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Magic Trick

As I start my blog, the mayor is performing a magic trick. At least, I think it’s a magic trick. Based on my hubby’s reaction to the trick, it wasn’t too magical. Nonetheless, the magic trick that did get done tonight was all of his homework. You know that stuff he’s assured us he turned in until we checked his grades and it shows missing. Our backyard duck did a magic trick sometime this morning as the number of the eggs in her nest jumped to five.

Sadly, both boys are striking out in the virtual school arena this week. Needless to say, neither of them are in possession of their phones right now. Unfortunately, for them the depravation will continue until their grades improve and all missing work has been completed. In the meantime, my blood pressure remains at an all time high and my patience remains at an all time low. Clearly, this is not a sustainable situation.

Unfortunately, there is no meditation practice for surviving virtual school. Trust me I’ve looked on several different applications and YouTube. This experience has definitely left me with a lot more respect for teachers. Honestly, I can’t imagine dealing with more than one pupil at a time. Mostly because I can’t handle dealing with one at a time. Fortunately, the days of the school year are numbered. I’ll be popping bottles next Friday the 29th to celebrate my liberation from virtual school.

Anyway, my legs were like lead this morning. Clearly, round 2 of the BBG program is effective. Nonetheless, I still got in my run. Instead of a steady state run, like I did Saturday, I mixed the tempo up every sixty seconds. To ensure a challenging run that wouldn’t injure me, I switched the tempo between 5.5-6.5 mph. Previously, I had been alternating between 5.5-6.0 mph or steady state at 6.0 mph. Truly, I’m not in a hurry to aggravate my injury by adding too much speed to fast.

After my run and stretch session, I had just enough time to break my fast with some almonds and a munchkin. Today’s class was a nice, gentle flow. I was utterly exhausted, so it was a bit tough. Obviously, my favorite part of class in shavasana, the final relaxation pose. To say it’s my favorite pose may be an understatement. Today’s shavasana was longer than usual and I definitely fell asleep. Of course, the best part of shavasana is feeing completely restored afterwards.

Afterwards I called my folks to check in. It’s my favorite afternoon ritual. I make my coffee, take a seat on my couch and talk with my parents on speaker. Truly, these conversations have become one of my favorite parts of quarantine. It’s important to stay connected with our friends and family during this season. I spent the rest of my day fighting the good fight. Did I mention that I’m over virtual school?!?! Lastly, I made dinner tonight and it sucked. I cooked up some chicken to go with penne a la vodka. Sadly, the chicken tasted like rubber. Undeniably, I’m looking forward to my Blue Apron box.

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

*Reading Vilette by Charlotte Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 1 BBG 2.0 day 2 cardio

*Yoga For A Healthy Back with Monica from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Watched Great

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

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BBG 2.0

Today day marked day one of BBG 2.0. After finishing week on yesterday, I had thought about repeating 1.0. However, at that point, I didn’t know there was a 2.0 version. Fortunately, BBG 2.0 (the BBG stands for bikini body guide) builds on the momentum of 1.0. After my experience with the primary series of Ashtanga yoga yesterday, I’m excited to build on the gains of my first twelve weeks. So here I am surrendering to to the tortured of Kayla Itsines again.

Naturally, my first leg workout as a part of 2.0 didn’t take up my entire day. I started the day with a gentle vinyasa class with Monica. Unsurprisingly, my body was a little fatigued from yesterday’s great class. Nonetheless, it was a great way to warm up my body and legs for my BBG workout later in the day. Additionally, the timing of the class helped me keep my 16 hour fast. Once my yoga class has finished, I broke my fast with some strawberry skyre.

After breaking my fast, I completed my leg workout. Today’s workout was challenging with some different moves and added weights. My lower back was a bit tight, but did loosen up by the third circuit. Unsurprisingly, I struggled wit jumping rope the most. There were of course burpees and plank jacks, which are always fun. In addition, there were some weighted squats with a twist and deadlifts. Needless to say my legs are going to be sore tomorrow. It may be a quick run tomorrow!

