Monday, December 9, 2024

It’s Monday and that means link up time with Sarah and Holly. Let’s talk about our weekend. It’s hard to believe that we only have two more before the holiday. I am not trying to make anyone nervous! I really should be the nervous one – but only about gifts. I think I have my list made and I know what I am ordering. The local shops and in person purchases I can wait on.

Friday night Tom and I went out! We ate frozen pizza at home with bagged Caesar salad – really just so we wouldn’t have to leave Eddie Otis for as long. The kids had their own fun plans so it was just us. We left the house at 7:15 and stayed out until 10:30. We went to a new to us place to hear some live music! The place was so cool – The Whirling Tiger. The music space was awesome and I had splurged and gotten us a high top table but most people had to stand.

The person we went to see is a singer and a cellist and had like nine more people up on stage with him and it was so good. I have liked him for a long time and seen him perform before and now I teach his kid! My student was working the merch(andise), too!

The bar looked like your Grandma’s 70s living room decorated for Christmas. They had a fun holiday cocktail menu and I got a “Nice List” which was an adult Capri Sun drink. There was also a “Naughty List” and it was some red drink.

Some views of the bar:

See the menu that looks like a wrapped present? Isn’t that cute?

I ran into someone the next day who thought she saw me there, too, and she told me there was a second floor to the bar that is even better (decorated for the holidays) but costs $10 to go up and she said it was totally worth it.

Saturday I went to my school for their huge holiday halls craft fair.

These ladies were lining up to buy wooden reindeer with curly antlers. The lady in the photo had so many. I guess they were all the rage. I only left with a candle and a car air freshener.

At 4:30, I met Erica at a really cool place that was new to me called NEAT. Tom was happy to sit in his chair and watch all the tv while I went out.

It was so cool and also decorated for the holidays. We had a drink and chatted and then went to our staff holiday party at a karaoke place called Akiko’s a couple of doors down. I had been there once a long time ago.

I only took a few photos right when I got there but it was a pretty good turnout and I stayed until about 8:30. It was from 5:30-9 and then opened to the public. We had pizza and bar snacks and we could sing as many songs as we wanted for free. I sang “Feliz Navidad” with the Spanish teachers who came, Pink’s “Raise Your Glass” with Erica and Dolly Parton’s “Working 9 to 5” with Erica but we changed it to “Working 8:30 to 3:30”. We signed up our principal for “Smoking in the Boy’s Room” but he declined. lol.

I just felt so happy to live where I live. We have some cool places! I got to experience two new to me places this weekend which I love.

Friday night outfit:

I bought two sequin skirts from Old Navy about a month ago – black and silver. They weren’t cheap (for me) at $40 each. I decided to keep both because they are elastic waist and the perfect length and they make me happy. Friday night I wore my Christmas tree button sweater. I think black underneath would have been better. My boots are very old suede from Target and they are comfortable. They are a bit of a Western vibe. I also have them in tan.

Saturday night outfit:

Same boots, silver skirt, black tee, new Target sweater, new Amazon headband, new Amazon earrings. The sweater was only $23 when I ordered it, but now it’s up to $32, sadly.

I bought one other sweater from Target that says “Merry and Bright”.

I am going to try not to buy any other holiday attire!

Eddie Otis did not approve of my holiday reading this weekend. I left the living room for a few minutes while he was asleep.

Well, he woke up…

Now I must go to the library and hang my head in shame and buy a new copy for them – at the very least.

So, I started this…

I liked this…

Hmmmm…

We have 10 more days of school that include 2 five day weeks, midterms, final semester grades, spreading of germs, holiday merriment, and who knows what else.

So, tell me a highlight of your weekend!

Amy

Friday, December 6, 2024

It’s Friday! It’s been a cold, cold week! I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites from my week.

This week has been such a good week at school. I might delete this but my heart was warmed by thank you notes and cards that I got before the break and this week after break. I truly believe that what we do in schools is so important. It goes beyond the testing and homework. We are modeling behavior for life. We should be teaching values and things like gratitude.

All of them are hanging…

My favorite quote was, “you have taught me to not let my phone control me and I hope to have your personality and attitude when I grow up”. See – I should delete this. I am far from teacher of the year.

