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Look Who’s Back

Well, well, look who’s back. It’s been a while since I’ve written here, but I was tired and needed a break. Like most women in their mid-forties, I’m having a lot of fun with my hormones. Thanks to perimenopause and Graves’ disease, I’ve been a bit all over the place. The one constant, however, has been fatigue.

With all that’s been going on, I decided to focus on staying fit and the family. Since I last wrote, I’ve run several 5Ks. These races have been a great opportunity to keep my focus on my goal of building my overall fitness. The goal is no longer to be the fastest, but to run the best race, while building muscle and bone, while letting go of the results. Of course, I’ve also added finishing a 10K race to my annual goals for 2026.

Meanwhile, the Mayor has been playing junior hockey with the Coral Springs Jr Cats. I have a love-hate relationship with junior hockey after our billet’s experience with an unethical hockey director. The program is new this year, so it was a risk, but the general manager is wonderful and does a great job. It’s really been a positive experience for the Mayor, my husband, and me.

You’ll get your fill of junior hockey over the next three days as we travel to Tampa for the playoffs. Hopefully, it doesn’t take six hours to get there this weekend, and we see a lot of cows. This team has the ability and grit to win it all, so it should be a fun weekend. My BFF and I are sharing an Airbnb to mitigate costs. So either way, we will have a good time.

2026Goal tracker:

  • Run 12 5Ks and a 10K: work in progress
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: currently working through 4.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations):
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: Does Tampa count?
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading The Mystery of Mrs. Christie – a Riddle Made for Book Club to Solve, by Marie Benedict.
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on Instagram, give me a follow!
  • Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

I was laid off from a very toxic job in 2019. It was a job that I had worked really hard for, but my old boss made my life hell the last couple of years. In the end, I had a heads up because senior leadership, far from being professional, rode down the elevator with the layoff plans face up. Whoops!

Nonetheless, it was hard to leave a team of people I loved working with every day. As tough as it was, it allowed me to spend time with my son before he left for the military. It taught me that living the corporate American dream is absolute bullshit. Instead, my life revolves around my family, my passions, my dogs, my friends, and of course, hockey. Now I’m living a happier, balanced, and fulfilling life.

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Sunday Chilling

After a crazy Saturday, I spent Sunday chilling in my human-sized dog bed with my puppies. To be clear, the puppies came and I went, but I didn’t leave the comfort of the bed. Fortunately, I felt really good on Sunday. I was concerned that I’d be really sore and it would take a while to recover from the 5k. The takeaway is my current training program is effective. Now I’m focusing on improving my speed and reducing my time. There was one downside to the race. I made a mess of my shoes at the race by traipsing across the wet lawn.

I spent Saturday night at the rink with family and friends watching the Mayor’s home opener. The Jr Cats took on their crosstown rivals, the Palm Beach Typhoon. Honestly, the game was closer than I imagined it. The Mayor and his partner CJ, played awesome together for the first part of the game. Until there was a scrum behind our net, where someone went after the Mayor, and CJ took care of business. The ref tossed CJ from the Game, but we couldn’t really see what happened from where we were.

The game was fairly chippy, but nothing too insane. My mom did, however, find it to be quite aggressive. It was a lot of fun to watch, though. I enjoyed it. Watching a hockey game where everyone wants to be there and is bought in is a thing of beauty. It’s a big shift from U-18, where half the team cares and the rest don’t care at all. They had a quick turnaround with another game on Sunday. Unfortunately, they lost, and the Mayor got injured. Fortunately, the injury doesn’t seem to be severe.

2025 Goal tracker:

  • Run a 5K: achieved! The new goal is to finish in under 32 minutes at the next 5K.
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I finished Pride and Prejudice on Saturday and am now reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on Instagram, give me a follow!
  • Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

I thought a lot about how I would answer this question and decided to give the sports mom answer. When the boys were young, Goalielocks skated at MEGA Goaltending at the National Sports Center with Coach Justin Johnson. One piece of advice he gave to the parents of the campers was to ensure our hockey players don’t let hockey define their identity. Rather, their identity should be cultivated around a multitude of different interests. This is important because kids who learn to identify themselves only with their sport will struggle mightily when their sports days come to an end.

