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Holiday Break is Over

My holiday break is over, so I’m back. Well, at least I’m back to blogging. Fortunately, I don’t have to return to my day job until the third of January. While I’ve been off, I’ve been nursing a Christmas cold/allergy misery. Unfortunately, this mean I also had to take a break from running and working out. Thankfully, I was able to go back to working out yesterday. Truth be told, my lungs were not super thrilled with the run. Today’s run went much better.

It’s been so nice having Jake and my folks here. I’ll be so sad when they leave. I’m sure they’ll be sad to leave, the now nice, Florida weather behind to return to the reality of a northern winter. Nonetheless, we experienced a shortened Florida winter from Christmas Eve until yesterday. In fact, Goalielocks even turned on the heat upstairs for one night. To be fair, it was in the 40s, which makes for a mighty cold shower.

Most of Christmas Eve and the days before were filled with baking esculent treats. My mom and the boys baked a couple rounds of mint cookies after I mixed up the dough. While they baked the cookies, I mixed up some joulutorts (Finnish stars cookies) to bake later. I also baked some peppermint patty cookies and rosettes. The rosettes were a pain in the ass to make, so I’m not sure I’ll make them again. We did attempt to make lefse, but there was a mishap in the fridge. I made Prosecco parfaits for Christmas Eve dinner. Lastly, I made my infamous caramel rolls.

I usually make the caramel rolls one time each year. They take a long time and they’re definitely not compliant with any diet. The kids have protested that I should make them more. In fact, it’s been mandated by the family that I make the rolls one more time this holiday season. Consequently, I’ll be baking more yummy caramel rolls on Saturday morning before the holiday break is over.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: Ran two miles, walked one. Hamstring Opener Restorative practice via Practyce App.
  • Book: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
  • Blog: almost done
  • Today’s song: Rock Show by Blink 182

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Early Rise

It was not an early rise for me this morning. I’ve gotten into a good rhythm of going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday since last spring. It’s actually an important part of the Calibrate program. Sleep hygiene is an integral part of living a healthy and balanced life. I’m hopeful that I can return into my normal program tomorrow. Truthfully, the late nights that started last Friday have got me off my routine.

One part of my routine that I’ve managed to maintain, despite the late nights and burgeoning cold, is my workout routine. I had such a long hiatus from working out due to my thyroid running hot. Now that I’m able to workout again and gotten back into the routine, I don’t want anything to knock me off my game. Originally I had planned to run a mile, but I was feeling good so I ended up running 1.5 miles and walking a mile. While I was working out, the boys and grandma made cookies.

Before I got to my workout, my mom, Jake and the Mayor and I ran to Target to pick up some goodies. We got lots of supplies for making cookies and pickle roll-ups. Clearly, there will be no shortage of goodies in our house over the next few weeks. I wanted to buy Arrow a cute wooly sweater, but they didn’t have his size. Consequently, I ended up getting him a cute pair of thermal pajamas. Tonight we took the grandparents down to Melly’s house to. meet the great grand birds. And now I’m headed to bed, so I can be ready for an early rise.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: Sweat HIIT beginner week 2 full body workout and a 1.5 mile run
  • Book: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
  • Blog: almost done
  • Today’s song: O Holy Night performed by Celine Dion
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Winding Down the Weekend

We’re winding down the weekend with a nice quiet Sunday evening. Fortunately, Comedy Central is running a marathon of The Office tonight, which is the perfect way to relax. I mean, who doesn’t love the antics of Michael Scott and his epic movie Threat Level Midnight. While we watched The Office, Arrow went to the groomer for a bath and haircut. The groomer loves Arrow. Tonight he even picked out his own bow tie.

While the Mayor and I picked up Arrow from the groomer, the hubby started dinner. Tonight’s dinner was steakhouse pork chops with roasted potatoes and broccoli courtesy of HelloFresh. Truly, I enjoy trying new recipes and foods through HelloFresh and Blue Apron. It’s a great way to try new foods without much risk. Moreover, the cost of food through HelloFresh has been cheaper than the prices at the grocery store.