The afternoon brought lots of severe storms and rain. We’ve been under a flash flood warning for several hours. Fortunately, I didn’t have anywhere to go today and my hubby made it home safely. Consequently, my afternoon meditation did not happen in complete silence, but rather the sound of rolling thunder and rain. This evening I made my last Blue Apron meal for the week, which was amazing. I forgot to take a picture, but the chicken, rice and roasted vegetables were amazing. Needless to say, I love Blue Apron. If you’d like to try it, let me know as I have free boxes to give out.

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

*Reading Vilette by Charlotte Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 1 BBG 2.0 day 1 legs

*Vinyasa Yoga with Monica from Yoga Mundo

*Watched Great

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

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Margarita Time

It was margarita time today and oh boy was it delicious. For the first time in over two months, we headed over to our neighbor’s pool for some socially distanced margaritas and snacks. Interestingly, I have had more margaritas during this pandemic than the preceding two years. Moreover, I’m enjoying them more than I ever had before. Although I’m not sure if it’s due to circumstance or my changing tastes. Nevertheless, I am appreciating a good margarita these days.

Sunday’s are traditionally an active rest day for me, so my only activity on the docket was my 11:00 am yoga class with Monica. I was a little nervous that I’d lose energy throughout due to my fasting schedule, but I did awesome. Since I’m in teacher training, Monica taught the Ashtanga primary series today. It was my first time attempting the primary series and it was awesome. Interestingly, I was happy with how strong and capable I’ve become while at the same time having so much room to grow. It was an awesome experience.

I’ve been trying the 16:8 intermittent fasting since last Thursday and so far so good. It’s easy to ow and I’m able to navigate my workouts around my fasting time. Naturally, I’m going to give it a couple of weeks to see how it works and how I feel before making a commitment to the practice. Unlike other diets or diet programs it requires. I special foods and is super easy to follow. At this point, it seems like a great way to overcome some bad eating habits like late night snacking. Clearly, I’ll let you know how it works.

Today was nice because we got out of the house for a bit and got some social interaction. Since the lockdown started, we haven’t had much of any social interaction. Additionally, it’s always a happy day when your pool side under a palm tree. It’s the perfect environment full of intimacy, i.e. a nice private atmosphere, to hang out with friends and stay safe. We even got to watch a storm roll across to the south, which always beautiful.

Tonight we got to speak with Jake, which is what I look forward to every week. As always, he looks and sounds great. Thankfully, he was able to get in for a haircut this week to ensure he remains in compliance with their regulations. It is crazy to think it’s been over six months since he left for basic training. It seems like both yesterday and ages ago. Finally, a quick update on Big Grandpa (Hubby’s grandpa.). Fortunately, he tested negative for COVID-19 and will be returning to the memory care facility tomorrow. Thank you for your continued prayers for him.

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

*Reading Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 12 BBG day 7 rest.

*Vinyasa Yoga with Monica from Yoga Mundo

*Watched Curb Your Enthusiasm and Great

*Wasted away in Margaritaville

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

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104 Years Young

Today my great Grandma Brown turns 104 years old. Can you even imagine all that she’s seen and experienced in 104 years? Her early childhood would have been marked by the First World War and the Spanish Flu Pandemic. She lived through the roaring 20s only to experience the dust bowl years of the Great Depression. As the Depression ended, the world had plunged again into another Great War. At this point, you’re not even thirty yet and your life has been full of tumultuous events. Not to mention, you’ve already lost your twin sister to an automobile accident.

My Great Grandma, her twin sister Zella and their mother
My Grandma and Great Grandma

When I contrast that to my life as a product of the 1980s, I realized how much easier my life has been than hers. Notably, I’m not speaking of the ease technology has brought us, but rather the relative stability and peace my generation has enjoyed. Well, until the last couple of decades and this year. Apparently, this Covid-19 disease wants to give a Spanish Flu a run for its money in the pandemic space. Unfortunately, we seem to be in a place where we are more worried about the perceived affront to our freedom that wearing a mask and washing our hands presents.

My Father and Great Grandma

I digress, but you get my point. My Great Grandma, who happens to be my kids my Great Great Grandma is an absolute gift. Truly, to share this earth with my great grandma is a rarity and I treasure that time. My fondest memory is of my most recent visit to her on Jake’s farewell tour. She was so moved that we took the time to drive up and visit her. During that visit, she was recounting working the fields and watching “Lindy” fly over practicing and tipping his wings to them as they waved. To us Lindbergh’s legacy is complicated, but to her he was just a local guy that made it big.

