Monday, January 29, 2007

CHA Winter 2007 - Day 1

I will post pictures later.

Holy crap! Was this overwhelming or what? Almost every booth you walk into has awesome product to look at. Everyone has gone above and beyond to impress. I could have spent a lot more money than I had budgeted, but I finally realized that not many people buy on the first day of CHA. They get the catalogs and price lists, go home, figure it out and then buy the second day.
My feet hurt, my back ached but I stayed up as long as my poor body would let me looking at these catalogs. I think everyone will love what I've bought. Of course, the stuff doesn't ship for at least a week and in some cases the end of February. But it'll be worth the wait. I already have a ton of product in the store and more on the way.

I will have a little help from some people who love this hobby as much as we do. I saw Michelle Hill yesterday and she said to let me know when everything was ready and she would post something on her blog that my site was up and that she would send me some samples to post in the gallery. She also said if I wanted to send her product, she would do a special project for the site. How cool is that? I never realized that in a competetive business such as this, that so many people might want you to succeed. I'm going to stop by the Junkitz booth today to see Teresa Collins and turn in my order. I'm in her class at the Scrapbook Oasis on Tuesday and have been a fan of hers for a long time. She's not afraid to do something new and against the norm. Her new Extreme Boy line is out tehre and fun! Can't wait to get Gallery under CHA Winter 07. Look for those tonight.

The big names impressed again. American Crafts, Basic Grey, Scenic Route and others have lines that you will certainly love.

I'm off to Day 2 ad turn in my orders! Look for the new product arriving soon!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Luuuuuuuuucccccccccc!

And Luuuuuuuuuucccccccccccc! Look at the money shot right there? What a great photo. I've got to print that out and make sure he gets it one of these days. And the jersey going up to the rafters. What a special moment.


Photos.....

From the top:
Bernie Nicholls
Stacia Robitaille and their kids Steven and Jessie
Wayne Gretzky
Jim Fox
Marty McSorely
Larry Robinson
Backstage with the oldtimers
Barry Melrose
Daryl Evans
Mom with my friend Brian - waiting backstage.
















Luc's Jersey Retirement

So glad I got a chance to be a part of this big night. I've watched Luc forever. He took the time to address each and every former player, coach friend etc that showed up for him and even a special note to people who couldn't make it.
Luc really is a special person. He is one of the last good old time hockey players. Bob Miller said it best during the game last night "Some of the newer players just aren't accessible like the old guys were. Luc has always made himself available to his fans." Staying late after practice to sign jerseys, photos, pucks and to take pictures with fans. Staying later than any other player at the Player Meet and Greet sessions - just so a fan doesn't feel left out. He truly is a great player and we were all 'lucky' to get the chance to watch him all of these years.

So, some pictures. Not the greatest, but it was hard to get a good shot with everyone leaning out in front of me. We were lined up in two lines along the edge of the carpet. As people were announced, we were supposed to be paparazi and take lots of shots. I had one greedy guy in front of me who leaned way out each time so a lot of my shots were last minute ones.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Happy Birthday Jason!

A belated birthday wish to my favorite goaltender who is stuck in Manchester this year.
Happy Birthday and hope to see you in a Kings uniform next season.

Once in a lifetime!

I was offered one of those once in a lifetime opportunites yesterday. My Kings season ticket rep emailed me a chance to be ON the ice during the Luc Robitaille jersey retirement ceremony Saturday night. I guess they were looking for some long time fans to create a 'paparazzi' around him.
Luc Robitaille - the Kings highest scoring left winger and the highest scoring left winger of all time.

He is one of those old time players that will do anything for the sport and its fans. He loves LA and the people here and we love him.



Last season, to get fans back after the lockout, the Kings ticket promotion was 1 autographed Luc Robitaille jersey for every account. I didn't know about this until I had begged my husband for DAYS trying to get him to let me get season tickets. I'm glad he did. I got this jersey.

