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Missing My Airmen

Today is one of those days I’m really missing my airmen. Albeit, today was a good day. It’s just one of those day’s that I would have loved being able to see his face and give him a hug. Being a military mom is hard sometimes, especially when you don’t know when you’ll see your airmen next. Fortunately, I am blessed with the knowledge that my airmen is happy and thriving in his new role.

I actually got an early start to the day since I didn’t snooze my alarm. Consequently, there were no lakes in any of the puppies’ crates. Early on in the day it was evident that leg day was super effective. Naturally, my Tuesday runs tend to be more difficult as my muscles are sore from the previous day’s workout. Nonetheless, I powered through and logged another 2.7 miles on the treadmill. Of course, I was enjoying the musical stylings of Metallica while taking in the comedic antics of Larry David.

Afterward, I headed to the studio for my favorite yoga class of the week. In fact, it was even better this week as my friend Pam was back in class. Yay!!!! My legs and hips were quite fatigued from the run and the work yesterday, but the yoga did a body good. Right before class started my girlfriend Pam, who hasn’t seen me since the Covid19 shut down, told me how fit looked. Clearly, there can be no doubt: the BBG plan, running and yoga classes are working!

I spent my afternoon in the company of one of my favorite people – Terri. Initially, we were going to go to Starbucks, but since there is not eating available we decided against it. Consequently, we ended up sharing an appetizer of vegetables with hummus and tzatziki at the Greek restaurant next door. First of all, it was nice to be eating in a restaurant (even if we were the only ones there.). Secondly, the food was very tasty and healthy! Lastly and most importantly, the time was spent in great company. Truly, it was a wonderful afternoon.

We both have the honor and distinction of being military moms. Terri’s son has been in for several years now, so she’s a pro. Consequently, she and her hubby have been great resources for the hubby and I as we embark on this new chapter of our lives. Moreover, she understands what it’s like to not be able to see your child for extended periods of time or worry about where they’ll be stationed. At the end of the day, however, what’s most important is the pride we both have for our children that serve. Nonetheless, I would love to see my airmen soon!

Meanwhile at the homestead, the Mayor continues to get non-stop, round the clock FaceTime calls. Since we share an Apple ID, our phones don’t stop running. It’s driving my nuts. As for Goalielocks, he’s been hanging out with his school friends tonight. Since the virus shut things down, this is only the second time he’s been able to see his friends. Additionally, instead of hanging out at someone’s house, they’ve been meeting at the courts and pool instead. This way they’re outside and not in close quarters.

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

*Reading Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin

Anakin loves sleeping on my legs

*Gentle Flow with Monica from Open Heart Studio

*Obedience training Anakin

*Coffee and appetizers with Terri

*Missing my airmen!! I love him!

*Dropped Goalielocks off at his friend’s clubhouse in Boca.

*Cooked a super yummy dinner courtesy of our friends at Blue Apron

*Week 4 BBG 2.0 day 2 cardio – run, Forest run

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena out for dinner 

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Mind Over Matter

Mind over matter, my friend Lisa and I chanted this over and over as we tried to master paddle board yoga in Turks and Caicos. While we couldn’t paddle board to save our lives, we were able to do a sun salutation on the board. Apparently, it is hard to be a successful paddle boarder while using a kayak paddle. Nonetheless, we made the most of our time with the paddle board.

Today I was in Monica’s vinyasa class (at my house via Zoom) and this memory came flooding back to me. Fortunately, this mantra has served me well in life and in my yoga practice. For years, I struggled with crow, headstand and handstand, but the mind over matter mantra has helped drive my practice forward. Unfortunately, it hasn’t helped me opened my side body enough to be able to do side crow again. However, I was able to declare victory with my crow pose today!

Aside from yoga, Sunday’s are my off day from exercise. My legs and hips were tight from yesterday’s run, so today’s class was definitely needed. Afterwards, I worked around the house and watched more nature specials with Anakin. Additionally, we firmed up our vacation plans for the Keys. Normally, we would have gone to the Bahamas, but that’s not going to happen in the age of COVID. Although I will miss the beaches and luscious tropical foliage of Atlantis.

Prior to going to virtual yoga, I watched Jake’s chapel service. I love watching him play. In fact, it was nice to watch today as it was the first time they’ve had people in the chapel since March. Of course, he played well and he looked great. Unfortunately, he’s been without data, WiFi or internet all day due to the tropical storm. He sent a picture and you can really see the winds, but I can’t post the live view on the blog so you’ll have to use your imagination.