Jake and his Great Great Grandma

That visit meant the world to both Jake and my Great Grandma. It meant so much of her that he took time before leaving for the military to make sure he visited her. Moreover, throughout the visit they connected on a level that’s hard to quantify in words. Nevertheless, it forged a link and interconnectedness of love, appreciation and respect that will never be broken. Sometimes I think we get caught up in the big gestures failing to realize that it’s the simple and earnest things that really matter. I hope that we’re soon able to safely travel, so my family I can go visit her again.

Today is also Armed Forces Day, the day where we recognize active duty airmen, coasters, marines, sailors and soldiers. So if you know anyone that is active duty, please make sure you reach out and acknowledge their service. As a military mom, it was the perfect opportunity to text my airmen without feeling like I’m being overbearing. At any rate, I’m super proud of my airmen and so grateful to him for his service to this country.

Tonight’s dinner was pork chorizo sausage enchilada courtesy of Blue Apron. This was another simple and easy to follow recipe. Naturally, I wasn’t sure if my boys would eat it as they can be unusually picky. However, you can imagine my surprise when both boys ate and enjoyed the enchiladas. Yep, I almost fell out of my chair!

My Hubby and His Grandpa


Lastly, please say another prayer for the Hubby’s grandfather. He was taken to the hospital last night after a fall. Fortunately, the x-rays showed no fractures. Unfortunately, the tests did show some congestion in the lungs. Consequently, he was tested for Covid-19 this morning. The test results will determine whether or not he will be able to go back to the memory care facility. As of press time, his Covid test results are still pending.

Grandpa Ed and I – love this man!

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

*Reading Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 12 BBG day 6 cardio. Ran 2.7 miles

*Watched Curb Your Enthusiasm and Great

*Redesigned my blog

*Attended Melaleuca’s convection. I’m super excited for their new skincare line including the Vitamin C collection and the rose collection, which comes in bottles with a pretty rosy hue.

*Dancing

*Virtual school torture with Goalielocks and the Mayor

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

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Shout Out

I want to give a shout out to all the Palm Beach County high school seniors that had their last official day of high school today. I know it was not what you envisioned by any stretch of the imagination, but you did it! Truly, our high school seniors have been impacted in a massive way throughout this pandemic. Unfortunately, in this era of social distancing many of the milestone moments that mark the end of your school experience had to be skipped. I know that it is a bitter pill to swallow and I really hope that our school district is able to figure out a way for these seniors to have an actual graduation. They’ve earned it and so have their parents. I have so much empathy for all of them.


Particularly, my heart is with Mel. Or as you may know her, the M and J&M2. She’s a marvelous gal, who’s life has shifted dramatically when J left for the Air Force and then with this pandemic. Thankfully, her final high school musical production was able to complete its run as the Corona virus. Our whole family, and I do mean whole family, absolutely adores M. In fact, one of the best parts of BMT weekend for me was seeing Jake and Mel together again. Honestly, there’s nothing better than seeing your son so happy and so well treated and loved by another. Enough of the sappiness for tonight because I could go on for like seven years at least… Truly, by the time I’d finish Space Force will already have captured Uranus.

I’ve been working hard this last full week of BBG, so I was exhausted this morning. Although if I’m being honest, I was up last night way later than usual. I also started intermittent fasting 16:8 to see how it works with BBG and with the thyroid. Since today was a strength training day, I waited until after I broke my fast to log the workout. Needless to say, I continue to hate the half burpees and burpees with pushup and tuck jump. This has been an amazing ~15 week program, which is why I will be repeating it. As I repeat it, I’ll make it more challenging with added weight.

If I were to show you my before and after pictures, you might not see much change. Because when you’re functionally hypothyroid, the weight and inches just don’t melt off. What you may see is some definition in the arms, which never existed before. Importantly, what you can’t see is how much stronger I’ve become. Fortunately, the gains in strength and endurance have parlayed into my yoga practice and my running. The strength I have gained has helped me gain flexibility through yoga. Together they’ve given me improved mobility. Consequently, I’m not in pain after I run and I’m not injuring myself. This is a whole new experience for me. Nonetheless, it’s hard to be patient with weight loss when you’re working so hard.

