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Low Carb Tuesday

It’s low carb Tuesday here today. Actually, too be completely accurate, it’s really low carb intermittent fasting Tuesday. However, that’s a mouthful and not a great title for a blog. This week has I’m starting the 5:2 plan by Dr. Moseley, which is a variation of intermittent fasting. To be clear, I’m following the updated version, aka the Fast 800 diet, which calls for eating 800 calories two days per week vs. eating 500 calories two days per week.

When I got diagnosed with Graves, I followed this regimen with much success. Importantly, my endocrinologist approved of this diet. In fact, I can’t imagine how much weight I would have gained if I didn’t follow it. After all, I went from super active to no exercise at all and no thyroid. Coincidentally, it’s not the optimal recipe for weight loss success. Oh the joys of looking at food and gaining ten pounds.

Now my thyroid levels are normal, I should be able to lose weight. It will never happen quickly for me since I’m a thyroid patient, which is a total bummer. Nonetheless, I plod tirelessly towards my goal of recapturing my health and my former dress size. Here’s the lesson, whether the weight loss is happening at your desired rate or not, keep doing the right things and eventually it will come. For me that’s following Noom, enjoying my low carb Tuesday, getting enough sleep and exercising every day.

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

*I read the Norse Queen by Johanna Wittenberg.  I love it. Queen Asa’s love interest is now an expatriate courtesy of his evil half brother.

*Goalielocks made it home safely from Orlando around 1:30 this morning. 

*I ran 2 miles and walked a mile. It went really well, which was fantastic. I’m not going to let anything break my streak.

*The family and I are watching The Simpsons now that we’ve finished our movie and dinner.

*The Hubby cooked a Blue Apron meal kit for dinner. Tonight we had some type of pasta.

*After dinner, I successfully made ice cream!

*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.

*Today’s word of the day is whirlwind. It’s been a whirlwind of success and joy since I started my new job.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today he didn’t pull my arm off or anything like that. I put on his harness, so I’d have more control over him outside. Also, the flies are still here. Did I mention I hate gnats, flies, and mosquitos? I was finally able to hang the fly traps. Nobody loves flies.

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Adulting 2, Me 0

Adulting 2, me 0. At least that was the score of yesterday’s game of life. As you know, our fridge decided to die unceremoniously during the holiday season. Unceremoniously might not be the right word. After all, the dogs rejoiced as they licked up the spillage from the freezer. Ultimately, I pulled the trigger on a new Samsung fridge courtesy of Best Buy, which will be installed on Friday morning. In the interim, our two garage fridges are packed to the gills!

The day took another left turn for me as I cooked dinner. Apparently, I am no allergic to carrots, scallions or mushrooms. This, my friends, is quite problematic as I really enjoy all three. As I begun to heat the oil to sautee the chicken, I noticed I too was heating up. Shortly thereafter, I felt that my face was burning. A quick peek in the mirror confirmed my suspicions, I was having an allergic reaction to something I had just touched or eaten.

You may already know that I have an anaphylactic allergy to mangos, which started out as an allergic reaction on my skin. Naturally, the progression of my mango allergy from rash to anaphylaxis gives me pause when it comes to cooking with the three suspected items. It’s also a reminder of how allergies can pop up randomly throughout our lives with varying severity. Consequently, I ended my night early courtesy of some Benadryl and a quick shower. Surprisingly, I was able to read two chapters in my book before I felt like passing out.

So far today has been better, although the allergic reaction has left me feeling a bit fatigued. I also had to scrounge up something for lunch as my planned meal contained mushrooms. Obviously, I’ll be employing an avoidance strategy until I can get tested at my allergist’s office. I seriously hope that I had an allergic reaction to something that was on the food and not the food itself. Honestly, I hated giving up mangos and gluten. I’m not looking forward to giving up something else. To be honest, however, I’m not super good at giving up gluten. That is a work in progress.

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

*I read The Idiot, by Fyodor Dosytoevsky

*It’s day 2 of BBG 3.0 week 6, which means it arms/chest and back day! I am not looking forward to the broad jump burpees!

*I’m so excited!!!! I’m counting down the days until my oldest boy comes home for Christmas! His arrival is getting closer!!!!!

*Today I ran a mile and walked a mile. It kicked my butt!

*Today’s word of the day is festive. I may have used by charge card a little too liberally on Christmas decorations, but I really wanted to give the house a festive look.