Of course, the era of social distancing, covid and hate has been fun enough with out the other “H word,” but here we are less than a week into hurricane season and on our C storm. We escaped the worse of the weather this weekend, but the rest of the peninsula wasn’t as lucky. Indeed, I saw several crazy tornado videos from the Orlando area. Jake’s currently experiencing the worst of it, which is a lot of rain and some wind. Thankfully, he’s safe where he’s at. Obviously, it’s tough for all the internet and data to be down, but it could me a lot worse.

As for the hate, I choose love. I was fortunate to have parents that raised me to see every human life as valuable. Race, religion, ethnicity, etc. wasn’t important in the sense that it never equates with someone’s value as a person. Apparently, the memo has missed too many people. It’s a simple issue that we have made far too complex. Everyone is equal, yet not everyone has an equal experience in life. This isn’t to say that everyone’s life should be perfect only that it shouldn’t be handicapped by race, ethnicity, religion or gender.

After I shared some goodwill on Facebook, the hubby and I partnered up to make an awesome meal courtesy of HelloFresh. Incidentally, we had to make some ingredient substitutions as one of our garage fridges went off last night. Nonetheless, this meal of Bulgogi meatballs with rice and roasted carrots was easy to make and absolutely delicious. Everyone enjoyed this one!

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

*Reading Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Vinyasa with Monica from Yoga Mundo

*Obedience training Anakin

*Cooked a super yummy dinner courtesy of our friends at HelloFresh

*Week 3 BBG 2.0 day 7 active rest day

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena out for dinner 

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Burgers and Dogs

Today’s weather was perfect for slapping some burgers and dogs on the grill. Normally, I’d be hard at work in the kitchen cooking up my latest Blue Apron box, but tonight we switched it up a bit. I was exhausted and my hubby was up for grilling, so burgers and dogs was the perfect solution. In fact, it was so perfect because I had everything we needed for both! Yay me!

Needless to say, I feel like I struggled with the BBG resistance workout today. Ordinarily, the Friday workouts I breeze through as it’s mostly ab work and I actually have strong abs. You just can’t see them yet. Sadly, I did have to face my nemesis of jumping rope. Obviously, I have lost a lot of coordination since childhood or my rope is insufficient. I even tried shortening the jump rope today, but that didn’t help at all. One of these days, I’ll master it!

The past couple of days I have been utterly and completely exhausted. And not just the run of mill sort of exhaustion, but complete systemic exhaustion. Naturally, I took it as a sign that I was not ready to add another run to my schedule. Initially, I was thinking that I’d add a high intensity run to both Wednesday and Friday. Now I realize that would be too much too soon. I’m interested to see how I feel next week at this time. Additionally, next week will be three weeks on the T3 supplementation, so my body should be accustomed to the change.

Friday afternoons are for yoga teacher, which I love. Naturally, it’s the only time of the day that my kids need me. Today was no exception as they interrupted class severe times. Unfortunately, I took it easy for part of the practice session as my foot has been giving me trouble today. Before I rested, however, I was able to teach Surya Namaskara A and Surya Namaskara B. Truly, I was happy with how it went, but teaching and doing Namaskara B is no joke.

Perhaps the most exciting part of today was the realization that there are only seven more days until the last day of school. This year has been trying for so many reasons and then came the pandemic. Honestly, I hope these kids are able to go back to school in the fall. If not, me and my fellow virtual school parents will be banging our noggins against the wall. I had high hopes that we would settle into a routine and all would be easy. However, in a crisis and with teenagers nothing is ever easy. Thank goodness for my sweet puppies Anakin, Athena and Maya. They help keep me sane.

I guess it would be easy to just complain about the last couple of months in the blog, but that would be an incomplete picture. Despite my frustrations, I love having this time with my boys. In a few short years, we will be empty nesters. After my oldest left the nest this December, I don’t look forward to that transition. Needless to say, having a child go off into the military makes you realize how precious and short lived your time as a family unit is. I’m not ready for the hockey mom days to be over. I am, however, ready for the quarantine days to be over.

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

*Reading Vilette by Charlotte Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 1 BBG 2.0 day 5 resistance and!

*Checked on the duck nest in our garden. We now have six eggs. We should have seven, but someone grabbed an egg to put in the incubator.

*I didn’t watch any tv today!

