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On The Road Again

We’re on the road again! The Mayor and I are on a bird headed to Michigan for a weekend of hockey. This will be my first hockey tournament experience in Michigan, so I’m excited to see something new. As we speak, we’re currently cruising at 36,000 feet and I just finished the Downtown Abbey. I know I’m totally late to that party, but the movie was wonderful.

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Meanwhile my Mayor is excited that the landscape will be transformed into a winter wonderland with a big snowstorm tomorrow. I, on the other hand, am not excited to have to drive in a snowstorm. Part of the reason I moved to Florida in the first place was snowstorm avoidance, yet here I am! Hurray!!!

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The weekend is coming and that means another WOT is winding down for Jake. I can’t believe he’ll be starting WOT 6 on Sunday. Next week he’ll take both the written and physical tests that determine if he’ll pass BMT. Please keep him in your prayers as he and his squadron move into this challenging week. I’ll be posting updates of our trip throughout the weekend. To all those traveling this holiday weekend, please stay safe!

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Down to the Wire

We’re down to the wire in our countdown to Jake’s departure for the Air Force. Honestly, it still feels completely surreal. I had a hard time sleeping last night after a crazy day of amped up hockey and emotions. Reading Crime and Punishment before bed isn’t helping my sleep either. Last night, however, I was in an anxious space between sleep and being awake. It’s just a lot to process.

My alarm for synthroid is set for 5:00 am, so I didn’t need to set a separate alarm for the Mayor’s games today. Unfortunately, when I got out of bed it was clear that another early start to a really long day wouldn’t work for my body. I went back to sleep, but still couldn’t find a peaceful sleep.

I got my Dunkin’ and headed to Kohl’s this morning to do some Christmas shopping. Fortunately, I essentially had the store to myself and was in and out in minutes. The store was also fully stocked, so I was able to pick up some great gifts. After Kohl’s I took drove Jake to Mel’s, so they could celebrate Christmas together.

We met Mel, Jake and the Florida aunts and uncles for lunch at ZinBurger at the Boca mall. By some miracle of god, I was able to find parking in short order. This was a win since the snow birds driving 30 mph doubled our drive time. The burgers (gluten free bun), fries and coffee were absolutely fabulous.   My favorite part was definitely the french fries, which came as a charitable sized side order.   Next time, however,  I’ll opt to forego the bun instead of getting the gluten free one.  The restaurant was nice and not too pricy. It as the perfect venue for lunch. In hindsight, it might have been a good idea to separate Uncle Jon and Goalielocks as there were lots of shenanigans coming from them.

Meanwhile on the west coast, my Mayor played two great games. His squad came through with two critical win. They’re now in first place in their division. Happily, my fellow goalie mom Erica broadcasted the entirety of the Mayor’s second game. It was awesome that I was able to watch it live. I love watching that kid and his squad play!

Goalielocks has spent the day cleaning his room in anticipation of moving into his new digs later this week. With Jake leaving for basic, Goalielocks is super anxious to move into the bigger room. Unfortunately for him, I won’t let him move into his new room until his old one is clean.

As I enjoy my hibachi leftovers from lady night, Jake and Mel went back for more this evening.  It’s hard to believe that tonight will mark the last night Jake sleeps at home until after trade school. He’ll be spending the tomorrow night in a hotel near MEPs.  We’ll be driving down as a family to have a dinner with him after he finishes processing. Tuesday morning the hubby and I will head back to Miami to watch him take the oath of enlistment. From there , he’ll depart for basic training and this hockey mom will become a military mom.

Countdown clock: two days (can’t believe we’re down to the wire!)

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Adventure Home

Our adventure home was one for the books.  We were quite fortunate that DorianHurricane, hockey and airports stayed offshore, but it gave us quite the scare with the cone of death showing a direct hit into Palm Beach county.  Unfortunately, the Northwestern Bahamas took a direct hit from the devastating category five storm.

