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Winter Break

Winter break is over for the boys. They’ll finally head back to school tomorrow after a nice break. Of course, they’re just in time for the omicron variant, which means we’ll receive a boundless number of emails from school about it. Honestly, the Covid fatigue is real. I’m over all of it. Fortunately, there is no chance that they’ll go virtual, which will save my sanity.

Tomorrow the puppies and I will get back to our well established routine. While the boys are home, the puppies are a bit all over the place. They bark to get into our room and then bark or get out. Unfortunately, there’s just so much going on that they can’t decide where they want to hangout. Normally, I leave my door open so they can come and go as they please. However, that isn’t feasible when the boys are home from school.

I finished The Diary of Ann Boleyn, by Robin Maxwell last night. It was an entertaining read that fed my Tudor obsession very nicely. I’ve already ordered her other books about the Tudors. It’s all Hillary Mantel’s fault. Her Wolf Hall trilogy about Thomas Cromwell is absolutely outstanding. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Tonight I’ll be starting another Mantel novel albeit not one that involves the Tudors. After this book, I’ll circle back to Robin Maxwell and the Tudors.

Reading has long been a love of mine. For many years, I neglected this love, but not anymore. I’ve made reading daily a priority for the last three years, which has been wonderful. I’m slowly working my way through the top 500 novels. What books have you been reading? Did you ready anything interesting over winter break?

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Great Appointment

I had a great appointment with my endo today. She’s lowering my Synthroid dose (sort of,) which should normalize my thyroid levels. I say sort of because I’ll be cutting one Synthroid pill in half on Sundays. This way I don’t have to throw out the prescription I just refilled. Lastly, I don’t have to go back until June, which is also great news.

The rest of the day was not as great as my great appointment. While work was hopping yesterday, today it was deader than a door nail. I love my job, but I hate being bored. Obviously, I can’t wait until it picks up again in January. I work tomorrow, Thursday and Monday. After that I’ll be off for the rest of the year. Yay!

I was concerned about running with my thyroid levels being off, but my doctor cleared me for activity. Yay! Unfortunately, either my allergies or the common cold starting kicking my arse today. Consequently, I decided to rest today instead of running. I’m still planning on doing my BBG workout tomorrow morning. Unless, I wake up and feel like a truck hit me, which would be super lame.

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Almost Christmas

It’s almost Christmas and I’m nowhere near ready. I think, like most other parents, I find December to be completely overwhelming. The only kid I’ve finished shopping for is Jake. However, I had to finish shopping for him early due to potential shipping delays. As for everyone else, I still have a lot shopping to do. I also have quite a bit of baking to finish.

Tomorrow I see my endo, which I’m excited for. I’m back to being hyperthyroid, which is no good. I’d like to be sure that I still have the all clear to workout. Unfortunately, hyperthyroidism can come with some nasty and dangerous cardiac issues, which is super lame. Nevertheless, I’m hoping I don’t have to wait for my thyroid levels get back to normal before I can workout again.

This is an expected bump in the road. Our bodies are always changing, so the Synthroid has to be adjusted accordingly. Nonetheless, I have so much to do that I don’t need anything else to worry about. I recently saw a meme that speaks to how most moms feel this time of the year… There’s so much for us to do that it can be overwhelming. Especially as we as it’s almost Christmas.

Yesterday Goalielocks had games because the league never returned out coach’s call. We had two kids out sick with COVID exposure, but since we’re not the Makos we played with a short bench. I keep reminding myself that we only have a short time left in this infuriating league. Honestly, I’ve never seen a league that applies the rules so disproportionately.

Moreover, this is the first league we’ve been apart of where the rules that are adopted are punitive or the kids and not the adults. For example, the league penalizes thr kids instead of punishing coaches or organizations. (and Like the Makos U18AA head coach coming into my kid’s locker room to recruit players before our game.) A player has to play single A because the percentage of returning players is too low on the AA team. How about instead of penalizing the kids, you penalize the known offenders?

Anyway, Goalielocks and his goalie mate had great games. We ended up winning the first game 4-2. Goalielocks had the best game I’ve seen him play in awhile. Although to be fair, I’ve missed a lot of his games this season. His goalie partner was equally impressive in the second game. They’re such a great tandem. They really enjoy each other’s company and support each other. It was a great Sunday for our Tendies!

