Baby it's Cold Outside...

As I sit here, the heat is turned up forcing me to start to "glisten". Well, you ask, why is the heat up so high? To that I answer, BECAUSE IT IS -16 DEGREES OUTSIDE!!! You got that right, Holy Cow. Well, if I were not a hockey player that needed frozen water to perform my passion, then this would pose a serious problem. But this is exactly what I asked for. So that being said, things here are going well. Despite my car making inaudible noises as it tries to start up in the morning, the noises that I make are a little less pained! The team is doing well and we are training as hard as we can. It has been incredible to have the space to listen to everything around me and really feel the ice when I am out there. I cannot express how blessed I feel every time I step onto that rink.
My days are full of training and skating but I always leave time for lots of reflection and reading. Right now I am reading Dan Millman's, The Way of a Peaceful Warrior. If you have not heard of it, pick up a copy or rent the movie. It has truly changed the way I train and see every moment that I live.
I am on my way to visit with some old friends from Deerfield, the Lindsay's, who now live in Edina, MN. Tomorrow we may play some pond hockey which will be rather chilly but thanks to my lax girls, I have plenty of hand and feet warmers to protect me from the bone breaking cold!

To those that have read this, I believe that you believe in yourself.

All my love...

First official Day in Minnesota

Speeding ticket : $147

Washer fluid only to find out the bottle is frozen: $5

2 large cups of coffee: $5

Arriving in Minnesota after 19hrs in the car in one day...priceless

Just how I like it, my trip out here was not short on good stories. I am sure those that remember my story about the last time I moved to a new place to play hockey full time and the day before I left my car engine caught on fire, well I did not want to disappoint you this time. 

I had some wonderful music, provided by some very talented Bullis students, that kept me focused on the road and even allowed me a few minutes of singing louder than the music which my sisters will tell you is one of my favorite things! 

So around 11:30pm when I finally pulled in to the Churchill apartment building, my roommate Chanda, our wonderful goalie was there in her pajamas ready to help me with my bags. I could barely keep the eyes open so I grabbed my toothbrush and headed inside. I was sped up by the

 -8 temperatures cutting through my jacket! 

Went right to sleep which, as you can imagine, was not difficult. I did, however, have a dream about how I was going to plan out my next lesson plan for my psych classes! I am not sure what the unit was, but whatever it was I was struggling...may have broken in to a sweat over that one. 

This morning I finally unpacked my car, after I thawed out my doors which were frozen shut. Got my stuff upstairs in just enough time to set up my "soldiers" before heading to our game. The game was fantastic, yes our team won but just being on the ice again with the players, brought an erasable smile to my face. After the game, we had a little autograph signing session with this local girls hockey team. They were so appreciative but I wanted to thank them. I wanted to thank them for continuing to show me that hockey is an extremely fun game and that is just why we play. They love the game because of so many reasons and feeling that rush of happiness when you step on the ice, especially at that young age, is something to be remembered forever. 

We left the rink, had a nice post-game pasta meal and then came home to unpack a little more. 

Tomorrow is a day full of training both off the ice and on. I will do my best to stay under the speed limit as I navigate my way from the city out to the rink! I am not promising anything though...just kidding, Nina Wendling is my life line! 

Much love...

You cannot tell your heart what it wants. Your heart will tell you.