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While the media was whipping up mass hysteria about a possible Florida landfall, Goalielocks and I were safe in Worchester, MA.  Our only complication came once the airports in South Florida started to close.   Fortunately, I was able to rebook our tickets with a brief pit stop in Minny.  Of course, leaving Worchester was complicated by weather in the area causing an almost two-hour departure delay.  This was compounded by a ground stop that was lifted shortly after we landed in Detroit.  Sadly, we missed out flight after sprinting through DTW.  We sat at the gate as the agent refused to open the door even as I received notifications that our bags had been loaded onto the MSP bound bird.

To say I was upset may have been a bit of an understatement.  It makes sense to not hold planes for passengers, I understand how that impacts operations downstream and flight connects for fellow passengers.  However, when it’s the last flight of the night some consideration should be given to connective passengers whose landings had been delayed.  Alas that’s not Delta’s policy or practice.  After waiting in line for thirty minutes to get our new boarding passes and hotel room, the not so patient or kind agent told us to go stand in line at the customer service desk at A43.  Cheese and rice, I was about to blow a gasket.

We paraded down to A43 only to overhear a woman requesting a new flight and a hotel room after falling ill with an asthma attack well running to her gate.  The supervisor was quite kind and set her up with a room at the nearby Embassy Suites. It was our turn next and I explained our adventure and the commitment to providing a hotel room I had already obtained from corporate.  She balked at first but softened throughout the conversation and ultimately gave us a complimentary room at the Embassy Suites.

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Before heading to catch the shuttle, we picked up some Chic-Fil-A.   There was nothing more satisfying than some fresh and hot fries.   We made our way down to the shuttle area and secure our seats on the Embassy Inn shuttle.  As we checked into the hotel, the asthmatic women was checking in at the next counter.  No sooner had she finished the check-In process, when she asked the hotel staff where the smoking area was.  Goalielocks and I looked at each other and I motioned for him to stay quiet.  As soon as she walked away, he noted that it was no surprise that she, as a smoker, would have had some difficulty when running.

 

The accommodations were perfect for their purpose.  We quickly ate our dinner, called home and went to bed.  Sadly, we had a 5:00 am wake up call for our flight into Minny.  The hotel had a wonderful allotment of sundries, which was quite helpful since all of our luggage was on its way to Minnesota.  

I was a bit worried about security in Detroit, but those fears proved unfounded when we found ourselves in line with 3 other people at 5:45 am.  Fortunately, it allowed us time to grab both Starbuck and Chic-Fil-A.  Our flight was uneventful.   I watched Rocket Man and quite thoroughly enjoyed it.  Despite little issues that morning I was still worried that our luggage didn’t make it, or it would be long wait.  Fortunately, my fears were proved unfounded as the baggage clerk had pulled our bags and set them out for us as soon as we landed.  We were both relieved that our luggage arrived without issue.

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It was great to be home if only for twenty-four hours.  We got to my folks’ house relatively quickly and. I was able to wash our clothes and check out the gardens.  After starting the laundry, we went to pick up my Grandma T for a quick lunch at Culver’s.  It was great to see her again.  Afterwards, we took her home and made our way to my Grandma H’s house.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see her when I was home in July, so this was a great opportunity to see her.   We visited with her for about a half hour before heading home.  Unfortunately, Goalielocks and I were quite tired and not feeling the best.IMG_2007

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Goalielocks was asleep before we made it home.  It’s a mere fifteen-minute drive from my Grandma’s house to my parents’ home.  Once we got home, he went to take a nap.  I completed the laundry and then went to read my book.  I was able to read a chapter before I too fell asleep.   When Goalielocks woke up he still wasn’t feeling great . Consequently,  my Mom and I went to Target to get gatorade, medicine and some dinner.   She even got me some potato wedges that she owed me from last month.

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The next morning, we left early for the airport due to road construction.  MSP airport is also experiencing long waits at security due to construction at the airport.   The waits at TSA had been several hours over the course of the summer.   Goalielocks and I lucked out! We made it through in fifteen minutes, which gave us too much time to shop at MSP.  Our adventure home was finally complete when we landed in Florida Wednesday afternoon. All in all, it was quite the adventure home.

