January Goodness

I guess I haven't had it in me to post anything lately. Not that I feel significantly bad/sad/down -- I'm fine. Pretty good, in fact. Just busy. A lot of blessings to count: 

• Mom and Dad had negative COVID tests last week, although most of the rest of my Pensacola family, including my dear Aunt/Godmother and Uncle, were positive. 
• Subsequently, both my parents, I think, are now vaccinated x 1! A measure of relief. 
• Alex also had a negative COVID test this past Monday. Our family's first test! (I say that because I know people who have had to be tested multiple times. One family with 5 nearly grown kids, the mom told me she's waited in the testing line like, 8 times (maybe they should stop going out?).) Anyway, he'd had sniffles and sore throat for nearly a week, including loss of taste/smell for a couple of those days. Yikes. But I'd called his doctor and they advised just letting him wait it out if we didn't KNOW of a positive exposure, and we didn't... Until Monday morning. So off we went to the last available appointment that night, at the most random Urgent Care in town (not a "name brand," had a flashing neon sign in the window, "Covid Tests, $15"). And he's negative. WHEW.
• Shawn turned 52 and we had a very pandemic celebration of ordering his favorite burger for dinner (Ted's Montana Grill, the Green & Hot with guac and jalepenos and chipotle or sriracha aioli), and made a devil's food poke cake that was delicious. (Again, box cakes for the WIN - I don't think I'll ever order a cake from Publix again. We are converted!)
• I've had time and inclination to do 3 things daily, and they all help my mood: Read a little bit (I started Ken Follett's The Evening & The Morning); listen to a song or album that I choose, in iTunes (sometimes I just ...forget (?) about music so it's fun to be intentional about it); and do a Calm app meditation. Really liking the Daily Trip by Jeff Warren.
• I had two days of 5:00 am Zoom meetings this week. That fact isn't the blessing, really -- although it is fun, in a way, to meet with people in Germany, France, the UK, China, Australia, Poland, Russia, etc.(this is why it starts at 5 am Eastern). But I will say that starting so early means my workday is FINISHED much earlier, too! So that's kinda nice. Yesterday I did a long yoga video and took a nap afterwards!
• We did NOT get hit by the tornado that passed through here, about 3 miles from our house! We did get woken up by the county sirens at 2:00 a.m., went downstairs to our coat closet (the most interior room we have), and waited for the danger to pass. And no one really went back to sleep after that, least of all me who had to get up at 4:30 anyway. But we were SAFE. 
• Yesterday the high was 68! It was so lovely, after what feels like weeks of cloudy gloom. I mean, it's weird in January, and climate change is real and all that, but still. I'll take a day of sunshine once in a while, sure. It's supposed to be back in the 20s tomorrow morning, and is rainy today.
• I had a fun discussion with my cousins about spaghetti sauce. A family recipe calls for cinnamon, cloves and, as I learned from them, carrots in the sauce. I didn't use the carrots, but I made this homemade version this week, and it is SO good. So much better than the jarred sauce I usually buy, in my opinion. I'm not saying I'll make spaghetti this way every time from now on, because it is certainly more work than just dumping the jar over meat. And the jar is pretty delicious - we buy Newman's Own and it's quality sauce. I probably WILL, however, always add a lb. of ground pork to the beef, and it's worth making the cinnamon-cloves version some of the time, because I love it so much. My cousin described it as a "warmer," spiced taste, and that's exactly it.

What else are we eating this week? Well:

Sunday - Pork Loin Roast. Why do pork loins always take infinitely longer than I plan, to cook up to temp?? Argh. We didn't eat until nearly 8:00 Sunday because of it, and I was annoyed. We had mashed potatoes, corn and green salad with it, like a real "Sunday dinner," I thought.

Monday - the Spaghetti.

Tuesday - Black Bean Burgers (Morningstar Farms, in the frozen section) or Tyson Chicken Patty burgers, with roasted broccoli/onions. An easy meal, after a work-intensive one.

Wednesday - Tacos

Thursday - Southern Living Ham and Bean soup, a new recipe my mom tried and enjoyed, with our Christmas ham bone. It's been waiting in the freezer since December. 

Friday - leftovers. We have so much spaghetti. ;)

Saturday - I might make chicken fried rice. Haven't had it in a while and already have all the ingredients.

Since I've been in meetings all week, I have tons of actual work to do. Also going in to my office today at noon, but basically only to print something. These times are still so strange. Bye for now! 

Happy New Year - Let's Review

I read S's year-end review and, as usual, thought it would be so lovely to write one of my own. I do like that particular set of questions and have answered them many times in the past, though I can only seem to find 2015 & 2016. Last year I just did my own thing for 2019's review (also in 2018). And actually, I like to write my thoughts down on paper, if I've kept a paper planner, which I have the last couple of years after a long hiatus. My own format works for me, so here is what I wrote in the last few pages of my planner this year (I did this on Dec. 30 or 31):

The 2020 good stuff:

• Got what I've long wanted: nearly full-time WFH, with time for carpool pickups, not aftercare. 100% flexibility. Would have done extracurricular volunteering, if there'd been any to do.
• Grateful for the time - EXTRA - at home with Alex and Kate, that I never would have had otherwise. For walks in midday, for lunch breaks together and dumb/fun TV shows, for helping each other.
• Grateful for our health, through all of this year's pandemic; no one in my immediate family has been sick (let me add that Kate got over her sniffles after about 3 days, as did Shawn, who got them immediately after Kate. We didn't have either person tested and I don't know if that was right or wrong.)
• Grateful to still have our jobs, after collecting unemployment for the first time in my life this year during 4 weeks of furlough.

Goals accomplished (because I did actually have a few, back in January '20):

• Painted hall/entry, kitchen, & den, all lovely new shades of grey
• Bought a new (Sleep Number) bed like we wanted to do, and we LOVE it
• Spring gardening successes
• Visits to P'cola, Savannah (5, 2 -- more than usual)
• Bought a car for Alex (thanks, Mom and Dad!)
• Felt appreciated at work - made myself the best helper I can be
• Didn't stress about goals
• Made Christmas as fun/happy as we could
• Lost 15 pounds. Worked out an average of 134 minutes/week in an attempt to lower my cholesterol (which didn't work, thanks, Genetics, but at least I tried - I'm now on medication for it)
• Saved on groceries by setting a budget and shopping at Aldi/online
• Set a clothes budget (not sure if we saved anything, but at least there was the intent to save, lol. It's hard with a pre-teen girl, I'll say that for sure, but I'm working on my acceptance of it -- kids need to have clothes they like, after all)
• Read 30 books, although this wasn't a goal, just a nice thing I had time to do

Things that could be improved:

• Church attendance. Mixed feelings here. We've been under full dispensation since March, so really it's OKAY! No one would fault us for it and there's no need to confess anything! Ha! But am I neglecting my kids' faith formation by mostly ignoring virtual Masses online? I just can't stand watching the ones our parish livestreams. Should probably try other parishes but... meh. 
  Not singing in the choir anymore is still strange to me, but I think the right choice. I needed a reason to quit, because it was absolutely no longer bringing me joy, and the pandemic was a good reason.
• Taking care of my parents. Perhaps I'm not alone because of Covid, but I'm feeling a lot of guilt about this right now. I hate that we don't live in the same town as them, I can't drive them to doctor's appointments or heaven forbid, ER visits, which they had this year; and that they aren't in our Covid bubble. Same with Shawn's mom; she's living by herself, and her oldest son isn't there to help her out. I hate it. Christmas was nice, quiet, but caused a lot of guilt, if I'm honest. Logically I understand that our life is here at the moment, and I know all of our parents are okay with that. Thankfully, they're mostly healthy and doing GREAT without our help! Not to mention it was safer this year to stay apart at Christmas! But it's easy to feel like we're somehow neglecting our duty as children. I'm trying to remember that everything has a reason, and that God is not the God of guilt, and doesn't want me to feel bad. But it's what I'm wrestling with, especially as the pandemic goes on. 

