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One Week

One week from today Jake and Melly get married!! There’s so much to do to make sure the evening goes off without a hitch. The Mayor and I picked up a few more items for the rehearsal dinner today, so it’s good to check a few more things off the list. We also added some stuff to the list. That will happen when you’re trying to make sure there’s something for everyone. The Mayor suggested adding Shirley Temples to the menu, which is a fabulous idea.

I started baking some mini chocolate chip cookies this afternoon. They turned out good, but I think they still might be too big. Tomorrow I’m going to experiment with the sugar cookies. The Publix cookie platter had four varieties of cookies, but for time and simplicity’s sake, I’m going to make two. Our Publix doesn’t carry the buttercream frosting, but I was able to find one nearby that does. I’ll pick that up later in the week and make it pretty with some sprinkles. I enjoyed a nice interlude from baking when my friend sent a reel showing a bunch of hens tittle-tattling like hockey moms.

I tried on both outfits this morning. Both dresses fit and the shoes are perfect. Although, my legs are way too pale. I’ll need to fix that before Saturday. I did, however, misplace the dust bag. Honestly, I have no idea when I put it. Consequently, I put the shoes in a different dust bag to keep them pristine. The heels don’t have a reputation for being super comfortable, so I’m buying some blister bandages and a cushion for the ball of my foot. I bought the 85mm heel instead of the 100mm because I thought they’d be more comfortable to wear over an extended period than the higher heel. One week to go!

What’s your go-to comfort food?

I love chicken noodle soup and saltine crackers when I’m not feeling great. It’s always tasty and usually settles my stomach. I prefer the original Campbell’s chicken noodle soup over the healthier versions. My other favorite comfort food would be bread. I love the taste of bread, but it also keeps my stomach happy. I’ll never be able to be on a strict Atkins diet.

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Eight Days

Eight days until the wedding! I’ve now got most of the mixers for the rehearsal dinner, which is awesome. I still need to get a few accouterments for the old fashions, limes, and Diet Coke, but otherwise, we’re pretty well set. Tomorrow I’ll finalize the catering with our caterer, which will take a big load off my shoulders. Also, my rehearsal dinner dress came today! Yay!

As of right now, I’m at work fantasizing that it’s 5:00 pm. I’ve had enough for the day and am looking forward to the weekend. This weekend I’m going to experiment with a few cookie recipes. Jake wants a cookie platter for the rehearsal dinner, so Mama is gonna make it happen. Publix has a cookie platter, but it has tree nuts and my cookies are better anyway. However, I will buy their buttercream frosting for the dip because it is amazing. Eight days!

What’s your favorite game (card, board, video, etc.)? Why?

My favorite game is Phase 10, which is a rummy-like card game. It’s fabulous because a lot of people can join the game. I think, however, the main reason I love it is the memories I have that are associated with it. We’ve played the game at many family get-togethers and holidays, Jacob’s BMT graduation (where we introduced Melly to it,) and while visiting Jake in Utah including right before his deployment. A close second would be UNO and for similar reasons.

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Zoo

We’ve got quite the zoo these days. Our flock, which started with a few bluejays, 3 squirrels, doves, and grackles has grown tremendously. Now I’m often greeted in the morning by our neighborhood ducks hungry for a treat and waiting for some water. We had a duck nest on the side of the house. Those ducklings hatched last week and are now living closer to the lake. Our flock has grown to include cardinals, ibis, northern Mockingjay,s and wood ducks.

Finally last Friday, we had a turtle laying eggs in our front garden. A fish crow washed patiently from its perch on our roof waiting for the turtle to finish. As soon as the turtle finished, the fish crow started trying to steal the eggs. Consequently, the Mayor and I put a weighted bucket over the nest. This foiled the crow’s plans to steal the eggs and it eventually gave up. I also noticed a new resident in the nest. We may have another clutch of eggs, so I’ll check later today.

