Summer Time is Coming

As we enter the last weekend of May, I am looking forward to summertime. I'm not sure that it will feel much different than the last several weeks for the most part, but it is nice to finally be getting back to some more normal things.

As a family, we went out to lunch yesterday and ate at the restaurant, inside because of the rain. It sounds like a small thing but it has probably been almost 3 months since the last time we went out to eat as a family. It was nice to to relax and just hang out.

This past week both kids returned school books and empty out their lockers. The school year is officially over. Online learning was okay at best. It was nice that several teachers would post a recording of the learning. It gave them the opportunity to watch the lesson on demand, on their schedule. I don't know that my kids did it but it also gave them the chance to rewatch the lesson if there was a question or something confusing. I think though that I would have liked them to do the lesson live in an interactive classroom space - like they do at school - where the kids can ask questions and the teacher can get real time feedback on how well the group was responding to the lesson. They all had office hours but they were not always at convenient times and some overlapped. As an example, math classes all had their office hours, a live chat space, from 8 - 9 am. The kids would need to watch the current lesson before the office hours or use the office hours for the last lesson, which was not always convenient. In addition, since all the math class office hours were at the same time, if you had multiple math classes (my son had two), you likely could only get to one or the other. Unfortunately, several teachers didn't do online lessons, video or live. They simply relied on the kids reading the book and shared some notes. I also feel like the lack of classroom discussion was a loss. How many times as a kid did you pick up on something based on what a classmate shared. Whether discussing a classic like Great Gatsby or asking a question about a chemical reaction, sometimes hearing it posed by someone else helps you process or clarify it for yourself. And then for activity driven classes, there was again a loss of opportunity. For my son, we boiled eggs for different lengths as a chemistry experiment but that was really the only experiment that the class did the last 12 weeks of school. I would have expected more labs as part of a chemistry class. And for my daughter, who was in Family and Consumer Sciences the last quarter of the school year, she missed out on so much. They normally make a drawstring bag but with stores on limited operation and most students not having access to a sewing machine, the pattern was simply shared if they wanted to try it. For the kitchen half, the lessons were limited. She made a dish with an egg (souffles for her), a bowl of fruit salad and a vegetable. She still learned from the videos her teacher would post but they normally make so much more in class. The other gap was the absence of spring sports, spring dances, lunch room socialization, after school socialization on the bus or the walk, and so much more together time with fellow students. It is a unique experience that has impacted my kids and something that they will remember always but I do hope that we can return to classroom learning in the fall for the benefit of all students.

Baseball season is restarting for my son. He had three practices this last week and we have games next weekend. I have missed the families and the experience of being at games. It will definitely not be the season we had planned - the boys didn't have their high school season and had limited access to facilities so mostly had to keep in shape on their own. We have already learned that one tournament was being rescheduled which caused the team to drop out of that tournament and pick up another one. Many schools are not opening their fields so there is a scramble to locate fields for games. In the youth program locally, several kids have dropped out (not sure if it is concern, the change in timing for the season or some other factor). I am happy to have baseball back and hope that it is as near normal as possible.

I continue with my daily walks and have done at least 30 minutes (usually closer to 50 minutes lately) each day for the past 77 days (today marks 78 but I haven't gotten out yet). It has been a great way to stay active but also a chance to 'get away', let my mind unwind and destress and a chance to relax and soak in nature and sunshine (and rain on occasion). I have easily 80+ pictures to illustrate the soaking in of nature - I have trees and flowers, blue skies and cloud formations, 'artsy' shots with puddles and capturing the droplets collected on the leaves. It has been nice. I do hope to continue the daily walk. We heard yesterday that the pool at our gym will open in just over a week for lap swimming only. I am very glad to hear that news and will try to get there 4 or 5 mornings each week and likely move my walks to later in the day when I do. I was at almost 100 miles swam since January when the pools were closed with the gyms almost 11 weeks ago. My goal is to complete the 100 mile challenge and then try for another 100 miles yet this year.

My schedule as a whole will be changing here in a couple of weeks. I was offered a job and accepted it (actually, was offered two but one required relocation). It is such a relief after 6 months of being unemployed to have a job lined up. Job seeking during closure was interesting. I did all of my interviewing from home - a mix of phone and video interviews. It will be even stranger starting a new job at a company that is (at least right now) still work from home. I will be doing remote onboarding and orientation. I will meet the team that I will be partnering with by phone. I should have ample opportunity to explore the software and learn about the products on my own. I am a people person though, so it will definitely be strange.

Made some bread last night and it was perhaps the best batch yet. This morning, I am trying a new cinnamon roll / muffin type recipe.

What have you been up to? How are things opening up where you are?

Staying Active - Mind & Body

This experience really is unlike any other. I think I have heard the word unprecedented at least 1000 times in the past week.

Here in Ohio, I think we are at the point where it might be easier to keep a list of things that are open. I get it, whether you refer to it as sheltering in place, isolation, social distancing, or some other phrase, the goal is to keep people apart to mitigate or at least slow the spread.

