Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Let me start by saying it ain’t easy…

My friends are very important to me and I really do try to be a good friend. I fall short more than I would like, I know!

Adult friendships can be hard. We have preschool until college. Then, we enter the “real world” and things get trickier.

I keep in touch with several friends from high school and college. I only live about an hour away from my hometown and an hour away from my college, so geography makes that easier.

These are my two best college friends, but there are lots of other college friends that I don’t see enough! I am grateful for social media to keep up with those friends I don’t see regularly.

I am not from the city where I currently live. Most of my first friends here were from Tom who lived here first.

When my kids were born, I didn’t do much other than try to survive. I didn’t have much of a social life for quite a while!

Then, I started meeting people because of my kids. We had some playdates and I made some new friends. I joined a club for Moms of Multiples – twins and triplets – ha! My favorite mom from that group moved away.

I remember trying to befriend some moms in different places during those early mom years and feeling that they already had their friend groups established. I felt kinda sad and rejected.

Here are some of the best places to meet friends as an adult:

-neighborhood

-church

-work

-kids’ schools

-kids’ athletic team parents or other activities’ parents

-a sports league for yourself like tennis

-a class to learn an art form – cake decorating, knitting, etc.

-exercise class

Work friends are great and you bond quickly because you are in the trenches together. I feel like the pandemic made us closer. Here are my work besties Elizabeth and Erica. Elizabeth left our school this year to work in another field, but we are commited to still getting together.

I think it enriches your life to have friends of different ages. Elizabeth is a whopping 20 years younger than me and Erica is 10 years younger.

It’s great when you make a friend and your husbands also click. I know this is a hard thing for my divorced friends when they stop being part of a couple. Make it clear to your friends that you are fine being a third wheel, fifth wheel, seventh wheel, which you won’t be anyway because usually the men group together and the women group together like they are at a Mennonite church or something – no offense to any Mennonites reading this.

Also, if you are on the other side of the coin, be the one to ask your divorced friends along. And, pick up their tab if you can so they don’t feel weird at the end of the meal. A couple of years ago, I went without Tom to something with a bunch of couples and it would have been no big deal for one of them to put me on their tab as my bill was very small. They didn’t, but I would have if it was on the other shoe. #iguessimstillbitter

My husband is way less social than I am. He basically gets all the interaction he needs at work lunches each day and with us – his family. But, he usually goes along with my plans. I am so glad he was already friends with my college roommate’s hub. In fact, that’s how we met. Heather said she wanted me to meet her new bae’s friends.

My best guy friend from high school – Hi Dan!- adores Tom and I also adore Dan’s wife. And, by the way, I am the reason they met!

I consider my sisters my best friends and I wish we lived closer.

I have a wonderful sister-in-law that I also consider a friend.

I acquired my friend Beth at my second school. I taught at one school for four years, then moved to another for two and there was Beth. She taught science and I taught Spanish but we had chemistry. Please don’t hate me. We did crazy things like run some races together. We once did a half marathon and now we sit on rooftops and drink bourbon.

Even though we only taught at the same school for two years, we have remained friends and our husbands also are friends.

I collected a wonderful friend in Victoria at my third and current school but she left for greener pastures five years ago. That’s ok – I’m not mad at her anymore. Just kidding! She is very intentional about making plans and we see each other quite a bit.

Victoria is Greek and I loved to eavesdrop on her Greek phone conversations during our planning period. She was about to pop with her first baby when I told her I was pregnant with twins. We did a lot of life together as next door teacher neighbors. Victoria’s husband used to teach with me, too, but he went to dental school and he and Tom are also friends.

Jessica is the stepmom of one of my kids’ friends. We think that she and her husband Scott are such positive people and we enjoy hanging out with them. We went to the concert Saturday night together!

I deeply value and am blessed by these friendships and more that I didn’t mention.

Actually, I kind of went off on a tangent and I could have said much more.

I try to be open to making new friends because I really do enjoy meeting new people!

My biggest advice would be to put yourself out there and invite someone to do something. Maintain or re-kindle old friendships if you can. If it is a season of life where you are really busy, send a text saying you hope they are well and you hope to see them when things calm down. Write down important dates in your calendar and text them on those days. Write down when their first kid is moving to college and text them the next day to tell them you are thinking of them. These things go a long way. I know that I am always super touched when someone remembers something like this in my life.

Don’t hold grudges. I am a person with a really good memory, which isn’t always a good thing. You know the quote by Audrey Hepburn about having a thick skin and a short memory? I am your classic candidate to be a grudge holder because I am pretty sensitive and I remember every transgression. Let whatever go if you can. It’s hurting you more than it’s hurting the person who probably doesn’t know. I have found this easier to do as I have gotten older.

Your friends will not be all things to you. You might not be able to talk politics with certain friends, but you still adore them and enjoy their company. Don’t write people off because of one thing they say.

A potential problem would be when friends are in different socioeconomic groups. Be honest and just say that you need to do something inexpensive when you go out. Nine times out of ten, the other person will say they need to watch their pennies, too.

Now, I am not saying to stay in a toxic friendship. If remaining friends with someone is doing you more harm than good, then I think it’s ok to simply say that you need to part ways for now. Boy, that is an awkward conversation.

