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31 Days

Wow, just like that we are 31 days into 2018.  It seems like just yesterday we were ringing in the New Year.  The days and weeks have passed as if they were on an unending conveyor belt.  Now here we are peering into February, girl scout cookies in hand, battling to keep hold of our new year’s resolutions.  Oh, we are fighting the good fight, but those damn Thin Mints are so amazing!  Nevertheless, we fight on!

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My resolution to hit the gym early has hit a snag with the sinus infection and illness in the house.  There are so many people around us that have the flu, so we’re doing everything we can to avoid it.  Unfortunately, this means foregoing the morning workout for additional sleep.  Once I kick this sinus infection, you can bet that I’ll be back.

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As I drove home tonight, my mind was a conveyor belt of thoughts.  I know, I know a blonde thinking.  You’re probably imaging steam coming out of my ears and  you’d be right. I played sports growing up in multiple organizations as did my brothers.  I can’t say that our sports careers were perfect or picturesque, but I would say that the leagues and organizations we were part of actually followed the rules.

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In contrast, my kids experience is wildly different.  In fact, once they’ve aged out, I’ll write a book about it.  Of course, I’ll have to label it carefully as non-fiction because people won’t believe the stories and anecdotes I have to share.  Here’s my biggest frustration.  If you have rules as a league, why aren’t they enforced.  More to the point, why are they selectively enforced?

I can’t for the life of me understand how our league works here.  Truly, it is diametrically opposed to what I grew up with.  Moreover, when we’re back in Minny and we speak to Goalielocks’ coaches or are friends whose kids play hockey, they look at us sideways.  They can’t believe the stories we’ve shared.  It’s the same sport, but wow what a difference.

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I guess it goes back to the sliding scale of accountability, which drives me bat shit crazy.  If you have rules, you should equally enforce them across organizations, teams, and players.  If you sit one player for being late, you should sit them all.  Its no different than how you would/should operate in a corporate environment – everyone is subject to the same rules regardless of who they are or how they perform.  I know, I know, common sense or at least I thought.

Anyway, this aggravating conveyor belt of thoughts is driving me to Samoas, so I’m going to cut my losses and go hang around for a bit in my silk.  Tonight’s song performed by CNCO ft. Little Mix is “Reggaeton Lento.”

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It’s That Time Of Year

It’s that time of year folks: it’s Girl Scout cookie time.   To be honest, it’s a bit cruel to start selling these delectable cookies a mere 3-4 weeks in our new years resolution.  Who can resist a Samoa, Thin Mint or Tagalong?  These sweet, little morsels of evil come around just a we’re starting to hit our “new year, new you” stride.  Frankly, they’re cryptonite to those of us with a sweet tooth.

While they may have derailed me in the past, they will not this year.  This year I have a plan.  Oh yes, my strategy is to leave them out, grab 1 or 2 and let the boys finish them off swiftly.  I bought a paltry five boxes, which in a house of 3 teenage boys will probably last me about 24 hours.  In fact, I’ve been home no more than an hour and already 1.5 boxes are gone.  #Winning

Unfortunately, these cookies aren’t calorie or sugar free, which is a total bummer.  Moreover, some are so sweet, I feel a cavity  and 10 pounds coming on as I eat them.  This, of course, is why my master plan is so important.  Thus far, I’ve only had one.  Can you see me patting myself on the back?  Because I totally am.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be headed to Circuit Burn in the morning and Zumba in the evening.  The two-a-days will also help counteract the evil doings of the cookies.   I’ve been off the gym for a week due to the sinus infection, Goalielocks’ almost procedure and my ankles.  Consequently, I’m looking forward to getting back to hitting the weights and the TRX.

Tonight’s song performed by Three Doors Down is “Krptonite.”

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Monday Medicine

I started my Monday off at the doctor’s office for some Monday medicine.  While I only see my ob/gyn once a year, I resent the fact that I have to have a specialty doctor for every pat of my body.  When we lived in Minnesota, our family practitioner took care of all of our medical needs without referring us out.    In contrast, here in Florida family doctors are few and far between.  Consequently, you end up with a general practitioner or internist, an allergist, an ob/gyn, a podiatrist, an ortho, and a dermatologist.  I could literally go on all day naming the specialties all day!

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To be clear, I have the utmost respect for all of my doctors and am quite happy with all of them.  My complaint is that I hate having to go to 36 different people for every little thing.  As a result, instead of one co-pay, you end up paying 36.   It just stifles my willingness to go to the doctor.  As much as I hate paying the co-pays, I simply don’t have the time for 36 appointments.  I don’t know if it just the reality of living in S. Florida an area dominated by an elderly population or if it is just what medicine has become.

