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Milton‘s Gone

Milton’s gone and good freaking riddance to it and its feeder bands. The last week has been chaotic for most Floridians as we prepared for the storm. We were all prepared for the storm, whether at home, Goalielocks at UCF, or J and M in Tally. The hubby put up our shutters yesterday meant a great night’s sleep. Thank you complete darkness! Of course, by the time Hurricane Milton landed, most of our action was over. We did have the most incredible, albeit brief sunset. Nevertheless, I’m glad that we were ready. I don’t want to get caught ill-prepared for a major storm. Also, I know it gives our folks, worrying from afar back in our hometown, peace of mind.

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There are a couple of axioms when it comes to hurricane preparation. If you’re fully prepared, the storm will wobble away from you. So be prepared. If you don’t lose power during the storm, you lose it intermittently post-storm (wtf FPL.) Everyone becomes a weather expert. Most are benign, but the ones that smugly downplay the storm are dangerous. I saw a few posts from a friend on Facebook that made me cringe. I don’t know which post was worse, the one making fun of people for preparing or the one stating that yesterday’s tornadoes were akin to what we see in summer storms. They weren’t. Not only were they deadly, but they were strong and in wedge form. Florida doesn’t typically are large, wedge tornadoes.

Unfortunately, one of the large tornadoes that hit Wellington impacted one of our friends. I guess this is why I find the glib posts about the storm and tornadoes so offensive. The storm uprooted people’s lives. Thankfully, our friends are safe and only lost property. Sadly, several confirmed reports of fatalities in St. Lucie County have emerged due to the tornadoes Milton spawned. The last axiom when it comes to hurricanes is probably the most important. The storm can impact you even if you’re not close to the center of the storm. Milton was over a hundred miles offshore in the Gulf when the supercells in the feeder bands spawned a tornado outbreak. But hey, at least it’s over and Milton’s gone!

What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.

I would love to run a marathon without dying. It seems like an overwhelmingly strenuous activity that would be incredibly rewarding.

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Milton

Hurricane Milton is churning away in the Gulf of Mexico with its sights set on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Living in Florida means these storms dominate your life in the window before, during, and after the storm. The waiting game makes it worse. You almost want to rip off the bandaid and get it over with, but there’s always a hope it could weaken dissipate, or do any turn. It’s an emotional waiting game as you wait to see if you or your loved ones are in or out of the cone of doom.

Sunday’s cone

We were initially in the cone Saturday, but as the storm got closer the cone narrowed and we’re out of it. The cone of doom is singular in its meaning. What I mean by that is that it only shows where the eye of the storm (i.e. the center) will pass. It doesn’t mean anyone outside the cone is free of worry. To be clear, those who are in the cone face a much greater peril. This is a deadly storm that will cause massive destruction and loss of life. Consequently, we’re taking this storm seriously.

The 2:00 pm update

Our ground is saturated from the flooding rains that started over the weekend. I don’t think it’s going to take too much wind to take some of them down. Also, hurricanes like to wobble. It’s better to err on the side of it wobbling towards you and be ready. The Hubby and Mayor will be putting up the shutters today just in case. They’re headed to Dallas for the CCM World Invite and want to be sure I’m not being left with a damaged house. This I appreciate. I also appreciate the deeper sleep that comes with the blacked-out windows. I’ll happily withdraw to my cozy bed and enjoy the dark.

Goalielocks is in Orlando. It’s been a back-and-forth argument since Saturday over him driving home. Naturally, he wants to stay and experience the storm. While we’d prefer he come home and be with us. The problem with these storms is the lunacy that happens afterward. You think driving here is an experience. Try driving here after the hurricane. It’s next-level crazy. People don’t know how to approach a stop light that’s out. (It becomes a four-way stop.) They’ll just drive through the intersection like they’re the only person on the road. It’s the post-hurricane mayhem that worries me.

