2025 is here and mercifully it brought a cold front with it. This morning it was a refreshing 67 degrees when I walked the puppies. 2025 also means that we’ve seen the last of 2024. While last year brought the spectacular high Jake and Melly’s wedding, it also brought a lot of medical issues and even surgery for the Mayor. In fact, I ended the year with a virus. It’s a fitting way to end the year.
As we enter 2025, the Mayor is in a good place. He does a great job, for the most part, managing his sugar. He is not, however, great at dealing with highs or lows in the middle of the night. In fact, he’s downright ornery. All three of us get alarms for his Dexcom, which means the Hubby and I are up as long as it’s going off. When we try to intervene or sanity check the Dexcom with his Accu-Chek, he fights us. Fortunately, this isn’t happening often. When it does happen, it completely disrupts our sleep.
Since I was fighting off viruses myself the last two weeks, I haven’t been working out. I haven’t been my usual radiant self over the winter break. Initially, I re-started Kayla Itsine’s High Intensity program after AEP, but had to shelve it for 10 days. Thankfully, I was able to get back to it today. Tomorrow, I’ll be back on the spin bike. Next week, I’ll be back on the treadmill after an extended absence courtesy of a high ankle sprain.
This all brings me to my goals for 2025. Here they are:
Run a 5K
Complete Kayla Itsines program
No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations)
Top performer at work
Travel
Eat to lower inflammation
Read daily
Get out of debt
Financial independence
I’m sure the Starbucks goal will help reach the debt-free financial independence that you are seeking. I will, however, miss my afternoon cinnamon dulce latte. As the year progresses, I’ll be sure to share my progress here. I’ll close out today’s blog by offering a toast to a better 2025.
What are your biggest challenges?
My biggest challenges are managing my autoimmune and my boy’s autoimmune disorder. I find it more difficult to accept the Mayor’s diagnosis’s versus my own. There’s defiantly a strong sense of mom guilt that has come along with his diagnosis. Fortunately, as I noted above, he has done a great job managing his condition mentally and physically. I am so proud of him.
The Mayor and I are headed north to Detroit for, you guessed it, a weekend of hockey. Our flight was delayed about 90 minutes, which was a bit of a nuisance. The upgrade to first class alleviates some annoyance at being late. I’m awaiting a glass of Prosecco, which will eliminate every last glimmer of annoyance. Once we land, we’ll have a nice sixty-minute drive to the hotel, which does suck a bit. Fortunately, we can sleep in as the Mayor has no games until late tomorrow night.
I’m not at all prepared for the cold. I’ve been cold all day and it’s in the low 70s back home. I’m pretty sure the Detroit weather is going to make me feel like hibernating beneath the warmth of the covers in our hotel room. Detroit will, however, be a nice departure from the last seven weeks of AEP (annual enrollment period for the uninitiated.). The last several weeks do AEP were taxing as our shifts stretched to 12 to 14 hours. That’s a long time to be checked in a pleasant when dealing with a demographic that can be extremely difficult.
I’ll write more on AEP later as my short ribs and Prosecco have arrived. Moreover, I’ll share the saga of chasing down the Mayor’s type 1 diagnosis. He’s doing well, but more on that later.
P.S. I’m typing this on my phone from 35,000 miles up headed north, so please forgive the typos.
Sky Club offerings
Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?
My sophomore year speech teacher convinced me to join the speech team and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I think of Mr. Quinlan (Q as we affectionately called him) with a deep sense of gratitude often especially when I’ve been delivering a speech or presentation. Learning how to speak publicly is one of the best life skills you can learn. I’m forever grateful to Q, who encouraged and helped me develop my public speaking abilities.
I for one am ready to tell this week good riddance. The sixty five days, at least that’s what it felt like, we spent in the hospital were tough. Transitioning home and realizing all the things we don’t know about diabetes has been overwhelming. On top of it all, Goalielocks sent a text early Friday morning that there was a mass shooting in front of his work. He works at a bar in downtown Orlando. This wasn’t the text anyone wants to wake up to, although I appreciate him letting me know he was fine.