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Fortunately, today’s appointment went well.  I won’t be back to her office for at least another 365 days.   Since she got out of the ob world, her wait times have dropped dramatically.  Today I barely waited and was in and out of the office in less than 45 minutes.  In contrast, when I was pregnant with the Mayor, I often sat in the waiting room upwards of 45 minutes.   Thank god those days are over!

Lastly, in addition to a song, I’m sharing some of my favorite quotes that  use the word stifle.  Stifle is the word for the daily prompt, but I found these two quotes to be exceptionally poignant.  Tonight’s song permed by Pearl Jam is “Alive.”

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Amazing Art

Last night, I had the opportunity to view some amazing art at an art gallery opening in Wilton Manors.  The gallery, Negril Art Gallery, was holding its grand opening complete with wine, hor d’oeuvres, music and great company.  This event was made even more special as my employee was one of the night’s featured artists.  It was an awesome opportunity to enjoy some art while supporting a colleague.

Honestly, I had an inkling that his work would be great, but I had no idea just how amazing they would be.   Consequently, I was completely awestruck by his work.  His portraits were sublime.  If you asked me which one was my favorite, I wouldn’t be able to pick just one.  They were that good!

I really enjoyed the gallery opening.  First of all, it was the first time in a long time that the Hubby and I were attending something that wasn’t hockey related.  Secondly, the art was utterly sublime.  Lastly, it was amazing to see our team there to support their colleague.  Truly, it was incredible seeing all the people form work that went to support Kwame.   It was a great event!

Afterwards, several us went to Padrino’s for some Cuban food and more drinks.  Oh yes, the vodka and long islands were free flowing as we waited for the others.  I enjoyed Arroz Con Pollo, while the hubby had lechon asada.  Fortunately, both of our decisions were pure perfection.  Both the chicken and the pork were cooked perfectly and were full of flavor.  We will definitely be back!  Moreover, our bill was only $200, which for 8 adults that are all drinking is pretty darn cheap.

After Padrino’s, we headed over to Cafe Vico for some more drinks and live music.  Unfortunately, the band had finished playing by the time we got there.  They had music playing, but the song choices were not fantastic.  Fortunately, the DJ/Chef/Owner let us start playing the music from his iPad. We had a fabulous time and shut the place down.  We ended our night by committing to go to Reykavik or Zurich for a girls weekend.   All in all , we had an amazing night out on the town.

Tonight’s song performed by Prince is “When Doves Cry.”

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My Sexy New Accessories

I think the title says it all, but my sexy new accessories finally came into the podiatrist office today.   Oh yeah, that’s right those sexy mo-fo orthotics came in.  They cut a mean silhouette – Louboutin has nothing on these. Now I’m taking my look to a new sartorial high, or low since I’m still in flats, with these sexy inserts.   That is of course if your definition is  comfortable arches and less tendon pain.  It sure is for me!  Honestly, I really miss wearing my heels and I miss running.  I’d also like to be in less pain, but I’d be happy to be in heels.

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Truly, it is exciting as it the first step towards a return to normalcy.   I dream of the day that I can go back to wearing stylish heels with my dresses and not my Asics.  Moreover, I dream about getting back to training for all the races I want to run this year.  The longer it takes to heal; the harder it will to fit in all my races.  After all is said and done, I want to hit my running goals in 2018, but with healthy legs, ankles and feet.

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I know you’ll be surprise, but this weekend we’ll be back at the rink.  We only have one game this weekend, which is about all I can stomach.  Sunday Goalielocks and his team are headed to the beach to do workout.  Meanwhile tomorrow night I’m going to an art gallery opening in Wilton Manors.  I cannot wait to see the gallery and my colleagues art, which will be on display.  Myself and several of my colleagues are headed there to show our support, so it will be a fun night.

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In other news, the flu has taken hold here in Florida.  It has become so prevalent that the boys’ school sent home a letter today.  In the letter, they asked us to keep kids home that are showing any symptoms that could be flu related.   This comes on the heels of the passing of a 12 year old boy in Palm Beach County due to the flu.  It is unbelievably sad.  In fact, this flu season has claimed over 37 healthy children.  Its devastating.  Fortunately,our pediatrician gave my boys flu vaccine earlier this fall.  The vaccine will offer them some protection even if the strain isn’t a complete match.

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Well, I’m heading to be early, so I can try to get some rest before heading to the gym and hockey tomorrow morning.  The sinus infection has been the pits this week  and has kept me out of my classes at the gym.  I’m looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow.

Tonight’s song performed by the late, great Janis Joplin is “Piece Of My Heart.”   This video it veritable gold.  First of all, Janis’ performance was amazing.  Second of all, the audience members dancing on stage are comic gold.  I hope you enjoy the video.  Janis would have been 75 on January 19th, which is crazy.

 

 

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Almost Friyay!

You know the best thing about Thursday is that it is almost Friyay!! I love Fridays. The day brings an air of satisfaction as it symbolizes yours survived the work week. Moreover, it signals that you’re about to indulge in the rest and relaxation that is the weekend…. And then I wake up, remember I’m a hockey mom and accept there’s no rest for the weary.

