Twenty-five is how old my eldest son Jake turned today. What’s odd, however, is that I’m only 33. Somehow the math just isn’t mathing. I can’t believe twenty-five years have passed since this amazing person entered the world. My Hubby and I were just kids when he was born. Now, especially today and with his impending wedding, I’m feeling a bit old.
Twenty-five years ago there were no digital cameras and I hadn’t even purchased my first cell phone yet. My hubby was still rocking a pager. My parents had cellphones, but they were the size of bricks and you had to pay by the minute. I can’t believe how much has changed in our world since he was born. We’ve gone from an analog society to a fully digital society. New Star Wars movies no longer have the novelty that they did in 1999. Who wasn’t excited to see the Phantom Menace.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to celebrate the big birthday with Jake as he’s home in Tally. Fortunately, he’s coming down for the 4th, so we’ll celebrate him then. Meanwhile, we’ll watch the Panthers continue to choke in the Stanley Cup Finals. I’m not willing to get my hopes up at this point because the Cats will break my heart. No matter what, this team has been so fun to watch this season. I’m excited to see how their success will continue growing the Florida game.
Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?
There are a couple of foods that bring me back to my childhood. Creamy cucumber salad is one of them. I used to love it when my great-grandma would make this with cucumbers straight from her garden or the farmer’s market. Pickles roll-ups, aka Minnesota sushi, are another food that transports me back to the 1980s.
I had a wonderful, low key birthday and I’m grateful for all the love and birthday wishes I was given. Unfortunately, I had to work a full day. It was a slow, tedious day. After work, we ordered Sushi Yama for my birthday dinner. Sushi Yama is definitely our go to restaurant for birthday dinners. By the end of dinner, I was way too full to even try and eat birthday cake. Consequently, we’ll be enjoying the cake today.
As for today, I’m laying low and getting stuff done around the house. The hubby and The Mayor headed to the Panthers game around 3, but we managed to get a lot done this morning. In fact, we actually got the bags for Goodwill out of our room and dropped off at Goodwill. Before we dropped off the bags, my Hubby made me waffles with strawberries and bacon for breakfast. I’m grateful for such a good breakfast. It was mighty tasty!
As you know, I love baking much to the dismay of my waistline. Since I have more bread than I know what to do with, I decided to bake something different today. Today I made the puppies some doggie biscuits with peanut butter. I opted to use a biscuit mix from King Arthur, which was super simple to whip up and bake. The dogs absolutely love the biscuits, so I’ll definitely be baking more of them. Now the puppies and I are watching Inventing Anna about the mass deception perpetrated by Anna Sorokin. It’s really well done.
Where would you go on a shopping spree?
If I could go on a shopping spree, it would probably be at Boca Town Center Mall as it has pretty much everything you could need from gold bars to designer purses.
As of this morning, I have been blessed with forty-four years of life on this beautiful planet. I remember thinking that folks over 40 were old and the pinnacle of maturity, but that just seems laughable now. I don’t see my folks as being old either. Perhaps it’s because they’re young and spirit and very active. At any rate, forty-four years is quite a blessing. My day started with a special delivery of Krispy Crème donuts from my dear coworker. It was such a sweet surprise. It’s continued with so many kind and thoughtful birthday wishes.
Over the past forty-four years, I’ve learned a few things. For example, I really hate people who cannot drive. Also, I really like tacos and sharing meals with friends and family. Seriously though, I’ve learned that what’s important in life is the people and animals we choose to spend it with. It’s the shared experience with our loved ones that makes our lives.
As I look over the past four decades, I’m blown away at the speed with which time has flown by. Moreover, I’ve had some amazing experiences and travels near and far. Connecting to my ancestral home, Norway, was a huge moment for me and my family. Sharing that trip with four generations of my family was amazing. I loved seeing how my grandma, my parents, and my kids reacted to experiencing Norway. Looking forward, knowing that nothing is promised, I choose to look at every day as a gift. So here’s to ushering in another year.
What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?
My middle name is Louise and I share it with my mom and grandmother. It’s a family name passed down on my mom’s side. To be honest, I think it started with my grandma, but I could be wrong.