Eddie Otis – how can you look at that face and not laugh? That tongue.

This was my favorite outfit of the week. I called this week a “black bottom” week (until Thursday so I guess it was just 3 days) with my black jeans, black velvet Matilda Janes, and then my black silk slip skirt but I loved wearing my shoes from Spain.

I follow this mom who lives in Madrid and she got to go to the brand’s holiday lunch. Look how cute hers are!

The red lips are fun this week!

I suprised my sister with a little gift to tell her I think she’s awesome:

Don’t you love the photos from Amazon?

I got her this inappropriate agenda for 2025:

Erica my co-worker and meal prep partner got me one for 2024 in a different design and this was on major Cyber Monday sale.

I got a cool message on Instagram! A former student has opened their own Mexican restaurant so Tom and I had a Tuesday date night to try it out. We loved it!

Other than our Mexican meal, we ate at home and had all the healthy stuff – tons of vegetables to get our systems back to normal!

I ordered a couple of fun accessories for myself but didn’t go too crazy. They haven’t come in yet so I am not sure of the quality.

I’ve been enjoying my old Target Christmas plates!

I had the best sugar cookie latte from a local place! Look at the cute cup and the cute…

sticker stopper. I love little details and pretty or aesthetically pleasing things!

Not aesthetically pleasing…

But, I always enjoy the convo with my wonderful stylist and the results.

This week I shared about Thanksgiving weekend in Hello Monday and boy did you all talk about menopause with me on Tuesday! Wednesday was Currently and Hodgepodge and yesterday was Fashion Files. Check those out if you missed anything!

What made you happy this week?

Happy Friday,

Amy

Thursday, December 5, 2024

Today is Repeal Day! Are you going out for a cocktail? It’s also jeans day! Woohoo! Drinking in jeans! Yes! I will be conjugating verbs in my jeans, but I hope you have plans for something different!

I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill to share what I have been putting on during this cold snap!

We are going to do ‘mob wife’ and we are now also going to do ‘Cherry Mocha Girl Winter’

What do you think? Is cherry mocha your color? I have long used wine or burgundy as one of my winter colors so I’m pumped. I can see a nice mani for me in this color, too. Press ons, of course!

I did something crazy…I bought two cropped button ups at Old Navy. One is a muted red and the other is a white with crystals on it. Hear me out. I thought they would work with some higher waisted items.

I went a little crazy with fur on the top and cow print on my shoes for school. Pick one animal next time, Amy.

This is what I wore for the Christmas Market. The sweater is from Target last year and the buttons are Christmas trees!

I have been using my tote bag when I go places. Everyone in Europe uses these. This came with my shoes from Spain and it makes me happy and it came in handy.

This looks bad not tucked in, but this is what I wore to school the Monday before Thanksgiving.

And, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

The goal was to be comfy and wear my Thanksgiving colors. Done.

Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) I wore my Pumpkin Spice sweater (very warm – too warm to teach in) with black jeans, my Spain Mary Janes, and the consignment black jeans that look too skinny in this photo. I think it matters what you pair them with.

I didn’t get a picture of my Thanksgiving Day outfit but I will repeat that I wore my brown pleather pants and my legs were sweating. Not a photo I want to remember it by!

Friday for my second Thanksgiving I wore this – the black jeans again looking better with this shoe, a TJ Maxx blouse that I love, and my consignment blazer. Two of the three are consignment!

Another view. This will be repeated!

And, my Saturday outfit I just loved.

Monday for school my Amazon Gucci-esque cardigan, black tee, the black jeans again, and my Sambas.

And, Tuesday my Matilda Jane velvets, my cougar blouse, and a black old fringey vest.

And, yesterday I wore this:

I have on my Target black silk slip skirt, a black tee, and my very, very old Amazon Burberry-esque knit cardigan and my Cayumas. I wore short rubber boots to get to school and then changed into these. They were more supportive than I thought they would be.

I saw women wearing these all over Spain! When I was there they were sockless but in their marketing they are wearing socks or stockings, too.

Want to see my pale dry freckled legs?

Anyway, they made me so happy looking down at them all day? Who do you dress to please? I hope it’s YOU! I felt comfy and happy all day to be honest.

