Goalielocks is coming home tonight and I’m so excited to see him. He hasn’t been home since early August. Since that time I’ve had a few orders come in for him from Fabletics and picked up a few goodies for him in Minnesota. It wouldn’t be a trip home if I didn’t pick up some swag from the boys’ favorite teams. I meant to pick up some Vikings socks for him last trip, but totally forgot. Oh well, there’s always next time.
The house looks relatively clean, which is a new development in our lives. Usually between, work, hockey and school it looks like a bomb has gone off in every room. Now I’m relishing the peaceful bliss of order. This isn’t to say we’ve gone all Mari Kondo on the place, just that it’s not a complete shit show anymore. My hubby set up my monitors mounts, so I now I have a lot more desk space. I started using a keyboard, but I’m not used to the typewriter like keyboard anymore. I’m so used to using my laptop keyboard, so it’s been a struggle.
10 out of 10 recommend this strategy
After work, I’m going to run to Publix to pick up some goodies for dinner and salami for the dogs. Before that I’ll be defrosting some steaks for us to grill. I’m really craving some sweet potatoes and sautéed spinach, so that will round out the meal nicely. I love roasted sweet potatoes. There a nice, and healthier, alternative to regular potatoes, which I love. After dinner, I’m thinking we’ll watch Joe Dirt. We were trying to find it streaming the other day, but could only find it for rent. Fortunately, TBS is running it live all week.
If you had to give up one word that you use regularly, what would it be?
Uh, so it’s not really a word, but I feel like I use uh way too much. Especially when I’m on the phone. It’s annoying.
It’s day two of following the path I’m carving out for 2023. My sinuses are still bothering me, so I called my run to a mile. Obviously, it wasn’t the best run I’ve ever done, but I still got it done. Afterward, I killed Sweat’s HIIT beginner week four leg week. Tonight, I’ll round out the workouts with day two of the Everyday Yoga 21-day yoga challenge. So far, my I’m off to a stellar start in maintaining my salubrious habits.
In keeping with my 2023 path, I finally got my closet cleaned. I still have two tubs to go through, but that can be done during the work week at my desk. While going through a couple of other tubs, I found all our relocation stuff with Progressive. Additionally, I found a bunch of Progressive paperwork, which I clearly don’t need. After all, I haven’t worked at Progressive since 2009. There were also some great books in there including mad libs and a would you rather book.
When we were at IKEA last week, I bought myself two shoe cabinets for the closet. It gives the closet a much cleaner look. Moreover, it was the perfect opportunity to go through my shoes and practice the art of letting go. Incredibly, I found a boot and a sneaker without a mate. My best guess is that I had already donated their mates. Fortunately, the hubby built both shoe cabinets yesterday. Consequently, once the closet was ready, I moved both cabinets into their respective places.
Don’t mind the excessive number of leggings in the background….
The question asked on the bloganuary challenge today was how are you brave. So how am I brave? I willingly ride in a car with stinky teenage hockey players that just finished playing their game after a Chipotle burrito lunch. Seriously though over the past year, I haven’t shrunk from the responsibility of protecting my children. I’ve faced tremendous adversity quietly while maintaining appearances for the betterment of my family. I don’t know what 2023 will bring, but no matter what it throws at me I’m ready.
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: Week four Sweat Beginner HIIT leg day. Ran one mile, and walked one. Day Two of the Everyday Yoga Shop/Practyce 21-day yoga challenge.
The engagement photos are in and they’re absolutely perfect!!!!! Jake and Melly had their engagement photos taken yesterday by Julianna of Murano Media. (If you are local to South Florida and need photos, I’d highly recommend using Julianna’s services.). I had planned to get them photographs as an engagement plan for quite some time. Unfortunately, there were a lot of unknowns about timing that made it difficult to plan. Fortunately, Julianna came through in a pinch.
The kids met Julianna up at a nature preserve in Royal Palm. South Florida has some incredible setting for photography. This venue was no exception. For the uninitiated, the Everglades and surrounding area are exceptionally beautiful especially at sunset. Julianna blew us all away with her professionalism and efficiency. It was an awesome experience!
As of this afternoon, the engagement photos are in. They’re just incredible. I don’t think I’ll be able to pick a favorite anytime soon! Of course the photos came in while I drove back from our trip to IKEA. We spent the morning frolicking in the Swedish behemoth of a retailer getting Goalielocks ready for his move. I saw the text come in on my watch and was super anxious to get home and check them out.
