Now Is the Time To "Toot God's Horn!"

For the most part my blog focuses on my weight loss journey and the boys and their activities. Yesterday's assignment at the Sisterhood was to "Toot My Horn", tell people why "I Rock"! It was challenging but a great exercise for me, but today I am going to post a bit of praise for GOD and Toot HIS Horn!! Before I do, I will be giving a little background info...If I don't you'll be confused and I don't want that. I want this post to be "clear as a bell" so to speak. I want this to be a visual reminder of the good and bad!

Here goes...My dh is an architect, who has been working as a contract designer for the past 5 years. Before 2009 he rarely had to "look for work". It always came to him, or he would make a few phone calls and "boom" he had work, so his marketing plan was to pick up the phone and talk to a few people. Throughout the first half of 2009 business slowed down to basically non-existent. He lost client after client until August when there was "no more work". The beginning of September he started seriously looking for work and "just happened to drop in" (co-incidence, I think not) a former client's office. He talked to the owner and a few days later he started working there. He was promised work for 2 months' time, but the longer he worked there the longer the owner wanted to keep him working. About 1 1/2 months after working there they asked him to continue working till the end of the year. We were excited! We now knew we would have income through the end of the year and the way it looked it would be extended even further. He was so busy working in this office he didn't really think much about marketing or looking for more work. It didn't really look as if he would need to worry about it.

We thought he would be working for an extended period of time and we had figured out how to lower our expenses so that we could afford for him to work there and not worry about "extra work". Then on December 18th, dh was told he would not be needed to work over the weekend. Come back in on Monday, the 21st. Most people would be excited to be told "not to work over the weekend" but we are not most people. This seriously cut into our income (paid hourly) and we really needed that income to meet our budget. We started freaking out a little but he welcomed a break to hang out at our new apartment, since he hadn't really gotten to spend much time there yet. We took it in stride.

He went back in on Monday, the 21st and was told he would only be working Monday and Tuesday and then there would not be a need for him! HELLO....Can you say FREAK OUT??
Where was our income going to come from? How were we going to pay bills? How would we live? You can imagine how my life turned upside down, can't you? Keep in mind that most people when they get laid off from a job can go file for unemployment and collect a bit of a check for 6 months as long as they are looking for work. As a self-employed contractor, dh couldn't do that!! UGH!! Not to mention, guess what? It's the end of the year and the Christmas holiday break! No one hires at this time of the year! UGH!! Again!!!

Time for me to really stress...Strange thing is, dh wasn't really stressing out too much. I guess I was doing enough for both of us! We spent a lot of time praying for God to provide for our needs. We also spent a lot of time trying to find ways to "not spend money". The first part of January dh started making phone calls and started looking for work. He didn't really have a game plan, just start making phone calls to all the people he knows and telling them he was looking for work and sending out resumes. He has an amazing number of contacts. He has an impressive resume. He also has done some impressive work during his 20 years doing independent contract architecture.

This past week, dh finally got into contact with some offices that actually are hiring. He got 3 interviews this week. He feels like he will be offered at least one of these positions soon. Problem with this scenario...we "were" down to about $20 in the bank. No credit cards. Little food in the house. And no idea how we would pay rent on the 1st of the month. We borrowed money from That Kid (who has a great job) so that the cell phone (the one that dh uses for making business contacts) bill could be paid without disconnection.

I spent Wednesday and Thursday in probably one of my worst funks ever. I spent a lot of time crying. I spent a lot of time telling God, "I just can't do this anymore". I spent a lot of time complaining to God that we had endured enough of this "no money stuff". I told God that "we can't live on nothing". I broke down and cried while talking to a couple of friends. I just basically had a "melt down". Strangely enough, I am following a Bible Reading Plan and I started reading Job on Wednesday. Then another friend emailed me a quote from Job. Hum....maybe God was trying to make a point, huh?

