I Made It To The Finish Line!

I worked my last day as a full time lunch lady yesterday! This balloon and a card was tied to my doorknob when I got home. It was from a lovely and thoughtful neighbor. 

My last was a summation of the whole year, just weird and uncomfortable. Back in February, a coworker I really liked and got along with, quit and got a better job. She was never replaced because they said it was too late in the school year to do new hires, so instead we got a long term sub. 

Last month, another co-worker up and quit and she was not replaced, not even with a sub, so it was basically me, the manager, assistant manager and a sub for the remainder of the school year feeding 500 kids or more every day. I have to say it was the worst year working I've had yet and there have been some bad years prior. I kept my spirits up and gave 110% every day, as usual.

Last week, when I got my evaluation from the assistant principal, I told her I would not be returning next year and yesterday I talked to the principal and told her the same. I thought word had gotten around that I was leaving, but I guess not. (I've been telling people since the first week of school. lol). I also took the time to say goodbye to the 5th grade teachers because their students were in kindergarten when I started working there. They were all shocked to learn I was leaving. 

So, the day ended just like every other day, and on my way to clock out, my assistant manager handed me this tote bag, and a card signed by 3 people with 20 bucks inside. That was it. No balloon. Not even a donut or a cupcake and definitely no hugs.

I will hand in my official resignation in a couple of weeks after I make some calls to HR and the retirement board to see what's going to happen with the money they've been taking out of my paycheck and to find out if I can donate my 20 sick days to anyone who might need them, (as I won't be getting paid for them, sadly). Since I fulfilled my yearly contract, I should be getting the rest of my amortized pay as well as continuing my medical benefits until August 31st. Sometime in July I'll have to call a marketplace agent and sign up for medical benefits through there. Not looking forward to that at all! It will be a year before I can sign up for Medicare, something hubby is in the process of doing now. It's a very confusing nightmare and not at all cheap by any means if you want good coverage. 

So that's that. I hope to be blogging more now that I'm not working and feeling mentally and physically distressed on a daily basis. It's time for me now! 

Where's The Beef?

 63 work days left to go! I'm still giving 110%. Thursday I made spaghetti for 500. It started out with 80 lbs of ground beef. Cooked that down, drained it and added onion,  diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, tomato paste and seasoning. 

We served it with a roll, broccoli, frozen strawberries and they got a gummy snack on their tray also.

The week before I made mashed potatoes. We use Potato Pearls, add Butter Buds and hot water and whip them in the floor mixer. 

I've been asking my coworkers to take pictures of me doing these things since this is my last year that I'll be doing this kind of work. When I become a sub, I will be doing easier tasks. Even though I didn't get that other job, I think it was just as well. I will finish out the year where I have worked since 2016. Tensions have eased and we all seem to be getting along better these last few weeks and for that I am really grateful. 

****************

I have some good news. Hubby and I both got approved for SS and will be getting our first deposits next week! Once I finish out the school year, my medical bennies will extend to Aug 31. I'm thinking I will get COBRA for a couple of months as hubby will be enrolled in Medicare about that time which is also the window for ACA open enrollment. Then I can just sign myself up for that until I turn 65 next year. That's the plan. Anything can change or happen between now and then. I'm so looking forward to retirement!

In the meantime, we discovered some issues with our roof, so we will need to replace ours which will probably cost about 12 thousand bucks. We need to have peace of mind, so it's going to have to happen. Hubby is in charge of getting us some quotes. He has already worked on the house a bit. We had porch posts that were rotted at the base and he replaced them.

BEFORE: 

We decided to remove the post on the far right because it was not structural and it also made the door look more off center.

AFTER:

Hubby bought three new posts to replace the old ones. They look great, plus they are pressure treated and rated for being in the ground, like fence posts, so they should last a good long time. 

The weather has been very cold here, so we haven't been able to do much of anything outdoors. Hopefully spring temps will arrive soon and we can work on the yard a bit more.

So that's the latest! If anyone has any advice about Medicare enrollment, please comment or send me an email. Is it working for you? Did you decide to enroll in an Advantage Plan? I don't understand much about how it all works, but I have read both good and bad stuff about it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Furry Friday!

Zoey was happy to see her dad last Sunday. He was gone for 5 days, off to Texas to help our daughter find an apartment near her new job which she starts this coming Monday. Prior to leaving, he carefully studied google maps and visited every website of every apartment complex in northwest Austin area, looked at their floor plans, prices and photos. He printed out info on his favorites and went with a plan.Turns out Megan and her best friend/roommate had done their homework as well and they had a list of features that were important to them.