*Strategy session with my girl Jodi

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy of me!

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

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104 Years Young

Today my great Grandma Brown turns 104 years old. Can you even imagine all that she’s seen and experienced in 104 years? Her early childhood would have been marked by the First World War and the Spanish Flu Pandemic. She lived through the roaring 20s only to experience the dust bowl years of the Great Depression. As the Depression ended, the world had plunged again into another Great War. At this point, you’re not even thirty yet and your life has been full of tumultuous events. Not to mention, you’ve already lost your twin sister to an automobile accident.

My Great Grandma, her twin sister Zella and their mother
My Grandma and Great Grandma

When I contrast that to my life as a product of the 1980s, I realized how much easier my life has been than hers. Notably, I’m not speaking of the ease technology has brought us, but rather the relative stability and peace my generation has enjoyed. Well, until the last couple of decades and this year. Apparently, this Covid-19 disease wants to give a Spanish Flu a run for its money in the pandemic space. Unfortunately, we seem to be in a place where we are more worried about the perceived affront to our freedom that wearing a mask and washing our hands presents.

My Father and Great Grandma

I digress, but you get my point. My Great Grandma, who happens to be my kids my Great Great Grandma is an absolute gift. Truly, to share this earth with my great grandma is a rarity and I treasure that time. My fondest memory is of my most recent visit to her on Jake’s farewell tour. She was so moved that we took the time to drive up and visit her. During that visit, she was recounting working the fields and watching “Lindy” fly over practicing and tipping his wings to them as they waved. To us Lindbergh’s legacy is complicated, but to her he was just a local guy that made it big.

Jake and his Great Great Grandma

That visit meant the world to both Jake and my Great Grandma. It meant so much of her that he took time before leaving for the military to make sure he visited her. Moreover, throughout the visit they connected on a level that’s hard to quantify in words. Nevertheless, it forged a link and interconnectedness of love, appreciation and respect that will never be broken. Sometimes I think we get caught up in the big gestures failing to realize that it’s the simple and earnest things that really matter. I hope that we’re soon able to safely travel, so my family I can go visit her again.

Today is also Armed Forces Day, the day where we recognize active duty airmen, coasters, marines, sailors and soldiers. So if you know anyone that is active duty, please make sure you reach out and acknowledge their service. As a military mom, it was the perfect opportunity to text my airmen without feeling like I’m being overbearing. At any rate, I’m super proud of my airmen and so grateful to him for his service to this country.

Tonight’s dinner was pork chorizo sausage enchilada courtesy of Blue Apron. This was another simple and easy to follow recipe. Naturally, I wasn’t sure if my boys would eat it as they can be unusually picky. However, you can imagine my surprise when both boys ate and enjoyed the enchiladas. Yep, I almost fell out of my chair!

My Hubby and His Grandpa


Lastly, please say another prayer for the Hubby’s grandfather. He was taken to the hospital last night after a fall. Fortunately, the x-rays showed no fractures. Unfortunately, the tests did show some congestion in the lungs. Consequently, he was tested for Covid-19 this morning. The test results will determine whether or not he will be able to go back to the memory care facility. As of press time, his Covid test results are still pending.

Grandpa Ed and I – love this man!

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

*Reading Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 12 BBG day 6 cardio. Ran 2.7 miles

*Watched Curb Your Enthusiasm and Great

*Redesigned my blog

*Attended Melaleuca’s convection. I’m super excited for their new skincare line including the Vitamin C collection and the rose collection, which comes in bottles with a pretty rosy hue.

*Dancing

*Virtual school torture with Goalielocks and the Mayor

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

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Shout Out

I want to give a shout out to all the Palm Beach County high school seniors that had their last official day of high school today. I know it was not what you envisioned by any stretch of the imagination, but you did it! Truly, our high school seniors have been impacted in a massive way throughout this pandemic. Unfortunately, in this era of social distancing many of the milestone moments that mark the end of your school experience had to be skipped. I know that it is a bitter pill to swallow and I really hope that our school district is able to figure out a way for these seniors to have an actual graduation. They’ve earned it and so have their parents. I have so much empathy for all of them.


