To my students

To the students who were in my classroom between 2013 - 2016:

I just want to give you a glimpse of the thoughts I've been having. In some ways it seems like yesterday we were doing algebra on the chalkboard, having story time, and so much more in the 170 days (or more) you and I spent in the classroom. You may not remember it as clearly as I do, but those were some of the best days of my life. The passing of time makes all the good times stand out, but I acknowledge there were tough times too. Even though I tried my best, I made mistakes and failed. Hopefully I didn't cause any lasting damage.

Now you are all part of the youth group, and when I see you singing in front of church, or giving your testimony during revivals, I am filled with admiration. Every one of you has grown into a more mature, polished version of the younger you who sat in my classroom. It's so amazing to see the beautiful person you have become! I'm so proud of you.

Building relationships with my students didn't always come easy, but I want you to know I loved being your teacher. You might not have loved being my student, and that's ok! It doesn't change the fact that you will always be one of "my kids."

Love,

Miss Smith

to a new year

I love the feeling of a fresh start at the beginning of a new year. Who knows what might happen this year? That thought could be exciting or scary. 2020 is the beginning of a new decade and a leap year!

Although I'm not too good at keeping New Year's resolutions (ok, I'm terrible at it), I still like to reflect on the past year and dream of improving myself. It frustrates me that I can visualize something but really struggle to enact those good intentions. Any real advice on how to stay motivated and make new habits?

When looking ahead at a whole new year, it seems long and full of potential. But the days, weeks, and months fly by so fast. I find myself wondering if I'm doing anything worthwhile with my life. I'll turn 35 this year, and I would've thought at this point I'd have it figured out!

To start off the new year, I'll enjoy mom's pork and sauerkraut. Can't wait!

Happy New Year! 

best books 2019

Here's my list of favorites from the books I read this year. On a scale of 1 - 5, I'd rate most of these as a 4. I might've already mentioned some of these books in previous posts, but since they're ones I read this year, I'll mention them again.

Nonfiction: 

3 out of 4 of my top nonfiction books happen to be WWII escape stories. I love history, and it seems like so many of the books I read come from that time frame.

Destiny of the Republic
- Candice Millard
My review: I knew next to nothing about President James A. Garfield, and this book made him come alive. The assassination attempt and efforts to save his life especially interested me. The ignorance and incompetence of the doctor who took charge of his case made me angry! Garfield's patience during the suffering he endured was outstanding. He was a truly remarkable man.

The Long Walk
- Slavomir Rawicz
From goodreads: The harrowing true tale of seven escaped Soviet prisoners who desperately marched out of Siberia through China, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, and over the Himalayas to British India.
My review: An astonishing story of escape and survival. I rated this one 5 stars.

We Die Alone
- David Howarth
My review: This story of one man's escape from the Nazis during a battle in Norway and his subsequent attempts to reach Sweden is almost unbelievable. Battling exposure, frostbite, and starvation, Jan Baalsrud survived unimaginable conditions with the help of some villagers. Another 5 star book - it's a must read.

The Great Escape
- Paul Brickhill
My review: This book details the incredibly organized escape of 76 POW's from a German prison camp. The project required intense effort involving hundreds of prisoners, one of whom is the author. Unfortunately, the ending is not a happy one.


Historical fiction:

America's First Daughter
- Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie
My review: This novel draws from letters and original sources to tell the story of Thomas Jefferson's oldest daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph. It's a long book but very interesting! I learned more about Thomas Jefferson as well.

The Alice Network 
- Kate Quinn
My review: I've read many historical fiction novels set during WWII, but this one stands out. There are two storylines spanning both world wars. One is the story of a female spy during the Great War, and thirty years later an American college girl searching for her cousin in the aftermath of WWII.

Fiction:

These are the kinds of books I read for pleasure or as an escape. Nothing too remarkable or deep here!

The Secret Life of Bees
- Sue Monk Kidd
My review: Set in South Carolina in 1964, this book tells the story of 14-year-old Lily Owens, a white girl taken in by a trio of black beekeeping sisters. I fell in love with the characters and the tone of this book. It's my favorite out of the three.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
- Gail Honeyman
From goodreads: Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.
My review: I found this book funny in a sad way. The twist at the end was rather surprising.

