Friday, August 23, 2024

Ahhhh, Friday! I can’t believe we have been in school since August 8th. In some ways I now feel like I never had a summer because it seems so far away. I’m back in the ol’ routine, you know?

Friday is always a fun post of things that brought me joy during the week. Even if you don’t blog, do you snap happy photos during the week to look back on at week’s end? I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika today!

First, I tried a new creamer and really liked it.

Planet Oat Coffee Cake flavor. This has worked well with my Nespresso Vertuo this week.

Doesn’t that look good? Starbucks who?

Next, I have been struggling with tangles in my hair. I find them so annoying and painful to get out. My hair is really fine, but I have a lot of it. Shay recommended this and it really works and smells great! I bought the small bottle from Amazon to see what I thought. It’s pretty amazing!

I placed a big Impress press on nail order because they offered me 35% off. I wanted to try this new shape. It’s so pretty but too long for me and I am finding it hard to type!

I took this picture because it made me happy seeing Eddie Otis get a nice belly rub and Tom having a belly to rub. Eddie Otis wants to touch us or be touched most of the time. He turns 6 months old tomorrow!

That face! Did you notice he got a collar upgrade? His royal blue one was too small so he has Ernie’s old green one now. Our boy may look even better in green with his eyes.

Sorry; I’m that obnoxious parent that keeps showing pictures of her kid.

I made a good dinner this week and it’s a keeper. The recipe says they are wraps but I turned it into a bowl and added coleslaw mix and shredded carrots. This was easy enough for a quick week night meal. The family loved the meal, too. I served it over the Trader Joe’s frozen jasmine rice.

Ahhh…. such a good book! This is tied for favorite book of the summer along with Jenny James is not a Disaster by Debbie Johnson.

Both of the books are deeper than you would think and have a message of starting over. They send the message that it’s not too late to have a next act in life. At least that is what I got out of them.

So, I have been a high school Spanish teacher for 30 years. This is year 31. I started at one school for 4 years, and went to another for 2 years, but now have been at my current school for 25 this year. It’s hard to believe this is possible on one hand, but on the other hand, this old gal is tired. This old gal has conjugated a lot of verbs, you know? I love to conjugate!

I had a goal. My goal was to stay put and get to teach siblings and just become a part of the woodwork, I guess. I have had some really heartfelt moments this summer in seeing my students go out and live their lives and feeling that I may have had a small impact?

I have had so many former students in Spain! I currently have four former students leaving for Spain in September! You guys! This feels like my life’s work. So, three girls are going to Spain for an entire year to be teachers – all unrelated; they just all happen to be doing this after graduating from college. One girl came over to talk about it this summer and you might remember me mentioning it. The other two are going to come soon to practice and brush up on their Spanish if we can work out a date. The little brother of one of the girls is doing study abroad at the same time his sister will be there. I taught both of them! I couldn’t be more excited to live vicariously through these kids! I talk about this with my current students and I am hoping to manage a Facetime during class.

I also had two dear sweet and good student brothers that I taught just get back from Mexico and I messaged and asked if they thought about me and my Spanish songs while they were there. Ha!

How do I know all of this? Social media. Instagram. It would be really hard to keep up with former students without it. So for this reason, I will forever be a fan.

Ok, look at this…

It’s not Spain, but it’s close. I taught all three siblings of this family and the three siblings are having a European adventure together. I would say they are 28, 25, and 22 now. They are precious! And, their Spanish will help them navigate, for sure.

And, you can read my comment below:

The oldest (who is taking the photo) is a talented photographer and has dabbled with photography since high school. Am I their crazy former Spanish teacher that they are reluctantly responding to? Probably. Most of the things I post on IG are tailored to former students, but you are welcome to follow me at amscott2.

I tried once to list all the siblings I have taught and the list is too long. I have taught one set of four siblings, many with three siblings, and it’s just been such a cool connection.

Well, I got deep on this Friday! It was just on my heart how blessed I am to have had this experience in my career and it’s definitely a favorite!

I hope you had many this week, too!

Happy Friday!

Amy

And Deep Thoughts by Amy…

Thursday, August 22, 2024

It’s Thursday and time to link up with the fashionable Kellyann and Jill!

Right now as I look in my closet, I am yearning for more neutrals. Some of my stuff seems too colorful, too bold, and after a few years of most of my summer clothes it just doesn’t feel like Current Amy. I’m a Surfer Nephew and a Coastal Aunt now, remember? Nah, but do you ever go through stages where you aren’t comfortable with your style?

