There is one thing that is dominating my time more than any other right now... pandemic parenting logistics.

I cannot begin to tell you how mentally exhausting it is to figure everything out. This week, we had to shuffle two full-time working schedules while trying to get an appointment for our kiddo for a runny nose. A RUNNY NOSE! Our daycare - who we love and do not fault - has to follow the guidance set down by the oversight/licensing department. That means any runny nose leads to a kick out, which leads to needing medical clearance before our kid can return. FOR A RUNNY NOSE! This became even more difficult with the K-12 schools being back in session because it applies to everyone. So, getting an appointment is exponential harder. Even our pediatrician's office agrees it needs to change. They're seeing kids who don't need to be seen. It's also a slow financial death - one co-pay at a time.

I could vent about this for ages because the regulations need to change to a runny nose PLUS one other symptom.  But I digress... here's what else has my attention.

WORK

• As a faculty member, I have to submit a tenure package at the end of each academic year. One part of that is a document with our yearly goals and objectives. I just drafted and submitted my document for the 2021-2022 academic year.
• I conducted my annual review of our social media policy. Only a few changes this year.
• I hosted the second webinar in our fall series. This once covered our asynchronous course, Library 101.
• Still teaching classes. (Yeah!) The recent classes have all been online. I don't love talking to black boxes, but at least the students are asking great questions.
• I submitted a proposal to speak at Computers in Libraries 2022. It seems so far away...
• The survey for our study on how faculty develop their research assignments closes soon. I sent out more marketing blasts and it helped us snare a few more takers.
• It took our IT guy several days (cause my new office has gremlins) but I finally have an updated computer AND two screens! I missed my second screen so much.

PERSONAL

• I finally got around to scheduling a family photo session. We were gifted the session with our wedding photographer during our baby shower. Fingers crossed the weather holds!
• It's been a few months since I updated my book tracking and readings lists. Head on over to the Reading List page to see what I've finished recently.

I'm trying not to laugh/cry that the book I added to my TBR this week exemplifies my Monday.

It looks like our office is going to stay open for the long haul. (I had serious doubts with the delta variant floating about.) So, I decided, it was time to replenish my desk snacks. 

During a lunch break, I walked to the grocery store across the street, grabbed a basket, and started wandering the aisles.

I grabbed my favorite first - Cheez-Its. (Yum!) Then I added a pack of mixed flavor sandwich crackers that was on the shelf nearby. Next, a can of original Pringles went in to the basket. I also added some soft baked belVita bars (banana bread and oats & chocolate) to serve as backup breakfasts and emergency cookies. Then, two small boxes of Rip Van Wafels (snickerdoodle and chocolate brownie). 

I wanted to add a bag of candy for the dish on my desk, but we all need to eat those mints that are still in there. (Seriously, come visit me and get some of those butter mints. Just ignore that they're in pink baby shower packages...)

This haul of (mostly) carbs and sugar joined the granola bars and trail mix packs that I already brought from home.

As I was filling my desk drawer, I realized that my preferred desk snacks all have a few things in common. They are shelf stable, one-handed food, that can be eaten without any dishes, and leave minimal mess. Maybe just a few crumbs or salty fingers. 

Hopefully, I won't have to haul all of these snacks home again. For now, I'll be happy that I don't have to dart away from my computer to satisfy that singular crunchy/sweet craving that tends to befall me around 3pm each day.

What's your favorite desk snack?

Our kiddo skipped some naps at daycare this week. This made her cranky. It made us cranky because we are not ready for her to give up naps just yet. Then, later in the week, she took a nice long nap. That evening was an enjoyable frolic for everyone. 

Here are my other good things from the week.

• Our salmon share arrived - on time - and everything was still frozen!
• I dumped the dry ice from our salmon delivery in the sink. There was still some chunks hanging out when I went wash dinner dishes and it felt like I was working in an evil laboratory.
• One morning, I got to read on the couch with a cup of coffee while everyone else was still asleep.
• I had laundry on my to do list and I came home after work to find that the husband had tackled it already.
• It looks like our University will stay open, so I loaded up my office desk with some choice snacks. Mmmm... Cheez-its.
• Twirling around to toddler songs in the kitchen with my kiddo.
• Saw the red panda at the zoo! Red pandas are my favorite.
• Dropped off two bags of donations for our building's collection.
• New sheets on the bed. Always a delightful treat.
• I painted my toenails purple.

I stared at the blank section of this screen for the past five minutes trying to figure out what to write. I've got nothing. That should tell you where my head is at this week.
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Here's what is holding my attention at the moment.

WORK

• This morning, I finished sending the last of roughly 525 individual emails to every faculty member at our University. It was a labor intensive project but I think the response has been worth. I've had more conversation and follow-up from these emails than with any previous outreach project. Doubt I will do this all that often, but it may be feasible at the start of each academic year.
• One of the side projects that came out of the email project was creating requested departmental resource guides for some of the tiny sub-programs we have. I was happy to fulfill those requests.
• I prepped an outline and slides for the next webinar in our fall series. Also doing more marketing on this.
• Prepping to teach a few upcoming classes. I've got a fun one about digital media research tomorrow and one on psychology next week.

PERSONAL

• Our quest to get a new Comcast cable box is (mostly) over. They shipped us FOUR incorrect boxes before the husband requested a fee-free visit from a technician. The tech arrived in the appointment window (huzzah!) and was done in 15 minutes. Now we just have to make sure all the charges related to the boxes are removed from our bill...
• Did a quick weeding of our belongings so that I could time it with our building's donation pick-up day. I also made a note of some items we should consider downsizing if we don't use them by the end of the year. Looking at you mini-elliptical... 
• I am still looking for a new sofa table. I will find something one day, dammit!
• I decided that I need to add category tags to all my blog posts. I'm slowly going through my archives to get that done. You can revisit past posts using the column on the right (if you're reading on my website).

