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June 28, 2017

Wheels Up Pt. 2

For the first time in my travelling life, I would need to use the baggage claim at ATL. Usually, my trips to Atlanta include hurried runs with the family from terminal to terminal to ensure we don’t miss our connecting flight. It felt a bit foreign not feeling rushed upon landing in Atlanta. Fortunately, the rushed feeling was replaced by the mortification and embarrassment of our continued run-ins with the boys’ favorite fellow passenger and her nipples. Had they not announced it every time they had a visual on her, it probably wouldn’t have been so embarrassing.

We collected our baggage, as the boys continued to stare at the beautiful women and her see through shirt, and headed out to the shuttles. It was after midnight and the shuttle lines were crowded. Storms across the Eastern seaboard left several passengers stranded in Atlanta for the night. Michelle, the boys and I muscled our way onto a shuttle with three older travelers after the shuttle driver assured us he could take us to a hotel that would take our vouchers.

We drove for what had to be 20-30 minutes before pulling into a seedy looking motel with funky colored lighting up the side of the hotel. We had taken the backseat, so we were the last ones into the hotel lobby. The shuttle driver followed us in and was given cash by the clerk in the hotel lobby. The lobby of this Choice Hotel was dingy, dusty and gross. A breakfast nook off to the side beckoned the boys, who by this time of night had become hungry again. The heavily tatted hotel clerk was unwilling to let the boys have any of the cereal to eat.

TheMayorandAndrew_1 — The Mayor and Andrew in 2015

stepbrothers_1130_430_90_s_c1 — The Mayor and Andrew 2032

There was a couch off to the opposite side, so we sat the boys down and waited our turn to check in. Our fellow travelers had been trying to check in with their vouchers, but the hotel clerk was refusing to take them. He was trying to charge us over $110 for the night in his seedy, roach infested hotel. As they argued with the clerk, we tried to keep the kids occupied and relatively quiet.

This became increasing difficult as a few hotel guests started to file in. These guests, clearly prostitutes with their johns, were dressed in clothes that would make even Tara Reid blush. Our boys’ eyes were wide with wonder and hysteria at the veritable shit show that had started to walk through the hotel door. Now Michelle and I were starting to get worried one of their comments might get us shot. Needless to say, we were not comfortable staying in that hotel.

Our knight in shining armor, was a fellow traveler, a beautiful woman from Milwaukee that is a merger and acquisition specialist (something tells me that Choice Hotel isn’t her normal hotel of choice.) She arranged for two ubers to pick us up and booked us each a hotel room in a hotel close to the airport. She truly saved our bacon. Finally after the longest night of travel and fearing for our physical safety, we made it up to our hotel room at 2:00 am.

That morning we headed back to the airport bright and early to head to Minneapolis. The weather was beautiful and sunny as we hopped the shuttle to ATL. Security was kind to us rushing us to the front since we had the young hockey players and all of their gear. Finally after an adventurous evening starting at PBI and a circus of a night in Atlanta, we made it to Minny.

To Be Contd.

June 27, 2017

Wheels up

Two years ago, the Mayor and I headed north with his best friend Andrew and his mom Michelle to a Selects tournament in Minnesota. We were originally slated to go to tournaments in Minneapolis and Boston, but opted out of the Boston trip when the stars aligned and round two of the Stanley Cup put game four of Minnesota vs. Chicago there during our trip. It wasn’t a tough choice.

From the first minute of the trip, I knew it was going to be an epic weekend. We were flying out of PBI on Zachary’s birthday. When we got to the airport to check our bags at the Southwest counter, the customer service rep handed us a $200 in vouchers and a hotel voucher for a luxurious stay in Atlanta. Lucky us! We headed to security where we met up with our friends. As we prepared to go through the queue, the boys felt compelled to ask if Doritos were considered a weapon. Thankfully, TSA had a sense of humor that day.

As we waited to board, we watched in awe as several elderly passengers sat in wheel chairs waiting to get pushed to the baggage area. The airport was not staffed to handle the volume of wheelchairs and they soon grew impatient. No more than five minute had passed before they felt compelled to take matters into their own hands. Soon they all stood and started pushing their chairs. Only in Florida….

Finally boarding zone B was called and we were free to board the plane. Our boys, on their way to their way to their first out of state tournament and their first Stanley Cup playoff game, were bouncing off the walls. At the time, the Mayor had just turned 9 and Andrew was still 8 and only came with one volume level extra loud. We got them calm enough to stand in line to get on the plane.

