It's hockey time!

We are a hockey loving family. We watch it, when we can. We listen to it on the radio. The local hockey team sponsored a program in which my son was able to acquire all the gear for free so he could take ice hockey lessons.

While Victor's lessons were going on, my husband started getting into it. Buying equipment, finding an adult team. Practicing.... practicing.... practicing.... since he had no real experience. He is currently on an adult team and he really enjoys it.

At one of these practices one of the other guys on the ice mentioned another ice rink he was unaware of. Ethan did some research and pointed out an interesting class they were offering. Co-ed hockey lessons for people over 18. It runs 5 sessions, each session ending with getting to play a game of ice hockey.

Lately I have been trying to think of things to do with my husband. Looks like we found it. So we signed up. We bought equipment. Let me tell you, putting on hockey equipment makes you feel RIDICULOUS.

 

This is not me, but I look just as goofy. The jersey I wear is red. Much cooler.

I should also mention- I have only been ice skating 3 times. Total. Ever. So I get suited up with some very friendly ladies in the locker room. All very kind, all inexperienced, nearly all with husbands who are on the ice.

I stand there, about to step onto the ice and start to think "What on earth possessed you to participate in this? You can't even skate?" 

Then I step out onto the ice. I really can't skate. Just the first lap around was painfully embarrassing. So glad  the helmet hides my entire head. I did not fall but I sure was slow and obviously unstable. My arms kept waving around to keep my balance. I probably looked more like I was doing an unsteady walk than skating.

Next up, skate as hard as you can to the blue line then stop. Same thing to the next blue line, then the red. Stop? Stop!? I am not stopping! That is pure lunacy.

After that humiliation came the drill where you skate hard, drop on your knees then hop back up and keep on skating. Right.... hop up again. Fast as you can. Don't wait for me guys.

Then came the awesome drill where you drop to one knee then get right back up. Yea, I'll get right back up as soon as I stop spinning in a circle.

Thank you again for a full face mask helmet.

I did eventually get more stable on my feet. I never did stop correctly. I did what the coach called "a whirly bird" which he specifically told us he did not want to see. But he kept on smiling and encouraging. I kept on crashing into walls or doing whirly birds, spinning around to stop.

We did games where we lined up and raced each other for the puck and tried to be the one to shoot it at the net. Due to the odd number of woman vs men Mr Coachman had me go over and over again each time there was a woman on the other team up.

I kind of enjoyed getting to go more than anyone else. It was probably painful for everyone to watch. I never fell down and I was gaining confidence. After it was over Ethan told me one of the guys on our team had told him " She just gets better every time she goes." Felt good to hear that.

We did lots of skating around. Lots of shooting pucks, passing pucks, stick handling and weaving. Then we got to play hockey.

It was awesome. Oh, I was still terrible. There is something so incredibly cool about being able to skate as fast as you possibly can after the puck knowing that even if you fall over it won't hurt. I did fall over a few times. At one point the person I was pursuing turned around at the last minute and we crashed right into each other. Hockey pads are great. The ice is cold so you don't get terribly hot. The pads stop so much potential pain. You just play. 

Victor didn't like taking hockey lessons. He said he didn't like the drills. He loved it when they played real games though. I completely agree. Until we started to actually play, I had my doubts about the wisdom of participating. Once that puck dropped it was so fun. I can not wait until next week.

Blazing Stars!

I have a tendency to miss things. I hear "the fields are just full of this blazing stars in July. It would be really worth your while to go see them." I think to myself, "You're right. I wold love to go see that." Then I remember when it is August.

There is a nature reserve near my home. It has a prairie section. If you are a nature conservationist that is really exciting to you. Doesn't mean much to me, just says you won't really find these particular plants other places in the area. I did however, want to see these much lauded flower. So fearing I had missed the peak my husband and I packed up the children and went for a walk. We were not disappointed.





The height is actually late July/August. I didn't miss it! They were beautiful. Due to the fact that prairies grow really tall grass, it looked like my kids were walking in a jungle. Nearly all the vegetation was over their heads. Even the blazing stars are taller than most of my children and quite possibly myself.



It was beautiful. In my neighborhood we don't see butterflies very often. While we were there we saw so many. We could watch honey bees and bumble bees hard at work right there at eye level, completely oblivious that they had an audience. I loved watching my kids amazement and excitement when spotting different animals or plants.

 

It was a very cool experience. I can't wait to take my kids back. I will remember to take allergy medication and not examine the goldenrod quite so closely next time though. I am so glad we made that trip.

Fireworks night

I have had some very cool experiences lately.That is why blogging hasn't happened much. I have been busy.


