Posted on

Look Who’s Back

Well, well, look who’s back. It’s been a while since I’ve written here, but I was tired and needed a break. Like most women in their mid-forties, I’m having a lot of fun with my hormones. Thanks to perimenopause and Graves’ disease, I’ve been a bit all over the place. The one constant, however, has been fatigue.

With all that’s been going on, I decided to focus on staying fit and the family. Since I last wrote, I’ve run several 5Ks. These races have been a great opportunity to keep my focus on my goal of building my overall fitness. The goal is no longer to be the fastest, but to run the best race, while building muscle and bone, while letting go of the results. Of course, I’ve also added finishing a 10K race to my annual goals for 2026.

Meanwhile, the Mayor has been playing junior hockey with the Coral Springs Jr Cats. I have a love-hate relationship with junior hockey after our billet’s experience with an unethical hockey director. The program is new this year, so it was a risk, but the general manager is wonderful and does a great job. It’s really been a positive experience for the Mayor, my husband, and me.

You’ll get your fill of junior hockey over the next three days as we travel to Tampa for the playoffs. Hopefully, it doesn’t take six hours to get there this weekend, and we see a lot of cows. This team has the ability and grit to win it all, so it should be a fun weekend. My BFF and I are sharing an Airbnb to mitigate costs. So either way, we will have a good time.

2026Goal tracker:

  • Run 12 5Ks and a 10K: work in progress
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: currently working through 4.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations):
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: Does Tampa count?
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading The Mystery of Mrs. Christie – a Riddle Made for Book Club to Solve, by Marie Benedict.
  • 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 has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

I was laid off from a very toxic job in 2019. It was a job that I had worked really hard for, but my old boss made my life hell the last couple of years. In the end, I had a heads up because senior leadership, far from being professional, rode down the elevator with the layoff plans face up. Whoops!

Nonetheless, it was hard to leave a team of people I loved working with every day. As tough as it was, it allowed me to spend time with my son before he left for the military. It taught me that living the corporate American dream is absolute bullshit. Instead, my life revolves around my family, my passions, my dogs, my friends, and of course, hockey. Now I’m living a happier, balanced, and fulfilling life.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

Happy 19th Birthday!

Happy 19th birthday to my youngest baby, The Mayor. I can’t believe he’s already 19 years old. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home. After Goalielocks was born, we were certain that two kids were enough. Fortunately, God felt otherwise and brought us the Mayor. He’s been an absolute blessing.

This last year, his first year of adulthood, has had a lot of ups and downs. His older brother’s getting married was definitely a high point. I was so proud of how he showed up for both Jake and Melody in the lead-up to the wedding and the wedding. His diagnosis of type 1 in the fall was a nasty surprise, but he’s done an incredible job managing his blood sugar.

I’m excited to see what the future holds for him. Over the last year, he’s proven again and again that he’s resilient. His ability to persevere through life’s challenges will carry him far. He’ll graduate from high school in a few weeks, which will be a bittersweet moment for us. It will mark the end of an era for my hubby and me, and the start of a new chapter in our lives. As we embark on our new chapter, the Mayor will determine his next steps.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading A Knight and a Spy 1414 (The Road to Agincourt – King’s Spy), by Simon Fairfax
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

What’s a job you would like to do for just one day?

I would become an archaeologist who gets to travel the world with the purpose of finding antediluvian artifacts.

Posted on

Time Off

I took some time off from the blog to rest, recharge, level up to 45, and prepare for PurpleStride. Now that PurpleStride is over, I’m back to my regularly scheduled program. Or at least a somewhat regular program. Who even knows what regular is anymore, because I certainly don’t.

There’s so much to update, but I won’t do it all in one post. You may remember from my last post that I had been fighting with BCBS for Dexcom 7 approval. Finally, an escalation specialist reached out to me after I went nuclear on X. She was an absolute gem. She escalated my concerns regarding the ridiculousness of needing prior auth on a CGN for a type 1 diabetic. In the end, BCBS completely waived the prior authorization process for him.

Meanwhile, the Mayor’s team headed to Tampa for the state tournament. While I had a fabulous time in Tampa (thank you, Alex and moonshine), the team’s performance was less than stellar. It was a bit frustrating to lose to a team that had a player who hadn’t played the required number of games with the team. Only to find out, of course, that the rule didn’t apply to kids who played for Alliance. Naturally, this rule, specific to alliance players, isn’t documented anywhere. Also, to be clear, while it was frustrating, it’s not the reason our team lost. I’m just glad I’m down with youth hockey in Florida.

So it’s goodbye to youth hockey and on to Juniors. The Mayor will be playing for the Junior Cats this upcoming season. This is a new team that is local to us. He’s not looking to move away at this time, given the relatively recent type 1 diagnosis. I’m not a huge fan of junior hockey, but it’s a great way to spend a gap year. The Mayor’s plans for after high school were completely upended by his type 1 diabetes diagnosis last fall. Consequently, playing Juniors will give him a year to figure it out. Needless to say, I’ll be keeping my hockey mom rituals for another season.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading Henry V, The Astonishing Triumphs of England’s Greatest Warrior King, by Dan Jones
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

Have you ever been camping?

