March 2020 - The Hockey Mom Fit Life

March 31, 2020March 31, 2020

First Day of Virtual School

Today was our first day of virtual school. As expected, it was a bumpy start to the day. Unsurprisingly, the bumpy start was fueled by arguments with teenagers over getting up early to be ready for school. To be fair, there was some conflicting advice as to when/how/where they needed to be today. Fortunately, all of this was clarified during the school day.

I was impressed that Palm Beach school’s servers and technology were up for the challenge. Comcast, on the other hand, was clearly not ready for the increase in internet usage. Frustratingly, we were without internet (and Hulu) did several hours this afternoon. In order to minimize conflict, Goalielocks used the PC up in his rom, while the Mayor used my MAC in our master. Crisis and conflict avoided!!! Lately, any victory no matter how small is worth celebrating.

While the boys got a jump on their school work, I was able to get in my run and a yoga class on Zoom. Unfortunately, the path is completely crowded, which makes Athena nervous. I have never seen so many pedestrians on the path! She stopped numerous times and pulled off to the side whenever a bike whizzed by us. Ultimately, it made for a slower run, but that was fine with me as my legs were tired and sore from yesterday’s workout. At the end of the run, we logged 2.5 miles in the South Florida heat. Yoga was awesome. It was incredible being reunited with my Tuesday Noon crew. In fact, it almost felt like things were normal.

Today’s first foray into virtual learning felt a bit like managing zoo. Although I have to say my boy looked happy to be on Zoom with his classmates. Hopefully the social reconnection via their online meetings. It is going to take a lot of patience from all sides to make it work. Not that we really have a choice because this truly has to work. I don’t see how we can return to school this year at all.

Since we had no WiFi this afternoon, I took the time to make the boys some homemade brownies. Fortunately, they are not gluten free, so I cannot eat them. As for dinner, we had plenty of leftovers from Lucille’s last night. We did take some time to get outside for a bit this evening since it had cooled down and the dogs needed a walks. In fact, Goalielocks had to go on a 30 minute walk for gym. Anakin was more than happy to oblige him.

To all the parents, who are working and assisting your kids with virtual school, best of luck. Remember brunch is seven days a week and you don’t even need an Uber to get to your couch. To all the teachers, you are amazing. Your job just changed in a completely revolutionary way. Your students miss you and your parents, at least most of them, have a new sense of respect for you! For my essential workers, the world would not spin without you. For those on the frontline of healthcare running short on supplies, thank you for continuing to care for our families and communities.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*reading Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery

*Watched The Office season 7

*2.5 mile run with Athena

*Yoga for a Strong Back and Gentle Flow – Open Heart Yoga studio, taught by Monica

*Supervised the boys for day 1 of virtual school

*cursed out Comcast while my WiFi was down for hours

*Baked homemade brownies

*took a quick walk with Athena and Maya this evening

*Called my parents reminded them they shouldn’t go to the store!

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March 30, 2020March 30, 2020

Productive Monday

I can’t even believe I’m writing this, but I had a productive Monday. More impressive is the fact that I know it is Monday. Mostly likely, this is the last time this week I’ll know what the day. Importantly, it was also the boys last day of spring break, so we spent today getting ready for virtual school as it starts tomorrow!!! Oh joy!

I got an early start to my morning with my coffee plus Vital Proteins and the news. Quickly, I remembered why I stopped reading the news all the time. Usually, my first workout of the day would either be a run or my BBG resistance, but today I began my day with an awesome gentle yoga class via Zoom. It was awesome!

After yoga, I completed the week six BBG resistance leg workout. (P.S. if you haven’t seen the Sweat App, it’s slick and worth checking out.). Honesty, I did more squats and lunges in 30 minutes than should have ever be required in a lifetime. Should feel awesome tomorrow! I kid, I kid. It was a fabulous, effective workout for my legs and glutes. I cooled down with a stretch session and quick walk around the circle with the dogs.

