COVID - 8 months in

 So, good thing I gave up the daily updates a long time ago, eh?

So here's where we are:

Kids: still 100% distance learning.  Plan is to go back to in person hybrid Jan 19, but we are back in the purple tier, so that's iffy.  We cannot open in purple.

Exercise: I have really been enjoying myself.  Running: overdid it at the beginning of COVID - had some sciatica pain return and also had Achilles tendon issues.  Dialed it back in mileage and started doing more Galloway run/walk, still had Achilles issues.  Then tweaked my knee doing...something.  Prob trail running.  So I dialed it back a bit MORE to Maffetone method (Google it). Basically, it's low heart rate training.  The theory is that most people who run are running at too high a heart rate and that's not good for you and doesn't build aerobic fitness. My heart rate while running runs SUPER high.

So, the conventional wisdom is that you subtract your age from 220.  So for me, that's 170 max HR.  My heart rate on long runs or hilly runs EASILY gets into the 190s, or over 200.  So, yah.  I think I just run high.  The Maffetone method uses a formula of 180-age for the max.  So, that's 130.  Well, that's like walking for me almost.  The idea is that you do a lot of volume at a low heart rate - it takes several months to see improvement, but in the end, you will improve.

Most of these methods (Galloway, Maffetone) suggest that you can hit a PR if you do it right.  So what I see in both Facebook groups is two groups of people:

1. The people who want to PR.  With Galloway, the walk breaks prevent injury and prevent you from getting tired near the end of the race because walking and running use different muscles.  (Among other benefits.)  I found that I could go for a long time with run/walk methods - for example, I could run 7 miles and function the rest of the day.  No soreness, exhaustion, or headaches.  (Of course, my average pace was 13:30 vs 11:00 if I just ran the whole thing.)

2.  The people (like me) who want to keep moving, prevent injury, and enjoy themselves.  Injuries are for the BIRDS.  These methods just keep you moving longer.

So, as the Garmin watch HR monitor isn't terribly accurate, I sprung for a chest strap.  I have not been doing a lot of volume (7 hr a week is recommended, and it's not stressful because of the low HR).  I am aiming for 4-5 hours a week, because I have a life, and kids and a job.  My Maffetone pace right now is about 16-17:30 miles.  So...like walking.  Essentially, I warm up for 12 minutes (walking), then do an easy jog for 15 seconds until the HR is about 130.  Then I walk.  My "range" is 120-130 bpm, but I have the watch set to beep at 115 and 135.

So why am I enjoying this?  I love walking!  This method is super easy on the joints and the heart.  I have no idea if it will improve my fitness and make me faster, but there aren't any races coming up - so it's the perfect time to try.  

So, the exercise schedule:

Run/walk Tues/Thurs (at MAFF)

Family walk Saturday (usually at MAFF)

Weight training Monday/Weds/Friday.  I made up my own calendar - I do some Hammer and Chisel (which is HARD, YO).  Sometimes I skip Hammer and Chisel and do LIIFT4 with the hubby because we are competing for the TV on Monday/ Friday.  On Weds, I do 80 day obsession or one of the minis - A little obsessed or a Little More Obsessed.  Basically, I like full body workouts, so I alternate Today Body Core and AAA (Arms, Abs, Ass).  The 80DO workouts are 60 min, which is a bit long for me if I sleep in, so I decide in the morning whether to do the long one or one of the shorter ones.

Basically, I'm really enjoying doing different, new things, as opposed to what I did most of the this year, which is plan a strict workout program with specific goals to get stronger.  

Daily: November "100 swings" challenge with my old kettlebell gym group.  We can mix it up though, so sometimes I do 100 Kettlebell swings, sometimes I do pushups/ situps/ swings.  Any combo of 100.

Also, the occasional dog walk.

Vacation:  I miss vacation.  We had a mini trip planned for this coming weekend and canceled it because: COVID.  Haven't traveled since November of last year.

