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Category: Chitchat

Come Shopping With Me

Blog365 Chitchat 9 Comments

I spent the morning doing a bit of shopping. It’s actually rare that I get in a full on shopping mood. And I had a lot of things I needed this morning.

I’ll share where I went, what I bought, and a few interesting things I saw/heard along the way.

Parking Lot Birds

Do you see the two geese up there on the roof? I didn’t actually go in Kohls but the geese caught my eye. At my first stop, I also saw giant gulls swooping around the lot. That parking lot was too busy for me to stand safely and grab a photo.

First stop: Menards

Their slogan is “save big money at Menards.” Somehow, I always seem to spend big money there.

My list for Menards: bird seed, a new welcome mat/rug for front door. Maybe some Valentine’s decorations if they have any.

Did I stick to my list? Uh, no.

Started off well enough finding a small rug to replace our front door welcome mat. Should I even confess that earlier this week I realized we were still using one saying “Seasons Greetings”? Oops.

Bird seed, let’s try safflower seed again. More suet. Check. And look, here’s a different kind of bird feeder. That gives me an idea. Into the cart it goes.

Go over where Christmas used to exist. They were not feeling the Valentine’s Day love. Nothing there. Well, except it’s now time for patio furniture apparently. And rugs. Oh, look at this:

Good price and I’ve been wanting an area rug for the living room. Three piece set. Did take a minute to text my husband, he didn’t care so into the cart it went.

Time to get out of Menards!

Target Time

It’d been a while since I went to my local Target. Didn’t really need too much: small trash bags, a few beauty essentials (mouthwash, makeup), cleaning supplies. Spent some time just browsing while in there.

Am I the only one who has to touch the cozy blankets? Just need to see how soft they truly are, right? I didn’t buy any, we don’t have a need. Pretty though.

Pondered this lamp for a moment (I have gift cards) but decided I didn’t want to settle. Holding out for a lamp I love.

Why did I not stop and think, picking up frozen items. (Auntie Anne’s frozen pretzels, weekend treat) Too warm to leave frozen items in the car today.

Need to go a few more places but first:

Pit Stop At Home

I left the area rug in the car until one of the boys could help me unload it. The blue stripes is the new welcome mat or it might go in the kitchen.

Hallmark and Joann

Unfortunately, I only managed two more stops before running out of time. And steam.

In Hallmark, I ended up only buying 3 cards. Good I guess since I needed the cards. However, I was hoping to find Galentine’s Day ideas there. All I really found was a headache as some man was talking super LOUD with the sale associate. I get that he was excited about his new “in like” relationship but geez, indoor voice, please! They weren’t going to be “in love” because that didn’t work with her previous relationship or something. I was glad when he left and it was quiet again.

Then, I debated going into Kohls but passed and decided to just go to Joann. If you don’t know, Joann is a fabric/craft kind of store. Think Hobby Lobby or Michaels but with more sewing stuff maybe?

Between Target and Joann, I managed the beginning of an idea for a simple Galentine’s Day gift for my friends:

I bought the packaging first. More on how/what I end up putting together later.

 

And I decided maybe I wanted to give the whole diamond art thing a try, so I bought a small kit:

I thought it might make nice decor in March. We’ll see how I do with it.

Did I Get Everything I Needed?

Ha, not even close!

Did I get everything I didn’t need? Well, I really thought I needed chocolate and didn’t get that so I guess no again.

Did I go home and take a nap? Maybe.

Our new area rug: 

Do you like to shop or are you more like me and the mood has to hit just right?

**************

day 32/365

Tough Start Thursday

Blog365 Chitchat 6 Comments

Know what happens when you throw a snow day right in the middle of a week? The next day feels like a big ol’ Monday. Again. Except the Monday to start this week wasn’t bad.

Today, however, it’s as if Monday said: Hi, remember me? I’m back from my vacay! Let’s have some “fun”

Somehow, I just imagine that Monday would say “vacay” in an annoying voice instead of vacation. Except we all know Monday’s idea of fun is not the same as our idea of fun.

