Can a girl get a little appreciation?!?

Actually this post isn't about me...or Jordan...it's dedicated to my girlfriends.  If it weren't for them I wouldn't be the semi sane person that I am today.

For instance, today I was starting to freak out about wedding stuff and then one bbm later from one of my girls I already felt like everything was going to work out and be ok.  Another example is when I am feeling EXTRA lonely when Jordan is away and they come through with a fun girls night.  Spending time with your girls and a couple glasses of wine always does the trick and I'm either able to laugh or cry it off with them.

I have been sooo lucky to have great girlfriends in my life whether they are from my home town, college, other hockey WAG's I've met along the way, or are fellow bloggers!  So this blog is dedicated to you ladies! Thank you for all of your help whether it is a shoulder to lean on, an encouraging facebook message, or a blog post that I can really relate to :o)

Here are a couple of pics of these fabulous girls I am talking about:

Bringing it waaayyyyy back.  Me and a couple of my bests back at our senior prom....yikesss look at those dresses!!

haha almost 8 years later at my friend Holly's 25th and we are still young at heart and having fun :o)

A little bit more recent.  Welcoming back our friend Grace from the Peach Corps Guatemala

My soccer girls.  Even though I'm not as close to them as I used to be they were a HUGE part of my life!

A couple of the "Wheeling Massachusetts" hockey wives at a wedding this past summer :o)

Back in the day buffet!! Hanging out and acting silly in our gross college apartment haha

Another oldie but goody.  I think this was our first night back to college Junior year.

                                   ALMOST all of us together in Southie ready to head into town.

Goodnight everyone and make sure you let your friends know how much you appreciate them!!

Career vs. Career

So as many of you know I plan to make the big move from Massachusetts to Europe, (or wherever Jordan decides to play), next year and for those of you readers who don't know me or have not read my previous posts, this will be my first year taking the plunge and actually living as a hockey wife.  Now the reason I bring this up is because I ALWAYS get asked, "well what are you going to do over there?" or "what about your job?"  I definitely feel comfortable with the first question because I tend to keep myself occupied with little projects, working out, and blogging of course :o).  But I have to say I can never really give someone a confident answer when the "job" question comes up.


I have been working since I was 15 (definitely not going to tell you the embarrassing places I worked my first couple of years haha) and was brought up valuing hard work and  the ability to support yourself.  I have never been one of those girls to ask "mommy" or "daddy"(or Jordan for that matter), for spending money.  Sure I've had to ask for help now and then for student loan bills and things of that nature (really regretting going to a 45,000/year private College these days haha) but never to go buy myself a new purse or really great pair of shoes.  Luckily I have had jobs that were able to pay the bills and support my shopping habit simultaneously.


For the past 2+ years I have been working for a Nationally recognized company and have learned what it takes to be a successful business woman.  I feel like I have grown  into my position and I'm ready to move to the next level and see what kind of challenges I can face and succeed at.  The only problem is, I'M LEAVING in 7 months to follow my future husband's hockey career.  Is it really justifiable to sacrifice one career for another?  I often find myself struggling with this question and sometimes it makes me want to laugh.  Sometimes it makes me want to cry.  Sometimes I just get numb from thinking about too much and I become brain-dead to the rest of the world. (You'll know when I am having these types of days haha).  Do any of you other hockey wives out there feel this same way? 


It's not that I am scared of the unknown, it's more about my own personal progression.  On one hand I feel like I have really grown into myself since college and most of that has to do with me becoming a confident working professional.  On the other hand I feel like I have been missing a piece of myself because it lies with Jordan across the country/world, where ever he may be.  I guess I will just have to keep three very important things in mind:


1. Life is about Sacrifice
2. Cherish the ones you love because they may be gone tomorrow
3. I have the REST OF MY LIFE to work!


I'm really enjoying # 3 and it gives me a serious sense of comfort.  So now I will look forward to the future and enjoy the ride while I can because hockey will not be there forever.  Hopefully when the time comes to hang up his skates Jordan (and the rest of the hockey guys out there for that matter) will remember the sacrifice their women have had to make to support their career.