Work: Working with kids at home is hard yo, but I do get a lot done in fits and spurts.  Sadly, one of my best bosses ever and very favorite coworkers passed away suddenly last month.  We are all gutted.  I still cannot believe it.

Politics: Dump Trump Whee!

So, it's September already

Virtual school still sucks for an 8 year old.  I don't expect to be back at school even in hybrid mode until 2021.

The west coast is burning.

I miss my friends.  I haven't gotten together with anyone outside my household, really, since June?  A backyard birthday 'do in August, but only lasted about 10 minutes because: too many people, not enough masks.

I miss silence.  4 people in a 3 room house, and I get overwhelmed.

I love hugs.  I get them from my family.

I need to simplify.  I have too many things on my plate, with virtual school, work, and chores.  I have spent hours the last few weeks tracing down missing items and missing refunds for one of my produce boxes.  Today?  No box at all.  

Saturday?  We got a random box that didn't belong to us, with $40 cash in it.  So I spent hours trying to figure how who it belonged to.  Never did figure it out.  Gave the box to the neighbor (he was out of veggies anyway) and donated the $ to the food bank.

People are mean.  Why are people so mean?  Especially on the internet, so many attacks without giving people the benefit of the doubt.  And not only mean one time, but then doubling down and posting ELSEWHERE - go over and check this out!  Ugh.  

I am so fucking tired of Trump.  He's a sexist, racist, misogynist.  A liar, a narcissist, and people still want to vote for him.  See above: people are mean.  And racist.  Why are people so racist??  But hey I got a tax cut.

I'm tired.  

I'm reading a lot.

I've been using Paprika to store recipes and do meal plans. I discovered this recipe for crock pot Indian butter chicken.  It's not authentic, but it is delicious.  I've made it twice now.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/easy-healthier-crockpot-butter-chicken/

Here are some pictures.

Conf calls in the car

Curry lentils with cauliflower

Bougainvillea on a walk

A mailbox

She loved this bone

Gluten free chocolate chip cookies

Virtual learning is awesome

That's a house with an infinity pool

Chard, chickpea, sweet potato curry

Pretty flowers in the middle of a dirt patch

Cliffs

Birthday bunny cake

Ocean views

Pico de gallo

Beach time

Ahhh

We paint and hide rocks

This is how I lift

Pink!

Creekside on a family hike

Virtual learning is really shitty, thanks for asking

 Notes, in no particular order, on virtual learning:

1.  My 8 yo WILL NOT pay attention to the teacher.

2.  If he doesn't want to do it, he ignores her and reads his book.

3.  He will literally read his book and then come ask me "what did she say?"

4.  He spends most of the time fiddling with crap on his desk, that I constantly have to take away.

5.  Yes, we share an "office" (their bedroom).

6.  I get approximately 15 minutes of work done every hour, from 8:30 until 12:00.  So, maybe an hour, tops.

7.  I have to sit next to him, and force him to pay attention, every. single. minute.

8.  Right now he's working on reading.  He was reading his book, and preparing to talk about it.  I left to move over to my desk.  I hadn't even completed logging in when he came over to bug me.

9.  No, I cannot leave the room, because he will literally do nothing.

10.  Yesterday, 45 minutes of writing (specifically with no parent allowed, to get a feel for their current writing ability) - I left the room.  When I came back later, it was to a FUCKING BLANK PAGE.

11.   I might as well just work through lunch so that I can get work done.

12.  I have friends with kindergartners and first graders who are more miserable than me, if you can imagine.

13.  I LOVE his teacher.  She's awesome.  But virtual learning is NOT working for him.  

14.  If we were teaching him, we could be done in 2 hours instead of 4.  The school does not offer this option though the district says it exists.  It's too much work for teachers to do both.  (Totally understandable.)

15.  I'm so fucking tired.  I haven't had a vacation since November. I'm 50 years old for crying out loud.  Nobody in my house really cares that I haven't had a vacation.  "I hate vacation", "I'm too busy".  