In the afternoon, the boys and I took the pups for a walk. Anakin walked with Goalielocks, while I had Maya and Athena under my control. The Mayor, however, decided to join us on his rollerblades. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful with clear, beautiful, blue skies. Unfortunately, it was pretty hot, so we ended up cutting out walk a little short. All three dogs did great on the walk. We had a great time and it was nice to get out of the house.

We ended our night by supporting ordering BBQ via Delivery Dudes. After a crazy, productive day with two teens and three dogs, I felt a break from the kitchen was not undeserved. While I prefer eating home cooked food, I feel it is important to support our local restaurants and businesses throughout this pandemic. In fact, tomorrow is Takeout Tuesday2. You can support your local restaurants on this day by ordering here: Door Dash

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*reading Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery

*Watched The Office season 6

*Watched episode 1 of Balthazar – pretty good

* BBG legs week 6 workout

*1.5 mile walk with my boys and puppies

*Gentle Flow – Fightmaster Yoga

*Set up the boys for day 1 of virtual school

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March 29, 2020March 29, 2020

What Did We Do Today?

What did we do today? The same thing we’ve done for the last two weeks: nada. Our second weekend of social distancing was uneventful yet productive. The hubby was able to trim all the trees in the backyard, while I was able to vacuum and mop the floor again. Apparently every other day isn’t enough with three dogs and two teenagers. I also made some yummy gluten free blueberry muffins and coffee cake.

Not surprisingly, our binge of the Office continued today with season 6. Albeit before our binge we had the dogs outside for a bit. Since the floors are covered with fur, I decided to comb all three of them to thin out the fur. No matter how much I brushed, there was still loose fur. Unfortunately, I may have been fighting a losing battle, but only time will tell.

Maya continues to improve with everyday. She was super playful all day today, which creeped Athena out. Apparently, Athena is scared of Maya’s cone. It was hilarious to watch! Her demeanor and energy level are the best I have seen in months. Tonight she’ll have her one of her last peanut butter sandwich with her antibiotics and pain meds. I’m absolutely delighted with her progress thus far.

I’m happy to introduce my newest blog feature: ninny of the day. Today’s ninny comes courtesy of our local neighborhood. While there is significantly less traffic on the road, there is still no reason to speed excessively through residential areas. This fool felt that driving his new sports car over 100 mph on a two lanes road (speed limit 45 mph) was a good idea. Unfortunately, he hit wet roads courtesy of the sprinklers. Consequently, he hit the guard rail and launched over the canal landing near the waking path. Fortunately, nobody on the with was hurt, which was an absolute miracle. As for the driver, I hope he’s okay, but clearly he’s an absolute moron.

So what did we do today, the same thing we’ll do everyday until this is over. Stay home and try to protect the world!

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March 28, 2020April 1, 2020

Stay At Home Saturday

It was a stay at home Saturday. I’m proud to say I actually knew it as Saturday today. Mostly because my hubby didn’t go into work today. Consequently, it seems that I may be able to successfully identify Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Yay! It’s the small victories in life.

I had planned to run today, but my allergies and pain in my shin suggested otherwise. Clearly, I’m in now hurry to get injured again, so for once I did the prudent thing and skipped it. Hopefully, I’m able to run tomorrow as a virtual strider for Miami’s Purple Stride event. The event was to be hosted down in Dade today, but due to COVID19 it was changed to a virtual event. You can donate to the cause above and I know my colleagues in our Dade affiliate would appreciate it.

In lieu of running, I took a virtual vinyasa class with my dear friend and yoga teacher Monica. She’s been my yoga teacher since my Zachary was in diapers. You can check her out at https://www.yogamundo.com. Anyways, it was my first vinyasa class since being diagnosed with Graves. The class was held via Zoom and there were a handful of students in the class.

