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Still Don’t Know What Day It Is

I still don’t know what day it is. Early into the pandemic, I wrote a post about having no idea what day of the week it was now that everything is on a from home basis. Flash forward to now and I still don’t know what day it is. You would think it would have gotten marginally easier as time elapsed and some normal activities have started again. But alas, I’m still lost. In fact, I spent much of today thinking it was Friday. However, as my calendar so painfully reminded me, it is only Thursday or Friday eve.

It would be magnificent if it was Friday as it would mean my new fridge would be here and the workweek would be almost over. As it happens, I’ll have to cook one more dinner traipsing between the garage fridges and the kitchen. Our fridge is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow between 7:00 am and 1:00 pm. If there anything like AT&T, they’ll arrive in January. Obviously, I’m hoping that there on time and nice, professional people. Honestly, I’m a little fearful of having them deliver a fridge without the hubby home. After all, a delivery man employed by Best Buy’s delivery contractor murdered a woman last year when delivering an appliance. If you haven’t read the story, it’s horrific.

Also, if it was Friday, I’d be one day closer to Jake being home. I mean, the countdown is on! I cannot wait to have all three of my boys back under the same roof even if it is only for a short time. As for the younger two, they’re pumped that Jake will be home for Christmas. We are all looking forward to seeing how Maya and Athena react to having him home. Athena is quite perceptive. Every-time he would come home from the recruiter’s office, she would be depressed. It was like she knew that recruiter was going to her Jake away from home. Needless to say, I think she’ll be beside herself when he gets home.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read The Idiot, by Fyodor Dosytoevsky

*It’s day 4 of BBG 3.0 week 6, which means it cardio day. However, I was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday, so I’ll be completing the upper body workout today.

*I’m so excited!!!! I’m counting down the days until my oldest boy comes home for Christmas! His arrival is getting closer!!!!!

*I still don’t know what day it is…..

*Today I ran a mile and walked a mile. It went well today.

*Today’s word of the day is bomb. I hope I don’t bomb my life insurance licensing exam tomorrow. Instead of decorating with rustic simplicity, I’ve been studying the nuances of life insurance.

*I love the footprints the puppies leave on the patio when coming back in every morning. I’m a bit sick of them tracking in the mud on the freshly vacuumed white tiles. It has been so humid here in the mornings that they’re getting a bit muddy in the backyard.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today Anakin is wearing his Christmas bow tie. He looks mighty dapper if I say so myself. Naturally, I bought all three dogs Christmas outfits. I can’t wait to share the pictures with you. You’ll love them.

Today’s song of the day is Forever (Garage Version) by Mumford & Sons:

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Last Weekend of Summer

It’s the last weekend of summer and unlike year’s past, I’m not jumping for joy at the boys going back to school. At least not in this virtual environment. I’m not emotionally prepared for the daily, no hourly arguments with two teenage boys. We’re not in a space here in Palm Beach County, where the kids can safely go back into the physical buildings. And I fully support the move to start school virtually, but it sucks balls.

In my mind’s eye, I’m imagining my middle son having a conniption every morning. Since he will need to attend class at 7:30 am. Fortunately, the school has ensured that the virtual school this fall is very structured. In the spring, they had no structure, which was a huge problem for my boys. I can’t count the number of lies they told about their class schedules. It wasn’t until near the end of the quarter, my hubby and I found out the truth. Nonetheless, I see myself managing the bell schedules and trying to keep regular days and block schedule days straight. I see myself needing another vacation soon.

Tomorrow is my Hubby’s 38th birthday, Additionally, we have our first scrimmages of the season. Thus continuing the ten-year tradition of celebrating his birthday at the hockey rink. Honestly, I’m quite excited about the games since we’ll get to see all our friends from Goalielocks’ team last year. I’m not, however, excited for the drive to South Dade county. It’s never a fun drive in the middle of a Saturday. Fortunately, getting to see the kids play and see my friends makes the drive worth it.

