Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Monday, November 7, 2022

We have a teacher work day today and are off tomorrow for election day. So, we will only have a three day week with the students this week. I am linking up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday.

The weather Thursday and Friday was sunny and in the high 70s and low 80s. You better believe I soaked up some Vitamin D in the afternoons. Sorry I talk about the weather so much and sorry for the view of my pasty legs!

Over the weekend I finished Every Summer After (4 coffee cups! I really enjoyed it!) and started Pumpkin Spice and Not So Nice (cheesy and predictable, but ok). I’m out of books after this and need to go to the library this afternoon.

On Friday I used my free birthday spray tan at Sun Tan City. Much better! I hadn’t done this since July or August.

I continued celebrating my birthday Friday night with some Cuban food! I got shrimp cooked in lobster sauce and rice and plantains.

My college rommie:

This photo made me laugh! After dinner we went next door to a Korean karaoke bar. Apparently their thing is private karaoke rooms. You get two microphones and an ipad to queue up your songs. Your room has a flat screen tv for the lyrics and a button to call your “concierge” who brings you drinks. It was so much fun! It was way better than singing off key to a room full of strangers! Definitely sing off key with your friends instead!

If you are local, this cake is from Plehn’s and is called the shadow cake. It is to die for!

You know what’s wrong in our society? I will tell you right here and right now. We don’t dance or sing enough. We don’t eat enough cake. There, I said it.

Saturday morning I enjoyed my coffee on the patio…

This tree is almost completely bare now…

Saturday was just a lazy day. I didn’t even run errands. It was so nice! I watched a bit of tv and read and it was wonderful! Tom had football on all day and I watched a bit.

For dinner, everyone was home. Jack had worked until 4 and Mason had been home since about 1 and then we watched Derry Girls and ate Mediterranean.

I tried to start From Scratch but kept falling asleep. Should I try it again?

I finally gave up and just went to bed. I was kinda ashamed of myself that I didn’t stay up later with my extra hour!

By the way, I contacted WordPress about my photos and I still don’t have a solution.

Then, I was awake with the birds Sunday. I just need to get my sleep on the front end because I can’t sleep in anymore! I wish I could! I read, drank some coffee, and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. I am trying to get where I can start my new and improved cleaning routine.

One of my college sorority sisters, Jennie, has a daughter here in town for college and she had time yesterday before going to see her to have brunch with Heather, Heather, and I. We went to our Mexican breakfast place.

I had an omelet.

It was so fun to catch up. Jennie is also my Seint makeup dealer! Hi Jennie!

Then, it was time for our last boat ride of the year – we think. The highs next weekend will be in the 40s so we need to winterize soon.

We had a great 2022 boating season and it helped make Empty Nester’hood more fun. We usually do the first and last boat ride of the season as just the two of us – awwwww! Ha!

I came home and cooked empanadas – first time and they turned out great! And, I made burrito bowls. We sat on the patio and ate and it was wonderful.

Then, my college kids went back to campus. All the college moms are really ready for Thanksgiving break, no? I am so happy I get a night here and there. I feel for those with kids really far away.

Think of me today in my meetings, meetings, meetings. Maybe one of the teachers will have prepared a Bingo card with all of the eduspeak buzzwords we will hear in the meetings. We are promised half of the day to work in our rooms. Grades are due soon for this grading period but I am pretty much ready to post. I have all my plans ready for this week but I have to write all of my college recommendation letters today.

Have a not so horrible Monday!

Amy

Friday, November 4, 2022

What a week! Halloween on a Monday – Eeek! But, it’s also been a good one. I am linking up with the ladies here for Friday Favorites.

Here are some of my favorites from the week…

This week I have had a bit of a sore throat and a bit of sinus headache and stuffiness. I treated myself to Starbuck’s for my birthday and tried to get a medicine ball but they were out of the citrus tea. I told them just to pick something else. I have had a cup of tea every day and it has really been soothing to my throat.

I also got the egg white turkey bacon sandwich and it was delish!

The only cake I had on my birthday was cake batter delight Premier Protein! Ha!

I am really happy with my new meal planner/shopping list notepad. The shopping list portion is perforated.

Does my new cleaning checklist mean I have to do all of this stuff? Just kidding – I am trying to get in a better weekly routine.

And, I went ahead and got a new pretty planner in just the right size for me.

One of our dinners this week was cauliflower rice with soy sauce, chicken, green beans, and an egg. It was yummy!

