Random Thoughts with Scarlet

It's time for another round of Random Thoughts with Scarlet.  Enjoy!

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One of the things I do on Fridays is declutter my email inbox.  I try to take action on everything that I've been keeping in there for the past week as reminders.  As I am typing this, it's Friday, and I'm going through those emails.  But the people keep sending me emails!  This is taking much longer than it ought to be taking.

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I was right.  There are parallel Just Dance World Dance Floor universes, at least there were as of Wednesday.  I bought Just Dance 2020 because I knew that the price wouldn't go lower, at least until JD2021 comes out, and I figured I could then defer my decision about whether to open and use it or return it until later.

I got some good advice from AKD, who told me that generally people move on to the new edition of a game when they have beaten the old edition.  I suppose that beating Just Dance looks like getting a Megastar rating on every song.  I don't think I've quite reached that goal, but I have at least gotten 5 stars on each song.  The children encouraged me to move on to 2020, so I did (because in his encouragement, one of the children opened the game, rendering it unreturnable).

Anyway, there are separate World Dance Floors for 2019 and 2020, which makes me wonder if there are also World Dance Floors still going for previous years.

I didn't fall immediately in love with 2020, probably because I was so completely enamored of 2019 immediately.  No way could I replicate that excitement of dancing to my first song.  But it's growing on me.  I have a few songs that I love to dance to, and I'm sure I'll discover more favorites along the way.

In the end, I decided that I needed to try something new, and that I should continue to try something new.  I have heard that dancing is something that staves off dementia.  Dancing makes us use our brains and bodies in new ways, which creates new neural pathways, which apparently keeps the brain working well.  I had reached the point in the 2019 game where I was rarely surprised, almost always anticipating which moves came next.  Challenging myself to learn these new dances will, I hope, yield brain benefits.

I do have to say, however, that visiting the 2019 World Dance Floor is good for my ego... I'm a superstar over there.  Not so much on the 2020 WDF.

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I made the mistake of telling my super-curly-haired boy that he shouldn't necessarily wash his hair every day, in the presence of my not-as-curly-haired boys.  I, myself, wash my hair once or twice a week, and my curls thank me.  The not-as-curly-haired boys seemed to have missed the whole curly-haired requirement, and my statement has caused one of my other children to decide to wash his hair just once a week, which is probably ok, and my other other child to decide to wash his hair... never.  Ugh.

I think--I hope--I've finally convinced the other other child that he should wash his hair more often than never, because he has washed his hair two days in a row now.  Please join me in crossing our fingers that he continues.  Who knew hygiene would be such a slog?

We need one of each: Random Thoughts with Scarlet

Speaking of Just Dance...ok, we weren't.  Just go with me, here.

Y'all!  Not only did I finish 1st in three different songs the other day, I also finished first in a tournament (which is three songs in a row--highest cumulative score wins).  Eek!  My theory is that all the really good dancers have moved on to Just Dance 2020, but that doesn't make me any less geeked when I see my name on top of the leader board. 

So if the really good dancers have moved on, does that mean that there's another World Dance Floor out there, where all the really good dancers are dancing to 2020 songs?  How long will my 2019 World Dance Floor continue to exist?  Dunno.  I'll keep you posted.

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People!  Rocky laid an egg.  What. Is. Going. On?  I am not prepared for these already-molted chickens to lay eggs again until spring(ish).  I am not complaining, because eggs are delicious; I'm surprised.

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Speaking of chickens, I could spend hours looking at chicken breeds online.  I know that I could, because I do.  Some of them have feathers on their feet and/or legs!  Some of them have crests, muffs, or beards!  Some of them have five toes!  Five!  Some of them lay blue eggs, or chocolate brown eggs, or pink eggs!  Pink!  They're all so wonderful--I'll take one of each, please.

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Speaking of wanting one of each, the other day Hubby said we needed more chickens.  I couldn't agree more.  We're gonna need a bigger coop.

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I've mentioned that I've distilled my Warm Me Up Sausage Quiche down to the four essential ingredients, and I try to always have those four ingredients in the house.  I almost always have those ingredients, but they're not always in usable form--the sausage is raw and frozen and the cheese is ungrated, in blocks.  Well, yesterday I decided to cook a bunch of sausage and grate a bunch of cheese, so now I have three bags of cheese and sausage in the freezer all measured out and ready to be made into quiche (along with a baked quiche in the fridge).  I'm so excited to have streamlined the quiche process even more!  Batch cooking to the rescue!

Here's my current recipe:

• Mix together 6 eggs, slightly beaten, 8 oz shredded cheese (I usually use sharp cheddar), 6 oz breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled (about 8 oz raw), and one 7 oz can diced green chilies.
• Pour into a greased 9" square baking pan and bake in a preheated 400°F oven, for about 30 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer jiggly.

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The Just Dance 2019 World Dance Floor still exists.  In addition to all of the accolades mentioned above, I've become Dancer of the Week for three songs!  That means that I achieved the highest score for each of those songs in the past seven days.  Of course, my titles were short-lived, but it was super exciting to see my name up there.

