Jen FitzGerald's Blog, page 33

Home Retreat...

Had COVID not caused the havoc it did, including the cancellation of conferences across industries, I'd be headed for St. Louis this week to participate in my annual GRL conference.

 

Instead, I tweaked my time off request to half-days this week so I could get some quality writing time in while I attempt to finish the latest Work In Progress but not get behind at work.

It's been great. I've gotten in five focused, quality sprints every morning before turning my attention to lessens for an online class I'm taking.

The time spent on writing has been great. That being said, I'm not sure I'm going to be ready to publish on November 18 as I'd hoped. I'm gonna keep working hard to make it happen, but I'm not feeling confident at the moment. We'll see where progress stands by the end of the week. I'm not overly worried about it, except for the fact that I scored a Facebook Group Takeover slot for November 19 and I don't want to have to release it.

But in other book news, today is release day for two other books. :0)

Rookies at Love is book 3 in the Face Off For Love Series. (the book I'm trying to finish is book 4)

The Face Off For Love Box Set is the first three books in the series in a single volume...

Hope you're enjoying the weather. Fall is descending on North Texas and it's wonderful.

Take care and have a great week.

The end of an era...

 

My 6th Gen iPod has finally kicked the bucket once and for all. I can't tell you how bummed I am about this. I've had that thing for well over a dozen years, and it works great--when I can get it to show the contents after I've charged it. Problem is I can't get past the "lock" screen (I guess) which shows the (incorrect) time and the battery charge level.

It has my writing music on it as well as my thunderstorm white noise for when I travel, along with some random videos I like to watch every once in a while.

New iPods--devices that look like phones just without the phone parts--cost $200. I have an old-iPhone dealer, so I'm gonna see what he's got in stock for cheaper.

Could I use my current iPhone? Sure, I could. Most people do, which is why iPods have gone the way of the dinosaur. But I prefer to have a separate device for my music for various reasons, none of which are that big of a deal.

* * * * * 

In other news, my Dallas Stars re-signed our 1B goalie to a new three-year contract.

This is great news as we've had the best goalie tandem in the league for two years now but our 1A is, unfortunately, a bit fragile. Without this guy, we wouldn't have gotten to game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

As bummed as I am about the iPod, I am about 1000X that thrilled that Dobby is back. :0)

* * * * *

And now that the mouth is about as good as it's gonna get aside from continued healing in the graft area, it's time to eschew the soft foods and the carbs that I've allowed myself to binge for the last couple of weeks.

No guarantees I'm not going to fall off the wagon, because I've allowed my body to develop its sweet tooth again. I've allowed myself the Greek yogurt and a carb-light tortilla in my daily diet and not going full Keto again yet because that would def be a recipe for failure. I'm going to struggle enough as it is.

I am going to reward myself at the end of the week, though, if I can get through and stick with the diet plan.

Hope you had a great weekend-- Hope you have a great week.

Rest in Peace...

We've had some big-name deaths in the last few weeks. The last three that I heard are all from the music industry: Helen Reddy, Mac Davis, and just yesterday, Eddie van Halen--a rocker icon from my childhood.

Of course, Ruth Bader Ginsberg passed a few weeks ago.

It always hits a little too close to home when celebrities from your childhood--no matter how much older than you they might have been--pass away. It's even worse when they're not that much older than you...

And so it begins...

 

The dental work, that is.

Sorry, no pictures are forthcoming. Last Thursday I had three teeth pulled, the right side canine and the two just to the left of it, and then a bone graft put in. It'll be left to heal for 8 to 12 weeks, at which time I'll have posts put in, and then at some point after that a permanent bridge will be attached. Oh joy. But I'll have permanent teeth and a new and improved smile.

Once I get past the necessity of soft foods--most of which seem to involve carbs unless I eat a lot of eggs--I'll get back on track with my diet plan.

I started my yoga practice again last night and it felt good. I've been missing it.

Now that hockey is over and the dental work has begun, life can get back to a measure of normalcy. I have a book due in a month, so time to get crackin'.

