Read. Write. Mom!

How YOU doin’?

Posted on November 16, 2020November 15, 2020 by Mandy

So. How YOU doin’? I keep seeing video excerpts of the TV show Friends pop up in my Facebook feed and the title of this post just seemed so appropriate for the times. But really…how are you? Everyone hanging in there?

How You Doin? GIF from Joeytribianni GIFs

It’s been a tough week here. We lost a close family friend to Covid. I’m still a little stunned and in disbelief. She was so fun and just a genuine, good person. This pandemic has been so unfair to so many people. Not to mention what it’s doing to the mental health of so many. I’m even finding it difficult to get excited about the future sometimes. It’s hard to make plans when you don’t know what the world will be like by then.

HOLIDAY PLANS

Holiday plans are still iffy here. We are used to big family gatherings, but that’s not the wise thing to do this year. I have a 94-year-old grandmother on one side of the family and she lives with my mother. We all go in so many different directions and live in different cities. I also work around small children, although they stagger in on different days of the week. I’ve already had three family members to have Covid, but thankfully they are alright. I’m just really nervous because of my own health issues and plus I would never forgive myself if I happen to get it and infect someone else. Hubby is adamantly against going to any gatherings this holiday season. I’m leaning the same way, as much as I absolutely hate it. The numbers are steadily rising where we live and it’s just not getting any better.

THE WORLD HAS GONE MAD

It just seems like the world has gone absolutely mad. Pandemics, election crap, and people just turning on friends and family. I can’t escape it no matter how many people I hide in my social media feeds or even by not watching any news. I’m only 46 years old, but I don’t ever remember things being as tense as they are now.

So, to combat this I’ve been doing little things that make me happy. I’ve taken up cross-stitching, although my first attempt with a mini/beginner’s pattern is comical, to say the least.

I’m not finished with it yet, and I’ve made some mistakes for sure, but it’s been soothing and keeping my mind occupied. I play my Toon Blast game and do jigsaw puzzles on my iPad while listening to Arctic Outpost Radio on the Radio Garden app.

STOCKING UP

I’ve also been stocking a little extra food and household items for the winter. I’m trying to stay out of the stores as much as possible because of the pandemic and flu season. Instacart and Walmart pick-up have been game-changers. I’ve saved time, but probably not a whole lot of money. I know I could do better in-store with coupons. I’m not terribly concerned with winter weather. I live in Mississippi and we get occasional one to two inches of snow once in a blue moon. Even still, it’s good to be prepared just in case. I always make sure we have plenty of things on-hand in case anyone gets sick. Soup, Gatorade, medications. I don’t stock to the rafters (but I don’t blame people that do), but I do like to have the basics on hand.

I’ve been reading where toilet paper is disappearing yet again in some states. I don’t really think our governor will shut our state down again, but one never knows. He has been adamant that our economy can’t survive if this happens again. I stopped Friday afternoon and got a good hair trim and have made some essential appointments for the next week (dentist and chiropractor) just in case.

SEEING SPECIALISTS

I’ve decided to go see the chiropractor about my legs and back. I had my MRI done last month and the cardiologist said he didn’t see anything of significance, but I’m still in some pain and he thinks it’s sciatica. He didn’t seem too concerned and didn’t refer me to anyone else, but I thought maybe the chiropractor could help. I’ve been in pain every day since September and it’s really annoying and affecting my whole life. It’s hard to get things done and sitting seems to make it worse. I’ll see what the chiropractor thinks. I’m also waiting for an appointment with a top-notch endocrinologist. My A1c numbers are just terrible now so we have got to get that under control. I’m also going back for a check-up in December with the cardiologist. He started me on a new cholesterol pill and wants me to get some lab work done before my visit. Again, I can’t believe these health issues are my reality at my age.

But…But…BUT…..

Thanksgiving break is just around the corner. I just have this next week to get through and it’s off for a whole week! I am really, really enjoying teaching virtually but it will be so nice to turn the computer off for a while and just work on some things around the house. We always decorate our tree on the day after Thanksgiving while everyone else is out shopping the Black Friday sales, and I don’t care if the whole world crumbles around me, we WILL have our Christmas tree this year! So take THAT 2020! Hmph!

The Leg Pain Continues and Other Updates

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Mandy

Leg pain continues here. At this point, I am taking 1200 mg. of Ibuprofen every day. It’s enough to take the edge off of the pain and allow me to work, but I’ve been really exhausted lately. My cardiologist’s appointment is Wednesday. At this point, I really think I need a rheumatologist. I plan to get the referrals I need at this appointment. I also need to see an endocrinologist because my A1c levels have been high for over a year now. It’s hell getting older. I just never imagined I would fall slap apart before I was 50. *sigh*

We had a quiet weekend here at home. I did laundry and that’s about all I could accomplish. Hubby made a wonderful roast again on Saturday. I am so grateful when he cooks.

