And so it begins, after much anticipation Irma and her nasty weather are here! We’ve been able to enjoy time outside with the neighbors today before the storm and in between the feeder bands. I can’t say enough about how amazing our neighbors are, but we are super lucky.
I had to laugh when I walked out earlier today and the neighborhood men were taking turns riding the dirt bike. No better time to learn how to ride than during a hurricane! Life is all about making lemonade from the lemons and that’s truly what we’ve been doing.
While the adults played on the bike, the kids were indoors. Interestingly, the kids came back outside after the dirt bike was put away. They love playing football. In between the rain bands, and even during them, the boys were playing football with their neighborhood friends. It was a godsend for the kids to have a chance to burn off some of their energy. We are all getting stir crazy inside and the storm has barely just begun. We’ve been trying hard to overcome the boredom all day.
We’ve had several tornado warnings already tonight, but have not lost power as of yet. As long as I can post and film, I will continue to do so. To all my readers in Florida, please stay safe and godspeed!
As Irma approaches the Florida peninsula, our preparations are completed. The caramel rolls have come out of the oven and the champagne is chilling. We’ll be kicking this storm off with a mimosa brunch. Life is too short to panic, to be bored and not enjoy it. So enjoy it we will!
If there’s anything that’s awesome about impending hurricane doom, it is hurricane shutters. Our house is so dark that we all slept until 9:00 am. It was simply amazing! I don’t think I want to take them down ever. We leapt out of bed once we realized how late we had slept.
We hurriedly rushed into the car and headed to Gulfstream Beach. Not surprisingly the beach was closed to the public, so we headed south to Delray. Delray Beach is public and impossible to close completely. We found a parking spot on the north side of the beach and made our way towards the water.
The roar of the water and wind was deafening. Between the wind and the waves, it sounded like there was a jet engine constantly running. As the waves crashed, they left behind a brownish white foam. Beach erosion will definitely be a problem with this storm. The water had a markedly brownish tint as the waves retreated back into the sea. You could see how the waves from Irma would soon overcome the beach.
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As the waves crashed upon the beach, the onshore winds peppered with us a sand. The palm trees’ fronds were blowing westerly in the wind. As the howled, the air was thick and hazy. It was so humid and so hazy that my canon t6i couldn’t focus on anything. The pictures I was able to capture with my cell phone don’t capture the haziness of the air.
After the beach, we headed home so I could finish up preparation for brunch. There’s no better way to prepare for a hurricane than a mimosa filled brunch. I baked my caramel rolls that I usually reserve for the holidays. My boys, who beg me to make them all the time, were thrilled to hear I was making them. They’re pretty easy to make, but they’re time intensive. I started them off last night and then finished them as soon as I got home.
Soon after they came out of the oven, my bro and his crew arrived. We had several mimosa with several different sparkling wines: peach champagne, asti (my favorite) and champagne. That last minute trip to Publix clearly paid off. Everyone enjoyed the rolls and the mimosas, which were followed up by board games. The boys started off with the game Klask, which is sort of like table hockey with magnets. it will be a great way to pass time during the storm.
Once they finished the rousing game of Klask, we played a frightening game of Cards Against Humanity. Goalielocks nearly won the game, which is scary since he’s 13. They may be a little too knowledgeable for our tastes. Nevertheless, we played a game full of laughter and good times. Meanwhile, all four of the puppies enjoyed the extra company and attention. Alas, our good times had to come to an end since Palm Beach County is under a 3:00 pm curfew. We snuck in a group picture before the crew headed back to South to Boca.
We’ve completed our Hurricane Irmapreparations and are now waiting for the storm. After over a week of waiting that dirty girl Irma is about to pay Florida. Fortunately, for South Florida the track has shifted west, which should put us out of the worst of the storm. The problem, however, is that these tracks are imperfect. Moreover, these storms have a mind of their own. Regardless of where Irma heads in Florida we are ready for the worst.
In advance of the storm, we’re gonna check out the beach. Post beach, we’ll be enjoying some mimosas and caramel rolls. I normally only make caramel rolls for Christmas, but thought it would be a nice treat for my stressed out boys.
Most of the stores have closed down in South Florida and Palm Beach has put a 3:00 pm curfew in place. Tomorrow we will retreat to our house for the duration of the storm. I will continue to post updates hr as long as we have both electricity and connectivity. As we wait for this weather event to reach it’s crescendo, please keep us, our family and friends and Florida in your prayers. For those of you local to Florida, remember to take pictures of the interior and exterior of your homes. In the event you need to file a claim, this will make the process much smoother!