Honestly, it was great to connect with people outside the homestead. Since I hadn’t taken a vinyasa class in almost two years, I was a bit nervous. It was tough, but I did it. It felt awesome!!! The class was ninety minutes of hard and productive work. Thankfully, the last several months of practice at Open Heart Yoga studio has helped my breathing, flexibility and strength. Sometimes it’s nice to see how far I’ve come since restarting my yoga practice in late October.

As for the rest of the day, I worked on crow pose and inversions. But mostly I binge watched the Office and Cheers all day. It was a gratifying day. For dinner, we grilled steaks and potatoes while the Mayor boiled crab legs. We served both with roasted carrots and an awesome salad. Now I’m ready for bed at 9:20.

This social distancing thing is exhausting. Who knew that doing absolutely nothing could be so tiring?!? For the past week, I’ve been lucky if I made it to 9:00 pm. Is this what Bears feel like when they’re starting to hibernate in their habitat? Or perhaps it’s because we have all the cares of the world on our shoulder due to the current pandemic. Whether we are worried for our own health or not: we worry about our family and friends that are vulnerable, we worry about our brave friends and family fighting on the frontlines of healthcare, we worry about kids serving in the military. All those worries, all those cares can be exhausting, so it’s important that we practice self care and that we connect with our family and friends as often as we can!

Lastly, here’s a quick Maya update. She continues to get better everyday. In fact, we had to stop her from playing with her siblings today. Thankfully, she’s in great spirits and seems to be doing well. Thanks again for all the love and support for our sweet puppy!

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*reading Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery

*Watched The Office season 4&5 and Cheers season 1

* BBG rest day

*1.5 mile walk with my boys and puppies

*Vinyasa class – with Monica from Yogamundo

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March 27, 2020March 27, 2020

What Day Is It Anyway?

This isolation thing has me wondering what day is it anyway? All the usual markers of my week are gone! How is one to distinguish Sunday from Monday with no Monday bus stop run! If there’s no yoga and I don’t go to my 4:00 pm class, is it even Wednesday? Honestly, I’m all over the place with my days. Frankly, I just lost my train of though as my mayor farted in my face. Only teenage boys tell their parents goodnight in this fashion.

Time is blending together as the isolation wears on. I’d hardly know it was a new day if I didn’t get my morning coffee. Admittedly, the Sweat App does help as I do my resistance workouts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Tuesdays and Thursdays are for running. Although tomorrow, which I’m told is Saturday, I’m going to run three miles.

This week we passed our time with some Disney movies and the Tiger King. Wow! If ever there was a show that could make you feel better about yourself whole making you terrified for society, this is it! I’ve never seen more of a train wreck before and I’ve lived in Florida for nearly fifteen years. From beginning to end, the Tiger King was a wild ride in insanity. I’m not neither Team Joe Exotic or Team Carol as I think they’re both terrible. I did, however, learn (thank you Carol) that is you want a big cat to eat something it shouldn’t put sardine oil on it…. Why would you even know that?!!! Oh wait…..

This evening we started watching The Office again. It made me miss Jake and Mel, so I had to text them that. Coincidentally, they were watching The Office season 1 together via FaceTime. Clearly, great minds think alike. Every time I watch this show, I love it more. It’s the perfect television binge for a pandemic.

While we binged on Netflix, our Maya stayed by our side on the couch. Her incision site is healing well. More importantly, she is returning to her normal self. She has a good energy, a happier disposition and a healthy appetite. In addition, she even tried to play with Athena and Anakin today. We’re very happy with the progress she’s made over the last twenty four hours. We’re praying that her biopsy results show nothing nefarious.

I thought it might be fun to catalog what I’ve learned during our time in isolation. Here’s what I learned this week:

Skipping rope is a lot harder than I remember it being.
I suck at skipping rope
Sardine oil makes big cats hungry
Not all hard seltzers are created equally
It is possible to make a yummy gluten free cake at home. Thank you Krusteaz!
My runs are getting faster!
Connections via technology are great, but they’re no replacement for the original.
Becky Sharp is one of my least favorite characters in literature.
It’s scary to drop off your pet for surgery.
I should not partake in more than 2-4 margaritas in a night.
I now understand how my parents felt when they told teenage me not to go out, but I went out anyway.
A college degree isn’t necessary to be an expert in a given field. A Facebook page, however, will make you an expert in everything.