I woke up feeling better on Friday. I decided I would just hold my head up and make the most of the day. A friend of ours from That Other Kid's hockey team was coming over and taking us to the new movie The Tooth Fairy. It was right up our alley. We were excited and looking forward to spending some time with friends doing something fun. That Kid also got some tickets to a hockey game that he couldn't use so he asked me to sell for him. He told me to keep half the money from the sale of the tickets since he couldn't use them and the money had already been spent. I started sending emails to people I thought might want them. I didn't hear back from anyone right away, but just decided that I would hang on and believe that they would be sold!

Early in the afternoon dh got a phone call from a "new" client. She asked if he could do "xxx" and would it be possible to "meet with her this afternoon?" Ugh...YES!! He wasn't doing anything else...and the possibility of a contract job that needed to be started SOON!! Can you say, "YEAH GOD??!!!" So dh started getting ready for meeting with the client. That Other Kid and I started getting ready for the movie with friends.

About this time, one of my contacts I had emailed about the hockey tickets said he was interested if they were still available!! Thank you, God! Tickets were sold!! I could meet them Saturday morning and they would pay for the tickets then and we had some cash to get through the end of the month...some grocery money, gas money, and able to pay the water bill. Now to just pay the rent...where would the money come from for that? (Hang on, my story is not finished yet!)

My friend called and said she would be here in a few minutes. We went out to meet her and she handed me an envelope from her sister. Inside this envelope -- $500 CASH!! (Not enough to pay rent, but I believe my story isn't told!) As I opened the envelope FULL of cash from a lady that I had only met a couple of times I just stood there and cried. My friend also gave me money for gas so that That Other Kid could go play hockey tomorrow with the team. After taking us to the movie and dinner at Chickfila (TOK's favorite place to eat) my friend stopped off at the grocery store and bought us almost $50 of groceries. God is soooooo good! He used my friend and her family to BLESS MY SOCKS right off!

At this point, Saturday late afternoon, dh is sitting in his office working on a proposal to present to his new client and we still have 10 days to come up with the money to pay rent. My faith and trust that "God will provide all I can ask or think" has been restored. So I am sitting here at my computer waiting for God to bless our socks off again! HE CAN AND I KNOW THAT HE WILL! I will be reporting back as God blesses us more....

How has God blessed you recently??? I would love to hear your story!!

Crazy Holiday Time

Let me just start off by saying this has been one of the craziest Christmas seasons I have ever experienced! We live in North Texas and it RARELY snows, but guess what it did Christmas Eve!! It SNOWED!! So much so that they closed the highway going to my mil's house. We were stranded on the highway within 50 miles of her house for over an hour when we found out that the highway was closed and that they were not sure when it would reopen, so we found the nearest exit (about 1/2 mile from where we were) and floored it through the grassy/snowy median and turned around. It then took us about 4 hours to get home!! The whole trip to her house should have taken about 3 hours....we were in the car about 9 hours and we didn't even get to celebrate Christmas with the family! Oh well, we made it home safely and we opened Christmas presents on Christmas eve (after our all day car ride, That Other Kid was in amazingly good and I felt he deserved some FUN!).





Christmas morning we got up, and checked the weather and discovered that the road to dh's step-mom's house was iced over and closed, so we spent Christmas at home! I managed to pull together a pretty decent Christmas dinner with just what I had on hand. It's amazing what you can find in your home to eat when you want to!! It was peaceful and kind of nice to "just be home". No obligations and no place to go....By the middle of the day on Christmas the roads around here were clear and most of the snow was gone so we didn't get to enjoy it much, which is a bummer but it allowed That Kid to go spend some time with his girlfriend.

On the 26th That Other Kid got to be in a fun "Holiday Hockey Festival". The kids got to play 3 short hockey games, get their face painted, and other fun things. It was a great way to end the Christmas season for us. He chose to have his face painted like a lion!! And he thought I was incredibly mean for making him bathe that night!!





Sunday and yesterday were spent just regrouping and beginning to clean up after the holiday. I still need to hang photos on the walls, get the Christmas decorations down and put away and find a way to "hide away" the game systems that are just laying on the hearth of the fireplace!! The month has flown by so fast I haven't had time to do much of what I had planned, but we have managed to have some fun and enjoy the season of Jesus' birth!! We will start back with homeschooling on Monday, the 4th just like all the other kids around here, so I need to spend some time over the next few days getting organized and ready for that.