Tonight’s weather was absolute perfection. Nice and breezy with clouds moving swiftly through the sky. This is definitely the calm before storm.
The difficulty of hurricane season is the endless anticipation that proceeds the storm. I’ve been in South Florida for over 11 years now. Currently, there is a level of concern in the air that I have not experienced. When we went through Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005, we were very nervous as it was our first hurricane season in Florida. Katrina and Rita came through South Florida without much fanfare, but Wilma really kicked our butt.
Hurricane Irma will likely be a lot like Wilma in that it will be a predominantly a wind event. Unfortunately, along the our coastline it will be a storm surge and wind event. It is easy to panic when you see the 170 mph winds that this storm is currently packing. The storm is enormous! It is supposed to weaken before a Kat 4 before hitting Florida, but storm strength is hard to forecast.
For our family and friends watching outside of Florida, this is a troubling time. They see this big lumbering beast moving its way towards their loved ones and are afraid. Their hope is that we will evacuate out of South Florida, but that isn’t in our plans.
Why aren’t we evacuating? Well, first it is hard to think about leaving our home with no understanding if and when we can return home. Secondly, we are inland. Our home is not located in one of the flood zones under mandatory evacuation orders. If everyone evacuates, the roads will become clogged. As a result, those that truly need to evacuate are unable to get out as needed. Moreover, their is a finite supply of fuel in South Florida. Even if we were going to go, we wouldn’t be able to get far as fuel is hard to come by.
I shopped flights for several days with no luck, so we couldn’t fly out of here either. The Mayor’s suggestion was that we buy a large box and fill it with food. Once we fill it with food for us and the dogs, we should UPS ourselves to Minnesota. I love his creativity.
We intend to ride the storm out in our house, unless it continues to be a stage 5 monster. Then disregard the entire last paragraph as all of S. Florida needs to get out in that case! Our cars are gassed up for after the storm and our cupboards are full. Unfortunately, hurricane food is not necessarily healthy food. I tried to buy things that were as healthy as possible, but there weren’t many options available. As the storm gets closer, I’ll post updates and pictures of our preparation. We’re planning to go check out the surf tomorrow before the weather really deteriorates.
If you’re looking to track the storm, here are some great websites:
National Hurricane Center – This site shows the forecast and warnings for the storm as well as the forecasted path.
Should You Evacuate? – Great article in the Palm Beach Post about whether or not you should evacuate.
Mike’s Weather Page – This site is a great resource for those tracking the tropics.
Its go time in South Florida. There’s a different feel in the air with this storm. Unlike last year’s preparation for Hurricane Matthew, there is a real urgency and sense of panic in the air with Irma. Comparatively speaking Hurricane Matthew was a relatively small KAT 4 when it threatened our coast. While Hurricane Irma is a monster KAT 5 with 185 mph winds. Imagine sustained winds of 185 mph! That’s pure insanity and I want no part of it.
Here’s the problem, there’s like no gas in Palm Beach County and the turnpike is packed. Almost all flights are sold out with the exception of transatlantic flights, which I’m not opposed to flying Paris to escape this storm. However, we have to account for our puppies. We can’t just pick up and leave our animals and house behind.
Consequently, I headed to Target right after I got home from work. The shelves were empty. Sadly, the only bread remaining was gluten free or take and bake bread. Needless to say, I will be baking the take and bake bread tomorrow. When Jake and I ventured down the canned food aisle it was truly a waste of time. There was nothing left on the shelves. Shoppers had already scooped up everything even the canned salmon and anchovies. You know you’re desperate when your buying canned salmon.
Unfortunately for Goalielocks and the Mayor, the my fellow shoppers had bought all the milk. Shoppers only left the lactose free, almond milk, cashew milk and soy milk left behind. Thankfully, the hubby and I drink almond milk. I would have preferred to have bought the shelf stable variety, but that was sold out. Happily, I can say that people were polite and rather congenial at the store. For a minute, I almost forgot I was in South Florida. It may seem crazy, but the anticipation is almost as bad as the actual storm.
The models continue to show a major impact to our coast. We’re hoping the storm slides a little east, so we can be on the west side of the eye wall. Conversely, we are hoping and praying that we do not end up being hit by the storm’s northeast quadrant. As we experienced with Hurricane Wilma in 2005, we anticipate this to be largely a wind event for us.
