Too Hot To Stop It

The Blazers play in Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs tonight and every time they make it into the playoffs I am reminded of this awesome song:




Thank goodness for youtube!  I would play this song and then flip it over and play side B and then flip it over and play the song again, or just wait while it reminded.  I can still hear the rewind sound in my head. I really loved my childhood. :) This song always floods me with memories of the 90's.  The Blazers were good, but not good enough for a championship.  The players on our team were stand up family guys.
My Grandpa worked at the Memorial Coliseum ad eventually the Rose Garden after he retired from the police department.  He was the head maintenance guy that was responsible for putting the basketball floor in and setting up events and concerts.  I remember my first time at Disney on Ice I was so amazed that my Grandpa helped put it in and for the longest time I thought that the ice was always under the basketball court. :)
My parents actually went to a Blazer game on one of their first dates.  And I have heard numerous stories of the 77' blazer championship. I am not sure for how long but for a time, most games were on a pay subscription called Blazer Cable, my Grandpa got it for free, so we would always be over here, staying up late on school nights, listening to our parents and grandparents scream at the TV.  Russ and I have carried on the tradition.  I remember when I was little, I vowed I would never scream at sports games, yeah, I totally broke that.
One of my fondest memories, which has gotten fuzzy over the years, is going to an event at the Rose Garden.  I don't remember the actual event, but I remember sitting in our seats, we were always early, and all of a sudden Jerome Kersey showed up with his family and sat in front of us.  Then I see him waving at someone, Clyde and his family showed up, and then boom, Terry Porter and his family are 2 rows back.  I was sitting on the aisle and Clyde Drexler actually brushed up against me when he was going back to his seat.  That pretty much has made my entire life.  Its my claim to fame.  We were so cool that we had better seats than the players and we were privileged enough to sit with them. I thought my Grandpa was pretty cool at that point.  My Grandpa was also famous for a bit, they featured the Rose Garden crew on the news one year, showing everyone who was responsible for the court being put in, and of course they film it right when he was bending over and his crack was showing! But as his grand-kids, we were totally used to it. I don't think I have a memory of my Grandpa working that doesn't involve a nice plumber's crack. :)  If it would have aired now, it would probably have been a viral video.  It always makes me chuckle when I think about it.
Another awesome perk from having my Grandpa work at the Rose Garden was him being able to bring home the things they handed out to people at games.  Noise makers, posters, shirts.  We thought we were pretty special.

It is amazing how one song can bring back soooo many memories.

My Night Off

My first night away from Russ and the kiddos in 8 years!  Russ and I have had some nights away from the kiddos, not nearly enough, but this time I left him behind.  My little cousin is getting married in May and I figured it warranted a night out with my two favorite cousins that are pretty much my little sisters. With babies, jobs and all that other pesky grown up stuff, we finally agreed on a date and since we all had responsibilities that needed to be gotten to the next day, we chose to stay in town.  I booked a hotel at Cascade Station and the fun began.  I am known for actually bringing my camera places and getting zero pictures.  On this night I actually got one picture and I think it sums up our night nicely. Food, hot tub, pool, Paul Walker movie, staying up until 3 laughing our butts off, priceless. Though I do have a bill from the hotel claiming otherwise. :)

Isn't the photography amazing?  I am available for $100 an hour. :)  There will be another night with the rest of the bridal party, which is totally not in my comfort zone, but I will give it a whirl.  It is downtown and there are talks of clubs, which sends me into a panic attack.  This entire wedding has put me outside my comfort zone, heels, strapless dresses, dance clubs.  Deep breaths! 

And The Hits Just Keep Coming

I am one of those weird people that gets crazy attached to TV shows, so boy was I upset when I found out the supposed season finale of Raising Hope was actually a series finale!  Freak you Fox for killing the only show on your network that was good. So here I am, again saying good bye to family members.  What a crappy spring.  Rest in peace, Raising Hope. Thanks to the writers for ending it with dignity and class.  All I gotta say is Bah humbug! Anyone have some show suggestions, cause I am scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point? 

Psych!

A chapter in our lives was closed last week.  The show Psych ended its 8 season run.  Yes, it is just a show, but the characters became like family to us.  Every episode was a hoot and it was hard not to grin from ear to ear the whole hour it was on. Sure it lives on in repeats, but its not the same.  I am just glad that the writers gave it the best sendoff they could. It sucks to emotionally invest in a show and then get sucker punched with the ending, *cough, *cough How I Met Your Mother comes to mind, but that is a whole other story. 
Psych started in July of 2006, 1 month before Aurora was born.  My parents were actually the first to discover it.  They kept asking if we had seen it yet and we kept forgetting to watch it, so one day we brought Aurora over for a visit and it happened to be on.  We have been hooked ever since.   The main characters were Shawn and Gus, which we considered naming the twins, instead I have now named the two crows that are always outside my window after them. One of the crows actually does a little dance for me, so it fits. :)
So we say good bye to Shawn, Gus, Jules, Lassiter, Papa Spencer, Woody and all the awesome guest stars throughout the years. We will be seeing you in syndication and a possible movie? *fingers crossed!!! Thanks for the memories and the laughs.