The Right Thing

The right thing to do is sometimes the hardest.

We had to put our dog of 14 years down today. Rudy has been ill off and on for the better part of a year. It started as just throwing up once in awhile, then it was throwing up frequently, we had her checked in March last year, they didn't find anything, I think we changed her food then, and mentioned it to the neighbors so they would quit feeding her treats.

In December she started throwing up every day, so I took her to the vet again. They ran tests did some x-rays and actually found that an organ was calcified (they were unable to tell which one) so we put her on an even more special food and added an anti nausea pill (good idea LK). We told the kids that the dog was very sick, and that it would probably be her last Christmas.

All along she was a good sport. She handled every change, never complained or mistreated us. Saturday she threw up blood and quit eating. Today I took her to the humane society to have her euthanized. I never thought I would have to make a decision like that. We had a cat once, I just found her dead outside and buried her. This was different. And we had to explain to the kids what was going to happen.

They took it pretty well. We told them last night, which gave them the evening to say goodbye. Bubba made her a flower with a note and Miss I picked her a pussy willow branch from some we brought in over the weekend. I left them with the technician. I don't know if they really do anything with that stuff, but I told the kids I would. The gals at the humane society were great. Treated me very gently and loved on the dog too.

"I wish Rudy will RIP"

Truth be told, I am not really an animal person. I can live with them or without them. Truth be told, it was ME that brought the dog home in the first place, even though I was told NOT to, so I guess I like them a little.

Little do the kids know, we have plans already to get another dog. She is due to be born in March, we will bring her home 8 weeks later. The circle of life, right?

The gift

"Mama, I made you something, it's in my room, come see!"
A similar phrase was uttered by my son when he was around the same age ... I had my worries.
Here was what she made me:

Lunch :)

Different kids these two.

I took a little walkabout around town today. I found photograph-able things.



I thought there was glass in this window for quite awhile and I couldn't figure out why the reflection was so flat. Duh, it's wood.

I've wanted to take some kind of picture of the train tracks. Eh, this one is okay, I think I would like to get something with a train in it too. I am going to link this one to the Sunday Creative, the word is "solace" pretty much what my walkabout was today.

Kind of like that.

I am going to link this one to the Sunday Creative, the word is "solace" pretty much what my walkabout was today.

"Mama"

In the car the other day Miss I says to me "Mama"
"What Miss I"
.... silence ...
"Yes, Miss I?"
"..... wait for it ..." she says
(wait for it?!!)
"I love you"

It was hilarious! She is learning a lot of those types of lines from TV. Wonder what she's going to start repeating that she hears me saying?

I finished my work week, onto the long weekend. Ahhhhh.

Nothing planned so far, possibility of a trip west, we shall see how that all works out. If no trip west then probably ice skating on Saturday or Sunday. Hopefully the weather will continue to be mild, and, if I might be so bold, could we please have some sun?

A couple more

These are a couple more pictures from the other day. These candles looked very pretty. I wish I had noticed the price tag and turned that one candle around.

I really like these velour pumpkins. They are bright and shiny and feel so neat. The picture is a bit bright, I just couldn't edit the texture into it.

See, its all too shiny and sparkly and nice for my plain old house.With kids. And cats. And a dog. And soon a puppy. We are on the list for the next litter due mid March!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww ....

I did mention we were getting a puppy, right? Hmmm, I guess I didn't. My Honey has been researching Vizsla's for awhile now and found a breeder north of us. He's been in contact with them and found out they had two litters coming this month. All the females in the first litter were spoken for, so we placed a deposit on a female in the second litter. Unfortunately there was another family the waiting list and only one was born. So, we won't be getting a puppy in 8 weeks. Good thing we have not told the kids huh?

