Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

Mom, What’s For Dinner – August 6, 2017

08/06/2017
This is my first week back at school so it’s going to be CRAZY.

The Imaginative One and I have a dental appointment on Monday morning. The Wee One has a doctor’s appointment also on Monday morning. (Hubby is taking him.)

I have a chiro appointment on Tuesday.

Then work on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Friday evening is our Open House so I will be coming home late.

I decided to shop my freezer for my meals this week. All of these meals are going to be made in the slow cooker. We are going to utilize leftovers for the majority of the week.

Sunday

Church picnic

Monday

Italian chicken over pasta for Hubby and the boys
I’ll eat my Italian chicken over zoodles.

Tuesday

White Chicken Chili with gluten free cornbread

Wednesday

Chicken and Peppers over rice

Thursday

leftovers

Friday

leftovers for Hubby and the boys
I’ll have a frozen dinner since I have to stay at work.

Saturday

To be determined

Happy eating,
Traci
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Visiting your sister’s grave sucks

08/06/2017
It’s been almost a year since she died. I haven’t been where she is buried in that year. I’ve been close but have not had the strength to go there.

Yesterday I took the time and visited her and my grandparents. (Their ashes are buried in the same plot/ area.)

As I cried, I listened to the woodpecker pecking on the tree. I felt the sun shining on my leg.

I asked for a sign from her. She has shown herself to me as a Monarch butterfly at least 7 times. On the beach, she touched my shoulder. She is with me.

It was not until later that day that she showed herself. I was working at the fair tent for the DeMolay/ Rainbow girls. All of the sudden, a Monarch flew into the tent and immediately out of the tent.

She is with me.

Visiting your sister’s grave just sucks. However, there is peace knowing that she is walking this journey called life with me.

Have a magical day,
Traci
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Hotel Fun and Then Fish – Day 2 Part 1

08/05/2017
Join me on Saturdays for posts about our South Carolina trip.

Hotel Fun

The boys decided they wanted to form a duck choir while we were in the hotel room.

The boys wanted to pretend they were T-Rexes. They ran around the room with part of their arm in their shirts.

After all the fun at the hotel, we checked out of the hotel and then went to the Greensboro Science Center. The science center had a ropes course, aquarium, children’s museum, and a zoo.

Aquarium

At the front of the aquarium is a sign with a flashing sea creature. It went too fast to get a good photo.

The otters – They had an area where you could climb in and get closer to the otters.

Penguins

The science center had a HUGE octopus. He was out while we were there in the morning.

They had an area where you could pet manta rays. The boys loved being about to touch them.

Decorations

They had a submarine that you could climb into so Hubby and the boys had to climb into it.

They also had a big tank of fish, sharks, and manta rays.

We only did a brief walk through of the aquarium because the boys were going to do the ropes course. They give you a time to do the ropes course. Our time was an hour after we got there.

The atrium of the science center

We had to walk through the atrium on our way to the zoo because the zoo is where the ropes course is located.

Zoo

The cockatoo and Macaw

The Gibbons – They were so much fun to watch.

The lemurs

This peacock was walking around. I thought that was cool.

Random Shots

More random shots

Red Panda – The Wee One’s favorite animal. He was one happy child when he got to see it.

I loved the signs they had for all of the animals.

Tortoises

Hubby helping the Wee One get geared up for the ropes course.

The Imaginative One getting ready for the ropes course.

Join me next Saturday for the boys on the ropes course and more of the zoo.

Have a magical day,
Traci

South Carolina Travel Blog Posts

South Carolina – Day 1 (Trip down to North Carolina)
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A girl at the crossroads in life (Book Review)

08/04/2017
In June 2016, the boys had Vacation Bible School. I opted not to drive home because I would turn right around to go and pick them up. So I went to the local outdoor mall.

The bookstore at the mall had Mary Kay Andrews speaking about her newest book Weekenders.

From her talk, I knew I would want to read/ listen to one of her books. She was put on my want to read book list. It took me a year until I finally listened to one of her books.

When the Imaginative One and I were on our way home from our road trip, I had finished listening to The Girl on Legare Street and Brownies and Broomsticks. We still had almost 3 hours to go so I opted to borrow one of Mary Kay Andrews books from Hoopla to listen to for the remainder of the trip.

In the beginning of Beach Town, Greer Hennessey was on the look out for a classic Florida beach town for a movie location. Greer is a movie location scout.

When she enters the town of Cypress Key, she realizes she has found that classic Florida beach town. However, she did not know that Cypress Key will change her life.

She meets residents Ginny (spelling) and Eb. Eb is the mayor of Cypress Key plus the owner of the grocery store and a realtor.