Fashion Adjacent…

I did red press ons and I treated myself to a red mani – they don’t match but no one will be seeing my dogs out in the wild.

Red gloss!

And, a reader rec that I am looking into – thanks, Kim! She loves Revlon ColourStay Ultimate in Top Tomato.

And, Joyce, I think there is a red for everyone. I like an orangey red on me in the summer and I like a darker red on me in the winter. I hate when it bleeds outside your lips, though. I try to line my lips first.

Yes, I am going to enjoy my red and green to the max right now. And, I have put away the fall colors.

Do you have a favorite outfit? What have you been wearing?

Amy

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

It’s the first Wednesday of the month and that means Currently with Jennifer! But, stayed tuned at the end for Hodgepodge with Joyce, too!

Currently loving

Admittedly, I don’t have much decor up, but what I do have I love. The lights make me happy in the mornings and evenings.

I have a plaid tablecloth on the dining room table and this dough bowl of pine cones, too.

Sunday morning I finished reading this and while it is common sense and nothing earth shattering, I took notes and wrote down what I wanted the holiday season to look like and what I can and want to put forth effort to do. I also have my December List that I plan to work on and it’s all fun stuff!

So, I am loving going into the season the way I want to and with intentionality as best as I can. There are sometimes external obligations but that’s ok.

Looking forward to

Wrapping up this semester with some fun holiday things and midterms that are easy to grade (ha!) and having two weeks off. I can’t remember what it’s like to have that much time off since summer seems like it was a long, long time ago in a distant land…

I am also hoping for more snow! Eddie Otis enjoyed his first taste of snow and enjoyed chatting with his dog friends about it!

Buying

Well, I need to get my butt in gear and start buying – gifts! I have already ordered and received new pajamas for the kids. I got fleece pants and hoodies this year. So the pants are pj, but the hoodies are not pajamas really.

We aren’t having a big Christmas this year as far as gifts go and we have really simplified over the years.

Hoping

To have a chic and simple Christmas a la Fiona Ferris. I am trying to channel what we experienced last year in the UK and be very intentional. I am hoping to play a couple of games and honor the people in my immediate family with favorite foods that I make for them. There’s that word intentional again!

Baking

I will be baking another batch of pink meringues and I will ask what other cookies I should do. What are your favorite things to bake for Christmas?

And, now for the Hodgepodge…

1. What’s the best $5 gift to give someone? 

Something that shows you listened. They might have said they love coffee from a certain place or donuts from a certain place so even a $5 gift card will make them smile. A framed photo or a printed out photo of a fun or special time you had with that person!

2. What’s your favorite way to relax/unwind during the busy holiday season? 

Just say NO! I really don’t have many things I HAVE to do anymore with older kids. I have my work party and Tom’s work party was moved to January last year which is really kind of nice. It gives you something to look forward to. I like to have time to go to a nice dinner out with friends or out for a nice happy hour. It’s fun to see places all decorated for the holidays!

I think keeping an empty calendar as best you can and use those blank days to see which thing on your list feels right for that day.

3. How do you feel about gingerbread? Love it or no thanks? Are gingerbread houses a part of your holiday tradition? If you said yes, how does that look? Do you like ginger flavor in other kinds of dishes? 

Not a big fan. I think men are cute, but the taste is not my favorite. I am not an aspiring gingerbread architect. I do like a gingerbread coffee once a season.

4. December 5th is National Blue Jeans Day…will you be celebrating? Do you have a favorite brand? A favorite pair? Do you have a hard time parting with a favorite pair of jeans? Blue jeans-joggers-leggings-yoga pants…which one do you wear most often? 

Sure! That sounds good! It’s also repeal day when prohibition was abolished. Jeans and booze! Yes!

5. As we head into this holiday season what’s your biggest priority or goal for the end of the year? 

To keep it simple and to do the things that bring me joy and bring joy to those I love. To focus less on material gift and more on quality time.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I have already broken out the red lipstick and gloss. Have you found a red that works for you? What do you think of a red lip?

I made a basket of accessories – a red and green hair barrette, a headband with red and green, my black velvet headband, baseball caps in olive green and bright green, my red and green purse strap.