Where the Crawdads Sing
- Delia Owens
From goodreads: For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand.
My review: A tale of love, murder, and mystery. Another surprise ending.


*Sometimes I get asked for book recommendations for teenagers or young adults. I wouldn't necessarily suggest any of these books for children, as they contain adult language, murder, romance, etc. I am working on a blog of book recommendations appropriate for young adults.

Best of 2019

It's always fun to reflect over the past year as we look forward to the beginning of a new year. Here's a few of the highlights from 2019. I've already blogged about most of these activities, so I won't go into too much detail. If you want to read more about it, I'll include a link to those blogs in the heading.

Kitchen facelift
Tearing off wallpaper, repainting, and putting up shiplap took a long time, but I love the new look!

Visiting my sister in her Kansas home
I'm so glad we made it a priority to visit Derek & Camille this spring, especially since they no longer live in Kansas! I got to see their newlywed house and help do some landscaping. We made good memories.

Summertime  
I don't have to say more!

Helping Chad & Keela move
It worked out for Cliff and I to spend a few days in Ohio helping Chad's move into their new house. It was a big job, but we had fun doing it!

Anniversary trip to Boston
We celebrated 15 years with a weekend trip to Boston, a place I'd always wanted to go. Whale watching and lounging at Castle Island looking over the Harbor were the best parts of the trip.

Not a highlight: Shelby & Kait moved to Tennessee 
This was an unhappy event. We loved having Shelby's live a few yards down the road from us and miss hanging out with them.

Swarey reunion
We waited three years for this! Good times.

Derek & Camille moved to Pennsylvania!
So nice to have a sister living near me.😍

Christmas in the Smokies
This is one I haven't blogged about, so maybe I'll go into a little more detail. We met Shelby & Kait in the Smokies for 4 nights and 3 days this past week. We rented a cabin high up in the mountains overlooking Pigeon Forge. (Here's a link to the place we stayed.) We did some touristy things, went to Cade's Cove, and ate at many delicious restaurants. Apparently Christmas is a popular time to visit the Smokies, because traffic was terrible and everything was packed. We still had a great time, though! It was a relaxing way to spend Christmas.

Other events
Cliff left his job at Spray Foam Insulation Services and went back to Bowers Sales & Rentals. He's happy there.

All in all, it was a good year. I'm very happy to be at the point in my job where I'm not new anymore and understand what's expected of me.

I thought of including my favorite books from this year but it looks like that will have to be a blog by itself!

Christmas stories

Today I read two short Christmas stories that made my day off even better! A new one for me was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It's a great story! Kid's books are the best.

The other book was The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. I think I read it many years ago but had forgotten it.

I have to say, my all-time favorite is still A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I'm having fun telling the story through WhatsApp statuses this year.😄 My illustrated copy is displayed and referenced every year.

I want to give a shout-out to my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teacher Mrs. Schmidt for instilling in me a love for this book. She'd read it every year in her incredible way. I think it's probably safe to say that her many students remember it to this day!

As a side note, last year I found this wonderful wooden four piece Christmas Carol series at an antique store. It's one of those things that grabbed me instantly and I knew they belonged to me.

Scrooge and Marley

Scrooge's flat

Fezziwig Warehouse 

Cratchit's house

Back to Christmas stories. Another classic favorite is O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham is a humorous Christmas story.

Any more Christmas books I should read?

work, food, and Christmas plans

My weekend at work 

I was ready to collapse after working Saturday and Sunday. Weekends can be brutal because there's only a few people working and sometimes the workload is the same as a weekday. This weekend there were only 2 pharmacists and 2 technicians. I was the only one making all the IV's, which the blister on my hand from pulling syringes can verify. Wintertime is our busy season. There's a large amount of IV antibiotics being used, and on Saturday I had to batch a lot of them (106 bags) to get us through the weekend. In addition, there were several CCU patients who were on IV sedatives, insulin drips, vasopressors, and end-of-life pain management. My other weekend responsibilities include cleaning all the hoods, (where we do the sterile compounding - for more details see this blog) inventory of our stock of IV antibiotics  and making sure there are enough to last 24 hours, watching the label printers and filling orders, and 3 cartfills (large batches of IV's that print every day). I ended up staying 45 minutes late both Saturday and Sunday to get somewhat caught up. I keep thinking of a Jordan B. Peterson podcast I listened to where he said, "The bulk of the work is done by a small minority of the people. The square root of the number of people who are doing the job do half the work. So if there's 10 people, 3 do half the work. For 100 people, 10 do half the work." Using that formula, if there's 4 people, 2 are doing half the work. That seems about right as it relates to my job! I certainly felt like I did the work of two people. Thankfully I'm off today so I can recover.