Practice today was really good. Another sporty workout presented by coach A, that ended with a game of Ice Ball. It's pretty much water polo on ice. You can carry the ball (a soccer ball) for three strides, throw it to your team mates, or throw it against the glass to travel it down the ice. You can hit it out of the hands of the opposing team and if it lands on the ice, its a dead ball, the team that didn't touch it last gets possession. You score by throwing it into the net. It was hard work, but a lot of fun. No, we didn't wear gloves or use our sticks, just our bare hands. I was a little worried about getting run over by skate blades, but it didn't happen.

We did some stopping drills today. I still need so much work. Coach A had a great way of describing the two kinds of stops he saw us doing: There is a "heeeeeyyyyy" stop (think male falsetto voice) or a "HEY. YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME" stop (this one sounds more like a gangsta). Guess which one I am? Yeah, I am all "heeeeeeyyyyy". Time to get my pop out and start stopping like I want a piece of THEM. Now I have something to practice when I take the kids skating next week.

Am I a bad mom? I made brownies without telling anyone because I didn't want to share the spoon! They're smelling really good right now!

Finally

I was determined to take my camera somewhere and take a picture. I ended up downtown in one of my favorite "go into to see how classy I am NOT" stores. Guilded Lily always has beautiful displays. They are MUCH fancier than I would ever have in my house, but fun to look at and my never-exposed girly side really likes it.

Anyway, there is always a LOT of sparkly, shiny stuff, lots of bling, but its the textures that draw me in. The layers everywhere. The above display is flowers that are made of velvet or velour? and shine in the lights (which are pointed right at them of course). It is on a wood table with painted doors, against an oil painting backdrop. The walls are cement, so that adds texture too. Anyway, its one of my guilty pleasures to just walk around and look at all the cool stuff. The guilt comes from not buying anything. I quit looking at price tags a long time ago! I don't take good enough care of my stuff, or get pretties out often enough to justify $40 for a tea-towel (aka kitchen towel).

Me Too!

I drop by this blog once in a while.
It was worth it today!
I laughed until I cried!
I would be a groupie too.

Couple of days off then back to work Saturday for my long work week which includes two overtime shifts. Practice tomorrow morning, maybe Sunday night. We shall see, my OT shifts are Saturday and Sunday I will be BEAT come Sunday Evening.

I am feeling itchy to get my camera out, it must be the sun. Its been shining off and on for the past week. Maybe while the kids skate today I will walk over to the park.

MILLER!

That scrimmage was a blast! I am glad I had the opportunity to talk with one of the coaches and tell her I was worried, that I didn't really know my job. She was awesome out on the ice. She placed me on her team and gently guided me (all of us really) to where we were supposed to be and what we were supposed to be doing.

Luckily, she placed me in the same position (left wing) that I practiced in Friday morning so I knew a bit of what was expected of me. It felt good to do my share. We switched out with the same player each time, and I knew which person I was guarding, my point (see, I am even learning the language!). The only thing I didn't realize, and I am still trying to figure out, is "off sides" which I was several times (oops!) but the worst part about that is it results in a penalty for my team (double oops!!) I better figure it out FAST!

I feel much better about playing in the tournament at the end of February after our scrimmage. I might even tell people so they can come watch. Silly me, I have been thinking about what to have put on my jersey: (One of) my nicknames? My first name? My last name? Or my maiden name? Maiden name? Yeah, I don't know why either. Those of you that know me, leave a comment, tell me what you think! Imagine this tho, it's what my team mates, or maybe you, will be yelling at me or calling me while I am playing. (That's why the maiden name choice, its easy to yell and might sound kind of cool too!)

Scrimmage

It's been a busy few days. The kids had their first skate lessons on Thursday afternoon, I had practice on Friday morning (more on that in a minute), I took the kids skating on Saturday afternoon, My Honey and I went to hockey games on Friday and Saturday night, grocery shopping, laundry, you know, oh, and a little scrimmage this afternoon.

Practice was good on Friday. We have three coaches, two I have mentioned before, the third, coach A has a much different approach, his drills aren't just about speed and agility, they are about getting hurt, which is bound to happen in a game. On Friday morning he had us warm up and then got a gleam in his eye, he had a plan that hatched the night before, he wanted us to do an obstacle course. ?! A what?! Yeah, obstacle course.

