Happy birthday Arrow! Our sweet boy is three years old today. He’s been the best dog for us. Arrow is always happy, playful, and loving. In fact, he reminds me a lot of Athena. They share similar dispositions and mannerisms. Both Arrow and Athena are adept at defusing Anakin’s emotional outbursts. When we first adopted Arrow, Anakin was not a fan. Now, however, Anakin and Arrow are best mates.
I bought Arrow a couple of new dog toys and some doggy ice cream to celebrate. I’m sure he’ll love the ice cream. He definitely is a dog that likes to eat. He also loves toys, so I know he’ll love the goodies I got him. I can also be sure Anakin will try to steal and guard both toys. Outside of the goodies, I plan to take them to the beach on Sunday morning. It will be interesting to see how they like the sand and waves.
Outside of Arrow’s birthday, it’s been business as usual. Today was a strength day, so I did my ab workout through the Sweat App. After work, I’ll do my ten-minute jump rope routine. I added it initially to help with my stamina for running. Now I also do it to help build bone strength. Needless to say, I won’t be on the elliptical anymore. Everything I do from here on out will be to help build bone mass.
What gives you direction in life?
I don’t rely on good luck; I use my faith to drive me. My family’s needs give me direction in life.
I took some time off from the blog to rest, recharge, level up to 45, and prepare for PurpleStride. Now that PurpleStride is over, I’m back to my regularly scheduled program. Or at least a somewhat regular program. Who even knows what regular is anymore, because I certainly don’t.
There’s so much to update, but I won’t do it all in one post. You may remember from my last post that I had been fighting with BCBS for Dexcom 7 approval. Finally, an escalation specialist reached out to me after I went nuclear on X. She was an absolute gem. She escalated my concerns regarding the ridiculousness of needing prior auth on a CGN for a type 1 diabetic. In the end, BCBS completely waived the prior authorization process for him.
Meanwhile, the Mayor’s team headed to Tampa for the state tournament. While I had a fabulous time in Tampa (thank you, Alex and moonshine), the team’s performance was less than stellar. It was a bit frustrating to lose to a team that had a player who hadn’t played the required number of games with the team. Only to find out, of course, that the rule didn’t apply to kids who played for Alliance. Naturally, this rule, specific to alliance players, isn’t documented anywhere. Also, to be clear, while it was frustrating, it’s not the reason our team lost. I’m just glad I’m down with youth hockey in Florida.
So it’s goodbye to youth hockey and on to Juniors. The Mayor will be playing for the Junior Cats this upcoming season. This is a new team that is local to us. He’s not looking to move away at this time, given the relatively recent type 1 diagnosis. I’m not a huge fan of junior hockey, but it’s a great way to spend a gap year. The Mayor’s plans for after high school were completely upended by his type 1 diabetes diagnosis last fall. Consequently, playing Juniors will give him a year to figure it out. Needless to say, I’ll be keeping my hockey mom rituals for another season.
2025 Goal Tracker:
Run a 5K: in training
Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
I have never been camping, and tent life is not for me. I envision coming back to my tent and seeing a big bear rummaging through it. Moreover, I like things like beds, running water, and air conditioning. Thanks to my thyroid and perimenopause, I’m barely sleeping right now. The last place you’d catch me is trying to sleep in the discomfort of a tent. As for glamping, I’m here for it.
The struggle is real. From parenting to sleeping, rinsing, and repeating the struggle is real. We’ve been on the struggle bus the last few months with the Mayor. He’s 18 and newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which makes parenting a little bit spicy. Honestly, he doesn’t like us asking about his blood sugar or anything else. Why is raising teenagers/adult children so difficult?
He got a car in December which is amazing, but since he’s gotten the car he’s changed. Since he has his car, he no longer helps around the house or with the dogs. Clearly, he was only helping so he could have the use of our vehicle Asking for any kind of assistance results in a major attitude. Honestly, parenting littles is tough, but nobody prepares you for the difficulty of parenting adult children. Anyway, I know we’re not the only parents on the struggle bus.
2025 Goal Tracker:
Run a 5K: in training
Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
Top performer at work: on it!
Travel: working on it
Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
Read daily: in progress. I’m reading She Wolves by Helen Castor.
Get out of debt: in progress
Financial independence: in progress
Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.
I once decided to build myself a bookshelf. It went well until I put the shelves on backward. My hubby ended up rebuilding it for me.
Webster’s dictionary defines wanderlust as a strong desire to travel or wander. I, my friends, am here to announce that I am suffering from wanderlust. It’s a hereditary condition. In fact, I can confirm that my siblings and I all suffer from it. For me, I think it started with the little adventures my grandma and parents would take us on. My mom gave me some pictures of my older brother, my grandma, and myself off the beaten path at Minnehaha Falls. The adults in my life did a test job at creating an appreciation for new experiences and places.
There are so many moments that stick out for me from our Norway trip. Two in particular are my grandmother’s reaction to the scenery. The glimmer in her eye and childlike wonderment at the scenery before her. She was 87 when we made that trip, but her joy was childlike. I would add that both times I had to send Jake after her because she started climbing or hiking off on her own.
