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Ten Days

Ten days until I see my oldest! I can’t wait. I know you’re wondering what happened to day eleven on the countdown. Well, let me tell you. First of all, I am happy to report that it has nothing to do with tequila. Instead, I spent the evening with my friends Terri and PJ catching up. Fortunately, I even got to talk to my airmen on FaceTime as he called Mel while I was at their house. Mel and I had some planning to do as she’ll be heading West with me next week. Naturally, I stayed out later than I had planned and ended up going to bed as soon as I got home.

I had a great time hanging out with Terri, Mel, and PJ. We watched one of Jake’s favorite new shows, The IT Crowd. Upon Jake’s numerous recommendations, I finally started watching the show over the weekend. It’s fabulously British and super topical for my boy. Anyway, last night we watched his favorite episode, “The Outing.” Honestly, I have never laughed so hard in my life. That episode was a sheer comedic genius from beginning to end. Moreover, it was great to watch it with my boy and friends. We were all doubled over in laughter throughout the show.

Today was super productive for me professionally. I finished a couple of proposals and set a couple more meetings. Thus far, the role seems to be a good fit. Additionally, I love the flexibility that comes with the position. The fact that I can work anytime from anywhere is fantastic. In case you missed it in previous blogs, I’m now in the promotional/branding marketing industry. If you need branded gear for your employees, your offices, and your clients, I’m the woman for the job!

I skipped my run today. Mostly because I did leg day yesterday with added weights, and I can barely walk. Kayla Itsines really kicked my butt yesterday. In fact, my legs were so weak today; they couldn’t support me in wheel pose. In yoga today, my right shoulder started to stick out for all the wrong reasons. It was unstable in crow, tri-pod headstand, and in wheel pose. After I left, it struck me that it was my right shoulder that gave out in crow and handstand on Saturday. Clearly, I need to do some work strengthening and rehabilitating that shoulder

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

*I read The Song of the Lark, by Willa Cather

*Vinyasa with Monica from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Worked! I’m meeting a lot of quality people.

*It seems like our school board is united in their decision to postpone the start of school. This is great news!

*I enjoyed a morning and afternoon meditation

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin! It turned out super cute!

*Obedience training Anakin.

*Week 10 BBG 2.0 day 2 yoga

*We went to team meetings for both of the boys.

*Countdown: 10 days! It is dreamy just to think about being reunited with my oldest.

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Not Much to Report

Not much to report from the home front today. We spent the day at home, cleaning and relaxing. After the emotionally and mentally exhausting week of tryouts, we deserved a day of rest. My hubby cleaned out the three fridges and all the old leftovers. Suffice to say, there was an ample pile of dishes waiting to be cleaned. Incidentally, the collection would not have been so significant if Goalielocks had run the dishwasher at capacity instead of half full.

Speaking of Goalielocks, he remains on a third shift schedule, which is confounding when it comes to getting his chores done timely. Today my husband had it with his delays and shut off the electricity to his room. Yeah, my hubby is savage. In fact, he’s also taken Goalielocks’ door off the hinges multiple times. After a brief, but anger fueled exchange with my son, he emerged downstairs to do his chore. Surprisingly, he was easygoing and not the least bit moody when he finally made it downstairs. Unquestionably, you can imagine how happy I was to find him in an amiable mood. He even completed his chore.

I always have to do a little bit of coaxing to get my Mayor to do his chores, but we haven’t had to resort to such drastic measures to get him moving. He sweeps/vacuums and picks up the floor. Most days I would give him a barely passing grade for his work. However, today he did do a good job. While my hubby worked out in the garage, I folded the laundry. Happily, after Goalielocks’ clothes come out of the dryer we will be all done with that. Thankfully, I’m already done as both Goalielocks and the Mayor do their own laundry.

This evening we spoke with Jake. He continues to thrive in his new environment, which makes this mama super happy. His dorm looks spacious and has good storage, which is always a plus. Moreover, it is clear he likes his new job and is happy with his choice. Obviously, I cannot wait to see my boy. Only twelve more days! Today I was looking for new hiking boots for Goalielocks, who has outgrown his old ones. Fortunately, the Mayor can fit into his old pair. Did I mention I can’t wait?

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

*I read The Song of the Lark, by Willa Cather

*Morning and afternoon meditation put me in a good space. It was a dreamy Saturday!

*I spoke with my airmen via FaceTime!

