Sunday, March 25, 2007

Guilty Pleasures

Is it sad that I get excited when Soapnet runs a 90210 marathon?

We all have them, something we keep secret, silently ashamed to admit... guilty pleasures. I love Beverly Hills - the show that this. I've never been be in the actually zip code. As a 26-year-old, a part of my brain knows that it is just a silly, oversexed teenage drama, but the other part is addicted to it like some are to smutty grocery store romances. I can't help it.

I use to blame it on the fact that I didn't have cable growing up, but I think that excuse doesn't stands up anymore. I've seen the entire series so many times that I when exactly Kelly was caught in a fire, shot and then held at gunpoint or who Donna finally lost her virginity to or who shot Dylan's wife.

I don't know what it is about the show that draws me in? Maybe it is the high-fashion or intriguing plot lines (hehe), but whatever it is, you know where to find be between 5-7pm Monday - Friday -- watching reruns on Soapnet.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Let the Madness Begin

The Sweet Sixteen teams are determined after this past weekend of basketball March Madness. I do have one bone to pick... basketball isn't the only sports madness going on - there is hockey! I know, most of the country doesn't even know how to skate, but hockey is the sport of choice for those of us from Northeast and upper Midwest (even parts of the Northwest). It might also be that I graduated from the school with the worst Division I basketball record in NCAA history.

You haven't seen madness until you see a player shoot a 3-inch round saucer past a two defenders and a goal into the net. Or until you watch a goalie stand on his head in double overtime to win a national title. Or until you've traveled all the way across the country to watch you team play a conference rival in a state that doesn't even have ice. College hockey is more intense than college basketball will ever be.

The Madness begins this weekend in four barns in Denver, Grand Rapids, Rochester and Manchester. (And for those of you that know, even a little bit about college hockey - there are five Hockey East teams in the top 16 competting for the national title. If that isn't a sign of the best conference in the country, I don't know what is.)

Below is the bracket for the Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. Let the madness begin. Go 'Cats!!

2007 NCAA Tournament

Denver
1 Minnesota vs. 4 Air Force
2 Michigan vs. 3 North Dakota

Grand Rapids
1 Notre Dame vs. 4 Alabama-Huntsville
2 Boston University vs. 3 Michigan State

Rochester
1 Clarkson vs. 4 Massachusetts
2 St. Cloud vs. 3 Maine

Manchester
1 New Hampshire vs. 4 Miami
2 Boston College vs. 3 St. Lawrence

Sunday, March 11, 2007

A Walk in the Park


It was beautiful this weekend. Temps reached the high 50s, even low 60s on Saturday. Micah and I took advantage of the warm weather and took Reese for a walk this morning. Just around the corner is a state park and natural resource center, Solider's Delight. Just a few minutes into the walk, you begin to forget that you are only 20 minutes from a major American city - it makes me feel like I'm back in the New Hampshire.

Reese loves it. On days when we can get to the park early, we let him off his leash. The moment he hears the click of the hook release, he takes off like a light, running around the trail. The nice thing about having a lab, is that he doesn't go far without checking back to make sure we are still there. One of Reese's favorite spots in the park is the tiny stream that runs through it. (A close second are the muddle puddles that are more than abudance this time of year.) Like a true boy, he splashes around in the water. Thankfully, the stream is located about halfway through the trail, so by the time we get back to the car, he is fairly dried off.

One of the real reasons we like to take Reese for long walks is that they tire him out. At just shy of his second birthday, Reese is still a little ball of energy, barking and running through our tiny townhouse like a banchee. A 2.5 mile walk at Solider's Delight helps take the edge off. As soon as we get home, he flops down on his bed or the couch. Hours later, we practically have to drag him off to go to the bathroom. The results of just a little walk in the park.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Busy Bee

I've been a busy bee the last couple of weekends, so I apologize for my lack of updating.

Below is a quick recap -

February 18 - Organized the first-ever LifeBridge Health Brain & Spine Crossword Puzzle Tournament. It was a pretty cool afternoon. The whole idea behind the event was to raise awareness for the new Brain & Spine Institute at the hospital. We had more than 50 people show up. And we even featured four pre-published New York Times crossword puzzles.

February 23-24 - I went to New Hampshire. (I know, I didn't tell anyone, but it was quick trip.) It was a girls weekend. I stayed with Katie, my best friend. We celebrated our birthday's in true New England style - we went to a hockey game. If you know anything about the friendship I have with Katie, we will go anywhere for a hockey game. In three short years, we had traveled to eight of the nine rinks in Hockey East, to RPI in Troy, NY and Minnesota to watch the Frozen Four (Yeah,that was the year they played Maine.) With one rink yet to visit in Hockey East, we ended to Providence, RI on Saturday night to watch the UNH Wildcats take on Providence. I was all excited, because there was chance the team could win the regular season title - HOWEVER- Providence College whooped the Cats 7-1. Nothing like a loss on the road. The weekend wasn't a total loss, Katie and I spent a lot of time catching up, revisiting old times and talking about the future. It was a great way to celebrate our birthdays, even if it was a couple weeks late.

The bummer is that I came down with a pretty bad respitory infection on my way home. So I spent the better part of Monday and Tuesday in bed trying to recover. It was not fun!

March 2-4 - I'm heading to Michigan. This, as Jill has stated, is a weekend all about her. (Although, I really think she believes that every weekend is all about her.) We are doing wedding activities. Dress shopping, ring shopping, cake tasting and such. Jill did such an amazing job being my maid of honor that I can only hope to live up to her footsteps. I'm sure I'll have some good stories on Monday, since it is always a good time when all three Sizettes are together.