Ok, obviously I am neither of these woman and nor do I think hockey wives dress in the underwear and their husbands equipment haha, but you get the idea.


Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Attention all Fox hockey fans

Here are some new Jokipojat photos to enjoy!!

In other Jokipojat news:

Jordan's team has a new coach, former NHL player, Essa Tikkanen.  Jordan said practices are going much better and they are NHL-style practices, i.e. shorter but very intense.  Games seem to be going better as the team is 3-1 since the new coach started.  Jordan is still playing wing, which he is not thrilled about, but has a new line:

In the last game against D-Team Jordan got two assists and 2nd star so this line change seems so be working out really well! Unfortunatley Jordan's team is still ranked 9th which doesn't put them in a playoff position but they are only 1 point away from the 8th place team.  The top 8 teams make it to playoffs so if Jokipojat continues to play well in the 15 remaining games they should be good to go!

Blogging and Life Purchases

Hello my fellow Bloggers/Readers!

First off I wanted to discuss blogging in general.  I'm pretty new to this blogging world but I have already become  addicted/fascinated with this whole thing.  I love having the ability to jot down my thoughts/share stories about Jordan and I's journey together and also having people read/comment on it. I actually find it very therapeutic.  I also LOVE reading other blogs about other couples who are in similar situations so if you see that I am "following" you it's because I think your blog is interesting and helpful!  I think it's great that you can turn to blogging to get advice, ideas and connect with others who understand (or who don't :o)) your lifestyle. 
I have to say before I really started to get more into blogging I used to follow blogs "anonymously" because I was afraid people would think I was a creep haha.  Luckily I have figured out that most people don't think it's creepy at all and are flattered to be "followed".  I think the same way so if you like our story and think it's interesting or helpful, feel free to follow me! Trust me, I do understandd if you want to stay anonymous but I PROMISE I won't think your creep if you don't. I would love to hear from you so feel free to write a comments on any of my posts....this is a judgement free zone!
This serves as a nice little segway to my next topic; this blog in general.  I started this blog REALLY as a way to follow Jordan in Finland and how I felt about it/ how I was dealing with it back in Massachusetts.  While I will still talk about that, I would really like to broaden it up and talk about our life adventure together in general.  Whether we are apart, together, living in Massachusetts/St. Louis/Finland/who knows where, or gearing up for the next hockey season I would like to share it with you.  Hopefully I don't lose to many die hard hockey fans out there who only read this to follow Jordan's hockey career but instead, gain some new friends who I can share stories with.
One more thing about blogging; I am by NO MEANS a professional blogger or a great writer so I'm warning you now, expect A LOT of errors.  To be honest, before my last post I didn't even use spell check which looking back on it was clearly not a good idea.  I spent a good 1/2 hour reading/editing my post I wrote while I was in Finland and was appalled.  So I vow to you that this won't be perfect but I will do my best to edits my posts so they are actually readable haha.

OK enough with the blogging schpiel.  Next I would like to talk about "life purchases".  I was visiting with my friends Grace and Holly a couple of days ago and I was showing them a couple of new things I had bought at the mall.  I told them I bought these things to bring with me next year, wherever that may be, and the reasoning behind each item had to do with the ability to use them in multiple settings/seasons.  Grace immediately said "Oh My God your starting to make life purchases".  Now when you think of "life purchases" I'm sure you think of a house, or a car, or a pet but because of our lifestyle we can't REALLY make any big life purchases together until we get settled somewhere which probably won't be for a couple of years.  So for now, my "life purchases" will be things I can really get a lot of use out of and things that will be helpful with the transition of moving for next year's hockey season.  I'm really trying to keep the saying "Less is More" in my head because prior to these "life purchases" I would buy things that I would only wear/use once.  I can't do that anymore because I would have WAY to many things to try and bring with me next year so instead I am now buying for "quality" rather than "quantity".
Here are my first couple of "life purchases" I have made so far and the reasoning behind them:

                                American Glamour Badgley Mischka Large Satchel With Cage Detail
A Brown and black bag that I can wear with practically ANYTHING.  A quality fall/winter purse that will last!

