Days 415-421 It's May Which Means MCAS

 I often tell my kids, we are making history!  This week we will make more history by taking MCAS remotely.  I have so many feelings but I'll keep them to myself because I don't want to get in trouble.  As a result of MCAS stress and some other life stress, this past week had me feeling like a combination of all of these at once!  

Despite the craziness (and I mean craziness) I was able to meet up with a great friend for a real visit for the first time in a long time.  We met up a few times in the spring and summer but this was a real visit.  We weren't picnicking and we were both fully vaccinated.  We wanted to pick a good place for our first real outing and what better place than the fire pits at Bow Market!  We started at the first pit table and then moved up to the balcony to continue the evening.  The hostess was surprised I wasn't dining with "Jarod"and mentioned to my friend that everyone thinks we are a "cute couple."  We try!  It was a beautiful night to be at Bow and as usual, the food and drink was top notch but more importantly, I got to visit with a great friend thanks to our vaccines!

I also managed to hit class 300 this week!  I so enjoy the XTend Barre and Pilates classes.  It took less than a year for me to get to my 300th class.  I really hope I'm able to keep this up when we return to normal.

Speaking of normal, I had a lovely conversation with the saleswoman at Origins about not going back to the "old normal."  As my calendar starts filling up again, I'm feeling that stress creeping back in.  We both agreed that normal needs to be different.  We were all running around like crazy before and that wasn't great.  

One thing I am looking forward to is the return of the ballet.  I was so excited to get this email talking about next season!

As a teacher, seeing the White House recognize teachers and what they have gone through this year warmed my heart.  Very refreshing!

Since it was Teacher Appreciation Week,  JO was nice enough to take me to a fire pit at Bow Market.  This year, JO deserves some teacher appreciation love.  He's been my IT guy, my facilities guy, Google Meet tester, gotten me coffees and lunches, and all along the way he's listened to me laugh and cry, and cheered me and my kids on all year.  JO has already appreciated how hard teaching is, but this year he got a front row seat and I think it was even more eye opening for him.  We had an awesome time at the fire pit and it was just what I needed heading into MCAS week.

And finally, I couldn't agree more with this guy!  The shot was enough for me but if someone else needs to get something free to get their shot, be my guest.

Days 408-414 City Vicky is Making a Come Back

 This week was a great week!  It started with history being made at the joint Congressional address.  This was inspiring to see and I may have teared up a bit.

The best part about the week was the weekend.  I managed to do some extra work during the school week so that I could do a lot of fun things this weekend.  Saturday morning, we got up and headed into Boston to see the tulips, flowers, and beautiful blooming trees.  It's been a long time since we felt safe enough to go to Boston and it was just so fun to walk around and see the city.  It was a beautiful sunny, crisp spring morning and the flowers in the Public Gardens were just stunning.  

After the Public Gardens, we headed over to Marlborough Street to do some tree spotting.  One of my favorite signs of spring is the blooming trees that line Comm Ave and Marlborough Street.  I remember last year that we made a special trip into the city for a run so we wouldn't miss out on the trees. If a lockdown didn't stop me, I wasn't going to let school work stand in my way this year. 

This was the best tree and we actually stood on the sidewalk admiring this tree for quite a while.  

After the tree spotting, JO suggested we head over to Piatini for lunch.  Newbury Street has done an outstanding job with expanding patio seating at many of the restaurants which is just wonderful to see.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch on the patio.  It was just so nice to be out in Boston and feel safe again.  (Note- JO still has one more shot to go so our feeling of safety has more to do with peoples' behavior than with vaccines.)

Later that day we enjoyed an evening at the fire pits at Bow Market before heading to Gracie's for our first fluff gone of the season!

On Sunday we headed up to New Hampshire for our first hike of the season.  We enjoyed the 5.5 mile hike up to Gunstock and back down.  It was pretty breezy but the sun came out in time for us to enjoy our lunch on the summit.  

Of course this week wasn't without some problems...like the great dandelion scandal!  (Seriously, I can't believe this is even a thing.)

Also, dreaming of being able to eat indoors again.  This place will definitely be on my list!  

I'm so glad I gave myself the chance to enjoy this beautiful weekend to it's fullest!

Day 402-407 April Vacation

 Not surprisingly, April Vacation came and went pretty fast.  For the most part, the weather was beautiful and it was nice to be able to get outside and enjoy the weather.  

On Tuesday, I met up with a good friend in Newburyport.  It's been forever since I've had plans with another human and it was a pretty good feeling.  We wondered around, stopped in some shops, and had a patio lunch.  It was really nice to do something "normal" but we were both definitely very careful.  We're both also teachers and it was nice to process the 2020-2021 school year with a fellow teacher.  I have really enjoyed remote teaching (disclaimer, I know it's not ideal and there are many issues with it, but I really love it) but this last eight weeks was a slog.  