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 9 BBG 2.0 day 7 yoga

*Goalielocks scored 100% on his algebra 2 test! Yay!

*I’m exhausted, so I shall seek my bed early tonight.

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Thirteen Days

Thirteen days until I see my oldest again! I told you I was counting down the days, and I was not lying. Today I booked an awesome Airbnb in the mountains for us, which looks absolutely divine. I cannot wait to be in an environment with no humidity, mountains, and my airmen. Accordingly, I’m now looking for things to do around his base, so we can occupy our days while he works. Fortunately, he has the weekends off, so we’ll be able to go on some fun excursions on those days. Did I mention I was excited?

Today marks the end of tryout week, and as always, it sucked balls. Florida hockey is a strange place, and I look forward to writing a book once my kids’ age out. Emphatically, I assure you it will be a tantalizing, disgusting, and sometimes uplifting read. Spoiler alert: the adults are the assholes. Nevertheless, I’m pleased with things turned out and am looking forward to an exceptional season. I have some thoughts and feelings about this years’ tryout season, but I’ll save them for the book. Incidentally, I’ve already started writing, but I am torn as to leave the stories as blind items or name folks. Honestly, I guess we’ll just have to see where the pen leads me.

Today was a beautiful lazy day. I’ve been feeling a little bit of a tinge starting in my left hip flexors. Consequently, I decided to take the rest of the week off from running to give my hips a break. Instead, it was a perfect day for yoga. Today’s class followed the Ashtanga sequence wand was challenging. We did a lot of work opening the hips and the hamstrings, which will help alleviate the pain in my hip. It also allowed me to work on my crow, handstand, and headstand. Unfortunately, I totally bit it on my first attempt at crow pose, which left my knee a little sore. The second attempt at the pose was successful. As for the other two poses, I nailed it.

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

*I started reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

*Vinyasa with Monica from Yoga Mundo

*I got to FaceTime my Jake. I can’t wait to see him.

*Morning and afternoon meditation put me in a good space. It was a dreamy Saturday!

*I was craving some mouthwatering cake but settled for some gluten-free chocolate frosting instead.

*Took Anakin out to go to the bathroom. Today he was chasing feathers.

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 9 BBG 2.0 day 6 yoga.

*Countdown clock: thirteen days

*As I read today’s paper online, I wondered how many people still receive an actual paper.

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I’m tired…

I’m tired, but what else is new. Tryout week is sapping my last vestige of energy. I will be giddy and dancing was this week is over. While, I’m tired I did have a good day. I got to spend the day with Sweet Eva. She is heaven sent and a perfect anecdote for an emotionally exhausting week.

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

*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.

*Yin Yoga with Jennifer from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Tonight I’m watching nature shows with Anakin.

*Week 9 BBG 2.0 day 4 yoga.

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Wednesdays

Oh Wednesdays…. “Wednesdays are like Mondays in the middle of the week,” so said Lee Fox Miller. Who is Lee Fox Miller, that’s a fantastic question. I found the quote on the internet and liked it. For all I know, he could be a made-up character. Comparatively, Winnie the Pooh had an excellent quote for Wednesdays, but it was a bit too long for the title. Anyway, if Wednesdays are like Mondays, then I love Monday because today was super productive.

My day was to start with an early business meeting, so I got off to an earlier start than usual. Naturally, I grabbed my Dunkin’ before getting ready for my meeting. The meeting was supposed to be at 9:15. I waited and waited, but she didn’t show up. Since she was in Texas, I thought perhaps she had made a mistake in the timezone. Fortunately, we were able to connect later in the day to reschedule the meeting.

Consequently, I started my BBG arm workout right away. As luck would have it, I finished the third circuit at 10:13. I logged into the google hangout in case she was coming at 10:15, but it was a no go. Alas, I jumped back into my workout and finished the fourth circuit and the cool down. I was dreading some of the exercises like the caterpillar walk, which I have done since round 1 of BBG. Excitedly, it was easy today. In fact, it served as a good barometer for my progress since starting the program in December.

The rest of my day was just as productive, I took a delicious slow flow yoga class with Ava. It was utterly divine and left me feeling invigorated and relaxed. Post yoga, I enjoyed a lunch of steel cut oats served with vanilla almond milk, honey and mixed berries. It’s part of my efforts to eat less inflammatory food. Honestly, it tasted so good! After lunch, I went to work and had another extremely productive day.

