Still Negative

Korra and I are still feeling fine and testing negative.  I would be feeling better if Alex didn't wake me up with his meowing at 5:30AM.

Korra’s Test Results

Korra tested negative. Nate will keep quarantining. We'll test again in the morning. 

COVID, Round 2

Nate woke up with a stuffy nose.  He took a COVID test and it was positive.  I came home as soon as he found out and took a test, too.  I tested negative (but of course now I'm thinking, is my throat sore?  does my head hurt a little?).  Tonight is our monthly staff event- the Atlanta United soccer match.  I decided that it would be irresponsible and unethical to go, so I transferred my ticket.  

I kind of wish it had been positive.  Nate wouldn't be quarantining in our room.  I wouldn't be worrying about getting it in a few days and therefore being much closer to our trip.  Ugh, we're both so worried about this ruining our trip.  Also, how do I not have it when I have kissed, shared drinks with, and slept next to Nate?

On the other hand, I'm glad it's now instead of a week from now.  We have time to recover.  Praying that recovery happens quickly.

But also, poor Korra.  It's her birthday on Friday.  COVID ruins everything.  

COVID scare

One of my coworkers who came into the office today tested positive for COVID this evening. I was planning to wear a mask all next week to keep from getting any illnesses leading up to our trip (in 10 days!!) but now I'm going to start tomorrow and hope it's not too late. I will be devastated if getting sick ruins our trip. 

10 Days!

Nate and I leave for our European Adventure in 10 days!  It's taking all my self restraint not to pack our bags yet.  

Party Planning Genius

Just started the process to book a private tour of Oakland Cemetery for our October staff event!

Tweenage Drama

"Fine!  I won't eat!  I'll just starve since no one cares!" 

This was yelled by Korra, while stomping away to her room just now. These statements were made in response to her parents telling her we would not list out the food in the house and she could look for herself if she was hungry. 

$511

I saw something in an email from the school about the pandemic EBT card so I decided to see if we had any funds that had been added to ours. Imagine my surprise to learn we have $511!  Grocery money!!!

Charcuterie Winners

This afternoon one of our favorite breweries was hosting a charcuterie board competition and some of our favorite people were competing. Kathryn and Rachel won the first round with a perfect score and then won the whole competition with their amazing "Sweet Dreams Are Made of Cheese" themed dessert board (strawberries cut into roses, little wheels of Brie cut into moons!) Of course, I think the biggest winners were us, their friends, who got to cheer them on and then eat the masterpieces. 

Huge Relief

I've been taking practice PHR tests to prepare for my certification exam next week.  I've been consistently scoring in the low to mid 70s but since 70% is the passing score, it didn't feel very confident.  It just felt too close to not passing.  

This morning I took my first full-length, timed practice test.  I finished the 115 questions in half the allotted time and scored an 84%!  

That definitely makes me feel better about my chances of passing.  

I have 2 more full-length practice tests and 5 more unit practice tests to help me study over the next 9 days.  I've got this.

Saturday with Gail and Ron

We went to the pool for a while, then we tried Ruby Chow's for dinner (it was amazing!). It was a rather relaxing and very enjoyable day. 

Switchfoot

Tonight we went to see Switchfoot perform their album Beautiful Letdown (for it's 20th anniversary). It was an amazing experience for several reasons. 

One, it was a venue in Sugar Hill, the little suburb I lived in from 6th grade (1996) until I got married (and where my parents lived into 2010). This venue wasn't there during that time. In fact, the whole area was so changed it was unrecognizable and kind of disorienting. It was a neat concert venue though, and I got to see a few landmarks of my teen years ("there's where I first bought gas! It was 89 cents a gallon!") 

Second, I got to see the concert with some of my favorite people: Nate and Korra, my father in law, and the Sniders. 

Third, it was a fun concert. It was Switchfoot's first show of the tour and their energy was fantastic. Korra even got a high five from the lead singer. 

Lastly, there was an element of nostalgia. This was the second concert of the summer for bands we initially listened to 20+ years ago. The lyric from This is Your Life were meaningful to me in 2003 and remembering how they resonated to 19 year old Katie as I sang along with the lyrics

"This is your life
Are you who you want to be?
This is your life
Is it everything you dreamed
That it would be when the world was younger
And you had everything to lose?" 

had me tearing up a bit.
Yeah, it was great.