After almost three months of wearing all the fall colors, it’s time to wear my reds and greens without looking crazy, of course! Come back tomorrow for Fashion Files and you can see some examples.

Amy

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Ok, I just turned 53. So, it’s coming for me. But, I am hearing so much about menopause lately that I almost wondering what is real and what is manifested (in my brain because that is how my brain works). I mean we now have menopause superstars! Dr. Mary Claire Haver in da house!

Did you know one symptom of menopause is an itchy inner ear? I once went to an ENT and the nurse recorded in my notes, “patient admits to using Q-tips”. I felt like a Q-tip criminal.

So, last Monday before Thanksgiving break our school district had turned on the heat (they pick an arbitrary date to turn on heating and cooling each year) and it was also getting ready to rain. The barometric pressure was dropping and it was like a sauna in my room. I think I had my first real hot flash. I also think I made some high school boys uncomfortable when I unnecessarily said, “don’t mind me..my cheeks are rosy and I feel like I’m on fire… it’s just menopause coming for me…also that is why my fan is on at my desk”.

So, yeah – I don’t plan on sharing and talking about it so much even if the worst happens. I don’t want menopause to become my whole personality.

Some things of menopause are not new to me…

I have never been able to wear a sweater to teach in. They way overheat the building in the cold weather months. This has been a thing since my 20s for me.

I have always layered at school. I have always chosen cooler fabrics because I do tend to get hot and I would rather be cold than hot. That’s just my nature. I am a pretty active teacher with some dance moves and side lunges.

I have always loved sleeping with slightly damp hair and in my tank and shorts combo.

Here is a list of possible menopausal symptoms:

weight gain, thinning hair, anxiety, depression, body odor, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, forgetfulness, fogginess, confusion, difficulty concentrating, slower cognitive function, peach fuzz on your face, brittle fingernails, incontinence, pungent perspiration, voice changes, sleep problems, joint, bone, and muscle aches, digestive problems, bloating, constipation, gas, taste changes, burning tongue, dryness in your mouth, soreness in your mouth, tingling in your mouth, frequent urination, headaches, migraines, dizziness, increase in allergies, itchy skin, wrinkling skin, rashes, irregular heartbeat and palpitations, electric shocks, tingling sensations throughout the body…and that’s enough.

Are you depressed now?

Doesn’t seem quite fair, does it?

What do you think – Is it good we are talking about it so much now or is this making us paranoid?

Do you want to talk about this topic?

Have you or someone you love been affected by menopause? Call 1-800-Coffeetails and you may be entitled to… just kidding.

Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are!

Amy

Monday, December 2, 2024

Wow – that went by fast and now it’s December! I am linking up with Sarah and Holly to share the highlights of the long weekend. Did you also think it went by incredibly fast?

We usually have a mild Thanksgiving – one where we can be outside on porches and enjoy the crisp late fall weather. Not this year – it was really cold. I missed that outdoor time!

So, we had school Monday and Tuesday but then had the rest of the week off.

I spent Wednesday doing some errands for the holiday and Mason was off work and had time before having a Friendsgiving so he went to the Honeybaked Ham store and Trader Joe’s with me. That was so nice. He wanted to roast cauliflower and broccoli for his contribution so we did that together. I also had time Wednesday to piddle around and just enjoy being at home. I was pretty organized and not running around like a crazy woman.

I like to go out to eat on Wednesday night but both kids were gone and I didn’t want to leave Eddie Otis so Tom and I walked him together and then ate chili leftover from Monday night.

My oven told me it was time…

My oven changes scenes all the time. Who knew I needed such a smart oven? If it were really that smart, it would clean what I need to clean but keep forgetting.

Thursday morning I made mashed potatoes and put them in a crockpot to stay warm:

I used this recipe but doubled it.

I went to pick up the German strudel we had ordered:

We went to Tom’s sister’s house and she always sets a lovely table and her dining room looks really nice. Isn’t the navy and gold combination pretty?

Why is this meal so good?

Remember how I said it was much colder this year? I didn’t want to wear a skirt or dress because of that and I made a big mistake…I wore my brown pleather pants which are pretty seriously lined and my legs got so hot.

