Weekend Coffee Share, Upward

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer on her Blog . Today, my beverage is a hot, Tazo green tea with honey. It’s gray outside, so I slept late and feel no need to hurry. Bixby is filling the house with the little pitter patter of dog footsteps as he moves around the house.

He stops now and then to let me pet him or bark at the front window when someone walks their dog on the sidewalk. He always keeps us safe!

I blogged a few days ago about still dealing with sinus issues ( slowly improving) and getting the new-to-me car this week. Sunday is when I traded in for a 2021 Corolla. I’m in debt again. Ugh! Still, I like this car, it’s much safer, and it’s a smooth ride with Bluetooth for phone calls and Spotify playlists! Pretty awesome…

The color is Blueprint blue. “Sure looks good on you!”😊

So, with my birthday coming up, I’ve asked for two car-related gifts. The price for this car was good, considering it’s low mileage. Hence, I was willing to overlook small stains on the seats and get seat covers. That means, I’ve asked for them for my birthday, which is in a few days. 🙂 My boyfriend already got the paint pen for my car’s few scratches, and it has arrived!

The school week was challenging in the sense that some had to finish up work, some students were too amped up and just didn’t work, and I was monitoring all that while selling and distributing yearbooks from my classroom. Thursday afternoon, I took time off to come home and rest my voice which isn’t back to normal yet. There are no regrets!

I went back to work Friday. Several kids were absent, but the morning classes finished work and then played “teacher and students.” I got to play the principal and fired a temporary teacher. Next week, they want to do a court trial on whether that teacher was fairly dismissed. 😊 I just love their creativity! In the afternoon class, I taught some of them how to play Scrabble and we did a few games. It was fun!

Games are really enjoyable when students want to learn something new and are glad to spend time with their teacher and to be respectfully competitive with each other. Three students in my first class made up a competitive card game based on figurative language concepts. Two in a later class made up a game on socio-emotional concepts involving prompts and acting out a scenario. More creativity! They will play the games next week!

Handsome dog!

I’ve got Miles Davis playing, and it sounds like a coffee shop in here! In a while I think I’ll transform it into a yoga studio for one… well, Bixby tries to overtake the mat. Upward dog, anyone?

Advertisement

Weekend Coffee Share, a Season

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. It’s a sunny morning, and I’m indoors with a hot chai latte with honey in it. This should be good for my lingering sinus issue, minor as it is.

It’s end-of-the-year at school , so that means a busy time for me as the yearbook advisor. My yearbook staff and I have been working since Wednesday afternoon to deliver yearbooks to the classrooms of students who ordered them, and to sell the books for cash to students whose book was not preordered. We had 169 sold online and around 90 to sell. Monday I’ll sell the remaining 40.

Wednesday we had a field trip, and I went as a chaperone. Such fun! It’s nice to get out of the brick and mortar, to take a drive and just have time to really chat with other teachers and let the kids have fun. It took place at Main Event, which has a mix of arcade, bowling, and laser tag as well as an eatery.

Yes, I just had to take a selfie on the school bus!

Today I’ll be cleaning out my car, as I plan to start looking for a new one. Who knows, I may find the right one right away and I want my old one to be ready. This car is twelve years old. It has served me well, but the repairs on it these days are a little too much. Of course I’ll get another Corolla!

Maybe you can tell Bixby got a haircut. He got snippy with the groomer, and he may need grooming by the vet next time. We had meatballs a few nights ago, and my mom gave him one. He pranced around with it as if playing a game, before finally eating it. He’s such a nut!

That’s actually a meatball!

That’s all I have for today. Have a great weekend!

Weekend Coffee Share, on the Upswing

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer at Natalie…Blog Home where she shares about many travels and visits. I’m drinking chai tea with honey, on the end of a sinus afflicted week full of popular culture fodder to stave off boredom.

Yes, I had a banner week of doing nothing, allowing myself to rest and get over this bug. It ran it’s course, but my head was hurting most days. I had very sensitive eyes one day, and the next they were watering constantly with runny nose. Yuck! Temperatures were between 99 and 100.7, so I can’t complain too much there. I also had a cough, but it got better with each day.

On Tuesday, my boyfriend had this floral arrangement delivered on a day I felt horrible. As we both love dogs, it’s adorable and perfect! Can you see that bandaid on the flower in front that would ostensibly be his leg? Yes, so cute. It really brightened my day. ☺️ He’s a keeper!