Friday night we had a late high school hockey game. Yesterday we went to Luke’s goddaughter’s birthday party. It was a bit of a last-minute deal, but it was a great time. They catered the party with Park BBQ, which was really good. My friend Hanh makes the most incredible cakes. To be honest, I’m not sure why she doesn’t make cakes full-time. Her cakes are better than any cake you’d find in a bakery. She’s so talented!

I had a blast playing with Ava and her mermaid. We ran around the house for a good hour or two, while everyone else watch the Panthers game or played cards. Fortunately, I was able to distract her long enough that mom could grab a shower. Three is such a fun age, but when you’re the parent of a three-year-old it can be exhausting. Being an aunt, however, is so much fun.

We ended up staying out much later than anticipated. I mean two late days in a row knocks me off my ass. To be fair, I define late at this stage of my life as 10:30. Nonetheless, I’m not great when I deviate from my routine. I think the late nights combined with the weather resulted in the massive sinus headache I’ve had since yesterday. I took some prednisone this afternoon, so hopefully, my sinuses will open up. Originally, I had planned to run two miles today, but the headache sidelined those plans. Consequently, I’m taking an extended break from my running.

Despite the sinus headache, I still managed to have a petty productive morning. I got the pantry and countertops cleaned off this afternoon. The kitchen, less the top of the island, is looking pretty good. My Christmas decorations have been put out. I love my Juleniss, or as we call them here Christmas gnomes. They’re super cute. I still have to decorate the tree and hang the God Jul sign, but I have plenty of time to finish those tasks. And now I’m going to finish winding down the weekend with a nice, steamy shower and a soothing restorative yoga practice. Happy Hanukkah to all our Jewish friends!

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Christmas

We had a great Christmas even if it was a little more low key than previous years. My Christmas started when I rolled over in bed and the Mayor was there to wake me up. As soon as I rolled over, he asked if it was time to open up gifts. Spoiler alert, he also did the same thing the next morning only that time he was asking to go to Dunkin’. Eventually, the Mayor was able to coax me out of bed, so he could open gifts.

The bigger hurdle in the early morning wasn’t me, but Goalielocks. Unsurprisingly, he took awhile to wake up. Once up both boys were excited to open their gifts. Honestly, it was a weird holiday since they opened some accessories, but their main present was still in transit. This year we bought to big family gifts, a squat rack and a new tv for the loft. Naturally, the boys were excited for both.

Our annual Christmas brunch was an absolute success. Fortunately, we had very little leftovers, which is great. I certainly don’t need to eat caramel rolls for a week. We put Anakin in his crate since he gets aggressive when people come into the house. Unfortunately, he doesn’t do well with very little kids, so he stayed in his crate until Ava left. Meanwhile, Athena was showered with lots of sweet love and attention by Ava. Athena was so patient and loving with her.

Some how we started watching the Best of the Crocodile Hunter, so that was the background music to our brunch. I forgot how much I loved Steve Irwin and his show. He had the best energy and was just a riot to watch. Shortly, after I told my brother Jake probably wouldn’t be able to c due to work, Jake called. Honestly, Jake’s call home was the best gift ever. After company left, we napped and relaxed before heading to the Kennedy’s for dinner.

Dinner at the Kennedy’s was wonderful. As always, Hanh cooked an absolute feast for everyone. She’s an amazing cook! After dinner, we had some drinks before deciding to play some games. Note to self, the games may have gone better sober. We had an absolute blast playing Heads Up and Scattergories. I’ll tell you one lesson the Hubby and I took away from the evening, the Mayor isn’t allowed to play Scattegories with the grandparents. All in all, Christmas was a wonderful reminder of how blessed we are.

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Christmas Eve Eve

It’s Christmas Eve Eve and I’m not any closer to being ready for Christmas than I was this time last week. I’ve still got a ton of baking and shopping to do. Not to mention the horrific job of wrapping the presents. I literally hate wrapping copious amounts of gifts.