Greer and Eb have a love hate relationship throughout the book. You have to read/ listen to the book to find out if love or hate wins.

Greer’s mother had died two months prior to the beginning of the book. Her more Lees had been in contact with Greer’s estranged dad, Clint. Clint lives an hour or so away from Cypress Key. Greer has to make a decision on whether to contact Clint or to have any type of relationship with him.

Once the movie production team and actors arrive in Cypress Key, it adds an interesting dynamic to the book. There is Bryce who is the abrasive movie director. He is demanding and does not let the word no stop him. The main lead in the movie was Kregg. Kregg is a famous rapper who wants to be an actor. He is a true bad boy.

Cypress Key has an old casino that is about to collapse. Once Bryce finds out about the book, he wants to use the casino in the movie and then blow it up. Throughout the book, Greer attempts to get permission to use the casino from Eb. This adds an interesting twist to the story. So what happens to the casino? I’m not going to spoil it for you. You need to read/ listen for yourself.

Greer was at a crossroad in her life. Going to Cypress Key changed her life.

I loved the book. I kept wanting to know more about Eb and Greer’s relationship and what was going to happen with the casino. However, some of the movie details went on and on which made the book longer than it needed to be.

My favorite character is Eb. He is described as looking sort of like the Professor on Gilligan’s Island. Eb is a jack of all trades, a good guy, and a family man. He only wants what is best for his home town.

If you want a good summer read, this book would fit the bill.

Happy reading,
Traci
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All because it was humid

08/03/2017
It was Friday morning of our vacation.

I got early to walk the beach.

All of the sudden my camera was not working. The photos were hazy.

What was wrong with my camera? (Insert some not nice words.)

I tried wiping my lens because it could have been condensation. Maybe it was the other end of the end of the lens. Still nothing worked. Everything was still hazy.

I sat down on the rocks trying to figure out what was wrong with my camera.

Sitting down on the rocks gave me clarity because I was almost ready to walk back to the beach house in a fury. Or I might have tossed the camera in the ocean.

Once I had a clear head, I decided to see if it was the sensor that was fogged up. Once I cleaned the sensor, my photos became clearer. No more hazy photos – My day was saved.

So why did my camera fog up so bad.

It was humid.

Now that my camera was defogged, I was able to continue on my walk. That morning I walked for 2 hours.

Life was great once I figured out why my camera was not working.

Later that morning, it began to rain for two or three hours. I’m glad I got out and walked before the rain.

Have a magical day,
Traci
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Holland, Michigan – Monday afternoon – Windmill Island Park – Flowers, Dike, and Canal

08/02/2017
Join me on Wednesdays for the Holland, Michigan photos.

Sunday Night – The Town

Sunday Night – Sunset

Monday Morning – Downtown area

Monday Morning – Statues

Monday Afternoon – Windmill Island Park – Buildings

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Mom, What’s For Dinner? – July 30, 2017

07/31/2017
This week is kinda weird. Actually it’s kind of busy.

This week I have
- professional development 3 mornings and 1 afternoon
- to take my son to the fair so he can work 4 times
- Vacation Bible School Tues. – Fri.
- Kung Fu Tues, Thurs
- Going out to work Tues.
I did a little bit of prep yesterday and video taped it. Please be kind because it’s the first time I attempted to video tape my prep. My bird decided it was a good time to talk in the living room so you’ll hear him throughout the videos.

The Hummus video is 11 minutes long and was cut off at the end. I never finished meal prepping because after the video, a jar of mayo hit my right pinkie and broke the bone. I’ve been trying to take it easy. (Ha! Ha!)

The lettuce filled up a gallon sized storage bag.

On to my menu. I will be feeding the whole family only on Monday. The Wee One will be fed at church the rest of the week and the Imaginative One will be fed there on Wednesday and Friday.

Sunday

Pizza with the church at a local Italian restaurant – The church provided the pizza. We bought me a gluten free pizza and the Imaginative One ravioli because he does not eat pizza.

Monday

Sloppy Joes, fried potatoes, celery

Tuesday

Tilipia with the lemon garlic marinade, quinoa, veggie

Left over Sloppy Joes for the Imaginative One

Wednesday

Steak, baked potatoes, Sauteed Zucchini

Thursday

Turkey Italian Sausage, Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, Zoodles for me, Pasta for the Imaginative One and Hubby

Friday

Orange Chicken, Rice

Saturday

Pressure Cooker Chicken Wings, Homemade French Fries, Veggies

Happy eating,
Traci

For other menus, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday.
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Dollar Store First Aid Kit

07/30/2017
When my boys went to Boy Scout Camp, I needed to make sure they had a personal first aid kit. I knew there was going to be an infirmity if they had a serious injury. All they needed was band-aids, first aid ointment, and something to clean up his injury.

