Eddie

R.I.P. Eddie

Eddie went missing today sometime this afternoon. Upon much searching, his body was found early this evening in a treed area not too far from his home. It seems as though coyote's took his young life.

We will miss you buddy. You were the best.

Future Superstar

Yesterday after the blue jackets practice, Danny Gare went out onto Nationwide ice with Derrick Brassard and Derek Dorsett to show them some things about shooting that he had learned over his career (an NHL all-star and a two time 50 goal scorer). It was recorded and up on the CBJ's website.

Danny can still really shoot the puck! The coolest thing about the whole thing is that Brassard sought Danny out. Brassard is leading the rookie race in scoring and also leading the jackets in points, yet he still is trying every day to get better and better. Not only that, he is a really nice, polite, and respectful kid. I sat and watched the whole thing and afterwards grabbed Dany's stick and gloves and shot the puck around with Brassard and Dorsett. Even though these guys are in some cases, 15 years younger than me, as a hockey lover I am still a fan and that was quite exciting for me...even though I didn't really show it.

Go Jackets!!

What are you waiting for people? Why haven't you bought yourselves a mac computer yet? Are you seriously still worrying about your adware, spyware, virus, and hacking software? Is your virus software up to date as you read this? Are you still worried about downloading things from certain sites because there could quite possibly be worried about a Trojan Horse attached? Geez...what a shame.

Using a mac computer is the difference between using 'Suave' shampoo and 'Pureolgy'. Yes both will get your hair cleaned, but over time one will leave you feeling brittle and dried out and the other will just make your hair feel smooth and silky.

I am a little excited right now because I just made the coolest book in my iPhoto that I am going to order and give to Rick Nash, Pascal Leclaire and Jason Chimera--three players who competed in the World Championships this May. It was so easy to make and it looks highly professional all for 12.95 plus $5 for shipping!

I was a Dell owner, then a Gateway owner...one day I went into an Apple store and I haven't looked back. The PC's were great for the first few months of use, but before too long they started to slow down, and if you aren't particularly savvy in the world of computing (yes, that includes me) it is difficult to diagnose the cause. My mac, until very recently (hardware, not software issues--eventually the hardware will fail in everything) has run without hiccup for 2 years. No slowing, no stalling and best of all, no virus and next to no worries about becoming infected.

There are so many things within a mac that make them so smooth to operate and there are many little tricks that you can pick up along the way. Not only are they sleek and contemporary looking, there is a lot of neat things you can do with them. I, admittedly, likely know how to use about 10% of it's potential, but it is also about 8% more than I knew just a few weeks ago. Apple offers free workshops for its applications and the iphoto workshop I took was most helpful.

I understand that the vast majority of businesses are run via PC based software which makes it difficult for some people to change, but if you get the chance, head into an apple store and take a look. I warn you though: once you go mac you will never go back.

No Rest

Sunday was our semi-final game in our ball hockey playoffs. It was a 9:30 game which was about a half an our or so earlier than normal, but we all got emails alerting us of the time change so it was all good...or so I thought.

We get to the game and we knew that 'Copper' would be missing but nothing prepared us for Lisa and Ben being absent, therefore we had 5 players and a goalie--no subs. Yeah, that's right...no subs. On the floor the whole time at ball hockey. No rest. Nada. None. Meanwhile the other team started with 3 subs and then two more showed up part way through the first so they were always fresh.

We had to play in a defensive shell for most of the first part of the game and only went for specific chances. We ended up going up 1-0 part way through the first and held onto that lead until the 2nd. It was 1-1 after 2 and the score ended up a 3-1 final. We had two teammates show up for the third period but by then it was too late the damage had already been done.

I jammed my right toe again leading to another case of 'dek' toe. I hit the post and the crossbar all on one shot, and another post later. We put up a good fight, but when you are forced to run around all game long with no rest while the other team is always fresh it is bound to catch up to you. The winner of our game had to play in the finals at 12 noon. I was thinking to myself: "if we somehow win this, how in the world are we going to have anything left for finals?" Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, it never came to that.

