As of this morning, I have been blessed with forty-four years of life on this beautiful planet. I remember thinking that folks over 40 were old and the pinnacle of maturity, but that just seems laughable now. I don’t see my folks as being old either. Perhaps it’s because they’re young and spirit and very active. At any rate, forty-four years is quite a blessing. My day started with a special delivery of Krispy Crème donuts from my dear coworker. It was such a sweet surprise. It’s continued with so many kind and thoughtful birthday wishes.
Over the past forty-four years, I’ve learned a few things. For example, I really hate people who cannot drive. Also, I really like tacos and sharing meals with friends and family. Seriously though, I’ve learned that what’s important in life is the people and animals we choose to spend it with. It’s the shared experience with our loved ones that makes our lives.
As I look over the past four decades, I’m blown away at the speed with which time has flown by. Moreover, I’ve had some amazing experiences and travels near and far. Connecting to my ancestral home, Norway, was a huge moment for me and my family. Sharing that trip with four generations of my family was amazing. I loved seeing how my grandma, my parents, and my kids reacted to experiencing Norway. Looking forward, knowing that nothing is promised, I choose to look at every day as a gift. So here’s to ushering in another year.
What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?
My middle name is Louise and I share it with my mom and grandmother. It’s a family name passed down on my mom’s side. To be honest, I think it started with my grandma, but I could be wrong.
An update on the patient. The Mayor finally had his pins removed this morning, it was quite the site to watch as the doctor unscrewed and pulled them out. He was visibly uncomfortable. And for the first time since he broke his finger, he said ouch! he was also visibly uncomfortable as the surgeon manipulated his finger to test his range of motion. Unfortunately, while his finger is healing well, it’s still not healed enough for him to go back on the ice. Consequently, he’ll go back in two weeks for another checkup and start therapy in the interim.
After his appointment, we had to take Anakin to the vet for a sore on his foot. It looked a lot worse over the weekend, but it wasn’t healing fast and we were concerned it was infected. Unfortunately, anytime we take Anakin to the vet it’s a production. The poor thing is extremely anxious and consequently very reactive to everyone at the vet’s office. As a result, he has to be sedated for his exam for his safety and the safety of his care team. I was worried the wound might gush like a volcano when she examined it, but it didn’t. He’s currently sleeping off the sedation in the back corridor at the vet’s office.
Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.
Right now we’re in a major life transition as we move from actively raising kids to being empty nesters. It’s a big shift and one I’m both ready and not ready for. I think it’s difficult to say goodbye to life stages like this because it makes you feel old and that time is flying by way too fast.
It’s almost here, the weekend that is. I try to blog every weekday, but between work and PanCan yesterday, I didn’t have the time to write. This week was our national registration day, which was a smashing success for our affiliate. We added seven teams and almost fifty participants in one day! Go us! Yesterday did end up being a pretty long day between work and our PurpleStride planning call.
It’s been a tough start to 2024 between the Hubby’s knee injury and the Mayor’s injury. It’s also been quite expensive – thank you co-pays. We did, however, get some good news this week. The MRI, which Cigna said wasn’t necessary showed there was extensive damage to the Hubby’s knee, but not enough to necessitate surgery. Thank god he had the MRI that showed that passive treatment like shots and PT should be enough to heal his knee. I might call Cigna hourly, and become a celebrity with their customer service team until they cover the MRI.
We go back to the Mayor’s surgeon on Wednesday. Hopefully, he’ll have the pins removed. I’m unsure how long that takes, but it sounds like a miserable process. Honestly, I hope it doesn’t cause him too much pain on top of the discomfort. He was hoping he could play at states the weekend after, but the doctor said no at his last appointment. We’ll see if she’s consistent in her answer when he asks again Wednesday.
By the way, I have to give a quick shout-out to my girl Sheri for making my day. This afternoon has been a rough one. And then I got an unexpected package from Amazon. In it was an emotional support pickle, which is just the cutest thing ever. It was such a thoughtful gift.
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
Run! People are who you think they are, so run before they show you who they are. If you don’t, they’ll put you through hell.
Today’s prompt is all about your favorite people. This is an easy question to answer. My favorite people to be around are my family. This includes folks who are family by blood as well as our chosen family. I’d also include my puppies in there as well even though they’re not technically “people.” Life is made rich by the people we choose to create memories with.
