The Longest Year Ever.

 Where do I begin? Um. Yeah. I don't even know. I haven't blogged in over two years. No shame here. Sorry. Life, school, marching band and a lot of other things happened during that time. I cannot even begin to comprehend how I managed. No lie. 

Here's a brief recap of the last two years: marching band, cruise, school (Mom, Dad & kiddos), Christmas, Hockey, Winter Guard, marching band, school, family cruise, Christmas, Hockey, Winter Guard, COVID-19, quarantine, demonstration teaching, distance learning, virtual band camp, EPIC road trip in brand new travel trailer, stockpiling of hand soaps, graduation and teacher licensure, senior pics, senior year... Holy smokes... We were busy in 2019/2019 and confined for most of 2020. Yikes. 

2018

Summer Band Camp

Marching Band

2018 Marching Show: 1,001 Nights

Sophomore Homecoming Mum

Sophomore Pink Out Game

2018 Carnival Valor Western Caribbean Cruise with Honey Bunches

2019 Winter Guard Show: Statuesque

2019 TCGC Scholastic AA State Champions!

HAMILTON! (2019)

Twenty One Pilots Concert (2019)

Whew. That's not even all of 2019! I'm taking a break, and I'll add more to this post as time permits. I'll publish as is, not sure if this blog is frequented anymore but it's great reference for me. Hopefully it'll preserve my memories. 😂😂😂

Okay, now for the rest of the pictures? Maybe. We will see how that works out. 

Labor Day Weekend Trip to Kemah, TX 2019

2019 Marching Show: 07 December 1941

USBands National Champions at The Salute to Veteran's

November 11, 2019 

Best Color Guard

Family Cruise to Grand Turk

November 2019

Winter Guard Show 2020: No Strings

And then the world descended into chaos...

COVID-19

Rainy Days and Mondays.

It's another Monday here in the Lonestar state and we're in the middle of a thunderstorm. I am very thankful for the rain it's bringing because we had such a dry spring. We need the rain to bring green to the brown grass. We're also in Stage 2 water restriction so I am hoping that the rain we are getting will help alleviate the stress on the Aquifer.

Summer break is in full swing and this summer has been a doozy! I can't even begin to wrap my brain around all that has happened this summer. We took a family vacation and Bug was able to go with us which is awesome. It doesn't usually happen that way. Of course, it's still been a busy summer and Band Camp starts in two weeks. UGH. And before you know it, it'll be time for school to start again.

I am enjoying the time with my love bugs but I am feeling more stressed this summer than I normally do. It's most likely the combination of having all of the kids home and trying to get my coursework done. I wanted to accelerate a bit this summer but I don't think that it's going to happen. I am trying to make peace with that.

So, as I sit here enjoying my coffee, I am thankful for the time that I have been given. And I am trying to get my kitchen mojo back. There's a lot of things that I'm trying to get back. It's going to take some time. 💛 but that's okay.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday's 10

I have not done a Tuesday 10 for awhile but I think it's time to do another one!

1. I am currently working on getting my BAISK8 from WGU, but teaching is not my end goal.

2. During my first round of college (1996-2000), I tanked my credit. I rebuilt it and then tanked it again after my divorce from the first hubby. After getting remarried, I avoided my credit and buried my head in the sand, feeling like my current husband could handle things. I am currently working on rebuilding my credit and have been since 2015.

3. Up until September 2017, I was pretty good at menu planning and keeping to a specific schedule for cleaning. Going back to school is hard, yo!

4. I LOVE psychology and counseling. It's fascinating to learn how the brain works and trying to find ways to reach the minds of my children.

5. My favorite bird is the Northern Cardinal.

6. I recently started a project that requires going through my old photos. This is very nostalgic. 💛

7. For 2018, I have read ONE book for fun. Last year I had over 50 books read for enjoyment.

8. I drive a 2018 Nissan Rogue that is equipped with a navigation system. I don't know how I managed with just Apple Maps for navigation until now. 😂😂😂

9. I'm pretty hardcore Apple product fan. iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro. I love how everything transfers between the three seamlessly!

10. I turned 40 in April. I thought I'd feel more accomplished by the time I turned 40. That's ok. I'm working on it.

Where I've been...

This year has been a crazy rollercoaster ride. It's been nearly a year since my last post and I've accomplished a lot but I've also have some setbacks. It's okay. I am trying not to be too hard on myself.

In June of 2017, I started the process of going back to school. It wasn't an easy process. It'd been seventeen years since I finished at Bemidji State University and twenty-one years since I graduated from high school. I had to track down transcripts and it wasn't just my college transcripts. No. I had to track down my AP scores from high school. Yeah. My records were so old, it wasn't available via the online database. Nope. I had to fill out a form to have it processed. As in, a paper form. As in, print it out and use a pen! What?! Okay, not to be melodramatic but, that was quite the process! I had no way of tracking how long it would take my records to get from point A to point B. That's hard for a planner like me. Little did I know that it was only the beginning of having to learn how to adjust my sails because there were a lot of changes that happened that I couldn't just "plan" for. I had to learn to rely on the process to unfold as it would unfold. That was hard for me.

Once everything was in place, I was set to start school at WGU-Texas on September 1, 2017. My term was six months and included four courses. I was able to complete the four courses within the first four months and then I moved one forward one term. And I'm now on my second term and I have completed two courses in two months. I'm still feeling pretty good about the progress I'm making in school. However, my home life and personal life has taken a little bit of a hit, and it's bruised the ego a bit.

My brain has been exhausted from trying to do the education thing and it takes a toll on my body. My housework has taken a back seat to school and I've not kept up with the cleaning and laundry like I had been. This is very embarrassing to me. It's hard to admit. At what point do you tell yourself it's okay to pursue your dreams and ask for help in the areas where you need it? It's a slow process. I take it day by day. That's all that I can do.

But, I am proud of myself, and I know that my family is too. That's all that matters. 💛

Summer is HERE!

June has come and gone in the blink of an eye. It's hard to believe that the girls have been out of school for almost a month! WHAT???

I thought that life would get less busy when school ended. I was wrong! We had a few days of solace before the summer travels started. I am thankful for that time to recuperate and I am also thankful that we have the means and ability to travel.

On June 6, Princess Cranky Pants left for NYC on a trip with her theatre and choir classes. It was a whirlwind of sight-seeing, drama workshops and Broadway musicals. She had a blast! It was the trip of a lifetime for her and it left her wanting to do more travel. I don't blame her at all.

On June 16, we left for MN to attend my oldest niece's graduation party and visit with family in MN and IL. It was busy, exhausting, at times stressful, peaceful, relaxing, and long overdue. I am currently trying to catalog everything that we did in the month of June and I think that it might take me awhile to get the pictures sorted and everything documented. Whew! What a crazy and fun month it was. I'm looking forward to keeping busy in July and August.

I'm currently working on DIY projects, recipe testing, museum trips, and other fun summer activities. I'm crazy tired, but, I'm crazy content.

Summer is COMING!

At the end of the day tomorrow, I will have a freshman and a first grader! Where does the time go? This year has gone by very quickly and I am not prepared for summer. It's time to make my summer bucket list. Perhaps this will be the year that I tackle more than two Pinterest ideas. Or, maybe I'll just not do any DIY this summer and just soak up the nothing that needs to be done. We'll see how that works out.