The wedding countdown continues as we tend to the zoo and I nurse my shoulder. It felt tremendous to check several items off the list this past weekend. Earlier today, I pulled the trigger on shoes for the ceremony. They should be here later this week. I still need to find a dress for the rehearsal dinner. Lastly, I’ll need to call the caterer this week and finalize the food for the dinner. Once that’s done, we’ll only have a few loose ends to wrap up. Thankfully for my scatterbrained self, I have a project plan to track items. This way as the planning starts to taper down, I don’t miss anything. Anyway, I can’t believe it’s almost here!!! Lastly, please join me in wishing my amazing mother a very happy birthday!

What bothers you and why?

People on social media because they feel they can say whatever they want without any repercussions. The problem is whether you’re an asshole online or in person your words and actions have consequences. Unfortunately, the anonymity that comes with social media has empowered folks to be at their worst. People say stuff online to strangers that if they were face to face they’d never say. They’re terrible people and cowards.

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Thirteen Days

We’re now thirteen days away from the wedding. Yesterday, we checked quite a few items from our rehearsal dinner to-do list. Goalielocks went to Men’s Warehouse yesterday and they fitted him for his tuxedo yesterday, which was a relief. He’s the last one to get equipped. He has finals the week of the wedding. Hopefully, his finals are early in the week, so there’s no interference with the wedding. Fortunately, we can pick up his tux on Wednesday, so he won’t have to worry about it. Meanwhile, Jake is at the Reserves this weekend. He was greeted at his hotel by a nice, big black bear.

A couple of big items on the to-do list remain. Namely ordering food for the rehearsal dinner, picking a dress for said dinner, mani/pedi scheduling, buy shoes and a handbag to go with my dress. I’ve found a couple of options on The Real Real and Poshmark. I guess I’ll have to decide on it soon. Since I won’t wear the outfit outside of the wedding, I decided to buy the items consigned. After the wedding, I’ll consign the items again. It’s a lot less wasteful and much more practical. Anyway, I’ve been managing the event in a project planning document, so it wouldn’t turn into a giant cluster.

Unfortunately, I did have a bit of a setback yesterday when I sprained my shoulder or tore the rotator cuff. My range of motion is a lot better than it was yesterday, but I still can’t completely raise my arm laterally. Consequently, I’ll have to heavily modify my workout plan to work around the injury. I have my shoulder in a compression wrap that has a built in ice pack. It’s been a godsend. I’ve been icing the shoulder pretty consistently to help with the inflammation, but I’d love to take a nice hot shower with a lavender shower steamer. The urgent care doctor said to avoid heat for the first couple of days. Anyway, I have thirteen days for it to heal!

List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.

  • My family is my world.
  • I will never not have a dog. I’m a dog person and can’t see myself living without one.
  • My boys have grown into amazing adults.
  • The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup Champions! Watching them win was surreal!
  • Dogs should live a lot longer than they do. It’s cruel that they leave us way too soon.
  • Traveling and exploring the world is the best gift you can give yourself or your loved one.
  • I love getting lost in the mountains of the American Southwest. Hiking in Utah with my boys was one of my favorite experiences.
  • Attending concerts is an absolute must!
  • In summer, it will rain in the afternoon.
  • Take pleasure in life’s small moments because life is fleeting.
  • After reading social media responses to yesterday’s events, it’s clear we’re being given the options we deserve. People are terrible and our candidates show it.
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Sixteen Days

Sixteen days until the kids get married! I can’t believe it’s nearly here. As finally preparations are underway, it’s nice to cross items off my excel wedding project plan. Yeah, I know I’m a dork. You need to keep track of many things to ensure their special day goes off without a hitch. (See what has to be done there?) We’ve got nearly everything set to go for the rehearsal open house. I put the blog on the back burner for a bit as I concentrate on wedding planning.

Since most guests are from out of town, we held an open house rehearsal dinner for everyone instead of the traditional limited dinner. The menu is simple and consists of their favorite things (i.e. pizza and wings,) which I have to order next week. Naturally, we’ll have plenty of liquor and beer. Thankfully, the wedding isn’t until 5:00 pm Saturday afternoon. Since we are having alcohol, we had to pay for security, which will be Jake’s favorite gatehouse guard.

