It’s been a stormy afternoon here. Fortunately, the storms took away some of the heat, which made the dogs’ lunchtime walks tolerable. The last few weeks the lunch walks have been tough due to the overwhelming heat. At least it’s August and we only have two more months of summer here. Usually, it starts to cool down in October, but nothing about this year has been usual.
I love a good thunderstorm, so long as it doesn’t impact power. Last time we lost power, not storm related, it set me back several hours at work. The power surge fried the peripherals and made it really difficult to work. After a day of working with IT, I finally got everything back up and running. There was definitely an art to resetting everything fully to make it work. Honestly, it’s a little frustrating given I was using a surge protector that the company provided.
While I’m busy selling insurance, the boys are getting ready to leave for the year. Goalielocks heads back to UCF on Saturday. Judging from the way the upstairs looks, he’s got a lot of stuff to pack. I also need to make sure he doesn’t leave with my foam rollers, massage gun, or cervical pillow. If he’s up to his usual monkeyshines antics, then I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up in his new apartment. By the way, his new apartment looks like an absolute palace. He’ll have his own bedroom and bathroom and will be living with his best friends. Student housing has come a long way since I was at the U.
P.S. Nordstroms Anniversary sale may have just ended, but Fabletics semi-annual sale just started today.
P.S.S. If you’re wondering what a cervical pillow is, here’s what I bought on Amazon. It’s really helped relieve my neck and shoulder pain.
I’ve had enough of the heat and humidity. I can’t wait for the temperature to cool down a bit. If it cools just a bit, it will be a barn burner. This is less oppressive than that hot as hades weather we’ve been experiencing. In fact, it’s been so hot that the water temperature off our shore has hit the century mark. This is a major problem for our corals. We literally need the water and the air to take a chill pill.
If I’m being honest, I’ve also had enough work for the week. I have to say I loved last week’s three-day workweek. I’m all about that life. This feeling is abundant this week since I volunteered to work Saturday. After all, I did miss a few days and would love to get caught up with some additional sales. Most Saturdays I spend in the kitchen baking things I shouldn’t eat while binge-watching Parks and Rec. Now I’ll just sell dental and vision insurance as I binge my favorite Saturday show.
One of the things I enjoyed most in Boston was the old architecture. I loved the gardens at Peacefield with the wrought iron fence. For the love of all things holy, my other work monitor just stopped working. Sweet mother of good this shit gets old. Now I’ll get to spend another day working with IT to get my laptop and peripherals working again. Fortunately, I watched IT Crowd, so I fixed it by turning it off and on again. Thank God it started working again.
What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?
I loved today’s prompt because it’s super important to find health and wellness strategies that work for you. I’ve had to be very flexible with my expectations for myself post-Graves’ disease diagnosis. What was once possible doesn’t seem to be so possible anymore. This is to say, I have to be a lot more pragmatic and strategic in managing my wellness strategies.
The first of which is drinking enough water every day. I love drinking sparkling water, so this is a goal I never miss. Secondly, I practice good sleep hygiene. I follow the same routine every night and every morning. The consistency has helped tremendously. I also read nightly as part of my wind-down strategy. Third, I try to eat as naturally and seasonally as possible. In fact, I gave up all artificial sweeteners last year. In terms of eating seasonally, I try to eat fruits and vegetables when they’d naturally be in season. This, of course, is how I grew up eating. You couldn’t get blueberries and strawberries year-round then.
My exercise strategy shifts depending on where my Graves is at. I was running daily, but I ended up with shingles in January after a run. Consequently, I decided to mix up the routine and do something less taxing on my body. Since February, I’ve been spinning for 5-6 days as well. Apple Fitness + has great forty-five-minute cycling classes that are perfect for my lunch break. In addition to spin class, I’ve been doing Sweat’s HIIT workouts to build strength. Lastly, I’ve been doing Pilates or yoga six times a week. So far this workout strategy has been working really well. I’m going to add in some treadmill workouts though because I’m itching to run.
