My splendid spring break is winding down, and I am feeling joyful, refreshed, and energetic. The last ten days have not only been a flurry of activity, but also a good amount of down time. I accomplished almost everything on my Spring Break 2022 list plus more. I spent quality time with my family, friends, and fur babies. This much-needed respite allowed me to pause and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. And, I even squeezed in a little work session for my day job.
My hubster and I were both on vacation for spring break. We spent a good deal of time together between my scheduled appointments and his yardwork/home projects. We had our first boiled crawfish for this season with his mom on Good Friday, attended Easter Sunday Mass with friends, did some yardwork in the backyard, hung out at Tickfaw State Park for his company picnic, and watched the entire Dexter: New Blood series in the evenings. It is probably the first time in a long time that we had that much quality time together.
There were only two items on my list that I did not get around to accomplishing this past week. I did not organize my scrapbook room, and I chose hubby time over attending the live on-line event (The 5 Secrets to Designing a Joyful Home) on Wednesday night. It was a free webinar, and thankfully, I can watch the replay of it. I accomplished a substantial amount of reading and writing during the break. In a couple of days, I will complete the books on my April TBR list and will publish a couple of blog posts. My consultation with the oral surgeon went well, and I have scheduled my implant procedure for 29 June.
Boiled Crawfish (Good Friday) 
Helen, Kat, and Shelly at Helen’s place for breakfast 
Nutella & Strawberry Crepe courtesy of Chef Helen 
Cuddle time with Luna 
Easter Sunday Mass at St. Margaret Catholic Church with Barry, Sr. 
Lunch Date with my Daddy after oral surgeon consultation 
Hamburger Steak, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans at Mano’s Restaurant 
Sheepmoth Caterpiller on nature walk at Tickfaw State Park 
Rotted log on nature walk at Tickfaw State Park
Big news, dear reader! I only have 14 more workdays left of this school year. To be more precise, I only have 14 more workdays left as an instructional coach at Holy Ghost Catholic School. I am officially retiring from HGCS, and my last day is 20 May 2022. Woo-Hoo! This exciting news is all I am prepared to share with you at this time. Believe you me, dear reader, more about the next chapter of my life and my new adventures will unfold in the next few months. In the meantime, say a little prayer for me that I can successfully wrap up my school year with the remaining time I have there.
More big news, dear reader! I will be performing this week in The Phantom of the Columbia: A Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre at the Columbia Theatre. I am Vera Cost, a B-movie horror icon who is traveling with a group of B-movie stars on a promotional tour. We have been invited to a special dinner at the theatre where we will encounter a mystery, a murderer, and the menacing Phantom of the Columbia. The first rehearsal is tonight, a dress rehearsal is tomorrow night, a preview is on Tuesday night which will be followed by four shows each evening, Wednesday-Saturday. What a wonderfully exciting opportunity for me!
Therefore, today is all about preparing for the upcoming week which will be one of my busiest weeks of the year thus far. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I am feeling grateful and optimistic while also looking forward to the challenge. Thankfully, I have Thursday and Friday off from my day job. I must be diligent with my self-care by managing my time efficiently, eating properly, and getting sufficient sleep. Barry, Sr. will NOT be out of town for work, so he will be home for Luna and the rest of our fur babies in the evenings. It’s time for me to run, dear reader. I hope you have a spectacular Sunday and a wonderful week ahead. Happiness!
“Prioritize building a life that sustains you and is compatible with your deepest, multifaceted self. Everything else grows from that!” ~ Emily Wapnick
I spent a great deal of time in the kitchen this morning which is highly unusual for me since I despise cooking. I whipped up some French Toast for Andrew and me for breakfast. This is the first time that I have made French Toast using Brioche bread. The particular Brioche bread that I bought had cinnamon in it, so I did not need to add much cinnamon. I also added some vanilla extract this time. We both thought it tasted delicious. I also had some rather ripe bananas, so I decided to bake some banana bread. I know what you are thinking, dear reader…lots of carbs. Yep, and lots of comfort. Thankfully, I will not be cooking dinner this evening. My hubby plans to grill steaks for the three of us.
This upcoming week is my spring break. It will last until April 13th with on-line school resuming on April 14th. Normally, my spring break begins on Good Friday and extends the week after Easter. However, when the Governor announced our first stay-at-home mandate that was going to end on April 13th, our school along with other schools in the Diocese of Baton Rouge decided to move spring break up a week. Now, we are mandated to stay at home until April 30th, but our spring break did not move back to its originally scheduled time. In the grand scheme of things, it is not a huge issue. However, my hubby took vacation the week we originally planned to be off. And, SLU is off, too. I guess the silver lining is that even though I will be working from home the week Andrew and Barry are off, we will still be home together.
The Kat Files 