cake recipe, book reviews, and birthday cupcakes :)

Well, it's been a couple more busy days around here!  It's so funny how life goes from basically nothing going on to being busy non-stop for several weeks.  It's nice to shake things up a bit and keeps things interesting.

So, now that I'm back, first order of busniess:  My cake recipe!  It is basically chocolate cake layered with peppermint ice cream.  It's kind of Christmas-y, since peppermint is one of the main flavors, but if you're like me and loooove peppermint ice cream, you'll enjoy it year-round!!  If you're not into peppermint, you can really use any flavor of ice cream that you'd like (J doesn't like peppermint ice cream either though, but he LOVED this cake!)  It was a huge hit with everyone at our Christmas gathering.

Peppermint Ice Cream/Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
CAKE:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter

6 tablespoons milk chocolate (chocolate chips, or broken up chocolate bar both work)

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg, room temperature

ICE CREAM:

3 Litres (about 3 quarts) vanilla ice cream, softened

about 3 tsp. peppermint extract

2 cups crushed peppermint candy canes (or round peppermint candies)

(You could use store-bought peppermint ice cream if you prefer... I couldn't find any here so I made my own using this recipe and it came out great!)

CAKE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 C)

Grease and flour a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking sheet (38 x 25 x 2.5 cm, I think mine actually ended up being 38 x 29 x 5 cm, but just as long as the dimensions are big enough that the cake ends up being about  3/4 to 1 inch thick.)

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan, remove from heat.  Add chocolate, stir until melted.  Whisk in water, cocoa and vanilla until blended.  Whisk in the egg.  Add to dry ingredients, and whisk together until well blended.  Pour batter onto baking sheet.

Bake cake until toothpick stuck in center comes out clean/with only a few moist crumbs, about 20 minutes.  Cool cake on rack at least 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake.  Turn cake out onto a sheet of foil (do not do this until it is plenty cool or it will crumble and break into pieces! I learned that the hard way...)  Cut cake crosswise into 3 equal strips.  Freeze cake strips for one hour.

ICE CREAM:

Mix the softened vanilla ice cream (soft enough to stir well, but not runny), peppermint extract, and chopped candy pieces together.  Stir until very well blended.  Add more or less peppermint extract to your taste preferences.  Return to a freezer-safe container. 

ICE CREAM CAKE:

Place one cake strip on a platter.  Working quickly, spread about 3.5 cups of ice cream onto the cake strip, smoothing to the edges.  Layer with 2nd cake strip, and repeat with 3.5 cups of ice cream, again smoothing to the edges.  Top with the last cake strip, return to freezer for 1 hour. 

After 1 hour, spread the remaining ice cream (about 6 cups) over the top and sides of the cake, covering generously (being sure to work quickly!)  Freeze for at least 3 hours, until firm.

For decoration, I added some whipped cream around the edges and sprinkled it with M & Ms, broken candy canes, and other various candy pieces.  The cake will make about 12 servings. 

 The Finished Product:

Hope you enjoy it as much as we all did!

Order of business #2, book reviews!  I am now onto the 3rd book in Lauren Conrad's series of L.A. Candy books, Sugar and Spice.  I promised to give my reviews of the first 2, L.A. Candy and Sweet Little Lies, so here they are! 

A quick synopsis: The first book in this series, titled L.A. Candy, is about 2 girls that move to Los Angeles after high school, one to go to USC and one to work for a high-end event planner.  Shortly after the 2 girls arrive in town, a reality tv producer "discovers" them at a club and convinces them to be a part of a new reality show called that he is going to film called L.A. Candy.  They soon discover that there are 2 other girls that will be on the show with them, requiring them to become "friends".  The girls are excited to get into the world of reality tv (some more than others...) and all of the new opportunities it will give them- VIP access to clubs, a new apartment, spa days- and to get paid for them.  However, they quickly learn that it's not always all fun and roses, and the drama begins to unfold.

My opinion of it:  This was a pretty good book.  I mean, it can't be that bad- I finished it's 300 pages in 2 days.  If you like reality tv shows, you'll definitely like this book.  I was curious to find out if it was going to be just like The Hills, which it sort-of-was and sort-of-wasn't.  The chapters are told in the point of view of different characters, which I liked, because you can get into each character's "head" and learn the unspoken things that are a big part of the drama in the story.  It was an easy read and just something fun and lighthearted to get into.

A quick synopsis:  The girls of L.A. Candy are starting to realize the negative side of being a reality tv star.  As the show ratings skyrocket, they cannot go anywhere without being recognized.  They begin to learn that not everyone is their true friend, and their boy drama that began in the first book continues to escalate.  The girls are starting to forget what it was like to be "normal", and sometimes find themselves longing for what their lives used to be like.  Others, on the other hand, can't get enough of the fame, and will do just about anything to be in the spotlight.  There is backstabbing, heart break, lies, suspense, and even some happiness all mixed into this second book in the series.

My opinion:  Now that I already knew all about the L.A. Candy girls from the first book, this one was an even quicker read, finishing it's 300 pages in a mere 24 hours (I know, I know, I need a life... :) )  It's the kind of book that is so easy to finish because you keep wanting to know what is going to happen.  Each chapter ends with a cliff hanger that keeps you going back for more.  It also kind of gives you an inside peek on  how a reality show really works (if you didn't already know) and what sets apart the "real" reality from the "fake" reality. 