My day was productive with the Melaleuca Virtual Convention and yoga teacher training. Why I love both of these things is that it has really helped me heal the auto immune disease. Who doesn’t want to be healthier with minimal pharmaceutical intervention? I even to practice teaching surya namaskara A again. We’ve been shutdown for what seems like forever, however, I’m excited. My quarantine time has been well spent and investment in me and my family. That isn’t to say I want to virtual school ever again, but I do love spending time with the boys and helping them succeed.

Lastly, an update on the ducks. We have two eggs in the incubator upstairs that were found in our yard a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday I found an egg in our garden. Today there were two eggs in the garden nest. Moreover, we actually saw the mother duck and her two ducks. Apparently, our garden duck is in a bit of a Three’s A Company type situation. To be continued….

For dinner we had cajun spiced steaks and biscuit courtesy of Blue Apron and it was magnificent. It was super tasty, filling and easy to make. Clearly, as you can tell, I’m enjoying this meal delivery service. Before I leave you tonight, I’d ask that you’d keep the Hubby’s grandfather in your prayers. He lives in a memory care facility in Minnesota, due to Alzheimer, and has been hospitalized due to a fall. Truly, he’s one of my favorite people on this earth and has been a big supporter of our family since day one. Thanks!

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

*Reading Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 12 BBG day 5 abs

*Watched Good Place and Regular Show

*Yoga Teacher Training with Monica from Yoga Mundo

*Virtual school torture with Goalielocks and the Mayor

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

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Good Place

After a productive day, I’ve spent my evening getting caught up on the Good Place. I love this show. It is so good!! Indeed it reminds me of my airmen as the last time I watched it, he was home. Also, while I binged the show, I was still productive making sure dinner was ready when the hubby got home. Usually, I use find my iPhone to time dinner, so it’s ready to be served up when he gets home. Tonight it was veal parmesan served with gluten free spaghetti. After dinner, I watched some more Good Place episodes.

My productive day got its start with a great run on the treadmill. Today I did 2.5 miles with little to no walking, which was awesome. I had been changing tempo every minute for most runs, but today the majority of my run was steady state. As a challenge, however, I did the last minute as a spring.I’m not back to my pre Graves/injury tempo, but I’m getting there. Naturally, the best part of the run is enjoying Larry’s antics on Curb Your Enthusiasm. This time I had my music on too. Subsequently, I had a great run.

A good run is enjoyable and leaves you with that beautiful runner’s high. I love extending the runner’s high with a productive stretching session afterwards. Moreover, this stretching routine, which includes foam rollers and therapy balls, has prevented injury and kept me healthy. This routine, coupled with my yoga practice, has really opened up my hamstrings and hips. Consequently, I have a lot more mobility and strength in my legs and hips. It’s a wonderful thing!

Yoga class was so good today. We did some wonderful stretches for the hips and legs. It was exactly what I needed. Additionally, I love having yoga class as a functional cool down to my morning run. Importantly, yoga class stretches and works all the muscles groups I don’t always work. I have loved the Zoom classes, but am looking forward to seeing my yoga family once the studio reopens.

For the remainder of my afternoon, I was super productive researching new outlets for my blog and studying through a new and free COVID19 tracer course on Coursera. So far, the course is both interesting and engaging. Naturally, the best part of this course is it’s free price tag. As for spending my day indoors, I don’t feel too bad about it. Specifically, our weather is not fabulous today due to a system NOAA has pronounced likely to develop into a tropical system. Unfortunately, our weather will be deteriorating over the next several hours. Tomorrow will be another indoor day.

You may remember yesterday I was showing off my garden to my yoga teacher Monica. Well, you can imagine my surprise that this morning I discovered a duck egg within a newly dug nest. As a result, I probably will hold off on planting our seeds until we’re sure the mother duck is done nesting in the garden or the eggs hatch. I haven’t seen the duck back in the area this evening, so it will be interesting to see if more eggs show up tomorrow. And now I’ll go back to watching the Good Place.