So, how to sum all of this up? 2020 happened. We did puzzles, we made masks, we over-bought (hoarded) toilet paper, we did online school, we mostly stopped going to restaurants except to pick up food. I'm actually happier, thinner, and richer, and I never answer those questions that way.

I can't WAIT until we can all get vaccinated, and Alex can return to a normal marching band (senior!!) season, and Kate to a normal Drama club season, with all their godforsaken fundraising needs. I will raise the heck out of some funds if they can just have their fun back. I'll take what I learned and really appreciate things more. Incidentally, we watched Pixar's "Soul" on NY's Eve and it was the PERFECT way to wrap up a year when finding joy in the little things was the only way to function. 

I'm greatly looking forward to 2021, with a small spark of hope. Hope you are, too.

We Christmased!

For the 2nd year in a row, we Christmased at our own home, just us 4. This year, however, I really wished we could be together with family. Ah, 2020. Even though we weren't sick, we kept seeing the news and authorities advising people to please not travel, please... like, really, we beg you... (they were so desperate to convince us all, weren't they?).... and so we just decided we'd better not. Again, even though we would have driven, not flown or taken a bus or anything. 

And do you know what? On Dec. 26th, Kate developed a stuffy/runny nose and really didn't feel great. And how would I have felt if we'd been at my parents' house?? Not good, Bob. We will come back to this momentarily.

Christmas Week was a full week of PTO for both me and Shawn -- very rare, indeed. It began conspicuously, however, with Alex's oral surgery (part of his braces situation) Monday morning. He has recovered so well, with nary a whimper of discomfort -- only a little bit of having to eat carefully on his back teeth. He's still taking antibiotics but has come out the other side a total champ. Monday afternoon while Alex recovered, Kate and I met some of her friends for an outdoor park play-date -- more specifically for the girls, a photo-op, because this is what pre-teen girls do. Just take a million photos together. Selfies and Us-ies and filters and all that. The moms sat in our folding chairs in a socially-distanced circle and it was nice (though some of them are not my favorite moms, I'll admit. Mostly because some of them do not believe in the virus. I mean, that's an exaggeration. But, a lot of negative feelings about it, some talk about travel and big get-togethers, and some "We cannot let this stop us LIVING OUR LIVES" comments, and it was hard to keep quiet).

Monday night we watched "Elf," I believe. Classic. And I made myself an Amaretto Sour. I really wanted to have a different drink every night and this was an excellent start. Also, we went outside to view the planets passing! Did you? How neat was that? 

Tuesday we had to go to the kids' piano lesson - that was the day's excitement. I think otherwise we did very little, and what a treat! A day off, with no plans! Just what I wanted. Watched "Christmas Chronicles 2" from Netflix and I fell asleep, probably due to my White Russian drink of the day. ;) 

Wednesday Shawn and I VOTED! Woo hoo! Democracy -- an important runoff. I did some last-minute shopping at Target and I think Alex's movie choice that night was "Nightmare Before Xmas," always a good one. I forgot - or just maybe opted not - to make a fun drink. I'd intended to do hot chocolate w/Peppermint Schnapps. Oh well.

Thursday, finally, Christmas Eve. In the early afternoon I put the TV on "It's a Wonderful Life," much to Kate's chagrin, but everyone watched the whole thing in the end (a first for all of us -- I'd seen parts of it but never the whole movie start to finish). I bawled, then made appetizers. Pigs in Blankets, Sausage Balls, veggies and dip, and homemade salsa with chips. Our drink was a Merry Mojito, and delicious! Rum, Peppermint Schnapps, mint, lime and sugar. I made sure to WAIT until after we watched 6pm Christmas Eve Mass, though. ;) After that, we did take some family photos in front of the tree, and played the Brian Setzer Orchestra's Christmas songs - so fun and festive for our little "party!" AND it snowed! It had rained all day, but for about 10 minutes around 5pm, it was lovely and quiet, the way snow is, and we loved that!

One of Kate's favorite things about Christmas Eve is opening ONE present. But I think this year she didn't even ask about it! We stayed up late -- I finally had to shut things down and go to bed, and then luckily I woke myself & Shawn up around 1:30 to go play Santa. 

And Christmas Day, get this? They agreed to wait until 8:30 before coming into our room! Maybe even 9:00, I can't remember. THEY fed the cats breakfast (7:30 on the dot!) as a means to "peek," so I got to actually sleep in! 

One of the things I love about having older kids is their willingness to help lengthen the morning of present-opening. In our house, we now do a special wrapping paper for each kid, but there aren't any tags so they have to guess which paper is theirs. They guessed right on the first try, and in fact, Kate opened her Grand-Showstopper gift first (her very own iPhone11). I was worried it would all be a letdown after that, but it wasn't. They took turns, and I think really liked everything that was given to them. 

I was happy to receive an Apple Watch (and Shawn was happy to give it, because it is TECH) ;), AND AirPods, which I totally did not expect. And I got the birding binoculars I wanted, and a book I didn't realize anyone knew I wanted, and even a full stocking. I really have good gift-givers in my family (I just wish I was one of them). 

One different thing we did was to FaceTime Mom and Dad, and then Susan, my MIL, while opening their gifts. That stretched things out and made it feel more like normal, when they are here (or we are there). It kinda made me sad, but also happy. ?! You know?

This is getting long, but we made our traditional Christmas Crepes for brunch at noon, then had pizza rolls at 3:30 (ha, a family joke/tradition now), and then Honey Baked Ham, hash brown casserole, roasted vegetables and wine for dinner -- in the dining room with the Lenox and crystal. Somewhere in there, I made a red velvet cake with green whipped-cream frosting. So festive! And I drank another Merry Mojito, I feel sure. :) We Zoomed with Jill and Nils and Mom and Dad again. I didn't take a nap, but gosh, it was a perfect day.

NOW: Back to the matter at hand: Kate's nose. She was sniffly and tired on the 26th - she took a long nap - and got really nervous when she couldn't smell/taste. I tried to console her. That is, after all, a normal thing to happen when you're stuffed up. She never had a fever, so I'm trying not to be worried, and she is much better today (28th), so I'm hoping it was just a blip. I don't know if I'm supposed to report it to school, though? I don't feel like she needs to be tested at this point. I've Clorox wiped and Lysoled everything she's touched, as much as possible. Shawn had a bit of a sniffle today. I just don't know - I feel like I'm doing it wrong to not be panicked. I am grateful we stayed at home, that's for sure, and very wary. 

I went back to work today but have not been super productive. This blog post is the most productive thing I've done, aside from picking up a post-holiday grocery order! 

Licensed to Drive and other Atrocities

Alex is now licensed to drive and insured on our plan. Oh my gosh, that is crazy. I suppose he could drive himself (and Kate) to piano lessons tomorrow night. All by himself. In the dark. The state says he can, anyway. My brain short-circuits a little bit when I think about it, though. Just... he'll be out there! On his own! Making decisions that are, in fact, somewhat life or death. Nope, better stop trying to make this paragraph more descriptive with sentences like THAT. 

......

Christmas is close! I think we have nearly everything, except 1 or 2 items that are still in transit. Santa won't really know for sure until she does the wrapping. We always say that as kids get bigger, their presents get smaller and more expensive. That is proving true this year. I'm considering adding a package of underwear for each kid, just to make the Christmas morning pile a little more inviting, as sad as that seems. (But they need underwear! And it would be funny! Maybe!) It's so hard to resist the call of commercialism, telling me that more is better. 

MORE IS NOT NECESSARILY BETTER. LET ME TEACH MY KIDS THAT CHRISTMAS ISN'T ABOUT THINGS.

......