Not only is Lauren a #1 NY Times Bestselling Author, but apparently these books are very popular here in Finland.  When I have been searching for them at the bookstore, all of the sales people I have asked help from all know exactly what I'm talking about right away.  They get 10 new copies in and they're gone within a day or two.  I had to go to 3 different stores to find the 3rd book. I give Lauren Conrad a lot of credit for not only making millions by starring on a reality show, but then going and writing books about the exact same concept and making lots more money.  The girl is good!  I didn't like her when Laguna Beach was popular way back when (I thought she made herself look too desperate, or at least the show made her look that way) but I really liked her in The Hills.  I also like that she broke away from the show tomove on to bigger and better things than reality tv.  She is an all around respectable girl (which can't be said of many reality tv stars), and knows how to write a good book or two, also! :)

Now that I've gotten that taken care of, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my BIRTHDAY!   The guys have an away game (go figure, happens every year on my birthday! haha)  But it's a short trip so I was able to see J for a good part of the beginning of the day, and he will be back shortly after the game.  One of the girls has invited me and our other fellow American girl over tonight for dinner and to watch the game and have a little something special to do on my birthday, which is super sweet of her and I'm very excited to not be sitting alone all evening on my special day ;)  Oh, and the best part of the day? 

FUNFETTI cupcakes with pink frosting!!  My faaaaaavvvorittteee! My mom sent a box from home in her Christmas package of goodies because they haven't yet discovered the-greatness-that-is-funfetti-cake in Finland.  Thanks Mom!!

Ok, reading back over this post really makes me feel like I shouldn't have taken the day off the gym today.  But hey, a girls gotta indulge now and then! :)

thanks, santa!

Ok, I know, I've been a terrible blogger lately!  Things have been busy, and even when they haven't, I just haven't been on the computer as much the last few days.  With the holidays winding down (but not quite yet!) I hope to get into a better routine. 

Christmas was great.  We had a nice quiet Christmas Eve/morning at home, and then went to have Christmas dinner with our 4 fellow Americans here (2 guys on the team, one of their wives, and baby).  It was wonderful!!  I took my Peppermint Ice Cream/Chocolate cake over for dessert and it was a big hit.  I'll post the recipe tomorrow, promise!  I just want to get the pictures loaded on the computer so I can share those, too :)

Santa was pretty good to me... he had apparently been listening well because he brought me a new hair straightener (European one, since my one from home doesn't work well here) along with some mittens, a scarf, sweater, and various other goodies.  But I have to say, my favorite Christmas gift was....

The Marc Jacobs wallet that matches the purse that J bought me in the fall.  I've only been eyeing it up in the store like, every time I walk in there.  haha.  I'm so excited to have the matching pair now... and I was due for a new wallet, so it was perfect.  I must have been a really good girl this year!

My other favorite present- except this is a birthday present (my b-day is the 30th, I got it a couple days early even!) is the HTC DesireZ Android phone.

I've mentioned on here about missing my Blackberry and how they don't have them here in Finland- well, this is even better!  Aside from the fact that I can't BBM some of my friends :(  this phone is amazing!!  I'm still getting used to it and figuring stuff out, but I love it.  I feel so much more connected to the outside world now that I'm back to having a phone with internet, apps and the like. 

More important than any of our presents, we got to Skype with our families on Christmas.  I am so thankful that we were able to talk to AND SEE them!  It was almost as good as being there in person.  It's hard to think that it was just a few years ago that people couldn't even do that...

Also coming tomorrow, my book review of L.A. Candy, and the second book in the series by Lauren Conrad, Sweet Little Lies.  I read the first one in 48 hours after I got it, and the 2nd one I had all 300 pages finished in 24 hours.  That says one of 3 things:  1) It was a good book, 2) I have wayyy too much time on my hands or 3) All of the above.  Check back tomorrow to hear what I thought of them!

And finally, I know I mentioned that I hoped to spruce up my blog a little bit, but I just haven't gotten around to doing much yet.  That, and I'm fairly computer illiterate when it comes to that kind of stuff.  So, hopefully soon I'll have the time, energy, and patience to sit down and work on it! :)

Tomorrow is the first game back from "break", so hubby is already in bed.  Time for me to head also!  Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday filled with fun, family, food, thanks, goodies, and memories.  Goodnight!

merry christmas!!

Well, Christmas has finally arrived!  Though Christmas this year is very very different than every other year, it's still my favorite time of the year.  We're certainly missing all of our families and loved ones, that's for sure!! But we're enjoying being together and celebrating some of our own traditions. 

This afternoon, we went skating on this cute little rink nearby. 