One of my lunches this week was a Mexican stuffed sweet potato. Yum! I am really into sweet potatoes lately. Send me all your sweet potato recipes!

Look at my sweet boy curled up in the morning. He sleeps with us most of the night but sometimes wanders out here in the wee morning hours.

Only about 15 kids came to our house on Halloween. It started raining pretty early on and I think some just gave up and went home. Also, we live on a short street so many opt to do the longer streets in our neighborhood with more houses.

But, after about an hour of no trick or treaters, 8 junior girls showed up at my door as an 8 pack of Gatorade. I knew 4 of them and it was really funny. I gave them a ton of candy and took the rest to school.

Who says empty nesters can’t have fun.? Tom seriously loved this meal. He got 2 mummy dogs and baked beans and kept telling Ernie how good it was.

I had homemade fries in the air fryer with a bit of a homemade sauce. I love dill pickles! My mummy dog was delish and I couldn’t remember the last time I had a hot dog. I think it would be great with puff pastry, too, and I might do that for the rest of the pack. I put the leftover hot dogs in the freezer. It’s hard sometimes only having 2 people to cook for!

I didn’t think I would like a summer themed book right now, but I am really into this! I wouldn’t say it’s that hard core summer.

My porch on Halloween:

Erica and I call each other “witch” in Spanish and we have an honorary “brujo – male witch”. He is an English teacher and also knows lots of Spanish. He was one of my kids’ favorite teachers, too. Everyone loves him! Notice he is also wearing a Halloween sweater vest.

Trying to look evil:

My birthday cocktail was chosen basically just for the toasted marshmallow on top!

We way over-ordered and have so many leftovers!

These are “armadillo eggs” – peppers wrapped in bacon!

Here was my outfit pic yesterday. Did you read my Fashion Files?

I take exactly one outfit photo a day, but I usually have a mess up like this. Awkward!

The little shopping center near my house was having a holiday open house with treats and drinks in several stores. I popped in but didn’t buy anything. It seems so early and it was like 80 degrees!

What were your faves this week? I hope you had many!

Amy

Thursday, November 3, 2022

I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files today.

But first, thank you so much for all of your sweet birthday wishes yesterday! I had a great day that included celebrating Day of the Dead. I had several students bring in loaves of bread of the dead for extra credit and for us to eat.

The recipe I give them has anise seed or extract in it and then and orange glaze on top.

I have slacked a bit with outfits and I don’t love all of the ones I have worn lately. I am rotating through my fall stuff to see if I still like it. And, they have turned on the heat and my room is an oven. I am not kidding. It is probably 80 degrees in my room. My windows are open and I have a little fan I can put on me.

I wore this Umgee dress with J.Jill grey capri leggings and my Shu Shop sneakers one day. I was super comfortable and the dress is too short for school without the leggings. It’s just a meh outfit for me like this. I like it better with booties. I love this dress and I love the Umgee brand.

Ok, now this was Halloween and I was being kinda silly. I wore my shirt that says Bruja/Witch in Spanish with my work partner in crime. I added a vest and a hat that I thought looked witchy. I wore my new Chico’s croppsed faux leather pants– not that cropped on me. I had to wear comfortable-ish schools for school, so they are not the best choice of footwear for the pants.

I brought other black pants in case these got too hot, but I made it the whole day. They are warm but not too hot. There is a warm lining inside.

On my birthday yesterday, I wore this Target dress, cardigan for a bit until I got too hot, and old booties.

To go out to eat last night, I wore my other Chico’s pants – yup I did get them in both colors.

And, I added a vest:

These pants are like butter. I tried them on in the store and couldn’t believe how comfortable they are. I have been wearing a few Chico’s things since my early 30s. Their basics cannot be beat. I have owned a pair of their black pants for years. Many women my age say things like, “I’m not old enough for Chico’s yet!” I say that you are missing out. Go in a store if you have one. Try on some pants for starters. The quality cannot be beat. I am not into some of their toppers, jackets, jewelry either, but there is a lot of good to be found there.

I wish the pants were a little shorter on me, but it’s ok. I am in need of shoe suggestions. I think some of the ankle and foot needs to show with these. Let me know if you have ideas.

Amy

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Currently, it’s my birthday today! I am 51! I am working today, but I am taking off on Friday. I usually try to take off on my actual birthday, but this year I decided to work for a few different reasons. No one better mess with me today, though! Ha!

I am happy to link up with Jennifer for her monthly Currently post where she provides our present participles.

