One Month to Go...

In exactly one month from today I will be (drumroll please....) 37 freakin years old.

It's sickening, to say the least.  

Where did the time go?  It feels like it was just yesterday that I was excited to be turning 21.  The day before that I was graduating high school.  A week ago? I was learning how to drive.  A month ago? I was playing with Star Wars figures with my best friend, Scot.

So with this final month in my 36th year, I've been looking back at my life.  Do I like what I've made of it so far? Yes.  Are there goals that I still have? Absolutely.  Mistakes? Only 2... dropping out of college and staying with Joe for so long.  Regrets? Very few.

I've had great friends, a great family, and great pets (gotta give props to my animals).  I've enjoyed doing things that I love to do.  It was a dream of mine to go to Alaska and I went.  I always wanted to be a Pens season ticket holder and for five years I've been rockin it at the Igloo with the rest of the Pens Nation.  I had the experience of a lifetime at the Winter Classic in Buffalo, even if I was as sick as a dog and should have probably been in the hospital.  I buy books by the bag full and will never stop.

I've lost people that were very dear to me.  They were taken much too soon but it taught me a valuable lesson....live before you die.

There are things that I still want to do, and changes that I want to make.

Im now about halfway through my degree to be a Special Education teacher.  It gets harder each semester to fit school into a busy lifestyle and also financially it is a struggle, but Im determined to do it.  Determined in a way I never would have been in my twenties.  

I've dropped about 20 pounds since the middle of October.  I still have a ways to go but each day I feel healthier and more energetic, so I'll keep plugging away.

I still want children and will have them one day.  God has a plan for me and I've come to the conclusion that it is to adopt.  There are literally hundreds of thousands of children waiting in this country.  When my schooling is complete and I have my degree, I hope that I can give at least one a loving home.

A year from now I want to update this and be closer to all of my goals.  That's all I ask for in the upcoming year..... to keep moving ahead and have no setbacks (or just minor ones). 

There are days that I feel like I'm going to be 97 instead of 37.  But most days I feel like I'm still just a little kid trying to figure this crazy world out.

Cute, wasn't I?  

Thanks to everyone who has been a part of the past 36 years and 11 months.  Hopefully you will all be a part of the rest.

comments

Ok, all....I fixed my page so comments are a little easier to leave now.  Turns out I had the comment moderator on the most difficult setting.

Happy Holdays!

Or as i usually say, Bah Humbug!

I'm sorry. I just can't help it. I hate the holidays.

Dont get me wrong...I don't hate what they stand for. I just hate what they have become.

One of my neighbors has had their Christmas lights up since mid-October (and they probably won't take them down until mid-February). People spend way too much money on gifts often putting them in debt until July. Grocery stores are so overrun with shoppers that you can't even find the bare necessities. And don't even get me started on goodwill towards all! There are more fights around the holidays than any other time of year.

I hate the holidays.

But there are certain things that I don't hate. And they are the things we should hold onto because they quickly seem to be slipping away.

I love Christmas cards. I admit that in recent years I haven't sent them out to everyone like I should and I promise to try better. But I do love getting them. Got my first of the season today! I love the fact that someone took the time to write my name, look up my address, sign a card, buy stamps, and put it in the mail-all for me! Yes it's nice to get a text or an email, but it only takes a second to push a button on a computer. It takes so much more time and effort to send a card. We get way too many bills in the mail. Isn't it nice to find a card in the middle of all the junk? I love them, cherish them and I do keep them. I still have cards from my grandmother and from time to time I get them out just to see her handwriting.

I love Christmas carols. Nothing beats Elvis. I can listen to him sing Christmas songs all day long. Blue Christmas is tops. I have some of his carols on my ipod and I listen to it throughout the year. I cry when I hear him croon out the line "I'll be home for Christmas....if only in my dreams." It does bother me that radio stations have been playing carols since before halloween, but I will confess that I put them on the radio.

I love Christmas specials. I haven't watched The Charlie Brown Christmas Special in years, but when I see it's on the tellie, I feel better about the world. My favorite is "Twas the Night Before Christmas." I love that little mouse. Stations don't show it as much as they should and it's hard to find, but when I do, I make the time to watch.

I love traditions. Or as my cousin, Chris, called them when he was a little kid 'reditions." Everyone has their own differnt ones. My favorite is putting out my stocking on Christmas Eve that my gram crocheted for all the grandkids. Mine was Rudolph. It still gets filled each year. Yes. I'm thirty-six and I still get a stocking every Christmas morning. Its the first thing I look for.

