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Mother’s Day Weekend

Mother’s Day weekend was fabulous! I had all three of my boys home, which was simply amazing. It started with a BBQ and the Panther’s game at our friend’s house Friday night. The game was incredible! Thankfully, the Panthers came away with a victory. It was a great night with great food, great company and some great hockey.

Saturday I went dress shopping with Mellie and her mom. We ventured out to Boca Town Center, which was more crowded than I’d ever seen it. The goal was to determine Terri’s preferred styles and explore color options. As the mother of the groom and mother of the bride, shopping becomes complicated. You want to compliment the wedding party but don’t want to be too close. Also, you want to be age-appropriate without being too matronly. It’s a delicate balance. Nonetheless, it was a great time.

While the girls were shopping the boys enjoyed golfing at Drive Shack in West Palm. Goalielocks impressed his brothers with his golfing skills. After shopping, I headed up to Gardens to have dinner with my fellow hockey moms. It had been way too long since I last saw them! We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Avocado’s Cantina. I had two tacos that were out of this world. While I had dinner with the girls, the boys hung out and played video games.

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Sunday started with strawberries and waffles, which is always a great way to start the day. Before heading to Melody’s, I completed a nice run and yoga session. The kids, my boys, Melody and her cousins, cooked the Moms a special Mother’s Day dinner. The kids did such a great job decorating and cooking the meal. They decorated the table with photos and frames they had made for us. Additionally, they arranged to have photos taken of each family, which you know is Moms love. The best part was the video they created about mothers. It was the sweetest, funniest thing I’ve ever watched. They did such a good job! Another Panthers ‘ win was the cherry on top of a phenomenal Mother’s Day.

What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?

Financial freedom and the ability to pick up and go whenever I want would be amazing. Perhaps this is a bit offbeat, but I’d also like for health insurance to not suck.

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Canyonlands National Park

The fourth park on our trip through Utah’s Mighty Five was Canyonlands National Park. This park is close to both Arches National Park and Dead Horse State Park. All three are near Moab, Utah. Consequently, I recommended staying in Moab for several days to fully enjoy the area. In addition, to the parks, other sites like the Birth Scene Petroglyphs are worth visiting. Canyonlands, like Capitol Reef, is a lot less busy than Zion, Bryce Canyon, or Arches. We drove from the Bryce Canyon area to Capitol Reef, which took around four hours. It was another beautiful drive.

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Canyonlands is the largest national park in Utah. It has over 337,000 acres of colorful canyons and rivers. It is broken down into districts. We visited the Island in the Sky district, which is closest to Moab. The other districts include the needles, the maze, and the rivers. These districts are not accessible from Island in the Sky and are not close to Moab. We spent one day at the park. If you’re looking to visit all four districts, you will need several days. If you plan on visiting the needles, don’t forget your bear spray, and don’t forget to remove all food from your backpacks.

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After visiting the visitor center, we made our way down the canyon. Our first trail and the most famous trail at the Island in the Sky district is the Mesa Arch. After the Mesa Arch trail, we did the Grand View Point trail. I saw a cute little snake. It was only cute because it wasn’t large and it wasn’t that close to me. After the canyon rim, we decided to do the Upheaval Dome trail. Unfortunately, we ended up taking a wrong turn. Consequently, we ended up on the Syncline Loop Trail. Coincidently, this trail is responsible for most park rescues. Thankfully, we realized our mistake before we got too deep into the trail. After a near miss with a crazy trail, we decided to make our way to the AirBnB.

Before you go, here are some things to consider.

  • Canyonlands is remote and has spotty cellphone service, so plan accordingly. More precisely, don’t forget to download the trail maps, so you don’t inadvertently end up on a very difficult and dangerous trail.
  • The busy season runs from April to Early October. And while Canyonlands isn’t as busy as Zion or Bryce, you’ll want to get there early so you’re not waiting in line to enter the park
  • Buy the Interagency America the Beautiful pass. For $80 ($20 for seniors, free for military,) it gives you access to all National Parks.
  • We only had one full day at Canyonlands and I would recommend trying to plan at least 2-3 days to see all four districts. Given our limited time, we did not venture beyond the Island in the Sky district.
  • The Canyonlands park map is a good resource for planning your visit.
  • Watch the weather carefully. The weather will impact your ability to complete certain hikes safely.
  • Get the right gear! You’ll need good hiking shoes and socks, ponchos, jackets, walking sticks, hats, sunglasses, a charger for your cell phone, lots of water, and snacks. Additionally, we brought bear spray, sunscreen, and bug spray. Bear spray is an absolute must if you’re visiting the Needles district.
  • Prepare to be flexible. Your planned hikes may need to change depending on the weather conditions or rock falls.
  • There are no restaurants in the park, so you’ll need to pack a lunch or eat outside the park.
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Some of our favorite hikes:

