THE BEST SUPERBOWL COMMERCIAL YOU NEVER SAW

I studied advertising in college.  I worked in the advertising department of my college newspaper.  I don't change the channel during commercial breaks (on the rare occasions when I'm actually in possession of the remote).  I really do watch the Superbowl just for the ads.

Which is why I feel qualified to tell you that this year's best Superbowl commercial never aired in the U.S. 

The premise: a documentary is being made about Canadian rec league hockey.  But when the teams show up for the game, the arena is transformed into an NHL-style venue, complete with mascots, announcers.....we have a kerfuffle.....and a flash mob of wildly cheering fans.

My husband's hockey team is called the Magic Mullets.  And really, aren't all mullets magical?  I'm just wondering what that mascot would look like?

You really should watch it.  Even if you don't like commercials.  Or hockey.  Even if you aren't married to a Canadian who plays rec league hockey.

Because nothing is more heartwarming that seeing the dreams of middle-aged men come true.

PICTURE OF THE DAY: WEEK 17

Easter, orchestra concerts, anniversaries . . . there was so much going on this week that I completely forgot to post pictures of the Easter Egg Hunt we hosted last Saturday for the neighborhood children.  So keep on scrolling to see the crazy, SNOWY Easter Egg Hunt of 2011.

It's not like we've never had a snowy Easter.  But that usually happens when Easter is in March.  Not THE LAST WEEK OF APRIL!!!  On the bright side, the snow made the pictures kind of pretty.  And the kids looked sort of cute all bundled up. 

If you're looking for a cheap, easy way to endear yourself to the neighbors, I suggest hosting an Easter Egg Hunt.  This year I bought a box of 220 eggs at Wal Mart for $10.  Fill the eggs with some candy, or all the spare change you have in your couch cushions (trust me, kids love it) and you are instantly the most popular family in the neighborhood.

Even if it snows, the children will love you. 

I love how these two appear to be discussing egg hunting strategy.  So there you have it.  The crazy, snowy Easter Egg Hunt of 2011.  Better late than never!

PEEPS SHOW

Did you know the Washington Post sponsors a Peeps Diorama Contest every year?  It's brilliant, really.  Because what else are you going to do with Peeps?  Eat them?

This year's winning entry was The Chilean CoPeepapo Mine Rescue.

One of my favorite entries from this year's contest: Impeeption.

You can see more 2011 entries here.  And I just can't resist sharing a few entries from previous years.

Remember US Airways Flight 1549?

Octopeeps

I had to include this one, since the Stanley Cup Playoffs started tonight.  Best trophy in sports, but that's a post for another day.  Go Red Wings!

YOU WON'T SEE THIS IN BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

Maybe Canadian Living, but who reads that anyway?

G wanted me to use his "game worn" hockey socks.  They were smelly and full of holes.  There is a limit to the amount of man decor one can allow.  Especially during the holiday season.  If I give him an inch, he'll be getting out the leg lamp and the moose mugs and insisting on a fun, old-fashioned family Christmas.

 Let's zoom in a little closer on the Christmas decorations and see what's hanging on the tree.  Thank goodness G's mom only sent a box of six. Along with a Calgary Flames Christmas stocking and Santa hat.  I told the kids the hat could only be worn in the privacy of our home.  A Red Wings fan has to draw the line somewhere.

THANK YOU LORD STANLEY

Dear Lord Stanley,

I just wanted to thank you for buying that big silver punch bowl back in 1892.  Just in case they don't have ESPN in hockey heaven, I wanted you to know that it's still the best trophy in sports.

It gets passed around from team to team every year, just like you said it should.  That's what makes it so special.  There's no other trophy in sports with such a great history. Did you know that the players on the championship team all get to spend a day with your cup?  It's been all over the world . . . even to Afghanistan.  Don't worry, someone from the Hockey Hall of Fame always comes along to keep an eye on it.

Peter Forsberg was the first person to take the cup out of North America.  Just between you and me, he's not my favorite hockey player ever.  That would be Steve Yzerman.  I'm sure you've heard of him up there in hockey heaven.  In 2006, your cup made it back to it's birthplace in London, England.  They even put a plaque at the store where you purchased it 114 years before.