Proof that I once had a tan

Sunday we’ll be celebrating his birthday and my sister-in-law’s birthday with a celebratory brunch. Once again, I’ll be making an exception to the norm by making my Christmas brunch caramel rolls. It is going to take all the self-control I can muster to not eat them all. Naturally, we’ll be enjoying bottomless mimosas, cholesterol bake, and hash browns as well. I’m sure we’ll play some Cards Against Humanity and maybe even some games on Goalielocks’ Jackbox.

Quick update on Maya. Today she’s feeling much better although she is still lethargic. Excitedly, I was able to get her to eat some of her dog food this afternoon. This is the first time she’s eaten her food since Tuesday morning. Additionally, she’s been mobile throughout the day and drinking a lot of water. Hopefully, she’ll continue to improve as we go into the weekend. Based on her symptoms, she must have snuck something that made her sick. Thanks for all your well wishes for our sweet girl. She’s our first dog and we can’t imagine losing her.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read Mary Barton, by Elisabeth Gaskell.

*Gentle Flow with Jennifer at Open Heart Yoga Studio

*I ran one mile and walked a mile today.

*I had another pile of Amazon boxes waiting for me today.

*BBG 2.0. week 11 day 5: abs, cardio and yoga

*We have only three more sleeps until we start virtual school. This will be our last weekend of summer.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk.

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Connection

Maintaining a connection with the outside world during this time of quarantine isn’t always easy, but it’s super necessary. To be honest, I haven’t talked on the phone this much since I was a teenager. Okay, maybe I haven’t talked on the phone this much since the advent of the text message. In fact, if you know me well, you know I don’t typically answer my phone. Your best option to read me is to text me. Since I have a house of boys and three dogs, communicating via text is much easier since I often can’t hear myself think here.

Meanwhile, there will be plenty of connection starting next week as Palm Beach County Schools start the school year virtually. I fully expect my phone to be ringing off the hook with phone calls from our new victims. By victims, I mean my kids’ new teachers. Unlike last spring, this year the boys will be held to the bell schedule as if they were in the building. For me, this is a huge win. This brings structure to their day that was frankly missing in the spring. Naturally, Goalielocks will have to transition off of his third shift schedule back to a normal school schedule.

There is one major upshot to starting the school year virtually. I am saving so much money by not breaking the bank with back to school shopping. This is fabulous because for the first time both boys want fashionable (aka expensive) clothes. Truly, I’ve had it pretty easy these last several years. Since middle school, they have worn athletic shorts and t-shirts every day. At any rate, I do not miss the back to school shopping push. There’s nothing worse than hunting for a hyper-specific school supply in the bin after bin of school supplies. Naturally, I will have to take them school shopping, but for the moment I will relish skipping this ritual.

Me anticipating how I’ll feel next week

Today I spent most of my day nursing our sweet Maya. Fortunately, she seems to be doing a little bit better today. We were pretty worried last night as she wasn’t able to walk for a portion of the evening. Honestly, I was starting to think she’d be traveling over the rainbow bridge in the near future. Thankfully, she’s fully mobile today. Moreover, she’s been drinking a lot of water and has even eaten some food. This is the first time she’s eaten since Tuesday. Honestly, I’m relieved to see her having a much better day. Please pray that she continues to heal.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read Mary Barton, by Elisabeth Gaskell. This book is more my speed.

*Yin Yoga with Jennifer at Open Heart Yoga Studio

*I ran two miles and walked a mile today.

*I cleaned up a lot of messes due caused by my sick puppy.

*BBG 2.0. week 11 day 4: cardio and yoga

*We have one more weekday until we start virtual school.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk.

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The Bell Jar

I recently finished reading Slyvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. Admittedly, I was not super familiar with Plath or her writings before I read her book. Yes, I had heard of her and her untimely death, but beyond that, I knew nothing. In fact, I didn’t even know what to expect when I started reading the book. Well, at least until my dear friend Terri asked if I was emotionally stable. Whelp! I was totally stable, but starting to question my decision to read this book during the bleakness of a global pandemic. My morbid curiosity got the best of me, so I read the book. Alas, the scene in Family Guy between Lois and Meg finally made sense to me.