What have you learned during this pandemic? I hope your list isn’t empty as there will be a quiz when this is all over.

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March 26, 2020March 26, 2020

Sweet Maya

Our sweet Maya has had a lipoma on her tummy for the last six months. After an inconclusive biopsy last month, Maya ripped it open causing an infection. Sadly, it got infected and quite smelly. Originally surgery on the growth was optional, but the infection and damage Maya did to the tumor necessitated it’s swift removal.

Consequently, I had her scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Additionally, I set up an appointment to make sure the infection was treated before her surgery. After seeing the damage Maya was able to do to the growth, the vet moved the surgery up to today. Since we’re in the middle of a pandemic, we were given curbside assistance. Sadly, we were not able to accompany Maya in for her appointments or post-op recovery.

Maya is our first family dog and almost eleven years old. She’s been very healthy outside of a lung cancer scare last year. According to the vet, the mass in the lungs is still there, but is extremely slow growing. Nonetheless, this was a high anxiety day for me and the family. I may or may not have called the vet’s office a couple of times to check on her.

Finally, the vet called at 2:00 pm to let us know her surgery had gone well. Thankfully, they were able to get all of the mass and she tolerated the surgery well. He also indicated that the wound looks great. At this point, she was in the post operative area where she was waking up from the anesthesia. Lastly, he indicated we could pick her up around 4:00 pm.

It would probably come as no surprise that I was at the vet’s office by 3:55 pm. I was anxious to see our sweet Maya again. The vet assistant walked her out and she was wagging her tail. Maya looked tired, but happy to see Goalielocks and I again. She’s spent the rest of the evening chilling with us on the couch. Now we’ll be crossing our fingers that the biopsy results show no cancer. Fortunately, the vet should be calling us Monday with the results. Keep your fingers crossed!

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March 25, 2020March 25, 2020

Week 2 of Social Distancing

It’s only the middle of week 2 of social distancing,l and I’m ready for it to be over. Particularly, I’m ready for life to go back to normal. More specifically, I’m anxiously awaiting my boys return to school. Every statement is a battle. I’m really over having to repeat myself 1,000 times a day. Obviously, it’s a lot of together time.

It’s been an arduous few days. I dropped my phone in the pool Saturday, so if you called or text me I didn’t get it. My dog, Athena, pulled the leash through my hand causing severe rope burns as she bolted to greet a friend. Apparently, for dogs social distancing is not a thing. Then yesterday I had Maya at the vet because her she cut open her tumor and it got infected.

Fortunately, she’s scheduled to have the tumor removed tomorrow. Unfortunately, if the tumor is a metastasis from her lung tumor (that is extremely slow growing,) her days with us our limited. No sooner had I heard that news on phone from the vet, when I backed out of my spot and the brakes went out. Yesterday was truly one for the books. No wonder I was in bed by 9:30.

Meanwhile at my airman’s base, there are three cases of Covid-19. They’re at HPCon Charlie, but I’m sure with these cases it will escalate quickly. Fortunately, he’s prepared if they are quarantined to their dorms. It sounds like if that happens he’ll still be able to do his training, which is great news. Thankfully, I know he’s being well protected where he’s at. Nevertheless, this is definitely the time I want to have him home.

Since I had no phone the last couple of days, I’ve enjoyed a bit of a respite from social media. Okay, I had my iPhone 6, but with the 15,000 photos I have on it, it was a bit slow going for me. Truly, I needed the break from Facebook particularly. Every post is either fake news, someone sanctimoniously preaching, or a combination therein. It’s annoying and counterproductive. Honestly, I just want to see memes, pictures of your families and know that you’re okay. If I wanted to be preached at, I go to church on Zoom.

