{SQT} Escape to the Shore: Random High and Low Takes

This week’s radio silence brought to you by a last-minute trip to the beach to enjoy unseasonably warm March weather. Gotta love the flexibility of homeschooling and remote work! Even if we’re still studying math or my husband is fixing code, everything is better at the beach!

1. Except the wi-fi and cell-phone reception…that’s actually pretty unreliable and poor, at least in my grandmother’s condo. Thus, I was forced to spend the majority of my time interacting with my family instead of documenting special moments on social media.  Highlights included me repeatedly telling Teddy the toy store was closed, frequent shouts to remind the kids not to yell in the hallways, and paralyzing fear as I wondered if that would stain my grandmother’s carpet/ put a hole in the wall.

2. I tried to Periscope on Tuesday and despite actually remembering to select autosave, the connection was so choppy my talk on “How to Start a Family Prayer Time” had huge holes. One minute I’m all serious, the next second I’m laughing at some poignant, yet hilarious point I’ve made.  Hopefully, I can grab a quiet moment to broadcast it again. I like the live format of Periscope and I’m using it to help improve my public speaking skills. Two weeks ago, I gave a 15 minute talk on St. Hildegard with the intent to upload it to YouTube, but I forgot to autosave. D’oh! Going forward, my goal is one 10-15 talk a week, given live, and then uploaded to my Youtube channel. If you’re on Twitter, you have a Periscope account; come follow me! If not, visit me on YouTube and you’ll get notified when I upload a talk. Have question you’d like me to answer or a topic you’d like to listen to? Comment below!

3. Then HORROR OF HORRORS; I forgot to bring a book along. Sure, I had my St. Hildegard’s Cause et Cure, but I’m to the “interpretive essay” at the back which is interesting but….zzzzzzzz and not really a relaxing beach read. I almost started watching TV again but I found it more fun to keep getting my hopes up about reading things online. “Oh! This page is loading! If I sit here, I can get reception and read this…..darn it. Maybe if I move over to this side of the room.”

4. A big perk to staying at my grandmother’s condo is one level living. No waking up in the middle of the night and traipsing through the house to roll over Fulton and Teddy. And although it can be tight when everyone is in the condo, now that my kids are older, they can escape to other parts of the building; the game room, the lounge, the lobby, the patio, the pool deck or walk onto the boardwalk; all of which are handicap accessible (which usually means, “Take your brother!”).

5. Additionally, I love that once we’re in OCNJ, we don’t need to drive anywhere. We can walk to the grocery store, the beach, the library, several coffee shops, restaurants, gift shops, etc. And since our van’s wheelchair lift is broken AGAIN (we have to work it manually) it was good to know once we arrived in town, we didn’t need to deal with the lift until we wanted to leave. On Tuesday I walked to the grocery store and Fulton came along. Fulton, and Teddy, don’t usually go on quick errands because it takes longer to load and unload their chairs then actually run into the store. But that day Fulton and I savored the beautiful weather and took our time looking around the store, a novelty Fulton still enjoys. We actually saw MDA shamrocks! But none with Fulton’s face. Boo.

6. I underestimated how difficult it would be to visit the shore during Lent. I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat fudge or taffy, and I haven’t eaten boardwalk pizza for a while, but still, normally being in OCNJ means EATING ALL THE GOOD THINGS. it means getting coffee from the local coffee shop, fro yo, or indulging in snacks…but not during The Hildegard Experiment. Consequently, I wound up not sticking to the diet too well. Some of it was due to lack of planning (which is kind of a given with a “last-minute trip”), some was just weakness. Hoping with a little more prayer and some confession I’ll recover and finish strong this Lent.

7. I think that’s the hardest thing with a restricted diet; it requires planning. And if you forget an ingredient at the store or don’t defrost something, your whole dinner, or day can be ruined, because you can’t just substitute anything, it has to be approved. I struggled while we were away, and then, I didn’t plan for the rest of the week, so we came home to an empty fridge and I tried to toss together a meal that didn’t include last-minute emergency staples like pasta, tomato sauce, potatoes, corn or rice. Oh, and don’t forget no gluten for me or dairy for Teddy. Basically, until I get to the grocery store again with a menu in hand, I’m subsisting on wine while thinking about tacos.

How was your week? Write it down then link it up below! Don’t forget to include a link back to this post so your readers can find the rest of the Quick Takes! I look forward to reading your post!