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

The Trip

For those who don't know, my niece Trina is graduating from high school this year. As a graduation gift, I'm taking her on a 2 week trip to Europe. I know, it sounds a bit extravagant but she's my most favorite niece in the world (ok... she's my only niece) & she deserves a big reward for a job very well done (ok... & I've been wanting to go to Europe & haven't found anyone to go with me).

I thought I had everything all set. We'd fly into Vienna & spend the day walking around the city. The next morning we'd take a train to Brno to spend a few days with my college roommate Cindy. Then, we'd travel to Prague & spend a day in the city. Then the next morning we'd fly to London for a week doing what Trina wanted to do.

I was all set to call the travel agent this week but then Trina calls on Sunday evening & the conversation was something like this (not exactly because it's been a few days & I don't have that great of a memory):

Trina - I've been thinking...
me - don't do that too much, it could hurt.
Trina - Yeah I know. Any way, I was thinking... London is an expensive city. Maybe we shouldn't spend so much time there.
me - Well, that's sweet of you but I wouldn't have offered if I thought it would be a problem.
Trina - You remember me telling you about my great uncle who lives in Geneva?
me - Yeah
Trina - Well, if you wouldn't be too uncomfortable, maybe we could spend a few days with his family.
me - It wouldn't be any more uncomfortable for me than it will be for you having to stay with Cindy who you don't remember.

So with that, I'm now completely re-thinking the entire trip. Trains & multiple countries are now getting into the mix. In the original plans of the trip last summer, Switzerland was an early leader & I was really wanting to see the Alps but Trina really wanted to see London. So now it looks like Switzerland's back in, along with train trips across Austria, Liechtenstein, & France. If there's enough time, maybe we'll even spend an afternoon in Paris. Granted, we still have to find out that Uncle Louis will actually be in Geneva in July...

Now I really have to push the travel light plan with Trina. I got her to agree to one suitcase. Now I just have to try get her to agree to a travel-on size suitcase (& see if I can do the same).

I Love Toys

I was just channel surfing, saw that the final hour of I Love Toys was on VH1 & realized that I never let you know what was the #1 toy. Well here's the list:

10. Wiffle ball & bat
9. Slinky
8. Yo-yo
7. Star Wars Figures
6. Monopoly
5. Mr. Potato Head (did you know that you orginally had to supply your own potato?)
4. G.I. Joe
3. LEGO's
2. Barbie
1. Hula Hoop

The dancing is over

I guess this is the outcome I was expecting - although I was still hoping for one more miracle. The Lady Vols had to play the one team in the entire tournament that I knew would have the quick, athletic defense that would give Tennessee fits. And it did. So the streak of final fours is over - I believe it was at 4 straight. I guess next year they'll just have to start a new streak.

Granted I didn't see a lot of the game. I was recording the game for Betty so I couldn't do my usual things to keep the frustration & blood pressure down. (Why is it easier to watch a game in person than on TV?) I was afraid to hit mute & that's usually step one since it's usually the broadcasters that are getting on my nerves. And I couldn't channel surf & that's usually step two. So I turned the TV off & took care of the work I brought home with me. Maybe I'll watch it this evening, especially if this Predators game continues to frustrate me.

List Time

In honor of March Madness, here's a top 10 list of the stadiums and arenas I have to visit in my lifetime (FYI - if I've already been there, I'm not putting it on the list). I haven't put enough thought into actually putting them into any order - maybe I'll do that someday.

• Cameron Indoor Arena - Duke U. - what every student section should be
• The Big House - U of Michigan - just to see a stadium that's always in competition with Neyland as the largest college football stadium
• Lambeau Field - Green Bay Packers - great history but the wait list is generations old
• The Saddledome - Calgary Flames - every time I see this place on TV, the place is packed & the fans are going crazy
• Rupp Arena - U of Kentucky - more history & tradition than most schools will ever have
• Notre Dame Stadium - Notre Dame U - Just give me a good view of touchdown Jesus
• The Swamp - U of Florida - granted I may not wear my TN orange but they always look like they're having fun - oh except for the last couple of trips TN's made there:)
• Joe Lewis Arena - Detroit Deadwings - I just want the chance to return the "hospitality" I've received from their fans in the GEC
• Death Valley - LSU - just to see if they can register another earthquake
• Maples Pavilion - Stanford U - I want to see the Tree & I hear the pep band is... um... different

So agree, disagree? Or give me ideas of other places I should want to go?

And sometimes I love technology

I just renewed my drivers license online at 10:00 at night. How cool is that? Granted I have to keep that yucky photo for 5 more years but that beats standing in line for who knows how long.

I Don't Get It.

It seems that every time the Preds beat the Deadwings, they go out & lay eggs for the next few games. They just lost back to back games on Friday in Anaheim & then last night in Los Angeles. Last nights was especially bad. They had the lead with about 8 minutes left & then they let LA score not once, not twice, but THREE times. What?!?!

Act Naturally

Growing up, a Saturday just wasn't a Saturday unless we were watching Hee Haw. I looked on the front page of the newspaper this morning only to see that Buck Owens had died. The rest of the day I've been singing Act Naturally.

"They're gonna put me in the movies.
They're gonna make a big star out of me.
We'll make a film about a man that's sad and lonely.
And all I have to do is act naturally. "

Dear Wiskas,

Could you please start packaging just the gravy of your moist cat food. My cat does not like any of the different varieties of your food but she adores all the gravy (& yes, we've tried them all). I'm getting tired of throwing out the pieces of food my cat leaves behind when she licks all the gravy off the food. Not to mention the food she shoves off the plate onto the floor in order to get to the last bit of gravy.

Thanks,
Sonya

Zamboni

Once again thanks to Kukla's Korner I found a great article, this time about the Zamboni.

"Attribute the Zamboni’s popularity in part to its mesmerizing effect. “There are three things in life that people like to stare at: a flowing stream, a crackling fire, and a Zamboni clearing the ice,” said Charlie Brown in one Peanuts strip. Credit cartoonist Charles Schulz, who owned a Zamboni, for helping popularize it. Snoopy drove one. So did Woodstock, turning tiny ovals in his frozen birdbath."

What I really want to know is why in the world did Charles Schulz need a Zamboni? Did he have his own ice rink?

Happy Birthday Dad!

In honor of Dad's birthday, I thought I'd share some links to some of his interests & hobbies.

Here's the obvious one. Dad loves Lady Vols basketball. When he & Mom moved to Knoxville, the first thing he did was buy season tickets. So here are the best places to get your Lady Vols fixes.

Lady Vols Official Web Site
Go Lady Vols
The Summitt

Dad loves researching our family's genealogy. One of the interesting things he's researched is a group of people called Melungeons. Imagine, you think you're the first group of people to settle in the mountains of upper East Tennessee only to find a group of people already there. People who look more European than native. People who can't tell you where they're from.

melungeon.org
theory on melungeons
Tennessee Genealogy

Dad also loves church history, particularly the restoration movement.

Restoration movement
Restoration web links

For years all I knew about Dad's time in the Air Force was that he worked on planes. It's only been in the last few years that he's started really talking about what he really got to do during his years in service. And it's so cool - as part of the 7406th Support Squadron he got to work on spy planes!

7406th
Sneaky Petes
NSA National Vigilance Park

So go check something out in honor of my dad today. See Dad, I do listen... sometimes :)