How about a text message asking you to work that came through at 11:30 last night when you were already asleep. Can’t reply (won’t) at 5 in the morning. Need to kind of see what else unfolds this morning anyway.

Tired? Oh, I know what will wake you right up? How about after your shower, you grab your face cleanser and smear that all over your face instead of the moisturizer you thought you grabbed. A nice, super clean shiny face to start the day!

That son of yours? The one who has for some reason set a billion alarms this morning? The one your husband said he heard very late last night. Yeah, I think he needs a “fun” morning as well. A “can’t do it” morning where he goes back to bed. Been a while. (Reminding myself this is just a slip in a ton of progress we’ve had this year).

Here Comes The Guilt

And let’s throw in a heaping of guilt because technically now you could/should work but you also should stay here to keep your son on track for tomorrow. (Our agreement is he does school work from home on days like this).

You know you should call the school but you’re just so over this part of it all. Ignore them? Tell a white lie (yes, I know it’s wrong, a trade of one judgement to avoid another) and say J is physically sick with a headache or something? Guilt over considering those options.

Didn’t you want so spend a bit of today also disappointed that now cleaning the house (all alone) is out of the picture?

Talk To Me Thursday!

I picture Thursday coming in like a long lost much needed friend taking charge of things:  Okay, move it Monday! It’s my day and I tend to make everyone a bit happier because it’s almost the weekend! Go sulk or whatever it is you do until you arrive to spoil the weekend fun for most people.

Reminders here:

You don’t have to work today, even though you really like the teacher asking, it was short notice for you. And there are other substitute teachers. Your son is your priority here.

Just call the school. It’ll save the hassle of that annoying automatic message later. And lack of sleep causes headaches so there you go. It’s not like you want to wake him up and ask if he has a headache, I’m sure he’d have had a headache if he didn’t go back to bed.

You could clean the house now while they’re still all asleep. (Husband is at work).

Also, we’re just days of the week. Not really in charge. You know who’s in charge, another little prayer to get through today and the rest of the week even if we are near the end never hurts.

*********

Happy almost the weekend! Hope your day is off to a bit better start than mine!

day 26/365

 

Epiphany

Blog365 Chitchat 10 Comments

Usually I try to make us another “mini” Christmas dinner and sometimes I give the boys an extra Christmas present. However, with working all week, I only had it in me to make a 3 Kings cake for tonight.

Using a funfetti cake mix. And a random frosting recipe found on-line (powdered sugar, condensed milk, and a teaspoon of lemon juice. I threw in a tablespoon or regular milk to get better consistency).

The praline pecan I used (our baby Jesus substitute…that sounds weird, maybe because it’s late on Thursday as I’m working on this post) fell out and I had to stick it back in the cake after I baked it.

May have been a bit thick with the frosting. Still had a bit of purple/yellow/green sugars left to sprinkle on top.

The dinner I have planned for tonight: ham steaks, turkey slices from the grocery store deli (no time to cook a frozen turkey breast), sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, salad, and of course, cake. Currently, just craving pizza.

After tonight, I’ll put the rest of Christmas away. That includes the Nativity, taking down the lighted greenery around the kitchen doorway, and switching to a simple winter wreath on the front door. Everything else is already in tubs (mostly though the tubs aren’t put away).

Other weekend plans include: Catching up with reading blogs and answering/leaving comments. Dinner out with friends on Saturday, possibly with a game night. Taking J to band practice on Sunday and a long overdue trip to Target. Other stuff as well, those were just the three things that came to mind.

What are your weekend plans?

Day 6/365

 

Keurig Vs Coffeemaker

Chitchat 8 Comments

Are you a Keurig fan? Or a brew a whole pot of coffee fan? Or a tea kettle person?

We’re mostly coffeemaker, whole pot of coffee, people in this house. Well, the husband and I. The kids still don’t drink coffee or tea. Hot chocolate is their warm beverage of choice. And that’s mostly J.