If you find yourself in these giant friend groups, you may want to spend some one on one time with one of the gals; maybe ask one that you seem to click with to get a coffee or have lunch. It’s much easier to get to know someone when it’s a smaller group.

Social media can really make you feel bad. You may see photos of what looks like everyone hanging out with their friends and you just don’t have that. I guarantee the photo is not reality.

Did the pandemic change any of your friendships for the worse or the better?

What are the biggest challenges you face with adult friendships?

Are you satisfied with your friends or would you like to widen your circle?

Your friend,

Amy

P.S. – I dedicate this post to my friends in real life and my blog friends!

Monday, August 22, 2022

How was your weekend? I hope it was great! I am linking up with the ladies here for Hello Monday…

Thursday evening I tried another Impress brand press on mani. The hardest part is finding which press on fits which of your nails correctly. You want to go a little smaller and never bigger than your actual nail. Then you press them on, cut and file, and you are done. Still going strong as I type this on Sunday evening…

I was told to use dental floss for removal when they start to lift. We shall see… I think the removal is what kept me from trying another set after the last one. Has anyone tried these?

Erica made our lunch on Friday and it was delish! It was a Greek bowl with ground turkey ,quinoa, and all the toppings.

Our school has been having food trucks come since last year for lunch on Fridays, but it doesn’t really work for the teachers. We only have 20 minutes for lunch so by the time we wait in line, order, and then get the food, we must go back and teach. I think the administration, counselors, office staff, etc. are enjoying it, though! Ha!

The three of us had seriously not seen each other since early June at the middle one’s daughter’s graduation party. These are my college besties and I’ve seen the one on the left a bunch, but the middle one has had all the stuff with her first graduating from high school and heading to college. We met at 4:00 and did some boutique shopping with to go frozen sangrias in hand – yum!

Then we got to go margaritas!

The bathroom wallpaper called for a selfie!

And, finally, we enjoyed dinner on a patio…

with some goat cheese and garlic…

and I got a roasted vegetable sandwich and “fries”. We all loved our food.

We talked non-stop and still could have talked more. But, we said good-bye around 9:00. It was so good to catch up!

Saturday morning I broke out the pumpkin spice skinny syrup – yes I did!

And, I made mini pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!

I also prepped breakfast burritos for this week. I microwave a baked potato and then dice it, add bacon bits, a bit of cheese, and a bit of scrambled egg.

I wanted to shorten my nice, but faux pearls so that was one of my Saturday morning errand stops. They are so nice and so helpful. I love this local business. They said they could have them in a week and they are one of the only ones who still do this – have you seen anyone hand tie a string of pearls? I learned something new when the employee explained it to me and then I went home and watched a YouTube video!

I did an Amazon return and a Nordstrom return at Nordstrom Rack and then I relaxed.

And, so did Ernie. He gets himself in some funny positions!

Then, I did all the laundry and cleaning, washed and changed sheets and tried to help pack for college. We loaded up a car in preparation for Sunday morning move in.

Tom and I met our friends at a concert – the last one of the season…

and ate food truck food. I got a Venezuelan chicken bowl.

I also tried a strawberry beer. I would get it again!

It was a lovely evening and we had a great time!

Sunday morning I had my coffee on the patio.

Then, I made egg roll in a bowl for our Monday lunch.

It actually worked out really nicely that one kid had a 10 am Sunday move in and the other has a 1 pm Monday move in. They are both in the same dorm this year, but different floors. We all helped with the move in today and then they will help each other again tomorrow while Tom and I are working. It’s a bit anticlimactic after freshman year for us. They are only 20 minutes away, so it’s all good. Plus, they just don’t want much help, nor do they want an over the top decorated room.

The dorm provided these nice bins to help:

Textbook pick up:

A couple of really, really nice things about our college:

Every dorm room has a microwave and a larger dorm fridge provided.

Textbooks are included in tuition.

I spent some time Sunday afternoon reading on the porch. The weather was weird. It would rain off and on and thunder and then get sunny.

My new chair:

My old anti-gravity chair died after 10 faithful years of service, so I replaced it this weekend on Amazon. Words cannot express how much I love this chair. Ha!

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy

Friday, August 19, 2022

Happy Friday! It’s time to link up with the gals here!

I take photos of things that make me happy throughout the week and come here to share them with you. Sometimes they are moments, sometimes they are products, and they are always RANDOM! Ha! I hope you had lots of favorites, too!

I ran out of my favorite hairspray that gets shipped from Amazon. Amazon tells me I have purchased it 14 times! Don’t worry – it’s coming Monday – and chose this in my Kroger pick up order. I really like it! It is a level 4 and I would probably try it in a lower level so that it’s more brushable, but it seems to really hold my hair. It was less than $2.50!

Were you aware of the levels on hairspray cans?

I am still loving this duo. I have never had longer lashes. Thrive is totally worth the hype – for me. But, the game changer is the primer. Are you using a mascara primer? I picked this up at Ulta, but it’s also on Amazon and it’s so inexpensive. I like their mascara, too, but Thrive is really something special, in my opinion. I would be interested in trying more of their products, so let me know if you have any recommendations!

This was a huge splurge at $30. $30 for deodorant???? But, hear me out. I have had this since the end of May and I’ve hardly gone through it at all, it seems. I put it on every day or twice a day, too. It has also served as my summer perfume, so if you look at it that way…$30 for deodorant and perfume isn’t bad. The smell is so nice. I really like it.