So we headed to the Dollar Tree to get those items plus a container.

I almost got a sandwich container to hold of the items in the first aid kit. The Imaginative One who is the Boy Scout veteran told me that the sandwich container was going to be too big.

Then I realized there was school supplies in the store. I decided using a pencil bag would be compact enough.

All of the first aid items that I put in the kit. We also got them so medication for bug bites.

All of the items were bought at the Dollar Store. Each kit was about $4.83. (The sanitizer came in a pack of 3 and I put half of the wipes in each kit.)

I love this idea that I came up with and am planning to make one of those kits for my desk at work. I’m going to add an eye glass kit to my kit. My students are always asking for band-aids. The clinic gives us a limited amount of band-aids at the beginning of the year. Once those are gone, I’ll use band-aids from the Dollar Tree.

I think I’m going to also make a hygiene kit with another pencil bag. In the bag, I would put a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, breath mint strips, deodorant, and a brush.

I hope these give you some ideas.

Have a magical day,
Traci
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South Carolina – Day 1 (Trip down to North Carolina)

07/29/2017
Join me on Saturdays for posts about our South Carolina trip.

On June 22, we left for our South Carolina trip. The first two days of our trip were going to be spent in North Carolina before heading down to South Carolina.

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2017 Summer Bucket List Update

07/28/2017
It’s been about a month since I wrote out my summer bucket list so it’s time to recap the list. My updates are in bold and have red font.

Travel

Rochester, NY – I enjoyed this trip. I’ll start a series of photos from this trip in mid August.

Folly Beach, SC – On Saturday, I’ll begin a series of blog posts from our trip.

Toledo, Ohio / Louisville, Kentucky – I’ve not decided when I’ll be doing this series.

Hershey, PA – I’ve not decided when I’ll be doing this series. I have planned to do a blog post about visiting the Flight 93 Memorial on 9/11.

Pittsburgh, PA – I’m not going on this trip until Labor Day.

Reading

I have three items on my bucket list involving reading. The first two help with the third.

#1 – Cozy Mystery Bingo – I’ve read 7 books for the cozy mystery bingo. Here is a link to my picnic bingo book list on Goodreads.

#2 – I’m also reading through the cozies. I have different themes that I need to find books that fit that theme. Then I read the book and put it on my list.
- – One from culinary (anything dealing with food: restaurants, baked goods, etc.) –
- – One from animal related (cats, dogs, birds, etc.)
- – One from craft related (any kind of hobbies – knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc.)
- – One from paranormal (witches, vampires, etc.) Brownies and Broomsticks
- – One from British cozy mysteries (example: Belinda Lawrence series) Pancakes and Corpses
- – One career-based cozy mystery (housekeeping, wedding planner, etc.)
- – One holiday based (set during any holiday – Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines, etc.)
- – One travel mystery (character could be on a cruise, touring another area, etc.)
- – One historical mystery (any mystery not set in the present)
- – One is your choice! (freebie!)
Again this is from Goodreads.

#3 – Complete the Adult reading program at my local library. I’ve already read 6 books so far this summer. I’ve currently read or listened to 13 books this summer. Here is a link to the books I’ve read this summer.

Work

I’m taking an online class about ADHD. Fortunately for me it’s a self paced class. – I’m still working on this class.

I also have a seminar about Growth Mindset. I’m excited about the seminar because it’s going to be the theme for next school year. – The class was this week. It was very informative. I got a lot of good ideas for next year.

After I wrote my summer bucket list, I added on four other classes. I’m taking them next week. Each one is worth 3 contact hours. One of the classes is about ADHD, two of the classes are about co-teaching, and one of the classes is about problem students.

House

Get it clean in preparation for next school year. – Hubby took care of this while I was in Hershey with the oldest. Actually I started cleaning it a little bit before I left, he continued the cleaning. We also cleaned out the Wee One’s room. Funny story: We couldn’t find his Boy Scout’s handbook so the room was cleaned and purged. It was finally found. The book was at the church where the Boy Scout’s meetings are held.

Staycation

So far we haven’t gone on any staycations. The Wee One and I are traveling to an hour away to a science museum this week. Other than that, we don’t have any staycation plans.

I go back to work in 1.5 weeks. Next week, I’m either in class, driving the Imaginative One back and forth to the fair where he is working, getting stuff ready for my classroom, and going out to my classroom. The following week I have a dentist appointment and a chiropractor appointment. Then it’s back to work.

Have a magical day,
Traci
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