I live on a hill over looking the valley my town has settled into. During fireworks season we make some popcorn fill some water bottles and march over to the Dr's office nearby and watch from the parking lot. It gives a good view of the valley and of multiple fireworks displays going on in the area. My kids complain that it is too loud. It is more than a mile from any of the fireworks being set off. I think they are crazy. So this has been my experience of fireworks for approximately the last 7 years. Being far away and watching the city's display. It's been OK.

For Fathers day I got my husband tickets to a baseball game. Now don't go thinking I actually care about baseball, my husband doesn't either. But they did offer "all you can eat seats" at surprisingly cheap prices. So for a year now we had talked about going and I finally got tickets. Due to the awesomeness that is my accomplice in this plan, we were able to attend a fireworks night.

Zambelli fireworks in fact.

If you are unfamiliar with Zambelli you are really missing out. They do INCREDIBLE displays.

Ultra cool was that they set the fireworks off from a barge in the river. We happened to be along the wall of the stadium closest. There was a chain link fence in front of us and we could see the barge launching the fireworks. It was incredibly awesome.

Over the years of watching the little city display from a significant distance I had kind of dismissed how awesome fireworks are.

But that night I felt like a kid. It was so incredible.

I almost cried at how totally awe inspiring it really was. I wasn't wrong, fireworks really are amazing.

* I did not take these pictures myself. These are pictures from the Zambelli website. I am not that awesome of a photographer, plus I was enjoying the show, not documenting it.

Spanish!

Story hour at the library on Wednesday was dedicated to learning Spanish. A friend of mine from church volunteered to come in and teach. She did a great job. Here is a brief bit of her presentation.

" Padre is father. Sometimes they also say Papa'. Accent on the last "a". If you just says papa without an accent that is the word for potato." I didn't know that. I thought it was a neat tidbit.

It appears that is about all Naomi got from the lesson, though her version was a bit skewed.

Later, while talking to someone else's father about what she learned in Spanish she informed him that the Spanish word for father is potato.


Take some time today, tell your potato how much you love him.

Heaven

Yesterday I got a glimpse of what I think heaven will be like. It wasn't all white. There was no gold or harps. Just my family and peace.

Yesterday we all played in the backyard. ( OK minus my oldest since he had been invited to a friend's house .It would have been even better if he had been there.) We spent the afternoon and most of the evening out there. The kids splashed in the wading pool and climbed a tree. I picked and snapped the green beans while Ethan read aloud the book he had been reading to me. Naomi and Caleb ( who are notorious for fighting.) encouraged each other in their tree climbing efforts. They played nicely with Phebe in the pool. We ate a lot of fresh cherries.

I know it sounds simple. It was, but it was also heavenly.

Some violin for Prism.

I "played" violin in school. I was never good at it, largely due to a lack of practice. OK,almost exclusively a lack of practice.

I really enjoy the sound of a good orchestra. Yes, Miss Prism, a lone violin, isn't generally impresssive. Frequently I feel as though violin solos are only meant to show off how good the violinist is, not actually sound melodic.

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite violinists. I don't know many. This is Vanessa Mae. She frequently plays the electic violin and is accompanied. Thus meaning she actually sounds good. (I own 3 of her cds thanks to my mother in law. )

This song is the one that got me interested in her music.

Please pardon the ridiculousness that is in these videos. Turn them on and then open a new page. Or just watch them and laugh a lot.

Nearly all of her online videos are live recordings. I do not like live recordings. If you are inclined to look up more there is pleny available on Youtube.

It's ok if you still hate violin at the end of this.

Energy alternatives

My daughter picked a green bean from the garden. Due to the fabulous Velcro properties of a fresh green bean, she was able to stick it to the back of her elder brother's shirt.

She told him it was an energy pack.

Sneaky, sneaky husband

Back to the chiropractor we went today. I enjoy going there. I enjoy having my neck realigned. Though it would be super awesome if it stayed where it belonged once in a while.

It is a family affair. The receptionist escorts all 6 of us to a tiny little room and then eventually the DR comes in and straightens us all out. Yes, it is a tiny room. Yes with 4 children it does get a bit loud sometimes. Phebe occasionally gets rather unruly. Several visits back I brought a small umbrella stroller and just strapped her in while I was being examined. I believe that is one of the best ideas I have ever had.

Only Ethan, Victor and I were worked on. *Caleb announced he need his bones fixed too. Naomi thinks the whole thing is unacceptable and will never participate in such things.  As well all walked to the waiting room Ethan stopped to talk to the receptionist/ massage therapist.

I told the kids not to exit the building since we had not yet scheduled our next appointment but was suddenly whisked away to a different room.

My husband had scheduled a massage as a birthday present. So awesome.

So he watched kids while I laid on a heated bed in a room with dim lighting getting my shoulders and neck rubbed. It was great.

