You ever read something or hear something on the news that leaves you feeling completely bewildered? This was me as I listened to the radio announcers discuss the Spice Girls forthcoming reunion/tour. To be honest, I was definitely a Spice Girls fan when they first came out. I had never heard of them until my French pen pal (now my French sister) sent me a mix tape that included the Spice Girls and Take That. The year was 1997 and my mind was blown!
While liking the Spice Girls in 1997 doesn’t make for bewilderment, their contract agreements for the forthcoming reunion/tour epitomize it. Apparently, they’re each getting $10 million for this reunion. Posh had been the hold out, but agree to the reunion upon assurances she wouldn’t have to sing. Yep, there’s the where I got bewildered. A pop star reuniting with her band under the condition she doesn’t have to sing. It makes perfect sense to me….
In other music news, some of the greatest performers are hanging up their touring hat this year. Elton John, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, and Ozzy Osborne are embarking of their farewell tours this year. Sadly Neil Diamond’s, due to Parkinson’s, touring days are already over. Fortunately, Elton and Ozzy will be making their way through Florida on their tours. In contrast, if i want to see Paul Simon, I’ll have to fly up to Minny. It’s an end of an era for sure.
If we’re able to make it to Ozzy this April, it will cap off an awesome 8 days of music. Our musical April starts with Jimmy Buffett and the Eagles, then the Foo Fighters and lastly Ozzy. In fact, Ozzy is playing at a huge rock festival, so will have the opportunity to see some great bands like Sevendust, Five Finger Death Punch and Halestorm to name a few. Lastly, I’m hoping to lighten up the music a bit in July with some Britney Spears action at the Hard Rock.
Tonight’s song performed by the Spice Girls (of course) is “Wannabe.” Here’s to a very musical 2018, well at least for those of us that want to sing.
Life with teens is oh so fun. I knew getting into this whole parenting gig that we’d be in for it when our sweet, darling baby became a toddler. Yeah, they were right. When our kids were toddlers many a tear was shed by them and us. In fact, for the first two years of his life, I was convinced the Mayor was an 88 year old man from Boca trapped in a toddler’s body. He was that cranky. However, it seems nothing can prepare you adequately for the beast that is a teenager.
There are quite a number of similarities between the toddler and teenage stage that i have notice.
Temper tantrums – While they once threw temper tantrums over losing blocks, not watching Caillou or other very serious toddler problems, as teenagers they now lose their ish over the simplest of things. For example, you should always proceed with caution when asking teen to go to bed, take shower, do homework or god forbid to do a chore.
Rock solid logic. Have you ever argued with a two year old? No, there’s a reason for that. Its a zero sum game. The beauty of teenagers is their intellect and their vocabularies are a little more mature. For example, tonight I asked Goalielocks to take a shower right after practice, so he doesn’t keep everyone up with the commotion. His response, “great well I guess I don’t get to eat tonight.” Now mind you, he had pizza before going to practice. Another favorite of mine is their argument that we want their animals today because we won’t take them to Petsmart or Petco immediately. To date, we have not lost an animal due to a delayed trip to the pet store.
Their taste is music is equally horrible as it when they were a toddler. Only when their teens, the music is a much more insidious albeit still simplistic. If you’re curious what I’m referring to check out the song “Gucci Gang.” They also think Tupac wasn’t a real rapper and sucks. No further explanation is needed here. You’ll be begging for the muscial stylings of Sesame Street in no time.
Their personality is often amplified as both a toddler and a teen. Did you have a strong willed toddler? Well, boy oh boy, are you in luck because you’re about to have a strong willed teenager. (I’m praying for you now.)
Stubbornness is a trait that both age groups excel at and is so pleasing to parents.
They’re silly. At least they share some good traits, eh.
Whether or not they will ever admit, teens need their parents. In fact, they need us just as much as a teen as they did when they’re a toddler. The dynamic may shift, the aggravation level will increase, but they will need you. Moreover, they will need you as a parental figure and not a friend.