16.  He'll be fine.  He's 8.  He knows multiplication and is currently reading Harry Potter book five, which is an AR level of 7.2 (7th grade).

17.  I don't know if I'll be fine.  I at least get 2 to 6 pm solid work every day, but by 5 pm I'm beat...last night I was working after dinner, but then I can't sleep worth crap.

New things that I've learned, and started using!

Today, I learned how to delete comments on facebook posts. 

And... I learned how to change the sharing settings to hide certain friends from seeing them.

This is much better for my mental state.  I COULD respond to the "You've got to be kidding me" with the "well, you are the POSTER CHILD for selfishness."

But you know, no. 

So, instead, I deleted the comment.

And then I changed the sharing so that she can no longer see it.

Peace out.

Recent thoughts about things

It's tomato season!  We are finally getting tomatoes as add-ons in our boxes (one of them).  So, bring on the tomato-mozzarella-basil salad. 

I miss my Sunday potlucks.  Some weeks, we'd have 3 versions of that salad.

My baby turned 8 this week!

The kids have been working out with Mike.  Today, Nick wasn't feeling the leg day.  He skipped yesterday too.  Daniel did leg day like a champ today.

Mike is feeling stronger but isn't losing weight.  "I'm eating more."  Yes, that's what you do when you lift weights.  You are supposed to.  Even the pros do that.  Eat up!

I may have PMS.  My kid and work are pissing me off today.

Our anniversary is next week, whee!  What to do.  😂
Work. Eat at Home. Maybe sunset walk on the beach?

COVID is a bummer.  Today, I read about a dude in Ohio who in April, posted how "I'm NOT buying a mask, I've managed this long without one!"  In June, on quarantine due to testing + for COVID.  July 2, having difficulty breathing.  July 4, dead.  He was 37.  What a shame, but if his death gets others to wear a mask...

I bought some kids masks (4) and adult (2) from a local place with local art.  They look great BUT the adult masks are too large for me and the teen, and naturally the kid masks are too small. So the 8yo has 4 masks and hubby has 2.  Plan B, try to look for adjustable ear loop fabric masks.

WHAT is going to happen with schools in the fall? Nobody knows.

I'm tired of takeout.

I started running again after 1.5 weeks off.  Taking it slow.  I like not having something to train for.  I've switched to long dog walks on Saturday with the hubby and/or kids.  Fun.  We are 4 months into COVID with no end in sight.  Need a new plan, clearly I can't just RUN off the stress, that was killing my Achilles.

Half way into COVID-19 summer (almost)

Yeah, I think school starts in 6 weeks?  7 weeks?  Almost half way through summer.  How are we managing?  Schedules.

Kid 1: has to exercise every day, and read.  I also want him to do some other stuff, like programming on line, writing, or projects.  But for now, he has been reading for an hour to six a day, so that's good enough.  He's doing a weight training workout with my husband 4x a week and joining the dog walks on other days.

Afternoons are for Fortnite.

Kid 2: same.  He has been mostly doing Cosmic Kids Yoga every morning, and joining me for walks in the afternoon or doing the evening dog walk. Sometimes he'll do calisthenics instead. 

For school stuff: reading every day (30 min), then another school thing every day (Dreambox, Lexia, writing, math pages) every day.  He also does legos.  Afternoon: TV or video games.

This way husband and I each get a good solid 4-6 hours of work in the afternoon, and a couple of broken hours in the morning.  We each try to interact with the kids in the morning when they are off electronics - games, snuggles, talking, whatever.


Weekly fun:
- Tuesday we have started "beach morning". In the early morning, 8:30-ish, beach is empty except for this large group of older folk walking.  I take kid #2 and we can plop down with our towel and bucket and play.  We take a bag of toys and a towel.  We play for about an hour and a half.  Husband joins us later and we swap. I leave around 10 to shower and start work, husband stays until 10:30.

- Takeout on Wednesday.