Ethan is so sweet. He is so thoughtful and sneaky. I love it. I am so grateful I married him.



* On a previous visit Caleb was looking at the pictures on the wall in the exam room. One diagram of the nervous system. Another detailing the skeletal system. He was looking at the cardiovascular system intently. All of these diagrams are of males. Someone pointed out " Look, it's boy. It has a penis!" Caleb announced he too is a boy. He has a penis. Yes, yes, Caleb you have a penis. What took me a moment to realize is that he had pulled it out and was making sure we could see it. He was just proving his point. Ethan and I stifled laughs and told him,"yes indeed are a boy, now put that back in your pants".

It was funny.

Why have kids?

Sometimes when I talk to other people they don't seem to understand what being a mom is like.

Some days I don't know if I know what being a mom is supposed to be like.

It leads me back to a question that I mull over in my mind now and again.

Why have children?

Seriously, why?

Kids are so-

• Messy
• Tactless
• Expensive
• Destructive
• Demanding
• NOISY
• Frustrating

This list just scratches the surface of negative things that kids can be.

Some of the reasons I like having kids are-

• They teach me so much.
• They help me improvise.
• They are funny.
• I can teach them. Watching the world through new eyes changes things.
• They put things in perspective.
• They question why.
• They love.

Yet again, this list just scratches the surface. I could literally go on and on about why I love having kids in my home. Even on a day when I feel so overwhelmed I would start bawling if someone took them away.

 Kids can teach love, and forgiveness. Children can be hysterical. Youth can simply enrich a life to an inexpressible level. Here is the trick though....

You have to let them.

You have to be willing to learn from them. You have to allow yourself to laugh with them. You have to accept their great examples of forgiveness and love.

They are not small adults. They are also not horrible burdens sent from God. They are children. Sweet, innocent, occasionally conniving, love needing children. If allowed to work their magic they can transform. Not only themselves but those around them too.

Let children be the blessings that they are.

New recipe

I have a cook book someone gave me. Who? I have no idea. It is called "grade A+ recipes  from St. Thomas Elementary P.T.A". Under the category "This and that" I found a recipe I would like to share with you.


Elephant Stew-

1 elephant
Brown gravy
Salt and pepper to taste
2 rabbits

Cut elephant into bite size pieces (this will take about 4 months.)Cook over kerosene at 525 degrees until tender ( about 5 months) . Add salt and pepper and cover with gravy. This will serve 3,800 people. If more are expected add 2 rabbits. Do this only if absolutely necessary as most people do not like to find hare in their stew.

Post trial

Lately there has big a bit uproar about the Casey Anthony trial. If you haven't heard the details- google it. I am not going to go into great detail here. The general gist however is- Little girl goes missing, mom doesn't tell anybody for a month and then she went jail for 3 years till her trial then was found not guilty of murder.

It is a sad, sad situation.

I am in no way going to try to prove her innocence or guilt. I don't personally care. God gets to take care of that stuff and I am glad I will not be held responsible for deciding.

There is one issue I would like to address about the situation.

Anthony was convicted of 4 counts of lying to law enforcement. Thus carrying approximately a year sentence each. Since she had already been in jail for 3 years she was almost done anyway.

My question is "What if she hadn't even been convicted of those charges? What if she truly was innocent of any wrong doing?"

( I have no idea what the truth is, I won't pretend I was there and understand exactly what happened.)

If she had absolutely nothing to do with the event she just spent 3 years of her life in jail. 3 YEARS. What if she didn't do anything to that child? Now her child AND 3 years of her life are just gone. You can't get that back.

She was found not guilty.  But I see outrage all around me that she wasn't convicted. How is this woman, who may possibly not have been involved, ever supposed to recover some semblance of life? Who is going to hire her? Who are her friends after an incident and isolation like that? Who wants to rent an apartment to someone who has so much drama surrounding her? Will someone marry the woman that the world believes killed her own child? Can she grow up and be more mature and ever have children again?

Most of you probably believe that she did it. Seems like the world does. I don't think I paid enough attention to have an informed decision regarding her innocence or guilt. All I want to know is "if it were you who was found in suspicious circumstances, how would you feel at the end of all this?"

Robbed. That is how I would feel.

I love Hans Zimmer

I just wanted to share some of my favorite songs with you. I had forgotten about them until my kids watched the movie the other day.

If you have never seen the movie "Prince of Egypt" I would recommend you do so. Is it 100% historically accurate? Um... I don't think so. But the idea is great, the implementation of ideas was beautiful and the music is truly outstanding. 

Here are some of the best songs (according to me ) from the movie. I actually own, and on occasion listen to this soundtrack.

I will admit, I don't think I have heard anything written by Hans Zimmer that I didn't enjoy.

