Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Happy birthday to my twin niece and nephew Mia and Miles today! They are 14 and headed to high school next year – how is that possible? Yes, my sister copied off of me by having twins 5 years after me!

I grew up in the Nancy Reagan “Just Say No” campaign era. Did you? I will be talking about a different topic today, though, than what Nancy was talking about.

I used to say NO a lot of the time…

I was really good about saying no to more than I could handle as a working mom. I wanted to be able to be the best mom I could be and I wanted to be the best teacher I could be, so I can as careful not to take too much on. I did juggle several things and was very busy, but I was good about learning to say, “I appreciate you asking but I am unable to add that to my plate right now” at work. And believe me, teachers are asked to be on committees, sponsor clubs, coach teams, and more. And I did it all for my first four years of teaching and it about killed me!

I also had to say no to social things sometimes by saying, “I would love to, but I just can’t do that right now with my kids at this age and a job that I have to be ready to do!”

Now, I am trying to say YES more…

When my kids got older, I realized it was my time to say “yes” to more things. At work, I became department chair again (I held the position until my boys started kindergarten and I said yes to being room mom and different things at their school) and I said yes to being on the hiring committee for several years. I also started saying yes to more social things like book clubs or spontaneous happy hours and dinners out.

When Coronavirus hit, I knew it was even more important to say yes to anything that I thought was safe! There wasn’t much to say yes to!

In the past, I may have been too rigid about my schedule, but I am learning that saying yes more brings so much happiness to me.

The more you say yes, the more you will be asked. Have you noticed that?

Do you have any friends who always say no and you stop asking? The opposite is true, too!

Saying yes to small things can help you to say yes to bigger things in the future. Maybe we should consider these small yeses as warm ups to bigger ones?

Do any of you always feel like you are the one asking and you never get asked? I think it’s about equal for me. I do half of the asking and get asked the other half of the time. I have talked about this with my sister and a couple of friends. I think there are just naturally those that are the planners in each social circle. Some people just don’t think to invite people but they are happy to be invited. Life is short; don’t get bogged down with who asked whom. Keeping score is exhausting. Put yourself out there and text a friend that you’d like to see them and see what happens.

Also, I should add that we have had different comfort levels during the pandemic. I like to start with, “Are you comfortable going to a patio right now?” or “What is your current comfort level?”

What have you said YES to recently?

What are your thoughts on having a YES mindset?

Do you say NO more often or do you say YES more frequently?

Thank you for saying YES to my blog today!

Amy

Monday, March 22, 2021

How was your weekend? Mine was really social and really sunny! That is a great combo! I am happy to link up today with Heather, Tanya, and more here.

Friday after my last class, I headed to my deck to read in the sun! I forgot to tell you on Friday that I treated myself to my first pedicure in months Thursday afternoon with Essie’s Bikini So Teeny.

I got to see both boys briefly that afternoon for haircuts. Mason cut off his long hair for his play. He was sad to see it go but wants the play to be really good.

Tom and I went to dinner just the two of us for the first time in forever. We tried a new place called Diamond Street Grub.

I had a dragonfruit margarita.

And, we got fish for me and nachos for Tom. It was way too much food and food that doesn’t save well!

Saturday morning I cleaned out my china cabinet/liquor cabinet. It had gotten so disorganized.

And, I did my Easter/spring decor.

This weekend my high school friend Jim and his wife and two other couples that are friends of theirs and whom I didn’t know stayed in an Airbnb for Jim’s birthday. They invited us to join in their weekend fun – with basically as many breweries as they could visit!

I met up with them at rooftop bar Saturday late afternoon. Tom visited his parents so it was just me.

Jim:

Then, we moved to a brewery and four more of our high school friends joined. Several of us live in Louisville because it is the closest big city to our hometown. This was in a cool courtyard in an area called NULU which means “new Louisville”.

High school friends Mike, Dan, and the birthday boy Jim. Dan told me he reads my blog daily, which is so sweet. He may be my only male reader. Hi Dan! He has two daughters, so maybe he can impress them with something he learns from me? Lol!