Here we go…

Borrowing

I am borrowing looks I see in different places! This is Kellyann’s friend Jona and I loved her look here.

I am borrowing lots of looks with these boots that I am considering:

And, I am borrowing lots of looks with faux leather pants!

I am the proud owner of the Chico’s cropped faux leather pants. I bought mine two weeks ago and then started seeing them on influencers. They are amazing and feel like butter. A happy story: I bought them at full price because they were just so good. I went in the store looking for a black top and saw them. The original price was $119. I got $30 off in store for a couple of discounts. So, they were $90. I noticed they were on sale for less than $60 and called the Chico’s customer service number and they did a price adjustment. Wow! I was so happy!

Buying

Because it’s my birthday, I am planning to use my Kendra Scott 50% discount. I’m considering this necklace:

I am hoping to purchase this Loft blue sweater. I am really drawn to royal blue right now.

Thank you, Tanya, for posting this. I don’t belong to Sam’s, but it reminded me that I have to get the peppermint next. I am currently using Mrs. Meyer’s acorn spice and I love it!

Planning

I got a wild hair and ordered a new planner,

a new meal plan notepad,

and a house chore notepad.

I am hoping to get a good cleaning routine going. I just don’t have a set routine but I want to spread things out during the week.

Prepping

I am still continuing to prep breakfasts for the week and then mine share of the lunches, like this breakfast bowl.

Erica prepped acorn squash last week and it was to die for. I love this meal!

Reading

I had to abandon my Awkward in October book because this book finally came in. I am hooked so far!

And, speaking of reading, I am still reading outside as much as I can.

If you use WordPress, I am having trouble editing my photos. I edit them and then they go back to normal. Any suggestions?

So, what are you currently borrowing, buying, prepping, planning, and reading?

Amy

Tueday, November 1, 2022

It’s time to link up with Tanya for Prime Purchases. You better believe I am going to start taking notes for Christmas shopping ideas!

I am wanting to get ahead of my usual game this year – which is that I totally buy everything between Cyber Monday and December 23rd – ish. I want to do this to spread out the expense, partly. We draw names and/or only buy for kids and grandparents on both sides of the family. Don’t be afraid to be the one to suggest this in your family. I bet others would jump on board. A fun thing we added to my side of the family is instead of buying new gifts – a white elephant/re-gift exchange. We had a lot of fun with that last year with the stealing of each others’ opened gifts! This works great especially because we usually do it the day after Christmas and everyone has already received plenty of gifts.

I did really well this month. I am very purposely trying to reduce my clothing, Amazon and grocery spending. We have had a very expensive summer and fall with college tuition, renovation supplies (our hall bathroom), and the higher costs of everything. We also had lots of birthday gifts to buy and meals out to celebrate this fall. I say this to keep it real because I know many of you are in the same boat. We only carry our mortgage debt and that is important to us. We have three cars that are 10 years old and I am also worried about when one of them poops out on us.

I broke my several years long streak of no book buying and only using the library to “spend out” and give myself a couple of fun fall books here and here.

I love, love, love my new belt bag/fanny pack and have used it every day since it arrived. Would this make a good gift for someone on your list?

I love, love, love my new hair milk that smells amazing and really helps detangle my fine hair.

I like my no show socks, but they really make my feet sweat. I think it’s due to the fact that I am wearing them for so many hours. I think for a few hour stint they would be fine. I have had to take them off halfway through the day. Maybe this will be ok as it gets colder. My classroom is so warm right now.

I can never seem to find these dish scrubber replacement heads in the right brand at Kroger so I ordered a pack to keep on hand. Boring, but necessary. I hate using them past their prime.

And, finally my fall t-shirt has gotten quite a bit of wear. I plan to keep wearing it in November. I didn’t have a fall tee!

So what have you primed this month?

Amy

Monday, October 31, 2022

Happy Halloween!

First, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind words on Friday when I showed my heart and talked about my week. Friday was a much better day and I know it starts with me. I need to practice self-care and boundaries so that I can give 100% at work. There was a lot of good in last week, too, but I kind of let the little things get to me.

With that being said, pray for teachers today with Halloween on a Monday and the day after Halloween hangover!

That jeans pass is for you Kristen!

I am linking up with Holly and Sarah to talk about my weekend – the last of October. Tomorrow is already November and Prime Purchases day with Tanya!

Let’s go back to Friday. After school, I enjoyed a fall walk with Ernie. Look at all of these leaves!

For dinner, Tom and I had pizza – he had lunch leftover and Totino’s and I had skinny!