                                    MICHAEL Michael Kors Jet Set Leather Bifold Wallet

Need a good wallet to go with my purse! I've never been into wallets and the last one I owned lasted me for 6 years so I think it was time for an update.

                  Michael Michael Kors - Jet Set Small Crossbody (bronze) Designer Handbag

I actually got the silver one but I think either color will do the trick.  This will be my "going out" purse.  If you have seen me out in the past year or so you may notice that I wear a cross body bag that never actually leaves my body.  This is because I tend to forget or lose my purses at the bars/cabs/anywhere else I may be drinking so I decided that if I don't take it off of my body I can't lose it right?  Personally I think this is genius  for space cadets like me but the old one I've been rocking is far to casual to be wearing with clothes I dress up in to head into the city.  This new bad should do the trick and I can wear it every season.

                                                               Unity by Carlos Santana

Yes I realize riding boots are kind of old news but they are perfect to wear Fall, Winter, and Spring.  When I went to Finland all of the women wore long boots so I figured I should get a pair that will work for all seasons, will keep my feet and legs warm, and still look cute doing it ;o)

                                                           BDG Cinched Anorak

This lightweight jacket it perfect to wear in the Fall or Spring and doubles as a raincoat. It's perfect for casual wear and not to mention it looks great with my riding boots and handbag!

OK time for a REAL "Life Purchase":

I haven't actually bought them yet but I figured it's time for my to buy my own pair of ice skates since I am marrying a hockey player.  Jordan better watch out...I might actually get really good on these things and give him a run for his money!  Plus I'm going to need a pair to help teach my niece to skate...she's still a work in progress but look at her go!

Alright enough blogging for the day.....I'm exausted!

HM

It's a party in the USA

Hello friends/fellow bloggers!

New Years Eve in Finland was definitely low key for Jordan and I but we still had a good time spending it together and having the ability to share a kiss at midnight :o).  We ended up going to another couple on Jordan's team apartment where we enjoyed some wine and played Xbox Kinect.  I am OBSESSED with it!  We played Dance Central for a couple of hours which was a lot of fun because A) It's always a good laugh watching Jordan/guys in general dance, B) I killed Jordan dancing to Soulja Boy haha, and C) the game takes pictures/videos of you dancing and they are sooooo funny when they are played back on the screen.  Here are a couple pictures of Jordan and his roommate playing Dance Central and evidence that I kicked some serious butt!

After we spent time dancing/making fools of ourselves we went out to the town center to watch a huge fire work display which was pretty cool and very different from any New Years traditions I have experienced in the States.  I really enjoyed the fire work display and the crowd watching in the snow.  It was actually really pretty but my camera didn't do the event justice and you can't really see any fireworks but I thought I'd share a couple.

After we watched some fireworks we headed to a local pub and had a drink with a few of Jordans teammates and their wives/gf's.  We decided to go home shortly after because I still had to pack and we wanted to spend some time by ourselves before I left in the morning.

Now, if your wondering about the title of this post let me explain;  I have never been so happy to come back to Massachusetts and eat normal HEALTHY food, see my friends/family, and take in the ease of everyday living in the US.  Yes I know this makes me sound uncultured/unappreciative of Finland BUT I truly feel lucky to live in the states where there is so much opportunity and variety.  I kind of felt like I was in an optionless bubble when I was in Finland.  Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a beautiful country and the people are great, but I definitely missed being able to go to the grocery store and buy asparagus, tomatoes and brussel sprouts.  Ok not really brussel sprouts but I like having the option! Or another example, going to the movies and being able to pick from 10 or so new movies;  In Joensuu they had 5 or 6 and only 1 or 2 in English for us to watch.  If any of you REALLY know me and Jordan then you know that going to the movies is our thing so this probably affects me more than other Americans....but still I like my options.

So maybe this post is is a reflection of the little things I need to appreciate more in the US.  Maybe it's a indicator that I need to get my butt out there and experience other cultures and embrace what the rest of the world has to offer (besides movie theatre's haha). Or maybe it's a little of both ;o)

So here is to Jordan and I taking in everything US, EVERYTHING FIN, and everything else the world has to offer in 2011 and beyond.  Happy New Year Everyone!