Wives – Kara, me, Katie, and Beth. Beth was also my high school friend.

Kara was excited to tell me she was wearing “the rule of three” and knew I would be proud.

I said goodbye around 8 because I had been hanging out since 5. Remember that introverted extrovert thing? I was tired. I would also like to mention that all of us were fully vaccinated except maybe one and it was a good feeling to finally take pictures together.

Sunday Tom and I met Jack with lunch to watch a baseball game at his college, because Tom and I enjoy baseball. He isn’t that into sports but he obliged us.

We tried a new fast food place called “Jaggers” owned by Texas Roadhouse.

It was nice to see all the people sitting on the hill watching the game.

We said goodbye to Jack and went to three more places with Jim and his friends. I got a bourbon slushie at one of the places.

Then, Tom and I took Jim and his wife back to their Airbnb and sat around and talked for a bit.

They had snacks and I brought guacamole and plantain chips and goat cheese spread and crackers.

Tom with a plantain chip. He thought they looked like tongues.

My friend Jim and his friends live in Cincinnati, Ohio which is only about 1.5 hours away. We made a pact to go visit them this year.

We were wiped out and headed home to our empty nest for a quick dinner and a couple of shows. We were outside for much of the day and the sun felt great, but it really took it out of us!

I hope you had a lot of sunshine, too! Any highlights?

Thanks for reading!

Amy

Friday, March 19. 2021

Happy Friday! I am one week closer to spring break! We have two live class days Monday and Tuesday, and then three asynchronous days before break. Teachers report back to my school building on Thursday and Friday for training, meetings, and set up. It is surreal!

I am linking up today with Andrea, etc. right here.

Here are some things that made me smile this week:

I showed you my new to me consignment kimono on Wednesday here and I thought I would show you that I wore it for my weekly happy hour date. If you are looking for an easy outfit, jeans, t-shirt, kimono really could be the answer! Yes, I am getting as much wear out of the white booties as I can!

I met Elizabeth, my French teacher friend, at Parlour which is a pizza place. They have a new and improved patio and really good cocktails.

I am almost finished with this. I took photos of books at the bookstore and then requested them through my library website. This was mildly entertaining but predictable. Husband cheats on wife, wife goes to Paris.

I got kind of bored so I started this and it is fun and a quick read. I am almost done with this one, too. Girl has accident, has amnesia, and tries to regain her identity.

For St. Patrick’s Day, I did a surprise ham, cheese, and egg breakfast sandwich to go for hub.

I got this text when he opened it at work.

He thought it was green eggs and ham; this is his sense of humor.

I have been self-tanning but my hands have been white. So, I did a little trick. You put a bit of self-tanner on the back of one hand and then rub the back of the other hand on top. I tried to take a photo of me doing this but it was a hot mess.

On our St. Patrick’s Day walk, Ernie and I noticed this patch of clover. I tried to find a four leaf but then got bored.

A sign of spring!

I made an Irish dinner, too. I told Tom to get ready and he asked if we were having “famine”. As a joke, I had a plate ready for him with just one potato on it.

But, seriously, I made Jen’s meal! I will be making this again.

I left out the raisins in the Irish soda bread.

And, this butter is ah-mazing!

I know we are all talking about it, but it’s still so hard to believe it’s been a full year! I love my Bravo shows and I also love a couple of TLC shows like Outdaughtered about the family with quintuplets. It is so weird to see the pandemic play out on these reality shows.

I learned there are two types of people:

1. Those who used the last year to get in the best shape of their life.
2. Those who ate and drank their feelings.

I love this quote below! It’s true! I have been kinda emotional this month. I am sad for my students but happy they get to have some time back in school. Our elementary schools opened on Wednesday and I got teary-eyed hearing the school announcements from my yard. I realized I hadn’t heard the “normal” school sounds in over a year. Our colleges have started to announce normal in-person classes for the fall. That made me get teary-eyed. I hope we aren’t jumping the gun.

