Life After Hockey Season

So now the Kings season is over, and my weeks and weekends are no longer carefully scheduled around home games at Staples Center, pre- and post-game rituals and TV schedules for away games.

In truth, a TRUE hockey fan never really takes time off from the game, because the "off-season" has plenty to offer, especially this year.

• The amateur draft is being held here in Los Angeles at the end of June.
  
• The NHL Awards (where we find out if Drew wins his first Norris Trophy) are June 23rd in Las Vegas.
• Free agency begins July 1st, and the "Fro, or No Fro" question will finally get answered for the Kings.
• Prospect Development Camp is normally in July, and presents a great opportunity to see some future Kings while they're still growing up.
  

Still, having a little break from obsessing over hockey is a healthy thing. And given that I "lost" most of last summer moving into a new place, I've got a long list of overdue projects and other things I hope to tackle this summer. So here's a list of some of the non-hockey related things I hope to accomplish during the "off-season."

• Loose the last 20 pounds and meet my "In Training" goal.
  
• Work through a pile of magazines and books I haven't had time to read.

• Finish 7 in-progress scrapbook projects.
• Finally start scrapbooks for my trips to Ireland (2006) and my Mediterranean Cruise (2008).
• Turn this entire mess into greeting cards.

• Try out a pile of recipes I've collected over the past 10 years and never had time to cook.
  
• Get back to playing tennis with Nadine.
  
• See my nephew play Little League baseball for the first time since he was T-ball age.
• Work on having a better tan than I got last summer.

And somewhere in between all of that....RELAX.

Yeah, that last one....not gonna happen.....I've got too much to do!