It's about -20 celsius (like -5 F), but we managed to get a good 40 minutes in before our fingers and toes were totally frozen.  I had 3 layers of bottoms on and 5 layers on top.  haha.  We shot the puck around a bit and had a great time.  I can't remember the last time I've skated outside like that!  There are several rinks like this around the city.  They freeze a lot of the soccer fields in the winter for people to skate on.  We'll definitely be going back (hopefully it will be warmer next time!)  It was also a good practice run for J, because his team will be playing an outdoor game in February in this stadium:

1952 Olympic Stadium

 

 Probably won't be quite this sunny though! haha

That will be a chilly one!!  They have already sold 30,000 tickets for it, so it should be a great atmosphere aside from the Arctic air.  They play their big rival team, so it will be even more exciting.  I will definitely be layering up- and possibly coming home for hot cocoa in between periods- it's right next to our apartment! :)

Tonight we will be having a Christmas Eve meal here just the two of us- I can't wait!  Then, we each get to open one present (the rest will have to wait until tomorrow morning!)  We'll also be Skyping our families, which will be nice :)

Tomorrow morning we'll be having brunch and opening our presents in our PJ's, then in the afternoon we're heading over to celebrate Christmas with 2 of the other American guys on the team, and one of their wives and baby.  It will be nice to get together with others and make the day a little more special, plus have all the yummy food!  My task was dessert- we thought we'd play it safe with chocolate covered pretzels and strawberries, and then go a little crazy and make Peppermint Ice Cream/Chocolate Cake.  It's halfway done right now, and I can't wait to finish it!  It looks absolutely delicious.  I'll have to share the recipe after I am finished and can have some taste testers :)

Even with all of our festivities, it still doesn't really feel like Christmas.  I guess we're just going to have to redefine our definition of "Christmas" cause I don't think it will be changing anytime soon!  :)



Hope you all have a wonderful holiday.  Enjoy the food, family, friends and togetherness.  Take time to reflect on the past year and everything that has happened, and to be thankful for everything you have!  

♥Merry Christmas

Hyvää Joulua♥

10 things i am most thankful for in 2010

Sure, Thanksgiving was a month ago.  But all of the holiday season is a time to think about what we are thankful for and also to reflect on everything that happened over the past year.  With that, I decided to make a list of my:

Top 10 Things I am Most Thankful for in 2010

(tie) 1) Family and Friends.  No brainer.  Sorry if I'm boring you by putting them at the top of every list I make, but how could I not?  We're blessed with such wonderful people in our lives, and they deserve every bit of recognition that I can give them.  You help make both of us the people that we are.

(tie) 1) My husband.  I couldn't ask for a better person to spend the rest of my life with.  This has been a huge year for us, and I know it's only going to get even better.  You're always there for me when I'm having a tough day and can always put a smile on my face. 

3) Our Dream Wedding.  It is, and probably will forever be, the best (and most fun) day of our lives.  We had 160 of our nearest and dearest all in the same room to celebrate us.  What more could you ask for?  Everything worked out flawlessly (ok, I'm sure there were a little bumps throughout the day... but obviously they weren't a big deal since I don't even remember them 6 months later!)  Everyone had such a blast and it turned out just the way we were hoping it to.  I'm even more thankful to our parents, because if it wasn't for them, it would have never happened.

4) Hockey.  Sure, it's a love-hate relationship, but there's no denying that it has brought great things to our lives.  First, it provides an income for us.  And how many other people get to move to Europe in their twenties?  There are definitely perks that come with the life.  On top of it all, my husband gets to wake up every morning knowing that he's going to a job that he loves.  Doesn't get much better than that.  As a friend of mine quotes on her facebook profile "Find a job that you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."

5) Other Hockey Wives.  Whether it's ones I know personally or not, these ladies make me feel a lot less alone in this crazy little world that we live in.  From advice to sharing stories, support to making new friends, I don't know what I'd do without them!  So few people understand our lives, so it's important to be able to connect with one another and have people to talk to who "get it".

6) Skype.  I hadn't really used Skype much until this year.  Now, I don't know what I'd do without it!!  Being able to talk to and SEE family and friends across the world is amazing.  I can't imagine what it would be like living over here without it (and it wasn't that long ago that people had to!)

7) Money.  But not in the sense that you're thinking of.  I am thankful that we have a steady income to support ourselves and pay the bills.  It seems like a simple thing, but so many people don't even have that.  The security that it provides makes day to day life a lot easier (which, I know, is where the irony comes in, since many say that money only complicates things)

8) Maddie.  She probably knows me better than anyone else, even my hubby.  She hears all my secrets and  see how I act when nobody is watching.  She nurses me when I'm sick, sleeps on my feet when they're cold, and listens to me when I need someone to talk to.  No one else gets so excited every time I walk in the door and makes me feel as important as she does.

9) Finland.  I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to live in this beautiful country.  I learn something new about it every day, and it has been a wonderful place to live.  Almost every person I have come into contact with has been welcoming and helpful.  The team has been wonderful to us, and I have only good things to say about our stay here so far!

10) Learning so many new things about myself.  Okay, that's kind of broad.  But I think I have grown a lot as a person in the past year especially, and I'm really proud of that.  Every challange that I face (and overcome) makes me aware of what a strong person I am.  I think I have always been ahead of my years in maturity, but I think I have surpassed even that in this past year.  I have learned a lot of new things about the world, cultures, people, myself, and life in general.  I'm pretty content with who I am right now :)

Also:  I added a "my story" page at the top.  For those of you interested in reading, you can also find it here.

♥

4 days until Christmas!

♥

countdown to Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Here's a shot of our tree, decorations and presents!  It has taken a lot of willpower from me to sit in front of this all weekend (with no whitnesses) and not dig into them.  It doesn't help how adament my husband is about "DO NOT TOUCH" any of them.  It only makes me want to touch them more (don't worry sweetie, I didn't!!) 