Particularly, my heart is with Mel. Or as you may know her, the M and J&M2. She’s a marvelous gal, who’s life has shifted dramatically when J left for the Air Force and then with this pandemic. Thankfully, her final high school musical production was able to complete its run as the Corona virus. Our whole family, and I do mean whole family, absolutely adores M. In fact, one of the best parts of BMT weekend for me was seeing Jake and Mel together again. Honestly, there’s nothing better than seeing your son so happy and so well treated and loved by another. Enough of the sappiness for tonight because I could go on for like seven years at least… Truly, by the time I’d finish Space Force will already have captured Uranus.

I’ve been working hard this last full week of BBG, so I was exhausted this morning. Although if I’m being honest, I was up last night way later than usual. I also started intermittent fasting 16:8 to see how it works with BBG and with the thyroid. Since today was a strength training day, I waited until after I broke my fast to log the workout. Needless to say, I continue to hate the half burpees and burpees with pushup and tuck jump. This has been an amazing ~15 week program, which is why I will be repeating it. As I repeat it, I’ll make it more challenging with added weight.

If I were to show you my before and after pictures, you might not see much change. Because when you’re functionally hypothyroid, the weight and inches just don’t melt off. What you may see is some definition in the arms, which never existed before. Importantly, what you can’t see is how much stronger I’ve become. Fortunately, the gains in strength and endurance have parlayed into my yoga practice and my running. The strength I have gained has helped me gain flexibility through yoga. Together they’ve given me improved mobility. Consequently, I’m not in pain after I run and I’m not injuring myself. This is a whole new experience for me. Nonetheless, it’s hard to be patient with weight loss when you’re working so hard.

My day was productive with the Melaleuca Virtual Convention and yoga teacher training. Why I love both of these things is that it has really helped me heal the auto immune disease. Who doesn’t want to be healthier with minimal pharmaceutical intervention? I even to practice teaching surya namaskara A again. We’ve been shutdown for what seems like forever, however, I’m excited. My quarantine time has been well spent and investment in me and my family. That isn’t to say I want to virtual school ever again, but I do love spending time with the boys and helping them succeed.

Lastly, an update on the ducks. We have two eggs in the incubator upstairs that were found in our yard a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday I found an egg in our garden. Today there were two eggs in the garden nest. Moreover, we actually saw the mother duck and her two ducks. Apparently, our garden duck is in a bit of a Three’s A Company type situation. To be continued….

For dinner we had cajun spiced steaks and biscuit courtesy of Blue Apron and it was magnificent. It was super tasty, filling and easy to make. Clearly, as you can tell, I’m enjoying this meal delivery service. Before I leave you tonight, I’d ask that you’d keep the Hubby’s grandfather in your prayers. He lives in a memory care facility in Minnesota, due to Alzheimer, and has been hospitalized due to a fall. Truly, he’s one of my favorite people on this earth and has been a big supporter of our family since day one. Thanks!

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

*Reading Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 12 BBG day 5 abs

*Watched Good Place and Regular Show

*Yoga Teacher Training with Monica from Yoga Mundo

*Virtual school torture with Goalielocks and the Mayor

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

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Life at The Manor

Life at the manor, aka Casa de Hockey Mom, was uneventful and pleasant today. Imagine if you will a beautiful, temperate Florida day with wonderfully blue skies and minimal clouds. Now imagine spending that day inside because you’re exhausted from the preceding six days and just want to chillax. This my friends is what we called a balanced existence. After a frazzled and productive week, Sunday was meant to be a rest day.

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A few years ago, I would have taken advantage of the weather and went out for a long run. Sadly, my body needs at least a full days rest to keep up with the BBG workouts, runs and yoga classes. Consequently, taking a rest day for me is a marker of personal growth; a modicum of moderation if you will. Nonetheless, if I push it too far with exercise, I end up losing a week to two when my body rebels. Oh the joys of getting older with an autoimmune disease! Fortunately, my meditation practice does not take a rest day.

While today was a rest day, I still had a productive day around the house. As noted above, I got my morning and afternoon mediations on the books. Moreover, I got the floors vacuumed, disinfected and mopped. Truly, the clean floors made me feel so much better and relaxed. Of course, the background noise is always important when it comes to doing housework. Today’s choice was Curb Your Enthusiasm. As always, Larry David does not disappoint. I love his wit. Basically, I spent my afternoon cleaning while laughing at the hi-jinks of Larry and his crew. Needless to say it was pretty, pretty, pretty good.
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For dinner I made my second meal from Blue Apron. Tonight’s meal was Tuscan pork pasta. Just like yesterday’s meal, the recipe was easy to follow. Since my family doesn’t like peppers, I sautéed them in a separate pan, so as to not wreck the meal for them. Fortunately, I love peppers and was happy to not have to share them with anyone. My only complaint with both meals was that they were higher in sodium than what I would normally eat. Nonetheless the quality of the food is good as is the quantity.