I have never been camping, and tent life is not for me. I envision coming back to my tent and seeing a big bear rummaging through it. Moreover, I like things like beds, running water, and air conditioning. Thanks to my thyroid and perimenopause, I’m barely sleeping right now. The last place you’d catch me is trying to sleep in the discomfort of a tent. As for glamping, I’m here for it.

Posted on

End of an Era

It was the end of an era yesterday as the Mayor played his last league game of his youth hockey career. This time it’s for real as he’s aging out of youth hockey. There’s no division after u-18. If he wants to keep playing hockey, it would be Junior hockey. If you know me, you know my opinion on Junior hockey, so I’ll spare you the sermon.

The boys won their last league game handily. They played significantly better this weekend than they did the prior two weekends. Moreover, they were moving the puck well. If they’re going to win states, and they can, they’ll need to move the puck and play skilled, structured hockey. I quite enjoyed myself during the game courtesy of the sour watermelon moonshine that I picked up Saturday. Anyway, the moonshine made the end of an era easier to accept.

After the game ended, we headed to the Brass Monkey for some good food and slow service. It’s a dive bar near the rink that serves amazing food. The team took up their whole dining room and the lunch took the entire afternoon. I enjoyed a hearty bowl of their clam chowder, which is good. By the time we left, I was way too full to eat dinner during the game. I still made the focaccia bread and will have the roast the hubby made for dinner tonight.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading  The Eagle and The Hart by Helen Castor.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

You get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?

The first thing I’d do is tell my immediate family – the hubby and kids. After that, I’d call my parents and tell them the good news. Once they know, I’d tell everyone I know including the postman.

Posted on

Unclear

We’re going into the weekend with an unclear path forward. I hate to be vague, but I can’t at this point be really specific. In time, once the dust has settled I’ll be sure to share my thoughts on the situation. To be clear, it’s really put a damper on the end of the week and made hubby’s trip to Vegas a bit complicated. Unfortunately, the Hubby’s flight was also super late as the inbound flight was diverted due to weather. He decided to fly to Nashville last night instead of driving through severe weather to get home.

This weekend it will be just me and the puppies. Tonight I’m binge watching Sex Education on NetFlix. It’s quite good. I didn’t even recognize Gillian Anderson. Tomorrow I’m going to hangout with some of my Kaplan peeps to celebrate my good friend Lisa’s birthday. It will be so nice to see everyone. I don’t get out much. Usually, the longest trip I make during the week is to my mailbox. In all due seriousness, it will be nice to see everyone. I can’t remember the last time I’ve hung out with this group of awesome people.

Which topics would you like to be more informed about?

At the moment I’m obsessed with all things revolving around Tudor England. It all started with Hilary Mantel’s brilliant book Wolf Hall, which follows Thomas Cromwell’s rise to prominence during Henry VIII’s reign. I think I’ve read nearly every historical fiction involving Tudor England. Once the kids are firmly set, I’d like to take one of Alison Weir’s Tudor themed curated tours. They’re not cheap, but Weir is a leading historian, so it would be amazing to experience Tudor England with her.

Posted on

Too Soon

Is it too soon to be thinking about the holidays!? Today’s prompt has me looking ahead to December and winter break. My busy season ends after the first week n December, so I’m thinking Goalielocks and I may fly up to Minnesota for a visit. The Mayor has a showcase in Tampa the following weekend, so I’d like to be back in Florida for that. Once the showcase is over, he’ll be on winter break too.

How do you celebrate holidays?

We celebrate the holidays with family and friends. I bake a lot of cookies some with the boys’ help. If my mom’s in town, we’ll get more ambitious and make lefse. I’d say that a good portion of my weekends leading up to Christmas are filled with baking Christmas cookies for our annual Christmas brunch.

On Christmas Eve, we join Melody’s family for church service, which is an absolute joy. Melly is one of the singers at the church and is so talented. Plus, the sermons are always top-notch. Afterwards, we do a family dinner. Last year, it was at Melly’s folks house. Sometimes we have dinner at my brother’s house with him and his friends. I use friends loosely because family would be a better way to describe his circle.

On Christmas morning, we host a brunch for our family and friends. The centerpiece of which is my caramel rolls and the hubby’s cholesterol bake. Personally, I’m partial to Brandi’s cheesy hash browns. It’s a high-carb, high-calorie meal combined with mimosas, Bellinis and beers served around our commodious dining room table. The food is always as magnificent as the company. Needless to say, there’s no food waste at this brunch.

In years past, we followed brunch up with paintball, but the place closed down a few years ago. It reopened last year under new management, but they don’t have many maps anymore. We may still try to play some paintball this year or even ride the go-karts. It’s nice to do something active after eating your weight in carbs. Our Christmas finishes off with some delicious Chinese food. Anyway, I suppose it’s never too soon to start looking forward to the joy of the holidays.