Hubby got to San Marcos Wednesday evening and first thing Thursday morning they hit the road and headed to Austin. Megan's BFF's mom drove them all up there on the main highway. It took about an hour. They visited two complexes and one fit all their criteria, so they applied for a nice second floor unit with a balcony.

Megan's feet in the pool at the apartment complex.

The complex is within walking distance of Megan's job, it's clean and the grounds are well kept. There's a pool, exercise room, community area and laundry facilities onsite and even concierge service if you need it. They also have 24 hour security and the gates are closed at night. It was a day well spent and the girls were excited.

On Friday, just hubby and Megan drove up there again, but this time they took an alternate route, one Megan would be comfortable driving and they made good time. They spent the whole day exploring the area, checking out the local supermarket, library, bank, etc. Everything was close by and convenient. The area is more residential and not so city like which Megan liked.

She emailed the animation studio and asked if she could drop by. They told her to come on over and she and hubby got a tour. Hubby had to sign a non-disclosure form, so he can't talk about anything he saw there, but he said it was all amazing! Everyone was super nice and they all can't wait for Megan to start. Hubby said it was totally her environment and her people. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of my daughter!

First meal cooked at their new place.

Hubby returned on Sunday and by Monday the girls found out they were approved for the apartment. Hooray! Megan loaded up her Fit with everything she could cram in there and they headed up to complex to get the key. They spent the whole day up there and unpacked all the stuff that I had sent out with hubby which included two big bags full of Dollar Tree items, everything from a potato peeler to Band Aids. I raided my own closets and packed pots, sheets, peanut butter, anything I thought they could use. They said they had a blast unpacking it all. Then they went grocery shopping and they even cooked their first meal in their new place, a pizza.

Hopefully all the big stuff will get moved in this weekend. Megan's BFF has a brother and lots of burly cousins that can help. If not, it may have to wait until next week, but regardless, Megan will be staying there even if she has to sleep on the floor for a few nights. I can't wait to hear all about her first day of work.


My first day and this past week of work was not so spectacular. Although we are less one mean person, we still have a very big personality in the kitchen. A person that likes to be the center of attention, thinks she knows better than the manager and talks behind her back all the time. She acts like she owns the place even though she only worked there 5 months of the last school year. She's been showing our new girl everything down to the tiniest detail, not realizing that this person has worked for 4 years at another school and already knows how to do everything and probably better than Miss Know-It-All. Despite that, the new girl has been polite and has been shadowing her for a week. We are all hoping the new girl comes around and realizes that Miss Drama Queen is not all that and tires of her constant negativity. The manager has done nothing to reign her in, so I'm hoping she shoots herself in the foot eventually, which she sort of did the other day.

She misplaced her phone and just about accused us (most likely me) of stealing it or playing a practical joke on her. I just about had a fit and did not appreciate that accusation one bit. She plays country music on a portable speaker through her phone and she knows I hate country music, so she probably assumed I took her phone, but as it turned out, and to no one's surprise, she was actually the one that misplaced it. I made sure to tell her I would never do such a thing and I also told her that if she had bad things to say about the manager, I didn't want to hear them as the manager is not only my boss, but my friend. She never apologized for having a come-apart that day and the next day she was very quiet and didn't play music at all. It was the best day there so far. If she doesn't quit, get fired or transfer, it's going to be a very, very, very long year.

I'm so happy it's Friday ya'll. Have a good one!

The Muffin (above) and Mister. 

It's Here! It's Here!

Well, I just finished up my 3rd year working at my current school and my fourth year overall as a lunch lady with this school district. Wow! It seems like just yesterday that we made The Big Move down here. This past week was not too bad as many kids left early with their parents right after graduation and award ceremonies. Thursday was their last day and yesterday was mine. We cleaned up the kitchen and stowed all the supplies, carts, utensils and such, away until August. So today is my official first day of 10 weeks of summer break! Woo!

After giving it a LOT of thought, I have decided to stay at my job. I haven't been called to interview for the other job prospect, but it's just as well. I might as well say now that it was a full time job at the library where my daughter works and that's how I knew all the details about it. The more she told me, the more I thought it was not a good fit. I'd be stuck behind the circulation desk with not a lot to do. I'm quite certain I'd go mad working 8 to 5 with no summer break.

