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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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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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Five Days

Five days until my first 5K since 2019 and The Mayor’s home opener for the Jr. Cats. While I’m nervous about both, I’m way more excited for the hockey game than I am for the 5K. To be clear, I’m going into this race with little to no expectations. Meaning I’m trying not to pressure myself to try and keep up with my pre-2018 results. Instead, I’m trying to look at it as a diagnostic tool to show the process I’ve made and help set the next goal.

After watching the sheer joy on my boy’s face last Friday, I am so excited to watch him play Saturday night. My folks are in town, so they’ll be able to watch the game with us. We also have friends coming to watch him play, which will make it extra exciting and fun. My friend’s son is in the net for the game after, so I’d like to watch some of that game too. I’m a bit concerned that I won’t make it through the Mayor’s game, however, as I have to wake up extra early for the race.

I’m altering my training schedule this week to accommodate the race. Instead of running on Tuesday and Thursday, I’m going to run tomorrow and Wednesday. I plan to do a 45 minute run tomorrow and a nice, dulcet 30-minute run on Wednesday. This way, my leg should be fully recovered and ready to go Saturday morning. Or at least I’m hoping they’ll be ready to run.

By the way, we had a fabulous rest of the weekend. Saturday, I went and watched the Typhoon’s premier game with the Mayor and my friend. Afterwards, the hubby and I headed to the Kennedys for a BBQ and the Gators game. Dinner was amazing. I wish I could say the same about the football game. Hanh added some sparkly highlights to my hair, so now I match Ava. Sunday, I ran and then spent the day with my girlfriend. It was an inspired weekend.

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.

Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

I wish I had learning earlier in life that comparison is the thief of joy. Everyone has a different path to walk that is uniquely theirs. Comparing yourself to someone walking a different path does nothing but distract you from your own.

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Got the W

The Jr Cats got the W this afternoon as they took on the Florida Everblades is Estero. Inexplicably, the game was at 11:45 am on a weekday. This makes it hard for folks to watch the game and support the team. Since we are super slow at work right now, I took the day off to watch his game. The hubby and I are a bit nervous how the extended game time with ice cuts will impact his blood sugar.

We carpooled with Alex and Gabby, which made the ride a lot of fun. The drive across Alligator isn’t terrible until you get to Naples and the traffic materializes. It took us just over two hours to make the drive there. Fortunately, the weather was great for the morning commute. Surprisingly, I made it the whole way without a bathroom break. Unsurprisingly, I’m completely dehydrated now that we’re home.

The Mayor and his BFF CJ stated the game for the defensive core, which was exciting. They announce the starting lineups before they play the anthem, which is cool. It was looking a little harry in the first period for the boys, but I think they needed to shake the nerves off. Consequently, the Everblades struck first. Thankfully, the Jr Cats answered pretty quickly. The first period ended with a 1–1 tie.

Fortunately, the boys found their legs in the second period. While the Everblades struck first in the second, the Jr Cats again answered pretty quickly. An Everblades player took a five minute major for a face mask, which led to the Cats scoring three goals on the power play. The Everblades gave the Jr Cats an inch with that penalty and they took a mile. The period ended with the score at 4-3.

Between periods, we opted to hangout outside to unthaw as the rink was colder than a mountain glacier in January. I may have forgotten to put my lens cover on before walking outside, so the camera was fogged up for a while during the third period. Nonetheless, I think we all appreciated the fifteen minute breaks from the cold.

The third period was great. While the Everblades had their chances, the Cats closed the door. It was only the first game of the season, but the boys were all enjoying themselves. Honestly, it was refreshing, after years of travel hockey, to watch a game where everyone playing wanted to be there. Both sides were working hard. It was physical, but I didn’t think it was overly dirty. More than anything, it was fun to watch. The game ended with a Cats win and a 7-3 final score. Anyway, they got the W!

Naturally, we watch the Dexcom nervously as we watch the game. His sugar seemed really high for most of the game, but it’s hard to know if the Dexcom was reading accurately. Based on his effort and behavior, his blood sugar wasn’t impacting his ability to play the game or make decisions. He does have an Accu-Chek on the bench, so he’s able to sanity check his Dexcom before treating the hyperglycemia. It’s gonna be a work in progress, which is what we expected.

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.

Do you see yourself as a leader?

On some days. I’ve held leadership positions at my last two companies. I really enjoyed working with folks and helping them find their best version. On the other hand, leading in the corporate space involves a lot of bull shit. Nonetheless, while I may not have a formal leadership title at work, I do lead through employee engagement initiatives.

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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.