Despite the gravity of the book’s storyline, I decided it was important to read it. Plath is a terrific writer, who I was starting to enjoy. However, there was something off about the heroine from page one. Her internal dialogue was not something I could relate to. For example, I didn’t understand why she referred to people in their lives by their full names. Instead of saying my boyfriend at Yale, she would write Buddy Willard. I’m not sure why, but it just struck me as odd. I found myself unable to relate to Esther and her apathy towards her amazing internship in New York.

At one point, just like when I read Nabokov’s Lolita, it was uncomfortable to read. Perhaps because I know the ending of the author’s story or the honest and unbridled look at a person’s downward spiral was unnerving. Also, I felt like I was intruding on a deeply personal struggle. As Esther, aka Sylvia, devolved into her depressive state it got harder and harder to take. I struggled to relate to her struggles. Perhaps this is because the majority of downward spirals I’ve witnessed have taken a narcissistic bent on social media.

There was, however, one theme that I felt we could all relate to during this pandemic. Plath writes several times how Esther feels trapped under the bell jar with no air and no escape. For those stuck in the bell jar, the word itself is a bad dream. To me, 2020 kind of seems like a global bell jar. I say this, by no means, to minimize Esther’s/Slyvia’s struggle with mental illness. I say it because we all have felt like we’re trapped without a way out of the 2020 “bell jar.”

Eventually, Esther receives the treatment she needs and is able to resume her life at college. For us, eventually, the pandemic will abate and the bell jar will be lifted. In the interim, it’s important to find ways to lift the jar and give ourselves room to breathe. Here are a couple of ways you can do that:

*Get outside – walk, run, hike, bike, swim. The great outdoors are cathartic as is exercise.

*Adopt or foster a pet

*Exercise – Youtube has plenty of free workouts If your gym is currently closed.

*Find a community to connect with. It doesn’t matter if you’re meeting up in person or on Zoom. Connect with people.

*Check-in on family members and friends. Particularly, check-in on the elderly, who haven’t been allowed visitors due to the pandemic. Imagine how lonely they must be and how grateful they would be to hear your voice.

*Start something new. I will be starting a book club this week as it is a great way to connect with people. If you’re interested in joining, let me know.

*Watch playoff hockey- the games have been incredible and there is no better sport in the world.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read Mary Barton, by Elisabeth Gaskell. This book is more my speed.

*Vinyasa with Jennifer at Open Heart Yoga Studio

*I ran two miles today and walked a mile..

*BBG 2.0. week 11 day 5: cardio and yoga

*It’s tough to be a parent, especially in this environment. I am lamenting the start of a new virtual school year.

*We have one more week until we start virtual school.

*Since last Monday, I have ran 12 miles and walked 8!

*Today I received my first Butcher Box.

*For dinner, we are cooking bison chilli. It should be good!

*I am missing the mountains. I wish we were still travelling.

*After this week, I will only have one week in the BBG 2.0 cycle.

*I learned a new word today tittynope. This word means a small quantity of something leftover.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk.

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Celebrating Us

Today we are celebrating us. That’s right today is our 19th wedding anniversary. I can’t believe we’re old enough to have been married this long, but whatever. Clearly, we haven’t been aging that fast. Since we’re still in the midst of the COVID crisis, we enjoyed a nice Blue Apron dinner at home. The Hubby did most of the cooking, but I was there to assist as needed. He brought me some beautiful roses and a wonderful card. I bought nothing today, which I thought was a great present for him. In all due seriousness, we’ll celebrate our anniversary when we head to the Keys later this month.

The Five of Us at Stegastein on Aurlands Fjord in 2017

Naturally, we both had to work today since it’s a Tuesday. He spent the day working on a job up in Jupiter. Meanwhile, I worked from home. The best part, of course, was that my day was scheduled around yoga and my run. Did I mention I love my new job? I love that I have the flexibility to continue the things I love, but still work my tail off at work. It’s a win-win situation. Moreover, the best part of sales is the opportunity to meet people doing incredible things. Hopefully, I’ll gain traction quickly and start earning a consistent paycheck. In the interim, I’m happy to be productive again.

