We lost game 1 of our 3 game Championship series last night. We started the game with only 8 skaters but had a 9th show up shortly into the game. We were tied at 1-1 when our goalie made an unfortunate error costing us an easy goal. We trailed that goal for the remainder of the game and never scored again, losing 2-1. Despite the goalie snafu and our short bench, I felt we played a really strong game and have high hopes for us in the remaining two games. If the other team plays the way they did last night, I think there's a good chance we can still come from behind and win it all in the end. Our next game is Saturday. If we lose, we're out. If we win, we still have a chance. Rub your Buddhas for us.

Bean posted a Meme on his blog today and invited fellow bloggers to follow along which gets me off the hook for actually having to come up with something to write about today. Thanks, Bean!


Name one thing you do every day:

There are a ton of mundane, boring things I do everyday from brushing my teeth to wishing bad things will happen to George W. but I think my favorite is having some quiet time with my dog before bed. Since Wally was a puppy, we have always referred to this as "Mommy time" and he knows when I say that it's time to hop up onto the bed for a prolonged belly rub.


Name five things/people that make you feel good:

Well, Wally, of course.

Books, definitely. Ever since I was very young I've used reading as a form of escapism, and it's always an adventure to pick up a book and be immediately jettisoned into another time and place of someone else's design.

My oldest friend, Robert. It gives me great comfort to have had a friend for 28 years now who knows exactly what I'm thinking, sometimes even before I do.

It's rare that I walk away from hockey feeling badly (except for Kings games). There's something about stepping onto a fresh sheet of ice and feeling your skate blades cut through the surface, even at 6am when you're barely awake. I'm horrible at it, but I love it, and feel exhilarated despite often being completely out of breath and covered in sweat.

Music has always been an important part of my life and I listen to something I like every day. I've always found it somewhat magical the way a particular song can speak to you when you're in a certain mood, when you may have not ever seen that side of the song before.


Name four things you love to eat but rarely do:

My grandmother's lasagna. My grandmother has been gone for quite some time now, but my sisters usually make this at Christmastime. If I'm home, I eat a LOT of it. No one else's lasagna tastes quite like it.

Ditto my grandmother's cranberry bread. It also comes only at the holiday, and my sister, Dina, has done it for years in my grandmother's absence. Even if I don't make it home for the holiday, I'll usually get a loaf of it in the mail.

Steak. One of my favorite meals is a nice New York steak with garlic mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, because I have Crohn's disease, that much red meat can be hard on my system. I might only get to eat it once a year, but I savor every bite.

Captain Crunch Berries. What is it that makes this cereal so damn good, even though it tears the hell out of the roof of your mouth? Now that I'm adult, my cereals run more along the lines of Cheerios and Granola healthy stuff so I can't remember the last time I bought a box of these, but they're really good. (It's odd I would think so, since I have a not so fond memory of my sister throwing these up all over me in the car one morning when we were kids).


Name three things that remind you of childhood:

The smell of freshly cut grass (all those soccer fields) and Cheese Zombies. The latter is a sort of grilled cheese sandwich that is made with dough and cheese and cooked in the oven. They used to make them for lunch in Elementary School. I always beg Rob to make them for me when I'm in town but it never happens.


Name two things you wish you could learn:

How to shoot a proper slap shot. I have absolutely no slap shot to speak of. The fact is that I'm a forward and have little use for a slap shot. However, the fact that 10-year-olds seem to have no problem with is and I can't do it to save my life is really annoying.

I'd love to learn to speak another language fluently, probably Spanish since I already know some of it. In fact, I'd love to live in a non-English speaking country for awhile and get that experience.