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 was a big weekend for us with Goalielocks turning 18 yesterday. I can’t believe how fast time has flown by. Honestly, it feels like I was just 18. Now my second child is an adult and I’m at a loss for where time has gone. Does one blink and their kids suddenly become adults? I’m barely an adult myself.
Before we celebrated his birthday, the Hubby and I spent night down at the Hard Rock having fun and watching Metallica. We had an amazing evening with our besties John and Hanh. We love them so much. They’re not just our friends, but our family. Anyway, Metallica has long been a bucket list concert for me, so this was a special evening. Unsurprisingly, they lived up the the hype. They are absolutely incredible live. The setlist was great. I loved that they played Sad But True, Nothing Else Matters and Enter Sandman. I will be seeing them live again.
We also got to spend the night in the Guitar Hotel, which was also awesome. The bed was incredibly comfortable. Obviously, we didn’t spend too much time there, but it was a nice space. Before heading down to the concert, we definitely took a picture of the room number. This way we wouldn’t forget it in event we over did the free drinks in the casino. For a concert, Hard Rock Live is a great venue. There are several restaurants and bars in close proximity, which makes celebrating before and after concerts quite easy.
We celebrated Goalielocks birthday today. The Hubby grilled some ribs and potatoes and onions. We got him a cookie cake. Meanwhile, I made a rustic French tart because it’s yummy. We couldn’t celebrate yesterday because the Mayor’s hockey games and Homecoming. Last night was the first and last Homecoming for Goalielocks. Hard to believe he’s 18 and a senior in high school. I’m still waiting on pictures from the event, but hopefully I’ll have some to share with you all soon. It’s been a great big weekend. Hopefully, our week is just a great. Oh wait a second, Goalielocks just sent me some pictures!
Yesterday was all about acclimating to the altitude and celebrating Melly and her 20th birthday. It was fun to have everyone together here in Utah to celebrate with her. We started our day with a nice pancake breakfast in her honor. In fact, we even got to test the AirBnB’s smoke alarms courtesy of the pound of bacon the Hubby cooked.
After breakfast, we headed to Kohl’s to pick up some hiking boots for the boys and a new suitcase for Melly. Goalielocks had forgotten to pack his boots, while the Mayor had outgrown his old pair. While at Kohl’s I found the perfect opal bracelet for Melly. My parents, my hubby and I, Jake and Melly, and Goalielocks and Isa all started dating in October, so I bought both girls a piece of opal jewelry for their birthday. Jake treated us to Chick-Fil-a before we headed to the mall.
We spent the afternoon chilling at the AirBnb. Before we headed to dinner, we played a rousing and endless game of Uno. Apparently, they added a shuffle hand card with the new edition. Consequently, it turned Uno into a never ending game. Nonetheless, it was super fun.
For dinner, we headed to Tokyo Station in downtown Ogden. It’s a hibachi restaurant that happens to be the only one locally that has yum yum sauce. I’m not sure how a hibachi restaurant could function without yum yum sauce. The wait was long since they don’t take reservations, but the food was worth the wait. Most of us has the filet mignon, while Goalielocks and the Mayor had the chicken and shrimp pairing.
After dinner we headed back to the AirBnB to have birthday cake and play games. I had bought a cheesecake for Melly while we were out and about. Additionally, I had some super cute candles delivered with the cake. The card game was a ton of fun although the name escapes me at the moment. This morning we’re headed over to Snow Basin on the east side of the mountains.
Join me in wishing my hubby a very happy birthday! Today we chilled at home, which was nice. I’ve been a bit under the weather, in addition to the broken toe. Also, the Mayor was exposed to Covid last week, so today wasn’t a day to paint the town the red. (“Paint the town red,” what a brilliant bromide.) It really was a nice, low key day at home.
The hubby smoked a nice pork butt and grilled some yummy ribs. We used the ribs from Butcher Box for the first time today. While the ribs were tasty, they were pretty fatty. Moreover, some pieces had a lot of cartilage on them. Nevertheless, they tasted amazing. We also had some of the Hubby’s amazing grilled potatoes. Additionally, I air fried up some home made french fires. The food was awesome!! As was the company, since my brother was able to join us for lunch.