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5K Goal Slayed

I slayed my 5K goal this morning. After a six-year absence from running races, I am back!!! I’d be lying if I said it felt fantastic, but it didn’t feel terrible either. Perhaps the worst part of running a 5K is having to get up before the sun rises on the weekend. After years of doing that for hockey, I quite enjoy sleeping in on Saturday. Nevertheless, I left my house just before 6:00 this morning.

To train for the 5k, I’ve been doing 45-minute treadmill workouts through Apple Fitness. I was nervous that the training wouldn’t translate to the road, but fortunately, it did. I think before my next 5K, I’ll throw an outdoor training run in there. Thankfully, cooler weather should arrive shortly, making outdoor training possible.

As for the run itself, the first mile was horrible. The entire time, I was questioning my sanity. Honestly, who tortured themselves like this? As mile one ended, however, I found my rhythm and started to feel pretty good. Miles two and three were slower than mile one, but they felt comfortable. I grabbed a water bottle at the first water table. Thankfully, I was able to store it in my leggings pocket when I wasn’t drinking.

As I came to the finish line, I felt like I had more in the tank. Importantly, I only almost threw up once after the run. Thankfully, I didn’t. After finishing, I walked for fifteen minutes to cool down my legs and lungs. Next time, I’m not going to stop running at the finish. I’ll slow down gradually before walking it out. This should prevent me from getting sick. I’ll In the end, I took second place in my age group. My time was just over thirty-two minutes, which was better than I anticipated.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: achieved! The new goal is to finish in under 32 minutes at the next 5K.
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I finished Pride and Prejudice on Saturday and am now reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on Instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

What’s your all-time favorite album?

Oh man, this is a hard one. I think after looking at this through multiple prisms, Green Day’s Dookie is my favorite album. It was one of the first CDs I had and has influenced my musical taste ever since.

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Last Training Run

I just finished my last training run before Saturday’s race. Today’s training session was a thirty-minute treadmill session, which I thought would be easy. Perhaps easy isn’t the right word. I figured, however, that a thirty-minute treadmill workout after running 45-minute treadmill workouts would feel like a relief. Unfortunately, it didn’t. I think this is in large part due to running 45 minutes yesterday. Fortunately, I have two full days to rest my legs before the race.

Tomorrow I’ll do the upper body Sweat workout, and then on Friday I’ll do the ab one. The ab one isn’t super intense, so it’s perfect for the day before the race. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing yoga every morning and stretching at night. I’m doing everything I can to keep my legs and hips loose for Saturday. I definitely don’t need a harassing injury to slow me down; I’m pretty sure I’ll be slow enough on my own.

From 2020 to 2025

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I finished Pride and Prejudice on Saturday and am now reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

How do you celebrate holidays?

I celebrate the holidays by spending time with the people I love most. The holidays are such a special time for me because it’s one of the rare times everyone is home. It sucks not having the kids around all the time, so having them home is amazing.

In addition to the family time, I enjoy baking all of our traditional family favorites. These dishes have really become the fabric of our holiday season. Each dish has a special connection to our families or our ancestors. It’s special to bake holiday cookies with the rolling pin handed down to me by my grandma, who was given it by my great-grandma. Keeping the culinary traditions alive is a way of always staying connected to our family and our heritage. I look forward to passing it on to the next generation.

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Only Tuesday

It’s only Tuesday, but it feels like it should be Thursday. Today, in particular, harassingly long. I had a short work week last week after taking Friday off for hockey. Consequently, it appears that this week is going to drag on for ages. Perhaps it’s better that way, given the 5K on Saturday. At any rate, I hate when a day/week drags on wearily.

My parents came into town today, which is exciting for all of us. I’m especially excited that they’ll be able to see the Mayor play with his junior team. It’s a big shift from youth hockey, so I think they’ll enjoy it. We’ll be bringing them with us to the home opener Saturday night. The weekend after, he has another home game, which we’ll also attend. Hopefully, my brother and his wife, along with Richard and Suelen will be able to make that game.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I am reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

Write about your most epic baking or cooking fail.