And lastly, here’s a brief Athena update. Unfortunately, she continues to deteriorate and difficult decisions have been made. We booked an appointment with the vet Tuesday to put her to sleep. This was the soonest they had available and it is important to us that our vet puts her to sleep. We don’t want to take her to a stranger or strange place. She loves the vet and will be comfortable and feel loved. Athena continues to eat and drink, which have always been two of her favorite hobbies. She enjoys eating chicken parm, donuts, and cheese.
Yesterday’s prompt asked if I’m superstitious, but I didn’t notice the prompt until after I had already finished my blog about our torturous allergy season here. The answer is that I am absolutely superstitious. It comes along with the hockey mom and hockey culture. Show me a hockey mom that’s not superstitious and I’ll show you snow in Miami (real meteorological snow, not the stuff referenced in Miami Vice.)
Are you superstitious?
So let me recount some of the superstitious ridiculousness that comes with being a hockey mom and/or player
Thou shall not utter the word shutout until the final buzzer has sounded. If you utter it before, it will be your fault when the goalie gives up a goal. This is one of the cardinal rules of being a goalie parent.
I wore this jacket and they won; ergo, I must wear this jacket to all future games, so the trend can continue. God forbid we wear another jacket and they lose, oh the regret that would spark.
Pregame rituals: for me, it was always grabbing a coffee before game time. Each player and parent has their own pregame routine.
Always tell my player or goalie good luck and have fun before they hit the ice
The goalie hits the goalposts in a certain order before every face-off.
The playoff beard. No shaving for the guys until they’ve won or been knocked out of the playoffs
Favorite shirt or piece of equipment. This item will be repaired until it can’t be repaired anymore because the player has to wear it.
Not washing equipment during the season. This one is a killer. You’d only have to walk near my garage during the season to know why.
The taping of the stick. Every player has a ritual for when and how they tape their stick before a game.
Pregame meal or drink (i.e Celsius.). We’ve definitely hit some gas stations before games to make sure they had their Celsius in hand.
What are some of your superstitions? Hockey folks, did I miss any?
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness+
Allergy season is in full effect here in South Florida. It’s particularly bad for me right now as the mango tree is in bloom. High pollen levels always cause problems for me, but it’s worse when it’s pollen from the mango tree. There’s just so much pollen outside right now as everything is in bloom. In fact, our Mazda is caked in it. The car is black, so the pollen is super noticeable. Goalielocks is going to wash it later today to get the coating of fresh pollen off the car.
The boys and I are taking Zyrtec daily to stave off the worst of the allergies. Nevertheless, I couldn’t stop sneezing after I came back from walking the dogs. Usually, I have sneezing fits when I eat too much. Well, not today. Today’s sneezing attack was sponsored in whole by pollen. Meanwhile, the Mayor has been coughing incessantly all week. I’m hoping the Zyrtec will help minimize the coughing fits. Fortunately, I haven’t had any trouble breathing due to the increased pollen count. Sometimes it will trigger my allergy-induced asthma, but that hasn’t happened yet. I’m crossing my fingers that it won’t happen.
The boys and I leave for the Bahamas Friday for a short spring break getaway. I’m hoping we leave allergy season behind in Florida while we galavant in the islands. According to the weather channel, there will be none of the major pollen types present while we’re there. Coming from Florida where several pollen types are in the high to moderate space will make this destination a real winner for us.
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness+
It’s March madness time in more ways than one. This daylight savings time shift has thrown me for an absolute loop. Thus far, the mornings this week have been sub par 0-10 wouldn’t recommend the experience. I know it’s only an hour, but losing any amount of sleep at this stage in the game is no bueno. It’s also time to complete your March Madness bracket. In fact, I just completed mine and have Purdue winning it all. I’m sure I’ll finish in the bottom five.
I did make it to work on time today, which is good. It will take some time to fully adjust back to the time. I had gone to bed early Saturday not feeling great, but also hoping it would stave off some of that time change ickiness. Spoiler alert, it didn’t work. When I finally managed to climb out of bed Sunday morning it was 9:00 am. I usually wake up between 6:50 and 7:30 like clockwork, but not Sunday morning. Hopefully, by the end of the week, my body will be acclimated to daylight savings time.
