Ten Things on Thanksgiving Week

I'm a day late for Ten Things Tuesday, but here, in no particular order, are ten things going on in my world this Thanksgiving week:

1. Tuesday was my last day at the school where I teach until next Monday. I am excited about and grateful for a five-day Thanksgiving weekend!  

2.  If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I love sunrises.  This was the sunrise Tuesday morning as I pulled into the school parking lot.  I'm grateful that at my new school, I still get amazing mountain views including beautiful sunrises. 

3. I'm grateful that the Christmas decorations are up!  This year, I only put up one small tree, my nativity collection, and a few snowmen, but the living room looks nice and festive.  I love having the Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving! To me, having the house decorated for Christmas, adds to, and doesn't detract, from Thanksgiving. 

4. Our Thanksgiving will be a simple one at home - just Charly, Josh, and I.  Our Utah daughter and her family went to Disneyland over the Thanksgiving break. We aren't cooking a whole big turkey, but instead bought a Boar's Head turkey breast. We'll also have the traditional stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans and salad.  We will, of course, top it all off with Charly's pumpkin pies. We plan to go to our friend's home in the evening for Thanksgiving dessert.  I'm grateful that our Thanksgiving plans are low-key and relaxing.  I am even planning some naps!

5. Charly baked pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving.  His pumpkin pies are absolutely delicious - the best I have ever tasted!  He hasn't baked them for a few years, but after I coaxed him a little, he got busy and baked them.   I'm grateful that these wonderful pies will be part of our Thanksgiving. 

6. Our little condo passed it's home inspection, and things continue to move forward with the sale.  Of course, the home inspector always has to find something that isn't perfect and needs some kind of repair, but overall, the inspection found that not much is wrong with the place, and for that we are grateful.

7. Since things are moving along well with the sale of our condo, we went ahead and put in an offer on this place, which (hopefully) will be our second retirement home in Utah County.  Nothing is a "done deal" at this point, but I am hopeful and excited.  

8.  We were delayed on the way home from Utah County Tuesday night by a multi-car accident on the freeway. I prayed for the people involved in the accident as we passed by.  It looked like there weren't any critical injuries or deaths (and I didn't hear of any later on the news), so I'm grateful for that, and I grateful that we got home safely in heavy traffic.

9.  I get up most every weekday morning at 5 a.m., but Wednesday, with no school, I slept in past 7:30 a.m..  I'm grateful for extra rest during my long Thanksgiving weekend. 

10.  Although I didn't want to spend Wednesday shopping, I  ended up going to several stores to get some things for Thanksgiving dinner.  I also got some Christmas shopping done, and I ordered some gifts.  I love Amazon at this time of year! Overall, it was a busy day, and I'm exhausted, but I'm grateful to have had a good and productive day. 

That's all for now.  

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

🦃Deb🦃

Ten Things on Tuesday

 Here, in no particular order, are ten things on my mind this rainy Tuesday night. 

1. Daylight Savings Time - Spring ahead always messes with my sleep schedule and throws my whole mind and body off for a week or two.  I wish that the powers that be would keep the time the same all year so we could quit springing ahead and falling back.  Not having to change time back and forth was one of the best things about living in Arizona. 

2. Students behind in reading - All the students at our school have three reading assessments every year - at the beginning, middle and end of the school year.  I gave my students the end of the year assessment today (even though we have more than two more months of school - that's the way our district schedules the assessment).   I am always appalled at how many of my 11th grade students are WAY BEHIND when it comes to reading.  Only about 25% or less of my students are on grade level with reading skills.  Most are at least 1-2 years behind and some are still reading on an elementary school level.  I find this very concerning for these students individually and for our society in general.  

3. ACT Test - This "right of passage" for all 11th grade students is coming up soon.  Teachers got their room assignments for proctoring the test, and I was pleasantly surprised and pleased that I have been assigned, not to proctor, but to be in the hall directing students to their testing classrooms.  I may have to be a substitute proctor as well, but I am hopeful that I can spend the ACT Testing time out in the hall and not in a classroom looking over student's shoulders.  Test proctoring is one of my least favorite things about teaching. 

