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He’s engaged!!!!!!!!

He’s engaged!!!!! My oldest proposed to his amazing girlfriend this evening and she said yes! We knew the engagement was forthcoming for sometime, but we weren’t sure when he was going to pop the question. As always, the military was going to be the biggest influence on the timing. Fortunately, he won’t be going down range anytime soon, so he didn’t have to wait anymore.

We absolutely love her!! I’m so excited to see their next chapter. They’re still at dinner, so I don’t have details on the proposal. Fortunately, I’ll be seeing them tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll get the full details then. This really changes the landscape of our holidays in a glorious way. We are all so excited for them. Did I mention that we are so excited that he’s engaged?

In honor of their engagement, here’s a beautiful poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, ‘How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways’.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise …

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: Ran two miles, walked one. Hamstring Opener Restorative practice via Practyce App.
  • Book: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
  • Blog: almost done
  • Word of the day is chrome as is Google Chrome, which used to be a much better browser.
  • Today’s song: Carol of the Bells performed by Lindsay Sterling
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They’re Here!

They’re here!!! That’s right Jake and my folks arrived just in time for the winter solstice tomorrow. More to the point, they’re here for the holidays! I’m so excited to have all three boys gone for a Christmas. Moreover, my parents visiting is the cherry on top! My parents flew in this afternoon, while Jake and Melly drove home from FSU. He had flown to Tally first, so she wouldn’t have to drive down by herself.

The anticipation was getting to me earlier today, so I passed the time taking portraits of the dog with my phone. Truly, portrait mode in the iPhone takes some incredible pictures. Today I was playing around with the stage lighting. It produced some super cute photos. Although to be fair, the subjects themselves were super cute. Incredibly, all three of the puppies were cooperative with the photo shoot. This rarely happens!

We ended the evening with a nice family dinner at Villa Rosana in Boca. Melody and her parents were able to join us, which was fantastic. The Mayor was quick to reserve the spot next to himself for Jake. He definitely misses having his big brother home. During dinner, the boys and Melly enjoyed each other’s company with healthy dose of laughter and riposte amongst the banter. I’m looking forward to another fun day with them tomorrow!

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: Ran two miles, walked one. Restore and Refresh Restorative gifs practice via Practyce App.
  • Book: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
  • Blog: almost done
  • Today’s song: Dance With the Devil by Breaking Benjamin
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Deployment Diaries – Invasions

So invasions take on a whole new meaning when your child is actively serving and somewhere on the other side of the world. The anxiety level for this mama has reached an all time high. I’m not sure what this means for his and his buddies, but I know it’s not a positive development. We don’t really know how this will impact his time overseas, which really sucks. It’s super hard not knowing anything because we can’t really plan our lives.

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Deployment Diaries – The News

I’ve found that while my boy has been deployed avoiding the news has been key to maintaining my mental health. Unfortunately, these past few weeks it’s been utterly impossible to avoid the news. With missiles flying in the Middle East, Russia knocking on Ukraine’s door and China’s Taiwan obsession, there hasn’t been much rest for the weary. It’s hard to quantify how this news hits differently with a kid deployed. There’s a perennial knot in the stomach that’s unrelenting tightening with each bit of news. Nonetheless, I need to limit my news intact. Honestly, the more I limit the news, the better I feel.

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The Mayor’s Prom

Last night was the Mayor’s prom. He and his teammate Danny went with Danny’s sister and best friend. The Mayor was defitjeily anxious to get dressed and get to his buddy’s house to get the festivities going. He and Goalielocks both opted for the gray suit, which looked super good on both of them. He added light gold accents to match his date’s beautiful dress.

The girls weren’t ready when we first got to their house, so we had a blast taking photos of our two hockey players. They’re absolute characters. I have to say I was impressed as my boy dropped his voice and introduced himself to all of his date’s family. Albeit, it was quite amusing that he dropped his voice and octave or two. The resulting photos of the boys were absolutely incredible. There are so many great photos, I don’t know where to even start.

When the girls came down, they were absolutely stunning. Their dresses were gorgeous. Aubrey opted for a white dress with pink and rose gold accents. Her friend opted for a blue dress. After seeing all the prom pictures from this weekend, I think most girls wore blue this year. Before heading out for pictures, the boys gave the girls their corsages. Afterwards, the girls pinned on the boys boutonnières.

The Mayor was in rare form as we took pictures outside and in the limo. He may or may not have given his buddy’s grandma a shock as he did a cup check during family pictures. Perhaps the picture was the one that captured his reaction when they told him the limo had chocolate milk. As they made there way to the limo, he did the “no pictures” pose. And then they were off!

Meanwhile, we watched the Panthers game until the limo came back to take us parents to dinner. Originally, we were thinking Restoration Hardware for dinner, but they had no more sittings available. This in spite of the fact their restaurant was half empty. Consequently, we ended up eating at True Food Kitchen in Rosemary Square (formerly known as City Place.). After dinner, we we’re all fried and ready for bed. Meanwhile, the Mayor’s prom was a huge success.

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Senior Night

It was senior night for Goalielocks’ volleyball team last Thursday. Honestly, it’s hard to believe that he’s graduating high school. Time definitely flies by when you’re raising kids. We’ve all heard that old axiom and probably we’re super annoyed by it when our kids were toddlers, but it’s painfully true. Even if those toddler years seem to crawl buy with endless daycare and diaper bills.

All of the seniors played the first set, which was nice. Unfortunately, they didn’t play well. They were off and every bounce when the other’s team way. Also, let’s talk about officiating for a second. I’ve worked the penalty box for years and our ice hockey refs are super thick skinned. I’ve never seen an official hand out so many cards for hurt feelings before. At this point, I’m certain the ref would give the coach a ref card if she told them their shoe was untied.

