Friday, March 15, 2024

Ok folks, I still have 10 school days after today until Spring Break! Eek! Ours feels so late especially due to the fact that we had very little winter weather. I hope my sanity will still be intact by the time we make it there.

But, alas, it’s time to link up with Erika and Andrea for our favorite post of the week, though – Friday Favorites!

Tom and I stopped at the library (he stayed in the car – I think he is afraid of books) on Sunday while having an adult date. An adult date means running errands.

Look at the St. Patrick’s Day book display! I need to tell someone how much I appreciate the color they provide me each season.

For the better part of our adult date, we went to Manhattan Project for a late lunch. This is also where I went with Beth last week! Remember the fried banana pepper rings and nachos?

We split a salad and…

fish and chips and Tom always says I give the server “too much information” but since I had said we were splitting, they split it in the kitchen. See, Tom? Each thing was the perfect portion for us.

Ok, I ordered Saltair Santal Bloom body wash and deodorant. While I like the smell, this won’t be a re-purchase for me. The deodorant pales pales pales in comparison to Donna, so I have re-ordered Donna to do a warm weather experiment – to see if it still holds up to my sweat. It’s more of a winter smell to me, but I think it will be fine. The body wash isn’t strong smelling enough for me to re-order. This brand is carried in the shampoo and conditioner at Target I noticed. This is strictly my opinion. I ran out of Donna after having her for roughly four months. That’s pretty darn good!

This week I have taken and eaten breakfast tacos with the La Banderita low carb street taco sized tortillas. Yum! They have been so good!

I made an interesting dinner – hasselback chicken – I put laughing cow mixed with fresh spinach inside the slits of the chicken with a piece of raw bacon and baked it. I thought it was really good!

I have enjoyed my pale lime green press on mani this week. I put it on Saturday morning for the parade and it’s still going strong as I write this on Thursday!

Tom still wants to walk after work (even without a dog) and we have done this together around the playground behind our house before dinner. He likes to say hi to all his “dog friends”.

We are doing ok, but we really miss our boy, Ernie. I came home immediately after school on Monday of this week for the first time (I kept myself busy, busy, busy last week) and it really hit me. I should have been on the patio with him and I should have been tripping over him to get in the door – lol.

Jack also had a sad moment. He was vacuuming his basement area and said he felt bad because he saw the dog hair and it was the last of it. I hugged him and said, “oh I’m sure that’s not the last of it” but we had a nice talk and I think it was cathartic for him.

Some of Tom’s dog friends:

The walking has been nice. I have tried to be done with dinner so I can take that time to walk with Tom.

I got a really sweet gift from my college friend and blog reader Jennie of this frame in which to put a photo and his collar:

I also got a sweet, sweet book and card from Sally, another blog reader, and friend. I read it and bawled.

Kellyann also sent me the sweetest card. I can’t tell you how much the comments mean to me that you all have left. Making the decision to say good-bye to a pet is one of the hardest adulting things.

And, I believe in signs. Do you? I have told you a few times that my Dad leaves me pennies and I save them? Well, this is kind of weird…

I have a tiny little wooden birdhouse that had a cardinal glued to it. The birdhouse is probably 2 inches tall. I think it was meant to be an ornament but I set it on my mantel. It was made by a family friend. So, the cardinal came unglued and I meant to re-glue it or have Tom do it (because that’s what husbands are for, right?). Anyway, I forgot about the cardinal and it’s probably been a year. I was sweeping the kitchen and the cardinal bird appears in the dustpan with the debris I have swept up. My sister Kate would say it was coincidence because she’s a cynic, but I was sweeping the kitchen on Monday (I never do this on a Monday, but I was sad and channeling my sad energy) and this appeared. So, it’s my Dad telling me Ernie is with him or it’s Ernie telling me he’s ok.

How cool is that? Anyway, we are doing ok and are talking about how to bring home our next fur baby.

Gosh with the Facebook memories, no? This was our favorite bagel place right by our house and my twins acting silly:

They dressed like old men and called any plaid button up a “Grandpa shirt” because that’s what my Dad wore.

I did something crazy this week (crazy in a boring middle aged woman way) and ordered pick up from Aldi for the first time. Tom asked if they were going to chuck the items in my car bagless, but I showed him that they charged me for their bags:

It was a great experience and I price compared with Kroger and did a Kroger pick up, too, but chose which thing to buy at each store. Do I want two pickups each week? No, but I can see doing every other week at each? Maybe?

And, you guys! I finished my Grocery Diaries for The Kitchn and they are paying me! What? I thought it was just for fun. I will let you know when it will be published. Does this mean I’m a real writer that gets paid? Ha!

We had some fab meal prep meals for lunch at school this week:

Erica’s shrimp curry:

My pizza bowl with quinoa this time rather than cauliflower rice:

Sub in a Tub:

And at home…

One night I didn’t feel like eating the bbq Tom was having and made myself 2 Kodiak pancakes. Bad photo, good pancakes.

Another night Tom had teriyaki chicken over rice and I had it over leftover quinoa. Having a real quinoa moment over here!

Are you all concerned about Kate? I am! What is going on? I hope all is well!

Ok, I made it to the gym at 5:30 three times last week and three times this week. I’m trying!

And, for laughs – my new hall pass:

We all had the same color clipboard for a hall pass in my hallway – each hall has a different color – well, the kids mix them up all the time and then it causes tons of emails about “hall passes missing” and it’s just silly. I had a mannequin arm in my classroom (don’t ask questions and nobody gets hurt) and had a muy artistic student give her a tat. There will be no mixing up of my hall pass now! Insert evil laugh! I will report back if I get “in trouble” for having a unique hall pass.