I also will need to regroup with the weightloss journey that I have been on over the past 9 months. I haven't been real dedicated to it the past couple of weeks but I have been conscience of what I've been doing, so that's at least better than previous years. The Sisterhood has a great new challenge starting TOMORROW!! Today they are giving away a $25 ITunes gift card! (As a sidenote - I have won numerous things through the Sisters and I can tell you this group of ladies are VERY generous with their giveaways!!) I'm planning to be onboard with this new challenge. I really need to get refocused and get back on track....I hope you will be too!! The Sisterhood is such an awesome support system I know that you will get some great support. It has been proven that people that have a "support system" will lose weight faster and keep it off better....and that is the ultimate goal, right??

Hope you will join us in our new challenge and you had a wonderful Christmas!! I also pray that your 2010 is a blessed and prosperous year!!

Wow!!

I can't believe it has been 5 days since I have written anything here. Time is just slip, slipping away from me. Things have been busy and fun in preparation for Christmas and I guess I just let time get away from me. That Other Kid and I went to the mall on Thursday to see Santa. We don't really "do" Santa (I know I'm evil for spoiling all the fun of childhood), but we do allow him to have fun with the season. He told "Santa" what he wanted for Christmas and I took his picture. We also went and saw the Miniature display of trains (amazing!!)and a couple of puppet shows. It was a great way to get ME in the Christmas spirit. It seems like I am just too busy this year to give it a whole lot of thought...but that doesn't mean I'm not getting into Christmas this year. It's just taking me a little longer!

This weekend we also had a hockey game for That Other Kid and he got to play goalie! He was super excited about it, and played a great game.




I have been playing the Game On Diet with some friends. Friday night we will have our celebration dinner and I think we are all looking forward to it. Today we decided that since "the other team" won (meaning the team I wasn't on) we would not count points this week, so basically yesterday was the end of the game for us. We all had success and lost weight which was the whole point of it. I lost about 8 pounds during this 5 week period which included Thanksgiving, the flu, our move and all the stresses involved in these things. My exercise routine got completely disrupted during this time as well as my "normal" eating schedule. I feel like I could have done better had I done this at a different time, but was still successful at busting past some of my nasty habits and a plateau I had been stuck on for several months. I'm not pleased with my point count, but I am pleased with what I did accomplish. I'm also happy that my friends asked me to join in and participate with them in this. I really didn't want to (at first), but am glad I did! I don't really plan to change the way I am eating now, because I saw success, but I am glad I don't have to count my points anymore! I bumped my exercise up last night and today I am sore, which tells me I need to keep it up...

Oh and I won again over at the Sisterhood. This time I won one of the 12 Weight Watchers Chocolate Pecan Clusters that they were giving away yesterday! What a yummy treat I will receive in January!



If you want a chance to win some yummy Weight Watcher products check in over at the Sisterhood, because they are giving away product EVERY day till Christmas! Great presents for us from Weight Watchers and the Sisterhood of Shrinking Jeans!

Well I gotta go fold some laundry and clean a bathroom and finish loading the dishwasher then get That Other Kid to bed....ya know just normal mom stuff!

You Capture -- Autumn

Over at Beth's today she is hosting a "Autumn" You Capture. I haven't been over yet but I can hardly wait to see all the different takes on Autumn. Here in North Texas we don't have the traditional kind of autumn where the leaves turn beautiful hues of reds, oranges, and yellows. Instead we celebrate autumn a little differently! We have constant RAIN!or at least we do this year...we've had well over 8 inches of rain this month and guess what?? It's not done yet! UGH....soooo tired of rain! Anywhoooo, since seeing pictures of constant rain usually doesn't excite too many people (unless you are suffering from a severe drought, and if you are I'm sorry) I decided to shoot a different kind of Autumn perspective for you!

Yesterday we (meaning That Other Kid and I) went to the big American Airlines Center facility in downtown Dallas and we were given a tour of the facility and all that goes into preparing for a HOCKEY GAME! and let me tell you for a little boy that lives and breathes hockey he was in HEAVEN! We got to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs practice and stand up against the glass...some of them even banged into the glass for the kids! He was one happy boy!



