Hockey widow ?« Soup Is Not A Finger Food

Soup Husband Curt and his hockey team, the Men of Steel, are in Toronto this weekend at the Hockey North America tournament. He's been looking forward to the getaway - and the chance to play hockey in the Motherland. What hockey nut wouldn't be thrilled to play in the same city as the Hockey Hall of Fame? As of last night, they had lost their first game and were set to play this morning. Depending on how today goes, they may or may not have one more game to play.

Before he left Thursday morning, he had to finish something for work, so he set his alarm clock for 4:00 a.m. so he could leave with a clear conscience. So imagine my confusion and shock when, this morning, his alarm started ringing at 4:00 a.m.! In my delerium, I went over and tried fumbling around in the dark with the buttons (this seemed the better alternative to turning on a harsh light). Now, it's a pretty new clock with lots and lots of buttons, except, apparently, an OFF button. I somehow managed to make it stop and returned to bed, but when the alarm started going off AGAIN at 5:00 a.m., I realized I must have just put it on some hour-long delay, which I'm sure I could not have done if I had been trying to do so. I ripped the cord out of the wall and placed the clock in my bathroom, then returned to bed yet again and that damn clock started beeping 30 minutes later! Wow, I thought - that's some clock, to remember your alarm settings even when it's unplugged! That'll be handy the next time we lose power. I ignored it and it finally stopped. And then the kids kindly let me sleep all the way until 9:00 a.m.!

(Note to self: Register for Alarm Clock Orientation 101.)

Last night, I was all set to host the monthly gathering of Ladies' Poker Night. Oh sure, I hadn't had a chance to sweep the kitchen floor or clean off the dining room table or hide the stack of crap that sits on the kitchen counter or wipe off the toilet seat or make some impressive appetizer or even buy beer, However, all the usual players dropped out one by one, leaving only three of us, two of whom had young kids who'd need to be somewhat supervised. So naturally, we did what any mom in that situation would do: We busted open the liquor cabinet and started mixing drinks, threw a Tony's Pizza into the oven, and settled in for a rousing game of SCRABBLE!

What? Scrabble??

Oh, yeah baby. Let it never be said that we don't know how to rock the party. There was all manner of trash talk:

HER: Dude, I'll so kick your ass in Scrabble!

ME: Bring it, bitch!

She won - she had a bingo that buried me - but I sure had a great time. Who needs poker when you have letter tiles and a Scrabble Dictionary?

As I finish my third cup of coffee this morning, I realize there seems to be a lot of light outside. I'm not sure, I could be wrong, but it might be the SUN. Which is nice, because we've had wicked thunderstorms this week with blinding downpours, and that's always fun to drive in. Today's plans include a run to the grocery store for eggs, milk, and bread (because we are truly out of those things, not because there's a threat of a snowstorm), getting The Boss to flag football, and maybe some low-impact yardwork.

And figuring out how to keep that possessed alarm clock from interrupting my night's sleep.