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Winter

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.

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So Cold!

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.

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Happy to be Warm

I am happy to be warm after a very chilly weekend in Canada. The Mayor and I had a great time, but I hate wearing multiple layers. Additionally, I hate the feeling that your fingers are going to fall off when you try to pump gas. Who needs windchills below zero? Not this girl; that ship has sailed for me.

I will admit, the falling snow Saturday evening was absolutely beautiful. Winter driving is for the birds. Fortunately, the temperature was warm enough to prevent the roads from icing over. I did, however, have to drive through quite a bit of snow going to the second game Saturday night. While Saturday’s temperature was manageable, Sunday’s weather was offensive. The chill of that winter wind is something you never forget, which is why I live in Florida.

The drive back to Detroit was uneventful. We didn’t see the sign advising us to “don’t pick up hitchhikers, prison area” that we saw on our way to Canada. They must have had some issues with jailbirds hitchhiking their way away from prison. I did think my fingers were going to fall off when I was pumping gas. To be blunt, I was thrilled when we took off leaving winter behind. The flight home was smooth and we even saw the SpaceEx launch from the plane. It was amazing to see, but impossible to photograph. Anyway, I’m happy to be home and happy to be warm.

What is your favorite animal?

What a silly question. Everyone knows my favorite animal is a dog. I love them. Our dogs are such a big part of our family. Maya and Athena, even though they left us physically are never far from our hearts or thoughts. Dogs love their family unconditionally and are always by your side. Their loving disposition and loyalty feed the soul. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that most dogs are super cute.

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Winter Weather

As winter weather bears down on most of the country and our family, our climate continues to be beautiful. The skies are blue and the temperature isn’t ridiculous, nor is the humidity out of hand. It’s the kind of winter day that one moves to Florida to enjoy. The Hubby and Mayor met Grandpa Steve and Grandma Linda at Benny’s on the Beach, while I, unfortunately, had to work. The view from Benny’s is gorgeous. The view from my desk, however, is not so much.

As a kid, when a winter storm was approaching, I would eagerly watch the closings across the bottom of the television screen. Inevitably, I was almost always disappointed to find our school was not on the list. With the exception of the Halloween Blizzard and an exceptionally cold day, that led the governor to close all schools in the state, our school was always open. Honestly, it was the worst. To know all our cousins that attended neighboring districts were home enjoying the day off while we languished at school.

Now, of course. post-pandemic snow days or hurricane days look a lot different. Some schools opt to keep the school in session virtually, while others shut down completely. I like to think the schools that go virtual instead of closing like medieval torturers. Virtual school during the pandemic was complicated and an epic failure, so no need to continue that trend. A few more years and it won’t matter as I’ll no longer have a horse in that race.

Apparently, the dogs felt terrible that we were missing out on the epic winter storm because we woke up to a literal shit storm of epic proportions. It must have been something in the water that caused all three pups to lose control of their bowels and bladders last night. Needless to say, it was not a pretty sight. I helped clean up as much as I could before work and after my lab appointment. Despite my best efforts, there was still a lot of cleaning up for my hubby to do.

We had Grandpa Steve and Grandma Linda over for appetizers and drinks last night. It was great to spend time with them both before they headed back north. I wish I could have gone to brunch with them today too. I already missed a day this week, so there was no way I could get the time off. I’m glad they’ve been able to enjoy some of our beautiful winter weather. Oh, I almost forgot, I hurt my shoulder reading last night. I don’t know how I did it, but I did. Isn’t aging fun?

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: Lasciviousness. It’s a pretty fitting word for the day on which Harvey Weinstein is sentenced for his sexual misdeeds.
  • Today’s song Drinkin’ Problem by Midland

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In Like a Lion, Out Like A Lamb

Growing up in Minnesota, every year I’d hear the refrain, “in like a lion, out like a lamb.”  Funny in Florida, March is just another month of sunny, gradually increasing temperatures.  It’s still relatively comfortable, but it’s always sunny.  March in Minnesota, on the other hand, can be a mix bag of horrendous weather from snow storms to rain storms.

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Of course in Florida, the “out like a lamb” could refer to the snowbirds that may leave at the end of the month as Easter approaches.  Since Easter can take place anywhere from late March to early April, I always pray for an early Easter.   Usually once Easter passes, the majority of the snowbirds head back north as we can reclaim our city.  I can’t tell you the happiness that is seeing that first car carrier outside the 55 plus neighborhood.  Undoubtedly, the snowbirds dim my joie de vivre.