We’re about forty-five minutes from a new track and update from the NHC. Hopefully, it’s good news. It’s probably not. Meanwhile, I’m ready to hit the ground running to finish our not-so-timid storm preparation. Scratch that I can’t run due to a high ankle sprain, which is a story for another day. Let me just say aging as an athlete is for the birds. And now back to waiting for Milton.

If you’re a weather nerd and like to follow the storms, here are some key sites:

  1. NHC: National Hurricane Center’s update site, which covers all Atlantic Basin and Eastern Pacific systems.
  2. Spaghettimodels.com: Mike’s Weather Page is an amazing resource and is always on point. He links to all the models, which can also be found on Tropical Tidbits, so you can see everything. Mike also has a great Facebook page. He’s always informative, and accurate, and has none of the melodrama that comes with television weather personalities.
  3. Steve Weagle: he’s our local weather guy and he does a great job.

What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself?

I set a lot of goals, but the hardest goal I set was to lose the thyroid weight. After tearing my tendon, which forced me to give up both running and Zumba, and being diagnosed with Graves Disease, which forced me to give up any exercise, I put on a lot of weight. To be fair, I also had my thyroid irradiated, so it’s no longer functional. The lack of thyroid and complete lifestyle change was cruel to the scale and my waistline. It took years to get my thyroid to a balanced spot where I could finally start to lose weight and get back to working out.

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The Storm

The storm has pulled out of Florida. We continue to experience gusty winds and a few fast moving showers. Last I spoke with Melly, she still had power, but her AC had seized up. The AC will definitely do that during a storm. Typically, you’ll turn your AC down as low as possible, so your house stays cool as long as possible once you lose power. Right now it appears everyone came through the storm unscathed. Okay, just confirmed with Melly’s mom she’s come through the storm with no damage.

Meanwhile, I went to the doctor to address the asthma that’s been a pain in my chest. (See what I did there? I worked in a nice little boffola.) My lungs were pretty tight and the wheezing was obvious. Consequently, I’m starting back on Singulair today. She also added a daily inhaler, prednisone, and refilled my rescue inhaler. Hopefully, this will clear out my lungs, so I can hike Utah’s parks without issue. Nevertheless, I will be following up with my doctor before I head west to be sure it’s safe for me to hike. Given the remoteness of the Mighty Five, I want to be sure I’m medically cleared to hike them.

I finished out the day at work by Facebook stalking the Mayor. He’s in week two of Eels training camp and is really enjoying it. They works these kids hard, which is awesome. It’s exactly what we’re paying them for. The best part is the hard work and discipline that comes from hockey will follow the Mayor for the rest of his life. It was great to hear from Jake that he felt playing hockey prepared him well for basic training.

What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?

The last thing I searched online for was if my dogs could safely eat peaches. I decided to cut up a peach for my smoothie tonight and wanted to share it with the puppies. Turns out it is safe for them to eat peaches just not in massive quantities. Arrow loved the peach. Anakin was a bit tentative, but ended up enjoying it.

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Hurricane Season

Hurricane season is here and in full swing. Currently, Hurricane Idalia is churning off our west coast. It’s supposed to go into the Big Bend area tonight or early tomorrow morning. With a kid in Ft Myers, Orlando and Tally, at least one of them is expected to be impacted, so please pray that they stay safe and dry. Unfortunately, it seems Hurricane Idalia wants to be a bit extra and turn back towards Florida’s Southeastern coast early next week. It’s still a ways out, but here’s hoping that doesn’t happen (understatement of the week right here.)

Hurricane season is far from my favorite time of year. It’s days and days of waiting for a storm that may or may not hit. Either way you have to be prepared for the worst case scenario. Our hurricane kit is well stocked and we have plenty of water. Now most of the water may be sparkling, but I do have plenty of regular water to give to the dogs. We also have plenty of canned food including the shakes I’m enjoying while on a liquid diet.

What TV shows did you watch as a kid?

I watched a lot of shows. My folks didn’t have cable, so we watched a lot of Hogan’s Heroes, Gilligan’s Island and Brady Bunch during the summers. My favorite afternoon shows were part of the Disney Afternoon lineup to include DuckTales, Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers, Tailspin and Dark Wing Duck. As a teen, Pinky and the Brain soon became my go to show. In fact, my Roomba mop and vacuum are named after the titular characters of that very awesome show.