JO and I also got to enjoy a lovely night on the patio at Nubar.  We went a few weeks ago and I just couldn't resist going back.  It was so fun to get dressed up and not have to wear a jacket 😃

On Friday, we hit up the fire pits at Bow Market.  It was pretty chilly but the fire pits definitely kept up warm and cozy.  I do miss having the ability to be spontaneous and not have to make reservations three weeks in advance but it's totally worth it to be able to enjoy Bow Market in a safe way.

I loved this shout out from the chef/owner of Puritan and Co to the city of Cambridge.  From the get go, my city made some bold, progressive moves to help mitigate virus transmission while also supporting the small businesses and restaurants in the city.  This program of hiring local restaurants to feed the people in our city's homeless shelters was a great example of why I love Cambridge so much!

Speaking of Cambridge, the real estate market is out of control.  Check out this listing that recently went for $200,000 over asking 😂

This week also marked one year since the "take a tide pod and sit in a tanning bed" moment.  Imagine where we could be now if that wasn't our leadership during a crisis?

Day 401- I Got to Hug My Dad

 On day 401, I got to hug my dad for the first time in over a year!  We both worked so hard to stay safe and healthy.  It wasn't easy, especially for my dad.  He had to do a lot of isolating in his apartment.  He had to depend on us for food and groceries.  He had to avoid some of his friends who weren't being as cautious as they should've been.  And on day 401 it paid off.  We were both fully vaccinated and healthy and we got to celebrate with a real hug and a real visit!  

Day 401 was the best day!  Our hard work was worth it! 

PSA~ Get the damn shot!  

Days 394-400 Oh my Goodness, it's Been 400 Days

 This past week was just another week in the pandemic.  The weather was so strange.  It even snowed on Friday, like enough snow to stick to the ground.  It was quite the way to start vacation week.  

The weather warmed up and on Sunday it was sunny and in the 60s so JO and I went for a crazy long walk around Fresh Pond, the Brattle Street neighborhood, Huron Village, and ended with dinner at Gran Gusto.  We weren't going to eat out, but the weather was nice, and they had an outdoor table, so we went for it.  One really nice thing about the pandemic has been the fact that JO and I have had a chance to explore different parts of our city.  Huron Village was super cute and I get the appeal.  It's like a little Cape Cod town a short ways from the heart of the city.

I love that our city sends out an update each day with important information, and now it includes metrics about how many people have been vaccinated.

Days 387-393 Shots and Sunshine

I got my second shot on Monday!  In an effort to fend off side effects, I fueled up on this delicious steak from Gran Gusto to celebrate.  

As I went to bed on Monday night I kind of felt so proud of myself.  I was doing something important for my country.  Maybe I felt patriotic?  I set up all of my side effect therapies, aspirin, Icy Hot, thermometer, etc.  I woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating pain in my arm and my muscles ached a lot.  I didn't sleep very well and was super groggy all day Tuesday.  Teaching from home was clutch because JO could take care of me in between my classes.  After school I developed the chills.  I'm not sure I've ever been colder, even with three blankets and a space heater running.  A few hours later I got a slight fever, just over 100 degrees.  And then, two hours later I was feeling a lot better.  Now, I just have to wait two weeks and I can hug my dad again!  And I'll for sure still be wearing my mask until they tell me it's ok not to! It's a piece of cloth.  Not a big deal!

This week also featured some amazing weather.  JO booked us a fire pit table at Bow Market and we had a lot of fun relaxing after a challenging week.

On Friday, I had a doctor's appointment in Boston and it was so nice to see the city coming to life again.  

On Saturday, it was 72 degrees out so we made sure to get out an enjoy the day.  We stopped at Sulmona for brunch and dinner at Nubar at the Commander Hotel.  

Wow!  I'm always partial to Nubar because we got married at the Commander, but there patio is even better than in the fall.  We also got a sneak peek of the renovations inside and I'm loving the navy blue and gray color scheme.  The food, as always, was delicious and they even gave us a free dessert because they heard us talking about our wedding.  

I can't wait until JO can get his vaccine and we can go out without being so nervous about people who aren't wearing their masks!

Days 380-386 A Bad Case of the Blahs

 This was a roller coaster of a week.  My Huskies had a huge win on Monday followed by a devastating loss on Friday.  In between, we had a lot of drama in our own lives (nothing horrible but definitely stressful) and for the first time in over a year, I felt completed overwhelmed with school work and teacher guilt.  This is my own fault because I definitely "didn't use my time wisely" these last few weeks (to steal a favorite teacher line of mine) and it caught up to me.  (Nothing 12 hours of work this long weekend couldn't fix.)

Speaking of school.  I saw this post earlier this week and I 100% agree with this sentiment.  Things have to change- for the students and for the teachers!

We did manage to squeeze in time to watch another installment of Boston Ballet at Home.  I really miss the ballet.  I miss my "Vicky" dates.  I miss being able to actually do things in the city.  

I'm getting my second dose of the vaccine tomorrow.  I really hope I don't have too many side effects because I can't really be absent this week.  My kids would have to spend the day alone, working entirely independently.  That's more teacher guilt.