Tomorrow I’ll be baking the Finnish cookies, more mint cookies, parfaits, caramels and I’ll start the caramel rolls. It will be a busy day in the kitchen. I’m excited for the Finnish cookies. This year I’ll be making them with cloud berry jelly, lingonberry jelly, huckle berry jelly and gooseberry jelly. These jellies will also go great with the krumkakes I’m making Christmas morning.

I’m excited to make the caramels. I haven’t made them in over twenty years. They’re a bit time consuming, but they are mighty tasty. I’m also going to experiment with trollkrem, which is a Norwegian dessert. I’ll be using the lingonberry jelly to make it since I couldn’t find lingonberries anywhere stateside. We’ll see how the day goes because if I run out of the time, the trollkrem will have to wait for NYE.

It was a bit funny at work because the first email said we’d be getting of three hours early on Christmas. Christmas Eve is the 24th of course, but since Christmas is Saturday my company is observing Christmas on Christmas Eve. Consequently, that makes today Christmas Eve in the eyes of my company. Thank goodness this wasn’t confusing at all.

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Almost Christmas

It’s almost Christmas and I’m nowhere near ready. I think, like most other parents, I find December to be completely overwhelming. The only kid I’ve finished shopping for is Jake. However, I had to finish shopping for him early due to potential shipping delays. As for everyone else, I still have a lot shopping to do. I also have quite a bit of baking to finish.

Tomorrow I see my endo, which I’m excited for. I’m back to being hyperthyroid, which is no good. I’d like to be sure that I still have the all clear to workout. Unfortunately, hyperthyroidism can come with some nasty and dangerous cardiac issues, which is super lame. Nevertheless, I’m hoping I don’t have to wait for my thyroid levels get back to normal before I can workout again.

This is an expected bump in the road. Our bodies are always changing, so the Synthroid has to be adjusted accordingly. Nonetheless, I have so much to do that I don’t need anything else to worry about. I recently saw a meme that speaks to how most moms feel this time of the year… There’s so much for us to do that it can be overwhelming. Especially as we as it’s almost Christmas.

Yesterday Goalielocks had games because the league never returned out coach’s call. We had two kids out sick with COVID exposure, but since we’re not the Makos we played with a short bench. I keep reminding myself that we only have a short time left in this infuriating league. Honestly, I’ve never seen a league that applies the rules so disproportionately.

Moreover, this is the first league we’ve been apart of where the rules that are adopted are punitive or the kids and not the adults. For example, the league penalizes thr kids instead of punishing coaches or organizations. (and Like the Makos U18AA head coach coming into my kid’s locker room to recruit players before our game.) A player has to play single A because the percentage of returning players is too low on the AA team. How about instead of penalizing the kids, you penalize the known offenders?

Anyway, Goalielocks and his goalie mate had great games. We ended up winning the first game 4-2. Goalielocks had the best game I’ve seen him play in awhile. Although to be fair, I’ve missed a lot of his games this season. His goalie partner was equally impressive in the second game. They’re such a great tandem. They really enjoy each other’s company and support each other. It was a great Sunday for our Tendies!

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Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. As I write this, we’re still celebrating with family at my brother’s house. I thought I’d write while we wait for the the steaks to be finished. Lord knows I could use some protein after carb loading this morning. Speaking of morning, I started my day early since I decided to make a double batch of caramel rolls.

Before we opened presents, I started the second batch of caramel rolls. Meanwhile, I set out the first batch to bring the dough back to room temperature. Fortunately, the boys sleep in later on Christmas morning now that they’re older. I even managed to make a quick trip to Dunkin to grab a coffee before we opened presents.

It was awesome having Jake back home to open presents. We definitely missed him last year. Although he was the highlight of last year’s brunch when he called us from BMT to wish us a merry Christmas. I know having him home for the holidays is the equivalent of winning the military lottery, so I’m cherishing our holiday all together. I was definitely filled with jubilation when I heard his leave had been approved.

