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Winter Solstice

It’s the winter solstice today, well at least it was at 11:28 am this morning.  The shortest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere is also the harbinger of longer days to come.  Unequivocally, I hated the short days of a Minnesota winter.  There’s nothing more depressing than a sunset at 4:30 pm.

Here in Florida, the sunset was around 5:30 pm tonight and was gorgeous.   If it weren’t for the horribly short days, you would hardly know it is winter here. Piggie and I were out on our run enjoying the beautiful weather.  As we pushed to mile 3, Piggie recoiled with fright into my left knee.   My left leg is a veritable disaster with hip flexors and a IT band so tight if it snapped, it would poke your eye out.  What was the monster that frightened her so?  Perhaps another animal or a loud car?  Oh no, my Piggie was afraid of the orange cone.  If I wasn’t so out of breath, I would have ended up on the ground in a laughing fit.

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As you’ve probably gathered from reading my recent blog posts, things have been a bit stressful in our household.  It’s not always amazing to own your own business, but that’s the price you pay for autonomy.  In addition, we had a health scare with one of our boys, so we ended up at a specialists office this afternoon. Fortunately, his bladder and kidney looked good on the ultrasounds.  This gave him quick relief as he was worried they’d find something in his organs.

Nevertheless, he will have to undergo an outpatient surgery in early 2018.  This should be quite simple and result in minimal downtime.  However, if anything is discovered during the procedure it could result in a more protracted and complicated recovery.  Here’s hoping for an uneventful procedure and a miraculous (quick and uncomplicated) recovery.

Speaking of miracles, I’ll need to start and finish my Christmas shopping (food included) in the span of 72 hours.  Unfortunately, this means online shopping isn’t going to work.  Well, unless I want to spend $250 for Saturday shipping, which I don’t as that’s ridiculous.  Wish me luck as I hit the stores with the snow birds and all the glorious people South Florida has to offer.

Tonight’s song, performed by one of our hockey sister’s Julia and her classmate, is “The Prayer.”

 

 

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Magical Moments

Our morning was filled with magical moments as we joined Santa to deliver gifts to the beautiful kids at ARC Broward.  This is my second year leading the initiative with my incredible partner in crime MK.  Consequently, it was also my second time attending the gift delivery.  Last year,  the event blew my away.  When I left last year’s event my heart was full after watching these kids and their parents relish their moment with Santa and their gifts.  I couldn’t wait to go back!

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This year ARC Broward’s preschool is under new leadership, so we’ve been working with new people.  Can I just tell you how amazing these people are?  They do an incredible job educating, advocating and creating futures for people with disabilities.  When we first arrived,  Shawn ushered us into a room where ARC’s Culinary program had catered in breakfast.  Their culinary program provides post high school education via a certificate to adults with disabilities.  The food was absolutely amazing!

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As we finished our amazing breakfast, ARC’s high school class came into the room to visit us.  They performed a couple of songs and posed for pictures with all of us and Santa.  It was magical.  These high schoolers had incredible energy and were filled with joy. ARC’s commitment to these teens and young adults is to give them the skillset to find a job they want in the community.  Indeed, it’s all about creating opportunities for these students to excel.

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Afterwards we headed over to the preschool to start handing out the gifts. I struggle to words that adequately describe how beautiful and amazing it is to watch these kids receive their gifts and see Santa.  While some were afraid to sit on Santa’s lap, many were excited beyond belief.  They bounded with joy to get their presents and see Santa.  Their innocence, excitement, happiness and gratitude were overwhelming. It’s hard to watch without getting misty.

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I was so excited to buy for my angels after having met them both last year.  These two girls are incredibly sweet and full of energy.  Fortunately, I had the opportunity to give one of my angels her gift today.   Moreover, I was able to meet her mom (who’s incredible) and chat with her for a bit.  Many times we donate to charities or toy drives and don’t have the luxury of getting to witness the child receiving the gift. I can tell you that there is nothing better than watching a child receive that gift.

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It’s no wonder that we left today’s event with a full heart and complete joy.  There’s something beyond gratifying in making someone’s world a little better.  As we go on our journey around the sun, it is easy for us to get stuck in the rat race.  We don’t have to be stuck!  We can live our legend, even if we’re punching the clock at a 9 to 5.  Sure we’re not crossing the Sahara looking for an alechemist, but we can find ways to fee our soul.  For me, it’s paying it forward via Angel Tree or raising funds an awareness for pancreatic cancer research.  It doesn’t have to be grandiose to be magical.  It would be a small, purple pony that you give to a little sister who didn’t think she’d be getting a gift.  Sometimes it’s all about the small things.

Tonight’s song performed by U2 is “Christmas.”

