Let's try this again...

So I'm going to try this blogging thing again...

It's January 1, 2013, and I am trying this blogging thing again. I'm hoping that it's actually going to stick. My blog is being revamped. I'll be writing more about my life and very little about hockey, especially since the 2012-2013 season is locked out(still hoping for some kind of NHL season). So here goes nothing...

I have 1 New Years resolution...get my fat ass into a shape other than round!

I weighed myself today and tipped the scale at 181 pounds. Yes, according to a bunch of BMI calculators I am in the moderately obese category. I'm 5'2" and have a medium sized frame. According to Livestrong, my ideal weight should be between 107 and 119 pounds...seems a little ridiculous to me! I don't think I've weighed that little since I was about 12...even when I was in semi-okay shape while diving in high school and college.

I turned 30 in April 2012 and am on a daily migraine medicine and a water pill(it's kinda like a pre-high blood pressure medicine) all from being overweight. AND my doctor wants to put me on a cholesterol medicine. I worked out a deal with my family doctor that I'd attempt to get myself into shape and lose weight  to hopefully bring my cholesterol down before my next yearly physical (in May). Otherwise, she is putting me on something for my cholesterol.

SO WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS?

I'm hoping that if I keep everyone (technically the world) up-to-date with my progress, then it will mean more to me. It will make me get off my ass and do something everyday, whether it's walking the 2ish miles around the block or using the Total Gym that I bought a while ago. I did make one HUGE step today...

...I poured the rest of my Mountain Dew down the drain! I'm only going to allow myself 1 soda a week, instead of the 1 or 2 I was drinking a day. When I go out to eat...it's going to be water only. Keep me accountable people! I want to get healthy and back to a normal weight, even if it's not the 107 to 119 pound ideal weight. 

Feedback is always appreciated and support will be needed...so make it happen! 

I AM A SLACKER!

Slacker, slacker, yes I am...slacker slacker, yes I can! Right there was my little cheer for being a slacker! Yes, I have been a slacker and haven't posted in 6 days. I promise that this long post will be worth the read!

LET'S GO BOLTS!

The Tampa Bay Lightning went on a 4 game road trip and didn't do too bad...2 wins and 2 HORRIBLE loses. Hopefully for their home stand they can do better!

January 4th- Bolts vs. Washington Capitals: The score was 1-0 in favor of the Lightning. Honestly, I slept through this game...I had a horrible migraine the entire day and really wasn't able to comprehend what was going on. Anyway, Marty St. Louis (please say his last name with a french accent because the dude is French-Canadian.../louie/) scored the only goal of the game in OVERTIME! I'm hoping the TBL can win again against the Caps when they come to Tampa on Wednesday, January 12th. Why do you ask? Well I'm going to that game and I only paid $7.54 for my ticket! It was also Steve Downie's first game back from his ankle sprain. He is now the proud owner of a ridiculous black eye...I'm sure his Mom is proud!



(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)



His black eye is from getting in a scrum with Washington Capitals player Matt Hendricks. Ladies...who wouldn't love that face now?!? I'm sure my parents would be more than impressed if I brought any guy home with a black eye like that!

January 5th- Bolts vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: Well needless to say this game was a good ole fashioned beating! The score was 8-1 with the winner being the Penguins. Adam Hall was the lone scoring Tampa Bay Lightning player in the 3rd period. I'm sorry to say that as a true TBL fan, I stopped watching because it was painful. There were 2 good things that came out of this game...Chris Kunitz(Penguins) got his 2nd career hat trick (when a player scores 3 goals in the same game) AND Sidney Crosby didn't score. I know that sounds harsh and Crosby is an AMAZING player, but it's nice for the other guys on the team to get recognized for once.

January 8th- Bolts vs. Ottawa Senators: The final score was 2-1 with the Lightning taking the win! It was a boring first period...no one scored. The Bolts were down in the second period, but came back in the third to score twice in less than 5 minutes. Tampa's first goal was compliments of Adam Hall and then Marty St. Louis (again please say it with a French accent) scored for the win! Oh, it was also the first game where Dwayne Roloson has a plain white goalie's mask. His first game he wore his old mask from the New York Islanders...just looked strange with a TBL jersey.

January 9th- Bolts vs. New Jersey Devils: Another good old fashioned beating...score was 6-3 with the Devils taking the win. The Lightning were up 2-1 in the first period, but somehow the Devils scored 5 goals in the 3rd period. Yes, I skipped the 2nd period, because there weren't any goals. It wasn't a bad game, but it seemed like the Lightning just weren't into it. They were almost lethargic...lifeless. I felt there wasn't a lot of emotion in this game, they were just going through the motions so they could come home. Hopefully they will all get laid over their 2 day break, so my $7.54 isn't wasted on Wednesday night!

