Monday, January 22, 2024

Last week was so crazy and I kinda loved it! I will tell you all about it and what I did this weekend as I link up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday!

So, we had off Monday for MLK day, Tuesday and Wednesday were E learning days (we call it “NTI” in Kentucky which stands for “non traditional learning” – no learning is traditional anymore, folks, amiright?), went to school in person Thursday, and were home again on Friday for another E learning day. What a week!

Thursday night Mason came home for the weekend with my commuter Jack. They share a car and Mason acts unbothered by the fact that the commuter uses it the most. I was thrilled Mason came home because this plan was not shared with me! 

I came home from school Thursday to my oven’s screen that looked like this: 

This oven sure is sweet! She will put up recipes for me every now and again on her screen. 

I really wanted to stay home Friday because my kids don’t have college classes on Fridays. I didn’t sleep well because I kept checking on Mother Nature. 

The district finally made the call at 4:48 a.m. 

I worked from about 7-9 am getting everything set up for the day. I took a break for this breakfast: 

leftover sweet potato, onion, Amylu sausage, and eggs. 

I worked some more and for my next break, Mason and I took Ernie out to his winter wonderland playground.

Ernie snow angels! 

Ernie is a snow dog! His birthday is January 25. 

Then, I made chocolate chip pancakes because I was pretending my college kids were still little, ok? Don’t judge! Snow days feel weird when they aren’t here, so I was just as happy as a clam even though I was tied to my computer. 

And, you have to have hot chocolate when you come in from the snow!

I got a funny IG message from two senior girls, and I taught them the papyrus font that Jen taught us! 

I made “sub in a tub” for lunch because this has been sounding really good to me. 

When we have E learning days, we have to provide an asynchronous assignment through Google Classroom, and I have 3 different levels of Spanish that I teach so that takes some time. We also had Semester One grades due, so I had to finalize those. We have to hold office hours during a certain time, too, so you have to set up a Google Meet for anyone to pop into or to stay the whole time. You have to field emails from students, too, or they can send you messages through Google Classroom. I explain this because some people might wonder what teachers do from home on these days. I love Google Classroom, Google Meet, Google docs, Google slides, etc. But, you cannot do the exact lessons you do in person, and it requires re-working how you do certain things. It was also an awkward time because we just finished a semester and hadn’t started new content yet. 

So, it is definitely not a day off or a traditional snow day because you need to be on your computer most of the day. 

Tom had been at work all day and he knows I need to get out sometimes so he came home, walked Ernie again, and we went to the Mexican place up the street with our friends. We were bringing arroz con pollo home for our kids who were hanging out and we stayed talking so long that they were worried about us and texted! Ha! 

This is supposedly skinny! I only drank about 1/3! 

I really love restaurant fajitas so I got these: 

We had a nice time and it was great to get out!

Saturday it was 1 degree! Our winters usually aren’t too bad and some years we don’t even get any snow to speak of. So, this is pretty cold for us. I still say I love having four distinct seasons, but this extreme cold is not my favorite. I do like a good snow, though! 

Reporting back – I do not like the snickers coffee. It tastes artificial (which it is) and it’s just not good in my opinion. 

I was totally out of eggs, but have lots of Costco egg whites so I made this:

Amylu, some egg whites and one piece of Dave’s Killer thin sliced turned into avocado toast with egg white.

I was complaining about how dirty the mudroom and Mason said, “that’s the point – it’s in the name!”

But, I love to mop it and keep it clean: 

Tom was already out with Ernie, so he picked up my Kroger order and brought it all in. I felt like a princess!

Do you clean out the fridge before putting the new stuff in? I usually do!

I organized and put the stuff away and mopped the kitchen floor, too. I took photos for a blog post coming this week, too. 

I tried a new recipe for lunch and Tom loved it, too. I can’t remember where I got this and that is my toxic trait: 

If you schedule your Kroger pick up after 11:00 am, you can get a rotisserie chicken. 

I had to use regular slaw because there was no tri-color available, so I added shredded carrots. 