Gosh, I sound like a 5 year old... haha :)  But J and I usually end up telling/giving each other our presents before the actual occasion, so I'm not used to this!  Plus, I have no idea what they are, and I'm a person with no patience what-so-ever.  A lot of these are from J's parents also, so I know there are some goodies from the good ol' U.S. of A., which makes me even more excited.  Aside from all of that, I'm excited to give J his presents.  I usually spoil what I'm going to give him (last year he got his Christmas present on December 2nd, the day that I bought it) so I'm pretty proud of myself that I was able to keep them a secret this long.  I just love shopping for other people, which is part of why Christmas is one of my favorite times of year!

It's been snowing all day here... must be getting a fresh blanket of snow ready for Santa and his reindeer!  My back is still the same :(  but I made it out to do some shopping and got my book! 

I saw LC's books at the bookstore the other day so I figured I'd give them a try.  The selection of English books here isn't so great, and I'll admit I've kind of wanted to read them anyways.  We'll see how it is!

Sorry for 2 fairly uneventful posts in a row... it was just that kind of weekend!!  Nice and relaxing though... :) 

I'm so excited to see more and more of you checking out my blog.  Don't forget to become a follower!  And I always love to hear from new people (and old friends too!)... feel free to say hi, or email me! :)

*Strangers are just friends you have not met yet*

♥

6 days until Christmas!

♥

lazy day

Well, today was just that!  I'm officially a bum today.  I woke up early to say goodbye to J- he and the guys from the team went to Amsterdam for the weekend- and then fell back asleep until just before noon!  Yikes.  I've been exhausted lately, so it did feel good.  My back has been sore last night/today, which has made things fairly unpleasant :(  Standing up, sitting down, walking, running... no matter what I do I feel like an old lady!  Good thing there was nothing on my calendar for today.

I was planning to head downtown and pick up a book that I've been looking for, but when I headed to dragged my butt to the gym, I made the executive decison that it was too cold and I knew that once I got back home there was no way I'd want to go back out.  The temperature is -12 Celsius (10F) but the wind is what is the killer!  Maybe tomorrow I'll get my book... :)

I've decided now that I'm starting (key word: starting) to get the hang of this blogging thing, I need to spice up my page a bit.  Keep an eye out for some changes in the next week or two :)  And if any of you bloggers have any tips for me- feel free to help a sister out! :)

Sorry for the short post today- I need to get back to nursing my poor back!

♥

One week until Christmas!

♥

top 10 things i miss most about home

Unfortunately, we don't get to go back to the U.S. for Christmas (the guys don't have enough time off) and it will be our first Christmas that we don't spend with our families.  I've been a little sad about it, but I've come to terms with the fact that this is our lives now and pouting about it isn't going to change anything.  We just have to make the most of what we're given to work with, and we plan to do just that.  It's time to start some of our own holiday traditions :)

Christmas "break" marks the halfway point through the season here in Finland.  Time flies!  Since the holiday season has been making me think more about home lately, I thought I'd dedicate my post to the things that I miss most about home. 



1) Obviously, the thing that I miss most about home is our family and friends.  Nothing else on this list means as much as them.  We are so lucky to have such wonderful loved ones who support us in everything that we do.  As many other hockey wives know, it's not easy to keep good friends when we move around so much.  Quality far outweights quantity.  Luckily for me, I've got a few quality good friends that understand our crazy lives :)

2) My Blackberry.  The phone I have here right now is brand new, but I'm pretty sure it's the same model I was using in 2002.  Anyone remember T9 texting?  Yup, that's what I have to use!  It's almost comical.  Aside from the visual embarassment and functional difficulties, No Blackberry = no BBM and internet to connect with my family and friends easier :(  It is so weird to not be able to pick up my phone and BBM/text someone whenever I think of something or feel like talking to someone.   Why don't I just get a Blackberry here, you ask?  Well, Finland has decided to make as difficult as possible for me seeing as they don't sell them anywhere here!  Nowhere! not in the entire country.  Ugh!  Although, I'm hoping Santa will find a way to bring me a new one this year...

3) A Clothes Dryer.  Seems sooo simple... yet... not.  Not only am I sick of air drying all of my clothes (hello, they get super stiff!)  but it's annoying that you can't do more than one load of laundry per day (no where to put it!) and our apartment isn't the biggest in the first place- much less having the drying rack taking up space.  And, sometimes you just don't want the drying rack sitting out.  Um... I don't really care to have my undies sitting out to dry when we have company over, thanks!

4) Target.  Do I really need to explain this one?  I am the Target queen!  If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life, I would choose Target.  I don't think I've ever stepped foot in the store and not come out with anything. 

5)  Nordstrom/Macy's.  My 2 favorite department stores.  Stockmann department store here definitely rivals them (and in many areas wins!)  but I have small feet, and I know I can always find shoes at Nordstrom and not having to worry about seeing a 10 year old wearing the same pair.  They are one of the few places that carry size 4 and 5 (and more than just 1 pair!) and if they don't have them in, they order them and have them sent to my door for free.  Both of these stores have a lot of the brands and designers that I love, and for fractions of the prices they are here.

6) Culver's.  Ohhh, Cuvler's.  I hate to love you, but I do.  We try to eat very healthy, but Culver's is one guilty pleasure that I will give into.  I am in love with their chili cheese fries.  Top it off with a dish of custard for dessert and you will be my best friend forever.