Since I have a standing noon meeting, I’ve switched up my yoga schedule a bit. Instead of taking yoga for a healthy back, I’m now taking Vinyasa with Monica in the morning. Naturally, the vinyasa class is significantly tougher than the health back class, however, it is perfect for me. Honestly, I can’t tell you how much I have missed a Monica Vinyasa class. I used to take her class 3-4x/week until she left Burn and I got hurt. I’m glad to back in her tough and rewarding class. However, since I’m taking a vinyasa class on Tuesday, I’m taking yin classes on Thursday and Friday to balance out the practice.

Post yoga, I made it home for my standing sales meeting. It was refreshing to have a productive, succinct sales meeting that drone on for an hour. Within thirty minutes, I was hard at work on building and executing my contact strategy. It felt pretty damn good. I powered through the afternoon and was extremely productive connecting with several professionals. Hopefully, those connections will turn into meetings over the course of the next week. Needless to say, it was a productive workday.

Naturally, it wouldn’t be Tuesday if I didn’t log a 3-mile run or complain about Facebook. Today’s run was purposefully difficult. Consequently, I increased my tempo for the majority of the run. For the most part, I felt good throughout. Comparatively, the last four minutes of my run sucked. Fortunately, I’m on season 6 of Curb, and Leon just got introduced. He and Larry are ridiculously funny, which kept me distracted for most of the run. Nonetheless, the last few minutes were still awful. As for this evening, we’re just chilling on the couch enjoying a Parks & Rec marathon. Oh and the best anniversary present? A call from our airmen! I love hearing from him.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.

*Vinyasa with Monica from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Worked!

*Did you know that the first ring I received from my hubby was a ruby ring?

*I quietly enjoyed a morning and afternoon meditation

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin! It turned out super cute!

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 8 BBG 2.0 day 2 cardio and yoga

*And now I feel better today!

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Clueless

Clueless: classic 90s movie or adjective describing 99% of Facebook users? It really could be either. Since I’m in a good mood after a productive day, however, I’m all about the classic movie. When I first saw the movie, I shopped at Contempo and owned the As If shirt showing in the window. Nevertheless, I hadn’t yet read Jane Austen in any capacity let alone Emma on which the movie is based. Now I’ve read all of Jane Austen’s writings and loved them all. On this matter, I may disagree with Charlotte Bronte: who argued Austen was not great as she was no poet. At any rate, the movie is a complete classic that brings back great memories of my freshmen year.

Before I got to chill and enjoy Clueless in solitude (Goalielocks has been cleaning upstairs, while the Mayor and the hubby were at the rink.) I had an incredibly busy day. My morning started with my BBG ab workout, which went right into my yoga class. Admittedly, my BBG ab workout took more time this morning because I had a workout partner for the last circuit. Unfortunately, Anakin is not the best workout partner. He loves to crawl under me when I’m in tabletop, downward dog, plank, mountain climbers, etc. Additionally, he likes to give kisses and lick people’s ears, which doesn’t work too well when you’re wearing air pods. Surprisingly, I still managed to be on time for my yoga class, which was awesome.

I had only a few minutes in between my yoga class and teacher training. Consequently, it was a mad dash to reheat leftovers for lunch and brew some coffee. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough in my mad dash and ended up being a few minutes tardy. Today’s class focused on anatomy again, which I really enjoy. It’s always nice to put a name to the things that hurt. I kid, I kid. Truly, it is important to understand the structure of the body if you’re going to be teaching yoga. This is key to understanding the poses and helping prevent injuries. Honestly, the training went super fast.

Tonight we had an amazing dinner courtesy of Hello Fresh and Chef me. I cooked Szechuan pork and green bean stir fry. First of all, I should say that the meal was really easy to cook and was done within thirty minutes. Second of all, it wasn’t too hot spice wise, which made it perfect for me. Initially, I picked this meal out with the Mayor in mind. He likes a spicy and sweet flavor palate, but boy was I wrong. My boy has a strong streak of stubbornness in him these days. Consequently, he hates everything associated with Hello Fresh and Blue Apron. In fact, he found tonight’s meal repugnant. As for the rest of us, we were anxious to get seconds. The joys of parenting are boundless, especially at mealtime.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.