The 'Heeb's'

Now that my Christmas tree project is finished, I have settled into doing very little all over again. I started working out again and it feels good (?). I have been sore every day this week so that is good I guess???

My ball hockey team won it's first 'one and done' playoff game last week (I scored a goal, short-handed no less :)) and we have the semi-final game this sunday vs. a team that beat us pretty handily two weeks ago. We'll see how that goes.

The other day, I was driving home and noticed birds. Not one, not two, not three, but maybe three hundred thousand! Seriously, it was incredible and I don't recall seeing anything like it. Luckily I had my camera with me and snapped a few photos while I was at the stop light. Look for yourself and tell me that it doesn't give you the creeps:


























Tell me this doesn't give you the creeps.

Tah-Dah!!

After several days and several hours of pouring myself into this Christmas Tree project, I finally finished it yesterday at about 6 pm.

Here is the much anticipated finished product:


I added some small, subtle details that some might appreciate (note the white hair on Hitch):



And Claude's glasses:


I think my favorite part of the whole thing are the ties on the coaches. I mean never in my life did I think I would think of something like that and then for it to actually work out? Come on.

I know this picture is a bit blurry, but have a look at Mason's goalie pads haha:



Here are some of the details of the bottom 'winter scenes':


Each of those little bulbs are autographed by the players. They look really cute.

...another section:


Take note of the two different formation of '2's. The '22' for Commodore was the first set of two's that I made. As you can see they are very rounded and a bit awkward looking. As I moved along, you can see the 2 in Chimera's '25'. A much sharper, cleaner looking 2.

...the final section:


This is a bit of a sledding scene...I used marshmellow's for the snow bank and covered it with that icing. It actually worked out quite nicely. I then just planted some little guys' all over the place to make it look festive and jolly!

Of course the topper, a tribute to the late Mr. Mac:

Finally, here is the finished product:

I CAN do it

Well, I watched the jackets smoke Buffalo 6-1 and then promptly got back to the baking. What a delight that was.

I am not sure why, but I expected the dough to be soft and easy to work with once out of the fridge. Wrong. It was hard, very hard and I wondered if I left it in too long. I thought I had ruined the whole batch and would have to go through that whole process again, immediately thinking about how I was going to avoid the smell of the molases.

As I started working with the dough it began to soften up and spread out. I took my handy rolling pin and rolled it out on the fancy parchment paper I bought for the occasion. Once I got it all rolled out to my desired thickness, I used my cute little cutter to cut out the shapes of the men. Here, have a look:

As I was punching them out, I was concerned because the dough had a bit of a wood grain type appearance and it didn't seem right. I still thought I might have mucked up my whole project. I just decided to keep going and see what would happen. After I got them all punched out, I then baked them for about 8 minutes and voila! They looked like real gingerbread men!


After a few batches of the men, it was time to give them their gear. Have you ever seen the show 'Ace of Cakes'? It is on TLC and it is a show that takes place in a bakery somewhere in NJ or PA. Anyway, they make the most amazing cakes you can imagine and they are always using this stuff called fondant. I saw some in the store the other day and felt like this would be a great way to decorate these little suckers. Fondant comes in these packages that look lik 'Das' (remember that clay stuff from when you are a kid?) and it is basically an edible type of play-doh that you can roll out and use it to either cover a cake or make all kinds of decorations on for your cookies or cake. In my case, it was going to become a jersey and hockey pants.

I rolled out the blue fondant and began cutting out the jersey's. It was quite easy and it was going to work out great. Here is a look at the process:


I then rolled out the red fondant and did the same for the pants:



The most tedious part of the whole process was making the numbers. I used the white fondant for that and had to roll out a 'worm' and then shape the numbers. It wouldn't have been bad if more of the jackets numbers were 11, 14, 17, etc...but there were lots of 2's, 5's, and 8's which made it difficult. In the end, however I think it was worth it! The finish product looks like this:

Tomorrow I will get the tree and decorate it up and let you all see a picture of the finished product. I think this tree will definitely trump our last years' tree in terms of decor, but I have a strong suspicion that we will need to add the 'lunch with the coaches' as our ace in the hole.