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It’s Time For States!

It’s time for states!!! The vaunted state hockey tournament. The culmination of countless hours of practices, driving, off ice sessions and games is finally here. Fortunately, both of our boys are playing locally this year for states! Yay!! Unfortunately, we’ll be at the rink all weekend with nary a break.

Our tournament started with our U12 Panthers Gold taking on the undefeated Blackhawks Red. It was an exciting game. I had expected a lopsided affair, but it was 0-0 through much of the game. The Hawks put one in while on a 5-3 power play. Our squad didn’t stop their effort and kept it a tight game, but we couldn’t bury the puck. All in all it was a good game.

Well after my bedtime, Goalielocks’ U16 game was scheduled. Okay, maybe 9:50 isn’t my bed time, but by Friday night I’m exhausted. Fortunately, I packed my beta blockers so I could take the edge of my nerves and my heart rate. The game opened with a breakaway against Goalielocks and he came up with a huge save.

The rest of the game was back and forth. Goalielocks saw a lot of shots, but was on point. TK buried the puck early in the first to put us up by one. We netted another goal in the second putting us up 2-0.

The second period had me worried, but our squad stood strong. They ended up banging one in, but I couldn’t see what happened from my angle. When the period ended it was 2-1. Thank God for beta blockers.

As the third period got underway I was hoping for a quick goal to allay my nerves. I got it! #relieved. The team had some great offensive moments in the third period. Consequently, we went up 4-1. It was then that the wheels started to fall off for the other team. They took a 2-10 penalty followed by another minor penalty late in the third. Happily, the game ended a 4-1 decisive win for our Panthers Gold and my Goalie.

Now it’s midnight, we’ve been at work and school all day. Tomorrow starts early with a call time at the rink of 9:30. We have game all day and another late night at the rink. I’m off to bed to get some much needed sleep. Let’s Go Panthers!

They’re Back From Quebec!

They’re back from Quebec!!! Thankfully, their early departure from Quebec City got them out before the snowfall started. I figured the big storm that hit the Midwest earlier this weekend would hit the Quebec area today. Luckily, we booked super early flights. Even so they were delayed an hour getting out of Montreal.

The later arrival gave me more time at the gym this morning. I feel like I’m fighting a sinus infection. Since I had no fever and no symptoms below the chest, I opted to hit the gym. I put in thirty minutes on the elliptical and was able to do 4.5 miles in that time. Happily, I can report my knees have improved dramatically week over week. Yay!!!!

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After finishing my run on the elliptical, I made it leg day at the gym. My knees feel much better, but I was careful to pick exercises that did not hurt my knee. I would usually do single leg cable kicks on leg day, but that brought too much discomfort to the knees. Consequently, I skipped the exercise.

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After my workout, I headed to the airport to pick up my boys. It was exciting to watch them land and taxi as I was driving down Southern towards the airport. I quickly parked, as quickly as one can when snow birds are involved, in the short term parking and headed into the terminal.  Fortunately, they were quickly off the plane and so were their bags. Yay! The Mayor wanted Wendy’s, but that was a hard no from both of us. Everyone was exited to see them back home especially the puppies.

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Unfortunately, my hubby had the distinct pleasure of getting to work on the broken items list right away. He immediately tackled the garbage disposal and was able to fix it quickly. Thank goodness! Next up was the air condition. I was pretty sure it was the capacitor that crapped out. Turns out I was right!! Thank you YouTube. He’ll pick up the part tomorrow, so by tomorrow night we should be in the business. Woohoo! It’s great to have him home!

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The rest of the afternoon we spent relaxing and baking. I made my first attempt at an “easy Kouign-Amann” recipe. I’ll be devoting a whole post to it tomorrow. I absolutely loved Quebec City. Moreover, I loved Brittany and Saint Malo. In 2011, we spent some time in Brittany and saw where Cartier sailed from when he discovered Quebec and the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The Breton influence on Quebec is unmistakable.