The Mayor tested negative on the rapid home test, but I still took him to Urgent Care tonight for a PCR test. Obviously, it’s never a fun time waiting at the Urgent Care, but the waiting room was mildly entertaining. First of all, the guy that came in immediately after us was looking to be seen because he got Palmolive (yes, the dish soap) in his eye. Given his conversation with the front desk, he’s definitely a frequent flyer. He was quite the character.
Secondly, a mom and her teen daughter came j for a Covid test. The daughter had two positive home tests and was coming in for the PCR. Wh they were in the waiting room, the mom called her daughter’s boss to tell him she wouldn’t been into work tomorrow. Moms, dads, guardians of the universe don’t do your kids dirty work. If they’re old enough to hold a job, they’re old enough to tell their boss they have Covid and can’t come in. #helicoptermom
I was also finally able to get my toe checked out by a doctor. Unfortunately, the urgent care (like many others) is short staffed and did not have an X-ray tech on staff today. Nevertheless, I was able to have a doctor evaluate it and re-wrap it. It’s broken, but I’ll go back tomorrow to have X-rays taken of my toe and foot. For the interim, the boot is back to ensure I don’t flex or bend the toe injuring it further.
*I still can’t run because my toe. It feels like deja vu.
*This morning I made homemade cookies and cream and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. For the Hubby’s birthday, we had ice cream sandwiches.
*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. The tropics are heating up again. Hurricane Ida slammed into Louisiana today at a Cat 4 storm. That is a scary!
*The Hubby picked up coffee for me today since I was not feeling great this morning.
* I watched the live Safaris on YouTube today. The safaris absolutely inspire me. The vistas are extraordinary and the animals wondrous. I simply have to see it in person!
*For dinner, we had bbq ribs, potatoes, baked beans and brags. It was awesome!
*The word of the day and it is excellence. I had an interesting conversation on the topic over the weekend. The thing about excellence is that it should come intrinsically. One shouldn’t be reliant on outside influences to find excellence.
*I took my puppies including sweetAnakin for a. I put on his harness every morning. Otherwise, I have difficulty controlling him on the leash. He’s incredible strong and can pull me off balance.
Let me start off this blog by wishing my mom a very happy birthday! Honestly, I wish we could be there to celebrate and with her a happy birthday in person. Hopefully, we’ll get to Minny sometime soon. Fortunately, they’ll be joining us on our trip west this fall to visit Jake.
As I celebrate mom’s birthday today , I’m reminded of precious years’ celebrations. Perhaps my favorite is when we celebrated her birthday as an entire family in Flam. It was wonderful seeing her sit between her mom and wonderful sister. Their smiles were boundless. Truly, it was a trip of a lifetime. I’ll never forget sharing this trip with my kids, my parents and my grandma. I’m also looking forward to returning to Norway.
Today was a great day for many reasons. First, we get to celebrate my mom – she’s awesome. Secondly, my friend and former employee (who I consider family) got great news today. His CT showed that the chemo is working! Hallelujah! I would, however, ask that you keep my friend B in your prayers. Lastly, I carried this positive energy with me all day at work. I freaking killed it today!
During lunch, I hung with the dogs and watch the ducks (Bitey 1 and 2) enjoy the mangos our tree dropped. Fortunately, the ducks didn’t find the mangos until after I took the dogs out. Before heading back to work, I spent some time meditating in legs up the wall pose to refocus for the rest of the day. This helps me expel the stress and energy of the morning. Consequently, Anakin tried to join me, which always makes me giggle.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I read Demons, by Dostoevsky. I am really enjoying this book so far.
*I absolutely slayed my day at work! That’s three days in a row!
*I ran 1.5 miles and walked a mile. Instead of working out in the morning, I decided to run after work.
*The family and I are back to watching Thirty Rock. We’ve now moved on to season six.
*I made a new beef tips recipe in the Instant Pot tonight. It was super yummy!
*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.
*There were big thunderstorms today all afternoon. I really need to look into a surge protector for my work equipment.
*Today’s word of the day is self. I love to recenter myself before heading into the second half of my day.