The baking campaign

Before I get started I just have to say:

Molases reeks and I can't stand the smell. Almost to the point of gaging and I never do that.

Okay, so onto the process...

I got home after collecting all of my ingredients for my gingerbread cookies and set it all out. I even had to purchase a mixer for the occasion so I went with the cheapest one and got started.

Mixing the dry ingredients was pretty standard and very manageable. Adding the chunks of butter posted as a bit more of an issue as it seemed I could have waited for it to be a little more room temperature, but that eventually got blended nicely. I now understand the value of a good quality mixer with baking. If you have a low quality mixer you have very little control of the speeds (at least on this one) and when the lowest is too fast, it causes a bit more mess than necessary. The flour was puffing out all over the place, but other than that I got it mixed in.

Now the molases.... I had no idea it reeked as bad as it does...I cannot tolerate the smell and if I have to make another batch, I will be using a clothes pin to seal off my nostrils. Yes, it is just that bad to me.

Once it all got blended together it actually looks like gingerbread cookie dough! It is now in the fridge cooling off for a few hours before I roll it out and cut out my shapes. I will have an update as I go along.

A baker?

Every year the Blue Jackets Foundation asks the spouses/partners/friends of the players, coaches and trainers to decorate a small Christmas tree that they will then auction off and raise money for their cause.

Last year Linda Noel and I had this pleasure bestowed upon us and we were clueless in how to pull this off, so naturally we put it off to last minute. I didn't know it was supposed to have a theme and neither did Linda. One day I ended up in Michael's (the craft store) and saw a bunch of mini ornaments so I bought them. There was no rhyme or reason to them but they were mini and they were cute and I wanted them.

Finally, the day before the due date of the tree, Linda and I were scrambling to get the tree decorated and were laughing our heads off at how bad it was. The trees from the other women were flooding in and each time we saw one, we wanted to crawl under the table and hide.

There was one that was in the 'John Deere' them that had all these toy tractors and trucks all over it. The topper was a John Deere hat and it looked great. The trainers brought their tree in on this huge platform with a working train going around on this winter scene on a track. Oh god, we were screwed. Here Linda and I are stringing fishing line on the tiny bulbs and snowflakes hanging them off our tree.

We then moved it into a coaching motif--we attached whistles, and a small rink board as the topper. We also got all the players to autograph a small christmas bulb each and added a signed jersey as the skirt. It started taking form, but it looked like a home made job through and through. Our ace in the hole, however, made all the difference in the world: we added a lunch date with the coaching staff. Our tree ended up making the most money by a mile. We won. We didn't even know it was a competition but c'mon, of course it is.

This year, I have a theme in mind and it involves baking, which is going to take place today. I am not much of a baker, but I am willing to give it a try for the sake of making our tree look good. Who am I really kidding though...in the end, it is all about the lunch with the coaches...get ready guys, you will be having lunch and getting grilled about your team all over again. It bailed us out last year, and considering my baking (lack of) skills, we will need it again!

New TV

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fan of gadgets and technology. As a kid I longed for electronic games of all kinds. Do you remember that little football game that everyone seemed to have but me? Yeah, that one. I loved it and wanted it so badly, but that was one electronic game that eluded me. Anyway...


I have always been a fan of big tv's and fancy home entertainment centers. I know very little about how to hook that kind of stuff up, but I always dream about having a room that with a huge tv and a surround system. I secretly want one of those gaming chairs too, but that is another story...

Hitch's television was a bad one. It was this old school rear projection RCA with a washed out picture and it reflected as much as a mirror. When you walked slightly off to the side, even just a few degrees you couldn't see the screen anymore. It said that it was an HDTV, but you couldn't tell a difference when you put it on those channels. The picture constantly changed sizes on it's own going from full screen to 4:3 ratio to stretch mode back to normal. Don't even get me started on how obtrusive it looked in his living room. It was awful and I have been on him about changing it for months to no avail...then my sister came to visit...