Based on the last update, it looks like the weather will start deteriorating late Saturday night. Meanwhile, the worst of the storm should arrive in South Florida Sunday afternoon. Since there’s no flights and no fuel, we’ve been brainstorming how we could evacuate. My Mayor had the best idea ever. He suggested that we pack ourselves in a box with food and ship ourselves to Minnesota via UPS. If Irma is still a KAT 5 Saturday, we may have no choice, but to UPS ourselves out of here!
This is the perfect wisdom Wednesday quote for us as Irma rapidly approaches! Now is the time to prepare for the storm and not be foolish. Prayers for everyone in the storm’s path. Finally, please stay safe in your preparation and during your evacuation. It is time to use your wisdom!
Irmageddon is seemingly baring down on Florida with an arrival scheduled for late this weekend. One could only hope that a strong Canadian cold front will dip down and force the hurricane away for us. Obviously, the best case scenario is for this storm to take a hard right out to sea. Trust me there is no way to elevate someone’s blood pressure than the satellite imagery of a KAT 5 storm heading towards them.
This far out it is hard know exactly where this storm will land. Meteorologists and scientists can give us a pretty good idea, but sometimes these storms have a mind of their own. Moreover since Irma is such a large storm (almost 500 miles wide and 400 miles tall), you cannot take this monster for-granted.
Needless to say with Irmagedden looming, hurricane preparations are well underway in South Florida. We spent much of our work day contingency planning for the coming days and weeks. With a storm like this, you could be looking at weeks of business and school interruptions. Importantly, the potential loss of life is a far scarier prospect than the interruption of our everyday life. Consequently, we’ll be putting up our shutters tomorrow and ready to batten down the hatches for Irma’s arrival. Please keep us here in Florida and those in the path of this massive storm in your thoughts in prayers.
I’ll leave you with some levity. When you’re looking at 185 mph sustained winds, you need to laugh so you don’t cry.
Congrats to our champions!!!!!! We had a wonderful weekend with our hockey family in Orlando. Of course, the cherry on top was our U-14 AA boys winning the championship. At a number of different times during the game, they seemingly felt compelled to make it interesting. Alas through hard work and team work, they persevered and they won the championship game.
Goalielocks saw little action in the first, which is a difficult situation for a goalie. Goalies need to see some shots to get into a rhythm, so protracted periods of no shots are tough. Nevertheless, he wasn’t happy with his level of play even though they won and he got second star of the game. Such is life as a goalie. The good news is that’s why you practice. He can work on improving the things he felt he didn’t do well this weekend and work on maintaining what he felt he did well.
I’ve written about it previously, but its hard to believe how old and grownup these kids look. Many of these kids started out together as mites in 1st and 2nd grade and now many have started high school. They used to be so small that their legs would dangle from the bench in the penalty box since they couldn’t touch the ground. Now they’re ginormous and take up all the room in the box with both their size and smell. Irrespective of the change in size, they remain the same sweet smiling kids they were in mites albeit with an expanded vocabulary. All kidding aside, these kids are amazing. They’re hard workers, gritty, fierce competitors, but also good teammates and good friends.
The tournament did a great job putting on a nice show for the championship games. These things may seem small, but I’m sure they make a world of a difference to the kids playing in those games. In addition to the introductions, they also had an announcer and some pretty sweet music. Even better though was the fact that all of our families, which are spread throughout the world, could watch the game live. For my parents in Minny, it was an awesome opportunity to cheer for their grandson and his team from afar.
The Mayor’s team did not walk away with a championship, but they had a blast this weekend. I can see that they’re excited to hit the ice together as a team, which is amazing. My Mayor is the kind of kid that goes all in when he does something and I love. He’s small, but he’s the fiercest competitor I know. He works his butt on and off the ice to be the best he can be for his team.
This morning his team played a consolation down in Kississimee. Sadly, I missed most of because I had to get Colin’s gear to the other rink in time. I was super bummed that I had to miss the Mayor’s game because him and his team are so much fun to watch. Shortly, after I departed he scored a pretty sweet goal. One of the team dads, who is totally my hero, videotaped the goal and sent it my way.
The best part of all of this was how the Mayor told me he scored his goal. As he told the story, very little of it had to do with what he did. He spent most of the time detailing what his teammate did to facilitate the goal. The Mayor couldn’t say enough about the awesome pass he was fed by his Boy B that led to the goal. I can’t lie it was pretty cool to hear him heap the praise on his teammates because he gets it. He understands that no matter who scores the goal, it took a team effort to get there. Notwithstanding, the Mayor loved sharing the details of his post goal celebration.