As the march to the wedding continues, I’ve set myself up on a three-week fitness plan with Apple Fitness Plus. Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about their classes or their trainers. To get myself wedding-ready, I ramped up my treadmill workout to forty-five minutes instead of thirty. This went well Monday, but not so much today. I either rolled or sprained my left ankle, who knows how, so running was an absolute no-go today. Consequently, I ended up walking the workout. I did manage to get through Pilates and yoga with a few adjustments. T-minus sixteen days!

What do you think gets better with age?

I think life gets better with age. Old age is a privilege denied to many, so aging is a gift. What’s not a gift is the aches and pains that come with aging that stuff is for the birds. The experiences, people, and adventures that come over time make aging a pleasure.

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Rainy Afternoon

It’s a rainy afternoon here in South Florida. Thankfully, the thunder and lightning have abated making it infinitely easier to hear on the phone. The rain can’t, however, dampen our spirits as we continue to ride the wave of the Panthers Stanley Cup win. I think all of us Panthers fans have been watching and rewatching clips from Monday night’s win since the game ended. There is something special about watching people achieve their dreams.

The parade is on Sunday and should be a marvelous time. First of all, there are few places prettier than Fort Lauderdale Beach. I love that strip of A1A. The hubby will be working, so it will be just the Mayor and myself. We’ll have to get there early since we’re parking near the parade route at a friend’s place. Hopefully, the weather cooperates and there’s no rain. Thankfully, the beautiful beach is there if we need to cool off for a minute. We’ll be wearing our swimsuits to the event.

Amazing photo taken by Juan Morales Monday night @

I’ve been hunting for Stanley Cup merchandise that isn’t an arm and a leg. I found the hats and t-shirts for the boys, but am still looking for a women’s version of the shirt. I hate paying for shipping so any site charging for it is out of the question. Hopefully, I can find what I’m looking for when I am out. Otherwise, I’ll be out of gas.

Off topic, but super important to me. One of my dearest aunts is in the hospital and not doing well. Please keep her, her son, my grandma, and our family in your prayers.

What’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten?

I’ve had some great meals and great desserts in my life, so it’s really hard to narrow it down. One of my favorites is the Kouign-Aman we ate in Normandy at the gite (think AirBnB) after traveling into Brittany to see Saint Malo.

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Experimenting

I did some experimenting in the kitchen over the weekend. My first experiment was homemade cream cheese wontons. I made pork wontons last weekend, so I wanted to expand my wontons experience a bit. Plus what’s not to love about fried dough and cheese? While I was busy experimenting with the wontons, the hubby whipped up some amazing chicken fried rice to accompany the wontons. It was a great division of the housework.

The wonton recipe was quite simple: cream cheese, wonton wrappers, scallions, garlic powder, green onions and some sugar. I found the wrappers from Target were a bit thinner than those HelloFresh had provided. Consequently, they leaked when being fried. Next time, I’ll use two wrappers instead of one. Also, I’ll fold them into little rectangles as those wontons didn’t leak at all.

Saturday I went back to experimenting in the kitchen. This time I decided to try a new lime cheesecake recipe. I find baking cheesecake infinitely easier in Florida due to the humidity. By contrast, the moisture can complicate a bread recipe. Honestly, it’s hard to bake a dry cheesecake here. This recipe was pretty straightforward except for the mousse topping. It wasn’t that the mousse topping was difficult, but I haven’t baked with gelatin a lot.

Baking the cheesecake went well and it was super tasty. The recipe was pretty easy to follow. It’s a recipe I’ll make again. However, next time I bake it, I’ll cut back the amount of gelatin. The mousse tasted great, but the texture was too stiff for my taste. Next time I’ll cut it down by 1/2 tbsp and see how it goes. It’s not like the cheesecake tasted bad, so none of us will mind testing all of my cheesecake experiments. I’ll put up the recipes for both the wontons and cheesecake tomorrow.

Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?

