It’s game day! We’re headed to Fort Myers for the first game of the junior season. The change from youth to junior hockey is big. I’m excited to see what the season brings. Hopefully, the drive across the peninsula is quick and uneventful. I’m bringing the big camera, so hopefully I’ll have some good pics to share.
How often do you walk or run?
I run six days a week for usually forty five minutes. I’m loving Apple Fitness + treadmill workouts. The coaching and intervals are really helping whip me into shape. After a month of doing these workouts, I see a big difference in my fitness level.
Today’s run was challenging. Heck all of the runs this week have been challenging. First of all, I can’t remember the last time I ran outside. I think it may have been in time immemorial. Running outside is harder than running on the treadmill, but I also found it way more rewarding. Secondly, I’ve been in an autoimmune flare for over a week. This means everything is angry including my stomach and lungs. To be fair, my lungs have been angry since we were hanging out in the smoke filled Minnesota air in May.
5 day streak! Hit my goal
I’ve got an appointment on Wednesday with my doctor to make sure I’m in the right meds for the allergies and asthma. I do hate taking prednisone though because it keeps me up all night. It should, however, help fuel my workouts. Now I’m sure you’re wondering why the hell I’m working out through a flare. The answer is simply because it helps alleviate it. I cannot express how much better feel mentally and physically after working out. The key is to not over do it. Running on a track this week was the perfect way to get my workout in without being too far from home or the bathroom. I should also mention my Endo and PCP are both on board with my workout routines.
Tomorrow and Sunday will be full rest days, less some restorative yoga and Pilates. Since I ran hard all week, I’m going to enjoy a full 48 hour break from the cardio. I’ll be staying Kayla Itsines HIIT program Monday. I finished her beginner program last week. I started back at he beginning since I had taken quite a bit of time off and I don’t need to hurt myself. Her workouts are great! They will definitely make my muscles quiver. The morning after leg day is usually the worst.
How would you design the city of the future?
If I could design the city of future it would be walkable and full of coffee shops (including my personal favorite Dunkin Donuts) and dogs.
Yesterday morning we headed to beautiful Snowbasin. The boys and I did this hike with Melly last year and we all loved it. Consequently, I was eager for us to do it again. To get there, we had to drive through the beautiful canyon. The drive through this canyon takes a bit longer as it’s one lane each way and there’s some road construction. Nevertheless, it was a spectacular ride.
Snowbasin was quite busy when we got there due to a Xterra trail race that was happening that morning. Additionally, they also had a Germanfest starting at noon. Surprisingly the top of the mountain was not crowded. The ride up the gondola was breathtaking with fall colors all around us. Fortunately or maybe unfortunately, we were all able to fit into one gondola car. Goalielocks and the Mayor in that close of quarters is never a good combination.
While we went to hike to the summit, my folks walked the area near the ski lodge. The trail up to the summit is fairly easy. Albeit it didn’t feel easy on the way up. The hike starts at 8,500 feet, so it’s only a gain of just over 500 feet. It, however, felt like I hiked an elevation gain of 1,000 feet. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful hike up to the summit of Mount Ogden.
We spent twenty minutes at the summit taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful views of the Great Salt Lake to the west and the valley and mountains to the east. As we sat, the boys started a game of seeing who could hit the sign with the most rocks. It was a funny moment and a great way to catch our breath before heading down the mountain.
After Snowbasin we headed back to the AirBnB to enjoy our leftovers from Hibachi. Post lunch Grandma, Jake, the Mayor and I headed to Walmart to pick up packing supplies and few additional items. I was anxious to get some chapstick as my lips were killing me. The air is so dry out here that I also had buy some hand lotion.
The rest of the day we chilled at home. For dinner, I made beef tacos. I cooked up three pounds of beef and we don’t have too much meat left. We’re trying to eat at the AirBnB as much as possible since it’s cheaper and healthier. After dinner, we played the game Hot Seat, which was a ton of fun.
If you haven’t watched the IT Crowd, you’ve got to check it out. It’s on Netflix and is absolutely hilarious. Jake got us hooked on this show while he was in tech school. My favorite episode by far is “The Outing.” Honestly, it’s probably one of the funniest episodes of any show I’ve ever watched. I’m just chilling watching the show while the Mayor is at practice and Goalielocks is attending his officiating seminar.