I loved wearing graphic tees this summer and I started the school year wearing a lot of my graphic tees with skirts. I found some at Old Navy that are shorter than a classic tee and they work really well with skirts, I think. I am also not opposed to cutting the bottom off of the standard tee shirt. I need to do that with a couple of mine.

Other things affecting my style:

I want to cut my hair. It’s driving me crazy. Do you consider your hair part of your style? I do!

I am not as interested in spray tan and stopped my membership. The last spray I got I looked burgundy. My legs were burgundy. That’s good because I just don’t have time to go get it done in this season. I bought Loving Tan mousse and plan to lightly apply some to my legs and arms for the next couple of months. I have done it twice with great results. It looks really natural. I apply it with rubber gloves.

Anyway, some of these thoughts come with me being over summer. The heat and the mosquitoes can go bye bye. The last few days have been in the 70s and there is a touch of fall in the air!

Let’s go back to last week…

This is a crinkle black skirt and I think I’m donating it because I have a slim black skirt that is much more flattering.

So, those were all school looks.

Saturday:

I think I basically wore the same thing Sunday with a different tee shirt!

Monday:

Tuesday:

I made myself put on jeans for the first time and I was happy that they fit.

I also took walking selfies on the way to work:

Weirdo. I sent them to Tom.

Meh. I don’t love anything I wore over the last week, really. See what I mean?

What about you? What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

It’s a two post day because I also wanted to link up with Joyce!

1. What’s the last thing you completely overreacted to? 

What don’t I overreact to? Just kidding. I have really worked on that. I was probably upset that we (my husband) forgot to put the trash on the street the night before trash day. I have given over the trash and recycling part of my brain space to him and he needs to worry about it. Not me! He always thinks he will be up before the trash truck comes and do it in the morning, but sometimes he misses it and I just think it’s something so easy to do the night before.

I guess I overreact the most to things that people make harder than they need to be?

2. Your top five snacks? 

String cheese, popcorn, all cheese I guess, all chips I guess, and any kind of dip! I am definitely a more savory/salty snacker.

3. What smell always brings back some type of memory? Elaborate. 

Gosh, I am really big on smells so it’s hard to answer this. I have all kinds of memories when I smell certain things.

4. What’s something you learned from the last book you read? 

The last couple of books I have read have been about new chapters/new beginnings for people. You can start over. You can make a happier life. You just have to be open to the things that life brings to you.

5. What’s the next thing on your to-buy list? Will you make that purchase before the end of the year? 

I just can’t stop thinking about sneakers. I am wearing them more and I feel like I need more.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

There has been a touch of fall in the air lately and I love it!

What about you?

Amy

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

What is your trip planning style? Or, are you the one in the family that does the planning? Tom will give me ideas of destinations and what he has usually seen on tv about it. He is a big channel flipper and watches a lot of “educational tv”. He has also discovered Instagram Reels and sends me a lot of them on the daily.

We never plan too far in advance. I don’t know. I think it would be great, but that’s not usually our style.

If you are doing air travel, I think stalking ticket prices for a bit is a good idea. I use an incognito browser to do this so that the internet doesn’t mess with me and know that I am looking for specific tickets.

After getting tickets, it’s important to secure your lodgings.

Then, I start trying to plan out the days with a few things that are more “set in stone” and then just list things I can do that day if time permits.

I need to get better about looking at things geographically to see what makes sense to bundle or couple with something else.

On our UK trip last year, I usually had one reservation per day and that gave each day a bit of structure. But, it was also the holidays so I was worried about being able to eat at certain places or do certain things.

I like to check out library books – especially Rick Steves books – and read all about what there is to do. I also read things online and look at Instagram and Pinterest. I also check out blog posts that may involved my destination.

I create a Google doc with all the details and take that with me. This doc gets edited so many times before it is all said and done.

It is really important to be to not be too over-scheduled or militant and leave room for spontaneity or just relaxing and people watching.

I actually love the planning process! It’s so fun!

One of my favorite things about travel is doing normal daily life things like using public transportation and checking out grocery stores. I think this is why I love, love, love Airbnb. You feel more like a resident than a tourist.

What about you?

Amy

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Deep Thoughts by Amy…

Grab a coffee!

or maybe something stronger?

I have two male teachers on either side of my classroom. I have made some observations as of late. My blog title means “Act like a Man”. One of the teachers had to miss school last week for one day (he is a veteran and has to do medical tests when the VA hospital says so) and he just said it matter of factly. There was no “I hate to miss already” or “I feel guilty”. He just stated it with no emotion.

I also notice that my two male teacher next door neighbors make decisions about things at school and don’t question themselves. The women tend to need to bounce decisions off of each other to make sure they are doing the right thing/the best thing for that situation. The men don’t seem to need that as much.

