Christmas Hockey Tournament Photos

Just like Santa coming every Christmas, we have a hockey tournament every Christmas too! Jason is a goalie and I took my camera to one of his games and took some shots. Unlike other players, Jason doesn't move around the ice, so it is a little harder to get photos of him. I managed to get a few using my super zoom lens.

This is my favourite stance!

My New Blog Header!

How do you like my new blog header! I love it. My best blogger friend designed it for me tonight. I sent her a photo that I took of the marshmallow snowmen in our Christmas tree. My daughter made them for a project at school and then shoved them in the tree. I turned out so well that I thought it would make a great photo form my header.

My blogger friend worked her magic and voila! She makes it seem so easy, but I know that a lot of work is involved. I am truly grateful for her help. I hope you enjoy it as much as I will.

I Have Been Tagged!

My blog buddy, Karan, tagged me on her blog. That means that I have to list 7 random facts about myself. This is going to be tricky!

1. I am a people person. I know this may come as a surprise, but I really love talking to people. Having the store and teaching classes really allows me to meet and talk to all sorts of people.
   
2. There are a lot of things about life that I don't get and I am not afraid to admit it. When I am talking to people (which I do often) and I don't understand something I openly say 'I don't get it' or 'what does that mean'. I figure rather than pretending that I understand I may as well ask.
3. I absolutely love hockey. I am not really sure when this started. I always went to my high school hockey games but I am not sure, at that time, it was the hockey I was watching. I think I was more interested in who was playing on the team. I went to a Leaf game with my hubby and I remember really liking how fast the game was and the loud music. I really think I was hooked when my son, Jason, started being a goalie. I couldn't miss a game. Now he is 14 yrs old and I make him call me if I couldn't make it to his game and tell me all about it.
   
4. I struggle with organization. Certain areas of my life are very organized, and others are a complete mess. Where my work is concerned, I feel very organized. My personal life is a bit messy these days. I seem to have a million things on the go at one time and I leave a very long trail behind me. I think I try to do too many things at once.
5. I love to take pictures, especially of my kids. I am thankful for this digital age because if I had to develop all the photos that I took we would be broke.
6. I am addicted to blogs. I hate to read books, but I love to read blogs. I think it is because they are about people and their personal lives. I especially like crafty blogs with lots of photos but more recently I enjoy blogs with recipes. The first time I posted a recipe on my blog my family thought I was crazy for taking photos of food. What do they know.
7. I am excited to be taking my son, Jason, to California with me this year. This will be his first time flying. I am looking forward to spending lots of time with him and having him all to myself. I will miss my family, my bff and my store while I am gone.
   

Christmas Cookie Exchange

On Saturday night Joanne, Janet, Karan and I all did a Christmas cookie exchange. Part of the requirement was to photograph the baking of the cookies and blog them. This was so fun to do! My friends have already posted alot of their photos (which makes me very unhappy that I wasn't the first) so I thought that I should get some of my photos up on my blog.

This is just a really quick post and I will follow with the recipe and the rest of my photos when I have more time.




In the meantime you should check out these blogs: Karan's, Joanne's, and Janet's!

Kitchener Rangers Teddy Bear Night!

This past Wednesday I attended the Ranger game and participated in my 3rd Teddy Bear Night! This is quite an experience. When the Rangers score their first goal we (the spectators) throw teddy bears on the ice that they give to charities to hand out for Christmas.

I purchased this very sweet bear from Zehrs. It is a charity bear and $2 from the price of the bear goes to a charity and then the bear itself will go to someone in need. I thought that was like a double whammy! I was also drawn to him because of his cute knitted sweater. I have recently taken up knitting again and it just sort of sucked me in.

How can you resist these cute little bear paws. Hopefully someone gets to snuggle him tightly every night.

It wasn't until the 2nd period that we finally scored a goal and then it was raining teddy bears. I had my camera out and a bear that was thrown from behind us almost knocked it right out of my hands. They have volunteer kids from Kitchener and Waterloo hockey teams come out to help pick up all the bears from the ice. One year the goalies from each team actually took cover in their nets. It is quite an experience. This year they collected 6528 bears.

I did manage to get a photo of Amanda and her friend Carly before we had to throw the bears on to the ice. This was the first time they had come to Teddy Bear Night. Aren't they cute with their matching bears?

I did take a video of the collection process. I tried to upload it, but I had technical difficulties (that means that I don't know what I am doing). As soon as I figure it out, I will post it for you to view.

Just Call Me Martha!

Well, I had the weekend off so in between hockey games I thought that I should cook a real meal for a change. I am always so busy with the store and running the kids here and there that we don't have meals like we used to. Don't get me wrong, we do eat healthy, but I just don't feel like I put as much effort into it as I used to.

I have been craving chicken pot pie and my neighbour gave me a recipe that I have made a few times and it is great. It does require a little work, which is why I don't make it often, but it is worth it. It is also great for leftovers, which I plan to have a few times this week.

So while I was still in my jammies (I am just showing you a shot of the jammies, not the whole me) I began cooking so all I would have to do is pop it in the oven closer to dinner and fill the house with the smell of home cooking!


To start, I peeled some potatoes and some carrots. The recipe calls for 3 medium sized potatoes and 3 carrots. I love both of these veggies, so I put in extra!



The recipe also calls for chopped up onion, celery, mushrooms and chicken. On Friday night Amanda cooked up some chicken breasts and nobody showed up for dinner. I just cut up the cooked chicken and it worked out perfectly!



Next I simmered the veggies in some butter until they were tender. I coated the veggies in flour and spices and added chicken stock. I simmered the mixture some more until it was slightly thickened.



Once it was thickened I poured it into a baking dish and topped it with Bisquick biscuits and baked it until they were golden brown and the mixture was bubbling.

My family was so anxious to eat it, I didn't even get my final photo before some was missing.

So, I challenge you to try this recipe. Make it in your jammies! I think it tastes better.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie

4 cups of chicken stock
3 chicken breasts-cooked and cubed
3-4 carrots, chopped
3 medium potatoes, chopped
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 celery stocks, chopped
1 cup of mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Bisquick (follow the package directions for the topping)

In an electric frying pan, melt butter or margarine. On medium-high heat simmer the carrots, potatoes, onion, celery and mushrooms until tender. Add the flour, thyme, salt and pepper to coat the veggies. Add the chicken stock and simmer until slightly thickened. Pour into baking dish and top with Bisquick biscuits and bake at 350 degrees until biscuits are golden brown and mixture is bubbling.

Enjoy!