Admittedly, I’m a bit tired today. I slept okay, but it would appear I went a little too hard on leg day. When I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, oh the glories of motherhood, it took me forever. I could have used a railing to help me sit down and get up. My quads and my hamstrings are completely shot. They’re so sore that I had to skip my run today.
I kept Goalielocks home from school again. He’s still not feeling 100%, so I didn’t want to send him to school symptomatic. His Covid test was negative, but I’m pretty sure “sharing isn’t caring” also pertains to the common cold. Nonetheless, I’m anxious to get him back into school, so he doesn’t fall too far behind. Fortunately, neither the Mayor nor the Hubby have shown any signs of illness.
*I skipped my run since my legs were ridiculously sore today. I did, however, complete my BBG arms/ab workout. Naturally, I feel that in skipping my run my workout today was insufficient.
*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. The tropics are heating up again with three areas of concern. Unfortunately, the heat has really cranked up due to the Saharan dust cloud overhead.
*Since Goalielocks is home sick, I drove to pick up my coffee this morning.
* Every day I watch the live Safaris on YouTube, I’m inspired. I never thought I’d be one for a safari, but the views and the animals are incredible. It’s now on my bucket list. Today was a banner day. I always love watching the young elephants or lions playing. They’re so cute!
*For dinner, I ordered Chipotle. The Mayor has practice late and Goalielocks is in a Zoom seminar until 10, so it was just more practical to order in.
*The word of the day and it is canvas. At work, I think of every day as a blank canvas. I don’t want one bad day of derail my week or month.
*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.
It’s low carb Tuesday here today. Actually, too be completely accurate, it’s really low carb intermittent fasting Tuesday. However, that’s a mouthful and not a great title for a blog. This week has I’m starting the 5:2 plan by Dr. Moseley, which is a variation of intermittent fasting. To be clear, I’m following the updated version, aka the Fast 800 diet, which calls for eating 800 calories two days per week vs. eating 500 calories two days per week.
When I got diagnosed with Graves, I followed this regimen with much success. Importantly, my endocrinologist approved of this diet. In fact, I can’t imagine how much weight I would have gained if I didn’t follow it. After all, I went from super active to no exercise at all and no thyroid. Coincidentally, it’s not the optimal recipe for weight loss success. Oh the joys of looking at food and gaining ten pounds.
Now my thyroid levels are normal, I should be able to lose weight. It will never happen quickly for me since I’m a thyroid patient, which is a total bummer. Nonetheless, I plod tirelessly towards my goal of recapturing my health and my former dress size. Here’s the lesson, whether the weight loss is happening at your desired rate or not, keep doing the right things and eventually it will come. For me that’s following Noom, enjoying my low carb Tuesday, getting enough sleep and exercising every day.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I read the Norse Queen by Johanna Wittenberg. I love it. Queen Asa’s love interest is now an expatriate courtesy of his evil half brother.
*Goalielocks made it home safely from Orlando around 1:30 this morning.
*I ran 2 miles and walked a mile. It went really well, which was fantastic. I’m not going to let anything break my streak.
*The family and I are watching The Simpsons now that we’ve finished our movie and dinner.
*The Hubby cooked a Blue Apron meal kit for dinner. Tonight we had some type of pasta.
*After dinner, I successfully made ice cream!
*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.
*Today’s word of the day is whirlwind. It’s been a whirlwind of success and joy since I started my new job.
*I took my puppies including sweetAnakin for a walk. Today he didn’t pull my arm off or anything like that. I put on his harness, so I’d have more control over him outside. Also, the flies are still here. Did I mention I hate gnats, flies, and mosquitos? I was finally able to hang the fly traps. Nobody loves flies.
Two weeks! The countdown is on my friends. In two weeks, get to see my airmen again. I haven’t seen him since his BMT graduation. Moreover, his brothers haven’t seen him since they told him goodbye at the MEPS hotel on December 9th. Obviously, it’s been far too long since they’ve seen each other. This military mama’s heart is full; it is full of love and anticipation. Over the next two weeks, I will subject you to a countdown calendar. Just be glad that it won’t be as awful as Andy’s Christmas countdown gift to Erin in The Office.