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I've been making lots of Cricut projects, but I haven't been very good at taking pictures of them.  Whoops.  Here are a few of the projects you haven't seen yet:

 This is actually a reversible sign.  I took the "gather" picture before I put the frame on.

 I love these pantry labels.  Side note: who else has four or more different types of flour in their pantry?  I actually have six, but only four of them are in labelable containers.

My Cricut project list just keeps growing, so stay tuned!

More Random Musings

I just finished the report for a restaurant mystery shop.  This report is so easy.  Ridiculously easy.  No commentary (written answers to questions)--only multiple choice questions.  Takes less than 5 minutes.  And the in-store portion is super easy, too.

Every time I do this particular shop, I tell myself I should really do it more often.  The reason I don't do it more often, though, is that this particular shop doesn't pay a fee.  It's reimbursement only.  Which means I always wait until this shop gets bonused, which doesn't always happen.  And when this shop is bonused, other people often snap it up before I get a chance.

And now that I've confused, and/or bored-to-tears all but one of you, here's what else I've been musing upon:

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This is kind of funny.  And sad.  Because I am losing my mind.  And a mind is a terrible thing to lose.

I follow a YouTube channel that puts a video out every Thursday at 8 p.m.  I know this because when I let the girls out, it's at 8 p.m., and I sometimes watch YouTube videos as I'm watching them.  And on Thursdays, this is the video I watch.  So I was hanging out with the chickens, and thought to myself, I'll watch that video.  Only, it never came.  I kept checking back, but nothing.  I was disappointed.  I wondered if some emergency had befallen the family.

The chickens went back into their coop, I secured them, and went to bed.  And then I woke up.  Yesterday.  Thursday.  Yup.  I was waiting for my Thursday video on Wednesday.  The struggle is real, y'all.

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Our library system recently changed the way they fill holds.  It used to be that when I requested an item, my name would go on a list of everybody who had requested that item from our library system.  Every copy of that same item owned by any of the 49 libraries in the system would be put in a (virtual) pile , and as they became available, items would be sent to where ever the next-in-line requester wanted them, in the order in which they requested the item.  First come, first served, from the pool of all the libraries.

Now, when I request an item, my name is put on two lists: the first is the list of people who requested the item to be picked up at my library.  The second is the list of all of the people who requested the item to be picked up at any member library.  My hold will be filled with a copy from my library.  They just go down the list of people who requested the item from my library, and give it to each of us, in order.

If copies of the item that are owned by other libraries in the system become available before the copy from my library is available (because fewer people requested the item from that library), my hold will be filled, on a first come first serve basis, with a copy from another library.  They'll go down the second list, and send it off in order of request.  This means that, even though I requested the item 6 months ago, someone who requested it a week ago might get a copy before me.

I understand why they would want to do this.  I'm sure it cuts down tremendously on library materials needing to be couriered around from library to library.  It's also probably pretty frustrating to the librarians to have to send their copy of whatever it is all over the place, while their local patrons have to wait.

And I really don't mind.  It's fine with me if they want to fill holds that way.  What does bother me, though, is that I can't tell where I am in the queue anymore.  I used to be able to go to the website and see that I was next in line, or 10th in line, or 363rd in line.  And I could use that information to decide if I wanted to suspend a hold, like if we were going to be out of town or particularly busy when the item became available.  I could plan ahead.  If it looked like I was going to be getting a DVD on Thursday, I could tell the fam that we were going to be having a family movie night on Saturday.

I can't do that anymore.  It's always a surprise.  Which is ok, I mean, who doesn't love surprises?  But also, I would like to know.  Because I don't actually like surprises all that much.  I hope they're working on it.

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My oldest is heading off to college in the fall, and I'm a part of a few parent Facebook groups associated with the university.  It's been really interesting seeing the kinds of questions parents are asking, and the kinds of answers they're getting.  It's definitely highlighting to me how everybody parents differently. 

One thing in particular that has struck me is the parents who are packing for their children.  I don't even pack for my children when we go on short trips, and it makes absolutely no sense to me to pack for AKD to go to school.  How do I know what he wants up at school?  I mean, I'm giving him suggestions, because I've been there, but ultimately, he is an adult (in a few more days), and he will figure out what he wants and needs.

I'm not judging--I'm sure they're doing what's best for their family--but it just highlights how different every family is.

And then there are the questions that parents ask on behalf of their children.  For instance, does anyone know when RAs can move in?  Girlfriend, if your child is an RA, it's kind of their job to know when they're supposed to move in.  Or if they don't know, they should sure as heck know how to find out.

The other questions that kind of amuse me are the questions that can be easily answered by looking on the school's website.  I understand.  Sometimes it's easier to ask someone rather than figure out the answer yourself.  And believe me, I would be asking those questions, too, if I wasn't so confident in my son's ability to figure things out.  But I have to laugh because inevitably, one of the other parents in the group will respond with a link to the page on the school's website that addresses the question.  Not in a snarky way, but kind of.  Like, stop wasting my time, and look it up for yourself.  Except they didn't  have to answer--they could have just scrolled on by.  So funny.

