Jersey Wish List

Posts have been lean the last few weeks because I'm gearing up for my biggest event of the year. I'm just two weeks away from my gala event. It's a ton of work, but I get to play dress up, and my wonderful friends volunteer, so I'm really excited. I'm even more excited for it to be over, because that feeling is just euphoric, and I'll be very excited to tell you all about it.

A few years ago, one of my favorite USA Hockey bloggers asked what jerseys were on your "jersey wish list." Up until then, I hadn't really thought about it, but as a hockey fan, that's an excellent question. So, without further ado, here are mine:

In the Western Conference, the Calgary Flames are my favorite team. They are also perennially awful, and haven't been the same since their 2004 Cup run.

One of my all-time favorite Penguins, Eric Godard, also played for the Calgary Flames, and because that's a whole lot of awesome, I want to own his Flames jersey, especially so I can wear it when I eventually make it to the Saddledome.



How much do I love Eric Godard? If you Google him, this image comes up:

I made that sign during the 2008-09 season, and he signed it after a game. At Mellon Arena, it was really easy to meet players after games, you could wait along the fence near the player parking lot, and most of them would come right over. Eric loved my sign, and if you can't read it, it says:

To Kylie: Best sign I've ever seen.

I was also lucky enough to get him to sign my Godard Pens jersey right before a game on Long Island in 2011. As you can tell, I really love this guy.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I unapologetically and obnoxiously announce every TYLERRRRRR JOHNSONNNNN GOALLLLL! Tyler is one of my favorite hockey players, and one of the nicest athletes I've ever had the please of meeting. I really need to add his Spokane Chiefs and Tampa Bay Lightning jerseys to my collection.



This jersey was on the top of my jersey wish list, but I acquired it and was able to get it signed, so now it's the crowned jewel of my collection. This is a replica of the jersey Tyler wore when Team USA ended Canada's reign of terror winning streak at the World Junior Championships in 2010.

The jersey I most want to own is Brooks Orpik's from the 2010 Winter Olympics.

I had no idea how quickly they would sell out, and by the time I had gotten home from Vancouver, I missed out on getting one. This one is especially important to me since I was lucky enough to go to the Olympics in Vancouver. I've seen one on eBay for upwards of $500, and while I was tempted, I just couldn't justify it. I still keep looking, though.

To commemorate the once-in-a-lifetime experience of attending the Olympic Games, I got the star from the USA jersey tattooed on my right shoulder blade. I mean, I have the tattoo, I need the jersey.



Are you a sports fan and have a jersey wish list? Do you have a wish list of another kind?

Throwback Thursday - Olympic Edition

This post is quite picture-heavy, so I apologize if it takes awhile to load.
Does that even still happen? I don't know, I still use the same laptop I bought when I started grad school in '05, so everything loads about as fast as Hal Gill skates.

This time, four years ago, I was on the way to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics with one of my best friends, and met up with two Canadian friends once we landed. That trip seems like it happened yesterday. How did four years go by so quickly?!


I know just how incredibly lucky I am to have had the opportunity to attend the Olympics; sometimes I still can't believe it. I think being in Vancouver took my already intense patriotism to extreme levels. Anytime my American friend and I saw someone wearing Team USA gear, we yelled "GO USA!" at them/in their faces. Sometimes we got a patriotic response, but others we just got confused looks. I'm pretty sure we looked like we had just gotten out of an asylum. Whoopsie, patriotism makes me a bit nutty.

While we were there, we took in women's hockey and men's hockey, and it was so awesome.
First up was women's hockey at UBC Thunderbird Arena. We saw Slovakia vs. China, which I thought was pretty neat since China is not the first...or even the 15th country you think of when you talk about international hockey.



China won 3-1. The handshakes after international play (and the conclusion of every NHL playoff series) is one of my favorite tradition in sports. It has to suck being the losing team as you're going through the handshake line, though. Although, I'd probably want to punch a few people/everyone, so I don't know how well that would work out for me. If you haven't noticed yet, I get pretty riled up about sports.

There was a pumped up Team China fan there, so, we obviously had to get a picture with him. I mean, when in Rome China, Vancouver, right?

The men's game we attended at GM Place (renamed Canada Hockey Place for the Olympics, now Rogers Arena) featured No. 8 seed Switzerland vs. No. 9 Belarus. Since we had qualifying round tickets, we weren't sure who we would be seeing until the round robin had ended. On paper, this sounds like a really boring game, but it wasn't at all. I can't even begin to put into words what the atmosphere was like, and my pictures certainly won't do it justice. Despite the crowd being mostly Canadian, the teams were being cheered on as if they were playing a home game. It was really cool.



From our seats, we could see the TSN guys. FYI: Darren Pang uses a booster seat. Not even kidding.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were also there, being all adorable, showing of their Ice Dancing gold medals. There was no outcry of the results being fixed or coach favoritism at these Games.

For Belarus, we saw Sergei Kostitsyn and the late Ruslan Salei in action. For Switzerland, Jonas Hiller, Luca Sbisa, and Roman "Swiss Miss" Wick.