*I took my puppies including sweetAnakin for a walk. Did I mention I hate gnats, flies, and mosquitos? Thankfully, the fly traps arrived today. Emphatically, I’m absolutely sick of those little buggers.
Twenty-one and Father’s Day are the two big milestones we’re celebrating today. Of course, I’m also celebrating the fact that 21 years ago I was blessed to become a mother. Motherhood is an extraordinary gift, but being a mom to Jake goes beyond any earthly blessing I’ve ever received. When he was born, we were kids ourselves. He’s been our ride and die from day one. How lucky are we? Now he’s grown up and carving out an amazing future for himself in the military. Sadly, we’re not able to be with him today due to COVID19, but we’re together in spirit. Jake had wanted to share his first legal beer in the US with his dad, but the timing was a bit off. Fortunately, Jake was able to drink a beer with his dad while we were in Norway.
For twenty-one years Jake has been the center of our universe. I remember the day he arrived as if it was yesterday. My doctor was on vacation during the 38th week of my pregnancy. She made me promise that I would not go into labor until after 5:00 pm on June 20th. Fortunately, Jake and I were very compliant patients and my water broke at 1:10 am on the 21st. I figured that I’d end up needed a c-section like my mom, so you can imagine my surprise when he was born later that morning. From the minute he arrived, he was so sweet and loving. I was lucky that he was my first baby because he was so easy. Actually, his brothers are lucky that he was such an easy baby. If he had been like them as a baby, Jake may have ended up being an only child.
Jake’s First Day of KindergartenLast hug before Jake left for BMT
Jake changed our whole family’s world in ways that we never could have anticipated. You always have a certain perspective of your parents and then you become a parent and that perspective changes. Then you get to see them as grandparents, which is an awesome role. Jake was blessed with six grandparents, five great grandparents, and a great great grandmother when he was born. He was also blessed with aunts and uncles that have played a pivotal role in his life. In fact, they still play a pivotal role in his life. He was also blessed to spend a lot of time with his Great Grandma T as she babysat him while I was in school. To this day, they remain thick as thieves. Their relationship is a special gift.
My Parents’ Birthday greeting for Jake
Naturally, we were sad we couldn’t be there to celebrate his golden birthday with him. I assure you, however, that we’ll celebrate his birthday and his accomplishments when we see him again. When will that be you ask, I don’t know. He’s still in tech school and from there will move on to his base. Due to COVID, there are some regulations on the troops’ movements, so we’re playing it by ear. It’s a bit insane. Fortunately, my time as a hockey mom has prepared me well for my role as a military mom. I’m sure once he’s operational and traveling, my iteration of military mom will be quite similar to me as a goalie mom. If I had to guess, there will be some high anxiety and stressful moments. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to see him. It’s been great to see his awakening and call to a higher purpose.
While he was busy being awesome in the Air Force, my hubby was spending his Father’s Day working. Since he was working, the boys and I hung out around home with the puppies. I changed my routine a bit, so I went to yoga yesterday instead of today. Consequently, I ran today instead of running yesterday, which gave me an additional day of rest. Naturally, I watched Curb throughout the workout. Fortunately, it was my favorite Curb episode where he accidentally puts the condom on backwards. It is absolutely ridiculously funny. Thankfully, the extra day of rest minimized pain in the foot and maximized my performance. The fun when really well. Originally, I had hoped to run outside this weekend, but with a dew point at 80 that wasn’t going to happen.
After the run, we cleaned up a bit and made sure we had beer and steaks ready for dinner. I made roasted purple onions and potato wedges to go along with homemade cheeseburgers. This was another Blue Apron meal kit dinner and it was awesome. The recipe was easy to follow and mighty tasty. While I worked on the burgers, the hubby fired up the grill for the steaks I had bought. This was the easiest way to ensure that the hubby and Goalielocks would have enough red meat to leave them satiated. Meanwhile, the Mayor continues to be picking and unwilling to try new foods. Goalielocks and the Mayor have undergone a complete role reversal on this issue. Just when my picky eater starts to be an adventurous eater, my adventurous eater decides to be a picky eater. I can’t win to lose.
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