Back when we used to travel to Oklahoma, my husband’s aunt had a Keurig. Bigger than the one pictured. And she loved the flavored coffees and coffee creamers. Plus there was always a regular choice as well. My husband despises flavored coffee.

For a long time, I asked for a Keurig. My husband always vetoed the idea. His opposition dated back to a cabinet filled with tea choices I’d tried and not liked. Still have the tea cabinet, just limit my choices now to things I do like. So if you come for tea, your choices are Green Chai or Earl Grey. Might be some Yogi Sleepy Time in there (I wouldn’t serve you that though!).

Finally, last year…for my birthday, he relented and I got a mini Keurig! Our compromise was that I’d use it while he was away hunting to enjoy flavored coffees. So, after enjoying it through Christmas last year, I put it away until hunting season this year.

My Thoughts on the Keurig

The good:

It’s easy! Convenient if you are the only one drinking coffee.

Flavored Coffee! And other beverage choices!

(This is where I must intervene and tell you that the Target hot chocolate in that photo up there is disgusting! Big time weird aftertaste. It is milk chocolate (yuck) and contains both sugar and stevia. I should have paid better attention. Or not been so cheap and just paid for the brand name stuff.)

It’s kind of fun!

I know exactly how many cups of coffee I’m consuming (this could also go under “the bad”)

The bad:

I can’t find individual K cups anywhere making it a bit expensive to experiment. And my husband might have been right (don’t tell him), now I have a box of hot chocolate we don’t like. I’ll probably donate it to work. Of course, it’s so yucky I’m not sure I’ll even do that.

It’s LOUD. Are all of them that loud? I don’t know.

There’s no way to refresh your coffee if you drink half of it and then, it gets cold. You have to just make another cup.

My Thoughts on the Coffeemaker

The good:

It’s convenient if more than one person is drinking coffee in the morning. And it smells nice while it’s brewing.

The coffee in the pot stays warm so you can simply refresh your cup with a little warm coffee if needed.

Definitely less wasteful: 1 coffee filter vs who knows how many k cups (and yes, I know you can buy the keeper kind).

The bad:

Brewing good coffee is a bit of an art form, getting the scoops of ground coffee to water ratio right. My husband is very good at this, me not so much.

No choice, if I want flavored coffee and my husband wants plain old Folgers (which we do both like), we aren’t going to brew 2 pots of coffee.

I have no idea how many cups of coffee I’m actually consuming (this could also go under “the good”)

Takes up a fair amount of counter space.

The Winner

For me, the coffee maker wins but I still plan to pull my Keurig out and enjoy flavored coffees/hot chocolates over the holidays. Currently, I’m boxing it back up for a bit. It will come back to the counter probably around Christmas Eve until the New Year.

I just can’t get past not being able to refresh my coffee without making a new cup. I mean a fairly full cup you can of course, microwave. However, there’s always that not quite a half-cup that needs refreshed with me.

What about a tea kettle? I admit to kind of wanting an electric one of those or maybe even an old fashioned heat it on the stove kind. For now, I just boil my water in the microwave.

What about you?

Are you a Keurig or a coffeemaker person or tea kettle person?

Five on Friday: Holiday Thoughts and Other Things

Chitchat 8 Comments

Thought I’d just do a Five on Friday today. It’s been a while. Here it’s a freezing Friday with single digit wind chills. The actual temperature is something like 19 degrees, I think. Good day to do inside things. So happy next week is supposed to be back to normal November weather around here.

First: Thanksgiving Plans Sorted

It’s been a bit of a week between J’s birthday, my husband’s hunting, and G having a bit of car trouble. However, my brother sent me a text last night and we’re going to go over there for Thanksgiving. I’m contributing cranberry sauce (homemade, no cans here!) and a chocolate meringue pie. Both easy things, which is great as I agreed to work a full day next Wednesday.

