rain on game day...

the pats have done it again... au contraire to what critics have thought... and we were there to witness it!!

Sara-Matt-Christine
(I'm supporting Brady, I mean he is married to a super model! But, this is before changing to a Meriweather fan, more on that below! Matt is sporting the 00 with his last name on the back and Christine is supporting the team by showing her appreciation for the coach!)

Caleb and me - we're BOTH sporting the QB look :)

On a rainy Sunday morning, Caleb and I piled into my car loaded down with a canopy (for our post game grillfest), Patriots jerseys, hot dogs, hamburgers, cookies, and other goodies. Our destination, Patriot Place! We stopped in Brookline to pick up Christine and her load of yummy food and onward to Foxboro. Upon our arrival, we met up with Matt, Caleb's best friend from childhood, Bill, and Joy. We headed to the stadium to cheer on our beloved Pats, rain gear included!
During the game, I saw a few people bearing some yummy treats - fried dough, or for you southerners... funnel cake. I excused myself and headed toward the food stands to pick up the delicous delicacy. To my dismay, I couldn't find it ANYWHERE. Caleb's a popcorn fan, so I decided to grab a large container of popcorn and a drink. The server takes the cap off my bottle and won't give it back! Apparently it's stadium policy to not allow caps... we may hurt someone? What is this world coming to. Well, I trudge back to the stadium, and on my journey, yes it was a journey carrying my large popcorn and capless drink, I see a guy who is busy putting sugar and cinnamon on his FRIED DOUGH at the condiment counter. "Excuse me, where did you get that?" He points to the window behind him. I thank him profusely and head to the counter. "One fried dough please!" a silly grin plastered on my face. Of course, I head back to the condiment counter and dump powdered sugar and cinnamon on my fried dough and maneuver back to my seat. I make it back, no popcorn spillage and, more importantly, no dropping of the fried dough. I settle in my seat to enjoy the game with my fried dough and pass the popcorn along to others... (sorry, I forgot the photo-op of fried dough... for those that know me... usually there's photo showing how much I enjoy the delish dessert - see below- Caleb and Sara dining on dough at Six Flags)It was an exciting game and a fabulous win AND I got my fried dough :) Also, I have decided that I enjoy watching #31, Brandon Meriweather. Before the music that boomed from the stadium speakers stopped and before the play started, he would DANCE on the field, and encourage the fans to get into it!! I did find out he's ONE year YOUNGER than me! It's strange to think that the players are my age...
We stayed until the stadium was almost empty and headed back to our car for some tail-gating! We busted out the grill, hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, potato salad, chips, salsa, guacamole, drinks, etc. It was rainy, it was wet, but we had fun and didn't have to sit in traffic!! Sorry, no post game tailgating photos...

Avkoppling = Relaxation

Weekends are great. The feeling that the day-to-day life of the 5 day work week is over and the weekend is yours to enjoy, to do what you please. Weekends can be a way to catch up with what you haven't had time to do during the week, or a way to relax and "koppla av" as they say in Sweden.

Helgerna finns för att ta det lugnt och koppla av. Det känns skönt att kunna väcka när man vill på en lördag morgon och njut av dagen. Jag var ut och gick en promenade med min mamma, bara gå tillsammans, prata lite och ser alla nya hus som blir byggt i vår område. På en lördag är man inte jaktad, man kan kolla in i varje nya hus och undra hur det ska se ut när den är färdig byggt. Senare på dagen är det ärende som gäller. Det som jag ser fram emot efter solnedgång är hockey. Oj vad jag tycker det är kul. Att knytta skridskor, sätt på min hockey jersey, öppna dörren till is och "bara åk". Vilken härliga känsla! Visst är det sent på kvällen, men det är bara dig, din team och den härliga känsla att åka skridskor i en timme så hårt man kan. Efter, blir man helt slut och den kvällen när man ligger i sängen och sover, då sover man BÄST! Sen är det söndag morgon. Jag vaknar och hoppas att jag kan sova längre, men det finns barn som jag är söndag skol lärare till. De vill att jag är där för att sjunga, leka och har det kul med de. Då stiger man ur sängen, duschar, äta frukost och skynda sig till kyrkan innan barnen kommer. Eftermiddag blir det Amerikansk football som gäller, eller en promenade. Söndag eftermiddagar finns för att göra ingenting. Vilken helg! :)

Something to think about:
"Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine." - Anonymous

Saturdays are meant for relaxation. I love Saturdays. It's nice to go for walks feeling the breeze on your face, and the sun shining brightly. As I walked through my neighborhood, there's no sense of hurry. It is just a lazy Saturday morning. I can talk to my mom as we walk and peer in the different houses being built. We go inside the skeleton houses and plan out how it's going to look when it's finished: bedroom here, kitchen here, fireplace there, master suite here.

After a relaxing walk, you can take care of errands that you weren't able to finish during the week. There's no hurry.

Once the sun sets, the highlight of my weekend has arrived. Playing hockey. The feeling you get as you tie your skates, pull your jersey over your head and snap your helmet in place. I grab my stick and head for the ice. I love the sound of the click as the door opens and the scrape of my skate on the ice. A quick warm-up of skating around the rink and shooting on goal. Then, it's time, the sound of the puck hitting the ice. Gametime. It's the rush you get, struggling to get to the puck as it is pushed into the zone. It's the feeling you get when you and a teammate block off the defense behind the net so one of you gets the puck and the defense loses. It's the sensation of making a pass under pressure and watching as your teammate's stick slaps at the puck and the puck hits the back of the net. It's the satisfaction of coming off the ice completely exhausted, knowing you gave the game 100%. That night, the best feeling is pulling the covers over your head and falling asleep, your body completely worn out.

The next morning, you struggle out of bed. Sunday. It's time to teach Sunday School. Some people may think it is silly to spend a "valuable" Sunday morning teaching Sunday School. They would rather sleep-in. Well, pulling my worn-out body out of bed is difficult, I will admit. However, the satisfaction from seeing the 5 year old's face light up when I tell him we're doing an obstacle course, or the sound of the 4 year old's voice when I tell her we're going to sing her favorite song - she starts belting out the tune with a smile on her face before the rest of the class has even comprehended which song we're singing. Teaching Sunday School is such a reward. The children are so fun to teach and they always have funny stories to tell. They want you to think they are special and you leave knowing you've left your footprint on a child's life.

Sunday afternoons are filled with family dinner, football, and just enjoying the laziness of a Sunday. The feeling that you have nothing to do till Monday morning is satisfaction enough.

“Att våga är att förlora fotfästet en liten stund.
Att inte våga är att förlora sig själv.”
- Sören Kierkegaard

This sums up my weekend :)

"I’m looking forward to looking back on all this."
- Sandra Knell