We got to see the Zamboni up close and personal -- he tried to touch it but they caught him just in time to stop him from doing that!

Here are a few shots of the kids during the tour...of course That Other Kid was being hammy for the camera. His friends were none too excited to have their pictures taken -- oh well at least there is proof that they were there too, right??!!





After the tour we went outside and had a picnic lunch (or at least tried to before it started raining again). While we were getting set up for our picnic the local news station was ending their broadcast and so they took a flash shot of him and some of the others that participated in the tour! My kid was on tv, folks! and my friend caught it in this flash on the 50' Platinum screen out in the AT&T Plaza with her camera!! so this shot is courtesy of my friend. That Other Kid is the little one the far right and her son is right next to him! What a great way to end the morning field trip!



This is what my attempt at getting that same shot got me!! Good thing my friend's camera is better than mine!



Then last night we got to go back to the AAC and watch the Stars play the Maple Leafs. That Other Kid was in HEAVEN again! His friend had never been to a hockey game and was very enthralled by it all! It was even more exciting because the Stars won the game in Overtime --
4-3!! YEAH...Go Stars!! What a great way to end a very exciting day of Autumn Fun!!

Bad Night

Yesterday started out as a typical (for now) Friday. Got up at 5:30 a.m. fixed dh breakfast, cleaned up a bit, took dh to the office he's working at, stopped at dry cleaners, came home, fell back to sleep with That Other Kid for about a hour and a half. When we got up about 9 a.m. I did my usual stuff. You know, check emails, check bank account, check favorite blogs and websites, showered and ate breakfast. I also started laundry, and all those exciting types of things.

We had a scheduled field trip at a nearby Nature Preserve where That other Kid learned all kinds of interesting facts about insects. They even took a short hike to look and try to catch insects. He actually caught a grasshopper, but before I could get the camera ready the grasshopper escaped from the net...bummer!

After leaving the Nature Preserve we ran to the grocery store for a quick, "we gotta have these things" run. Those trips are always fun with a 5 1/2 year old, don't you think?! Immediately after dropping the groceries off, we went to HOCKEY PRACTICE!! Going to hockey practice was the highlight of the day for That Other Kid, since he hasn't been on the ice in about a month! He could hardly wait to leave for practice! That Kid is home from college this week because of "fall break" (yeah for fall break!!) so he tagged along to watch practice. After practice we went and picked dh up from the office and went home.

I got That Other Kid ready for bed and was ready to CRASH and CRASH hard. I got dh situated for bed (he goes to bed really early now that he gets up at 5 a.m.) and I went to the living room to exercise. Here comes the really BAD part!!

By this time it is 10:30p.m. and I just didn't have it in me to exercise and I was HUNGRY!! Can you guess what happened here?? Oh come on...take a wild guess...I know you want to....

Any guesses??

Ok, I'll just tell you...I SAT ON THE COUCH AND ATE HALF A BAG OF CHIPS AND VEGGED OUT WITH MY COMPUTER till 11:45 p.m.!! Yes, that's right instead of going to bed at 10:30 like I could have (and should have) I sat in the dark living room by myself and ATE a BIG BAG OF CHIPS for an HOUR!!

Ok...so now that's over...You are supposed to confess your sins, right??!! So I've done that and today is a new day. I'm going to make the most of it...I have a big pile of laundry to fold and put away and I need to run to Wally world to pick up some toiletry items. I also need to load the dishwasher and start going through some of our stuff to try to sell in our garage sale that I'm going to have in a couple of weeks. No time to waste and certainly no time to sit around here feeling like a failure for last night -- not that I ever would do a goofy thing like that, ya know?

Hope ya'll have a good weekend!!!!

Day 21...Level 3, Day 1 Shredding

I just finished my workout for the night....and let me tell you Level 3 is a Killer in some ways and not as bad as I thought for others. Sit Ups--I just can't do!! I did 1 out of maybe 15....and those were the easier ones!! After resting for a bit, I can tell that my legs are gonna be really sore tomorrow...they already are kinda sore! Some of those moves are just too hard on my ol' knees so I do the easier ones with Anita. This 20 minute routine goes A LOT FASTER than Level 2...which is probably a good thing or I would just give up....ya know??