As a toddler, you’ll clamor to enroll them into the best preschool. While when they’re a teen, you’ll agonize over secondary and higher education options. It is a bit overwhelming at first, but I’m hoping by the third one we’ll have it mastered.
Each and every stage of the boys lives has been an amazing chapter. Our oldest is an adult, which sounds odd every time I say it. My oldest has become an amazing man and is proof that the hubby and I can survive life with a teenager! Tonight’s song performed by Nirvana is “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” I loved this song when I was a teenager attending junior high dances where we’d all bang out head to that song. For me, it also represents Jake’s awakening into music. It wasn’t too long after he started choir as a high school freshmen that he began to discover real good music. Nirvana was one of the first, of many, bands he discovered.
Last year was full of major milestones for our family with Jake’s graduation, start of college and the Mayors’ completion of elementary school. It was a lot of big changes for our family, so much so that I completely forgot about this year’s forthcoming milestones. Yep, this year Goalielocks will finish middle school and get his learner’s permit. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! Can somebody stop time?
Last month, we completed the choice program application for his high school program. Like his middle school program, he’s looking to continue in the medical choice program. I still can’t believe that he’ll be starting high school. It’s absolutely insane, but the scarier part is that he’ll be driving.
Its scary enough having one teen driver in the house. Honestly, I’m not sure my heart, stomach and pocket book can handle another teen driver. I hope my neighbors are prepared as well. I have a new respect for what my brothers and I put my parents through when we were first driving. Moreover, in South Florida you have the added worry of your teen driver having to contend with elderly driving and other crazy South Florida drivers. In good news, once you learn to drive here, I’m pretty sure you could drive anywhere and feel comfortable.
Meanwhile, I started my 14 day vegan meal program that I purchased off of Groupon. The meal plan from the Vegan Garden comes with 14 breakfast and 14 dinners. Tonight’s breakfast was a chocolate muffin, which was very yummy. If I hadn’t bought it as a part of a vegan meal plan, I wouldn’t have known it was vegan. My dinner was a great dish of spaghetti and “meatballs.” Fortunately, the spaghetti and meatballs were absolutely yummy. In addition to being flavorful, the dish was filled with protein. I complimented these meals with a vegan protein shake for lunch. After my two-week meal plan is over, I’ll give you a full review and run down on the Vegan Garden meal plans.
Tonight’s song performed by Simon and Garfunkel is “Mrs. Robinson.” I had to choose a song with the legendary Paul Simon as he announced his farewell tour today. P..S. The pics are some of my favorites of the boys and my dad from our trip to Norway. My dad taught my brothers and I how to drive as well as Jake. I hope he’s ready for his new student Goalielocks!
It’s super bowl Sunday! I sure do wish my Vikes were playing, but oh well. Unfortunately, according to Mick Jagger we can’t always get what we want. So here I am cheering for the Patriots on account of the Philly fans poor behavior. Thus far the game has been okay, but I am enjoying the commercials. I love the tourism ad for Australia. I’d probably follow Chris Hemsworth or his brother for that matter anywhere, but the ad was pitch perfect. Moreover, I’d be curious to know the increase in flights to Australia after that ad.
JT’s half time performance just finished. I love the tribute to Prince! The city and stadium looked amazing lit up in purple. Prince was an icon in that city and our state. Additionally, as a Gopher it was great seeing the University of Minnesota Marching Band out on the field backing up JT. What an experience fr those kids! His set was pretty good, but his outfit looked like he bought it at the local Mills Fleetfarm. In fact, he may be leaving the Super Bowl to go hunting or something.
We’re creatures of habit, so we have our usual chili cheese dip in the crock-pot for the evening. Our sweet Athena is cuddling with us on the couch as we watch the big game. Meanwhile, the BBQ rib thief Maya, is paying her penance in her crate. Goalielocks was none to thrilled when she stole some of his ribs off the table. In addition to our big game treats, I bought ribs for the boys tonight. Goalielocks was thrilled. Thank god for Target and cartwheel as I was able to save 20% on all three racks.