At Meet the Players last year, I stood in Luc's booth just to get a picture with him and to thank him for signing several thousand jerseys for the fans. I think I was the first person to thank him as he seemed surprised that I stood in line for two hours just to thank him. I could have been hopping from line to line getting other autographs, but I chose his line. I also had him sign his player page in the scrapbook I made for the team. His wife was all excited about the book and thought it was a good idea.

So, if you are a hockey fan, a Kings fan or a Luc fan, find a station carrying the game on Saturday at 7:30 pm PST. Look for me and cheer for Luc. And in true scrapper fashion, I will be on the ice with my camera snapping pictures of this event. They are 'making' me bring a camera. :)

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Baby News

For those who read for updates.
Went to the doctor Monday. Boring appointment. He just asked a lot of questions on how I was feeling and then we got to hear the heartbeat. A LOT slower than last time. According to the old wives tales, it was slow enough to be a boy. Last time the little heart was racing - 152 beats per minute. Now, we're down under 130.
We'll find out officially at the end of February. Sounds like a long way off, but the time will go by quickly. I have a lot to keep me busy.

100. Finally

Finally made it to 100 posts.

Note for the day:
Yes, I'm still a Kings fan. No, I will not switch over to the Ducks. All Duck fans need to stop emailing me, calling me, tormenting me in public and waving posters of Teemu Selanne in my face. Maybe if Teemu whined a little less, I might like him a little more. Nah, he's still a Quacker.
So, to all of the prepubescent fans at the Ponda - enjoy the rest of the season. Injuries suck. :)

The Kings on the other hand, have managed to set new records I'm sure. Like the 'how many goalies can you possibly own' record. I've been keeping myself very busy with a new website while they were on their roadtrip loosing and giving a Japanese goaltender his first shot at the NHL. What other records have do we hold? The 'we'll let any rookie score his first goal against us tonight' record.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

99.....

Posts.
I don't like the number 99. Its Wayne Gretzky's number. Whiny Butt Wayne.

Lets get this over with quick and on to #100.

So, I'm sitting at the Kings game tonight, watching the pathetic excuse for a game and the guy next to me shows up from the intermission with food from Panda Express. Okay, I've only had one serious symptom of pregnancy at this point and its a heightened sense of smell. I can smell something 40 miles away and it would make me ill.
So this large man brings his Panda Express back to the seat and I literally thought I was dying. I had my jersey over my nose and I could still smell the foul stench through the thick material. I jumped over this guy in an effort to get out of there so I didn't hurl in my lap. The ushers were nice enough to offer me a seat in the section below mine for a few minutes and kept checking on him. Once he was done with his foul food, I returned to my seat.
The food itself does not smell, its the vegetable 'medley' they add in. The broccoli smells like dead flesh and just permeates the air. I hope it comes back to haunt him later tonight.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Houston....

So, while the rest of my friends in Manchester, NH are planning their trips to Houston, TX to see the Monarchs play the Aeros, I'm stuck at home. The fear of flying has me grounded until I can take my ativan again. 800 of my unmet friends will be there and they graciously offered to make sure Jason knew my presence was missing. How nice of them. :)
This was my one and only chance to see him play in person this year - thanks to Beachball Dan and his lovefest with Coach Crawford.

And I won't be there to wish him a happy birthday. Now what kind of Fan Club President does that make me??? Not a very good one. Its a good thing I was self appointed or I might be stripped of my title.

So, to all of my friends who will be going to Houston without me - Enjoy Mullet Night for me!

Meet the Players party....

