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All Set

Our new highly efficient washing machine is all set and I couldn’t be happier. The hubby was able to install it quickly last night, so we could run our first load through it. Goodness, what a difference a new machine makes. No longer does it sound like something is about to take off from the laundry room. It was so loud the dogs would alternate between barking at it and being afraid of it. It’s so quiet. I love it!

I’m not quite all set for my trip to Mexico, but I’m working on that too. Delta sent a notification that there are a lot of delays with luggage, so I think I’m going to go with a carry-on only. This is a big step for me as I am notorious for over-packing. Nevertheless, I’m going to take the opportunity to make lemonade from the lemons and pack it efficiently. Well, at least I’m going to try.

The trip can’t come soon enough. I’m fried and could use a week in paradise to clear my head. Even my computer at work knows it’s time for some self-care. Fortunately, Momcation is exactly what the doctor ordered. The only things on the schedule aside from relaxing are yoga and Zumba. This will be my first time teaching since I was injured in 2018, so I’m pretty excited. Hopefully, my ankle and foot tolerate it well, so I can go back to teaching all the time.

Oh and one last thing, please join me in wishing my parents a wonderful wedding anniversary. You guys are the best! Happy Anniversary! I hope you guys do something fun to celebrate your special day.

Describe one positive change you have made in your life.

Kaplan laid me off in 2019 from a miserable job. I worked with the best people, but the job was no longer the right fit. Fortunately, it gave me time off to spend with Jake before he left for the military. When I went back to work, I went back purposefully into a role that would give me a work-life balance. My new job fits the bill perfectly. Although some days are a little too slow as I’ve watched all the documentaries on Prime.

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Excitement

Excitement as an adult is a much different animal from the excitement of a child. As a child, I was excited about things like Christmas, my birthday, and Easter. My love of candy and gifts started early. Now I’m excited by the new washing machine that’s in my garage or the crumb of the bread I baked Sunday night. Oh, and I get excited every item I add a new bird to my lifetime bird list.

I was not excited to have to buy another washing machine, but then again washing machines are a prime example of poor appliance manufacturing. Now that the kids have mostly moved out, I hope this machine will last us more than three years. Honestly, we have replaced all of our appliances at this point, so it would be nice not to have to replace one for a while.

Speaking of excitement, we had a whole menagerie at the feeder this morning. It’s become quite the community. This morning we had six ducks instead of our normal three. Amazingly, the ducks, birds, and squirrels all get along at the feeders. Usually, the squirrels would scare off the birds, but not here. Truly, it’s been the perfect way to add a pet to the household with minimal investment and energy.

What’s the most fun way to exercise?

I love to exercise. A few of my favorite ways to exercise include: running, yoga, spinning, Zumba, strength training, and Pilates.

RIP CJ Snare
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Eclipse

Apparently, there’s some sort of eclipse today, which I’m sure will bring out all the weirdos. The nut jobs and tin foil-wearing conspiracy theorists love to get worked up about these things. It’s been entertaining to read some of the crazier posts people have made. I’ll be sharing some of them here for your entertainment. My favorite posts are the ones questioning our ability to have an eclipse during a crescent moon. That and the posts say they’ll look at the sun directly because the government said they shouldn’t look at it directly.

Enough about the eclipse and silly people, I had an interesting yet quiet weekend with the Mayor and my puppies. I binge-watched Euphoria and Regime. If you haven’t watched either, you should watch both. Zendaya and Kate Winslet are supremely talented actresses. You won’t be disappointed in either’s performance. Euphoria tackles some pretty heavy subject matter but it is so well done. Zendaya’s performance as Rue, a high school student addicted to opiates, is powerful. I highly recommend you check out both.

Pictures taken in Arkansas by my friend’s daughter that was working with NASA today.

Hubby is halfway home, he has completed the first leg of his trip. Now he’s waiting to get airborne to head back to FLL. Right now it looks like his flight has a slight delay, but nothing too major. I’m back at work, watching The Heart Doctor on Acorn because I’m bored out of my gourd. Nothing is happening at work. Fortunately, it gives me plenty of time to work as publisher of my blog. Speaking of which, I’ll be adding a separate recipe and travel section shortly. The recipe section is self-explanatory. As for the travel section, it will include blogs about my travels and travel recommendations.

Photos from my friend’s house in AR, which is in the path of totality

What book could you read over and over again?