When I have to miss, I feel guilty. I ask myself if I really have to be off that day. I overthink it. Why do I do this? I will say that since the pandemic I have gotten better about this and I take days when I need to, knowing that I have days for a reason. For the first 27 years, I came to school when I shouldn’t have and rarely missed.

I walked in with a female teacher the other day and she literally had nothing to carry except her keys. I complimented her on not being weighed down. She said that she brings all her lunches on Mondays and has a computer at home and at school so really doesn’t need to cart anything. How liberating! I am in a profession where martyrs are celebrated. Who can stay the latest and literally roll the student work out to their car at the end of the day to at least look like they continue working from home. We must stop this kind of behavior!

I do feel like I am almost ingrained to not trust my judgement and to second guess even the most minute of decisions. Is this how females were conditioned during my formative years?

I once read a parenting book about “parenting like a man” and it made so much sense. They can be more in the moment and worry less about all the things that have to be done.

Back to teaching, sometimes I think it’s harder to be a female high school teacher. There are some male teachers at my school that would even scare me! Ha!

I am trying to make a pledge to myself to stop this behavior. “What Would a Man Do in this Situation?” will be my motto.

Do you have thoughts on this topic?

Amy

Monday, August 19, 2024

Well, that weekend went by so quickly, didn’t it? I am linking up with Sarah and Holly for maybe one of the shortest posts and least amount of photos I have ever had for a Hello Monday!

Thursday after school and I decided to relax…

I put on pants and a long sleeve to combat the horrible mosquitoes we are having. Tom bought me every product he could find!

Kids made dinner and it was stir fry with Spam!

Friday after school I talked Erica into going to the bar at Grassa Gramma. Isn’t it cool?

We had some beautiful cocktails – mine was something with blood orange – and these amazing crispy Tuscan potatoes…

I went home and crashed!

Saturday morning called for a nice Eddie Otis walk…

I made some egg bites from Olivia Snyder’s recipe if you used to read her blog and still follow her on IG…

I finished this book. I guess it was my least favorite of all Emily Giffin books and I had some problems with some of it. If you’ve read it, what do you think?

Tom and I checked out a cute little market and the taproom next door.

And, ended up at Waldo’s for lunch…

For dinner, we went to a Mexican restaurant to hear my friend play guitar and sing.

I started and couldn’t put this down!

And, Sunday I got to read in the rain for a bit…I spent most of my day on my patio and it was divine. I did return books at the library and go to Trader Joe’s, too. In the late afternoon our friends came over to see how big our boy Eddie Otis has gotten.

And, that’s it!

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy

Friday, August 16, 2024

Well, I knew this Friday – the first Friday of a five day week of school – would mean more! Ahhhhhh……I still don’t get paid until August 30th, but we are getting closer. I received five paychecks on June 18th and August 30th will be my first paycheck of this year. It’s a good thing I have a Sugar Daddy – I mean Tom. I also have half of that money saved. I had as frugal of a summer as I could.

It’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites.

Here are some things I want to share from my week…

New favorite book of the summer! I picked it up on a whim from the library shelf and yes, I did judge a book by its cover and I’m happy to say so! Cute cover, right? It reminded me a bit of the book Float Plan by Trish Doller which was a summer fave a few years ago. I will admit that I like a romance but with depth. The depth of this book surprised me and I have already recommended it to a couple of friends.

And, in the irony that is life…all of my anticipated summer reads came in the day school started! Ha! But, that’s ok. I will not give up everything I enjoy just because I am a full time employee again. There! I said it! And, it’s still technically summer until Labor Day and then we still have summer weather for quite a bit around here.

Have you read this? This was my next up book and so far I’m enjoying it.

Have you done anything for your future self this week? I made 6 Amy McMuffins and 8 breakfast burritos before school started and Present Amy really loves what Past Amy did. Lol!

Tell me that doesn’t look good! I eat it around 8:30 in my classroom. I don’t have any students until 9:30. Read about my schedule here and read about the Future Self theory here.

Hot pink nails are still going strong. I placed a big Impress press on nails order with a great 35% off discount code they sent me. I like petite or short length nails (still have to cut and file a bit) and this time I am trying the more oval shape that is popular.

We had spaghetti one night for dinner and then salmon, broccoli, and potatoes one night. Sheet pans are really easy, y’all. I love my two half sheets and my one quarter sheet and could really use more. All of this was done on the oven’s air fryer setting. Jack cut up all the taters and broccoli and helped me make this. I get home around 3:45 and start cooking at pretty much 5:00 on the dot.