Whitney recommended this and every time I use it I think about how much I love it. The texture, the color, the smell, the feel on your lips. I’m not saying it lasts all day, but I really, really like this lip product. I bought it in soft raspberry, and I plan to buy another color. I need to experiment with putting a long lasting product down first and topping it with this.

Have you seen/tried the pearl trend? I paired these with my Kendra Scott necklace and really liked the look. Don’t forget to visit a Kendra Scott store during your birth month to get 50% off one piece. That is so generous! A dainty necklace like this can be yours for only around $30.

Let’s talk favorite after school snacks!

I love avocado toast! I have it on toasted Keto bread – spread my avocado and use some everything but the bagel seasoning, add a fried egg on top of that. Yum!

Popcorn! I absolutely love popcorn!

I am so happy to wear sneakers to work. I was worried when I first wore these because the toe box seemed narrow and tight. They have really loosened up for me. My feet are so happy in sneakers on my horrible hard floors. Seriously, my legs have been aching as I get used to doing my job again. It’s just really hard to sit and be effective!

I ran out of my summer fragrance cleaners and had a bit of this left from last year. Run to Target soon and order this. I also plan to get the apple cider scent. I love Mrs. Meyer’s and she also makes hand soap, candles, and a few other things in these wonderful early fall scents.

Acorn spice makes you feel that you are in the fall Pinterest mood board of your dreams!

Did you read my Set Yourself up for the Weekend post? Weekends are great and all, but I felt absolutely decadent after school Wednesday when I came home – no meetings! – and changed my clothes and got comfortable on the patio with my book and…

a Truly. This is not a normal after school thing for me so it felt like I was really treating myself.

And, our weather has just been a real anomaly for August! Normally I would be so hot and unable to sit outside, but we have been in the 80s and it looks like we are staying in the 80s! Does this mean September will be scorching? Who knows?

A couple of updates…

Our board of education met Tuesday night and one board member asked to amend the agenda to talk about the mask mandate in my school district. The board would not even discuss it. They had to vote if they were willing to amend and the majority of board members voted NO. It is beyond me that they are not even willing to discuss the mandate. So…my poor kids are still stuck in masks.

My college kids move back to campus Sunday. I think they are excited for their third year! Since campus is only 20 minutes away, nothing feels very stressful. I absolutely love their college and I’ve been so impressed by all the little touches they provide. The house will feel different, but I think I feel ready this year? I have so enjoyed having them here full time since mid-May, though.

What were your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, August 18, 2022

It feels good to “get dressed” again! I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill today for Fashion Files.

For the first day of school, Jen and I decided to both wear our mauve Target Universal Thread dresses. I have this in black and white, as well. Jen has it in the green color, too. These three dresses may have been my best purchases of the summer. I have worn each of them at least 5 times. I found it really easy to throw on for errands or appointments. You can also throw it on over a bathing suit to look a little more put together for lunch before swimming or something of that nature.

I started off with espadrilles, then went to flat sandals, and finally ended in sneakers for rainy bus duty. Teachers get this. We often bring a change of shoes!

Do you buy multiples of a clothing item when you find something you like? I think it’s smart!

I continue to find Universal Thread to be my favorite Target brand. I often just use the filter to see what they are carrying on Target.com. The material has been great quality and the items wash well.

I don’t think this next outfit for day 2 is super flattering. The skirt is kind of big in the waist and I probably needed a slimmer silhouette with a kimono.

Friday was jeans day and boy was it a rude awakening to squeeze myself into a pair. I have some cute summer blouses that I really don’t have bottoms to match so I wanted to wear jeans with them. In the summer, I would just wear my cut offs or my short denim skirt and those aren’t school appropriate.

Monday I wore a knit swing dress and my kimono that I had fixed by my tailor.

Tuesday I wore my Old Navy dress – so impressed by the quality of this. It’s lined and the material is a nice quality. I am still debating cutting the lining out because it’s a lot, but I wasn’t hot at all. My feet were super happy in my boutique sneakers that I found this summer. Notice my headband for my second day hair?

They are by Shu Shop and Sheaffer has been talking about them recently.

I love that you don’t have to tie them. I did wear no show socks with them and don’t think I could go without.

I think I am done buying warm weather clothing, unless I see a deal to good to pass up. I visited the mall last weekend and I was super unimpressed. I left empty handed. I also visited my consignment store and had made $42 more, baby! This brings my spring drop off total to $310.

My goal is to cycle through all of my summer/warm weather stuff for school each day without repeating outfits. If there is something that I just don’t want to wear, I need to sell/donate it because I won’t want to wear it next year, either.

I plan to inventory my fall stuff and be very thoughtful about holes in my closet that I want to fill.

What have you been wearing lately?

Do you have a favorite outfit above?

Is there anything I should get rid of? Possibly the long white skirt?

Amy

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Who doesn’t want to have a great weekend, right? I’m posting this on Wednesday so that you still have time to set yourself up for this coming weekend!

First, name what is most important to you on the weekend…

Is it most important that your morning is lazy and unrushed? Is it most important that you enjoy the early morning hours at the farmer’s market? The Lazy Genius preaches to name what matters. And, don’t look at social media and think that what matters to others is what needs to matter to you. You do YOU! You do YOUR family!

