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Spa Time

It was spa time for me this afternoon. After a long absence, I finally spent some time at Massage Envy where I have probably 30 plus services built up. Since my favorite masseuse wasn’t available, I opted to get a new type of facial with my favorite practitioner. This time I got a nourishing light facial, which uses a bright led light to treat your face.

I wasn’t sure how I’d like the facial especially when she first out the lights on my face. The last was so bright that it felt like I was looking directly at the sun even with pads and goggles over my eyes. I’m sure I looked like an oddity. Before she put the lights on my face she did a cleanser, masks and a gel. While the lights are on your face, they massage your hands and arms, which feels spectacular. Afterwards, they put a cooling mask on your face and massage your face with cooled globes. It feels absolutely exquisite after the heat of the lights. I’ll definitely get a nourishing light facial again.

Before I went for spa time, I hit the spin bike. Today I did an hour class on the JRNY app. Unfortunately, Apple Fitness + doesn’t have classes over forty five minutes. The shorter classes are perfect for weekdays during lunch, but I wanted a longer class for the day off. Today’s class was a ass kicker. It was sixty minutes of intervals, hills and sprints. By the end of the class, I was toast. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the jump from a forty five minute class to sixty minutes.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 60 minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of JRNY
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: intransitive. Intransitive is a type of verb that reminds me how much I hate grammar.
  • Today’s song is Everybody Talks by Neon Trees

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Yummy

Last night I cooked a yummy dinner courtesy of Blue Apron. We alternate between HelloFresh and Blue Apron depending on the available meals. One thing that I love about the delivered meal kits is the variety it has introduced into our diets. We’re eating a broader range of vegetables and flavors. For example, last night I roasted and tasted Romanesco cauliflower for the first time. Honestly, it’s a vegetable I probably never would have tried if it weren’t for the meal kit.

I like Blue Apron because they use ingredients that are easy to find or replicate. Whereas I’ve found it more difficult to find some of the ingredients of HelloFresh. Last night’s meal was baked chicken topped with tomato sauce, Gouda, and fontina cheese. Naturally, being that I’m on a metabolic reset program, I look for meals that are healthy. This one fits the bill perfectly. Moreover, it was so tasty and easily replicated with items from my local grocery store. If you’re looking for some yummy and healthy meetings give Blue Apron a try. They’re currently offering $110 off when you order through this link: click here

Thank goodness making dinner was stress-free because Anakin had to make the night interesting. I don’t know how he does it, but he finds creatures in the lowest light and catches them. Unfortunately, He looked excited and ready to party as soon as he caught that road. Anakin caught a poisonous toad last night. Consequently, the Mayor and I were trying to rinse out his mouth as much as possible. Anakin, meanwhile, wanted nothing to do with the water. Eventually, we were able to somewhat rinse out his mouth and he was acting normal. Fortunately, he’s a big boy as those toads can kill small dogs.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: exoskeleton. As in I heard the spider’s exoskeleton crunch as I stepped on it.
  • Today’s song is TQG by Karol G and Shakira

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Calm

It was a calm morning in our house today. In contrast with yesterday’s actual shit show. Fortunately, the illness that caused the overnight loss of bowels and bladders is gone. It was a bloodbath yesterday. This morning all three puppies are happy, and healthy and didn’t leave a mess in their crates this morning. I even got to watch Bake Off before starting work. Of course, yesterday morning was also hectic because I had a lab appointment at Quest. It’s never fun going to Quest during the snowbird season.

One of the things that has always bothered me since moving to South Florida is having to go to Quest or Lab Corp for blood work. Thankfully, my primary doctor does it in the office. My Endo also has a lab in the office, but it’s not in my insurance carrier’s network. It’s so mind-numbingly infuriating that health insurance makes it so cumbersome to get care. I hate waking up at the ass crack of dawn to get blood work done. Nor do I enjoy scheduling bloodwork out four weeks because it’s season and every Quest around me is booked for weeks.

I was hoping to have the blood work back today, but no such luck. They’ll likely send the results Monday. This time they ran a test to measure inflammation, so it will be interesting to see what that shows. This particular test, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, is helpful in diagnosing inflammatory diseases like lupus and RA as well as helping determine a patient’s risk of heart disease. My family has a well-documented history of heart disease, so I’m curious to see what it shows. This test can also shed light on whether another autoimmune disease is in play for me. So here I am calm as a cucumber waiting on my test results and working.

