New Phone

My previous phone was a hand-me-down from Nate.  He had it for 2 and a half years, then I had it for another 3 years.  The mic doesn't always work and the battery life has been really shady lately.  I just didn't want a bigger phone.  This one is already too big in my opinion.  Then they announced that the new iPhone SE is the same size as my current iPhone 7 AND has the speed, etc of the new iPhone X.  I decided to take the plunge and buy it.  On the one hand, it's exciting to have something new (that works better).  On the other hand, transferring all my apps (and logins!), cleaning off the old phone (so I can give it to Korra), and trying to figure out the slight differences are all really annoying.  Good thing I have SO much time on my hands...

46 days

Just thought I should keep track every now and then. It's been 46 days since I've been to school or hung out with friends or been to church or eaten in a restaurant. 

Even though the Georgia governor said that movie theaters, bowling alleys, gyms, hair and nail salons, restaurants, and tattoo parlors could reopen this week, it's not safe. He's only doing it so the government doesn't have to pay unemployment. He's forcing people to choose between their health and their financial stability and it's unconscionable. 

So we're going to wait-at least until school gets out in another 3 weeks. Then we'll see. Maybe we'll still get to go to the beach for Memorial Day. We've still got that hotel booked at Jekyll Island. (sigh) I don't know anything except we're going up keep this up for at least another 22 days. 

ode to the hammock

I've enjoyed our balcony and hammock since the day we've moved in, but these last 6 weeks, the hammock has been a sanctuary. 

Oh hammock

Gentle swing

Favorite place to read

Technically built for two,

But only comfortably one

Here I can finally

Get a little space from my child

Self-Isolation in a Different Location

Being at the cabin was such a wonderful change. When we're there, we don't usually go out much so it felt so normal. We read on the porch, went for we walks, watched movies. It was really great. 

Self-Isolating at the Cabin

We're going to the cabin for a long weekend.  The school system moved to a 4 day school week so Friday is just a teacher work day.  And I have 8 days of PTO.  And we could REALLY use a change of scenery.

Online Orders

I ordered our groceries online and will go pick them up in a bit.
I ordered our dinner from Panera tonight and we'll pick that up later.

Today I Became My Mom

Today is the day I officially became my mom.  Korra and I have been watching America's Funniest Home Videos during lunch.  She is laughing uncontrollably, and I'm cringing and saying things like, "Oh no!" and "I think he's hurt!"  Which is exactly what my mom would always do when we watched this show back in the 90s.  I've become my mother :)

COVID Cuts

Yesterday Nate shaved hIs head (down to the skin with a razor). Today I buzzed my hair (most of it). While I've cut my own hair many times, this is the first time I've used the clippers. I used the longest guard on the back and sides and then cut the top and bangs with scissors. I'll try to get a picture of the two of us and our new styles tomorrow. 

same same same

Every day feels pretty much the same. 

I made a quiche for dinner

Mushroom, asparagus, and ham quiche with a flaky cheesy crust. It was really delicious. 

online learning challenges

Over half of my students had issues logging in or completing my assignments yesterday. It was all purely technology issues which makes it so frustrating. On the other hand, only few tried very hard to contact me about the issues so it's hard to be completely sympathetic. It just feels extra frustrating when it's such a small issue that would be so easy to resolve in person. 

meetings

I have 4 online meetings today. 2 with my students in the morning and 2 in the afternoon with coworkers. About 5 hours total today on video calls. 

tennis ball sized hail

Bad storms coming through today with a good chance of hail. CNN is predicting some hail will be the size if tennis balls. Glad we aren't homeowners but wishing we had a garage. 

bike basket buddy

Baking Day

This morning I'm making banana pecan muffins and then a batch of peanut butter oatmeal cookies. 

Torched Hop!

Nate and I were so excited to find out our favorite niehgborhood restaurant/brewery is back in business!  They're only serving one menu item a day (and only from 12-4pm), but today's special was Philly cheese steaks (and boozy gummy bears)!  Korra and I biked to pick them up and then we went for our usual after dinner walk.  Perfect weather plus delicious dinner made for a pretty good evening.

Groupon "Trade-In"

For Valentine's Day, I bought a couple's massage from Groupon.  The date we had it scheduled was cancelled because of heavy rain that flooded the massage studio the week before.  Right around the time we were supposed to reschedule, the country went into lock-down.  Now I have $99 to spend on Groupon so tonight Nate and I are impulse shopping- comfy pants, Pride flags, new towels... totally random.

Pizza to the Champ

It's been a full month of "distance learning" and to motivate my students, I've been having a contest for who can get the most passed lessons on a particular program.  Today was the end of the first challenge, so I ordered a pizza and had it delivered to the winner.  After I post the picture on my Google Classroom, I hope it will motivate the rest of them as we start Round Two of the Pizza competition!

34 Days

We have been out of school, social distancing, self-isolating for 34 days.  I am so tired of this.  I just want to go somewhere.  Anywhere.  I want to be around friends and students.  And I know this is probably only the halfway point.  

Nine books

I've read 9 books in the last month (it's been a full month of quarantine/school cancellation). The best ones were The Smell of Other People's Houses and The Water Dancer. I've run out of physical library books and now it's all ebooks and audio books (or I suppose I could read the books we already own). 

95%!