Easy, delicious treats
Someone brought these tasty pretzel M&M hugs to our Swarey reunion and I wanted to make a batch for the holidays.

Mariah and Allie came over Friday evening while Charles and SaraBeth went caroling, and we made these together. It's a perfect project for little helpers! The combination of sweet and salty hits the spot. Plus, they're pretty and so easy to make! Click here for the instructions.

Christmas preparations 
It's hard to believe Christmas is only 9 days away! I guess Christmas cards and letters are a thing of the past for me. It looks like a few people still have me on their list though, as I've received 3 cards. My family isn't getting together this year. Some have other plans, so Shelby's and we decided to meet in the Smokies for a few days. I worked last Christmas so was able to get off this year, and managed to get a few extra days between Christmas and New Year's. Time off during the holidays is very limited, so I figured we should do something since I was lucky enough to get it this year! A vacation in the Smokies will be perfect.

and the winner is...

Tina Koehn

won the giveaway! Each person's name was written on a piece of paper and carefully mixed up before I closed my eyes and picked. Tina told me she couldn't decide which item to choose, so I'm still considering which one to order. 

If anyone is interested, the signs can be purchased on Etsy from Misty Hollow Product Co, one of my favorite small businesses. I've ordered custom signs several times and been very happy with each one. This one is on my mantle right now.

Thanks to all who participated in the giveaway! It was so much fun I might have to do it again sometime!

Giveaway!!

It's been almost a year since I started blogging. To celebrate, I'm doing a giveaway! The winner will be able to choose between this Katie Daisy 2020 planner

Or your choice of one of these adorable mini wood beverage signs. I have the "hot tea" sign and love it!

To be entered in the drawing, comment below on what you would pick if you are the winner. The drawing will be done on Sunday evening, December 15.

Blogging has opened up a new outlet I never imagined I'd enjoy. This past year has been enriched because of it!

memories new and old

This has been a pleasant week - a ten day respite from work and wonderful family time! Every three years the Swarey family has a reunion and this time it was in Linden, Tennessee over Thanksgiving. We left a few days early and our whole family went to Shelby and Kait's to help work on their house. It was interesting having our 17 person group in their small house! We ladies cooked and helped unpack and set up the house while the men worked on hooking up appliances, doing electrical work, and framing up the carport to add an extra room. They have a nice setting in Henderson, Tennessee, and we had good times there!

Our reunion started with supper Wednesday evening. Out of the 138 descendants of Abe and Elsie Swarey, 134 attended. Our dear 86 year old grandmother Elsie is still with us, although not as active as she once was. She still sings beautifully and her stubborn streak is intact! On Thursday we had a time of sharing and one of the uncles had an interview with her about how it was for them coming out from the Amish. I learned some things I had never known before of how difficult and dark a time that was. Many people expressed their thankfulness for the decision our grandparents made. I wonder where we would all be if they had not broken away from their families and the faith they were raised in? It's evident their progeny have been blessed by our grandparents' willingness to follow God. I personally feel blessed to be a part of the Swarey lineage and am thankful we keep in touch the way we do. Nobody wants to miss these reunions because they are always filled with memories, laughter, beautiful singing, and good food.

The reunion was held at a Baptist conference center and fit our needs very well. It was one of the nicest places we've been to for a reunion, with the one exception of not having a kitchen at our disposal. Nevertheless, we managed to put on 5 meals and had 3 in the camp cafeteria. Thursday afternoon most of the group drove to Uncle Mel's shop for a demonstration of the original feed grinder that Grandpa and the uncles used to go around and grind feed for customers. As we watched the five uncles in their 50's work together to operate the machine, we could almost see them as young men in the prime of life. One of my cousins made a super neat barrel train and took the children for rides on the "reunion railroad". He dressed up as an old-time engineer and his "engine" blew out smoke and honked like a real train. The cars were decorated up like a UPS truck, fire engine, Case tractor, horse and buggy, and more! The kids loved it and I even took a ride in the buggy with one of my nieces!😄

These are some of the best times in life. It's a blessing to have a family that loves each other and enjoys spending time together. I'm so thankful for my grandparents and the heritage they gave us!