- Weekend longer dog walks.

These regularly scheduled things help break up the monotony of the work / no camp week.

The beaches are closed

The beaches are closed for 3 days due to COVID.  The idea is to keep the tourists away, as Los Angeles and Ventura have also closed their beaches.  This is why we can't have nice things.

Anyway, the bars are closed again for 3 weeks.  The restaurants are back to outdoor dining only, for at least 3 weeks.  I'm glad we went to the beach on Tuesday morning.  Staying home this weekend.

Beaches are still open for recreation - swimming, walking, running, surfing, kayaking.  Just no sitting.

Stay safe people.

Fighting

Today, the boys are fighting during their non-electronics time.  Nick decided to play Uno, so we played while Mike was in a conf call.  Daniel saved his +2 for Nick.  Nick freaked out, started crying and yelling, and stormed out.  Daniel and I finished the game.

Nick came back.  Lather, rinse, repeat. 

So Nick went out back and I locked the back door.  Daniel is still crying because he wants to play with someone, but now I have a conf call too and even the dog won't play with him.  Whatever.

Photo roundup...'cuz it's been awhile.

Vacation, Summer Camp, and Fitness

SO much has changed since my last post!!  Not really.

VACATION

There was a brief half-week where we considered bailing for the summer and going to visit family in Upstate NY.  You see, we both know several people who travel all summer long.  They go visit family in other countries, and work from there.

Thanks to COVID, we now know that we can basically work from anywhere with an internet connection.  For the last few years, I've dreamed of making a long summer away a reality.  My husband mentioned the possibility.  His family has a couple of camps on a lake in upstate NY.  Now, because of COVID and elderly grandparents, we'd have to go long enough to actually quarantine for 2 weeks after we get there.  And same on the way back.  But we started talking about it.  Fly?  It's definitely faster, but you don't know if the planes are packed (all that recycled air) and it's 3 flights in each direction.  Drive?  It's 5 days, nobody wants that (but we could take the dog!) - especially in a Matrix.  Maybe we could rent a minivan or buy a used one?

We talked it over with the kids, slept on it a few nights, talked it over some more...didn't ever get to the point of bringing it up with the NY family.  We decided, unsurprisingly, to stay home.  It just feels like it is too soon to be gallivanting about cross country, staying in hotels, etc.  However, we did agree that we should bring the topic up with the family as a possibility for NEXT summer, if things are calmer.

Thus, our next vacation is next weekend + 2 days.  A staycation.  I have many many friends who do all these fun things on the weekends (or weekdays).  I'm jealous.  I started stalking their IG feeds and writing stuff down.  You see, working FT during the week means we use weekends for household chores and not much else.  I know others manage to "do things", but we don't.  We've penciled in some family kayaking, a couple of hikes, a visit to the local creek to take a dip (there's still water!), some takeout.  I made a list of things I like to do on vacation (water play, walks, hikes, meals out, followed by an afternoon of relaxing, games, and reading).  So, there you are.

SUMMER CAMP

Week 1 of summer camp is coming up, and it's cooking.  Each kid has to learn how to make a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.

Little kid: scrambled eggs and bacon, grilled cheese and salad, beef stew in the crockpot, cupcakes
Big kid: scrambled eggs, quesadillas and raw veggies, instant pot pasta and kale chips, lace cookies

Week 2 coincides with our stay-cation, so we will prob make that "adventure week".

We are also starting a family "book club" to keep big kid reading.  We are starting Ready Player One and will have 3 weeks to finish it.

FAMILY FITNESS

Vacationing in upstate NY with family (cousins!) at a lake would have taken care of a lot (we would have still been working).  Alas, it's not to be.  Our kids complain, but they do get used to the new world order pretty quickly.  Case in point: they are now used to: helping with dishes 2x a day, folding their own laundry, cleaning every 2 weeks.  They are starting to get used to the daily exercise.  Today big kid asked to do the dog walk instead of the family mile.  Fine with me.  We've got exercise schedules worked out for everyone, and I expect after a week it will just be habit.