I was miserable! When I got home I could hardly get them off and my legs were wet… that was fun -not! I slept 10 hours on Thursday night. I went to bed at 9 and got up at 7. You could say I must have needed that sleep.

Friday morning I made corn casserole for round two at my mom’s house with my side of the family…

And took ingredients for this amazing salad, but I made the dressing at home.

Everyone loved it – even the kids. Our youngest kid isn’t that young anymore!

I made a Mexican layer dip for my brother in law (he loves it and has asked where it is at the last few family gatherings!) because we ate appetizers from about 1-2 and then ate around 3.

And, I made the pink meringue cookies for my niece because she asked!

It’s rare now when we are all in the family truckster so that was nice and it’s about an hour drive. Eddie Otis was an angel in the car both ways and he did so well with cousin Ezra (a dog). He was really good with all of my mom’s stuff, too. My mom has a lot of stuff he could get into. Like a lot of stuff.

Sitting around the appetizers chatting…

Have you seen the TJ Maxx/Homegoods trend going on? Someone pretends to be the employee and someone pretends to be the shopper and you ask for something super random. Well, we did it with my mom’s stuff…

My sisters and I and all the nieces made several videos!

Then, the kids wanted to wrap up some of my mom’s stuff and see if she would know it was hers:

It was pretty funny!

Good boy!

After a long and full day, we arrived back home and I watched this on Netflix and thought it was pretty cute. Also, I just bought a Paris ballcap from JCPenney online for like $5 so I felt validated when I saw Lindsay Lohan wearing hers in the movie.

I let myself run out of coffee and had nothing for Saturday morning! I went to Starbuck’s at 6:30 am and got myself a Christmas blend drip coffee and then fixed it to my liking at home and a London Fog for Mason because he had to work and I wanted to treat him. We are the only two drinkers of the hot beverages in our house!

On Saturday I did some annoying adulting things – I needed to get air in my tires and finish switching our phone plans to another carrier. Jack went with me to do his phone and then we hung out. Jack left to go hang out with friends and then it was just Tom and I and we watched football, I read and doozed, EO doozed, and we just had a lazy afternoon.

It had officially been one week since I had been to a restaurant so I wanted to go out to eat at a new to us Mexican place. This was my fit for the errands earlier in the day, too.

It was good and we brought home lots of leftovers.

I started this and I’m really enjoying it!

And, Saturday night it really snowed!

We woke up Sunday with about an inch or maybe a bit more. It was a wet snow and didn’t stick to the driveway, but stuck to the porch pretty well.

It’s so pretty! I guess if I can’t enjoy a mild Thanksgiving this year having snow to get me in the Christmas mood is pretty great!

That wasn’t a long enough break and now I am really looking forward to a two week break coming up! Maybe we will get a snow day before the break with how our weather is looking! Teachers love snow days!

Tell me one of your highlights!

Amy

Friday, November 29, 2024

Are you shopping today? Are you exhausted? Tell me everything!

Let’s discuss some of my favorites from the week – all that took place before Thanksgiving and I will include anything after from Thanksgiving in my Hello Monday!

We had our first snow last Thursday! November 21! You can see the beautiful shape of the snowflakes on my black turtleneck!

Baby’s first snow:

It wasn’t enough for him to make anything of it. He always looks possessed/scared, so don’t make anything of the eyes in the photo.

I can’t believe it but I “decorated” on Sunday. This has made me happy all week so it was the right call!

This is all I did. I still need to do trees.

We had a school Friendsgiving and I made a spice cake from a box mix in my bundt pan. I made a homemade cream cheese cinnamon frosting.

Someone turned 9 months old!

In the world of fashion, this has me pretty excited..

The “Mob Wife” aesthetic is in! Read about it here. I don’t plan on wearing a leopard catsuit, but this will work well with my sequins, velvet, pleather, and faux fur items. Now, there is a fine line between the mob wife trend and tacky city, so I will need to proceed with caution.

The odes we did in my AP class turned out so great and they were all willing to read them aloud to the class. Click on my red font to read the back story and what I think is “ode worthy”.

What I liked about their topics were they were not materialistic. I teach some really nice kids. I am in the largest public high school in my city. Don’t believe everything you hear, ok? I am here to tell you that teens are pretty great!

