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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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Stormy Monday Afternoon

After a very quiet rainy season, we’ve had quite the stormy afternoon. My power has been on and off for twenty minutes, rendering me absolutely useless at work. The storm currently over us is apparently moving so slowly it’s nearly stationary. This doesn’t bode well for being able to get back to work or the evening commute. It’s also been a very loud storm between the driving rain and incessant thunder.

Unfortunately, I think we need a shield for our bathroom window. I noticed that there was water getting in when the rain was driving hard out of the west. Now that the rain has lightened up a bit, there’s no more water coming in. The last thing anyone in Florida needs is water intrusion and the mold that follows. Nonetheless, we’ll be working to dry that out tonight.

The weekend, like every weekend, went way too fast. I did manage to bake some focaccia bread yesterday afternoon. Usually, I bake it with sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese on top. This time, I decided to experiment a bit and baked it with pesto on top and bottom. While I like the taste, I didn’t love how the pesto dried out during baking. I’ll have to experiment a bit more to perfect the recipe.

Last Friday, I finished Kayla Itsines’ High Intensity 2.0. It’s been a fun, but really difficult and rewarding journey. Today I started 3.0, and the exercises ramped up quite a bit. I can’t say that I love broad jump burpees or that I’ll learn to love broad jump burpees, but I’m sure they’re effective. The number of reps per circuit also increased by quite a bit. I should see a lot of progress after 3.0 is down.

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’m reading Pride and Prejudice 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.

Name the professional athletes you respect the most and why.

The professional athletes I respect the most are hockey players. Nobody puts their body on the line for their team or for the game like hockey players. They’re also nice people who go out of their way to put their fingerprint on the community. We’ve met several NHLers over the years, and they’re genuinely very nice, humble people.

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Saturday is for the Dogs

Saturday is for the dogs. Which is a play on the “for the boys” nonsense hockey players like to say to each other. At any rate, today, like every other day in our house, is for the dogs. I’m fortunate to be able to work from home and spend every day with them. Anakin and Arrow are the best sales assistants around. I don’t think so. They don’t even burn popcorn or reheat fish in the microwave. They’re the ideal co-workers.

The boys and I started our morning with a walk around the block. There’s always so much to see that the walk takes a while. Birds, lizards, and ducks distract Anakin immediately. Arrow, on the other hand, gets super excited to see a squirrel. Neither dog can concentrate on anything else once they’ve seen their target. Eventually, I got them to do all of their business, but it was a process.

While I enjoyed my coffee on the couch, the puppies chilled with me. I did manage to have a productive morning by taking care of the dishes, the laundry, and the floor. Don’t worry, I saved some of the fun for the afternoon. After heating some leftovers, I got my clothes folded and put away. To be fair, I still have some that need to be put away. Unfortunately, my closet is full. It’s reached its weight limit. I am definitely in need of a closet upgrade.

P.S. If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!

P.S.S. I’ve recently partnered with Zulay Kitchen. I’m super excited about this partnership as I love to bake. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

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’m reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt

How do you relax?

I like to work out, bake, read, and spend time with my dogs to relax. My workout routine keeps me sane, while reading helps me decompress every night. My dogs’ unconditional love and attention is everything. Their presence and cuddles make me so happy and relaxed.

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Spring Bakes

While we didn’t go anywhere for spring break this year, there were plenty of spring bakes in the house. Since the Mayor’s diagnosis, I’ve been baking sourdough bread several times a week. I started with a sourdough boule recipe, but switched to a sandwich bread that the guys like better. It’s also easier to slice. The recipe is quite simple and doesn’t include a lot of active time, which allows me to multitask.

When everyone was here for graduation, I made the sourdough star with Biscoff instead of Nutella. I loved it with Nutella, but both my dad and Melly are deathly allergic to hazelnuts. Consequently, I don’t keep anything with hazelnuts in the house when they’re in town. It went much better than the previous times I made it, thanks to the assistance of my mom and hubby. I would make it again with Bischoff, but I would use a lot more of it next time. The flavor isn’t as strong as Nutella, so it needs more cookie butter for the flavor to come through.

I love cheese, but everyone already knows that. To go with chili, I made Brazilian cheese bread. This bread is perfect for the Mayor as it has 10 grams of carbohydrates and protein. Two of my favorite baked goods with cheese from this spring are the focaccia with sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella, and the brioche with Brie. Both of these breads are delicious and store well in the fridge.

