Starfish Envy

Starting Early

I was going to post pictures of the nursery-in-progress today.

But then I got a VERY special gift from a Canadian friend and fellow Canucks fan...

Even the feet are adorable...

This may have to be her coming-home-from-the-hospital outfit.

Winning and Losing

The Canucks lost game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight.  

SUCH a bummer.

Ryan Kesler's face at the end of the game was almost too much to bear.  And poor Henrik Sedin couldn't take his head out of his hands.

I'm new at this sports fan thing, but unfortunately that didn't make it any easier to watch the Boston Bruins lift that shiny, silver cup over their heads.

It was just crushing...

And then I took a step back, and reminded myself that in my real life, I had a great day.  

First, was an extremely fruitful session with my new therapist, who I think is amazing. And then WP and I had a very successful meeting that left us both super excited about what the next several months hold.

So tonight, I'm going to focus on that.

Because while I really am genuinely sad that the Canucks lost, I'm much happier that today, in my own smaller way, I won.

.

Did you have a winning day today?

One Down, Three To Go...

The first game of the Stanley Cup Finals was tonight.  And this is how I spent the entire three hours:

Frantically clutching my Canucks pillow.

Despite some incredible effort from both teams, the game was scoreless and scoreless and scoreless some more...

Then, in the very last seconds, Raffi Torres (who, coincidentally, scored the first Canucks goal I ever saw) smacked that puck in the goal and the Canucks won the game!!!  

Incredible.

Go, Canucks!!!!!

(Also, for anyone who's wondering, the ring is rose quartz.  And it's sooooo much prettier in real life.)

A Soft Spot For The Canucks

Okay, yes, yesterday was an exciting day, what with the embryo transfer and all.

But guess what happened today?

I got THIS in the mail from a Canadian friend and fellow Canucks fan!

Now, I have a Daniel Sedin jersey, and a t-shirt with the Canucks' logo, and a Canucks cap... but somehow this pillow makes my fandom official.  It has just the right amount of kitch, while still making me INCREDIBLY EXCITED for the Stanley Cup Finals.

The what?

THE STANLEY CUP FINALS!!!  And I am gonna be clutching this sucker through every second of every game until the Canucks are hoisting that Cup above their heads and the entire country of Canada explodes with joy.

It has to be a good sign that the Canucks locked their spot in the finals the night before my transfer, right?

I'm gonna say yes.

I'm gonna say it was a sign.

Here's hoping the winning streak continues for the Canucks... and for me.

And The Canucks Win!!!

I'm not sure I have the constitution to be a sports fan.

When the Canucks lost two games in a row last week in the first round of the Stanley Cup finals (and I mean LOST-- it was ugly) I turned into a giant ball of hockey-stress.  I couldn't sleep.  I tossed and turned all night, fretting about the Blackhawks.  When I finally managed to drift into fitful sleep, the Blackhawks were my first thought when I awoke the next morning.

My acupuncturist-- and I swear this is true-- felt my pulse and said, "Have you been feeling a lot of stress lately?"

It took me two days to recover.  

For the next game in the series, I stopped wearing the Canucks jersey I'd worn for the first five games, and switched to my Canucks t-shirt and hat.  

Because clearly the jersey was the problem.  Without it, surely the Canucks would win.  

But they didn't!  (Although they did play better and the loss wasn't as brutal.)

It helped that I spent most of the game intentionally focused on other things to keep my stress level down.

Then tonight.  Game seven.  Do or die.

I went out to dinner just so I wouldn't have to watch the whole game.  When I got home, half-way through the first period, the Canucks were up 1-0.  And they stayed that way until almost the end of the third period when the dastardly Blackhawks managed to sneak one past Roberto Luongo.

The clock ran out.  The game was tied 1-1.  

Overtime.  

At which point, I was about to jump out of my skin.  

And then-- whoosh!  Alex Burrows breaks away!  He scores!

The Canucks win!!!

And I cry.

Seriously.  

Cry.  

Can you imagine what I'll be like once the IVF drugs start?

All The Way Home...

Guess who didn't have to stay in Canada for a month, after all?

Me!

Got back to L.A. last night after yet another wonderful Canadian experience.  (Although I only made it to one Canucks game, and they lost.  Arg.  Guess you can't win 'em all.)

I did manage to take this picture at the game, just for reader Chris Green (Mason Raymond, #21, is her fave):

And I took this one for myself:

Because my favorite player, if I haven't mentioned this before, is Daniel Sedin, #22. (His twin brother's not bad either.  For those of you who aren't Canucks fans, that would be Henrik, #33.)

In an ironic twist of fate, this was waiting for me when I got home:

And suddenly I find myself rooting for the L.A. Kings to make the playoffs... just so I can wear my brand spanking new Sedin jersey to a game here in my home country!

Go Kings!

(And can I just say... WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?  Since when am I a sports fan?  And of HOCKEY, of all things?  But I love it.  Can't help myself.)

Who Is This Person In The Mirror?

I've never been much of a sports fan.  

And by not much of one, I mean not one at all.

In the slightest.

I don't like football, I find baseball boring, and basketball I just don't get at all.  I'd rather go to the dentist than watch golf.  And other sports, whatever they may be... I dunno.  Just not my thing.

Then, yesterday, I went to see the Vancouver Canucks play the Dallas Stars.  

And suddenly, ladies and gents (Steve, you're not alone anymore), I, Sarah Fain, was a hockey fan!

My team?  The Canucks, of course.  My favorite player? Daniel Sedin.  Two hundred and eight pounds of solid Swedish brilliance.

Do I totally understand hockey?  

No I do not.  

But I know what a power play is, I know icing is against the rules, and I know you can't be over the blue line until the puck is.  

I know there are five guys on the ice at a time (per team), unless someone gets a penalty, and I know penalties are two minutes.  

Not bad, for someone who's only been a hockey fan for two days.

By March 5th, when I'll be at the Staples Center cheering Sedin and the Canucks to a magnificent win over the Los Angeles Kings, I should be a veritable expert!

Well, at least I'll be an expert at cheering.  

And I'll be wearing my Canuck's hat with pride.

I don't even know myself anymore.