ENOUGH ABOUT HOCKEY ALREADY!

Well I went home to my parents this weekend to get away from the craziness here and to see my kittens!



Aren't they cute?



Oh yes and of course I went home to see my parents! At first it was going to be a reconnaissance mission, because Stripes, the orange striped cat, got out of the house. Yes, I know I was inventive with names, but it's okay, they were adopted at like midnight, kinda like a drug deal, but legal! Well she came back, hopefully scared enough not to try it again. Oh and I did find out that she has a lover...a big black Neapolitan Mastiff named Manny! Surprise...surprise, but she could do worse!

My mother is complaining about having to baby proof the house again, but their grand kittens are just prepping them for when their grandchild is born. So Mom, stop your bitching, because you'll have to do it when Blueberry is born! LOVE YOU MOM!

365 Days of Pictures

Here are some pictures for my 365 days of pictures resolution...I am an epic failure at this, since I do not have a picture for January 6th!



My friend's husband has an obsession
with elephants...they are all over the house.
(January 4, 2011)



Apparently I was too close to the
mailbox. I got a note from the
mailperson reminding me not to park
close to the mailbox.
(January 5, 2011)

 



This is what you see as you drive

across the state of Florida. There is

nothing except farm land and cattle!

(January 7, 2011)

The lovers...Stripes(cat) & Manny(dog).
According to my parents, they love on
each other a lot!
(January 8, 2011)

I did have another picture of my Dad sleeping for January 8th, but I'll save that for when I need something. :)



The boys. Kweo(L), who is about 175 lbs & Manny(R), who is about 115 lbs.
(January 9, 2011)


Well that's all folks...I hope it was worth it. In the future, I'll try to be better about posting a few times a week. Oh, I'm off to a Cardio Kickboxing class tomorrow at the gym...frustrations will definitely come out!



Hockey Here I Come!

Most Important Things First

(I'm not being sarcastic...seriously!)

My friend Heather Zellers (from Mountville Pool days) sent me this in hopes that I could get the word out AND I will do my best!

This information is from the email I received from Heather: My girlfriend Natalie is serving in Iraq and her fiance is in the Army too. She entered a contest to win free photography at their wedding, and she needs votes to win. As you make your new years resolutions, it would be fabulous if you can take a minute to help make someones wedding wish come true ;) !

Just email your vote for SUBMISSION 4 to: danielle@lefebvrephoto.com

Her submission is below--

Submission 4: Natalie Banach & Jonathan O'Dea
My fiancé and I are both in the Army. I am currently deployed to Iraq and Jon will be deploying early in 2011. Jon proposed to me on my mid-tour leave and we will be married in 2012 as that is the soonest we will finally be together again stateside after almost 2 full years apart! Needless to say our love and the thought of us getting married after all this really keeps me going over here! We are paying for our own wedding--while I would love to look back on magazine quality photos, our biggest priority is sharing our big day with our guests and making that as awesome as our budget will allow!! Every couple has their own share of hardships and I can’t say that we are more deserving than someone else, but what I do know is that while being at war is hard, it’s being away from the man you love that’s even harder than that. So once we finally are together again I want to make everything as incredible as possible, and our wedding would be a great place to start… Thanks for your consideration!

The link to the website to check it out for yourself is http://www.lefebvrephoto.com/. This couple has already put their lives on the line for us...the smallest thing we can do is take a minute out of our day to vote for them!

Onward to Hockey!

You should by now realize that I am an ICE HOCKEY LOVER! I remember the days when my Dad and I would watch the Philadelphia Flyers on a 13" black and white TV in our kitchen. Ever since then I've been hooked and now that I have a big girl job (and money) my love of hockey has grown into an obsession. I can now afford to go to many live hockey games AND season tickets for the upcoming 2011-2012 season. Everyone should go to a live game at least once in their lives, but please, please, please don't ask stupid questions. I took my girlfriends to their first game and they were warned about asking stupid questions, but that didn't stop one of them! She knows how she is and I did answer some of them in a non-sarcastic way (which was very hard for me), but most I just didn't acknowledge...yes I know, I'm an amazing friend! :)

Now for the good stuff...