My favorite book as a child was Super Fudge by Judy Blume. I’m just here patiently waiting for them to make it into a movie. My other favorite was C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

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Bridal Shower

Yesterday we celebrated Melly at her bridal shower. Her aunt Cathy threw the shower and it was magnificent. I felt a little bit older as the shower progressed. It feels like just yesterday I was celebrating at my bridal shower. It’s almost incomprehensible that my son is now the oldest to be marrying the woman of his dreams. She’s also the kind woman that we hoped and prayed our boys would marry.

For the shower, they served brunch, which I love. I baked some caramel rolls, especially for the occasion. They were so decadent and tasty. I can’t make those too often or everyone I know would be diabetic. Meanwhile, Cathy and Kylie had prepared a buffet of incredible brunch food to accompany the rolls. Both also served as brewmasters mixing up a signature strawberry Bellini cocktail for the event. It was mighty tasty and mighty strong.

It was a lot of fun celebrating Melody. I was so excited to be able to give her a shower gift finally. I bought her and Jake matching bride and groom aprons. Additionally, I made her a family cookbook with pictures of them and our family together, it was my favorite gift. It’s very similar to the cookbook I made for my family earlier in the year. I plan to customize a cookbook for each of the kids and my nieces and nephews when they get married. This way, we will preserve our family baking traditions.

The bridal shower was the marquis event of the weekend, but there was something else we had to celebrate. The Panthers are going back to the Stanley Cup!!!! Hopefully, the boys can get it down this year and bring Lord Stanley home to Sunrise. The cup starts on Saturday. I’d love to go, but the fees on these tickets are utterly ridiculous. The actual ticket prices are reasonable, I think, but the fees are something else.

List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?

Three books that impacted me are The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho, Resurrection, by Leo Tolstoy and Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. I found each of these books inspired me to by my best, to choose forgiveness, and live without regret.

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The Problem

The problem with a four-day weekend is having to return to work afterward. There is something patently unpleasant about returning to work after four days off. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the time off. Yet four days isn’t enough time away to feel refreshed. A full week’s recovery from the shit storm that is work would have been welcomed. The other problem, of course, is that both my teams are choking in their respective conference finals.

I did enjoy the long weekend despite not doing anything. The hubby and I watched the Tom Brady roast on Saturday. Honestly, it was amazing. Nikki Glaser and a few others were hysterical—hats off to Brady for being willing to put himself in that position. You have to have a thick skin to get roasted like that. We also started watching Hacks on HBO, which is also really good.

Of course, the animals at the bird feeder are always putting on a show. They didn’t care much for my four days off. Unfortunately for them, my vacation schedule resulted in a later breakfast than they’d become accustomed to. There’s quite the ballroom dance that occurs daily at the feeder as the different species jockey for food. Also in biology terms, there’s a bit of symbiosis at the feeder. The squirrels spill a bunch of bird seed on the ground, which the pigeons and ducks eat happily. They’re too heavy to get onto the feeders, so this arrangement works nicely.

Do you practice religion?

I practice religion. I grew up attending church and have carried those beliefs into my adult life.

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Big Night

It’s a big night! The Cats kick off the Eastern Conference Finals against the Rangers. It should be a banger of a series. I can’t wait to see how these two teams match up. Truly, it should be a really exciting series. Meanwhile, on the other coast, the Timberwolves kick off their first Western Conference Final series since 2004. Coincidentally, 2004 was the last time I went to a Wolves game. I still can’t believe they came back and won game 7.

The only problem with this big night is the Panthers’ game starts at 8:00 pm and the Wolves game at 8:30. Do they not realize I need to be in bed by 9:30? Are they seriously trying to disrupt my bedtime routine? It will be midway through the second period when my Apple Watch will start judging me for not being in bed. For once I’ll be headed to bed long after the stars start twinkling. Honestly, though an earlier start time for these games would be great.

Do you have any collections?

I have several collections. I still have my baseball and hockey card collections that started in my youth. My favorite collection is my collection of books. My hubby has already built me two bookshelves. Unsurprisingly, he will probably need to build me another one soon as my book collection continues to grow.

Speaking of bangers, you’ll want to turn up the volume for this one.