Z is for Zip Lining

So, I really haven't done well with the end of the challenge! I blame the Coyotes. Post-season hockey has consumed my life, and has left me little time for writing. In the last two weeks I think I was free after work a grand total of 3 nights. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally okay with all of my extra curricular activities, but the challenge has suffered because of it. Okay, moving on to the final letter of the alphabet... One of my girlfriends went zip lining on her honeymoon in Costa Rica. She had such an amazing time and said it was so much fun. I'm not generally much of a thrill seeker. You'll never get me to skydive, base jump or bungee jump, but there are certain things that seem fun (i.e. hang gliding, SCUBA diving and zip lining). So we'll ad zip lining to my list of things I'll be doing when I get the chance to travel.

Y is for Yoga

To start, I know I skipped "X." I don't feel bad about is though. X is an awful letter, and I was too exhausted to try and figure out what to do for it. So that's that...moving on! Yoga is something I'vee done before. The bucket list aspect of it is that I'd like to get better at it. I've only done it a handful of times, and while I enjoyed it, I always feel kind of awkward moving through the poses. I think that's mostly because I'm very self conscience and I don't feel comfortable in my own skin most of the time. I'm working on getting past that,but like most things in life that takes time. Back to yoga. I want to be better at it. I want to get to the point that I'm comfortable enough doing it that I can try Bikram yoga. For those that don't know, Bikram yoga is a yoga class conducted in a very hot room. I've heard it's a very intense, but also very rewarding, experience. I suppose step one would be figuring out my gym does their yoga classes. So once our hockey season is over and I can actually commit to going more than sporadically, I'll be getting started on this one.

W is for Whoops!

So, things at work have been a little hectic and stressful lately, and I completely spaced on writing my "w" post for the day!  So I apologize that it's now Friday on the east coast and my blog is super late.

Now....what are some things that could be bucket list items for "w?"  Maybe waterskiing or wake boarding.  I really want to learn how to become a witch....but people claim Hogwarts doesn't actually exist, and if it did I'm way past the starting age of 11 anyway!

That's about all I can think of in my current state of exhaustion.  Please feel free to leave any "w" related suggestions!

Have a fabulous Friday Everyone!  :)

V is for Volcano

Part of my future travel plans include a visit to Hawaii.  I'm lucky enough to work for a great hotel company, and we're opening a new property there next year.  I think that makes it a perfect time to go for the first time!

Much to my mom's dismay, most of plans for Hawaii include laying around on the beach and just relaxing in the gorgeous surroundings for a while.  Don't get me wrong...I love being a tourist and running around and doing things.  I did live in DC for 3 years and played tour guide fairly often!  However, I would like to go on a vacation soon where I don't need to be running around being touristy.  I want to just go and relax.  Lay on the beach....visit the spa....have a few cocktails.

However, there are a few things in Hawaii that I'm not willing to pass up.  I'll need to go to Pearl Harbor while I'm there, and I also want to do outdoorsy things like diving and hiking and biking.  I've done a little research via the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and their list of things to do sounds amazing to me.  Mostly the hiking and the lava viewing.  I can't think of a better way to spend the day if I'm not going to spend it laying in the sun on the beach!

U is for Unyielding Faith

Ok, so this won't be a bucket list post. It also won't be a post about religion like the title might lend you to believe. For 15 years my family has followed and supported the Phoenix Coyotes, and like all Arizona sports its been rather difficult to do at times (I like to refer to the Gretzky years as "the dark ages"). This year though, I knew we had something special. We have a great coach in Dave Tippett. We acquired a Vezina caliber goalie in Mike Smith. We have one of the classiest, hardest working captains in Dhane Doan, and a whole crew of hard working players to back all of them up. We dont have an owner. The NHL owns the team, and so far we've proven that you don't need an owner to win games. In all of franchise history, (even going back to the Winnepeg days) the team has never won their division. Until this year when they became the Pacific Division Champions. In all of franchise history, the team has never made it past the first round of the playoffs. Until last night. The Coyotes were matched up against the Chicago Blackhawks for round one. I was confident that we could beat them since our record against them was really good in the regular season. However, every hockey fan knows that once the race for the cup starts, all of that flies out the window. It wasn't easy to take down the Blackhawks. They're a very talented team, and The United Center is famous for being one of the toughest arenas to play in because of how intense their fans are. For whatever reason, the United Center didn't phase the Coyotes. After winning last night they were 5-0 in Chicago this season. The series went six games. The teams set a record when their first 5 games went to over time. It was a physical series. During game 2, Chicago's Andrew Shaw was suspended for 3 games after putting an illegal hit on Phoenix goalie Mike Smith. Luckily for the Coyotes their superstar goalie was not badly injured and was able to finish the game. Then in game 3 the Coyotes lost Raffi Torres after he put an illegal hit on Marion Hossa. It was pretty scary as Hossa wasn't as lucky as Smith. He had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher and was sent to the hospital at Northwestern almost immediately. He left the hospital that night, but is now out indefinitely with a head injury. Torres got a 25 game suspension, so he'll miss the rest of the post-season and part of next season. The Coyotes had a 3 games to 1 lead going into game 5. It was a home game, and my brother and I were really hoping they'd be able to put the series to bed at home where we could be there to see it happen live. It wasn't in the cards though. After going into overtime yet again, the Blackhwks were able to pull out the win. That brings us to last nights game 6. I actually missed watching the majority of the game due to a prior engagement, but from what I hear, it was a doosie! I did get home just in time to see time run out and the celebration that ensued. I got chills, and I also got a little teary-eyed. The team flies home tomorrow to prepare for round two against the Nashville Predators. They will likely arrive to a huge crowd of fans, and I wish I didn't have to work so that I could be there to help welcome them home. Regardless of what happens next, I will never forget all of the milestones that were achieved so far this year. However, I have faith that this tem has what it takes to go all the way. We'll just keep believing and playing "hockey the hard way" and it will all pay off in the end. Stay tuned, because you know I'll keep you updated and what happens next!

S is for SCUBA Dive

SCUBA diving is another activity that I actually set out to do, and couldn't afford.  I mentioned in my hang gliding post that I went on a cruise where I wanted to hang glide.  Well, for the same cruise I was planning on learning how to SCUBA dive so I could go on dives with my best friend and her brothers when we stopped places.  She got certified and was able to dive on our trip, but I couldn't afford the classes, so I did other things instead.  It was still a stellar trip, as one of my alternate activities involved snorkeling with sting rays (not as scary as it sounds!), but I still want to learn how to SCUBA dive.  That way, the next time the two of us go on a cruise, we can finally dive together!

R is for Run a Marathon

Running a marathon is something I never thought I would want to do.  When I was a kid I hated running.  I was always one of the last kids to finish running the mile in PE.  When I got to high school I became a little more athletic.  I started running at the gym when I would go with my friends, and I really started to enjoy it.  It became a good way to get out some stress.  Even then though, I don't know that I really had much of a desire to do much more than run on the treadmill at the gym.

Now it's become more of a need to prove to myself that I can do it.  I'm not in the best shape currently, but I'm working on it.  I'm fighting with my weight because of a lovely little medical condition called PCOS, and that makes the getting back into shape thing that much harder.  Now that I've finally found a doctor that's competent enough to help me out, I'm on a road to getting better that's actually going to lead somewhere!  Once I get some of the weight off and can build my stamina up again, I'll start training.  Hopefully I'll enjoy it, and I won't stop after one race, but we'll see how it goes!