Meanwhile, my back is still bothering me on my right side where the shingle patches were. I thought I pulled a muscle in bed, but maybe it’s related to the shingles. The location is certainly suspicious. I’ve been treating it with a mixture of camphor, lidocaine, and balsam. Thankfully, Tiger Balm and Salonpas put all that goodness into wearable patches. Otherwise, it can be a literal pain to use either.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Today’s song is fun and a bit risque! Enjoy Lady Marmalade from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack
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Winter Weather

As winter weather bears down on most of the country and our family, our climate continues to be beautiful. The skies are blue and the temperature isn’t ridiculous, nor is the humidity out of hand. It’s the kind of winter day that one moves to Florida to enjoy. The Hubby and Mayor met Grandpa Steve and Grandma Linda at Benny’s on the Beach, while I, unfortunately, had to work. The view from Benny’s is gorgeous. The view from my desk, however, is not so much.

As a kid, when a winter storm was approaching, I would eagerly watch the closings across the bottom of the television screen. Inevitably, I was almost always disappointed to find our school was not on the list. With the exception of the Halloween Blizzard and an exceptionally cold day, that led the governor to close all schools in the state, our school was always open. Honestly, it was the worst. To know all our cousins that attended neighboring districts were home enjoying the day off while we languished at school.

Now, of course. post-pandemic snow days or hurricane days look a lot different. Some schools opt to keep the school in session virtually, while others shut down completely. I like to think the schools that go virtual instead of closing like medieval torturers. Virtual school during the pandemic was complicated and an epic failure, so no need to continue that trend. A few more years and it won’t matter as I’ll no longer have a horse in that race.

Apparently, the dogs felt terrible that we were missing out on the epic winter storm because we woke up to a literal shit storm of epic proportions. It must have been something in the water that caused all three pups to lose control of their bowels and bladders last night. Needless to say, it was not a pretty sight. I helped clean up as much as I could before work and after my lab appointment. Despite my best efforts, there was still a lot of cleaning up for my hubby to do.

We had Grandpa Steve and Grandma Linda over for appetizers and drinks last night. It was great to spend time with them both before they headed back north. I wish I could have gone to brunch with them today too. I already missed a day this week, so there was no way I could get the time off. I’m glad they’ve been able to enjoy some of our beautiful winter weather. Oh, I almost forgot, I hurt my shoulder reading last night. I don’t know how I did it, but I did. Isn’t aging fun?

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: Lasciviousness. It’s a pretty fitting word for the day on which Harvey Weinstein is sentenced for his sexual misdeeds.
  • Today’s song Drinkin’ Problem by Midland

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Family in Town

We have family in town, which is helping occupy my mind as we just closed a huge chapter in our life. Grandpa Steve and Grandma Linda are in town along with their precious puppies. Unfortunately, our big dogs are a little overzealous in their welcome and make the little dogs super anxious. Consequently, we opted for dinner at Sushi Yama since we could sit outside and their dogs could join us.

While Jake and our family in Minny are getting pummeled by winter storms, our weather is literally perfect. Okay, it may be a little too warm to be perfect, but it’s nearly there. If Mother Nature could flip the off switch on the humidity, it would be amazing. Nonetheless, it was the perfect evening for dining outside. I’ll never cease to enjoy eating outdoors during the winter months. After growing up in Minnesota, the Florida winters never get old.

Today is a very special day in our house. Today we celebrate the eighth anniversary of Athena’s Gotcha Day. Athena has brought us so much joy and laughter over the years. I seriously don’t think we could ask for a better puppy. She was a wonderful sister to Maya and always looked out for her. Now she keeps her eyes on her rambunctious younger brothers. She’s never afraid to put either one in their place. Above all, Athena loves her family dearly and will always be the first to protect us if needed. We love you Piggie!

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: delete. How many times a day are you tempted to delete your social media apps?
  • Today’s song: Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men
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Super Bowl Sunday

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and for once we don’t have any hockey games today. It’s a miracle! Consequently, we spent the day relaxing at home with the dogs. I finally got a chance to put our spin bike to use and it properly kicked my ass. It did, however, feel good to work out again. I haven’t worked out since being diagnosed with shingles several weeks ago. Let’s hope I’m able to continue working out.

Before hockey, we’d likely spend Super Bowl Sunday at the beach with our toes in the sand. Since we started hockey, we rarely make it to the beach anymore. Unfortunately, there was no beach this morning either. A cold front came through last night and brought with it a howling wind. I love the beach, but it’s never fun to get sandblasted the wind-blown sand. Nevertheless, it would still be beautiful.