We still can’t follow the rules for volleyball, but I’m not sure if that’s because we’re slow or the officials are uneven in their application of said rules. It’s a much different game from hockey, but fun to watch. The parents in the stands, bat shit crazy like hockey. People think I’m crazy for working the ice box that is the penalty box, but here’s the deal. I’d rather freeze my ass off in the box, then listen to some idiot parent wax philosophical about the play of every kid on the ice.

Senior night, as it always is, was emotional for all involved. The end of an important chapter of Goalielocks’ life and ours is quickly coming to a close. Its been fun to watch him grow and thrive even if some days, I’ve wanted to tear out my hair. His last day of school is coming quickly. I’m not ready for it, so buckle up folks because you’re in for weeks of sentimental blog posts.

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Made It

We made it to Friday! Yay! Yesterday was fabulous as I had anticipated. Jake looked and sounded great, which always puts this mama’s mind at ease. I can’t wait until he’s able to come back home for a visit. Meanwhile, I’m already planning my next trip to visit him out West. I love spending time in Utah. Honestly, I’ve come to love hiking the mountains more than I thought I’d ever would. Nonetheless, there’s something peaceful about a beautiful mountain trail.

This weekend we have Goalielocks’ team party at a climbing gym. I’ve never tried my hand at rock climbing, but I’m going to give it a go tomorrow. The closest I’ve got is when we rappelled down to the waterfall on the Farmington Creek trail in Utah. That experience, by the way, was both exhilarating and terrifying. It was well worth the terror. It’s definitely one of my favorite trails out West.

As for the rest of the weekend, I’ll be taking the two youngest to get fitted for prom. Both boys are going albeit it to different proms. One goes Friday night and the other will be going Saturday. I am looking forward to the fabulous pictures that will come out of both evenings. Like their older brother, I’m positive they’ll look absolutely dapper in their tuxedos. The nice thing about both proms is that dinner is served at the dance, so no need to plan a fancy dinner out.

Work so far has been a snooze. So well I made it, I still have to survive the slowness of an off season Friday. Thankfully, I don’t have to work any weekends anymore. I look forward to enjoying the entirety of my weekend. After all I have an incredible busy social calendar of morning to do, but play with my puppies. It’s a rough life, I know, but I’ll try to survive.

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Whoops

Whoops, so apparently when you want to publish a post, you have to push publish. Good to know right. I mean, Mondays are tough and the elevator isn’t alway going to the top floor by the end of the day. Needless to say, I ended up publishing my “Monday, Monday” post on Tuesday morning. Whoops! Obviously, I was a little too tired and a little too preoccupied Monday night.

I was going to post last night too after my Monday mishap, but the Panthers game was far too engaging. I can’t believe they overcame a 5-1 deficit to beat the Maple Leafs in OT. These cats are incredible! And can we talk about Huberdeau for a second, he had another career night. This guy has flown under the radar for too long. It’s about time he gets recognized for the incredible hockey player he is and has always been. Meanwhile, the Wild shit the bed in a 6-2 loss Nashville. Hopefully, that’s just a blip.

I finished my two week Metabolic reset that’s a integral part of the Calibrate program. The challenge was actually quite manageable despite my worries to the contrary. Excitingly, my BMI is almost back to regulation and I’m starting to look and feel like myself again. It hasn’t been fun walking around like an inflated version of myself. After all, who wants to look like a puffer fish version of themselves? The answer, of course is nobody.

Work is incredibly slow today, which sucks. Although to be fair, it’s giving me the ability to finish my blog earlier in the day. This will make the second half of my day much easier. I’m back to my BBG program after a two week injury break. After shedding some weight, the running is getting easier. It wasn’t a cakewalk yesterday, but it went much better than anticipated. Working out has become my mooring buoy during this difficult season.

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Morning at Urgent Care

So I spent my morning at urgent care after I got hurt taking the dogs out. Anakin ran hard for the banana grove and tore the leash out of my hand. Both leashes went flying, so I ran quickly to collect them before the dogs realized they were free. Meanwhile, the pain from my finger made me absolutely nauseous. As I brought the dogs in, I caught a glimpse of my poor, injured finger.

I quickly took the leashes off once the dogs weee safely inside before heading to the bathroom to lose my cookies. Obviously, it was a completely miserable span of ten minutes. My hubby was kind enough to call the urgent care to check on the wait times. My boss gave me the green light to do whatever i neeeded. Consequently, I was able to see the doctor before starting my day.

By the time we got to the urgent care, the wait had grown from fifteen minutes to forty five minutes. Due to the extended wait gome, we went back home to wait it out. Fortunately, I was able to get some work done. As luck would have it, I was able to take one call that resulted in a great sale. Once I finished the call, we headed back to the urgent care. Our timing was perfect, they were ready for me as soon as we got back.


Thankfully, I don’t think I broke it. There was an area of concern that the doctor wasn’t sure about, so he was waiting to hear back from radiology. Consequently, we’re treating it as a severe sprain unless the radiologist says differently. Nevertheless, I had to skip my workout today, which is a total bummer. Despite my morning at urgent care, my day ended up being really productive.

The mayor is up in Buffalo and had two games today. They won their first game 8-1 and he had two goals. The second game ended in a 1-1 time, which isn’t a bad result. After all, this is the first time a lot of these kids are playing together. Tonight they’re out to dinner and I’m sure enjoying all that Buffalo has to offer. He has two more games tomorrow, which we’ll be watching from afar. I love watching him play!!

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Let’s Go

Let’s go Hawks!!!! It’s State Championship time again. Tomorrow we’ll head to Tampa with the Mayor’s team for this year’s state tourney. I can’t wait to see how this team fares this year. Obviously, it would be nice to repeat.

State Tournament Time