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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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Back To It

Well I was back to it today after taking most of last week off. Unfortunately my computer, or more to the point my wifi, didn’t want to cooperate this morning. Fortunately, I was able to resolve the issue relatively quickly and then had no issues the rest of the day. Thankfully, I was much busier at work today than I have been. Woohoo!


It felt good to be back. Admittedly, I like and need the structure. Before going back to work today, I spent the weekend relaxing at home. I baked a tiramisu and prime rib roast on Saturday, which was mighty tasty. Yesterday, the hubby and I took the puppies for a walk in the Glades. It was an absolutely beautiful morning. The puppies had a great time. I, however, was disappointed that we didn’t see any alligators.

The rest of the day, we binge watched the Office and It’s Always Sunny. We had planned on having leftovers for dinner, but I changed my mind. Consequently, I sent Goalielocks and his GF to the store to get supplies for homemade pizzas. The only crust they had available was mini pizzas and a brand I’ve never eaten before. Thankfully, the new crust was mighty tasty and the perfect size.


Hubby and the Mayor are back to it tonight. That is back at hockey practice as we resume our normal schedule. This of course means a mad dash until SAHOF (the state tournament.) I’m loving my new planner and productivity stickers. Hopefully, I’ll be able to stay on top of our collective, crazy schedules.

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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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Made it

After a sixteen hour shift yesterday, I can say I made it. AEP is over and normal life can resume. It’s been a crazy, productive and draining seven weeks, but I’m proud of how it went. However, I’m relieved the grind is over for a bit. Today was so dead, they let us leave early which was a total gift. It was slow, I was starting to fall asleep at my desk.

Since I got off earlier than expected, I was able to get some stuff down around the house. I took care of the laundry that’s been waiting to be fold since AEP started. I’m only kidding, the laundry hasn’t been sitting around that long. While I folded laundry and took care of the dishes, I finished the current season of the Great British Bake-off. I love that show and will be baking a ton over the next four days.

The best part of yesterday was receiving videos and photos of my oldest’s promotion ceremony. It was so much fun to see him being promoted. Moreover, I loved seeing the camaraderie that exists within his squadron. Honestly, love seeing how well he is loved and treated. It definitely puts my mom heart and mind at ease. The Hubby and I are so proud!

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Kindness

So I wrote about struggles last night and choosing kindness. I thought I’d share an example of kindness we witnessed on Thanksgiving. This year, like every other year, we headed to my brother’s in Boca for Thanksgiving dinner. This time it would be our family, Richard and his wife along with a Richard’s dad and his partner.

Shortly after we got there, I noticed an individual I didn’t recognize. I thought perhaps he came with Richard’s dad and his partner. This young man was non-verbal autistic and was plugging his ears due to the noise. He walked around the island looking at the food. Suddenly, he put his hands into the brownie tray and grabbed a handful of brownies and ate them.

After he finished the brownies, he moved on to the chips and dip. At this point, several of us are horrified that whoever’s he’s with isn’t stopping him from eating potato chips and French onion dip directly from the container with a spoon. Eventually, my brother and sister-in-law figured it out. It was there new neighbor’s son, who is non-verbal.

My brother walked over to his house to talk to his parents. Their only response to my brother was that they had told him not to go inside the house. Obviously, this didn’t stop him from entering the house. My brother came back into the house to escort him out. However, before Jon walked the surprise visitor back to his house, he put the dip and bowl of chips on a plate for him to take home.

While my brother and his wife could have raised hell over their neighbor walking in and helping himself to their food on Thanksgiving, they didn’t. They chose to treat him with kindness and dignity. Unfortunately, his parents don’t supervise him very well. This story could have easily had a different ending. After all, this is Florida where people shoot first and ask questions later.

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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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Made It

We made it to the weekend. Thank God. Except nothing really changes for me since I’m working. The Mayor has two games today and the Goalielocks has two tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the first time I can see his team place since Labor Day. It will be nice to spend a day with the family even if it’s in Orlando.

The week has been an ass kicker for several reasons, but work has gone well which is awesome sauce. That’s about the only thing that has gone well. As always, the highlight of my week is Jake’s call home. He looks good and sounds good. I can’t wait to visit him once busy season is done.

This morning’s drive to Dunkin is was sponsored by Carrie Underwood.

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Beautiful Weather

Beautiful weather has been here for the last several days. The humidity is lows and the temperature is just right. This is the weather I wait for every year. Of course, what kind of Minnesota would I be if I didn’t talk about the weather. Naturally, my Florida is much better than the weather in Minnesota where they saw snow this week. I definitely don’t miss winter.

The dogs are also enjoying the beautiful weather. Mostly because I love being outside, which means they get to play around. Instead of the quick in and out of summer, I’ve been letting them hangout outside for a bit. This has been a great way to break up my day since I haven’t been taking a lunch break during AEP. After our outdoor adventures, we all go back to work. After all, they’re my sales support staff.

Unfortunately, my brother’s dog Diego passed away this morning. It made me think of how much our puppies and our family’s puppies shape our world. For my boys, my brother’s dogs Oliver and Shelby were the first dogs they spent a lot of time with. Their Grandma Sandy had dogs, the legends Pepper and Pronto, but they were pretty young when they were still around. Nevertheless, these sweet puppies have colored the pages of our collective memories. It’s incredibly hard to let them go because Maya, Shelby and Diego were the best.

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Grind

Today was a grind, but hey would it be Monday if it wasn’t a grind?!? I worked a twelve hour shift, so I could hit both my production and less goals. Fortunately, I got to be where I wanted to be, but it literally took until my last call. If I hadn’t close that call, who know how long I would have ended up working.

Today was an emotional grind as well. My older brother’s sweet dog Diego is dying. He caught some type of infection and it spread to his heart. This year has been absolutely devastating for our family and our dogs. Please keep their sweet puppy and their family in your prayers as Diego transitions. Honestly, it’s a total gut punch for all of us.

Speaking of grind, my left shoulder has been killing me. I haven’t lost any range of motion, but it’s awfully noisy know when I lift my arm. I’m not sure if I hurt it lifting or if it’s from sleeping on my side. Nevertheless, the pain has been horrendous and my entire arm is quite uncomfortable. If it doesn’t get better soon, I’m gonna have to get it checked out. Such as life at Level 41.