As we roll into the afternoon and towards the start of the Super Bowl, I’d like to preemptively extend my condolences to the losing team and their fan base. Let’s hope this year’s Super Bowl is entertaining with great commercials. There have been way too many boring super bowls over the last several years. Lastly, I hope Rihanna’s halftime show is incredible. I like her music, so I’m excited to see what songs made the setlist.

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End of an Era

Today marked the end of an era. It was the Mayor’s last league game as a Hawk. In fact, it may have been his last league game as a youth hockey player. We don’t know yet if he’ll play juniors next year or U18aa. Nonetheless, it is crazy to think my youngest son, who was a four-year mite, is about to age out of U16. Truly, it was a bit of a spiritual experience.

As always for a home game, I was the DJ for today’s game. For some reason, the kids play their best when I play heavy metal. Strangely enough heavy metal isn’t their personal music preference. Either way, the heavier the music, the better they play, so cue the Five-Fingered Death Punch and Rammstein. If the players had their way, there would be more rap in the rotation. Unfortunately for them, or maybe fortunately for the rest of us, there are very few current rap songs with clean versions.

Our first year with Coach David, the boys selected John Denver’s Country Roads for their victory song. I say victory song chiefly because everyone knows John Denver is for winners. Three years later, I played it as their victory song. They held off Clearwater White to get a big win today. The last time we played the team, they killed us. Today’s victory was bittersweet as it marked the end of an era. Feeling nostalgic, I again played John Denver’s Country Roads for their victory song. It’s hard to believe this chapter of his life and ours is coming to a close.

And now here’s your weekly recap in photos and memes, you’re welcome.

While the Chinese ballon was shut down last Saturday, the memes continue to be top-notched. I love this one calling out folks that were concerned about the balloon but have no problem giving the Chinese government their info on TikTok.

The Mayor’s high school season came to an unceremonious end Monday night with a playoff loss. Curiously, the league offered the team a place in the state tournament round-robin stage with no ability to move on to the playoffs. Say what?!? No thanks, we’ll pass.

Tuesday night was the SOTU at 9:00 pm EST. Do they not realize that some of us have to get up for work Wednesday morning? My ass was in bed by the time the speech popped off. I did however enjoy the Cruella De Ville/MGT memes that I saw Wednesday. Since I didn’t watch the speech, my one takeaway is that MGT channeled her inner Cruella De Ville when getting dressed. And if there is a news source you can trust, it’s memes on social media.

The Mayor discovered the workout clothes Jake left behind at Christmas and decided they were now his. Jake, being the awesome big brother he is, was happy to let The Mayor have them.

Anakin snuck out and went duck hunting in the lake behind our house. Fortunately, there were no gators in the lake when he decided to go for a swim. Moreover, no ducks were hurt during his hunting adventure.

Goalielocks came home last night for a visit. It was so nice to see him. All of us, including the puppies, we’re happy to have him home.

And as noted above, the Mayor’s team’s regular season came to an end today. The end of an era. In tribute to the boys and their end-of-season victory, today’s video is Country Roads.

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Top of the Mountain

I’m approaching the top of the mountain, the proverbial mountain that is a week, as my Friday workday is now half over. I long for the beautiful vistas of a Saturday and Sunday off that I’ll see at the peak of the mountain. For now, I’ll ignore the despicably low valley that is a forthcoming Monday morning. I’m ready to ride our my Friday afternoon.\

I’m optimistic about the weekend, but I’m a pessimist when it comes to my hubby’s work situation. Seven weeks have now gone by without a paycheck. What in the actual fuck is that lunacy? His boss shouldn’t treat my hubby this way. If you know him, you know there are few people better at their craft than him. He’s a total professional. Honestly, I don’t know how some people sleep at night.

Last night Anakin gave the hubby and me quite the scare. We had Arrow and Athena on the leashes to take them out for their 6:00 pm walk when the three dogs huddled at the door. Like a star NFL running back, Anakin found a hole in our coverage and got loose. His first instinct was to hunt at the hibiscus by the garage. He quickly moved on to the hibiscus up front. We tried to grab him numerous times, but he ran out of reach.

As he ran to the stop sign, my heart stopped. I was so afraid a car was going to hit this dog. We rushed to put Athena and Arrow back inside, so we could concentrate on catching Ani. Meanwhile, he sprinted at full speed into our backyard. We were a bit worried as Anakin is afraid of strangers and reacts accordingly. As a result, I had hoped he would have stopped at the passion fruit vine to hunt, but he wasn’t there and my heart dropped. We couldn’t see Anakin anywhere.