Friday marked the Mayor’s first day back at school. They were able to use his discharge paperwork and medical Management plan to get him back into school. We have to get his endocrinologist to file a diabetic medical management plan with the school. The problem being it takes six to eight weeks to get into the adult endocrinologists here. His school nurse and I use the same Endo practice, so she’s going to ask when she’s there if they’ll take him sooner. Meanwhile, I’ve put calls into the local pediatric Endos to try and get him in sooner.
I also got back on the spin bike!
Last night we were finally able to pick up his Dexcom, so now we can continuously monitor his glucose. There does seem to be a wide spread between the blood sugar on his Dexcom and the Accu-Check, which is a little concerning. Apparently, the Dexcom readings should normalize after the first twenty four hours. The Mayor played his first hockey game since diagnosis, which was scary to watch. Full disclosure, I watched the Dexcom numbers while my hubby texted updates since I’m stuck home working.
At any rate, we really need to get him into the Endo, so we have a correction dose for him. Also, there’s a lot of questions that have arisen that we didn’t think of when he was in the hospital. Truly, we don’t know what we didn’t know. We’re leaning to manage the diabetes quickly, but definitely have questions only an endocrinologist could answer. Hopefully, we can get in to see one soon! Anyway, back to work and good riddance to this week.
What are your favorite websites?
I’d be lying if I didn’t say Amazon.com or Target.com.
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.
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-timidstorm 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:
NHC: National Hurricane Center’s update site, which covers all Atlantic Basin and Eastern Pacific systems.
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.
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.
Our ducklings are thriving! We were quite nervous for them when Sweet Mama laid her eggs at our front door in the open. When they hatched and she was reticent to take them to the lake, we were nervous again. Fortunately, she made it to the lake on Sunday. She spends the nights there with the babies and her duck family. In the morning, several ducks escort her and the babies back to my front door. At night, they come and escort her and her babies back to the lake. It’s honestly quite heartwarming.
Incredibly, there are still eight lively ducklings! Normally, by this time she would have lost several of them to predators. Sweet Mama is taking no chances with her sweet brood. We give her plenty of space to take care of them. She gets nervous when anyone, even us, comes outside. She’ll fly you off if she thinks you’re getting too close to her babies. Consequently, I refill their water and feed them during their sojourn at the lake. If you had asked me earlier this month if I thought her clutch would be successful, I would have answered you no. She is intent on proving all of us wrong.
What would your life be like without music?
Life without music would be so boring! Music fuels my workouts and my life. Anyway, I’m pretty sure you already knew that since I post a music video to nearly every blog. Now off to take my iron supplement.
On today’s Duck Tales episode, let me introduce you to our babies!! The sweet mama duck that laid a nest at our front door is now a mom. We couldn’t believe it when she laid her eggs hidden in plain sight. I was worried this young duck and her eggs would be unlucky and fall victim to one of the many raccoons in the area. Yet, her plan worked. Our dogs, who would have loved to eat her. Ultimately, the dogs kept her nest safe by guarding the nest from our window.
The eggs hatched last night after work. As of right now, we have eight ducklings. Unfortunately, one of the eggs didn’t hatch. Now she needs to get the ducklings to the lake, like their “school/cafeteria.” This is where the young mama will teach her ducklings what to eat and how to stay safe. Only 10% of the ducklings will reach adulthood, which is a crazy number. There are just a lot of things, including Anakin and Arrow, that would like to catch and eat the ducklings.
Meanwhile, the Mayor and I ran up to the European supermarket in West Palm for some good kielbasa, paprika and chocolate. Once you’ve had the kielbasa from the Polish market, you’ll never be able to eat kielbasa from a grocery store again. It’s so much better. The paprika is also a lot better than anything you can find at the grocery store. I love cooking with it as it gives the food a richer taste. Afterward, we headed to Sprouts to pick up some sushi, vegetables, fruit, and some lunch meat.