Mine:

His:

I was in bed by 9:00! I was wiped out!

That meant I was up and at ’em early on Saturday and made some components of one of my lunches this week – Erica requested the breakfast bowl again.

Here was my Saturday breakfasst:

I ran to the library and to two stores and then we took the boat out for lunch.

Elizabeth came, but her fiance wasn’t able to make it.

I had a really good cheeseburger without the bun and a few fries!

We got home around 4 and I showered and napped a bit. Tom was still full from lunch and his snacks when we got home, but I made a piece of avocado toast for my dinner.

Then, we went to jump the college kids’ car. It wouldn’t start Saturday. We were headed there anyway to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Mason was a member of the shadow cast. They played the movie while the actors acted it out. I had never gone to a showing/performance before.

They put a V on my forehead since I hadn’t seen it before. I knew what it was, of course.

Jack came with us. It was really fun! I can’t believe I made it for such a late performance!

Both kids had decided to come home just for the night and Tom thought having the car at home in case it wouldn’t start again would be good. Tom drove it home and I stayed for the clean up that the cast had to do. Then, the kids and I hit up Taco Bell at 11:30. I had not done this since maybe 1996?

Mexican Pizza, baby! Without the meat! My roommate Heather is a vegetarian and she taught me this method. I wish I could tell you how many of these we ate together!

Pray for my stomach!

It was supposed to be raining when I got up at 8:00 – yes I majorly slept in for me – but it wasn’t, so I enoyed my patio lights with my coffee.

Ernie waiting for his Daddy!

This book really is awkward. I’m enjoying it, but I guess I should have listened to the title. The main character has pet hamsters that are talked about way too much. She is very quirky.

A completed lunch of a breakfast bowl:

I also made two Kodiak pancakes for our “dessert” at lunch tomorrow. We are both trying to avoid the Halloween candy that is everywhere at school right now.

I made myself an omelette and turkey bacon with all the vegetables from the bowl.

And, then I ran to Kroger to get a couple of things for the week.

Jack had a choir concert at 3:00 at a church near campus. There are benefits to going to college close to home for both the kids and the parents. Since they are living on campus they are getting the best of both worlds – I hope. I do wonder if they will regret not going farther away, but given the timing of the start of their college career, it has played out nicely. They left for college in August of 2020 and got to live on campus with a few adjustments. They couldn’t visit other dorms, had to mask, had to test, some classes were online. But, for the most part their college really handled the situation well.

Anyway, I digress…

How was your Halloween weekend?

Amy

Friday, October 28, 2022

Linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites!

I debated sharing this in favor of staying positive, but it’s been a hard week. I have basically just worked and come home and I feel like I have been run over by a steamroller every day. A colleague said she is February tired in October. I concur, but I am not exactly sure why.

Last week we had active shooter training that we had to lead for our students and this week we have had fights occurring and had to change some policies because of this. It’s just hard.

My students are great, but it’s just hard. It’s hard to keep their focus. I think they are so distracted by what’s going on with their phones. What are they missing? If they aren’t on it, they are thinking about it, maybe?

I don’t know. I hate to start on a negative note, but I don’t want to be fake, either.

Erica, my co-worker and meal prep partner gave me an early birthday gift to complete my Day of the Dead patio. How cute!

I am reading this fall book right now. There is way too much talk about the main character’s pet hamsters so far so I am trying to block that part out. Very weird!

Tom’s company competed in a chili cook off and I got to go, too. The weather was beautiful!

Of course I voted for Tom’s!

Their theme was Talladega Nights and Tom had to be Ricky Bobby’s Dad.

They even had a cocktail called “Mountain Booze”.

We took Ernie on a walk before dinner and the trees and the sunlight looked so pretty!

And, Tom and I are enjoying watching Amazing Race this season.

What were your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, October 27, 2022

It’s time for Fashion Files with Kellyann and Jill and then stay with me at the end for Monthly Musings – Thanksgiving Prep is the topic this month.

I have been behind on sharing my outfits and I have forgotten to take my photo some days.

I can’t remember if I showed this outfit or not, so I am including it. New Kut from the Kloth flares from consignment and Loft blouse from last year. I have on a headband so you know it’s second day hair! Sorry there is a desk in front of me – ha!

I wore one of my three Target Universal Thread dresses for my friend’s surprise birthday dinner. I paired it with my Walmart Scoop blazer from last year and some Target suede boots from last year.

