I am looking forward to the Western Conference Semifinals, which once again features the Chicago Blackhawks vs. the Vancouver Canucks. I had hoped the series would get underway tonight, but for some reason, the teams will have an extra day off and play will start tomorrow at the UC at 7pm. Sucks for fans, but at least the players will have extra time to nurse their bumps and bruises, take a joint supplement for the repetitive motion pain, and prepare physically and mentally for what will be a grueling series.

The Hawks and Canucks are very familiar with each other, so this should be a great series. Fans never know what to expect when these two teams play. It could be a 1-0 shutout like earlier this season, or it could be a 7-5 slugfest like Game 6 of the semifinals last year. I personally prefer the latter because those kinds of games are more fun to watch, but know that the Hawks have a better chance of winning the former with their defense and special teams play.

I hope Patrick Kane has another big series against the ‘Nucks, and I hope Marian Hossa catches fire and starts scoring like he’s supposed to!

I have always been a fan of nice watches, and treat myself to a new one every few years or so. As a result, I have a Cartier, Tiffany, and a couple of Gucci models in my personal collection. I know that’s not a lot and that these aren’t even what most people would consider expensive watches, but it’s all I can afford on my income!

Anyway, I’ve been trying to get Jerry to appreciate timepieces the same way I do, which is why as soon as I saw this Tag Heuer Aquaracer featured on Buy.com’s Weekly Deals page, I decided to show it to him. The Aquaracer is a very classy men’s watch that features both analog and digital time displays, and comes with a chronograph, backlit dial, perpetual calendar, second time zone, and alarms. It’s also water resistant to 300 meters, and looks great!

The part of this Aquaracer that really caught my eye was the price tag. It usually retails for a whopping $2800, but is currently on sale for just $885 (after a $100 coupon is automatically applied upon purchase). Can you believe that price?? Even if Jerry doesn’t want this watch, I am VERY tempted to buy it and then resell it for double what I paid — which would still be a good deal considering the original price. Wow! I need to find some way to make this happen!

Have you heard about the online movement to get Annie Wersching an appearance on the Ellen Show? Werching is perhaps best known for playing Agent Renee Walker on the television show 24. Her character was killed off this year (oh, come on — that’s not a spoiler anymore!), which basically shocked and outraged fans who had grown to love the tough-as-nails counterpart to Jack Bauer.

Anyway, a few fans want Annie to appear on Ellen because apparently the talk show host is known to give away lots of baby swag to pregnant guests. Oh, yeah — backtrack a bit — apparently Wersching is expecting her first child in August. I didn’t know that until yesterday, which I guess isn’t all that surprising since I’m not exactly on her mailing list for baby announcements or whatever! Back to the point: the fans have started Facebook and Twitter campaigns for Wersching, and one of them has even stood outside the Ellen studio with a sign about getting Annie on the show.

I think it would be really cool if this happens! Hey, if two Auburn students can wrangle a hug from Taylor Swift based solely on online efforts, then a Wersching appearance on Ellen should be doable!!!

You’ve probably heard by now that Hugh Hefner stepped in with a $900,000 donation to help preserve the “iconic” Hollywood sign and attendant lighting from being torn down as part of a development project. That’s great and all, but my question is how did things get to that point in the first place? Of course the Hollywood sign is important to southern California, and serves as a beacon of sorts for people chasing their dreams. So why didn’t the local government step in a long time ago to preserve it? Why has the sign been on private property all these years? No wonder it ended up costing a mind-boggling $12 million to save the sign. Wow.

Man, I have Blackhawks on the brain this morning!! I am still riled up from their amazing win yesterday afternoon. I swear, I dreamed about Patrick Kane’s game-tying goal and Marian Hossa’s game-winner in OT all night long! If I’m feeling this kind of effect, I wonder what Pekka Rinne and the rest of the Nashville Predators are feeling right now? They must be pretty darn low!

Anyway, as usual, when the Blackhawks pull out a huge win like that, I feel like buying as much gear as possible. I recently received my Jonathan Toews jersey (yes, I finally pulled the trigger on that order) and now want to buy this Chicago Blackhawks Backpack next. It’s an officially licensed NHL product with the NHL shield on one of the shoulder straps. It also has an Indian head applique on the front and the crossed tomahawks over the “C” logo on the side water bottle pocket. The backpack is made of 840D nylon, which means it should be pretty durable. In short, this looks like a cool little pack for everyday use.

Buy.com has it for $29.99 with free shipping. I don’t know if that’s a sale price or not, but either way I think it’s a good deal. I use backpacks instead of a purse, so they have to be just the right size — which means neither too big nor too small. This one is 17″ x 13 1/34″, which is perfect! Can’t wait to get this… and GO HAWKS!!!

I think I’m going to change up my gym routine for a while. I’ve been going to the same health club for a couple of years now, and I always do the same workout when I’m there. But I think I’ve hit a wall as far as efficiently burning calories, so perhaps it’s time to try something else. So instead of jumping right on the treadmills and stairmasters each time, maybe I should get in on a spin class, or even try aerobics or pilates. Who knows, I might end up finally seeing the weight loss results I want instead of running up against this wall all the time!

I’ve made several blog posts over the past couple years about the terrible state of my skin. I had lots of flesh-colored bumps all across my forehead that I initially thought was acne. I spent more than a thousand dollars on dermatologist visits, prescription meds, and over-the-counter treatments, not to mention countless hours scouring acne message boards, reading pronexin reviews, and posting my own comments about the various products I tried.

As it turns out, I didn’t even have acne at all, which is why none of those things helped me! I had some kind of fungal infection, which cleared up about 10 days after I started using an anti-fungal cream. Can you believe that??? All my agonizing over the past few years, all the different products I tried, all the diet modifications I made, all the events I skipped because of how my face looked… wow! What a freaking nightmare!! But at least it’s over now (knock on wood)!!!