I am either an introverted extrovert or an extroverted introvert. Who knew? I think I spent my whole life thinking I was an extrovert but I would hit a wall and be done with people. I think I just thought I was a moody b****. Now, I am thinking that I just need a balance. The best definition I have ever heard is…

You are an extrovert if you get energy from being around people.

You are an introvert if you get energy from time alone.

I need both! I am happy doing both. I would think a balance would be good for everyone, regardless of extrovert or introvert status.

And, finally, I want to mention that this past Wednesday was my two week mark after my second vaccination. That is when they say you are fully vaccinated and have about a 94% protection of getting seriously ill or hospitalized from Covid. It is such a wonderful feeling after a year of mental exhaustion and questioning every move. Tom gets his second in two weeks. Now, I am anxious for my boys to get theirs. I am hoping they get the one shot Johnson and Johnson.

I want to recommend Walgreen’s if you have those in your state. I went on their website, made an account (super quick), and was able to make an appointment for just a couple of days away. You go in to the pharmacy and the pharmacist does the injection in a little room, Then you have a 10-15 minute wait to make sure you don’t have a reaction. I walked around the store and shopped. I got my first one in a giant vaccination clinic but they dissed me on my second and told me they didn’t have a spot for me. The first one was a 2 hour wait. So, I enjoyed my Walgreen’s experience way more! My sister in Indiana got hers at Meijer pharmacy (grocery store chain) because she has asthma. So, hope that helps someone. I think age 40 and up will be opening soon in many states. Our state is still on 60 and up and certain jobs.

How was your week? Any highlights? If you missed any posts this week, I did Hello Monday here, Tuesday Tip on homemade honey mustard dressing here, What I Wore Wednesday here, and finally, Thursday Thoughts on routines here.

I appreciate you stopping by and leaving me comments!

Amy

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Are you a routine-oriented person? I think sometimes the word “routine” has a bad connotation. “My life is so routine” is not a good statement usually. But, I think routines can actually make your life easier. I find that I have to change routines for different times of the year or different seasons of life. I guess for me, routines help with my productivity and the more efficient I am, the more time I have for the fun things in life!

I feel lucky that I am naturally a morning person. But, there were many years that I wasn’t maximizing my mornings. I used to get as much sleep as possible in the morning and then get up and rush around. When my twins were between 1 and 2 years old I finally figured out that I needed some time to myself before they got up. With even just 30 minutes of quiet time I was so much more ready to “mom” and it really did set up our whole day in a good way.

In the summers, I would get out a toy they hadn’t seen in a while and it felt new to them; I would have it where it was the first thing they saw when they came out to the family room. Or, I would prepare an activity for them to do that morning (teacher mom!) So, by getting up early and having my time, I also had time to do this. I also must admit that I had wonderful sleepers.

My favorite way to start my day is to take my coffee on the porch. I am struggling with what to call my new upper patio. I have a lower patio and and upper patio now. So is this new space my deck and the other my patio? What should I call them?

I start my day with 2 ish cups of coffee, a devotional or Bible verse, and my favorite blogs.

The amount of time I spend doing this varies depending on what I have to do that day. After my coffee, I heat up my breakfast, eat it, and then go get ready for the day.

This routine will be changing for the last 8 weeks of the school year as I am going to be going in to my school from 7:00-3:00. I think I will still get up with enough time for one cup of coffee and some reading, but I will probably take my second cup to go.

Around 10 in the warmer months, I have my iced coffee. Sometimes I take this in the car in the summer if I’m running errands.

During the last year, I have walked Ernie during my lunch break. I am hoping to walk him at 3:00 when I get home now.

I love an afternoon ritual of a coffee or a cocktail, but I usually only do the cocktail a couple of times a week. I am pretty disciplined about stopping work around 3-4. It’s easy to work longer when you work from home, but it is not healthy.

With the exception of part of December and part of January, I have a weekly friend date this last year. In the spring and summer I hosted on my patio, but since the fall I have gone to restaurant patios. Routines shouldn’t all be about things you don’t enjoy. You should have routines that bring you pleasure, as well.