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Breakfast With Santa

Today was our annual Breakfast with Santa at work.  I know what you may be thinking.  We’re far too old to be eating with Santa, but you’d be wrong!  Importantly, our annual breakfast is the culmination of our Angel Tree drive. In fact, this year we adopted 363 angels for Christmas!

Our Angels come courtesy of ARC Broward, which is an incredible organization that provides people with disabilities and other life challenges the opportunity to fulfill their potential.  Raising children in modern times is incredibly expensive.  Unfortunately, for parents of special needs children, the costs can be exponentially higher, which is where we come in.

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This event started over seven years ago when my CRO and his wife adopted their daughter’s classroom having seen the need first hand.  Thankfully, my CRO shared this opportunity with our military team and we took up the challenge.  Excitedly, this is my second year leading the event with my partner in crime MK.  By comparison to years past, our team is bigger, more diverse and incredible this year.  We made a concerted effort to expand the team outside of our unit, so it would encompass representation from units across the company.

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First, we started off our morning staging the gifts downstairs.  As a result, our employees could get their pictures taken in front of the gifts with Santa.  The sight was beyond impressive with gifts for over 300 people including 20 bikes staged in reception! What struck me as I looked at the gifts, was the amazing generosity of my colleagues.  In that moment, I felt truly blessed and proud.  Blessed and proud to be a part of an organization where community involvement and philanthropy are prized and encouraged.

Importantly, current employee engagement theory has shown that engaged employees happier and more productive.  Since I had the pleasure of taking the pictures with Santa, I got to witness our employees reaction to the event first hand. Without fail, our collective generosity blew away my colleagues.  Time and after time, people made comments about how awesome it is to work with such great people and at a great place.  Undoubtedly, for me, witnessing both their pride and their joy was a profoundly rewarding experience.  As a result, I have no doubt that today’s event was an employee engagement win!

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Afterwards, I headed back up to meetings.  Meanwhile, the team loaded the gifts up for delivery.  I simply cannot wait to go hand out the gifts later this week.  Last year, it was such an amazing, life affirming experience.  Unquestionably, the joy on the children’s face coupled with the gratitude of the teachers and parents is indescribable.  Meanwhile I’m filled with the joy and gratitude for today’s experience.

Tonight’s song performed by  music legends David Bowie and Bing Crosby   is “Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth.” 

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Winter’s Arrival

As I left the gym this morning, it became clear that the morning’s storms were our prelude to winter’s arrival.  When I left my house this morning, the temperature was 78 and it was humid.  No sooner had I parked my car when the cold rain started.  I made my quickly from the parking lot to the gym trying to avoid the rain.  I was moderately successful in this endeavor.

Fortunately, thanks to a heart pounding circuit burn class, I wouldn’t be cold for long.  My heart was soon pumping and the cold rain had given way to sweat.  Amanda’s Circuit Burn class kicked my butt this morning.  Post-class I started getting cold as you could feel the temperature had dropped and I was wet with sweat.  My yoga teacher turned up the heat in the yoga room, which helped immensely.

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Afterwards, I headed to my car in the light, cold rain.  The temperature had fallen immensely, which is not something that happens often in Florida.  When I was growing up in Minnesota, it wasn’t unusual to have a wild swing in the temperature (think 15-60 degrees) in short order.  However, in South Florida, it is quite unusual.  I plopped into my car, exhausted from class, turned on the heat noticing the temperature had dropped from 78 to 63.  Full disclosure, a South Floridians definition of cold is much different than most other people’s.  I would also say that being wet from two hours of hard workouts didn’t help keep me warm either.

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Nevertheless, I headed to get coffee and get on with the rest of my day.  Both the Hubby and Jake are working today, so its just me, Goalielocks’ and the Mayor at home.  Consequently, we decided to take our girls (Maya and Athena) to go and see Santa Claus.  Maya, our older dog, is a bit socially awkward when it comes dealing with new dogs, which makes me nervous taking her out.   Athena loves everyone and everything and is very social with people and dogs alike.

Maya, our socially awkward beauty, definitely gave Santa a run for him money.  She didn’t want to sit and face the camera.  Athena would sit nicely for a bit and then a new dog would come in distracting her from the mission at hand.  Thankfully, both dogs and both children behaved beautifully at the store.  There were no meltdowns or accidents on our excursion to PetCo.

On the way back home, I stopped at the Starbucks for a latte, hot chocolate and a couple of puppacinos for the dogs.  This was our dogs first time enjoying a puppacino and enjoy they did.  They made short work of the cups of cream.  We’ll definitely be treating them to those again.  Now its time to get ready for Goalielocks’ team party!

Finally, I wanted to again share the link for a family that is in dire need of our support during an imaginably difficult time.  If you are able to, please consider helping this family.  Here is the link: Youcaring

Tonight’s song is “Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin.  Thanks TW for the inspiration!

