2019: A Year of Intention

Well, I haven’t touched this blog in over four months, but with the beginning of 2020, I’m back and ready to look back at the year that was. 2019 was a big and largely great year for me, and it’s fun to look back now and think about all that happened.

Here are some of my highlights!

January

  • Saw Cameron Esposito at Helium Comedy Club (I am by no means a big comedy fan, it is very hard to get me to laugh, but it was a great night out with my husband, and how can you not love her focus on feminism, social justice and LGBTQ issues?
  • Did color commentary for a Jr. Sabres hockey game for just the second time ever.

February

  • Used a sewing machine for literally the first in my life.
  • Planned & executed a pre-game hockey ceremony to honor the “graduating” players from the Jr. Sabres. It went off without a hitch, everyone loved it and I look forward to doing it again!
  • Filled in on color commentary for the Jr. Sabres again!
  • Wrote a piece for VP that I’m super proud of regarding broadcasting of women’s hockey & how people speak about women’s hockey.
  • Went to Lumagination at the Botanical Gardens. It was magical.

March

  • Welcomed nephew #5 into the world!

April

  • PUPPY YOGA.
  • Covered the NCAA Division-I Frozen Four. My first Frozen Four ever, and a pretty neat (if chaotic) experience. I’m really glad I got the chance to do this, especially with it being in Buffalo.
  • Was named OJHL Volunteer of the Year for my work with the Jr. Sabres. So grateful to work with such a fantastic team! (Technically this happened in March, but I went up to Oakville to receive the award in April.)

May

  • Our Texas trip, which was incredible! So many good things to point out about this trip, including that it was my first time flying, ever. Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas. Hockey fun, baseball, family time, tourist things, sightseeing, lots of great food. I can’t wait to go back again soon, hopefully in 2021. (I’d better start saving.)
  • Went to a holistic wellness retreat about 40 minutes from Buffalo, which I won the chance to attend through my work/health insurance. It was super neat and a great experience – two days filled with essential oils, massage chairs, exercise time, nature, reflexology, meditation, yoga & more.
  • Saw The Art of the Brick exhibit at the Museum of Science. Definitely neat, if it ever comes to your city… check it out!

June

  • Went to a wedding in East Aurora that Ryan was asked to DJ, for a former Griffs hockey player. Although I didn’t really know either the bride or groom at all, it was a super fun night.

July

  • Celebrated three years of marriage.
  • Got to celebrate the marriage of two good friends.
  • Got to see my sister & nephews for a short little visit.

August

  • Flew to Charlotte (only my fifth flight ever, first solo flight, etc.) and then drove about 1,000 miles across the state of North Carolina as I spent a wonderful week with my sister & nephews. Explored Raleigh, Greensboro & Charlotte solo, plus had lots of fun around Greensboro, Winston-Salem @ camping with the family.
  • Saw the Jonas Brothers in concert.
  • Went to DC/Baltimore with Ryan for our friends’ wedding, an Orioles game and some tourist-y fun.

September

  • Went to PLAY/GROUND in Medina after missing it in 2018. It was really neat to see how a bunch of artists transformed a former school and there were so many unique installations.
  • Got surprised by the Jr. Sabres with an on-ice ceremony on home ice to receive my ring for being OJHL Volunteer of the Year.

October

  • Road trip to Georgetown to work a Raiders/Jr. Sabres game. Ryan did his usual PA/DJ, while I ran the scoreboard, did the online scoring & manned the penalty boxes.

November

  • Turned 29, which means that in 2020, I’ll be some significant age.
  • Officially joined Canisius hockey as a features writer!

December

  • Spent parts of a few wonderful days with my sister & nephews while they were in town for the holidays. They’re growing up so fast and it’s always so good to see them.
  • Covered the first regular-season outdoor game in NWHL history.
  • Filled in on color commentary for Canisius hockey for the first time.
  • Focused on really getting some good rest!
  • Did more radio talk about the NWHL.
  • Welcomed nephew #6 into the world!
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by melissaburgess

Travel: A Week in North Carolina

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My (likely) final trip of the 2019 calendar year is now behind me, after a wonderful week spent down in North Carolina with my sister and nephews. I’m really glad I was able to make this trip happen; they moved from Buffalo in 2016, and this was my first time going down to visit them. It was also quite an adventure considering I went alone, got on a plane (for just the second trip of my life) and drove 800+ miles around the state (more driving than I do in a month typically.)

Here’s a rundown of my trip and some recommendations I have along the way!

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by melissaburgess

Travel: Washington, DC & Baltimore, MD

A few weeks ago, my husband and I took an extended weekend trip to Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD! We really went for a wedding just outside of Baltimore, but decided to drive down a little early and spend a day in DC as well. Why not make the most of the time we had and see some of the sights, too, right?

So there we were – 3 AM on a Thursday and hitting the road in our rental car. It was an early start, but really allowed us to maximize the time we had and make the most of the trip.

To no surprise, our first stop of the day was: breakfast – at Cracker Barrel, of course. We stopped in Muncy, PA, about halfway through the drive, for a quick (but delicious) bite to eat. Then it was back on the road!

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by melissaburgess

Book Review: A Love Letter Life

A Love Letter Life: Pursue Creatively. Date Intentionally. Love Faithfully is a fairly new release by Jeremy & Audrey Roloff. If you watch “reality TV” at all, you’ve probably heard of the couple and, particularly, Jeremy’s family. But over the past few years, Jeremy & Audrey have branched out on their own and created the enterprises of Beating 50 Percent and Always More, to name a few.

I’ve “followed” them for a while now, and for as long as I can remember, they’ve been big on encouraging couples in their relationships with one another, so it only makes sense that it would be the subject of their (first) book!

In many ways, I admire what Jeremy and Audrey are doing. There is SO much content out there nowadays, and also – so many examples of “bad” relationships. It’s refreshing, quite frankly, to see a couple focused on their marriage, on fostering their love, and on helping others to do the same. They never claim to be experts, and they’re realistic – and authentic, for the most part. They’re not afraid to share the good times of their relationship on social media, but they’re careful to let people know that it’s not always sunshine and rainbows.

With that said, I was eager to dive into their book!

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by melissaburgess

Our Texas Travels: San Antonio, TX

The last leg of our trip was a short time in San Antonio before we headed back toward Austin and eventually, Buffalo. Our hotel in San Antonio was wonderful, and I’m sad that we didn’t get to spend more time there! The Hotel Contessa was such a beautiful place to stay. I especially loved the exposed brick wall in the room, which gave it an eclectic feel! Everything was very comfortable; we paid to valet the car, and also ordered room service breakfast the next morning. While on vacation, sometimes you’ve just got to treat yourself.

Continue reading “Our Texas Travels: San Antonio, TX”

by melissaburgess