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Level Forty-Five

In March, I hit level forty-five. It was the weekend after the state tournament, which was nice. For many years, my birthday was in the midst of the tournament. As much as I love hockey, a birthday during the middle of the tournament is not the most fun. Since we had no hockey games, I could celebrate it as I wished.

For my birthday, some friends, the Mayor, and I went to a puppy yoga class. It was heavenly. The puppies, mini-doodles, and shitzus were precious and so sweet. The combination of two of my favorite things—yoga and puppies—along with some of my favorite people, was the perfect way to spend my birthday. It was a calming and happy experience. I love it.

After puppy yoga, we grabbed lunch at Yard House in Mizner. Yard House is such a great spot. I love their appetizers, food, and drinks. Yard House prices its food and drinks quite reasonably, considering it’s in the middle of Boca Raton. After lunch, we headed to Total Wine and Target to pick up a few things for the evening. We finished the night with pizza with the Kennedys and the Minnesota State High School boys hockey championships. It was an amazing birthday.

In the lead up to forty-five, influencers and friends flooded my social media feeds with perimenopause reels, posts, and memes. Honestly, I found it not only to be a calamity of sorts, but also insulting. Why would I care about perimenopause if I’m not even middle-aged?! Oh, the sad realization that as a woman in my forties, I’m there hit me like a ton of bricks. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep that drove it home or the emotions that were all over the place. Whatever it is, I’m not here for it. More on the perimenopause in a later post.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading Henry V, The Astonishing Triumphs of England’s Greatest Warrior King, by Dan Jones
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite?

I love Christmas. We host our way, which means we’re not scattered all over the place. Or at least, we’re not usually scattered all over the place. I host a delicious brunch for family and friends. In years past, we played paintball after brunch. Now we nap and maybe head to Christmas dinner. I love Christmas!

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Time Off

I took some time off from the blog to rest, recharge, level up to 45, and prepare for PurpleStride. Now that PurpleStride is over, I’m back to my regularly scheduled program. Or at least a somewhat regular program. Who even knows what regular is anymore, because I certainly don’t.

There’s so much to update, but I won’t do it all in one post. You may remember from my last post that I had been fighting with BCBS for Dexcom 7 approval. Finally, an escalation specialist reached out to me after I went nuclear on X. She was an absolute gem. She escalated my concerns regarding the ridiculousness of needing prior auth on a CGN for a type 1 diabetic. In the end, BCBS completely waived the prior authorization process for him.

Meanwhile, the Mayor’s team headed to Tampa for the state tournament. While I had a fabulous time in Tampa (thank you, Alex and moonshine), the team’s performance was less than stellar. It was a bit frustrating to lose to a team that had a player who hadn’t played the required number of games with the team. Only to find out, of course, that the rule didn’t apply to kids who played for Alliance. Naturally, this rule, specific to alliance players, isn’t documented anywhere. Also, to be clear, while it was frustrating, it’s not the reason our team lost. I’m just glad I’m down with youth hockey in Florida.

So it’s goodbye to youth hockey and on to Juniors. The Mayor will be playing for the Junior Cats this upcoming season. This is a new team that is local to us. He’s not looking to move away at this time, given the relatively recent type 1 diagnosis. I’m not a huge fan of junior hockey, but it’s a great way to spend a gap year. The Mayor’s plans for after high school were completely upended by his type 1 diabetes diagnosis last fall. Consequently, playing Juniors will give him a year to figure it out. Needless to say, I’ll be keeping my hockey mom rituals for another season.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading Henry V, The Astonishing Triumphs of England’s Greatest Warrior King, by Dan Jones
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

Have you ever been camping?

I have never been camping, and tent life is not for me. I envision coming back to my tent and seeing a big bear rummaging through it. Moreover, I like things like beds, running water, and air conditioning. Thanks to my thyroid and perimenopause, I’m barely sleeping right now. The last place you’d catch me is trying to sleep in the discomfort of a tent. As for glamping, I’m here for it.