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Here Comes Nicole

Well, here comes Nicole a friendly late-season tropical system. By the time it gets here, it’s supposed to become at least a category one hurricane. Hopefully, we don’t see any strengthening beyond that although the waters off the coast are still quite warm. Right now it’s near March Harbor in the northwestern Bahamas. By the looks of it, the storm is due east of us right now.

Over the last twenty-four hours, the weather has started to deteriorate gradually. We’ve had wind and fast-moving rain storms since last evening. Speaking of fast, I got stuck in rain this morning taking the dogs out for their walks. By the time, I finished my walk around the circle, the rain was already gone. Thank God for the quick-moving rain. I already have a head cold, I don’t need to exacerbate it by getting stuck in a cold rain.

We’re not putting up our shutters since it’s not expected to be a strong storm. Luke took all the avocados off the tree last night as the fruit becomes missiles during these storms. I tried to remove some yesterday, but I could only reach four. The remainder of the avocados were up at the top of the tree. I wasn’t brave enough to get up on a ladder with the wind already moving at a quick clip. Fortunately, my husband is much braver than me. This morning we’ll bring the patio furniture and grill inside.

We usually have quite a lead-up to these storms. This hasn’t been the case with this storm. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t on my phone Saturday and Sunday that I was late to the table for this one. When I opened the local news site Monday morning, I was caught off guard by the here comes Nicole headlines. Fortunately, we have fully stocked our hurricane kit and are ready to go. We have more than enough water and supplies to weather the storm.

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Waiting for Hurricane Ian

Like most folks in Florida, we’re waiting for Hurricane Ian. For the uninitiated, waiting is one of the worst parts of an impending storm. By the time the storm finally gets there, it’s jumped the shark. You’re over it. This can be a bit dangerous as it lends itself to complacency. Unfortunately, you can’t afford to be complacent with a Hurricane in the area. Most importantly, even without a direct hit, we’ll still see tremendous amounts of rain, wind, and potential tornadoes.

With these storms, you have to be prepared for everything. The track shows it going into Tampa, but the storms often deviate from these tracks in crazy ways. For example, Hurricane Andrew was expected to make landfall in Palm Beach County as a category one storm. As we all know, it went into southern Miami Dade County (Homestead) as a catastrophic category five storm. While there have been a lot of improvements in forecasting the tracks, it’s still not a perfect science.

While waiting for Hurricane Ian, I’ve been preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. Our Hurricane kit is fully stocked including a robust supply of water. Tonight I’ll pick up all of my prescriptions, so I don’t run out during our immediately after the storm. Filling my prescriptions was a significant issue for me after Hurricane Wilma, an issue I’m not willing to repeat. To be fair, Hurricane Wilma bit a mere four months after we moved to Florida. We learned a lot from that storm. As the storm approaches, I’ll make sure to keep everyone updated.

Here’s a list of key things you’ll want to have in your Hurricane/bad weather Kit:

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Sleepy Saturday

It was a sleepy Saturday. I had absolutely nothing planned and I achieved it. Ok, I planned a quick trip to Target to pick up a few things. Also to be fair, I did get some work done in our room and some laundry done. The better part of the day, however, was spent chilling with Anakin watching Brooklyn 99.

I expected the weather to be much worse, but with Fred’s remnants shifting west we didn’t get too much rain. Grace is following in Fred’s footsteps with a path that seems, at least for now, to be sparing South Florida of its worst weather. We did have a few spectacular several thunderstorms overnight, which woke me up a couple times. As for now, I’m focusing on turning my sleepy Saturday into a sleepy Sunday.

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

*I’m reading Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy last night. This is quite the departure from the world of Queen Asa.

*I’m still under the weather. Consequently, I took another rest day today.  Unfortunately, there will be no rollicking or running until I’m better.