I’m so happy to have plans for Thanksgiving and be seeing family. All our family won’t be there, just my brother hosting, my other brother, and then some of my sister-in-law’s side. A few others may or may not show. My sister and brother are still at odds, so I won’t see her or her family or my other brother who lives in Texas. I keep saying other brother and thinking of the Bob Newhart show though none of my brothers are named Larry or Darryl:

Second: Follow Through Friday

Back when I blogged over at So Not Organized, I thought I might be rich and  famous for my “real life” organizing. Pausing a moment for us both to enjoy a laugh at that one. A feature I often had was “Follow Through Friday” which I now realize is basically just the Fly lady anti-procrastination day but on a Friday instead of a Wednesday. So basically, I’m spending some time today to get some tasks I’ve been avoiding checked off the list. Cleaning off the kitchen table, the sofa, finding time to look at the blender my husband bought me, bill paying, laundry, etc.

Third: Three Nice Things from The Week

  1. I’ll start with this sunrise from Monday. Have I mentioned it enough how much I enjoy the sunrise being at a normal time again? 
  2. The restaurant where we ate for J’s birthday gave him his meal for free. Super nice! I really wish I’d liked the food a bit better but the red sauce on the pasta was too sweet for me. My eggplant parmigiana was great though.
  3. When I worked on Wednesday afternoon, a student told me that I was one of his very favorite teachers. And one of the more “spirited” students at that. Warmed my heart quite a bit.

Fourth: Too Many Sales

Warning: Grouchy rant ahead. As I glanced at the papers while cleaning off the kitchen table (just the free Wednesday grocery ads), I noticed a Lowes flyer for a Black Friday sale. Except it ended the day before Thanksgiving? Wait, what?

So many early Black Friday sale confuse me. Is the better price now or do I wait until after Thanksgiving? It’s too much. And all these one day sales (looking at you Bath and Body Works) lose my business rather than gain it. Give me a day or two to ponder things.

Tis the time of year to remind myself: There’ll always be another sale.

Ranting about it all because I’m moving into Christmas mode and starting to think about what gifts to give to the family.

Fifth: Random Stuff

Starting with another photo from my walk last Sunday.

Starting with last week, I’m planning to go for a walk at least once every week, weather permitting. Mentally prepping my Winter Wednesday posts as well.

I saw a blog post as I was messing around doing research on Pinterest where they stated the winter season November to April. Um, maybe because I live somewhere we can have all the seasons in one week (and often do) or I’m too technical…that time span seemed so wrong.

Technically it’s December 20 to March 20 in these parts. However, I’m not opposed to giving into saying it starts in December. However, I’m going to give a firm no to it stretching to April (even if we’ve seen snow on the 1st day of that month and sometimes even in May).

What time frame do you consider winter?

And with that question I’ll conclude this rambling mess of a blog post.

 

 

 

Bridges and Birds

Birdwatching Chitchat Just Photos 2 Comments

And maybe a few random thoughts. As I mentioned Monday, I went for a walk at one of my favorite parks on Sunday afternoon. It felt nice (though a bit chilly) to get out the camera again on a walk. 

The weather did come as expected on Monday night, not too much snow.  However, it’s still cold this morning as we’re sitting at 24 degrees with NW winds making it feel like 18.  Next week, seems to be back to normal. Definitely thankful for that!

Killdeer

Sometimes I see these little birds at this park but not always. They’re usually pretty shy so I was happy (with the help of the zoom lens) to get some semi-decent pictures.

I also saw a rather large group of doves. It was fun to capture them all in flight when I was trying to determine what they were.

Doves

Not the best pictures of the doves because we have these in the backyard so I wasn’t too excited once I saw them properly.

We also have lots of sparrows in the backyard but I never realized until I started seriously bird-watching how many different types of sparrows existed. I think but very well could be wrong that this little bird below is a song sparrow.

Sparrow

Sometimes without the high end zoom on a camera it’s hard to get a decent shot (and of course, if I had said high end zoom, then it requires a tripod to get a stable shot and that’s too technical for me). Here are couple of shots that needed better zoom and/or more cooperative birds.