I have started taking cholesterol medicine in a very low dosage. I am happy/unhappy about it. Happy because I hope it will really help my stupid high cholesterol number to go down. Unhappy because it  makes me feel like a bad person, THANK YOU DIET CULTURE, that I "let" my cholesterol get so high. I mean, yes, for a couple of years I was following a diet plan that encouraged eggs and real butter/cream over "light" or "low-fat" options... that was probably not great for me. But still, some of it is genetic and I shouldn't have to feel guilt along with the bummed-out feeling of adding an old-person's medicine to my daily pile of pills. Ugh. Anyway, I am on it now, I have been working out pretty damn consistently for a year and a half already, and I am changing some food habits. There is Raisin Bran in my pantry, people. And Benecol in the fridge. Never heard of Benecol? Neither had I! We ate vegetarian black-bean chili last night, and I enjoyed some whole wheat spaghetti on Monday. This is going to happen, my cholesterol will go down and I am going to live a long, healthy life with only the occasional indulgence, so help me. I am mad and on a MISSION. My body had better cooperate. 

Stockings Stress

Okay, it's not really stress, but I am thinking about the kids' stockings today, and wondering if I have enough stuff, and an evenly-matched set of stuff, and and and. 

So after everyone left for school this morning, I went to the Christmas presents hiding place (which has been MOVED after someone [Kate] let on that she knew where the previous hiding place was) and arranged all the stocking things in two piles. 

For Alex, we have:

1. A box of Vandoren V12 size 3.5 B-flat clarinet reeds, which he knows he will get because obviously I had to ask him what kind he likes and would've had NO idea.
2. A travel-size after-shave lotion; he is only shaving every so often (crazy, anyway), but it was a "beauty" product and I was trying to match the type of things in Kate's stocking
3. A silly $1.00 back scratcher from WalMart
4. A mini-Lindor chocolates bag
5. Candy Cane TicTacs
6. A bag of mint-choc penguins (?) that I bought from the private school fundraiser
7. I think, a new AirPods silicone carrying case (if Shawn has bought that)
8. A school-spirit mask (womp womp, but will definitely get used)

For Kate:

1. A new mascara, slightly nicer than typical drugstore brands
2. A light pink lip gloss
3. An inexpensive clear case for her big present this year (an iPhone)
4. A mini-Lindor chocolates bag
5. Candy Cane TicTacs
6. The mint-choc penguins
7. A laptop sticker and a set of sparkly ponytail holders from a favorite store of hers
8. HP Sprocket paper refill
9. Razor blades for her razor (yes, she is also now shaving!)
10. Christmas themed nail files
11. A pair of hypo-allergenic earrings

So see? I have some work to do to balance them out, and they just don't feel very exciting to me. I'll definitely add a clothes gift card for each kid, (one is bought but not yet delivered, the other isn't bought yet), and cash. My mom used to put scratch-off lottery tickets in stockings, which is fun when you're a teen. Probably every stocking should have a hand sanitizer in it this year.... I just don't know. 

Alex kinda needs a non-logoed, adult wallet... Kate ooohs and ahhhs over the Burts Bees gift sets every time we see them... usually I do their favorite pens/pencils (boring, but useful)... maybe a funny bookmark?... Kate's newly into Harry Potter, should I do a chocolate frog or Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans?... Alex is having oral surgery on the 21st (poor kid), should I stick some Aleve in there for him (haha)?... I feel like all my ideas are very meh. And it's almost too late for ordering anything -- the rest of it will have to be stuff I can find if I go TO the stores. 

Well, anyway, Christmas!

Monday Morning at Home

I love, love, love Monday mornings working from home. Back in the day, when Alex was a baby, I used to WFH every Monday and Thursday. Seems so quaint. Now in 2020 it's more days at home than not, and I am totally okay with that. I did realize last week that there's one drawback to all this flexibility, and that is, I used to very happily tell people that I "left work at work," and I never had to check emails after 5pm. Now, not so much. Since I take breaks during the day to workout, and then to do afternoon carpool and whatever errands need doing, I have to go back to my laptop when we get home, before dinner prep begins. (Dinner is later than it used to be.) And sometimes on weekends. But I think that trade-off is worth it.

This Monday morning I lit 3 candles, to help take away the lingering scent of the turkey gumbo I made yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I love gumbo, including the way it smells. But by the next day, I'm ready for the onions/peppers/roux to be a happy memory. (Same goes for oven fajitas, and red beans and rice, which also tend to linger.) Candles make it feel so cozy. I have my coffee, the Christmas tree is lit, and I'm wearing a not-professional hoodie and no bra because no one will know. So see? I love this life. ;)

Here are some updates.

1. We did go to Savannah for Thanksgiving. I feel incredible guilt about it; I know that the CDC said we weren't supposed to travel. But it was a good visit with Shawn's mom, and I think she really needed it. Not that she doesn't see people -- she does -- but still, she lives alone in 2020. We felt that bringing her some joy was more important. She'd had a COVID test a few days before we came and it came back negative while we were there. (So we know if she gets it, it'll be our fault!) We are all feeling fine so far (it's been just over a week). Prayers that it stays that way. 

2. I was thinking about this recently: I owe you a years-later update on Alex's stature. He has shot up in the last year and is now definitively taller than me: 5'3" and 105 pounds in his junior year. I'm so glad we never made him do the hormone shots. I remember when we were considering all that, and Sherry, you told me your brother grew finally in high school/college. Thank you for telling me that back then. He's still not big, but I'm not worried about him anymore. Incidentally, Kate's on her way, as well, so I'll likely be their "little Mom" when I'm old, haha. 

3. Online Groceries: I've done it twice now. It's muuuuuch faster to pick them up on Sundays, I'll grant you that. And both Aldi and Wal-Mart have done a good job; I've never had to wait longer than 10 minutes. It does seem like I forget things frequently, and have to run to a store one more time during the week to pick something up... but I guess those are quick trips at off-times, so it's safer in general. Yesterday I had to go in-person; I needed several holiday-related things, as well (wrapping paper for the Santa gifts, some stocking stuffers/Advent calendar gifties), and Kate was spending the night out, so it had to be done then. I went early on a Sunday morning and the crowds weren't terrible. 

Shawn is recovering from his last surgery of the year (we hope)! He had a hernia repaired last Tuesday. Quite a year he's had, health-wise, with the liver scare, the melanoma, and the hernia. He's impatient that he still isn't feeling 100%, but he was good and pretty much took it easy this weekend. 

I somehow had a ton of extra energy and the weekend was super-productive for me. I feel I should catalog it here because it's pretty rare that I want to do so much. I took care of a lot of Christmas shopping and wrapping on Saturday, addressed some Christmas cards, did laundry, cleaned up the dead plants from our front yard, and even did a couple hours' worth of work-work on Saturday night until about 10:30. THAT did not feel like me, but it was a project I needed OFF my list. On Sunday I got up early for groceries, then picked up Kate from her friend's (a little more guilt, but it's someone she's seen several times since March, for whatever that's worth), made gumbo, did more laundry, and we even baked sugar cookies (the pre-cut ones you just put on the cookie sheet) after dinner. Who am I?! I don't know. I doubt there will be another weekend like that so I'm grateful for it. If only I could put that kind of energy into my work-week. LOL.

A lot of lifeofadoctor'swife's topics the last few days are things I'm thinking about, too. What should we have for Christmas meals? What's making me feel festive? GIIIIIIFTS to buoy up everyone's moods in 2020... but I'll leave those for future posts, I think. Maybe a post a day this week, to continue using my good energy! 

Here is what we're eating this week:

• Chicken/GreenBeans/Potato Bake - super easy weeknight dinner
• Sloppy Joes with tater tots
• Pork Chops with field peas and rice
• Hawaiian Roll Ham Sliders with Pasta/Vegetable Salad
• ... and some really good leftovers on Friday! 