My lunch was spent getting our TSA precheck interviews done. Well, it’s not really an interview. They verify your information, take your fingerprints and a photo and that’s about it. Usually, it takes three to five days for the process to be completed. I’m hoping and praying that it’s complete before we head out to the Bahamas Friday morning. Honestly, I’m not concerned about having it for the trip there. I am, however, really hoping we have it for the way back. Last year we spent three hours in security lines at Nassau’s airport. I’m not looking to repeat that nonsense. Otherwise, I’ll be hurling imprecations everywhere.
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness+
Ugh!!! Ugh was what came to mind as I woke up at 8:07 am realizing I had slept through my alarms. Which as it happens is seven minutes into the start of my shift. Thankfully, I work mere feet for my bed. Nevertheless, I still had to get ready, get coffee and take the dogs out. The puppies start singing as soon as they hear me stir. Unfortunately, they don’t stop singing until I take them out. Goalielocks opted to sleep in the loft last night and was less than impressed with their early morning singing.
I hate waking up late because I feel like you’re playing catch-up all morning. It still takes time to shake the cobwebs off and let the coffee take hold. Fortunately, it was not a busy morning, so I had plenty of time to find my bearings. Once I found my bearings, the wheels decided to call off anyway. In accordance with Murthy’s Law, my VPN started crashing as soon as I got my ish together. Truly, I’m hoping that my VPN is stable this afternoon. Otherwise, it will be a very long day.
Sunset at the Cove Atlantis summer 22
Goalielocks is home for spring break, so I’m able to make some appointments this week. We’re going to get our TSA pre-check down tomorrow. Later in the week, I’m finally going to get my eyebrows down as they are severely overdue. It’s a long shot, but I may even try to get my hair done in a pinch before we leave Friday. The Mayor meanwhile will start his high school spring practices tonight down at Ice Den. Since we’ll be in the Bahamas this weekend, he’s going to skate with Joni Thursday morning.
Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.
If you wrote a letter to yourself at 100, what would you say? I’d write that I told you there’d be no flying cars in our lifetime. Moreover, the crazy cyborg Elon Musk is never going to make it to Mars. Do like how I assumed in 60 years he’d be a cyborg? It kind of feels like that may be his character arc as he plays the role of an eccentric billionaire to a tee. Naturally, I’d also write about how blessed I’ve been to live a life full of love and happiness. My family has been and will always be the center of my universe whether I’m 43 or 103.
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness+
I’ve felt a bit of nostalgia this past day as the Mayor, Hubby and I watch the Minnesota State High School Hockey tournament. There’s nothing like it and the hockey is incredible. It’s been fun to reminisce about the state of hockey when we were in school. For example, we talked bout our school@/ conference and section rivals and the private schools that poached some of our star players. Unsurprisingly, these schools are still major forces in high school hockey. Also, who could forget about the all-tournament hair team? The lettuce at this tournament is legendary.
Hubby and I went to the state championship games in 2004 when our high school made the final. The Excel was packed to the gills and the energy was electric. There are a lot of people that pride themselves in going to the tournament every year. Who could blame them? The hockey, as I said, is incredible. Last night we watched Hill Murray take number one-seeded Minnetonka into overtime. Ultimately, Minnetonka won on an incredible shot from the point. I’m sure the boys will watch the semi-finals tonight while I’m at the Panther’s game. Meanwhile, both the Mayor and I are watching the Class A semi-finals while we work.
What is the last thing you learned?
The last thing I learned is that timorous means showing or suffering from nervousness. One could say that Anakin is quite timorous when the company comes over. The other thing I learned is ballyhoo is more than a bait fish. In fact, ballyhoo is a noisy attention-getting demonstration. The word made me think of Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers. Ah, now I’m feeling nostalgia for one of my favorite shows. And now back to hockey as I watch Warroad take on Orono.
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness+
I had a nice night celebrating my birthday with the Mayor and Hubby. It’s funny that as we get older we’d rather spend our birthday relaxing at home instead of painting the town red. Of course, it would be hard to paint the town red with the school night bedtime of 10:15. I’m in bed even before the Valencia folks (snowbirds) have left the local restaurants. Nonetheless, it was a nice night made even better when Jake and Goalielocks called to wish me a happy birthday. Of course, the Wild beating the Jets didn’t hurt either.