I’m back at Zumba this week, which feels amazing. There’s nothing better than being reunited with my girls. My recently injured tendons are handling it okay. It’s odd because Zumba doesn’t really bother my left posterior tibial tendon. However, it really bother my right tibial tendon. Of course, it is the opposite when I run. Unfortunately, neither side can seem to agree on which activity it can tolerate, which is beyond frustrating.

One thing that doesn’t bother my ankles, is aerial yoga. Unfortunately, the invasions haven’t been working so well this week due to major sinus congestion. In fact, they’ve been borderline painful with tons of pressure. I did, however, notice that afterward my sinuses felt clearer.

Tonight I had a plan in mind to help decompress my back while opening the sinuses. The first try didn’t go so well and was pretty uncomfortable. On the second try, I just screwed it all sorts of way and was able to gracefully fall out of the silk. Fortunately, I found great success with subsequent attempts. The key tonight was closing my eyes and concentrating on my breath as my body and sinuses became acclimated to the inversion. Success!

I’ve since eaten dinner, so there will be no more inversions for me tonight. However, I’m writing this post as I am laying in the silk swinging ever so gently. You can’t beat it!

Before settling into the silk, I headed upstairs to see Hammy the Hamsters new and more secure digs. Much like our chameleon, she made a break for it over the weekend while we were at hockey. When Goalielocks discovered she was missing, he let out a trill of a sound that was unintelligible

Upon hearing this confounding noise, I quickly headed upstairs to see what was wrong. I quickly realized he was in hysterics as Hammy and escaped. He, of course, was convinced that she was dead and gone, but I had hope.

I had a gut feeling that she was in the Mayor’s room finding and I was right. It took 3 of us 20 minutes to lure her out, but we were successful. Goalielocks put her back in the cage and put books over it, so she couldn’t escape. Meanwhile, I had the foresight to have all the doors closed and items placed underneath the door, so she couldn’t get out of his room.

Unfortunately, no more than 24 hours later, the escape artist had escaped again! We were back to hysterics. This time she hadn’t made it out of Goalielocks’ room. She had stashed a lot of food and herself in the tiny space behind his armoire. With the help of Hubby, he was able to get her back into her cage. Since she had escaped twice in a short span of time, we moved her to a smaller cage with much less space between the bars.

Fortunately for Hammy, her new cage arrived tonight and she is loving life. She’s got plenty of space and activities to do. Meanwhile, we’re thrilled because she can’t sneak out of this cage.

We’ve had a hell of a week between colds, sinus infections, escaping hamsters and almost surgeries. I am definitely looking forward to relaxing this weekend and catching up on some rest. Well, at least when I’m not at the hockey rink…..

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Thank you!

First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone that reached out to check on us today.  We truly appreciated your well wishes, concern and support.  The past several weeks, this procedure has been top of mind.  It has been completely dominant in our thinking.  Well at least my thinking.

While we were hoping that the procedure would be completed today, we have complete confidence in the advice of our doctors.  Since he was healing from a cold, he was at a heightened risk for bronchial spa  sms or pneumonia, which are both very serious complications.In fact, we’re quite happy with how they approached Goalielocks’ case this morning.  Truly, his well being was top of of mind.    Consequently, we will now wait for another three to four weeks before the procedure can be done.

Tonight gratitude is the dominant thought.  I’m grateful for the doctor’s wisdom and professionalism.  Additionally, I’m grateful that my son is finally on the mend from his cold.  Lastly,  I’m grateful for the amazing support we have received from friends and families across the globe.  Please know that your well wishes, support and concern were beyond appreciated.

Tonight’s song performed by John Lennon is “Beautiful Boy.”

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Heading Home

After arriving at the hospital a bit tardy, we were swiftly checked in and sent up to the surgical waiting room. There was some question as to whether or not they’d perform the surgery as Goalielocks has been sick.

We met with both the anesthesiologist and his physician, who were both concerned that he’d been ill. The anesthesiologist listened to his lungs and found some congestion present. Afterward we met with his surgeon, who  decided that the best and safest option was to delay the procedure 3-4 weeks.  Of course, it was easy for him to make this determination after hearing him cough.

So we’re heading home exhausted from the early morning alarm. Now Goalielocks can head to school and we can both head into work. Thanks for all the well wishes!  Please keep him in your prayers, so his lungs can heal and we can put this chapter behind us.

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Running Behind

It’s been one of those weeks where I feel like I’m constantly running behind.  Sunday I set my alarm an hour later than when I really should have woken up.   Yesterday, I was running to get the Mayor to the bus stop on time.  Even though I didn’t have to get ready for work courtesy of this awful sinus infection/cold, I was still running behind.  This morning the boys and I were running to get to the bus stop on time as everyone had slept through their alarms.  Fortunately, I was able to get them to the bus stop on time.

