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Sunday Chilling

After a crazy Saturday, I spent Sunday chilling in my human-sized dog bed with my puppies. To be clear, the puppies came and I went, but I didn’t leave the comfort of the bed. Fortunately, I felt really good on Sunday. I was concerned that I’d be really sore and it would take a while to recover from the 5k. The takeaway is my current training program is effective. Now I’m focusing on improving my speed and reducing my time. There was one downside to the race. I made a mess of my shoes at the race by traipsing across the wet lawn.

I spent Saturday night at the rink with family and friends watching the Mayor’s home opener. The Jr Cats took on their crosstown rivals, the Palm Beach Typhoon. Honestly, the game was closer than I imagined it. The Mayor and his partner CJ, played awesome together for the first part of the game. Until there was a scrum behind our net, where someone went after the Mayor, and CJ took care of business. The ref tossed CJ from the Game, but we couldn’t really see what happened from where we were.

The game was fairly chippy, but nothing too insane. My mom did, however, find it to be quite aggressive. It was a lot of fun to watch, though. I enjoyed it. Watching a hockey game where everyone wants to be there and is bought in is a thing of beauty. It’s a big shift from U-18, where half the team cares and the rest don’t care at all. They had a quick turnaround with another game on Sunday. Unfortunately, they lost, and the Mayor got injured. Fortunately, the injury doesn’t seem to be severe.

2025 Goal tracker:

  • Run a 5K: achieved! The new goal is to finish in under 32 minutes at the next 5K.
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I finished Pride and Prejudice on Saturday and am now reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on Instagram, give me a follow!
  • Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

I thought a lot about how I would answer this question and decided to give the sports mom answer. When the boys were young, Goalielocks skated at MEGA Goaltending at the National Sports Center with Coach Justin Johnson. One piece of advice he gave to the parents of the campers was to ensure our hockey players don’t let hockey define their identity. Rather, their identity should be cultivated around a multitude of different interests. This is important because kids who learn to identify themselves only with their sport will struggle mightily when their sports days come to an end.

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5K Goal Slayed

I slayed my 5K goal this morning. After a six-year absence from running races, I am back!!! I’d be lying if I said it felt fantastic, but it didn’t feel terrible either. Perhaps the worst part of running a 5K is having to get up before the sun rises on the weekend. After years of doing that for hockey, I quite enjoy sleeping in on Saturday. Nevertheless, I left my house just before 6:00 this morning.

To train for the 5k, I’ve been doing 45-minute treadmill workouts through Apple Fitness. I was nervous that the training wouldn’t translate to the road, but fortunately, it did. I think before my next 5K, I’ll throw an outdoor training run in there. Thankfully, cooler weather should arrive shortly, making outdoor training possible.

As for the run itself, the first mile was horrible. The entire time, I was questioning my sanity. Honestly, who tortured themselves like this? As mile one ended, however, I found my rhythm and started to feel pretty good. Miles two and three were slower than mile one, but they felt comfortable. I grabbed a water bottle at the first water table. Thankfully, I was able to store it in my leggings pocket when I wasn’t drinking.

As I came to the finish line, I felt like I had more in the tank. Importantly, I only almost threw up once after the run. Thankfully, I didn’t. After finishing, I walked for fifteen minutes to cool down my legs and lungs. Next time, I’m not going to stop running at the finish. I’ll slow down gradually before walking it out. This should prevent me from getting sick. I’ll In the end, I took second place in my age group. My time was just over thirty-two minutes, which was better than I anticipated.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: achieved! The new goal is to finish in under 32 minutes at the next 5K.
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I finished Pride and Prejudice on Saturday and am now reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on Instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

What’s your all-time favorite album?

Oh man, this is a hard one. I think after looking at this through multiple prisms, Green Day’s Dookie is my favorite album. It was one of the first CDs I had and has influenced my musical taste ever since.

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Last Training Run

I just finished my last training run before Saturday’s race. Today’s training session was a thirty-minute treadmill session, which I thought would be easy. Perhaps easy isn’t the right word. I figured, however, that a thirty-minute treadmill workout after running 45-minute treadmill workouts would feel like a relief. Unfortunately, it didn’t. I think this is in large part due to running 45 minutes yesterday. Fortunately, I have two full days to rest my legs before the race.