My favorite team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, made a trade over the New Year's holiday. The TBL traded minor league player, Ty Wishart, to the New York Islanders, in exchange for a 41-year old goalie name Dwayne Roloson. Since the TBL traded for a goalie, they needed to send one of their three somewhere and the lucky winner was Cedrick Desjardins! He was sent back to the TBL's minor league affilate the Norfolk Admirals. Dewon his NHL debut game against the Montreal Canadiens and his second game against the New York Rangers in OVERTIME! Alas, he needed to go to make room for Roloson, who is in his 15th NHL season and expected to be a big helper for the defense! Was it a good trade...eh, only time will tell.

 On another note...Steve Downie was able to take full contact at practice today. He has been out for the last few weeks with a high ankle sprain...my personal opinion is he should have sucked it up and played! (Now, I'm not a doctor, but I have sprained my ankles enough times to know what if feels like...just a little disclaimer.) Downie is the fighter of the team and has been missed! The TBL have their next game tomorrow night at the Washington Capitals and I'm hoping they will win, so the followers of hockey don't have to listen to Alexander Ovechkin and his girlie-bitchiness.

Here is my 365 day photo for today...



The little speck in the center of the the picture is the Goodyear blimp leaving the area now that the Tampa area college football bowl games are over.

Alright world...it's late and I'm super exhausted from the first day back to work! Oh, but I did get a start on my New Year's resolution of getting my fat ass into shape...I joined a gym!

Hello World!

Welcome 2011!



My name is Leigh and I am new to the world of blogging. In this blog you will read a lot about ice hockey, especially the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a little about the shenanigans that go on in my life. I'm going to try and blog a little each day...even if it's just part of the 365 day photo project, where I'll take a picture every day, write a blurb, and then post it. So to start the 365 day photo project these are the first two days of 2011...

My friend's parents house...we stayed there for the evening of January 1st!

Taken at a rest stop on the way home from Christmas break vacation.

So enough about the basics...here we go about the last few days.

Atlanta- I went with my friends to Atlanta, Georgia for the New Year's holiday and it was an adventure! Now most of you know that I need alone time, but did I get any...NOPE! The girls, as much as I love them, were non-stop talking and needing everyone to be involved. I am ALL for a good time, but when one of the girls wakes me up at 7:30am, just because she's awake...that's a little much! I kinda felt like I was at my parents house, since my Dad used to do the same thing, BUT he has gotten better with age...LOVE YOU DAD! After my friend got the "what the **ck are you doing" speech...it didn't happen again. We did a lot in Atlanta...Coke Factory, ate at the Varsity, Underground (interesting place), and went ice skating in Centennial Olympic Park. Ice skating was interesting...the ice was HORRIBLE, but it was a good time. I only fell twice, but STILL hurt! We also went to Stone Mountain, which is basically a mountain that has been made into a state or national park. There's a bunch of stuff to do there and we did a lot, but the best part was free tickets! Some dude was standing in line behind us and offered us the tickets he got for camping in the park, since we didn't get to do Snow Mountain. Anyway, I'd like to thank the Peacock family for allowing us to stay at their home and having free reign of it! They are an interesting family and I was honestly shocked that there weren't more "peacock" things around their home, but apparently they are fans of moose....interesting I know. Christy...I know you are going to read this, so please tell everyone thank you from all of us! 

New Year's Resolutions-  Does anyone really ever do these? I've "made" resolutions before, but never followed through...this year is going to be different!

Here are my resolutions:

• The 365 day photo project...yes, this was stolen from my friend Sabrina (who has a blog, but is afraid that I'll publish this on a social network and people will find her, so I'll refrain from linking her). I'm going to take a picture every day and post it with a little blurb.
• Get my fat ass in shape and lose 20 pounds (if not more)!  According to my neurologist, if I lose 20 or 30 pounds, I should be able to go off my blood pressure medicine and should stop having so many migraines. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to go to the gym with some friends of mine to try and get back into shape or as close as I can get. This probably means I should stop drinking so much soda and drink more water, but baby steps people! There are daily group classes and the gym also has a pool, so I'm going to get back into swimming too. This is just for me and no one else, but after seeing myself in the pictures from Atlanta, it's time!
• Buy a house...which I will be doing in the near future, but still need to save money!
• Save money...it will help with the house buying resolution, but also allow me to do more things.
• Go to watch more live hockey games...yes, it's expensive, but totally worth it. AND who knows, I might meet my future husband there...a girl can hope...can't she?

Alright world, it's late...I have to go back to work tomorrow, try to be excited that I'm there, and act like I know what I'm doing. Have a good day at work or home!