Switzerland won in a shootout 3-2. Despite the game not being a marquee match-up, it was a lot of fun. GM Place Rogers Arena is a great venue, too. The sight lines were awesome, it has nice concourses, and everything was laid out in a way that made sense. It was also easy to get Olympic souvenirs there, which I appreciated. Since I didn't see NHL hockey there, I don't count it as one of the 13 arenas I've been to so far, so I most definitely want/need to go back.

Vancouver is an absolutely gorgeous city, and you should most definitely visit if you ever have the chance. To save a few dollars, we flew into Seattle and took a bus to Vancouver. It was super easy, and I highly recommend it.

We did not go to the gold medal game, but I have a story to tell you about that, which should make it even clearer why I'd rather set myself on fire than cheer for Team Canada in hockey.

Team USA and Canada meet tomorrow, and I"m already wondering where I can get a sedative. I considered day drinking, but, 1) I'll be working tomorrow; 2) my drink of choice is usually Crown and ginger ale, which won't work, because that's Canadian, and I refuse. I don't think wine or beer would be strong enough, and I can't go back to work tequila drunk, so, I'll have to figure something else out to calm my nerves.

GO USA!

Lots of Thankfulness - Part II

1) Veterinary medicine
Both of my cats have a cold. Yes, you read that right. Both cats. I will post about my new addition, Rosie, very soon. I took them to the vet yesterday and they were both given antibiotics, and Miikka got a shot of medicine. My poor baby Miikka had a fever! Man, I don't know how parents deal with sick kids. I felt so bad for my little kitty; a human would be gut-wrenching. Thankfully, the vet was able to get us in the same day I called, so my furry friends are on their way to a full recovery. They are both still eating well and playing together as much as ever, so I'm hopeful they'll be as good as new in no time.


2) Seasonal beverages at Starbucks
I really love seasonal things. They help me get in the mood for whatever time of year it is, especially the holidays. What I'm about to say will probably disgust you, and very well may change your opinion of me, but, I think pumpkin spice lattes should come out later. It's still warm in early September, so it doesn't quite feel like fall yet. I almost always get a pumpkin spiced latte within days of them being available, though. It seems like the hype starts as soon as we flip our calendars to September, but I think I would be able to enjoy them just a little bit more if the thermometer read a few degrees cooler.

The seasonal drinks at Starbucks always put in the holiday spirit. For the almost five years I worked retail, getting in the holiday spirit was sometimes very difficult,as I was constantly surrounded by capitalism and disgusting displays of consumerism. I'm not going to turn this into a religious soapbox, but I do believe we all tend to forget "the reason for the season." Christ (if you believe in Him), family, and the things we do have, seem to go by the wayside.

As I get older, the holidays become less and less about material things, and more about friends, family, and sharing love with people. I equate holiday drinks to spa treatments for my insides. As silly as it sounds, enjoying a Starbucks holiday drink reminds me to take a moment to appreciate the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the season, to really appreciate what this time of year is all about: Appreciating the love and joy you have in your life, and spread it to others whenever possible.

3) Hockey
This sport has had such a huge impact on my life, especially in the last few years. I have met some of my closest friends, simply because they were hockey fans, too. I've gone on hockey vacations with friends, and the love for hockey my friends and I have even took us to the Olympics. Some of my favorite memories with my friends are our hockey road trips.

I have even had other hockey fans send me things from out-of-town teams that I am a fan of, without having met me, or knowing me well enough to know that I wouldn't screw them over on the money. The hockey community that I've found, for the most part, really does look out for one another. Sports really do bring people together.

4) A job I feel good about
I have worked for non-profits all of my adult life (I cannot believe I'm considered an adult, but that's a post for another day), and have never really felt connected to the mission, until now. I am truly lucky to be a part of the American Red Cross, and all of the wonderful things this organization does for people. Every morning while I'm getting ready for work, I hear about another fire on the news and how the organization I work for helped people in need.

My job is to plan events that raise money, and sometimes as fundraisers, my co-workers and I can get too focused on sponsors and donors and dollar amounts. However, seeing our hard work benefit others, in what is most often times the worst time of their life, is so rewarding. What I do every day makes someone's life better, and that is truly priceless.

I don't always love my job, but I feel really blessed that I get to do something that matters, and I do love that feeling.

I'm gearing up for a small, high-end donor event tomorrow, so that's all I have time for at the moment. I hope you're having a great week so far!

Social Media

For anyone who doesn't use social media, or is only exposed to Facebook, listing social media as something I am thankful for probably sounds very shallow. However, social media has brought so many amazing people into my life that I would never have met without blogs and Twitter.

I can honestly say that I have met women that will be my bridesmaids as a result of social media. I cannot imagine my life without these ladies. I feel like I found my own Sex and the City-esque group of gals. We've traveled together, been there for each other between lost jobs and new jobs, moves, sadness and triumphs. I know any one of these girls would bail me out of jail or help me hide a body, no questions asked.

In this season of Thanksgiving, I am truly thankful for these amazing women and the social media that brought us together. I am friends with amazing women that are old enough to be my mother, and some who were still in middle school when I graduated from college. These women make my life so much more beautiful. I love you guys so much. <3<3<3

I've also met some really awesome people through this group of friends. It's kind of amazing what social media can do. Hanging out with a group of friends and their friends, who they have also met through social media is kind of incredible.

Sit back and think about the people you have gotten to know via social media and how much your life has been enriched by them. Kind of mind-blowing, huh?