4. School year almost over - Although sometimes each day seems interminably long, the school year has just a little over two months left.  I even had the yearly meeting with my department chair today about my schedule for next year.  I am looking at retirement either at the end of next year or the year after that.  That still seems like a long way off, but when I consider that seven years have passed since we moved from Arizona to Utah, it doesn't seem all that long. It really is true that the days are slow but the years are fast. 

5. More rain and possibly snow - we are having a rainy Tuesday evening here where I am, and more snow is possibly overnight, although the forecast is that very little will stay on the ground here in the valley.  The mountains will probably get another 6 - 12 inches. 

6.  Travel concerns - we are planning a little road trip in a few days, and we may run into some snow.  I am really hoping that it doesn't end up being a big deal, but it is giving me some anxiety.

7. Car licensed - Charly took our 2015 Honda to be inspected and licensed today when I got home.  I was tired and I really appreciate that he was able to take care of this, so we can pass this car on to Josh next month, and give the old 2010 Kia he is now driving to our grandson who is heading off to college in the fall. 

8.  Sweet 16 - Our oldest Utah granddaughter will be turning "Sweet 16" later this month, and she truly is one of the sweetest, nicest teenage girls I know (and believe me, I know quite a few).   Of course, I'm not at all prejudiced.  We are going to take her out to breakfast on her birthday and I am looking forward to that.  Any time spent with our grandchildren is a good time. 

9.  Heading to Uganda - This same granddaughter is going on a mission trip to Uganda this summer.  I think she is much braver than I was at the same age, or maybe she is just braver than I am now.  At any rate, we are super proud of her.  

10.  Upcoming election - The upcoming presidential election is giving me more than a little heartburn.  Honestly, I am not a fan of either candidate and I wish we didn't have to repeat the most distasteful and divisive campaign I can remember. 

That's all for now. What's on your mind this Tuesday?  

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Whether it's the best of times,

of the worst of times,

it's the only time we've got."

~Art Buchwald

Ten Things Tuesday

I decided to join with my blog friend Stacy at A Mile in My Shoes for Ten Things Tuesday so here are ten things on my mind this Tuesday night. 

1. More snow is expected here tonight.  Some areas of the mountains have several feet of snow (one has over eight feet of snow), which is great for our water snowpack here in Utah. 

2.  Our temperatures are in the 20s and 30s - cold for sure, but not nearly as cold as some areas of the country are experiencing. 

3. I'm disappointed in what happened in Iowa last night.  I was hopeful that as a nation we could move on, but apparently not.  Sigh. 

4.  I found a new "political analysis" podcast tonight which made me feel a little better about what happened in Iowa last night.  

5. I started an after-school tutoring class for the upcoming ACT test today.  This will be an hour after school for about two weeks, so I am taking a deep breath and realizing that I will probably be even more tired than I usually am for a little while. 

6.  I got this fun picture of my oldest son today.  My son is a fish biologist for the Federal Government in California.  It was neat to see a picture of him on the job. 

7. We had to have a new hot water heater installed at our condo.  We did not want to, but the old hot water heater was old and sprang a leak over the weekend.  The condo is under contract and we are praying that it is completely sold by the end of this month. 

8. Inspired by the auto expo we attended with our son-in-law and grandsons on Saturday, We started car shopping on Saturday.  I am currently driving a 2015 Honda CRV, and we want a new car by the time I retire, so we have started kicking tires and taking test drives.  So far we have checked out the Chevy Equinox and a 2024 Honda CRV.  We liked the Honda better than Chevy, but we want to do a little more test driving and tire kicking before we make a final decision. 

9.  Charly gave me this little Ninja Blast portable blender for Christmas, and I love it!  I have been making smoothies from breakfast which are delicious.  I feel like I am doing something  healthy every time I have one.

10.  After being inspired by the book, The 40-Day Sugar Fast, I am attempting to abstain from sugar myself and so far I am doing pretty well.  My goal is losing a bit of weight and establishing some healthier eating habits in the new year.  

That's all for now.  See you again soon.

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

• “What good is the warmth of summer, 
• without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” 
• ~John Steinbeck, “Travels with Charley: In Search of America”