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!

successful turkey day

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Thursday was a little depressing here because the day itself was just like any other- and especially with J having a game it was really weird to not be doing anything to celebrate. It is the first time in my life that I haven't had turkey on Thanksgiving Day... he has had practice in the past on the actual day, but we have always been lucky enough to have a "real" Thanksgiving meal on Thanksgiving.


Since we didn't get a chance to celebrate on Thursday, we had our turkey day today. I can happily report that it was a huge success!! I was a little worried as to how everything would turn out, even though I've cooked several Thanksgiving meals in the past (usually 20-25 lb. turkeys!) so it was nothing new to me... but with the difficulty of finding things that we are familiar with over here and not having all of my own kitchen utensils and cooking materials I was a little nervous. The boys loved it, and it was delicious! It was so great to get together "just us Americans" to celebrate and have time together. Ther are only 2 others on the team, so you really have to stick together. Made us all feel a little more at home I think :)


Last night was the team Christmas party. It was a very nice and classy event, and we enjoyed it very much. It was kind of funny celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving though. Christmas is the big holiday here, and from now thorough Christmas day they have lots of Christmas parties around here. We're all ready for the season- we bought a fake tree along with some ornaments from Ikea (for 2.50 euros, gotta love Ikea!) and we just decorated it tonight. We also have a real tree, but it's a "Charlie Brown" tree... my other fellow American girl and her boyfriend were up at his cabin a couple weeks ago and they dug some cute little evergreen trees out and brought one to us. It's still deciding if it wants to "live" in the pot or not... hopefully it will last us through the holidays though! I can't believe it's almost December... my favorite month of the year!! Time to start Christmas shopping!!


Since we are in full holiday spirit here... I've been thinking a lot about how thankful I am for everything this past year, and it only makes me even more optimistic for the future. I hope you have all been as blessed as we have. Happy start to the Holiday Season!!


With that being said, here is a flashback song to listen to and get you pumped up for the holidays... (and to get a good laugh watching the video!) :)

happy thanksgiving!!

A big "Happy Thanksgiving" to all across the pond!!  Hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, and lots of good food!!  Unfortunately, it is just another Thursday here in Finland.  J actually has a game today- I jokingly told him to try and tell them he needed "off" since it is a holiday... haha.  Don't think they'd go for that one!  Because of the games today and tomorrow, we'll be having our Thanksgiving celebration on Saturday.  I cannot wait for turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the goodies... not to mention apple pie!!  Yummm.  We will be having the other two American guys on the team over to our place also.  Had to make sure they got a real Thanksgiving meal too! 

Turkeys aren't as easy to come by in Finland.  They definitely have them... but there aren't nearly as many at the stores.  I haven't seen them fresh, only frozen... and they're EXPENSIVE!!  We bought a 4.05 kg turkey (9 lbs.) for 26 euros ($35).  Compare that to .50-.99 cents/lb. at home, and you'd think our turkey was made of gold!!  We are just happy to be having turkey on Thanksgiving (well, or two days after...) regardless of the cost.  It just better taste good!!  :)   

Even though we are far away from family and friends, there is a lot to be thankful for this year.  I hope you all can say the same!  Don't eat too much turkey! ;)

happy tuesday

Before you all start picturing me in a lounge chair with an umbrella in my drink, I thought I'd clarify my definition of "vacation".  After my post last night, I laid in bed wondering if I had given off the wrong impression.  No, we are not here to party and get a sun tan (that should cause a good laugh for anyone who knows what the sun/ weather is really like in Finland- the sun almost never comes out and in winter it is dark almost 20 hours of the day!) Though we like to think of our lives here as a "vacation", we still lead a completely normal day to day life that is very similar to the way we live in the U.S.  For the duration of the hockey season, Finland has become our home.  We cook our own dinners, clean our own apartment, pay bills, and follow a regular daily routine.  I guess "vacation" is just a happier way to think of being away from home, family, friends, and all of our belongings (I never knew I'd miss pots and pans and a quesadilla maker so much!)