This is relatively new, but I am enjoying these routines:

Grocery pick up – Thursdays – so that I am stocked for the weekend.

House cleaning – Friday afternoons after my last class – again, it feels good to have the house clean for the weekend.

Breakfast prep for the week – Sunday mornings – I think I am going to just take a sandwich for lunch when I go back to school. I think that sounds like the easiest thing to eat when I know I won’t have much time.

Laundry – I do my one load of clothing Monday mornings before I start my first class. I do one household load of sheets and towels Friday afternoon with my cleaning.

Making dinner – I start dinner between 4:45-5:00 every week night. I turn on the news or a podcast while I cook.

Shower – I shower and wash my hair most weeknights around 7:00 after dinner. I sleep better when I do this and it makes my morning routine so much easier. I rarely use a hair dryer so it also helps my hair.

Bedtime – I get in bed no later than 10:00. I think 10-6 is optimum for me.

I know some people have Friday pizza routines and that is so fun because it is a family routine. Some people have a special breakfast on the weekends.

I’m sure I have forgotten something! What are your favorite routines?

Amy

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! And, happy birthday to my sister Kate who you met here! I am linking up today with The Style Six here today.

This St. Patrick’s Day, I am not in danger of getting pinched if I don’t wear green, but I will most likely repeat my Saturday outfit of white blouse and green necklace. I don’t have a lot of green for some reason!

Just to follow up, I returned this dress. It’s so cute but the fabric is silky and pretty dressy and I just didn’t think I would wear it enough.

I got this instead and have already worn it a bunch!

I got a new kimono! I keep seeing them on retailers’ websites so I think they are still current. I really liked the design and colors in this one.

I love to wear them with swing dresses or with a t-shirt and jeans or shorts. If you read my Hello Monday post this week, I mentioned visiting one of my consignment stores on Sunday, for the first time in a long while. It just seemed kind of weird during the pandemic and they did close for some time. There is some really good stuff to be found! My best tips for shopping consignment are to go often because the inventory changes frequently. Do not buy things just because they are cheap. Know that you will walk out empty handed more than you will find things, or you probably should. Have your color palette at the front of your mind and maybe make a list of holes in your closet. Ask yourself if you can wear the item with at least two or three things in your current closet.

If you are local, I go to Clothes Mentor and Sassy Fox. There are more, but these are my two favorites.

In the last week to teach virtually I have worn my pink camo. This is so soft.

I wore short sleeves one day. I got this at Steinmart a couple of years ago. Sadly, our Steinmart went out of business but I can still shop them online. I just don’t enjoy not having a brick and mortar store to return things to. That is my best tip for online shopping, by the way. I order from retailers that have a brick and mortar store in my area. I hate mailing back returns unless it is Amazon. Amazon makes it easy to drop things off at my UPS store up the road.

I thought my new Target blouse looked good with these old Amazon raffia earrings.

I still have not solved my pants dilemma. I may try to get by with my one pair of black Chico’s pants and my Matilda Jane pants for school. I plan to wear my swing dresses and printed palazzo pants, too. I also have some skirts I can wear. I am totally fine for school and I really don’t need anything. I would rather spend my pennies on fun clothing and not on work clothing!

Have you bought any summer shoes yet? I have not, but…

I am swooning over these shoes for summer, but again, I haven’t ordered any of them yet. I may go to the mall over Spring Break and try some things on.

Note:**** After I wrote this, I started looking at the last pair online again to see how much they were. Apparently retailers can’t keep them in stock, so I went ahead and bought them with the plan to return if they aren’t perfect. I got mine from Tuckernuck with a 10% code down from $48. I know I said I hate returns, but I also don’t want to be sad if I can’t get these later! They are Coconuts by Matisse.

I need to take inventory of current summer sandals and do a post before I buy any more. Any thoughts on the three above pairs?

Now I would like to tell you about these casual/sporty Target shorts. I love the fabric and the pockets. They run a little bit big, but I am happy with that. I may order some other colors. But, I think the darker colors might look better. Do you like my avocado socks?

