Opener

Well, the flu bug hit the household last week which didn't totally wipe us out (thank goodness). I managed to find a flu shot for Tyler a week before he came donw with a fever so I think it minimized the worst of it. He got to stay home for 2 days (plus the holiday Monday) went back to school Thursday while Josh got the fever that morning & has been home ever since. We have another free day (teacher inservice day) so we can benefit from it. I was nervous since Josh is the only one in our family who didn't get a flu shot but he only had a low grade fever with cold symptoms.

Both kids are back to their normal selves along with some lingering congestion/cough so hope that will be the end of it.

Also last week, NHL hockey began!! Woot woot!



This was the hottest ticket of the season...the cheapest seats that usually go for about $45 skyrocketed to about $150.

Yay for season tickets!! Thanks honey!! <3 br="">

Okay, I've never seen a Stanley Cup banner ceremony before but later learned that passing around the Cup was something that hasn't been done before. Some people didn't like it but we're Hollywood and the long wait was deserved something a bit extra.

Here is the set of photos from the opener....

The Kings lost that game but now they can focus on the rest of the fast & furious season. Go Kings!

oh boy

Hockey finally started again with a roar so that occupied most of my weekend. ;) Hector and I went to the home opener game for the Kings vs Chicago to see the Stanley Cup banner ceremony. It was really cool. I have some pics on my p & s camera so the quality won't be as good and I really wanted to relish the moment. Unfortunately, the Kings lost which we have to consider shortened training camp, season and pretty much everything associated with hockey.

We get Center Ice free for the rest of the month so I spent the rest of the weekend watching lots & lots of hockey. Yes it was a bummer to see the Kings not fare as well but several other teams have it just as bad or worse so just chalk the first week as ugly, weird hockey and hope your team jells fast. :) It's sort of a sprint season with 48 games in 99 days so hold on and enjoy the ride.
Kind of like the Hunger games....may the odds be ever in your favor!! :)

Slowly adding stuff to the wall.

Each fan was given a mini banner so I just hung mine for now on the framed photo. I still need to add my pennants which are somewhere (hopefully not crushed) in our house.

I still knit a lot especially during hockey on TV so I mostly listen and glance up every so often. I do miss stuff but thats what rewind is for. ;)

I had to send my Seahorse socks to the frog pond. They're so pretty but they were not going to fit me and I wasn't about to give these away so they will be ripped back for something else. I just have to remember to pick a thicker fingering weight yarn/bigger needles to make this pattern work.



I even turned these inside out and still got some puckering from the stranded parts. Its a good thing I'm frogging them...

So that meant I only had one other pair of socks cast one and I usually need two in case my brain doesn't respond to one that particular moment, then I have another one to do.



In December, it was leftover month where I managed one pair finished. I got the book with Drip Candles in it, so I cast on last night. Pretty good progress too. They are fitting snug so I will go up a needle size to see how that goes but I don't mind giving these away if I have too.


On the side note, I signed up for our Comic Con ID badges so we can purchase tickets to Wonder Con this year. Don't know if we can tickets to the big one but this will be fun. The Wonder Con is in Anaheim so we don't have to stay in a hotel and save a little moola. The 3 day pass is an afforable $40 if we buy online so we shall keep our fingers crossed.

That means I need to work on my steampunk costume and start planning Hector's too. Fun fun fun..

Meet The Players

Last Saturday as season ticket holders, we got tickets to meet the LA Kings for autographs and photos. This is offered yearly but this is the 1st year as Stanley Cup Champions! :)

For the most part, getting autographs is not that hard if you go to the practice & hang out in the parking lot. The players are very nice and approachable but there are a few that park behind the gates so it's much more difficult to catch those guys.



Here I am with Dustin Brown, captain of the LA Kings. I had him autograph my Stanley Cup book too. I really need, need a haircut. ;0
 He has perfected his smile so not display his missing 5-6 teeth in the front.




Here he is with Kathy and his smile.



Kathy seems very thrilled to be with the 3 Kings players, doesn't she? The players were grouped in 3-4 per section but these guys are close friends and wanted their table jammed up to one another. I guess they couldn't bear to be about 3 feet apart for 3 hours. Uff. They're still pretty nice to look at...

We managed 6 players as the lines were pretty long but he got the hard to find players so now I can work on the rest of my autographs at practice.

We are the Champions!

Exciting time to be a LA Kings fan...great series, game and the Stanley Cup!

I'm exhausted and I have a throat thing going on too. Time to rest up for the parade on Thursday.

Game 4

Well, it was fun going to game 4 even though we didn't win. :( I got to ride the green/blue line Metro to downtown LA which turned out pretty well. Hector drove to LA after work and he met me at the station. He wore his usual bright yellow sweatshirt in the 80* weather so he's super easy to spot in the sea of black. Good thing I took public transportation too since some of the parking lots were charging up to $100...crazy, right?

