Weight Loss & Struggles

"You're gonna eat every last morsel", "How much do you have left?" "You're still hungry after eating (insert food here)?"

Saying these words to someone trying to lose weight is hurtful. We know we need to make a change, and most of us are doing so, so when you say these words to us, be careful of what you're saying. Your words hurt more than you know. We know we have a problem, and you don't need to point it out.

For those of you who follow my blog, you well know that I'm on my own weight loss journey since last June. It hasn't always been easy, and I've slipped a little here and there. No journey is without it's struggles, and this is true for me. I've gotten off track, and am trying to get back on the right track now.

I still have my snacks, I admit that. But I control my portions. So you can only imagine how much it hurt when two men close to me said those things today. Saying those words felt like they had no confidence in me, and to be completely honest with you, hurt me. It shook my own confidence. As I write this, I'm fighting tears.

So please, I urge you, think twice before you make comments like the above to people losing weight. You never know what affect they'll have on the people hearing them.

Enough Is Enough!

For a long time now, I've tried to keep my mouth shut. I've tried to ignore things I see. I try to pretend as if nothing is bothering me. But to be honest, I just simply cannot hold it in any longer. I feel as if I'm a whistling kettle, just done and wanting to let off steam; a pot on the stove, ready to boil over if I'm continuously exposed to heat. Well, enough is enough. I'm blowing off my steam and letting myself boil over, cause frankly, holding in the way I feel isn't healthy.

Okay, here we go. Deep breath and dive on in.

Have you ever met someone online who you thought it would be cool to know? I sadly made that mistake with someone, and now I find myself regretting that I ever made the connection in the first place.

At first, I didn't mind my tweets being favourited. I kind of liked it, to be completely honest with you all, because let's face it, this is the age of social media, and getting noticed is a large part of what social media is all about. Many of us share things because we like it, and we think our friends will too. Or maybe a post/tweet is helpful, and we feel it should be passed on. Or as it is in most cases, we like what the post/tweet says.

Then I started noticing a trend with this person, and I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about it. We all want to be noticed by people we admire, and I'm no exception to that by any means. But there's a point when it becomes too much, and even the most patient of people lose their cool.

Sure, respond to something if you have a relevant point. If it makes sense to share or retweet something, then go for it. But when a person retweet/shares or favourites/likes everything that a person says, it tends to become really annoying really fast. It gets to the point where even seeing their name begins to rub you the wrong way.

I mean sure, we all like to feel "connected" to our favourite celebrities. In some cases we have met them, spent time with them, had some kind of experience that makes us feel closer to them. We feel we can share good/bad news with them, and know that they understand what we're going through. But when it gets to the point that you say the same thing in multiple posts/tweets in hopes that they'll notice you, well then its a wee bit obsessive. Sure you're excited about what you have to tell them, but did you stop to think that they didn't feel the need to reply because maybe they have something more pressing than responding to you? Just because they don't respond doesn't mean that you're not noticed.

I myself am one of those who enjoys getting a response, I'll admit it. But I dont constantly seek it out. I reply if I have something relevant to say. If I really like what was said, perhaps I favourite a tweet or like a post. And if I feel like it should be shared, I share it. But I don't do it because I'm looking for attention. Like I said, I enjoy getting a reply as much as the next person, but to constantly press for attention makes you appear desperate and needy. Is there something missing that you feel it necessary to continuously seek attention from social media?

Its easy to tell why you get some of this attention. The person often is a polite one, and feels the need to offer a thank you, because let's face it, celebrities wouldn't have the life they have if they didn't have people supporting them along the way. But everyone has their breaking point, and at some point will reach it. But where they can't say anything because it could have an adverse affect on their career, I've got nothing to lose.

So please, for the sake of those who you choose to engage with (or those that simply put up with your ways), slack off a bit. Cut out the "look at me" routine, because honestly, it's getting old. You're no more than any other fan honey, and maybe its about damn time someone told you that.

