Gardening

I admit it, I have a brown thumb. Just about everything I've ever planted has died. When I moved in 5 years ago, I was in a gardening mood & planted a lot of things. I took some pictures today of the thing that's actually survived... pink lemonade honeysuckle.


And look here's a happy... um... scary looking little bee. Shortly after I took this picture, the bee started chasing me & I had to go back inside. I hate bugs.

"With the 3rd pick...

in the 2006 NFL draft, the Tennessee Titans select Vince Young, quaterback, University of Texas."

I can't believe I almost forgot about the draft today. I guess between work & the playoffs it had slipped my mind a bit. I heard all the sports talk radio guys talking about it but didn't really connect that with it being today. Who could blame me, they've only been talking about the draft since October or November. Most years the talk starts at the end of the season but this year the team was so bad that the fans got a head start.

I don't know how

I don't know how other bloggers post every single day. There are a lot of days that when I finally get home from work, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of another monitor. I could always post at lunch, but I think that would be frowned upon. Unlike at a lot of other companies, I can still get on the internet & go to ESPN. I don't want to ruin that. So if you don't see anything new for a few days, it's not that I don't care. It's that I can't string together anything coherent after a long day of work.

Best of 7

Today didn't turn out how I wanted. The Pred's laid an egg, losing 3-0. They looked sloppy & didn't take care of the puck. And like they've done from time to time this season, they fell in love with passing instead of shooting the puck on the power play - even with a 5 on 3 man advantage. Let's hope they get it together Tuesday night in San Jose.

Just got to keep repeating... best of 7... best of 7.... best of 7.

Interesting

I scanned around the web today to see what the media & bloggers thought of last nights game with the Preds. I noticed 2 constants. 1st, was the surprise in a Predator's win & in the play of Mason in net. 2nd was the amazement of how loud the crowd was.

Personally, I thought the crowd was a little quiet last night. It was loud but I've been in the GEC for some games that the crowd was so loud that you could feel the vibrations in your chest & couldn't talk to the person next to you. The loudest being the playoff shut out game from the last season (I believe game 4) where I left with my ears ringing. It makes me wonder what the crowds are like in the traditional hockey cities?

It's constantly stated in some of these traditional markets that Nashville should have never been awarded a team. And that people in Tennessee don't know anything about hockey & never will. blah, blah, blah.... you get the idea. It's just my theory, but I think sports fans in this city just took their knowledge of "THE SPORT" in this state & how the crowd can change momentum of the game & applied it to this new sport. We didn't know you weren't suppose to cheer & yell & boo. All I have to say is get used to it. We're not going away & we're not going to change.

(by the way, for those of you who for some reason may not know, "THE SPORT" in this state is football)

As promised

Michelle gave me a picture of me with the Stanley Cup last night. I had to scan it & apparently I have a few things to learn about that because it's a bit grainy. But, none the less, here it is.


As is typical for me, I don't care much for me in the picture. But it's funny that it seems I was so enamored by the Cup that I couldn't stop looking at it long enough for Michelle to take my picture. LOL. For those of you who don't know the coolness of this trophy, what looks like a bunch of little marks on the side of the trophy are actually the names of each player on every team that has won the cup. In other sports, the athletes play for the championship. In hockey they play to get their name on the cup. For more on the coolness of the Cup go here.

Just noticed something

I was looking over my recent posts & even though I said this blog would be random, it's looking a lot like a hockey blog right now. But don't be scared off yet. I promise, I will write about other things later. After all, hockey season won't last much longer. My life is just a bit consumed at the moment.

1-0 Predators

With the win last night, the Predators lead the best of 7 series, 1-0. Now only 3 more wins to go to get to the next round. Great game, great crowd. Paul Karyia was on fire, setting up 4 goals. And Chris Mason had some absolutely amazing saves.

The next game is tomorrow, starting at noon (central). I've already passed word to the preacher to keep it short. Luckily, services start at 10 & the building's only about 10 minutes from the arena. So I should be able to get there, get my lucky cherry icee, & get to my seat before the game starts.

It's like magic

Suddenly I got the camera to play nice with the computer. I didn't actually do anything different than I had done any of the other time, so who knows what the deal was. That being said, it's time for some cat blogging. Sometimes Scully is so strange, she'll just sit & stare.... at NOTHING. I took this picture the other night of her doing just that. But you know, she wouldn't be my cat if she wasn't at least a little bit strange!

How am I suppose to concentrate

The 1st round of the playoffs start tomorrow night! I've already got my ticket in my bag. If you got Fox Sports South the games on at 7pm central. Sunday's game on NBC starts at noon central (although it could be regional coverage & you may actually end up watching some other teams). Look for me, I'll be there!