We had a wonderful brunch with family and friends, who have become friends. In addition to our traditional mimosas, I added a peach Bellini to the drink menu. Additionally, my sister-in-law added some coquito to the mix. Unbelievably, we went through more than 40 rolls, a pan and a half of cholesterol bake, hash browns and countless cookies. Needless to say, we were all in a carb coma after the meal.

Afterwards, we cleaned up the leftovers, while the Roomba vacuumed up for us. The hubby took a quick nap and then we headed over to Mel’s house for games. At Mel’s we played dachshund themed Monopoly game followed by poker. I lost badly at both games.


Now we’re finishing the day at my brother’s house with another awesome meal. Fortunately, this one is heavy on the protein. Albeit, I couldn’t pass up Brandi’s incredible hash browns. Consequently, I have now eaten enough in one day to meet my calorie requirement for the rest of December. For the love of humanity and my clothes, I should probably fast all day tomorrow. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

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O Tannebaum

O Tannebaum that wonderful Christmas song celebrating the arboreal symbol of our greatest holiday Christmas has been playing in my head since yesterday. Last night, we put up our new tree. I had ordered it after Thanksgiving and they finally delivered it yesterday. To be fair, when I say we, I really mean the hubby put up our new tree. While it needs some plumping and some time to decompress from its packaging, it still looks pretty good. Immediately, it’s presence transformed the house into a place of holiday warmth and good tidings. It’s no wonder we left it up so long last year. It’s hard to be upset or disappointed when looking at a beautiful tree.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to start decorating the tree tonight and this weekend, which will only add to the cheer it brings. This year I’ve added a few Air Force ornaments to celebrate Jake’s service. Over the years, I’ve also picked up Christmas ornaments throughout our travels. Scandinavians know how to do Christmas, so I bought plenty of Christmas decorations while in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Not only do they represent our heritage, but each decoration carries with it memories from our travels. Consequently, since we haven’t been able to travel much this year, our memories of journeys past will have to sustain us during this time of pandemic.

As we get ready to decorate the house, I’m reminded of how much I need to bake. This year I’m planning to make Pulla (Finnish cardamon bread,) Joulutortu (Finnish Christmas star cookies,) mint cookies, Krumkakes (Norwegian cookies,) Kringla (Norwegian cookies,) and lefse. Ordinarily, my mom and grandmother make molasses cookies, which I love. I have found, however, that with the humidity in Florida it is hard to make good molasses cookies. They usually come out to wet or way too dense. Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to baking this holiday season. For the star cookies and krumkakes, I’m planning to use cloudberry, lingonberry and blueberry. My personal favorite is the cloudberry.

Unrelated to Christmas, Anakin starts puppy kindergarten today. He really needs training as it has been delayed due to COVID. Due to the pandemic, we’re bringing someone into the house to work with him one on one. He’s a fabulous puppy, but he needs to be better trained. I’m excited to see how he does with the trainer.

And now for some entertainment, here’s the Mayor singing his version of O Tannebaum on a random drive to the rink nine years ago.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read The Idiot, by Fyodor Dosytoevsky

*It’s day 5 of BBG 3.0 week 4 and I’m doing the ab workout today. If it’s anything like the other two workouts, it’s going to kick my butt.

*Today I ran one mile and walked a mile today.

*Today’s word of the day is propine, which means a gift.

*I’m looking forward to crashing on the couch after work with my beloved puppies!

*Before I crash with the puppies, I will be cooking up a delicious meal courtesy of HelloFresh.

*After today, my running streak stands at 4 days.

*I love the footprints the puppies leave on the patio when coming back in every morning. Today’s footprints may have included some ashes since they knocked over the grill. There are, however, no kitties in this house.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today Anakin is wearing his Christmas bow tie. He looks mighty dapper if I say so myself. Naturally, I bought all three dogs Christmas outfits. I can’t wait to share the pictures with you. You’ll love them!