All in all it was a good weekend filled with great hockey and even greater people. Quite frankly, it takes a lot of energy to survive these weekends due to the lack of sleep, increase in alcohol intake and increased stress from watching the games. All things considered, these tournaments have left us with many priceless moments. There’s no doubt in my mind that I should probably educate myself on some mindfulness techniques for before, during and after Goalielocks’ games.
We were playing a team they should have handled with relative ease, but in hockey (as with any other sport) you can’t take your opponent for-granted.
Throughout the entirety of the game, I had quite a bit of company. It was clear the ref’s were intent on maintaining control of the game. As a result, both boxes were packed throughout the 2nd with coincidental penalties. While it jacks up the rhythm of the game, at least it wasn’t one sided officiating.
We went into the 3rd period and the contest was farther closer than it needed to be. Consequently, my heart was racing, my stomach was in knots. My resting heart rate is normally around 68-70. While Goalielocks is in net, it varies from 90-120 depending on the game situation. According to my Fitbit, I get at least 2 hours of fat burning out of one of his games without having to lift my finger. Its great to be a goalie mom, isn’t it?
My dear friend Sharyn, seeing my angst, was kind enough to get Chris Kunitz to take a picture with me. At this point, we had 6 minutes left in the 3rd and I was officially dying. I popped out of the box to pose with the kind and very accommodating Stanley Cup winner, which knocked at least 60 seconds off the clock for me.
Unfortunately, the boys seemed intent on causing some heart palpitations and I once again had a full box. This time there was just over two minutes left and there were no coincidentals. Cheese and rice, it was a long two minutes! My heart was beating out of my chest as Goalielocks and his boys faced a 6 on 3. They stood strong.
Goalielocks ended up drawing a penalty after his buddy from the Bulldogs took a chop at his arm. Thankfully, this critical penalty ended the 6 and 4 and they were forced to put their goalie back on the ice. The squad weathered the storm and soon (although it felt like forever) the final buzzer sounded. As expected, the boys from both teams scuffled a bit after the buzzer. Consequently, the refs sent both teams off separately. Happily, this goalie mom survived and even her picture with an NHL star.
Post game we headed to Twin Peaks, which was clearly a mistake. Their hiring practices definitely do not emphasize critical thinking, time management or anything other than looks. While the food is decently price and pretty tasty, no team lunch should ever take 2.5 hours. Fortunately, our groups of parents is awesome. After all these years, we continue to enjoy each other’s company. Nevertheless, it was a bit tough to stomach that serving our group could be that complicated.
For many of us, this is our 6th year at this tournament. I was looking back at pictures from our first trip to this tournament in 2011. Our boys were so small and so sweet. Conversely, they’re no so big albeit they’re still mostly sweet. The relationships my boys and I have formed over the last 6 years of travel hockey have been absolutely priceless. There is no amount of money you could spend to replace the experience or our hockey family. In the most critical and difficult times of our lives, they’ve been there for us and we’ve been there for them. I couldn’t imagine life without our wonderfully crazy, wild and fun hockey family.
The madness continues with Day 2 and 3 of the Labor Day tournament. Thankfully, the schedule gods were kind and I got to see both kids’ games yesterday.
Both the Mayor and Goalielock’s teams played the Ice Bandits from Atlanta. The mayor’s game was earlier in the day. For the majority of the game, it was a close contest. Unfortunately, the Ice Bandits opened up on the 3rd and we lost.
The Mayor worked hard and was more than ready for the team lunch at Sam Sneed’s post game. It’s never easy to feed a team of hockey players and all their families. Yesterday’s lunch took quite awhile, but the food was quite good and the Mayor enjoyed the time with his team.
Goalielock’s and his squad were up next facing the same organization. He’s played with most of these kids since mites and now they’re huge. They look like giants and men. Now longer do they look like the sweet little first and second graders they were when this crazy journey first started.
Their game was pretty good. These boys are coming together quite nicely and will be fun to watch this season. They came away with a strong 4-1 win.
Of course the best part of tournament weekends, is hanging with the crew and barbecuing back at the hotel. The rain put a slight damper on the festivities in that it wrecked most our hair and diluted our drinks. Aside from the rain, the night was pitch perfect. This morning on the other hand was a bit rough.