Little kid: running, walking, yoga, biking, video game exercise. 
Big kid: weight training with Dad - LIIFT4, running, walking, and hopefully biking.

I hear the gyms are opening up soon (this week) but I think we are going to pass for awhile longer.

Running has been hard.  Most of my brain recognizes that I am intentionally running slowly on weekends to build a good base and keep my heart rate in zone 2-3.  Of course, the running watch thinks I'm out of shape.  I know this is better for me in the long run.  It's more enjoyable.  I can function for the rest of the day, am not exhausted, sore, or headachy.    Constantly running at tempo or above cannot be good for me.  But devil Marcia looks at a 13:30 long run pace and cringes.


Still have to figure out the birthday thing.  Ordered a big gluten free carrot cake.  Planned to invite friends over for a "physically distanced" slice of cake and glass of wine.  Bring a mask, stay 6' from each other in the back yard, come by any time...then I realized that my birthday is on Thursday, and people will be working (I'm taking a vacation day).  So, I guess ... come by for a slice of cake whenever you can?  Or...after 6 pm?  I dunno.  Husband has to figure it out and since I already told 2 friends we were doing something...he cannot bail on me.  Also, I ordered a big cake.

So, what's the summer going to look like? That's a good question.

Obviously, I stopped posting daily or every other day.  Hard to keep that up when every day is the same.  So, let's pick some topics!

1. Fitness

On the fitness topic, I'm holding steady. I had paid for a half marathon training program, to train for a 10 mile trail race (my first trail race!)  The program started on March 17.  The quarantine started on March 16.  The training became all virtual.  The race was postponed. 

I did the training anyway, with a few changes - I shortened the long run substantially (capping out at 7.15 miles).  I started capping the mid-week runs also - I've noticed if I get to where my speed work and Thursday runs are 5-6 miles each, things start to hurt (injuries).  It's happened several times in the last year and a half.  Achilles, hip, lower back.  Ah, aging.

Prior to COVID, I was also going to the gym a few times a week. Monday and Friday were hour long body pump classes.  These are lighter weights, more reps.  I don't necessarily LOVE that, but I like people.  So I was going.  I also swam occasionally in the YMCA pool.

I immediately replaced YMCA classes with LIIFT4 on Beachbody on Demand.  I've had BOD since it came out.  I did 5 weeks of LIIFT4 1.5 years ago after my face plant on a trail run hamstring injury.  I love all the choices on BOD but find the ONLY way I stick to it is to write out a schedule for a particular program.  LIIFT4 is 4 x a week.  I have only been doing 2 days a week.  The program takes a bit longer that way but I also skipped leg day while training for my non-race.  Well, my non-race was on 5/16 (I ran a 10k).  I'm in week 7 of LIIFT4, so I added back in the leg day for fun.

So not fun.

In any event, I used my copy of the book "The Complete Book of Running for Women" to set my next running program.  It is what I do between programs.  She has a 10-week speed workout schedule.  I use that for Tuesdays.  I used the Galloway book that I have for Thursdays - mostly easy runs, with occasional strides (for speed) and hills (for endurance).  Finally, I found a program on line for heart rate training for the long run.  It involves keeping your HR in zone 2-3, and slowly increasing mileage.  But then you also take breaks by dialing back the mileage every once in awhile.

When I finish LIIFT4, I am going to start Hammer and Chisel, another BOD program that my friend says is really good to use with running.  Also, I've been doing pushups 3x a day a few days a week.

Basically, I have my fitness program scheduled to August.

Well, what about the fam?  They've been slacking a bit, doing some jumping rope.  Big kid supposed to be keeping track of his workouts for PE, but he has been slacking a lot. Little kid does some things.  All 3 jump rope a few times a week for a few minutes.