Biking Solution

How Korra bikes to and from middle school each day with a binder, laptop, library book, water bottle, lunchbox, and trumpet. 

Cadette

I forgot to take a picture until today but on Sunday Korra bridged from Junior to Cadette!

Don’t Barf at Work

Woke up feeling totally fine. About 10:00 at work, I started to feel weak and queasy. By 10:30 I had to call Nate to come get me because I couldn't bike home and I didn't want to barf at work. Threw up as soon as I got home, then slept for 2 hours. Still feeling a little off, but thankfully it seems to have passed. 

Most thankful that I didn't throw up at work. 

Gift for Nate

I designed this shirt for Nate (with Mrs Reynolds on it!) It arrived today and Nate loves it!

Elevators Out of Order

Our building's elevators were out of order right as a large grocery order was delivered.  I dragged the cart down 4 flights of stairs so the poor delivery driver didn't have to wait indefinitely.  After loading up the cart, I left it in the lobby.  I'm not carrying 6 cases of Diet Coke up the stairs.  I'll wait for the elevators to be repaired.

New Friends

I put a pad of sticky notes and a pencil in Korra's lunchbox this morning with instructions for her to give out my number to her new friends' moms and get their numbers in return. Korra has made 5 new friends at school (3 of which are also in her new Girl Scout troop).

I've successfully connected with all 5 moms with promises to get the kids together to hang out soon to keep these budding friendships growing. 

I'm really happy that Korra is not only making new friends, but friends who have similar interests (namely Warrior Cats, Wings of Fire, drawing, and/or writing stories).  Middle school is hard, but sweet friends who get you make it so much easier. 

Joseph Update

I decided to try the email address I had for my high school friend Joseph. He emailed me back within a few hours saying "you made a grown man cry at work." I couldn't stop grinning the rest of the evening. Reconnecting and catching up with Joe has been the highlight of my week. 

Cram Time

There are 2 weeks left until my PHR exam. I've finished reading all the materials so now it's time to review, take practice tests, and generally cram. When I take it, I will have been preparing for exactly 3 months.  I'm really nervous it wasn't enough time. 

Typewriter Radiation

Today I learned that:

• electric typewriters give off more radiation than computers and monitors
• companies cannot legally force pregnant women to stop working in a job that includes the handling of hazardous materials that cause fetal abnormalities
• the Fourth Amendment (unreasonable searches and seizures) protects government workers from being required to provide urine samples for random drug testing

55%

I just learned that the PHR exam I'm taking in 2 weeks has an average pass rate of only 55%.  That is not encouraging. 

Joseph

I had a dream about a good friend from high school. I haven't seen him in probably 17 years and I don't think we've been in touch for almost that long. 

Two days later and I still can't shake the dream or memories of our friendship (that started in 8th grade and lasted through college). 

We weren't in the same friend group at all. He gave me a random nickname (Spud). He made me laugh. I cut his hair in my backyard. We hung out in thrift stores and Taco Bells. He was one of the first people I told about falling for Nate. He was genuinely one of my favorite people and I'm feeling all sorts of nostalgic.  

Flip Jump

At Korra's request, we spent some time at the pool yesterday so she could learn how to do a forward somersault/flip into the pool. It took her about 20 minutes, but she got it!

Breakfast Reviews

The last 2 Fridays, Nate and I tried new breakfast restaurants. 

Last week was The Daily: the pimento cheese, bacon, egg, and onion jam sandwich I had was AH-mazing but Nate breakfast burrito was just ok. It was also expensive.

 This week we went to Melt in O4W Market: my egg and cheese croissant was yummy and Nate said his breakfast burrito was top-notch. It wasn't too expensive but there isn't a good place to sit and eat.

I set up breakfast for a meeting of 25, I ordered 40 reflective safety vests with our logo on them, I drove a coworker's car to a tech repair place to fix her computer, I found and uploaded a bunch of receipts, I posted an engineering job to 3 websites, I labeled and distributed lunches for another meeting, I ordered a custom mug for a retiring board member, and I ate at my desk while reading today's chapter in my HR manual (the test is 3 weeks from today!).