I also did the WiiFit Hula..not as good tonight...but not bad with 1709 spins in 6 minutes! I figure that was pretty good since I did move up with the Shred DVD.

That Other Kid started back with ice hockey today and he was so excited to be out there skating and having a great time. That did relay races and he did great. He fell down 1 time, but got right back up and almost caught up with his opponent. He absolutely LOVES hockey and thrives on the fast pace of it! It's fun to watch, too!!

Well that was the excitement of my day...how was yours??

Tiny Talk Hockey Edition

Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.

This weekend was the last weekend of the winter hockey season for That Other Kid. We celebrated all weekend long with practice and trophies Friday night, then a birthday party and a Dallas Stars game with a MiniMite Shootout during 1st period intermission Saturday. Then Sunday they had their last game which they won 5-2 to a team they had previously always lost to! It was an award winning weekend to be sure.

That Other Kid was in the shootout and was VERY excited all night Friday night and Saturday during the day. However, on the way to the American Airlines Center I think it started sinking in that he would be doing a shootout in front of thousands of people! He said, "I don't think I can do this. I'm sooooo nervous! I don't feel very good! How many people will be there?" This was repeated for the whole 45 minute trip downtown. Then once in the locker room getting dressed in his hockey gear...he repeated it again. I told him to relax and do his best! He would do fine....and he did! I think the thing that got him was that he was 1st in line to do the shootout!!

I was so proud of him...and honestly I would have been incredibly nervous too! We don't do well in crowds!! Anyway here are a couple of pictures from the weekend...Enjoy!

Hockey Game....

Before the game.....ready to take the ice in his debut as goalie for a game. They won, btw, 7-4!!!





During warmups!! Both my boys on the ice at the same time. I never dreamed this would happen....Big boy, little boy!! And I didn't even have to ask for this pose!!


A great way to spend a Friday night...if I do say so myself!!

My Little Hockey Player!!

Ain't he tough???!!! of course the gear makes him look a lot tougher!! and bigger!! Without the gear he weighs a whole 40 pounds, with the gear he probably weighs close to 50 pounds!!

Time to Figure It Out

I'm finally feeling pretty much normal...whatever that is, ya know? So now the "back to normal" routine begins as well as getting things done that I've been wanting to do all month.

But before I start organizing and cleaning and getting my life together, I went to watch That Kid referee a couple of high level hockey games. They were fun to watch, and I knew a lot of the players on 1 of the teams. He had either played with or against most
of these guys at sometime over the past 10 years, so I knew A LOT of the parents. It was fun to see people I had not seen for a while and spend a couple of minutes to find out what everyone is doing or planning to do over the next few months. Most of these young men are seniors or graduated this past May....so they are planning for college, careers, or "trying to figure it out", as one mom told me.

As an 18 year old young man, That Kid is trying to figure his life out right now, too. He is trying to work, take classes at the community college, complete his senior year of high school, spend time with his girl friend, and his millions of other friends. In addition to all this, he is applying to colleges, preparing for future referee opportunities, and trying to build up his physical fitness level so that he will be able to be a faster, stronger skater. He is also having to take care of some health issues, nothing serious, but just things that require going to the doctor and take medications for (which he hates).

Isn't that what we are all trying to do? Figure it out...And we usually think the sooner the better! But as most of us adults know it takes along time to really figure it all out, then the real world throws us a curve ball and we have to refigure it.

I'm still trying to figure my life out...and I'm in my 40's, but I pray that my son can "figure it out" before he is my age!

Time to Boast

That Kid has been playing ice hockey now for about 10 years. About 4 years ago he decided he probably wasn't going anywhere with playing hockey so he thought he would try officiating. He started out in the program the fall that he was 14 (4 years ago). He went through a hockey season being "trained". During this training session he officiated with high level officials who had been working all levels of hockey. Once he was finished working this training season, he was free to work as many games as he wanted as long as they were youth leagues, with players younger than he was. Over the past 3 years he has worked hard to improve himself and become a better referee. This weekend his hard work paid off.