We also watched the new Netflix docuseries Challenger: The Final Flight. It’s four episodes long and I really enjoyed it, although I was in tears as soon as the beginning trailer started. I can still remember that day very clearly. I was 11 years old when it happened. What I never paid attention to was the investigative reports and much of the news after it happened, because I was just a kid. The interviews in this series were just phenomenal and you really got the more human side of the spouses and children of the astronauts, NASA employees, and even the alternate to Christa McCauliffe, the teacher chosen to go into space. It was just very tastefully done and I do recommend it. It’s still just a sad shame though, after all of these years.

On the work front, Friday’s have been designated workdays for staff. We will not be teaching online that day, but are available to parents and students for help and answering questions. We also have a full day of planning lessons and other matters to tend to, but the change of pace was nice this week. I have been surprised at how much I like to teach online. I was so scared at first and couldn’t wrap my brain around it, but I’m so glad it is working out.

I’ve even started thinking about the holidays. This has been quite a year, to say the very least, and the holidays just seem so iffy as far as our big family get-togethers. Things could still change, but just the thought of being able to do that gets me excited. My cousins who are like sisters are already buying Christmas gifts. I’m not quite there yet, haha! I work best under pressure!

Finally Feeling Like Fall

Posted on September 20, 2020September 20, 2020 by Mandy

I woke up early Saturday morning and stepped outside to feed the cats. I could not believe it. It was quite chilly! The temp said 57 degrees, but it felt colder than that because the wind was blowing. It felt AMAZING! After days and days of temps pushing close to 100, this is a very welcome respite! I am so glad Fall is arriving.

I did a little housework Saturday, but I also took two long naps. Work is just tew murchhh! Online teaching for the kids is going great, but for some reason, I come home just exhausted. I’m sure it’s all of the other added duties along with online teaching, but man! I can honestly say that teaching online is NOT a cakewalk for teachers or librarians. My planning takes twice as long because I have to come up with activities the students can do virtually instead of using paper and pencil or classroom supplies/manipulatives. I have to find books online to read to them so that everyone can share my screen and see the book. Then I have to go into our online learning management system and put in the days’ plans and activities there. It’s twice as much work. I’m also sick of looking at my chubby chipmunk cheeks on the screen and hearing myself talk. Ha!

However, finally getting to see my sweet students’ faces has been the best! I miss their hugs. I just miss THEM. Being in the library alone talking to a screen just feels so wrong. I’d much rather have school normally.

One thing I have really appreciated more and more each day since school started back is my husband. He has stepped in to plan and cook a meal during the week and it always seems to fall just on the day I need it most. He also cooked an amazing roast yesterday evening. We threw in a couple of the banana peppers I’ve grown in my container garden.

Except for the banana peppers and one bell pepper, the container garden has been a bust. The tomato plants are tall and strong, but they haven’t flowered out yet and I don’t guess they ever will. The carrots, onions, and cucumbers didn’t make it. The lettuce and cauliflower look very strong and hardy, but nothing yet there either. But, we have banana pepper for days!

I have a sweet little new friend outside in the back yard. One of the stray mama cats had kittens, but we can’t figure out which one had this little guy. I named him Baby Smalls because he is so tiny. He is the only kitten that has been friendly and not afraid of me, so he gets the royal treatment! I bring him inside to feed him and I give him wet food since he is so little. None of the other mama cats will nurse him and they aren’t very nice to him. He is full of personality and marches right to the cabinet where I keep the cat food when I bring him in. He’s very busy and doesn’t stay still for cuddles.

I also had an ER visit a couple of weeks ago. My left calf started hurting really, really bad at work one day and just wouldn’t let up. It felt like a bad cramp that would never go away. I did some Googling and scared myself to death thinking it could be a blood clot. Which, honestly, isn’t so crazy-sounding when you’re a heart patient. By the time bedtime rolled around, the pain was just excruciating. All of our after-hours clinics were already closed, so I went to the ER at our local hospital. I was seen immediately after checking in and the doctor was very kind. He told me I did the right thing by coming in and they ran blood tests to check for clots. The test came back negative and he told me it was just a muscle that wouldn’t relax. They gave me a shot for pain and I was finally able to get some relief around 1 AM. I felt fine for a few days afterwards, but the pain has started again. A friend suggested these Salon Pas pain patches and they have helped tremendously. I go to see my cardiologist at the end of this month, so maybe he can give me some ideas of what I can do for this.