I also made some chicken sausage, okra, and more taters on a sheet pan this week.

I ordered Tom a fun gift from Universal Yums. I picked Greece and it is a box of snacks and desserts from that country. Everyone has enjoyed tasting the items.

Stopped to take a selfie while walking to work… We’ve had some beautiful mornings.

Big boy watching mama blog…

I don’t set an alarm anymore! I have a puppy! So, I get up whenever puppy stirs and depending on where he has slept. Yesterday it was 5:00 and I do really enjoy watching the sun come up. It also feels nice to have more time at home before work. It’s all good. I cleaned out my candle collection this summer and saved this wonderful early fall scent.

A little more sun and my messy table with puppy stuff on it…

Well, tell me if you think this is bad or good…

I have not gone anywhere this week except to work and home and I’ve walked all but Tuesday. Is this good or boring? I think I will need to get out one day a week after work but for this first week, I think it was ok.

Tell me a favorite of yours this week?

Cheers to the weekend,

Amy

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Well, it’s Thursday and I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill to share the fashion in my files. I am getting dressed dressed everyday now!

First day of school and I wore my Walmart green dress with my new gold Stan Smiths. I was comfortable but ready to shed my dress clothes when I got home! Sneakers on day one is a really good call! Those of you out there who haven’t started school yet, take heed!

Day Two:

I wore my new consignment white Chico’s pants and my J.Crew blouse. I did change to my raffia sandals after walking to work because I didn’t love the “old school nurse look” that the white pants with white shoes gave off! Can you see me holding the sandals with my pink J.Crew cardigan? Tell me I don’t look like an 80s nurse if you cover up the top half of my outfit!

Sunday boat chic:

Ha! I wore my scarf headband with my fave coverup of this summer – from Amazon, of course! I got my money’s worth!

Monday for work:

I was trying a thing. I wore my long faux silk slip skirt (Target last year or the year before) with my Old Navy tee and my consignment gauze button up and my Stan Smiths. I was comfortable but might be too old to pull this look off. Oh well! Are you also getting used to the higher socks that are in style?

Tuesday for work:

I was bothered all day because I didn’t feel like my pinks matched (pink of the pants with the top). Also, I immediately changed from these Clarks consignment sandals to my new Skechers Cleos Mary Janes and my dogs were barking by the end of the day. I guess I can only do sneakers now.

Let’s talk about the top – I bought a white gauze short sleeved from Old Navy this summer and wore it a ton. I then decided to see what other colors they had and ordered it in this pink and black. It’s a great shirt, y’all! I like that it’s not too long and I have so many printed pants and skirts that require a solid colored top. I just should have worn the black one with these very old palazzo pants from Steinmart, which is now closed in my town. I think they are still online, but maybe all of the stores closed. It’s sad because I used to find a lot of good stuff there.

The Skechers that I can’t wear for a whole day:

So, that’s what I’ve been wearing. Comfort is key!

What have you been wearing?

Amy

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

This may be interesting to absolutely no one! Ha!

So, I made a big deal/whined/was super annoying last year about our change in start and end times at my school. It had been 7:40-2:20 until last year. Heck, I was on that schedule for 23 years! I could run errands, meet a friend, and feel like I had a substantial amount of day left before dinner prep rolled around.

Last year we started at 8:40 and ended at 3:20. It continued to be shocking to me how only a simple (right?) one hour difference could actually feel so different. I think a lot of it had to do with traffic not only at my school but in the community. I couldn’t get anywhere until 4:00 and it feels like 4 o’clock traffic is like what 5 o’clock traffic used to be! Do you feel that way in your community?

But, I will say that I did love the slower mornings last year. In the past I usually left for work around 6:45 which is crazy early and dark but last year I could leave at 7:45 or even 8:00 (or even later!) and still have plenty of time to ease into my day.

So, I think I have a better attitude about the schedule continuing to be 8:40-3:20 this year. Teachers do have to be there by 8:30 and have to stay until 3:30, by the way.

Here is my schedule for this year:

All of our classes are 50 minutes long. Teachers have one 50 minute planning period and a 20ish minute lunch. We have a seven period day so we teach six classes.

8:40-9:31 – Planning period

9:35-10:25 – Spanish 3

10:30-11:19 – AP Spanish

11:23-12:38- Spanish 3 (We go to lunch from 11:45-12:13 so class is divided in two parts. The kids leave their stuff on their desks while they are gone)

12:42-1:32 – Study Hall (The students just have to sit quietly and work on things)

1:36-2:26-Spanish 3

2:30-3:20 Spanish 3

So, this year I teach four of the same class – four Spanish 3 classes and then I have one AP. I asked to have a study hall rather than a third lesson to prepare. I hope I don’t regret that because sometimes kids can’t handle the privilege of a study hall.