He was asked to attend a program, along with 2 other young men, where he met NHL Officials. Not only did they meet them, but they got to have a Q & A with these men. How do they advance? What programs should they seek out to advance?? etc., It was definitely a chance of a lifetime!

He not only got to have this Q & A, but he went out on the ICE with them, during the warm-up between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers. He talked with the goalie for the Edmonton Oilers and skated with the NHL Officials. After skating the warm-up, they did the National Anthem with the 2 teams and the Officials. After this they left the ice, watched the game, then went down to the locker room with the officials and questioned them about the calls for the game.

What a wonderful opportunity!! And of course, I documented it!!






Entering the ice with NHL Officials



Talking with the Goalie from the Edmonton Oilers.

Politics....

usually scare me! I'm such a chicken. I don't like to think about them and I definitely don't like to get involved in the politicians. I just like to follow my party to the polls and trust God to make sure the guys I vote for do what they say they are going to do. I usually don't even watch the Big News...just the local stuff to keep up with the weather and make sure my neighborhood is not going down the tubes, ya know what I mean, I'm sure.

I have sooooo much on my plate that I don't have time to track what so and so is doing or saying or not saying or not doing. I almost always start paying attention when it is near election time and this year is no different. Or wait it is different! We have a historical election in front of us. History in the making, yessir or 'mam in this case!.

I just finished watching the Republican Convention where Sarah Palin spoke. In case you have been in a bubble the past week, she's the vice-presidential candidate for John McCain. I have been hearing alot about her this week and EVERYTHING I have heard I absolutely LOVE! She is TOUGH, but she is LOVING, she is a Christian and she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. She is eloquent and beautiful. AND she's a MOM!! Gotta love her!! I picture her sitting down after the kids are in bed, watching tv with her loving husband with her laptop and writing out her thoughts, just like so many other moms. Maybe she doesn't use a blog to do it with, or maybe she does, I haven't really checked it out,....but I think we all know if she can give birth to 5 children, live in ALASKA, and stand up to the liberal media with grace she can be Vice-President!!!!

And on a personal note, as a hockey mom I love her quote for the day, "The difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is LIPSTICK!!!" Ya gotta love audacity like that, now dontcha?

Ok....on to other news that isn't really newsworthy to the media!
My dad is recovering nicely from his colon cancer surgery that was just 5 weeks ago and the doctor has given him permission to start walking again, so I need to get a move on it if I plan to better him!

I started working out again at the gym and I set some pretty high goals for myself. I want to lose 60 pounds by Christmas, that 15 pounds a month... I'm working out gradually, starting with just 1 mile a day on the treadmill or eliptical machine. So far, so good. Except I have been experiencing calf cramps every day. I talked to a trainer today and he said it is probably from my seditary lifestyle and it's forcing my muscles to wake up and work. They are protesting!!! Well let me tell you they can just go ahead and protest....I'm not quitting!!! I have to get this weight off! I have children to care for...and a whole life ahead of me to live!!!

I also went to an endocronologist today and he is running a TON of tests to help get my metabolism in line. This should help tremendously as should the diet plan he gave me. He also suggested I start on Weight Watchers so I have to research that some to find out what I need to do to get started. With all this help and the exercise that I started on this week I WILL LOSE WEIGHT!!!

One more thing before I go off to bed.....I told That Other Kid that we were going to be going to the gym almost everyday so I could exercise and he could play with his friends there. He wanted to know why I wanted to exercise so I told him I wanted to get "skinny". He didn't understand what that was so then I told him I wanted to get "littler". He said he liked me "BIG" and that if I got littler then he would be bigger than me and then I couldn't carry him or play with him...he was talking about hieght...I was talking about thinness!!! This really cracked me up...for some reason. So today we went to the gym and he asked me if I was littler yet!! Not yet, but SOON, SOON!!!