Other than this, we are hanging in there! It’s still hard to fight off the bad feelings I have about the future, but I am spending a lot of time in my Bible and praying for guidance. I don’t like this new normal. I am trying to make the best of it, but it sure is different.

Spring Break Is Finally Over

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Mandy

And just like that…Spring Break 2020 is finally over. In August. Boy, what a strange year this has been so far. I never imagined when I left work to start my Spring Break in March that I wouldn’t be returning to the school building for work until August 24.

We’ve had a good summer in spite of being stuck at home. We’ve made home improvements, home repairs, and I have cleaned and organized this entire house, including the storage room. We’ve accomplished a lot, but work for me officially starts back tomorrow morning. I’m a little glad, but I sure will miss all of the great family time I’ve been able to soak up since March.

School looks a little different here for us. After careful consideration, we chose distance learning for our son. He started last week and has really impressed me with getting up on his own by 8 AM and reporting to the kitchen table to get started on his work. He’s plugging along fine so far, so I am thankful for that. Assuming all goes well at his school this nine weeks, he will return to his school in November.

I report back to work tomorrow to my job as an elementary school librarian, but school will not start for my students until September 8. All of my students will also be learning virtually the first nine weeks, so only faculty and staff will be in the building. I have spent many days this summer in Zoom meetings and virtual training sessions for new learning management software we will be using. I’m excited to get started, but I sure do miss my kids and I think it will be pretty strange to be in the building without them. At least I will be seeing them online.

If I have to be honest, I’m not looking forward to having to wear makeup and masking up each day. For the last five months, I went without makeup and just let my hair dry naturally. I finally went and got a “Covid Cut” last week because my hair had grown out so much.

Before:

After:

I think that’s a little better. We’ve also been trying to knock out dentist and eye doctor appointments before things get any crazier in the world. I still haven’t rescheduled the cardiologist appointment that I was supposed to have before the virus pretty much stopped our world for a little while. I hope to get that rescheduled very soon.

I’m a little nervous going back out into the world because our county is one of the hotspots for our state. But, all I can do is stay prayed up, masked up, and make sure my hands are washed up. I think it will be good to get back into a routine.

New Things to Try At Home When You’re Bored

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Mandy

Are you bored and looking for new things to try at home? When I am in my normal school year routine I get stuck in a rut with everything. I find what I like and tend to stick to it. I rarely deviate off the beaten path and prefer things to go exactly the same, day in and day out. I’m sure to an adventurous sort of person that sounds just boring. However, staying in a routine is oddly comforting to me.

Naturally, when the COVID lockdown hit, all of my normal routines went right out the window! I suddenly found myself working from home for the remainder of the school year and also with a good bit of extra time on my hands. I’ve never been a big television watcher. There’s only so much I like to do online, save for checking social media and reading blogs. I was becoming bored. But I did manage to try a few new things and I thought I’d share them here.

New Things to Try At Home When You’re Bored

Cleaning

I actually love to clean and prefer it to cooking any day of the week. I also love organization and cannot function in clutter. I suddenly had a huge urge to do a thorough cleaning out and deep cleaning of our home. I stumbled across the Instagram account of Mrs. Hinch and fell in love with taking care of our home. She documents here cleaning and life adventures, and even though she lives in England and some of the products she uses aren’t available here in the states, I follow along and always walk away inspired to do a little more. I even ordered myself her Book of Lists to stay on track. I highly recommend her for your cleaning inspiration!

Bible Reading

I was raised in the Christian faith and have always read a few verses in the Bible. I even tried to read the entire Bible once but found it difficult to understand sometimes and always lost interest. Is that terrible to say? A few years ago I worked in a Christian bookstore and I purchased myself a Joyce Meyer’s Everyday Life Bible and sort of set it aside. However, I picked it back up a few weeks ago and WOW! What a difference using an Amplified translation has made for me. I didn’t start at the beginning, I simply just chose a chapter and started reading. However, the commentary inside makes it easier to see how everything I am reading applies to our everyday lives. It’s definitely a HUGE piece of what I was missing in my daily routine. Getting back into my Bible had been a huge comfort, especially with everything going on in the world here lately. I have been highlighting like crazy in it and highly recommend this Bible dry liter that comes in a few different colors and doesn’t bleed through delicate pages.

Almond Milk

Being home and eating more home-cooked meals has made me slow down and come to realize that dairy really makes me bloated. I love making smoothies on a hot day and decided to give almond milk a try to see if I could tolerate it for a replacement for cow’s milk. I don’t know why I didn’t give almond milk a try sooner! I love it! And, depending on the brand, most of it is shelf-stable as well!

