Oh, the pain

I hope that everyone who celebrates had a nice Easter. In our house, it's like most other holidays, an excuse for a good meal and dessert. I nailed the good meal part (ham, rice, fresh asparagus, buttermilk biscuits) but the dessert was an utter failure. It was my first attempt at pound cake, and very discouraging. I don't know if I got a bad recipe, or if the cheap butter I used was an issue, or if I simply did something wrong, but all that work and it went right in the trash. The cakes (I used two loaf pans and had doubled the batter) were greasy, heavy, and, oddly, had turned a dark color on the inside with an unpleasant, almost nutty flavor. Trust me, they were gross...and after all that work! 

(Any bakers out there who might know what happened?)

Another thing about making the doomed cakes (as well as all the other cooking I did) was what it's done to my back. For some reason when I spend long periods of time standing at my kitchen counters and sink, my back will sometimes hurt like hell afterwards. *  Earlier in the day I'd spent a few hours working in the garden, then I came in and stood working in the kitchen for about 5 more hours. By bedtime my back was already getting stiff and sore, and when I got up yesterday morning it was worse. Last night I merely coughed one time, and my back went into such painful spasms that it made me gasp out loud. I'm lucky to have refills on muscle relaxers, and since I'm off it doesn't matter that they make me tired. I'm hoping it resolves before the rest of my time off is gone, though!

*I got a bad pulled muscle at work years ago, and my back hasn't been the same since.

A much-needed break

It's officially Spring Break for me! We're out of school tomorrow for Good Friday and then all of next week. 

The past two weeks at work have mildly stressful for me and the other bookkeepers. Between really serious federal Title 1 budget deadlines (with constant memos and reminders from the CFO and senior accountants), and a general budget freeze that takes effect this afternoon but wasn't announced until Monday, we've had to scramble to get everything done. At the elementary level, the bookkeeper and school secretary positions are combined, so there have been other job responsibilities on my plate as well. And to top it all off, I've had a mild cold coming on this week, so every day has been just a tiny bit harder because of that. I'm tired! The one great thing about these tight deadlines is that when I go back to work after the break, most of this year's budget is gone and can't be accessed. My job will get a little bit easier and soon summer (and really easy days and easy hours) will be here. All good stuff!

I really need to work in the garden next week, and it's time to plant tomatoes. I have way too many seedlings, as usual, but this year I've only potted up enough for my own use. I've decided to give away the extras while they're still small and needing to be potted up, because all that potting up is a lot of work. Gregg has a buddy, Tyrone, who always texts him in spring to see if I have extra plants I want to give away. He has a large garden and so does his dad, and they're always happy to take all the extras I'll give them. I'm glad they get good homes!

My lettuce and carrots are really doing well, and by the end of the month I should be getting some of both. My rattlesnake beans (that Mary Moon convinced me to grow) are getting big, too, and this year I planted more of them. They really are fabulous! Everything is off to a good start (knock wood) but I still have a lot of work to do. A week off this time of year is perfect timing.

April Fools!

 

So disappointing! Haha!

A week of goodness

This past week, my birthday week, has been really nice and I've felt lots of love from friends. I'm sharing some of it here for my own future reference!

Last Sunday afternoon I went over to Marla's house for a little while to see her puppies! Her Boston Terrier, Flynn, had a litter of puppies back at Christmas. There were five pups total, and they're keeping two of them. Two more have gone to their new homes and there's just one female left. Several people are considering taking her so I'm sure she'll be adopted out soon.

Here's Carsen with the pup she picked out to keep. She named him Remy.

Aren't they adorable? 

When I got to work on Monday morning, one of our regular substitute teachers, Judy, had seen on Facebook that it was my birthday and she brought me a gift bag full of goodies! I was so surprised. She's such a sweet lady.

Pens, stationary, Hershey kisses, and a Sonic gift card. So nice of her, but it was the thought that I really appreciated!

Then the next day, Tuesday, the mom of two of my favorite little kids showed up with them at school and said, "Why didn't you tell us your birthday was yesterday?! (She had also seen it on Facebook). "The kids and I love you!"  They presented me with a little rose bush. How sweet is that?

Later that same morning, the art teacher left a card on my desk while I was away for a moment. This made me so happy! She's also a very sweet lady and I adore her.

One last thing I meant to mention is that Little P. (who has the same birthday as me) turned 13 years old this week!!  How is that possible?! He's not "Little" anymore! I texted him and his mama on Monday and we've made plans to get together soon and have dinner. I'm going to give him money for a gift, because I don't even attempt to buy presents for teenage boys. I cannot believe my little buddy is a teenager now. Kids grow up entirely too fast! Meanwhile, I'm just over here getting old. :) Haha.

Two March hares

Today is a special day: my dear blogger friend Meike's birthday! Meike blogs from Germany and I love reading about her life and adventures there. A fun coincidence is that we're almost birthday twins; tomorrow I'll be 51 years old. Together, we're two mad March hares! *

I don't have any big plans for my birthday. Yesterday Marla and Martina came over for a few hours, and we had some simple appetizers and cake. I'd recently purchased a new charcuterie board and was eager to use it. The cake came from a local bakery (chocolate fudge layer cake).