The window in my bedroom really lets light in, so I didn’t sleep enough during the day. I slept alright at night, since my energy was so low. I tried to read, but that didn’t last long due to my tired and pressured eyes. So, I started a book on Audible titled Verity, and it captured my attention. It’s definitely an adult book, but the plot swept me up with deceit, murder, psychosis, and a plot twist. I highly recommend for adults only.

Needing to alternate between phone time and other activities, I subscribed to HBO MAX and watched Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David, creator of Seinfeld. Sometimes I got tired of his bad attitude and sorry luck, other times I found it hilarious. Then, there was the Twitter news of our president and FL governor, pop culture news of which celebrities are miserable in their marriage or were abusers or had addiction troubles. Yeah, I could’ve done without that.

Through all this, I re-discovered a taste for audiobooks; I can close my eyes and picture the story while someone else reads it. It’s great for when my eyes are tired. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still enjoy reading through Kindle while on a bike at the gym.

My son has been kind and ordered dinner in for us one night. He seems to be sick now that I am getting better. It’s hard to stops these things, as he frequently would walk in the kitchen while I was there. He’s a young, hearty twenty -something, so I think he’ll be better soon.

Bixby wants me to throw the ball!

Today, I am welcoming the sunlight through the blinds and feeling much better. I have a pretty dry cough that just sounds like a response to springtime allergens. No problem. I’ve got this!

Have a great weekend, everyone, and a Happy Mother’s day!

Weekend Coffee Share, Ironies

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer Blog. My coffee share usually is accompanied by chai tea, but today it is green tea with honey. The rules don’t forbid it, and if they did, I’d break that one. 🙂

A quiet, gray morning lets me sleep in late. Yes, I needed that. My plans were to go to the zoo today with my boyfriend. However, today is the day I discover that the headache I had all week was the sign of a cold. I feel it in my throat today. There was one year I caught a stomach bug on the day before Spring Break started. So, I guess it could be worse.

My mom has been out of town and will return Sunday afternoon, so Bixby has been lonely during the day. He has survived, though, and he’s so happy when my son or I get home from work.

Flashback photo: Bixby, protector of the house.

Last night was couch and relaxation time for me and Bixby, and my son put on the movie Us by Jordan Peele. It is mesmerizing, with so many unexpected moments and great acting. Yes, even though I’ve seen it before, it’s still mesmerizing. Lots of Ironies abound in that movie 🍿.

So, I have no pampering appointments today, and my free-to-do-whatever day is probably going to be a napping and resting day, out of necessity. Such is life.

Have a great weekend, and some relaxation, friends, writers, and readers!

Beautiful Weeds on a Spring Walk. #poetry

(c) Pamela Schloesser Canepa

Their yard is unkempt and rough,

The daisies are pretty but tough

But the lavender daisy, in light purple glory

Dares to tell another story.

My dog sniffs about, to him they’re all the same

Though of different color, they have the same name

And I wonder, what sparks their colorful claim to fame.

“I dare to be different, ” they say….

“I’m a genetic mutation,” they say…

Or ” I’m in a particularly fertilized patch of soil,” they might say.

Why are flowers talking to me?

It’s their color that shouts out, you see.

They grow as wild flowers, unpruned and free.

Daring to be different is beautiful to me.

(c) 2023

Weekend Coffee Share, A Poem for Lazy Saturdays

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share and the first day of National Poetry Month! Let’s have some word play. Maybe our coffee share will be like a musical. I’ve been reflecting in verse with my dog at my feet. (Yes, I sound like a geek). 🤓

My Saturday morning brought healthy breakfast, juice, and tea

Last night, after dinner with loved ones to end my busy week

I talked to my guy on the phone like a giddy, chatterbox teen

Then drifted off after a hard day’s work and finally caught up on my lost sleep.

My morning cup is accompanied by sunshine and birds who freely sing

The past is behind, the future I have no need to know or see,

And I can be grateful for all of these things, no worry of what tomorrow brings.

#grateful

(c) Pamela Schloesser Canepa

Weekend Coffee Share, Spring Forward!

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Today is a Zen green tea day. Is it coffee for you? The sun is shining; I drank half of my tea before leaving, but now I’m back four virtual chat, as I finish my second half of my green tea. It’s honestly good at any temperature. Don’t judge!