This one wrote about River Road. This is also my favorite place to drive. You are really, really close to the river on a two lane road. “Where the trees hang low and the old railings have rusted” and “where the houses recede and the city appears” and “the old man fishes” and “the hills hide us”.

this one was about their bed! I think a lot of teens feel the same – “A cloud of blankets, a hill of pillows”, “my bed of hope”…

And we already have a coffee addict on our hands…

“Oh how you smell on a cold day”…

I have a couple of fun things coming up after break – AP writes children’s books and Spanish 3 does demonstration speeches.

So, I started at my school in 2000 with a girl named Ashley- she was 22 and I was 28 and she was our German teacher. I had already taught for 6 years at two other schools and this was her first teaching job. She only stayed a short time because she moved to Cincinnati with her pookie but we remained friends. She is now a lawyer and she was in town for a conference and asked me to meet up Monday night.

We had a great time meeting up at Mojito – our Cuban/Spanish tapas place. I indulged in a swirl margarita because I only had one more day left of school. It’s a frozen margarita with sangria “swirled” in it. OMG! So good!

I had an Amazon gift card from my birthday so I am going to get some more help from Fiona:

She has some good tips about creating the holiday you want to create. I realize what she writes is common sense and I already do quite a bit of it, but for some reason I find these really validating and inspirational.

I wasn’t the only teacher who did thank yous – so sweet!

I was delivering some of mine…

Loving my simple decor in the dark…

I enjoyed my Wednesday off and didn’t run around like a chicken with my head cut off. Tom still had to work. I did go to Trader Joe’s and The Honeybaked Ham store but I enjoyed piddling around the house for most of the day.

What were some of your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, November 28, 2024

Cheers! Happy Thanksgiving!

I had my Spanish 3 students pick a person in our school that has helped them or meant something to them during the first part of the year. Then, I lead them in writing a thank you letter – yes, in Spanish. They question me, but I assure them I have been doing this for years and many teachers could understand the gist of the letter.

I hand deliver most and then ask them if they need help understanding it. The recipients are so touched.

I’m going to write one, too – to YOU!

Dear Blog Readers,

I want to thank you for being here. I have enjoyed this little hobby that I started six years ago more than I thought I would. I can’t believe it’s been that long and I kind of can’t believe I’ve stuck with it. I almost find it easier to blog daily than to do something like an every other day plan. That’s why I am usually here five days a week! I have found I have a lot to say. This is a great outlet for my thoughts even though I know I can be a broken record. Sometimes I let self doubt creep in and think I have nothing new to offer. I don’t think I would have lasted this long if it weren’t for you.

You all have seen me through some hard things! You saw me through the illness and passing of my Dad, some hard health things with my mom, my kids leaving the nest in one fell swoop, and a freaking global pandemic!

The fact that I have people coming here to read my words and to leave me sweet and encouraging comments – wow. Sometimes I can hardly believe it. I don’t know what this says about me or my life, but I get more encouragement here than I do IRL. Maybe it’s because we go deeper here than is possible on social media.

I love the blog world. I think blogs have added so much to my life. Where can you get such good recommendations and inspiration for living a normal life? I think having a blog has made me do more and get out more!

I try to be as transparent as I can but there are some things I won’t say here because it would hurt someones’ feelings or because it is not my story to tell. Otherwise, I do try to keep it real. I would never want to hurt anyone and I am sorry if I have in the past.

I love when I get a comment that I have helped someone. Whether it be a product, a clothing item, a tip – it makes my heart swell to think little ol’ me did that.

I love when I make someone laugh. It’s the best feeling. Life is ridiculous, isn’t it? To see the humor in our lives is such a gift.

Thank you to those of you who also have blogs. Please don’t stop! It’s so different from an influencer Facebook or Instagram. We really get to know each other and feel a connection through the blogland.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

And, for those of you who just want to get through this day, I see you. This year may look different but I hope that you feel peace in what is happening in your life to get you to the other side. I pray for a friend spending her first Thanksgiving without her Dad. I pray for another friend who is a primary caregiver of a parent who is not the same as she was last year. I pray for all of you who are missing someone at your table or who are sitting at a table that looks different than what you have known.