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Our post dinner treat was a call from our airmen. He’s doing so good in tech school. We miss him so much, but we’re so proud of him. Basically, he’s trucking a long right through his tech school. Originally, we thought he’d be done sometime in July, but now it seems like it may be late this month or early next month. Correspondingly, he’ll be moving on to his final base once training is over. Significantly, he loves what he’s doing, where he’s at and where he’s headed. Lastly, you may have seen my previous post on puppy yoga. If you didn’t, please check it out. I’m hoping to post a weekly video of Anakin and I practicing yoga.

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

*Reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

*Watched Curb Your Enthusiasm 

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 10 BBG day 7 rest

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on a walk. 

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Paradise

It was another day in paradise. When I left to grab coffee this morning, the temperature was 65 degrees and the dew point was in the fifties. Additionally, the sun was shining bright and there was not one cloud in the sky. After the scorching heat of last week, this morning’s weather felt absolutely sublime! I, for one, am relishing these last nice days as the heat of summer and humidity of rainy season is right around the corner.

Paradise lost, the epic and long winded Milton poem, is how I was feeling when we got the virtual school part of the day. How soon I fell from paradise to the continual battle that is home schooling. Goalielocks assured me he wasn’t sleeping, but was in class. This in-spite of me having to wake him up multiple times throughout the morning. Meanwhile, the Mayor was hard at work watching YouTube videos instead of doing class work. Oh joy!
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I somewhat recaptured paradise by going to yoga this morning with Monica. Clearly, it was an awesome class as it left my body and mind feeling incredible and at peace. Afterwards, I took the puppies on a short walk before tackling day one of BBG week nine. Oh man, what a doozy that workout was today!! I mean what fuckery is a burpee with a push-up and tuck jump? Peer torture and a hockey mom killer. Needless to say, those combination burpees were no joke. I was fried after the workout. Unequivocally, I’m totally team BBG and would highly recommend the workout and the app.

Sadly, after lunch I returned to Milton’s Paradise Lost. I had yet another argument with the Mayor over his art homework. He argued vehemently that I should have his schedule changed so he could drop art. Obviously that isn’t possible as we are already half way through the quarter! If there was a genie and I could have one wish only, I’d wish that the boys would understand it is much easier to get their work down timely instead of procrastinating or worse ignoring it.

Okay, so I know that eventually they’ll probably understand, but I’d love to compress the timeline. It was so refreshing speaking without airman last night because he’s got a clear path and plan for his career. Undoubtedly, my Hubby and I were so proud when he sent us a list of IT certs he intends to complete while in the service. Truly, the list is impressive and will afford him many lucrative career options in his post military life. I guess the point is that eventually the kids will find their way and their path. Never in my dreams could I have created a better path for him. Obviously, we are so proud of him and happy that he’s found his path.

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This week also marks week three of intermittent fasting on the 8:2 plan. As a reminder, the 8:2 plan means I eat normal five days a week and fast two days a week by only eating 800 calories. So far, it’s going well and I’ve lost a few pounds. A few ponds may not seem significant, but when you have no thyroid every pound lost is a victory. Thankfully, it’s also not difficult to follow and adhere too. When you think about it, you’re only very disciplined two days a week. There are no foods off limits, unless you have a cold allergy or intolerance like me. Consequently, I avoid gluten containing foods, but everything else is fair game!

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

*Reading My Antonia by Willa Cather and loving it!

*Gentle Flow Yoga with Monica from Yoga Mundo

*Facetime with my Airman!

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 10 BBG day 1 leg day

*Virtual school torture with Goalielocks and the Mayor

*Obedience training Anakin courtesy day Goalielocks

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

 

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Hidden Joy

Some days it’s easier to see the hidden joy that seems scarcer during a crisis. Today was one of those days. Admittedly, the end of last week was rough, but today I woke up with a renewed spirit and joy in my heart. Hopefully, virtual school won’t kill the joy by Monday evening! My body and soul felt restored from the fatigue of the previous days at least until about 3:30 pm.