So we're back to "school" and in the last 2 days, I've had contact (turned in assignments, Google Hangouts, text, etc) with all but 2 of my students.  That's 95% participation!  This is HUGE.  And extra exciting since it's after Spring Break. 

Easter traditions, Quarantine Remix

Korra did an Easter egg hunt in the house (the weather's not great today) Most of her eggs were filled with change, which she thought was amazing. 

No sunrise service, but we watched church on YouTube. 

Ham, cheesey hash brown casserole, and roasted brussel sprouts for lunch followed by watching Jesus Christ Superstar. 

Later: video calls with family. 

No pictures in our nice Easter clothes. We probably won't get out of our PJs all day. 

Kyle

I get a lot of emails for Kyle. I know WAY too much about this guy (including the city and state he lives in) because we share a last name, first initial, and must have similar email addresses. Kyle, please contact Frontier Airlines about your upcoming flight to Denver, your dentist about that root canal, and GEICO about your auto insurance policy. I've got enough emails of my own. 

More Legos

Korra and I have been playing with Legos a lot this week.  Yesterday we built 16 different Lego cars. This morning we built a house and silly people. We've also been watching Lego Masters (which I am enjoying quite a bit, too). 

Parasite

Last night, at Nate's insisting, we watched Parasite.  I won't say anything about it except that you should watch it. 

no water

Korra and I went on a hour long bike ride. We returned home sweaty and a little muddy to find our water has been turned off. A neighbor let us know that it was posted on the neighborhood Facebook page that the water will be off for 4 hours today. At least we don't have anywhere we have to be. 

Indian Springs State Park

Nate had of today so we went to the state park where we were supposed to be camping this week just to get out of the city. I had hopes of spending most of the day, but after a picnic and about an hour of walking around, both Nate and Korra were ready to go home. 2 hours of driving for less than 2 hours outside. A bit disappointing but I'm still glad we tried something different. 

Lego Boat

Korra's next Lego challenge was to build a boat that would float and hold pennies. Her "high score" was 26 pennies!

Lego marble maze

Another Pinterest win

Photography Walk and Parachutes

Trying to keep Korra entertained on Spring Break.  We went on a photography walk this morning.  Korra mostly took pictures of flowers.  I mostly took pictures of Korra taking pictures of flowers.

After lunch we made parachutes (thanks, Pintrest) and threw them off the balcony.

I'm expecting my Mother of the Year award in the mail any day now.

Harry Potter, round 2

Korra's reread (on her own this time) the first 2 Harry Potter books over the last 3 weeks. Today we're watching Chamber of Secrets and building a Harry Potter puzzle. 

Tent

A few months ago I bought a smaller tent to use for a Girl Scout camping trip (our usual tent is 6-8 person, this one is 2-4). That camping trip was cancelled, as was our spring break camping trip so I decided to set up our new tent in Korra's room. It takes up every inch of available floor space. 

we can probably make it two weeks

I just saw the announcement that were not supposed to go to the grocery store unless we absolutely have to, for at least the next 2 weeks. We were only going once a week and since I just went today, I know we have enough food to last for two weeks. I can't promise anyone will be happy with what we are eating at the end (or that it would count as a normal "meal") but we definitely won't go hungry. 

hanging out- at a distance

2 friends came over for a bit this afternoon. We sat outside, about 7 feet apart, and talked for about half an hour. It was so beautiful outside and so lovely to be near (but not too near) friends. Even though it was totally safe, it still felt like we were breaking the rules. I can't say enough how weird everything is all the time. 

Face mask

Yesterday I sewed a cloth face mask.  Today I wore it to the grocery store.  You'd think that after 3 weeks of quarantine it would start to feel normal, but it has not.

Beer and Milkshakes

Today we went for a car ride as a family.  It's the first time in almost 3 weeks that Korra's even been in the car.  First we picked up beer from a brewery (for Nate) and then we picked up milkshakes from Chick-fil-a for Korra and me. 

No camping

We were supposed to leave today for 4 days of camping at a state park we haven't been to before. I'm bummed. The weather is perfect for camping. 

Happy birthday, Nate!

We order dinner from a brewer. The dinner special was 4 steaks (you cook then yourself), a big salad, a pie, and a 12 pack of beer. Pretty much the perfect dinner for Nate. I also managed to actually surprise him with this year's present: a specialty board game backpack. 

https://geekon.nyc/amp/the-ultimate-boardgame-backpack/

The Ultimate Boardgame Backpack - GeekOn!

Sweet Neighbors

A neighbor delivered homemade chocolate crinkle cookies on Tuesday. Today another neighbor set to a scavenger hunt for Korra where are had to find papers with letters posted around outside and then unscramble the letters to spell out something. It was so fun and cute. 

Wife Swap

One of Korra's classmates (and his family) were recently on Wife Swap. We're watching it during lunch today instead of our usual (I recently introduced Korra to Family Matters).

biking and walking buddy

Gotta get out and do at least one bike ride or walk a day. 

No school until August

The governor announced that schools will remove closed through the end of the year. I knew it would happen and I knows it's for the best but it's still so weird. 

Nate's furlough project

Nate's down to 20 hours a week so he's spending his extra time building Lego sets. 

43 emails

Today I sent 43 emails with individual greetings, passwords to a specific site, and a list of any missing assignments. Whew.