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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.

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Happy Hump Day

Happy hump day to one and all. I’m quite excited because my hoodie has become a castaway. That’s right I’m attempting to wear a sports bra and tank. I’m not going to lie, I feel good dressed normally. However, it isn’t super comfortable. Thankfully, I still have some steroid cream to alleviate the itching. Hopefully, the rash will be gone entirely soon.

I’m looking forward to a weekend off from the rink and work, so I can just rest and relax. One thing I definitely want to add to the house as soon as possible is a sauna. The last time I saw my endocrinologist, she recommended adding a sauna to help manage Graves’ disease. In addition, to the sauna, I started my clean eating plan on this happy hump day. Basically, it means nothing processed, no bread, pasta, etc.

Meanwhile, I’m sure Goalielocks has completed his orientation and settled into life in Orlando. I gently suggested that he work the President’s Day Tournament at Genesis Ice (previously RSV,) but he said he may have a volleyball tournament. God forbid he makes some money instead of spending money. Anyway, he’s doing great and loving his place, which makes me happy.

Today also makes the first day of PanCAN’s 28-day walk-a-mile with your dog challenge. I’ll be doing the mile walk in increments throughout my day. Of course, the dogs are always happy to go for a walk outside. They are happiest when they’re exploring the great outdoors. All funds raised go back to fund PanCan, which is funding important research, clinical trials, and supporting patients and families. The list of work isn’t exhaustive, but to write it all out would take another blog post. The 5-year survival rate is now at 12%. When we started this journey in 2015, the five-year survival rate was 5%. We’ve made progress, but there’s still a lot of work to do!

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One Last Visit

My parents made one last visit to our house for dinner yesterday. They’ll head back to Minny after an incredible journey to the Maldives with my younger brother. I’m so proud of my parents for getting out of their comfort zone and trying new things like scuba diving. They’re just rock stars. At any rate, I love seeing my folks live their best life after they gave my brothers and me an amazing childhood.

Before that last visit, they came up to go to lunch with the Mayor and have coffee with me. It was great to hear about their trip and see some pictures. The Mayor is always happy when someone wants to take him to lunch, especially if it’s Chipotle. I worked yesterday but scheduled my lunch so I could hang out with my folks while they were here.

For dinner last night I ordered some pizzas from Cucina Moderne. The Mayor had suggested Sal’s but I demurred his choice given that it sucked the last time we had it. As always, Cucina Moderne’s pizza did not disappoint, nor did their Caesar salad. It was a tasty meal. I particularly enjoyed it as I’m now on a clean eating regimen for the next couple of weeks. I’m hoping it helps get rid of the rash and any underlying inflammation.

Today at work I spoke to a guy that was completely inscrutable. It was like talking to Boomhaier from King of the Hill. He was absolutely impossible to understand. I’m sure he needed dental insurance, but beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. Fortunately, the rest of my calls have been fantastic today. Hopefully, the trend continues into the new month.

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Working Saturday

It’s a working Saturday in our house today. Well, at least I’m working. I don’t think you’d count the Mayor watching the junior game or the hubby scrolling endlessly through Twitter working. A skin is keeping me company, while Athena and Arrow hold down the fort in the family room. Fortunately, it’s been a productive working Saturday so far. It’s not bursting with leads, but it’s not slow either. The puppies, with Athena now joining Anakin, are doing a great job of keeping me company while I work.

I decided to work to add to my production, but there are plenty of things I could be doing around the house. Our loft upstairs looks like a bomb went off in it. To be fair, a bomb named Goalielocks did go off in it. We just added a spin bike, so it would be nice to have it organized and look good. Additionally, the upstairs hallway looks like a donation room for Goodwill. I definitely need to go through everything upstairs. There’s a lot of stuff that we can donate, throw away or put away. I’d also like to get all my shopping and errands done this weekend, but the hubby’s prodigious volunteer status is really cramping my style. Hopefully, his boss will pay him before the month is out.

And now for your shingles update because I’m apparently eighty-five. Fortunately, the rash hasn’t spread any further. It is, however, mighty uncomfortable. In fact, it is both itchy and painful despite looking like it’s healing. The shoulder patch feels like it’s still there in its full glory, but looks like it’s almost gone. Truly, it is an odd and uncomfortable feeling. Moreover, my stomach is not loving all the medicines I’m having to take to eradicate the rash. I can’t wait until I can stop taking the anti-virals and antibiotics. The steroid cream, however, is doing its job nicely without killing my tummy.