Tarred With the Same Brush- Habs/Lightning Game 3

Playoffs Come back to Le Belle Province

Lighting in town for games 3 & 4

Really not sure where to start when it comes to Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Quarterfinals last night between the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning and my Montreal Canadiens. It was a game that had energy before the puck even dropped, with a  pre game ceremony that was very well done. From the 3D ice, a spotlight on each of the 24 Stanley Cup banners, the young child with the torch, and then the anthems, everything was just, in a word, perfect. Goals came when needed, key saves were made, and at the end of the night, the Habs gave their fans an added easter treat- a 3-0 series lead.

As you can well imagine, I was quite the happy fan when I crawled into my bed last night, my heart still racing from the excitement of the game. I was convinced I'd had the perfect night. But then I saw a status from someone I know on Facebook, and it made my jaw drop. I know we all don't like the same team, but the hate I saw towards my team last night was just enough to get my blood boiling.

"Intent to Injure"

First off, this person said that Habs head coach Michel Therrien, in a media scrum the morning of the game said that he was going to tell his players for lack of better words here, to play the body of Palat during the game, which can be read into that he wanted his players to intentionally injure other Lightning players. And during one rather unfortunate play last night, it looked to some people that at least one of his players took that message to heart when the knee of D-man Alexei Emelin accidentally made contact with the head of Tampa Bay Captain, Steven Stamkos.

I was paying attention during said play, and to be completely honest with you, I'm not sure how someone can logically say the hit was an intentional one. I've watched the replays (thank you for replays during games, CBC) and what I see was that Emelin was trying to avoid contact, but just couldn't move out of the way fast enough. But then, two sides are going to see a play different, more so an emotionally based judgment than anything. And given the high stakes during the playoffs, I completely understand being emotional. 

The Booing of Stamkos

After Stamkos thankfully got up from the unfortunate hit, many of the Bell Centre faithful were heard booing. To be completely honest here, I'm not sure what they were booing- the little tussle between Prust and Stamkos that led to Stamkos falling and getting hit by Emelin's knee, or the fact that Prust got a penalty on the play while Stamkos did not.

If you, my fellow Habs fans, were booing for the first reason, then I have to wonder where your heads were at there. There is never any good reason to wish injury upon another human being. I get that us hockey fans are a passionate bunch (Habs fans very much so), but when you stop and think about it, he's just a human being, not a machine. Sure he plays hockey, but he's not just a hockey player. He's a human being who plays hockey for a living. If you were booed after getting up from taking a hit, how would you feel? Put yourself in his shoes. Wouldn't be very nice, would it?

And to those on twitter who wish injury upon Stamkos, I can only hang my head in shame. Its sad that you let your judgment be clouded here, and that you would want him to be hurt simply for the reason that it could be helpful to the Habs. How would you feel if it was our Captain that got hurt? How would you feel if you saw people wishing him hurt for the betterment of their team? Honestly. Just stop and think about it. If you can still say you'd do it, then all I can say is that there are names out there for people like you (names that I won't say here, but I'm sure you can use your imagination).

On the other hand, if the booing was merely fans voice their displeasure at the lack of a call on Stamkos for his part in the tiny tussle between himself and Brandon Prust, then I totally understand why you would boo. There were two parties involved, and it did seem perhaps a bit unfair that only one penalty was called on the play. I didn't like that much either.

No Goal!

The no-goal call. Woo, that's a tough one. When that puck went in last night, I was thinking (like many other Habs fans, I'm sure), "Oh shit!" (And that's just the PG version of things, to be honest with you). But then I watched with interest as one of the referees waved it off, and then met in a scrum with the other referee and two linesmen. When they emerged from said scrum, the initial call stood- no goal.

I'll admit right here and now that I dont know all the rules of the game, and that I'm not always sure why a call is made one way or the other, as sometimes it just makes no sense to me whatsoever. But, what I did see was that Killorn was in the crease impeding Carey Price's ability to stop the puck and defend his net. Some will argue that he was only there because P.K. Subban danced around him a bit, keeping him from leaving. But whatever the reason he was there, the point remains that he was in the crease and impeded in Price's ability to stop the goal, and the rule (63.9, Paragraph 2) states:

"If a goalkeeper, in the act of establishing his position within his goal crease, initiates contact with an attacking player who is in the crease, and this results in an impairment of the goalkeeper's ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed."