Friday night reflection

Friday nights are the best! (If you have the weekend off). It's such a wonderful feeling to know the work week is over and there's no reason to get up in the morning. A warm house and cozy bed add even more bliss.

The last few days at work have been extremely busy, which is normal for this time of year. People are being kept in the ER because there's no beds anywhere else. When the census is high it can get crazy, especially if there's some really sick people who need extra interventions. We can hardly keep up with all the medication requests sometimes. One of the evenings I worked this week there was a fire alarm. We can't use the elevators while that's going on, and I was getting ready to leave the pharmacy with a cart full of IV's and other meds. My shift was almost over and it was time to get them out, so I grabbed a big bin, put as much in as I could carry, and headed up two stories. It was a workout! My arms are still slightly sore.

Last night around 9:00 I answered a call in the pharmacy and it was our night shift tech calling off. I could tell he was upset and hardly comprehended when he said the mother of his daughter had committed suicide. I don't know much about his personal life, but don't think he was ever married to this lady. What a tragedy! That kind of news feels like a punch in the stomach. Today a pharmacist was telling a story about something that happened to his son last week. He was walking out of the garage where he parks for work when he heard a "splat".  A person had jumped from 2 stories above and landed about 10 feet away from where he was standing. How awful to be a witness to such trauma! There's so much sadness and misery in our world.

I don't want to end on a bleak tone, so maybe I'll count a few blessings since it's almost Thanksgiving. 

Thankful for

• Online shopping and grocery pickup
• I'm off all next week!
• It worked out for me to take time off between Christmas and New Year's 
• A reliable vehicle 
• Family nearby - and that Derek & Camille are moving here! 💜

Five favorite beauty products

Blog inspirations have been absent lately so I decided to write about some of my favorite beauty products to go along with my posts on favorite home and garden tools and favorite kitchen tools.

rose clay face mask

This is something I tried for the first time yesterday. My awesome sister-in-law SaraBeth recently started making candles, lotion, and other skincare items and generously gives me samples of her products. My face felt clean and refreshed after using this mask, and I really think it made my skin glow! Check out Sarabeth's Etsy shop here. If you're local, she also sells her products at her house.

Aquaphor Healing Ointment

This works wonders for healing cracks on hands or feet. I even use it as a lip moisturizer. Last week I accidentally nicked my finger with a strong blast from the pressure washer, which peeled the skin off. I covered it in Aquaphor and put a bandaid over it for several days and it quickly healed.

coconut oil moisturizing cream

I use this on my hands every night before going to bed. It's creamy but not greasy, and has a pleasant scent. It makes my dry hands and arms feel soft and moisturized.

Melaleuca Affinia shampoo

Many shampoos contain sulfate and other chemicals that can damage your hair. I have really thin hair and try to do all I can to keep it healthy. I've used this sulfate free shampoo and conditioner for years, and if I ever use a regular shampoo like Herbal Essence or Pantene, I can't believe the difference. My hair has more body and is much more manageable with Affinia shampoo.

MaryKay Timewise Moisturizer

This is my favorite facial moisturizer. It doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy or cause breakouts.

three years at St. Joe's

This week I passed my 3 year work anniversary. Sometimes my job feels humdrum, then other days I'm reminded of all the reasons I love what I do. Although there's drawbacks and downsides to every workplace, I'm still happy to be part of the Penn State Health St. Joseph team. Our hospital is small enough that you get to know a lot of the employees. There's a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Diversity is celebrated. I appreciate the fact that every morning, a prayer is said over the loudspeakers. My husband and I are provided with health insurance and savings for retirement.

Working in the pharmacy suits me very well. I'm involved in the medical field, which fascinates me, but don't have to do hands-on patient care. This means I don't have to deal with angry, difficult patients or family members. One of my nurse friends told me tonight, "I think you've found your niche." I have no idea what will happen in the next five years, but feel settled with where I am right now, even though some days I still long to be in the classroom or greenhouse.

This week we celebrated pharmacy week with various activities. I mentioned in another post how we vote on superlatives like "most helpful", "most likely to make you laugh", "pot stirrer", etc. I was given the "cool as a cucumber" award, which was flattering!