I also made my own tortilla chips and the Tostitos queso + salsa that I shared on Friday. 

Jack teaches voice and guitar lessons on Saturday afternoons and when he left, Mason and I went to a new to us coffee shop. I just get drip coffee or tea these days. 

And, he picked this cookie and I tried some and it was really good! 

Shhh…don’t tell! 

Then, we stopped at Fresh Market to get a few ingredients for dinner. We made my friend’s mom’s recipe for New York Chicken: 

Hasselback potatoes:

roasted butternut squash:

and broccoli: 

Mason loves broccoli so much! I’ve told this story before, but he wanted to bring it to school for his birthday in 2nd grade. 

All four of us ate this delicious meal together! It was so fun, and it turned out great! 

I’ve been trying to put away this Christmas rug and replace it with a new tan rug from Target but first I need to vacuum it and Ernie is not having it. I have it off to the side and he keeps using it! 

Ernie questioning my tv viewing choices: 

Wrapping this up early Sunday morning! 

Are you over the cold and the snow? 

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy

34 thoughts on “Hello Monday”

  1. Wow, so much snow! Over here it’s actually melting right now, the temperatures go up and down like crazy! Good thing is that I could cycle to school, so much faster than walking!
    “Hasselback” potatoes, I hope you know that’s Swedish! It’s from a Swedish restaurant called Hasselbacken that actually still exists!
    HIghlight from my weekend is that 22 year old will do six months at the University of Austin next spring! I’ve never been to Texas, but mama is going now! Yi ha!

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    1. It should start melting today as we will be up to 40! I do know that is Swedish and what a great idea and pretty presentation. Our recipe called for sage leaves and then a garlic butter toward the end. So good! Do you ever make them?
      That is incredible! I really want to visit Austin because our favorite singer is from there.

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  2. This year has been sooooo cold but we are supposed to be back up to 83 by the end of the week. I do like chilly weather though so I am not complaining. I think I’d like snow if I was on vacation and didn’t have to do too much driving in it.
    We had a bit of a crazy weekend and I feel like I need a do -over but I’ll have to wait 4 more days for that!
    Have a great day Amy!
    xo,
    Kellyann

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  4. Agreed! The Snickers coffee was ick. I do not like artificial tasting at all, especially coffee. Giving the rest and Twix to the kids. lol. They’ll drink it. Funny about Mason and the “mud” room. I kept it as tidy as I can too. I don’t want mud in it, lol. Keep it in the garage, lol. Heatwave this week with 40 but man all that snow is going to make for a wait for it…..”muddy” mess, lol! Have a great week!

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  5. I love Mason’s haircut! I had to laugh over their vehicle sharing antics. Our boys also shared a vehicle for a while, but Noah was always content to let Jonah drive and/or just have it. He would always catch rides. They were glad when they stopped sharing, though, and were able to buy their own vehicles. That meal looks amazing! I’m curious about the New York chicken…I also plan on talking food this week on my blog. I am over the snow, yes. I think ours will mostly melt today and tomorrow, with the warmer temps and rain we have coming. I hope you have a good day!

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    1. I do, too! He is still getting used to it. Mason is content to let Jack be the driver, too. We plan to look for a second car this spring. We would have earlier, but there really wasn’t a need. Hope you caught the recipe yesterday! Your crew might like it!

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  6. My heart is full for you having both boys home for the weekend! I saw that recipe Friday and we had it as well! Kroger didn’t have tri color slaw, so we subbed broccoli slaw! And R couldn’t find skinny gir poppyseed, but we subbed regular poppyseed dressing. All in all it was yummy!

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  7. The snow is beautiful! Got some flurries in San Antonio but not cold enough for snow. We are going to visit family in Colorado so we’ll get our chance to enjoy snow. Glad your boys were home. ❤️ There is nothing that makes a mom happier! I always say that teachers don’t get paid enough! I bet that’s stressful having to pivot to online teaching! Hope you have a great week!

