WINNERS aren't BORN, they are MADE!

Last year they started out as a loose bunch of High School students - with no ties or connections to each other. The only bond between them was their shared love for the game, to play soccer! They were categorized as the bronze team, the lowest team to play in.

Yesterday, they were crowned undisputed Winners and Champions in their league!



Our Bulldogs team went straight to the top in 23 undefeated (!!!) matches; come rain, come shine or snow! We travelled to the furthest places ( to a German that is, for a Canadian it's just around the corner) or played in our own neighbourhood. We mothers huddled together under big umbrellas, sat on cold benches, wrapped in blankets or sleeping bags, we made the most of every cold morning!

Yesterday, it all came to a crescendo! God, my heart warms and jumps with joy when I see our healthy, strong, dedicated and handsome (!) sons!



It all comes down to a good leader or coach, right? Somebody who can awaken the giant within you? Somebody who will start a burning desire to succeed, somebody who will let you know 'we stand strong as one, together as a team'.

When you read this it sounds quite sophisticated, complicated, technical or challenging, wouldn't you agree? At the end of the day, a coach can make or break the team!

Who needs Antony Robbins when three highly motivated fathers can do the same thing? Three dads who wanted to spend some more time with their lads in the evening! Let me call them Phil, Zack and John.

All they did was put on their coaching suits, were their own quirky, goofy selves and - Voila - magic happened. To this day I don't know if our coaching dads play soccer themselves (they know about the rules though) or if they have any coaching experiences.

I don't believe I just wrote this, silly me! Of course they do. They are fathers, they are raising children and they just created winners! Whatever they did, they sprinkled the right amount of pixy dust onto our sons; to bring the best out in them; to make them run faster, shoot harder; try harder!

How did they do it - apart from sprinkling the dust? Don't ask me, I am only the mother who supplied transportation and watched from the side lines! All I remember is their laughter during practice, high fives, our Christmas party, paintballing on a glorious Sunday morning, ice-creams at Dairy Queen, encouraging words during matches and in emails, shouting, yelling, more laughter and encouraging words to our goalie when the occassional, unstoppable ball slipped through his fingers.

Could it be that simple? The magic formula for success is HAVE FUN & JUST DO IT?

Dear coaches, I bow my head in admiration: You taught our sons to believe!



To believe in themselves and in their team! Thank you!

BEER & FLOODS! OR better, FLOODS of BEER

Over the last three days we had torrential rain in our neck of the woods. I got so fed up with the water that I decided to write about it. But before I go any further, you need to know that we live on top of a hill. Dominic always wanted to live 'on the top' - I on the other hand would love to live next to the ocean. My husband granted himself his wish;  whereas I have to listen to Mick Jagger's "You can't always get what you want to."

I decided to blog about the poor guys who live at the bottom of the hill and our wonderful morning spent at a local brewery to bottle 140 bottle of Dominic's own signature beer. All I need to do is somehow connect these two:



There are always three or four ways of dealing with a problem, or in our case, with an inconvenience!  By now you know that liquor prices in B.C. are ridiculously high. Like so many other men, my loved one feels an undeniable attraction to a cold bottle in the fridge. In order to keep his love affair going he is forced to do one of four things,

- To keep on buying beer and to keep on complaining,

- to keep on buying and stop complaining,

- to stop drinking beer, - yeah, as if this would ever happen,-

or, to become creative!

In Dominic's case it meant to find a local brewery and design his own beer; Not only is this a tasty, slightly intoxicating way to make your dollars buy more, it is also a fun way to bond with your teenage son when it comes to bottling. This is what I call a creative mastermind!



Do I hear you say 10.45 AM is too early for your first glass? If you think so, then you most likely haven't heard of the "It is 5 O' Clock somewhere"- rule.



When you live at the bottom of the hill and your front yard has been flooded, you need to become creative too. Don't just complain about the rain, have your alternative transportation ready, put your house on the market and move up to the top of our rock. You will be safe up here and the view is most

likely much better!  



Unlike the roads and unfortunate houses at the bottom, our house will never get flooded. On the contrary, we are getting ready for another force of nature: The force of attraction when the word hits the street that Dominic is in possession of 140 bottles of freshly brewed grain and yeast. Friends, our doors are always open, we welcome you!



-