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Stormy Monday Afternoon

After a very quiet rainy season, we’ve had quite the stormy afternoon. My power has been on and off for twenty minutes, rendering me absolutely useless at work. The storm currently over us is apparently moving so slowly it’s nearly stationary. This doesn’t bode well for being able to get back to work or the evening commute. It’s also been a very loud storm between the driving rain and incessant thunder.

Unfortunately, I think we need a shield for our bathroom window. I noticed that there was water getting in when the rain was driving hard out of the west. Now that the rain has lightened up a bit, there’s no more water coming in. The last thing anyone in Florida needs is water intrusion and the mold that follows. Nonetheless, we’ll be working to dry that out tonight.

The weekend, like every weekend, went way too fast. I did manage to bake some focaccia bread yesterday afternoon. Usually, I bake it with sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese on top. This time, I decided to experiment a bit and baked it with pesto on top and bottom. While I like the taste, I didn’t love how the pesto dried out during baking. I’ll have to experiment a bit more to perfect the recipe.

Last Friday, I finished Kayla Itsines’ High Intensity 2.0. It’s been a fun, but really difficult and rewarding journey. Today I started 3.0, and the exercises ramped up quite a bit. I can’t say that I love broad jump burpees or that I’ll learn to love broad jump burpees, but I’m sure they’re effective. The number of reps per circuit also increased by quite a bit. I should see a lot of progress after 3.0 is down.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

Name the professional athletes you respect the most and why.

The professional athletes I respect the most are hockey players. Nobody puts their body on the line for their team or for the game like hockey players. They’re also nice people who go out of their way to put their fingerprint on the community. We’ve met several NHLers over the years, and they’re genuinely very nice, humble people.

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Stormy Afternoon

It’s been a stormy afternoon here. Fortunately, the storms took away some of the heat, which made the dogs’ lunchtime walks tolerable. The last few weeks the lunch walks have been tough due to the overwhelming heat. At least it’s August and we only have two more months of summer here. Usually, it starts to cool down in October, but nothing about this year has been usual.

I love a good thunderstorm, so long as it doesn’t impact power. Last time we lost power, not storm related, it set me back several hours at work. The power surge fried the peripherals and made it really difficult to work. After a day of working with IT, I finally got everything back up and running. There was definitely an art to resetting everything fully to make it work. Honestly, it’s a little frustrating given I was using a surge protector that the company provided.

While I’m busy selling insurance, the boys are getting ready to leave for the year. Goalielocks heads back to UCF on Saturday. Judging from the way the upstairs looks, he’s got a lot of stuff to pack. I also need to make sure he doesn’t leave with my foam rollers, massage gun, or cervical pillow. If he’s up to his usual monkeyshines antics, then I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up in his new apartment. By the way, his new apartment looks like an absolute palace. He’ll have his own bedroom and bathroom and will be living with his best friends. Student housing has come a long way since I was at the U.

P.S. Nordstroms Anniversary sale may have just ended, but Fabletics semi-annual sale just started today.

P.S.S. If you’re wondering what a cervical pillow is, here’s what I bought on Amazon. It’s really helped relieve my neck and shoulder pain.