Being a season ticket holder has its advantages. One of them being the Meet the Players Party. Free admission, free food (okay so its hot dogs and nachos) and you get to meet the players. The rest of the world has to pay for Tip a King to do this. Heh heh heh.
Since my husband doesn't really care to see me drool all over these men, he graciously handed his ticket over to my mom - so we can drool together.
This was not a drool fest this time. It was 'get some new autographs time'. Players I hadn't met before or those with short lines. Funny, I still avoided Avery's line. I do want him to sign my WWAD shirt, but I'm afraid he's going to be a jerk and ask me if I'm going to sell it on ebay. He doesn't sign things very well. And no, I won't be selling it on ebay. I love that shirt. All of those crappy autograph seekers at the practices and other events made the players weary of signing autographs. These losers sell the stuff on ebay for a profit without the consent of the players. There was even some guy there last night with a stack full of pucks. He was talking to his friend on the phone about the number of signatures he got and how much he thought they'd go for on ebay. Nice.
Anyway, I got a few more players out of the way. The fact that it was so hot inside Staples Center last night determined which lines I got in. I was pretty cranky after a while so we gave up. I did meet Anze Kopitar, Konstantin Pushkarev, Brent Sopel (Sexy Sopel), Oleg Tverdovsky, Matti Norstrom (not NorDstom, like the stupid Duck announcers like to call him) and Bob Miller - the Voice of the Kings. Of course, in all of my excitement to get the Kopitar jersey signed, I forgot my Bob Miller book for him to sign. He said he would be doing another signing next week - so I got my picture taken with him instead.
So, here are the pictures:
Pushkarev and Kopitar. My mother noticed that Anze has very LARGE hands. And he's kind of cute in person. Very shy. I had to tell him about the bet my husband made me. We've been trying to decide on baby names and I of course mentioned Anze for a boy and Anja for a girl. He said (done in my best whiny Bryan voice) "I'm not naming my kid after some hockey player!"
So, after several weeks of bugging him he sort of gave in. I could name my kid after Anze if, the big IF, he scored a hat trick. This kid went out and scored two goals and an assist that night. And he can very close to that third goal. My mother called and asked if my husband was sweating yet after the second goal. He was getting a little nervous. So I told Anze my situation. His response? "I'll take care of that for you." :)
Then it was over to Brent Sopel and Oleg Tverdovsky. I was going to give poor Tverdovsky a
hard time about being a former Duck and now being a King. Something like, "aren't you glad you're in LA now?" He needs to step up as a defenseman though. He's sucked the last couple of games. People call Rob Blake a turnover machine - they apparantly aren't watching Tverdovsky.
And then Sopel. Sexy Sopel. He has that neanderthal look, but up close, he's very, I don't know. Cute. Sexy even. I wish I had a link to this girls website for "Sexy Sopel".

We kind of wandered around after that. Checking out the lines, had a hot dog and then finally decided on Matti Norstrom. Very nice guy. Someone I've been meaning to get his autograph, but never did. I got to tell him I was in Sweden and even butchered the name of the city we were in Nynashamn (sp?) He said I pronounced it correctly. I'd been practicing all night. And I made a plea for him to speak to whomever in Sweden handles the jersey quota. I went to a million souvenir shops that day and couldn't find one jersey. I did find a Mighty Ducks hat and was offended.

All of the lines were ridiculously long at this point, so we wandered down to the Locker Room. My mother says "If you've seen one locker room, you've seen them all." Hah. I can say this. They need to WASH the equipment. The smell coming off that stuff was horrendous. Or maybe it was the greasy guy in front of me. Got a few pictures of the equipment. Notice how short Cammys pants are compared to everyone else. :)















My picture of us on the ice with the Zambonis came out kind of blurry. I don't think the kid with the camera knew what he was doing. They also had a pro there taking pictures and they should be available later today. I'll see if his was any better.
A very productive night. Well, Dan Cloutier wasn't there so I didn't get to do my driveby in the Labarbera jersey. Rumor has it he's in Colorado at a 'clinic' getting his tendonitis checked out.
Meanwhile, my boy Labarbera was chosen as the starting goalie for the AHL All Star game. Thats my boy!
And after talking with Nick Nickson about it, he said he hopes to see Jason back next year. Nick was awesome. My mom and I walked up to him and I told him I was Mike from West Hills. Anyone who listens to Kings Talk after the game KNOWS who Mike from West Hills is. He got a good laugh out of it and said "Well, at least you're listening!"

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

What did you get for Christmas?

I got everything I wanted. I wasn't greedy this year and only asked for three things. And I got those three things and more. My husband is great. And so are my parents. Between the two of them, I got my three things.
Yep, my Kopitar jersey, my 30GB ipod and my Kings ipod skin. I even wore the jersey to the first home game after Christmas but he didn't do anything special.