baby j, just being.
– sure signs of a fun spring birthday celebration for baby v-
as mg and i prepare to head out
for an irish breakfast
in celebration
of st. patrick’s day
we feel lucky.
we both
still have
most of our
fur
and
teeth
and
a taste for
good music
holiday beer
adventure
and
good cheer.
he is the one on stage left.
—
you gotta try your luck at least once a day,
because you could be going around lucky all day and not even know it.
– jimmy dean
—
happy st. pat’s day to all!
—
image credit: google images
when sheep herders have a sense of humor
all ages, all genders, all comers kickball
we brought
the shades
the kids
the headbands
the colors
the kicks
the neighbors
the knee socks
the diapers
the power
can’t touch this
time for a rematch
bring it
—
the playing adult steps sideward into another reality;
the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery.
~ erik h. erikson
baby j – i knew i had seen this guy somewhere before –
i’m officially on spring break for 16 days and i get to play with the babies today while mom and dad run
the st. pat’s day race.
when we get together, we have energy to burn and we’ll be running our own race,
at least a marathon, all inside the house, i’m quite sure of it.
we’ve got mischief to make.
run, family, run.
Aye, I’m tellin’ ye, happiness is one of the few things in this world that doubles every time you share it with someone else.
got a message from my good friend’s husband.
seems he’s taking 12 of us on a mystery trip to celebrate her milestone birthday.
he said, ‘pack your bags, and we’ll all meet at the airport.’
he said, ‘you won’t have to worry about a thing, it’s all taken care of.
your part is just to get some days off of work.’
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour. Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up (and that’s an invitation), roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up (to make a reservation), roll up for the mystery tour.
The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away,
Waiting to take you away.
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up (we’ve got everything you need), roll up for the mystery tour.
where are we going?, i wondered.
i imagined we might be going to chicago, where i was born, and just a few hours away.
it’s a bit chilly there in the winter, but always so much fun.
“The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, center, exits the water during the Chicago Polar Plunge, Sunday, March 2, 2014.
A few weeks ago, newly-minted Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon invited Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to be a guest on the show. The politician responded on Twitter, agreeing to stop by the Tonight Show if Fallon in turn agreed to participate in Chicago’s Polar Plunge — an annual dip into freezing Lake Michigan to benefit the city’s Special Olympics.
Fallon agreed, and this morning, he made good on his promise. Both Fallon and Emanuel plunged into the slushy 32-degree water — the comedian wearing a suit and tie and the politician sporting some kind of wetsuit. Fallon had asked his fans to wear neckties in solidarity.
he said, ‘and bring your passport.’
imagine my shock and awe when i found out we are going to the dominican republic instead.
it’s a bit warmer there in the winter, and sure to be a lot of fun too.
local dominican celebrity host, exits the water of the caribbean,
no neckties needed.
i see my path, but I don’t know where it leads.
Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it. – Rosalia de Castro
—-
image credits:
conversationpieces.co.uk,ephemrasociety.org,runawayguide.com,grammarly.com,
washingtonpost.com,andrewnelles/ap,etraveltrips.com,fanshare.com,
songwriters: LENNON, MCCARTNEY, Magical Mystery Tour lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
it was a morning spent with the kindergarten on an ice skating adventure. filled with tip-toeing on skates, scooting on boots, giving rides on cones, running on ice, holding hands, tumbling, crashing, laughing, noses running.
and all this, as our little hockey playing and figure skating kinders skate on by.
when it’s time to warm up with hot cocoa and donuts, they find themselves on equal ground, and they are all exhausted and so happy. and then, even our hockey players cry when it is time for moms and dads to leave, and for us to return to the cozy comfort of the circle rug in our classroom once more. and some of us feel newly discovered muscles in their legs the next day, that are apparently never used in this way, and take it real slow when going down the stairs.
I would say my sense of adventure outweighs my grace – Kathy Ireland
——–
image credits: freshcardsgifts.co.uk, partylistyles.com
finally all back together in school this week, and the kindergarten made the most out of enjoying what mother nature had left behind for us to play with. we headed out to go sledding on a ‘hill’ that could best be described as no more than a 23-degree angle, though to see their eyes upon approaching it, it appeared to be their first encounter with the swiss alps. even so, it was a challenge to get to the top, as the snow was quite deep and their legs were quite tiny. but motivated they are, and they hiked up to the summit, over and over, jumped on sleds, headed down, and marched back up.
all except for one little guy. he stayed on the sidelines, even when invited up, and instead rolled around and ran around and laid in and laughed and ate all the snow he could handle. when it was time to leave and stomp back in, he began crying and yelling out, ‘you didn’t let me go sledding!!!!!’ his outburst was met with great understanding by my class who simultaneously burst out laughing. it was at this point perhaps, that he realized he had made his own choices, and this was not a great argument. the sobbing stopped.