Not a single site I went to in the past few days are picking the Predators to make it out of the 1st round. Who can blame them really. The Predators are now without their star goalie, Tomas Vokoun, who is now sidelined until next season. And the Sharks do have the points leader & the scoring leader in the entire NHL. So unless you've watched the Predators all season & realize that the team is more than just Vokoun, you'd think so too. But who cares what they think. I like cheering for the underdog. Go ahead, let them underestimate the Preds. And just like the new starting goalie Chris Mason says here...

"When you lose a guy with the impact of Tomas, everyone's going to think you're done. I hope other teams are thinking that. That's good. It makes it easy to get motivated."

LETS GO PREDS!!!

6 Weird Facts/Habits About Myself

Dianne's tagging everyone to join in. So here I go...

1. I hate mashed potatoes. I love baked potatoes, potato chips, french fries & just about any other kind of potato dish you can name. There's just something about the texture of mashed potatoes that I hate.
2. I like to watch all the cheesy kids shows & movies on Disney channel.
3. I prefer winter over summer. I can always put more clothes on but there's a limit to how much clothing I can take off.
4. I would rather add several miles to a trip & keep moving than to sit in traffic.
5. I can't remember phone numbers. I do good to remember my home & work number. I sometimes remember my cell number. And since my parents moved, I can't remember their number. If I couldn't store numbers in my phones, I don't know what I'd do.
6. I read magazines from the back to front.

Apparently I'm suppose to tag someone else now. The only other person I know of with a blog who might play along is SarahK. And if you want to play along but don't have a blog, just post your list in the comments.

The Trip

Well it looks like Trina's uncle will be in Tennessee when we're in Europe. How's that for timing. So I guess Switzerland's back off the agenda. I think we're going to go to Scotland instead. Granted, I've got to get this planned FAST!

One day I will get to Switzerland & go see my mountain. By the way, I now consider the Jungfrau to be mine. I saw a show on the Travel Channel where they went there & have been fascinated by it ever since. Granted it's not going do anything exciting like Dianne's mountain.

What's the Deal?

For the past month, on my drive into work, I've passed a homemade sign hanging from a railroad bridge that said "3/17/06 Cadance" (I may be slightly off on the exact date). It's just after the I-40W & I-24W merge, if you're in the area. Suddenly, last week, the date was gone & replaced with "I hate". So now it reads "I hate Cadance". I wonder what that's all about?

Oops

Question: What happens when a night owl takes a 2 hour nap during the afternoon?

Answer: It's almost midnight & I'm wide awake... tomorrow morning is going to be brutal.

I Just Realized

There's a bit of bad blood between the Preds & San Jose. The last game they played against each other was the 1st game Brendan Witt played for the team after the trade. This was also the game that a San Jose player being ejected from the game decided to jump over the glass separating the 2 teams' benches & started swinging. Since Witt was at that end of the bench, he started swinging back & unfortunately got ejected as well.

It's not quite a goalie fight or a coaches argument (which have happened with Calgary) but it should make for some interesting video & commentary.

It's Set

With the Preds being set in the 4th spot (& the last team with home ice advantage), all that was missing was the opponent. The teams in the 5th through 9th spots have been battling for the last 4 spot available for weeks. At one point it looked to be Calgary which I loved since the Preds have owned them this season, winning all 4 games against them. Then it looked like it would be Colorado which I liked since the team has played well against them, winning 3 out of 4 games. Then up until a few days ago, I was sure it would be Anaheim, which I absolutely hated since the team hasn't played well against them, losing 3 out of 4 times. Suddenly, out of the blue, the team we get to play is San Jose. I'm a bit mixed on playing this team. I like the fact that the Preds beat them both times at home & even that we took both the away games to overtime. But, you can probably gather from the out of the blue comment, that they've been playing red hot hockey as of late. So in that way, they are a very dangerous team to play. Guess we'll just have to wait & see how it goes.

Now if the league would just get the dates set. The rumor mill at the game last night was that the first 2 games would be either Saturday & Monday or Sunday & Tuesday.

Very Cool

Just to let everyone know, last night I saw the Stanley Cup!!! Michelle took a picture of me with it but I didn't touch it (I'll post it when she remembers to send it to me). For those who don't know, I'll have to explain why I didn't touch it as well as why the Stanley Cup is so cool later. For now, I want to go to sleep.... it's been one of those weeks.

Oh & the Preds clinched home ice for the 1st round with their win last night! Depending on when the games are played, I could very well be spending my birthday in the GEC watching the team!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

According to Mom, she's still hanging on to 32 & who am I to question her;)

In honor of her birthday here are a few sites to check out. Mom loves the Food Network & is constantly telling the rest of the family to go print recipes for her (since she doesn't like those "scary" computers). Her favorite personality on that station Rachael Ray. I think she could very well be another daughter. And I'm sure she & Paula Deen would be the best of friends if they ever met. They both have that same outgoing & cheerful personality.

