Quick hits: House turmoil, Ellis, 1 ark please, Bingo sweater, game prep grind

Random midnight brain spew:

Been having our house painted this week. I've described it as "halfway to moving" in terms of the disruption. They've been great, but most of the house has been out of commission all week, with me and the dog cooped up wherever I'm working from 8 a.m. to nearly 7 every night. He misses the dog park, I miss eating something other than granola bars and Sun Chips and strawberry Fanta all day long.

But strawberry Fanta really is tasty, man. I'm jonesing for one right now and that would be my third today. Yeesh. I think I'm just really happy to have something decaf to drink besides water and Sprite.

It'll all be worth it though. The colors look amazing and it feels so chic. Our house is officially way cooler than we are.

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Been wanting to write on the Dan Ellis Twitter fiasco from earlier this week, but I've seen gobs of other people blog about it and I haven't had any interest in reading their takes, so I dunno why anybody would want mine.

I enjoyed his tweeting, as I've said before, but he strikes me as a guy who's actually fairly immature but doesn't know it, if you know what I mean. He lacks a certain self-awareness that I think you kinda need to have if you're going to open yourself up like that to fans.

But whatever. I have Joffrey Lupul now. And he's better looking. So there. (Except, WTF is a "Joffrey?)

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I had to bail on my Tuesday women's league game this week a mere 2 hours before puck drop. I felt awful about it, but it was the right decision. Between me and that rink, I know of at least 3 places that flood and who knows what places I DON'T know about. I wouldn't have gotten out until 11 p.m. and the storms were rolling in from the gulf.

Mr.C pretty much said he was going to worry to death if I went, and Coach Stalin, who works at NASA and lives by me, said she left work early to avoid the flooding. So that was enough to convince me to bail.

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My new pads still haven't shipped. Hopefully next week!

However, I did sweet talk my way into a great deal on a Binghamton Sens goalie cut practice jersey, which should be coming next week. They even threw in some other goodies, which was pretty awesome of them. Their PR gal is a little slice of awesome, as is their merch guy.

I'm still a little flummoxed by the lack of twitter or blog attention some AHL teams get. Doesn't anybody love these teams enough to obsess over them on the internet?

(Edit: As soon as I write that, I discover the Ottawa Sens SBNation blog did a preview of the B-Sens goalies. I was nervous to read Brusty's because I knew if it was wrong, I was gonna be all cranky about it. Instead, it made me want to hug whoever wrote it. Double-Ds comin' atcha Alex Calloway/Crooklyn Banks/whateverthefuck your name is!)

Anyway, that jersey is gonna look sweet with my gear. I've been wanting a black sweater for a while. Only thing not black will be my solid white pads and gloves. Ooooo, sweet, right? I bet CHRIS HOLT! wore this one, too (I'm assuming it's an old one, anyway). Winnnn...

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Having a chat on Twitter right now with my goalie buddy, Moosey, on the number of games per week we play. I was commenting that 3x/week every week will burn me out over time. And not because of the games themselves, but because, well, I'm not the most disciplined person, but I do have to be disciplined about my game-day preparation or I stink worse than usual.

And it's that constant state of "I gotta do XYZ because I have a game tomorrow/tonight" that wears me down. I don't like being high-maintenance. I like to roll with the flow. But I know from experience that if I'm not getting enough hydration, my mind gets fuzzy, I get overheated, and I don't play well.

And I know that my energy stays more consistent and high if I eat carby meals on game day. But I don't want too heavy a meal if it's 3-4 hours from game time, and I don't want too light a meal because then I'll get hungry or I'll need a snack, which is a whole other thing to figure out.

Also, playing in the evenings means I screw up "mealtime" for Mr.C, too. So either he fends for himself and I eat later when I get home, or he eats early with me, or whatever. Regardless, I always feel some guilt for my silly little hobby dictating his schedule, too.

And then if I'm tired, do I nap even though that can make me feel too relaxed and lethargic for my game? Or do I just muddle through and try to stay awake? Or do I crash for 15-30 minutes for a power nap (my favorite)?

Then there's the gear. I've actually started leaving my gear (except skates) in my bag in the car. I find I play better with it already a little damp (that's what she said). I feel like I'm wearing drywall when it's dried out. So that's one bit of preparation that makes it easier to play several games a week. Then, how are the skates? Sharp enough? Need a sharpening? When can I spare 2 days without them to get that done?

Then, AFTER the game, adrenaline is surging until 2 a.m. and I'm dog tired the next day.... ugh. Man. That plus all the rest really wears on me. The Dainty Ms.Conduct Flower, she wilts so easily.

Luckily, for the foreseeable future, I've got 2-3 games a week, with women's league being off for me every third week (typically), which is a perfect break.