Christmas Comes Early

So it took me a few days, but I had to get this online. For Thanksgiving this year, I flew back to Portland to hang with the family. Among the crying of nieces and nephews, broken bones in Turkey Bowls and overeating during dinner, my brother decides to call me near the end of my break and give me my Christmas gift early. I hate getting Christmas gifts early because part of the fun of Christmas is opening the gift with the entire family there near the tree in my PJs, which have gotten significantly less embarrassing over the years! OK, so the phone call, my brother announces the surprise and tells me he has courtside seats to a Trailblazer game. I immediately tell him this joke sucks, because one of the things on my bucket list is seeing a Blazer game courtside. He reassures me he isn't joking and picks me up for a little dinner at Outback, then off to the Blazer v. Hornets game. 

To describe the feeling of walking down the lower bowl stairs, accompanied by a security official would be impossible, but without mincing words, I felt like a millionaire. Every game I have ever attended, I always sat in pure jealousy of those sitting in the nice black butt-padded seats, talking trash with players and being waited on. I was now one of the lucky ones.

There I sat, within feet of one of the best point guards in the league, Chris Paul, and close enough that every player I yelled at knew exactly what I said. At one point I talked some trash with Peja Stojakovic and he completely glared me down.  Got a great pic of that!!!

At halftime I was walking the halls on the lower level and ran into none other than Jerome Kersey. Funny running into him, because this new Blazer team reminds me of the team he was on, good on the court and in the community.

To top the night off, the Blazers embarrassed the Hornets, though when the game was over I didn't want to leave. I just wanted to hang around as long as possible to take in the moment. After we left the building I think I thanked my brother at least 20 times. I know he got sick of me by the time we got to the car, but I felt like a 14-year old kid for two and a half hours...giddy! Hard to say thank you enough for an experience like that. Easily the most memorable gift I have been given. Hard to think of something that will ever top it! Thanks BJ. Oh, my bad, didn't mean to, just thinking about it makes it hard to believe I was there. Oh, and early Christmas gifts aren't that bad after all!

Diaper Duty

CHG, the company I work for, recently helped the United Way in gathering needed supplies for shelters around the Salt Lake Area.  We were responsible for diapers, baby wipes and baby food. We collected more than 8,000 diapers and 500 bottles of baby food and distributed them to shelters in Salt Lake and Midvale.  I had the privilege of delivering the items to the shelters and, to be honest, I haven't felt that good in a long time. It was a nice reminder of how many blessings I have in my life. We find so much time to complain about the problems we think we are facing, but forget about the harsh realities that so many other families are dealing with. It was nice to be of service and to see the happiness that such a small act brought to these families in need.

3, 2, 1...Dodgeball

So last night I got talked into playing dodge ball for a singles activity.  I have been avoiding it for a long time, but I felt it was time I start going to as many activities as possible. This is true dedication, because I had to record the rest of the Blazer game on TV to attend. For those of you who know me well, that's like asking me to remove chest hairs one by one with a pair of tweezers.

Back to the dodgeball. Honestly, I hadn't played the game in years and I felt a little ridiculous attending, so I decided if I was going to feel ridiculous, I was going to look ridiculous as well.  I had a blonde mullet wig sitting at home and a great white trash t-shirt, so I put together a little ensemble to complement the game I was playing.  I also shaved a handle bar mustache to complete the look. Without trying, I ended up looking like a poor mans White Goodman.

All in all, the night was a lot of fun, and my team won somewhere in the range of 10 games in a row. Not sure I will ever bring the look back, but I may just find myself a good woman who likes Nascar and buy me a trailer in the near future, so it may need to!

Blazers lose, but Kevin saves the day!

So as I previously mentioned, I got lucky once again to receive tickets for the Blazers/Jazz game here in SLC. The feeling of pure excitement I used to feel when I was a child is totally coming back. I was literally giddy before the game. We sat near the Blazer bench, and like many kids, I waited in line to give the team fist bumps as they came in and warmed up. A little childish, yes, but I loved every minute of it. Seriously, so much fun. I had some video taken of the experience. Never realized how bald I was becoming until I watched the video back. Thanks mom and dad for the great genetics! I think it's time to face the facts...the hair has to go.

Soon after the team entered the court, Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard, the mastermind behind the whole team, came up behind me and made a comment about my jersey.  (worth every penny I paid for it) I promptly asked for a picture. Yeah, I know, I am a stud! But serious, I was really excited to meet the guy, because he has done a lot of really good stuff for the organization. He has brought the REAL Blazers back home.

Although the Blazers lost, I still had an amazing time.  Rip City is back! 

PS: I know I am a visiting fan when a 70 year-old woman is talking trash with me.  Classic!

Bust-a-Bucket

So I know it has been a couple weeks since I last posted, and I make excuses all the time why I don't post more, but the reality is, who gives a crap.  The 5 of you that read this I talk to every week, so the good stuff you get straight from the source.  And if I blogged about EVERYTHING that happened, I would tick a lot of people off, so I will hopefully continue to post once a week and be funny, engaging and all around enjoyable, but no promises.  Now, for today, I found out recently that I will be attending the Blazer/Jazz game tomorrow and since this season's team reminds me so much of the Blazers of old, I was reminded of a little ditty from the old days.