Teri Parris Ford's Blog

Last Day of April

I'm finishing up my 6th week of staying at home-- 45 days! I know some people are loving this time while most with small children are at their wits end. For me it feels a lot like how it must feel for my cats. They are comfortable and can go out. They don't complain and have plenty of food. I've always wanted to stay home with the cats and now I know how that feels for weeks to do that!

My day was pretty easy. I did pop over to the grocery store this morning early to make sure Jim had enough food to keep him happy for the next two weeks. I worked out, had a couple of zoom class sessions, went on a walk with Jim, we enjoyed a meal together, I pulled weeds outside in the sunshine, watched the news and am ready for bed!

Rainy Day

Today was grading day. I spent time going through all of my classes and sorting thru projects on Google Classroom. I thought I had to post progress reports by 1pm but the district has taken over our grade books and is posting things for us. 3rd quarter grades were posted, not progress reports. During our staff meeting the principal mentioned a couple of things that peaked my interest (normally they are very boring  meetings). 1-Our seniors are really struggling. 2-School might get out earlier than expected and I really like that idea. Working with seniors in my yearbook class, I knew that seniors are struggling. I mean, everything that is wonderful about being a senior has been cancelled. I do feel for them.

As for my day, it was pretty relaxing. I worked out this morning and had time talking to my mom, Monika and Jim. I chatted with a teacher friend for over an hour catching up. 

 

Salad this week...

I decided I was only going to have salad all week for lunch so that maybe it might help lighten things up. The weather is warming up, so it been great. Jim usually needs a little more than just salad but I let him deal with it. Today he made a couple quesadillas.

Tuesday is both of our busy work days, so we can't eat lunch together. We both finished a bit later than normal and went for a 3 mile walk, but the weather was perfect. I was supposed to rain but didn't. We finished the evening with a great movie on HBO called Bad Education with Hugh Jackman.

 

Coffee, tea & zoom

Yesterday at 10am, I got together for "coffee" to talk shop and check in with art peeps (Grace, Josh, Joe & Geof). After an hour of chit chat, we lost Joe and Geof and then Grace, Josh and I got into a bit more personal life stuff and National Boards. I'm glad to have colleagues that are friends. I got an invite for a lunch zoom with my ol' soccer mom friends for today (see photo). It had been quite a while since talking with many of the women who showed up. Most were in Madison but not all. We all have daughters (or sons) the same age as Monika. They all have younger kids as well, not me. 

My day was pretty busy as I finished the yearbook finally and turned in the last proofed pages. I've got a bit of time off before having to start work on the June issue of the newspaper but it won't be anywhere near as big of a project. It is quite a relief. I went to Costco this morning to pick up more chicken and vegetables. Jim and I had a late lunch due to our meetings. I'm going to try to only have salad all week to see if I can lose some of the "covid-19" I've put on!

Homemade

I have not gone out to eat since the before the stay at home orders went into place. I've been baking a lot of bread and have made pizza several times which is probably why I'm gaining weight. I need to give up the bread again soon but not today! Jim asked me to put broccoli on the pizza this time and while I was at it, I added zucchini too as well as bell peppers, sausage, pepperoni, onion and lots of cheese. I use provolone, parmesan, mozzarella with dollops of cottage cheese too. It was almost a deep dish, it was so thick with stuff and so delicious. Jim and I went for a walk after to try burn some calories. He had meetings all morning with army. He doesn't think he'll be mobilized but he's preparing for it just in case since it is not clear how bad things might get. 

Fri-yeah!

Friday certainly isn't as fun as it used to be but there is still a certain charm. I had a department meeting early and then I worked out. I had a lot of grading and attendance to do then I went for a good walk with Jim. The weather has not been ideal but that is fine since we can't really go out that much. Today about 1500 descended on the state capitol to protest our governor's stay at home order which seems crazy. The president talking about using disinfectant as a treatment was another crazy story today. Everything is getting so surreal these days. I just do my best to stay home and out of harm's way. 

What day is it?

I was working out this morning and had a flash of "oh no" thinking I was missing a meeting but then realized I wasn't sure what day it was. I had to look at my phone. For a while later today, I thought it was Monday. I have to make sure to write down all of my meetings and need an alert or alarm or else I often miss meetings or start up late. I had several meetings with students today and worked on the yearbook for several hours. I ended the day with Jim watching some HBO. I chatted with my mom, Monika and Jessika today.