 Since we move around often, it is hard to consider one place "home".  By the time you get settled in one spot, it's almost time to move on to the next.  Being that we are in Europe this year, we were only able to bring a few suitcases of stuff with us for the entire season- not an easy task when you are trying to pack your warmest winter clothes, shoes, beauty products, and hockey gear.  The little things that make a house a home tend to get left behind.  I've learned that as long as I have my husband, my dog, some pictures of friends and family, candles, and my particular blanket and pillow, I am good to go.  You really learn to appreciate how little you are able to get by with.  I got rid of a bunch of things as I was packing up our belongings at the end of the summer, and I am ready to do even more when we get back!  Plus, it's amazing how much easier it is to keep a place clean when there isn't all the extra stuff lying around :)

On a totally different note, I have to share a story from yesterday.  J and I were out and about shopping and we happened to stop in a sporting goods store.  I was in the fitting room trying on some workout clothes when I overheard a conversation between a young boy and his father (yes... they were speaking English! Not sure if they were American, or British, or just speaking English, because the father spoke Finnish to the sales person..)  The little boy was trying on snowpants for the winter.  The boy really liked one certain pair, but the dad had another picked out and was explaining to the boy that he thought that they would be more durable for snow play.  Instead of throwing a fit or complaining because he preferred the other ones, the boys response was "Okay, Dad, well, it's your money, it's up to you.  If you think the other ones will be better..."

I could not believe my ears.  Could a 9(ish) year old boy really understand so much about the value of money and have so much respect for his father?  It got me wondering if Americans are that far behind in teaching our children about money and it's value, or if this was just a very mature little boy.  I think many people do not try to teach children so much about money that young because they think they don't understand.  Well, clearly, they do... and especially with the economy the way it is, I think that it's becoming more and more important that kids understand not only that they can't always have what they want, but also why.  Kudos to this dad for teaching his little boy some very important skills for life. 

Well, it's another game day here so I better get going and get some stuff done before game time.  Happy Tuesday everyone! (and almost the end of a short work-week for my fellow Americans! :) Enjoy! )

a 9 month "vacation"

I thought I'd dedicate my post today to give everyone a little bit of an idea of what it's like to live in a foreign country.  We are very fortunate to be able to have this experience- obviously there are pro's and con's, but we are both loving being here.  We realize that not many people are lucky enough to spend time living in Europe (and getting PAID to do it!) so we're going to make the most of it.

Obviously, the majority of people living here speak Finnish, which, as I mentioned in a previous post, is one of the most difficult languages in the world.  There is also a small amount of the population that speaks Swedish as their first language, and almost everything (signs, road names, food in the grocery store, etc) is written in both Finnish and Swedish.  It's a little bit easier to pick out some words in Swedish, but still very difficult.  Thankfully, English is widely spoken, especially around the city.  It's interesting how English is such a dominant language that that is how tourists are able to communicate when they travel.  For example, if a German family comes to Finland, the means in which they would communicate with the Finnish people would be by using English.  Some people are timid to speak English because they are afraid they will be made fun of for speaking improperly.  I always tell them I'd rather hear their English, than them try and hear my (non-existant) Finnish :) 

Even though English is so widely spoken, the saying "s/he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language" takes a literal sense.  I feel like I am constantly being stared at when we speak English.  I know they are just curious where we are from and what we are doing here etc., but it does tend to make a person feel self conscious from time to time!  It's funny how people eating at a restaurant will look over while we are talking and eating dinner or people sitting in front of us at the game will turn to try and "sneak a peak" when they hear me speaking English with the other girls.  Guess what: I SEE YOU! :)

The other thing about the language barrier is that you don't realize how much you miss eavesdropping!!  Now, that's not to say that I walk around the U.S. tapping into everyone's conversations all the time, but it's so nice to have the words you hear around you mean something and not just be "background noise"!  I find myself getting very excited anytime I hear English being spoken and I actually understand what is being said around me.  Sounds strange, but I'm sure anyone who has lived in a different country knows exactly what I am talking about!