Hide and Seek

some type of sparrow hiding here
You have to search but there are 2 Cedar Waxwings in each of the  photos.

The Random Bits Plus Another Bridge Photo

Clearly, I don’t do well with the concept of wordless Wednesdays.

Anyway, a bit of fun about this park. It used to be an old race track so it’s quite large and tends to feel empty. It’s been a work in progress for years probably.

I have a terrible nickname for it of “Serial Killer Central” (Note: I’ve never really felt unsafe here, just need to use common sense). However, now they’re doing this:

Gonna need to find a new nickname, I suppose. At least the parking here will be better (I hope).

Today is anti-procrastination day in Fly lady land. I’m off to clean up a bit around the house, pay some bills, and work. Later, I’ll deal with the last task on my anti-procrastination list and call my brother to see if there are any Thanksgiving plans out there.

What are your plans for this Wednesday?

 

Sleepy Saturday

Chitchat Week in Review 4 Comments

Um, I just learned something new as I started this post. And it has a new title because of it. I wondered why the red squiggle line was under the first word of my title. Sleepy is fine obviously.

I started to call this post “snoozy” Saturday. Um, turns out that word doesn’t mean exactly what I thought it means in all circles. I thought it meant sleepy and drowsy and according to the normal dictionary it still does. However, in the urban dictionary it has some entirely different (and not so appropriate) definitions. Oh my, I AM old. Anyway, post title switched to Sleepy Saturday. 

Why is it a sleepy Saturday?

First, It was a long week

Not a bad week, just a long one. Remember way back in Monday’s post when I thought it was going to be a busy week? I wasn’t wrong. For the first time in some time, I ended up working every day. Originally, I had Tuesday but ended up working a half-day that started early. Add in taking J to his lesson Monday night and a fun night out with friends on Wednesday. And waking up at 4:00AM for every day of it. Not on purpose, our little gray cat doubles as an alarm with only one setting.

Work wasn’t bad as I was in my favorite classroom for most of it but it’s still tiring working with preschool kids. Thankfully, we were able to be outside a lot during the week prior to the cold front moving into our area. And that brings us to the next thing in the making of this lazy day.

The Weather

Perhaps all those people putting up Christmas lights and trees (I did see one all lit up in someone’s window as I drove home on Thursday evening) triggered something. It went from 70 degrees on Wednesday evening to a cool, rainy Thursday. The temperature went from 50 to 45 degrees as I drove home that evening (and just for your reference, I’m talking about a 10 minute drive). Yesterday, we woke up to cold, felt like it was in the 20’s though the actual temperature was in the mid-30’s.

This morning, it was so cold that I had to turn on the Netflix fireplace (and bump the actual heat up a bit)! The little gray cat stayed out only a few minutes. The temperature was in the 20’s but felt like 14 degrees. It’s cloudy and dreary out. I’m not supposed to be freezing while filling bird feeders in November. Feeling this funny:

Photo found on “My Crazy Page” on Facebook.

 

That said, if you want to put up your Christmas decorations, go ahead. To each their own. I guess the weather is right for it anyway.

Holiday Planning

And it’s not as if I’m not thinking about the holidays at all. It’s just we have a November birthday to do first (J turns 18 on Tuesday! Yikes. When did that happen?)

My simple holiday plans so far:

  1. The boys (and husband) are going to write down 5 things they want for Christmas or for every blank space on the list, they’ll be getting underwear. They might get underwear anyway but just not as much if I get an actual idea or two out of them.
  2. In looking for the mini Keurig, I found my Christmas journal from 2021. Nice surprise (so much for the Rudolph day celebrations/planning for 2022 though. Oops!). Reminded me I wanted to do a Christmas tree theme for decorating this year. Based on a stack of Christmas tree mugs I picked up on clearance last year.
  3. If we end up having Christmas at home again, I definitely need to plan the food better. And for my own sanity, make everyone commit to a time to start things.

