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Spa Time

It was spa time for me this afternoon. After a long absence, I finally spent some time at Massage Envy where I have probably 30 plus services built up. Since my favorite masseuse wasn’t available, I opted to get a new type of facial with my favorite practitioner. This time I got a nourishing light facial, which uses a bright led light to treat your face.

I wasn’t sure how I’d like the facial especially when she first out the lights on my face. The last was so bright that it felt like I was looking directly at the sun even with pads and goggles over my eyes. I’m sure I looked like an oddity. Before she put the lights on my face she did a cleanser, masks and a gel. While the lights are on your face, they massage your hands and arms, which feels spectacular. Afterwards, they put a cooling mask on your face and massage your face with cooled globes. It feels absolutely exquisite after the heat of the lights. I’ll definitely get a nourishing light facial again.

Before I went for spa time, I hit the spin bike. Today I did an hour class on the JRNY app. Unfortunately, Apple Fitness + doesn’t have classes over forty five minutes. The shorter classes are perfect for weekdays during lunch, but I wanted a longer class for the day off. Today’s class was a ass kicker. It was sixty minutes of intervals, hills and sprints. By the end of the class, I was toast. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the jump from a forty five minute class to sixty minutes.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 60 minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of JRNY
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: intransitive. Intransitive is a type of verb that reminds me how much I hate grammar.
  • Today’s song is Everybody Talks by Neon Trees

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Thrifting

I spent my morning thrifting with my dear friend Terri. Although to be fair, at this point she’s more family than friend especially since her daughter will be marrying my son. Needless to say, it’s wonderful to have a friend that’s also family. We spent the morning looking for treasures. Truly there is some gold to be found in our local thrift stores. They have everything from designed clothes to beautiful glassware.

I didn’t end up buying anything. At Goodwill, I found some “Paige” jeans, but I don’t think they were authentic. They also had a pair of 7 For All Mankind, but they weren’t my size. To be clear, I’m not a prolific thrifter although I could easily become one. Years ago, I’d shop the Goodwill on Palm Beach Island that has since closed. You could literally find gold in that store. They had Gucci and Jimmy Choo shoes along with other super high end designed clothes. Honestly, it was weird seeing shoes priced over $100 at Goodwill, but Jimmy Choo shoes don’t come cheap.

I love the idea of thrifting, consignment, or reselling stuff on eBay or postmarks. First of all, if you donate clothes, the profits they create help the less fortunate. It also provides families with an affordable way to buy clothes in a difficult economic time. I sell my higher end clothes on eBay because it gives them second life. Consequently, there’s less waste. Just because I no longer have room for an item in my closet doesn’t mean it won’t look good in somebody else’s. It drives me nuts when people throwaway things that could be reused.

Before I headed out to my fun day thrifting with Terri, the Mayor and I headed back to Boca Ice. Let me tell you, 5:30 comes early on Saturday morning, but that boy is worth it. He loves working with Joni and I can tell he’s always giving 100%. It’s easy to out of bed early and spend the money when you see the effort he puts into the lesson. Moreover, Coach Joni puts a ton of work and thought into each lesson. I love how he’ll film the Mayor doing a drill and then show him the video immediately, so the Mayor can see what he did well and what he needs to adjust. It’s phenomenal.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: rest day!
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: whiskers. Anakin, Arrow and Athena have very cute whiskers.
  • Today’s song is Sauvemente by Elvis Crespo
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Wrecking Ball

Do you ever feel like you wanna crash into someone like a wrecking ball and shake some sense into them? I’m currently at that place and would love to crash through my hubby’s boss’ wall like the Kool-aid man and slap him silly. It’s been ten weeks since he last paid my hubby. Ten mother fucking weeks of bullshit excuses. Worse than that, the Hubby has been home from work since the beginning of February.

