Am I Prepared?

I know the classroom is prepared, mentally I think I'm prepared, but am I physically prepared for the next phase? I got my second vaccine dose this week, so I have that going for me... I think...

This last week I practiced doing things that I thought I would be good at after a year.

Like wearing a mask and my glasses at the same time.  

But I wasn't.  My glasses would always fog up, so I had got in the habit of just pushing them up on my head when my mask was on.  But I kind of need them when I'm reading.... like those novels or even typing on the computer...  It's embarrassing my spelling mistakes when I don't have my glasses on...

Anyhow, I found this and it really does work (not an ad).  It makes my glasses stay clear when my mask is on.  I also found that I didn't get overheated when wearing a paper mask this week to practice.  Those cloth masks made my temperature soar.  

I met a friend a couple of Saturdays ago at Starbucks.  We sat outside, socially distanced, and while I had to keep taking off my mask to drink, she was really good at drinking through a straw with her mask on.  It's a silly thing, but it amazed me... seriously a little thing that then clicked.  Using a straw water bottle at school would allow me to keep drinking in the classroom without removing my mask. I easily go through 50 oz of water in the morning while teaching, so I kind of needed a plan.  

I found this water bottle on Amazon, and just got one to test out. It works so perfect.  My nose and mouth stay covered, but I am able to pop up the spout to take a sip, then tuck it away.  I just ordered a 2nd to get up to my 50 oz. without having to refill.  

The last thing I'm prepping today is something I do pretty much every Sunday afternoon now.  Freezer Meals.  It has made my life so much easier.  Over Christmas Break, I ran across the Passionate Penny Pincher sponsored post on Facebook.  It was for her planner, but then while looking into the company I found so many people recommending her meal plans.  She has quite a few plans, but I wanted to share our favorites from the Freezer Meals today.  I have her digital/pdf downloads. 

They are so easy and taste so good.  Even my picky kids really have enjoyed them.  Our family is still trying to make it through all of them at least one time, so we are still learning out favorites.  I have them printed in a binder, and then as we try them I move them into 2 different sections - Make Again, or Modify for Next Time...  

Here are the ones that we recommend:

Cheesy Baked Spaghetti

Chicken Taco Bowls

Cracker Barrel Chicken Tenderloin Sandwich

Grilled Pork Tenderloins

Slow Cooker Mesquite Roast and Carrots

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

BBQ Chicken Wings

Easy Peasy Baked Ziti

Pesto Tortellini Bake (my kids don't do Pesto - so we omitted that)

Sweet and Spicy BBQ Chicken

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

5 Ingredient Grilled Pork Chops

There are a lot that we still haven't tried.  The directions are so easy to follow that even I can do them.  I keep them in my garage freezer, and then just pop one out the day before to defrost.  She has a bunch of the meals as freebies on her blog as well. I do now have all her sets, and many of the slow cooker recipes can also be frozen as well.  

Meal Prepping has allowed me to not have to worry about dinner.  It's been freeing up my afternoons and that dinner prep time has shrunk to barely nothing.  I have time to spend with my family, take a walk, and do something for me.  It's helping me to survive.  

Anyhow, I hope this helps someone.  Have a great day!  I'll let you know how tomorrow goes.