In honor of the big game tonight, I’d thought I’d share some of my favorite Super Bowl memes.
Tonight’s song performed by JT is “Suit & Tie.” He performed this song tonight at the Super Bowl backed my by alma mater’s – the University of Minnesota – marching band.
It was back to a life in the box for me as we headed to Coral Springs for the Mayor’s two games. It’s never dull in the sin bin that is for darn sure. I wasn’t that too busy in the first game, but the second game was different. The first game we got off to a bit of a slow start and ended up losing 5-3. Certainly, it would have been nice to win that one as it would have sealed a state tournament berth.
While the Hubby headed back north to take Goalielocks to his practed, I stayed in Springs with my Mayor. We grabbed a quick bite in between games at McDonald’s for him and Dunkin for me. I needed to ensure I had my pre-game coffee, so I wouldn’t mess up the mojo. I had drunk my morning coffee at home instead of the rink per usual, so naturally that’s probably what messed up the morning game. It’s a good thing us hockey moms aren’t superstitious or anything.
I grabbed my coffee and some oatmeal. It was my first time trying Dunkin’s oatmeal and I have to say it was pretty darn good. Fortunately, both McDonald’s and Dunkin are close to the rink, so we had no trouble getting back to the rink in time. As we waited around for the game to start, we were discussing our path to the state tournament. If we had won in the morning, we would have qualified. Since we lost however, our team’s fate was in the hands of another team. Needless to say, it is always better to be in control of your own destiny.
As the zambonis took to the ice, I headed over to my place in the sin bin. As they finished cleaning the ice, both teams and referees were ready to start the game. I looked around and there was no score keeper to be seen. Both referees tried to reach someone unsuccessfully to find a score keeper. Consequently, yours truly ended up being the scorekeeper.
I have to say, I truly sympathize with the scorekeepers now. There’s a lot going on and the whole thing isn’t setup for a lefty. The refs said I would start the game and not to worry about the penalties and such, but that wasn’t exactly accurate. If you didn’t put the penalties up, you had to do the backwards math yourself. No thank you! Additionally, ladies there’s a reason men don’t like to read instructions. Most of the time the instructions are poorly written or leave out key steps – as was the case with adding penalties to the clock.
Fortunately, I had mostly figured it out (penalties included) by the end of the first period. I am pretty sure, however, that the score sheets are made for people with 20/20 vision and super small and perfect writing. Sadly, I fall into neither of those categories, which made filling out the score sheet quite the adventure. By the third period, we were on run time, which made my life a bit easier. Meanwhile, the Hubby is texting for updates and getting radio silence. There was no way I could text and score keep all at once.
We ended up winning the game 9-1, but we lost one of our players in the process. Late in the first, one of our D-men was checked and flew head first into the boards. Can I tell you how scary that was? From where we were sitting in the box, we could tell he was out cold. Unfortunately, he ended up having to be transported to the hospital with a concussion. It was certainly a very scary situation. Thankfully, his mom just updated all of us and let us know that he’s home and will be okay. Thank goodness!
Post game, we ended up watching another U-12 A game as it would decide our fate. Like I said, it is always better to decide your own fate than to leave it in somebody else’s hands. It was nerve wracking and up to 23.7 seconds left in the 3rd it looked like our season would end early. Only at 23.6 seconds, the Panthers scored a goal and sealed our fate. Our squad is going to SAHOF!!!! I couldn’t be happier for this team. They work so hard and play so hard for each other that it is fun to watch. Even on their worst days, they have each others’ backs. I freaking love these kids and families.
Anyway, we’ve been home for almost 3 hours and my toes are still frozen. Once that cold gets in your bones, it sure does not want to leave. I’ll be making myself some nice chamomile tea to try and warm myself up. Tonight’s song performed by PitBull, JLo and Claudia Leitte is “We Are One.” The Mayor and I listened to this song as we drove back to the rink and it is the perfect song for him and his team. Plus the hockey dads will like the samba dancers.
