Great day today, unexpectedly.
It was an early start with a hockey game at 10:45, game being half an hour away and needing to be at the arena an hour before. With all three kids in tow we left the house at 9:06. I, as usual, wanted to stop at Tim Horton's for a fresh coffee for the rink which adds a few minutes to our commute.
Snce it is Thanskgiving Day tomorrow, the kids (and Paul) encouraged me to prepare my regular Thanksgiving Day dinner. This means we needed to get groceries, and what better time than while Isaac is getting dressed for hockey! After dropping Isaac and the jersey's off (Paul manages the away team jerseys) we headed to the nearest President's Choice to pick up a turkey and other odds and ends. My thankful dinner of giving is fairly hefty: an 18lb turkey (with fresh gravy), breakfast sausages, oven-roasted potatoes, mashed carrots with brown sugar, mashed squash with brown sugar (looks great together in a dish -- remind me to Insta that tomorrow! @jfaure23), traditional stuffing, cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls. Each and every item is made from scratch with the exception of the dinner rolls... and is absolutely fantastic!
So we arrive at the grocery store, and I am immediately impressed by the dim lighting (untraditional), smooth flooring with squeaky clean shopping carts (untraditional) and an abundance of fresh produce and staff. In the butcher section there was an entire refrigeration unit dedicated to dried beef roasts. The baking department had layer upon layer of fresh, sweet looking deities. The shelves were stocked and clean. Employees were everywhere ready to assist. A two piece string band was there as well, playing in front of a display of a hundred or so perfectly piled pumpkins. I mentioned to Paul about five minutes into our venture that I thought we needed to move in order to be closer to this grocery store. They even wooed the kids with fresh crepe and smoothie samples. Best shopping experience ever. Turns out it was their grand opening (who knew!?). Paul and I are now committed to sourcing out each and every grand opening event there is. Plus 10K bonus PC points for spending $100... that's $10 savings! So impressed.
We arrived back at the rink five minutes before game time. The game was close, point for point. Each time was terrific at delivering offence and with taking the puck back on defense. Closely matched, the game was 2 to 2 as we entered the third period. A quick goal in the third gave us a lead, which we managed to keep for the rest of the game. This means that for this tournament we are 2 wins, no losses. Isaac received an MVP for his goal-keeping for the game, and the team solidified their place in the finals. Very proud!
Following this we headed to IKEA as little Geoffrey is now wanting to sit at the counter with his older brothers. This means, we need a new stool. Also, Isaac has been using the same dresser I've had since I was a young girl and is getting tough to open. We decided we would get him a new one (nice parents we are). Shopping was excellent as we got what we needed, had a delicious IKEA restaurant lunch of meatballs and pasta then headed home for naps.
At home Isaac helped peel the many dozens of apples we have while I made pie crusts. The idea is to prepare apple pies that I can bring to friends' houses for dinner, or when hosting other dinners. We also had a wonderful chat while we prepared the food and it was very nice.
All in all, it was a superb day. Sure the kids still fought, and there was still lots of work to be done, but it was certainly enjoyed by all.
Nighty night,
Peach
Sunday, 12 October 2014
Monday, 26 May 2014
For the love of the game
That is not your son or daughter
Out there
Playing hockey on the ice.
That is an athlete.
You are not a parent,
You are a spectator.
You do not call the game,
The referee does.
An individual trained
To make the calls
And
Who has probably been to more games
Than you.
A professional.
Even if you don't agree.
You don't lead the team,
The coach does.
Another trained individual.
Enjoy the game as it is being played
For you.
Cheer for your team.
That is an athlete,
Not your son or daughter.
Thursday, 6 February 2014
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
How often do we go through our day with blinders on. Surviving by going through the motions. It takes something out of the ordinary to jog us into wakefulness. Often, those 'somethings' come in good, bad or ugly form.
Today I was aware. I had one of those days where I was focused and events turned out as expected, smooth even. Work that I handed in came back with positive comments. Conversations that I had with other moms were engaging and I was able to reconnect again. I was on my game during volleyball, getting all of my serves over the net and my hits found the back corner.
But today I also witnessed three other events: one good, one bad, and one ugly.
