The Saturday 7

 1. We had another momentous week around here. First was back to school:

I only have 4 library classes this year, but 3 of them are very big. It's a pretty tight squeeze! But it went well. The whole week went well. Lena was very nervous and starting to melt down in my office on Monday morning, but I said, "No. Do not have a panic attack. Get out there and do it scared." She agreed with me, and said, "I know I'll be fine as long as I don't freak myself out." And she was. The first two days were hard, but she did it anyway, and by Wednesday she wasn't nervous at all. Thank you, Jesus! Levi has been loving 4th grade. His 3rd grade teacher warned them that 4th grade was going to be a lot harder and the teacher was really strict, so I think he's been pleasantly surprised that it isn't that bad. Haha. Lucy doesn't have much to say. Science is already really hard. Math is too easy and she's worried she should've done the advanced class. Mostly she's just mad about the new "no backpacks in the classroom" rule. 

2. The big news this week, however, is what we did on Monday afternoon:

Lucy officially got her permit!! She finished up the required hours with her instructor on Sunday, and we went to Secretary of State on Monday to make it official. The instructor said she did a great job, but emphasized more than once that she's only driven 6 hours and needs a lot more practice. I am scared to death every time she drives. Lol. Not because I don't think she's capable, just because she's so inexperienced, and one mistake can be deadly! But I've been doing my best to put on a brave face and not overreact while she's driving. I just keep reminding myself that it'll be so worth it when she can drive her siblings all over the place. Haha. 

3. Keto Update: it's still not going well. I've been staying under 20 net carbs a day for almost three weeks, but nothing is happening. My mom gave me some test strips today to see if you're in ketosis . . . and I am not. So apparently I'm still eating too many carbs, even if the net carb number is low. So I'm reducing my allowed net carb intake . . . and I'm super angry. Lol. It feels really undoable. I've been paying big bucks for these KetoChow shake things because they help curb my sugar cravings. They're 1-2 net carbs, depending on flavor. Today, I had two of them that were 1 carb each. (2 net carbs total) I also had egg salad (hard boiled eggs, mayo, mustard, salt) that I ate with a fork instead of any kind of bread: 2 net carbs. 28 salted almonds: 2 net carbs. A cheese stick: 1 net carb. That's 7. Plus my sparkling water fruity drink that was 2 carbs. I'm up to 9. So if I'm supposed to stay under 10, that's about all I get to eat in one day. Well no wonder people lose weight eating like this! It's stupid and makes me angry, and yet I'm still so vain that I'm going to keep trying. 

4. My schedule this year is Monday, Tuesday in the library, Wednesday, Thursday in development, and Fridays off. I think I'm really going to like it. I have Levi, Nash, and Saylor for library, so that's fun. And it's nice only having two classes a day - that gives me a lot of time to get stuff done in the library, and attend chapel. I also really like having two full days for development. Last year I only had one, and it wasn't enough. As scary as some parts of the job are, for the most part, I'm really enjoying it, and feeling like it's a great fit for me. I get to work on my own and I get to be creative - two things that I'm realizing are important to me. The creative bit helps me not to get bogged down by "sameness" day in and day out. And the working on my own is ideal. Obviously, I'm following the framework that my predecessor left in place for me. I'm not reinventing any wheels. But I love the freedom of knowing what needs to be done, making extensive to-do lists, and then checking everything off at my own pace. It's very rewarding to see things get done. When I worked at Once Upon, it was the same thing every day - check out customers, add new items into inventory. Price, put stuff on racks, bring it out to the floor. Even if we got everything finished at night, by the next day there would be more mounds of clothing to go through. At least at school, I tend to plan for one event: make sure everything is ready, work the event, clean up, and move on to the next one. Each event is a little different. And I'm always trying to infuse creative ideas into each one so they're not always exactly the same. 

5. As I've been thinking about the things I love about my jobs, I realized that it's been a 20 year process to really come to understand how I work best. I had to work a few terrible jobs, and many mediocre ones to really refine what I like and don't like along the way. As Lucy gets closer to graduating and making decisions about her future, I feel bad that she and her peers are so pressured to decide on a career so young. I'd venture that very few 18 year olds really know what they want to do with the rest of their lives. To ask them to make that decision - and sink incredible amounts of money into it by going to college - seems insane. Right now, Lucy has no idea what she wants to do, so we're not pushing college at all. We've always said that college debt isn't worth it unless you are passionate about a career that requires a degree (and will pay well enough to pay off that debt!). Best case scenario: she marries rich. 😂😂😂

6. I've got nothing else. Enjoy these pics and memes:

Fauxtatoes made with cauliflower. They weren't too bad!

Saylor was hilarious in library. When I told the class my name is Mrs. VanderKodde, she shouted out, "That's just your name at school, so I'm just going to call you Sadie!" 

Lena has figured out how to do a messy bun, and I think it's adorable.

Spoiler Alert: it's Sertraline