Today, I want to pot up some more tomato seedlings, and maybe plant rattlesnake beans in the garden. The weather is warm and gorgeous and it's going to be a good day to be outside. All the early spring blossoms are popping at the moment: dogwood and redbud trees, wisteria, Carolina jessamine, azaleas. I even saw a few very early purple and white irises starting to bloom in a neighbor's yard!  I've always been glad I was born this time of year. Spring is my favorite season.

As for my actual birthday tomorrow, it's just going to be an ordinary workday. A simple and pleasant weekend with friends and my husband is more than enough for me. 

* Happy birthday Meike! I hope you're having a wonderful day!

Barely a stiff breeze

I'm happy to report that yesterday's weather forecast ended up being a bust! Aside from some gentle rain showers, nothing happened. Of course, some idiots on social media are dragging the local weather guy instead of being grateful we dodged a bullet. I struggle to understand people sometimes. I guess they'd be happier if we'd had widespread damage and destruction! 

Anyway, it ended up being a very productive day for me. I was only able to get the basics done for my job, but in the afternoon when the receptionist took over phone duty, I got my taxes done! Now that's a great feeling, not to mention a relief. We're even getting a modest return this year! That will certainly be welcome and will come in handy. 

My driver's license expires next week on my birthday, and I'm planning to take a personal day off work tomorrow to go renew it, and this time I'm getting a "Real ID" for federal identification. I've had to scramble to get all the documents needed for it, including a copy of my birth certificate. (There's no way in hell I was going to ask my estranged mother for it). After completing our taxes, I gathered all the documents I'll need to take with me tomorrow. It seems ridiculous that I need seven (!) forms at minimum to get the Real ID, but at least after tomorrow that will be done. I've been worried about it for months because now you can't board a domestic flight without one. Not that I have any immediate plans to fly, but you never know what might come up, and at least now I'll be ready. 

I also made Poppy an appointment for her shots and checkup, which will be tomorrow after I finish at the DMV. I figured I may as well use the personal day off to get as much done as possible. One day soon I'm going to take a personal day or two off JUST FOR ME and do something more fun.

Anyway, thanks for the good wishes on my post yesterday. I'm grateful that the terrible storms didn't materialize and the garden is safe.

At home today

Our crabapple tree has started to burst into bloom. Isn't it pretty?

Today is an unexpected work from home day for me. We have very strong storms set to roll through the area in two waves, bringing extremely high winds, large hail, and the possibility of tornadoes. The district made the call last night to switch to an e-learning day (along with other districts across the area) for safety reasons. I can answer the school phone via the Zoom app on my personal phone, and there are several tasks I can complete from my home computer. It's nice to sip coffee and work in my pjs, not to mention sleeping a bit later since I didn't have to be logged on until 8:00 as opposed to being physically at work at 7:00. It's also nice to be able to write a blog post while "at work"! 

It was a nice, warm, sunny weekend and I got a lot done. I'm in the process of potting up dozens of tomato and herb seedlings, and my lettuce and carrots (planted out a couple of weeks ago in the raised beds) are growing nicely. The two new roses are leafing out and doing really well, too. Hopefully we won't get large hail today that could easily damage them. And I dread any major storms because of how stressed out the dogs will get. I got up early and made sure they were fed and taken out to relieve themselves, because once it starts to rain hard (and especially once it starts to thunder and lightning) they'll refuse to go out. One can hardly blame them!

I'll report back later on any storm damage. Here's hoping it's not too bad and doesn't wreak havoc in my garden. A work from home day isn't worth all that!

Palmetto's Finest

Have I ever mentioned that I have wonderful office windows? They give a great view of the eastern sky, and since I arrive at work by 7am, I'm often treated to beautiful sunrises.

Here are two from this week alone.

Work has been hectic for a couple of weeks now, because our school was named as a finalist for this year's Palmetto's Finest Award. This was the week we were expecting a second team of evaluators to visit and spend the day at our school, without knowing the exact day they would come. Palmetto's Finest is a very prestigious state award, and everyone's been very excited. The administration, teachers, staff and students have been working hard to prepare to make the best possible impression, and the superintendent has seen to it that the maintenance department and landscapers and others have been working tirelessly every day to make sure our school shines. 

Well, today was the day! The evaluation team showed up at 7am and stayed all day right through dismissal and afternoon carline. What a relief that it's finally over! Everything seemed to really go well, and the day went off without a hitch. Whether we win or not, I think we all did ourselves proud!

Here's part of the email our principal sent out once they'd finally left. I sure feel lucky to work in such a great school!

I want to thank each and every one of you for an amazing job you did today. The lead evaluator called this a phenomenal visit and noted they saw many positive things. Please thank your students as well. They behaved very well. 

This is truly a testament to how wonderful we are as a staff. You already do amazing things. I just want others to see this and know it as well. 

Staff may wear jeans tomorrow. 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!