*I love the footprints the puppies leave on the patio when coming back in every morning. Today’s footprints may have included some ashes since they knocked over the grill. There are, however, no kitties in this house.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today Anakin is wearing his Christmas bow tie. He looks mighty dapper if I say so myself. Naturally, I bought all three dogs Christmas outfits. I can’t wait to share the pictures with you. You’ll love them.

Today’s song of the day is Creep covered by Weezer in fantastic fashion: https://www.facebook.com/weezer/videos/209217593716628

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I’m So Excited

I’m so excited! In just a few days, my boy will be home for the holidays! It’s been over a year since he’s been home. Can you believe it? Truly, we can’t wait to see how the dogs respond to seeing him again after all this time. I think they’re going to lose their minds! Anakin, of course, will be meeting him for the first time. Before he meets him, we’ll give Athena and Maya time to hang out with Jake without the interference of their little brother.

Speaking of I’m so excited. Is it just me or does that phrase immediately conjure pictures of the Saved By the Bell episode where Jesse Spano overdoes it on caffeine pills? I’m pretty sure if you were born in the 80s like I was, you know exactly what I’m talking about. What I need to see and have not yet watched is the Saved By the Bell reboot. My brothers and I used to watch Saved by the Bell every Saturday morning usually at my Grandma’s house. Has anyone in the blogosphere watched it? Is it any good?

Anyway, I digress. Here at the homestead, preparations are underway for Jake’s return. We’ve got to set up his old-old room for him since Goalielocks took over his room. This has been a bit of an undertaking since Goalielocks’ cleaning style involves throwing everything in that presently unused room. Yeah, he cleaned the upstairs a couple of weeks ago and it looked pretty good. At least, it looked pretty good until I went looking for my medicine ball in his old bedroom.

Yesterday, the Mayor had one game up at Skatezone. They won 4-0 and he had a great game. Unfortunately, he took an elbow to the head that sent his head into the boards at the end of the game. Since I was working the box, I was able to clearly see it from my vantage point. Consequently, once we got home from the game he began to complain about a headache. Thankfully, he passed the concussion protocol and had no other symptoms apart from the headache. Out of an abundance of caution, we’re going to keep him home from practice tonight. He, however, is not supportive of our cautious approach. Too bad!

Also, I finally made it to the eye doctor after putting it off for years. I know, I know, it’s horrible. Thankfully, the appointment was quick and painless. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any signs of thyroid eye disease in my eyes. Thyroid eye disease, TED, is often a hallmark symptom of Graves diseases. I’m fortunate, however, that my eyes have not been impacted either before RAI or after RAI. Lastly, I treated myself to my first new pair of glasses in like a decade. I’ll post a picture as soon as they come in.

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

*I read The Idiot, by Fyodor Dosytoevsky

*It’s day 1 of BBG 3.0 week 5, which means it leg day!

*I’m so excited!!!! I’m counting down the days until my oldest boy comes home for Christmas!

*Today I ran a mile and walked a mile. It went far better than my run on Friday. Thank god!

*Today’s word of the day is astound. My children’s ability to “clean” astounds me. Perhaps it’s my fault for trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

*I love the footprints the puppies leave on the patio when coming back in every morning. Today’s footprints may have included some ashes since they knocked over the grill. There are, however, no kitties in this house.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today Anakin is wearing his Christmas bow tie. He looks mighty dapper if I say so myself. Naturally, I bought all three dogs Christmas outfits. I can’t wait to share the pictures with you. You’ll love them!

Today’s song is Whiskey in the Jar, by Metallica.

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Normal Saturday

For the first time since early October, it’s been a normal Saturday for me. It’s nice not having to work and being able to relax and get stuff done. The Mayor and I started the day off at BJ’s picking up some groceries. Surprisingly, the store was pretty empty, which made the shopping experience quite easy. Normally, I find BJ’s to be utterly unbearable. This, of course, is why I only go there once a month. Also, I don’t think my freezers could hold all the food if I went there more often. Needless to say, I’m happy that I checked that trip off my December to-do list.

Yesterday we started working with a trainer for Anakin. It’s been hard to get him socialized and trained properly due to the pandemic, but Gari will be great for him. He did really well with her once he got comfortable. Unfortunately, he’s a bit of a nervous dog around new people, so it took a while for him to warm up. We quickly figured out, however, that as long as Maya was out of the crate with him, he was more comfortable. Our session yesterday was a consultation and to see how he would respond. I liked Gari’s style and felt that I learned a lot from her. We didn’t cover a lot of ground yesterday, but we’ve been practicing his new skills a lot today.