I didn't sleep well last night or the night before.  Today has been exhausting.  I think I'm going to go home early and have a nap.

That’s a lot of stuff

Korra is biking to and from school every day with a heavy backpack (laptop, water bottle, binder, book) plus her lunchbox in her front basket.  Next week she needs to start bringing her band instrument to and from school. Did I mention she's going to play the trumpet?  Nate played trumpet in high school and we still have his. Do you know how big a trumpet case is? Especially in comparison to a 63 lb, 4 foot 2 inch tall almost 11 year old?  Tomorrow we're going to need to do some creative problem solving along with an Amazon order to figure out how she's going to manage lugging all her stuff too and from school on her bike. 

Pictures from Valentine's Day

A friend took a few pictures of us back in February (but only just sent the to us)

It's Getting Closer!

I've made copies of our passports.  I added my parents to Korra's emergency contacts at school.  Nate got an international phone plan.  The international outlet adapter and new (waterproof) shoes have been delivered.  

We leave in just over 3 weeks!

Cherry Season

Ripe, inexpensive sweet cherries make me very, very happy.

Hanging out with the Sniders

Rainy Day

 It's raining this morning.  Thankfully, it's a Friday so Nate and I both from home, which means I can drive Korra to school.  We haven't figured out what the inclement morning weather plan will be for getting Korra to school.  Even though all our respective work/school locations are within walking/biking distance (half a mile for Korra, a mile and a half for me, and 2 miles for Nate) it's tricky when the weather is bad.  The complications include only one car, Nate needs to be to work at 8, Korra can't get dropped off until 8:45, and there's little to no parking at my work.  We'll figure it out... I just haven't yet.

Pet Peeve

I get so irate when people (usually limos and Uber) stop on the street in right lane. Not only does it seem annoying entitled, but as a cyclist, it makes it more dangerous for me when I need to go out of the designated bike lane. 

Rant over. 

Bottomless Pit

Between 4:30 and 7:45 Korra ate: 3 slices of pizza, a bean and cheese burrito, a granola bar, a tube yogurt, a bunch of raw veggies, and a large cupcake. 

Growth spurt coming?

Impressive Lunch

Korra did some meal prepping yesterday and made 3 of these delicious lunches for herself. She made the rice balls (scrambled egg filling) almost entirely by herself. 

Itchy

I don't know how, but I ended up with bug bites all over my ankles, feet, and legs.  They woke me up last night and I'm having a hard time not scratching off patches of skin while working.  

Am I bilingual yet?

Summer Saturday

Today we went to the movie theater to see Teenager Mutant Ninja Turtles and spent a couple hours at the pool with our wonderful neighbors. Now I'm laying in the hammock, eating cherries, and listening to a good book (Fourth Wing). 

Easier Every Day

Dropping Korra off at school has gotten easier each day this week.  I'm hoping that next week she'll feel comfortable enough to bike by herself because the extra mile of biking each morning is making me VERY sweaty.

Huge, Frequent Yawns

The very nice new girl who sits next to me yawns loudly and often.  I did a tally and in the last 60 minutes, she has yawned 57 times.  

I want to get the poor girl a cup of coffee.  

Corrected Schedule!

Today Korra was moved to Band AND Advanced Math!  Can't wait to pick her up this afternoon to find out how a day with her updated schedule went!

Retirement Investments

I'm currently reading the chapter on retirement savings options in my HR textbooks, so naturally I went down a rabbit hole where I calculated how much we've already saved for retirement, how much more we might need during retirement, and I've drawn the conclusion that we can retire at 65 (even without social security because I highly doubt that'll be around for us) as long as someone gives us a house so we don't have to pay a mortgage or rent. Oh, and as long as there isn't crazy inflation or some other unforeseen circumstances related to global warming. Yeah, 2049 feels infinitely far away and impossible to plan for. 

First Day of Middle School

Korra was really nervous this morning but she found a few girls she knew from Girl Scouts and then a couple from elementary school and… She was fine. She walked in and neither of us cried (but it was a close call)