*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. Tropical Storm Fred Tropical Storm Fred or Depression 6 is sliding westward. Now we’ll focus on TS Grace, which looks to be following Fred’s path.

*I ordered Dunkin’ via Uber Eats while firmly awake this morning.

*For dinner, the Hubby and the Mayor chicken, black beans and rice. This week I’m strictly limiting my carb intake as part of the 5:2 Plan, so it was mostly chicken for me.

*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.

*Today’s word of the day is hiraeth, which is a Welsh word.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today he didn’t pull my arm off or anything like that. I put on his harness

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Friday the 13th

Well, thank god it’s Friday even if it is Friday the 13th. Here in Florida we await Tropical System Fred and his rains. Hopefully, it will break the sweltering heat for a bit. Although I’m sure it will bring lots of tropical humidity out way. We’re supposed to get several inches of rain tomorrow, but we’ll see where this thing ends up.

In a very Friday the 13th type move, there’s another tropical system lined up right behind Fred. If it develops into a storm, it will become Grace. Right now the models have it coming out way, but it’s far too soon to know for sure. All I know is that it’s going to rain heavily over the next week or so.

My cold is finally starting to loosen its grip. I was able to eat lunch today without feeling like it was going to come back up. I’m coughing a lot less and my lungs feel better (except after climbing the stairs at the casino.) Fortunately, I’ve been sleepy really well, which is definitely helping recovery.

Tonight we net our friends at NYY steakhouse at the Coconut Creek Casino. The food was awesome. I enjoyed a nice bone in New York Strip with some hash browns, lobster mac and cheese and hash browns. First of all, the steak was ginormous. I’ll have leftovers for days (unless my boys get to it.). The lobster mac was really, really food. Overall, the meal including my apple flavored cocktail was extraordinary. I highly recommend this restaurant.

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

*I’m started reading the Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy last night. This is quite the departure from the world of Queen Asa.

*I’m still under the weather. Consequently, I took another rest day today.  Unfortunately, there will be no rollicking or running until I’m better.

*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. Tropical Storm Fred Tropical Storm Fred or Depression 6 (whatever it is when it finally gets here is) should be here Saturday. There’s also a system behind TS Fred that could also come out way.

*I ordered Dunkin’ via Uber Eats while firmly awake this morning.

*For dinner, the Hubby made breaded chicken. This week I’m strictly limiting my carb intake as part of the 5:2 plan.

*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.

*Today’s word of the day is parsimonious . First of all, parsimonious is one of my favorite words. Secondly, I am by nature parsimonious.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today he didn’t pull my arm off or anything like that. I put on his harness

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Pandemonium

It was utter pandemonium this morning as I rolled out of bed (I mean the couch) five minutes before my shift begins. Since the AC wasn’t working downstairs last night, I slept out on the couch. The upstairs AC keeps the family room much cooler than our room. I’m not sure how I slept through my multiple alarms, but obviously I needed to sleep.

I went in to work feeling like I had run a race to get there despite the fact my office is in my room. Nevertheless, the late wake up call coupled with the lack of AC in my home office didn’t make for a good start to the work day. It was super rushed. Now somehow I managed to order my coffee via Uber Eats before falling back asleep. Who knows how long it sat outside my front door before I finally picked it up.

Meanwhile, the Hubby had arranged for an AC guy to come this morning. Obviously, this was very much appreciated, but it did add to the pandemonium of the morning. As is always the case, the AC guy didn’t show up until I got on to a phone call. My cell was blowing up with messages from the Hubby and the AC guy checked out our outside unit. Honestly, it was more stressful than it needed to be, but in the end it was worth it since the AC now works.

I’m still dealing with the cold, which sucks balls. It’s gotten a bit better each day, but my appetite is gone. Moreover, food isn’t going down too we’ll. Fortunately, it’s well time given I was starting the Fast 800 Tuesday anyway. After two weeks, I’ll transition to the 5:2 intermittent fasting model again. At any rate, hopefully I’ll lose some of more of this thyroid weight.