Now I wouldn’t be my mother’s daughter if I didn’t include cookies in this blog. Some of my most treasured memories from childhood are baking cookies with my mom and grandma. The nice thing about baking my cookies is that I don’t have to fight my brothers for the bowl. This spring, I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies with Reese’s Pieces. When I bake the cookies, I weigh each one so they’re all the same weight. This way, I can give the Mayor precise carbohydrate counts by cookie. So let me ask you, what’s your favorite bake?

Are there things you try to practice daily to live a more sustainable lifestyle?

There are several things I practice daily to live a more sustainable lifestyle. One, I practice yoga every morning before work. Secondly, I read every day before bed. I also try to get to bed every day at the same time, with no electronics allowed once I’m in my room for the night.

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Mother’s Day

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day yesterday. My weekend was quick, productive, and restful. The best part of the weekend came courtesy of the Florida Panthers, who beat Toronto Friday night and again last night. It was a perfect way to both start and end the weekend. Now we have to wait until Wednesday for game 5. I hope the Panthers continue to play as strongly as last night.

Of course, it was made better by the fact that I got to talk to all three kids yesterday. The Mayor is still at home, so he graced me with his presence. We bought him a nice acoustic guitar for his birthday, so he serenaded us with some songs he learned. Jake and Melly called on their way to an open house and then showed us the property, which is super cute. Last night on his way home from work, Goalielocks called me, so I was able to talk with him for a good thirty minutes. It was the perfect way to end my Mother’s day after an emphatic Panthers’ performance.

Saturday, I did a lot of chores and baking. It was all about sourdough Saturday. I prepared two loaves of sourdough sandwich bread to be baked on Sunday. Afterwards, I mixed up a sourdough brioche Biscoff wreath for dessert. I would usually bake it with Nutella, but my dad is allergic to hazelnuts. Afterwards, I made Brazilian cheese bread to go with dinner. It’s a great option for the Mayor as it’s low carb (10 grams of carbs with 4 grams of protein.)

Share a story about someone who had a positive impact on your life.

In honor of Mother’s Day, my mom and my grandma have had a hugely positive impact on my life. First of all, they taught me what it means to be a mother. They also taught me what it is to be a strong and independent woman.

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Easy Sour Dough Sandwich Bread

Here’s my easy sour dough sandwich bread recipe. You won’t even be forced to read a dissertation to get it. You’re welcome.

Easy Sour Dough Sandwich Bread

Tools needed:

Ingredients:

  • 100-110 grams of starter
  • 11 grams of salt
  • 425 grams of water
  • 512 grams of flour

Steps:

  • Combine starter, salt, and water using the spatula
  • Add flour to the mixture, and stir with a spatula or your hands.
  • Once the dough is mixed, cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
  • Pull and fold the dough by pulling the dough from one corner and folding it over the center, turn and repeat until you are back at your starting point. Repeat this process 2-3x more times. Then cover and let rest 30 minutes. Repeat this cycle 3 more times. This helps build gluten and improve the bread’s elasticity
The dough before the folds
After the 1st fold
After the 3rd fold
After the 4th fold
The folding process
  • After the last set of stretches and folds, place the dough in the clear cylinder. Measure on the side where the dough comes up. Depending on the time of day, you can place the dough in the refrigerator to rest overnight or leave on the counter until it doubles. If you’re resting the dough in the fridge, take it out the next morning and let the dough prove until it’s doubled. I use measuring tape to confirm when my dough doubles. This can take anywhere from 4-18 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
  • As soon as the dough has doubled empty onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two even pieces. I use the kitchen scale here.
  • On the lightly floured surface, shape each piece into a rectangle by folding the top corners like a business envelope and using the pastry scraper to pull the bottom up into the middle. Transfer to prepared loaf pan and shape into a loaf. Rub or drizzle the top of each loaf with olive oil.
  • Set the loaf pans on a baking sheet and slip the baking sheet into a baking bag to keep the loaves from drying out. At this point, you can put it in the refrigerator overnight or you can let the loaves prove on the counter until they hit the top of the pan. (I only use the baking sheet to help easily transport the loaves between the garage fridge and the kitchen. You won’t bake on the sheet.). The second proof can take anywhere from 4-6 hours depending on where you live.
  • Preheat the oven to 425 F. Place the loaves pans on the top rack and back for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, turn down the oven to 375 and back for another 20-25 minutes. You want to bake until the bread is golden brown and has an internal temperature of 206-210

  • Let cool on a wire rack for an hour before serving

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

The most important invention in your lifetime is…

There are so many incredible inventions that have happened during my lifetime. I would say the internet is probably the biggest. It’s changed the world completely for better and for worse.