LA Live was packed with people, hockey fans etc and what I mean by etc is the funky people that attend E3. So amongst hockey jerseys, I spotted the lone Link from the Legend of Zelda. She was by far the best Link we've seen and I guess from that statement you can tell we've see several before. She even had a well made shield and sword. Silly me didn't even ask her if she would pose for me. Oh well. 

I won't bore you with the game details but it was exciting and fun. Would have been better if the Kings won...Pictures later.

The one above is sponsered by Toyota and against a green screen that I chose and set up this morning. Too bad the kids wern't with us or we could have our Christmas card!! :)

Game 3

Okay, we are nearing the end of the very long hockey season. It seemed so long ago since we were last at Staples center which was about 2 weeks or more with round 3 tickets sold to offset the playoff series. The excitement was building up this last week along with my anxiety level. :)

Inside Staples center, it was crowded and super loud. Only a few Devils fans scattered around so it was great to see so much support for the Kings. We got rally towels which for whatever reason didn't have any mention of the Stanley Cup and some battery operated glow sticks that flashed.

I had to have a margarita to settle myself down and relax. Awesome game from every single player on the Kings team and the fans were going wild. :) So much fun especially with a 4-0 shutout over the Devils.

Now the real craziness starts now until game 4 on Wednesday. We're really wishing for a home win/sweep to see the Cup on home ice will probably have me crying hysterically.

Go Kings Go!!

Finally...

Joshua lost an upper tooth this week! He is later than most in losing his baby teeth but he's getting there.


And I'm trying to take these playoff games one at a time but it's very difficult to not get excited. After seriously watching the Kings play for the last 5 years has been a rollercoaster ride and even this season, their play was inconsistent but come playoff time, they've been transformed into a great team. :)

Since we are season ticket holders, we get first priority for our seats come playoff time. We pay as we play but scheduling can be frustrating because we have to wait for other teams to finish before game dates are released. So for Round 1 and 2, we went to the home games since I couldn't sell our tickets. I learned to set it up beforehand on Stubhub and the date will be adjusted once they're announced.

So I thought I would sell round 3 because now the demand is greater as we progress further. I was able to sell the first 2 home games thinking that this round would be tougher so we would most likely go past 5 games but no, we might actually sweep. Whhuuuuttt?  Crazy times, I tell you!

Hector said we are definitely going to any Round 4 games which is fine by me. Only one more win and then I'll look forward....


Meanwhile, I went to practice which was an optional skate and had fun taking pictures. Here are some:

It's Friday already?

Finally got myself to get the Canon fired up and head on out to Kings practice.



Dustin Brown getting some one on one coaching with Bernie Nichols. All the other big names took the day off from skating like, Kopi, Williams, Doughty, Richards and Carter.



I lucked out that Martinez stopped right in front of us because it is challenging for me to shoot the players while skating with the smudged plexiglass and metal bars that I have to work around.



I had to include this guy for Kathy since he's been a healthy scratch for quite a while now and this is the only way she gets to see her favorite player in action.


It was nice to have the camera back in my hands after a break. I need to get familiar again because I'm going to take lots of pics at a friend's baby shower coming up on Sunday. :)

Hockeyfest 2011

Woohoo, hockey is almost here!! Hockeyfest is the event that the LA Kings present to kickstart the season with introductions to the players, coaches etc with fun events like a funzone for kids/adults, family skate on Staples Center ice and autograph sessions.

My kids are not huge hockey fans but they still had fun. Josh got to ice skate, both kids made fun videos with Drew Doughty and players card. There were several Q & A sessions with players, former and current but the best one was the kids press conference asking questions to 4 players. Very entertaining.

This event just gets us amped up for the season and training camp begins this Saturday!! :)

Hector in the penalty box. Two minutes for poking.

Tyler showing his support.

Go Kings!

Riding the wild snowboard.

Ice skating.

Fan Cruise

The day finally came! On Friday, Kat and I had our 3 day LA Kings Fan Cruise to Ensenada!! Long story short (because I'm lazy) the popular headliner Drew Doughty was a no-show (no contract signed yet) and Trevor Lewis was the only current Kings player on the ship. Daryl Evans (radio guy/former Kings player) and Ian Turnbull (Kings alumnus) were also on board along with Bailey and 2 Ice Girls.

It was disappointing that Drew wasn't on the ship but we will be given tickets to a catered luxury suite at a Kings game with a post-game meet n greet.

We had a cocktail party, dinner every evening with a Kings player/Kings affliate which made dinner enjoyable even though we had a couple of aggressive women taking over every question and conversation.

We got a great beach bag filled with cool Kings stuff, a Q & A session with the guys with more great prizes and a fun scavenger hunt. Overall, we had a great time and met some nice ladies, Julie & Melanie that we hung out with at dinner and late night.

Here is the full set of photos on Flickr.

LA Kings Cruise photos.

