5 lines a day challenge

1. Today started with waking up before my alarm (as usual) for lessons at 10am through 12pm. The 10am lesson was new student for French, acquired via AF DuPage. She is an older woman and speaks French fairly well, with an interesting accent. The second lesson was with a girl I thought was done with, but she didn't get score she wanted on ACT, so now she's trying for SAT again. I don't have the heart to tell her that she isn't likely to improve much--she seems to have some sort of language comprehension issue for the English questions that require analysis and such. 2. A lot of the day, I had to grade, as this was last day for submissions. Was surprised that most of the students actually managed to get through it all. There was some definite translator use, though well within guidelines. They had to have typed very well in AI if they used it, as there were no outside structure present for anyone. Most of them had too perfect of responses, though, so I know something was ...

1. We actually went to bed at a better time last night. In the middle of the night, I got overheated, though not to an extreme, just enough to make my heart race and feel uncomfortable for a bit. Once I got cooled, I went to freezing and right back under the covers! 2. Spent some time on grading and such, then worked on the mud room and foyer project more. So happy with the results so far! Got the freezer end done in mud room, now going to conquer the closet end. For the foyer, cleaned the area under the painting, then moved the table from the catwalk down there, and moved my Tiffany style lamp from the living room to be on the table. It looks so nice! 3. Had to spend more time on grading in the afternoon as well. Going to keep this in mind for next summer--kids really can get these courses done this fast (likely using a lot of AI help, but they can't fake the speaking with me!) 4. Got laundry done and put away as well! Then Michael came home and we went out. I wanted to shop Menar...

1. I'm 49! That's really seems weird to me. Many days, I can tell that I am getting older physically, yet I still feel very young in spirit. 2. I started the day with going to Sweet Reserve Bakery/Café to get a pastry, as the one on St. Charles has still not posted as to when they will open. Oh, and before this, Annette had actually texted me around 9:45 (15 min before I woke for the day) to ask last minute if I wanted to join her at Starbucks for drink & pastry between 10-10:30. I had to turn her down and explain that I'd just got up, not ready for anything just yet. Felt a little sad that I had to do that. Really need to get my sleep schedule back on track. 3. Next, I went shopping at TJ Maxx with the money mom sent me for my birthday. I got 3 tops, a pair of shorts, and a Circulon 5qt frying pan (have been looking for this type of pan for a while). On the way back home, I picked up my free slice of Portillo's cake. 4. Back at home, I gave myself a mani/pedi (cons...

1. Today started with a bit of happiness: weight at 168.9, first time under 169lbs in what seems like far too long now! I'll probably kill it tomorrow with my b-day, but still, gives me hope that I can get a grip on this stupid weight gain at my age...soon to be...holy crap...49?!!! 2. Then i wasted far too much time falling into rabbit holes as I tried to settle in on exercises and such for the upcoming language workshop for AF. I'm so over it. I already told Deb that this may well be my last, as I find putting it together all myself to be too much. I really dislike trying to figure out topics and be clever enough to come up with themes. I said I'd be willing to co-host with someone, but after this month, if no one steps up, it's over.  3. I'm torn in about a zillion directions on how to spend my birthday demain. I know only 2 things for sure: I will get my free birthday slice at Portillo's and go out for the French wine tasting at Wine & Whiskey. I'm g...

1. Crazy how fast a few days can slip away! Main thing that I've been doing is working (finally) on house projects stuff. Decided to switch around some items to reorganize the mud room and foyer area. Not done yet, but looking good so far! 2. Today was a good day, albeit a bit crazy! Started with me getting crappy sleep because of some bug bites...they woke me up twice, had me nearly convinced something was in bed with me attacking, despite having just showered, put on fresh pjs AND fresh sheets, ugh! Stripped the bed and sprayed it with lysol, left it open to air, just in case. Praying nothing goes on tonight like that. 3. The lack of sleep was also due to having to get up early for the tree removal appointment, which we took the 8am spot to be first of the day. And oh am I glad we did, even if my sleep suffered. They were already setting up in the driveway when I came downstairs around 7:40. I laid on the couch with eyes closed, listening to them hollering instructions in Spanish...