Photo of my Friday grapefruit shandy for inspiration:

I once read to divide your weekend into 5 sections and I think I kinda like this:

1.Friday evening

2. Saturday first half of day

3. Saturday second half of day

4. Sunday first half of day

5. Sunday second half of day

When you look at it like that, it seems like lots of time, right?

Maybe you’re in a season of life where you only get one of those 5 segments of the weekend to yourself – remember it’s just a season and it won’t always be like this. How can you plan ahead to use that time to recharge your batteries? Maybe it happens Saturday after dinner – you wander the aisles of Target while hub gives kids bath and puts them to bed. Speaking from experience!

Could you mow/or could hub mow one weeknight to free up that weekend time? Could you do grocery pick up one weekday to free up some weekend time. Could you do sheets one weeknight instead of on the weekend? You get the idea! What do you spend time doing on the weekends that you could maybe switch to the weekdays?

Also, nothing is set in stone. You can try things and see if they work for you.

I am hoping to establish my routine next week. Right now, I am still getting used to being out of the house from 6:45 until 3:00 (really not that bad, right?) and my kids’ college stuff is everywhere right now and the house is really in need of a deep clean. They move out on Sunday, so that will free up the spaces that need to be cleaned really well.

Let’s talk Fridays…my sister told me years ago that if I do something on Friday after work I will actually feel that the weekend was longer and more fun. She’s right! Even if it’s just an hour long happy hour, it helps me. Tom usually would rather collapse on Friday night, so this gives me a fun outing before having dinner at home. Also, it’s good to say yes to some socialization with work people. You have to spend much of your time with them and it’s good to have a good rapport. Just remember these are people you work with and don’t get drunk and dance on the table, mkay?

Also, please don’t just live for the weekends! Do something that makes you happy each and every day even if it’s just a tiny thing.

Confession: sometimes I’m scared to make weekend plans because then I really have to do them. Ha!

It’s hard to coordinate. I have friends that are super busy. I’m kinda in the season of life where it’s easier to just make plans with one friend at a time or one couple at a time. That’s ok! Maybe it’s even better?

Decide what you want to do for the weekend and invite a friend to tag along. For example, if you are fine to go to the farmer’s market alone, plan to go alone, but maybe invite a friend to meet you.

I read an article that running errands with a friend is a new trend! The “friend errand hang” – ha!

I like to have a good mix of alone time, husband time, family time, and friend time on the weekend. It’s not always going to happen, but it’s a good goal to shoot for.

I write down possible plans in my agenda and then firm them up as the weekend approaches. I try to pay attention to free events, concerts, etc. so that I don’t break the bank. I also do a seasonal bucket list so that I can choose from that list when I am trying to plan my weekend.

Ok, what have I forgotten?

What makes a perfect weekend for you?

Are you good about setting yourself up for a good one?

Amy

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Ok, so I’m back in a routine! Let’s talk about what we’re eating lately…

First off, do you take a multi-vitamin? I take Vitafusion for women and I also take Vitamin D. My Vitamin D levels were low last year. Maybe these vitamins aren’t that great for you, but they are yummy. I took these to school for my “lunch dessert” last year. I need to do that again. You know how you need just a little sweet bite at the end of each meal? Oh, is that just me?

I drink two cups of coffee each morning and I am currently frothing these two products together with my little Amazon handheld frother. I use the Costco Kirkland Breakfast Blend K cups. Yum!

When I get to school, I start drinking my Premier protein/iced coffee drink. I am wanting to try a new Fairlife product, but I haven’t been able to find it.

The only drink I drink the rest of the day (unless I have a cocktail a couple of days a week) is water or electrolyte water. I really like the Ultima brand powder. I need to get a couple more flavors.

I make this for Tom every morning to take with him and sometimes I make one for my breakfast or morning snack.

I put the frozen fruit (like it the best because it melts and creates a bit of a syrup) in first, add the yogurt from the container, and then wait to add the granola. This provides Tom with 33 grams of protein. I don’t use that much granola because it is very high in WW points for me.

My goal is to get 30-40 grams of protein a meal. I don’t always achieve that, but it’s a goal to shoot for.

I recently roasted a bunch of vegetables:

and had it with cauliflower rice and pre-prepared chicken schwarma:

Sometimes I just love a good old iceberg lettuce salad. I like having everything chopped and ready to go – as long as I am going to use it within a couple of days.

This is my family’s favorite salad:

I’ve been on a sweet potato kick lately. I like to microwave it most of the way, then dice and sauté it the rest of the way.

On weekends, I like to do something a little more for breakfast like this. I could eat this any time of day, though. I love eggs! I do try to keep it to just two eggs a day, but I sometimes add additional egg whites. I’ve decided I don’t like Egg Beaters. I think they taste weird.

You have to try this! Erica found it last year here. You might remember she put this in acorn squash. It is Italian sausage made from lean ground chicken. I plan to use this in a pasta dish this week and I plan to make the famous tortellini soup with this.

I’ve been on a real teriyaki chicken bowl kick this summer. I was able to add a freezer section egg roll for only 5 WW points. This meal is close to 0 points for me without the egg roll! See why I like it so much?

Erica made a Mexican bowl for us last week for one of our lunches:

She makes all of her lunches for dinner the night before. I don’t necessarily always do this. It’s smart, though!