What have you been wearing lately? Buying lately?

Amy

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Our family loves honey mustard! We love it as a dressing and as a dipping sauce. You can use it to dress a salad or to dip chicken or pretzel bites! Yum!

It is really very easy and you can tweak it to fit your tastes or those of your family. I bet you have all of the ingredients in your house, too. I learned to make a lot of things from scratch during the pandemic!

First, a word about salads. If you plan to make a lot of salad, get a salad spinner. I hate wet lettuce but I want to make sure it is clean. I also prefer to chop my own rather than to buy the bag stuff. I like my lettuce cut pretty small. I cut my lettuce, put in this thing, rinse and then spin. It is fun for kids if you want to give them this job! I used to have J and M do this for me!

My kids love egg on a salad. You could put all the toppings on a plate and let people choose.

If you have trouble getting kids to eat salad, try adding croutons. That worked when my kids were young!

Here is what you need for this homemade dressing: Warning: once you make homemade, you will not want to buy the bottle anymore.

1/2 cup mayo (forgot to put this in the photo)

2 T. yellow mustard

1 T. Dijon mustard (You can just use one or the other and it is really just a personal preference. Yellow will make it more like Chick-Fil-A and Dijon will make it more of a pale yellow like in many restaurants.

2 T. honey (again you can add more if you like it more on the honey side)

1/2 T. lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

Add some water to thin it out a bit. I like it a bit thinner for dressing and a bit thicker for dipping sauce.

Add some garlic powder, black pepper, cajun seasoning if you would like. I just add a couple of dashes of each.

I love to make this in a mason jar (Pioneer Woman taught me this) and shake it up really well. Store in fridge or serve immediately.

Let me know if you try this!

I want to work on a lemon vinaigrette for summer! I also want to try to make more ranch and avocado lime ranch dressings.

Amy

Monday, March 15, 2021

Who wants to see a lot of food pictures? I am linking up today with Heather, Tanya, and many more here for Hello Monday!

Quitting time on Friday afternoon called for sitting in the sun, reading, and this! The Black Trulys are truly (see what I did?) the best hard seltzers I have tried. If you don’t think you like hard seltzers, give these a try. They have more flavor in my opinion. They are light and refreshing! I got a pack in my last Kroger order.

Friday nights mean Tom comes home from work tired. He will go out, but I know he is ready to stay home, so we usually go out on Saturday night. So, I made fish tacos and we watched some t.v.

Long story, but we have to work on a Saturday or Sunday to set up our classrooms if we want to get paid. So, I got myself up and out the door early Saturday morning and now I am happy with my room arrangement.

Students can only sit in the desks facing the front of the room. I need to do some more posters and arrange some books.

We have new stickers on the floor.

After I worked, Tom and I went to Drake’s for a late lunch. I tried to get a bit into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit with this necklace I bought at a consignment store years ago for like $6 and a white blouse from last year.

I had a sour beer. I am getting into these.

I had a wonderful salad with blue cheese, apples, bagel chips, sunflower seeds and a couple of other things.

We split nachos and…

Tom had sushi.

The college kids came home for dinner! Even though I would have preferred not to cook I know they prefer home cooking after eating their college cafeteria food.

They love when I make a big salad and homemade honey mustard dressing. I will try to put it on the blog soon. It’s really easy!

And, I made balsamic chicken. I think I will do that recipe here soon, too. It’s a new favorite.

We tried Felicity and they don’t think it’s funny enough and they want funny. I agree.

Sunday we had to spring forward and I finally got out around noon and did Dollar Tree, a return to Loft (I had done an online order), and Clothes Mentor consignment store. The Easter stuff is really good at Dollar Tree.

This probably deserves a separate post, but look at these either new or only worn a couple of times shoes I found. All were $20 or under.

These are Tom’s brand below:

That was just in my size alone. You can really find some great things if you are willing to go the consignment route.