  • The Mesa Arch trail is a .6-mile loop trail. It’s easy and accessible to all levels and abilities. Moreover, the payoff is big. The Mesa Arch and the views over the canyon are stunning.
  • The Grand View Point trail is a 1.8-mile out-and-back trail that follows the canyon edge giving you panoramic views of the canyon below.
  • We attempted the Upheaval Dome trail but ended up on the Syncline Loop trail, which originates at the same point. We were not the only hikers to make this mistake. Make sure you download your trail maps before leaving the visitor center.
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Animals you may see while visiting Bryce Canyon (not an exhaustive list):

  • Black bears
  • Desert Bighorn sheep
  • Mule deer
  • Cooper’s Hawk
  • Ravens
  • White-tailed antelope squirrel
  • Kangaroo rats
  • Beavers
  • Great basin rattlesnake
  • Yellow-bellied Marmots
  • Cougars

The park has a beautiful visitor center in the Island in the Sky district and the Needles district. It also has numerous nice restroom facilities throughout the park. The park doesn’t have a shuttle system, so you can drive up and down the canyon. If you’ve never been to Canyonlands National Park, I’d recommend adding it to your list of places to visit.

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Capitol Reef National Park

The third park on our journey through Utah’s Mighty Five was Capitol Reef National Park. The drive from Cannondale, Utah where we stayed near Bryce Canyon to Capitol Reef National Park is a straight shot on Utah’s Scenic Route 12. Few drives on this earth are as spectacular as this one. It was surreal. You will drive Grand Staircase Escalante and its dramatic landscape and Canyons before taking you up an incredible mountain road. As we traveled the winding road through the blazing, colorful foliage at the higher altitudes we were sharing the road with free-range cattle.

The drive is slow, but you’ll want to spend time taking in the amazing views. Plus there are portions of the road with s-curves featuring no shoulders and steep drops on either side into the canyon below. The drive is stunning, but scary at times too. The mountain road takes you to over 10,000 feet above sea level and offers spectacular views of the valley and canyons below. Before you leave for the park, be sure you have enough gas to make it to the national park. There are very few places to stop on the way.

When we got to Capital Reef, we were shocked to see there wasn’t a gate at the entrance. You just drive into the park. It was immediately obvious that this park was significantly less busy and popular than Bryce or Zion. Consequently, you’ll need to prepare your trip around the visitor centers’s hours, which are 9-4:00 pm. I highly recommend stopping into the visitor center, and checking out what they have to offer. More importantly, however, you’ll need to ensure you take advantage of their WiFi to download and access your trail maps. There is no cell service in the park.

I highly recommend getting there early in the morning, so you can enjoy one of the famous cinnamon rolls at the Gifford House and Museum. The homestead also sells fresh pies made from the fruit picked from the parks orchards. We also bought an apple pie that we enjoyed after dinner that night. The cinnamon roll was as good as it looks and was enjoyed in a beautiful picnic area next to the house. There were gardens with flowers and tomato plants

After enjoying our authentic Capitol Reef breakfast, we went to see the petroglyphs found just off the park’s main road. The petroglyphs were so cool to see. Something is humbling about seeing them and walking the same path as the ancients. Afterward, we headed to the trailhead for the Hickman Bridge Trial. You can access several trailheads from the main road making the park easy to navigate. Again given the complete lack of cell service, make sure you have the trail maps downloaded.

Before you go, here are some things to consider.

