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!!