If you know my hubby, you know he likes to work and he’s really good at what he does. Being off for an extended period of time just isn’t in his nature. Naturally, he’s been trying to fill the gaps with side jobs, but that can only take you so far. Consequently, here I am singing Miley Cyrus wanting to drive down to Dade and shake some sense into his boss.

Whoo, now that I got that out I feel much better. I’m so pumped that it’s Friday afternoon. The weekend is just mere hours away. I’m looking forward to tacos tonight, the Mayor’s private lesson tomorrow morning, and coffee with my dear friend Terri. It’s also my rest day, so I’m gonna try to work in an excellent yin practice sometime tomorrow. Unless I still feel like being a wrecking ball because in that case, I’ll probably go with a power vinyasa class.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: satyr. A satyr is a lascivious demi-good from Greek mythology and is sometimes seen as the companion of Pan. Used in a sentence: the satyr hid in the kudzu vine out back.
  • Today’s song is Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus
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Yummy

Last night I cooked a yummy dinner courtesy of Blue Apron. We alternate between HelloFresh and Blue Apron depending on the available meals. One thing that I love about the delivered meal kits is the variety it has introduced into our diets. We’re eating a broader range of vegetables and flavors. For example, last night I roasted and tasted Romanesco cauliflower for the first time. Honestly, it’s a vegetable I probably never would have tried if it weren’t for the meal kit.

I like Blue Apron because they use ingredients that are easy to find or replicate. Whereas I’ve found it more difficult to find some of the ingredients of HelloFresh. Last night’s meal was baked chicken topped with tomato sauce, Gouda, and fontina cheese. Naturally, being that I’m on a metabolic reset program, I look for meals that are healthy. This one fits the bill perfectly. Moreover, it was so tasty and easily replicated with items from my local grocery store. If you’re looking for some yummy and healthy meetings give Blue Apron a try. They’re currently offering $110 off when you order through this link: click here

Thank goodness making dinner was stress-free because Anakin had to make the night interesting. I don’t know how he does it, but he finds creatures in the lowest light and catches them. Unfortunately, He looked excited and ready to party as soon as he caught that road. Anakin caught a poisonous toad last night. Consequently, the Mayor and I were trying to rinse out his mouth as much as possible. Anakin, meanwhile, wanted nothing to do with the water. Eventually, we were able to somewhat rinse out his mouth and he was acting normal. Fortunately, he’s a big boy as those toads can kill small dogs.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: exoskeleton. As in I heard the spider’s exoskeleton crunch as I stepped on it.
  • Today’s song is TQG by Karol G and Shakira

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Player of the Game

The Mayor was the Florida Panther’s player of the game last night. The Florida Panthers Scholastic Hockey League (FPHSL) chose him for the honor last weekend. They provided a number of questions for him to answer for the feature. His first answer to why you love hockey was “hookers and blow,” but obviously that response didn’t make the Final Cut. (In case you’re curious, there’s actually a book on Amazon called Hookers and Blow Save Christmas.)

We’re quite proud of our player of the game. Meanwhile, he was a bit embarrassed and asked me not to post the picture on Instagram. To everyone that texted, messaged, or hit me up on social media last night, thank you. I loved hearing from so many people that have been on this hockey journey with us. You guys have made our hockey experience incredible. At any rate, it was a nice way to cap off hockey season. Although it did keep me up way past my bedtime.

Prior to the Panthers game, I was calling all my previous PurpleStride team captains that haven’t registered. It was all part of our national registration day. Fortunately, it was a success. Our efforts yesterday have paid dividends and will continue to do so as the week progresses. Honestly, we have the best working group ever. I love being a part of our PanCan affiliate. We have the best volunteer group in the world. If you or your teen is looking for service hours in the South Florida area, please let me know.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: exoskeleton. As in I heard the spider’s exoskeleton crunch as I stepped on it.
  • Today’s song is Sweetness by Jimmy Eat World
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All-Star Game

Last night was the Mayor’s All-Star game for high school hockey. The teams were divided by north and south. Unfortunately, for the Mayor and the north team, the south side was victorious. Nevertheless, it was a fun evening of hockey. He got to play again with some previous teammates and some other friends, which made it great.