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

*Reading Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 12 BBG day 4 cardio

*Watched Good Place and Regular Show

*Yoga For A Healthy Back with Jennifer from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Virtual school torture with Goalielocks and the Mayor

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

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Favorite Day

Wednesday has quickly become my favorite day during quarantine. Usually I do my BBG arms workout in the morning, walk in the afternoon and yoga in the evening. Of course, the best part of the yoga in the evening is that my Hubby grills steaks for dinner. Consequently, by the time I finish yoga dinner is about to be served. Tonight was no exception as the Hubby grilled filets, chicken sausages and some potatoes and onions. Yummy!

Today’s BBG workout was really tougher than normal, but I’m not 100% sure why. My shoulders and arms were quite fatigued going into the workout. Of course, there were more burpees. However, these were of the lay down variety with no tuck jump. Needless to say they absolutely kicked my butt. Next on the hit parade was the spider man push up. While I absolutely hated these last time, I came to appreciate the thoroughness with which they work your body. Also, I was a lot more proficient at them today.

Our weather has remained beautiful albeit a bit warmer and quite windy today. We have a system trying to develop off our East Coast, which is giving us a bunch of wind. Clearly, the last thing we need is a tropical system to add to the fun 2020 has already brought. I took the puppies for a brief walk before and after lunch. Anakin loves observing everything and chasing birds whenever possible.

Monica, my yoga teacher, dropped off some of the books that I’ll need to teacher training, which was great. Don’t worry we observed social distancing rules as we chatted about yoga, checked out the gardens and played with the puppies. Truly, it was super awesome to have in person contact with someone outside my family. My dogs were also excited to make a new friend. Anakin was a bit shy at first, but within thirty seconds he was covering her face with puppy kisses. He is such a loving and affectionate dog.

This evening brought Christine’s last yoga class before maternity leave. Naturally, it was fabulous. Wednesday are my favorite day because I love how Christine’s class makes me feel. In fact, my lower back and hips are now quite happy and relaxed. It was challenging, but oh so good. I am going to miss her classes while she’s on maternity leave. Fortunately, there are some great Wednesday night options for alternate classes. Nonetheless, I’ll be anxiously awaiting her return in the end of July.

Everyday fellow bloggers provide a prompt to help their fellow writes breakthrough writers block. As luck would have it, one of today’s prompts was pedantic. If you’re like me and Family Guy is the background music to your life, then your first thought probably went to the Family Guy episode where Peter wins Trivial Pursuit. Unquestionably, one of my favorite scenes is when Peter refers to Lois’ meatloaf as “shallow and pedantic.” Obviously, this word prompt was perfect for my favorite day.

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

*Reading Agnes Grey by Willa Cather and loving it!

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 10 BBG day 3 arms

*Mid Week Yoga Break with Christine from Movement Yoga

*Virtual school torture with Goalielocks and the Mayor

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

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Opinions

Opinions are fabulous and everyone has them. However, it’s important to remember that opinions are not facts. Nor do they override facts. Unfortunately, it seems that we have forgotten the difference during this pandemic. A least according to my Facebook feed. Or we share or opinion, but state that it’s our right to have said opinion. Moreover, nobody should share an opinion that counter the one posted. Rant over.

I started my Tuesday by checking in with Goalielocks, who was awake and in a good mood. #winning. Can you believe it? I couldn’t. In fact, he even made his 8:15 Zoom class. Incredible! Fortunately, traffic continues to be light, so the drive to Dunkin’ was quick. Truly, I always enjoy the drive when the Mayor’s with me. He’s got the most eclectic and fabulous taste is music. In one drive, I could hear TLC, John Paridi, Backstreet Boys, Offspring, Blake Shelton or Bob Dylan.

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This morning’s treadmill run was set to the season 9 finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Certainly, season 9 didn’t disappoint. Consequently, I forgot to start my running playlist. The antics of Larry and cast were enough to keep me engaged through the entirety of my workout, which is amazing. Typically, I need a tv show and my music playlist to get through an indoor run. As for the actual run, it went pretty well. Chiefly, I added additional run time. Likewise, I added more minutes to my cold down as well.