My day started on a bright note. My hubby offered to pick up my morning coffee since he was working from home today. I really needed some extra sleep. Perhaps you remember from yesterday’s blog that I was so tired I was channeling my inner Madeline Kahn in a theatrical number. I did have an early business meeting, so I had to get up and get dressed. After my business meeting, I took to the workout mat. Friday is Abs day on the BBG program. It was a great workout.
Fortunately, I had some time to eat a quick snack and get some work time between my BBG workout and yoga. One thing I always look forward to on Fridays is my Gentle Flow class. Today’s session was no exception. We did a lot of ab and hip work. Needless to say, after an hour of BBG abs and yoga, I’m going to be quite sore tomorrow. Indeed, it was the perfect way to end the workweek. Afterward, I went to yoga teacher training, where we spent more time learning anatomy and physiology.
Meanwhile, the tumult and turmoil that is tryout weeks continues. It’s honestly sickening. I don’t know why we put ourselves through this year after year. We must be crazy! Unbelievably, we don’t have that many seasons left. Consequently, I opted to stay home tonight. So the hubby has the Mayor at two different rinks tonight. Goalielocks left super late and is exhausted, so we gave him the night off. The last thing we need is for them to weaken their immune system or get sick. After all, in only two weeks, we’ll be headed West to visit Jake.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.
*Gentle Flow with Jennifer from Open Heart Yoga Studio
*I completed a morning and afternoon meditation.
*Took Anakin out to go to the bathroom. He was quickly hunting the butterflies and dragonflies.
*Instead of going to Target to buy groceries, my lazy self ordered them via Shipt.
*Week 9 BBG 2.0 day 5 abs and yoga.
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Oh Wednesdays…. “Wednesdays are like Mondays in the middle of the week,” so said Lee Fox Miller. Who is Lee Fox Miller, that’s a fantastic question. I found the quote on the internet and liked it. For all I know, he could be a made-up character. Comparatively, Winnie the Pooh had an excellent quote for Wednesdays, but it was a bit too long for the title. Anyway, if Wednesdays are like Mondays, then I love Monday because today was super productive.
My day was to start with an early business meeting, so I got off to an earlier start than usual. Naturally, I grabbed my Dunkin’ before getting ready for my meeting. The meeting was supposed to be at 9:15. I waited and waited, but she didn’t show up. Since she was in Texas, I thought perhaps she had made a mistake in the timezone. Fortunately, we were able to connect later in the day to reschedule the meeting.
Consequently, I started my BBG arm workout right away. As luck would have it, I finished the third circuit at 10:13. I logged into the google hangout in case she was coming at 10:15, but it was a no go. Alas, I jumped back into my workout and finished the fourth circuit and the cool down. I was dreading some of the exercises like the caterpillar walk, which I have done since round 1 of BBG. Excitedly, it was easy today. In fact, it served as a good barometer for my progress since starting the program in December.
The rest of my day was just as productive, I took a delicious slow flow yoga class with Ava. It was utterly divine and left me feeling invigorated and relaxed. Post yoga, I enjoyed a lunch of steel cut oats served with vanilla almond milk, honey and mixed berries. It’s part of my efforts to eat less inflammatory food. Honestly, it tasted so good! After lunch, I went to work and had another extremely productive day.
Today is not just Wednesday, it’s also my mom’s birthday. Please join in wishing my mom a very happy 64th birthday. I wish we were able to celebrate with her and sing the Beatles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four” to her in person. In the interim, this Youtube video will have to suffice:
*I was determined to hit all my professional and personal goals today and I did! I love Wednesdays!
*I enjoyed the beautiful frondescence of my vegetable garden. Did I mention that today didn’t suck?
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Celery juice fun, seriously? There’s no such thing. I’m in desperate need of some title ideas. To be fair, I am on day two of the Tony Robbins lemon water and celery juice thing. I say a thing because I’m not sure if it’s a challenge or a part of the diet. Needless to say, celery juice has been recommended to me several times since I’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. It’s not completely horrible, but it’s a bit bitter and the celery burps are the worst. Nonetheless, I drank it like a champ and will do so again tomorrow. After a week of shooting celery juice in the morning, we’ll see how I feel.