I will forever be on a quest to remind myself that I am more than a mom.

​Y​ou can see my complete TBR list on Pinterest.

We have several plants in our home. One I've had for over a decade.

This ardisia went from about 6 inches tall at purchase to over 6 feet in height. Also, I discovered -  after two years of ownership - that it flowers.

Since our most recent move, this plant has not acclimated well. In our previous apartment, we needed to tie up the branches and do some pruning to keep the growth in check. Once in our new home, it spent 6 straight months dropping leaves and entire branches. While that activity has ebbed, it's looking sparse. There is some new growth, but this tree just seems to be hanging on. 

I have mixed feelings about what to do.

Part of me wants a new plant that better fills the space, but then what do I do with this one? A decade is a really long time to own a plant. This plant has seen me through graduate school, marriage, three moves, and a kid. Also, it's taller than me by no small measure. I feel like I need to get it back to full health so that it can live another decade. 

Plus, I miss the flowers. They stopped showing up after our move. 

Now, that plant in the kitchen we just got that is looking quite sickly.... that I have no trouble replacing with a succulent.

At what point do you call it quits on a plant?

I just remembered that there are stuffed grape leaves in our fridge. I bought them earlier in the week, nibbled a few, and put the rest away for later. As soon as I'm done writing this post, I am going to eat the rest. I love a good stuffed grape leaf.

Here are my other good things from this week:

• Our windows are open again - letting in the cool breeze and low humidity.
• I spent some time organizing part of a closet. I got to toss some things that we haven't touched since we moved into this place.
• Last weekend, we visited a local farmer's market. I have not been to this particular market in a few years. It's huge now! We picked up some bread, local honey, and a variety pack of cider.
• One night this week, I made salmon BLTs for dinner. When I went to slice the tomato, I discovered that it has gone bad. I was able to run out to a local supermarket and back before the bacon was done cooking in the oven. I love being able to get to things so quickly on foot.
• Several nights this week, I was able to read a book on the couch while semi-watching what we had on the TV. It was a relaxing way to end the work day.
• We were able to take an after-dinner family walk. Hopefully, as the kiddo gets older, we'll be able to do this more often.
• Spent some time cleaning our home and it always feels to good to sit down and enjoy that.

What made you happy this week?

While working from home, I got used to having two monitors. I do not not have two monitors in my office. Suddenly, this is annoying and makes working on certain projects difficult. Our wonderful IT person tried to set me up with a second monitor and, somehow, everything broke. It was weird. The more we tried to fix things, the more the computer refused to function. So, I'm still stuck with one monitor while the new computer gets reimaged. Alas...

Here's what else has my attention.

WORK

• I am about 250 emails through the nearly 600 individualized emails that I am sending out to our faculty. This is one project where two monitors really speeds things up.
• I held the first session in our fall webinar series last Friday. It went well. To be honest, I was just happy a few students showed up. Now I am preparing for the next sessions.
• Still marketing our survey for a research project we're doing at the library. We need a lot more responses if we want the data to be relevant.
• Somehow, I caught up on all the webinars sitting in my "to watch" file. Now I'm back to reviewing videos on LinkedIn Learning. 
• I converted a Google doc about COVID-19 resources into a LibGuide. A professor wanted something like this for a class, so I just used this as an opportunity to make a lasting resource. I figure this virus is going to be "a thing" for the long haul.

PERSONAL

• The power button on our cable box is broken. While the box itself still works, we know its days are numbered. For the past week, we've been working with Xfinity/Comcast (UGH!) to get a new box. They have twice (!!) sent us the wrong replacement box. I made the husband talk to them last time because my patience was shot. Fingers crossed the third box is the charm.
• I have not downloaded the photos on my phone or done my monthly photo management since early July. This week, I started to play catch up. Don't want to lose all those vacation or birthday photos! Plus, I love adding new images to our Alexa shared album and seeing them pop up on our devices.
• Our front foyer closet has one spot (all our cleaning supplies, laundry stuff, etc.) that had gotten out of hand. I used a toddler nap to clean it up and weed things we haven't used since we moved in over a year and a half ago.
• Because I hear supply lines are going to rough again, I purchased our kiddos Christmas gifts. I also sent a list to the family so they can do some early shopping as well.

It was back to school for our city this week. Our kiddo's daycare is next to a high school and we walked through crowds of (thankfully, masked) teenagers on their way to class. 

Confession: My school supply envy was real.

I was the kid who relished going shopping at Office Depot for new binders, paper, notebooks, folders, pens, pencil cases, erasers, colored pencils, paper clips, and planners. School supply aisles are one of my happy places. I could spend hours just looking at the offerings to select the perfect item to add to my backpack.

I remember that one office supply store used to have a deal where you could load up a paper grocery bag and get the entire contents for a ridiculously low cost. You better believe I tetrised everything I could in there (with my mom's help, of course). I probably fit things in that I didn't even need. Did anyone ever finish one of those pink erasers? 

While my mom tried to have us "shop our closet" before we bought new, I always tried to find a way to get new school supplies. There was something about starting fresh each year that delighted me. To this day, I bounce when I walk down an office supply aisle. While I don't mindless buy like I used to (*don't look at my notecard bin*), I love it when I get the chance to pick up post-its or a pack of preferred pens.

Now that I have a kid of my own, I can't wait to enjoy this experience from the parent side of things. Bring me those back to school lists! 

What's your favorite back to school activity?