Also, my sister is sending an email out to her school colleagues (she is an elementary art teacher) to look for a lunch/meal prep partner. I think it would work with two other people, too, but more than that might get tricky.

I got really lucky. Erica and I seem to have very similar tastes. We both dislike green and red peppers. We both love buffalo sauce. I think it would be really hard to do with someone that had a very different palate.

As a first day of school treat, I made the funfetti cupcakes for us, too!

I found a good new product (in my opinion):

This is pretty darn good! You could use this to top a salad, put in a wrap, roll up with some laughing cow and everything but the bagel seasoning, and so much more.

Now, a word… I tried the Real Good enchiladas and they were not cheap. They were maybe $15 for this Costco sized box. They were REAL BAD. I’m not interested in any of the other Realgood products just because they are super high in WW points. This was going to be real good for WW points and have a real good amount of protein. I even tried to add my own salsa and a bit more cheese. My point is…if a product is being pushed super hard by multiple people on the interwebs, sometimes it’s a red flag. And, I don’t deny anyone willing to hustle the rewards it reaps, but I also get to choose how I spend my money. In addition, I’m silly. I have a great recipe for light enchiladas that probably is quicker than getting the freaking wrapper off the package of these! Ugh! Lesson learned.

My staples continue to be:

ground turkey and chicken

lean ground beef

grilled chicken

Boca burgers and chicken patties

frozen cauliflower rice

popcorn

string cheese (light)

Bowls! Mexican, Teriyaki, Cajun, Buffalo Chicken, Breakfast

Taylor Farms salad mix

(Almost) all the vegetables

Greek yogurt

I let myself have lots of treats this summer and I gained some weight back, but I am ok because I want this to be a forever lifestyle with balance. I ate in a healthy way 75% of the time. I am trying to get that back up to maybe 90%.

Also, I have said it before but I need to say it again. I refuse to eat anything that I don’t like. There are so many delicious things that are healthy! I rarely use canned vegetables – fresh and frozen taste the best. Use spices! Use cooking methods that make food taste better. Yes, it sometimes takes longer, but a roasted vegetable is a beautiful thing. I just discovered I love sugar snap peas! I like them raw and sautéed in a pan.

My sister and I were talking about the vegetables of the 80s. I mean…this is no insult to my mom because it was the times. We had corn, green beans, carrots, peas, and lima beans and I think they all came from a can!

I hope you gained one new idea from this post. Leave me an idea in the comments! Or, leave me a thought, tip, hack, or share your frustration with staying on track this summer. We’re all in this together!

Amy

Monday, August 15, 2022

It’s link up day with Sarah and Holly. How was your weekend? Mine was really good! It was the perfect mix of social time and relaxation time, to be honest. Don’t you love it when you hit the right balance?

First of all, it started with not bringing any work home. I worked really hard during my planning to get stuff ready for Monday. Another thing I did to set my weekend up for success was to do my grocery pick up on Thursday.

Friday I wore jeans and sneakers because my dogs were barking! The hard cement floors are something to get used to again. My jeans were snug…ahem…summer cocktails and treats…

I decided that I need to wear jeans once a week to “keep it real”. I have been almost back on track for a week or so, though, and it’s rewarding to know that tracking works. When you don’t track, you can go off the rails.

I have lost all tolerance for the blasted mask!

Even though the CDC has lifted basically everything, our principal announced Friday morning that we would still be in masks this week. I’m convinced there is someone out there who wants to keep us masked FOREVER.

Some of you want to hear more about school. I don’t know if I’m up for a dedicated post yet, but I wanted to show you this. I like to totally clear out my inbox. I deal with it and then either save it or delete it. You can see that I keep it in my deleted folder if I do need to find something. Ah…a clean inbox.

We have to use an online grade recording program and I love it. It’s very user friendly. I am quite fast to enter grades, too. But, here is the hard copy I still keep with Spanish names – yes, I love to have them pick a Spanish name for many reasons – it’s fun, it helps with knowing the common names in the culture, and it helps with learning proper pronunciation. I record the grade by hand and when it is entered in my online system, I highlight it. I developed this system a long, long time ago and you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks. Some teachers just print out from time to time to have a hard copy just in case, but I don’t have my own printer in my room, so this works for me.

AP had to write an essay about their summer:

The marks you see are from peer editing before I’ve graded it. The AP exam requires that the students hand write. I have them hand write a lot in class, still.

And, Spanish 3 had to write me a letter:

So, I guess I have to get to grading these today! We are doing one day of review today where they have a group and had to make a poster about a certain topic from last year. I don’t spend much time on review at the beginning of the year, but review things as we go along. I like to give them new content as soon as I can.

So, Friday after school, Elizabeth met Erica and I for happy hour. It was absolutely gorgeous out!

I had a grapefruit shandy. Have you ever had one? So good and perfect for a sunny afternoon!

We shared some fried pickles and tots.

I went home and rested up for a bit and then Tom and I headed to this little neighborhood…

for a band and dinner.

I tried a pineapple sake-tini. It was really good!

I love the ginger dressing at Asian restaurants!

Heather and Eric, our friends, met us. They put our sushi rolls together.

After dinner, we walked to the walk up window bar.

And, for dessert I got birthday cake gelato. OMG! It had pieces of cake and frosting in it, too, that I wasn’t expecting! I always get the kid’s scoop because I just don’t need that much.