My sister also noticed how bad the picture was and commented to me, which of course, I relayed onto him. This isn't anything new, he has heard it 100 times from me, but suddenly when she said it it meant something.

Lo and behold, a few weeks later I find myself sitting in front of a beautiful 50" Panasonic Plasma tv. I found a good deal at Costco and, although the televsion doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles, it is a huge improvement in what was here. The colors are true, the blacks are blacks, and the HD is evident. It looks great on the little stand that I bought and built for it and opens up the room.

I was home by myself when it was dropped off and needed to find someone to help me put it on it's stand. It isn't all that heavy, but it is awkward and you definitely two people to lift it on it's stand. After several attempts at knocking on the neighbors door to no avail, I set out towards the parking lot to find a passer-by. Finally I spotted a small orange dot raising and lowering slightly in front of a hazed out image. Perfect! A random smoker. I called up in my the best 'damsel in distress' voice I could muster and explained my situation. It must have been persuasive because before long 'Ryan', the gay smoker, was in my house.

We hoisted the tv out of the box, to my surprise the stand that attaches to the bottom of the tv, wasn't attached. Now, I felt terrible because what I thought would be a 5 second job, turned into about a 5 mintue one while I figured out how to attach the stand to the tv. Meanwhile, I was forced to make Ryan stand there and hold the television while I bumbled around and got the stand screwed on. I was sweating that nervous kind of sweat that you get in a somewhat awkward situation. I apologized for making him stand there but he was cool about it.

Finally I got the stand put together an we lowered it onto it's pegs. I thanked him and he left. I finished hooking up the cable and DVD player, although I am not convinced i have it totally right and I will figure it out later today, but for now it is up and running and looks great.

Thank goodness for Ryan's smoking addiction or I might have been forced to watch the jackets on that old crappy RCA.

Freezing!

Not even a week ago it was sunny and 74 F here in Columbus, but for the last 3 days it has been cloudy and about 40 F (that is about 5 degrees for my metric friends). Brrrrrrrr....

People always say to me: 'you are Canadian, you should be able to handle it!' Well, I haven't spent a winter in Canada in about 5 years and not only that, I have been in California! My blood has definitely thinned out and I have gotten soft. For now, the change in the weather has been alright, it allows me to wear my new jacket and sweaters that I otherwise wouldn't get to wear, but I can see how a month or two of really cold and snow is going to get to me.

Winters in Canada are tough, especially in Alberta. The block heater thing always throws the Californian's for a loop. "What? You plug your car in???" The cord hanging out the front is completely foreign to them and to see a Californian see one for the first time is always worth a funny comment or two.

How annoying is it to have to fish the extension cord out of the snow bank only to find the holes all filled with snow? The fishing is usually followed by the banging on the frozen bumper to try to get the snow out. By this point you have to go pee and are freezing because you don't have mitts and rarely have the right shoes on. Boots? Not many people in Canada wear the appropriate footwear for the temperature and I think it is because once they get to their destination, it is difficult to have the right clothes that make the big white boots look stylish.

If you are organized enough to have your car started in time that when you get in it, it is toasty warm and the windows defrosted, then you are a better winter-er than I ever was. Most of the time I would just have enough time to start the car and go. I would always have to get that $3 wooden scraper out and start scratching at the windows. Taking the ice off was never as bad as clearing the 10" of snow off with that 2" brush. The brush would just go underneath the snow and it wouldn't go anywhere, it would just ruffle up. You had to do it in layers or else you would be there all night.

Finally all the windows are cleared off: windshield, side and back, and you are ready to go so you wedge your huge winter parka behind he wheel and take off. The car is toasty and you back out of the driveway and are on your way. 30 kph...40 kph...60 kph...80 kph...and woosh!

The snow that was on the roof of your car is now on your back window and the snow that was on your hood is now covering your windshield rendering your visibility next to zero. You flick on your windshield wipers and they do little more than what your brush did: go straight underneath the snow. For a mile or two you are relying on the wind and futile attempts by your wipers to clear your vision all the while oncoming cars are going through the exact same thing. Nice and safe.