Hope you had a great weekend...

Hometown Heroes

 

Well, it's done...the Stanley Cup Finals have ended, hockey is over for a few months.

My Dallas Stars did not end up on the "Stanley Cup Champions" side of the equation, but they're winners in the hearts of every Stars fan worth his or her salt.

The 2019-2020 season lasted 367 days and the boys in Victory Green (that's the actual color name :0)) played the whole way.

They struggled, overcame challenges along the way, and played in the two biggest events of any hockey season--the Winter Classic on New Years day in front of 85K fans; and the Stanley Cup Playoffs & Finals in front of no fans. Only three players, all Stars, were able to have family inside the bubble due to heavy Canadian government restrictions and the COVID-testing hoops required by the NHL.

The Tampa Bay Lightning may have been the most skilled team on the ice, but they weren't the best team, and sadly the injuries stacked up a little too high against the Stars in this final series.

They were the underdogs every step of the way and few--including me--though they'd make it past the first round. Same for the second. Ditto the third. But then they did and I finally believed they could have pulled it off. And I still believe that if those injuries to key players hadn't happened we could have.

But they still deserve all the credit for digging deep in the most bizarre set of circumstances and all the love and respect and pride for doing what they did for themselves, for their fans, and all of DFW.

Enola Holmes

 I meant to post this yesterday and just didn't...so have it today.

DD and I watched this on Sunday and I thought it a fun and charming movie. As DD said, it could easily be a series as it is actually based on a series of books. I hope Netflix keeps it in mind.

The Sherlock Holmes Estate is apparently suing Netflix because the titular characters, namely Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, were too emotional or maybe the whole film was too emotional. It's an adaptation and Enola, especially, is not an original character so I feel like they could do whatever they wanted with her. Sherlock came off less emotional that Mycroft, in my opinion, so there's that.

It was meant to entertain and entertain it did. I highly recommend it.

It's Fall Y'All...

 

This is the last pumpkin I carved--seven years ago.

I have a hankerin' to carve a pumpkin or two this year. :0) Not sure why, but feeling fall-ish I guess since our weather is not currently hot or sunny.

And I should dig out my fall decorations too. May as well go "all out." Although a handful of fall decorations just stay out because I like them so much.

 Hope you're all well. Have a great weekend.

 

They're Walmarting my WalMart...

 Ugh!

 

They've been upgrading the fixtures  and whatnot for a while, but they're now replacing the floor tile and re-arranging what sections were not in the prescribed WalMart layout. While I've been in enough WalMarts to find most things in those stores, it's going to take a while to retrain my brain and my routine as to where to find certain types of products in my store when doing my weekly shopping.

For example, the cleaning products and paper goods used to be the last couple of rows of the grocery section and before the dairy at the back. Now all that's been moved across the aisle and expanded.

And we had a nice wide section of walking space across the front of the store between the clothing and the the cash registers, and I've got to say, I'm not pleased that that space is now about half the width.

Anyway, hope you're having a great week...

The STARS Might Could Pull This Off

 

Very few people picked my team to get past the first round against the Calgary Flames, much less get all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals and be a threat to actually win the most prized trophy in sports.

BUT!!

Here they are.

And on Saturday night, they won Game One against the Tampa Bay Lightning--one of the best teams in the League. Granted, Dallas had four days of rest and Tampa only had one, but that's hockey. And they'll be gunning for us come Game Two tonight.

Here are some pics from Saturday night's game.

That there is our MVP--the goalie, Anton Khudobin, without whom we wouldn't be here.

And last picture--my favorite thing to see after a win--the Reunion Tower Ball lit up!!

Have a great week!!

We have an opponent, we have a date with FATE!!

 

 

And I have a long week ahead of me. But I'm ready for it!

The time has come for me to finally get my dental work done. However-- I chose to postpone the first appointment by a week because I didn't want to be down and out with pulled teeth and mouth pain while enjoying the Stanley Cup Finals and cheering my team to victory. :0)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!