1. As usual, I remembered far too late last night, then forgot again until just now lol. The main thing from yesterday was the 13.8 mile bike ride to get my free Andy's for my birthday reward! It was really nice out--finally good air! 2. Today's air AND temp were spectacular--wish the rest of summer could be this way! 73F, low humidity, light breeze, clear air...ahhhh. We left the windows open, no need for AC! 3. Took WAYYYY too long to do that last step for Proximity (the bio vid). I had to make a small slideshow to go along with it (did NOT know about that until I got in the assignment, ugh), then I kept failing while trying to record! My voice would falter, I'd get crap in my throat, I'd babble, I recorded it without the slideshow shared--you name it, I failed it. Took the whole stupid morning away from me. 4. After my 2pm lesson, got the tree service guy called. I'd inquired with two companies last night online; he was the only one to call me of the two. He stop...

1. Today started with the dreaded PLI training. Dreaded because 9am start time plus I already really dislike their procedures. Thankfully, the training was only an hour long, yet was so pointless. He's a nice person, good presenter--I just already know the stuff he's saying. 2. Afterwards, I decided to finish most of the remaining "training tasks" I had not yet done (wasn't sure if we were supposed to wait until now to do them or if we could have done earlier). The first one was fairly simple, second one not bad, then the third one...yep, I hate this a lot. It was writing a lesson plan. For just one day. Sounds easy enough and should be...except they want A LOT of stuff in there, including hyperlinks for activities. If there were a way to copy/paste from their pre-made slides in the lessons, it would be halfway tolerable, as that is much of what they want. I just really loathe writing full, drawn out lesson plans. I sincerely hope I get enough classes with IVSA an...

1. The air was stupid again today, though not nearly as much as the other day--in the 150s-160s to start, then 130s by evening.  2. I worked the booth at Cantigny for AF DuPage for the first time, in the afternoon shift. Went very well. Def better to do afternoon when it's starting to calm down.  3. Deb and I chatted before the shift. She needs me to attend the training on Wed, so I said I would. I expressed my exasperation with how the last one went and said we needed to make clearer what was to happen. We also need a 'sandbox' for people to play in so they can get used to the site without messing it up. I hope this exists. I also hope to be given access to the site before we do Wed's session. 4. Have made major progress on my photo storage! Got the whole vacay from last year in, and just now up through May 2025. Very happy for this!!! 5. Made pork tenderloin and fried potatoes for dindin ce soir. Hubby really loved it; I thought it was good, but the tenderloin a bit o...

1. The new sheets are a win! I slept very well in them :) Thus, today, we went to Kohl's and got some for hubby's bed and a set for mom. 2. Also went for donuts at Mariano's and to Home Depot for hubby--he needed a board to top his game table upstairs and needed it cut. HD was excellent, and the cut version just fit in my car.  3. Got a workout in--125 floors on the stairmaster in 31.5 min! Still not where I was before, but I am already improving just a little. Also, tried a headband today--def going to be doing that from now on, worked very well! 4. Made amaretto & chocolate cookies for first time. They are good, but nothing amazing. Still, got it filmed for CDM :)  5. And had paccheri for dindin. It turned out really good, but I will say that using mild sausage + red pepper flakes is NOT nearly as good as the hot sausage, nor is the paccheri rigate that I got at Aldi a few months back. Next time, going back to regular ingredients for these.