For those of you who hate taking the time out of your lives to go grocery shopping- you'd never survive here.  Shopping for food takes about 3 times as long when you have no idea what is written on the package.  We find ourselves most often going by the pictures on the packaging, or sticking with fruits, veggies and meats.  It's very difficult to determine which foods are healthy and which are not, but we've somewhat learned how to read the nutrition fact labels.  When we are home, we like to eat fairly healthy and lots of natural/organic foods, which is much more difficult to do here.  That being said, I also stick with my theory that, in general, people in Europe eat healthier than Americans, and therefore the foods produced here are of much better quality and nutrition than back home.  

Stores and shops here are open much shorter hours, and they have more public holidays.  For example, last Sunday was "Isänpäivä"- Father's Day in Finland.  Thank goodness we had food for the day, because pretty much every store and shop in the city was closed! 

As I've mentioned before, I don't drive here because I can't drive a manual (pretty much all cars here are manual) but even if I were able to drive, I'd be a little nervous.  The signs are different and obviously in Finnish/Swedish.  On top of that any and all street signs are on the side of the buildings on the corner, and not anywhere near big enough to see.  I don't know how anyone gets anywhere unless a) they know exactly where they are going or b) they have a GPS.  J seems to have picked up on it pretty quickly, so between that, and my navigation skills, we manage to get around okay.

I am sure there are more obvious differences that I am missing, but I think that's a pretty good rundown of what life is like abroad for now.  It certainly makes for an adventure every day!  The things that make us homesick are lots of times the same things that we enjoy about living here.  We just like to think of it as a 9 month vacation :)

hockey, football, and monster pictures

Just a short post for today- J has an afternoon game today, and I still have to run to the store for a couple things for dinner, have lunch, shower, and get out the door, in the next 2 hours. 

We are very excited because we get to watch our college football team from home on ESPN America tonight.  We have yet to see a game on tv all season, and the fact that it is a) on here b) not on in the middle of the night and  c) J has an afternoon game so we will actually be home in time to watch it, is pretty exciting for us.  The stars must all be aligned today.

On another note, I came across this story that touched my heart the other day.  This sweet 5 year old boy, Aidan, has been diagnosed with Leukemia and is currently going through treatments to fight it.  He had to drop out of his kindergarten class to recieve treaments and focus on getting better.  His mother gave birth to their 2nd child just weeks after they recieved the diagnosis, and their family was at risk of losing their home in order to make ends meet and pay all of Aidan's medical bills.  Some little kids love cars, some enjoy super heros, Aidan loves monsters. He passes his time getting treatment and in the hospital by drawing monster pictures, and had so many that his aunt decided to try and sell them online to help offset his family's medical expenses.  Her goal was to sell 60- she's sold over 2,500.  The drawings sell for $12 and all the money goes to help with Aidan's medical bills.  Unfortunately, I know this is just one of all too many stories like this.   J and I picked out the SpongeBob & Friends for our home.  Maybe you know a kid (or adult?) who'd like a monster picture for Christmas?  You can also read more about Aidan's story on his blog. (note: I do not know Aidan, or his family.  It is just a story I came across and it touched me enough to share it with all of you)  :)

snowy day in finland

Well, with my workout buddy being gone, I bit the bullet already and didn't go to the gym this morning.  This may not seem like a big deal to most people, but when your husband earns his living by keeping in peak physical condition, naturally you want to keep up.  Not to mention how many nights a week we eat pasta and heavy carbs for dinner.  Don't get me wrong, I love to work out and I love to eat healthy.  But when he goes to "work" for the day, he burns nearly 1,000 calories.  If I skip out on my workout I definitely feel a lot more guilty about my indulgences!  Days off (and indulgences) are completely necessary though, guess I'll just have to make up for it tomorrow :)

 On a totally different note, it snowed here last night!! There have been flurries different times already this fall, but this is the first measurable, actual stick-on-the-ground snow since we've been here.  I love the snow, but the cleaning off your car, takes you 3 times as long to get anywhere, get stuck behind a snow plow stuff really ruins it for me.  Since I don't drive here, obviously none of that is an issue, so I say BRING IT ON! :)  In celebration of this snowy day in Finland, I'm going to make a list of the things that I simply could not live without today (or most winter days here, for that matter!)