Tomorrow I’ll do the upper body Sweat workout, and then on Friday I’ll do the ab one. The ab one isn’t super intense, so it’s perfect for the day before the race. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing yoga every morning and stretching at night. I’m doing everything I can to keep my legs and hips loose for Saturday. I definitely don’t need a harassing injury to slow me down; I’m pretty sure I’ll be slow enough on my own.

From 2020 to 2025

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I finished Pride and Prejudice on Saturday and am now reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

How do you celebrate holidays?

I celebrate the holidays by spending time with the people I love most. The holidays are such a special time for me because it’s one of the rare times everyone is home. It sucks not having the kids around all the time, so having them home is amazing.

In addition to the family time, I enjoy baking all of our traditional family favorites. These dishes have really become the fabric of our holiday season. Each dish has a special connection to our families or our ancestors. It’s special to bake holiday cookies with the rolling pin handed down to me by my grandma, who was given it by my great-grandma. Keeping the culinary traditions alive is a way of always staying connected to our family and our heritage. I look forward to passing it on to the next generation.

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Only Tuesday

It’s only Tuesday, but it feels like it should be Thursday. Today, in particular, harassingly long. I had a short work week last week after taking Friday off for hockey. Consequently, it appears that this week is going to drag on for ages. Perhaps it’s better that way, given the 5K on Saturday. At any rate, I hate when a day/week drags on wearily.

My parents came into town today, which is exciting for all of us. I’m especially excited that they’ll be able to see the Mayor play with his junior team. It’s a big shift from youth hockey, so I think they’ll enjoy it. We’ll be bringing them with us to the home opener Saturday night. The weekend after, he has another home game, which we’ll also attend. Hopefully, my brother and his wife, along with Richard and Suelen will be able to make that game.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I am reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

Write about your most epic baking or cooking fail.

As a baker, I’ve had plenty of epic baking and cooking failures. I think it’s part of the process of becoming a baker. Baking is exact. If you’re off at all, you can really muck up your bake. A couple of ways you can self-sabotage your bread are by adding the salt and yeast right on top of each other. The salt can kill the yeast, which will stop your bread from rising as it should. The other is using liquid that is way too hot. If the liquid is too hot, over 130 degrees, it will kill the yeast.

Needless to say, I’ve made bread while forgetting the yeast. I’ve also forgotten to set a timer and then absolutely forget about the cookies in the oven. As it happens, nobody likes crispy fried chocolate chip cookies. I’ve also left my sourdough bread out overnight, which doesn’t work. It’s so hot here, the dough rose like a rocket ship and was overflowing by morning.

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New Season, New Team

Tomorrow marks the start of a new season with a new team for the Mayor. He’ll be playing with the Coral Springs Jr Cats in the USPHL. Tomorrow they’ll open their season in Estero against the Florida Everblades. We’re excited for the season to start, but we’re not loving the 11:45 am game time on a weekday.

The games this season will be full NHL-length games. This makes me a little nervous for him. He’ll need to learn how to manage his blood sugar through the 20-minute periods as well as the 20-minute breaks in between. It will be interesting to see how it goes tomorrow. As with everything else related to diabetes, it will be a learning experience and somewhat of a science experiment.

So what is Junior hockey? It’s the hockey that exists between club or high school hockey and college hockey. The goal of junior hockey is to improve your game so you can play at the collegiate level. That’s the goal for a lot of folks. For others, it serves as a great way to spend a gap year between high school and college. Not everyone is ready to start college immediately. Junior hockey is a great way to grow their independence and life skills, so they can succeed in college.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: began 3.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

What’s your favorite word?

It starts with an f and rhymes with duck. Sorry, Mom, but it’s definitely my favorite. I found myself using it quite a lot last night, seeing the obnoxious responses to Charlie Kirk’s death. The fact that we’ve become so comfortable with violence as a means of silencing opposing voices is frightening. If you’re one of the people, cheering or trying to rationalize his death, you deserve to be a permanent guest of the devil. Social media truly does bring out the worst is so many people who don’t know they’re at best dumb and at worst a hateful sod.

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Happy Gotcha Day Arrow!