Grateful for Wednesdays

On Wednesdays, Alex's school district has virtual days. No kids go to school, so buildings and buses can be deep-cleaned. It's a day for teachers to host virtual office hours, for kids to take online tests, work on projects, do homework, and for my kid, to practice music. 

I love Wednesdays. I didn't think I'd miss him quite so much when he went back to class face-to-face earlier this month. Don't get me wrong, the alone-time at home is a treasure, too -- but it is so noticeable when he's gone, after having him here every day since March. I walk by his room on M, T, Th and Fr and can't quite believe he's not there, sitting at his desk.

It's good preparation for the impending college years and beyond, when he won't actually live here anymore (I presume).

On Wednesdays, we watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine at lunch. It's the smallest thing, but it's one of my favorites. I would never have had this time with Alex without the pandemic. I hate the pandemic, I wish it would go away. But I am so, so grateful for the time.

Forward, but How??

It is my policy not to discuss politics in polite company, but what else has been on anyone's mind lately?! (Covid.) I can't decide if it's my age that makes me suddenly more interested in it, or if the news is just louder with politics now than it was when I was in my 20s and 30s so that I can't NOT be interested. I mean, I know that every generation has its huge political issues and battles. But last week, watching the election returns (not) coming in, my gosh, it was long. I couldn't stop refreshing my Twitter feed for those 4 days, and felt like I HAD to know the minute there was a result. And there was such relief on Saturday morning! An answer, an end. (ha, ha, ha)

I feel despondent today about the way forward. Will there be an actual coup? Will the military be involved? What the heck is happening?! Where are the GOOD PEOPLE? AND: How can we possibly work together to understand each other when there are 2 different "realities," based on which news you believe? How in the world can we resolve it? Make each person who speaks publicly do so while wearing a lie detector? (Then the Machines are in charge!! Although, I think that'd be preferable at the moment.) Do away with ALL the news outlets and social media sites, and start over with what?... how...? ...there's no way to do that. News is ruined forever, I guess. Or, put another way, everyone has an agenda. My brain goes in an infinite loop about this. I hope someone out there is smart enough to create a plan to really fix this broken, broken nation.

Meanwhile, I will continue to live my privileged life, typing out weekly dinner menus for my own satisfaction. I guess I can move forward in my world, in some way. 

After cleaning out the fridge and freezer from the hurricane, it feels like we have lots of space and breathing room in our culinary life, lol. I mean, I can see the back of the fridge! There are no olives, no maraschino cherries, no jellies or extra jars. And for a while, there were no Tupperware containers, either! But then, I made a few meals. ;)

S - Jambalaya with chicken and sausage. Family recipe and it is THE BEST. I forgot to buy white beans to put on top, but it was still amazing and made a lot of leftovers.

M - These new-to-us Pork Chops, with green beans and mac and cheese. Our family, aside from me, is not big on vinegar -- not even Balsamic -- but I think enough of it burned off in cooking, or was outplayed enough by rosemary and thyme, as rosemary and thyme do, to not be offensive. I thought they were delicious if slightly overcooked. I'll try them again, probably. 

T - Taco Tuesday on a Tuesday! We like them best with trashy Nacho-flavored shells. :)

W - Creamy Italian Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup and garlic toast. It was a perfect night for it, too, rainy and dark. It only made 4 servings' worth, and I'm bummed about it. Note if you want to try this: Make the pasta separately. Something about cooking the pasta slowly makes it come out gummy and weird. I think it'd be much better if you cook it separately, then put a little serving of it in a big bowl, and then cover that with a ladle or 2 of the soup.

Th - Homemade pizza

F - nothing planned. It's a football game night, but supposed to be cold. Hmmm. Will we or won't we? (Probably will.) 

Other things on my mind include the Holidays... we are supposed to visit Shawn's mom for Thanksgiving - just told her this week, in fact - but I am feeling hesitant about it as cases go up and several older people in my circle (my parents' generation) HAVE Covid right now. I don't want to miss out on seeing her, and I know she needs to feel loved and cared for and visited, but I just am really unsure.

Lastly, grocery shopping. I think I'm ready to give it up in-person for a while. Wearing reading glasses, plus the mask, plus just being around so many people... I don't HAVE to do this, there IS another way. I'm going to try an online order or two this weekend, and see how I feel about it. Maybe it will keep me from picking up extra things I don't need, too (on-sale Cheez-Its, I'm looking at you).

Who Knew?! Tropical Storm in Georgia and its Aftermath

Tropical Storm Zeta came through here in the wee hours (4:30 am) Thursday morning. Wind gusts were up to 60 mph -- they woke me up. Power flickered on and off for about 30 minutes and then went out completely... and stayed out, unlike myself, who was wide awake for the duration. According to Wikipedia, nearly a million people were without power the morning after in metro Atlanta. 

Sorta put a damper on our weekend, not that we had a whole lot planned. School was cancelled Thursday, and we basically sat around the house wondering when the power would come back on. We took a neighborhood walk and saw some debris in the wooded areas, a few small pieces of siding ripped off some houses, and one tree uprooted outside our subdivision. At that point we didn't have cell service, either, which really felt isolating! But the power crews must have restored cell towers early, because that didn't last as long as the rest of the power outage did. We were lucky our stove is gas, and our hot water heater. I made coffee by candlelight, using the lighter to start the stove. Thank goodness for my French press! We got out cards, read books in the daytime (until my Kindle died), and just waited, thinking it wouldn't be long before we were restored. It was sunny, we didn't see much wreckage like you'd expect, and... yeah. You just don't think of north Georgia when you think of hurricanes. Shawn had gone in to work, but by 1:00 he gave up, since there was no power there, either. At 3:00, after a short nap, I felt like I'd need to at least TRY to work some, so I took Kate with me to my office. She was bored and wanted somewhere to go! But no internet there, either. Waste of a trip.

We ate Spaghetti Ohs for dinner and went to bed early, because what else could we do? Surely power would be back on by the morning. 

Except: it wasn't. Kate's school had power, and announced a late start Friday, so I drove her in and then went back to my office. (Thank goodness for: Pop Tarts for breakfast, peanut butter sandwich for lunch! Our food was all slowly going bad in the fridge which we tried not to open.) There, internet was back and I got some work done. Funnily enough, Shawn had taken that day off. So he and Alex were at home, still waiting. Alex's school is still virtual, of course, so a no-go. And again, by the evening we still did not have power. 

The days get really long when there's nothing to do. You don't realize how dependent we are on electricity. Not content for another pantry meal (it would have been soup or ramen), we ordered Subway. We played some Sorry! and cards. I cleaned out some of the fridge and freezer. 

Saturday was more disappointment. I swept off the remaining debris from the front and back porches. With a broom, old-school! Powered by me! (Usually Shawn uses the electric blower for stuff like that.) At noon, we'd had enough hardship-living, and needed to charge devices, so we went to a friend's to do that. Most everyone else we knew had things back up and running -- even in our neighborhood, half of the people did have power, but not our side of the street. Our friends made us pancakes, and then chips and dip, and we watched football and plugged in. Kate was funny -- she took her headphones and sat down with her iPod and barely spoke to anyone for the whole 3 hours, so starved was she for her friends and TikTok. 

We dragged that outing as long as we could -- dinner out (pandemic be damned), walking around in Best Buy, driving around to see if we could find the major damage causing this upheaval (we couldn't)... and we came home at 7:00. Still no power. It was Halloween, and we had no plans to do anything except watch a scary movie and eat candy, but we couldn't even do that. All of us were feeling defeated and depressed. Like, really, with tears and emotions from some of us. 

And then finally at 8:00pm, the angels sang and the fridge starting humming. We were scared to believe it at first. But it stuck. We had lived to tell the tale, and were so grateful for it. We met neighbors outside to cheer and congratulate each other. 

Gracious, what a weekend. Sunday I finished throwing nearly everything away, cleaning the shelves in the fridge and freezer, and then grocery shopping to fill it back up again. (It's nice to NOT have all the extra stuff in there, though.)