Puzzles

I have never been a big puzzle person, but my 94-year-old grandmother is. I kept seeing in the news how stores were selling out of jigsaw puzzles because people were just looking for anything to do to keep them occupied. I then discovered that you can actually do jigsaw puzzles online in an app as well! I downloaded the Jigsaw Puzzle app for my iPad and do several of these a day. They offer several free puzzles, a free puzzle of the day, and you can also purchase puzzle packs for around $2-$3 that have around 40 puzzles in each “pack”. I have really enjoyed these and I feel like it’s helping me keep my brain sharp while passing the time.

Radio

I don’t normally listen to regular radio anymore because my car has satellite radio. However, I discovered a new to me app that will let you listen to ANY radio station in the WHOLE WORLD at any time! It’s called Radio Garden. Needless to say, I have spent many hours clicking on different countries and seeing what people listen to in different places. However, the BEST find was a radion station located in Longyearbyen, Norway called Arctic Outpost Radio. They play tunes from 1902-1958. I love a HUGE variety of music, but this is just some great easy listening and I often play it on our Amazon Echo Show in the kitchen so I can hear it all over the house. All I have to do is say, “Alexa, play Arctic Outpost Radio.” Easy!

Brownies

Chocolate….need I say more? I am here to tell you if you have not ordered some Double Chocolate Chip Brownies from Papa John’s, well, you are missing out. We ordered these on a whim one night with our pizza. They are absolutely delicious!

These are just a few of the things that have brought me a little more variety and enjoyment during these long days of COVID lockdown. Our city is pretty much returning back to normal now, but I still have almost a month and a half left to be home from work until school (hopefully!) starts back in August.

Have you discovered anything fun and different lately?

Photo by Tatiana from Pexels

Finishing Up the School Year Safer at Home

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Mandy

We are finishing up the school year safer at home! This past Friday marked the last day of work for me and the kid was finished with school the day before. I had to report to the school Friday to check out with the principal like we always do at the end of a normal year. People had different appointment times with her so none of us were bunched up visiting and such. I spent the day in my library shelving books, stamping new ones, and closing everything out for the year.

I was also wearing my mask. I got this really cute donut mask on eBay.

The kid did well this year and made the honor roll. He also was virtually inducted into the Junior Honor Society and voted Friendliest 8th Grade Boy.

I can’t believe it has been over a month since I blogged, but being at home didn’t mean I wasn’t still working. I had to be available every workday from 8 AM- 3 PM for virtual meetings and such. I’ve spent the better part of this time away from school working on a library audit binder that went back for three years. On any given day I had all of my documentation spread over a section in our living room near my desk.

It was a lot of work and I even had a moment one day when the kid had a project due and I was frustrated with my binder, and yep…I had to have a good cry. I just kept reminding myself this wasn’t a normal working/schooling experience and to BREATHE. Bless all of you with more than one child to attend to during distance learning because keeping up with my son’s Zoom schedules and assignments along with my work just really stressed me out.

When I wasn’t attending to work/school-related things, I was deep into cleaning our house, organizing, and purging items we no longer use. I am still very into this and plan on sharing some great things we’ve been tackling around our home and some improvements we have made.

Around our town, life is slowly returning back to “normal”. More downtown stores are opening up, churches are now holding services, and I’ve even spotted disinfectant cleaners and toilet paper in the stores. Not all stores are requiring masks. I just carry one with me at all times in a small Ziploc bag in my purse. I wash them if they are used. I only go out to a store maybe once a week. Hubby enjoys doing the grocery shopping and I let him. Ha! We used Instacart this weekend, however, because he had to take my car for an oil change and was away for a good bit of the day.

And Jake? Well, he stays out all night now and comes inside in the morning for food, leaves again, then comes back in the afternoon for more food and an air-conditioned nap. Ha!

Last but not least, our garden is coming along. We’ve lost a few plants that either just didn’t grow or just suddenly died for some reason. These are doing well and they will be transferred to their final pots soon. I was disappointed that only two tomato plants survived so far, so I guess I will just have to go buy some more soon.

So that’s my little update. We are thankfully still doing very well and are relieved that summer break has officially started here.

Seedling Sprouts- We Have Progress!

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Mandy

I am so excited to share that my seeds are sprouting! When I started these seeds last week I had no idea that I would actually see anything sprout this soon!

The first seed sprout I noticed was a bean plant. I noticed something happening with this plant a couple of days ago, but when I woke up this morning I could definitely see real progress!