Once you finally arrive at your location, typically the temperature in the buildings is turned up and you roast in your winter wear. Fortunately you listened to the people who always told you to wear layers so you are able to peel off to a comfortable level. Now, however, you have a heap of extra clothes to carry around and have no place to put them so you have to carry them. Only a winter jacket and 2 sweaters and a scarf aren't only awkward to carry, but they get heavy, so now you are sweating again. By this time it is time to go back outside and head home. You gear up and head outside but are absolutely freezing because you are a little damp from the sweat and now your car is frozen again. Nobody has the patience to start the car, walk back to the store front and wait for your car to warm up, so you just get in and freeze the whole way home.

The next day you look outside after a beautiful fresh snowfall and realize that you are going to have to go through all that again just to get some groceries. Forget it, you decide: I will just eat leftovers now and make eggs for dinner.

'Mase'

Although I love watching the rookies get their first NHL goals, I would be remiss not to mention the latest jackets rookie Steve Mason, their goalie. He played his first ever NHL game the other night vs. the Oilers and earned his first NHL victory.

The interesting thing about Steve Mason is that he had only played 3 professional games prior to getting his start vs. the Edmonton Oilers. Not only that, he has just spent the last 4 months rehabbing his newly repaired knee and had all of 2 full practices before playing his first pro games in Syracuse! Last night, he got his second straight start vs. arguably the best team in the east, the Montreal Canadiens.

Steve Mason and the jackets rallied from a 2-1 deficit scoring 2 goals in less than 40 seconds only to give up the tying goal with 40 seconds left. After an overtime where the jackets mostly controlled the play but couldn't get the win, we went to a shootout. The jackets have already lost one shootout, not only not scoring a single goal, but allowing two goals on two shots. Needless to say I was looking for my oxygen tank once again.

The shooters for the jackets were newly acquired Kristian Huselius, Derrick Brassard and Rick Nash. For the Canadiens: Alex Tanguay, Andrei Kostitsyn and Alexei Kovalev. How about facing those shooters in your first ever NHL shootout? Oh man, what a feat!

Huselius scored on his shot. Tanguay missed the net, then came the rookie Brassard. One move after another and at a snails pace Brassard moved in. I thought: "oh, he ran out of room"...no sooner did I finish that thought and the crowd went wild. A goal. All we needed now was a save from "Mase" and victory is ours.

Mason stood tall and cooly stopped the shot and the crowd went nutz.

After the game I was in Hitch's office and saw Mason giving his father the tour. What a whirlwind for Steve and his family. I was so proud of him and couldn't stop smiling. Congratulations to Mason and welcome to the Blue Jackets!!

My Favorite Things

Welcome to my first installment of: My Favorite Things blog entries.

One of my favorite things of the new NHL season isn't seeing the new names and faces on the teams, it isn't the sound of sticks and pucks on the ice, or is it the sound of the crowd going wild when the home team scores, but my absolute favorite thing about the young season is:

The NHL rookies scoring their first ever NHL goals.

No matter who it is or what team they are on I get feeling a little veclempt when I get to witness the young players' dreams come true. Their first game is something to behold, but every kid who grew up playing hockey dreamed of scoring a goal in the NHL. I love seeing that.

So far this season with the jackets I have got to witness the jackets rookies Jakub Voracek, Derek Dorsett, Nikita Filatov and Marc Methot score their first ever NHL goals.

Jakub's (a total cutie) first goal came in his first ever NHL game in Dallas in the first game of the season. It was a perfect shot just under the cross bar that went in and out so fast play continued until a stoppage. The play was reviewed and it confirmed that he did get his first ever goal. A delayed reaction for all involved, but nonetheless, his first goal and a souvenir puck and memory he will never forget.

Derek Dorsett (one of my personal favorites) happened during a home game vs. the Canuks and one of the top goalies in Roberto Luongo. Derek threw himself into the glass and the place went crazy. The jackets won that game 4-2.