He set up some cones to zig-zag through, then we fast skated around the goal and UNDER a stick balanced on some buckets.   !?! UNDER !?!  Yeah, we literally dove, stick first, under the stick, THEN had to get back on our feet and finish the loop around the other goal. I watched everyone do it, trying to figure out how the hell I was gonna ... Really, there is no graceful way, (not that I am all about grace, hardly, I am the girl that constantly falls UP the stairs) but I didn't want to make a total ass of myself. So there I go, I zig-zag through the cones, I'm not as fast as some, in fact, I might still be the slowest, and I am pretty sure I knocked one down, I picked up speed around the goal and then ... Then I started to psych myself up, I had to make a dive under the stick. "How's this all gonna go?" I wondered. "Doesn't matter, DO IT!" And I did. I made it under the stick and got myself up, not totally in motion, but close. "Holy crap!" Big sigh of relief, maybe even a little "whoop!" The second time around I was able to get up in motion and coach Cal told me it was much better than the first time. Thanks Coach!

Today is a scrimmage. I'm nervous because I just don't know my "job" on the ice for any position. I asked coach T if she would recommend something to read to figure it out, and she said she would bring something to the scrimmage. I told her I feel like a liability since I don't know what the hell I am doing, she told me she thinks I'm an asset. That's sweet huh? She really just thinks I'm cute. Kidding, I think she views me as one of her students, she will have faith in me until the end. It was because of her that I even started playing. She has been there for nearly all my practices and has watched me get better and helped me with some stuff, so she has a vested interest. Maybe I am kind of a teacher's pet?

Now I just need to figure out a light and dark jersey. I only have yellow. Usually its white and yellow or red and yellow when we split into teams. It's actually kind of funny! Friday morning, for our short scrimmage, it was red and yellow, so I was playing with ROCKIN players. These women have been playing for several years, it was scary. But we did alright. Today should be fun. Wish me luck.

Camera

For some reason I have not had my camera out much since mid-December. It came up recently when it wasn't on a list of things I would take in my shoulder bag.

I've been thinking about it, and I don't think there is anything photograph-able out there right now. The world around me is grey. Yesterday the sun peeked out and I thought I might run inside, get my camera out and try to capture it's beauty on the new snow, but I was caught up in shoveling (for the second time) and I didn't think the light was "quite right". When did I become such a photography snob? Sheesh. As I shoveled I thought maybe I should try my hand at black and white photography right now. Winter is just so monotone, I guess that's what I don't like. Maybe with a little black and white...?

I did get out and go for a walk in the snow today. I had originally planned on going cross country skiing, packed my stuff in the car, dropped Bubba off at school and decided that I didn't feel like making the drive in the semi-icy conditions, plus it started to rain. Turned out to be the best thing ever, I hadn't packed my boots! I would have been ticked to get out of town and not be able to do what I wanted!

It's my four-day weekend and I am looking forward to a couple hockey games, taking the kids ice skating and hanging with the family.

Shouldn't have

I shouldn't have played hockey last night, but I did. What am I supposed to do when My Honey suggests it? Say "no" just because I will get to bed too late? Ha!

So I played and got to bed too late and I am one tired girl today!

We actually practiced a "break out" pattern last night with assigned positions and everything. It was exactly what I needed. I need to know what my job as "left wing" is, where am I supposed to wait, when should I look for the puck, where do I skate when the puck is across the ice from me, who should I shoot the puck to? I learned, for left wing  anyway. My butt needs to be on the boards, ready to receive the puck if it goes behind the net, then I have to take it toward center ice and shoot it to the center and move up toward our goal and be ready to receive it and SHOOT it. That's my job as left (or right) wing. I didn't really pay any attention to what everyone else does. Just me. It was good. I will watch the game Friday night with new eyes.