Good events seem to come at unpredictable moments. A random email with important (but good!) news. Bumping into a good friend while shopping. A random act of kindness by a complete stranger. Sam, one of my volleyball friends, a hot mama who just earned herself a Harley, was in England this past summer. While at the Writers Festival she found a misplaced cell phone. It wasn't security coded. She scrolled through the contacts list finding the single word, "Mom." Calling it, she spoke to a perfectly wonderful woman who was thrilled to hear that a Canadian had found her daughters phone. An hour-long train ride later, Sam returned the phone to the mother who would never forget the kindness of a complete stranger.
Bad events can be unpredictable, but they often build up over time. One can almost sense when a bad event is about to happen. Think back to a time when you were face-to-face with a bad event. Remember your thought processes. Didn't you say, "You know, I knew something like this was going to happen, I could just feel it." Looking back over the day and the week there were moments that were bad but none unsurmountable. The worst events are those stories I read and hear about in the news. There is an overload of negative there. I avoided a bad event today when I was cruising at the speed limit and a car crossed in front of me. If I hadn't been paying attention I would have crashed into the passenger side. I had time to brake and even then narrowly missed him. My bad event had a happy ending.
The ugly moments are the shockers. The moments that make you want to run to your friends and ask them, "What just happened?" They are confusing and often leave witnesses dumbfounded and seeking answers. I had an ugly moment today. As we do after every game in our league, the teams shake hands (or at least hand tap). It's a common courtesy extended by teams and individuals the world over. It's a gesture of thanks for sharing in the sport. Today I witnessed a move not yet seen in all of my years on the court. A member of the opposing team clearly and deftly raised her hand above and away from one of my teammates' own to avoid shaking with her. It was a provocation as there had been no encounters or bad exchanges during the game. We did win, and we had great energy doing it. We were supportive of one another when a mistake was made. We did not acknowledge the faults of the other team and we encouraged back and forth play (who wants to play a one-sided game, anyway?). It was a close first match, a less-close second, and another close third. Was it just poor sportsmanship? Unfortunately, unless that player comes forward we may never know. It hurt my teammate and will probably be on her mind until she can reason it out.
I'm putting the question out to you: Avoiding a hand-shake is certainly an unsportsmanlike behaviour, but is it tolerable? Might it just be that one players' way of dealing with a loss, and taking it out on one of our players? Might it have been an oversight, she just didn't see the hand? What do you think? Do you have a story of unsportsmanlike conduct? Share it with me.
Today I was aware. I had one of those days where I was focused and events turned out as expected, smooth even. Work that I handed in came back with positive comments. Conversations that I had with other moms were engaging and I was able to reconnect again. I was on my game during volleyball, getting all of my serves over the net and my hits found the back corner.
But today I also witnessed three other events: one good, one bad, and one ugly.
Good events seem to come at unpredictable moments. A random email with important (but good!) news. Bumping into a good friend while shopping. A random act of kindness by a complete stranger. Sam, one of my volleyball friends, a hot mama who just earned herself a Harley, was in England this past summer. While at the Writers Festival she found a misplaced cell phone. It wasn't security coded. She scrolled through the contacts list finding the single word, "Mom." Calling it, she spoke to a perfectly wonderful woman who was thrilled to hear that a Canadian had found her daughters phone. An hour-long train ride later, Sam returned the phone to the mother who would never forget the kindness of a complete stranger.
Bad events can be unpredictable, but they often build up over time. One can almost sense when a bad event is about to happen. Think back to a time when you were face-to-face with a bad event. Remember your thought processes. Didn't you say, "You know, I knew something like this was going to happen, I could just feel it." Looking back over the day and the week there were moments that were bad but none unsurmountable. The worst events are those stories I read and hear about in the news. There is an overload of negative there. I avoided a bad event today when I was cruising at the speed limit and a car crossed in front of me. If I hadn't been paying attention I would have crashed into the passenger side. I had time to brake and even then narrowly missed him. My bad event had a happy ending.
