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Eleven Days

Eleven days until the wedding?!? Can you believe it? I checked a few more items off the list this morning! Now I only have the caterer picking up things like ice and borrowed cooler to pick up. The dress I ordered for the rehearsal dinner should be delivered early next week. Thankfully, the shoes I ordered off of eBay for the ceremony should be here by tomorrow afternoon. This gives me plenty of time to buy another pair if they don’t fit right.

Eleven days is a short space of time to get everything done and for everything to change. It seems like science fiction that next week will be the last time our family of five will be under the same roof. I’m still trying to figure out where time has gone and how the kids got so old without us aging. I think my mom might be aging in reverse. Eleven days from now our family will embark on a new and exciting chapter.

Got to celebrate my mom’s birthday with her yesterday!

In other news, the shoulder is getting better daily. It hurts most of the time, but both my range of motion and pain level are steadily improving. In light of the injury, I’ve been modifying my Apple Fitness + plan to protect the shoulder. Honestly, I don’t love walking on the treadmill, but it was significantly less jarring to the shoulder than running. I enjoy running Apple’s treadmill workouts. They always draw the best out of me,

Which activities make you lose track of time?

I lose track of all time and space when reading. If I didn’t pay attention to the time, I could read all night. The bookshelf I bought earlier in the year is already filled up with new books. My pocketbook can’t wait for the new library to open up this fall.

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Zoo

We’ve got quite the zoo these days. Our flock, which started with a few bluejays, 3 squirrels, doves, and grackles has grown tremendously. Now I’m often greeted in the morning by our neighborhood ducks hungry for a treat and waiting for some water. We had a duck nest on the side of the house. Those ducklings hatched last week and are now living closer to the lake. Our flock has grown to include cardinals, ibis, northern Mockingjay,s and wood ducks.

Finally last Friday, we had a turtle laying eggs in our front garden. A fish crow washed patiently from its perch on our roof waiting for the turtle to finish. As soon as the turtle finished, the fish crow started trying to steal the eggs. Consequently, the Mayor and I put a weighted bucket over the nest. This foiled the crow’s plans to steal the eggs and it eventually gave up. I also noticed a new resident in the nest. We may have another clutch of eggs, so I’ll check later today.

The wedding countdown continues as we tend to the zoo and I nurse my shoulder. It felt tremendous to check several items off the list this past weekend. Earlier today, I pulled the trigger on shoes for the ceremony. They should be here later this week. I still need to find a dress for the rehearsal dinner. Lastly, I’ll need to call the caterer this week and finalize the food for the dinner. Once that’s done, we’ll only have a few loose ends to wrap up. Thankfully for my scatterbrained self, I have a project plan to track items. This way as the planning starts to taper down, I don’t miss anything. Anyway, I can’t believe it’s almost here!!! Lastly, please join me in wishing my amazing mother a very happy birthday!

What bothers you and why?

People on social media because they feel they can say whatever they want without any repercussions. The problem is whether you’re an asshole online or in person your words and actions have consequences. Unfortunately, the anonymity that comes with social media has empowered folks to be at their worst. People say stuff online to strangers that if they were face to face they’d never say. They’re terrible people and cowards.

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Thirteen Days

We’re now thirteen days away from the wedding. Yesterday, we checked quite a few items from our rehearsal dinner to-do list. Goalielocks went to Men’s Warehouse yesterday and they fitted him for his tuxedo yesterday, which was a relief. He’s the last one to get equipped. He has finals the week of the wedding. Hopefully, his finals are early in the week, so there’s no interference with the wedding. Fortunately, we can pick up his tux on Wednesday, so he won’t have to worry about it. Meanwhile, Jake is at the Reserves this weekend. He was greeted at his hotel by a nice, big black bear.

A couple of big items on the to-do list remain. Namely ordering food for the rehearsal dinner, picking a dress for said dinner, mani/pedi scheduling, buy shoes and a handbag to go with my dress. I’ve found a couple of options on The Real Real and Poshmark. I guess I’ll have to decide on it soon. Since I won’t wear the outfit outside of the wedding, I decided to buy the items consigned. After the wedding, I’ll consign the items again. It’s a lot less wasteful and much more practical. Anyway, I’ve been managing the event in a project planning document, so it wouldn’t turn into a giant cluster.