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For me getting to work at my usual time was a major challenge.  I was in a rush to get to work since I had unexpectedly missed yesterday and will be out of the office tomorrow due to Goalielocks’ procedure.  I knew I’d have to sort through a million emails before I’d even be able to focus on my work.  Of course, even the best laid plans go asunder.  This was the story of my morning.

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As I headed towards the office, the surgical nurse called to schedule Goalielocks’ procedure and go over his health history.   Unfortunately, the nurse couldn’t speak to me while driving, so I had to park before we could start our conversation.  I certainly can’t blame a health professional for not talking to someone while they are driving.   While it was the right call, it sidelined my drive to work for over twenty minutes. As a consequence, I was a bit tardy to work.

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I’ve been a bit concerned about Goalielocks going into surgery given that he’s had a low grade fever, nasal congestion, and a productive cough.  Today he was able to go back to school and is feeling much better.  However, I noticed tonight that his cough is still lingering.  Consequently, the nurse said it would likely be a game time decision as to whether or not the procedure goes forward.   As a result, tonight we are preparing as of this procedure is going forward.  If it doesn’t however, Goalielocks will head to school and I’ll head to the office.  My leadership has been very supportive throughout this process and the subsequent rescheduling of the procedure.

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Unfortunately, I feel like living in South Florida these days is akin to living in Florence in 1349.  Everywhere I go people are sick!  Sure we’re not dying from the great pestilence that is the Bubonic Plague, but I think I speak for all of us in saying, we’re sick of being sick!  So many of us in the office have been in a horrible pattern getting sick, getting a little bit better, getting sick again, getting a little bit better and then getting sick again.  It’s wearing us out.   Truly, we’re clearly to have our health, but a respite from the stead rotation of horrible viruses would be awesome.  Again, I don’t feel like I’m asking for much.

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It’s not wonder Goalielocks’ got sick.  In addition, to living in the big, vast germ pool that is South Florida, he was also on a plane and in Chicago last weekend. While I can’t say he got sick because we travelling, I don’t think that weather or the schedule were helpful.  Please keep Goalielocks and us in your thoughts and prayers.  We’ll be headed to the hospital bright and early.  Lastly I’ll post and update as soon as I have one.

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Tonight’s song performed by Florida Georgia Line ft. Tim McGraw is “May We All. ”  My family and friends would tell you I’m not a country fan, but tonight this song is for my Goalielocks.  This is one of his favorite songs.

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Can I Be Candid?

Can I be candid for a moment? Yeah, it was a rhetorical question.  You actually don’t have a choice.  Most of us are on social media, with the exception of my parents, and see the daily shit show that is social media.  Two of my favorite groups to follow on Facebook are our neighborhood groups and the state’s hockey forum.  The groups are filled to the brim with people who are completely unglued.  Consequently, some days its more entertaining than Netflix.

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We’ve actually nicknamed our neighborhood as the restaurant killers.  No matter which restaurant they try it’s either: not as good as it was in New York, crappy service, too expensive, decor bland, etc.. I could go on for days.  As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to open a restaurant near our neighborhood.   We recently have a restaurant open up near us and lots of our neighbors went to the soft opening.  Oh the diatribes that followed about all the glitches they encountered.  Apparently, they completely missing the fact that it was “soft opening.”

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From time to time people will make ad hominem attacks on HOA board members, which are unfounded given their volunteers. There’s one guy in our neighborhood that blasts the board on the page if the pool deck is dirtier than he’d like or the plants are overgrown.  Fortunately, he’s kind enough to post photos.  I guess people who aren’t hockey moms have a lot more time on their hands.  I can’t comprehend how he has time to do these things, but whatever.  They also like to blame renters for property damage or stolen property.   Oftentimes, their kids caused the damage  or the “stolen” property was misplaced.  What makes these pages so puzzling is that our neighbors are incredible, so confusing.

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On to the hockey forum, it is a complete and utter gong show at times.  Again people go on the page and call out organizations or worse people by name.  If you have a problem with someone, why wouldn’t you address it to them instead of blasting them on a Facebook page?  It’s fucking cowardly.   As for calling out organizations, it’s not always uncalled for, but seriously have your facts together first.  Lastly, if you don’t like the rules of the league, take it up with the league.  After all, the organizations do not own the rules and regulations, the league does.  Tonight’s I’ll be toggling back between NetFlix and the utter disaster that is the hockey forum.  It should be a night full of laughs.

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Tonight’s song, very apropos that the disaster that is the hockey forum, performed by the 4 Non Blondes is “What’s Going On?”  I’m really stuck in the 90s this month… I remember this song fondly as I would watch the video at my great uncle’s house in California.  The song always reminds me of that wonderful trip.