With schools closed, our library closed, and the gyms closed, keeping the mind and body active is a new challenge, an unfamiliar challenge. It is funny how dependent you become on the outside world for things to engage your mind and keep you moving.

Our schools are treating this week as a series of calamity days, because fortunately, we hadn't yet taken any snow days this year. This is to allow the teachers to put together plans for distance learning and to find ways to remedy for students that don't have access to a computer and/or the internet at home. Even with that, both the kids start their day with some reading. My daughter because she likes it and my son because he has a book that they are reading in school that he figures he can at least pick away at. Then, my son does the homework from his math syllabus that his teachers gave him a while back. I'm leveraging LinkedIn Learning to learn some new things and to enhance my resume. I should be reading...but just haven't been motivated to read a book, maybe too much time reading on the computer. In anticipation of the closure of school, I also picked up a puzzle and we are spending some time working on that.

My daughter is also interested in baking and cooking, right up until when she isn't. She is great at starting but soon I find that I 'can just finish' it. We have had cupcakes and muffins so far. I am sure we will do more baking and cooking. It helps pass the time, is a good life skill, and is entertaining. My daughter also was supposed to be in home ec starting this week. I offered to bring out my sewing machine and teach her but she is willing to wait on that one.

We are trying to get outside each day for some physical activity too. Fortunately, we have had some decent weather and we can get out before or after the rain on days where it has rained. I have been walking. My husband has been running. My son is getting together with one friend to throw and hit. My daughter is using the swing set with a neighbor. Our one principal also sent out a challenge that includes planks, crunches, push ups and squats, another way to stay active. Working out at home, alone, is hard. Sure there are apps and streaming and I even have equipment and videos I could use, but the challenge is the motivation...what's the hurry, I can do it later, I have no where to be and nothing specific to do.

The rest of our time is downtime - movies, shows, internet, video games, and such.

How are you staying active?

Ellie by PV Body - save 20%!

The other night I was watching the Biggest Loser. It was Makeover week and I noticed that along with makeover week, they start wearing different stuff at weigh in. The men have stopped taking off their shirts and the women have switched from saggy, baggy to fitted. The thing that is most noticeable is how much better they look.

It got me to thinking how much better I feel when I am wearing clothes that fit right. When I wear saggy, baggy clothes, I tend to have a lower body image. Now that is not something that happens or that I think about when I am relaxing at home, but I do think about it when I am going out, going to work, or working out.

Last month I mentioned that I had gotten some new work out clothes through PV Body. At the time, they were sending outfits from assorted lines, but now they have launched their own line called Ellie. Now that I work out in a group exercise class several times a week and walk on a fully lit track, I feel that I need to wear clothes that are both comfortable and fit. The clothes that I received from their February collection are just that.

The pants were a pair of black capris with a bright pink waist band - they hit me mid-waist and are fairly fitted. That is a good thing - I have a pair of capris that are really flared and I always manage to catch my water bottle on my pants leg during spinning class, which sends the water bottle across the room and leaves me having to clamor off the bike to retrieve it during recovery. In general, I like the way that a fitted pant also helps me remember to pull my abs in while walking or running. It helps me maintain my posture. Plus, I feel like the fitted pants show off my curves - sure they are more generous than I prefer, but I feel better about me when the clothes are fitted (fitted not tight).

photo courtesy of PVBody

The shirt is perhaps one of the softest workout shirts that I own - I love it. It is a soft pink color. It is a longer cut - that works for me, shirts that are too short make me look extra wide - because they make me look straight from the top to the hip. Again, the shirt I chose is a little bit fitted - not tight, fitted. I really like it. It seems to move with me and doesn't get twisted or pull up as a work out. Having worked out in front of a mirror now, I realize that some of my less fitted shirts seem to leave me with skin showing when I am stretching and doing some of the exercises.

Ellie is "a fitness apparel brand that marries fashion and quality!" Join their Fit Fashionista Club and for only $49.95 / month (click here when you sign up and Save 20% on Ellie! - making it only $39.96). With the Fit Fashonista Club you receive two pieces (any price) from that month's collection. Order by the 7th of each month to choose your own, or they will select an outfit for you. Of course, you can always buy pieces on their own, without joining the club.

I love that they update their designs each month and because they are their own designs, I have less chance of finding myself wearing the same workout clothes as the woman next to me (that happened one time at Zumba - I felt a little uncomfortable, because of course, I felt that their outfit fit them better that mine did). I also like that their clothes wash up well, they are washer and dryer friendly.

Why don't you check out Ellie and find workout clothes for your style and fitness activities.

Want to check out their product line for yourself and get 20% off? Use this link to learn more and

Save 20% on Ellie!

No compensation was received for this post. I am an Ellie Ambassador. When you sign up through my link, I will get a credit for your purchase. I was provided with a set of workout clothes, so that I could share my honest opinion on the product. All opinions are my own or that of my family.