5 things...

Ah, yes! Another eventful weekend here at Upper Pond.  Typical night at the ski hill quickly turned to a ride to the hospital, an overnight stay, and a return home with a cast on Ryan's leg.  Poor kid broke his tibia and will be in a cast for eight weeks.  Hockey is over and although I was wishing the season would end, this is not what I envisioned. 

So, what have we learned in this life experience...(I'm so over lessons being learned!)

1.  Don't wish away a hockey season, no matter how poorly it's going.  You never know what will fill its place!

2. Thankful for a Pediatric Emergency Room.  Ryan was kept away from all the Friday night visitors in the ER.

 3.  Also thankful for a Children's hospital in our city.  All our needs were met and Ryan felt safe and comfortable in the small time that we were visiting.

4.  I'm amazed at the resiliency of Ryan's body and his mind.  He was up, working on his schoolwork yesterday and is eager to go back to school.  He misses his friends, but also misses the learning.  Go figure!

5. It was a perfect choice to have Matt and his friends come over to bake for French class on Sunday.  It provided comic relief for all.  I think I'm still cleaning up sugar from my kitchen!

enjoy the rest of the week everyone!

Link Love... and a little bit of making.

Slog.  That's the word that I think of when I think of this past week.  It's been a long one!  The next month will be long for all of us, but I see a very faint light at the end of the very long tunnel.  We will need to make some tough decisions to hopefully make that light a bit clearer.

Anyway, here's to a good weekend and enjoy the links!

 I saw this over on Pinterest this week, printed it out and have had it with me.  It will come in handy as I forget all this stuff when taking pictures.

 Love this video.

 I'm putting some of my prints up for sale.  What the heck?  Who knows?

 I made these today.  The cookie part is just like the real thing, but I did something to the frosting.  Now, do you call them, Black and White cookies or Half Moons?  We are of the Half Moon family.

Maybe I should try a new outfit when taking pictures.  

oh my!.

5 things...

Five quick positive things because I probably could go negative really fast!

 1.  Ryan and I spent a lot of time together in the car this past weekend.  We didn't talk a lot, but when we did it was good, deep conversation.

 2.  My husband is working on his health! 

 3.  Ryan is reading a book...and it's for school...and he is enjoying it! (major positive!)

 4.  There are six hockey practices left!

5. I love to listen to my boys sing!

enjoy the week everyone!

We Interrupt this post...

to bring you not much.

If you have been anywhere online today you have seen the mayhem of the SOPA and Protect IP Act.

Read up about it.  It will affect you and your everyday dealings on the net. 

If you haven't found an article to read, let me help.

Go here, here, over here and here.

I'll be back tomorrow to share the chocolate cake recipe that I just made. yum!

5 things...

As I sit here wondering what to write, my weatherbug icon is beeping away.  Today it was warm, rainy and slushy. Tomorrow is slated to be cold, windy and snowy.  Maybe it's the weather that has everything off kilter around here.  Moods swings are common, the animals are crazy and no one seems settled.  It's as if we get in the mode of one weather pattern and then it switches on us and we are left scurrying after its remains.  

In all of the everyday drama and daily life I'm still trying to remain calm, keep my sense of humor and to try to remember that in the grand scheme of it all, it's not going to ruin us.

 1.  Not only did my son get suspended from hockey last week (he has since been reinstated), my husband was asked to leave a game.  In his defense, he was acting as a moderator and asking someone else to calm down.  The guy wanted to fight him.  Really?  Have I told you that I'm over hockey for this year?

 2.  Ryan and I had date night on Sunday night.  For those of you that have young ones and think they will have picky eaters forever, have no fear.  Ryan's menu consisted of Thai calamari, Caesar salad and three lamb chops, mashed potatoes and veggies!

 3.  Downton Abbey is just plain wonderful.

4.  Looking forward to dressing up at the beginning of February. A big, fancy affair.  It will be fun!

5. Seems like a lot of us have reading more as a New Year's Resolution.  I'm reading One Day at the moment.  What are you reading?

enjoy the rest of the week!

ps: I just noticed that I used the clementine picture and Matt's desk last week in a post....oops sorry!

Link Love

It finally snowed.  And, we had a snow day yesterday.  Double bonus!  So now we have an extra long holiday weekend.  Boys are happy about that!

I haven't done a link love in a long while.  Enjoy!

 I saw this awhile back and thought it would be fun to pretend.  I'm a bit old for Prince William, but I could pretend for just a moment, couldn't I?

  This is the best kids's party EVER!  Wish I had thought of it when the boys were little.

