Right Now-April Recap

 RIGHT NOW

I'm listening to the sounds of Saturday chores.   The washer has been purring since I first got up, and will likely stay busy for most of the day.   The wind is also howling, but luckily not as fierce as last night when the crazy cat was certain there were intruders in the attic-as the baffles of the attic fan flapped in the strong breeze generated by Mother Nature

I'm loving that what I consider to be 'the longest month of the school year" has come to a close.   Now we just have to slide our way through the 4 weeks of May (we finish up right before Memorial Day).   

To help pass the time, I found myself tapping into my silly-sassy self (something I don't usual express that much at work-where  I am more the super nurturing den mom type of school nurse) 

Be it brownies on 4.20

Or veggies in place of Crumbl cookies on April 1st..

Both pranks  provided the team with some good natured chuckles (especially a marijuana themed joke-it was curious to hear which co-workers were disappointed to learn I hadn't made "special" brownies)and helped pass the time as we count down to summer vacation (as I am not the only one who feels like April will never end!).   

Oh who am I kidding...even in my prankster moments-I'm nurturing--bringing in treats is my love language..

I broke out of my routine-and went to a happy hour on (gasp) a school night.

..but I couldn't pass up the chance to wish one of my favorite former co-workers a Happy Retirement.   Memories of her hearty laugh will always make me smile...

Speaking of laughs...a few of us got together for a benefit show

featuring our favorite drag queen-

The Pie Queen as she kept us entertained with song

offered platters of tasty pastries

and even kept the spirits flowing freely in the basement of 1st Baptist Church of Denver...

Clearly this would not have happened in the basement of Grandma's Baptist church..

but hey-it's 2022- times are a changing I suppose...

I'm Feeling energized...

My book club gathered for brunch-where I was pleasantly surprised to discover most of us had read both books and had some thoughts worth chatting about.

I decided "what the heck" and got myself a 2nd booster..not sure it was necessary-but then again Thing 2 is still recovering from some angry immune reactions after her brief encounter with "Rona last month.

After 90 days of boondocking in the deserts of NM, AZ and UT-my happy retiree returned home...

  

Come on little Owen-it's time we put away our hibernating sloth ways..

and get ourselves ready for some summertime fun!

Until Next Time..

Right Now- March Recap

 RIGHT NOW

I'm listening to the grumbling and laughter of my co-workers.   Seems some folks forgot to look at the calendar before they got excited to see a box of cookies at our sign in desk.   

I guess my team didn't know my family reputation of Mischievous Martha?

I'm loving-  that the calendar says it's officially spring and for the most part, Mother Nature received the same memo

A little after hours team bonding with my co-workers...to kick off Spring Break

Without a doubt, there is no reason to quit my day job and become an artiste!

For the rest of Spring Break- I found myself sticking close to home- taking time to read a couple good book (Dial A for Aunties- a super silly caper type mystery all occurring during an elaborate wedding involving Chinese-Indonesian characters and The Prodigal Summer-which was the perfect read for spring fever), watching a couple movies with friends, going for lots of walks.  In other words, lots of self care but not necessarily picture worthy activity.  

On the one day during break when Mother Nature decided to "shower us" with some moisture, Thing 1 and I tackled the basement storage areas with amazingly good results...

Ah- now I can find what I need..

Goodbye Basement-Hello Goodwill!

I finished up the week, with a BAGS Birthday celebration-  

Theme was Cocktails, Caftans and Canines 

Where we sported the latest in caftan fashion...

Got our sillies on with the photo worthy pooches..

Yes- this was after a glass (or 3) of mimosas...

and rounded out the celebrations with assorted cream puffs!

Hello- who knew there were bakeries dedicated to assorted cream puffs?  

The more you know...

The more often the temptations arise...

I'm feeling at peace.   Sure we had a little blip on the radar when this Thing caught COVID

No- not the cat the human..   

We still consider ourselves extremely lucky- for a family of 4- 2 of us have been working in health care during the entire pandemic, while the 3rd one has been employed in the grocery industry.   To make it 2 full years before any of us had a dance with old Rona is truly a testament to the value of masks, handwashing and vaccines/boosters.  

After  completing the required isolation (where yeah, she was pretty miserable but way less severe than had she not mitigated the impact through vaccinations)...she was up and ready to start the 2nd quarter of nursing school

And this cool cat...

continues to reign supreme in the House of Chang

finding the sweet spot in Uncle Patrick's new bed...

Until next time...

A reminder more for myself than anyone else who might stumble upon my blog...

Right Now- February Recap

 RIGHT NOW

I'm listening to that inner voice-  I need to get back to my routine of more activity and better eating habits.  But, what I really want to do is have a cookie! 

Sunshine and Shenanigans...here we come!  

 It's a quiet(ish) morning here at work- so I figured I'd do my quick monthly recap- before time and the "afterglow" of a perfect weekend get away floats off.  

Oh thank heavens- just a pass through of Chicago...

I'm loving that February ended on such an incredibly happy note.   The Things and I flew out to help celebrate the marriage of our dear friend, Allie.   She's had a rough decade- give or take- and this weekend was clearly her moment to shine and be proud of all the demons she's wrestled since her mom passed away 10 years ago.

So many great photos from the weekend- where do I start...

Let's start at the very beginning...

Always the preferred babysitter for Thing 1

and Thing 2...

While "Things have changed"

-these kids still love their Allie!

almost as much as they love each other..

The Heitman house...

served as the perfect venue for this Southwest FL wedding..

where we were thrilled to see the Father-of-the Bride-walk his daughter down the aisle

while radiating true love...

as he too has faced his own set of health challenges

taking in the sunset with his "happily ever after" Mrs-  D-Lish!  

While that really was the highlight of the month- 

we also celebrated my dad's release from Rehab

He's now continuing to regain strength and stamina-

while being back home alone..

I'm feeling ready to be done with this season of winter.   February brought some much needed moisture

enough to score us a snow day- so it wasn't all bad...

but these stretches of too cold to snow days 

help me appreciate why snow birding is so popular!

Until next time

All you need is 

 that we all get by with a little help from 

for that's  where the good stuff is.

and always know...These Things..

are some of the best things in our life!