The atmosphere now is much better at my current job, (not perfect, but much better), however anything can happen over the summer. We usually find out in late July or early August that people have given their notice and aren't coming back for the new school year. It's possible my boss might be one of them, who knows? This year was even more stressful on her than it was on me. I wish I could tell you all about it, but I can't. Maybe someday, after I retire, I'll write a book called The Lunch Lady Diaries. lol

In the meantime, I will be busy doing all kinds of things now that I have unlimited free time! Hubby and I are planning to put in some raised beds for a veggie garden, I have a rock painting class to prepare for, multiple pet portraits to paint and a daughter to relocate. I'm also getting a crown on another tooth, and I have to schedule an eye checkup and a mammogram. We still plan on putting in a back door which was supposed to happen over this long 3-day weekend, but it's been postponed. Hubby needs a little break. He's been working super hard and the heat here has kicked in making his job more difficult. Now that school is out, he doesn't have crossing guard duty, so he can start his grounds keeping job earlier and be done by 2:30.

As I mentioned, I'm doing another rock painting class at the library for the summer reading program. Their theme this year is "A Universe of Stories." I started painting some example rocks to show the kids and finished two last weekend. I plan to make at least 6 and they will be raffled off at the end of the class.

Beam me up Scottie!

Have a great Saturday and enjoy the long weekend!

The Final Stretch!

Only one week left of school! Hallelujah! The kids are bouncing off the walls, the teachers have a glazed-over look in their eyes and the lunch ladies are so ready to be done with cooking. It's like when Dorothy finally makes it out of the poppy field and can see Oz just up ahead.

 "You're out of the woods, you're out of the dark, you're out of the night. Step into the sun, step into the light."






Next week there will be lots of class parties, graduations and such. as things begin to wind down. Thursday is the last day for kids and Friday we have to clean and pack away stuff for the summer.

It's been a stressful year and I have suffered with major anxiety that stemmed from a particular situation, one which I cannot talk about, but as of yesterday, the situation has been resolved and it's like being able to breathe fresh air for the first time. Now I'm reconsidering leaving. I'm hesitant as to whether or not I should accept a chance to interview for this other job that I applied for and the more I hear about it, the more I think it may not be a good fit for me.

It's a very non physical job and there is a lot of boredom associated with it which I'm afraid will drive me insane. It also involves dealing with the public which I'm not sure I'm prepared to do as I have been working in a controlled school environment for 12 years. The job has good medical benefits similar to what I have now which covers me, my spouse and my daughter, but I would be basically starting over and subject to being terminated without reason, whereas I am now tenured at my current job and they can't just hand me a pink slip without prior warnings. I also love having my summers off. This is a tough one. My gut is telling me to stay, but that could be my fear of change. (ya think?) What would you do?

February Funk.

If you're like me, you may be feeling a little down or blue this month and you're not sure why. When I lived up north, I suffered from SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, which usually coincided with the time period between New Year's and Easter. Well, I have discovered, I still have SAD even though I'm in the south. You see, winter still happens here, but thankfully, it doesn't last as long.

Being a lunch lady for many years, I've always noticed that around February, I start feeling down. I am bored with doing the same thing over and over and tired of working with the same people every day. I start daydreaming about the last day of school so I can start my summer break and live my real life, you know the one where I paint stuff, do all sorts of projects, work in the garden, take long walks with my dog or just binge watch a TV show and eat snacks all day. lol. No alarms, no punching a clock. Freedom!

These past couple of weeks I found myself just walking around like a hollow shell, one without emotion of any kind, just going through the motions of my daily routine. Blah, Meh. Sigh. The weather was dreary, rainy and foggy for what seemed like forever. Last week was crazy at work as I was on entree with one particularly big meal to cook. It was baked chicken, cornbread, mac n' cheese and green beans. It was lots of work for everyone and it was my turn on the tilt skillet rotation schedule, so I had to cook the mac n' cheese. Last time I made it, it set up so stiff on the line that we scooped it out like baseballs. lol. This time, I tried a different approach and it came out much creamier, but it still got stiff sitting on the serving line so we just kept adding warm milk and stirring it up to keep it smooth. Once that dreaded day passed, I started to feel better as the anxiety over preparing and serving all that food was behind me.

Then, the sun came out!

 I started to feel better.

The birds began singing again, the azaleas in my yard started to bloom, 

 buds on the trees popped out and the daily temperatures gradually got higher.

Hooray!

The three of us took a walk by the bay yesterday. It was warm and sunny.

Megan will be leaving for TX next week to visit her BFF for a week. She's looking forward to that.

Hubby and I will be going to a Mardi Gras party on Saturday which should be a lot of fun, plus I have Monday and Tuesday off for Mardi Gras, (yes, they close schools for that here!). so I will have some extra time to work on a project.

The last couple of weekends, I was painting special request rocks that I couldn't show anyone because they were a surprise, but these two have already been given to their recipients, so I can post them here now. They are not my original designs, but they were themes for Mardi Gras events.