Golf cart parking!

My kids were both home! They had plans to hang and play a game and they Door Dashed Royals Hot Chicken.

Saturday morning was in the 60s! I sat outside, of course!

I decided to do some meal prep and I made sausage from ground chicken. Erica found this recipe last year.

I made a veggie scramble. This was a treat after a week of faux egg mcmuffins!

I headed to the library to pick up a request and then, my cousin was in town with her mom (my aunt), her daughter, and her niece. She wanted to look for mother of the bride dresses. This is not the one she chose!

It was fun to see them for a little bit and I think I helped! She did find the dress!

I also tried these on while I was in the mall. I’m not a big Dansko person, but I do like these a lot.

I read on the patio in the wonderful weather! It is May or June weather here right now. Typically August is horrible. It looks like we will be in the 80s for quite a while.

I finished this – it was cute.

New stack:

I won’t read them all, but I wanted to have options.

We had spaghetti for dinner and I made my variation with…

these noodles from Costco.

I didn’t spend any money on Saturday! It was so nice to stay home and have dinner with our kids. I was so relaxed all day. I put myself to bed at 9:30. Lame, but I think it’s good to just go to bed when your eyes are closing. My kids were under my roof and I slept like a baby.

Sunday morning I was up pretty early and enjoyed the weather again.

I chose this to start:

I did my nails on the patio, too.

Tom invited two guys from work to come on the boat at 11, so we headed down and just as we arrived, it started raining. It was very short lived and didn’t rain on us once we got on the boat.

Our first baby on board!

Zellie is 5 months old and was the most chill baby ever. She smiled constantly and had two cute dimples. The only time she fussed was when we had been stopped too long. She liked the motion of the boat.

We went to Captain’s Quarters and I had a really good salad with salmon.

Tom ordered a comically large plate of nachos.

We came home and I read some more. One of my goals going into the weekend was to read outside! I neglected a bit of housework, but I will get it done this week.

And, for dinner some people had leftovers and some had BLTs.

It’s our first five day week with students! It’s going to be a rude awakening for the kids, I’m afraid!

What was the highlight of your weekend? I hope you had a wonderful one!

Amy

Friday, August 12, 2022

Oh, Friday – you mean more now! Ha! I am happy today to be back and to be linking up with the ladies here for Friday Favorites!

How was your week?

Monday and Tuesday were teacher only days and we had some meetings, but we really had more time than I had anticipated to work in our rooms and to do lesson planning, copying, and things like that.

On Monday, our alumni association treated us to a taco bar. This is really easy to eat when you are trying to be healthier. I added some chips and queso on the side, but it wasn’t too bad.

Our alumni association director made churro Chex Mix for our dessert. It was delish!

I made pesto roasted vegetables Monday night.

I served it with the already cooked Costco chicken schwarma. I will not buy that again. It was just ok.

Thank you so much for the blog post ideas! A few of you said more teacher life things. Here is our beautiful auditorium with my very large faculty. I think we have 120 teachers. Yes, masks were mandatory for us that day. Some chose not to wear them.

Tom’s company lets the employees buy used technology and Tom brought me home an $80 Dell laptop. Now I can leave my school laptop at school and use this at home and I’m loving it. I’ve never had my own personal laptop – just a desktop.

I bought a cute little mint green mouse because old people can’t use track pads very well or is that just me?

Also, our library got a facelift this summer and it looks so good!

Here is my classroom ready to go for day one:

The stuff I do for them. They like to have tissues, hand sanitizer, band aids, lotion, and I added hard candy with the mask mandate. It’s the little things…

Tuesday we were on our own for lunch so Erica and I went to McAllister’s deli.

I got a baked potato and half a sandwich. It was a treat!

Wednesday morning I got up and look who was in my spot!

Year 29 photo! How is this possible? I guess mathematically it’s possible because I started at age 22 and I will turn 51 this fall. Ay caramba! That’s what we say in Spanish, you know?

I wore one pair of shoes and brought two more. The espadrilles were actually really comfortable but they only made it until 4th period. Flat sandals subbed in for the next 3 periods and then sneakers finally got to get some action for rainy bus duty. I have last period planning for the first time EVER and I got selected to help. It started pouring as the kids were looking for their busses!

Jen and I made a pact to both wear our Target Universal Thread dresses in mauve and she is also rocking the woven headband! She looks great!

We had a first day social in the library and another teacher was rocking it in the green color!

My first class of the day is my senior class and I did stations where they had to go around the room and do different things. This was my “photo booth”:

Moving around to the stations:

Beeping masks! People are saying we are one of the only metropolitan? areas in the country with a mask mandate. Maybe that isn’t true. I am really saddened to not see any faces. I had perfect attendance both days, by the way, except for one cat in The Bahamas.

So I guess what I am saying is that no one is sick. I’m not trying to be flippant about it, but the mental health is a higher priority now, in my humble opinion.

So, I have a weird expression, but this was a photo to send to Elizabeth, who quit teaching this summer. She is moving on to other things. It’s happening all over the country and it’s gonna be a problem.

I timed my makeup and hair routine without rushing and I was actually probably slower. This is my time:

Scary but final results:

Why did I do this? I just wanted to see if it was still about the same. I got rusty this summer!