7) My car.  Well, technically it's not even my car anymore.. my parents bought it in the first place so my mom repo-ed it when we moved across the pond :)  But, I miss my Altima!  And driving at all for that matter.  I'm afraid I won't know how to drive when we get back!  It's been 3 1/2 months since I've driven at all.  And that doesn't look like it'll be changing anytime soon...

8) A bath tub. (and Bath and Body Works goodies to go with it) Another one of those "so simple, yet so hard" things.  I can't count how many times I've been dying to take a nice warm bubble bath after coming in from out in the freezing cold.  Not only that, but I actually have the time on my hands to sit and take a relaxing bath for once.  Yet we're stuck with only a shower.  Go figure :( 

9) American TV shows.  Sure, we get them here... if you like watching My Super Sweet 16 season 1 on repeat all weekend.  The shows that are on tv here are always a season behind, and they are seriously lacking in variety.  J lucks out most from this one- all of his hockey channels seem to come in just fine!  Weird how that works ;).  The biggest bummer is not even being able to watch shows online (legally, at least)  because they are "blocked" over here.  It just makes it that much more difficult to try and watch... needless to say I don't do a whole lot of tv watching here.  My apologies to HGTV, TLC, and E! ... your ratings are probably down.  I'll be back in the Spring, promise! :)

10) A familiar grocery store/Trader Joe's/Whole Foods.  Oh, how I miss being able to maneuver the aisles and actually know what I'm getting.  I'm getting better and better here, but almost always before I try a new recipe I have to get advice from my good old buddy Google Translate before I hit the store.  Several times I have bought things thinking they were one thing only to find out they were something completely different.  Not to mention trying to find natural/organic products poses great difficulty also.  I think we do okay, but I can't wait to get back and get my hands on some of the stuff that we aren't able to buy here.  Not to mention all those cute names they have for things at TJ's!

I'm sure I could go on and on as I thought of more things... but I'm curious to know what you think.  What would you miss the most if you were away from home for a good portion of the year?  Hockey wives, what can you not wait to get your hands on in the offseason?  It's amazing to realize how much you take for granted once you step back and think about it... :)

'tis the season

Well, I got to spend about 24 hours with my hubby and he's off again.  Today is just a day trip for their away game, and then after tonight, they have their Christmas break and don't play again for 2 weeks.  I know he's looking forward to a little break (though they still have practices) and not eating some form of chicken and pasta for every meal.  Guess that means I'll have to find even more new recipes to try! :)

We started off our day yesterday with a trip to the new dog park that Maddie and I found.  J was really excited to see her playing in the snow.  The only problem was it was 10-15 degrees colder than a few days before when I was there with her.  We spent about 15 minutes there before all 3 of us were so cold that we couldn't feel our fingers and toes.

snow dog!

After the dog park, J had to go to the doctor to get his finger looked at and x-rayed.  The top joint of his pinky finger got hit with a puck and popped out of place in the game on Saturday.  They popped it back in right away and there is no fracture.  He played the rest of the game Saturday and won't miss any time at all.  Just a little sore, nothing a big tough hockey player can't handle! ;)  Luckily, it didn't prevent him from doing his Christmas shopping yesterday either :)

In the evening we made Christmas cookies.  We doubled the recipe and ended up with 50+ cookies.  Yikes!  J brought the majority of them with him today to share with the guys on the bus on the way home from their game.  I told him he is not allowed to come home with ANY... we already have too many here.  Making Christmas cookies is one of my favorite holiday traditions.  He wasn't as excited about it as I was, seeing as he was exhausted from their trip.  But he sucked it up and we had a good time :)

the finished product!

It seems like it never stops snowing here, and I know back home in the U.S. they have gotten a lot of snow in the past few days also.  Tis the season, right?!  But its the perfect time for a reminder to everyone to be extra careful when they're out and about in this kind of weather.  It's time to finish up Christmas shopping, kids are getting ready and excited for break, lots of people are heading to holiday parties, etc.  Drive slow, wear your seatbelts, keep an extra eye out for pedestrians, and get a designated driver!  There are many precious lives out there- it's just not worth it! :)

ask and you shall receive

Wow, is it December 11th already!?  Where does the time go.  Feels like just yesterday I was saying "wow, I can't belive it's December already", and now it's more than 1/3 over.  Good because its closer to being done with these silly road trips, bad because the holidays are my favorite time of year and I hate to see them come and go so quickly :( 

I woke up to more snow this morning.  I don't know where we're going to put it all... literally!  They are removing it from the city by the truck load, but seemingly not fast enough.  The roads are poorly plowed and many of the sidewalks too.  I feel really bad for all of the elderly people and people on crutches or disabled that I see trying to get around.  I think it's difficult for me- I can't even imagine having to deal with that all winter.  Oh, and they don't use salt or sand or anything either.  If/when they do use something, it's little rock pebbles.  Unfortunately, I think this is about their extent of "snow clean-up" here, taking care of it initally and leaving you to fend the rest for yourself.  Maybe I'll have to hook Maddie up to a sled and use that to get around ;)

All of my whining about wanting a girls night finally paid off.  Last night a couple of us got together at one of the other wives house.  It was a nice, relaxing evening with a couple friends and some wine.  Just what the doctor ordered :)  Ask, and you shall recieve!