(He did music in Kung Fu Panda, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lion King and the Dark Knight. Plus more.)

 

I had to get a different version of the next song. The origional I had picked turned out to be some guy singing karaoke. It was moderately good. Too slow for the music though, plus... not the real music. Here is a better version.

I love the message in the next song.

I love this music. Hope you did too.

Questions

Remember the big jerk in Back to the Future? His name was Biff.

The movies are long over. "Biff" has put together a song about his experiences in that movie. It makes me laugh.

Today I tackled a big project. I didn't realize it would be as big as it turned out to be.


Today I removed seeds from raspberries to make seedless jam.


It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Let me walk you through my progression so you do not make the same mistakes I did today.

1. I started with a spoon and a colander. I did approximately 1 cup worth, realised I had 1 1/2 gallons and was never going to make it through all of them.
2. I called my brother in law for tips. He said mash them up and then drain them in cheese clothe. Well... um. the the juice didn't really drip through hardly at all. And the seeds can escape if you try to squeeze the bag. I let it sit for hours. I gave up.
3. I looked on line for suggestions.
4. I ripped open all my cheese clothe bags and dumped it in a pot where I warmed it all up.
5. Then I poured it into an old nylon stocking. It worked great. The juice was just coming right out.
6. I realised it was coming out so quickly because there was a hole in the toe. Seeds and all were spilling out.
7. I then got a knee high stocking and poured hot mashed raspberries inside. This did in fact work well and there was no surprise in the end.

I started around 9 am. I finished at about 6 pm. But look what I got done!

The dark one on the right is mulberry juice.

So if you ever decide to make raspberry jam and don't want the seeds follow these steps-

1. Stick fruit in blender, blend well.
2. Pour in pot. Warm.You don't want to burn it, so stir if fairly often.
3. Get a knee high stocking wet, wring out water. (this prevents the sock from sucking up the fruit juice.)
4.  Pour fruit in a knee high stocking.
5. Twist around once it starts to cool off. Squeeze all you can out.

Once I figured that out it went pretty quick. Good luck.

Have some herbert

While trying to make raspberry juice I had this conversation.

Naomi: What are you doing mom?
Me: making raspberry juice. Look in the fridge. Here is some I already bottled.
N: Wow! That is amazing. Maybe when dad comes home we can have a herbert.
Me: ... what?
N: I can't wait to have some herbert.
Me: Really? Tell me about herbert.
N: It has the pop and some ice cream and it is so yummy....
Me: Oh, you're talking about SHerbert.
N: Yeah! It is going to be great!

Yes, I know that sounds more like a float. Ethan mixes sherbert and pop together to make a punch like drink. I guess the only word she was catching was sherbert.

My take on canning

I was raised in a home where each summer we were subjected to canning. We canned pears, peaches, grape juice, cherries, chicken, beets, green beans, lots of green beans. I can't say I really enjoyed it. I probably was a real brat about the whole thing.

Now I am on my own, I still can. Though I do go to other more experienced persons for help. As I have been married for 8 years now and have done a bit of canning each year in my own kitchen of my own desire these are my observations on home canning.

Reasons why I detest canning-

• It is almost always really hot. Either the actual day, or how my kitchen feels by the end.
• The amount of time it takes.
• It takes over my entire kitchen.
• The canner is LOUD.
• It is never really a one day job. I always have to let the jars sit over night before washing and putting them away.
• It is almost always something that needs to be canned soon or it will go bad.
• How precise the procedure for canning somethings are.
• The rest of the house falls apart while I work.

Reasons why I love canning -

• Listening to the pop of the lids on the jars.
• Knowing I accomplished something worthwhile.
• Looking at those beautiful bottles on my shelf in the end.

Those 3 reasons alone will keep me canning for a long time. Once you make it to the last step, it is so incredibly rewarding.

Meet Harley

My husband and I have been watching "Batman; the animated series" on Netflix lately. Some episodes are awesome, some are good but not as good as others. Overall I really enjoy this series. I just want to take the time to introduce you to my favorite character.

Her name is Harley Quinn. She is Jokers sidekick.

She met Joker when he as at Arkham Asylum and she was trying to help rehabilitate him. Too bad he turned her instead, so now she is crazy too.



Really, she is nuts too. It is so incredibly funny.

There is one particular episode that I wanted to share with you. Too bad no matter how much searching I do I can not locate a full video online. 

It is called Harliquinade. In this episode Quinn is in Arkham Asylum but Joker is on the lose. Batman gets her out so she can help him track down the Joker and the giant bomb he has stolen. 

She is so completely insane and yet so comical this episode just made me laugh over and over. 

If you ever have the chance to watch Harliquinade do so. It is so good. Of course if you watch the whole series it will make even more sense.