Well we made it to Friday night. It’s only 8:00 and I’m ready for bed. I’m not sure if it is the remnants of the sinus infection or what, but I’m beyond exhausted. Honestly, I was a bit puzzled until I remembered I only had one cup of coffee today!
At the office, they say I glow when I have my coffee in hand. This afternoon as 4:00 rolled around, my energy level was completely gone. To the point one of my colleagues was a bit worried. Lesson learned. Don’t skip that second cup of coffee!
This afternoon I had the opportunity to attend a baby shower for one of our colleague with some great co-workers. Our training department knows what they’re doing. The shower was absolutely marvelous and fun with beautiful decorations and desserts. Nothing compliments a vegan protein shake better than a gourmet cupcake. If only there was coffee, it would have been completely perfect.
Now we’re headed into another hockey filled weekend. Sunday I’m headed to the gym for some aerial yoga action. Hopefully, I can get in a power burn class first, so I can fully indulge in the amazing Super Bowl food. I hope everyone’s week was productive and their weekend is relaxing!
Wow, just like that we are 31 days into 2018. It seems like just yesterday we were ringing in the New Year. The days and weeks have passed as if they were on an unending conveyor belt. Now here we are peering into February, girl scout cookies in hand, battling to keep hold of our new year’s resolutions. Oh, we are fighting the good fight, but those damn Thin Mints are so amazing! Nevertheless, we fight on!
My resolution to hit the gym early has hit a snag with the sinus infection and illness in the house. There are so many people around us that have the flu, so we’re doing everything we can to avoid it. Unfortunately, this means foregoing the morning workout for additional sleep. Once I kick this sinus infection, you can bet that I’ll be back.
As I drove home tonight, my mind was a conveyor belt of thoughts. I know, I know a blonde thinking. You’re probably imaging steam coming out of my ears and you’d be right. I played sports growing up in multiple organizations as did my brothers. I can’t say that our sports careers were perfect or picturesque, but I would say that the leagues and organizations we were part of actually followed the rules.
In contrast, my kids experience is wildly different. In fact, once they’ve aged out, I’ll write a book about it. Of course, I’ll have to label it carefully as non-fiction because people won’t believe the stories and anecdotes I have to share. Here’s my biggest frustration. If you have rules as a league, why aren’t they enforced. More to the point, why are they selectively enforced?
I can’t for the life of me understand how our league works here. Truly, it is diametrically opposed to what I grew up with. Moreover, when we’re back in Minny and we speak to Goalielocks’ coaches or are friends whose kids play hockey, they look at us sideways. They can’t believe the stories we’ve shared. It’s the same sport, but wow what a difference.
I guess it goes back to the sliding scale of accountability, which drives me bat shit crazy. If you have rules, you should equally enforce them across organizations, teams, and players. If you sit one player for being late, you should sit them all. Its no different than how you would/should operate in a corporate environment – everyone is subject to the same rules regardless of who they are or how they perform. I know, I know, common sense or at least I thought.
Anyway, this aggravating conveyor belt of thoughts is driving me to Samoas, so I’m going to cut my losses and go hang around for a bit in my silk. Tonight’s song performed by CNCO ft. Little Mix is “Reggaeton Lento.”
It’s that time of year folks: it’s Girl Scout cookie time. To be honest, it’s a bit cruel to start selling these delectable cookies a mere 3-4 weeks in our new years resolution. Who can resist a Samoa, Thin Mint or Tagalong? These sweet, little morsels of evil come around just a we’re starting to hit our “new year, new you” stride. Frankly, they’re cryptonite to those of us with a sweet tooth.