Seems straight forward enough to me.

No "S" Word, please!

I'd like to end this post with a simple request from Habs Nation, if I may. Please, if you can, refrain from using the "S" or posting pictures of witch vehicles (yes, just like a friend, I'm that superstitious that I won't use the words). Nothing is ever guaranteed in life, and even though our boys are playing well right now, anything can happen. I'm as optimistic as the next person, but don't put our team in the next round yet. Just let our guys play and things will eventually work out the way they should.

Game 4 goes at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, 7pm (8:30 in Newfoundland).

Go Habs Go!

Cheap Shots & Karma

Cheap shots. There's a whole variety of them. But there are none that bother me more than hitting a guy between his legs, his family jewels if you will. Its probably the worst place you could hit a guy (being a female, I'm not sure how much pain this causes) if you wish/wished to do him any harm. Yet there are those out there who are trying to defend one such cheap shot that happened last night in the 1st Round Matchup in the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings.

For those of you who haven't heard, Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins brought his stick up between the legs of Detroit's Danny Dekeyser, effectively hitting him in the family jewels. While Detroit went on to win the game 1-0 and take a 1-0 series lead, I'm sure that's of no comfort to the poor guy who was on the receiving end of a cheap shot from arguably one of the cheapest players to put on an NHL jersey.

Yet there are those out there who will defend such antics simply because "it's the playoffs." Are you kidding me?  How can anyone, and I do mean anyone, defend the actions of Milan Lucic last night? That stick between the legs was a dirty cheap shot, with the intent to injure. If this guy had the very same thing happen to him, you can sure as hell bet that he would be calling for the other player's head. And so would the majority of fans that support the team he plays for.

Some would say that if such a thing had been done by a member of my favourite team, that I would defend such an action. Well let me tell you this, I wouldn't. And do you want to know why? Its because I was raised to know better. I was taught that hurting another person is wrong. There is only one time that it is okay to hit another person, and that is when it is done in self defense. And at no point during that play last night did Milan Lucic look in any way threatened.

But because its a Boston player, of course it wasn't dirty, right Bruins fans? That's what I've been reading. Just a quick browse of comments on the incident, and I saw comments like "Its the playoffs,  the ends justify the means" and "I didn't say it didn't hurt, but its not suspendable". Are you guys even serious right now? In what way, shape or form is it okay to deliver a cheap shot to another human being? Yes that's right, human being.

There are people out there who seems to forget that these guys are human beings- sons, brothers, cousins, uncles, fathers, godfathers, etc, who play the game for a living. Hockey is not who they are, rather the job they get paid to do so they can support their families. They go out there night after night, putting their bodies through things most of us couldn't even dream of doing. All for our entertainment. And yet some of you will say cheap shots, slew foots and the like are okay. I've seen some people justify head shots, and I'm blown away. And not in a good way. Head shots most often lead to concussions. But that's another rant for another time.

For those who think this kind of behaviour is justified, I urge you to stop and think about it. I mean really stop and think about it. I'm not a parent, but I can't help but think  "would you allow your son to do this and then say it wasn't dirty?" I would certainly hope not. You'd teach him that what he did was wrong, and then you would give him what punishment you thought fit the offense that he committed.

So why is a hockey player any different in this situation? He's not. He is a human being, the same as you and I, and just as we are taught that we have to learn from what we did wrong and be punished for it, so should he be. Its because he has gotten away with such things because the league has turned a blind eye to it (eye exams, anyone?), that he continues to do so. Let's put a stop to this before he does something even worse. If kids see that he gets away with it, soon you'll see this sort of thing trickle down to younger players. And that's not the image hockey needs.

NHL, I hope you do the right thing here. But if you don't, there's always karma. And I heard she can be pretty nasty.