Often in the morning when I have to get ready for work I wish I didn't have a job and could have the pleasure of staying at home. But I'm so thankful I'm healthy enough to have a full time job. It's a blessing!

all things pumpkin

I love pumpkin season! There's so many delicious recipes to try and pretty pumpkins to pick and decorate with. I always like to do a pumpkin picking excursion but haven't yet this year. I did cook a pumpkin though, and tried a recipe I thought would be fun to share!

First of all, if you're going to cook a pumpkin, I highly recommend the Long Island Cheese variety. It has excellent flavor and is so much better than canned pumpkin!

Long Island cheese pumpkin 

Cut the pumpkin up in several pieces and remove seeds. Add a small amount of water to the roaster so it doesn't stick, and bake around 300 degrees for an hour or so, until it's soft when pricked with a fork. Let it cool, then remove any remaining seeds or stringy insides. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh and blend until it's nice and smooth. It can be kept in the fridge for quite awhile. This can also be frozen, but will be more watery once thawed, so keep in mind you might need to add more flour to a recipe if you're using frozen pumpkin.

This is my favorite pumpkin recipe so far. It comes from my sister Keela.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins 

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
16 oz. pumpkin
1 cup oil
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 cups chocolate chips

In large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add to pumpkin mixture; mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins.



Now for my favorite pumpkin quote.

And my favorite pumpkin poem.

Happy punkin' gathering and baking!

self love

I've been thinking about self care the last while and have more questions than answers. I'd really like to learn more about how to love yourself in a healthy way.

So often the thoughts directed toward ourselves are negative. Maybe it's not this way for everyone, but I think we all experience it to some extent. What would it feel like to be completely content with how we act, our clothes, body, skin, hair? Some ladies always look nice and wear the latest patterns, fabric, sweaters, and shoes. Others don't think as much about their appearance. I think we should all respect ourselves enough to be presented in the best possible way.

What if we treated our bodies like a plant that we carefully nurtured? Instead of hating our shape or size, how about thinking I want to take care of my body. It needs more fresh vegetables and fruits, water, exercise, sunshine, and rest. What if we were friends with ourselves and spoke kindly instead of feeding our mind with thoughts like You are fat and ugly, everyone else is prettier than you. You can't sew like that person and your dresses are old and plain. Your hair is a mess and that's an old-fashioned hairstyle. Your skin is too pale and blemished, you'll never have a nice complexion. Would you say those things to a friend? Or even an enemy?? Those kind of thoughts can become so loud and convincing we actually start believing them.

I'm not sure if I got my thought out correctly. I'd love to hear from anyone if you have wisdom or experiences to share on how to have a healthy view of yourself!

the in-between time

Weather really affects my mood. The end-of-summer feeling is dragging on, and true invigorating fall days are not yet here. It's hard to feel inspired in this in-between time.

Today was a good day though. After working until 11 last night, I slept late and lounged around all morning since it was my day off. It was the perfect gray rainy day for idleness. I continued in this manner all day, and didn't accomplish anything more than a trip to the grocery store, a load of wash, and cooking supper. The rest of my time was spent reading and napping. What luxury!

I'm trying to embrace having a day like today without feeling slightly selfish and guilty, but haven't fully accomplished it. We're so trained to make efficient use of our time and achieve a standard of being a good wife/homemaker/mother/employee and that can be exhausting. I've found it refreshing and uplifting to my mental health to have a day to completely relax without having a to-do list. But there's this little voice in the back of my mind that says, "You're slothful and lazy. You should've sewed/cleaned/done this or that instead of wasting the day away." Is this voice the truth? Or is it alright to practice self-care by occasionally doing exactly what we like? Mothers probably never even have a chance to experience a lazy day and that makes me feel even more convicted, but also privileged!

To chase away the seasonal blues, I sit on my deck and soak up the sunshine on a nice day. Getting outside and walking is another boost, but takes more effort. I faithfully walked for a month or so until I began having knee pain like I've never experienced. It was so painful it affected my energy at work so I've taken an extended break. I really want to try again soon, maybe with a knee brace. I guess I'm aging!

Tomorrow is back to work. The following quote is really quite true for me, so I will continue taking time for relaxation and self-care and try to look at it as a way to recharge and make my work even better!