  • Capitol Reef National Park is very remote and has no reliable cellphone service, so plan accordingly.
  • The busy season runs from April to Early October. And while Capitol Reef isn’t as busy as Zion or Bryce, you’ll want to get there early enough to get a cinnamon roll at the homestead.
  • Buy the Interagency America the Beautiful pass. For $80 ($20 for seniors, free for military,) it gives you access to all of the National Parks.
  • We only had one full day at Capitol Reef and I would recommend trying to plan at least 2 days here. Given our limited time, we didn’t venture too far off the main road.
  • The Capitol Reef National Park map is a good resource for planning your visit.
  • Watch the weather carefully. The weather will impact your ability to complete certain hikes safely.
  • Get the right gear! You’ll need good hiking shoes and socks, ponchos, jackets, walking sticks, hats, sunglasses, a charger for your cell phone, lots of water, and snacks. Additionally, we brought bear spray, sunscreen, and bug spray.
  • Prepare to be flexible. Your planned hikes may need to change depending on the weather conditions or rock falls.
  • There are no restaurants in the park, so you’ll need to pack a lunch or eat at the Subway outside the park. The Gifford Homestead sells cinnamon rolls and pies, but no lunch food. There are also orchards where you can and should pick fresh fruit. After a long day of hiking, I enjoyed eating the apple I picked right off the tree.

Some of our favorite hikes:

  • Hickman Bridge is a moderate 1.7-mile out-and-back hike that will take you to the Hickman Bridge. This is the most popular trail in the park and is fairly well-marked. It’s also the one where you’re most likely to see other people. The bridge is stunning as is the surrounding landscape.
  • The Grand Wash Trail is an easy 6.9-mile hike that is an out-and-back trail that takes you on a dried-up river bed through deep canyons and narrows. We took the Wash to access the Cassidy Arch Trailhead instead of driving to the trailhead.
  • Cassidy Arch Trail is a strenuous (and they do mean strenuous) 1.7 out-and-back hike to the arch. There is little to no shade on this trail, so prepare accordingly. Also, the trail isn’t well-marked once you make it up the cliff. They have placed some Cairns along the way, but it’s still easy to find yourself off the path.

Animals you may see while visiting Bryce Canyon (not an exhaustive list):

  • Desert Bighorn sheep
  • Mule deer
  • Ringtail
  • Golden eagles
  • Peregrine falcons
  • White-tailed antelope squirrel
  • Rock Squirrel
  • Great basin rattlesnake
  • Yellow-bellied Marmots
  • Cougars

The park has a beautiful visitor center and numerous nice restroom facilities throughout the park. The park doesn’t have a shuttle system, so you can drive up and down the canyon. If you’ve never been to Capitol Reef National Park, I’d recommend adding it to your list of places to visit.

What is your favorite type of weather?

My favorite type of weather is the perfect winter day here in Florida. The sky is clear of clouds and is a brilliant shade of blue. The temperature is in the mid-70s and the dewpoint is low.

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Zion National Park

We’ve spent the last two days exploring Zion National Park. This is the first national park we’re visiting this week. Tomorrow we’ll head to Bryce Canyon for our second park of the tour. Zion lived up to our expectations. We will be back. When we return, we’re going to complete the Narrows and Angel’s Landing hikes. We could not complete the Narrows today due to weather and the risk of flash flooding.

Before you go, here are some things to consider.

  • The busy season runs from April to Early October. And it is busy, so plan to get there early in the morning if you’re not staying in the park.
  • Buy the Interagency America the Beautiful pass. For $80 ($20 for seniors, free for military,) it gives you access to all of the National Parks.
  • The Zion National Park newspaper is a good resource for planning your visit.
  • Watch the weather carefully. The weather will impact your ability to complete certain hikes (like the Narrows) safely.
  • Get the right gear! You’ll need good hiking shoes and socks, ponchos, jackets, walking sticks, hats, sunglasses, a charger for your cell phone, lots of water, and snacks. Additionally, we brought bear spray, sunscreen, and bug spray
  • Prepare to be flexible. Your planned hikes may need to change depending on the weather conditions. Unfortunately, we were scheduled to do the Narrows today, but couldn’t due to the rain and the possibility of flash flooding.

Some of our favorite hikes:

  • Emerald Pools is a moderate hike that features three uniquely colored pools and a waterfall. Arrive early as it’s a popular hike.
  • The Watchman trail is a 3.3-mile moderate trail up to a beautiful viewpoint of the Towers of the Virgin, Lower Zion Canyon, and the town of Springdale. This was my personal favorite.
  • Riverside Walk is 2.2 miles and leads to the beginning of the Narrows. It is an easy, mostly paved hike. We got to the end of the Riverside walk and decided to do the beginning of the Narrows.
  • Kayenta Trail is a 2-mile moderate trail that connects the Grotto trail to the Emerald Pools trail.