I made a Kroger order yesterday morning and picked it up right after school.

I have said this before, but I really like having this chore done during the week where it’s not taking up valuable weekend time. If I do need something later, I can easily run in and it’s no big deal. For the big shop, I love a Wednesday or Thursday. I might try doing a Whole Foods/Prime delivery this weekend. I’ve been wanting to try it out and there are a couple of things I can only get there.

A major favorite is that we have been able to have dinner as a family of four! Shakespeare in the Park in the evenings is over, but there is still some daytime work. It’s been so nice. My college kids have a little over one week left at home.

Well…that’s about it!

I hope you had many favorites this week. If you or your kids started school, I am sending positive vibes your way. Give yourself grace and give them grace with this new routine! Go back to my Automatic August post if you missed it and maybe one little thing will help!

Amy

Tuesday, August 9. 2022

I am dubbing this month “Automatic August” and I thought I would share in case this helps anyone else!

As a teacher, August has always been a rude awakening. First of all, it feels like Satan’s armpits outside and I am a cranky hot person.

I go from Summer Amy to School Year Amy and it’s sometimes not pretty. Just ask Tom. He knows that he must walk on egg shells in August as most years I dramatically shout, “I cannot call the electric company for you! I cannot take on one more thing right now! This is August! You know not to bother me in August!”

That being said, I still try to make dinner every night and do the necesary household tasks in August. But, in the summer, I do more because I can. I take on more of the responsibility and let Tom have a bit of a break, plus in the world of commercial construction they are really busy in the summer. So, gentle reminder to Tom that this shift is getting ready to happen. He has been with me for 25 of my teaching years so he should know this, right?

At the end of last summer, I really thought about my mental health and made a self-care syllabus for myself.

This summer, I tried to think about what I could make “automatic”, thus I am dubbing this Automatic August.

I started working full time yesterday and my kids are still home from college until August 21. So, my routine will be one thing for awhile and then I will need to tweak it again when the nest is empty, I’m sure.

What in your life can you make “automatic”? If you still have K-12 kids, you have much more to worry about than I do! I firmly believe that kids and families need routines that are just automatic. The Lazy Genius podcast has given me several good ideas and one of them is her Decide Once principle. Decision fatigue is a thing. We make so many decisions in any given day. What can you decide once and then just go with?

Meal prep is something that helps me to automate. I made 10 faux Egg McMuffins on Saturday and put them in the freezer. I will grab one each morning. What if I get tired of them? I will probably just make a few breakfast burritos and add those to my stash.

I plan to have one cup of coffee at home and take one to go. I still think it’s important to have my morning quiet time before my day gets busy.

I plan to do my nails every Sunday night – because I like to have nicer looking nails and it’s something for me.

I plan to rotate through my dresses and skirts at the start of the year. I will wear one and then move the next one up in rotation.

My blogging is automated to some degree with Hello Monday, Friday Favorites, usually Fashion Files on Thursday.

Grocery pick up is another automatic. I like to do a Wednesday or Thursday pick up these days to be stocked for the weekend and to take a weekend chore off my plate.

Amazon Subscribe and Save can be a way to automate your life. You know you will order it/use it with certain things, so why not make that automatic?

Meal planning/dinners are a really easy thing to automate. Do what works for your family.

Example:

Monday could always be clean out fridge from the weekend, sandwiches, breakfast for dinner, or pasta – just do what would make Mondays easier for you

Tuesday can always be Mexican or tacos

Wednesday can always be grill night

Thursday can be take out because you have a late lesson or sports practice

Friday can be pizza

I have a single mom friend who did “Eat the Alphabet” with her girls on the weekends. They either got take out or went to restaurants around town that started with each letter of the alphabet and had so much fun finding and going to new places.

If you have older kids, ask them what they think should be automatic in your household.

What do you make automatic in your life? What tips or hacks do you have to share?

I will be back here Friday for Friday Favorites – no posts for the next two days as I welcome students back to class and get my ducks in some sort of a row!

Amy

Monday, August 8, 2022

Well, not to be dramatic, but as you are reading this I am back to being a full time workin’ gal. I leave for work at 6:45 and return home between 2:45-4, depending on after school meetings. So, it’s not too bad, but it will be rude awakening!

I am happy to link up with Holly and Sarah today where we share our weekend happenings!

Note: I will only be blogging three times this week (unless I get a wild hair) and I may be a bit slower to respond to comments! Please be patient with me.

I don’t even want to know how much Mason has spent at the Froggy’s popcorn truck this summer. There are 2-3 food trucks every night at Shakespeare in the park, but the popcorn truck is there nightly. We share a love of popcorn! I thought this was super sweet that he brought home beer cheese and pretzels popcorn for Tom Thursday night and left it for Tom to find Friday morning.

Friday was my last weekday off – weekdays off just have a different feel to them, you know? I decided to just do me and that started with a super lazy morning of blog reading and piddling. Then, I went to check out the new Aerie and Offline at my nearby outdoor mall.

Um, yeah, no. There was nothing that interested me. I think when the fall and winter stuff comes out there will be some items that I could wear. I absolutely love everything I have ever gotten from Aerie. I have a pair of Sunday shorts that are made from sweatshirt material and kinda 70s, a white pullover sweatshirt with collar, a leopard print quarter zip, and a few pairs of joggers and leggings. I know I am not in their demographic, but their quality and soft material factor are superb in my book. Lulu who?

