Quarantine: Week 5

Five weeks into the quarantine! Things around here are pretty much the same…lots of zoom meetings, lots of grading, lots of time with Ginny!

She was sleeping on
my mom's hand in the backseat!

I used to have this cup at school
and dream of being at
home with Ginny...
my dream has come true!

Our only walk of the week and Ginny
could not wait to get back to the car!

Ordered these adorable masks from Etsy!

never has there been
a more accurate
description of me

I did actually do some baking – not an activity I'm typically associated with! – and we borrowed a puzzle from my sister-in-law, so I guess we're doing what it seems like most people are doing with their time at home!

banana bread

my mom-in-law's smartie cookies

I had these cute boxes,
so I delivered some cookies
to my BFFs

this puzzle is no joke

We took my mom to my brother's house so she could spend the weekend, and the absolute highlight of my week was seeing my niece and nephew, even if it was only for a few hours. I love them so much!

On hour way home, we took a drive to Hagerstown, Maryland because there is a Primanti Bros. there. If you are unfamiliar with this restaurant, they make the greatest sandwiches on earth! The greatest! We usually go to one of the many Pittsburgh-area locations, but it's nice to have one only a few hours away from our house and it made for a fun adventure yesterday afternoon!

fried pickles!

One of the best parts about my drive to work in the springtime is that I pass two large ponds that are home to Canada Geese and I love seeing the adorable goslings when I am going to and from work each day. Today, we drove over just so I could see them. SOOOOO cute!

Finally, it's been one month without Riley, and I received two lovely gestures in her memory. I have the sweetest, most thoughtful friends!

from my incredible first grade teammates
<3

from my BFF

Happy Tails to you!

Lovely Lyrics: That's What Makes the World Go Round

C and I went for a long drive today and while I was admiring the change in scenery, this song came to mind! The movie is not particularly popular, and its soundtrack even less so, but it seemed like a good choice for Sing Song Saturday! Even though the scene in the movie is a bit odd, I do love the song's message and it seemed uplifting and lighthearted!

That's What Makes the World Go Round

from The Sword in the Stone

Left and right

Like day and night

That's what makes the world go round

In and out

Thin and stout

That's what makes the world go round

For every up, there is a down

For every square, there is a round

For every high, there is a low

For every to, there is a fro

To and fro

Stop and go

That's what makes the world go round

You must set your sights upon the heights

Don't be a mediocrity

Don't just wait and trust to fate

And say, that's how it's meant to be

It's up to you how far you go

If you don't try you'll never know

And so my lad, as I've explained

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

You see my boy, it's nature's way

Upon the weak the strong ones prey

The human life, it's also true,

The strong will try to conquer you

That is what you must expect

Unless you use your intellect

Brains and brawn, weak and strong

That's what makes the world go round

Music and Lyrics by

Robert Sherman and Richard Sherman

Happy Tails to you!

My Second Mom and Dad

Family dynamics can be complicated. Grievances, jealousy, misunderstandings, grudges, favorites…the list goes on and on.

And then if you get married, there is suddenly the merging of two families, which can complicate things ten-fold! It's a balancing act to give the same amount of time and attention to everyone, and it's something I struggle with because of my mom. I'm the oldest and the only daughter and the one most in a position to be her main caregiver. I wouldn't have it any other way. But I never want my brothers and sisters-in-law to feel like they're not involved or don't have a say in any decisions that need to be made.

I won the lottery when it comes to the family I joined when we got married. I know some people don't get along with their in-laws, but that is not the case for me. I adore them. Absolutely adore them. They are my second mom and dad and have been since the age of fifteen. They've been so good to me and I'll never be able to repay them for their kindness and generosity.

We are those two families that have merged very successfully. C's parents love my brothers and their wives and over the years, we've spent many Christmas all together at our house. In fact, this past Christmas, while C and I went to London and Paris, they came down from Canada to stay with my mom so she wouldn't be alone. I mean, C's parents are amazing.

They live in Canada and we don't get to see them nearly often enough. They don't get the kind of time with us that my mom does and I feel extremely guilty about that. Today is my father-in-law's birthday and we were able to facetime with him for over an hour and it was awesome. While there are many reasons I'm looking forward to the end of this current craziness, the number one reason is so that we can go to Canada to see them and they can come down here to see us. We miss them so much!

Here's a pic from when the four of us went on a Disney Cruise together three summers ago. On this Framily Friday, I am so grateful to have married into such a wonderful family!