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As I count down the days and weeks to Easter, we’ve managed to get back into our normal routine.  Fortunately, Goalielocks’ headaches are gone!  I’m almost scared to type that less they return tomorrow.  He’s really hoping to be able to play this weekend.  He’s been back to school this week ,which has been fabulous.  However, it’s a bit tough to get back on the algebra train after missing two weeks of lessons.  Thank God for Khan Academy.

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March is a pretty exciting month.  There are so many people in our lives with March birthdays.  My SIL and I are one day apart next week.  We’ll get a break from the craziness of hockey with no travel this spring!  Can I get a hallelujah?  Also, this year will mark the first time we’re going somewhere for spring break.  We’re travelling to Atlantis  with friends that became family, which should be an amazing trip.

 

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Intentions and Catatonic Iguanas

Today’s post is all about setting intentions and catatonic iguanas.  We’re in a deep freeze here in South Florida, which has put the regions huge iguana population into a catatonic state.   These creatures are actually too cold to move.  Fortunately, once the temperatures climb again, they should reanimate.  Its just a sight to be seen as everywhere across S. Florida, Iguanas are belly up everywhere you go.  As an aside, it was colder here this morning than it was in Norway…  Maybe I could live in Norway after all….

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Unfortunately, due to my leg injury, I can’t wear my awesome boots.  It’s sad since we only get a handful of truly viable boot worthy weather.  Hopefully, I’ll get some answers on my leg tomorrow when I head to the podiatrist.  The only thing more miserable than an iguana in 30 degree weather is going to be me in a podiatrist office during season.  Oh my goodness, I’m really going to be mentally prepared for that office visit.

 

In order to distract my mind from the inevitable craziness of my trip to the podiatrist office, I decided to focus on my intentions for 2018.  Setting intentions is something we do as a class at the beginning of our yoga classes.  Every yogi sets their own intention for their practice and their day.  Consequently, why not expand the intentions to cover the entire year?

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My intentions are broad, but purposeful.  My first intention for 2018 is to incorporate discipline into my life.  What do I mean by discipline? Living a more disciplined life means sticking to my fitness routine and being willing to wake up for the 5:30 am class.  Moreover, it means eating mindfully and with a purpose.  It also means we have to hold our kids accountable (i.e. picking up after themselves, doing their homework independently.)

My second intention is to live with gratitude.  Living with gratitude means living every moment to the fullest and being grateful for those moments.  If I were to sum it up with a hashtag, it would be #livelikeDebbie.  It is easy for us to get caught up in life’s craziness forgetting to be thankful for the our days above ground and the people in our life.

As I lament my inability to wear boots, I relish the soft throw, sweats and hoodies that are keeping me comfortable on the couch.  Tonight’s song performed by Portugal The Man is “Live In the Moment.” I know, I know you were thinking it was going to be “Feel It Still.”

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Winter is Here

Brace yourself folks, winter is here!  Even in sunny Florida, winter is here.  That’s right the Sunshine state saw even saw snow today!  Fortunately, the snow was nowhere near South Florida, but even here the mercury has fallen to a chilly 52 degrees.  As the night progresses, the temperatures will continue to fall bottoming out somewhere around 37 degrees.  There’s a slight chance, ever so slight chance, that we may turn on the heat this week.

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Back at work, we’re all getting back into the routine, which feels good.  January is a magical time of new beginnings.  My goal is to hold on to the hopeful feelings January brings well into 2018.  I mean my year is off to a great start with me gaining 1/2 of an inch in height!  Things are definitely looking up.

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Of course, I swore I was going to start behaving this week and being more mindful with my eating habits.  Nonetheless, one of my dear colleagues (PS) brought in some magically delightful and calorie free tasty treat.   Who doesn’t love homemade fudge?  It truly was magical and oh so tasty.  My boys should thank their lucky stars that they actually got some of the fudge.  Fortunately, they got some fudge and they devoured it.  I’m hopeful by the time I get back from work tomorrow the fudge is all gone.  Otherwise, I’ll eat the rest of it.

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Anyway, new year, new me, new you and a clean slate tomorrow. I’ll be back to my healthy eating (no more treats!) habits.  2018 is all about being disciplined in all aspects of life.  In the interim, I’m going to try and not freeze as South Florida plunges into the 30s.  Be prepared for pictures and news stories of South Florida’s deep freeze including the inevitable picture of a catatonic iguana.

Tonight’s song performed by Florida Georgia Line is “Cruise.”

 

Treat

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Almost there

We’re almost there.. Almost to the end of the year and the grand beginning of a new one. I started my day at Burn with circuit burn and aerial yoga. My leg tolerated both reasonably well with only the mountain climbers causing discomfort. Fortunately, I was able to modify the move to accommodate the injury.