During our girls night we got into some discussion about the differences between the U.S. and Finland (and other countries/cultures) and why certain things are done certain ways in different places, etc.  It makes me feel so lucky to have this experience of living in a different culture and learning about it.  It also makes me proud to be able to teach others about our culture and what it is like to be an American.  Now, I'm not one to get all into politics (though this conversation was not just on a political level) I pride myself in being very accepting of others and new cultures.  It's not always easy for me being here, far away from home, family and friends, and on top of that not having all of the stuff that is so familiar to me.  However, I think I have adjusted to the differences very well and have been educating myself and learning from others about what life is like in Finland. 

All of the girls from the team that I have talked with are very accepting of our American culture as well... (though I think the hockey world is fairly cultured, seeing as many of us spend time living in different countries) and though they most likely prefer their country to mine, I'm just happy that they make the effort to try and understand some of the differences, and though it is not the way they may do or see things, they don't see it as wrong- just different.  Not everyone that I have come across in Finland is able to see the differences the way that my fellow hockey wives do.  However, I think a lot of it has to do with being uneducated.  Obviously there are lots of stereotypes out there, so I am glad that I am able to do my (small) part to help clear up any confusion.  Finnish people are very proud, which I can understand.  They have a nice country that is very beautiful, rich in tradtion, and from what I've learned so far, runs fairly smoothly (though it's a little easier when you're a cold country of only 5 million somewhat isolated in the north  ;) )  I don't agree with everything that they do here in Finland, and I don't agree with all of the ways we do things in the U.S. (political and otherwise). But, I am an American, and I'm proud of it.  If you're going to challenge me about my country, I am going to defend it :)

I also took some time yesterday to check out the Christmas market downtown.  It is lined with red cottage/huts and lots of wonderful hand made items and gifts.  There is everything from mittens to jewelry to candles to clocks and home decor and beyond.  I got a pair of really pretty hand made earrings.  I plan on bringing J back Sunday or Tuesday when he has some free time... maybe I can give him some hints to help him with his Christmas shopping... ;)  Here are a couple pictures that I took:

The guys will be home after their game tonight, yay!  That's the one nice thing about these trips... it makes it that much more fun when we do have a chance to be together.  We get excited to see each other and spend time with one another :)

wanted: girls night

Well, the team left for their trip today (I feel like I'm constantly saying that lately!)  so it's just me and Maddie-girl here again.  It's been a real bummer lately that there aren't any other North American girls here also (though the one that left does come back after this weekend! woo-hoo).  There are tons of girls from the team, I've mentioned before that virtually all of the guys are married or have a serious girlfriend, but since they are all from around here, they're busy with their own lives most of the time.  They're either busy with kids, work, school, family, friends, etc.  They are all great girls... extremely nice, welcoming, and fun to spend time with when we get the chance, but unfortunately that doesn't happen very often.

That's probably the one thing that I wish were different about here.  It would be nice to have some girls to hang out with when the guys are gone (and just for an occasional girls night here or there!)  Don't get me wrong, I love having time to myself and no offence to Maddie.. she keeps me great company, but I need some girl time!!  I know it makes it that much harder for my hubby to leave also, knowing that I'm here alone.  So to any of my friends at home reading this.... feel free too book a flight over..... cough cough :)

On a brighter note, Maddie and I went for another walk today and discovered a really nice dog park close to our place.  We have been to another one that was further away, but this one is much bigger and nicer, and close to home!  They have many of these dog parks throughout the city, and I'm so excited to find one close to home.  It's in a little wooded area also, so she's able to run around and play without it being on the middle of some street corner downtown.  She had so much fun playing in the snow... it was a good thing she was wearing a red sweater so I could see her or she would have gotten lost!

eating some snow

 beautiful winter scenery in Finland :)

Well, dinner is almost ready and last nights episode of Glee is almost uploaded.  Time for me to eat and hit the couch for a bit :)

snow, snow and more snow!

Well, yet another snowy day here in Finland!! It's been snowing almost non-stop the last 2 days.  We have almost 20 inches on the ground here.. 40-some centimeters!  Woo hoo, no worries about a White Christmas here!!  I'm so thankful that I don't drive here though... they don't do the greatest job plowing the roads, and the fact that it was a national holiday- Independence Day- here yesterday didn't help that fact either!   I feel bad for all of the people trying to dig their cars out of their plowed-in parking spots on the streets.  I took Maddie for a walk to play in the snow earlier and she was in heaven!!  Almost lost her in a couple snow banks (I was struggling also!) but we both had fun.   

This picture is from a few weeks ago... there is WAYY more snow than that now!