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This egg situation, man.  It's driving me to crazy town.  Yesterday, I went out to the coop in the morning and got two eggs: one from Rocky, one from Indigo.  Around lunch time, I went out again and got another two eggs: one from Toasty, one from Rocky.  Except.  Rocky can't lay two eggs in four hours.  So who *actually* laid those eggs?  It's mind bending.  

You might wonder why it matters, why I bother to keep track.  Well, first, I just want to know.  It's kind of fun knowing whose egg I'm eating.  The other day I made cookies with two Hazel eggs.  This morning I had an Esther egg omelet.  And second, egg-laying is an indicator of hen-health.  If a hen is laying eggs regularly, she's in fairly good health.  If she stops, there might be something wrong.

In this case, all of the eggs are shades of brown, so I know Esther didn't lay any of them.  And Koko's not laying yet (or is she?), so I know she didn't lay any of them.  Which means all four of the others each laid one of these eggs.  I don't really need to know who laid each egg, just that those four produced eggs yesterday.  In this case, examining the eggs side-by-side, it must have been Toasty, Indigo, Hazel, Rocky, but it doesn't really matter.

I still want to know, though.  

This one's from Indigo ~ ~ ~ This one's from Hazel

I know, because I caught them in the act.

But that was a week ago.

Checking in

Hey everybody.  Just checking in to let you know what's been happening around here.

Yesterday felt like the last day of school, even though the last day of school isn't until Tuesday.  I think it felt that way because final exams started for MC today (so yesterday was the last day of instruction), and it actually was the last day of school yesterday for AKD.  He graduates on Saturday.

First day of school

Last day of school

He'll have to send me a picture on his first day next year.

During his high school career, AKD took so many extra classes that there was actually only one class he needed to pass this semester in order to graduate.  That seems kind of crazy to me, that he had enough time to take that many extra classes.

MC passed his Driver's Education theory class.  He worked really hard studying for the test, and we're so proud of him.  The next step is Behind the Wheel, which will happen in November.  Pray for us.  And our vehicles.

Bubby participated in his grade's track & field day on Tuesday.  He ran 40 and 60 meters, and was the anchor for his class 4 x 100 m relay.  He also did running long jump and standing long jump.  That morning he was speculating on his chances of getting a ribbon.  I told him to just do his best, and that doing one's best is definitely something to be proud of, regardless of ribbons.

He had such a great time, and he did his best.  He said that he was most proud of the 3rd place finish (out of about 22 teams) in the class relay, because they worked together to achieve it.  I loved the way the kids all cheered for each other and encouraged one another.

It's definitely feeling summer-like around here.  We pretty much had 3 days of spring between winter and summer.  Crazy weather.  For mama's day, the boys expanded my garden, and yesterday I picked up the sphagnum moss and vermiculite to fill the new raised bed.  The third ingredient is compost, which I made myself (I'm hoping I have enough)!  I'm hoping to get the garden planted by the end of May.  It's a little late, but considering how cold it was for so long, it's probably right on schedule.  

Now, of course, I need to figure out what to plant.  I was planning on just doing tomatoes and a couple of jalapeno plants, because I only had one bed to work with (the other bed has strawberries in it), but now I have double the space.  I'm considering just filling it with tomatoes.  Tomatoes are something that I can preserve easily, and I will definitely use.  Any suggestions?

Hazel (the 10 week old chick) is just about the same size as Esther (the over a year old hen) now, so I'm not sure how much longer the chick safe space will be safe.  If I leave the door open wide enough for Hazel to come and go, Esther can also come and go, and in fact, did this morning.  When I went out there Esther was in the safe space, eating the chicks' food, and the chicks were all cowering in the far corner.  Integration will be coming soon, ready or not.

Esther is still the hen who is most likely to peck at the littles.  Toasty still pecks at them when she feels like they're encroaching on her resources (food or space), but today I saw Rocky let the chicks eat from the same bowl as her (I place the bowl near one of the openings of the safe space so that both the bigs and littles can reach it) without threatening them.  That's so encouraging.  Hopefully the others will follow suit soon.

Speaking of safe spaces, I took the fake eggs out of the nest box last night to wash them, and I didn't put them back, because I figured that by now, the girls know where the eggs are supposed to go.  Well, when I was out this morning checking on the girls, there were no eggs in the nest box.  I figured Toasty must be taking a break.  I mean, she's an egg laying machine, but even machines need maintenance from time to time.

When I went out in the afternoon and there were still no eggs, I wondered if the girls had decided to lay somewhere else today, so I looked all around the run and in the hen house.  Still no eggs.  Toasty was acting agitated--she was pacing and looking around, then she went into the hen house and came back out.  I wondered if she needed to lay but didn't see the egg so didn't know where to go, so I put a fake egg in the nest box and put Toasty into the hen house, but she came right back out.  I put her back in, thinking maybe she hadn't seen the egg, and that's when I noticed two eggs in the chick's safe space.  That's right: both Toasty and Esther laid eggs in an area that they weren't supposed to be able to get to.  Silly chickens.

And that's it for now.  If I don't see you before then, have a great weekend :)