Happy Gotcha Day Arrow!! On this day in 2022, we officially failed fostering Arrow, and he became one of us. Since that day, Arrow has brought us nothing but joy. He’s the sweetest, happiest dog. Arrow loves exploring outside. His preferred prey is squirrels. He loves chasing them up a tree. In addition, Arrow is highly food-motivated just like me. Actually, he’s even more food-motivated than me.

His brother Anakin tends to be a bit moodier, but Arrow handles him like a champ. If he sees another dog outside, he definitely wants to go mingle. Anakin, on the other hand, wants to focus on catching the nearest duck or lizard. Arrow is quick to greet our visitors. Meanwhile, we have to lock up Anakin when we have company. They’re an odd couple. I’m so glad they’re our odd couple. We love them both dearly. Happy Gotcha Day Arrow!

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

What are you doing this evening?

I will be doing nothing but cuddling with my puppies and watching mindless television. Like many Americans, I was shocked to see the video of Charlie Kirk being assassinated. Honestly, I wish my eye could unsee it. Unfortunately, we’ve come to a place in this country where people think shooting people they disagree with is okay. They cheered when the UH CEO was killed just as they cheered when Charlie Kirk died. I don’t care what your politics are; you have a right to your opinions. I have no right to inflict violence against you because they don’t align with mine.

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The Universe

Does it ever feel like the universe is conspiring against you? I was intent on having a great day until the universe threw a wrench in it. It never fails to amaze me how out of touch some people are with reality. Are they even on the same planet? Now, some days the universe conspires to aid you. That, however, hasn’t been the case lately.

I would like to share with you some of my universal truths. First of all, the Minnesota Vikings or any Minnesota sports team will only win if they turn off the game in disgust first. JJ McCarthy, I’m looking at you. Secondly, it’s absolutely traumatizing to realize the starting quarterback for the Vikings is the same age as your middle son, not the oldest one. When did I get so old? Thirdly, an 8:15 pm start date for any sporting event is way too late for anyone born before 1990.

Outside of sports, wherever you work and for whomever you work, you’re just a number. Corporations, especially public ones, only care about the stockholders. No more was this apparent when one of my associate directors died, and the C-Suite and senior management couldn’t even be bothered to address his team. The message that the employee learned nothing from them couldn’t have been louder if they had said it out loud.

Another example is when they told a long-time employee they were firing him while he was on long-term leave for cancer treatment, that he’d be rehired once he finished, and he was only losing his medical coverage. I know what you’re thinking: the medical coverage is the most important piece when someone’s battling metastatic cancer, and you’d be right. The moral of the story, do your best, but don’t sacrifice your nerves, health, or family for a job that sees you as replaceable.

Since it’s hurricane season, here’s another weather-specific truth. If I prepare for the storm, it won’t come. I’ll leave you with a couple more gems. I don’t bet on my sports team as it is a guarantee that they will lose. If I wear a white outfit to dinner, I will stain it before the night is out. My kids will not hear a word I say until I’m gossiping about something from the rink. Then their ears work perfectly.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

What personality trait in people raises a red flag with you?

A major red flag for me is people who make work their whole personality. If you have ever worked for someone like this, they fail to understand how work isn’t everyone else’s whole personality. Another red flag is someone who is always looking for ways to write people up. I had a boss like that. It was so bad, I was waiting for her to start writing us up for dress code violations even though we’re remote.

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Stormy Monday Afternoon

After a very quiet rainy season, we’ve had quite the stormy afternoon. My power has been on and off for twenty minutes, rendering me absolutely useless at work. The storm currently over us is apparently moving so slowly it’s nearly stationary. This doesn’t bode well for being able to get back to work or the evening commute. It’s also been a very loud storm between the driving rain and incessant thunder.

Unfortunately, I think we need a shield for our bathroom window. I noticed that there was water getting in when the rain was driving hard out of the west. Now that the rain has lightened up a bit, there’s no more water coming in. The last thing anyone in Florida needs is water intrusion and the mold that follows. Nonetheless, we’ll be working to dry that out tonight.

The weekend, like every weekend, went way too fast. I did manage to bake some focaccia bread yesterday afternoon. Usually, I bake it with sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese on top. This time, I decided to experiment a bit and baked it with pesto on top and bottom. While I like the taste, I didn’t love how the pesto dried out during baking. I’ll have to experiment a bit more to perfect the recipe.

