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Brief Update

I wanted to drop a brief update on the Mayor. He saw the surgeon this morning with the hubby. I’ve been bed-bound since Saturday with some sort of nasty bug, so I attended briefly via FaceTime. The bottom line she’ll be operating on him Wednesday afternoon. Since the break occurred earlier than he let on, she could see healing on the X-ray, it’s going to be a bit more extensive. To be fair to him, there was some swelling when he got home from Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t extensive and he had a full range of motion.

It also sounds like she’s treated plenty of hockey players. The doctor made comments on the toughness of hockey players and continuing to play through injuries. We had hoped that they’d be able to for surgery while he was awake. Unfortunately, given the extent of the damage and healing that has already started, he’ll need to be put under. Naturally, this makes all of us quite nervous. Today, the urgent care doctor I saw advised me to stay away from him until after the surgery to prevent him from contracting the nasty bug I’m currently fighting.

If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?

I wish my pets understood how much we love them. I think they have an idea. However, I would love them to know they’re completely and unconditionally loved. Both Anakin and Arrow have been at my side since I got sick. Anakin hasn’t left my side except to eat and go outside. I crated Arrow overnight since he marks, otherwise he would have spent the night by my side.

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Heading to the Hockey Game

The hubby and I are heading to the hockey game tonight. It’s always fun to go watch our Minnesota Wild take on our Florida Panthers. We’re Minnesota fans at our roots but have adopted the Panthers as our Eastern Conference team. Hopefully, both teams will look sharp tonight. All I want is a good game.

The Mayor, being a typical teenager, decided he would have a better time staying at home. At least the puppies will have someone to keep them company tonight. Predictably, he did text me as soon as we left asking for Sushi Yama. Because naturally, we have nothing to eat in the house. Never mind the three fridges, two freezers, and pantries full of food. It’s a hard-knock life.

The boys with Eric Haula and Goalielocks and Zach Parise

What makes a good leader?

A leader is someone who works to bring out the best in their people. To me, a leader is more of a coach than a manager. Anybody can manage people, but few can truly and effectively coach people. I’ve worked for plenty of people who thought they could, but they had the emotional intelligence of a hippopotamus. Unfortunately, they also had the temperament of a hippo. Sadly, the happy hippos seen in the Hungry Hungry Hippos’ commercials were a lie. If someone lacks emotional intelligence, they may be a great manager, but will never be a great leader. And now I’m working and heading to the hockey game!

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Prompts

I love the prompts from bloganuary. I participated in bloganuary last year and enjoyed it. First, it’s a great way to get back to blogging regularly. It’s also a great way to discover new blogs to read and meet new people. Of course, it also helps get the creative juices flowing, especially on days when writer’s block is killing you.

If you could un-invent something, what would it be?

I found today’s prompt thought-provoking with an easy answer. If I could in-invent something, it would be social media. Honestly, it’s turned us all into terrible, self-centered bullies with no sense of decorum. We have become inured to violence and bullying as internet trolls hide behind the safety of social media. Naturally, these internet trolls would never be brave enough to say anything or do anything in public, which makes them cowards.

Social media bamboozles people into thinking everyone else is living a perfect life. The problem is most people aren’t and the image being put forth on social media is fake. Or how about the influencers who are impossibly skinny, plastic, and over-filtered that create a false idea of what women look like.  Honestly, I’m glad I have boys, so I don’t have to combat the impact those images can have on a women’s psyche. My job is to ensure my boys can delineate what is true and what is false.

Perhaps in its infancy, social media did what it was supposed to do, which is connect us. Now it’s a bastion of misinformation, hate, fake images, and impossible beauty standards. Before the internet and social media, most uneducated fools had no platform to spread their garbage. Now social media amplifies their inaccurate and dangerous messages. In the final evaluation, I think we’ll find social media did more harm than good to our society.

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Snail’s Pace

My work computer is moving at a snail’s pace and it’s driving me absolutely bonkers. I hate when the laptop doesn’t want to cooperate. The system is moving so slowly that I’m worried it’s going to drop my calls. Of course, it’s hard to get a call when nobody can reach you via IM, so there’s that. At this point, I’m hatching a plan to try and fix the problem. Hopefully, it’ll stop moving at a snail’s pace and start moving at a cheetah’s pace.

Speaking of problems, were the walking wounded over here. The Mayor sees the surgeon next week for his finger. He’ll likely need surgery to fix it. The hubby has an MRI next week for his knee, which he blew out in Jiu Jitsu. Unfortunately, he’ll likely need surgery as well. And here I am with a bum knee from who knows what. Fortunately, I don’t think it’s a serious issue. Nevertheless, we are a bit of a mess.