Mom also loves crafts. She seems to be able to do any kind of craft but Christmas ornaments are her specialty. Growing up, all the ornaments on our Christmas tree were all made by her. So here are a few that I found that, if she would ever get on the computer, I know she'd love.
Joann Project Ideas
Michaels Projects

But I think everyone would agree, Mom's biggest passion in life is her family. And if you've ever met my mom, she considers you family! And well, there just aren't any web links that I can find for that.

So happy birthday to my most favorite-ist mom in all the world!

No-Koun

Preds fans got the bad news today. The goalie, the team MVP, Tomas Vokoun is out for the rest of the season. As a fan I'm thinking, ok... screaming "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" But looking at the bigger picture, what he's dealing with is something extremely serious, so I'm just glad they caught it when they did. I don't even want to think what could have happened if he took a bad hit out on the ice with those blood clots. So now it's time for Chris Mason to step up & show why the coaches have such a high opinion of him. And it's time for this injury bug to stop! This team's already had way too much.

On my heart today

Before the storms hit, this was the story that was breaking my heart today. Maggie Dixon's Army basketball team was one of the highlights of March Madness when they won the Patriot League championship and the cadets stormed the court. Unfortunately, after that they had to face Tennessee in the first round of the championship.

If you want to read more, Women's Hoops blog has several links to articles. If you only have time to read one, I suggest this one.

To me death is always sad. The only comfort I find is in a long life well lived and the knowledge that they've gone to live with the Father. When death happens out of the blue, for no real reason, to someone so young, I have a hard time finding that comfort.

I'm ok

Just in case you were worried about me with all the bad weather in the Nashville area today. According to the non-stop weather coverage on the local stations, most of the storms right now are south or east of town. So far, the worst hit has been in the north part of the county in Goodlettsville & Sumner County which is one county over (& the last place I lived). They've already reporting 8 deaths in Sumner County alone. They're currently showing video on the local stations that's just amazingly sad.

If you want updates via the local media, here are the television stations:

WTVF
WSMV
WKRN

I often call the people who live on the coast or in California crazy because of the potential danger they put themselves in with the hurricanes and earthquakes. I guess I need to remember that my favorite place on Earth has it's own potential dangers as well.

I've also discovered that scientist are a bit different. When we got the warnings this afternoon, the non-scientist in the office were concerned about getting to the safest spot in the building & asking if anyone had a battery operated radio and flashlight. What were the scientist doing, you ask? Well, we could all be found at the windows to see if we could see anything. That is except for the people who decided that it was the perfect time for a smoke break outside.

Kakuro

I like to work puzzles... Just about any kind of puzzle. And once I find something I like, I tend to obsess on it until I get bored. For a while it was jigsaw puzzles, then I got Scully & that was a little hard to do with her around. Then I went on a word search obsession, followed by fill-ins, and crosswords, and well you get the picture. Lately my obsession had been sudoku. To me, it was much easier than any of the word puzzles I'd tried - must be the math geek within I guess. However, I was starting to get a little bored of them. So when I was waiting for my prescription to be filled when I was sick a few weeks ago, I started looking through all the sudoku books & magazines trying to find something a bit different in them (I once found a magazine with a grid that you went 1-16 instead of the usual 1-9). But this time I wasn't having any luck. That's when I stumbled upon kakuro. It's a crossword puzzle but with numbers. Like sudoku, you can only use each digit from 1-9 once in a row or column. Unlike sudoku, you don't necessarily use all 9 digits but the digits have to add up to the sum given. Now this is a challenge! So much so that it wasn't until last night that I actually finished an entire puzzle.

They're Here!

After a tough day at work, I came home tonight to discover that my playoff tickets had arrived!! Now the Preds just have to get on a winning streak so I get to use them all.

Now what...

The national champions have been crowned. For men it was Florida (which by the way I had winning on my brackets). And for the women it was Maryland (& like my mom always says, if you don't have anything good to say don't say anything at all).

But now, after gorging on basketball all month, what am I suppose to do??

Daylight Savings Time

It appears that Indiana's joining most of the U.S. in springing forward (which I hate) & falling back (which I love). I discovered in college (when girls in the dorm from Indiana didn't understand the process) that Indiana didn't observe the time change. However, I was under the assumption that it was the entire state. Apparently it wasn't and I don't have a clue how anyone in that state was able to keep this straight...

"Under the old system, 77 of the state's 92 counties were in the Eastern Time Zone but did not change to daylight time in April. Instead they remained on standard time all year. That is, except for two counties near Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky., which did use daylight time.

But the counties in the northwest corner of the state (near Chicago) and the southwestern tip (near Evansville), which are in the Central Time Zone, used both standard and daylight time."

You have to admit, they had to do something. Can you imagine one of those math question with the trains & what time will it arrive if it were set in Indiana? Makes the head spin.

A Little Math

one girl
+ 7.5 hours at work Saturday
+ going to a hockey game
+ late dinner after the game
+ time change
+ up for 10 am worship
+ 5 more hours at work
= one very tired chickidee