I came away with one thing – this kimono. I really liked the colors and I have at least two things that I can wear it with. I always ask myself that.

I saw this photo of Chicago on social media. I love that they do this every year for St. Patrick’s Day. Do you have any plans? I am going to try to make an Irish meal just for Tom and I, but I might decide it’s too much work!

I drove by a couple of Irish restaurants on Saturday afternoon and their patios were packed with people. Not good for Covid, but you can tell people are just ready to celebrate anything and everything.

Sunday afternoon I was super lazy. I read a bit and lounged around after running my errands. The weather turned rainy and cold so I didn’t get any outside time.

The boys were still with us for Sunday dinner and Jack requested Chinese food. We always order one sesame chicken and one orange chicken and the white rice that comes with and a side of fried rice and still have tons leftover.

It was a good weekend. How was yours? It’s hard to believe we are halfway through March. I still have two weeks left before our spring break. I’m really ready for a break from school! I want to have all of my plans ready to go for our first week of in person so I have my work cut out for me for the next two weeks.

I hope you had a fabulous weekend! What was the highlight?

Thanks for reading!

Amy

Friday, March 12, 2021

Happy Friday! I hope you had a good week! Here are some highlights from mine, as I link up with Andrea and many more here.

Of course, I have to mention that this is the one year anniversary of “the day the world shut down”. So much has happened and so much has changed for me personally. Mainly I feel grateful for my life. My twins finished high school, my job changed, my twins started college, I got the opportunity to work from home for the first time, we became empty nesters, and we finished some amazing renovations on our house. Yes, I am grateful.

Did you watch the Oprah, Meghan, and Harry interview? I read The Royal We so some of the things about control seemed true – ha! And, there is no way for an American to know just what entering that life entails, in my opinion. I just don’t know what the point was of airing family issues. Was it so Meghan can stay relevant and keep trending? I love Oprah but she didn’t ask follow up questions or dig too deep. I enjoyed listening to some opinions on the interview this week. As my Dad said, “there are three sides to every story – your side, my side, and the truth.”

I got some good news this week. Our favorite summer event is back! They are not hosting as many as they normally would, but there will be 4 outdoor concerts held on a beautiful stage with food trucks available. We started going to these several years ago and really enjoy them. We were so happy last summer to have some live music to listen to at Captain’s Quarters and Bearno’s By The Bay and at a little brewery – they were outside and we felt safe. But, we really missed these!

We had wonderful weather. Ernie and I enjoyed walking and sitting on the patio.

I drank my iced coffee every morning around 10.

I had two social outings this week. Tuesday afternoon my friend Beth met me at my new Tuesday place – Red Hog! This makes 3 straight weeks that I have gone there!

I got a mojito because it was so warm out.

It was so nice to catch up with Beth because I think it had been since the end of January.

It was so mild one day this week in the morning that I had my coffee on the patio with a candle – my Woodwick crackle candle. This makes me so happy! The crumpled paper under my ipad is the list of blogs I read.

Wednesday is our asynchronous day without live classes. We have meetings, help students, plan lessons, grade, and anything else we need to do. After my morning meeting I ran to Trader Joe’s during my break; I didn’t have to wait in line and it was really empty. I had needed to stock up on some of the things I keep in the freezer – broccoli, green beans, corn, orange chicken, bagels, and a couple other things. I also made some impulse purchases.

Then, Wednesday at the end of my work day I had a happy hour with my French teacher friend Elizabeth. We tried a new to us place and had a drink called a “Kentucky Lemonade” – bourbon, lemonade, orange liqueur. I also have a cocktail recipe for this and mine is better! Just sayin’! It’s time for me to host more on my patio so I can make the drinks but I have needed to get out.

We split some pretzels and beer cheese. I forgot to take the photo until we had each had one!

These one on one friend dates are really fun for me! And, I am still home in time to share dinner with Tom. I try to make part of the meal ahead of time. After this happy hour I made turkey meatballs with sauce, rice, and zucchini for dinner.