1. Woke myself up snoring this morning when I slept on my belly lol. In my dream, I couldn't speak normally, every time I tried it was super deep and hoarse. Realized exactly why when I woke up! Too funny. 2. We hit AQI in the 500's before bed last night, ugh. Thankfully today, around 1pm, the skies started clearing up and we could actually see the sky again! We're now down to 92 for AQI. 3. I chose recipes to make for dinners, but then got an email from Sarpino's about 17.76 for two large chz pizzas. And as M & A were going to be out anyway, opted to do that for dindin. Will cook the other recipes soon enough. 4. Finally made muddy buddies today! Those boxes of rice Chex have been yelling at me every time I get in the pantry lol. Now to keep myself out of it... 5. Went to Kohl's because mom wants some new sheets and I have 40% off coupon. I, too, want some--as spares--so that we don't wear out the awesome Target ones we have (seriously, those are great shee...

1. Missed yesterday, oops. Nothing to major happened, other than sitting through a very poorly executed 'walk through training' for the new Oncord system that AF Dupage is adopting. The lady was clearly not ready, very distracted by what was going on in her home (very unprofessional) and just ran through stuff seemingly randomly. I was ready to throw my headset at the screen by the end, especially when I found out that AF is PAYING for this "training"! This is now the second time I've sat through a Zoom lately that I found simply intolerable. What I've learned: I never want to make my students feel this way. Presentations need VISUALS and AGENDAS to follow. Training needs to be INTERACTIVE. Just telling people about a concept accomplishes squat. I could have read about this and processed it; instead, it was that same "bombardment of info" feeling. This is why we do CFU's! 2. Today has been different than I'd planned due to the stupid wildfire...

1. Had to take some Advil in the early morning (headache), then slept until 10am, oof! Gotta start correcting this sleep schedule before it gets out of hand and too hard for me to get up next week for training. 2. Got my Fullmind credentials to sign up for classes...whenever those end up available. 3. Got a couple of house cleaning items done, spent some time listening to new music, and helped mom get a Tracfone for Uncle Larry. 4. Did the first session of our new café conversation in Itasca tonight--had 7 people attend and everyone was very happy with it, woohoo!! 5. New accuplacer student decided to bail for next (last) 2 sessions, as she realized she is in over her head on trying to learn too much before Friday test deadline. Frankly, I'm relieved--was worried she'd go bomb the test and blame it on me. I think she has an undiagnosed learning disability (processing difficulty), but obviously I cannot say such to her. I hope she will still be able to do her program at some poi...

1. Today I went back to the gym for the first time since...holy crap--April?! It was TOUGH, as it always is to go back after so long, but I'm super glad I did. I opted to do stairmaster--went 31 min, 120 flights. Not bad! I know it's unlikely to budge the scale much right away, but I'm still going to try. And most importantly, for my heart health. Our bike rides are nice, yet far from challenging. 2. Had the rest of my leftovers from Moretti's for lunch, yum! While eating that, I checked my emails and saw an invite for cookout and pool party chez Melissa in August for IVSA. I am very not about the pool part, so I'll likely skip. Most shocking email was the one asking if I'd be available in the fall for classes and that Tremont is returning. I wanted to write back and say "seriously???!" but I simply said yes I'd be available lol. Cannot believe they have anyone that would take the class, nor that it would be worth paying someone to manage it (and I...

1. Wasn't NEARLY as productive as I wanted to be today about the house cleaning. I made the grave error of clearing the items from the front hallway lol. This resulted in me spending, I kid you not, 2 hours on Christmas card triage. 2. During this triage, I watched part of the new Netflix Little House on the Prairie series. So far, it's good, but it's a bit chaotic. To me, it is a bit of whiplash with the speed of events, yet online, it says it's 'slower paced' to match the books better. Huh? And while I really like that they took the time to consult with Osage tribe to get their outfits and culture correct, I detest when they have scenes with them at their alleged house and speaking in English. Nope, not buying that. They speak in Osage sometimes, like at random. Rather certain that is not how it would have been at all. And non-white LADY shopkeeper--oh hell no. I say non-white because I have no idea what race she is, but I am quite sure that it was likely alwa...

