm not sure if he's ready for the NHL level. Maybe another one to sit in Manchester for development.

12. Everyone else I haven't mentioned (Greg Hogeboom, David Meckler, Ned Lukacevic, Contantin Braun, Ryan McGinnis, Bud Halloway, Martin Nolet, Peter Harrold, Paul Baier, Joey Mormina, Joe Ryan and Niclas Anderson) - None of them stood out of the crowd. Some I can see being sent to Manchester for development and re-evaluation in a few years.

13. Goaltending - 6 goalies in attendance.

13a. Ryan Munce - not too bad. A little slow to recover on the butterfly.
13b. Barry Brust - still not NHL level.
13c. Jeff Zatkoff - nothing special
13d. Jonathan Bernier - defintely worth the draft pick. Could have some serious potential.
13e. Daniel Taylor - very surprised by this one. Very quick post to post. Made some awesome saves on the Sully, Kopitar Pushy line.
13f. Jonathan Quick - Manchester material.
13g. Matt Zaba - Not bad. Not great either.

So, once I upload my pics I'll post them. There are some good ones over at http://www.letsgokings.com.

I also spoke with Dave Taylor who seems to still be with the team in some respect. Rumor has it, hes a consultant. I didn't see any of the AEG brass walking around although from what I heard, they were there earlier.

Prospect Camp 2006.....

Oh, the Kings prospects look good. Not all of them, but most of them. I'll post more on that later with pics.

Check this face out.

Isn't this pathetic?? My Rascal in his chair while I scrap. I turned around and saw this and couldn't miss this photo op. Sorry ladies, I don't have kids so this is the closest to cute I have. And he is CUTE! I love love love this dog.




I can't say enough good things about Lil Davis Designs Glitter Glaze. My grandmother and her knitting group have a booth at the Orange County Fair this month and the theme is Flower Power. She didn't know what to do to decorate the booth. Well, my always scrapping mind starting thinking up ideas and after a trip to Tall Mouse for silk flowers (large, very large silk flowers) and a tube of glaze, I came up with these:

My mother helped out with these. We sat at the Scrapbook Oasis in Irvine covering silk flowers in glaze and mixing and matching the centers. These flowers are blinging!!! Bazzill brads in the center, those polka dot ones. I put swarovski crystals on each dot to bling out the centers.

My mother took them to my grandmother and reported back that the ladies loved them. Can't wait to see the booth with these flowers. I'll post more pics later. I'm starving after sitting at the Kings training center all day watching the newbies.

Busy Day!!!

Just got back from Ever After down in San Diego, CA. Took two classes with Michelle Hill from Lil Davis Designs - I just love her! We dia cute summer album made with cake circles. Yes, those cardboard dealies that they put cakes on. She makes albums out of everything. She said she's been known to dig through the trash after a CKU looking for things to make albums out of. Very clever.
The other class was the "BE" book. Pink and Brown. I need to make this blue and brown for me - not much into pink, but I think I'll give the pink one to my mom. She's a pink person. So cute. I'll post pics tomorrow.

2 Peas Blog Question of the day is what music or movies do you listen to while you scrap?

I usually have XM Radio on (80's, 90's or the Mix) and if I'm feeling specific, the iPod gets plugged in. We have surround sound in my studio so I can plug them in and listen to them REAL loud if I want too. :) I'm tone deaf so its probably a good thing the music is turned up loud. Since I just got back from a Counting Crows concert, I'm really into my Crows. Once the hockey season starts up again, I'll probably put my hockey mix back in.

Speaking of Hockey, lots of rumors floating around about the Kings and Brendan Shannahan. I could handle seeing him in a Kings uni, but we'll see. One of our three goaltenders has got to go. We can't keep all of them. Its going to be Clotuier (from Vancouver) and Garon or Labarbera. I want to keep Labarbera but my friend likes Garon so I guess we'll see. One of us will be disappointed when this is all over!

4th of July

Happy 4th!

2 Peas blogger question of the day - Do you have any traditions on the 4th?

Yes, we do. It's my grandmothers birthday so we celebrate. She was born on the 3rd but we all over look it and celebrate it on the 4th. She usually makes home made ice cream (I love this stuff!) and we have a cake for her. We used to have a huge fireworks show on their street in the old neighborhood, but that was a long time ago.

So, only 65 days til the cruise. I checked the Bridgecam again todaya nd the ship is still docked in Copenhagen. You can check out the Bridgecam's for Princess at http://www.princess.com/bridgecams/. A lot of the ships are in Alaska right now and a couple of them were sailing past the glaciers yesterday. Got a good glimpse of Glacier Bay. If you've never been to Alaska, you need to go. The ships sail right up to the glaciers and just sit for a while and let you watch the activity. We took the first sailing up there in May 2 years ago - amazing stuff. I want to plan a trip for the week of June 21st the next time I go so I can see the almost 24 hours of daylight. How cool would that be?
So, 65 LONG days til we leave. I'll be busy with my new position at work so it shoul keep me busy. Lots of traveling - to Salt Lake City and Plano TX. Never been to SLC before but I hear the scrapbook shopping is to die for! Guess I'll have to make it a point to get out one night and shop.

Monday Notes

First, the 2 peas Blogger Challenge:

Q: what scrapbook paper line (or company) do you find yourself using often and what do you love about it?

First, I love Bazzill. I love the colors, the textures everything about it. Its seems to go with just about anything these days.
As for patterned paper, I'd have to go with Scenic Route or Basic Grey. I've been working on smaller books for other people and these papers seem to make the best books.