Amy

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

T minus 24 hours now! It’s Wednesday and that means a link up with Joyce!

1. Talking turkey…are you cooking the turkey this year? Does ham belong on a Thanksgiving day menu? When it comes to gravy do you pour it over your whole plate, skip it altogether, or land somewhere in between? Cranberries-homemade or jelled right out of the can? Do you look forward more to the main course, the savory sides, or the desserts? 

I have never cooked a turkey! My sister in law is cooking one for Thursday and there is no ham that I know of. On Friday with my family we are doing ham only – HoneyBaked ham and it is $140! My mom wanted to do that and it is really good, but wow!

No gravy for me. It belongs nowhere.

Meh. I like the color the cranberries add but not that big of a fan. I have made them homemade as my contribution several times. Tom’s family always did the can where you slide it out and see the can markings – lol.

I like the sides!

I know there are at least a couple of bloggers who participate here who live outside the US and won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving. If that’s you feel free to adapt this question to your December (or any) holiday meal.

2. Holiday movies…tell us your favorite and what it is about the film that makes you love it. Is it the film itself or a memory it stirs? 

The Holiday – but really just the England part!

Home Alone – great memories of my kids thinking it was just hilarious and then trying to come up with traps for our house.

3. A favorite way to give back and help others?

I need to work on this. I heard about an opportunity to buy wreaths for veterans’ graves and I plan to do that.

4. Name a place or setting you encountered this month that made you feel grateful. 

My home, my patio, and a couple of areas of my community. I felt happy to live here when I went out to eat with friends at some of our wonderful spots and when I went to JingleFest in NULU, the German Market and Westport Village to some favorite boutiques. My school – it has been a second home since I have been there for 25 years. I run that place – just kidding!

5. Knowing what you know today, if you could redo yesterday what would you do differently? 

Maybe I would have eaten a little less at our school Friendsgiving? It was so good. I had a good day, though. I feel like I made a few people smile and I said yes to a spontaneous activity in the evening! I am working on this part of my being so I was happy my instinct was “yes” and not “no – I didn’t plan to do that”.

6. Spill your own random thought here. 

I am being kind to myself right now. I am choosing some easier routes for things I have to do for the holiday. I am trying to simplify. I am trying to think about what truly matters and what does not. I am buying pies instead of making them. I didn’t overcommit. I am simplifying my Christmas decor to what works in this season of puppy and what truly makes me happy.

I am going to work at seeing the humor in awkward situations. I need to be well rested myself and well taken care of to be this person I want to be!

Thank you for being here and look for a post tomorrow and Friday!

Amy

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Are you familiar with Pablo Neruda and his odes? He wrote odes to the tomato, the avocado, his socks, salt, the book, wine, to a large tuna in a market, maize, broken things, and ironing among other things. So, for him to write odes to these things meant that he cared deeply about these things.

So, in this month of gratitude, I asked my AP Spanish to write down 5 things that they might feel that strongly about. I discouraged big things that we would all say like friends and family, freedom, etc.

Here is what my students picked to write about; they all had to have a unique topic – no duplicates. Maybe there are some gift ideas here, too.

Yes, I still do some things “old school”! I don’t have my own printer and sometimes a notebook paper list works just fine.

The topics chosen were Christmas, jewelry, my bed(the student’s bed, not my bed – that would be weird), August, cds, River Road, art, fall, flowers, Cuban food, football, my watch, my cat, driving, my pencil, my stuff dinosaur, and rainy days.

I gave them certain verb tense requirements, length requirements, and read and critiqued all of their rough drafts. I will show you some finished products!

Here are some things that could be ode worthy for me and I would love to hear yours, too. Maybe some gift ideas can come out of the comment section?

that first cup of coffee from one of my Starbuck’s mugs

my key ring that fits on my wrist

my dumb (not smart) watch

this pack of coffee cups from Amazon

my backpack and being hands free

a clear desk

an empty planner

a fiction book and a book that inspires me to live a little better

my blog and the blogs I read

my patio and my patio lights

rainy days – especially when I can stay home

candles

the acting of chopping, stirring, and creating a meal for myself or someone else

What is ode worthy for you? I know I could have come up with many more things!

Amy