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: Sweat HIIT beginner week 4 full body workout. I was a bit wheezy this afternoon, so I skipped the run to give my lungs a break.
Today was a much better day on all fronts. From a productivity standpoint, I had the best sales day of the month today. The headache and stiff muscles that were a source of aggravation earlier in the week have completely abated. And thank god with AEP starting tomorrow, I need to be in tip top shape. After reviewing last year’s AEP results, I’m stoked to see what the next seven weeks will bring.
Of course, nothing makes for a better day than a phone call from Jake. He looked great, but sounded absolutely exhausted. We’re super grateful for technology that allows us to always stay connected. I am definitely missing my boy and would love to be back in Utah spending time with him. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to get back out there until next summer. Oh well, it’s something to look forward to.
I ran this evening and it was fabulous. Naturally, I had hoped it would get easier today. Alas, it did not. I was sucking wind after a half of a mile. Nonetheless, I persevered and ran the whole mile and a half. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be running in the morning before work. My AEP schedule has me working too late to realistically run after work. Monday I’ll be restarting Kayla Itsines HIIT program again. It’s the best exercise program I’ve found to date.
Well we finally made it back home early this morning from our wonderful Utah trip. We had an absolutely marvelous time spending time as a family together out west. It was the first time we’ve been able to see my parents since the pandemic started. Obviously, it was great to see them again. Moreover, we were all excited to see Jake. We haven’t been able to see him since last Christmas.
Our trip back home wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked, but it wasn’t horrible either. Our first flight was delayed as our pilots’ previous flight was delayed. Since we were connecting in Atlanta, I was worried that we’d miss our connection. Fortunately, we made it in time for our connection to Fort Lauderdale. Of course, it didn’t hurt that our connecting flight was also delayed.
We finally landed in Fort Lauderdale at 1:00 am. Our bags, less one, quickly made there way to baggage claim. Unfortunately, the Mayor’s hockey stick didn’t make the connecting flight in Atlanta. Thankfully, Delta had already caught it and started the process of getting it to us today. Fortunately, they have a delivery service that dropped off the bag this afternoon. It was a bit of an annoyance this morning, but Delta quickly solved it so I’m not upset about it at all.
The hardest part of our trip back home was saying goodbye. It’s always excruciatingly hard to say goodbye to Jake. I hate that we’re not able to see him as often as we would like. Fortunately, he is thriving which makes it a bit easier to leave. Also, I’m already planning my next trip to visit him. Naturally, it was also hard to say goodbye to my folks. We really enjoyed our time together. Tonight it will be an early bed time for all of us given the lack of sleep we got last night.
Well, I’m fading quickly after slamming some Benadryl to end the allergic reaction that has mysteriously started. In fact, I really have no clue what has cause the hives/rash on my hand. It looks a bit like poison ivy (aka mango,) but I haven’t touched any mangoes in years. Nonetheless, I’ll probably be in bed before 9:00.
An early bedtime wouldn’t be the worst thing for me. After all Goalielocks and I left the house before dawn, so we’d get to practice on time. Naturally, he left the car on E, which led to an unplanned trip to Wawa. The drive itself wasn’t terrible. I just don’t appreciate the super early wake up call on a Saturday. Fortunately the great company, courtesy of my fellow hockey moms, made up somewhat for the early wake up call.
After practice, I tried to take several naps. As they say, best laid plans sometimes go sidewise. Before attempting my first nap, I did log into make a few follow up calls for work. Afterward, my first failed nap attempt, I ran 2.5 miles. I was hoping the run would walk me up, but even at 1:00 pm I was fading quickly.
I finally started to fall asleep when my hubby called twice and my older son called. Clearly, a nap was not going to happen today. Jake’s car was struck while he was grocery shopping this afternoon, so he was calling for advice. I told him all the things he should do immediately. Consequently, we hung up so he could call the cops and get all the information he needed.
Thankfully, the lady that drove into his car stuck around and did the right thing. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but worry about him. It sucks to be so far away from your kid when something like this happens. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about because he handled it perfectly. By the time, he left the parking lot State Farm had already called to tell him they were covering the repairs and his rental car. And now I’m off to bed because I’m fading quickly.
Monday was our boat day in the Keys. This was the first time we rented a boat and it will not be the last. Initially, our boat day got off to a bit of a rocky start since someone blew up the engine on our boat the previous day. Fortunately, the staff at A1A Watersports was first class and upgraded our boat, threw in some fishing rods and even knocked 14 gallons off our gas charge. We ended up with a Grady dual console boat, which was super nice.