The holiday planning makes me think I also need to do a bit of blog post planning…

Blog Posts I Want to Write and Share Soon

I’ve been striving (not always successfully) to post abut 3-4 times a week. I’d like to continue that but sometimes I have ideas when it’s not convenient to sit down and write. Here are some of those ideas that have been swirling about in my mind lately.

  1. Keurig vs Coffee Maker. If you’re wondering why I was actually looking for the Keurig, it’s because I only use it when my husband is off hunting.
  2. A series: Winter Wednesdays, I really do want to do this. I want to work on embracing winter by doing something to celebrate it each Wednesday of the season.
  3. Sharing my fall/winter holiday reading list. I try to move from thrillers to “lighter” selections for the holiday season.

I do have more but should probably get back to accomplishing some household chores today while all is quiet around here. Mostly, I’m just focusing on laundry today (so I can watch tv and fold clothes, ha!).

What are your plans for this Saturday?

 

 

 

Indoors and Outdoors

Chitchat Just Photos 8 Comments

Just a not so wordless Wednesday post for the day. We’ve woke up to rain the past two mornings. So very nice. And then, sunny before noon hits. Here’s a glimpse of a few things from the past few days that are more interesting than the tv remote and laundry piles.

Indoors

Had cool weather for a second or two…

Baked banana bread

Started decorating for Halloween/Fall

One of my indoor plants back from its outdoor vacation…

Outdoors

Nice to have a break from watering the garden

Last of the cherry tomatoes, hoping they turn red soon.

Threw these pots to the side of the house in disgust a few weeks ago after some creature ate all my sunflower blooms off the stalks.

Wait. When did this happen?!

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner, Dessert, and TV Show Talk

Chitchat Recipes 4 Comments

Felt like yesterday’s Thankful Thursday post maybe ended on a bit of a down note. And since I mostly try to keep it positive around here, how about a peace offering. Recipes for a simple dinner and a dessert. Plus some chit chat about the TV shows I’ve been watching. Normally, I guess it would be dinner, dessert, and a movie. However, I’ve not had the attention span for a movie lately. Maybe later this weekend.

To start, an easy dinner recipe for you. I found this recipe in the oddest of places. Back in the spring, my hairdresser was running just a bit late (very rare) and I was glancing at the magazines. For some reason, they had a food magazine in the collection. I wish I could recall which one.

Broccolini, Chicken Sausage, and Orzo Skillet

Aside from a little sausage and vegetable chopping (oh, and garlic mincing), this is one of the easiest recipes to make. As an added bonus, every single person in my picky family likes this! In the picture above, I also used turkey sausage to double the meat. While it works with turkey sausage as well, it’s much better with the chicken sausage. 

We use regular orzo, broccoli in place of broccolini, and skip the cheese and lemon zest. It’s a good filling, one dish kind of meal.

And now for a simple dessert…

Scotcheroos

Sometimes people give my husband desserts when he’s working and this is one he brought home and then, the next day had the person text the recipe. I’d forgotten about them until recently when I spotted the grocery store bakery selling them in a clamshell. So, I decided to dig out the recipe and make a batch. They’ve been a hit! Super easy to make, we’ve been just storing them in the fridge. Funny I’d always thought they were made with Cornflakes but this recipe used Rice Krispies.   

And Now For Some TV Show Talk

What’ve you been watching lately? For me, I binged right through Only Murders in the Building on Hulu. So good, I highly recommend it.  Started back catching up with The Walking Dead yesterday. It’s a scary show I can watch only in the daytime. For whatever reason, I don’t find zombies all that scary. Plus, anyone that’s seen more than an episode or two knows the zombies aren’t nearly as scary as some of the people in that show.

Last night, I was searching for something light to watch and saw the Steve Martin and Martin Short comedy special. Enjoyed that very much (if you don’t know, they are the two stars along with Selena Gomez in Only Murders in the Building).