So, I decided Big Kid had to run with me.  I added 4 days a week to finish a "Run Streak" until July 4.  Those days are 1 mile only, down to the bottom of our hill and back up.  A few days in, hubby joined.  Today, the little kid joined.  I am not sure I will get much faster if I have to stick with little kid the whole time.

I figure it's nice to do baby steps.  Hubby asked me to print out the schedule and program for LIIFT4, so he may start that soon.  I've told the kids they have to make a workout schedule for the summer and stick to it.

2. School and summer camp

Well, this is the shitty part.  We have been doing distance learning since March 16, and school is over next Weds.  Don't get me started on the shittiness that is working FT at home (ha) while sitting next to a 7 yo who will literally spend 2 hours complaining about 30 minutes of work.  SO fun.  I am counting the minutes but...

There are no summer camps.  There will be a few, eventually - but they will start late in the summer, have shorter days, have fewer slots, and there will be fewer of them.  So, my kids gonna be home all summer.

My summer camp spreadsheet now has a million links to online school, virtual summer camps, art museum tours, zoo tours, "how to draw and paint" videos, programming videos, exercise videos, etc.  We have come up with many weekly camp "ideas" so they aren't just playing Fortnite all summer long.  In a word: this sucks.  Okay that is 2 words.

3. Vacation

I cancelled my summer trip.  I never got the spring break trip.  I haven't had any time off since Christmas and I'm a fucking hot mess.  I NEED a week off every few months to function, and this anxiety really can't last much longer.

Bye bye 50th birthday trip to Hawaii.  But what instead?  Will staying home for a week and not working really help?  I doubt it.  I want to hike, go to the beach, relax.  I need to GO somewhere.  I NEED time off but how to make it special.  This fucking sucks.

4. Work

My work has been really great (hubs too) requiring people to work at home, and saying we are going to go really slow on the startup. 

There has been no general acknowledgment of people with kids though.  And by that I mean: people with YOUNG kids.  Your kids are 15 and 12?  Yeah, they can mostly get their own work done.  Your wife not work?  Great, she can monitor.  There are only a few of us though with YOUNG kids and spouses who work and ... it's been crickets.  My 7yo literally needs someone to sit next to him for 20-30 hours a week to get his school work done.  That is not going to change when school is out.

On one hand, company is flexible, that's great.  On the other, just a tiny bit of acknowledgment that this sucks, and it's not ending soon is needed.  I mean, we may open the state in July but I certainly can't leave a 7 yo at home all day with his big bro.  So this WFH is going to be a long term thing.  Argh, I just need a vacation.

Oh, and I'm frustrated with the increasing work, no more money, general work frustration that has been my life for a few years.

5.  FOOD

My grocery bill is OFF THE CHARTS yo!  Who knew a teen could eat so much.  Plus, prices are going up and we are shopping every 2 weeks.  We aren't price checking.

Pre-COVID weekly average: $177
Post-COVID weekly average: $219

(Both my kids were getting free lunch at school so...)

I have been using weekly menu plans so I can go back and come up with ideas.  I'm tired of coming up with ideas.  It's so exhausting.  My brain.  I just can't. I'm overwhelmed with my work schedule, the kids zoom schedules and homework needs, and blech.

Anyway, I've got pizza dough in the bread machine for tonight's dinner.  I eat gluten free frozen pizza from Costco.

Meal plan 5/21/20-5/27/2020

Thursday 5/21/2020
L: nachos, salad
D: Roast potatoes and cauliflower, and something else?  I just don't remember what it was.

Friday
L: sandwiches, salad
D: leftover fried rice, stir fried green beans and broccoli

Saturday:
L: Takeout.  Finney's.  Tasty, but hurt my tummy later
D: Brown rice risotto with mushrooms and fava beans, loosely based on a recipe from Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow

Sunday:
L: Mac and cheese?  Leftovers?
D: Lentil soup

Monday: (holiday, but who am I kidding we worked)
L: Quesadillas, Ramen, Salad
D: Leftover soup, kale chips

Tuesday:
L: Sandwiches, mac and cheese, salad
D: Favorite chicken, leftover risotto, salad, leftover lentil soup

Wednesday:
L: Takeout.  Los Agaves taco bar.
D: Was going to be pasta, instead will be leftovers from lunch and soup and rice.

