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Perfect Day

So today’s theme for bloganury is perfect day. How fitting that yesterday suck and today was a much better day. Was it perfect now? But on the whole it was significantly better than yesterday. In fact, even the puppies were on board for a better day. To be fair, however, they did lose their morning front yard privileges. Their morning and afternoon trips outside were relegated to the backyard, which apparently is not as interesting.

At work, things were much better as well. It wasn’t the knockout days I’d come accustomed to during AEP, but it was good. Goalielocks was able to go back to school after staying home the last few days with the flu. Tamiflu is definitely a wonder drug. It knocked out the worst of his symptoms pretty quickly. We kept him home until he had been without a fever for 24 consecutive hours. Yesterday would have been just short of the requisite 24 hours, so he stayed home.

Since the new year started, my ability to wake up early and workout had disappeared. Consequently, I ran two miles and walked a mile over my lunch. It’s actually a really nice way to breakup the workday and collect my sanity. Moreover, a good run always helps improve my energy and erase any negativity from the morning. The puppies would love for me to run outside, but the impact is just too much for me at this time. Hopefully, once I get back from Charleston, I can get back into my early morning habit.

Today may not have been the perfect day, but it was a great day! The highlight, of course, was talking to Jake. He looked and sounded really good today. In fact, he didn’t look as tired as usual. Thankfully, work and school continue to go really well for him. I just love getting the call from him and seeing how good he looks and sounds. It definitely puts this mom’s mind at ease.

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One of those days

Today was one of those days that makes you want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over your head. It started off with the puppies simultaneously trying to separate my shoulders and tearing my sandal while trying to greet the neighbor’s dog. Anakin was no better the second time we went out. This time it was over a bird. Needless to say, my sales assistants were not on their best behavior this morning.

As much fun as I had with the dogs this morning, the leads at work were even worse. Now I can’t complain too much as the leads have been pretty good lately. Nonetheless, they were pure and utter shit today. There’s nothing I love more than talking to someone who wants every type of insurance except dental and vision. I did manage to have a semi-respectable day, but was super happy when 6:00 rolled around.

On a high note, the dumbbell set I ordered in late November finally arrived today. This was the second attempt to deliver the product. Unfortunately, the first dumbbell set they sent is still floating around the FedEx facility in West Palm. At any rate, I’m just happy that we finally got the last Christmas present delivered. Honestly, I cannot wait until things go back to normal. Anyway, while today was one of those days, I’m look forwarding to a better tomorrow.

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Sunrise

The hubby and I started our day with a trip to the beach to see the sunrise. While the weather didn’t cooperate fully, it was beautiful to watch the sky and water change as the sun came up. We got there just before 6:30 and were taken aback by the number of people already there. Consequently, the surf was unusually high for South Florida, so the surfers were there to take advantage of the nice waves.

It’s always nice to taken in the salty air of the beach. My sinuses always feel better after spending time near the water. Hopefully, next time the weather will cooperate, so we can see the sunrise fully. Nonetheless, it was the perfect way to start our day. Afterwards, we just chilled on the couch with the puppies.

Originally, I had a lunch date with my friend Terri, but had to cancel since Goalielocks had been sick. Fortunately, he does not have Covid. Unfortunately, he does have the flu. Thankfully, we caught it super early and he hasn’t been around the rest of us since Wednesday. Last time he had the flu, we caught it late and had all been exposed. Thank God this time he’s on Tamiflu and is self sufficient. Like last time, he had the flu vaccine, which should lessen the severity of his illness.

This afternoon I channeled my inner baker, thank you Great British Bake-off, and made a Swiss cake roll. It was relatively easy to make, but there are a couple of adjustments I’ll make for the next time. First, the pan has to be 11X17. Secondly, when I roll it with the tea towel, I’ll not wrap it up in the tea towel. This should allow for a tighter wrap.

While I was waiting for the cake roll to cool, I made some pickled vegetables. I’ve developed a taste for pickled vegetables. Naturally, this works well since it’s minimal calories, yet satiating. This time I used cauliflower, orange pepper, carrots, onions, garlic and dill. I made a quick pickle recipe, so I didn’t have to boil the jars or anything. Once I’ve tried them, I’lll share the recipe here (only if it turns out good.)