Wow, Time Passes Fast

It seems like it was just a day or two since I posted but no, it's been almost a whole week...Sorry! I guess I have been busier than I thought. I do have some great video to show you of That Other Kid's first hockey class. He was soooo cute and I was so proud of him. He worked so hard. The class is 45 minutes long and he had to skate from one end of the rink to the other numerous times. He was pretty tired by the time it was all over. He was the youngest, smallest one out there but he didn't let that stop him. At one point the kids were skating backwards and one of his classmates from the previous session fell down and he said, "hey dude are you ok?" He was loud enough to be heard all over the rink. It cracked me up! So compassionate! Here are a few pictures from this weekend. Enjoy!!

Disappointed 4 year old

Today we got up and did our normal morning routine, then excitedly drove the 15 miles to the ice rink where That Other Kid was supposed to start his HOCKEY CLASS ...we got COMPLETELY dressed in gear...from HELMET TO SKATES, taking some 20 minutes. We walked up to the skate counter to get his name tag for class and lo and behold, class doesn't start till NEXT week. I read the date wrong on the brochure and the lady who actually did the paper work told me the wrong date. He was soooooo bummed. He was allowed to go out on the ice if he wanted, but he couldn't take his BRAND NEW stick so what's the fun in that????, so a friend of ours from a previous hockey season of That Kid's played hockey in the rink area with him...They were not on ice but he had fun anyway. Our friend really saved the day!!!

Sooooo, I guess next week we will do it all over again and hopefully, there will not be any glitches. I don't think I could handle that!

Proud Hockey Mom

I believe I've mentioned a few times that I am a proud momma of 2 hockey playing boys. One big, rough and tumble hard core player and one just starting out...still taking skating lessons. Well this weekend That Other Kid starts taking the beginning HOCKEY Class - it's called Hockey 101 and he is to show up in FULL GEAR! Well let me tell you I had FUN buying hockey gear for my little 4 year old. Keep in mind - he is a whole 40 1/2 inches tall! So you can imagine the difficulties in finding hockey gear in his size! Well we managed it....although the jersey is BIG (as in HUGE) and the hockey socks that cover the shin guards are HUGE also....but we can adapt! He looks sooooo cute I just couldn't resist a handful of pictures....and you can be sure there will be A LOT MORE this weekend!

Another Hockey Player

This morning started That Other Kid's hockey career....beginning hockey classes, called Pre Hockey. He was supposed to wear a hockey helmet and hockey skates. He was decked out and sooooo proud of himself. However, when he got on the ice he discovered that it wasn't much different than his "skate school" classes, but there were other kids on the ice with hockey sticks, and soft pucks actually passing the puck and skating like "real" hockey players. This frustrated him since this is what he wanted to be doing....I tried to appease him by telling him he had to work really hard and learn to skate faster so he would be able to "play hockey" with the other kids....maybe next semester, which starts in June!

In other news...I talked to my dad this morning and he had just finished walking 1 1/2 miles at the local rec center....He has done this ALL week and said he felt great. By the way, this is more than I have walked the WHOLE month of March, thankyouverymuch. I thought he was supposed to be the sick one.
He will go in and try to start his last week of chemo on Monday....please pray that his white blood counts are high enough this week that he can complete this last week. He already has an appointment scheduled for another MRI on the 9th and a doctor's appointment to discuss the next stage on the 10th. Please keep these dates in your prayers.

I started my new immune boosters today....thanks to Melissa for telling me about them! I will keep you posted as to how I feel over the next couple of weeks.

Well I'm tired...since I have gone/busy for the past 3 days and I'm still not 100% I better get to bed so I can continue to recouperate from this latest illness.

Thanks for visiting and listening to me babble! Have a great night!

10 Days Gone Already!

I can't believe it's already January 10th....the days have just run together in a big blur of busy-ness since I got back from Toronto on January 1st. We had a wonderful trip although the hockey aspect of it was a sad display of the "I don't care" blues by our team.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE SIGHT SEEING and we got to see some wonders! How could anyone look at Niagara Falls and not believe in God? How could anyone look at a Sunset viewed from 1500 ft. off the ground and not believe in God?? (This was from the CN Tower) These are some awesome sites!

The CN Tower (the tallest free-standing building in the world), downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada just past sunset!

Sunset from the CN Tower looking out over 1 of the Great Lakes -- I'm not sure which one cuz I haven't taken the time to research it.