Speaking of French, I just finished volume one of Proust’s In Search Of Lost Time. While I wait for Amazon to deliver volume two, I’ve started Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. At this point, I’m only ten chapters into the book, but I’m finding it quite enjoyable. I’m off the read, good night my friends!

Last Day in Quebec

It’s the last day in Quebec for our Florida Bulldogs. They spent the morning at the Ice Hotel right outside the city. When we went in 2016, we were lucky enough to get some snow and see a wedding. From the looks of the pictures, it seems they got some snow this year.

If you’ve never been to an ice hotel or ice bar, it’s definitely worth experiencing once. The beauty of drinks at the ice bar/hotel is they’re always perfectly chilled in their glasses made of ice. As for the kids, they love the hotel’s ice slide. Unlike the Ice Bar in Sweden, the Ice Hotel doesn’t require special gear. Rather you simply enjoy the venue in your regular winter wear.

After the Ice Hotel, they headed to the Patro for lunch before heading back to the hotel. They spent their afternoon at a beautiful park up the hill from the hotel Old Quebec. The rink and surrounding area are absolutely beautiful and the ice is pretty nice. Based on the pictures, it looks like they had a great time.

Afterwards they headed to the rink for the other team’s semi-final game. My Mayor did play by play for the first period, but spent the rest of the game hanging with friends. I couldn’t watch the rest of the broadcast since I was driving to pick up Goalielocks from volunteering.

Unfortunately, our other team lost a tough one and got knocked out of the tournament. Post game they went out for pizza. I have so many question about pizza in Quebec based on the restaurant’s sign. I guess it’s not surprise my hubby opted for a calzone instead of pizza.

Meanwhile, we’re still down an A/C unit, freezer and no garbage disposal. I’m sure my hubby can’t wait to get home tomorrow to fix it all. Needless to say, I can’t wait to have my guys back home!

Last Day in Quebec

It’s the last day in Quebec for our Florida Bulldogs. They spent the morning at the Ice Hotel right outside the city. When we went in 2016, we were lucky enough to get some snow and see a wedding. From the looks of the pictures, it seems they got some snow this year.

If you’ve never been to an ice hotel or ice bar, it’s definitely worth experiencing once. The beauty of drinks at the ice bar/hotel is they’re always perfectly chilled in their glasses made of ice. As for the kids, they love the hotel’s ice slide. Unlike the Ice Bar in Sweden, the Ice Hotel doesn’t require special gear. Rather you simply enjoy the venue in your regular winter wear.

After the Ice Hotel, they headed to the Patro for lunch before heading back to the hotel. They spent their afternoon at a beautiful park up the hill from the hotel Old Quebec. The rink and surrounding area are absolutely beautiful and the ice is pretty nice. Based on the pictures, it looks like they had a great time.

Afterwards they headed to the rink for the other team’s semi-final game. My Mayor did play by play for the first period, but spent the rest of the game hanging with friends. I couldn’t watch the rest of the broadcast since I was driving to pick up Goalielocks from volunteering.

Unfortunately, our other team lost a tough one and got knocked out of the tournament. Post game they went out for pizza. I have so many question about pizza in Quebec based on the restaurant’s sign. I guess it’s not surprise my hubby opted for a calzone instead of pizza.

Meanwhile, we’re still down an A/C unit, freezer and no garbage disposal. I’m sure my hubby can’t wait to get home tomorrow to fix it all. Needless to say, I can’t wait to have my guys back home!

Last Day in Quebec

It’s the last day in Quebec for our Florida Bulldogs. They spent the morning at the Ice Hotel right outside the city. When we went in 2016, we were lucky enough to get some snow and see a wedding. From the looks of the pictures, it seems they got some snow this year.