As we walked down the aisle of the plane to find some window seats for the boys and ourselves, people stopped moving as our fellow passengers put their carry-ons on the overhead. As luck would have it, we were stopped in front of a very attractive, young black woman wearing a white shirt and no bra. Had this site only elicited giggles, it probably would have been okay, but we were not going to get off that lucky. Nope the boys had to announce that they could see her nipples. Oh the shades of red Michelle and I turned as they loudly shared their discovery with us.

We continued filing to the back of the jet, but the boys could not believe what they just saw. They were completely transfixed (pretty much like every other guy I know.) As our flight took off and headed to Atlanta, the boys became distracted by discussions of hockey, jets and life in general. Lucky for us, we would continue to cross paths with the women in the white shirt everywhere we went in the ATL terminal.

To be continued.

June 26, 2017June 26, 2017

My New Toy

After leaving the nice camera on the shelf for the last year or so I brushed it off, charged its battery and got the lenses ready for graduation. I bought the T2i for our trip to France back in 2011. If you’re travelling to Europe or planning any major trip, it is worthwhile to invest in a good camera. Many museums, cathedrals, castles, palaces and other landmarks prohibit flash photography, so you’ll need a camera that takes good pics in low light.

Since 2011 my Canon EOS Rebel T2i has served us well, but after 6 years, countless trips to Minnesota, countless hockey tournaments and countless school events culminating with Jake’s graduation it is time to move on. Truthfully, some of the photos from graduation were a bit cringe worthy. The T6i comes with an improved lens compared to the T2i. In addition, the camera is a bit heavy by current standards and lacks the connectivity to smartphones and computers built into the T6i and T7i.

The Canon EOS Rebel T6i can be controlled from my iphone. No more running and tripping to try and beat the timer when taking a group picture off a tripod. You can also review and manage images easily on your iphone, which is a huge plus.

In preparation for my trip overseas, I’ve been playing around with the camera to try and learn the different settings and familiarize myself with it. Fortunately, my puppies, my guinea pigs and my kids have been happy to oblige. My initial review of the Canon Rebel EOS T6i is that it is a huge upgrade compared to the T2i. It is light, easy to use and easy to navigate the menus. After my trip I will write a more comprehensive review. Here are some of the practice pictures.

June 9, 2017February 8, 2018

Love Thy Tendy

There’s hockey mom crazy and then there’s goalie mom crazy. Go to any rink across the US or Canada and you can pick out the goalie mom who is pacing nervously or sitting nervously near the end of the ice. Between periods she’ll migrate from one end of the rink to the other. Depending on how the game’s going for her goalie, she may make small talk with her team’s hockey moms or she may walk by silently.

As her goalie slides across the crease or moves to make a save, she moves with them. When the puck leaves her goalie’s zone, her pulse starts to slow as their team makes their way into the other team’s zone. Her pulse remains steady until the puck pops out into the neutral zone sending her pulse rate up. If the game is close, her pace is safely in the fat burning zone. (Thank you Fitbit!) Not until the handshake line starts, will her nerves start to unwind.

Her job is tough. Her tender could play the game of his or her life, but still walk away with a loss. A loss, which most tenders, will place solely on their own shoulders. On the flipside, her goalie could have an off game and the team could still win.

Goalie is a unique position that takes a unique personality. There aren’t many people, at least sane people, that would volunteer to stand in front of a hard rubber puck moving upwards of 50-70 mph to try and stop it.

As a goalie mom, it is hard to see young goalies, mine included, beat themselves up, but I know the mental difficulties of the position will prepare them to deal with adversity in their lives. For us goalie moms, the Dunkin Donuts coffee, the Ciroc, the Bailey’s, the Goose, the Ketel and our fellow hockey moms help us cope. At least we get an hour of free fat burning courtesy of our goalie’s hockey game!

If you’re looking for more hockey mom related content, here’s the perfect place to start.

Photo Credit for action shots to Pam Huss (awesome FL Bulldogs hockey mom), Pat Cash and myself.

June 6, 2017June 6, 2017

My Dapper Boys

You may recall from my previous blog on the hazards of being a boy mom that my boys didn’t like to wear clothes once they got home for the evening. While they mostly keep their clothes on upon returning home from school or hockey practice now days, they still don’t relish dressing up or wearing anything fancy.