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Struggle

The holidays are an awesome time, but for many folks it can be a struggle. Our Thanksgiving was awesome. We had a great time celebrating with our family in Florida, but there was an emptiness there. It’s our second Thanksgiving with Jake not at the table and it doesn’t get easier. We did get a special call from him, which did ease the pain somewhat. Nevertheless, I miss him.

The FaceTime was a lot of fun. He got to talk to my Grandma, who he is really close to, my uncle, my parents and of course my brothers and their families. It was really special for him to be able to talk with my Grandma. She was so delighted to be able to chat with him. Honestly, it was the perfect Thanksgiving surprise.

I took some time off from blogging last week because I’m emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted. So much so that I slept most of Thanksgiving. I fell asleep at my brother’s after dinner and was in bed by 8:30 pm. Staying awake was definitely a struggle for me on Thanksgiving. Sometimes it’s just best to rest and take a break than stress write a blog.

AEP will be over in little more than a week and then I will spend December recuperating. My company is giving us the option to take as much time off in December as we want, which is awesome. Except for the fact, it’s a sales job and to make money, you have to be present. I’ll be taking some time off, but I intend to maximize my time in the office.

Anyway, this holiday season choose kindness. There are so many people dealing with unseen challenges one couldn’t imagine, be nice. Be the person that brings someone else up. It’s free to be nice, so give the gift of kindness this holiday season. Your kindness may make all the difference for someone who is struggling this season.

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Day Off

It’s my first day off in over two weeks. I’ve been so busy with work that I gave myself that last two nights off from the blog. Also, I haven’t had much to say. Work is going super well, but it’s all consuming. Fortunately, I’ve taken the lessons learned from last year and implemented them this year. Consequently, I work out before any shift and my production is more than double last year’s.

Nonetheless, it’s a bit isolating. I don’t leave the house ever, even my coffee is delivered. My social life has become my puppies. Obviously, they’re the best sales support staff I’ve ever worked with. Unfortunately, the hockey schedule hasn’t been great this year either. I’m missing a lot more games this year than I did last year.

I enjoyed my day off by finishing Maid on Netflix, cleaning around the house, binged the Great British Bake Off and baking. I started some brioche, which I’ll finish tomorrow after it rises for 24 hours. This evening, I baked some lasagna for dinner. Truly, this lasagna has been my favorite food since I was a little kid. My great grandma, my grandma and my mom all made it. Now, it’s my turn.

Anyway, it’s just after 7:00 pm and I’m ready for bed. Clearly, I’m adjusting well to the end daylights savings time. Or perhaps, it’s just that I’m utterly exhausted emotionally, mentally and physically. Needless to say, I’ll be in bed early again tonight. Hopefully, I’ll adjust to the time change some time soon.

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Great Day

Today was a great day. I love seeing all the love our veterans got on social media today. These men and women wrote a blank check to our country to protect our freedoms. Moreover, they paved the way for those serve today. I’m forever grateful for their sacrifice and proud to be a Blue Star mom.

We dedicated a wall to our family members that have served. Obviously, Jake is the centerpiece. I’m still waiting to finish it. At this point, I still need the pictures of the Hubby’s dad, brother, stepdad and grandfathers. Once they’re up on the wall, the collection will be complete. It is going to look awesome once it’s done.

The best part of my great day was the call from Jake. Since his schedule has changed a bit, we know have our weekly call on Thursdays instead of Sundays. It’s something to look forward to on Friday eve. Also, it’s a signal that Friday is almost here. What could be bad about that?!?! Nada my friend. I’m finishing my great day with some Panthers and Wild hockey.

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Frustrating

Technology, specifically my internet, has been frustrating since Friday. I don’t know if the copious amounts of rain and flooding near the cable box screwed something up, but it hasn’t worked well since. In fact, my system hung up on five people today because my internet dropped service. Naturally, I switched over to my AT&T, but that service didn’t perform any better.

I spend a fortune every month for high speed internet, so when it doesn’t work it’s beyond frustrating. What am I paying for?! Frustration, mad clients and shitty customer service?! Unfortunately, it’s Monday, so I didn’t have the emotional or mental energy to call support for either internet provider. Instinctively, I knew calling them would only make me angrier.

Despite the tech glitches all afternoon, I still had a great sales day. Obviously, it would have been a better day if I hadn’t lost so much time on the phones this afternoon. For a Monday, it was relatively boring which was nice. What I mean by boring is that I didn’t have any dumpster fire or mean customers. This is always a win. I love days like this because their filled with great conversation and lots of sales.