This week seemed like such a busy one. I was trying to get grades done, motivating students to finish things, and trying to keep them busy and out of trouble with all of their excitement for the upcoming Spring break. Not always easy. I was very proud of some students, but others just disappointed me. I went to the chiropractor Thursday and got the manual adjustment again. It relaxed me as usual, and I woke up Friday, ready for the day.

At nine this morning, my mom and I went to my church for the meeting of Bag Ladies, a group that gathers monthly to assemble bags for children whose parent left an abusive situation and are entering into temporary residence at Hubbard House. Frequently, they leave home quickly without packing a suitcase. It’s such a good mission, and those who run it are such nice people!

Bag Ladies is a mission of our church I always wanted to join. They pack these care bags with a children’s book, stuffed animal, toothbrush and other necessities a family might forget when leaving in a hurry. Hubbard House keeps their shelter location secret. You can find out more about their organization here: https://www.domesticshelters.org/help/fl/jacksonville/32201/hubbard-house

So, it’s been a nice morning so far. I usually am just lazy Saturday mornings. I feel I’ve earned it after a week teaching middle school. However, the Bag Ladies mission happens once monthly, and I can certainly give that much. Mom agreed for some of her beanie baby collection to be donated today for the Bag Ladies group, so that clears out a little bit of stuff from our garage. Now, I have to decide what sort of cardio I’ll do today.

Beanie babies sure are cute…

I’m planning to get a pedicure later, and tomorrow, I’ll go to the Celtic Fest with Chris to see my favorite Scottish band, Albannach. While I am only 7 percent Scottish, drums and bagpipes really do energize me! It’s also a great way to welcome Spring in coinciding with the start of my Spring Break!

Albannach!

That’s what I have going on these days. How do you plan to welcome Spring in? Are you in an area that is currently still snow covered? If so, have a second cup of hot coffee for me! I look forward to some relaxation this week, time with friends, and time with Bixby, of course! Have a wonderful weekend, all!

Weekend Coffee Share, February 25th

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. I had peach mango V8 with breakfast and now I’m enjoying a chai latte on a sunny morning. I think it’ll be in the 80s again today, much like it has been all of last week.

This week was a short work week, as I prefer! Students are getting a little hyped up as we get closer to Spring Break, though. It gets a little tiring. I’d love to be excited about Spring Break too, but having to tell kids repeatedly not to do things they should know not to do can wear a person down. Don’t get me wrong, I do have some very bright and responsible students, and I enjoy my job overall.

Since we were off Monday, I had a doctor’s appointment. Afterward, I came home for lunch and painted for a while. It’s my new hobby to help destress and an outlet for creativity. It also doesn’t bother my hand or shoulder like writing/typing stories, which I still do, though at a very slow pace lately!

A desert sunset. I’ll get better with time…

On Thursday, I went back to the new chiropractor, and I’ll be getting acupuncture next Wednesday! I’m so excited. I look forward to new avenues that can lead me to pain and stress relief. This chiropractor does manual, hands-on adjustments. I was shocked the first time he quickly turned my neck and got it to crack. Immediately, I felt the tension melt away, though! Similarly, he got my back to make that crack. It felt better; I can’t argue with the results!

Friday night I went home and relaxed. I watched Netflix, read a little, and sat around with my feet up. Bixby enjoyed laying on the back of the couch, as you can see!

Toe beans!

Yeah, maybe my dog is a little spoiled. 🙂 So, now I’m contemplating exercise. My plan was to go to the gym, but I currently have my feet up again, and I’m thinking yoga is what I need. I promise, I will do one of the two options for at least 30 minutes! I’ll just give myself the option of choosing which is best.

There’s still no resolution to the law on books in the classroom, which was worded as openness in curriculum and based on a section referring to legal consequences if a teacher makes a book with pornography available to a student. So, no reading choices are available on my bookshelf. The list that has been made available to me as a teacher only has the reading material that is in our curriculum, which is online. Very limited, if you ask me. This is my own opinion, not that of my employer… you know the drill.

That’s all for now. I’m still contemplating exercise. I hope you all have a happy, healthy weekend!

Weekend Coffee Share, Balance for Self-Respect

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. This morning had me longing for green Tazo tea, and after brewing it, I added my chocolate ashwagandha powder, which makes it even more tasty, and supposedly has great health benefits.