As a baker, I’ve had plenty of epic baking and cooking failures. I think it’s part of the process of becoming a baker. Baking is exact. If you’re off at all, you can really muck up your bake. A couple of ways you can self-sabotage your bread are by adding the salt and yeast right on top of each other. The salt can kill the yeast, which will stop your bread from rising as it should. The other is using liquid that is way too hot. If the liquid is too hot, over 130 degrees, it will kill the yeast.

Needless to say, I’ve made bread while forgetting the yeast. I’ve also forgotten to set a timer and then absolutely forget about the cookies in the oven. As it happens, nobody likes crispy fried chocolate chip cookies. I’ve also left my sourdough bread out overnight, which doesn’t work. It’s so hot here, the dough rose like a rocket ship and was overflowing by morning.

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Five Days

Five days until my first 5K since 2019 and The Mayor’s home opener for the Jr. Cats. While I’m nervous about both, I’m way more excited for the hockey game than I am for the 5K. To be clear, I’m going into this race with little to no expectations. Meaning I’m trying not to pressure myself to try and keep up with my pre-2018 results. Instead, I’m trying to look at it as a diagnostic tool to show the process I’ve made and help set the next goal.

After watching the sheer joy on my boy’s face last Friday, I am so excited to watch him play Saturday night. My folks are in town, so they’ll be able to watch the game with us. We also have friends coming to watch him play, which will make it extra exciting and fun. My friend’s son is in the net for the game after, so I’d like to watch some of that game too. I’m a bit concerned that I won’t make it through the Mayor’s game, however, as I have to wake up extra early for the race.

I’m altering my training schedule this week to accommodate the race. Instead of running on Tuesday and Thursday, I’m going to run tomorrow and Wednesday. I plan to do a 45 minute run tomorrow and a nice, dulcet 30-minute run on Wednesday. This way, my leg should be fully recovered and ready to go Saturday morning. Or at least I’m hoping they’ll be ready to run.

By the way, we had a fabulous rest of the weekend. Saturday, I went and watched the Typhoon’s premier game with the Mayor and my friend. Afterwards, the hubby and I headed to the Kennedys for a BBQ and the Gators game. Dinner was amazing. I wish I could say the same about the football game. Hanh added some sparkly highlights to my hair, so now I match Ava. Sunday, I ran and then spent the day with my girlfriend. It was an inspired weekend.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I finished Pride and Prejudice on Saturday and am now reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

I wish I had learning earlier in life that comparison is the thief of joy. Everyone has a different path to walk that is uniquely theirs. Comparing yourself to someone walking a different path does nothing but distract you from your own.

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No Surprise

No surprise here, but I’m exhausted. These past couple of months, I have been unable to fall asleep. Honestly, it takes half a century to fall asleep. Once I’m asleep I’m good, it’s just getting there that’s hard. Thankfully, I have bloodwork in a few weeks to determine if my thyroid is the culprit. After all, it usually is!

While it’s no surprise I’m tired, it will come as no surprise that prior authorization approval is still pending for the Mayor’s Dexcom. When he was in the hospital in October, Cigna called and told us they would approve a CGM and insulin pump immediately for him. Cigna doesn’t have the best reputation, but they did the right thing. It is taking weeks for BCBS to approve the Dexcom 7. It’s unacceptable to me that BCBS would delay the medical equipment necessary to keep his blood sugar stable.

Perhaps I’ll sleep better when I’m not worrying about where his next Dexcom is coming from. I’m going to try calling again this evening. The doctor’s office reached out to BCBS yesterday. It’s so infuriating that I even have to fight this battle. At this point, I’m going to have to take it to the socials to get it approved. They already have confirmation of his type 1 diabetes and have paid for his insulin pump. This is just absolute insanity.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading She Wolves by Helen Castor.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be, and why?

If I could be someone else for a day, I’d want to be my Grandma T. I’d love to walk a day in her shoes with her memories and her experiences. The not-so-serious answer would be that I’d love to be Victoria Beckham for a day, so I can hang out with her husband David.