My hubby and I split up, I stayed in the backyard and headed toward the lake while the hubby headed up front to look for him. When I heard a splash as I lamented the notion of losing my sweet Anakin. Heartbroken at the thought of losing my dog, I turned towards the splash and that’s when I saw him. He had jumped into the lake and was swimming after the ducks trying to catch them. For a split second, I was worried I’d have to go in after him, but he came right to me when he was called.

Anakin loves his AFLAC duck

At this point, Anakin has the biggest smile on his face. He had enjoyed his little adventure swimming in the lake chasing ducks. Fortunately, neither the hubby nor I had to jump in to get him out. Moreover, no ducks or dogs were hurt during Anakin’s wild adventure. We think his older sister Maya would have been proud of his duck-hunting adventure. As for now, he’s locked up while the other dogs are taken out less he tries to break free again. His adventure concluded with a nice shower to wash the lake smell off of him.

Clearly, Thursday night was the top of the mountain for Anakin, but for the rest of us Friday night beckons. We have no plans tonight, which is fabulous. The Mayor’s regular season for his travel team will come to an end tomorrow afternoon. It’s been a difficult year, but I feel like he’s grown as a player and learned a lot. Too often folks get hung up on the Ws instead of focusing on how the players developed on and off the ice over the season. The hubby and I are really proud of how hard he has worked.

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Sandler Sunday

In continuing my r&r reason, it’s Sandler Sunday in our house. We started the morning with The Waterboy and are now continuing with Happy Gilmore. In between, I’ve walked Arrow like 100 times trying to get him to go to the bathroom outside. He gets a bit distracted by all the stuff he sees on the walk. In fact, he really loves birds. I think he’d like nothing more than to catch one. He’s also a fan of squirrels and lizards like his older brother Anakin.

In between movies and walks through the rain, I made some chocolate chocolate chip cookies. The best part of these cookies is undoubtedly the dough. While the cookies are yummy, they’re not as amazing as the dough. My family has a discriminating palate, so I like to use high-quality butter and cocoa powder. It makes for a much richer cookie. Afterward, I started some bread to go with tonight’s dinner. Hopefully, I’ll manage the time so the bread comes out of the oven right as dinner is ready.

I’ve also managed to get the floors vacuumed and some laundry is done. Yesterday afternoon, I was able to finish our taxes. All in all, I have had a very productive restful weekend. The remainder of my Sandler Sunday will be spent finishing laundry, cuddling with the puppies, watching movies, and baking bread.

Today’s song featuring a saxophone is Old Time Rock & Roll by Bob Seger.

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Kitchen Sink

So I have a story that includes everything even the kitchen sink. I give your fair warning that this story is going to be gross and make you question life. Unless you have teenage boys, in which case you’ll strangely find this story believable and dare I say normal. It all began in a gate community west of the turnpike…

Our story starts off with a peaceful evening in our house. The parents and puppies have gone to bed and all is quiet. Anakin is trained to use a pad. Consequently, we leave him out at night and he usually sleeps in our bed. Sometimes, however, he misses the mark. Tuesday night he missed the mark Consequently, he left a land mine in the middle of the floor.

The Mayor, who has a weird aversion to lights, got home from hockey practice after we were already in bed. He doesn’t like the lights on, so he left them on. Unfortunately, this meant he didn’t see the land mind Anakin had left for him. Fortunately, he was still wearing his shoes, so it didn’t get all over his feet. It didn’t crunch or anything like that. It did, however, make a mess of the bottom of his shoe.

So you may be asking yourself, where does the kitchen sink play into this story? Well, I’ll tell you. Apparently, the Mayor decided the right place to clean the dog shit off of his sneakers was our kitchen sink. But wait, it gets worse. He also decided to use the brush we use to scrape dishes clean to clean his shoe. To be fair, he cleaned up the crime scene, so you wouldn’t guess what happened to the kitchen sink the night before. However, he also left the scrub brush there like he hadn’t just used it to clean up dog shit.

This all came out yesterday on my lunch break. At first, I was sure he was kidding. There’s no way he would wash shit off his shoe in the kitchen sink. But then I remember, he’s a teenage boy with the common sense of a toddler. In the end, we ended up throwing both scrub brushes away since he didn’t remember which one he used. He is also now acutely aware that messes like that need to be cleaned outside with the hose and a tree branch. As for the kitchen sink, it’s been bleached and cleaned. Yet, I still can’t look at it the same way.