2 More Points

Time to get pumped up for the playoffs although, it's going down to the end for about 6 teams wondering if they'll even make it. The video is from a year ago but it's still cool.



Kings beat Flames last night in a shootout. NO pics since Hector went with He-Man last night. Hector said that He-man intimidated the Calgary Flamers fans next to them into little whispery cheers. Nice.

Super Moon

Here is a great page showing the super moon from around the world, click here. Unfortunately, here in LA it was gray and cloudy so I barely could see the moon.



Last night Hector and I went to the Ducks vs Kings game which is always a battle. Well, the game was good and both teams wanted those 2 points that will help in the playoff race. The Ducks scored first and the Kings spent the other periods trying to score which they did to tie it up. The game went to overtime and the Ducks scored and won. So the Ducks get the 2 points and the Kings get 1 point.




We've been pretty lucky when the Ducks come to LA where the Ducks fans around us have been nice yet love their team. They can cheer and boo but some fans just take it further. Last night a family of Ducks fans sat right behind us, Dad, Mom and young son (about 6-8). That little kid had a mouth of him, not the cussing kind but the annoying kind of chatter and loud. If any King fan cheered or called out, this boy would change the wording to benefit his team. For example, Go Kings Go became Boo Kings Boo. I was fine with that (at first) then it became obvious that he couldn't come up with a chant of his own. There are waaay too may to list but his parents didn't say anything to him, they just let him babble, chatter and yell. The dad did mention to be respectful when the kid decided to scream at our ear level but other than that, he had free rein. I could see into the future that kid will be become into that ultimate fanatic that gets obnoxious and drunk at the game.




It's a game. I'm fine with that.

Thrills and Agony

A bright spot for today. Josh's basketball photo. Very cute. He was especially happy that I gave him a Prince of Persia LEGO set for his great season. Josh didn't score a basket but he did make some great passes that led up to scoring.

Now onto last night's Kings game. Really bad. Quick (goaltender) was the only one to play well in the first 2 periods then it deteriorated when the Blues began peppering him with shots and the Kings were shutout 4-0. Boo.

People started leaving early so Kat and I went to the front to sit for the last 5 minutes. All I can say is that the Kings better be ready for Saturday's game against the Ducks.

2 Points

After a 10 game road trip that lasted almost 3 weeks, the Kings finally came home to Staples Center. Kat and I got see a really exciting game for some crucial 2 points in the Western Conference standings. For those who don't follow hockey, the race in the West has been tight all season with teams rising/falling pretty much on a weekly, now daily basis.

Several teams are tied in points and a win can boost them into the top 8 which is a playoff berth. Every game will be important and hopefully the Kings can keep up their hard work.

We played the Wild last night who we tied with in points. It was a great game and we won (in regulation) so the Kings get 2 points and the Wild get 0.  Next game is Colorado on Saturday and even though the Avs are not doing that well most likely our of the playoffs, they can be the spoiler for teams trying to secure a spot.

Enough, picture time.

Diehard Kings fans. Thanks goodness, they're fit otherwise it would be ugly.

Short Version

Ah, weekends are too short but we managed to squeeze in plenty of activities. Karate, basketball, hockey, haircut, Sunday school,lunch with Grandma, dinner, drinks and shooting range. I might have left something out but that pretty much sums it up.

Now here are some pictures of the Kings game.

I was waiting for this kid's McFlurry to fly off when the players smash into the glass but it never did.

Kopi in a scuffle. Unheard of (til now).

Lots of action.

Game winning goal.

Ready for the weekend!

I started my weekend early with Kat at the Kings vs Tampa Bay Lightning. #1 in the west vs #1 in the east. Oh yeah!! It was a tough, grinding game that both teams turned up and it was a costly turnover that had the Kings keep the puck in their zone and Justin Williams did a super suh-weet backwards move at the goal to SCORE!! It was EPIC!! :) Kings win 1-0 and Quick gets a shutout. We're NUMBER 1.


Kathy and I had lots of fun taking self protraits during the intermissions. Seriously, for us it's waaaaaay too much fun.

This is how we'll look when we meet our favorite Kings player!

Or maybe we'll just look stunned.

I think this is Kathy's look when she will "broadcasting in the booth with Jime Fox and Bob Miller". I'm just goofing off.

This weekend is gonna be great. Another Kings game on Saturday and his friend Kenley will be heading to so Kat and I will be enjoying the game at home with my fabulous Chinese chicken salad. Yum.

Then Sunday Kat and I will be attending our first Tip-A-King which allows us fans to get close to Kings players for photos and autographs for $5-10 and benefits the Kings Care Foundation. I think I have to pass the Fiber festival in Torrance due to a time conflict but that's okay.

This is the player that Kathy will be "most geeked out" by. #15 Brad Richardson.

Making fun of the Ice Crew interviews. Really cheesy puff pieces.

I'm waiting for a Canon D60 DSLR body that I'm renting for the week so I think I will take it to Tip-A-King. Very exciting!!