Another sunset picture from the CN Tower....

Niagara Falls on the Canada side --- on December 30 right before sunset!!!

Another Niagara Falls shot....

Both my boys in front of Niagara Falls....gosh it's COLD out here!!!

Since we have been home, I have spent many hours doing laundry, catching up with friends and family, doing more laundry and catching up with more friends! I have also one a bunch of errands and I even started EXERCISING AGAIN!!! It feels great and I can already tell a difference in the way I feel. I can also tell that I am not getting enough sleep so that has to stop. Consistent sleep is one of the keys to weight-loss from what I hear, so it is one of my new goals for the year. Another goal for this year, spend more time with GOD! doing Bible study, and prayer. Remember I have a teenager and a pre-schooler, so I need all the prayer I can get!!!

Well it's already past 11 and I promised myself I would go to bed at 11 tonight since I slept a couple of hours this afternoon on the couch instead of doing things around the house, I'm guessing I need some extra sleep!!



Sooooo Goodnight! Sleep Well and be BLESSED!!!

Another Hockey Weekend

Holiday weekends are usually spent at the Ice Rink for Hockey Tournaments and this weekend was no different. We played 4 games this weekend and only won 1 game. I was very disappointed. We have a lot of good talent on our team, as well as what I believe is a talented coaching staff....but we just don't seem to have what it takes to win games when we are "under the gun". The players on the team seem to be more interested in pounding someone into the ground than playing hockey....what is it with these 17 and 18 year old boys??? Oh well, I guess I should look at it from the bright side -- That Kid loves playing in a sport that he is good at and he is learning from it.

That Other Kid did well this weekend....he loves to watch his big brother play hockey and he knows the game pretty well considering he's not quiet 4 years old. Today during the game he played with a couple of siblings of a team mate. And I am THANKFUL for these boys. I didn't see That Other Kid for nearly 2 hours and I KNEW HE WAS SAFE IN THE RINK WITH kids that would not allow him to get hurt, or run off with people that he didn't know!! Believe me it is a blessing to watch a hockey game without answering a MILLION questions!!! Thank you GOD for the blessing of siblings that LOVE playing with That Other Kid!

Thanksgiving and Beyond

The past couple of days I have been busy and haven't taken the time to blog or read blogs....that shows how busy I was!! Yesterday I cooked a big Thanksgiving meal for our family. All our extended family lives too far away so it was just the 4 of us....but it was nice and fun. That Kid and dh went to a early movie, while That Other Kid played with toys, and watched tv. I cooked!!! It was a fun day. I love to cook, but rarely take the time to the time to do it.
Today we spent the day at the Ice Rink. Game 1 -- we won; 4-2. Game 2, not so good....we lost 8-4 against a Colorado team. I guess they really know how to play hockey there!! Tomorrow we don't play till early evening so we get to sleep, oh wait...I get to sleep till That Other Kid wakes me up -- probably around 8. That Kid has to get up and work....he says he needs money!! But his bank account has more money than mine right now....hey, what's wrong with this picture???

So what am I thankful for?? Nice Thanksgving meal, a busy weekend of hockey and a teenager that loves his job! How's that for Thankfulness!!!!

A Nail Biter Hockey Game

I just got home from That Kid's hockey game....start time 9:30 p.m.!!! so That Other Kid went to bed early and I went to a hockey game unacompanied. All the moms asked where my other appendage was....and I happily replied IN BED sleeping!!!
Anyhooo.....WE WON!!! in OVERTIME, with a PENALTY SHOT GOAL!!! 2-1. The other team protested the goal, but the referees prevailed....and we won!! This was our 2nd league game of the season and it was against the same team we WON a couple of weeks ago.
Although we did win the coach wasn't pleased with the performance of the team overall.....so tomorrow night's practice will probably not be a pretty one. That Kid was a +2 if that means anything to you.....basically that means he was out during the goals and he didn't do anything to cause the other team to score. He did get sent to the penalty box for "shoving" a guy who was talkin' trash. Oh well, the other guy went to the box as well, so it didn't hurt our team.