We won't forget Halloween 2020 --88 hours in the dark. Just another anxiety-inducing experience in this weirdest year ever. 

The Best Coffee, Pumpkin Bread and What's for Supper

The best coffee, IMHO, is Barnie's Coffee & Tea Company's Santa's White Christmas. I have been drinking it this fall because they sell it year-round, now. Usually I resist and resist, because I love saving the flavor until Christmas -- it feels very Christmasy to me. However, in These Desperate Times, I have taken a less firm stance on it. Give me the coffee that tastes yummy and makes me feel comfort and joy! 

I also discovered just this morning, the Salted Caramel Barrisimo coffee pods at Aldi. Quite delicious, mild, and budget-friendly. (I've been doing a lot of grocery shopping at Aldi lately. I do think it's saving me money and I'm getting used to it; but I still don't love it. A bit of a mental obstacle for me, to shop at the "discount" store, but I am trying to frame it as being wise/responsible. I'm mostly getting fruits/vegetables and raw meats at Aldi; $2.99 for a bag of honeycrisp apples versus $5.49 at Publix. For some things, like canned black beans or boxed pasta, I am not brand-loyal, and a 55-cent can versus a $1.98 is a huge difference. Or, $7 for a box of 10 Keurig pods at Publix versus $4.50 or so at Aldi. For other items, I do still need my favorite brands (Spaghetti-Ohs, frozen breakfasts, sandwich bread, SWC coffee). Anyway, it takes a little longer going to 2 stores, but it's helping me stick to my newly-instituted (by me) grocery budget, and for that I am thankful, and feeling smart.)

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I had the time and ingredients to make a delicious pumpkin bread yesterday -- 2 loaves' worth! You should try it. One is in the freezer, but I might as well have left it out because we're halfway through the first loaf already. It uses a box of vanilla pudding mix, so you can imagine how tasty and melt-in-your-mouth it is. Goes particularly well with Salted Caramel flavored coffee, I can attest. 

I haven't posted much about the next topic here, on purpose, but I will say my pumpkin bread with cinnamon butter was a nice celebratory treat this morning, after learning I am down 13 pounds since July. I've been working on it, I didn't just lose weight surprisingly. I'm monitoring calories, drinking lots of water and exercising daily -- my main reason is to lower my cholesterol which was startlingly high in July. Darn you, Quarantine Spring, when we ate cookies and chips constantly, and drank tons of coffee with cream (or, I did). 

Of course, what "monitoring" means is "tracking every bite, every day," and yes, I agree that is a Pain. But I've gotten used to it; I use an app, and it seems to be working, so I'll take it. I won't say more, just that if you've done carb-restrictive diets like I have in the past few years, I think I have finally concluded that, for me, this way is better. No food is off-limits, just stay in your calorie-range. If you want Cheetos, eat some Cheetos, but then eat fewer of your suppertime potatoes or something. Bah. Anyway. I still have a few pounds to go until I feel like I'm finished losing, and I hope to be able to enjoy the holiday indulgences a LITTLE, but not too much. I refuse to have to start over in January. 

SO! For dinner this week: 

S (last night): White Bean Chicken Chili

M: Roasted Kielbasa/Chicken Sausage and Potatoes and Broccoli (Sheet-Pan Supper)

T: French Bread Pizzas and Caesar salad (I might eat bean soup that's in the freezer -- fiber!)

W: Whole Wheat Rotini bake, Garlic Knots to negate the goodness of the whole wheat ;)

Th: Pork Tenderloin with Green Bean Casserole (I need a new way to make green beans, but this way works once in a while!)

F: @football game! I think the team will be back to play a home game so it's hot dogs at the stadium, yay!

And you? 

Productivity or Lack Thereof

I am having the hardest time with productivity. Even while working from home. I've tried lots of different approaches to managing it: 

• Making a long, continuous to-do list. Doesn't work. I keep adding to it and feel like I never cross things off; I do, it just doesn't feel like it since the list gets longer.
• Scheduling tasks on my calendar. I've tried to make this work for a LONG time, but it's a hard Nope. I get mad when someone else's meeting (no one respects other people's calendars), or pop-up task, forces me to move MY task. 
• Pomodoro method. Kinda successful, but the time I give myself for a task (25 minutes, 30 minutes) is almost never enough to get it completed. So I start the timer a second time (after a break), but then can't focus again. Probably a me-problem.
• Lately I'm trying the Top 3 tasks of the day method. It's going... ok, I guess, but again, other things pop up and so I don't always even finish 3 measly items. !!!! It's infuriating. 

I've also learned that OMG, when I am in the office, it's nothing but Distraction from my boss! I love her dearly, but she talks to herself, and kind-of halfway to me, through the wall that we share, and it's SUPER annoying. Like, "Mike Smith calling me, wonder what he wants?" or "Did we...." (as she clicks around in her files)... "oh, here is that thing I'm looking for, never mind!" AGHHHH. Working at home so much during COVID has made me really NEED my quiet.

Anyway, I'm at the office today, and I have one meeting at 10:00 am which is a rather stressful topic (and promises one million more tasks in my future), so I'm dreading it. I hope to finish things BEFORE that meeting: Task number one in the next hour. Then task number two after the meeting, and task number three right after lunch and before I have to leave here at 3:00 (am loving the hard-stop at 3:00 for carpool, I have to say). 

I guess I can't stay here and whine about it but need to get going, lol. 

3 Stories, and Dinner Menus for the Week

1. Liver cysts: Back in June, while we were in Destin, Shawn started feeling a sort-of pain in his side. He assumed that he'd pulled a muscle while tossing Kate around in the pool, because she is definitely too old to be tossed at age 12. (She still loves it, though, and he's Fun-Dad enough to do it.) He waited for the feeling to subside but it never did, so finally in mid-August, he went to his primary care doc. She recommended an X-ray and ultrasound, and from that, we got the news that there were some cysts on his liver (who knew?!), and "a 2x2cm mass...." that needed to be further investigated. The news came via a healthcare app, so it was just written, not delivered with any calming guidance from a doctor. And that little word, "mass," when not described as 'probably benign,' or described at all, but just typed out in your record, will make your mind go in the wrong direction. Especially when you schedule the next required thing, an MRI, and have to wait a full week until the appointment. Just about every possibility crossed our minds; me trying to remain positive until we had reason not to be, him feeling the full scope of What If. Understandably. Long story short, the MRI result was better -- just complex cysts, no treatment necessary. But it was certainly an experience. I guess we're in watch-and-see mode now; trying to improve diet by adding fruits/vegetables and fiber, and decreasing fast food. The good thing is, he already has a gastroenterologist to help monitor the situation. 

2. Football: So, Alex's school is playing football, as are all the high schools around here, still surprisingly to me. And the marching band is allowed to play at the home games. They're very socially distanced; they wear masks when not playing (some even while playing, like drums, who don't need their mouths), and they're not wearing their regular uniforms because of handling them and changing in a room together and all that. Of course we want to support the band, so we went to the first game. Masks required. And people were not wearing their masks!! It was just infuriating. The commentator kept saying, in between every quarter, "Fans, please do your part to keep everyone safe: Masks are required at all times. Maintain a safe distance from others. And Go Hoyas!" or something like that.... and still, people sat in the stands and just refused to wear their masks. I can't tell you how annoying it was. We declined to attend the 2nd home game. I'm not sure about the third; it's supposed to be this Friday, but the most recent game was cancelled because of "Covid-19 within the organization." YOU DON'T SAY.