At the top of Mount OgdenMy Folks and I at Gulfstream Beach
Now that my kids are older, it’s weird not having two of my favorite people around all the time. I’m happy they’re doing well on their own as they should, but still miss them all the same. It is nice to be able to spend time with just my spouse after two decades of busyness. It’s almost like a second honeymoon. Although since his injury, the Mayor is now home for good. There was no sense in keeping him on the West Coast when we couldn’t play hockey.
The Fam at our ancestral church in NorwayMy Bestie and I in Boston
It’s weird having our weeknights back after more than a decade of daily hockey practice. We get to do things like make dinner, eat dinner at the table, and even watch TV. I may even bake some cookies or bread this evening. I’m dying to try my new mixer. I couldn’t bake over the weekend while we swapped out the stovetop.
It’s transition time over as we switch out our stove top, our treadmill, and our KitchenAid Mixer. We’ve had the KitchenAid mixer since we got married in 2001. We bought the treadmill in 2005 after moving to Florida and leaving the elliptical behind. Lastly, the stovetop is original to the house and was installed in 2006. It’s hard to believe that the stovetop is the same age as the Mayor and everything else is older than him. The stovetop is the last of one standing out of the original appliances that came with the house.
This morning the Hubby took the old treadmill to the dump and removed the old stovetop. While he worked on expanding the opening for the new stovetop, I vacuumed and shampooed the carpet where the old treadmill was and where we’ll set up the treadmill. I bought a mat to place the treadmill on this time, so it won’t jack up the carpet too badly. Once the carpet has dried, I’ll set up the mat. Tomorrow we’ll set up the new treadmill, which I am so excited to try!
I was going to bake today, but the amount of marble dust in the air isn’t conducive to baking. It’s truly radiating all over the kitchen and family room. I will be able to bake up some loaves tomorrow once it clears out enough.” Instead, I’m cleaning, feeding the birds enjoying their plumage, and watching seasons two and three of Loudermilk. The Hubby is finishing up the installation of the new stovetop. I can’t wait for it to be ready for use!!!
Write about your approach to budgeting.
I used to use a software program but decided paying for a license wasn’t worth it. Now I use an excel document to plan my budget and track my expenses. It’s not the most sophisticated method, but it works. And now back to transition time.
After twenty years of faithful service, I upgraded my KitchenAid Mixer. It has served me well over the past two decades, but it’s time to move on to something bigger and stronger. We bake a lot and in larger batches, so it became obvious the classic-sized mixer wasn’t big enough to handle our regular baking anymore. After all, I bake several loaves of bread a weekend. Moreover, when we bake cookies, we usually make a double batch.
Consequently, I upgraded to Kitchenaid’s 7-quart stand mixer. The bowl is huge! Especially when compared to the bowl of its predecessor. It also has a stronger engine and more speed. One thing that will take some getting used to is that this is a lift stand mixer and not a tilt-head model like our old one. It will take some getting used to after twenty-plus years of using a tilt-stand mixer. I will say that a stand mixer is a must-have for any kitchen. It allows you to attack your baking with maximum efficiency. We use our mixer several times a week. It will make your baking and cooking life so much easier. I love my mixer!
As for our old mixer, we’re refurbishing it so it can go to a good home. KitchenAid mixers may be expensive, but we’re going to squeeze every last dollar out of each of ours. I’m excited about being able to pass it down. Some of my favorite baking tools my Grandma or mother passed down to me. The beautiful thing about baking and cooking is that it keeps us connected to our past and loved ones that are no longer with us. I will return in a few weeks with a review of the new mixer.
Have you ever unintentionally broken the law?
I broke the law at my most recent hair appointment where I may or may not have fallen asleep under the hair dryer. Unbeknownst to me, the simple act of falling asleep in that chair is illegal in Florida. This is one of the foremost issues Florida’s government wants to solve. Never mind the spiraling costs of homeowners and auto insurance.
Is there anything more aggravating than health insurance? I don’t think so. Today’s aggravation with Cigna comes from them doubling the price of my Synthroid on top of doubling my premiums. Of course, the generic is free, but unlike most drugs, Synthroid and its generic partners are not the same. Unlike other drugs, where generic may be just fine, doctors recommend you stick with what you start with. To change later would be disruptive due to differences between the drugs. This does work both ways, so if you start with the generic, you stay with the generic.