I love reading, so there are a ton of books that could be on this list. One of them is The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. Fortunately, it’s a pretty short read. The others on the list would include The Count of Monte Cristo, War and Peace, Les Miserables and The Decameron.

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Books

Since the New Year, I’ve read several books. My daily bedtime ritual is to put my phone up and read for 30 minutes to an hour before going to sleep. Thanks to Hillary Mantel’s Wolf Hall series, I’ve been stuck in Tudor England for a while now. Nevertheless, I started the new year off differently. This year I started with Richard Ayoade and his comedic book Ayoade on Top, which was gifted to me by Jake.

I read the following books in the first quarter of 2024:

  • Ayoade on Top is Richard Ayoade’s hysterical take on the movie View from the Top starring Gwyneth Paltrow. His writing is as humorous as the movie is ridiculous. It’s a nice quick read.
  • The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir. Weir makes a compelling case for who killed the Princes in the tower. I have to say I agree with her.
  • Queens of the Conquest: England’s Medieval Queens by Alison Weir. This is the first in Weir’s trilogy focusing on England’s Medieval Queens. It starts with Queen Matilda, wife of the Conquerer, and brings us up to the start of the Plantagenet dynasty.
  • Queens of the Crusade: England’s Medieval Queens by Alison Weir. The second volume of the trilogy covers from 1154 to 129. It begins with Eleanor of Aquitaine, arguably Medieval Europe’s most famous Queen.
  • Queens of the Age of Chivalry: England’s Medieval Queens by Alison Weir. The final volume in her Medieval Queen trilogy, Weir takes us from 1299 to 1409. This volume includes Isabella of France, known as the “she-wolf of France” for overthrowing her husband the king to the beloved Phillipa of Hainault.
  • Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and the Wedding that Shook Europe, by John Guy and Judy Fox. I’ve read numerous books both fiction and nonfiction on this topic and quite enjoyed this book.
  • To Shield the Queen, by Fiona Buckley. Finally a return to historical fiction. This one takes place in Elizabethan England. This is book one Buckley’s Ursula Blanchard series. I enjoyed the book, but I’m not sure I love the main character. I’m gonna give Book Two a go and see what I think afterward.
  • My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes. I enjoyed the historical fiction on Anne of Cleves. She’s a fascinating character who managed to survive and thrive in Tudor England. The author does a good job of capturing Anne’s vulnerability and her strength. My only complaint is the author relies on some old tropes about Anne of Cleves appearance and weight. I don’t think she was built like a “Flemish mare” as Henry the VIII put it.
  • Blood and Roses: One Family’s Struggle and Triumph During the Tumultuous War of the Roses, by Helen Castor. Castor’s book is based on the Paston letters, which is the largest collection of letters from 15th-century England. Caston uses the Paston letters to describe the Paston family’s experience in post-Black Death England and throughout the War of the Roses. So far it’s super interesting. I just started it on Sunday, so stay tuned.

I know what you’re thinking. I am a huge nerd, but hey at least I’m consistent. Truly, it’s been fascinating the experiences of powerful women from the past. Some had a lot of agency and power, while others were silenced. A lot also died in childbirth despite having the best medical care in the land. I’m grateful to live in a time where things like the bubonic plague won’t wipe out half the population.

How would you improve your community?

I would put an immediate moratorium on 55+ communities. They’ve taken over our area and it’s terrible. Unfortunately, the people who move into them tend to be exceedingly rude, obtuse, and terrible at driving.

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Easter

I hope all who celebrate had a wonderful Easter. I know we sure did. Unusually, we were able to sleep in on Easter morning. No longer were there kids begging us to get up, so they could find their baskets and their hidden eggs. Since only Goalielocks was home, we didn’t even get their baskets out of the attic. We put the candy out on the island for all to enjoy. When Goalielocks goes back to school, I’m sending it with him. Lord knows I don’t need that stuff in my house.

We met the Burrage’s at church for Easter Service, which was fantastic. Goalielocks ran into someone that he graduated with from West Boca. Now he was the class joker and a pretty popular guy in high school. Goalielocks pretty much knew everyone and everyone knew him. Elijah, who is autistic, shared an English class with Goalielocks. Elijah was so excited to see Goalielocks and show him off to everyone.

It was a really sweet interaction. Moreover, it gave me insight into how my son treated people in high school. I mentioned this to him and he said “What did you expect? How did you think I treated him?” All while looking at me like I’m a fool. The questions he asked made me happy. Our children may not be perfect, but you hope they go into the world and treat people with kindness and love no matter what.