After grabbing the boat, we cruised back to the house to pick up the rest of our group. As we left the canal to head towards the Gulf, there were dolphins swimming in the canal. I was a little nervous as there were dark clouds off on the horizon and some heavy rain in the Gulf. Fortunately, we ended up having perfect weather all day. I love being on the water!
Our first trip was out to the light house and Alligator Reef for some snorkeling. It was incredibly beautiful! As we headed to the location, the seas were pretty calm. Unfortunately, the seas picked up when we dropped anchor near the reef. They started rolling in at 3-4 feet, which wasn’t great for several of our passengers. All of us, except for Captain Hubby hit the water to swim and snorkel. The water was absolutely perfect, however, we had to head back to the house due to sea sickness.
Our second trip of the day had us exploring the islands on the bay side. It was pretty hot out there with little wind, so we ended up pulling up our rods almost as soon we we had put them in. Unfortunately, there was no good way to keep our sweet Ava cool. Thankfully, we hadn’t ventured too far from the house.
Our third trip was a mix of snorkeling and fishing. We had folks fishing on one side of the boat while others swam on the other. The fish, however, were apparently avoiding both sides of our boat as we got only a few bites. Consequently, we moved under the bridge into the Atlantic to see if we could get on some fish. Sadly, not everyone was happy with this move. T was mad at the Captain for not dropping him off at the bridge pylon. Naturally, the Captain had no idea that T was wanting to be dropped off.
Since we forgot to drop him off at the pylon, he decided he would walk to it and climb up it. Of course this was a bad idea given the strength of the current where the Atlantic and Gulf water meet. Not too mention that the barnacles would cut him up as he tried to climb up into the platform. You gotta love teenagers and their ingenuity.
Afterwards, we headed into the Gulf to find the fish. After a couple false starts, the Hubby guided us to the Gopher Cut. Finally, we were on the fish! They were biting as soon as the lines hit the water. In fact, the kids started reeling in some respectable snappers. Unfortunately, the sea sickness started to kick in again as we were anchored. We pulled up anchor and headed back to the house. Thankfully, the sea sickness abated as we started moving again.
Our last trip of the day had us heading back into the open water of the Atlantic. In the afternoon, the seas were significantly calmer. We initially started fishing off the waters of Indian Key, but had no luck. Goalielocks and Captain Hubby decided to head out to a wreck 3.5 miles to the southeast. Truly, we should have started there because the fish were biting like mad. Goalielocks girlfriend put her line in the water and pulled up three snappers almost immediately, I had a similar experience. On her next cast, she pulled up another three snappers. It was awesome! Not to mention it was an absolutely gorgeous location. Next time we’ll start our day at this location.
The boat cost less than $600 for the day and it was well worth every penny. We all carried away some wonderful and funny memories from our adventures on the water. Obviously, the sea sickness sucked and we weren’t properly prepared. Next time I’ll be sure to have Dramamine on hand to help mitigate the sea sickness. Lastly, after the sun and salt water exsiccate my skin, I’m going to be covered head to toe in sunscreen and spf clothing. Long story short if you are in the Keys and considering renting a boat, do it and use A1A Watersports in Islamorada.
As an aside, I think they were so generous to us because we were kind and patient when they told us our boat had broken. In contrast, an asshole form New York pulled an attitude with the entire staff (all of whom were super nice and professional) as soon as he got there. Keep in mind, his boat was there and ready to go immediately. The staff, in my opinion, was way more patient and professional with him than I would have been.
He was still complaining when we brought the boat back. The man was charged for 28 gallons, which was the amount of gas he used. Thankfully, we came off akin to angels due to his poor behavior. In fact, we used 44 gallons of gas, but were only charged for 30. I guess it pays to be nice.
We finished our night with an adults only dinner at Morada Bay’s Pierre. It was quite the contrast to their Beach Cafe, but the food was awesome. The service at Pierre’s is was impeccable. We enjoyed an appetizer of shrimp cocktail and escargot. Both are amazing. For dinner, I had the fish du jour, which was a snapper in browned butter sauce. Lastly, we capped off the dinner with a key lime tart and creme brûlée. I love it!
If you go, check out:
A1A Water Sports and Boat Rental in Islamorada had several types of boats, jet skis, fishing equipment and snorkel gear for rent at a great price point. There service is also fantastic. It’s the perfect place to supply your boat day!
Pierre at Morada Bay. Their price point is high, but so is the quality. You will love it! I recommend the escargot, shrimp cocktail, fish du jour and creme brûlée. The views of the sunset are first rate.