Unfortunately, I did have a bit of a setback yesterday when I sprained my shoulder or tore the rotator cuff. My range of motion is a lot better than it was yesterday, but I still can’t completely raise my arm laterally. Consequently, I’ll have to heavily modify my workout plan to work around the injury. I have my shoulder in a compression wrap that has a built in ice pack. It’s been a godsend. I’ve been icing the shoulder pretty consistently to help with the inflammation, but I’d love to take a nice hot shower with a lavender shower steamer. The urgent care doctor said to avoid heat for the first couple of days. Anyway, I have thirteen days for it to heal!

List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.

  • My family is my world.
  • I will never not have a dog. I’m a dog person and can’t see myself living without one.
  • My boys have grown into amazing adults.
  • The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup Champions! Watching them win was surreal!
  • Dogs should live a lot longer than they do. It’s cruel that they leave us way too soon.
  • Traveling and exploring the world is the best gift you can give yourself or your loved one.
  • I love getting lost in the mountains of the American Southwest. Hiking in Utah with my boys was one of my favorite experiences.
  • Attending concerts is an absolute must!
  • In summer, it will rain in the afternoon.
  • Take pleasure in life’s small moments because life is fleeting.
  • After reading social media responses to yesterday’s events, it’s clear we’re being given the options we deserve. People are terrible and our candidates show it.
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Sixteen Days

Sixteen days until the kids get married! I can’t believe it’s nearly here. As finally preparations are underway, it’s nice to cross items off my excel wedding project plan. Yeah, I know I’m a dork. You need to keep track of many things to ensure their special day goes off without a hitch. (See what has to be done there?) We’ve got nearly everything set to go for the rehearsal open house. I put the blog on the back burner for a bit as I concentrate on wedding planning.

Since most guests are from out of town, we held an open house rehearsal dinner for everyone instead of the traditional limited dinner. The menu is simple and consists of their favorite things (i.e. pizza and wings,) which I have to order next week. Naturally, we’ll have plenty of liquor and beer. Thankfully, the wedding isn’t until 5:00 pm Saturday afternoon. Since we are having alcohol, we had to pay for security, which will be Jake’s favorite gatehouse guard.

As the march to the wedding continues, I’ve set myself up on a three-week fitness plan with Apple Fitness Plus. Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about their classes or their trainers. To get myself wedding-ready, I ramped up my treadmill workout to forty-five minutes instead of thirty. This went well Monday, but not so much today. I either rolled or sprained my left ankle, who knows how, so running was an absolute no-go today. Consequently, I ended up walking the workout. I did manage to get through Pilates and yoga with a few adjustments. T-minus sixteen days!

What do you think gets better with age?

I think life gets better with age. Old age is a privilege denied to many, so aging is a gift. What’s not a gift is the aches and pains that come with aging that stuff is for the birds. The experiences, people, and adventures that come over time make aging a pleasure.

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Bridal Shower

Yesterday we celebrated Melly at her bridal shower. Her aunt Cathy threw the shower and it was magnificent. I felt a little bit older as the shower progressed. It feels like just yesterday I was celebrating at my bridal shower. It’s almost incomprehensible that my son is now the oldest to be marrying the woman of his dreams. She’s also the kind woman that we hoped and prayed our boys would marry.

For the shower, they served brunch, which I love. I baked some caramel rolls, especially for the occasion. They were so decadent and tasty. I can’t make those too often or everyone I know would be diabetic. Meanwhile, Cathy and Kylie had prepared a buffet of incredible brunch food to accompany the rolls. Both also served as brewmasters mixing up a signature strawberry Bellini cocktail for the event. It was mighty tasty and mighty strong.

It was a lot of fun celebrating Melody. I was so excited to be able to give her a shower gift finally. I bought her and Jake matching bride and groom aprons. Additionally, I made her a family cookbook with pictures of them and our family together, it was my favorite gift. It’s very similar to the cookbook I made for my family earlier in the year. I plan to customize a cookbook for each of the kids and my nieces and nephews when they get married. This way, we will preserve our family baking traditions.

The bridal shower was the marquis event of the weekend, but there was something else we had to celebrate. The Panthers are going back to the Stanley Cup!!!! Hopefully, the boys can get it down this year and bring Lord Stanley home to Sunrise. The cup starts on Saturday. I’d love to go, but the fees on these tickets are utterly ridiculous. The actual ticket prices are reasonable, I think, but the fees are something else.

List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?

Three books that impacted me are The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho, Resurrection, by Leo Tolstoy and Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. I found each of these books inspired me to by my best, to choose forgiveness, and live without regret.