Anyway, I digress. After church, we headed to Melly’s folks’ house for brunch. We had a very tasty quiche. I mean eggs, cheese, cream, and vegetables what isn’t to love? In addition, there was some tasty spiral ham, which paired perfectly with the rustic Italian loaf I had baked. Naturally, there were also fruits and a salad on the table, but I was too full from the quiche to enjoy them. A girl had to have priorities and yesterday it was quiche.

The rest of the day was spent chilling at home with the puppies watching Euphoria and going for a run. We popped a pizza in for a quick dinner, which hit the spot. I spent most of the night trying to avoid eating the jelly beans and Cadbury eggs I had set out for the boys. That was definitely easier said than done.

What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?

My morning ritual always starts with walking the dogs one at a time. They’re far too strong for me to walk them together. After I walk the dogs, I give them their donut. Once the dogs have had their treat, I fill up the bird feeders out front. Once the dogs and birds are fed, I sit down with my coffee and watch the Great British Bake Off until it’s time to work.

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Coffee Please

More coffee, please… There doesn’t seem to be enough coffee onboard to get me through this tedious Monday. My boss moved me to a pilot team last week, which has resulted in my absolute boredom and no sales. If there is an upside, it’s that I’ve been able to watch some great documentaries over the past few work days. I just finished one on the sophisticated Queen Elizabeth I.

Now I’m watching one on the London of Tudor England. Unsurprisingly, it goes along well with my obsession for reading all things Tudor or Tudor adjacent. Nevertheless, I hate being bored and unproductive at work. Especially when I’ve been having a spectacular month thus far. Hopefully, they move me off this pilot and back into a space where I can be successful.

While Monday is definitely calling for more coffee and patience, the weekend was pretty good. Goalielocks was here through late Saturday afternoon. I love having him home and wish Jake could have been home too. Having the boys in the house makes my heart full. It’s a different dynamic when your kid is visiting versus when they live under your roof. I did make some homemade sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal for him to take home.

Aside from the fact I had to work Saturday, I did have a fun weekend. Friday night we had dinner with John and Hanh at Batch, which was tasty and fun. Afterward, we went back to their house to hang out while the Mayor got his occupational therapy. After work Saturday, we went back to their house to watch the Panther’s game. When we left their house just after 11:00, we got to see the rocket launch. From the road, we had a different view than what we can see from our house. For the first time, we could see the fireball streaking through the sky behind the rocket.

Sunday morning I headed to our Coffee & Collateral event for PanCan. We have the best affiliate group in the business. The morning was so much fun and time well spent. As a group, we were able to get our fliers and postcards into a lot of local businesses. Importantly, we were also able to cultivate some promising partnerships with a few businesses. One of the most powerful parts of this experience is hearing stories of how pancreatic cancer or cancer has impacted their life. While we raise funds for pancreatic cancer, cancer research can impact several other types of cancers.

Afterward, I got to baking. I whipped up two quick sourdough loaves. I intended to make the 24 sourdough loaf but forgot to start it Friday night. Once the loaves came out of the oven, I started on the fresh pasta we’d be having for dinner. I was a bit intimidated at first, but it proved to be easier than I expected. To be clear, it is a time-intensive exercise, but you could easily make the pasta on the weekend for use during the week. Truly, the effort was worthwhile. The difference between fresh and store-bought pasta is stark. I’ll try to post the recipe this week.

How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?

I say “no” to things that interfere with my goals or routines often. Unfortunately, I’ve found that maintaining my routine is important when managing an autoimmune disease. Before I was diagnosed with Graves, I had a routine but could be flexible in making changes to the routine. Now if I change up the routine, the wheels fall off. I don’t like feeling like an outsider in my own body.

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Grateful

I had a wonderful, low key birthday and I’m grateful for all the love and birthday wishes I was given. Unfortunately, I had to work a full day. It was a slow, tedious day. After work, we ordered Sushi Yama for my birthday dinner. Sushi Yama is definitely our go to restaurant for birthday dinners. By the end of dinner, I was way too full to even try and eat birthday cake. Consequently, we’ll be enjoying the cake today.

As for today, I’m laying low and getting stuff done around the house. The hubby and The Mayor headed to the Panthers game around 3, but we managed to get a lot done this morning. In fact, we actually got the bags for Goodwill out of our room and dropped off at Goodwill. Before we dropped off the bags, my Hubby made me waffles with strawberries and bacon for breakfast. I’m grateful for such a good breakfast. It was mighty tasty!