Well, as usual, we were all over the place for my faves this week. I hope I made you smile, drool, or chuckle?

Happy Weekend!

Wear green! We are all Irish this week!

Amy

30 thoughts on “Friday Favorites”

  1. Best hall pass ever!

    I definitely believe in signs and that cardinal was a good one! Grief is tough and comes in waves, any little glimmer of relief or comfort is welcome.

    So very cool that you are getting paid- AND YOU SHOULD!! You are a great writer, Amy! I am so excited for you and cannot wait to see your published work!

    Have a great weekend, we are off to Italy so I’ll say ciao bella!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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    1. Thank you!
      Yes! Me too!
      Thank you for the validation and I love writing. My son Mason says I’m not great with punctuation but I told him I want to write like I talk – lol.
      I am so excited to hear about Italy! Ciao!

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  2. I love the “signs” from Ernie and your dad. So sweet. Your meals look so good…& yay you getting in the early workouts. Can’t wait to read your meal post. Congrats!

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  3. I love that picture of Jack and Mason! Sometimes my Timehop memories just about knock me over. I’ve had several days of that this week myself! I love that you and Tom are continuing on your afternoon walks; I think it’s good for you both, but I know it was hard at first. I am excited to hear more about your talk of getting another dog to love! I love the cardinal that you found on the floor this week. That’s really sweet, especially because you were feeling sad. I hope you have a good day, my friend!

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    1. Thank you! It truly shows how playful they are with each other even now.
      I think we have spent more intentional time together. We are even running errands together on the weekends. Should I take him to TJ Maxx? – lol. I actually want two dogs! I loved finding the cardinal. It felt really good.

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  4. What a wonderful sign you received! I love that. We’ve lost many dogs over our 34 yr. marriage. For us, it works to get another. It doesn’t replace our lost family member but helps to fill the whole in our hearts. We never used to know what was going on w/ the royals. The Queen had cancer and we knew nothing about it or her treatments. I think leave Kate alone and let her recover in peace. And what well-known person doesn’t edit their photos?! She’s playing around w/ it. What is out of control is the press coverage. Anyhoo, have a great weekend!

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    1. I thought so! That’s a good way to put it. I would like to get two dogs to be honest. Is that crazy? That’s quite true and I don’t want to be a part of the problem with Kate – just worried about her because I feel like I followed the whole story.

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  7. I love the cardinal and no it is definitely not a coincidence! The hall pass is hilarious! I agree with Jennifer in her comment – sometimes the Timehop memories are just overwhelming. Good emotions, but it can be so bittersweet to miss all those good times with little kids. I read an old blog post recently about Jack throwing an epic temper tantrum, and I guess I just forget about times like that. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. I agree! Thank you – it’s been fun and has not deterred kids from asking to go somewhere – darn! I know – I think the three of us are experiencing a bit of the nostalgia with our kids getting so old. Ha – you can really picture how you thought that was the hardest stage at the time, no?

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  8. That St. Patrick’s Day book display looks fantastic and the meal out for your date looks so good. I love the colour of your nails.
    The news has been pretty quiet here in the UK about Kate apart from the photo but it’s all over social media with people’s wild theories.

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  9. What a sweet sign you had with the cardinal. I love being reasurred in hard times by something little like this, but it means a lot. The chicken recipe you made looks so good and good for you for going to the gym! Enjoy your weekend!

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    1. I thought so! I agree. I think this chicken recipe has potential for lots of flavor profiles. I need fatter breasts next time to make it work. Did I really just say that? Thank you and you too!

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  10. How I wish we had an Aldi here! Your fish and chips looks delicious. I think the Princess of Wales was smart to say that she wouldn’t be undertaking any engagements until after Easter. Whatever surgery she had; recovery time is so important. I am appalled at the media circus over the editing of her family photo – really, leave it alone.

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    1. I’m sorry! Do you have Lidl? I would like one of those, too. It was really, really good. We have so many Catholics here that many restaurants put it on their menu this season. I agree – leave her alone. I just have this cynical side of me that thinks that something bad is up. I guess I watched and read too many things (fiction and non-fiction).

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  11. I love your hall pass, lol! We have to use a mini clipboard with a laminated color pass on it. The pass has our name and room number on it. The color of the pass tells which building or portable area students are *supposed* to be in. I’ve been reading and enjoying many of the diaries on the Kitchn website. I have spring break next week, 10 days that I will cherish, lol. We go back on a Tuesday and then have Good Friday off, so a 3-day week. I leave for work at 6:35 and am not a morning person, so going back after a vacation is shocking! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thank you Susan! Yup, that was our clipboard system. No one monitors the colors! Right? Aren’t they interesting? I often get ideas, too.
      You go girl! I hope you have the best adult spring break – make a bucket list and crush it – even if it’s things like stay in jammies all day. You too!

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  12. We don’t have hall passes, but if we did I would definitely have a mannequin arm, so legit!

    I do believe in signs! Did I tell you my mum shows up as a magpie?

    Your food pictures are fantastic! Always makes me so hungry!

    Fur baby? Really? Will you!? That would be amazing! I want pictures of lab baby so bad!

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    1. Look at you using words like “legit”! I love that your mom shows up like that. Thank you! Tom has said we are getting another chocolate lab and he already has the name picked out. Say what?

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      1. Ti hi, you’re such an apple polisher! (I’m learning new words every day :D)

        Can’t wait for your new chocolate baby!

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