And, now for Joyce’s Hodgepodge…

1.What was the best (or one of the best) summers of your life? Tell us why. 

I really loved being a young 20 something out of college. I had a group of friends and we thought we were like “Friends”. We went to weddings together, King’s Island amusement park, out every weekend, and just had a really great time. This was from age 22-26. I also really loved the first summer I was married and cooking for Tom. I also really loved all the summers with my kids. Elementary age was a really sweet spot, but I loved it all. I planned activities and took them to the library, various parks, and arranged playdates.

2. When you have a trip coming up do you make a list and check it twice to ensure you don’t forget anything? Or are you a ‘throw whatever you can think of into the suitcase at the last minute’ kind of packer? When returning from a trip do you unpack immediately or leave the suitcase right where it lands? 

Yes! Lists on lists! I also make a Google doc to print and take with. I spend about a week laying things out to make sure I have what I need and I try to take a few things out because I am a natural over-packer. I unpack immediately!

3. What’s your favorite food or beverage made with lemons? Is that a flavor you enjoy? 

I love a lemondrop martini or my new spritz. I really don’t like lemon in my cold drinking water or in my iced tea. I do, however, like lemon in my Coke or Diet Coke and that is what they did in Spain. Hmmmm, I should try that but I rarely drink Coke or Diet Coke. I like lemon in hot tea. This makes me realize I need to use more lemon! I love the smell of lemon and my Dad loved it, too.

4. When was the last time you had to make lemonade out of lemons, figuratively speaking I mean? 

I don’t know. I would say as a teacher I have to make lemonade out of lemons almost daily. Things don’t go as planned. You can’t get the supplies you would like to have because of money or logistics. You are constantly having to pivot. Tom had a great attitude about his Montana trip being cancelled and I tried to do some fun things with him while he was off.

5. Did you like school growing up? Why or why not? 

No, I LOVED school! I came home and taught my dolls and stuffed animals and little sisters what I had learned. I played school all the time. I hated to miss. I loved riding the bus, taking my lunch, playing Chinese jump rope at recess, and as I got older I loved junior high and high school, too.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I feel lucky to have enjoyed school. I guess you could say I loved it enough to stay in school all this time. For as much bad press as teaching gets, I don’t think I have any regrets. It’s been a career well suited to my talents and personality and it’s provided me the gift of time with my children in the summers and during holiday breaks. It’s so much like parenting. It’s such a hard job, but it’s rewarding, too.

I can’t believe I have lived my life on a school calendar for 47 years now, though, and I would love to have a fall to enjoy! I have romanticized this for years!

That was fun! Thank you, Joyce!

Amy

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

In last week’s Currently I teased something that I would be telling you about soon…

We didn’t take a trip this summer. I wanted to, but it wasn’t good timing to leave Eddie Otis. I wish we had taken him to Lake Michigan, but we didn’t have plans and then Tom’s summer vacation time was taken up by his Montana trip that didn’t happen. Anyway…it’s ok. We had lots of fun at home!

So…let’s go back a bit…

2020 was a much anticipated year for our family. Tom and I would be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary and our twins would be graduating from high school. We thought about this cool connection for years before 2020. We talked about doing something big – perhaps a trip to Spain. Our kids speak Spanish pretty well and both expressed desire to visit a Spanish-speaking locale and Spain was their top pick. Then, you know what happened in the spring of 2020. So, that didn’t work out.

We really didn’t travel much during the next years because kids were in college and all the money went to that and renovations. Also, I was not anxious to travel with a little virus still out there. Now, I feel differently, but then I was scared.

If you had known me pre-blog, you would know we traveled quite a bit and took lots of weekend trips, too. High school activities make travel a bit more challenging and then college came and you know the rest. Then, Mason studied in England senior fall semester of college and it made sense to “pick him up” and see a bit of the UK and it helped me to gain some confidence in trip planning again, too. Like anything, you get out of practice and things seem daunting.

So…we thought about a college graduation trip this summer and I think I checked ticket prices for almost a year. The summer tickets were super expensive and Mason had admitted he didn’t really want to be among the droves of summer tourists. I got to thinking that the school schedule (theirs) is no longer holding us back and I have a new fall break, so why not fall?

So, this summer I purchased tickets to Spain for the four of us!

It’s now a high school and college graduation trip for them and a 20th and 24th anniversary trip for us, I guess!

Amy