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Varnish

When I think of varnish, I think of the stains and varnishes that litter my garage.  Fortunately, most are currently closed so the overwhelming odor of varnish isn’t present.  When my Hubby is working the garage with varnish or even outside, the scent is omnipresent and overwhelming.  A good varnish brings out the grains and uniqueness of each piece of wood without covering it up.  The Hubby does an exquisite job picking the right varnish for each project he does.  Consequently, the finished product is amazing.

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Like a fine piece of wood, the more varnish we put on, the more our true nature is highlighted.   I love this quote from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectation, “”No varnish can hide the grain of the wood; and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself.”  Meaning the you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.  In the end, one cannot hide their true nature indefinitely.  In the end, one’s true nature always reveals itself.

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Usually one’s true nature reveals itself when someone’s back is against the wall.  Conversely, other’s are full monty out in the open with their true nature.  Ebenezer Scrooge, from Dickens’ great novel A Christmas Carol, was unapologetically mean, inconsiderate, and a  scrooge.  He pulled no punches and operated without pretense.  Of course, in the end Ebenezer Scrooge found his heart and a moral compass, but that’s not always how these things work out. The question is, what would more varnish reveal about you?

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As we edge closer to Christmas, I look forward to watching some of my favorite Christmas movies and specials.  Who doesn’t love watching Rudolph and Frosty this time of year?  Of course, there are several great move versions of A Christmas Carol.  One of my favorite versions is A Muppet Christmas Carol.  Whether or not you have kids, this move is enjoyable and well done.  Plus, the Dickens’ quote provided the perfect opportunity to plug a Muppet’s movie that I’ve loved since childhood.  What could be better?

Lastly, I wrote briefly about a mother’s worst nightmare last night.  Tonight this family is in need of our support during an imaginably difficult time.  If you are able to, please consider helping this family.  Here is the link: Youcaring

Tonight’s song is “Christmas Eve/Sarejevo” performed by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

 

 

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Gut Punch

Today was one of those days that was akin to a gut punch.  The kind of day that brings you sorrow, angst, sadness, and grief. As if we haven’t already been here enough in 2017… Ugh.  This year has been tough and the last 24 hours indicative of its toughness. Unfortunately, my SIL lost her mother last night.  This is one of those times its tough to be here because we’re not able, as a family, to be there for her, my bro and their kids.  Right now all of us wish we were there with them.

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Meanwhile, in another corner, a mother’s worst nightmare is playing out in a horrific way and we’re all powerless to help.  If anything today has reinforced, the delicate nature of life and its unpredictability.  Life, our days on this earth, are not promised. We can choose to exist, which most do, or we can choose to live.  We can choose to make a positive difference in the lives of those around us regardless of our circumstances.

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Nonetheless, today left me wanting to do nothing, but gorge on Neuhaus chocolate tonight.  I’m proud to say that instead I went to aerial yoga.  This was definitely the healthier way to work through today’s sadness and grief.  Tonight’s class was a bit difficult as I hurt my hip some how, so I had to be careful with my left side.  Incidentally, the inversions are getting much easier with each class.  Additionally, my alignment in handstand/headstand is much better in my mat classes now.  Aerial yoga is definitely improving my practice.

Tonight’s song is “How Great Thou Art” performed by The Pentatonix.

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Saintly Advice

Tonight’s blog is full of saintly advice meant to lift the spirit and encourage the reader.  Undoubtedly,  it has been a long, arduous week (although the sinus infection has abated) and it’s only Wednesday.   I’ve written before about getting caught up in life and forgetting to feed our souls.   For me, my yoga practice has been key in re-centering my mindset and my focus.  Here are some wise words to inspire your practice or your day.

“Fortitude is the disposition of soul which enables us to despise all inconveniences and the loss of things not in our power.” –St. Augustine

“Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds.” –St. Teresa of Avila

“A scrap of knowledge about sublime things is worth more than any amount about trivialities.” –St. Thomas Aquinas

“Joy is a net of love by which we catch souls.” 
-Mother Teresa

“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”  -Saint Augustine

I love these quotes that focus on perseverance, humility, joy, love and knowledge.  Mother Teresa’s quote is fantastic and easily incorporated into every day life.   Make it a point to make someone smile. It could be through a compliment, a simple smile or a good deed.  I guarantee you making someone’s day brighter will fill you with joy.

Beautiful foxglove in Romskog, Norway
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I’ve peppered tonight’s blog with pictures of saintly places both natural and man-made from our Norway trip last summer.  I hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed experiencing the places.

 

Tonight’s song is “Halleluja” performed by Pentatonix.