*Gentle Flow with Jennifer from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin! It turned out super cute!

*I watched Clueless on Hulu while the boys were at hockey.

*I am relaxing on the couch watching Rick & Morty free of the stinky flatus of my boys.

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 7 BBG 2.0 day 5 abs and yoga.

*This month it will be a year from my layoff from KHE. It is an anniversary I look forward to celebrating.

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Great News

So let me set the scene for you. It’s just after 10:00 am EST and I’m thirty minutes into a dreamy yin yoga class with Jen. When out the blue, my phone illuminates with a Facetime call from my boy. Ordinarily, we don’t hear from him during the week, especially during the workday. Naturally, I had to take the call. Fortunately, I was taking the class via Zoom and was already muted. While Jen worked us into a new pose, I chatted with my son. The great news was that he passed and was being promoted! As I sat in my pose, I could hardly contain my excitement. Honestly, I wanted to get up dance, but since Jen was recording the Zoom session I figured better not make a fool of myself.

At the moment, I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders. As I looked at him with great pride, I could see a tremendous weight had also been removed his shoulder. When you think about it, it’s an extraordinary accomplishment. Nearly seven months ago, he left our home for basic training. Today he completed an industry-leading certification! Moreover, he didn’t have to spend one penny to earn it. In fact, he got paid! Perhaps the best part of all of this is that he’s where he belongs. He loves his new role and is beyond excited about his future. As his mom, I couldn’t be more proud.

After I hung up the phone, I quickly sent an update to our family’s group text thread. My heart was bursting with so much pride, I could have done 100 vinyasas back to back. Alas, I was in a yin class, so that would have been pretty obnoxious. Quickly, I refocused on the class as I meditated on his big success. Never in my imagination did I imagine he’d end up in his current career field. I’m glad, however, that he took good advice looking to the service instead of focusing on college. This way he’ll get an education and stay debt-free. By the time we got to Shavasana, I was an emotional puddle of pride and joy. Truly, tears of joy streamed down the side of my cheeks as I relaxed into the pose.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.

*Yin Yoga with Jennifer from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin! It turned out super cute!

*I am relaxing on the couch watching Rick & Morty free of the stinky flatus of my boys.

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 7 BBG 2.0 day 3 cardio and yoga.

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Slay All Day

It was a slay all day kind of day here at the Hockey Mom Fit Life. Naturally, it started with my cup of Joe from Dunkin’ and some quality time with the dogs. Before breakfast, I knocked out the BBG arm workout. I continue to despise lie down pushups and burpees. They’re simply horrible! As for the jumping rope, I’m getting much better at this. Obviously, I planned my morning, so I’d have about ten minutes between BBG and my yoga class. After I finished BBG, I broke my fast with some almonds and a banana.

Anakin and I thread the needle

Today was the second time I’ve taken Ava’s slow flow class. It is incredible! Additionally, since I knew what to expect today, it was easier than last week. Ava does a great job creating an innovative flow that covers all the major bases. I’m excited to see how my body responds to her classes. Unfortunately, my Mayor loves to interrupt my yoga classes by letting Anakin into the room. It is sometimes annoying behavior. Fortunately, Anakin loves to join me on the mat for yoga. Moreover, timing is everything here, and thankfully the Mayor didn’t interrupt my savasana. I can only imagine what goes through my sweet puppy’s mind when runs onto my yoga mat.

After yoga concluded, I had fifteen minutes to clean myself up and make some coffee before my Zoom call with my new boss. That’s right folks, I’ve started a new job as a sales executive with a start-up firm that specializes in promotional gear for companies. I’m particularly excited that the new role has maximum flexibility to fit into the life I want. Clearly, I’ve had a very firm list of requirements for any role I would take in my post-Kaplan life. Fortunately, this opportunity checks all of those boxes. Consequently, if you or someone you know owns a business and needs some SWAG, I’d be happy to help.