Last Friday, I finished Kayla Itsines’ High Intensity 2.0. It’s been a fun, but really difficult and rewarding journey. Today I started 3.0, and the exercises ramped up quite a bit. I can’t say that I love broad jump burpees or that I’ll learn to love broad jump burpees, but I’m sure they’re effective. The number of reps per circuit also increased by quite a bit. I should see a lot of progress after 3.0 is down.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

Name the professional athletes you respect the most and why.

The professional athletes I respect the most are hockey players. Nobody puts their body on the line for their team or for the game like hockey players. They’re also nice people who go out of their way to put their fingerprint on the community. We’ve met several NHLers over the years, and they’re genuinely very nice, humble people.

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Saturday is for the Dogs

Saturday is for the dogs. Which is a play on the “for the boys” nonsense hockey players like to say to each other. At any rate, today, like every other day in our house, is for the dogs. I’m fortunate to be able to work from home and spend every day with them. Anakin and Arrow are the best sales assistants around. I don’t think so. They don’t even burn popcorn or reheat fish in the microwave. They’re the ideal co-workers.

The boys and I started our morning with a walk around the block. There’s always so much to see that the walk takes a while. Birds, lizards, and ducks distract Anakin immediately. Arrow, on the other hand, gets super excited to see a squirrel. Neither dog can concentrate on anything else once they’ve seen their target. Eventually, I got them to do all of their business, but it was a process.

While I enjoyed my coffee on the couch, the puppies chilled with me. I did manage to have a productive morning by taking care of the dishes, the laundry, and the floor. Don’t worry, I saved some of the fun for the afternoon. After heating some leftovers, I got my clothes folded and put away. To be fair, I still have some that need to be put away. Unfortunately, my closet is full. It’s reached its weight limit. I am definitely in need of a closet upgrade.

P.S. If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!

P.S.S. I’ve recently partnered with Zulay Kitchen. I’m super excited about this partnership as I love to bake. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt

How do you relax?

I like to work out, bake, read, and spend time with my dogs to relax. My workout routine keeps me sane, while reading helps me decompress every night. My dogs’ unconditional love and attention is everything. Their presence and cuddles make me so happy and relaxed.

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Medical Mom

I began my journey as a medical mom last fall when my youngest was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. The role, as if motherhood isn’t tough enough already, adds an extra level of complexity and emotions to being a mom. Of course, this is also true for the medical dads out there, but this is based on my personal experience. Hence, the focus on medical mom.

I’m grateful to my friends who shared their experiences and their kids’ symptoms that led to their Type 1 diagnosis. This is where social media can have a large and positive impact on society. If my friends hadn’t shared their experience, the Mayor’s diagnosis would have been delayed. Instead, we were able to get him help before it became a crisis.

So what were the symptoms that led to his diagnosis? He experienced rapid weight loss (20 pounds in less than two weeks), dry mouth, and increased thirst. As soon as he mentioned these, I checked his blood sugar, and it came back at 188. Thankfully, I was able to get him to the pediatrician right away. She rechecked his blood sugar, tested his urine for protein and ketones, as well as additional labs. Once the urine came back with ketones, she sent us to the hospital.

When we got home from the hospital, we found out that as much as we thought we knew, we actually knew nothing. It was terrifying. It was such a big change. We were scared to get the carb count wrong or screw up the insulin injection. I haven’t slept soundly since he was diagnosed out of fear of missing a low or a high. Terrifying is the most accurate way to describe it. Of course, the other emotion medical moms walk with is mom guilt. The guilt that we couldn’t protect them from this diagnosis. It’s irrational, I know, but it doesn’t diminish the guilty feeling.

We’ve been in the throes of the battle for almost a year now. The Mayor has managed his blood sugar really well since his diagnosis. I will say my hubby and I have had to learn not to take the angry highs personally. Moreover, the conversation about Type 1 has been in the public sphere as Barbie released its Type 1 Barbie. I’ll write a separate post on this, type 1 myths and stupid people. In the meantime, to all my fellow medical moms, hang in there.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here.
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins as part of my summer of re-reads.
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt

Why do you blog?

I initially started blogging as a way to manage grief. Now I do it because I love it.