If you’ve never been to an ice hotel or ice bar, it’s definitely worth experiencing once. The beauty of drinks at the ice bar/hotel is they’re always perfectly chilled in their glasses made of ice. As for the kids, they love the hotel’s ice slide. Unlike the Ice Bar in Sweden, the Ice Hotel doesn’t require special gear. Rather you simply enjoy the venue in your regular winter wear.

After the Ice Hotel, they headed to the Patro for lunch before heading back to the hotel. They spent their afternoon at a beautiful park up the hill from the hotel Old Quebec. The rink and surrounding area are absolutely beautiful and the ice is pretty nice. Based on the pictures, it looks like they had a great time.

Afterwards they headed to the rink for the other team’s semi-final game. My Mayor did play by play for the first period, but spent the rest of the game hanging with friends. I couldn’t watch the rest of the broadcast since I was driving to pick up Goalielocks from volunteering.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs lost the game.  It was a tough one.  Consequently, they were knocked out of the tournament. Post game they went out for pizza. I have so many question about pizza in Quebec based on the restaurant’s sign. I guess it’s not surprise my hubby opted for a calzone instead of pizza.

Meanwhile, we’re still down an A/C unit, freezer and no garbage disposal. I’m sure my hubby can’t wait to get home tomorrow to fix it all. Needless to say, I can’t wait to have my guys back home!

One Week in Quebec

One week in Quebec for the hubby and Mayor. Meanwhile in Florida, the freezer and an AC unit have gone done. I definitely picked the sort straw in this equation. Truly, I’m just happy it’s Friday. It’s been a long week.

As for my Mayor, he and his team had a scrimmage against the Flyers AAA team. It was a completely one-sided game. Until the coaches decided to do mix the teams and do a split squad game. Honestly, these are some of the best game experiences. It’s super cool to have the opportunity to play with new kids in this environment. Also, instead of a blowout game, you get a more even and entertaining game for everyone involved. The kids loved it!  Plus, my boy got a nice goal.

Between the games and in the small amount of downtime the kids have, they spend it hanging out in the hotel. Apparently, my boy even does wake up calls. You can see how the kids are getting progressively more tired as the week has progressed. They follow a pretty rigorous schedule day in and day out. Needless to say, I think they’re sleeping pretty soundly.

My Mayor was so excited today to try sushi for the first time. Consequently, post game my Hubby took him to pick up sushi to go. He grabbed his sushi and headed to the Patro with the rest of his team for dinner. The Hubby meanwhile went out for Mongolian with some of the dads. We can only hope there was no Canadian Whiskey involved.

Here at the homestead, I attempted to flush the AC line. It didn’t work and I got water everywhere. Clearly, I’ll be waiting for my Hubby to fix it upon his return to Florida. Goalielocks set up Doordash, so we had Sushi Yama delivered. I’m far too tired to cook. This weekend I’ll be doing nothing, but relaxing.

Thursday in Quebec

It’s Thursday in Quebec and that meant game two of the tournament. Unfortunately, the squad didn’t have a good morning and was knocked out of the tournament. Fortunately that doesn’t mean the hockey is done for them as they’ll likely have more exhibition games tomorrow and maybe Saturday.

It’s incredibly hard not to be there because it’s such an amazing experience for the kids. Tonight they went out to the skate park in Shannon, Quebec. This place is magnificent. It has hockey rinks, a skating trail and a ice slide. The trail through the woods is beautiful. It could hardly get more picturesque.

As for the hockey, there’s nothing better than watching these Florida kids enjoy hockey as it’s supposed to be. Outside and without all the equipment just like The Hubby and I grew up playing in Minnesota. Incidentally, neither of us had played hockey inside or in full gear until we moved to Florida.

When Goalielocks and I went in 2016, we got some snow. They, however, have mountains of snow. I’m watching the winter storms carefully in case they’re delayed in getting out Sunday. Although I’m sure none of the kids would mind spending more time in Quebec. Lastly, I’m happy to report that the hockey dads have survived the Canadian whiskey and the bromance continues!

Meanwhile in Florida, our AC unit died!