Today I’m making my second attempt at the strawberry chiffon cake. Last time it turned out okay, but it tasted much better than it looked. I totally screwed up dividing the cakes into 3 layers. Hopefully, I don’t screw it up too badly this time. Additionally, I decided to add additional strawberries for the filling. I’ll post some pictures of the finished product. Tomorrow I’m baking focaccia with inclusions. Previously, I had been making it with sun-dried tomatoes on top, but tomorrow I’m mixing them in. Stay tuned for more Duck Tales!
What are your favorite types of foods?
I love Italian, French and Mexican food. I also like baking breads and desserts, which does nothing for my figure.
Can you believe it’s been one month since the kids got married? It was such a magical day! I’ve taken some time away from the blog and social media to soak it all in and rest. There’s a lot that goes into your child’s wedding. As with everything relative to one’s kids, I found myself more invested in ensuring their wedding was perfect than I was with my own. Having kids is an interesting experience. If you line every spectrum of the emotional rainbow amplified, then parenthood is for you. The highs and lows are much more extreme when you watch your kid experience them.
Fortunately, the wedding was an emotional high for all of us. The smiles never left the bride and grooms faces. They soaked in each and every moment of their special day. Although I’m sure if you asked them, the day was a blur. I continue to be proud of how Goalielocks and The Mayor showed up for Jake and Melly. It was proof that I’ve gotten at least three things right in life. Go me!
In the intervening weeks, life has settled back into its routine. I’ve relaxed my exercise routine to give myself some rest. It’s a bit harder to be motivated when you don’t have a fancy dress to fit into imminently. If someone could please throw a gala, I could get back on the bandwagon. Meanwhile, I’ll be over here pouring through the wedding pictures as feeling nostalgic about my the boys’ childhood.
One of my girlfriends, thank you Marla, had the brilliant idea of writing my favorite moments from the weekend down. It is easy to forget the smaller moments as time passes, so here are some of my favorite moments. Hopefully, I will catch the essence of their special weekend.
From Friday night, I loved watching Jake and Melly walk in a catch all the little details from the welcoming sign to the Daschund cookies and personalized candy bag tags. Also, from Friday night, it was great to see everyone interact and enjoy themselves in a relaxed and informal setting. We opted to hold an open house-style rehearsal dinner instead of the traditional stodgy dinner. This allowed us to include everyone attending the wedding. The majority of both families live out of town, so this was a great way to get the families together without the formality of the wedding. Friday night was a gift and fortunately went seamlessly.
Saturday leaving the house, in a rush per usual, we stopped to take a picture of the boys out front. It’s the same place we took all their back-to-school and prom pictures. Luke and I rode together and the boys drove separately. Truly, it was special to see how far the boys’ relationships have grown and how tight they’ve become. The younger two boys arranged Jake’s favorite dinners in the days leading up to the event. Additionally, the Mayor made sure we had all of Jake’s favorite snacks and drinks. The Mayor stepped up and helped Goalielocks, who had finals the entire week.
I had my hair and makeup done by Glamsquad, which did amazing work. It was fun getting ready with the bride, the bride’s mom, and the bridal party. Honestly, Melly and her family included me in everything throughout the wedding planning process. It meant a lot especially since I don’t have any daughters.
This one might be a bit silly, but I loved my outfit. I started looking for the dress even before the engagement ring was shipped to my house. Early on I decided I was going to buy an incredible designer dress second-hand. I sent all the candidates for Melly for approval. Eventually, I settled on a navy blue Jenny Packham gown. The gown had high slits on the legs and a magnificent cape. To round out the look, I paired it with a pair of Jimmy Choo Romy glitter pumps that I bought off eBay and a clutch I picked up at Nordstroms. The look turned out better than I could have imagined.
My veil played a starring role. I didn’t think my veil would ever see the light of day again. And then Melly asked to wear it. What an absolute honor it was to give her my veil. It complemented her dress and hairstyle perfectly. As dinner wound down Saturday night, I was chatting with the newlyweds and told Melly it was now her’s to pass down. I’m so happy she was able to wear the veil, but even happier to pass it down creating a family heirloom.