The ugly moments are the shockers. The moments that make you want to run to your friends and ask them, "What just happened?" They are confusing and often leave witnesses dumbfounded and seeking answers. I had an ugly moment today. As we do after every game in our league, the teams shake hands (or at least hand tap). It's a common courtesy extended by teams and individuals the world over. It's a gesture of thanks for sharing in the sport. Today I witnessed a move not yet seen in all of my years on the court. A member of the opposing team clearly and deftly raised her hand above and away from one of my teammates' own to avoid shaking with her. It was a provocation as there had been no encounters or bad exchanges during the game. We did win, and we had great energy doing it. We were supportive of one another when a mistake was made. We did not acknowledge the faults of the other team and we encouraged back and forth play (who wants to play a one-sided game, anyway?). It was a close first match, a less-close second, and another close third. Was it just poor sportsmanship? Unfortunately, unless that player comes forward we may never know. It hurt my teammate and will probably be on her mind until she can reason it out.
I'm putting the question out to you: Avoiding a hand-shake is certainly an unsportsmanlike behaviour, but is it tolerable? Might it just be that one players' way of dealing with a loss, and taking it out on one of our players? Might it have been an oversight, she just didn't see the hand? What do you think? Do you have a story of unsportsmanlike conduct? Share it with me.
Thursday, 30 January 2014
This living, breathing, moving thing we call life
I just realized it. When I became a mother, I knew what I was in for. I knew about the responsibilities and I was ready for them. I was ready to put my wants on hold to make sure my kids were taken care of. I know, you're about to tell me that I need to take care of myself too. That by taking care of myself I will have more to give to them. And yes! Absolutely. But I didn't realize that being a mother also gave me a reason, an excuse really, to back out of things that were scary or an obstacle to accomplish. Take this blog for example. I both wanted the enthusiasm and encouragement from you to keep me going, but at the same time I didn't. I was afraid of meeting your expectation, because in reality I was tired.
I recently started a weekly vlog to keep family and friends informed and amused with what happens in my life when I can't be there to share it with them each day. It's a weekly snapshot which I endearingly refer to as the 'upside of downtime'. It's me and my family, outside of work, hockey and other commitments. It's just us, and we're usually at home. Of course that may change, I may take it on the road or mix it up a bit (I likely will) but for now that's what it is.
And as I sit here collecting my tabs on the virtual world I stumbled across my old blog. My faithful, encouraging and motivating blog. When reading through your comments I was reminded of the strength that comes when people come together for a common purpose. My common purpose was the pursuit of fitness.
That pursuit changes as we move through our lives. While fitness is still important to me, now family and karma seem to be so much more. So I will no longer officially be blogging about fitness. Instead, I will be blogging and vlogging and posting (oh my!) about the other things that define me. So who am I? I thought about it and determined that I am the following, in no particular order, although likely certainly more top-weighted:
- mother
- accountant
- Simmer
- fitness enthusiast
- artist
- friend
- animal lover
And there are other things that I strive to be:
- karaoke-star
- guitarist
I'm sure there's more! You are welcome to continue to follow me as I explore this new multi-directional view of my life. I will be writing and sharing with you ideas and stories related to who I am today and who that person may be in the future. Who knows, that's why it's a living, breathing, moving thing we call life.
I recently started a weekly vlog to keep family and friends informed and amused with what happens in my life when I can't be there to share it with them each day. It's a weekly snapshot which I endearingly refer to as the 'upside of downtime'. It's me and my family, outside of work, hockey and other commitments. It's just us, and we're usually at home. Of course that may change, I may take it on the road or mix it up a bit (I likely will) but for now that's what it is.
And as I sit here collecting my tabs on the virtual world I stumbled across my old blog. My faithful, encouraging and motivating blog. When reading through your comments I was reminded of the strength that comes when people come together for a common purpose. My common purpose was the pursuit of fitness.
That pursuit changes as we move through our lives. While fitness is still important to me, now family and karma seem to be so much more. So I will no longer officially be blogging about fitness. Instead, I will be blogging and vlogging and posting (oh my!) about the other things that define me. So who am I? I thought about it and determined that I am the following, in no particular order, although likely certainly more top-weighted:
- mother
- accountant
- Simmer
- fitness enthusiast
- artist
- friend
- animal lover
And there are other things that I strive to be:
- karaoke-star
- guitarist
I'm sure there's more! You are welcome to continue to follow me as I explore this new multi-directional view of my life. I will be writing and sharing with you ideas and stories related to who I am today and who that person may be in the future. Who knows, that's why it's a living, breathing, moving thing we call life.
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