3. Detentions: Ohhhhh, you guys. Kate got 2 detentions for the first time ever. She's not Never been in trouble; in K and 1st, I think, she sometimes got "on yellow" for talking too much, heh. Our little extrovert. But this was 7th-grade trouble. She took her iPod to school (violation #1, devices are not allowed on the premises), and she filmed a TikTok w/her bestie in the girls' restroom, while wearing her uniform with her school's name in huge letters (violation #2). And she posted it. And then, another PARENT reported it. (I'm wrestling with feeling mad about that, and wishing I knew who it was. I have a few suspicions.) She got called in to the principal's office and everything. I'm told she burst into tears. I got to speak with the Assistant Principal for half an hour, and she got her Conduct grade lowered. I feel... bad about it, on the one hand, that we don't have strong enough house-rules that her iPod would have automatically been collected and put away on a school-day morning. But also, she definitely should have known better. The teacher who monitored her detentions was very kind when I picked her up, telling me that it's pretty typical for 7th graders to push limits and try things. We implemented a mini punishment at home, too -- a week without her devices, except for once in the evening to check messages. She wouldn't let me even say the word "detention," she was so uncomfortable with the whole thing. Also part of the punishment, I now check her TikTok every single day. Funny, she hasn't posted a single video since then. 

4. Menus for the week: Before I go into that, we went out to eat on Saturday night! The weather here has been amazing, definitely comfortable enough to sit outside (maybe even slightly too cool), so we took Kate (Alex was away for the night) to the local pizza place. It was so great to be at a restaurant! We wore masks until we sat down, the tables were spread out appropriately, and it felt lovely and normal. I'm not saying we'll do that often, especially not if it gets any colder, but it was a nice treat. This week we're eating at home: 

S - (last night) Chicken Fried Rice (homemade) and egg rolls (from the frozen section). SO easy and good!

M- Maple Glazed Salmon, roasted potatoes and green beans, and French rolls. Family favorite.

T - Hot dogs w/chili, and fries (Tuesdays are my office days and I'm usually wiped out after that)

W - Salisbury Steak,  mashed potatoes, broccoli

Th - Creamy Tomato Pasta (Pioneer Woman), salad

I mean, all of these things are our usual standards, really... I guess because I post so infrequently, it seems like we have the same things all the time. We don't necessarily, but I guess every family has its regular rotation. I should list ours all out, to really see how many different things we typically eat. I sometimes wonder if my family considers me a "good cook," or just an adequate cook. 

F - football game? We'll see.

I hope my 4 readers are all healthy and happy today, enjoying the fall, being productive (or enjoying rest), and feeling content. :)

Things I Haven't Been Doing

1. Singing. I quit the choir as soon as the pandemic started, and I quit being a cantor at Saturday Vigil Masses the minute the director emailed to say "We can go back, but in a limited way." I have felt guilt over this, of course -- the subhead of this blog could be, "She feels guilt about not going to choir" -- but I have also felt something else, new: I just can't fathom singing anymore. Not because of the physical act of singing, which is of course dangerous, what with droplets and all. But because there's no desire to sing. I have no desire to exercise my vocal muscles or improve my talent. It's like all that dried up with society's general optimism. (It's also partly that I don't want to sing what they're singing; the current director doesn't choose things I like or teach music the way I prefer.) I feel a little sad over it, yes. But a little like... it's as good an excuse as any... ? I have long known I don't want to be one of "the old ladies of the choir," meaning I want to stop before I get warbly and grey-haired. And while I'm not "old," I'm sort-of ready to shed that future-persona, already. It's weird. I'm just over it. Being something I really, truly loved to do once, it's a huge change.

2. Blogging. Not even when I gave myself three distinct prompts last time! I owe you stories about football, liver cysts, and detentions. You'll have to wait because I don't feel like it!  

3. Feeling SO nervous when Alex drives. I'm getting used to it. He's now in "his" car, a 4-door sedan, and I think it fits him so much better than my car, a small SUV. He seems more comfortable and it is easier handling than mine, I'll admit. Today he drove carpool to pick Kate up (with me). He's eligible for his license but wants to practice parking/parallel parking a little more before his test. Eeeeeee. This little baby of mine!  

Thanks, Papa Joe, for selling us your car!

Pensacola

My head and heart have been in Pensacola the last couple of days, for obvious reasons. (Hi, Mom.) My parents are fine, safe and sound, and they have a small generator with which to keep their fridge running, and a lamp at night, for now. They've been out twice looking for ethanol-free gas to power it, and haven't had success finding that. But I think we're all hopeful the power will be restored sooner than they need to fill the gas tank. They went to Publix today (the day after) and were able to get some supplies.

Hurricanes are a part of life on the coast, of course, but they so frequently go just west, that Pensacolians are fairly complacent about them, I think it's safe to say. This one was forecast to go west up until the very day it didn't, I think -- if not all the way west to Louisiana (god love 'em), then at least Mississippi. And not that we wish any ill on other states/people, but we figured we'd be okay... I mean, they, they in Pensacola figured it would be a lot of rain and wind, but not the major flooding and destruction that they eventually got. My "we" is for my people!  

Ugh. It's tiring to think of how long it will take to clean it all up. We (Georgians) offered to go down and help - I say, to ease my own conscience here for when future-me reads this. Mom said it wasn't necessary, and we agreed that with their limited resources we'd likely be more of a drain than a help. But thank goodness for good neighbors and family members, taking care of each other. I really wish I could do more.

Anyway, our lives continue on normally (haha, well, Covid-normal) while they have to deal with aftermath, and that makes me feel weird, too. We (the kids and I) watched Survivor this evening while Shawn went out to play cornhole. [This is something he's just started, have I mentioned it? A coworker invited him - it's a whole Atlanta league and everything. It's good for him, I'm 100% behind it! One night a week.] 

One of the things we've become good at during the pandemic is ordering on apps. That sounds silly to say, but Before, I rarely used an app to order food. I was still calling up the Papa Johns on my HOME PHONE! (I have the number memorized, a fact of which I am proud.) Now I have several restaurant apps on my phone; enough that I can compare the features. The ChickFilA One app, I think, is the gold standard. It's amazing. I love how it knows when I've arrived, and how it tells me "a team member is on the way out to your car." The Moe's app is also fairly easy to use, and comes with the typical snark of the Moe's menu and brand-image. Then there's the Subway app, for which I have several saved Favorites, and used just tonight. The way theirs lets you customize your sandwich is fun -- it shows the sandwich all spread out, and you can just delete the brown mustard if you don't like it (and I don't)!

My paragraph transitions are like my entire brain right now. We just go hopping from one thing to another in zig-zag with no rhyme or reason, and so here is the next topic: Work is fine. Busy. Today I finished a project wherein I had to do some screen recordings (and record my Voice as well, talking, UGH). It took forever, but MAN, does it feel good to have it done (for now; Draft 1 is always just that, a draft). There are still many millions more projects that get assigned but not really followed up on, which makes me feel adrift and behind All The Time. But I just plug away, doing the best that I can, trying to accomplish Something every day. I try not to count the minutes/hours I've worked, and just DO my life. Do my work... but take a walk when I want to/need to. (I mean, I don't do as much cleaning or laundry as I would want to have accomplished, but that's what weekends are for!) 

I'm also trying to use the Calm app that I pay for year after year, and actually sit down with a 10-minute meditation every day. I am aiming to improve both my short-term memory, which is terrible, and my general focus. 

We ate well this week: 

- Bulgogi Pork Tenderloin, Jasmine Rice, Broccoli

- Chicken enchiladas (and as a family we agreed we need to back off a little on the Tex-Mex theme, lol)

- Meatloaf (leftover/frozen from several weeks ago), made new with homefried potatoes and a shredded cabbage/lettuce salad

- Penne pasta w/chicken and pantry parmesan cream sauce (by that I mean, cream of mushroom & chicken soup, a little milk, and grated parm)

- Subway 

That's what's up, at this moment. I have some other stories I could tell you, but another time. They include the words liver cysts, football game, as well as detention. !! Several different stories. :) 

When Will This Feel Normal?