This morning I had my annual physical at my lady doctor. I dread going to the doctor even though I go all the time. I masked up for my appointment and happily found the waiting room near empty. Moreover, the happiness continued as I didn’t have to wait long before being seen by the doctor. I was on a happiness role until the medical assistant made me step on the scale. Queue the sad music. From there, it didn’t get any better. In fact, it got worse much worse. Next she told since I was now 40, I’d be getting a pap smear, prescription for a mammogram and a rectal exam. Say what? This is 40? Honestly, I was mentally prepared for the mammogram conversation, but I got to be honest the rectal exam took me completely by surprised.
So there I sat in disbelief with an episode of Family Guy playing in my head. In this particular episode, Peter goes to the doctor and gets his first prostate exam. Consequently, he feels quite violated and sues the doctor for rape. The episode is hilarious. Indeed now here I am trying to square my incredulity of what’s about to happen with the hilarity of Family Guy. Naturally, I’m trying to play it cool and not break into fits of laughter or tears. Oh yes, it is good to be 40. When it finally went down, I wanted to ask her if she found a prostate to keep the moment light, but I chickened out. In all due seriousness, these things are not fun, but they’re super necessary for continued health.
After the trauma of the doctor’s office, I went straight to work. Today was another great day of work. Honestly, today was productive and I set another meeting for Wednesday. My goal is to set at least one meeting per day. Aside from setting the meetings, I’ve been connecting with some super talented people, which is always excited. There are a lot of people doing big things in the health and wellness industry right now. But back to my professional goals. If you or anyone you know needs branded gear, let me know. I’d be happy to help.
My work uniform really confuses my children. Ordinarily, I’m an excellent dresser. I have a closet full of professional clothes that would make your head spin. Since my new role is entirely remote, I’ve deviated from my usual high standard in dressing. Now my go-to is yoga pants with a blouse. My new style says gym on the bottom and office on the top. My boys, however, thought I had reverted to my preschool days where matching clothes was a challenge. However, now that they understand my work world exists in Zoom, they understand the dress code.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.
*Morning and afternoon meditation: I love the brass sound of the singing bowls.
*I drew a blank when thinking of a title for the blog, so now it’s about celery juice.
*Took Anakin out to go to the bathroom. He was unstoppable in his pursuit of the lizards.
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It was a glorious holiday weekend, which I decided to take off after tequila derailed my good intentions Saturday night. Honestly, I had a lot of emotions swirling in my head. This July 4th was my first Independence Day as a military mother. Truly, I have always loved the patriotism and fireworks that come with the fourth. Naturally, it was more poignant since my son now serves. Unfortunately, I found some of the inane drivel on Facebook disheartening. While I understand things are not perfect here, to say that there is nothing to celebrate, is an insult to the men and women who have defended our freedom since we declared it in 1776. In fact, if I was wealthy, I’d pay for the plane ticket to leave, but alas I’m not wealthy so they’ll have to leave on their own volition.
Anyway, we had a really good fourth of July. We spent the morning just relaxing around the house with the puppies. After lunch, I dropped Goalielocks off at his friend’s house to hangout social distancing style. Meanwhile, my Hubby and the Mayor headed over to our neighbor’s for a BBQ. Once I got back from Boca, I headed over to there as well. Not to worry my friends, this BBQ was outside with ample room for social distancing. We also enjoyed enough margaritas to kill any virus, bacteria or parasitic infection once could encounter in Florida. The decision to imbibe was made somewhat impetuously, but the night was fun.
Sunday was a lazy day. Neither of us felt like doing anything, so we binge-watched the Jeffrey Epstein documentary on Netflix. If we didn’t feel sick to our stomach before, we certainly did after watching the documentary. We haven’t even finished it yet, so I can’t imagine how much worse it is going to get. In 2005, we relocated to Palm Beach County. As the Epstein story started to leak out, it was obvious that there was a major issue there. I mean, in what world is it acceptable for a fifteen-year-old to massage a naked middle-aged man. Right?!? The fact that it’s 2020 and justice hasn’t been served makes me sick. Hopefully, Ms. Maxwell will sing before she ends up dead in her cell.