Our weather here is sunny and 68, which while cool for South Florida is much better than the weather everywhere else. Up in Tally, they saw low temperatures in the single digits. In Orlando, they were near freezing. I thought we might get a little cooler with this front, but I guess not. At least we can give the AC a rest for a few days.

Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?

There are so many times in my life that I have felt loved. The time I’ve spent traveling with the kids has filled. That they desire to keep exploring the world with me makes me feel loved. And of course, my puppies make sure I know they love me every second and every minute that we’re together.

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Season Is Over

Well, the Mayor’s season is over. Of course, the orthopedic surgeon will have the final word. Hubby took him to urgent care last night where they confirmed the fracture via x-ray. The x-ray shows a nasty fracture but is a bit comical since it’s an x-ray of him giving the middle finger. Unfortunately, he will be seeing an orthopedic surgeon on Monday due to the severity of the fracture.

He originally injured his finger in Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t broken only a bit swollen. Of course, there may have been some mendacity on his part, so he could still play in Canada. I will say I’m a bit envious of his pain tolerance. The way he played and acted, you’d think everything was completely fine. We had to beg him to take ibuprofen to help bring down the swelling.

Where can you reduce clutter in your life?

Over the last twenty-four years or so of raising kids, we’ve amassed a lot of stuff. A lot of which is no longer necessary. We no longer need any of the hand-me-downs since the boys are all in adult sizes. Slowly, but surely we’re going through their bedrooms to clean out the clutter. Fortunately, we have a lot of stuff that we can donate to Goodwill, so these items will get more use. Some of the stuff, however, will need to go straight to the dump.

I started cleaning out the clutter from the laundry room and kitchen while the guys were in Pittsburgh. Honestly, it looks so much better and induces a lot less stress. We still have more stuff to work through, but hopefully, we’ll be fully de-cluttered in the laundry room and kitchen before the end of the month. Lord knows we will have plenty of time now that his season is over.

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Happy to be Warm

I am happy to be warm after a very chilly weekend in Canada. The Mayor and I had a great time, but I hate wearing multiple layers. Additionally, I hate the feeling that your fingers are going to fall off when you try to pump gas. Who needs windchills below zero? Not this girl; that ship has sailed for me.

I will admit, the falling snow Saturday evening was absolutely beautiful. Winter driving is for the birds. Fortunately, the temperature was warm enough to prevent the roads from icing over. I did, however, have to drive through quite a bit of snow going to the second game Saturday night. While Saturday’s temperature was manageable, Sunday’s weather was offensive. The chill of that winter wind is something you never forget, which is why I live in Florida.

The drive back to Detroit was uneventful. We didn’t see the sign advising us to “don’t pick up hitchhikers, prison area” that we saw on our way to Canada. They must have had some issues with jailbirds hitchhiking their way away from prison. I did think my fingers were going to fall off when I was pumping gas. To be blunt, I was thrilled when we took off leaving winter behind. The flight home was smooth and we even saw the SpaceEx launch from the plane. It was amazing to see, but impossible to photograph. Anyway, I’m happy to be home and happy to be warm.

What is your favorite animal?

What a silly question. Everyone knows my favorite animal is a dog. I love them. Our dogs are such a big part of our family. Maya and Athena, even though they left us physically are never far from our hearts or thoughts. Dogs love their family unconditionally and are always by your side. Their loving disposition and loyalty feed the soul. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that most dogs are super cute.

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Snow Storm!

We are in the midst of a snow storm here in Sarnia. It was absolutely beautiful earlier this evening as the snowflakes began to fall. Nevertheless, the beautiful snow also inspired some deep seated anxiety over driving in the snow. After all, this is the very weather we moved to Florida to avoid. Fortunately, it’s remained warm enough, so the roads, while wet and snow covered, were not at all icy.

Tomorrow morning, however, the temperatures are supposed to fall into the low twenties. I am a bit nervous the roads may get icy. Perhaps will have a plow come through cleaning the road and paving the way for us as if we’re dignitaries. (Wishful thinking obviously!). It’s also supposed to start snowing again midday Saturday. In all, they’re expecting anywhere from 6-15 inches of snow. Fortunately, the Mayor and I both upgraded our winter wear yesterday. Needless to say, my anxiety over driving is making me feel like a curmudgeon.

What snack would you eat right now?

As I write this, I’m enjoying some yummy breadsticks and cheese. I saw these at Walmart this morning and had to buy them. They remind me of spending weekends at my grandmas and eating Moo Town Snackers while watching Saved by the Bell. We ate in between games, which made for a really early supper. I’m a bit hungry, so this was the perfect sized snack.