Tuesdays are now my office days, necessary because Shan and I are handling our Education department, and with virtual classes only, we are mailing out course materials each week for the next week's participants. It's a lot of FedExing. But hey, if I have to go in, at least there is work to be done, and at least it's still only once a week. Our boss has said he still doesn't want everyone back full-time. I am so thankful for him. Not thankful that he got COVID, but it has definitely worked in favor of those who don't want to go back to the office full-time, like myself.

This feeling of the strangeness of heading to the office, though -- it's odd like everything else this year, I suppose. It feels weird to blow-dry my hair and have to choose shoes. Putting the coffee into a travel mug... I wonder if those things will ever be so mundane that I don't think about them, again. 

An aside: I bought myself a new coffee mug for home this weekend, from Publix. One of my favorites, from my college, chipped on the rim, and that is no good at all. I regretfully threw it in the trash. While shopping several weeks ago, I had seen a mug that said, "I'm not feeling very Worky today" -- and wanted it so badly! So me! Unfortunately, I am so cheap that the extra $5.00 wasn't a "necessary" spend -- this was before my college mug broke... but I have regretted it ever since because it sold out immediately (I've looked every time I've been to Target since then). The new one is bright orange and not as adorable, but makes me happy, especially because it was $1.99.

Alex goes back to in-person marching band practice today, as well. With all kinds of rules, of course, and thank goodness: Rules about where to park so the directors can come to your car to take pre-rehearsal temperatures. Rules about where to stand after you get out of the car. Rules for the brass instruments about covering their bells. Rules about promptness for pickup because they can't gather anywhere in a group to wait for latecomers. No sharing snacks during breaks. No water jugs to refill your water bottles. No parents can congregate to watch rehearsal (one of the most fun things). STILL: I am so glad they get to do this. I hope and pray everyone behaves so 1) no one gets sick, and 2) they get to keep doing it. It's just for football season, and they're only playing at home games, and not everyone will get to play at every game because there isn't room, social-distance-wise, for every band kid in the section of bleachers assigned to them. Sigh. But it's something, and they will practice together. Amen and Amen.

....annnnnd I've just been reminded that something huge is due today and I haven't yet done it. There is so much going on, all the time, at work and I dropped the ball! AgH. So today in the office is going to be a scramble. I've gotta go, but I do want to catalog three yummy dinners we're having this week!

S - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn (haven't made meatloaf in so long. it's a classic for a reason.)

M - Creamy Parmesan one-pan chicken/rice with steamed broccoli

T - Calzones made w/Crescent rolls and chicken sausage, salad

My Kitchen Smells Good This Week!

Specifically, today it smells good -- I have red beans (pinto beans) in the crockpot. P.S. I just learned this week that when my mother makes Red Beans & Rice, she uses pintos! What the what?! I never knew this. If Mandy were still reading here, she'd have something to say.

I've felt pretty good about the last few weeks of dinner menus, although I didn't post any. Some memorable ones: 

Pasta Primavera, but using the veggies I had (spinach, broccoli, bell pepper, zucchini), so basically nothing like the recipe I just linked, lol.

Chicken Fried Rice. This is one of the easiest things, I don't know why I don't make it more often. I made teriyaki chicken (made up the recipe, really - soy sauce, garlic, a little honey, voila).

Breakfast for dinner! One night I decided enough was enough (menu planning, I mean) and we had pancakes, but the really great thing (once I got over my need to control the kitchen) was that KATE made the pancakes! I just told her, "You are in charge of the pancakes." She made blueberry, chocolate chip, AND regular... and a mess, naturally, but still. A kid who cooks, I'll keep. ;) We had fruit salad, too, and bacon.

A variety of quesadillas. I've had this container of BBQ pork in my fridge for a week or 2 (or 3), and the other night I decided to use it for a fancy quesadilla. I added red onion, BBQ sauce, and cheddar, and made a sour cream sauce to go with it. If I'd had cilantro, that would have made it better, but I didn't. Also made a plain chicken-and-cheese, and a black bean quesadilla, because those are always good. Served with canned corn and chips/salsa.

And tonight is Red Beans (and Rice), but from scratch, not the Zatarain's box (which we normally use, and I do love). They've been cooking since 8:00 a.m. and are going to be delicious, with corn bread muffins. I need to add the sausage at about 4:00, then cook it 2 more hours. 

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School is going well! The local newspaper headline this morning about the private schools who went back (including ours): "So Far, So Good." Teachers and students seem to be doing really well with mask wearing and enforcement, as well as taking "mask breaks." Kate says it feels pretty normal, all things considered. Honestly, I hope the administrators find value in the new practices that can carry over into the future, when things really ARE normal again -- like holding more classes outside, taking a 10-minute walk (mask break) around the school once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and virtual teaching when there's a need for it. I heard a report saying lots of schools have decided "We'll never have Snow Days again," and to that I Strongly Disagree, as will kids everywhere... but ... it makes sense, really. And a little virtual schooling on Snow Days couldn't hurt.

Back to School Today

Today Kate goes back to school, in person. 

She was so happy this morning, ready to see her friends and get out of the house, even if it means wearing a uniform and a mask. 

Her school has done everything in its power to create a safe, clean environment for the kids and teachers. There are multiple new hand-washing stations; mandatory masks; extra furniture was moved out of classrooms to create more space for desks to be further apart; Kate's homeroom is actually in the cafeteria because her grade is one of the bigger ones; no one's using lockers because they're too close together; they're going to spend plenty of time outside; no food is being brought in, every kid brings his/her own; and on and on. 

It's going to be so good for the kids to be back in a school environment, with structured days. Wow, does Kate need that. She has been very bored lately. Doing her best, I mean -- she tries to keep busy with crafting (friendship bracelets, tie dye, painting) and practicing piano and playing games online with her friends, but, um... those things do not a full life make. Confession, I've not done the best job alleviating her boredom. It's hard to do when I'm trying to keep my job. Working from home full-time has been amazing and I hope I get to do it forever, but I've not been that good at creating summertime balance. I've tried to start my days early (7 or 7:30), but inevitably I keep working until about 4:30 -- instead of planning ahead to finish up after dinner, for example, so that we can go do something fun in the afternoons. I've spent the last few days feeling really guilty/sad about that. 

But on the other hand, we have done what we could. Lots of swimming when we had the chance. Our lunchtimes together, every day. "Big" outings to Target or Publix or WalMart. Watching some movies in the dark living room when it's been stupid-hot outside. 

In a way, I'm pretty sad that this time of ease, as far as not having obligations or places to be, has to come to an end. I know it's what we all want - back to normal - but being homebound has been nice, too. Now we'll be waking up on time, and I'll be driving carpool every afternoon. We opted not to use after-care this year, in an effort to save the money since I'm at home most days, anyway. I could say it's also safer than spending MORE time with a wider variety of kids, but mostly it was just that I'm available for the first time in my life, to pickup every day at 3:15.

It's a weird day, at any rate. I'm for sure not going to be very work-productive.

Wildlife!

Being home more (always) has given me a glimpse into the Nature living around my house. I hung a red hummingbird feeder last spring for the first time in years, and it did bring hummingbirds; what a delight to have seen so many of them when it was still cool enough to have my coffee outdoors! Even this past Sunday, I had a hummingbird fly up and, it appeared, look me directly in the eye from about 8 feet away. 

One Sunday morning back in April, as I was sitting at the kitchen table, a deer walked into our backyard. We've seen them back there before, waaaaaay back in the forest behind where our lawn ends. But this one just casually walked into the grass. WELL into the yard, right by one of our brick-edged flower beds. I was indoors but when I moved to the window to try to get a photo, she (I assume she was a she) moved away and bounded off, back to the woods. She was so close!