Animals you may see while visiting Zion (not an exhaustive list):

  • Desert pronghorn sheep
  • Mule deer
  • North American rock squirrel
  • California condor
  • Gray fox
  • Coyote
  • Bobcats
  • Cougars

The park has beautiful visitor centers and numerous nice restroom facilities throughout the park. The shuttle system efficiently transports guests up and down the canyon to the various trailheads. If you’ve never been to Zion National Park, I’d recommend adding it to your list of places to visit.

What’s your #1 priority tomorrow?

My number one priority tomorrow is getting us safely to Bryce Canyon. We’re leaving Zion and heading to our second National Park of the trip. I’m a bit nervous as Bryce has gotten some snow over the last couple of days. Nevertheless, I can’t wait to see what Bryce and the surrounding area have to offer.

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It’s Almost Time

It’s almost time to start packing for my trip to Utah. This will likely be my last trip to visit my Boy before he moves out of the state. I have really enjoyed our family trips to Utah. Particularly, I’ve enjoyed exploring the mountains of the Wasatch Front and surrounding national forests. It is an absolutely beautiful place to visit even if the food sucks. I’m hopeful that the food in South Eastern Utah will be better.

This trip will be different because Jake and I are going to explore the Mighty Five and surrounding state parks. For the uninitiated, the Mighty Five are Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Arches National Park. Southern Utah is jam-packed with wonderful places to explore. We’ll be there for a week, so it will be quite busy as we explore as much as possible. I’m really looking forward to the different hiking experiences each park will bring.

I may try to post some updates while in Utah, but most of our time will be spent off the grid. In fact, the Hubby and my folks have a copy of our hiking itinerary, so they know where we’re at. This was if we get lost on a trial and they don’t hear from us, they know where to direct people. Obviously, I don’t think anything would happen, but these parks, their canyons, and rivers can be unforgiving. I want to be prepared in the event one of us gets injured.

I’ve already bought most of the stuff we need for the hikes with a few exceptions. Once I get to Utah, I’ll pick up some bear spray. The Mighty Five have plenty of bears and plenty of latibules where they can hide. Honestly, and I don’t know why, but I can’t talk about or write about bears without thinking of Dwight Shrute from The Office. In addition to the bear spray, I’ll pick up snacks for the trail out west.

What could you do more of?

What could I do more of? Travel! I don’t travel nearly enough. I wish we weren’t strapped to 9-5 jobs that keep us from exploring the world. It’s kind of a shame that we don’t have enough time off in the year to explore the world with our families. The culture of working 24/7 is toxic and serves nobody, but the C suite and shareholders.

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Negative

I’m Covid negative and thrilled. I tested negative again this morning, so I was finally able to start the prednisone. I don’t know if it’s the coffee or prednisone, but I am feeling good. There’s no sign of roid rage yet, but Hubby should probably be on guard for that. Since I was Covid negative, I did go for a run on the treadmill and it was awesome. This was my first time running with Sherica, on apple fitness +, and it was an awesome workout. The playlist was straight fire.

So perhaps the negative test is what’s making me so positive today. It didn’t hurt that I had a brief chat, via text, with the Mayor’s billet mom. She’s just the sweetest. She shared that he’s adjusted really well to living away from home and the junior hockey life. Obviously, she wanted to know if we felt it was going well or if the Mayor had said anything. I shared that he’s only reached out when he needs something, which means he’s doing well. Of course, I let her know that all his feedback about the experience thus far has been positive. I’m really glad it’s going well because he can be ridiculous at times (iykyk.)

How are you feeling right now?

I’m feeling pretty good. I think it’s the steroids, but it’s Friday night and I have a long weekend in front of me. My son in Ft Myers is doing well. Jake got the position he wanted, which I’m super excited about. I’ll hold off saying more until I know more. Hopefully, the steroids will give me the energy to knock out a lot of things on my to do list. Tomorrow I’m going to return the bedding we bought the Mayor as he didn’t need it. I think I’ll use my Kohl’s cash to buy some artwork to decorate the soon to be guest rooms.

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Survived

I survived my doozy of a Monday. It took forever to end as falling asleep was damn near impossible. In fact, I didn’t fall asleep until well after midnight. The good news is that once I finally fell asleep, I slept really well. In fact, I even got up in time for work today. What a feat! Actually, I got up early enough to go grab my own coffee before starting my work day.

Monday may have been an absolute drag, but the weekend was pretty fantastic. Friday night we ordered Sushi Yama for Goalielocks last dinner before heading back to school. As always, it was amazing. We really enjoy their crispy rice appetizer. The rice is so good and the tuna it’s topped with is delish. Naturally, the boys also enjoyed their usual helping of fried rice and chicken katsu. We ended out night by watching Messi and InterMiami.