My son Jack and i really bonded over Gilmore Girls. No one was more surprised than me by how much he loved it. Mason started watching later, too, and loved it. Jack watched many on his own but watched with me whenever we were together. He loved the writing and the acting, and just thought it was such a good show. We were so sad when we were done.

So, we have been trying to find another show.

Did you watch Felicity? There are only 4 seasons – one for each year of her college experience. I was shocked to see that it was from 1998! I remember watching it after it had gone off the air and loving it. It is now on Hulu so this is what I am proposing for Jack and I (and maybe Mason!). Mason and I are starting Parenthood which Jack has already watched. I kind of like the idea of having a show I watch separately but I will take any time spent with my kids that I can!

And, watching the sun come up from the patio is a real treat. I don’t know how I will leave my house at 6:45 a.m. in a few weeks! We will get to work from home on Wednesdays which is truly wonderful. And, this will give me a new and better appreciation for summer when it arrives!

The time changes this weekend! I thought this was funny!

I am not sure of my plans for this weekend yet. What are you up to?

Happy, happy Friday and happy weekend!

Amy

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Honestly, this may not appeal to my readers, but if nothing else, I think I will appreciate being able to look back on my thoughts.

I started to title this “Back to School” but then I added the “in person” because we have been back to school since August. I have seen some articles where the public is lambasting teachers for being lazy and not wanting to “work”. Wow! We have been continuing to hold school, albeit in a different format. Of course, some schools and some teachers have had different degrees of success. Just as the parent has the responsibility to see that kids are ready to come to school and learn, they also had the responsibility to make sure kids were ready to learn from home. And, this is not easy with the demands of jobs. Childcare was a huge issue for so many and it breaks my heart. I think teachers were the easy targets to blame.

The pandemic is not the fault of the teachers. The policy makers were put in a very difficult decision. Exactly a year ago, the entire country pulled the plug on being in school to save lives! Some school districts already had virtual plans in place and were 1:1 – meaning one device per kid. They had been using these for school weather cancellations already.

My school is part of the largest district in Kentucky which serves almost 100,00 kids. We were not 1:1 and we are behind in technology. Our building was built in the 1960s and has not been updated. This is my 27th year teaching high school Spanish and I have been at my current school for 21 years. You know that saying about old dogs and new tricks?

So, last March, my district took the last two weeks of March off for students and teachers, then had Spring Break, then gave teachers one work day before starting back virtually for the rest of the year. During those 3 weeks (yes, including Spring break), there were lots of Zoom meetings. I felt like I had to learn to do my job in a whole different way. I learned so much! We didn’t have a set schedule for the whole school to do live meetings or Zooms, but it was at the discretion of each teacher, so it was kind of a hot mess, but we tried. My twins were seniors so I also got to see the parent side of it. We were also told that kids’ grades could not go down. So, many checked out. I may also point out that we didn’t realize it would be the rest of the year when we started. We all still thought we might go back in May; oh, how little did we know.

In August, teachers from my district and school worked for a full two weeks before we brought the kids back virtually. Now, we had a set schedule and attendance was “mandatory” but we couldn’t hold absences against them. We had set rules for class length and assignments. There was lots of communication to parents and students about expectations. Also, we were not supposed to have firm deadlines on assignments and we still don’t. We were supposed to use “grace and flexibility”. Again, we thought it might just be 6 weeks or one semester. I don’t think anyone really thought we would be home learning virtually for this long.

It’s actually not been a horrible experience at the high school level. I have 150 kids and only 4 have totally checked out. I feel like I have gotten to know many of the kids. We have had some laughs and I feel that learning has taken place. Is it the same? Definitely not. Are there some good things about virtual? Definitely. I am almost wondering if a hybrid model might be the wave of the future for high school students.

Last week I went in to my room and moved my desk to the front of the room. I measured 6 feet and tried to come up with a workable seating arrangement. We will not be walking around the room and students will need to be contained to their desk area. We will have the students bring personal laptops or school issued laptops (we provided them to students that needed them), we will not be using much paper, and of course we will all be wearing masks. We do not have plans for plexiglass barriers.

