Friday Jams

Posted on March 8, 2013 by tosabarbell

Jouni Valkeapaa joik…a Sami folk song chanted by a guy’s dad. SRSLY. I hope to hear at least one folk chant next week.

Enjoy the weekend.

Don’t exchange your happiness for riches.

Sami Proverb

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Nighty Nite.

Posted on March 8, 2013 by tosabarbell

I remember vividly when I used to be a good sleeper. I was in my twenties. I never needed a ton of sleep but 6-7 straight hours each night was fine. Even the bed didn’t matter. I could sleep on a regular bed, a waterbed, an air mattress or even the ground when camping. Ahhhh, the good ‘ol days.

Then I had twins. And my Z’s had to eat one ounce every three hours or their preemie arse’s would land back in the hospital. And to feed them one ounce in the middle of each night took and hour. One hour for Za, one hour for Zac, and one hour for me to clean up; get the next set of bottles ready; and nap. By the time I returned to work I only had to wake up once each night to get them both fed but I was still up for a couple of hours to get things done. And that’s been my sleep pattern ever since.

I remember being so tired that on some Sunday’s after dinner, my folks would take the Z’s and tell me to go home and rest. I’d pass out on their couch, not having the energy to get the few blocks away to sleep in my own bed. I have no idea how I got through those first six months but I do know I chuckle when I hear of TWO parent’s complaining about lack of sleep for their ONE baby. Toughen up folks, it could be worse.

My time in Texas reminds me of those days. Up at 5:15am, to bed at 11:00pm (if I were lucky) and going Mach II in between. I was exhausted, always exhausted. My training sucked, my piece of mind sucked, and every part of my life was less than what it should have been. Just because I was tired.

There are countless things in my life that are better now that I’m where I should be, but good sleep is not one of them.  I finally realized that I wasn’t making it a priority so that’s on me.  Knowing that I will likely still wake up around 2-3a.m. I try to be a good girl and go to bed at 9pm. It makes me feel elderly, but it works. That way, if I DO wake up (BTW, once I’m up, I stay up for at least a couple hours) I’ve already clocked a good 5-6 hours of sleep. What I’ve also noticed, is that if I force myself to shut off the world and go to bed early, I’ m more likely to STAY asleep. So in the last couple of weeks, I’ve had at least four or five nights of 7-8 hours of sleep…at one time!

My peace of mind is better, my training is better, and overall…life is better.

Sleep is the best meditation.

Dalai Lama

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Tourney Time

Posted on March 7, 2013 by tosabarbell

Yesterday was the kick-off of the Minnesota Boys’ State High school hockey tournament. Arguably the best four days of high school hockey in the country. It is the weekend that little boys dream of, because you can be sure since they were old enough to lace the skates, they were told stories of the Tourney.

The first tournament was played in 1945 and in a very bold move, the MSHSL split the tourney into two classes in 1994.  In the 2006 tournament, the average attendance per game was 18,000 people. It’s the big daddy of high school sports tournaments (yes, bigger than Texas football) and a treat if you can score a ticket. Years ago, there were a few teams in the A class that I wanted to see and pulling my goalie girl out of school for a few days to head to St. Paul wasn’t even questioned.

Some schools are literally known as hockey royalty. Bloomington Jefferson; Duluth East; Edina; Hill Murray; Roseau; St. Paul Johnson and Warroad to name a few. I can not even imagine the pressure playing for or parenting a player on one of these teams. Our little middle of the cornfield town association had more politics than I was able to handle, a big named team? UffDa!

Heros are born in every tournament. A good game, played with all the passion and intensity High School pride can supply, is one of the most entertaining hockey games you’ll ever see.

Our little girls made it to the tournament during Zandra’s last year on the team.  Even though it was a very rocky season for her, she soaked in the pomp and circumstance and had a blast. Their first game was against the soon to be state champs. The Roseau Rams are also hockey royalty and that first draw was the kiss of death for our gals. The back up goalie started the game and after letting in 8 goals the coach finally put in Za. Funny though, the news story was the shellacking the Rams gave our Lil tigers and the three goals scored on my girl were the highlights shown. True story. It was pretty lulz. At least she got on the news. Heh.

But the boys tourney? That’s over 60 years of tradition. There are certain rules that were set while watching as a lil tyke with my mom being raised on the Iron Range…

A. Always cheer for Grand Rapids

2. If GR was not in the tourney, always cheer for an up north team.

III. NEVER cheer for a private school. Fuck private schools and their money.

3. Moorhead is technically North Dakota, don’t cheer for them.

IV. Even though we hate hockey dynasties, it’s ok to cheer for Bloomington Jefferson because the Beattie boys (cabin neighbors) played for them.

And the best tourney time rule of all?

All regular chores will be waived and homework will not be given during the Boys Tournament. Fact.

So good luck to all; for those who will only play a game or two, soak it in; for those with a chance to win it all, win with class. And for the goalie parents? Bring flasks…lots of flasks.

You’re playing worse and worse and right now you’re playing like it’s next month.

Herb Brooks

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Back Cracks

Posted on March 6, 2013 by tosabarbell

I’ve talked about how important it is to me that I take care of my back. What I failed to mention last time is that I have a cousin in Madison who’s Chiropractic business has been going strong for over a decade. She’s worked with many powerlifters and even her receptionist has a hubby who is a competitive bodybuilder. Moral of the story, she knows her stuff and understands all the work we do that can help us keep a strong back and in a flash, mess us up enough to be miserable.

I took a little roadtrip last week so I could have lunch with Cousin Stacy AND get cracked by Dr. Shropshire. And crack me she did. After taking a couple of x-rays to make sure things looked relatively good (they did), she got me on the table and went to work. She’s magic. I counted at least 8 good cracks before she even got to my neck! I felt like I could finally relax, it was glorious.

OH! Her best line of the appointment? “You have really good posture but your shoulders have a round to them, do you work on your upper body a lot?” Uhhhhhhh, yeah. Lots. Heh. If you’re in the Madison area and your back needs some good cracks, call her…she’s your gal. She’s at HealthSource of Fitchburg; Dr. Stacy Shropshire; 608-274-3809.

Shut the fuck up Donny.

Walter Sobchak

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