The ceremony started a little late, but still early by South Florida standards. I loved seeing my boys all dressed up. We lined up to go in and walking Jake down the aisle was surreal. Watching Goalielocks, the best man, and then The Mayor walk in with Ava (the flower girl) was a wonderful moment. Ava loves the Mayor, so we thought it would be a good way to get her down the aisle. Turns out it was picture-perfect.
Watching Jake’s face change as he saw his bride for the first time was moving. I lost it. It was so sweet to see him blown away by how beautiful she looked. The kids wrote their vows. Daringly, Jake said his vows with no notes. His vows, however, were from the heart and beautiful. I’ve never been more proud. When I asked him about them later, he said he didn’t need to write or down because it was just how he felt. Cue the tears…. And then she recited her vows, cue more tears. It means a lot to hear how someone loves your child completely and without condition. I’ve never been more proud of both of them.
The bridal party’s entrance to the reception was fantastic. They entered with lightsabers and it was amazing. The first dances were beautiful. Jake and I danced to “In My Life” by the Beatles, which is the song I danced to with my dad at my wedding. It was a special moment that I shared with Jake. A few minutes for us to chat about the day and for me to remind him how proud I was of both him and Melly.
Goalielocks was the best man and as such gave the first toast. He didn’t write it down beforehand, but he’s both good on his feet and a great speaker. Goalielocks wasn’t always the best brother to Jake, which he acknowledged. He did, however, acknowledge that his brother always treated him well no matter what. As Goalielocks grew up he’d come to respect and look up to his brother and their relationship has blossomed. It was a genuine, heartfelt speech that made me proud and misty.
The last speech was Melly’s dad. First of all, her parents are amazing and are so good to Jake. We love them dearly. PJ’s also a great speaker. The most touching part of the speech was when he spoke about how much he loved Jake. We think the world of Jake, but hearing his father-in-law describe their love and appreciation for him was truly a special moment.
My boys are the crowning achievements of my life. I’m so proud of the men they have become. This weekend the relationship they have cultivated was on full display. I’m so proud of how far their relationships have come. This weekend their love, loyalty, thoughtfulness, and support for each other were in full display. The Mayor brought his Polaroid camera to capture some of Saturday’s casual moments and boy did he. Meanwhile, Goalielocks, was there to support Jake with whatever he needed Saturday. Lastly, both boys made sure their uncles never went thirsty at the reception. Thanks for being a participant in my recap of my favorite moments from Jake and Melly’s wedding
We’re now two days away from the big day. I’ve spent most of the day fending off a tension/migraine headache, which is so lame. Hopefully, it will be gone by tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ve been alternating between cold and heat to loosen up my neck and shoulders. Fortunately, I’ve still managed to be somewhat productive. I got the pictures ready for the rehearsal dinner and wedding. And I got the cookies under control. I’ll be baking a double or triple batch of butter cookies tonight.
I binge-watched Netflix’s Decameron as I alternated between the heat and ice. The Decameron, by Nicholas Boccaccio, is one of my favorite books. It follows a group of friends who leave Florence for the countryside to try and avoid the plague. While in the countryside, they spend their time telling short stories daily. The stories are amazing. It’s said that the Decameron inspired Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The limited series on Netflix doesn’t follow the book per se but follows nobles taking refuge in the countryside. I have quite enjoyed it.
Tonight I’ll have all three boys under one roof. What a gift! They’ll be playing video games and eating their favorite snacks. The Hubby is making jerk chicken with black beans and rice. One of Jake’s, and all of ours’, favorite meals. While they play video games, I’ll be mixing up more cookies and binge-watching a different show. Poor Ani will have to sleep in his cage tonight since he can’t be trusted with visitors. Before I forget, I have to say thanks to my dear coworker Sherry for the beautiful happy hanky. Two Days!
What’s the story behind your nickname?
My great great Grandfather’s name was Andreas. He was born at the Trandem farm in Romskog, Norway. We were lucky to visit the place where our ancestors were born in 2017. The doctors thought I was going to be a boy, but I surprised them all. My folks named me Andrea and my nickname became Andie because they thought I was going to be a boy.