I had planned to run today, but my body is just not feeling it. After all, it’s my second week back to working out after a six or seven week hiatus. My goal is to get back to running every day for at least a mile. Additionally, I’m back to practicing yoga daily, which is helping a lot. BBG continues to deliver week after week of great workout. Since I took a break, I’ve definitely regressed a bit. Consequently, I’ll be repeating BBG 3.0 before moving on to 4.0. BBG 3.0 is significantly more difficult than 2.0, so I don’t feel bad at all about having to repeat it.

This afternoon, I mixed up some cookie dough for Christmas cookies and ordered more decorations. Like many Americans, I find myself decorating the house more this year. After all, 2020 has been such a gloomy year, why not brighten it up with some Christmas cheer. I’ve also been working on my memory book for Jake’s Air Force journey. It’s so fun to look back on the pictures from the past year. Hopefully, I’ll finish the book later today or tomorrow. This evening we’re headed to my brother’s for dinner. Again, since I’ve gone nowhere in like seven weeks, it will be nice to leave the house.

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

*I read The Idiot, by Fyodor Dosytoevsky

*It’s day 6 of BBG 3.0 week 4 and I’m doing nothing. I decided to rest on the 6th day because I’m a rebel like that.

*Today I thought about running a mile and decided to take the day off. It was good thought.

*Today’s word of the day is share, which is why I write this blog. To share my thoughts great and small with all of you.

*I’m enjoying my normal Saturday with absolutely nothing on my to do list.

*I’m headed to my brother’s tonight for dinner and board games.

*After today, my running streak stands at 0 days and I’m not mad about it.

*I love the footprints the puppies leave on the patio when coming back in every morning. Today’s footprints may have included some ashes since they knocked over the grill. There are, however, no kitties in this house.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today Anakin is wearing his Christmas bow tie. He looks mighty dapper if I say so myself. Naturally, I bought all three dogs Christmas outfits. I can’t wait to share the pictures with you. You’ll love them!

Today’s song is Superheroes by The Script, enjoy!

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A Different Holiday

It was a different holiday this Thanksgiving thanks to the second wave of COVID, but the virus didn’t stop us from spending quality time with the family. Thankfully, technology allows us to be together even when we’re miles apart. It was awesome to see Jake, my folks and my brother’s family on Thanksgiving.

Naturally, I would have preferred to see them all (especially Jake) in person, but this was a great substitute. Jake, by the way, looked great, which warms my heart and lessens my anxiety. Unfortunately, the younger kids don’t like to be on the Zoom. It was like pulling teeth to get the Mayor and his cousin on the call. Goalielocks was a little better, but he was still fighting it.

Obviously, we ate entirely too much and continue to do so thanks to leftovers. Fortunately, my daily uniform continues to be yoga pants, which are mighty forgiving. I was, however, able to re-start my BBG workouts after changing the my schedule and getting the blood pressure under control. It has felt good to log some serious work outs this past week.


Tomorrow I’ll be back to work while the Mayor plays in the championship game. He’s had an awesome tournament this far leading his division in points and points per game. I’m proud of how hard he works for his team on and off the ice. Unsurprisingly, his hard work is paying off. It’s a lot of fun to watch him and his team play.

Lastly, help me wish Our Sweet Anakin a very happy first birthday! For his birthday, he got a new chewy bone, some raw hides, a Christmas collar and some Christmas outfits. Naturally, I also got his sisters some goodies too. I’d hate for them to feel left out. So even though it was a different holiday, we have a lot to be thankful for including our sweet birthday boy!

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Hard Earned Wine

I enjoyed my hard-earned wine, I mean win this evening. First of all, I survived (barely) the first week of virtual school. Secondly, I survived driving on I-4 on Labor Day weekend. To be honest, I’m not sure which is worse I-4 during rush hour or managing virtual school for teenagers. Its time like these that I appreciate how easy going my oldest was throughout his school days. It’s also a reminder of what my younger brother and I put my parents through when we were teenagers.

Fortunately, today’s adventure in schooling was much easier and happier than yesterday. Both boys were up and ready for their classes at 7:30 am. Unlike yesterday, Goalielocks was in a good mood all day. This makes my life exponentially easier. Meanwhile, I was able to accomplish a lot this morning because I was fighting either of them. For starters, I finished my last ab workout of BBG 2.0. Afterward, I ran a mile and walked a mile on the treadmill. I’m enjoying the challenge to run at least a mile every day.

Since this is Labor Day weekend, I had to get packed up and ready to head to Tampa for a hockey tournament. This year it will be like no other due to COVID. There will be limits on spectators, including no siblings, and no congregating. Hopefully, this tournament is a success, meaning no COVID outbreaks follow it. If it is successful, we’ll be able to have more tournaments throughout the state this season.

