11.30.2024 Okay, so let’s just acknowledge right up front, that ‘messings’ isn’t a real word. But I like the rhyme, so we’re going to go with it. I struggled to know what to write about on this final day of November. Not because I wasn’t thankful for things that happened. It was actually a beautiful day with lots of greatness within it. But I was feeling this need to sum up the month in some sort of profound way. I’m not sure why, but I was. I even went back and reread my Day

11.29.2024 I called my mom this morning, shortly after I woke up. I was sitting on my couch in my pajamas drinking coffee. I caught her right before she was about to take a shower. For the record, I offered to call her later if it wasn’t a good time to talk, but she said no, and we chatted. I love that she was in her pajamas too. I didn’t ask if she was drinking coffee or not, but in my mind she was sitting on her couch with a cup of coffee as well. It was almost as good as b

11.27.2024 I had several grocery items I needed to pick up today. I debated going to the store on Tuesday night, but figured the shelves would be better stocked in the morning. I was also procrastinating, because the idea of last-minute grocery shopping right before Thanksgiving sounded painful. The plan was to get up early and be at the store by 7 a.m. to beat the crowds. I slept until almost 8:30 instead. I finally made it to the store about 2 p.m. I went to Walmart so I co

11.26.2024 While it’s true that teaching requires a great deal of planning, there’s also something to be said about a bit of last-minute inspiration as well. About 20 minutes before school today I decided that my Kindergarteners needed one more turkey activity to properly send them off to Thanksgiving break. We’d just finished our part-part-whole math unit yesterday, so a ‘making ten’ turkey fit the bill perfectly. The problem with last-minute ideas is that they don’t prep th

11.25.2024 About 2 weeks ago a message appeared on my TV that said my remote-control batteries were critically low. I ignored it. Several days later, the remote died. Most people would have replaced the batteries and moved on with their lives. I, however, am not most people. I like to play this little game where I try to get as much juice out of my batteries as possible. I’ve been doing this for years – probably since I’ve been responsible for buying my own batteries. Is it b

11.24.2024 It’s Sunday night and I’m about to head to bed, and it just occurred to me that I’m not feeling my usual Sunday Scaries. I don’t know who coined this term, but I get the Scaries pretty much every Sunday night. It’s that point on Sunday evening when Sunday no longer feels like Sunday and instead becomes the pre-Monday anxiety zone. I start to think about all the things I need to do in the upcoming week and become frantic with my lack of preparedness for whatever is

11.23.2024 I had plans this morning and plans this afternoon, both of which I was really looking forward to. So when I woke up this morning still coughing and feeling sick, I was very disappointed. I knew the responsible thing to do was to cancel my plans and take a day to rest and take care of myself. So, begrudgingly, that is what I did. Truth be told, I should have done this several days ago, but it was a busy week, and I pushed through it, and there’s no use in wallowing

11.22.2024 So you know that area in an airport, right after you pass through security? There are usually a few benches where you can sit and put your life back together after going through the TSA checkpoint. People pause there for a few minutes to put their laptops back in their carry-on bags, tie their shoes, or put their belts back on. I recently learned that this is called the recombobulation zone. Apparently the Milwaukee airport is known for having recombobulation zone

11.21.2024 Today was not a great day for me. The details aren’t important, but let’s just say that today gets 0/10 stars. Would not recommend. In an after-school text rant to my dear friend Jaime, I declared what a crazy day it had been, how I was still sick, and how all I wanted to do was go home and go to bed in the hopes of leaving this bad day behind and feeling better tomorrow. It was something like that anyway (although perhaps my language was a tad bit more colorful).