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Becoming a Trilogy

My rental car saga from Chicago is becoming a trilogy. And not a good one. It’s becoming one of those trilogies Hollywood makes because they’ve run out of ideas. I have been working with Hertz since 1/14/23 to close out my failed rental car. You may recall, Hertz had to tow my rental back to O’Hare because it had a bad starter. Yet, here I am over a week later still fighting to get the contract closed.

Yesterday, Hertz customer care assured me that someone would be calling to resolve my case. Well, today Hertz called me about the rental. I answered thinking they were calling to resolve my escalation. You can imagine my surprise when they asked why I hadn’t returned the rental. Consequently, I lost my shit. By this point in the game, Hertz should have more than adequate documentation on this farce of rental experience Honestly, I tried my best to temper my reaction as it wasn’t that representative’s fault Hertz doesn’t have their shot together.

After forcefully explaining Hertz O’Hare has had my rental since 1/14/23, I provided her with confirmation that the tow was received at O’Hare and the roadside assistance case detailing the ordeal. How is it possible that none of this information is on their systems??? I have literally spoken to customer care at Hertz several times a day since before our trip. Candidly, I don’t understand how this went from a weekend rental to becoming a trilogy.

Thankfully, I blocked all charges from Hertz on my credit cards. Otherwise, they’d be charging me daily for a car they think I didn’t return. What an absolute clusterfuck. Hertz’s ubiquitous incompetence at all stages of this experience has been exceedingly frustrating. Here’s hoping this ends as a trilogy because I can’t deal with a whole series of this shit.

In other news, my right shoulder exploded with an angry-looking rash. I figured it was either dermatitis or cellulitis, so I set up a telehealth medicine. Unfortunately, the doctor couldn’t do anything for me via telehealth because of the possibility the rash was caused by a scratch from one of our dogs. Consequently, I headed to urgent care this morning.

The name urgent care is such a misnomer. There is nothing urgent about urgent cares in Florida. I’m a reasonable person, but I have my limits. Clearly, I should have checked in at home and waited until they were ready to see me. Instead, I waited almost two hours in the parking room and waiting room. It’s so frustrating!

I finally saw the doctor, who felt it was likely it was a contact dermatitis reaction. Since, however, I hadn’t made any changes to my routine (i.e. no new soaps, shampoos, cleaners, detergents, or clothes,) he opted to treat me for both. I am relieved that it is not from my dogs, but I’m at an absolute loss as to what caused the reaction. Hopefully, the rash will clear up quickly with the steroid cream and antibiotics.

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
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Early Rise

It was not an early rise for me this morning. I’ve gotten into a good rhythm of going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday since last spring. It’s actually an important part of the Calibrate program. Sleep hygiene is an integral part of living a healthy and balanced life. I’m hopeful that I can return into my normal program tomorrow. Truthfully, the late nights that started last Friday have got me off my routine.

One part of my routine that I’ve managed to maintain, despite the late nights and burgeoning cold, is my workout routine. I had such a long hiatus from working out due to my thyroid running hot. Now that I’m able to workout again and gotten back into the routine, I don’t want anything to knock me off my game. Originally I had planned to run a mile, but I was feeling good so I ended up running 1.5 miles and walking a mile. While I was working out, the boys and grandma made cookies.

Before I got to my workout, my mom, Jake and the Mayor and I ran to Target to pick up some goodies. We got lots of supplies for making cookies and pickle roll-ups. Clearly, there will be no shortage of goodies in our house over the next few weeks. I wanted to buy Arrow a cute wooly sweater, but they didn’t have his size. Consequently, I ended up getting him a cute pair of thermal pajamas. Tonight we took the grandparents down to Melly’s house to. meet the great grand birds. And now I’m headed to bed, so I can be ready for an early rise.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: Sweat HIIT beginner week 2 full body workout and a 1.5 mile run
  • Book: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
  • Blog: almost done
  • Today’s song: O Holy Night performed by Celine Dion
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They’re Here!

They’re here!!! That’s right Jake and my folks arrived just in time for the winter solstice tomorrow. More to the point, they’re here for the holidays! I’m so excited to have all three boys gone for a Christmas. Moreover, my parents visiting is the cherry on top! My parents flew in this afternoon, while Jake and Melly drove home from FSU. He had flown to Tally first, so she wouldn’t have to drive down by herself.

The anticipation was getting to me earlier today, so I passed the time taking portraits of the dog with my phone. Truly, portrait mode in the iPhone takes some incredible pictures. Today I was playing around with the stage lighting. It produced some super cute photos. Although to be fair, the subjects themselves were super cute. Incredibly, all three of the puppies were cooperative with the photo shoot. This rarely happens!

