Friday Photos- Good- byes, temporarily (hopefully in most cases)

A look back at the week, Monday thru Friday, through photos

I only subbed one day this week, Friday. Our district only had school two days so I averaged working half of the week (half of the days that I could work).

I subbed for a science teacher. The day went well for the most part. It was a good foray back in that role as I hadn’t subbed since mid- December.

This sign was in the room:

Covid kind of turned this on its head, right? We learned that political power and profit margins > the scientific method. 

So, this week had a theme of good-byes (except the subbing which was more of a hello/ reintroduction to the work force)

First, it was a lengthy, time consuming good- bye but we said good- bye to the Christmas decorations. I am, unfortunately, not one of those people who gets their decor put away in one day. It’s always a multi day process for me. This is a product of a coupe of things- I put up many decorations such as the five Christmas trees, Christmas china on display, lots of garland, etc. so even if I worked feverishly, not ceasing, it would take a while. But I do cease working thanks to, perhaps, latent ADD. I get distracted easily. I put something away and then I notice something that needs attention or organizing so I stop putting decor away to work on that. This year the problem was more intense because I bought tree storage bags. That means that I was able to get rid of all of the cardboard boxes that I had been storing the trees in. But then I had to consider what all to put in the bags (they are huge!) so more decisions had to be made and that delayed the putting away process. By Friday, I had 99% of the decorations put away. Whew! I had worked what seemed like at least two hours a day for days. 

This...

To this, took some doin' 

I tried to say goodbye to all of these boxes, but the garbage and recycling crew declined to take them :(.

On Tuesday, we said good-bye to Abby as she made her way to a city in an overseas country with a bed bug infestation, a heightened terror alert, and one of the biggest pick pocketing places in the world. Au, Paris! Yes, we paid lots of money to send Abby to this paradise... She will be there for three weeks as part of a school program. She’ll wind up with six credit hours- her school has a J (January) term. (If students don’t take classes on campus or abroad, they have a really long winter break. The spring semester for everyone starts at the very end of January.)

Abby’s boyfriend drove with me to see Abby off at the airport. We parked in an economy lot and took a shuttle to the airport.

Abby in CVG (the Cincinnati airport)

So far... so good. We have not talked on the phone but have communicated via text. I hope to talk to her this weekend. She did not get any sleep during the overnight flight to Paris. That exact same thing happened to me when I went to Austria and Germany when I was in college. No sleep whatsoever on the overnight flight to Austria- I remembered having a weird, yet cool, surreal feeling when the plane landed and I walked outside- I was incredibly tired but could not believe my good fortune to be in this exciting place. Knowing that Abby had sleep to catch up on... and school work... we did not call her or ask us to call her. Also, I only talked on the phone to family ONE time when I was in Europe for twelve weeks. But I know that times have a'changed with regarding to calls. No more long distance which is a wonderful thing. (Though cell phone bills aren’t cheap, long distance no longer being a thing, notwithstanding.)

Here are a few photos that Abby has sent:

Alyssa said good-bye to just three ear piercings in each ear lobe and hello to a fourth one. I don’t know what’s wrong with just three piercings but the heart wants what it wants, and her heart wanted four piercings. Since I wrapped up a gift for her stating that we would pay for this and consent to it before she’s 18, she and I went to get the piercings done this week. We had to go to a tattoo/ piercing place due to where in the ear lobe a fourth hole is placed. I had never been to a tattoo place before. I had also never really thought about what the inside of what one looked like; after being in two of them this week and reflecting on it, how both of them appeared is likely what I would have thought they looked like if I had thought about it.

On display in one of the places...someone is more pessimistic than I am, lol (and more talented). I mean, it is not wrong but not a sentiment I would not have it on display in my house...

 

Speaking of looks, Alyssa loves her fourth piercing... I’m glad she’s happy!

Finally, I said good-bye (temporarily) to both sugar and soda pop. Starting January 1st- at 12:01. That means that the homemade baklava that I didn’t see at our friends’ house that we went to for New Years Eve until after the new year began that my one friend had a piece of and said was the best baklava she’d ever had went untried by me (if only I’d seen it before midnight, lol, since I knew that I was going to be abstaining from sugar starting with the new year), that all of the leftover dessert we had in the house from our  Christmas celebrations, I threw out (Donnie and Alyssa didn’t want any of it either), that Christmas candy was stashed away (that stuff keeps and I will eat some of it when my sugar fast ends :)) and that since Sunday night, before the new year, no sugar or dessert items have made their way into my gullet. I also have not had any pop. I was drinking too much of it and wanted to change that- stopping drinking it altogether was the best way I know of to not drink too much of it :). I will resume both sugar and pop consumption after a few weeks- this is just a challenge and a way to eat/ drink healthier in the new year. The best news is that I lost a few pounds by the end of the week. Hopefully that loss is permanent!!

Linking up with Megan for Weekly Highlights