This is not a great era for me, but of course there are bright spots, and I want to make sure to recognize them, for my own sake as much as yours.
Book club was nice. We had differing views on the book which makes for a lively discussion. Also the food was delicious.
Easters was fun! My parents put out a lovely spread and we ate leisurely before the kids went outside to look for eggs. We had BEAUTIFUL weather – it was almost too hot to stay in the backyard! The kids are old enough that they don’t get stressed about the egg hunt and my parents have chilled out enough that they can enjoy the time with us instead of trying to host. It’s nice not to sit down for a meal, but to hang out in the kitchen for a little bit. It was just a nice way to spend a few hours, and I can remember back to when family holidays were NOT nice ways to spend a few hours, so I’m reveling in this one.
We met up with my friend and her family at a little parklet and played kickball with them and it was really fun. My family does not generally play ball games out in the wild, but we all rallied and had a great time. Definitely better than trying to talk while the younger kids (my friends’) interrupted to play and the older kids (mine) interrupted to complain.
Getting new tires put on the car at Costco was not hard at all. It took a little longer than they said, but honestly, the experience was very positive (I didn’t even need “I’m saving $1K” mindset that I planned to fall back on to lubricate long wait times or other inconveniences). I will definitely do it again.
I discovered Lanebreaks on my Peleton bike and it’s been so fun to get in 15-30 minute rides this week while I’m doing the Upper Body with Tunde program. I definitely miss Bike Bootcamps, and am looking forward to starting them up again next week (when I’m done with the strength program), but it was so nice to find rides I wanted to do in the meantime. I don’t know why, but I’m just not that interested in having someone talk to me on the bike for 20-30 minutes, and have struggled to stay on for longer than 15 minutes in the past. Now I’m eager to do 20 or even 30 minutes playing the Lanebreak game, where you move across the lanes as you change resistance, have to up your pace in some areas, and complete output bursts in others, all to fun music. I started in “Hard” and quickly moved to “Challenging” and find myself at way higher resistances than I ever attempted in regular classes. It’s been really fun, and I’m really happy I discovered them. My son even tried and really likes it! They’ve gamified exercise everyone, and we’re here for it.
Taking the cats to the vet was not awful. Panther yowled the ENTIRE ride there and back, but neither needed shots or other services so we were in and out pretty quickly. Panther’s red eye only requires monitoring, thank goodness (I was somewhat worried they were going to tell me I should have brought her in sooner) and they were kind about recommending we watch Serval’s weight. He does continue to gain weight, so I think they’re right that we should try to at least get him to a place where his weight is stable. We have some first steps to take there, and he’s not going to like them, but he’ll be okay.
I got a couple 6.5 hour nights of sleep! This may sound awful, but when you’re averaging under 6 you’ll celebrate the extra half hour I promise. Last night I got under six hours again, and I could feel it. I just want to see that number get bigger.
I randomly remembered that I never finished Kevin Follet’s World Without End (Un Mundo Sin Fin) in Spanish) so I started it up again and it feels kind of perfect for right now. It was a great time to come back to the book, plot wise, and there hasn’t been anything I can’t remember. The plague just came to Kingsbridge, which is stressful and is putting a bit of a damper on my happiness to “pick up the book” again, but I’m hoping the carnage (to the main characters) wouldn’t be too severe. I love when I am actually excited to continue a book that I stopped reading for whatever reason. Woot!
I also LOVED the fisrt of the three Chip Zdarsky Batman comics I got. My Batman comic obsession was before even my oldest blog, so I don’t think I’ve written much (anything?) about it anywhere, but lets just say I used to read a LOT of Batman comics and I haven’t picked one up in over a decade, and this story has been really fun to read. It has everything I LOVE about Batman, and the art is fantastic.
The high school teacher came and administered the placement test to my 8th graders today, and they did a good job. I was really worried they would be disrespectful, or freak out, but they listened and were clearly trying their best. The test was also a lot less difficult than I, and the students (from what I gathered) expected. I did not get anything done while they took it, and ended up losing time talking to the high school teacher, but I was really nervous for this and I’m relieved it’s over.
Oh and my school printer still works even though a little piece broke off. And the off-brand ink cartridge I got works! (I think you can fill in the blanks on this one.)
I have SOOOOOO much coming up in May (the yearbook is due, the free reading program will end and I’ll be hosting a tamale party for the students who black out their boards, all the classes will invent and film their final video skits, parents will come to see all the video skits during our Celebration of Learning, and finally I’ll be testing for my red belt. EEK!Honestly, thinking about it all makes me kind of panicky so I’m trying to identify what I can and should do in the next week and attempting to keep the rest of it out of my head. I’m also trying to embrace the fact that there will be little to no downtime for the next 4-5 weeks, and remind myself that in mid-June my summer break starts. I can lock in for 4-5 weeks.
I meant to post this much earlier and now everyone will read it on Friday, but it’s not a Five on Friday post and you know what, that is okay. Because no one cares, and I shouldn’t either.