Cigna has been on my shit list for a while now. Firstly, I can no longer use the pharmacy I’ve used for 18 years. I guess they don’t want me using a pharmacy that has a majority stake in Aetna. Moreover, they’re refusing to pay for Hubby’s MRI because apparently, they know more about knee injuries than his orthopedic surgery. I guess they’d rather the surgeon root around in the operating room figuring out the scope of damage instead of the surgeon knowing and planning for it ahead of time. It’s an utter crock of shit.
What I’d like to say to Cigna
It’s aggravating because who has the time to fight with their insurance company? I’m grateful that my hubby’s injury isn’t emergent. At this point, we’d be better off playing roulette at the casino to cover our medicine bills than trusting Cigna to do the right thing by my family. After all, I’m on the hook for both the Mayor’s surgery and the Hubby’s. To be fair, I don’t think an insurer that faithfully covers their clients’ medical bills exists in this galaxy. If you find one, it’s like finding the Holy Grail. Anyway, I guess my overarching point is that Doctors should be dictating standards of care, not insurance companies and large hospital systems.
What were your parents doing at your age?
At my age, my parents were working their butts off, so my brothers and I could go to college. Their hard work and dedication to us allowed each of us to be successful. Now, I’m attempting to do the same thing with my boys. Also, when they were my age I used to make fun of them for going to bed early. Now here I am in bed by 9:00 pm every night. I guess we do eventually become just like our parents, which is just fine in my book because my folks are amazing.
After the holidays, I decided I wanted to keep refining my baking skills by adding sourdough to the mix. Consequently, I loaded up my Amazon cart with all the goodies and accouterments one would need to start their sourdough journey. Amazon has millions of options to help you here which can be overwhelming. I’ll walk you through the items I bought later in the post.
Baking with sourdough is a labor of love and patience. It can take a couple of weeks for your starter to get going and be strong enough to use for bread. Once I received all my goodies from Amazon, I got to work on my starters. I started with two starters in case I messed up one of them. The first one I started, I used a culture I had bought from Amazon. The second one I started, I used the recipe that came with the sourdough starter kit. As for the recipe, it couldn’t have been more simple as it was just flour and water.
Patience is a virtue I don’t have, so you can imagine how anxious I was to get baking. Once the starter had been established for a little over a week, I decided it was time to rumble. Consequently, I found a sourdough recipe in my Better Homes & Garden cookbook that was fairly straightforward. The first loaves turned out a bit stodgy but tasted good. I have now made the recipe three times with each attempt looking and tasty progressively better. They say that sourdough practice makes perfect and honestly my family loves all the fresh bread.
I did try Paul Hollywood’s sourdough baguette recipe a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I got desperately ill between the first rise and the second rise. My hubby had to finish shaping the loaves and getting them set for their overnight rise. The following morning I did manage to get them in the oven looking semi-respectable.
If you’re looking to get started on a sourdough journey of your own, here are my must-haves:
Sourdough Starter Jar Kit that includes two starter jars, recipes, jar labels, a starter guide, and a marker
Banneton Bread Proofing Basket Kit which comes with: an oval proofing basket, bread-making tool supplies including scoring lame, metal and plastic scrapers, basket liner, and cleaning brush
Airtight container to hold flour for a starter. I created a 50/50 mix of white and wheat flour.
Write about your first computer.
My first computer was a Dell desktop that I custom-built and bought for myself as a college freshman. I was so proud of my purchase. At the time, it was a cutting-edge computer. Now it would be an absolute dinosaur. At the moment, I’m rocking with a MacBook Pro having left my PC days just for my nine to five days.
We had a great weekend around these parts. Our patient continues to heal nicely even if he is a bit cranky and annoying. Fortunately, he is not experiencing a lot of pain. Unfortunately, the lack of pain makes it harder to keep him compliant with his activity restrictions, icing the finger, and taking his medications. It’s been a constant battle for the hubby and me to get him to ice and elevate the injury. No matter how many times we tell him these things are designed to facilitate his recovery, he ignores them.
