Random Thoughts on a Thursday

This post is mainly fluff. Random thoughts that are on my mind, both big and small, anxious and excited.

1. I am in awe how beautiful the reservation is right now. And it will only get prettier as fall progresses. Today, Charlotte is picking up R and bringing him to Brazilian jiu jitsu so I had an hour and a half to myself. So I went into the reservation for a while. Glorious.

My sister friend B and I at a vineyard. Both of us are with sunflowers. 🌻

2. My sister friend B is going through a major (and very positive) life change. I spoke to her over the phone this morning, and I am so excited for her. That is all I will say, but I also want to preserve in memory the photo above- from our mutual friend’s birthday celebration last weekend.

3. This morning was hard. Crazy hair day. I had to place golden paste onto L’s hair. We bought the paste a while back and this morning was a perfect reason to use it. I felt like I messed her hair up but she loved it. 🤷‍♀️

5. Weather. I like to keep the house cool but T likes it warm. The picture above says it all. Brrrrr 😜

6. T and I started a conversation about taking out a heloc loan to re-do our kitchen. The kitchen is from the 90s, and it’s slowly but surely falling apart. The floor tiles are cracking, the cabinets are not closing, the counter has a few gaps in the marble. When the bank has offered us 8% I almost chocked on my tongue. Our mortgage is 2.5%. It’s crazy how high the rates are right now! We still are not sure whether we will go with this loan.

We also talked about how before the kids hit middle school, we need to sell the house and move to a district with better schools. That conversation made me uncomfortable since I don’t do well with change. But I’d rather them go to a good public school than a private school. I am okay with paying taxes but not the private school tuition.

7. Lastly, new pants. These are amazing, I got them in black and navy. They wear like yoga pants but they look like work pants. Sit, stand, walk, run, nothing is tugging. They also have different lengths so some for flats, others for heels. I also want to get the beige, and that would be my work uniform- pants and a sweater/long sleeve blouse.

8. Reading short stories at the moment. The Orange World by Karen Russell. Fantasy, paired with reality, paired with horror.

Posted by:

Daria

Mother, teacher, partner, friend. I love coffee, books, and travel with and without kids. I dislike exercise. Nothing glamorous here but do have moments of insight.

9 responses to “Random Thoughts on a Thursday”

Michelle G.

October 10, 2024

I enjoy random thoughts! I love the crazy hair! It’s terrible that interest rates are so high. And it’s always awesome to find pants you like!

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Nicole MacPherson

October 11, 2024

I’m here for the fluff! Those pants are super cute. I love a good comfortable “uniform!”

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NGS

October 11, 2024

I am not a parent, so I don’t get the emotional side of things at all, so feel free to ignore what I am saying. Kids who have involved parents (good role models, have high expectations for schoolwork, etc.) do fine in any school environment. They do well in high- and low-performing public schools, charter school, or private schools. And when parents who are involved leave low-performing schools, it just furthers the divide between high- and low-performing schools. *shrug* The academic evidence is clear that parents are more important than schools. But I also understand how hard it would be to convince myself of that if it were my child. But I think your kids will be fine wherever they land.

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1. Daria
  
  October 11, 2024
  
  I think this comment is so valid – thank you. The kids will be a-okay, and at least better than T and I were. Still I feel the responsibility to them to send them to a better middle school thus selling the house. Thankfully, that is a few years from now… Six more years to be exact to enjoy our old house.
  
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Diane

October 13, 2024

I once worked on an opera based on a Karen Russell short story! It was called Proving Up and it was kind of creepy and odd, but I loved working on it.

I think we are lucky in that most schools in our county are pretty good. We’re not in the top tier schools, but then again we couldn’t afford to live where those schools are. Making decisions about where to send your kids to school is so stressful!

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1. Daria
  
  October 14, 2024
  
  All the stories are super creepy!! I especially loved the Prospectors and the Tornado Auction. So amazing and so scary!
  
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J

October 16, 2024

The picture of your husband gave me hives. I am not looking forward to the winter battle around here. My husband will come downstairs in his pjs and turn on the heater. He wears boxer shorts and a tshirt to bed. If he would just wear a robe and slippers, he would be fine. He’s convinced that I ‘run hot’, but in reality, I just wear clothing appropriate to the situation. SIGH. He sometimes does better, but it does drive me nuts. I should have him pay the entire electric bill….hmmmm.

Oh, the schools. That’s hard. I agree with Engie that parents matter more than the school, but I also understand that you want your kids to have the opportunity to take classes they want, have counselors available if needed, that kind of thing. The schools around here are really good, but some of my daughter’s friends from elementary school went to middle and high schools that were not considered as good. But thinking more about that now, they all graduated from high school, they all got good grades and went to college, all graduated and are doing well in their adult lives. So Engie is right. If you end up moving, great. But if for some reason it doesn’t work out, I suspect your kids will be just fine.

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Tobia | craftaliciousme

October 31, 2024

T looks like Dr House. At least that was my first thought why you post a picture of him.

Thanks for sharing what is on you mind. Taking out a loan at 8% is unbelievable. Wow. I can’t. I bet moving to a better school district would be worth the change. Would you also have to switch your work place?

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1. Daria
  
  November 1, 2024
  
  Haha! Totally!!! He was so cold lol
  Hopefully, if/when we move I will stay with my current district. It pays well for my years of experience and a good, calm place to work. So we will have to find a house that is close to my job. T works remotely most of the time so it’ll not be a problem for him. A good question, thank you!
  
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