No, it’s not easy being a princess! 😉

Note the cup. I think my mom gave it to me. After I had a surgery 10 years ago, as I recovered I would ask for things. She said, yes, the precious needs some water, here you go. I think sometimes she said princess, but I jumped on the precious comment and mimicked gollum from The Lord of the rings: “Precioussss!” She would just look at me strange. My boyfriend Chris sometimes refers to me as a princess. It’s his fault, as he often treats me like one, LOL!

Is it any wonder I had a former boyfriend who said I was “The princess and the pea?” Look up the story if you’re not familiar. I believe it’s a fable. Anyhow, I think it’s because I’ve had pain sensitivity for a number of years; I can’t sit in a hardback kitchen chair for too long, can’t walk too far in high heels, etc. I mentioned the story to Chris and said,” That just serves to show, I am a real princess!”

From my Louise Hay affirmation journal.

Interestingly, today’s prompt from my Louise Hay journal is about feeling good getting older and being at peace with one’s body. In many ways, I have more confidence in how I look, and I do honor and respect my body more as I get older. Some of it is realizing I didn’t always have a healthy attitude about it: I felt it wasn’t as good as others’, thought it didn’t look good enough, didn’t feed it right. I’m constantly seeking to keep it healthy now and to strike a balance between body and mind.

I’ve had to work harder on this because I’ve had chronic pain of one kind or another for a few years. Google defines chronic pain as “persistent pain that lasts weeks to years.” So, some things can aggravate me worse than they do others. Some days, it’s really hard to drag myself out of bed, put some pep in my step, and be ready for what I may need to face is the world of middle school education. But, I do it. I don’t wake extra early to go to committee meetings anymore. I think I have the right to decide if something is to much for me.

This is how I can be at peace with my body. Again, there has to be a balance between body and mind. This is why writing these days is slow-going for me. I won’t force myself to play out a plotline idea by sitting at the computer munching chips and typing for hours on end, my back screaming at me for being in a chair too long, (no matter how comfortable that chair is), a crick in my neck aching me from looking at the computer screen so long, basically, my body screaming for my mind to just slow down. Hmmm, yes, I try for balance now.

Bixby and his winter ‘hairdo.’ 🙂

My dog, Bixby also prefers I don’t spend hours glued to the computer screen. In the long run, when one seeks to find balance and be kinder with oneself, isn’t a dog a valuable source of sage wisdom?

This ends my coffee share on a high note. Trust the wisdom of the dog: enjoy loved ones, show them you care for them, when it’s time to play, do so with reckless abandon, and when it’s time to rest, rest as much as you need!

Have a great weekend!

A Day in My Life, Day 28

Jan. 29th- Day 28 of #ADayinMyLife

Welcome to Sunday sit-back-and-relax! I sleep in late, which was so much needed, and spent time with my man last night sharing laughter and a little poetry, which was also much needed!

My side of town was mercilessly busy last night. Chris and I had a hard time getting seating at Chili’s, so we went to a smaller scale place for him to get a burger. I was chilly,so I had soup and a Mediterranean wrap.

After that, we went to his place and started watching The Palest Blue Eye on Netflix. One of the characters is a young Edgar Allan Poe. It is quite intriguing those slow-moving. I believe I fell asleep halfway through, and Chris understood, because sleep is important to both of us!

At any rate, this morning, I’ve been hanging out with my dog, Bixby, listening to Alanis Morrissette’s A Jagged Little Pill. Oh, it brings back memories of the 1990s, of my divorce, of my reintroduction to freedom, and the first time I started dating Chris a year after my divorce. It was not the right time for us back then. Anyhow, it also later got me through lonely times as well, learning to enjoy just spending time with myself.

Internet image of Alanis’ album.

After her album, I went back to listening to Lord Huron, a more relaxing vibe for today. It was mostly a day for errands to prepare for the new work week, but I had time to relax and read. After dinner, my son and I watched the last halt of The Pale Blue Eye. In it, Poe is a young cadet at a military academy where several murders occur and helps in solving them. In reality, Poe did attend the Military Academy in Virginia. The actor has an eerie look as you’d think young Poe would have. All well done!

Have a good night, everyone. I’m amazed that I’ve done 28 days of blogging daily!