Half Way to the Covid19

So the Covid-19 is now a reference to the 19 pounds we are all gaining sitting at home safe. I'm halfway to my 19 and I'm not happy about it. No matter how much I work out, or walk, I'm not burning enough calories! I'm missing out on a ton of time on my feet as school. Oh well.

Today was a busy Wednesday. I went into school today and got to see Josh. We kept our proper distance but it was so nice to connect in person with someone. I feel like this week has been so eventful because I bumped into Geof yesterday while walking and we go to chatting and then today getting to talk to Josh. I ran some supplies out to kids after leaving work and then came home and worked on the yearbook since the last pages are due on Friday. Jim and I finished the evening finishing off the Waco series on Netflix together. 

Note: the photo of Balt was taken to put him in to our department zoom meeting on a yearbook page.  See below:

Busy Day

Tuesday is my busiest day of the week these days. I have meetings between 10 and 3pm with little time in between, plus the emails start to mount up. This week is the last week to get stuff done to the yearbook. I can't believe it's that time of year when things are supposed to get crazy but this year it won't. No busy schedule, no events, no pool opening, nothing to plan, no trips, nothing. It's kind of nice but also kind of depressing. It's a taste of retirement, I think but not really. I'm trying my best to make sure to exercise everyday. Jim and I only eat one meal a day but we are still gaining weight. Not having any where to go means not burning as many calories. Today I made tacos for lunch and then Jim and I went for a long walk, came home to watch the news and some Netflix before bed. 

Moved Out

I drove up to Rochester with Jim this morning to help move him out of his place since there seemed no reason for him to pay rent up there any more. There may not even be classes on campus in the fall, so we figured we'd wait and see how things pan out. It's looking more and more like stay at home orders may be in place thru summer as well, although I'm really hoping to be able to be able to go camping this summer at the beach as well as visit Jessi in Virginia and my mom in California. After listening to the Daily NYTimes podcast this morning while driving, we were hit with the reality of having to hunker down for more than a year, which kind of blew my mind. After a conversation with an administrator from school, it was mentioned that we might be doing virtual learning in the fall as well, which also blew my mind. I think there has been a hope that we would be going back to "normal' in a month or two but we are now living in a new reality. Part of that reality is Jim and I finally getting to live in one space together for a while, which is silver lining in this whole crazy scenario. While we were in Rochester, we looked at houses from our car and wondered around neighborhoods dreaming of a future time we'd be living in one space up in Minnesota.

Facetime

Oh yeah! It's actually Sunday. When everyday feels like a Sunday, Sunday just isn't as special as it used to be. The one thing I have kept for Sunday is my weekly trip to the grocery store. I have wondered if Sunday is really the best day to go to the store now since I can go any day of the week now. When I got in at 7am I noticed the parking lot was as empty as it used to be before the stay at home orders were on. Anyway, It took me almost an hour to get all of my shopping done (I had a lot) and by the time I got in line-- bam! It was a doozy. I did notice while I was shopping that it was getting more and more crowded. Anyway, 20 minutes in line and $200 spent once I checked out certainly made my Sunday a bit more special. 

I made a quiche for brunch and then Jim and I went for a 5 mile hike. I made my weekly "virtual learning" video. I've been posting a video each week for my students. I've been trying to make it heartfelt and not very rehearsed or edited. Not very many kids are watching them but I guess if one kid is enjoying (I know because he told me so) then I'll keep doing them. I had a wonderful chat with Jessi and Moni on Facetime. We didn't call Erika because I knew she was in yoga teacher training.

Jim and I watched the first episode of Waco on Netflix to end the evening.

It's the Weekend

The days just seem to blur through & suddenly it's the weekend. Yesterday, I had meetings in the morning and then worked out late. I made enchiladas for lunch and then Jim and I went for a long walk. Jim wanted chips so I sent him to Qdoba for a bag of corn chips but asked him first if it was worth risking his life for. He said definitely.  We ended the evening with nice fire and finishing up Chernobyl which was super depressing but so good too. On our walk Jim asked if I'd rather be in a nuclear disaster, war, pandemic or earthquake. I went with earthquake. I've been through a handful of pretty big ones, so it seemed like the safest bet.

This morning, I got up early and watched the news then worked out early. I did some school work, watched some tv, made beef stew for lunch and then Jim and I went for a long walk. It was a beautiful day. We finished the evening with a documentary and work.

April Flowers

All of my birthday daffodils are blooming in my front yard. It is quite pretty. I always forget where I planted them, so it always a wonderful spring surprise. Next week is supposed to be warmer and I can't wait to spend some time outside. 