Naturally, Goalielocks was packing most of Friday night and Saturday before leaving Saturday afternoon. Of course, he left the loft looking like a bomb of water bottles and text books had gone off, so that was nice. Hubby ended up cleaning up his mess Sunday while the Mayor and I ran errands. After Goalielocks left, we headed to our friends for a hockey family BBQ. It was hot as hell, but thankfully they had a gorgeous pool with some nice shade.

The BBQ was a last hurrah for our boys before they all head their separate ways for hockey. The Mayor is moving to Ft Myers to play junior. His Goalie is staying local, but also making the leap of juniors. R is heading north to Canada for a hockey academy. While B is heading to New Hampshire for some AAA U16 action. It’s crazy to see their youth hockey careers coming to an end. The Mayor was a mite for what at least a decade and now he’s playing juniors. It’s all just a bit overwhelming.

Sunday the Mayor and I went suit shopping. The Eels where suits to and from their games, so he needed to pick up some more dress clothes. Jos A. Bank had an amazing sale going, so I got him two new suits for $300. Prior to suit shopping, we also ventured into WalMart, while I charged the rental. I enjoyed driving the Polestar in Boston once it was reconfigured, so I wanted to see how the Hubby liked it. This time Hertz included a guide outlining the difference in using an EV versus traditional car, which makes renting an EV much less of a pain.

What brings you peace?

My dogs bring me peace. There’s something so innocent and pure in the way our dogs love us and our families. Their loving kindness brings me peace even during life’s toughest hours. Working out is an activity that brings me peace. It’s also acrucial part to staying both physically and mentally healthy.

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Blue Spruce

Chugga chugga blue spruce was Goalielocks’ rally cry every time he saw a blue spruce during our first trip to Utah. Blue spruces had somehow become his favorite tree, so naturally, he felt the need to call our attention to every tree he spotted in the Wasatch mountains. Consequently, when I saw spruce was the word of the day it brought back great memories.

It’s funny how a word can usher in a tide of memories. Our first trip to Utah was so much. We were a motley crew hiking the Wasatch Front for the first time and making a few mistakes. I’ll never forget hiking the wrong trail in triple-digit heat with minimal shade and a big altitude gain. I tapped out before the summit. Obviously, we learned our lesson the hard way. Thou shall start with an easy hike when first hiking at over 5,000 feet above sea level in the summer heat.

After that first brutal, yet beautiful, hike each trek got successively easier. To be clear, there weren’t any really easy hikes outside of Donut Falls. The Donut Falls hike would have been a perfect first hike. Every hike was an adventure that trip and it led to a love of hiking. I found myself being at home on the dusty trails of the Wasatch mountains. I loved being immersed in the national forest deep in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

It’s funny how memories work, but I’ll take it. The word prompt spruce took me back to the Utah trips with my boys, Melly, and my folks. That first trip, in particular, will always be special to me. It was our first adventure in the mountains and the greater Salt Lake Area. It’s the trip where my boys and I discovered our love of hiking, lavender lemonade, and Goalielock’s love of blue spruce. I am hopeful the boys and I will get at least one more trip out West before Jake moves again.

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Back at it

Well, I’m back at it and not happy about it. This back-to-reality bullshit is for the birds. I’d like to go back on the holiday vacation with the family. Naturally, the first day back at the office after a long absence is always difficult. Today was no exception. Unfortunately, technology did not want to cooperate with any of us today. This made for a frustrating day all around.

It could be worse I guess. I could still be at my old job, which was pure misery. I remember when I left Progressive how happy my hubby was that I’d stop talking in acronyms. And then I started at Kaplan University and it was back to the alphabet soup he so hated. Fortunately, my current company doesn’t speak in acronyms, so he no longer has to worry about that frustration. Nonetheless, I’d love to see the measly lead flow improve back to 2022 levels.

Despite my frustration, I chose to move forward full of optimism today. While I may not have had the best day, it wasn’t the worst. Moreover, I’ll continue focusing on improving daily and hitting my goals. I used to meditate in the morning to a quick sales meditation I found on YouTube that was really effective for me. Unfortunately, the video has been removed. Consequently, I decided to write out my own sales mantra meditation. I’m toying with the idea of filming it, so I can listen to it while I sit in legs up the wall pose (Viparita Karani.)