The biggest challenge on the week days is the meals. I’m way too tired to cook by the time I finish work. The Hubby is at hockey practice three out of five days, so him cooking is a no go. Sadly, and I’m embarrassed to admit it, but frozen pizzas have been our go to dinner since AEP started. I’m sure the kids and hubby will by thrilled when AEP is over and I can go back to cooking.

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Redefined

It’s amazing how success and failure can redefined in our minds as time goes on. My day at work was arduous and slow, but still quite lucrative. In fact, it was more than double the business I wrote this same time last year. Yet I left work feeling defeated for not hitting my personal goal. This despite the fact I worked over twelve hours today.

Days like this remind me of how wonderful and horrible people can be. On one call I’d speak tor the coolest person ever. Unfortunately, the next call would be the biggest tool ever. There are some truly miserable people out there. Honestly, it must really suck to live their lives. I can’t imagine how terrible their lives must be that they act so horribly. Meanwhile, some people I work with are in terribly tough situations, but are the sweetest, kindest soul you could ever meet.

Speaking of redefined, I’ve had to redefine my expectations for running. I’ve been back to running since 2019 (albeit not consistently,) yet I’m still so slow. Before I got hurt and sick, I got my split time on a 5k down to 9 minutes and 14 seconds. Now a fast mile more me is nearly eleven minutes. Needless to say, I’m not thrilled about it. I’ve redefined success to being able to run two miles three times a week either on the treadmill or outside.

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Buzz Kill

Growing up in Minnesota, there was no bigger buzz kill on Halloween than your mother making you wear a jacket over your cool costume. The vast majority of Halloweens growing up were bitter cold and filled with snow. In fact the last Halloween I was allowed to trick-or-treat, my night out and candy haul were cut short by a historic blizzard. We made it less than two blocks before having to call it a night.

My kids, particularly the younger two, will never understand the pain of having to layer below and on top of your costumer. Admittedly, Halloween in Florida is much more enjoyable. Our neighborhood does it well with several houses having bars for the adults and great candy for the kids. Honestly, I missed all the Halloween fun that Covid cancelled last year.

Speaking of buzz kill, there’s nothing worse than someone who is unwilling to compromise at all. I’m fortunate that I’m no longer faced with this bull headedness at work. I wish I could say the same thing for the rest of my life. Even my dog is stubborn! Anyway, stubbornness without a willingness to compromise does nobody any favors and can destroy relationships. Fortunately, I can coax Athena into a compromise with a nice treat.

This week’s been long, so has this month for that matter. I love working from home, but it can be quite isolating. Not to be a total buzz kill, because my job is amazing and so is my life, but it can get pretty lonely. I know what you’re thinking. My loneliness is killing me (if you didn’t sing Britney Spears right then, we can’t be friends.). Anyway, I’m looking forward to the Luke Combs concert this weekend and getting out of the house. It will be nice to not be all myself.

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Writer’s Block

The hardest thing about writing a blog is overcoming writer’s block. I had a working title and topic, but I’m not sure Google and SEO gods like words like fuckery. To be honest, the use is of the word is completely appropriate when discussing Facebook’s sheer and utter incompetence.

Since our oldest joined the service, I’ve had friend requests from countless fake accounts spoofing military leaders. I’ve reported each one and Facebook in all it’s awesomeness has done nothing. Rather they knowingly allow the spoof accounts to pray on service members and their families. Meanwhile the real accounts have been verified by the same entity that refuses to shut down the obviously fake accounts. Great job Facebook.

I shared the post from the hockey parent dumb ass on my blog last night. Unsurprisingly, his account is also fake. Apparently, this keyboard hero, who makes fun of officials for being afraid to take the ice, is afraid to make these comments from his real account. What a loser. Naturally, Facebook or the moderators of the forum should shutdown this fake troll account. Yet neither have decided to act on this despite the fact the troll acknowledged he setup a fake account. Anyway, Facebook has jumped the shark Reddit is significantly more interesting.

Anyway, the writer’s block has cleared. My two mile run was arduous this morning. I don’t know why it’s not getting any easier, but it’s super frustrating. Tomorrow morning I will be doing the BBG arms and ab workout. I’m planning to do yoga in the evening to help my muscles recover. I need to get back into the rhythm of practicing yoga daily. By the end of AEP, my yoga schedule will be back on track.