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    1. It was! I want one more big snow this year! Yay! That will be fun. Right? It’s such a good feeling to know everyone sleeping under the same roof.
      We don’t, but neither do many other professions. It was a bit stressful, but it turned out fine. Thank you!

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  8. Today is snow day #5 (for ice) since we’ve been back from Christmas + we had MLK day off. We have, I think, 9 built into the calendar. I am hoping for something tomorrow because I have a training and would rather not start the week with a sub.

    Your life feels like mine with “what am I going to cook/eat/feed all these people?” LOL

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    1. I am trying to meal plan better for next week! We are having a nacho potato soup (new recipe I found), kung pao chicken with broccoli, and Greek kofta bowls (beef instead of chicken) and that’s all I’ve got right now!

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  10. Oh I am so over the cold and snow! We didn’t do much this weekend but I did sit and hash out firmer plans for our Hawaii trip so that was fun.

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  11. Great snow photos! I’m over the rain here. I love the rain but only if I’m home and cozy, not running around in it. Mason’s cookie looks delicious! Your teach from home days are really a challenge with all of the Google ways to keep in touch with and be available for students as well as developing your lessons. My hat’s off to you!

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    1. Thanks! I love the rain, too. I would like to see the sun today! It was a good cookie! They are, but it’s also nice not to have to get out in the bad weather, so I’m grateful we can do this! Thank you!

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  12. That must have been just wonderful to have both guys home all weekend! I am definitely over the cold, although we are nowhere near 1 degree. This week we are getting lots of rain, but temps around 60. I’ll take it!

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  13. I am so glad I retired before the e-learning! My best friend, who is still teaching, says it’s a nightmare in her/our district. How wonderful both of your boys were home for the weekend. All of your meals look delicious…especially that New York Chicken. Is there a recipe, or could I just google it?

    I love the Ernie snow angels. Jack loves to play in the snow when it’s not as cold as it’s been. Now, he just goes out to do his business and is right back in.

    We are supposed to get freezing rain tonight (Monday), and then have highs in the 50s by the end of the week.

    Have a wonderful rest of the week, Amy!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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  14. Hi,
    (I found your blog through Andrea’s page).
    I can totally relate to how much work it is to do E-learning! We were online ( like most of the country) during the 2020/2021 school year and I can remember being on the computer some days till 6:00pm ( when my normal school day would end at 2:40). We don’t get E-learning/Snow days, but I wish we did.
    I love seeing your lab Ernie! I have a yellow lab that is just the light of my life!
    ~ M

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    1. Hi and welcome! Yes! I was online from March 2020 until April 2021 (excluding summer break) and I made sure to put boundaries in place after awhile. I literally slapped my computer shut at the end of the day and I worked/taught from my basement so I didn’t look at my work after that – ha! It was a really hard time in my life because my kids also graduated May 2020 and left for college August 2020. If I didn’t get out to patios with my friends I would have lost my mind.
      I am so glad we are finally using e learning days instead of adding to our May calendar. My district does not build in any days. Stupid!
      I am really close to retirement – thinking next year will be my last.
      Labs are the best!

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  15. I can’t get my head around your winter temps and all that snow!!! I had a good chuckle over Mason loving broccoli so much and wanting to take it to school. So cute! I love all your food pics and the Mexican restaurant fajitas look delicious. We don’t have a lot of Mexican restaurants and they are a bit of a novelty. Instead, our food is very Asian-inspired over here. I guess it’s because we are so close to many Asian countries. Have a great rest of the week Amy 🙂

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  16. That dinner looked delicious! Too funny about Mason and the broccoli! I love that Tom understands that you need to get out after a work from home day. It really does help though. Hopefully we’ll get some warmer temps soon!!

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    1. It really was! He was so cute! He does. And, I have to understand that he needs a break during the work day to get out for lunch. I get it, but sometimes I’m like – you spend how much on lunch this month?

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  17. I’m just thankful I can get out of the house this week! The public schools were still closed today. That meal sounds so good and we may need the recipes :). I agree, fajitas at a Mexican restaurant are so good.

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