Today I hit all of my goals less my personal sales goal. My two-mile run went okay. My lungs are still a bit tight from the lingering head cold/sinus/allergy bullshit, so that’s fun. After work, I completed day three of the yoga challenge. Today’s practice was a sixty-minute Hatha class, which I really enjoyed. It was not overly strenuous, but it wasn’t overly chill either. Truly, the instructor struck a really good balance between building strength and relaxation.

First three days do the yoga challenge in the books and Insta official

Lastly, today’s bloganuary prompt is what is the earliest memory you have. My earliest memory is of saying goodbye to my grandma and grandpa on my mom’s side. I think it was late summer or fall as we didn’t have jackets on. I wasn’t quite two yet, which I know because my clearest early memory is of my grandfather passing away from a heart attack. He passed away eight days after my birthday on my grandma’s birthday. Forty years later I stand in awe of my grandma’s grace, resilience, and faith. When times are tough, I remind myself I’m cut from the same cloth. Anyways I’m back at it.

Today’s accountability tracker:

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In With the New

It’s that special out with the old in with the new time of year. Personally, I can’t wait to wave 2022 goodbye. At the same time, there were definitely some bright spots, 2022 of as an emotional roller coaster punctuated by gut punch after gut punch. Unfortunately, I know I’m not alone in this. 2022 was a rough year for so many people that we know and love. To say I’m looking forward to the hard reset that the new year new you offers would be a vast understatement.

One of the highlights of 2022 was Goalielocks’ graduation from high school. It was fun to take part in all the end-of-year/end-of-high school rituals that go with graduation. My folks and Luke’s dad stayed with us for the week. Unfortunately, my older brother and his family couldn’t make it due to the late scheduling by our school district. Nonetheless, it was a great time to celebrate Goalielocks and an important right of passage.

Second, we went to the Bahamas to celebrate our friend’s 50th birthday. We had one rainy day, which was okay. It gave us a much-needed chance to chill. Goalielocks and TK enjoyed their newfound ability to legally drink and gamble in the Bahamas. Both boys came away with some great memories (albeit some may be fuzzy) and some extra cash courtesy of the casino. They also enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Nobu to celebrate the birthday boy. It was a wonderful trip.

No sooner had we gotten home from the Bahamas when we turned around and headed west. Jake was home!!!!! I can’t even tell you how excited I was to see my boy. It was like the anticipation of first seeing your BMT graduate tuned up to the nth degree. I had hoped he would be home in time for Goalielocks’ graduation, but current events and world leaders had other ideas. Nevertheless, that first post-deployment hug hits differently. I think Jake worried I’d never let him go. But honestly, would you blame me if I didn’t let go?

The boys and I spent ten days out west hiking and getting Jake re-acclimated to live in the US. There were a couple, okay, maybe a few unpleasant surprises awaiting him stateside. The cost of living had soared tremendously while he was overseas. Particularly, gas prices, rent, and food prices were problematic. His post-deployment rent was almost double his pre-deployment rent. It was absolute insanity. As always, we had a blast exploring and hiking Utah.

In August, we took on Arrow as a foster through Justin Bartlett Animal Rescue. As was the case with Anakin, Arrow is another foster failure. We simply fell in love with the adorable puppy and couldn’t bare to see him go. We loved his name, so we left it as Arrow. Athena took to him immediately. Unsurprisingly, Anakin was slow to warm up to the idea of a little brother. I have the feeling that somewhere Maya is getting the last laugh as she watches Arrow harass Athena and Anakin as they harassed her.

Perhaps one of the most exciting wins of 2022 was that I finally lost my thyroid weight. It was quite the battle and took over four years, but I did it. I’m so grateful for my wonderful endocrinologist and primary care doctor, who have both guided me through this Graves’ nightmare compassionately and effectively. Honestly, I’m keeping it a bit broad here as I’ll give into it more in my post tomorrow.

Finally, the holiday season has been fantastic. It was a complete blessing having Jake home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Moreover, I love having my parents here. Anakin, who doesn’t like people coming to the house, finally took to my parents on this trip. In fact, he started to greet them and open the gate for them in the mornings. Of course, the piece de resistance of this holiday season is Jake and Melly’s engagement. I love them dearly as a couple and am so glad she’ll officially be part of the family. Tonight we’ll celebrate the out with the old and in with the new (aka the new year.)

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: Rest day!
  • Book: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
  • Blog: almost done
  • Today’s song: Whiskey in the Jar by Metallica Live at Slaine Castle