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Yoga With Jake

Tonight I loved yoga class because tonight I went to yoga with Jake.  As a huge fan of the Beatles, Jake has been intrigued by yoga, veganism and other facets of Eastern culture that the Beatles have espoused.  in particular, George Harrison was deeply spiritual, a devoted yogi, who wasn’t shy about sharing his views.  You may recall from a previous blog post that the song “Got My Mind Set On You” was one of the few songs George Harrison released that wasn’t about religion.

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George, the quiet Beatle, did a lot for bring Eastern ideas and practices to the Western world.  The Beatles’ found yoga while travelling in the Bahamas.  There they had met Swami Sivananda, who was the founder of Sivananda yoga. Lucky me!  Here my son’s love of the Beatles’ (who I also love) and my love of yoga coalesced.  There’s nothing more enjoyably than being on my mat except when I can share it with someone I love.  Consequently, tonight Jake joined me at class.

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For the uninitiated, it can be a bit intimidating.  Unquestionably, he was probably second guessing his decision as he quickly realized he was the only guy.   Thankfully, one of the other yogi’s in class tonight is also in his Thursday night class at school.  Ice broken!

The class was rigorous and fun.  Yoga is definitely one-way to spend quality time improving one’s self, while also building physical strength.  I’m curious to see how he feels tomorrow night.  As for me, I can already tell that this class will leave a mark.   Notwithstanding that tonight was his first yoga experience, Jake dove all in.  He even went up into a headstand!

Lastly, today is Giving Tuesday, which is the perfect opportunity to donate to Team Deb Force Five.   You can help us double pancreatic cancer survival rates by 2020!

Tonight’s song is none other than “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison.  This is one of my favorite songs from a former Beatle. George may have been the quiet Beatle, but his musical talents speak volumes.

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Hustle Like an Underdog

 “Attitude of a champion, hustle like an underdog.”  I saw the Daily Prompt and couldn’t believe my luck with today’s word.   This pretty much sums up this morning’s game  the Clarington Toros.  Goalielocks team came out with hustle like an underdog, but the heart of a champion.  The team’s first period was absolutely brilliant as they worked together scoring five goals.

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The squad was beset by a number of penalties in the 2nd and 3rd, which kept me quite busy.  We didn’t net nearly the number of shots as we had in the 1st period, but the boys still played well.  B2 was solid between the pipes while his defense did a great job protecting him.

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We didn’t expect to win this game against the hearty Canadian squad.  Today the team played with heart, hustle and for each other and the results speak for themselves.  Post game we headed home for lunch – more leftovers – and I got in another 3 mile run.  Today’s run was markedly better than yesterday’s, but I’m still slower than molasses in January in Minnesota.

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In a few minutes, we’ll drive back to the rink in a few for the second game of the day.  If the boys play like they did this morning, particularly in the first period, the sky is the limit for this crew.  Lastly, I’m hopeful that I have significantly less visitors tonight than I did this morning.

Today’s song “Feel Invincible” by Skillet.

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My World

For tonight’s blog, it’s all about giving you a glimpse in my world through the share your world challenge.  It’s one of the challenges run here in the blogosphere that make for fun and interesting reads while also connecting you to others bloggers.  So here it goes.

If you were having difficulty on an important test and could safely cheat by looking at someone else’s paper, would you do so?   I’m not good at being bad. So no I wouldn’t cheat because know I’d get caught.

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What things in nature do you find most beautiful?  I love the beautiful sunsets that light the Florida sky.  Also a top the items I find to be most beautiful are flowers, the beach, the fjords, mountains and waterfalls.   The Norwegian countryside was beyond beautiful.  Neither pictures nor words can adequately describe its beauty.

Complete this sentence: When I travel I love to…  I love to stay in the neighborhoods and experience the city or country as a local.  Consequently, we stayed in AirBnB’s in both Bergen and Oslo while travelling throughout Norway.  These accommodations were in the neighborhoods away, but not too far from the tourist sights.  In Oslo, our apartment had the cutest nest like area over the kitchen where the younger two boys could sleep.  Fortunately, they loved their little area.  Goalielocks had a similar room when we were in Bergen, which he also loved.  Nevertheless, the point is I want to be immersed in the culture of where ever I have traveled to.

What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week?  This week I was heavily inspired by my dear friend Debbie, here family and our friends.  Months of hard work culminated with the Purple Stride event Sunday morning.  After the event, I was looking to see updated fundraising totals on the site and noticed a quote from Debbie. Here’s here quote that as a part of her keynote speech at the 2016 Broward Palm Beach Purple Stride event.

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“My first PurpleStride was in 2015. I wanted to complete the 5K as my own personal challenge. Being able to attend my second PurpleStride this year in 2016, was about showing that patients can live, cherish the moments they have in their lives, teach others to celebrate their own lives and to remember the gifts of those lives that are no longer with us.”

Tonight’s song comes to us courtesy of Tom Petty.  Enjoy “Learning to Fly!”