Last night, we headed to Boca to have dinner and game night with Mel’s family. Naturally, we were missing Jake and her mom. We began our evening with yummy grilled chicken, some veggies, chips, and a cookie cake. Yum! Afterward, we played some games, which were a lot of fun. Goalielocks and the Mayor love playing Jackbox. We played two games on the system. The first was one where you have to finish a sentence or describe something. People then vote for the best response. In the end, Goalielocks won that game. The second game was a murder mystery trivia game and I won that. It’s a lot of fun.
Afterward, we headed to Aunt Kathy’s house to play “Murder.” What’s “Murder” you ask, it’s a hyped-up version hide and seek. One player is the murderer, one or two are a sheriff and the other are prospective victims. First let me say, my night vision sucks. Naturally, I didn’t excel at a game that relies on a night vision. Perhaps the best moment of the night was when Mel, my hubby and I all ended up in the same hiding spot. We were trying so hard not to laugh, but we were failing miserably. In the end, my hubby was the murderer that round. Consequently, Mel and I were eliminated immediately. And by immediately, I mean instantaneously to the game beginning.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte. It is an absolutely amazing book.
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Clueless: classic 90s movie or adjective describing 99% of Facebook users? It really could be either. Since I’m in a good mood after a productive day, however, I’m all about the classic movie. When I first saw the movie, I shopped at Contempo and owned the As If shirt showing in the window. Nevertheless, I hadn’t yet read Jane Austen in any capacity let alone Emma on which the movie is based. Now I’ve read all of Jane Austen’s writings and loved them all. On this matter, I may disagree with Charlotte Bronte: who argued Austen was not great as she was no poet. At any rate, the movie is a complete classic that brings back great memories of my freshmen year.
Before I got to chill and enjoy Clueless in solitude (Goalielocks has been cleaning upstairs, while the Mayor and the hubby were at the rink.) I had an incredibly busy day. My morning started with my BBG ab workout, which went right into my yoga class. Admittedly, my BBG ab workout took more time this morning because I had a workout partner for the last circuit. Unfortunately, Anakin is not the best workout partner. He loves to crawl under me when I’m in tabletop, downward dog, plank, mountain climbers, etc. Additionally, he likes to give kisses and lick people’s ears, which doesn’t work too well when you’re wearing air pods. Surprisingly, I still managed to be on time for my yoga class, which was awesome.
I had only a few minutes in between my yoga class and teacher training. Consequently, it was a mad dash to reheat leftovers for lunch and brew some coffee. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough in my mad dash and ended up being a few minutes tardy. Today’s class focused on anatomy again, which I really enjoy. It’s always nice to put a name to the things that hurt. I kid, I kid. Truly, it is important to understand the structure of the body if you’re going to be teaching yoga. This is key to understanding the poses and helping prevent injuries. Honestly, the training went super fast.
Tonight we had an amazing dinner courtesy of Hello Fresh and Chef me. I cooked Szechuan pork and green bean stir fry. First of all, I should say that the meal was really easy to cook and was done within thirty minutes. Second of all, it wasn’t too hot spice wise, which made it perfect for me. Initially, I picked this meal out with the Mayor in mind. He likes a spicy and sweet flavor palate, but boy was I wrong. My boy has a strong streak of stubbornness in him these days. Consequently, he hates everything associated with Hello Fresh and Blue Apron. In fact, he found tonight’s meal repugnant. As for the rest of us, we were anxious to get seconds. The joys of parenting are boundless, especially at mealtime.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.
*Gentle Flow with Jennifer from Open Heart Yoga Studio
*Morning and afternoon meditation
*Took obligatory picture of Anakin! It turned out super cute!
*I watched Clueless on Hulu while the boys were at hockey.
*I am relaxing on the couch watching Rick & Morty free of the stinky flatus of my boys.
*This month it will be a year from my layoff from KHE. It is an anniversary I look forward to celebrating.
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