I read a lot of books with my kiddo. Kid Reads is a biweekly look at what we've enjoyed recently. ​

Some private high schoolers in Michigan were assigned an essay on evaluating websites. Apparently, their teacher referred to a page on our website as a resource for them. This is great! The downside is that they are abusing our online chat support service. We get one or two actual questions and then it devolves in to juvenile antics. Today was not the first time this has happened. It's a mix of fun and aggravating.

On top of dealing with teenagers, here's what I'm working on:

1. Finals Week Social Media: Classes end Saturday and final exams kick off Tuesday. I've spent a lot of this week putting together motivational and study break social media content. My usual material was feeling a bit stale so I used ChatGPT to help spur some post ideas. (It's a good tool when you use it right!) I also made a bunch of graphics. My favorite one uses a photo of my colleague in a high visibility vest. Canva's background removal feature is my best friend.
2. Research Assignment Design: We're on to draft three of our article! For this version, we're just going through and commenting. For this round, we are trying to focus on content things and, as my colleague put it, thinking like a peer-reviewer. It's soooooo hard not to line edit.
   
3. Holiday Prep: Tis the season! We're doing a countdown calendar for our kiddo this year. We made a list of things (treats, small toys, and activities) to put in there but will adjust on the fly as necessary. We also sent out her present list to the families. Santa also jumped on things and we ordered her gifts. Now I just need to decide what to buy everyone else. Part of my family is opting to do no gifts, but I may get everyone a book anyway. I can't help myself!

I was out of town with my family and yesterday was a travel day. This is going to be a short issue. Have a great Sunday!

I will be on scattered hiatus until after the Thanksgiving holiday. I will share the usual Weekly Wrap, but all other posting will be paused.

Our normal schedule will resume on Monday, November 27.

On Tuesday, we received the last delivery from our farm share. It was our first time doing this and it turned out to be a rather tasty experience. It also was an education. 

This week, I wanted to share some things we learned over the past few months:

• Be flexible with meal planning. In the past, I used to plan our entire menu on Friday. I could not do that when we didn't know what would be in our bag each Tuesday. Thus, I adopted the "pick a protein, cook a veggie on the fly" method. It worked quite well and we rarely had to compost an item from our share.
• My lunch meal prep did the heavy lifting with using veggies the other people in my family do not enjoy. I would search my recipe archive based on these ingredients to decide what to make. That led to some great finds - like marinated cauliflower salad.
• It was important to process each bag the day we received it. On Tuesday night, I would inventory the contents, bag greens with paper towels, separate root veggies from their tops, remove rubber bands, and freeze anything we knew we could use later.
• Subscribing to The Farm Share Newsletter was a great help. So many menu and how to ideas.
• It's really fun to try new foods! I've never had an Asian pear before. They are delightfully sweet and crisp.
• Roasting and pickling are your friend. Roasting works for almost every veggie and proved an easy way to make a side to our protein. Pickling items was a convenient way to use items we would not eat right away but could not freeze. We've got some pickled radishes in our fridge right now and I like to add them to sandwiches or on top of other entrees.

Have you ever had a farm share? What did you learn?

I love that our HVAC units are Wi-Fi connected. Today, while in a Zoom meeting, I was able to adjust the temperature without leaving my seat. Plus, this means we can reset temperatures when we're away. Such a little thing but it makes life so much easier.

Here's what else was good this week:

• Rain boots
• Going grocery shopping as a family
• Caught up on all my magazine reading
• Kiddo played by herself for almost an entire day
• People I need to talk to for work FINALLY got back to me
• Walking on to a metro train without having to wait
• Baking muffins with the kiddo
• Caught up on my work email
• Maintaining a permanent packing list

I read a lot of books with my kiddo. Kid Reads is a biweekly look at what we've enjoyed recently. It's just been a lot of Fancy Nancy lately.​

At work, I tried something new today. I declared it a "loose ends" day. Instead of working on major projects, I just tackled all the little things I've had lingering on my to do list. It felt so good to finally get those off my plate. I think, if my schedule allows, I will try to do this once a month.

Here's what else I'm working on:

1. Email Clean Out: After over a week away from the office, my inboxes are a complete disaster. I didn't get a chance to review anything and I am paying for it. After my initial triage to get to the most important items, I'm making a concerted effort to get through everything else. 
2. Semester Wrap Up: We're nearing the end of the Fall semester. While we are in the midst of paper writing season, I am working on closing out the semester. I have some final marketing pitches to send, documentation to review, and plans to make for the Spring. A lot of my work from home next week will focus on prepping for the spring.
3. Travel Planning: We head out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday soon. We're making lists, deciding our ground transportation options, and trying to prepare our kiddo for her first airplane ride. Also, we need to figure out how few toys we can get away with packing. I don't want to show up at the airport with a dozen bags.

I always knew we lived in a wonderful community, but that was never made clearer to me than on Monday evening.

I arrived in Indianapolis for a work conference earlier that day. After FaceTiming with my family, I saw some concerning news come across our building's email list-serv. I alerted my husband since I knew he was doing bedtime routine with the kiddo. It turned out that there was a fire in our condo building. Because of the attention and quick actions of our neighbors, the fire department arrived quickly and was able to extinguish the fire without it spreading too far. (No one was hurt but the building is dealing with the aftermath and mitigation of the impacted area.) 

I called my husband as soon as they evacuated. While I knew my family was physically safe, my mind raced trying to figure out options of where they could stay and what they would need if they were not allowed back in the building. It was agony not to be there in person. I deal with tough situations by focusing on what I can do to resolve the situation. There was literally nothing I could do in this case. I couldn't even get a flight back home that night. My family had to remain outside for two hours while DC Fire ensured the fire was out and the building was safe to reoccupy.

​Our kiddo was nonplussed by the entire event. She got extra time on her tablet, was able to see lots of pets, and even enjoyed a snack. A woman who lives on the street behind us walked around offering pouches and other kid treats to those who wanted them. One of the firefighters talked to our kiddo about Daniel Tiger. Once my family was allowed back in the building, kiddo went to bed as if nothing happened.

I am grateful to live among neighbors who watch out for each other. While I am, admittedly, still dealing with anxiety around this, I know that our community is there to help.

Kiddo's daycare is closed for Veteran's Day. Luckily, so is my office. I'm always grateful that my holiday schedule generally aligns with hers.

Here's what else was good this week:

• Both of my flights took off and landed early
• Panera's bistro French onion soup
• Feeling chic in my new coat
• The conference rooms were (mostly) a normal temperature
• An excellent chocolate chip cookie
• Kiddo helped make grilled cheese for her dinner
• Being able to metro to a public library
• Kind neighbors
• Fantastic engagement during my conference presentation