The next day, a Monday, Kate and I were sitting outside on the front porch. Our porch is hedged with... um, hedges.... and we noticed some movement in the leaves. I thought, are there birds in there? But no, they were lizards. Two of them, and they were, aah, puffed up and doing what must have been a mating dance. I don't know, I've never seen one before! Kate got a giggle out of that one. They were not fazed by us watching them, and it went on for at least a half hour. *big eyes*

We frequently see hawks around here -- the Atlanta basketball team is named the Hawks for a reason -- but one day last spring, I watched a hawk perch itself on top of our trampoline for a few minutes. They're so ominous looking, but thrilling. 

One of the MOST interesting animals I watched was on a Wednesday morning (I only know that because I noted it in this draft) -- it was an actual, factual FOX. In my yard. It started in the back, and I noticed it out of the corner of my eye while I was on the laptop in the kitchen. Thought to myself, "I think there's a stray cat out there." I looked up. NOPE. Was not a stray cat. Had a fluffy tail and a pointy nose, and everything. I "followed" it as it went through our side yard and I went to the front door (inside!), and peered out the front door windows. It trotted along out to the street. Yikes. Shawn says a fox won't hurt you, but I'm not so sure. All the years of fairy tales where the Fox is Sly make me nervous to actually SEE one. But still, a little thrilled!

Finally, in mid July, two black wild turkeys visited. They took the same path as the fox had, through the side yard and coming out to the front, then waddling into the neighbor's driveway, and even boldly walking to their front door, before heading across the street. Wild turkeys! So weird! 

Updating to add: Hummingbirds! This week (Aug 10) I am seeing at least 2 hummingbirds, one of which is perching, not just flying, right outside my kitchen window! They are so wee and so cute! I refilled my hummingbird feeder yesterday and it worked -- they're here! But it's remarkable to see them sitting instead of moving! Eeeeeee! I love birds so much.

I've been on the lookout for more appearances from all these creatures, but haven't seen any lately (of course now it's summer, and hot). Woodland creatures! An unexpected Covid blessing, of sorts.

Favorite Pandemic Lunches, and Boredom

Being at home all the time means I am always eating lunch from my own fridge. Never popping out to get Which Wich, or going on my weekly outing with Shan (sushi, or Mexican), or ordering Jimmy John's, or even just running through the Taco Bell drive-thru once in a while. Huh, I do miss a few things about working in an office, I guess. 

Today is order out for lunch-day. We have been good all week. Usually it's Chick Fil A because my goodness, their app is easy to use. But mostly, we try to stick to the plethora of things that our own kitchen can offer (grateful, grateful, grateful). Here are our favorites:

• Alex: 2 Corn Dogs and chips (Spicy-Sweet Doritos is his preference). He has also rediscovered canned chili mac (Chef Boyardee), which I bought a lot of when I first went panic-shopping to try to "stock up."
• Kate: Roast beef sandwich on lightly toasted bread, with Ranch dressing, lettuce and cucumber. She likes BBQ Kettle chips the best, and always has an apple or some berries with it.
• Me: Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean burger cooked in a skillet (7 minutes for a nice, crispy outside) served over lettuce/tomato salad, with guacamole if I have it, or sour cream, and lots of Cholula. Or a good cheese/crackers/veggies snack-plate will do me just fine.

The kids also like Totino's pizza rolls and Bagel Bites. I am so glad my freezer can (barely) hold all of the stuff we need to make sure there are options! I know I should make things like soups or pastas, so they're eating more healthily, but I tell you, the ease of them just grabbing something and microwaving it is saving my sanity most days.

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This is been an extra-long work-week, it seems. A lot of meetings, a lot of drama (we cancelled some trainings because Covid won't go away, and of course we were awaiting the coworkers' test results, all negative I'm told), and then big, annoying projects. I'm pretty tired of working, and the kids are pretty bored with being home, doing nothing. 

I know I've said that I'm infinitely grateful the kids aren't young; but I think if they were, I would have been compelled to try a little harder, you know? Take them to the park once in a while, at least. I feel guilty that we haven't done any "excursions" with all of this extra time together. ("You're working full-time!" argues my head. "I know, but, what about Making Memories?" whimpers my heart.) It has been hot lately, so no one would want to go do anything, anyway; and of course a lot of fun things aren't open. I guess no use crying over spilled milk; today they'll go swim next door, just the two of them. Our neighbors went out of town and we're watching their dog, so yay, a pool all to ourselves. Maybe we'll make the most of that this weekend. Maybe these next 2 weeks before school starts, I can try harder.

I don't know, just the state of life is a motivational bust, isn't it? I try to put on a happy face, but ... yeah. Sometimes it's just not there.

COVID Comes Closer (too close!); plus other stuff

Yesterday I learned that my office has a positive COVID case. Not just my building (which had had a couple), but the company I work for. The guy (Kevin, our company president) has been in the office nearly every day since this all began. Lots of time with his door closed, but there. I went in on Tuesday and he was there for a while, but I didn't even see him. However, my manager, with whom I had 2 hour-long meetings that day, probably had seen him and even worse, had ridden in his car the week prior, and we all know there's a 14-day incubation (or whatever) period. So. 

Shan is getting tested today or tomorrow, and we'll see what her results are.  

When I found out I became instantly nervous, and blurted out to the kids that I probably needed to not kiss/hug them until we know. Maybe overly cautious and it likely scared Kate, but I'd rather be overdramatic than infect all of them. I feel fine, Shan feels fine, in fact Kevin felt fine last I heard. I considered sleeping in the guest room instead of our queen-sized bed last night, but in the end didn't. I'm not panicked, but I'm also busy with work and trying not to think/worry about things so much. I had a moment in prayer recently where I was working on Trust. Even if I can't trust God about the entire future, can I at least trust Him for one day? I think so, yes. One day at a time seems reasonable. Plus, I'm sure you've had the thought, as I have, that we're all bound to get it eventually.

::: UPDATE: She was Negative! Whew! 

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In unrelated news, I just made a pot of stovetop mac and cheese (homemade) and added in crumbled bacon. (No really, it's unrelated, Kate asked me for it for lunch today. I WANT to eat a big bowl full, with a spoon, and then finish off the cookies and cream ice cream for dessert... but I'm not going to.)

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We found out that band camp is going to be entirely virtual, and that all the competitions and trips they had planned for this year are cancelled. Boo hoo! They're still going to try to create this year's show, in some way. They're hopeful they'll be able to play at football games, which are still inexplicably on, though delayed for 2 weeks. They "plan to utilize protocols for safeguarding members, including using tools to minimize the production and spread of aerosolized particulates, sanitizing facilities and more," whatever that means. Something about bell covers for instruments.

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Here are 10 good things about right now:

1. Both kitties are curled up within view, one within distance for me to reach. Ash loves to help me work. 
2. I have lost 4 pounds as I begin a big effort to lower my cholesterol. I also started taking Fish Oil and eating more "heart healthy" things. Yay, oatmeal! Yay, fruits and veggies! Also yay, LOTS of water! (Boo, being older, but yay for knowing what needs doing and doing it.)
3. The heat of summer is trying to kill off my spring plants, but it hasn't yet. I pruned the scaveloa pretty severely and that helped. My tomato plant has 11 tomatoes, of which about 6 are red and almost ready to be picked. They're tiny, about 2" diameter if that, but I'm still excited.
4. I am about to finish a BIG project for work that's been the bane of my existence this week.
5. The kids are going nextdoor to swim this afternoon (I'm so, so grateful for these kind neighbors.)
6. I read that dispensation from Mass has been extended, in my archdiocese, until Aug. 2. No guilt!
7. A very large tree branch fell in our front yard but it didn't hit anything. 
8. The crape myrtles are blooming; lots of pink in my back yard.
9. Some birds discovered the bird bath Shawn bought me for my birthday; they don't come visit often, but it's fun when they do. Eastern Towhees. 
10. Shawn and the kids painted our kitchen this week, while I worked! It needed painting; the beige was scuffed and dirty looking all the time because it was matte finish and showed every bump. See how pretty it turned out? 

Before, dingy beige

After, "Graceful Grey" (Behr)