Jeans, Anthro blouse, cardigan for a Friday. I wore my Hush Puppies flats and was super comfy. These flats are really good! These are new straight leg jeans that I will tell you about in a minute.

These pants are Matilda Jane but they kinda look like Aerie flares that the teen girls are wearing. I paired them with a black tank and a knit leopard duster.

Matilda Jane pants again and a Loft consignment blouse I found recently.

Matilda Jane pants and a blouse from last year from a little boutique near my house.

Another consignment blouse from J.Jill and straight leg jeans I will tell you about.

Same blouse from the boutique with jeans on the weekend:

My new Old Navy distressed button fly jeans, tank top, and my new Old Navy flannel.

I ordered this shirt from Belk for like $9. I love prosecco and thought it would be fun for the holidays. It says “Prosecc Ho Ho Ho”. It was $9!

So, I started feeling like my skinny jeans from last season were constricting my legs and I just felt weird. I am not throwing them out by any means. I think they will be warm in the winter and work with tall boots or maybe with my bigger sweaters to give a better proportion on the bottom.

If you are feeling the same way, a great baby step to a different jean silhouette is the straight leg. I came home with a dark and a light and they were each on sale for $18!

They are called the high rise straight. Now I did have to go up a size because of the high rise. I have a stomach and needed that room. Also, they were too long, so I cut and washed and dried them for a perfect fray hem.

My distressed were not on sale, but I really liked them so I got them. They are called the High Rise O.G. Straight Ankle and they are the perfect length on me as you can see above. I am 5’4.

I really recommend that you do like Kellyann and I did and try on multiple styles and sizes to see what will work for you. I didn’t want to deal with returns so I went in and it was a good experience. I feel set for my jeans for the season, now!

Monthly Musings – Thanksgiving Prep:

I haven’t given much thought to Thanksgiving and my family doesn’t have our plans made yet, either!

I am linking up with many ladies here so check out more posts!

1. Do you host Thanksgiving or go elsewhere? We usually go to Tom’s sister’s house on Thursday and do Tom’s family and then go to my family’s meal on Friday. That way we get two dinners and get to see both sides.
2. What dishes do you make or contribute? I am usually given a few side dishes to make. I often do the potatoes because you have to have someone serious about their potatoes, you know? Just kidding! I also like to bring a signature cocktail to my family’s feast.
3. What is your favorite Thanksgiving recipe and will you share with us? I posted here and here.
4. What are your Thanksgiving traditions? I usually make breakfast for my family of four and then we have a leisurely morning. I love to watch the parade while cooking.
5. Stuffing or dressing? Dressing – I don’t want to eat from the cavity of a fowl.
6. Pumpkin, pecan, or apple pie? Pumpkin! It’s special because this is the only time of year I have it! Must be served with Cool Whip. Must be Cool Whip.
7. Casual dining or set the table? Probably in between. My SIL sets a beautiful table with a floral arrangement, but we do buffet serve yourself with nice plates. My mom loves a paper plate and again it’s a buffet serve yourself and there isn’t room for everyone at one table.
8. Favorite beverages to serve with Thanksgiving dinner? My apple cider sangria!
9. Do you shop Black Friday? Heck to the no. I am still eating Thankgiving feasts. I believe in Cyber Monday.
10. Holiday movie or football games? Well, I am not ready for Christmas until I have fully given thanks. I am a purist – sorry. I don’t care about football but I like having a game in the background because it just feels right.

Whew – that was a lot!

Amy

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

It is time to link up with Sheaffer and Shay and hope I’m not being too redundant for my regular readers!

Eating Lately:

You know it – more Slender Kitchen recipes! I told you I was going to make One Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta – amazing!

and

Red Curry Thai

These were both dinners for Tom and I and then lunches for Erica and I. I love just using one website right now to get new ideas.

I also made us a breakfast bowl for one of our lunches.

Reminiscing about:

I have a few fall photos framed as part of my fall decor.

I love this photo of my sweet twins at an apple orchard in my hometown. My Dad was with us.

And they also had pumpkins there…

and a professional family photo at a historic home near our house. Our photographer was my former student.

Loving:

This sight!

And, my companion, of course. I love walking through crunchy leaves!

Been Up to:

Oh, you know, just trying to teach 150ish kids a day. On Friday, Spanish 3 got to try to play Spanish Scrabble. These girls wanted a photo of their group, their Scrabble board, and a staged fight over the game!

