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5K Goal Slayed

I slayed my 5K goal this morning. After a six-year absence from running races, I am back!!! I’d be lying if I said it felt fantastic, but it didn’t feel terrible either. Perhaps the worst part of running a 5K is having to get up before the sun rises on the weekend. After years of doing that for hockey, I quite enjoy sleeping in on Saturday. Nevertheless, I left my house just before 6:00 this morning.

To train for the 5k, I’ve been doing 45-minute treadmill workouts through Apple Fitness. I was nervous that the training wouldn’t translate to the road, but fortunately, it did. I think before my next 5K, I’ll throw an outdoor training run in there. Thankfully, cooler weather should arrive shortly, making outdoor training possible.

As for the run itself, the first mile was horrible. The entire time, I was questioning my sanity. Honestly, who tortured themselves like this? As mile one ended, however, I found my rhythm and started to feel pretty good. Miles two and three were slower than mile one, but they felt comfortable. I grabbed a water bottle at the first water table. Thankfully, I was able to store it in my leggings pocket when I wasn’t drinking.

As I came to the finish line, I felt like I had more in the tank. Importantly, I only almost threw up once after the run. Thankfully, I didn’t. After finishing, I walked for fifteen minutes to cool down my legs and lungs. Next time, I’m not going to stop running at the finish. I’ll slow down gradually before walking it out. This should prevent me from getting sick. I’ll In the end, I took second place in my age group. My time was just over thirty-two minutes, which was better than I anticipated.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: achieved! The new goal is to finish in under 32 minutes at the next 5K.
  • 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.

What’s your all-time favorite album?

Oh man, this is a hard one. I think after looking at this through multiple prisms, Green Day’s Dookie is my favorite album. It was one of the first CDs I had and has influenced my musical taste ever since.

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Hump Day

It’s hump day! Today has been good so far. This morning I did a spin class as soon as I woke up. It’s a great way to get me fired up for the day. I’m not sure I ride as hard in the morning as I would in the evening, but getting the work in is still important. I will say drinking Nuun right after brushing my teeth does make my mouth pucker. I fell asleep on the couch after walking the dogs post-spin. Apparently, I needed an early morning nap.

For the first time this week, the phones have been good to me. I needed a solid production day, so I’m pleased. Also had a PPC meeting this morning, which is always great. I love my crew. I put together a more formal document to keep our business straight. It’s nothing fancy, but it will help us become more efficient. Hopefully, the phones will be kind to me for the rest of the day.

Last week I finished Kayla Itsine’s Beginner HIIT workout on the Sweat App. It’s eight weeks of workouts that gradually build in intensity and difficulty. This week I started week one of Kayla Itsine’s HIIT program (OG BBG workout.). It’s so tough, but it’s so good. The combination of strength and plyometrics is exactly what my body needs. Truly, it complements the cardio and yoga work I was already doing. Happy Hump Day!

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

If you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?

Where does one even start with this one? I think we have a lot of ridiculous laws on the books. However, the one law I would change or create would be to institute term limits for Congress. Happy Hump Day!

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Check In

We’re finishing the first full week of February, so I thought I’d check in with my New Year’s resolutions. As I thought about them during my workout, I thought about how resolutions can quickly become meaningless. For me, this year’s resolutions were about committing to making myself and my life better. I do, however, miss those afternoon lattes.

My strength work today was brutal, so I had to give myself pep talks to get through it. I had to remind myself that the hard I’m doing is to make me better. Learning to persevere through the hard, brutal stuff like burpees with pushups, helps us persevere in other areas of life. I also felt immensely proud and satisfied when I finished the workout, giving it my best. In my formative years, I remember my parents being committed (they still are) to their daily walk. Seeing their commitment to their fitness and wellbeing has stuck with me.

2024 was rough, but 2025 is all about becoming a juggernaut. And by juggernaut, I mean the best version of myself. The schedule change has helped. I love getting up working out and then starting work. By the time my lunch hour is done, I’ve completed my workouts for the day. Once I’ve finished working for the day, I’ve completed all the items on my to-do list except for reading. I read every night, so that’s an easy checkmark on my to-do list.

Do you need a break? From what?

I absolutely need a break from 2025. In fact, I’m quite confident that I’m not alone in this feeling. The world is a scary place right now and life is tough. I think we’d all like to take a collective deep breath before rejoining 2025.

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Made it

We made it to Friday and the end of eternal January! I will tell you what it seemed like this week and the month would never end. Honestly, I am stoked for a weekend without work. Tomorrow we’re headed to brunch, the Panthers game, and the casino. It should be a spectacular day. Sunday the Mayor has his second to last league game at Skate Zone. His team is playing the second-place team, so it should be an amazing game.