Photos courtesy of Elizabeth, Sara and Erica

As for us parents, we enjoyed the all-star game from the comfort of the bar. Well, everyone less my hubby. He was asked to coach the game, so he was on the bench with the Mayor and the north team. The all-star is one of those games where the coaches just roll the lines, or at least they should, and manage the bench. Really, I think they were there to look pretty and prevent mayhem from breaking out. I’m sure the hubby wouldn’t have minded being disqualified from coaching, so he could watch the game from the bar with the rest of us.

Some action from high school courtesy of Pam!

The hardest part of the All-Star game was the incredibly late evening. We didn’t make it home til well after 10:30 pm. Consequently, I didn’t make it to bed until after 11:00 pm, which is significantly after my school night bedtime. Nonetheless, I still managed to read a good 10-15 pages of Proust. It’s not an easy read when your awake, so it was definitely a challenge to read while sleepy last night. Also, I turn into a bugbear if I don’t get adequate sleep.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Today’s song is All Star by Smash Mouth

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First Weekend Off

It was our first weekend off since hockey ended. I thought my liver would recover nicely now that hockey season was over. As it happens, this proved to be an entirely false hypothesis. It all started Saturday afternoon in our driveway with the neighbors. The boys were watching glue dry (literally) and the wives joined them to enjoy some drinks. Before you knew it, we ended up heading to a restaurant with the guys in hard hats and high-visibility vests.

Sunday we headed to brunch with my friend Scott. He and I worked together at Progressive many moons ago. In fact, he first met me when I was pregnant with Zachary. We met at JB’s on the beach in Deerfield Beach. It’s an awesome place, but the whole rigmarole of traffic was too much. Deerfield Beach is one of those places you need to get to extremely early if you don’t like traffic. Nevertheless, the view, the food, and the company made suffering through traffic worth it. Our first weekend off of hockey was a smashing good time.

I crashed, however, as soon as we got home thanks to the mimosas. Fortunately, I woke up in time to see Kaprizov score a hat-trick and steal the game from Columbus. The kid is incredible. Speaking of hockey, we didn’t fully take the weekend off from hockey. The Mayor started lessons with Coach Joni early Saturday morning. Joni is an incredible skating coach, so I’m excited to see the process the Mayor makes under his tutelage. They’ll be working together weekly. Tonight the Mayor will play in the high school All-Star game, which should be fun.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Today’s song is Radiate by Jack Johnson
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Calm

It was a calm morning in our house today. In contrast with yesterday’s actual shit show. Fortunately, the illness that caused the overnight loss of bowels and bladders is gone. It was a bloodbath yesterday. This morning all three puppies are happy, and healthy and didn’t leave a mess in their crates this morning. I even got to watch Bake Off before starting work. Of course, yesterday morning was also hectic because I had a lab appointment at Quest. It’s never fun going to Quest during the snowbird season.

One of the things that has always bothered me since moving to South Florida is having to go to Quest or Lab Corp for blood work. Thankfully, my primary doctor does it in the office. My Endo also has a lab in the office, but it’s not in my insurance carrier’s network. It’s so mind-numbingly infuriating that health insurance makes it so cumbersome to get care. I hate waking up at the ass crack of dawn to get blood work done. Nor do I enjoy scheduling bloodwork out four weeks because it’s season and every Quest around me is booked for weeks.

I was hoping to have the blood work back today, but no such luck. They’ll likely send the results Monday. This time they ran a test to measure inflammation, so it will be interesting to see what that shows. This particular test, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, is helpful in diagnosing inflammatory diseases like lupus and RA as well as helping determine a patient’s risk of heart disease. My family has a well-documented history of heart disease, so I’m curious to see what it shows. This test can also shed light on whether another autoimmune disease is in play for me. So here I am calm as a cucumber waiting on my test results and working.