1. I don't normally go back like this to do an entry, but there was much to tell for this day! After I wrote the entry for the 8th, I got the depressing and yet somewhat expected news that I was not chosen for the Beacon job :( Yes, very disappointed, but the way this day ended helped tremendously raise my spirits. Also, got email this morning from Fullmind offering me contract for the upcoming year--quite the coincidental timing. 2. Okay, the first thing of the day wasn't quite so great--attended the AF federation Zoom that Charles (our former pres) was part of, which was about how the liberty bell and Annecy are connected. I thought it was going to be, well, a presentation. Instead, it was just a lady from the Pacchard foundry in Annecy speaking with no visuals, and Charles got to ask her questions to lead...yeah, we call that a podcast, folks, not a presentation. While I could understand everything, I couldn't absorb it because she was spitting out facts like a machine g...

1. The last couple of days have been busy AF...with some of it because of AF lol! Yesterday I should have gotten to my plan of making stuff sooner, but I was a tad indecisive about what to make exactly. Ended up making two different baguette recipes, awesome mini almond cupcakes in a French flag design thanks to frosting coloring, and failing at crust dough for a quiche--which caused me to abandon ship on that idea (and that it was getting quite late). 2. Had originally thought I might get up this morning and make the quiche. Nope, too tired from last night + the night before. Instead, got up, put together the charcuterie platter, organized everything, popped the baguettes in the oven to re-crisp, and managed to actually leave on time for the picnic--yay! 3. Picnic was lovely--had TONS of food available, so it's for the best that I didn't bother with the quiche. I was a bit surprised that my mini cupcakes didn't get taken so much. But everyone was raving about my baguettes ...

1. Had crazy dreams as usual last night. This time, a ghost tried to get in bed with me and climbed on top of me in the dream (I was in bed in the dream). I remember saying, I have to tell Michael about this, it was so cool! Yeah, no, haven't told him lol. 2. Got up at 9 (well, 8:57, because that's how my internal alarm goes) to get ready for Egg Harbor convo group. Was delayed getting there by a very long train, then could hardly find a parking spot--very unusual. 3. After Egg Harbor, we went to Bread & Vine. We had to play musical parking spots, during which people were ready to steal our spots at any second--it was like cutthroat Christmas parking or what! JoAnn and I tried to hold a spot for Annette--stood in the frickn' middle of it facing outward--and yet, this lady turned on her signal and sat there until Annette gave up, went around the corner and managed to find one. J & I finally left once we spotted Annette coming up the sidewalk. The insistent lady never...

1. Worked my butt off in the yard today: mowed both front and back and trimmed, plus weeded the bed under the stairs, oof! 2. Went for an 8 mi bike ride. Could have gone far longer, but A & M were not up to it. 3. Got other stuff done in the house as well, feeling good about progress! 4. M & A brought me Legends Pizza for dindin, yum! 5. Got more of my pix uploaded, also great progress on that project!

1. As expected, I woke a bit before my alarm that I'd set for 8:15. Got ready and prepped as best I could for the interview. Wasn't hungry due to nerves + ate too much night before. 2. The interview was intense. And the ladies were hard to read. I think they were all tired except maybe the Arabic teacher. I didn't even get a chance to say hello in Arabic like I'd planned. And while I think I gave good answers, now I'm beating myself up for not mentioning 'collaborate' and similar when asked how I'd handle this new style. Oh, well. If it is meant to happen, it will. I'm trying not to rely on my feelings too much (as I did on the Yondr thing, only to be very let down). Justin said he would be in touch by the end of the week to let me know. Once again, the waiting will suuuuuck. On the other hand, then I'll know one way or the other...I think. He didn't say anything about any other interview rounds, but his statement wasn't "you'll ...