As for tonight, I’ll be watching playoff hockey before drifting off into dreamland. My Graves is still raging, so I’m running quite hot. Fortunately, this weekend I can keep the thermostat was low as I want without worrying about the bed. It’s a bit odd, but both my father and I still run hot even after our thyroids have been zapped. Nonetheless, I’ll be in an ice rink all weekend, which will keep me comfortable. I’ll be posting updates on the games tomorrow.

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

*I read Mary Barton, by Elisabeth Gaskell. It’s really getting good now! We have a murder mystery on our hands.

*Gentle Flow with Jennifer at Open Heart Yoga Studio

*It’s day five of virtual school. My Prosecco at dinner was a hard-earned wine!

*I ran a mile and walked a mile today.

*I drove to Tampa for hockey. We left early, so we would not be dilatory in getting to the hotel.

*BBG 2.0. week 12 day 5: abs, cardio and yoga

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk.

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Day Four

Day four of virtual school was one for the history books. Particularly, if your history books focus on dumpster fires or shit shows. If so, this day was legendary. We all knew it was coming, didn’t we? I mean, I think we’ve been waiting for the shoe to drop. And today that mo-fo of a shoe dropped. This means the low expectations I wrote about yesterday came to fruition today.

First of all, my thyroid is raging. I’ve been so hot at night I can only manage with one light blanket and the thermostat at 72 degrees. My doctor will be adjusting my dosage down a bit come next Tuesday morning. It also means that falling asleep and staying asleep has been a real challenge. For some reason, I don’t fall into a good deep sleep until early in the morning. Anyway, I remembered to get up to take my thyroid meds, but I slept through my alarm to wake up the boys. Fortunately, this wasn’t an issue for my Mayor, who was ready to go to school by 7:00 am.

On the other hand, this was a problem for Goalielocks. As soon as I woke up, which was still before school started, I ran upstairs to make sure he was awake and ready to attend class. He sat up in his bed, grumbled, and laid back down. I proceeded to repeat my message; i.e. get out of bed and get ready for class. This time he sat up. He told me he knew he had to be up and asked me to close the door so he could get dressed. I shut the door, albeit it not tightly. He then yelled at me for not being able to close the door right. Teenagers are so pleasant in the morning. Aren’t they?

Thinking he was up, I headed out to grab my coffee. As you may know, Dunkin’ coffee is essential to my ability to function as a human being. Afterward, I took the dogs out and went to work. It was a long commute to work from my couch to my room, but I made it safely and without incident. I got some work done before going to yoga via Zoom. It was at that point I realized I hadn’t heard my middle child moving around upstairs. Before relaxing into child’s pose, I texted him and added a find my iPhone alert. He responded pretty quickly asking why nobody had woken him up for school. Seriously?

Obviously, he made me mad. Since he was now up and attending class, I continued with my yoga class. I was hoping that the beautiful yin class taught by Jennifer would help calm me. Fortunately, I finished the class feeling like a new person and completely calm. At least for a few minutes. Naturally, the calm left me after interacting with my two star pupils, who were in stellar moods today. How lucky am I that both were in a piss poor mood? At dinner, Goalielocks was still insisting nobody walked him up. This despite the fact I had a full conversation with him this morning at 7:15. Anyway, today was the type of day I have dreaded. Thankfully, we only have one day left in the week.

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

*I read Mary Barton, by Elisabeth Gaskell. It’s really getting good now! We have a murder mystery on our hands.

*Yin with Jennifer at Open Heart Yoga Studio

*It’s only day four, but I was feeling inspired. Consequently, I wrote a poem about the first week of virtual school. While it’s no The Raven, it gets my creative point across.

*I ran two miles and walked a mile today. Naturally, I listened to Metallica and watched Curb throughout my run. I am basking in the joy of accomplishment.

*I survived day 3 of virtual school. I am keeping my eye on the prize aka the weekend.

*We had no hockey practice tonight. It was family dinner night. I cooked pork carnitas tacos, which were awesome.

*BBG 2.0. week 12 day 4: cardio and yoga

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk.

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I’m tired…

I’m tired, but what else is new. Tryout week is sapping my last vestige of energy. I will be giddy and dancing was this week is over. While, I’m tired I did have a good day. I got to spend the day with Sweet Eva. She is heaven sent and a perfect anecdote for an emotionally exhausting week.

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

*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.

*Yin Yoga with Jennifer from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Tonight I’m watching nature shows with Anakin.