Meanwhile, my back is still bothering me on my right side where the shingle patches were. I thought I pulled a muscle in bed, but maybe it’s related to the shingles. The location is certainly suspicious. I’ve been treating it with a mixture of camphor, lidocaine, and balsam. Thankfully, Tiger Balm and Salonpas put all that goodness into wearable patches. Otherwise, it can be a literal pain to use either.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Today’s song is fun and a bit risque! Enjoy Lady Marmalade from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack
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Winter Weather

As winter weather bears down on most of the country and our family, our climate continues to be beautiful. The skies are blue and the temperature isn’t ridiculous, nor is the humidity out of hand. It’s the kind of winter day that one moves to Florida to enjoy. The Hubby and Mayor met Grandpa Steve and Grandma Linda at Benny’s on the Beach, while I, unfortunately, had to work. The view from Benny’s is gorgeous. The view from my desk, however, is not so much.

As a kid, when a winter storm was approaching, I would eagerly watch the closings across the bottom of the television screen. Inevitably, I was almost always disappointed to find our school was not on the list. With the exception of the Halloween Blizzard and an exceptionally cold day, that led the governor to close all schools in the state, our school was always open. Honestly, it was the worst. To know all our cousins that attended neighboring districts were home enjoying the day off while we languished at school.

Now, of course. post-pandemic snow days or hurricane days look a lot different. Some schools opt to keep the school in session virtually, while others shut down completely. I like to think the schools that go virtual instead of closing like medieval torturers. Virtual school during the pandemic was complicated and an epic failure, so no need to continue that trend. A few more years and it won’t matter as I’ll no longer have a horse in that race.

Apparently, the dogs felt terrible that we were missing out on the epic winter storm because we woke up to a literal shit storm of epic proportions. It must have been something in the water that caused all three pups to lose control of their bowels and bladders last night. Needless to say, it was not a pretty sight. I helped clean up as much as I could before work and after my lab appointment. Despite my best efforts, there was still a lot of cleaning up for my hubby to do.

We had Grandpa Steve and Grandma Linda over for appetizers and drinks last night. It was great to spend time with them both before they headed back north. I wish I could have gone to brunch with them today too. I already missed a day this week, so there was no way I could get the time off. I’m glad they’ve been able to enjoy some of our beautiful winter weather. Oh, I almost forgot, I hurt my shoulder reading last night. I don’t know how I did it, but I did. Isn’t aging fun?

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: Lasciviousness. It’s a pretty fitting word for the day on which Harvey Weinstein is sentenced for his sexual misdeeds.
  • Today’s song Drinkin’ Problem by Midland

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Family in Town

We have family in town, which is helping occupy my mind as we just closed a huge chapter in our life. Grandpa Steve and Grandma Linda are in town along with their precious puppies. Unfortunately, our big dogs are a little overzealous in their welcome and make the little dogs super anxious. Consequently, we opted for dinner at Sushi Yama since we could sit outside and their dogs could join us.

While Jake and our family in Minny are getting pummeled by winter storms, our weather is literally perfect. Okay, it may be a little too warm to be perfect, but it’s nearly there. If Mother Nature could flip the off switch on the humidity, it would be amazing. Nonetheless, it was the perfect evening for dining outside. I’ll never cease to enjoy eating outdoors during the winter months. After growing up in Minnesota, the Florida winters never get old.

Today is a very special day in our house. Today we celebrate the eighth anniversary of Athena’s Gotcha Day. Athena has brought us so much joy and laughter over the years. I seriously don’t think we could ask for a better puppy. She was a wonderful sister to Maya and always looked out for her. Now she keeps her eyes on her rambunctious younger brothers. She’s never afraid to put either one in their place. Above all, Athena loves her family dearly and will always be the first to protect us if needed. We love you Piggie!

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: delete. How many times a day are you tempted to delete your social media apps?
  • Today’s song: Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men