I love Santa. I still believe he exists. I just think he has a different M.O. now. Parents buy their kids everything they need and/or could want anymore. And the population increase had him stretched way too thin anyways! Santa has become more selective. He knows where he's needed the most and shows up there. He may not put together playstations, but he travels around incognito and puts the spirit of Christmas in people's hearts making them his unofficial helpers. They bring joy into the hearts of those who need it the most. Sometimes it could be a volunteer in a retirement home who spends extra time with an elderly person just listening, or a maintenance man at Children's hospital who takes extra time stringing christmas decorations for poor little kids who are stuck there faced with the possibilty of never seeing another Christmas. Perhaps it was Santa who made one of us stop and put a five or ten dollar bill into the Salvation Army bucket instead of throwing in loose change or passing it by altogether in our hectic dash to buy more things we don't really need. I know he's real. Even in my scroogelike state, I see evidence of him everywhere.

Oh, yeah. And I forgot to mention that I saw him flying over my gram's house when I was little. Rudolph's nose was leading the way. Its true! I saw it. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in her bedroom and my mother was yelling at me to go to bed. I checked out the window and saw him flying over Clifton Road. I aint making this shit up!

If I don't get a chance to tell you, I wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas. I didn't get into the religious aspects of the holidays on here, because to each their own, but please realize that when I said 'Merry Christmas!' I mean just that.

I'm not accepting Christmas gifts this year, but what I think would be nice is if anyone would, please leave a comment on here, telling me about a favorite Christmas tradition or memory that you have. Those are the kind of gifts I cherish the most. If at least 10 people do, I'll tell the q-tip Christmas story.

DIETING FOR A POOR, WORKING SLOB

After many prior attempts, I’m back on a diet. No! Wait! It’s not a diet…it’s a lifestyle with healthy eating habits. Call it what you will-diet, lifestyle choice, healthy eating habits- I’ve porked up once again and I decided to do something about it.

Why have I porked up? Is it because I’m a pig? Okay, sometimes, maybe I am. But when you’re dieting you realize that a mostly it is about money and time constraints.

I work five days a week and go to school three nights. Add into that the dog training I just started and Penguins games and my schedule is packed. I’ve even sold Penguin tickets because I’ve been so busy. Whodathunkthat? I know I’m not the only one out there and many others have an even more hectic schedule than I do. In all the craziness of work, school, homework, studying, laundry, dishes, and hockey how do you find time to grocery shop, cook, and exercise?

The grocery shopping dilemma is one I’ve easily solved. I do it on Sundays while the Steelers are playing because I’m pretty sure I’m the only person in the whole tri-state area NOT watching the game. The stores are empty other than wives and girlfriends who didn’t plan the party food well enough and were forced to go out and get provisions.

Now exercising is another story. What to do about exercising?

Wednesdays are a no brainer. I have dog training that night and if working with a 4 month old German Shepherd puppy for two hours doesn’t count as exercise, I don’t know what does. GSD training is not like the normal, “Sit. Sit. Good dog! Here’s a treatie weatie for you!!!” kind of training that most people do with their dogs. It’s almost constant heeling; faster, faster, slow, slow, about turn, halt, start, faster, faster, slow, about turn etc. Leave your dog on a stay command and run in the other direction while you pray that she stays there. If not you run back, put them back in place and try it again. I’ve had one of those sessions where you gotta do it like twenty times before the dog stays. When you finally do get far enough away and your dog stays, you call the dog on a recall and pray that IF they come then they don’t knock you on your ass when they get to you. It may not be the most intense cardio in the world, but it is good exercise for you and the dog.

I did manage to get in two other days of walking this week; Sunday prior to grocery shopping, and again on Tuesday night. The problem? Mingo Park right next door to me now closes at 5 o’clock due to the season changing. This is major suckage. Most people who work don’t get home until after five. Possible solution? Go to my local high school. Problem with that? They don’t allow pets. I don’t just mean on the walking track. There are no pets allowed at all on the grounds anymore. I’m sure there is a good reason and something must have happened but it still pisses me off. Sure I could still go, but considering I have two German Shepherds that need exercised and I’m trying to squeeze it all together, the high school is not a solution. My only alternatives are to either walk at night in downtown Mon City which is now home to some pretty creepy looking individuals, or drive to South Park which is about a fifteen minute drive. I’m leaning towards South Park right now. Even if it takes longer I think I’ll try that this Tuesday. If anyone knows of any other alternatives in the area, please lemme know.

Gyms are too expensive and when you’re still in fat mode you don’t want other people to see you huffing and puffing while you try to keep up. Gyms are not for fat people.

Last night my entire health class went to our campus fitness center for an hour as part of the class. It was fun, it’s free to all students and I did enjoy it, but yet again!!! They normally close at 6 o’clock. More suckage.

Tomorrow is the big weigh in. We’ll see if this attempt to exercise and be more active pays off on the scale. If not, I’ll try not to let it discourage me because in spite of the fact that I’m trying to squeeze even more into an already busy day, I’ve had more energy this week, gotten better sleep, am more focused and just all around feel better. Maybe there’s something to this health thing…..