We ended the evening with a nice family dinner at Villa Rosana in Boca. Melody and her parents were able to join us, which was fantastic. The Mayor was quick to reserve the spot next to himself for Jake. He definitely misses having his big brother home. During dinner, the boys and Melly enjoyed each other’s company with healthy dose of laughter and riposte amongst the banter. I’m looking forward to another fun day with them tomorrow!

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: Ran two miles, walked one. Restore and Refresh Restorative gifs practice via Practyce App.
  • Book: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
  • Blog: almost done
  • Today’s song: Dance With the Devil by Breaking Benjamin
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Another Late Night

It was another late night as the Mayor had his last regular season high school hockey game tonight. I kind of thought his team was done last Friday, but clearly, that was wishful thinking. Obviously, I love the morass that is high school hockey in south Florida. If you’ve read any of my recent blogs, you know I hold it near and dear to my heart. Fortunately for me, it’s not over. Apparently, the Mayor’s team qualified for the playoffs. At least, the kids are having fun and enjoying the league.

Before we went to hockey, the Mayor and I took Arrow to his last puppy kindergarten session. He’s officially a puppy kindergarten graduate. Nonetheless, he still has a lot of work to do and so do I. I’ll be signing him up for the beginner classes that start in February. I crinkled up the schedule sheet, so hopefully, it doesn’t get thrown away. He does really well with the trainer in class, but not so well with us. Interestingly, Arrow does awesome when we work at home. We’ll keep working with him as he’s eager to learn.

Today was my first day of vacation. I had planned to take the Mayor Christmas shopping this morning, however, there was a wrench in our plan. Apparently, the hubby scheduled Goalielocks to work. Unfortunately, nobody told me, so it was quite a surprise. It was probably for the better, however, as my sinuses were still bugging me this morning. By this afternoon, my sinus headache had abated nicely. Thank god for prednisone. Hopefully, the sinus headache will be completely gone tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, it’s a big day! Jake comes home for the holidays and my parents get here!!! Can’t wait!! And now another late night is over.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: Sweat HIIT beginner week 2 leg day and mile run
  • Book: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
  • Blog: almost done
  • Today’s song: Story of My Life by One Direction
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Winding Down the Weekend

We’re winding down the weekend with a nice quiet Sunday evening. Fortunately, Comedy Central is running a marathon of The Office tonight, which is the perfect way to relax. I mean, who doesn’t love the antics of Michael Scott and his epic movie Threat Level Midnight. While we watched The Office, Arrow went to the groomer for a bath and haircut. The groomer loves Arrow. Tonight he even picked out his own bow tie.

While the Mayor and I picked up Arrow from the groomer, the hubby started dinner. Tonight’s dinner was steakhouse pork chops with roasted potatoes and broccoli courtesy of HelloFresh. Truly, I enjoy trying new recipes and foods through HelloFresh and Blue Apron. It’s a great way to try new foods without much risk. Moreover, the cost of food through HelloFresh has been cheaper than the prices at the grocery store.

Friday night we had a late high school hockey game. Yesterday we went to Luke’s goddaughter’s birthday party. It was a bit of a last-minute deal, but it was a great time. They catered the party with Park BBQ, which was really good. My friend Hanh makes the most incredible cakes. To be honest, I’m not sure why she doesn’t make cakes full-time. Her cakes are better than any cake you’d find in a bakery. She’s so talented!

I had a blast playing with Ava and her mermaid. We ran around the house for a good hour or two, while everyone else watch the Panthers game or played cards. Fortunately, I was able to distract her long enough that mom could grab a shower. Three is such a fun age, but when you’re the parent of a three-year-old it can be exhausting. Being an aunt, however, is so much fun.

We ended up staying out much later than anticipated. I mean two late days in a row knocks me off my ass. To be fair, I define late at this stage of my life as 10:30. Nonetheless, I’m not great when I deviate from my routine. I think the late nights combined with the weather resulted in the massive sinus headache I’ve had since yesterday. I took some prednisone this afternoon, so hopefully, my sinuses will open up. Originally, I had planned to run two miles today, but the headache sidelined those plans. Consequently, I’m taking an extended break from my running.

Despite the sinus headache, I still managed to have a petty productive morning. I got the pantry and countertops cleaned off this afternoon. The kitchen, less the top of the island, is looking pretty good. My Christmas decorations have been put out. I love my Juleniss, or as we call them here Christmas gnomes. They’re super cute. I still have to decorate the tree and hang the God Jul sign, but I have plenty of time to finish those tasks. And now I’m going to finish winding down the weekend with a nice, steamy shower and a soothing restorative yoga practice. Happy Hanukkah to all our Jewish friends!