11.20.2024 My sweet Barkley boy is not much of a snuggler these days. He is very affectionate and likes to be near people, but he typically prefers to curl up on his doggie bed or on the sofa now, rather than my lap. This is definitely a change from his younger days, when he pretty much had to be in full body contact with someone at all times. I hate that this is yet another sign of Barkley’s age. Barkaboo and I have been the best of buds for over 13 years. The vet estimated

11.18.2024 Sometime last spring, in a group chat with some college friends, someone posed a question to the group about everyone’s coffee names. If we were to order coffee by a name other than our own, what would it be? What name would we want to answer to if a barista were to call it out loud? While this was really just a fun hypothetical question, I (in typical ‘me’ fashion) overthought my answer. I actually pondered it for several days. Here’s the thing. The name Karen has

11.17.2024 If you read my post from Wednesday , you know that my crockpot gave out. I was getting ready to try a new pork chop recipe when the crockpot began to smoke. Well, it turns out that this was only part 1 of that story. Here’s the rest. My friend Millie messaged me on Wednesday after hearing about my crockpot mishap. She told me that she had an extra crockpot in need of a home. We’re talking a brand new crockpot, still in the box. She wanted to know if I wanted it. M

11.16.2024 I had a very busy day today. There was singing. There were friends. There was a comedy show. I was in several different parts of the valley. It was a go-go-go day. And when I got home about 9 p.m., I was exhausted. I have also been fighting off a head cold for the past several days, so the responsible thing to do would have been to go right to bed. I did not. Instead, I turned on the Iowa State football game that I’d recorded. I’d watched them go 7-0 to start the s

11.15.2024 Tonight was Western Roundup at my school. Picture carnival games and bounce houses, food trucks and music, all with a Wild West theme. It’s super fun for the kids. My class has been looking forward to it for quite some time. Their excitement (and subsequently, their energy) has been building all week. Unfortunately, my energy was dwindling in inverse proportion to theirs. While it’s true that elementary school events don’t typically go past 8 p.m., it’s also true t

11.13.2024 I planned to put some pork chops in the crockpot this morning before work. I had stumbled upon a recipe over the weekend for glazed crockpot pork chops and I was eager to try them. I love a good crockpot meal. Nothing beats walking in the door after a long day at work and being greeted by the smell of dinner all ready to go. So, earlier this week I got the ingredients I needed from this new recipe, I thawed out the meat, and I was feeling rather impressed with myse

11.12.2024 My students go to the school library every Tuesday afternoon. They return their library books, check out new ones, and enjoy a story read aloud to them by our fun-loving and incredibly-animated librarian. They absolutely LOVE going to the library. But I bet I love it more. You see, when we go to the library, I immediately assume my position behind the circulation desk. I no longer ask or wait to be invited behind the highly-respected boundary of the circulation cou

11.11.2024 I had a pretty good day today. There was no school because of Veterans Day, so I slept in and had a leisurely cup of coffee in bed. I took a walk through my neighborhood and did a few things around my house. I cleaned the kitchen, mopped the floors, vacuumed up dog hair, and took out the trash. I did a little cooking and prepared my lunches for this week. I took a nap and chatted for a bit with a friend. Tonight, I watched Wheel of Fortune, played a game on my phon

11.10.2024 I watched an episode of the TV show “What Would You Do?” today. I used to love this show and watch it regularly, but I’d kind of forgotten about it and didn’t realize that they were still making new episodes. If you’re not familiar with it, the premise of the show is that they set up hidden camera scenarios where real people are confronted with situations to see if they would react and get involved or walk on by and mind their own business. The scenarios typically

11.9.2024 I had dinner with my friends, the Gonzalezes, tonight. I’ve been friends with this dear family for over 20 years now, but they’ve been very forthright about letting me know that I’m not so much a friend as I am a part of their family. That alone is a huge blessing and one that I’m grateful for over and over and over again. I have a no-pressure standing invitation to Saturday night dinner and game night at their house every week. I don’t show up every single Saturday

11.8.2024 My alarm went off at 4:40 this morning. I am typically a pretty early riser, however I’m not usually a 4:40 a.m. girl. But when one of your besties is willing to meet you for coffee before you both start your respective workdays, you gladly set your alarm extra early. My friend Julie works at the church that is right next door to my school. Occasionally we’ll meet for a quick cup of coffee and a catch-up before work. Sometimes we’ll meet at a Starbucks down the road