Cheeseburgers and Sushi

Still no soda...still no sushi.

A Good Skate

My last skate could have been awful. It could have been a long two game set of awful hockey.

But I had a good partner. We laughed and hooted at each other. We laughed and hooted with the players.

And in the end? It was a good night. We had fun. It was a quick two game set.

Leaving Home

It can be one of the hardest things to do at night.

Tonight, I was headed to work the Army v Air Force game. It is an honor to get this game because there is a huge rivalry between these two schools. I've been looking forward to this for months. I was also getting to work with an incredible crew...all guys I look up to as top notch officials.

As I headed south on C-470, I called Hope to get an update on how she was feeling and how Emi was doing. I could hear Emi talking in the background. Hope put her phone on speaker so I could say hi to Emi and listen to her coo. She was smiling as we chatted and I was loving every minute of it and wishing I was at home to see Emi face to face.

All the joy in this conversation was tempered by the fact that my phone was getting low on power. Hope pointed out that I should hang up so I'd have a little juice in case I needed my phone after the game.

I spent the rest of the drive smiling and thinking about Emi talking to me on the phone. I'm looking forward to the day that she is riding with me to watch me work and when I get to drive her to watch her play. I can't wait to hear the stories she is going to tell.

#44

The world felt different yesterday.

I was able to watch a bit of Obama's speech whilst trying to concentrate on work tasks as well. I think just about all of us here at Yeti were listening or watching.

Cheryl and Molly came over last night and we watched the replay on TV. What an incredibly momentous day. I had tears in my eyes as I realized the history that was playing out in front of me. I had tears in my eyes for those who came before us and were not present to watch what they had helped create.

As my father said, "This is the greatest day in American history during my lifetime." I will chalk that phrase up to one of the most memorable statements he has made.

I wish you all a good morning as the morning sun shines on this new era.

Cheeseburgers and Sushi

Just a quick note. I am on day 15 and still no soda. And I have still not earned (nor given away) a sushi dinner.

MLK

On this day every year, my Mother would bake a cake and sit the family down at the dinner table to talk about Martin Luther King, Jr. What he meant to her, what he meant to our family, what he meant to the nation, what he meant to the world and what he meant for civil rights. Though the cake was there to celebrate MLK's birthday, I think Mom made the cake simply to hold our attention and keep us around the dinner table a little longer than usual. Those nights were always special to all of us.

Our plan is to continue this tradition with Emi. It will start with brownies tonight (I'm not much of a cake baker) but I am planning to learn to make a cake by this time next year.

During lunch, NPR broadcast the "I have a dream" speech in its entirety. I don't think I've ever heard it completely in the past. I was enthralled and so happy that I had taken the time to drive home to visit with Emi and Hope during lunch. If it wasn't for Hope being sick and asking me to come home, I would have been out on a road ride and would have missed the broadcast.

Tonight, at dinner, we will tell Emiko about a great man who gave his life to improve civil rights in America and around the world. It amazes me that Emi will grow up in an era where it won't be unusual for there to be a black man sitting in the Oval Office. But we will make sure that she understands that while MLK's dream has been realized, we still have battles to fight against racism, sexism, homophobia and religious zealotry.

Before we began even trying to get pregnant, I was concerned about the world we would be introducing to our child-to-be. I know now that our country continues to mature. Emiko was born into a world that has noticeably improved over the past 32 years, we have made it a better place. I am hopeful that we will continue to improve our nation in the great American experiment.

#44

I am sitting with Hope as she works on an art project for Emi. We are watching part of the inauguration party...Springsteen singing The Rising. I can't help but fight back tears of joy as I see the direction we have taken our country...a country Emi will inherit.

What an incredible turn of events. I have to admit I never thought I would see the day. MLK would be so proud.

Hope and I have decided to hold an inauguration party on Tuesday night. And we will celebrate a very special day tomorrow as well.

And we will lead Emi by the hand into a better tomorrow.

This is #@$ing Awesome

This is my good friend, my brother from another mother and, most importantly, the guy who helped me get to where I am in officiating today. If it wasn't for him, I'd still be working men's hockey on weeknights.

Pay close attention, Butch is the last guy you want mic'd up as the f-bombs fly when he is around. Also, watch where is squirting water during his water break.



Thanks Butchy!

Cheeseburgers, Part Quatre

Fibby's comment brings to light one of the ongoing internal conversations I have been having.

"What are suitable alternatives to the soda?"

1. My favorite - Fresh water in an old 20 oz Coke container (label still is on)...makes me feel like I am drinking a clear version of Coke. If you hold your tongue just right, it even tastes like Coke. I swear.
2. Hot cocoa
3. Water in other containers
4. Iced tea (yes, just as much sugar, maybe even more but it's not soda)
5. Occasional sports drinks after reffing (Vitamin Water tends to be the drink of choice)
6. Lemonade (for when I'm at bars and want something a little harder than water)
7. Chocolate milk
8. White milk
9. OJ

Anyone care to add to my list of suitable alternatives?

Sushi

Disclaimer: My mother reads this blog occasionally and I want to assure her that prior to this, I was not using my cell phone in an unsafe manner. That said, she believes any use of a cell phone in a car is unsafe but that would be an argument best suited for another day.

I fully expect to be eating sushi within the next two weeks or so.

Molly and I have entered into the pact. We have made an agreement to no longer text message from our cars (read, write or send). The car must be stationary for us to use our phone in this manner (common sense, right?).

Terms of the agreement are as follows. We are holding ourselves to the honor system. If one of us violates our pact, we must confess. The person in violation will be treating the other to a nice sushi dinner.

I'm getting a bit hungry....

Cheeseburgers, Part Trois

Picked up a breakfast burrito this morning. Looked longingly at the Hanson's Natural Soda on display at the little yellow trailer.