Marc Methot's (a fellow Call of Duty 4 player) first goal came vs. Nashville in an, otherwise forgettable, losing campaign in Nashville. I am sure the players would rather have their first goals come with wins, but regardless, his dream came true that night. Marc's second goal, however occured the other night vs. the NYI and initiated a third period comeback that helped earn the jackets a point that 30 minutes before, looked like they would never obtain. He probably will enjoy looking back at that one more than the first, but I am sure he will enjoy his first one on home ice as much or more. The way he has been playing lately, it won't be long for him either.

Nikita Filatov (I know, not in his hockey gear, but how can I not put that picture of him up?) scored also scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game ever played. It was on home ice vs. the Nashville Predators in front of a packed house and a very amped up crowd. Talk about goosebumps!! His goal helped lead the team to an opening night victory. Niki played 4 NHL games before getting sent back down to the jackets minor league affiliate, but has the makings of scoring many, many more goals in the NHL.


I love hearing the arena announcers say: "...his first goal of his NHL career scored by..." Imagine the parents, family and friends of those players who have watched them work their butts off to get to that point. Imagine what it feels like to see their son playing in front of all those people to begin with and then to have their kid score a goal? Wow. It gives me goosebumps every time.

That is definitely one of my favorite things.

Taking one for the team

Remember when you were a kid and when you fell down, it wasn't a big deal? Falling down as an adult is not quite the same. Trying not to fall down is a pretty big part of an adult's life when you start to break it down.

When it is icy, and have slippery shoes on, we all but slow to a snails pace. We get that deer in a headlights look, our legs get all tensed up, our arms go away from our sides and our stiff legs shift ever so slightly until we get to safety. How about when going down a hill? As a kid, you would just barrel down as fast as your legs could keep up, and if they didn't it was no biggie, we just let it go (remember Carrie on the opening to Little House on the Prairie? She went barreling down that hill and rolled to a stop all within the opening of that show. She just got up and kept coming down that grassy hill). Now, it is a cautious scuttling downwards until we get grounded on flat land again.

When we do fall as an adult there is a HUGE level of embarrassment that goes with it. Well, for me there is anyway and I am not quite sure why (it could possibly be due to the fact that when I see someone fall, providing I know they aren't hurt, I find it flat out hilarious I am not sure of the reason for that either, but I can't stop laughing). Is it because there we are, all composed and confident in our gait and WHOOPS, the stutter step. How do you cool-ly recover from that?

Worse than the falling is the process of trying NOT to fall. That totally out of control, discombobulated attempt to maintain your balance. If, at the end of all that, we are able to re-establish control, what then? Do you just carry on? Do you acknowledge the fact that you just about lost it and have a good chuckle with the passers by? What happens when you flat out bite it in public? Hopefully a semaritan stops by to see if you are okay, but after that, how do you continue? I have fallen in public before and I have been inwardly embarassed for hours.

The worst is falling going up/down the stairs...it is probably worse when you fall going 'up' the stairs. Your foot doesn't quite reach the level of the next step which often results in a near face plant or at the very least, a bruised shin.

Somehow though, when you are playing a sport, falling is fully accepted which leads me to the conclusion that it isn't the actual falling that gets people laughing, it is the setting. I went down hard last weekend at ball hockey and was nearly applauded for my efforts. My teammates were so impressed for my willingness to take one for the team, I got pats on the back and knuckle bumps all the way back to the bench.

We won the game 4-0 but here are the real trophies:















So, next time you bite it in public, instead of suffering embarrassment or the other emotions, promptly picture yourself in the middle of a hockey rink, a football field, or a soccer pitch. Instead of trying to hide from the people around you who are laughing at you, imagine that they are your teammates cheering you on waiting to give you knuckle bumps as you dust yourself off and get back in the play.

Dry Eyes

Remember when John Daly came on the scene and won the 1991 PGA Championship as the 9th alternate and went on to win the Rookie of the Year title?