Happy Tails to you!

A Cup Of Gratitude

I don't know if anyone else fills in those fun templates on Instagram to post in your story - they're often "This or That" or "Favorite Things" or "Never Have I Ever" - but I do them sometimes because they're a quick way to share a few things about yourself!

Last night, I came across one called "Grateful Gifs" and the directions were to fill the cup with gifs of things you're thankful for. What started as something mildly amusing turned into an exercise actually requiring some thought and reflection! In this limited amount of space, I had to sum up what I was thankful for and this is what I came up with:

C

our Dachshunds

my family

my friends

our home

Disney

Harry Potter

music

books

coffee

rainbows

The Office

One thing I realized I forgot - as soon as I shared it to my story, of course! - was a plane or train or car for travel! How could I have forgotten travel?!? Nonetheless, still perfect for Thankful Thursday!

And if you're questioning how The Office could possibly be worthy of a spot on that list, trust me, it is more than worthy! LOL!

Happy Tails to you!

Taking Pics of Ginny

For today's Wiener Dog Wednesday, I thought I'd show the extremes of taking pictures of Ginny.

Sometimes, she is very cooperative and will almost pose for me while looking cute…

alert and looking at the camera!

looking regal!

Other times, it is clear she is just NOT in the mood for me and my phone…

if she could have rolled her eyes
during this photo attempt,
she would have!

I was trying to take a cute "twinning" pic,
but she kept pushing me away
so I would put her down!

It's always a safe choice to take her picture while she's sleeping…

no chance of her scrambling away
when she's sleeping!

Once in a while, I can catch her being funny…

the ears! the tongue!

And if I'm really lucky, a perfect moment is captured.

bliss
<3

my favorite pic of them!

 

Happy Tails to you!

Travel Quotes

C and I are always planning our next adventure, even if it means we aren't booking anything with life being so uncertain right now! We're currently researching a trip for next summer and it's been fun to look at places online and dream about the cool things we'd like to do!

Since it's Travel Tuesday, I thought I would share some of my favorite travel quotes!

Here's to the return of travel, whenever that may be!

Happy Tails to you!

Making Connections

It was not the best day in some ways…the weather was kind of lousy and spring break was over, meaning it was back to work. It definitely felt like a Monday.

even Ginny could tell it was Monday

With the theme of the day being Magical Monday, I was going to write about something Disney-related, but I just finished up with my office hours, which are 7-10 pm every Monday night, and I decided to focus on a different kind of magic.

I was busy throughout the day and to be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to sitting in a BlackBoard Collaborate session for three hours. I'd already been answering emails over the past several days regarding assignments and deadlines, and I didn't really expect anyone to join me on BlackBoard. I figured I would at least be able to use the time to get a bunch of grading done.

7:00 came and I opened the session, resigning myself to notion that it would be a quiet three hours.

I'm so happy to report that I was wrong! I had a bunch of students pop in and out of the session over the three hours, which was great – more than I've had during any of my other office hour sessions over the past several weeks!

Here's the magical part…they didn't want to talk about assignments. They didn't have a single question about deadlines. They just wanted to talk. They were feeling disconnected and just wanted to check in.

These are intelligent, passionate, creative people who are studying to become high school teachers. Their work throughout the semester has been outstanding, and the rich, meaningful discussions we had in class each week energized me and made me think deeply about so many issues.

But this whole online learning is a challenge even for them. They're doing the work, asking the questions, and completing the readings without issue.

What they are missing is the human interaction of a face-to-face class.

I'm also missing that human interaction. So are all of the teachers I know.

Teaching is about so much more than the content. It's about making connections with our students. It's about how we learn from them at the same time they are learning from us. It's about finding what works for each student, discovering what makes them tick, and identifying ways to relate to them. It's about helping them see in themselves all of the potential we see in them everyday and about believing in them. Cheering them on when we see not only their amazing successes, but also when they stumble and then get up and try again. It's about not giving up on our students, especially the ones who keep us up at night as we worry about the countless things we cannot control.

Teaching is about relationships.

So to me, today's magic was remembering that building relationships and connecting with my students is just as important for university classes as it was when I taught Kindergarten twenty years ago.

I love that they just wanted to say hi and talk "face to face" instead of via email. I hadn't realized that I was missing them, too, and I'm so grateful for those three hours I spent in front of my computer tonight.

I'm already looking forward to next week's office hours.

Happy Tails to you!