Then, still searching for something that didn’t take too much effort to watch (like watching tv takes so much effort, ha!), I clicked on Kim’s Convenience. I’d read about in Simu Liu’s autobiography (he’s the star of Shang Chi, a great Marvel movie if you have Disney +) and mentioned getting his role it it. It was funny though I confess to falling asleep watching it (past my bedtime). Might be a good laundry folding show.

This weekend I’ll probably watch a bit more of the new Walking Dead episodes and maybe a Halloween movie. Any not too scary suggestions for me?

 

Surprise! Another Post!

Chitchat garden areas Week in Review 2 Comments

Not that I’m counting but I think this means I’ve posted four times this week! On a bit of a roll. Nothing special, just another random one with a review of the past week.

Believe it or not, these morning glories and this post inspired me to write today!

I’ve been tossing morning glory seeds around this post ever since my husband took the fence down a few years ago.  This post is right next to our backyard vegetable garden. I have visions of morning glories winding their way up and around the post. Every year: NOTHING.

However, Tuesday morning as I went out to check the garden. What did I find?

A morning glory tucked behind a few of its leaves quietly blooming away! A nice surprise from a rather rough morning.

Shall we grab a cup of something. And review the week. Maybe lavender? 

This planter, I waited so patiently for it to go on clearance at the grocery store, makes me so happy. And I decided to share the unedited version so you can see the mess on our outdoor table on the deck. I have visions of this gorgeous deck with plants but this is the reality. Maybe next summer.

This Week

Monday and Tuesday

Monday was our 24th wedding anniversary that we celebrated by doing absolutely nothing. I did at least bother to get my husband a card. I’ve just about simmered down over him mostly ignoring it. I did buy myself a few flowers at the garden center. Of course, I’d have done that no matter what.  Not all his fault as I did work that day until almost 6, then take J to his baritone lesson. And the weekend before was busy as well. Next year better be a fantastic trip somewhere though!

Tuesday was rather rough as I mentioned. J didn’t go to school saying he just needed to sleep. We’d got off last week to such a good start that this came out of nowhere for me causing my optimism about the new school year to take a dive. At least I found my morning glory that morning.

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday turned out to be a much better day. Took the cat to the vet in the a.m. (finally!) and let me just say putting a cat in a carrier is not a fun one person job.  I thought I had work training but I ended up not having it. So happy about it as I wasn’t in the mood. And G bought my lunch, it was just McDonald’s but it was good. Everyone went where they were supposed to go that day as well.

a bloom on my fall garden zucchini plant

Thursday ended up a full day for me. I worked from 8 until 4. And while I didn’t have the time for Thankful Thursday post (need to get back to those), I did find lots of little items of gratitude. Got to work in my favorite classroom. The school lunch wasn’t messy (it’s a bit of joke for us that whenever I sub for a certain teacher who helps the kids clean after lunch, that day’s lunch is always one of the messiest!). The garden continues to do well.

Last night was a meeting for the parents of the senior band students. And my husband actually went with me. Sure he was probably regretting it though as I’m not one to say nothing (ironic as I was always “the quiet one” who hardly spoke in high school and college). That could be a post all by itself so perhaps I should remain “the quiet one” in this space. Trying to remind myself that as a been there done that parent, I need to think kinder thoughts toward the first time parents of seniors. The difference between the parents of G’s class and J’s class, sigh. Give me the class of 2019 parents any day of the week. Has always been an issue for me.

TODAY: Happy Friday, the start of Labor Day Weekend

Everyone is once again where they belong today. I’m enjoying a few hours of bliss in an empty house before I go pick up J from school and run him to a 3p.m. appt. I’ve watered the gardens, started some laundry. Taken a quick run to the store as we were out of cat food. So I picked up a few snacks for the weekend as well as some strawberries on sale. While I could be filling the house with the scent of an autumn candle, I opted for baking an angel food cake instead.

The rest of this weekend should be low-key for us: out with friends on Saturday night and no plans as of yet for the other days. I’m hoping we manage a visit to a local festival for kettle corn and pork rinds (tradition) and of course, my garden chores are always there.

How was your week? What plans do you have for the upcoming weekend?

 

 

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