Today is not just Wednesday, it’s also my mom’s birthday. Please join in wishing my mom a very happy 64th birthday. I wish we were able to celebrate with her and sing the Beatles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four” to her in person. In the interim, this Youtube video will have to suffice:

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

*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.

*Slow Flow with Ava from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*The horror of tryout week continues. The anxiety will not be movable until it’s over.

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin! It turned out super cute!

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 8BBG 2.0 day 4 arms, cardio and yoga

*I was determined to hit all my professional and personal goals today and I did! I love Wednesdays!

*I enjoyed the beautiful frondescence of my vegetable garden. Did I mention that today didn’t suck?

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Tryout Week

It’s hockey tryout week. Yep, just when I thought it could get worse than rectal exams and celery juice: it does. This year the anxiety is a little bit higher. After all, I’m worried about the kids being exposed to the coronavirus as much as I am about them making the team. Usually, I’d try to watch a tryout or two. However, I’m skipping it this year since I have an autoimmune disease. With all the luck I’ve had in the health sphere these past two years, I’m taking no chances.

Nonetheless, here I am at home watching Seinfeld with an elevated heart rate and a nervous stomach. Clearly, it does not matter where I am when my players are on the ice. I’m always going to be anxious when they’re trying out or playing a game. I guess it’s probably been training for the emotional and mental stress that comes with being a military mom.

I had planned to run this evening, but my knee is still a little sore from Sunday. It’s nothing major, but enough that I should take a pause for a day to let it rest. Tomorrow I’ll log a couple of miles and then make up for today’s missed run on the weekend. This also puts less pressure on me during the week. I really want to devote as much time as I can to building a book of business at my new job. Thus far, the flexibility has been incredible and I’m enjoying it. At some point soon, I’d love to close a deal. Consequently, here’s your reminder to hit me up if you need any promotional gear for employees, sports teams or clients!

Here’s a blog post I wrote in 2017 about the perils of tryout week: The Worst Week of the Year

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

*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.

*Vinyasa with Monica from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Worked! I’m meeting a lot of friendly people.

*I setup my e-chart for my doctor’s office. Now I can request prescription recalls and appointments without having to wait on hold. Yay!

*I enjoyed a morning and afternoon meditation

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin! It turned out super cute!

*Obedience training Anakin. We skipped a walk today because it was too hot.

*Week 8 BBG 2.0 day 2 yoga

*Mild panic attack due to tryout week

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It’s Over….

It’s over, hell week has finally come to an end.  This year it truly lived up to it’s rightfully earned moniker of hell week.  But hey just like Britney Spears survived 2007, we survived the week.  Honestly, last week left most of us hockey parents feeling as dirty as Callahan did after Marchand licked his face in game 4. (If you’re not a hockey fan, let me get you up to date: ESPN – Marchand licks Callahan.)  Marchand, the NHL’s most villified played, perfectly personifies the douchebaggery that occurs during hell week.  

Let me also add one ailment to the list of ailments that could develop during hell week: the cold sore.  While I didn’t experience this personally, it was experienced by a few of my fellow hockey moms this week.  I guess that means we need to add one more medicine to the cabinet in anticipation of hell week next year.

Now that the adrenaline is starting to calm and our collective S. Florida hockey community is moving forward into next season, what’s next?    Oh you know I’ve got a list for that…

  • New Equipment Shopping!  This is a great time of year to start picking up equipment for the following season.  Hockey sites, like PureHockey.com, Hockey Monkey and Hockey Giant run spectacular sales this time of year.  Pure Hockey is currently running a great sale on Bauer Skates.  With Bauer Senior N8000 skates marked down 40% and Bauer’s S180 skates are currently 25% off.

Bauer Supreme S180 Ice Hockey Skates [Senior]

Bauer Supreme S180 Ice Jockey Skates [Junior]

Bauer Nexus N8000 Ice Hockey Skates [Senior]

  • Focus on you.  That’s right hockey mom/day, it is okay to focus on you for a bit right now.  You just spent a week in hell fighting for your kids, fighting to stay away at work and fighting to get through it all.  It is time to do you!  I enjoy yoga, but that’s not for everyone.  Take some time to read a good book, drink a great brew, start training for your own fitness goal or chill beachside.  Either way as long as you’re feeding your soul, you can’t go wrong.   As for me, I’m headed to Barnes and Noble to pick up yet another book I probably won’t finish.