Yesterday the cabbage started coming up and wow, did it ever grow overnight! I really hope these take off because I love making cabbage soup! It would be so amazing to be able to grow my own for this purpose.

The cauliflower is also coming along, and I just noticed we also have cucumber sprouting too.

I’m also making notes of when we planted and when each plant starts sprouting, etc. I have my eye on this garden journal to keep up with this. I think writing all of this down will help me know what to do better next year.

It’s times like these I wish my great uncle Frank was still around. He always kept a big, thriving garden at his home and even in his old age would turn the garden by hand. He passed away when I was 13 before I would ever come to appreciate what hard work goes into gardening. I’m sure he could tell me many things about growing vegetables and steer me in the right direction. Growing up, we always ate fresh vegetables from his garden. He also grew muscadine grapes that made for delicious jelly.

I know I probably sound like a real ditz, but I am just so excited because this is something my husband and I did ourselves. I sure hope we can help these little plants grow big enough to be transplanted to a container garden over the next few weeks.

COVID Living Lately In Our Home

Posted on April 12, 2020April 12, 2020 by Mandy

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged in almost two weeks. The days just seem to run together here lately, with some busier than others. I thought I’d share a few photos of our recent “COVID Living”.

OUTSIDE

Although it has been a bit rainier than I prefer, we’ve had several days of absolutely gorgeous weather. I’ve been spending more time outside on our patio taking in nature and working on some little projects.

The Crepe Myrtle trees are starting to bloom out again after my husband committed crepe murder.

I’ve also been watching a little dove couple each day. Here they are perched high in a tree in our backyard.

We also started our seeds for a container garden. Hubby and I have been watching lots of gardening videos on YouTube and are excited to see what we can grow this summer. We have a big patio that we need to fill in and what better way than with fresh fruits and vegetables?

I had this metal baker’s rack sitting on our patio with nothing to put on it, so I brought it inside to hold our seed starters and some other items. I have started saving little pie plates and containers to use for gardening. I also started saving our coffee grounds and eggshells to use for gardening as well. I joked to my husband that I was turning into my great-grandmother with all of the containers I am saving and re-using. Nothing like a global pandemic to make you see that things have alternative uses!

INSIDE

I have stayed busy inside with lots of cleaning, organizing, and cooking. The kitchen is taking the longest. I am emptying each cabinet and drawer, wiping them out good, and organizing the contents and making a box of things we don’t use anymore to donate. I just found that when I started to have to cook more, the kitchen just wasn’t in very good order and finding things was becoming a pain. I am still missing gadgets and things from when we moved into this house. I am hoping to locate a few when I go through this process.

One thing I did was to order a few items to help me stay productive. We are washing a whole lot of hands and dishes now, so I ordered these soap dispensers from an Etsy seller. They are made of glass and just the perfect addition to our sink area. I’m very pleased with them and they make me smile every time I’m near the sink.

I’m also cooking a lot more these days and I am ashamed to say I didn’t have a kitchen canister set. I don’t normally use a lot of staple ingredients in my cooking, but all of that has certainly changed. I’ve had my eye on a set of canisters that are part of a collection of pottery I collect, but each canister is over $100 so I had to lower my expectations and finally found this set from Target that I love! It’s from Joanna Gaines’ Harth & Home with Magnolia collection. They are heavy stoneware. I was so excited to finally have a pretty canister that came with a little scoop for our coffee. The bigger scoop sitting on the flour canister came from another online shop and is no longer available. Sorry for the quality of these pictures…we have fluorescent lighting in our kitchen that is awful when the window blinds are open.

Before we had to start staying home and when life was “normal”, we’d order takeout at least three times a week, so I didn’t do too much cooking. We ate lunch at work and breakfast was usually a grab and go kind of item. Now I am cooking almost every meal, so I have been trying out some new dishes.

One night I made this “Crack Chicken” dish that I kept seeing in my social media feeds. It just looked incredible and sounded so good. Sadly, it didn’t live up to our expectations and hubby and I agreed it had a weird consistency to it. I won’t be making it again. However, one dish we have fallen in love with is this Hamburger Potato Casserole. It is so easy to make and is so good that we barely have leftovers. So, if you are looking for a new dish to try, I highly recommend this one!

Everything Else

We have had a very quiet Easter Sunday. Hubby left for work yesterday so it was just the kid and me at home today. I watched two church services on Facebook (my church and my cousin’s church in Virginia) and napped and read a lot. I’ve checked in with my mom and grandmother and my two cousins I am close to. It was strange not to be with our extended family today and we woke up to thunderstorms, so the morning was especially gloomy. It has cleared up and I am thankful for that.