  Even though the holidays are over, I still want to make some of this scrub.  Maybe as a gift to me!

What a great idea!  I want a poster of all of mine. 

A new to me blog . I think I'm in heaven.

enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Making...

I decided to bake something other than cookies today.

Ina Garten was calling to me so I grabbed her Back to Basics cookbook.

Out popped her Honey Vanilla Pound Cake.

While it's not the best pound cake I've ever baked, it fit the bill for today.

It's heavy, dense and has a great sweetness.

I enjoyed it with a cup of tea, while dreaming of snow.

Enjoy the recipe.

Honey Vanilla Pound Cake

1/2 lb room temp. unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 extra large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 cups sifted cake flour

 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a loaf pan.  Line the bottom with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

Cream the butter and sugar for 3 to 4 mins.  Meanwhile, put the eggs, honey, vanilla, and lemon zest in a glass measuring cup but do not combine. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the egg mixture, one egg at a time, scraping down the bowl and allowing each egg to become incorporated before adding the next egg.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder. With the mixer on low speed, add it slowly to the batter until just combined.   

Pour into the pan, smooth the top.

Bake for 50 -60 minutes.

5 things...

I have no idea how to start this post.  Should I just lie and say my weekend was splendid?  Ryan was away with his dad at a hockey tournament, so Matt and I must have had some good quality time together, right? 

Wrong! We did have the quality time, but happy it was not. 

I'm not going to sugarcoat it.  Matt found himself in trouble this weekend.  Big trouble. It's not life threatening,or police related, or something so bad that he can't dig himself out of.  But for a kid that has never been in the Principal's office this is big for him

I wondered if I should write about it, but then decided to at least talk about the feelings we are going through as parents and child.  

1. It's hockey related.  Hormones racing and not one rational thought going through his mind.  He was skating away from the trouble, when trouble came looking for him.  The opposing skater was chirping in his ear as he skated away...until Matt could take no more.

2.  He found himself suspended from all further play and practice.  Tears and let down have followed.  I'm glad to see that he is truly remorseful.  

3. I have felt sick to my stomach all weekend.  I have always known that my kids would make mistakes and as they grow older, those mistakes would be greater. But, when a big one comes, your heart breaks for him and all you can do is be supportive and let the chips fall where they may.

4.  I'm thankful for my hockey parents who were very supportive.  They know that Matt is an awesome kid and this was a fluke.  They have spoken to Matt and me and have encouraged us to keep our chins up.

5.  This has been a valuable lesson to Matt.  A true life lesson, which I'm sure, he will tell his kids about someday.  But right now, it's hard for him . The parenting is hard.  And it just plain stinks.

Making...

I wish I had pictures of the two items that I made this holiday season.  One item was a plain 1x1 ribbed hat for my brother.  He lives in Dallas, so I can probably count on one hand how many times he's going to wear it.  I made it with that brown and white alpaca/wool mix up in the picture.  It's really soft and will do the job while he's out walking the dog.  

Next up was the Gap cowl for my sister who lives in New York City.  She's a nanny and requested a chunky scarf, that wasn't itchy, to wear at the playground with her charges.

I wasn't sure about this pattern as I knit it, but when it was all completed, I was sold.  The best part was, she loved it!  It was just what she wanted.  

Still working on this hoodie, only in brown.  Can you say boorrriiinnnggg?  

Lastly, did you see this today?  I want to make everything.

Happy New Year! and 5 things...

Well, 2012 is upon us and if the last few days are any indication of what this year is going to be like I don't want it.  We went to a family party to celebrate the New Year.  It was great fun!  I always like to celebrate with my favorite friends,  However, the next day...January 1st was not so fun!  Crabbiness settled in around here like it was here to stay, making me question if the night before was worth it.

Thankfully, we didn't have school today, so everyone was able to sleep in one last time and hopefully, catch up on some sleep.

So, between the fights and the crabbiness I did do a bit of thinking and here are a few things that I would like to accomplish this year.

 1.  Read more.  Last year I fell short of my goal.  Setting the same goal and trying again!

 2. Knit more!  Actually, I should say, finish the objects that have been started.  I have one sweater, and two socks that are waiting for their mate.  I also want to make a few scarves for some special friends.  But first, I need to finish Ryan's brown hoodie.

 3.  Have patience...with everyone.

 4.  Eat less sugar and drink more water.  The sugar one is going to be difficult for me.

5.  Fine strength. Strength to be a good mom, wife and friend.  Strength to deal with difficult times.  Strength to say no when more is asked of me. Strength to look inside myself and find the person that I want to be.

Here's to a great week everyone!