1)  My Ugg Adirondak Boots.  These babies are awesome in the snow (they are made fully waterproof!)  and unlike most snow boots, they're CUTE, too!

2)  North Face's "Metropolis" Parka.  Definitely my most versatile coat.  You can slip it on with sweats to run to the grocery store quick, or wear it over a nice sweater or blouse.  It's super warm, has a hood (that you can detach if you want), and is nice and long so it keeps your whole body warm.  Plus, it looks great with the Adirondak boots! :)

3) UpCider JouluOmena.  This stuff is amazing!  Alcoholic ciders are very popular in Finland, and they come in all kinds of flavors (apple, pear, strawberry, mixed berry, you name it)  This particlular flavor (JouluOmena) is my favorite- Joulu= Christmas and Omena= Apple.  It's a little bit different than the regular Omena, it has a little spice/cinnamon-y flavor to it.  Guess that's where the Christmas comes in.  It makes me feel very festive and winter-y.  A glass of this on the couch at night= heaven!

4) A Karl Fazer Milk Chocolate Bar.  I'd have to say this rivials for the best chocolate I've ever had.  Made in Finland... just doing my part to support the local economy! ;)

 

5) Mariah Carey's "Merry Christmas" CD.  J will make fun of me for putting this because I tease him all the time about her being his childhood celebrity crush, but this CD is a Christmas must!!

enjoying some "me" time

Well, I'm in a more typical "hockey-wife" mode today because J is gone on a road trip for their game tomorrow.  I get very spoiled here- the guys are only gone overnight a handful of times during the season.  I know, boo-hoo, none of you North American hockey wives want to hear it.  Sorry!  There's more to come, too... the guys are gone 3 days the first week of December, and 4 the second week.  Then, it appears the team decided that they should take a trip (just for the "fun" of it) the 3rd weekend in December.  Really?  The weekend before Christmas?  Argg.  Guess Maddie and I will have lots of quality time together in the next month... I am so glad to have her here with me.  She is great company and keeps me sane.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate (yea, right!) enough for us to get out for some good walks. 

Going along with that, my only fellow American girlfriend left yesterday to go back home for a few weeks.  This was a huge blow- not only because she will be gone during the time the guys are gone so much, but she is also my gym and running buddy.  So many of the days we get to the gym and say to each other "I only came today because you were coming"  "Well I only came because I knew you'd be here".  We are each other's motivators to get up and go, neither of us wanting to cancel our gym date on the other one.  What the heck am I supposed to do now??  Hurry back, A!

Now, this is not to say that I'm all alone here... there are LOTS of other wives/girlfriends on the team (literally everyone is married or has a girlfriend)  but as opposed to teams in other countries where all of the girls are away from home, typically not working (or at least not full time) and don't have family near by, most all of the ladies here live right in the area year-round, have full time jobs/school, family near by, and all of their friends around.  I envy them- they get the best of ALL worlds! :)

So, today I'm goin' er alone.  After Spin & Body class, my first tanning session in over a month (which felt miraculous by the way...gotta get that vitamin D somewhere, the sun just refuses to shine here!)  and my usual post-workout Berry Smoothie wtih protein, I was feeling GOOD!  A nice shower, a 2 mile walk with Maddie, and I was on the couch in my PJ's.  I fully believe that everyone needs a Pajama Day now and then, a day to put on your coziest PJ's and cuddle on the couch with a good book and/or movie (snacks and a glass of tea or wine don't hurt either).  Who doesn't love doing that?  If you don't have a new year's resolution for next year yet, I suggest that you make one to have a "Pajama Day" once a month.  No excuses that you're too busy.  That's what weekends are for.  Or even perhaps just a "Pajama Evening".  Put on your jammies right when you get home from work, forget about everything else for a few hours, and cuddle up on the couch for the evening.  Whether you do it alone, with your significant other, child(ren), dog, cat, whomever... I promise you will not regret it :) 