1. Took it far too easy today, now determined to plan and conquer going forward. 2. Am very distracted with the job thing that will happen tomorrow morning. Today I was dismayed and puzzled when I got notification that the job was...posted on LinkedIn?! Why? Do they need more candidates? Very doubt that. It was posted by a different person, which makes me wonder if they talked to Justin before doing so. What is stranger is that I'm rather certain that I clicked on the email not long after receiving it, yet when I did, it showed that 6 people (not including me) had applied?! WTF? How? Bots? I don't get it. 3. The post indicated that those interested should send their resume and philosophy of ed to Justin. He only asked for my resume the other day, which got me wondering if he will be asking in person about my philosophy or if that is actually even all that important. Either way, I decided to pull mine up. I wrote it in...2017. Wow. And it...sucks. I edited it to improve, then lo...

1. It's past noon, I know, but it's my rule to break lol. I thought of this last night as I was about to shower, so I did not head back downstairs. 2. The day started far too early (7:45) because we had to get Avery (and hubby) over to the parade for staging by 9am. After I dropped them off, I headed over to find a parking spot. Ended up opting for Western Trails School parking lot on Idaho. 3. Decided to walk a ways past Idaho, though, because there were already a LOT of spots reserved in this area, plus I wanted to be more towards the middle of the parade. When Everstrong was in front of me, it was a different kid performing. Thankfully, Sensei took pix and vids of everyone and shared them, so I got to see Avery's excellent performances after all! 4. The weather was partly cloudy at first, then mostly sunny--and nearly NO wind, ick! 80°F + humidity - wind is not very pleasant. Thankfully, I had my umbrella to shade, whew! Didn't stick around through the end for 2 reas...

1. When I got up to pee around my usual 4am time, I checked my phone for messages and saw that Justin from Beacon Academy had sent one to invite me to a Zoom on Monday at 9am with 3 other people from the world lang dept. There is no mention of the current/former French teacher, though, so there may still be hoops to jump through yet. Just the prospect of this meeting set my brain in motion, imagining what it will be like, etc. I don't think I've ever wanted a job more in my life, for so many reasons. I'm also still beyond curious about who else is being given this opportunity. I mean, how many choices do they really want to have? The meeting is set up for 45 min, which is a bit longer than "meet n greet", it seems to me. 2. I had lessons to do from 10-12. When I got up and got on the computer, I made myself notes about the people that I will be meeting with on Monday. After my lessons, I started working on my Duolingo--to refresh my Spanish (two of them are teache...

1. Today the head of Beacon Academy wrote me to ask about availability for next week and to ask for my résumé. Fingers MAJORLY crossed still yet for this opportunity. I really fear the competition, though. I don't go around speaking education lingo and I'm not all that trained in Montessori. Upon looking up when I did that after school thing in Batavia, it has now been 16 years since I was around such. I am going to study up a bit and have already begun anticipation of questions I may be asked. I feel like this is still a long shot, though, and my recent experience of making it to final round of Yondr only to have them not have a position is still eroding my confidence. 2. Due to my need to always have a plan B (ESP in this case), and perhaps it's even plan C or D at this point lol, I texted that person from Elevate/Fullmind as to when I should expect to hear something either way. To my surprise, he replied and said I should be fine, and that there is currently a backlog on...

1. I reluctantly got up to pee at 7:40 this morning, and as I feared, my stupid body wouldn't quite go back to sleep, then still "woke up" around 9. Sigh. The good thing about this is that I will need to go to bed at the right time tonight. 2. We tried an experiment to see if we could get Avery's room cooler: box fan to draw in the cool air. Didn't make much difference. I think tonight we should try partially closing some of the basement vents--at least until these 90's temps go away (Friday). 3. Had 3 1/2 lessons today, felt like such a busy day! And verified that Elevate did indeed pay me for the silly missed day (their fault), so we are all squared away now. And still nothing from Fullmind, so I think that's toast. 4. Posted to CdM today!! And watched a few vids from others, planning to make that part of my daily routine. We also filmed a new episode, hopefully have that edited soon. I still need to finish typing up today's. 5. Got a second strawber...