January was long and arduous, but it taught me a few lessons. Importantly, I took two key lessons away from our Nashville trip. First of all, the party bus taught me that I need to stretch before I “get low” again. Secondly, I hate the cold. I legit cannot cope with the cold dry air that winter brings or the icy roads. Outside of the Nashville trip, this January I learned that blizzards can come to Florida. Okay, it wasn’t a blizzard by Minnesota standards, but certainly was by Florida standards. January also taught me that while time flies by on a macro scale, the month of January lasted 17 years. I’m just glad we made it to the end.

Goalielocks at the Beach Volleyball Social

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): 31 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

What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?

I’m afraid to skydive. There’s nothing you could do to induce me into skydiving. I have no desire to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

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Friday!

Yay for Friday! It’s the first Friday of the year and I’m here for it. I’ve only been back at work since yesterday, but two days is enough. Honestly, I can’t complain too much as the last two days have been chill and productive. Yesterday was a lot better, but today has been a bit slow. It does, however, feel good to get back into a routine.

Speaking of routine, I’m dipping my toes into the shallow end of the pool in the exercise space. I have a long and dramatic history of doing too much too soon with poor results. Consequently, I didn’t do the spin and strength double header I had planned for today. The doubleheaders can wait for next week. Fortunately, the full body Sweat workout was fire! It definitely got my heart pumping.

A little late, but still funny and accurate

After a break for holiday baking, I’m back on the sourdough train. I’ve stopped buying bread since I can pump out several loaves a week. I love bread, but there’s so much garbage in store-bought bread. For folks like myself and the Mayor, the garbage can increase inflammation and make managing our autoimmune disorders more difficult. This, however, doesn’t stop me from eating a Reese’s peanut butter cup. But I guess that’s what we call balance. Happy Friday!

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): compliant so far
  • Top performer at work: it’s been one day, but so far so good
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

What colleges have you attended?

I attended the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities campus for my undergraduate degrees. Where I earned a BA in Political Science and a BA in History. After I attended Purdue Global (aka Kaplan University) for my MBA because it was free and required for promotion. While I enjoyed the online delivery of my MBA, I can’t say that it had the same academic rigor as my undergraduate experience. Honestly, it was a bit of a quagmire. I don’t regret pursuing my MBA, but I feel I would have gotten more out of an in-person MBA program.

Our song of the day is Fame

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Blah

Blah, is there a better word to describe your first day back in the office after two weeks off? I mean maybe, but Meta would probably take down my post if I used it. I’ve been back at work since 8:00 am this morning with the picturesque view of my two monitors, laptop, and flat-screen television. Fortunately, the call volume and quality have been decent today, so I can’t complain too loudly. I am, however, exhausted.

Today is day two of no afternoon latte and what a terrible New Year’s resolution. I could go for a nice, hot latte right now. To be clear, my afternoon homemade coffee is still in play. I’ve almost finished it. Yet, here I am at the peak of exhaustion. I had hoped the lunchtime spin class would give me a boost, but nope. I guess being tired is just a constant state of being as an adult. Somehow I must have missed the warning on the lameness of adulting.

I had high aspirations for my time off, but I accomplished very little. At first, I was a bit annoyed with myself, but after the year we’ve had I decided to give myself grace. More than anything, I needed to rest, relax and reset. The to-do list, which is never-ending, could wait for the start of the new year and our return to routine. That’s not to say I did nothing as I still managed to knock some meaningful items off my to-do list.

So my blah day back to work also means the return to routine, which I crave. At this point in my life, I need routine. It keeps me disciplined and working on my goals. The Mayor’s all set for school, so no longer chasing labs, endos, or medical records is a big weight off my shoulders. The remainder of my to-do list is quite manageable. And with that, I’ll get back to it.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): compliant so far
  • Top performer at work: it’s been one day, but so far so good
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

I play with my puppies everyday. It’s just goofing around in the house or on our walks. We have a lot of fun.

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Sixteen Days

Sixteen days until the kids get married! I can’t believe it’s nearly here. As finally preparations are underway, it’s nice to cross items off my excel wedding project plan. Yeah, I know I’m a dork. You need to keep track of many things to ensure their special day goes off without a hitch. (See what has to be done there?) We’ve got nearly everything set to go for the rehearsal open house. I put the blog on the back burner for a bit as I concentrate on wedding planning.

Since most guests are from out of town, we held an open house rehearsal dinner for everyone instead of the traditional limited dinner. The menu is simple and consists of their favorite things (i.e. pizza and wings,) which I have to order next week. Naturally, we’ll have plenty of liquor and beer. Thankfully, the wedding isn’t until 5:00 pm Saturday afternoon. Since we are having alcohol, we had to pay for security, which will be Jake’s favorite gatehouse guard.