While they may have derailed me in the past, they will not this year. This year I have a plan. Oh yes, my strategy is to leave them out, grab 1 or 2 and let the boys finish them off swiftly. I bought a paltry five boxes, which in a house of 3 teenage boys will probably last me about 24 hours. In fact, I’ve been home no more than an hour and already 1.5 boxes are gone. #Winning
Unfortunately, these cookies aren’t calorie or sugar free, which is a total bummer. Moreover, some are so sweet, I feel a cavity and 10 pounds coming on as I eat them. This, of course, is why my master plan is so important. Thus far, I’ve only had one. Can you see me patting myself on the back? Because I totally am.
Tomorrow morning I’ll be headed to Circuit Burn in the morning and Zumba in the evening. The two-a-days will also help counteract the evil doings of the cookies. I’ve been off the gym for a week due to the sinus infection, Goalielocks’ almost procedure and my ankles. Consequently, I’m looking forward to getting back to hitting the weights and the TRX.
Tonight’s song performed by Three Doors Down is “Krptonite.”
I started my Monday off at the doctor’s office for some Monday medicine. While I only see my ob/gyn once a year, I resent the fact that I have to have a specialty doctor for every pat of my body. When we lived in Minnesota, our family practitioner took care of all of our medical needs without referring us out. In contrast, here in Florida family doctors are few and far between. Consequently, you end up with a general practitioner or internist, an allergist, an ob/gyn, a podiatrist, an ortho, and a dermatologist. I could literally go on all day naming the specialties all day!
To be clear, I have the utmost respect for all of my doctors and am quite happy with all of them. My complaint is that I hate having to go to 36 different people for every little thing. As a result, instead of one co-pay, you end up paying 36. It just stifles my willingness to go to the doctor. As much as I hate paying the co-pays, I simply don’t have the time for 36 appointments. I don’t know if it just the reality of living in S. Florida an area dominated by an elderly population or if it is just what medicine has become.
Fortunately, today’s appointment went well. I won’t be back to her office for at least another 365 days. Since she got out of the ob world, her wait times have dropped dramatically. Today I barely waited and was in and out of the office in less than 45 minutes. In contrast, when I was pregnant with the Mayor, I often sat in the waiting room upwards of 45 minutes. Thank god those days are over!
Lastly, in addition to a song, I’m sharing some of my favorite quotes that use the word stifle. Stifle is the word for the daily prompt, but I found these two quotes to be exceptionally poignant. Tonight’s song permed by Pearl Jam is “Alive.”
Last night, I had the opportunity to view some amazing art at an art gallery opening in Wilton Manors. The gallery, Negril Art Gallery, was holding its grand opening complete with wine, hor d’oeuvres, music and great company. This event was made even more special as my employee was one of the night’s featured artists. It was an awesome opportunity to enjoy some art while supporting a colleague.
Honestly, I had an inkling that his work would be great, but I had no idea just how amazing they would be. Consequently, I was completely awestruck by his work. His portraits were sublime. If you asked me which one was my favorite, I wouldn’t be able to pick just one. They were that good!
I really enjoyed the gallery opening. First of all, it was the first time in a long time that the Hubby and I were attending something that wasn’t hockey related. Secondly, the art was utterly sublime. Lastly, it was amazing to see our team there to support their colleague. Truly, it was incredible seeing all the people form work that went to support Kwame. It was a great event!
Afterwards, several us went to Padrino’s for some Cuban food and more drinks. Oh yes, the vodka and long islands were free flowing as we waited for the others. I enjoyed Arroz Con Pollo, while the hubby had lechon asada. Fortunately, both of our decisions were pure perfection. Both the chicken and the pork were cooked perfectly and were full of flavor. We will definitely be back! Moreover, our bill was only $200, which for 8 adults that are all drinking is pretty darn cheap.
After Padrino’s, we headed over to Cafe Vico for some more drinks and live music. Unfortunately, the band had finished playing by the time we got there. They had music playing, but the song choices were not fantastic. Fortunately, the DJ/Chef/Owner let us start playing the music from his iPad. We had a fabulous time and shut the place down. We ended our night by committing to go to Reykavik or Zurich for a girls weekend. All in all , we had an amazing night out on the town.
Tonight’s song performed by Prince is “When Doves Cry.”