I've started taking probiotics to help with tummy issues.

We have half a head of lettuce left, an onion, and a green pepper.  Plus some cherries, bananas, and some apples.

This week's menu plan - late!

Thursday: 5/14/20
L: sandwiches, salad
D: leftover chana masala, baked zucchini coins with parmesan

Friday:
L: nachos & quesadillas, kale chips
D: pizza (Homemade and frozen), salad

Saturday:
L: Mac and cheese, leftover pizza, salad
D: Sweet potato spiral hash with black beans, corn, onion, peppers, and cilantro.  Topped with cheese.  Served with chips and guac.

Sunday:
L: Dominos pizza ($18) and salad
D: Zucchini, pesto, and sausage macaroni (instant pot), roasted brussels (me), raw snap peas and cukes (everyone else), and peach and cherry tart.

Monday:
L: burritos/ leftover pizza (there's only one slice, it's mine), salad
D: Leftovers from Sat/Sun, kale chips

Tuesday:
L: Salad and...?? Fend for yourself, I think.
D: Favorite chicken (fingers), with shrimp for me.  Hash browns.  Frozen green beans.  (We are basically out of veg except lettuce).

Wednesday:
L: takeout.  I'm thinking tacos, but I'm also thinking I should find something else.  I actually was awake last night thinking about it.  Too much life anxiety.  With salad.
D: Pineapple and cashew fried rice with frozen broccoli

I bought Paprika, and am going to use it to track all of our easy, favorite menus so that I don't have to think so much.

COVID-19 Days 40 and 41

COVID-19 Day 40 (Tuesday) 4/21/2020
- Track day. 1200m @11:09, 800m @10:48, 600m @10:09, 400m@9:05, 1200m @10:57, 800m @10:35 (roughly HMP, 10k pace, 5k pace and full effort).  Probably 400m should have been faster.
- Total 4.1 miles
- Eggs and avocado toast for breakfast.  Made tea using a coffee filter as a teabag.
- I was hungry all day and had a headache.
- School went ok.  1.5 hours of zoom with the 2nd grade class.  That's pretty tiring.  Homework went well,  Kiddo needs help and I gave him help.  We laid in bed for awhile and worked on his iPad doing math and English.  Big kid no zoom classes.
- I timed his tree pose for PE/ yoga.
- It was hot, we had ice cream.  Twice.
- Salads and leftovers for lunch, Thai curry chicken and vegetables for dinner.


COVID-10 Day 41 (Wednesday) 4/22/2020
- Little kid Did a Cosmic yoga video for 27 minutes, it was a Harry Potter theme.  It was fun to listen to while I tried to work.
- Big kid has 3 zoom classes, little kid has zero.
- Today he's crying and wants TV, but it is not TV time.  He has not finished his reading yet.
- Husband is recreating the water slide into the blow up pool.  It's gonna be hot.  I don't know if we are going to get to play with it, because: crying.
- Mexican takeout lunch.

How many days have we been in lockdown? I dunno

I'm tired.  I'm tired of trying to teach my kids and work full time.  I'm tired of certain aspects of my job, the never ending paperwork and the near constant criticism.  I'd be a lot better off if I half assed it.

Running is going pretty well, except my sciatica is back.  Today I did 4x 1 mile repeats, and they were 10:43/10:19/10:19/10:04.  I'm also keeping a map and trying to track all the streets I've run/walked on.  My Saturday running group Zooms on Saturday morning.  Running is good for me, and I haven't gained any weight.

The kids are surviving.  We have struggles.  We've found some workarounds for the little one and writing.  We've fired up the 11 year old water slide. 

I bought myself a mother's day cake.

Here are some pictures.