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Missing Skill

Today’s bloganury prompt is all about the missing skill you wish you had. I haven’t participated bloganury yet, but with nothing else compelling to write here I am. The one missing skill I wish I had was singing. I cannot carry a tune to save my life and I love singing. In fact, I’m quite jealous of all the amazing singers in my life. This is also why I was in band and not choir.

So I was finally able to workout today. I’ve taken the past couple of days off because I jacked my knee up. Consequently, I substituted body weight exercises for the plyometric exercises. While I was able to get through the workout, my knee didn’t tolerate it very well. It’s swollen and a bit weak. I’m probably gonna need to wear a knee brace when I run and workout. Obviously, I have my fingers crossed hoping I can run tomorrow. If my knee doesn’t tolerate it, I’ll pivot to walking immediately.

Since the boys are back in school, it’s back to the status quo during the day. My door is always open to my sales assistant, who never judge me for my missing skill. Even if I’m singing Metallica poorly at the top of my lungs. They probably think I’m trying to speak their language. Nonetheless, thank god for dogs that love us unconditionally.

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Winter Break

Winter break is over for the boys. They’ll finally head back to school tomorrow after a nice break. Of course, they’re just in time for the omicron variant, which means we’ll receive a boundless number of emails from school about it. Honestly, the Covid fatigue is real. I’m over all of it. Fortunately, there is no chance that they’ll go virtual, which will save my sanity.

Tomorrow the puppies and I will get back to our well established routine. While the boys are home, the puppies are a bit all over the place. They bark to get into our room and then bark or get out. Unfortunately, there’s just so much going on that they can’t decide where they want to hangout. Normally, I leave my door open so they can come and go as they please. However, that isn’t feasible when the boys are home from school.

I finished The Diary of Ann Boleyn, by Robin Maxwell last night. It was an entertaining read that fed my Tudor obsession very nicely. I’ve already ordered her other books about the Tudors. It’s all Hillary Mantel’s fault. Her Wolf Hall trilogy about Thomas Cromwell is absolutely outstanding. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Tonight I’ll be starting another Mantel novel albeit not one that involves the Tudors. After this book, I’ll circle back to Robin Maxwell and the Tudors.

Reading has long been a love of mine. For many years, I neglected this love, but not anymore. I’ve made reading daily a priority for the last three years, which has been wonderful. I’m slowly working my way through the top 500 novels. What books have you been reading? Did you ready anything interesting over winter break?

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Great Appointment

I had a great appointment with my endo today. She’s lowering my Synthroid dose (sort of,) which should normalize my thyroid levels. I say sort of because I’ll be cutting one Synthroid pill in half on Sundays. This way I don’t have to throw out the prescription I just refilled. Lastly, I don’t have to go back until June, which is also great news.

The rest of the day was not as great as my great appointment. While work was hopping yesterday, today it was deader than a door nail. I love my job, but I hate being bored. Obviously, I can’t wait until it picks up again in January. I work tomorrow, Thursday and Monday. After that I’ll be off for the rest of the year. Yay!

I was concerned about running with my thyroid levels being off, but my doctor cleared me for activity. Yay! Unfortunately, either my allergies or the common cold starting kicking my arse today. Consequently, I decided to rest today instead of running. I’m still planning on doing my BBG workout tomorrow morning. Unless, I wake up and feel like a truck hit me, which would be super lame.

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Almost Christmas

It’s almost Christmas and I’m nowhere near ready. I think, like most other parents, I find December to be completely overwhelming. The only kid I’ve finished shopping for is Jake. However, I had to finish shopping for him early due to potential shipping delays. As for everyone else, I still have a lot shopping to do. I also have quite a bit of baking to finish.

Tomorrow I see my endo, which I’m excited for. I’m back to being hyperthyroid, which is no good. I’d like to be sure that I still have the all clear to workout. Unfortunately, hyperthyroidism can come with some nasty and dangerous cardiac issues, which is super lame. Nevertheless, I’m hoping I don’t have to wait for my thyroid levels get back to normal before I can workout again.

This is an expected bump in the road. Our bodies are always changing, so the Synthroid has to be adjusted accordingly. Nonetheless, I have so much to do that I don’t need anything else to worry about. I recently saw a meme that speaks to how most moms feel this time of the year… There’s so much for us to do that it can be overwhelming. Especially as we as it’s almost Christmas.

Yesterday Goalielocks had games because the league never returned out coach’s call. We had two kids out sick with COVID exposure, but since we’re not the Makos we played with a short bench. I keep reminding myself that we only have a short time left in this infuriating league. Honestly, I’ve never seen a league that applies the rules so disproportionately.