Meanwhile, the Mayor was one an adventurous sleepover on a sail boat in Fort Lauderdale. I have to say I had many amazing sleepovers in my day, but never one a sailboat. Clearly, he’s having a great day based on the photos our friends have sent.

The Mayor and his teammate E have spent their day fishing in the marina. Fortunately, they’ve had a pretty productive day and have caught some nice fish. In fact, the Mayor even caught a nice sized Crevalle Jack!

Now the sun is starting to set and we’re making our way down to the marina. Unfortunately, it’s a bit colder than we’re used to, so we’ve got our hoodies, jackets and some blankets to keep us warm. I’m rocking my new BCBG linen pants with my not so sexy flats (thank you tendinitis.)

As we drive south, Goalielocks is playing the music. He loves his country, but he also loves Tupac’s “Hit ‘Em Up,” which is an awesome song. It definitely brings me back to my school days and the old East Coast West Coast feud. Admittedly, the song is laced with profanities and violence, but at least it’s not insipid like “Gucci Gang.”

Tonight’s song performed by Tupac is “California Love.”

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A Sartorial Emergency

This morning’s cooler than normal temps, led to a sartorial emergency as I struggled to find my black leggings.  After all, how could I rock a great flannel shirt dress without leggings in these temps?  Admittedly, getting out of bed this morning was tough since it was so cold.  For a moment, it brought me back to when we lived in Minny and would have to get out of bed in the sub zero weather.  I can’t tell you how happy I am to not have to deal with those temperatures on the regular anymore.

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Fortunately, after a hurried and hurricane like search, I found my coveted black leggings.  As a Minnesotan, even though I’ve been in Florida 12 years now, I can’t bring myself to wear a jacket when temps are in the 50s.  Years ago, although not too many, when I was a kid we’d wear shorts as soon as the temperature hit the 40s and 50s again.  Truly, there would be no jacket in sight (sorry mom.)  Now, it’s bitter cold.  Honestly, a jacket would have wrecked the elegance of the outfit anyway. download (10)

In a twist of irony, now that the mercury has dropped into the 50s, the stores here have turned on the heat.  Consequently, you no longer need a sweater or jacket to shop at Target.  Rather, you’re better off shopping in a tank top and shorts.  It was downright balmy in Target tonight.  Unfortunately, the forced air heat does nothing for the skin, but I can’t complain too much since we only have like 5 cold days every year.

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Tomorrow we will be back in the low 70s (at least for the day), so dressing won’t be so complicated.  It’s always a sartorial emergency finding an outfit right for both the  indoor and outdoor climates.  Excitingly, we’re having our Breakfast with Santa tomorrow where we thank all of our colleagues that participated in our annual Angel Tree Toy drive.   This event is by far one of my favorite events of the year.  Unquestionably, every year I am blown away by the generosity of my co-workers. They’re truly amazing people.  Lastly, I had hope to share the pictures of Santa with you, but for some reason PetCo doesn’t like my email address.  Hopefully, I can get them before the end of the week!

Tonight’s song is “Happy Xmas (War if Over)” performed by John Lennon.

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Winter Fluff

Winter fluff.  I’m not talking about the white stuff, but rather the extra pounds one tends to gain during the winter season.  Of course, this was normal living in Minnesota.  Activity waned for me as the weather got colder outdoor.   Fortunately, over-sized sweaters were the perfect way to cover up any extra weight.

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Unfortunately, living in South Florida our winter consists of dips into the 40s.  Most of the winter is comfortably warm and bikini season in unending.  There’s rarely sweater weather here, so there’s no covering up any extra winter fluff.  On the flip side, the weather here is perfect.  Consequently, we can enjoy the great outdoors year round.   Not surprisingly, running is a lot more pleasant when the temperatures are in the 70s not the high 90s.  Running in triple digit heat indices, as you can imagine, is not nearly as much fun as it sounds.

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The only the combination of lack of sweater weather and winter fluff are troublesome is around the holidays. Who wants to behave and eat well with all the holiday parties and dinners?  Thanks, but no thanks!  So how does on survive the holidays without putting on the fluff?  I’m glad you asked.  The key is moderation and exercise.  Sadly, diet is 80% of the equation with exercises only making up 20%.   This means you cannot completely correct all your food indiscretions with exercise.

Where does this leave you?  Comprising.  If you’re at a party, enjoy the food, but skip seconds.  If you’re drinking, opt for a drink (like a vodka soda) that is low in calories.  My drink of choice is a peach pear LaCroix with a shot of Peach Ciroc on the ice.  Its refreshing, its light and its low calorie.  Plus, Circoc is very smooth.  In addition, add in some extra workouts as this will help mitigate some of the extra calories.

In honor of the start of the holiday season, let’s kick it back to 2001 with Pink’s Get the Party Started