September Acres

We spent last weekend in Phoenix so my husband could play in an ice hockey tournament at the Jobing .com arena, home of the Phoenix Coyotes. Kind of a dream come true for a hockey player who didn't quite make it to the big leagues. It was fun as a spectator, too. There weren't too many of us so we had front row seats. We also got a tour of the Coyotes locker room area. This is their workout room. They have inspirational quotes painted all over the room. I love the one below. 'The price of greatness is hard work.' So true. Here is LM in front of the doors that lead to the locker room, workout room, trophy case and hot/cold tub area. They had to radio up to have the doors unlocked. I think it looks so sophisticated. I kind of expected some non- descript door. Here's the hubby in action. He's the one in the red jersey with the orange leg warmers. Apparently, players call them socks although there is no foot in them. Sounds like a leg warmer to me! ...

LM is playing 2 divisions in this weekend's hockey tournament, 8 and under (her usual division) and 10 and under. She is the only girl on either team. Because we were short players another team let us borrow a player. Another girl. LM was excited to have another girl on the team, even if for only a day. My husband is coaching two teams. Head coach for 8's and assistant for the 10's. He gives the players nicknames. Something short and easy to say fast when he is yelling. LM's nickname is 'B'. As is another player's. Kind of confusing but they have it figured out since they play the same position and they are usually not on the floor at the same time. He has a 'GW', a 'P', a 'G', a 'Sammy', and so it goes. Well, Mackenzie, the little girl who helped them out out day was quickly dubbed 'Girl'. He had everyone calling her that by the end of the second game. And what a player 'Girl' was. She will be ...

The title of this post means two things to me today. First, I will tell you what's going on with me. In a nutshell, lots. Only 3 weeks left of school. This school year has flown by - much faster than K & 1st did. But I am happy for summer vacation to be here. It's nice to slow down a bit. And, although we don't really sleep in here it's nice not to have to be out of the house everyday @ 7:40 am. I have put in my request for LM's teacher for next year. We have a new principal this year and no one is quite sure if she will accept requests but LM's teacher wrote down my request in case she does. There has been so much talk about no requests this year that I was a little hesitant to do it. But I thought, darnnit , I pay my taxes that pay the school employees salaries (so in a sense they work for us, right??) & I help out alot at school, try not to cause problems, let the teachers teach, etc so I figured I had nothing to lose. We requested Mrs. A, who was...

The NHL season started. My husband will not be available until after the Stanley Cup playoffs. All discussions will need to take place during the commercial breaks. "So this is what it's going to be like until June?" I ask. "Pretty much." He says. Twelve years I have done this. I know the drill. And I know it could be worse. At least I like hockey (just not 24/7-you won't catch me watching the old games on ESPN classic or anything). And at least I know where to find him...

If you have read my blog more than once you know my dislike for fundraisers. Thankfully, I do not do this for a living. Our hockey league is selling raffle tickets ( they are raffling off a 50" LCD flatscreen TV). The proceeds will go towards paying off the cement for our hockey floor. Not doubting that it is a good cause. Anyway, all the tickets didn't get sold by the players so it was decided that the kids would stand outside one of the grocery stores last night from 6-8 and sell the rest of the tickets. Luckily, my husband went with Little Miss. I had to draw the line somewhere. And this was it. I have done my time (really, it 'doing time' must be similar to standing outside in the 100 degree heat in your hockey jersey trying to sell tickets to people just trying to buy beer for the weekend). So when the car rolled up at 7:38 pm I tried to think positive - 'wow they sold the 300 tickets in record time'. NO, they sold 5 tickets. Ugh. My husband w...