Left without a beverage and drank water and hot cocoa at the office.

12 days and counting.

By the way...if I have a late night Jr's game tonight (9:30 puck drop)...is a Monster energy drink wrong? I don't think it would violate the terms of this experiment should I need to open up a can of whoop ass before the game starts.

Cheeseburgers, Part Deux

My soda experiment is still running strong. I made it through the weekend without pop despite several nasty headaches. I think it is leaving the system!

I'll keep it going for the next week...I'm at 8 days and running now.

So...if I start drinking soda again, have I fallen off the wagon? Or is it back on the wagon? I'm never sure and Seinfeld did nothing to help me with my confusion over this idiom.

First bout of sickness

We really can't complain. Our good friend's son was so sick that they had to cut his first NHL game short and return home to Eagle...all the while cleaning puke from his car seat as they headed home. It was a rough day for them.

Emi threw up on Sunday morning. But we thought it was from what Hope had for dinner the night before. So we didn't think much of it since Emi was not running a fever. She was fine all day long, I even took her for a quick walk outside but retreated indoors because of the wind.

I left for hockey around 4 and by the time Hope got home, Emi was running a fever of 103. Yikes. But it diminished rapidly and was back to normal by the time Hope put her down for the night.

Lucky again but I'm still nervous. Emiko will be at school all day and I just want her to be healthy and comfy. We do have a doc appointment this afternoon for her second round of shots so hopefully we can have our concerns eased at that point.

The Weekend Ahead

I got in my fun last night. I watched the first period of the Blackhawks v Avs game with Sally last night. Headed out to ref a game (that took way too long). Got home and stayed up until somewhere in the vicinity of one-ish prepping Gibson's next week and a half of food.

Why, you may ask?

Well, the weekend starts early this afternoon when Hope heads off to her Master's Class and leaves Emiko with me.

I find it to be so difficult to get anything done when we hang out alone together. I just want to play with her toys or watch her discover something new and exciting.

Which means we get nothing done all weekend long.

But we get to smile, laugh, feed on bottles and change diapers together. I could wish for nothing more! I am hoping the weather holds out enough that I can sneak her outside for a hike along with Gibson. If I can pull that off and she is happy, then I am happy!

Plus I need to help Hope finish up a paper by proofing it and seeing if there anything else she needs to add.

All good stuff. What a weekend ahead!

I'm off the cheeseburgers

So I'm going to try a little test of will. It's been discussed in the past but never really played out to fruition. But I'm writing about it now to put it in front of my friends who read this and to see what my will power (or pride) can accomplish.

The last soda I had was on January 3rd at Malone's.

I'd like to see how far I can go without dumping another soda down the hatch. Now, this would not be so hard if it was not for all the reffing. Reffing means I'm out late at night, often at bars or restaurants driving a few cheeseburgers into my cheeseburger locker. All (save one) of my friends drink beer when we are out. Not drinking soda means I will be relegated to water which may be tough to palate on a late evening.

We'll see how it goes and I promise to post the moment I break my pledge of no soda. We are at 5 days and counting....

As an aside: is Moxie considered soda? Can we reclassify it as a locally sourced, carbonated health elixir? I can't even get it here in Colorado, I have to have my brother truck it in across state lines from Maine. Ooooo, I've got an itch....

At home again

We arrived home on Saturday and have settled into our routines again.

With one exception.

I have not put the stripes on once since I got home. Tonight is the first night I will actually work a game. But I have turned down opportunities to go and skate in order to stay at home and help Hope as she prepares for her Master's Class this weekend.

And I've noticed something.

I really like being at home. I get to give Emi a bath. I get to hang out with Hope and talk. We get to eat together (well, eating together is more a "together" since one of us is usually on Emi duty during dinner). I get little things done around the house.

We get to be a family.

This makes me happy.

Travels with Emi

Wow, there is just so much to be said here. But I have to commend our young daughter for being such a trooper. There was just so much that she did so well.

Good stuff:

She woke up at four to leave the house without a fuss
She flew on airplanes without a fuss
She adjusted to a two hour time change without an issue
She slept in unfamiliar locations without an issue
She enjoyed being passed around to new people
We watched her develop new skills even as we travelled
She handled the cold without an issue
She met family and friends for the first time

Bad stuff:

Well...let's see. On the flight from Atlanta to Denver, she was wonderful. She slept almost the entire trip. However, right before we began our descent into Denver, she decided to poo. And poo she did. Right through her diaper. Right through her clothing. Right into Mom's sweater. So I took her to change her in one of the restrooms. But they were both occupied. So I stood at the back of the plane waiting until someone came out. When the first door opened, I found there was no changing station. So I stood in the back of the plane until the second door opened. I went in and the moment I set Emi down on the changing table, she began screaming. And her plug bounced off the toilet seat and onto the floor. So I had nothing to settle her down with. And as I began digging into the inside of her clothing, she screamed even louder and far more frantically than before. So loud that Mom heard her and came to knock on the door to see if all was well. It wasn't. I got her clean and then found poo had squirted up her back to her neck and thus used all the wipes I had available.

Did I mention the descent? Oh yes, as I entered the restroom, the pilot announced that we "were now beginning our descent into Denver." When is the last time YOU descended into Denver. I think I have experienced more buffeting coming into Denver than any other city.

So picture me now, wedging myself against the wall so I wouldn't fall over, holding Emi with one hand to make sure she went nowhere, trying to clean her up, change a diaper and put all new clothing on.

To answer Mom's question, it was not going well.

I eventually managed to fasten the diaper and carried her back to Mom and presented a mostly naked baby for her to put clothing on. I then went back to the washroom to clean poo off my hands, shirt, pants and whatever else she had managed to poo on.

Overall? I'd say it was a wonderful trip!