Miscellaneous Missives

I'm not going to lie; Instagram is probably still my favorite social media app.  I do still use other apps (Facebook and Snapchat) frequently, but I love looking at photos on Instagram.  Heck, I've even made a Tik Tok (I don't understand the hype, but I'm also not a teen).  Anyway, as I was scrolling through my Instagram app at a meeting today, I cam up with some great posts from today (probably this afternoon).  My three favorite are pictured above.  Pedalmasher_hawk was the guy who created my latest tattoo.  I think his ink drawing from today would be an awesome tattoo too. Rethinkchurch had a great picture and question.  "How might you celebrate life today?" Hmmm... Kathleenwestwrites' post made me go to my library app to put this book on hold. Thanks Instagram!!!

I bought a pair of Air Pods, and I love them.  I listen to the local top 40 morning radio on the way to work until the announcers get on my nerves.  When the DJs get on my nerves (sometimes 2 blocks from home), I put in my Air Pods and listen to music (thank you Spotify).  Recently, I found a new feature on my iPhone Health App.  It shows me if I'm the noise level of my Air Pods is too high.  I think this is amazing.  It shows that I should probably turn the volume down a bit, but I feel like I'm doing OK.  This is amazing!!  One of my favorite ways to check my health along with checking my steps for the day.  Unfortunately, I can only check my steps if my iPhone is on me when I'm moving around.  It's OK.  My noise level is always checked when I'm using my Air Pods. 

Football is my favorite sport to watch.  It's one of the reasons I love fall.  Saturday I was able to watch the Iowa State Cyclones beat Texas Tech Red Raiders.  The field was full of red, but the correct red (actually wearing white jerseys) team won.  Sunday is also game day.  Today I spent a couple of hours drinking coffee and watching the pregame show.  I'd love to be an announcer for the ESPN Game Day Show or at least have a small part.  Since I live in Minnesota and have to watch the Queens most Sundays, I can merely get notifications from ESPN on my phone to let me know how the game is going.  It's probably OK since it allows me to get outside on a beautiful day like today.  Yay! 

Sometimes I get the opportunity to babysit Britt while her family is out of town.  Babysitting Britt is one of my favorite babysitting jobs. This is one of those weekends.  It's great because it gets me out walking more often.  Yesterday, Britt was fairly hyped up when she came to visit, and I was afraid I'd have to keep her on her leash as we walked the tracks.  As Britt walked, however, she calmed down, so I took the leash off and let her roam.  It was fun for both of us.  This morning it's a bit rainy, but we still have taken a walk.  Britt has also been walking up and down the stairs with me as I do laundry.  I really think she enjoyed watching me make my bed.  

Some people soak in a bath as a calming activity.  I'm a shower person and feel really uncomfortable sitting in bath water.  Others watch movies and television shows.  I don't do well sitting watching movies without something else to do.  Recently, I've found that coloring calms myself.  A friend gave me a peaceful coloring book and a box of 120 crayons (I've used all 120).  Plus, I bought myself an adult coloring book.  It seems to work well, when my brain doesn't have the capacity to read which is my actual favorite calming activity.  This coloring thing, however, is a close second. 

My favorite season is most certainly summer, but I also am a big fan of fall.  For the most part, I don't mind the crisp weather.  I do, however, adore the changing of the leaves and the feeling of being outside wearing a sweatshirt.  It's pretty incredible.  Let's be honest, it's not summer, but it's a close second.  Today I went for my first ride in several weeks, and it was glorious.  I feel as thought the pictures show it all.

My favorite day of break is the first day.  Waking up in the middle of the week without an alarm and being able to stay under the covers for an extended period of time is glorious.  Of course, I also use days like these to take care of boring chores (trash/recycling/organics).  Today's brisk walk (air temp and speed) made we want to be outside a little more, so I went back inside and donned my jacket.  Although my walk was fairly short, I love the colors and changes of fall.  Alas, I needed to get back inside to finish Dad's Maybe Book by Tim O'Brien.  I wasn't sure if it'd be for me since I don't have children, but this book was most certainly worth the read and the five stars I awarded it.  Tim O'Brien will speak tonight in Minneapolis.  I'll be in attendance adding more reason the first day of break is always my favorite.