There’s no fear when you’re having fun – Will Thomas
when everyone made it back inside, they warmed up, had a snack, went to music class, made puzzles, read books, ate lunch and suited up for another trip outside, this time to the playground. once out there, they saw that their familiar playground had been turned into a winter wonderland. there was fresh, fluffy, deep, white, sparkling snow everywhere, totally untouched by any other kids!
they jumped in it, rolled in it, made snow balls and snowmen and snow castles, played with ice chunks, went down the slides covered with snow, filled buckets with snow, made snow angels, snapped icicles off of their playhouse, climbed things, tried to run in the snow, and loved every minute of it. after a long time spent playing on our ‘winter beach’ we headed back inside once again. after taking off all of our layers and hanging them to dry, everyone was absolutely exhausted. it was nap time. and we had earned it.
image credit: mnh.si.edu
When you’re really having fun, you’re always doing it a little bit in a way that you’re not supposed to.
That’s when great things happen.
now that my i have regained a bit of feeling in my fingers, i am able to type yet another hockey post. i went to another outdoor hockey game yesterday, yes that’s 2 days in a row. this time it was the winter classic, just a mile away from my little house in the big house, michigan stadium. usually the site of my university of michigan wolverines football team. this time it had been turned into an outdoor hockey pond and was a matchup between the current detroit red wings and the toronto maple leafs.
it began early in the morning, the temperature had dropped yet again, it had been snowing all night, continued on throughout the entire game, and is still snowing today. no matter, we began with a beer at the local wolverine brewery, donned our gear, and began the walk to the stadium. after about 100 feet, a van of wings’ fans picked us up and gave us a ride the rest of the way. it was a good sign.
upon arriving at the stadium, spirits were high, people were packing all kinds of whiskey and warmups into their hoods, security was impossible due to the bulky clothing, and i kicked many a beer can on my way in. fans from both countries poured in, excited, fired up, and oblivious to the weather.
even some of the wings and leafs players had a bit of soccer fun outside of the stadium before the game
once in, we quickly made our way to the concessions, where there was hot chocolate and both american and canadian beers to be purchased, and i encountered 2 very friendly canadian fans.
we then found our seats and settled in for the game. in a show of support, players from the alumni game the day before were in attendance, along with the usa women’s olympic hockey team. it was so cold and snowy, no one minded huddling with the enemy, and drinks and hand warmers and blankets were shared all around. loyal cheers and comments abounded, ‘now THIS is hockey!,’ ‘what it’s meant to be!’, ‘this is kick-ass!’, heard from fans nearby. cold drinks froze within minutes, and hot dogs and pizza were cold within seconds. could’ve used the suzy cozy beer mitt for this game. that is, before they ran out of molson, and hot chocolate, and pizza.
they played their hearts out and had to keep stopping the game for a crew to come out and snow shovel while skating.
in the end, it went into double overtime, with a stop of game right in the middle of our captain, zetterberg’s rush on goal, in order to trade sides and be fair, and resulted in a sad shootout loss for the wings. but they played like warriors, and that includes all those in the stands.
as we left the stadium, exhilarated and worn out, and walked a mile back to our brewery through deep snow and the ongoing blizzard, clad in layer upon layer of heavy clothing, (Imagine being a sumo running up a sand dune), we knew it had all been worthwhile. even if we couldn’t feel all our digits. upon arriving back at my cozy little cottage, i took off my layers, went directly into a warm bathtub with a glass of wine, and was asleep and dreaming about this magnificent day by 7:30pm.
the discarded layers: polar full length down jacket with hood, hoodie sweatshirt with hood, turtleneck, neck warmer, wrap around scarf, knee high lace up boots, thermal tops and bottoms, wool tights, red wings hat, 2 pairs of thermal socks, hand and foot warmers, blanket, seat cushion, ski band, thin gloves, ski gloves, running tights, and chapstick. bring it, winter.
Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory. – William Barclay
I didn't have my glasses on.... 