As the march to the wedding continues, I’ve set myself up on a three-week fitness plan with Apple Fitness Plus. Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about their classes or their trainers. To get myself wedding-ready, I ramped up my treadmill workout to forty-five minutes instead of thirty. This went well Monday, but not so much today. I either rolled or sprained my left ankle, who knows how, so running was an absolute no-go today. Consequently, I ended up walking the workout. I did manage to get through Pilates and yoga with a few adjustments. T-minus sixteen days!

What do you think gets better with age?

I think life gets better with age. Old age is a privilege denied to many, so aging is a gift. What’s not a gift is the aches and pains that come with aging that stuff is for the birds. The experiences, people, and adventures that come over time make aging a pleasure.

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Cleaning update

Well here’s the spring cleaning update. I have a lot of stuff and not enough places to store it. While cleaning out the closet, it struck me that I had a ton of old jerseys and concert t-shirts lying around. They’re not just lying around. Currently, I have them all organized in tubs on my closet floor. Since we’re at the end of the hockey parent journey, I think it’s time to make the boys each a quilt of their old jerseys. As for the concert T-shirts, I might make those into a quilt for myself.

The other big update from my spring cleaning is that I desperately needed a step stool. I can’t easily reach the top of my closets, cabinets, or bird feeders. Also, I don’t want to be climbing on top of the new washing machine to put things away. Consequently, I got myself a new step stool via Amazon. This way I can put things up high without putting myself in peril. Now I need to focus on improving the storage options in our closets and bedrooms. This way our space looks organized and not like a place where someone is dorming.

What is the legacy you want to leave behind?

My kids will be my legacy. I hope they approach life with kindness, love, and a sense of adventure. Moreover, I hope they make a conscious choice to make this world a better place by the way they interact with people they meet.

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Cold Weather

How do you feel about cold weather?

How do I feel about cold weather? Well, I moved to South Florida in 2005 from Minnesota and haven’t looked back. To be fair, however, I would love for the heat index to be lower than 100 today. That said, I prefer the steadiness of Florida’s heat to Minnesota’s rollercoaster weather.

Ironically, I couldn’t tolerate the cold when I lived in Minnesota. Now that I live in Florida and have been diagnosed with Graves, I can’t tolerate the heat. Thank god my kids play hockey! One of the nice things about a warmer climate is your old injuries don’t hurt as much. Those old injuries resurface as soon as I travel north into the cold.

Enough about the cold weather though, we had an awesome weekend. We played games, ate pizza, and watched the Panthers beat the Bruins with Jake, Melly, and Company on Friday night. It was an awesome hockey game and fun to share the experience with our expanded family. Saturday we headed to Fort Lauderdale for a birthday party. We had the best time. It was nice to actually leave the house.

I spent yesterday trying to shake off the sinus headache that had started Saturday. It took all day and several Aleve, but I did feel better by the end of the day. I did, however, manage to make some bread and get the laundry done. Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to making the cookies our graduate wanted. The hubby and I started watching the Timberwolves game last night. It was game 7 of the series. Sadly, it didn’t start well. Consequently, our superstitions from hockey left us to turn off the game. It was a happy surprise waking up to see the Wolves win.

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So Short

I wish the weekend wasn’t so short. You blink and it’s Monday. This weekend was especially quick for me since I worked half the day Saturday. The second half of the day I spent baking bread. I started my baking frenzy with two sourdough loaves. While those loaves proved, I started the sourdough chocolate star bread dough. Fortunately, I had my timing down pat, so both loaves of bread turned out great and not under or over-proved.

Sunday I set out to bake two loaves of French bread and then bake a deep-dish pizza for dinner. I’ve made the French bread loaves several times now, so it goes pretty smoothly. I was a bit worried about the pizza dough, but that was easier than I thought. While both turned out well, I’d make some alterations to the pizza recipe. Honestly, we liked the taste of the crust and sauce. When it came out of the oven, however, it looked like it had a trifling amount of filling instead of being full of cheesy goodness. Next time, I’m going to double the cheese and double the sauce. Now it’s Monday and contrary to my weekend it’s not so short.

Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.

The most ambitious DIY project I’ve ever taken on is probably starting my sourdough baking obsession. I don’t do any DIY around the house as my husband is the absolute expert there. Starting sourdough, even as an experienced baker, was a bit intimidating. With practice, it’s becoming easier. Nonetheless, the sourdough starter can be an absolute heartbreaker. To make it more manageable I’ve started keeping it in the refrigerator during the week. This way I don’t have to feed it daily anymore.