The Mayor, however, was annoyed that I wanted a disgusting (his words not mine) HelloFresh me instead of going out to dinner. The Hubby cooked up some delicious beef tostadas. The Mayor also spent most of the day trying to convince me that we needed Pub subs for a birthday lunch. As if this now 43-year-old woman can afford to eat that much bread in one sitting. I certainly wish I could, but I’d like to keep off the weight I lost. After all, it only took four years to lose the thyroid weight. I did, however, enjoy some flourless chocolate cake and ice cream.
What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.
So today’s daily prompt made me glad to now be in my forties. Throughout the entirety of my twenties and thirties, people always asked me if we were going to try for the girl. First of all, I have three beautiful sons. Second of all, I feel no need to throw up for another nine months. Also, kids are super expensive. I’m already hockey poor, I don’t need to be hockey poor and dance poor. What annoys me the most is that no matter how many children a woman has or the sex of her children, people always want more. Now that I’m as old as a quill pen, the question would just be silly.
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness+
Today has been full of beautiful birthday blessings from family and friends around the world. I love hearing from Jake, my niece P, and getting birthday wishes from the Mayor. Honestly, I’m glad they remembered my birthday because I’m usually the one that sends reminder texts to my hubby and kids. Fortunately, I didn’t have to do that today. I do, however, need to follow up and make sure they wished their aunt Mo a happy birthday yesterday.
I remember as a kid thinking forty years old was ancient( (like a museum piece old) and that life would be over at forty. Fortunately, it turns out I was wrong. In a lot of ways, life begins at forty. You’ve outgrown the silliness of your twenties and thirties and have learned plenty of life lessons. You know what’s important and have already cut out the things and relationships that no longer serve you. To be honest, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies in forties town, but it’s pretty good. I mean, You’ll definitely hurt yourself in some humiliating way like sleeping or reading.
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
As to today’s prompt, I was laid off at thirty-nine right before the pandemic. It could be classified as a failure, however, I’d classify it as a gift. As I mentioned before, at forty you’ve learned to cut out the things that no longer serve you. Apparently, at thirty-nine I hadn’t learned that lesson. Well, at least not until I was laid off. I stayed at a job, with amazing people by the way, that stopped being healthy years prior to my layoff. Truly, I should have left earlier. That experience has taught me how to create the work-life balance that I want. Of course, it helps that I make more money at my new job and have no commute.
Thank you to everyone for the beautiful birthday blessings!
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness+
It has been weird seeing all the tryout bulletins for hockey clubs around the state. Since the state championships ended the season Sunday, organizations could send out their tryout schedules Monday. For the last decade or so, we’ve planned our spring around those tryouts. The anxiety tryout season induced is something I will never forget or miss. You never really knew where your kid stood down here because the politics of the game were overarching.
I had hoped the Mayor would opt to play at least a year of u18 because a part of me isn’t ready to move on. Also, I think playing u18 hockey gives players a good path to play hockey while finishing and focusing on high school. Needless to say, the Mayor wanted no part of that idea. So now it’s looking at the myriad of junior options that are out there. It’s like sailing the high seas without military protection during the heyday of pirates. No matter which way you turn someone is going to take all your money. Fortunately, we have plenty of time to figure out where he’ll play next year.
You’re writing your autobiography. What’s your opening sentence?
Speaking of weird, I found the grossest meme on Twitter. It actually belongs on Reddit’s horrible Facebook meme forum. I mean what in the fresh hell is this nonsense? As if a woman wanting to have equality and their own opportunities are what has destroyed our “country.” As if I go to work to serve my boss. Bitch, I go to work to get paid. Unfortunately, the weird incel that gave provenance to this meme’s belief is rooted in deep-seeded and misguided misogyny. Thankfully, social media has given the town idiot the loudest voice. Additionally, why is it impossible for women to work and love their families? Do you know what the opening sentence of my autobiography would say? It would say, “I chose a path that allowed me to raise a family while carving out a successful professional career.”
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness+