My kids have inherited this love of travel and I couldn’t be happier. We had so many incredible adventures in Utah while Jake was stationed there. The Cottonwood Canyons will always be one of my favorite places on the planet. Of course, Southern Utah is also the top of that list. Jake and I had so many incredible adventures through the Mighty Five. The Mayor had a great time in both Detroit and Nashville. I can’t wait to explore more of this world with them.
2025 Goal Tracker:
Run a 5K: in training
Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?
As the years have passed, I am amazed at how fast time has flown by. My Instagram feed, which used to be dominated by hockey, kid pics, and dog videos is now dominated by perimenopause videos, hockey, and dog videos. I’m not old enough for perimenopause, nor are my friends. That stuff is for our parents. Except it isn’t anymore, is it? Aging is a privilege denied by many, but damn it is not easy.
Winter has made an appearance here in Florida and the rest of the country. While we haven’t had any snow here, it has been in the 50s and rainy all day. I haven’t even seen the sun today. That rarely happens here in the homeland, aka South Florida. Meanwhile, Jake and Melly got some of the white stuff up in Tallahassee. It looks like they got an inch or two. At Jake’s base, it looks like they got several inches. The pictures from the Panhandle are incredible!
I haven’t spoken with the kids since this morning, but I’m sure the snow has already melted off. Thankfully, The weather has warmed up. They got a lot of sleet and freezing rain to go along with the snow. Undoubtedly, there’s nothing that scares me more than having to drive in freezing rain or sleet. Tonight the melted snow will probably refreeze, so hopefully the kids won’t have to travel anywhere tonight.
Obviously, I’m thrilled we got home Monday night before the weather wreaked havoc on travel. Atlanta had a ground stop, specific to Delta for most of the day. We would have had an extremely long travel day to get home from Nashville. Fortunately, our trip home on Monday was very smooth. The only blips are we lost our upgrades when I moved up our flights and the Mayor’s rumbustius pleadings for fast food.
2025 Goal Tracker:
Run a 5K: in training
Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): 22 days in, I haven’t buckled!
Top performer at work: on it!
Travel: working on it
Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading Armadale by Wilkie Collins– so good.
Get out of debt: in progress
Financial independence: in progress
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
I could make my dogs understand one thing: how much they are loved and valued as members of our family.
It’s been a busy week. My schedule has been altered a bit due to appointments. Consequently, I took a few days off from the blog and my workouts. Fortunately, the appointments went well, but they were lengthy. One of the safety measures our endocrinologist office has instituted is rigorous education for new diabetes patients. Given that the Mayor is only 18, the Hubby and I have an active role in it.
Tuesday we met with the dietician and lead diabetes educator at the Mayor’s Endocrinologist office. It was a long appointment, but we learned a lot. We covered many topics revolving around nutrition, but also navigating life with the insulin pump and Dexcom. There was a lot of information, but it was super helpful. We have a good idea of what to expect next week when he gets the pump and a list of what to bring to said appointment. The new patient education culminates with a day-long symposium.
Due to the appointments, yesterday I had a Telehealth over lunch, I took my rest days this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today I would normally spin over lunch, but instead, I did a full body workout in the Sweat App. This also means I’ll have some workouts to log while I’m in Nashville this weekend. The Mayor and I will be packing tonight. He must bring synthetic insulins (long-acting and short-term) on this trip. By the time we go on our next trip, he’ll just be using one.
2025 Goal Tracker:
Run a 5K: in training
Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): 16 days in and I haven’t buckled!
Top performer at work: on it!
Travel: working on it
Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading Armadale by Wilkie Collins– so good.
Get out of debt: in progress
Financial independence: in progress
Where can you reduce clutter in your life?
The better question would be where can’t I reduce clutter in my life. That is to say, I think I can reduce clutter in every space of my life.
Well, winter made its appearance here these past two days. It was in the mid-forties when I walked the dogs yesterday. Inspired by the cool weather, I decided to channel a little Minnesota for dinner. Consequently, I baked a hot tator-tot dish. It’s as Minnesotan as pickle rollups and just as good. The Mayor was not buying it and made himself pizza instead. His loss!
Today started cold, but it’s warmed into the 70s. Thank God! I had to wear to sweatshirts when I took the dogs out this morning. When I took them out at lunch, no sweatshirt was needed. It’s perfect outside. This is the weather people move to Florida to enjoy. It’s amazing. Today’s weather is the perfect prescription for the winter blues.
2025 Goal Tracker:
Run a 5K: in training
Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations):10 days in and I haven’t buckled!
Top performer at work: it’s been ten days, but so far so good
Travel: working on it
Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading Armadale by Wilkie Collins– so good.
Get out of debt: in progress
Financial independence: in progress
Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?
When I was born, my great-grandmother made me a quilt. It was my most prized possession when I was a child. It’s an item that if it were destroyed, there would be compensation adequate for its value. It’s priceless. As of right now, the quilt is upstairs in the closet. It will be handed down to the first granddaughter we have, so it will probably be in that closet for a while yet.