It appears the staff of my favorite summer bike ride (RAGBRAI) has resigned to start their own bike ride, The Iowa Ride.  It looks like it will be the same leadership but no longer under the control of the Des Moines Register.  My messenger has been lighting up since the story was released.  Although it's crazy and sad,  I'm sure the new ride will be as good as the old ride. The good news is that they ride will go through northern Iowa which is always the easiest and most fun!  All this stemmed from the covering of the Carson King story.  He was the college student who put his venmo name on a poster to raise beer money and received so much money that he donated it to the University of Iowa Children's hospital.  It was a great story since he was an Iowa State fan and the hospital was part of the rivalry school.

As I feel I've mentioned before, I've cut cable and am using Roku with Hulu plus for my television needs.  This weekend I figured out how I could mirror from my phone to my TV with a mirror app and Roku.  I wanted to watch Love Them First through the TV instead of merely on my computer screen.  Love Them First is a documentary about a struggling school in Northeast Minneapolis.  It addresses the implicit bias in standardized testing as well as other ideas.  I'm at the beginning of watching this documentary as I post, but I think it's going to be worth the watch.  Anyway, back to my favorite alternative.  I went to the Apple App Store and purchased (one time fee) this mirroring app.  It's going to be great.  Not only am I watching the documentary now, I'll be able to use it on Tuesday to watch my 20 minute rest day yoga video over the tv which will be way better than trying to watch it through tv. 

My favorite Saturday morning activity is visiting the farmers market.  I love the colors of the produce, the smiles on people's faces, and the overall good vibe I get walking around perusing the market.  I even awoke early this morning to workout before my leisurely stroll through the market. Unfortunately, the market was closed due to this rain/snow/sleet mix we are not enjoying.  Winter needs to go back to it's hole for a bit longer.  This is ridiculous. The picture is of Denny Havlicek.  Denny used to be a counselor at one of my former school's.  He's one of my favorite vendors at the farmers market.  It's always fun to see him on Saturdays.

Yesterday I spent the second day in a row actively monitoring a standardized reading test.  The test was supposed to be three days which was too long.  Thankfully, by the end of yesterday, they cancelled today's testing day and are only doing makeups for those in need.  Anyway, I digress.  My favorite part about actively monitoring standardized test is that I walk around the room in a circle, periodically changing directions and reading.  Yep, I am able to walk and read for 2.25 hours.  It's glorious.  Of course, I'm stopped for the occasional computer glitches, students reporting their finish etc.  Yesterday my class was all finished, but I still had five minutes (according the my Kindle book) to read.  I kept walking making students think others had not finished until I finished my book. Once I finished, I announced everyone was done and talked about plans for today's testing time  which thankfully isn't going to happen.  BTW...

Yesterday I went to get acupuncture.  I actually called during the middle of class.  "Ok, if you're not going to listen to me, I'm going to talk on the phone,"  I stated as I called to schedule an appointment after school.  Acupuncture does a decent job alleviating sinus pain for me.  When I started going years ago, the chiropractor that does my acupuncture about it working for most but not everyone.  I felt the relieve already last night from yesterday's appointment, and I will go again tomorrow.  Acupuncture is one of my favorite things.  I merely wish that my insurance would cover it.

My favorite lunch activity is walking the school's therapy dog, Journey, especially on beautiful sunny days like today.  A former colleague now works at the elementary school across the parking lot.  Me, a colleague from my building, and Journey met up with her for today's walk.  It was glorious to be outside talking to people and walking Journey.  Journey's walks and visits with pals are on the top of my favorite things. 

I'm doing the 10,000 swings challenge in October.  It's one of my FAVORITE workouts.  It's consistent and planned for me which makes it awesome.  I upped the kettlebell weight for this upcoming week today.  It was intense but delightful.  I've got this.  When I'm challenged, I tend to do better which is why the October Blog Challenge works well for me.  I'll try to publish each day, but we'll see how it goes.  How many favorites does a person have?  The swing challenge is a favorite, and I'm completely on track as day 6 ends.  I can do both challenges!

The weather's been pretty gloomy lately, and I'm using that as my excuse for my lack of posting.  Good news came through my blogger feeds.  A new challenge is here for October .  I love a challenge. Challenges are actually my favorite motivator.   My first entry of  favorite things is challenges.  Yay for challenges and those joining them.