Tuesday, March 31, 2015

luuuuuuuc the statuuuuuuue

If you know me, you know I love hockey. You also probably know that I love the LA Kings. And the reason I first went to a Kings game (circa 1988) and fell in love with hockey was a cute French Canadian named Luc Robitaille (who I'd seen playing at a celebrity softball game at USC that I originally went to in order to drool over long-haired rocker boys from '80s hair bands... but I digress.)

Turns out, that cute Luc Robitaille was also a pretty good hockey player. Like the top-scoring-left-wing-in-NHL-history kind of good. 

And over the years -- after I learned about hockey from listening to Bob Miller call games on TV, and eventually became a season ticket holder -- I watched him score his 500th goal on January 7, 1999 at the Great Western Forum. I watched him leave the team (for the second time) to win the Stanley Cup (for the first time) with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002. And once he returned home to LA, I was there for his final home game on April 15, 2006, chanting "Luuuuuuuuuuc" as he skated a final lap around Staples Center ice before he retired from the NHL. 

In January 2007, I sat through quite possibly the longest jersey retirement ceremony ever as his #20 was raised to the rafters of Staples Center. And on June 11, 2012, I cried as I watched him raise the Stanley Cup over his head as a King when the Kings won it for the first time, with Luc serving as President of Business Operations for the team. 

So I was, of course, standing outside Staples Center in Star Plaza on March 7, 2015, when Luuuuuuc was immortalized in bronze, as only the second LA hockey player to be honored with a statue outside the arena. His statue is in the front of the plaza, and unlike most of the others (Wayne Gretzky, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Chick Hearn, Oscar de La Hoya) his statue is in color, with him wearing a white classic Kings jersey, his stick raised over his head and a smile on his face in a celebratory goal-scoring pose. 

Wayne Gretzky showed up to speak in his honor. Mario Lemieux, his Pittsburgh Penguin teammate, also came to the ceremony. Quite possibly the two greatest hockey players ever, were there to honor Luc. That's how respected he his. His Kings teammate and current front-office co-worker Rob Blake spoke. So did Lakers great Jerry West. And Kings fans showed up an hour before game time to watch it all happen. 

Here are some photos :)

Stacia and Luc Robitaille walk the red carpet to the ceremony

 
The Great One

         
Bob Miller's back, Luc's side and the statue under wraps

Rob Blake and Wayne Gretzky in the front row 
The statue is unveiled

View from the front, with (l-r) Mario Lemieux, Luc, Rob Blake, Jerry West, AEG President
Dan Beckerman, Jesse Robitaille, Wayne Gretzky

pop it, hike it, work it out!

So this is the week I've chosen to finally -- after three months off during which I was extremely lethargic following my January colds/flus/what the doctor told me last week could've been mono (thanks airplane flights to/from NYC for NYE) -- get back to being healthy and working out.

Last night, I went back to Pop Physique and was extremely disappointed to find out that I *am* as out of shape as I thought I was. My planking was pathetic, my push ups even worse. I can, however, still squeeze that pink ball while standing on my tippy toes like a ballet-boss! Today, my hamstrings and the sides of my ribcage hurt like hell. Tomorrow night, I'm going back for more. 

I also want to start hiking again, even though half of my hiking club has abandoned me to NYC or complaining, "It's too hot now." To that I can now say HA! Look at this -- The 15 Best Summer Hikes in Southern California! Note: Some of these fall under the awesome category of "Shade." 

Now I just need to figure out how to get to there :)

Who's in? 

Sunday, March 29, 2015

a few of my favorite things....

Inspired by the 50th Anniversary of "The Sound of Music" this year, and the fact that I need to get back to blogging (no matter how short and sweet), here is a quick hit of a few of my favorite things lately:

Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways HBO Series

This was actually one of my favorite things of 2014, but I never got around to writing about it. So here, in honor of it being released on DVD April 9, is why I love it:

  1. It's directed by Dave Grohl, who can do no wrong and is quite possibly the coolest guy on earth.
  2. It stars Dave and the rest of the Foo Fighters.
  3. It tells the story behind every song on the Foo's Sonic Highways album. Watching the series, which takes place in each of the eight cities the album was recorded in, you literally see and hear the songs being born. Each of those cities was chosen because they are part of the history of music in America. And now, as I listen to the album, I'm reminded of each of those stories. It was just an amazing, inspiring and educational premise.
  4. There is an episode set in the French Quarter of New Orleans. 'Nuff said.
  5. Because Dave interviews Dolly Parton in the Nashville episode, I was able to trick my mom into watching an hour of Foo Fighter awesomeness.... and she liked it! 


Live Music

This is and always will be one of my favorite things. There is nothing like being in the presence of people who can take instruments and make magic come out of them.

I kicked off my 2015 concert series last night with one of the most amazing musical magicians around, Jonny Lang, who started off in 1997 as a blues-guitar prodigy with a deep, soulful voice coming out of a scrawny blond kid from North Dakota. He's now a veteran at 34 (ha!) and last night at The Canyon in Agoura, he and his band made some amazingly awesome sounds come out of beautiful guitars.

Coming up on the concert calendar:

  • Fleetwood Mac  @ The Forum to check it off the concert bucket list since this will likely be the last time they're all together
  • Bette Midler @ Staples Center (Mom's Christmas gift)
  • U2 @ The Forum -- I'm only going once this tour, I swear!
  • Foo Fighters @ The Forum 
  • Idina Menzel @ the Hollywood Bowl -- GNO with Erin and JZ
  • I will also be going to the Bowl to hear the score of my favorite movie performed live Labor Day weekend. I'm so excited! 
  • And there is also the chance that I will cave and buy a last minute ticket to Maroon 5 @ The Forum this Friday.

(FYI, The Forum is NOT one of my favorite things, yet I sure am going to be there a lot this year. Ugh.) 


Wild

This was my favorite movie of 2014. I was crushed that it was not nominated for Best Picture by anyone. I don't know if it was the hiking, the beauty of nature, the being away from everything, the searching for something, the writing in a journal every day, the anger at disease striking a beloved mom or all of the above, but this movie spoke to me. I'm now reading the book, because BKF said I should. (If I ever finish it, I'll let you know ;) The movie comes out on DVD/Blu Ray this Tuesday.



My Garden

It's in full bloom and the weather is great. Next weekend, I'm uncovering the patio furniture and filling up the grill's tank and going to buy a lounge chair. I want to spend the summer out there reading (when it's not 100 degrees ;).... and maybe even writing more. We'll see.



a rosy spring

It's definitely spring in my rose garden!

Back in January, when I was pruning and feeding my 25-ish rose bushes, I also laid some fresh soil around each of them for the first time in about 5 years. And can I just say, Miracle Gro does not lie! Their rose soil is amazing! I mixed the Bayer rose food I give them every six months in the fresh soil and it seems like my plants started leafing within a week and buds started to grow shortly thereafter. 

I have one giant red rose bush that always shoots up to around 5-6 feet tall. But this spring, there is another rose bush on the other end of the garden that's giving it a run for its height supremacy. (It hasn't bloomed yet, and I can't remember what color it is, but I'm hoping for pink :)

Overall, everything seems bigger and healthier and the flowers are budding like crazy! Even my little annuals that are in the garden near the roses are thriving vs. dying, which is a miracle considering how hot it's been and how few days I'm allowed to run the sprinklers these days.

I love my garden! It's my happy place :)