Adventures on Friday-In W's

      

     Nah, I don't really have any adventures but it is time for my weekly wrap up, done in question form. I need to do this quick as I overslept this morning and will answer why in the headings to come. So without further thought, here is my week in W's. . 

What's top of mind:  DH and I had out Pfizer Boosters. I have more arm soreness than I remember with the last one, and did I sleep hard last night-and way past when my body normally wakes me up! Otherwise, we both feel fine. Now that I am up and moving, I don't even feel groggy or fatigued, so hoping that was the bulk of my side effects.  

Where I've been: Just now, a gust of wind truly howled. It's 38 degrees this morning, and I had a blast of cold taking pup out. Tuesday when it was so cold when I went to vote, I decided enough was enough and I needed a warm fall jacket. My daughter went with me, and we ended up just stopping at Walmart as I had been looking for  second hand or trying to make due for weeks. I'm happy for the warner hooded jacket, and while I technically broke my challenge of not buying any brand new clothes after the two dresses for weddings, sometimes not all challenges are meant to be met. I did a valiant effort looking for second hand or making do, but these old bones need warmth, but not yet the warmth of my winter coat. I can guarantee I'll have this coat, unless I put on a lot of weight (part of the issue was jackets I had that were already snug, really were uncomfortable now with shifting weight, even if I haven't gained.)

     The other outing  was to Sam's Club. I went ahead and purchased the one year membership for the $19.99 price,with free cupcakes and a rotisserie chicken. I could give DD2 the  other membership card. I showed some restraint, but still managed to spend $98, in a low spend challenge month, though some was household items. DH is well positioned for snacks for his desk and grab and go breakfast items like instant oatmeal and yogurt, and we've got at least two week sof deli meat and cheese that I won't put on my list Sunday. We're going to track over the course of the year and see if we think it works out to save over $50, the price the membership will be to renew. They were out of rotisserie chickens by the time we got there and that is not something my daughter would pick up, so I'll  pick up next week when I am out and about on my week off of work.We haven't had a membership in over 10 years, letting it expire after  the final big use, DH's parents 50th wedding anniversary/combined 70th birthday party 11 years ago. If you have small household like ours, tell me if you think a Sam's or Costco membership is worth it to you. I can see it will be good for cabin weekends and stocking up for summer and for the holidays.

Where I'm going: It's my sister's weekend, so I'll be up to all kinds of shenanigans. Well, we're pretty tame really. We're starting with breakfast then on to shopping, and browsing, and chatting, and liley a happy hour drink. We're meeting up with cousins for supper and card playing. We no longer are going to the cabin, so likely will just be at the cousins for the night. I think no one wanted to (or probably should) drive after supper and cards! 

What I'm reading: In my effort to shave grocery spending, I've once again just gone to the recipe areas of the Tightwad Gazette, looking for  some of the "universal" recipes she has noted. Muffins and casseroles stand out and they give me ideas of combinations we might like. I bought a huge punnet of sliced mushrooms last night at Sam's Club, so think tonight I'll turn them with ground beef into a mushroom cottage pie. I have to check the library to see where I am in the cue for my book club book, but I have more time as we needed to push to December. 

What I'm listening to: I feel like I shouldn't even have this category anymore. The only thing I seem to listen to is the car radio on my short trips out, youTube  videos while making supper, and occasionally BBC world Service when I have head down time to work. I keep saying I'm going to listen to podcasts, bookmark them, then that's where they stay.

What I've been watching: I'd like to, in honor of Guy Fawkes night, watch the episode of Sherlock where he comes back after all thought he killed himself after Moriarty did the same. It's no longer on any of our streaming services. I don't know if I'll watch anything tonight, but earlier in the week I skipped to the last episode of Ashes to Ashes. It was getting a bit redundant and I wanted to see if the ending was going to be worth continuing to watch. I think it might be, though I think they could have done a cleaner  job with clues along the way. I will say, it made the ending of Life on Mars make more sense. 

What I'm eating: I've been actually cooking meals this week-i shared my version of  Gyros for one. I also made spaghetti and meatballs, and tuna hotdish. Last night was fend for yourself. I meant to share my  butternut squash mac and cheese I made for my daughter on Sunday, but will share the recipe on Wednesday in my pantry post. For lunches, I've been enjoying hummus and olives on pita bread, and avocado on toasted naan, along with clementines that need eating up. I had meant to send more back with  the college kid. 

Who I'm paying attention to: Rather who am I not paying attention to, and they are the same ones that need to be slapped. As happy as I am to not have to look at the last president ever again behind a presidential podium, I'm none to thrilled with how any one in Federal leadership of any party are acting. Just get your crap together and work to fix things to help us all. Why is that such a hard concept? Other than the uber rich, most of us really do have the same expectations, even if the angle we come from are different. 

Who needs to be (figuratively) slapped: We had a tight race in the school board election, but the three that were saying "kids before politics", but had the most political effort and an external  conservative PAC making 10,000 calls on their behalf, came out on top. I think all three need to be slapped and be woken up before they take office, to learn what exactly a school board does and does not do, and remember that not all students have the same means and life resources their little cherubs do. When one doesn't see the difference between equal and equitable when  talking about children's learning needs, one thinks the social studies curriculum revisions are about hating white people, and the third thinks she's going to solve the budget needs through nothing but making cuts, it's going to be a long four years. As a parent of children that benefited from special education, the arts, non-revenue generating sports, after school clubs and programs, college in the highschool, and PSEO, I worry for my nieces and nephews and neighbors families. 

What's Making Me Smile:  I've been in a virtual conference or convening of a national technical assistance organization. We had a state planning meeting Monday, Wednesday was the opening  plenary, yesterday was "think alike" where people from different states, but doing similar work, convene around a topic. Today will be the final key note, with the same dynamic speaker who led the plenary, a true treasure in early childhood education. The  same 10 states have been participating since 2018, first convening in Minneapolis. Since then, we've been to Kansas City twice, Memphis, Philadelphia, and New Orleans, the last in person session, and have had three remote. While there has been some change in people participating, we've had 5 shifts of our team of 10, seeing cross country colleagues every six months is really nice. I got to be in a small group with a colleague I met  three years ago from South Carolina who I stay in touch with. 

     Another quirky individual who I met at the first convening in Minneapolis was in attendance as well. She's the type that bursts to be able to speak in groups-something I steer away form unless I really have something to say. She gets people thinking on different paths, sometimes off tangent, but she means well, had her hairless cat wrapped up in her sweater through one of the session. It was funny seeing his head poking out from under her chin. It was only  polite that he should be introduced to us all, and that made me smile. 

     

     I'm going to go to bed early so I' ready for the weekend festivities. My sister is playing  hotel and taxi service as my sister that lives out of town is sleeping over tonight then she is making four stops to pick up me, my sister-in-law, and two sisters. The other two sisters both have a morning work commitment so are meeting later at our cousins. I'm hoping that since I slept so many hours last night and if I go to bed early tonight, that will knock the last of the fatigue  aftermath from my system. Play along in the comments if you want. I'd love to know the W's of your world.