Thankfully, both Friday and Saturday nights provided a respite for me. Friday night I had the house to myself as the Mayor was at his girlfriend’s house and the hubby had a hockey game. I cooked a nice dinner, courtesy of HelloFresh, watched TV, and cuddled with the dogs. By the time, the Hubby got home dinner was waiting for him, but I had already fallen asleep. I was still exhausted from being ill earlier in the week.
I worked Saturday, but it was completely dead. It was an absolute waste of time. I would have been equally productive as an outfitter. Nevertheless, I spent the day counting down the hours to dinner and a show. After work, we headed to HardRock to have dinner and see Seinfeld with our besties. Dinner at Cipresso was outstanding. I had the best veal parmigiana I have ever tasted and our appetizers were equally as tasty. Afterward, we hit the slots before heading to see Jerry. The slots were kind to us, which was a bonus.
The comedy show started late as people came in to find their seats. Honestly, it probably got off to a late start because the concessions (aka alcohol) were closing once the show started. I didn’t mind the late start as it would have been disruptive to start while people were still finding their way to their seats. The opener was Mario Joyner, who was fantastic. He had us laughing throughout his entire set.
And then came Jerry. I’m a huge Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm fan, so seeing him live was a big deal. He lived up to, nay surpassed my expectations. His set and material were so relatable. We can all relate to going on a family vacation just to “fight at a hotel” instead of at home. His take on marriage, cell phones, and water features in Florida neighborhoods was hysterical. We didn’t stop laughing the entire time he was on stage. He is so incredibly talented. I’m glad we had the opportunity to experience it in person.
Naturally, we stayed up a bit later Saturday night than we are accustomed to doing. Consequently, we slept on Sunday. I had grandiose plans of baking cookies, and bread, planting herbs/tomatoes in terracotta pots for the patio, and trimming the hibiscus. Regrettably, fatigue prevented me from making my way outside to engage in any gardening activities. On the other hand, I found plenty of time to bake cookies and bread. It was my third attempt at a sourdough loaf and it turned out pretty good. They say practice makes perfect, so I’ll keep working on it.
What are your favorite sports to watch and play?
This may surprise all of you, given the name of my blog, but my favorite sport to watch and play is hockey. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to get back on the ice someday. I had to retire after tearing a tendon in my ankle and the whole thyroid thing. Nevertheless, I enjoy watching hockey whether it’s youth, high school (MN,) college, or the NHL. Each level of hockey brings something to the experience of being a hockey fan. It’s the greatest sport and community in the world. Our hockey journey has blessed us with the opportunity to meet some incredible people.
We’re home from the Mayor’s surgery. Everything went well. The eighty or so minutes he was in surgery were not super fun. I really didn’t like the helpless feeling that comes with waiting for a loved one to get out of surgery. His finger was quite a mess since it had already started healing. For the next week or so, he’ll have two pins in the bone to facilitate the healing. We’ll see his surgeon in about a week. She said he was dancing and giggling on his way out of the operating room to the post-op area. Needless to say, the nurses appreciated the levity he brought and a happy patient in recovery is better than a cranky one.
She estimates he’s facing a four to six-week recovery. We’re all hoping for a quick recovery, so he can play in the state tournament. Of course, his recovery is predicated on him being a compliant patient. This, of course, is where things will get complicated. He doesn’t want to wear the sling or sit down. At this point, he should be sitting down and relaxing, but he’s fighting us at every turn. Lastly, he’s insistent on having Chic Fil-A tonight for dinner, which may be a bit difficult on his tummy.
The funniest thing I noticed was he wrote himself a reminder on his leg, so he wouldn’t forget he wanted Chic Fil-A. As if, he’d ever forget he wanted food. In the post-op room, he was saying all sorts of funny things. He opted to wear sticky socks at home instead of his shoes. Halfway home he forgot he had worn the socks and was wondering where he left his shoes. At any rate, we’re glad to be home with our funny yet challenging patient.
Name an attraction or town close to home that you still haven’t got around to visiting.
I’d love to visit Stiltsville, a collection of silted houses located off the coast of Miami. Builders started constructing these houses in Biscayne Bay in the 1930s. There were a lot more of them, but hurricanes and fires have left only seven remaining.