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Wednesday

Well, it’s Wednesday. We’re halfway through the week. The work week had been going well, but today has been an absolute train wreck. Such is life in sales. Tomorrow is a new and better day. I just have to survive the last thirty minutes of my day. My schedule is changing tomorrow. Instead of starting at 8:00, I’ll start at 9:00. This should ensure I’m busy all day.

After I’m going to take a spin class. Starting this week, they reduced our schedule to eight hours a day, so I’ve increased my workouts to two a day during the week. I did my strength workout over lunch and will do my spin class afterward. The extra hour of work wasn’t doing me a lot of good anyway. The extra daily workout, however, will put me closer to achieving my goals.

Once spin class is done, I’m going to bake the sourdough loaves that are currently proving on the counter. I had started the loaves Monday night but had to start over yesterday as I left the dough out overnight. The dough was way overproved and wouldn’t have been edible in any iteration. Tomorrow I’m going to share the sandwich loaf recipe that I’ve been using. It’s easy and tastes great. I think it’s the perfect loaf for a new baker to bake. Anyway, I’m off to finish my fabulous Wednesday.

Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end.

My ideal day starts with some hot Dunkin’ coffee and a walk with my dogs. After the walk, I’ll sip my coffee while watching the Great British Bake Off. I really enjoy spending my time with my dogs and my family. As long as I’m with them, I’m happy. My perfect day ends with me cuddling with Anakin while I read my book.

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January

Is it just me or has the month of January taken an entire year? Ordinarily, I’d be ok with time going too slow, but January is dragging in the worst way. Or maybe I, along with everyone else is dragging. It’s just this January has felt like a lifetime between the historic weather, inauguration, and fires. This doesn’t even include any of the small day-to-day stuff that piles on the stress.

January has been busy. I haven’t baked bread since the second weekend of the month. In fact, my sourdough starter is feeling neglected, but don’t worry a reunion is planned. I will feed the starter tonight, so I can start a bread over lunch tomorrow. This will give us fresh bread going into the weekend. I will also have the starter ready to bake more loaves on Sunday night, so we have bread for the week. I bought a bread slicer from Amazon so I could slice up the loaves and give the mayor precise carb counts by slice.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): 28 days in and I 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 currently reading Armadale by Wilkie Collins– so good.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

Write about a few of your favorite family traditions.

One of my favorite family traditions is our Christmas brunch. We have a lot of good food, drinks and company and very little stress. I love my Christmas brunch crew. The other tradition I love is baking cookies both regular and Christmas cookies. It’s something that brings me back to being a child and baking with my mom, my brothers and grandmother. Moreover, it harkens me back to the days of baking with my boys when they were little. In fact, I’ve been craving some chocolate chip cookies. I should probably bake some tonight.

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Duck Tales

On today’s Duck Tales episode, let me introduce you to our babies!! The sweet mama duck that laid a nest at our front door is now a mom. We couldn’t believe it when she laid her eggs hidden in plain sight. I was worried this young duck and her eggs would be unlucky and fall victim to one of the many raccoons in the area. Yet, her plan worked. Our dogs, who would have loved to eat her. Ultimately, the dogs kept her nest safe by guarding the nest from our window.

The eggs hatched last night after work. As of right now, we have eight ducklings. Unfortunately, one of the eggs didn’t hatch. Now she needs to get the ducklings to the lake, like their “school/cafeteria.” This is where the young mama will teach her ducklings what to eat and how to stay safe. Only 10% of the ducklings will reach adulthood, which is a crazy number. There are just a lot of things, including Anakin and Arrow, that would like to catch and eat the ducklings.

Meanwhile, the Mayor and I ran up to the European supermarket in West Palm for some good kielbasa, paprika and chocolate. Once you’ve had the kielbasa from the Polish market, you’ll never be able to eat kielbasa from a grocery store again. It’s so much better. The paprika is also a lot better than anything you can find at the grocery store. I love cooking with it as it gives the food a richer taste. Afterward, we headed to Sprouts to pick up some sushi, vegetables, fruit, and some lunch meat.

Today I’m making my second attempt at the strawberry chiffon cake. Last time it turned out okay, but it tasted much better than it looked. I totally screwed up dividing the cakes into 3 layers. Hopefully, I don’t screw it up too badly this time. Additionally, I decided to add additional strawberries for the filling. I’ll post some pictures of the finished product. Tomorrow I’m baking focaccia with inclusions. Previously, I had been making it with sun-dried tomatoes on top, but tomorrow I’m mixing them in. Stay tuned for more Duck Tales!

What are your favorite types of foods?

I love Italian, French and Mexican food. I also like baking breads and desserts, which does nothing for my figure.