I came home and made a healthy lunch at home – trying to get back on track with tracking. I did really well with only eating at home last week, by the way. I only went out to eat Friday night.

Friday afternoon was hair day!

My friend Heather had just sent her University of Georgia sophomore back to campus to participate in rush activities and her hub and son were off on an overnight trip so I asked her if she wanted me to entertain her.

We went to Steak and Bourbon (her pick) and decided to sit on the patio. The inside was hopping and noisy!

I love these neon signs that so many places have now!

We did not order steak or bourbon! Can you even believe that?

We did order spinach and artichoke dip – you can’t take the 90s out of the girl, you know?

We were talking about how in college and right after college we thought Applebee’s was the height of fine dining and we always got their spinach and artichoke pizza. Anyone else?

Heather and I call ourselves “flavatwins” because we seriously always pick the same things on a menu. It’s weird.

We got truffle fries, too!

And, we both had a glass of red wine from Lodi, California. Their reds are so good.

We were going to order a salad to share, but we were so full, so it was just appetizers for us.

A really cool surprise – I asked our waiter if my former student was bartending and he was and he came out and talked to us for quite awhile and then we found out he paid for our dip! How sweet!

Then, we strolled around the area where the restaurant is located to let our food digest and then we decided that ice cream would also help our food digest.

Two of my students who are brothers served us at The Comfy Cow! One has already graduated and the other will be in one of my classes this year.

We had a fun girls night out and Tom was happy to have a bros night with Ernie.

Saturday morning I had my coffee on the patio – my little plant head is doing really well and I moved her to my table.

After my coffee and some reading, I decided to start my first meal prep sesh of the year. I wanted to keep breakfast really simple and easy to eat to start the year so I made 10 faux egg mcmuffins.

These are 4 WW points for me.

I tried a new way to do my eggs – I mixed 8 eggs with a little bit of Egg Beaters I had left and 2 T. of water, salt and pepper and then baked them in my small cookie sheet at 350 for about 10 minutes.

Tom told me I should make the eggs round but I wish I had just done squares because I was dealing with scraps for the last few sandwiches.

I am keeping these in the freezer and I wrapped them in plastic wrap, then foil, then put them in a big plastic bag. I will take one out per morning and then heat in my classroom microwave about an hour later wrapped in a paper towel for about 20 – 30 seconds.

For Saturday breakfast, I sauteed up some mushrooms, onions, and frozen spinach and topped that with two scrambled eggs. I didn’t want to waste one of my egg mcmuffins!

I didn’t want to brave Costco on a Saturday, but I decided it was important to get it done. This trip was solely focused on easy dinners for the next two weeks and foods for me – as well as some chips for my kids. I arrived right at opening time and it wasn’t too bad.

Jennifer vouched for these and she didn’t steer me wrong. I am super picky about protein bars. Most are just plain nasty. I loved the cookie dough and haven’t tried the brownie yet. I plan to try heating it up slightly in the microwave. Thanks, Jennifer! These are 4 WW points for me, so not bad.

I also took a chance on these and OMG! I have already tried the dark chocolate sea salt and the chocolate peanut butter and they remind me of a Rice Krispies treat. These are 3 WW points, which is really good.

I picked up this new to me product – already cooked chicken schwarma – for an easy dinner. I plan to serve it with some vegetables and salad.

For lunch Saturday I made a really delicious taco salad. I mixed cauliflower rice (already cooked) with black beans, Laura’s Lean ground beef taco meat, salsa verde, taco sauce, lettuce, tomato, and a little bit of shredded cheese and about 5 Doritos. Yum! I will be making this again!

Then, it was off to see Bullet Train. It was pretty good, but super violent. I think I’m an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) so that really bothers me. I really think HSP is a thing, but 75% of my family thinks I’m being dramatic. What do you think? I also enjoy saying “I’m an HSP!” to annoy them.

I have a love/hate relationships with afternoon movies. I prefer going in the afternoon, but at the same time, I feel like it takes up the whole day. We got home and there was a nice breeze and the temp had cooled off so I sat out and read for awhile and put Tom in charge of the pizza ordering for dinner.

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We ate pizza and watched a show (Jack was home with us) and then Jack went to Mason’s play and I got super sleepy. I put myself to bed before they got home.

Sunday morning I was up early since I had gone to bed when the small hand was on the 10.

A little more meal prep for the week…

And, I knew I needed to do some school work to feel ready for the week so I did.

And, then it was time for Sunday Funday! Look at that sky!

Do not look at the color of the water after all the rain and storms we’ve had. Tom called it Willy Wonka’s river. Yuck!

We went to lunch with Heather and Eric at a little place called Cunningham’s and I ordered a grilled fish sandwich and it was really good. I never get to see Heather twice in one weekend!

Then, we hung out for a couple of hours in the cove and talked.

I did my Kroger pick up on the way home. I had already done one earlier in the week, but I needed a few more things to help make the week run as smoothly as possible.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Also, I need your help! Please leave me a comment if you have blog ideas. What do you want to read about? What are your favorite topics? What’s on your mind?

Thank you so much! And, thanks for reading! You are my favorite hobby! Remember that my posting won’t be as regular this week and I will try my best to keep up with the comments!

Amy