The worst offenders on Facebook? By far the neighborhood pages. I’m telling you these people have absolutely lost their minds. Perhaps the most insipid post was from a father, who was asking for advice on how to tell his child he couldn’t play basketball even though other kids were playing at our courts. Obviously, that’s an easy conversation – as parents we make the decisions we feel are best for our kids. Other parents may feel differently. Of course, he had to take it a level up and post pictures he took of the kids playing basketball. I don’t know about you, but taking pictures of minor children without their parents consent is creepy A/F.

Anyway, things are looking up today. I got my new, fully functional phone, which is fabulous. We also got our new butterfly fish and goby for the tank, which is exciting. Excitingly, I got to speak with Jake tonight. He passed another block! I’m so proud of all he’s accomplishing day in and day out. He sounded congested like he normally does with his seasonal allergies, but I can’t help but worry. Thankfully, he was able to pick up some allergy meds and more supplies tonight.

As for me, I’ll be back to the regular tempo of my blog. It remains a healthy outlet for me during these difficult days. Even though times are tough, I’m reminded daily of how fortunate I am to live in a place with beautiful weather. Moreover, my family is incredible and as much as they drive me crazy, I love spending time with them. Last but not least our beautiful dogs remain steady by our side. All three of our dogs are happy go lucky, loving dogs. They brings us joy day in and day out. If anyone is happy that we’re all home, it’s them! I love my sweet puppies!

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March 20, 2020March 20, 2020

Friday Update

Here’s my Friday update: I’m still emotionally exhausted. Just kidding today I’m both physically and emotionally exhausted. Probably because I made my workout commitments every day this week! Go me!!! Excitedly, I started my day by vacuuming and moping my floors for the third time this week. The upshot, of course, was that the house smelled great for a couple of hours. Such is life with three dogs and a house full of boys.

The lesson I’ve learned this week is that home schooling my kids even with a remote teacher is soul crushingly difficult. Honestly, I don’t know is you amazing teachers do it day in and day out. Kudos to you for being super human. Only my high schooler has work to do this week since he’s taking a few classes online. I can only imagine the fun I’ll have when both are back in school virtually.

Goalielocks did get some practice driving today when he drove up route Clubhouse to take my Mayor to the pool. Before you judge, I’ll have none of it. There was nobody else there and they weren’t there for long. Afterwards they had some social distancing with some buddies, who they went fishing with behind the house.

Thankfully, we live in South Florida and the weather has been perfect. Naturally, the boys could have stayed out fishing all night. Especially since the bass were biting today. Fortunately, all the boys fishing caught some nice sized bass, which makes for some happy boys. I loved seeing the boys outside fishing and not on their phones. Consequently, we may take them to the Everglades tomorrow to fish and walk the trails. It will be good get out of the house and into nature.

Meanwhile, hubby is starting to get concerned that we may run out of toilet paper before the stores replenish their stock. I tried to order some on BJ’s.com, but received a message that supplies were running low. Consequently, they wanted me to approve the replacement they suggest. The replacement they suggested was a box of printer paper. Yeah…. Wish us luck on that front. Finally, we will actually be taking our Christmas tree down tomorrow. Although I’m pretty sure Anakin would prefer that we leave it up. However, I have to admit I am sick of cleaning up the falling needles.

As for our day, here were our activities:

*reading Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery

*Watched Ratatouille with my Mayor

*yelled at Goalielocks to take his algebra test, he finally did and got an A.

*Completed BBG Week 5 Full Body workout

*Took Goalielocks to practice driving

*Bought myself some new running shoes, will get them up at drive up/pick up at Dick’s SportingGoods

*Boys went fishing with their hockey buddies while maintaining proper distances.

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March 19, 2020March 19, 2020

Emotionally Exhausted

It’s only day four of the social distancing/isolation and I’m completely and utterly emotionally exhausted. Admittedly, I could never be a teacher. My boys are giving me a run for a money, the thought corralling of a classroom of teenagers is enough to trigger a panic attack. Frustratingly, I find that much of my day is spent arguing and negotiating with terrorists, I mean teenagers. I can’t my imagine it will be worse when both are back in school virtually.