---------------------------------------
So, I tried some new shampoo this weekend. I had a coupon for a free bottle of shampoo from Bath and Body Works. I guess they have a new line of shampoos and conditioners in the same scents as some of their body soap. It comes in Coconut Lime Verbena, one of my favorite scents. So I picked up a sample and I loved it. I smell like Coconut Lime Verbena from head to toe right now! They're supposed to have Gardenia scented stuff too. The full sizes come out on July 10th, so you know where I'll be that day.

Only 66 days til the Europe Cruise. Very exciting. I'm trying not to think about it so the time doesn't drag, but thats so hard to do. I keep thinking about it and counting the days. I have a countdown going in my cubicle. I hung a picture of the cruise itinerary and every few days I change the number of days until we leave. 66 days as of this morning. This is a big family cruise we have planned so its even more exciting. My parents, grandparents and my Aunt and Uncle are all going. My mother and I are obsessed with checking the bridgecam on the ship. We've been watching it for a few months now. When I checked it this morning, it was docked in Copenhagen which means that the cruise is over for some and just starting for others. In 66 days, it will be my turn.

Sunday Blogger Challenge....

on 2 Peas today. What is your favorite holiday and why?

I love Thanksgiving and Christmas. The family is together and the food is awesome. Plus, I'm a winter girl, so I try to find snow somewhere at least once during the season. I usually go to New York for a few days to get into the Holiday Spirit. Nothing says Christmas like walking around New York City. And hey, its a chance to get away from California. I can't seem to get in the mood here. How could you when its 90 degrees the day you pick up your Christmas tree. I seriously need to move somewhere that has 4 seasons. I can't handle the all of 2 we have here. Warm and Hot with the occasional nasty August thrown in there. No thanks. Give me a nice round year with a perfect spring and a fall. I miss those two seasons, but when you live in the 'desert of the coast' this is what you get.
For Thanksgiving, we've rented cabins in the mountains which is fun. The whole family has gone and just Bryan., Rascal and I. Lots of fun. Just take your own food and hide out in a cabin for a few days. The holidays are a perfect way to get away from everything.

On another note, Ranjini at Scrapologie released the Sneak Peak of the July kit. If you haven't seen her stuff, you need to head over there and check it out. It goes on sale tonight for members. If you aren't a member, head over there and inquire. Get your name on the list so that in September, you can get the kit. She's taking August off since they will be at CHA but she left us all with an amazing kit - Urban Gypsy. http://www.scrapologie.com

Free Agency begins

So, the first big free agency deadline after the lockout was yesterday. I was a little shocked and surprised by a few of the signings.
First of all, the Kings signed Rob Blake to a 2 year deal. First, this guy wants out of LA so badly that he badmouths the fans and management, heads to Colorado where he continues to snub LA (and the fans subsequently booed him - I'm not a booer, but I don't like his attitude.) I have a feeling we're going to start seeing a lot of the old players come back now that Andy Murray is gone. So, welcome back Rob.

Two players that were hard to see go were Mark Parrish and Joe Corvo. Corvo is a heavy duty blueliner that the Kings need. He paired well with Lubo last season. But now he plays in Ottawa, which sucks. I hate when players are traded to the 'other' Conference. It means we'll never see him play. That occasional game every three years thanks to the moron who is running the league now and his new schedule. Parrish only played for the team for a few months, but he would have been a great fit under the new coaching staff. He loves hanging out in front of the net, which is something the Kings need. But, he wanted to play in Minnesota.

The Kings also signed Scott Thornton - I wanted Joe, or both. Can we have both of them? And while we're at it, we need to sign Marleau and Cheechoo too. Okay Dean, lets go.

Still a lot of free agents out there so we'll see what the next few days brings us. JR hasn't been signed by anyone yet and the more he opens his bog mouth, I think he'll find that no one wants him. he played horribly last year (hard for me to say because I was REALLY excited about this trade). He wants to go back to Chicago, but they don't have any interest in him. No one seems too. I have a feeling he'll get some mercy offer from someone and begrudgingly take it. I'd love to see him back in LA but only at a lower salary and a promise of public flogging if he prances around on the ice whining about skates again.

One good thing came out of this, the Kings FINALLY sent out some information regarding Season Ticket renewal for next season. We've all been waiting. Lots of dates included in the email: Breakfast with the GM, Select a Seat etc. Very excited about the upcoming season and to see what Lombardi and Crawford can do with this team. Also excited to see if Bill Ranford was indeed signed as the Goaltending Coach.

A few things.....

So, I took a break from the blog. I've been busy. Friday, we went to see the Counting Crows and Goo Goo Dolls in concert. It was my birthday present. Love the Crows. I make it a point to see them whenever I can. I've loved them since they were the Himalayans. Yes, that goes back to pre-1993 Mr. Jones.

Their interim album is out to appease the fans while they finish up the next studio album, which yes, I am anxious to own. The last release was 3 years ago and their last tour was 2 years ago. Let's just say it seemed like a lifetime before they hit the stage on Friday. I like the Goo Goo Dolls (especially Johnny Reznick *sigh*) but I wanted to see the Crows. They could have played for 6 hours and I would still want more. They are an awesome live band and if you've never seen them, you should. Adam Duritz is an amazing storyteller and a great entertainer - not to mention his cute dreads. He looked like Sideshow Bob from the Simpsons this week - all of the dreads piled up on top of his head.

So, a shameless plug for the interim album. New Amsterdam: Live

And here's a little Johnny Reznick......

yes, he is yummy, isn't he?