Things I Love Thursday // 3.19.20

• Working in the garden - Good for the soul and good for the SOIL. *chuckles to herself* For her tenth birthday, we gave our daughter a garden. She wanted a phone. Since then, the garden has been loved and ignored depending on the year. Last year, it was ignored and now it is in terrible shape. It's going to take a lot of work to get it back and guess what?? We have a lot of extra time right now. The girls cleared the beds the other day and I've been spending time in the afternoons pulling the weeds between the containers. In an effort to freshen and prepare the containers for a new growing season, I ordered what might be enough soil for the entire neighborhood. Oops. I'm pretty sure we have this year's freezes behind us so I hope to have some things planted by this weekend. I look forward to keeping you informed!
  
  

  

  Birthday Girl 2015

  

  Neglected Garden before/after 2020

  

  Exactly how much is a "cubic foot" anyway?

• Our School District & Community - One of the major concerns regarding the closing of public schools across the nation has been keeping programs in place that feed children breakfast and lunch, daily. I am so impressed with our own district and the swift action that they've taken in order to continue providing free breakfast and lunch to every child under the age of 18. These meals are available for drive-by pickups at 70 campuses across our district. Thanks to the organizational efforts of local chef and restaurant owner, Christopher Sottile and the generous donations of many Charlotteans, there are also many local restaurants that are providing addition food for children. If you know someone who might benefit here in Charlotte, please share this list. I also love that many of the grocery stores in our area are providing "senior only" shopping hours for those in the highest risk category and some are even offering free delivery to local seniors. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Card Games, Board Games, Puzzles - Sweet, simple, fun --Oh, and the nostalgia is pretty awesome too. Honestly, it's been ages since we busted out our deck for Sleeping Queens. It stands up! Certainly, not a hugely strategic game --but playful and fun while we're talking about other things. Have you ever played The Game of Life with your kids? When the girls were little, we used to insist that they "name" their spouse once married (and then name all their kids too) --was fairly insightful at the time but I don't think they'd fall for it now. They learned how to play Texas Hold 'Em a couple summers ago (Thanks, Uncle Ben) but it's time to wager more than candy and work on their betting strategies. I firmly believe that poker is a lifeskill. What are your family's favorite board games (for teens)?
  
  
  
  
  
• Humor on the Internet - We all need a giggle right about now and some of the homeschooling memes and tweets out there are hilarious: Here's a good list. And have you seen any of the hysterical threads where people who are trying to work from home share what their kids are doing but call them "my co-worker" in the sentence? Wow. Funny, funny stuff! There are a lot of co-workers refusing to wear clothes, a lot of employees cannot recall the last time their co-workers brushed their teeth, there are lots and lots and lots of snacking/hungry co-workers, and my favorite entry from this thread has been, "My coworker cut his own hair. My other coworker was supposed to be doing math work on Khan Academy online but instead was playing Teen Titans Go when the coworker cutting his own hair came to tell on him. I want to quit this job."
  
  
  
  
  
• Amazon Prime Workouts - Did you know that if you're already subscribing to Amazon Prime Video then there are hundreds of free "Exercise and Fitness" video workouts available that you can do at home? I did not. Now I do. The girls and I tried yoga this morning. It was great. If anything, there were too many options to choose from. News Flash: G does not like yoga (unless it's with goats). She did hang in there for a solid 15 minutes though. Tomorrow we will try something else. Any ideas? Any favorites? Also: There are a lot for young kids too! So if you're looking for a PE substitute for your own homeschool program, have a look!
  
  

  

  Let me know if you'd like to see a tutorial this week on my "Quarantine Hair"