Moreover, this is the first league we’ve been apart of where the rules that are adopted are punitive or the kids and not the adults. For example, the league penalizes thr kids instead of punishing coaches or organizations. (and Like the Makos U18AA head coach coming into my kid’s locker room to recruit players before our game.) A player has to play single A because the percentage of returning players is too low on the AA team. How about instead of penalizing the kids, you penalize the known offenders?

Anyway, Goalielocks and his goalie mate had great games. We ended up winning the first game 4-2. Goalielocks had the best game I’ve seen him play in awhile. Although to be fair, I’ve missed a lot of his games this season. His goalie partner was equally impressive in the second game. They’re such a great tandem. They really enjoy each other’s company and support each other. It was a great Sunday for our Tendies!

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The Beach

Despite living just a few miles from the beach, I haven’t gone to the beach in ages. At least, not until this morning. The Hubby and I grabbed some coffee from Dunkin’ and headed to our favorite local beach. It was a bit cool this morning, but by the time we got to the beach it had warmed up nicely.

There were more waves than normal, but even so the waves were quite small. Nonetheless, I saw surfers at our beach for the first time. Sadly, the paltry waves didn’t really afford them the opportunity to do anything more than sit patiently on their board. As always, the water was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, we forgot the sunscreen, so we had to leave sooner than we had expected. After all, I had no desire to turn into a lobster today.

This afternoon we headed over to the Kennedy’s to celebrate sweet Ava’s birthday. I can’t believe she’s going to be two on Wednesday! Honestly, it brought back memories of all the childrens’ birthday parties we’ve been to over the years. They got a super cute bounce house for her and her friends to play in. She was a bit gun shy at first, but eventually she was running all over it.

Afterwards, I came home and ran 2.5 miles and walked one. It, being the run, didn’t come as easy today as it did yesterday. Nevertheless, I made it through the mileage. My legs were, however, feeling it towards the end of the run. I rounded out my day with a nice yin yoga practice. I love how yin yoga challenges me to slow down my mind. The last thing on the docket is to make another batch of mint cookies. Hopefully, these ones will make it to Christmas.

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Made it

After a sixteen hour shift yesterday, I can say I made it. AEP is over and normal life can resume. It’s been a crazy, productive and draining seven weeks, but I’m proud of how it went. However, I’m relieved the grind is over for a bit. Today was so dead, they let us leave early which was a total gift. It was slow, I was starting to fall asleep at my desk.

Since I got off earlier than expected, I was able to get some stuff down around the house. I took care of the laundry that’s been waiting to be fold since AEP started. I’m only kidding, the laundry hasn’t been sitting around that long. While I folded laundry and took care of the dishes, I finished the current season of the Great British Bake-off. I love that show and will be baking a ton over the next four days.

The best part of yesterday was receiving videos and photos of my oldest’s promotion ceremony. It was so much fun to see him being promoted. Moreover, I loved seeing the camaraderie that exists within his squadron. Honestly, love seeing how well he is loved and treated. It definitely puts my mom heart and mind at ease. The Hubby and I are so proud!

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Shoulders Suck

I don’t know about you, but my shoulders suck these days. Perhaps it’s because I carry all my stress in my neck and shoulders. Or maybe it’s the sitting in a desk chair for twelve hours plus daily over the last seven weeks. Whatever it is, it’s not working for me.

After work, I did a yoga practice that targeted the shoulders and neck, which should help. I won’t probably see any real benefits from it until tomorrow. Who knew at level 41 stress and sleeping wrong could cause so many issues in the shoulders? Apparently, being a side sleeper for the last 41 year hasn’t helped my current situation.

I’ve been alternating heat and ice on the neck and shoulders hoping to relax and take down the inflammation. If I don’t take care of the neck pain, it will grow into a massive tension headache. This would be no fun for the last two days of AEP. That’s right, the finish line is in sight. Two more miles, I mean days, to go before this thing is finished. Woohoo!

Speaking of injuries, the Mayor’s stab wound tolerated the hockey well. Amazingly, he even showered and cleaned the wound after his games. This morning, however, he showed up with a hurt hip. He’s struggling to walk. Hopefully, his hip will recover quickly. I’m off to bed. I need all the energy I can muster for these final AEP days. Anyway, did I mention shoulders suck?