side note:  There was a good movie on one of our movie channels tonight.  It's called "Incendiary".  I'd never heard of it, but it was really good!  The main character (Michelle Williams) is in the midst of having an affair when her life is turned upside down when her husband and young son are killed during a suicide bombing at a soccer game in London. Possibly a good rent for your next Pajama Day :)  (it's definitly not one for kids though)

It's late here in Finland, time for Maddie and I to turn in. I may have to let her sleep in the bed with me tonight (hopefully J doesn't read that part, I always tell him "no way" when he wants to let her sleep in the bed!).  Sorry babe! ;)

just another day at the office

Since today is a game day, I thought I'd dedicate my post to sharing what life is like on a typical "home-game day" for us.   A lot of hockey players are very superstitious on game days.  Luckily, this does not include J.   He doesn't need to have "x" glasses of water or walk out the door at EXACTLY 9:03.  He may have a few little quirks that he does each game day while he's at the rink, but he keeps those to himself.  I've never really asked him about it, because, quite frankly, I think the whole superstitions and thinking that doing one tiny thing differently will create a whole different outcome in the game is pretty bizaare. 

 Our game day routine not a whole lot different from any other day.  J wakes up around 8:30, and heads to the rink right around 9 for their pregame skate at 10:30.  After they skate, they eat a pre-game meal prepared for them at the rink.  While J is at the arena, I usually go to the gym, go for a run, clean, or any combination of these.  I am taking full advantage of being able to sleep in every day- I usually wake up right around 9 (for the first month I was here, I was sleeping in until 10:30! for those of you who know me, I am usually an early riser, between 7-8.  I blame it on adjusting to the time change ;))  I figure I might as well take advantage of this time to sleep in now, since surely it will not last forever. 

So, by the time I am done with my morning routine, J is just getting home from skate/meal.  We usually take some down time on the couch to see what's on TV (yes, we do get English shows!) or pop in a DVD, usually a movie or "Two and a Half Men" which has become one of our favorites.  After a little while, J usually heads into the bedroom to take a nap around 1-1:30, usually with Maddie (our maltipoo) at his heels.  While he is napping, I catch up on e-mails, facebook, TV, and today: write this post.  I also use this as my time to shower and get myself ready for the day (yes, I realize it's afternoon already, and with the sun setting around 3:30 here now, sometimes I'm not "ready for the day" until the sun is gone!)  J usually wakes up from his nap around 3-3:30 and most days goes right to make a peanut butter sandwich.  He is off for the rink around 3:45-4, while I finish getting ready and having my mid-afternoon lunch. 

Some game days I have one or a few of the other girlfriend's from the team over for a glass of wine and to socialize before we head to the game, since our place is kind of "along the way" to the arena for some of them, and then we can go to the game together.  We are off to the game around 5:30 or 6, in plenty of time for the start of the game at 6:30. 

Once the game is over, the girls and I head downstairs where they have a wives room for the player's wives/girlfriends/children to wait.  Nothing fancy-schmancy, but it's a nice room with chairs, couches, bathroom, a tv, and some soda/chips or popcorn for us to snack on while we wait for the guys. Some nights there are only a few of us in there, and other nights it is packed with everyones wives/children, girlfriends, parents, grandparents.  It can get pretty rowdy :).  I don't think many of the teams in their league have wives rooms, so I'm very thankful that we are one of the lucky ones!  I don't know what I'd do without a chair to sit on while I wait for J (who some of you know, can be pretty pokey sometimes!)  It's also a nice time to be able to socialize with the other families and make plans for future nights/events, etc.  All of the other wives/girlfriends are Finnish except for one, but they are all so kind to speak English most of the time while the two of us are around.  It can be very frustrating having NO CLUE what is being said around you!  They've all been so great in helping us adjust to the language and culture.  The snacks in the room are a huge hit with me also, since we don't eat dinner until after the game, and I'm usually pretty hungry by then! 

