Hello! Just checking in real quick. It was a busy day over here and the time just slipped by. Hope you had a great day!
Month: February 2023
Today in Bullets
- Went to our county library directors association meeting this morning down in Poughkeepsie (I hate having to drive down there, but made it without incident)
- Had the chance to visit with my former program coordinator who now works down there – I was really glad to catch up a bit!
- Ate lunch at home real quick on the way back to work.
- Power outage in the afternoon meant people came into the library for WiFi (we’re on a generator). Power was restored around 3
- Got home around 4:15. Hubby was trying to troubleshoot why OUR generator wasn’t powering up.
- Kids requested pizza for dinner. I was too tired to really care, so that’s what we did.
- Realized the fridge never came back on after the outage, so once Drew got home with the pizza he helped pull out the fridge so I could unplug it and replug it per Samsung troubleshooting. It worked!
- Ate, cleaned up the dishes.
- Changed into pjs and made a decaf tea with vanilla almond milk.
- Drew and I are both exhausted from this day so we’re watching Barb Wire on Netflix and calling it a night!
Tooting My Own Horn
This post combines two things dear to my heart: local journalism and libraries! Last week I was interviewed for an article in our local weekly newspaper. The article was to focus on the shifting role of libraries in our community, and I thought it would just be a short piece in the arts section. Imagine my surprise when the paper came today and it was the front page story!
If you click through to read the article online, I am quoted on pages 2 and 3 talking about libraries as community centers, how my library responded to COVID-19, and some of the different programming options we offer here.
My background is in journalism so I am used to being the one asking the questions. It was a little strange being on the other side, but I was thrilled to be part of this piece. Libraries are important equalizers and I hope you make good use of yours!
Deceptively Sweet
Don’t let her cuteness fool you, Pepper has been a crazy cat today! Hopefully she got all her energy out early.
Happy Valentine’s!
Hope it was a sweet day!
Happy Homemaker Monday, 2/13/2023
Good afternoon everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was full, but good. Friday night Laura had her best friend sleep over after the middle school dance. We got late-night pizza and they watched movies. They are adorable! Saturday Drew and Noah were in the city all day. Noah had his interview and audition for Berklee College of Music. It’s so hard to assess how you did in that stressful environment. I’m sure he was great! Now we wait… He has an interview and second audition for his first-choice school next week. Yesterday I took my daughter and her friend to see Titanic and let me tell you — 3 hours in 3D glasses is way too much! Yikes, I had a bit of a headache afterwards. But they had a blast, and really that is what matters.
Today I thought I’d join in with Sandra for Happy Homemaker Money (even though I am not technically a homemaker since I work, I feel like I am one at heart).
The Weather:::
Currently 52 degrees! This weather is crazy and I am not loving it. The flowers and trees are so confused. Some folks in town who have an apiary are suffering major bee losses. And I can only imagine how bad the tick situation will be this summer. Here’s what the week looks like in New York:
As I look outside my window:::
I’m typing this up at work so I just see the parking lot and the field next door. It is sunny and quiet at the moment!
Right now I am:::
Counting down until I can go home, LOL! I do have to come back for our Board meeting tonight, but I have checked off pretty much everything on my list today, and then some. So I don’t feel too bad sneaking in a blog break.
Thinking and pondering:::
I am working on reorganizing my craft area at home, so I have been thinking about better storage options for things like stamps, ink pads, stickers, paper, die cuts…. all that fun stuff!
On my bedside table:::
Hmm, I would have to think! I know I have my water, my levothyroxine, a couple crossword puzzle books, hand lotion, night cream, and headbands and ponytail holders. Not sure what else!
On my tv today:::
This weekend I started watching Watchmen (the HBO series) with Drew . He has watched it at least twice and I have not seen it. WOW, just wow. I can understand why he has rewatched it because there is just so much going on and so much to digest. I would definitely recommend it.
Listening to:::
Just the traffic going by! It is a very quiet afternoon here. I’m hoping everyone is making the most of this warm and unseasonable weather!
On the lunch plate:::
I had some leftover lentil soup, naan, and grapes. This was the new recipe I wanted to try and I was not crazy about it, honestly. It’s ok, but I don’t think I’ll make it again.
On the dinner plate:::
I didn’t get anything in the Crock Pot for tonight so I think I will just make some turkey burgers, oven fries, and salad. Quick and easy before I have to head back out to my meeting.
On the menu for this week:::
- Sunday – Chicken piccata, roasted rosemary potatoes, broccoli
- Monday – Turkey burgers, oven fries, salad
- Tuesday (Valentine’s Day) – Chicken tacos
- Wednesday – Chili, hot dogs, chips
- Thursday – Ham steaks, mac & cheese, asparagus
- Friday – Breakfast burritos, salad
- Saturday – Take-out
On my reading pile:::
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (audiobook)
Becoming Free Indeed by Jinger Vuolo (ebook)
On my to do list:::
- Order Noah’s cap & gown
- Send in a baby picture of Laura for yearbook
- Laundry (never ending!)
- Car inspection & oil change
Plans for this week:::
See above, in addition to work! We have no weekend plans and I am crossing my fingers they stay that way. I would absolutely love to have a wide-open weekend to putter around the house.
What I am creating:::
Still working on my dragon fin shawlette, which I hope to finish up this week. Also working on some dishcloths for spring.
My simple pleasure:::
Drinking coffee and checking Timehop every morning. I love looking back on all the memories!
Looking around the house:::
I did a lot of cleaning on Saturday morning while the girls were hanging out upstairs, and it wasn’t too bad when I left this morning so hopefully nothing changed! I’ll be taking down my (very limited) Valentine’s Day decorations at the end of the week and starting to switch out wintery stuff for early spring stuff.
From the camera:::
I tried my hand at a French Toast bake for Saturday breakfast. Usually I don’t eat anything quite so carby, but it made for a fun (and pretty) sleepover breakfast and it was really delicious!
For the NON-sports-fans
If you are not into football, hope you get a laugh!
What a Weird Winter
What happened to winter this year? I know so many people dislike the cold, but it’s just not right to have the forecast for the upcoming week have temperature in the high 50s in February! The last few Marches have had some whopper snow storms so I guess we will see if we get anything then. Though at this point the weather already has me thinking about spring. It is definitely weird.
Yay, Friday!
Another crazy week is in the books! This week my husband was travelling for work and he just got in this morning around 2 AM. Tonight my daughter is having a friend sleep over after the middle school dance. No major plans for tomorrow. Sunday I promised I would take them to see Titantic (did you know they re-released it for the 25th anniversary?) I am not a fan of the movie, but these girls are obsessed with the Titanic, so… the things we do for our kids, right? LOL!
That’ll be about it. I have a million chores to catch up (how does the laundry continue to accumulate so fast?) so I hope to just get all that taken care of. Any plans that you are looking forward to?
Bedtime Ritual
Like many other women in their 40s, sleep can often be a problem for me. Sometimes I’m up for hours in the middle of the night, other times I can’t turn off my mind enough to wind down and fall asleep.
I’ve found a few products that help me, but this is one of my favorites — the Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra, which contains valerian. It might be mind over matter, but I swear it helps me relax and makes falling asleep much easier. And it doesn’t cause me to have weird dreams, which is a bonus!