They are so cute and sweet! And, in case you don’t know, high school girls are super casual. The attire is t-shirts, sweatshirts, running shorts, sweatpants, and tennis shoes. Seriously, has there ever been a more low maintenance time for our teens?

Dreading:

I don’t know. I guess the winter a bit. I have a huge let down when Christmas is over. I want to find a way to love January!

Working on:

This was just for fun, but I thought it was so cute. It is a Thanksgiving appetizer that looks like pumpkin pie. Directions coming soon!

I also put myself in charge of the taco meat for Spanish Club’s taco bar this week.

Excited about:

A couple more fall boating outings, hopefully. We normally winterize the boat at the beginning of November.

Watching:

My Bravo shows! Also, for some reason I am watching Bachelor in Paradise. I only watch about an hour of tv a night right now.

Reading:

I bought a couple of fall books on Amazon.

Listening: I am listening to my podcasts – Watch What Crappens, Big Boo Cast, Midlife Matters, and Bestie Breakdown. I also really think I like the new T. Swift album. I am not a Swiftie by any means, but I do like her music.

Wearing:

Here is my casual fall weekend ‘fit. I am wearing a flannel as a shacket because I can’t really handle anything too long or bulky on my frame.

For work, I am cycling through my Matilda Jane pants with blouses. I think these pants are great. The quality is great and they look nice for work while feeling like I am wearing sweatpants.

Well, that’s about it for me! What’s up with you on this Wednesday – the last of the month! How is that possible?

Amy

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Why do I love these types of posts so much? I think I’m a Life Hack Nerd. I am constantly trying to be more efficient, I think. Are you like this, too?

I would love to post what’s working for you, too! Please leave it in the comments and I will do a follow up with your responses unless you tell me otherwise.

Here we go:

Thursday Kroger Pick Up – I like doing this on my way home from work. It’s not a separate trip. I place my order Wednesday night or Thursday morning. I use the Kroger app and actually start building my list as we run out and need things during the week. It also saves all past purchases. Now, this does mean I have to know what foods I need for the weekend and the week ahead. Erica and I usually start talking about the following week’s lunches around about Wednesday so it forces me to pick my recipes. I also sometimes ask her what she wants me to make that I haven’t made in awhile. And, yes, in this time of high grocery prices, I absolutely think not going in the store saves money. I look at my calendar for the week ahead and plan breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Yeah, it takes some time but I think it’s time well spent. (Get it? Spent?)

Thursday Laundry – I throw in my load or two of clothes while I am unloading the groceries. I like to have the washer and dryer empty for the weekend in case Tom needs it, the kids bring laundry home, and for when we do the sheets.

Washing hair every other night – I take a shower at night no matter what, but I have only been washing my hair every other night. I have even stretched it another night lately. My hair seems to be doing better now with this method. I also use a bit of dry shampoo in the mornings where I didn’t wash the night before. I often wear a headband for my second or third day hair day, too.

Not checking work email at home – I am so proud of myself! This is hard. I took work email off of my phone. I have absolutely zero notifications set up. I don’t have Google Classroom or Infinite Campus or Remind or anything. I check my email before I close my work computer for the day at school and then I wait until I get to school at 6:45 the next morning. Game Changer! Also, our principal still sends his Sunday video message but I watch it at school on Monday morning now. You guys! I did not think I could achieve this but I did!

Walking Ernie and then reading outside after school – Getting outside so much on a work day is absolutely helping my mental health. We have had a gorgeous fall! On a typical work day I get home between 2:45 (yes, I’m lucky, but I do go to school at 6:45, remember?) and 3:30 so that gives me a solid two hours to just BE before I start making dinner. Also, remember that I do not get to step foot outside during the whole school day, unfortunately.

Ahh, look at that sky!

Lighting a fall candle every morning – I’m not just wanting for the weekend to light my candle anymore. Man, could this be a metaphor for life in general! What else can we do during the week instead of waiting for the weekend? Why can fun only happen on the weekends?

Not wearing makeup to work – Hear me out. I am putting on a bit of eye makeup and lipstick, but leaving my face bare most days. This stemmed from my face being really dry and needing to use hard core moisturizer. I think the letting my skin breathe is helping my skin to look better! I mean, teenagers know I’m old regardless of my makeup, right?

Reading for pleasure – I broke my no book buying streak to purchase a couple of fun fall reads from Amazon. Yes, I still like a book with pages. These came recommended by Bourbon, Lipstick and Stilettos on IG who used to have a blog. I always like her recs.

What’s working for you? I will post them next week or Friday, depending on how many I get!

Amy