On the rare occasion that they do get dressed up, I have to indulge and get as many pictures as possible. First, I want to document the fact that they were able to find matching socks. Secondly, I want to document the millisecond in which their clothes have not yet been stained. Thirdly, I just want to relish in the cuteness of my little boys dressed up in a natty outfit. I love when they look nice and dapper.

One of my favorite photos shoots we did with the boys when they were younger was shot in the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge, which is the Everglades. The location could not be more beautiful and more appropriately chosen for my kids who are obsessed with nature. Amazingly, their clothes stayed clean long enough for us to get some beautiful shots.

June 5, 2017June 5, 2017

Worn With Pride

Uniform, jersey, sweater it has many names. It is symbolic of the high level of commitment it took to attain it and symbolic of the club which is represents. There are a number of great quotes involving uniforms about what it means to be an athlete.

Brooks’ quote is legendary and I think most of us remember it from the movie Miracle or from the Lake Placid games. The philosophy of playing harder for your team than for yourself is a key component of hockey culture. It is also a critical component of what made his 1980 team so special. In 1980, the team was comprised of college players mostly from University of Minnesota (Go Gophers!) and Boston University. Just as they do today, my Gophers and Boston University enjoy a healthy rivalry on the ice. In order to get his players to put their egos and these college rivalries aside, he needed to unite them around a common goal and that was playing for the name on the front of their jersey Team USA. Brooks was a genius.

Clemente’s quote speaks to the pride that athletes feel when they put on the sweater. At the professional athlete, I cannot imagine how amazing it must feel. Major League Baseball is the pinnacle of baseball and to make it to that pinnacle after years of hard work must feel otherworldly. The pride he, and his family, must have felt the first time he put on that MLB jersey are something he will probably never forget. I remember the first time my sons’ put on their travel hockey jerseys. The smiles on their face went from ear to ear. You could see the pride the felt in their achievements and they carried their heads a little bit higher.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with my favorite quote on a uniform and it comes from my favorite brassy gal Mae West, who as always said it best and wasn’t wrong.

May 30, 2017

Hazards of Being a Boy Mom No. 104

I’m not sure we would have had this problem if we had stayed in Minnesota, I think the climate would have regulated it, but for the first six to eight years of my younger boys’ lives they developed a unique daily habit. While most people take off just their shoes or jacket upon entering the house after a busy day, but not my boys. They were not content to just take off their shoes. No, they had to strip down to their underwear. For years they thought our house was clothing optional.

Whether they came in the front door or through the garage, as they walked in the house they would peel off the layers. Being little boys this would be done in a frenetic fashion as they walked towards the kitchen and family room. Behind them they’d leave a path of clothes stretching from the hallway through the laundry room.

I’d come home about an hour later and find them lounging on the couch in only their undies. They’d eat dinner in nothing, but their underwear and a big. They were always content to be in the buff. Now that they’re older, they’ve outgrown this and like most kids have to be reminded to take their shoes off.

May 28, 2017December 4, 2019

Infuse a Little Pineapple and Cut a Couple Calories

If you’re like me and you like the occasional cocktail or are a hockey mom and need a low calorie go to drink for hockey season. Here are a couple of ideas for you:

Vodka pineapple vs. Pineapple infused vodka

A vodka with pineapple juice will give you 182 calories with 28 gram of carbs. As a lighter alternative, you can substitute the pineapple juice for a pineapple infused vodka as a martini or on the rocks with or without soda water. This substitute is only 70 calories with 18 gram of carbs.

You can purchase the infused vodka as a flavor or you can infuse your own vodka. Since we live in Florida and grow pineapples in our backyard, we can make our own pineapple infused vodka. To do this you can use a 750 ml bottle of the vodka of your choice. I prefer Grey Goose, Ketel, Tito’s or Ciroc depending on what I’m using it for. Keep in mind, the smoother the vodka, the better the infusion will taste.

The pineapple will need to be cut up into chucks and placed into a carafe big enough to hold all of the pineapple and the vodka. Once the pineapple is in the carafe, pour in the vodka and let it sit in the fridge for 3-6 weeks. The longer is sits in the fridge, the stronger the infusion. Once the infusion period has ended, strain and serve cold.