Now look at him:


Good old boy JD got thrown in the drunk tank after a night of drinking at Hooters (his primary sponsor) in North Carolina on October 27th. JD claims, however, that it was all a misunderstanding. Even within this article he claims two different things: 1. He went to his bus to pass out AND 2. that he didn't have a ride anywhere so he got thrown in the drunk tank. Apparently the driver of his private bus saw him laying down with his eyes open and thought he was dead, after several attempts at waking him, he freaked out and called someone. John admits that sometimes, when he is really tired, he sleeps with his eyes open (in fact, he is asleep in that photo) and people who know him know that about him. You know, people like his private bus driver...

I know this for sure that when you go to Hooters as an alcoholic, bad things are going to happen. There is no misunderstanding within that concept.

My question is this: How tired/drunk do you have to be to sleep with your eyes open? I have actually seen this before so that part isn't that far fetched to me, but I have always wondered: How dry do your eyes get? You know how it is when you have a cold and can't breathe through your nose and you fall asleep with our mouth open? Remember how dry your tongue is? Oh man, you tongue gets so dry it takes about 5 or 6 serious maneuvers with it and opening and closing your mouth to get things back in order again. How do you manage moistening up the eyes again after 8 hours of sleeping with your eyes open? Do they shrink and get a little wrinkled like raisins? Do they hurt all day?

I don't really care whether John was drunk and disorderly or whether he went to his private bus and curled up like a little lamb to sleep on off. There are millions of people who struggle with the same issues, it sucks for him that his misdoings are published in the newspapers though. What will happen with JD? Who knows, he will keep trying to play golf and there is that pocket of people who will continue to love him no matter what.

Me? I am indifferent with him and his issues except: STOP MAKING KIDS! As if kids need to be brought into your unstable and erratic personal life. It is one thing to have issues with drinking, drugs and gambling but stop dragging kids into the fray. He keeps getting married, making a baby or two and getting divorced. STOP IT. If you can't stop anything else, stop this.

Oh and: buy some Visine.

Trick nor Treat

So did you get many trick or treaters? I went and bought 3 bags of treats for the kids and...well, we didn't even have to open them. Zero, zilch, nada, not one kid. We didn't have any history to go off of because I was in LA with the Jackets last year. The year before that, Hitch was in job-limbo and so no reference point there either. Anyway, we were prepared but now we are stuck with Reese's Peanut Butter cups, Kit Kats and Crunch Bars...oh no, how will I manage.

How old were you the last year that you stopped trick or treating? I remember my last year quite clearly. Not because I went out with a bang or had a world of fun or anything like that, but mostly because it was quite both embarrassing and a sad day for me.

I would be willing to bet that I was in the 7th grade because, well, the 7th grade wasn't that great of a year for me. I was in 'friend limbo'. My sister had long moved on from trick or treating and I didn't really have a core group of friends to hang with that year. I still liked sports and wanted to run around and play at lunch whereas all my friends seemed to outgrow that. Hanging with boys seemed like it wasn't that socially acceptable as it was the year before, and because the boys were mostly the ones that played sports, I didn't really fit there either. I know, it is hard to believe that my peers didn't see me as the cool chick that I was eh?

When Halloween came, I never seemed to be able to match up with any of those groups therefore, I was on my own. Well, just me and my dad and our big old brown van. I don't remember my costume at all, but I know it wasn't much of one. My dad drove me around some random neighborhoods until my pillow case got to be about 1/4 full and we went home. That was my last year of trick or treating.

On a happier note, the next year I got with a 'crew' again and started to feel better and better about my social network. It is funny how you go through your youth and have memories like that that likely nobody else was aware of. So much of who you socialize with in school has to do with who is in your class that particular year.

These days, I am very particular about who I spend my time with. Why? Because if I am going to drag my butt off the couch, blow dry and floof up my hair, I better feel very confident that I am going to enjoy my time. I think most of the people I hang with think I am a bit nuts with my xbox hockey and ball hockey playing, but it seems like as an adult participation in activities like that tend to endear you to your peers, not isolate you. Phew.