Since it’s Wednesday, it’s also my HIIT run day. I like to do this run in the late afternoon after my second cup of coffee wears off. Today’s run was 20 minutes of 30-second intervals alternating between 7.5, 7.0, and 3.0 mph. Amazingly, I had no concept of how long a 30-second interval can be until I was running one at 7.5 mph. Alternatively, I had no idea that a 30-second interval could be so short when catching my breath at 3.0 mph. Fortunately, my run play-list and Curb help get me through the most arduous parts of the run. Today’s run went well albeit the 7.5 mph tempo is a stretch for me. Afterward, I did my normal post-run stretch routine. Yesterday I changed it up a bit by extending the sleeping pigeon pose stretch from one minute to two minutes. This helps keep my glutes and hips healthy.

My hubby worked all day but still made dinner for me as I had some conference calls to jump on to. Tonight he grilled some chuck eye steaks and cooked Margherita Chicken Pasta courtesy of HelloFresh. I gotta be honest here, the HelloFresh pasta was absolutely amazing. Certainly, I don’t need to eat that many carbs or calories, but I totally earned it today. Even my Mayor, who has become annoyingly picky, tried and enjoyed the pasta. Since Goalielocks has never liked spaghetti, he enjoyed a nice, juicy grilled steak. As for the rest of the evening, I have a Purple Stride call and a good book in my future.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte.

*Slow Flow with Ava from Open Heart Yoga Studio

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin! It turned out super cute!

*I took a nice cold, gelid as an icy pond, shower post run. Clearly, it was amazeballs.

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 7 BBG 2.0 day 2 cardio and yoga

*And now I feel better today!

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Hazy and Lazy Sunday

Today was a hazy and lazy Sunday. The best kind of Sunday there is outside of the hazy part. Unfortunately, the Saharan dust has left our skies a bit hazy. Fortunately, the Saharan dust does bring good tidings as it plays a vital role in fertilizing our hemisphere notably the Amazon rainforest. Truly, the earth is amazing, but I’m sure you didn’t come to my blog for an earth science lesson. As for me, I was slightly less productive than the fertile dust storm. I woke up feeling a bit under the weather. My throat was sore and there was a little pressure in my sinuses. Oh, the joy of being an allergy suffering. Nonetheless, I succeeded in turning this hazy and lazy Sunday into a productive one.

Yesterday, I took a total rest day. Consequently, today I doubled up my workouts. For the first time, I took Jen’s Vinyasa class. It was great. Since I wasn’t feeling great, it was a little tougher than it probably would have been normally. We did a lot of ab work, so I’m sure I’m going to be feeling it tomorrow. Importantly, I opted to take the class from home via Zoom since I wasn’t feeling 100%. Sharing is definitely not caring during these pandemic days. Throughout the class, I could hear Anakin barking at my door trying to get in. Eventually, he was able to sneak in. Anakin loves when I’m practicing yoga on my mat. Particularly, he likes to kiss my face while I’m in yoga poses. Today we perfected the Anakin supported wheel pose. Needless to say, it was pretty cute.

Afterward, the hubby headed to Home Depot to pick up a new microwave. Our old microwave bit the dust last night after fourteen years of good service. While he shopped the aisles, I shopped from home. Since I had a sore throat, I skipped out going to the store. The dogs and I chilled on the couch and enjoyed the best nature programs Hulu had to offer. Meanwhile, both boys actually did their chores. Thankfully, the microwave was easy for the hubby to install. I’m so glad to have a microwave in working order. After all, it’s hard to make nachos without one. I did order the hubby some additional steaks to grill at dinner with our Blue Apron fajitas, so we would have ample steak. Additionally, I got the dogs some ice cream. Lastly, instead of buying us all candy to share, I bought some gluten-free frosting to “share.”


The hubby made his way outside to clean the patio after installing the microwave. He did an awesome job on the patio on both of our cars. Since I’m asthmatic and heat-sensitive, I did not help with the outside chores. Instead, I logged my run on the treadmill. Initially, I wasn’t sure I’d make it through the whole run since I wasn’t feeling 100%. Undoubtedly, it was starting to feel like a futile effort for the first five minutes of the run. Unsurprisingly, once I got past the first five minutes of the run, I hit my stride and felt good. Well, as good as you can feel while running on a treadmill after eating too much frosting. Truly, I felt a lot better after the run. Before I went to start dinner, I went through my post-run stretch routine.