Once J is ready to leave, we either head home to make some dinner, or some nights we go out to eat with some of the other players and wives/girlfriends.  Since J is pretty wound up after playing a game, we sometimes pop in a movie or he turns a hockey game on TV or something.  After that, it's time for bed.  Just another day at the office for J and his #1 fan ;)!

Time to go - "nap time" is over! 

here goes nothing.

Well, I finally caved in and am starting this blog.  After reading blogs from various friends, hockey wives and fellow travellers, I decided that maybe it's not such a bad idea.  Hopefully my title isn't too cheesy, I was going for a hockey term play-on-words to describe our life and it's ability to change in a split second.  My goals for this blog are: 1) to keep my friends and family updated on our lives abroad, 2) to archive stories/events of our hockey life for us to read later in life, and 3) to give an insiders view on what goes on in the daily life of a hockey wife.  

With that, a few orders of business before I get started: 
1) My posts will be completely subjective, and if there is something that you don't like- don't read it :)
2) I'm not sure if anyone other than family and friends will be reading this, but this is still internet world, and therefore I do not plan on posting our names on this blog, and request that any readers/commenters do the same. YES, I do realize that it is not difficult to figure out who we are.  Be my guest, there is nothing to hide on here and nothing that I would not say publicly.  I just don't feel the need to announce our names on here :)  
3) ENJOY!! :) :) :)


Now... Where to start?  Well, for those of you who don't know, "J" and I are on our 3rd month (4th for him- he's been here since July)  in Finland while he is playing in the SM-liiga.  So far it has been a wonderful experience.  We're enjoying Finland very much- it is a very clean and SAFE country.  Finnish people are stereotypically shy and reserved, but very helpful and friendly if you approach them with a question.  We have observed just that.  Everyone has been SO friendly, and thankfully English is widely spoken (Finnish is one of the most difficult languages in the world!)  So far we have picked up on a few of the words- "Moi"- hello, "Kiitos"- Thank You, "Moi Moi"- bye, "Huomenta"- good morning.  There are several other words/short phrases that we recognize but cannot necessarily pronounce them or use them in a sentence.  J has probably picked up on a little more than me from being around it at the rink (the coaches only speak in Finnish) but I like to think my pronunciation is better ;)

Our apartment is nice- close to the city center and the team's arena.  There are the typical up's and down's of living in a big city- convenience, lots of stuff to do, little-to-no street parking.  No dryer, which is annoying, but fairly typical of around here (and all of Europe for that matter).  The team has provided us with a car, but it's manual (pretty much all the cars here are) and I don't know how to drive it yet.  I've tried, but it's pretty much a lost cause.  I'm convinced I'll never learn.  So whenever I go somewhere I walk, take the tram, J drives, or I get a ride from a nice friend :).   Since we are so close to everything, I don't have much motivation to learn- I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.  Also, we calculated out the gas prices here: about 1.44 euros/Liter = $8.60 or something/Gallon.  YIKES!!  I do miss driving though, and I miss my car!!  :(

J's team is doing o.k. so far... but they had off all last week (there was a tournament here with the national teams from Finland, Russia, Sweden, and Czech Republic, so the league was on a break) so hopefully now they'll be refreshed and ready to win some more games before the Christmas break :) 

I like to think we are pretty settled into our lives here.  We're starting to get used to grocery shopping, have established somewhat of a routine, and have made some great friends already.  Life is pretty good.  Hopefully it stays that way, that is, until the season is over and we get to do it all over again next year!!

I better get to bed. J is already tucked in (it is a game night, after all!) and I've got my usual date with "Gym" in the morning.  Hope this first post wasn't too boring... hey, give me a break, I'm new at this! :)

Hyvää Yötä - Goodnight!