*Week 9 BBG 2.0 day 4 yoga.

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Celery Juice Fun

Celery juice fun, seriously? There’s no such thing. I’m in desperate need of some title ideas. To be fair, I am on day two of the Tony Robbins lemon water and celery juice thing. I say a thing because I’m not sure if it’s a challenge or a part of the diet. Needless to say, celery juice has been recommended to me several times since I’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. It’s not completely horrible, but it’s a bit bitter and the celery burps are the worst. Nonetheless, I drank it like a champ and will do so again tomorrow. After a week of shooting celery juice in the morning, we’ll see how I feel.

This morning I had my annual physical at my lady doctor. I dread going to the doctor even though I go all the time. I masked up for my appointment and happily found the waiting room near empty. Moreover, the happiness continued as I didn’t have to wait long before being seen by the doctor. I was on a happiness role until the medical assistant made me step on the scale. Queue the sad music. From there, it didn’t get any better. In fact, it got worse much worse. Next she told since I was now 40, I’d be getting a pap smear, prescription for a mammogram and a rectal exam. Say what? This is 40? Honestly, I was mentally prepared for the mammogram conversation, but I got to be honest the rectal exam took me completely by surprised.

So there I sat in disbelief with an episode of Family Guy playing in my head. In this particular episode, Peter goes to the doctor and gets his first prostate exam. Consequently, he feels quite violated and sues the doctor for rape. The episode is hilarious. Indeed now here I am trying to square my incredulity of what’s about to happen with the hilarity of Family Guy. Naturally, I’m trying to play it cool and not break into fits of laughter or tears. Oh yes, it is good to be 40. When it finally went down, I wanted to ask her if she found a prostate to keep the moment light, but I chickened out. In all due seriousness, these things are not fun, but they’re super necessary for continued health.

After the trauma of the doctor’s office, I went straight to work. Today was another great day of work. Honestly, today was productive and I set another meeting for Wednesday. My goal is to set at least one meeting per day. Aside from setting the meetings, I’ve been connecting with some super talented people, which is always excited. There are a lot of people doing big things in the health and wellness industry right now. But back to my professional goals. If you or anyone you know needs branded gear, let me know. I’d be happy to help.

My work uniform really confuses my children. Ordinarily, I’m an excellent dresser. I have a closet full of professional clothes that would make your head spin. Since my new role is entirely remote, I’ve deviated from my usual high standard in dressing. Now my go-to is yoga pants with a blouse. My new style says gym on the bottom and office on the top. My boys, however, thought I had reverted to my preschool days where matching clothes was a challenge. However, now that they understand my work world exists in Zoom, they understand the dress code.

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

*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.

*Morning and afternoon meditation: I love the brass sound of the singing bowls.

*I drew a blank when thinking of a title for the blog, so now it’s about celery juice.

*Took Anakin out to go to the bathroom. He was unstoppable in his pursuit of the lizards.

*I enjoyed some celery juice fun!

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 9 BBG 2.0 day 1 legs

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Off to Bed Early

Well I’m off to bed early since I’m not feeling fantastic. Clearly, the Saharan dust isn’t agreeing with me and my allergies. I did log my workout today, but it was a fight to get through yoga. My body is just exhausted and maybe fighting something off it could be a a cold or an autoimmune flare. Or I could have just worn myself out.

Today started in the most Monday of beginnings. Anakin had a blow out in his crate early this morning. Honestly, it was not a great way to start the day. Needless to say, I was feeling a bit salty about the mess I had to clean up. Obviously, I needed some coffee on board before I could confront that mess. So Anakin and I went to Dunkin for coffee and Donuts.


Afterwards, I started the work of cleaning out Anakin’s crate. Fortunately, we have a high pressure hose that worked perfectly for cleaning out the crate. Thankfully, my Mayor helped by changing out the puppy pad, vacuuming the floor and mopping the impacted area. Once I finished the cleaning, I was able to finally enjoy my coffee.

The rest of the day was spent dreaming of foreign vistas and ports. There are so many places I’d like to visit once the world opens up again. Moreover, there are so many people that I want to visit and see. First and foremost, I cannot wait to see my airmen!!! Hopefully, I’ll be able to see him before the summer is over. I’d also like to see my family in Minnesota sometime soon. What is the first place you want to visit once the world reopens?

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

*I read the The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskells. It is an absolutely amazing book.

*Gentle Flow with Monica from Yoga Mundo

*I am still sick of all the windbags on Facebook.

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin!

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 7 BBG 2.0 day 1 legs and yoga

*And now I’m off to bed early!

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