We watched Marley & Me last night (for like the 25th time) and, yet again, I sobbed like a baby.  Not sure if it was a result of the wine I was drinking, but that movie gets me every time.  My childhood dog was a yellow lab and a lot like Marley...not quite as troublesome, but had the same goofy antics, so it always hits close to my heart.  It also makes me spoil Maddie like rotten for a several days after (like she's not spoiled enough already!)  She's becoming quite the spoiled brat lately... I guess I've been giving in to her a lot more with J being gone more frequently.  Hey, I need someone to keep me company!! :)

Now tonight I'm trying out a new recipe (Cheesy Spanish Rice) and watching people outside trek in the snow to J's game.  It's technically an "away" game, but we live right next door to the other team's arena.  I thought I didn't care to go, but now seeing all of the people heading to the game makes me a little jealous... haha.  The team is their big rival, since they are from the same city, so it always makes for an exciting and intense game.  The other team's arena is significantly smaller than ours (8,000 vs. 13,000) and the game tonight is sold out... so I can't even change my mind about going.  Oh well, at least I'll stay warm and dry! 

holiday season is in full swing :)

Well, the teddy bear toss was fairly successful for their first attempt at it in Finland!! There were quite a few bears- not as many as you see in North America, but maybe after another year or two they'll get closer :)  Plus, my bear and monkey both made it to the ice (I've had some troubles in the past- a few years ago I whipped it sideways and hit someone in the head- typical, graceful me!)  so all in all I'd consider it a success.  The team also made a visit to the Children's Hospital a few days ago for some Christmas tree decorating, carol signing and autograph signing.  According to J, fun was had by all.  The holiday season is in full swing!!

The guys left this morning for their trip, so I've been keeping busy by cooking, baking, and shopping for more Christmas decorations.  It's hard to justify buying a lot of stuff here since we will not be able to bring it home with us... but Christmas is my favorite time of year and I just HAVE to have the place decorated at least somewhat.  As with everything else, decorations are expensive here, so that kind of puts a damper on things as well.  What I wouldn't give to go crazy in the Christmas aisles at Target right now!!!

The team's flight for today was cancelled because Finnair airlines is in the midst of a strike.  I got a good laugh because the guys were all whining since now they had to take a bus (it's like a 7-8 hour drive).  I think they forget that that would be considered a shorter trip in many areas of North America!  What spoiled guys! ;)

One other random comment for today- does anyone else's husband/significant other drive them crazy with their "cleaning up" skills sometimes??  I mean, he's usually very good about helping out at home w ith cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc.  I couldn't ask for anything more in that area, I have truly been blessed!  But when it comes to the little things, he seems to have trouble once in a while.  For example, he'll have a bottle of water/soda/gatorade, finish it, and leave the empty bottle on the counter by the sink (same goes for the milk carton, or the juice carton...)  Really??  The empty bottles go in the recycling bag like 5 feet away in the closet.  Then there is the "finish the last granola bar, I'm kind enough to take the empty box out of the cabinet but I leave it on the counter instead of 2 feet away in the trash".   I swear he does it just to annoy me!! (Yes, dear, I know you will be reading this... that's part of why I'm writing it!!!)  :) :)

Have a good weekend everyone!

teddy bears!!

Well, today was just one of those days.  Argg. 

On the bright side, the highlight of my day was a trip to Finnish Toys R Us.  Yes, seriously!  The team is having a "teddy bear toss" at tomorrow nights game, so we went in search of some cute little bears.  I'm assuming most of you from North America know what a teddy bear toss is, but for those of you who don't know it is all about, it's where the team has fans bring a new teddy bear and/or stuffed animal(s) to the game, and when the team scores their first goal, you throw the bear onto the ice.  The bears are then collected and given to children's charities (i.e. children's hospital, foster care, homeless shelters, etc.)  J's junior hockey team used to do this and they would collect thousands of bears and stuffed animals.  There would be all kinds- I even recall seeing some that were the size of a small child being lugged around and eventually thrown onto the ice.  Here is a picture that I took at J's junor game way back when...

I know a lot of other teams in the U.S. and Canada love the Teddy Bear Toss tradition also, and I think it's great that they're bringing it to Finland.  We picked out a cute brown bear with a bow around his neck, and a monkey with really long, goofy arms because he was too cute to resist. 

I would have bought all the stuffed animals that Toys R Us had if I were able to carry them all... 2 will have to do for this year.  It's important to remember, especially at this time of the year, the children and families who are less fortunate than we are.  It's so easy to get caught up in making Christmas lists and shopping for our loved ones (don't get me wrong, I plan to do both of those as well!) but even something small can make a big difference in someone's life.  I was lucky enough as a child to wake up on Christmas morning with presents overflowing from under the tree.  I wouldn't trade those memories for anything in the world, and I get great pleasure in knowing I can help a child have some of those same special memories.  It may only have been 2 bears this year (we are still trying to figure out if they do "giving trees" in Finland so hopefully we can do more!), but as long as they bring a smile to a child's face this holiday season, that's good enough for me!! 

cold weather and cooking

I finally have a chance to sit down and write.  Things have been so busy the past few days, with 3 home games last week, the Christmas party, and Thanksgiving, there wasn't much down time around here!!  It was a nice change of pace.  Now I'm preparing to have things slow down quite a bit... the guys are gone 10 of the next 18 days.  Time to find things to do to entertain myself (ideas are very much welcomed)!! 

One thing I've started doing more now that I have the time to do it is experiment with cooking and baking.  It's not that easy to do here with a) the difficulty grocery shopping and understanding what you're buying and b) trying to convert measurments!  I wish I had paid more attening in what... 2nd grade? when you learn the metric system.  I'm catching on more as I go, and a lot of things I "guesstimate".  It's all turned out okay so far!!