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My morning run and subsequent stretch routine let me right into my Tuesday yoga class. Fortunately, today’s class emphasized stretching, which is exactly what my legs, hips and glutes needed after today’s run. So far I’m enjoying the balance of 3-4 days of gentle/restorative yoga and 1/2 days of vinyasa class. I love the challenge of the vinyasa classes, but also enjoy how the gentle yoga has helped opened up my muscles.
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The post yoga glow took me to Target to pick up a prescription and allergy medicine. Regardless of the weather or season here in Florida, it is always allergy season. Also, I was in serious need of some coffee creamer. No sooner had I backed out of the driveway, when the Mayor texted me to pick up spicy chips for him and a Dr. Pepper for his brother. I decided to tease him by not responding right away.

Of course I was on the phone with my parents when I got to Target, is I left my car without my mask. Naturally, I went back to the truck to fetch my mask. Our Target won’t allow you in without a mask, no would I enter without wearing one. The store was not too busy for a Tuesday afternoon. I literally had no wait at the pharmacy or at self checkout. Fortunately, I remembered the treats for both of the boys and everything else on my list. I’m always happy when I completed a shopping trip to the letter of my shopping list.

This evening was spent cooking another great Blue Apron dinner. Tonight’s dinner was chicken with fried rice farro and ponzu mayonnaise. It was awesome! Again the recipe was easy to follow and full of yummy vegetables. Surprisingly, even my pickiest eater enjoyed the meal! I was shocked. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t eat all the peppers or cabbage in the fried rice farro, but he tried everything. I was shocked and impressed. As for the rest of the evening, I’ll be chilling with the dogs while trying to avoid all the opinions on Facebook.

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

*Reading Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

*Yoga for a Healthy Back with Monica from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Watched It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia 

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 12 BBG day 2 cardio day! Ran 2.3 miles on the treadmill 

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy of myself and the Mayor. 

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on a walk. 

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Week 12

After fifteen weeks, I’ve finally made it to week 12 (aka the final week) of BBG. Ordinarily, this 12 week program takes 12 weeks to complete. However, I ran into three separate weeks where my allergies and/or a cold settled into my chest. Consequently, I took those weeks off when I was sick to ensure my asthma get aggravated and reappear during this Covid-19 season. Sadly, I learned my lesson several years ago when I spent four months ill with bronchitis. This timeline probably would have been shortened if I had relaxed when I first got sick. Nonetheless, I’m no longer a BBG novice!

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Since quarantine has started, my Monday workout routine has shifted a bit. Now I got to yoga with Monica in the morning and then complete my BBG workout in the early afternoon. Thanks to the Mayor, Anakin made a quick impromptu visit to class.  Fortunately, the yoga leaves my legs stretched and ready to go for the workout. This is important because the Monday leg workout is super intense. Today’s workout was no exception! Indeed the evil burpees with a push-up and tuck jump we’re back. Those things are the worst! However, they went far better this week as opposed to two weeks ago. Needless to say, my legs will be sore tomorrow.

After a quick lunch, the Mayor and I took the three dogs for a walk. Okay, truth be told it was more like they walked us. Anakin is still learning to walk on a leash, so he pulls a lot. While he may be little, he is mighty. Consequently, I ended up walking him and the Mayor took the girls less than half way through. Naturally, it was at this point that Anakin decided he wanted to run. He’d run with a big smile on his face and then stop to turn around and look at his sisters. Then he’d do it again. I wanted to use the gentle leader collar or whatever thingamajig is called. So I guess the upside is I got a little bit of a run in with my jog. Fortunately, the weather was absolutely perfect so we definitely enjoyed our time outside.

 

Of course it wouldn’t be Monday if my day didn’t include virtual school woes. While Goalielocks got up for his dad and started to get to work, he was back in bed by the time I got up a half an hour later. So frustrating! Unfortunately, I spent more time than I wanted to arguing about whether he was sleeping or not. Of course adding to the frustration was the fact he didn’t do the dishes before going to bed last night or this morning! I need to remind myself that this will all be over at the end of the month.

 

Tonight I cooked my latest Blue Apron meal and it was Mexican spiced beef and rice. Again the recipe was easy to follow and the ingredients were high quality. Additionally, this recipe took less than thirty minutes to cook, which is awesome. For the first time in years, Goalielocks liked the tacos! I was so surprised! He ate his meat and rice on a tortilla, while I ate mine as a rice bowl. Naturally the best part of the dinner is the left over guacamole sauce since I’m the only one that eats it.  I hope your Monday wasn’t too manic!