When Dan Cleary brought the Cup to Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, 27,000 people came to see it.  Which is a pretty good turnout, considering only 3,000 people live there.  Your little silver punch bowl has been to the top of Fisher Peak in British Columbia, and Mt. Elbert in Colorado.  It's been on a fishing boat, a roller coaster ride, and inside an igloo.  It's been to the White House quite a few times, and has had a pretty illustrious television career. Oh, and that time William Shatner knocked it off a balcony on an episode of Boston Legal . . . I'm pretty sure that was a replica. 

This will probably sound crazy, but Andre Roy used it to carry an engagement ring, while flying in a helicopter (which I'm pretty sure they didn't even have back in your day) piloted by Guy LaFleur.  And I hope you don't roll over in your grave when I tell you this, but some players have used it to baptize their children.

One time, the cup got left at a photographer's studio, and the photographer's mother planted geraniums in it.  Which I suppose is better than the time some Montreal Canadiens players left it by the side of the road after changing a flat tire.  Or that time in 1941 when the management of Madison Sqaure Garden finally paid off the mortgage and burned the mortgage documents inside the Cup.  It was 54 years before the Rangers won another Stanley Cup Championship.  I don't suppose you had anything to do with that, did you?

During a playoff game in 1961 between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Montreal Canadiens, a fan tried to steal the cup.  Luckily they caught him.  He told the judge he was just trying to "take the Cup back to Montreal where it belongs."  In  case you were wondering, it doesn't float.  The Pittsburgh Penguins tested that out in Mario Lemieux's pool back in 1991.  And just to be sure, the Canadiens tested it again in Patrick Roy's pool in 1993.

People eat and drink out of it a lot, mostly alcohol.  It is a cup, after all.  And sometimes a bowl, for cereal, dog food, and popcorn, among other things.  But Martin Brodeur will probably tell you to be careful about  popcorn.  The Cup had some butter stains and salt damage after he ate popcorn out of it back in 2003.  I bet Maurice "The Rocket" Richard was pretty mad when he chipped his two front teeth drinking out of the cup in 1957.  Although he probably would have ended up getting them knocked out eventually anyway.

Last year the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Cup. I'm not sure how they did it.  I know their captain, Sydney Crosby, is really cute good at hockey, but he's so young he couldn't really grow a playoff beard to speak of.  And I thought that was pretty much a requirement to get the backing of you and the other hockey gods.  Of course, he got the game winning goal in the U.S.A vs. Canada Olympic gold medal game back in February, so maybe good looks count for something.  Honestly, I'm not a fan of those beards.  They get so scraggly by the time the championship series is over, so it's good to see that you're taking other factors into consideration at playoff time.

Anyway, you probably already knew all this (and a lot more), being up there in hockey heaven with Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau, Toe Blake, Bobby Orr (okay, he's not dead yet, but he's legendary) and the others.  But I just wanted to say thanks.  Because of you, this is the most wonderful time of the year.  Oh, and one more thing.  I don't know how much influence you have (I would think quite a bit), but I really love the Detroit Red Wings, and was hoping they might be able to take your cup home again this year.

Thanks for everything,

A Hockey Fan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditions_and_anecdotes_associated_with_the_Stanley_Cup
(June 12, 2009 - Photo by Harry How/Getty Images North America)

THE STOCKINGS WERE HUNG BY THE CHIMNEY WITH CARE . . .

In hopes that Wayne Gretzky soon would be there?  Yep, take a closer look.  Those are hockey socks hanging from the mantle.

First, I have to address the one issue I have with hockey socks.  They are not socks at all.  They are legwarmers.  Having said that, I think they look pretty good.  Festive even. Of course, they aren't practical.  Anything Santa stuffs into them is going to fall right out the bottom.  That's why we put out the "real" stockings on Christmas Eve.

This is the sort of Christmas decorating you do when you have a Canadian husband.  Usually I ignore his decorating suggestions because they are, well . . . not good.  But it's the holidays and I was in a giving spirit.  I think I've done a rather good job of combining the sports look with the Better Homes and Gardens look.  I wonder if Martha would like it?

I was also pretty excited about finding the PEACE stocking hooks.  There are five of us, but five letter Christmas words are hard to come by.  I know a family with 14 children.  I wonder if you can get MERRY CHRISTMAS stocking hooks?

WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?