So, I feel like I am learning a third new way to do my job. I am trying to think through how I can combine my old teaching style with what I have learned while teaching virtually. I also promised the kids consistency. I will still structure my lessons in the same way as I have since August. One thing that I think I have going for me is that I taught as much like we were in person as possible. I start class with a question and announcements. I call on students (I have their names on popsicle sticks. #oldschool) and try to have as interactive of a class as possible. I use breakout rooms for pair and group work. I have played video clips and music. I have tried to make it as much like an in person language class as possible. And, they have done really well for the most part! I try to commend them as much as I can. Can you imagine what they are going through?

I bought myself a taco mask.

Whew! I’m tired. But, I am not nearly as tired as I am going to be April 5.

Here is our plan:

Students who chose in person will go to school either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday depending on their last name. The other 3 days will be asynchronous where they can do their work on their own schedule. Teachers will not be teaching virtual students at the same time, but instead we will be teaching our virtual students during our planning periods and possibly on Wednesday if the teacher chooses to make their schedule that way. We will get paid extra for teaching during our planning period.

My planning period is first period so I will teach my virtual kids from 7:40-8:30 and then I will teach 6 more 50 minute classes with a 20 minute lunch break. It will be a long day, but it is a short time period and I am so excited for the students.

I know many schools have been doing this schedule all year or most of the year. I think it is good that we are doing this and it will help us to be ready to go back in August.

If you are still here, thanks for reading! Thoughts? What is school like in your neck of the woods?

Amy

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Happy Hump Day! I am happy to link up today with the ladies at The Style Six here.

So, I am really tired of my collection of sweatshirts and sweaters that I wore to virtually teach in from October-February I guess. Plus, it’s getting warmer in these parts. I have started wearing long sleeve blouses or short sleeved blouses with a cardigan. I only wear earrings for my accessories because I’m typing a lot and bracelets are kind of annoying. And, let’s just not talk about pants. What are these “pants” of which you speak? Let’s just say I am business on top and usually leggings on bottom.

Holy close up, Batman! I do not know what to do with my face for a selfie. I think I’m too old for selfies, but I have been documenting my outfits when I sit down at my desk.

New blouse and attempt at middle part. I have since gone back to side part.

Short sleeved blouse with cardigan.

New Universal Thread from Target blouse. I fell in love with the print. I feel like it runs large and I had to try a couple of sizes to get it right. I did Target pick up so it was no big deal.

Blouse from fall that I adore.

All of the above blouses are Savanna Jane except for the Target blouse. I love these blouses so much but they are a bit more pricey than what I typicaly spend. But, I am finding that I wear them so much that they were good purchases. I’m learning….

I spent some time styling outfits with my red clogs and white booties over the last few weeks.

My mom got me this unique long sleeved kimono for Christmas. A long sleeved kimono is a good idea, I think! I had a navy t-shirt that worked with it and I really like this outfit!

My mom also gave me this kimono from her Stitch Fix box. I am not positive about the yellow underneath.

I love my swing dresses and I tried it out like this, too. I think the booties are too white for the kimono, but I would definitely wear this outfit with different shoes.

New Chico’s blouse on super sale. I can’t get the time of day/lighting just right.

So, I have 3 more weeks teaching virtually from home…I am a high school Spanish teacher if you are new around here.

On April 5, my school is going to expect me to wear pants to work.

What are some pants options that aren’t leggings, joggers, or jeans? I am thinking I would like to get some sort of navy and black pull on capri length to continue wearing my blouses. I also plan to wear some of my swing dresses with kimonos and my colorful printed palazzo pants with solid colored tops. I do have some black Chico’s travelers pants that I will wear. I am thinking I should look at Chico’s and J.Jill for the kind of good quality, comfortable basics that I need. I will only be in person for 32 school days. Do you think I can wear a different outfit each of the 32 days? I’m not sure I’m up to that challenge or that I even want to!

What have you been wearing lately?

Thanks for visiting me!

Amy