One Last Ride

Mellon Arena
Mitchell and Ritchey
Photograph courtesy of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

I won’t have time to post tomorrow, as I’ll be rushing to get home from work and head down to the Igloo, so I decided to post this now.

Click here for a Youtube that was done beautifully (not by me of course)

Tomorrow will be the beginning of the end – the last Penguins Home Opener at Mellon Arena. I face the end with mixed feelings. I’ve been stating for months that it will be bittersweet and as the time grows nearer, it’s all too true. I will miss the old gal terribly, even though I look forward to a modern new arena where I can actually have leg room.

But there is so much that I will miss, so many good times and bad, that have been a huge part of my life. During past thirty-six years I have journeyed onto the hill more times than I can count. If I could count them, I promise I wouldn’t post them all. I’ll just highlight some memories.

My first concert was to see Tony Orlando and Dawn. I was just a baby so I don’t actually remember it, and my mother took me. She failed to take me to see Elvis, though, because she said I was too little. I don’t get her reasoning here and still hold it against her. Ice Follies, Ice Capades, Disney On Ice and getting those glow in the dark necklaces to wear, themed flashlights to wave and eating way too much junk food-all good times! My mom’s friend, Johnny, used to always get me the best seats because I was a spoiled brat (still am).

And then there was one of the biggest moments in my life. Summer. 1987. Pink suede, fringed jacket and big, Big, BIG, frosted hair. Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet tour. Oh. My. God. What a great night. The man flew over the crowd. Can you even comprehend what that did to me??? I still remember it like it was yesterday. Cinderella opened up for them and someone from CCR joined Jon and the boys on stage to do a rendition of “Drift Away,” which of course became one of my favorite songs forever after. My aunt, Arlette, took Kim, Kristie and me. In retrospect, we probably all should mail her a thank you note for putting up with three screaming, obnoxious, horny teenaged girls for a whole night.

But the main part of my Igloo experience of the years has been my Penguins. It took me a few years to convince my mom to take me to a game but on March 27, 1987, she finally gave in. It was against the Philadelphia Flyers. Thankfully, one game was all it took for her to get addicted to hockey and that was the start of many games and memories:

The Atmosphere

The smell of Nachos, mixed with the smell of beer, combined with the smell of sweat – most people would find this repugnant, but to me it smells like home. Those seats where the concrete pillar hides some of the ice? I’ve had the opportunity to sit there. I look at the banners hanging from the rafters of the Stanley Cup Championship years every time I set foot in the arena. Mario and Briere’s retired jersey banners hang alongside the flags. The Ring of Honor brings tears to my eyes. Teams having to cross each other on their way to the locker room from the bench (and vice versa) has resulted in many “incidents” over the years. Crowded concourses where you shuffle along because the crowd moves like a snail has lent itself towards getting to know people a little too well at times.

The People

The cotton candy guy. The guy who used to dress as Elvis. The Penguin lady who holds up her big penguin statue and wears the goofy headgear and Im afraid I will turn into her one day….yeah that lady. The guy who started with his friends going shirtless and writing PENS letters on their chest then hung on by himself with his bare chested N while his other friends drifted away. John Barbaro. Jeff Jimmerson. Vince Lascheid. Iceburgh (the coolest mascot in the world). The horrible house band they had for a few years. Every usher and concession stand worker I have met and spoken to over the years has been a joy to deal with. Every annoying person I got stuck sitting in front of who screamed in my ear or talked nonstop and every kid who kicked the back of my seat through the whole game, everyone who was there with me: I love you all!

The Moments

My first game. My first playoff game. My first Stanley Cup finals game. My first Stanley Cup finals win. Getting Chili from Wendy’s when the Pens scored seven goals and the “Chili! Chili!” chant that started after the sixth goal. Getting my face painted for the first time (yes I am one of those people). Losing my voice from screaming (only to get it back again the day of the next game and losing it all over again). My memories of the last time I saw Lemieux skating on the Igloo's ice. Had I known then it would be the last time I saw him wearing the sweater and skates I would have savored it even more. That wonderful March night against Buffalo when 66 came out to tell us that "Your Pittsburgh Penguins will remain right here in Pittsburgh where we belong." That night gave me chills like no other. The night I didn't just get misty eyed but I cried huge tears, was the first game after Lemieux announced his retirement. I knew then that I would never see him skate in the NHL again. It was one of the saddest moments of hockey.

I may very well cry tomorrow night. It won't be the first time in the Igloo. It won't be the last. Im sure the emotion will be high with the raising of the banners, but it will be the last time I see them raised in that old barn. I will be there for the last Pens game come hell or highwater. If Im dead, I have left instructions to take my body ala' Weekend at Bernies and prop me up in my seat.

But as I said before...this is the beginning of the end. Call it the Civic Arena. Call it the Mellon Arena. Call it the Igloo. It's been Home to me.