This is what E was doing at 6:00 am this morning.  Which isn't as early as it sounds, considering he was up at 4:00.  He did get to stay up until midnight.  On a school night!  And go to his dad's 10:30 pm hockey game!  Oh wait.  That's not so great when you have to wake up at 4:00 am.

What in the world is he doing with all those electrodes attached to his head?  He's having an EEG (electroencephalogram). It's a test used to detect abnormalities related to electrical activity of the brain. These abnormalities tend to show up more often when someone has been deprived of sleep.  Hence the midnight to 4:00 am sleep schedule.

We'd planned to head straight to school afterwards, but I just couldn't bear to take him.  So I bought him pancakes at McDonald's and let him come home and have a nap.  Then I took him to school.  I'm not a totally irresponsible mother!

He is most concerned about passing the portion of the EEG where they flash a rapidly blinking light in your face. If your brain does something abnormal during the strobe light, NO MORE VIDEO GAMES!

This is E's second EEG. The first one didn't tell us much.  Both have followed seizures, fourteen months apart. After the first seizure, he got to ride in a helicopter, although it is a ride he will probably never remember.  You can read more about that trauma here. We didn't see the first seizure. We saw the second one.  I can't say which was worse, watching the helicopter take my son away, or watching him have a seizure.  Four minutes can feel like a very, VERY long time.

Oh, how I hope we find out what is going on in that brain of his.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY . . . AGAIN

Since G was traveling on his birthday (Tuesday) and Wednesday night is "Crazy Night" at our house, we finally got around to the traditional song-singing and birthday cake eating tonight.

Look! His hat matches his birthday cake. Now that's something you don't see every day. Just in case you aren't a hockey fan, the flaming C is the logo for G's favorite hockey team, the Calgary Flames. (Go Redwings!)
Once again, this fabulous and very tasty (chocolate with cherry filling) cake was made by our cake-decorating, costume-sewing, enchilada-making neighbor. The same neighbor who who made the awesome Pokemon cake a few weeks ago for C's birthday.

Obviously, unless you live in Calgary, you can't just run over to your local Wal-Mart and get a Calgary Flames cake. If you want an awesome birthday cake, I'd be happy to put you in touch with her.

I wonder if she can make me an "I Don't Want to Move to Singapore" cake for my next birthday?

RED WINGS VS. PENGUINS

As you may be aware, the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated my beloved Detroit Red Wings on Friday to become the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions (best trophy in sports, but that's a story for another day). I am married to a Canadian, so I am VERY aware.

Mysteriously, as Game 7 of the series approached, everyone around here suddenly became a Pittsburgh Penguins fan. So you might call this year's Stanley Cup Championship: Mom vs. The Rest of the Family. Actually, that match-up occurs almost daily around here, but for today we are talking about hockey.

To be fair, E has always been a Penguins fan and he even has the hat to prove it. As for everyone else, they will be making their own dinner and doing their own laundry indefinitely. Right now you may be asking yourself, "How does a girl from Wyoming become a Detroit Red Wings Fan?" Well, (and it is VERY hard for me to say this) 20 years ago when I was in college, a friend from the mid-west introduced me to the now retired and rather-handsome-for-a-hockey-player, Steve Yzerman (pronounced eyes-R-man). He was the Red Wings captain for 20 YEARS and retired as the longest-serving captain of any team in North American major league sports history! He's also my favorite hockey player ever . . . and so for longer than he was the captain, I have been a fan. People think I love hockey because I married a Canadian, but the truth is, I married a Canadian because I love hockey.

And so, as another hockey season comes to a close, I'd like to share a little insight into why this game is so important to Canadians (my husband and half-Canadian children will be so proud). It can pretty much be summed up by a picture book: The Sweater, by Roch Carrier, a story so important to Canadians that it is quoted on the Canadian $5 bill and was made into a short film by the National Film Board of Canada. When film critic Leonard Maltin saw the The Sweater, he accredited it with the revelation and explanation of what hockey means to our northern neighbors.



In the book, Carrier wrote: Nous vivions en trois lieux : l’école, l’église et la patinoire; mais la vraie vie était sur la patinoire. Translation: We lived in three places - the school, the church and the skating rink - but our real life was on the skating rink. Of that line it was said : In writing one line, one simple quote, Roch Carrier summed up our entire country, our culture, our history, our people. He is Canada. There are some things that are simply Canadian, that belong to us and us alone. That is Roch Carrier.