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Introducing Flat AB Jake

Introducing Flat AB Jake our personalized, more handsome and improved version of Flat Stanley. Let me bring the uninitiated up to speed. For those of us whose kids went through elementary in the last decade, we were subjected to literary character Flat Stanley that travels the world. Each kid in class brought a paper Flat Stanley home for a weekend to take wherever they went. The kids would then take pictures or document their travels in a journal. 

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I got the idea for Flat AB Jake through the Air Force Moms BMT page on Facebook. By the way, This group has been a godsend. Instead of the character, you make your airman into a paper “Flat Stanley.” You take them where ever you go and then take pictures. When you write your airman next, you include the pictures of you and your Flat AB.

We made them up on Christmas Eve. I printed two versions a large headshot and a smaller standing pose. I printed it on card stock, so the paper would be relatively firm. My hubby, who is a rockstar, cut them out using an exacto knife. Needless to say they came out better than I expected.  Since we were going to church with Mel, Jake’s girlfriend who we adore, and her family I was able to bring her both versions. She loved them! Fortunately, I was also able to get a picture of Flat AB Jake enjoying her duet (O’ Holy night and it was awesome.)

As we move through the weeks of training, you’ll see AB Jake make numerous appearances. It’s beneficial to always have him near, but it’s more beneficial for him to see he’s always in our hearts and on our minds. We had our first Christmas without him yesterday and that was tough! As a family we did, however, get some pictures with Flat AB Jake.

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We did get the best present a parent could ask for yesterday: a call home from our airman. I was near tears as my phone started to play Teen Spirit, which is my custom ringtone for him.  It was a spiritual experience.  He sounded amazing. To hear the confidence and happiness in his voice was beyond reassuring. I felt a weight literally being lifted off my shoulders as he told us he had found “where he belongs.”  He met the PT requirements his first week out and is now working with his FLT to exceed them together. He is wearing the blue belt as described in my week one post.  Jake described with joy how close he and his fellow airman had become. It was clear in that phone call that he had made several life long friends.


Perhaps the best part of the call was that it happened while we had Christmas Company. Jake has a lot of people in his corner and a lot of them were able to speak with him and wish him well. My sister in law, who is a genius and makes the best cheesy potatoes, suggested conferencing my parent. We were able to do that successfully and my parents were able to hear first hand how well he is doing. More than anything hearing his happy voice made our Christmas wonderful. It’s still tough to imagine that he’ll miss most Christmas celebrations in years to come, but he’s a part of something bigger than himself, loving it and service his country. We couldn’t be prouder of our AB Jake!

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Merry Christmas Eve Eve

Merry Christmas Eve Eve or as they say in Norway merry little Christmas Eve. With only one day left between us and the Christmas holiday, I find myself woefully unprepared. Nor do I find myself with any desire to brave the South Florida retail scene or roads. Of course, after getting a flat tire on my way to yoga, it’s not like I’m super mobile.

I have finally started my holiday baking. Although I’ll be baking significantly less than last year. This year I’ll be baking two or three different cookies versus last years’ smorgasbord of baking. Fortunately, I may even be making a double batch of my famous caramel rolls. We’ll see!! I’m waiting on the final headcount from the hubby.

Today I spent a peaceful, serene day with Ava. There’s something about holding and rocking a newborn that is soothing for your soul. We hung for a bit while mama headed to her doctor’s appointment and vet appointment. Newborns develop so quickly. It’s awesome to see how she’s grown and developed from Friday to today.

I was going to cap my day with a peaceful and zen yoga practice with Debbie at Open Heart Yoga, but my back tire did not cooperate. Instead my knight in shiny armor came and put on my spare, so I could get home safely. Fortunately, I have a yoga silk, so I was able to do some stretching and inversion work.

Meanwhile in San Antonio, Jake started WOT 2 or week 2 of basic training. We’re hoping to hear from him via letter, carrier pigeon, marching band or a phone call. There’s some speculation on the Air Force Mom BMT group that’s the MTI’s will let them call home, but it’s not guaranteed. My fingers, however, will stay crossed in hopes of receiving a phone call. Anything that would help me gauge how he is doing at BMT.  I miss my boy!

 

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