Slice of Life 31

Happy Easter! Today is the last day of the slice of life challenge!

We started the day with a 4-mile walk at Holmdel Park. It was beautiful out, so the walk was great. On the way home we grabbed some coffee. We had a few hours before dinner at my parents’ house, so I did some chores, watched some Law & Order, and then turned on the tournament.

Today’s men’s and women’s games were great, but my favorite was definitely NC State vs Duke. I’ve never been a Duke fan, but Jared McClain has made me a fan. On the other hand, NC State is an 11-seed on a a ridiculous path for the last few weeks. I would have been happy with either team winning, but I’m thrilled NC State pulled it off. That team is having so much fun and it’s translating into points!

In other news, the news around the women’s’ tournament is once again focused on factors outside the games. Tonight we learned that the 3-point lines in Portland were painted different lengths. 🫠

How does that happen?! How did no one check the measurements? Ugh. But at least tomorrows’s games will be awesome!

As always, I’ll miss writing these daily check-ins, but I won’t miss forgetting about them until 11pm. And while I love reading all of my students’ blogs, I won’t miss reading up to 74 posts every day!

Luckily, there is a lot to look forward to in April, starting with spring break! We also get a new Taylor Swift album this month. Woohoo!

Slice of Life 30

Today was relaxing. After taking Kells to class I came home and made lunch. I actually had time to make a delicious charcuterie board for lunch. I cooked up some candied walnuts (the only nuts I ever eat), whipped together some ricotta and milk, and toasted some bread. We had some leftover cheeses in the fridge and I grabbed some prosciutto. I also found some leftover spicy sopressato and pepperoni. It was so nice to have time to make a fun lunch!

Tomorrow is Easter, so we will have dinner at my parents’ house. I am bringing a dessert and decided to make some Peeps cupcakes. My niece has a bunch of allergies, so I made the cupcakes from scratch. I had to do a bunch of research but learned that both Peeps and Marshmallow Fluff are made in nut-free facilities. I ended up making buttercream frosting and marshmallow frosting that I dyed using neon food coloring. It was much messier than I expected (and my hands might be permanently stained), but hopefully everyone likes them.

Slice of Life 29

Happy first day of spring break! I enjoyed sleeping in until 7am (as opposed to my normal 5:40am wake up). I started the day with a 3.5 mile hike and enjoyed the beautiful weather. No school meant I had time to make an omelette for lunch and then had time to go to Marshall’s and Target. I also got to stop by California Cold Co. for an iced coffee; I popped into the pet store while there, too.

Otherwise, I have done very little today and I’m fine with that! I watched a lot of basketball, and will continue to do so late into the night. in the women’s Sweet Sixteen, Indiana almost beating South Carolina was wild! I’m not surprised South Carolina pulled it out in the end, but that was quite a scare for them! Indiana battled hard but just couldn’t pull it out in the end.

As I type this I’m watching a close Gonzaga vs Purdue game. I’m leaning towards a Purdue loss in this game. I have to flip between all of my multi-view games for the rest of the night, though!

Slice of Life 28

We made it to spring break!

The morning started with some basketball as we arrived (courtesy of the door duty faculty) which got the day off to a good start.

After that it was a normal day. The only difference was everyone was counting down to dismissal. I think every person in the building was ready for break!

I am looking forward to relaxing and getting some reading done over the next week or so. It’s a much needed break

Slice of Life 27

One more wake-up (for school) and then it’s spring break! I think every student and teacher is the living embodiment of this gif right now.

Things I have accomplished this week:

• Finished The Women by Kristen Hannah
• Started Divine Vows on audio.
• Started watching Death and Other Details on Hulu. It’s like if Knives Out was a TV show.
• Tutored
• Came in last place in Teacher’s Pet. 😂

I’m looking forward to spring break because I have lots of books to read. I also have to do my taxes (which sounds way less fun) and update my Middletown Library card. I’m seeing Suffs on Broadway next Thursday and am looking forward to it. I’m sure the week will fly by, but when we come back to school it will be April!

Slice of Life 26

So it turns out “vibes!” are not a winning strategy. 😂

Today was the annual Teacher’s Pet competition at school, a newlywed-type game where seniors pair up with teachers to answer questions about each other. It’s always a fun time and everyone laughs a lot. There’s always cheating, call outs, and lots of studying. Yesterday was no different! My partner and I may not have won, but we had a lot of fun and did not cheat!

Two more days until spring break. I can’t wait to relax, read a lot, and hike a lot!

Slice of Life 25

Spring break is almost here.

Almost.

Next year, spring break is in the middle of April, which seems unimaginable. I feel like even the students are barely hanging on this week, just waiting desperately for a week off.

In the meantime, it’s school as usual ( much to the chagrin of some students!) The marking period ends when we get back, so this week is crazy for everyone.

Outside of school, I’m reading Kristen Hannah’s new book The Women and it’s breaking my heart while filling me with rage. I keep asking myself why we never learned any of this information about the Vietnam War in school. I highly recommend it!

Slice of Life 24

Navan in his new towel-coat

Some stuff from today:

My bracket is a mess. It’s a hot mess. It’s a hot busted mess. Oh well.

Why do weekends fly by so quickly? It feels like yesterday was Friday, but in reality tomorrow is Monday! Luckily, this is a short 4-day week and spring break begins on Friday. Hallelujah!

Today I tried a new coffee shop in Wall- Ocean Brew Coffee. I had an iced s’mores latte and it was delicious. Next time I’ll definitely add cold foam, but it was great as-is today.

Speaking of coffee, I think during spring break I will try to visit a few new coffee shops. I really wish a local coffee shop with cool seasonal specials would open near me. Freehold has Rook, but all do the other coffee places are chains.

There’s one more game left to tonight, and I’m rooting for Yale. The rest of the games pretty much went as expected, so no big upsets today. However, if Yale wins this game, I’ll be thrilled!

Slice of Life 23

When did we move to the Pacific Northwest? It feels like it rains constantly now, with wind and flooding accompanying most storms. Today my backyard was flooded by 10am and every pair of shoes I own is soaked. I’d like that decent spring weather back, please!

I spent the later part of the afternoon at my parents’ house to celebrate family birthdays. My dad and my brothers all have March birthdays (well, one brother has a Leap Day birthday that he celebrates on March 1st), so we had cake for everyone today. I’m the oldest of 6 so it’s a little crazy when everyone is all in one place. My nieces put on a “performance” for us that consisted of a lot of silly dancing and my nephew came dressed like my dad. It was a fun time and the cakes were delicious!

Slice of Life 22

It’s cold, it’s starting to rain, the cloud cover is low, and the fort is doing training. How do I know? My house is shaking and my phone is blowing up with Neighborhood alerts…

The military base actually releases a monthly noise calendar that no one around here remembers to check. As soon as the booming and shaking started, I pulled up their Facebook page and confirmed that this whole weekend is shaded red on the calendar. Red= “heavy crew weapons training and cratering munitions that may include mortar live fire, howitzer fire, and cratering charges.”

Most of the time we don’t hear anything from the base even on heavy training days. The base is about 20 miles away as the crow flies. However, when the cloud cover is low the noise travels much farther. Tonight it felt like the house was shaking! Luckily, they tend to quiet down after 11pm. I’m just glad I don’t live closer!