My first meeting was at 10:30am so I had lots of time to watch some news, workout and take a shower. I made broccoli beef for lunch for Jim and I. It was delicious. I had a couple of meetings after lunch and then I had to drop a cord off for a kid across town. The rest of the day was just me kicking my feet up.

Stimulated

I woke up this morning with Balt at 5am and did not have a lot on my calendar so I took it easy. I spent the morning working on the couch, watching the news, doing some grading and organizing. Monika, Erika and I all got our stimulus funds direct deposited early this morning which was exciting. I sent Erika's via Venmo. I'm guessing Jessi will get hers via check since when I did her taxes this year, I had the feds send her a check instead of depositing it into my account, which I wish I had not had done now.  I made a stir fry for lunch. Jim went for a walk but it was too cold for me. I had a staff meeting at 3pm to talk about grading so I did some more grading after the meeting since I needed to make some adjustments. Jim and I ended the evening with some HBO-- we are watching Chernobyl.

Snow!?

The nice thing about snow in April is that you know it won't stay for long. We had below freezing temps all day so I did not go on a walk with Jim and I was surprised to see he did not stay out for long out in the cold. Tuesday is both of our busiest day of the week and the only day we can't eat lunch together because of all the appointments and meetings we both have. My last meeting was with my yearbook editors at 2pm. Today I had 60 pages due and I was able to send 64 after my meeting. That leaves me with 7 pages left due in 10 days and then we are done with the book. I'm so proud of my editors for getting this book done. It will definitely be a special one.

Jim and I ended the night watching some HBO with fire before going to bed.

I put on jeans today.

I have been living in yoga pants since the stay at home orders were issued a month ago. Today I decided to wear jeans to Costco. I was really apprehensive about going out but geared my homemade mask and put on plastic gloves. It's interesting to see how some through caution to the wind and go into stores without any protection and it makes me wonder if I'm being ridiculous. Anyway, with Jim and I both eating meals daily and never going out to eat, I need to grocery shop weekly. I think the recommendation is to only go every other week but I haven't been able to figure out how to do that. We usually run out of too many things to hold off. We were all out of vegetables. Costco had plenty of toilet paper this visit, but no chicken, not even slice sandwich meat chicken. They didn't have the spring salad I always get so I had to get romaine lettuce instead. It is weird how some staples are just gone-- maybe next time. 

I didn't have a lot of work to do today. It was too cold to go for walk with Jim, but I did my morning workout routine.

Easter Sunday

Every Sunday for the past several weeks I've been trying to have a family zoom session. Once it was just me and my brother, usually it's me with at least one of the girls. Today it was almost everyone. Jim fell asleep and my brother's son had not woken up but it was fun to see everyone. 

I made a nice brunch quiche for Jim and I with apple pie for dessert. I bought myself some easter candy for a small basket to celebrate. Tomorrow Jim and I start dieting-- no more sweets! It's hard not to bake when everyday feels like Sunday!

Holiday Weekend

Life as we know it, these days are so strange. Jim and I have become partners in isolation, a life he is enjoying. I am so glad I have at least Jim's company but boy, do I miss my colleagues, my students and the ability to visit family and friends. We have laughed that this social distancing is an introverts heaven but and extroverts hell. We went for our afternoon walk and we normally do a round around the high school I work at. Today I needed to get some photos for a quarantine page I am working on. I have 60 pages due on Tuesday and not all of them are ready to go, I've been working on pages just in case kids don't come through.  We came home after a 5 mile walk and I watched the latest Star Wars movie that just came out on Bluray with a fire. We are in for snow tomorrow!

Birthday Celebration Day

I offered to make Jim a special birthday day meal today. He wanted chocolate cake and pizza, so I had a lot to do today and I started early. I made the cake early so it would be cool during lunch when I frosted it. I also got the pizza crust raising. I had a department meeting early and then I worked out late in the morning before finishing up the special meal. Jim asked me to walk for two hours with him during his daily walk (which I have opted out lately because it's been too cold). We got over 4 miles in.

Yesterday while working out, my computer in the basement went kaput-- the machine busted mid workout. It's an old computer, so it was not a big deal. I decided to get a cheap roku tv to replace it and amazingly, it was delivered this afternoon. This morning after my dept meeting, I went to adjust my chair, and knocked my desk off the shelf that was holding it up and the whole thing fell apart. It's an old Ikea set up and I shouldn't have been more careful in rebuilding it. Anyway, my computer fell and my monitor busted, so it's been a bad couple of days for me and technology.