Anakin and Athena enjoying their ice cream

My hubby and I teamed up to make dinner. He had started it as I finished my run, so I grated the cheese and sauteed the onions and peppers. Per the recipe, the steaks were to be cooked in the pan. Instead, we opted to grill the steaks. This proved to be a great decision because the steaks tasted amazing. As for the filler, the pickled cabbage and cucumber was a great addition. They provided a great contrast to the sauteed vegetables and grilled steaks. All in all, it was an awesome meal. I was completely full after two fajitas. Clearly, we will be ordering this meal again. Perhaps the best part of dinner was when the Mayor got caught sneaking steak into his “cheese wrap.” He is a professed steak hater, so he was trying to hide that he had added steak to his wrap.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read the The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskells. It is an absolutely amazing book.

*Vinyasa with Jen from Open Hearth Yoga Studio

*Facetime with Jake! The best part of my week!

*Oh man, I may have melted in the Florida heat today, while struggling to breathe with the Saharan dust storm.

*I am so sick of all the windbags on Facebook.

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin!

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 6 BBG 2.0 day 7 cardio (run) and yoga

*I took Anakin, Maya and Athena out for a walk

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Take It Easy

Take it easy is exactly what I did today. And yes, I sang the Eagles song while typing it. Just as I’m sure you did. While I slept great last night, I was really tired today. Consequently, I took a complete rest day and even skipped yoga. Alas, don’t be concerned I’ll be going to yoga tomorrow. Also, I’ll be logging my third tempo run of the week. The extra day of recovery between the third and the fourth run has really helped. Sadly, it wasn’t all rest and relaxation today. I had to run to Kohl’s to drop off my Amazon returns and get Zachary some new pants. Since the pandemic started, he has grown out of every single pair of pants that he owns. Now he hasn’t been willing to own this fact until my hubby and I forced the issue.

Today marked the first time since the pandemic started that I’ve stepped foot inside a Kohl’s store. They only had one side of doors opened and it wasn’t super crowded, but there was a long line at customer service. While I dropped off my Amazon returns, the Mayor went to pick out some new pants. Apparently, he is planning on crossing a river as he insisted on picking out mediums that were far too short for him. Finally, I had enough as my encouragement seemed to fall on deaf ears. I insisted he put all the mediums back and only pick out large or extra-large. Eventually, he relented and put back all the smaller sized clothing items. Of course, I managed to pick out a few pairs of workout pants with pockets. As you may know, you can never have too many pairs of yoga pants with pockets.

The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out with Goalielocks and the Mayor and binge-watching Space Force on Netflix. Naturally, I managed to be somewhat productive as I finished all the laundry, which was great. As for Space Force, I found it to be quite funny. I loved the scenes where the leaders of each branch of service talked around a table in DC. The banter and jokes were super funny. Understandably, it is funnier if you have some military background or understanding of military culture. If you don’t, it may not be so funny. Nonetheless, I’m excited to see how the series develops over the forthcoming season. Obviously, once we finished Space Force, we switched back to the Office.

This evening I took the boys to a skate for local referees. There were only a handful of people there, but it was a great opportunity for them to work on their skating. Fortunately, the boys had a great time and are looking forward to the next skate. It was nice to be back at the rink for the hour. We ran into several people, which was fun. Honestly, it was just nice to be out of the house. My hubby ordered some pizzas from our local Italian restaurant while we were at the rink, so I didn’t have to cook. As we headed home, we all remarked on how hazy the Saharan sand has made the sky and how it altered the sun’s appearance. This happens every year, but some years the dust cloud is more prominent than others.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read the The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskells. It is an absolutely amazing book.

*Oh man, I may have melted in the Florida heat today, while struggling to breathe with the Saharan dust storm.

*Binge watched The Office (again) with the Mayor and our puppies. I love Michael Scott!

*I was dreaming of cerulean bays all day long from the comfort of my couch.

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin!

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 6 BBG 2.0 day 6 rest day

*I took Anakin, Maya and Athena out for a walk

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