Of course negotiating with my teenage boys all day, is a walk in a park when compared to missing my airman. I know he’s well taken care of and that the military is taking a lot of precautions to keep him safe and healthy. Nevertheless, it’s completely unnerving to experience this pandemic with one of my boys out of the house. Sadly, the worst part is that we now don’t know when we’ll be able to visit him. We had planned to go up the first week in April, but that will no longer happen.

I almost feel bad complaining as there are many military families and trainees that have it far worse. We were lucky to be able to see Jake graduate BMT and to experience the amazing feeling that is that first tap out after 8.5 weeks apart. Sadly, all BMT graduations have been closed to families and changed greatly. I can’t even imagine not being able to have seen my airman graduate. My heart would be broken.

Life as we know it has been altered, but it hasn’t stopped. The sacrifices that we’re being asked to make pale in comparison to the sacrifice our healthcare workers, public servants, our military, the truck drivers making sure our stores are restocked and the folks working those stores. While I may be emotionally exhausted, I’m sure these workers are being pushed to their physical and mental edge. So for all who cannot stop working because you’re supporting our community, we thank you!

As for our day, here were our activities:

*reading Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery

*Conference call with my mentor and fellow marketing executive. Success here we come!

*yelled at the Mayor to stop playing with frisbee in the house

*yelled at Goalielocks to stop practicing his golf shot in the house and against the house

* 2 mile run with Athena

*1.5 mile walk with my boys and puppies

*Deep Stretch – Total Body Yoga– Yoga with Adrienne

*Watched Miracle because we’re missing hockey followed Cars 2 and 3

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March 18, 2020March 18, 2020

Pandemic Pandemonium

Day three of pandemic pandemonium and I’m over it. Admittedly, it’s not the virus that scares me. Nope, it’s the thought of dealing with two teenagers in close proximity for eight weeks that has me wrecked. I have no doubt that I’ll continue to display sangfroid as it pertains the virus. I’m less certain that I’ll survive homeschooling my kids.

I’ve taken a few steps to preserve my sanity or at least what’s left of it. So here’s my advice, start day drinking. I’m only kidding, so don’t be mad mom! In crazy times like these, it’s important to keep a semblance of a routine. I still get my coffee and eat my breakfast at the same time.

Working out is a huge part of staying both mentally and physically healthy. Fortunately, I’m back to my workout routine with a few changes. Sadly, the yoga studio is closed, so until this is over I’m practicing at home. Thankfully, there are some awesome YouTube yoga channels. I love Fightmaster Yoga and Yoga With Adrienne.

In addition to my normal workouts (including my runs,) I’ve added an afternoon walk with the dogs and the boys. Today we took them for a 1.5 mile walk/jog. It was a beautiful day and all three pups enjoyed being outside. As a bonus, I got the boys off their phones and TVs for almost 45 minutes.

These are trying times. It’s something most of us have never experienced and that can make it scary. Please be sure you’re checking in on your friends and family to make sure they’re okay. As I have no doubt that loneliness will soon become a byproduct of this pandemic.

In the meantime, social distancing remains the most altruistic and effective way to help our communities weather this storm. Speaking of storms, it feels like we’re waiting on a massive storm to come ashore only there’s no Jim Cantore or cone of uncertainty. My only hope now is that the toilet paper is back in stock by the time hurricane season starts. In the meantime, we’ll be doing our best to survive the pandemic pandemonium.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*reading Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery

*Watched Schitt’s Creek – a couple of episodes from season 3

* BBG upper body and ab week 5 workout

*1.5 mile walk with my boys and puppies

*Yin practice – Fightmaster Yoga

*Watched Frozen 2 and now I want to go to Norway!

Month: March 2020

Sweet Maya

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Emotionally Exhausted

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Pandemic Pandemonium

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