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

*I’m started reading the Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy last night. This is quite the departure from the world of Queen Asa.

*I’m still under the weather. Consequently, I took another rest day today.  Unfortunately, there will be no rollicking or running until I’m better.

*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. Tropical Storm Fred Tropical Storm Fred or Depression 6 (whatever it is when it finally gets here is) should be here Saturday. There’s also a system behind TS Fred that could also come out way.

*I ordered Dunkin’ via Uber Eats apparently in my sleep this morning. We definitely need another car since Goalielocks has to drive to school.

*For dinner, the Hubby made breaded chicken. This week I’m strictly limiting my carb intake as part of the 5:2 plan.

*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.

*Today’s word of the day is terrified. I’m a bit terrified at the prospect of how much rain two back to back tropical systems could bring South Florida. 

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today he didn’t pull my arm off or anything like that. I put on his harness

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The Tropics

The tropics have fired up early this year! Tropical Storm Cristobal is churning away in the Gulf of Mexico bringing much of the Florida peninsula rain today. Markedly, today is the first day in a minute that we haven’t received significant rain. Nonetheless, it’s still overcast and cloudy and we didn’t see the sunrise and won’t see the sunset either.

Unfortunately, the path a head for the storm brings it to our airmen’s doorsteps. Fortunately, it appears to be mainly a rainmaker at this point. Also, they’re forecasting it to remain a tropical storm at landfall. This is obviously a good thing, but it along with the path could change at any point. Fortunately, his base has been through these things before and is well prepared for whatever Cristobal will bring.

Since the weather’s still questionable and we’re still staying home as much as possible, I made today productive. Or at least as productive as I could. Fortunately, I got a lot done around the house. I started cleaning our bathroom, but fill finish it tomorrow. However, I was was as able to get the laundry completed. Naturally, I spend a lot of time straightening up the family and room and living rooms because that’s where the dogs spend most of their time.

Unbeknownst to me, Anakin stuck outside behind me when I went outside to shake out the broom. You can. Imagine my surprise when coming out of the bathroom two minutes later, I couldn’t find him anywhere. And then I heard him barking. The poor guy snuck outside and was at the front door waiting for me to open it. Thankfully, he’s a well trained puppy and didn’t run off. Obviously, we were both relieved when he made his way back inside. Nonetheless, I’m sure there are plenty of untold stories from his outdoor adventure today.

Before all of that nonsense, I got in my fourth run of the week. I decided to do a hybrid steady state and HIIT. After warming up, I ran five minutes at a steady state before walking. Once I started walking, I started the interval work. For this I alternated every 30 seconds between 7.0-8.0 mph sprints and walks at 3 mph. Clearly, this type of run brings its own challenges, but I find it goes quicker. This is likely due to changing the tempo so frequent. Afterwards, I completed my post run stretch routine, which felt great and continues to keep my legs healthy.

For dinner, I made the hubby and I cumin spiced pork roast served with vegetable fried rice courtesy of Blue Apron. Since I accidentally selected the 2 serving option, I ordered Pizza Hut for the boys. The Mayor was pleased that after having asked everyday for the last week, I finally acquiesced to his request. Fortunately, both their pizza and our pork with fried rice were great. Since we were doing carry out at Pizza Hut, we ate dinner a little bit earlier than normal as the hubby picked it up on his way home.

Today’s featured picture comes courtesy of my mother’s garden in Minnesota. The pink and white flowers are peonies. My great grandmother passed these beautiful plants down to my mother. I always loved going to my great grandmother’s house and seeing the peonies that lined her driveway in bloom. Indeed getting out of the car was a treat as the sweet aroma of the peonies hit your senses. My great grandmother also passed down the purple flower, an iris, to my mom. Unfortunately, I cannot grow either of these flowers in South Florida.

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

*Reading Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Worked on website

*Obedience training Anakin

*Cooked a super yummy dinner courtesy of our friends at Blue Apron.

*Week 3 BBG 2.0 day 6 cardio

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena out for dinner

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