Mom Outings

Hockey in the winter is typically my sanity break.  I get to blow off a bit of steam and then have a beer with the girls.  Hockey is finished for the year and soccer doesn't start until the end of May.  Getting out at least twice a week on my own is tricky but I need to make it a priority to get some not-mom time.

This past weekend I was invited to a friends private gig to take pictures of her band Di-version

The Band

 Dave on Bass

 Lead singer, rhythm guitar and other.... Al

 Jim on Drums

 Mike on Sax

 Sheila on harp

 Vince, lead guitar

 Sheila on keys

The venue was fun, the photography was fun(ner) the beer from the band was fun(est).  It was a great night out.  Sheila (from hockey, soccer, the band and the infamous Alpaca farmer / lawyer), was given a box at the women's IIHL championships for Saturday night so we got to go out as a family and watch some awesome women's hockey.

 Russia versus Switzerland

 Popcorn and ice cream.  The night was just starting to get fun for the little one.

 Some of my very favourite peeps :)

 And then the jumbo-tron gene kicked in.  I have decided that she gets that from her dad as I am not at all a jumbotron kind of gal.  He is the show man in the family and Sid was determined to get on the big screen at the game.  Dana, another great hockey friend, started sharing some of her favourite dance moves with Sid.

If you have ever seen Dana dance you would understand what an undertaking this was.

Here Dana shows Sid the surfing move.

This is spirit fingers. 

 There was point, point, spirit fingers, drive the bus, do the groceries, stir the soup, back the bus up and surfing.  Wow!  Awesome.

Dana's Dance Lessons in Action

 On Sunday I snuck outside for a bit when Ken spotted this bird of prey flying and hunting above the field across the road.  It is a male Northern Harrier.

 Later that afternoon we spotted the female flying in the same place.  The nest must be close by!

The final Mom outing was something I would never have believed I would do.  I was invited to be the guest speaker at the Ottawa Valley Spinners and Weavers Guild.  I was to present a 30 minute talk and demo about needle felting.  Wowzers!  This doesn't seem to difficult.... if you have the jumbotron gene... which once again... I DONT!  Yes, I had a stint as a musician playing on stage but never spoke, I have taught needle felting classes and parenting classes but that was to small groups.  Last night I was doing public speaking to a group of over 60 people!  Well I did it.  I discovered that I would not seek out the opportunity to speak publicly but with the right motivation I can do it!  I was so happy I went.  I met so many interesting people and Sid's Drama teacher was there because she is a spinner with tons of info to share with me.  Small world.  The best part was meeting artist and fellow jabber (his name for a needle felter!) Chris.  Look at his Aslan.  It was unbelievable.

 There are over 300 hours in this masterpiece.  Chris is a very talented artist in many other medium, particularly painting but this was something like I had never seen before.  I was blown away.

Facing one of my biggest fears was so rewarding and I am so thankful I went and met so many new friends who also love fiber and particularly wool.  I networked and made some great new connections for fleeces and natural dyes.  Pushing myself to do things I wouldn't normally do has opened so many doors.  What a good life lesson that was!