Vodka mixed drinks vs. vodka sodas

The problem with mixed drinks, aside from their awesome taste, is that they’re often calorie and sugar laden. It does us no favors the morning after and does no favors to our waistline. Hockey season lasts from August to well June here in Florida, so drinking that many calories is not conducive to maintaining a healthy weight or lifestyle. Here are some examples:

Vodka with diet cranberry calories: 108 calories

Vodka cranberry calories: 182-210 depending on type of vodka and juice

Vodka with orange juice 193 calories

Fuzzy Navel: 253 calories

Here are some suggestions:

The hockey mom fit cocktail: 65 calories 16.3 carbs.

Pour one can of Peach/Pear LaCroix over ice, add one ounce of Peach Ciroc mix and garnish with slice of lime.

Other variations:

Cran-raspberry LaCroix served with Berry Ciroc or Goose/Ketel or Tito’s.

Orange LaCroix served with Peach Ciroc

Perrier served with Grey Goose and a slice of lime

Calories per 1 ounce of vodka used:

Ciroc: 65

Grey Goose: 69

Ketel One: 69

Tito’s: 60

Of course over indulging in vodka (as with anything else) with or without a mixer will pretty much derail any attempt to: live a fit life, maintain a healthy weight and maintain healthy relationships, so enjoy in moderation.

May 21, 2017May 21, 2017

The Last Mooring

Tomorrow we will untether the last of your moorings as you graduates high school. I’m still in a state of belief that this day has come, after all, it seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital. The point was driven home tonight as I drove to the rink with his younger brothers to watch you play a beer league hockey game. You are now everybody’s favorite player because of your youth and because you can drive dad home post-game.

The process of letting you go and become independent doesn’t start tomorrow at high school graduation; it started way before you even set foot in high school. I remember being struck by this fact when you started preschool. When we dropped you off for your first day, it was tempting to walk in with you and get you situated, but on your grandma’s advice we didn’t. You walked in to class confidently and got yourself squared away. I won’t lie, there was a little pain mixed in with the joy of seeing you gain independence. We parents like to feel needed. This was the first time we as parents had unmoored one of his moorings.

With each passing year, each new stage, trust was gained and with it more independence. More moorings were released. While graduation tomorrow represents the culmination of this journey, even though the moorings are no longer tied to our dock, we will always be here to guide, advise, listen to music with, play hockey with and love you.

May 14, 2017

Mother’s Day Part Deux

Hockey moms enjoy a somewhat sensationalized reputation as being some of the craziest moms in sports and that’s not too far from the truth. In my humble opinion, we’re a good kind of crazy. Who else but a hockey parent would get up at 4:20 am to drive from Clearwater to Ellenton for a tournament game?

The level of dedication it takes to have a kid in travel hockey, is unbelievable. During the boys’ hockey season, hockey is all we know and all we do. Devoted to their family and to the sport, hockey moms can log hundreds of miles (at least in Florida) driving from rink to rink in a single day. One weekend a couple of years ago, I logged 700 miles of driving for hockey. To see my boys play the game they love with their friends never gets old. Mastercard’s tagline sums it up perfectly: it’s priceless.

To be clear, we hockey moms know how to have a good time. In addition to knowing the proximity of Dunkin/Starbucks to every rink, we also know where to find the closest Total Wine. We love watching our kids play and seeing them develop over the years, but we really enjoy the good times we share with our fellow hockey moms and hockey dads. Over the years, the fellow hockey moms and dads, who started off as our friends have become a part of our family.

I am blessed to be surrounded by an amazing group of moms at the rink. These women are incredible. They balance life, work, family and hockey and do it with grace, intelligence and beauty. Hockey moms are a tight sorority of sisterhood that is closer knit than any outsider could possible imagine. As crazy as we are, the rivalry ends when the teams leave the ice and there is a hockey mom or family in need. Regardless of what team or organization our kids play for, when there is a hockey mom or family in need, the hockey family will take care of them. Hockey moms don’t let another hockey mom walk a difficult road alone. We are at each other’s side to the very end.

I posted an article on my Facebook page the other day about the benefits of travel sports of kids. The article is absolutely on point, but it didn’t even address the ancillary benefit of travel sports and that is the relationships the parents build. I never imagined when my kids started playing hockey, how much I would benefit from the travel hockey experience. When Luke’s mom got sick or when Luke had a run in with the SUV, our hockey family had our back. The hockey community is incredibly close knit and I could not be prouder to be a hockey mom or more grateful for all of the incredible women hockey has brought into my life.