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Made it to Sarnia!!!

We made it to Sarnia! Our flight to Detroit was smooth and uneventful. Fortunately, the drive to Sarnia went as smoothly as our flight. We’re just over an hour north of Detroit. The views of Lake Huron as we came over the bridge into Canada were stunning. Our hotel is a block off the St. Clair River, which is a beautiful location.

The town itself is a bit sleepy at least compared to what we’re used to back home. We had dinner at Bad Dog, which is a just down the street from the hotel. After dinner, we all hit the sauna and pool, which was the perfect anecdote to a busy travel day. The games and apparently the snowstorm start tomorrow, so it should be a fun day.

Come up with a crazy business idea.

Maybe it’s my inner curmudgeon speaking, but people’s behavior on airplanes grinds my gears. I would open a business that teaches etiquette to airplane passengers, so the poor behavior we see in airports would stop. Today on our flight, someone got up and out of their seat as soon as we landed. Who the freak does that? It’s never good when a flight attendant reminds you to stay seated while landing and until you get to the gate. People are special. Anyway, I’m just glad we made it.

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Headed North

Tomorrow morning the Mayor and I are headed north to Sarnia for a hockey weekend. While I’m looking forward to the adventure, I’m not looking forward to the possible snow storms I see forecasted. Unfortunately, there’s no good airport to fly into in Sarnia, so we’ll be flying into DTW and then headed north via rental car to Sarnia. Truly, I hope the drive to and from the airport is snowless with clear, dry roads. I’m praying for snow-free commutes.

The Mayor and I on the Rideau Canal


Today, I’m just finishing up work and packing. I had planned to run, but the universe had other plans. Arrow tried to decapitate me last night by jumping on to our bed, while I was bending over to remove my ankle brace. I don’t know if it was poor timing or if Arrow’s depth perception is as bad as mine, but he jumped straight into the side of my head forcing my head to turn completely to the right. Ouch! Fortunately, my head doesn’t hurt and there are no symptoms of a concussion. Unfortunately, the left side of my neck and shoulders is a completely different story.

Arrow’s favorite outdoor snack

Needless to say, I’ve been alternating between ice and heating pads on my neck and shoulders. I’m hoping it isn’t as stiff tomorrow or that will make flying miserable.  As I’ll be away for the weekend, I placed a Target order to ease the burden for the hubby. While I didn’t run today, I did walk the dogs at lunch. Anakin is always on the hunt and was trying to catch a pollinator, aka a bee, today. He usually catches his prey, but thankfully he didn’t get the bee. Meanwhile, Arrow just uses the hibiscus bushes as a crawlway where he can find pretty blooms to eat.

Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?

My great grandmother made me a quilt when I was born. It’s blue and has nursery rhymes on it. The design isn’t dated, and, in addition, it’s a pretty large quilt compared to most baby quilts. My desire was always to pass it on to my kids, but I had boys three boys. Currently, the quilt waits in an upstairs closet to be passed down to the first grandchild. Boy was that a weird sentence to write. I tell you what, every know and again the realization that we’re closer to grandkids then having kids stops me in my tracks. Where has time gone?!?!

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Stormy Weather

There’s stormy weather everywhere today. My weather app is beeping constantly with new watches and warnings for the areas I track. Unfortunately, my oldest two are currently under tornado watches. Here in South Florida, it is exceedingly rainy. I don’t think they expect storms here until later this evening. Hopefully, it won’t be anything severe.

I’m thankful the storms don’t bother our dogs. Otherwise, we’d be in for a long evening. Since the weather isn’t great, I opted to spin over lunch instead of running with Arrow. It’s also a nice break for my joints. Although I have to be honest, since I started wearing On Running shoes, I have very little pain after a I run. This is truly a miracle given I have torn tendons and ligaments in both ankles and feet.

What is your mission?

My mission is to make this world a better place. I became resolute in this mission after working with a woman so toxic and terrible that my only response was to be the exact opposite. When I tell you she was a terrible person, I am not overstating it one bit. She is the kind of person that can find something wrong with every person, moment and situation. Further, she would make it her mission to make people feel as terrible as she clearly felt about herself. After working with her, I should have been awarded a diploma in abnormal psychology.

It was the realization that her self hate drove her behavior that drove me to take another approach. Obviously, we can’t make someone not hate themselves. We can, however, be the antithesis and go out of our way to make people’s days brighter. We can be a harbinger of joy and kindness that seeks to make the world a happier and better place one interaction at a time.