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Like Pinky and the Brain, my mission remains consistent from day to day. I get my Dunkin’ coffee and remain out of the public unless absolutely necessary. Since we were running low on chicken and Prosecco, the Hubby and I headed to BJ’s after coffee. Much like last time, we had to wait in line before we were allowed into the store. Fortunately, there was a nice zephyr and cloud cover to mitigate the heat and humidity.

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For the most part our shopping experience was great. There was a shopper on her phone, who rudely monopolized the meat aisle. Clearly, she was more important than everyone else. Finally, a fellow shopper got tired of waiting for her to move or respond to her. When the other shopper reached over her to grab meat, the Covidiot lost her mind in a profanity laced tirade. If I was quicker and not wearing a mask, I would have recorded the shit show for your viewing pleasure. Outside of that one, selfish Covidiot everyone else was pleasant and nice. Fortunately, we’re fully stocked and won’t need to go back or order until next month.

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Afterwards, we headed to Joey’s Bakery. I may have been craving a bagel with cream cheese. Also, Joey’s has the best gluten free baked goods around. Consequently, I also picked up a baguette for dinner and a piece of cake for dessert. Honestly, I can’t tell you how happy I am to have a good gluten free diary nearby. I don’t eat baked goods often anymore, but when I do they should be tasty I’ve been gluten free since January. Although I’m not a stickler about it, I feel much better when I don’t eat it.
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Once we got home, we started preparing the roast we bought at BJ’s. Thankfully, I had the farm fresh carrots and onion to add into the crockpot to accompany the roast. We also added some small golden potatoes. While I prepared the vegetables, the Hubby browned and spiced the roast. We cooked the roast on high for five hours. While the roast, rested I made the gravy. As I finished the gravy, the hubby sliced the roast. Fortunately, this was another successful culinary collaboration. It was super yummy and we’ll have enough leftovers for lunch and another dinner.
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While the roast cooked, we actually had a productive day. We got the floors vacuumed and mopped. The Hubby got some work done in the garden before a storm blew in. Indeed the storm was a godsend as we badly needed the rain. Of course, a non severe storm would have been optimal. Nonetheless, we used the the time wisely by getting work done around the house. I even logged a meditation for shrugging off negative. For this I used the Sattva app and their free Combat the Crisis- Covid-19 series.

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The meditation left me feeling refreshed and energized for the rest of the day. Shortly thereafter, the roast was done and we had dinner. After dinner on Sunday is always my favorite time because our Airman calls! Could there be anything better? Nope! He’s loving the Air Force and really excelling in Tech School. We’re hoping to be able to drive him to his FDS upon his graduation, but we’ll have to wait and see what travel restrictions remain in place. Let’s pray that the travel restrictions have been lifted by that time!

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Today’s storm did come as a harbinger of things to come.  The rainy season and hurricane season are right around the corner.  I’m not sure we’re ready to face the cone of so death while living under the Spector of Covid19.  It honestly just feels like a lot.  Perhaps it feels that way because again we’ll be remanded to our homes, but with the threat of no WiFi or power.  At this point, it just seems inhumane.  Here’s hoping that this hurricane season is uneventful and full of fish storms!!!

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

*Reading My Antonia by Willa Cather and loving it!

*Grocery shopping at BJ’s

*Facetime with my Airman!

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Week 9 BBG day 7 rest day 

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

 

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Now It’s Actually Tuesday

After thinking Monday was Tuesday, now it’s actually Tuesday. To be clear, it’s really not my fault that each day last two weeks. If they didn’t last so long, it would be significantly less confusing. Tuesday brought more virtual school, a run and some yoga. It was a pretty busy day.

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Of course, it’s exceedingly hot and humid here in South Florida. Hence, I was trying to convince myself that I should skip my run out of an abundance of caution. Since my diagnosis of Graves’ disease, I don’t tolerate heat well. Also, I run with my puppy and didn’t want to put her in danger of possibly overheating. The actual real feel temperature at 10:00 am this morning was absolutely ludicrous.

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Then I realized all of this excuses are exactly why I needs to run today. Since it was so hot, I had to prepare a water bottle for Athena and to take it a bit slower. Indeed I planned to take more walking breaks and puppy water break in the shade to minimize the risk of either of us overheating. At the end of the day, it was a tough, slow and hot run, but I felt amazing afterwards. It wasn’t my best run by any means, but I stayed on task and made no excuses and achieved my goal.