So yes, a little sunshine, a little color and some fresh air and the world seems right again. 

Only four more days to go and then it's March!

 Bring on spring!

Furry Friday

Happy February and hooray for Friday!

Mister enjoying one of our new blue chairs.

January was a tough year, but we made it! The countdown to summer is on. We hit our 100 days of school this week, so just about 85 more to go from this point. Of course, the main story this week has been the frigid weather. It got to freezing all the way down here on the gulf coast and we had to cover some of our plants. There were rumblings about school closing because of a threat of freezing rain, but it never happened. Darn. We are starting to warm up again now though, thank goodness. I really, really, REALLY hate the cold!

This picture is a little blurry, but it illustrates just what my happy place looks like
which is at home with my fur babies, relaxing in my new comfy living room.

I was prepping bananas on Tuesday and came across this huge one that was perfectly straight. I had to take a picture of it. I used to put up Freaky Fruit Friday posts, but I haven't come across anything particularly unusual in a long time. Then I saw this big nanner. 

Yesterday it was my turn cooking on the tilt skillet and taco soup was on the menu. It was a big job. 50 lbs of ground beef, 7 cans of diced tomatoes, 6 cans of black beans, 6 cans of pinto beans, 6 cans of kidney beans, 27 pounds of corn, 12 cups of taco seasoning, 7 packets of ranch seasoning and a few gallons of water. It filled seven 6" deep serving pans, enough to serve 475 people. I was super tired afterwards and this morning I woke up with a scratchy throat, so I hope I'm not coming down with anything. The students at school are coughing their little heads off, so germs are seriously everywhere in the cafeteria. 

I painted a few more Mardi Gras rocks. Here are all the ones I've done so far.

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend! 

Furry Friday!

Look at those faces! Just look at those little faces! Those sweet little faces! Can you believe that someone dumped this litter of puppies in the middle of the road in my development at 10:30 at night? It is scary to think that there are evil people walking among us, people with no heart, no conscience, no empathy. Fortunately there are also angels among us who are put in just the right place at just the right time, people who remind us there is still goodness in this world.

It just so happens that the young woman that saved these puppies works at a doggie daycare that is affiliated with a dog rescue which has already taken in these furry angels. They will get vetted, receive medical care and be put up for adoption soon. Supposedly they are a beagle/dachshund mix and all female. I want one, but I don't think I'm ready for a puppy. I know Zoey would love it, but just the thought of potty training is exhausting. There is so much interest in these babies, that I'm sure they'll all get adopted in no time, so I'm not worried.

A week before this happened, 20 cats were found inside a truck belonging to a lady who was traveling from Florida to Arkansas. She was staying in a local hotel and an employee heard faint meowing from the truck. She called the police and the cats were brought to our local shelter. They were crammed in just a few crates with no food, water or litter. They were close to death, but thank goodness, saved in time to get medical care. They too are getting vetted and put up for adoption as they are ready. Charges will be pressed against the woman, even though she surrendered the cats. What is wrong with people?

In other news, last week was teacher and staff appreciation week. I was a lucky, lucky girl because the class that was assigned to shower me with appreciation went above and beyond. I got cards, flowers and gifts all week, making me feel so special and part of my school family for the first time.

Lots of great cards!

Snacks and even a bandanna!

Flowers, dog treats, a hummingbird feeder and a candle.

The class's room mom had a lot to do with getting all this great stuff. I found out she called my manager and asked me what kinds of things I like, what I'm interested in, etc. She really went above and beyond. I was sure to thank her as well as the class. It really was a great week and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time after the previous week with my dad's funeral and all. Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and express your thoughts and prayers here on my blog. I cannot even begin to tell you how much that meant to me. You all are the best!

There are only two more weeks left of school and then I'm off for summer break until August 6. Woo! As this school year ends, there are some employees that are retiring and our librarian is one of them. There will be a party for her next week and I wanted to make her a little gift, so I had this rock....

Have a great Friday and a fabulous weekend! 

Furry Friday and Thanksgiving for 500!

Megan and Mister.

Happy, happy, happy, Friday!! What a challenging week this has been for me, and when I clock out at 1:30 today, it will officially be the start of a well deserved, one week long,Thanksgiving break. Woo!

We served our Thanksgiving meal to the kiddos yesterday and it all went well, but the prep work it took was tremendous. It started on Tuesday. I was on bread this week, so I had a lot to do. The first thing I had to do was make the cornbread that would go in the dressing/stuffing. I had never made it before, nor had I ever seen it being made, so of course, I was very nervous about it. Luckily we had a sub who was a longtime lunch lady with experience and she walked me through it.