Mid week breather

I've got my week planned so,that Tuesday/Thursday are my busy day and Wednesday is available for me to just get stuff done. I meet with my student teacher on Wednesdays and I had a couple of appointments with students, but it was a good day for me. I ended the work day around 3:30pm and went to the basement and got out my sewing machine and looked through my scraps to make matching masks for Jim and I. I used shoe laces for ties and added a thick fusing between cotton fabric. I used a pattern I found in the New York Times which seems a bit too big but I guess bigger is better. 

I made tacos for lunch. I am enjoying having a nice lunch with Jim everyday but then I have to becareful not to eat much for the rest of the day. It was a cooler day with rain, so I made a fire. After watching the news, Jim went back to work, but I watched Survivor.

Busy Day

I had so many meetings today that I had to write them all down so I wouldn't forget. Jim also had a bunch of meetings so we couldn't have lunch together since our schedule did not match up. I made a chicken and rice in the crockpot so we could just eat whenever we had a free chunk of time. Once the work day was over we went for a nice long walk and it was the warmest day we've had this year yet-- about 70. It was nice. I came home and finished my Star Wars documentary and then finished off my evening with computer work.

Virtual Learning

Today was the first day of homeschooling for our school district. I had a club meeting and had a dozen or so emails to respond to. Admin asked me to make a banner for our school website (which is easy and quick). JIm and I went for a walk after our lunch, well, I went for a walk with Jim for an hour and then Jim left again for another hour. But I got my morning Beachbody workout, which was pretty intense. Jim and I are only eating one meal a day, usually lunch, so that's nice not to have worry about dinner. I watched the new Star Wars documentary (I got the new bluray for myself from Amazon in the mail) before going to bed.

Palm Sunday

This coming week is kind of special. It has typically been spring break in the past, ending with Easter. I woke up early and made my way to the grocery store right when it opened. It wasn't as crowded as the last two weeks had been which was nice. There were a lot more folks wearing masks, including myself. With my coat, gloves, mask and coat and going as fast as possible had me drenched in sweat by the time I was done shopping-- literally dripping. I enjoyed a relaxing day. I made a nice Italian lunch for Jim and I; stuffed shells with meatballs. I made a video for my students (below) that I will post in the morning as our district kicks off virtual learning tomorrow. Jim and I took a nice long walk and I had time on Zoom with the family.

 

 

A Real Saturday

After a transition week of going back to work on line, today felt like an actual Saturday since I had no meetings and only housecleaning to do. It was a chilly day but by late afternoon the sun was shining and it was almost 50, so I went outside to do yardwork. I swept the front porch, cleaned off our patio furniture and planted some lettuce and herbs after dumping some compost into my garden bed. Jim and I watched a documentary together and enjoyed a very relaxing day.

Virtually exhausted

I was on a computer pretty much all day. I got up early and got my workout in before my department zoom meeting at 8:30am. I showered after the meeting and had several other meetings on zoom today, including one with a student teacher who I completely forgot about but am glad to give her some work to do. I made pizza for lunch with homemade crust, homemade sauce and lots of cheese and pepperoni. It was delicious. I worked and some infographic stuff for the yearbook which is kind of enjoyable but such a time suck.

Jim was talking about how exhausted he was from work, and yet we aren't really working all that hard. It's just how different everything is -- like everything has changed. I listened to a podcast that explained how stressful all that change is and that is what making all so exhausting. At least there is plenty of time to rest.

Beautiful Day

It was an amazing day for Balt to sit outside in the sunshine. He's gotten to the point that he will no longer for a walk, which I kind of miss. I've been going on afternoon walks with Jim that have to be at least an hour long and today I got home drenched in sweat. It was only 60 degrees but felt glorious. We are very careful on our walks to cross the street when we see other coming or just walk way out of the way to make we stay 6 feet away from others walking and there are a lot of others walking. There are so many folks out taking walks that we question whether we should be out there too. Today Erika called me because my mom wanted to go to the Post Office. It is crazy but a trip like that would kill her possibly. I told her to do it online! I know that in some ways, life may forever be changed but boy, am I looking forward to life getting back to a social normal. 

I went for a walk

I am finally feeling like I am not sick at all. I enjoyed a full night of sleep, no coughing. I'm trying to get back into a regular work schedule with getting up early, not watching the news all morning but getting ready for work. The news is getting worse, so it's time to stop watching so much of it. I got my exercising done and was on my computer working by 8:30am. I made a nice lunch for Jim and I and got a bit more work done. We went for an afternoon walk to enjoy sunshine and I finished the evening off with Survivor.