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

*Reading Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

*Gentle Vinyasa Class with Monica from Yoga Mundo 

*Watched Impractical Jokers

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 12 BBG day 1 leg day!

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy of myself and the Mayor. 

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on a walk. 

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Mother’s Day 2020

Mother’s Day 2020 was a fabulous day. Albeit it was my first Mother’s Day without Jake home. Fortunately, my airmen was able to call me this evening via FaceTime. Admittedly, I feel super lucky that I got to see his face two days this weekend. At any rate, today was fabulous because I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do. Namely, I didn’t touch anything having to do with virtual school today. Indeed there was nothing disagreeable in my day.  It was a great day!

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My morning started with a hot coffee from Dunkin’ and a fresh bagel toasted with cream cheese from Joey’s Home Bakery – gluten free. As I enjoyed my coffee and bagel, I watched some of my favorite It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia episodes. Indeed this show and it’s insane cast of characters remain one of my favorites. The show is so well acted and well written.

Normally I rest on Sunday, but since it was Mother’s Day I decided to take a vinyasa class with Monica. Oh man, she kicked my butt. Truly, her vinyasa classes are rigorous and challenging. Even so I can see how much progress I’ve made since the beginning of quarantine. Of course, as you may have seen from the previous blog lost, I warmed up for the class with my sweet puppy Anakin. Needless to say, Monica’s class was the perfect Mother’s Day gift to myself.

While I was getting my namaste on, the Hubby was working on building me a book case in the family room. I am so excited for it!!!!! Honestly, I can’t wait until he’s able to sand and stain the shelves. Obviously, it is going to look absolutely amazing once completed. Not too mention, I’ll be able to empty a whole tub of books that have been waiting for a bookshelf.

Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any awesome, a package was delivered by Amazon containing my Mother’s Day present. When he officially became an airmen in February, he was given a challenge coin to signify this accomplishment. Challenge coins have a long and significant history in the military. Customarily, they are bestowed on military members to signify their acceptance and membership to a group or organization. Undoubtedly, they are a big deal.

You can imagine my glee when I received my first coin today from my airman. That’s right I am the proud recipient of an Air Force Mom challenge coin. Significantly, he felt I had earned it by working towards the BMT PT standards while he was in basic training. While I am still working on making the running standard, I was able to meet the standards for push-ups and sit-ups. Needless to say, I love the gift so much and the thought he put into it. I’m a lucky military mama!

There are two amazing ladies that I was able to speak with today that made my day complete. While I logged some walking miles on the treadmill, I was able to chat with both of grandmas. Fortunately, my parents are able to deliver the Mother’s Day gift I had made for them. I bought them, and myself, a custom mug off of Shutterfly commemorating Jake’s BMT graduation weekend. They both loved it!

Admittedly, I was proud to here my Grandma H say how her mom (my great grandma) talks about Jake and his visit with her. What could be more beautiful than that? The fact Jake made time to visit her meant more to her than we could ever fathom. Sometimes it’s the small things that make the biggest impression.
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Of course I was also able to speak to my mom today, but I speak to her everyday. Some times I speak to her multiple times a day. Truly, if you know me, I am an independent, strong willed person. Even so, I still love to talk to my mom (and my dad) about life and the kids. My brothers and I have been blessed to have a mother, really two parents, that have always put us first. They’ve been incredible grandparents to my children and their cousins. My mom’s cookie making and kickball skills will be remembered for years to come.
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She’s not only a great mother to me and my brothers, but she’s also a great mother to my grandma. I always love when I talk to my grandma and she says her “mother” won’t let her do something. For example, my mom wouldn’t let her go shopping early on in the pandemic before things were shut down. Indeed whatever my grandma needs, my mom is there to provide it for her. It’s not always easy when the role of parent and child reverses, but my grandma loves her “mother” and appreciate how well she does her job.

To all my fellow mom bloggers in the blogosphere, I hope your Mother’s Day was everything you wanted and more.

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

*Reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

*Vinyasa Class with Monica from Yoga Mundo 

*Watched It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Balthazar

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 11 BBG day 7 rest

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy of myself and the Mayor. 

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on a walk. 

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