Barnes & Noble – Explore Barnes & Noble’s Coupons & Deals!

1mp5lb

  • Remember regardless of where your kids end up, it’s all about them.  As long as they’re happy and excited to play the game we all love, that is all that matters.  The rest of it, especially the schmucks don’t really matter.  Move on gracefully and enjoy the ride.

As for us, we’re excited for both of our boys.  Next year they’ll be joining the Floria Junior Panthers organization.  Each season they’ve played has brought them to this point, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank all the coaches they’ve had before for getting them to his point.  Now it’s time to go chill in my yoga silk and let the weight of the last week fall off my shoulders.

 

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The worst week of the year….

Cue the Pepto, Tums, Maalox, Cîroc and Xanax as tryout season is here.  Arguably the worst 2-3 week period of the year for any travel hockey parent (or any sports parent for that matter.) Starting tomorrow, the tryouts will go 5 days straight across the three major programs in Broward and Palm Beach County.   In the end, I’m sure it will work out okay, but the period of weeks and weeks of not knowing can be excruciating.  Truly even if it is over in hours or days, those hours and days are eternal as is the accompanying heartburn.

So here are my tips for surviving tryout season after 6 plus years of living it:

  • Have a plan: where will you tryout and why?
  • What’s the most important factor in choosing a team or organization to you as a parent?
  • What’s the most important factor in choosing a team or organization for your player?
  • If you have multiple kids in multiple age groups, figure out the car pool situation.
  • Manage your own expectations (work in progress over here.)
  • Manage your kid’s expectations
  • Pre-load your medicine cabinet with a nice accouterments of antacids and acid reducers
  • Breakout the yoga music and Enya music to get your Namaste on. It will help, I swear….
  • Brownies, chocolate chip cookies and Neuhaus truffles are the perfect treats to help deal with the anxious moments
  • If room temp or fresh out of the oven isn’t your style, then Ben and Jerry’s is a solid alternative to the items listed in the bullet above.
  • Blare Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing and sing at the top of your lungs while on the 95 or  the Turnpike.

At the end of the day, tryouts will always remain a grueling marathon for the players, families and most assuredly the coaches.

Hard work on and off the ice leading up to tryouts is the best way to setup our players for tryout success.    Herb Brooks said it best “Success is won by those who believe in winning and prepare for that moment.”  The stakes for all of us are a bit lower than they were for the legendary coach, but I’d be lying if I said it tryout season, even with proper preparation, wasn’t tough.  The worst possible outcome for our kids is that they will not make the team of their dreams, but this too presents an opportunity for the player.

herbbrooks

Our oldest did not make the travel team, the first three years he tried out.  We never ran interference to get him on a team.  Instead we told him that if playing travel hockey was his goal, he would need to work.   And work he did.  He worked incredibly hard and made the travel team as first year U-16A player.   His team that year wasn’t strong, but he didn’t care.  He was thrilled with the opportunity to play and continued working to get better.  His second season in U-16A was one of the most incredible seasons of travel hockey we have ever played (between the 3 kids we’ve logged 13 seasons.)  His coaches (Coach Frenchy, Coach Dan and Coach Mike), his team, and his  teammates were outstanding!

His last season of youth hockey, he worked his tail off for his team, his coaches and himself.  That Hawks team had the most incredible synergy that I have ever seen in youth hockey.  They played for each other, not for themselves.  The result?  An undefeated season in league play and a state championship banner.  While it may have taken him longer to get into the travel hockey than he wanted, but his achievements were completely his own.  He got their because of his hard work.   This spring he will graduate high school and then off to college.  His experience in hockey is one that he will always draw on because it is an example of where his hard work and dedication help him achieve his goal.

There is nothing wrong with learning resilience and persistence in youth sports except for when it’s your child…  I couldn’t be prouder of Jacob, but each spring he didn’t make a team got tougher.   As hard as it was to watch, it was the kind of experience that builds character and life skills way beyond the hockey rink.   So if you see me or any other S. Florida hockey parent double fisting coffee and Pepto this week don’t worry, we’ll be okay once tryout season is over.

Best of luck to all the players, coaches and families this week!

P.S.  Notice I said okay, not normal.  We’ll never be normal…..

P.S.S.  Hockey families – do you have any tryout rituals or superstitions in your family?  If so, share in the comments.