The first thing that I made was Chili.  Neither J nor I like beans in our chili (or at all for that matter).  I found a recipe without, changed it around a little bit, tried it out... and it was delicious!!  It doesn't have onions or tomatoes either.. but you certainly could add them if you'd like.  I told my mom I'd send her the recipes a couple weeks ago... but figured this way I can share them with all of you :) Here they are!

My Chili Recipe

3 lbs. ground beef
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
3 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
28 oz. beef broth
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Brown beef in pan, add garlic.  While beef is browning, combine chili powder, cumin, and flour.  Sprinkle mixture over the beef once browned and stir until evenly coated.  Add oregano over meat and pour in 21 oz. of the beef broth.  Add salt and black pepper, stir well and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 90 minutes.  Pour in the remaining broth and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.  Let chili cool, cover, and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend.

tips: 
1) Refrigerate overnight.  It allows the flavors to blend even more.
2) I found it easist to brown the meet in a skillet, and then move it to a larger pot that was easier to stir liquids in. 
3) This recipe makes several servings (I'd say about 6-8 medium sized bowls)
4) Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, crackers, bread, or however else you like your chili. Enjoy!

Another recipe that turned out to be absolutely delicious was the Chicken Noodle Soup.  J was sick so I figured I'd give it a try... turned out to be the best Chicken Noodle Soup I've ever had! (and those of you who know me know that I think very highly of Panera's Chicken Noodle Soup... this was even better!)  Similar to the chili, we don't like onions, carrots or celery in our soup (if you haven't noticed, we're very particular eaters!) so this recipe cooks with the whole vegetables to make it easy to strain them out when serving.  All of the flavor, no picking out the onions and carrots! :)  Here is the recipe for that:

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 L (about 4 cups) water
1 lb. Chicken Breast fillets
1 small-medium sized onion, peeled and halved
3 whole black peppercorns (or a dash of ground pepper, preferably freshly ground!)
2-3 whole carrots, peeled
2 chicken bouillon cubes (this may change your water measurments, so follow the measurments on the bouillon box to determine exactly how much water to use)
About 2 cups dry pasta noodles (I like the spirals!)

Bring water and chicken breasts to a boil in a pot.  Reduce heat, add bouillon cubes (stir until dissolved) cover and let simmer for about 30 more minutes.  Add whole carrots, onion, and pepper into the pot, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour.  Pre-cook the noodles in a separate pot, drain.  Remove chicken and cut into bite sized pieces.  Add chicken and noodles to the broth, warm on low heat.  Strain whole vegetables and serve.

you can add chopped vegetables if you'd like, this is just how we prefer it (we're not big fans of cooked veggies)  This makes about 2 large servings (we ate it as a meal) or 4-5 smaller bowls (to eat as a side with a sandwich or salad).  Hope you like it as much as we did! 

And the last recipe that I'll share is for the Apple Pie that I made as part of our Thanksgiving meal.  I was really winging it.. but (as long as the guys weren't lying to me just to be nice) it was a big hit!  You can make your own pie crust, of course... but especially on a day like Thanksgiving, that was way more than I was willing to take on!

Apple Pie

1 frozen pie crust, thawed
6-8 medium sized apples
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter 
1 1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees/175 celsius.  Combine flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, nutmeg and cinnamon in a bowl, mix well.  Once pie crust is thawed, roll out and put in a greased/floured 9 inch round pie pan.  Peel apples, slice thin and add to the crust, filling almost to the top of the crust.  Melt butter and mix it with the flower/brown sugar/oatmeal/nutmeg/cinnamon mixture, stir until well coated.  Pour topping evenly over apples.  Put in oven for about 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.  Allow to cool a little bit (but not all the way!)  and serve with vanilla ice cream.  mmmmmmm :)

My next recipes I want to try are something with rice, and a ham one.  I'll have to report back once I try them out and let you know how they go!

After I made the Thanksgiving feast on Saturday, J made us an absolutely delicious meal on Sunday.  Too bad we're both such bad cooks, huh? ;)  Guess being domestic comes along with the marriage certificate.  

Speaking of which, we have found out that we need to send our marriage certificate BACK to the U.S. to get an Apostille seal (?) (we're still not 100% sure what that means, but it's a way of 'legalizing it' and is sort of like getting it notarized but for foreign countries, we think)  so that I can register here and get a Finnish ID number (like a social security number).  J was able to register without a problem with the team being his employer, but since he/that is the reason I am here, I need to prove my relationship to him.  It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, because they accepted our certificate as it is when we got our Visa's... but who knows.  So, just a heads up to any hockey wives coming over to Europe, get your marriage certificate legalized BEFORE you leave the U.S. so they will recognize it when you are abroad.  Just wanted to save anyone the step of sending it back like we have to do!

Another note: I see there are lots of you reading from different places across the US/Canada/Europe... I can happily say have been able to connect with a few other hockey wives through this blog, and if you are reading this, feel free to become a follower, comment, or contact me :)  It's such a small world that we live in and no one else understands our crazy lives like a fellow hockey wife!

Well, J is at an away game tonight (if you could call it that, they're playing 10 minutes down the road...) so I'm going to try and stay warm by curling up on the couch with a blanket and a glass of wine.  It's been very cold here lately (single digits fahrenheit, around -15 celsius!) and we have lots of snow.  I better get used to it, I don't think it's going to get any better between now and April!

Hyvää Yötä!