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Fortunately, they were running the sprinklers in the neighborhood, so Athena got to run through the sprinklers to cool down. Consequently, Goalielocks had a towel ready for the Piggie when we got back. Piggie got toweled off and we both got some fresh water. While Athena relaxed on the cool tile floor, I went into my room to complete my post run stretching. Even though I was attending yoga at noon, I still spent 20 minutes rolling out my leg, glutes and hips. Thankfully, I have a lot less pain in my legs and ankles since adding a vigorous post run stretch session to my routine.

Yoga was noon was awesome as usual. I love having my regular 12:00 pm yoga date with Monica and Pam. They’re two of my favorite people. Our class started with some alternate nasal breathing, which is a great tool for relaxation. In fact, I’ve used it to effectively manage pain when I couldn’t hold down medicine. Honestly, my yoga practice and yoga family have really helped me move forward on my healing journey.

The afternoon I spent with the puppies watching the remained of Balthazar season one. Fortunately, season two drops on Prime next Monday. I love Balthazar for so many reasons. Perhaps the best part is that it forces me to put down my phone and pay attention to the subtitles. While I studied French in both high school and college, I definitely need the subtitles as a safety blanket. If you’re looking for a good, procedural show to binge watch, I highly recommend it.


Last night I started Wuthering Heights after finishing my last book To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf. After reading the introductions, there were three, I only ended up reading only one chapter. I’m sure that I’ll finish this book pretty quickly given that there’s still a ban on going anywhere. Fortunately, I love to read and love literature. After this book, I think I’ll go back and reread The Decameron as it’s topically relevant to our current situation.

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

*Reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

*Watched Balthazar and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia 

*Completed BBG day 2 week 8 recovery workout – full body

*Ran 2.5 miles with Athena at a snail’s pace in a sauna

*Attended Gentle Flow Yoga with Monica from Open Heart Yoga Studio 

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

*Worked on Obedience Training with Anakin inside.

*Pulled my hair out (again) managing my teenagers virtual schooling.

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Oh It’s Monday….

So I was about to title my post “Terrific Tuesday” until I realized oh it’s Monday.  Clearly, the quarantine calendar is messing with my mind.  One would think I would know the day after Easter Sunday was Monday yet here I am enjoying my “terrific Tuesday.”  Nonetheless, while I may not know what day it is today, today was a good day.  Thankfully, I experience minimal trouble with the virtual schooling.  It was a good day to teach.  However, please knock on wood as there are plenty of hours in the day for this situation to still devolve.  Albeit it as of know, my teaching record for the day is impeccable.

As I noted in my Saturday post, the only milk available at Target expired on 4/13.  Goalielocks and the Mayor were complaining that I bought milk that about to expire.  However, let the record show that as of this morning, both gallons of milk had already been drank.  Fortunately, I was able to actually get a delivery on the schedule for Target today, so I took it.   I am so grateful that I was able to get four more gallons of milk as this should keep me out of the grocery store until the weekend.  Here’s to no week day grocery trips!   There is, however, the chance that I may mistakenly go to the store on Friday thinking it was Saturday.   Either way I’ll count it as a victory.

Easter was such a great holiday as weird as it was under these conditions.  Nonetheless, Easter is a great time to evaluate one’s perspective on life and re-create oneself.  Additionally, the additional time we all now have due to COVID-19 is a great opportunity to create the life that we desire.   During this time at home, I’ve continued my exercise program, started learning Norwegian and signed up for an executive certificate through the FAU School of Business.  Now I know what you’re thinking, I’m being obnoxious like Gwyneth Patrow here, but Duolingo is amazing and super accessible. In my defense, I have also spilled tortilla chips all over myself. 3vf4sx

It’s also an exceedingly scary and isolating time.  Thank god for my weighted blanket and lavender.  In all due seriousness, its a great time to re-connect and connect with people in a way we haven’t done in years.  Losing Michele last week cut like a knife and left me regretting not reaching out more often.  Truly, it’s better to reach out than to regret not doing it.  I have to admit I hate talking on the phone and usually prefer text.  However, in the current social distancing environment, I really enjoy speaking with people on the phone and hearing their voices.   Honestly, I feel like I’m back in the 1990s based on gas prices and the time I spend talking on the phone.

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

*Reading To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

*Studied and practiced Norwegian

*Watched Balthazar Season 1

*Week 8 BBG legs and glutes resistance workout

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena on multiple walks

*Worked on Obedience Training with Anakin inside.

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