It’s so cold!!! It was only 44 degrees this morning when I took out the dogs. The thermostat currently shows that it’s 69 degrees in the house. Our thermostat is never below 70. Nonetheless, I can bring myself to turn on the heat. We’ve only used it once in the 18 years we’ve lived in this house. This had to be at least 15 years ago and the temperature had dipped into the 30s. If the temperature drops into the 30s, we’ll probably turn the heat on again.
When I worked in the office, they’d turn the heat on when temperatures dipped into the 50s. Obviously in South Florida, the heating systems don’t get much use. Consequently, when they’re finally turned on after sitting idle for sometimes more than a year, the smell is horrendous. The system must be chockablocked with dust and debris. When the system is fired up for the first time you can smell the dust burning off. Okay, I’m unsure what causes that smell, but I’m pretty sure I’m right.
The nice thing about working from home is having control over the adjustable thermostat. I was shocked to learn, early in my career, that the thermostats were all managed by corporate and nobody could adjust them locally. It made for some chilly days in the office. Unsurprisingly, our regional manager had a space heater hidden in her office. Without the heater, she probably would have gotten frostbite in her office.
What is your mission?
My mission is to make the world a better place. I think the best way to do this is by being kind to everyone you come across. This isn’t always easy given that I live in a place full of crotchety old people, but still, I try.
Well, I’m still tired although we got more sleep last night. The Dexcom alarms didn’t start until 3:00 am this morning. Today’s alarms were of the hypoglycemic variety, which I find quite scary. The Hubby went upstairs to ensure the Mayor ate and drank something to raise his blood sugar. As always, the Mayor was a peach. Fortunately, his blood sugar rebounded nicely and didn’t bottom out or spike the rest of the night.
Next week he has his nutritionist appointment at the endo’s office. I’m sure he’s super excited for that one. Our endo removed his carb restriction, which thrilled him. The following week, he has an appointment to receive training on his insulin pump. I think this is the appointment we’re all excited about. Once he gets the pump, the high blood sugar alarms should, the operative word being should, become a thing of the past.
While I’m still tired, I appreciated meeting my new manager this morning. I’ve worked for Doc before, so I’m excited about this new change. I wish I could say the leads and my production have been as exciting, but I’d be lying. For the past two days I have been riding the struggle bus. Such is life in sales. Anyway, I’m still tired.
2025 Goal Tracker:
Run a 5K: in training
Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): 7 days in and I haven’t buckled!
Top performer at work: it’s been two days, but so far so good
Travel: working on it
Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading Armadale by Wilkie Collins– so good.
Get out of debt: in progress
Financial independence: in progress
What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?
My great-grandmother lived to be almost 105 years old. She died just months shy of her 105th birthday. She experienced both world wars, the Spanish Flu and COVID, and the move to a world dominated by computers and cars. More than that, she was able to experience several generations of the family she created.
My great-grandmother had a very special relationship with my oldest son Jake. She was his great-great-grandmother. I remember his face as she recounted how Lindy (Charles Lindbergh) used to dip his wings to say hi to her when she was working in the fields. She connected us to our past, while Jake connected her to the present. It was a beautiful connection to witness. Longevity made this connection possible, and it was an absolute gift.
I’m tired. I know, know, I’m always tired. Today’s been rough. The Mayor’s Dexcom was going off with high blood sugar alerts all night. His CGM showed his sugar level as over 400, while Accu-Chek showed nearly 300. We gave him a correction dose around 1:30 am based on the accu-chek numbers, but it took a while for the Dexcom to stop squawking. Anyway, my alarm came way too fast.
The Mayor stayed home from school today as the night of high school blood sugar left him feeling nauseous and exhausted. He complained to me that his dad and I woke him up too many times. Meanwhile, the hubby and I could get no sleep as his Dexcom went off every five minutes. His sugar is much better today and has been stable since we woke up. Hopefully, his blood sugar will stay stable throughout the night so we can all get some sleep.
Here’s a nice TBT pic
As for me, I’m fighting the good fight at work. Our department meeting went well. They reassigned my boss to a different department, so as of January 1, my boss changed. I’ve worked for my new manager before and found it to be a pleasant experience. The last several months have been difficult for several reasons, so I’m happy for a fresh start.
2025 Goal Tracker:
Run a 5K: in training
Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): 7 days in and I haven’t buckled!
Top performer at work: it’s been two days, but so far so good
Travel: working on it
Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading Armadale by Wilkie Collins– so good.
Get out of debt: in progress
Financial independence: in progress
What could you do differently?
There are a lot of things I could do differently. One thing that I’ve been contemplating starting, aside from Goat yoga, is the European grocery shopping trend. This involves several small shops at different stores throughout the week. The goal is better ingredients and less waste. Too often the produce I bought on the weekend, isn’t fresh when I use it later in the week. Theoretically, this should save us money if it results in less food waste.