The game Friday. That should be fun! Its the third annual Guns-N-Hoses game. The firemen and cops and other emergency workers like me get cheap tickets (which means nose-bleed seats, so we're opting out of those), proceeds benefit a random acts of kindness fund and during one of the intermissions there is a little competition between the cops and firemen, one year it was a tug of war, last year it was broom ball, this year they're playing HOCKEY! It should be a real hoot! I had kind of secretly hoped to get recruited (for the firemen) so I could bash some cops. Maybe next year.

Back to practice; I'm feeling better and better every time I get out on the ice. Stopping is coming along, I try to make myself stop on both sides so I get better and better at that left side. Turning is okay, we practiced cross overs again, both directions, Coach T reminded us to take small steps, if we aren't comfortable with that, at least pick up our feet a little so we get the feel of it. I am getting used to the "patterns" we run on the ice. PacMan is skating around the dots, the path is similar looking to the video game. Figure 8's are just that, round and round the dots sometimes from corner to corner. We also run a pattern around the large circles, but I don't remember what that's called. I'm loving it.

The kids start their lessons on Thursday, it should be fun. I am excited to watch them get better and better. They get some free skate sessions too so we will get to do some practice.

Kittens

Here they are.

Mister Pickles is the light colored one,

Survivor Jane is the darker one.

Still learning

Ahhh. I was able to go to practice today which was great. Last Sunday night's practice was cancelled which bummed me out, so I was very thankful to get back on the ice today.

Speaking of ice... There was a sheet of it everywhere today. The windows, the driveway, the road, the sidewalk and parking lot. There must have been some frozen rain overnight. Made for some slickery conditions. Glad I wasn't at work.

So, about practice today. It was really good. Lots of crazy foot work. Quick stops, turns, some cross overs. Crazy foot work. Remember gym class, during warm ups when the coach would have you go from one side of the gym or field at a jog, from right to left, crossing your right foot over your left the whole way and then you reversed it from left to right? Kind of looked like a fancy dance move, usually your arms were out to your side and your hips were a-going? So do that on ice, in skates with only a blade holding you up. It wasn't easy. Not only that, we had to skate up to the line, STOP (which we all know is my strength) and then do a cross over to the wall, STOP, cross over (opposite legs) back and then skate forward. I might have fallen. According to Coach Cal, that means I'm pushing myself. Right. It actually means a visit to the chiropractor.

Later we were working on shooting. I'm not so good at this. I noticed though that I lost my focus somewhere along the line. I was doing alright, and
then I wasn't. Was it the drill? No. Was it when I changed sides (the puck coming to my forehand instead of my  backhand)? No. Was it the coaching? Maybe. We did a session with Coach T and then a session with Coach Cal and it was during the session with Cal that I was falling apart. Maybe I was just tired and hungry by then? It was interesting though. It could have been all of the above. Why his coaching though? An interesting thought to ponder.

I found myself in a funny place the other day. Les Schwab. I believed we had a slow leak in a tire. I walked myself in, told them which one (right rear) and they got to working on it. As I sat there I realized what I had done. I walked into a store, full of men, and talked about man things with a man, used the correct terminology (slow leak, right rear tire) and I did it without even thinking about it. (I sure hope hockey gets there for me!) My how far I've come! Then again, I tell men (with guns!) where to go and what to do all day at work.

And for those of you interested. The second kitty arrived safe and sound Wednesday. On the way home her name was picked out. It started out as Nicaragua. And ended up as Survivor Jane (Miss I's favorite person.) Or just Jane for short. So we now have Mister Pickles and Survivor Jane. Next up .... a dog. Yes, for reals. A new dog. A puppy even. Possibly as soon as March.

2011 Color

OOOOH, a color for the year. What fun!

And I found the word-worksheet too. Well, I didn't find it, Susannah re-posted it, bless her heart!

It's off to a new schedule tomorrow. I'm gonna do it right by going to hockey practice tonite, just to make sure I don't get enough sleep!

Happy New Year

May your 2011 be ....
whatever it is supposed to be.