As you know, I love baking much to the dismay of my waistline. Since I have more bread than I know what to do with, I decided to bake something different today. Today I made the puppies some doggie biscuits with peanut butter. I opted to use a biscuit mix from King Arthur, which was super simple to whip up and bake. The dogs absolutely love the biscuits, so I’ll definitely be baking more of them. Now the puppies and I are watching Inventing Anna about the mass deception perpetrated by Anna Sorokin. It’s really well done.

Where would you go on a shopping spree?

If I could go on a shopping spree, it would probably be at Boca Town Center Mall as it has pretty much everything you could need from gold bars to designer purses.

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Stormy Afternoon

It’s a stormy afternoon here in South Florida. I’m so glad I work from home and don’t have to drive in the storms. To be honest, it’s nice to have an afternoon storm, so long as the power stays on and I’m not driving. There’s something very relaxing about a nice afternoon rain. It also fills up the birdbath nicely, so I don’t have to refill it.

We had a busy tree this morning with lots of beautiful birds. The usual suspects, the crackles and mourning doves, were there and were hoping by a yellow-rumped warbler, a cardinal, a blue jay, a mockingbird, a European starling, and Mr. Squirrel. Interestingly enough things are pretty harmonious at the feeders even when there is a crowd.

What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.

The one question I hate to be asked is if I’m going to try for the girl. Listen I already have three awesome kids that happen to be all male and expensive. I can’t afford another kid, nor do I want to throw up for another 9 months. Pregnancy was fun enough in my 20s, I can’t imagine the joy it would be in my 40s when everything already hurts. To me, any questions about family planning are off-limits. Especially when I’m in the hospital having just delivered a baby.

I vividly remember an aunt asking me when the next baby was coming hours after pushing out my firstborn. First of all, I felt like a bus just drove through me. Secondly, I hadn’t even come to terms with the fact there’s a new human here that I’m in charge of for like 18 years. Thirdly, I don’t think she was volunteering to pay for the expense of my second kid. Consequently, I’m not sure where those funds are going to come from as kids are expensive. Lastly, at that point, I couldn’t even think beyond the next feeding let alone the next baby. So do me and the women in your life a favor, if we have all boys, don’t ask if we’re going to try for the girl. Similarly, don’t ask when the next one’s coming when their new baby is hours old.

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Training

I’m currently sitting through a corporate training center. There are two more sessions this week, which means I have to completely reschedule my days. As they’re scheduled for when I usually take my lunch (aka spin or go for a run,) so now I’m taking my lunch an hour earlier than normal. Oh, the joys of being a lowly employee. At least it gives me time to write.

The weekend was pretty quiet, but we got a lot done around the house. The hubby got our saltwater aquarium back up and running. Our aquarium had been sitting empty and looking terrible for a while now, so I’m thrilled that it’s back up and running. It will be a few weeks, however, before we’re able to put any animals in the tank. We’ll likely start with some invertebrates to help clean up and maintain the tank. Once they’re established, we’ll start adding coral and fish.

I set up, with the hubby’s help, the hummingbird feeder and lantern feeder in the backyard. We had a cardinal and blue jay that first night at the lantern feeder. It can take a couple of weeks for the hummingbird to find the feeders. Both of the feeders have solar-powered lights, so they light up at night. They look pretty at night. Our feeders up front have been quite busy. This morning we had a mockingbird and a robin in addition to the usual grackles, mourning doves, and squirrels. It’s amazing, but the squirrels don’t drive any of the birds away. And now back to training….

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Night Out

The hubby and I had a night out celebrating our friend’s 11th birthday at the Panthers game. It was a lot of fun to see all our hockey peeps again. Unfortunately, it’s been way too long since we saw them last. I rarely go out anymore, let alone on a school night, so this was a big deal for me. Hey, I even put on regular clothes and makeup. I overachieved yesterday, which I guess is appropriate given the day only comes around once every four years.

The game was a ton of fun. First of all, our friends had a suite for the birthday celebration, which makes for a great game experience. Secondly, the food was pretty darn good. I know I don’t get out much, so I’m probably not the most reliable food critic, but the sliders were amazing. Thirdly, it was an awesome game that the Panthers won in a shootout. Finally, and most, importantly we spent the evening with great people and great conversation. It truly was the perfect night out.

Do you believe in fate/destiny?

Maybe. It’s an interesting question to start the month of March. I do believe in fate, but also that our decisions impact that fate.