30 pounds of cornmeal, four gallons of buttermilk and 9 cups of applesauce went into the big mixer. We spread it out on the big pizza trays and baked it for about a half an hour.

Cornbread for dressing.

It didn't taste very good, but that was okay, because it was just for dressing and would later be seasoned for flavor. All this cornbread got crumbled up after it cooled.

On Wednesday, I had to make the actual dressing. Luckily I got help from a fellow lunch lady. It definitely was a two person job because it was a ton of bread to mix together.

The recipe included all that cornbread, plus eight  2-1/2 lb bags of croutons, 10 pounds of chopped celery, 10 pounds of chopped green peppers, 9 cups of dry onions re-hydrated, 5 containers of chicken base, plus I don't know how many gallons of water, assorted spices and finally 8 pounds of beaten egg. It was a bear to mix up, so we each took a side.

We panned it all up into nine 4" deep pans and let it set overnight. We baked it the next day for about an hour on 400 and it came out tasting delicious. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos. While we were busy doing that on Wednesday, our other co-worker seasoned and cooked all the turkey roasts. They were wrapped in mesh to hold them together and they cooked inside bags in our steamers. They were cooled overnight and put on the slicer yesterday morning. The broth was saved to make the gravy.

I was supposed to make the gravy, but I ended up helping skin an endless amount of piping hot sweet potatoes that had been cooked first thing Thursday morning and had to be mashed. The same lady that helped me with the cornbread made the gravy and boy did it taste wonderful. So the whole menu was, turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans, a roll and an apple cup. (Again, I forgot to take a photo of the complete meal because we were just so busy). Parents were invited to attend the special meal and a lot of them came. We ended up serving almost 500 people. There were no leftovers! It all went well, but we were pretty exhausted at the end of the day. Today is pizza which is easy and we have to do our Friday cleaning as usual, but that's it. No prep work for the next meal. Woo! I'm really looking forward to having some down time. I need to recharge for sure. 

Oh and I have a couple of updates before I sign off. 

Megan told me yesterday that she really likes working in the library environment. She enjoys shelving books, the organization of it all, etc. It seems to suit her personality. She thinks that she would eventually like working in the cataloging department. Cool!

Squirrel nests in one of our trees. Beautiful day!

And hubby is two weeks into his new job as groundskeeper for a local church/school. They have a massive amount of property that includes not only the church and school, but sports fields across the street, a separate Pre-K building and two houses. He has lots to do and his days are very long, but so far he's liking the job. The weather has been stellar which really helps. I imagine in the summer it will be very difficult, but at least by then he should have a handle on what needs to be done. He's taking care of a lot of things that have been neglected for a very long time. Employees there are noticing his work which is awesome. So that's all good.

Have a great Friday everyone!

First Week of School Down And Some Rocks.

Although I've been back at work since August 7th, this past week was the first one with students. They started on Monday, the day of the eclipse. Turkey sandwiches were on the menu, so we didn't have to cook, which was great. We originally planned for the kids to have sack lunches to take outside for the big event, but they ended up eating inside and going out afterwards. 

We spent a lot of time the two weeks prior cleaning and decorating the cafeteria. My manager had some tension style curtain rods and we made up paper banners to hang in the windows. I created the one above. Our new assistant manager made this school bus banner below. She is crafty too.

Our theme this year was emojis, so we each made one with our likenesses. lol. 

And we put more around the cafeteria for fun.

So being back at work means less time for painting rocks. I have 7 weekends until the fall pop up market to get more inventory made. I have about 35 rocks so far, but I'd like to have 50. Yesterday I put on Pandora and got busy. I made one rock for inventory and also got some done for hiding. It's been a long time since I hid any rocks. My hubby even got into the action. Here are some we made and placed around town yesterday.

Some simple love rocks made using Frog tape and assorted glitter nail polish.

These are strawberries I had started a long time ago, but never got around to
putting the seeds on. I used paint pens instead of a brush which worked out better.

These are hubby's rocks. He really got into making and also hiding them.
I even added him as a member of our rock group.

And this is the rock I made for my fall market inventory. I love how it came out.

Punkins!

I made this gator last weekend. He's pretty cool.

And this is a book of spells I made two weekends ago. Yes, it's a rock. I found it in a pile of
dirt that was being dug up for a drainage project in our local park. It's really bumpy on the back, but
the shape just screamed out "I'm a book!"

So that's what's been going on in my world lately. I have some Furry Friday catching up to do, so maybe I'll do a pet post soon. Have a great Sunday!