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Hump Day

It’s hump day! Today has been good so far. This morning I did a spin class as soon as I woke up. It’s a great way to get me fired up for the day. I’m not sure I ride as hard in the morning as I would in the evening, but getting the work in is still important. I will say drinking Nuun right after brushing my teeth does make my mouth pucker. I fell asleep on the couch after walking the dogs post-spin. Apparently, I needed an early morning nap.

For the first time this week, the phones have been good to me. I needed a solid production day, so I’m pleased. Also had a PPC meeting this morning, which is always great. I love my crew. I put together a more formal document to keep our business straight. It’s nothing fancy, but it will help us become more efficient. Hopefully, the phones will be kind to me for the rest of the day.

Last week I finished Kayla Itsine’s Beginner HIIT workout on the Sweat App. It’s eight weeks of workouts that gradually build in intensity and difficulty. This week I started week one of Kayla Itsine’s HIIT program (OG BBG workout.). It’s so tough, but it’s so good. The combination of strength and plyometrics is exactly what my body needs. Truly, it complements the cardio and yoga work I was already doing. Happy Hump Day!

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading  The Eagle and The Hart by Helen Castor.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

If you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?

Where does one even start with this one? I think we have a lot of ridiculous laws on the books. However, the one law I would change or create would be to institute term limits for Congress. Happy Hump Day!

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Check In

We’re finishing the first full week of February, so I thought I’d check in with my New Year’s resolutions. As I thought about them during my workout, I thought about how resolutions can quickly become meaningless. For me, this year’s resolutions were about committing to making myself and my life better. I do, however, miss those afternoon lattes.

My strength work today was brutal, so I had to give myself pep talks to get through it. I had to remind myself that the hard I’m doing is to make me better. Learning to persevere through the hard, brutal stuff like burpees with pushups, helps us persevere in other areas of life. I also felt immensely proud and satisfied when I finished the workout, giving it my best. In my formative years, I remember my parents being committed (they still are) to their daily walk. Seeing their commitment to their fitness and wellbeing has stuck with me.

2024 was rough, but 2025 is all about becoming a juggernaut. And by juggernaut, I mean the best version of myself. The schedule change has helped. I love getting up working out and then starting work. By the time my lunch hour is done, I’ve completed my workouts for the day. Once I’ve finished working for the day, I’ve completed all the items on my to-do list except for reading. I read every night, so that’s an easy checkmark on my to-do list.

Do you need a break? From what?

I absolutely need a break from 2025. In fact, I’m quite confident that I’m not alone in this feeling. The world is a scary place right now and life is tough. I think we’d all like to take a collective deep breath before rejoining 2025.

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Four Days

Four days until the wedding! The excitement and stress is palpable in our house. There’s a lot to do before the weekend to ensure everything goes off without a hitch. Both families have been working overtime to ensure Jake and Melly’s day is extraordinary. It’s such a gift that he’s not only marrying the girl of his dreams, but he’s marrying into a family that loves and supports him fully. I’m beyond grateful for the Burrage family.

Jake and Melly will head South tomorrow night after Jake gets off work. Goalielocks should be heading down either tomorrow night or after his final on Thursday. I will have all my babies under one roof for one last time as a family of five. It’s a bittersweet moment as one chapter ends and a new one begins. I’m so excited that the next chapter includes a girl since I’m completely outnumbered by males (including the dogs) in my house. I’m looking forward to having more girl energy in the family.

In other news, also super exciting, the AC guy is here to install our new central air unit. It’s way more money than I was hoping to spend, but much less than I expected for the size of the unit. We lucked out because the AC guy was picking his son up from a playdate at our neighbor’s house when my hubby got home from work. The hubby struck up a conversation, gave a brief interview, and arranged to have the AC work done today. Today is also my dad’s 71st birthday. Much like my mom, he continues to age in reverse. Fours days!!!!

What are your future travel plans?

I have lots of future travel plans, but my bank account (especially this week) keeps vetoing those plans. It’s honestly quite the buzzkill. There are only a few places on this planet that I don’t want to visit. Those places are only on that list due to war or government instability. The world is big and beautiful and I long to explore it all.